It didn’t take a lot to get Kyuhyun’s jaw to drop or heart to stop; it was hard to make him tear up with a mere sentence though. Unless you knew exactly what topic to bring up, but most knew it was wise not to. Siwon was the exception and had the amazing capability to do all three simultaneously.

“A…a vacation?” Kyuhyun repeated for good measure, discreetly pinching his arm to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “You’re not kidding, right? This isn’t some joke?”

“Absolutely not.” Siwon smiled, taking a sip of his drink. “I finished the novel and I figured this would be the perfect way to celebrate.”

Kyuhyun flapped his mouth open and closed like a fish out of water, contemplating the older’s words. A vacation. Just the two of them. Out of that damned apartment. Finally wrapping his mind around the concept, he beamed at Siwon, eyes crinkling into crescent and two straight rows of pearly whites making an appearance. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d smiled like that.

“I don’t think you’ve ever made such a brilliant proposition before this.” He said happily, “Where did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking maybe France or Greece.” Siwon shrugged, letting him know it was up for debate.

“Oh. Oh.” Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, “I thought you meant just somewhere in the country. I was going to suggest a beach resort or something. Wow.”

“Well, that’s fine too. I just thought maybe you’d like to get out of here for a while.” Siwon explained, “If it’s a beach you’re looking for, maybe we can try Barbados. Hawaii could be nice too.”

“Barbados does sound appealing…” Kyuhyun hummed, “Are you sure you’re not kidding?”

“Positive.” Siwon said, chuckling at Kyuhyun’s excited face, “It’ll be good for us. I know things haven’t been the same since the…incident.” Kyuhyun visibly stiffened as Siwon continued, “Maybe this will help get us back on track. A break from all this chaos would be good, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, maybe it would be a nice change. At least for a little while.” Kyuhyun agreed, taking small bites out of his pizza.

“So, Barbados?”

Kyuhyun hummed around a bite of pizza, listening intently to Siwon talk about all the fun they would have. Hiking, snorkelling, surfing, eating. The smile on his face seemed to be stuck there permanently as he thought about how great their vacation would be. Just the two of them, no writing, no commissions, no constant worrying. Just them and the sand beneath their feet.

*

People on the street sighed in longing at sight of the couple wrapped around each other in the frigid night air. Kyuhyun huddled tightly into Siwon, relishing in the warmth he gave. Siwon pulled him in as close as he could without making it hard for them to walk, enjoying the fact that he was able to keep his boyfriend warm. They were the picture of happiness as they walked down the dimly lit streets, window shopping and people watching.

“I feel like drinking hot chocolate.” Siwon said, wrapping his arm around Kyuhyun’s waist and sticking his hand into the younger’s pocket.

“You read my mind!” Kyuhyun laughed, looking up at Siwon with a sprightly face.

Big cheeks, giant grin and squinting eyes. He was the epitome of perfection. Siwon looked down on him with awe and felt as though he fell in love all over again. He couldn’t resist the angel standing next to him any longer, and leaned down swiftly to catch that smiling face in a sweet kiss. Kyuhyun laughed into his lips and pulled away, a dorky lopsided smile decorating his blushing face. Siwon brushed the unruly bangs out of the younger’s face and pressed another chaste peck right in the middle of his forehead.

Kyuhyun chuckled lightly, “What was that for?”

“No reason. I just love you is all.”

And if it was possible for someone to melt into their boots in the freezing weather, Kyuhyun would have.

♦

Kyuhyun only had himself to blame for not noticing the direction they were going in. He had been too absorbed in Siwon’s sweet nothings and the idea of hot chocolate to even realise that he was being le to the little blue café he had just been to earlier in the day. He began to panic internally, trying to not let his flustered state come to surface.

“You know what; I’m not really in the mood for hot chocolate anymore. It’s too cold outside. Let’s just go home.” Kyuhyun said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

“What? We’re nearly there, Kyuhyun.” Siwon laughed incredulously, “How can you not be in the mood for hot chocolate? It’s your favourite. Quit being silly.”

Kyuhyun pouted, trudging alongside him hesitantly. He didn’t even have the heart to tell Siwon that his favourite drink was caramel macchiato.

Silver Sea hadn’t changed at all with the couple of hours he’d been away, though Kyuhyun wasn’t quite sure why he expected it would. Maybe it was less of an expectation and more hope that Hyukjae and Donghae were on break. He scanned the café discreetly, looking for the bouncy blonde and his doting boyfriend. Kyuhyun sighed in relief when they didn’t appear. Relaxing his tense posture, he followed Siwon to the exact table he had sat at before.

Of course, with Kyuhyun’s vast amount of bad luck, Donghae’s mother walked out from the kitchen and spotted him immediately. She cocked her head at him, squinting as if to make sure she was seeing things correctly. Kyuhyun stared back at her wide eyed as she waved and began to make her way over. He shook his head desperately, mentally begging her to go away.

“Kyuhyun? What’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Kyuhyun faced Siwon, blinking as innocently as he could manage.

“Why are you shaking your head?” Siwon furrowed his brows.

“I was just…adjusting my hair is all.” Kyuhyun patted his back internally, “It was all mussed and whatnot. Gotta look good for my man, you know?”

Siwon considered him a moment before grinning, “You could wear a potato sack and still look gorgeous to me, Kyuhyun.”

“Oh, hush you.” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes playfully.

They bantered, throwing snide comments at each other good naturedly and laughing at their lame comebacks. Moments like these made Kyuhyun remember why he had fallen in love with Siwon in the first place. He wondered if they could go back to how they once were, the couple everyone envied instead of pitied. Maybe he was partly to blame, after all it was his ultimately his fault for being stubborn. Kyuhyun did tend to place all the blame of Siwon though, if he hadn’t been such an over protective boyfriend, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. He wasn’t some kind of skittish rabbit wearing an anxiety bomb waiting to explode at any moment. At least, he wasn’t at the time.

“We’ll both have hot chocolates.” He heard Siwon say to someone.

Kyuhyun looked to their waiter, relieved once again to find that it wasn’t Hyukjae. He scanned the café yet again for good measure, they were finally having a nice night out together and he really didn’t need something like Hyukjae or Donghae recognizing him to ruin it.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong, Kyu?” Siwon stared at him with scrutinizing eyes.

Kyuhyun shook his head, “Everything’s fine.”

“You seem distracted.”

“I’m just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that we’re going on vacation.” Kyuhyun smiled, trying to make it reach his eyes.

Siwon laughed, though anyone could see that he didn’t fully believe Kyuhyun. It wasn’t that he thought his boyfriend was lying; it was just that the younger had the propensity to hide things from Siwon that would make him upset or worry him. Kyuhyun always did it with the best intentions of course, but that didn’t manage to soothe Siwon’s constantly concerned heart.

“I’m glad you’re excited,” He said, deciding to just give Kyuhyun the benefit of the doubt, “I was scared you wouldn’t want to go.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to go? Its Barbados we’re talking about here, of course I’d want to go,” Kyuhyun used exaggerated hand gestures as he spoke, a habit he’d picked up from Siwon, “Especially if I get to go with you.” He added on sweetly.

The waitress came back with a happy smile; one that seemed the whole staff was required to have in order to work at Silver Sea. “Here you two go,” She almost sang, “Donghae made these with love.”

Kyuhyun froze at the name, “D-Donghae?”

“Hmm?” She blinked, “Oh, yes, Donghae. He’s our barista.” She pointed at the brunette with his back turned behind the counter.

The younger man hummed in acknowledgement and turned ever so subtly in his chair so his face wasn’t recognisable to Donghae. His plan had been successful for the most part, they talked about Barbados, planned their itinerary. He noticed Siwon looking in Donghae’s direction every so often, obviously suspicious as to why Kyuhyun had questioned the waitress about him. The older never said anything, though Kyuhyun could tell he was annoyed about something.

“I don’t like the way that barista is looking at you.” Siwon finally said, glaring in Donghae’s direction.

Ah, so his little strategy hadn’t worked.   

“I hadn’t noticed him.” Kyuhyun replied as nonchalantly as possible, his nerves on edge.

“Really? Seemed like you knew him. You almost sounded thrilled to hear his name earlier.”

“Siwon,” He said exasperatedly, “I thought I’d heard his name wrong. Donghae is a weird name, you have to admit.”

“Sure, Kyuhyun, alright.” Siwon rolled his eyes, “I already know you’re lying, why can’t you just admit that you know him? What is he, your ex?”

“You can’t be serious right now.” Kyuhyun pinched the bridge of his nose, “I don’t know him, Siwon. I’ve never seen him before this, I swear. Why can’t you just trust me?”

He regretted asking that. The answer was never a pleasant one and it never failed to hurt him either. It was too late to retract it now though, no matter how badly he wanted to.

“Because the last time I trusted you, you nearly ended up dead. Do you know how horrible it is to hear that the person you love the most is in the hospital, in a different ing country at that, and they don’t know if he’s going to make it through the night? Not only that, but when you actually get there, another man is in the room holding his hand? I have every right not to trust you, Kyuhyun. Don’t act like you’re the victim here.”

Kyuhyun felt tears begin to well up as Siwon’s words sunk in. He was right, completely and undoubtedly. Kyuhyun knew he couldn’t even argue with that and yet he still refused to take the blame.

“That was two years ago, Siwon! Why can’t you just let it go? I thought we were past that already!”

“I can’t let it go because I almost lost you! You don’t understand how painful it was to hear that, to see that. And to know you were with another man the whole time? How can I just move on from that?”

“Nothing happened! I’ve told you this a thousand times! Nothing happened between me and him, he was just a friend I’d made! Why can’t you just believe me?” Kyuhyun’s tears were officially flowing at that point, blurring his vision and leaving tear tracks in their wake.

“Because I know you’re lying. I can see it in your eyes, Kyuhyun. You’re not as great of a liar as you’d like to think.” Siwon’s voice was even, apathetic almost, “Oh look, here comes your little friend, Donghae.” He spit the name out like a curse, shooting glares in both of their directions.

Kyuhyun wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffling and pulling his coat and beanie on. Fine. If Siwon was going to be that way, he didn’t want to be here to take all the insults he knew were about to come out. He didn’t care if the older believed him or not at that point. All he wanted to do was go to someone that would comfort him and he knew just the place too.

“Is something wrong here?” Donghae asked, brown eyes full of curiosity and concern.

“No.” Kyuhyun answered, voice shaking, “I was just leaving. The drinks were great,” the company, not so much, he wanted to add, “Thank you, Donghae.”

He pushed passed Donghae, feeling a little guilty for being rude to someone who didn’t do a single thing wrong. Siwon called after him and Kyuhyun sped up his pace, running out into the cold and looking for a hiding place, knowing Siwon was looking for him. The nearest store open was a book store, aptly named Serendipity. Had he been in a better mood, he would’ve laughed at how appropriate it was. Instead he walked in briskly, finding a bookshelf to hide behind.

Kyuhyun peaked around the edges, making sure Siwon hadn’t found him, and pulled out his phone. The numbers he dialled were familiar and nearly enough to settle the bout of anxiety coursing through his body.

“Hello?” A soft voice answered after the first ring. Kyuhyun frowned; last he remembered his friend did not have that girly of a voice. The sound of rustling sheets and a few give it to me!’s could be heard at the other end of the line.

“Sungmin?” He asked, second guessing the numbers he punched in.

“Yes? Kyuhyun? Kyuhyun! What’s up? Haven’t heard from you in a while.” Sungmin said, breathing a little heavily.

“I know and I’m sorry about that, but are you busy right now?”

“Nope. That was just the princess being fussy.” Kyuhyun heard a shrill hey! in the background as Sungmin continued, “Why? Do you need something?”

“Well, could you come pick me up?”

“Pick you up? Where’s Siwon?”

“I’ll give you all the juicy details when you come get me.” Kyuhyun sighed, “I’m at a bookstore called Serendipity. If you could get here, like, now, that’d be great.”

“On my way as we speak. You just sit tight.”

The phone clicked and Kyuhyun blew out air that he didn’t even realise he’d been holding. He’d go back to Siwon later, when they both had settled down enough, but right now he was just glad that his best friend was coming to save the day once again.

I'm sorry this took me so long and I hope you forgive me for it not being too great. /runs and hides.

Anyways, ohohohohoho, what's this? An incident in a different country? Another man? Kyuhyun nearly dying?

Maybe you'll find out what exactly happened in the next chapter! Also, woooo Sungmin's finally in the picture! Probably my favourite character in this whole mess besides Kyuhyun.

Thanks for reading!

♥