If anyone asked, Baekhyun would say that his love for Chanyeol was inordinate. He would use words such as pure, shameless, passionate, intense, patient, and illogical to describe the man he cherished. Their love could only be described as everlasting; and an everlasting, devoted love was what they promised each other when they exchanged their vows under the soft veiled canopy on the beach where they’d first met. Baekhyun’s love for Chanyeol was boundless, and every moment he spent with Chanyeol was divine. 

Their love was built on trust and a shared dream; the dream of building a happy family together. Of course, they each had their own dreams as well. For Chanyeol, he wanted financial stability; he yearned to rise up in the social ladder, and to be recognized as the great man that his parents had always wanted him to be. For Baekhyun, his dream was simply to stay by Chanyeol’s side; to be his comfort and his safe haven. 

For Baekhyun, Chanyeol was his dream. 

The first year of their marriage was pure bliss. After returning from their honeymoon - courtesy of Chanyeol’s parents - they both went back to work, focusing on their own careers. After a few short months, and countless hours of overtime, Chanyeol had received the promotion he’d been pining after. Baekhyun’s small bakery was doing sufficiently well also. 

No matter how long the hours, or how tired they were by the end of the day, they both made sure to make time for each other. Every evening, Baekhyun would arrive home first and would begin his daily routine of preparing dinner. Chanyeol would come home shortly after, usually exhausted from the day’s work, but never too tired to wrap his his arms around his petite husband as the other man cooked. Baekhyun was never good at cooking, but what he made, he made with his love and soul; and Chanyeol would always eat every morsel. When dinner was finished, they would both tidy up together, usually alternating as one person washed the dishes while the other dried and put them away. 

At the end of the night, they would both snuggle in bed, talking over their days. Chanyeol would animatedly rehash his day’s event with the business lingo that Baekhyun could never clearly comprehend; and Baekhyun would tell him about the few customers that he’d sparked conversation with that day. They were opposites, from two completely different worlds; but it was their differences that attracted them to each other. Chanyeol was the dependability that Baekhyun needed in his life, and Baekhyun was Chanyeol’s breath of fresh air. 

Every night, before they closed their eyes and allowed sleep to overcome them, Baekhyun would stretch up to place a soft peck on Chanyeol’s lips; and Chanyeol would hug Baekhyun tight, burying his nose into the nook of the brunet’s neck and inhaling the soft, powdery scent that was distinctly Baekhyun.

As with any relationship, disagreements were bound to arise. Their fights never lasted long, however, usually only stretching to a maximum of four hours before one of them - usually Chanyeol - caved in and apologized. 

“Come on, B,” Chanyeol whined, trailing after the petite brunet with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “I said I was sorry.”

Baekhyun huffed as he tried to hide his smile. He’d forgiven Chanyeol the moment the man walked through the door with the familiar pout and flowers in hand; but Chanyeol didn’t need to know that.

“Baekhyunnn,” Chanyeol whined again, taking the few steps necessary in order to intercept Baekhyun, blocking his way. “Look, they’re your favorite,” Chanyeol said, showing off the pale lilacs. 

Baekhyun couldn’t hold back the smile anymore as he’d taken the flowers, sniffing them gently. “You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered,” Chanyeol said, framing Baekhyun’s shoulders with his hands. “Purple lilacs stand for first love - our love.” Baekhyun placed the flowers down, stood on his toes, and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck. “Do you forgive me now?”

“Of course I forgive you, Giant.”

It wasn’t that they fought often; they were both really good with letting the other know their feelings. Their biggest disagreement had been during their third year of marriage, when Baekhyun had told Chanyeol that he wanted to expand their family.

“Yeol, let’s adopt a baby.”

Chanyeol paused, lowering his coffee mug back down as he observed his husband. “Baekhyun, I thought we’d agreed that we would focus on our careers first.”

“But-“

“We don’t have the time for a kid right now.”

“Chan-“

“And we’re happy the way we are-“

“NO!” Baekhyun slammed his hands on the table, efficiently shutting Chanyeol up. “You wanted to focus on your career. You don’t have time for a kid right now. You think we’re happy, but I’m not, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened at Baekhyun’s outburst, but he remained quiet as Baekhyun continued, his eyes becoming more and more wet with each word.

“I’ve always supported you, Chanyeol, but enough is enough. I barely get to see you anymore; we barely even talk anymore. You’re always at work, and when you come home you’re always so tired that you just shower and then sleep. We used to spend so much time together…” Baekhyun stood, taking the few steps over to Chanyeol. “All of this,” he gestured to their spacious flat, “it all means nothing to me without you; if I can’t be with you. I’d rather be homeless and be able to spend every waking moment with you than live in luxury and never get to see you. I don’t need all of this, Chanyeol,” he placed a gentle hand upon Chanyeol’s shoulder. “I just need you. I need us, together. I need a family.”

They’d decided to hold off on adopting, but Chanyeol had surprised Baekhyun one day, coming home with a small puppy in his arms. 

“For now,” Chanyeol had promised. “The puppy can keep you company in my place for now. Just give me a little bit more time, B. Things will get better as soon as I get this promotion. Then we’ll take the next step; then we’ll expand our family, okay?”

Baekhyun had nodded, reluctantly agreeing. A dog would never be able to take Chanyeol’s place; it wouldn’t be able to embrace him like Chanyeol; or kiss him, sending shivers down his spine and give him butterflies in his stomach like Chanyeol; but for now, a puppy would do. 

The moment he saw Buddy he was in love; the three-month old Bichon Frise puppy had scampered into Baekhyun’s life and stolen his heart. 

“Isn’t he so cute?” he had asked, holding the squirming ball of white fluff for Chanyeol to see. “He’s perfect, Chanyeol. Thank you!”

“As long as you like it.”

Buddy had done a good job in keeping Baekhyun distracted; but he didn’t make Baekhyun forget. There was still that empty feeling he felt every morning when he saw Chanyeol off to work; and the bed still remained cold as he settled in for sleep at the end of the day. Buddy was Chanyeol’s way of making it up to him; to make him feel less alone. While the dog had done a sufficient job in keeping Baekhyun occupied, the pitiful look that Buddy gave Baekhyun every morning when he left for work mirrored Baekhyun’s expression when Chanyeol raced out of the house, and reminded him of how lonely he truly was. 

The second bump in their relationship emerged not long after they’d celebrated their fourth anniversary.

Chanyeol had started coming home later and later; sometimes, he wouldn’t even come home at all. Baekhyun was left to succumb to a fitful sleep most nights, only to wake in the morning, dejected, to find the other half of the bed untouched. 

On some occasions, Chanyeol wouldn’t return home for days, his excuse being that he had to go on business trips. 

“You’ve never had to go on business trips before,” Baekhyun had pointed out sadly when he’d received the call from his husband telling him he wouldn’t be home for a week. “Why so much now?”

“I’m rising up the ladder, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol had sighed in response. “They trust me now.”

What began as a few days turned into weeks; and the weeks turned into months. On the rare occasion that Chanyeol was home, he would always be too tired to do anything.

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