Waking up without an alarm, knowing he didn’t have to get out of bed if he didn’t want to and knowing he didn’t have to do anything all day, was possibly the best thing Lay had experienced in a while. Keeping his eyes closed he pulled the thin, soft covers up to his chin and curled up on his side before stretching out over the double bed, humming happily as his body woke up.

The first thing he did once he was out of bed was throw open his curtains, still amazed by the incredible view the chalet gave him of the glistening pool and the French landscapes they were surrounded by. Pushing his window open Lay leant out a little to breath in the crisp mid-morning air, letting the sun wash over him again. Once he was more awake the boy turned back to his room and, tugging at the tangles in his hair with his fingers as he did, he walked to his unpacked suitcase and pulled out a pair of swimming trunks and a towel. Quickly changing he grabbed a bottle of sun block and started covering himself in it as he make his way to the kitchen for some breakfast. His eyes widened as he walked in to see Suho, wearing a delicate white apron over his faded jean shorts and pale blue vest, placing a pancake on a stack of five other beside him. He switched off the stove before turning to see Lay staring at him from the doorway. Carrying the plate of pancakes, he set them in the middle of the table so they were surrounded by a platter of sliced strawberries, whipped cream, cut lemons, a small bowl of sugar, syrup and two glasses of cold water. Gesturing for Lay to sit Suho smiled broadly at him and removed his apron, draping it over the back of the chair as he sat.

“Morning, you sleep ok?” Gaping at the display of food Lay nodded to the older boy as he sat down, Suho placed an empty place in front of the boy and leant forwards slightly to place a pancake on it before serving himself, reaching for the sugar he sprinkle two teaspoons of the sweet topping over his own pancake as he spoke.

“I thought maybe today, for now at least, we’d just stay here and we do the whole tourist thing tomorrow.” Accepting the sugar as it was passed to him Lay spread a teaspoon full over his pancake and placed it back on the table, picking up a lemon half and squeezing it over the sugar Lay watched it dissolve the sugar while Suho dropped a few strawberries slices onto his.

“Yeah, sounds good. Just a day to relax kind of thing?” Suho nodded with a soft smile tugging the corners of his lips up and both boys ate in silence. Lay found himself staring blankly at the sweet pancake and, eyes wide, he looked, stunned slightly, at Suho. Swallowing the food in his mouth Lay grinned happily.

“There are amazing!” Laughing off the compliment Suho looked at the food he’d prepared rather than at Lay as the boy quickly got back to eating,

“It’s just flour, milk, eggs-”

“Suho, it’s amazing. C’est bon!” Laughing at his own terrible, robotic pronunciation Lay placed another pancake on his now empty plate and decorated it with strawberries and cream, rolling it into a thick tube. Suho also moved onto his next pancake, spreading the golden syrup over its surface he sliced it into thin strips and tucked each strip into a gooey bite sized roll. The boys didn’t speak again as they ate, Lay too immersed in enjoying the taste of his breakfast and Suho too immersed in watching Lay enjoy his cooking. Suho quickly stopped watching as the boy some stray cream off his lips, dragging his tongue slowly over them to savour the taste.

Suho focused on his food as Lay paused to take a sip of his water, placing the glass back on the table he smiled at the older boy as they both finished their second pancakes.

“I tried to make these once. They wouldn’t stop sticking to the pan and they all ended up as piles of mush so I gave up.” Chuckling at the boy’s story Suho slid on of the last two pancakes onto each of their plates, covering his own in sugar and strawberries again as Lay dipped some strawberry slices one by one into the syrup before placing then on his pancake and dusting sugar over them. Eating happily the boys sunk back into their comfortable silence.

Once Suho was finished eating he picked up his own empty plate along with the one in the middle of the table to start cleaning up. Quickly swallowing the food in his mouth Lay jumped up and covered Suho’s hands with his own.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do the cleaning up. You go relax.” Glancing from Lay’s face to his hands Suho placed the plates on the table again so he could step away, scared that Lay would notice the heat that ran through his body when the younger boy touched him. He muttered an awkward thanks before practically rennin upstairs to pick up his IPod so he could listen to music while he relaxed.

Not sure why Suho had reacted so strangely to his touch Lay shrugged the thought away in favour of popping his list bite of pancake in his mouth and standing up as he chewed. Gathering up the empty plates Lay dropped them into the dishwasher, spotting a radio as he did the boy switched it on and let the soft foreign music flow through the room. A woman was singing smoothly, her voice like a relaxant making Lay’s body feel pleasantly light as he started moving to the music, dancing his way back to the table. Throwing a small piece of strawberry in the air he caught it in his mouth and tipped away what was left of the sugar and lemon, he was about to turn away when something in the bin caught his eye. Looking closer the boy realised what he was looking at was ruined pancakes, some burnt, some misshapen, some sloggy and undercooked, at a glance Lay could see at least seven discarded pancakes and it hit him how much effort Suho must have put into the seemingly simple breakfast. Glancing towards the door Suho had walked out of not long before. Lay let himself stare wistfully at the door, thinking again about how much effort Suho was putting into cheering him up. As the song changed Lay finished putting the plates and bowls Suho had used in the dishwasher and switched it on. Once the work was out of the way the boy closed his eyes and rolling his head from side to side to relax a little he slowly let his body melt into the soft melody of the music.

Kicking his shoes off and leaving them in his room he tucked his IPod in his back pocket and picked up his own sun block. Covering his arms, neck, legs and the small part of his chest that was visible he gave himself time to cool off after Lay’s soft touch, hating himself for reacting the way he had. Making his way back downstairs Suho opened the kitchen door to see Lay swaying lightly to the gentle French tones running through the room. Lost for words Suho watched as Lay’s body moved perfectly to the music as if he’d danced to the song a hundred times before and knew each note by heart. Completely infatuated by the way the younger boy moulded his body to the sounds that ran through the room Suho silently made his way towards Lay and stood behind him, wrapping his arms around Lay’s waists Suho pulled him closer and nuzzled into the back of his neck.

“Suho-”

“Sh. Please just, don’t say anything.” Feeling a little awkward Lay looked down at Suho’s hands and relaxed as much as he could. Breathing in the younger boy’s slightly musky scent Suho closed his eyes and ran his hands over Lay’s bare stomach, feeling the perfectly defined muscles etched onto his skin, he felt Lay tense up at his touch but couldn’t find the self restraint to hold back anymore. Lifting himself onto his toes he leant into Lay more to bring his lips to the boy’s neck, shuddering with anticipation he moved quickly to the base of Lay’s ear.

“Suho stop” The boy’s voice was only just audible as he put his hands over Suho’s to stop his movements. The words didn’t seem to get through to the older boy as he took Lay’s earlobe between teeth and nibbled it lightly. Lay’s breath caught in his throat, shutting his eyes he tightened his grip on Suho’s hands and forced himself to breath calmly, making his voice stronger.

“Please don’t-” not giving the boy the chance to finish his sentence Suho spun him around and backed him against the kitchen counter, leaning into the younger boy he pressed their lips together, more than a little forcefully, as his impatience got the better of him.

Panicking slightly Lay dug up all the strength he could and pushed Suho away from him, the older boy stumbled back his eyes wide and facial expression already apologetic.

“Stop it!” Looking at his feet Lay spoke quietly again, “it’s too soon.” Annoyed and angry at himself for losing control Suho’s jaw clenched shut as he spun around to slam his fist against the table, Lay couldn’t help but jump and flinch away from the sudden outburst. Trying to calm himself again Suho slowly straightened up and turned to face Lay, the younger boy was still pressed against the kitchen counter, fear and concern plastered over his face.

“I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened. Not like that.” Giving the boy and apologetic half-smile Suho left the room, heading in the direction of the pool.

As soon as Suho was out of sight Lay let the little strength he had left in his body and crumbled to the floor. Shaking from the shock of Suho’s actions Lay slowly touched his fingers to his lips, lips that had, until now, only ever touched Luhan’s. It was too soon after the breakup to be having feelings for someone else. Lay wasn’t that kind of person, he had been a committed boyfriend, he had loved Luhan, feelings like that wouldn’t just go away and still.

Pushing himself to his feet Lay walked to the back door to look out at Suho. The older boy was sat on the edge of one of the sun beds, his head in his hands and his entire body tense. It was obvious he was regretting what he’d done. But everything that he’d done since they’d been in France, hell since before they’d been there, he’d done to help Lay. No matter how ashamed it made him feel, after only a few days of being single again, Lay couldn’t deny that he was starting to have feeling for the older boy.