Dinner was everything Chanyeol had dreamed it would be and more.

“I have to ask,” Baekhyun began after the waiter had left with their orders. “The jacket. How’d you come up with that idea?” He leaned forward on his hands, grinning, and watched as Chanyeol fidgeted, his eyes following Chanyeol’s every move, taking in every moment .

Chanyeol laughed and ran a hand down the back of his neck. “I’ve...well...you see…” He could feel himself losing his composure again. Baekhyun flustered him when he was a tiny figure on his computer screen, skating hundreds of miles away, and now that he was sitting across the table Chanyeol was trying with all of his might to stay connected in the moment. He took a deep breath. “I was in Japan with a friend and I saw the jacket and I knew you’d look amazing wearing it. So, I bought it…”

“ I see. Thank you, if I didn’t say it before,” Baekhyun said, playing with the corner of his napkin.

“You’re welcome,” Chanyeol said. “I’m glad you like it. It looks really good on you. The videos you’ve posted wearing it have been great.”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun replied, the conversation ebbing to an awkward pause. He tapped his fingers on the table , a nervous habit Chanyeol recognized .

“Are you--” Chanyeol started at the same time as Baekhyun said, “So, Chanyeol. Figure skating--”

They stared at each other, a genuine smile pulling at Baekhyun’s face while Chanyeol did his best to resist laughing.

“Let’s try that again. Chanyeol, figure skating…”

“I’m horrible at it,” Chanyeol spat out, unable to control the speed of his words and Baekhyun’s smile grew. “I only watch competitions. My sister skated and she used to try to get me out on the ice, it always ended up with me flat on my .”

“Your sister skated?”

“Yeah. Most of my weekends were spent at her competitions with my parents. You see enough figure skating and eventually, you start to pick favorites.”

“I see,” Baekhyun said. “Who are your favorites?”

Chanyeol blushed. “Well, you obviously...ummm...I like watching Lay from China...his spins are pretty amazing. Kim Jongin has some pretty spectacular step sequences. But, no one compares to you.”

“They’re all men,” Baekhyun said.

“I don’t watch the ladies division anymore and pairs have never been interesting,” Chanyeol responded.

“Good to know,” Baekhyun said, smirking. “Less competition.”

The waiter arrived with their meals, and the conversation continued. It fell into a natural rhythm and Chanyeol found the conversation came easier.

Chanyeol took a deep breath. “Ok. I think I can guess, but I have to know. How did you decide on your program this year?”

“I wanted this year to be about pride. Pride for my country. Pride in myself, so I picked songs that represented that,” Baekhyun said in between bites of his salad.

Chanyeol nodded, popping a few pieces of his chicken into his mouth. “Right, but that’s the answer you give to the press. I want to know why you chose these particular pieces, just….everything…”

Baekhyun froze, fork midway to his mouth, and returned the food to his plate. “Umm...well…” Baekhyun’s leg began to bounce under the table. “I chose my short program for a few reasons. I did want something that was more on the traditional side but wasn’t what we’ve seen before. The music for my short program is really where this all started. There are five variations on “Arirang” and...I’m not boring you am I?”

“No,” Chanyeol replied. “No, this is perfect, really.”

Baekhyun’s leg stopped bouncing, and he smiled, finally a genuine smile. “Good, I’m glad....Umm...so I worked with my choreographer and we cut the more uptempo ones together because we wanted to really have a feeling of strength and power. That’s the pride in my country.”

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun, his eyes sparkling. “I didn’t realize you cut the music for your program too.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun replied, he ran his tongue over his lip and stared down at his salad. “It’s something my choreographer, Minseok, and I started doing about a year ago.” He extended his foot out and tapped Chanyeol’s under the table.

Chanyeol tensed for a brief moment before he realized that the sensation traveling up his leg was Baekhyun’s foot. He relaxed and moved his other foot to rest lightly against Baekhyun’s ankle, and then gently nudged against Baekhyun’s leg.

“And what about your free skate?” Chanyeol asked as he ran his tangled his feet with Baekhyun’s.

“Ah. My free skate was...is challenging. I wanted something that represented pride in my accomplishments, pride in my life, so I went with something with a lyrical driving beat because it captures my passion and there’s the forward motion of the melody. There are still some issues with it, but it’s improved a lot since the start of the season.”

“I know,” Chanyeol said, a shiver moving up his spine as Baekhyun traced his foot up Chanyeol’s leg and back down. Chanyeol glanced down at the table as if he could look through it and see Baekhyun’s foot.

He looked back up and his eyes locked with Baekhyun’s. A moment of silence passed between them, their meals forgotten on the table.

Baekhyun his lips. “Want to come back to mine?” Baekhyun whispered across the table, his eyes darkening the longer he stared at Chanyeol.

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked his voice dropping to the same volume as Baekhyun’s.

“A simple yes or no will do.” He moved his feet up Chanyeol’s leg again, this time lingering a little longer just above Chanyeol’s knee.

Chanyeol smiled. “Umm...Yes.”

“Then let’s get the check,” Baekhyun said, calling for the waiter.

The waiter brought the check, and Chanyeol swiped his card quickly to pay, not even looking at the total, the feeling of spending time with his favorite skater was priceless. They made their way out of the restaurant, hands playfully grasping for one another, while Baekhyun led the way to his car, a nice modest white hybrid. Chanyeol started toward the passenger’s side, but before he could get there Baekhyun pushed him against the driver’s side door and pulled him down into a deep kiss. Chanyeol’s hands flailed as he tried to balanced himself with Baekhyun’s mouth locked on his.

When they parted, Chanyeol looked down at Baekhyun, his breathing coming in short pants. “Get in,” Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol bit his lower lip and nodded. he scurried over to the passenger’s side and slid into the seat, bumping his knees against the dashboard as he did so. He hissed as he adjusted the seat, and he caught the sound of Baekhyun snickering at him.

Chanyeol sat shotgun, his breathing still heavy from the kiss, his brain caught in a fog. He fiddled with his phone, debating whether he should text someone. He scrolled through his contacts and finally settled on his sister. ‘Tulip,’ he wrote, their secret code that they had created when Yoora had to attend all of the skating banquets and wanted to be sure someone knew where she had run off to, a code word meaning check on me later. Then, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and watched as Baekhyun focused on the road ahead. This whole experience was humiliating and yet incredible.

They made a few turns and within minutes, Baekhyun pulled the car into the parking lot and was beckoning Chanyeol to follow him. He did.