"Okay, I'm going to need an explanation," Ten said. It was lunch time on a Tuesday afternoon. Normally, Ten liked to hop in his car and drive to the strip mall so nobody had to see him eat by himself, but Taeyong had stopped him before he'd gotten into his car. Now, the two boys were slowly walking along the football field, catching stares from assorted groups of friends. Ten couldn't stop looking between the floor and the other kids, eyes filled with shame and suspicion, but Taeyong seemed unfazed. 

Last Friday night had thrown Ten for a loop. Things had been going so well until Taeyong lied and said he wanted Ten to be his. It had freaked Ten out at the time, it freaked Ten out when he got home, it freaked Ten out the whole weekend, so much that he'd avoided any source of contact with Taeyong. He'd even avoided him the day before, but now, he was sick and stuck. 

He just couldn't trust Taeyong, not any more. He couldn't think of anything that could convince him that Taeyong really cared. Yes, Ten had fallen hard, but he'd accepted Taeyong would never feel the same way, or let himself. 

Taeyong stopped to lean against a tree and Ten stood in front of him expectantly. 

"I pulled you here because....there's something I want to ask you," Taeyong finally explained, crossing his arms and staring down at the grass.  Ten nodded, waiting for Taeyong to speak again. 

He sighed before continuing. "I know that I've been , I am , there's a tyness within me that I'll probably never get rid of. But....Ten, God, Ten, you've changed me in ways I didn't think possible." He looked up at Ten then, directly into his eyes with an expression Ten couldn't read. Ten looked back at him, not sure where this was going at all. 

"I know I said this to you last Friday when we were crossed and all that, but I wanted to say it again because....I don't think you knew I truly meant it. Even though I was drunk and high I did, I promise. But I'll say it again." 

Ten's heart immediately began to pound in his chest, his breath rate climbing, hiding his trembling fingers behind his back. If Taeyong was about to ask what Ten thought he was about to ask, Ten didn't know how he could possibly react. 

"I-I want....I want to be able to call you mine. I wanna ask if you'll be my boyfriend. I mean, I know the label is arbitrary and stuff, since we're soulmates, but I really like you--" 

"If you wanna me more, you can me more. I don't have to be your ing boyfriend or whatever for that," Ten interrupted in a gruff tone, staring at the ground. 

"Wh-what?" Taeyong stuttered, leaning in closer and tilting his head. Ten just shrugged and looked off in the other direction, swallowing down his emotions. Taeyong bit his lip, his eyes frantic. "N-no, Ten, you misunderstand. I meant it when I said I was falling for you at Granite Run the other day. I want to be with you, you know? I want to take you on dates and hold you and let myself love you. I don't just want to have with you. I can have with anyone. I don't want to date just anyone." 

"But I mean nothing to you," Ten mumbled. Taeyong immediately cupped Ten's face in his hands, lifting it up so they could lock eyes. 

"That's not true. You never meant nothing to me. I was just lying to myself in the beginning. I've always wanted to be with you. I just...I was terrified of everything you stood for." 

"But I've never meant anything to anyone before," Ten responded, his eyes filling with tears despite himself. 

"No. No, Ten. You mean everything to me." Ten inhaled and exhaled shakily, his mind blank from shock. Ten wondered where this confession came from, so suddenly? But if he looked at it logically, he could see that Taeyong had been slowly giving more and more of himself. Ten was just afraid to see it, to accept it. 

Could Ten possibly trust Taeyong? He finally found the courage to look into his eyes. They were wide, tears pooling in them, filled with worry and sincerity and deep affection that Ten could have almost classified as love. 

Long gone was Taeyong's nonchalant act. Here he was, putting his entire self on the line for Ten, finally giving instead of just taking. Maybe, just maybe, he did care. Maybe, Ten's affection wouldn't be rejected. Maybe he could trust Taeyong. 

"Do you promise?" Ten asked in the quietest, softest tone. Taeyong looked into his eyes again, and Ten felt as if he was frozen in place. 

"I promise," Taeyong simply replied. Ten was still frozen for a few moments but then the tears started to flow, covering his face out of embarassment. 

"What's wrong baby?" Taeyong asked in a panic. 

"I-I just never th-thought you'd care about me," Ten stuttered out through his tears, and Taeyong immediately pulled him into a tight hug. Ten cried into Taeyong's t-shirt and Taeyong kissed the top of his head. 

"I've always cared about you," Taeyong mumbled softly. "I was just too blind to realize." 

Taeyong let Ten cry for a long while, knowing these tears ran so much deeper than just the relationship between Ten and himself. He carded his fingers through Ten's black hair, holding his tight and close, doing his best to comfort his Ten. 

"S-so..." Ten started after a while, pulling away from the hug and rubbing his eyes. Cute, Taeyong thought. "A-are you really my boyfriend now?" 

"If you want me," Taeyong responded with a small smile. 

"Of course I want you," Ten mumbled, hugging Taeyong once again. Taeyong's expression grew into a full smile now as Ten looked up at him. Taeyong looked down at him affectionately, holding his slim waist as finally, the two shut their eyes for a kiss. 

They'd kissed before, many times actually, but never like this. Never sweetly, never purely, never with this much raw emotion out in the open. They didn't care who saw, holding each other tight, like they'd never let go. They pulled away briefly for air but soon their lips were back together, unable to be parted for barely a second. 

Finally they pulled away, faces all smiles. 

"I just realized how cold it is outside," Ten commented, giggling softly and shivering in Taeyong's arms. Ten was right, Taeyong realized, it was cold. Winter was just beginning, the early December winds chilling them to their bones. 

"What, my kisses didn't warm you up?" Taeyong teased, and Ten laughed. 

"They did, but it's ing freezing out!" Ten cried, rubbing his bare arms. Suddenly, he noticed Taeyong was wearing a jacket, giving him a sly look. 

"Come on!" Taeyong whined. "I'm cold too." 

"But you're my boyfriend now," Ten giggled. 

"Why don't we just go inside?" Taeyong suggested. 

"But then we can't kiss in there," Ten complained. 

"Of course we can!" Taeyong replied. "My friends do it all the time. My friend Johnny had his al boyfriend on his lap for the entirety of lunch period in the cafeteria a few weeks ago." 

"Fine," Ten said with a groan. Taeyong smiled and they gripped each other's hand, starting the walk to the cafeteria. "But you have to let me wear your jacket on the way." Taeyong rolled his eyes but pulled off his jacket, draping his jacket over Ten's delicate shoulders. Ten giggled, flashing his brilliant smile to Taeyong. 

"Thank you," he teased, walking up towards the campus building. As they walked along, they passed a group of freshmen who were watching them with curious eyes. 

"Since when is Lee Taeyong gay?" One of them whispered to another. 

"I'm bi, okay!" Taeyong shouted back to them. They immediately blushed guiltily, and Ten gave Taeyong a proud smile. 

"And to think you used to be a homophobic ," Ten mumbled. 

"How can you be both bi and homophobic?" Taeyong asked. 

"I don't know, but you were," Ten responded. Without warning, Taeyong left a little kiss on Ten's nose, and Ten grinned. 

"Your friends are going to be surprised. And possibly horrified," Ten spoke. 

"Surprised, maybe. Horrified, no way. If they are, then they should take a look at themselves. I swear, Johnny and Jaehyun are worse than me." 

"True. I think Johnny and Taeil are the grossest couple in the entire school." 

"No way," Taeyong countered. "It's that loser Yuta and his Christian boyfriend." 

"True!" Ten said. "You're right, you're right." 

Just as they approached the cafeteria, Taeyong pulled Ten aside. "I just wanted to say.... this has to be one of the best day of my life. I'm so glad you're mine."

Ten beamed up at his boyfriend. "Me too, me too." Finally, finally, for Taeyong and Ten, everything had fallen into place. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The best moments of life, for Sicheng, were the times he was on off campus dates with Yuta. Even though it was risky sometimes, since his parents didn't know he was out with Yuta and if they knew he could get in serious trouble, it was always one hundred percent worth it. 

That morning, on their way to school, Sicheng was running late so they didn't have time to get coffee. All he could think about the whole day was coffee, coffee, coffee, so when Yuta had asked him where he wanted to go after school that day, Sicheng had insisted they go to a coffee shop. Specifically, the one they went to together when their relationship was first starting up. It was where he'd first realized he and Yuta were truly destined for each other, where he'd first understood what the word soulmate really meant. It meant a lot to him, so Sicheng wanted to relive that experience. 

Yuta had picked Sicheng up right outside his last class, waiting for him with music blaring and a happy grin. Sicheng hopped inside, giving Yuta a well deserved kiss as Yuta took them away from school as fast as he possibly could. Yuta blasted music Sicheng had never been allowed to listen to before, singing along and laughing at the top of his lungs, windows down and hair blowing everywhere. Sicheng watched him, laughing too, thinking how ing adorable and sweet his boyfriend was. 

The coffee shop wasn't far so the ride was quick, parking and grabbing a seat while Yuta ordered (he always insisted on paying). Sicheng grabbed the same seat they'd sat at all those weeks ago. The light was still beautiful out the nearby window, and even after everything Sicheng still felt his heart pound when he saw the light shine on Yuta's light hair and bright eyes, his grin eating up his whole face. 

Yuta placed a kiss on Sicheng's forehead before sitting down, passing Sicheng a croissant and a mocha, chowing down immediately. 

"I was so hungry," he groaned. 

"Me too. But I was more tired," Sicheng responded, sipping his drink. Yuta mirrored him, sipping his drink too. 

"How was your day today? I haven't seen you since this morning," Yuta spoke. 

Sicheng hummed. "It was alright. I almost fell asleep in all of my classes, and Mr. Tuason teased me in front of my whole APUSH class." 

"Mr. Tuason's a little , that's the ing truth. Great teacher, but a little nonetheless." 

"You had him when you were a junior, right?" Sicheng asked. Yuta nodded. 

"Yeah. His class was hard as , but I did get a five on the AP exam," Yuta responded. 

"Is being a senior easier?" Sicheng asked. 

"Definitely. I'm only taking five classes, and one of them is guitar," Yuta said. 

"Thank goodness," Sicheng breathed out. "Being a junior is really hard." 

"Oh yeah, that's for sure," Yuta spoke, falling silent to eat some more. He looked up at Sicheng curiously. 

"How is your friend? Are things between you better?" 

"You mean Jungwoo?" Sicheng asked, and Yuta nodded. Sicheng sighed. "No, we still haven't talked. He still looks so sick and sad, and I'm pretty worried. Plus, for some reason I saw him with Wong Yukhei the other day." 

"Yukhei? The boy sophomore?" 

"Yeah, him," Sicheng explained. 

"Hmm. Doesn't seem like the type to get along with steadfast Christians. I heard he was bi too," Yuta commented. 

Sicheng shrugged. "Who knows what that's all about. He seemed happier with him though." 

"Maybe they're soulmates," Yuta suggested. 

"No way," Sicheng responded with a laugh. "Jungwoo isn't gay." 

"You never know," Yuta mumbled, and Sicheng just laughed at him. 

"How are your friends?" Sicheng asked. 

"The usual," Yuta responded. "Kun spends eighty percent of his time making out with his girlfriend in his car." Sicheng flushed at the very mention of making out, and Yuta chuckled at it for a moment before moving on. "Mark's practically abandoned us to hang out with the gay freshmen." 

"I know about that. Mark and I know each other pretty well. He tries to deny it, but he's madly in love with both Donghyuck and the TV show Rupaul's Drag Race," Sicheng responded. 

"You do know him pretty well then," Yuta responded. "It's like those are the only two things he can talk about nowadays. But honestly, it isn't so bad. He's so happy with Donghyuck. I'd never seen him like that before." 

"That's sweet then," Sicheng said softly. 

"Doyoung...Doyoung's the same, except instead of fiercely hating Jaehyun he fiercely loves him. He's still bitter and competitive though; his hatred has just been transfered from Jaehyun to the choir teacher. She keeps threatening to knock him and Jaehyun down a couple chairs because they keep on doing PDA in the middle of choir." 

Sicheng laughed loudly at this. "Sounds like them." 

"It does, doesn't it? And Taeil.....man, I think Taeil's the worst. He and Johnny can barely be parted from each other. It's cute for about half a second, until they're giggling and deeply staring into each other's eyes every five seconds." 

Sicheng gave him a look. "Says the pot to the kettle." 

"What?" Yuta asked. 

"Don't you think that's a bit hypocritical?" Sicheng asked with a laugh. "You and I are kinda like that." 

Yuta paused for a moment to think. "No way, we're so much better than them." Sicheng just smiled and shook his head. "Come on! They do PDA every five seconds!" 

"So do we," Sicheng responded. Yuta rolled his eyes.

"Does anyone else think so?" Yuta asked. 

Sicheng looked back at him guiltily. "On facebook I saw a list of worst couples at this school. We were in the top ten." 

"No way!" Yuta cried, and Sicheng nodded. 

"Yes way," he responded. 

"They're just homophobic," Yuta spoke, and Sicheng laughed. 

"I don't think so." 

"They can think what they want," Yuta said. "But you and I wouldn't have it any other way." 

Sicheng stared at the table before shyly smiling. "I wouldn't. I definitely wouldn't."

Yuta reached for Sicheng's hand and Sicheng put in on the table, interlacing their fingers. Yuta grinned at Sicheng and squeezed his hand, looking at him affectionately. He then turned back to his food, taking a big bite of his croissant and a big sip of his mocha with concentration, wiping his butter greased face with the napkin. It was silent, but so incredibly comfortable, with the cafe noises in the background, that neither of them minded one bit. Sicheng simply watched him, lips curled in a reflective smile. After a moment, Yuta noticed Sicheng staring and looked up. 

"What is it?" He asked. Sicheng hummed softly. 

"Nothing," he responded. "Well....I guess I'm just reminiscing. About us. You know, to be honest...I didn't think I'd fall for you at all, let alone this hard. I really thought we wouldn't have lasted this long, either," Sicheng admitted. 

Yuta laughed and smiled wide at Sicheng. "I knew," he responded. "I knew that if was sincere with you, and expressed how much I really cared, you'd fall for me too. And I'd never break up with you, ever." 

"Of course you knew, Yuta," Sicheng said quietly, taking another bite as Yuta finished his croissant. 

"A-and Yuta?" Sicheng asked, expression becoming more nervous. 

"Yeah?" Yuta responded, leaning forwards as his expression turned serious. 

"I just wanted to say....I'm really scared of my parents and family finding out about us. I know they won't accept me or us and that's...that's terrifying to me. But....but with you by my side, I know I can do anything." 

"I love you, Sicheng," Yuta responded. 

Sicheng blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting this at all, so he was definitely taken off guard. 

Yuta watched him back, nervously chewing on his lip, just waiting for Sicheng's response. 

Sicheng inhaled, exhaled, and in that moment, knew for sure how he felt. 

His expression bloomed into a smile, his eyes crinkling. "I love you too, Yuta." 

Yuta slowly beamed back, brushing Sicheng's hair back and squeezing his arms. "I-I love you," he repeated, his head hanging down shyly. Sicheng reached over the table and pressed a kiss to Yuta's soft lips. 

"Love ya too," Sicheng mumbled against his mouth. 

"Sicheng, you're so perfect," Yuta said quietly. 

"I love you," Sicheng responded. Sicheng leaned in closer, coming in to give Yuta a deeper kiss, before a warm liquid splattered over his top. 

"Ah!" He cried, looking down. He'd tipped over his cup, spilling hot mocha all over himself. Yuta covered his mouth, but Sicheng could tell he was laughing. 

"Stop!" Sicheng whined, and Yuta got up. He pressed a kiss to Sicheng's lips before smiling at him. 

"Wait here. I'll go get you some paper towels, love." Sicheng watched Yuta go with a smile. Maybe he'd just spilled coffee all over himself, but he was now Yuta's love. And that was definitely all that really mattered.