"Any news?" Jongdae asked as he sat down on Kyungsoo's couch. The latter lived in a house in the heart of their city. It was simply furnished and along the walls were photos of different people and scenery that Kyungsoo took himself. It was the perfect size for two people except one person was missing.

Kyungsoo pulled his knees closer to his chin. "No, but he should be here any day now," he said.

"Do you think something came up?"

Kyungsoo shook his head. "No. Jongin wouldn't tell me unless he was positive," he said quietly.

Jongin was out of the country. He had been studying in Europe for a year. When he first told Kyungsoo about what he wanted to do, the older was temporarily angry. Jongin was going to leave him all alone for an entire year and to do what? To go and study dancing in a foreign country?

The anger didn't last long though. He came to realize that he was being unfair. This was Jongin's dream and he wasn't about to be the one to hold him back. It took him a while and a few boxes of tissues before he finally worked up the courage to let Jongin go. After that, their contact was limited to phone calls and sleepy Skype chats that needed to be planned accordingly because of the time differences.

But now, Jongin was coming home and he's coming back to stay.

"He'll be here soon," Kyungsoo says. "He wouldn't lie to me."

"Hmm," Jongdae hummed. "I hope so. But hey! Why don't you do something to get your mind off of it. I feel like you've been stressing over this too much."

Kyungsoo looked up at him curiously. "What do you think I should do?" he asked.

Jongdae smiled. "Come to the boardwalk with Baekhyun and I this weekend. The carnival is reopening for the summer and there's going to be a lot of people. That should distract you."

Kyungsoo pursed his lips. "Jongdae, you know I don't really like going to places like that," he mumbled.

"Oh come on!" the latter exclaimed. "Come out and have some fun, Soo. We can go on rides and play games and eat food and there's going to be fireworks that night. You love fireworks and--" He paused for a moment and took in Kyungsoo's solemn expression. "It'll do you some good."

Said man rolled his eyes. "You think so?" he asked.

Jongdae nodded. "I know so."

Kyungsoo continued to stare Jongdae down until he finally sighed. "Fine. I'll go."

"That's the spirit, Soo," Jongdae says approvingly. Kyungsoo doesn't say anything back but turns his head to look out the window of his living room.

He misses the knowing smile on Jongdae's face.

~~~~~~

(XO)

Saturday rolls around fairly quickly and Jongdae was right. The boardwalk was b with people. Kids ran around with desperate parents trying their best to keep up. Couples were kissing against the sides of the stalls and buildings. The lights were bright and blinking in Kyungsoo's eyes. He really wishes that he brought his camera with him. Tonight would've been the perfect for it.

The three of them made their way through the crowded boardwalk, making sure to stick close together. Kyungsoo tried his best to have fun. He beat Baekhyun in the balloon water race and won a stuffed bear at darts to which he gave to the latter since he didn't actually want it. Jongdae beat both of them in an overzealous game of skee ball. Afterwards, Baekhyun got his revenge in the arcade when he shot them both down in Terminator: Salvation and Aliens.

They walked around outside for a while, eating and drinking and going on rides as the night dragged on. At one point, Kyungsoo complained about being tired and Baekhyun and Jongdae let him rest. They went off somewhere else, saying something about playing another game and that they'll be back soon.

"Take your time," Kyungsoo said waving them off. He moved to go sit on a bench that looked out onto the water. The surface was dark and glassy and moved restlessly. There were small yellow lights dotted randomly about a mile from the shore. Those were probably the workers preparing the fireworks.

If he were to be honest, Kyungsoo wasn't tired. Physically, he felt fine but all the bright lights and people all around him just made him feel lonlier and he wanted nothing more than to have Jongin with him at the moment. He wonders what the other man might be doing at the moment. Maybe he was dancing. What if he was sleeping? What time was it in London right now?

After a while of just sitting on the bench and with no sign of Jongdae and Baekhyun's return, Kyungsoo was beginning to grow antsy. He was about to call them and ask where they were but as soon as he pulled his phone out, it rang loudly.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kyungsoo?"

"What is it, Baekhyun?"

"You got to come check out this place we're at. We've got a surprise for you!" came the excited reply

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah, you got to come see this for yourself. The booth is right next to the ferris wheel. You can't miss it."

"Wait! What kind of booth am I looking for?"

"You'll know it when you see it and technically, it's not a booth."

"What? Baekhyun, what are you talking about?"

There was an annoyed sigh on the other line. "Dude, just come out to the ferris wheel." There was a beep and Baekhyun hung up.

Kyungsoo stared at his phone before looking back onto the dark water. Heaving a sigh, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and got up from the bench. He begrudgingly made his way through the crowd and walked towards the large, lit up wheel in the center of the park.

He was a good distance away from it when he stopped and looked around. No one stood out at him. He couldn't find Baekhyun's red baseball cap or anyone who looked relatively close to Jongdae. Kyungsoo walked further until something else stopped him.

A little more than twenty five yards away stood a man. In one of his hands was a sparkler and on his face was a small smile that Kyungsoo hadn't seen in a long time. It was happy and shy. A long torso was covered in a dark gray button down that was loosely tucked into a pair of black skinny jeans.

"Jongin..." Kyungsoo breathed. He walked closer, taking one step at a time. Slowly, he built up his speed until he was running towards the younger.

Jongin opened his arms and Kyungsoo ran right into them. He wrapped them around the smaller man tightly, being careful as to not burn him with the sparkler.

"Jongin," Kyungsoo whispered against Jongin's neck. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the familiar scent of Jongin's body wash. "Jongin," he said again louder this time. He didn't realize he was crying until he felt his tears soaking through Jongin's shirt and the wet patch was getting bigger.

Kyungsoo pulled away and Jongin chuckled as he used his free hand to gently wipe away Kyungsoo's tears. "Hey now, don't cry," he said quietly. "I'm here now."

"That's just it!" Kyungsoo let out a breathy laugh inbetween sobs. "That's just it. You're here. Why didn't you tell me?"

Jongin grinned and Kyungsoo felt his heart beating faster. "I wanted to surprise you. I managed to get Jongdae to agree to help me. He said you'd like the sparkler." Jongin held up the stick and they both laughed as they realize that it was burnt out and no longer spouting out light. "Well, it was nice when it lasted." He threw it out in a nearby trashcan.

Kyungsoo followed him with his eyes and didn't stop staring even when Jongin was right in front of him. "What is it?" asked Jongin, taking a hold of both of Kyungsoo's hands and lacing their fingers together.

The shorter man shook his head rapidly. "Nothing's wrong," he said. He wrapped his arms around Jongin's neck and hugged him. "You're here now. Nothing's wrong."

Jongin hugged him back and they just stood there, not caring about who was watching or what was going on around them. Kyungsoo felt Jongin's heart against his chest and every part of him felt warm and content. He felt Jongin placing kisses in his hair and nuzzling his cheek against the strands lovingly.

Above them, an explosion went off.

They both looked up and watched as the first firework evaporated into nothing. More went off and both men watched as they expand and fall apart, slowly disappearing like falling stars. One was red and Kyungsoo watched as the colors bounced off of Jongin's skin. Another was blue and silver and he saw it reflect in Jongin's eyes.

Jongin turned to him, his face illuminated by all the lights. His smiled was bright but it became more subtle as looked down at Kyungsoo. He leaned down as Kyungsoo got onto his toes, their mouths met in the middle.

Jongin kissed him slowly and sweetly and Kyungsoo heard the noise in the background become fainter and fainter. He held onto Jongin's shoulders as if they were his life line and Jongin gripped Kyungsoo's waist just as fiercely.

Nothing mattered except for this moment right here. None of it was any of Kyungsoo's concern except for the feeling of having Jongin so close to him. All that was important was that Jongin was here.

He was home and Kyungsoo wasn't lonely anymore.

In the darkest night hour
I'll search through the crowd
Your face is all that I see
I'll give you everything
Baby love me lights out

-Beyonce
 

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