This was it. It was the big day. Okay, maybe it shouldn’t have been as nerve-wracking as it was, but for Sehun, this was a big deal.

He was meeting Luhan’s parents, and grandmother. They were going to be having dinner together at Luhan’s house.

Sehun wasn’t sure what Luhan had told them, but he knew that this was the day that everything was going to be put on the table. Laid out bare.

“Are you ready?” Luhan asked.

Sehun could see the elder was nervous. They were stood in Sehun’s hallway, in front of the front door. Sehun was dressed nicely, in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black button down t-shirt. He had on a pair of converse – which he’d made sure to clean the night before – and his hair was styled appropriately.

“I think so” Sehun said, “But... Just so I know, what do they know so far?”

Luhan smiled softly, “Well, I told them I’m dating someone. And that you were coming for dinner today. My Gran knows that you’re, well, you. But, my parents kind of... don’t know... that you’re a boy” he said sheepishly.

“Oh god...” Sehun groaned, “This is going to be bad, isn’t it? What if they hate me? What if... What if they don’t let me date you anymore? Oh god... This is too much!” he said, starting to pace.

Luhan watched him with wide-eyes, not really knowing what to do with a panicking Sehun. Luckily, at the commotion Sehun was making, what with pacing and chuntering on to himself, his mum walked out of the living room looking concerned.

She walked over to her pacing son and placed a hand on either of his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. Although Sehun was taller than her, she seemed to tower over him in that moment.

“Do you want to tell me what’s getting you so worked up?” she asked.

Sehun looked at her, panic clear on his face, “I’m meeting Luhan’s parents” he said.

“Oh” She said, “I take it they don’t know about you two?” she glanced over at Luhan who shook his head sheepishly, “Ah, I see. Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about”

“But mum!”

“Don’t you ‘but mum’ me. You will go and meet them, and have a lovely time, and you will be a gentleman and give them no reason to dislike you” She said firmly, “Luhan is a lovely boy and he was probably just as nervous to meet your father and I, so you will go and do this for him. Do I make myself clear, Oh Sehun?”

“But...”

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes mum” he sighed.

She grinned up and him and patted him lovingly on the cheek, “Good. Now go and show them what I lovely boy I raised. I’ll even let you take the car”

Sehun grumbled under his breath but walked over to the door nonetheless and pulled it open before stepping outside to wait for Luhan. At least his mum was letting him borrow the car.

Luhan looked over at Sehun’s mum.

“Don’t worry” she said, “he’ll do fine” she sent him a wink before walking back into the living room again.

Luhan laughed incredulously before walking out of the house, closing the door behind him and joining Sehun in the car. He hadn’t even seen Sehun pick up the keys, but it seemed he had.

“Okay” Sehun said determinedly, “Let’s do this thing!”

--

Awkward would have been an understatement for how Sehun felt.

He was sat at the dining room table, with Luhan to his right and Luhan’s grandmother sat opposite him. Opposite Luhan – and beside the elder’s grandmother – sat Luhan’s mother. Then, at the head of the table, between Luhan and his mum, sat Luhan’s father.

It was silent. That kind of silent whereby nobody knows what to say or do, and even if you said something, nothing good would come of it.

Sehun sighed, this was not going well.

He knew from the moment he’d walked into the house it was going to be bad. He’d walked in, with Luhan holding his hand determinedly, and walked into the living room with a shy smile.

Upon seeing him, Luhan’s mother asked Luhan why he had brought a friend over when they were supposed to be meeting his girlfriend. That had been the first blow.

Then, Luhan had explained that Sehun was the person he’d been dating, and thus he didn’t have a girlfriend, but a boyfriend, which was taken rather... badly.

Luhan’s mother had looked like she was going to collapse, and his father turned slightly blue in the face, as though he’d forgotten to breathe. At least, Sehun had thought, Luhan’s grandmother was rather relaxed about it, since she had an smile on her face and an amused glint in her eye.

About twenty minutes after that, it seemed that Luhan’s mother remembered herself, and gave Sehun a strained smile. She introduced herself, then asked his name, upon finding it out she nodded and said it was a nice name, before turning to Luhan’s father and kicking him hard in the shin – which got him breathing properly again at least – so that he would also introduce himself. Luhan’s father gave Sehun a firm handshake and told him that it was nice to meet him, in a rather awkward tone Sehun thought, but it could have gone worse, he supposed.

It was nice, then, to turn and be greeted by Luhan’s grandmother, who pulled him into a warm hug, patted his cheek like he was used to his own mother and grandmother doing, before telling him he seemed like a lovely boy and to take good care of her grandbaby, then as an afterthought she added that he should call her Gran.

Granted, Sehun reasoned, it could have gone a lot worse, but then, he thought, maybe yelling and stuff would have been better than having only the sound of chopsticks clicking against the plates every now and again filling the tension of the room.

“Oh this is ridiculous” Luhan’s grandmother tutted after a solid twenty-seven minutes of nobody talking – Sehun was counting – before looking over at Luhan’s mother and father, “Is this really how you treat your son's boyfriend?”

Luhan’s father sighed, “Mother, you have to understand, this isn’t what we were expecting when Han told us he was dating someone”

“Yes, you expected a girl” Gran said, rolling her eyes, “But you didn’t get one and so you have to deal with it. Think of how worried Han was to bring our lovely Sehun here tonight, to introduce him to you, and yet he did it anyway because Sehun is obviously a big part of his life. And this is how you act? You don’t talk to the poor boy? He’s scared out of his skin! Look at him, he’s shaking like a leaf”

At this, all eyes turned to look at Sehun, whose ears turned a brilliant red colour at the tips, as did his cheeks.

“You’re right” Luhan’s mother sighed, before turning to address Sehun, “You’ll have to forgive my husband and myself, Sehun. As you’re probably aware, we weren’t expecting someone quite so... well, male. So it’s been a little bit of a shock to us. Don’t for one moment think we have a problem with you, because we don’t, it’s just a little hard to wrap our heads around right away”

Sehun nodded, “No ma’am, it’s fine. I understand how you must feel. It’s a shock when you were expecting something else” he said softly, “But I would like you to know, that I care a great deal about your son, and I am very serious about him. He’s everything I could have hoped for, and it’s a reflection on you of what a good person he is.

 “You could have completely lost it when you saw it was me who was dating him, not a girl, but you didn’t. You’ve clearly raised your son to be like yourself and I think that’s brilliant, so really, I just want you to know, I do care for him, and I hope you can accept that we’re together, because it’s not just some silly teenage puppy love kind of thing, it’s real”

Luhan’s mother blinked, slightly agape. But before she could speak again, Luhan’s father piped up;

“Well, after that little speech, I think it’s safe to say that we’ll have no problem with you dating our son” he said, “Like my wife said, it’s been a bit of a shock, and our behaviour was a little... out of order, but I hope you’ll not take it the wrong way. You seem like a lovely boy, Sehun, and I hope we’ll see more of you after tonight, so we’ll be able to get to know you better once the initial shock wears off” he let out a soft laugh, his eyes crinkling in the same way Luhan’s did when he laughed.

“Thank you, Sir!” Sehun beamed, “That means a lot”

Luhan let out a sigh of relief, then groaned as he saw his Gran open to talk again.

“Don’t you groan at me, young man” she shot at Luhan before grinning at the others, “Now, how about we stop talking so formally. Sehun here is practically family. They have been dating for nigh on six months, you know”

“Gran!” Luhan let out in both shock and exasperation.

Luhan’s Gran shrugged at him, smirking slightly, as Luhan’s mother turned to look at him in shock, “Six months?!” she asked, “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“I was afraid” Luhan admitted sheepishly, “I didn’t know what you think about me being... about me liking boys”

Luhan father let out a soft sigh, “Luhan” he said, “You’re our son. Our only son, and it doesn’t matter to us who you like. It only matters that you’re a good person. You should never be afraid to tell us anything”

Luhan smiled softly at his parents, “I love you guys, you know” he said.

“And we love you” his mother replied, a fond smile on her face as his dad winked at him.

After that, they chatted easily amongst themselves, learning more about Sehun and what he liked, what he wanted to do with himself, and of course, what were his intentions with their son – at which, Luhan and Sehun both blushed ferociously.

Once they’d eaten dinner – and desert, which Luhan’s mother had made – they made their way into the living room and sat down to watch a movie.

They settled on watching ‘Now you see me’ since Luhan and Sehun thought it was amazing, and wouldn’t stop until Luhan’s dad agreed to put it on.

Luhan and Sehun were settled on the three-seater sofa, with Luhan’s Gran. Sehun was in the middle. He and Luhan were holding hands subtly – or at least what they thought was subtle, since they didn’t notice Luhan’s mum raise an eyebrow at Luhan’s dad who just rolled his eyes in return.

Luhan’s dad was sat in one armchair, whilst Luhan’s mother took the other.

Once the movie was over, Sehun bid goodnight to Luhan’s parents, giving Luhan’s Gran and mother a hug, and his father an hand shake, which turned into a one armed hug and a pat on the back, much to Luhan’s mother’s amusement.

Luhan closed the living room door behind them as they walked into the hall and to the front door, which Sehun pulled open and stepped outside of before turning back to Luhan with a smile.

“So...” Luhan said.

“So” Sehun nodded.

Luhan laughed, “How was it? Was it as bad as you expected?”

“Yes and no” Sehun admitted, “At first I thought they were going to kick me out... I mean, damn... But then after your Gran... At the table... It all just went really well. Your parents are great, and I’m glad you let me meet them”

Luhan smiled, “Yeah, sorry about that” he chuckled, “Perhaps I should have given them a little bit of a warning or something, but hey, at least Gran knew!”

“Yeah” Sehun laughed, “Well, I should go... It’s getting late, and I’m pretty sure my mum’s waiting to hear how it went...”

Luhan nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, of course” he said.

But even so, Sehun stayed where he was, “I mean, it is almost ten-thirty”

“And you don’t want to get sleepy whilst you’re driving...”

“Exactly...”

“Sehun” Luhan laughed, “You can just kiss me, you know, it’s not like they’re watching”

Sehun blushed slightly before reaching out and hooking his fingers in the belt-loops of Luhan’s jeans and pulling the elder forward. Not expecting it, Luhan found himself falling against Sehun’s chest, his hands gripping onto Sehun’s shoulders for support.

“Oops” Sehun smirked down at him.

Luhan scoffed, as he felt Sehun’s hands move out of his belt-loops and around to cup his , “ert”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve touched you in far more intimate places that this” Sehun’s smirk widened.

Before Luhan could say anything, though, Sehun closed the distance between them and kissed him. It was a sweet kiss, once of those lazy afternoon in the sun type kisses, where you kiss for the hell of it, and not for crazy passion-induced tongue tangling.

Luhan pulled back slightly, but Sehun’s lips followed him and kissed him again. Luhan smiled into the kiss, “You’ve got to get home” he said against Sehun’s lips.

“Mm” Sehun hummed, “But I also want to kiss you” he said, pulling away slightly to look at Luhan, “So do you see my problem?”

Luhan laughed, “No, I don’t, because you can kiss me tomorrow” he said, lifting his hand to brush back Sehun’s bangs, “Now go”

“Okay fine, but don’t say I didn’t put up a fight” Sehun pouted.

Luhan kissed his pout away before pulling back and pushing Sehun away by the chest, “Go” he laughed, “I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Okay” Sehun said, taking the hand Luhan had on his chest in his own and kissing the palm of it. He let it fall as he walked to his car and waved, “Bye Lu” he said before climbing in.

“Bye, Sehunnie” Luhan waved before going back inside and closing the door behind him, only to find his gran and mum stood in the hallway, grinning at him, “How long have you been there?” he asked, eyes wide.

His mother laughed, “Since ‘But I also want to kiss you’, why is there something I should know?” she raised a brow.

“No!” Luhan blushed, “And I can’t believe you were spying on me!”

His gran laughed, “We weren’t spying” she said, “We were observing, there’s a difference”

“You guys ” Luhan groaned, only to be met with laughter from the two women.

--

Kris stood outside Tao’s front door. To knock or not to knock.

With a firm nod, he decided not to. He was going to stick to the plan, no matter what. There was no backing out now.

He grabbed the portable CD player from where it stood on the floor next to him and made his way around the house to the back gate. He opened it and walked into the back garden, closing it behind him, then walked further in until he was stood beneath Tao’s bedroom window.

He’d made sure to get Lay to text him to find out when his parents would be out and where he would be. It was a good plan, okay, he needed to be trusted here, which is why when Lay asked, he said he wasn’t up to anything...

Setting the CD player down, he clicked play and turned the volume up as loud as it would go – which turned out to be pretty damn loud.

He cleared his throat and started to sing, just as he saw Tao’s head pop out of the window to find out what was going on.

“I can’t fight this feeling any longer! And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow... What started out as friendship, has grown stronger... I wish I had the strength to let it show! I tell myself I can’t hold out forever, I said there is no reason for my fear. ‘Cause I feel so secure when we’re together. You give my life direction, you make everything so clear...”

 “Kris?” Tao frowned, “What are you doing?”

Kris ignored the question and carried on, he was getting through this if it killed him, “And even as I wander, I’m keeping you in sight! You’re a candle in the window, on a cold, dark winter’s night. And I’m getting closer than I ever thought I might! And I can’t fight this feeling anymore! I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for! It’s time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars, forever!! ‘Cause I can’t fight this feeling anymore! I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for, and even if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door, baby, I can’t fight this feeling anymore!”

Tao watched as Kris looked him right in the eye from the grass of his back garden looking so sincere. Was this what Tao thought it was? Surely not?

But it was all there. All in the lyrics of the song. Did this mean that Kris was facing his fears? Did this mean that Kris was really here to tell him... that he wanted to be more than just friends?

“My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you. I’ve been running round in circles in my mind... And it always seems that I’m following you, boy, ‘cause you take me to the places that alone I’d never find... And even as I wander, I’m keeping you in sight! You’re a candle in the window, on a cold, dark winter’s night. And I’m getting closer than I ever thought I might!

 “And I can’t fight this feeling anymore! I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for! It’s time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars, forever!! ‘Cause I can’t fight this feeling anymore! I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for, and even if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door, baby, I can’t fight this feeling anymore!”

The music came to an end and Kris clicked the CD player off with his foot, still looking up at Tao, who looked as though he might cry.

“So what do you say, huh?” Kris asked.

Tao’s lip quivered, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asked, his hands gripping the window frame for support.

“We all have to face our fears some time” Kris said, “This is me facing mine. You were right, I wasn’t being fair and you deserved a straight up answer as to whether I wanted to be with you or not... And I do. I want to be with you Tao. I just didn’t have the courage to step up... And I think this song, it said everything I couldn’t... So what do you say? You wanna try this thing? See if the grass really is greener and all that?”

Tao laughed slightly as tears began to fall down his cheeks, “Stay right there!” he called down to Kris, before shutting the window and disappearing from sight.

Kris stayed put, as he’d been told to, and sure enough, not a minute later, Tao came running out the back door and threw himself into Kris’s arms.

“Is this a yes?” Kris gasped, wrapping his arms around Tao’s waist as the younger held onto him tightly around his neck.

Tao laughed again, slightly hysterically, “Yes, you idiot!” he said, before pulling back and kissing Kris wholly on the mouth.

Kris grinned against Tao’s lips before kissing him back with equal verve.

They broke away from the kiss after a while, both of them grinning like idiots and looking at each other happily.

In all fairness, Kris realised he probably should have done this a long time ago, but at least he was there now. At least he had done what he had to and stopped messing around. At least now, they were officially together and all was good in the world again.

“I’m sorry it took me so long” Kris said softly.

Tao shook his head and smiled, “It’s a good life, Wu Yifan” he said.

“Did you just...” Kris paused, torn between laughing and sulking, “You read it?!”

Tao laughed, “Of course I read it. How could I not have. And let me tell you, that John Green fellow, he’s a right git. Playing with my feelings like that! It’s like, you want to hate him for sending you into a tizzy, but at the same time, you can’t help but love him, you know?”

Kris smiled, “Yeah” he said, “I know”

“Speaking of which...” Tao said, “There’s an eight-thirty showing of it tonight, if you wanna go see it with me?”

Kris looked at his watch, “We have like an hour before it starts” he said, wide-eyed.

“Well, we best get going then” said Tao, “Come on, let me go get changed and we can go”

Kris grinned, picking up his CD player and following Tao inside, “Isaac, Agustus, Hazel Grace.... HERE I COME!!”

--

Kyungsoo sat on the bed in Kai’s room. Since his mum had all but kicked him out, he’d been staying with Kai and his parents. Which was nice. He liked Kai’s parents, and being with Kai all the time was fun... But still, he couldn’t help but feel sad about the whole thing.

He looked up as Kai came into the room and smiled at him, “Hi” he said.

Kai frowned, “You don’t have to do that, you know” he said.

“Do what?” asked Kyungsoo.

Kai smiled softly and came to sit on the bed beside his boyfriend, “Pretend you’re okay, when I know you’re not...”

“That obvious, am I?”

Kai shook his head as he took one of Kyungsoo’s hands in his own and began to idly play with the older boy’s fingers, “No” he said, “It’s just that I know you well enough to know when you’re faking a smile or not”

“It’s just... It’s not that I’m not happy to be here with you. I love being here, and your mum and dad are great, but...”

“But they’re not your parents” Kai nodded softly, “I know. And I get why it’s so hard for you. I wouldn’t even know how to handle what you’re going through. The fact that you’re still standing says a lot about how strong you are, Soo. And I’m proud of how well you’re dealing with this”

Kyungsoo sighed and pulled his hand back from Kai’s grasp, he smiled softly and a little sadly, at Kai before opening his arms wide.

Kai smiled before moving in and pulling Kyungsoo into as hug like the elder wanted. Kyungsoo’s arms wrapped around Kai’s wasit as he let his cheek rest against Kai’s chest, listening to the steady beat of the younger’s heart, whilst Kai wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, one of his hands rubbing Kyungsoo’s upper arm gently, soothingly.

“They’ll come around” Kai said after a while.

Kyungsoo scoffed, “Dad, maybe. But my mum? Not a chance” he said, “You should have seen the look on her face, Jongin. I’ve never seen her look so... so disappointed”

“She just needs to get over the shock is all” Kai said, nuzzling into Kyungsoo’s hair, “It’ll all work out in the end”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “Life’s not a movie, or a fairytale, Jongin. Things don’t always end ‘Happily ever after’. The world isn’t a wish granting factory and things don’t always end up how you want them to. It’s just how it is. I can’t... I can’t sit here and have hope that she’ll come around, because if and when she doesn’t, I’ll just hurt even more....” he paused before adding, “I don’t want to hurt anymore, Jongin...”

“I’m sorry” Jongin said, unable to find anything else to say.

Kyungsoo sighed, “No, don’t be... I’m just being a downer. Can we just, I don’t know, lie down and cuddle for a while? Maybe listen to some music?”

“I’d love nothing more” Kai smiled.

He unattached himself from Kyungsoo for a moment to turn on his ipod and leave it playing before lying down beside Kyungsoo and pulling him into a hug.

Kyungsoo smiled.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so bad to be there with Kai and his family. Of course he was sad, he had every right to be, but for the moment, he just wanted to take solace in his boyfriend’s arms and enjoy the moment.

And so he did. With a smile on his face, he snuggled into Kai’s warmth and whispered, “I love you”

Without missing a beat, Kai replied, “I love you, too” and kissed Kyungsoo softly on the forehead.

--

It was at moment like this, that Lay wanted to run for the high hills. When he regretted being friends with the likes of Kim Minseok and Kim Jongdae.

Because in that moment, he felt very, very third-wheel-ish.

It was a nice Friday afternoon, and since he wanted to be a good friend – Chen said he was neglecting him in favour of Suho – he went out of his way to spend some time with his two friends.

What he didn’t envision, was said friends groping at one another and making out rather heatedly as he sat on the swing and pushed himself back and forth rather boredly.

“Well, this is fun” Lay muttered to himself, toeing the dirt each time he moved back and forth on the swing.

With a sigh, he looked up to see Xiumin sitting on Chen’s lap. They were on the grass, laughing about something or other. Then they stopped laughing, quite abruptly as their eyes met and then Xiumin smiled softly at Chen, who smiled at Xiumin with such love and adoration, it made Lay feel he was intruding on them, even though they were in an open park.

Even so, it was one of those things, where you just couldn’t look away. And so he let his head rest against the cold chain of the swing as he watched them whilst they were in their own little world.

Xiumin brought his hands up to Chen’s face, taking the younger boy’s cheeks in his hands. His right thumb moved across Chen’s cheekbone softly, slowly, intimately as he continued to look into the younger’s eyes.

In turn, Chen’s hands ran up Xiumin’s back, beneath the boy’s t-shirt, making him bite back a smile. Chen blinked slowly as a small, sweet smile spread out over his lips, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. He ran his hands up and down Xiumin’s back, slowly, caressing the boy’s skin, enjoying the feel of it, how soft it was, how smooth.

Xiumin closed his eyes for a moment, his hands still on Chen’s face, as the younger boy’s hands moved up and down the length of his back. He opened them again and let his eyes travel over Chen’s face, pausing on the boy’s smiling lips. His left index finger came to Chen’s bottom lip and grazed across it, as though it were the first time he’d touched the boy’s lips, then, he did the same with the top one, before taking the finger away and leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to the lips he’d just felt, needed to taste them, to see if they felt as good against his own lips as they did his finger. Though he already knew they did.

Chen’s eyes were still closed as Xiumin pulled back. The kiss had barely lasted ten seconds, but a kiss was a kiss, and he would never stop loving the feeling of Xiumin’s lips on his own.

Xiumin’s right hand remained cupping Chen’s left cheek, whilst his left hand moved up and brushed the hair away from Chen’s face, before slowly starting to comb through it, liking the way the younger’s smooth locks felt against his fingers.

Chen’s eyes didn’t open again until he felt Xiumin’s forehead resting against his own.

He opened them to see lively brown eyes staring at him. A smile, bigger than before, graced his lips again. His hands had come to a standstill on Xiumin’s waist, still beneath the elder’s t-shirt, still pressed against the elder’s soft, pale skin.

Xiumin’s lips twitched up into a smile before he closed his eyes and moved to press his lips against Chen’s again.

Chen, too, closed his eyes, as his lips worked against Xiumin’s...

Lay let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. He wished he could be like that with Suho. Not having to worry about what people thought. Not having to hide being in a relationship, not only from those he cared about most, but from everyone.

One wrong move and it was over, and yet, with Xiumin and Chen, it was all okay. Every touch made in the presence of others was just another touch. But every touch Lay made with Suho, if in someone else’s presence, it was forbidden, it was questionable, it was impossible.

It wasn’t fair. But it was how it had to be. At least for now.

Standing up, Lay walked over to the pair on the grass and let out a deliberate cough, causing the two to look up at him. At least they had the decency to look guilty about dragging him out and practically ignoring him the whole time.

“Oh my god, Xing! I’m so sorry, I di-” Xiumin started, but Lay held up a hand to stop him.

“It’s fine” he said, “But I’m just gonna take off... I have stuff to do anyway, school work and stuff, so I’ll see you later”

Xiumin frowned, “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah” Lay waved him off, “You two have fun. Bye guys”

Chen smiled, his eyes apologetic, “Bye, Xing!” he said as Lay walked away, casting the two a wave as he turned the corner.

He sent Suho a quick text, letting him know that he was on his way over. At least his company would be appreciated...

It didn’t take him too long to get there. Only a half an hour walk since he was walking pretty fast. He knocked on the door, and was greeted moment later with a smiling Suho, who took him by the hand and pulled him into the house, shutting the front door behind him.

“Hey” Suho grinned.

Lay laughed, “Hey, yourself” he said, “What are you so happy about?”

“I have a present for you” Suho said, still grinning from ear to ear.

Lay raised a brow, “You do?” he asked, “What? Why?”

“Because I’m an amazing boyfriend, and because I saw this thing, and it reminded me of you, and so I just had to get it for you... Anyway, less questions, more following me!” Suho said rather excitedly as he proceeded to drag Lay up the stairs and into the bedroom, where he pushed the younger boy to sit down on the bed, “Well it’s two things really, although one of them is only half a gift, since half of it was for myself”

Lay chuckled at his excited boyfriend and waited as Suho rummaged through the draw of his bedside table until he turned around with a tiny bag and a black box, roughly the size of a CD case, but quite a bit deeper.

“Okay” Suho said, handing the little bag to Lay, “Open that one first”

Lay took the bag with a smile and opened up the top, then tipped it upside down so that the contents fell into his awaiting hand.

It was two phone charms. One was a unicorn, with a ‘Y’ etched onto the side of it, whist the other was an angel with a ‘J’ etched onto it’s front.

Lay looked up at Suho in awe, “This is so sweet” he said, pulling out his phone and attaching the Angel charm to it.

“Well, I thought,” Suho said, as Lay handed him the unicorn charm. He attached it to his own phone and continued, “This can be like our own private little thing, but that we don’t have to hide... sort of... This way, even when we’re apart, we always have a little piece of the other with us”

Lay grinned and placed his phone – now with the angel charm attached to it – on the bedside table, “You’re cute, d’you know that.”

“No I’m not” Suho said, but he couldn’t fight back a smile, “Now, for your real present” he hand the black box in his hand, he nodded then handed it to Lay.

Lay opened it up curiously, inside, settled on top of purple tissue paper, was a glass unicorn figurine. Lay gasped and looked up at Suho in something that seemed to be a mix of shock, amazement, and love.

“I noticed you have kind of an obsession with them” Suho said as a means of an explaination, “I mean, here alone you have two plushies, a pillow,” he nodded to the pillow that sat on the bed, “and a toothbrush holder with unicorn themes... Not to mention that thing you said to me the other day... About being my own personal unicorn” he laughed a little nervously, “So, um, do you like it?”

Lay opened and closed his mouth a couple times before whispering, “Like it?” the smiling so brightly, that Suho couldn’t help but smile too, “I love it!”

“Really?”

“Yes, really!” Lay laughed, setting it aside on the bedside table, next to his phone, so that he could pull Suho into a tight hug, “I love you so much! Thank you! You really didn’t have to do this!”

Suho grinned as he wrapped his arms around Lay, “I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to” he said, “And you’re welcome”

Lay pulled back, his eyes sparkling, “You... I just... God, you’re perfect, Kim Junmyeon!”

“I beg to differ” Suho smiled softly, “I’ve always been led to believe that perfection came in the form of one, Zhang Yixing”

“You’re cheesy, too, by the way” Lay said, though he was still smiling, and his arms were still wrapped around Suho’s neck.

He was actually kneeling on the bed as he hugged the elder. Suho was stood next to it, making it a lot easier, but nonetheless, he pushed Suho back, still attached to him as he did, and moved so that he too, was standing up.

“But,” Suho said, “I do have a rather selfish request, as a means of thanking me” he said.

Lay tilted his head, “And what might that be?”

“A kiss” Suho smiled.

Lay laughed softly, “Well, that’s not really a selfish request” he said, “Since you and I both know I would gladly kiss you all the time if I could”

“That’s true” Suho said, “I mean, I am a prett good kisser”

Lay rolled his eyes, “You know, if that weren’t so true, I’d leave you hanging right now!

“But it is true, so I’m going to have to demand that kiss now”

“Demand, eh?”

“What can I say, I get serious about kisses from the y being known as Yixing”

“Such an idiot” Lay muttered, before finally putting Suho out of his misery and pressing their lips together in a brilliantly passion induced kiss.

They stayed like that for a while, just kissing for the sake of it, before they made their way back downstairs. Neither of them could be bothered to cook, so they ordered Chinese food and when it arrived, they ate in the living room whilst watching old re-runs of Dark Angel.

Lay liked days like this, where they just sat around doing nothing, talking to one another and getting lost in nonsensical conversation. Laughing and joking about everything and anything, just because they could and because they enjoyed being with one another.

It got Lay thinking too.

So, okay, they didn’t have a conventional relationship, and for the time being, they couldn’t just go out in public and do what they wanted to. They couldn’t hold hands, or kiss in front of anyone and they had to watch what they said around certain people.

But then, when they were together, just the two of them it was like none of that stuff even mattered, because one day it would all come to pass anyway. One day they would be able to go out like a normal couple and have cute little dates and walk around the streets holding hands, and kiss under trees or in the rain. They could have all the cliché things.

It was only a matter of time.

So, Lay decided, for now he would just be content with what they had, because when he was with Suho like this, he couldn’t imagine it being any better.

“What are you thinking about?” Suho asked.

They were sitting on the sofa by this point, something new on the TV – Lay hadn’t noticed it change – and the containers from their food all thrown away, or in the fridge holding left overs.

Lay smiled at Suho, “I was thinking about you. About how happy I am to be with you”

“Oh?”

“Yeah”

“Well, I’m glad” Suho smiled, “You should know, I’m over the moon to be with you, too”

Lay smiled before moving in again, “My Junmyeonnie” he whispered.