Saying Taemin was nervous was a bit of an understatement. It was around noon and he was home alone. Kai had stepped out to go buy some food from the grocery store, leaving Taemin to himself. It was the day of the date and Taemin’s stomach wasn’t doing too well. It was less of a sickness and more of anxiety. He popped a pill in a few moments earlier and went on with getting ready. He was told to treat this like a regular date so he did. He went through his closet dozens of times, looking for an outfit to wear.

                “It’s an aquarium so there’ll be lots of water and blue… Maybe I should wear blue to match…” He thought aloud to himself. Shuffling through the clothes, he found a blue-purple gradient Nordic patterned pullover. “This could do…” He threw it across the room to where it landed on the couch. He took another look around until he found a buttoned up jean shirt which he agreed would look good.

                His attention was momentarily stolen by the door swinging open and the rustling of plastic bags. “Taemin hyung, I’m home! I bought you banana milk.” Taemin smiled, recollecting the taste on his tongue. “Thank you.” Kai nodded, placing the bag on the counter. “What are you doing?” He asked. “Well, I’m getting ready.” Kai looked at the clothing lying on the bed. “Oh, I should start getting ready too rather than going out to the store.” Taemin was in the middle of fishing out a pair of faded red jeans, throwing it with the rest of his outfit. He walked over, gathering all the clothes before heading to the bathroom. “Well the rooms yours now, I’ll be in the bathroom.” Kai nodded, going to find his own wardrobe.

                Taemin walked inside, shutting the door behind him. His placed his makeup bag in front of the mirror before he began stripping his current shirt and sweatpants. It didn’t take too long for him to slip on the fresh set, rolling up his sleeves before grabbing for his straightener, plugging it in. Using the time it needed to heat up, he started his makeup. Minho always told him he didn’t need it, he even made Taemin promise not to wear it when they were together. But he wasn’t going out with Minho this time, so he decided to put a flashier layer of skin on. Once finished, he began straightening his hair.

                “Taemin, can I grab something from the bathroom really quickly?”

                “Yeah!”

                Kai entered, gasping at the first sight of Taemin. “Wow, you look really good… Maybe I should reconsider how I look.” He chuckled awkwardly. “This is weird.” Taemin admitted, looking down. “Huh? What is?” Taemin shrugged, continuing to straighten strands. “Well usually when you go on a date, you get ready and then go meet the person. It feels strange getting ready around the person.” Kai began nodding quickly. “Then I’ll close my eyes! That was I won’t see!” He put those words into actions immediately, stumbling and banging his knee on the door frame on his way out. Taemin giggled, freeing up his hands before walking over to the groaning boy. “Are you alright?” Kai pouted, shaking his head. He knelt down beside the crouching boy, patting his back but still laughing at his silliness. “Please watch out. We won’t be able to go if you’re in pieces.” Kai nodded. “Okay. Did you get what you need?” Realising he didn’t, Kai shot up, pivoting and going for a bottle of cologne. He raised the bottle, spraying it above himself and letting the mist fall. Stepping closer, Taemin pressed his nose to Kai’s shoulder, taking a whiff. “It smells really good. I think it suits you well.” He pulled the straightener out of the outlet, cleaning the counter up.

                “Thanks, I’ve never had a reason to use it before,” He started as he walked towards the door, “This is my first date…”

                Maybe Taemin wasn’t supposed to hear that part, but he did. “Then I hope you don’t mind giving your first one to me.” He heard Kai laughing in the other room. “I think you’re the best person I could ever give it too.” Suddenly, Taemin’s nervousness went away. “Then how about we leave in half an hour?” He offered. “Okay.”

                Minho was surprised when Heechul invited him out. He was reluctant to wasting his free day on him, so of course he said no. After about a few hours of the man’s pestering though, he agreed. “What do you want?” He said, slightly annoyed as he got into Heechul’s car. “I just want to hang out.” He quickly accelerated, going towards the skyscrapers. “Where are all the others?” Minho asked. “I lied. You wouldn’t have come if I said it was just me, would you?” He heard Minho his tongue, crossing his arms. “Oh come on Minho, what were you going to do anyways? Sit at home and gain weight?” Minho sighed, cranking the window open a bit. “So where are we going?” He finally asked. “The aquarium.” Raising an eyebrow, Minho gave Heechul a confused stare. “Why there?”

Heechul the radio as he slouched back in the seat. “I’ve just never been there before, thought it’d be a cool place to check out. Did you bring the forty bucks?”

“Yeah. Is it for the ticket?”

“Twenty for the ticket and then the other twenty is for any food or drinks you might want to buy.”

“Got it.”

When they walked through the ticketing area, Heechul suggested they get a coffee first. They sat at one of the tables in the ocean themed café, one with the perfect view of the entrance and then some. They got there a little earlier than originally planned so Heechul wasted time, talking about pointless things that may or may not have happened to him. Honestly, Minho looked bored out of his mind. Luckily for him, it didn’t go on for much longer. Heechul spotted Taemin the moment he entered his peripherals, finishing his cup. Taemin hadn’t spotted him though. That was good.

“I lied.” Heechul finally admitted. “I didn’t want to just come here with you.”

“So why did you invite me?”

“No, I wanted you to come here with me, but I didn’t want to just hang out.”

“Then what is it?”

“Look over there.” He said, stabbing his finger towards the blonde’s direction.

“Oh, it’s Taemin!” Minho registered.

“And Kai.” The elder added.

“We should go catch up to them.”

“No, we can’t.” Heechul stated adamantly.

“What do you mean we can’t? You’re not shy. Let’s go.”

“No, we can’t.” He repeated, “They’re on a date.”

“What? No, they can’t be.”

“Sure they can.”

There was a moment of silence as Minho stared at Taemin. He was dressed really nicely and even from over here, Minho noticed that the blonde was wearing makeup.

“Why? I mean, he shouldn’t be…”

“It’ you’re fault. You put him in a tough spot. He couldn’t come to you for help so he came to me.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, I’ve heard it all. You made him promise that he wouldn’t tell his friend that you two are dating. Then his friend asked him on a date and made him promise not to tell you. With two issues and not as single solution, he came to his reliable and handsome hyung, me.”

“What did you tell him?” Minho asked, a change in his tone.

“I told him to go on the date and that I’d take care of it. I mean, I don’t see why he shouldn’t. He’s not making out with the guy; they’re just going to hang out together. Besides, you’re here right? Well, I brought you along. If you see something you really, really don’t like for whatever reason, you can casually intervene.”

“Fine. Then let’s go they’re getting ahead.” Minho pushed the chair back, standing before quickly counting out the total for their drinks and leaving it on the table.

                Taemin smiled. He’d never seen something so pretty so up close. Because of this, he could understand why there were so many people. The younger of the two suggested they stay close and Taemin agreed, holding onto the back of his shirt. He gasped when a tortoise came really close to the glass, tugging Kai closer. “Kai, look! Look at it, it’s so close!” Taemin placed his hand flat against the glass as the tortoise came by. Kai place his hand over his from behind. “Taemin, can you do me a favour?” He asked quietly. “What is it?” Taemin asked. “Can you call me Jongin for today? I know it’s weird, but I feel like… I don’t know, never mind.” He blushed, feeling embarrassed with his request.

Taemin laughed. He found Kai’s wrists and brought the younger boy’s arms around his waist. He found his face heating up as well once he felt Kai’s heartbeat against his back. “If that’s what you want, Jongin.” He felt Kai squeeze him, nuzzling into Taemin neck with a whine. “You’re too good to me.” He backed off while taking Taemin’s hand, leading him to the next tank. “Let’s not waste any time. There’s so much more I want to see with you.”

Minho seemed a bit grouchy. “You’re not jealous, are you?” Heechul joked. “I am. Why do I have to spend this time with you when I could be enjoying it with Taemin? Besides, why would two guys come to an aquarium together anyways?” Heechul laughed at the response, nodding in the younger couple’s direction. “Well I mean, Taemin and Kai look just fine, and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind being the one holding Taemin’s hand down these tunnels. It’s me that’s the problem isn’t it?” Minho rolled his eyes. “Oh, by the way, I’ve been invited to Taemin’s birthday.” He boasted teasingly. “Yeah, I was told you would be.” Heechul stretched his arms as they walked by a tank of lobsters, folding them behind his head. “I’m going to take Taemin on my surfboard, just the two of us.” He showed off. “I’m going to take Taemin’s ity. ‘Just the two of us.’” Minho shot back. “Oh God… You’re horrible. It’s his birthday; shouldn’t you be giving something rather than taking something?” Minho smirked, laughing to himself. “I can’t wait. I think it’s one of the few things we haven’t done.” He looked towards Heechul. “It’ll be my first time too. Besides, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, it’s Taemin that hasn’t been decided. I hope you don’t mind me bringing this up.” Heechul shook his head. “I don’t, but I mean, are you sure Taemin’s ready? You said he was undecided. It’s obvious that I’m not a relationship guy, I only give myself to someone for one night, but even that one night isn’t with someone who isn’t one hundred percent into it, you know?” Minho nodded. “I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine. I won’t force anything onto him though.”

Taemin and Kai approached a tunnel surrounded by several types of sharks. There was a moving walkway that guided the crowds through the tank and when their turn came, they stepped onto it. “It’s really pretty, all the colours and everything. They look so content.” Kai scooped some of Taemin’s hair off his face, guiding it behind his ear. “I think that if you were a fish, you’d be prettier than all of them.” Taemin giggled, getting distracted by a bright red fish making its way to the other side of the tank. “I don’t think you can compare how pretty I am to a fish.” He took out his phone, taking a permanent memento of it as a photo.  “Oh, that’s a good idea. Can we take a picture in front of the glass?” Taemin nodded, turning his back to it as he took his place against Kai’s side.

Their image took up the phone’s screen and Taemin noticed Kai’s emotionless face. He raised his hand to the corner of Kai’s lips tugging the corner upwards. “Jongin, you have to smile! You look cuter when you smile.” Soon, Kai’s lips curled upwards and he quickly nuzzled into Taemin’s neat and styled hair. They both wore a dazzling smile as the countdown on the phone neared zero. Taemin really like the photo so he tapped on the screen a few times, sending it to his own phone. “We should print that one and put it up on the fridge. Yeah, it’s decided. That’s what I’ll do.” Kai looked over it, setting it as his lock screen before putting his phone away. “Do you mind if I put it in my locker? I put our stickers from the photo booths in my locker too.” Taemin hummed a ‘mhm’.

“Taemin, are you hungry?” The blonde boy shrugged. “I’m not too hungry, but I could eat something small I guess.” They were out of the shark exhibit now, following the pathways. “Well we’re nearing the middle and I heard they have ice cream.” He didn’t mind ice cream. “Sure, but I don’t think I’ll finish one. Can we share?” Kai seemed a bit too eager. “Yeah, we can definitely share one. What kind do you like?” They made their way through the tighter spots and soon were heading towards a small ice cream parlour placed inside another giant tank. “I’ll have anything you want to have. I’m not picky.” They walked up to a glass case with different flavours, cones, and toppings. “Then chocolate it is! I’ll pay for it. It’s pretty full here; can you go get a table?” Letting go of Kai’s hand, he went to look for a seat.

“You know what? The longer I’m following these guys, the cuter of a couple they make.” Heechul chimed in, watching the two young boys share and ice cream between themselves. Minho seemed pretty relaxed, regardless of his boyfriend being on a date with someone else. “Hey, aren’t you even the tiniest worried about Taemin?” Minho thought about it, but really, he wasn’t. “I’m actually not. I might have been when I first saw them, but now I’m not at all. They might hug and hold onto each other, but… I don’t know, I feel like when Taemin looks at me, it’s in a totally different context. It’s hard to explain, but seeing this date, I really believe that Taemin loves me. Actually,” He took out his phone and began typing away. Heechul watched curiously and followed Minho’s gaze to Taemin, who a few seconds later, also ended up checking his phone. You could see the blonde’s smile and soon to come red cheeks as he tapped the screen with his thumbs a few times. Kai seemed to be interested in what it was but he waved the boy off. As before, within a few seconds, Minho’s phone lit up. He lifted it proudly, showing it to Heechul. It showed the short exchange which had just occurred between them.

“Minnie, I love you.”

“Hyung, you’re so random... I love you too.”

“See?” Minho went on to say, “His text is so simple, but the reaction he had while reading it, I don’t think he would have that with anyone else. That’s why I’m not worried.” Heechul read it over several times. “Yeah, I agree. Taemin’s such a pure kid. If I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t be worried either. You’re lucky. I think you should settle down quickly so that no one else can snatch him up.” Minho chuckled. “That’s what I’m planning on doing.” Heechul watched the two in the ice cream parlour, remembering when he was that age. “You say you’re not jealous, but I am. Sometimes I see you two and I think that if I found someone like Taemin, I wouldn’t grow up to be this sleazy old man.” He laughed, earning a punch from Minho. “You’re not old.” He corrected. Heechul snorted before having another fit of laughter. “So I am sleazy?” Minho nodded. “We all know it. But really, you’re older than me; you should be the realist one here. I’m sure one day you’ll get tired of this and find the right person.” Heechul sighed, lowering his head into his crossed arms. “I’ll just wait for you and Taemin to break up and take him. I don’t need to doubt if he’s a good person or not. It’s so much easier that way.” Minho messed up the elder’s hair before leaning back in his seat. “Like I said, I’m planning on scooping him up as soon as possible.”

They went through the rest of the aquarium and were now on their way back home. They held each other’s hands tightly and the public eye didn’t seem to bother either one of them. “How was it?” Taemin asked, pinching Kai’s side. “It was good. I had a really great time. It was fun and pretty, but my favourite part was that I got to see it with you.” They neared the crosswalk, and when Taemin spotted the number signalling only a few seconds until the red hand would illuminate, he turned to Kai. “Jongin, let’s run!” Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the younger boy’s hand and broke out into a jog, and then a run. They didn’t stop there and ended up running all the way to their house. When they reached the door, Taemin hand collapsed against it, joining Kai in the gasping for air. “Wasn’t that fun?” He managed to spit out, searching for something to fill his lungs with. “Hyung… You’re too spontaneous… I wasn’t expecting that…” Taemin struggled to find his keys, Kai managing to get out his set. “Jongin… I can’t stand up…” They both laughed and the younger boy managed to pick him up. He cradled Taemin in his arms, opening and closing the door with his foot.

Taemin’s arms were wrapped around his neck tightly as he rested his head on Kai’s shoulder. “Ah, please take care of me Jongin. Ahjusshi is too tired.” Kai chuckled, stumbling across the room to the couch where he fell down on top of Taemin.

They relaxed for a little bit before Taemin threw himself back up to his feet. “I want strawberries!” He declared, jogging towards the fridge. He took some out along with a bowl and wasted no time in the minimal preparations. A few seconds later, he was popping the sweet fruit into his mouth one by one.

“All this running has put me in the mood for a nap.” Jongin admitted, shedding any unneeded layers of clothing. Taemin had come over with the bowl, climbing on top of Kai only to situate himself between the younger boy’s legs.  “I’ve decided that you want some.” Taemin said, lowering a strawberry to Kai’s lips. Kai gladly accepted it, eating it up. They repeated this a few times until Kai got the courage to place his hands on Taemin’s thighs. “Taemin, did you have a good time today?” Taemin nodded, feeding Kai another bite. “I had a lot of fun. It was great, very pretty and relaxing. Besides, your hand is warm and that was nice too.” He joked, leaving Kai to blush.

“Taemin, thank you so much for going on this date with me. Also, thank you for not telling Minho hyung, even if it was very inconvenient for you. I won’t ask of more for you.” Taemin offered a gentle smile before brushing Kai’s hair off his face, getting off to go wash the quickly emptied bowl. “At least this way I don’t have to worry about you falling into the wrong crowd.” He let the water run a little, adjusting the temperature before cleaning it. Kai had rolled over and reached for the remote, turning on the television. “Yeah, I’m glad I fell in love with you.”

Taemin was sitting by the window, resting his head on the windowsill when he got the text.

“Hey Tae, let’s make a bet.”

“What is this so suddenly, Minho?”

“C’mon, it’s just for fun.”

“Okay, fine, what is it?”

“What will you do for me if I can guess one thing you ate or drank today?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“What about… I won’t make it too hard. If I win, I want you to wear one of my shirts for a whole day.”

“Why? What are you getting from that? I can do that for you without having to lose a bet if you really want.”

“Ah, okay. Then how about… You let me write stuff all over you in permanent marker?”

“What? No way!”

“Alright, then that’s what I get to do if I win~”

“…Fine. But you won’t guess anyways.

“We’ll see.”

“Well, what’s one thing I ate or drank today?”

“Hm… well let’s see, my food senses are tingling. My head says a dairy product, my body says something crunchy, and my heart says something sweet. Putting all these together, I’m going to have to say… chocolate ice cream!”

Taemin was shocked. How did he know? There’s no way he could have found out so…

“Are you a stalker?”

“No, I’m your lover. I should know these things.”

“No way! You definitely cheated somehow! It doesn’t count!”

“It counts, Taemin. Prepare your body; I’m going out to buy a brand new set of permanent markers!”

“Nope, nope, nope!”

“I’m checking my wallet now~”

“Minho, if you come within a meter of me while holding a marker, I’m going to punch you!”

“Okay, then I’ll look forward to it~ <3”