“Abso-ing-lutely not,” Baekhyun growled. Chanyeol was going to stay at their house over Baekhyun’s dead body.

Suho sighed. “Chanyeol obviously can’t go home looking like that Baekhyun.” He gestured over to Chanyeol who was playing Mario Kart with Kai, large white bandage wrapped around his head and large gauze patches taped to his cheeks, hiding large, ugly purple bruises. There was a red spot on the bandage that had had Kyungsoo freaking out for a good ten minutes but it hadn’t grown any larger in the past few hours. “Someone will start asking questions.”

“It’s his fault that he came to the Underworld in the first place.”

“It’s your fault that the guy came back for revenge.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened because Suho wasn’t supposed to know that. Suho smiled knowingly.

Baekhyun crossed his arms and frowned, knowing that Suho was right.

“Fine, whatever.”

Suho smiled extra bright. “And you know that Chanyeol obviously can’t sleep out in the living room, right?”

Baekhyun squinted. “Why not?”

Kyungsoo came in from the kitchen from where he had been washing the dishes.  “Because he’s injured, Baekhyun-ah.”

Suho nodded. “And since you’re the only one with an extra bed in your room…”

“Abso-ing-lutely not.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “Language, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “The answer is no.”

Suho’s eyes flashed and Baekhyun was once again reminded of why Suho, even with his sunny bright smile, was still the leader of EXO-K. “You’re the one who brought him home, Baekhyun. You have to take responsibility.”

Baekhyun frowned and turned his head to look at Chanyeol. The idiot was still playing video games with Kai and was grinning extra-wide to the point where it looked like it hurt. He let out a loud whoop as his racer smashed into Kai’s racer, sending him spiraling out of control. Kai groaned.

Chanyeol, with his bright smiles and sunny attitude, Baekhyun thought, definitely didn’t belong in the Underworld. And yet, Baekhyun knew that he would be sorry to see Chanyeol go once his injuries had healed over. Chanyeol was like a beacon of light, a sole source of innocence in the dark world that Baekhyun and EXO-K had chosen to be a part of.

Suho and Kyungsoo amusedly watched the emotions shifting across Baekhyun’s face but saw the tenderness in Baekhyun’s eyes when they landed on Chanyeol.

Baekhyun turned around and stared at the table, refusing to meet their eyes. “Chanyeol can sleep in my room,” he mumbled.

“What?” Baekhyun cursed when big, giant puppy eyes appeared in his vision. “I get to sleep with Baekkie?”

Baekhyun could hear Kai snickering in the living room and calmly reached for something to throw. His hand landed on Kyungsoo’s spatula and Baekhyun threw it across the room. It hit Kai dead on, effectively silencing him.

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and he leapt up. “Holy Kai you better not have dented that or you’ll have to buy me a new one.” Kai whined as Kyungsoo left him on the ground in favor of his beloved spatula. (“Why me? I’m not the one who threw it!”)

Baekhyun’s attention was back on Chanyeol’s wide, innocent eyes. “So? Am I staying with Baekkie?”

Baekhyun nodded his head once but glared at Chanyeol. “I’m not Baekkie,” he said darkly.

Chanyeol grinned. “Of course not. You’re Baekhyun.” Baekhyun widened his eyes in surprise at Chanyeol’s easy acquiescence. “You’re Baekhyun but you’re my Baekkie.”

Baekhyun could feel his cheeks flame red-hot and he stood up abruptly and pushed past Chanyeol so he wouldn’t see. “I’m going to go shower.” He pushed past Kyungsoo who had given in to Kai’s whimpers and was nursing Kai’s bruised head in his lap. “Mommy’s boy,” he sneered at Kai who pinked and buried his face into Kyungsoo’s stomach. Kyungsoo his hair soothingly and Baekhyun almost gagged.

He stepped inside the shower and let the hot water run over his body. He scrubbed at his face roughly and wondered if he could pass off his body’s abnormal responses to Chanyeol as some kind of sickness.

“Here, I’ll show you Baekhyun’s room,” Suho offered.

Chanyeol made no move to stand. He looked up at Suho and asked with sad eyes: “Why is Baekkie always mad at me?”

Suho just laughed. “He’s not angry,” Suho said. “He’s just a little confused, is all.”

“Confused?”

Suho just reached for his hand and tugged him up. “Let’s go see Baekhyun’s room.”

Baekhyun’s room was bare, almost Spartan in nature. There were no posters on the wall or pictures. There were two beds separated by a shared nightstand with nothing on it. Two dressers stood against the wall across from the beds.

“That one’s Baekhyun’s,” Suho said, pointing at the bed farthest from the door. Chanyeol couldn’t have been able to tell otherwise because the room was almost like a hotel, barren and unfamiliar.

Chanyeol put his backpack down on the bed closest to the door. “It doesn’t seem like this room is even lived-in.”

Suho smiled wryly. “I don’t know why either. Baekhyun spends most of his time here when he’s home.”

Chanyeol smiled sadly. “It doesn’t look like a happy place,” he said but then he smiled extra wide. “But have no fear because Happy Virus Chanyeol is here.” He stuck his chest out in a Superman pose and Suho laughed, patting his back.

“It looks like Baekhyun’s in the shower. Call us if anything starts to hurt.” Suho smiled before leaving.

Chanyeol sat on the bed and looked around. Everything seemed so lifeless and cold. He shivered. But, he thought happily, thinking of intense, dark eyes and small pink blushes, Baekkie is anything but lifeless and cold.

He didn’t think that Baekhyun had expected him to be in the room when he stepped out of the shower. Actually, it was rather obvious that Baekhyun hadn’t expected him otherwise Chanyeol wouldn’t be sitting on Baekhyun’s bed on the farthest side of the room, staring resolutely at the wall.

“Holy .” Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he stepped out from the bathroom in his towel only to meet eyes with an equally wide-eyed Chanyeol.

Both he and Chanyeol blushed a deep red and Baekhyun tightened his fingers on the towel around his waist.

“Chanyeol,” he gritted out. As much as he wanted to punch the kid in the face, Chanyeol was injured.

And it was your fault, a little voice whispered but Baekhyun ignored it.

The younger boy looked at him, eyes wide and cheeks tinged with embarrassment. “Y-Yeah Baekkie?”

“Just…” he breathed deeply. “Go ing sit over there and stare at the wall. Now.”

“But that’s your bed.”

“Just…go. Now.”

Chanyeol stared at the wall and blew his bangs out sulkily. He felt like an elementary school kid forced into time-out. But as much as he wanted to whine and disobey Baekhyun, it was Baekhyun and Chanyeol had an innate desire to make Baekhyun like him.

“You can turn around now,” Baekhyun muttered and Chanyeol turned around.

Even in dark cotton sleeping pants and a white t-shirt, Baekhyun still looked dangerous, his dark eyes still alert and wary.

“You might not be able to go to school tomorrow.”

Chanyeol blinked, too caught up in staring at Baekhyun’s long, slender fingers running through his hair. “What?”

Baekhyun glared at him. “Pay attention when I’m talking. I don’t like to repeat myself.” Chanyeol sat up straighter and nodded determinedly.

“I am listening. I apologize for zoning out,” he said seriously.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “You might not be able to go to school tomorrow.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “But why?”

Baekhyun pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “Have you seen yourself in the mirror Chanyeol? Can you at least feel the bruises on your face? The guy wasn’t exactly gentle in beating the out of you.”

Chanyeol grinned wide. “It’s not that bad.”

Baekhyun looked at him and sighed. “Kyungsoo said you didn’t have a concussion but I think we should have him check again.” Then his eyes widened. “Oh . You have to shower.” He looked up and down at Chanyeol’s body and Chanyeol blushed under his scrutiny. “You’ll probably have to borrow something from Kai. He’s the tallest one out of all of us but you seem to be taller. You’re definitely not fitting in my stuff.”

As Baekhyun was about to walk out the door to ask Kai for help (again, his mind reprimanded him), he was abruptly pulled back into the room. Baekhyun didn’t really appreciate being treated like a rag doll and told Chanyeol this with a searing glare. “What?” It felt like their first meeting all over again.

“I don’t want to wear Kai’s stuff,” Chanyeol told him.

Baekhyun frowned. “Would you rather wear Sehun’s?”

“No.”

“Then who’s?”

“Yours.”

Baekhyun glared at him incredulously. “You’re obviously not going to fit in min –“

“I’ll fit.”

Baekhyun scowled. “You’re going to regret this but whatever. I’m too tired to fight you on this right now.”

He turned to his dresser and began rummaging through the drawers, coming up with a baggy white t-shirt and some sweatpants. “You’re not going to fit in these, you know. Baggy on me is not baggy on you.”

Chanyeol took them with a smile. “It’s okay, I’m good.”

Baekhyun scoffed. “Whatever. Go shower.”

Chanyeol grinned and disappeared into the bathroom.

Baekhyun had been right, Chanyeol thought later, snuggled into his pillow. The pajamas didn’t fit. He looked over to his right to see Baekhyun’s sleeping form entangled in his blankets and grinned. He didn’t know if Baekhyun knew but Baekhyun made the cutest little sleeping noises in his sleep, kind of like a puppy. He brought his arm up to his face and sniffed.

It smelled like Baekhyun. The whole room smelled like Baekhyun.

Chanyeol slept, cocooned in Baekhyun’s smell.

The next morning, Chanyeol borrowed Kai’s cell phone and called Yongguk.

“You can’t come to school?” Yongguk sounded worried.

“Just not feeling well,” Chanyeol replied. He wouldn’t tell Yongguk the truth but he wouldn’t lie to him either.

“Okay…do you need us to come over and take care of you? You live alone right?”

Chanyeol smiled into the bowl of soup Kyungsoo had handed him a few minutes ago. “That’s okay. I’m staying at someone else’s house and they’re taking good care of me.”

“I should probably come over just to check at least. You know how Himchan and Zelo get when you’re not here – no Himchan, he’s not coming, don’t pout at me like that – Chanyeol? Whose house?”

Chanyeol hid his smile in his sleeve. It didn’t quite reach his hands and barely came up to his wrists but it was Baekhyun’s hoodie and Chanyeol loved it. “No that’s okay. You don’t know this person anyway. Besides, you have Himchan-hyung to take care of.”

“Fine. But you owe me. Himchan is such a to take care of.”

Chanyeol smiled and hung up after a quick good-bye.

He didn’t have to go to school and Baekhyun would be home all day (or so Kai said with a smarmy wink) so he would have time to sketch Baekhyun a few more times.

Life was goo –

“EXO-M is coming today.”

Chanyeol blinked as Kyungsoo sat down next to him on the couch. “EXO…M?”

A/N

lol i'm sorry but the next chapter will be better? o.o

thank you to all the new subscribers and welcome :)

and much love to all the old ones you guys are the bestbestbestbest (and those of you who have commented every single time i update, just know that i know who you are and you are much appreciated and loved and asdkjakldjkasl okay?)

leave me a comment below to make me happy :DD YAYAYAYAYAYAY please?

oh yeah and i'm supposed to dedicate this to kimberly qurl get off of mah account kthxbai and no there's not going to be m-rated for a while dude they just met are you srs

i hope you enjoyed it okay byee