Paper Boats // xiaodery

twenty

"Fuck." Hendery cursed, scrambling out of his comfortable bed. He was not fully awake yet, therefore he almost stumbled onto the floor from getting up so fast.

He just checked the date on his phone and he realized today was really important - it was Xiao Jun's birthday.

He rubbed his eyes as he brushed his teeth quickly, trying to think of something he could do for this special day.

Once he finally decided on what he was gonna do, he ran downstairs, immediately swinging open the door of the pantry.

"What are you doing Hendery?" he heard his mother ask from the living room.

"It's Xiao Jun's birthday so I'm gonna make him a cake." he replied, dumping all the ingredients onto the counter.

He was off in a second, throwing all the stuff into the mixer with care. While he was making the cake, his mom came to check it out.

"I've never seen you so enthusiastic about baking before." she smiled, watching her son pour the batter into the pan.

He chuckled. "I'm kinda in a rush."

"Why are you in a rush?" It's only 10am."

"I'm planning to spend the whole day with him."

"Oh." she nodded her head. "You really like him, don't you?"

A red blush rose on Hendery's cheeks at the question. "Yeah, I do."

He told his parents him and Xiao Jun were in a relationship and he was blessed enough to have them accept this kind of thing.

After the cake was frosted and decorated, he carefully packed it up. Hendery ran back upstairs, settling at his desk and pulling out a green piece of paper. Xiao Jun had mentioned briefly his favorite color was green.

He grabbed a pen and wrote the message, then delicately folded it into a paper boat.

Smiling at the results, he slipped it into his backpack and went downstairs to grab the cake.

—

A sleepy Xiao Jun with messy hair opened the door.

"Hi." he greeted, voice raspy as he let the other boy into the house. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the box Hendery placed on the counter.

"It's a cake I made." he replied before extending his arm, wrapping it around Xiao Jun's waist.

"Happy birthday." he smiled, before sweetly pecking his boyfriend.

"Oh." was all Xiao Jun said. "I forgot it was my birthday."

"How did you forget your birthday? Your twentieth birthday specifically?" Hendery widened his eyes.

Xiao Jun shrugged. "I guess after I turned eighteen it doesn't really matter anymore."

"Aw, I don't say that." the other kissed his nose. "It's always important."

Xiao Jun smiled before walking to the bathroom to make himself look more presentable. When he came out, he walked up to the counter and unboxed the cake.

"Wow." he examined the frosted treat. "You made this yourself?"

"Yup." Hendery smiled, a tinge of pride laced through his tone. "Do you like it?"

"Of course I do." Xiao Jun grinned, planting a kiss to the other's cheek. "Thank you so much."

They cut out a (large) piece of cake, grabbing forks and beginning to share it.

"Open up birthday boy." Hendery teased, placing a forkful of cake into his boyfriend's mouth, who gleefully chewed it.

"This is good." Xiao Jun said after swallowing. "You're a great baker."

Hendery's sweet chuckle wavered through the air. "Let me try some."

He leaned forward, pressing his lips against Xiao Jun's. Their lips molded together perfectly, moving in sync, as Hendery cupped his boyfriend's cheeks, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. He knew the cake he made would taste decent, but damn did it taste a hundred times better when it was on Xiao Jun's lips.

"Good?" Xiao Jun asked, breathless.

Hendery nodded, his hands dropping from Xiao Jun's face. He instead entwined their fingers together.

"Finish your breakfast. I have another gift to give you at the docks." Hendery said softly.

The other male raised his eyebrows, his lips tugged into a faint smile. "Okay."