(n.) a tiny, brilliant flash or spark;

a small bright thing; a barely-visible trace

Baekhyun’s having trouble grasping the actual reason as to why he decided to follow this man up into his apartment. Hell, he can’t even begin to wonder why he trusted this man enough to begin with, enough to sit down in his car, without even talking to the stranger. All he had to go on was the initial appearance of the car that just happened to drive up near the club he had been in.

“Baekhyun?”

He’s much too quick to bring in another thought, thinking it could ease his heart, the one thing along with the rest of his body that is close to collapsing.

Hey, I do know his name.

“Baekhyun…”

It only does the opposite, the complete and catastrophic opposite.

“Baekhyun… um are you okay?”

He’s contemplating whether or not he should leave right now. None of this is a good idea, nor does it sound in any way appealing to him. No one in their right mind would ever do what he’s doing right now. Which seems like more than enough of a reason to want to leave right now.

“Baek!” he’s quickly pulled out of the realm of his thoughts and into the current reality by the same man who had knocked him out of it. Baekhyun takes a look around and notices a set of strong hands that holding his own shoulders, along with a gaze, sparked with concern, and it’s strange. He doesn’t know why but it does something to him and it’s definitely strange.

“You’ve been standing here for quite a while,” with a voice laced with concern, Chanyeol is finally relieved to have Baekhyun’s full attention, “And you haven’t been answering my question..”

“Oh, yes, no I’m okay,” the shorter is quick to step out of the younger’s grasp, “Sorry to hold you up. We should probably head inside, yeah?” And with that, Baekhyun makes his way through the already open door, courtesy to the man who stands before it, utterly confused as to why the man who had stepped into his car, a stranger’s car, without hesitation, is completely different than the man he is with right now.

Such a complex and riveting sight it is. Floors of a dark taupe grey cobblestone, Baekhyun almost fears that it’d be wrong to step outside the various shapes. Walls of contrasting textures and colors as he walks further along the entrance hallway and into the living room. With his focus fully directed towards its simple setting, consisting of a leather sofa and single chair surrounded by a glass coffee table, he’s put in quite the surprising situation as he turns to his left. He’s encountered by a mini bedroom, one of a size that is just enough to fit the bed. Quite thrown off, he stands there eyeing what’s in front of him.

“Ah, yes, it’s odd, isn’t it?” Chanyeol notices the smaller’s sudden astonishment towards something he’s used to everyday and finds it admirable, “ You get used to it though.”

“Ah.”

“So how about that cup of coffee… or hot chocolate?” The taller of the two walks over to the granite counter of the kitchen that had been hiding by the side of his bedroom. Baekhyun follows in pursuit, whilst murmuring that coffee is fine, still keeping a safe amount of silence. He doesn’t miss the other’s action, while on his way to the counter, of gesturing to him sit down on one of the stools by the counter. Baekhyun follows in pursuit, still keeping that same safe amount of silence. He also doesn’t miss how Chanyeol seems to know how his way around the kitchen. No, not how well someone knows where everything is in their kitchen. Chanyeol seems to know his way around the kitchen in a far more advanced way. He wonders if he’s some sort of chef, maybe a barista like he is. He then realizes that the other may not be aware and probably isn’t aware of how he likes his coffee.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun hesitates a bit, not wanting to interrupt the other’s flow or break his concentration, but the other responds with a hum as to let him know that he’s listening, and with that he continues, “Do you mind if I could… um… could you just make my cup without the cream and milk and all… I just like my coffee black.”

“That won’t be a problem, Baekhyun,” the other puts a certain emphasis on saying his name, and Baekhyun catches it yet does nothing more than nod briskly, dismissing it.

Although Chanyeol does not let his positive demeanor fade away, he can’t help but speculate further about the complexity, presented to him, that is Baekhyun. He can’t help but acknowledge how subtle, simple, and profoundly silent he is. Chanyeol thanks his current position, facing away from the other while he lingers around the coffee machine, one that he is surely not proud of, so that Baekhyun cannot catch how deep in thought he is, just like himself. At the same time, oddly, he curses his current position, facing away from the other while the other is also deep in thought, because it renders him incapable of seeing him… he’s grown quite fond of the other.

The coffee machine finally indicates that it has finished its job, and Chanyeol pours out enough of the beverage into two mugs.

“Are two spoons of sugar okay?” He rotates his head slightly to his right to barely see Baekhyun and hear his response, and he notes that the other had been staring at him, whilst in deep thought. A subtle hint of crimson rushes to his cheeks and he quickly looks back to the coffee, with a grin wider than any other.

Baekhyun notices that the other had noticed and, much to his dismay, the same occurs to him.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” In contrast to what he had been doing, Baekhyun does not look at Chanyeol while responding, instead he directs his attention to his fingers, picking at his nails. And with that, Chanyeol turns around, one mug grasped by each of his two hands, and takes two steps to set both mugs down at their respective place.

“Thank you.” The smaller says with a small voice and looks up to the one on the receiving end.

“No need,” Chanyeol leans on the side of the counter relative to the smaller and looks up, connecting their eyes, “it was my pleasure.”

Baekhyun’s breath hitches. His eyes. God, they’re so beautiful. Something about those eyes, there’s just something about Chanyeol’s eyes, that ignites a new flame in his chest. He hasn’t the slightest idea why but it does something to him and it’s definitely strange.

All he knows is that time stands still and he can’t seem to take his eyes off of Chanyeol’s eyes.

Time stands still.

It is not until both men are aware of the current situation, that they’ve been staring into each other’s eyes, that the two men break the stare, only to look back down to their mugs.

Silence ensues.

Baekhyun can hear the ticking of the clock, the pitter patter of the rain, the rustling of the trees, the turbulence of his heart.

Chanyeol, on the other hand, can hear absolutely nothing but the sound of his heartbeat, the reflection of the turbulence of his heart valves shutting, the blood making its way through the valves.

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