With the amount of shoujo manga or romance novels that they have read, anyone would have thought that they had been clued up to the number one rule when making out with a lover in a room: lock the door. Especially when one has a twin sister who doesn't know how to knock and thinks she can barge into her brother's work area anytime.

It was not like Eujae and Poll were doing anything more than back hugging when Tem walked in on them at the male twin's art studio. But considering how her friend and her twin brother's relationship had been for the past years, her shock upon seeing the two young men being that physically close with each other was understandable.

The group of college students gathers in the living room of the Torres residence. A pair of twins engage in staring down while their friends and respective boyfriends watch them awkwardly. No one dares to make a sound, perhaps afraid to interrupt the sibling's glaring contest. Cans of drinks and trays of French fries and onion rings rest, neglected, on the coffee table.

After what seems like an eternity, Tem breaks the intense eye contact with her brother and shifts her gaze to Eujae who's sitting next to Poll. Peering through her glasses, she gives her friend a hard, questioning look.

"So..." she begins, her tone calm, but the seriousness in it can't be mistaken for anything. She raises her brows before returning her attention to her twin brother. "Do you, guys, have anything important to tell us? What were you two doing back there?"

Narrowing his eyes, Poll retorts, "Shouldn't you apologize for entering my studio without knocking first?"

"That's not what's important right now, Poll."

"How's that not important?" he demands with a frown. He crosses his arms over his chest and adds, "I always tell you to knock before you go in my room or studio first, but you never listen to me."

The atmosphere in the room becomes more tense with the twins' exchange. Their friends appear to be torn between stopping them and waiting for any developments in the situation.

Poll feels a gentle hold around his upper arm. He pouts when he turns to his boyfriend and sees the man's patient smile as if telling him to calm down. It's funny how, in the past, Tem used to be the one to remind him to stop fighting with Eujae, but now their roles have been reversed.

The male twin looks back in front of him, just in time for Tem to let out a sigh.

"Poll, can you just please answer my question without acting like a child again?"

"I'm not acting like a child. And Eujae and I were..." He places his hands on his lap. Gripping his cargo shorts, he flicks his eyes to the side and says the remaining words in a quiet voice, "We were just hugging."

As he raises his head, the male twin notices Cloud, Nick, and Risa staring at him with either wide eyes or open mouths; their expressions scream a single question. What?

Lia, on the other hand, beams at Poll and Eujae, her eyes twinkling as though she's watching an amusing movie.

Despite the different receptions, their friends all remain silent.

"I could tell that much," says Tem, sounding frustrated.

"If you could tell, then why are you still asking?" Poll mumbles.

Another sigh.

"What I really want to know is why–" Tem stresses the last word before she continues, "–were Eujae's arms all around you while his mouth was so close to you as if he was just about to eat your face? I know you two have made up and have been getting along well recently. I just didn't realize it was that well."

The young woman's statements cause the other twin's face to heat up. Poll hears the person beside him clear his throat. When he glances at his boyfriend again, he witnesses how Eujae's ear, cheek, and neck have turned red.

Amazing. So even he can blush this hard too.

Good, Poll thinks, scowling. I shouldn't be the only one suffering from mortification right now.

His gaze sweeps over the other people in the room. Aside from the young woman, who's already aware of his and Eujae's relationship, their friends still have disbelieving looks on their faces.

Averting his eyes, Nick picks three cans of root beer from the table and hands two of them to Lia and Risa on either side of him on the longest sofa.

As Poll's attention goes back to his sister, the female twin's words ring in his head once more.

"Don't phrase it like that, Tem. You were making it sound weird," he says indignantly, despite the burning sensation on his cheeks. "A-and... and I don't see anything wrong with that. I mean... I mean even though I don't always see it, you also do something like that with Cloud, right?"

Satisfaction swells in his chest as he observes Tem and her boyfriend simultaneously flush. It is Cloud's turn to fake a cough.

At last, Risa decides to interpose the Torres twin's argument. With a groan, she remarks, "Jesus, listening to this conversation and seeing all these blushing people like high schoolers are making me embarrassed, and I don't even have anything to do with what they're talking about." She leans over, facing the male twin's direction, and tilts her head to the side. "So Poll, since both Cloud and Tem seem to be too stunned by your comment to give you a response, I'll be answering in place of them. My dear friend, do I have to remind you that it's only natural for lovebirds to do something like that? And you know, Cloud is Tem's boyfriend."

Poll aims his frown at his childhood friend and answers shamelessly, "And Eujae is mine."

A retching sound fills the area as Nick chokes on his drink. He puts the can of root beer back on the coffee table before he gapes at Poll and Eujae. Pointing at the two, he says, "You are... you two are..."

The abrupt and unsentimental revelation elicits different reactions from the group.

Lia giggles. Cloud stares blankly.

At the same time, Risa and Tem ask, "Come again?"

Before Poll can reply, Eujae reaches for his hand. The male twin gives his boyfriend an inquisitive look, but the only answer he gets is a reassuring smile.

As if to reinforce Poll's admission, Eujae interlaces their fingers and holds their connected hands out for everyone to see.

Warmth spreads over Poll's face, but it's different from the embarrassment that coursed through him earlier. If anything, this one is comforting.

"We really intended to tell you about us today, but it obviously didn't go as we planned." Eujae's tone as he explains is far too different from Poll's impatient one. Yet the smaller man can tell that his boyfriend is not as poised as he lets on, judging by the way he's gripping his hand.

"Now that it's in the open, the only thing left for us to do is confirm it. It's true. Apollo and I are dating, and we're sorry that we were not able to tell you sooner. We never meant to hide it from you, guys. And we didn't mean to shock you, Tem."

A long pause passes before Tem sighs for the nth time. "I'm surprised, alright. As I said, I've known you have gotten closer these days, but I just assumed all those interactions were you two trying to make up for the years you'd been fighting. And I didn't even suspect the way you had been spoiling my brother because that was just the kind of person you had always been. Lia mentioned before that you're the type to dote on people you care about, and Poll just seems to be the perfect person to spoil. He likes being spoiled, you see."

"I don't."

Tem rolls her eyes, the gesture an evident dismissal of her brother's complaint, and adjusts her glasses. "So, since when have you been together?"

"New Year's Eve when we went on the camping trip," Eujae answers with a hint of relief.

"New Year's Eve," Nick repeats. As if remembering something, he turns to Eujae with a suspicious gaze. "Wait... does that mean when you convinced me to switch tents with you, you just wanted to be together. Eujae, don't tell me... did you... that night, you didn't eat P–" Before he can finish the statement, Risa slaps the back of his head, cutting him off.

Nick rubs the spot where he was hit and glares at the woman on his left side. "What was that for, Risa?"

Ignoring her friend, Risa says, "Ah, so no wonder a certain big baby here has been acting more spoiled than ever. Someone must have been overindulging him."

"I'm not a baby," Poll objects, displeased. Why is everyone talking about him like he's a spoiled little brat?

Nick picks up the can of root beer again. After taking a sip of it, he mutters, "This is kinda unexpected, what with you two always fighting like cat and dog before. Sure, we were relieved to know when you had finally reconciled. And yeah, okay, we might have teased you every time you were showing concern and favoritism for each other. But who would have thought that you'd actually take the phrase 'kiss and make up' to another level?

"Or, you know, kiss and make out," Risa adds, drawing a soft laugh from Lia. "So I was right all along. All those fights they had were just their way of flirting with each other. But because they were both too stubborn and dense, of course, they didn't realize it soon."

"Thinking about all of it now, we should have seen this coming." Resigned, Tem shakes her head.

Cloud smirks. "Right? They had always been so obsessed and possessive of one another, even during those times when they said they couldn't stand each other."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I was never obsessed with him?"

A chuckle to his side makes Poll glare at Eujae. He should have known his boyfriend would find amusement in all this teasing.

But as the male twin looks at their friends again, he can't help but be glad as well. He's thankful that he has this group of accepting and supportive people. Even though they can get a bit troublesome sometimes.

When he meets Lia's eyes, the young woman smiles at him and says, "I'm so happy for you, Poll, Eujae."

Bowing his head to hide his own pleased expression, Poll whispers, "Me, too. I'm happy."

The plan to tell the truth to their friends may not have gone as smoothly as they hoped for it to, but when everything is said and done, he can at least say that all's well that ends well.