Yixing intentionally bumps Baekhyun’s chair, succeeding in getting the latter’s attention as he whips his head at him, raising a delicate eyebrow in question.

“Something’s wrong with Kyungsoo. I mean, look at  him.”

And Baekhyun follows to where Yixing is discreetly pointing at Kyungsoo working the copying machine, smiling as he nods at Mr. Lee who passes him another stack of files to reproduce, because he can’t seem to find Oh Sehun anywhere and Kyungsoo is the first person he gets his hands on.

After Mr. Lee walks away, the brightness of his smile remains, and his eyes take on a dreamy sort of state as he examines the files and carries on with the work that’s meant for someone else. Baekhyun only hums and Yixing shoves at him, slightly irritated by his total lack of concern.

“The guy’s just… happy. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about.” Baekhyun gives Yixing’s cheek a gentle pat and goes back to finishing his report.

Yixing lightly knits his eyebrows and says, “Kyungsoo’s happy that he’s making multiple copies of company documents instead of the intern?”

Baekyun’s typing hands still and he slowly looks at Yixing, narrowing his eyes because god, Yixing  can be a gigantic sometimes, good thing his face more than makes up for it.

“Think Yixing. Why, on this good earth, would Kyungsoo be that happy. What could have possibly happened that would make him wear that face while filling in for the intern?”

Yixing looks off into the distance and then back at Kyungsoo who appears distracted as he pushes a button on the machine and suddenly squawks because he apparently pushes the wrong one. He laughs to himself and tries to concentrate more, but as the machine whirrs to life, spitting out copied pages on the tray, Kyungsoo starts smiling again and stares at the wall, dreamy and distant.

Baekhyun sees Yixing's brows crease, brain working overtime, then an eyebrow raises up very slowly, and he thinks yeees, thaaat's it, almost there Yixing. Suddenly both brows aline upward as it hits him and his eyes double their original size.

"Oh my god he got it. HE GOT THE D!"

Baekhyun chuckles. "Eh, not quite. They kissed though. First date is two days from now. Won't be too long 'til he gets it," he replies,  and an earnest smile settles on Yixing's face as he continues to look at Kyungsoo.

"I'm really glad for the guy. It's been years since I've seen him smile like that."

"Yeah. And he's less of a pain in the now because of it," Baekhyun comments in all seriousness.

Yixing glances down at him. "Oh you don't fool me Byunbaek. Underneath all this sass and biting humor, you are a huge ball of romantic sap just like the rest of us." 

Baekhyun blanches, pretending to puke but Yixing is unperturbed. "I am so looking forward to the day you meet someone." 

"What? I've met a lot of someones, 'xing. And I quite enjoy meeting them, if you know what I mean." Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows and Yixing frowns disapprovingly.

"Let me amend that. I am looking forward to the day you find the guy who can make you smile like that." 

Baekhyun sniggers at him. "Don't be silly. A night of mind-blowing can make me smile like that." He leans back against his chair to regard Yixing fully. "Zhang Yixing, have you been drinking out of your special mug again? Because you sound a bit cuckoo right now."

Yixing shakes his head and says, "No wonder you two are the best of friends. I can't even begin to explain how alike you both are." 

Baekhyun laughs outright, replying, "You insult me Yixing. We are nothing alike. I'm prettier and taller and infinite times more intelligent." 

Yixing gives him a close-lipped smile, deciding that this is already a lost argument because Baekhyun simply refuses to listen. "Whatever. But mark my words Baekhyun," he says and with that he turns around and Baekhyun glares at him walking away.

"Not even ten in the morning and Yixing's already knocked back a few," Baekhyun mutters as he goes back to work.

--------------------

Kyungsoo lets out a shaky breath as he studies himself in the mirror. Unsatisfied, he combs his hair again so that it's sitting neatly on his head, no strand out of place, and he smiles at his reflection. 

In a couple of minutes Jongin will be here and he needs to look his absolute best on their first date. Kyungsoo had settled on a light blue sweater top (after a very thorough closet raid and Baekhyun's approval via Skype)  and wears the same pair of jeans Jongin had looked very approvingly at on the night of Yixing's birthday party.

He hears a beep from his phone on the nightstand and his stomach fills with butterflies, fluttering around uneasily. It's Jongin, somehow he's sure of it and he exhales to calm the nerves. Sure enough it is him when Kyungsoo checks his phone, texting that he's waiting in the parking lot. He texts back that he's on his way.

They'd slightly argued about this before on the phone, because Jongin wanted to pick him up at his apartment and Kyungsoo told him to just wait downstairs, he'd come down to meet him there. Jongin didn't want to at first, had said it was a little discourteous but agreed when Kyungsoo insisted (although secretly he appreciates the rarity of someone at this day and age to still be old-fashioned).

He walks out of the bedroom, shrugging his jacket on before grabbing his wallet and keys, and puts on his shoes.  As he walks out of his apartment he hopes to god everything works out and they have a nice time despite him feeling ready to vomit. It's the nerves that has him like this, but though he'd been nervous many times before because of Jongin, this time it's of a different kind. The excited kind. Because it's the first date and if everything goes well it'll lead to a second date and a third and the hope for it to become a reality is what excites Kyungsoo now.

When he exits the building,  he finds Jongin leaning against the wall, preoccupied with his phone. Kyungsoo calls out to him and he straightens up immediately, and he clearly sees Jongin's eyes fixate on the tight fit of his pants as he walks toward him. Kyungsoo's glad he'd decided to wear it because Jongin's staring, open and very appreciative, is a huge boost to his lacking confidence.

"You look great," Jongin says, brightly smiling at him.

Kyungsoo can say the same for Jongin. Actually, he can say much much more because Jongin looks perfect in his simple shirt and brown leather jacket. Seriously, how can anyone look that good without even trying?

"You too. I like the jacket." He's about to say but Jongin reaches out, caressing his face and kisses him, quick and feather light, and the words instantaneously die on his tongue. The wires from his mouth to his brain must have blown a fuse because when Jongin pulls away and asks, "Ready to go?", all Kyungsoo can say is a very intelligent "Huh?", fully engrossed by Jongin's cherry lips, now curling into a smile as he repeats, "Kyungsoo, you got everything? So we can leave?"

It takes a few seconds for Kyungsoo's brain to rewire itself and he merely nods because it's faster than formulating actual words. Jongin starts to move to the direction of the parking lot and Kyungsoo falls right in step. "So," he finally manages to say. "Where are we headed?"

"Yeah, I've got everything planned out. I am taking you to eat at my favorite place. The rest is a surprise," he replies as they walk out to the parking lot. But they both stop when they take a few steps in different directions - Kyungsoo to his car on the left and Jongin to his scooter on the far right.

"Uh, wouldn't it be better if we take my car?" Kyungsoo points out.

"Nah, tonight we're taking my scooter. The weather's real nice." Kyungsoo hesitates, but Jongin is already walking away so he follows. When they get to his scooter, Jongin holds out a spare helmet and it fills Kyungsoo with absolute dismay because he'd worked on his hair for close to an hour and now he'll be getting crappy helmet hair. He suppresses a frown as he puts it on and Jongin's already wearing his as he sits on the scooter and waits for Kyungsoo to climb on behind him. 

"Hold on tight okay? I don't want you falling off." He hears Jongin say and there really isn't anywhere to hold on to. The scooter coughs to life and Kyungsoo has only a few seconds to figure out what to do. His hands hover on Jongin's broad back before deciding that his arms are the safest place to hold. But the scooter abruptly lunges forward so fast that he looses his grip (he's glad he managed to contain a very loud scream) and he reaches out again, catching Jongin's waist, and the scooter runs so fast that he circles his hands around him, hands meeting on either side of the other's front, lest he wants to fly right off it. 

Kyungsoo cheeks are burning because this is essentially a hug, with how he's pressed against Jongin's back, hands tight around him, his chin lightly resting on one shoulder. And he contemplates, as they speed through traffic, the colorful blur of buildings and lights surrounding them, and Jongin his linked hands while waiting at an intersection for the light to turn green, that this is alright. If their date would consist of just this, it would be more than enough for Kyungsoo, and he would consider it one of the best dates he'd ever have.

He holds him tighter as they move again and this time he listens intently as Jongin points out a few places -- where Minho lives, where they all hangout after practice, where Chanyeol buys his equipment -- and he occasionally hums in acknowledgment against Jongin's ear.

At another red light, Jongin tells him that they're not too far from the diner they'll be eating at and Kyungsoo says a small okay. Jongin rather likes the feel of his warm breath against his ear, and he's enjoying the snugness of Kyungsoo's thighs against his, and how firmly he's holding him despite them not even moving right now. He smiles because really, he's never driven this fast before but tonight is an exception.  If he's to be honest with himself he'd say that it was somewhat intentional. But he waves it away in his mind and chalks it down to him being too eager to get to their first stop of the night.

As they wait, he reaches down to caress Kyungsoo's knee and he feels the arms around him wound tighter. In that moment he wishes the light won't ever turn.

--------------------

They make a careful left, slowing down in front of a nondescript diner and Kyungsoo's knees are a bit tired from not being used to riding a scooter. As soon as he gets off he stretches a bit and after taking off the helmet, discreetly runs his fingers through his flattened hair in an effort to make it at least presentable.  He follows Jongin in, individual helmets in tow (because these days, you can't leave anything out in the open and expect it to still be there when you get back) and a mixture of different smells, all of them rich and wonderfully appetizing, hit Kyungsoo hard and he's already salivating even before they take a seat. Jongin leads him to the service counter at the back where a notably tall person, with short spiky hair, greet him with a cheery smile and a friendly hug. When they break away, Jongin motions to Kyungsoo to come closer.  

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