Stepping into the small hole in the wall diner was much like a flashback to when he was a little boy in the late 70’s going to the one by his mama’s small apartment on 4th street. The checkered tile floor, the neon lights, and red and black leather, padded booths. The place was empty of customers he noted as he followed the sign at the front of the diner to find a seat. As he slipped into a booth near the jukebox in the back he took note that it looked authentic enough. Once his jacket was pulled off and laid on the booth next to him he picked up a menu pushed by the salt and pepper shakers. He was debating whether to get a burger and fries or a club sandwich when the sound of skates pushing off the tile flooring caught his ear.

“Hello, I’m Jonghyun and I’ll be taking care of you tonight,” The young waiter was petite in his uniform of tight black pants and a white t-shirt. There was a pink stripe straight up the side of his pant legs, and the pocket of his shirt was also a pale pink.“What can I get for you to drink Handsome?”

Words were forgotten as he blinked up at the man, “Excuse me?”

The smile on Jonghyun’s face fell, “Oh I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable!”

He flashed a little smile and waved his worries off, “It just took me by surprise.” With a little laugh, he looked at the man’s nametag, “I haven’t been called handsome in some time, mm Jonghyun.”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” When he looked up at Jonghyun the man smiled, “Handsome.”

He tried to ignore the warmth of his cheeks as he coughed, “Mm just a cherry coke. Thanks.”

“Be right back.” His notepad was put back into his shirt pocket along with his pen, and he pushed off toward the counter.

                               ——

The little notepad was pulled from his pocket as soon as the drink was pushed onto the table, “What’s your name handsome?”

Caught mid drink Jinki coughed a little, but once recovered he answered, “Jinki.”

“Nice to meet you Jinki,” Jonghyun’s hair was the same shade of pink as the laces on his skates. “What can I get for you?”

“I can’t seem to choose between the club sandwich and the hamburger.” Jinki smiled up at him, “How about you choose for me?”

Jonghyun’s eyes visibly raked up and down Jinki’s form, a sly smile on his face. “Coming right up Handsome.”

Jinki sipped his drink and tried to not let being called Handsome get to his head.

                                       —–

The following day he was sitting in his office about to eat the lunch he packed the night before when the phone on the desk began to ring. With a raised eyebrow he pushed the top white button that was blinking, “Yes Minho?”

“Your wife is on line 2.”

“Ex-wife,” He gently corrected him before running a hand over his face, “Alright put her through.”

“Sure thing Boss.”

A moment later and the phone still hadn’t switched over Jinki asked, “Anything else Minho?”

“Oh um, sorry,” The young man coughed, “About the whole not remembering the ex part.”

“That’s okay, you’ll get it.”

“Putting her through now,” The call clicked over and Jinki mentally prepared himself for 5 seconds before picking the phone up, and holding it between his ear and shoulder.

He barely had the thought to say hello before she was shooting off on a rant, “Why don’t you ever answer your damn phone for yourself? Always having that poor boy do your dirty work.”

“Yuna that’s his job, to answer my phone at work,” He laid his chin against his palm and stared across the room at the glass wall he shared with the hall, “I answer my personal phone myself.”

She hummed softly before asking, “Are you going to help Taemin move into his new place?”

“I told him I would,” Jinki squinted for a moment before moving to push around his probably cold rice now.

“I was just making sure,” She explained, and he could hear the sound of traffic through the receiver. “He’s looking forward to it.”

“I wouldn’t forget something I promised him I’d do Yuna.”

She grunted, “Sure.”

With a sigh, he asked, “Anything else besides keeping tabs on me?”

“Just be here at 5.” The call was ended, and after the phone was put back down he ran his fingers through his hair. He might have failed in a lot of things during their marriage, but being a good father wasn’t one of them.

 ….. 

When he pulled up in his old driveway his son was stepping through the front door holding a big box. A big smile bloomed on Taemin’s face when he noticed his dad’s car. The box was pushed into the back seat of the open cr-v, and the young man was quickly pulling Jinki into a hug. “Not so hard you’ll break me.”

“Dad, you’re stronger than me.”

“You could take me.” Taemin smiled big, a little laugh leaving his lips as he threw an arm over his Dad’s shoulders. After a moment Jinki nudged him with his elbow as they made it into the house.“So, excited to be on your own finally?”

“To be honest it’s gonna be really great to not be between you and Ma.”

Jinki frowned as he took the last step to the second floor. “I’m sorry you’ve felt that way.”

Taemin flashes a little smile as he plops on his unmade bed. “Ma isn’t so keen on you being Gay, and she keeps trying to make me think that way too.”

“How do you feel about it, though?” He softly asked as he picked up a snow globe on the desk and a piece of newspaper to wrap it.

“Being gay isn’t something abnormal, it’s who you are,” Taemin stopped fussing with the box next to him and smiled up at his Dad, “And Ma is just…. Bitter. She thinks she turned you gay or something.”

“That’s not possible.”

“I know, I told her that.”

The sound of the top step creaking stopped their conversation as the said woman appeared in the hallway. She glanced at Jinki before smiling at her son, “How’s it going?”

“Just catching up,” Taemin was beaming, his happiness to be with his Dad washing from him in waves. “Dad was telling me how he was gonna let me drive his car.”

With a raised eyebrow Jinki asked, “Was I?”

“Mhmm, something about it’s safer for you to drive mine full of stuff with all the blocked line of sights.”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, that's… lovely dear.” She smiled tightly at her son before going to rummage through the box on the bed. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”

“Ma I’m 24,” Taemin leaned forward to pull the box from her. “I think it’s time I get my own place.” He turned toward his Dad, “Don’t you agree?”

Jinki smiled down at the box he was finishing packing as he softly said, “Be sympathetic Taem. Your Ma isn’t used to having an empty nest.”

“You could have had more kids.”

The man’s nose was scrunched in disgust as he tapped a box close and lifted it from the desk, “I think you’re just enough.”

“I’m more than enough what are you talking about Dad?” Taemin quipped with a cheeky grin.

“Come on Squirt.”

 —-

Jinki helped balance the box Taemin was carrying as the young man tried to get his key into the lock. Once the door was kicked open  Taemin smiled wide over at him, “Home sweet home.”

Once the boxes they were carrying were pushed on the kitchen counter they both headed back down. A few dozen trips later and all the boxes were finally in the apartment. Jinki looked around it, “I’m guessing the furniture we order hasn’t come in yet.”

“It would be,” Taemin began as he turned a box around to figure out what room it went into. “But Ma needed to see what we chose before it was completely processed to approve it or something.”

Jinki groaned heavily, “She should have just came with us then.”

“That just makes too much sense,” Taemin made a face as he opened a box labeled kitchen to find CDs. “This is most definitely not kitchen things.”

With a snort Jinki pushed a box into his arms, “This is, go start unloading it. I’m going to call the furniture place. It should never be this empty.”

                                            —–

By the time he was done with unpacking and helping Taemin put things away, most places to eat were closed. He thought about the diner he was at the night before and figured it was better than nothing. Maybe he would try the club sandwich this time around.

When he pulled into the parking lot the neon lights of the place were bright and colorful. He leaned against the outside of his car and brought a cigarette from the pack in his pocket up to his lips. As soon as the first puff was inhaled the tension and stress of dealing with his ex-wife just melted off of him. Even when they were split up, she still managed to second guess his decisions. He tapped the end of the cigarette with his finger, knocking the excess ash on the tip to flutter to the damp ground, and it was then he heard a voice to his right. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

Leaning against the diner was his waiter from the night before, Jonghyun, all pretty in pink, his skates still on his feet. A light jacket was pulled over his shoulders. “Most places are closed. Plus, I need to try that club sandwich remember?”

A slow smile pulled at the young man’s face, “Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“Want one?” Jinki asked a moment later as he gestured to the cigarette held between his fingers.

“No thanks.” Jonghyun shook his head. “I don’t smoke.”

Jinki squinted at him slightly, curiosity nipping at his heels, “Then why are you out here?”

“The moon is very pretty tonight,” Jonghyun shuffled a little, his hands moving to shove into the jacket’s pockets. “I come out here to see it on nights I work.”

“Ah, it is.” Jinki softly said as he gazed up at the sky, smoke blowing from his lips. He flicked the ash off the tip before putting the cigarette out and tossing it into the designated holder by the door. He then noticed Jonghyun had pushed off the wall to follow him in. With a smile, he opened the door for him, and Jonghyun bowed his head in thanks, but the shy smile on his face was still noticed.

“Just take a seat and I’ll have your order out,” Jonghyun’s voice was warm as he pushed past him. “Still want Cherry Coke?”

“Yes, thank you.” It made his chest a little warm knowing the man had remembered.

 —–

For some reason, Jinki felt pulled toward that diner. Over the next couple weeks, he was in there at least once a week. Tired after a long shift at work, the case loads heavy during the big divorce season, and before he knew it he was pulling his car into the small parking lot. It seemed like as soon as he stepped into those neon glowing doors that all the stress of his ex-wife and his job just… melted off of him. He couldn’t quite explain it, but he didn’t want the feeling to go away. He took his seat and gazed at the menu until he heard the now familiar voice, “Well hello again.”

When he looked up Jonghyun’s hair was a soft lavender, bright and colorful. “You changed your hair, it looks good.”

Jonghyun’s cheeks were a little pink as he ran his fingers through the colored strands, “Ah ah, Thank you~ It was time for a change.”

“It’s a good change.” Jinki softly said as his fingers tapped on the back of the menu.

“Stop it,” Jonghyun huffed, “And tell me your drink order Handsome.”

“Mm, you pick for me,” Jinki put his arm up on the top of the booth and turned a little so that his leg came up onto the seat cushion, “Surprise me.”

Jonghyun grinned, “Coming right up.”

When Jonghyun brought his drink there was another on the tray and Jinki rose his eyebrow being as he was the only customer in the place. “I was wondering if you minded if I joined you tonight.”

Jinki was surprised and slightly flustered, “Oh, uh, no, I don’t mind.” He flashed a smile and gestured to the other side of the booth. “Sit.”

Jonghyun leaned his tray on the wall as he slid into the other booth with a big smile. His skate accidentally hit Jinki’s foot, “Sorry!”

“Barely felt it.” Jinki smiled warmly over at him, heart beating faster than it probably should and he wasn’t sure why. “How come I have your company more, mm, intimately tonight?”

“I wanted to get to know you more,” Jonghyun confessed. “You intrigued me so much, Handsome.”

“Ah,” Jinki breathed out, embarrassed, “I’m nothing much.”

“I beg to differ,” Jonghyun ran his fingers through his hair before leaning his head on his palm, his elbow against the tabletop, as he gazed over at Jinki. “You come in here in designer 3 piece suits, but you’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of serving. Nothing like the Suits I usually get. Makes me wonder where you come from.”

Jinki scratched the back of his neck as his head was dipped down to hide the warmth from his cheeks. “Oh.. I’m just a simple divorce lawyer. I’m nothing special. I worked as a waiter through college.”

“Ooh, a lawyer.” Jonghyun hummed, interested, “This… might sound strange to you but-” His voice was cut off by the small bell being rung that the food was ready. The man flashed a smile, “Be right back.”

When he returned two plates were placed on the table, one with a chicken sandwich and the other with a fish sandwich. The chicken was placed before Jinki and Jonghyun smiled as the man picked it up and hesitantly took a bite from it. When pleased noises came Jonghyun was almost vibrating. “Good choice,” Jinki’s voice was muffled as he chewed behind his hand. “Thank you.”

“It’s one of my favorites.” Jonghyun softly added as he spread tarter sauce on the bun of his sandwich. His voice was quiet as he mumbled, “Junho always forgets the extra sauce.”

“You were saying?”

“Hmm?”

“Before the bell rang you were saying something about being strange or something.”

“Oh,” Jonghyun swallowed thickly before putting his sandwich down and wiping off his hands. “I told you that I wanted to get to know you better, but the reason is… Is because I like you Jinki.”

“I like you too Jonghyun that’s not-”

Jonghyun reached over to gently touch Jinki’s hand with his fingertips. “No Jinki… I mean more than just…this.”

“Oh.. Oh,” Jinki ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips as he frantically tried to organize his thoughts. He couldn’t even manage to move his hand away because if he was honest with himself he liked it. “I’m not… I could be your father with our age difference. I’m a 44 year old divorcee who lives alone with a fat cat. I couldn’t… you have so much life in you.”

“But I want to know about how you feel about your divorce and I want to know that fat cat’s name and everything else that makes you who you are Jinki.” Jonghyun’s voice was warm and dripping with his emotions. “I know there are 20 years between us, but just give me a chance. One date and if you’re uncomfortable we’ll end it there and I’ll understand.”

After a moment Jinki finally said, “Okay,… okay. Where are we going?”

The smile spread across Jonghyun’s face was so bright Jinki could say he was finally starting to see colors in the gray muck of life he was moving through.