The rent was due soon. Baekhyun usually managed his money well, but when it was the time of the month for the landlord to take a chunk out of his savings, he always tried to decrease his spending habits. So when it was time to have his weekly meet ups with Chanyeol, Baekhyun was hesitant.

“…Is everything okay?” Chanyeol asked over the phone.

“Um, yeah. I guess.” Baekhyun replied, feeling like he couldn’t oppose to anything Chanyeol wanted.  Baekhyun was lost in his own thoughts for a bit, trying to calculate how much money he’d spend on their future outing when he realized that Chanyeol hadn’t replied. “Hello? Chanyeol?”

“I-I think I get it…I thought this might happen eventually.”

“Get what? What’s happening?”

“Um, if you don’t want to meet up. I understand. You don’t have to feel sorry for me or-“

“Hold on a second, what are you talking about?”

“…I-I thought you didn’t want to meet up anymore and that’s why you’re acting different.”

“Uh, if I didn’t want to meet up, I wouldn’t have bothered calling you. God, Chanyeol... I thought we went over this.”

“Yeah, I know but ... I just feel like you could ask someone else who’s better than me or that you would get tired of me.”

“Of course not! I really like hanging out with you, I look forward to it every week.”

“Really! Cause I do too, I really do!” Chanyeol’s voice immediately perked up which made Baekhyun smile.

“So, are you done being mopey dopey now? And since it’s bothering you so much, I’m just getting a little worried about my rent coming up.”

“Rent?”

“Well yeah. I have to pay rent monthly. Don’t you?”

“…Yeah. Of course.” Chanyeol replied, though something was different in his tone. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow but didn’t bother inquiring further.

“Anyways, is this place you suggested on the cheaper side? I just don’t want to overspend.”

“I’m not…I think so? But if you want I can pay for you. I really don’t mind!”

“Oh no, I can’t ask that of you. I should be the one treating you considering how much help you’ve been.”

“I don’t mind though. And I still feel really grateful to you.”

“Silly, you’re making me blush.” Baekhyun was being serious with his cheeks feeling a little hot.

“R-really?!”

“Hey, stop that. I feel like I have a fever now. Gosh. Anyways, we gotta figure this out. This write-up isn’t going to write itself.”

“I can pay for you though…” Chanyeol whined a little.

“Just give me a second to think.” Baekhyun sighed and let the wheels turn in his head. He looked over to his kitchen, hoping for a spark. And then, it happened. Why didn’t he think of that before?

“I got it!” He said into the phone, “It’s perfect! Well, as long as you’re fine with it.”

“What is it?”

“How about we meet up, do groceries, you pay and then we go back to my place and I cook the meal! After living alone for a while, I swear I’ve practiced cooking enough to be decent. So, how bout it?” Baekhyun beamed into the phone, bouncing a little on the couch with excitement. Sure he wasn’t paying, but he would definitely feel less guilty if he cooked for Chanyeol in return. Baekhyun waited a few seconds for Chanyeol to reply but he got nothing.

“…Chanyeol?”

“Yes.” The usual deep voice suddenly went a few pitches up and it left Baekhyun confused. Perhaps his brilliant idea wasn’t so brilliant.   

“Um, I guess it’s not that good of an idea. Ha ha, my cooking can’t compare to cafes and-“

“No!” Chanyeol cut him off loudly, “No! No! That’s not it. I’m just. I‘m so happy that I’m speechless.”

“Really? Are you sure? Cause I know my cooking-“

“No, it’s okay. Going to your place and you preparing a home cooked meal. It’s just…perfect. I’m really happy right now.” Baekhyun could almost feel Chanyeol’s happiness over the phone which made him beam.

“And it’ll be the best home cooked meal you’ll ever taste, I promise!”

“I can’t wait.”

And thus, a little later in the day Baekhyun found himself cooking over the stove with Chanyeol looming over him.

“You know, having you breathe down my neck is kind of distracting.” Baekhyun smirked at Chanyeol who immediately jumped back.

“Sorry. I just was curious about how you make the sauce.”

“There’s not much to it.” Baekhyun raised an eyebrow, “You open a can of premade sauce, heat it up and presto! The sauce is ready.”

“Yeah…but, I still like to see you cook.” Chanyeol admitted, blushing faintly. Baekhyun gave him a small smile.

“Okay. Whatever floats your boat. “ Baekhyun turned to face the stove again and stirred the sauce. A timer went off, signaling that the pasta was done boiling. “Hey Chanyeol, can you strain the pasta for me? The strainer’s already in the sink. I would do it but I need to add some things into the sauce.”

“Oh, sure!” Chanyeol rushed over and grabbed onto the pot handle. Baekhyun smiled and whispered his thanks. He focused back of the sauce and added some chopped onions into it.

“Ah!” Chanyeol cried out and a clanking of dishes echoed in the kitchen. Baekhyun immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed over to Chanyeol who was swatting one of his hands about.

“Give it here!” Baekhyun grabbed his hand and saw his pointer finger was bright red. He pushed the cold tap on and shoved the red finger under the tap.

“It hurts!” Chanyeol cried. Baekhyun looked between Chanyeol and the sink before cursing in his head. He took the finger from under the tap and placed it into his mouth. Chanyeol immediately stiffened.

Baekhyun could feel the heat and blood pulsing from the finger and ran his tongue gently over the wound, hoping to cool it down a little since the tap water was too cold for Chanyeol to stand. Baekhyun focused on his task for a while before releasing Chanyeol’s finger.

“Hopefully that was ok-“ Baekhyun began telling Chanyeol but stopped when he saw how close Chanyeol was to him and the particular look within his eyes. They were heavily lidded and they seemed to be very focused on Baekhyun. Chanyeol inched closer to Baekhyun’s face which made him gulp. He didn’t move though, he stayed firmly planted where he was with Chanyeol’s hand still in his. As Chanyeol continued to inch closer to his face, he subconsciously fluttered his eyes shut. He could feel Chanyeol’s breath on his face when-

The doorbell rang.

 Baekhyun eyes flew opened and jumped back in fright. He looked at Chanyeol in shock, whose red face could rival a tomato\s.

“The door.” Baekhyun pointed to the entrance, “That was the door. I should go get the door. Cause the doorbell rang. And that’s what people do when it rings. Yup, off I go to get the door.” And he sped walk away all the while pleading with his heart to slow the heck down.

He sighed when he reached the door. He pulled it opened and was glomped.

“Baekhyun~~ What took you sooooo long?” A face nuzzled itself into Baekhyun's neck. Baekhyun immediately went stiff.

“Get off.” Baekhyun replied dryly.

“Don’t wanna.”

“Chen, get off…now.”

“Make m-Whoa!” Chen was then violently pulled off of Baekhyun. Looking to his side, he was surprised to see a rather angry Chanyeol.

“He said to get off.” Chanyeol hissed through gritted teeth.  It was at that moment he realized just how scary Chanyeol can be.

“Whoooa, neat stuff. You got an interesting bodyguard there, Baekhyun.“ Chen whistled lowly as he looked Chanyeol up and down, “Didn’t realize you set your eyes on the freaky ones now. Hey, do you guys do crazy things in be-“

“Shut up Chen!” Baekhyun cut him off fuming, “We’re not like that. I don’t know why you contiously dragged your sorry here because you’re not welcomed.”

“Aww, come on baby. Remember all the fun time we had in the past. I can think of a few things involving licorice.” Chen purred as he leaned closer to Baekhyun. Baekhyun was then pulled back and pushed behind Chanyeol.

“You heard him, you’re not welcomed here.” Chanyeol’s deep voice cut the through the air and left a chill.

“Hmm.” Chen stared up at Chanyeol and soon realized that he would be pretty much fighting a losing battle, “All right. I get it. I’ll take my leave. But Baekhyun, you know my number.” Chen leaned over to the side and winked at Baekhyun from behind Chanyeol.

“Do I need to you out?” Chanyeol hissed again.

“No need, no need. I’m going.” Chen waved his hand dismissively and backed up into the hall and closed the door.

The air around them held so much tension that Baekhyun thought he would chock on it. Chanyeol slowly turned around to face Baekhyun and searched his eyes, almost begging him for an explanation.

“Um. Chen’s an ex of mine…a rather annoying one at that. He comes by from time to time.” Baekhyun mumbled, awkwardly smiling. Chanyeol just continued staring at him and it was starting to unnerve him.

“Okay. I know. I’m that sort of person. You’re free to leave if it bothers you, I understand.” Baekhyun tried to smile but it felt so incredibly unnatural that it fell immediately.  Baekhyun walked over to open the door. He clicked it open only to have a hand above his head push it close again. He turned around and planted his back against the door.

“It doesn’t bother me…at all.” Chanyeol told him, with the same look in his eyes from earlier. Baekhyun gulped again.

“O-Oh. That’s, um, good. I’m glad.”

Chanyeol didn’t reply and Baekhyun felt his mouth go dry. He was practically trapped between the door and Chanyeol. He looked off to the side nervously when he smelled something.

“Gosh darn it, the sauce!” He cried and shoved past Chanyeol. He ran into the kitchen and turned off the stove.

“The sauce burned!” He whined as he examined the bottom of the pot that had burnt bits of sauce and onions.

“Can we still eat it?”

Baekhyun jumped a mile high and saw Chanyeol standing at a distance from him, rubbing the back of his head.  He flushed and looked down at the sauce, “Yeah, I think we can salvage it.”

So, Baekhyun sent Chanyeol to remain seated at the table while he completed the mission he called "Rescue: Dinner Time". He finished straining the pasta that was still in the sink and made sure to avoid placing burn chunks of sauce on the pasta.

They quickly ate their meal in an awkward silence. Baekhyun cleaned up the table as fast as he could and set up their usual candy tasting placement with the candy, notepad and pen ready.

The candies they were trying this time around?

Hot tamales.

You can guess the rest of the evening remained awkward. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Yo yo, what up yo?

A little bit of a spicy chapter today, cause I wanted to spice it up and add some nice old tension in there. It probably won't get too spicy since you guys like the cotton candy fluff I got going. No worries, I love fluff. (Sometime my mood just demands some though.) 
So, yeah. Hot Tamales for those who don't know- >Spicy and cinnamon flavoured chewy candies. Not sure if everyone knew what they are, but there's a very short description. 

And yes, I made Chen a . I made him a in my other story too (why do I keep mentioning my other story, bad me). But, reason? This picture inspired me. 

Chen: Come with me, Baekhyunnie~~
Chanyeol: no. 
Baekhyun: Uhh, guys...you're hurting me. 

Okay. So, THANK YOU to all who have subscribed, commented and of course, read the chapters. (Reading the chapters is always a good thing to do)
Much loveeee ex-oex-oex-o
<3