The first thing Mingyu notices when he walks into the kitchen to clock out is that Wonwoo is standing by the oven, cake batter smeared across his cheeks.

            Mingyu smirks, removing his coat and throwing it on an empty counter. A quick glance at the clock lets him know that Wonwoo’s shift ended a little over an hour ago, and yet here the older boy is, bent over a bowl, frowning.

            “Hey beautiful,” Mingyu teases as he leans his hip against the counter, his lips tugging into a smile.

            Wonwoo glances up, a small frown on his face, but as soon as he sees Mingyu, he smiles, rolling his eyes. He continues mixing, shaking his hair from his eyes. “Hi Mingyu. Aren’t you supposed to be home?”

            Mingyu smiles, reaching a finger out to swipe at Wonwoo’s cheeks, cake batter covering the tip of his finger. “Could say the same about you.” He pops his finger in his mouth, rolling his tongue around the tip as he off the cake batter. “Hmm, hyung, this is really good.”

            Wonwoo crinkles his nose, though his cheeks turn faintly pink. “That’s disgusting, Mingyu-ah.”

            He grins, raising his brows. He drops his voice to a low, husky whisper. “You love it.”

            And Mingyu laughs as his hyung turns positively red, stuttering out something. As his laughter dies down, Mingyu lets himself inspect the older boy. There’s a certain tilt to Wonwoo’s eyebrows, the skin around his mouth is pulled tight, and Mingyu knows what that means. Wonwoo is stressed.

            He frowns. “But are you really okay, hyung?” His fingers reach out to play with the ends of Wonwoo’s hair, and then he’s trailing them on the olders cheek lightly. “You can tell me,” he whispers.

            Wonwoo sighs, and very briefly rests his cheek into Mingyu’s palm. His eyes flutter closed, his mouth dropping open as he lets out a content sound, and Mingyu’s heart might have skipped a beat.

            But then Wonwoo is standing straight, shaking his head roughly. He mutters something to himself, Mingyu doesn’t hear what, but all he knows is that the tips of his finger tingle.

            “I’m fine, Mingyu,” he says forcefully. “I just have to come up with new recipes.” He gestures around. “New year, new pastries, you know.”

            Mingyu shakes off the feeling that lingers in his chest, smiling instead as he s the top of his shirt, stretching. “Ah, I see. Well let me help.”

            Wonwoo frowns, glancing at Mingyu in disbelief. “What?”

            Mingyu smiles, and then he’s walking over to the closet where they place all their jackets and aprons. He reaches behind all the items, pulling out his very own apron, which reads Look at Me Meow, I’m Getting Paypurr. He walks out of the closet tying it tightly around him, and as soon as Wonwoo sees him, he breaks into laughter.

            “What?” Minyu’s lips twitch into a smile. “You don’t like my outfit?”

            Wonwoo’s eyes are twinkling, his nose scrunched as he snorts out, “Mingyu-ah!”

            Mingyu plants his hands on his hips, making sure to jut out his hip and raise his leg in a pose. His fingers reach up to tangle in his hair. “You don’t think I look good?”        

            Wonwoo smiles sincerely, his tone soft. “You look great.”

            And Mingyu fights a blush as he shuffles over to the older boy. “Let me help you, hyung.”

            Wonwoo shakes his head, wiping his hands on his apron, the one that Mingyu got him. “Fine, go wash your hands first.”

            Mingyu smiles brightly, skipping over to the sink and as he washes his hands, he loudly sings out, “Heeeeyyy good lookin’! What’s coooooking?”

            Wonwoo rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath. “Idiot.”

            Mingyu flicks water at him as he comes to stand beside him. “Okay!” He claps his hands together. “What’s next?”

⚘❁⚘

            “Mingyu, that doesn’t go in there.”

            “Mingyu! You don’t throw the whole egg in the batter! You have to crack it!”

            “Mingyu, zest the lemon. Zest it.”

            “Mingyu –”

            “What?” Mingyu wipes at his face with the back of his hand, groaning. “What is it? What did I do wrong this time?”

            Wonwoo smiles lightly, “I was just going to tell you that you have flour in your hair.”

            Mingyu whines, slumping his shoulders. “Wonwoo!”

            Wonwoo blinks innocently at him. He has flour smeared on his cheek, spreading down to his chin. “Yes, Mingyu-ah?”

            “This is tiring, hyung.”

            Wonwoo hums, spreading the batter into a mold. “Hmm, you don’t say.”

            “We’ve been doing this for hours.”

            Wonwoo walks to the oven, placing the tray in and taking another one out. “I’m aware.”

            “When are we finished? I’m bored,” Mingyu sighs. He rests his elbows on the counter, resting his chin in his hands, well aware that he has now smeared flour on his chin.

            Wonwoo places the tray of freshly baked cakes on the counter and Mingyu instantly perks up as the heavenly smell hits his nose. He reaches out to grab one, but then Wonwoo is smacking his hand, scowling at him.

            “Ow,” Mingyu cradles his hand. “What? I just wanted one.”

            “Unless you want to get burned, you’ll wait a bit. I just took those out of the oven.”

            “And?”

            “And they’re hot.”

            Mingyu grins, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m used to handling hot things.” He winks.    

            “Oh god,” Wonwoo grumbles, his face heating up. “Shut up, you’re such a flirt.”

            Mingyu bumps his hip into Wonwoo, the mark on his right hip burning through his clothes. “It’s a part of my charm. Everyone loves me.”

            Wonwoo, for some reason, frowns at this, his brows furrowing together. “Yeah, they do.”

            Mingyu’s breath catches in his throat as Wonwoo stares up at him. His eyes are sparkling, and his lips slowly quirk up into a shy smile, his cheeks faintly pink. Mingyu, in a trance, reaches up to cup Wonwoo’s cheek, his thumb brushing the underside of his jaw. His fingers inch higher, his thumb brushing Wonwoo’s lower lip. Wonwoo’s mouth drops open, a hitched sigh escaping his lips.

            “Wonwoo,” Mingyu whispers, watching as Wonwoo’s eyes flutter closed.

            “Hmm?”

            “I –”

            The door slams open, and then Mingyu and Wonwoo are springing apart.

            A burst of cold air hits Mingyu, which he’s grateful for. Maybe that will help with the heat in his face. There’s a giggle and then Mingyu hears a very familiar voice whine, “Yah, Seokmin!”

            Seokmin is hugging Soonyoung from behind, burying his face into the older boys neck. Soonyoung is giggling, his hands interlocked with Seokmin’s. There’s a happy grin on his face, but it falls as soon as he sees Mingyu and Wonwoo.

            “Wae? What are you two still doing here?”

            Mingyu grins easily, not letting his unease show. What would have happened if they hadn’t interrupted? What was Mingyu going to do? Confess to Wonwoo? Please. “Hi hyung.” He raises his hand in an easy wave, wiggling his fingers. “I was just helping Wonwoo-hyung make some cakes.”

            Soonyoung glances at the clock, not letting go of Seokmin. “This late?”

            Mingyu shrugs his shoulder, looking over at Wonwoo, who is frozen in spot. Mingyu frowns at this. “Uh, yeah. New year, new pastries, right?”

            Seokmin frowns. “Are you making them work this late, babe?” The question is directed at Soonyoung.

            Soonyoung rolls his eyes. “No, these idiots do whatever they want.” He shoos both Mingyu and Wonwoo. “Both of you go home, enjoy the new year.”

            Mingyu raises a brow, smirking. “You mean leave you and Seokmin-ah alone?”

            Soonyoung rolls his eyes while Seokmin laughs, his cheeks turning pink. “Ha, very funny. Not that it’s any of your business, but I left some documents in my office and they’re very important.”

            Mingyu glances at the hand that’s tightly clutching Seokmin’s. He notices that Seokmin’s lips are a bright pink, and now that he looks closer, he can see that Seokmin’s hair is disheveled, like someone was running their fingers through it. He raises a brow, a teasing smile on his lips. “Yes, very important.”

            Soonyoung looks at him squarely. “We’re not having in my office, Mingyu.”

            And Seokmin chokes as Mingyu starts to laugh. Even Wonwoo lets out a small chuckle.

            Mingyu takes his apron off, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh yeah? You might want to tell your boyfriend that.”

            Soonyoung makes a confused expression, looking back at Seokmin, who looks dejected. Soonyoung’s eyes go wide and then he’s reaching out to smack Seokmin in the chest. “Seokmin!”

            “What?!” Seokmin rubs at his chest, a frown on his face.

            “We are not having in my office!”

            He throws him a strange look, grumbling. “I know that now.”

            Soonyoung makes a noise in the back of his throat, shaking his head frantically. “Oh my god, Mingyu! See what you did!”

            Mingyu laughs loudly. He’s already grabbed his coat, and Wonwoo has also taken off his apron to place it on the counter. He raises his hands up innocently. “Don’t look at me, hyung. Talk to your y boyfriend.” He turns to Wonwoo, offering his hand, palm up. “Let’s get out of here.”

            Mingyu doesn’t show it, but he’s very nervous that Wonwoo won’t take his hand, which is why he lets out a small breath of relief when the older boy places his palm against his, his fingers curling around Mingyu’s.

            Mingyu is all happy smiles and bright eyes as he walks out with Wonwoo.

            He doesn’t notice both Soonyoung and Seokmin glancing at them curiously.

            “What’s up with them?” Seokmin asks, looking at how tightly Mingyu is grabbing Wonwoo’s hand.

            Soonyoung purses his lips, his brow furrowing as he inspects his two friends. “Honestly? I have no idea.” He saw the look in Mingyu’s eyes; he knows what that little sparkle is. “I just hope they’re careful.” And Soonyoung glances at how Mingyu easily places his arm around Wonwoo’s shoulder, pulling the older boy to him, and he feels his heart squeeze. Oh, he thinks, what a mess this will be.

a/n: my meanie feels were just all over the place today. and i seem to have some weird obsession with cat puns, but oh well. next chappie will be the big date with joshua and jihoon ~(^.^)~ 

also, thanks to all my subscribers! i hope you enjoy this story ~