Minho nodded silently, pointing to the spider. "Griever," he said simply, but Harriet understood, her eyes widening. She nodded.

Harriet stalked to the corner that Thomas and Minho were in, unbeknownst to Thomas, and stepped on the spider, killing it. Thomas' shaking slowly died down after seeing his "threat" had been eliminated. "Take care of him, alright?" She said, shooting him a smile and jogging out the tent.

Ever since they'd gotten to Paradise, Minho and Thomas had made friends with the Group B girls. Scratch that. Thomas had made friends with the girls and Minho was Thomas' friend, so the girls begrudgingly, he might as well admit, got to know him too.

He was certain that half of his friendships had started with Thomas. Small, adorable Thomas who could not help but be likeable. His somehow still innocent demeanour (even after the trials) attracted many people to like him, including Minho when he was in the Glade. The shank was just so curious with his wide Bambi eyes darting back and forth, chocolate brown hair, and lean frame.

Minho didn't know when he had noticed that he was somewhat attracted to Thomas, but he'd same sometime during the Scorch, perhaps when Thomas got shot. Minho's (after he saw the bullet lodged in the pale flesh) vision had turned into red. He only saw in shades of red as he pounced onto the crank, beating him all the way to death.

"Ya know, I have an extreme fear of spiders, too," Minho started talking lowly so he didn't startle Thomas.

"Arachnophobia," A weak, quiet voice mumbled into his chest. The warm breath fanning his t-shirt and vibrating against the muscles had him sighing internally. Thomas was okay. He'd be fine. Minho would help him.

"What?" Minho asked, cocking his head sideways.

Thomas raised his head from Minho's chest. He had bed-hair, even though he didn't sleep, and it was adorable. His eyes were puffy and red-rimmed, and the moles on his cheeks were stained with tear tracks. Nonetheless, he smiled, and it looked like a real smile. Minho was proud to say that he was one of the few people in Paradise that had seen Thomas' genuine smile. He huffed. "It's called 'arachnophobia'. An extreme fear of spiders."

Minho snorted. "Know-it-all."

Thomas' next smirk was forthcoming. "Watch it, I don't need a weapon to knock you into next week. Besides, I thought we were beyond the name-calling?"

Minho ticked off his fingers. "Shank, shuck-face, piece-of-klunk, Greenie, and let's not forget Subject A2, to be killed by Group B." Minho knew making jokes about WICKED was okay with Thomas. The first time after he had done it, he had apologised over and over again. Thomas had cut him off, telling him that making jokes about it helped him move on.

Thomas stuck his tongue out. "I'm pretty sure the girls don't want to kill me now, especially Sonya." Sonya loved Thomas the most. Not that way, of course, Minho would have killed her if she dared. Thomas wasn't his, but he was his best friend and he was not going to let another girl steal him from Minho's grasp.

Minho glared playfully. "Such a shame that is, too." He was sure Thomas was going to reply with a lame comeback and he was ready for it.

But no. He was not ready for the look that followed. Thomas gasped, widening his eyes and pouting. His big brown eyes were wide and watery and the brown and (very) long eyelashes were not helping, neither were the small, plump rosy-strawberry pink lips that jutted out slightly. Thomas' master pout. Oh, no.

Minho had been first subjected to this pout in the first week of paradise. Thomas had wanted Minho's last orange and Minho refused to give it to him. The next second, Thomas had pulled his look and Minho had discovered that his hand was obediently handing the precious orange to Thomas, who stopped his pout immediately and ate the orange.

Minho had stared, dumbfounded, at the cute boy who had juice smeared all over his face. Minho was weak for Thomas, apparently. He questioned why Thomas didn't just use that look on Alby when he wanted to become a runner. It couldn't just be Minho who succumbed to Thomas' spell...or was it?

After a month of practice, Thomas' puppy look was polished and perfected and Minho hated it but loved it, too. He was sure he had used all the acronyms of "adorable" he knew to describe Thomas, which honestly, wasn't many. Only adorable, loveable, and cute. He was sure that Thomas knew more (the shucking genius, how??) but he was definitely not going to ask Thomas to find words to describe himself, not that he would know of...

Minho relented, making a face, but relenting all the same. "I hate you, Thomas," he muttered.

Thomas' reply was "You love me, Babe." What. Oh, oh. Little did Thomas know that it was true, and not in the way he thought it was. Because Thomas was the most oblivious person there ever was. Apparently, Minho's love declaration hadn't been enough. Friends always said 'I love you' in sappy tones? Somehow, in Thomas' world, they did. Minho wondered what world Thomas lived in.

Minho was pretty sure he'd dislocate his jaw if he didn't close his mouth now. So, forcing his jaw closed before Thomas noticed his gaping mouth, he swallowed drily. Thomas had no idea what he did to Minho. That or he was a prostitute in his past life. It was highly possible, judging by his looks. Have you seen the kid? He's always licking his lips and arrrrghhhhh!

Minho wanted to strangle Thomas and kiss him silly at the same time.

***

Minho was taking a walk along the meadow for his break day. It was Thomas' break, too, but he was with Brenda. Minho couldn't say he wasn't jealous.

He was actually on a pity walk because why should Thomas have him? Maybe because he was always there for Thomas? Where was Brenda in the Glade?

He was currently wandering around, humming as he plucked flowers. The meadow had plenty of flowers. The Glade didn't have any. Minho didn't know when he had became such a sap, but he was. Currently picking flowers (totally not for Thomas).

"Hey, Minho, come here!" Sonya called, beckoning him to where she and Harriet were resting on the rocky terrain.

Minho, against his smarter mind, walked over to where Sonya sat. "What's up?"

"You like Thomas, don't you?" Harriet said bluntly. Though it was phrased as a question, it was obviously a flat statement. Harriet said it like it was a proven fact, which it was.

"I don't!" Minho groaned. "I don't like Thomas! Why should I like him? He's brave and amazing and I ––––"

"Calm down, Prince Charming," Sonya drawled, making a pacifying gesture with her palms. "You're incriminating yourself and it's pitiful." She and Harriet exchanged looks, both shaking their heads. "Just confess! Harriet confessed to me and we're together, now."

"What am I supposed to say? Thomas, I love you? Thomas, would you be my boyfriend? Thomas, would you marry me?" Minho said sarcastically, holding out the makeshift bouquet of flowers.

"I would say yes," a shy voice behind Minho peeped. Minho's heart sunk and started beating like crazy inside his stomach.

This could not be happening! Thomas was ––– wait, what? "What did you say?" Minho demanded, his eyes widening as he flipped around to face Thomas.

Thomas shrunk down from his fierce glare, his shoulders curling forward and his head bowed down, casting his Bambi eyes to the grass. "I said...I-I s-said 'I would say y-yes'," Thomas stammered, his face going red. "Or was it a joke?"

Minho sighed. Oblivious-Mode, as usual. "Did it sound like a joke?" He asked, tilting Thomas' head up so he could gaze into the sparkling orbs.

"Well, yeah, why would someone like you want to be with someone like me? Everyone in Paradise –––"

Being bad with words, Minho wrapped his arm around Thomas' waist (the other one still clutching onto the flowers) and dipped him backwards, quickly slamming his lips bruisingly onto Thomas'. Thomas made a stifled moan behind them but then relaxed into the kiss, returning it feverishly. The two lips were a bit awkward with each other, but that was to be expected – after all, neither of them had been kissed many times.

The kiss continued until both of the boys broke apart simultaneously, panting for air. Minho, after getting a good few breaths in, took a look at Thomas. He was pleased with what he saw. The boy's pupils were blown wide and there was only a tinge of the honey amber irises. He was still chasing after Minho's lips, looking very dazed. He was also breathing very heavily through his kiss swollen red lips.

Minho grinned and a wave of possessiveness rushed over him. Thomas is mine, he thought.

"M-Minho?" Thomas stammered. "What...what are we?"

Minho smirked, his old confidence coming back again. "The offer of dating still stands, you know..." he said teasingly, raising the bundle of flowers.

Thomas grinned, his usual grin back. "The answer also stands. Yes, a million times over," Thomas almost squealed, gingerly taking the flowers as if he didn't believe they existed.

They were staring into each other's brown eyes intently before Harriet interrupted abruptly. "Excuse me, but there are children here and that kiss was definitely not appropriate for their age..."

Thomas and Minho shared looks in sync and started to kiss again in the same way as last time, with Minho dipping Thomas at the waist, the flowers long forgotten. No worries, Minho could get more for his boyfriend later.

***