Sunday. The day before Valentines.

Yixing was left alone in their apartment because Yifan had another photo shoot; Yixing didn’t mind being alone today though, in fact, he appreciated having no one with him. After the sudden questions that appeared in between his relationship with Yifan, it seemed like he had a lot of talking to do with himself.

“What is it that tells you when you already love a person?” he thought to himself as he hugged a familiar circular pillow. “Yifan…” he trailed off as his mind began to wonder.

“Hi! I saw this ad about sharing an apartment and thought that I could drop by and see…” Yixing spoke by the door.

“Will you be the one staying?” Yifan, who was half-asleep, asked.

“Yeah. I need a cheap place to stay here in the city…”

“Okay, you’ll do,” the taller one said as he walked in the apartment.

“Uhmm?”

“Come in.”

The place was indeed too spacious for one man, Yixing thought then; but it was very well kept, he added. The furniture is grey in color, the curtains are white, the kitchen is clean, and the view is a good look of the city.

“So, that’s my room and the one opposite to it will be yours,” Yifan said, pointing to the doors. “There’s only one bathroom though so we have to share. I don’t like people touching my stuff, especially the creams and the lotions. But aside from that, this place is as good as yours.”

“What?” Yixing, who was confused and surprised, asked. “But… I haven’t decided… I just came to look…”

“You said you’ll be staying?” the taller man asked as he crossed his arms.

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean that I’ll decide so suddenly…”

“So you don’t like the place?”

“NO! That’s not what I meant!”

“I can just find other people, you know…”

“No. I mean…” the younger one breathed in. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

“Hi, I’m Yixing. Nice to meet you, roommate,” he added as he flashed a smile.

“Yifan, you probably know me… we work in the same company,” the older responded, reaching out his right hand.

Still half-asleep, Yixing got up from his bed and walked towards his keyboard and started pressing random keys.

“So what made you decide to eat out today?” Yixing asked as he struggled to mentally read a pasta dish’s name on the menu. “This isn’t a fine restaurant, why do they name their dishes so hard….” He thought to himself.

“Why, do you not want to hang out with me?” Yifan said as he decided what to order.

“Not really. It’s just a bit uncomfortable to be seen with a public person like yourself.”

“I’m not a famous person, Yixing.”

“Not yet.”

After rolling his eyes, Yifan called for the waiter and placed his order. This caused Yixing to panic as he was still undecided and was in the middle of pronouncing a French word. He ended up pointing to the picture of the dish he wanted, making Yifan laugh a bit.

“Do you have anything regularly planned on Thursdays?” Yifan asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“Like get-togethers or meetings or is Thursday a day when you’re normally piled with work.”

“Hmmmm. No, not really. But I do go out with Luhan-hyung and Chen a lot, but that’s usually up to their choice…”

“Great.”

“What?”

“Let’s make Thursdays our day then.”

Yixing stood up, fixed his shirt a bit and hand-combed his hair before he went out of his room.

“I told you not to drink so much at the party…” Yixing said as he gave Yifan, who was sitting half-asleep on their couch, a cup of hot coffee.

“But I feel fine…”

“Yeah. Right,” the younger replied as he sat beside the other, holding a cup of his own.

“I can drink much more than that, I swear.”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Yah! Are you doubting me?”

“Yes.”

“Yah! Show some respect, I’m still older than you.”

But rather than replying, Yixing just laughed loudly while Yifan ended up sipping his coffee.

“Why didn’t you drink?” Yifan asked.

“I can’t handle alcohol.”

“Sissy.”

“Well, at least I’m not half-drunkenly talking right now.”

“I’m not drunk! I’m sleepy,” the older said as he put down his cup.

“Then go to your room.”

“Too tired,” Yifan said as he opted to rest his head on Yixing’s shoulder.

“Heavy,” Yixing commented as he tried to shrug off the other.

“Stop moving, you’re making me dizzy.”

“Go to your room and sleep, hyung.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Seriously…” Yixing said as he rolled his eyes. It was not long before he heard Yifan snore. “I’m not carrying you to your bed,” he announced to no one in particular.

True enough, Yifan found himself the next day sleeping on the couch covered with a blanket and hugging a few pillows.

Yixing went to the kitchen to get something to drink from the refrigerator. Milk, cola, juice… he enumerated as he saw his choices.

“Why is the list so long?” Yifan asked as the two of them entered the supermarket.

“Because a certain owner of an apartment does not clean on his own, but instead pays other people to do it for him.”

“What’s wrong with that?!”

“It’s a lazy attitude and a waste of money. And you miss out on the fun of cleaning.”

“Fun??” the older snorted.

“Yeah! And the two of us can divide the tasks, it’ll be much quicker…” Yixing responded happily. He was always the clean-freak between the two of them - a trait that Yifan is thankful, if he would be honest.

“You’re weird. You’re the first person I’ve met that likes to clean.”

“I don’t like cleaning. I like the feeling of seeing your place clean after working hard.”

“Isn’t that the same?”

“Nope.”

Sighing in defeat, Yifan took the list from Yixing and examined it. “Do we really need different types of cleaners?”

“Give me that!” the younger snatched the paper back. “Leave this to the expert,” he teased.

“Fine, Lead the way,” Yifan was defeated again. “You be the wife and I’ll be the husband.”

“What?”

“Because it kinda feels like we’re a married couple shopping…”

“Oh… ah… whatever…” Yixing said before coughing a bit in embarrassment.

Yixing now found himself sitting at their dining table; holding his pillow with his right hand and playing with his bangs with his left hand.

The first time Yixing and Yifan didn’t eat out on a Thursday was when Yixing was dumped by his girlfriend. The relationship lasted only for a year, but still it hurt Yixing.

“She said I’m not a very reliable person to have a life with…” Yixing said as the two of them were sitting on the floor eating cup noodles.

“Isn’t that a bit too harsh of her?” Yifan asked.

“Not really. I kinda agree. I don’t exactly see myself leading a family yet, you know?”

“Family life is a long way ahead of us. You’re thinking too soon.”

“So is she.”

“Then shouldn’t it be better that this happened? If you’re not prepared for that kind of life, then it’s good that you avoided it…”

“I guess… But I cared for her, you know? I thought everything was going well…”

“Women; it’s hard to understand them.”

“You got that right…” Yixing agreed before he sighed heavily.

“Cmon, cheer up. I’m not used to seeing you this down…”

“Wouldn’t this count as a special case? I have been dumped, you know?”

“Cheer up,” Yifan repeated as he poked the younger’s cheek.

“What are you doing?” Yixing asked as his eyeballs followed Yifan’s fingers.

“Forcing your dimples to show.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“It’s worth a try,” the older said as he kept poking the place where he’s sure Yixing’s dimples are.

“Hyung, you’re being weird.” Yixing said as he saw the seriousness in Yifan’s face. Yifan was completely determined in making his dimples show even if it meant leaving a chopstick on his cheek.

“Should I try pinching it?” Yifan said as he did so.

“Yah! Aw!” Yixing shouted as he rubbed his cheek. But Yifan still kept a serious face, making Yixing laugh. “That’s not how it works, hyung.”

“But it seemed like it worked…” Yifan said as he saw the dimples when Yixing laughed.

“Is that what tells you when you already love a person?” Yixing thought. The sudden rush of memories made his heart flutter. He somehow felt lighter and excited. “Yifan,” he thought before he lightly banged his head on his pillow which is placed on the dinner table and stretched out his arms.

“Oh, you’re awake?” someone suddenly spoke out, making Yixing almost jump in shock.

“YIFAN!” Yixing shouted, although he didn’t jump.

“And you’re being loud…”

“Oh, sorry,” the younger immediately apologized. “I…  just didn’t hear the door open…”

“I wasn’t trying to be quiet though…” Yifan said as he walked to the kitchen.

“I’m probably… still not awake…” Yixing said as he tried to shake off every thought he had before Yifan entered the room.

“Probably.”

“You’re back early, why?” It was true, Yixing thought that he had until dinner time to be alone and think; a photo shoot should be enough to give him time to sort things out.

“The shoot was cancelled.” Yifan replied. “The photographer couldn’t make it so they called me while I was on the way…”

“Oh…” “Stupid photographer,” Yixing mentally thought, cursing the photographer for cutting short his thinking time.

“Anyway, I bought food!” the older said as he raised a plastic bag. “I thought you would still be sleeping and would be too lazy to cook lunch.”

“I… am.”

“Then it’s a good thing I know you too well, huh?” Yifan laughed, feeling proud that he made a good decision. “Let me just put them on a plate…”

“Hey, hyung,” Yixing called the older, who had his back against him, taking out plates and utensils.

“Hmmm?”

“Can you see the clock from there?”

“Huh? Yeah, why?” Yifan answered as he looked up and saw the wall clock.

“Can you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Can you countdown two minutes for me?”

“Countdown for what?” Yifan managed to ask before he felt two thin arms wrap around his waist.

“Two minutes. Starting now,” Yixing said softly as his fists reached for one another, locking a hug. Yixing’s felt like his heart was participating in a marathon or doing a hell of a workout. His heart was beating so fast that he couldn’t even keep count. His palms were sweating; his mind was hazy, but yet somehow, he felt comfort. He felt warm when his and Yifan’s body touched, he felt warm when his left cheek met Yifan’s back. He felt comfortable, yet for some reason he couldn’t breathe easily.

“Yixing??” Yifan asked, very surprised by the sudden act. He was looking down at the arms wrapped around him.

“Hyung, you’re supposed to keep track of the time,” the younger reminded him.

“But what’s this for?” Yifan asked as he looked up at the clock again. Fifteen seconds had passed since he last looked.

“It’s a punishment…” Yixing lied.

“Punishment?”

“Yeah. I… lost a game with Luhan-hyung and Chen, and hugging you was my punishment.” Yixing was thankful for the fact that he was still able to think of a good reason for doing so. His mind hasn’t died yet, he thought.

“Why is this your punishment?” Thirty seconds.

“You know how weird those two are…”

“True, but still…”

“Just don’t mind me. Keep on doing what you were doing…”

Sighing because he knew there’s nothing much he can do, Yifan continued emptying the contents of the plastic bag. “I bought bread…” he said as he opened one container. “And rice…” he added as he opened another. Forty-five seconds.

“Did you buy those from the convenient store at the corner?”

“Yeah. Why? Too tacky for you?”

“No. You know I love stored and heated food the most,” Yixing laughed.

“…I know.” One minute.

“I’m hungry,” the younger said.

“Then let’s eat.”

“Just a little while longer. How many seconds more, hyung?”

“Forty-five,” Yifan answered as he watched the wall clock tick.

“Hyung…” spoke softly this time.

“Hmmm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You already did.”

“Then can I ask you two more questions?”

Laughing at how Yixing copied his reply before, Yifan nodded.

It took a few seconds of silence for Yixing to speak again. He was debating on whether or not to proceed with the question. But, in the end, he thought that if he didn’t ask it now, it will be difficult to find another good timing.

“Does your girlfriend hug you… like this?”

It was a question at the tip of Yixing’s tongue. Why he wanted to ask that? He didn’t know. However, he knew that he needed an answer to it, whatever the answer may be.

“Yeah,” Yifan answered.

“Really?”

“Mmm. Why?”

“Nothing. Just curious… you must’ve felt warm whenever she hugs you…”

“I…do…” One minute forty-five seconds.

“Must be great…” Yixing commented.

“Xing, remind me to punch Luhan and Chen tomorrow.”

“I’ll be punching them myself…” the younger laughed. Two minutes.

“Xing, two minutes” Yifan said before he felt Yixing arms slowly release the hug. “Can you re-heat the bread for me? It got cold…” he asked as he turned around to see an emptily-staring Yixing.

“Yeah… sure,” the younger answered.

“I’ll just go change quickly then we can eat…” the older said as he stepped away and walked towards his room.

Holding a plastic-wrapped bread, Yixing was trying to retrieve his senses. Those two minutes would be the most bizarre experience he had, yet it was a feeling that he would welcome any day.

Yixing then raised his hand and placed the bread against his cheek - where he was feeling very hot at the moment and where he was pretty sure he had a deep red blush.

“Luhan-hyung… Chen…” he thought to himself. “I think I lost our bet…”

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A/N: KYAAAAAAAAAA~!