"Thank you Mr Wu. As usual, it's been a pleasure buying from you, ” the middle aged woman, who had just purchased a huge birthday cake, smiled at Yifan, who returned the gesture from behind the counter.

“I'm glad you like my products Ms. Li, I hope your son will be satisfied with the decorations. Have fun with the kids! ”

Ms. Li nodded in thanks, still smiling before she exited the spacious bakery. Yifan watched her leave, satisfied with the pleasant feeling she was giving off. His bakery was becoming more famous with each day and he couldn't help but feel proud because of it. Masses of satisfied customers walked in every day through those doors with praises he knew not many other people received. No one ever had ever even the slightest complaint so when that afternoon a customer with a strict face walked in and placed a familiar cake at the counter, he was shocked.

“This is not how a chocolate cake tastes like.” The newcomer announced with a straight face.

Dumbfounded, Yifan first thought it was some kind of joke. It was just a simple chocolate cake.

“Uh, sorry?” He blabbered out before he realized that it wasn’t how he should address his customers. “I mean, what’s the problem with it? It’s just a regular chocolate cake.”

“It’s too bland”, rough words came out, “a chocolate cake should be rich with chocolate.”

Yifan just looked at the short male dumbly because there was no way he could mess up such a basic cake, especially since his chocolate cakes happened to be insanely wanted.

The customer seemed to be getting annoyed at the lack of response, so Yifan tried his best to hide the shock in his expression in order to try to fix the situation. “Uh, I’m terribly sorry, this is a very weird situation. Would you want another chocolate cake instead? I assure you there’s no chance for this to happen twice. Or I can offer you anything else?”

“No, I want my money back.” The other male didn’t even take a second to reply and Yifan would be stunned again if he didn’t feel so heartbroken. Were his cakes losing on their quality?

“Uh yeah, sure. Do you have the receipt?“ The brunet handed the receipt and was soon holding his returned money. “Are you sure you wouldn't like anything else?”

A shake of the head and a curt ‘No, thanks’ was all he got as a reply and the customer turned around and left.

The day that started really good was now ruined. Yifan was sulking like a child and he knew it, but it was the first time something like this had happened after years of being in the business and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was starting to mess up. He looked solemnly at the cake still placed at the counter and took a fork to taste it. He cut off a small piece of it and placed it in his mouth. It tasted perfectly fine.
-
“Kyungsoo!” a perplexed Yifan searched the back for the only other person who worked in the bakery with him, “Kyungsoo where are you?”

“I’m here, stop shouting.” The smaller male appeared from behind one of the fridges and, closing it, approached the other. “What’s up?”

Yifan extended his hand with a plate with a slice of chocolate cake towards Kyungsoo. “Here, try this.” He could tell that his fellow baker was confused, but Kyungsoo did what he was told anyway and without asking questions.

“Um, isn’t this just our regular chocolate cake? Did you change anything about it?” Kyungsoo frowned at the spoon.

“So, there’s nothing wrong about it, right? A customer just came by earlier and returned it, saying it wasn’t good.” This only earned him two big eyes bulging out in response.

“They what? But it’s completely fine. More than fine. It tastes like it usually does.”

Yifan just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s weird. He said it was too bland or something but that definitely isn’t the case.” Realizing there was nothing he could do about it, he had decided to let it go, for now at least, so it didn’t distract him from his obligations. Yifan turned to the younger baker: “You can finish the cake if you want, I’m going back so I don’t keep the customers waiting.”

Kyungsoo nodded and waved goodbye as he went back to do his own work.

-

A few hours later, a familiar redhead entered the bakery with a few friends in tow and Yifan smiled at them as a greeting; the cheerful girl had first discovered his bakery a few months ago and had been a regular customer ever since.

“Hi Mr. Wu!”

Yifan chuckled, “I told you a several times that you don’t have to address me as ‘Mr.’, Miss Jung. Almost everyone around here calls me Kris.”

“Well you keep addressing me as ‘Miss’, so there you go.” Krystal said with a small smile on her lips, which earned her another chuckle.

“What can I get you?” Yifan asked, heading towards the cupcakes – she never got anything else.

The girl looked curiously at the display, marveling at new shapes and decorations added to Sweet Tooth’s collection. She turned to her friends and discussed a bit before they ordered a wide selection of different flavored cupcakes. Yifan will have a lot of work to do to make it up for the order. The girls left the shop with several nods of heads and pretty smiles on their faces, while Yifan got on to making a new batch of treats.

-

Rushing out of his apartment, Yixing checked his phone to see just how much time he had to reach the coffee shop he had arranged a meet up with Krystal in. He had been so absorbed in his work that he had completely forgotten about their get-together. Luckily, the metro was on his side so he was just a bit less than 10 minutes late, but Krystal didn’t seem to mind as she was fully focused on the cupcakes that were on the table in front of her.

“I’m pretty sure you can’t bring in food from the outside.” Yixing said instead of a greeting.

“Oh Yixing! There you are.” She stood up to give him a curt hug before she back down again. “And it’s fine, this place sells only drinks so food is allowed. Do you want one?”

The male eyed the cupcakes and shook his head with a slight frown “You know I don’t really like sweets.”

The roll of Krystal’s eyes told Yixing exactly what she thought of that “Yes, mister-I-eat-only-the-bitterest-chocolate-on-the-planet.”

“Hey anything that isn’t at least 50% cocoa can’t be even called chocolate!” Yixing complained.

“White chocolate has no cocoa in it and it’s still chocolate.” Krystal argued.

“No.”

“Yixiiing.” The female whined and slumped in her chair.

Yixing dropped the topic, there was really no point in discussing it; people always ignored his opinions on sweets anyway. He eyed the cupcakes disapprovingly because he didn’t find them edible; it was all just a pile of sugar to him.

“You have no idea what you’re missing,” Krystal said in between the bites, “they are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.”

“Where did you buy them? I need to find a new cake shop.” Yixing was looking curiously at the wrappings, trying to find any sign of the store’s name on them.

“At Sweet Tooth.” Krystal replied, “It’s close to my hou-“

“I know where it is.” He interrupted with a frown at the mention of the shop with the terrible chocolate cake he had to return.

“Oh? Have you been there?”

“Yeah and I don’t like it.”

Krystal looked at him in surprise. “What? Why?”

“The guy there doesn’t know how to make even something as simple as a chocolate cake. Plus he doesn’t seem to be too intelligent.”

Krystal rolled her eyes again, a habit that was starting to really annoy Yixing, “You can’t say something doesn’t taste good only because your taste buds are practically non-existent.”

“I can taste everything just fine, thank you very much.”

She gave him a pointed look before continuing: “And why would you say something like that? Mr. Wu is not only smart but also super nice.”

“Well it seems to me that he doesn’t really know how to take care of his customers. And he most definitely had a dumb expression on his face when I went there.”

Krystal snorted, assuming Yixing was just being picky again. “You’re being unfair.”

“Can we please change the subject?” Krystal shot Yixing another grumpy look but didn’t protest. “So, what are we doing for your birthday?” Yixing changed the topic.

Krystal’s ears perked up at the question and Yixing could have sworn that little glint of mischief was born in her eyes.

“Nothing special, there’s going to be only a few people over for a small private party, which is going to be more like a hang out.” Her words sounded simple, but Yixing felt like there was more behind them because the glint never left her gaze.

Why does he have a feeling that this wouldn't end well for him?

-

Yixing knew he shouldn’t have agreed to come to Krystal’s place earlier. She had asked him for help, but having to come back to this place again really hadn’t been something he’d planned to ever do. His dear little friend had ordered a whole bunch of cupcakes and had asked him to pick them up because she was ‘too weak to carry such a big order and needed a man to do it’. If she wanted to make him like that bakery, she really needed to come up with less obvious tactics.

He entered the bakery with a sigh and the same blond guy greeted him with the same smile that faltered only when he recognized Yixing. The blond hesitated a moment before he recomposed himself before speaking. “Hello again! How may I be of your service?”

Yixing really, really wanted to wipe that fake smile off of his face. “I’m here for Krystal Jung’s order.” He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and he really hoped the guy would be cooperative.

“Coming right up!” The reply seemed a bit too cheerful for someone his age.

Yixing looked around the bakery for the first time as he waited for Krystal’s order and he had to admit that the bakery emitted a warm feeling. Almost none of the chairs and sofas were the same, but somehow they all complemented each other. Everything was in shades of yellow, brown and white and felt very pleasing to the eye. Yixing would have even said he liked it, if it hadn’t been for those awful drawings on the wall. He could only assume they were drawn by a little kid, but they didn't look cute like kids' drawings tended to be; the bakery's owner must love the child insanely to allow those awful sketches possibly endanger the success of his bakery. What was worse, the drawings were captioned with terrible puns and Yixing found himself grimacing at them.

“Here you go.”

Yixing’s focus returned to the counter, to find the man had reappeared, holding what Yixing had come for. The short male reached for his wallet as he, waiting for a total cost of the order but getting instead an unexpected bunch of words.

“I’m sorry for the other day,” the blond male started. “You surprised me is all. I got all astir and mixed up – even though as a baker I should be used to that.”

The tall man had a grin on his face, like what he had said was something very witty, and Yixing just blinked at him several times before it dawned on him. He now knew who the culprit behind the terrible puns was. Pulling his lips into an awkward smile, Yixing took out a bill that would surely cover the cost of the order and handed it to the other man whose grin had yet again faltered. Yixing took his change along with Krystal’s cupcakes and left the place, glad that he was finally out of there.

-

When Yixing returned he was greeted by a very jumpy and excited Krystal who basically squealing: “How was it? Do you like him now?”

“Don’t do that to me again.” Yixing eyed the female strictly while handing over the cupcakes, but Krystal didn’t seem to be affected by it.

“Do what? I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” The same glint in her eyes from the last time they had met was still there and Yixing was getting more and more annoyed with it.

“I really don’t understand what you see in that place and in that guy.” Yixing sighed and looked around the apartment to see how far had Krystal gotten with the preparation for the birthday party.

“He’s nice and charming and he makes the best desserts in the city, what’s there not to like?” She sing-sang as she stalked off to put the cupcakes away in the kitchen.

“He uses horrible puns and thinks he’s witty when he’s just plainly dumb.” Yixing shot a look at her retreating figure before he slumped into the couch, only to have a bag of balloons thrown at him when Krystal returned.

“What do you think you’re doing just sitting around? Hurry up and inflate those balloons, I’m not nearly done with decorating and I need your help.” She picked up some handmade bows and started putting them on window frames. “And puns?”

Yixing looked up a bit confused since he was immersed into opening the bag in his hands; for a second, he wasn’t sure what Krystal asked him. “Oh,” he exhaled when it came to him “yeah the awful puns. “

The younger stopped with her work and looked at him “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“The terrible puns on the wall which he obviously tries to use in everyday life as well?” Yixing frowned.

“Oh, the ones on the wall... but most of them are cute and witty.” She smiled, probably thinking about a particular few she liked, before her expression turned serious again. “But I have never heard him use any of those in real life.”

This took Yixing of guard and he looked in her direction again, wanting to retort, but the doorbell didn’t give him a chance.

“They are already here!! And look at this mess! Hurry, hurry, throw everything under the couch.”

Krystal’s squeal startled Yixing and he followed his friend’s orders, stopping only when he heard that it was ‘just Luna and Victoria’; maybe now that Krystal had more helpers he can slack around. He was about to make an excuse when he saw a bag in Luna’s hands. The same, familiar logo was adorning the bag as the one he had brought earlier and he groaned. He wished he had never told anything to Krystal.

-

More people showed up than they had anticipated and Krystal was whining because she didn’t have enough cupcakes for everyone. She was pleading to Yixing to go get more and he was having a hard time explaining that it was super late, that he would never make it to the bakery before it closed and that they were probably out of the cupcakes anyways. Krystal had to reluctantly admit that he was right, but that hardly stopped her intention of getting those cupcakes. She found the number and Yixing watched as she begged into the phone for more of the sweets. He sighed when Krystal repeated 'thank you's gratefully over the phone, a telltale sign that she had been successfully persuasive. He was starting to get ready to get the cupcakes but she stopped him, explaining that the baker would bring the cupcakes himself (he'd insisted, apparently).

Almost an hour later, the bell rang and Krystal rushed to open the door. Yixing watched from his seat on the couch as she chatted with the tall blond, his eyes bulging out when he saw Krystal start pulling the baker in. Oh no .

“Everyone,” her voice boomed throughout the room after she had turned the music down, “this is Kris from  Sweet Tooth and not only did he deliver this huge pile of cupcakes personally, but also gave me a huge discount, so I thought he should join the fun here. Be nice to him!” She smiled at the group of people but also directed a curt warning look towards Yixing.

Yeah yeah. I’ll be nice to him. As long as he stays away from me. 

The baker was soon accepted by everyone and Yixing tried to pay as little attention as possible to him while focusing on the conversation with his own friends. At one point, a few girls disappeared into the kitchen and came back minutes later with a bunch of cupcakes arranged into a shape of a cake and put them on the table in the middle of the room. Luna lit the candle stuck in the middle cupcake and, after Krystal made a wish and blew the flame out, they started to distribute the colorful treats to everyone in the room. Naturally, Yixing didn’t want any of those over-sweetened dainties, but the pouty look on Krystal’s face made him sigh in resignation and give in. He would survive one cupcake.

It took a while for him to even consider the possibility of him biting in and when he finally did, his face scrunched up in distaste. Okay, maybe he won’ t survive this one. His action clearly didn’t go unnoticed since soon someone had settled themself down on his left and the voice that spoke up made Yixing want to disappear.

“You really seem to have a problem with sweets.” Yixing shot the blond a grumpy look and was met with a genuinely smiley face; the baker obviously didn’t take his disapproving expression as an insult.

“Um, it’s too sugary.” Yixing tried in order to at least not sound like a complete douchebag.

The taller chuckled at that and looked at him. “If you can’t stand sweets, how come you bought a chocolate cake in the first place?”

Yixing chanced a glance at him and the other male seemed genuinely curious. “Chocolate is supposed to be bitter and not sweet.”

The baker’s eyebrows shot up in realization. “Oh, so that’s where your problem lies.”

“My problem lies in no one being able to make a decent chocolate cake. Ever since the Chocolate Factory closed I haven’t had a decent dessert.” Yixing knew being harsh, but he just really wished the other hadn’t come to talk to him in the first place.

The blond sighed. “You know, I haven’t burned any cookies for a long while, but your attitude will start to make me feel crummy.”

Yixing looked at him bewildered. This guy…he wasn't doing this again, was he?

„That was not funny.“

However, it seemed that his reaction was because the taller suddenly burst into laughter and needed a good minute to calm down. When he finally did, a look full of mirth was directed at Yixing. „Tell you what, drop by my bakery tomorrow around 11am, if you're not busy that is, and let me see if I can change your opinion.“

Yixing squinted his eyes at him, „Why should I?“

„Because you're desperately trying to find a dessert you can eat and I'm an arrogant baker who can't stand criticism?“ The blond supplied.

Yixing cracked a smile at the other male giving himself those attributes; maybe he could give him a chance to redeem himself.

The baker stands up and Yixing follows him with his gaze, „I have to go now, but you be careful with all these drunk girls around, you don't want a bun in the oven so young.“ he said with a cocky smile on his face.

Yixing stared at him in absolute shock. This guy was absolutely terrible.

-

Yixing dragged himself to the bakery the next morning, wondering what devils possessed him the night before to agree to such a thing. He stopped in front of the place and looked at the big sign adorning the top of it, before acknowledging his defeat and pushing open the doors to the bakery. Maybe if Yixing proved to the baker that he couldn't make him like his products, the other would finally leave him alone.

„Good morning!“ The baker greeted in a sing-song voice.

Yixing looked at the taller who looked like an anime character come alive; the only thing missing was animated flowers around him to make the picture complete. That guy was definitely too sugary - he was exactly like his products. Yixing already felt sorry for his own taste buds and didn't think they'd manage to survive for much longer.

„Mornin'“ Yixing mumbled in response and dragged himself to the counter.

„Aww why so grumpy? Not a morning person, are we?“

The smile, the crescent-shaped eyes. Yixing wanted to punch him in the face. „If you don't remember, I was at a party last night and unlike some, I don't have a teenager's curfew.”

It seemed that Yixing's attitude had lost its effect on the taller because the other's expression, unlike last time, didn’t falter at all. The baker probably figured out that Yixing complained only because of his own personal problem, and not because of the blond’s baking skills. „Well, I'm glad that you've made it because you're my only missing ingredient for today's perfect receipt. Please go on and sit, I'll be right back.“

Yixing couldn't help but roll his eyes but did as he was asked, looking around as he did so. The bakery looked different now that Yixing had had the chance to eat in; the pleasant colors of the place strengthened the warm feeling he felt here last time. True to his words, the baker came back really fast, holding a very dark looking cupcake in his hands. He put the plate in front of Yixing and sat across from him, prompting a confused look out of the latter.

„I want to see your reaction.“ The baker answered the unspoken question and Yixing shrugged indifferently, Whatever. 

Yixing was mentally preparing himself to taste the cupcake when the other spoke up again and broke his concentration. „Your name is Yixing, right?“ The younger nodded dumbly, not too sure why that was important. „Well then, enjoy your cupcake Yixing. I promise it's good.“ The genuine smile was back on the older's face. Yixing couldn't handle it anymore so he shifted his focus back towards the cupcake.

He finally decided to just go for it and he bit into the treat...only to remain in a state of slight shock. He had never tasted a good cupcake before because people tended to mess up the frosting even when the cake base was good but this one was... perfect . He looked up with wide eyes at the taller who was still smiling, but now, obvious nervousness was carved into his features, as though he really wasn't as confident about it as he had previously tried to show.

„And, how is it?“ The baker broke the silence and Yixing realized that him evaluating the baker’s goods again must have been really nerve wrecking for the other. He really must have given his best.

„Um it's.....good.“ Yixing replied and after a few seconds added, „I like it.“

A wide smile full of true happiness appeared on the baker's face and Yixing found him silly. It can't be that big of a deal. „You're easy to please.“ He mumbled with a new bite of cupcake in his mouth.

„You realize you're the first one to have ever left a bad review ever since this bakery opened, right?“

Yixing stopped mid-bite, moving the cupcake away in order to speak. „That's impossible.“

„Mhmm, I'd say the same. But it's true.“ There was a silence between them for a while before the baker's gaze fell on the almost completely eaten cupcake Yixing was holding. „Do you want me to make more of these for you?“ The cheeks of the younger took on a pinkish color to them.

„No... it's alright. I'm fine with just this one.“ He hated to admit out loud that he was wrong, and ultimately, unfair for not giving the blond a chance to prove himself as Krystal had said.

The baker’s eyes formed that half-moon shape again. „But you want more, don't you?“

Yixing shot him a grumpy look but the taller ignored it and took a napkin to write something down. When he slid it to Yixing the younger realized it was his phone number accompanied with „Kris“ above it.

„Next time you feel like eating this, just give me a call and I will try to make it as soon as possible.“ Yixing was still looking at the messy handwriting when he nodded his head.

„Um, okay, thanks...“ he was feeling really dumb and wasn't sure what to say, but he should probably apologize.

„As for your apology...“ Kris started and Yixing looked at him, startled. „Don't look at me like that, I know you were thinking about it.“ He added with a stern look.

The younger looked at him suspiciously. „How would you know something like that?“

„You looked uncomfortable and were diverting your gaze awkwardly while before, you always had this cocky attitude about you.“ He answered without the slightest hesitation in his voice and Yixing could only look at him in shock.

How dare this guy. 

However, the pointed and confident look he was getting in return made Yixing let out a groan and succumbed to the fact that the other is right. “Fine, what do you want?”

“A date.”

Yixing straightened himself in alarm “I’m sorry, what?”

“You know when two people go out in order to get to-“

“I know what a date is.” Yixing interrupted him curtly and Kris waited for him to continue. “But why would you assume I like guys?”

“I’m not assuming, Krystal told me.” He replied with a small smirk on his face.

“Aish, that woman seriously.” Yixing let out a frustrated hiss while averting his gaze and clasping his hands on the table.

Kris was still smiling when he leaned in to put his chin on the back of his hands, elbows resting on the table. “You know, I bake best in the morning.“

Yixing promptly smacked him on the arm.

„There's no way I'll ever go out with you if you don't stop with those terrible puns and pick-up lines.“

„What's wrong with that one?“ The baker feigned innocence. „We could choose a movie, cuddle up in blankets and sleep later. And the morning I'd make you some of these delicious chocolate cupcakes.“

Yixing snorted and stood up „In your dreams, Romeo.“ He gave Kris a cocky smile and strolled out of the bakery.

-

Yifan was rinsing the tea cups from behind the counter when he heard his phone ring. He turned off the faucet and wiped his hands before checking the text he received.

From: Unknown
So when and where? 

He stared at the phone a bit, not sure what to think of the message. He was sure he didn’t send a text to anyone.

To: Unknown
I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about. 

He received an answer almost as soon as he sent his own and his curiosity grew stronger.

From: Unknown 
As recall, I was promised a date and cupcakes.

Yifan grinned in disbelief as he realized who the unknown texter was.

To: Unknown
Yixing?

From: Unknown
I guess that depends on how many people you asked out on a date :) 

Yifan started laughing and was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of happiness that Yixing really was accepting his offer to go out with him.

To: Unknown
Unfortunately for you, you’re the only one on that list ^^ I can go whenever you’re free and we can go wherever you want :)

From: Unknown
You’re disgusting, I hope you know that. I’m free this weekend but have no idea where we could go. 

The baker pouted at the text but started racking his brain for ideas right away. He wasn’t really sure what place would be the best to take Yixing to. There was a fair in town, but would Yixing like that?

To: Unknown
Wanna go to the fair?

From: Unknown
That could take the whole day. Will your knead to bake allow you to stay out of the bakery for that long? 

Yifan burst out laughing at the pun, catching his customers’ attention. He tipped his head in a moment of shyness and hurriedly typed back a reply.

To: Unknown
I thought you didn’t like those!!

From: Unknown
I like them when I make them. So when on Saturday? 

Yifan sighed in delight and looked fondly at the text. Yixing was going be a hard nut to break.

To: Unknown
10am in front of the bakery?

From: Unknown
Of course it has to be the bakery. You’re so predictable. Okay then, see you 

Yifan replied with a short “:)” and put his phone away because a lot of work piled up already due to him completely neglecting it. A few customers paid their bills and he smiled at them more brightly than usual; the thought of having a date with Yixing put him in an excited mood.

-

Yixing had to rush towards the meeting spot because he had left the house super late. He had so many problems with picking the right outfit for the date that he had forgotten about the time. He wasn’t even sure why he was trying so hard because Kris was still annoying to him, but he had to admit that the baker was different from what he had originally thought. The guy did deserve a chance. When he neared his destination, he stopped at a corner to catch his breath and then continued walking at a more normal pace. From a distance he could see that Kris was already there and he silently berated himself for being so careless.

One of Kris’ typical smiles greeted him and Yixing waved curtly in response.

“Hi there.”  The baker said brightly.

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late…” Yixing said a bit timidly as he observed the taller man. He was sporting jeans, a simple white shirt with some drawings on it and a stylish brown jacket that added a nice touch to the outfit. Yixing had never noticed before that the other had his ears pierced and was surprised to see several piercings on his right ear. He had to admit that Kris looked really good.

A shook of head from the baker showed Yixing that the former didn’t mind and Kris extended a hand to give something to the smaller male. Yixing looked at Kris questioningly and took the box from him. “What is this?”

“I just thought you’d want something to snack on while we’re walking around.”

The question from Yixing’s face didn’t disappear as he eyed Kris, and then the box, carefully. He opened up the lid and was in for a surprise. It contained several muffins and was full of dark-colored cookies and what appeared to be homemade chocolate. “You made this for me?” His shock must have been obvious on his face because the baker laughed.

“No need for such expressions, I just realized that there will probably be a limited choice of stuff you’d be interested in on the stands at the fair. Shall we go?”

Yixing nodded slightly and his gaze drifted from Kris to the contents of the box in front of him. That really was a nice gesture.

The trip to the fair took longer than expected because the city was crowded. Yixing and Kris didn’t talk much because they were still awkward with each other, despite Kris’ constant attempts to make Yixing talk. Yixing was feeling weird; he usually didn’t have a problem with talking about random things but he still wasn’t over the terrible attitude he had towards Kris for a long time. He sighed inwardly at the realization that he wasn’t really doing much to fix that.

-

When they exited the metro station, Yifan watched a crowd of people heading towards a huge area covered with stands, rollercoasters and bunch of other things. Yixing was right, they were definitely going to need a whole day.

First they did some investigating, figuring out what is where and which places seemed interesting enough for them to spend money on. They had a problem though; there were so many things they wanted to try, but there was no chance their budget could cover everything.

“Should we do the rides or the games on the stands first?” Yifan inquired and waited for Yixing to think a bit about it.

“Rides are probably a better idea because if we win anything in the games it will be a hassle to carry it around.”

Yifan agreed and they were heading towards the rides when something caught his attention. “Hey Yixing, should we go to the Scary house first?” He pointed in the direction of the building and Yixing swallowed visibly.

“Eh, let’s go to the rides first, we can do this later.” He said as he rushed in the direction of their original destination, while Yifan hung behind for a bit. He smirked and followed the younger.

“Are you scared?” The taller couldn’t help the mocking tone in his voice, but it was hilarious that a grown man would be scared of a horror house designed for kids.

“No. I just really don’t feel like it right now.”

Yifan decided to drop the topic and he pointed at another thing “The Zipper then?” Yixing’s face went kind of green after giving one look at the ride.

“Uh….I would like to keep my breakfast in me.” He tried weakly and Yifan just laughed at him.

“You’re scared of that too aren’t you.” He knew this wasn’t getting him the best points with Yixing, but he just had to a bit. “The carousel then?”  The grin he wore was threatening to split his face in half and from the pointed look he received in return, it seemed like Yixing hoped it would.

Shrugging, he continued to look around for something that would peak his interest when suddenly Yixing spoke up.

“Can we go there?”  Yifan turned to see where Yixing’s finger was directed at and was slightly bedazzled at the sight.

“There? Are you sure? It’s not that warm.” he pointed out but that didn’t seem to affect Yixing.

“Mhm, it doesn’t seem like it gets you really wet, I think we should be fine.” He looked at the water ride with a glint of excitement in his eyes and Yifan couldn’t help but to agree to go.

“Okay, we can do that.” Yixing gazed up at him and the older was surprised to see a small smile that seemed genuine on his face.

The queue wasn’t long because, as Yifan had already pointed out, it wasn’t the best time for water rides and their turn came very fast. Luckily, they didn’t get wet and Yifan thought it was definitely worth it because Yixing’s mood visibly shot up.

“Where do you want to go next?”

 And Yixing stopped for a moment to think. “You choose now, it’s only fair.”

Yifan smiled and raised a brow at him, “Are you sure about that? Because I want to go to one of those fun rides.” And he pointed in the direction of The Zipper, Top Spin and the several pendulum rides.

Yixing swallowed visibly again. “O-okay,” was his meek response and it elicited another short laugh from Yifan.

“We don’t have to go there, there’s a bunch of other stuff here that you can enjoy properly as well.” Yifan honestly meant it, he didn’t want Yixing to be uncomfortable or, even worse, to have a bad time with him. He preferred to go somewhere they will both enjoy; but a moment later he realized Yixing didn’t plan to let it go.

“No we should, at least to one of those. You can choose whichever you want and I will go with you.” Yixing’s determined look had a sprinkle of panic in it, but Yifan thought better than to point it out. He gave Yixing the credit for facing something that scares him. And the fact that he was doing it for him made Yifan just a tiny little bit proud.

He looked around in order to find the rides that seemed to be the best. After deciding that he wanted Yixing to have as little time to change his mind, he chose the ride with the shortest queue. It happened to be one of the pendulum rides and the younger’s eyes widened in horror. Yifan felt slightly bad so he offered for them to really drop the idea but the other was too stubborn.

As they were moving closer to the ride, Yixing seemed to get more and more tensed up, so Yifan contemplated putting his hand on the younger’s lower back to calm him down until he finally just went with it. Yixing seemed surprised at the touch but it also seemed to have distracted him properly.

“Why did I insist on doing this.” He said almost inaudibly when it was finally their turn.

Yifan chuckled and pushed him slightly towards the ride. “You’ll be fine.”

The ride was much more entertaining to Yifan than he had thought it would be because Yixing was screaming his lungs out. However, when the ride finally stopped he felt guilt biting at him because Yixing seemed completely terrified; his face was pale and he was struggling with his breath.

“Would one of those help?” He pointed at the box that Yixing was carrying in a plastic bag.

The younger didn’t seem to understand until his gaze followed Yifan’s hand.“Oh, maybe, if they are not completely squashed inside.” Yixing went to a nearby bench and sat down to open the box again. Luckily, the improvised holders Yifan had put inside seemed to have sufficed as the damage to the treats was minimal and Yixing took one of the chocolate pieces out. He took the tiniest of bites, munched on it delicately and finished it slowly before he decided to speak.

“Did you make this yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s delicious.”

 Yifan felt a blush creep up on his face. He didn’t expect those kinds of words from Yixing, especially not after the hell ride he made him go through.

The younger closed the box and looked up. “Where should we go next?”

This surprised Yifan a bit because Yixing seemed to be unusually calm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

The younger nodded slowly, “Yeah, this break helped me calm down” and the smile that he directed at Yifan was the cutest yet.

“Y-you have a dimple?” Yifan’s expression must have exactly portrayed his bewildered self as Yixing burst in laughter for the first time ever in Yifan’s presence.

“Yeah I do. C’mon let’s go, I want to go to the House of Mirrors.”

Yifan could only dumbly agree as he followed the smaller male.

The House of Mirrors wasn’t too big but they still had the greatest time so far. Yixing was dying out of laughter at Yifan’s distorted shapes and the older had no idea how to deal with this newfound side of Yixing, but he was thrilled that the other had finally relaxed. He even managed to throw in a few teasing jokes at the younger and gotten away without mean looks thrown at him.

After they went left The House of Mirrors, Yixing was already walking towards The Glass Labyrinth. He had run inside even before Yifan had a chance to catch up to him. When the blond finally stepped into the place, Yixing was already further ahead but Yifan could still see him clearly because of the crystal clear glass. Yifan was walking around a bit confused as he kept hitting dead ends and he wondered where the passage to the next level was. Yixing didn’t seem to have any more luck as he was also still stuck on the first stage.

“Kris!” Yifan turned around to see Yixing behind one of the glass doors, tapping them with both hands as a trapped person with no way out would do. “Save me!” He exclaimed with mock panic “I’m being held hostage!” Laughter spread throughout the house as Yifan looked at the other. Where was this sudden silliness coming from?

“I’m sorry, but this Knight in Shining Armor has to find his own way out.” With that, Yifan went back to trying to locate the right passage, Yixing mumbling “You’re no fun” in his wake. Soon he was facing Yixing again, but this time they were on the same side of the glass and they walked together another bit before they finally found the right way to the second level. To their disappointment, the stage two was much easier and they got out soon pretty quick.

“Ahh that was fun!”  The younger exclaimed and Yifan had a hard time trying not to stare at Yixing's dimple, instead opting for a distraction.

“Do you know what would be even more fun?” Yifan didn’t wait for the answer as he pointed to The Scary House again and the happy Yixing suddenly became serious again.

“Do we have to?”

“Yes.”

The younger grunted in response, but stalked off in the direction of the house anyway and Yifan decided that he found the younger’s stubbornness adorable. However, this time Yixing wasn’t so fast with entering the building and instead waited for Yifan to catch up. Yifan grabbed the Yixing’s hand and pulled him in, much to the small protests of the younger. When they entered the house, Yifan received a pleasant surprise as Yixing grabbed his arm tightly and pulled himself really close to the taller. Yifan felt a wave of proudness wash over him again as he entertained himself with his own thoughts. This is becoming like the one of those really clichéd dates now. He chuckled to himself but the moment didn’t last for long as Yixing suddenly screamed and jumped in place, Yifan not too sure what caused it as he wasn’t paying attention.

“Come here you big baby.” He put his arm around the smaller’s waist while the other seemed to gladly let himself be engulfed in a hug. They walked like that towards the end of the scary house tour and Yifan was sure Yixing had walked with his eyes closed most of the time.  When they exited the house the younger firmly declared that they were done with the silly events and added that the whole thing had made him hungry, so they made their way to the food stalls.

After wandering around for a bit, they settled for a couple of hot dogs and sat down on a bench so they could eat in peace. They were commenting on random passersby and, unlike before, had no problem with keeping the conversation going. After finishing his hotdog, Yixing attacked one of the dark chocolate cupcakes and Yifan watched him with amusement.

“I’m sorry for being terrible to you when we first met.”

Yifan blinked himself back into focus: “Hm?”

“I know you said this date serves as an apology, but I should still voice it. I was being a .” The younger continued and Yifan laughed for the nth time that day.

“You were. But you’re cute so I forgive you.” This earned him one of those trademark grumpy looks from Yixing that Yifan had forgotten about over the course of the day, and Yifan had to admit that he missed them a bit. Just a bit.

“I’m not cute.”

“Yixing, you’re so sweet I could bottle you up in a mason jar.”

The grumpy face became even more profound and Yifan noticed how hard the younger was trying not to pout. “You’re terrible.”

More laughs emerged from the older as he nudged the younger to stand up so they could raid the game stands. They had used up a lot of time already so they had to hurry.

While looking at the stands, Yixing was nomming happily on the cookies Yifan had given him and the latter couldn’t straighten his smiling face because of that.

“All of the prizes are big here…” Yixing suddenly stopped and looked at a certain game and the baker looked in the same direction.

“Do you want me to try?” Yifan offered as he observed the game. It was a metal bucket and the goal seemed to be to throw two balls inside without them bouncing out. “I’m good at basketball.”

“You do seem like someone who’d play basketball in his free time.” Yixing said, slightly amused. He looked at the prizes and couldn’t stop marveling at their size. “It would be awesome to get one of those huge plushies.”

Yifan’s lips tugged upwards as he took Yixing’s words as a ‘yes’. He paid for a couple of balls and then measured the weight of one with his hand. He thought a bit about the way he should do it before he threw it – and failed as the ball bounced right out. It was harder than it looked. He frowned and asked the guy who was working there if he could take his second shot anyways and when he got a positive reply, he changed his tactic. The ball successfully landed in the bucket and stayed there. Yifan was now fired up and determined to win something so he paid for another pair of balls. Mimicking the same action he performed not even a minute ago, he managed to successfully throw both balls into the bucket and the man congratulated him, asking him to choose whatever prize he wanted.

Yifan turned to Yixing with a ridiculously huge grin on his face only to see the younger dimpling in approval. “Which one do you want?”

Yixing cocked his head a bit to the left and Yifan melted at the action because Yixing looked more like a puppy than a human. “Me? But you are the one who played.”

The older pursued his lips together and pride was obvious on his face. “Yes but I did it for you, so choose one.”

Yixing smiled shyly and looked at the toys, suddenly insisting for Yifan to gift him whatever he wants. It would make it more meaningful, Yixing’d said. Yifan decided to go with it, but when he looked at the toys, they all seemed to be a bit too childish. Then, something caught his eye and he pointed towards it. Soon, he was holding a huge plush flower with two little baby flowers attached to the stem. Yifan asked for a pen and scribbled down a few words on a note before giving the plush to Yixing.

“Delivery!”

Yixing narrowed his eyes curiously at the note and took the gift from Yifan, flipping the card open with his finger and bursting out in laughter after reading the words. Flours for Yixing from Yifan.

“You chose that plush only so you could use that terrible pun, didn’t you?” Yixing asked, still struggling with calming down his laughter.

Yifan looked at him with big, innocent eyes and Yixing smiled endearingly, taking the plush into his hands. “Well, it will definitely hold a meaning now.” He switched his focus from the flowers towards the other male. “Thank you.”

Yifan looked back at those eyes that pulled into the narrowest crescents yet and his heart tugged hard in his chest. Yixing really had an adorable smile.

A few stands later, Yifan stopped in front of a shooting one and pulled on Yixing’s sleeve excitedly. “Yixing, Yixing!”

The smaller male frowned and leaned towards the direction he was being pulled into to see what the whole hassle was about. “Look at those bunnies! They look exactly like you!”

Yixing looked at the set of yellow and green small plush bunnies and his disagreement was obvious on his frowning face. “They look nothing like me.”

Yifan let out a breath of laughter and was already halfway through paying for the bullets in order to win one of the bunnies. “Nonsense. You not only look like a bunny, but they also have the exact same facial expression you have.”

“They are sleeping, Kris.”

“Exactly, and for most of the time I’ve spent around you, you’ve looked like you’d rather be in bed than anywhere else.” Yifan pulled his lips up into a gummy smile.

Yixing just snorted. “Please.”

“C’mon c’mon, let me win you one!” Yifan was jumpy as a five year old and was in the middle of choosing his gun and a target.

“Why would I want a bunny that looks like me?” Yixing asked incredulously but he got only a ‘shhh I’m trying to concentrate here’ in return.

Yifan was focusing on the task in front of him. There were three balloons behind a net and he had five bullets to pierce them, so he loaded his gun and concentrated on taking them down. A bam later, he had shot his first balloon and soon after, the two others followed. As the worker was putting up new balloons behind the net, Yifan grinned victoriously at his achievement and looked at Yixing who only whined in return.

“I wanna try too!”

Yifan knew his fondness was reflecting on his face but he couldn’t help it. He loaded the gun and gave it to the other, but ended up confused when Yixing frowned up at him in return.

“I can load my own gun.”

Yifan gulped because the younger really seemed disapproving of his action. “I’m sorry…” It seemed, however, that his apology went unnoticed; Yixing was fully engulfed in a cloud of concentration. He pulled the trigger and Yifans eyes widened when all three balloons suddenly disappeared.

“How did you do that?” The shock was obvious in Yifan’s voice.

Yixing threw a cheeky grin at Yifan's shocked face and held his head high as he put the gun back to its place. “I'm awesome.”

It was another few seconds of Yifan’s blatant staring until he was shaken back to reality by the worker asking them if they wanted to use their final bullet. Yifan looked at Yixing who shook his head no and he voiced the same answer to the worker. It was time for them to choose the prize and when Yifan pointed to the bunnies, two of them were placed in front of him. Yifan looked at them with confusion.

“Each of these bunnies is worth just one point and you have two since you cleared out the three balloons twice.” The worker jumped in to clear out the confusion and Yifan just made a slight ‘Oh’ with his mouth. They said their thanks and goodbyes and continued their stroll.

Yifan looked at the two small bunnies in his hands and extended them to Yixing.

“Which one do you want?”

“I told you, I don’t want a bunny.”

“But I have two! And one of them is your fault!”

Yixing snorted once again and stopped. “Fine, I will take one as a proof of my awesomeness.”

Yifan rolled his eyes and practically shoved the hand with the bunnies into Yixing’s face. “Just choose one.”

After contemplating a bit, Yixing took the yellow one and hung it on his jacket since the bunny had a keychain loop on it. Yifan did the same with his green one, feeling a bit too much like a high school boy for being excited at the thought of them owning the same kind of object. Then he remembered something. “Hey Yixing…” Yixing shifted his gaze from the bunny to him. “I know I wrote down ‘Kris’ on that paper with my phone number…but no one except the customers in the bakery call me that.”

Yixing nodded in understanding. “Yifan, then?” The older smiled.

 

It was getting late and Yifan looked up at the sky, thinking how they should probably head back home, when something entered his view. “Do you want to go on that and end this clichéy date in the most clichéd way possible?” His finger was pointing up and Yixing followed it. The younger’s eyes widened and the traces of tiredness suddenly disappeared from his face as he gave Yifan a slightly excited "yes". And so they were on their way to the Ferris wheel.

 -

Yifan watched as Yixing’s eyes filled up with sparkles from the setting sun and smiled at the excited glint in his gaze. He really didn’t seem like the grumpy Yixing he'd come to know in the past few days.

“I’ve never been so high up. The view is beautiful…” As Yixing spoke the words, he didn’t divert the look even for a second and Yifan felt his lips tugging even more.  The older shifted his gaze in the same direction.

“I have seen such a view a few times, but this time it feels somehow different.” Yifan knew exactly why, but was conflicted about whether he should voice it out loud or not. They had spent a nice day together, but Yifan knew what Yixing’s stance had been at the beginning of their date and he doubted a single day together could change it drastically. He felt his lips fall from a smile into an almost straight line. Yixing looked at him, and it was with the same excited expression he had been wearing for the entire ride and Yifan wanted nothing more than to kiss him. He swallowed, wondering if he should lean over when the younger wasted way too much time looking back at him, instead of enjoying the view. Another gulp and Yifan hated himself for being such a coward.

“Look, we’re at the highest point.” With Yifan’ words, Yixing’s gaze dropped from the baker in favor of eyeing the view instead.

The younger’s eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open. “This looks incredible, everything seems so tiny. Tinier than a poppy seed.”

Yifan raised an eyebrow at that, “Have you never been in a plane?”

A slight shake of the head was the only reply he got as Yixing kept his eyes glued to the outside world. Soon enough they were going down again and with each meter closer to the end of the ride, Yifan felt each grasp of even the tiniest courage escape its way out of his hands. A few thoughts later, they were on the ground.

Standing in front of the Ferris wheel, Yifan looked down at Tucked-Up-In-A-Jacket Yixing, who seemed very comfortable that way. “I had a great time.” Was all he could muster before Yixing smiled at him, one of those genuine smiles he didn’t get to see a lot of up until now.

“I think it was amazing also.” Yixing closed his mouth, lips pressed together but a dimple prominent in his cheek.

If there was a moment for Yifan to kiss Yixing, this was it. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare him away with a simple mistake like that; they seemed to have made up for their bad start.

So instead of doing what every single cell inside of him was screaming at him to do, he broke the moment by speaking up. “Can I walk you home?”

Yixing looked at him, his gaze gentle. His head nodded in approval and soon they were walking towards the metro.

The ride back was much more comfortable than the first one they took together as there were significantly less people. They didn’t really talk, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.  Or at least, Yifan didn’t have time to notice even if it was. He was preoccupied with how he should say goodbye to Yixing but in the end, when they finally reached Yixing’s place, he settled for a simple wave and a smile, walking away with regret creeping into his heart.

-

Yixing watched Yifan’s retreating figure as he stood in the stairway of his apartment. He was sure the day had gone well, more than well. Then why? Yifan must have changed his mind about him. He must have lost his interest.

There’s no other explanation, seeing that it was clear as daylight that Yifan liked him. Yixing must have done something wrong for the other to change his mind, but he didn’t know what. He climbed up the stairs to the apartment complex where he still lived with his parents and unlocked the doors. He did not mind not being kissed on the first date, but in this particular situation that clearly meant rejection. Someone as straightforward as Yifan shouldn’t have any problem with doing that if he liked the person. Especially if said person opened a few perfect situations for him… He was kind of hoping Yifan was waiting until the end of the date since he hadn’t used those opportunities, but Yixing’s assumptions had ended up wrong. As he stepped into his apartment and headed towards his own room, he wondered how the hell had he turned from ice into fire in just the few hours that he spent with Yifan.

-

The next morning, Yixing was determined to find out whether or not Yifan still liked him and after making sure he looked decent enough to be in public, he rushed out of the house. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do, but if he had to wait for the other to clear out everything on his own, Yixing would go crazy. It was more his own stubbornness than anything else driving him to that bakery, he didn’t like to be in uncertain waters, regardless of what the matter was.

He walked into the bakery with a jingle of a small bell that was hung over the door, but inside he didn’t find the flop of blond hair. Behind the counter, there was only a short guy with owl-like eyes and Yixing realized that he had never even thought about the possibility of someone else working there too. He looked around in hopes of finding the tall baker, but to no avail. His eyes skimmed through the drawings and puns again and landed on a donut saying to a cupcake: If I wrote a cookbook, you’d be the featured recipe~ and Yixing couldn’t help but smile. It reminded him of the day before and Yifan’s failed attempts to come up with a pun that Yixing would like. It was endearing, really.

“Can I help you?”

Yixing looked at the smaller male he had spotted earlier, a bit dazed from the interruption of thoughts.

“Um…Is Yifan not here?” He bit his tongue when he realized that he was being impolite by not giving a proper greeting first.

“Sorry, I’m afraid he works the afternoon shift today. Could I possibly help you somehow instead?” The baker eyed him with his huge orbs and Yixing just shook his head.

“No, thank you…” His trail of thought slipped when he repeated the baker’s sentence in his head. “Wait, are you the only other person working here?”  The curt nod told him to continue. “Doesn’t that mean you worked the double shift yesterday? And now you’re working again?” He was honestly shocked at the treatment Yifan was giving to his employee, it made perfect sense for the older baker to take the morning shift today.

To Yixing’s surprise, however, the other male let out a chuckle, a wide smile forming on his face. “Yifan actually both opened and closed the bakery yesterday so I could both sleep in and bail out earlier than I would have to if I was doing normal hours. I did work more hours yesterday, but actually managed to get a much better sleep than I usually do. Yifan came in exhausted last night and and still stubbornly insisted on staying, he needs this morning for himself much more than I do.” He made a small pause before continuing. “Are you Yixing?”

The addressed male blinked up at him “I am, why?”

A curl of lips formed on the other’s face as he shook his head. “Just figured since you knew Yifan was out all day yesterday. Should I tell him you were looking for him?”

Yixing shook his head no. “That’s alright, I’ll just drop by when I can. But thank you.”

The baker smiled at him and continued doing whatever he had been doing when Yixing had first entered the place.

On his way home, Yixing thought about the words he heard and bit his lip guiltily; he felt bad for thinking Yifan would mistreat his employee. He was shocked by the fact that Yifan had gone back to the bakery after walking him home the previous night. Yixing himself had passed out in bed as soon as he had come back home, and to think that Yifan had to work… He sighed and hurried home with the decision to really stop jumping to conclusions.

-

Later that afternoon, Yixing received a text. It was a Sunday so there hadn’t been much stuff for Yixing to do around the house and lack of activity had made him sleepy for the most of the day, but when he read the text, a rush of energy suddenly shook him wide awake.

From: The Annoying Baker
Wanna come for a cupcake à la Yixing in about an hour? :) 

Yixing let out a laugh and hurriedly typed out a reply.

To: The Annoying Baker
Please don’t tell me that’s the actual name of the cupcake.

From: The Annoying Baker
Of course it is, you’re the only reason why it exists.

Yixing snorted at the reply and stood up to get ready as soon as he sent a text back.

To: The Annoying Baker
I’m dying for something chocolate right now. 

 

It was the second “ting” caused by his entrance that day, but this time he was greeted by the face he had been looking for that morning. Yifan’s wide grin reminded him of his first visits to the bakery and he rolled his eyes at the memory. However, even though Yifan’s ‘bakery smiles’ could’t be called fake, this one had a special tinge of genuineness. Yixing took that as a good sign.

Yifan nudged his head in the direction of an empty table in the corner and Yixing headed towards the spot. A minute later a cupcake on a light green plate in an undefined shape was placed in front of him.

“It’s quite busy here today.”

“It’s a Sunday, people don’t have anything better to do.”

Yixing smiled at the thought of himself just an hour ago. “Yeah, that’s true.” He looked up at Yifan to try to figure out if his stance towards him changed, but the other seemed to act as usual. Yifan was about to say something, but the door jingled again and he turned to attend to the newly arrived customer.

Yixing watched as an influx of people went in and out of the bakery, Yifan not even able to catch a breath. If he wasn’t serving other people, he was putting new treats to bake that he had prepared earlier, as it seemed. Two hours and two cupcakes later, Yixing was starting to feel quite bored and since it didn’t seem like Yifan would have less work anytime soon, he decided to leave. He walked towards the counter in order to pay, but Yifan just waved him off as he put freshly made cupcakes in the display. He gave Yixing an apologetic smile as someone called out to him and a trail of worry washed over the younger. So instead of leaving, he waited for Yifan to come back, the latter surprised that Yixing was still there.

“Let me help.”

“What? Don’t be silly, I can manage.”

“I know you can, but I don’t have anything to do at home and this way you’ll be able to breathe once in a while.”

“Yixing, it’s really not-“ But Yixing had already walked around the counter and was putting on a spare apron. “Show me how this works.” He looked at Yifan and pointed at the cash register. The older male sighed and approached him to do exactly what he was told, Yixing wearing a small victorious smile.

-

It was 9pm, the bakery’s closing time, and Yixing had stayed until the end. Despite him being here helping him, Yifan didn’t seem to have worked any less, only stopping for the tiniest of breaks twice. Yixing was exhausted, and he had no idea how Yifan managed it on his own.

“Why don’t you hire more staff?” He said as he flopped into one of the chairs.

“I don’t trust people with my bakery.” Yifan was still behind the counter, washing some of the remaining cups.

Yixing raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t trust people with your bakery?”

Turning off the faucet, Yifan grabbed a dishtowel and turned to face Yixing. “Yeah, ever since one of my employees almost set the bakery on fire because she was too busy texting her boyfriend, I don’t trust anyone with the bakery besides Kyungsoo.”

“Kyung-?“ Oh. The baker from the morning shift. He thought about it. “The mistake of one person shouldn’t have you distrusting other people so much though. I’m pretty sure she’s in the minority.”

“I can’t take any chances.” Yifan put the last cup in a cupboard and closed it before approaching Yixing. “You shouldn’t have stayed for so long, don’t you have work in the morning?”

“I’m still in uni and my first class tomorrow is at 10am, so don’t worry. Plenty time to sleep.”  He was about to smile but then he was faced with dark circles under Yifan’s eyes and frowned instead. “You really need more staff.”

Yifan laughed. “Not letting anyone behind that counter.”

“You let me.”

“You’re different.”

Yixing raised an eyebrow again. He was caught somewhere between giving a cocky reply and an embarrassed reaction. He tried to ignore the latter and ended up forgetting the first one as well.

“Let me help you on the weekends, then.” Yifan was clearly about to protest so Yixing added quickly. “I accept chocolate cupcakes as payment.” And the older burst into laughter. Yixing smiled, win.

“Fine. But you’ll only get to help for a few hours, you have your studies to worry about.”

“Yes, mom.”

Yifan gave him a pointed look and continued. “And you’ll get a proper paycheck.” Yixing pouted. “The cupcakes you can consider a bonus.” The younger punched the air as a sign of victory and Yifan laughed. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”

“I am neither a lady nor is there something wrong with my legs. I can walk myself home.” Yixing took his apron off.

 Yifan didn’t seem to be too happy with his reply. “I never said anything that would imply either. I just…um…like walking you home. We get to talk more.” He scratched the side of his head a bit, a slight blush creeping into his face. Yixing started at him baffled before cracking a smile.

“Okay then, hurry up.” He smiled and Yifan, after looking at Yixing for a second longer, like he wasn’t sure if he should expect another mean reply, hurried to get rid of his apron and turn off all the lights in the bakery. Yixing went outside and, after the older locked the entrance and turned towards him, he extended his hand to Yifan, who just stared at the palm for a second, before gingerly accepting the offered hand. Yixing’s face almost split in two from trying to stop it from spreading into a grin. Then he frowned at himself for being so excited about holding hands.

They didn’t let go of each other’s grip until they reached Yixing’s apartment, enjoying each other’s company in silence for most of the time. When they stopped, Yixing turned towards the taller, who was still clinging onto his hand.

“I guess this is good night then?” Yifan said and Yixing nodded, it was getting late and he still had some revising to do for his class the next day. They stared at each other for a minute before Yifan spoke again.

“You know…” He started and Yixing tilted his head slightly “Hershey factories make millions of kisses a day, but… I just want one.”

Yixing needed a second before he burst into laughter, covering his mouth with his hand in order not to look completely idiotic. “You’re terrible.” He finally managed to say when he had calmed down a bit and removed his hand, his expression not matching the words at all – he was wearing a stupidly huge grin. Yifan was smiling at him in embarrassment, but still had that cocky aura about him which he was clearly trying to use to hide his awkwardness.

In the next second, Yifan had leaned forward and pecked Yixing on the lips, and another second later he was molding their lips into a more solid kiss. When Yifan pulled away, Yixing could tell how awkward the older was feeling and the same feelings were mirrored in his own emotions. However, it wasn’t a bad kind of awkward and it made Yixing smile.

“I owed you that one from last night.” Yifan said and Yixing’s lips tugged upwards.

“Finally manned-up, huh?”

Yifan pressed his lips in an expression of pretend-hurt and Yixing laughed again.

“I just…thought it might be too fast..I..uh…” Yifan trailed away awkwardly, his gaze shifting to the side and hands starting to do slightly nervous actions. Yixing couldn’t believe that this was the same person who had seemed insanely cocky to him, and he liked that his assumptions were wrong. Yifan was adorable.

“What about today’s, then?” Yixing asked and Yifan looked back confused.

“Today’s?”

“You said you owed me that one for last night, which would mean I didn’t get the one for today.”

Yifan seemed seriously startled and his eyes widened slightly. He clearly hadn’t expected something like this. He looked away and gingerly said: “Your turn.”

Yixing laughed at the big embarrassed giant and stepped forward to close the distance between them. He grabbed Yifan’s collar, who was still averting his eyes, and tugged him down in for a kiss, tip-toeing just a bit. Yifan visibly relaxed against him and soon Yixing settled on his heels again, Yifan’s hand finding support on the small of the younger’s back. They stayed that way for a bit longer before pulling away, and Yixing whispered goodnight, stepping away and going back towards the stairway, waving one last time before entering the building.

-

Yifan threw his house keys on the table and let out a slightly desperate sigh. He had turned out to be a complete coward in front of Yixing and he highly doubted someone like Yixing would date someone like that. Even though it did seem like Yixing liked what was going on in front of his apartment…. Ugh, I don’t know! Yifan threw himself face-down on the couch and groaned into the pillow. He does seem to like me, but liking someone and wanting to date someone are two completely different things. He to his back and looked at the plain ceiling. He probably thinks I’m pathetic for blushing so much. What kind of guy blushes so much anyway?! Yifan ran his hand through his hair fast and stood abruptly, deciding that he needed a good shower and then sleep. He had a morning shift to catch. He headed towards the bathroom and decided that he would deal with his love problems at a later date.

The next day didn’t start well. Yifan was so preoccupied with trying to find possible ways of fixing the situation that he put wrong ingredients in two of his mixes. As the day moved forward he learned how to concentrate, but his body was still refusing to cooperate from time to time, making him bump into furniture and knock over random items. He puffed out air and gazed towards the big window – right as Yixing was walking past it and into the bakery.

“Morning!” 

Yixing seemed to be in an especially good mood. Yifan blinked. “Morning..”

“I was thinking of dropping by before going to uni, how’s the work going today?” Yixing seemed genuinely interested and Yifan’s heart pounded harder in his chest.

“It’s the usual, mostly working people dropping by before work hours and during breaks in order to catch something fast to eat.”

Yixing seemed to be satisfied with the answer as he nodded a few times cutely while viewing the display. “Good, that means you don’t have to overwork yourself again.” He looked back up at Yifan. “Speaking of lunch breaks, do you think you could have a cupcake or two by the time of my lunch break comes around? It’s in about 3-4 hours.”

“Uh, lemme check if I have all the ingredients.” Yifan hurriedly replied back and turned to check if he had what he needed, only managing to get himself jerked back into place by the string of his apron that had gotten stuck on the door of one of the lower cupboards. He fumbled quickly with it and hunched over to check the fridge, only to end up hitting himself on the head with the door of a cupboard next to it as he was about to straighten up again. Oh my God….what the hell am I doing? He saw all of that, there’s no way he can ignore this too…Could this possibly get any worse?

“Um, sorry Yixing, but I don’t have enough chocolate. I’ll prepare some for you tomorrow if you want.” He turned back to face him and smiled gingerly, hoping that his terrible mood wasn’t visible from the outside.

Yixing smiled back. “It’s okay, I still have to figure out if I’ll have time to drop by tomorrow. I have to go now, bye Yifan.” He waved in his direction and was soon out of the door, leaving Yifan feeling even worse than he had when the day had started. Idiot idiot idiot. 

-

Later that day, Yifan was sitting curled up in his couch with one of his cute cushions under his chin, a hand switching channels with the remote. His mood hadn’t improved at all so he had settled for sulking in front of his tv, he had the afternoon shift tomorrow anyway. The clock read just past 8 when his phone lit up and buzzed on his coffee table. He saw Yixing’s name on the display and quickly picked it up.

From: Chocolate cutie
If I’m right, and I think I am, you don’t have as much confidence as you let on. Yifan groaned at the comment and wasn’t sure he wanted to read the rest of the text, but he gave in. Which probably led you to overthink the events of last night. You looked terrible at work today. I know I’m not a very approachable person, but believe me when I tell you that I really enjoyed our time together and I really like you. So stop sweating over small things and cheer up, okay? We don't want your bakery to burn down by accident. Yifan’s heart beat harder and harder as he read the text, and the last comment elicited a sigh of relief out of him.

To: Chocolate cutie
I really needed that, thank you.

From: Chocolate cutie
But you’re still unsure about the whole the whole situation, aren’t you? 

Yifan buried his face into the cushion.

To: Chocolate cutie
…maybe just a bit.

From: Chocolate cutie
You’re impossible. How can I help you fix that? 

Yifan looked at the clock; it wasn’t that late yet, but Yixing might have morning classes. Yifan hoped he doesn’t.

To: Chocolate cutie
Come here and prove me wrong? >.<

From: Chocolate cutie
You’re such a baby. What’s your address? 

Yifan pouted at the message and realized Yixing might have a point. He got rid of the pout.

 

Half an hour later Yixing was at his door and Yifan didn’t even have time to think about standing up from the couch and changing into something decent. So he opened the doors in his house shirt and sweatpants, facing Yixing who was only in a slightly better appearance. Thankfully, the younger didn’t comment and just raised one of his hands that was holding a plastic bag. “I brought snacks.”

Yifan smiled and let him in. “When are your classes tomorrow?”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to be exhausted in your classes.”

Yixing smiled. “Don’t worry, the first one is at 12 tomorrow. I have time to tend your dumb brain.”

“Hey!”

Yixing giggled and put the bag with snacks on the coffee table. Yifan walked past him and sat back into the couch. Yixing chuckled at him. “You look very comfortable.”

“I was very comfortable before you arrived.”

“Should I leave?”

“No. You’re here with a mission.”

Yixing grinned and slumped on the couch next to him. “What kind of movies do you like?”

“I can watch anything, really. Depending on my mood.” Yifan said as he was going through movies on the screen.

Yixing sighed theatrically and leaned back further into the couch. “I guess I’m stuck with a sappy romantic comedy.”

Yifan glared at him. “Why would you even assume that I have a ‘sappy romantic comedy’ side?”

Yixing laughed adorably, eyes pushed together with his laughter bubbling out of his mouth, his hand holding his stomach and his dimple deep in his cheek. “Your whole life is a sappy romantic comedy. You work in a bakery, throw terrible sappy puns and pick up lines at people, take them to clichéd dates and then sulk badly because you overthink stuff and come to false conclusions. “

Yifan made a face at him that was in between a pout and a frown.

Yixing looked amused. “How did you get from a cocky, annoying bastard to an adorable fluffy teddy bear?”

Yifan’s mouth fell open and Yixing laughed again, taking the remote from his hands.

“Let’s choose a movie, I’m bad when it comes to that genre but I’m sure we can find something.” He scrolled through the list until he stopped on “Midnight in Paris”. He looked at Yifan. “That sounds terribly romantic, wanna watch that?”

“It’s actually an awesome movie, it’s a proper kind of romantic and I’d actually really love to watch it again.”

Yixing nodded and pressed the button. “It’s settled then.” He put the remote on the coffee table and leaned into Yifan, wrapping his right arm over the taller’s stomach. Yifan tensed and Yixing looked up. “Is something wrong?”

But Yifan was more surprised than anything else. “Just like that?”

“You’re the one who somehow thought you messed up, I’m the one who thinks everything up till now went awesomely, remember? And from my point of view, this is perfectly normal.” When Yixing finished, he snuggled back into Yifan and directed his attention on the screen. Yifan exhaled and relaxed significantly, smiling at the top of Yixing’s head and leaning in to kiss it. Yixing squeezed him tighter.

 

They’d been watching the movie for a while when Yixing jerked himself from the embrace and looked at the older. “The snacks! We’re not eating them.” Yifan chuckled and pulled him in to kiss him.

“I’m a locavore,  I got all I need right in front of me.” Yixing smacked him and Yifan laughed. “But you can go ahead and eat some.”

“You will never stop, will you?”

Yifan grinned widely. “Nope.”

Yixing shook his head with a smile on his face and cuddled back to his side. “I wouldn’t want it gone anyways, it’s part of your charm.” He had intended to say it in a mocking voice, but then he realized that that wasn’t far from the truth.

Yifan squeezed him tighter and Yixing couldn’t help the feeling of happiness. Who would think that the guy that had been so annoying would turn out to be such a lovely person? The thought brought a grimace to his face. Krystal was never going to let him live this down.