• TWO •

Despite how the other constantly plagued Xiumin's mind Chen never quite materialised in the physical realm; just floated around the edges of his psyche like a haunting presence. It left him at a total loss. All of this had never really happened before, without being cheesy no one had ever left such an impression on him, one that had lasted this long at least. Never before did he instantly turn as soon as a deep voice resonated from the doorway, or pause to look when someone with a similar cologne breezed past either. Even tired eyes would still widen until he could pinpoint the mystery speaker or whoever's booming laughter filled the cafe that reminded him so much of when Chen would burst out with that damn cackle while the two of them talked. 

But still it was never who he wanted, just a random stranger and not Chen. And it didn't seem like that was about to change as within the blink of an eye as it had now been nearing two weeks and Chen still hadn't made an appearance in any form.

To make things worse the days passed ever so slowly in the muggy heat as time herself seemed to melt, turning into a substance like slow moving lava. It consumed the days in an endless warmth, making it feel like every day was being spent wading about uselessly, not achieving anything just floating through the hours without purpose.

Maybe Xiumin really had totally ed his chances by turning tail and pegging it. Maybe Chen was just a hallucination from that weird thing that happened at the counter, after all google deemed it most likely that it was caused from coming down from some acid trip, fun, or an aneurysm, double fun, or severe exhaustion, the most likely-and only candidate, he reassured himself. Or maybe Chen was real and just didn't feel whatever this was. Either way he'd just have to get on with it all, swing back into the mundanity of his routines and if the stars above felt kinder than before maybe they'd cross paths again.

*
October 28th

The soft sheets rustled in the emptiness of a cold morning. The washing machine had automatically, the boiler too, resulting in a sporadic rattling vibration sounding from the kitchen and a dull hum littered with brief clunks from within the linen cupboard. Birds sounded from outside and the roads slowly began filling with the crunch of rubber on gravel. It was an early morning symphony, and he listened with eyes glued to a still foreign feeling too white ceiling. The fresh layer of paint only reminding how 'not-home' the place still was.

Rolling over Xiumin wearily glanced at the clock and saw the angry little red numbers light up the surface of a wooden bedside table. Casting a set of keys, a pair of headphones, and the sole ring he wore in an almost sunset glow. It was six thirty nine in the morning, on a Monday, he was awake at six thirty nine on a Monday. The morning shift at work began nine o'clock and he had classes at quarter past one, leaving him just enough time to shower and eat once the shift finished at twelve on the dot but not leaving him time for anything else. Resulting in there being about two full hours to get everything done before he'd have to be on route to the cafe as he probably wouldn't be finished with university until about six in the evening and by then it would likely be too late.

Therefore much to his own annoyance the thick duvet had to be painfully inched down his form with great reluctance, as there was no way he wanted to rip it away all at once like he was in some happy go lucky movie. Maybe he'd sing to the birds outside and dance around while he was at it. No way, fat chance of that in this early in the morning, it was goddamn cold. It'd warm up as the day trickled on of course but for now as autumn ended and winter began to set in the mornings were often freezing. But the slow chill that encased his body was just as bitter as if he had ripped the band aid off in one, even seeping through the thick cotton of old sweatpants that hung low.

Most of the duvet of the forever half empty space was now bunched up at the foot of the bed and the sweatpants soon joined them, followed by the plain black boxers as well. Bare feet then padded across the cold tiled floor into the en suite shower room to turn the shower on, and a very manly shriek escaped his mouth as the harsh initial chill of the water began to seep into his bones.

He washed quickly, unable to bear the cold much longer so he furiously scrubbed at his scalp with some floral scented shampoo. Still irritated that he had bought completely the wrong brand in a half awake daze when he did this exact routine last week of getting up early to run errands, but it did remind him of the garden they had back home so it wasn't all bad. Largely he just desired to escape the barely lukewarm spray that was still assaulting his body as hastily as he could, practically fighting off shudders as the suds trailed down his body until they eventually pooled at his feet.

Little to no warmth was then provided by the towel he wrapped himself in so the feeble material was quickly swapped for much thicker actual clothes, bracing himself for the early morning chill. And after traveling down the corridor to the actual bathroom he quickly peed and took care of general hygiene, debating whether or not to shave as he brushed his teeth, in the end he voted no and left the apartment. Looking a little scruffier than he would have liked but being borderline half awake and holding a blade was decidedly not a good idea.

The day would begin with the grocery store, despite how eerie the place felt when it was this abandoned. It was always strange how somewhere so normal could become so frightening the minute it was void of all life. An empty child's playground, a long forgotten and overgrown theme park, walking the dimly lit corridors of a school after closing, or roaming the halls of a hotel in the ugly hours after midnight. Or, most importantly a supermarket at the asscrack of dawn.

With only the occasional creaking of a wheel on a trolley or rustling of one of the few customers plucking something from the shelves it was an eerie place, the hum of neon signs would greet him again at the abandoned entrance with a feeble and flickering wave. But with the cupboards and fridge worryingly empty there was no other choice, he couldn't survive on frozen food for much longer so it was a much needed trip in order to restock. The last couple of times he'd visited home his mother had begun teaching him how to cook from scratch to prevent him from living off of pasta and pre-made sauces so he fully planned on utilising those new and improved skills.

However despite how greatly he had progressed that damn toaster still deemed that he wanted nothing but charcoal for breakfast no matter what he did, so for the past few days he'd resorted to putting his bread under the grill in the mornings to prevent the horrid smell filtering about the apartment. Therefore the next stop would be a general or hardware store for a new toaster because he refused to admit it was his fault that it burnt so often. Xiumin also needed light bulbs as well, wanting to replace those in the apartment with more energy efficient ones and perhaps ones with a higher wattage to brighten up the kitchen as the evenings started drawing in.

The opposite was needed in his bedroom, the fixtures that came with the apartment made him feel like he was sleeping and showering in a hospital room with how florescent the lights were. They were so bright and angry in the mornings that he winced every time the switch was with a fumbling hand. Plus a few other things were needed to make the place feel a little more homely and warm with the winter months now coming.

And so the day began with some questionable driving on the short journey to the closest supermarket, sighing from behind the steering wheel as he looked up through bleary eyes at the double doors of the store before finally getting out. The obnoxious neon sign illuminated everything around it in a strange glow as he shuffled inside, already irritated by the false cheer of the tinkling music and the general assault of all the offers, the buy one get one free's, and the 'Wow Such Amazing Deals!'. By now he'd watched countless TV programmes on how advertisers lure you in and make you spend more money on the deals because as humans we get a hit of dopamine the second we think they've outsmarted 'the man'. So he knew what false marketing to avoid when shopping and made a conscious effort to strictly only buy things written on his list, that way he'd spend far less.

Though the same thought also reminded him that he probably needed to get out a little bit more, maybe be a little less of the model student doing all the readings for his classes and take advantage of his youth.

It was about twenty minutes later that his willpower began to waver when he passed a stand displaying hot chocolate and all the ts in preparation for the coming winter. There were these ridiculous mugs that were practically bowls lining the bottom shelf of the stand, then for the next two came regular mugs followed by shelves of varying flavours of hot chocolate. There were even miniature whisks and chocolate sprinkle shakers too. But the one thing that had Xiumin pausing to stare at the Christmas themed monstrosity -it's October for Christ sake, we haven't even had Halloween yet- were the piled bags of giant marshmallows.

The name of the brand always escaped him but the jingle always got stuck in his head of this animated marshmallow dancing about singing "Marshmallows! Marshmallows!" And without even realising it he'd begun doing the same as he deliberated on what was left on the mental list he'd made. But, they would do very little harm and overall it'd be a nice, sweet treat over the winter. Maybe Xiumin should let 'the man' win for once he reassured himself, just to keep things interesting.

Speaking of interesting, a voice plucked itself out of this air and boomed about the void of the store, thoroughly scaring the absolute out of him in the process.

"Are you gonna buy those or are you just gonna stand there, and continue to be positively adorable? Because honestly I like the second option more," Chen stated firmly, completely startling Xiumin who spun around in shock.

What- wait who- the ?

No words came from the gaping open mouth for at least a good minute as it sunk in who exactly was standing there looking particularly smug in front of him. It was Chen. Laying eyes on him after all these weeks still sparked the same feelings that it had the first time they met, but after recovering from the cheesy line Xiumin promptly fought to ignore his beating heart and instead forced a scowl to overtake his features. How much of a prick must he be for Chen to just waltz up to him after leaving him hanging for all this time with such a stupid line, not an apology or even a flimsy excuse in sight.

"Quite frankly I don't care what you do or don't like, thank you very much," placing the soft treats back into place he turned to fix the other with a sharp glare, "it means nothing to me, as do you, after coming in all- all charming, and then- after you made me like you, and then going total ghost for weeks!" If there was a specific skill that involve tripping over your own tongue yet still sounding like a severely pissed off hissing cat then Xiumin would be up for gold as he stormed off down the next isle with heat in his ears praying he could just hide forever. But if the rapid footsteps where anything to go by it was doubtful he'd be alone for long.

With a mouth left wide in agape Chen stared at the retreating figure at a total loss. Hundreds of different thoughts ran through his mind but no combination made any sense, Xiumin was the one that didn't call him, and that was fact. He'd left his number on the table, the other was the one that just hadn't called it and clearly was the only human in the world without a soul because that meant he'd felt absolutely nothing between them.

Given some of what transpired between them wasn't exactly pleasant of which to this day he couldn't explain what had actually happened over the counter when he paid but still, there was something between them. And on that fact he'd waited, and hoped, and tried desperately not to seek the other out but his resolve broke as the days went by until instinct finally took over and lead him to the other. So without much thought he'd found himself drawn inexplicably into some dinky little supermarket at a disgusting hour of the morning, staring as the little creature him hackles raised.

All he'd planned to do was face Xiumin dead on and make him squirm, the least the guy could do was give a reason for why he didn't call- Xiumin didn't owe him a reason, nothing like that, but Chen thought they'd really hit it off. Plus there's nothing more awkward than being confronted by someone you had been avoiding even though Xiumin completely looked the type that would never be deliberately horrible. So, Chen wanted to force him into the most painful situation possible, he hadn't been expecting for the tables to be him however. Why the is he so damn angry pissed- the did I do? In all fairness it should be the other way around, after all Chen had it up and made the first move by writing his phone number on a somewhat used napkin, writing 'for Xiumin, call me!- Chen' and leaving it right next to their mugs and the ice pack. But the phone never rang.

An entire week had passed in which he still remained hopeful, it moved at a glacial pace as he forced himself to endure and wait and hope that the other would call but that overly chirpy default ringtone never filled the silence. And when it did, when any unknown number flashed up on the screen hope instantly consumed him but it was always short lived. It was never Xiumin, just some annoying check-in from his phone provider or a sales rep. Chen had made a promise to himself that he would not return to that coffee shop until there was progress between the two of them, because there was not point in going back unless it was for Xiumin.

And then the second week passed, without any hope this time. It stung when the other didn't call. It stung even more being rejected face to face in a random supermarket but after being around for as long as he had Chen had felt that bitter taste of rejection time and time again, it was just odd feeling it as he stared down the rainbow assortment of packaging in the cereal isle. It was even stranger still that without any logical reason he found himself following and searching after Xiumin till he spotted the shorter male.

With a frazzled mind Xiumin stumbled through the isles, swearing up and down that he could feel his heart beat when he pressed a shaking hand over the lower half of his face to try and calm himself down. That- that ing idiot- stupid, stupid ing heart- why won't you just calm down for the love of- Oh, peas, he needed those, though with any luck given how much heat his panicked body was producing he'd probably melt the damn things just by existing near them.

Christ he was like some swooning maiden, heart sent fluttering at the sight of the other. It was just the shock that's all, the shock of the other finally being there in real life after spending weeks, ing weeks, thinking about him. And now he was just here! Grinning so innocently, looking the cat that had got the cream and that ticked something wicked inside of him until it was a polished, glistening garnet of rage settling like a dead weight in his stomach.

The frozen sanctity of the furthest isle could only provide safety for so long though and it seemed that time was up, a previously outstretched hand reaching towards the frozen vegetables was snatched. Plucked from its noble quest as his entire body spun and followed the momentum, leading him to exactly where he was trying to escape from.

"No. You know what, just , no! No, I'm not having it! You- ing you do not get to be pissed at me! What on earth did I do!" Chen hissed, eyes flitting over Xiumin's face in disbelief before flinging the arm within his grasp back at the other as if his touch offended him.

He met that gaze without hesitation, feeling mocked by Chen's surprise. "Why are you mad at me!?" Xiumin shouted right back, stepping closer to the other so he could voice the words directly at the other's face. God it was colder in the freezer isle than usual, or was it just the animosity between the two of them actually becoming palpable? Either way neither of them said anything for a moment, both too embarrassed by the reason for their feelings.

-"You never called back."
-"You never came back."

The two boys spoke in unison but heard the words from each other's mouths clear as day. Once more neither of them said anything for a moment as silence swallowed them whole, more than a little shocked by what the other had said. A chill began to snake around their ankles and almost again in unison both men shifted their weight from side to side to get at least some blood to their frozen limbs.

"What do you mean I never called you? I don't have your number you idiot was I supposed to just sit by my phone and try millions of combinations? You're cute but you're not that cute," Xiumin said snarkily, punctuating the last diss with a head to toe scan and a patronizing shake of his head.

"Oh maybe you are just a pretty face then! Can you not ing read? They're these funny little things called numbers, you draw them like this-" pausing to trace out a few messily in the condensation of the freezer door caused by Xiumin standing there with it open, -"see? Nice and easy! Oh don't give me that look, you must clearly not know what they are or you'd have noticed that I wrote my number down on a napkin and left it on the table!" Chen retorted, not appreciating the sass at all, and he wasn't sure how but he was fairly certain he just got sassed by having a freezer door slammed in his face as well. But all bets were off when the other started laughing like a total madman.

"You mean on the napkin next to the ice pack?" Xiumin paused, waiting for the other to catch on.

"Yes, are we just repeating what the other says now? Wow what a fun game-"

-"Hmm, an ice pack huh? Oh what a coincidence, we're in the freezer isle, maybe I can give you a live demonstration then!" Xiumin announced, a few heads down the isle turning to look at him questionably before they returned to the contents of their trolleys and wheeled away. "Hey Chen, question, if I take this ice cream out of the freezer, what happens to it?"

Oh for sake. Chen did not like being spoken to like a child, but after it finally clicked he understood. And he deserved it. "It melts," he mumbled feebly, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Ding ding! Right answer! So when the ice pack melted, I wonder, did the absorbent napkin absorb the water? Who would have thought!"

Chen groaned loudly, a horrid sense of regret and frustration coursing through him. "Please just stop. I get it, I'm sorry okay? Can we just try this thing again?"

The answer nearly leapt right out of Xiumin's throat but he held back, hesitating slightly. Looking at it from the other's point of view he could understand why he was annoyed, and probably why he didn't come back to the store. "You just didn't come because I didn't call, right?" Xiumin added weakly.

"Yeah!" Chen couldn't hide how eager his reply was, "Um, I mean yes, yes, that's the only reason I swear, had I put two and two together sooner about- about the ice pack I would have been back there right away to literally spell out that I was interested in you and not just playing around." Of course he was interested! How on earth could he not be, even bundled up and unshaven at stupid o'clock the other was still just as handsome as ever. And he had unquestionably proved Chen's suspicion that the protocols of customer service were the only thing holding him back from dealing blow after blow to the taller's ego.

"Okay good, great, you're interested, that's uh great news, that's that's-"

-"Great?" There was a slight teasing lilt in his voice, Chen just hoped it came off more as charming rather than condescending. One complaint he'd had many times over the last millennia was that he just didn't have a face for being sincere, it always came off as sarcastic. So more often than not he just had to almost dramatize his actions, deliberately make himself vulnerable. You know, to appear 'human' and all that. "You would have called if you'd had my number, right?-"

-"No doubt, I would have phoned you that night." Something bloomed within Xiumin as the other grinned at him while placing a tentative hand on a narrow waist that gave a reassuring squeeze, he succeeded in resisting the urge to flinch away. But thank fully it was different this time, he still felt like he might burst but there was no pain, instead something else coursed through his veins. It flowed out from his chest and all the way to his icy fingertips.

Xiumin could probably have convinced someone that the sky was purple with that amount of genuine honesty that was palpable in that oh so earnest voice. It was adorable. And all Chen could do was smile as the two of them walked away together, chatting about anything that came to mind.

*

But strangely they couldn't hear the exclamation of shock from a woman somewhere behind them in the isle. No one could quite believe it, after all it was just so odd, and baffling, so even more people began crowding round to stare into the freezer. A rising mumble thrummed from the cluster with confusion evident in their hesitant tone. It just had to be that the machines were having a funny, didn't it? Because what else could explain it?

The hefty doors were glued into their frame, sealing the now fully frozen contents within it; an arctic plume slithered out hopelessly from mere millimeter gaps caused by customers tugging on the handle. It bit into bare ankles before prowling onward, searching for something, someone, but the only thing it would find would be an expanse of dated vinyl tiles. When the door was finally pried open moments later it became clear that something was truly off, to begin with the staff had thought that someone had left the door open for a while which caused liquid to drip down on and around the door frame therefore meaning it froze when it was eventually shut again. However a thick layer of frost had glued every single item down to the shelves, and tiny icicles clung to any surface edge possible too, their fragile claws feebly and eerily all pointing in the exact same direction with some now seeming to grow and protrude even further still. Searching, or perhaps hunting. It was as if some ice giant magnet -if even possible- had been placed to the left side of the door, but then that didn't explain why the tips of the icicles were just so very sharp. One poor shopper discovering that the hard way as a single scarlet drop fell to the floor. So it became apparent that something else must be to blame. But what?

*

It was only when the two of them came to check out together that their conversation faltered, but that was down to social protocol more than anything. You just went quiet when it came to your items being scanned, it was rude to speak, what if the nice check out lady wanted a conversation. Besides Xiumin shouldn't be selfish or dismiss this moment of peace as it finally gave him a chance to process everything. The two of them had been talking without pause from the moment they cleared up the whole phone number fiasco. It had even lasted around the entire store as they flitted down nearly every isle to check items off his shopping list and pluck said items from the shelves. They'd then lined up together for Christ sake and now that he'd payed for his shopping in admittedly a bit of a blur Xiumin was even stood silently waiting for Chen to pay for his admittedly feeble amount.

It became apparent that there may have been a problem occurring when Xiumin was stood deliberating over two different toasters with Chen still by his side. They'd gone to the general store together, because why not, Chen was even holding his packs of light bulbs so delicately that it was borderline cute for some very strange reason. Though thankfully now in a much steadier grip than when he first heard about Xiumin's reasoning for buying a new toaster after the mayhem the last one had caused. The idiot had nearly laughed himself into a fit.

For the most part now the two walked in relative silence, only having brief snippets of conversation here and there but it was comfortable. Easy. It was even easy to say goodbye, as during their wandering about the store they'd properly traded numbers and had promised that they'd actually text now, there had even been hints of another date threaded subtly throughout their conversation.

Xiumin spent the better half of his remaining time thinking about it and what was blossoming between the two of them, would that be their first date together? If it was then what did that make this morning, just a friendly accidental meeting? He wasn't a fan of turning first dates into some be all end all event, people just couldn't be themselves at fancy dinners, he'd much rather have a first date somewhere real so he'd get an actual taste of what the other was like. But he couldn't be thinking about it now as he dashed beneath flowering trees wondering if the apartment door had been locked as he left; he was already late for work as it was.

*

Much to his surprise it was about five o'clock when Xiumin saw Chen again on that very same day, it was starting to become a not unwanted but strange coincidence all the same. The evening breeze was much fiercer today, enough to dull the last remnants of summer's heat meaning that business was getting much slower. A pleasant kind of slow though, now small talk could be exchanged with their regulars and those in the kitchen got to experiment with new sweet treats now that they weren't having to make batch after batch of their best sellers to keep up with the demand of them. Plus it became apparent that the store changed almost seasonally, and overnight in this case too.

From the photos on the notice board he could see that back in the summer maybe July early August time everything was almost a pastel colour. The table cloths were baby pink or yellow, and there were these little white mini wooden crates painted with flowers on each table that held the bowls of different sugars. The tie on white chair cushions matched whatever colour the table cloth was and there were bright bunches of flowers randomly dotted about the store.

Instead now all the tablecloths and cushions were a rich rusty orange, a pale chocolate, or in some cases instead both the table and wooden chairs were left uncovered to reveal the dark wood beneath, the sugars and sweeteners now sat in a line of small mason jars atop the table too. But the biggest change was that the sheet stickers that lined the bottom corners of their large front windows switched from dainty and colourful flowers to falling crisp leaves. It all felt a little early to be getting this autumn crazy but it was nearing the end October soon enough. They had amped up the Halloween aspect though so it probably was a surprise for Chen when he came into the store, hence why instead of just walking up to the counter the other just paused and stared for a moment in awe.

Although Xiumin wasn't complaining about having a good few seconds to just check the other out. This was in fact the live version of what had been plaguing his thoughts the moment they had separated earlier that day in varying forms and he'd be damned if he didn't just soak the view in after all. It was still strange and almost foreign feeling being this fiercely attracted to someone so early on, and it was really throwing Xiumin off kilter.

Obviously he'd experienced what just physical attraction was and what it therefore usually led to now that he was out and proud and definitely experimenting with the dark side as some would say, but that didn't fit what he was currently feeling either. Although considering the avenues that some of his daydreams plummeted down without abandon it was a possibility. But now was definitely not the time for his thoughts to flicker back to those scenarios considering how many times he'd already been scolded for getting distracted while at work, so whatever Chen was here for it'd have to be quick.

"Hello!" Chen beamed as he spoke, "Again," briefly pausing as the two let out breathy chuckles, "is there any chance you can take a break real quick? I just wanted to grab you and quickly ask you something?"

Well there goes that little pipe dream of this being a chanced and flying visit. Quickly throwing a glance over his shoulder to discover where his boss was lurking and considering that Xiumin couldn't spot him it was likely that the grumpy was tucked away in the office giving him a few minutes to talk to Chen at most. "I've already had my break for today, can you not just do it here? There's no one behind you in the queue so I've got a minute or two to talk."

"If there's no one to serve are you sure you can't step out for just a second?" Chen was aware he was pushing his luck but he really didn't want to have to rush it and just blurt it out over a counter top.

"Unfortunately that's not quite how it works," Xiumin had the distinct feeling that Chen hadn't worked in the service industry before, "it's only me on shift today so I have to stay here."

"I'll wait till it quietens down and then I'll come talk to you, but can I have a latte please while I'm up here?" Chen finally decided, slightly disappointed that he'd have to wait but it would be worth it. If the other said yes. That was the real reason as to why he came back so soon after all, it wasn't as if he was displeased at seeing the other he was glad of any opportunity to spend time together after spending weeks thinking he'd never cross paths with Xiumin again.

It just suddenly struck a chord after the two had separated that morning that Chen couldn't be bothered to wait and fuss and fret, to generally dance around the issue until one of them finally spat it out like a stream of rainbow vomit. He wanted Xiumin, and now preferably. "Might be a nice idea if you don't burn yourself again though, but feel free to check me out again like last time because we both know you were. I saw right through that smooth little line last time," Chen called out to the barista's turned back.

"Oh can you just not, I'm at work!" Xiumin hissed, slamming down the small metal jug of milk he'd just finished heating and frothing to throw a glare over his shoulder. "Why are you so ing irritating?" He muttered while wiping down the machine, unsure of whether his question was rhetoric or not but before Chen even got the chance to fight back a third voice stunned them both.

"Xiumin! How dare you speak like that to a customer!" A middle aged man screeched from the doorway of the kitchen before striding closer, "I'm so sorry about this I've no idea what's wrong with him today-"

"Wait! It's my fault! It's genuinely my fault! We know each other, from- from outside of work, and I was just messing with him up a little, we both know he'd never speak to a regular customer like that," pausing while the manager visibly weighed out the situation and looked between the two younger men who were nodding furiously in reply, "truthfully it's my fault, and if you don't believe me I'll just keep saying it until you do so I swear I swear, my fault its my fault totally my fault," hoping his voice sounded as earnest as his intentions were Chen insisted once more.

"That's not even remotely necessary, so please just stop that already- I said stop I believe you!" He snapped, before taking a deep and supposedly calming breath. "Be that as it may, Xiumin still represents this company and should treat all paying customers with respect and be well mannered throughout every interaction," the man addressed Chen this time before turning to his employee more privately and whispering, "I trust that you would never speak to a customer like that Xiumin don't worry, and I can appreciate you not completely losing your temper despite how he probably deserved it for annoying you at work. Don't let it become a regular thing."

"Yes sir, don't you worry about that, thank you though," Xiumin grinned falsely as he spoke, until his boss's back was ce more. Then instead he began glowering at Chen. "So sorry sir, you'll have to forgive my poor manners, you see it's just because you're such a colossal and that I hate you, so much."

"Xiumin I am so sorry, I am so so so sorry!"

"Save it, you've already done the damage, thank you for jumping in though that probably saved me from a serious scolding."

"I'm still so sorry, really, I shouldn't take so much joy in pushing your buttons to get a reaction." A hand rubbed self consciously along the back of his neck, sheepish in nature.

"Exactly you little sadist, leave me and my buttons alone."

Eyebrows rose in surprise at that comment, "My what an interesting word choice for someone so sweet?" He couldn't help but purr, fulling understanding how so many compared him to the smiling cat from that funny new book. Wait, it's not even that new anymore it is? Christ how old is that book? that was a hundred odd years ago, is that Viking? No not Viking, vi-, vi vi vi, vike, vic, ah Victorian!

"I think it's a uh, perfectly normal, word," Xiumin micro-paused between nearly every damn word, pausing heavily before finally deciding that perfectly was the best option to hopefully derail this oncoming two and fro, "just a harmless and regular word." Definitely overdone it now.

"Oh really, do you always describe words as if they're innocent fluffy bunnies or just the ones?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about." Mission abort, mission abort, abandon ship.

"Don't worry, I'll save my questions for later, and if you still want to play dumb I'll just have to show you instead, or have you show me because who knows what hides beneath that cute exterior now, just so very many possibilities." And with that Chen practically bounded to the closest table he could find, plonked himself down sitting almost parallel to Xiumin. And just grinned. The cat most definitely got the cream if you counted this delicious latte.

Meanwhile Xiumin had to stand there biting his tongue and fighting to control the flame engulfing his face as the elderly gentleman approached the counter. He'd just stepped into the store meaning he thankfully had not bore witness to their questionable exchange so with no other choice a disgusting fake customer service smile was painted on and the uphill battle till closing continued.

*

For around the next hour Chen sat in the little shop at that table adjacent to the counter, occasionally chatting with Xiumin but just little snippets as it seemed the ever diligent barista didn't sit still for more than a few moments. While it was endearing how hard the other worked it did mean that boredom set in quite quickly now that his second drink was gone, caffeine did very little for someone like him but the taste was still pleasant. Thoughts did wander at some points but just as he promised earlier those would be saved for another time, instead the time was passed by raiding the napkin holder on the table and covering them in little doodles. Pausing between each masterpiece to show off his artwork, naturally.

It started off with the basics, like any great artist. So once he had done a full round of stick men come caricatures of the other patrons in the restaurant and unfortunately the lady with the striking resemblance to her dog had spotted her drawing and was far less than pleased but it made Xiumin laugh so it was worth the tut of disapproval. Then moving onto whatever pleased his fancy really. There were a few of some evil looking beastly dogs versus a series of angelic little kitties, even his attempt as Xiumin as a cat that turned out more frightening than the dogs to be honest. He wrote yes or no questions, jokes, an odd compliment (not referencing the frequency but the contents, it was the weird creepy serial killer-esque ones that got the most animated reactions) and it was all going swimmingly until the napkins ran out.

Sighing in defeat Chen borderline started sulking until he felt the air shift behind him and a hesitant tapping danced out on his left shoulder, these two old ladies were grinning with an alarming lack of teeth and the mother and daughter pair next to them were grinning also. I think the four year old has more teeth than those two combined, Jesus. Yet the smile forming on his own face was not one he could win against, as all four women each had a handful of napkins, all vigorously being waved in his direction. After thanking the women and collecting his bounty Chen turned in his seat, the old wood creaking with his movement, and found Xiumin's smile just as wide as his own was.

Though it could have just been an overactive imagination but in the corner of his eye he swore that a glimpse of the manager smiling as well appeared. Looking just as amused by their antics as about half the people inside the store. And so their repartee continued on for a while longer, by this point a small part of him was just itching to ask Xiumin out on a date via napkin but while it was actually quite a sweet idea there was something more official about asking it face to face.

A napkin just seemed like a very basic version of just texting it to him and that would be a total cop out. So he'd wait, and do it properly. The store closed at around 6:30 anyways, although like most places people were more than welcome to mill around for longer. And linger they did on this particular Thursday evening, but after dwelling on it for a moment it seemed that a majority of those unwanted witnesses were watching himself and Xiumin interact. Perhaps they just wanted to see it through until the end, until something more exciting than napkin flirting happened. Chen just couldn't disappoint them, he just couldn't.

Xiumin immediately stopped fussing over the mugs stacked atop the drink machine the second he heard heavy footsteps coming towards the counter, they sounded far too purposeful and loud to be that of the doddering old man asking for yet more milk so chances were that it was someone new. Perhaps something more exciting that arranging it so that all the mug handles faced the exact same way in every row, though it wouldn't be a difficult task to beat that. So after spinning on his heel complete with the customer service smile the typical scripted greeting faltered on his tongue when it Standing in front of him was Chen but it just felt weird, like intense and just off.

"No more napkins then? I was beginning to get used to you being quiet, it was nice," he joked, laughing at the fake expression of hurt Chen dramatically pulled.

"No, I think at this point if I use any more I'll be the leading cause of deforestation, but this I wanted to ask you personally," the bravado in his voice was entirely false, the grin but a mask for the nerves, and the neat clasping of hands behind his back hid how they trembled, "so. Xiumin. To be perfectly honest, I don't want to wait around to test this out because I don't need to, so would you like to go on a date with me? Maybe go get coffee together or something simple?" The nerves turned into flat out fear when the other just laughed, a few other customers even joined in and Chen vaguely started wondering if he was somehow asleep and dreaming despite how impossible it may be for him to do so. He hadn't done it in a very long time after all, but he remembered how your mind could quickly turn so sinister and plunge you into a nightmare. And that's what this was.

"Chen? Chen!-" snapping his fingers in front of the other's terrified face Xiumin quickly realised that laughing was decidedly not the best response given how Chen looked like he might bolt any minute, -"hey, hey I'm not laughing at you I promise, I'm sorry, I thought you were being ironic when you said to get coffee, yknow, like, I work in a cafe? I'm a barista, I'm surrounded by coffee all day?"

Well , he had a point. "No sorry you're right, it was real stupid to ask you to get coffee, sorry for um, well being a total idiot-"

"Lets just do something else then yeah? You're not an idiot, it's just everyone's go to first date idea," Xiumin soothed, practically sensing the other recoiling into a little ball of embarrassment as he admitted his mistake.

He didn't say no, 'something else' was still a date, so that techinally means a yes, so he said yes, so we're going on a date "You mentioned before that you're at your parents house this weekend to visit right?"

"Close, you get points for remembering something, I've got a Halloween thing with the guys I lived with last year this weekend, I'm pretty busy all of next week and it's that weekend after the one now coming that I'm seeing my parents, sorry," he admitted sheepishly.

"No it's fine, it's longer than I'd like to leave it but if you're busy there's nothing we can do, I'll just have to make sure you don't forget about me then won't I?-" pausing for the nod he then continued with, -"So we'll have to wait until sometime after then I reckon, I'm free on Thursdays, uh, and um, I think maybe Fridays too after like five? Yeah Friday as well will work for me, or the weekend. But I'm really just happy to work around you, I'm not fussed what we do or where we go on the whole, just wanna spend more time with you." Bashfully his eyes drifted to the counter top for a brief second, eyeing up the little fake pumpkins and conkers that clustered around the till before returning to meet Xiumin's gaze.

"Oh that was smooth." The blush was back full force now. "I'm free on the Thursday after classes, and I don't have anything until gone midday on Friday so we've got all night to find something to do," Xiumin replied, fighting fire with his own stupidly arrogant and inevitably disastrous fire. God he hoped the children weren't listening, or more importantly the mothers that would actually understand the implications. "You can always come and visit me here, just to make sure I don't forget you, Chad was it?"

"You're just something else entirely aren't you?"

Suddenly the callouses on the palm of his hand seemed so much more interesting than anything or anyone else in the room. "Last time I checked I was still pretty human."

"No disputing that, definitely a pretty human." Oh I'm just that good. When Chen gained no response other than a shy smile and a faint exhale of a laugh he decided to diffuse the situation some. "I'll try and drop by again during the week if you tell me when you're on shift, once I shake off my friends that is." Voice getting louder as slow strides took him back towards the door.

"Oi, what's up with not bringing them here? This is a nice little place you know, I'm a delight to customers that aren't arrogant pricks." God he was thankful for this change of topic, even though he'd been the one to make the suggestive comment he instantly regretted it. Xiumin had no idea what came over him, maybe it was just the competitive streak showing as per usual as Chen had embarrassed him in front of all the patrons.

"Oh it is. I just don't want to be having to share you that's all. I plan on keeping you all to myself and completely monopolizing your attention." Pale fingers clasped and turned the doorknob as Chen proudly announced his intentions, even going so far as to throw in a wink for good measure over his shoulder before he practically vanished into the night. Not literally of course, wouldn't want to give the humans a fright.

Meanwhile Xiumin was left standing there totally dumbfounded, other than a few who chuckled at Chen's audacity before resuming their otherwise interrupted evenings it seemed that no one had even reacted to Chen's boldness. How on earth could someone say that so casually? And to wink at him? No one winked anymore, that wasn't a thing, and for good reason! His poor heart was going a mile a minute!

The score was currently three-two to Chen, and Xiumin planned on evening that back out at some point very soon.