Autumn was coming and the chill was already there, Kyungsoo realized as Junmyeon led him down the sidewalks of Seoul. He was still in his pyjamas and he was cold, although he had to admit that the other's hand was warm in his. But he was still cold and Junmyeon seemed to notice because he draped an arm across Kyungsoo's shoulder and drew him close.

“So,” Kyungsoo said.

“Yes,” Junmyeon answered the unspoken question.

“What?”

“We're going somewhere special but I'm not telling you where. Oh, look! A squirrel.”

Junmyeon artlessly steered the conversation away like a distracted puppy and Kyungsoo let him.

Kyungsoo let the other do a lot of things, like randomly showing up at his house, dragging him out in a ratty shirt and pants, creating more questions than he answered. He let it all happen with an amused smile; it was for the greater good, after all.

As they walked -- talking about random , looking at dying leaves, pointing at the clouds -- Junmyeon felt so happy. The walk was mundane, but it was normal and the aimlessness made him feel as if he was exploring the world -- life -- with Kyungsoo. He studied the man's side profile when they fell into a comfortable silence, taking in the beauty of those large eyes, brows caught between arching and furrowing, heart shaped lips forever curled into a faint smirk. He felt his own lips twitching into a smile.

“Stop staring at me,” the beauty intoned.

Junmyeon found the modesty to blush. “You're so damn attractive,” he gushed. “I'm so lucky.”

“But I thought you said-”

“No!” Junmyeon exclaimed. “Stop bringing that up. It's embarrassing.”

Kyungsoo seemed as if he still wanted to finish his sentence, but closed his mouth and instead, laughed through his nose.

Sometime after walking for hours, their hands were slightly sweaty and the pair stopped at a small cafe. The owner recognized Junmyeon as the friend of their most valued customer, Oh Sehun, and gave them both the bubble tea of the day for the price of one.

Junmyeon slurped his drink happily, legs swinging in the seat they chose by the window. Kyungsoo stared at the neon straw and tapioca pearls with disdain.

“When you said 'tea,' I thought you meant actual tea,” he stated, staring at the drink in question, brows furrowed.

“Don't be so pretentious.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, tried the bubble tea,and was pleasantly surprised. They drank, talked, laughed and as the seconds flew by, Junmyeon grew more and more nervous. There was a reason behind all the unneeded walking and unplanned visit to the cafe. He had hoped that he could calm his nerves, but to no avail.

By the time they got up and threw their empty cups away, he was visibly shaking. Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at him, which was pointedly ignored and they continued their walking.

Until they reached the entrance of the bridge and Kyungsoo suddenly stopped. Junmyeon turned to see the other frozen in place, eyes wide in fear.

“Are you okay?” he asked, even though Kyungsoo clearly was not.

“C- can we go somewhere else?”

Junmyeon wrinkled his brows, studying the other man. For a second, he didn't know what to think. His mind had been preoccupied with nerves the entire day, meticulously planning and imagining his confession and all that , just to have it ruined by Kyungsoo's . . . weird unease?

Immediately, he cringed. He really was an .

“Are you okay?”

Junmyeon flinched. “Wha- Why are you asking me? Are you okay?”

Despite everything, Kyungsoo was still able to arch an eyebrow. “Yeah, if we get away from this bridge.”

As they walked away, Junmyeon cursing Sehun and his stupid romantic ideas, and Kyungsoo's breathing getting noticeably more relaxed, the former finally realized, “Are you scared of the water?” The other sighed by way of answering. “Oh.” The feeling of being an increased tenfold in Junmyeon. “Is it hydrophobia? Or something?”

Kyungsoo sighed again and paired with his already arched eyebrow, it made the prospect of a romantic confession seem so far away. “It's thalassophobia. The fear of large bodies of water.”

They reached a bench and Junmyeon fell heavily onto it, dragging the older down with him. “Oh,” he said again. ing Oh Sehun.

There was a pregnant pause until Junmyeon couldn't handle Kyungsoo's knowing stare anymore. “Stop looking at me like that!” he whined.

An amused smile appeared on Kyungsoo's face. “Please say what you need to say before you get too scared.”

“What do you mean?”

“Junmyeon . . .”

Junmyeon. That name had never fit him comfortably. It was a mouthful to say, its heaviness closing down on him and restricting his movements. Its weight wrapped around him as he cleared his throat. Kai was the one with power and Junmyeon was the one with the charm. Jongin was just . . .

“Umm . . . I realized that I never confessed,” he finally began, too nervous to stare at the one he was confessing to. “Neither of us asked the other out. I don't even know what happened. And seriously, I was so awkward and annoying in the beginning, but you tolerated me and stuck with me for whatever reason. And I've dated so many people before -- girls, guys, women, men . . . but I've never truly liked -- loved -- someone this much. The way you make me feel scares me sometimes, because you haven't done anything special. Like, after my brother died, you didn't do anything, but you were there. And it was enough for me to change everything I live for, in a good way.

"Like, I look at you and then I realize that everything can be different. I know it's cheesy, but you made me see the world in a different way. I remember you told me what you thought of love and how it can be dangerous, but with you, because of you, I realized that love can be this amazing thing.”

He dared to look up at Kyungsoo through his eyelashes and saw the man with a blank stare. “Yah, can't you give some reaction?”

Kyungsoo let out a laugh. “I don't know what to say,” he admitted, cheeks turning pink. “Thank you, Junmyeon.”

“Jongin.”

“Excuse me?” Kyungsoo asked, large eyes studying the other.

Jongin's eyes, on the other hand, flitted to the back of the bench before continuing. “My name isn't Junmyeon. It's not my given name and I don't like it.” He scratched the back of his neck, wondering why he was making such a big deal over this.

“So, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said experimentally.

“I like it when you say my name like that,” Jongin replied, relieved that the most awkward moment was over and nothing majorly bad happened, and was given an embarrassed shove. “Say it again,” he teased.

“Jongin.”

That word meant the world to Jongin and being able to hear it come from Kyungsoo gave him an indescribable rush of emotions. He sighed in content and moved the other's arm so that it rested on his shoulders and snuggled deep into Kyungsoo.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Cuddling,” came the nonchalant answer.

“On a bench at night and in the cold. People will think we're homeless.”

"Home is where love is," Jongin replied without missing a beat. Changing the subject, he murmured, “Maybe you'll break my three month curse.”

Kyungsoo hummed in acknowledgement, deep rumblings vibrating through Jongin's body.

“What do you want to do for our anniversary?”

“Stay at home and watch T.V.”

Jongin craned his neck to make a face at his boyfriend, but Kyungsoo just stared back with an eyebrow raised. “You're so unromantic,” the younger whined.

“Or we can have a double date, just like our first one, and see how much more interesting you are now.”

Jongin squirmed in Kyungsoo's arms. “You .”

“I'm aual.”

“Kyungsoo!”

The two stayed like that for a long time -- a couple of hours, maybe eternity -- and they were the perfect image of love. The stars twinkled down and the street lamps illuminated them in a halo of light. They were the only ones in the world -- their world -- and it was beautiful.

KAISOO~~

xiuhan in the next chap

Also, I started a new story featuring chinaline called Aphelion, so check it out if you want ^_^