Seokmin had a headache. The light blaring through his skull was way too bright as he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow to try and hide from it. He sat up when he realised he wasn't at home. He was on Joshua's brand new couch and he'd drooled on his nice new pillow. "Good morning sunshine," Joshua chirped from the kitchen when he saw the other sit up. He walked over and offered him a big mug of coffee which he took gratefully to sooth his hangover. "Did I drink everything?" he asked and Joshua laughed. "Almost."

Suddenly it all came rushing back to him. "I confessed," he said with a blush. Joshua's mouth gaped open a little. "Man, you said you struck out, but you weren't exactly coherent. What happened?"

Seokmin groaned. "Well at first he didn't remember me, again, then he felt me up. Then he wanted to take me upstairs but then he laughed at me and asked me if I had ever had a boyfriend. Then he told me he 'wasn't a ride for first timers' and said I could come back when I had some experience."

"Ugh," Joshua said. "Really? I guess that's over then...." He looked over at Seokmin and smiled then frowned. The look on the other's face told him it wasn't. "I still like him hyung," he said, uncharacteristically quiet, as he rubbed his eyes. "What about you? You struck out as well,"

"Yeah. Jeonghan is dating the rapper but he said they aren't really exclusive and he gave me his number anyway. I don't know how I feel about it. They're either together or they aren't." Joshua said. "It's kind of weird, like, I'm not really here for that sort of thing. You know?" Even though they barely knew each other a sort of warm comfort surrounded them as they sipped their hangovers away in sweet caffeinated silence.

Once they were reasonably rehydrated they began to talk. Seokmin, loudly and animatedly, about his love for singing. Joshua, much more subdued, about his passion for the guitar and his dreams of being a songwriter. "Why so many visual art classes then?" Seokmin grinned and Joshua shrugged. "What sort of degree do you need to follow your passion?" This made Seokmin laugh too loud and he didn't even notice. "We're probably all going to  just end up working in coffee shops!" He squealed and Joshua joined in. He couldn't help it. It was infectious.

"I should probably go, you know, overstayed my welcome and all." Seokmin took his coffee cup to the sink to wash it out and Joshua followed him with his eyes. Something had just clicked between them and it made Joshua feel a little better about being on the other side of the world in a totally alien place.

"Stay," Joshua said quickly, "at least for another coffee..." Seokmin nodded his agreement. It was Saturday, he had nothing better to do, and Hansol and Seungkwan would be off the grid until Sunday night. "Okay," his bright eye smile made Joshua smile back.

"So what now?" Joshua asked as they picked at some fruit he'd cut and placed on the table. The tv played quietly in the background but neither really watched it, both lost in their own casual musings.

"I don't know Joshua hyung," Seokmin said sadly, "I still like him. A lot. But he's right. I don't know what it's like to have a boyfriend. I don't know how to date, where to go, how to act. Have you dated?" Joshua shifted uncomfortably and Seokmin thought for a second he'd asked the wrong thing. But Joshua's eyes took on a faraway quality as he found himself opening up to the younger man.

"I had a boyfriend at home. I really loved him but he was in the closet. We met at church camp. My parents are cool but his weren't and he couldn't - wouldn't - come out. He just wouldn't do it. But he still kissed me and let me hold him and he still took my gifts," Joshua said a little bitterly as he blinked back the glossy sheen that veiled his exotic green eyes and cleared his throat before continuing.

"It got too hard. The sneaking around. It was too much. I wanted more and he wasn't ready, I don't think he would ever be ready, but I wasn't prepared to live out our love hidden in the shadows."

Seokmin's mouth hung agape as he processed the information. "That's rough," he said gently and Joshu smiled sadly. "Well that's partly why I'm here. To start over." His smile changed from sad to hopeful and Seokmin admired the beautiful shape of Joshua's lips. "Well if Jeonghan doesn't give you a chance he's an idiot," Seokmin's words, so honest and casual, made Joshua blush a little.

Suddenly a thought came to him out of nowhere. "Seokmin, what about this for a plan?" Joshua started tentatively. "What if we pretended to date?" Seokmin furrowed his brow as he realised what Joshua was saying. "You could pretend to get some 'experience' and I could maybe make Jeonghan jealous. Plus it would be nice to have someone to hang out with anyway..."

Seokmin stared at Joshua without saying anything for a long time. Long enough to fill the man's green eyes with panic as he quickly tried to back down. "Sorry, it was a stupid idea, forget I said anything..."

"No hyung, that's actually a good idea, plus I could use the company as well." Seokmin thought about what he was saying. "But let's put a time limit on it. We'll 'date' for three months and then just 'split up' and tell everyone we're better off as friends." Joshua nodded. The time limit made sense. "What about skinship?" He asked and Seokmin grinned. "Fine by me. I'm cuddly!" That made Joshua laugh and this seemed like a better idea with each minute that passed by.

"Is three months long enough though?" Joshua chewed his bottom lip. "What about three months with an option for a further three depending how the plan is going?" Seokmin nodded his agreement and stuck his hand out.

"Deal?" He asked.

"Deal!" Joshua replied as he shook his hand with vigour.