Light in the Dark

Part Two

The early morning sunlight filtered through the half-open curtains, illuminating the room with a soft yellow glow.  It caught on the pale red of Baekhyun’s hair, the glaring white of the bedsheets, and the peachy warmth of skin.

            He lay with his arms up against the pillows and the rest of his body flat save his right leg.  His chest rose and fell with his steady breaths.  His mouth was open, and he snored quietly.

            Her face was hidden under his right arm, and she was snoring louder than he was.  She was basically in fetal position underneath the blanket, snuggled up against his side.

            Baekhyun opened an eye and closed it immediately after the sunlight nearly blinded him.  His left hand went to his stomach and rested there.  His right arm was still asleep, but he didn’t dare to move it.  He drifted back into a light slumber, until Taeyeon made a little sound and he instinctively glanced at her to make sure she was alright.  She shifted so that she lay on her stomach, her face still facing him.

            Her expression became mildly panicked as her hand searched for his on top of the pillow.  When her fingers found his, she clenched them tightly and then her face relaxed.

            This action, a striking reminder of her neediness, made Baekhyun's heart constrict.

            He reached with his other hand and her cheek gently before leaning over to kiss her eyebrow.

            “Omo... Are you leaving?” she asked suddenly, her voice smeared with sleep.  Baekhyun wasn’t even sure if she was awake or not.

            “Not yet.”  he whispered.  “Sleep, nae sarang.”

            She sighed and kissed his side before falling into deep sleep again.

            Baekhyun moved his right arm so he hugged Taeyeon even closer to him.  He made a face as pins and needles went off like firecrackers in his arm. 

            He raked his other hand through his hair.  He lay in relative silence for a long while, drifting in and out of sleep.

            Then he heard noises behind the door that conjoined Taeyeon’s room to Tiffany and Seohyun’s.

            .  He thought.  For whatever reason, he decided that the best course of action was to pretend that he was asleep, too, so that's what he did.

            Tiffany entered the room quietly, her facial expression quite neutral as she approached the bed.  She shook Baekhyun’s shoulder gently.

            “Baekhyun...” she whispered.

            After a moment, he opened an eye to look at her and pretended to wake up.  He pulled the blanket over himself.

            “Noona...”  he said.

            She didn’t know what to say.  Her face said all sorts of things.

            “Noona, Taeyeon... she--“

            “I know.”  said Tiffany.  “...You should leave now, though, before our manager gets here.  That would be a nightmare.”  She met his eyes for a moment before turning and walking out.

            Baekhyun closed his eyes tightly, trying desperately to hold onto a moment that was rapidly slipping from his grasp.  Tears smarted in his eyes as he carefully removed his arm from underneath Taeyeon’s sleeping head.  His muscles screamed at him, painfully reminding him of the grueling day he had yesterday and the day that he had ahead of him.  His back hurt terribly.

            He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over and burying his hands in his hair as he waited for the pain in his back to recede.  Taeyeon reached over and placed her hand on his spine.  Her cold touch sent a jolt through his nerves.  He turned, ignoring his back, and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her towards him rather roughly.  Sitting her on his lap, he pressed his palms into the dip of her lower back.  The pose somehow felt both submissive and possessive to her.  She gasped when he kissed her, having been caught off-guard by his unexpected intensity.

            “I have to go.”  he whispered, in-between kisses. “I--“

            “Baekhyun--“

            “Taeyeon.”

            A sob caught in as they just sat there for a minute, nose-to-nose.

            “Taeyeon.”  he repeated, his voice calmer now.  She opened her eyes and looked at him.  “Smile.”

            She managed, and he returned the smile.  He laid her back on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, not taking his eyes off of hers until he got up to