By the time Hannie awoke, his head was throbbing, and his eyes were struggling to stay open. He yawned and shuffled slightly, only to find an arm tightening around his waist. His eyes shot open, all traces of tiredness snapping out of him when he realised he was not in his own bed.

As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings he found that he was in an unfamiliar room, one he had never seen before. The only thing that reassured him was that familiar smell that filled his senses, the scent of him.

He was startled again when the arm around him began to move again, a hand venturing under the hoodie he was wearing. A hoodie that was not his own. That was when everything started coming back to him. Piece by piece he was recalling bits and pieces of the night before.

He remembered doing shots with Minnie. He remembered dancing with Haeun. He remembered sitting in a car and watching the streets pass by. He couldn't remember many of the conversations he had but he was beginning to remember his actions. It felt as though he was looking through frosted glass, and the frost was slowly beginning to clear.

His cheeks grew hot with embarrassment when he recalled Taebin helping him change. He felt a warmth within him when he remembered the elder untying his shoes, getting him water and even carrying him to the bedroom. He looked after him.

Hannie was pulled from his memories as the hand continued to venture across his skin, the feeling tickled and he found himself flinching slightly under the touch.

"Taebin," he whispered, trying not to startle the boy.

The elder groaned and pushed his head into the crook of Hannie's neck, all the while his hand continued to explore the smaller boy's torso.

"Tae. Come on, that tickles."

He was once again met with a groan. He could feel Taebin's hot breath on his ear. His thoughts, feelings and senses were filled with Taebin and nothing else. It was peaceful, a sensation he could get used to.

"Morning," the groggy voice from behind him finally spoke coherent words.

Hannie smiled and involuntarily pushed himself back against the elder, craving more of his warmth.

"Morning."

Taebin welcomed the smaller body into his, pulling it closer as if it was going to run away had he let go.

They lied together for a while longer, their legs tangling together as they enjoyed their time alone. They couldn't be like this in public, although Taebin was more than ready to show his affection to the younger whenever he could. He was fully prepared to fight anyone who opposed of the two boys being together, but he also knew that Jun would dislike the idea of their relationship.

Hannie, however, was not comfortable with being public about their relationship at all. He had made that point very clear and Taebin respected his decision, he just wished he could shower him with love and affection no matter where they were or who was watching. A society such as theirs just wouldn't allow it.

"It's a miracle that you didn't throw up on those," Taebin chuckled, watching from the bed as Hannie collected his own clothes.

The younger brought the fabric to his nose, which scrunched up when the smell of alcohol shot up his nostrils. "It stinks."

"It's fine. I'll wash them before you go home. It's not like there's any rush."

Hannie nodded only to wind up holding his throbbing head. Taebin watched the younger and climbed out of bed, taking his hand in his own before gently pulling him along to the kitchen. He let go to search through the cupboards.

"Here, take this. It will take the edge off," he stated, passing the boy some painkillers for his head.

"Thanks." Hannie tipped his head back and swallowed the pill.

Taebin took the glass from him when he was done and placed it on the counter behind him, leaning a little too close to keep it subtle. Just when Hannie started to get his hopes up, Taebin kissed his forehead and backed away.

"You smell like vomit and booze, shower time." The elder quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the bathroom.

After a minute or two, Hannie had figured out how the shower worked so Taebin left him to it and went to put the dirty clothes in the wash. He figured Hannie would be in there for at least a few minutes, which was just about enough time for him to run to the convenience store. Just in case, however, he left a little note on the side to let Hannie know where he was.

Hannie stepped out of the shower, wrapping a clean towel around his waist after rubbing his hair with it. He felt refreshed and his head wasn't hurting as much as it had been before.

Just as he was about to leave the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. He didn't waste a moment before opening it because he knew that it was Taebin waiting for him on the other side.

The elder passed him a small box with a smile.

"A toothbrush?" Hannie questioned, tilting his head.

"It's yours, I just ran to the shop for it. I figured you'd want to brush your teeth and you can leave it here for the next time you say over."

For the next time I stay over. The words replayed in Hannie's head and he quite liked the idea of staying here with Taebin again. They were a couple so it was perfectly normal, what wouldn't be normal was for Hannie to stay over with his brother's best friend and that is exactly what it would look like to anyone else.

Then again, Hannie was sure Minnie would be more than happy to cover for him and so, he took the toothbrush with a smile. "Thanks."

"Anything for you, now brush. I'll go make some breakfast," Taebin instructed before ruffling the younger's hair and leaving the room.

After brushing his teeth and getting changed into more of Taebin's clothes, Hannie was met with a bowl of cereal, not that he expected any more from the elder. He sat down and dug in with a smile.

"Where's my phone?" The younger asked as Taebin collected his empty bowl.

"It's in my room, on the bedside table."

Hannie smiled in thanks and headed off to get his phone, leaving the elder to clean up on his own.

With his phone now in hand, Hannie sat down on the bed and began to check his messages. A couple from Minnie, one from Woojin, one from his mother and one from Haeun. He opened them one by one, quickly typing out responses to tell Minnie that no, he did not get laid. To tell Woojin that he was fine after the party and no, he wasn't in any trouble at home. And to tell his mother that he was going to stay at Minnie's for a while before coming home. He didn't have a reply to send to Haeun, however. The message alone brought memories of the night before flooding back, memories he wished weren't true.

'Hannie, can we meet? We need to talk about what you said last night.'

Once again, Hannie felt sick. Sick to his stomach.

How could he have been so stupid? Why did he have to tell her the one thing he was hiding from everyone. The message he received, thankfully, was not yet a cause for concern, but it was clear she remembered the words he had forgotten about before.

He felt so sick that he didn't notice Taebin walk into the room until he kneeled down in front of him.

"Hannie? What's wrong?" The elder's concern was evident in his voice as well as his face. He knew something was wrong.

Hannie looked up from his phone, breaking into tears the moment his eyes locked with Taebin's. "I- I-"

"It's okay. Shhh. It's okay. Calm down," Taebin hushed his sobs and quickly encased him in his arms.

He allowed the younger to quietly cry into his shoulder, wetting his shirt, until the sobs slowly began to fade away. As Hannie's breathing calmed again, Taebin pulled back and dried his boyfriend's face with his sleeves. He didn't speak and just patiently waited for Hannie to begin to explain what had made him so upset.

"L- last night I- I told Haeun. I was so drunk I didn't know what I was saying, I didn't even remember until now. I told her Taebin, I told her that- that I'm gay," he spoke between sniffles and rubbed his swollen eyes.

"What did she say? Was it bad? If it was I'll-"

"No. No, it wasn't bad. She- she just wants to meet up so we can talk. I- I don't think she's told anyone else yet," Hannie reassured although the reassurance was more for himself.

He didn't know it was a bad thing. He didn't know how she was going to react. She might not mind; she might even be happy for him. Although that seemed unlikely.

"Then go and talk to her. See what she has to say. If she is really your friend then she will be okay with it."

Hannie wiped up the rest of his tears, finally calming himself down somewhat, and nodded. "I know, I know. It's just that- what if she isn't?"

"Then she isn't your friend," Taebin concluded, getting up to pull the younger along.

Hannie's eyes widened. "We're going now? Right now?"

"It's as good a time as any. Besides, I know this is gonna weigh on you until you talk to her so there's no point putting it off."

Although Hannie knew that Taebin had a point, he was still terrified of talking to Haeun. He didn't know what she had to say but at the same time, he needed to know. It was only going to bother him more if he didn't know how she felt about it. At least this way he would know whether to avoid her in public or not. He just didn't want to lose his friend.

On the way to Haeun's place, Hannie finally worked up the courage to reply to her message. He let her know that he was on his way over and focused on listening to the soft tunes of the radio to calm his shaking hands.

Thinking about other people finding out was scary but what was scarier was the thought of Haeun not wanting to be his friend anymore, not wanting to know him anymore. Hannie had very few close friends and she was one of them. Actually, besides Minnie, she was the closest thing he had to a best friend.

"I'll wait in the car," Taebin stated as he turned to the younger.

Hannie was just sitting there, pulling on the sleeves of his hoodie- Taebin's hoodie -with his eyes closed as he steadied his breaths.

"Hey, look at me. It's going to be fine, I'm right outside okay. Just breathe and go talk to her, it will be fine." Taebin held the younger's face gently in his hands for a moment before leaning over to open the car door for him.

With a gulp, Hannie stepped out of the car. They were only parked at the side of the road but the walk up to Haeun's house seemed longer than usual. Each step felt heavy like he was walking through tar. When he finally reached the front door, he held his hand hesitantly in front of the door and chewed on his bottom lip. With one more deep breath, he finally knocked on the door.

It took longer for Haeun to answer than usual, almost as if she was going through the same hesitation he was on the other side of the door.

"Hannie." She smiled somewhat upon seeing the boy and stepped to the side to allow him inside.

By the time the door closed behind them, Hannie was already removing his shoes, quietly following the girl up the stairs soon after.

It was dead silent as they reached her room. She went in first and sat down on her bed. Usually, Hannie would happily jump onto the bed beside her, and they would begin to chat but not today. Today was different and so, he stood just in front of the door holding his hands awkwardly in front of him as his feet shuffled just as awkwardly on the ground.

Haeun released a sigh, "Sit down, I'm not going to rip your head off."

Hannie nodded and did as she said, sitting a little further from the girl than usual.

"Look I-"

"Save it," Haeun interrupted, "I don't want to hear what you have to say because it doesn't matter."

The boy felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes. This was it; their friendship was over.

"Let me-"

"It doesn't matter, Hannie. None of it does. At least now I know why you were never interested in me but why did you hide it from me? Why not tell me from the start?"

Hannie furrowed his brows. "Y-you aren't mad?"

"Of course not, stupid. We're friends, aren't we? Besides, it's the twenty-first century, so what if you're gay. Oh, don't start crying on me now."

Hannie was indeed crying but not for the reason he had expected, no, he was crying because he was happy, relieved even. She didn't resent him for who he was, she didn't care. Haeun didn't care because there was more to the boy other than what gender he was attracted to.

"I- I'm sorry. It's just that- I thought that-"

"That I was going to yell at you? That I was going to hate you? Come on, you're basically my best friend."

Hannie sniffled once more and began to dry his eyes. The sickening feeling that had begun to stir in the depths of his stomach was starting to pass, the storm starting to subside.

"I guess that guy that picked you up was your boyfriend?"

With his mouth hung agape, Hannie's eyes widened. "H-how did you know?"

"I've seen him before, at a party. He ghosted the moment he saw you though."

"When was this?"

"Quite a while ago, he was adamant that you were at a revision session or something."

Everything slowly began to click into place. Taebin knew about Hannie's antics back then but didn't tell a soul. Had he really been looking out for him ever since? Was that why he started to like him? Because he got to see a side of him that he shouldn't have?

"So, who is he? He's older than you right?"

Hannie felt his cheeks heating up, as they did most times he was talking to Minnie about Taebin. "Y-yeah. He's my brother's age."

"Twenty? He's like three years older than you. Wait, is he your brother's friend?"

"He's two-and-a-bit years older than me, only a couple of months older than you and yes, he is my brother's friend... His best friend."

It felt like a small weight off of his shoulders to tell yet another friend about his secret relationship with his brother's best friend. Each person he told gave him a little more confidence to be himself. If they were reacting like this then maybe so would his other friends, his family even? But there was always the chance that they would not be so open-minded, so understanding.

"You're dating your brother's best friend? That sounds like something out of a movie. Wait, is it serious? You know, have you-"

"No! We haven't but... well, I really like him," Hannie admitted, growing more flustered at the thought of doing that with Taebin.

Haeun rolled her eyes but internally cooed at his cuteness, this side of Hannie was a side she didn't get to see very often. "What are you waiting for? You've been with loads of girls before."

"Well, for one he isn't a girl, and I don't know. It's just that I've never been serious with anyone before and yeah I've done stuff but never that and I just-"

"Are you wearing his clothes right now? These seem a little big on you," Haeun interrupted, finding everything about what was happening rather amusing.

"I- yes, I am. My clothes are drying back at his. Speaking of, I should go. We still need to go back to get my things before I go home," Hannie explained, getting up to head for the door.

"Wait, we? He's waiting outside, isn't he?" Haeun was growing excited, loving the way she could now tease her little Hannie.

Hannie nodded and headed for the stairs, Haeun following with a skip behind.

"You should invite him out with us sometime. If not with all of us then with the ones that know, does anyone else know?"

"Minnie. Minnie was the first, you're the second, but you can't tell anyone else. Please keep this a secret for me, Noona." Hannie found himself almost begging, knowing that he was still not ready to tell the world.

Haeun smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "I wouldn't tell anyone without your say so, don't worry."

The two then said goodbye and Haeun waved Hannie off as he headed back to the car. She locked eyes with the boy inside for a moment, smiling at Taebin somewhat cheekily before heading back inside.

"It went well then?" Taebin asked with a smile.

Hannie nodded, "It went very well."

"See, I told you it would be fine. Now, back to mine?"

It was with a wide grin that Hannie nodded this time, the fear he was feeling not too long ago becoming nothing but a distant memory.

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