Surviving this date was harder than he had expected, Junsu thought internally as he sat in the cavernous darkness of the empty cinema.

From the moment he had decided to stay celibate  (for an entire day to be precise and a feat that required the full utilization of his wits when his adversary was the devilish albeit clueless Kim Tae Yeon), the universe had conspired to make it the most excruciating and frustrating endeavor that Junsu had to face since making that split second decision last night.

After her bath, Taeyeon had burrowed under the covers and waited for him whilst he took his turn in the shower.

He made sure to wash every single inch of his body, conditioned his hair, blow dry it, cleaned his fingernails, brushed and flossed his teeth, applied all the facial products that he did not usually bothered with and finally poked his head out of the bathroom 2 hours later to find, as he had expected, Taeyeon fast asleep with the iPad on her chest. He had breathed a sigh of relief as he walked over to her side of the bed to ease the device from her grip and put it away before he got into bed. A few minutes was spent arranging some pillows between them and he fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that there would be no 'dangerous' antics during the night.

Against all odds (albeit without much surprise now that he had time to think about it) Junsu had woken up this morning, sans pillows, with his face buried against Taeyeon's collarbone, one arm under her body and one leg wedged between hers. Even clouded with sleep, Junsu had noticed the way Taeyeon's body was twisted towards him, chest arching into his despite the fact that her face was turned the other way. He smiled muzzily at the way her shorts rode up in her sleep to expose one silken thigh, flung high over his hips and held in place with his hand curved around her bum.

His senses was starting to waken as he trailed circles on her skin and nuzzled the pulse on her neck. Their evocative position made him feel like a vampire going in for the kill. A deliciously, seductive kill he thought lecherously. But something didn't seem right. And like a sudden crack of lightning, last night's decision hit him with a force that simultaneously made him cuss and unintentionally fling Taeyeon across the bed in his momentary panic.

It took her a few seconds to register the impact and rouse from her sleep.

"That hurt...." Taeyeon groaned "why did you kick me?"

"Ahh...i'm sorry!! Are you alright?" Junsu exclaimed, clearly horrified as he scuttled over to where his wifey laid with limbs flung open and squirming in pain.

A harder push would have thrown her off the edge and Junsu was glad at his foresight of purchasing a king sized bed.

"Urm...urm....i thought we overslept..." he hedged, eyes darting towards the alarm on the side as he knelt between her body. The digital clock displayed 8.27am

"But it seems that i was mistaken. Are you alright? Where does it hurt? Here?" he asked turning her towards him and away from the edge as he massaged the spot on her back where she had been kneading.

Her body automatically curved round his knees and grumbling, she half slept half levered herself onto his lap and lay the side of her face on her hands folded on his thigh. She mumbled an incoherent reply as he smoothed the hair off her face and continued to massage her back.

"I'm sorry for kicking you, Taeng but since you're already awake..." he coaxed softly "why don't you get up and get ready. We're going to the movies, remember?"

Her face scrunched up in answer.

"Taeng?"

Silence

"Taeng."

"Hmm...?"

"Come on, wake up."

"I don't want to go out, Oppa." Taeyeon managed to grumble "Just let me sleep..."

Junsu gently lifted her head off his lap and onto the bed.

"You get 10 minutes whilst i shower." he replied undaunted as he got out of bed and made his way towards the bathroom, where upon he found the missing pillows from last night scattered on the floor, having trodden and tripped over the mess and banged his knees in the process.

Emerging minutes later fresh from his shower but slightly aching, Junsu decided that the fastest way to wake his wifey was to move her himself. Which he did by scooping her up in his arms and carrying her into the bathroom. He set her down on the toilet cover and held out a glass of water and a toothbrush. She pointedly ignored his handout but looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"Are we really going out?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, we are!" Junsu replied with forced enthusiasm

"Oppa..." she sighed "we wouldn't make it 2 meters out of the door."

He tilted his head to the side "Why wouldn't we? We have been out together before and this is no different from those times."

"It IS different this time!" she replied, voice slightly raised in agitation

"What is so different?"

"You're a walking advertisement!"

"A what??"

"Your hair, Oppa!"

"Oh, that! I'll cover it with a cap!"

"The back can still be seen!"

"I'll wear a scarf under it!"

"It's 38 degrees outside!"

"I'll wear a tank!"

Taeyeon's eyes nearly popped at that absurd reply.

"Look," Junsu quickly interceded, "no one will recognise us. It's the weekday. People are either at work or busy with their studies and practically no one catches the morning matinee now."

She started to argue but Junsu shouldered on "I didn't shave. And everyone recognises the clean-cut stylish Xiah Junsu but no one will equate an unshaven man, dressed down in tank, tattered shorts and flip flops to be him. Especially since i'm supposedly busy with promo preparations and am meticulous about my current outlook."

His wifey turned away with a pout but not before he noted the confusion in her eyes as she glanced away. There will be questions later but Junsu figured he could deal with it when the time comes. He lowered himself to her eye level and put his arms around her "We'll be careful. Please? We'll do anything you want next time but just for today," he said shooting her his best rendition of wobbly-eggs-for-eyes "let's go out on a date. Hmmm...?"

Two hours later, they were both safely ensconced in his car and enroute to the cinema located in a quiet area of the city. It was one of the few places that he frequented and the staff got used to his visits that they go out of their way to leave him in peace. On a few occasions, they acted as tip-offs when fans or the press spotted his whereabouts and stealthily ushered him to the nearest exit before anyone caught on.

True to his words, the place was empty except for the staff on duty and the occasional ahjusshi milling about trying to find a cool spot to escape the summer heat outside. As he turned around with tickets in hand, he saw Taeyeon pick up two drinks from the snack counter, then put both down to pick up a hotdog and a bag of chips. Then she shook her head and transferred the bag of chips to her arm and picked up both drinks. She continued putting things down and picking it up like a game of musical chairs as Junsu reached her side to hear the attendant say, "i'll help you with those, miss."

The attendant eagerly held out a tray towards Taeyeon. There was a look of enraptured bliss on the younger man's face as he stared at his idol crush whom he thought looked absolutely lovely dressed down in Tees and shorts with a cap pulled low. He couldn't believe the luck he had on his first day of work at meeting her and hardly took notice of the dark presence that suddenly loomed by her side.

Totally oblivious to the deathly glare that was leveled at him, he reached out to grab a packet of chips that was slipping from Taeyeon's grip when a hand stopped him mid-crouch. The youth looked up and saw that a man in a grey hoodie had caught the packet of falling chips. Hooded man straightened as he withdrew his hand and started to transfer the stuff from Taeyeon arms to his. The youth's mouth dropped into an 'O' as the hooded man grabbed a drink from the counter, offered a thanks that contradicted the look in his eyes before taking Taeyeon's hand and dragging her off towards the screening rooms.

Junsu mumbled under his breath at the audacity of that young whipper snapper trying to lay a hand on his wifey. He had to pull back his punch as he braced his hand in front of the youth's face to stop him from touching her but had secretly hoped that the youth would careen into it. Taeyeon, as usual, was more preoccupied with the amount of food she could carry and didn't notice the tense exchange.

The movie was just starting as they sidled between the aisles and sat in their assigned seat. Junsu took off the cap under his hoodie and sighed as the super cold air from the central AC blew on the sweat running down his skin. With the lights reflecting off the screen, Junsu could make out the i-told-you-so look that Taeyeon shot him before handing him the drink. He took a sip of it and hastily put it down as Taeyeon handed him his half of the hotdog.

They were soon engrossed in the movie and absent-mindedly chomp down on their food, sometimes choking up when taken aback by a funny part of the movie or laughing out loud at Cha Tae Hyun's expression. Junsu didn't notice the ketchup that hovered dangerously on the end of his hotdog till it landed on his pants with a splat. His wifey looked over at him as he cussed and leaned over the arm rest to see the mess on his lap. She took out some napkins to clean up the ketchup, muttering at his carelessness as she wiped him down. Junsu stopped her with a hand on hers, telling her to leave it as his pants are dark and not noticeable even in the light. She shrugged, passed him more napkins and directed her attention back to the movie.

Junsu shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glad that he wore black boarders which now hid more than just a ketchup stain. When Taeyeon leaned her head against his arm and absent mindedly rubbed her thumb against the palm of his hand, Junsu sat up and crossed his legs.

This show is really funny. Junsu thought fervently.

Oh, that looks painful. Haha. That is funny. Haha haha ha ha....  The laughter in his head pattered out as his attention was once more directed to the feel of Taeyeon's skin sliding across his hands as she laced her fingers through his own.

He looked down at her as she stared straight ahead, amused at whatever that played across the screen. Her profile was silhouetted against the light, lips curved into a grin he thought that was oh-so-y. Dancing light bathed her in a hypnotising sheen, throwing shadows across her lips that beckoned to him, slowly drawing him in like an invisible thread.

If he hadn't made that vow last night, Junsu would have hauled Taeyeon out of her chair by now and onto his lap where he would proceed to kiss her till the credits rolled and the lights came on.

Clearly, celibacy was not for the weak minded. Case in point, when one is told not to think about pink elephants, a nice big elephant in a pink tutu would immediately spring to mind. Not once, but twice. And before the day is out, a whole carnival of dancing bears, jumping lions, murderous clowns with Yoo Chun as the derelict ring master would have paraded across Junsu's mind and invaded his sanity. A passing vision of Yoo Chun in that sparkly suit, bowed with top-hat in hand and flashing him that condescending smile threw a surge of determination on Junsu's will.

I will prevail he thought fiercely. Just think about pink elephants.

When the movie ended, Junsu was still repeating the mantra in his head. Beside him, Taeyeon stretched out her arms and arched her back languidly, joints popping from being confined in a slouch position. She gave him a languorous smile, which prompt him to think of other times she smiled that way. He crossed his legs again.

"What shall we do now, Oppa?" she asked stifling a yawn

"Should we grab some lunch?"

"Sure. What would you like to have?"

You, roared his instincts as he watch Taeyeon continue to wriggle in her seat, trying to work out the stiffness in her muscles.

Valiantly ignoring the internal wailing beast, Junsu managed to eek out a suggestion. On the way out, they bypassed the same youth manning the snack stands looking slightly perturbed. He perked up upon seeing Taeyeon but shot Junsu a peevish look as the latter came into his line of vision. He wondered about the man's weird gait and saw Taeyeon lean in towards the hooded man.

"Oppa, are you alright?" she whispered looking at him in concern "Why are you hobbling?"

"I'm fine. Just a cramp" he said pretending to massage his calf.

She patted his back soothingly and took his arm as they made their way to the exit. Junsu tried to think about pink elephants.

- - - -

Author's note: I'm sorry bout delay in updates, folks. My creative ideas and conscience had a little get-together to duke out the pros and cons of shifting this fic towards the chamber with red lanterns. Thus the hold up. Needless to say, i am in two minds on how to proceed with the nitty gritty details though i had long ago plot out the framework. The moral police are in town and i am concerned bout the little kiddies out there. I do not want this to stain my soul as it has stained Junsu's pants. Aha for lame puns.

I might break my writing into 2 parts with an external link. I dont know how this will pan out but one thing is for certain: imma' gonna pull the Great London on Junsu. *cue evil laughter* kidari juseyo~~♥