Baekhyun hummed along to the music playing throughout the store as he filled up the stands with records. There were a couple of customers here and there, browsing what the small store had to offer - an old woman here, a hipster teen there.

His boss was in the back, doing something or other – Baekhyun had a sneaking suspicion that he may be napping, but he had a good gig there, and he wasn’t about to challenge his boss and lose that. Not that the guy was a or anything like that, if anything he was pretty laid back.

A customer coughed to gain his attention, waiting by the till with a stack of 45’s in her withered hands. Baekhyun shot her a smile before setting aside the box he was using to re-stock and making his way over to the counter.

“Good morning, Halmoni. How are you, today?” Baekhyun smiled as he began to ring her up.

The old woman smiled, “Oh not bad, weather’s been nice so I’ve been in the back garden quite a lot lately” he said with a toothy grin.

“Oh, now you’re just making me jealous” Baekhyun chuckled, “I suppose the only up-side to working all day is that I do get to listen to great music whilst I’m doing it” he put her records into a bag, “I love your choices by the way” he said, accepting the money from her and handing her some change in return, along with her purchases.

The old woman chuckled back, “Oh you’re too sweet to an old lady”

“But I don’t see any old ladies here” Baekhyun gasped, “I only see a beautiful young woman in front of me”

She reached out and gave him a pat on the cheek, “Such a charmer. You keep well, Baekhyunnie. Tell our Chanyeollie to pop in and see you more often. I’ll see you next week”

“I’ll be sure to” he reached up to pat the back of her hand gently, “See you next week, Halmoni” he said giving her a small wave as she left the store.

He rang up the teenager next, who only bought a Mallory Knox album and gave Baekhyun a small grunt of thanks before leaving him on his own in the front of the store.

Baekhyun liked working at the record shop, he’d learnt a lot of new things there, things about all the vinyl they sold, how to repair record players, maintenance. It was great and if he was to be honest, most things musical peaked Baekhyun’s interest, so when he’d landed this job, he had been pretty damn thrilled.

He moved back over to where he’d left the box of records to continue stocking up.

He’d just put out the last one and cut down the box for recycling when the bell above the door jingled, signifying a customer.

“Just a second” Baekhyun called out, as he dipped into the back to get rid of the box before coming out again with a smile, which turned into a grin when he saw Sehun waiting for him by the counter. “Well would you look what the cat dragged in” he teased.

Sehun snorted, “Oh shut up” he grinned back, watching as Baekhyun walked over to him before he pulled him into a hug, “I’m sorry I’ve not been by lately, I’ve been busy with this project my professor gave me for extra credit”

“Since when do you need extra credit?” Baekhyun asked, hopping up to sit on the counter top, “Our Sehunnie is top of his class”

Sehun shrugged, “I don’t know, it looks good on a CV, I guess and potential employers are impressed by this kind of thing. It’s only working in the office after college and stuff, just going through case files and putting them in order and keeping everything tidy, but it’s better than sitting around and doing nothing, I guess, plus I’m always looking for work experience” he added.

“In that case, how you fixed for a part time job here, kid?”

Baekhyun and Sehun looked up to see Baekhyun’s boss standing in the doorway, watching the pair with an amused smile.

“I, uh… what?” Sehun asked dumbly.

The boss laughed, “Cut the , kid. You’re here half of the time anyway helping out. Figured you might want to get paid with it. I have a job going since one of my workers has moved away. So what do you say?” he asked.

Sehun nodded, a little taken aback, “I… Yeah, yeah that would be great! I, thank you, thanks man!”

“Yeah, yeah” the boss laughed again, “You start on Wednesday. Baekhyun, give him Yunho’s old timetable, alright?”

Baekhyun blinked, “Yunho left?” he asked.

“Mm, yesterday” Boss nodded, “Must have forgotten to tell you”

“You think?” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “I take it I’m gonna have to give Sehun his induction?”

“I already know the ins and outs though, who are we kidding?” Sehun grinned, “Ha! I have a paying job!”

The boss snorted before returning to the back to continue his nap, leaving Baekhyun and Sehun on their own again.

“So, hyung, how are things with Chanyeol?” Sehun wiggled his brows at Baekhyun suggestively.

Baekhyun gave him a playful shove, “As if he doesn’t tell you every freaking detail of our personal lives. Please, Sehunnie, don’t try to take me for a mug. I know what you boys get up to when I’m not around”

“Hey! He doesn’t tell us everything” Sehun laughed, pushing Baekhyun back and almost tipping him off the counter, making him laugh more, “Come on, I wanna hear your side of things”

“Alright, alright” Baekhyun grinned, gripping onto Sehun’s shoulders just to be safe, “But if Chanyeol asks, you have to try and convince him I’m not stealing his best friends in return for my talking, deal?”

“You don’t even need to ask” Sehun beamed, “So… He’s always bragging about how good he is in bed, is it true, or am I allowed to relentlessly for the rest of his life?”

Baekhyun pretended to think about it for a moment, “I hate to disappoint you, but he’s actually pretty great. He’s got a good weapon and he knows how to use it”

“Okay, don’t remember asking about his junk, but thanks” Sehun scrunched his nose up in distaste.

Baekhyun grinned, “Shall I tell you all about it, Sehunnie? All the dirty details about how sometimes he really makes me beg for it before he lets me have it?”

“Stop! Oh my god stop, no more! I can’t do it” Sehun pulled back, shielding his ears with his hands. “Ew, god. Just ew”

Baekhyun snickered, “You asked!” he defended, “Besides, you said Yeol’s already told you all the dirty details”

“But it’s different when you say it… You’re so nice, and he’s…. well, him” Sehun shuddered, walking back over and standing between Baekhyun’s legs to give him a pointed look.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Sehun’s neck comfortably, “In that case, enough about me. Tell me how things are with you and Luhan”

Sehun sighed, “Things are… good. I’m happy with him” he smiled, “I… I still have days where I freak out about the whole thing, but for the most part, things are really good. He’s super understanding and really accepting of how much I struggle with this, so I’m happy. And I think he’s happy with me too… I hope so at least”

“He is, you can see it in the way he looks at you” Baekhyun smiled before a mischievous light came to his eyes, “That, and he literally never shuts up about you. Or how great you are. Or about how much you guys bone”

“He does not?!” Sehun choked, making Baekhyun cackle with laughter.

The door jingled again and both of them looked up to see Chanyeol.

“You little ” he said to Sehun by means of greeting, “You knew I was coming to see Baek here today”

Sehun smirked, “Not my fault I beat you to it and he loves me better than you” he shrugged.

“Not true” Chanyeol scoffed, moving over to them and shoving Sehun out of the way so that he could stand in front of Baekhyun and wrap him up in his arms. “Hey” he smiled, pressing a kiss to Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Hey” Baekhyun smiled back, “Ignore Sehunnie. He’s just trying to break us apart since he’s jealous of how much we’re into each other”

“As ing if” Sehun snorted, “Baek, where’s the brush? I’m gonna clean up whilst there’s nobody here”

“It’s in the back, just don’t wake up Heechul,” Baekhyun told him before turning back to Chanyeol, “So… What brings you into my neck of the woods?” he asked.

Chanyeol shrugged, “I missed you” he said, “I feel like I’ve not seen you in forever, and I can’t have you falling for Sehun whilst I’m away”

“I would never” Baekhyun said seriously, his hands coming up to play with Chanyeol’s ear, “I like you far too much to care about anyone else”

“Good, I’m glad” Chanyeol said, voice showing how pleased he was, “Are you free after work? I’ve finished work for the day, and my afternoon classes got cancelled”

Baekhyun’s face broke into a large grin, “Park Chanyeol, are you asking me out on a date?” he asked somewhat teasingly.

Chanyeol chuckled, “Something like that” he said, “It won’t be anything special, just dinner and then maybe we can head back to mine and watch a movie on my ty little T.V?”

“That,” Baekhyun said, “Sounds perfect. I get off in an hour. You can hang out until then if you want? Sehun will, no doubt. But then again, the kid helps out, so I’m kinda glad he comes in all the time. Cuts my work in half.”

“I can hear you, you know. I’m literally two feet away” Sehun piped up from where he was sweeping the floor by the block of records labelled “K-L”.

Baekhyun snickered easily, “Sorry, Sehunnie” he said, not sounding very sorry at all.

Sehun rolled his eyes, “Whatever, hyung. And by the way, we’re low on belts, so you might need to put in a new order. And Heechul told me to tell you ‘get your perky little off of his counter top.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?” Baekhyun wondered aloud, “I think I’m gonna take that as a compliment”

“Only you, hyung. Only you” Sehun snorted.

Chanyeol laughed at the pair of them before turning to grin at Baekhyun, “For the record, I think your perky little is perfection”

“I knew I liked you for a reason” Baekhyun grinned back.

--

Junmyeon was an idiot. That much was obvious, but it wasn’t an excuse and he knew that.

He hadn’t spoken to Yixing since the hospital incident, since Yixing hadn’t returned any of his calls or answered his texts. Not that he blamed him.

Which was why he was now marching up to the front step of Yixing’s apartment and pounding on the door.

He could hear footsteps leading up to the door before they came to an abrupt stop on the other side.

“Yixing,” Junmyeon tried, “I’m sorry. You have to know that I am so sorry for hesitating. I was scared, and I know it isn’t an excuse, but I’ve never… I’ve never introduced my parents to a partner before and I wanted when they met you to be perfect. I’m an idiot. A huge, huge idiot and I made a mistake. A mistake that I want to make right. I, uh, I told my mum about us. I mean… If… If there still is an us…” he trailed off.

Yixing’s voice came muffled through the door, “Should there be? I mean, you sounded pretty unsure back there”

Junmyeon sighed, “Please just let me in so that I can explain?” he pleaded.

“Fine,” Yixing said. Junmyeon waited as he heard Yixing unlocking the door.

What he was not expecting to see when Yixing came into view, however, was the sight of him looking like he had been beaten to a pulp.

“Christ, Yixing! What happened?!” Junmyeon gasped.

Yixing shrugged, “Doesn’t matter”

“My boyfriend looks like he just got jumped, so yes it bloody well matters!” Junmyeon freaked, reaching out to gently brush back Yixing’s hair from his face. “Xing, tell me who the I need to kill and it’s already done.”

Surprisingly, that elicited a laugh from Yixing, “I’m still really mad at you,” he said, “But I’ve really missed you.”

“You have every right to be mad at me” Junmyeon sighed, “I’ve missed you too, though. But what happened, Xing? I wasn’t kidding about killing someone,” he added pointedly.

Yixing shook his head before moving aside to let Junmyeon into the apartment.

He waited until they were both sat on the sofa before he spoke, “I got in a fight at the bar” he said, “Some guys came in looking for trouble and me and a couple of other guys from behind the bar had to get them out. But it kicked off and then one of them started swinging and well, this happened”

“Christ,” Junmyeon frowned, “Why didn’t you call me? Yixing… I… God, I am such a horrible boyfriend. , I am so sorry you had to deal with this.”

Yixing waited a moment before he spoke, “I’m sorry I haven’t called. I just needed some time to get my head on straight. I… When you called me your friend, I was so… hurt, but mostly I was scared of how much I’ve come to like you, I was scared because whenever I feel this strongly about someone it’s like they’re never quite on the same page. So I panicked and I had to think if this was definitely something I wanted and I knew that if I spoke to you… I’d cave. Because you have this really big influence on my life. But I’ve had time to… to think about all of this. And I… I want it. I’m still hurt about how you just brushed me off. But the fact that you’re here now just tells me that I’m making the right choice.” He let out a long sigh. “Promise me that I’ve made the right choice”

Junmyeon nodded, “That thing you told me not to say last week. The thing that you assumed I was only going to say because I wanted you not to walk away from me. It wasn’t just an argument tactic. I really feel that way about you. I promise you’re not making a bad decision. I promise” he insisted.

“Say it” Yixing breathed.

Junmyeon looked up in surprise, “Are you sure?” He asked.

Yixing nodded, “I’m sure. I just… Need you to say it”

“Zhang Yixing,” Junmyeon smiled softly, “I love you.”

Yixing’s eyes watered slightly, “I love you too. You crazy bastard”

“Can I kiss you now?” Junmyeon asked, equally as choked up.

Yixing wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, “Yeah. Please, yes. Just… Just be careful, I’m a little sore.”

“You still need to point out the little s that did this,” Junmyeon said seriously as he took Yixing’s face gently in his hands, “So that I can make sure that they get their comeuppance.”

Yixing rolled his eyes slightly, “Shut up and kiss me,” he whispered.

So Junmyeon did. Softly and careful not to irritate any of Yixing’s cuts and bruises.

And just like that, Junmyeon felt right again. They had only been apart for a week, but Junmyeon and Yixing both had felt like they had been missing something and finally it was returned.

There was that feeling, that feeling of knowing something was wrong, something didn’t feel right, but not knowing what it was.

Well now, Junmyeon knew that Yixing was that something. Not being able to talk to him, not being able to see him, to just… touch him. It was horrendous and to finally have him back in his arms, it was like he knew it was all going to be okay again.

Yixing pulled back after a short while and gave Junmyeon a teary smile, “ing hell, just… Don’t ever be stupid like that again, okay? Do you know how hard it was to not answer your calls?”

“I promise” Junmyeon laughed a shaky, watery laugh, “I can’t promise to be perfect, but I can promise that I will make sure not to ever intentionally hurt you. I’ll never make you feel like you did that day ever again. I swear to it. I’ll be the best boyfriend you could hope for”

Yixing shook his head though, running his thumb over Junmyeon’s cheek lovingly, “I don’t need you to be the best, Junmyeon. I just need you to be you. I need you to be honest with me and that means telling me these things before we’re thrown in at the deep end, okay? Just… Be real with me and this will be fine”

“Okay, okay I promise” Junmyeon nodded, “You just… You mean so damn much to me, you know? I don’t wanna this up. I wanna be in this for the long run, Xing”

Yixing nodded, “I know, me too. So let’s just… Let’s just put this behind us, alright? And you can re-introduce me to your mum over dinner next week” he laughed.

“About that… She actually left a message for you” Junmyeon flushed and fished his phone out of his pocket before handing it to Yixing. “It’s that one” he pointed to the long paragraph that his mother had sent him.

And another thing! It read, when you see Yixing, tell him this; Yixing, honey, I am so sorry for my dumb of a son. He’s not the brightest bulb, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. He should know by now that his father and I don’t care who he is with so long as they are treating him right and making him happy – which I’ve been told you are. You sound like a good boy, and again I’m sorry on Junmyeon’s behalf. He’s stupid. Very stupid boy. But, when he comes and apologies – and by that I mean grovels on his knees for you to take him back with open arms and finally gets you to agree to allow him to keep seeing you – make sure you come for dinner, okay?! And I mean like, right away. No waiting. I want to meet the handsome boy that has stolen my son’s heart! So get Junmyeon to text me when you’ve forgiven his stupid self, any night! And I’ll have dinner ready for eight o’clock! See you soon, honey! P.s Junmyeonnie’s dad is looking forward to meeting you too! He says thank you for bringing Myeon to the hospital last week and he said that if you wanna hit him for being dumb, then go ahead, we’ll understand.

“Damn… You should have gotten your mum to apologise for you” Yixing laughed, “She’s funny, I like her. Also, I’m glad your dad is doing well”

Junmyeon had turned a violent shade of red, “Thanks. He’s just resting up, the doctor said he can go back to work on Monday. And she’s never going to let me live this down, I hope you know that”

“Mmm, now, what are you waiting for? Text your mum and tell her we’ll be over in an hour. I’m gonna go and put on something that isn’t day old joggers and a pyjama top.” Yixing stood up and brushed himself off before giving Junmyeon a grin – flinching only slightly at his sore lip – and wondering off to get himself ready for dinner with Junmyeon’s parents.

Yixing let out a soft breath as he closed the door to his bedroom and leant back against it, he had a small smile on his face. It had only been just over a week, but honestly he felt like he could breathe right again now that he had seen Junmyeon again.

It was a little scary to him that he had come to like Junmyeon so much in such a short time, but he knew, he just knew that Junmyeon was the part he had been missing. Whilst he was fully content on his own, fully able to live a happy life, Junmyeon had brought him a happiness that he hadn’t known he’d been missing.

He wasn’t a fool, when push came to shove, he knew that he would always forgive Junmyeon, it was an emotional situation and in the heat of the moment Junmyeon had panicked a little, but his apology had been sincere and that meant the world to Yixing.

He pushed off of the door and moved over to his closet to pull out a pair of simple blue jeans and a nice shirt – if he was going to meet Junmyeon’s parents as Junmyeon’s official boyfriend, then he wanted to do it right.

All the while he was getting ready, he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. He was happy, really truly happy with Junmyeon and he had a good feeling about the direction in which their relationship was headed.

He finished up with styling his hair a little, just enough to make it look presentable before he made his way back out to the living room to find Junmyeon playing with his phone.

“How do I look?” he asked, holding out his arms to give Junmyeon the full view.

Junmyeon smiled bright enough to light up the room, “Stunning” he breathed, “Bruises and all”

Yixing chuckled, “Thanks” he said before sighing softly, “Would it be weird if I asked you to just give me a hug?”

Junmyeon was on his feet as soon as the sentence left Yixing’s lips, rounding the sofa and coming to Yixing to sweep him up into his arms, holding him tightly against him.

Yixing buried his face in Junmyeon’s shoulder, breathing in the scent that he’d missed so much, “I’ve really missed you” he admitted, “This week has been awful”

Junmyeon pressed his face further into Yixing’s neck, “I’ve missed you, too” he sighed softly, “Just… You. Everything, you make everything so much easier and I’ve been a bit lost without you. I don’t know if that’s weird to say”

“It’s not weird” Yixing promised, “I get it. Let’s not do this again, okay? If we ever fight, let’s just… Talk. I’ve been such an idiot ignoring you. I should have been a grown up about it”

Junmyeon laughed incredulously against Yixing’s neck, tickling his skin, “No, no don’t say that. You’ve acted how anybody would. I was the stupid one for caring so much about what my parents would think. I love you so much and that should have been the important thing. I made the mistake, Yixing, not you. But I agree about the not doing this again. I can’t even tell you how happy I am to be able to just… have you like this again. I’ve missed just being able to hug you. To talk to you. You mean so much to me and I promise you that I won’t ever try and hide that. Ever.”

Yixing pulled back, eyes slightly watery, arms still wrapped around Junmyeon, “You mean a lot to me, too, you know.” He pressed a kiss to Junmyeon’s lips and smiled, “Now, shall we go and properly meet the parents?”

“Let’s go” Junmyeon grinned, pulling back and taking Yixing’s hand in his own, glad that they had overcome his stupid blunder and were moving forward together.

--

Sehun chuckled as bubble tea spilled down over Luhan’s lip and dripped onto his t-shirt. “I can’t take you anywhere, can I?” he joked.

Luhan scoffed, wiping his lip with the back of his hand, “This is coming from the guy that was literally wearing his spaghetti yesterday” he pointed out, “I thought Yixing was going to die laughing”

“Everyone knows that spaghetti is a messy food!” Sehun laughed, “Speaking of messy… I, uh, I wanted to say thank you to you. It’s kinda why I asked you out today”

Luhan tilted his head to the side questioningly, “Thank me? What for?” he asked.

Sehun took a sip of his drink to bide for time before giving Luhan a small shrug, “For just… Helping me through everything? Coming to terms with myself, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and you… You’ve been really patient and understanding. And on the days where I get into my head, you’ve never pushed me. You’ve never made me feel uncomfortable about anything and even why I’ve tried to… to push you away, you’ve been really, I don’t know, you’ve understood that it wasn’t anything personal, it was just me not coping very well.

 “I guess, I just want to say that without you, I don’t think I’d have come as far as I have with this whole, you know, gay thing. And I’m still learning to accept myself, still learning that it’s okay to feel the way I do, but it’s been really helpful to have you by my side through all of this.

 “You… You kinda pushed me into accepting myself for who I am, and if there was anyone that I could have shared this with, I’m glad it was you. Even when we didn’t really know each other very well, even when I was adamant that there was nothing to admit, you were still there, kinda just nudging me in the right direction.

 “So… Yeah, thank you. For just… being you. I know I still have a ways to go before I’ll be one hundred percent happy with who I am, but I wanted you to know that I’m happy with you. You make me smile and laugh even on my worst days and you’re the reason that some of my best days have happened.

 “I’m not a very… expressive person when it comes to words, and I know I can be bratty and over the top and a little too emotional sometimes, but I don’t tell you enough how glad I am to be able to call you my friend, my… my partner. You have this way of coaxing me out of this shell I’ve made for myself, and you’ve helped me admit things that I wouldn’t have dreamed of admitting six months ago.

 “You’ve helped me come out to my friends, and soon maybe I’ll be able to tell my family. You’ve just made me realise that the people I love don’t define who I am as a person, they just contribute to making my life a happy one and… You do that. You make me happy.

 “I don’t know,” He let out an awkward little laugh, “I might not even be making sense. This is why I don’t really do this kind of thing… Heh… I’m just… Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, really. Thank you”

Luhan let out a choked cough to clear the lump that was starting to creep up in his throat.

The fact that Sehun could even say all of that aloud just showed the progress that he had made and Luhan just felt so proud of him. Proud to be a part of Sehun’s life, to be there to see how much happier Sehun had become since he’d stopped trying to hide a part of himself.

“You don’t ever have to thank me for any of that,” Luhan said softly, reaching out and taking Sehun’s hand in his own, “But I’m glad you’re feeling more comfortable in yourself. And you are always welcome for whatever it is I’m helping you with, Sehun. But all of this progress, that’s all you. And for the record, you’re doing amazing, and I’m happy to have you as a friend and partner too”

Sehun gave Luhan’s hand a gentle squeeze, “You’re kind of amazing, you know that?”

“Of course,” Luhan joked lamely, “Kidding, thank you. You’re pretty amazing, yourself. And I am so freaking proud of you and how far you’ve come. I mean, look at you! You’re holding my hand in public and smiling. I didn’t know you could smile for real until like a month ago” he teased.

“Oh shut up” Sehun laughed, “This is why we can’t have serious moments”

Luhan grinned, “You know you like it, really. Would you like me as much if I didn’t spoil serious moments with my amazing sense of humour?”

“Who says I like you anyways?” Sehun jested in return.

Luhan snorted, “You love me and you know it” he rolled his eyes, before taking another sip of his drink, completely missing the look of overwhelming fondness that Sehun threw his way, completely confirming Luhan’s statement.

He did love Luhan, he knew that. In what way, he wasn’t really sure yet. He loved Luhan has a friend, that much was true. He loved Luhan as someone special to him. And he liked Luhan a whole damn lot romantically.

Perhaps he did love Luhan in a romantic way, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to admit that much yet, all he knew was that he was happy. Happier than he had been in a long time and Luhan was predominantly the reason for that.

“You wanna go for a walk or something?” Sehun asked after a moment or two, finishing up his bubble tea as he waited for Luhan’s answer.

Luhan nodded, “Sure” he agreed, following suit and getting to his feet and putting on his coat and scarf, waiting for Sehun to do the same.

They dumped their empty cups in the bin before making their way out into the chilly winter air. There was snow settled around the streets and the cold had begun to seep in, even though they were both wrapped up warmly.

Sehun reached out to take Luhan’s hand in his own before stuffing their joint hands into his pocket, “God, I forgot how cold it was” he admitted sheepishly.

“Well, ‘tis the season and all that” Luhan laughed, “Isn’t it Kyungsoo and Jongin’s birthday next month?” he asked conversationally.

Sehun hummed, “Yeah. To be honest I have no idea what to get either of them. I’m just glad we’re doing secret Santa between the twelve of us because I seriously wouldn’t have been able to afford gifts for so many people”

“Me either, but even if I don’t get your name, I’m still gonna get you something, since I’m so nice” Luhan grinned.

“That’s good,” Sehun smirked, “Because I already bought you present last week”

Luhan looked a little surprised at that, but there was something definitely pleased in his expression, “Oh, cool” he said as they turned into the park, which was empty bar a couple of people walking their dogs.

“You weren’t expecting me to get you anything, were you?” Sehun laughed, “I know I’m not great at this whole… relationship stuff, but I’m not that bad” he defended jokingly.

Luhan rolled his eyes, “I know that” he said, “I’m not surprised… Well, not bad surprised. Just pleased, I guess”

“Well good” Sehun smiled, “You wanna head back to your place? I don’t wanna catch pneumonia in this cold”

Luhan nodded, they weren’t too far from his apartment anyway, so they headed down to his place, chatting easily as they did about this, that and the other.

It was nice, just to be able to walk with Sehun without him worrying about people looking at them or saying anything about the fact that they were holding hands. It was nice to know that Sehun was comfortable enough to walk around with him freely and at ease with himself.

When they had first started seeing each other, Sehun had still been so unsure, hadn’t wanted to put any labels on things and Luhan had understood that. It was sometimes a little frustrating, but he knew that Sehun was doing his best to overcome the fears that had been deeply imbedded in him.

And now that Sehun had referred to him as his partner, it was a huge step, and Luhan knew that. He couldn’t explain how beyond happy he was to be with Sehun, and to be able to witness first-hand the amazing progress that he had made in overcoming his demons. It was truly a thing of beauty.

They made it back to Luhan’s some twenty minutes later, both of them eager to get inside to the warmth.

They were quick to kick off their shoes and shuck their coats and scarves before padding into the living room where the fire was on and Kris and Tao were sat watching bad day-time television.

“Hey guys” Sehun breathed, hopping over the back of the sofa to sit down next to Tao.

Tao grinned at him, “Hey! I feel like I’ve not seen you in forever”

“Got me a job” Sehun said proudly, “I work with Baekhyun now. Wednesdays, Thursday nights and Sundays. I got today off though, since we’re closed for the day. Something about a convention that the boss is going to and he was nice enough to give everyone the day off”

Tao nodded, “That makes sense. I still think you need to come to one of my Saturday classes at the gym. It would literally make my day to see you fall on your face” he snickered easily as he threw an arm around Sehun, ignoring Kris and Luhan, who had struck up a conversation beside them.

Sehun wacked Tao playfully on the chest, “Only if you come to one of my lectures and try to actually understand any of it” he shot back.

“No thanks, I’ll stick to Wushu” Tao scrunched his nose in distaste, “But you know, good for you for sticking with school man”

“Thanks, I think” Sehun laughed, “It’s not as bad as you think, you know” he said easily after a moment, “I mean, think about it. There’ll always be crime and stuff, so I figured that it’s a good career path too.”

Tao’s mouth opened slightly in understanding, “Ah, so like, what kind of thing are you hoping to get into when you’re out of school?” he asked.

“Well, a dream, dream job would be something like a support worker for kids in bad situations. Just being that person that can help them know that they aren’t alone and that even if they’re in a bad place right now, that they can always get out of it. That even when they feel like they have nobody, there is always someone willing to help, you know?”

“Sounds like you have experience?” Tao prodded gently.

Sehun paused before opting to move past the question, “Anyway,” he said, “If that does to pot, I could always find something in police work maybe. Just… back line stuff, none of the actual catching criminals, just helping put them behind bars” he shrugged.

The dismissal didn’t go unnoticed by Tao, but he didn’t mention it, knowing that it wasn’t his place to pry. There may have been nothing to pry into, but there was a feeling in Tao that this wasn’t a random ignorance of his question. Nonetheless, he respected Sehun’s clear wish not to talk about it and they moved on to other matters.

Kris left the room a short while later to fix them all some hot chocolate to keep them warm and put on a cheesy holiday movie that had them all laughing and feeling cosy.