Yixing frowned as he carried two suitcases into the airport. Of himself and his two lovers who had entered the large building just ahead of him, the physicality necessary as a dance major made Yixing the strongest. As a result, he was also made the de facto bell boy.

 

Usually, Yixing didn't mind so much because he was the kind of person who liked to give what he could if it meant someone else could be a little happier. Today, though, Yixing couldn't help feeling jealous of Luhan and Kyungsoo because they got to hold hands on Kyungsoo's last day in Beijing, while Yixing only got to hold suitcases. He just hadn't realized he was pouting until Luhan turned around to see how he was doing, and pointed it out.

 

"Xingxing," Luhan cooed, "it's not fair that your dimples make you so attractive, even when you're pouting like a child." Luhan had a way of making even the worst of insults sound complimentary, and right then, Yixing so badly wanted to hate him for it.

 

Instead, Yixing sarcastically flashed his dimples to the tune of a giggle from Kyungsoo, but wished--not for the first time--that something about himself would be more physically appealing than those damn dimples. (He didn't realize that on nights he had late dance practices for his upcoming senior showcase, Kyungsoo and Luhan would snuggle together on the couch and discuss how much they missed Yixing and how attractive they found all of him to be.)

 

"Shut up, Lu," Yixing grumbled, albeit good-naturedly. "You know how I feel about the dimples."

 

Kyungsoo nodded as Luhan winked. "Yeah," their Korean lover said. "But have I ever told you how I feel about them?"

 

Yixing was puzzled. If he thought about it, Luhan was really the one who so often commented on the dimples. "No?" he replied questioningly, setting the suitcases down so he could give an expectant Kyungsoo and an equally curious Luhan his full attention.

 

Seeming to revel in the weight of his two lovers' attention, Kyungsoo moved slowly--and sensuously, Yixing thought--toward Yixing, before leaning into the older boy and whispering, "I love your dimples. They're..." Kyungsoo paused and his pink tongue emerged from between heart shaped lips to swipe quickly at the cavities on Yixing's face. "Delicious," he finished huskily.

 

Yixing, who felt suddenly hot and had never been particularly well-able to handle an overly amorous Kyungsoo, coughed in awkward appreciation and turned to Luhan for help.

 

"He's doing the kitten thing again," Yixing said petulantly to Luhan, as if his other lover hadn't just witnessed the scorchingly hot scene for himself.

 

Luhan smirked and his lips. "Oh," he said with a pleased nod and a glint in his hooded eyes, "I'm aware." He turned his attention from a now-blushing Kyungsoo and locked eyes with Yixing. "Are you complaining?"

 

"Yeah," Kyungsoo echoed Luhan with a pronounced pout, "are you complaining, baby?"

 

Yixing let out a groan of frustration. He was frustrated that his two lovers were working together against him. He was frustrated that Kyungsoo could affect him like that. He was frustrated that being called baby was basically his kryptonite.

 

But most of all, Yixing was frustrated that they were in public so he couldn't just meet the inviting words on Kyungsoo's lips with his own or answer the linger of Luhan's gaze with blazing trails left by lingering fingers. Even though he very very much wanted to.

 

"Guys," Yixing groaned out, "Stop it. Seriously."

 

"Why?" Luhan asked impishly, receiving a conspiratorial grin from Kyungsoo when a flustered Yixing replied "You know why!"

 

Kyungsoo kissed Yixing on his left dimple and said, "Sorry. Baby," before grabbing one of the suitcases Yixing had abandoned in the heat of the moment and walking away from his lovers to the check-in desk.

 

The Korean man was soon followed by a shamelessly empty-handed Luhan. Since Yixing's brain, on the other hand, was still kind of short-circuiting from the feel of Kyungsoo's warm lips, it took him a few extra seconds to even realize they'd left him behind.

 

"Wait!" Yixing called out breathlessly, grabbing the second bag and dragging himself after Luhan and Kyungsoo. He was in such a rush to get to them that he didn't see a mother and a small child coming into his path until it was almost too late. Luckily, he managed to stop himself before collision, but he still received a dirty look from the mom and a tiny raised fist from the son for his troubles.

 

When Yixing finally reached the desk, Kyungsoo was already checked in, and he and Luhan were waiting patiently for Yixing to bring Kyungsoo his carry-on so he could go through security to the gate. Rather than telling him to hurry, though, Luhan wished Yixing would have just taken his time because Kyungsoo going to his gate meant Kyungsoo was really leaving them, and Luhan didn't think he could handle that.

 

"Lu," Kyungsoo cooed softly to Luhan, noticing that his lover's doe eyes were beginning to glisten. "Lu, don't cry, sweetheart."

 

Feeling close to tears himself, Yixing reached out to clasp Luhan's hand, entwining their fingers before giving a squeeze of support. Luhan squeezed back and nodded at Kyungsoo, but both of his lovers noticed the quiver of his lip and the formation of a small wrinkle between his eyebrows.

 

If possible, Luhan's pout deepened even more, but he soon managed a small smile when Kyungsoo reminded him and Yixing that this departure and separation were only temporary--once his visa situation was worked out, Kyungsoo was going to come right back to Beijing. (And to them.) It was unspoken, but Kyungsoo's eyes and heart also said that he would miss them desperately every hour of every day, just like they would miss him.

 

"You're lucky, you know," he said from where he'd been pulled into Luhan's embrace, "I'm leaving but you two still have each other to hold."

 

"Yes," Luhan agreed slowly.

 

"But no," Yixing interrupted firmly. "I love Luhan and I know he loves me, but both of us love you, too. If Luhan was all I needed to be wholly happy, I would never be dating you." Luhan nodded, not at all offended, before Yixing continued. "That's not to say we won't lean on and love each other while you're away in the same way we've always done when it's the three of us together, but we won't be happy until you come back to us."

 

At that point, both Luhan and Kyungsoo were gaping at their third lover. Unless it was about dancing, Yixing rarely said more than two complete sentences at a time--at least not coherent ones--and since he was a dancer, he was more used to communicating with his body, anyway. (Luhan and Kyungsoo were often particularly pleased with the ways in which Yixing's body spoke to them.)

 

"Mhmm," Luhan agreed with a hum and a proud smile. "I couldn't agree more, Xingxing." He pressed another kiss to Yixing's lips, despite being in a somewhat awkward position while still holding Kyungsoo tightly.

 

Kyungsoo brightened--kissing was much more pleasant than saying goodbye--and he whined until Luhan turned his attentions from Yixing's lips to Kyungsoo's instead. That left Yixing watching the bag again, but he minded less this time because his minor confession had been weighing him down for a while now and it felt so freeing to finally share those things.

 

His thoughts--and Luhan and Kyungsoo's impromptu, public make out session--were suddenly interrupted, however, by a distinct "Ew!" uttered by a small voice. Luhan and Kyungsoo separated quickly, not out of shame or embarrassment, but rather curiosity. Yixing kept his hold on his lover's suitcase but turned around to find the same mother and child from before. They were standing behind him and the small son was looking at Yixing's two lovers in disgust.

 

"Mommy," he said, pulling on his mother's dress until she gave him her undivided attention. "Those two men are kissing! And that one," he pointed first at Luhan, then Yixing accusingly, "kissed him too!"

 

Rather than look embarrassed at her son's outburst, the mother just shook her head. It was evident that she agreed with her child about the acceptability of Yixing, Kyungsoo, and Luhan's relationship. "I know, honey," she said soothingly, "but remember yesterday how you ate the candy and got in trouble? And we talked about making bad decisions and that big word: consequences?"

 

The boy nodded slowly.

 

His mother continued, sneering and Yixing specifically as she said, "Well these men and making a bad decision like eating candy they're not supposed to have, and they're going to suffer the consequences."

 

Though Yixing and Luhan had each grown up as only children in a strict society and were sadly accustomed to such a reaction toward their life choices, Kyungsoo's family and friends had always been accepting, so the mother's response infuriated him. "You," he said angrily at the woman, his accent becoming more pronounced than normal due to his heightened emotions, "have a responsibility as a parent to educate your child about the world. I get that. And I appreciate that you have your own opinions, but this is not the time or place to make them known."

 

She looked slightly abashed at Kyungsoo's reaction to her words, and Luhan was pleased that she seemed to at least understand she'd done something inappropriate. (Yixing thought that too, but he was mostly distracted by how attractive Kyungsoo was when vindicated.)

 

Kyungsoo, though, wasn't done. He pulled himself from Luhan's arms, unintentionally misplacing Yixing's hand from where it had been resting comfortably on his shoulder. Taking a step closer to the woman and her son, Kyungsoo crouched down to meet the young boy face to face. "When you're older," he said solemnly, "you're going to fall in love, probably more than once, and it will be amazing. If you're really lucky," Kyungsoo paused briefly to glance lovingly back at Luhan and Yixing where they now stood with their arms around each other, "like I was, you might even fall in love more than once at the same time. And that's okay. Do you know why?" he asked the boy gently.

 

The child shook his head, enthralled by Kyungsoo's soft voice and mesmerizing story-telling ability. "Because what you just saw wasn't ew, or a bad decision or anything negative. That was love, in action."

 

Yixing hadn't thought it was possible, but with Luhan wrapped snuggly in his arms and Kyungsoo righteously explaining the beauty of their love to a child, he felt more in love with the both of them than he ever had before. 

 

It was not until after the mother and child had left; after Yixing, Luhan, and Kyungsoo had shared tearful goodbyes--and many more heartfelt kisses; after Kyungsoo had gone through security and Luhan had fallen into Yixing's arms in tears; and after he was back to stressing over his unfinished senior showcase in his studio, that Yixing realized the perfect connecting theme for his piece had been there all along.

 

Yixing had always known that the dances he created for this showcase were inspired by his love for the two most important people in his life--that was the point, actually. What he hadn't realized until just then, though, was that he'd basically created a project that told their love story through dance. He had been so stressed about making sure the individual dances made sense when combined into a complete show, and so concerned with finding the perfect title--an ironically impossible task without a pre-existing unifying concept.

 

But now, though he didn't have Kyungsoo--for a while, at least--Yixing did have Luhan, as well as a finally thematically complete senior project and the perfect title he'd been searching for: Love in Action.