Midnight came and went, and the wild whims of teenagers dominated the early hours of the morning.
A room of the smaller variety was packed to the brim with people, the overwhelming bass of loud music, and snacks and trash strewn everywhere.

Ten or twelve people sat in a circle in one corner of the room, headed by a girl with pink hair in a pair of buns. She'd never given her name, but she was the game-master for now, a result of the unspoken agreement between everyone else that her word was law. Thus it was her to blame for the chaos happening within the circle, courtesy of her choice of activity.

Felix, much to his own disbelief, was one of the people sitting in said circle. He'd just survived a tumultuous round of Mafia, and was only starting to somewhat get used to this whole party thing that was happening.

The group he sat with was rather nice, and through a little bit of socialization he'd come to think somewhat positively towards them. They were a little more rowdy than he would've liked, but it was to be expected from a party.

"Okay!" the pink haired girl clapped her hands together. "Let's spice things up a little. Sei?" she turned to the girl sat next to her, as if on a cue.

"Got it," the girl replied, standing up and scurrying off to god knows where.

With the games at a standstill, Felix naturally found himself scanning over the rest of the room. Embarrassing as it was to admit, he couldn't help but automatically look for a certain someone who he'd barely talked to since the start of the party.

He found Hyunjin across the room, talking to a pair of boys around the same height as he.
Typical. Felix had said numerous times before that, had they met in school, the elder would've been one of the popular kids, too busy to interact with those of lesser social circles.

So, this was to be expected. He didn't exactly hide his wish that Hyunjin had joined him, but he understood not wanting to risk any games with a group of rowdy strangers. If the boy was content standing in a corner just chatting, sipping some pink looking drink in a cup, then whatever. That was fine by Felix.

Or was the sarcasm that obvious?

"Okayyy!" the girl who'd left reappeared in a flash as she slammed a tray of little glasses in the center of the circle, each as full as the smile on her face.
"It's Paranoia time! Everyone knows the rules of the game!"

Felix, in fact, did not know the rules of the game.
But the cheering and screaming from the others in the group quieted him without even trying to; he didn't want to make everyone stop and explain something which they clearly already knew, so he stayed silent, planning to figure out the rules as the rest went along.

This turned out to be easier said than done.

About five turns passed by before reaching him, at which point he had only the most vague idea of how the game worked.
The only reason he'd even realized it was now his turn was from the expectant look of the boy next to him, waiting for him to lean closer to hear him speak.

"Favorite celebrity dancer?" the boy whispered in Felix's ear before leaning back, confident he'd been heard.

Favorite dancer? Okay, fair enough, Felix thought. It was a rather low-pressure question for the first turn.

"Maybe... Hirai Momo?" the blonde replied hesitantly, but the other boy merely shook his head in return.

"Say it to them. Loudly."

Although confused, Felix turned to the group, who all stared with anticipation.
"Um," he glanced back towards the boy who'd asked the question briefly. "Hirai Momo...? From Twice?"

Immediate whispers began to cascade throughout the group. And just as Felix began wondering what in the hell he'd done wrong, one girl sitting towards the side raised her hand abruptly.

"Was the question: celebrity crush?"

"No!" the boy who sat next to Felix gave her a thumbs down. "Anyone else?"

A boy with longer hair towards the far end from Felix put a hand up.
"Was the question: ultimate bias?"

"Wrong!" the original asker announced happily. "Felix, you passed! Whose turn is it next?"

And just like that, his turn was over.
This poor kid who didn't even know what the game was about had somehow succeeded.

He watched the others after him take their turns with a mild interest, still trying to piece together what was actually happening. He understood, after a while, that someone would be quietly asked a question, and the rest of the group had to try to figure out what the question had been based on the answer given out loud. So far, no one was yet to lose.

"Elly, it's your turn," the girl with dyed pink hair pointed at another girl with a matching bright blue, who seemed to fist pump in excitement as she was chosen. Yet, as the first girl leaned in to whisper the question in her ear...

The blue haired girl's smile dropped.
"Pass," she announced solidly. "Give me a shot."

Oh.

A round of excited cheers came as the girl, Elly, was handed one of the small glasses from the tray. She gave a quick thumbs up to the group, as if assuring her own confidence, before tipping the glass back into her mouth and downing its contents in one go.

"Ah, fuck," she swore despite the grin on her face as she sat the empty glass back down.
"I'm good guys! Keep going!"

The people next to her either laughed or gave her a congratulatory pat on the back for her confidence, continuing on with their pattern.

Ohhh.
Now Felix understood exactly what was happening here.

Which brought him to an interesting dilemma: Had Felix ever taken a shot before? No. Was he about to opt out of this game and make himself look like a coward? Also no.
So it looked like he would simply have to win.

The game continued on, and when the turn came of the boy next to him, he found himself almost out of his mind with anxiousness. So, when he felt a hand brush against the back of his neck out of nowhere, he visibly flinched, having been so incredibly distracted by his own inner turmoil.

"God, are you okay?" a familiar voice asked, seeing Felix turn to look upward so fast one would've thought it could give him whiplash.

Hyunjin was bent down, looking towards the younger with a gaze halfway between concern and curiosity. His hand rested lightly on the back of Felix's neck, a subtle reminder of his presence that now was significantly less startling.

Felix glanced back across the room, finding the spot where Hyunjin had been standing earlier empty.
"Did they leave?" he inquired of the others, a bit confused as to the elder's sudden appearance.

"No?" the elder explained, simultaneously sitting himself down on the floor next to Felix while keeping his drink upright in one hand. "They're over there, I think," he pointed off in some random direction.

"Ahh, are you joining us?" one of the girls in the circle asked, seeing as Hyunjin had now taken a seat amongst their group.

Hyunjin took a sip from his cup for a moment.
"What are you guys playing?"

Felix only blinked in both surprise and agony as someone helpfully chimed in to explain all of the rules of the game to Hyunjin, making the blonde wish he'd just asked himself earlier.

"Mm, I think I'm good," Hyunjin spoke after a while, giving an apologetic smile to the members of the group around him.
"I'm not here to play. Just for moral support."

More than a few laughs resounded at this excuse, but the game continued on as usual. It was Felix's turn yet again, and the boy to his left leaned over to ask him the question this time.

"Your crush's hair color?" came the quiet voice in his ear, and Felix felt a little jolt of anxiety at answering that question.

Thankfully, the answer was rather vague.
"...Black," he announced, forcing himself to not even glance at Hyunjin, who still sat directly next to him, with the most innocently unaware look in his eyes.

The group filled with murmurs of confusion.

"Is it favorite color?"

"Coffee preference?"

The first guesses were wrong, and by some miracle, Felix had survived again.

"What was the question?" a playful voice prodded him from the side, the one Felix wanted to hear the least asking that.

"Definitely not telling you," the blonde responded.

Hyunjin's hand was on the younger's knee now.
"Why?" the elder asked, tilting his head slightly like a cat. "I'm not even playing. Can't I know?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Hyunjin's hand naturally inched up to the younger's thigh with every word.

"Because!" Felix stuttered out in response, a little too urgently, a side effect of the way he was absolutely itching to get that damn hand off of his thigh for the sake of his own sanity. The elder clearly wasn't even messing with him on purpose; the rather docile look resting on Hyunjin's face proved that.

"'Because'..." Hyunjin repeated in an almost mocking whisper, and yet he sighed as if accepting the answer regardless.
"Fine. I'll just eavesdrop better next time."

"You better not," the younger warned.

"I will."

This petty argument didn't last long, and the two soon became roped back into the rhythm of the game, taking guesses or commenting on whatever was happening in the circle.

Eventually Hyunjin seemed to grow somewhat bored of just sitting and watching. He sat with his head leaned against Felix's shoulder, much to the blonde's dismay, staring at the cup in his hand when he wasn't drinking from it and overall just spacing out.

"You're up again," the stranger on the other side nudged the blonde's shoulder, and leaned close to his ear as soon as he'd grabbed Felix's attention. Yet, the words that came out of his mouth were anything but expected:

"If you had to kiss one person in the room, who would it be?"

"Pass," Felix announced without even thinking.

"Pass?" someone from the group repeated, and grins formed on the faces of the crowd, making Felix immediately realize what he had just done.

"Wait—" he backtracked, the knowledge of what passing would mean he had to do just now sinking in.

He glanced towards Hyunjin.
"Did you hear the...?"

"Yes," the elder responded, a strong curiosity in his eyes. "I told you I would."

Fuck.
Well, no way in hell was he answering it now.

"I'll..." he decided with a shaky breath. "I'll pass. Yeah, whatever."

A chorus of cheers and hoots, as usual, erupted as a small shot glass was placed on the floor in front of him, multiple shouts of encouragement being hurled at him from all directions.

All he could do was stare down at it.
Was he really about to do this? Was this what being brave felt like?

It was terrifying.

He had to do it.

And his body wouldn't move.

What could go wrong?

Everything could go wrong. He'd never been drunk in his life.

But really, what could go wrong?

Felix had to override every fear response in his body, and forced himself to even pick up the glass and hold it up to eye level. Slowly, he brought it towards himself, trying desperately to calm down and just drink the damn thing.

No, was the answer given by his own brain.
This wasn't happening.

Absolutely not.

Under the intent gazes of the crowd, he felt so incredibly small, postponing the one thing everyone was waiting to see.

"I..." he mumbled, his free hand slipping off to the side as he struggled to find an excuse.

He found his fingers lingering at Hyunjin's wrist, hesitant.
"I can't..."

"What?" came the quiet voice from next to him, tuned into the boy's words.

Felix's hold on the elder's wrist tightened subconsciously.
"I can't do this—"

And his right hand was immediately empty.

It took a second for Felix to process that his glass had gone missing, followed by abrupt confusion as he noticed it in Hyunjin's hand instead.

The elder brought the shot up to his lips and tipped it back without hesitation.

"Shit!" one of the girls in the group yelled, the others all screaming or laughing in excitement at this turn of events.

Felix could only stare numbly as Hyunjin seemed to cringe at the taste of the alcohol for a split second, before recomposing himself and setting the empty glass down on the ground.

"Why is that vodka so damn strong? Fuck. You guys are crazy," the elder chided with a laugh, taking a sip from his own drink to get the taste out of his mouth.
"I think this would've killed him."

Numerous comments and responses were fired back, but Felix was too distracted to pay attention to any of them.

"Why..." was all he could mutter, eyes trained on Hyunjin, who continued watching someone else take their turn now, as if nothing at all had just happened.

An almost guilty feeling pooled in the pit of his stomach. Should Felix be... thanking him, right now? Asking him if he was insane?

Not a single question came out, in the end. Felix just let out a tired breath, and realized he was still holding firmly onto the elder's wrist. He subtly released it, bringing his hand back to himself with a sort of embarrassment.

"Nice try," Hyunjin's amused voice interrupted his train of thought.

Felix looked down to see his hand on the floor, now underneath Hyunjin's, the elder's thumb tucked underneath his palm to give it a light squeeze.

The blonde bit back any comments, knowing he wasn't capable of actually voicing his concerns.

The group seemed to be getting slightly tired of playing Paranoia, with multiple suggestions of other games popping up from the crowd.

"Okay, okay!" the pink haired girl tried to calm their banter down, waving both hands as to signal their silence.
"We'll just take a vote! Board games or more of this?" she had to yell to be heard over the noise.

Felix didn't bother voting. He only sat, mind occupied completely by the actions of the boy in his peripheral vision.

Hyunjin casually played with Felix's fingers, clearly not thinking much of the action. He laced his own with them, squeezed, and took them apart. He trailed an index finger lightly down the back of the younger's hand, to his wrist.

"Board games wins!" the voice of the group leader rang out.
"Get rid of these extra shots we have left! I'll get the boxes," she stood up carefully, avoiding the items on the floor, and stepped out of the circle, off to do her duty.

"Alright," the blue haired girl who'd sat next to her— Elly, was it?— picked up the tray of drinks and held it out.
"There's only a few left. Whoever wants one, just take it."

"Ahh, why the hell not," Hyunjin decided, startling Felix with this decision as he reached over and took one.

"Hey?" Felix whispered at him from the side, seeing the boy about to drink it like it was nothing.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's fine," Hyunjin responded, resting his hand on the younger's shoulder as if to reassure him.
"This is only the second one. It takes like four or five to really do anything to me."

Without any further comment, Hyunjin downed the shot, leaving Felix to only stare at him with a mild amount of worry.

"And what is that?" the blonde asked, pointing at the halfway empty cup Hyunjin had brought with him when he'd sat down.

"It's uhh..." Hyunjin looked at the object for a moment. "Strawberry?"

"It's strawberry what?"

"Like... a cocktail or something?" the elder answered. "You'd have to ask Junhui what it is. He made this shit."

"You..." Felix took a breath, debating his options on what to respond. On one hand, he felt it his duty as a... friend, at least, to warn him about doing this kind of thing. On the other hand, he guessed Hyunjin did know his own alcohol tolerance; the boy still seemed rather put together, after all.

"Okay," Felix held up his hands as if defeated. "Your choice. Whatever."

Hyunjin seemed to watch his expression for a moment, trying to gauge what that comment was stemming from.

"I've only had a couple of them, if you're worried," the elder elaborated, sneaking his arm around the blonde's shoulders.
"I'm used to it. My parents used to have all these stupid functions where I'd have to drink champagne or wine or whatever.
It was fucking annoying, but at least it kinda helped me out."

Felix pursed his lips as he processed this information, trying his hardest to ignore the way that the elder was squeezing his shoulders.
It'd been a little while since he'd heard the boy speak about his home life so... negatively.

"Alright," Felix muttered, not really wanting to dwell on the subject.
"I hope you're right."

"Stop worrying, lovely," the elder scolded gently, the words stunning the younger into a momentary silence.

Felix only fidgeted with the hem of his own shirt. How was he supposed to even respond to that?

"I'm not worrying," Felix corrected as if to deflect the assumption of being too invested. "I was just curious."

"Yeah, yeah," Hyunjin only sighed, turning his head away to watch something that some of the other partygoers were doing.
"I'm sure you were, blondie."

"Was that sarcasm?" Felix responded, in an attempt to start a playful banter. To set out a bait to turn the mood from this... weird honesty, back into their normal play fighting. Something he was familiar with— comfortable with.

Hyunjin didn't bite.

Ten minutes passed by without a sound, and Felix began thinking that maybe, he should've just admitted to being worried.

"Hey," Felix nudged him cautiously after a while.
"You really okay?"

Not a word came in reply.

"Hyunjin?" the younger spoke a little louder, poking at the boy's shoulder.

"Huh?" Hyunjin turned to him slowly, as if having just realized he was being spoken to.

"Did I say something? Why are you being so quiet?"

The elder only stared at Felix like he'd just spoken complete nonsense.
"But I'm not...?"

"Yes, you are?" Felix insisted, growing a little more concerned.

Hyunjin shrugged.
"Okay," he agreed, point-blank. "If you think so."

Felix gave him an absolutely incredulous look.
"I feel like you should be fighting what I just said right now..." he murmured, overwhelmingly confused with the responses he was receiving.

"Why?" was the reply.

Okay, that was it. Felix attempted to back away a tiny bit, out of fear of the strange interaction he'd just had. And yet, he really couldn't, as he was held still by the taller's arm over his shoulders, hand resting at the top of his arm.

"Hyun," the blonde started, seeing the named boy still looking off into the distance.

"Mhm?" the elder hummed that he'd heard.

"If you're upset, say something."

"I'm not..." Hyunjin glanced towards him for a second. "I'm not... upset? Why would I be...?"

"Well, you kinda sound—"

"Do you want a snack?" Hyunjin completely cut him off, now making eye contact as he asked.
"I kinda want a snack. I want... grapes, maybe? You think they're here?"

"What?" the younger was thrown off by this sudden inquiry. "Do I think— yeah, probably? There's a table over there with snacks and stuff."

"Get me some?"

"Eh?" was all Felix could say, holding his gaze. "You can't get them yourself?"

"Felix," the dark haired boy said his name in a serious tone, staring at him with an off-putting intensity.
"I want the grapes."

"You're being really weir—"

"You want to," Hyunjin tried, not breaking his gaze away. "You wanna get me the grapes so bad. You know you do."

"Fine!" Felix couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh my god, I'll get you the damn grapes. Fine."

He stood up briskly, mildly unsettled by whatever this was. And yet, he found himself unable to walk away, held back by a tight grip on his wrist.

"Hyunjin," he spoke warningly, seeing the elder's hand holding onto him.
"I can't get you the grapes unless you let go of me."

Nothing happened, and Felix had to yank his arm away, eliciting a glare from Hyunjin for that action.

He made his way over to the snack table, and lingered there for a moment, alone. If this wasn't the weirdest he'd ever seen the elder act, he didn't know what was.
Felix spared a glance behind him, only to make direct eye contact with the elder who still sat on the floor, staring him down directly.

With a newfound nervousness, he took an extra cup and dumped a good portion of grapes in it. He figured that would be enough to satisfy the boy, and he padded back over slowly, a bit wary of sitting down next to him again.

"Do you like these?" Hyunjin asked as Felix finally did retake his seat, turning to face him.

Felix didn't know why he felt hesitant to respond.
"They're okay," he went with. "Why?"

"Open," Hyunjin held a grape up.

A flash of concern ran through Felix's mind, but seeing the expectant look on Hyunjin's face convinced him to just go with it.

With an enormous amount of hesitance, Felix slightly opened his mouth, provoking a little smile from the elder, who brought the grape up to his parted lips and held it there.

"Eat," he suggested, but to the younger it felt more of a command.
So Felix did as told, as if his entire being wasn't shaken with nervousness.

Hyunjin didn't pull back immediately, leaving his fingertips to brush against the younger's lips for a few agonizing milliseconds—years, if you asked Felix. And yet he did pull away after a moment, taking a grape from the cup for himself and popping it into his mouth.

At this point, Felix thought he had one foot in the grave. He didn't know how much more of this he could handle without snapping and doing something stupid.

"I've got some board games!" the way-too-cheerful voice of the pink haired girl filled the area as she reappeared in sight, but at this point, Felix didn't even care. He wasn't even interested in any games anymore.

"We're gonna need to make some space for this, so everyone back up a little!" she ordered, and grumbles resounded from the group as they obeyed her request.

"Finally," Hyunjin mumbled, picking up his cup of strawberry-whatever and bringing it up to take a swig.

And that was the fatal mistake.

One of the poor girls sitting next to him, scooting backwards as she'd been told to, brought her elbow up abruptly.
She directly hit the cup in Hyunjin's hand, tipping it backwards, and—

All Hyunjin could do was glance down at himself in surprise as the cold mess of strawberry bliss made its new home on the front of his white sweatshirt, soaking through the fabric of it instantly.

"Shit..." was the only thing he whispered, seeing the drink's pink remnants dripping onto the floor from the edges of his soaked garment.

"Oh my god," the girl who'd knocked it over panicked, seeing exactly what she'd done.
"I'm so fucking sorry. Oh god... I'm really, really sorry—"

"It's okay..." Hyunjin interrupted, waving a hand lazily as to quiet her. "It's okay, I can just... change, I guess. I'll go change shirts."

The dark haired boy took a moment to get to his feet, still waving off an array of apology attempts from the girl, and seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"I'll be back," he spoke, sending a brief look to Felix.

He strolled away, leaving Felix to simply... stare after him, wondering what exactly that look had meant.

Yet, when Hyunjin reached the exit door of the room he paused, just for a second.

Once more he turned, made eye contact with Felix that seemed to say something, then turned the handle and slipped out, shutting the door behind him.

It took a second for the message to click, but when it did, Felix practically sprung to his feet.

"I'm gonna..." he rattled off an excuse to those directly next to him, who gave him questioning looks.
"I'll just go make sure he's okay," he stated, before scurrying off across the room.

When he stepped into the hallway, he was surprised to find it dark. Felix didn't know how late it was, but he supposed the main lights shut off after a certain hour.

Therefore, the sight of Hyunjin strolling down the hall a couple meters away appeared almost as a dim silhouette, and Felix had to practically jog to catch up to him.

"Hey," Felix spoke quietly as he sidled up next to the elder, the darkness making him feel a need to lower his volume, not knowing who slept nearby.
"You okay?"

"I left my grapes there," Hyunjin responded as if that were the most serious and upsetting aspect of this whole situation.

"Who even are you?" Felix asked, his voice laced with worry. "Hwang Hyunjin should be pissed off right now. That sweatshirt is white. It's the only one you have left from before the beach house. Hello?"

"I'm just me, Felix, you're being weird," Hyunjin insisted, flicking the younger's shoulder as they walked.
"I'm me. You're you. That's how it works."

Felix just gaped at him in astonishment.
"Is this how you are when you're drunk? So fucking strange?"

"Please, I am tipsy if anything," Hyunjin retaliated that idea instantly.
"Look at me. I can walk. I'm not drunk. You're seeing me right now? Right? How can I be drunk?"

"Just because you can walk..." Felix trailed off, everything he'd ever read or witnessed about drunk people coming to mind in an instant.
Sure, the elder may not be blackout, falling-all-over-yourself, throwing-up-in-the-sink drunk at the moment. But something was incredibly wrong. And Felix wasn't dumb enough to not see that.

"I'll even race you to the room. Huh?" Hyunjin challenged, pointing at the younger and beginning to walk faster.

"No," Felix insisted for both of their safeties.
"No racing! I believe you," he blatantly lied.

Hyunjin gave a satisfied nod at this.
"Good," he accepted, returning to his normal walking pace. "Good."

The rest of the short walk to the room was... awkward, to say the least, even if said feeling was only one sided. Felix didn't know what else to say to the elder the whole time, and this silence permeated the atmosphere.

Relief overcame him upon arriving at the room. He opened the door, stepping in first before the taller, and shutting it once the other had entered.

"Okay," Felix crossed his arms, glancing around the room for a spare shirt, hoodie, or anything. "We need something for you to change into."

"It's whatever," Hyunjin replied with a sort of tiredness, reaching down to grab the bottom of his sweatshirt.

Felix's eyes widened as he saw the elder pull it upwards, revealing the lower part of his stomach.

"You—" he sputtered out. "You're not... um, the bathroom? The bathroom is right there!"

The gaze Hyunjin turned towards him could only be described as a mixture of tiredness and disbelief.

"Why bother?" he grumbled, still working to tug the shirt upwards, unknowingly making Felix that much more nervous with every centimeter exposed.

"You normally change with random people in the room?" Felix used his humor to defend himself, a mask for the weird feelings bubbling inside him right now.

The taller only sent him a glare for this.
"No," he insisted. "I don't change with just random people in the room. For your information."

"I was just kidding..." Felix switched upon hearing the response, and held the elder's waiting gaze, as if expected to be noticing something.

"Help me," Hyunjin announced with a hint of shame in his voice, following a long pause.

It was then Felix realized that the elder had only gotten his soaked sweatshirt about halfway off.

"...For real?" Felix's nervousness had reached the point where his entire body had ran cold... numb, even, out of an excited terror at this situation.

"Yes, for real," Hyunjin insisted, deciding that, if Felix wasn't going to assist first, then he would have to step towards the younger boy in order to get things done.
"I can't get this shit off of me."

With the taller directly in front of him, he almost couldn't breathe. Felix's hands acted as if on autopilot, his instinct to help overriding the emotions clouding his mind.

"I need you to put your arms up," Felix heard himself speaking in a whisper, more asking than ordering. He didn't even know how he was doing this without running away; it was like his body was taking control to compensate for his mess of a brain.

Hyunjin followed his orders, holding both arms up, and letting Felix tug the sweatshirt up carefully. Trying his hardest to avert his eyes from the boy's abdomen, the blonde pulled the garment over Hyunjin's head, fully separating him from it.

He tossed it to the side, not particularly caring where it ended up right now, and simply needing some place to discard it until it was either washed or thrown away.

"You're free," Felix gave a smile supposed to be comforting to the taller, forcing himself to only look towards Hyunjin's face despite the boy standing less than a foot in front of him.

"Mm," Hyunjin held Felix's gaze. "I'm free."

"You can... go change now," the younger suggested, his resolve breaking a bit, letting himself glance down toward the curve where Hyunjin's neck met his shoulders. The little beauty mark that sat there once again taunted him like a villain.

And this time, he was reaching out and touching it.
He couldn't even stop himself before it happened.

A look of intent curiosity flashed across the elder's eyes as Felix's hand came to rest upon his shoulder there. He waited, long enough for the younger to lose his sense of restraint and rest his free hand on his other shoulder, mirroring it.

"Mhmm," Hyunjin hummed lightly. "I can go change now," he said, no intent behind his words.

Hyunjin's hands both came to rest upon Felix's shoulders in return, but sat lightly, as if unsure whether or not he wanted them to stay there.

"You remember that night on your birthday?"

Felix raised an eyebrow at this. Yes, of course he did. It had probably been one of the best birthday gifts he'd ever received.
"Um... yeah? Why?"

"Remember the difference I told you between ballroom dancing and just school prom dancing?" the elder continued.
"This is a pop quiz."

The younger couldn't help but let out a small laugh at this tangent.
"Of course," he insisted. "Ballroom is where you do it with the proper steps and the hand positions and stuff. Prom is just..."

Felix stopped explaining as he felt Hyunjin's hands drift away from his shoulders and down to his waist, like last time. With the blonde's hands still on the boy's shoulders, he realized that maybe this little 'pop quiz' wasn't so irrelevant, after all.

"...Like this," Felix confirmed, his tone quiet. "Just like this."

And yet this time, it wasn't the same at all.
On his birthday, it had been a demonstration. The wrong way to do things. Now, Felix found himself pulled extremely close by the waist, to where he let his arms fall around Hyunjin's neck instead.
Nothing about it felt wrong at all.

"Smart," Hyunjin praised softly, moving slightly forward. "You're always so smart, sunshine."

Felix stepped back a little in response, trying to gauge where this was going.
"I'm not. You just teach well."

Hyunjin only laughed at this, murmuring a couple of other compliments, and Felix didn't even realize he was being slowly backed up until he felt the wall hit his back.

"You know that one of your freckles is shaped like a heart?" were the first words Felix caught, distracted by the sensation of being completely trapped... a feeling which, surprisingly, he didn't dislike.

"I didn't," he responded, and the taller grinned.

"This one," he specified, startling the hell out of Felix by not bringing a hand up to point, but rather leaning forward, touching the tip of his nose to Felix's cheek.

Felix felt some sort of inhibition within himself break at this.
And his hands moved up to rest on Hyunjin's neck, eliciting a happy hum from the elder as he leaned back— only a couple of inches, remaining dangerously close anyway.

For the first time, he freely allowed himself to look down— to see Hyunjin's bare chest up against his own clothed one.   He dragged his fingers along the boy's collarbone, gently, as if aware of the vulnerability he was being shown and wanting to respect it.

But these two had been dancing along the borderline between friendship and more for far too long.
Felix felt he would die if someone didn't crank the music louder.

So as he looked up, he couldn't help but take in the expression on Hyunjin's face right then, using that as the sign of whether to take a risk or not.
The elder boy only stared at him with those brown eyes Felix loved, his dark hair messy, falling into his face. And his cheeks were tinted with the slightest hint of red— from the alcohol, perhaps?

As Felix decided that maybe, this wasn't the best idea, his choice was taken from him.
Hyunjin's hands moved forward from the younger's waist, and stopped flat on his stomach, resting there, cautious in their movements.

The elder held his gaze for a moment, hesitating, before speaking the two words into existence that would make Felix fall.
"This okay?"

"Yes," Felix breathed out, and almost flinched as he felt Hyunjin's hands move down towards the hem of the younger's shirt.

As the tips of his fingers slipped underneath, Felix knew that they'd both tripped and fallen over the border once and for all.

Hyunjin's fingers tracing delicate lines on his skin, upwards, under his shirt, was not friendship.
And Felix, letting both his palms fall to press against the elder's back, holding him closer, was not friendship.

"Careful," the blonde found himself whispering as Hyunjin's hands brushed up against his sides. "I'm kinda ticklish."

"I know," Hyunjin gently squeezed him, the younger's soft skin beneath his hands too warming to the touch, a tactile heaven    even when unable to be seen.

It was too natural. Scarily so. Without a single instruction given, the two fell into a rhythm— Hyunjin, rubbing his thumbs back and forth as he held the younger's torso, and Felix, trailing a path down Hyunjin's exposed back with his small hands, the pair mere inches apart.

"It's kinda late," Felix's hands moved back upwards.
"Aren't you tired?"

"Are you?" Hyunjin's head lingered over Felix's shoulder, close enough for Felix to feel the warmth of his breath on his neck when he spoke.

Felix hesitated to answer.
What would happen if he said no? If he said yes? Which response would keep him in this blissful limbo, this frustrating hell, this... confusing and messy and lovely scenario happening between the two?

"A little," he chose, and Hyunjin leaned back. A moment passed, as he seemed to observe Felix's face tentatively.

"Do you care about missing the party?" the elder's voice took on a soft sound when he spoke these words, and Felix felt as if he were being asked an entirely different question. In that gentle tone, laid a "Would you rather not be alone with me?"

"No," Felix spoke with an unusual amount of confidence. "I don't. They won't notice we're gone anyway."

This apparently confirmed something, and Hyunjin seemed to take a deep breath before speaking.

"Then let's stay here?" he suggested, voice lowered, locking eyes with Felix for a little reassurance. "I'm kinda cold."

Felix could almost laugh at this.
Cold? That was impossible with their proximity, not to mention the neutral temperature of the room. Yet, as the younger really focused on the look on Hyunjin's face...

Right. Just a day or two prior, hadn't Hyunjin offered up that same excuse?
"I'm cold," he'd said, lying in that guest bedroom, arms open, an attempt to distract Felix after their little spat with Jeongin.
And before that, the morning of days prior, when Felix had clung to him, not ready to get up... he had been "cold" then too.

Ah.

Maybe Hyunjin wasn't the only one who was learning to pick up on habits.

Without a word, Felix gently pushed Hyunjin back, just enough to take one of his hands. Every footstep felt daring as he led the elder across the room, and stopped at the mattress.

With a shaky breath, the blonde lied down on the bed, pushing the blanket to the side in a wad for later. From this angle, Hyunjin, who still stood at the bedside, seemed especially imposing... partially due to the expressionless look he'd now taken on as he stared down at the smaller.

"You coming...?" a nervous giggle forced its way out of Felix, his doubt increasing with every second longer that the taller stayed stock-still.

And he regretted asking, because the second Hyunjin was on top of him, Felix came to understand that his own capacity for being stupid was higher than he'd originally thought.
Like a complete idiot trying to give away his own feelings, he'd pulled Hyunjin down by the waist immediately in a tight hug, surprising even the elder at the suddenness.

"Woah, Lix," the boy commented, a tiny smile growing on his face.
"Let me get the blanket, at least."

So Felix loosened his hold for a second, and Hyunjin reached to the side, grabbing the wad of cloth and throwing it back over the two, re-encompassing both in the comfort and weight of a heavy quilt.

"You're pretty strong for your size," Hyunjin mused, letting his body weight fall onto the younger without resisting.

"Ah, thank—" Felix felt his breath hitch as a hand slipped under his shirt on one side, sliding up to linger along his ribcage.
"Thank... you?"

The taller didn't respond, just... absentmindedly drawing circles upon the other's skin, not a care in the world.

Eventually, Felix's palms made their way to rest on Hyunjin's arms. He couldn't even blame himself... the boy had an affinity for long sleeves, so this was the first time Felix had seen them out in the open for so long... much less felt them.

"I think you're the strong one..." the blonde commented thoughtlessly, too distracted with this newfound power as he ran a hand over Hyunjin's bicep, admiring the firm feeling of muscle where he pressed, and completely unaware of the look he was receiving in return right then.

"Mm, sure," the elder's voice grabbed his attention, and Felix made the mistake of looking up, finding himself practically face to face with the boy laid on top of him, whose head had been practically buried in the crook of his neck.

The room fell so silent, all Felix could hear was the frantic drumming of his own heartbeat.

Seeing the boy he loved so close filled him with stupid ideas. But if Hyunjin really was still somewhat drunk, the younger was not going to take a single risk.
As much as he wanted to kiss him, he wouldn't.

Yet, under the intense gaze of the elder, he let his body guide him, and his subconscious actions... somewhat tended to surprise him.

Which is how Felix found himself slowly leaning in, catching a startled look flash across the elder's face. He touched the tip of his nose to Hyunjin's and gently nuzzled it back and forth, a gesture of affection.

Hyunjin seemed to let out a tense breath at this, and Felix was once again hit with the knowledge that he'd just set something in motion.
The elder leaned forward, a familiar action, and pressed his forehead against the blonde's, closing his eyes.

And the pair laid there, in a thick silence, their actions screaming levels of intimacy that hadn't dared be spoken out loud.
This secret would be kept between pillows and blankets, no one else privy to their little world.

Felix wanted nothing more to keep it that way. He wanted to be Hyunjin's little secret. To know things about each other that not even the heavens above knew.

But the heavens knew more than he did. The blonde couldn't read minds— hell, he could barely even read the blank expression lingering on Hyunjin's face as Felix leaned his head back upon the pillow.

Without a word, Hyunjin laid his head carefully next to him, a little too close for comfort. Felix could barely stand to look him in the eyes without feeling his own sanity slip away. Up close, they were a beautiful shade of brown, only obscured by his large pupils— from the low light, Felix assumed, although his inner hopeless romantic hoped otherwise.

"I'm gonna feel like shit tomorrow," Hyunjin mumbled, burying his face against the top of Felix's head.

"It's okay," Felix responded with a sigh, silently rejoicing at the feeling of the boy's cheek resting against his hair. He gently squeezed his bicep, to comfort the boy, maybe, but really just out of affection.
"It'll get better in the morning."

"Mm. Sure," came the lazy reply.

And it really was getting late. Felix didn't know when the conversation had drifted away, but soon a peace settled in the room.

Still under Hyunjin, Felix felt the boy's even breathing against his chest.
Was he sleeping? Trying to?

Either way, the arms that Felix wrapped over the boy's back to hold him tight didn't care.

He knew he would still be there when morning came anyway.