Mountainville, GA

Tao puts in a call to their friends back in the City as they drive away from Atlanta. It is three bajillion degrees outside, but the inside of the luxury car is at a steady sixty-five.

“You’re all still alive?” Chen asks, voice earsplittingly loud over the speakers.

“Hey, you too,” Lu Han calls back from the back seat.

There is laughter in the background from Xiumin and a second later, his voice appears. “Where are you guys now?”

Kris’ eyes flit to the GPS on his dashboard for a quick second. “Georgia,” he replies shortly. “We’re on route 85.”

“Where to?”

“I have relatives who own a peach orchard not too far from here. We’re going to spend a few days on their farm,” Tao replies.

“Wait, did you say farm?” Lu Han’s arms wrap themselves around Tao’s neck and start to tighten. “Did. You. Just. Say. Farm?”

Tao flails and smacks Kris in the face, causing the car to swerve dangerously into the next lane.

“Pipe down, Marilyn,” Kris growls, getting the Cayenne back under control. “I don’t want to die today.”

Yixing takes it as his cue to drag his pouting best friend back into his seat.

Tao’s family own a peach orchard, a farm, and a bed & breakfast. They arrive a little later than previously planned, and go straight up to the front desk.

“Huang Zitao, is that you?” The girl behind the counter, no more than five years younger than the rest of them, latches onto Tao’s neck in a bear hug. Her hair was short, bleached to a light platinum blonde.

Tao bats her away, introducing her as Amber, one of his bratty little cousins.

“Little?” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “I’m not little anymore.” She eyes the other three quickly, before deciding that Yixing was indeed her favorite. “Let’s go, dimple-boy,” she says, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Everyone but Lu Han decides to go out to the orchard the next day. Tao and Kris are excited about picking peaches, and Yixing is excited about eating the peaches. Lu Han, on the other hand, flat out refuses.

“How very manly of you,” Amber scoffs as she prepares to leave with the other three.

Lu Han just glares and slinks into the kitchen.

By day two, Lu Han is too bored to stay by himself at the bed & breakfast. With a whole lot of complaining, he slathers on three layers of sunscreen and ventures out with the others. He and Amber tease each other the whole time, but he survives, to his own surprise.

“I think you tanned,” Amber says, poking Lu Han on the shoulder.

Lu Han lets out a shriek of horror as the others all start laughing.

“I was just kidding,” Amber chortles, ducking under Tao’s arm as Lu Han reaches out to strangle her.

That night, they make peach cobbler and eat it with ice cream out on the upper balcony. The setting sun leaves a hazy, orange glow over the horizon, and Lu Han turns comment on the sight. The phrase is caught in his throat, however, when he sees that Yixing is already looking at him, eyes twinkling.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Lu Han says.

Yixing doesn’t look away. “Yeah,” he replies softly. “Beautiful.”

[A/N]: I made this location up ~