Prompt #2: Making shades of purple, out of red and blue

[100xoverfest]

Prompt: #2
Title: Making shades of purple, out of red and blue
Genre: Fluff/High School AU
Rating: G
Side Pairings: -
Warning/s: underage smoking, minor mention of bullying
Season: Summer
Summary: Junmyeon never expected teen delinquent Kris Wu to confess to him, and he certainly never expected himself to fall for the guy either.
A/N (Author's Note): -

There are many things that Junmyeon dislikes. He dislikes loud noise, he dislikes flashy things, he dislikes people who are irresponsible. Jongdae often says that he is too judgemental and uptight, and Junmyeon only ever rolls his eyes, but never corrects him. Really, it’s a wonder that Junmyeon is even friends with Jongdae, seeing as the younger boy is often shouting and whining all over the place.

The current thing getting on Junmyeon’s nerves are the bunch of boys sat across the cafeteria, laughing and hollering like it’s their own damn house. He watches in disdain as the tallest among them starts pumping his fist in the air and hooting while another boy attempts to stuff as many fries as he can into his mouth. Junmyeon rolls his eyes and sighs loudly.

“You’re supposed to be a high school senior, hyung, but you honestly act like a disgruntled old man chasing kids off his lawn all the time.” Jongdae says, cackling at him.

Junmyeon sighs again, and continues eating his food.

***

Junmyeon is walking towards his locker when he hears a familiar commotion. He starts to roll his eyes before he even catches sight of the delinquent bunch. When he does see them, he sees the infamous Kris Wu surrounded by his usual posse and a crowd of swooning girls. They’re standing close to where his locker is and Junmyeon lets out a long-suffering sigh, gripping the straps of his backpack tighter. He keeps his head down as he approaches his locker and prays that they don’t notice him.

Unfortunately, Junmyeon has never been a very lucky guy.

“Oh look, it’s Junmyeon,” He hears Kris’ voice say, and suddenly several pairs of eyes are on him.

Junmyeon turns to look at them, and levels Kris with the most judgemental, unimpressed stare he can muster. For a moment, Junmyeon thinks he sees a flicker of uncertainty in Kris’ eyes, but he dismisses it when Kris’ signature cocky smirk appears.

“Heading to class?” Kris asks, and the girls start giggling among themselves.

Junmyeon frowns at the girls, and wonders what he has ever done to deserve being surrounded by such stupidity. When he realises that he still hasn’t responded to Kris, he nods silently and continues retrieving his books from his locker. He doesn’t wait for any other response or snide quips and walks away towards his next class.

As much as he would hate to admit it, and he never will, that interaction stays on his mind and distracts him for the rest of the day. It was so ridiculous the way Kris and his gang of friends went around their school like they were above and beyond rules and regulation. They were always making so much noise and skipping classes and sneaking smokes at the back of the school. Junmyeon wondered if they really thought they were being sneaky or if they secretly wanted people to know and think they were cool. Junmyeon rolled his eyes again at that thought. And anyway, what was Kris’ deal calling him out earlier and asking if he was going to class, of all things. They hardly interacted in school and were most definitely not friends. Junmyeon huffs, shaking his head, and returns his attention to the boring drone of his math teacher.

***

Junmyeon’s dislike of Kris continues to grow the more he observes the taller boy and his group of friends. There are plenty of rumours floating around the school about the various misdemeanours that the various boys have gotten into. There are whispers of how Sehun is part of a biker gang, and Zitao’s family is involved in the Chinese triad; Or the common knowledge that Chanyeol has had sex with one of the teachers, although nobody that circulates the rumour can name which teacher or even when it happened. There’s also a popular rumour that Kris has spent a year in juvenile detention for shoplifting and drug possession. None of the boys have ever dispelled these rumours, but there hasn’t been any proof that they are true either. Junmyeon isn’t one to buy into rumours, especially not ones that cannot be proven, but he maintains that the boys are bad news and stays out of their way regardless.

His ire culminates the day that Junmyeon watches as Kyungsoo, a quiet underclassman, accidentally bumps into Kris in the crowded hallway in between classes and gets shoved against a locker in retaliation. Chanyeol and Sehun laugh obnoxiously loudly from beside a proudly smirking Kris. Junmyeon rolls his eyes and approaches Kyungsoo, who remains pressed against the locker until Kris is a safe distance away.

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon asks, looking over Kyungsoo’s small frame.

Kyungsoo nods and sighs, shrugging as if he was used to such treatment, and Junmyeon’s blood boils hot with annoyance. Who does Kris think he is to be going around terrorising people like this? Just because he was easily one of the biggest students in their school and had a penchant for leather jackets and piercings didn’t mean he was allowed to treat people like they were playthings to be tossed about! And yet, nobody dared to stand up to him. Even Junmyeon, with all his annoyance and discontentment, can barely do much more than roll his eyes and hate him from afar. Junmyeon sighed deeply, and offers to walk with Kyungsoo to his next class.

***

Junmyeon arrives to class one morning and notices that many of the girls are more excitable than usual. They sit in huddles, whispering and showing each other the small cutely wrapped gifts they brought. It is then that Junmyeon realises what day it is.

The day of the cherry blossom festival brings much excitement to the school as most of the students take advantage of the romantic mood brought about by the blooming cherry blossoms to confess to their crushes. Most of the time, the girls are the ones who bring gifts to confess their feelings to the boy they like, but the reverse has been known to happen, which generates much gossip and swooning around the school, with girls squealing about how they wished their crush would confess to them too. Either way, Junmyeon finds the whole business to be childish and superficial. Most of the confessions don’t lead to a relationship anyway, and even the ones that do start dating don’t last very long. When he tells this to Jongdae, Jongdae laughs and says that Junmyeon is just bitter because no one ever confesses to him. Junmyeon’s face reddens and he gives Jongdae a good smack on the head, earning him a long loud whine in return.

At lunch that day, he sees a few girls eyeing the delinquent bunch’s usual table, trying to get subtle peeks before turning back to their friends and giggling. Junmyeon watches from across the dining hall as a girl approaches the table, asks to speak to Chanyeol, and leads him outside to the school courtyard, where a few cherry blossom trees provide shade to some benches. They return a few minutes later, Chanyeol with a gift box in his hands and the girl scurries back to her table of squealing friends, face pink and smile shy. Chanyeol smirks as Sehun offers him a fist bump, and Zitao whacks him on the back as if to say well done. Junmyeon rolls his eyes at the display of machismo and continues munching on his food grumpily.

The rest of lunch break passes like this, with Junmyeon observing as different girls approach the other boys at the table in turns, as if there was some sort of unspoken rule or schedule in place dictating that no two girls approach the table at the same time. However, the pattern breaks when a girl approaches Kris, and instead of agreeing to head outside with her, Kris shakes his head and shrugs in apology. The girl tenses and freezes for a few seconds, then turns and runs away in embarrassment. The other guys at the table give Kris questioning looks as he shrugs again, their confused frowns mirroring Junmyeon’s.

“You know,” Jongdae starts, from beside Junmyeon, “for all that you say you hate delinquents, you sure spend a lot of time staring at them.”

Junmyeon turns his glare towards a gleeful Jongdae who sports a shit-eating unrepentant grin.

Junmyeon questions his friendship choices.

***

By the end of the day, Junmyeon is a little gloomy, though he would never admit it out loud. Of course, Junmyeon hadn’t expected anyone to confess to him today, but wouldn’t it have been nice to know that some girl admired him? He sighed, scolding himself for his selfish thoughts. Yes, it would be nice to know that he was desirable, but Junmyeon probably wouldn’t have reciprocated any girl’s feelings anyway, and would just have to turn her down and hurt her feelings. He supposed it was for the best that no one confessed to him, then he could avoid unnecessary drama. He stared forlornly into his locker for a few minutes, mulling this over, when his locker door suddenly slams shut in his face.

He turns around in shock and comes face to face with Oh Sehun, who looms over him with an unimpressed stare. Junmyeon is about to ask him what his problem is when Sehun grabs him by the wrist and starts dragging him down the hallway.

Protesting and struggling to no avail, Junmyeon gets pulled along all the way to the school courtyard. Once there, he sees more of the delinquent bunch crowded around a bench. When they spot Sehun approaching with Junmyeon in tow, they start to get up, leaving Kris sitting on the bench. Sehun shoves Junmyeon forward, high fives a smirking Chanyeol and the gang walks away together.

Feeling thoroughly harassed, Junmyeon turns to the remaining member in his presence, ready to demand an explanation, when the sight of Kris standing before him shuts him up. The usual arrogant smirk is absent from Kris’ face and he fidgets with the bouquet of roses in his hands. The sweet backdrop of rustling cherry blossoms doesn’t help either. Junmyeon musters up as much of his surviving anger as he can and snaps at Kris.

“What is wrong with you and your little gang?! You guys think you can get away with anything, don’t you!” Junmyeon is almost shouting by now, and the adrenaline of it almost makes him dizzy.

Kris’ eyes widen in surprise at Junmyeon’s outburst and Junmyeon watches as his expression flits from shock to shame. Junmyeon follows Kris’ downcast gaze and notices the bouquet that he had forgotten about in his anger. They stand silently for a few minutes, Kris fidgeting with the flowers and Junmyeon waiting for an explanation. Eventually, Kris sighs deeply.

“I’m.. sorry,” Kris starts slowly. “I told him to bring you here, but I guess he can be kinda tactless.”

Junmyeon continues to glare, but he can’t help but be secretly surprised by how soft and unsure Kris is being. He raises an eyebrow, and Kris flushes pink.

“It’s the cherry blossom festival today.” Kris tells Junmyeon.

“Okay… So?”

“Um,” Kris fidgets some more. He furrows his eyebrows in concentration, and Junmyeon watches in amazement as the familiar cocky expression slides onto Kris’ face.

“I’m confessing.” Kris says, flashing Junmyeon a handsome grin. It’s the one Junmyeon is used to seeing Kris direct at his gaggle of fangirls. “I like you. I want to go out with you.”

Junmyeon stares incredulously at the flowers that’s been pushed at him, gaze moving between the roses to Kris’ face as if one of which would explain the ridiculous situation he currently found himself in. When Junmyeon remains silent and frozen in shock, Kris boldly reaches out for Junmyeon’s hand and places the bouquet in his grip.

“What.” Junmyeon feels a little lightheaded at how quickly the tables have been turned on him.

“Well?” Kris purrs, “Will you go out with me?”

Kris’ attempt at seduction makes Junmyeon reel even more, and his shock morphs into a grimace.

“Are you joking?”

“What? No?”

“No!”

“What?” It’s Kris’ turn to be confused now.

“No, I will not go out with you.” Junmyeon repeated pointedly, still bewildered by the entire situation.

“Why not?” Kris demanded. Clearly, he was not expecting a rejection.

“Because I don’t like you!” Junmyeon gestures wildly in increasing exasperation, and the flowers in his hand go flying.

Another silence surrounds them as they both stare at the roses on the ground in horror. When Kris turns back to Junmyeon, the mix of frustration and offense on Kris’ face makes Junmyeon take a step back from the taller boy. The angry set of Kris’ eyebrows do little to alleviate Junmyeon’s alarm.

“Why do you hate me?” Kris asks hotly, staring intently down at Junmyeon. “What did I ever do to you?”

“You’re loud and rowdy and brutish,” Junmyeon huffs, indignant. “You act like you own this school and just do whatever you want! You’re disrespectful and rude, and that’s why I don’t like you.” He feels a little apologetic that he had thrown the roses onto the ground, but he refuses to back down, especially not when he had been so rudely manhandled earlier.

The angry frown of Kris’ face softens into a look comprehension, then resignation. He nods in acceptance and backs away. Without saying anything else, Kris leaves Junmyeon standing in the courtyard alone and confused.

***

As much as Junmyeon tries to push Kris and his confession out of his mind, Kris seems insistent on retaining Junmyeon’s attention, and is waiting for him by his locker the next morning. This time, he is alone, leaning against the lockers casually and watching Junmyeon as he approaches. Junmyeon frowns but otherwise ignores the taller boy as he opens his locker, refusing to acknowledge or entertain the other. Who cares if Kris Wu is standing there with his stupid leather jacket that shows off the broad stretch of his shoulders and his skinny jeans blatantly displaying how obscenely long his legs are? Not Junmyeon, that’s who. When it becomes clear that Junmyeon is ignoring him, Kris clears his throat loudly and waits expectantly. Junmyeon slams his locker shut and walks away.

If Junmyeon thought that that would make Kris give up, he was highly mistaken. If anything, Kris approaches him more and more in the following days. Kris makes it a habit to show up at Junmyeon’s locker in the mornings and wishes him good morning before heading to class. Junmyeon was annoyed to no end that Kris would wait for who knows how long for Junmyeon to show up, only to smile and say two words and then walk away. Like, what is that even about? Was this his way of being charming? Or did he think he was being mysterious? Well, Junmyeon thought vehemently, it was definitely not working.

After a few weeks, Kris seemed to have memorised Junmyeon’s schedule and shows up outside his class after lessons to walk him to the next class. Kris offers to carry his books for him, but Junmyeon scowls and asserts that he’s no damsel in need of help. It makes Kris recoil, and the blush that Junmyeon secretly likes returns to the taller boy’s face.

When Kris tries to make friendly small talk and asks him how his class went, Junmyeon wryly asks if Kris has been to any of his own classes. The first few times this happened, Kris had let out an embarrassed chuckle, but after a few days, he starts to tell Junmyeon about how English literature could be pretty fascinating when he actually bothered to pay attention, but calculus remains a pain in the ass. Junmyeon resolutely does not think about whether Kris had started listening in classes to impress him.

When girls flock to Kris, seeking his attention, he smiles sweetly and says that he will entertain them some other time, except when ‘some other time’ comes, Kris has yet again stationed himself by Junmyeon’s side and turns the girls down again. Kris’ behaviour baffles Junmyeon, and he can’t seem to figure out why the taller boy is so insistent when Junmyeon had already expressed his disinterest.

On one hand, it seems that Kris is putting in the effort to be nice to Junmyeon, but on the other, Kris still hangs out with his gang of noisy friends at lunch every day. When Junmyeon observes him at lunch however, he notices Kris no longer contributes to the hollering and hooting that comes from their table, instead he simply laughs at their antics with fondness evident in his expression. Junmyeon watches as Zitao reacts to something Chanyeol says, glee spreading throughout his whole body as he tips backwards with laughter. Kris chuckles, lightly sliding a hand behind his back and prevents him from falling off his seat completely. The action is so casual, so relaxed, as if such a thing was a regular enough occurrence that it became second nature for Kris to protect Zitao from himself. Junmyeon finds himself smiling.

They’re walking along the hallway one afternoon, and the hallway quickly becomes packed with students spilling out from their classes, forcing Junmyeon to squeeze closer to Kris’ side. He doesn’t notice the pleased smile Kris hides, but he does feel the protective hand placed at his back. Junmyeon refuses to acknowledge that the gesture makes his stomach flip and absolutely refuses to acknowledge how quickly his face has heated up.

***

Finally, the day comes when Junmyeon arrives at his locker and Kris isn’t standing there. Junmyeon doesn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Kris confuses the hell out of him, and Junmyeon hates that he’s spent so much of his time wondering about the other boy recently.

Ever since the confession, Kris has made himself a regular fixture in Junmyeon’s life, and he begrudgingly admits that maybe they were starting to become friends. Still, Junmyeon doesn’t know what Kris’ intentions are with all this, doesn’t know if Kris is trying to prove that he is more than the loud rowdy brutish thug that Junmyeon thinks he is, or if this was his way of courting Junmyeon by way of some weird testament to his charm and popularity. Either way, Junmyeon will be damned before he lets himself be seduced by the likes of Kris Wu. Annoyed and frustrated, Junmyeon slams his locker shut and heads off to class.

The rest of the day passes with no sight of Kris, and Junmyeon will defend to the death the claim that he had not been hoping to see Kris outside the classroom after each lesson, and if Junmyeon heads out of school with slouching shoulders and heavy feet then nobody is there to see it and he definitely won’t be the one to admit it.

Kris waiting for him outside the school gates is the last thing he expects, and Junmyeon dismisses the flutter of his heart as mere shock. Kris pushes off the wall when he spots Junmyeon and smiles a crooked dopey smile. Junmyeon curses the tingles that course through his body at the sight.

“Hey.” Kris says, all casual like this wasn’t weird in the slightest.

“Um, hi.” Junmyeon returns lowly, “What are you doing here? You weren’t in school today.”

“Yeah, something came up at home.” Kris shrugs.

Junmyeon can’t stop the surprised tilt of his head and the way his eyes widen in curiosity. Of course, Kris has a home and a family, Junmyeon chastises himself. He was just so used to thinking of him as the delinquent kid from school and had forgotten that most people do in fact have lives outside the compound of their high school. Lost in his thoughts, Junmyeon barely has time to realise he has yet to respond when Kris sighs, taking Junmyeon’s silence as waiting for explanation.

“My… mom’s sick today,” Kris says uncertainly, guarded. “so I stayed home to look after her.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon blurts dumbly. He hadn’t been expecting such an honest personal answer, and he feels sorry for prying. He’s about to apologise when he realises that Kris hasn’t actually answered his question.

“So what are you doing here?” He asks again, but his tone is gentler this time, genuinely intrigued.

The blush that blooms on Kris’ cheeks is a pleasant surprise, and Junmyeon feels himself smile as he watches Kris rub the back of his neck awkwardly.

“She took a nap, so I could get away for a while,” Kris explains, then his voice drops to a mumble. “and I wanted to see you.”

Junmyeon feels his heart leap and his face rapidly heats up. Kris Wu came all the way to school to see Junmyeon and he’s shy about it. Junmyeon hates him.

Junmyeon is stunned silent and the two of them stand face to face like that as the seconds crawl by, faces red and hearts racing. It’s so stupid, and Junmyeon has had enough of this nonsense. He lets out a harsh breath that he didn’t know he had been holding and grabs Kris by the wrist, pulling him along so they can stop standing outside school like a pair of idiots.

“Well, since you’re here, you might as well walk me home,” Junmyeon huffs, desperately trying to quell his racing heartbeat. The radiant smile that’s directed at him doesn’t help.

They make it across the road before Junmyeon notices that he’s still holding on to Kris’ wrist. He releases it hastily, and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. Speaking of jackets, Kris isn’t wearing his usual leather jacket today. Instead, he’s in a simple t-shirt that’s stretched at the collar and reveals an obscene amount of skin. Junmyeon swears that the collarbones on display are mocking him. His hair is also unstyled, and falls in Kris’ face in soft waves. Junmyeon clenches his fists in his pockets to stop himself from reaching out and finding out if they are really as soft as they look.

The walk to Junmyeon’s house is short, 20 minutes if they walk slowly, but they’re silent the whole way. Junmyeon is still stewing in his own thoughts, too distracted to say anything, and Kris is content to watch Junmyeon, smiling fondly as he watches Junmyeon lost in his own thoughts, eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting.

Junmyeon finally snaps out of his reverie when they arrive outside his house, and he flushes red again at the realisation that he had spent the entire walk home thinking about Kris’ stupid face that he completely ignored the actual boy beside him. He stutters for a moment, unsure of what to say, but Kris smiles again and reaches out to ruffle his hair. The expression of utter offense Junmyeon makes has Kris bursting out in laughter.

“See you tomorrow, Junmyeon.” Kris grins as he turns and walks away.

Junmyeon stares dumbfounded as Kris walks down his street and disappears around the corner. It’s another five minutes before Junmyeon snaps out of it and scolds himself for being an idiot, finally slipping into his home.

***

True to his word, Kris shows up at Junmyeon’s locker the next morning. Junmyeon finds himself smiling before he can stop himself, and the excited grin he gets in return makes him think that maybe it was worth it after all. They head to class together, and if they stand a little closer to each other as they walk, well, neither of them say a word about it.

That day at lunch, Junmyeon takes his usual place next to Jongdae and immediately spies the devious look on his friend’s face. He squints at him suspiciously, telling him to spit out whatever he’s got on his mind. They know each other too well to bother pretending like they don’t both know what the other is thinking, and Jongdae jumps straight into the questions, forgoing any formalities.

Not that Jongdae has ever been formal with him, Junmyeon thinks begrudgingly.

“So,” Jongdae drawls, “what’s up with you and Kris Wu, huh? You guys have been spending an awful lot of time together.” His eyebrows wriggle suggestively as he grins.

Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Nothing is up between us.”

“Don’t lie to me, hyung,” It’s Jongdae’s turn to roll his eyes now, and he reaches out to poke Junmyeon in the cheek.

Junmyeon contemplates continued denial, but the look Jongdae is giving him tells Junmyeon that he’s not going to give up anytime soon, so he might as well not prolong his suffering.

Junmyeon sighs. “He confessed to me during the cherry blossom festival.”

Jongdae’s eyes widen with glee. He grabs Junmyeon by the shoulders and starts shaking him excitedly, chanting “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” until Junmyeon reaches out to smack him.

“It’s about time,” Jongdae cackles, “I was starting to get sick of your poorly disguised pining.”

Junmyeon frowns at that, and Jongdae gives him a disbelieving look.

“Oh, come on,” Jongdae says, waving his hands airily, “you’ve been obsessed with the guy for ages!”

“No, I haven’t!” Junmyeon defends stubbornly. “And it definitely wasn’t pining, it was hatred!”

“Pfft, sure,” Jongdae smirks, “your constant staring was hatred.”

Junmyeon can’t deny that he had spent a lot of time staring at Kris, even before the confession, so he opts to reach out and shove Jongdae off his chair instead.

***

Kris is waiting for him again at the end of the day, and Junmyeon chooses not to comment when they walk out of school together and start heading towards his house.

“So, I was thinking,” Kris starts saying, and Junmyeon can’t help the look of mock surprise that slips onto his face.

“Wow, that’s a first.” Junmyeon hums cheekily, a grin threatening to break through his teasing demeanour. Kris gapes at him in shock, and his struggle against the smile tugging at his lips finally makes Junmyeon chuckle.

“How rude,” Kris eventually says, voice laced with mock hurt. “I was going to ask you to dinner but now I’m wondering why I ever liked you at all.” He sniffs haughtily.

Junmyeon sobers up immediately, his stomach fluttering at Kris’ easy declaration of affection. Suddenly, he feels out of place, and he becomes acutely aware of the fact that Kris is walking him home. It wasn’t as if Junmyeon had forgotten about Kris’ confession, but the easy way they had been interacting made him forget that Kris was probably expecting him to reciprocate at some point, and now Kris was about to ask him on a date.

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, Kris clears his throat and tries to backtrack.

“I mean, it’s not a big deal,” Kris murmurs, “it’s just dinner.”

“Um,” Junmyeon struggles to force some composure into his voice, “yeah, sure. Dinner is okay.”

Kris’ eyes light up, and the dopey smile is back again. Junmyeon scolds himself for being so weak.

“Great! We can go grocery shopping and cook something.” Kris takes Junmyeon’s hand and starts pulling him in the direction of the nearest supermarket before he can argue.

Junmyeon is too busy thinking about how Kris always manages to surprise him every time he thinks he has a handle on the kind of person Kris is, and is too distracted by the prospect of Kris cooking to notice that their hands remain linked until they reach the supermarket. Kris lets go of his hand in favour of retrieving a trolley, and suddenly Junmyeon misses the warmth of the other’s hand around his.

They stroll through the aisles with Kris looking out for the different ingredients he needs, occasionally turning to ask Junmyeon whether he likes tomatoes (he does) or whether he eats beef (he doesn’t), and Junmyeon tags along obediently. Kris seems right in his element strolling between the aisles and Junmyeon wonders if this is something he does often. He would never have pegged Kris as the cooking type. Junmyeon realises that he barely knows anything about the other boy and finds that he actually wants to learn more.

Their trolley is almost halfway full by the time they head to the check-out, and Junmyeon realises he still has no idea what is going on, or what they’re having for dinner. When he asks Kris, all he gets in answer is a smile and “It’s a surprise.”

Junmyeon doesn’t pry anymore after that. Mostly, it’s because he realises that it has become a trend for Kris to smile at him and for Junmyeon to concede all arguments, any indignance or stubbornness making way for a distinct warming of his cheeks and troubling feelings of exasperated endearment.

When they leave the store, Kris starts leading the way down a road that’s unfamiliar to Junmyeon. Before he can ask, Kris turns to him and says easily, “We can head to my place to cook, my mom’s working late today so she won’t be around.”

Junmyeon nods dumbly, once again unable to find it in himself to protest. He’s embarrassed to realise that he wants Kris to hold his hand again, but they’ve both got their hands full with grocery bags. Junmyeon huffs softly, annoyed at himself, and wonders when he got so… whipped.

***

They get to the Wu residence just after sunset, and Kris ushers him into the kitchen to dump the groceries before giving him a quick tour of the house. Junmyeon only gets a cursory glance into Kris’ room before he’s ushered into the next part of the house, but he thinks he sees a black piano in the corner of the room, and his intrigue grows.

When they’re back in the kitchen, Kris gets straight to work unpacking and sorting through the ingredients. It’s only when he clears the last of the bags that he notices Junmyeon standing by the counter, fidgeting with his hands, unsure of what to do with himself. Kris grins and walks over to take Junmyeon’s hand and leads him to where vegetables lie waiting next to a chopping board.

“Have you done this before?” Kris asks, and Junmyeon shakes his head.

Kris takes a bunch of vegetable and places them in Junmyeon’s hands and scoops some up himself, and leads Junmyeon to the sink. He shows Junmyeon how to wash the vegetables, and Junmyeon gets distracted by the way Kris’ large hands are holding the vegetables so gently. He gets lost in his train of thought over how he’s seen those hands push people around, and yet here Junmyeon is watching him rub his thumbs over tomatoes under the running water. The difference is jarring, and Junmyeon wonders why he doesn’t see more of this Kris in school. He is broken out of his trance when Kris is done with the vegetables in his grip and moves to place them by the chopping board once more. Junmyeon feels himself blush as he hastily tries to follow Kris’ example and wash the vegetables.

When he makes it back to Kris’ side, Kris places a knife in his hands, and tells him to start chopping. When Junmyeon gives Kris a blank look, he gets another one of those fond smiles as Kris steps behind his smaller frame.

Junmyeon gets distracted again by the warmth of Kris’ body pressed against his own, and almost jumps when Kris reaches around to cover Junmyeon’s hands with his larger ones. He feels his face burn as Kris adjusts his grip on the knife and starts guiding his hands in slow up-and-down motions. When they get through the spinach, Kris releases him and backs away. Junmyeon is sure that his face is the same shade as the tomatoes.

He turns his head to peek back at Kris, and sees that Kris looks very much pleased with himself, if his large grin is anything to go by. Junmyeon flushes hot again.

He sets the knife down and turns on Kris. “You’ve been planning this, haven’t you!” Junmyeon pokes an accusing finger at Kris’ chest.

Kris laughs brightly and beams at Junmyeon, before turning to the stove.

“Of course!” Kris declares cheekily, “Everything has been part of my elaborate plan to get close to you. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

Kris looks too satisfied with himself for Junmyeon to get angry with him, but he throws a punch at Kris’ arm in childish retaliation for good measure. It only makes Kris grin more.

Junmyeon huffs and turns back to his vegetables, but he can’t stop the small smile that lifts the corners of his lips.

He slowly makes his way through the vegetables, careful to avoid slicing his own fingers. Behind him, he hears the ignition of the stove and the clang of pots and pans.

He turns back to Kris when he’s done, only to find Kris leaned against the opposite counter and watching him. He’s got a fond smile on his face and his eyes are so gentle that Junmyeon momentarily forgets how to breathe.

“You know I was serious, right?” Kris asks gently. “I really do like you.”

Junmyeon is stunned by the sincerity in Kris’ voice. It’s nothing like the arrogant facade he had used to confess the first time, and this time, Junmyeon nods.

Kris approaches him, getting really close, and Junmyeon’s whole body tenses with anticipation.

“And I know you like me too,” Kris states softly into the small space between them. There’s no doubt in his voice, but there’s no teasing either, and Junmyeon nods again.

Kris smiles softly, and reaches up to brush Junmyeon’s hair out of his eyes. Kris is being so gentle and it sends shivers through Junmyeon. He lets out a shuddering breath and Kris’ smile widens, that fondness back in his eyes. He holds Junmyeon’s face in his hands, tilting upwards and bringing Junmyeon’s face closer to his.

“Can I kiss you?” Kris whispers, so softly that Junmyeon would have missed it if they weren’t so close. Junmyeon lets out a breathless laugh, smitten beyond words that Kris actually asked for permission first.

Junmyeon leans in and closes the distance between them himself.

For all that Kris pretends to be tough and brutish, his kisses are anything but. He cradles Junmyeon’s face gently, as if Junmyeon is something so precious and fragile, as if he’s waited a long time to have him and hold him in his arms, that he’s worried that holding too tightly might make Junmyeon disappear from before him. It takes Junmyeon’s breath away, and his head is already spinning by the time their lips press together softly.

It’s a chaste kiss, undemanding and oh so gentle. When Kris pulls away, Junmyeon finds himself chasing after his soft lips before he catches himself and pulls back too.

Junmyeon’s eyes flutter open, and a slow grin spreads across Kris’ face. It conveys so much happiness, so much bliss, and the smile Junmyeon returns is just as bright.

They stand pressed together and exchanging languid kisses like that for minutes, neither wanting to move, both savouring the intimacy between them.

Eventually, the quiet is broken by the slow hiss of a pot on the stove, and Kris’ eyes widens comically. Junmyeon chuckles affectionately as Kris turns towards the stove, hands flying to grab a spatula.

Junmyeon walks towards him, and snakes his arms around the taller boy, pressing his face into Kris’ back. He feels Kris straighten in surprise and slowly relax into his arms. Smiling, Junmyeon squeezes Kris in his arms for a moment before letting go and letting him cook in peace.

***

The rest of the dinner preparation passes easily. They breeze through different topics of conversation, with Kris occasionally interjecting to call for different ingredients and Junmyeon moving around the kitchen in search of them. They eventually come around to the topic of Kris’ friends, and Junmyeon finds his chance to ask about the different rumours, Kris happy to oblige him and tell him the truth.

“Went to prison?” Junmyeon asks, referring to the rumour about Kris having been caught for shoplifting and drug possession.

“Nope,” Kris answers easily, “I never went juvee. I’m a year older than the other students in our level because I got held back a year when I moved here from China.”

“Hmm,” Junmyeon considers, “Zitao and the Chinese triads?”

Kris snorts at that. “Nah, that kid is a giant baby. But his family does own a Chinese restaurant though, we can go together some day if you like”

“Sure,” Junmyeon grins. “Oh, what about Chanyeol having sex with a teacher?”

Kris barks out a laugh as he cracks several eggs into a frying pan. “God, no. That boy’s been hung up on Jongdae for years.”

“What?” Junmyeon almost screeches, the mention of his best friend’s name had been completely unexpected.

“Yeah, apparently they were partnered up in gym class a few years ago and Chanyeol’s been convinced it’s true love ever since.” Kris chuckles, shaking his head. “Of course, he’s too shy and too stupid to actually do anything about it. That boy has no game, there’s no way he’d fuck a teacher.”

Junmyeon reels from this new-found information, but lets out a laugh at the fact that renowned playboy Chanyeol was actually the opposite of what everyone thought he was. In fact, he was starting to realise that most of the delinquent bunch weren’t what everyone had made them out to be.

“How come you guys never dispelled any of the rumours, when they’re obviously so far from the truth?” Junmyeon asks, handing over a plate of tomatoes that Kris then dumps in with the eggs.

Kris grins, almost bashful, and Junmyeon can see that he’s contemplating whether to reveal the truth to this question.

“Mostly, we like that people think we’re cool.” Kris chuckles, embarrassed at his own confession.

Junmyeon’s eyes widen, and laughter bubbles out of him. “You guys are literally giant nerds” He says accusingly, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Kris doesn’t deny it.

Suddenly, Junmyeon remembers Kyungsoo, and he gasps, his smile dropping so quickly that Kris turns to him in worry.

“What about that time you pushed Kyungsoo into the lockers.” Junmyeon asks, half afraid of the answer. It would be all well and good if Kris and his friends just looked intimidating and never hurt anyone, but Junmyeon had seen them terrorising poor Kyungsoo, there was no denying that.

Kris’ face clouds over with shame, and he turns back to his cooking, unwilling to look at Junmyeon.

“I felt really bad about that, I don’t know why I did it. I guess I got too into being the bad boy of the school or something.” Kris says uncertainly. “I found Kyungsoo after class that day and apologised to him.”

“Oh.” Junmyeon says flatly, unsure of how to respond.

“I never did it again though.” Kris insists urgently, as if he was worried that Junmyeon would think less of him otherwise.

Junmyeon nods in acceptance and clears his throat. “What about the smoking?” He asks, changing the subject.

“Oh, that’s real,” Kris says, shrugging. “I quit though. I noticed you always scrunched your nose every time I met you after a smoke.”

Junmyeon hides a pleased smile.

***

When they finish making dinner, they bring the dishes into the living room and set the plates down on the coffee table. They settle down on the sofa to eat as a movie plays on the television, sitting closer than strictly necessary with their shoulders pressed together.

Neither of them really pay attention to the movie, sneaking glances at each other and laughing when they’re caught, blush high on their cheeks. Neither of them can stop smiling.

Once they finish eating, Kris leads Junmyeon to his bedroom and Junmyeon immediately gets side-tracked when he notices that there is indeed a piano in the room.

“Do you play?” Junmyeon asks delightedly.

Kris smiles and nods, sitting down on the bench and patting the empty space beside him. Junmyeon gladly sits, pleased with the opportunity to press close to Kris again.

He watches as Kris poises his long fingers on the keys and starts to play. Junmyeon doesn’t recognise the song that drifts from the piano, but nonetheless becomes mesmerised by the way Kris’ fingers glide across the keyboard with practised ease.

Junmyeon didn’t think that he could be more charmed by Kris, but he finds himself proven wrong yet again.

***

It’s late by the time Junmyeon thinks to check his phone, and Junmyeon curses under his breath when he finds several texts from his parents asking where he is. Flustered, he finally tears himself from Kris’ side to gathers his belongings

Kris walks him to the door, and Junmyeon leans up on his tiptoes to shyly press another kiss to Kris’ lips, thanking him for dinner. He starts to say goodbye when Kris steps out of the house with him and slips on his shoes.

“I’ll walk you home.” Kris grins, and takes Junmyeon’s hand, interlacing their fingers and squeezing softly.

Junmyeon feels his face heat again, and he thinks that maybe it’s not so bad to be seduced by the likes of Kris Wu after all.