Halfway to nowhere, Ryeowook tugged Kyuhyun to a halt, breaths coming out unevenly from all of the abrupt activity. In the brisk February air, his jacket was flapping open and his chest was freezing just because of their rushed escape.

Anyone could tell it was an awkward atmosphere but to so blatantly run out was a bit excessive. Kyuhyun took the two ends of Ryeowook’s jacket, hooking it and zipping it up for him. The whole process was so natural he didn’t realize what was happening until later.

“About the kiss,” Kyuhyun mumbled, entwining their fingers, “sorry. I didn’t mean to attack you like that…I just—”

“—I know already,” Ryeowook interrupted, smiling first at the shock on Kyuhyun’s face and then at the slightly flustered expression that melted those normally tough features. “Think of today as me…returning all of the favors you’ve done over the years,” he added, leaning up to softly kiss the taller boy on the lips. A blush crept up Ryeowook’s face but he ignored it, saying, “It’s all an act today. So don’t feel bad, Kyu.”

“…as if I would feel bad about hurting that Stupid Bunny,” his voice cracked just enough to be noticeable. Absently, he brushed his fingertips across lips, studying the way Ryeowook was in turn observing him. “You’re really strong enough to do this for me?” Kyuhyun asked quietly, that devastatingly uncharacteristic desperation in his words.

Ryeowook nodded, pushing away his guilt and dropping himself into the role. “Let’s go do something then!” He pulled Kyuhyun by their linked hands, grinning happily. Glancing around the miniature town, Ryeowook spotted an antique looking shop. “Oh, oh I want to go there!”

Willingly, Kyuhyun followed his ‘lover’, smiling at the childish exuberance. It had been a long time since he had seen Ryeowook so giddy. There was something refreshing about it, yet nostalgic at the same time. Perhaps it was one of those rare past-meets-present moments people were always talking about.

Inside the store, they found a number of era-specific sets. Directly before them were specifically arranged barrels, guns, money sacks, and crates. The wall was pasted over with tan colored wallpaper, the design old and tasteless. On a curvy wooden stand were cowboy hats and beige leather vests.

Adjacent to the Old West set was a Victorian-style arrangement complete with intricate detailing and richly colored fabrics. From the front door you could see two or three more obscured, themed portions of the shop.

Ryeowook read the sign on the register table and his smile grew bigger. “This is a costume photo place,” he whisper-exclaimed, turning around to jump up and down, clinging to Kyuhyun’s jacket. Large, hopeful eyes stared up at him.

A very small, pained grimace broke Kyuhyun’s flat lined mouth. “You want to dress up?” he asked slowly.

“I’ve never done it before but wouldn’t it be fun to have pictures of us dressed up?”

Kyuhyun was about to argue that no, it would not be fun. In fact, it would be painfully embarrassing considering how much crap both of them – mainly Kyuhyun – would get for doing something so odd.

“Oh, are you two interested in taking pictures today?” a young woman inquired, coming up to them with a clipboard in hand. Ryeowook released Kyuhyun so he could get a clearer look at the worker. When their eyes met, formed an oval shape. “Oh my…you’re so cute!”

Kyuhyun made a face, putting a protective arm around the other boy.

The woman giggled, fanning her coloring face. “You’re very lucky to have such an adorable girlfriend,” she remarked, glancing at Kyuhyun.

“No…I’m not a girl,” Ryeowook stated, waving his hand and smiling uncertainly. “I’m a boy.”

“No way…,” the female employee breathed. Dread crept into Ryeowook, but that quickly vanished when even more excitement filled the woman’s eyes. She squealed very quietly and reached out, taking Ryeowook’s arm. “You’re the perfect uke!”

“Pardon me?” Ryeowook stammered, helplessly letting the woman take him away.  

Kyuhyun snatched his other arm, jerking him back. “Don’t touch people you don’t know,” he told her harshly.

Apparently she had no sense of offense as an even higher pitched squeal erupted from those firmly pressed together lips. “I can’t believe this! I can’t believe I found a real life seme anduke couple!”

This time it was Kyuhyun who staggered in shock. The woman took the chance to snatch Ryeowook away, leading him to a room a little ways to the right of the entryway. She pulled him inside and locked the door behind her before Kyuhyun could regain his wits.

Loud pounding quickly followed but she ignored it and turned her sights back on Ryeowook. “You want to take cute pictures with your man, right?” she smirked at the pink of the slender boy’s cheeks. “Of course you do! Now all we have to do is dress you up!”

On the other side of the door, Kyuhyun was still slamming his fist against the wooden frame, not yet shouting but he was on the verge of doing so.

“S-Stop!” Ryeowook’s voice came through the barrier. “Don’t do that! Stop it! What are you touching?!” he cried, followed by the sound of shifting fabric and then tearing.

Kyuhyun raised his leg, swinging backwards. Before he could make contact with it though, a strong hand clamped down on his ankle, tripping him up. “What the ?” he snapped, whirling around to see an attractive man staring down at him with annoyance.

“You break that door down and I’ll make you stay here until you fix it,” the stranger stated, glowering and throwing Kyuhyun’s leg back to the ground. “Why are you trying to destroy property?”

“I’m not.” He jabbed a finger at the locked door. “My boyfriend was taken in their by some crazy foreign woman.”

“Oh…you mean Ryosuke,” the man nodded understandingly, “by the way, he’s not a girl. He’s a guy.” Kyuhyun stared at him incredulously. A small shrug was offered for compensation and then the handsome male stuck his hand out, saying, “My name is Yamaa Tomohisa, just for future reference.”

Ryeowook glanced down at his tattered shirt. “You’re really strong for a girl…” Good thing that t-shirt’s really old.

She frowned, shaking her head slowly. “I’m a boy. Just like you,” the person pointed back and forth before smiling and offering his hand, “I’m Yamada Ryosuke.” Once Ryeowook shook it, he dropped his arm and leered at the half third year high school student. “More importantly, let’s get you changed~!”

“W-Wait!” Ryeowook gasped, clutching his shirt closed. Ryosuke frowned, waiting impatiently. “What were you talking about? The uke-seme thing,” he asked, eyes darting between the looming effeminate and the locked door.

Ryosuke grinned, “It’s a Japanese phrase to describe love between boys. Anyway, let’s get started already! He’s probably waiting for you.” And with that, he started roughly undressing the other boy.

***

“So…you like cosplay?” the Japanese man asked Kyuhyun. They were standing outside of the closed room, waiting for it to open already.

Kyuhyun crossed his arms, leaning back against a wooden support beam. “Hell no.”

“Your girlfriend likes cosplay?” Yamaa Tomohisa questioned.

“Boyfriend,” he corrected, “and I don’t know, maybe.”

The foreigner frowned, “You’re not very talkative are you?”

To that, Kyuhyun did not answer, simply turning his body so he was angled towards the door. Why was it taking so long for them to change – or do whatever they were doing? And what was that tearing sound earlier?

Just as Kyuhyun made a move to bang on the wooden barrier again, the lock clicked. He pushed off of the support beam, annoyance gushing out in livid waves. Lips parted in preparation for a torrent of yelling but then all of it stopped.

Layer upon delicate layer of white material and bountiful puffs of rose pink satin followed the subtle, slender curves of a breathtaking figure. Rich dark curls danced around a high cheek boned face, large eyes even wider as they turned up to gaze at Kyuhyun. A lace bonnet curved a path through the glossy locks, pink ribbon tying itself under a narrow chin.

“I thought you said you had a boyfriend,” Tomohisa spat, walking towards Ryeowook.

Kyuhyun snapped out of his daze, grabbing the cross-dressing boy by his wrist. “Don’t come near him,” he glared at the foreigner.

“I was the one who did it! Say thank you!” Ryosuke whined, hands clenching into fists.

Ryeowook pushed a stray hair out of his made-up eyes, “He forced me to!” he defended quickly, afraid that disgust would soon fill the other boy’s face. “I promise I didn’t want to do something so—”

“—it looks good…on you,” Kyuhyun interrupted, jaw tightening spastically, “I mean.” He awkwardly looked around, unsure if it was okay to gawk at Ryeowook. There was never an appropriate time to do something like that, right?

Crimson color washed over that feminine face. “R-Really?” he squeaked, suddenly feeling small. “Thank you…then, I guess?” Ryeowook glanced at a fuming Ryosuke and quickly added, “Thank you, Ryosuke! He likes it so everything is okay,” he sounded rather unsure though, biting down on his bottom lip.

“We have to dress up your handsome boy now too,” Tomohisa called, smirking at the death glare shot at him.

Ryosuke clapped his hands, smiling widely. “That’s right! Ah well then—” he froze when Kyuhyun directed the cold glower at him. “Uh…you can change by yourself.”

“You’re going to dress up, right Kyu?” Ryeowook asked happily, batting his eyelashes innocently.

A blush dusted itself across Kyuhyun’s cheeks, “Yeah, whatever.” He pushed away from the overly cute boy, grabbing the clothes Tomohisa offered, and striding into the dressing room.

Ryeowook looked at the Japanese shop owners. “Do you think he was lying about liking this?” he inquired, brows furrowing as he played with the hem of the frilly skirt.

They stifled laughs, going over to pat the young boy’s shoulders and touch up his clothing and hair. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Ryosuke assured, exchanging a look with his associate.

Some minutes later, Kyuhyun emerged from the room looking like he just stepped out of a time machine. He adjusted the top hat perched upon his dark hair whilst his other hand toyed with the black and silver necktie draped down the front of his button down shirt. A handsome vest hugged his form, matching the long trousers surrounding his legs. “Good enough,” Kyuhyun muttered, glancing up to see the trio staring in awe at him.

“You’re so…manly, Kyu,” Ryeowook breathed, hurrying over to run his hands down the front of the formal attire. “How come I’m a girl?” he huffed, wondering how he would look with a nice suit and hat.

“Don’t ask,” the other boy murmured, “let’s just do this photo shoot already.” He turned to the employees and silently they directed them towards the Victorian-era set.

Tomohisa got behind a camera perched upon a tripod. “Alright, tell me when you’re ready,” he drawled, bored now that all of the costuming fun was over.

On the other hand, Ryosuke was fussing with the younger boys, positioning them on a large throne. He sat Kyuhyun down first and then pushed Ryeowook into his lap. “Drape your legs over the arm rest,” the Japanese man directed, watching as his words were hesitantly followed. “Put your arms around his neck and then tilt your head towards the camera.”

Kyuhyun wrapped his arms around the small waist pressing against his body, deciding that was the only place he could touch without making the picture look weird.

“Oh good, that’s perfect!” Ryosuke commended, flashing Kyuhyun a thumbs-up sign before going back to barking orders at Ryeowook. “No, no, be more natural. You can lean into him too. You guys are lovers right? Why are you being so awkward?”

“Yeah, stop being awkward,” Kyuhyun teased, smirking at the irritated boy.

“Be quiet,” Ryeowook whispered back, “My skirt keeps riding up and my chest is too flat.”

“That’s the problem with boys in girls’ clothing,” he remarked, laughing softly at the offended expression on his ‘lover’s’ face. Kyuhyun shifted in the throne so they were more aligned and looking at one another. “Stop thinking about the picture,” the words were soft as their lips met with feather lightness, “just smile at me.”

Ryeowook nodded meekly, breaking into a smile as he fell into the other one’s endlessly deep eyes…

 “And that’s a wrap!” Tomohisa announced, clapping his hands to get the couple’s attention.

Kyuhyun took a sharp breath, pulling away from their intense staring contest. After another moment’s hesitation, he backed away, saying, “Great. I hate wearing these clothes.”

“Mm,” Ryeowook stumbled out of their embrace, catching himself before shuffling quickly to the changing room. The door shut behind him and he sank to the ground, covering his overly heated face. “…What am I doing…?”