Minho’s classroom is a revolving door the entire week: Suho and Kyuhyun find every reason and more to stop by; Hyukjae finally accepts Minho’s request to visit for a health-themed day (though he uses every opportunity to ); when word starts going around, Sunny and Amber start dropping by more often; even Leeteuk stops in for a chat. By Friday morning, Minho wants nothing more than to be left alone with his students. He gives his students an easy day: they’ve been extraordinarily behaved the past week considering all the extra interactions with adults they’ve had. With Leeteuk’s permission, they go outside for most of the day. He and Kibum set up a tiny scavenger hunt and he lets the class roam around in pairs to look for their tiny treasures. Kibum comes outside and does a cloud drawing activity so that Minho can eat his lunch. He stays outside, afraid of who is waiting for him in the breakroom. It takes an eternity to corral the children back inside but they go home rather quickly. Since he had no lesson plans inside, there’s little to clean up. When Kibum knocks on his door to signal that he’s done cleaning, they make a quick exit before anyone can spot them. The bus is more packed than normal and they end up having to stand in the aisle.

“Did anyone bother you today?” Kibum asks once the bus starts moving.

“No, I managed to evade everyone today, thankfully. Yeri did ask me what a crush is but that was because her aunt asked her if she had a crush, not because she overheard anyone else use it regarding us.”

The bus stops suddenly and Kibum almost loses his balance. Minho wraps an arm around his waist to keep him standing. Once the bus is comfortably back in motion, he lets go. Both are blushing and there’s a pause after Kibum says a quiet thank you.

“So are we still good for tonight? If you’re not in the mood or are too tired we can wa-”

“Don’t you back out on me, Minho,” Kibum teases. “I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”

Minho laughs and a smile blooms on Kibum’s lips.

“What’s the dress code?”

“Something casual that you don’t mind getting slightly messy in.”

Kibum’s eyebrows arch in curiosity but he doesn’t inquire further.

“I don’t have any plans for dinner, I figured we’d just eat here so we don’t have to worry about anywhere being too busy.” Minho says as he unlocks the door.

“That works for me. I’ll get it started and you can go shower first.”

“Do I smell that bad?” Minho teases.

“No, no! I just thought that since you were outside getting handed leaves all day that-”

“I’m just teasing, Kibum. I appreciate it.”

Kibum opens the fridge to start on dinner and Minho goes to his room. He showers quickly, not wanting Kibum to have to wait. He sees his razor sitting on the counter and silently thanks it. He’s a little sad that his wrist is healed and that he won’t need help anymore, but still, it had been useful in that moment. It takes him longer than he would like to pick an outfit out: on one hand, he should look nice for the date; on the other, his outfit shouldn’t make Kibum feel out of sorts or underdressed. He settles on jeans first. Out of the corner of his eye he spots something peach: it’s a nicer t-shirt with a decorative pocket. Hadn’t Kibum said peach was his favorite color? Dressed and hair brushed, Minho comes out to the kitchen. There’s 5 minutes left on the timer for the oven and he hears the water running from where Kibum must be showering. He has enough time to search through his cabinet for the cologne Donghae gifted him for his birthday and spray some on before the oven timer goes off. He portions out the food and sets the table just in time for Kibum to come out. Minho stares at him for probably a little too long, enthralled once again with the sight of Kibum’s damp hair. He’s dressed similarly to Minho, wearing a blue shirt.

“Do I look okay?” he asks, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

“Yeah, you look great.”

They sit down and eat their dinner quickly; the relative silence paired with shy glances at each other reminds Minho of their first dinner together. When the leftovers are put away and the dishes are washed they slip their shoes on and head out.

“Should we...hold hands?” Kibum asks tentatively.

Minho holds the door open as they step outside the building. Holding hands was something Minho had dreamed about -- if he was being honest with himself -- but not something he’d counted on or even hoped for.

“If you’d like,” he replies, holding his hand out.

Kibum gingerly accepts; Minho’s content as the walk along.

“So where are we going?”

“Pottery painting. Sunny recommended it to me a while back as being a -- and I quote -- ‘fun and casual place for both a casual first date and a fun we’ve-been-dating-forever place’.”

“That sounds like a bad slogan trying to meet a word count.”

Minho laughs. “So, you didn’t hear this from me but Sunny and Siwon -- our neighbor -- have been dating for 10 years now. Everyone knows that they were high school sweethearts but for whatever reason she wants to pretend like her love life is mysterious so she acts like she’s single.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen her leaving his apartment too many times when I’m coming home from wine night for her to lie to me.”

“And what does this have to do with our date?”

“They came here for their first date and always come here for their anniversary and I saw all the cute matching mugs they have so I’ve had this romantic notion of coming here on a date and since you have an art background this seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

The studio is rather empty when they arrive. One of the staff sets up a booth for them while they walk around looking at the pottery choices. Minho picks out two mugs with heart shaped handles and Kibum picks out a hedgehog-shaped pencil holder. Paint trays in hand, they sit down. Kibum eyes Minho’s mugs nervously.

“My parent’s anniversary is coming up soon. My mom likes couple things so I thought I’d decorate mugs for them.” Minho explains.

Kibum tries to hide his relief and starts painting his piece.

“Can I interest either of you in a coffee or ice cream?” a staff person asks as they clean the table behind them.

“Do you have affogatos here?” Minho asks.

The staff person nods so he orders one. He looks at Kibum.

“I’ll just have a flat white please.”

The staff departs and they go back to painting. Minho’s just finishing the mug for his mother when he hears a familiar voice.

“Minho!”

“Mrs. Kim, hello! What brings you here?”

Yeri comes running up from behind her mother and stands in front of their table.

“I’m paint!” she exclaims.

Minho and her mother laugh.

“Yeri’s been well behaved so we’re here as a reward.” Mrs. Kim explains.

“That’s exciting!” Minho says, giving Yeri a high-five.

“Yeri, go ahead and pick out which one you want and come tell me so I can get it for you.”

Yeri nods and scampers off.

“Is your wrist doing better?”

“Yes, ma’am, thank you. I appreciate your help last week.”

“I’m always glad to help out where my daughter is concerned. So what brings you here?”

“Oh Kibum and I are here to enjoy a night out. I’ve never been here before so I’m treating him for helping me throughout the week.”

Mrs. Kim looks at Kibum and smiles politely. “If I didn’t know better I’d say it looks like you two were on a date.”

Minho and Kibum laugh uncomfortably. Yeri comes running back and starts tugging at her mother’s arm.

“Well I have to go, it was nice to see you two.”

There’s a vague tension when she leaves and Minho can’t figure out what to say.

“I’ve never been on a date before, I’m sorry I don’t know how to act.” Kibum whispers, avoiding Minho’s eyes.

“I’ve never been on a pleasant date, so I don’t quite know how to act either. But since I’m the one who asked you out, I should probably step up my romance game, huh?”

He finishes painting the handle of the mug he’s working on and reaches out for Kibum’s hand. Kibum hesitates before accepting, much like before, eventually glancing up at Minho. The staff comes back with their drinks and Kibum is quick to let go.

“So what are your parents like, Minho?”

Minho stops painting mid-letter, caught off-guard by the question.

“My parents?”

“Yeah. You know, the ones you’re painting the mugs for?”

“Well, my dad is the head of athletics at the community college near where they live. He used to be a PE teacher and basketball coach for the high school I graduated from.”

“Did he still teach when you went there?”

“Yeah.”

“That must have , having your dad as your PE coach.”

“Luckily for me I’m pretty athletic so it wasn’t terrible. Also it was nice to be able to sometimes hang out in his office for whatever.”

“What does your mom do?”

“She’s a caretaker at a retirement home. She used to work at a special needs orphanage but it closed down.”

“A teacher dad and caretaker mom? Sounds like you were destined to be a caring teacher.”

Minho laughs and Kibum cracks a smile. The second mug isn’t taking as long to decorate -- since it’s for his father -- and Minho gets nervous that the date is passing too quickly. Kibum finishes his painting and his drink so he works on cleaning his brushes.

“Sorry I’m taking so long. I got thrown off my groove.” Minho says, picking up the pace.

“Who are you? Emperor Kuzco?” Kibum teases without looking up.

“You’ve seen Emperor’s New Groove?”

“Mostly. What’s an affogato?”

“Espresso with ice cream in it.”

“Is it good?”

“I mean, I think so.”

“Can...can I try it?”

“Sure.”

They reach for the cup at the same time, fingers brushing against each other. Kibum blushes and pulls away as Minho sets the cup closer to his reach. He takes a small sip and Minho struggles not to laugh at his expression: eyebrows arched, lips puckered, topped off with an odd hum. He notices a bit of cream left on Kibum’s upper lip and stares too long.

“It’s sweet, like you.”

Minho blushes, then signals to Kibum to wipe his lip. Kibum seems embarrassed and turns away until he’s sure he’s wiped his face clean, but it just adds to the charm of it all for Minho.  He feels affection bubbling up in his chest, but is interrupted by a tiny voice before he can pay Kibum the compliment.

“Mr. Minho! Look at the pizza I drawed!”