However even with all the excitement of tonight buzzing through him, to Yuta’s dismay the rest of his shift dragged on as slowly as possible. To make matters worse, he spent the last half hour restocking merchandise with Kunhang and Jaemin, who had gotten word about Yuta asking Taeyong out and wouldn’t stop bugging him about it. Jaemin kept affectionately referring to Taeyong as Yuta’s ‘boyfriend’ while Kunhang shot question after question on how Yuta thought their date would go and offering suggestions.

 

By the time 6:45 PM rolled around Yuta was ready to bolt out the door. He darted to the backroom to grab his bag, throwing a rushed ‘goodbye’ over his shoulder to his coworkers and hurried to go meet with Taeyong.

 

Once Yuta emerged from the storefront, a little flustered to say the least, Taeyong smiled at him as he approached. “Sorry for the wait, had to help with restocks or else no one would get it done. Did I keep you long?”

 

Taeyong shook his head good-naturedly, “It’s fine, I just finished up myself.”

 

Yuta nodded and they began walking towards the exit while exchanging how the rest of their shifts went. Taeyong mentioning how one of his younger coworkers, Chenle, had grown tired of a customer just browsing around and told them to buy something or leave.

 

“I was so stressed until I realized it was just Renjun,” he finishes with a soft huff, grinning when Yuta laughs beside him and says that sounds like something Chenle would do. “Anyways, I have to run to the market to pick up a few things but by the time you come around everything should be ready.”

 

Yuta smiled gratefully over at Taeyong. “Thanks again, really I was fine with getting takeout or something.”

 

Taeyong waved him off, “No worries, it’s my thank you for giving me that discount. Besides I like cooking for others.” He paused as they neared the exit with a small frown and gave Yuta an apologetic look after. “Is there anything you’re allergic to that I should be aware of? Sorry for asking just now, it must have slipped my mind earlier.”

 

“Not that I’m aware of,” Yuta mused thoughtfully before his face grew playful. “But we could always find out~” He laughed at the adorable pout he received from Taeyong and amends, “No but really there isn’t. If anything I just say I’m allergic to mushrooms to avoid getting served them.”

 

Snorting, Taeyong bumped against Yuta. “Noted,” he replied, lips curled amusingly.

 

Soon enough they’re out the doors and into the cool evening breeze, both parting with the anticipation of how tonight would go for them.

 

✿✿✿✿

 

With only about an hour to spare, Yuta spent the limited time he had thoroughly showering off the day’s work and trying to put together a decent outfit. Nothing too fancy—they were going bowling after all—and settled on a casual look which consisted of a black and white striped shirt with some fitted jeans and a dark denim jacket accented with a leopard print at the collar and chest pockets. He opted to style his fringe in his face instead of arranging it out of the way, running a hand through it in an appropriately messy fashion.

 

After exchanging his hoop earrings for some round black ones, leaving both anti-tragus’ bare for a change, Yuta slipped on a pair yellow Converse and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. He nodded in approval of his choices and with a glance at the time on his phone, quickly headed out.

 

Navigating to Taeyong’s place didn’t take long on his bike and by the time Yuta was buzzed through and arrived on his floor, Taeyong was waiting outside for him. He paused momentarily as he took Taeyong in, not used to seeing him outside of his usual all-black work attire with the printed cardigan he had on over his white t-shirt and ripped jeans. It matched well with his strawberry pink hair and softened his image.

 

“Hey,” Taeyong pulled Yuta into a hug. Easing into the hold, Yuta almost forgot the reason he was here as he was filled with Taeyong’s scent. “Come in. I was setting the table but the food is done, I’m just letting it simmer a little longer.” He pulled away and beckoned Yuta to the open door welcomingly.

 

Yuta gladly accepted and stepped inside, Taeyong pulling the door closed behind them, and slipped his shoes off.

 

Lining the entrance hall of Taeyong’s place were some framed collages of family and friends, Yuta catching sight of Doyoung in a couple as they passed by and to the living room, there was a small archway on the farther left side separating to the kitchen area where a strong, savory aroma was wafting from.

 

“It smells delicious,” Yuta grinned and sniffed the air, recognizing the familiar smell. He looked back to Taeyong curiously. “Wait, is that—”

 

“Takoyaki? Yep!” Taeyong beamed. “I remember you telling me how much they’re your favorite and thought they’d be great to eat along with some sushi.”

 

Yuta doesn’t know whether or not to tear up at the simple, but sweet gesture that leaves him feeling touched or to get on his knees and ask Taeyong to marry him right here and now. He settles for wrapping Taeyong into another hug, a big smile on his face as the warmth of Taeyong’s body seeps through in their embrace.

 

“Thanks,” he murmurs next to Taeyong’s ear and Taeyong laughs airily in return, squeezing tightly before letting go.

 

“Alright, let’s eat!”

 

…

 

They settled across from each other at the table once Taeyong had brought everything out with Yuta’s assistance, and Yuta welcomed the filling scent of takoyaki with a wonderful sigh and clapped his hands together.

 

“Itadakimasu~!”

 

“Itadakimasu,” Taeyong repeated, smiling over at Yuta as he passed him some chopsticks.

 

“Thanks, Taeyong!” he grinned, taking the chopsticks. Picking one ball up with care, Yuta eyed the fried, crispy skin in fascination and blew considerably before taking a bite. “—Wahh!” Yuta marveled, his voice dampened from the heat as he chewed the takoyaki. “This tastes amazing…! Seriously, I haven’t had homemade takoyaki in soooo long.” He heartily picked another ball up from the same plate and smiled over at Taeyong appreciatively.

 

“I’m glad that you like it,” Taeyong doesn’t try to conceal the happiness he feels hearing that. “It’s my first time making takoyaki so I was a bit nervous how it would turn out.”

 

Yuta stopped chewing to look up at Taeyong spooning some rice into his bowl. He gawked in an open-mouthed wonder after swallowing the delicious food.

 

“Are you kidding? This beats the ty food court garbage by eons!”

 

“It’s nothing much.” Taeyong wills back the blush he feels creeping up his face, watching Yuta popped some sashimi into his mouth next and humming in delight as he ate. Chewing pensively at his lip for a moment, Taeyong deliberated on his next words as his fingers pressed into his chopsticks. “…What would you like next time?” He asked, setting down his bowl of rice.

 

Yuta whipped his head up, still chewing on his food. “Wha…?” he swallowed, his eyes round as he looked at Taeyong picking up some mackerel onto his rice. Unable to believe Taeyong wanted to cook for him again, and soon at that! “O-Oh, well I’m not picky so whatever you want to make is fine with me. I’ll eat anything you cook, honestly! You’re such a good cook.”

 

Taeyong held Yuta’s gaze and smiled brightly. “Okay, I’ll see what I’ll come up with for us.”

 

The pair eased into casual conversation as they continued to eat. Yuta’s jokes made Taeyong laugh until little crinkles formed around his eyes and nose scrunched up cutely. When Yuta laughed, Taeyong noticed he had the faintest of dimples as his smile stretched across his face. They took turns studying each other in secret, trying to learn all the details about the other.

 

As their conversation flowed from their weekend plans to current gossip happening around the mall, they somehow ended up in an actual heated discussion on the best rank for Ghibli movies—both agreeing on Howl’s Moving Castle as their first choice but not the rest.

 

“Then I guess we’ll just have to settle this with a movie marathon and decide from there,” Yuta reasoned, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat.

 

“Sounds good to me,” Taeyong hummed. “We both have next Tuesday off so we can do it then, yeah?”

 

“It’s a date!” he exclaimed, silently cursing himself for sounding so eager at the prospect of cuddling up and watching Ghibli movies with Taeyong.

 

“Oh, so you’re saying more dates will follow after tonight’s?” Taeyong lightly teased, smiling growing at the flush forming on Yuta’s face.

 

Yuta sputters, “I-I mean, if that’s what you want.”

 

Taeyong chuckled, just a quiet snigger under his breath, but it made Yuta’s chest loosen immeasurably. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot” he said fondly. “I, um, wanted to say that I’m really happy you asked me out.”

 

“You are?” At Taeyong’s nod, Yuta takes a deep breath through his nose and reassures himself his heart hasn’t stopped beating. “I’m happy you accepted and uh, I’m sorry for not asking you sooner.”

 

Taeyong shook his head, his own cheeks pinkening a lovely shade. “It’s fine, we’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

 

“Yeah,” Yuta agreed, voice soft but smile blinding.

 

✿✿✿✿

 

The sky above is mixed in an arrange of colors from the sun as it descends into darkness by the time they’re outside Taeyong’s apartment.

Yuta swung his leg over the bike and turned back to where Taeyong stood on the sidewalk. He smiled playfully at him, not one filled with mockery. “Nervous?”

 

“Just a little,” Taeyong admits.

 

Yuta’s smile changes to that of an understanding one. “Don’t worry,” he placed a hand over Taeyong’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. “I promise I won’t put you in any danger or act completely irresponsible. Do you trust me?”

 

“Yes,” Taeyong answered, smiling ever so slightly as he tried to calm his anxiety filled heart. “But if we do end up dying, I’m so going to haunt you in the afterlife.”

 

Yuta’s eyes lit up as he grinned. “That doesn’t sound like a bad deal.”

 

“Yuta…” Taeyong warned.

 

“Okay, I did promise you, didn’t I?” Yuta extended a hand to Taeyong.

 

Accepting Yuta’s hand, Taeyong seats himself onto the bike.

 

“Here,” Yuta passed a yellow helmet over his shoulder to him. “This is my spare; hope you don’t mind the color.”

 

“It’s nice,” Taeyong commented and fit the helmet over his head. When it was on securely he instantly wrapped his arms around Yuta tightly. Yuta tapped his hand twice, attempting to reassure him the best way he could.

 

Hands gripping the handles and revving, Yuta couldn’t resist grinning as the engine roared with life. “Hold on tight,” he reminded over his shoulder and donned his own helmet on before peeling out slowly for Taeyong’s sake then taking off.

 

Although his chest felt so constricted moments before, once the initial surprise receded, Taeyong began to relax more and more, pressing against rather than clinging to Yuta’s back. Yuta clearly noticed the change as Taeyong eased up his hold. Riding, as always, helped clear his head, and it was surprising how comforting it was having Taeyong clinging to him from behind, his fingers interlocked just below his abdomen.

 

The night was cool, the ride was smooth, and when Yuta had to do a couple of zig-zags to get past slower vehicles, Taeyong buried his head behind Yuta’s back with gleeful laughter rather than fear for his life.

 

When they reached the bowling alley, Taeyong’s wobbly at first as he gets off the bike, which Yuta expected no less, but once he’s got his footing and taken his helmet off, he flashes a smile at Yuta.

 

Yuta removes his helmet and leans against his bike, a matching smile. “So, how was it?”

 

“It’s a bit nerve-wracking at first but after a while the rush feels pretty nice!” He gushes, still feeling the exhilaration from the bike thrum through his body.

 

“Glad you enjoyed yourself then.” Chuckling, Yuta beckons Taeyong closer to fix his hair for him. Taeyong offers his head without a word, letting Yuta part his hair the same way he had it done before they got on his bike. “There,” Yuta says satisfied and slings an arm around Taeyong as they begin walking. “Now are you ready to kick some ?”

 

Taeyong nods readily. “Let’s do it!”

 

Yuta smirked and pushed the doors to the bowling alley open.

 

The placed was glazed in dancing lights as the sound of cheering and laughter erupted sporadically from the groups of people at each lane. Near the center was a snack bar lined with people and at the other end of the building was an arcade section.

 

Yuta knew his friends were already occupying the spot they usually played at so he directed Taeyong to where to get their shoes and made their way down the lanes.

 

“Late birds have to get the drinks~” Jungwoo sing-songed, being the first to catch sight of them, seeming slightly inebriated already.

 

“Did you all arrive together and we were just the odd ones out?” Yuta questioned, not bothering to acknowledge what Jungwoo said and instead exchanged greetings with everyone alongside Taeyong.

 

“Half of us carpooled with Johnny and Ten,” Mark answered, offering Taeyong a small wave which he returned. “Jaehyun came with Sicheng and Kun.”

 

“I see,” Yuta hummed. He looked up at the scoreboard, checking to see which team had spots for them but paused when he saw they already had been filled out.

 

Team 1: Jaehyun, Sicheng, Yuta, Jungwoo, Mark, Ten

 

Team 2: Johnny, Taeil, Doyoung, Kun, Donghyuck, Taeyong

 

Yuta frowned, turning to Jaehyun who was putting his wrist support on. “You’re splitting us up?”

 

Jaehyun nodded without looking up. “Sorry, you know the rules. No couples on the same team.”

 

Taeyong’s cheeks heated as Yuta sputtered. They weren’t a couple—yet, but he hadn’t expected his friends to abide by the rules for their case.

 

“Wait, but aren’t you and Sicheng—”

 

Jaehyun titled his head up at that, raising a brow at Yuta. “Are what?”

 

Yuta looked between Jaehyun and where Sicheng was fighting off Taeil and Jungwoo’s grabby hands. He’d heard from Jungwoo that Jaehyun had a slight crush on Sicheng but figured the two hadn’t talked about their feelings yet and thought it best to keep quiet for now. Yuta shook his head as a smile spread across his face, a real one. “Never mind,” he muttered and gave Taeyong an apologetic look.

 

By general consensus, the first set was a practice round for Taeyong and Ten to learn how to play. For the rest of them, it’s time to scope out the competition.

 

Yuta considers himself a pretty fair bowler, nowhere near Johnny or Jaehyun’s level though. Their balls practically fly down the lane, striking pins with alarming accuracy and power. Whereas Yuta was a bit unpredictable with how he handled his swings but still managed to land strikes.

 

Doyoung starts with a few gutter balls, but quickly picks up steam as he catches his rhythm. Taeil is about the same, and in no time he’s scoring strike after strike with ease.

 

Kun’s bowling style could only be described as analytical. The man carefully lines himself up, and then moves in perfect form. Depending on what pins he misses the first time (a rarity, Yuta notices), he’ll adjust and add a spin onto the ball to get it to curve accordingly.

 

Mark is amazing, it’s common knowledge that he can do everything and he proves them correct yet again. Where Kun is all thought, Mark is all precision. The ball may lack the power behind it that Yuta, Johnny, and Jaehyun all have, but he knocks down just as many pins as them.

 

Sicheng and Donghyuck are on par with each other, neither scoring any strikes but achieving to knock down a few pins at least. The real shocker to almost everyone is Jungwoo. The bubbly man is enthusiastic and cheers for all of them, but he gets more strikes and spares than anyone expects.

 

Taeyong and Ten receive all kinds of tips on how to bowl, some good, some bad. Ten watches everyone on his team closely, studying their movements, and tries to mimic what he sees. It only took a few turns and several gutter balls for him to finally figure it out. His bright yellow ball speeding down the lane like a streak of lightening.

 

Taeyong has a rougher time getting the hang of it. He watches all of them, also trying to copy their movements and forms, but he can’t quite seem to get the ball to stop veering off into the gutter just before the pins; still his team cheers him on. As he returns back to his seat, he meets Yuta’s gaze, who waved his hand as if to say, ‘no big deal’ with an encouraging smile. That in turn gives him a little more confidence in himself, hitting a couple of pins after, but still mainly gutter bound.

 

Practice round over, it’s finally time for the competition to start. The game started out simply with everyone bowling for fun and not really caring too much how the scores turned out. A waiter had come by and offered to get everyone drinks, all agreeing but the DD’s and Taeyong, and it didn’t take long before the trash talking starting flying, particularly between a taunting Johnny and a competitive Jaehyun.

 

“Your giant is going down,” Jaehyun says as they come up to their respective lanes.

 

“You wish, Jae. All it’ll take to make you lose is a good distraction. You’re easy like that.”

 

“If you think flashing your abs is going to distract me, then you have another thing coming.”

 

“Who says I need to show some skin?” Johnny scoffs, smirking knowingly. “Gee, wonder where your mind is at~”

 

“Ugh,” Jungwoo groans. He’s sitting in one of the plastic bowling chairs like it’s his favorite armchair and leaning against Ten. “I’d almost believe there was something going on between them if it weren’t for the fact you’re with Johnny.”

 

Ten snorts into his drink. “I thought the same but Johnny says the most they’ve ever done is made out.”

 

Johnny and Jaehyun stumble at hearing that, releasing their bowling balls too early and resulting in getting gutters for the first time. They both release groans, glaring at one another as the others laugh at the two’s misfortune.

 

…

 

For the next six and a half frames, everyone goes back and forth competing with each other, playfully making jabs at one another when someone got a strike or watched the ball go into the gutter, until they hit Taeyong’s last turn on the tenth frame and Ten has just finished up his round with a set of spares.

 

Taeyong eyes the scoreboard and swallows a bit nervously. Both teams more or less had been about the same in terms of points, having missed a couple of pins on different turns, but otherwise throwing strikes and spares throughout the game. He only needed to hit eight pins in order for his team to win and while he’d steadily gotten better as the game progressed, he was still only knocking down five at best.

 

“Pressure’s on,” Ten said, grinning evilly as he walked past.

 

Taeyong takes a deep breath and picks up his ball. Just eight pins, that’s all. He lets out the breath and steps up to the lane. Closing his eyes, Taeyong does what he always has in times of extreme stress. He pushes aside all his fears and nerves and embraces the rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins. Taking another deep breath, he opens his eyes and focuses, swinging his arm back and letting go of the ball, body bending a little to the side as he watched the ball roll down the lane. It crashed into the lead pins, just off center, and mowed down the whole swathe of bowling pins in one clamorous jumble.

 

Taeyong stared at the now empty lane, unable to believe he made his first strike and it was the winning point his team needed. Behind him, he hears Johnny let out a loud nice! and Donghyuck and Doyoung cheering loudly while Kun and Taeil clapped happily at their team’s victory.

 

Taeyong jumped around, fists in the air, bouncing with victory and unable to contain his happiness. Turning around, he feels arm wrap around his midsection and lift him up in the air. He lets out a surprise gasp, clinging onto who Taeyong realizes is Yuta and throws his head back with a laugh as he spins them, his team cheering around them.

 

“Yuta, what are you doing? That’s not your team!” Jaehyun calls out.

 

“I’ll always root for the underdog,” Yuta replies beamingly, setting Taeyong down after a moment but keeping him close.

 

“Look at that, your own teammate cheering for our win.” Johnny gloats, looking over at Jaehyun.

 

“Again,” Jaehyun doesn’t miss a beat, ready to wipe away the smug look.

 

“Sure, I’ll even let you win this time.”

 

“Fine with me. I guess I’ll just have to really try this time,” Jaehyun said, starting the next game.

 

“Best two out of three?”

 

Jaehyun grins, bright and bloodthirsty. “You’re on,” and goes to take his turn.

 

✿✿✿✿

 

After the second game, Yuta and Taeyong called it quits, wandering off to the arcade in the further part of the bowling alley that had first caught Taeyong’s interest.

 

The inside of the arcade was buzzing with noise and flashing lights from the games. There were a few small groups of people and some loners hanging around the arcade cabinets, but it wasn’t too busy. They exchanged some cash for tokens beside the entrance and headed towards the games.

 

They played a few games of air hockey, a basketball shootout game, and even had a ski-ball competition. No one was truly keeping a score of who won the most games but they made sure to tease the loser after a win before moving onto the next game.

 

(“I still think I should have won that basketball game, there’s no way you’re that good. You must have cheated.”

 

“Uh huh,” Yuta said, unconvinced. “And what about you at the air hockey table? Nearly took off one of my fingers with the puck!” He held up his hand to Taeyong’s face where a small, faint scratch on the side of his pointer finger was.

 

“Okay that one I am sorry for.” Taeyong admitted, taking a hold of Yuta’s hand that was still being held up in front of him. “Want me to kiss it better?” He does so anyways, laughing at the choked sound Yuta makes and walks away to the explore the rest of what the arcade had to offer.)

 

…

 

Yuta jingled the small cup with the last remaining tokens. “Alright, so what do you wanna play next? We only have four of these left.”

 

When they first walked in, Taeyong had noticed a few claw machines lined up against the wall and surveyed them, finding the one filled with cute animal plushies.

 

“How about this one?” He suggested once they came to a stop in front of the machine. “You think you can win me one of them?” Taeyong pointed at the plush-filled machine, particularly eyeing the shark plush sitting in the corner. He knew he was destined to be with that shark and would get it one way or another.

 

“Those things are rigged so that you can’t get what you want,” Yuta scoffed, glancing at the claw machine with disinterest. “They just want you to spend all of your tokens on it and get more.”

 

Taeyong began to pout, deciding he had to pull the big guns and make his eyes impossibly wider, fluttering his lashes for extra effect. “But just one try? Pleeease, for me?”

 

“That’s playing dirty,” Yuta groaned, unable to resist with the adorable expression Taeyong was making for him. “Ugh, fine.” He caved, Taeyong cheering happily beside him as he took out a token and slot it into the machine. Taking the joystick, Yuta concentrates on moving the claw in the direction of the plush Taeyong tells him he wants, his tongue slightly jutting out between his lips while he focused.

 

“Alright, get ready to be impressed.” Not waiting for an answer, Yuta pushes the released button on the joystick. The claw descending upon the stuffed animal. It wrapped it’s three metal prongs around the shark’s body, lifting it up slowly while swaying a bit from the added weight of the toy. “What did I tell you?” Yuta boasted.

 

Impressed, Taeyong looked from the approaching plush to Yuta with a nod. “I have to admit I wasn’t sure you’d be able to do it. Great job, Yuta!”

 

They both watched the claw bring the toy over to the machine’s drop off chute. But before it got to the lip of the chute it brushed against another toy. The claw immediately dropped the shark, and it fell back into the pile of toys. Both Yuta and Taeyong’s faces dropped.

 

“Are you kidding me?!” Yuta whined staring mournfully at the toy that was within his grasp.

 

Taeyong pat Yuta on his shoulder comfortingly. “You were right, it is rigged, but you gave it a good try!”

 

“No, hand me another coin, I’m going to get this guy if it’s the last thing I do!”

 

With a deep, calming breath he inserted the token and stood straighter. The shark was right next to the drop off chute so all he had to do was pick it up correctly.

 

After lining up the claw as perfectly as he could he waited until the very last second before pressing the red button. It dropped and snatched the shark’s tail, just like Yuta planned. Though as it rose, both let out a surprised gasp as another tail had been snatched up by the claw as well. Holding their breathes, they watched both plushies rise to the top, slipping a bit before moving the short distance to the drop chute and releasing.

 

Yuta had managed not only getting the shark plush Taeyong wanted, but an extra one at that! He yelled out his success while Taeyong jumped in a circle in excitement, their boisterous cheers earning them some dirty looks from people nearby, but they were too happy to care.

 

Finally calming down, Yuta dropped into a squat to collect his two hard-earned prizes. Getting back to his feet he handed the two shark plushies (a great white and hammerhead) to Taeyong gingerly. “I know you only wanted this guy over here but I hope you don’t mind he came with a friend.”

 

“I love them!” Taeyong exclaims, a soft smile melting his features and a light blush covering his cheeks.

 

Yuta smiles back, a little breathless. “I’m glad, I wasn’t sure—” he doesn’t get to finish his rambling about the claw machine as Taeyong pulls him forward, pressing his lips against Yuta’s.

 

Yuta froze. Taeyong was kissing him right now. They were kissing! His heart was beating out of his chest but he kissed back, leaning into the kiss and letting himself be consumed by it. He couldn’t help but smile into their kiss as he felt the shark plushies squished between them in Taeyong’s hold.

 

Taeyong seemed to realize this too and broke away with a breathy laugh. “Sorry,” he said, registering the tingling of his mouth and swiping at his lower lip, redder than Yuta has ever seen him.

 

“I-It’s fine,” he manages to get out, voice a little uneven as the fluttering in his chest solidifies into something easier to identify, “I liked it, a lot.”

 

Then, because Taeyong looks a little too surprised—relieved, delighted—to do anything about it, and because Yuta wants to kiss him again, he does just that. His hands come up, tracing Taeyong’s features with his fingers before cupping his cheeks and bring their lips back together.

 

The kiss was sweet and slow at first, with no desperation or need behind it. If anything there was relief bleeding through their lips, both having wanted this for some time now after all. And when Yuta brought Taeyong closer to him by the waist, the small gasp that broke out from Taeyong’s mouth doesn’t break the kiss but deepens it. Taeyong feels like he’s melting. Nothing else seems to matter at the moment and yet everything does.

 

It takes them a while to pull away from one another, first there’s a graze of teeth on lips, then tongues, then sighs, but eventually they do; foreheads pressed together with flushed faces and wet lips.

 

Yuta moves first, nudging his nose against Taeyong’s. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he mumbled out, lips brushing Taeyong’s as he spoke and chuckled softly.

 

Taeyong hummed, nuzzling his head against Yuta’s lightly. “I might’ve had an idea,” he replied, eyes fluttering open to meet Yuta’s own shining ones.

 

Yuta’s stomach does a little flip at that, chest full of affection. He’s heard about face-splitting grins before, thought he’d sported some himself, but right now he’s pretty sure he’s never smiled this hard in his life. He’s pretty sure he looks manic—he definitely looks like a manic idiot.

 

He couldn’t care less about it.

 

They don’t stay like that for too long, both remembering they were in public setting and most likely being stared at.

 

“So,” Taeyong paused, swallowing in a futile attempt to settle his nerves—his heart, the delightful shiver in his fingers—as he tries to sort his words out. “I think we should head back to my place. What do you think?”

 

“That’s—That sounds good!” Yuta intertwines his hand with Taeyong’s without a second thought. Taeyong smiles in approval, squeezing it for good measure and he tucked the shark plushies securely into his other arm.

 

Now hand in hand, they made their way out of the arcade, Yuta calling out to their friends, seeming to be finishing up their last game for the night, and bid their goodbyes and exited the building with probably the most ridiculous grins on their faces.

 

Fin.

---

A/N: ...and that's a wrap! thank you to anyone who tuned in and hoped it was a enjoyable!