When Felix woke up that morning, his mouth was dry as dust and an underlying pain throbbed against his temple, trailing down to his left eye.

Uncomfortable, he growled softly as further discomfort crept into his sleepy consciousness. The bed was far too soft to be his own, not to mention the sticky, sweaty feeling that coated his body - he was completely naked under the velvety covers.

He heaved a long sigh as he could trace his fuzzy thoughts not only to sleep but also to too much alcohol. Because slowly, piece by piece, he remembered that yesterday had been the JYP Entertainment Halloween party.

It had been quite untypical for JYP to host such a costume party, but of course, no idol of the company had complained. Quite the contrary, the last week of October had been filled with anticipation for the event - Felix had to grin sleepily before yawning.

There had been no stupid expectations, no annoying rules, just costumes, music, and alcohol - that's as far as his thoughts really got, as they were interrupted by the craving for water.

Reluctantly he opened his eyes - looking for something drinkable - only to squeeze them shut again the next moment. Grumbling, he grimaced, for it was bright, damn bright. The pain hardened in his temple, while at the same time it felt like his head was melting.

Shit, he'd told the others to hold him back on the booze, hadn't he?

That one vague intuition seemed to break through the haze of alcohol as the events of the evening began to flood his brain - too much, was just as fucked as not enough.

He slowly ruffled his hair and blinked heavily at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the fragments of memory.

How he and the rest of the StrayKids members had arrived at the party together, costumed as police officers. How he had held several dance battles with Minho against other idols. How Sungmin had scored high scores in karaoke. How he had danced with Hyunjin and suddenly everyone except him from the group was gone and- everything faltered and his memory slipped away...

...but his vision cleared.

The place where he was turned out to be a hotel room - judging by the style, one in the hotel where the Halloween party had taken place.

Noble details, ornate wallpaper, old lamps, and a bed, which was just too gigantic. What his blink also could catch were large windows covered by curtains, through which the light - which his eyes had previously perceived as too bright - was subtly dimmed.

On the bedside cabinet, next to an antique table clock - it was just about eight o'clock - stood a water bottle, which he immediately grabbed and completely emptied. With the empty plastic in his hand, he let himself fall back into the pillows and let his gaze wander to the other side of the bed.

At once, his own reflection stared back at him from a giant mirrored cabinet - disheveled and confused-looking, smudged makeup residue clinging to the corners of his eyes.

And- holy shit!

The sound of a shower running behind one of the doors leading out of the room and the tousled other side of the bed confirmed his fuzzy suspicion:

He had had sex last night...

That burning realization caused another wave of memories to flood his mind.

The vivid sensation of his mouth pressed tumultuously against another's - moving with hot, raw passion. Swollen, wet lips, tongues colliding - making him forget everything, making him exist only for the moment, for the feel - as they pressed tightly against each other.

The breast against his was flat and firm, through which just as rapidly the heartbeat throbbed, rushing them into a tumultuous rhythm.

The hurried tugging and removing of bothersome clothing between sloppy kisses.

The feel of hands all over his naked body and the warmth of bare skin beneath his own fingers. Rough, demanding, they had sought each other's hold on arms, hips, torso, everywhere. Had fallen blindly onto the bed - one on top of the other, but never more than a few inches apart.

He could remember all too well how fulfilling and yet demanding for more of the touches had been - feeling the scorching heat of the other's arousal, moving against his own.

How the first orgasm swept through him with unexpected intensity as he was pressed hard into the fluffy mattress...

On Felix's face instantly rose similar scorching heat - Fuck.

He pushed himself up again, propped his arms on his knees, and ran his hand over his face as he closed his eyes against the sudden rush of emotion.

Damn, it had been good - no, it had even been damn good.

The feel of muscles - spanned by soft skin - tightening and relaxing under his tongue as he kissed and licked down along the well-toned abdomen.

The feel of long fingers clawing into his hair, pulling at it. The weight, the mass of the other's erection - as it slid into his mouth with surprising ease.

The bed cover gently nuzzled against his back in contrast, while his hip was held in a firm grip. As the breathtaking sensation of warmth and suction closed around his own cock- the lust and arousal completely engulfed him.

Holy fuck!

Felix felt his face burn beneath his fingertips, his breath short and irregular - sliding harshly across his open lips - as his pulse began to quicken. Just the memory of the taste and the overwhelming sensation sent further electrifying shivers over his body.

He was still processing those facts when the bathroom door opened with a slight creak - instinctively his head snapped in that direction.

His skin tingled and his embarrassment seemed to vanish into thin air.

For the tall, slender person standing in the doorway dressed only in a thin shirt and boxers - with a towel around his neck and blond short hair swept wetly back - was so familiar to Felix that he would have recognized him in his sleep.

Hyunjin...

It didn't feel as much like a shock as it probably should have.

As Felix sat like that on the bed, blinking dopily at him, the only thought wafting through his blankly swept brain was, 'Ah, so that's how it is.'

Of course, it was Hyunjin - of course, as if it were self-evident, the only logical explanation for the whole mess.

He didn't have time to let that revelation really sink in before Hyunjin broke his own stare and turned away from him. "You're already awake." he remarked dryly, "Do you actually remember anything from last night, or do I have to explain it to you?"

Felix raised an eyebrow in surprise at the dispassionate tone. He knew the circumstances were anything but normal, and yet the unexpected brusqueness made him instinctively go on defense, "Huh, why the hell wouldn't I remember?"

"Well, considering how much you drank yesterday," the blond turned back to him to gesture his hands idly out wide.

Right, the drinks... - another repressed memory welled up in Felix.

Neon and black lights swept across the packed hall as songs from the JYPE Groups boomed loudly through the speakers. Shot glasses vibrated against the wood of the bar as the bass thumped and guests jumped along to the beat.

Laughing out loud, Felix propped himself against one of the spartan bar stools to prevent himself from completely colliding with Hyunjin. Nevertheless, the taller one already had put an arm around him - the broadest grin on his face, his eyes forming narrow crescents.

He did not know where they had lost the other band members on the way from the dance floor to the bar. But Felix cared very little at that moment because he was more than just tipsy and lived in the moment, the second.

Just because he didn't care about anything anymore, he knew he actually had enough and waved off as Hyunjin pushed two of the pre-filled shots - which stood on the counter like freebies - in his direction.

"Tsk. Lightweight.", Hyunjin said with a laugh and downed a shot, a challenging twinkle in his eyes.

"Huh? I must have misheard!" he leaned further toward Hyunjin, returning the pugnacious look - not entirely serious, but in keeping with their banter - "You're not one bit better, Hyune."

"You must have had one or two too many drinks if you really think so~"

"Oh yeah?" impulsively Felix pushed a handful more shots over to them - the colorful contents partially spilling, dribbling onto the dark wood - "Prove it then!"

That's how it had started.

He knew from flimsy recollections that it must have degenerated into some sort of contest - but for the life of him, not who or if anyone had won.

Only vaguely - some many shots later in the reckoning of time - did he remember how he had stood up shakily. The colored lights only seemed to add to the swaying, somehow as if he were at sea.

He felt so light, his feet equally heavy. And everything, really everything, was funny, he could already feel the pain in his cheeks from grinning all the time.

Hyunjin's wide grin and dark eyes filled the places the mental blackout didn't want to reveal. Until he knew again how they had stumbled together into a deserted hallway - presumably in search of a toilet.

Laughing and always jokingly pushing each other back and forth with their elbows. The music could only be heard muffled as their voices echoed loudly off the noble-looking walls.

They supported each other, exhausted from laughing, their faces so close that Felix could make out the different shades of brown in Hyunjin's eyes.

And something deep in his chest had begun to set itself free, coursing through his veins, making his heart beat faster and his fingertips tingle. Something he thought he could see reflected in the taller one's eyes.

And then...

...then he remembered how it had felt to press his back against the relief wallpaper as Hyunjin's heated warmth surged against his own. How he had tilted his head up while Hyunjin had tilted his down. How their lips had met gingerly - slowly and so tantalizingly tenderly.

Electrifying shivers and a painful realization burst over him with impetuous force - the longing, the feeling of what he had felt at that moment. His throat tightened as he realized how much he had longed for this kiss without even knowing it.

This unfulfilled desire, which must have slumbered so close under his surface and had now finally been heard...

The silence in the moment had dragged on for too long and now lay like an iron curtain between them.

Hyunjin leaned against the dresser opposite the bed, legs crossed, arms folded - the soggy towel tinting his white shirt collar a darker wet.

"It's better if you don't remember anyway."

After Felix's recent revelation of his feelings, those words were like a punch to the pit of his stomach, and instantly an uneasy feeling kicked into his gut as well. He felt his hands clench into fists as a roiling mixture of frustration and confusion flared up inside him.

"Why?"

"Why?" the blond repeated, still that condescending monotone in his tone, "Isn't it less embarrassing if at least one of us forgets all that happened yesterday?"

Pain and indignation washed over Felix - settled stinging in his heart, "Hyunjin, I know very well what happened yesterday!"

"You don't act like that."

Felix would have loved to jump up, grab him by the arms, and try to shake him to his senses. Instead, however, only his fingernails cramped even further into his palms, "Then how do you think I should act?"

But instead of an answer, the blond only clicked his tongue and turned his head away to stare in the direction of the window with an inexplicable expression.

And suddenly Felix's eyes widened in another realization: everything about Hyunjin screamed defensive.

The cutting statements, the pose with which he stood there.... it was exactly what he had done in the early days in StrayKids when he had felt overwhelmed.

Felix took a long breath and even put on a lopsided grin, "Really now - is this all too much for you? Am I too much for you?"

Immediately the pair of dark eyes were on him again - wariness and distrust reflected in them, "What?"

"You know what, Hyune?" the black haired slid to the end of the bed a little away. Letting his legs hang over the edge so that only the middle of his body was covered by the fluffy fabric and sat up as confidently as he could, "If last night was a mistake for you - fine, so be it - tell me and then let's leave it at that."

He had to really pull himself together - looked toward Hyunjin, with as much conviction as he could muster - to utter the next words, "But it wasn't for me."

His whole body vibrated with tension and his heart beat heavily loudly against his chest. But he was sure, the memory of their first kiss strengthened him. For it was not only the sensation of soft lips that had burned itself into his memory but also the inferno of feelings they had unleashed - desire, longing, affection, bliss.

Everything they had done had felt good, it had felt right. And he wanted more - so much more.

Hyunjin's eyes had widened noticeably, but he said nothing, just stared at the younger in front of him, caught off guard.

And in Felix, the insecurity, which had been missing last night, was rising. Because although he wanted the feelings to be mutual, in the end, he had no idea how Hyunjin really felt toward him.

They had both clearly wanted it at that moment, he was sure. But he couldn't just jump to conclusions from last night to today - not when so much alcohol was involved.

"Do you even know what you're saying?" was finally the half-muttered, half-blurted answer, or much more question - Hyunjin's left finger tapped incessantly against his right arm.

Felix replied with a frown and now crossed his arms as well, countering the intense eye contact, "What's that supposed to mean now? Of course, I do."

"Oh, yeah?", Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, then lowered his eyelids slightly, "You do remember what we did last night... all of it, yeah?"

The younger felt the blush sprout hotly on his cheeks once more and couldn't maintain eye contact, focusing his gaze on the flamboyant curtains instead.

Of course, he knew.

Admittedly, the exact details of how they had ended up in the hotel room from the hallway were kind of a blur. However, he very well remembered how excitement, lust, and desire had mixed into the alcohol-strengthened confidence.

How he could see that Hyunjin felt the same way - his heart equally under the tension of the thrill.

He swallowed hard, it was as if he could still feel him all over him if he focused closely - his tender lips, wet-hot tongue, rough hands...

"What, are the memories of last night bothering you that much, Felix?", Hyunjin seemed to have misinterpreted his silence, for his voice was all too obviously dripping with scorn this time.

"No!" huffed Felix, equally embarrassed and irritated. Just one of his defensive strategies, he reminded himself, as he eventually looked resolutely at the taller again, "And will you stop distracting?"

Confusion flitted across the blond's face, wiping the ironic smirk from his lips, "From what exactly do I distract?"

"From...", Felix took a deep breath and obviously struggled on a second thought before uttering the reply, "From what I said. From... us."

"Us?" repeated Hyunjin slowly, as if he had to test the word first, and then let it hang in the air just like that. It felt like he wanted to say something more, should say something, but nothing else came - just the questioning look he seemed to be perusing Felix with.

He, on the other hand, was not only slowly losing his mind but also his patience. Only his nervousness could keep his emotions at bay - his heart was still beating madly, while it felt as if he was electrified.

"Hyune, I...", Felix found it surprisingly difficult to get the words out, which came from his heart and he felt the warmth on his cheeks again, "As I said... um ... I liked it. Last night - what we did - I liked it, all of it!"

It was as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest - or his head was about to explode, as overheated as he felt - and yet Hyunjin just stared at him, only his patter of fingers frozen.

Then, slowly, he opened his mouth, only to close it again. Frowning, he tried again, "Felix, what do you-"

"Oh my God, Hyunjin!?", Felix interrupted him before he could actually ask that stupid question and jumped up - dropping the blanket to the floor, but he really didn't care at that moment - took a big step forward, standing right in front of the blond now.

"Don't be such a dumbass! Man, do I have to spell it out for you?" he didn't even wait for a response, "I have feelings for you, Hyunjin - feelings!"

The confession sent another flood of uncomfortable heat not only up his face but all over his body - as if he were on fire - and he became all too aware of his sudden nudity.

But he wasn't done yet, his emotions awakened from slumber wanted out and he wasn't going to hold them back, "Romantic feelings - probably all along. Only yesterday I really realized, really understood, what I want. And that's you, Hyune!"

"Felix..." murmured Hyunjin with a strange mixture of astonishment and bewilderment. His lips parted a gape, his brow furrowed slightly as his gaze hurried over the black-haired's face.

And there it was - unmistakable - the counterpart to his longing, the desire in Hyunjin's dark eyes, something he had already seen all too clearly the night before.

Hope flooded Felix's heart, pumping through his veins along with the lingering fear: "And you?" - his voice sounded more hesitant than he would have liked, trembling slightly - "What.... what do you feel for me?"

A second of unbearable silence and then finally - finally! - cracks began to tear through Hyunjin's defense. He pushed himself off the dresser, stepped impossibly even closer to the younger, looked him straight in the eyes - as if searching for something in them.

"How I feel about you?"

Slowly, he lifted his hand to brush a few of the tousled strands from his face, letting the black-haired's skin prickle as he brushed it gently.

"Maybe... no, not just maybe, but definitely..." - the combination of the soft murmur, the shallow touch, and the intense gaze, made Felix's heart skip a beat- "... the most appropriate word to describe what I feel towards you is... love."

It was difficult for Felix to even breathe, let alone form a clear thought - to really take in what had just been said, to understand what all this meant to them both. Only out of wide eyes he stared back, unable to avert his gaze from Hyunjin, as undaunted bliss overcame him.

"I mean, I want to know everything about you. See everything, hear everything. Feel everything - every inch of you.", he hesitated slightly, letting his fingers wander further back against Felix's head and his gaze became even softer even more open - undeniable longing - "And I want to be there for you, to experience things with you, to make memories - to be with you... And I think that's the same thing you feel for me, isn't it?"

The grin that spread across Felix's face bubbled to the surface with his innermost, purest feelings as he threw himself at Hyunjin.

Their lips clashed violently as Felix wrapped his arms around Hyunjin's neck tumultuously. Caught off guard, the blond stumbled back a few steps with him in his arms - bumping into the old dresser - before returning the kiss just as clumsily.

And again the inferno of emotions roared in Felix's chest as he focused solely on Hyunjin, the person who felt the same way. Who was also drawn into the maelstrom of raging breath, wet tongue, soft lips and deep desire - he felt everything so vividly, so intensely - it was overwhelming.

He clung even tighter to Hyunjin to keep from losing himself when he had long since lost himself in Hyunjin - feeling the taller one's hands bury themselves in his hair on the one hand and press hotly into his waist on the other.

After an eternal back and forth between open-mouthed kisses and short breaths - which still didn't seem long enough - Felix broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against Hyunjin's, for he felt light-headed - from lack of oxygen or happiness, perhaps both - and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

"Yes." he breathed, still a little short of breath, "Yes, I feel the same way. I feel the same way about you."

"I... I was afraid of how you would take all this. That maybe it was a one-time gaffe for you.", Hyunjin murmured softly, tightening his grip as if afraid Felix might disappear, "Especially because I didn't even really realize how I actually feel about you until yesterday - like it just clicked yesterday."

Felix nodded gently and opened his eyes to look into Hyunjin's already open ones - seeing deep into his soul and seeing himself, his feelings reflected, understanding that they were on the same wavelength.

"I feel the same way, though - very much the same way."

He felt Hyunjin's fingers gently brush through his black strands again, before leaning closer to him once more.

And this time, when their lips touched, there was the same consuming tenderness as when they first kissed. It was so sweet and feathery that Felix never wanted to leave Hyunjin's lips again - just wanted to keep floating on cloud nine with him.

Gently, Hyunjin pushed him back toward the bed until the younger could feel the edge of the bed against the back of his knee. But now, as they fell onto the bed, it was a very different atmosphere - a very different relationship - then the night before.

No heated flair or rushed movements, impetuous desire, and overflowing breaths between unbridled kisses. But pure lightness, gentle kisses, gossamer touches as they ended tightly embraced in the middle of the bed - their lips met and parted again and again slowly and soulfully.

The adrenaline lowered and was replaced by contentment and also a certain inertia that swayed them in the moment of togetherness and certainty. Felix had himself nestled against Hyunjin's chest, his arms tight around his torso and their legs in a pleasant tangle.

"Happy Halloween.", Felix murmured, more to himself as he was lulled back to dozing off in their mingled body heat and the smell of Hyunjin's hotel shampoo and shower gel. He only peripherally noticed Hyunjin - half asleep as well - hummingly grinning,"I definitely got a treat."

- the end -

Happy Halloween from me too, even if it's a little late by now - hope you are still kinda in the Halloween mood 👻. I had way less time to finish and translate than I originally thought/planned, which is why this os is only coming now. I too will revise it in the course of the week (but nothing will change in the plot - more like smoothing out n stuff -). <33

English is not my mother tongue! I'm sorry for any mistakes. <3