“He obviously likes you. There’s nothing about it,” Baekhyun commented as he washed the dishes for the night.

Yixing was having a love dilema. As he stared at his phone, he had no idea how to approach this topic. Taewoo and Yixing flirted with each other for two quarters now, and for some reason he couldn’t believe that Taewoo would ever be interested in someone like him. It was just that there was so much lacking in him. He wasn’t as intelligent as Taewoo, and he wasn’t as interesting. Hell, a good time for Yixing was when he could actually lay his head down and get some sleep, or play League with Baekhyun which was something he honestly didn’t want to admit to, but it was something he did enjoy playing.

Here was this boy on the other side actually seeing him for who he was. He came over that night when everyone was playing Smash. He came over from time to time to help him with the bottom lane, and there were times when he asked about Pokemon, and he was shook. The TA, who he always thought was too cool and too handsome to be hanging out with him, was starting to invade so many aspects of his life, and his two best friends were pushing him to take more chances, to actually do something so it seemed like he was interested in Taewoo. But he didn’t want to ruin whatever they had. Sure, there were the occasional late night conversations after a long day, or the times when he randomly hit him up to get some bubble tea.

There were all these subtle signs that the other guys were seeing, but Yixing just couldn’t understand why Taewoo would be interested in him.

“Like, no one is that nice. C’mon,” Jongdae added as he pulled out his qualitative analysis for business homework. Honestly, he had no idea why they were always like this. Every single time Jongdae came over, there was at least one conversation about Taewoo and Yixing. And the last couple of times, he was blushing about how Baekhyun noticed how Taewoo was acting at the Valentine’s Day dinner, or how Taewoo asked if he wanted to spend the night at his place instead of heading back home.

The only thing they haven’t done was go to the bar and confess their undying love for each other. But again, Yixing didn’t believe someone like Taewoo would like him. He noticed the way he was looking at someone else from time to time, but he didn’t know what to do about any of this. There were times Taewoo seemed interested, and other times, it just felt as though he was playing a game. As he sat at his desk staring at the two, he looked down at his phone to see a new text from Taewoo. The two of them have been texting everyday, sending memes, sending good morning and good evening texts, and even though there were so many signs that he was interested, Yixing was lost.

Because how could someone as great as Taewoo think he was worth being a partner-in-crime with? How was it possible to like someone like him? He didn’t understand. He was so busy running around, working, and going to classes. It didn’t make sense for someone to think he was cute enough for that. And sure, there were a few people who came up to him and asked him out, but he only saw Taewoo. Somehow his charismatic and pretty self got him hooked, and what was first just a student on TA crush, became real with every passing day.

“Is it Taewoo?” Baekhyun asked with a teasing grin on his face.

“You’ve taken him out for tea, coffee, and dinner since Valentine’s Day, right?” Jongdae asked as he thumbed through the work he did. At this point, it felt like every discussion they had was about this. But he didn't mind, he barely got attention, and that was because he liked being in the background. Whenever the spotlight was on him, it was usually because he was dancing for a performance, but even then, the other dancers got more attention than he ever could. It was how he was though, and he didn’t mind. As long as everything was going smoothly, he didn’t mind if the attention was on him or not. Instead, he was more focused on the fact that the people who loved him would be only paying attention to him. If he looked out in the audience, they would smile straight back at him. If they were looking only at him, it was the only attention he actually needed.

Which was why he was also surprised when Taewoo appeared at one of his performances. Yixing wasn’t the only dancer, but he was staring straight at him with a soft smile on his face. For a moment, he only locked eyes with him, and he was the only one he was truly dancing for. Each and every movement, every wave from his arms, every moment before he moved to the other side of the stage, he was staring at him, his soft smile, hoping that he would feel the same thing he felt whenever he danced. Because while the audience was cheering him on, for some reason, he was staring straight at him, wondering if this was going to be different from the others. Was this feeling just him, or did they share that connection too? He didn’t want to imagine it was just him feeling it. There was no one else he wanted other than Taewoo.

“Why do you like him so much? He’s just a dude,” Jongdae asked with a shrug. It was something the two knew about him. After being rejected so often, after being told the same stuff over and over with each person, Jongdae didn’t really think much about connections. Some days, they’d come over to his place, and someone was buttoning their shirt before leaving his place, or someone would still be asleep at his place, and Jongdae would tell them to be quiet.

For Jongdae, there were so many fish in the sea that he wanted to try them all, or whoever would come his way. This was different from Baekhyun. Baekhyun was still trying to find someone he liked enough to complete that ual desire with, and sure Baekhyun was just as bad as Jongdae in serial dating, but he still had to truly feel for someone when it came to having . Here was Yixing who hadn’t had since Doojoon because he was so busy, but it was also the first time in a long time that he felt like he wanted someone as much as Doojoon.

“Yes, he’s just a guy, but he makes me feel really secure with him. Like, I can be myself and not be afraid that it’s going to scare him away. When I’m with him, I just feel comfortable and I just want to become a better person whenever I’m around him. He's fun to be around, we have the same interests, and I just love being around him,” Yixing rambled. It was the first time he felt someone so hard, and for Jongdae to push him aside like he was just another guy, even though he he knew it was different, frustrated him. How was Jongdae going to play this game when he knew how much he liked him? There wasn’t a day that went by without him talking about Taewo, or wondering if there was a chance. He was twitterpatted, but how could someone like Taewoo like someone like him?

It just didn’t make sense to him because Taewoo had so much going on for him. There was this whole life to look ahead. He saw how others looked at him, and they wanted him just as much as he did. He had no idea if he wanted him the same way though. Every time he got closer, it seemed as though he was pulling back, and in frustration, Yixing just groaned out loud and banged his head against the table.

“Not the best way to deal with your frustrations with Taewoo,” Jongdae explained as he wrote down some answers for Yixing’s couch.

“If you like him that much, why don’t you just go ask him?” Baekhyun asked, and Jongdae pointed his pencil in Baekhyun’s direction.

“Wise words by Baekhyun. Best thing said tonight,” Jongdae added.

And yeah, Yixing thought about asking the boy with the beautiful hair, great smile, and fun personality, if he could ever be interested in him, but the thought scared him. It ran down his spine as he thought about it each time he saw him. It wasn’t right timing, or Taewoo would be really close to kissing him, and he’d curve to the side out of fear. There was a difference between crushing on someone and wanting a relationship. Yixing didn’t know if he was ready to just let go of this crush if he was rejected.

“It’s just, I don’t want things to change,” Yixing tried to explain, but he was also hesitant. Jongdae snorted as he put his pencil down to start working on the assignment given to him.

“Okay, either die now, or die later. What do you want?” Jongdae asked. And it was true, there was no way he could just hide these emotions for this guy. They were going to come out now or later, and if he didn’t do it now, Taewoo might look at those other people and think they were a better choice.

“Fine, you guys win,” Yixing groaned.

“Call him,” Baekhyun hummed as he passed Yixing’s phone which was conveniently in the kitchen to Jongdae, who was now dialing his number. They really wanted Yixing to get this done now, or he would continue to chicken out.

“What do I even say?” he mouthed.

Jongdae shrugged and Baekhyun was going to say something when Taewoo picked up after the first ring.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Something’s on my mind, and I need my favorite TA to help me out,” Yixing said with a smile. Raising an eyebrow, Jongdae was surprised by the fact that Yixing was that smooth when it came to talking to the guy he liked. He could hear Taewoo’s light chuckle, and an okay quickly after that. He had no idea where those words came from, but he was proud of himself for taking that risk.

“Meet you at the waterfront?” Taewoo asked.

“Sure, see you there.”

Jongdae sat up on the couch and saw the confident smirk on Yixing’s face. “You sly bastard, you know how to flirt. Wow, and to think that a few months ago, you’d be bumbling around saying no no no, I don’t have time to be in love,” Jongdae started. And he was right, it was weird. At the beginning of the year, he was just fumbling, he didn’t really see Taewoo as anything more than just someone he had a little crush. casual hangouts, As time continued, even though he was busy, he managed to always make time for Taewoo no matter what.

“See you guys later, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Yixing grabbed a jacket, shut the door behind him, and realized he was going to meet a boy who he never thought would make an impact in his life.

It was incredibly dark, but Taewoo was waiting by the bridge, hands in his pocket, nose red from the cold. As Yixing approached, it was natural for the two to link arms. It was cute, the taller fellow, instinctively linking his arms with him, and Yixing smiling like a fool when it happened. As they walked past the displays of glass, Yixing’s heart quickened. This was the moment. There was no point in delaying it. If only he had a little more confidence, looking up at him, his presence was so reassuring. How could he just be a mess around him when there were so many things to be doing?

If there was anything he learned when he was watching John Tucker Must Die, it was the three seconds rule. He could not allow himself to let this all go and bottle it up. He had three seconds.

Three.

What if he rejected him? The pain would be too much whenever he was heading to class.

Two.

If he didn’t like him back, it would just cause pain, and he didn’t have time to be mourning over the loss of an almost love. There wasn’t enough time to be imagining a life with him where they always held hands to class, kissed each other in private, or in public, or-

One.

There was just no time to think anymore. When he looked at him, he saw a world that he wanted to be a part of, and if he didn’t want that, then he deserved someone else. Yixing was a good guy, and yeah, he had his insecurities, but who didn’t? He deserved someone who loved him as much as he liked staring at Taewoo.

Zero.

“So, we’ve been doing this for a long time now. And I like you a lot if you’re okay with it, I’d love to make you my boyfriend,” Yixing finally stated between fast heartbeats, chills down his spine, and the cold kissing his body. Taewoo stopped in his tracks, and they were standing right in front of the water. The boats rocking quietly to the water. Without even looking at him, Yixing stared off into the water, terrified of the answer.

“I’d like that too,” he finally replied after his bones froze. And surprised, Yixing turned to the face the boy with the soft smile. “I can’t believe it took us this long though,” he replied with a laugh. But before Taewoo could get another laugh in, Yixing pulled him into him and kissed him.

And sure, he kissed a lot of people in the past, but Taewoo was something else. He was attractive from head to toe, and he felt all the warmth in his lips, how he felt against him, this was all he wanted. Things could have gone differently. But this is what he wanted, a kiss from the most beautiful boy he ever met. As he pulled away, he noticed the bumps on his face, the ridges on his teeth, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and his hands and how they fit perfectly in his.

Something about tonight was so different about any other night, and he couldn’t help himself but kiss him once more.