_

"we don't have to go back today" yunho spoke after he let mingi cry. he figured the boy probably had so much pent up emotion that he wasn't brave enough to release on the streets, and so he let him cry for a while. "I can close the shop today and we can just hang out here"

mingi sniffled as he tried to get his words together, "you can't do that, yunho. please don't do that for me. I'll be fine"

"no you won't" yunho argued, "and I don't want to rush you to be fine, so we're gonna stay here today"

mingi's breathing sped up again as he continued to weep, "why are you doing all this for me, hyung?" he asked through his tears.

yunho thought for a second before realising he wasn't sure what to say. "I don't know how to answer that question" was his reply. "but there are no ulterior motives" he added, "I just want to help you"

mingi let a smile creep onto his face as he wiped his eyes, "you must be some kind of angel" he laughed.

"I don't know about that" yunho chuckled as mingi looked him in the eyes. they held the stare for a couple of seconds, each completely taking the other in.

yunho's beauty made mingi want to hide his own face away. he had such a glowing radiance and an infectious smile. mingi would definitely have had a crush on yunho if they had attended the same high school. he found it hard to contemplate that the other boy wasn't already in a relationship: any girl would fall for him in a second. or guy, for that matter.

if only yunho knew what he wanted. in school he'd always found better friends in girls, but he'd never had a crush on any of them. in fact he could only recall one time he had ever had a crush on a girl and it hadn't gone well. but he had never had a crush on a guy either, per se. he had always admired good-looking guys - take san, for example - but falling for them was a different story.

hell, he wouldn't even know how to tell if he had a crush on someone at this point. maybe his heart would flutter a little when the person smiled at him.

the way it did with mingi.

he pushed that thought to the back of his mind as mingi's voice lifted him away from his introspection; "I think you must be" he smiled, finally looking away from the other.

little did yunho know that mingi had been watching him that whole time - something about his general aura comforting to the red-head. it made him feel safe, and like he never wanted to leave yunho's side.

_

the two ventured into the lounge area shortly after; mingi sitting down on one of the available sofas, and yunho sitting on the other - after short contemplation of whether or not he should sit next to mingi. mingi secretly wanted him to, but he wouldn't say so.

in fact, what he really wanted was for yunho to just wrap his arms around him and give him a big, long cuddle - he hadn't received human touch for so long. not long ago, he had cringed when yunho had tried to touch his hand and it had forced him to pull away. but now, after only a few days in yunho's presence, he craved his affection.

"do you live here alone?" mingi asked after a couple of minutes of looking around the room. it was modern but warm and comforting. a lot of wood was used in the aesthetic which gave the room an earthy feel, and of course there were various plants around the place.

"I do" yunho replied.

"don't you get lonely?"

the question felt heavy on yunho's heart. he hadn't been at all lonely when he had shared this space with his sister, and the thought made his eyes swim with tears. he blinked them all away before he answered mingi's question.

"I do - but I guess I won't now" he said, trying to sound bright. but mingi wasn't dumb.

"is there something wrong, hyung?"

yunho gave a faint smile, "I used to live here with my sister before she d-", he couldn't finish the sentence.

"I'm sorry, yunho... is that her picture there on the fireplace?"

yunho nodded as the tears returned.

mingi arose from where he was sat and walked over to get a closer look at the young girl. "she's beautiful" he remarked.

"she was, wasn't she?" yunho replied, aware of how he was speaking in the past tense. he turned his head towards the window to try and hide the fallen tear on his cheek. but again, mingi was no fool.

fuck it, he thought. and before he knew it he was sat right next to yunho, wrapping him in a huge hug. when he released him, he still didn't move away - he simply rested his head on yunho's shoulder by way of comfort and whispered, "I'm here for you too you know"

yunho chuckled through his tears, "I'm so sorry, I should be the one looking out for you"

"we can look out for each other" mingi immediately answered, earning a small smile from the older boy.

"what's her name?" mingi asked.

"ara. it actually means beautiful"

"then it is very fitting" mingi replied as he handed a tissue over to yunho. he returned to laying his head on the other's shoulder straight after, which yunho didn't mind one bit.

after a couple of minutes of simply enjoying each other's presence, yunho had an idea. "why don't we go grab some lunch from aurora - you know, next to my shop. we can go talk to san and explain everything. I think it'll be good for someone else to have your back"

"you're not embarrassed?" mingi asked, astonished.

yunho pulled away from mingi so he could look him in the eyes, "embarrassed of what?"

"of me"

"of course not, mingi. you're... a really great person" - yunho wanted to use different words, say more. but it was early days: he was aware that his close connection with mingi had happened very quickly.

"let me prove it to you"

_

"what's wrong? is everything okay with mingi?" san enquired as yunho reached the counter. mingi took a seat at a table by the window. it felt very surreal that he was actually on this side of the window. he still felt like he didn't deserve it, and a part of him felt like he shouldn't be allowed to sit inside.

"when's your break?" yunho asked.

"I'll come over now, just give me a second"

yunho nodded and made his way over to the window, noticing as he neared closer the way mingi was sitting; like he was too afraid to make himself comfortable.

"you can relax, mingi" yunho tried to soothe, "I know it must feel very strange sitting in here, but everything is okay" he promised as he reached over to hold mingi's arm. the elder gave him a confident wink, as if to reiterate that he was okay, and it put mingi at ease somewhat.

"what's going on?" san asked as he joined the other two males.

"I need to tell you about something, as my best friend" yunho announced.

"okaaay..." san replied, slightly perplexed.

"so... urm... mingi - you know mingi?"

"yes, I know mingi, yunho" san replied with a quick nod in the red-headed boy's direction.

"well... he's gonna be staying with me"

san was silent, unsure of what he even wanted to say.

"and I would like it if you could also have his back, you know, for when I'm not around"

"yunnie..."

"please?"

san looked from one boy to the other like he almost couldn't grasp the situation. he didn't want to offend mingi any further but he had to check his friend was making the right decision.

"yeah" san decided to somewhat feign agreement, "yeah, urm.. you can always find me in here, mingi. just come on by if you need me" he smiled.

yunho beamed at his two friends, content with the situation.

"urm, yunnie, could I get your help with something?" san hinted as he stood up and began to move in the direction of the back door.

"I'll be right back, okay?" yunho promised the other.

as the door shut behind them, san wasted no time in getting to grips with whatever in the world was going on.

"yunho, please tell me you've thought this through"

"I have"

"you need to realise the extremity of what you're doing"

"I do"

san sighed, his best friend had always been the most stubborn. "I want to support you with this and of course I'll look out for mingi if that's what you want. but you have to promise me; at the first sign of any trouble, you call me"

"don't worry, sannie. I will" yunho promised as he went to return to mingi. but before he got to the door, san spoke again.

"yunnie?"

"yes"

"it is a good thing what you're doing though. and it'll be good for you to have some company at home"

yunho simply smiled in san's direction.

"I've hated to see you lonely for so long. I hope he can change that"

_

a/n:
I'm still unsure as to whether to give this story a sad or happy ending...

please vote + comment ♡