No cleaning seemed to be getting done by the time night rolled around and Daehyun’s stomach began to growl. The two had discussed their plans for dinner and finally decided that going out to the quiet, quaint diner down the street seemed like a sweet semi-first date. Bundled up in Jongup’s clothes, Daehyun and his boyfriend left the apartment, Daehyun hanging off of Jongup like his life depended on maintaining contact with the other man.

“You’ll love this place.” His companion informed him as they trudged through the snow, their breath coming out in soft puffs of white. “It’s not well known so it’s not crowded but the food is amazing and they have live music sometimes. Maybe we’ll be lucky tonight.”

“I’m with Moon Jongup.” Grinning, Daehyun kissed the man’s cheek. “I’m already lucky tonight.”

“Keep up that flirting, Daehyun, and you’ll get even more lucky tonight.” Winking, Jongup chuckled and pulled him into a kiss.

“Oh my god. You’re not allowed to listen to Lu anymore.” Shaking his head, Daehyun laughed and playfully punched Jongup’s shoulder. “You’re so dirty~”

“I meant that I was going to buy you cheesecake.” Jongup laughed and Daehyun relaxed into his side, not believing his excuse for a single moment.

“Sure you did.” Smirking, he glanced at Jongup. “You do know that classical flute is played from the side and not the tip, right? I am not going to start a reputation as the dude you goes to town on the sides of weiners because my boyfriend has a weird kink.”

“... No they don’t!” Sounding almost defensive, Jongup seemed horrified that his ideals were suddenly being called into question. Stopping their walk, Daehyun dug out his phone and opened Google.

“Baby...” Holding out his phone, he watched shock dawn on Jongup’s face at the images of flutes, all being blown into from holes in the side. “The one you blow into on the end is usually called a recorder.”

“I think someone should really tell Lu Han. Everything is a lie.” Dramatically putting his hand over his chest, Jongup feigned devastation.

“I hate to break it to you, Uppie. But those are the fact.” Chuckling at the exaggerated reaction, Daehyun reached out to squish Jongup’s cheeks. “I’m sure someone told him eventually.” Patting Jongup’s cheek, they continued their quest for food.

“How did I not know that? Now I get why you said the song was hilarious.” Laughing and clearly a little embarrassed, Jongup shook his head. “I can’t stop picturing it.”

“Stop thinking about before dinner, Jongup.” Batting at him, Daehyun enjoyed the comfortable ease between them. “It’ll ruin your apatite.”

“It’s your fault!” Sticking his tongue out, Jongup held the door to the diner open for him.

“How dare you.” Giggling when Jongup slapped his rear on his way past, Daehyun stuck his tongue out as well. The inside of the diner was dimly lit, in a comfortable way, the interior a pleasant combination of dark wood and light walls and trim. A stage sat at one edge, a microphone stand and speakers adorning it. Someone stood with their back to the diner, messing with equipment.

“Want to sit close to the show?” Jongup took Daehyun by the hand and began to lead him to one of the empty tables near the stage. Following after him, Daehyun’s stomach clenched at the familiarity of the figure on the stage. Something about the man seemed as though Daehyun should recognize him and it brought forth a strong urge to flee.

“Lets get milkshakes.” Turning to smile at Jongup as they sat side by side, he tried to ignore the anxiety the unknown man was giving him, telling himself he was being ridiculous.

“You read my mind, baby boy.” Kissing him softly, the two then discussed their meals and Jongup placed their order. As they shared soft pecks on the lips, the man on the stage finally turned to face them and Daehyun felt his heart drop. The man in front of him seemed to recognize him as well, sending him a wink with a smirk playing across his lips.

“Yongguk?” Voice shaking, Daehyun broke his embrace with Jongup, biting his lip almost hard enough to draw blood. The last time he had come face to face with the man, Yongguk had been walking out of his life.

“. Dae...” Jongup held him gently and Daehyun could see the concern on his face. “We can go home. We don’t have to stay.”

“No. We already ordered our food.” Taking some calming breaths, Daehyun closed his eyes, feeling Jongup’s lips press gently against his own. The action soothed him enough to handle the sudden intrusion of his past and he found the determination to ignore Yongguk to the best of his ability.

“I love you, Dae...” Sounding unsure of the situation, Jongup rubbed Daehyun’s cheek. For the first time, Daehyun was seeing something of himself in the other man, that overwhelming sense of doubt, doubt that he’s good enough for the person he loves to remain by his side. Was that Daehyun’s fault? Had Daehyun’s cowardice in high school wounded Jongup’s view of himself.

“I love you too, Moon Jongup.” As Yongguk began to sing a song, eyes glued to Daehyun, Daehyun moved to give Jongup a deep kiss, doing his best to reassure his boyfriend that he was where he belonged, that he wouldn’t trade Jongup for the world.

“Daehyun...” Jongup’s hands were trembling when they were placed on Daehyun’s cheeks and Daehyun reached up to hold his wrists gently, hoping to calm his nerves.

“We can leave if you want, Jongup. We can always find somewhere else to eat.” Looking into his eyes, Daehyun smiled slightly. “But you need to know... Jongup, I’m happy here with you. Yongguk isn’t even on my radar anymore. It was just startling to see him again is all. I’m here with you and I will leave here with you. Nobody else.”

“I don’t know what you’ve done to me, just like that-” Yongguk’s deep voice echoed easily through the nearly empty diner, each word like a nail being driven slowly into Jongup’s chest. Here he was, the man Daehyun had loved so fully in high school, standing in front of them. Yongguk was taller than Jongup was, smarter, more talented, had more money, probably even stronger if it came down to it... What was there about Jongup that would be enough to make Daehyun stay?

“Jongup...” Daehyun’s voice, quiet and sweet, whispered in his ear and he felt food press against his lips. “Eat~” Jongup hadn’t even realized he hadn’t been consuming his dinner, preoccupied by the man on the stage practically banging his boyfriend with his eyes. Doing as he was told, Jongup turned to more fully face Daehyun, relieved to see his attention not wavering from Jongup. How was he this lucky? Was this even real?

“You’re an angel, Jung Daehyun.” Aware of their private audience, Jongup leaned in to kiss his boyfriend passionately, noting the slight stumble in Yongguk’s rap. He didn’t care. The man could be angry, Daehyun was his and that was on Yongguk. If he had never left, had never told Daehyun he didn’t fit into his dreams, he had no doubt the two would still be together. But he had and Daehyun was with Jongup now and Jongup had no intention of letting Daehyun be mistreated again.

“No. I just really love you.” Chuckling, Daehyun forced him to take another bite of food and Jongup grinned, his insecurity over having Yongguk near draining away with the attentive way Daehyun was treating him.

“I really love you too.” Grinning, he ruffled Daehyun’s hair, snickering at the pout he received for messing up his style in public. “No pouting. You look cute like that.” The semi-glare that followed prompted him to fix his boyfriend’s hair with a chuckle.

“How’s your food taste?” Daehyun finally asked, nodding toward Jongup’s plate as he sipped on his milkshake.

“Would you like to try it?” Examining his plate, Jongup got the best bite possible and held it out for the other man.

“Yes please.” Smiling in excitement, Daehyun closed his eyes and opened his mouth, allowing Jongup to feed him easily.

“Good?” Questioning as Daehyun opened his eyes again, Jongup played with the other man’s hair. A sound very similar to a moan escaped Daehyun’s lips at the flavor of the food on his tongue, sending a blush to Jongup’s cheeks and a shiver to travel through him. A noise sounded from the stage and he glanced up to see Yongguk scrambling to keep his microphone from rolling off the edge. The sight almost brought a vindictive sense of joy to Jongup, recognizing the lust and jealousy in the other man’s eyes as Daehyun his lips.

“It’s incredible. You were right.” Daehyun’s voice brought Jongup’s attention back to where it belonged, Yongguk effortlessly forgotten. “This place is the second best place I’ve ever eaten at.”

“Where’s the first.” Eyebrow raised, Jongup poked Daehyun’s cheek gently. “I’ll have to take you there next time.”

“You already did~” Sounding playful, Daehyun gave Jongup an exaggeratedly enthusiastic hug, throwing his arms around him in the most precious motion. “It’s Moon Jongup’s cafe~”

“You flatter me, baby boy.” Placing a quick kiss on Daehyun’s lips, he chuckled and fed him again, met with another sound of appreciation that made his heart skip.

“The truth is a wonderful thing.” Daehyun mumbled around his mouthful of food, an action that Jongup usually found disgusting but was nothing short of endearing on his boyfriend.

“Hold on, you have some food...” Leaning forward, he cupped Daehyun’s chin, running his tongue over the other man’s upper lip. “Got it.” Daehyun let out a small sigh, blushing at the action as Yongguk seemed to lose his voice on stage for a moment.

“You and ~” Giggling, Daehyun flicked some of the contents of his plate at Jongup who barely managed to dodge, watching as it landed in the chair beside him. “There are napkins, you know. They are made for things like this.”

“I can’t help myself around you.” Shrugging, Jongup used a napkin to move the food from his chair and winked at Daehyun when he rolled his eyes at the use of napkin.

“I don’t want you to.” Admitting so, Daehyun kissed his cheek and tugged playfully at Jongup’s hair. “I find it great. You can do it whenever you want, baby.”

“I am really glad...” Thinking a moment, he stuck his tongue out, holding Daehyun close as he gave him a long to the cheek, laughing as his boyfriend struggled and whined in his grip.

“I didn’t mean right now in public~” Batting at him, Daehyun took some whipped cream off his milkshake and smeared it on Jongup’s cheek.

“But you said whenever I wanted to and I did want to.” Shaking his head, Jongup wiped his cheek off with a napkin, prompting a scandalized gasp from Daehyun.

”You absolute heathen.” Fanning himself like a scandalized rich woman in a drama, Daehyun looked away from him.

"Yeah...” Wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, Jongup kissed his neck and rested his chin on his shoulder. “But you love me.”

“So help me, I really do,” Daehyun ran his fingers through Jongup’s hair as Jongup looked up, eyes meeting Yongguk’s. The rapper looked livid, ready to jump off the stage and fight him at any moment. Silently, Jongup dared him to. Even if he kicked Jongup’s , Jongup still wanted to make him pay for breaking Daehyun’s heart on his birthday all those years ago.

“I love you too, Dae.” Pulling back, he smiled at the man in his arms. “So damn much.”