PART TWO
"I W A N T Y O U"
II : VIII

It was probably the fact that Baekhyun had been ignoring it for so long—pushed it into the back of his mind to forget about, that made him this delirious when he finally came to terms that yes, he wanted Chanyeol.

So bad.

If the old Baekhyun had heard the thoughts going through his current self's mind, he would've laughed and said how incredibly impossible it was for him to think about this stuff in the future. Yet, he probably didn't expect his future self to be pulling Chanyeol closer, indulging in the way that Chanyeol's hands fit on his hips as he tilted his head to allow Chanyeol more access to his neck, mewling when the taller pressed a kiss to a sensitive area.

The kisses they shared were passionate and tasted of mellow wine, the two of them at the mercy and hands of Want as they pushed for more.

The current Baekhyun couldn't care less if Kris walked in at the moment, nor could he care about what the result of this make-out session would be. He was drowning in Chanyeol's intoxicating scent, allowing himself to become addicted to the feeling of those lips on his skin.

Baekhyun didn't know how long they stayed there, but he only focused on the way that Chanyeol's hand lightly rested on the back of his neck, his own hands running through Chanyeol's ebony locks.

It was Chanyeol who came to his senses first, pulling away from Baekhyun who seemed to chase his kisses, his eyes opening as he stared at the taller, confused. Chanyeol immediately missed Baekhyun's warmth, but he told himself that they were in a kitchen—his restaurant's kitchen, out of all of them—and that right out that door, Kris was probably heading to get his boyfriend back.

He swiped the back of his hand over his lips and he resisted the urge to kiss Baekhyun again, what with the puppy eyes and the soft, wet lips practically begging him to do exactly what he had been doing the past few minutes.

"I should... probably end the get-together," Chanyeol said, having to clear his throat because of how long he spent without talking.

Baekhyun nodded, still recovering from the feeling of Chanyeol's lips on his own. It took him a couple of seconds but he eventually his lips before he slid off the counter, having to hold the edge of the counter for his legs felt like jello when he was standing again.

Chanyeol wondered how everything Baekhyun did could look so endearing, but he brushed the thoughts away when the kitchen's door opened again, nearly giving both of them heart attacks.

"Channie, he actually got the jar of pickles off of the top shelf! It's a miracle!" Wendy said excitedly, but it was obvious that she was faking it all as her eyes narrowed when she saw Chanyeol's ruffled hair and swollen lips.

Kris, who had drunken another cup of wine, didn't even notice Baekhyun's flushed cheeks or his equally red lips, mumbling something about how he had to step on a stool to grab the damn pickles. It was like reality hit Baekhyun when he saw Kris again, and his mind became a whirlwind of what ifs, wondering first what would've happened if Kris had walked in a minute earlier.

When he glanced at Chanyeol and saw him seemingly talking to Wendy with his eyes, he wondered if Chanyeol had only kissed him in the heat of the moment. What if that all meant nothing? What if he didn't feel even the slightest bit like Baekhyun did?

Kris suddenly announced that he was going to go and Baekhyun quickly followed, knowing that staying in a room with Wendy and Chanyeol would've been just as much of a mess as the elevator scene.

Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun left and the moment the door closed, Wendy set the jar of pickles on the counter and sighed, crossing her arms.

"I gave you guys time to talk, not to ing tongue wrestle," she pointed out, a look of disappointment appearing on her face. "Didn't this kid break your heart?"

"He's older than you," Chanyeol said, completely avoiding everything else that she said. "And I should probably go kick everyone out. It's getting late."

"Chanyeol—" she tried, but got ignored as Chanyeol swiftly left the room, telling everyone that they should start heading back.

Once she was out of the kitchen and obviously annoyed, Chanyeol told her that she could go home early, only receiving a few words about how she expected Chanyeol not to "talk" to Baekhyun again for the rest of the night. It wasn't because she was some possessive best friend, it was because Chanyeol himself had told her all of his problems regarding Baekhyun and how he wanted to forget about him even if it was impossible.

When everyone was gone and it was only Baekhyun and Chanyeol, Kris having gone a few minutes after Wendy, they lightly cleaned up the place, the silence a little deafening even as Baekhyun hummed.

A few minutes later, Chanyeol locked up the place and Baekhyun watched him do it, before turning on his heel as he headed to the parking lot to where he parked his car.

"Baekhyun," Chanyeol called and the shorter turned around faster than he should've, his mind a little too excited about anything regarding Chanyeol. "You should take the taxi with me." Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before Chanyeol continued. "You had a few drinks and we live at the same place so... Better safe than sorry."

Baekhyun contemplated the thought for a few minutes and was about to deny but he saw the look in Chanyeol's eyes, which gave no room for argument. So he simply nodded and decided that he could always get his car the next day.

He walked over to Chanyeol and stood next to him as they waited for the taxi, clasping his hands together when he felt the near-autumn's night breeze.

They both didn't say anything, from the moment that Baekhyun stood next to Chanyeol to the moment the taxi arrived, everything was silent. They were both too busy thinking to even bother speaking.

Chanyeol opened the door and gestured for Baekhyun to go in first, the shorter giving him a small smile as he climbed into the bad metal box. Baekhyun deemed that the driver was immune to the cold, with the way that he felt like he got into a refrigerator the moment he sat down.

The ride to their apartment was uneventful because even if they were both stealing glances at each other, none of them did anything to relieve the tension-filled air. Baekhyun wondered what Chanyeol was thinking about, catching the way that the giant's eyebrows furrowed as if he was making a difficult choice.

As they stepped out of the taxi and made their way over to Baekhyun's apartment, an unspoken rule that Chanyeol would walk him back to his place, Baekhyun chanced a glance at Chanyeol only to see him staring at him back.

They stopped near the front of the apartment and Baekhyun couldn't find it in himself to take his gaze away from the taller's, roped in like fish to its bait.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the vending machines?" Chanyeol asked, hope in his eyes.

Baekhyun had to take a moment to realize what Chanyeol had just said, his lips parting in shock as he recognized that maybe Chanyeol hadn't regretted what he did.

And even though Baekhyun already had Chanyeol's lips on his own that night, none of that could compare to the way that the expression on Chanyeol's face made Baekhyun's heart soar.

"Okay."

~

Baekhyun woke up wrapped snuggly in his sheets, squinting at the light outside before he gave up on trying to make sense of what time it was, closing his eyes again and trying to get back to sleep.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, his thoughts went to Chanyeol and the memories came rushing back so quickly that Baekhyun was completely awake again, rolling onto his stomach as he pressed his face into his pillow.

"What the ," he mumbled into the fabric, trying to collect his thoughts as he tried making sense of what had happened last night.

It felt as if he had just woken up after having a drunk one night stand—but instead, he had woken up after making out with his ex-boyfriend. Not to mention that they seemed like honeymooners on steroids, with the way that they pressed each other so close.

The wine had probably affected Baekhyun, so much to the point that he actually kissed the person he swore he was getting over—no, Baekhyun told himself, because even if some of that night was foggy, he remembered clearly that he himself wanted Chanyeol, and the small amount of alcohol hadn't changed any of that. It only allowed him to act on his feelings.

Baekhyun prepared himself for the morning, remembering that Chanyeol had asked him if he would see Baekhyun again that day. He made his way to the lobby a little before 8:30, sitting on the couch nearest to the vending machines as he pretended to go on his phone, even if his attention was focused solely on his apartment's entrance.

It was a little past 8:45 when Baekhyun put his phone down and stood up, peeking out at the park, glad that the wall with the entrance was made entirely out of glass. He didn't see Chanyeol anywhere and he waited for a few more minutes, pacing around and ignoring the stares that he got from the other residents and from the person constantly at the front desk.

He sat back down at 9:10 and gnawed on his bottom lip, wondering if Chanyeol had only said that on a whim yesterday. He probably hadn't meant it.

Baekhyun sighed. Nonetheless, he waited until 9:30 before all the hope in him was extinguished, leaving him to take a jog as he glanced at Chanyeol's apartment every now and then, but still, nothing.

When he got back to his apartment, he felt as if his heart had sunk into a bottomless pit—but maybe this was good. Maybe Chanyeol realized that Baekhyun was still just the ruthless teenager who had broken Chanyeol's heart, and that Chanyeol should never want him back in any situation.

As Baekhyun got into the shower, he nodded. This was better for them.

~

Baekhyun hadn't left his place for a week, choosing to forego his morning jogs and do some stretching and yoga instead. (He heard it was good for the soul.) The food in his fridge was running low but Baekhyun was alright with that, since he mostly didn't have time for full meals when his dad decided to give him the job of interviewing all the newbies on the phone, plus organizing some damn online reports.

Sometimes Baekhyun wished that technology didn't exist, so when he wanted to disappear off the face of the earth, he could.

He massaged his temples after a terrible phone call and stood up to make some trashy instant coffee, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging on his wall. He observed his faded purple hair and decided that he should get it dyed soon, turning away to boil some water. Baekhyun wouldn't exactly call himself a chef, mostly when he didn't even know how to boil water in a pot until Luhan told him the simple steps. He chose to use his water boiler for his coffee, switching it on after getting a sufficient amount of water. 

He thought about Chanyeol, wondering what he had been up to after the Viva Polo get-together. He was probably enjoying his life as usual (without Baekhyun,) having fun at his job (without Baekhyun,) going on dates with pretty people (without Baekhyu—okay, Baekhyun thought, that doesn't even make sense.

He sighed, trying to distract himself by rearranging the fake oranges and apples in his wooden basket, waiting for the water to finish boiling.

Just as he was putting a tablespoon of the coffee mix into his cup, he heard a knock on his apartment's door and he set the stuff down, wondering what kind of business Luhan needed at this time. The guy was usually working full time on Mondays.

Baekhyun pushed on the handle and pulled open the door, nearly falling backward when, instead of coming eye-to-eye with Luhan, he looked up and saw Chanyeol standing at his door.

"Ch-Chanyeol," Baekhyun began, the shock evident in his voice and in the way that he closed the door a little more than before, until only half of his face was shown.

Chanyeol smiled at the action but Baekhyun could see that Chanyeol hadn't come here for laughs and jokes. He wanted to talk.

"Are you busy?"

Baekhyun glanced behind him at the half-unfinished stack of papers on his desk but instead of saying anything about it, he shook his head and opened the door a little more, giving space for Chanyeol to come in.

The giant did, slipping off his shoes as he looked around Baekhyun's apartment, bigger than his own and more modern. After all, Baekhyun lived on floor 29 whereas Chanyeol lived on floor 14.

The water boiler clicked off and Baekhyun went over to it, asking if Chanyeol wanted a drink too. When the giant denied, Baekhyun finished his own and went to sit down on the couch that Chanyeol had placed himself on.

Unlike Chanyeol's place, Baekhyun's was more spacious, his dining area turned into a place where he'd do all of his work while his living room only sported a couch set, coffee table, and an unused TV.

Chanyeol stared out of the wall-wide window as Baekhyun took sips of his coffee, gazing at Chanyeol as he waited for him to start talking.

Baekhyun never expected to see Chanyeol here, mostly after he had been avoiding him this entire week. He wondered how Chanyeol had even found him, until he remembered that Chanyeol had seen him step on the elevator from this floor. The giant had probably knocked on the other two doors on this floor to find him. Baekhyun smiled at the thought.

"Baekhyun..." Chanyeol started, finally glancing back at the said man. "You and Kris... You're still together, right?"

. Baekhyun felt as if he was in some high-class interview with impossible questions.

The shorter set his cup onto the coffee table and clasped his hands together in nervousness. "Well... Yes." The moment he saw the look of disappointment on Chanyeol's face, Baekhyun quickly added: "But I think I'm going to break up with him."

"What?"

"I–I see him as a friend and nothing more, really," Baekhyun explained, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat guiltily. "It just can't work... mostly when..."

He paused, questioning why Chanyeol even needed to know any of this stuff anyway. Did it mean that Chanyeol was interested too? Or was he just curious if them making out would ruin Baekhyun's relationship?

Nevermind that, Baekhyun still didn't truly understand if Wendy and Chanyeol were dating or not. Chanyeol had only ever said that one sentence, not that they weren't dating.

"Mostly when...?" Chanyeol asked, prompting him to continue.

Mostly when you're here.

"A–Are you dating Wendy?" Baekhyun inquired instead of answering, because he wanted to know if he was the only idiot who was willing to break up with someone completely fine to chase his ex-boyfriend.

"Is she a boy?" Chanyeol answered and Baekhyun smiled at that, giving a small shake of his head. "'Thought so. I'm not dating her, she's just my friend."

So Chanyeol had never been dating her from the start. For some reason that made the uncomfortable feeling in Baekhyun's heart lessen.

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun and decided that heading over to his place had been a good idea after all. A week ago, one of the new stupid sous-chefs at his restaurant had started a fire early in the morning (how, Chanyeol didn't know,) and he had to head over there instead of going to Baekhyun. He wondered if the smaller had actually gone to the vending machines or had just ignored whatever he had said, and he felt guilty thinking what it was like if Baekhyun had waited for him.

He was beginning to realize that Baekhyun controlled his every move, since seeing the subconscious smile on Baekhyun's face made Chanyeol feel as if he could do whatever he dreamt of. It also made him sure that he wouldn't regret what he was going to do next. 

Baekhyun, on the other hand, began to realize that he really, really liked kissing Chanyeol. Which was especially convenient, since Chanyeol was currently moving over to his side of the couch, staring at Baekhyun and asking him with his eyes if he could continue. When Baekhyun gave a small nod, Chanyeol leaned in, his hand tipping Baekhyun's chin up as he pressed their lips together.

With his body turned to Chanyeol, Baekhyun leaned back until his head made contact with the couch's armrest, now lying horizontally on the piece of furniture. The taller naturally settled on top of him, their legs tangling as Chanyeol used his free hand to keep himself up, his other hand busy caressing Baekhyun's cheek as he coaxed the smaller's mouth open with light kisses.

Baekhyun couldn't believe it, but when Chanyeol bit his bottom lip and made him groan, he knew that this wasn't a dream.

He felt dizzy with all of the feelings swirling around his mind and heart, his body just as confused but pliant under Chanyeol's touches.

Just yesterday, he believed that Chanyeol had been messing with him, and now, he was yet again accepting every kiss that the taller was giving to him.

Baekhyun was completely under his control.

And really, how was Chanyeol managing all of these things?

~

As Baekhyun was changing into his workout clothes the next day, he realized that they hadn't talked about their... relationship. After making out languidly on the couch, Baekhyun's dad had decided that it was the perfect time to check up on his son and call him over to the company building.

Chanyeol had left along with Baekhyun, and there was still that question of what Chanyeol meant when he said: "forget that 'us' ever happened".

Because if he meant what Baekhyun had thought he meant, then they were obviously failing, considering that things had gotten frisky twice already.

Baekhyun decided that he needed a little more time to think about things, making sure to stay in his room until 9:30 before heading to the Lobby, not wanting to run into Chanyeol.

He was afraid that if he met Chanyeol again, the giant would tell him that he regretted everything they had done, and that he had only done it in the spur of the moment—moments. He'd rather ignore Chanyeol than hearing him say the exact words he knew would come from his mouth, because even if he knew it was going to happen, he also knew that it would hurt hearing them.

When Baekhyun left the elevator, he surveyed the vending machines just in case Chanyeol was standing around, and when he deemed them to be clear, he made his way over, purchasing the usual bottle of water.

"Baekhyun."

Baekhyun jumped when he heard his name. Jesus Christ—

He turned and he frowned when he saw Chanyeol standing there, wondering where the hell he came from. He realized that he hadn't even glanced at the couches before, where Chanyeol was most likely sitting if he had been waiting since his usual time (8:30) until now.

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun answered, trying his hardest not to sound awkward. It was a little difficult (just a little), with the way that the moment he saw Chanyeol, his eyes drifted to his lips and Baekhyun was suddenly thinking about how he wanted them back on his own—right now.

He cleared his throat and decided that staring at his water bottle was probably the safest option, fiddling with the cap as he allowed Chanyeol time to speak.

"About yesterday—and the other time," the taller began and Baekhyun knew that he was going to talk about it, yet his heart skipped a beat anyway. "I think that maybe..."

Baekhyun panicked, knowing that his heart couldn't take it if Chanyeol said once more that he wanted to forget all about it. It already hurt enough last time.

"Yeah," Baekhyun spoke up, cutting him off, "We probably weren't in our right minds, I mean," he glanced at Chanyeol's eyes, which were saying something completely different than what he had expected. Baekhyun wondered if his own eyes were saying the same as his mouth. "You regret it, I regret it... Case closed."

Chanyeol's eyebrows furrowed and Baekhyun didn't give him another chance to speak, turning on his heel and making his way to the building's exit.

That wasn't so bad, right? At least there hadn't been an audience to see what had happened, since the lobby had been and was deserted.

But before Baekhyun could dwell on it any longer, he was stopped with a hand on his arm, the pull not harsh but enough to turn him back around.

"No, Baekhyun, that wasn't what I was saying at all."

He stared into Chanyeol's eyes again, the giant's gaze seemingly flitting from Baekhyun's own or to his nose and lips. He seemed to be memorizing Baekhyun's features as if they were important pieces of art that he couldn't forget.

Baekhyun couldn't help the confused expression he was sporting when he registered what the giant had said, Chanyeol's words incomprehensible even if they were so simple.

"What do you mean?" Baekhyun questioned when Chanyeol didn't further say anything. His words seemed to snap Chanyeol out of his thoughts, his stare finally returning to Baekhyun's eyes.

"When I said that I wanted to forget about senior year, I meant that I wanted to have a chance to restart... With you," Chanyeol said, smiling at the awestruck expression on Baekhyun's face.

"I... I don't get it," Baekhyun answered dumbly. Chanyeol's words seemed too good to be real.

This has to be a joke.

"I want to try this... whatever it is," Chanyeol continued when Baekhyun showed no signs of understanding. 

"I... I'm—"

Chanyeol really was capable of doing everything, like rendering Baekhyun speechless with a couple of sentences. He was really amazing.

Baekhyun knew that after an hour or so, he would regret seeming like a complete fool, but he was currently only focused on the way that Chanyeol's eyes softened when he stared at Baekhyun.

The taller let out a playful sigh, faking to be annoyed when in reality he found the entire situation cute. "Do I really have to explain?" he asked.

And Baekhyun nodded, even if he knew what Chanyeol was going to do next.

The shorter then felt the caress of Chanyeol's fingers on his cheek, as light as a feather as he leaned down and pressed a kiss equally as soft onto Baekhyun's lips, giving him no time to enjoy it before he pulled back with a grin.

"Is that enough of an explanation?" he questioned, amused at the way that Baekhyun's eyes fluttered open, holding a sparkle that Chanyeol couldn't help but become fixated on.

Baekhyun shook his head.

Chanyeol smiled. "You're really dumb, aren't you?"

When Baekhyun gave him a bashful smile, the taller decided to explain it to him over and over again.