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“Do you have some time? There’s something I want to show you, well more somewhere not something,” Jongin asked, suddenly nervous as they exited the restaurant.

“Sure,” Yixing replied with a smile, that cute, heart-stopping dimple appearing. A wide grin spread across Jongin’s face.

“Come with me,” Jongin chirped, leading the way. “Tonight is the perfect night for this, Jongin explained excitedly. ”It’s really beautiful. I hope you like it!” He led the older boy to a bus stop. “It’s a little further than is comfortable to walk but going by bus doesn’t take too long.”

They clambered onto the bus and took seats near the front. Jongin looked out the window and pursed his lips. “What’s wrong?” the Chinese boy asked.

“Nothing, just we might not be able to see it tonight, but there’s still a chance we can see it. Do you want to go even if we can’t see it tonight?”

“Sure.” Yixing smiled and Jongin silently prayed that this would work.

The bus shuddered to a drive and as Yixing observed the buildings sliding by, the view became more suburban. They were quickly leaving the loud and bright aspect of the city filled with bustling people and neon lights. About a ten-minute bus ride later, they got out.

“Wow. It’s so much quieter out here,” Yixing mused. “The air even seems clearer.”

“Yeah. I wish I could have just stayed here instead of moving to a flat close to the university,” Jongin sighed, leading Yixing away from the bus stop.

“You used to live around here?”

“Yeah. My family actually still lives out here, just down the street from where we’re going.”

“So you come to this place a lot?”

“I used to when I was younger but I haven’t been in a long time.” The younger boy was beaming now. “We’re here.”

As if on cue, the moon emerged from behind a bank of clouds, illuminating a fountain in the middle of a pond situated in a little park. The white moonlight was captured by the cascading waters and released as iridescent blue beams, illuminating the park. The waters below looked more like a pool of light than water.

“It’s beautiful,” Yixing gasped.

“It only gets like this when the moon s full and the skies are clear.”

“Is that why you got worried on the bus?”

“Yeah. When I looked up at the sky, the moon was hidden behind a cloud, but they cleared right on time.” His bright eyes made him look so much younger, almost like kid now, as opposed to the serious bartender or even the awkward university student. “And you can even see the stars out here,” he sighed looking up. Yixing followed the other boy’s gaze and it nearly took his breath away.

The moon was ringed with an iridescent white halo. As bright as it was, however, it did not outshine the stars hanging beside it in the off black sky. The stars placed with utmost care traced out constellations, some of which Yixing knew the names of and others that were just beautiful. The night was quickly cooling and a soft breeze began to weave through the greenery scattered through the park. Leaves rustled as the river of air flowed around them and causing them to shift ever so slightly.

A warm hand casually slipped into Yixing’s and he was surprised at first but didn’t withdraw. Yixing leaned against the younger boy and rested his head on the other’s shoulder as they gazed at the stars together. “Thank you for showing me this,” he murmured. ‘I’ve not seen stars in so long.” Jongin’s cheeks were quickly heating up and he was back to being the awkward university student.

“Y-yeah, no problem.” Yixing chuckled inwardly. “Oh Gucci, I didn’t realise it was this late,” Jongin exclaimed after a quick check of his phone’s clock.

“What time is it?” Yixing lifted his head to look at Jongin.

“It’s 11:00. I’m really sorry, I guess I lost track of time. Uhm... Do you want to stay at my parent’s house tonight? They’d be fine with it and there are no more buses running tonight. We shouldn’t have come out here so late.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble, I would very much appreciate it,” Yixing replied timidly. “And I think that it was worth it to come out here and see this.” He indicated the scene before them. “Thank you.” Jongin blushed bright red. This was a great opportunity and he didn’t want to screw it up. He’d be able to spend the night with his crush. It wouldn’t be the sort of sleepover that Chanyeol and Baekhyun did, but it would still probably be really nice.

“It’s no trouble at all,” he assured his date, smiling almost as brightly as the moonlight trapped in the pond.

Jongin led Yixing to a modest house a couple of blocks away from the park. He pulled out a key chain with a small anime character charm dangling off of it. There was a set of four keys each with a different cap. The one that slid into the door’s brass lock was one with a blue skull-shaped cap. With a small turn, the door opened.

“Hey mum, I’m home and I brought a friend,” Jongin called as he removed his shoes. “We were out at the park and it got really late.”

“Welcome home honey,” a voice called from another room in the house. Seconds later a small woman came into view. “You should have told me you were bringing a guest, though. The house is a mess,” she chided. Yixing peered around; there was nothing out of place as far as he could tell.

“No Mrs. Kim, it’s my fault that we were out so late and Jongin invited me over,” Yixing apologised, bowing. “And your house looks immaculate.” When he straightened up again, he was smiling beautifully and Mrs. Kim fanned herself with a hand, embarrassedly, to Jongin’s horror.

“Well aren’t you an absolute sweetheart. You’re welcome here anytime you want. What’s your name?”

“My name is Yixing. I’m from China so please excuse my accent.”

“You’re so courteous! No need to be so formal. Jongin’s friends are always welcome.”

“Thank you,” Yixing replied, bowing once again. Jongin’s mother mouthed that this boy was absolutely precious and Jongin blushed, embarrassed that his mother was infatuated with his date.

“Well, let’s go upstairs to the bedrooms,” Jongin suggested when Yixing straightened up again. Once out of earshot, Jongin whispered to Yixing, “Oh my Gucci she is so embarrassing!”

“I think she’s nice and certainly good intentioned,” Yixing replied. “And aren’t mothers there to be embarrassing for their children?” Jongin pulled a face, which elicited a giggle from the other boy. “Besides, isn’t it nice to have your mother living so close?”

“Yeah, it’s great. I would definitely miss her if she weren’t so close. It’s nice being able to come home if I’m feeling homesick. Oh Gucci I’m sorry. That was insensitive...”

“No, it’s fine.” Yixing shook his head good-naturedly. “I miss my parents certainly, but I go back home for the seasonal festivals at least.” He smiled. “They said they supported me in my dream and agreed to allowing me to live out here. And I’m not totally alone. I have my best friend Luhan. We basically grew up together and he’s almost like a brother.” Jongin raised his eyebrows as if he knew something that Yixing didn’t. “What?”

“Oh nothing. Yeah he really cares a lot about you.” Jongin smiled innocently enough so Yixing dropped it. “So I’ve got a spare set of pyjamas but I’m not sure whether they will fit. I’m a little taller than you are.”

“It’s fine. I am intruding after all.”

“You really aren’t though. Firstly, I am the one who kept you out so late and secondly, I invited you to stay with me here, so it’s okay,” he said as he dug through his closet to find the pyjamas. “Here.” He tossed the set to Yixing. “The bathroom is just across the hall.”

Yixing came back looking only slightly ridiculous in Jongin’s clothes. He had to roll up the pants a little and everything hung loosely on him, making him seem smaller than he was. He came back to see Jongin laying out a mat on the floor next to the bed.

“You can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor,” Jongin explained when he saw the other boy.

“Oh no, you don’t have to! I’m fine on the floor.”

“You’re my guest and my date, so you should be the one to sleep in the bed,” Jongin argued.

“It looks like it’s big enough to accommodate two people comfortably, so why don’t we just sleep together. In the same bed I mean. It’ll be just like a sleepover,” he suggested, beaming innocently and not quite noticing what he said. “I insist. It’s the best way to do it.”

“Okay,” Jongin conceded against his better judgement before rolling up the mat and sticking it back in his closet. He slid into the bed and then moved over to accommodate Yixing.

“You have a nice house,” Yixing commented after Jongin had turned the light off. “It’s spacious and comfortable.” Luckily it was too dark to see the red rush to Jongin’s face. Yixing burrowed down into the covers and soon fell asleep.

“Goodnight Yixing,” Jongin murmured before falling asleep himself.