Heads-up: body image-consciousness

'Hi, could we get two lattes, please?' a girl placed her order and smiled. Minseok nodded brightly, oblivious to the way she blinked at him slowly. 

'You look really cute,' she giggled. Minseok gave her an awkward grin as 'thanks' and set to work. 

'I'll bet loads of girls fall for you,' she twirled her hair with her index finger and smiled. Minseok brushed her babblings off and placed two cups before her.

'Two lattes, up and ready,' he chimed. 

'How is it I've never seen you before? Though you do look like another person working here... Wait, it is... it IS you! The same person!' the girl half-shrieked in surprise. Minseok blinked, partly stunned by her reaction as her long fingers dug into his forearm. 

'You've lost weight, I see. You were much chubbier last time. It's good you've lost weight, keep trying!' she said loudly, shaking his arm. Minseok's lower lip trembled as he feigned being calm. 

'Miss, you're holding a line up. Please step aside,' he said in a low voice. 

'Oh, it's that guy? Yeah, he's been losing a lot of weight lately. Hell, three months ago, he was so chubby! Explains why he looks so tiny in those clothes now,' a deeper voice commented. 

'Yeah, he was as round as a dumpling last time. Look at his arms! Man, he's really lost weight.'

'How did you do it? I've been trying for so long! Are you on a special diet?' a third girl threw in. Minseok balled his hands into fists and stood stiff, squinting his eyes shut to block everyone out as he hung his head low. 

'Just ignore them, Kim Minseok. Things will be fine. You don't have to panic, it's not the same as high school. Just calm down, take deep breaths,' he chanted repeatedly in his mind. 

'I'm sorry, please step aside, miss. You're holding a line up. Next, please!' an elder woman stepped in and adjusted her glasses on her nose. 

'Go take ten, Minseok,' she smiled kindly at him and patted his shoulder. He nodded and stepped into the washroom reserved for employees, shutting himself in a stall immediately and hugging himself. 

Moments later, he heard someone knock on his stall. 

'Minseok? Please come out... or at least let me in,' a soothing voice pleaded. With shaky hands, Minseok leaned up and pulled the bolt off, letting Jongdae enter. The younger male pulled him out of the stall and made him sit on one of the chairs by their lockers. Seating himself beside the other, he slung an arm around his shoulders and tilted his chin up. 

'Don't cry, please,' he softly pleaded, Minseok's pale face with the pad of his thumb. 

'It's happening... all... over... again,' Minseok blurted through hiccups. 

'I'm so weak,' he scoffed at himself harshly. 

'You're not weak, Min. You're just sensitive. And they're all stupid. Why do you listen to those jerks?'

'I can't... help... i---'

'Kim Minseok,' Jongdae cut in with a clipped voice and made the other face him. He cupped his tear-streaked cheek and held his gaze. 

'You're who you are. You're perfect just the way you are. They're just jealous that you're a thousand times better and more dignified than them. They see you for your size, I see you for much more. I see you for your kindness, your humility, your sincerity, your dedication to what you do, the passion with which you do your work. I see you for your strength to stand up even when people give you crap. I see you as a sweet, loving, caring, affectionate and fiercely loyal man. I see you for who you are, I'm in love with you just the way you are. You told me on our wedding day that I matter to you the most. You told me you value my opinion. Since when did -hurt strangers matter to you, huh? Since when did they control your mood? Since when did their opinion matter to you? Open your eyes, hon. Look at me - I'm the one terribly in love with you. I thought I matter to you. Why don't you listen to what I say, hm? Why do you listen to their words? Why do you let yourself get hurt by those who never mattered?' 

Jongdae leaned in and rubbed their noses together affectionately, pulling a handkerchief out and wiping his husband's running nose. 

'Just listen to me, not them, okay?' he softly added. Minseok slowly nodded and threw his arms around Jongdae's shoulders, who lightly pressed their pink lips together. 

'I'm in love with you, Kim Minseok. Not for what they want you to be, but for who you are,' the man whispered against the elder's lips, his cool breath caressing his chin. Minseok inhaled deeply and wove his fingers through the other's curly brown locks, deepening the kiss. They pulled away, slowly fluttering their eyes open. Minseok buried his face in the other's shoulder, tightening his arms around his lithe waist. Jongdae relished how the smaller snuggled up to him like he was his only safe haven, like he wholly trusted him. Jongdae would never say it out loud yet, but he felt special being a pillar of support to Minseok, supporting the elder through hardships and being his shoulder to cry on. He Minseok's back absentmindedly, sighing and nuzzling his nose into the other's neck.

'Let's get back to work with a bright smile, okay? We'll go out for a movie in the evening - you, Lulu and me. Sounds good?'

'Sounds great,' Minseok agreed. 

'Aw, smile for me, Min-min! No? Well, then,' Jongdae tickled Minseok's neck with light kisses, earning squirms and peals of laughter. 

'Aah, okay, I'm smiling!' Minseok squirmed, a wide grin on his face. Jongdae kissed his fingertips, earning his husband's blushing face and sparkling eyes. 

'Everything okay in there?' a motherly voice called out. 

'Yeah! We're just coming out!' Jongdae called back. They stared at each other and laughed. 

'That's what we'd do again if someone were to walk in,' the thirty-four year old laughed and followed Jongdae back out. 

'Appa!!' Zitao called out, running after Sehun with a ribbon attached to his forehead. 'Appa!!' 

'What, it's Sunday!' Junmyeon groaned. 

'He took my panda plushie!' Zitao lisped, pointing an accusing finger at the elder. Sehun pouted and pointed back. 

'Baba! Tao-zi's pointing at me!'

'Zitao! Don't point at your brother!' Yixing's voice rang out from one of the rooms. Zitao pursed his lips and scrambled toward Junmyeon, the tape wearing off, causing the ribbon to fall off his forehead. 

'Appa, appa!' he lisped, beginning to complain about Sehun stealing his purple crayons. The two children started bickering rather loudly. 

'Go to sleep, oh my God!' Yixing could be heard from the adjacent room. Junmyeon sighed and scooped the two up. 

'Will appa put us to sleep?'

'Will appa tell us a story?'

'Appa, wear this ribbon and read 'Cinderella',' Sehun held out his fist and chimed in. 

'Oo, and can we play Giant Dinosaur after this?'

'Just go to sleep, both of y---'

The bell rang. The two boys scampered off their bed and ran out excitedly.

'Uncle Yifa--- wait, you're not Uncle Yifan!' Sehun halted in his tracks, causing Zitao to bump into his back. 

'Where's Mr. Giant?' Zitao lisped, rubbing his cheek and pouting. 

'Thanks so much for coming today, Chanyeol,' Yixing closed the main door and tipped his head. 

'Aa, ye... I was free, anyway. Decided to take a small break from the studio, ahaha...Have you got your song ready yet?'

'I'm trying to compose something... could you accompany me on the guitar if I show you my piano composition?'

'Sure! Er... how about after your date?' Chanyeol grinned and raised an eyebrow. Yixing flushed, his dimples as deep as could be. 

'Ah, it's not exactly a date,' he scratched his cheek with his forefinger and stammered, earning laughs from Chanyeol and Junmyeon. 

'Thanks a bunch, Chanyeol! Well, where's the friend you said you'd invite?'

'Er, I'll check... but hey, have fun!' he waved off and pushed the two close together. They waved and left. Sehun and Zitao could care less as their parents called out to them: the two were too engrossed in trying to climb Chanyeol's legs. 

After a fifteen minute ride of being pressed against commuters on the train, the Kim-Zhang couple found themselves in the cafe they treasured the most. 

'Does this bring back some memories to you?'

'Definitely,' Yixing chuckled, intertwining their fingers and pushing the cafe door open. By chance, the cafe was half-full: the table where the two had their first date was unoccupied. Yixing pulled his husband and seated himself across him, a wide smile plastered on his face. Junmyeon called for a waitress, biting his wide smile down. 

'A house-special for two, please,' he placed, eyes shining bright. The twenty-nine year old nudged Yixing, quirking an eyebrow and giving a half-smirk. 

'This cafe has changed a bit,' Yixing noted. 

'Yeah.'

'When did we meet, exactly?'

'Well, I was twenty,' Junmyeon breathed. 'Wait, you were ninteen, what?! Seriously?!'

'Wow, it's been a while,' Yixing chuckled. 'Almost ten years!!'

They lapsed into comfortable silence, unlike their first date. 

'Can you believe how awkward we were,' Junmyeon chuckled. 

'How'd you remember that nine years ago today, was the day we had our date?'

'I had to give a mock-exam the next day. Biggest exam of my life, I'd say.' 

Moments later, the couple were slowly relishing their food. Each morsel was followed by some random memory and a fit of laughter. 

'You've some chocolate on your chin,' Yixing pointed out and stretched his hand over the table, wiping the mark off his husband's chin. A faint tinge of pink tinted Junmyeon's cheeks. 

'Revenge, at last,' the Chinese chuckled and pulled back casually. 

'Hey! Kim-Zhang Yixing!'

'Sounds really great, that name.'

Junmyeon's eyes softened and they held hands, just staring into each other's smiling eyes. 

'Does the cafe still have the musical quiz? What do you think?' Junmyeon piped up. 

'I hope they do...'

They asked a waitress, who shook her head and continued her work. 

'Aww, that's not fair!' Yixing slumped back in his chair, somewhat put off. Junmyeon paid for the bill and tapped the back of the other's long- hand. 

'Let's go.'

'Okay,' Yixing nodded and followed the elder out. They held hands and walked into the local park nearby. 

'Everything's still the same! Ah, there's that pond with the fish! And look, that tree's still there! Wait, do you think...?' Yixing trailed off. 

'Well? Let's find out!' Junmyeon laughed and tugged him on. They strolled in the park, tracing their steps from almost a decade ago. 

'It's here! Look, that tree! Aw, the root's still poking out, look, Myeonnie!'

They chuckled and seated themselves on the bench next to the tree. 

'But I didn't trip because of the tree,' Junmyeon recalled. 

'But I remember running over it,' Yixing flushed slightly and confessed. 

'Don't run away from me this ti