RPOV

   No matter how hard he tried, sleep had evaded him these past several days, he had tried every trick in the book, drinking warm milk, reading, watching boring tv shows, counting sheep, but nothing seemed to help him go to sleep. But when he held hands with Kyuhyun he felt comfortable and safe, which led him to doze off. When he finally woke up, he realized that he was lying on Kyuhyun’s sofa and there was a blanket wrapped around him.

   He stood up, wrapping the blanket around him and admired his surroundings. It was the first time he had been in Kyuhyun’s apartment. It was a beautiful space, decorated with expensive modern furniture. Yet the space felt warm, there were bookshelves everywhere, carrying books on countless different subjects.  And here and there, he saw little frames with pictures of the places Kyuhyun had traveled and family photos, which he had to smile at. He made his way to the dining area, and gasped, there was a beautiful long table, but even more impressive was the view. The furthest two walls were completely made of glass, giving a breathtaking view of the city.

   He suddenly felt two familiar arms wrap around him.

  “Did you have a good nap?”

  Ryeowook smiled, “I did. How long was I out?”

  He felt Kyuhyun kiss the top of his head, “about an hour.”

 “How did you get me up to your apartment,” he asked, curious to know how he didn’t wake up for such a long time.

  He heard the other chuckle behind him, “You’re a pretty heavy sleeper love and you’re quite light. So I decided to just carry you up, instead of waking you.”  

   Ryeowook leaned back into the others embrace, “thank you.”

  He sighed; he knew he needed to tell him about yesterday’s phone call with his dad. After all he knew Kyuhyun had questions for him, especially since Donghae had texted him.

  “Why don’t I go get the lunch from the fridge that Donghae packed for you and get some tea?” Kyuhyun suddenly said.

  “Sounds good,” he said, but before he could even walk anywhere, Kyuhyun had scooped him up in his arms and carried him back to the living room to the couch.

  “Kyu!! What are you doing?!” he asked as he clutched onto the others shirt for dear life.

  “Hmm…this was much easier when you were asleep…you were so much more willing…”, the other said teasingly.

  Ryeowook hit him playfully on the chest, “I’m sure anyone who is unconscious will be more agreeable.”

   Kyuhyun laughed as he set him down on the couch, “here’s the remote to the TV, I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Ryeowook just noticed that the other had changed into casual clothes and was wearing glasses. Great, Kyuhyun looked ier than ever…

Back to present

   He sighed, he felt slightly better now that he had taken a nap. He sat there, deliberating how he should go about this conversation once Kyuhyun got back from the kitchen. He knew that once he talked to Kyuhyun about everything he would probably feel better, but right now he honestly just wanted to runaway from all his stress. He didn’t want to talk about the phone call, nor did he want to bring up the upcoming meeting, he just wanted to cuddle with Kyuhyun and ignore the anxiety that had been building up in him this past week.

KPOV

    He was relieved to see that Ryeowook looked better when he woke up, some color had come back to his face and he seemed more like his cheerful self, but he knew his petite lover had concerns that he hadn’t voiced yet.

   He walked over to the fridge and took out the bag that Donghae had given him. He found two salads and two baguette sandwiches. He smiled; he would have to thank him later. As he went to get two plates and some iced tea from the fridge, he reflected back on his boyfriend’s behavior this week.

   It worried Kyuhyun that Ryeowook hadn’t told him that he wasn’t sleeping or eating properly. On Tuesday, he had seemed perfectly fine, and they had talked everyday since on the phone, but never once had his boyfriend brought up his worries. He felt guilty that he hadn’t seen the signs that Ryeowook was feeling stressed, but on the other hand, he knew that unless he saw the other in person, it was difficult to gage what was happening, Ryeowook was very good at keeping up an energetic voice over the phone. It was his expressions and mannerisms that usually told him what was really happening.

    He was starting to wonder if he should have brought up the whole idea of introducing his parents to Ryeowook, the idea seemed to be giving the other way too many nerves to be worth it and he was tempted to call his parents and tell them something came up and they would have to reschedule. But he knew Ryeowook well enough, that for all of his worries, he would be heartbroken if Kyuhyun canceled the meeting on account of him, so he just sighed and continued to put the sandwiches and salads on the plates.

   He was going to have to wait patiently for his boyfriend to open up to him and if that didn’t work, he would have to coax it out of him…he really hoped that Ryeowook would cave first.

   He put the plates and glasses on a tray and headed out to the living room and had to stifle a laugh. The TV was on, but Ryeowook clearly wasn’t paying any attention to what was on. He was sitting on the couch zoning out.

   He set down the tray on the table in front of the couch, “I didn’t know you liked bridal programs. Are you trying to tell me something?” he teased.

   Ryeowook snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the screen, which was currently showing brides in their wedding gowns.

   He groaned while turning pink, “I didn’t even realize what was on…”

  Kyuhyun laughed and sat next to him on the couch.

   “Should I flip channels or should I turn it off?”

  Ryeowook thought a minute, “flip channels.”

  He set to work flipping through channels and finally they both settled on watching a nature documentary.

Kyuhyun watched as Ryeowook took a bite of his sandwich, relieved that the other seemed to have an appetite.

  Some of the sauce from the sandwich made its way onto the corner of Ryeowook’s mouth and Kyuhyun just couldn’t let the opportunity by, so he closed in and the sauce off before Ryeowook knew what was happening.

   “All clean!” he stated, proud of his work.

   Ryeowook opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so instead he just grabbed his sandwich and took another bite, turning beet red.

   If Kyuhyun was the squealing type, he would have put fan girls to shame at that moment. Ryeowook was absolutely too adorable for words.

RPOV

   It was so odd, only a couple of hours ago he was so stressed and distracted, but now the only issue seemed to be making his heart rate slow down. Kyuhyun never failed to brighten his mood and at the moment he couldn’t help but smile as his lover took a bite of salad. He watched as the tables turned, this time it was Kyuhyun who seemed to be making a mess. Dressing was now caught on his upper lip; Ryeowook smiled inwardly, it was time to repay the favor.

   He put his sandwich down and turned toward his boyfriend, kissing and the dressing right off Kyuhyun’s delectable plump lips. And like the other, he pulled away before the other could really grasp what was happening and smiled brightly, “look’s like I’m not the only messy one.”

   “I should be messy more often then,” Kyuhyun said laughing, when Ryeowook tried to smack him.

  “You never let me win,” he pouted, still attempting to hit Kyuhyun.

KPOV

  What a funny statement he thought. What Ryeowook failed to realize was that Kyuhyun was pretty much wrapped around Ryeowook’s finger.

    Kyuhyun had taken Ryeowook’s hand and pulled him against him, positioning himself so that he was lying on the couch with Ryeowook lying next to him.

   “You always win, you just don’t realize it” he said.

   Ryeowook peered up at him and he couldn’t help but smile when his petite lover wrapped his arms around his neck.

  “You’re going to have to explain further,” Ryeowook said.

  He gently took one of Ryeowook’s hands and placed it over his heart, “my heart is still frantic after you kissed me”

  Ryeowook smiled at him, “so your signs of defeat are hidden, unlike my giveaway cheeks”

  Kyuhyun placed a kiss on his head, “instead of signs of defeat, don’t you think they’re more like ‘I love you’ signs instead?”

  Ryeowook buried his head into Kyuhyun’ chest, “you are the cheesiest person I know.”

  Kyuhyun laughed and wrapped his arms around Ryeowook’s waist, “like I said, only with you.”

  Neither of them said anything after that, happy just to soak up the warmth and comfortable silence that the other brought.

   Kyuhyun smiled when he felt Ryeowook play with his shirt, he had a feeling Ryeowook was about to speak.

   “I talked to my dad yesterday,” Ryeowook said quietly.

A worried expression soon replaced Kyuhyun’s smile, “I take it that the conversation didn’t go well?”

    He felt the grip on his shirt tighten and he started running soothing circles on Ryeowook’s back.

   “You know it’s odd, we had been making some progress with our relationship, both of us hadn’t really brought up the whole ual orientation thing too much. He knew that I was seeing someone, but I guess he didn’t expect me to be so serious about it. When I told him I was meeting your parents, he flipped.”

  Kyuhyun’s hand stilled, “what did he say?” he asked nervously.

   “What he told me when I first told him that I wasn’t attracted to girls, but to guys: ‘it’s only a phase’. Then he said that I was an idiot for meeting your parents when this was only a “temporary” relationship and that I needed to get serious and find a nice girl to settle down with.”

  Kyuhyun tightened his grip around Ryeowook, “and what did you say?” he asked.

  Ryeowook closed his eyes, “I think I may have toasted our relationship past the point of salvation…”

  He smiled weakly at his lover’s attempt to make the conversation lighter, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  Ryeowook looked up at him and smiled, trying hard to mask the hurt, “I told him that if he thought my ual orientation and my relationship was just a phase, that he shouldn’t bother knowing me anymore. And that if he was going to continue projecting this sort of talk at me, I was going to forget trying to make amends with him.”

   Kyuhyun looked at him, gently placing a kiss on his forehead, “I’m sorry” he murmured.

  Ryeowook looked at him, panic suddenly laced in his face, “Why? Why are you sorry? Don’t tell me you want to break up?” he asked, eyes becoming watery.

   “No! Of course I don’t want to breakup silly! Don’t ever think I'll walk away from you. I just feel like if I hadn’t asked you to meet my parents you wouldn’t have to be dealing with all of this stress,” he said while wiping the tears that had formed in the corner of Ryeowook’s eyes.

RPOV

   Ryeowook’s body relaxed again. It was odd, he hadn’t even cried after he had gotten off the phone with his father, but the minute he thought Kyuhyun was breaking up with him, he got super emotional.

   “Don’t be sorry, I’m really looking forward to meeting them tomorrow, even if I am super nervous, I wouldn’t miss this meeting for the world” he said.

   “I wish you would have told me that you were nervous, we could have talked sooner about this. Although when we met Tuesday night for dinner, I should have asked if the meeting was bothering you,” Kyuhyun stated wistfully.

   “When we met everything was normal, it wasn’t until the next day that the nerves started kicking in. And then the phone call happened yesterday…so I’m not too late with that news right?” he said with a sheepish smile.

  Kyuhyun flicked his forehead gently, “next time call me as soon as you start feeling stressed okay?”

  He sighed, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I just felt like if I told you I was getting anxious over the whole meeting then you would start feeling guilty and I didn’t want that hanging over you this week, especially since you told me you were working on negotiations for a huge case.” He paused and then added, “Plus you already saw me have two meltdowns, I didn’t think it was good to have a third one so soon,” he said jokingly.

   “You realize I feel more worried when you withhold information from me right? Don’t ever hesitate to talk to me, like I said, you always come first.”

  He smiled, “okay, next time Ill call you immediately when I start feeling anxious.”

KPOV

  Kyuhyun nodded his head in satisfaction. But there were still a few things bugging him.

  “So if the nerves started kicking in on Wednesday that means you haven’t been sleeping or eating properly for 3 days?” he asked worriedly.

  Ryeowook’s face instantly turned to one of displeasure, “It’s not that bad…I ate today and I got a nap in…”

  “Ryeowook! This is a big deal! I’m worried about you and I want to know why you haven’t been getting enough sleep or eating properly,” Kyuhyun said firmly.

  His boyfriend sighed, “when I get really stressed, I tend to lose sleep and when I lose sleep I become forgetful and a little spacey and I tend to forget to eat…”

  Kyuhyun mentally face-palmed, even when his boyfriend was worrying him, he was somehow way too cute for comfort.

  “So you’re telling me if you’re not stressed, you’ll sleep and then focus and eat properly?”

  Ryeowook laughed, “of course! You realize I don’t purposely lose sleep and stop eating properly right? Donghae probably put the fear of god into you, but I can assure that I’m already feeling better just being here with you.”

  Kyuhyun smirked, “so just cuddling with me gets rid of your stress?”

  “Must you ruin the moment?” 

  He chuckled before asking more seriously, “is there something that’s particularly stressing you about the meeting? I guarantee they’ll love you.”

  Ryeowook took a deep breath, “I know I’m flipping over nothing really, but I guess a small part of me feel’s like I won’t get their approval…I mean I don’t even have my own dad’s approval…I guess I just don’t want to disappoint them…”

  “Oh by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you this, but what type of flowers does your mom like? And what type of sweets do they like? I could make them cookies…but maybe that’s too simple…maybe I should make them a tart?” Ryeowook said, his mind clearly now preoccupied with the best dessert to bring to tomorrow’s meet up.

   Kyuhyun couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend’s worries. How on earth Ryeowook could still question whether his parents would like him, just left him dumbfounded. Ryeowook was unbelievably selfless, even now when he was stressed, he was worrying about the proper gifts to bring his parents. Could he be any sweeter?

   Ryeowook looked at him, eyes narrowing, “care to explain what’s so funny?”

  “I just find it rather adorable that you’re concerned whether they’ll like you because anyone that meets you always loves you. You’re quite difficult to resist. So tell that small part of you that’s causing you to worry to go take a nap because by the time this meeting is over with, I guarantee you’ll be their favorite person.”

   Ryeowook tightened his grip over his shirt again, “I just don’t want to let anyone down.”

   Kyuhyun knew Ryeowook’s fears probably had a lot to do with his father not coming around yet and to be honest it broke his heart. No one deserved acceptance more than Ryeowook and he resented Ryeowook’s father for not understanding and hurting him. He wanted so badly to call his father and say that he didn’t deserve Ryeowook’s patience or his time. And he desperately wanted to tell Ryeowook that his parents weren’t like his father, but he knew better than to say that because it would only make his lover feel worse about his situation.

  So instead, he kissed him gently, “you won’t, don’t worry about expectations or disappointing others, when we see them tomorrow just talk with them as you would when meeting new friends. And Ill be there each step of the way, so I can navigate the discussion in case things go to awkward land.”

   Ryeowook laughed at this, “awkward land?”

   Kyuhyun nodded his head gravely, “it’s a terrible place.”

  “You’re right, it’s best to have guide when entering,” Ryeowook said in-between laughs.

  Kyuhyun couldn’t help but laugh along with him, watching him laugh or smile really was what brought him the most joy. It was odd, but when he made Ryeowook smile or laugh, it made him feel like he achieved something priceless. And that in turn made him feel happy.  

RPOV

   Kyuhyun’s humor never failed to make him laugh or lift his mood and that was one of the things that he found himself most attracted to. He always liked joking with Kyuhyun. Sometimes he felt like they were little kids talking with one another, with their constant playful bickering. But he knew Kyuhyun got a huge kick out of it and he rather liked it too since it usually ended with Kyuhyun saying something naughty and them having a long make-out session.

  Ryeowook was still giggling, but he wanted answers to his questions, those answers would probably give him some peace of mind, so he settled himself down again and asked again, “Kyu, you never answered my question on what flowers and sweets to bring.”

  Kyuhyun thought about this before answering, “Well my mom really likes peonies I guess…and as for the sweets, anything you make they’ll probably love, but both of them aren’t super fond of really sugary things. Does that help you at all?”

  Ryeowook smiled and gave him a quick kiss, “yes that helps me a great deal.”

 “So you’ve decided on what to take then?” Kyuhyun asked.

 “Kind of, but before I say yes, do they like chocolate? And do they have any fruit or nut allergies?” he asked.

  Kyuhyun smiled, “yes they love chocolate and no nut or fruit allergies I can think of. Although my dad for some reason really dislikes cherries.”

“And do they have a favorite fruit by any chance?” he asked.

“My dad has always liked apples and I don’t think my mom really has a favorite fruit, but recently she’s been on a peach phase…”

KPOV

   He was still thinking of more information to tell Ryeowook, but before he could really dig further, Ryeowook had flashed him a triumphant smile.

  “I take it that you’ve come up with your dessert?”

  “Thanks to the information you supplied me, I finally know what to make them.”

  “So do I get to hear what you’re making?” he asked while tracing circles on his petite lover’s back.

  Ryeowook laughed, “It’s a surprise!”

  Kyuhyun groaned, “It’s not like I’m going to tell them, plus if you tell me then I can for sure tell you whether they’ll like it or not” he said trying to appeal to Ryeowook’s logical side.

  Ryeowook sighed and started touching Kyuhyun’s neck, playfully moving his hand over his Adam’s apple, “how about I give you a hint.”

  He knew Ryeowook was trying to get his way right now…and at this rate he was going to cave embarrassingly quick. So he quickly put his hand over Ryeowook’s to still him from using his slender fingers from massaging his throat because if he waited any longer he knew he could kiss his crumbling willpower goodbye.

  “You know I love you, but if you keep molesting my neck, I seriously can’t be held responsible for what happens.”

  Ryeowook smirked, “Have I found your weak point?”

  Kyuhyun chuckled, “love, you do realize you embody my soft spot right?”

RPOV

  And just like that Ryeowook lost. His words instantly made Ryeowook into putty and his cheeks once again flushed pink.

  “I love you too,” Kyuhyun said with a smile.

  He looked at him questioningly at first but remembered back to their conversation and put his hand over Kyuhyun’s heart.

  He smiled, “I’m glad it’s mutual then.”

  Kyuhyun laughed, “Over course it’s mutual! By the way, do I get my hint?”

  “The dessert incorporates apples, nectarines, chocolate and walnuts,” he said moving his hand back up to Kyuhyun’s neck. There was something about the other’s neck that he found incredibly attractive, so when his neck was exposed like this, Ryeowook couldn’t help himself.

KPOV

   Kyuhyun took a deep breath, and tried to clear out all of the naughty things he wanted to do so badly to this man right now. He knew Ryeowook wasn’t ready yet and that today he needed to rest after all of the stress he had gone through.

   Once again, he stilled the hand that was causing him so much temptation and started playing with the captured hand, “that’s not too much of a hint,” he complained.

   Ryeowook hummed, “it’s a very pretty dessert.”

   He snorted, “that doesn’t help at all! All of your desserts are beautiful.”

   “Well then, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” the smaller said with an amused grin.

  Kyuhyun surrendered, clearly entertained that his boyfriend was so dedicated on keeping this a surprise, “alright you win.”

  Just as he was about to ask if the other was getting hungry, Ryeowook was suddenly squealing, “Kyu! Turn up the volume on the TV!”

  Ryeowook’s attention was now focused on the giraffes that had appeared on the nature documentary.

  Kyuhyun let out a deep sigh. He knew it was absolutely pointless to try to get his lover’s attention at this point. Instead he settled himself comfortably in the sofa and wrapped his arms around Ryeowook’s waist pulling the smaller into his embrace. After all, it wouldn’t kill him to learn a little more about the creatures that held his boyfriend’s fascination.

   An hour later and Kyuhyun had learned way more about giraffe’s than he could have ever possibly wanted, but Ryeowook looked like he had stars in his eyes, so he didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was “giraffed out” about a half hour ago.

  Ryeowook turned around so he was facing Kyuhyun again, “wasn’t that awesome Kyu! They are so cute!”

  “Yes, but compared to the giraffes, you’re much more fun to watch.”

  Ryeowook rolled his eyes playfully, “I’m glad you were entertained.”

  “You seriously love them don’t you?”

  “They are by far the coolest animals! I mean did you see their tongues! Who would expect to see a blue tongue?”

  Kyuhyun kissed his head, “yes I saw the blue tongues in all of their glory, quite interesting,” he said teasingly.  

  Ryeowook pouted, “Did you watch any of the show?”

  “I did, but I found it hard to focus.”

  “You aren’t going to get cheesy on me are you?” Ryeowook asked warily.

  He laughed, “I was tempted to, but ill spare you. Anyways are you hungry? It’s already 6:40pm.”

RPOV

   Now that Kyuhyun brought it up, he was hungry, time had flown by and they had never finished their lunch.

  “I am, what should we do?” he asked.

  “Well I can attempt to cook us something, or we can order food, or we can go out.” Kyuhyun answered.

  Ryeowook smiled. He loved that Kyuhyun never asked him to cook, always suggesting they go out because he knew Ryeowook was tired from being in the kitchen all day.

  “As romantic as you cooking sounds, I’ve heard about your cooking exploits from Hyuk and I think I need to be alive to see your parent’s tomorrow, so I think we should stick with your other two options.”

 Kyuhyun feigned a hurt expression, “I’m not that bad!”

 Ryeowook raised his eyebrows, “should we text Hyuk to double check?”

 “Point made, so do you want to order food or go out?”

 “Let’s go out, that way we can take a walk around the city too. I feel like I’ve been too lazy today.”

  “Fair enough, I know a good restaurant near by, it only takes about 10 minutes by foot, so it’s pretty close.”

  “What type of food do they serve?” he asked curiously.

  “Chinese, is that okay or do you want something else?” Kyuhyun asked, realizing that the other may want something different.

  He smiled, “Chinese sounds perfect. Let’s go!”

*Author’s note: Originally this was going to be a one-shot, but I seem to always write more than I anticipate, so I decided on 4 chapters…? :D So the next chapter will be the dinner date and such and then the next will be the meeting!! Hurray! But I won’t be able to write the last two chapters until I get back from my trip… Ill be gone for about a week and a half…with no Internet access, so that should be interesting… But in the mean time I would love to hear what you guys think! I hope you like the story so far! *