pairing: ChenLay
length: 935 words

“Shouldn’t we find another place to watch fireworks?” Yixing balked upon seeing the hundreds of people already bunched together, eagerly waiting for tonight’s event to officially begin.

However, there was a determined look on Jongdae’s face as he surveyed the packed crowd ahead, trying to map out a viable path within the non-existent empty space between all of the other spectators. “The reason this place is jam-packed is because the fireworks show here is the best one in town!” he reminded his best friend. “Besides, we already turned in our tickets. We can’t turn back now!”

“Will it even be worth if it we can’t actually see anything or enjoy the show with so many other people around?”

“Of course! They can’t have overbooked the stadium, so there’ll definitely be space for us somewhere,” Jongdae assured him. The shorter male’s phone suddenly buzzed and his eyes instantly lit up as he read the new message. “Minseok says he and Lu Han have a great view in the middle, and they’ve saved space for us! See, nothing to worry about!”

“Did he mention where they are?” Yixing asked.

“Gimme a sec,” Jongdae said, fingers flying over his screen as he typed back a response. Moments later, he reported, “He said they’re next to a blue pole with silver streamers hanging from the top. See it anywhere?”

“You mean that one?” The taller male’s face paled noticeably as he pointed at the far-off pole. There was a sea of people in between them and their destination, ever-flowing as people relentlessly jammed past others to find their ilk.

Jongdae also quickly swept his gaze around the area before nodding. “That’s the only one I see, so that must be it.” Noticing how his best friend was digging his heels into the ground, as if trying to find something to anchor him, Jongdae firmly grabbed Yixing’s hand and pulled him close. “C’mon, it’ll be worth it. I promise. Just don’t let go, okay?”

Yixing gulped loudly, tightening his hold on his best friend’s hand, before allowing Jongdae to lead him into the fray.

Elbows and legs jostled them roughly as they tried to navigate through the crowd. Shouts and screams assaulted their ears as they ducked and turned away from more aggressive, excited passerby. High-pitched shrills of laughter surrounded them as young children zoomed past without a care in the world, causing the pair to halt in their tracks to avoid trampling the tiny humans.

Every so often, whenever they paused in place as they waited for the flow of traffic to shift enough to create a space for them to slip through, Jongdae gently squeezed Yixing’s hand in reassurance. “You doing okay?” he murmured in a low voice as he briefly glanced over at his best friend.

“Yeah,” Yixing answered with a thin smile. “How close are we to the others?”

“Not much longer, I think.” Jongdae looked up and locked his eyes on their beacon, seeing that it was beginning to tower over them the closer they got. “Just keep holding my hand, okay? As long as we’re together, we won’t get lost.”

The taller male took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before repositioning his hand so that their fingers were now interlocked. “You’d better not let go either. I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life if I get stampeded to death here.”

“You’re such a drama queen,” Jongdae playfully sniped as he carefully led his best friend in between two tall men dressed in suits. “We’ll get there soon. Trust me!”

Yixing only tightened his hold on his best friend’s hand, focusing on its comforting warmth as he tried to screen out the cacophony from their surroundings.

Just as he felt his chest about to burst from all of the accumulated stress, Minseok and Lu Han came into view, their two friends waving their hands wildly to catch Jongdae and Yixing’s attention.

“We made it!” Jongdae flopped onto the giant picnic blanket, automatically pulling Yixing down next to him since their hands were still glued together. The two of them ended up tangled in a heap, to Minseok and Lu Han’s amusement.

“You make it sound like it was some kind of Herculean journey to get to us,” Minseok joked as he scooted to the side to make room for the two newcomers. “The crowd wasn’t that bad, is it?”

“You have no idea,” Yixing groaned as he leaned against Jongdae, resting his hand against his best friend’s shoulder. “I never wanna go through that ever again in my entire life. I’d rather take the financial loss of throwing away my ticket than suffer through that a second time.”

“Ignore him, guys,” Jongdae said with a laugh as he reached over with his free hand to ruffle the taller male’s hair. “He’s just cranky since he didn’t have his afternoon nap.”

“I’ll have you know that naps are great for your health,” Yixing easily shot back. “Your memory, mood, and stress levels all improve drastically, which you could definitely benefit from.”

Jongdae immediately fired back, causing the two of them to bicker up a storm, with Minseok and Lu Han jumping in every now and then to continue fanning the flames.

“Okay, shut up, you goofs,” Lu Han suddenly interrupted as the stadium intercom crackled to life. “The show is about to start!”

As they all settled down, keeping their eyes trained on the pitch-black sky overhead, Jongdae and Yixing twined their still interlocked fingers just a smidge tighter. After all, there was no need to let go of each other just yet.

♈♈♈