*Ding dong!*

Zhou Mi jumped up and walked over to the front door, opening it. Henry, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, was standing there.

"Hey," Henry smiled at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yes." Zhou Mi glanced down at his dark green pants and white button-up shirt. "Is this ok?"

"Yeah. I'll have the most handsome date there."

"Date?" Zhou Mi blinked in surprise.

"Yeah. I figured that's what we'd been doing." Henry said. "Was I wrong?"

"Well... I don't know." Zhou Mi admitted. "I didn't think I was ready to date anyone, but... I'm willing to give it a try."

Henry beamed at him. "Great. Shall we go then?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Zhou Mi replied. He grabbed his jacket and put it on. "Let's go."

Henry grabbed Zhou Mi's hand and tugged the taller man out of the door.

Zhou Mi turned and locked the front door, then pocketed his keys and walked over to Henry. "So, where are we going?"

"The park, actually. That's where we have most of our recitals." Henry explained.

"Ok." Zhou Mi walked along beside Henry. "So, how was your day?"

Henry sent him an amused glance, almost as if he was saying 'that's the best you can come up with?' "It was pretty good. Went to school, went to violin practice. Just the basics. How was your day?"

Zhou Mi bit his lip. He certainly wasn't going to tell Henry that he'd spent the day looking for information about Kyuhyun. "It was king of boring. Sent my resume to some clothing stores . One store, Petals, looks promising. Hopefully I'll get a call from them."

"Petals?" Henry repeated. "Interesting name for a store. Are you sure it's a clothing store and not a flower shop?"

"Yeah. I've been there a couple times. The guy who works there, Heechul, told me about the job."

"Well, hopefully you'll get the job."

"Thanks. What about you? What do you plan on doing?"

Henry looked thoughtful. "I'd like to be a professional violinist, honestly."

"Well, once that happens, I'll have to come watch your concerts."

Henry blushed. "No, you don't have to do that."

"Well, I want to."

"You don't even know if I'm good or not."

"I will once we get to your recital."

"True." Henry said. "We're here, by the way." He indicated a courtyard off to the side.

Zhou Mi could see a platform set up in the middle of the courtyard with chairs surrounding it. "Alright, let's go."

"Wait a minute." Henry grabbed Zhou Mi's hand and tugged him off to the side. He leaned up and kissed Zhou Mi, pressing the taller man back against a tree.

Zhou Mi kissed Henry back after a minute, sliding a hand up the shorter man's shoulder and neck, cupping the back of his head as their lips moved together.

Henry moaned softly, then pulled away from Zhou Mi. "That's what I needed." he said, smiling softly.

Zhou Mi smiled back at Henry, but couldn't help wondering if they were going too fast. He had to admit there was chemistry between him and Henry, but chemistry wasn't everything. "What time does the recital start?" he asked.

"In ten minutes, so I need to get going. And you need to find a seat." Henry leaned up and brushed his lips against Zhou Mi's quickly, then pulled away. He smiled, then turned and hurried away.

Zhou Mi watched him go, then walked into the courtyard, looking around. It was small, but cozy with five-foot tall hedges closing off three of the sides. Lights had been set up around the edges, all shining towards the platform.

The redhead walked towards the chairs and chose a seat towards the front of the platform, then sat down. He hadn't been sitting for long before the seats started filling up. There was a thump next to him as someone sat down.

He looked to the side and froze when he saw a young man with short, brown hair wearing a tshirt and jeans sitting next to him.

It's him! Zhou Mi thought to himself, quickly facing forward. He glanced to the side, watching the other man out of the corner of his eye.

The young man looked forward steadily, seemingly unaware that he was being watched.

"Hey, you were with Henry the other day, weren't you?"

Zhou Mi glanced up and saw that the seat to his right had been claimed by the cook from the park. "Yeah, I'm Zhou Mi." he said, holding his hand out.

The other man shook it. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Han Geng."

"It's nice to meet you, Han Geng."

"Thanks. Did Henry invite you to come?"

"Yeah. Did he invite you?"

The sound of light applause interrupted them, making both of them look up.

A line of men and women filed onto the platform. Henry was in the middle of the group. When he walked out, he looked up, eyes searching the audience until he found Zhou Mi. His eyes lit up and he waved briefly at the taller man.

Beside Zhou Mi, Han Geng sighed softly.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Mi asked, curious.

Han Geng nodded. "Yeah. I... probably shouldn't have come, even if he did invite me."

It was like someone had hit a switch in Zhou Mi's mind. "You like him, don't you?"

"...Yes. But it's hopeless, I don't think he'll ever notice me. I'm just a cook in the park, after all."

"You shouldn't give up so easily." Zhou Mi told him.

Han Geng glanced at him. "Why are you being so nice to me? Aren't you two dating?"

Zhou Mi felt his cheeks burn. "Um... I suppose we are."

"You don't sound too happy."

"I am! Henry is a really nice guy!" Zhou Mi protested.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Zhou Mi bit his lip, not sure what to say.

Han Geng turned back to the stage. "He's up now."

Zhou Mi looked up, seeing Henry standing in the front, holding his violin tucked under his chin. He lifted his bow and drew it lightly across the strings. Henry closed his eyes and started to play the violin.

Zhou Mi had to admit that the music was good. Henry played the violin beautifully, though Han Geng seemed more into it then he was.

When the music was done, Zhou Mi glanced to his left, remembering the young man next to him.

The seat was completely empty, almost as if he'd never been there.

****

"So... What did you think?" Henry asked shyly.

Zhou Mi smiled. "You're really good. Did you know that Han Geng showed up?"

"Really?" Henry looked surprised and pleased. "I didn't think he'd come."

"He did." Zhou Mi replied.

They were silent the rest of the way to Zhou Mi's house.

Zhou Mi sighed and turned to face Henry. "Henry... Do you like me?"

"Of course." Henry replied promptly. "Why?"

"Do you love me?"

"I... Yes. What's with you tonight?"

"...Nothing." Zhou Mi said. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Henry leaned up and kissed Zhou Mi on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright." Zhou Mi turned around and unlocked his door, walking inside. He closed the door, watching as Henry turned and started walking away.

****

Alright, here's a quick explanation for Henry's behavior. He's being so aggressive because he does like Zhou Mi, but he also likes Han Geng, though he doesn't think Han Geng likes him, so he's pursuing the 'safer' option. And don't worry, this is still a QMi story. I apologize for any OOCness and errors.