There were times when he thought that he didn't deserve all of this... happiness, when he saw the beautiful man who was asleep beside him. Light sheen of sweat covered his naked back. He moved his finger lightly on his back, making swirly motions, tracing the constellation of beauty marks peppering his back.

"Mm… that ticklish..." He lifted his arm and gestured to the other to snuggle with him, then kissed his nose fondly. "Come here baobao…"

They were content just by lying here, hearing each other's breathing, listening to the stillness around them.

It was one minute past twelve at night when Xiao Zhan opened his eyes and reached for something under his pillow.

"Happy first anniversary, baobao…" he gave the box to the surprised man.

"What…? Zhan-ge, you don't need to do this… besides our anniversary is not for another week, remember?" But he took the box nonetheless.

"This is the anniversary of our first meeting, when I was too intoxicated to properly ask you out." He chuckled. "Open it."

The box was the size of his palm and was made from velvet, the kind of a box that came from a high-end jewelry store. Yibo opened it to find a delicate necklace with a lion's head as the charm. Its mouth was opened and there was a big emerald inside the jaw.

He gasped at the sight of the beautiful necklace.

"Zhan-ge… this… this is too much, I know it must be very expensive… I-" he stuttered, but Xiao Zhan put a finger to shut him up.

"Shut up, gouzaizai… you know  that you are the most precious thing in my life, more than hundreds… no, thousands of this thing combined." He kissed Yibo and took the necklace to put it around his neck.

"There you are… perfect."

But his eyes were looking straight at Yibo, not the necklace.

Yibo was feeling overwhelmed by the surge of feelings that suddenly caught him by the throat, and as he was not as eloquent in words as Xiao Zhan was, he did the one thing he knew best.

He flipped Xiao Zhan down, and started to kiss him.

"So, I take it everything went well with Zhanzhan?" 

It was already five when Ji Li, the busybody, cornered him first thing when he walked downstairs, long after Xiao Zhan left. He was cleaning the apartment and put aside the groceries left by Xiao Zhan, and time flew by so fast.

"Depends on what your definition of well." Yibo idly wiped the table off the invisible dust.

"Did you make use of your new… supplies ?" Ji Li winked at him in such a lewd way it made him cringed.

"What supply… fuck , did you put the… stuff in my bedroom?" Suddenly he remembered what supply Ji Li was talking about.

"Well, yeah…? So I take it that you're not doing anything up there?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, it's none of your business." He continued to idly wipe the table.

"Mm…right." Ji Li shook his head then he walked away to start his inventory.

Yibo didn't have time to idle more because the after work crowds were starting to come and demanded his attention. He got five other male bartenders, all hot, and that was the main attraction here other than a good atmosphere, great food and live music every day.
Today though, all the crowds seemed to gather around one particular bartender. One particular new bartender.

Yibo was surprised when he came at seven on the dot and winked at him before talking to an equally surprised Ji Li about his job description. As if a bartender had any job description except making drinks and flirting with customers. And Yibo did notice a few men in black were also coming inside the bar, trying to be inconspicuous but failed miserably. 

He recognized one of the men, back when he and Xiao Zhan were still dating and gave him a little nod. That man must be having a headache now, with his boss' erratic behaviour, and it gave him a little satisfaction. Petty, he knew.

Since Xiao Zhan was with him all the time when he practiced his craft five years ago, he picked up a little skill, throwing bottles and such. And he did it with such a flourished manner, making the ladies swooned. Added the dimples and his charms to it, it became lethal.

Soon, the ladies swarmed around him, making requests, which he declined, saying he could only make basic cocktails, not the fancy, original ones from Purgatory. But the orders did not dwindle, and they were willing to wait as he painstakingly made each order slowly, carefully before he put it in front of the lady who ordered, with a smile on his face.

"Who was that?" Yizhou asked Ji Li, eyeing Xiao Zhan with some kind of predatory glance in his eyes.

"New bartender… I think." Ji Li glanced at Yibo, who was sitting at one of the corner tables, pretending not to look at Xiao Zhan. But Ji Li knew better.

"Should I… train him? Yizhou licked his lips in a blatant lust, making Ji Li slap him. 

"Hands off! He's… unavailable."

"Oh?" He looked at Ji Li questioningly, while Ji Li took a peek at Yibo.

"Ah…" Yizhou nodded in understanding.

"Guys…" Xue Yang came to them. "Do you feel some kind of… ominous presence here? At the bar? Especially from that corner?" He waved in the general direction of where Yibo was sitting.

"Keep doing that, and he will surely haunt you." Ji Li warned him, wiggling his finger in front of now cackling Xue Yang.

"What's wrong with him? I never see him getting so worked up over a new bartender… although I must admit, that man has a nice derriere…" Xue Yang rubbed his chin while giving Xiao Zhan a once over.

"Stop looking at his butt!!" Ji Li hissed and pushed Xue Yang away. "Start working, you guys! And no touching the new bartender allowed!"

Xiao Zhan was very aware that the other bartenders were talking about him, especially since they were all looking at him and whispering at each other like high school boys. 

He was also hyper aware of the killing stare Yibo sent him from his corner seat, but he was used to it. Yibo's bark was worse than his bite. He chuckled and continued making cocktails for the ladies.

-----

Yibo had trouble sleeping.

Ever since Xiao Zhan worked for him, two days ago, he could not sleep a wink.

He started to feel like a creep, following every movement that the older man made, and growled unconsciously when the other bartender got too chummy with him.

Xiao Zhan of course noticed, judging by his amused grin and the laughter in his eyes.

Now, he tossed and turned in his supposedly very comfortable bed, but he finally gave up and went to the bathroom to take a very cold shower.

He finished sometime later and got out from the bathroom only wearing a flimsy towel on his lower body, and another towel to dry his hair.

"Brunch is ready."

He yelped and jumped back, making the towel almost drop from the sudden movement.

"The fuck are you doing here? This is a breach of privacy! How did you even get in?" 

Xiao Zhan, looking gorgeous in his usual shirt and trouser, sat on his rumpled bed, eyeing him thoroughly.

"Ji Li gave me his spare key when I told him that I want to cook for you." He didn't move from his spot, and kept staring at Yibo. "You've aged beautifully." He said after staring for a while.

Yibo was taken aback by how blatant Xiao Zhan was. He used to be so… shy.

He didn't realize that he said it out loud, when Xiao Zhan gave him a sad smile before answering.

"People changed, you know?" Xiao Zhan shrugged and stood up. "I find it hard to be the best if I was still a shy guy like I was back then." There was a chillness in his tone, and it's making Yibo shiver.

"And I couldn't give you the love you deserve, if I wasn't standing on top of the world."

Yibo opened his mouth to try to tell him that it's not true, that he already loves him just like the way he is, but Xiao Zhan had already turned around and walked downstairs.

The first time they went on a date, Xiao Zhan brought him to a cozy, newly opened brunch place. It was so hype that the queue was a few hours long. 

They spent the time talking and talking and laughing, and when it's their turn, they were a giggling mess.
It turned out that the food was not as good as it looked. Sure it was pretty and all but the taste was… blah.

"I'm really sorry the food was not that good." Xiao Zhan muttered his apology when they went outside after leaving the food almost untouched.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Zhan-ge, we tried the hype and it's not up to our taste, so…" he shrugged. 

"I'm really sorry… I'm so bad at planning a date..." 

"Stop, don't be…" Yibo looked at the taller man, who looked sad, and reached for his hand. 

Xiao Zhan looked surprised and blushed, but he held on to Yibo's hand.

They strolled the seaside quietly, walking hand in hand, when Yibo spotted something in front of them.

He looked at Xiao Zhan, smiling.

"Do you want to play?"

He walked downstairs after wearing some shorts and shirt, and found Xiao Zhan had already been waiting for him at the table with food in front of him. He gestured to Yibo to sit and started to prepare the porridge and all the condiments, and put it in front of him.

"Eat while it's hot. I know you still have gastritis if you don't eat."

Yibo didn't say anything but he sat on the chair in front of Xiao Zhan and ate the porridge.

They were both eating in silence, with Xiao Zhan watching him like a hawk with every bite he took.
When he almost finished though, Xiao Zhan dropped the freaking bomb.

"Oh, by the way, I took the liberty of turning your spare bedroom into my temporary office. I hope you don't mind." He gave Yibo his most beautiful smile, dimples and all, and Yibo choked on the last piece of the sweet sausage he ate.

Xiao Zhan only gave him a glass of freshly pressed juice and Yibo drank it quickly.

"What do you mean your temporary office? Are you planning to stay here??" He was hyperventilating at the thought of Xiao Zhan spending more time in his vicinity. He was at his limit right now, he didn't want to know what would happen if Xiao Zhan did work here, in his apartment, from morning to afternoon, then bartending from night to… morning. That was practically 24 hours near Xiao Zhan.

"It will save time, I wouldn't have to spend time driving back and forth, when I could use the time to work here. "

Well, there's that…

But he would not back down that easily.

"You said you will talk to me about everything. Talk with me. So, how does this count as talking when you just decided for yourself to move here on your own, without asking for my permission?"

Xiao Zhan looked at him for the longest time.

"I'm sorry, I guess old habits die hard." He stood up from the chair and walked to the spare bedroom, then walked out a minute later dragging a medium suitcase and a laptop bag out. "I guess I'll be off then, driving for an hour instead of staying here, working, and spending more time with you, then drive back here later to work my night shift, then drive back to…"

"Fine! Fine, you can stay!" Yibo kneaded his throbbing head. He knew he was being manipulated, but how could he resist that doe eyes? Damn he was so weak…
Xiao Zhan threw him a triumphant smile then he walked closer to Yibo. 

"But I really am sorry, I should've asked you first before I decided to move in without your consent. I guess I'm just used to getting my way without asking anyone what they want." He tilted Yibo's chin upward, facing him. "Forgive me?" Then he pecked Yibo's lips lightly, making him flushed.

Yibo suspected that this was what the outcome that Xiao Zhan expected after all. 

Cunning bastard.

So this was how he's going to play.

Let's play then.