They decided to tell Cassie first, then their parents, and then their close friends. They had never been super public about their interest in each other, especially considering the cruel treatment they'd seen and lived through caused by homophobia.
"Hey, Casserole," Felix said, knocking on her door lightly. "Can we talk for a minute?"
She opened her door, and both Felix and Changbin entered and sat at the foot of her bed. They hadn't exactly thought through how they would tell her, only that they would do it.
"So," she said impatiently, "What do we need to talk about? Are you pregnant?! I swear to god, Felix, you're so stupid—"
"Thank you for the joke," Changbin interrupted, "But that isn't why we came in here. We wanted to tell you that we're dating. Like, officially."
"Only took you like eight years," Cassie said with a brilliant smile on her face. She leapt forward and hugged the two boys. She sighed, perfectly content with the news she'd just received.
"Ok, Casserole," Changbin said, ruffling her hair, "You gotta promise me you won't tell anyone, yeah? We haven't told anyone else yet because we wanted you to be the first to know." Her eyes went wide and she nodded.
"Am I really the first person you guys are telling?" She asked, repeatedly poking Felix's shoulder. He laughed and nodded before swatting her hand away and standing up.
"Ugh, we unfortunately do have other people we need to tell, too," he said, "So I bid you farewell, my dearest Casserole." She stuck her tongue out at her brother as he and his boyfriend waved goodbye.
They leisurely walked hand in hand toward Changbin's house. They were silent, just enjoying the warm breeze and each other's company. When they got to the Seo family's house, Changbin walked inside and called for everyone to come to the kitchen.
Everyone gathered around. Mrs. Seo held the twins in her lap, Chaeyoung sat on the kitchen table with one arm around Mina's shoulder, and Changbin stood in the center of the room. Felix was next to him, and he squeezed the older boy's hand reassuringly.
Mihyun squirmed impatiently, whining about how he wanted to go outside and play. His sister smacked him and shushed him.
"Jiyoung," Mrs. Seo warned, "No hitting. You know better. Now apologise to your brother so we can hear Bin's big news." She sent a wink to her son as she waited for Jiyoung to apologise to Mihyun. Chae laughed at her siblings and took a few photos of them. Everyone turned to Changbin and Felix, staring at them expectantly.
Changbin took in a shaky breath before speaking. "I know all of you have met before, but I'd like to formally introduce you to my boyfriend, Lee Felix." Chaeyoung and Mina high fived and squealed. Both of them snapped a few pictures of the pair and fawned over the cute couple.
"These are going on the Changlix album!"
"Wait," Changbin choked out, "That's still going? Are you the one who started it?!" His face flushed red as he remembered the photo of him and Felix asleep together.
"No, I'm not the one who started it," she sighed, "But I have posted on this thread a few times."
"Sorry to interrupt," Felix chirped, "But I have literally no idea what you're talking about..."
Chaeyoung opened the album and handed her phone to Felix, who began scrolling through the posts in the #Changlix album. He saw cute photos of the two sharing snacks and laughing together during movie night, a photo of them making weird faces from about six years earlier, and then he found a video. He clicked on it and waited for it to load. Once it did, the screen lit up to display a video of Changbin and Felix kissing from the party at Jisung's. He squeaked and covered his mouth with one hand, passing Chaeyoung's phone back to her with the other. He forgot to close out of the video.
"Oh my god!" She and Mina screamed in unison. Mina laughed and said, "Hell yeah, get it, Changbin!" He and Felix both tried (and failed) to hide their blushing faces. Chaeyoung was a bit bothered to have seen her brother making out with someone.
"Pingu," she said, squishing Mina's face between both of her hands, "Please never say 'Hell yeah, get it' in reference to my little brother doing gay shit ever again. It's weird. We don't kiss in front of them, so we shouldn't have to see them do it."
"First of all," Mrs. Seo cut in, "Watch your language when Mihyun and Jiyoung are around. And second of all, congrats on outing yourselves. Took you long enough." Mina laughed nervously and played with the edge of her sleeves. "Don't worry, Mina, I've known for a year and a half. I'm happy for you two." She turned to her son and Felix. "And I'm happy for you two as well. My little gays are finally finding love. I'm so proud of you!"
Tears welled in her eyes as she hugged Changbin, then Chaeyoung, then Mina and Felix. She knelt down in front of her two youngest and said, "Please never grow up."
Jiyoung scrunched her nose in disgust. "Icky. If I get old then I have to kiss people like Bin does and that's gross. And if I'm old I have to get a job and do boring things all day. I just wanna ride my bike and catch weird bugs, not sit in a desk all day."
"That's stupid," Mihyun snapped, "If I get old then I can drive a car and go get ice cream whenever I want to. I can't wait to get old!"
Mrs. Seo picked up Mihyun and held him on her hip. "You're not allowed to get old."
Changbin admired the way his mother interacted with his siblings. She was strong, but still gentle and loving, even after all she'd been through. She was the one who made sure their family still felt like a family even without their father.
Someday, he thought to himself, I'll have my own family, and I want to be a good parent like my mom is. He absentmindedly held Felix's hand tighter as he tried to hold back happy tears. Mina was the one who brought him back to reality as she patted his shoulder gently.
"I'm proud of you," she said, "You're really brave. My parents still don't know about me and Chae; I'm too scared to tell them. But you've got guts, kiddo, and I'm really glad your mom supports you. Don't ever forget that we're all here for you." He smiled and pulled Mina into a quick hug. Their sentimental moment was ruined by a shriek.
"I know! Hold on, let me put you on speaker phone so you can talk to him," Mrs. Seo shouted into the phone. She pressed a button and yelled, "Okay, you can talk now. He can hear you."
Another loud scream.
"I'm so happy for you, my little Lix!" Diane's voice echoed through the room, "Haeji told me you and Changbin are finally dating, and I'm so excited. How many kids do you guys want? What theme do you want for your wedding? I've got so many ideas, just give me a minute to find my scrapbook supplies."
"Thanks, mom," Felix muttered, "But I don't have time for scrapbooking right now. We've gotta tell our friends the 'big news' before one of you spills it to someone else."
"Too late," Changbin said as he checked his phone, "Jisung saw a new post on the Changlix thing and he told everyone. They're blowing up my phone now. They're happy for us, by the way."
Felix chuckled and hugged Changbin. "If we don't have anyone else to tell, then let's just go take a nap. I'm tired." He led Changbin up the stairs and they once again fell asleep in each other's arms as their friends and family rejoiced.