pairing: krisoo (implied!kailay).
word count: 6100.
rating: pg.
genre: fluff so disgusting it'll make you puke. seriously.
summary: of puppies and perfect first dates.
 

“Chanyeol, no!” is the last thing Kyungsoo hears before he is suddenly hit in the back by a large, seemingly airborne object. Seconds later, he finds the ground coming towards him at an alarming velocity, and the limited amount of time passing between the two happenings gives him next to no chance to react. He lands in a pile of snow with a small oof.

A good eighty pounds of what he really hopes is a dog – if it's not, the person currently nosing at the back of his head is definitely breaking some kind of universally agreed-upon rule about personal boundaries – sits itself on Kyungsoo's back, heavy and bordering on bone-crushing. “God, you're heavy,” Kyungsoo mutters, shifting experimentally to get whatever's on his back to move. It doesn't work.

“Oh my God,” the voice from before says again, now at a closer proximity. “I am so sorry about this, oh my God, Chanyeol, get off him right now!”

The weight on Kyungsoo's back is gone and a large hand curls around his upper arm and hauls him to his feet. “Oh dear,” Kyungsoo says, stumbling a little. In an attempt to regain his balance he reflexively grabs onto the arms of the guy who just helped him get up.

“I am so, so sorry,” the person says again. Kyungsoo raises his head to look up... and up and up because, oh, tall. Tall and handsome is a great combination, Kyungsoo immediately decides.

“No, it's okay,” he says a bit breathlessly, only because he just hit the ground pretty hard and not for any other reason than that (especially not because the stranger is extraordinarily gorgeous or anything like that, nope, not at all). He realizes that he's still holding on to the guy. He lets his hands linger on his arms for another moment before slowly pulling away, busying himself with dusting the remnants of snow off his body.

The guy exhales in exasperated defeat. “It's just... you're wearing green and he really likes green.” He gestures sheepishly towards Kyungsoo's scarf, then towards the golden retriever, who's standing perfectly happy and oblivious by his side, panting and wagging its tail as if it didn't just tackle someone to the ground.

“Aren't dogs supposed to be colorblind, though?”

The guy blinks and then slumps over a little with another sigh. “Man, I don't even know anymore.” Kyungsoo feels a jab of sympathy in his chest. He looks so exhausted.

With a small smile gracing his features, Kyungsoo crouches down until he's on the dog's level. He takes off his gloves before he reaches out to scratch behind its floppy ears, and he is rewarded with a to the nose, wet tongue leaving slobber on his face. His smile turns into a larger one. He glances up at the stranger, who is watching them quietly. “What's his name?”

“Chanyeol,” sounds the answer, and Kyungsoo turns to the dog again.

“Chanyeollie-yah~,” he coos. The dog barks once, promptly throws itself on the ground and rolls onto its back, and it wiggles with excitement as Kyungsoo rubs its tummy. “Oh, you're such a pretty, little doggie, aren't you? I bet you give your daddy a lot of trouble. Are you a little troublemaker, huh?” The dog barks again as if responding to the question and Kyungsoo chuckles.

“Wow, he really likes you.”

“It looks like it.” Delighted, Kyungsoo beams up at the stranger, and he receives a smile in return, but the smile is clearly guarded. Kyungsoo is a little disappointed. He doesn't say anything, though. He gives the dog a few more pats on the stomach for good measure before standing upright again.

A leather glove-clad hand is extended towards Kyungsoo, and he looks up – it's totally not because he's short, this guy is just ridiculously tall (and handsome) – and is met by another tight smile. “I'm Wu Yifan.”

“Do Kyungsoo.” The leather feels cold against his palm when he takes Yifan's hand to shake it. Yifan's grip is firm and so is his gaze. There's faint pink dusting Kyungsoo's cheekbones when he retracts his hand, but he ignores it. “So do you live around here or...?”

“We live a few blocks up the street,” Yifan says, gesturing in that direction. “What about you?”

“Actually I live in Mapo-gu, I'm on my way to work.”

“Oh. I'm sorry to bother you then.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head with a smile and a dismissing gesture. “No worries,” he says and Yifan looks notably less tense after that. There are a few beats of silence, which Kyungsoo eventually breaks by clearing his throat. “Well, I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you. Both of you.” He reaches out to pet Chanyeol's head one last time and with another heart-shaped smile directed at Yifan, he turns and continues down the path he was walking on when he was violently body-slammed by a large dog.

He manages to take exactly five steps before Yifan calls out. “Wait!” And Kyungsoo does, facing him with what is most likely a questioning expression. Yifan's long legs cover the space between them in only three strides. “Uhm, I... I was wondering if... if I could get your number.” Kyungsoo blinks in surprise, recoiling a little. He didn't expect this, and he's not sure how to answer. Yifan grimaces. “I just moved here recently and I don't know a lot of people so I was hoping that, I don't know, maybe we could get to know each other a bit better?” Kyungsoo remains speechless, staring at Yifan's hopeful expression that is slowly faltering. “It's okay if you say no,” he assures him. “Sorry if this is inappropriate.”

Finally, Kyungsoo manages to tear himself out of his daze. “Uh, s-sure,” he says. He's pretty sure Yifan isn't a serial killer, and even if he was, giving him his number won't cause any harm... right? “Give me your phone, then.” He enters his number into the device before handing it back, and they finally part with another exchange of smiles.

Kyungsoo's heart doesn't quite settle for the rest of the day and the smile never leaves his face.

It's almost dark outside when Kyungsoo enters his apartment that night, the bottom edge of the sky still dyed a faint orange from the lingering light of the setting sun. He has to throw his entire body weight against the door to be able to shut it all the way, and when he finally manages to close it, he tosses his keys on the small dresser pushed against the wall and calls out: “Baekhyun, I'm home!” The sing-songy exclaim is met with a row of barks and then the clicking of claws against floorboards as Baekhyun comes galloping towards him. Kyungsoo clicks his tongue, shaking his head good-naturedly. “Wow, you must be the worst guard dog in the world.” He kneels down to greet the tiny dog properly. It's yapping away and its entire body is wagging along with its tail, making it hard for Kyungsoo to actually pet it. In the end, he gives up.

After taking off his shoes and coat, Kyungsoo makes his way to the kitchen, turning on his lamps as he goes. Upon checking his cellphone, he finds three missed calls and the same amount of new voice messages, and Kyungsoo puts the phone on speaker and places it on the kitchen counter so he can listen to them as he starts dinner. You have three new messages, a robotic female voice informs him. As if he didn't already know.

The first one starts with a beep: “Hey, Soo, how's it going?” Now resting on its dog bed, Baekhyun raises its head and tilts it curiously from side to side as if trying to determine where the sound is coming from. It clearly recognizes the voice. “I know it's been a while so I'm just calling to let you know that I'm still alive. Me and Xingxing are doing great.”

“Xingxing,” Kyungsoo mimics mockingly under his breath, shaking his head, but he can't help but smile. He can hear the love in the kid's voice and it's kind of cute.

“Also, please don't kill me, we're probably going to stay in China for a while longer, I don't know how long, but Xingxing really wanted to go to Changsha and see his family and you know I can't say no to that cute face, haha. I hope you'll continue to take care of Baekkie for me while I'm gone. I promise I'll make it up to you when I get home! Uh... yeah, I think that's all for now. Oh, this is Jongin, by the way.” And just like that, the message ends.

“Your daddy is a bad person,” Kyungsoo says as he points at Baekhyun with the knife he's using to chop up vegetables. The dog obviously doesn't understand and just its head to the side, blinking dumbly up at him. Kyungsoo snorts.

“It's been forever since we saw each other so I'm coming over to your place this weekend,” begins the second message. “I'll bring booze if you do that cute thing you usually do where you slave in the kitchen for hours like the good, little future housewife that you are. Love ya, bye.” By now Kyungsoo has lost count of how many times he has questioned his friendship with Zitao. He's not even fazed by the message.

“Uh, yes, hello? Do Kyungsoo?” Kyungsoo's knife pauses halfway through a piece of bok choy as he stares at his phone with wide eyes. The voice continues after letting out a chuckle: “I really hope this is Kyungsoo's phone because if it's not, I think I'm making a pretty big fool out of myself right now. Anyway, uh... this is Yifan. You know, from the park? The guy whose dog tackled you? I'm sorry about that by the way and... I'm sorry if it's too soon for me to call, I don't really know how this kind of thing goes, but, uh... I was wondering if we could meet up sometime? Maybe for dinner? I don't know. Call me. Please. B-bye.”

It takes a few moments for Kyungsoo to resume his chopping. He feels his cheeks coloring all over again at the recollection of the meeting with the handsome stranger in the park, and he makes a mental note to call Yifan back later.

When Kyungsoo starts frying the shrimp for his dinner, he feels something tugging on his pants. Looking down he sees, not surprisingly, Sehun staring back at him with its slanted, green eyes as it paws at his leg. Kyungsoo clicks his tongue. “Oh, so now you're willing to drag your lazy out here, huh? It's because of the shrimps, isn't it?” Of course the cat says nothing, just keeps staring at him with an imploring gaze. “Well, you're not getting any.” The cat starts to purr, then, rubbing its head insistently against his leg in an attempt to win him over, and Kyungsoo feels his determination falter for a brief moment, but he quickly manages to pull himself together. He frowns. “I said no, Sehun. I'll feed you later.” As if the cat understands him it stops purring abruptly and leaves the kitchen with a last glare thrown in Kyungsoo's direction.

Sehun comes back while Kyungsoo is eating, jumping up to sit on the chair next to him with its tail swinging lazily back and forth. And although Kyungsoo tries very hard to ignore the cat and its staring, he eventually ends up feeding it a few bites of his dinner while inwardly cursing himself and his soft, animal-loving heart.

After doing the dishes and providing both animals with kibble – Sehun had stared at Kyungsoo with great disapproval before sauntering off, leaving the food completely untouched, while Baekhyun happily gobbled down everything in a matter of minutes – Kyungsoo settles on the couch with his phone. Suddenly, he feels anxiety creeping up his spine.

The truth is that he doesn't do this a lot. He doesn't date a lot. And usually when he does, it's with someone his friends have set him up with because they're convinced that he's lonely and needs a boyfriend (even though he's perfectly fine on his own, really). He's not quite sure what to do and what to say and how to act, but he figures he'll just go with a natural approach. His finger hovers over the 'call' button a total of five times before he finally mans up and actually presses it, and he holds the device to his ear, listening to the dial tone.

It only takes two and a half beep before the phone is picked up. “Hello?” sounds the voice that makes Kyungsoo's heart stutter uncomfortably all over again.

“You told me to call you, so... this is me calling you.”

Yifan is quiet for a few moments as if he's not sure how to react or maybe he's thinking Kyungsoo's words over or maybe it's something else, Kyungsoo doesn't really know, but he's starting to worry and wonders whether he should say something else. But then Yifan lets out a short laugh. He sounds relieved. “Kyungsoo-ssi?”

Kyungsoo's cheeks flush a little at the way Yifan says his name. “Yeah,” he exhales, and Yifan chuckles again, warmly. “So,” Kyungsoo continues, sitting rigidly and playing with the hem of his shirt. He still feels anxious. “Dinner?”

“That's what I was thinking, if that's alright with you.”

“Dinner sounds great.” He wishes he could see Yifan's face, his reactions. “How about Saturday at... six?”

“Sounds good. I'll come pick you up.”

“I'll text you the address.”

“Good.”

“Good.” There's a natural lull in the conversation after that and Kyungsoo listens to Yifan's quiet breathing for a couple of seconds before inhaling a deep breath of his own. “Well, I guess that's settled, then. I'll... I'll see you Saturday.”

“I'll look forward to seeing you again, Kyungsoo-ssi,” Yifan says, and this time the flush spreading rapidly on Kyungsoo's skin creeps down his neck as well. This is starting to get annoying. Kyungsoo never blushes this much. He mutters a quiet bye and when Yifan has replied with a goodbye of his own, he hangs up and puts his phone down.

For a few minutes, Kyungsoo just sits there, trying to calm his racing heart. Then a smile forms on his face, small at first, but quickly growing. “I have a date,” he whispers to the empty apartment. Baekhyun, who has joined Kyungsoo on the couch, wags its tail excitedly as if it understands what he's saying and his hand.

It's Saturday around four pm when Kyungsoo's doorbell rings and he all but panics. He's been thinking about his date all week and has grown increasingly nervous to a point where he's starting to consider feigning sickness and texting Yifan to call the whole thing off. And now it's four o'clock and they had agreed that Yifan would pick him up at six and four is not six and it's too early and Kyungsoo really isn't emotionally prepared for this.

“J-just a second,” Kyungsoo calls frantically as he starts making his way from the living room to the bathroom to make sure for the umpteenth time that he looks at least presentable even though he's actually been ready to go for about half an hour at this point.

“Do Kyungsoo, are you watching in there?” sounds Zitao's teasing voice, distorted by the barrier between them, and Kyungsoo stops in his tracks, breathes a sigh of relief and goes to open the door for his friend. Immediately, he gets an armful of bottle as Zitao practically shoves it at him. “I come bearing booze,” he says theatrically and with a flourish. He then makes his way into the apartment without even being invited in, peeling off his jacket and throwing it on the nearest chair before kneeling on the floor to pet Baekhyun, who has been yapping and shifting excitedly on the spot ever since the doorbell rang.

“What are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks as he picks up Zitao's jacket to hang it on the coat rack instead. Even though he's kind of thankful the distraction his presence serves, he doesn't exactly have time to entertain a guest when he's going on a date. Oh God, he's going on a date. He feels queasy all over again and his eyes flicker down to the bottle of rum he's still clutching in his hands as he weighs the pros and cons of ingesting half of it before Yifan shows up.

“I told you I'd come over this weekend, didn't I?” Zitao plops down on the couch and no more than five seconds after he has sat down he has a cat in his lap. Sehun stomps around on Zitao's thighs and purrs enthusiastically as he rubs his head against Zitao's chest. Zitao chuckles. “Hello, Sehun-ah~, it's been a while since I saw you.” He reaches out to soft fur, which causes the cat to purr even louder, arching its back and nuzzling against his palm. “Yes, yes, I missed you too. You're such a pretty, little kitty, aren't you? I really don't understand why you think he's so difficult, I think he's adorable.” The last part is directed at Kyungsoo.

“That's because he actually likes you,” Kyungsoo remarks with a sigh. “I'm pretty sure he only puts up with me because I'm the one who feeds him.”

Laughing, Zitao raises his head, mouth open to retort, but he pauses before he can say anything, cocking a brow. He gives Kyungsoo a onceover as if he hadn't noticed what he was wearing until now, and Kyungsoo squirms a bit under his evaluating gaze. Then Zitao grins. “Oh, honey,” he drawls in a condescending tone. “Did you dress up all nice for me? You didn't have to.”

Kyungsoo scowls. “It's not for you, it's...” He goes quiet and averts his gaze.

But, alas, Zitao already picked up on it. “It's what?” he questions as he leans forward in interest.

“Nothing.”

“Don't lie to me, Do Kyungsoo, I can tell when you're lying. Is it...?” Zitao gasps obnoxiously. “Are you going on a date?” This time Kyungsoo doesn't even try to deny it, Zitao knows him too well for that. Zitao claps his hands excitedly. Sehun meows and paws at his arm in protest, demanding more petting. “That's great! What's his name? Where did you meet him? How long have you known each other? Come sit down over here and tell your favorite friend all about it.” Zitao pats the empty seat next to himself.

Kyungsoo chooses to stay standing. He crosses his arms over his chest. “His name is Yifan, we met in the park a couple of days ago and this is the first time we're going out together.” He decides against referring to this outing as a 'date'. For all he knows it could merely be a friendly dinner.

“First date and you're wearing that?” Zitao says with great skepticism, and Kyungsoo looks down at his own clothes, frowning.

“What's wrong with this?”

All he gets in response is a dramatic eye roll as Zitao gets off the couch – much to Sehun's dismay, if the cat's distressed wailing is any indication – to grab him by the wrist and drag him off to the bedroom. “Let me take care of you,” Zitao says, and although Kyungsoo feels a bit uncomfortable leaving the fate of his outfit in the hands of Zitao, he trusts him not to screw this up for him.

When the doorbell rings for the second time that day, Zitao is off the couch and halfway out of the living room before Kyungsoo can even react. Kyungsoo follows hesitantly, wringing his hands in front of him as he goes. Anxiety is eating him up inside. Maybe he can just go hide in the bedroom and pretend he's not there? No, that's probably a bad idea, because Zitao would without a doubt come to haul him out and that would be more humiliating than anything else. “Wow,” Kyungsoo hears Yifan saying before he makes it all the way into the hallway. “You've sure changed since the last time I saw you, Kyungsoo-ssi.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?” Zitao responds and Kyungsoo sees him narrowing his eyes at Yifan, who's still standing outside the door. Kyungsoo picks up his pace and practically tackles Zitao out of the way before he has the chance to ruin everything.

“Hi,” he says, shooting Yifan a beaming smile, which Yifan responds to with a tight-lipped one of his own, the same guarded one as usual. He's wearing a dark grey double-ed jacket with black slacks and the same black leather gloves as he had worn the other day in the park, and he looks even more handsome than Kyungsoo remembers, which is Bad with a capital B.

“Hi,” Yifan says. Kyungsoo shifts under his obviously appreciative stare. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, just... let me put on my shoes and... stuff.” As Yifan waits outside, Kyungsoo quickly wraps his scarf around his neck, puts on his shoes and his blue parka and tugs on his gloves. He makes to step out the door, but Zitao grabs him by the arm before he can make it very far. Turning to Yifan, he mutters a row of words in Chinese that has Yifan raising his eyebrows in clear surprise, and even though Kyungsoo doesn't understand a single thing, the tone of the sentences seems to be threatening and that is exactly what causes the nervousness to wash over him.

After a few moments, Zitao breaks into a pleasant smile again. He tugs on Kyungsoo's arm to pull him in for a tight hug, which Kyungsoo kind of stumbles into. “I'll stay here for the night,” Zitao says. “Keep the pets company and stuff. Call me if anything happens.” He sends them off with a friendly pat to Kyungsoo's backside and another stern look directed at Yifan. Then the front door closes. And Kyungsoo gulps.

They make their way to the elevator in silence and the ride down is silent as well. Kyungsoo can't quite tell if the atmosphere is tense or if he's just imagining it. He startles when Yifan speaks. “Your friend doesn't seem to like me very much,” he says and Kyungsoo looks up to see a contemplative look on his face. “Or is it because he doesn't like that you're going out for dinner? Is he jealous?”

Kyungsoo lets out a small burst of laughter, which makes Yifan's mouth twitch with amusement. “No, Zitao is really excited for me, actually,” he says. “He's just... kind of overprotective, I guess. Like an older brother, even though he's not actually older than me.” Yifan only gives a hum in response and Kyungsoo shoots him a sidelong glance. “What... what did he say to you?”

“Just that he's going to 'end' me if I hurt you in any way.” Kyungsoo looks mildly horrified and Yifan laughs. “Don't worry, that's not going to happen. I'm not going to hurt you.”

“I hope not,” Kyungsoo mumbles. Yifan looks at him as if he wants to say something else, but the elevator has reached the bottom floor and the doors slide open so he doesn't get the chance to do so before they have to move.

Yifan's car is expensive. Even Kyungsoo, who barely knows anything about cars, can tell that it is. On the outside it's black and shiny and sleek, and when Yifan walks ahead to hold the door open for Kyungsoo, he suddenly feels underdressed, as if he's not high-class enough to even be allowed inside a vehicle like this. Nonetheless, he gets in and settles in the passenger seat, trying to touch as little of the black leather as possible as Yifan makes his way around the front of the car to get into the driver's seat.

“So where are we going?” he asks once he has started the engine.

“Uhm, I don't really know,” Kyungsoo responds a bit sheepishly. Yifan had to repeat the question because Kyungsoo had been distracted by watching Yifan's large, large hand close around the knob of the gear stick so he could put the car in reverse and back it out of the spot he had parked it in. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I was actually kind of hoping that you would know where to go.” Yifan smiles the tight-lipped smile again. “I'm new here, remember? That's kind of the point of this.”

“Right.” Kyungsoo clears his throat. He's not usually this easily flustered, but Yifan is ridiculously attractive and Kyungsoo wants to leave a good impression on him. He feels like he's already failing at doing that. At a loss for what to do, he manages to stammer out the address to a nearby restaurant that serves nice, traditional Korean food and Yifan taps the information into his GPS.

The ride is silent at first apart from the electronic female voice calling out directions once in a while. It's Yifan who speaks first: “I didn't get the chance to tell you this earlier, but you look nice.”

Kyungsoo smiles. “Thanks. You... you look nice too.” Very nice.

“Are you nervous?” Yifan glances at Kyungsoo out the corner of his eye.

“A little,” Kyungsoo admits, staring down at his wringing hands. “I don't really do this a lot. Going out like this, I mean.” He still doesn't want to use the word 'date'. He's not sure if it really is one. He could have misinterpreted the situation.

“Me neither,” Yifan mutters. “But don't worry, I'm sure we're going to have a good time. It's not for nothing that they call me Yifun.”

It takes a few seconds for the words to sink in. Then Kyungsoo snaps his head around so fast that he almost gets whiplash. “What.”

Yifan looks absolutely mortified. “Uh... nothing.”

“No, what did you just say?”

“Nothing,” he repeats relentlessly, but when Kyungsoo keeps staring at him with wide eyes, he pulls a face. “Can we please just forget I ever said that?” This is the most flustered Kyungsoo has seen him and to be honest it's kind of refreshing. It's a relief. He has to bite back a laugh when Yifan mutters under his breath: “Oh my God, how embarrassing.”

“So,” Kyungsoo says, he feels more at ease now. “Does anyone really call you that? Yifun?”

Yifan shoots Kyungsoo another sideways glance. His cheekbones are still faint pink to flaunt his embarrassment, but he seems relieved to see Kyungsoo is smiling, at least. “As a matter of fact some of my friends do call me that,” he says, and Kyungsoo is surprised until Yifan furrows his brow and adds in a somber tone: “Although I'm pretty sure they mean it sarcastically.” This time Kyungsoo fails to hold back his laughter. He feels a little bad about laughing on Yifan's behalf, but then he sees the smile tugging at Yifan's lips and everything is okay.

The restaurant is fairly empty by the time they arrive. In Kyungsoo's opinion, this is a good thing. Being in a room filled with people he doesn't know tends to make him anxious, and he's already anxious enough as it is, so empty is definitely better. The waiter at the door smiles at them when they enter. “Table for two?” he asks and upon receiving an affirmative response, he grabs two menus and gestures for them to follow.

Yifan leads Kyungsoo to the table with a large, warm hand placed at the small of his back. He even pulls the chair out for him and pushes it in as he sits down. Kyungsoo feels pampered. He's not completely sure if he likes it or not. The waiter leaves them to decide on what they want to order. “You can get whatever you want,” Yifan says almost right away. “My treat.”

“Oh, you don't have to—”

“Consider it a thank you for showing me this place. And for agreeing to spend time with me. I'm sure you could have thought of better things to do.” Kyungsoo doesn't think getting drunk and watching bad chick flicks with his obnoxious best friend can compare to having a nice meal with a tall, handsome stranger, but he doesn't say that out loud. Instead he just bites his lip and considers himself lucky that the light in the restaurant is dim. It makes his blush less noticeable. Yifan's knee bumps against his under the table and Kyungsoo looks up, startled. “What do you suggest?” he asks. “I don't know what's good here.”

“Well...” Kyungsoo looks over the menu. “The galbijjim is good and the bulgogi is amazing. And of course there's samgyupsal. They also make really nice jjigae, not nearly as good as the one I usually make, of course, but...” He pauses, takes in Yifan's amused expression and lowers his eyes bashfully.

“You do realize that you are now required to cook me jjigae some time, right?”

Kyungsoo sniffs. “I'm going to make you the best jjigae you've ever tasted,” he vows and looks up again when Yifan chuckles.

“I'll hold you to that.” There are a couple of seconds where they just look at each other. This time Yifan looks away first, fumblingly picking his menu back up. “Are you ready to order?”

They get dak galbi and kimchi jjigae, and they sit back in their seats as they wait for their food to arrive. “How's Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Busy getting in trouble.” There's a fond yet troubled smile on Yifan's face as he speaks. “He got a little too friendly with my neighbor's prize-winning poodle. The owner was so furious she turned purple in the face. It was fascinating.” Kyungsoo hides his laugh behind his hand and Yifan's mouth twitches. “I think he misses you, though. You should come visit him some time.”

Kyungsoo arches a brow in amusement. “Are you sure that's not just some terrible excuse to get me to go back to your place?”

Yifan's mouth twitches again. “It might be,” he says nonchalantly, wiggling his eyebrows. Kyungsoo nearly chokes on his ice water. Yifan doesn't seem to notice or maybe he just ignores it as he says: “You seem really good with pets.”

“Yeah, I have a cat named Sehun. He's a grumpy little diva and he seems to like my friends better than he likes me.” Yifan laughs. His smile is slowly becoming less and less guarded each time he flashes it. Kyungsoo likes that. “There's also a dog living with us right now, Baekhyun.”

“Wow.” Yifan seems impressed. “You really love animals, huh?”

Kyungsoo runs a finger through the condensation on the side of his glass as he contemplates his words. “My dream is to work with animals for a living. I... when I was younger I really wanted to work at a pet store, but I never, you know...” He shrugs. Yifan nods in understanding. “What about you? You don't exactly strike me as a dog person, if I have to be honest.”

“I actually never considered myself a pet person at all, but then...” Yifan grimaces. He looks down at his hands that are resting in his lap. “This is probably too much information, but I came to Seoul for work and my... my boyfriend back in China, he said he couldn't deal with the distance, that it wasn't working for him, so...” He trails off and his eyes flicker before he continues: “I got lonely after a while and I guess I figured a puppy would help, but...”

“It's not the same as an actual person,” Kyungsoo finishes for him. He knows this all too well.

Yifan nods. “Chanyeol is a good puppy, though. I don't regret getting him. Well... I could do without the enraged neighbors and chewed up footwear.” Yifan smiles when Kyungsoo laughs, and Kyungsoo is happy about that. He likes that expression a lot better than the sad one he saw while Yifan was talking about his ex.

Their food arrives, and they eat while talking about lighter subjects than breakups and unfulfilled dreams. Kyungsoo still feels an inappropriate amount of excitement about hearing 'boy' rather than 'girl' affixed to the 'friend' in Yifan's previous sentence.

The rest of the dinner progresses slowly, smoothly, without any hitches. It's a nice evening, and before Kyungsoo even realizes it, they have spent several hours together. Yifan offers to take Kyungsoo home afterwards, and Kyungsoo doesn't decline, so they get in Yifan's car and start the trip back to Kyungsoo's place, silent but content.

On the way, they drive past a small group of children sliding on a frozen puddle as though it was a skating rink. They look so happy and excited with their cold-bitten faces. “Have you ever been skating before?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Skating?” Yifan repeats. “As in ice skating? Of course I have, I'm from Canada!”

“I haven't tried it,” Kyungsoo mutters. The children disappear from his view.

“Do you want to try?” Now Kyungsoo turns to look at Yifan, who sits stiffly in his seat. “We can... I mean, if you want to, that is... we can go ice skating some time?” His eyes flicker to Kyungsoo for just a second. “Only if you want, of course. No pressure.”

Kyungsoo purses his lips. He would probably fail miserably at it, but the kids looked like they were having so much fun, even as they slipped and fell. “Are you doing anything tomorrow?”

“I don't have any plans right now, no. Why do you ask?”

“Wanna go skating together?” Kyungsoo suggests. It's a bit nerve-wracking. He really hopes Yifan enjoyed tonight as much as he did.

It doesn't take long for Yifan to make up his mind (and Kyungsoo swears he sees him biting back a grin), and he responds: “Yeah. I'd like that a lot.”

Fighting a smile of his own, Kyungsoo lowers his head. “Great.”

Too soon they're back at Kyungsoo's place. Yifan parks the car in front of the building, and for a while they just sit there in silence. Kyungsoo knows this is probably the point where he should get out of the car, but there's something in the air, something unspoken, so he waits, and eventually Yifan takes a deep breath. “I had a nice time tonight,” he says.

“Me too,” Kyungsoo mutters. Yifan's hands are tight around the steering wheel, his breathing slightly awkward. He's looking straight ahead rather than at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo sighs inaudibly. “I should go, the pets are probably tweaking out right about now. I'll text you so we can make plans for tomorrow?” He reaches out to open the door, ready to step out of the car.

“Wait!” Yifan says, and Kyungsoo pauses with his hand on the handle. “I'm sorry if... if I completely misread the situation or something, but...” Kyungsoo watches his Adam's apple bob. “Am I wrong to assume that... that this was... a date?”

Kyungsoo breathes a sigh of relief, hoping it's unnoticeable. He had been wondering the same thing, so he's glad Yifan had the guts to actually ask. Despite his happiness, he just shrugs nonchalantly. “If you want it to be a date, it could be.”

“I want it to be a date,” Yifan says without even bothering to consider it. He turns to look Kyungsoo in the eye now, and Kyungsoo can't help but smile.

“Then, yes, it was a date.”

Yifan looks remarkably less tense at the sound of Kyungsoo's positive answer. “Okay,” he says, nodding to himself. “Okay. Good. Because I kind of think you're really cute and would you mind if I kissed you right now?”

The question makes Kyungsoo's pulse pound, like a deafening roar of thunder in his ears, and his heart throbs, but he finds that he's definitely doesn't dislike the idea of kissing Yifan. “Not at all,” he manages to say. He has barely gotten the words out before Yifan closes the space between them, cradles Kyungsoo's face with one of his large hands and presses their lips together.

Kyungsoo feels jittery as he makes his way up to his apartment. There's a goofy smile on his face, and he doesn't even care what Zitao is going to say about his disheveled appearance and the obvious swelling of his kissed lips. He's just happy. So, so happy. He has a feeling this could be the start of something great.

~*~

A/N: hahhh. yeah. yes. I don't really have anything to say. this story is ing disgusting. :D I love this au a lot, though, with the puppies and the kitties and the gross fluffy stuff. the story was actually supposed to be longer than this (a lot longer), but that didn't happen so here's just this piece of trash, straight from the fic dumpster. \o/ happy valentine's day, everyone. ♥

ps. hey, look at this.