New friends, A date , And (1/1)

Xiumin watched people as they walked here and there from different shops. Some with their families, some as a couple and even some with their pets, but no one seemed to be alone; or at least no one but him.“Fancy meeting you here.” Xiumin jumped a little in surprised when suddenly Chen materialized right before his eyes.“Oh, yeah. What are you doing here?” Xiumin asked. This was weird; Xiumin seemed to be seeing Chen more and more often just randomly on the street.“I was just hanging out with a friend, what about you?” Chen asked.“Same, err… at least, I was.” He looked around at all the empty chairs that surrounded his table.“Oh, may I sit? Are they coming back?” He asked.“Oh, no. Go ahead, I don’t think they will.”Chen took a seat, looking around at the people who passed by. There was a long silence that passed between them as they looked everywhere but each other.Why was he here? Didn’t he always go home after work, except on weekends? He lightly drummed his fingers against the table top. How was he supposed to have a casual conversation after everything that had happened? Not to mention, Chen was his target that he still hadn’t gotten rid of.He kept himself from sighing out loud. Everything just had to happen at once. He wished that life would go easy on him once in a while; but then again who had an easy life when they worked for the mob.“Hey, um.” Xiumin looked up as Chen began to speak. “I just wondered if I had said anything to make you mad.” Chen didn’t know where to look so he looked down at his hands.What was he talking about? Why would he be mad at Chen for something he said; since they barely had a normal conversation, much less exchanged a greeting.Seeing as how Xiumin didn’t know what he was talking about he decided to just make something up which involved a clean slate. It wasn’t technically lying if he didn’t have a clue what Chen was talking about. He crinkled his nose in thought but nothing came to mind.“No, not anything I know of, why?”“Well, I assumed that after you found out I was your boss it must’ve been slightly awkward.”‘Yeah, it was.’“And I thought that maybe something I had said when we talked had made you angry at me for some reason, and I was unaware.“Oh!” A sudden realization hit him. Chen was talking about their awkward first work meeting experience. “Oh no, you didn’t say anything,” He chuckled lightly. “I was just focused on something else, a mission I guess you could say.”“Oh.” Xiumin saw a look of relief wash over Chens’ face, he almost looked as though he was blushing. It made Xiumin smile because the gesture was innocent, yet cute and he was sure that Chen didn’t know he was doing it. “Okay,” Chen sat back in his chair and chuckled.  “And here I was worried that I had turned you into my enemy.”‘But I already was.’  Xiumin thought as he fakly laughed with him.“So tell me a little about yourself, since I didn’t really get to hire you. I asked Chanyeol for your papers but he said that he had lost them.” Chen shook his head, “stupid Yeol, sometimes I wonder why I hired him.” Chen turned his attention to Xiumin who was sitting quietly.“Well…I,uh.” I started work as a person who moved various items from place to place for a large company.“Like a transporter?” Chen cut in.“You could say that.” Xiumin shrugged. “Then I went on to secretary work and have been doing that ever since.” He was reciting what had been put on his credentials for getting a job.“What about you personally?” Chen asked. “Like, what do you like to do; any hobbies interests, people interests?” Chen added when Xiumin looked confused.“Oh, well,” Xiumin wracked his brain. What did he like? No one had asked him before what he liked, and between working for both the company and the mob he didn’t have much time for anything else, except for sex; if that was even considered a hobby. But he was definitely not going to tell Chen that. “I like a quiet place where I can just be alone with my thoughts. I also like baozi.” He held up the rest of his half eaten steamed bun. “Umm, as for hobbies, I don’t think I really have any, ’sex’ He slapped himself mentally when that was the first thing to pop into his head. “And as for people interests…I HAD one…”***As Chen sat and listened to Xiumin he wondered to himself, what were his hobbies and interests? They were almost the same person, what was life out of work?“As for people interests…I HAD one…”‘Lay,’ Chen immediately thought.“He was my boyfriend, but he doesn’t matter.” Xiumin said sharply. “He cheated on me with some other guy so… yeah.”Chen thought back to his earlier conversation with Lay. Lay had only thought the relationship was one sided, but seeing as how Xiumin reacted right now showed that there had been more than one side.“So, what about you?” Xiumin asked.For some reason Xiumin asking him about himself caught him off guard. “Well…I like to race. I learned how to from L— an old college buddy.” Chen caught himself before he said Lays name. He knew that if he slipped up and said he was a friend of Lays’ then he would go down on his chances with Xiumin. “Racing is something that makes me feel alive and I love it.” He continued. “As for hobbies, I don’t think I have any, because I’m pretty sure work doesn’t count as a hobby.” He chuckled. “And people interests, well… there was an extended amount of time where I dated this girl. We were pretty serious and everyone thought we would marry each other; but she was way to high maintenance and it turned out that she wasn’t really interested in me, but my money. She bought clothes and other things all the time for herself, but never for me. She even forgot my birthday, if we would have stayed together she would have spent every last dollar I had ever earned. The one thing that saved me was that she found someone with more money.” He chuckled. “Poor guy, I would never wish her on even my worst enemy.”‘There I go again,’ Chen thought, ‘sounding like a love sick sap.’  No wonder Chanyeol made fun of him.“I’m sorry, that sucks.” Xiumin reached his hand across without thinking and placed his hand on top of Chens’. His hand was freezing cold. How long had he been sitting here? “Women, they make everything  more difficult.” Xiumin joked.“Yeah.” Chen agreed.There was a moment of silence before Xiumin stood up, “Well, it’s pretty late, I think I will head home now. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.” He waved to Chen as he walked away.“Alright, see you then.”~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Chen found himself sitting in the garden area just enjoying the nice evening. He was just about to get up and leave when suddenly he saw Luhan, Sehun, Chanyeol, and a really tall girl.“Hey Chen!” Luhan waved and ran over to him, pulling Sehun along with him; who looked thoroughly confused.“Hey Luhan, Sehun, Chanyeol,” Chen greeted, “and…” Chen looked at the girl.“Baekhyun.” She said with a deep voice. It took Chen a second to realize that the girl was Baekhyun, in a dress and wig. What the hell was going on here?“Woah, baek what happened?”Baekhyun rolled his eyes, “It’s a long story, you can blame Chanyeol.”The others all chuckled.“So what are you doing here?”  Baekhyun asked.“I was just enjoying the festival; it’s the first time I’ve been here before. What about you?”“I’ve gone every year since I moved here from China,” Luhan stated. “And this time I brought along Sehun to enjoy it with me.” He smiled.“This is my second time being here, I thought it would be a good place for a date, so I brought Baek along with me.”“Date! What do you mean date?! You kidnapped me and had someone dress me as a girl! I should slap you!”Everyone but Baekhyun and Chanyeol laughed.Baekhyun turned towards Chen. “Well you’re his employer; you should kill him in his sleep or something for this.” “Why would I do it, you have a better chance than I do, you’re the one sleeping with him.” Chen chuckled.Baekhyun gasped, looking offended than an evil grin crossed his face, making Chanyeol look worried. “Hey now,” Chanyeol held up his hands as he took a step back, “Don’t be getting any crazy ideas.” “Do you wanna hang out with us?” Luhan asked. Chen looked at everyone’s eager faces; well, all except Sehun who seemed passive about everything but Luhan.“Nah, I think I’m going to head home, I’m tired.” He stretched. He was tired, he’d had a long day, and also seeing everyone here with a couple made him not want to be the fifth wheel.“Ah, okay. Maybe next time you can hang with us then.” Luhan smiled.“Sure.” Chen smiled and waved to them as he walked away.‘It must be nice,’ He thought, ‘Having someone to enjoy different things with you.’ Lay had said that Xiumin had seemed interested in him, but from their last conversation he hadn’t seemed the least bit interested. Chen felt that he sincerely felt something for the fast-paced living, mysterious boy who kept popping up continuously in his everyday life. In a way he felt weird because he had tried to date other people before, but all has failed because he couldn’t let go of his ex; but with Xiumin it was as if what happened to him in the past had never occurred. He wanted to gain Xiumins’ attention, but how? All that the boy seemed to think about was work. Sure he had attended the races and gone to the club with friends, but he never truly seemed to be fully engaged.Chen sighed. There was so much he didn’t know about him. Other than he liked baozi and spending time alone.He thought about this continuously as he finally made his way back to his apartment, absentmindedly unlocked the door and changed his clothes as he fell into bed. He didn’t know what else to do in order to get closer to Xiumin other than spending time with him personally.  He nodded to himself; he was going to do anything possible in order to become closer with Xiumin. He closed his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair and let his head fall back onto the pillow. All he could do at this point was try.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~For the next couple of days Chen found himself becoming increasingly busy. His work schedule was flooded with different problems dealing with the mob. Soon these busy days turned to weeks, and then into months. The summer quickly changed into fall and it made Chen wonder where time had gone so quickly.All the while he became immersed in his work he noticed that he saw Xiumin less and less often. He felt that the goal he had previously set for himself to get closer to Xiumin was now all for naught.He would see him occasionally, like at work or somewhere with Luhan and Tao; but other than that it was almost as if it was the beginning all over again.Chen let out a deep breath. He did say he was going to try; but where would one start when they have nothing to go off of?“Good morning ladies.” Chen heard Chanyeol greet the other office workers. ‘Ah-ha.’ Chen suddenly had an idea. He may not have Xiumins’ number, but Chanyeol might.“Chanyeol!” Chen called.Suddenly the giant appeared out of nowhere and poked his head through the door. “You called?”“Yeah, do you happen to have Xiumins’ phone number?” He asked.“Umm, let me check.” Chanyeol pulled out his phone and scrolled through what Chen assumed was his contacts. “Ah yes. Here it is.” Chen put the number in his phone as Chanyeol read it off to him.“Okay thanks Chanyeol, that’s all I needed.”“That’s all?” Chanyeol smirked.“Yes, now get out before I smack you.”Chanyeol chuckled as he left the room before popping his head back in the door, “Oh, and by the way, Xiumins’ phone can only make and receive calls. It doesn’t have texting.”Chen was surprised. ‘Doesn’t have texting?’  He looked down at his phone. He assumed that anyone working for him would have earned enough to buy someone a smart phone, not to mention that his secretary made more money than the people working on the floor.Once Chanyeol had left Chen closed the door and called Xiumins’ cell phone.It rang twice before there was an answer. “Yeboseyo?”“Xiumin I have a question to ask you.” Chen stated.There was a moment of silence before Xiumin spoke. “Who is this?”  He sounded confused.“It’s Chen.”“Ohhh, Chen. What do you need?”“Well I was wondering if you had plans this evening.” He heard the sound of clanking dishes in the background along with the low hum of voices.“Well…I don’t think…that I’m busy.” Xiumin added the last part quickly.“Great! How does 6’o clock sound?”“Uh, yeah, that sounds fine.” He paused. “Where do you wanna meet?”“How about central park?” Chen asked.“Sure, that sounds good to me.”“Alright! See you then.” Chen couldn’t help from smiling as he hung up.He pulled out a pen. He was going to mark this on his calendar. He frowned as he noticed he was on the wrong month. When he flipped the page a red circle around one of the dates caught his eye. It was his birthday. Chen pulled out his phone, checking today’s date which matched that of the circled date on the calendar.  He smiled as he took a blue marker and wrote down, ‘Dinner date w/ Xiumin’. ‘Well happy birthday to me.’ He chuckled.***Over the course of the next couple months after Xiumin had his accidental meeting with Chen, he found himself wrapped up in as much work as he could fit into his schedule. Not only did work at the firm seem to overflow, but also his work for the mob had increased greatly.He worked from the before the time that the sun rose until after it had set. It was like taking one step forward only to take two steps back. Not only did his work life consume him, but also personal life. Not his personal life, but Kyungsoo’s.Xiumin had found himself accompanying Kyungsoo every day to the diner where they would have lunch so that Kyungsoo could admire the sinewy waiter that worked there.  He looked at his phone to check the time. Kyungsoo should be calling any moment now to make sure that Xiumin was going to meet him.As if right on time Xiumins’ cell phone rang, showing Kyungsoos ID. He smiled as he answered.  “Hey, waddup Soo.”“Meet you outside the diner?” Kyungsoo asked.“Yeah, I’ll see you in five.”“Okay!”Xiumin hung up and smiled as he started off for the diner. He didn’t understand why Kyungsoo wouldn’t go to the diner by himself but he didn’t mind being involved.

~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~Xiumin strolled up to the diner, greeting Kyungsoo who was waiting outside.               “Why didn’t you wait for me inside?” He asked.“Cause I uh, didn’t wanna go in by myself.”Xiumin chuckled and rolled his eyes sarcastically. “Well let’s go then.”Xiumin followed Kyungsoo to a different spot than they usually sat. He didn’t say anything and just sat across from Kyungsoo as he tried not to grin. He knew why they were sitting here. This was the section that Kai tended to. At least he was now one step up from where he had been for the last couple months.He watched as Kyungsoo seemed to perk up once the door to the kitchen swung open and out walked Kai. His tanned skin contrasting with his white apron and his muscles flexing with every movement he made.To Xiumin it was almost as if Kai and Kyungsoo had telepathy because they both looked at each other at the exact moment and then turned away with a shy smile on their faces. It was almost like watching a school girl quietly admiring her crush from afar.“Hello there! Welcome to our café, what would you like to drink?” Kai practically bounced over as a wide smile crossed his face.“Just water.” Xiumin smiled.“Same.” Kyungsoo said shyly, not looking at Kai as he spoke.Xiumin watched as Kai smirked when he looked at Kyungsoo, who was obviously blushing.“Do you know what you want to eat?”“I don’t quite know…” Xiumin looked across at Kyungsoo, “What do you want Soo?”Kyungsoo closed the menu he had been pretending to look at and handed it to Kai as he looked up at him. “I’ll have the special.” He smiled. Of course the special today was the soup that Kai made.“I think I’ll have a turkey sandwich.”  Xiumin handed his menu to Kai before the waiter nodded and took off for the kitchen.Xiumin crossed his arms and smirked as he looked across the table at Kyungsoo. “What?” Kyungsoo asked.“I’m proud of you. Finally taking a step forward.”“Well, seeing as how I am taking my step forward -”“And slowly I might add.” Xiumin cut it with a chuckle.Kyungsoo stuck out his tongue before he continued. “Well even though it’s slow, I should say that you should be taking yours too.”“What are you talking about? I don’t have a step that I need to take.”“Oh really?” Kyungsoo looked skeptically at Xiumin. “What about that guy that you got really close with at the races a while ago ehh?” Kyungsoo smirked.“Hah.” Xiumin let out a fake laugh. “That would never work, not gonna happen, nope.” He shook his head. Just as Kyungsoo was about to speak again suddenly Xiumins’ cell phone went off. When he looked at the caller ID he didn’t recognize who it was, but he answered anyway.“Yeboseyo?”“Xiumin I have a question to ask you.”Xiumin sat still for a moment; he could slightly recognize the voice but couldn’t quite pinpoint who it was. “Who is this?” he asked.“It’s Chen.”“Ohhh, Chen.” The realization suddenly hit him as the voice and the name fit together. Why would he be calling him? And how did he get his number?  “What do you need?”“Well I was wondering if you had plans this evening.” Suddenly Kai came out of the kitchen, holding the steaming bowl of soup in one hand and the cold sandwich in the other. He walked over without saying a word and set the food down in front of them, giving a shy smile to Kyungsoo before walking off to another table.“Well…I don’t think…that I’m busy.” Xiumin added the last part quickly as Kyungsoo looked across the table at him and raised his eyebrow. He knew who Xiumin was talking to because the phone had been turned on louder than normal today for some reason.“Great! How does 6’o clock sound?”“Uh, yeah, that sounds fine.” He paused. Should they meet somewhere in particular? He definitely didn’t want Chen seeing where he lived. “Where do you wanna meet?”“How about central park?” Chen asked.“Sure, that sounds good to me.”“Alright! See you then.” Xiumin could hear the smile in Chens’ voice as he hung up.“Ughhh.” He slumped down in his seat and groaned as Kyungsoo smirked.“what.”“It’s looks like I have a date tonight.” Xiumin ran a hand over his face. He had been doing so well and now, well now all that hard work just went to hell. ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~After Xiumin had finished his lunch he excused himself so that he left Kyungsoo alone, hoping that maybe he would take another step forward and actually start talking to Kai.He made his way home, opening the door and calling for Sarah as he walked in. ‘Huh? She’s not here.’ Well, he knew he shouldn’t expect her to be at the house twenty-four seven; he had seen her at the house less and less so he assumed that she probably had a job by now.He changed his clothes into something fancy yet casual. Of course they were clothes that had been bought by Sarah.When he assumed that he had everything he took off towards central park.He found himself sitting on one of the benches in the main area, casually watching Baekhyun serve coffee to various people who came and went. He was surprised at how busy the little coffee hut actually got.Xiumin looked around the park, watching as a little boy ran around the park with a little girl probably about five or six. They looked as if they were playing tag; they laughed and tried to avoid one another, just barely out of reach of the other person. He smiled; they looked so carefree and happy.He watched as a middle aged women come over, calling the children who ran happily over to the woman, taking hold of her hands before they walked off. He wished that life could be as simple for everyone else as it was for those children.“Xiumin?” A voice from behind him spoke suddenly. When he turned around he was surprised to see Lay’s new boyfriend Suho standing there.“Xiumin hey, you probably don’t remember me since we didn’t talk before,” he walked over, “I’m—”“Suho.” Xiumin cut him off. “I know you.” Not that he wanted to. Because of things that had happened in the past Xiumin wanted to push away the reason behind his and Lays’ break up and that reason was standing right in front of him.He knew he shouldn’t automatically judge, or at least judge Suho off of what Lay had done but he couldn’t help himself, his grudge ran deeper than physical presence.“May I sit?” Suho motioned towards the empty seat besides Xiumin.“Uh , sure.” Who was he to say no? it wasn’t as if it was his bench or anything.When Suho sat down Xiumin noticed his clothes. He was dressed formally in a suit and dark tie. “So—” Xiumin didn’t even know what to say. They had only met once before and that was after Xiumin had been drinking excessively. They weren’t friends or anything; how would he even start a conversation?”“What are you dressed up for?” Xiumin asked.Suho looked down at his clothes as if he didn’t remember what he was wearing. “Well,” he chuckled, “I ran away from work.”“Oh?” Xiumin raised his eyebrows. It sounded like Suho was doing the same thing as him; running away from work, doing other jobs no one knew about, the list went on. Or maybe that was just for him.“Yeah,” Suho went on, “sometimes work gets too stressful and I feel like I need to get away to have some time to myself.”Xiumin nodded. He knew exactly how that felt. Always running here and there for work, never having a day off that could even be close to uninteresting.An awkward silence passed between them, neither Xiumin nor Suho saying anything. This was the first time they were having an actual conversation; this was also the first time they were alone together without anyone else to intrude on their conversation.Xiumin didn’t know what he was supposed to say. Should he ask about Suho’s job? What he liked to do in his personal time? How he met Lay? ‘No’ He mentally crossed that last one off his list. ‘Think of Suho as his own person, not by association.’ He told himself.“So, where do you work?” Xiumin asked, looking once again at Suho’s designer suit.“Oh, I inherited an international company from my father when he passed away.”“Oh, I’m sorry.” Xiumin apologized. “When did he pass?” He felt bad for prying into someone else’s life. “When I was sixteen. I was an only child and I lived with my father after my mother passed away when I was four.” He chuckled lightly, “I went through a lot of baby sitters and nannies, I guess they couldn’t handle my sass.”“You’re probably not as sassy as Baekhyun, he could win in any sass contest.” Xiumin and Suho laughed together. Making fun of Baekhyun always lightened the conversation.Xiumin couldn’t believe how long Suho had been working at the same company since the age of sixteen, much less being the boss of an international company. Xiumin had been working the same job since around the time he was sixteen; but the mob was hardly a company that did the same thing every day.“What about you? What do you do?” Suho asked.“Well, I work in a company, much like you; except not on as high a level as you are.” Xiumin chuckled. “I’m just a secretary.”“Oh, wow.” I didn’t expect someone like you to be a secretary.” Suho laughed.“Really? What did you expect?”“I don’t know, box boy maybe.” Suho chuckled.Xiumin laughed. That wasn’t much better than delivery boy, which he pretty much was. He honestly didn’t know how he had gotten to know the people from the high end of society when he himself was a secretary and friends with a coffee shop boy and sandwich shop owners. He wasn’t going to count the mobsters that he worked with as friends, except Kyungsoo of course.Suho and Xiumin looked over as a tall guy with curly hair walked over to Baek’s coffee stand. It was Chanyeol. They watched as he leaned on the counter, propping his head on his hands. They were too far away so of course Xiumin couldn’t hear what they were saying. Suddenly Baekhyun looked excited at something Chanyeol said, turning around and disappearing out of view for a second, the light for the sign turning off as Chanyeol stepped back, watching the cover for the front go down.Baekhyun popped out of the back, making his way around the stand, coming to stand beside Chanyeol. They said a couple words to each other before taking off.“Well,” Suho stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “I should probably get back to work before they find out I’m missing.” He chuckled.“Alright.” Xiumin smiled. “Hopefully I’ll see you again soon.” He was sincere about that, now that he had learned a little more about Suho he respected him as a person.As Suho began to turn and walk away Xiumin saw Chen walking up. He smiled and waved as he saw Suho. “Oh, hey Suho. What are you doing here?” Don’t you usually work late?” He asked.“I am working late.” Suho chuckled, “Well, that’s what the people in the office think I’m doing right now.” Suho patted Chens’ shoulder, “I’ll see you around.”“Alright.” Chen waved as Suho walked away before turning around and coming to stand in front of Xiumin. “Sorry for the wait, have you been here long?” He asked.Xiumin checked his phone; it was two minutes before six. “Nah,” he looked up and smiled. “You’re right on time. So… what did you wanna do?”“Well, I wanted to do something you liked doing.”Xiumin sat still. ‘So you planned a day to meet, yet you didn’t plan on what to do? What if I had said no? what if I had asked what you planned to do before hand?’ Xiumin mentally shook his head. ‘Wait wait, you almost never plan anything yourself, so you have no say.’ He told himself. “But you don’t know what I like to do…”“That’s why I wanted you to choose.” Chen smiled dashingly.‘You smooth mother fucker.’ Xiumin thought. Invite someone out on a date and then have them choose what to do so you learn what they like. “Oh, umm, well…”  He couldn’t think of anything off the top of his head. What did one do at six pm that didn’t involve alcohol or illegal activity?“Well…” Xiumin pondered for a moment. “I haven’t been to a movie in a long time.”Chen beamed. “Let’s do that then.”~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~After a while of contemplation they decided to watch a horror movie. Chen spent the majority of the movie screaming and jumping every time something popped out to surprise the main character. Xiumin on the other hand found himself laughing at Chen and patting his back when Chen started choking on his soda.When they walked out of the theater the street lights were just coming on as the sun disappeared completely; the fresh air feeling nice after having been in a crowded room with many other people.“Wanna go get something to eat?” Chen asked.Xiumin nodded.They were just about to take off when suddenly Chen’s cell phone rang. “yeoboseyo?” he answered.“Ayy Chen.”  It was Chanyeol.“Chanyeol? What do you want?” Chen frowned. Why was the giant bothering him at this time?“I have something for you, but you have to come get it since I don’t have a car right now.”Chen rolled his eyes and sighed. It was just like Chanyeol to do something like this, and at this kind of moment too. “Sure whatever, where are you?”“I’m down at the N.S.O.D dance club downtown, it’s closed for the night and I offered to help Kris fix the lighting system.”“Then why don’t you have Kris drop you off?”“He’s not here right now, it’s just me.”Chen smacked his forehead. Stupid Chanyeol. “Okay, I’ll be down in a bit.”“Alrighty! See you then” Chanyeol hung up.Chen put his phone away as he looked at Xiumin. “Sorry,” he smiled apologetically, “wanna come with me to meet with Chanyeol?”“Sure.” Xiumin shrugged.***Xiumin thought it was weird how Chanyeol informally addressed his boss. Did he always speak to him this way?He silently followed Chen as they made their way down town through alleyways he knew and ones he didn’t. He felt that it was slightly awkward following Chen through the dark streets to a place they- Chen was supposed to meet Chanyeol; ‘this could be one of those scenarios where someone gets mugged.’ Xiumin thought to himself. He shook his head, he was getting ahead of himself; this was only Chanyeol after all.Finally they had arrived. All lights were off and the place look deserted. When Chen tried to open the door it was locked. He pulled out his phone, dialing a number and holding it to his ear. Xiumin heard Chanyeols voice answer.“Hey Yeol, how do you expect me to get inside when the door is locked?”“Oh! You have to come around the back door, go around the corner on the right; I’ll meet you at the door.” Chen hung up and motioned for Xiumin to follow.“Ah Chen you made it! Oh! Xiumin, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me that you two were together.” Chanyeols’ eyes went back and forth between the two as a smirk crossed his face.“Well we uh-““I bumped into him on the street.” Xiumin cut in quickly. “Right before you called.” He added.“Ah, okay. Well come in.” They followed Chanyeol into the darkened room. It was pitch black and neither Xiumin nor Chen could see anything. Suddenly they heard Chanyeols’ voice father away. “Just give me a sec to turn on the—”, suddenly lights came on and music began playing.“Surprise!” Chen and Xiumin watched as Baekhyun, Tao, Luhan, Kris, Sehun, Suho, Lay, Kyungsoo and even  Kai popped up from behind a table that had a cake on it along with various colorful cards and gifts. “Happy Birthday!” they all yelled.“Oh! Xiumin! You’re here too.” Baekhyun stated excitedly. Xiumin only nodded as he followed Chen to the table. He wished that he had known it was Chens’ birthday; he would have bought him something.“Happy Birthday Chen.”  Baekhyun pushed the cake forward which had all kinds of colorful candles and designs on it. “Make a wish.” Xiumin looked at Chen who seemed to be thinking hard about what he was going to wish for. Finally, he seemed to have made up his mind; he leaned down and with a deep breath blew out all the candles at once. Everyone clapped and cheered. Even Kai, who didn’t really seem to know what was going on but looked to be enjoying himself anyway.They all found a place to sit and everyone watched as Chen began opening presents. He received many different gifts which included clothes, shoes, a new computer bag, and even a fancy set of keys for his car; which of course were from Lay. The last person to give his present was Kyungsoo.When Chen opened it he sat still and looked confused as he pulled out the gift. The object he was looking at seemed to be a pot, except it had holes in it all over. “Wh…what is it?” Chen asked.‘A vegetable steamer.’  Xiumin said mentally.“It’s a vegetable steamer?” Kyungsoo looked confused as to why Chen didn’t know what a vegetable steamer looked like. “You put it in the top of a rice cooker.” He added.“ohhhh, thanks Kyungsoo!” Chen smiled brightly. He gathered all of his new presents together, setting them aside in a one area. “Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it.”Everyone but Xiumin gave Chen a hug before dispersing around the room. Luhan and Tao along with Sehun went over to the cake and began cutting it into pieces to hand out while Baekhyun pulled Kyungsoo along with him to hand out cups of punch, or at least what looked like punch. Chanyeol went to the stereo system and began playing music while the rest of them sat around and talked, or in Kris’ case, made occasional eye contact.Xiumin felt bad for not getting Chen anything, but then again, he hadn’t even known it was Chen’s birthday.He made his way over to Kris, plopping down in the circular booth across from him. They both made eye contact for a moment before both looked away. There was an awkward silence that passed between them as Xiumin drew imaginary circles with his finger on the table top before he finally decided to speak. “Thanks for letting them borrow you club for this.” Not that Xiumin was involved or knew anything about the event he was grateful that Kris, someone who didn’t really even know any of them was nice enough to let them borrow his building for personal use.“No problem.” Kris’ voice was smooth and relaxing to the ears like a low rumble. This was not the first time he had ever heard Kris speak; but yet the sound of his voice was still surprising.“So did Tao—” Xiumin was suddenly cut off when suddenly Tao came bouncing over.“Kris! Kris!”“What is it Tao?” Kris asked.“So I knocked over some punch and there were no more clean rags so I went to the closet out back but there’s something moving out there, I think it’s a raccoon or a murderer.” Tao was speaking so fast in Chinese that it sounded more like squeaks and voice cracks than an actual language. He looked like he had seen a ghost.“Woah woah slow down.” Kris stood up. “You saw what?”Tao took a deep breath, “I think. There is. A raccoon. In the outside closet.”“Okay, show me where.” Without another word Tao grabbed Kris’ wrist and took off in the direction he had come. From the way Tao looked on the outside no one would have ever guessed that he was afraid of anything.Xiumin looked around, everyone seemed to be occupied so he decided to excuse himself and go into the bathroom. The first thing he did when he walked in was go straight to the mirror. He looked at his reflection, taking in his slightly mussed hair and tired looking eyes. Had he been getting enough sleep? He shook his head. ‘Scratch that.’ Was there ever a time when he got enough sleep?He stood up quickly from where he leaned against to counter when he heard footsteps coming into the bathroom. The person walking into the bathroom was Chen.“Oh, Xiumin. I didn’t think anyone was in here.” Chen chuckled.“Oh, yep, just me.” Xiumin looked back at his reflection before looking back at Chen. “Are you enjoying your party?”“Yeah. It’s great! Did you help Chanyeol plan this?”“No. I actually didn’t know about this to be honest, that’s why I didn’t get you anything.” He looked down at his hands for a moment then back up as Chen came to stand beside him as he looked at his reflection. “Happy Birthday Chen.” Xiumin smiled.“Thanks Xiumin.” Chen smiled.  They stood silent for a moment before Chen spoke. “Well…” Xiumin turned to look at him. “Seeing as how you didn’t buy me anything now…” Chen tapped his chin with his index finger, “you can always get me something later.” Xiumin mentally panicked, now he had to get Chen something, but what did he like? Xiumin was disappointed that after all these years of working under Chen and he still didn’t know what he liked, other than the coffee he bought in the morning; but that could hardly be considered a special gift.“But…” Chen began again, “Seeing as how I’m impatient, I want something now.”“Now?” Xiumins’ eyes bugged. What did he mean now? How in the world would did he expect Xiumin to come up with a present out a thin air?Chen nodded. “It’s a simple gift, something you can give me right now.”“And that would beee….” Xiumin raised his eyebrows.“A kiss.” Chen said blatantly.Xiumin froze in place. ‘A kiss? Here? With all these people in the other room?’  Did Chen not remember what it had escalated to the last time they had kissed? Xiumin stopped his mind from racing. He reminded himself that last time they had been drunk and he had had no control over his actions, this was different, he had his thought processes all straightened out so he could easily make the decision to stop at any moment.Without a moment to spare he quickly leaned forward and lightly kissed Chen’s cheek; pulling back quicker than he had moved forward. He went to take a step backwards but was stopped when suddenly Chen’s had shot out, almost like lightning and caught hold of Xiumins’ wrist.“Hey now, that doesn’t count.” Chen smirked playfully.“Then wha—” Xiumin was cut off as Chen tugged Xiumins’ wrist, pulling him towards him and letting his mouth come down to meet Xiumins’ in a soft kiss as his arms wrapped around his waist. All at once Xiumins’ brain seemed to cloud over and he found himself letting Chen deepen the kiss. His hands grasped the fabric of Chens shirt as if they had a mind of their own; while he closed his eyes almost automatically, the only feeling was Chens’ lips as they brushed against his, while Chens’ tongue playing along the inside of his mouth before wrapping around his tongue and sucking gently.A hot feeling began to spread from his core, sending a tingling sensation all the way to his fingers and toes as he tried his hardest to not let out a sound. One side of his brain kept saying no, but the other questioned, ‘is this wrong? What’s wrong about it? It is only a birthday present after all.’  Before Xiumin realized it Chen pulled back, putting a little space between both of them, and that’s when Xiumin’s brain recognized the sound of footsteps walking into the bathroom. They both turned and looked as Kyungsoo stopped short, looking from Chen to Xiumin and back again once more.“Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” He asked.“Nope.” Chen beamed. “Just telling Xiumin what I wanted for a birthday present.”‘Telling? More like showing.’  Xiumin mentally glared at the overly happy guy standing beside him; he sure knew how to get what he wanted out of people didn’t he.“Oh okay!” Kyungsoo smiled, “Well I was just looking for Xiumin.” He hopped over, linking arms with Xiumin and gave a quick wave to Chen, “See ya out there.” Kyungsoo pulled Xiumin along and when they were out of Chens’ hearing he leaned over and smirked, “So about that step forward...”“As I said, no, no and nope.” Xiumin shook his head.“That's not what your face says.” Kyungsoo laughed as he jumped out of Xiumins reach and made his way back over to the cake table to talk with Luhan. Xiumin mentally cursed Kyungsoo; there was no way he was going to let Kyungsoo win at this. He reminded himself that he was only doing this for a job and nothing more. ***The party proceeded on late into the night as they ate, drank, and played games that were sure to make everyone laugh; and before long people were ready to go home. Since many of them had to work the next day they all decided to help clean up in order to make it easier for Kris to close the building down for the night; because Kris was nice he offered to let Chen keep his new gifts at the club until he could bring his car to get them.When finally everything was done they all said their goodbyes and set off on their separate ways; Chanyeol taking Baekhyun, Luhan with Sehun along with Tao, Kyungsoo with kai, and Lay with Suho; leaving Xiumin with Chen.“Can I walk you home?” Chen asked.“Oh no. No thanks. I can walk from here, it’s not that far.”“At least let me walk you home half way.” Chen persisted.Xiumin wrinkled his nose back and forth for a moment, as if contemplating if that would be a good idea or not. “Okay, I guess that’s alright.” He finally agreed.Chen mentally cheered. He was sure that after the stunt he had pulled earlier in the bathroom Xiumin would have completely avoided him or at least would have denied his offer to walk him home.The night air was cool but refreshing after having been inside the older building that carried a musty smell. Chen looked up and admired the stars as they walked in silence. This part of town wasn’t as brightly lit up as the place he lived and he enjoyed it. Sometimes he was jealous of Xiumin for being able to live all the way out here in the darker part of the city. It was so quiet and tranquil at night, only the occasional car or bus passed by, unlike the main streets where every moment of the day had some sort of hustle and bustle occurring.“Well, here we are.” Chen was pulled out of his thoughts when Xiumin suddenly spoke. He looked around, noticing how familiar the area was. It was the park where he had picked Xiumin up earlier. ‘So this is halfway huh?’ “Here? Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you further?” He asked.Xiumin nodded. “I’m good from here. Thanks for walking with me Chen.”Chen smiled as he looked at Xiumin puffing out his cheeks to warm his hands. He really did look like one of those steamed buns, except this one was cold.“Are you cold?” He asked.“Just a little bit.”“Here.” Chen unbuttoned his jacket, pulling a confused Xiumin forwards and wrapping Xiumins’ arms around his own waist so that he could wrap his jacket around Xiumin also. He could feel how cold Xiumin actually was, he didn’t want the little bun to catch a cold on his birthday because that would make him feel horrible.They stood still for only a moment, but to Chen it seemed like hours. “Okay,” Xiumin spoke from where his face had been nestled against Chens’ shoulder, “I think I’m good now.”Chen opened his arms and let Xiumin take a step backwards as he re-buttoned his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow yeah?” Chen asked.“Maybe.” Xiumin smirked and wrinkled his nose.Chen pulled Xiumin into a hug. “Thanks Xiumin.”“For what?” He asked.“The present. Yours was the best.” Chen leaned his head sideways, giving Xiumin a quick peck on the cheek. When he pulled back he saw Xiumins’ cheeks were red, and he knew it wasn’t from the cold. He smiled. “I’ll see you later Baozi, be safe.” Chen turned around and walked away, leaving an astonished Xiumin standing in the park.~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~In order to get home Chen found himself taking the bus, much like the same one he took every morning and had it drop him off at the nearest station to his apartment.Once he had finally made it to his room he pulled out his cellphone, dialing Xiumins’ number. It rang twice before he heard it pick up.“Yeoboseyo?” Xiumin answered.“Did you make it home yet?” Chen asked as he took off his jacket and leaned his back against the door he had just come in.“I am now.” Xiumin replied. Chen could hear the sound of a lock being opened and then a door. “I’m going to bed now. Goodnight Chen.”“Goodnight Baozi.” He practically whispered the last word but he knew Xiumin heard it before he hung up. Chen smiled as he locked his phone, while he trudged his way to his bedroom, changing his clothes and flopping down on his bed. He hugged the pillow to his face as he smiled into it. Today was a good day; he hoped that every day following could be just like it.He rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. He’d have to thank Chanyeol tomorrow for throwing him a birthday party, then an idea crossed his mind. ‘Maybe I’ll just give him the day off.’ Yeah, he smiled to himself, he’d do that. Without another thought He rolled over and fell asleep.~ ~ ~Okay so...I dont' even know where to start honestly. I knew it would take a while to update because I have been swamped with life and I know that you probably have too XD so I have no room to complain. Anywayyy. When I had updated the last chapter I had already written the beginning of this chapter and knew what I wanted to go with, but it ended up that I became more and more busy and lost track of the place I was going, so , in short I ended up with this wonderful (not) thing called writers block. I was about halfway through the chapter and suddenly had nothing; until one day at about 2AM while I was doing my math homework when sudden inspiration hit me. Lately I've found myself writing in my crminal justice class, so if some parts seem a little broken that's why, I couldn't just sit down and write in one setting which sucked. Anywayyy, so during this chapter when I was writing about the cake scene all I could think of was this, I kept remembering Xiumins' face and just couldn't stop laughing. Oh! also, along the lines of cake, during one of my classes my teacher said "that's all very nice." and I ended up finishing his sentance by saying, "But I came here for the cake."  which inevitably ended up with me getting weird looks. Life update: we have snow here, it's about 6 or 7 inces, which I think roughly translates to about 15 cm, I'm not enjoying it so far with ice and all since I have to drive. Thanks for your support, I know that I've been slow and I'm sorry about that, but I haven't forgotten about you! \(^0^)/ btw, I set the time line for their birthdays based off of their real birthdays because that just seemed like the most rational thing to do.

Stay warm this winter for all the people who have snow and cold, and to those who have summer, just know that I'm jealous XD