pumpkin spice and everything nice
title pumpkin spice and everything nice
pairing Sehun/Lu Han
rating PG-13
length 7,886
summary Sehun carves pumpkins, Baekhyun is a fail news reporter, and Chanyeol is out to make his business flop. Lu Han’s here too but Sehun doesn't like him.
a/n Originally written for prompt#24 at selubration. Not much to say about this one, except that I actually like like LBS.
“So this is supposed to be-”
“A unicorn.”
“But why does it-”
“It’s a unicorn,” Sehun reassures as he turns the pumpkin so that the carving is facing forward.
The truth is, it’s a shitty interpretation of a unicorn, but Sehun has no time to nitpick because his current orders have been piling up and potential customers have been coming to him less and less. Halloween is just around the corner and his business hasn’t exactly been booming. The trials of being one of two pumpkin carvers in a small town-you don’t exactly own a monopoly on the trade.
“I’m not sure if it’s what I-I mean my little brother wants,” Yixing says.
Yixing is a nice longtime customer. He’s always gone to Sehun first and made sure to spread his name around as the person to go to whenever people needed to get their pumpkins carved the right way. It makes Sehun a bit disappointed that he definitely screwed up Yixing’s order this time. Sehun can tell, in the way Yixing eyes the pumpkin like it’ll suddenly grow teeth and bite his head off, that Yixing isn’t satisfied with it.
Sehun totally understands though. His unicorn doesn’t even have a horn on it-what kind of unicorn doesn’t have a horn on its head?
“How about if I give you a discount?” Sehun tries. “Twenty-five percent off?”
Yixing hums as he tilts his head.
“Sorry Yixing, it’s been a really rough week,” Sehun says as he turns the pumpkin back around. “I haven’t been getting that many customers. I mean look around.” Sehun waves across his deserted lawn, littered with plenty of pumpkins, but nobody looking to get them carved. “It’s like a ghost town in my yard. Not to mention the orders that I managed to get are all ridiculous. I mean who would want the entire High School Musical cast on a pumpkin? Don’t answer that cause I know who you’re going to say and yes it was him.”
Yixing gapes but shrugs it off. “Don’t worry about this dry spell. I’m sure it’ll pick up when Halloween gets closer. You only have one competitor anyways.”
Ah yes. The infamous Lu Han. Sehun hates his guts. He’s always been stealing his customers away just because he has a nice face and is able to charm old ladies into thinking he’s actually a pleasant person. Sehun knows better-there’s an evil person hidden behind those doe-like eyes and soft lips and enchanting smile and-
“Sehun, you’re kind of…drooling.”
“I’m kind of hungry.” He kind of is though. Sehun quickly wipes off the small drip of spit near the corner of his lips, turning away from Yixing so he doesn’t get any other thoughts. “I’ve been at your pumpkin all morning and I skipped lunch because of it. I mean look it’s staring at you all happy and shit. Don’t you want to take it home?”
It works. Yixing starts patting the pumpkin affectionately, like he’s saying ‘yes, yes, even though you are a unicorn without a horn, you’re actually kind of cute’. Reaching into his wallet, he pulls out a few dollar bills and stuffs them into Sehun’s fingers. “I know you’re a hard worker Sehun. I’ll pay you the full price okay?”
“Thank you!” If Sehun actually cried, he’d be shedding tears of joy and pain-but since he doesn’t, he opts for giving Yixing one of his awkward bro hugs, patting his back slowly like close friends do. “You’re a real friend Yixing. I can always count on you.”
“Of course,” Yixing says as he waits for Sehun to let him go. When Yixing’s finally released after a few more awkward pats, he lifts up the pumpkin into his arms and starts babying it. “Don’t work so hard okay Sehun? I’ll treat you to steak later.”
Since Yixing can’t wave with his hands, he instead gives Sehun a really weird head shake and leaves with his hornless-unicorn pumpkin. Sehun’s always liked Yixing-he always tried to look at the brighter side of things and really, Sehun should be following his example. He should tackle that High School Musical pumpkin with drive and not disdain.
It would be easy for him to start, if not for the familiar dread that creeps up on Sehun’s spine when he hears the stomping of hiker boots across dead leaves in the distance.
“And so Sehun successfully drives away another unsatisfied customer,” Baekhyun comments solemnly into his microphone. “Will he recover from this tailspin? Reporting to you live from Oh Sehun’s front yard, Byun Baekhyun. LBS.” When he receives the cue from the cameraman, Baekhyun breaks character and smiles, all giddy and unrestrained. “How was that? Was that good, I kind of like that one. Did you get Sehun moping in the background because that’s kind of important to make sure our viewers get the full effect. Pre-Halloween Horrors: A Tale by Byun Baekhyun, ace reporter.”
Baekhyun’s kind of an asshole. He almost never gets the news right, but somehow he always seems to get viewers for whatever crummy news channel he works for.
Sehun had a theory once that Baekhyun was playing a prank on them because of the LBS letters on his microphone. In his defense, Large Bull Shit is a very Baekhyun-like prank and much more realistic than Local Broadcasting System, but when Taeyong turned on the TV to the news channel one evening and one of Sehun’s ugly screencaps was used as the preview, LBS turned out to be a very, very real news channel, much to Sehun’s chagrin.
Exactly how someone like Baekhyun got the job, Sehun will never know (Taeyong believes it’s because one of the news anchors has a thing for him). While Taeyong also believes in ghosts and is terrified to walk the streets on Halloween by himself, Sehun kind of thinks he’s telling the truth, if the grade school blushing Jongdae gets whenever he follows up on Baekhyun’s reports have anything to say about it.
“How’s it going Sehun?” Baekhyun asks in that high-pitched tone he uses when he’s fucking with someone. Fucker.
“It was going fine till you showed up,” Sehun says, deadpan.
“Don’t be like that,” Baekhyun coos. “I’m actually rooting for you this year.”
“What-“
“You have some competition this year,” Baekhyun interrupts, before he looks at Sehun dead in the eyes. “And I’m not talking about that boyfriend of yours.”
Sehun chokes on his spit and stares back at Baekhyun. Did he hear that correctly? Baekhyun had to be fucking with him because that’s what Baekhyun does. “Are you kidding me?” Sehun actually voices out, not caring that Kyungsoo is starting to stare at him too with his soul-sucking eyes. This is why Kyungsoo is a cameraman and not a reporter.
“Which part?” Baekhyun teases. “I mean both are true anyways so it doesn’t really matter.”
Lu Han is absolutely not his boyfriend and Sehun refuses any claim made by friends and enemies alike. Even if Lu Han was kind of the epitome of his ideal crush ever since they were classmates and actually gave Sehun a reason to stay around for the boring soccer games (Sehun stayed around just so he could watch the senior captain run around in those tight shorts of his).
When Lu Han started up a pumpkin carving business, Sehun knew Lu Han was no longer babe number one, but was now his mortal enemy.
“There’s another pumpkin carver?” Sehun asks, hoping Baekhyun takes the cue to divert attention away from the topic of Sehun’s love life.
Baekhyun’s lips tilt up in glee, but he lets it slide this time. “A guy I interviewed a week ago. Says he’s one of the best pumpkin carvers this town has ever seen. A lot of shameless self-promotion of course, but he’s actually pretty good.” Baekhyun twirls his microphone around in thought and Kyungsoo ducks away to scratch at his nose. “I’d say he’s on par with you and Lu Han, maybe even-“
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Sehun warns as he waves around a butter knife. It makes sense-a new pumpkin carver in town would explain the lack of customers recently. As much as it pains Sehun to admit, he might actually be losing his touch.
How’s he supposed to compete against Lu Han and another pumpkin carver, when all he has to offer is spirited, youthful energy, and an amazing ass? He does have his height on Lu Han, but he doesn’t know a single thing about this new guy. “What’s his name?”
“So you do believe me?” Baekhyun relishes in satisfaction that Sehun’s actually listening to him. Sehun doesn’t get him at all. “Kyungsoo! What was his name again?”
“Park Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says as he hoists the camera back onto his shoulder. “Are we almost done here?”
“Hold your twink ass, we’re helping Sehun get an edge on the competition.”
“You keep saying it like it’s a war or something,” Sehun says.
Something clicks in Baekhyun’s brain and Sehun shudders at the twinkle in his eye. “That would make a nice story wouldn’t it Kyungsoo?”
“I don’t care.”
“A war of pumpkin carvers, each vying for the number one spot in the town. Brothers turning on brothers, and families divided in choosing sides. There’ll be romance, heartache, and even some tears.” Baekhyun flourishes his hands, and his eyes are glazed over like he’s lost in some Shakespearean daydream-Sehun really just wants to throw a pumpkin into his face.
Kyungsoo deadpans. “He’s making up for all of those years he got rejected by the drama club.” He says it like it’s supposed to make Sehun feel better or something.
“Look,” Baekhyun says as he comes back from his reverie. “Chanyeol’s having a demonstration later this afternoon. Why don’t you go look for him and see what all the fuss is about?”
Sehun could think it over, but there’s nothing to think about really. It’s a good idea. He could see if there’s any truth to all this hype about Park Chanyeol. “I think I will.”
“Perfect,” Baekhyun says as he turns to the camera with his reporter face on. “Will Sehun make a comeback, or will he just be yesterday’s news?”
“You know you have to actually report news to be a reporter.”
“Reporting to you live, Byun Baekhyun. LBS.”
There’s a small gathering in the yard, Sehun notices, as he comes down from the dirt road to where to Chanyeol lives. He could jump over the fence and sneak around to where Chanyeol is holding his demonstration, but instead he decides to just walk through the front gate with a few other folk.
Chanyeol’s lawn is similar to Sehun’s, with pumpkins all over the place, but instead of the mess Sehun has, Chanyeol’s are all neatly placed on top of wooden tables like displays in a museum. When Sehun examines them closer, he notices that each one already has a carving in them-and they all look really good, like they were done by a professional.
It’s not that hard to spot Chanyeol-he’s practically a giant towering over the crowd, puffing into the air with each excited breath. Sehun’s pretty tall too, but he realizes that Chanyeol has a few inches on him and he curses quietly to himself. Sehun hates this guy already.
“What kind of pumpkin would you like?” Chanyeol asks to a little girl in the crowd. “Don’t be shy.” The girl waddles forward with her mother crouched behind her, reassuring her it’s okay to speak to the man. She speaks into Chanyeol’s ear and Chanyeol immediately lights up into a smile. “Your wish is my command!”
Immediately Chanyeol gets to work on the pumpkin, brandishing an odd-looking knife from his bag. It’s blunt near the tip, definitely not cutting material. For a moment, Sehun thinks this is all for show, but then Chanyeol clicks a button near the hilt and the knife glows, like it’s heating up from the inside. He barely has time to blink as Chanyeol cuts a circle in the top with ease, like he was slicing through butter.
“Do you want to help me out with this part?” Chanyeol asks the little girl, ears wiggling and Sehun bites his tongue because this guy actually knows how to play the cute guy thing well. “You can help me keep the ghosts away.” And just like that, Chanyeol and the little girl are scooping out the insides of the pumpkin until it’s completely hollow inside.
Sehun shifts a bit from where he’s standing, and something off to the side catches his eye. It’s hidden behind a few adults standing in his view, but Sehun definitely recognizes the soft brown curls that could only belong to his arch rival, Lu Han. He wants to go over and say something, but then there’s squealing from the front, and when Sehun looks back, the pumpkin’s already finished.
“I give to you, Cinderella for this little Cinderella,” Chanyeol exclaims as he turns the pumpkin around for the audience to see. It’s an intricate design and there’s no mistaking the detail Chanyeol gave Cinderella and her carriage. When he lights up a candle and places it inside of the pumpkin, the design springs to life and it’s almost like Cinderella popped right out of her fairytale and into the carving.
“He’s got a talent for this doesn’t he?” Lu Han’s honeyed voice is unmistakable as he waltzes over to Sehun’s side, eyes never leaving Chanyeol and his pumpkin. “It’s kind of amazing.”
“No it isn’t,” Sehun grumbles. “It’s terrible.”
“It definitely is,” Lu Han agrees. “I’m happy for the guy and all, but I’d really like to get some customers of my own too. Business has been pretty slow ever since he showed up.”
Sehun glances over at him. “You too?”
“You sound surprised,” Lu Han chuckles. Sehun looks back to the front. “I heard you weren’t doing so well either.” When Sehun doesn’t say anything, Lu Han takes it as an okay to continue. “Hey. I know we might’ve had our differences in the past, and probably yesterday too, but I think it would probably be good for the both of us if we teamed up?”
Sehun turns to him completely now, eyebrows furrowed like he’s unsure of what just came out of Lu Han’s mouth. Was he serious? “Did you really just say that?”
“Is it really that bad of an idea?” Lu Han pouts and Sehun wishes he didn’t do that because now he can see how deliciously red his lips are. Kind of like the cherry pop Lu Han kept sucking on back in the school hallways, back when he was in his experimental phase and had bright bubblegum pink hair-not that Sehun noticed that or anything.
Sehun clears his throat and tries to keep his serious face on by thinning his lips. “I mean. I’ve always thought of you as my competition, so it’s just a little random.”
“I’ve never thought of you as my competition,” Lu Han says. There wasn’t any venom in his voice, but Sehun can’t help but sulk at his words. “I thought it was nice that we were both pumpkin carvers. Are pumpkin carvers.”
“If you say so.” Sehun tries not to sound like a child, but it comes off more like a huff than he intended it to be.
The crowd’s gathered closer to where Chanyeol is and he’s disappeared from sight, probably crouched over and working on yet another masterpiece for everyone to fawn over. Sehun isn’t jealous-definitely not at all the attention Chanyeol’s getting for his stupid pumpkins. Chanyeol’s definitely not the reason that Sehun is even considering working with Lu Han.
“How about we talk about this over a pumpkin spiced latte tomorrow?” Lu Han offers, lips quivering into a smile. “My treat?”
A million thoughts run through Sehun’s head at this turn of events. Is he inviting Sehun over because he has hidden feelings for him, or is he luring him away to a trap so he can take out Sehun for good? Weighing his pros and cons, Sehun replies with the logical answer his brain can come up with. “Yes.”
Lu Han’s idea of a treat turns out to be taking Sehun to a hole in the wall family restaurant and making Sehun listen to his woes about his sinking business. Everyone thought Sehun was whiny, but they clearly haven’t been with Lu Han one on one. Sehun’s image about a cool and talented rival slash boyfriend is slowly being chipped away, depressingly, with each word Lu Han cries out over their table.
“Even the old lady that owns the cake shop stopped coming to me,” Lu Han chokes, eyes blown. “And she said she’d always come to me first.”
The cashier is starting to stare at them and Sehun tries to remedy the awkwardness by patting Lu Han on the arm, like how his mother used to tell him to calm down a crying baby. The cashmere under his fingers is soft, and Sehun thinks agreeing to come out with Lu Han was worth it because he looks really hot in his sweater.
Hot as in Sehun could probably stay warm from the autumn wind in his arms-not that he was thinking about his arms, or how warm they would be wrapped around his waist.
“It’s okay Lu Han,” Sehun says. “I still think you’re a great pumpkin carver.”
“I thought I was your competition?”
“Right see, I think you’re great enough to be my competition.” Sehun stretches out a smile and it seems to calm Lu Han down enough that he can regain some sort of composure. “Man this is really eating you up isn’t it?” Lu Han looks like he’s about to cry again and Sehun throws his hands up pacifyingly. “I was just kidding.”
“You don’t understand, this is supposed to be fun,” Lu Han says, eyes drifting over to the window. “But ever since Chanyeol showed up with his fancy carving skills, it’s been nothing but work. I didn’t have to work to get customers, but now I’m lucky if I can even get my friends to come to me for pumpkins...” Lu Han’s face scrunches up at that sentence. “Traitors. All of them.”
Sehun giggles to himself but quickly covers it up with his hand when he notices Lu Han glancing over at him. “So what, you want us to form an alliance or something?”
“Why not? You already know how to carve pumpkins and I do to. Logically speaking, we would have less work to do now that there’s two of us. Together, we could probably make a great team and actually get some of our customers back.”
If Sehun didn’t know any better, he’d think Lu Han looked desperate about getting Sehun to agree with him. He may be going downhill, but so is Sehun, and if it could help him actually make some sales, then he should go with it. Lu Han might be his competition and all, but he is also someone Sehun’s very fond of, not that he’d ever admit it. He sort of made a reputation among his friends and would rather not discredit it anytime soon.
“Okay yeah, I guess it’s not a bad idea?” Sehun’s still a little skeptical, but he’s not going to turn down an opportunity to work with number one babe. “Do we actually have to do anything differently though? I mean besides the whole us working together thing. Like where do we even start?”
“I…didn’t really think that far,” Lu Han admits. “I just sort of thought of it yesterday and I didn’t really think about it since then.” His eyes grow wider. “Okay how about this. We work at your place.” Sehun raises an eyebrow slowly. “Your yard is bigger than mine and you already have a lot of pumpkins there.” It’s nothing amazing, but knowing that Lu Han’s paid attention to his lawn makes Sehun blush just a teeny bit. “I can bring over my tools and we can go from there. Sound good?”
“That works for me,” Sehun agrees, finally taking a sip of his latte. It tastes like sweet revenge and the downfall of Park Chanyeol.
Lu Han has a weird thing about him where if something doesn’t go right, he ends up curling into a fetal position and starts rocking back and forth. Sehun thought that kind of thing only happened in movies, but actually seeing Lu Han do it in person just really makes him rethink everything. His amazing crush from grade school was just a big weirdo. A hot weirdo, but a weirdo nonetheless.
Throwing his scarf back around his neck, Sehun bends over to help bring Lu Han back onto his feet. “So we didn’t get a customer so far, it’s not like it’s the end of the world Lu Han.” Sehun tries to cheer him up, rubbing his arm affectionately. “We still have the rest of the day to go, and a few days till Halloween gets here.” Silver lining. Sehun just had to follow Yixing’s example and look at the brighter side of things.
An angry gust of wind breaks into the lawn, whipping around Sehun’s scarf and ruffling up his hair-Sehun isn’t happy about that because he took a long time making sure his hair looked good for today, and now it just looks like he had a fight with his blow dryer and lost.
Lu Han looks happier when he looks over at Sehun’s new hairstyle though, and if it’ll keep Lu Han’s spirits up for the day, Sehun supposes it’s not that big of a deal.
“Hey, it looks like Junmyeon’s at it again,” Lu Han points out as he nudges Sehun in the arm.
Sure enough, in the distance between a few parked vans, Junmyeon’s yelling at some teenagers that are running across his lawn. A football is thrown in between them and Junmyeon snatches it out of the air, shaking it furiously at the troublemakers. Sehun can’t blame the guy-teenagers are pretty bad when they come in packs.
“I’m so glad Halloween’s coming up,” Lu Han muses as he watches Junmyeon huff back into his house. “I can’t wait to scare everyone and see them wet their pants in fear.”
“Did you really just say that?” Sehun snorts.
“Aren’t you excited for Halloween?” Lu Han asks, leaning into Sehun a bit.
Sehun relishes in the warmth of Lu Han’s body through their jackets. In front of Junmyeon’s house, Baekhyun’s walking over and talking into Kyungsoo’s camera, before pulling one of the teenagers from before to interview him.
“I used to be, before I went with Taeyong and got stuck babysitting him since he can’t even walk three feet without jumping at something.” For a second, Sehun wonders if he should be telling anyone that, but he just shrugs it off. “Are you really into Halloween?”
“It’s probably my favorite holiday,” Lu Han replies. “I just love dressing up each year and getting all the candy I can eat.”
Junmyeon’s storming out of his house with a cane in his hand and Baekhyun looks completely horrified, tripping over Kyungsoo and taking off down the road. “I didn’t think you could get candy as an adult.”
“Hey, just because we’re adults now doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Halloween like the kids,” Lu Han says. “We deserve the candy just as much as they do.”
“I guess.” Sehun smiles as he watches Kyungsoo bow multiple times to a fuming Junmyeon, before picking up his camera and running after Baekhyun.
“You have to make sure that the insides are completely scooped out before you work on carving the outside,” Lu Han says. “If you don’t think then it will be much harder to actually cut out the design.”
“I think I know how to carve pumpkins thanks,” Sehun says as he scoots away from Lu Han’s hovering. “I was going to scoop it out when I’m done cutting the top off.”
“I’m just making sure.” Lu Han turns back to his pumpkin and starts drawing a picture on it with a marker. “So this Taeyong wanted the whole High School Musical cast on his pumpkin?” He asks with a bit of hesitation, staring really hard at the reference photo Sehun printed out for them.
“Yup,” Sehun answers, not once looking away from his pumpkin. “I mean he’s my bro but sometimes I can’t believe him, he’s like an urban legend or something. There’s no way someone like him can exist and yet.” He punctuates the last word with a jerk of his knife. “At least he gives me business. I think he feels guilty about embarrassing me that one Halloween.”
“I see,” Lu Han says, looking back between his pumpkin and the picture.
“So how about you?” Sehun asks. “Had any weird requests before?”
Lu Han taps the marker against his chin. “None that I can-oh wait. I remember there was this one order. I think it was by some guy named Minseok. He wanted some supermodel on his pumpkin. A realistic depiction or something like that.” He tosses the marker into a nearby basket, waiting for it to swirl in completely before scooting over to Sehun’s side. “It wasn’t that fun of an experience let me tell you.”
“I believe you,” Sehun says, hoping the blush that skirts across his cheek can be blamed on the cold autumn weather. “So anyways, what should we do for advertising? I mean if we’re going to put up flyers or something, we’re going to need a name.”
“Do we really?” Lu Han asks, looking straight into Sehun’s eyes. “I mean, if we really need one then why don’t we just use something simple like Hun and Han?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.” It is a simple name, but there’s a shine in Lu Han’s eyes that makes it obvious he’s been thinking about it for a while. Lu Han’s looking at Sehun expectantly, and it would mean less work for him if he agreed, so Sehun just rolls with it because Hun and Han does make for a nice label.
Plus his name is on the front, so he’s obviously the one on top.
Chanyeol stops by later on his way to the market, waving a casual greeting to the duo. Sehun resists the urge to hiss at him, but Lu Han actually takes the initiative and lets out a greasy hiss at their enemy. On the list of Weird Things That My Possible Boyfriend Has Ever Done by Sehun, this actually takes first place over that one time Lu Han’s jaw…detached itself or something when he laughed.
“Okay then.” Chanyeol draws out the first syllable uncomfortably, trying to keep his smile up as he steps back from their mailbox. “Well I just wanted you guys to know that I’m having my grand order-one-get half-off-on-another sale tomorrow and I would love to see you two there.” He clicks his tongue and points at them both and Sehun has never felt more uncomfortable in his life.
“You do realize we’re also pumpkin carvers right?” Sehun says slowly. “Isn’t this considered like fraternizing with the enemy?”
“I don’t want there to be any animosity between us or anything just because we do the same thing,” Chanyeol says. “I mean, we all want the same thing here right?”
Lu Han looks between his knife and Chanyeol’s head, like he’s comparing the two things and calculating the best possible method of jamming it into his skull. Sehun just shakes his head. “I’m sorry what?”
“We want to carve pumpkins and make people happy,” Chanyeol answers like it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “I like making people happy and I want you two to be happy too.”
Lu Han mutters something about jumping off a cliff under his breath, but Sehun knocks him in the chest with his elbow. “Your business is kind of ruining ours Chanyeol. Sorry.”
Chanyeol brings his hand up to cup his chin, lips thinning as he thinks over his words.” Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He lips curve up into a smile. “Well I still hope to see you two there. It won’t be long before your business is gone anyways.” He walks off after waving at them once more and Sehun sputters, like he didn’t believe what he just saw happen.
“Did that really just happen?” Sehun asks, dumbfounded. Lu Han is too busy stabbing his pumpkin with a knife, pretending the pumpkin is Chanyeol’s head, and enjoying the small satisfaction of getting to stab something. “Jongin’s not going to believe this.”
“I don’t believe this,” Jongin says as he sips on a hot chocolate.
Jongin is actually his closest bro, but Sehun doesn’t tell anyone that because Jongin is a firm believer that pop music is complete and utter trash, despite spending hours in front of a mirror, shaking his ass to Beyonce. Hypocrite. Sehun doesn’t want to be associated with someone who won’t jam to Flawless with him in public.
Jongin managed to pull himself away from his dance class when he received Sehun’s S.O.S. text, just to make sure he was alright. When he got to the scene, there was multiple stabbed pumpkins scattered around the yard and a sobbing Lu Han leaning onto Sehun’s shoulder.
“He didn’t take it so well,” Sehun deadpans as he continues to pat Lu Han on the back. “At least he’s not curling up like earlier. I don’t know if I could take more of that to be honest.”
“No I mean,” Jongin says, stumbling over the last word as he awkwardly gestures towards Sehun and Lu Han. “I don’t believe this.”
“Long story,” Sehun admits. “I don’t think you have enough hot chocolate for it so I’ll send you the cliffnotes later.” Lu Han sniffles a bit and Sehun stops patting his back to go for the more effective method of rubbing it. “Basically, Chanyeol’s going to run our business out of town and we should just give up now.”
Jongin gasps prettily. “Did he really say that?”
“Well no, but that’s pretty much what he meant.” Sehun sighs. “I knew I didn’t like that guy but you know I like to hate people irrationally. I didn’t think he’d actually be a jerk.”
“You guys really take your pumpkin carving seriously.”
“It is serious!” Lu Han whines, wiping away his nose on his sleeve. Jongin is startled enough that he almost drops his drink. “You don’t understand, pumpkin carving makes me happy.”
“Okay,” Jongin drawls. “Well I’m still stuck back at the part where you two started working together. I thought you guys didn’t like each other.”
“I never said that,” Sehun says innocently. He kind of never really did say it though. He may have had murderous thoughts about Lu Han before, but he never acted on them, and plus he was working with him now-isn’t that good enough?
“Never said you did, but you have to admit it’s still a bit strange seeing you two together.” Jongin takes a long sip of his chocolate and tries to avoid the twin stares he’s being given. “You guys are creeping me out.”
Sehun and Lu Han just keep staring harder at Jongin, widening their eyes until they’re almost bulging out of their heads.
“Okay look just stop doing that,” Jongin says after turning around. “If you guys give up now, then you’ve already lost. I mean, what does that guy have on you two anyways? Nothing. You’ve got to look at the positive side of things. It may look cloudy now-“ Jongin points up at the sky which have started to become ominous. “Look just do your best-both of you-and everything will turn out for the best okay? Just, don’t think about Chanyeol.”
There’s silence for a moment, and after a beat, Lu Han slowly crawls away from Sehun’s side and curls up on the grass.
Their orders do pick up after Jongin’s attempt at motivation. After pulling some strings-and some shitty Photoshop skills courtesy of Taeyong-they manage to make a decent looking flyer for promotions and word around town travels quickly. Most of the talk is about Sehun and Lu Han being together, but it’s enough to get people to notice their new business, and Sehun is fine with that.
As time passes on, Sehun starts getting more personal with his questions, and Lu Han responds just as comfortably as he’s been since they started working together. They’re both sprawled on top of a blanket in the front yard after they decided it was time for a break, unfinished pumpkins just a few feet away. Truthfully they just drew faces on the pumpkins, but it did take a lot of effort.
“I don’t think you’ve ever told me how you got into pumpkin carving anyways,” Sehun says, staring up at the few leaves still clinging onto the branches above him. “Unless you did and I’m just really bad at remembering things.”
“I might’ve but I don’t remember.” Lu Han chuckles. “If I already did, then I’ll just tell you again okay?”
Sehun turns over on the blanket so he’s resting his chin on his arms, head tilted over to study Lu Han’s profile. It’s a nice profile, soft curves where it needs to be and sharp in its jawline. Sehun never really had a chance to look Lu Han closely like this before, and it’s actually wonderful outlining his face.
If Lu Han noticed Sehun staring at him, he doesn’t act on it. “You know how I used to be big into soccer?”
“You were captain right?” Sehun answers too quickly, earning him a grin from Lu Han.
“Yeah. I was captain.” Lu Han’s eyes drift back to the sky. “Well I got into an accident on the field. Tore my knee and kept me off the team. It was a pretty bad year. I had to go to the hospital in the city and everything.”
“You know you don’t have to-“ Sehun tries but Lu Han shakes his head.
“Doctor’s kept saying my chance at a successful surgery was slim, and well, to put a long story short, it doesn’t look like I can play soccer anymore.” His eyes thin at this, but his smile stays in place. “I was angry of course, but what was I going to do? So. Pumpkin carving was one of the activities they offered me.” Lu Han turns his head so he can look at Sehun completely. “At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I saw you.”
Sehun freezes up at this, eyes widening slightly.
“You probably don’t remember, but I was a part of the crowd that came to your yard back when you first opened up.”
It comes back to Sehun slowly, like a black and white movie that’s slowly blowing off the dust from the film. The frames shutter and flicker in his mind, but he recalls the boy in crutches, and his memory clicks. “That was you?”
“Yup.” Lu Han smiles. “I saw you that day and man, you were amazing. You just seemed so content and I thought to myself, I could do that too. I could be this happy.” Lu Han’s smile widens even more. “So I started pumpkin carving, and it just felt really good you know? I was actually happy. Even after I stopped needing my crutches, I continued carving pumpkins and now it’s something I’m passionate about.”
There’s content in Lu Han’s face, and Sehun slowly smiles as well because he’s happy. He also feels slightly guilty that he ever thought that Lu Han being passionate about pumpkin carving was strange in the slightest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much this meant to you.”
“It’s okay.” Lu Han says, voice still as sweet as before. “How about you? Why did you start carving pumpkins?”
“Me? Well, it’s not really that exciting of a story.” Sehun says. “I literally started this as a dare because Taeyong is stupid. It was either this or pretend to be Taeyong’s girlfriend for a week, and I’d rather eat rusty nails than be Taeyong’s anything really.” He sighs, but Lu Han’s watching him with fascination, like everything Sehun’s revealing to him is something important he has to remember. “It really isn’t as interesting as your story.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a competition Sehun,” Lu Han says, finally sitting up from the blanket. “Shall we get back to work?”
He offers a gloved hand Sehun’s way, and Sehun takes in everything, carving away new memories in his heart.
“I knew it!” Baekhyun exclaims as he presses a microphone into Sehun’s side, obviously amused at whatever epiphany he just had before storming through Sehun’s front gate. “I knew there was something going on between you two.”
“He’s serious,” Kyungsoo deadpans. “It was practically everything he talked about during the ride to and from the station. It’s actually really annoying. Please, make it stop.”
“Shut up fluff butt,” Baekhyun sneers quickly. “This is such a good story. I knew there was romance between you two the moment I pictured your faces together.”
Sehun sighs as he drops a pumpkin onto his front porch. “Look we aren’t going out, we’re not really together. I don’t care what kind of gossip is going on through town but, it’s not true.”
Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at this, but he’s not so easily deterred. “They say you two are working together now, is it true?”
“Yes,” Sehun says as unenthusiastic as he can make himself sound. “But-“
“And they said you two have been spending a lot of time together now, is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it!” Baekhyun says as he brings his microphone back his lips, motioning for Kyungsoo to point the camera at him. “This just in: Sinking Sehun Snags Summertime Sexiness. Tonight at Seven.”
“It’s not even fucking summer!” Sehun shouts, barely restraining his urge to rip out his hair.
Baekhyun quickly does a cutting motion across his neck, and Kyungsoo takes his cue to stop recording. “You’re ruining the story Sehun.”
“We aren’t-“
“Boyfriends, yes we heard you the first time.” Baekhyun shakes his head. “If you guys aren’t, then what are you two?”
“Partners?” Sehun says, exhausted.
“If you really believe that,” Baekhyun sing-songs, pulling Kyungsoo aside so they can focus on recording footage of the few pumpkins Sehun’s managed to carve today. “Because I don’t, but it’s okay. You’ll eventually come to your love-induced senses and realize that you totally have a man crush on Lu Han.” He taps against the camera and Kyungsoo sways a bit before giving him a death glare. “I’m sure this isn’t a one-sided affair anyways. I don’t want to break it to Lu Han’s little old heart that his crush isn’t crushing on him.”
“Wait what?”
“I said I think Chanyeol’s having a buy get one half off sale at his yard today bye.” Baekhyun all but skips away from Sehun’s yard, a clearly stressed Kyungsoo chasing after him.
He doesn’t want Baekhyun’s words to get to him but, what is he and Lu Han exactly?
He confronts Lu Han about it the next afternoon, when they’re starting to clean up after the few orders they had for the day get finished. Sehun manages to wrestle Taeyong into helping him clean up because he’s his best friend and his High School Musical pumpkin was a pain in Sehun’s ass to finish-Lu Han actually finished that one, but it was so painful to watch that Sehun felt exhausted from it too.
“Can you get me a few trash bags Taeyong?” Sehun asks, hoisting a pumpkin into the wagon. Taeyong asked if he should bring one earlier and Sehun gratefully accepted.
Taeyong grunts as he places a pumpkin near the front steps and wipes away at his forehead with his sleeve. “They’re in the kitchen right?”
“Yeah, they’re in the closet by the bathroom.” Sehun makes a few hand motions and Taeyong nods like he understands what the hell Sehun is trying to say.
“O-kay.”
As soon as Taeyong is gone, Sehun takes this moment to walk up against Lu Han. At first, Lu Han’s smiling at him, but when he notices that Sehun isn’t stopping, he quickly steps back until his back is pressed against the only tree in Sehun’s yard. Sehun’s hands are on the tree, arms on either side of Lu Han, caging him like Sehun is afraid he’s going to run away. “Is…something wrong?”
“What are we?” Sehun asks. He figures there’s no better way to get a straight answer than to just get right to the point.
“Us?” Lu Han ponders for a moment before he slips open a grin. “We’re Hun and Han right?”
“I’m serious,” Sehun says, mustering up as much seriousness as he can in his skinny little body. “What are we?”
“We’re pumpkin carvers?”
“You and me Lu Han. What are we?” Sehun finishes the sentence by enunciating the last word.
Lu Han stares straight at him, dissecting his words, and suddenly he’s really looking up at Sehun. There’s curiosity in his eyes and Sehun feels vulnerable under his gaze. Lu Han looks like he’s shrinking underneath Sehun, like he’s trying to figure out if what he’s thinking is the truth, or just a lie he’s hoping is true.
“What,” Lu Han starts, eyebrows furrowing. “What do you want us to be?”
The kiss plays like an old film, with the images flickering faster and faster until they start to blur and there’s nothing but white in his eyes. Sehun doesn’t know what came over him, but this urge is driving him forward, like he’s been wanting this for so long. There’s hesitation from Lu Han’s lips, but soon they’re receptive and suddenly hands are trailing up his body until they’re cupping his head from behind.
The film is no longer grey and aged, but vibrant and colorful, like Lu Han’s presence is bringing warmth into Sehun’s life. Lu Han’s the one who gets dangerous, snaking his tongue along Sehun’s lips until they’re given permission to explore, tasting every inch of Sehun like it’s uncharted territory, mapping out the roads that make Sehun moan and buckle underneath him.
When they finally pull apart, they’re gasping for air. Lu Han looks completely disheveled, his collar bent at an odd angle and hair tousled in their enthusiasm. His lips are stained red and Sehun feels excited because Lu Han looks wrecked and it’s because of him. He brushes his fingers up Lu Han’s jaw, feeling every breath he takes in, and Lu Han responds with a whimper.
“I want us to be this.” Sehun says, taking in a breath of autumn air. “I want us to be together.”
Lu Han finally stops breathing heavily and pauses for a moment before giving him the most animalistic smile Sehun’s ever seen. “I’d like that.”
“If you wanted me to just disappear for a bit so you could suck face with your not-boyfriend, you could’ve just said so,” Taeyong grumbles as he emerges from the front door with trash bags in hand. “And for the record, you kiss like a porn star.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Lu Han asks as he cocks an eyebrow. “I’d say it’s one of the best kisses I’ve ever had.”
Sehun finally drifts off of Lu Han and when he untangles the curls in his hair, he realizes there’s always been a silver lining.
It’s the day before Halloween, and while Chanyeol’s business has been booming because of his stupid fancy carving knife and stupid personality, Hun and Han’s sales have actually been pretty decent. It helps that the fact that they’re actually dating now has made their working together much more comfortable and, intimate.
It also helps that Lu Han’s gotten much more confident in his skills and has been giving customers the charm and persuasiveness Sehun once loathed him for. At least now Sehun’s benefiting from it so he doesn’t really mind at all.
“That should do it,” Sehun whispers as he wipes down the cleaner he sprayed onto the pumpkin.
Placing a nearby candle into the base, Sehun takes one last look at his pumpkin before stepping outside. The streets have been decorated in streamers, orange and black so that the neighborhood feels festive and ready for Halloween. Sehun feels ready too, since this is going to be his first Halloween with a boyfriend, and he is definitely not going to screw this one up.
“And that’s why I chose to team up with Sehun,” Lu Han says as he walks in through the gates with Baekhyun and Kyungsoo right behind him. Baekhyun looks completely thrilled and Kyungsoo actually looks interested in what Lu Han’s saying.
“That’s so romantic,” Baekhyun says into microphone. He quickly turns to Kyungsoo. “Are you getting all of this?”
They quickly dissolve into an argument and Lu Han ditches them to occupy himself with Sehun, throwing an arm around his waist.
“I thought you were going to go to the Pre-Halloween party with Jongin,” Lu Han says, tugging along Sehun’s belt. “He looked like he really wanted to go with you.”
“There’s always next year,” Sehun surmises. “Actually I uh… Come on, I got something to show you.”
Sehun threads his fingers with Lu Han’s, leading him into the house and away from nosy eyes. The hallway is dark, almost eerily so and Lu Han’s grip turns tighter the further they walk. Eventually they reach Sehun’s room and Lu Han’s grip loosens.
“What did you want to show me?” Lu Han asks. “Your underwear drawer?”
“If you’re good,” Sehun teases. “No I really do have something, wait here for a second.”
They let go of each other and Sehun ventures into the darkness by himself. Lu Han is left wondering, standing awkwardly in the hallway as Sehun rustles around his bedroom. When it sounds like Sehun finally found what he was looking for, there’s a clicking noise and then a candle is being lit.
“I don’t think we actually said it but…” Sehun trails off and it’s when he moves to the side that Lu Han sees it.
There’s a pumpkin on his nightstand, but that isn’t what Lu Han’s staring at. There, carved into the side are the words I Love You, each one illuminated by the light from the flame. Sehun’s rubbing at his arm and from the faint glow lighting up his face, Lu Han can see he’s blushing to himself.
“I know it’s really stupid and cheesy but, I thought it would be-“
Sehun’s words are cut off as Lu Han enters the darkness after him, pressing his lips tight over whatever words he was going to say.
“Me too.” Lu Han smiles into Sehun’s lips before pushing Sehun over the bed, climbing in after him so his body is flush over his. “How about we keep the lights off?”
Sehun gives him a smirk before Lu Han leans over and blows out the candle.
♔
pairing Sehun/Lu Han
rating PG-13
length 7,886
summary Sehun carves pumpkins, Baekhyun is a fail news reporter, and Chanyeol is out to make his business flop. Lu Han’s here too but Sehun doesn't like him.
a/n Originally written for prompt#24 at selubration. Not much to say about this one, except that I actually like like LBS.
“So this is supposed to be-”
“A unicorn.”
“But why does it-”
“It’s a unicorn,” Sehun reassures as he turns the pumpkin so that the carving is facing forward.
The truth is, it’s a shitty interpretation of a unicorn, but Sehun has no time to nitpick because his current orders have been piling up and potential customers have been coming to him less and less. Halloween is just around the corner and his business hasn’t exactly been booming. The trials of being one of two pumpkin carvers in a small town-you don’t exactly own a monopoly on the trade.
“I’m not sure if it’s what I-I mean my little brother wants,” Yixing says.
Yixing is a nice longtime customer. He’s always gone to Sehun first and made sure to spread his name around as the person to go to whenever people needed to get their pumpkins carved the right way. It makes Sehun a bit disappointed that he definitely screwed up Yixing’s order this time. Sehun can tell, in the way Yixing eyes the pumpkin like it’ll suddenly grow teeth and bite his head off, that Yixing isn’t satisfied with it.
Sehun totally understands though. His unicorn doesn’t even have a horn on it-what kind of unicorn doesn’t have a horn on its head?
“How about if I give you a discount?” Sehun tries. “Twenty-five percent off?”
Yixing hums as he tilts his head.
“Sorry Yixing, it’s been a really rough week,” Sehun says as he turns the pumpkin back around. “I haven’t been getting that many customers. I mean look around.” Sehun waves across his deserted lawn, littered with plenty of pumpkins, but nobody looking to get them carved. “It’s like a ghost town in my yard. Not to mention the orders that I managed to get are all ridiculous. I mean who would want the entire High School Musical cast on a pumpkin? Don’t answer that cause I know who you’re going to say and yes it was him.”
Yixing gapes but shrugs it off. “Don’t worry about this dry spell. I’m sure it’ll pick up when Halloween gets closer. You only have one competitor anyways.”
Ah yes. The infamous Lu Han. Sehun hates his guts. He’s always been stealing his customers away just because he has a nice face and is able to charm old ladies into thinking he’s actually a pleasant person. Sehun knows better-there’s an evil person hidden behind those doe-like eyes and soft lips and enchanting smile and-
“Sehun, you’re kind of…drooling.”
“I’m kind of hungry.” He kind of is though. Sehun quickly wipes off the small drip of spit near the corner of his lips, turning away from Yixing so he doesn’t get any other thoughts. “I’ve been at your pumpkin all morning and I skipped lunch because of it. I mean look it’s staring at you all happy and shit. Don’t you want to take it home?”
It works. Yixing starts patting the pumpkin affectionately, like he’s saying ‘yes, yes, even though you are a unicorn without a horn, you’re actually kind of cute’. Reaching into his wallet, he pulls out a few dollar bills and stuffs them into Sehun’s fingers. “I know you’re a hard worker Sehun. I’ll pay you the full price okay?”
“Thank you!” If Sehun actually cried, he’d be shedding tears of joy and pain-but since he doesn’t, he opts for giving Yixing one of his awkward bro hugs, patting his back slowly like close friends do. “You’re a real friend Yixing. I can always count on you.”
“Of course,” Yixing says as he waits for Sehun to let him go. When Yixing’s finally released after a few more awkward pats, he lifts up the pumpkin into his arms and starts babying it. “Don’t work so hard okay Sehun? I’ll treat you to steak later.”
Since Yixing can’t wave with his hands, he instead gives Sehun a really weird head shake and leaves with his hornless-unicorn pumpkin. Sehun’s always liked Yixing-he always tried to look at the brighter side of things and really, Sehun should be following his example. He should tackle that High School Musical pumpkin with drive and not disdain.
It would be easy for him to start, if not for the familiar dread that creeps up on Sehun’s spine when he hears the stomping of hiker boots across dead leaves in the distance.
“And so Sehun successfully drives away another unsatisfied customer,” Baekhyun comments solemnly into his microphone. “Will he recover from this tailspin? Reporting to you live from Oh Sehun’s front yard, Byun Baekhyun. LBS.” When he receives the cue from the cameraman, Baekhyun breaks character and smiles, all giddy and unrestrained. “How was that? Was that good, I kind of like that one. Did you get Sehun moping in the background because that’s kind of important to make sure our viewers get the full effect. Pre-Halloween Horrors: A Tale by Byun Baekhyun, ace reporter.”
Baekhyun’s kind of an asshole. He almost never gets the news right, but somehow he always seems to get viewers for whatever crummy news channel he works for.
Sehun had a theory once that Baekhyun was playing a prank on them because of the LBS letters on his microphone. In his defense, Large Bull Shit is a very Baekhyun-like prank and much more realistic than Local Broadcasting System, but when Taeyong turned on the TV to the news channel one evening and one of Sehun’s ugly screencaps was used as the preview, LBS turned out to be a very, very real news channel, much to Sehun’s chagrin.
Exactly how someone like Baekhyun got the job, Sehun will never know (Taeyong believes it’s because one of the news anchors has a thing for him). While Taeyong also believes in ghosts and is terrified to walk the streets on Halloween by himself, Sehun kind of thinks he’s telling the truth, if the grade school blushing Jongdae gets whenever he follows up on Baekhyun’s reports have anything to say about it.
“How’s it going Sehun?” Baekhyun asks in that high-pitched tone he uses when he’s fucking with someone. Fucker.
“It was going fine till you showed up,” Sehun says, deadpan.
“Don’t be like that,” Baekhyun coos. “I’m actually rooting for you this year.”
“What-“
“You have some competition this year,” Baekhyun interrupts, before he looks at Sehun dead in the eyes. “And I’m not talking about that boyfriend of yours.”
Sehun chokes on his spit and stares back at Baekhyun. Did he hear that correctly? Baekhyun had to be fucking with him because that’s what Baekhyun does. “Are you kidding me?” Sehun actually voices out, not caring that Kyungsoo is starting to stare at him too with his soul-sucking eyes. This is why Kyungsoo is a cameraman and not a reporter.
“Which part?” Baekhyun teases. “I mean both are true anyways so it doesn’t really matter.”
Lu Han is absolutely not his boyfriend and Sehun refuses any claim made by friends and enemies alike. Even if Lu Han was kind of the epitome of his ideal crush ever since they were classmates and actually gave Sehun a reason to stay around for the boring soccer games (Sehun stayed around just so he could watch the senior captain run around in those tight shorts of his).
When Lu Han started up a pumpkin carving business, Sehun knew Lu Han was no longer babe number one, but was now his mortal enemy.
“There’s another pumpkin carver?” Sehun asks, hoping Baekhyun takes the cue to divert attention away from the topic of Sehun’s love life.
Baekhyun’s lips tilt up in glee, but he lets it slide this time. “A guy I interviewed a week ago. Says he’s one of the best pumpkin carvers this town has ever seen. A lot of shameless self-promotion of course, but he’s actually pretty good.” Baekhyun twirls his microphone around in thought and Kyungsoo ducks away to scratch at his nose. “I’d say he’s on par with you and Lu Han, maybe even-“
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Sehun warns as he waves around a butter knife. It makes sense-a new pumpkin carver in town would explain the lack of customers recently. As much as it pains Sehun to admit, he might actually be losing his touch.
How’s he supposed to compete against Lu Han and another pumpkin carver, when all he has to offer is spirited, youthful energy, and an amazing ass? He does have his height on Lu Han, but he doesn’t know a single thing about this new guy. “What’s his name?”
“So you do believe me?” Baekhyun relishes in satisfaction that Sehun’s actually listening to him. Sehun doesn’t get him at all. “Kyungsoo! What was his name again?”
“Park Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says as he hoists the camera back onto his shoulder. “Are we almost done here?”
“Hold your twink ass, we’re helping Sehun get an edge on the competition.”
“You keep saying it like it’s a war or something,” Sehun says.
Something clicks in Baekhyun’s brain and Sehun shudders at the twinkle in his eye. “That would make a nice story wouldn’t it Kyungsoo?”
“I don’t care.”
“A war of pumpkin carvers, each vying for the number one spot in the town. Brothers turning on brothers, and families divided in choosing sides. There’ll be romance, heartache, and even some tears.” Baekhyun flourishes his hands, and his eyes are glazed over like he’s lost in some Shakespearean daydream-Sehun really just wants to throw a pumpkin into his face.
Kyungsoo deadpans. “He’s making up for all of those years he got rejected by the drama club.” He says it like it’s supposed to make Sehun feel better or something.
“Look,” Baekhyun says as he comes back from his reverie. “Chanyeol’s having a demonstration later this afternoon. Why don’t you go look for him and see what all the fuss is about?”
Sehun could think it over, but there’s nothing to think about really. It’s a good idea. He could see if there’s any truth to all this hype about Park Chanyeol. “I think I will.”
“Perfect,” Baekhyun says as he turns to the camera with his reporter face on. “Will Sehun make a comeback, or will he just be yesterday’s news?”
“You know you have to actually report news to be a reporter.”
“Reporting to you live, Byun Baekhyun. LBS.”
There’s a small gathering in the yard, Sehun notices, as he comes down from the dirt road to where to Chanyeol lives. He could jump over the fence and sneak around to where Chanyeol is holding his demonstration, but instead he decides to just walk through the front gate with a few other folk.
Chanyeol’s lawn is similar to Sehun’s, with pumpkins all over the place, but instead of the mess Sehun has, Chanyeol’s are all neatly placed on top of wooden tables like displays in a museum. When Sehun examines them closer, he notices that each one already has a carving in them-and they all look really good, like they were done by a professional.
It’s not that hard to spot Chanyeol-he’s practically a giant towering over the crowd, puffing into the air with each excited breath. Sehun’s pretty tall too, but he realizes that Chanyeol has a few inches on him and he curses quietly to himself. Sehun hates this guy already.
“What kind of pumpkin would you like?” Chanyeol asks to a little girl in the crowd. “Don’t be shy.” The girl waddles forward with her mother crouched behind her, reassuring her it’s okay to speak to the man. She speaks into Chanyeol’s ear and Chanyeol immediately lights up into a smile. “Your wish is my command!”
Immediately Chanyeol gets to work on the pumpkin, brandishing an odd-looking knife from his bag. It’s blunt near the tip, definitely not cutting material. For a moment, Sehun thinks this is all for show, but then Chanyeol clicks a button near the hilt and the knife glows, like it’s heating up from the inside. He barely has time to blink as Chanyeol cuts a circle in the top with ease, like he was slicing through butter.
“Do you want to help me out with this part?” Chanyeol asks the little girl, ears wiggling and Sehun bites his tongue because this guy actually knows how to play the cute guy thing well. “You can help me keep the ghosts away.” And just like that, Chanyeol and the little girl are scooping out the insides of the pumpkin until it’s completely hollow inside.
Sehun shifts a bit from where he’s standing, and something off to the side catches his eye. It’s hidden behind a few adults standing in his view, but Sehun definitely recognizes the soft brown curls that could only belong to his arch rival, Lu Han. He wants to go over and say something, but then there’s squealing from the front, and when Sehun looks back, the pumpkin’s already finished.
“I give to you, Cinderella for this little Cinderella,” Chanyeol exclaims as he turns the pumpkin around for the audience to see. It’s an intricate design and there’s no mistaking the detail Chanyeol gave Cinderella and her carriage. When he lights up a candle and places it inside of the pumpkin, the design springs to life and it’s almost like Cinderella popped right out of her fairytale and into the carving.
“He’s got a talent for this doesn’t he?” Lu Han’s honeyed voice is unmistakable as he waltzes over to Sehun’s side, eyes never leaving Chanyeol and his pumpkin. “It’s kind of amazing.”
“No it isn’t,” Sehun grumbles. “It’s terrible.”
“It definitely is,” Lu Han agrees. “I’m happy for the guy and all, but I’d really like to get some customers of my own too. Business has been pretty slow ever since he showed up.”
Sehun glances over at him. “You too?”
“You sound surprised,” Lu Han chuckles. Sehun looks back to the front. “I heard you weren’t doing so well either.” When Sehun doesn’t say anything, Lu Han takes it as an okay to continue. “Hey. I know we might’ve had our differences in the past, and probably yesterday too, but I think it would probably be good for the both of us if we teamed up?”
Sehun turns to him completely now, eyebrows furrowed like he’s unsure of what just came out of Lu Han’s mouth. Was he serious? “Did you really just say that?”
“Is it really that bad of an idea?” Lu Han pouts and Sehun wishes he didn’t do that because now he can see how deliciously red his lips are. Kind of like the cherry pop Lu Han kept sucking on back in the school hallways, back when he was in his experimental phase and had bright bubblegum pink hair-not that Sehun noticed that or anything.
Sehun clears his throat and tries to keep his serious face on by thinning his lips. “I mean. I’ve always thought of you as my competition, so it’s just a little random.”
“I’ve never thought of you as my competition,” Lu Han says. There wasn’t any venom in his voice, but Sehun can’t help but sulk at his words. “I thought it was nice that we were both pumpkin carvers. Are pumpkin carvers.”
“If you say so.” Sehun tries not to sound like a child, but it comes off more like a huff than he intended it to be.
The crowd’s gathered closer to where Chanyeol is and he’s disappeared from sight, probably crouched over and working on yet another masterpiece for everyone to fawn over. Sehun isn’t jealous-definitely not at all the attention Chanyeol’s getting for his stupid pumpkins. Chanyeol’s definitely not the reason that Sehun is even considering working with Lu Han.
“How about we talk about this over a pumpkin spiced latte tomorrow?” Lu Han offers, lips quivering into a smile. “My treat?”
A million thoughts run through Sehun’s head at this turn of events. Is he inviting Sehun over because he has hidden feelings for him, or is he luring him away to a trap so he can take out Sehun for good? Weighing his pros and cons, Sehun replies with the logical answer his brain can come up with. “Yes.”
Lu Han’s idea of a treat turns out to be taking Sehun to a hole in the wall family restaurant and making Sehun listen to his woes about his sinking business. Everyone thought Sehun was whiny, but they clearly haven’t been with Lu Han one on one. Sehun’s image about a cool and talented rival slash boyfriend is slowly being chipped away, depressingly, with each word Lu Han cries out over their table.
“Even the old lady that owns the cake shop stopped coming to me,” Lu Han chokes, eyes blown. “And she said she’d always come to me first.”
The cashier is starting to stare at them and Sehun tries to remedy the awkwardness by patting Lu Han on the arm, like how his mother used to tell him to calm down a crying baby. The cashmere under his fingers is soft, and Sehun thinks agreeing to come out with Lu Han was worth it because he looks really hot in his sweater.
Hot as in Sehun could probably stay warm from the autumn wind in his arms-not that he was thinking about his arms, or how warm they would be wrapped around his waist.
“It’s okay Lu Han,” Sehun says. “I still think you’re a great pumpkin carver.”
“I thought I was your competition?”
“Right see, I think you’re great enough to be my competition.” Sehun stretches out a smile and it seems to calm Lu Han down enough that he can regain some sort of composure. “Man this is really eating you up isn’t it?” Lu Han looks like he’s about to cry again and Sehun throws his hands up pacifyingly. “I was just kidding.”
“You don’t understand, this is supposed to be fun,” Lu Han says, eyes drifting over to the window. “But ever since Chanyeol showed up with his fancy carving skills, it’s been nothing but work. I didn’t have to work to get customers, but now I’m lucky if I can even get my friends to come to me for pumpkins...” Lu Han’s face scrunches up at that sentence. “Traitors. All of them.”
Sehun giggles to himself but quickly covers it up with his hand when he notices Lu Han glancing over at him. “So what, you want us to form an alliance or something?”
“Why not? You already know how to carve pumpkins and I do to. Logically speaking, we would have less work to do now that there’s two of us. Together, we could probably make a great team and actually get some of our customers back.”
If Sehun didn’t know any better, he’d think Lu Han looked desperate about getting Sehun to agree with him. He may be going downhill, but so is Sehun, and if it could help him actually make some sales, then he should go with it. Lu Han might be his competition and all, but he is also someone Sehun’s very fond of, not that he’d ever admit it. He sort of made a reputation among his friends and would rather not discredit it anytime soon.
“Okay yeah, I guess it’s not a bad idea?” Sehun’s still a little skeptical, but he’s not going to turn down an opportunity to work with number one babe. “Do we actually have to do anything differently though? I mean besides the whole us working together thing. Like where do we even start?”
“I…didn’t really think that far,” Lu Han admits. “I just sort of thought of it yesterday and I didn’t really think about it since then.” His eyes grow wider. “Okay how about this. We work at your place.” Sehun raises an eyebrow slowly. “Your yard is bigger than mine and you already have a lot of pumpkins there.” It’s nothing amazing, but knowing that Lu Han’s paid attention to his lawn makes Sehun blush just a teeny bit. “I can bring over my tools and we can go from there. Sound good?”
“That works for me,” Sehun agrees, finally taking a sip of his latte. It tastes like sweet revenge and the downfall of Park Chanyeol.
Lu Han has a weird thing about him where if something doesn’t go right, he ends up curling into a fetal position and starts rocking back and forth. Sehun thought that kind of thing only happened in movies, but actually seeing Lu Han do it in person just really makes him rethink everything. His amazing crush from grade school was just a big weirdo. A hot weirdo, but a weirdo nonetheless.
Throwing his scarf back around his neck, Sehun bends over to help bring Lu Han back onto his feet. “So we didn’t get a customer so far, it’s not like it’s the end of the world Lu Han.” Sehun tries to cheer him up, rubbing his arm affectionately. “We still have the rest of the day to go, and a few days till Halloween gets here.” Silver lining. Sehun just had to follow Yixing’s example and look at the brighter side of things.
An angry gust of wind breaks into the lawn, whipping around Sehun’s scarf and ruffling up his hair-Sehun isn’t happy about that because he took a long time making sure his hair looked good for today, and now it just looks like he had a fight with his blow dryer and lost.
Lu Han looks happier when he looks over at Sehun’s new hairstyle though, and if it’ll keep Lu Han’s spirits up for the day, Sehun supposes it’s not that big of a deal.
“Hey, it looks like Junmyeon’s at it again,” Lu Han points out as he nudges Sehun in the arm.
Sure enough, in the distance between a few parked vans, Junmyeon’s yelling at some teenagers that are running across his lawn. A football is thrown in between them and Junmyeon snatches it out of the air, shaking it furiously at the troublemakers. Sehun can’t blame the guy-teenagers are pretty bad when they come in packs.
“I’m so glad Halloween’s coming up,” Lu Han muses as he watches Junmyeon huff back into his house. “I can’t wait to scare everyone and see them wet their pants in fear.”
“Did you really just say that?” Sehun snorts.
“Aren’t you excited for Halloween?” Lu Han asks, leaning into Sehun a bit.
Sehun relishes in the warmth of Lu Han’s body through their jackets. In front of Junmyeon’s house, Baekhyun’s walking over and talking into Kyungsoo’s camera, before pulling one of the teenagers from before to interview him.
“I used to be, before I went with Taeyong and got stuck babysitting him since he can’t even walk three feet without jumping at something.” For a second, Sehun wonders if he should be telling anyone that, but he just shrugs it off. “Are you really into Halloween?”
“It’s probably my favorite holiday,” Lu Han replies. “I just love dressing up each year and getting all the candy I can eat.”
Junmyeon’s storming out of his house with a cane in his hand and Baekhyun looks completely horrified, tripping over Kyungsoo and taking off down the road. “I didn’t think you could get candy as an adult.”
“Hey, just because we’re adults now doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Halloween like the kids,” Lu Han says. “We deserve the candy just as much as they do.”
“I guess.” Sehun smiles as he watches Kyungsoo bow multiple times to a fuming Junmyeon, before picking up his camera and running after Baekhyun.
“You have to make sure that the insides are completely scooped out before you work on carving the outside,” Lu Han says. “If you don’t think then it will be much harder to actually cut out the design.”
“I think I know how to carve pumpkins thanks,” Sehun says as he scoots away from Lu Han’s hovering. “I was going to scoop it out when I’m done cutting the top off.”
“I’m just making sure.” Lu Han turns back to his pumpkin and starts drawing a picture on it with a marker. “So this Taeyong wanted the whole High School Musical cast on his pumpkin?” He asks with a bit of hesitation, staring really hard at the reference photo Sehun printed out for them.
“Yup,” Sehun answers, not once looking away from his pumpkin. “I mean he’s my bro but sometimes I can’t believe him, he’s like an urban legend or something. There’s no way someone like him can exist and yet.” He punctuates the last word with a jerk of his knife. “At least he gives me business. I think he feels guilty about embarrassing me that one Halloween.”
“I see,” Lu Han says, looking back between his pumpkin and the picture.
“So how about you?” Sehun asks. “Had any weird requests before?”
Lu Han taps the marker against his chin. “None that I can-oh wait. I remember there was this one order. I think it was by some guy named Minseok. He wanted some supermodel on his pumpkin. A realistic depiction or something like that.” He tosses the marker into a nearby basket, waiting for it to swirl in completely before scooting over to Sehun’s side. “It wasn’t that fun of an experience let me tell you.”
“I believe you,” Sehun says, hoping the blush that skirts across his cheek can be blamed on the cold autumn weather. “So anyways, what should we do for advertising? I mean if we’re going to put up flyers or something, we’re going to need a name.”
“Do we really?” Lu Han asks, looking straight into Sehun’s eyes. “I mean, if we really need one then why don’t we just use something simple like Hun and Han?”
“Sure, let’s go with that.” It is a simple name, but there’s a shine in Lu Han’s eyes that makes it obvious he’s been thinking about it for a while. Lu Han’s looking at Sehun expectantly, and it would mean less work for him if he agreed, so Sehun just rolls with it because Hun and Han does make for a nice label.
Plus his name is on the front, so he’s obviously the one on top.
Chanyeol stops by later on his way to the market, waving a casual greeting to the duo. Sehun resists the urge to hiss at him, but Lu Han actually takes the initiative and lets out a greasy hiss at their enemy. On the list of Weird Things That My Possible Boyfriend Has Ever Done by Sehun, this actually takes first place over that one time Lu Han’s jaw…detached itself or something when he laughed.
“Okay then.” Chanyeol draws out the first syllable uncomfortably, trying to keep his smile up as he steps back from their mailbox. “Well I just wanted you guys to know that I’m having my grand order-one-get half-off-on-another sale tomorrow and I would love to see you two there.” He clicks his tongue and points at them both and Sehun has never felt more uncomfortable in his life.
“You do realize we’re also pumpkin carvers right?” Sehun says slowly. “Isn’t this considered like fraternizing with the enemy?”
“I don’t want there to be any animosity between us or anything just because we do the same thing,” Chanyeol says. “I mean, we all want the same thing here right?”
Lu Han looks between his knife and Chanyeol’s head, like he’s comparing the two things and calculating the best possible method of jamming it into his skull. Sehun just shakes his head. “I’m sorry what?”
“We want to carve pumpkins and make people happy,” Chanyeol answers like it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “I like making people happy and I want you two to be happy too.”
Lu Han mutters something about jumping off a cliff under his breath, but Sehun knocks him in the chest with his elbow. “Your business is kind of ruining ours Chanyeol. Sorry.”
Chanyeol brings his hand up to cup his chin, lips thinning as he thinks over his words.” Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He lips curve up into a smile. “Well I still hope to see you two there. It won’t be long before your business is gone anyways.” He walks off after waving at them once more and Sehun sputters, like he didn’t believe what he just saw happen.
“Did that really just happen?” Sehun asks, dumbfounded. Lu Han is too busy stabbing his pumpkin with a knife, pretending the pumpkin is Chanyeol’s head, and enjoying the small satisfaction of getting to stab something. “Jongin’s not going to believe this.”
“I don’t believe this,” Jongin says as he sips on a hot chocolate.
Jongin is actually his closest bro, but Sehun doesn’t tell anyone that because Jongin is a firm believer that pop music is complete and utter trash, despite spending hours in front of a mirror, shaking his ass to Beyonce. Hypocrite. Sehun doesn’t want to be associated with someone who won’t jam to Flawless with him in public.
Jongin managed to pull himself away from his dance class when he received Sehun’s S.O.S. text, just to make sure he was alright. When he got to the scene, there was multiple stabbed pumpkins scattered around the yard and a sobbing Lu Han leaning onto Sehun’s shoulder.
“He didn’t take it so well,” Sehun deadpans as he continues to pat Lu Han on the back. “At least he’s not curling up like earlier. I don’t know if I could take more of that to be honest.”
“No I mean,” Jongin says, stumbling over the last word as he awkwardly gestures towards Sehun and Lu Han. “I don’t believe this.”
“Long story,” Sehun admits. “I don’t think you have enough hot chocolate for it so I’ll send you the cliffnotes later.” Lu Han sniffles a bit and Sehun stops patting his back to go for the more effective method of rubbing it. “Basically, Chanyeol’s going to run our business out of town and we should just give up now.”
Jongin gasps prettily. “Did he really say that?”
“Well no, but that’s pretty much what he meant.” Sehun sighs. “I knew I didn’t like that guy but you know I like to hate people irrationally. I didn’t think he’d actually be a jerk.”
“You guys really take your pumpkin carving seriously.”
“It is serious!” Lu Han whines, wiping away his nose on his sleeve. Jongin is startled enough that he almost drops his drink. “You don’t understand, pumpkin carving makes me happy.”
“Okay,” Jongin drawls. “Well I’m still stuck back at the part where you two started working together. I thought you guys didn’t like each other.”
“I never said that,” Sehun says innocently. He kind of never really did say it though. He may have had murderous thoughts about Lu Han before, but he never acted on them, and plus he was working with him now-isn’t that good enough?
“Never said you did, but you have to admit it’s still a bit strange seeing you two together.” Jongin takes a long sip of his chocolate and tries to avoid the twin stares he’s being given. “You guys are creeping me out.”
Sehun and Lu Han just keep staring harder at Jongin, widening their eyes until they’re almost bulging out of their heads.
“Okay look just stop doing that,” Jongin says after turning around. “If you guys give up now, then you’ve already lost. I mean, what does that guy have on you two anyways? Nothing. You’ve got to look at the positive side of things. It may look cloudy now-“ Jongin points up at the sky which have started to become ominous. “Look just do your best-both of you-and everything will turn out for the best okay? Just, don’t think about Chanyeol.”
There’s silence for a moment, and after a beat, Lu Han slowly crawls away from Sehun’s side and curls up on the grass.
Their orders do pick up after Jongin’s attempt at motivation. After pulling some strings-and some shitty Photoshop skills courtesy of Taeyong-they manage to make a decent looking flyer for promotions and word around town travels quickly. Most of the talk is about Sehun and Lu Han being together, but it’s enough to get people to notice their new business, and Sehun is fine with that.
As time passes on, Sehun starts getting more personal with his questions, and Lu Han responds just as comfortably as he’s been since they started working together. They’re both sprawled on top of a blanket in the front yard after they decided it was time for a break, unfinished pumpkins just a few feet away. Truthfully they just drew faces on the pumpkins, but it did take a lot of effort.
“I don’t think you’ve ever told me how you got into pumpkin carving anyways,” Sehun says, staring up at the few leaves still clinging onto the branches above him. “Unless you did and I’m just really bad at remembering things.”
“I might’ve but I don’t remember.” Lu Han chuckles. “If I already did, then I’ll just tell you again okay?”
Sehun turns over on the blanket so he’s resting his chin on his arms, head tilted over to study Lu Han’s profile. It’s a nice profile, soft curves where it needs to be and sharp in its jawline. Sehun never really had a chance to look Lu Han closely like this before, and it’s actually wonderful outlining his face.
If Lu Han noticed Sehun staring at him, he doesn’t act on it. “You know how I used to be big into soccer?”
“You were captain right?” Sehun answers too quickly, earning him a grin from Lu Han.
“Yeah. I was captain.” Lu Han’s eyes drift back to the sky. “Well I got into an accident on the field. Tore my knee and kept me off the team. It was a pretty bad year. I had to go to the hospital in the city and everything.”
“You know you don’t have to-“ Sehun tries but Lu Han shakes his head.
“Doctor’s kept saying my chance at a successful surgery was slim, and well, to put a long story short, it doesn’t look like I can play soccer anymore.” His eyes thin at this, but his smile stays in place. “I was angry of course, but what was I going to do? So. Pumpkin carving was one of the activities they offered me.” Lu Han turns his head so he can look at Sehun completely. “At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I saw you.”
Sehun freezes up at this, eyes widening slightly.
“You probably don’t remember, but I was a part of the crowd that came to your yard back when you first opened up.”
It comes back to Sehun slowly, like a black and white movie that’s slowly blowing off the dust from the film. The frames shutter and flicker in his mind, but he recalls the boy in crutches, and his memory clicks. “That was you?”
“Yup.” Lu Han smiles. “I saw you that day and man, you were amazing. You just seemed so content and I thought to myself, I could do that too. I could be this happy.” Lu Han’s smile widens even more. “So I started pumpkin carving, and it just felt really good you know? I was actually happy. Even after I stopped needing my crutches, I continued carving pumpkins and now it’s something I’m passionate about.”
There’s content in Lu Han’s face, and Sehun slowly smiles as well because he’s happy. He also feels slightly guilty that he ever thought that Lu Han being passionate about pumpkin carving was strange in the slightest. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much this meant to you.”
“It’s okay.” Lu Han says, voice still as sweet as before. “How about you? Why did you start carving pumpkins?”
“Me? Well, it’s not really that exciting of a story.” Sehun says. “I literally started this as a dare because Taeyong is stupid. It was either this or pretend to be Taeyong’s girlfriend for a week, and I’d rather eat rusty nails than be Taeyong’s anything really.” He sighs, but Lu Han’s watching him with fascination, like everything Sehun’s revealing to him is something important he has to remember. “It really isn’t as interesting as your story.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a competition Sehun,” Lu Han says, finally sitting up from the blanket. “Shall we get back to work?”
He offers a gloved hand Sehun’s way, and Sehun takes in everything, carving away new memories in his heart.
“I knew it!” Baekhyun exclaims as he presses a microphone into Sehun’s side, obviously amused at whatever epiphany he just had before storming through Sehun’s front gate. “I knew there was something going on between you two.”
“He’s serious,” Kyungsoo deadpans. “It was practically everything he talked about during the ride to and from the station. It’s actually really annoying. Please, make it stop.”
“Shut up fluff butt,” Baekhyun sneers quickly. “This is such a good story. I knew there was romance between you two the moment I pictured your faces together.”
Sehun sighs as he drops a pumpkin onto his front porch. “Look we aren’t going out, we’re not really together. I don’t care what kind of gossip is going on through town but, it’s not true.”
Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at this, but he’s not so easily deterred. “They say you two are working together now, is it true?”
“Yes,” Sehun says as unenthusiastic as he can make himself sound. “But-“
“And they said you two have been spending a lot of time together now, is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it!” Baekhyun says as he brings his microphone back his lips, motioning for Kyungsoo to point the camera at him. “This just in: Sinking Sehun Snags Summertime Sexiness. Tonight at Seven.”
“It’s not even fucking summer!” Sehun shouts, barely restraining his urge to rip out his hair.
Baekhyun quickly does a cutting motion across his neck, and Kyungsoo takes his cue to stop recording. “You’re ruining the story Sehun.”
“We aren’t-“
“Boyfriends, yes we heard you the first time.” Baekhyun shakes his head. “If you guys aren’t, then what are you two?”
“Partners?” Sehun says, exhausted.
“If you really believe that,” Baekhyun sing-songs, pulling Kyungsoo aside so they can focus on recording footage of the few pumpkins Sehun’s managed to carve today. “Because I don’t, but it’s okay. You’ll eventually come to your love-induced senses and realize that you totally have a man crush on Lu Han.” He taps against the camera and Kyungsoo sways a bit before giving him a death glare. “I’m sure this isn’t a one-sided affair anyways. I don’t want to break it to Lu Han’s little old heart that his crush isn’t crushing on him.”
“Wait what?”
“I said I think Chanyeol’s having a buy get one half off sale at his yard today bye.” Baekhyun all but skips away from Sehun’s yard, a clearly stressed Kyungsoo chasing after him.
He doesn’t want Baekhyun’s words to get to him but, what is he and Lu Han exactly?
He confronts Lu Han about it the next afternoon, when they’re starting to clean up after the few orders they had for the day get finished. Sehun manages to wrestle Taeyong into helping him clean up because he’s his best friend and his High School Musical pumpkin was a pain in Sehun’s ass to finish-Lu Han actually finished that one, but it was so painful to watch that Sehun felt exhausted from it too.
“Can you get me a few trash bags Taeyong?” Sehun asks, hoisting a pumpkin into the wagon. Taeyong asked if he should bring one earlier and Sehun gratefully accepted.
Taeyong grunts as he places a pumpkin near the front steps and wipes away at his forehead with his sleeve. “They’re in the kitchen right?”
“Yeah, they’re in the closet by the bathroom.” Sehun makes a few hand motions and Taeyong nods like he understands what the hell Sehun is trying to say.
“O-kay.”
As soon as Taeyong is gone, Sehun takes this moment to walk up against Lu Han. At first, Lu Han’s smiling at him, but when he notices that Sehun isn’t stopping, he quickly steps back until his back is pressed against the only tree in Sehun’s yard. Sehun’s hands are on the tree, arms on either side of Lu Han, caging him like Sehun is afraid he’s going to run away. “Is…something wrong?”
“What are we?” Sehun asks. He figures there’s no better way to get a straight answer than to just get right to the point.
“Us?” Lu Han ponders for a moment before he slips open a grin. “We’re Hun and Han right?”
“I’m serious,” Sehun says, mustering up as much seriousness as he can in his skinny little body. “What are we?”
“We’re pumpkin carvers?”
“You and me Lu Han. What are we?” Sehun finishes the sentence by enunciating the last word.
Lu Han stares straight at him, dissecting his words, and suddenly he’s really looking up at Sehun. There’s curiosity in his eyes and Sehun feels vulnerable under his gaze. Lu Han looks like he’s shrinking underneath Sehun, like he’s trying to figure out if what he’s thinking is the truth, or just a lie he’s hoping is true.
“What,” Lu Han starts, eyebrows furrowing. “What do you want us to be?”
The kiss plays like an old film, with the images flickering faster and faster until they start to blur and there’s nothing but white in his eyes. Sehun doesn’t know what came over him, but this urge is driving him forward, like he’s been wanting this for so long. There’s hesitation from Lu Han’s lips, but soon they’re receptive and suddenly hands are trailing up his body until they’re cupping his head from behind.
The film is no longer grey and aged, but vibrant and colorful, like Lu Han’s presence is bringing warmth into Sehun’s life. Lu Han’s the one who gets dangerous, snaking his tongue along Sehun’s lips until they’re given permission to explore, tasting every inch of Sehun like it’s uncharted territory, mapping out the roads that make Sehun moan and buckle underneath him.
When they finally pull apart, they’re gasping for air. Lu Han looks completely disheveled, his collar bent at an odd angle and hair tousled in their enthusiasm. His lips are stained red and Sehun feels excited because Lu Han looks wrecked and it’s because of him. He brushes his fingers up Lu Han’s jaw, feeling every breath he takes in, and Lu Han responds with a whimper.
“I want us to be this.” Sehun says, taking in a breath of autumn air. “I want us to be together.”
Lu Han finally stops breathing heavily and pauses for a moment before giving him the most animalistic smile Sehun’s ever seen. “I’d like that.”
“If you wanted me to just disappear for a bit so you could suck face with your not-boyfriend, you could’ve just said so,” Taeyong grumbles as he emerges from the front door with trash bags in hand. “And for the record, you kiss like a porn star.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Lu Han asks as he cocks an eyebrow. “I’d say it’s one of the best kisses I’ve ever had.”
Sehun finally drifts off of Lu Han and when he untangles the curls in his hair, he realizes there’s always been a silver lining.
It’s the day before Halloween, and while Chanyeol’s business has been booming because of his stupid fancy carving knife and stupid personality, Hun and Han’s sales have actually been pretty decent. It helps that the fact that they’re actually dating now has made their working together much more comfortable and, intimate.
It also helps that Lu Han’s gotten much more confident in his skills and has been giving customers the charm and persuasiveness Sehun once loathed him for. At least now Sehun’s benefiting from it so he doesn’t really mind at all.
“That should do it,” Sehun whispers as he wipes down the cleaner he sprayed onto the pumpkin.
Placing a nearby candle into the base, Sehun takes one last look at his pumpkin before stepping outside. The streets have been decorated in streamers, orange and black so that the neighborhood feels festive and ready for Halloween. Sehun feels ready too, since this is going to be his first Halloween with a boyfriend, and he is definitely not going to screw this one up.
“And that’s why I chose to team up with Sehun,” Lu Han says as he walks in through the gates with Baekhyun and Kyungsoo right behind him. Baekhyun looks completely thrilled and Kyungsoo actually looks interested in what Lu Han’s saying.
“That’s so romantic,” Baekhyun says into microphone. He quickly turns to Kyungsoo. “Are you getting all of this?”
They quickly dissolve into an argument and Lu Han ditches them to occupy himself with Sehun, throwing an arm around his waist.
“I thought you were going to go to the Pre-Halloween party with Jongin,” Lu Han says, tugging along Sehun’s belt. “He looked like he really wanted to go with you.”
“There’s always next year,” Sehun surmises. “Actually I uh… Come on, I got something to show you.”
Sehun threads his fingers with Lu Han’s, leading him into the house and away from nosy eyes. The hallway is dark, almost eerily so and Lu Han’s grip turns tighter the further they walk. Eventually they reach Sehun’s room and Lu Han’s grip loosens.
“What did you want to show me?” Lu Han asks. “Your underwear drawer?”
“If you’re good,” Sehun teases. “No I really do have something, wait here for a second.”
They let go of each other and Sehun ventures into the darkness by himself. Lu Han is left wondering, standing awkwardly in the hallway as Sehun rustles around his bedroom. When it sounds like Sehun finally found what he was looking for, there’s a clicking noise and then a candle is being lit.
“I don’t think we actually said it but…” Sehun trails off and it’s when he moves to the side that Lu Han sees it.
There’s a pumpkin on his nightstand, but that isn’t what Lu Han’s staring at. There, carved into the side are the words I Love You, each one illuminated by the light from the flame. Sehun’s rubbing at his arm and from the faint glow lighting up his face, Lu Han can see he’s blushing to himself.
“I know it’s really stupid and cheesy but, I thought it would be-“
Sehun’s words are cut off as Lu Han enters the darkness after him, pressing his lips tight over whatever words he was going to say.
“Me too.” Lu Han smiles into Sehun’s lips before pushing Sehun over the bed, climbing in after him so his body is flush over his. “How about we keep the lights off?”
Sehun gives him a smirk before Lu Han leans over and blows out the candle.
♔