Kyungsoo liked cooking. And, without bragging, he was comfortable to say he was fairly good at it. So, when Jongdae, Baekhyun’s new flatmate and definitely-not-crush has mentioned that the bookshop-slash-restaurant-slash-coffeeshop he was working at was looking for a new cook, naturally, all his self-proclaimed friends had pestered him to apply for the job.

And, in the end Kyungsoo was extremely thankful to them for doing so. The coffee shop was located in a fairly quiet street near the town center, on the ground floor of an old pharmacy, which meant they used some of the freaky old glass bottles as decorations, and who didn’t like to see an old morphine bottle reused as a flower vase?

The whole interior was made from dark wood, and some of the floorboards creaked beneath one’s feet, colored light falling through the stained-glass windows and dust dancing in the rays of light. The whole shop seemed like it had fallen out of time, or like it had come from a crazy second dimension, where maybe magic existed and student loans and grades were the least of one’s problems. Naturally, it was a hot spot among students.

And while the kitchen in the back was outdated and a bit worn down, Kyungsoo still loved his little realm, and how free he was to choose once the owner had seen that he knew his business when it came to cooking.

It was still early in the afternoon, and like usually around this time things were fairly quiet and boring. So Kyungsoo was busy writing down his favourite recipes in an old, leatherbound notebook he had bought in here, when suddenly there was an overly loud voice booming over from the front room.

“Hey there. I heard you have the best kimchi spaghetti in town. Is your cute chef also on the menu?”
Kyungsoo hastily jumped up and went over to the counter.

“Uhm, I’m not sure…”, his female coworker, Kelly said, a bit perplexed, and Kyungsoo tried to hide his grin.

“Don’t worry about him. Hey, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol’s eyes lit up, when he saw him.

“Hey boyfriend! And a bit louder, so that really everybody in the goddamn room turned to them; “He’s my boyfriend! Can you believe that?”

Kyungsoo felt his cheeks go red, hoping nobody would take offense in Chanyeol being...well, Chanyeol being Chanyeol.

“He can cook and act and write and oh my god, you guys need to hear him sing” - “Alright, that’s enough”, Kyungsoo said, his voice a bit squeaky and his face flaming red, as he grabbed his boyfriend’s sleeve and dragged him back towards the kitchen.

“Kimchi spaghetti! Try the kimchi spaghetti, they are awesome!”, Chanyeol called over his shoulder, before Kyungsoo grabbed his ear, knowing full well that would shut him up,.

“Ouch, ouch, ahhh, you” - Kyungsoo let go and crossed his arms.

Chanyeol rubbed his ear and grimaced. “Hello Chanyeol, I’m glad to see you too”, he said, trying to mimik Kyungsoo’s slightly deeper voice, and Kyungsoo pressed his lips shut, trying to look angry.

He loved Chanyeol, he really did, but sometimes he needed to give the other one the puppy treatment - act stern and angry for a hot minute to let him know something was off-limits.

“I work here”, he hissed. “You cannot just show up, and… that was embarrassing! What if somebody complains to the owner” - “Then they are homophobic s and they won’t want to have them here, anyways.”

“Chanyeol!”

The other one flinched a bit, sheepishly rubbing his head.

“Right… sorry. It won’t happen again. I just… I missed you”, he said, looking down at his feet, before he glanced up at Kyungsoo, a slight pout on his face.

Sadly, Kyungsoo was not the only one who was good at the puppy treatment, and when CHanyeol did this Kyungsoo would have forgiven him everything.

“I… I missed you, too”, he admitted with a sigh, only struggling a little, as Chanyeol pulled him into one of his bone-crushing hugs.

“Doesn’t mean I will forgive you, though, if you break one of my rips”, he gasped, and Chanyeol loosened his tight hug a bit, taking a step back so he could look down at the other one.

“How was home?”, Kyungsoo asked, his hands still on Chanyeol’s hips.

“Amazing! My ma says hi and that she misses you a lot, and my nephew is so cute. Yoora says he inherited my ears”, Chanyeol said and rolled his eyes.

“Sounds cute. Did you take pictures?”

“Lots of it. I’ll show you later. And here?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Nothing new. Just… you know. Work, studying”, he shrugged, wondering once again how hyperactive Chanyeol hadn’t gotten bored of him yet.

“I’m...trying a new recipe”, he added, and Chanyeol’s face visibly brightened.

“Cool! Can I taste it?”

“I… first need to cook it”, Kyungsoo said with a smile, getting up on his tiptoes to kiss the new pout away from Chanyeol’s lips.

Chanyeol wrapped his arms around him a bit tighter and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He was the best kisser Kyungsoo knew - not, that he had kissed a lot of people. But Chanyeol still stole his breath away every single time.

He made a happy little noise, somewhere between a sigh and a moan, before he suddenly remembered where they were.

“I’m working!”, he said sharply and stepped back, hoping he didn’t look as wrecked as Chanyeol did with his reddened lips and mussed hair.

“I know”, Chanyeol whined, “I just… really missed you.”

Kyungsoo sighed, because, well, yes, of course he had missed his boyfriend too - their lazy makeout sessions, cuddling on the sofa and their usual shower on Saturday morning that was more about them being dirty than getting clean.

“I swear, we can… we can do whatever you want. Tonight. After work”, he said sternly, and Chanyeol nodded, looking a bit disappointed, but, well - life wasn’t all about fun.

“Mind if I stay here? I promise, I won’t be in the way, I just… want to spend time with you.”

This would most likely end in chaos - something along the lines of broken plates or a kitchen fire or something, but who was Kyungsoo to decline such an honest request from the prettiest boy in the world.

“Of course you can. Just… sit over there, and try not to break anything”, he said and looked over to the old clock on the wall, realizing he had wasted way too much time.

Chanyeol tapped over to the chair by the little table, while Kyungsoo put out some vegetables and got ready to cut them.

“I might even be helpful. You know, I could get some stuff off the top shelves for you”, Chanyeol said, hastily dimming his bright grin when Kyungsoo turned around, the huge kitchen knife in hand.

“Right, sorry. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”