Baekhyun confidently walks through the door right on time, dressed in his polished shoes and perfectly ironed office suit and tie. He takes off his stylish black sunglasses, gifting a brilliant smile to everyone gathered inside the broad, sunlit space. He drops off his daughter like any other day, with a peck on the cheek and a reminder to be good.

“Good morning, Baekhyun! How’s our little girl today?” Kyungsoo approaches them by the door, smiling widely and patting Lay’s hair. The little girl giggles in Baekhyun’s arms. From his big smile to his bright sky blue t-shirt, Kyungsoo really is Mr. Sunshine, always happy and smiling around the children, always helping them and cheering them up. His true self is a bit darker, if Baekhyun may say so as a personal friend, but only a tad bit. Think ‘dark lord of the underworld’, something like that.

“Good morning, Kyungsoo; we’re good today, very cheerful~” Baekhyun smiles at Kyungsoo, shifting her in his arms. She has been such a bundle of sunshine since she woke up this morning, all smiles and giggles; not to imply she’s moody on other days, but today there is a particularly happy and energetic aura about her. Baekhyun can’t guess yet what sort of changes in her small world make her so happy on some days, but he loves it when his daughter is joyful and cheery from the moment her eyes open to the light of day, brightening his day like the sun never could. Lay starts babbling fast, to respond to her teacher.

((Kyungie teacher! Tall man who paints dokkie-dokkies on boo-boos stayed for dinner before I slept this nighty-night! He gave me sweet nom-noms, which is called cake, and I think I tasted heaven! –whatever that is…Is heaven pinky-pink? And my tummy was happy! I am happy!))

“She’s in a very good mood, I can tell” Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows in surprise and Baekhyun chuckles. She’s been chatty like this since she woke up –and he seriously hopes he’s not missing anything important in her speeches. He hands over her bag of necessities to Kyungsoo first, keeping her in his arms for a just little while longer; no matter how many mornings they do this, he’ll never be able to let her go easily. It is funny how even Lay has gotten used to it by now, but he’s still about to cry whenever he leaves her in the capable hands of Kyungsoo. Said hands suddenly clap and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen, as if he has just remembered something important. “Oh, Baekhyun, this is a standard reminder for all parents: we’ll be closing for the summer in a week”

Say what?

Drop a bomb on him and his brain would probably process it more calmly than this.

“What? Already?!” Baekhyun’s eyes widen in alarm, clutching Lay close to him reflexively. Closing for the summer?! Throughout all the three months of summer? This is disaster, how can such a thing happen?! What is he going to do with her in the mornings? He can’t take her to work, and he doubts they will let him switch his schedule so suddenly to accommodate the change in their daily lives. He can’t ask Chen to babysit her regularly either, and he really doesn’t want to resort to his mother concerning Lay’s care, for various reasons. Baby daycare is so convenient; it helped him survive his first year as a working parent, why does it have to end?!

Baekhyun takes a big breath and composes himself, pausing the mental breakdown and postponing it for later. The point is, he has only one week of safe routine ahead of him before his life explodes. Oh great.

“It’s summer already, I need to rest too” Kyungsoo deadpans, but then his face softens “I know single parents rely on daycare immensely and the change in your schedule will probably be hard. Most people usually ask for their parents’ help, or maybe I could suggest a few reliable babysitters for you?” Kyungsoo blinks his big eyes calmly. He knows Baekhyun doesn’t have an optimal relationship with his parents or a partner to rely on in his life, so Baekhyun appreciates the thought. Not wanting to make any rush decisions as to who will be his child’s caretaker for the coming three months, Baekhyun shakes his head with a polite expression. He knows he doesn’t have much time at his disposal, but he needs to think about it calmly first; and maybe eat the rest of Chanyeol’s delicious cake for consolation, deploring his sad, lonely life.

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind and see what I can do” he reassures Kyungsoo, hugging Lay tightly one last time before giving her to Kyungsoo’s skilled arms. He feels so empty without her weight against him, but he smiles and waves at his daughter nonetheless. She waves back cheerfully, mumbling as always, probably some sort of parting lines that Baekhyun has yet to decode alongside the rest of her speech. “Bye, honeycomb~ Listen well to your teacher, okay? Bye, Kyungsoo, I appreciate the reminder” he waves at Kyungsoo as well, who smiles a heart-shaped smile, but it gleams mischievously in his eyes, sparking Baekhyun’s interest and keeping him in his place for a moment longer.

“Then take me out to lunch, Byun!” he sasses playfully, right in the middle of a room full of children and their curious mothers, ever so uncaring about being discreet and subtle. Baekhyun laughs at Kyungsoo’s request; they haven’t had lunch together in a while, but that’s the life of a single parent for you, and it’s only about to get more hectic with Lay at home every day, so lunch with his friend or any social life at all sounds ridiculously impossible at the moment. Kyungsoo opens his eyes wide, being earnest. “I mean it! I need to hang out with someone who is not five years old or younger!”

--

All week he had been trying to think of an excuse to visit them, but sadly, nothing came to mind. So, after a few days of endless pacing around in his house, tossing and turning at night, a few burnt batches of cookies and an epic defeat by Chen at Mario Kart, Chanyeol gave up his quest with a heavy heart. He can’t see how a lonely bachelor like himself can fit in the daily life of a certain happy family across the street, much as he’d wish he could. They seem so far away and he feels so unnecessary. If he can’t find a reason to approach Baekhyun and Lay, maybe there is no reason for him to be there at all and meddle with their lives, maybe it’s simply not meant to be, maybe this isn’t a second chance with Baekhyun from the gracious universe like Chanyeol likes to imagine in secret for the past few weeks, every night before he goes to bed.

Maybe Chanyeol is cursed to wilt and fray, lovesick for something which is always so near yet so out of reach, always the most unattainable of all the things he’s ever wished for on Christmases and birthdays. Three years ago he had the perfect chance but he let it go in favor of making precious memories. Falling in love with Baekhyun was the easiest thing Chanyeol has ever done; admitting it to him has always been the hardest. In fact, even though the opportunities were plenty, he never confessed, afraid it would break their beautiful friendship. And now, he feels like there is even more at stake beyond their friendship; there’s Baekhyun’s life, and Chanyeol’s life, and a child. Chanyeol doesn’t want to make mistakes with Baekhyun, but that only means he’s doomed to gather feelings forever, quietly and secretly, and Baekhyun will never know.

In which case, he needs to reevaluate his life and find a way to live quietly, without any aspirations or new dreams, the natural outcome after spending a few months –or possibly years– feeling helpless and thinking life is pointless, refusing to go out in the sunlight and eating endless amounts of ice cream, because fate is cruel and refuses him happiness. There is no rest, no comfort, no hope for the lovesick people who are denied of their destiny –twice in their lives– so he shall accept the life of a hermit, doomed to live in suffering evermore, devoting his life to his love which will never be acknowledged.

But let’s not get dramatic yet, because he doesn’t have any solid reason to be so desperate.

So far, things with Baekhyun are…okay. He usually greets him and his daughter on the street if they happen to cross paths, before scampering away to hide inside his house and watch them sparkle in the afternoon sunshine outside, poised behind his window. He has been acting very ridiculous, borderline stalker, with all his six foot limbs awkwardly tangled and poorly hidden behind a piece of glass with the best view of the Byuns’ front yard, but it has become part of his daily routine, a necessary part of his everyday life, to watch Baekhyun and Lay leave their house for a walk, for shopping or to play in the yard. They always look so happy and for some reason it wrecks his heart that he can’t be happy by their side. This longing Chanyeol has been feeling should not be, he knows it, but he can’t help it. He gets moody and he can’t focus on his compositions if he doesn’t see them, as if the angels refuse to whisper melodies to him.

A man can live like this only for so long.

There was no arrangement this time or any special occasion; Chanyeol simply felt like baking a peach pie and visiting Baekhyun and his daughter. He is being impulsive but hopeful, because he can’t bear the feeling of the butterflies dying one by one inside his stomach anymore; it makes him sick. Maybe Chanyeol can’t have a chance at something special with Baekhyun, but he can try to be happy knowing him, right? Chanyeol has convinced himself he needs to spend some time getting to know to Baekhyun again, because Baekhyun is the same but also different now, and those differences pull Chanyeol in like never before, as if Baekhyun is now a magnificent creature, more radiant and attractive and wonderful than he used to be. Chanyeol wants to know this creature as well as he used to know the old Baekhyun once, he wants to stay near and grow in a small corner under its brilliant light.

The sun has not started to set yet when he leaves his house in bare essentials, not even bothering to bring his phone. It’s not like he needs any of that –and the thought that he can leave behind everything he has in life so easily is somewhat terrifying, but it also makes sense; Baekhyun has always had a way of climbing up Chanyeol’s survival priorities and, even though this time it happened much sooner than the last, it’s clear that he has reclaimed his spot very near the top of that list once again. With a peach pie in hand, waving kindly at the neighbors and their children playing outside –god, they’re everywhere– he crosses the street and knocks on the door.

There’s no answer at first and Chanyeol fears for a moment that they might not be home. It’s a weekday, so maybe there is shopping or an outdoor activity on their schedule; but then Chanyeol remembers that he has stalked his neighbors today as well, and he doesn’t remember seeing Baekhyun leaving the house or having any guests, so he must be inside. He knocks again, and then he hears the voices from inside. There are Lay’s distinct giggles and squeals, and Baekhyun’s voice saying things Chanyeol can’t make out and exclaiming or laughing in between “vrooooom”s and “pheeeeews” and other childish noises. Chanyeol smiles; this much hasn’t changed about Baekhyun, playful as ever.

The door opens suddenly to reveal a considerably out of breath Baekhyun, with rosy cheeks, tussled hair and ruffled clothes, holding an equally flushed and smiley Lay. Baekhyun’s eyes widen when he sees Chanyeol, but it’s a good sort of surprise that appears on his face. “Oh, Chanyeol, hi!” he greets, shifting Lay in his arms to hold her better. It’s obvious that Chanyeol has interrupted their games, but neither seems to mind. He holds the round plate he’s brought for them higher and smiles his best smile.

“Peach offering?” he hopes that pun was not too lame. At least Lay appreciates it, because she recognizes the word and her eyes widen, looking at the pie as if it’s an unheard of wonder of the world, her lips gaping. Baekhyun blinks at the plate in surprise for a moment, as if he’s not sure what it is right away due to its sudden appearance, and then he narrows his eyes at Chanyeol, but the smile keeps playing on his lips, betraying his stern expression.

“You just want to feed her again, don’t you?” he accuses and Chanyeol laughs heartily at that. It’s true that he made peach pie because he thought Lay would like it, but it wasn’t his intension to feed her again; feeding her is a wonderful experience but he doesn’t want to give her too many sweets, because Baekhyun would get mad and because it doesn’t seem right to give too much sugar to a child in any case. But if this accusation just now was also an offer, Chanyeol would be delighted to do the honors of feeding her this pie. He grins and shrugs his shoulders mischievously.

“Maybe” he says, trying to hold back more laughter when Baekhyun gives him that cute, unconvinced, but-not-really-annoyed expression. Baekhyun holds that face for a second before smiling widely again and making way for Chanyeol to enter the house.

“You’ll have to bring it to the kitchen yourself though, because I’m holding a delicious little peach here” he calls over his shoulder on his way to the living room, leaving Chanyeol behind to take off his shoes and close the door with one hand. When talking about delicious peaches, Baekhyun holds Lay with both hands and nuzzles her tummy, making the child squeal loudly and giggle again, her little hands trying to push Baekhyun’s face away because she’s ticklish. It’s one of the most unguarded moments Chanyeol has seen of Baekhyun and he likes it. Oh, he likes it very much.

“I see” he walks to the kitchen, feeling more familiar and comfortable with the place than he probably should, considering he’s been in here only a handful of times, but after he puts away the pie, the mess in the sink hits him. “Whoa, what happened here?” he gasps, moving closer to inspect the blackened pots and lumpy bits of what might have been edible once, the chopped and charred bits of food and lots upon lots of used and dirty kitchen utensils. This pile looks like the remnants of a culinary disaster.

“Hm?” Baekhyun has to look up from where he is sitting on the floor next to Lay’s play mat to understand the source of Chanyeol’s shock. He glances at the mess without a hint of stress or regret, and then he looks at Chanyeol’s surprised face. “Oh, my Thursday jinx is back, it comes and goes, nothing much” he dismisses, waving a hand nonchalantly before returning his attention to Lay. “But your food came out alright, don’t worry, honeycomb” he reassures her with a smile and Lay gifts him with a toy lion.

After taking a moment to overcome the initial shock, Chanyeol shakes his head and smiles a little. He hadn’t heard of Baekhyun’s Thursday jinx in a while, he had almost forgotten about it. For some reason –maybe accumulated stress or tiredness from the week– Baekhyun tends to have various unlucky moments on Thursdays, and he calls that his jinx, claiming Thursdays don’t like him. It’s adorably childish, like Baekhyun is at heart, and it’s part of the reason why they used to have movie nights on Thursdays, to ensure an uneventful evening and edible dinner, cooked by Chanyeol. Hearing Baekhyun mention it so casually after all this time brings a warm, fluttery feeling inside Chanyeol’s chest.

“Do you want me to cook something?” he offers, already rolling up his sleeves. Baekhyun doesn’t look like he plans a second attempt at dinner for today and Chanyeol would hate to leave him with an empty stomach till tomorrow morning. Besides, it will be like the old times, won’t it? In spite of Chanyeol’s agreeable proposition, Baekhyun turns to look at him with wide, scandalized eyes.

“Of course not, Chanyeol!” he refuses adamantly, making that fluttery little something inside Chanyeol die. He hopes it doesn’t show on his face. Baekhyun continues, seemingly not noticing Chanyeol’s reaction at all, even though he’s looking right at him. “You’re our guest, for one thing, and for another…I was hoping to use this as an excuse to order takeout; it’s been forever” he rolls his eyes dramatically before attending to Lay once again, and Chanyeol’s lips crack a smile involuntarily. Baekhyun never was a big fan of fast and fatty food, but he always allowed himself the guilty pleasure of it every now and then; Chanyeol can only guess those times are long gone after having to search for possibly harmful preservatives in everything and having to cook for a child every day as well. “You still eat peppers and mushrooms on your pizza, right?” he asks suddenly, lifting his head to look at Chanyeol.

It takes a moment to register the question and Chanyeol’s thoughts travel down many paths. He still remembers Chanyeol’s order? How? Chanyeol had always been the one to call for food orders, because Baekhyun didn’t like making phone calls in general.

“Yes” he answers tentatively, getting his thoughts back on track. Does that mean he is invited for dinner? Baekhyun flashes a brilliant smile.

“Fetch me the phone” he orders, pointing at the dining table. Lazy as ever; the comment is on the tip of Chanyeol’s tongue but he doesn’t say it. Instead, he brings Baekhyun the phone. He can’t believe a simple visit has turned out like this.

They spend their time waiting for the food being busy with Lay or the tv. Baekhyun is set on finding a movie to watch and he’s willing to click through all channels and all other available satellite options at the speed of light. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to say that he won’t mind even if they end up watching history channel, because he’s here and that makes him pretty happy in itself. Lay is playing with her toys peacefully on her play mat between the two men, giving toys to Chanyeol and inviting him to play with her every so often. When it looks like Baekhyun has found a movie half to his linking but meh, what to do, the doorbell rings and the smaller jumps up and runs to get it. He almost trips on his too large and somewhat long sweatpants, making Chanyeol burst into giggling fits. Baekhyun returns with boxes which smell like their next meal, and he splays them on the coffee table. Lay looks very interested in those yummy boxes she hasn’t seen before, but Baekhyun brings her dinner from the kitchen before she has time to beg her way to a slice of pizza or even lay eyes on it.

“What, they put mushrooms on mine too, why?” Baekhyun complains when he opens his box, after feeding Lay half her meal. Chanyeol is on his second slice and he feels the need to check what he already knows, that only Baekhyun’s order got mixed up. He has been eating it already, wouldn’t he know if it weren’t his order? A moment of awkward stillness passes, because it’s not like it would be any use if Chanyeol offered his own pizza to Baekhyun. Then Baekhyun grumbles and starts picking out the mushrooms from his pizza, casually flinging them to Chanyeol’s box. It should be offensive, but it feels like not a day has passed since they used to share plates and food, so it brings a smile on Chanyeol’s lips, who accepts the extra condiments gratefully.

They watch a movie which is interesting but not too exciting in the visual effects department, because Lay might not be watching but she’s still in the room and they don’t want to agitate her. The physical distance between them sitting on the floor would have felt awkward if not for Lay, fitting her tiny body and her toys there, filling their silences with her babbling and other noises, completely comfortable with her place and their presence. The movie is about to get predictable after the three quarters mark, Chanyeol is full and a tad bit drowsy, Lay is still clanking her toys and the sun outside has set, when Baekhyun suddenly pauses the action sequence. Chanyeol turns to him curiously.

“Okay folks, I hate to ruin the fun, but it’s bath time for a certain angelfish here” he announces, looking down at Lay, who lights up and exclaims her own words; Chanyeol can tell she’s looking forward to it.

((Bubble-bubble!))

Baekhyun picks her up with a smile and starts for the stairs, leaving Chanyeol behind. Chanyeol is not sure what to do; should he stay here, clean up, call it a night and go home? What do people do in such situations, when they’re clearly unnecessary outsiders to someone else’s reality? But then Baekhyun stops halfway to the stairs and looks back, with Lay still in his arms. “Chanyeol, are you coming?”

Oh.

“Sure!” he agrees and picks himself off the floor quickly with renewed vigor. He’s always been curious about baby baths and now he gets to see one in person!

Baby baths are more complicated than he thought. There are at least five bottles, two towels, diapers and combs and pjs involved, bath toys, a soft sponge and baby toothpaste on top of everything else. And Baekhyun does this every night? Chanyeol observes carefully, standing on the side unobtrusively, while Baekhyun undresses Lay with practiced ease, distracting her and buying some time until the tub has enough water and soap bubbles in it. Baekhyun’s bathroom is pristine, made of marble and glass, soft rugs covering the cold floor and flowers decorating the sides of the mirror over the washing basin. There is so much light that Lay’s baby skin looks almost translucent, and Chanyeol is so charmed by her dimples and dark eyes while Baekhyun talks to her pointlessly.

“Can you check the water temperature?” he asks unexpectedly, addressing Chanyeol for the first time since this ritual started, and Chanyeol feels stunned but he scampers to the bathtub immediately, happy to be of service. He checks the temperature with his fingers and it seems okay for babies; not too hot, not too cold, very natural.

“I think it’s fine” he says, turning around from where he is kneeling by the tub, only to find Baekhyun right beside him, holding Lay in his hands and already lowering her to the water.

“Yeah, it’s good” he confirms when his hands reach the water, and Lay seems very content as well. Baekhyun reaches for some toys, aligned on a shelf by the tub, and he gives them to Lay, who picks them up immediately, pushing them underwater and watching them float back up. “Here are your rubber duckies, honeycomb; what color are they?” Baekhyun tries with a radiant smile that shows he is enjoying himself too. Lay points at the soft sponge in Baekhyun’s hand before going back to playing with the toys and chasing bubbles. “Yes! Smart girl” Baekhyun approves and reaches for the first of the bottles, shampoo.

No one says Chanyeol has to stay there but no one says he has to leave either, so he scoots to the side out of Baekhyun’s way, and watches quietly while Baekhyun’s fingers work quickly and efficiently to bathe Lay. She doesn’t even seem to notice him at first, too busy humming songs and clutching bubbles. Chanyeol catches himself taking mental notes on everything Baekhyun does –why is he doing that? But soon the fun part starts and he forgets to rationalize that question. Lay is having a lot of fun with the games Baekhyun makes up for her. He builds bubble castles, and beards on his face, and towers in his palms, he tells fragments of stories, songs, he makes faces and tickles her, carefully, to avoid accidents. Lay doesn’t like wet things but she loves bubble-bubble, because her daddy makes it awesome.

It’s all fun and games, and Baekhyun is in the middle of his dragon impersonation that is making even Chanyeol laugh with its silliness, until Lay scoops a big dollop of bubbles and hurls them at Chanyeol’s face unexpectedly. Baekhyun stops immediately, looking at Chanyeol with wide eyes, Lay blinks, still smiling expectantly, and Chanyeol just stands frozen, with an almost sneezing expression and a pile of lavender-scented bubbles sticking to the edge of his eyelashes, sliding on his cheek and dribbling down his chin to his shirt. Lay breaks the silence.

((It’s bubble-bubble time! And tall man is here, but he has no bubbles. So, I gave him some! Now he can have fun with us, daddy! Isn’t it the point to have bubbles?))

“I’m so sorry, Chanyeol” Baekhyun rasps, but when Chanyeol opens one eye to look, Baekhyun bursts into loud laughter, unable to hold his apologetic stance when he finds Chanyeol’s appearance so funny. Chanyeol can bet he looks downright ridiculous. Baekhyun’s eyes disappear in crescents and he clutches his stomach, nearly tearing up and doubling over in laughter; Chanyeol hadn’t seen this almost-hysteric, hearty laugh in years. Baekhyun’s voice echoes loudly inside the bathroom and Lay joins him with some triumphant mumbles –she knew her daddy would get it!– and there is only so little Chanyeol can do not to dissolve in loud laughter too. It takes them quite a few obnoxiously loud minutes to get it out of their system, and Baekhyun wipes his eyes, face red, and tries to mumble another apology, but fails.

“Nah, it’s okay” Chanyeol pants when he calms down, his ribs and his cheeks aching from so much laughter. It’s late at night and he’s in a bathroom with a toddler and her gorgeous, most amazing father, and maybe his shirt is a bit ruined, but who cares? He only wanted to look presentable for the people in this room anyway. He turns to the child and tries to keep a straight face. “Thank you, Lay”

The rest of the bath routine is uneventful; if anything, Chanyeol is included in the games, joining Baekhyun in his impersonations and stories and ruffling Lay’s silky hair. Brushing her teeth at the end would be the trickiest part, but Chanyeol catches onto Baekhyun’s tricks easily and they perform their routine effortlessly to achieve the desirable results, almost as if they’ve done it a dozen times before, and Baekhyun gets bitten only once, so cheers for them! Lay is very cooperative while Baekhyun pats her dry, and then he gives her a light comb to try to do her own hair while he lathers baby cream on her skin. Somehow, no matter what Baekhyun does, from changing her diaper to wiggling her into her pajama bottoms, he manages to interact with her, praise her, respond to her, make her giggle with his pokes on her soft tummy and then soothe her with gentle caresses of his delicate fingers. It’s a new level of parent magic that Chanyeol has never seen before, and by the time Lay is dressed and dry, she is also so sleepy that she can’t keep her eyes open.

“I’m going to put her to sleep; it shouldn’t take long” Baekhyun says, picking her in his arms. She slumps against him with no will to stay awake whatsoever, eyes droopy and unfocused. Chanyeol smiles at how fluffy she looks in her bear pjs, with matching hood and ears of course. He wishes her goodnight quietly, patting her head, but she hardly blinks. Baekhyun gathers her close and kisses her forehead with a smile, before turning to Chanyeol. “Wait for me downstairs?” he whispers, and Chanyeol nods obediently, parting with Baekhyun to head down the stairs while he and his daughter disappear in another room.

Chanyeol huddles in the corner of the couch and waits patiently, absently watching the scattered toys around him. He is lost in blank and insignificant thoughts for some time, silence floating around him, but he feels as comfortable as if he were in his own house. The entire place is so characteristically warm and welcoming, and it reminds him of Baekhyun everywhere he looks, and maybe that’s why he feels like he’s known this house all his life. Baekhyun emerges from the darkness not very long after Chanyeol perched on the couch, shuffling his feet slightly in his long sweatpants, his t-shirt shifting around his form as he walks from being so large in comparison to his frame. He looks so small and harmless. His expression is relaxed and somewhat thoughtful, until he walks into the living room and tunes back into reality, his eyes focusing on Chanyeol.

“All set?” Chanyeol asks, perking in his seat, ready to unfold himself to make some room for Baekhyun on the cushions. He wonders if he should ask why Baekhyun was so thoughtful a moment ago, but he decides not to.

“Yeah, don’t get up” Baekhyun waves a hand nonchalantly, signaling for Chanyeol to stay in place, and so the taller shrinks back in his seat. It’s unusual for Baekhyun to refuse a comfortable seat; he used to be like a cat, sassily claiming the most comfortable places in a house as his own. Chanyeol doesn’t press any further, guessing that he must have his reasons. Baekhyun walks soundlessly and once he is close enough, he plops down on the mat in front of the couch; only to jump up instantly. “Aw!” he hisses, searching blindly under his back and fishing one of Lay’s toys. Chanyeol wrinkles his nose, empathizing with the mean sting of sitting or stepping on unexpectedly sprouting toys. Baekhyun sets the toy aside, shaking his head and mumbling “I never learn”

“There’s plenty of room up here, if you’re interested” Chanyeol pipes in –and maybe, just maybe, he is selfishly hoping Baekhyun will take the offer and relocate his fine rear up next to Chanyeol, so that this might feel more like the complete experience of their Thursday movie nights. Chanyeol vividly remembers to this day, comfortably tangled limbs and serving as each other’s pillow, Baekhyun’s cold fingers sneaking in Chanyeol’s pockets or combing through his hair soothingly just before he fell asleep next to him. Baekhyun doesn’t even glance at Chanyeol or the couch, getting comfortable on the floor; Chanyeol deflates and wonders if Baekhyun ever misses it too, their closeness and their hugs, or if he is the only one hopelessly lingering on those memories.

“I’m used to sitting on child-level places. Now play the movie” Baekhyun whispers, with an excitement that Chanyeol misinterprets as related to the movie. The thought that the movie is pretty predictable and Baekhyun might be excited over the fact that this is happening at all after all these years, escapes Chanyeol’s mind.

--

Chanyeol wakes up, not so much from the sound itself but from the horrible feeling it stirs in his chest. He has heard children cry before, but it never sounded so heartbroken and helpless, echoing inside an unjustly quiet and cold house; it’s making his stomach turn with how bad his heart hearts, his chest filling with worry and concern. The loud cries are coming from upstairs –wait, what upstairs? Where am I?

Chanyeol blinks in confusion and the darkness slowly starts forming into shapes, blurry outlines and shadows which look nothing like his house. He can see a small light, glowing faintly from behind one of the walls, and the more he looks around, the more familiar the place seems. And then it hits him; this is Baekhyun’s living room. It takes another moment until he remembers how he ended up here, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess he fell asleep on the couch during the remaining time of the movie –did he even watch the ending? He’s never been good with staying awake in front of a screen; it hypnotizes him for some reason, until he can’t keep his eyes open anymore. It looks like Baekhyun left him there to sleep instead of waking him up and sending him back to his house; Chanyeol can tell that he even tried to make him comfortable, removing some of the couch pillows to give him space, placing one under his head to relieve the strain of his neck, leaving a discreet light on for him in case he needs anything and covering him with a warm blanket.

He doesn’t remember having his phone with him, so he can’t check the time, but he is sure it’s not daytime yet. That is of little importance, however, because the most pressing issue in Chanyeol’s head is the heart wrenching cries of Baekhyun’s little girl. Probably all children have this sort of nightly habit at some point in their lives, but he’s never witnessed it for himself, and he feels like a horrible person to leave her crying like this and do nothing to help her. Somewhere deep down, he knows it’s not his business or his responsibility, that she’s not his child and Baekhyun might be by her side already, trying to soothe her. But even deeper than that, he fears she is scared and alone, and the thought of her ever being as such is death for him. He doesn’t know why exactly, but Chanyeol decides to go upstairs and check, and that’s that.

Drowsy and sluggish, of course he would step on one of Lay’s toys as soon as his feet touch the ground –thankfully, it was something soft and squishy, and it didn’t hurt or trip him much. He tries to focus for the rest of the way to the stairs, not to trip over his own feet and break anything; the light gets brighter as he approaches the stairs, turning out to be one of the lanterns above the steps. The cries are loud as ever and he draws courage, bracing himself and starting his way up the stairs mechanically, step after step. He gets to the top unscathed and from there it’s easy to navigate to Lay’s room, because she is screaming her lungs out, shattering the deep quiet of the night.

He pushes the half-open door to find the nursery booming with the child’s wails and whines. The room has fairy lights in one corner and another light is glowing faintly from something decorative that’s hanging from the ceiling, so Chanyeol can easily see where the crib is. Baekhyun is not around, probably sleeping too deeply to take notice of the commotion. Chanyeol walks to the crib and places both hands on the railing, looking down at the little girl.

“Baby, are you okay?” he coos, and his deep, rumbling voice catches Lay’s interest and she stops her loud tantrum to look at him. She blinks her wet, deep eyes, cheeks flushed and drenched, her hair fanning on the pillow, and the sheets one giant, tangled mess around her. She looks so soft and tired, wrapped in her white linens like a smooth cinnamon roll. She looks at him pleadingly and uncertainly, her lower lip still trembling. Chanyeol reaches down and soothingly rubs her stomach above the covers; he can’t help but smile at how small and squishy she is. “Look at you, being a cute mochi” he quips, blinking down slowly and sleepily. She returns the peaceful look for a moment, but then she sniffs and whimpers, and a new wave of tears threatens to appear, making Chanyeol panic a bit. So he does what he thinks people do on such occasions; he pulls away the hot sheets and picks her up.

“Come here, let’s wipe those tears, hm?” he says calmly, gently wiping her face with his hands before she settles in his arms, leaning on his shoulder for comfort. Chanyeol cradles her small body close to him, kissing her temple for reassurance; the poor thing is shaking. He starts pacing around the room slowly, caressing her back and toying with that cute little bear tail her pajamas have on the back. “Everything is okay now, don’t cry, my little mochi” he mumbles in a deep and hopefully relaxing voice, humming and cooing in between long intervals of silence.

Chanyeol feels a little like he is sleepwalking with a child in his arms, tracing the same steps over and over inside her pretty room. He gazes at every object without really seeing it, his mind distracted and slow with sleep, but his lips still manage to find soothing words and whisper them in Lay’s ears, sometimes more coherently, other times like a low grumble of his voice in his chest. The little girl stops trembling after a while of little touches and brief kisses, and she only looks thoughtful, perfectly comfortable with being perched on Chanyeol’s tall shoulder and observing her surroundings. A few times she whines, disturbed, and nuzzles her face in his throat; Chanyeol only breathes and rubs her back in those moments, giving her time to calm.

“Are you sleeping yet?” he asks after a while. This feels great and Chanyeol honestly wants to cuddle her forever, but his legs are getting tired and heavy, and he doesn’t want to collapse. He shifts to take a look at her face but, even though she looks tired, she is undoubtedly wide awake, big eyes blinking back at him. All this time he’s been putting himself to sleep more effectively than lulling her back to her dreams. It’s still dark outside though, and even Chanyeol knows children are supposed to be sleeping at this hour. “What should we do to help you go back to dreamland?” he wonders, looking around for any ideas. Lay snuggles closer to him and a part of his soul melts at the sweetness; how does Baekhyun ever part with her? That’s when his eyes land on a rocking chair in the corner of the room and a small library next to it; the bells of salvation ring. “Let’s read a book, shall we?”

He sits down and his legs are so numb that he can’t feel any relief from finally sitting; he can’t feel them at all. He gets comfortable with Lay in his lap and he leans to the side, trying to read the titles on the spines of the books; it’s all children’s fairytales and collections of poems. Lay is mimicking him, peering at the books curiously, so Chanyeol points to one and then the next, giving her a say in which book to read. “This one? No? This one then?” he picks the one she nodded at off the shelf and brings it to his crowded lap; Lay moves effortlessly, climbing further up his torso and clinging against him, leaving just enough room for him to open the book and turn the pages. “Ohh, good choice” he muses when he sees the beautiful colored pictures of flaxen haired princesses, fields of flowers and castles. Lay fists his shirt in her fingers, even though she is still securely caged in his arms, and she looks down at the pictures as Chanyeol starts reading as quietly as he can.

“Once upon a time…”

--

Baekhyun jolts awake. My child. Why is it so quiet? Oh my god, what happened to my child?!

His heart starts palpitating uncomfortably before his eyelashes unhinge, and he scrambles off his pillow, running his hands over his face to force himself awake. He hasn’t slept so serenely in a long time and his fatherly instincts keep kicking in his stomach. Why is she so quiet; she usually wakes up with a ruckus before dawn…Nightmares form behind his eyelids, consciously plaguing his thoughts with accidents that could have happened to his child in her sleep. What if she choked, or slept on her stomach, or suffocated against her pillow? He whines when his feet touch the cold floor but he scurries across the room anyway, with uncoordinated limbs and technically half-blind, his worry motivating him to run to his daughter’s room.

He stumbles through the open door, his bleary eyes searching in the soft sunlight from the window. He freezes halfway across the room, realizing there is only a lump of pillows and sheets in the crib instead of his child. He gasps and turns around, blood running frozen in his veins, but his fright evaporates in an instant when he finds Lay, safe and alive, sleeping soundly…on Chanyeol? He blinks in bewilderment, taking a step closer to the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

Chanyeol is sitting in the rocking chair, lying as comfortably as anyone as tall can fit on it, with a book dropped by his feet. Lay is curled in his lap, her little hands clutching Chanyeol’s shirt, her flushed face buried in the fabric. Chanyeol’s arms are wrapped around Lay securely, his head leaning to the side. He looks so childish himself, his fringe falling across his eyes and his lips pouting in his sleep; it reminds Baekhyun of the times the giant would fall asleep on the couch while they would be watching a movie on Thursday nights –not any different from what happened last night as well– and Baekhyun would push the hair away and kiss his forehead, carefully, clandestinely and softly, not to wake him.

“She’s sleeping” Chanyeol purrs sleepily all of a sudden, keeping his eyes closed even though he’s obviously awake and aware of Baekhyun’s presence in the room. Baekhyun drops the creepy stare and fusses with his bed hair, suddenly dawning on him how un-presentable he looks –not that Chanyeol hasn’t seen him disheveled from sleep before, but well, it’s been a few years since then. Chanyeol cracks one eye open to look at Baekhyun under heavy lashes. “Should I wake her?” he asks, opening both eyes slowly. Baekhyun presses his lips in an embarrassed, thin line and nods. Chanyeol sits up bit by bit, not to jolt the sleeping little girl. He scoops her in one arm, caressing her hair and the lines of her face with his free hand. He hums and coos at her, handling her so gently, as if she’s made of clouds.

Baekhyun wants to scream at how fatherly Chanyeol looks in that moment.

“Mochi~ wake up” he calls, his eyes sweet. Baekhyun smiles at the nickname, feeling so peaceful. This affection seems so right to him, even though it doesn’t make sense.

“How did you end up like this?” he whispers as Lay stirs in Chanyeol’s hold. Chanyeol rubs her back soothingly, kissing her temple.

“She was crying last night and I thought you could use the rest, so I came over” he explains, his deep voice reverberating, laced with sleep. Baekhyun’s eyes widen in fluster and he starts rambling his brain out of his mouth.

“I’m so sorry, Chanyeol. I must have been more tired than I realized” he apologizes swiftly. How can he not have heard his own child crying in her sleep?! He must have slept like the dead. “She usually sleeps through the night and wakes up early, but her sleep patterns are still adjusting, so she wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes. I’m sorry she woke you; you didn’t have to take care of her” he murmurs while Chanyeol is still busy with his daughter. The taller looks up at him with a frown at the end.

“I like taking care of her” he mumbles, as if he’s bewildered by Baekhyun’s words. Baekhyun tilts his head to the side, slightly confused too, but Lay tugs on Chanyeol’s shirt just then and Chanyeol instantly turns his attention to her with a big smile. Baekhyun wrings his hands, eager and itching to snatch her in his embrace. “Good morning, mochi! Daddy is here” he lifts her, helping her to sit in his lap, and points at Baekhyun, who waves at her with a smile. The little girl stops rubbing her eyes cutely and they open wide, turning to her daddy. She explodes in mumbles and grabby hands instantly, trying to get to him.

“Aw, honeycomb” Baekhyun coos, rushing the few steps closer to the pair. Chanyeol hands her over from his seat and Baekhyun nuzzles her while holding her close. She smells like chamomile and clean linen and…a bit like Chanyeol. The scent makes the butterflies twirl and dance inside Baekhyun’s stomach and it’s really too early for this, so Baekhyun distracts himself by baby-talking to her some more, trying to ignore Chanyeol as a whole. “Did you sleep well? Was Chanyeol a good pillow? Let’s change you” he chirps and waltzes her to the dressing table; she giggles but her eyes are red from crying last night. It mustn’t have been easy to soothe her and Baekhyun feels double guilty towards Chanyeol; it seems letting him sleep on the couch wasn’t any better than waking him up and sending him home after all.

For the next ten minutes, Baekhyun is too busy with her. He follows the usual steps to change her into a clean diaper and fresh clothes, his sleep evaporating soon. He almost manages to forget about Chanyeol being in the same room, freshly awakened, gorgeous and defenseless, so soft and cuddly. Almost. So, when he catches his heart fluttering at things he shouldn’t be thinking, he tries harder to distract himself, baby-talking and cooing at Lay, kissing her red cheeks and her small hands, playing with her and ticking her neck. She is babbly, like every morning, and she laughs heartily when his fingers poke her sensitive neck. Baekhyun loves it when she laughs like this, her whole body shaking and her eyes glazing, as if the feeling takes her over completely. He hopes that makes up for her tears last night.

“That might be the prettiest thing I’ve ever heard” Chanyeol suddenly mumbles, magically appearing behind Baekhyun. And he was just about to get over him being in the room…Baekhyun’s smile freezes and he gulps uncomfortably, assessing the proximity between them. Chanyeol is standing close behind him, looking over his shoulder and literally breathing down his neck; Baekhyun almost felt the rumble of his chest when he spoke and he swears he can feel his body heat against his skin. He can do better than pull an error mode right now though, so he steps to the side, giving Chanyeol a better view of Lay lying on her dresser table –removing himself from the tight spot in the process.

“Do you want to do it?” he offers, looking at Chanyeol. The disoriented, sleepy blink Chanyeol gives him should be illegal and it takes all of Baekhyun’s willpower not to pounce on him and hug him and cuddle him for all he’s worth. Nothing has changed during the past two years, has it? Baekhyun clears his throat. “It’s like, incy wincy spider~” he demonstrates with his fingers in the air. Chanyeol still looks somewhat confused but he nods dutifully in the end.

“Okay” he agrees quietly and takes position; you’d think he’s planning on mixing dangerous chemicals instead of touching a child, whereas Lay has the biggest grin of anticipation on her lips. It’s cute. He takes a deep breath and starts poking her tentatively. “Incy wincy spider crawls up the-” he doesn’t get to finish before she bursts into loud laughter again, pushing Chanyeol’s hand away with her tiny hands. Chanyeol looks a little less sleepy when he smiles affectionately. Look at him being perfect…Baekhyun decides to be brave today and do one thing right at least, as a host.

“May I offer you a proper bed to sleep for a while? It’s a bit messy but…” he shrugs, pointing in the direction of his room with a meek smile. He didn’t concern himself with the covers when he got up to run to his child, but he changed the sheets last night, so they should be relatively fresh on the side of the bed he doesn’t use, and he is sure his bed is infinitely better than the couch. Chanyeol thinks about it for a moment; he’s probably still sleepy but that doesn’t make Baekhyun fret any less that his offer was inappropriate. They’ve shared beds with each other before –in a completely platonic way– so he didn’t think much of it, but what if Chanyeol doesn’t see it that way anymore, what if he grew out of this sort of comfortable arrangements between friends?

Chanyeol ends Baekhyun’s mental race with a drowsy smile of his plum lips. Why is he so gorgeous, with ruffled hair and puffy eyes? “Thanks Baek” he purrs, in his deep velvet voice, and Baekhyun freezes, eyes wide. Omg he called me Baek in that voice oh god HeLP.

“We’ll call you for breakfast” he manages to stutter with a forced smile, as Chanyeol walks out of the nursery, heading to Baekhyun’s bed when he looks like that and just- life is unfair. So unfair. Baekhyun would sell parts of his soul to have Chanyeol napping in his bed under different circumstances –so different that it would end up being another life– and now he’s in this weird situation, where he’s an emotionally conflicted mess, he has to make breakfast for his chirpy child, he’s still embarrassed for the stiff and awkward way he acted around Chanyeol last night and this morning –he’s not good at keeping distance from people, especially when all he wants is to cuddle up to those people– and Chanyeol is sleeping on his pillow for all the innocent sleepover reasons, instead of everything more complicated or naughty Baekhyun would have imagined. Whose life is this?

Baekhyun is halfway down the stairs with Lay in his arms, thinking about breakfast, when his smile freezes for a moment; Chanyeol will be leaving his house later today, wearing the same clothes he wore when he came in last night. What will his neighbors say?!

--

“Hello? Who is it?” Chanyeol hums into the phone, tucking it between his ear and shoulder blindly, his eyes and hands busy picking cherries.

“Hi, Chanyeol; this is Baekhyun” the familiar voice calls softly and Chanyeol nearly spills all the cherries in his hands. Who?! He blinks in surprise; is Baekhyun really calling him in broad daylight? He looks around at the oblivious crowd, bewildered that the rest of the world is living this moment normally whilst he is having three heart attacks and an aneurism. Chanyeol fails to compose an adequately human answer in time, so Baekhyun speaks again. “Are you perhaps busy?”

“Me? Oh, no” Chanyeol replies with an awkward delay, holding the phone properly with his hand and composing himself to a socially acceptable degree. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, aware that he will have to –try to– keep a decent conversation with the man, instead of mute gaping and awkward stutters. I mean, Baekhyun is on the phone. “I’m…doing some grocery shopping. Is everything alright?” he pays for his purchase quickly, a small part of him suddenly dreading that something is wrong and Baekhyun might need him, so he might have to rush over. He thanks the salesman and starts walking in the direction of his car in long strides.

“Yes, fine. I just…Do you think you could run an errand for me?” he asks hesitantly, and if Chanyeol had to guess, there should be an uncertain lip-bite somewhere in there. Chanyeol slows down his walking pace, slightly confused.

“Oh.” he breathes, feeling relieved that nothing serious has happened. So, it’s just an errand; it’s still unusual for Baekhyun to ask, however, since he prefers being very independent and making miracles happen all by himself. Chanyeol quirks a curious eyebrow, balancing his heavy shopping bags in his hand. “Sure, I’m already outside anyway. It won’t be any trouble” he smiles reassuringly, even though Baekhyun can’t see him. Saying it won’t be any trouble rings a few warning bells at the back of his mind, because you can never know, but he ignores them when he hears a soft, thoughtful hum on the other end of the line.

“Well, I was wondering…I got held up at work and daycare closes around a quarter past two, but I won’t make it. So, could you by any chance pick up Lay for me? If it’s not too much trouble? I trust her with you…” Baekhyun mumbles the very last part, and Chanyeol’s smile widens as he skips a delighted step, feeling like he is worth a million. Of course, the only reason Baekhyun would show weakness would be his daughter, whom Chanyeol happens to love spending time with, and he feels so special to be of use.

“Of course! I can go pick her up, and we’ll wait for you at my house like the last time” he reassures him, placing his purchases into the trunk and checking the time on his wristwatch. He has plenty of time ahead, unless daycare is somewhere near the next province. Baekhyun sighs in relief and the airy sound is audible even through the static of the phone.

“Thank you, Chanyeol! You’re a lifesaver!” he says enthusiastically and Chanyeol chuckles. Baekhyun gives him an address and Chanyeol types it in the navigator directly; it’s not very far away, he’ll easily make it on time. “I’ll call daycare to let them know you’ll be picking her up today, just tell them your name. Her teacher’s name is Kyungsoo –he’s short with huge eyes. I’ll tell him to give you a children’s car seat as well, they have all sorts of equipment there. If she throws a fit because you’re not me, call me and put her on the phone, I’ll convince her”

“Oui, mon capitaine!” he nods dutifully and cracks a smile when he hears Baekhyun huffing a small laugh, losing the stiff nervousness he had while shooting directions and orders. “Anything else?” he asks, already settled in the driver’s seat and toying with his keys until the call is over.

“If an asteroid hits the earth, save her” Baekhyun jokes in a serious voice and Chanyeol laughs loudly, the sound echoing inside his car. A muffled laugh joins him through the phone, followed by a brief apology which is not directed at him; Baekhyun is still at the office, after all. Chanyeol quiets down, biting his smiling lips. “And, Chanyeol, thank you” he adds gently, making Chanyeol’s heart squirm. He won’t admit he is blushing, no.

“You’re welcome, Baekhyun. Now, if you will excuse me, a princess is waiting for me” The call ends with Baekhyun’s giggles and Chanyeol’s wide smile.

Chanyeol manages to arrive on time and find parking space in the lot, even though it’s very packed. He parks and takes a moment to prepare himself, smoothing out his clothes and combing his fingers through his hair to look more presentable. The daycare building is not very big, but it’s cozy and bright, as if the sun shines upon it differently, to make it look a prettier and happier place. Chanyeol glances at the door of the building once he steps out of the car, where parents –mostly mothers– are flocking in or loitering around, looking all smiley and prepared to take their little sunbeams into their arms, drive them home and make it a perfect day for them. And here Chanyeol is, a stranger with no child of his own, stranded in mother territory. He pauses for a moment.

Is he eligible parent material? Would any child want him as their parent?

He doesn’t give himself time to indulge his doubts and cause himself a mental breakdown over his life choices in the middle of the parking lot, because Baekhyun has trusted him with the care of his precious daughter and Chanyeol had better do a good job without delay. He braves the steps to the entrance as if he’s been here before, hoping he’ll fit in by some miracle. In spite of his best efforts, it’s very obvious that people are staring as soon as he approaches the crowd of parents; some even drop their conversations to blatantly stare at him and ask themselves and their nearest acquaintances if they know who he is, speculating he’s a new daddy. It’s uncomfortable, and it wouldn’t be the first time in his life he wishes he was shorter, so that he could at least blend in on the sidelines. But he guesses it’s somewhat reasonable to attract attention, since he’s the new face in an otherwise very familiar, safe and stable environment, as all trustworthy daycare should be.

Some ladies are more forward and they greet him on his way in, even though he’s a complete stranger to everyone; all he can do is smile and bow politely, feeling a little awkward. He can feel the eyes of people following him, trying to guess in which class he’ll step in and how old or what gender his supposed child might be, but he pretends not to notice, even when he can hear other people talking about it. He finds Lay’s class easily, all the way down the hall, with a pretty painted sign of the number 1 hanging over the doorframe. When he steps inside, there are many colors and sunshine, a few giggles and ‘I told you so’s coming from behind him. He is not sure if he is proud or ashamed of himself for having everyone convinced he is a parent already.

He stands to the side awkwardly, after the bright example of more experienced mothers. He doesn’t know if he should ask for the teacher, or stand there unobtrusively and wait until he spots Lay in the dispersed flock of tiny children, or if he should go further into the child play area and search for her. Other mothers have the advantage of small talk while they wait, but he feels a bit silly like this, standing with no purpose, and he can’t see Lay anywhere. There are many children her size and age, sharing toys, coloring, building castles or munching on bananas, but none of them is her.

In the midst of light chatter and childish voices from every class and hallway in the building, one of the people around him sashays closer to him. Chanyeol avoids eye-contact at first, because he doesn’t want to answer too many questions about who he is and who his child might be and what’s his sign and age and phone number, but this short person comes close, clearly with the intension to talk to him –other parents are keeping their distance from the tall, handsome stranger, admiring and gossiping from afar. Chanyeol risks a glance at this person, and the first thing that comes to mind is huge eyes. That means, teacher Kyungsoo. We found the teacher, hurrah!

“Hello, can I help you?” the short man asks politely, with a warm, heart-shaped smile. There is something in his smooth voice, his posture, the way he smiles and looks at Chanyeol, that makes the taller think that maybe Lay’s teacher is interested in him, in more than just polite inquiries; but maybe I’m only thinking too highly of myself. Remembering that he is here on a mission, Chanyeol turns to him immediately when he realizes who he must be, and he smiles in a friendly way, fully aware of the mothers around him quieting down to hear him speak.

“Hello, I’m here to pick up Lay. Baekhyun has informed you, I believe?” he explains. The once-over he receives was expected, to be honest. Some mothers start whispering again, mumbles about his voice and his face reach his ears, and Kyungsoo’s big eyes, after they finish their appreciative evaluation of him from head to toe, look up at him with a piercing gaze. The short man raises an eyebrow.

“You’re Chanyeol?” he asks for confirmation, sounding somewhat surprised. Chanyeol wonders what Baekhyun told him to expect, if he told him anything at all. Chanyeol smiles, making a short, polite bow; he is eighty percent sure someone behind him just commented on his physical appearance. “I’m Kyungsoo, Lay’s teacher, nice to meet you” Kyungsoo introduces himself with a wide smile and a flourish, and he shakes Chanyeol’s hand; his grip is surprisingly strong for someone with such a small built. “Baekhyun said you’re tall, but he forgot to mention how handsome you are as well” he says, and as if that compliment was not obvious enough, he throws in a little wink. Chanyeol feels an uncomfortable lump in his throat, not so much because of Kyungsoo’s flirting, but because of the thoughts of Baekhyun that pop in his head. He didn’t mention I’m handsome because he doesn’t see me that way.

“Well…” he shrugs his shoulders and smiles awkwardly, not sure how to respond to Kyungsoo’s words; he’s never been good with forward people, even Baekhyun used to make him feel flustered with the things he said sometimes, when they first met.

“Well you are very punctual, Chanyeol; we just finished” Kyungsoo changes the subject mercifully, sensing Chanyeol’s discomfort. Chanyeol’s smile is easier this time and Kyungsoo looks like he prefers it that way, smiling back comfortably. “I’ll bring you Lay and her stuff. Wait here please”

Chanyeol thanks him and watches him disappear in the crowd of children. He accidentally makes eye-contact with a few mothers before he returns to his patiently awaiting position, and they send him smiles and little waves; Chanyeol shifts uncomfortably, trying not to show it on his face. He is nearly thirty years old, how can he get so flustered when irrelevant people try to flirt with him?! If Baekhyun was here in the crowd of parents, if he ever flirted with Chanyeol like this, he is sure his inner high school girl would surface, and he would be reduced to a blushing, stuttering, shy, awkward disaster.

“Lay was great today! Here we are” Kyungsoo calls, pulling Chanyeol out of his thoughts. He smiles when he sees Lay in her teacher’s arms –and then he notices all the other things her teacher is carrying at the same time: a baby seat for the car and a bag with Lay’s necessities, none of which look very light to carry. He’s sure he can manage in terms of strength and endurance, but let’s face it, he’s never been very coordinated; he worries he might hit someone while carrying all those stuff and a baby, and oh my god, what if he hits a child?! That’s why he doesn’t have his degree in parenting yet, he hasn’t been trained in such things. “These are for you” Kyungsoo confirms, handing over everything inanimate in his arms. Chanyeol arranges them as safely as possible, noticing Kyungsoo’s eyebrow quirk in surprise. “Do you need help? You’ll have to carry Lay as well”

“No, I’ll manage” Chanyeol reassures him with a smile, caressing Lay’s hair with his hand. The child smiles at him brightly in the arms of her teacher –who looks mildly impressed with Chanyeol in this moment, but Chanyeol ignores that. “Hi mochi~ How was your day?” he chirps, hoping to get on her good side, to avoid any tantrums, like Baekhyun warned him. Lay starts babbling fast, looking excited to see Chanyeol.

((Tall man, you’re here! Why are you here? Where is daddy? Are we going home? Oh, are we going to your house? Can we play with the magical table again? Please, more magical table, more magical table! Kyungie teacher, this tall man in mine and daddy’s, I’ve told you about him! And he has a magical table that sings, I want to play with him! Hand me over!))

Lay ends her speech while leaning away from Kyungsoo and doing grabby hands at Chanyeol, determined to go to him; Chanyeol smiles, because she is so cute, and many mothers around coo at her and her obvious love for the tall man, who they haven’t decided if he’s her daddy or not. Kyungsoo has no choice but to pass her to Chanyeol. “She certainly likes you” he says, eyebrows raised in amazement. Chanyeol fixes his hold on the girl –he never fails to impress himself with how easily he can do this– and he smiles at Kyungsoo.

“The feeling is mutual” he assures him, and Lay chooses that moment to cling on him, wrapping her small arms around his neck and shoulder as she can best to give him a loving hug. All mothers around them coo in unison at the sight, halfway convinced that Chanyeol is the girl’s second father, and Lay looks so happy, enjoying the attention on her while she flaunts her love for her tall man. Chanyeol is not so confident though, and this attention is making him nervous; he feels like other mothers will start approaching them asking questions any minute, drawn in by Lay’s charm and the mysterious man who is holding her –looking obliviously gorgeous too, like any mother’s dream has come to life. “We’ll be going then. Thank you for everything” Chanyeol excuses himself, watching Lay wave goodbye at her teacher and her classmates. He smiles politely at Kyungsoo and starts weaving his way through the crowd of mothers –did those come from the other class to see him?– smiling awkwardly at the coos he and Lay get on their way.

“Don’t mention it! Let us see you more often!” Kyungsoo’s enthusiastic voice rings above the rest.

--

From: Kyungsoo

Who’s the hottie?! *o* Your child loves him 14.17

Your new boyfriend? Please, say he’s your boyfriend 14.19

To: Kyungsoo

No, he’s just an old friend 14.20

From: Kyungsoo

WHY NOT BOYFRIEND?! 14.20

Can I hit on him then? He looks perfect daddy material, if you know what I mean ;) Man, I’d soooo call him daddy /swoons/ 14.21

To: Kyungsoo

/shirks horrified/ Why are you allowed near children!?’ 14.22

From: Kyungsoo

I have a life outside daycare you know, and in that life, I happen to be slightly bedroomally frustrated…or a lot bedroomally frustrated, depends on your point of view >.< 14.23

I’m just saying, if he comes back another time unsupervised, I’m gonna pounce on that hot, polite, charming, handsome, family-oriented, six foot tall and toned male specimen /drools/ Unless he’s taken, of course… ;) 14.24

Okay, I’m not saying what you should say, but I’m saying you should say ‘he’s very much taken, thank you’ and go kiss him senseless, Byun -.- 14.30

To: Kyungsoo

Easy for you to say :/ 14.31

--

Baekhyun is in an admittedly very unattractive position. He is carrying grocery bags, more of which are hanging from his forearms and cutting into his skin due to their heaviness, he is keeping the fence door open with his foot while trying to lag the stroller through it into the garden, Lay is very confused about what’s happening and Baekhyun keeps getting more and more stuck in this uncomfortable position without any progress. Ugh. He just had to be born as agile as a stubby corgi puppy, didn’t he. Knowing very well he looks utterly ridiculous to all his neighbors who happen to pass by, he swallows his pride and makes one more effort, groaning with the exertion, but the stroller won’t budge and he practically can’t move, loaded with so much stuff and given so little space. He sighs and takes a moment to calm down.

It’s not the worst situation he’s ever been into in his life, and that makes him feel a bit better, even though it does nothing to ease his embarrassment. He can be pretty clumsy on days when the summer sun is scorching down on him as if it’s not too late in the day for such sunshine, when he is carrying bizarre amounts of flour and sugar in his shopping bags, when inanimate objects are being uncooperative, and on Thursdays. Thursdays don’t like him for some reason. In any case, since he is stuck halfway into his yard –don’t even dare mention the size of his derriere and how it might have something to do with this situation– with a large stroller restraining his moves and a curious child sitting on it, he starts thinking quickly for any possible solutions, before it gets too dark; he has weaseled his way out of infinitely more difficult situations, so he’s confident he can do this, eventually.

The first thing that needs to go is the shopping bags, because his arms are starting to feel numb and he has alarming, red marks on his skin. He has to bend in two to deposit them on the inner side of the fence, and he quietly laughs to himself, because how does he always get himself in such weird situations? His need to prove himself self-sufficient is so prevalent in his mind by now, that he doesn’t care about how comical he must seem to the neighbors, and never once does he think of asking a passerby for help. He has been a firm believer that he can do it all his life, and he has always relied on others as little as possible in every sense. He whimpers when one edge of the stroller digs into his stomach but his arms are finally free and that is progress.

“Do you need help with that?” a distinctly deep voice calls behind him, and Baekhyun notices a tall shadow stretching over the fence and on his front lawn, its owner presumably standing somewhere behind him. For a moment, he doesn’t want to believe it. Was that Park Chanyeol? Well who else would sound so sinfully good, even if he’d be reading a dictionary? Fudge, it is Chanyeol. Baekhyun curses his luck and flushes a deep scarlet color, because he has been caught acting embarrassingly in front of Chanyeol again. He has lost count of how many times this has happened by now. He is sure he used to act normal and maybe a little extra charismatic around Chanyeol a few years ago; how did parenthood turn him from jeune premier to an awkward potato? Why can’t he act like a decent human being at least?!

“Uhh…” he slurs very intelligently, lifting himself slowly and bracing himself with courage to face Chanyeol after this embarrassing display.

But no. Nope. No amount of mental preparation could ever make him feel ready in the least for the sight of Chanyeol in this moment.

It seems Chanyeol had been on his way home after an evening jog before he stumbled on Baekhyun’s misfortunate rear sticking out on the sidewalk, and he appears in Baekhyun’s line of sight dressed accordingly. He’s wearing sneakers and large athletic shorts, which leave his long, toned calves exposed. His sleeveless shirt is so drenched with sweat that it sticks to his body all over, emphasizing drool-worthy abdominal and pectoral muscles; Baekhyun swears Chanyeol didn’t use to be this deliciously toned back in the day, he would have noticed. Moreover, since his shirt has no sleeves, it makes for a great, illegal view of Chanyeol’s guns, muscles showing everywhere like a perfect sample of the arm anatomy, his smooth skin glistening in the afternoon sun. Chanyeol had always been well built, but on the noodle side, though this scores a whole new level of bedroomal frustration on Baekhyun’s personal scale. And they say miracles don’t happen.

“…probably…” Baekhyun salvages a fragment of the sentence he had been planning to say and voices it out. His heart is doing a strange number of beats per second when he looks at Chanyeol’s face, black fringe dripping with sweat and plastered to his forehead on the sides, cheeks flushed from his workout, wide eyes sparkling and teeth-rich smile blinding him.

Baekhyun is not okay.

“I got it” Chanyeol chirps and lifts the stroller helpfully, allowing Baekhyun to dislodge himself from the door, before he wheels Lay and her chariot into the yard. Baekhyun sighs in relief that this adventure is over at last, but his cheerfulness is overshadowed by the fluster that the close-up view of Chanyeol’s arms brings as he moves and carries the stroller, taught muscles pulling and bulking under his skin, driving Baekhyun insane with the urge to bite them. Oh my god, what am I thinking?! To his horror, he might or might not be salivating, too. Chanyeol inevitably notices Baekhyun’s wide-eyed staring directed at him, and he chuckles uncomfortably. “Sorry, I’m gross” he apologizes, gathering his limbs close self-consciously and grinning apprehensively, his cheeks looking even rosier than before. Baekhyun shakes his head adamantly; there is nothing gross in the world he has admired more.

“No, you aren’t” he retorts quickly; maybe too quickly to be subtle. Chanyeol realizes the unnatural response and he fidgets nervously, looking uncertain and unconvinced. Baekhyun mentally face palms; if his goal as ‘decent human being behavior’ was to creep Chanyeol out, he’s done just fine. Baekhyun panics and starts rambling, gesturing wildly with his hands. “I mean, I understand. You’ve mentioned you’re into jogging, right? I didn’t expect you to work out this much; wait, what am I saying, haha. Sorry. It’s pretty hot today, isn’t it?” he fans himself for good measure and boy is it hot, the more he looks at Chanyeol drenched in sweat like this. He can’t believe he is digging deeper into his own grave with every word that comes out of his mouth; can he restart this day and wake up on the right side of the bed, you know, the one that helps him tune in to the Earth’s frequencies more easily?

“Yeah…” Chanyeol looks amused with Baekhyun’s general lack of orientation and skill today; no one should look good when lowkey bullying you, yet all Baekhyun can think of is how cute that small smile makes the taller look. What has he done to Baekhyun’s inherent programming? Why am I being like this? Baekhyun whimpers internally, his pride wounded deeply, but he takes a breath to ease his nerves a little, and he composes himself enough to articulate a civilized part of dialogue. It needs to be done at some point.

“Thank you for your help” he says honestly, nodding to his words nervously. Then, he glances at the door uncomfortably, remembering the compromising position Chanyeol found him in; he feels his cheeks getting hotter and he bites his lip, his shoulders shrinking in embarrassment. “And…um, sorry for the show” he says quietly, eyes glued to the crime scene. He needs to get that door fixed sometime. Chanyeol looks in the direction Baekhyun is looking to understand, and then he wordlessly turns to Baekhyun again. Their eyes meet and Baekhyun feels so scarlet, as if he’s burning a million degrees; Chanyeol presses his smiling lips as if trying to keep his words behind them –again, he should not look this good to Baekhyun, he is probably dying of laughter internally at his expense, Baekhyun should be offended. And he is offended; for all the wrong reasons, like Chanyeol’s toned arms and his clingy wet shirt and his overall hotness. Lay suddenly decides to remind them she’s around.

((Tall man, daddy doesn’t like wet people; he says we catch colds if we’re wet. Go change! And then come play with me!))

She is very serious at first, as if she’s lecturing Chanyeol, but then her mood changes one hundred and eighty degrees, and she’s suddenly cheerful. It’s one of her confusing moments, which Baekhyun hopes will be resolved once she starts speaking properly. Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind the lack of coherency in their communication in the least, and he smiles at her, bending with his hands on his knees to look down at her.

“You are so cute, mochi, and I can’t even touch you right now, aww” he coos, and Lay giggles, hiding behind her teddy bear and stealing bashful glances at Chanyeol adorably. Baekhyun smiles at the sight; his daughter is doing a better job at charming Chanyeol than he is. Not that he wants to charm Chanyeol, like, shine in his eyes and make him fall for his charisma and have him wanting him in a special way or anything –okay, that came out wrong. Chanyeol smiles at the little girl and pokes her teddy playfully, while Baekhyun is mentally panicking at his own thoughts –but on the outside, he’s picking up his grocery bags calmly. And then, he gets an idea.

“Actually, do you happen to have any free time tomorrow evening?” he asks, fixing the heavy bags on his arms and pushing the stroller towards the door. He avoids really looking at Chanyeol, because we cannot know what sort of malfunction that might bring about, can we? He hears Chanyeol following a few steps behind him.

“Sure, why?” he agrees easily, lending a helping hand to push the stroller through the front door, because Baekhyun seems to have lost sixty percent of his mobile capacity today, thanks to the heavy bags he’s carrying. Once Lay is safely inside the house, Baekhyun hums, smiling to himself triumphantly and dropping the bags everywhere to finally be rid of them, before turning around with a bright smile, which he hopes will convince Chanyeol to spend another evening holed up in Baekhyun’s house. He inwardly makes a promise to the holy puppies of rainbowland that he won’t be as much of an awkward potato tomorrow.

“I need your baking expertise, so, can you come by at eight?”

--

“They do this every year?” Chanyeol asks with interest, pushing down the scoop of dough with the help of a second spoon, until it detaches and settles on the tray, next to a row of similar, pretty dollops, dotted with black chocolate chips all over.

“Uh-huh” Baekhyun answers distractedly, holding the top of the small, clear bag with one hand and reaching for the ribbon band with the other. He pulls enough material and then cuts it, picking up the piece of red ribbon to tie a bow around the bag’s opening, creating a little pouch. He observes his work and straightens the bow a little; perfect. Then, he adds it to the growing pile inside the bamboo basket he is keeping on his right, also decorated with red ribbon bows. They’ve been doing this for some time now.

They are gathered here today to bake cookies for the Daycare Fair, which is tomorrow. Every year, during the last few days of daycare, the school organizes various activities for the parents and their children, to celebrate the end of a successful year. Each class is assigned a different task, and since toddlers like Lay are too little to do anything substantial for the festivities, their parents organize a fair with baked goods and other delicacies. They had a parents’ meeting a week ago where they brainstormed for ideas, and then Kyungsoo split the tasks and requested each parent for a contribution based on the list they’d made. Baekhyun was assigned with the ‘mountain of cookies’ –he’d rather something more exciting, like the ‘caramelized apple tree’ or the ‘sky of floating meringues’, but Kyungsoo said he couldn’t assign him his own suggestions, bleh.

Chanyeol’s baking genius was required of course, to construct the actual mountain of cookies, which they both thought would be kind of ugly and plain to make in the end, so they settled on making a centre piece for the display and bake many cookies separately, stored in little bags. Chanyeol made an impressive layered cake, with chocolate-and-cookie-dough-inspired filling, and then he decorated it with cookies and other sweets, while Baekhyun was busy with his teething daughter; yes, they’re slowly welcoming her fourth tooth, after much crying and complaining. She has been much more agreeable since then, sitting on her highchair and watching the two men bake batch after batch of cookies, munching on a cookie they made especially for her, without chips, since she doesn’t eat chocolate yet.

“And what do they do with the money from the purchases?” Chanyeol asks his nth question about the fair; he seems so interested in Lay’s school in general, Baekhyun guesses it’s because he’s never had to know such things about children’s schooling and he finds it remarkable. Those questions pop up at random times while they’re working on the cookies, and Baekhyun has repeatedly caught himself expecting one during their silent moments.

“They use it to pay the yearly fees for children whose families cannot afford daycare” he explains, just like Kyungsoo explained it to the parents. Baekhyun was excited for the fair to begin with, since he enjoys doing daddy stuff, but he got even more invested in it after he found out about the daycare’s initiative. He thinks it’s a very kind gesture and he’s glad to be a small part of it.

“Thakh gyeat” Chanyeol mumbles in awe; even though his tone of voice is easy to decode, his words aren’t. Baekhyun stops for a second and turns to Chanyeol in confusion, only to catch him in the act; he’s eating the cookie dough! Never has a lisp been more incriminating, and Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun at the same time the elder does, his eyes widening and his shoulders cowering guiltily for having been caught; he looks like a combination of a shocked, flustered kid, and one of those guilty puppies from the videos Baekhyun never watches at work. Baekhyun gasps dramatically and snatches the bowl of cookie dough in his arms.

“Heyyy don’t eat my cookie dough!” he protests, raising his chin and pouting accusingly at Chanyeol. With stubbornly furrowed eyebrows, clutching the bowl possessively in his arms, he probably looks like a jealous, selfish child, but all he’s thinking about is that Chanyeol will get a stomachache if he eats too much raw cookie dough; he can be such a mom sometimes, but no one needs to know that. Chanyeol swallows the rest of the dough he had in his mouth and blinks at Baekhyun innocently, all lovely big ears, huge puppy eyes and pitifully pouting lips. Nobody can cope with this amount of cuteness in a moderately sane way.

“That was for quality check” he begs, giving Baekhyun the heartbreaking slow blinks of remorse. Baekhyun stands his ground for maybe two seconds, before he caves in to Chanyeol’s kicked puppy act, which is messing with his head and his heart so badly he can barely remember why he pretended to get mad at Chanyeol in the first place. He harrumphs and puts the bowl down halfheartedly, somewhere where the mess on the counter is relatively less prominent. Chanyeol relaxes into an obedient and keen expression, eager to prove he’s a good boy, holding his spoon to his chest dutifully. Baekhyun is tempted to laugh but he holds his sulking expression for a moment longer.

“Be careful not to repeat this offence, Park Chanyeol, or I will have you removed from cookie-spooning duty, and reassigned to packaging” he threatens, wagging a ladle under taller’s nose for effect. Baekhyun’s assumingly fierce gaze seems to do the trick, and Chanyeol’s face falls.

“But packaging is boring!” he whines, playing along. Baekhyun puts down the ladle, recomposing himself and picking up the next plastic bag to fill.

“Exactly my point.” He says coolly, nodding his nose snobbishly.

They spend a while in silence, doing their respective work. It’s comfortable for both, and Baekhyun secretly feels a little lighter, having someone to rely on, even for such a small thing as sharing the workload. He is so absorbed by his thoughts and his horribly repetitive actions that he doesn’t notice when Chanyeol finishes with the tray of cookies; he does notice, however, when Chanyeol shuffles closer to him and leans his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder, in an honestly uncomfortable angle for his height. Baekhyun pauses his work again to see what the matter is, turning his head to look at Chanyeol in bewilderment; what might be the delightful occasion that brings Chanyeol in such proximity, making Baekhyun’s butterflies jump around in his stomach?

Chanyeol has such a dreamy look on his face, his eyes soft and glazed, and his lips curling in a wistful smile. Baekhyun doesn’t remember the last time he saw him so dazed or stunned, but he would be lying if he said he isn’t jealous of this stupidly handsome expression. And his hair smells nice- what? Focus, Baekhyun. Following Chanyeol’s gaze, intrigued as to what might be that which Chanyeol is staring at with such fascination and adoration, Baekhyun sees his daughter, still sitting in her highchair quietly. The squeeze of his heart is too small to notice, overshadowed by his own affectionate smile.

Lay it too busy to mind the adults, focused on munching her special cookie. It’s not easy business, when you have only three teeth and a sore gum, and the nom-nom is too big to fit in your mouth at once. She has to nibble on it, grain by grain, and that’s nowhere near satisfying when the entire house smells like an explosion of sweet cookie flavor. If she is lucky, her drool softens the cookie enough for her to bite off a small piece, but her little arms get tired of holding up the cookie for too long. She has crumbs all around , her hands, the table –and probably the floor too– are sticky and dirty, but she is determined to chomp down this nom-nom, and she won’t give up until then!

“Why is she so cute when she’s messy?” Chanyeol coos and Baekhyun hums in agreement, finding her fixed gaze on the cookie very endearing. He can’t even fret over the mess and the cleanup he’ll have to do later, because she looks so overwhelmingly adorable; she deserves a little mess every now and then. Chanyeol sighs longingly at the sight, getting Baekhyun’s attention, and the shorter pats him on the back with one hand for comfort; he knows the feeling. Same, Chanyeol, same.

They keep watching Lay for some time, and for some reason Baekhyun’s hand can be found resting on Chanyeol’s broad back throughout this time. He has switched from gentle pats to absentminded caresses and little rubs, which Chanyeol doesn’t object. A thought returns to Baekhyun –more like it hurls itself in the middle of his cognitive processes– and he keeps his gaze on Lay pensively, toying with the idea that’s squirming in his thoughts and behind his lips.

If we assume he should go for it, is this a good time? Baekhyun bites the inside of his cheek for a moment and then he draws a breath, thinking that now is as good a time as any.

“Chanyeol, I’ve been thinking-” well, maybe not as good as any, because Baekhyun is interrupted by his cooking timer. Chanyeol removes himself from Baekhyun’s shoulder, going back to his place by the counter to stand unobtrusively. Baekhyun swallows his disappointment at the ill timing of the cookies in the oven, and he picks up his kitchen gloves, walking over. A deliciously smelling heat wave comes out when he opens the oven, and he is so distracted that he reaches for the baking tray with his bare hand. “Aw!” he yelps, retracting his hand instantly and holding his poor finger to his lips.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Chanyeol jumps beside him in an instant, his eyebrows tangled with worry as he inspects Baekhyun’s face with concern. Baekhyun holds his hand to his chest protectively, his lips forming a small smile.

“I just burnt myself a little, I’ll live” he reassures Chanyeol, feeling a little guilty for being so loud over something so small that will have probably faded by tomorrow. Chanyeol doesn’t look convinced and he holds out one hand.

“Let me see”

“No, go back to your cookies” Baekhyun turns his whole body the other way to prevent Chanyeol from grabbing his hand for an unnecessary inspection. Chanyeol insists for a few seconds, before he gives up with an eye roll at Baekhyun’s childish behavior, and walks back to the counter. Baekhyun reaches for the cookie tray with his gloved hand this time, pulling it out and replacing it with a new one, full of well-shaped raw cookies. He places the hot cookies on the cooling rack carefully, and then he puts everything aside and walks back to his packaging post. It takes one glance to notice Chanyeol is sulking, idly toying with a spoon and staring at it pensively with a pout on his lips –and it’s all Baekhyun’s fault. Baekhyun sighs and attempts to brighten the taller’s mood with a smile. “They say if you’re pouting while you’re baking, the cookies don’t come out good”

“I’m always here for you, you know that, right?” Chanyeol says, his voice suddenly serious and deep. A frown between his eyebrows makes him look much more brooding, and maybe Baekhyun doesn’t understand perfectly where the question came from, but he has a gnawing feeling in his stomach it’s not just about the insignificant burn on his finger. When Chanyeol’s sunshine dims, it’s usually for something important, perhaps something he’s been worrying about for years. Baekhyun gulps and stays silent, feeling speechless. How can he answer Chanyeol’s question? Of course he knows that he can count on Chanyeol for the smallest, to the greatest, to the craziest of things, but it doesn’t feel right to say it out loud, especially after Baekhyun abandoned Chanyeol two years ago, and if not for coincidence, he would still be without him. Baekhyun’s chest feels too heavy and stuffy all of a sudden, and he is glad Chanyeol’s eyes are too timid to look at him when he is sure he looks so hurt. “Why won’t you let me help you sometimes?” Chanyeol whispers.

If Baekhyun has ever regretted his stubborn tendencies to be independent in his life, this would be the moment he does.

“Actually…” he bites his lip, still unsure of how Chanyeol might take his request, or if he’s allowed to make it at all. Chanyeol is still moping, but he glances at Baekhyun out of the corner of his eye with timid expectation, and Baekhyun decides to go for it. “I was just about to ask for your help” he admits quietly. He feels uncomfortable when asking favors and this time is no different, so he can’t fully appreciate the drastic way Chanyeol’s entire appearance changes so fast after his words, even though it’s very impressive. Chanyeol is suddenly shining, bursting at the seams with excitement, his eyes sparkling, as if Baekhyun just showed him the sun for the first time.

“Really?! Tell me, what is it, anything, I’ll do it!” the words flow out of his mouth fast, and he looks ready for anything, squirming a little in anticipation and looking at Baekhyun with wide, honest eyes. Baekhyun smiles nervously.

“Calm down, Yeol” he says, picking up his work again. Chanyeol is excited now, but maybe he won’t be as pleased to hear Baekhyun’s request. Baekhyun takes a moment to think up a good way of phrasing his request; he had made plans and prepared speeches for it, just in case this moment ever arrived, but those drafts are lost in his memory. He decides to start somewhere and see where it takes him, always keeping his eyes on his hands. “Lay’s daycare closes for the summer this week, so she’ll have to stay at home on weekdays too. I can’t leave her alone, obviously, but I can’t change my schedule at work so suddenly either, and they can’t give me leave yet. So I was thinking…” here comes the tough part and Baekhyun’s words lodge in his throat, his mind blanks, and oh god, he can’t say it, he won’t say it.

“You need a babysitter” Chanyeol guesses, blinking at Baekhyun obliviously. Baekhyun gives him a pained look, pleading for him to magically understand what he had been planning to say, trying to will the words through Chanyeol’s skull by telepathy. Chanyeol seems confused by the half-pleading, half-apologetic, intense look Baekhyun is giving him, until somehow he has an epiphany, and his eyebrows shoot up at the realization. “You want ME to be the babysitter!” he exclaims, making Baekhyun wince. Chanyeol looks only surprised after his sudden enlightenment, and anything other than an immediate, positive answer, is not good enough for Baekhyun, whose insecurity cascades down on him like ten tons of sand, and words start coming out of his lips beyond his control.

“Only if you’re okay with it! I don’t mean to ruin your summer plans or keep you from your work, I deeply respect your work and I don’t mean to imply you’re idle, and of course, I’ll pay for your services, and you won’t have to do anything other than watch her and take her for a walk, I’ll have everything prepared, and it will be only for the days I’m at work, and-”

Baekhyun’s rant is interrupted by a cookie, when Chanyeol shoves it in his mouth to stop him from talking so fast. Still lacking confidence and blushing for his embarrassing outburst, he looks at Chanyeol with puppy eyes, praying to every deity out there that Chanyeol is not mad or offended. The taller looks at him in the eyes, solemn and composed, rendering Baekhyun unable to decipher his mood, in spite of their intense eye-contact.

“Why me?” he asks calmly, a frown appearing between his eyebrows. His stance is stern and serious, and Baekhyun doesn’t even dare bat an eyelash.

“Ah truht youw” he mumbles around the cookie, feeling too stunned by Chanyeol’s gaze and too distracted by his raging thoughts. He was hoping he could one day say those words to Chanyeol’s face, preferably without a cookie lodged between his lips, but oh well. He honestly trusts Chanyeol with his life –he even trusts him with his daughter, for crying out loud– but he doesn’t think he has ever told him that. The fact that he has never said the words out loud doesn’t make them any less true though, and it’s because he trusts him so much that he decided to make this proposal in the first place.

Chanyeol is not confused after Baekhyun’s mumbled words, so he must have understood –if not by the sound, then by the honest look in Baekhyun’s eyes– and since he is not reacting in any way, Baekhyun thinks it’s safe to take that as a rejection, so he takes the cookie out of his mouth with a sigh and he starts babbling away his insecurities and his disappointment. “You know what? Forget it, it’s totally fine. Kyungsoo knows some good babysitters, or I can ask my mother on some days” he dismisses, trying to add a casual but very strained smile. It’s not like he’s out of options, it’s just that he has to strike out the first, but he’ll be okay, he’s not hopeless. “Don’t even worry about it, it was just a thought”

“I’ll do it.”

“I get it, you have your own life, Chanyeol, I would never- wait, what?” Baekhyun stops his pity-party speech when Chanyeol’s words actually register. He looks at the taller as if he’s growing a second head, not believing his ears heard that last part right. Chanyeol beams.

“I’ll do it!” he exclaims with a big smile of glee, jumping on Baekhyun to crush him in an enthusiastic bear hug. Baekhyun flails a bit at first, still disoriented by the turn of events, but Chanyeol’s arms are secure and tight around him, helping him slowly accept his words. He’ll do it. Chanyeol will be taking care of Lay! Baekhyun relaxes in relief and hugs Chanyeol back eagerly, hiding his face in the taller’s chest.

“What took you so long to decide? I chipped my heart over these cookies” he whimpers. Chanyeol’s hold tightens reassuringly, bringing them impossibly close.

“You had me from the start” Chanyeol’s deep voice carries a smile and it reverberates nicely in his chest against Baekhyun’s cheek. Then he pulls back, smiling sweetly at a pouting Baekhyun. “Sorry for stressing your daddy heart” he says, patting Baekhyun’s chest over his heart, as if he can ease the uncomfortable tightness caused by the emotional torment; weirdly enough, he can do that. In a moment, Chanyeol leaves Baekhyun with a blinding smile on his lips, skipping his way around the kitchen and kneeling down next to Lay’s chair. The little girl looks at him with interest and Chanyeol smiles at her so brightly that even Baekhyun’s lips curve into a small smile.

“Lay~ did you hear? We’re going to be spending every morning together! We’ll play together eeeevery day, and go for walks, and cook together, and have so much fun!” he starts excitedly, making plans with twinkling eyes and big gestures, looking thrilled beyond words. Baekhyun nearly bursts to tears; he chose right, didn’t he? And now his child will be safe and happy and loved when he’s not with her, a thought which makes his heart both squeeze and expand, beating fast. Lay keeps her wide eyes on Chanyeol, trying to keep up with whatever the grownup is saying, her leg slowly starting to kick in excitement. She looks just as ecstatic as Chanyeol, by the time the latter asks her “What do you say, mochi?”

((Holy precious daddy’s smile, tall man, you look so happy! Daddy, daddy! I think I’m happy too!))