Kris lets his eyes fall closed, back pressed to the front of his apartment door, and presses his hands to Chanyeol’s chest, feeling the thundering pulse underneath his shirt, surprised that it matches his own.

    None of this is how Kris had expected his day to go when he had woken up this morning, this being Chanyeol’s hands warm and firm against his cheeks, Chanyeol’s mouth pressed hard to his, Chanyeol keeping Kris steady and on his feet by cornering and pressing him against the door, their bodies lined up perfectly.

    Kris hadn’t meant to let his feelings that had been building up over the past two weeks overwhelm him, hadn’t meant to blurt out, “Why am I doing this? I can’t keep lying about everything, our relationship, I mean. It’s not even real, and I’m about to pull my hair out over it! And I’m not giving you anything to make up for all of the time you spend in here, and for what? I still can’t keep myself from thinking about him,” to Ginger this morning at work, his friend looking at him with wide eyes at the sudden outburst, her chai tea latte clutched in one manicured hand, the two of them off to the side of the line of customers.

    He hadn’t meant for Chanyeol to hear.

    But he had, Kris somehow having missed seeing him come in the front door and make his way over, probably because Kris had been too busy trying not to panic over the raging storm of emotions ripping him apart.

    And everything, all of it, the fake relationship, the lying, the running away, had all been destroyed in a matter of seconds, in the space of time that it took for Kris to glance up and catch Chanyeol’s shocked gaze, in the time it took for Kris to freeze in place, horrified at what he’d just revealed.

    Nothing had happened then, not while Kris was still at work.

    Chanyeol had taken a deep breath, conflict warring in his eyes, but he had merely smiled at Kris and Ginger, had gone to order, had gotten his double-shot espresso, and had left, waving goodbye.

    Ginger had caught at Kris’s hand on its way to run through his hair the moment Chanyeol had disappeared into the crowd outside, squeezing reassuringly and offering a sympathetic smile.

    “You should talk to him,” was all she had said before leaving for work.

    The rest of the day had passed by in a blur of sound and color, countless customers coming and going, Kris doing his work in a half-daze, robotic, unthinking.

    All he kept seeing clearly was Chanyeol’s face when they’d first met, his mega-watt smile aimed solely at Kris.

    Kai had tried to ask him what was wrong, but Kris couldn’t get his mouth to form the right words, and Kai didn't have time to press him before another customer was there, waiting for their order to be taken.

    Finally, the sun had begun to set, glowing fiery-red over the tips of the buildings outside, outlining everything in gold and Kris had closed up, grateful for the silence inside his store.

    It gave him space to breathe, to think.

    Only, Kris didn’t know what to think. 

    A million questions were flying through his head, and he didn't have the answers to any of them.

    Just as Kris had locked the front door, bundled up in his coat and scarf, a familiar voice had spoken, Kris nearly dropping his keys as he startled.

    “Kris,” Chanyeol had said, and Kris had turned to find him standing behind him, hands tucked inside his coat, cheeks and nose red with the cold, something close to a smile quirking up the corners of his mouth, but for once, he looked more serious than anything else.

    Kris had fumbled over his words, trying to come up with some kind of excuse even as Chanyeol stepped closer, panic and anticipation making Kris’s hands shake.

    The wind blew the smell of Chanyeol’s cologne towards Kris, and Kris had only been able to stare at him.

    “Can we talk?” Chanyeol had asked, the wind ruffling his hair, and Kris had found himself nodding and then simultaneously turning to walk in the direction of his apartment, wanting to listen but also move, anything so that he wasn't looking at Chanyeol, anything to distract himself from the fact that his secret was out in the open now.

    Chanyeol had hurried to walk beside him, long legs matching Kris’s lengthy stride, but they hadn’t talked.

    It was as if neither of them knew what to say, the words hanging in the air between them, footsteps muffled by the fresh layer of snow that had fallen a few hours before.

    Kris hadn’t dared to open his mouth, afraid of what he would say, heart beating erratically against his ribs every time Chanyeol’s shoulder bumped his.  

    And then he was outside his apartment building, but they still hadn’t said anything, and the silence had driven him crazy.

    “What did you want?” Kris had asked, wincing at how his words sounded, but unsure of what else to say.

    He wanted to explain, but he couldn’t unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

    Chanyeol had opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again.

    The wind had picked up, cold enough to cause Kris to shiver and ask Chanyeol to come in. 

    They could talk inside where it was warmer.

    And then Chanyeol could leave.

    Would he even want to see Kris again?

    Was he mad at Kris for lying to him?

    Why did Kris even care if he would, if he was?

    And it had all happened so quickly that Kris didn’t have the time to address the questions in his head.

    He had ce he had reached his apartment door, key clutched in his fist, had been startled by how close Chanyeol had been, a few inches of space separating them.

    “If you don’t want to date me, I understand,” Chanyeol had breathed, so quiet in the empty hallway, so different from his usual confidence, and Kris had blinked once, twice, nerve endings short-circuiting as he tried to think of a response.

    It was with a jolt that he had realized that he didn’t want Chanyeol to leave.

    “I don’t know,” he had said truthfully, because he didn’t know what he wanted, not really, meeting Chanyeol’s eyes, dark and deep and determined.

    Chanyeol had laughed lightly, still too close, breath ruffling Kris’s hair.

    “That’s better than no,” he had responded, and Kris’s heart had skipped a beat seeing Chanyeol’s lips twitch up into that smile he had grown to like.

    “Can I try something?” Chanyeol had asked a split second after, the look in his eyes leaving Kris flustered, but he had nodded without thinking because he could feel the warmth of Chanyeol’s body so close to his, could see his throat work when he swallowed, could smell his cologne here even more than outside, the scent making Kris slightly light-headed, and he wanted this, had wanted this for a while.

    The first kiss had been fumbling, uncoordinated, their noses bumping painfully, but Kris had felt something break inside of him and had sighed, pressing closer, dropping his keys, and Chanyeol had slid a hand around to grasp the back of Kris’s neck, pulling him forward and tilting his own head, the second try much more successful, Chanyeol’s lips dry and warm against his own, sweet and gentle.

    And now they’re here, Chanyeol having backed Kris up until his back had hit the door, holding his head steady while he kisses him repeatedly, each one a little harder than the first, and Kris is content to let himself be supported, to let Chanyeol card long fingers through his hair and into his mouth tentatively, everything warm and steady and keeping Kris from falling back into the sky.

    Kris is more than out of breath when Chanyeol pulls away slowly, eyes opening to meet the other’s gaze, and he feels too hot under his coat.

    Chanyeol is looking at him with something akin to nervousness in his eyes, hands sliding to rest on Kris’s shoulders.

    Kris exhales, fighting the heat in his cheeks, and tries to sort through his thoughts, but it’s too hard to do with Chanyeol standing so close, and all Kris really wants to do is get rid of the unsureness that lingers around the other boy’s face.

    “I’ll think about it,” Kris finally mumbles, focusing on a piece of peeling wallpaper past Chanyeol’s shoulders, but still managing to glimpse the blinding smile Chanyeol throws his way.

    “Good,” Chanyeol breathes and Kris jumps as he drops another quick kiss on his mouth before backing up and walking backwards down the hall towards the elevator.

    Kris shakes his head in exasperation when Chanyeol waves one last time still grinning from ear to ear before he turns and promptly runs into the elevator doors.

Sehun hums under his breath as he meanders down the busy street, avoiding elbows and shoes and clutching his camera bag tighter to his side.

    It’s a sunny day, the fresh snow refracting light under his feet, and the skyscrapers glitter with frost as Sehun watches his breath fog in the air in front of him.

    He has about an hour before he’s supposed to meet Kai at work for a lunch break, so he had decided that it would be a good time to get some shots for a project he has due after break ends in two more weeks after this week’s over.

    Sehun’s keeping his eyes on his mint green converse, trying to step in any patch of untouched snow he comes across, when he hears his name.