AN:

I'm going to put a warning, maybe even a trigger warning for some.

Warning: slight Homophobia(small segment)

Suho took a deep breath as he allowed the words to flow to one ear and out the other.

“Is there a legitimate reason you need money, Luhan-hyung?” Suho asked the honey blonde teen.

“Yes! I wanna treat Hunnie, and I’m short on cash. I swear I’ll pay you back, Suho!” Luhan was practically on his knees as he begged shamelessly to Suho in the middle of the student council room during lunch. Suho looked around and noticed that his friend had attracted too much attention for his liking. He let a sigh fly passed his lips before he turned his eyes back to Luhan.

“Ask Kris-hyung. Tell him that I’ll pay him back in full twice over in two weeks.” Suho said. Luhan gave a wide smile, his eyes sparkled in victory.

“Thanks, Suho! You the best!” Luhan cheered as he hugged a reluctant Suho. He walked, more like skipped, joyfully out of the room. Suho ran a hand through his hair before looking up to the rest of the council members.

“Get back to work. You are here because you’re behind deadline.” Suho demanded, his authoritative aura finally pulling through.

“Suho-hyung, you’re really becoming a softy.” He heard the vice president, Kyungsoo, nag.

“Ignore him. I’m just curious though. You usually give your money out to whoever no matter the reason. Why so reluctant now?” The secretary, Minseok, asked.

“My dad said that I don’t know how to control my spending, and I thought otherwise. He said that if I can keep my spending to under 45,000 within two months, he’ll leave my account alone.” Suho explained.

“How many weeks and how much money left?” Xiumin asked

“Two weeks and 20,000 won.” Suho said simply as he continued to work. Xiumin looked at him incredulously.

“Jesus Suho. You won’t make it.” Kyungsoo said exasperatedly. Whatever retort Suho was about to make left his head when the door opened to reveal an angel.

“Is Suho here?” The Chinese male asked a passing council member. Suho turned back to his work so as not to get caught staring.

“Suho! Hi!” Lay greeted a presumably busy Suho.

“Hey! Wha-What’s up, Lay?” Suho greeted, cursing internally for stuttering.

“I wanted to see if we could work on that project today?” Lay asked.

“Yeah, sure. We can do it after-”

“Oh, shoot! I forgot that you have student council, and I have dance.” Lay interrupted, slapping a hand to his forehead. Some council members gave the forgetful male a judging glance but turned away at Suho’s warning glare.

“It’s fine. We can work on it after both our clubs. I know a nice café nearby that has good Wi-Fi.” Suho said. Lay hummed in agreement, nodding his head.

“Okay. I’ll wait for you outside the council. See you later!” Lay said cheerfully before walking out of the council room. Once way closed the door, Suho broke into a smile and continued his work.

“He looks like an idiot. Should I tell him that it’s not a date?” Kyungsoo whispered to Xiumin.

“Nah, just let him be happy.” Xiumin whispered back.

After Suho’s council meeting after school, which ended earlier than usual, he stepped outside of the room only to bump into someone.

“Oh! Suho, sorry about that. Done early?” Lay asked with a dimpled smile. Suho’s cheeks had a hint of red at the sight of the dimples.

“Yeah. Ready to go?” Suho asked. Lay smiles brightly as he nods his head in confirmation.

Once they arrived at the café, Suho opened the door for Lay, who smiled gratefully at him, and led him to the lounge in the back area. There were nice, comfortable chairs and enough room for them to set their supplies down. After having discussed the project, they finally decided on their topic and thought it best to split the research. Lay looked through textbooks while Suho scoured the internet. As they worked, Suho would take glances at Lay whose brows were furrowed in concentration.

‘He’s like that in dance too.’ Suho thought in adoration before he turned back to his laptop unaware to the fact that Lay was taking glances at him too. After a while, Lay and Suho got up to stretch. Just as Lay was about to ask Suho a question, he heard a scoff.

“I don’t wanna sit around a bunch of faggots.” Lay heard someone say.

‘He’s ing everywhere. I get that I’m openly gay and he doesn’t approve, but now he’s gonna drag Suho into this.’ Lay thought to himself as he pulled a frown.

“You here that, ! I don’t wanna get infected by you.” The douche said with malice. Lay’s frown deepened, the dislike for the douche becoming obvious. Suho watched Lay’s facial reaction throughout the whole thing, not liking the way the douche could easily say such hateful things. The waitress was about to confront the douche when Suho signaled her to stop and stepped in front of the douche.

“Yeah, I’m a ‘.’ Problem? You shouldn’t cause no ‘’ would go after some scrawny, ugly, fake- motherer like you. Now, I suggest you leave. You’re making Lay uncomfortable, and I will not tolerate another insult being thrown his way. He doesn’t deserve it because he’s beautiful both inside and out.” Suho gripped unto the man’s collar and glared menacingly at the douche as the words flowed easily out of his mouth. Lay, and pretty much all the onlookers, stared wide-eyed.

‘He defended me? He thinks I’m beautiful? He’s gay too?’ Lay’s mind was flooded with questions.

‘Does this mean he likes me back?’ Lay thought as a tear of happiness slips down his cheek. When Suho turned to check on Lay, he found the male spacing with tears on his cheeks. Suho immediately rushed to give Lay a hug, rubbing the dancer’s back gingerly.

“You okay?” Suho asked. Lay immediately tucked his head into the crook of Suho’s neck.

“Want something to eat? Drink? We’ve been at it for a while, and you look like you need some comfort food right now.” Suho suggested, concern evident in his voice. Lay took a while to answer, but Suho was patient with the male. After some time, Lay looked to Suho, tear-free, before giving a smile and nodding. Suho led Lay to the display counter and allowed him to point out a drink and dessert of his choosing before choosing his own. As Lay was about to reach into his wallet for cash, Suho pulled out his debit card and paid for the both of them.

“Su-Suho. I was gonna pay.” Lay blurted out when the cashier gave Suho his card back.

“No, no, it’s my treat.” Suho said with a gentle smile, which caused Lay to look away to hide his blush. Suho went back to the lounge with Lay to wrap up their research and clean up after the cashier said that they would serve it to them. When the food arrived, they dug in and had small chat every once in a while, laughing at something that the other would say. When they were finished, they left the café together. Suho offered to walk Lay home, which he immediately accepted. As they walked down the dimly lit streets, only they could tell that they were brushing hands often, sneaking glances at each other. They talked every once in a while, but not often making. The silence was rather comfortable. When they arrived at Lay’s house, Suho turned to leave but was stopped by a pair of arms.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate you.” Lay said, voice barely above a whisper. Suho placed a hand on one of Lay’s and gave it a gentle squeeze before turning to smile at the male.

“No need to thank me. You deserve a lot more than you think.” Suho said. He reluctantly released Lay’s hand and bid him goodnight before leaving.

‘I’ll tell him one day.’ Lay thought as he watched Suho walk into the night. As Suho was walking, he thought about his study “date” with Lay. They did not talk much, but he got to see the serious side and the fragile side of Lay. He loves both side. No, he loves every side of Lay. The ones he knows and the ones he hopes to discover in the future. As today’s events replayed in his head, he suddenly stopped and sunk to his hands and knees on the middle of the sidewalk.

“I only have 3,000 won left.” He squeaked.

. . .

. . .

. . .

‘Money well spent.’ He thought with a smile.

AN:

Jeez! This took me a while. This was also longer than last story's! T-T

From now on, I will update two to three times a week. Maybe even four if I ever get a break.

Up next is "Come here. Let me fix it." featuring Chenmin. This might be out tomorrow or the day after. We'll see.

Catch ya later!

~V