Yixing did not live with his boyfriend of two years, but based on the fact that he woke up every morning in Zhixiang’s bed, he might as well have moved in already. The light that radiated into the bedroom through the sheer curtains greeted his soft skin, groaning as it attacked his slowly opening eyes. He rubbed his face after escaping the grasp of his boyfriend’s arm around his waist, stretching his arms up above his head as he cracked his spine. The bed shifted slightly as Yixing’s boyfriend woke up, scooping the younger man back into his arms. Yixing was attacked with butterfly kisses all over his checks, neck and collar bones, a giggle slipping past his lips as he eased back into the soft pillows. “Good morning,” Zhixiang whispered against his sculpted collar bone, nuzzling into the skin as hot breath left his lips.

    Yixing returned the greeting as the elder man pulled away, throwing his bare legs over the side of the bed to stand up. His body reminded Yixing of their lovely escapade from the previous night, love bites that littered both of them were already blossoming into bright hues of purple and red. No matter how sweet Zhixiang was to him during the day, the elder man ignited a demon when they got into bed. Though, he was a rather benevolent demon; whenever a sound of discomfort would leave Yixing, Zhixiang would leave behind his fiery persona and litter the younger with kisses and soft touches until he was in pleasure again. Yixing rubbed the hickey that he knew sat underneath his ear, his fingers gently pushing into the skin to renew the sensation it held the night before. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhixiang getting dressed in his walk-in closet, his blond, caramel hair was still disheveled, making a stark contrast to the pristine white suit jacket that was hanging nicely off his torso. The pure color of his outfit for the day made his sun kissed skin look all the more beautiful, and Yixing couldn’t help but smile as he pulled the blankets up to his nose. Zhixiang turned around, his hands working on buttoning up the front of his jacket. “Do you want me to get you breakfast?” he asked before flattening his hair, staring at the mirror outside of the closet.

    “I’ll pick something up on my way to work,” Yixing replied as he crept out of bed, the cool spring air caressing his body as he searched the room for the clothes he shed last night. He pulled on the shirt his boyfriend had discarded instead, it was slightly bigger than his own size. He stepped into his own boxers before sitting back down on the bed.

    “It’s no problem,” Zhixiang said as he clipped his diamond earrings into his ear lobes. He smiled at Yixing when he left the mirror. “You’ll probably end up just getting coffee anyway, and that isn’t a balanced breakfast.”

    “It’s better than nothing, isn’t it?” Yixing stood up and followed his boyfriend to the ensuite. The elder was already running the faucet so they could both brush their teeth. The only sound between them came from the dripping faucet and the bristles of toothbrushes. Before long, they each stopped, spitting into the sink, finally breathing with fresh, mint exhalations. The conversation from before continued as they exited the bathroom, Zhixiang pulling out dress shoes when he passed the closet. “It could be a little morning date,” he commented.

    Yixing had already left the bedroom, entering the kitchen to search through the fridge. He called out to the other, “Aren’t you going to be late for work?” He could see the illuminated numbers on the oven, and even though it was a bit over an hour before Zhixiang started, he still waited for a response from the other.

    “Why are you so persistent in not going out for breakfast?” he finally said, and the strong smell of cologne drifted into Yixing’s nose, signalling that the elder had entered the area. Yixing pulled away from the fridge with a huff and let the door close on its own. “It’s not that I don’t want to.”

    “Okay, so what is it?”

    “I don’t know. We always go out to eat,” Yixing shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the other man from across the kitchen bar, leaning his elbows onto the cool countertop. “And it always tends to be expensive.”

    Zhixiang was sitting at the dining table, his cell phone in his hands as he scrolled through his morning texts. “It isn’t your money that’s being spent, so that shouldn’t really matter to you,” he took a moment to look up at the other, “Should it?”

    Yixing didn’t reply, staring down at the marble counter, watching as his index finger traced the irregular patterns of brown and black. Zhixiang paid for literally everything Yixing had. It didn’t matter if it was food, or clothes, or anything in between, Zhixiang was the one signing for the card. The elder man definitely had the money to spend, but Yixing couldn’t help but feel selfish. He never asked for anything either, it was always the other man that pulled out his wallet before Yixing could reject. As Yixing thought about it, he was, in a way, paying the elder man back for everything he was treated to. His ears heated up at the thought, but Zhixiang’s whining of his name lulled him out of his own mind. With a sigh and a push away from the countertop, Yixing agreed to go out to breakfast.

***

    The neighborhood Zhixiang lived in was surrounded with expensive department stores, and even more expensive restaurants. It made sense to Yixing, since his boyfriend was rather successful. It surprised him, when he had first met the elder four years prior, to find that he was the head design director at an insanely prosperous fashion firm. How the elder man fell for a college dance instructor was still unknown to Yixing. His baggy gray hoodie and faded skinny jeans looked so bland next to Zhixiang’s expensive suit. Yixing’s hands curled under the worn sleeves of his jacket as he stretched his arms high above his head, reading over the laminated menu that sat on the table. The French bakery near Zhixiang’s home was one of Yixing’s favorite stops, and the couple often found themselves sitting on the patio of the restaurant most mornings. Zhixiang sat across from him, his steaming mug of coffee raised to his lips, and his honey eyes glued on Yixing. “What are you getting?” the younger asked as he scooped the menu into his hands, flipping back a page to see the dishes where the primary ingredient was egg.

    Zhixiang’s finger came over the menu and pointed at an item listed at the top. “What I always get.”

    Yixing nodded and read over the text, twisting his tongue inside of his mouth in an attempt to familiarize himself with the French words. It didn’t matter if he could pronounce it or not, since Zhixiang had a habit of ordering for the both of them anyway. Yixing was somewhat indecisive, so he didn’t mind it.

    Yixing’s fork almost dropped from his hand when the sudden vibration from his cell phone danced in the pocket of his jacket. He fished out the device and unlocked it, being greeted by a few texts from his friend. He only could read a preview of the most recent one: Does this guy ever work? He’s here every morning.

    Opening the messages, he found about six from his best friend, Luhan. Yixing chuckled as he read through them.

    That guy with the purple hair is at the park again.

    He just kicks the ball around, he doesn’t even try anything cool.

    I think the kids on the team are weirded out.

    Does this guy even work? He’s here every day.

    Another appeared on screen.

    Okay, wow, he’s cute.

    Yixing was about to respond, when Zhixiang began talking to him. “There’s a dinner party next month. I’m assuming you want to go?”

    Nodding his head, Yixing put his phone on the table. “Is it really classy, like last time?”

    “Of course.”

    “I’ll have to find my suit then,” he stated, watching as his phone lit up with another message.

    “Out of season. We can go shopping for a new one,” Zhixiang remarked, sliding his credit card into the sleeve the waiter had just left on the table.

    “It’s a black suit, how is that out of season?”

    “It’s a year old suit. How can they expect you to wear something out of date?”

    Yixing huffed before taking a swig of his water. He didn’t understand how last year’s fashion was “out of date”. He still had clothes from when he was in college.

    “Besides. I want to see you in some nice, pastel, spring colors,” Zhixiang smiled at him when he got back his card, and stood up. He offered his hand out to Yixing, who took it without a word.

***

    “Hey, you always make a point to respond to me as soon as possible,” Luhan’s voice said over the phone, the commotion in the background signalling that the elder was still out coaching for the day, as he did every day. He waited for Luhan to stop yelling at a kid for “kicking the ball directly at his face” before he responded.

    “I was with Zhixiang,” he answered simply, slipping his backpack off his shoulder as he entered the dance studio. He flicked on the lights and switched his phone into his other hand.

    “And I was with the future man of my dreams,” Luhan retorted.

    “Really? You said you were creeped out by him,” Yixing sat down at the cluttered desk in the corner of the room, twirling slightly in the office chair. He caught his reflection in mirrored wall, and noticed the bored expression that had fallen over his features.

    “Yeah, I did. Until I saw him get into his car. I don’t even know how to pronounce that car brand, Yixing. That means he has money.”

    “So he’s the future bank of your dreams?”

    “Well, he’s cute too.”

    “You have a warped sense of romance, Luhan.”

    A hum came from the elder. “Says you.”

    Yixing sighed as he dropped the phone onto the desk, pressing the speaker button. Luhan had already told him, on multiple occasions, that Yixing wasn’t much of a romantic himself. He felt insecure about his relationship with Zhixiang already, so Luhan confirming his worries wasn’t very reassuring.

    “When does your class start?” Luhan’s voice rang through the room as Yixing shed his jacket and the desktop computer.

    “Thirty minutes,” he answered, fingers flying over the keyboard as he searched for the music he wanted. Soon enough, the speakers on the computer came to life with a poppy beat, and Yixing could barely hear Luhan’s voice over the phone. “Alright, I’ll talk to you later then. Next time you see me, I may have a soccer ball sized bruise on my body, somewhere.”

    Yixing chuckled, and said a farewell before pressing the red button on the phone screen. His smile fled his lips and he sighed gently, pushing his bangs up with his hand as he made his way to the center of the room. He closed his eyes and waited for a beat of the song that he get into, but somehow, he didn’t feel it. As the next song began, he felt the same disappointment. No music was connecting with his body, as his mind was still revolving around what Luhan had said. Yixing definitely wasn’t with Zhixiang for his money. He hadn’t even know about the elder’s high standing job when they had first met.

    Meeting Zhixiang was always foggy to Yixing. It wasn’t that he didn’t remember it happening, it was more that he didn’t really know how it happened. At the time, he was twenty-two, fresh out of college, and welcoming the idea of dating. A friend of his and Luhan’s, named Tao, had just entered the business of modeling. It was a dream that the younger man had since they were all kids. Tao had insisted that Yixing and Luhan needed to come to the fashion company that he was working with at the time, and that was the first time Yixing had ever laid eyes on Zhixiang. After that, it became foggy to him. Yixing couldn’t remember what it was like before he started dating the elder. The earliest thing he did remember was the first time Zhixiang had pressed his lips on his, and Yixing had moved against him almost on instinct. Most of Yixing’s memories and thoughts of Zhixiang started with a kiss.

    The end of the dance class came quicker than Yixing would have liked. When the first student entered the room, all thoughts of Zhixiang and Luhan retreated from his mind, and he was finally able to flow with the music. But by the time the last student collected their stuff and left, Yixing was left with booming beats and an empty dance studio once more. When he turned off the computer, he hadn’t yet realized that his phone was vibrating its way off the desk. He grabbed it just in time, and answered, being greeted with Zhixiang’s voice. “Did you mention you need a new laptop?” he asked after exchanging their typical greetings.

    “Yeah, but I’m in no hurry for one,” he confessed, remembering the tantrum he had thrown a few nights before, when his laptop was crawling slower than a snail. He pressed his phone between his shoulder and ear as he grabbed his jacket and backpack, heading towards the door. He made an attempt to open the door, and twist the lid off his water bottle, but ended up giving up and prompting in taking a swig before finally leaving.

    “We can go to the Apple store today, if you’d like.”

    Yixing stopped in the hallway, not only to shove his bottle into his backpack, but to process the other’s request. “It’s fine. I’m saving up for one anyway.”

    “I insist. I can pick you up from work, if you want, too.”

    “I live within walking distance.”

    “Who said you’d be spending the night at your apartment?”

    Yixing almost shivered when he heard the purr lacing his boyfriend’s voice. He had to give into that. “Fine. I’ll be waiting outside.”

    “No need. I’m already waiting for you outside,” Zhixiang chuckled, and Yixing had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he walked out of the building. Sure enough, he saw Zhixiang’s car in the parking lot, the expensive vehicle contrasting with the other cars parked around it. When he saw Zhixiang’s hand wave him over from the rolled down window, Yixing sped up his steps. He slid into the passenger seat without a word, greeted with a kiss on his cheek from the other. “How are you?” Zhixiang asked as he started the car, his hand naturally resting against Yixing’s knee.

    “Good,” he replied, glancing out the window. The school already seemed so far away, and they had barely even left the parking lot yet. It was like Yixing knew in the back of his mind, that the view of the old brick building was going to be replaced by modern glass stores, so he wanted to savor the image of the less glamorous side of town. The music that hummed from the radio was a little too soft to break the silence that fell between them, and as Yixing leaned forward to turn the volume knob, Zhixiang let out a heavy sigh.

    “We have a new client. He isn’t a model, but he’s working with some fashion magazines to write an article about Wo Chen,” Zhixiang explained. Yixing looked at him, almost forgetting the name of the company his boyfriend worked for. “He seems really new to the field, but he’ll be in our offices for awhile.”

    “Give him a chance,” Yixing said, leaning back against the seat. “You can’t expect someone new to be perfect at everything.”

    “I know, but it’s gonna get irritating. He wants to run an interview with me specifically.”

    “Like you’ll have a problem talking about yourself,” Yixing laughed under his breath. He could see the smile pull Zhixiang’s lips as he squeezed Yixing’s knee. The drive continued with subtle talk between them, until the car was parked and Yixing was ready to get out. His wrist was grabbed by the other to keep him in his seat. Zhixiang’s hand was wrapped under his chin, and Yixing was pulled into a deep kiss. He didn’t question it, instead just pushing his lips with the same amount of force. When they broke away, Zhixiang had a big smile. “Expect something nice tonight,” he said before exiting the car. That left Yixing with a pink tint on his cheeks, but he got out and found himself holding onto Zhixiang’s hand as they walked into the store.