(03/04)

[atmest]

i ii iii
There’s a Spanish-or was it Danish-proverb that says, “One drink is just right, two is too many, and three are too few”.

When Lu Han comes to he realises that bullshit, too much alcohol is simply just too bad for you.

When he officially wakes up, and his eyes are trying to force themselves open, he realises two things.

One, the sun is fucking shining at his face, and it is doing nothing good to the jackhammering happening inside his head.

Two, he is in bed with an apparent change of clothes from what he wore last night. He’s pretty sure his legs are now bare instead of the constricting pair of skinny jeans he convinced himself to wear.

He closes his eyes again and rolls to the side, groping for a pillow. His eyes shoot open.

Correction. So maybe he realised three things.

Because number three, he is apparently not alone. When he turned on his side to snuggle closer to this mass of warm and soft, he touches skin. And when his eyes fly open he sees a sleeping Sehun, strands of his pastel pink hair splayed all over his eyes and the white sheets.

Lu Han has never gone far with a romantic partner, not that he wanted to at the time (last he had a boyfriend was when he was 17, and he was his first boyfriend to boot). The farthest he had gone was have an intense make-out session with his then boyfriend, Yunho. And when Yunho had slipped a finger under the band of his underwear, he balked. His indignant shout had caught enough attention for Yunho’s mother to barge in and, upon seeing their uncompromising position, make them break up, thus highlighting the end of Lu Han’s last successful relationship. It saved Lu Han the need to digress every time Yunho will attempt to get in his pants, though. From there began the drought of Lu Han’s homosexual life.

But Lu Han’s self-imposed chastity (minus the belt with lock and key) may have come to a staggering end, waking up with absolutely-or little to no-memories from last night, a half-naked man-god on his bed (that he never let anyone touch, much less pass out on).

He wants to cry at his reckless stupidity, losing his hypothetical man-virginity to a guy he’s jokingly claimed to be his future husband for a good three months, but is not his romantic conquest in any way.

His attempt at suppressing his sobs seemed to have been failing, as the sounds escaping from the gaps of his fingers slapped over his mouth were loud enough to rouse Sehun from his sleep. Sehun moves and groans, his eyes fluttering before opening, staring at the white sheets for a good while before he lifts his gaze, looking at Lu Han’s distressed face.

He smiles sleepily at Lu Han, and it’s the sexiest Hey-I-Just-Woke-Up smile Lu Han has ever seen and he momentarily forgets his inner dramatic monologue in exchange for debating whether or not he should bring down his hands and strangle Sehun for taking advantage of him. He remembers how he must only be wearing his underwear right now, and a sweater that is clearly not his, and all of a sudden he wants to cry.

“What’s wrong?” Sehun asks, shifting in place so his head is balanced on his hand, his elbow digging into the white pillows. He seems pretty comfortable on Lu Han’s bed, and it’s pretty thick of him considering he forced himself on a very inebriated Lu Han, and manages to look gorgeous with his bare chest all exposed like this, catching all of the sunshine filtering in through the blinds and-

Blinds. He doesn’t have fucking blinds.

And now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t have white sheets anymore, either. Not after he changed them to a Manchester United red.

The whole world suddenly collapses into itself. And with that he starts sobbing. And Sehun scrambles to a sitting position, bringing Lu Han up with him.

“Lu Han, Lu Han, are you ok? Do you need to throw up again?” Sehun fusses over him, and Lu Han doesn’t really understand a thing, only getting that Sehun is herding him to the bathroom, making him sit on the edge of the bathtub, lifting the toilet seat cover for him before scurrying out.

He comes back with a glass of water, and Lu Han thinks he’s calmed a bit after taking a few sips. He takes deep breaths, and stares at his freezing toes.

“Where am I?” he squeaks out, and he didn’t really mean to sound so weak. Ugh. His head still hurts.

“My flat. You passed out and your room was locked. I couldn’t leave you trashed like that.” Sehun is kneeling in front of him, probably trying to take a peek at Lu Han’s face.

“Why am I,” Lu Han’s throat closes up, and his fingers fist around the edge of his top, “not wearing my clothes? Did, did something, you know, happen...” He trails off, not really knowing how to say it. He takes a peek from under his fringe, and sees Sehun chuckling silently at him. His pink hair is a mess, and the boxer shorts he’s wearing is printed with firetrucks.

“You think I took advantage of you?” Lu Han nods. Sehun continues, “I would never! You were unconscious as a rock. But then you woke up around 5 AM to regurgitate all the drinks you consumed, and wow it was a lot. But yeah, when I tried cleaning you up water sort of splashed everywhere, you wouldn’t stop flailing. I didn’t want you messing up the sheets so I changed your clothes. You kept on pushing down the bottoms I put on you, so...”

It is in the middle of Sehun’s bathroom, sitting down on the edge of his bathtub while clutching at his knees, Sehun kneeling in front of him, does Lu Han realise the full magnitude of his feels for Sehun. So Lu Han has clearly underestimated Sehun.

He is one of the most wonderful souls he has ever crossed paths with and, clearly, Lu Han can fall much deeper than this.

☯

According to the father of the person narrating this book Lu Han is currently reading, “Whenever you feel like criticising any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the chances you’ve had”.

Lu Han thinks that maybe Nick Carraway’s father was a wise chap, spewing really smart things that will resound all throughout the book and, probably, Lu Han’s life. So, while he’s in the middle of reading how Daisy will go on with her clandestine affair with a former lover of hers, he double thinks about getting the door. The buzzer had just gone off, and he feels like kicking the person who just rang. He’s actually pretty busy right now, and he doesn’t have time to do petty things like opening the door.

But like what Nick’s father said, he shouldn’t be one to judge people, or their horrible timing. So Lu Han places his book on the coffee table and gets up, his feet thumping softly on the carpet as he makes his way to the door. When he swings it open, he makes a mental note to appraise Nick’s father.

Because Oh Sehun is standing in front of him, wearing a pristine black double breasted suit jacket with matching slim cut slacks. His pink hair is pushed back, his clear forehead exposed, save for a stubborn lock of pastel that curls at his left temple. He looks magnificently like the real life version of the genderbended Princess Bubblegum character in Adventure Time.

“Hey,” Sehun greets, stepping in and leaning on the doorpost. “I have somewhere to take you. Do you have a suit?”

Lu Han blinks. “What?”

“Come with me,” Sehun propositions, standing up straight. “There’s this company dinner I’m invited to, and it says I need a date for it. And I thought, hey, maybe I’d ask my potential boyfriend, Lu Han. But then I remembered I’m just a friend to you now, so this is actually an order.”

Lu Han laughs at Sehun’s face, only to have it die down thirty seconds in. “You aren’t kidding?”

“Nope. And I’m very willing to cut off your TV’s cable if you don’t come with me.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, but I would.”

“Let me shower first.”

Sehun takes them to a country club.

The function room they’re in is elegant enough, the ecru walls lit with splashes of colour coming from the small lights beading the pillars and the rosewood-bordered French windows framed around the room. The white-clothed tables and chairs are properly and strategically scattered around, with the people seated by importance: important people nearer the podium, the ones invited just for their money placed at the back.

It makes sense that Sehun’s name is finely printed on a scented, tepee folded piece of paper placed on top of the table located in the front middle. He is, apparently, the guest of honour, attending officially as the new head of the Oh Corporations. It is the perfect opportunity to talk about merges and plans on investing, loaning, even going as far as offering up daughters for marriage.

Which is why, the moment they entered through the mahogany double doors, Sehun throws a hand around Lu Han’s waist, and pulls him close to his side. Faces fall from all sides of the room, the elegant smiles pasted on powder-perfect, feminine faces slipping into frowns as Sehun leads Lu Han to their table. Lu Han tries not to flush at the amount of glares he receives.

“I did not get enough briefing of this occasion in the car,” Lu Han whispers harshly under his breath after sitting down. He eyes the businessmen seated around them, and fidgets in his seat. He's pretty sure he knows some of them from being in the wine business, like the kind couple Kyungsoo and Junmyeon, but most are strangers just giving him the stink eye, mentally stabbing him for stealing their supposed money maker from under their noses.

"I brought you here not to impress, ok," Sehun clarifies, tugging at the ends of his suit jacket as he nods at a passing greying man. "I needed someone to accompany me. This is actually the first time I've attended a gala. After, I don't know, three-four years? And they get quite boring, in all honesty."

Lu Han realises that maybe this is what Kris was telling him before, how Sehun never really liked being in places like these, with people that like him only because of his nine-digit monthly income.

"You could've brought Kris," Lu Han reasons, fingering the rim of his empty wine glass. "He'd be better company."

"Nah," Sehun turns down, a smile gracing his face as he leans into his seat. "Old sport's too busy entertaining his wife. Don't want to bother them when the other can wield a butcher knife pretty smashingly."

Lu Han smothers his laugh with the back of his palm, trying his hardest to suppress the smile in his eyes, the unflattering lines marring the edges.

He slaps Sehun's arm, and admonishes, "Don't make me laugh! I don't like what it does to my face."

Sehun snorts, taking Lu Han's hands away from his face, and encasing them in his own. It amazes Lu Han how Sehun’s bigger, and much warmer, hands seem to hold Lu Han's own perfectly fine, his slim fingers tangled in the spaces of Sehun’s digits.

Sehun lays their hands on his lap, and beams at Lu Han, "I love what it does to your face. I'd very much want you to do this more, you know. You look wonderful when you're happy."

And then the lights dim, and Sehun doesn't get to see the grateful blush Lu Han sends his way.

But Sehun doesn't release his hands during the duration of the programme, not that Lu Han minds. He doesn't mind at all.

“Why is she here,” Lu Han hisses under his breath while he fumbles with his bowtie. His hand is nestled in the crook of Sehun’s bended arm, tugging him away to the other side of the room.

“Who are you talking about?” Sehun asks, bending down to Lu Han’s height to hear him properly. They’re at a corner of the function room, and Lu Han is angrily stabbing the tiny marshmallows by the chocolate fountain.

“Her,” Lu Han points out, skewered marshmallow directed at a lady standing diagonally opposite them, wearing a green floorlength dress. “Why’s she here?”

“Oh, Krystal?”

“I don’t care if she’s a mineral, she’s looking over here. And she’s walking our way.”

“Why are you so edgy,” Sehun laughs, popping one of Lu Han’s chocolate-covered strawberries in his mouth. Sehun turns around just in time to see Sequined Slut offer up her hand, and he takes it, placing an innocent kiss on the skin over her knuckles. Lu Han’s stomach coils with jealousy, and he narrows his eyes at the back of Sehun’s head.

“Krystal, I want you to meet someone,” Sehun says after he straightens up, pulling her slightly. Sehun reach over and twines his fingers with Lu Han's. He tugs Lu Han close, close until their arms brush each other. "This is Lu Han. Lu Han, this is Krystal. A good friend of mine."

Lu Han tries not to snort as he holds out a hand for Krystal to shake. He can feel the woman looking him up and down, and he can hear her judging thoughts from where he is. Bitch.

"So you're the person people won't stop talking about," she comments, her face breaking into a smile. It does wonders to her face, and Lu Han is momentarily stunned. "It's so wonderful to meet you." Wait.

“Um,” Lu Han starts, staring confusingly at the girl’s smiling face, “It’s nice to meet you, too? You look wonderful tonight. Green looks good on you.”

“Why, thank you. You as well! I finally see what the commotion was all about,” Krystal gushes, leaning closer to Lu Han, clutching his hands in hers, “I have heard so many good things about you, you know. Kris won’t shut up about you.” Lu Han is somewhat disappointed at the mention of Kris’ name, not Sehun’s. “So you’re the person that’s anchored Sehun in one place for the longest time. I got to hand it to you. Even I haven’t done that.”

Lu Han blushes, and gripes at what to say. “It’s always nice to help out a friend.”

“Oh, please,” Krystal waves a bejewelled hand in the air, pale fingers catching at the light, “I'm sure you guys aren't just friends. I've heard about the future husband thing. It’s perfectly ok to want to get married. I wish I were already married to my boyfriend. And hey, maybe you’re all Sehun needs in life.” She winks at him, and comes close to whisper into Lu Han’s ear, “Xiumin told me; he said you guys are best of friends.” She laughs, and Lu Han thinks of a way to get his hands on Sehun’s assistant.

They watch her walk away after a few more minutes of chit-chat, and it doesn't take long for Lu Han to spin and point an accusing finger at Sehun's face, "Explain. Why was she not all over you? And why is she so nice? And what does she mean you won't stop talking about me?"

“Chill, Lu Han,” Sehun answers, completely evading all of his questions. A waiter passes, and Sehun takes two crystalline champagne flutes, handing one to Lu Han as he sips on the other. “Why, are you jealous?”

“Most definitely am not!” Lu Han adamantly defends, nearly spilling the liquid bubbles, “Just, curious is all.”

"Hey," Sehun says, setting his flute on the table before placing his hands on Lu Han's shoulders, "Breathe." Lu Han glares. "She’s actually my best friend. She's more like a sister to me. And yes, I know we kissed that time, but she was just proving a point then. Making someone jealous or whatnot. Think it worked, though. She's with Taemin now." Yeah, someone definitely got jealous that night.

"Lee Taemin? The Lee Taemin?"

"One and only."

"She's lucky."

Sehun pinches Lu Han's nose. "They're both lucky."

After conversing and being introduced to more than twenty people (majority being decaying businessmen that look like they belonged in their beds rather than in a party, however formal), Sehun wraps his fingers around Lu Han's wrist and whispers, "Let's get out of here."

“Is the chauffeur here already?” Lu Han asks as he ducks in between two talking gentlemen, quietly muttering excuse me as he passed by. The cold wind hits his face when they go past the double doors of the country club, and Sehun lets go of him.

“No,” Sehun replies, going down the steps two at a time. Lu Han makes to follow, only to have Sehun stop him. “Stay there, ok? I’ll just go get something.”

And with that Sehun leaves him, standing in the cold and with the valet person to keep him company. He’s a complete slack, falling asleep on his post. His nametag says “Chanyeol”. Well, “Chanyeol” is a very loud snorer, Lu Han huffs. But Lu Han decides that he isn’t in the right position to criticise, because what if “Chanyeol” is just a very busy person and got knackered out because of fatigue, and his snoring is actually a side effect of it? Lu Han concludes that he should just keep his opinions to himself.

“Lu Han, catch!” Lu Han whips his head towards the direction of the voice, and a blur of red comes sailing at him. He thanks all of those years spent training for football in boarding school because, if it weren’t for those gruelling hours trying to make him develop some type of reflex, he wouldn’t have caught the helmet Sehun just threw at him. The hard plastic of it hits his chest, and he lets out a soft oomf.

He looks up to see Sehun wearing a helmet as well, but his is pitch black. He’s riding on a monster of a motorcycle the same colour as his helmet, so black it almost blends in the night. His foot is levered on the floor, keeping himself and the motorcycle up. He tilts his head to the side, and a glorious smile graces his face. Lu Han’s heart skips beats. “Get on.”

Lu Han takes uneasy steps down from the entrance and onto the valet area, clutching the helmet tightly to his chest. When he’s directly in front of Sehun, he asks, “Is this even safe?” He eyes the shining metal of the bodywork, and shivers. They look so... cold.

“Of course!” Sehun answers, smiling brightly. His breath fogs in the night air, and he sort of looks like a black knight on a black mount. A modern day black knight. “Come away with me.” And that was all the confirmation Lu Han needed.

He puts on the red helmet, and throws a leg over the space that Sehun left for him. He hobbles for a while as he tries to hoist himself up, his dress pants not really letting himself stretch enough (or maybe his legs just aren’t long enough). Then Sehun bursts out laughing at Lu Han’s futile efforts, and Lu Han frowns.

“Shut up! The least you can do is help me!” Lu Han grabs a handful of Sehun’s coat and yanks, using the fabric to pull himself up. The motorcycle totters, shifting to the side as Sehun’s weight gets transferred to the side from Lu Han’s tugging. Lu Han lets out a yelp, and Sehun laughs harder. In the end Sehun helps him up, shifting himself on his side so he can wrap his right arm around Lu Han’s waist to get him on the bike. Lu Han squirms in his seat, the nervousness of riding his first motorcycle starting to creep up at him. He fiddles with the helmet guard, debating if he should bring it down or keep it up.

“Wrap your arms around my waist,” Sehun orders. Lu Han fumbles to put his arms around Sehun’s middle, his cold fingers barely linking with each other. Sehun grabs Lu Han’s hands with one of his own and tugs him closer, making Lu Han’s chest rest flush against his back. Lu Han’s helmet thunks softly with Sehun’s, and he blushes underneath it. “Hold on tight, ok?” Lu Han tightens his hold around Sehun, and Sehun revs the throttle bar. Lu Han closes his eyes the instant they take off.

Sehun drives with reckless abandon, Lu Han finds out. They speed through nighttime Agropoli, the lights and the night bazaars blurring into disfigured streaks of colours as Sehun manoeuvres them around the streets and through an alley. Lu Han feels the wind beating at his clothed body, pinpricks piercing at every exposed inch of his skin, even his ankles. Sehun seems unfazed though, revving the motorcycle to tear through the road faster. The sounds deafen Lu Han, and he closes his eyes again.

Next he opens them he’s seeing the Trentova beach, the dark waves crashing at the shore. The moon’s reflection ripples, looking more like silver lines against the torrents of sea. He feels Sehun starting to relax, his body not as rigid as it was before. They’re slowing down and, eventually, they come to a stop. Sehun’s kicking the sidestand down, and taking off his helmet by the time Lu Han untangles his arms off Sehun. Sehun shakes his head, his pastel-fair hair flying everywhere, glistening under the moonlight. He slides down his seat easily, leaving Lu Han sitting down on the motorcycle.

"You should take that off, Lu Han," Sehun says, sounding quite breathless as he points at the helmet he's still wearing. Sehun comes over and helps Lu Han get down from the bike, and sets him down lightly on the soft, white sand.

Lu Han can see Sehun's face as he comes closer, and Sehun's hands come up to hold the sides of his helmet, lifts it up over his head. The soft wind cards through his hair and, soon enough, Sehun's fingers join them.

"Helmet hair." Sehun gives Lu Han's hair a final ruffle before giving him back his helmet. He motions with his head to follow him, and Lu Han trudges along the sand, catching up with Sehun. Sehun wraps an arm around his shoulders and says, "Walk with me."

Lu Han lets Sehun guide them both into the vicinity of the beach, their leather shoes sinking into the white sand. They crunch like frozen glass underneath their soles, and it's the only sound other than the crashing waves that they hear for a while. They come upon a fallen log and Sehun sits down, tugging Lu Han down with him. Lu Han leans to the front, and wraps his arms around his legs. He snuggles into his thighs for warmth as he stares at the dark water licking at the line where land meets sea.

"Hey," Sehun greets, bumping his shoulder into Lu Han's after a good while. "That cold?" He makes a move to take off his jacket, but stops when Lu Han shakes his head.

"I'm fine," he breathes, his words hanging in the air as vapour. He turns his head, and smiles at Sehun. "Never better, Oh Sehun."

"You know," Sehun says, "you need to start learning how to call me with my given name and not my full name."

"And you," Lu Han counters, "need to start learning to understand my need for parallelism. I won't stop calling you by your full name if you can't stop calling me by my full name."

"You're quite something, Lu Han," Sehun remarks, tucking a hand under his chin, tilting his head so he can see Lu Han's face a little better. "I wonder if you know how wonderful you are."

Lu Han has the decency to blush. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lies. You're one of those few people that know what and how to live their lives. You don't really like the life you're living right now, I can tell, but you know how to get around it. And you manage to make it your own. You're amazing." Sehun shoots him a small smile, and looks away, stormy eyes staring into the raging sea. "I wish I were like you. I wish I had a reason to stay."

I wish I had a reason to stay.

"But the thing is you aren't like me," Lu Han replies quietly. "You're your own person, Oh Sehun."

"I know."

"So," Lu Han begins, squinting, blinking the prickles of cold drying out his eyes, "you and Krystal aren't together?"

"Nope. Never will be. Not when I like someone else, you know?"

"Ah." Ah, indeed, Lu Han thinks. He closes his eyes, and breathes in the chill. "Good for you, Oh Sehun."

Sehun moves a little closer, close until their legs brush and their shoulders bump. "But when will I ever be good enough to be Just Sehun to you?"

Sehun directs his orbs into Lu Han's, and they're startlingly clear and calm, glistening sharply under the pale moonlight, and Lu Han's sort of sceptic to look into them further, scared of what he might see and realise there.

"Because you're not Just Sehun. You're not Just Anybody."

Sehun looks at him for a good while, eyes roaming his face, as if he's trying to commit to memory Lu Han's face. Lu Han does the same as well, taking in the darkness of his eyes, and how they must really be like the sea; clashes and swirls of storms, colours a permutation of shades of green and blue on certain days, spectral much like the open waters. He can drown in them, and he would very much willingly let the water rush in his lungs and take over him.

Sehun smiles at him, and this cuts Lu Han off mid thought. He tilts down his head, and inches impossibly closer. Lu Han thinks his lungs finally gave in, and decided to let the winter frost take residence in his chest cavity. He can't breathe, and his lungs feel like they're on icy fire.

"You have a way with words, Lu Han," Sehun whispers, and his syllables brush like bursts of warm feather kisses on his parted mouth. The soft heat thaws the ice in his lungs, and everything restarts.

Sehun's nose brushes with Lu Han's and he continues, "Maybe that's why I like you so much." And with that Sehun takes Lu Han's bottom lip between his own, the bows of their lips interweaving perfectly like puzzle pieces.

Lu Han decides drowning isn't so bad, as he kisses Sehun back. He already knew he was a goner the moment he met him.

☯

It wasn't really that hard, getting used to this. Sehun didn't really seem to be the type that would let people adjust when it comes to him. He was awfully like the post-winter gale, carrying the fiercest and coldest air of melting snow and glass and frozen embers. He's cold through and through and it's a great contrast to the fire in Lu Han's life. He melts and freezes everything in his path, and Lu Han loves it. It makes him feel alive.

☯

"Ok," Baekhyun says, tugging Lu Han down on the couch by his hands. "Spill. How When Where Why. What happened?" Baekhyun tucks his legs under him and scoots close to Lu Han, gripping his hands with excitement. "Future husband is now your boyfriend. If you don't tell me right now how it happened I will scream at your face."

"Wait, wait," Lu Han replies, shaking his head while wiggling around in his seat to get himself comfortable. He has a huge grin on his face, too, like Baekhyun, and he feels horribly young and giddy, like a high school girl who just hooked up with her crush. Technically, it is true. Except he’s a perfectly grown man, and has been out of high school for quite a long time now, and his feels for Sehun greatly surpasses those of a crush. "First of all, don't interrupt me..."

But Baekhyun ends up butting in every other sentence, flailing and gurgling incoherently as Lu Han relays, in full detail (though with slightly exaggerated scenes here and there for more excitement), that night two weeks ago, and the following events after.

He told Baekhyun how soft Sehun’s lips were when they had kissed, almost hesitant to take the plunge. It was just a simple press of lips on lips, the sanctity of their First Kiss immortalised by the innocence of their feelings for each other, neither pushing the other into deepening anything, complicating things. He told Baekhyun of how Sehun had taken Lu Han’s hand into his, and walked with him along the shore of Trentova, even picked up seashells for him.

“Where are they now?” Baekhyun asks, eyes wide, “the seashells?”

“On my bedside table,” Lu Han replies, “They’re the most beautiful things, I swear.”

He recounts how Sehun’s presence has officially become a regular thing inside his flat, how he’d cook for Lu Han occasionally. Lu Han finds out that Sehun is quite the cook, his mean lasagne now Lu Han’s Favourite Dish Ever.

He tells Baekhyun of how Sehun has made it a habit of his to block the main door on Monday mornings, stopping Lu Han from making his Monday-ly pastry conquest. It’s practically a ritual of his: visiting a pastry shop on a Monday morning, just sniffing at the warm, dough-scented air, peering at the golden baked goods from behind glass display cases, watching them glisten under the heating lights. Looking at pastries give him this happiness that fuels him for a week.

He mentions to Baekhyun how, one Monday morning, after he had taken the last three steps of the stairs, he saw Sehun standing in the middle of the doorway of the front door. He had a shoulder leaning on the doorframe, his arms crossed over his sweatered chest. How Sehun looked wonderfully cool dressed in white.

“I don’t know how he does it,” Lu Han complains, looking at Baekhyun, “Whenever I wear all white I end up looking like a marshmallow. He just looks like Adonis.”

“Ok, stop gushing about your god,” Baekhyun waves away, “What did he do next?”

“Where are you going?” Sehun had asked him, quirking an eyebrow at Lu Han as he took in Lu Han’s flannel pants and Parka.

“Monday-ly pastry conquest,” Lu Han answered, flicking his golden curls away from his eyes, “Now if you would excuse me, I have to go. The croissants are waiting for me.”

“What if I don’t want you to go?” Sehun had retorted, efficiently shielding the doorknob, making it well out of Lu Han’s reach.

“Then I will have to force you to let me go.” Lu Han had tried pushing Sehun away from the door, reaching behind the taller man to grasp at the doorknob. But Sehun was simply too fast, even for Lu Han’s football reflexes, and ended up blocking all of Lu Han’s landed attacks.

“What do I have to do for you to let me go,” Lu Han whined after fifteen minutes, pout in place, arms crossed over his chest, foot petulantly stomping on the ground. It was already 9: 30 AM, and the yummy butter sticks would’ve been gone from the display cases by now.

“Hmn,” Sehun hummed, pretending to think as he tapped a finger to his chin, “How about...” He wrapped his hand on Lu Han’s crossed arms and pulled him, manoeuvring them both so he had Lu Han pressed to the door. He placed his hands on either side of Lu Han’s head, effectively locking him in his current position. He watched as red bloomed on the apples of Lu Han’s cheeks, eyes widening at the closeness of Sehun to him.

Sehun had pressed closer, making Lu Han back into the wall further. Squirming, Lu Han had heard Sehun say, “Kiss me first.”

“W-what?” Lu Han had stuttered immensely, his blush increasing in opacity. He ducked his head and punched Sehun on the chest, “Get away, you paedo.”

“Oh, shush you,” Sehun had cooed, lifting Lu Han’s head with a crooked finger to his chin, “We both know how much you like your future husband. Now kiss me. Or you won’t even be able to leave for work later.”

“What is your problem,” Lu Han wailed in annoyance.

“I told you, kiss me first.” Sehun shot him a smug smile. Before Lu Han could open his mouth to digress, Sehun had already taken a place on top of Lu Han’s lips, kissing the younger man’s pout away. Lu Han was shocked, his eyes wide open in surprise. But he found himself gradually closing his eyes, his fingers curling into the material of Sehun’s turtleneck. And that’s how they shared their second kiss, and probably their sixth and seventh as Lu Han tried to convince Sehun to let him go to work.

“Ugh,” Baekhyun groans, flailing on his couch, feet hitting Lu Han’s crossed legs. “Why are you guys so cheesy? Kris and I were never that cheesy."

“I don’t know,” Lu Han answers truthfully. “You know, he promised to accompany me every time I’d visit the bakery. The first time he took me there we rode his red Vespa, and I don’t knowww.” Lu Han takes one of the throw pillows and smothers his face as he shrieks. “It was the best Monday-ly pastry visit I’ve ever had, Baekhyun, just.”

“Better than when it was me that went with you?” Baekhyun pouts.

“He let you ride on his Vespa?”

They both look up to see Kris, face baring a fluffy beard of shaving cream smeared all over the lower half of his face. He looks like a god-version (because wow, he’s topless?) of Santa Claus before them, clutching a can of shaving cream in one hand, a razor in the other.

“Um, yes?” Lu Han replies, looking at Kris quizzically.

“He’s never let anyone ride on his Vespa, did you know that?” Kris informs, “Said it’s sacred. I’d never peg him as the type to have property issues but, hey, no one really knows Oh Sehun.”

“Well, I’m making it my mission to know him.” Lu Han puffs up his chest, “I am his boyfriend now, after all.”

“Yes, well,” Kris says, shrugging his bare shoulders, “That never stopped him from leaving Jongdae. How are you so sure you’re any different? Who knows, one day you’ll wake up too with a letter taped to your night lamp saying 'Sorry, but I have no reason to stay anymore.'”

“Kris!” Baekhyun admonishes, throwing the throw pillow he has clutched to his chest at Kris’ face, missing only by a few inches. “At least knock on wood when you say that!”

Lu Han is suddenly pale next to Baekhyun, his happiness and exuberance from earlier suddenly zapped away from him. He can’t really find any fault in what Kris just told him. After all, it’s Kris who has known Sehun for more than half his life. Lu Han has only known Sehun for five months, together with him romantically for two weeks. If Sehun can leave Kris, how sure is Lu Han that Sehun won’t leave him?

☯

"Hey, Lu Han," Sehun calls, "Do you want to catch a film later?"

Lu Han pops his head out of the bedroom door, and asks, "Cinemas, or just here?"

"You decide," Sehun replies. He closes the magazine he's reading, marking the page with a finger, "We can have dinner together, too."

"Oh!" Lu Han exclaims, "I have this bottle of wine from Molise that Baekhyun gave me. Do you want to try it? Do you know how to cook Puttanesca?"

"I'm pretty ok with that, yeah," Sehun says, smiling softly at Lu Han. "So we watch here instead?"

"Sure! I can get the pasta going. Now, go down and take a bath for our date." Lu Han tugs Sehun up from the couch by the hand, and starts pushing him to the door.

"Oh, so it's a date now?" Sehun teases, turning around and ending up facing Lu Han. He starts walking forward, and Lu Han is left taking steps backward.

"Was it not supposed to be a date?" Lu Han challenges, jutting out his chin at Sehun. He places his hands on Sehun's chest, and pushes him back towards the door.

"I don't know, you tell me," Sehun answers, putting his arms around Lu Han's waist as his back hits the wood of the door. He scoops down to steal a kiss from Lu Han, only to have himself pushed out of the doorway. He stands jilted in the hallway, "Wow, best boyfriend award."

"You bet," Lu Han boasts, sending a wink his way before closing the door.

Lu Han heads over to his kitchen to set the water for boiling the pasta. When he's done putting the pot on top of the burning stove, he goes to his bathroom to start his bath water. Once he's got the perfect temperature for a soothing shower, he strips. He's about to enter the bathtub when his phone rings. He throws on a bathrobe, slips on his slippers, and pads his way towards the living room.

"Hello?"

"Lu Han! It's Yixing, from the party? Or the other party?" It takes moments before Lu Han remembers.

"Mr. Dimples!" Lu Han explains before he can stop himself. "Yes, I remember you! How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing swell here. What about you? Are you finally Mr. Oh Sehun now?"

Lu Han blushes. "What are you saying, oh my god. But we just started dating and asdfghjkl."

"I understand, I understand. Hey, did you know that the yummy dancer at your party lives in Basilicata? And he's a danseur as well?"

"Who, Jongin? Yeah, he's a danseur, an alcoholic too. Damn person can consume enough spirits to knock out an elephant, and he can still do a perfect pirouette."

"He can do awesome things in bed, too," Yixing supplies dreamily. Lu Han chokes on air.

"Ok, I don't think I needed to know that."

"Have you gotten into third base with Mr. Lu Han yet?" There's silence on Lu Han's part for a while, only to have it broken by Yixing's tinkling laughter. "You haven't, have you? Oh, my innocent one."

"Hey! What's so wrong about wanting to wait?"

"I don't know, maybe because sooner or later that's what he'd be wanting from you? Darling, sex is fiiiiine." Lu Han didn't really mean to flush a bright pink at the mention of the s-word. "It's bound to happen. Unless you want to be some abstinent saint with a deprived boyfriend. Remember that the world will blame you if the CEO of the Oh Corporations dies of blue balls."

"You know what? I hate you."

"Yes, and I love you, too. Why did I call you again?"

"You never told me, and I believe I should be the one asking that."

"Hmm, I'll call again later. Maybe. Or whatever when I remember. Arrivederci, mio Amore!"

Lu Han hangs up the phone, and gnaws at his nails. For a pretty aloof person, this Yixing person spews a hell lot of truth. No wonder Kris and he got together once upon a time.

He goes over to the kitchen, and rummages around for the spaghetti pasta. Pouring the packet into the pot of water and oil, he thinks.

He must have done a lot of thinking, because next thing he knew he was hearing screaming from the floor below.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELP!"

Realising that it's Sehun's voice, Lu Han bolts, leaving his flat to barge in Sehun's. he runs in Sehun's bedroom, and finds the bathroom door open, the light streaming out into the dark bedroom. Lu Han steps in the bathroom's threshold, only to stop halfway in.

"Oh my god," Lu Han squeaks as he hurriedly covers his eyes with his hands. "You're naked!"

"What are you doing here?! And of course I'd be naked, I was about to take a bath!"

Sehun is there, on the floor, naked as the day he was born. His bathroom floor is flooded with water, and there's also a steady stream leaking from the ceiling and raining down on Sehun's glorious body.

"You screamed for help! I was being the nice neighbour and boyfriend that I am, and came to your rescue." Lu Han takes a peek from around his fingers, and he finds Sehun still there, still stark naked.

"I screamed hell. Wow, I never thought the day you'd see me naked would be so soon."

"Are you hurt, though?" Lu Han asks, voice quivering as he tries not to take a peek at Sehun's prone state on the wet tiles. "Do you need help?"

"Other than my butchered ego, I think I'm doing swell down here," he hears Sehun's reply. He sounds calm and levelled, with all the composure of the Queen of England. "Would you mind enlightening me as to why it is raining in my bathroom?"

"I don't kn-," Lu Han starts to answer, only to stop midway. He left his tap open, of course! "Oh, oh my god I'm so sorry, I forgot! Um, h-here," Lu Han blindly grabs a towel from the rack, and throws it at Sehun's middle (hopefully). "I'll just run back up!"

Lu Han ran back up the stairs, into his flat, straight to his bathroom. His floor is absolutely flooded, the bathtub overflowing with water gone cold. He takes off his slippers and carefully tries not to slip on the wet tiles as he closes his tap. Then, he runs back down to Sehun's.

He comes back and Sehun is still in the same position Lu Han left him, with the exception that there is now a dandelion yellow towel draped across his crotch area, the ends dipping on the mini river Sehun is currently floating in. He is staring up at the drizzling ceiling, his pink hair matted to his forehead, splayed all over the floor. Lu Han still has his hands over his eyes, though he has his fingers parted to make slits so he can see.

"I'm sorry," Lu Han apologises, stepping inside the bathroom after taking a deep breath in. "Do you want help now?"

Sehun gives him a long glare from down the floor, and beckons, "Come here." He holds out a hand, and gestures for Lu Han to come closer. Lu Han follows. Lu Han kneels down next to him, and Sehun grabs his proferred arms, "Are you naked underneath that robe?"

Lu Han slaps a hand over Sehun's wet, and glistening chest, and pushes himself up. He stretches out his hand, "Do you want help or not?"

"Come here again." Lu Han bends down again, and offers his arm. Sehun swats it away. "I don't need your help. I just want to look up your robe."

"You're a ponce, Oh Sehun," Lu Han concludes, standing up and taking steps away from Sehun. But not before landing an affectionate kick to Sehun's ribs.

"Only for you, Lu Han, only for you," Sehun laughs, and sits up, a hand keeping the towel over his little guy in place. "How did you even forget you were running a bath?"

"Someone called me and I got too distracted to remember. I was supposed to go back and turn it off, but then I heard you scream so, here I am. And there you are."

"This isn't fair you know. You've seen me naked, but I haven't seen you naked. I demand compensation."

"Patience, dear friend, I will make it up to you wi-OH NO!"

"OH NO?" Sehun repeats, raising an eyebrow at Lu Han.

"OH NO," Lu Han reiterates, running out of the bathroom and up his flat as fast as his soggy slippers can take him. He arrives at his kitchen, and the pot of boiling pasta has overflown, much of the strings swimming all over the stovetop. He quickly turns off the stove, puts on his rubber gloves, and dumps the contents of the pot into the sink. So much for a date.

"Hey, are you ok?" Sehun asks, coming behind him to peek at the mess in the sink.

"First I ruin your bath, next I ruin our dinner," Lu Han sniffles, "I think I hurt my ego, too."

Sehun turns him around, and Lu Han notes that he's still only in a towel. A cry hitches in his throat when Sehun leans down, and kisses him on the forehead. "There, I kissed your ego. Now it's all better."

Lu Han looks up at him, and sniffs again. "What do we do now?"

"Do you have any pasta left?"

"Only bow macaroni ones."

"Then we'll have some mac and cheese tonight!" Sehun exclaims happily, making Lu Han smile softly as well. "But we'll cook it together this time around. After we take a shower."

"After we what?" Lu Han asks. Did he just-

"Weren't we both supposed to be taking baths before all this happened?"

"Yes, um, yeah-"

"Exactly. Now come, and let's take a bath."

"Baths?" Lu Han corrects, stressing the S at the end.

Sehun laughs again. "Why, do you want to bathe together?"

Lu Han blushes. "Is it your life's mission to make me uncomfortable, Oh Sehun?"

"Why, do I make you uncomfortable?"

"Can you please stop answering my question with another question?"

No. So how about it," Sehun says, tone light and teasing, a crooked smirk on his charming face, "do you want to shower together?"

Lu Han places a hand over Sehun's bare shoulder, and he realises with a start how small his hand looks like against the broadness of Sehun's chest. "I am not sleeping with you anytime soon. I know you know how much I feel about you, but I'm keeping my ground."

Sehun breaks into peals of laughter. "I was offering a perfectly innocent shower together, where you can scrub my back and I'd offer to scrub yours. I seriously don't understand what happens in that dirty little mind of yours."

"Ah! Excuse! I have a perfectly pure, uncorrupt mind. I don't know what you're talking about."

"I was kidding! But fine, get your arse in the shower, and get yourself cleaned up. I'll go inside my devastated bathroom and try to clean up as best as I can, though my mind is a lost cause, it'll always be dirty." Sehun laughs at Lu Han's expression.

"Shut up," Lu Han quips, face on fire with embarrassment. "Now, shoo! Go clean yourself downstairs, while I go shower in mine."

"That proposition is always open, Lu Han," Sehun singsongs, shooting him a wink before exiting the flat door.

"What do you want to watch?" Lu Han asks from the living room, squeaky clean and fully clothed. Sehun rounds the island bar, a big bowl of macaroni and cheese, with two forks stabbed in the middle, balanced on one hand, the other holding two cartons of chocolate milk. Wine doesn't go well with cheddar cheese anyway. Sehun places everything on the coffee table, sits on the couch, and answers, "Anything you want."

"Anything I want?" Lu Han repeats, eyes sparkling. He doesn't wait for Sehun's affirmation though, opting to pull out a DVD and open it, inserting the CD into the slot of his player. He runs towards the couch the moment he pressed the play button.

"I haven't watched this in a long time," Lu Han gushes, taking a spoonful of cheese and shoving it in his mouth.

"Is it good?" Sehun asks, rubbing at the smear from the side of Lu Han's lips. Lu Han viciously nods his head up and down.

"OMG, it's starting."

"I have so many favourite lines in this film," Lu Han mutters later, around 15 minutes into the film. Sehun manages to keep his laughter in. He never expected the younger man to have Mulan as his favourite film, but hey, Lu Han is unpredictable. He has been quoting every line from the film so far, voice interlapping with the ones coming from the telly. It's quite adorable. Especially how Lu Han even pitches his voice according to the characters.

"Dishonour on your family!" Lu Han exclaims softly along with Mu Shu. Lu Han even turns to Sehun, and shoves his finger into Sehun's chest with every syllable, "Dis-" poke "-honour" poke "on" poke "you!" "Dis-" poke "-honour" poke "on" poke "your" poke "cow!"

The foreshadowing couldn't have been any better.
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