Their travel back home was both noisy and comforting for Yifan. For one, he was glad to be back home – same streets, same signs, same feel, same client and same people. Two, he was thankful that Suho had brought his car with him (he was the only one in the group that had license; Luhan is trying to get one but is failing miserably). Three, the people inside that said car had too many stories to tell. Still, Yifan dismissed everything as “simply back home”.

That time everyone learned that Chanyeol was busiest one among the three who went away. Yifan’s schedule was packed but it was lighter because their company had already built a considerable name in China. But it was less compared to Chanyeol who needed to actively promote in shoots, commercials and client visits.

Yifan also had the chance to give away some souvenirs he bought. When he saw the bookmarks with charms showing traditional Japanese clothes together with a well-designed writing pen, Yifan knew one for each noisy friend was enough.

“I think I got a girl’s clothing…” Chen said as he analyzed his.

“No, it’s not, babe. It’s blue,” Chanyeol answered.

“Yah! Stop calling him ‘babe’ you ert,” Suho shouted while driving.

“It IS blue, but it’s still a girl’s… Yifan-hyung, can I –“

“It’s either you take it or not. I didn’t discriminate if it’s a girl’s or a boy’s clothing cuz they came as a set,” Yifan answered quickly.

“Fine! I wasn’t going to display it anyway!” Chen retorted.

“We can switch, if you like…” Suho offered.

“Where’s mine?” Yixing asked as he was looking at the remaining ones Yifan held.

“Oh you don’t have one,” Yifan said.

"Why?!”

“Yours is much better,” the older said with a smile.

“UNFAIR!” Chen shouted.

“But I like the pen though…” he pouted.

“You’ll like what I bought for you too, Xing.”

Suho was kind enough to drop off Yifan and Yixing first. But it was probably because the three had other places to go to and did not want the two to go with them. Still, Yifan was thankful; all he really wanted was to go home and rest.

“Our home didn’t change a bit…” Yifan said as they entered their apartment, placing his luggage – he had three: a proper one with wheels, a sling bag and a small bag that he tied properly on the handle of the first – by the door. He was sure he only had bought the two smaller bags when he left; but somehow he ended up with more things that needed to be taken home.

“Of course! Why would it?” Yixing answered.

“It’s not that… it just feels great to go back to something that is exactly how you remembered it.”

“I tried my best to keep it clean!” the younger said proudly. “Anyway, did you perhaps brought food with you?”

“Food? No, why?”

“Great! I cooked something this morning – a new dish – and I thought to make you try it…”

“Make me try it or force me to try it?”

“Either way, you’ll eat it.” Yixing said disappointedly as he walked to the kitchen.

“I’m kidding. I’d be happy to taste your cooking again,” the older said in a smug, earning a playful eye-roll from the other.

While Yixing was busy re-heating his dish, Yifan decided to unpack some of the things be bought by the sofa. Pack by pack, plastic by plastic, he took them out of one of his luggage. There were some things he accurately remembers the price of and there were some things he doesn’t even remember buying.

“Well, I must have spent a lot of money…” he thought to himself.

Yifan took out a particularly large box and emptied it. He was placing the content on the side table near the window when Yixing came closer.

“What’s that?” the younger asked, with a bowl of food in hand.

“Waterfalls,” the other answered as he plugged the item to the socket. It was a glass item that circulates water around, creating a make-shift waterfall. “You know, people in China said it’s good luck if you have this at home.”

“Why do you need luck for? Planning on doing anything new?” Yixing said as he walked closer to Yifan to hand the bowl over.

“Well, it can’t hurt, could it?” the older said as he took the food.

“Garlic pasta!” Yixing explained happily. “It is what its name tells you. Garlic. Pasta. Ham. And a few others. I liked how it tasted on a restaurant Chen and I ate before so I tried replicating it. And I liked the outcome of my experiment.”

After eating a mouthful, Yifan said: “I bet it tastes better than the restaurant’s.”

“You don’t have to lie that much, ‘Fan.”

“Hahaha! Kidding, but it’s nice; I like it,” the older said as he took another mouthful and fed another to Yixing.

“As expected, my cooking has improved.”

Yifan missed this. It was the only emotion that Yifan felt when he saw Yixing smile at him – a full smile that showed Yixing’s dimples and caused his eyes to almost disappear. No matter how many conversations they had on phone, Yifan would throw them all away if he could see this smile every day.

“So!” Yixing exclaimed. “Where’s my souvenir?!” he asked as he browsed the items scattered on their sofa.

“I’m starting to think that you’re more eager for your presents than for me returning.”

“Well, it’s part of it,” he replied with a smile. “Is this it?” he asked as he raised a small white box.

“Everything on that pile on the right is yours,” Yifan said before getting another mouthful of pasta.

“Everything?!” Yixing asked and Yifan answered with a nod. “Why did you buy so many? It’s not like you went to twenty different countries that you needed to get one from each…”

The next five minutes saw Yixing open boxes, untie plastic bags and undo tapes of packs. Shirts. Keychains. Figurines. Hats. Toys. Socks. Pens. Yixing now had two of each. But the thing that caught Yixing’s attention the most were the ones inside the rectangle box. It were three picture frames – three empty picture frames that were in elegant gray in color. The other two were meant to be mounted on the wall while to smaller one was for a desk display. All three had small details embossed at the sides but the smaller one had a unique character engraved at the back.

“What are these for? They look really nice…” he said as his hands felt the detail of the frames.

Moving closer to Yixing, Yifan placed the bowl of food on the table. As he took one of the frames from Yixing, he began to explain: “I had these made in one of the specialty stores this photographer in China told me about. He told me that when he was young, his mom used to tell him magical tales about their neighborhood – which he, of course, believed when he was a kid. One particular story caught his attention until he grew up though: that the man who owns the photo studio near the town center is a descendant of Cupid. His mom told him that whoever got to get their picture taken by the man would always be together, which is also why his mom and dad had theirs on that studio. Now, the man is already dead but the studio still stands. So that photographer told me that once he gets married, he’ll rent that studio and get his and his wife’s picture on one of the frames being sold there.”

“So these…” Yixing whispered.

“I bought three for us. Well, I initially planned to just take a look at the studio because I was curious but the statement they had by the door completely sold me. Completely, so much that I ended up buying three,” Yifan said as he laughed at him being an easy customer. It was the same statement that Yixing noticed written on the boxes of the frames.

“You didn’t have to buy so many things after all…” the younger smiled. “This small frame would be more than enough…”

“Sorry… I just…” Yifan said as he put the frame he was holding down on the sofa. “You know, when I was away…” he continued as he placed his left hand gently by Yixing’s chin and his right hand slightly rubbed a spot on Yixing’s cheek. “Every day, I wanted to apologize; properly apologize for what I had done to you before I left. But I didn’t know how to start so every time I had free time or when we pass by a gift shop, I ended up buying something for you. It was useless, I know, but I needed something to help me convey how sorry I am.”

“You… didn’t have to, Yifan. You… already apologized to me, remember? On the phone; we already talked. You already told me why you did it.”

“I know. But please let me tell you again.” Yifan said before his right hand swept Yixing’s bangs slightly away so that he can properly look at the other in the eye. “You shouldn’t doubt my feelings for you… they do not exist just because you’re conveniently by my side nor do they exist because of whatever stupid comfort in life living with you has brought me. I tell you ‘I love you’ because I really do – and it’s not in the level of those we often hear in movies. I don’t tell you these words because it’s what I should say as your boyfriend. I tell you ‘I love you’ because I can imagine no other person to tell it to whom it could mean what it really means.”

“Thank you…” was the only thing Yixing can say as his eyes moisten and he rested his face on Yifan’s chest. “Thank you… Yifan,” he repeated.

“I’m crazily in love with you, Yixing.”

“Me too, Yifan…” Yixing said before his words were lost as he was practically mumbling into Yifan’s shirt.

They stayed in that position for a while; savoring the moment of Yifan’s confession. Both of them felt they missed each other too much but enough to make them how much the other really meant for both.

“You smell like garlic…” Yixing smiled.

“It’s your cooking; I thought you liked your cooking?” Yifan answered warmly.

“I should’ve cooked something else if I knew you were going to speak to me like this and this close…”

“I could care less of what you’ve cooked at this moment.”

“Me too…”

“But, for the record, your cooking really has improved.”

“And your cheesiness has too.” Yixing said as his eyes saw the box of the frames.

[Pictures aren’t special; everyone has them.
What makes them special is the reason behind having them.]

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A/N: Let me just puke the cringe i've had while writing this chapter. I actually ended up revising a lot the chap i had written last week because of this. urgh.
Anyways, special shout out to ordinaryfangirl for always commenting! I'm sure my fellow writers there would agree how happy it is to read comments. And i've re-read comments to my fics. Huuu let me hug everyone.