They made him wait at the library. Hopefully, his wouldn’t imprint itself on the velvet sofa. Three days weren’t enough to get used to the heat and humidity of this foreign land. Also, wearing a suit didn’t help his case. But there was also a pinch of nervousness adding to the sweat. He didn’t even know why he was nervous. This wouldn’t be his first interview; he had done this so many times it was as easy as riding a bicycle. Then again, he had learned to ride a bike when he was eleven. Besides, all the crumpled papers scattered around the carpeted floor and the pile of books supporting one leg of the desk told him this wasn’t one of your regular blue-blooded folks. Come on, there was a shelf titled “Best Romance Books.” Smiling, he pep-talked himself to calm down.

Ten minutes passed, and he was still sitting there waiting. What an irony. Three months ago, amid the chaos of putting this whole interview together, the advisor had told him that tardiness wouldn’t be tolerated. So, Junmyeon had woken up at 6 to be on time at 1 o’clock.

As the twenty minutes approached, Junmyeon wondered if he should go out and ask what was going on. Man, if they canceled on him… The readers would be disappointed. Kyungsoo would be disappointed. This would have been the first time the enigmatic heir accepted an interview. His magazine would be the first to publish the first photograph of him for everyone to see. It had been an incredible accomplishment that the man had been able to remain anonymous for such a long time, his whole life basically. Although, what else to expect when you turned out to be the only heir left and a bastard at that? But the coronation would take place soon, and Junmyeon had pushed and groveled to be the first one to get the scope into the man's life.

Amid the thoughts of how he would break the news to the editor in chief, the doors swung open. Junmyeon stood up and turned around to see who had come in. It wasn’t the scary security guard that had escorted him here, but a young man with dark hair, thick lower lips, smooth skin, and widened eyes gawking at him through his glasses. There was a certain familiarity with his face as if Junmyeon had met him previously but couldn’t quite pinpoint when? Then it was the sheer expression in the man’s face, such bewilderment.

“It’s you,” the man said.

And it was that voice that evoked the memories.

A month ago, Junmyeon had learned the lesson to never again book a trip without a cancelation guarantee. Obviously, last August he hadn’t expected that his ex-boyfriend would have broken up with him and he’ll be single in February. A Valentine’s day get-away weekend had seemed such a wonderful surprise. Instead, he got to experience his trip all alone… Well, not really, at least he had convinced Baekhyun and Jongdae to tag along with him.

So, that was how Junmyeon found himself at a bar, drinking with his friends on Valentine’s day, celebrating nothing.

Baekhyun juggled with three beer bottles in his hands as he walked back to their table. “That guy at the bar is so checking you out, Jun,” he said as he put the bottles down.

The guy held a glass in one hand and turned his head in a swift motion after Junmyeon had met his gaze, spilling some of his drink. His body retracted when the bartender leaned to clean the spill. The dim light reflected his side profile, contrasting soft and lean cheeks, quivering plump lower lips, and furrowed eyebrows. His baggy jeans, white t-shirt, and yellow beany, along with his fixation on his amber drink, said enough.

“A baby gay.”

“And of course, he’s looking at you,” Jongdae added flatly as if he had been saying the sky was blue.

Baekhyun tended to say that with looks like his, Junmyeon could get any gay man he wanted. Although, to be fair, there weren’t that many gay men out there. But yeah, he didn’t mind secretly agreeing to himself that he had been blessed on the looks department. He still remembered how inadequate he had felt trying to establish a conversation with a stranger, how nerve-wracking it was to be flirtatious and fun, and such. Only for him to realize that regardless of what crap came out of his mouth, men would still pretend to be fascinated by him. Junmyeon took the chances that had fallen on his lap; some of them had literally fallen on his lap.

“So? Will you bless him with the Junmyeon experience?” Baekhyun asked and waggled his eyebrows.

“Nah,” Junmyeon said and took a sip of his beer. It was Valentine’s Day, sure, but he wasn’t looking to fall in love or having someone fall for him. “But why don’t you go for it? The poor guy must be dying to get some action.”

Baekhyun made a face. “He sure is, but I am not about to be your replacement. Besides, he’s not my type.”

Jongdae let out a laugh. “It seems like nobody is your type these days. Are you sure you’re still not crushing on Sehun?”

“Shush!” Baekhyun took a sip of his beer and pointed his bottle at Jongdae. “It was a one-time thing. And I’m not in love with him.”

“Who said anything about love? I said crush.”

“Whatever.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I was attracted to him. He was attracted to me. We ed, and that’s it. Do you really think I’ll be dumb enough to fall for him?”

“I think we all know better than to fall for our bosses' son,” Junmyeon said.

As the night passed, Junmyeon and his friends immersed themselves in gossips, debates, or complaints about work, while the guy at the bar got braver and began holding eye contact with Junmyeon for more than three seconds. Eventually, the guy no longer looked away when Junmyeon smiled at him and had even reciprocated the gesture, revealing the cutest dimples he had ever seen. Even though Junmyeon hadn’t thought of getting some action tonight, he could still help Dimples loosen up, taunt him, help him come out of his shell.

Tired of hearing Baekhyun’s complaints, Junmyeon walked to the bar to order more drinks. He stood next to Dimples, who had followed him with his gaze.

“Hey,” Junmyeon said and gave him his most encouraging smile. Looking at Dimples up closely, he felt a little tingly feeling in his stomach. His lower lip was so plump, he wondered how it’ll feel to bite them? Dark hair, smooth skin, beautiful eyes, and the most unusual ears that reminded him of an elf.  Those features had him wondering what was hiding underneath those layers of clothes.

“Hi,” the guy spoke softly. His gaze traveled down Junmyeon’s torso, clearly admiring the tight V-neck Junmyeon wore tonight. if those eyes weren’t boosting Junmyeon’s confidence.

“I’m Jun. Junmyeon.” He offered his hand.

“Ji… Jiashuai.” He had soft, lean hands that had Junmyeon wondering how they’ll feel while caressing him in the back. Their hands lingered together a tad longer than necessary.

“Nice name, although your parents didn’t need to add handsomeness. Spare some for us, mortals.” It was one of those puns Baekhyun would have rolled his eyes at, and Jongdae flatly would have asked him to stop. But it did make Jiashuai laugh, so much that dimples appeared, making Junmyeon gush in admiration and no longer wonder if the laugh was out of pity or genuine. Okay, yes, he had a weakness for a guy with dimples.

“You speak Chinese?” Jiashuai asked in the foreign language.

“I only picked up some words.” Junmyeon had actually learned the meaning of Jiashuai due to a past hook up, a Jiashuai that didn’t look like the one in front of him, who had been way taller and cheekier. “First time here?”

“Ye-yeah,” Jiashuai shifted in his seat. “Sorta. Unless... does sitting on my car outside contemplating whether to go in counts?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I finally got the courage to walk in tonight.” Jiashuai blushed, a rosy shade that spread across his cheeks while he looked down at his glass. “It’s been two hours, and you’re the first person I’m talking to.”

“Hey, everyone walks at their own pace.” Junmyeon put a comforting hand on Jiashuai’s shoulder and felt him tense up even more. “But I’m telling you, most of the guys here are cool. Really, just go talk to them, and they’ll be super chill about it. You're at a gay bar. Besides, you’re good-looking. You’ll find someone easily.”

Jiashuai swallowed. He took the last sip of his drink. Then he raised his gaze. “I guess you’re correct… I mean, he is actually talking to me right now.” The desire in Jiashuai’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed, and it had Junmyeon’s twitching. Oh, what a night it could be.

The spellbound moment broke when the bartender put down his drinks.

“I’ll be right back,” Junmyeon said.

Baekhyun’s knowing ‘You were saying?’ smirk, greeted him when he dumped the beer bottles on the table. Jongdae grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

“Don’t say a word.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Baekhyun said.

Junmyeon put on his leather jacket, feeling the pockets for his hotel keys and wallet.

What happened later went by as always when Junmyeon found a partner for the night: flirtatious exchanges, silly laughs, and hungry gazes, a slight unintentional touch here and there, until Jiashuai’s stiff shoulders had relaxed. Junmyeon kept his rule of never revealing unnecessary personal information to his hookups, something that Jiashuai preferred as well, given that the further they got to exchange was that they had the same age. However, when Junmyeon had asked if they should continue the conversation back in his hotel room, Jiashuai had been unsure. So hesitant that Junmyeon thought he’ll just go home and jack-off on his own. No longer wanting to bother Jiashuai, Junmyeon had wished him a good night when under nervous laughter, Jiashuai whispered that this would be his first time with a man.

“So what? We’ve all been s,” Junmyeon whispered back and smiled reassuringly. Of course, he didn’t mind the lack of experience. On the contrary, it was always fun to show someone the pleasures of gay for the first time, no matter which role he took. The admission of his versatility and lack of judgment seemed to be all the reassurance Jiashuai had needed.

The moment Junmyeon kicked closed the door, he devoured that tempting plump lower lip. With the same fervent hurry, Jiashuai responded to the kiss. His hand found Jiashuai’s cheek. Jiashuai’s hands found his hair; tongues fondled one another until none of them had air left in their lungs.

“Wow,” Jiashuai said.

“Wow indeed.” Junmyeon leaned to nibble on Jiashuai’s neck, loving how sensible he seemed to be there, how his whimpers had him weak.

Sensing the excitement in their lower halves, he grabbed Jiashuai’s hand and took them to the bed. One touch at a time, Junmyeon loosened the tension in Jiashuai’s body. One touch at a time, clothes were scattered all over the floor until they laid on the bed in their underwear. Jiashuai’s hands indeed felt soft as they touched his back, as they roamed down his spine, making Junmyeon shiver. They ground their s against each other, a delicious and delirious pace that had them both leaking. Junmyeon grabbed the waistband of Jiashuai’s boxers, ready to pull them down, only for Jiashuai to go numb.

The kissing subsided, Jiashuai’s eager hands let go of him and pushed him away. When Junmyeon looked down, he saw Jiashuai hesitating.

“I-I can’t.”

Their proved otherwise, but Junmyeon stood up anyway as Jiashuai wrapped himself with the comforter, hiding underneath the fluff. Unsure of what to do, Junmyeon looked for some pants as he began counting in binary, thought of girls, of his upcoming work meeting on Tuesday, and whatnot until his softened.

He picked up Jiashuai’s clothes and put them on the bed. Then, he didn’t know what to do and just stood there in silence. Should he say something? Should he leave the room and give him some privacy? Neither did he want to pry and ask if something was wrong. What would Baekhyun have done? The last question came as a last resort, something Baekhyun himself had told him to do when in doubt. Four out of five times, it didn’t work, but… Baekhyun would have probably tried to lighten the mood. Then again, who wanted to hear a joke about this?

Eventually, Jiashuai emerged from the comforter. His face was flushed with embarrassment. “I’m so-”

“Hey, don’t,” Junmyeon stopped him. “Don’t apologize.”

“But-”

“No buts. If it didn’t feel right, then it wasn’t right.”

“Really? You’re not… Angry? Or disappointed?”

“Only a jerk would get angry and disappointed.” Perhaps it was a good thing that they had met tonight either way. Had Junmyeon been someone else, he was sure they would have been a jerk about it. Heck, they would have even tried to pressure Jiashuai into it. He gave him his best boy smile.

“I get it. I was nervous as when I lost my ity.”

“You?” Jiashuai raised his eyebrows.

“Believe it or not, it happens to anyone.”

Jiashuai still appeared hesitant. “Did you also leave the guy hanging?”

“No. But I made a fool of myself. The guy had just touched my , and I was already coming all over his hand. I dreamed of that moment for so long, but I never foresaw in my ing fantasies that I would end up coming in the first five minutes.”

“That fast?” Jiashuai chuckled. “What did you do?”

“I was mortified. But he was kind about it, didn’t even laugh or anything. I think he was pleased with himself, you know? Gloating over the ability to make someone come with just your touch and heady kisses. But I still felt so mortified, I offered to his until I was ready to try again.”

“So you his ?”

“No, I was an eager . I took too much for my own good and choked myself on his , which activated my gag reflex. So, yeah, not only did I come embarrassedly fast, but I almost puked on his .”

Jiashuai’s laughter filled the room, making Junmyeon laugh with him as well. As the years passed, the embarrassment faded, and Junmyeon was left with the fondness of the memory. God bless Park Chanyeol for dealing with him that night.

“Don’t worry. I get it.”

“Yeah, you really do.” Jiashuai looked down. He breathed in and said, “I just thought I could be someone different for one night. Not related to my uality, I’ve known I was gay since I can remember. But while everyone else was out there living, I was preparing myself for something I didn’t even ask for… So much time of a life wasted, I thought tonight I could be…” He didn’t elaborate further, only kept looking down.

“Maybe you can’t change your past, but there's still time to shape your own future.” Perhaps it was terrible advice, but he didn't know anything about Jiashuai's life circumstances. It was the best he could do.

Jiashuai smiled. An adorable dimple appeared on his left cheek. He shifted on the bed and reached for his clothes.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Junmyeon excused himself. 

“Wait.”

Jiashuai looked at him in the eyes. “Could you… Could you still hold me tonight?”

How could he not? Jiashuai had these eyes that emanated a palpable need for affection it was impossible to refuse. Saying no would be like abandoning a kitten in the woods.

“Sorry, that was a weird request. I should leave.”

Junmyeon let out a laugh. “No.”

“Huh?”

“I mean sure. Let’s cuddle.”

They ended up sitting against the headboard, looking at each other awkwardly. Man, he hadn’t felt this way since high school. But just for tonight, Junmyeon would try to give him the comfort he sought. He put one arm around him, and Jiashuai slowly leaned in closer, letting out a sigh of relief. Only now did Junmyeon realize that Jiashuai’s scent reminded him of butter cake.

That night Junmyeon slept in a tangle of limbs, with hair stuffed in his face, the body warmth and sweat of another person diffusing onto him. He had forgotten how nice it felt to hold someone, to be in someone’s arms and get a good night’s sleep.

The next morning his companion had left, taking all traces of him. And Junmyeon had gone back home, where he eventually forgot of this night ever happening.

Until now, because there was Jiashuai again, wearing a royal uniform and a crown.

Prince Zhang Yixing.

“,” Junmyeon said.

 

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A one-shot I wrote earlier this year but completely forgot to publish here lol. Might be developed into a full-length story in the future ^^