Salty Sweet

{Chapter 2}

The rest of the day was a blur. Taeyong couldn't focus on anything except the kiss. His leg was shaking up and down, eyes were glued to the clock. Finally, the bell rang. He had already put his books into his bag, so he jumped up and raced to the door. Taeyong could hear his teacher shouting about how he wasn't dismissed, but he didn't care. He had a tree to get to.

More waiting, more nervous ticks. Taeyong raised his arm too look at his watch every five seconds while his fingers drummed against his thigh. He tried to calm himself by going through dance moves in his head, but it didn't do any good.

After about 20 minutes of waiting and watching students steam out of the doors, Taeyong really began to worry. What if he screwed everything up? What if Sicheng decided that he didn't like Taeyong. What if-

"Hello!" Taeyong jumped at the voice behind him. It was just Sicheng. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey!" He tried to sound as casual as possible. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, sorry. The teacher had more work for me to do." Taeyong frowned slightly. That seemed kind of unfair to him. "But I'm here now!" Sicheng quickly added.

"Yeah, you're right," Taeyong patted the ground next to him. "Come sit."

Sicheng smiled and set his backpack down next to him as he sat. Taeyong well aware that their hands were dangerously close. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while just enjoying the nice day. It was almost too warm save for the cooling breeze blowing by.

Taeyong had always been upfront with his feelings. He didn't mind confrontation and would prefer talking rather than avoiding; however, this time it was different. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, he felt like is heart was jammed up his throat. He finally gave up on trying to explain his feelings. Well, for now. Instead, Taeyong lightly moved his pinky to touch Sicheng's. Neither boy looked down as their hands found their places around the other, fingers intertwining. Taeyong let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Out of the corner of his eye, Taeyong could see a hint of a smile playing across Sicheng's lips.

"Taeyong?" He said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I like you."

"I like you, too." The Chinese boy grin broke out into a smile. Traces of blush dusted his cheeks. In saying this, Taeyong finally attained the courage he had been grasping at for the last ten minutes.

"I like you. I like you a lot," Taeyong continued. "I want to be with you. So badly! I know this is crazy and that we literally met like, 9 hours ago. But I don't care." His voice slowly rose as he went on. "I've never liked anybody this much in my life! I'll scream it from the tops of mountains, I'll sing it in the shower, I'll text you every hour on the dot!" Taeyong stood up and grabbed Sicheng's other hand, pulling him up.

They began dancing around the schoolyard, crazy in love. They spun around and did cart wheels. Taeyong taught Sicheng some dance moves he was learning and Sicheng showed off his all the moves he knew. Such as the sprinkler. The two laughed at each other and with each other. Finally tuckered out, they laid on the grass, faces to the sky, the sun's rays warming their stomachs, and they watched the clouds. They held hands and pointed out shapes with their free one for a while before Taeyong began to drift off. The warmth of the day comforting him like a blanket.

"Hey, Tae." Sicheng nudged him with his shoulder.

"What?" Taeyong kept his eyes closed.

"Let's move to the shade. You can sleep there. I'll do my homework."

"Sounds good, Si."

They swung their arms as the walked back to the tree where they left their backpacks. Sicheng sat criss-cross as he pulled out his books. Taeyong stretched out beside him, head on Sicheng's leg.

"Oh no, this won't do." Taeyong said.

"Why? What do you mean?" Sicheng knit his eyebrows together. Did he do something wrong?

"How do you expect me to sleep like this? I can't stop looking at your adorable face." Taeyong pouted, pretending to be upset.

"Ah, stop that. Don't be cheesy. You're making me blush. I have work to do."

"Blushing just makes you cuter." At this, Sicheng lightly slapped his stomach, but Taeyong just grinned, knowing he had won, and closed his eyes.

While Sicheng really did try to do his homework, he was distracted by Taeyong. He wanted to run his hands through his silky hair and to trace his features. He wanted to plant kisses all over him from his forehead to the tip of his nose to his jaw. Taeyong stretched his arm up and laid his hand next to his head. He wiggled his fingers, signaling for Sicheng to take it. He gave in and slipped his hand into Taeyong's.

Neither boy said anything regarding their relationship ever. And they didn't need to. After that day, they knew exactly how each other felt towards the other. Nobody around them questioned their relationship either. The way they looked at each other is what some people would describe as true love. Each boy took up some habits of the other. For example, Taeyong actually began to turn is homework early and Sicheng started to drum his fingers on whatever surface they were on. This is how everybody, including themselves, knew that they were meant for each other. Not only that, but the way that they were always hanging onto each other like they were going to lose each other was another indication. Of course, neither Taeyong nor Sicheng were afraid of losing the other. Of course they had no reason to be afraid of that, but the two lovers were always touching some part of the other one. Holding hands, trailing their fingers along arms, and scratching their back. Nothing could have been more pure than this. Their love was stronger than any obstacle. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

"I love you, Taeyong."

"I love you more, Sicheng."