It was a Thursday afternoon and it was finally starting to get warmer. The cherry blossoms were just ending their blooming season, so the air was filled with petals, a beautiful light pink shower, as if it were a warm snow storm. Kibum had insisted everyone spend as much time outside to enjoy it as possible. Every afternoon after school ended and before sports practices and extra tutoring sessions, he, Minho, Jinki, and often, somewhat surprisingly, Jonghyun, could be found sitting at one of the picnic tables on Kibum and Minho’s school campus. Taemin had found out about these little hang-out sessions and made every attempt to join them, but his own personal schedule with school and his extra curricular activities was already so full that he had to settle on only being able to spend the weekends with the others. He was disappointed, but Jinki and Kibum both made huge efforts to keep him informed and happy.

In general, the boys weren’t talking about anything specific. Sometimes it was their own activities or gossips from their schools. Sometimes it was stories about each other. Minho adored hearing the stories from Jonghyun about Jinki, and Jinki was nearly obsessed with hearing about Minho’s childhood from Kibum. He would shush Jonghyun or Minho whenever they interrupted a story, telling Kibum to continue and settling into a comfortable position, his chin resting on his arms on the table. Sometimes he’d close his eyes to get a better picture of the story as a whole. Kibum promised to bring a photo album one day so that Jinki could see what little Minho was like.

“You’re a pretty good storyteller, Kibum.” Jinki had remarked that day. The story that day had been a particularly colorful rendition of Minho learning to ride a bike.

“It’s not hard when the subject of the story is ridiculously entertaining.” He smiled at Minho and elbowed him playfully. Minho just glared tightlipped at him, annoyed that his embarrassing childhood stories were being so easily shared. But Kibum only shared the cute ones, not the genuinely embarrassing stories. He would let Minho tell those stories himself in private.

Kibum checked phone and realized he had a missed text from his mom, requesting him to come home and help her find a particular book. Being the most avid reader of the family, Kibum had basically been put in charge of organizing and keeping track of the families “library”. His mother insisted that the book she wanted wasn’t where he said it should be, so he shouldered his bag and stood to leave.

With his movement, Jonghyun automatically stood as well. He and Kibum met eyes for a few moments before he slowly sat back down. Minho watched it happen, a slight smirk upon his lips. He spoke to Kibum, his eyes still on Jonghyun.

“Need anyone to help you get home?”

“No thanks,” replied Kibum, tucking his thumbs behind his shoulder straps and turning to leave. “I bet I find the book as soon as I get home and mom will feel silly and head to her meeting. She’s worried she’s going to be late, so I just need to go.”

“Are you sure? I have no problem taking you home. I’m sure we could find something to do.” Minho appeared to be reveling in the glare he was now getting from Jonghyun. They all knew that Kibum was much more likely to accept Minho’s help than Jonghyun’s. Not to mention the fact that Jonghyun was 95% sure that Minho had heard him ask Kibum if he’d ever been in love with him and Minho was milking that for all it was worth.

Kibum didn’t even look back as he responded. “Quit that. I’m not afraid to share more embarrassing stories of you if you keep it up.”

That shut Minho right up, though he still snickered behind his hand at the annoyed glances Jonghyun kept shooting him.

Kibum had been right. He’d found the book his mother needed within 3 minutes of walking into the house, though his mother insisted she’d looked there and it hadn’t been there before. She tousled his hair as she headed out the door and he’d given her a loving smile. Though his parents often worked odd hours, there was no resentment and they always made time for each other whenever they could. It was a good dynamic for them.

It was Thursday night that Kibum didn’t have any homework. He’d changed into some comfortable shorts and a loose t-shirt, made himself a cup of tea and settled into an armchair to read. It was a book he’d read many times before, but that just gave him more comfort, and he could skip to the parts that he liked the most.

At 6:30, his mother texted him to tell him that the meeting had gone well and to let him know if he didn’t feel like cooking, she’d happily bring him home some dinner, however she wouldn’t be home until around 8:30. Kibum didn’t mind and agreed. At 6:45, his father texted him to tell him he also wouldn’t be back until late, that the project he was working on was frustrating everyone and they wanted to get as much finished tonight as they could. Kibum didn’t mind, he wished his father and coworkers luck, stating that he’d probably be turning in early anyway.

The next morning, Kibum woke up with a fever. His joints ached and his head hurt. His mother decided that he had better not go to school, and so he texted Minho to let him know. Minho offered to skip school, to come over and keep him company. It wasn’t unusual, they’d both done it for each other quite a few times over the years. But Kibum replied against it, saying that Minho didn't need to worry about him, that he was sure he’d be better in a few hours and he just wanted to sleep anyway. Minho promised to come over in the afternoon and check on him.

On and off all morning, Kibum alternated napping and watching whatever dribble was on weekday daytime television. His parents had made him some soup to heat up for lunch before heading to work, so he ate when he felt like it. By lunchtime, he was already feeling better, just tired. He rarely got sick, so when he did, it really took a lot out of him.

At 12:30, the front doorbell rang. When Kibum was sick, he only wore a tank top and his underwear, since he hated being hot. At the sound of the bell, he dragged himself out of his bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweater. He looked at himself in his bedroom mirror and sighed. The fact that he hadn’t felt well was so apparent, he felt like he just looked gross. But he didn’t have time to do anything about it, as the doorbell rang a second time.

Kibum opened the door and was surprised to find Jonghyun standing there. His shirt was torn and his hair was messed up. He had an obvious bruise on his cheek, as well as his hand. Kibum looked him up and down, taking in the sight, and Jonghyun stood there nervously, his eyes on the ground, shifting his weight.

“What happened to you?” Kibum couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice.

“Nothing.”

That was not going to work for Kibum. Whatever Jonghyun wanted, he wasn’t getting anything until he was honest. “Well, bye then.”

Kibum closed the door in Jonghyun’s face. He stood there for a second holding the handle and willing himself to not immediately open the door back up. Obviously, Jonghyun had gotten into a fight. That was no business of Kibum’s. Why should he care? Besides, if Jonghyun really wanted to talk to Kibum, he’d try again. Kibum turned around and leaned his back against the door, breathing deeply.

Five seconds later, there was knocking at the door. Jonghyun’s voice sounded muffled through the door.

“Can you please help me?”

Kibum held back a smile. “Will you tell me what happened?”

Silence through the door. Was he really not willing to tell Kibum? As if Kibum couldn’t guess what happened just by looking at him.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you.” Jonghyun’s voice was quieter than before.

Kibum pushed off from the door and opened it. The older boy still held his gaze to the ground, embarrassment etched across every part of him. He slowly stepped through the doorway enough for Kibum to shut the door. They now stood silently in Kibum’s parent’s living room. Neither spoke at first, rather waiting for the other to start.

After a solid minute of neither side relenting, Kibum let out a sigh. “Look, I’m tired, so I’m going to get some water and sit down. Do you want anything?” He waited for the reply.

Jonghyun’s eyes were still down, but they shifted around as he spoke, almost as if he were unsure if he were allowed to. “I… I could take a glass of water, too. If you don’t mind.”

Kibum nodded curtly and headed toward the kitchen. He paused for a second then turned back to his soulmate. “Hey.” He waited for Jonghyun to finally look him in the eye. When he did, he just pointed at the couch next to him. “Sit.” Then he turned and went into the kitchen.

A few minutes later and Kibum was placing a drink on the coffee table in front of Jonghyun, lowering himself into a chair as well and folded his arms across his chest, waiting. His own drink sat on the table untouched. Jonghyun nervously leaned forward and took his glass in both hands, holding it to his lips and swallowing. His eyes met Kibum’s over the top of the glass as he lowered it. They held that gaze for a few seconds before Jonghyun hurriedly tilted it back up, swigging more of the liquid down.

He couldn’t drink forever, and Kibum was very patient. It was the middle of the day, and considering he’d spent the morning napping, he didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as when he’d woken up, so he was content to sit and wait. This was the most interesting that had happened to him all day anyway. He watched as Jonghyun carefully placed the glass back onto the table, still using both hands. The older boy kept his eyes averted from the younger, looking around the room and rubbing his hands up and down his thighs anxiously.

“Soooo,” Kibum began, placing his elbow on the chair’s arm, and resting his chin on his fist. “What’s up?” He was teasing Jonghyun, but he wanted to see where this would go.

Surprisingly, the older one didn’t even really avoid the topic.

“I need to ask you a favor.” He still sounded nervous, and he stared at the tabletop instead of looking Kibum in the eyes, but it was a start. “I… Okay, something happened earlier, and I… but I have an internship interview in 3 hours with this company I really like, and… I can’t really show up looking… like this…” He pittered our lamely and gestured to his face.

Kibum shifted in his chair and pondered this predicament. He knew what Jonghyun wanted. It wasn’t a secret, among their friend group at least, that Kibum was quite proficient at makeup and cover ups. Minho even admitted that he let Kibum do his makeup whenever he had something he needed to look presentable for (that didn’t include sweating), and that he was where he’d gotten all of his skincare tips from. He knew Jonghyun was indirectly asking him for help covering the bruise. Kibum could do it, even the hand injury, though those were a little trickier. He doubted Jonghyun knew that was possible.

“Congratulations.”

Jonghyun’s eyes flew up and met Kibum’s. “What?”

“Congratulations,” Kibum repeated himself, and then added “on the interview, I mean.”

Jonghyun blinked a few times before responding. “Oh. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome” Kibum responded. “Was that the favor? You wanted me to congratulate you?” Yep, Kibum was going to feign being dumb right now and see how that worked.

Jonghyun’s brow furrowed in a very humorous manner and Kibum had to hold back the smile threating to show. “No, I… I mean, thank you, but I didn’t come here just to tell you that.”

“Oh.” Kibum let innocence pour into every feature of his face. “Well then what did you come here for?”

“Really? You really don’t know?” Frustration made Jonghyun’s tone harsh, but somehow it had also given him confidence. At least now he was looking at Kibum. Good, that’s what he wanted.

Kibum cocked an eyebrow “And you really think I'm gonna do it without you telling me what happened?”

Jonghyun’s shoulders dropped a bit and he rubbed his hands together. Then he hung his head and sighed. “Alright fine. But it’s really stupid.”

“Okay.” Kibum wasn’t really here to judge, but he pretty much already expected the reason to be stupid.

“I was walking by the river this morning and…” He sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck. “… and swan bit me.”

Kibum sat frozen, staring at Jonghyun. Was he serious?

“Are you serious? You expect me to believe that?? That did NOT happen!”

“I know!” The older boy threw his hands up in a gestured that signified he also knew it was ridiculous. “I know it sounds stupid! That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. Who would believe that?”

“Did you punch it?” Shock colored Kibum’s tone.

“What? No! Of course I didn’t punch a swan!”

“Then what the heck happened to your hand? And your shirt… and your hair?”

Jonghyun looked down at himself for seemingly the first time since the incident. “Oh… aw man… Dang it!” He suddenly stood up. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“Down the hall, first door on the right.” He pointed, but his mouth agape at Jonghyun. Did he really not know what he looked like? From the bathroom he heard some fumbling and then…

“Aw man, are you kidding me?? Stupid swan!!”

The elder grumpily trudged back into the room. His jaw was really tense and he stayed standing near the hallway, backed up to the wall. He exhaled deeply.

“It just came out of nowhere and bit me on the hand. Freaked me out so badly that I fell over and it jumped on my stomach and pecked me in the face. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a freaking swan off of you? Those things are vicious.”

He said all of this with a very annoyed tone, and Kibum just listened, imaging the whole scene. Yeah, it would normally be funny, but for some reason it wasn’t right now. It wasn’t Jonghyun’s fault that the swan jumped out at him from nowhere. He pushed himself up from the couch and walked over to his soulmate. He cupped his own chin and examined older boy’s face, leaning around at different angles to better see the damage, also taking note of the skin tone and bone structure. The shortened distance between them made Jonghyun lean back away from him. He stepped back, and Jonghyun straightened up as the younger looked him up and down.

“Do you have a change of clothes for your interview?”

“Uh…” Jonghyun looked incredulous, but hopeful. “Yeah, they’re in a suit bag… thingy… on your porch.”

“Get it.”

10 seconds later and Jonghyun was stood in front of Kibum again, bag in hand, ready to be told what to do next.

“Come on, the best lighting is in the bathroom.”

15 minutes later found Jonghyun seated upon the toilet lid, Kibum on the edge of the bathtub, blending concealer around the edged of the covered bruise. They’d been lucky that Jonghyun’s skin tone was just a touch lighter than Minho’s winter color, so using just enough product to even the tone and blending into the natural color was working perfectly. The only problem was that it kept Jonghyun and Kibum’s face inches apart for an extended period of time. And then, there was the tingling.

Kibum tried to keep skin to skin contact to the bare minimum, but occasionally, out of his own habits, he would forget and use his fingers to touch up a spot. The first time it happened, both parties immediately drew away from each other. It took a few seconds to recover, but Kibum did. He tried his best to remember not to touch, but occasionally the side of his finger would graze Jonghyun’s cheekbone. Once, the older boy couldn’t seem to keep still enough, so Kibum was forced to take hold of his jaw and keep him firmly still. By the time he could let go, his whole hand tingled. He found he was having trouble focusing on the task at hand and more on the sensation itself. It wasn’t at all unpleasant, but he didn’t know if he really enjoyed it either. It was just… different.

Skin to skin was completely unavoidable, however, when it came time to work on Jonghyun’s hand. The bruise on his knuckle wasn’t too bad, mostly just red discoloring, and Kibum couldn’t do anything about possible swelling. He took the hand in his own and held it still. The tingling traveled from his fingers, into his hand, and then slowly up his wrist and into his forearm. The feeling halted for a bit in the area where his countdown used to be, then it slowly continued it’s journey up his arm. He wondered if eventually his entire body would feel like this.

He realized his throat felt dry, so he glanced up from Jonghyun’s hand to find his glass of water. Instead, his eyes settled upon the older boy’s face. His eyes were closed and his lips were parted slightly. He was breathing deeply, yet so quietly as well. It was beautiful. He didn’t realize he was leaning closer until Jonghyun suddenly opened his eyes. In that moment, Kibum could have sworn that Jonghyun’s eyes, the eyes of his soulmate, were practically radiating a golden light. But the moment passed quickly and Kibum gulped and cleared his throat.

“I… uh…” Kibum dropped his gaze, shifting his eyes around. His voice was nearly shaking. “I think I’m done. It looks good.” He let go of Jonghyun’s hand and suddenly his arm felt very cold and heavy. He stood up quickly and made his way out of the bathroom and back into the living room. With a quivering hand, he picked up his still nearly full glass of water and chugged the entire thing. When he was done, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing himself to calm down.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” Jonghyun’s voice sounded from behind him. He knew he’d be there, but he still nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of it. Should he feign innocence again? He didn’t really want to.

Jonghyun continued, “You feel it, right? The t…”

“The tingling… yeah I feel it.” He didn’t face Jonghyun, and he certainly didn’t meet his eyes. Bad stuff had happened between them before. His brain told him that he still need to be careful, that he wasn’t ready to just jump into anything. His brain was right, but oh God did his heart disagree.

There was silence between them for a few moments longer as they both processed this information and what it might mean for both of them. Eventually, Jonghyun disappeared back into the bathroom and reemerged a few minutes later, fully dressed and looking sharp. Kibum sat in his chair again, exhausted from the whole day. It was barely even 2pm, but he knew he’d need another nap. That was, if he could get to sleep.

As he was walking out the door, Jonghyun turned back and faced Kibum. His expression was so cheerful and happy and Kibum wasn’t really sure he’d ever seen the older boy show that kind of expression, especially not to Kibum himself. His face looked perfect, and not just because the bruise was well concealed.

“Thank you, Kibum. I really don’t know what I would have done without you.” He was practically beaming. He turned back and opened the door, taking a step out onto the sunlit porch. Turning his head, he met Kibum’s gaze and finished. “You made my face look perfect.” And somehow, to Kibum, his smile was brighter than the sunlight that illuminated his body.

And Kibum didn’t know what came over him, and he knew he had no control over it, and that he couldn’t stop it because it was most definitely not something he would have said of his own volition in that moment. But he responded. “I didn’t do much. Your face is always like that.”

Jonghyun’s eyes sparkled and he chuckled. Then the door clicked shut and he was gone. And Kibum sat opened mouthed in his dim living room, appalled at what he had just said.

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A/N: Hello all you beautiful people! I'm so so so sorry that it has been 4 MONTHS since I last posted an update. The end of last year was crazy and a whole whirlwind of emotions and everything. Thank you so much for sticking around and for commenting on this story. I read all the comments and they seriously give me such joy to read!! I love you all very much and I'm so grateful to and for you!!