pairing: BaekLay
length: 2339 words

“Look, look, Baekhyun! We can see the entire park from up here!” Yixing excitedly pointed out as he peered through the gondola window of the Ferris wheel they were currently riding. “Oh man, this must look beautiful at nighttime with all of the lights.”

“If there’s time, let’s come back and see the view once it’s dark!” Baekhyun suggested as he stood next to his boyfriend and gazed out the window as well.

To celebrate their third anniversary, the young couple had come to an amusement park for a fun-filled day after months of non-stop work. They hadn’t had a proper full-day date in a while, but Baekhyun had made sure to clear both of their schedules in light of the upcoming anniversary and then surprised his boyfriend with the amusement park tickets the week before.

Being here together while riding the Ferris wheel set Baekhyun’s heart at ease when he noticed how bright Yixing was today. Both of their work schedules had been particularly grueling this past year, and the Chinese male would usually come home with dark circles under his eyes while Baekhyun would shuffle around with languidness in his gait. A day of pure relaxation and entertainment had been long overdue for them, so he was going to enjoy every bit of this celebratory day with the most important person in his life.

Once their gondola touched down the exit station of the Ferris wheel, Baekhyun and Yixing wandered around for a bit as they decided where to go next.

“Ooh, let’s ride this!” The Korean male pointed at an illustration of a roller coaster on the map they were holding together.

Yixing’s face immediately paled upon reading the short description under the illustration. “Baek, you do realize that this is the most extreme ride at the park, right?”

“That’s why it’ll be fun!” Baekhyun cheerfully replied as his pointed finger quickly traced the route from their current location to the roller coaster. “C’mon, I promise it won’t be as scary as you think it is. And I’ll be sitting next to you the entire time, so you can hold onto me if things get too intense for you.”

The Chinese male grudgingly agreed, unable to resist Baekhyun’s wheedling tone, and the couple set off find the ride.

It was easy to spot with the long line snaking in front of the entrance. Baekhyun kept his arm securely wrapped around Yixing’s waist and regaled him with dozens of tales of workplace mishaps to keep his boyfriend distracted from the screams of riders overhead. Half an hour later, as they climbed into the roller coaster car to begin the ride, the Chinese male was more relaxed than he had been at the start, which Baekhyun considered a massive success.

And as the roller coaster train cranked up the hill, Baekhyun tightly squeezed Yixing’s hand in comfort while leaning over to place a quick peck on the Chinese male’s cheek. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Yixing murmured, screwing his eyes shut.

And with a loud whoosh, the roller coaster train took off and the younger male threw his free arm up in the arm, enthusiastically screaming like there was no tomorrow. Meanwhile, Yixing’s hand clenched Baekhyun’s, as if the Chinese male were holding on to dear life, his fingernails digging crescents into the back of Baekhyun’s hand. Every time there was a sharp turn or a loop-de-loop, Yixing’s terrified screams joined the cacophony of the other riders’ enthused shrieks and Baekhyun’s loud whoops.

In just a few minutes, the roller coaster train came to a stop and Yixing hesitantly cracked open his eyes as Baekhyun carefully let him out of the passenger car. The Chinese male’s legs wobbled as he followed his boyfriend to the ride exit and back to the main walkway of the park. “Oh god, I—I need to… I need to sit down,” Yixing choked out as he clutched Baekhyun’s arm in an attempt to steady himself.

“Was it that bad?” the younger male laughed as he gently guided his wobbly boyfriend to an empty bench he had spotted nearby.

“I don’t know how I let you talk me into riding that monstrosity,” Yixing groaned as he closed his eyes and slumped against his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Obviously because you love me, don’t you?” Baekhyun cheekily answered as he tenderly the Chinese male’s jet-black hair. “Besides, it was fun, right?”

“Speak for yourself,” the Chinese male mumbled against the fabric of Baekhyun’s shirt.

The younger male laughed again before saying, “At least I didn’t ask you to go bungee jumping or sky diving like some other couples do. Roller coasters are a piece of cake compared to those, right?”

“If I say yes, will you promise not to ever bring me bungee jumping or sky diving?”

Baekhyun chuckled and sent his boyfriend a two-finger salute. “On my honor!”

They then sat in companionable silence to allow the fog in Yixing’s mind to dissipate and Baekhyun sighed in contentment as he gazed down at his handsome boyfriend.

What a catch.

Baekhyun still didn’t know how he had been lucky enough to capture the attention of such a kind, smart, hard-working, and incredibly good-looking man like Zhang Yixing. But he wasn’t going to complain and push his luck.

When Yixing stirred slightly, the younger male softly asked, “Wanna get something to eat? My treat.”

“Yes, please.”

They stood up from the bench, hand-in-hand, and ambled around the amusement park in search of sustenance. There were several food stations near the boardwalk and Yixing eagerly pulled his boyfriend towards an ice cream shop, citing a need to satisfy his sweet tooth. Minutes, the couple walked out with two large cones of chocolate vanilla swirl.

“Thank god we didn’t eat this before the roller coaster,” Yixing commented, mumbling slightly since his mouth was full of ice cream. “I would’ve thrown it all up afterwards.”

“Yeah, good thing we avoided that disaster,” Baekhyun agreed with a giggle. “Anyway, what d’you wanna do next?” he asked in between bites of his ice cream cone.

“Hm…” The Chinese male looked around and then shrugged. “Let’s keep walking around until we find something.”

“Sure,” Baekhyun agreed. “That gives us time to finish our ice cream too, since I don’t think we can eat on any of the rides.”

The couple continued their leisurely walk around the amusement park, munching on the delicious chocolate vanilla swirl and reminiscing the early days of their relationship after Baekhyun had first confessed to the older male under a giant tree.

Until Yixing suddenly stopped in his tracks and tugged Baekhyun’s shirt sleeve, causing him to look at his boyfriend in confusion. “Let’s ride that!” the Chinese male exclaimed, pointing to a giant merry-go-round in the middle of the plaza.

“Isn’t that more for kids?” Baekhyun lightly teased.

“Hush, I rode that terrible roller coaster for you. This is the least you can do to make it up to me,” Yixing said as he pulled the Korean male to the back of the line.

“The ice cream isn’t enough?” Baekhyun asked as he popped the remaining bit of his waffle cone into his mouth.

“Nope,” the older male answered before turning his gaze to watch the attraction in action. “I used to ride merry-go-rounds a bunch when I was a kid. Every time we went to an amusement park or a carnival that had one, I begged my parents to let me ride it. I don’t know why, but they’re just really calming, for some reason.”

Seeing how much his boyfriend’s eyes sparkled when recounting fond childhood memories, Baekhyun couldn’t resist slightly pinching Yixing’s cheek and saying, “You’re absolutely adorable, you know.”

The Chinese male preened at the compliment and then planted a quick kiss on Baekhyun’s thin lips as a thank you.

By the time they reached the front of the line, the sun had begun to dip down in the sky and various sections of the amusement park began lighting up. The merry-go-round, in its grand Victorian styling, was bathed in soft white light and Yixing sighed happily at the beautiful scene.

“Let’s go! We need to claim the best horses before they get taken!” the Chinese male urged as he pulled Baekhyun onto the platform.

They soon found a pair of pure white stallions with matching red jeweled saddles, stationed one in front of the other. Yixing hopped up on the horse that was slightly ahead, so Baekhyun made himself comfortable on the horse behind his boyfriend. One minute later, the ride started up again and Yixing cheered when their steeds began to move.

As the merry-go-round traveled in circles, Baekhyun wished he could capture this moment in a bottle and save it forever. With the lights twinkling above and all around them, as their horses rose and dipped with the cheery tune that played in the background, it was like a scene from a fairytale.

And Yixing perfectly embodied the image of a fairytale prince as he sat straight and tall on his horse, looking back at Baekhyun with a beaming smile that set the younger male’s heart aflame with more love than he knew what to do with.

The ride came to an end all too soon and Yixing was about to ask if they could ride it again when he noticed how long the line had gotten. Now that evening had fallen, more and more people wanted the same romantic experience in the beautifully lit merry-go-round.

Baekhyun saw his boyfriend’s expression slightly fall, so he quickly grabbed Yixing’s hand and then shook open the park map with his free hand. “Let’s go back to Main Street.”

“What for? We’re not leaving now, are we?” Yixing questioned with a slightly pout. “We haven’t gone back to the Ferris wheel yet!”

“Of course we aren’t leaving yet, silly,” the younger male said with a laugh. “We need to find a good spot to watch the parade. It starts in fifteen minutes and if we don’t hurry, we won’t be able to see anything.”

Yixing’s face immediately brightened and the bounce in his step returned, causing Baekhyun’s grin to widen.

When they arrived at Main Street, there were already crowds of people lined along both sides of the sidewalk. The couple had to go farther down the street for several minutes before they were able to spot a place near the front that could fit them both. Baekhyun and Yixing tightly clutched hands as they squeezed in between the crowd and made their way to the opening near the front, exhaling loudly once there was room to breathe.

“Before the parade starts, I just want to say that I’ve really enjoyed today and I’m really happy we were able to come here together,” Yixing said as he leaned against Baekhyun again. “I’ve been really stressed out from work, but I honestly forgot how exhausted I was because I’ve been having so much fun today.”

“The same goes for me,” the Korean male replied, heart glowing from the unprompted feedback. “Shall we make a promise?”

“Depends on what the promise is,” Yixing said with a laugh.

Baekhyun lightly swung their intertwined hands between them as he answered, “Let’s promise to make more time for us, in spite of how much work we have. We need the breaks and I miss spending time like this with you.”

The Chinese male nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Even though work is important, I don’t want it to take over our lives to the point where it comes between us.”

“Exactly.” Baekhyun then maneuvered their hands so that only their pinky fingers were linked. “No matter how busy we get, we’ll always set aside time for each other and keep each other grounded.”

“We’re a team and we’ll always support each other when the other person needs it,” Yixing continued.

Baekhyun leaned over and sealed the promise with a deep kiss, leaving them breathless when they finally parted.

An announcement blared soon after, stating that the parade was about to begin. The couple wiggled in excitement and craned their necks so as not to miss even a single second of the show.

And they weren’t disappointed in the slightest when the parade began with a bang as a marching band emerged. The band members’ uniforms were all decorated in lights that shimmered and blinked in time with the music. Dance troupes followed behind, rhythmically waving glow-in-the-dark sticks and rings. Some of them even tossed their props into the audience for lucky park-goers to take home as souvenirs.

As the colorful parade marched through, Baekhyun laughed out loud and pointed at one of the newly arrived performers. “That looks like you!”

It was a cute sheep mascot who was waving to the crowd and tossing white flowers into the air.

Yixing playfully pushed Baekhyun before scouring line-up and then gleefully pointing at another performer. “And that one is you!”

It was a flying squirrel mascot who was zooming around his fellow woodland animal mascots and flapping his wing-like appendages.

They then began trying to match the other mascots with their friends until that section of the parade moved out of sight. Afterwards, dozens of acrobatic groups came into view and boldly performed various stunts that had the audience gaping in awe. And the rear of the parade was brought up by several giant floats, completely decked out in lights and torches.

It was truly a sight to behold, but for Baekhyun, nothing was more satisfying to see than Zhang Yixing standing right next to him.

This was everything he could ever want and more.

“Happy anniversary, Yixing,” Baekhyun said with the brightest of smiles, pulling his boyfriend even closer. “I love you.”

“Happy anniversary, Baekhyun,” Yixing returned, his dimple in his right cheek deepening as he grinned back at his boyfriend. “I love you too.”

And as booming fireworks danced around the night sky in dazzling colors, the young couple shared the sweetest of kisses on this very special day.

♈♈♈