Ten heard crickets when his body woke up but still was too tired to open his eyes. Warmth was covering the Thai boy from head to toe, making it rather hard for him to get up and check the time on his phone. He became slightly startled when he felt something underneath him move, causing Ten's eyes to shoot wide open and look what he was laying upon.

There, he saw Taeyong's sleeping body hugging him close. It was quite a beautiful sight to see, the older boy so innocent while asleep. His soft pink hair, even more, faded than before, was all ruffled up. Eyelids closed but fluttering a bit, indicating how deep in sleep he was. Slightly chapped lips parted, but pinker than ever and even quiet snores that weren't loud enough to be considered annoying.

Ten silently wonders if everyone looked so pretty and peaceful when they were asleep. Ten tried to escape Taeyong's hold, but it only caused him to hug tighter.

"Stay..."

Ten didn't know if it was part of Taeyong's dream or what, but he didn't object. The younger brought the covers up for the both of them once again and snuggled against his hyung, enjoying the warmth he gave off. He quickly thought about the incident at Taeyong's house, how lonely he must feel without his parents home and having to keep his entire family a secret. He lived a harder life than Ten thought he had, but all Ten could give was a pity.

-

After waking up once more in the evening with Taeyong, they both tried to finish up their project. Not long after, the latter left his house with a hug and goodbye. It was the next day and luckily a Saturday, so Ten checked the weather on his phone to decide if it was a nice time to stroll his way to the park. He noticed it would be perfect weather, so he texted his close friend to meet him there and started to change. 

Ten slipped on his casual gray sweater and made his way down the stairs to put his shoes on. "Mom! I will spend a bit of time at the park, so no need to make breakfast for me," Ten yelled from the entrance. His mom replied with a quick okay and "stay safe, honey." With that, he stepped outside, the autumn breeze hitting him square in the face as he closed the front door behind him.

Ten loved walking in the nice autumn weather. It's one of his favorite seasons, spring being a close second. Whenever it wasn't raining or too cold out, he would meet his best friend at the park close to his house just to talk or goof around. The park was a quick three-minute walk and once he arrived, Ten spotted the tall, younger boy sitting at a bench.

"Yukhei! You are early today. Normally I am always the one who has to wait for you," Ten said while running over to his friend. He sat next to Yukhei on the bench and took a quick look at his outfit. The lengthy boy was wearing ripped tight black jeans with a plain yellow shirt underneath his brown jean jacket. His light brown hair wasn't styled up as it normally is, his fringe falling back onto his forehead as he pushed it back. 

Yukhei chuckled, placing a hand on Ten's thigh. "My mom woke me up early after seeing the weather knowing I am always the late one to show up," he said while then returning to snack on some almonds he had in a bag that was almost empty. Ten took a handful from the bag and shoved the crunchy nuts into his mouth. He told his mom not to make him breakfast, so of course, he would be rather famished. 

"Well, let's go-ahead to the diner since you seem like one hungry fellow," said Yukhei. They both stood up and walked to the little diner a few blocks away from the park. It was a cute, basic diner. The food wasn't immaculate, but it always quenched their hunger since whenever they went to meet together in the morning, they both skip on the most important meal of the day their parents offer to make.

The taller boy opened the entrance door, the bells above the door signaling when a customer came in, chiming as they always do. Even though the place looked a bit rugged outside, it had a very pretty interior. The main hue they chose was a light blue which by far was the best choice for the mini diner, yet had hints of gray and white. It always had the aroma of coffee and fresh-baked pastries which pleased Ten in more ways than one.

Both boys decided to sit at the table they frequently eat at, if no one was already sat down, which placed them in the far right corner of the diner. It took a little longer for waiters to come to them, but it gave them time to converse if they needed to. Ten noticed after a bit that Yukhei seemed anxious for no apparent reason. 

"Is there something wrong, Yukhei? Your eyes are going everywhere at every second," Ten stated. Yukhei met the older's eyes and stopped what he was doing. He leaned in forward from across the table and motioned Ten to get closer.

"Last time, when I was here with Sicheng, there was this adorable boy as our waiter. He was quite short compared to me, kinda your height and had rounded rose gold glasses that looked so beautiful with his fluffy chestnut brown hair," Yukhei said, he was quiet like he was worried someone could hear him even though no one was seated near them. The younger took some napkins from a metal napkin dispenser and placed them by his elbow as well as handing them to Ten. "I think I am-"

Yukhei was cut off by a waiter coming to their table. The waiter was rather petite for a boy that looked around their age and matched the description of the younger's little crush. Ten knew it was definitely the boy when he saw Yukhei's eyes enlarge and him stuttering to tell him what beverage he wanted.

"He'll just take an apple juice and I would like some coffee, please," Ten said for Yukhei, not waiting for the other to finish his sentence. The waiter nodded and went back into the kitchen to get their drinks. He also handed them two menus before he left, so Ten was busy searching for a meal while Yukhei remained frozen in his spot.

Ten placed down his menu onto the table, snapping in Yukhei's face so he would stop staring at nothing.

"So I am guessing that's the boy you mentioned?" Yukhei only nodded and soon after, the small boy came back with their drinks in his hand. Ten noticed he looked a bit familiar, so he decided to ask the waiter a question.

"I think I've seen you somewhere. Do you go to Kyungbock High School?" The waiter seemed taken aback from the sudden question. 

"Uh...yeah. How do you know?" The boy tightened his grip on the notepad he was holding. Ten must-have scared the boy, so he started flailing his arms.

"I am sorry, it's just I go there as well and I think I've seen you in the hallways or something because you look very familiar."

That seemed to calm him down since he let out a laugh and smiled, all while pushing his glasses further up his nose bridge. "Oh no, I should be the one apologizing. I just thought you were a creep or something." He scratched the back of his head. "My name is Mark. Mark Lee." He held out his hand for a shake.

"My name is Ten, like the number, but don't worry it's just a nickname." He took Mark's hand into his own and shook it. Mark turned his attention over to Yukhei who had been staring at him the entire time.

"And you are?"

Yukhei snapped out of his daze and responded, "Um...Won Yukhei. Yeah." They shook each other's hands and Ten swears he saw something spark between them, but that's a secret he could not tell Yukhei.

"Well Ten and Yukhei, I will give you a bit more time to figure out what you would prefer to eat." And off went the tiny boy.

-

Ten hummed and rubbed his now full stomach. He heard the little chimes once he pushed the door open to leave the diner one last time. Yukhei left to use the restroom so Ten decided to wait outside for the other. He got a bit bored after some time, so Ten pulled out his phone to check his social media. He was on Instagram, double-tapping the screen on his friends' posts, but paused when he saw @lee_tyong 's recent picture. The older's faded pink hair was now dyed black with bright blue highlights. Long gone is the soft, innocent look and in comes the handsome, y Taeyong. He always has been, but the pink gave a more delicate look on the other.

His hand hovered over the picture, but he double-tapped (also secretly screenshotted) the post and placed his phone back into his jean pocket. He heard the soft chimes once again and looked over to the sound's direction, just to see Yukhei hold up a white item.

"Dude, you will never believe what I just got," he said walking towards the Thai boy.

Ten straightened his posture against the diner's wall and smiled. "Let me guess...a napkin?" A soft punch to the arm was sent flying his way.

"No! Mark's phone number, duh." Ten rolled his eyes, not believing the younger. "Hey, I seriously am not kiddin', take a look for yourself."

Ten was handed the napkin Yukhei had in his hand and opened it up to see Mark's name and numbers beside it. "Wow, our little boy is growing up." Ten faked a sniffle and wiped the dry skin underneath his eye. "I am so proud of you." The boy placed a hand on the taller one's shoulder, but he shrugged it off in a playful matter while taking back the napkin from Ten's hand.

"Come on, I just wanna swing!" Yukhei whined. Ten nodded, agreeing with the younger.

_

No longer standing in front of the diner, shoes crunching leaves underneath them, the two boys decided to return to the park after having a nice breakfast meal. The wind blew through their now tousled hair, one even sniffling because of the slightly colder weather. Ten and Yukhei chattered their way to the swingsets and placed themselves onto the thigh-squeezing, somewhat uncomfortable, rubber swings.

This was their hideaway, even though it was very public. It held so many memories for both of them. The wind calmed down into a small breeze and the two enjoyed mother nature's noises for a moment.

"My...other...dad, he came home yesterday," were the words that pierced through their comfortable silence. Ten didn't even need to open his eyes to know Yukhei's were wide open.

"What happened? Did he hurt you again?" Yukhei's worried voice spoke. The older slowly opened his eyes to meet his friend's. He feels Yukhei's large hand on his thigh, tensing the muscles underneath from the unexpected touch as he smiles at Yukhei, whos face scrunched up out of confusion.

"You know the boy, Taeyong. The one I talk about often?" Yukhei nodded as a reply. "Well, he saved me from him." Yukhei's eyes, once again, were enlarged at the statement. Yukhei was stunned. Ten expected that reaction, the younger always gave him a show.

"So you are saying, this Taeyong guy saved you from that monster?! But, how though." 

Ten took his sweet time explaining exactly what happened from the conversations exchanged, to the littlest details as he started to slowly swing, Yukhei's hand now off his thigh.

"It's like Taeyong was an angel sent to me."

The raven-haired boy looked over at his friend and could tell he was in deep thought. Normally, Ten could frequently read his expressions and understand the thoughts going through Yukhei's mind, yet this time he was dumbfounded at the fact he couldn't this one time. He slowed down his swinging since he picked up the pace while talking to Yukhei and asked, "Won Yukhei, what are you thinking?"

The younger's eyes slowly raised to look straight back at Ten's.

"I think you have feelings for Taeyong."