Jongdae frequented his local grocery store every Sunday, purchasing what was needed for he and his mother to stay well-fed throughout the week. Over time, he had become well acquainted with the personnel, knowing the majority of them by name. They weren’t close enough to be called friends, but Jongdae was closest with a boy named Chanyeol. The lanky male would typically checkout his items, sometimes going as far as to help Jongdae haul his bags to his car. Small talk and awkward smiles were the most that the two shared between each other, but Jongdae still felt pretty comfortable in his presence. He’d been tempted a few times to ask Chanyeol to hang out with him, but he could tell that he made the male nervous. While Chanyeol’s height and voice was probably enough to intimidate someone if he wanted to, he almost seemed scared of the shorter male. Like he was constantly looking for his approval every time the two of them spoke.

    Chanyeol would avoid eye contact as much as possible and always seemed to be wearing a faint blush and a nervous smile. His large frame would timidly shrink in on itself as if wanting to become smaller. Jongdae had even told Chanyeol to stop being so tense around him, but that didn’t seem to help. The male would only apologize and continue to behave the same way. Jongdae was beginning to suspect that the male had some form of social anxiety, but he felt that it would be far too personally to ask about it.

    Lately, it had been too cold to walk to the store, but today had been particularly warm, so Jongdae took it upon himself to enjoy the weather. When he had arrived, Jongdae dug into his pocket to pull out a grocery list. Not too much was written down. He’d been over at his friend’s house a lot for the past few days, so he hadn’t eaten too much at home. That helped to make the list shorter. All he needed to grab was a gallon of milk, rice, and a carton of eggs.

    As he made his way down the dairy aisle, Jongdae whistled to himself, scanning the rows for the milk section. Once he arrived, the male pulled open the doors, shivering slightly at the frosty air that escaped. Unable to escape his inner child, Jongdae drew a face in the fog on the class. Smiling proudly at his masterpiece, he then grabbed a gallon and kicked the door shut, the resulting noise being a bit louder than he had expected. Well, apparently it hadn’t been his kicking that caused the sound, because seconds later he heard someone cursing loudly over in the contiguous aisle. Curious, Jongdae tiptoed over to the end of his own aisle and poked his head over to see what had happened. Unfortunately, his eyes caught onto the sight of Chanyeol desperately collecting a plethora of coffee beans which appeared to have fallen out of a rip in the bag he had crumpled up in his fist.

    Jongdae stepped forward to help, but halted when he spotted an irate manager stomping towards Chanyeol from the other side. Worried, Jongdae stayed put, but hid behind the rack so as not to be seen. “CHANYEOL!” The owner of the name flinched and whipped his head in the direction of the manager, a panicked expression on his face. Realizing he was in trouble, the male rose to his feet, his lower lip caught in between his teeth as he gazed down at the floor. “Again?!” Chanyeol’s body tensed and Jongdae nervously gripped onto the handle of his milk, feeling his palms beginning to perspire. “How can you be this stupid? First, you run into a customer, then you break a cash register, and now you’re spilling all over the floor?! Do you want to get fired?! God, I swear you have to be trying here. Are you that much of an idiot?!” While the manager rambled on, Jongdae could see Chanyeol’s lip quivering and wetness began to gather in the corners of the taller male’s eyes. . Should he do something? It really wasn’t any of his business, but Jongdae couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

“Are you crying?” The manager questioned in an exasperated tone, ducking his head down a bit to try and meet Chanyeol’s eyes. “N-No…” Chanyeol sniffled and turned his face away, trying his hardest not to let the tears fall. “Oh my god,” the manager groaned, then let out an irritated sigh, “Stop being such a baby! How old are you?! Eight?!” “I’m nineteen, sir…” Chanyeol mumbled, reaching his hand up to quickly dry his cheeks. “Then start acting like it, will you? Clean this up. It’s coming out of your paycheck. If something like this happens again, you’re done. Got it?” “Yes, sir..” Chanyeol nodded and dropped down to his knees, starting to pick up the coffee beans while his manager walked away. Once he was out of sight, Chanyeol once again wiped away his tears and sniffed, feeling as if he would rather be anywhere else. Deeming it safe to make an appearance, Jongdae began to walk forward, biting his lip. Chanyeol lifted his head at the sound, then instantly froze when his eyes met with Jongdae’s. A dark blush spread over his cheeks and he looked down at his hands before glancing back up to the other male. “Please tell me you didn’t see that…” Jongdae offered him a weak smile and knelt down beside him, placing a comforting hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Said man groaned and closed his eyes, looking like he was going to cry once again.

Jongdae brushed the male’s bangs off of his forehead, and gently wiped away a forgotten tear with his thumb. “It’s okay,” he assured him in the friendliest voice he could muster, “That guy was being a jerk…” “No, he’s right… I’m stupid…” Chanyeol shook his head and continued with his cleaning, chewing anxiously on the skin of his lip. “No you’re not. You’re just having a bad day,” Jongdae rubbed the other man’s back and then turned him so that they were both facing each other, “Do you need a hug?” Chanyeol nodded and opened up his arms, encasing Jongdae in a snug embrace when the male decided to lean forward. After a good twenty seconds passed, Jongdae pulled away and smiled brightly at the other man, “Come on, I’ll help you clean up… When does your shift end?” Chanyeol’s lips spread into a soft smile and he glanced down at his watch, squinting slightly so that his eyes could focus. “Not for another thirty minutes, why?” “Well, I’m going to finish getting what I need and then I’m going to take you out to lunch.” Chanyeol’s cheeks once again turned pink and he gaped at the other man, “You mean, like a date?” Jongdae raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, “No… Why? Were you expecting it to be one?” “N-No! No, I was just… I mean-” “Relax,” Jongdae giggled and ruffled the other boy’s hair. “I don’t mind if you want it to be a date. I mean, I didn’t originally intend it to be one, but it sounds fun to me. Besides…” He looked Chanyeol up and down, grinning when he met his eyes, “You’re pretty cute~” “You think I’m cute?” The other male’s chest puffed up in pride and his lips parted into a goofy smile. “Of course,” Jongdae kissed Chanyeol on the cheek and stood up, “Meet me by the front doors when your shift is over, okay?” With that, Jongdae walked away to grab his eggs, leaving a happy Chanyeol excitedly collecting coffee beans on the floor.

Please don't judge me, I haven't written in a long time (>.< ) This is just a lil' drabble I did. I might add more later if anyone wants to read more, but for now this is just going to be it! Feedback is appreciated, thank you for reading my story!

Look at theses cuties omg.