Kisses And Decisions
Woes Of A Twenty-Seven Year Old
3: Kisses And Decisions
October came and Kris woke up extra early today because of reasons, the weather was starting to get cooler and cooler as autumn passed and winter came by, the nights were longer and the days were cooler. Yixing turned twenty-seven today. Of course he'd know about that, from strangers they're now good friends and somehow, Kris thought that he was falling... slowly (read: rapidly) for his child's nanny... God... Why? Kris untangled himself from his sheets and swung his legs to the edge of the bed, his blonde hair all mussed up from sleep and today, he had planned out everything for Yixing's birthday.
Of course Ace knew about his plans too, so Ace did not bother on waking up Yixing for preschool. Kris would take care of all Ace's needs for today and make sure Yixing does no work, somehow, he had also managed to call up Lu Han (whom he had met before when they were out in a restaurant and Yixing met him coincidentally with his cute boyfriend) and tell him all about his plans about Yixing's birthday, for a while, they'd keep Yixing busy and make sure he doesn't do any stupidity.
He stretched his arms for a bit before looking down on his nightstand, where his digital clock stood, in reality, he was feeling proud of himself for waking up before the clock rang, heck, it was still 5:30 and he set the clock to 6 in the morning, he decided to might as well shut it off.
Kris proudly strided down the hall and decided to take a peek into Yixing's room, he slowly turned the knob and peeked his head inside the small opening he had made. It was kind of an advantage that Yixing never bothered to lock his door, there he saw Yixing who slept in a way every man did. He was lying on his stomach, his arms and legs splayed across the bed and his sheets were thrown off to the floor, and his boxers tugged down. Kris wanted to laugh and kick him awake but decided to save that for later after he had smeared the cake's icing on to his face.
He carefully closed the door, careful and cautious not to wake up the birthday boy. Actually, he had no idea as to why he was spending too much effort for Yixing's birthday... oh wait. He knows. It's because he wants to thank Yixing for taking care of his son for such long months already... or was it his only reason?
Kris walked to Ace's room, where he's surprised to find Ace already fixing his bed since it was always Yixing who fixed Ace's bed for him. "Ace!" Kris called out to his son as he shut the door close behind him. Ace turned to him after he had tucked his covers properly.
"Dad?" Ace asked, looking up at his towering father whose hands were placed inside his pockets. Kris grinned at Ace knowingly before kneeling down to be able to reach his height.
"You know our plan right?" Kris asked, soothing out the creases of Ace's shirt as he peered his eyes towards his son who smiled slowly and nodded his head eagerly, his hands into excited fists.
Ace smiled widely. "Of course! How could I forget!" Ace's voice hitched up and Kris had to press a long finger against his son's lips to quiet him down to not wake up Yixing. Ace nodded.
That morning, Yixing didn't wake up until Kris had dressed Ace for school, tied his laces and tidied himself up for work. He was glad of course that Yixing didn't wake up early, he wanted to give himself for making Yixing drink with him until the sun peeked through the dark skies, Yixing was pretty gullible and it made things easier for Kris which was of course a convenience.
Kris locked the apartment and walked away from the door with Ace hopping excitedly beside him. They're going to surprise Yixing.
On the other hannd, Yixing stirred in his bed, his head was aching like crazy and his tongue is dry against the roof of his mouth. What happened? He pushed himself up from the soft bed and stretched his arms backwards, eyes still closed and hair mussed up from sleep. Oh that's right. He realized he drunk with Kris until 4'o clock in the morning because Kris wanted somebody to listen to him sing karaoke and now he was suffering from a terrible headache.
Yixing's eyes peered instinctively towards the digital clock on the nightstand beside his single bed. And his eyes almost bulged in total shock when he looked at the clock and at what time it was. The clock said 9:55 and Yixing made a jolt from his bed towards Ace's room with his boxers almost slipping down from his waist but he didn't care. Ace was going to be la---
When he pushed the door open, Ace's bed was clean and made, the sheets were tucked neatly and the pillow was fluffed and plump by the headboard, Ace's stuffed toys were placed neatly by the foot part of his bed and he couldn't believe it was real. Ace fixed his bed. Ace fixed his bed! He ran out of Ace's room and burst open into Kris' room and when he did... Kris' room was also empty.
What the hell.
He needed a few minutes to realize what was happening. Kris and Ace had left already without waking him up! It's got to be his birthday or something... Oh right... Yixing laughed and threw his head back, laughing at himself for forgetting about his birthday. Of course today was his birthday!
Yixing wantonly jumped on Kris' bed out of utter delight. What if the father and son thought to give this day off for him? To find his father for the whole day and not worry about Ace's food or Kris' aching shoulder, to not worry about fetching Ace from school or walking to Kris' work to give him lunch in an extra cute lunchbox as requested by the ever so 'manly' boss.
But one part of him wanted them to celebrate this day with him... he didn't want them to just leave him alone in this day, one part of him wanted to play with them, one part of him wanted Kris to smear chocolate icing on his face and Ace would laugh at them, putting chocolate on his small little fingers and Ace would jump up and down for their attention and the kid would sneakily wipe icing on their faces. He wanted that to happen.
When Yixing realized what he was doing, he immediately scrambled off to the bed and fell off from it on all fours, nervously and panicky, he tried to fix Kris' clean bed and he wanted to hit his head for forgetting about how much Kris doesn't want anybody in, on or even under his bed.
After he had finished making Kris' bed, he went out of his room and closed the expensive door of his room. All day, he could go on and look for his father... he's very very close to meeting him and he couldn't get anymore hyped up about this matter. All that matters was that, he was very near to seeing his father that he had yearned for long years, he wanted a father that would pat his back and talk to him about reaching for his dreams, he wanted a father that would teach him about girls, he wanted a father who would teach him about basketball and bond with him like that, all in all, he just wanted a father who could be a father.
And he was very close to having a father.
Yixing trudged into his room and heard his phone ringing, with the sudden ring, he jumped from his place and pressed a slender hand against his chest where his heart was beating rapidly, he needed to be more alert. He picked up his phone from under his pillow and didn't even glance at the caller ID when he answered.
"Hello?"
"Yixing!"
"Who is this?
"Lu Han..." Luhan said from the other line and Yixing sat down on his bed, listening to the yelp that came from the other line which he guessed to be Minseok with the slightly high pitched tone of the voice.
"Yeah? What do you want?"
"Happy Birthday!" Luhan spoke and Minseok screamed something along the lines of 'Happy Birthday' from the other line, there was a loud thud which was probably Luhan dropping the phone on the carpet before somebody picked it up again which turned out to be Minseok who greeted him a loud and hearty happy birthday. What the heck could they be probably doing?
"Okay thanks... but seriously what do you want..." Yixing said, unconsciously picking lint from his bedsheets.
"We want to go out with you!" Minseok's voice rang from the other line... what? Date with him? Are they crazy?
Lu Han's voice came next, loud and shrill. "No! We mean we want to treat you for lunch! See you at the noodle house by twelve! Buh-bye!" There were giggles and the line was cut.
Yixing thought that he could probably spend a few hours with them so he dusted himself off from his bed and headed to the shower.
Stil he wondered what could the father and son be up to.
***
Nervous was an understatement for what Kris was feeling right now, he kept on pacing his office back and forth, giving quick half-second glances towards his phone that ceased to ring. He was waiting for the call of the bakery about Yixing's cake to alert him when they were done designing it when somebody burst out of his glass door, pushing the door open harshly. "Sir, I mean, Kris. I couldn't cancel the lunch meeting, they want you urgently." Zitao started when he entered the door, rushing over to Kris to follow him pacing back and forth his office.
"So sir, they seriously want to get to you as soon as possible." Zitao said, glancing at Kris from top to bottom before looking back up into Kris' eyes and he couldn't help but stare at his furrowed brows.
"Goddamn shut up. Okay, fine fine, just go." Kris exclaimed exasperatedly, hands up into the air and plopped down into his swivel chair. Zitao opened his mouth to speak but decided not to, clutching the folder tightly in his hands before nodding his head towards Kris and exiting the office.
Kris threw his head back on his swivel chair, turning his chair around so that its back was facing his desk, he never knew that planning a surprise party was too tiring. All he just needed to do was buy the cake and everything will go just fine, right?
But why was he being all flustered about this birthday celebration when all five of Ace's birthday celebrations were celebrated alone, just the both of them and the fourth was celebrated with Sehun, Joonmyun, his other co-workers and relatives but handling a surprise party by himself was seriously much harder than he thought it was.
He wanted to put a lot of things for Yixing's birthday party but with the short amount of time he has in his hands, that seemed pretty much impossible by now, he'd just stick with the chocolate cake and he couldn't wait to smear that chocolate on Yixing's face.
***
"Daddy, what is love?" Ace asked as Kris buckled his son's seatbelt on the back seat. Kris looked at his soon for a while, slightly bewildered by the young kid's question, he didn't know how to react so when Ace asked again, he cleared his throat, closed the door and walked up to the driver's seat.
Once he was inside, Ace asked him again. "Daddy, what is love?" Kris tensed in his seat, fumbling to get his seatbelt buckled properly. Why the heck was Ace suddenly asking this? The fear of Ace opening up to the ruthless word was slowly sinking into him so when Ace asked again... for the nth time, Kris started the engine before speaking.
"Love is what daddy feels for you, like when I want to protect you, give you everything, care for you, make sure you don't feel hur--" Kris was cut off when Ace spoke again.
"No daddy... I meant... like that type of love when you want to kiss that person, that type of love when you just want to hug him and never let go... what does it mean dad? What is that type of love?" Ace's eyes were wide, his legs swinging back and forth as his hands wrapped around his seatbelt.
Kris cleared his throat, subtly shaking his head and trying as hard as possible to remain intact. "That type of love is the same as daddy's love for you, but more intense, like you'd have this feeling where your stomach would be full of butterflies, and when you saw that person it'd be all in slow motion, everything goes in slow motion and it'd feel like the only person in the room were you and that person that you'd love, the noise would be gone and the only thing you'd hear was your heart beating really loudly almost as if screaming that person's name."
"Dad," Ace started to speak again and Kris was feeling uneasy about this, he feared that Ace would ask if he felt like this towards his mother... because he did. "Dad, I want Yixing ge to feel that type of love." Ace said innocently, his wide eyes staring at Kris' through the head mirror.
Kris didn't know how to answer, so he didn't. Because he personally haven't felt that feeling towards Yixing... he wanted them to have a slow motion moment, either be it one sided or not, he wanted to see Yixing in that slow motion moment.
Because he was starting to think that he was falling for the guy with the messy mop of dark brown hair and that cute dimple that he had always wanted to poke.
***
Yixing had a lot of things in mind, how he was finally so close to meeting his father and he'd be almost be able to know his location, how his birthday was today and he wanted to take Kris and Ace out for dinner perhaps, how two of his closest friends were flirting in front of him like giddy teenagers out on their first date. "Guys," Yixing spoke softly when Luhan was reaching out to take noodles from Minseok's bowl and Minseok was glaring at him, aiming to slap Luhan's hand out from his bowl.
"Guys, I have a lot of things to do..." Yixing spoke up again, his hand clenching around his chopsticks that lingered half way to his bowl. Right now, Minseok was glaring at Luhan with his lips pursed and Luhan was wrapping his arm around Minseok's middle while his other hand pushed back Minseok's hair to his ears with a greasy grin on his lips.
Oh boy. How much he hated seeing the both of them being all too touchy and affectionate as if almost forgetting that they were in a public noodle house and not in their apartment where he's glad he's left years ago because he wasn't sure if he could handle all their public display of affection. "Guys, guys, I'm going now." Yixing said and stared at the two of his friends, Luhan was now whispering sweet nothings (or so Yixing thought when it was actually all of the things Luhan would do to Minseok once they got back to their apartment) and Minseok was constantly hitting Luhan's arm with a loud laugh. It was only when Yixing's chair was pulled up and made loud screeching noises that the both of them jerked their heads towards Yixing who was smiling.
"I'm going now guys... Thanks for treating me. Lu, Min," He cocked his head towards Luhan then to Minseok, "I'm going, I have a lot of things to do today seeing as it's my day off. Catch you guys some other time." Yixing bowed his head to them, though he usually wouldn't it seemed just fitting for him to bow like that to them.
Yixing quickly picked up the glass of water and gulped from it one last time before smiling softly at the couple who now looked at him with wide eyes and lips slightly parted from each other. "See you then," Yixing said, now turning on his heels and ready to exit the noodle house but there was a loud thud and screeches of chairs then there was a warm hand wrapping around his wrist. He turned around to see Minseok desperately clinging on his arm and Luhan following behind, his arms on Minseok's shoulders.
"No! Don't go yet! We're taking you um... shopping!" Minseok turned to Luhan, a forced asymmetrical smile on his lips and Luhan nodded enthusiastically in response, his eyes shining with agreement.
Before Yixing could even respond, he was pulled out of the door and pushed into the backseat of the car, Luhan hurriedly scampering towards the passenger's seat and Minseok to the driver's seat.
Just what were these two are up to? That, Yixing wanted to find out.
***
The time was 1:00 pm and Kris received a brief text message from Luhan in messy Hangul about how they were going to take Yixing window shopping which was good and that gave the father and son more time to stall. They stopped by the bakery and immediately, Ace climbed up on the long bench as Kris pulled out his phone to send a message to Baekhyun about Yixing's surprise party, Baekhyun was the guy with the bright personality back in the cafe and he turned out to be one of Yixing's good friends too, he also reminded Baekhyun to take Chanyeol with him too, Chanyeol was the cashier with the cute face and mismatching deep voice.
Kris slipped his phone back in his pockets and peered over to Ace who looked around innocently, his hands into polite fists on his lap and Kris poked his cheek, making his presence known to his son. "What is Yixing ge's cake, dad?" Ace asked, looking up to his father who sat down beside him on the long bench situated near the door and by the glass wall that served as a window to the cafe.
"Chocake," Kris responded in the way how Ace would say his favorite type of cake. Chocolate cake. Kris had thought about buying Yixing something with a less sugar content but knowing Yixing, he'd love the chocolate... on his face. Kris stared down at his watch before glancing at Ace who now hopped off from his seat.
He watched as Ace walked around the bakery then to the counter where there's a glass display of pastries and cakes, Kris smiled to himself as Ace talked to one of the cashiers and waited until his name was called to fetch the cake for Yixing's birthday when another text message was sent to him. He fished out his phone from his pocket and the message read:
From Zitao:
Kris! Have you forgotten about the lunch meeting? I thought you'd only go and fetch Ace? The excutives want you now! I need your reply urgently.
End Of Message
Kris sighed and sent a reply to Zitao.
To Zitao:
Fine, I'm coming. But can you make them wait for a little more? I need to put the cake back in my pent house, or can you do it for me and babysit Ace for a while?
End Of Message
Kris waited for a while, fumbling with the phone in his hands with his eyes still on Ace who looked around innocently.
From Zitao:
Of course, just make sure to get to the restaurant as fast as possible. Where are you?
End of Message
Kris sighed in relief that Zitao complied to this, though Zitao would usually comply to whatever he wanted or needed.
To Zitao:
Thanks. I'm at Ontokki Bakery, you know this place right?
End Of Message
Seconds later, before Kris could even exit out of the message window, a message was sent to him.
From: Zitao
Ok. 5 minutes.
End Of Message
Kris shrugged and stuffed his phone inside his pocket and walked over to Ace who was now talking to the cashier again. He placed his hand on Ace's shoulder and Ace in return looked at him with wide eyes. "Dad, when's Yixing ge's cake coming? I want to see it!" Ace chirped happily, standing on tip toes as he looked over to the cashier then back up to Kris.
Kris smiled at his son before looking at the cashier, a shorter male with cute front teeth that jut out from the rest of his teeth, his eyes turned into upward crescents when he smiled. Kris nodded and asked about the order made by Kris Wu and the guy with the cute front teeth told him it'd be ready in ten minutes.
Kris pursed his lips and turned to look at the door, revealing a slightly shorter boy whose red hair was swept up and it was definitely Zitao. Kris took Ace's hand and trudged towards Zitao. "Tao, the cake's ready in ten minutes. Take care of Ace and take the cake in my pent house, put it in the fridge and... wait till I come home, I'd be quick. Did you get it?"
Zitao looked at Ace then back up at Kris with a small smile in his lips. "Got it."
***
Zitao was never fond of kids, he was never fond of their noisy and annoying nature and one thing for sure, he never liked Kris' son. Though it was true that everybody adores Ace but not him, Ace would always march out of his father's office then approach him with that offending smile on his lips and ask Zitao how is he doing, ask him why are there dark circles around his eyes and why are the bottom of his eyes were sagging. Usually, people would think that this was such a cute question but it wasn't to Zitao. It annoyed him. Greatly.
Now, he was placing the box of chocolate cake inside the fridge and Ace was in his room, probably tidying up himself or something. Zitao closed the fridge and his heels, looking around Kris' huge pent house where him and his son plus his son's nanny who was a twenty-six... twenty-seven year old man with dimples and all. Zitao walked towards Ace's room he knew because of the all silly drawings plastered upon the blue door, one drawing had three stick figures. Zitao needed to squint to get a proper view of the drawing, one stick had long legs and blonde hair, the stick figure had a straight line for a mouth. The second one was much shorter, this stick figure had black color for a hair, an upward curve for the smile and its hands were up in the air, as if reaching out towards the taller sticks's hands. The last stick had brown for hair, it was taller than the second stick and shorter than the first stick, it also had an upward curve for the lips and there was a small dot by its cheek.
A sudden realization dawned upon Zitao when he pulled back and looked at the messy writing in big shaky letters. "ACE'S FAMILY" It read. Zitao blinked again and looked closer at the childish drawing. That was when he realized that the tallest stick was Kris, the shortest was Ace and the stick with the dot beside its lips was most probably Yixing. Zitao blinked and raised a brow at the drawing. So now... Yixing was Ace's family... he filled the part of Ace's mother. How wonderful. He thought before smirking to himself and pushed the door open, revealing a child who was pulling his shirt on.
"Oh, Zitao ge," Ace greeted him after he had pulled his shirt on. Zitao smiled at him, walking towards his bed then sitting on the edge of Ace's bed. Zitao instructed Ace to come closer with his hand to which Ace followed, he walked nearer to him and he took Ace's hand in his.
"Ace... tell me... what is Yixing to you?" Zitao asked, looking deep into Ace's eyes and that look would intimidate anybody but not this innocent child in front of him who looked as though he was looking into the eyes of an innocent panda stuffed toy.
Zitao waited for a while, patting Ace's hand in his before Ace spoke, soft and clear. "Yixing ge is a part of my family." Ace blinked up at him, still that cute innocent smile in his lips. Zitao nodded and took in a deep breath.
"Well... what is Yixing to Kris?" Zitao asked, calm and soft almost as if unintimidating but his eyes were.
"I don't know, but they are friends and I think daddy likes Xing ge." Ace told him with a timid smile on his face. Zitao's jaw dropped metaphorically at this, Kris likes Yixing? But of course, Ace was still a child so his prospect of 'like' is different-
"That type of like where you want him to be happy with you, that type of like where you want to hold him close and never let go. That type of love... I think daddy likes Xing ge, they should just get together." Ace finished and walked away from the dumbfounded Zitao.
***
Zitao left a few minutes ago and now Kris was trying to put the cake out of the box as carefully as possible as he didn't want the cake to be ruined by his clumsiness.
He took the cake out of the box and his thumb ended up smeared with chocolate. With a groan, he it off when Ace came in sight, three party hats with drawings of faces plastered on them in his hands. "What's that?" Kris asked, kneeling in front of Ace and taking one of it, the one with a blonde hair and straight face and inspecting it further.
"We made party hats in school a week ago, daddy." Ace said and raised one of it above his head, the one with jet black hair and small upward curve for the lips above his head and smiled.
"See? It's us!" Ace claimed and handed over the last party hat to Kris. The party hat had another drawing plastered on it, this drawing looked like Yixing, Kris presumed and placed it down on the counter. Kris smiled and patted his son's head, it was a brilliant idea, he thought.
"Okay," Kris straightened up, "go see if Yixing ge is there! Then you run back here and hide with me okay?" He prompted his son and Ace nodded with a huge excited grin in his face.
Kris watched as his son skipped to the door, singing the birthday song out loud at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, he turned to the cake and alight it with a match he had bought earlier. He had predicted that Yixing will come in no more than five minutes as Lu Han had told him about leaving the mall and Yixing didn't seem happy by the window shopping and Lu Han told him that Minseok and him were really nice to him. Though Kris could clearly predict why.
He smiled to himself when the candle had set on a small fire, carefully, he placed 'his' party hat on his head and picked the cake up. His plan was to surprise Yixing by the door and Yixing would smile at him and be happy because today was his day after all, though he knew that no better gift could be better than Yixing finding his father... but today, he wanted him to be happy with them.
Ace jerked his head towards him and he stepped back a little, cocking his head to the side. "Yixing ge is here! C'mon let's hide!" Ace jumped up and turned the light switch off before pulling Kris behind the door, where Yixing would of course come in.
Kris tried hard to hide his long limbs from sight when the door was pushed open, Yixing's huff was heard then there was a crack before the door was closed.
"Surprise!" Both father and son exclaimed and Yixing looked at them, Kris gulped a little before speaking, "Happy Birthday!" He held out the cake in his hands and watched in awe as Yixing's straight lips curled into a beautiful dimpled smile.
"Xing ge, make a wish! Come on! Before the candle melts!" Ace tugged on Yixing's shirt and Kris warmly smiled at the smaller male, holding out the cake further. Yixing's lips broke out into an even bigger smile when his eyes fluttered up on Kris' head where the party hat was placed. Kris cleared his throat, coaxing the former again to blow the cake and Yixing did. Yixing closed his eyes and drew his face nearer to the chocolate cake, a few seconds passed and finally, the fire was out.
"Happy birthday idiot!" Was Kris' sudden cheer before smearing Yixing's face with the chocolate cake. A loud laugh emitted from his lips before Yixing finally realized what had happen.
"Oh you--!" Yixing reached out for the cake but Kris was faster by moving it away from him and running away from the birthday boy. Ace was laughing at them, running towards his father too.
Kris turned his head to look at him, and that was when he got his slow motion moment with Yixing.
Every noise was blocked, the only thing filling his ears were his heartbeat and Yixing's laughter mixed with profanities screamed towards him, he kept on running though but Yixing was all in slow motion, his smile was beautiful and charming and his eyes were too. He felt like tripping on his own feet and smudging his face on the cake but that wasn't going to happen.
That was when he realized that he was in love with Yixing.
***
Days came and went, autumn was ending soon. The wind was colder and Yixing needed to remind Ace about bringing his jacket to school and how he should always cover himself in his comforter. There were times when he slept on Ace's room because Kris hasn't come home from work, Ace was worried and the night was colder, he held him close against him.
Now was November and Yixing could miraculously remember Ace telling him that he shared the same birthday as his dad during the first time they met, but Ace never told them when's their birthday and that was what he was going to find out now. November 3. The date on his phone read and he slipped it into his pocket before stepping out to go to Ace's room.
When he pushed the door open, the room was empty and the sheets were all messed up, his pillow was on the floor and Yixing was about to enter the room when he heard a faint screaming from the other side of the place. It sounded like it came from Kris' home office... he hoped not... so he strided to his office as fast as possible.
Because one, why would there be a reason for Kris to shout? He never usually shouts and that couldn't possible be Ace who was screaming right? That didn't sound right and it never would. He pressed his ear against the wooden door, the only obstacle separating him from the father and son. He heard another set of screaming along the lines of "You can't!" and "That's impossible!" by how the voice was little, he could tell that it was Ace who was screaming.
But why was Ace screaming? That was the question that he wanted an answer to. So mustering up his courage to interefere with Ace and Kris, he twisted the knob and pushed the door. The door opened with a small squeak and Kris who was standing behind the huge expensive table looked at him, eyes wide with surprise but Ace didn't. Ace was facing his father and his little hands were in tight fists, by how the child's shoulders hitched up and deflated, he could tell that Ace was crying.
"You can't do this daddy, you can't. Really can't." Ace told him, his head ducking a little before he turned back. Now he was facing Yixing and immediately, he ran to Yixing then hugged him by the legs.
Ace hiccuped loudly, arms still wrapped around Yixing as if not wanting to ever let him go. Yixing looked at Kris with soft eyes, tilting his head to the side and raising a brow at Kris, asking him what was wrong with this gesture. Kris shrugged in response and sat back down on his chair, burying his head behind the thick papers and long folders again.
Yixing heaved a sigh, placing his hands on Ace's frail shoulders before exiting the office with Ace still clinging on tightly on him. Once they were on the living room and in front of the couch, Yixing crouched down and lifted Ace's chin with a hand to make him face him. "What happened?" He asked with convincing eyes that made the child talk to him easily.
"I saw daddy... I saw the papers on daddy's desk..." A hiccup. "And they were about hiring new nannies." A sniff. "I don't want you to go Yixing ge, please tell me you're not going away." Ace broke down again before wrapping his little arms around Yixing's neck and sobbing into his shirt.
Yixing's heart died a little at the sight of little Ace crying over him leaving, even though he was aware that sooner or later he'd be leaving them. Even though he'd be leaving Seoul once he meets his father. He told the boy: "I won't." Because he just couldn't imagine Ace on the day he would leave for the plane to China.
He just couldn't.
***
The morning of his birthday was not as fun as he wanted it to be. When he woke up, both Ace and Yixing were gone and he definitely was not amused by this. His day got worse when he remembered the fight he had with his son a few days ago when he entered his office and saw the papers on his trash bin about hiring nannies. Him and his son still hadn't talk from that day on though Yixing was insisting on making them talk to each other. Ace just wouldn't talk to him and would wrap his own arms around him and sway his body, telling him no or worse, the child would slide out of the chair and scamper to his bed without eating dinner.
He was feeling guilty and sorry alright. He felt sorry for shouting at his son about how Yixing would be leaving him sooner or later and he had realized long ago that he shouldn't have told that to his son. Because his son was too attached to Yixing already, but wasn't he too attached to Yixing too? Damn it.
He texted Yixing asking their whereabouts while bringing a cup of coffee to his lips, his eyes fixated on the glowing screen of his phone before a huff escaped his lips and finally sipped on his coffee. He inhaled the scent of instant coffee and the air freshener in his home office, he decided to not go to work today in hopes of being back on good terms with his son, but with Yixing not replying to his texts or answering his calls, this would seem impossible.
Kris stepped out of his office again, only in his pajamas and loose shirt, the stupid bunny slippers Yixing had bought for him long ago when they passed by the market on the way to Ace's school slipped into his feet haphazardly as he paced through the penthouse.
After the sixth text message he had sent that morning, a reply came to him just when he had sat down the chair and switched the television on for the morning news. Feeling his phone vibrate in the pockets of his pajamas, he pulled it out and hastily read the message.
From: Xing Xing
In the park. Don't come. I'm trying to convince to talk to you! Just leave this to me ok? ;)
End Of Message
Kris chuckled a little at Yixing's winking emoticon before sending a reply, telling him that he wouldn't go with them and leave everything to Yixing since he too, wanted to make up with his son too. Today was their birthday after all.
He contemplated whether to tell Yixing that today was their birthday but decided no after deleting the fifth text message he composed, wanting to tell Yixing about their birthday. He guessed it was better that he didn't know as he had his own plans for today. Since him and Ace weren't in good terms, he wanted to buy Ace something nice for his birthday.
So he washed up, pulled on a decent pair of pants and a loose shirt before heading off to who knows where. He actually still had no idea where to go to buy something nice for his and Ace's birthday but all he had in mind was that Ace wouldn't talk to him just because of an ultra chocolate cake. Even though he knew how much his son was in love with the chocolate cake, he knew this trick wouldn't work this time.
He ventured to the seemingly less lively hallways of the building without his son jumping or talking happily by his side. He wasn't used to Ace not talking to him and this just seriously hurt him more. He didn't want to let Ace linger to the thought of Yixing staying with them forever when sooner or later, Yixing would have to leave them. All good things come to an end.
And so does Yixing's stay with them. He entered his car and started to drive out of the parking lot and to the endless roads of Seoul. The sky was clear and the sun was up and shining. What a beautiful day though his own day wasn't pleasant so far. He wasn't used to Ace not jumping on his bed to wake him up on mornings. Not at all.
At one point, he honestly wanted to blame all of this to Yixing. For being so charming that his son had gotten so attached to him (and so did he.) For being a little too cherubic that both of them had gotten so attracted to him, he was sure though that Ace's attraction to Yixing was very different from his. He knew that it was inevitable, and that he needed to stop. And that he needed to keep his feelings to himself.
Somehow, he had gotten himself into the shopping district of Seoul and his car blended in with the fancy of other cars, on that his car was going a little too slow for the traffic but he didn't care. He wanted to buy something very nice for his son, he was starting to feel a little bad because he didn't know what could make his son happy... he couldn't believe he was taking care of Ace for six years now and he felt useless.
When a man cursed at him and waved his fist angrily towards his car, Kris huffed and turned to the right in a swift motion to park his car. He decided to walk and thoroughly skim the district for a nice something for his son. He thought of buying his son something along the lines of a toy, but he wasn't sure what.
He passed by a certain store filled with stuff toys, he walked back a few steps and faced it. He looked down at the llama- alpaca sort of stuffed toy by the display. It captured his attention, somehow, and he thought it looked like his son. He could see his son hugging it and laughing with full of mirth.
He decided to buy that.
***
Yixing had somewhat convinced Ace into saying sorry to his father a few minutes ago and now, they were standing side by side in the kitchen in front of the counter while Yixing made himself coffee.
"Daddy doesn't like his coffee with cream on it. Xing ge, I thought you'd know that already?" Yixing paused halfway through putting the contents of the teaspoon into the cup and turned into the child standing on tip toes beside him, peering over at the cup of coffee settled on the wooden counter.
Yixing giggled and proceeded to put the contents of the teaspoon into the cup, earning a loud gasp from Ace. "But this isn't for daddy, and I like my coffee with creamer. Thank you very much." He told the boy before ruffling his hair and picking up the cup of coffee from the counter, softly bringing it to his lips.
Ace followed Yixing into the living room, where the television was on the cartoons, the show was about a sponge who lived in a pineapple under the sea and his pure nautical nonsense. It entertained Yixing and Ace. "Xing ge, I really feel bad for yelling at daddy." Ace said after he had settled himself between Yixing's legs and snuggled close to him.
Yixing hummed in reply and bent forward to place the cup on the coffee table across him. He lifted Ace up and made him sit on his lap before looking directly into his eyes. "That's really bad that you shouted at your daddy, but I understand why you did that... but remember, your daddy only wants the best for you so perhaps you should say sorry to him." He tapped the child's nose and that received a sigh from Ace.
"But he was going to replace you!" Said Ace, his lips formed into a pout, brows knotted together in retaliation. Yixing sighed, he knew Ace would press onto this topic more but what could he do? He needed to stop lying to the kid and tell him the truth-- but he never had the heart to.
"But I'm not. Okay?"
"Today is our birthday too..." Ace confessed, looking down at his fist situated on his lap and bit his lower lip. That almost sent Yixing up and out to buy something for the both of them but when he remembered that Ace was on his lap, he just looked at him with a perplexed expression on his face.
"Your what?"
"Our birthday. Daddy and I were born on the same day! Cool right?" Ace chirped and hopped from Yixing lap to start talking about the things they do on their birthday. However, Yixing was still dumbstruck about this newly learned fact from the kid. Today was their birthday and he had nothing nice for them.
"Next time, tell me important things like this earlier, okay?" Yixing told the child before taking his hand and pulling him out to the door, making sure that his wallet was still on his back pocket.
"Where are we going, Xing ge?" Ace asked as Yixing half-pulled, half-dragged him out of their penthouse. Yixing turned to the child and gave him a small smile.
"We're going to bake a cake for your birthday!"
So Ace remained silent, following Yixing to the grocery to buy the ingredients for baking with the help of Yixing's phone that had an app showing the ingredients and process of making cakes. Yixing was thankful too that Kris was still in wherever part of Seoul he was and hoped that he wouldn't come back yet. It was a shame that Kris gave a lot of effort for his birthday and now, he wanted to repay that of course.
Perhaps baking him a cake was a little too simple, but with the time he had left in his hands, he was so close to hoping that Kris had troubles with his trip to stall time because he really wanted, really really wanted to get something nice for Kris and this whole baking a cake thing was the only one he had at the top of his mind at this moment.
And his wish was granted because a few kilometers away from them, Kris was struggling to find his way back into his car because he forgot where he had parked it. Now he was walking backwards (but not literally) aimlessly with a stuffed alpaca in a paper bag clutched in his hands in hopes to find his car that he vaguely could remember parking just a few meters away from the shop where he had bought the stuffed alpaca.
His spirits couldn't be downed by this though because minutes ago, Yixing had texted him about Ace finally wanting to talk to him. There were no more questions asked after that because Kris immediately stuffed his phone back into his pocket, paid for the stuffed alpaca and ran away with the paper bag in his hands.
All he wanted was to go home as soon as possible, but that seemed almost impossible by this moment because he lost his damned car. Maybe he was sticking a little too close... okay really close with Yixing that his forgetfulness was starting to rub on him too and he knew from the start that this couldn't be good.
It seemed like every forces of the nature were against him since a sudden thunder boomed through the area and he couldn't afford to get wet. Damn it. He hissed and trudged faster through the crowd, walking aimlessly to find his stupid damned car. He really needed to be more aware of his surroundings. He came to an abrupt stop though, when the light raindrops started to land against his shoulders and he let out an exasperated groan before finding shed under the covers of a pet shop.
Kris didn't mean to go inside, but when he turned around and met eyes with a cute seemingly ginger tabby kitten on the display. It reminded him of the first time he met Yixing. He could remind that all too well, when he was panicking and looking for Ace, Yixing was there standing beside his son with a smile on his face and he felt really secured when he did. He pushed the door open and the bell tinkled above his head as the raindrops drummed heavier against the hard concrete outside.
He was greeted by an aging female behind the counter, her hair pulled back into a neat bun and her face stretched out into a friendly smile. "Good day~ and welcome to Haneul pet shop."
Kris smiled back in return and bowed his head a little before turning around and facing the kitten on display. He crouched down a little and tapped the glass separating him and the little tabby kitten behind it. The kitten walked towards him, eyes big and ogly as the kitten with slight problem with walking trudged nearer him.
When the kitten purred and blinked its big eyes towards Kris, he decided that he had found a more perfect gift for his son rather than the stuffed alpaca that reminded him of his son. The kitten reminded him of their first meeting.
"Excuse me, but is this kitten for sale? I would like to adopt it."
***
"It's raining..." Ace hummed, his arms folded over the kitchen counter as he was seated on a high stool, cheek pressed against his forearm while watching Yixing stir the batter.
Yixing looked up from the bowl but his hands continued on stirring it. His eyes were covered by his bangs that were getting a little too long and he huffed, blowing the hair up to regain his vision. "I wonder where Kris is..." He asked to nobody in particular but Ace shrugged his little shoulders and yawned a little.
He was starting to get worried, too. No text messages or anything from the taller blonde. But he was thankful at the same time that Kris hadn't come home yet, he had enough time to just put this batter into the oven. And that was what he did exactly, he couldn't spare time stalling around because Kris could be here any moment soon.
Ace scampered off the stool and walked over to Yixing who was now placing the batter that was poured inside a small baking pan into the oven. Once that was done, Yixing turned to Ace with a small smile etched on his lips. "This would be my birthday gift to you and daddy- I mean... Kris." Yixing told the boy and ruffled his hair. Ace blew raspberries at him as the older messed up his hair.
"I think daddy would like that~" Ace giggled and slipped past Yixing and sat in front of the hot oven.
Yixing warned him not to get too close to the oven and Ace shrugged him off with a nod. That was when the door opens and if Yixing was a dog, his floppy ears would stand up from this. He turned around on his heels and walked out of the kitchen. "Kris!" He practically squeaked after seeing Kris' shirt wet with rain water but not that much
Kris shushed him by pressing a finger on his own lips and Yixing nodded as though he understood what Kris meant by shushing him. Yixing could only nod as Kris slipped off his shirt (Yixing gulped a little at this sight) and shoes before lifting the small cage on his feet.
"This... it's my gift for Ace." Kris told him as he walked to Yixing with a huge grin on his lips. Yixing turned his head around and saw through the small opening in the kitchen that Ace was still amused with the oven and the cake inside it.
"It's a kitten, you see." Kris explained and raised the cage higher. Yixing inched his face closer and saw a ginger kitten sleeping peacefully insisde it. A kitten? Was Kris out of his mind? He wanted to ask him that but since it was their birthday, he'd let that pass.
And that was when he reminded himself that it was Ace's and Kris' birthday. "K-Kris! H-Happy birthday!" And the only thing that was on top of his mind was to hug Kris. And so he did. He wrapped his arms around Kris' middle and pressed his cheek against Kris' bare chest that felt cold against his warm cheek.
He could feel Kris pause for a while, his arms lingering up as Yixing continued to hug him. Kris was so close that he could feel the taller's heartbeat against his own shoulder. Maybe he was out of his mind, but the hug lasted longer than he wanted it to be when Kris chuckled-- giggled and with difficulty, wrapped his arms around Yixing too all the while holding the cage of the kitten with a hand.
"Thank you." Kris said. Yixing felt and swore to himself that Kris inhaled his scent and when the older pulled away, he pressed a quick kiss on the top of his head. "You're cute." Was all Kris said before he walked past Yixing and into the kitchen to surprise Ace.
Yixing stood there, watching Kris' back retreat from him and into the kitchen. His heart was ridiculously beating fast inside his chest that he had to bring a hand to the left part of his chest.
Kris kissed his head and it felt normal, natural, it didn't feel weird at all.
It was almost as if it was the initial reaction of Kris to his hug. And he felt okay with that.
After Yixing had gotten over his stupid girly reaction, he rushed inside the kitchen only to find Ace and Kris smiling at each other. Both of their eyes up into crescents and Yixing liked seeing that. Though there was a new addition to their family, a little ginger kitten was now sitting on top of the wooden table where they eat.
Where they eat.
"Guys! Put that kitten down! That's where we eat for goodness' sake!" Yixing disturbed their happy little conversation and scooped the kitten off the table. He carefully places it on the kitchen floor before looking back up at the father and son who looked at him with puppy eyes.
"Xing! That's Ace's cat!" Kris retorted, following Ace who chased the kitten out of the kitchen. Yixing rolled his eyes and walked behind Kris closely.
"I know! But don't let it in the kitchen! This is where we eat!" Yixing said with authority in his voice. Kris turned his head at him and stuck his tongue out at him like a child.
How dare he--
Yixing didn't like the idea of cats at all.
***
Maybe he liked Kris, maybe he didn't. Maybe he was just adoring him for being such a good father to Ace. Yes. That was it. He was admiring his paternal abilities because Yixing never had a dad. But in this moment, when they were sitting by the balcony beside each other, legs swinging slightly as their hands hold cans of beers.. Yixing thought Kris was beautiful from this angle where his back was hunched and his legs parted with his hand dangling in between. His head tilted up also and that made Yixing want to adore every single thing about him.
"So... you're really leaving... us?" Kris spoke after a while of silence and after he had taken a long swig from his own can of beer. Yixing his lips, took in a huge gulp before humming as a reply, nodding his head a little.
"Ace..." Kris started with a croaky voice. Yixing thought it was from the beer. Maybe it was. "He wouldn't like that... you should've told him the truth." Kris stated then took another swig, throwing his can back before leaning down and opening another.
Yixing sighed. "But I couldn't... sometimes you just really have to lie." Yixing bit his lower lip, the grip on his can got a little tighter. He hated lying. He never meant to lie to the child. "I didn't want to hurt his feelings."
"But you will hurt his feelings more once you really leave us." Kris guilted him again and Yixing wanted to punch his face. With a huff, he finished his can and grabbed another one, opening it with force.
"I know that-- just-- shut up." Yixing scrunched up his face before drinking from his newly opened can. Kris let out a breath and blew his bangs away from his picturesque face. "I don't want to hurt him. I ing hate myself alright. I didn't know what to do-- I just couldn't take it to tell him that I'm leaving him soon."
Kris laughed at him, a loud mocking laugh. "You're ing stupid." And then he turned his head, just in time to lock gazes with Yixing.
Yixing wanted to tell him to shut his face but instead, he found himself inching closer and closer to Kris' face. Kris did this too and he didn't know if it was the alcohol taking place into their system or maybe because they're stupid and crazy.
They knew they were too old to live recklessly but Yixing didn't know if it was him or Kris that closed the distance and made their lips meet.
It was a rush of feelings. There was this feeling in his stomach that he swore it was like the first again though he's had kisses before. The hair on his arms and at the back of his neck raised when Kris tilted his head to the side and moved his lips slowly. He followed too, tasting the beer on Kris' lips. There was as if a rush of adrenaline climbing up to his chest and he was left breathless when Kris pulled away.
He didn't feel weird.
He felt happy.
"I- I'm sorry." Kris beat him into speaking and through the dim street lights, he could see Kris' face turn red.
And then there was laugh that emitted from the both of them. "We're too ing old to live recklessly." Yixing voiced out his thoughts and laughed against Kris' shoulder as he had leaned in.
"No. ing -- there's no way out. Xing, come on. I want to tell you something." Kris said and placed his can beside him. He placed his hands on Yixing's shoulder and again for the second time in this hour, locked gazes with him.
Yixing blinked at tilted his head to the side, letting Kris' fingers softly dig into his shoulders. "I like you. Like really like." And an uncontrollable snort left Yixing.
"Shut up." Yixing told him and shook his head, ignoring the thumping feeling inside his chest. Kris liked him. And he didn't know how to react to that. "You're drunk as ." Yixing said and downed his beer in one go before turning back to Kris who was still surprisingly looking at him.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm really drunk. But I really like you and this is seriously so ing gay but I like you a lot Yixing."
When they lock lips for the second time that night, that was when he knew that he liked Kris too. This time, the kiss was softer and longer than the first one. This one felt more natural as they let their lips mold into each other's and their heads move in complete synchronization with each other. It felt magical as a song, their bodies moving to the rhythm of their heartbeats, hands awkwardly tracing and cupping each other's faces, carefully cherishing the moments they lips brush against each other.
They pulled away for air, Yixing's hand gripping on the cotton cloth of Kris' shirt in front of his chest and Kris' hands supporting Yixing's back. When they smiled at each other, there was a soft meow followed by a question. "Daddy? Yixing ge? You guys are together?"
***
"Dad, Xing ge, no need to explain things to me. I understand everything. You both love each other and you kiss after a long day and you hug, not wanting to let each other go. I understand that." Ace told them. He was perched on the side of the sofa with both Kris and Yixing kneeling in front of him, still influenced with alcohol and either of them could feel their head buzz a little.
Yixing shared a nervous look with Kris who pushed his hair back with a deep breath. "Seriously, daddy. I'm not confused, mad or anything. I'm just--" Ace yawned, petting the kitten by its ears, still the kitten was nameless. "Sleepy."
The both of them watch as Ace trudged lazily back to his room, still with the kitten on his arms. Yixing looked at Kris and after a few seconds, Kris looked back at him. And as if on cue, the both of them laughed at their situation.
"Do you like me?" There were laughter as the both of them asked the same thing on the same time.
"I like you." Was their reply to each other. And again, there was a fit of laughter emitting from the both of them.
Yixing reached out and threaded his fingers with Kris' firmly and securely before a soft whisper of I love you was shared between the both of them.
And in that moment, without talking or whispering, they both knew what the other was feeling for them. It was love. Inevitable love that came to them like rain on a summer day, unexpected and warm. But they like it. The fact that Ace liked this too made things better.
And that was day, November 6th was the day Yixing and Kris became a couple.
But that didn't stop Kris from worrying about Yixing leaving them soon.
***
They had three more weeks to go before Christmas and Kris was trying to finish as much as paper works as he could do. The time was 11PM and he was still in his home office, seated behind the big mahogany table, the light from the laptop screen slightly hurting his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes and yawned a little, throwing his head back and letting himself slide slightly down on his chair. That was when the door was pushed open by a certain somebody named Yixing. He leaned forward and a smile immediately reached his lips.
But the smile faded away as quick as it came because Yixing wasn't smiling. This wasn't good. Kris thought. Yixing was out all day because today was the day he was supposed to meet his father but with Yixing's grim expression, he could tell that things didn't go well today.
When Yixing approached him and wrapped around his arms around his neck, bending down a little, his head against Kris' neck. Kris was taken aback at first, but when he feels Yixing's shoulder heave up and down and tears were wetting his neck. This was when he realized that something was terribly wrong about this.
Kris stood up, causing Yixing to adjust himself but he didn't pry away from him. Instead, when they were both standing up, Yixing wrapped his arms around Kris and pressed his head on the hollow of the taller's neck. Kris, as a reaction, wrapped his arms around Yixing and kissed the top of the shorter's head before asking a question he needed an answer to. "What's wrong?"
Yixing didn't answer for a few seconds and remained silent. His tears wetting Kris but he didn't mind, if Yixing needed time to talk so be it. Kris' hands were continuously his back in hopes to comfort his crying boyfriend but that didn't seem to stop Yixing from crying. Yixing didn't make sounds while crying but the way how his shoulders move up and down breaks Kris' heart a little. Okay, a lot.
Finally, after what seemed like long minutes of running his hand up and down Yixing's back and holding him so close that their bodies almost mold together, he had managed to sit Yixing down on the table (his papers pushed aside to make way for Yixing) and him sitting beside Yixing on the table, more like, leaning on the table. Yixing started to speak.
"My father is dead." Yixing told him in between sniffs and hiccups. Kris who was definitely shocked by this, tore himself away from the table and stood in front of Yixing, his hands cupping Yixing's wet cheeks.
"Dead? Dead? What dead?" Kris asked stupidly with his brows knotted together, thumbs slowly wiping the tears away from the shorter's cheeks.
Yixing let out an exasperated laugh, a breathy one before putting his hands over Kris'. "Dead. Gone. Passed away. Three years ago. Brain cancer. His current family..." Yixing choked a bit before continuing. "His current family told me about this and they were neutral about me being his son. His wife... apparently knew about us... Father's family in China but knew that my mommy and my father were never married..." Yixing finished off, letting his head fall and tears fall like raindrops on his cheeks.
All Kris could do was speak out the best thing he had on top of his mind. Even if that meant that Yixing would leave them. "You going back to China?" Kris asked soflty, enveloping Yixing into a tight hug.
A small nod from Yixing was all it took to break his heart.
***
Two weeks to Christmas and Kris was driving them to the airport. Ace was seated at the back while Yixing was on the passenger seat beside Kris. Ace was hugging on the alpaca stuffed toy Kris had gotten him and was muttering things to the stuffed toy.
The atmosphere wasn't exactly tense, but it was quiet. Eerily quiet. A silence that was meant to be comfortable but none of them was used to this type of quiet.
The car came to a halt just like that. Kris unbuckled his seatbelt and went out from his door with a straight face on. Yixing was still feeling guilty though they had talked to them about this a week ago, talked to Ace about this a week ago. He felt bad. Bad because he was leaving them, bad because he was leaving his family in Seoul.
"We'll keep in touch right, Xing ge?" Ace asked when the had gotten off the car and had put Yixing's baggage on a trolley. Yixing looked down at Ace before glancing up at Kris with a small smile on his lips.
"Of course. Skype. We'll skype every night okay? So that I can make sure that the both of you had brushed your teeth and ate well. Okay?" Yixing said after kneeling down to meet Ace's eye level.
Ace smiled happily before nodding and leaving a small kiss on Yixing's cheek.
This time, Yixing turned to Kris with a small dimpled smile. This wasn't a goodbye. They were going to meet again... soon. And they'd surely keep in touch through the internet right? "I love you." Yixing said, hugging Kris real tight as if not wanting to let go.
"I love you too." Was Kris' reply before giving Yixing a kiss on the side of his lips. It was quick and rushed but not too rushed.
"See you guys later?" Yixing never liked goodbyes.
Kris smiled, collecting Ace up in his arms. "See you later."
This was a happy goodbye. Because Yixing would come back and Kris trusted him a lot. His heart was in Yixing's delicate hands and he hoped that Yixing wouldn't thought about dropping it.
A/N: HOLY GUYS 10K LONG THIS IS THE LONGEST I'VE EVER WRITTEN AND DON'T YOU WORRY YOUR LITTLE HEAD BECAUSE THERE IS AN EPILOGUE OKAY? OH MY ING GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I FINALLY FINISHED THIS-- A LONGER AUTHOR'S NOTE WOULD BE IN THE EPILOGUE OKAY? OKAY? I ING LOVE YOU ALL OH MY GOD. and there must be a lot of errors in here TTTT i'm too lazy to proofread ehh POST UP YOUR QUESTIONS GUYS~ THE EPILOGUE WOULD BE UP IN THE NEXT DAYS~~ ILYYY
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