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

"Do you think they're going to kill each other?" Baekhyun whispered, voice low as if to keep the two animals calm.

"I mean, they're both relatively small dogs so it shouldn't be that bad, right?" the taller answered, crouching down beside Baekhyun who was currently holding onto the dog that they had gotten together, having temporarily named him Baekhyun Junior. The corgi was only around 8 weeks old, and Baekhyun had gushed about him the entire ride back from the previous owner's place.

Chanyeol couldn't blame the smaller, since the giant was starting to become fond of the little pup (and only because he reminded him of Baekhyun—he was not betraying Toben).

Baekhyun set the puppy down on the floor, watching as it took a few steps on its stubby legs before plopping down in front of Toben who was standing a few feet away, observing silently.

"Chanyeol—I swear to god, if your dog hurts mine, I will toss it out of the window," Baekhyun said protectively, turning to Chanyeol and giving him a menacing glare.

"Hey, dogs are territorial. It's only natural," the taller frowned, standing up to crouch next to Toben; just in case Baekhyun was seriously about to follow through with his plan. Baekhyun deemed that as some sort of betrayal, scooting closer to his corgi as he prepared for worst case scenarios.

"Who would want to hurt this angel?" he questioned, petting the corgi behind its ears. Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun's eyes nearly teared up at how cute the dog was, figuring that, okay, he would put some effort into keeping Toben in check. The Poodle was usually aggressive with his toys and playing, so Chanyeol wouldn't doubt that his dog would someday somehow hurt Baekhyun's. "I think I'm going to name Baekhyun Junior Mongryong."

"Why?" Chanyeol asked as he settled down, tired of crouching the entire time. He sat his on the floor, crossing his legs and placing Toben in between.

"Well... I named my first stuffed animal that... and I guess it kind of stuck."

The giant nodded at the explanation because his name for Toben wasn't any better, to be honest. But Chanyeol found it strange, because Toben was being rather docile, which was probably not what he would be acting like under normal circumstances. By now, he should've been barking at Mongryong or growling, because Chanyeol hadn't been lying when he said that dogs (especially Toben) were territorial.

The two watched as their dogs walked around the apartment, the taller beginning to get the sniffles because of his allergies. Yes, even if Chanyeol loved every animal that he had come across, he was allergic to most of them. Toben was a Poodle and Shih Tzu mix, which was a breed that was supposedly good for people with pet allergies, but Mongryong was a corgi and he did not fit into that category.

"He's only staying here for tonight, right?" Chanyeol questioned as he took his gaze off of his dog to stare at Baekhyun's, the little puppy looking all too adorable as it waddled around.

Chanyeol realized that their dogs actually resembled their owners to some point; Mongryong looking like Baekhyun because of his cute puppy face and his light brown fur, similar to the short male's hair, while Toben looked like Chanyeol when he forgot to straighten his hair after a shower.

"Yeah, I'll bring him home with me tomorrow," Baekhyun reached his hand out when Mongryong approached, petting his fur slowly.

"Are you staying here tonight too?"

Baekhyun looked up from Mongryong to stare at Chanyeol, nodding as a small smile slipped on his face. "But if Mongryong stays over at my place, I'd have to do the same. I can't have him wandering the place without supervision when he's so small."

"Well—I mean, I'm not that allergic so Mongryong can stay over sometimes—"

"Or we can improvise and make you come over to my place," Baekhyun suggested and Chanyeol paused, a little shocked that he hadn't thought of that possibility.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

The shorter looked amused, and that was obviously because of how Chanyeol was so quick to put his allergies to the side and compromise if that meant he could spend more time with Baekhyun. It made the brunet's heart flutter.

It wouldn't be the first time that they spent the night over at Baekhyun's place, but the couple generally liked Chanyeol's place more, because his bed was more comfortable and the sheets were thicker. (Plus, Baekhyun had told him that he felt more at home in the taller's apartment, and how could Chanyeol deny the midget's requests when he loved the sight of Baekhyun padding around in his apartment?)

Chanyeol checked the clock and saw that it was nearing 2 AM; their drive to get Mongryong being longer than needed because Baekhyun wanted to buy some more toys on the way back.

"Let's head to bed," Chanyeol suggested and Baekhyun nodded, scooping Mongryong up in his arms and bringing him over to his small bed, a little worried that Toben, who would be sleeping in his own bed across the living room, would somehow get to him during the night and hurt him.

After Baekhyun pet Mongryong for the hundredth time, the two finally retreated to their (Chanyeol's) bedroom, preparing for the night in the washroom connected to it.

"I'm beat," Chanyeol said once both of them were finally under the covers, blindly reaching for Baekhyun and finding the shorter rolling over to connect to his side, his face smushed into Chanyeol's armpit. "You're so weird."

Baekhyun mumbled something Chanyeol couldn't make out and the taller only chuckled, readjusting himself so that he was more comfortable, turning on his side and throwing an arm over Baekhyun.

It seemed that the shorter was more tired than he was, snoozing off a few minutes later and leaving Chanyeol to think in the short moments before his own sleep, his arms wrapped around Baekhyun safely.

He thought to Wendy's words and he shut his eyes, trying to will the thoughts away from his mind. These past few days, he couldn't stop thinking about what Wendy had said, and how much it made sense.

But Chanyeol knew that Baekhyun had changed. Ten years was a long time, and even if the giant had met some people who were exactly the same, he could see that Baekhyun was different.

At least, he hoped his mind wasn't just tricking him.

Baekhyun seemed different. He treated people better than before and he viewed things differently. He seemed a lot happier and in addition, he seemed even happier with Chanyeol with him. That was all that mattered, right?

Baekhyun's happiness was worth a lot more than anything Chanyeol had ever come across.

The dark-haired man sighed, his hand around Baekhyun subconsciously making its way to the shorter's hair, playing with the strands uselessly before he pressed a kiss to the crown of Baekhyun's head.

"I think I'm in love with you, Baekhyun."

~

Baekhyun and Chanyeol both woke up to the sound of what seemed to be dogs barking, the shorter jumping out of bed so quickly that he nearly tripped over his own feet.

"Oh ," Baekhyun said to himself, "Mongryong is dead."

He ran out of Chanyeol's room and entered the living room, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the two dogs playing around, wrestling and biting at each other playfully. Chanyeol was right behind him a few seconds later, observing how Mongryong flopped onto his back when Toben pushed him around.

"Well this is..." Chanyeol began.

"Yeah um... I thought Toben was eating him or something, god," Baekhyun groaned as the tiredness of waking up so early caught up to him, bumping into Chanyeol and leaning his head against his shoulder.

"Dogs aren't usually cannibals unless they're starving or straight up savage. Toben isn't any of that, give him some credit," the taller pouted at Baekhyun's obvious show of distrust in his small dog.

"I can never be so sure. Mongryong is the cutest thing."

Chanyeol snorted. "Yeah, sure," he said unbelievingly. "I think you're cuter."

Baekhyun smiled, and the two of them didn't mention how overly cheesy Chanyeol was being.

"Oh right," Chanyeol started, "The other day, Wendy invited me to a party up at her penthouse. I heard Kris and some other people were coming too. You can invite Luhan."

Baekhyun nodded and Chanyeol managed to catch it, the two of them resuming their silence as they stared at the dogs that, again, were resembling them way too much for it to be normal. "You mentioned that Toben isn't usually like this right?" he questioned and Chanyeol hummed in acknowledgment, making Baekhyun smile cheekily. "That's because Mongryong is special. Toben fell in love at first sight."

Chanyeol laughed at his absurd words, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn't so absurd.

After all, just like Toben, Chanyeol was smitten the moment he set his eyes on Baekhyun.

~

"How did the cliché scene turn into this?" Baekhyun asked as he struggled to push the cart, trying to ignore the weird stares he was receiving from other people as he forced the cart forward, the added 150 pounds not helping him in the slightest. "I thought the lighter one was the one who was supposed to be pushed around."

Chanyeol laughed, shifting when the cart poked at him uncomfortably, his legs hanging out from the front. "You lost rock-paper-scissors. It's only fair."

Baekhyun huffed as he stopped the cart in front of the vegetable aisle, picking out a few things and tossing them onto Chanyeol who complained shortly after, watching in amusement as Baekhyun fumed.

"You stay here. I'm going to check out the chips."

"I thought we said no junk food—"

"You're sitting in a cart. You can't do anything about it." Baekhyun stuck his tongue out and made his way over to the junk food, turning the corner and smiling when he saw his lovelies. Doritos.

Earlier that morning, they had decided that they'd have a cooking night, going out to buy the groceries needed to make their dishes. They were going to teach each other dishes that the other didn't know, and Baekhyun had no clue what Chanyeol had in mind—the shorter only knew that he had no idea what he was going to teach Chanyeol. Chanyeol was a chef, so he probably already had much more knowledge than Baekhyun. For the moment, Baekhyun was settling on caramel apples, which was incredibly simple but it was something Baekhyun loved doing (and hopefully Chanyeol didn't know how to make that stuff, even though that possibility was next to zero).

He was in the midst of picking out flaming hot cheetos just for Chanyeol, as some sort of payback for fairly winning a game and making Baekhyun push him around (his boyfriend was terrible at tolerating spicy things), when one of the workers dropped a heap of chips onto the ground right beside him.

Baekhyun bent down without thinking, picking up around five bags before the worker was profusely apologizing, the two of them looking up from the job and nearly choking once they recognized who the other was.

Just in case, Baekhyun checked his name tag, noticing with dread that it was indeed who he had thought it was.

"Jongdae," Baekhyun mumbled, staring at the person he hadn't seen in ten years.

He looked older—that was a given, but the look in his eyes was what gave it away the most. Baekhyun's gaze flickered to each of Jongdae's facial features, suddenly remembering something that he swore he had forgotten.

"Just you guys watch. I'm going to own a huge company with tons of expensive cars! You're all going to be begging me for a model."

Jongdae had said those words so proudly, seeming so sure of himself as he revealed his dreams to his friends.

But now, here he was...

Working at Walmart.

"Kim Jongdae! No slacking off," one of the other workers, probably of higher status, scolded.

Jongdae ducked his head once he snapped out of it, as if he was ashamed to be in front of Baekhyun as he quickly picked up the rest of the chip bags and placed them onto the shelf, shuffling away hastily to continue his work.

Baekhyun stood there frozen, thinking back to all of the times where Jongdae's face was his only memory.

He looked like he did in Baekhyun's memories, but at the same time, not.

It was as if reality had finally caught up to him and Baekhyun's old friend had realized that every action led to a consequence, and Jongdae's punishment seemed to be the life he was living right now. From the small glimpse that Baekhyun had of him, he realized that Jongdae looked tired, most of all. A drop of recognition, dread, and fear mixed in with his exhausted eyes, and Baekhyun suddenly felt something clenching in his gut. The brunet knew that somewhere deep down, he still resented Jongdae, but he never wanted to see him like this. Ashamed of his work and his appearance; afraid to be around someone he used to hate with a passion.

It was so... odd.

Baekhyun wondered if Jongdae could see anything different in him, or if he was too blinded by his own worries to even bother finding out if Baekhyun was any different or not.

He thought to Minseok, who was currently working full time at Chanyeol's restaurant, something that was the opposite of the guy's dream of becoming a movie producer. His mind wandered to what Junmyeon was doing, whether he was truly living out his dreams or if he was caught up in the same vicious cycle as the rest of their old group of friends.

"Baekhyun?" Chanyeol called and Baekhyun looked up from the bag of cheetos that he had been staring at for the past few minutes, spotting the giant approaching him from the other side of the aisle.

"How did you get out of the cart?" Baekhyun asked, a little absent-minded because of his earlier train of thoughts.

"I climbed out. You alright?" Chanyeol questioned and Baekhyun shoved the bag of chips back onto its shelf, nodding his head.

"I'm good," Baekhyun answered, grabbing Chanyeol's hand and holding onto it tightly when the taller was close enough. "Can we get the caramel now?"

"Yup," Chanyeol smiled, "And this time, you get to ride in the cart."

~

"Chanyeol! I said gently!" Baekhyun exclaimed, swatting his boyfriend's hands away. "I thought you were an expert at this kind of stuff," he grumbled.

"Babe, I cook food, not prepare desserts," Chanyeol pouted as he backed off, watching as Baekhyun stirred the melted caramel in preparation for their apples.

Earlier on in the night, Chanyeol had tried teaching Baekhyun how to make beef wellington (to which the shorter had said, as Chanyeol quoted, "Pfft. Easy.") only to nearly burn down Chanyeol's entire apartment. And now, Baekhyun was delighted to figure out that Chanyeol didn't know how to make caramel apples, teaching the taller step by step.

"And then you dip the apples into the caramel," Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol, looking so accomplished that the taller didn't regret any part of the night—even if he had to buy at least five bags of wrapped caramel squares. Chanyeol didn't want to admit that he could've figured out how to make caramel apples without even searching it up.

They finished making around six caramel apples, leaving around half a cup of caramel sauce and an apple that Baekhyun had bitten into before.

"We can't just waste this," Chanyeol gestured towards the sauce and Baekhyun nodded, pondering on what they could do.

Snapping his fingers, he made his way over to Chanyeol's fridge. "We can add milk, which would make it easier to spread. It would also give us more to work with."

He handed Chanyeol the milk and the taller poured an ungodly amount into the caramel, making Baekhyun snort in amusement.

"Great job," he said as he made his way beside Chanyeol, wrapping an arm around his waist as he watched Chanyeol stir the milk into the hot caramel, the thick substance turning thinner when the milk became mixed in.

He stared at Chanyeol's concentrated mien and he couldn't hold back his smile, wondering why it seemed as if they had been married for five years already. Leaning onto his tiptoes, he went in to kiss Chanyeol on the cheek, only to be surprised when the taller turned his face and caught Baekhyun's lips on his own.

"Hey, get back to work, chef," Baekhyun teased, laughing when Chanyeol rolled his eyes playfully, leaning down to give the shorter another deep kiss.

Chanyeol ever-so discreetly shut off the stove, his fingers flying across the buttons of the modern tech before he fully turned to Baek, his hands coming up to cup Baekhyun's cheeks.

He molded his lips to Baekhyun's as he a stripe over the brunet's bottom lip, feeling oddly giddy when he felt Baekhyun smile against his lips. He backed Baekhyun up onto the kitchen's island, lifting him up onto the counter's free space. Baekhyun wrapped his legs around Chanyeol waist when he pulled away, grinning at the giant.

"Why do things always get steamy in the kitchen?" he questioned and Chanyeol shrugged, leaning in to kiss Baekhyun again.

"I don't know, but you taste like caramel."

Baekhyun's hand went up to overlap Chanyeol's, which rested on his neck in a comforting gesture. "I might've had some of the caramel earlier."

Chanyeol shook his head disapprovingly and Baekhyun laughed lightly, tugging on his shirt to continue making out lazily.

Chanyeol hadn't been kidding when he said that kissing was Baekhyun's favourite thing.

The shorter's hands wound into his dark hair appreciatively, pulling him away from his thoughts as he let out a deep moan when Chanyeol ran his hands up his sides slowly.

Baekhyun pulled away a few minutes later, knocking foreheads with his boyfriend and leaving his head there, closing his eyes as he basked in the moment of serenity.

He wanted to stay like this with Chanyeol forever.

"I really like this," Baekhyun whispered and he felt Chanyeol's head move in a nod, smiling when the taller pecked him on the lips before resuming their original position.

Baekhyun wondered how lucky he was to have Chanyeol back in his life, thinking to how he had met Jongdae that morning. He seemed so sad, and Baekhyun wondered if that was what he looked like before he met Chanyeol again—lost in a world that he didn't want, stuck doing something just to survive.

He suddenly became afraid of losing Chanyeol again as he wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's middle, pulling him in to crush him against his chest as he buried his face in the crook of Chanyeol's neck and shoulder. Chanyeol reciprocated the action, his arms wounding around Baekhyun as he abided to Baekhyun's suddenly clingy nature. (Chanyeol always secretly loved it when Baekhyun got jealous or unusually clingy.)

They stood there for a long time, just holding each other as if they could lose their relationship the next day. The shorter realized that they did that a lot, whenever they had nothing more to say or right before sleep; they'd just enjoy each other's company silently. 
Just like back in the day, being with Chanyeol was so easy and it was something Baekhyun would trade all of his riches to do, but the difference was that this time, he didn't care nearly as much about what other people thought anymore.

Chanyeol was his again. He had wanted Chanyeol back, and somehow, the miracle of having him came true and he was now in his arms.

Even the thought of being away from Chanyeol seemed devastating, and Baekhyun's arms only wrapped tighter around Chanyeol.

It was only then that Baekhyun realized that Chanyeol was holding him just as tightly, and it dawned on Baekhyun that maybe...

Chanyeol was just as afraid of losing him as he was afraid of losing the giant.