The rain continued as the skies became dark, with no sign of relenting as hours passed.

The time at the warm cabin house was late evening, and only two occupants resided in the main living space.

The two in question were Hyunjin and Felix, who'd taken up space on the carpet of the floor.
Hyunjin sat criss crossed and fidgeted with the edges of his sleeves absentmindedly, while the blonde boy, kneeling behind him, expertly toyed with the elder's dark hair, pinning it back in certain places with small butterfly clips which the two had found earlier in the day.

"Clip," Felix stated simply, holding out his right hand. Hyunjin reached down into a small box on the floor, pulling out a pink butterfly clip and placing it back into Felix's palm.

"Are you almost done?" Hyunjin questioned, feeling the tug of yet another pinned back section of hair.

"I've been done for ages," Felix spoke with a content sigh. "This is just fun."

"Liiixx," the elder whined, turning around to face him. "I'm gonna look so stupid with all these on."

"No!" Felix insisted, despite the disbelieving look he was being given.
"You look good. You pull them off well."

"You're lying to make me feel better," Hyunjin gave him a halfhearted smile.
"I know damn well you're too nice to say otherwise."

"I'm not!" the blonde argued, feeling himself start to lose the battle.
"I mean it. You look pretty when you have those on."

Felix held eye contact with the other for a second, feeling his face heat up slightly in embarrassment.
"I mean. Not that you don't look pretty the rest of the time. You know? I'm just saying. You don't look bad. It's not like—"

"God, I get it," Hyunjin gave a light laugh. "I know what you meant, cutie. You don't have to explain yourself."

Hyunjin turned back around to face the other way, leaving Felix in a state of momentary shock. The younger knew he should be getting used to it at this point, but every little pet name or compliment the elder used for him gave him a sense of unexpected giddiness.

"You can keep going if you want," Hyunjin said, picking up another clip and holding it back over his shoulder.
"It's not like we have anything else to do."

"I think I've run out of space," Felix spoke in a voice that were one not able to see him, they could still tell he wore a soft smile upon his face.

"It's my turn then," Hyunjin spun his body around to face the younger, startling the boy just a little.

"Your turn to what?"

With no warning, Hyunjin reached up towards Felix's face, and the younger slightly flinched as he hadn't been anticipating the gesture.

"No?" Hyunjin asked as he saw the other boy shy away from his hand, which Felix now noticed held the butterfly clip in its fingers.

"Oh—" was all Felix said, before promptly realizing what he was denying. "Yes! Of course you can, I just wasn't expecting it..."

Hyunjin gave him a warm grin at this, and leaned forward, gently taking one of the boy's blonde locks and pinning it to the side with the little clip.

"My handiwork is so good," Hyunjin joked as he brushed Felix's hair away from his face with his fingertips. "This blonde color is my proudest creation."

"You just bleached it..." Felix mumbled, and the elder only hummed in return, paying too much attention to his task to take offense at the comment.

With Hyunjin leaned so close, Felix found it hard to concentrate on literally anything but the boy's face in front of him. Despite how his gaze was solidly focused upward on Felix's hair, it was still quite unnerving for the younger to look directly towards his eyes, lest an oh-so-scary moment of eye contact take place.

"Honestly, this color looks really natural on you," Hyunjin mused as he took another clip and worked to gather the hair where he pleased.
"If I'd met you when you looked like this I'd almost believe you were born with it."

Felix was barely paying attention to anything the elder said. All Felix could think about were the little indents in the elder boy's cheeks that formed when he smiled, and dear god, Felix had never noticed until now that Hyunjin had dimples.

As if he wasn't perfect enough already.

"This is somewhat different, isn't it?" Hyunjin said after a moment, tucking Felix's hair behind his ear and swiftly placing a clip there.
"Normally you're the one messing with my hair."

"Welcome to the club," Felix responded, knowing fully well that his reasons for doing so were likely much more... selfish, than the elder's.

"I get why you do it," Hyunjin continued rambling about whatever as he worked. "It is kinda fun."

"Hah, um, yeah," Felix murmured, feeling a jolt of anxiety through his whole body as Hyunjin leaned just slightly further in, tilting his head to the side in order to better see what he was doing.

"I'm the type who likes having it done more than doing it to someone, y'know?" the elder elaborated, just bringing up anything to pass the time at this point.
"And it seems like you're the opposite, which is a perfect coincidence."

"Definitely," Felix gave an enthusiastic nod. A coincidence for sure. Totally not the fact that the constant hair playing had become quite literally just an opportunity for closeness with the elder boy.

Hyunjin cheerfully hummed to himself as he carried on with the styling, leaving Felix to his spiraling thoughts in the absence of conversation.

The elder boy's eyes were almost the same black shade as his hair, and Felix thought that fact was neat. At this point he'd given up on trying not to overthink, and allowed himself to stare at his crush just a little bit. For scientific purposes, of course.

"This part is really not cooperating with me," Hyunjin complained despite a gentle smile and tone, having to try extra hard to pin back a certain area, apparently.

Felix couldn't help but notice how the elder's lips slightly parted as he focused, a little tell of his attention. When those same lips soon curved into a pleased smile at his success, Felix was taken aback at an almost butterflies-feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

"I think I might be done," Hyunjin spoke gleefully, glancing over his completed work.

He might as well have said nothing, because not a single word was registered by Felix, who was entirely enamored with his features. The delicate rosy shade of his lips almost begged the younger for attention, and the only thought that could even form in Felix's mind was of how soft he imagined they would feel against his own.

He gave up at trying to contain his own affectionate daydreams, and was overwhelmed by the presence of one phrase, repeated over and over again as if it was all he could fathom.

I want to kiss him, Felix thought, eyes still trained on the elder's full lips.
I want to kiss him so badly.

"Do you wanna go look in a mirror?" Hyunjin's voice broke the younger out of his thoughts, and Felix's gaze snapped up to his eyes at once.

"Huh?" the blonde said, revealing that he hadn't been paying attention.

Hyunjin failed to speak for a moment, noticing the unusual length of time that Felix was holding his eye contact.
"I just... asked if you wanted to go check your hair in the mirror."

"It's okay," Felix forced himself to speak up, unable to look away from the other's gaze.

The silence that followed was thick with interest and tension, Hyunjin beginning to feel as if something in the mood had suddenly shifted, and he didn't know what. From this distance, a new intensity in Felix's dark doe eyes was impossible to miss, and the not knowing what caused it began to make a nervousness well up within Hyunjin.

"Is, um," he spoke hesitantly, "something wrong, Lix?"

Felix shook his head.
"No. Nothing," he answered vaguely, his gaze unwavering.

Hyunjin hesitated, an 'Are you sure?' lingering at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to say it. And he almost did, but under the constant watch of the younger, he found himself a bit wary of what he chose to say.

So, instead, he chose not to argue. He settled with an, "Okay, if you say so," and noticed Felix's expression falter for a split second.

"Hyunjin," Felix said the elder's name with a softer tone, making him raise an eyebrow in a sudden curiosity as to why.
"Can I ask you something?"

Hyunjin nodded after a moment.

"When this all ends— if, this ends," Felix gestured vaguely in the air to signal that 'this' meant approximately everything that was happening and everything that had happened by now.
"Do you think you'll still want to see me?"

Hyunjin only looked at him for a moment, face mostly blank but displaying the slightest hint of confusion.

"Why... wouldn't I?" he said, the beginnings of a nervous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Because," Felix insisted, tracing patterns on the floor subconsciously with his index finger. "You know. We have different lives. We didn't live in the same area. We didn't go to the same school. There's no reason we would've known each other."

"If we ever do go back to normal, I'm transferring to your school," Hyunjin stated directly, not a hint of sarcasm in his words.
"I'm sick and tired of dealing with all the shit that happened at my old one."

Felix gave a half smile at this.
"Yeah, fine. Even so, you'll probably hang out with Minho and his friends anyway. I know you'd be one of the popular guys he's friends with: I can already tell."

Hyunjin just furrowed his eyebrows, as if trying to fathom what negative thoughts the blonde could be having which would even prompt this topic.
"I can't say you're wrong about that. But that doesn't mean anything about us? Don't you think I would annoy the hell out of you between every class?"

"I'm..." Felix let out a breath, glancing around the room for a moment as if to ground himself.
"I'm just saying. I can't see any reason why you would want to stay associated with me unless you're stuck in that situation. Like now."

No words were spoken for a moment, numerous emotions cycling through Hyunjin's expression as if he couldn't even gather enough words to say what he was feeling.

"Do you... actually think that I'm just here because I'm stuck with you?" was what came out after a moment, Hyunjin's tone laced with disbelief more than anything.

"I don't know!" Felix responded, the nervous feeling in his chest from earlier resurfacing. "I really don't know. Forget I asked."

"What?" the elder retaliated. "No, no, come on, we're dealing with this," he insisted.

Felix, his brain telling him that he'd been backed into a corner, felt the sudden urge to simply remove himself from the situation, as per usual.

"I—" the blonde hesitated. "I think I'm gonna go get a drink," he announced, quickly standing up from the spot where he sat. "I'll be right back."

"No," Hyunjin reached out, grabbing the boy's wrist as he attempted to walk away. "You always do this. Felix, come on, sit down."

Caught, all Felix could do was freeze up, not wanting to do as the elder said, but unable to shake his hand off and walk away.

"Felix," Hyunjin sent him a pleading look. "Do it for me?"

A moment of no movement passed. Then, embarassed, the younger sat back down on the hard floor, his wrist still held firmly between Hyunjin's fingers.

"Right. Now what's all this I'm hearing?" the dark haired boy spoke in a calm voice, as if knowing he was approaching sensitive territory.

"It's really nothing," Felix insisted.

"Hmm, now who's the one that told me, when people say it's nothing that means there's usually something?" Hyunjin quoted, only receiving a death glare from the younger in return for using his own words against him.

Felix glanced down at their hands for a moment, feeling the sensation of Hyunjin's fingers brushing against his as the elder boy wordlessly laced them together.
And that was what worried Felix.

He knew, in his heart, that this was the end of the beginning. That from this point on, his feelings for that beautiful, dark haired angel he lived with would only grow worse.

Felix knew that the longer he let his emotions fester, unrestrained, the harder he would take it if Hyunjin ever were to leave.

He'd never had these worries with Chan. At the very least, Felix had known that worst-case scenario, the boy would still remain as his loyal best friend.
But Hyunjin was a wildcard. What tied him to the younger now would no longer exist in a normal daily state of living. And it scared Felix, the thought that their very reason for even knowing each other could one day disappear.

"Lix," Hyunjin kept trying to coax even a couple words out of him, lightly stroking the back of his hand with a thumb. "You promised you'd let me help you if you're feeling bad."

Felix sighed, a sort of heaviness in his breath that showed his words wouldn't fully reveal what he felt no matter what.
"I'm fine. It's just kinda depressing, thinking about the fact that we might go back to strangers after this," he told a half truth.

Hyunjin let out a light laugh at this, as if demonstrating the outlandish nature of that idea. "Are you kidding? I will never leave you alone in a million years, I promise. You're gonna have to deal with me until death."

"Stooop," Felix bit back a smile that threatened to form. "I know you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Have you ever thought about the fact that I've spent three hours here, letting you put dumb things in my hair, making me look like an idiot, when I could be reading a book, alone?" Hyunjin brought up, adamantly trying to further his point. "You, my dear, are very stupid today."

"Hey," Felix lightly swatted at the elder's wrist. "That's a bad analogy. You didn't bring any books here!"

"Jeongin has some he already offered to let me borrow," Hyunjin stated. "And I said no, so I could sit here and let you ruin my hair. Understand?"

Felix crossed his arms. He did understand, in fact, what the elder was implying. And he hated the nice sensation it gave him, knowing that this was simply one of many aspects that made him fall for the boy across from him: his unconditional kindness.

"You know," Hyunjin muttered, looking the younger up and down briefly. "I'll tell you a little secret, if it makes you feel better."

Felix raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Like what?"

Hyunjin pursed his lips before speaking.
"I never used to let anyone touch me. I'd barely even allow Minho to hug me."

Felix blanked for a second, countless incidents of hugs, hand holds, and the like flashing before his eyes.
"You... wait, are you sure?" he blurted out, unable to think of a good enough question.

"You're the only person who I'm comfortable doing... this with," Hyunjin admitted, gently squeezing Felix's hand in his own for reference. "Otherwise it wouldn't be happening. I'm not like you. I don't shut up and suffer for other people's sake the way you do."

Felix was left stunned at this, mouth agape, trying to even choose a part of that sentence to respond to.

"So if you're thinking that I secretly hate you or whatever, you're wrong," Hyunjin finished, placing his free hand on Felix's knee reassuringly.
"Trust me. You would know if I did."

With a pause in the conversation, Hyunjin slightly tilted his head forward and leaned towards the younger boy. This action startled Felix at first, for obvious reasons, yet the panic was soon quelled as Hyunjin gently touched his forehead to Felix's... a small gesture that conveyed countless words.

With closed eyes, Hyunjin let out a small exhale, imploring the other to simply sit in the moment and let this happen. And Felix did, not quite stupid enough to take such an excellent opportunity for granted.

For even a brief moment, everything was right in the world for once. The pair sat in that shared space, forehead to forehead, where many had came and went. But for now this was their room, and no one else's.

A little house cat, its fur orange and golden, padded its way into the room, soft paw steps guiding it. As if sensing it had tread onto holy ground, it ventured with a sort of careful reverence towards the two boys sat in the center of the room, tilting its head with that cat-like curiosity of fairy tales.

Felix, feeling the soft nuzzle of a cat's snout against his hand, peeked his eyes open, and glanced downwards towards it.

"Oh, hey," Felix spoke towards it kindly, reaching over to stroke its head.
"Hyunjin, I think the cat's starting to like me."

Hyunjin, now opening his eyes as well, leaned back a tiny bit as to glance down at the creature.
"It's smart then," he commented with a tiny laugh.

"But where's your owner, huh? Aren't you supposed to stay in Jeongin's room?" Hyunjin spoke as if the cat were a child, scratching its chin.

The kitten only let out a soft meow, and not even a moment later, the sound of a door opening followed in the distance.

"There, I guess," Felix turned his head to look towards the source of the noise, finally breaking the incredibly close proximity to the elder boy.

Hyunjin glanced over as well, seeing a shadow on the wall signal a figure approaching the doorway; then Jeongin stepped through, his gaze suggesting he'd been searching for something.

"Ah," he said, looking over towards the occupants of the room. "There you are."

"She just wandered out here," Hyunjin spoke up helpfully, pointing towards the feline rubbing up against his legs. "If you were looking for her."

Jeongin remained silent for a moment, eyes focusing not on the cat, but rather, on one of the two boys.

"Actually..." Jeongin seemed to carry an air of hesitation, turning his phone over and over in his hands. "I need to talk to Felix."

Not a word was said, until Felix, furrowing his eyebrows, realized that this was apparently his issue to deal with.
"Me?"

"Mhm," the boy standing in the doorway responded. "Could you come to my room? I think it's better we chat in private."

The blonde didn't even move for a second, this command confusing him more than anything. The younger boy didn't seem particularly mad, or even emotional... so why did this proposition give him such a sinking feeling?

"Okay...?" Felix agreed, standing up slowly, but stopped as he felt a tugging on his sleeve. He glanced down to see Hyunjin, who still sat on the floor, shooting him a glare that basically commanded him to wait.

Jeongin, seeing this, let out an exasperated sigh, as if he'd been expecting it.
"It's between me and him," he explained. "I don't know if this is any of your business."

Felix, having no idea at all what the younger could be talking about, shot a look towards Hyunjin which conveyed that response, as if not wanting to seem untrustworthy.

"What..." Felix spoke timidly, "is this about?"

Jeongin's gaze flickered between Felix and Hyunjin.
"I saw an article just now," he started, eyes trained on Felix. "Talking about you... and the fact that you're—"

Hyunjin instantly stood up at this, striding towards Jeongin and harshly grabbing him by the arm.
"We're going to your damn room," he announced, gesturing for Felix to follow.
"Don't say shit until we're in there."

"Huh?" was all Jeongin could say as he found himself dragged back down the hallway, and soon shoved back into his dark bedroom without warning.

Within a minute of tense silence, the three found themselves in Jeongin's room once again, as Hyunjin clicked the lock shut behind the three out of habit.

"Before you say anything," Jeongin started off defensively, as if sensing the abrupt mood shift in the tallest of the three.
"I wasn't looking or anything. I just happened to come across an article talking about Felix—"

"You didn't see anything," the pleasant nature of Hyunjin's voice dropped altogether.
"Whatever the fuck you think you saw, you didn't. Okay?"

"I can't exactly forget, Hyunjin," Jeongin tried as the elder boy approached him rather menacingly. "But you're the crazy one here. Aren't you worried? If the cops find him with you, you'll get arrested for hiding a runaway!"

"You say that as if I'm not one too?!" Hyunjin shot back, his words stunning the room into silence.

Oops.

Well, at least now they were both equally screwed.

"God," Jeongin ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "You realize if the police find you two here, me and my grandma will be the ones blamed, right? You do understand why I'm worried???"

"Hyun," Felix spoke quietly from the side, seeing the elder gearing up to say something in retaliation.
"You don't have to fight him, we can just go."

"I'm not kicking you out," Jeongin insisted. "But to be honest, I wouldn't be as worried if it was just Hyunjin. I've never seen anything on the news about him.

Felix stood still, this sentence impacting him a little harder than intended.
"I'm..." he lowered his gaze to the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled, nudging Hyunjin's wrist with his hand. "It's always me who gets us caught, huh."

Hyunjin gave the youngest in the room a look of absolute incredulity at this.
"Now why the fuck would you say that?! It's not even his fault you saw it!"

"I'm sorry!" Jeongin responded, seeing the numbed look on Felix's face. "I'm just saying! He's going to need to be a lot more careful if I found out that easily."

"God," Hyunjin's tone suggested he no longer wanted to even entertain this conversation.
"If you want us to leave, just say so. We can handle it. We're used to that."

Jeongin took a moment to just breath, calming himself and gathering the words he wanted to say.
"Listen. I'm not kicking you out. And I'm not saying I'm going to snitch on you."

"But, if the time comes where there's police at my door, looking for either of you," Jeongin spoke warningly. "I am not taking the fall. My family needs me too much, and I can't afford to have anything on my record. I'm sure that's something you can understand."

Doing the most for your family. Yeah. That was definitely something which Felix understood.

"I get it," Felix responded in a quiet tone. "I'm the one putting you at risk. It's nice enough of you to warn me first."

"Hey," Hyunjin placed a hand firmly on his shoulder, in an attempt to dissuade him from continuing.

Jeongin gave the blonde a sympathetic smile. "I just had to make you guys aware of my limits. As much as I'd like to help you, I need to be realistic."

"So, with that being said," Jeongin shoved his hands in his pockets. "Here are my terms. I can help you find another place to stay, and have you two out of here within a couple days. Or, I let you stay here, on the condition that should the cops ever show up, I will not protect you. Got it?"

Both boys stood in an amazed silence, subjected to this strange form of harsh helpfulness.

"I think, um..." Felix spoke warily. "The first option?"

"Yeah..." Hyunjin nodded slowly. "The first one, I guess."

"Great," Jeongin nodded curtly. "I'll find a place, and as soon as this annoying rain dies down, I'll send you off."

"Now that that's settled," Jeongin huffed, before striding over to his bedroom door and swinging it open.
"Leave. I'm gonna need as much time as I can to haggle a place with this little notice in advance."

The bewildered pair could only share a look of equal confusion as both were violently shooed out into the hallway by the younger, and abandoned there with the slam of his bedroom door.

Neither dared to speak, holding that confused glance and communicating silently to each other that in fact, neither knew how exactly to respond to that.

"You know..." Hyunjin mumbled, linking his arm with Felix's. "Let's just go to our room. I feel like... we should ignore all that and let him do his thing."

"Okay," Felix nodded, turning slowly to stroll alongside the taller in the direction of their guest room.
"I guess you're right."

"Obviously. Wanna go lie down and space out for a while?"

"Always," Felix answered, and gently squeezed Hyunjin's arm as the two quickened their walking pace, as if in a silent agreement to distance themselves from having to think about whatever had went down in that bedroom.

"We have the same mind, I swear," Hyunjin joked as he swung open the door to their bedroom.
"Come here, clingy. Let's totally ignore everything that's happening," he spoke as he flopped down backwards on the bed, holding his arms open.

Felix only rolled his eyes at this, an odd feeling creeping up on him at the elder's sudden revert back to his usual behavior. He knew Hyunjin well enough to know that the elder should be panicking right now, as usual, at even the slightest idea of being caught.

"You know," Felix wandered over to stand in front of the boy on the bed. "It almost feels like you're trying to distract me from what Jeongin said to me..."

"Pfft," Hyunjin stifled a loud laugh, as if that idea was crazy. "What? Nooo. Anyways, no more thinking about things that don't matter. Come on," he gestured towards himself emphatically.

A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Felix's lips. He knew exactly what the elder was trying to do, and it was working whether he wanted it to or not.

"Are you sure this isn't part of some nefarious plan of yours to make me feel better...?" Felix's tone failed to come across as scolding, too much of a warmth lacing his words.

"Just hurry up," Hyunjin whined, ignoring the question he'd been asked. "I'm cold, Lix," he encouraged, arms still held open.

"Only because you'll apparently freeze to death if I don't do this," Felix climbed onto the bed and settled himself into the elder's arms with such reluctance, an action totally against his own will, obviously...

"Ahh, I've been saved," Hyunjin joked, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy tightly.

No, Felix thought briefly. I'm the one who's been saved.

As the blonde repositioned his body for comfort, he laid his head on Hyunjin's chest. This wasn't the first time he'd done so, yet in this stark silence, he noticed for the first time a faint rhythm inside, one which called to him like a beacon, and Felix found himself reaching a hand towards it, subconsciously.

As Felix's dainty hand laid itself next to his head, flat against Hyunjin's chest, Felix heard that calming rhythm begin to hasten, as if startled, its pace speeding up at the touch.
Glancing up towards the elder's face, Felix became overwhelmed with the knowledge that what he was feeling was Hyunjin's heartbeat.

It was almost too much for him to handle.

"Hyuni," Felix mumbled a little nickname, his whole being overcome with a sense of adoration for the boy.

"Mhmm?" Hyunjin hummed in a pleasant surprise towards the name.

Felix didn't respond, instead bringing his hand to rest on Hyunjin's shoulder, absentmindedly stroking it with his thumb.

The end of the beginning.
The beginning of what Felix knew was him falling in love.
It was happening at a hundred thousand miles per hour, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Hyunjin sent him a beautiful smile in return for the gesture, bringing one of his own hands up and placing it over Felix's.

When this was the target of his affection, Felix didn't even want to stop it.

Even if they had to keep running away, never being able to find a place to stay for good, Felix knew he wouldn't regret choosing to stay with him. Even if Hyunjin were to never return the same feelings back, and things stayed as they were now, Felix felt as if it would still be worth it.

Hyunjin was someone that deserved to be violently, tirelessly loved without reason. And Felix knew he could do that.

So, as if making a decision, Felix set his resolve in stone. The battle with his own heart had just been won by both ends.

From today on, he would be falling in love with Hyunjin on purpose. Not dragged around by his jittery heart, but choosing him once and for all.

He would be a devotee if he had to, an admirer, a loyal friend, a loving partner— anything to make Hyunjin happy he would do if needed.

But for now, feeling Hyunjin's slim fingers stroking a pattern through his blonde hair... he hoped more than anything to take the role of a partner. Even if it was wishful thinking.

"Are you asleep?" Hyunjin spoke to him in a mellow voice, making the younger realize that he hadn't spoken in a little while.

It was a good idea, and thus Felix didn't respond, keeping his eyes closed, as if he could will himself to sleep within seconds.

Hyunjin seemed to let out a breath at this, continuing to stroke the blonde's hair.
"I guess you are," he whispered.

The feeling of a slight movement threw the younger a little off guard, as well as the sudden sensation of soft breathing against the top of his head.
Yet everything clicked into place as he felt Hyunjin gently nuzzle against his hair, although whether or not the elder would have done this had Felix been awake, he didn't know.

When morning came, Felix knew that the two would continue on with their lives as they did every day. As if the previous night hadn't been spent so close together that Romeo and Juliet would be jealous. This was just their normal, now.

He almost hoped tomorrow would never come, although he couldn't defy the very laws that held the universe together.

As much as he wished he could.