#*m: q

your eyes were on his shoes, watching as he showed you the moves for the dance. you watched him slide effortlessly across the floor as if it were his stage, and you damn well knew it was. no one could move like him, no one could hold your attention like he did.

that’s probably why you flinched when suddenly changmin clapped, your eyes going wide when you looked up to see him standing there, looking expectantly at you. apparently, your break was over, and it was time to get back to work. with a groan, you pushed yourself off of the ground, dusted your palms off on your thighs, and brushed your hair away from your face.

changmin smiled at you, and you felt your resolve weaken. there was no way you were going to be able to do this.

he started up the music again, this time facing the mirror rather than you. that’s a little easier, you thought to yourself, as you met his gaze in the reflection of the mirror. the beginning beats to the song played, changmin’s head bopping to the rhythm, and you did all you could to focus on the music instead of him. but with his hair flopping over his forehead, the headband on his head doing little to stop the sweat from dripping down the side of his face, there was no way you were going to be able to focus.

with the music playing, you were able to get through the first portion of the choreography. given, it was part of the choreography that you had already known, something you had mastered on your own, but you did it.

it was one particular moment that caused you to fumble and trip over your own two feet. his tongue had slipped out of his mouth to run over his bottom lip, then dared to perch in the corner of his mouth. the toe of your shoe caught on the back of your ankle, and you stumbled over a particular move. with a soft curse under your breath, you hung your head while changmin went to the speakers, pausing the music right where it was.

“are you alright?” he asked quietly, genuine concern in his tone. you looked up to see him panting, a small smile on his face while he reached up to adjust the way his headband sat on his head. “something about that one part always distracts you, huh?”

for a brief moment, you thought you could see a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, a hint of a smirk lifting one corner of his lips before it disappeared. “yeah, i guess so. i really just need to focus more.”

“let’s take a break for a second, then.” changmin smiled as the two of you sat down, opting to catch your breath rather than go at it again. his legs were out straight in front of him, his arms to the side and just barely behind him as he leaned back. you, however, just flopped back onto the floor, limbs splayed out as you stared up at the ceiling.

“how come you had to pursue the dream of being a choreographer?” you panted, turning your head to look at changmin.

he cracked a smile, his head rolling on his shoulders as he slowly looked up to the ceiling. “why did you have to pursue the dream of being a dancer?”

“touché.”

there was a long stretch of silence. the two of you had been friends for a long time, and it was no surprise that you were close. he helped you through your first breakup, you helped him get his first girlfriend. you were there when he was stood up on a date and you took him out to forget about the girl who was missing out on probably the best guy you knew. early on in life, when you realized you were enamored by literally everything he did, you decided that you never wanted to leave his side. so you took up dancing as a hobby, one that you found you were actually kind of good at, and your determination kept you with him.

in the midst of it all, you had fallen in love with him, and you weren’t entirely sure if he even knew. changmin agreed to work with you when he realized you were going to continue with dancing, but you had no idea if he knew that it was all because of him.

“let me go get snacks, there’s a convenience store right on the corner. do you want anything specific?” changmin pushed himself up off the floor and dusted his hands off before heading to the table by the door, grabbing his wallet. after you told him what you wanted, he hooked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the exit. “i’ll be right back, promise.”

he was gone before you even had a chance to reply to him.

after a moment of thought, you decided to give the choreography another go. maybe with changmin not there, you’d be more likely to do the dance without fumbling over your own two feet. restarting the music, you took a moment to ground yourself before giving it a go. you danced your way through the music, focusing on each beat, trying not to think of the way changmin had looked while he was doing the dance himself. it was one particular move, the final move of the choreography, that had you spinning on your heel and striking that pose, one hand lifted in the air and pointing to the ceiling. you were panting when the song came to an end, and when you opened your eyes changmin was standing at the door, a plastic bag hanging on his wrist, and a certain light in his eyes.

“so you can do that part just fine.” changmin’s smile was from ear to ear when you turned around, letting your arm drop to your side.

your face felt hot, and you weren’t entirely sure if it was from dancing. when you flopped onto the floor once more, changmin came to join you, sitting cross-legged beside you while setting the bag down. he pulled out the items, setting down a bottle of your favorite drink and snack before carefully opening the bag of chips, popping one of them in his mouth.

when he looked at you with wide eyes, something stirred within you. perhaps it was how innocent he looked, or how hard you know he was working, or even just what he was doing for you, but whatever it was compelled you to lean in close to him. you hesitated for just a moment before your lips brushed over his cheek in a gentle kiss. you pulled away quickly, the drink to take a quick sip of it. by now, your cheeks were definitely flushed.

“you’re the best.” you murmured, your gaze drifting over to him while you tried to get a good look at him.

changmin’s reaction was one you couldn’t quite decipher. a soft little gasp left his lips and his eyes went as wide as you’ve ever seen them, and both of his hands clasped over the spot you had kissed with a little smack to his cheek. his own face was flushed a soft pink, but you determined that right then and there, it looked better on him.

“you kissed me.” he whispered, then shook his head a little, his hair flopping over his brow. “i mean, you kissed my cheek.”

he kept one hand on his cheek, the other reaching for the drink you had just set down. when he sipped from it, the only thought in your mind was that it was something of an indirect kiss shared between the two of you. it seemed as though changmin was thinking the same thing, because he glanced up at you with almost a shy smile on his lips.

“i liked it.” he murmured, his fingers picking at the fabric of his clothes. it wasn’t odd to see him like this, but it almost looked as if he was debating on doing something. he was fidgeting, and after a moment, changmin scooted closer to you.

“i liked it too.” your voice was just as quiet as his, and the bag of chips and drink sat between the two of you.

his lips met yours in a sudden but soft kiss, and he pulled away from you before you had a real chance to react. changmin cleared his throat, looked down to his lap, and nodded a few times. your lips still tingled from the sensation of his kiss before he reached for another chip, munching on it to fill the silence.

you had no idea what he was thinking, but all you knew was that whatever had just happened was really nice.

changmin stood up, grabbed the bag of chips and drink, and moved them from the floor to the nearby table. you reached out, a pout on your lips, and you were about to whine about not having anything to eat before changmin turned and placed his hands on his hips.

“we’re gonna do the dance one more time, and you’re gonna nail it. then we can have our snacks, and... well, maybe we could go out for dinner?” the resolve in changmin’s voice started to fade, the shyness creeping in once more while he offered you a boyish smile. “like a date, if you wanted.”

those words propelled you to your feet. changmin, ji changmin, your best friend who just kissed you, who you had been crushing on for who knows how long, asked you on a date. there was no way you were going to pass that up.