Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He seemed wholly out of place. After Sangmin and Wonho had powered their way through the rush of children wanting to eat after they finished school, the ice cream parlour was empty, and Sangmin was happy for the quiet. With the light, upbeat tunes of some girl group playing in the background, Sangmin was just messing around with Wonho dancing to the songs together and laughing at each other. However, they heard the bell on the door ring and Sangmin turned around, trying to regain his composure quickly as he was rather dizzy.

The man seemed unlike any of their previous clientele. Dressed in a leather jacket, ripped black jeans, a Sex Pistols T-shirt and scuffed Doc Martens, he stood out against the pale pink walls and white tiled floor.

But Sangmin didn’t care about that. His eyes roamed over the new man, from the coloured streaks in his hair, to the two rings in each ear. He had ordered three scoops of ice cream, one blue raspberry, one dark chocolate and one cherry. Blue, black, and red, like his hair. He looked effortlessly amazing, and he gave off the whole bad guy vibe immensely. Sangmin swooned over him almost instantly, he just looked perfect in every single way. From his beautiful features, amazing hair, or smooth voice, he was Sangmin's picture of perfection. 

That was the first time they had met, and the man had been coming back every day after that for a week. The same order, at the same time. Sangmin was glad that he worked 6 days that week because it meant he could see him every single day, and (even though he tried to be subtle) gaze at him from across the counter, watching him eat, sat in one of the pale pink booths in the corner.

“Hey, wake up, lover boy’s coming in.” Wonho stage-whispered, shaking Sangmin out of his daydream. True to Wonho’s word, the man was indeed walking in and was drenched from the rain that was hammering down outside. His jacket was doing little to properly protect him, as it had no hood, and all of his exposed clothing had quickly become waterlogged and was dripping all over the tiled floors.

“I just cleaned those...” Wonho hissed, but Sangmin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Leave him alone. It’s not his fault.” Sangmin said softly and walked up to the counter.

“Hi! The usual, I’m guessing?” Sangmin asked, having already picked an ice cream cone and the scoop up. “God, you’re soaked. Go sit down, take your jacket and shirt off, and sit by the radiator. Your tshirt’ll dry faster without all of those layers covering it.” Sangmin placed everything down and walked around to the other side of the counter, standing in front of the man who was shedding himself of his outer two layers.

“At least ask me out to dinner before you ask me to strip.” The punk man laughed “You don’t even know my name.”

“Fine,” Sangmin asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Chu Xiao Xiang. It’s a Chinese name since I’m from Shanghai and all. So some people call me Casper when I’m in Korea.” Xiaoxiang handed Sangmin his damp jacket and shirt and then sat down in the booth closest to the radiator.

“I’ll call you Xiaoxiang. Since that’s your name.” Sangmin said, laying the damp clothes over the radiator. “I’ll make you a hot drink. You’ll need it, so you don’t catch a cold. It’s horrible weather.” Sangmin said, walking behind the counter again but turning to look over at Xiaoxiang.

“Yeah, it’s rotten. I got caught in it on my way home from work.” Xiaoxiang explained, visibly relaxing as the heat hit him and he began to dry off.

“What do you work as? I take it that you don’t work near here since you had to walk for a long while to get this wet.”

“I’m a tattoo artist in the centre of the city.”

“Wow, that suits your look. I can imagine you as a tattoo artist.” Sangmin said “How do you like your coffee? Milk, sugar, sweetener?”

“Just black coffee please. And I have a few tattoos done by my friends as well. You wanna see?” Xiaoxiang asked, pushing up his sleeve to expose a black, intertwining band around his arm.

“Give me two seconds...” Sangmin said, finishing Xiaoxang’s drink and then sitting down opposite him, pushing the cup towards the other man.

“Your job fits you as well. Pastel hair and a smile like yours, ice cream shop worker fits you very well.” Xiaoxiang took a long drink of his coffee before resting his arm on the table in front of him “This is the only tattoo I can show you without getting arrested for public indecency because most tattoos are hidden under my clothes. But this is a band that Celtic warriors used to wear. It means luck and strength.” Xiaoxiang explained.

Sangmin smiled and, before he realised what he was doing, he reached out and stroked his hands along the tattoo, grabbing Xiaoxiang’s bicep in the process.

“Take me out to dinner first.” Xiaoxiang cocked an eyebrow at Sangmin, making him blush and pull his hands away.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Sangmin said, looking down and flushing pink from embarrassment.

“You’re turning the same colour as your hair.” Xiaoxiang chuckled, reaching forward to pull a lock of Sangmin’s hair to hold it against his cheek "A perfect match. How cute." This just made Sangmin blush more, and soon enough his cheeks and the tip of his nose was bright red. He tried to hide his face behind his hands, which just made Xiaoxiang coo at him. "You're adorable when you're embarrassed."

Sangmin opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Wonho shouting from the back of the room "Sangmin, you're supposed to be working, not harassing our customers!"

Sangmin sighed. "I guess I have to go before Wonho bites by head off. It's nearly closing time though, if you want to wait, we can talk after?" Sangmin asked, hoping he wasn't being too forward already. This was their first conversation that was longer than a minute, he hoped he wasn't ruining it now.

"Sure, I'll wait. Or we could duck out now and leave whoever Wonho is to clear the place up." Xiaoxiang suggested, grabbing his shirt and jacket then standing up.

"I shouldn't just leave him. We work here together, and since I have a day off tomorrow, it would be unfair to leave early and make him do all the work." Sangmin said, hanging his head slightly.

"He shouldn't be so stuffy about you 'harassing' me. If anything, I'm the one harassing you. Now come on, let's go." Xiaoxiang pulled on his still slightly damp shirt and jacket and then turned his head to face the back room. "Hey Wonho! Sangmin has suddenly been struck by an inexplicable illness and I need to take him home right now! Goodbye!"

As Sangmin was being led out of the door, he heard Wonho burst into laughter and shout "Use protection! If you get an STD I'm not covering your shifts!"

Sangmin began giggling as well and let Xiaoxiang lead him out of the shop. The rain had since lessened, and the skies were now blue, but the air was still cold. Sangmin, only dressed in a light blue t-shirt and thin tan trousers, began to shiver and wrapped his arms around himself. Xiaoxiang noticed this and slung an arm around Sangmin's shoulder, pulling him in close to him.

"Where do you live? I'll walk you home." Xiaoxiang offered, stopping at a crossroads so Sangmin could point him in the right direction.

"I live on the other side of the city centre. You don't have to walk me home. I'm tough enough to protect myself." Sangmin said, but pointed in the direction they had to go anyway.

"I just don't want you getting hurt right after we had such a sweet moment. And it's unchivalrous not to." Xiaoxiang explained, leading Sangmin through the streets.

"Are you my knight in shining armour then?" Sangmin asked, making sure they both headed in the right direction.

"Course I am, babe! You're my princess who I have to protect. You look the part and all!"

"I might wear feminine colours but I'm not a princess. I'm a boy." Sangmin said, though he had to admit, when Xiaoxiang called him babe, he felt his heart race a little.

"Fine then, you're my prince who I have to protect from all the bad things in the world," Xiaoxiang said, ruffling Sangmin's pink hair a little.

Sangmin grinned and blushed, nodding his head. "Good. I'd be perfectly happy to have you as my daring knight." Sangmin giggled, resting his head on Xiaoxiang's shoulder for a second before lifting it back up so they could keep walking,

They continued the rest of the walk together, chatting idly about whatever crossed their minds that day. They learnt more about each other, and both managed to be in stitches from laughing by the time they reached the door to Sangmin's apartment block. Sangmin looked up at the building and then sighed, frowning a little.

"What's wrong, babe?" Xiaoxiang asked, looking up at the building with Sangmin.

"I live here. I'll have to go now." Sangmin's frown turned into a small pout.

Xiaoxiang reached out to grab Sangmin's hands and held them tightly. "Don't worry, you'll see me again tomorrow, I'm sure. I'm not going to stop getting ice cream because I've talked to you."

"But I'm not at work tomorrow, it's my day off," Sangmin said, swinging their hands between them.

"Well, I'll give you this then-" Xiaoxiang said, fishing around in his jacket pocket before he found a crumpled and slightly smudged piece of paper. "My phone number! So you can text me when you wake up, and when I'm off work. And, if you're lucky, you might even be visited by me tomorrow when I'm off work." Xiaoxiang winked.

Sangmin beamed and took the slip of paper, placing it in his pocket. "Thank you! I'll text you in a little while so you can get my number, ok?" Sangmin asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet a little.

"Sure thing. Anyways, I'll have to say goodbye now, or I'll be walking home in the cold, and I still need to dry my clothes off. I'll see you tomorrow, babe." Xiaoxiang pulled Sangmin in for a tight hug and then kissed his cheek quickly before turning around and walking away. Sangmin's heart began to pound, and he was smiling so much that he felt like his face would split. He walked into his apartment, still reeling slightly. Xiaoxiang had kissed him! The man he'd been dreaming about for a week had kissed him! He felt as if he was on cloud nine.

He sat down on his sofa, and sent Xiaoxiang a text, just saying "Heya! This is Sangmin." 

He got a reply almost instantly, saying "Hey babe. It's Xiaoxiang. I'm nearly home, want to call me then?"

Sangmin nodded, even though he couldn't be seen and replied "Yes, please! I have nothing better to do."

Xiaoxiang grinned, phone held tightly in one hand. "Alright then, I'll call you in a few babe. Don't miss me too much whilst I'm gone ;)" He sent back before he slipped his phone into his pocket and began walking faster, powering himself home as fast as he could so he could talk to his prince again.

Chapter Text

"Are you free for this afternoon? Possibly the whole of the day?" Xiaoxiang shouted down the phone, feet hitting the floor in a quick, repetitive rhythm as he ran along the street, dodging passers-by.

"Xiaoxiang, you know when I have days off. You don't have to ask every Wednesday if I'm free or not. Because you know that I don't really have many other plans." Sangmin laughed, holding his phone to his ear as he placed the drink that he had been drinking down on his kitchen counter. "When do you want to meet me? And is it a surprise or am I allowed to know where we're going?" 

"Surprise! But we're going to be going outside and eating quite a bit, so don't dress fancy or anything like that."

"When you're taking me out, I never expect to dress fancy. You're more of a rough, tough guy." Sangmin laughed, hearing the fake displeasure on Sangmin's face.

"I can be fancy if I wanted to! But you don't seem like the type to enjoy a fancy dinner. It's too boring." Xiaoxiang responded, still running and slowly growing out of breath.

"Are you running?" Sangmin asked "Where to? Or what from?"

Xiaoxiang stopped running and panted, getting his breath back. "Here." He said, and then rang the bell of Sangmin's apartment. Sangmin rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You're such a sap." Sangmin laughed, "I'll be down in a second." He hung up the call and left his apartment, walking downstairs and opening the door, pulling Xiaoxiang in. "Why did you run? I could have waited."

"I wanted to see you. And it was like a cliche romance film moment." Xiaoxiang straightened up and grinned. "So, are you ready to go now, or do you need to get some stuff?" Sangmin began patting his pockets down. 

"I have my phone and my wallet. Just give me two seconds to lock my apartment up and I'll be right back with you!" Sangmin smiled and ran back up the stairs, locked up and then ran back downstairs, joining Xiaoxiang again. "Let's go!"

Xiaoxiang grabbed Sangmin's hand and interlaced their fingers before leading them both outside and into the sunshine. Even though this had become a regular thing for them both, the casual touching still had Sangmin thrumming every time it happened. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it, but it didn't matter to him. He loved the little thrill he got every single time they touched.

The one thing that Sangmin could complain about was the fact that he hadn't gotten any more kisses since the cheek one he got the day Xiaoxiang walked him home. He loved it so much, and he really, really wanted it to happen again. He didn't know how to ask without seeming pushy though.

"I'm surprised that you haven't asked me where we're going yet. You're normally begging to find out where we're going. Since I never tell you." Xiaoxiang said, swinging their hands between them.

"Well, I trust that you'll take me somewhere I like. We know each other well enough now to trust that we'll take each other somewhere nice." Sangmin explained, smiling over at Xiaoxiang.

"It's no fun when you're not asking me and I have to be all tough and hide it from you," Xiaoxiang said, broadening his shoulders and raising his head, trying to make himself look bigger.

"Aww, I'm sorry." Sangmin pouted and then tried to hunch over to make himself look smaller "Xiaoxiangie~! Tell me where we're going! Don't be mean!" Sangmin put on a child-like voice and pouted, holding Xiaoxiang's hand in his both.

Xiaoxiang beamed and ruffled Sangmin's hair "Aww, poor Minnie! Don't worry, you'll find out very soon." Sangmin blushed and butted his head against Xiaoxiang's shoulder, laughing clearly. "We're nearly there anyway. It's just up ahead." 

Sangmin lifted himself onto his tip-toes and peered over the heads of the people walking in front of them. His face lit up when he saw he signs ahead of them. "Are we going to the food festival? Thank you so much! I've been hoping to go for ages but I never got the chance to!"

Xiaoxiang smiled along with Sangmin "Yup. I know you like food, so it seemed fitting to take you here. What kind of food do you want to try first? There's sections from all around the world here, with food from all over everywhere."

Sangmin looked up at the board by the entrance, tracing his finger down the list of stalls "Can we go to the Chinese food stalls? You'll know what kinds of foods are nice, and you can recommend me some." 

Xiaoxiang's face lit up, glad that Sangmin had been thinking of him. "Sure! I'll buy you the foods I like, and we can share them to see if you like them too." Xiaoxiang offered Sangmin his arm, and the younger man took it, letting Xiaoxiang lead him through the multitude of stalls until they reached the edge of the large field the festival was taking place in. Xiaoxiang gestured to a picnic-style bench overlooking all the stalls. "Sit here, and I'll go and buy us the food." Sangmin reached into his pocket for his wallet, about to protest but he was silenced by a finger over his lips. "No arguing. I'm taking you out, so I pay. It's not fair if I take you out and you pay for me." Sangmin sat down on the bench and watched Xiaoxiang walk over to several stalls and then back to the bench, arms full of boxes, tubs and a bag of drinks. He set them all down on the table and spread them out into three piles before sitting down next to Sangmin.

"You went a little bit overboard with this. Can we eat it all?" Sangmin laughed and reached forward to open one covered bowl, looking inside. "What's this?" He asked, seeing 6 small balls of dough.

"Those are Jiaozi! They're little dumplings in broth. These ones have pork inside." Xiaoxiang explained, picking one up with a pair of chopsticks and holding it out to Sangmin. Sangmin leant forward and bit the end off of one, grinning when he tasted it. "It's really nice!" He said, leaning forward again to eat the whole thing. Xiaoxiang laughed and picked one up for himself, eating it quickly.

"I thought you'd like it. You can get loads of different kinds of dumplings, but these and baozi are the most popular." Xiaoxiang explained, before reaching over to grab the bag of drinks and tray of cups. He set them up on the table and pointed to each one in turn. "This is Wahaha, a popular nutrition drink. It tastes like... skittles, like sugary fruit juice, but it's healthy. This is Yunnan coffee, and it's a coffee that tastes like cinnamon. This is Suanmeitang, a sour plum drink. And finally, this is a bottle of Tsingtao beer. I won't pretend to know which drink is best with each food, but which one sounds nicest?"

Sangmin pondered for a little while before reaching out for the carton of Wahaha. He opened it and drank it slowly. "How can something so sweet be healthy?" He asked before picking it up and looking at the nutrition information. "Well... I guess." He shrugged.

Xiaoxiang laughed "The wonders of foreign food, huh? Anyway, in this box is..."

Nearly an hour, and around 8 other boxes of various sweet and savoury items later, Sangmin groaned and lay down on the bench, his head on Xiaoxiang's thigh. "Oh God- I feel like I've just eaten enough to sustain me for a year. I could hibernate now."

Xiaoxiang laughed and began stroking Sangmin's hair gently "I'm sure you'll be ok. Walk it off? There's still other things to do here." Sangmin groaned and sat up again, rubbing his now slightly distended stomach. Xiaoxiang placed his arm around Sangmin's waist, tossing their rubbish in a bin before leading him around the festival. There were a few fair-ground style rides designed for children, and Sangmin perked up when he saw the Ferris wheel. 

"Can we go on?" Sangmin asked, looking up at it and smiling.

Xiaoxiang paused for a second "Are you sure? It looks a little childish..."

"Please?" Sangmin asked, using his aegyo pout from earlier.

Xiaoxiang nearly melted at the sight of Sangmin's face. "Alright, alright, we can go."

Sangmin beamed and waited as Xiaoxiang paid the attendant, and then pulled him into the pod on the ground. The door was closed behind them and Sangmin grabbed the bar running round the inside of the pod, looking out with an excited grin on his face. The pod lifted off the ground to let more people on, and before long the two were at the top of the wheel.

"You can see so far from here!" Sangmin said, and turned around to look at Xiaoxiang. He was gripping the bar tightly, eyes wide and face white. Sangmin shifted closer, and the pod rocked slightly. Xiaoxiang gripped the bar even tighter, knuckles going a pallid white. Sangmin stayed where he was sat and asked "Xiaoxiangie, don't you like it?"

"Don't like heights." He replied in short, clipped words, as if his mere breathing would cause the pod to drop. Sangmin reached out and placed his hand over one of Xiaoxiang's.

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have dragged you on here if I knew." Sangmin said, slowly moving over to the shaking Xiaoxiang and placing an arm around him.

"Not your fault." Xiaoxiang moved closer into Sangmin, hiding his face in the crook of Sangmin's neck, making sure that he couldn't see anything. Sangmin began rubbing his back slowly, turning Xiaoxiang away from the window.

"It's gonna be ok, Xiangie. We're almost down again." Sangmin said, alternating between looking out of the window and looking down at Xiaoxiang. He had stopped shaking, and slowly looked up at Sangmin.

"I'm sorry... you probably expected me to be the tough guy but I can't even get on a Ferris wheel without freezing up." Xiaoxiang sighed.

"Xiangie, it's ok. Everyone's got fears. I don't expect you to be the epitome of the edgy stereotype. I like the sweet side of Xiaoxiang just as much as I like the rebellious one, ok?" Sangmin said, smiling at Xiaoxiang. Xiaoxiang sighed, looked down at the floor, then quickly looked up at Sangmin and kissed him, cupping the younger boy's face in his hands.

Sangmin was stunned for a second, but quickly and eagerly kissed back when he realised he was getting exactly what he wanted. He wrapped his arms around Xiaoxiang's neck and shifted closer, practically sitting in Xiaoxiang's lap now.

The pod reached the ground, and Sangmin pulled back. Xiaoxiang began laughing, and pulled Sangmin out of the pod and onto solid ground. "God, I missed this." He said, Sangmin laughed as well. They stood in silence for a little while, before Xiaoxiang turned to face Sangmin. "So, uh, I should probably ask you this now. I was planning on doing this when I took you home but I, uh, wasn't planning on kissing you. So, Sangmin, would you be interested in being my boyfriend? I'm pretty sure by now it's no secret that I like you."

Sangmin felt his heart pounding and smiled before kissing Xiaoxiang's cheek "Of course I would be. I love you very much Xiaoxiang, and I'm pretty sure that it's no secret that I've had a large crush on you for a while."

"So, does that make Wednesday our date day?"

"Whatever you want, Xiangie, whatever you want."