December 5^th (2)

“Need some help?”

Baekhyun offered his hand to Chanyeol, who was still lying in the puddle. Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hand and the shorter male hauled him up, almost falling backwards. Chanyeol sniffed and wiped his glasses. “T-Thanks.” He stuttered, from the cold and the fact that his heart had suddenly began to beat faster.

Baekhyun tried to hold the umbrella over Chanyeol’s head, but it proved difficult. Chanyeol took the umbrella from him, even if his numb fingers could barely hold it. Baekhyun suddenly stopped. “Take off your jacket.” He said. Chanyeol frowned. “Why?”

“Your wet clothes will make you even colder, and I brought you an extra jacket. I saw that you left your umbrella at home and that it was raining, plus you didn’t pick up your phone. I know you probably would try to get home in the rain so I came to get you.” Baekhyun said, as Chanyeol took off his soaked jacket. Baekhyun handed him a dry, thick hoodie. “Hurry and put this on.” He said.

He was right. Chanyeol felt a lot better after putting on the dry clothes, even though his t-shirt was soaked. “Thanks, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol was scared to call him Baekie, in case he got a negative response. Baekhyun didn’t answer, just giving him the umbrella and continued walking home.

The walk was quiet, unlike their playful PDAs before the ‘incident’. There was a centimeter distance between the two, but neither of them minded much. Chanyeol was happy that he was somewhat warmer, and he had the chance to walk with him like this again.

Chanyeol suddenly noticed that Baekhyun was getting rained on. His right shoulder was getting wet, because Chanyeol was a giant. He took up most of the space under the umbrella, and because Baekhyun didn’t want to get too close, part of his body wasn’t under the shelter of the umbrella. Chanyeol thought for a moment, before wrapping his arm around Baekhyun and pulling him close.

Baekhyun flinched slightly from the sudden contact. “What the heck?” Baekhyun exclaimed. Baekhyun tried to wriggle away, but Chanyeol tightened his grip. “You were getting wet.” He said simply.

Baekhyun pouted and stopped struggling. Chanyeol smiled to himself, relishing his tiny yet meaningful victory.

They arrived home and Chanyeol threw his soaked backpack onto the ground. He took out all his books and groaned when he was the crinkled and damaged pages. “I spent so much money on these!” He threw his hands up in the air dramatically. Baekhyun took a thick piece of rope made two loops at each end. He put one loop on the nail that used to have a picture on it, and the other loop on a hook at the other end of the room. Then he took Chanyeol’s books and put the on the rope, open in the middle. “They’ll be dry in a few days. Blow dry them if you want them dry faster.”

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun incredulously. “Where’d you learn how to do that?” He said. Baekhyun shrugged. “Cause I’m not stupid like you.” Chanyeol pouted. “Okay, that kind of hurt.”

Baekhyun shrugged again and hung Chanyeol’s backpack to dry, then tossed his jacket in the hamper. “Go take a hot shower. I’ll bring you some clothes later.” Baekhyun ordered. Chanyeol nodded, stripping right there and throwing his clothes in the hamper. Baekhyun turned red and threw a cushion at Chanyeol’s nether regions. “Don’t just strip here!” Baekhyun shouted. Chanyeol smiled, leaving Baekhyun to rage and nag about his childishness.

When Chanyeol got out of the bath, his clothes were neatly folded and laid out on the counter. His glasses were placed next to the pile, foggy from the steam. An orange sticky note was stuck at the top of the stack. Your fashion is quite plain. It was hard to find a matching outfit. Chanyeol chuckled at Baekhyun’s snarky little comment. He crumpled the note up and threw into the wastebasket.

A delicious smell wafted through the air as Chanyeol walked into the hallway. He blinked in surprise, since he had never seen Baekhyun cook. He followed the food scent into the kitchen and found Baekhyun stir-frying something in a pot. But what made the blood rush to his face was that Baekhyun was wearing a pretty pink apron with little checkered hearts on it.

Chanyeol quietly at their small dining table and watched Baekhyun make something delicious. By the time Baekhyun brought plates of food to the table, Chanyeol’s growling stomach could be heard over the sound of the stove fan. Baekhyun giggled slightly. “Eat up. It’s not every day that I cook.” Chanyeol nodded his thanks and hungrily stuffed food into his mouth.

Baekhyun sat across from Chanyeol, whose cheeks were full of food. Baekhyun watched Chanyeol eat, occasionally sipping his hot chocolate. The food quickly disappeared, plate by plate, until all of them were scraped clean.

Chanyeol sat back with a satisfied burp. “Thanks Baekie, I really appreciate it.” Without meaning to, Chanyeol called Baekhyun by his nickname. Baekhyun’s small smile faltered slightly, but Chanyeol was too full and happy to notice. Baekhyun brought him a cup of hot chocolate, which Chanyeol gladly accepted.

“Are you warm enough? Your feet or hands aren’t cold? Do you want me to turn the heat up? Are you still hungry? I didn’t give you marshmallows cause you don’t like them. Do you want cake?” Baekhyun asked these questions one after the other, not letting Chanyeol answer.

Chanyeol blinked his large, round eyes. “Yes, no, no, no, okay, and no, it’s fine.” He said with a smile, pushing up his glasses. Baekhyun smiled and nodded. “That’s good.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, drinking their hot chocolate. Suddenly, Chanyeol asked, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Baekhyun rubbed the back of his neck. I knew he was going to ask that. He thought. He had been trying to prepare an answer, but nothing sufficient came to mind. “Umm, well. You saved me from drowning…and I didn’t want you to get sick?” He said pathetically.

Chanyeol frowned. “I can tell you’re lying, Baekhyun.” Baekhyun pouted, not knowing how to answer Chanyeol. He himself didn’t really understand why either, so how could he explain to another person?

Especially since it was the person who broke his heart multiple times?

Chanyeol’s frown turned into a smirk. “I get it.” He said. Baekhyun blushed. “What? What do you get?”

“You still like me.”

Baekhyun’s face turned a deep red colour, and he slammed his hands down on the table. “No I don’t! I just… felt like I should help you.” Then he crossed his arms and pouted, his cheeks puffing slightly. Chanyeol’s heart did a little jump.

But he kept his cool on the outside. “I think you do. Otherwise you wouldn’t do something like this.” He stood up and walked to where Baekhyun was sitting. Baekhyun followed his movements suspiciously. “What are you----- Gah!” He let out a squeal when Chanyeol’s long and nimble fingers tickled his sides.

Baekhyun hopped off the chair and ran. Chanyeol chased him, laughing and poking his sides. Baekhyun was slower, squealing every time Chanyeol poked him. He should be feeling threatened and scared, but he was enjoying it. The Baekhyun underneath was laughing, but the Baekhyun on the outside looked freaked out.

Chanyeol chased him around the house, grinning at Baekhyun’s futile attempts to escape. They had knocked over a bunch of things, but that wasn’t the point. It was game of cat and mouse, if the cat and the mouse were both having fun.

Finally, Baekhyun became tired and ran into the bedroom, flopping onto the bed and allowing Chanyeol to crawl on top of him. “Fine.” He panted, his chest rising and falling quickly. “You win.” Chanyeol grinned, his hands planted on either side of Baekhyun’s head.

“The loser admits defeat. But he still has to admit something else.” Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun and relished the feeling of having Baekhyun so close to him. Chanyeol took in the elegant curve of his jaw line, and how pretty the brown of his irises were. Chanyeol longed to run his hands through his soft, chocolate coloured tresses, but that was a tad difficult in their position.

“Well?” Chanyeol prompted. Baekhyun wore his signature pout, but then sighed. “Fine. I thought about it and I still like you.” He sat up slightly to close the distance between them. “It hurt being apart from you.”

“I still love you, Park Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol grinned and whispered. “I love you too, Byun Baek.” With that, he leaned forward and placed a long and sweet kiss on his princess’s lips.