Finals week was coming around and Baekhyun ended up staying at the Wu’s so that Junmyeon could help him grade everything before the grades were due. Something that up until then had been a tradition solely between Chanyeol and himself.

That night Baekhyun had fought the urge to cry while he lay in bed in one of the Wu’s spare rooms. Jongdae was down the hall in the boy’s shared room. This whole visit a sleepover for him and extra work time for his Daddy. He didn’t question it. Baekhyun was ever so thankful his son hadn’t brought up the elephant in the room.

~~

Winter had settled in with an ease that Baekhyun disliked. He hated the cold. It always seeped into his bones and made him want to curl up under thousands of blankets. Anything to feel warm again. When Chanyeol was still a presence in his life, more than just the man who was asleep when he woke up, he used to wake up before Baekhyun and make him hot chocolate with peppermint extract on winter mornings. They’d cuddle up together and sip the hot chocolate before going about their days.

Now Baekhyun only made coffee for one in the morning before stopping by a Starbucks to get himself tea on the way to Jongdae’s school. He didn’t spend much time in the kitchen while his husband and son ate. He made himself scarce and tidied up the house or made the beds while he waited for his son to finish eating so they could continue with their daily routine.

The less time he spent with Chanyeol the better he felt. The less the numbness made itself known. The more he could be himself. Chanyeol was becoming a draining presence. Someone that made Baekhyun want to surrender and give in and not for any of the right reasons. It was for all the wrong reasons and to some extent he liked to believe that Chanyeol knew what he was doing to Baekhyun.

He began to start returning the favor of avoidance. He would show up in the kitchen to eat only after Baekhyun was safely ensconced In Jongdae’s room properly making the bed. This Baekhyun thought was much better. He couldn’t feel awful about Chanyeol if the other was completely gone from his life.

That thought didn’t go away.

~~

“How much would it cost to hire an attorney for a divorce?” He asked Junmyeon out of the blue one day. The blond turned to him with a look of pure confusion on his face.

“A divorce…attorney?” The question was slow and full of disbelief. Baekhyun nodded. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t want to divorce Yifan. I’ve never entertained the idea not even when we fight horrendously.”

“Well that’s what the internet is for Junmyeonie.” Baekhyun murmured with a dazed smile on his face. He pulled out his phone and googled his question. The answer wasn’t as high as he expected. “This is pretty reasonable. I need to start making plans.”

Junmyeon tilted his head, much like a puppy and stared at him.

“What?” Baekhyun looked up at him expectantly. How could his friend just stare at him like that? He needed to make these arrangements. Get everything in order. This was the next step. It obviously was. His relationship with Chanyeol was in tatters. Had been for quite a while if he wanted to be perfectly honest with himself.

The charade of a happy married life with a child wasn’t one they could pull off anymore. They never really did anyway. Jongdae knew his Daddy more than he knew his Appa and everyone knew that. Baekhyun knew that so very well.

“I just, I don’t think divorcing Chanyeol is a great idea. I know you guys are having problems. It’s quite obvious things have gotten worse instead of better but divorce? You guys have been together for so long. You two met before Yifan and I met. You were what twenty one? When you met. You’re about to be thirty. It’s a long time. Are you sure about this?” Junmyeon bit his lip in concern and Baekhyun sighed. He set his phone down and tapped his fingers on the table.

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Chanyeol isn’t my husband anymore anyway. He’s never home. We avoid each other now on purpose. I talked to him and things got better. I thought my husband was coming back to me. It didn’t last long and then he missed Jongdae’s birthday party. My son is old enough to remember these things. I won’t have him growing up with a neglectful father who is never around.” Baekhyun put his head down on the table in front of him. His dark brown hair the only thing he could really see.

“Well then for Jongdae’s sake you need to try at least one more time. Don’t do it for him or for yourself. Do it for your son.”

“Alright but let me tell you this now. This is going to go down in flames and when it does I’m going to come crying to you so you better be ready with the ice cream.” Baekhyun peeked through his hair to see the other nod.

“Okay but I don’t think it’ll come to that. Now come on. It’s way too quiet for our boys. They’re up to something.”

~~

Baekhyun went home that day to find Chanyeol sitting on their couch waiting. Jongdae was sleeping on his shoulder and Baekhyun ignored his husband in favor of putting his son to bed. It was late enough for Jongdae to sleep through the night but far earlier than usual for Chanyeol to be home.

Home. The word made something wicked rise up in Baekhyun. He put it aside. That was something he didn’t want to think too much about. A lot of things were like that these days.

“Baekhyun we need to talk.” Chanyeol’s voice was soft but in the quiet house it could be heard despite the distance. Baekhyun made his way to the living room and took a seat in one of the arm chairs that faced the couch. He waited for the other to continue but Chanyeol merely stared at him. As if seeing him for the very first time all over again. Baekhyun didn’t like the look in the other’s eyes and cleared his throat.

“Well? What do you want to talk about?” The words were clipped, harsh.

“I want to talk about this. About us. What’s happened? We aren’t happy anymore. We avoid each other. I can’t even remember the last time we had . That’s not important though not in comparison to everything else. Do you even love me still?” There was a quiet desperation in Chanyeol’s voice. It pierced through the numbness that had already begun to overtake Baekhyun’s entire being. It brought to the forefront the emotions that Baekhyun had decided he could ignore.

The love. The pain. The hurt. The confusion. The rejection. It all came tumbling back and he couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down his face. Oh but he loved Chanyeol. Loved him so fiercely and relentlessly. It had been Chanyeol and Baekhyun for so long. The very idea of it no longer being Chanyeol and Baekhyun tore a sob out of him.

Baekhyun broke down then. There was just too much bottled up inside, too much that he’d decided to set aside and ignore. He was just as guilty for the failing of their marriage as Chanyeol was. Chanyeol may not have been around but Baekhyun didn’t really try. He’d made two efforts and stopped trying after. Had pushed things aside and decided to live in a state of numbness instead. He’d ruined it too.

“Oh Baekhyunnie don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’ll…I’ll be better. I’ll be home. I’ll kiss you and show you how much I love you. You and Jongdae. You’re my family. I’m lost without you. I swear I am.” Chanyeol’s voice was unsteady as he tried to comfort Baekhyun. Baekhyun had curled up in the armchair, trying to keep his sobs quiet so as to not wake up Jongdae.  Chanyeol had moved from his spot on the couch to kneeling by Baekhyun. He took Baekhyun’s small hands in his and raised them his lips, a soft kiss brushing his knuckles.

The reassurances made Baekhyun cry harder. He’d gotten to the point where he’d twisted Chanyeol into the villain of the story. He’d taken the words of comfort and associated them with lies. Had let the warmth his husband gave turn into a mere hallucination. Everything that he’d ever loved about Chanyeol had become warped. It had been distorted.

“I’m sorry. So sorry. I love you. I do. Please believe me. Chanyeol please believe me. Please please…” His words were pleads. Begging for forgiveness. Needing it.

“Baekhyun, I love you too. I’m sorry. We’ll make it work. We’ll fix this. I promise.” Baekhyun slid to the ground and threw himself into Chanyeol’s arms. The sobs not stopping but far quieter now. His husband’s arms came around him to pull him closer and Baekhyun clung to Chanyeol like his life depended on it.

They stayed that way for so long that Baekhyun lost track of the time. Content to simply take comfort in the arms of the man who still loved him. The man who would make the effort to keep things alive. For him Baekhyun would try because the love was still there. He still wanted the rest of forever with his husband.

The thought of a divorce slipped from his mind. Locked itself away to be forgotten.

~~

This time the change lasted longer than a couple weeks. Winter wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been before. Spring bloomed bright and beautiful and full of hope. His life was coming back together. Chanyeol had kept to his promise and was always home around the same time every day. Weekend became their family time which they spent sometimes in the company of the Wu’s and sometimes alone.

They’d finally come to a place where everything was right. Where the kisses existed again and the passion burned fiery hot. Baekhyun became accustomed to falling asleep in Chanyeol’s arms again. He took his coffee in the morning like before and stopped going by Starbucks. Breakfast was a family affair again.

Life seemed so very perfect now. So undeniably good again.

“Baekkie baby.” Chanyeol murmured into his ear and Baekhyun blushed as he turned around to stare at his husband. His hands were behind his back, clearly hiding something. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow questioningly. Chanyeol grinned and pulled out a beautiful bouquet of light pink and white roses.

Cliché as it might have been to love roses, Baekhyun did. He thought they were gorgeous. They meant strength to him because if something so beautiful and seemingly delicate could protect itself than what else could it be but strong?

He smiled happily and took the roses from the taller man’s hands. Inhaling the rich scent of the roses before setting them down on the counter gently and moving into his husband’s personal space. He wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and kissed him. Gave him his thanks in the kiss. Chanyeol groaned against him and drew him in closer, hands on Baekhyun’s waist. Before the kiss could get any more heated a small voice interrupted them.

“Appa! You’re home! Could you help me with my homework?” Jongdae asked from the doorway of the kitchen, a small notebook clasped loosely in his hands. Chanyeol pecked Baekhyun’s lips before going over to their son.

“Of course. Let’s finish quickly so we’ll be right on time for dinner. Whatever Daddy’s making smells delicious, right?” Chanyeol murmured to Jongdae and the little boy nodded in agreement. Taking Jongdae’s tiny hand in his own Chanyeol led the way out.

Baekhyun leant back against the counter for a moment, just catching his breath and trying to calm his racing heart. He spun around quickly and got into action. Checking nothing had burned while he kissed Chanyeol before putting the rose in a crystalline vase Junmyeon had brought him one day after he’d seen the small jar Baekhyun had been using as a substitute vase.

He set the beautiful flowers on the windowsill above the sink before finishing up dinner. He set the table and began serving up the portions. Chanyeol’s significantly more than Baekhyun’s. Jongdae’s separated because he was finally going through the phase where his food couldn’t touch or it would be gross. Everything done and water cups already poured, he leant out the doorway of the kitchen and called for his boys. The sound of two sets of steps coming his way brought a smile to his face.

~~

“Aren’t you glad I talked you into not getting that divorce?” Junmyeon murmured while they watched their husbands play with the boys. Both of the tall men were dressed casually for once and running around with the kids, just as energetic.

“I was having a moment of weakness but yes thank you. I don’t think I could survive a divorce anyway. I love him far too much to make it out in one piece.” The undertone of thanks was obvious to the older of the two. The blond nodded in acceptance.

“I’m always here for you. We’ve been best friends for so long now Baekhyun. I know when to call you on your and when to encourage you to do things. It’s part of the job.”

“You should write a book on it Junmyeon. You’d get even more loaded then.”

“Like I need any more money for Tao to spend.”

“Again did I call it or did I call it?”

“You called it…”

“Thank you.”

~~

A/N: So things have gotten better for the boys. Told you guys it would happen. They just needed to communicate. Thanks for reading and as always subscribe, comment, upvote. I love knowing what you think and I love your support. On a sidenote (because who doesn't love HP Au's?) if you have the time could you perhaps take a look at the HP Au I'm writing with a good friend of mine? It's called Dumbledore's Army (2.0) and any and all support would be appreciated. Enough of my shameless promoting. Thanks for reading! See you soon~