seonghwa smiled at how adorable hongjoong looked when they entered the arcade monday afternoon. hongjoong's eyes lit up, his little legs running wild to the many different games.

seonghwa chuckled when realizing how well hongjoong fit in at the arcade. he was cute and tiny, just like the little kids that surrounded them. to seonghwa, hongjoong honestly seemed more excited than half of the kids there.

"joongie, stay with me! i don't want you to be alone during the whole date." seonghwa chuckled and hongjoong looked up at the older sheepishly.

"sorry seongie, i'm just really excited! i love playing games, but i haven't been to an arcade in forever!" hongjoong apologized and seonghwa put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"it's ok baby, but let's go somewhere together. what game do you want to start with?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong put a finger on his chin, looking around the game room at all the different games he could play.

there were so many options to choose from at the arcade; the car race, whack a mole, even deal or no deal... hongjoong just couldn't choose.

"i don't know, i want to play them all!" hongjoong pouted and crossed his arms in frustration.

"joongie, don't get upset. we can play them all eventually, ok? why don't i decide on the first game, would that help?" seonghwa looked into the boy's eyes with a slight grin on his face. hongjoong nodded his head and seonghwa grabbed hongjoong's hand, walking around the arcade to find a fun game for the two of them to play.

"hey honey, what about that one over there?" seonghwa asked as he pointed to a net that contained two basketballs and two basketball hoops side by side on the other side of the arcade room.

hongjoong's eyes widened at the game in front of him. he was horrible at basketball, he honestly hated the sport a lot... but like he said in the text messages earlier, hongjoong wanted to do something that seonghwa liked for once.

"ok seongie! but i'll warn you, i'm not very good at basketball." hongjoong frowned a bit but quickly turned it into a smile, seonghwa not noticing the slight frown the boy hid from him.

"it's ok. i'm not very good at it either if i'm being honest... but i enjoy watching it on tv." seonghwa laughed and hongjoong felt a weight lift off his chest, feeling a bit thankful that the other boy wasn't too great at the sport either.

the twos boys walked hand and hand over to the basketball game. once they arrived, seonghwa put in the proper amount of coins needed to play the game and grabbed the basketball he needed to play the game with. he waited for hongjoong to do the same, the small boy leaning over and grabbing his own ball after inserting his coins.

"ok, are you ready?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong shook his head.

"i'm actually not... what's the point of the game?" hongjoong shyly admitted while scratching the back of his head and looking down at the ground. seonghwa chuckled at his adorable reaction and moved closer to hongjoong to explain the game in detail.

"ok, so what you have to do is grab the basketball from inside this net. when you pick it up, you have to shoot it and try to make it in the basket. after you shoot it once, it'll roll back down and you'll shoot it again. you keep doing this for a minute straight. after the minute is completed, the amount of baskets you make out of all your attempts will be compared to the amount of baskets i make. whoever makes the most baskets win!" seonghwa finished explaining and hongjoong finally understood how the point system worked.

"oh ok! that sounds like fun actually." hongjoong covered his mouth, giggling a bit to himself as he spoke.

"it is fun, i used to play it a lot when i came to arcades when i was younger." seonghwa said.

"this looks like a game jongie would've played when mommy would take us... but i would've stayed far away! thank you for introducing me to it." hongjoong smiled sweetly at seonghwa as he thanked him. seonghwa walked over to the boy and planted a sweet kiss on his forehead, ruffling his hair a bit as he did so.

"of course honey. are you ready now?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong started bouncing in his spot.

"yes, i'm ready!" he answered cheerfully and seonghwa pressed play, waiting for the countdown to end.

once they heard 'go', both boys began shooting. seonghwa was a lot better than he originally stated, making almost all of the shots he took. hongjoong on the other hand was struggling a bit. he was throwing the ball like seonghwa told him to, but most of the time it didn't even reach the basket and would end up being an air ball. if the ball did reach the basket, it would always bounce off the backboard and never land in the net.

after the minute had ended, seonghwa smiled to himself, feeling accomplished with his successful game. while he was playing his own game he wasn't really paying attention to hongjoong's, so seonghwa turned around to ask the younger how it went.

"joongie, how was it?" seonghwa cheerfully asked.

hongjoong stood there with his arms crossed and a pout on his face. seonghwa immediately felt bad, rushing over to his side and engulfing the boy in a huge hug.

"i hated it! i didn't make a single basket!" hongjoong leaned his head into the older's chest, stomping his foot as he spoke.

"honey, it's ok! it's just a game, no need to get upset. in my eyes, you're the real winner." seonghwa bopped the boy's nose, forcing a smile to form on the younger's face.

"you're so cute." hongjoong said, finally hugging seonghwa back.

"not as cute as you!" seonghwa exclaimed, "come on, let's go play another game. your choice!"

when the boys started walking again, hongjoong looked around the room to find the perfect game to play with seonghwa. when hongjoong saw the claw machine, he ran over, seonghwa immediately following closely behind.

"seongie, this one! i wanna get a new plushie!" hongjoong clapped his hands, jumping up and down as he cheerfully spoke.

"ok joongie, you can play this one. which plushie do you want?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong looked inside, inspecting every animal he saw.

no... i already have a dolphin, i have a fox too, and a bunny...

"how about that cat? do you have a kitten, my little kitten?" seonghwa pointed to the black cat stuffed animal laying on the top of the pile.

hongjoong's eyes widened, "no, i don't have one! now i need that one!" hongjoong cried out.

"ok, i'll put in the coins and then you can play." seonghwa replied and put enough coins in for hongjoong to play, signaling the boy when it was time to move the claw.

hongjoong began moving the bar very carefully, making sure it lined up perfectly with the cat. he checked the sides on the machine two times before clicking the drop button, hoping for a perfect result and a new toy. much to his dismay, hongjoong accidentally hit the handle to move the claw as soon as he clicked the button to drop it.

"no!" he screamed out and stomped his foot when he realized his mistake, the claw picking up nothing and returning to its original spot, "seongie, that wasn't fair. i made a mistake! i should get a redo, i accidentally hit the handle!"

"i'm sorry honey. do you want me to try?" seonghwa asked and hongjoong nodded his head, continuing to pout with his arms crossed as he moved to the side and allowed seonghwa to step up.

seonghwa put his coins into the machine and pressed start, grabbing onto the handle to move the claw. he dragged it over to the desired destination, making sure it lined up perfectly with the cat. once seonghwa felt the claw was precisely placed, he clicked the button to allow it to drop.

when the machine started lifting the black cat up from the pile of stuffed animals, hongjoong moved his arms from being crossed to clapping in front of his face. he smiled, eyes widening when the machine dropped the new toy in the little pick up box. hongjoong quickly moved over and picked the toy up from the box.

"you got it! you got the cat for me! thank you so so so much, seongie. you're the best!" hongjoong cuddled into the toy, closing his eyes and smiling sheepishly. he then ran up to seonghwa and attacked him in an unexpected hug.

"you're so welcome. anything for you, my precious boy." seonghwa smiled at the boy in his arms and hongjoong eventually jumped off him to run to a new game.

"hongjoong, wait up!" seonghwa chuckled, quickly following the smaller boy as hongjoong sat down on a plastic motorcycle, making noises with his mouth that sounded like a revving engine.

----

seonghwa parked his car in front of hongjoong's house and opened his car door to step outside. hongjoong did the same, exiting seonghwa's car and waiting for the boy to walk around and meet him.

"so, how did you like the arcade?" seonghwa asked as he grabbed the younger's hand, making their way together to hongjoong's front door.

"i had the greatest time ever! seongie, you really know how to make me happy." hongjoong replied and stopped in front of his door, turning his body to face the other boy before entering his house.

"i'm glad you had a great time. i had an amazing time as well." seonghwa smiled and grabbed hongjoong's hands in his own, "by the way, my friends and i wanted you and your friends to sit with us at lunch tomorrow. would you like that?"

hongjoong squealed, "yes, of course i'd like that!" he smiled widely.

"perfect, i can't wait." seonghwa replied, "what are you doing tomorrow?"

"i have school and we're gonna sit together at lunch, duh! we just talked about it!" hongjoong answered back, making seonghwa chuckle.

"no baby, i meant after school. are you doing anything?" seonghwa asked with a head tilt.

hongjoong looked up in thought before replying, "not that i know of. why?"

"i want you to meet my parents. i've met your mom and i've been to your house many times, but you've never been to my house or met my parents. would you like to do that?" seonghwa asked nonchalantly.

hongjoong's eyes widened. the thought of meeting seonghwa's parents scared him to no end.

what if they don't like me? what if seonghwa never told them i have a learning disability? what if they think i'm a freak?

"joongie, are you ok?" seonghwa looked into hongjoong's eyes and furrowed his eyebrows.

hongjoong shook his head, returning back to reality, "i would love to, b-but i'm really scared." hongjoong admitted, stuttering a bit as he spoke.

"there's nothing to be scared of. i've told my mom a lot about you and my dad even knows a little too. i can guarantee they will love you." seonghwa reassured hongjoong.

hongjoong nodded his head and took a deep breath, "ok. i'd love to meet them!"

"perfect. would you like to come to my house right after school? i can drive you straight from school to mine. you can tell jongho he doesn't have to wait for you." seonghwa suggested and hongjoong smiled widely, loving the idea.

"that's perfect! i can't wait now." hongjoong giggled with a wide smile on his face. seonghwa chucked along with the younger, looking down at the boy's lips with hungry eyes.

hongjoong noticed where the boy's eyes were looking and he blushed, growing a bit embarrassed.

"seongie, what are you doing?" hongjoong asked as his nerves grew stronger.

"something i've wanted to do for a while now." seonghwa answered as he continued looking down at hongjoong's lips.

before hongjoong could fully process what was going on, seonghwa leaned in, capturing hongjoong's lips in his own.

hongjoong internally gasped, quickly kissing the older back.

both boys immediately felt a spark, like the ones they talk about in those cheesy nineties romance movies. their lips fit perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. it truly felt like they were made for each other.

the kiss was quick, but passionate, the electricity running through both their veins. seonghwa was the one to break the kiss, backing up and opening his eyes to look at the younger boy standing in front of him. he let go of hongjoong's hands and pulled him in for a hug, hongjoong still in complete shock.

"that was my first kiss." hongjoong mumbled into seonghwa's chest, speaking so low it was almost too quiet for seonghwa to hear.

"well i hope it was everything you ever wished for, because i can guarantee it was the best kiss i've ever had." seonghwa lifted the boy's chin, looking straight into his eyes as he spoke.

"it was everything and more. thank you for making it something to remember, seongie." hongjoong blushed and seonghwa leaned to his side, kissing hongjoong's blushing cheek softly.

"of course. my beautiful baby deserves the best and the best only." seonghwa replied, "but i should head back home now. you're sure jongho is home?" seonghwa asked before heading out, wanting to make sure hongjoong wouldn't be home alone.

"yes, he texted me a half an hour ago that he came back home." hongjoong reassured seonghwa who nodded his head, giving the boy one last hug before walking towards his car.

"bye baby." seonghwa said before walking back towards his car.

before he drove off, he noticed hongjoong had left the cat he won for him at the arcade in his car. he quickly picked it up and ran to the younger boy, handing him the stuffed animal.

"oh my, i almost forgot yoongles!" hongjoong chuckled, taking the toy from seonghwa before giving him another hug.

"you better treat him right! i'll see you tomorrow, bye baby." seonghwa waved one last time before walking to his car again and stepping inside, earning a large wave in return from hongjoong.

hongjoong opened his front door and stepped inside, shutting it with a loud slam. the boy touched his lips in disbelief, screeching quietly to himself.

"i can't believe i just had my first kiss!" he screamed out while jumping up and down.

hongjoong scrambled to grab his phone, quickly opening the facetime app. he clicked on a group call with his two best friends. the boys answered right away, both a little confused as to why hongjoong was screaming so loudly.

"joongie, is everything ok?" yeosang asked, sounding concerned about his friends.

"you guys are never gonna believe what happened on my date with seonghwa!" hongjoong screamed out.

"oh my god, tell us everything!" wooyoung clapped as he set his phone down, hongjoong running to his room to spill the details about the best date ever.

so let me tell you... they finally kissed!!!! and i'm also listening to one direction's song 'end of the day' that slightly inspired this book... it's coming full circle! we STAN!

-vic