Chanyeol and Baekhyun were back at Baekhyun’s house that night while the two busied making dinner for two. Before, they had to explain to Jongup they were just fooling around to which Jongup looked at them and asked Fooling around? And then Chanyeol hit him upside the head. Baekhyun rubbed the back of his head and laughed meekly, excusing him to leave the apartment only to have Chanyeol walk out after him and assure him it was all okay. Baekhyun still felt mortified that something like that would happen, but Chanyeol promised him Jongup was just being a little .

               It was dinner time by then and they weren’t exactly full since they didn’t pop any popcorn no thanks to not having any open bowls. Baekhyun offered to cook up some sesame chicken and feed the two, but Jongup said he was fine and Chanyeol refused at first, but then he got kicked in the back of the knees by Jongup and that for some reason made him change his mind. He walked with Baekhyun up to his place and made himself at home since he had been in his kitchen just a few days before. The two grabbed all sorts of things every which way and threw together a rather tasty looking medley of vegetables and rice. Baekhyun made the sauce his mother gave him the recipe to and Chanyeol’s mouth watered.

               The chicken was done on a small counter top grill and it was cooked to perfection much to Chanyeol’s surprise. Not many people could cook chicken like Baekhyun he guessed. Not even a fleck was burnt. He took it off the grill and placed it on a plate and the juices came out when you poked it. Both of them were starved by the time the food hit the table, which was the one in the living room in front of the TV. Chanyeol didn’t mind since it was pretty much how he ate dinner every night too, minus the whole home cooked and shared with a really nice guy. Jongup was nice too, but he was quieter and didn’t want to be bothered when eating dinner. He’d rather pull out his laptop and watch anime.

               There was no problem with that in Chanyeol’s mind. He didn’t have much of a problem with anything to be honest. Someone could crash into his car and he would shrug it off. He was more easy going than he should have been, which proved more of a problem than it was a solution. So what if he missed class? So what if he missed work? If he didn’t eat, big deal. That led to a lot of things in Chanyeol’s life that he wouldn’t say he was proud of, but lessoned learned. That was another easy thing he would let off.

               They sat in relative silence aside from the occasional one of them commenting on how good the food was. Their knees touched when they sat and elbows bumped more than once. Chanyeol even stole a bean sprout off of Baekhyun’s plate, which he didn’t appreciate. He retaliated by taking a piece of chicken, and Chanyeol just jabbed Baekhyun’s cheek with the chopsticks and called it at that. They both decided they liked being near each other, even if that was as far as it was going to get for the time being.

               “Have you ever considered becoming a cook?” Chanyeol asked, taking another bite of chicken and rice. Baekhyun moved some around on his plate and picked at his teeth, shaking his head no and tapping the plate his with his chopsticks.

               “No, but I’ve been told a lot I should consider it. But, music is my life and food is just a hobby. I love cooking, but I don’t think my parents want me to be any more of a disappointment than I already am.” he said, bitterly. Chanyeol rubbed his back and then searched for his hand. He found it, but just in case he needed to hold it. Otherwise, he wasn’t going to.

               “You’re not a disappointment. I know how it feels to tell your father you don’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or something that doesn’t make money to be honest, but as long as your happy they need to get over it, right?” he asked. Baekhyun thought about it and nodded.

               “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I mean, both make me happy, but music makes me happier. I can sing and I wanted to try out for an idol company, but my parents were so against it I got yelled at and was sent to a friend’s house for a night.”

               Chanyeol looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

               “You can sing? Sing me something then.” he said, and Baekhyun cleared his throat.

               Whenever Baekhyun wasn’t working, he was spending time with Chanyeol, who was still fascinate with his vocals.

               “When I make a movie, you’re going to sing the whole soundtrack.” he said. Baekhyun laughed as he killed Chanyeol in the game they were playing, tying them up for the win.

               “Who said I’ll agree?” he joked, but Chanyeol didn’t miss a beat.

               “You just will because you love me.” he said, and Baekhyun died. He died in the game of course, because he gripped the controller so hard and Chanyeol knocked him out of the ring. He cheered, completely oblivious to how Baekhyun really felt about him. Baekhyun had been fine being friends with Chanyeol for the time being, but it wasn’t okay for him to like that.

               “And I bet you want me to sing for your movie because you love me just as much, and of not more, right?” he came back, and Chanyeol bit his lower lip, looking for another character, not making an effort to even look at Baek.

               “Mhmm. You’re my best friend so of course I’m obligated to love you enough to include you in everything I do. That’s all.” he said.

               “Best friend? That’s all?” Baekhyun asked, his voice straining. He really was happy Jongup was out of the house and on a date. Chanyeol had picked his character and then looked over at Baekhyun.

               “Why do you ask?” he replied, and Baekhyun shrugged, turning his attention back to the TV and picking another character. He tried to not look back at the younger male but it was proving hard. He smiled and looked down into his lap, snickering.

               “No reason, let’s fight.” he said, but Chanyeol had muted the TV and put down his controller and brought his legs up to cross. He sat back against one of the arms on the couch and tilted his head.  

               “No. If there’s something you want to tell me then tell me. You can trust me and I won’t stop being your friend no matter what. Just say it and get it off your chest.” Chanyeol pushed, and Baekhyun put down his controller too and crossed his hands in his lap. He shook head and the rubbed his temple. It was better late than never to drop the bomb.

               “Well, I think I might be biual at the least to start out with.” Baekhyun said flat out. Chanyeol nodded. “You’re not grossed out?”

               “Why should I be? So what if you like girls and boys or you like boys or whatever you end up, it’s not my place to judge.” he admitted. “Besides, I would be a liar to say I haven’t fantasized about men in my life.”

               Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief. Did he have a chance? He went on a little further, hoping he wouldn’t overstep his boundaries. Chanyeol was still all ears. The characters on screen bobbed back in forth, waiting for battle. Baekhyun wished he was in the game so he could just beat all his frustration out, but that wasn’t going to happen.

               “So are you biual too or gay? I feel like I’m alone in this.” Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol grabbed a pillow and shrugged, closing his eyes for a second and letting out an elongated sigh. Baekhyun waited for the hammer to drop.

               “I would date a guy and maybe even have with him, but he’d have to be really special. Don’t get any ideas though, because… because-“

               Baekhyun didn’t mean to, but tears started falling from his eyes at that. He shouldn’t have said a word and just continued getting his kicked in the game, and now he was crying in front of someone who he really, really had fallen for. He didn’t mean to, but it happened somewhere between the movies and the dinners and the games and the ty jokes and days where he would see him at the movies. It happened somewhere between unfortunate and unwanted. Chanyeol crawled over to Baekhyun’s side and tried to comfort him, but instead, he got up and left the apartment.

               Chanyeol didn’t know what to do with his life since Baekhyun seemed to run out on him after being accidentally rejected. He didn’t know Baekhyun liked him in the slightest. Had he known he did, he wouldn’t have said anything. He’d been thinking to himself recently about how much him and Baekhyun got along and was thinking about taking things to the next level, but no matter how many times he flagged him down at work, texted him, called him, knocked on his door when he knew he was home, Baekhyun wouldn’t answer. He had ruined his friendship because he was too stupid to see all the signs. The cuddling, the late nights, the everything.

               It wasn’t until about a week later did Chanyeol walk up to Baekhyun’s apartment again and began his routine of knocking and waiting. Music could be heard on the other side and Chanyeol recognized it from a newer movie. Baekhyun was already analyzing it and it was the perfect excuse to not deal with his hurt feelings. He heard Chanyeol knocking and begging him to come out, but he tuned him out and focused on equalizing the sounds. Chanyeol texted him again, asking him to open up the door but he really didn’t feel like getting up. He thought maybe for a second he should humor him and just accept the fact that his best friend was just that, but no, he wouldn’t.

               Earlier in the day Luhan had reprimanded him for being such a baby about it, but he didn’t really care anymore. Even Chanyeol’s “friends” had told him to talk because they were getting annoyed with Chanyeol moping and it wasn’t like him to not chatter through an entire movie. To that, he flipped them off and called them a bunch of s for toying around with Chanyeol in the first place. The tallest one looked the most offended, but the guy with rainbow hair told him to calm down and dragged them off. Baekhyun took time then to sit in the theater and cry a little before the next wave of people strode in.

               He sat in his room though, having Chanyeol knock over and over, practically whining to let him back in. He tried his hardest to fight the urge to get up after a week of this and just yell in his face, but Chanyeol seemed to stop, and Baekhyun let out a sigh.

               “Hey whiny baby Byun Baekhyun!” Chanyeol screamed through the door. Baekhyun’s ears perked up with how angry he sounded.

               “If you’re going to hide from me, at least hear me out. I didn’t know you liked me and I was thinking to myself about how much I liked you and I was still unsure if I wanted to take this any further than what it’s already at, but you ran off and you haven’t talked to me since. I’ve been miserable too thinking I lost the only chance in my life to possibly date the most perfect person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and you’re… You’re being ridiculous! Face this like a man and come talk to me! You don’t even have to talk you me. You can punch me or kick me or shove me down the stairs but even an angry interaction from you is better than nothing! God…”

               Baekhyun bounded up from his seat and the ear buds that were propped in this ear ripped out of the computer jack and ran with him. He threw open the door and abruptly slapped Chanyeol in the face. Chanyeol looked back at him with surprise and Baekhyun was breathing heavily.

               “That’s for being stupid.” he said, and the Baekhyun cupped his face in his hands and brought it to his, pecking him on the lips and smiling into it. “And that’s for not telling me sooner.”

               “You guys are absolutely disgusting.” Jongup said as he took another bite of his sandwich. Some of the contents spilled on to his shirt as he looked on at the two (maybe) boyfriends on the couch, cuddling up with a blanket and a bowl of popcorn with theater butter. Chanyeol looked over at Jongup while Baekhyun took another handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed rather loudly and couldn’t hear most of the movie because of it, but that wasn’t his fault, it was just how he chewed.

               “You’re one to talk. You’re supposed to eat your food, not wear it.” Chanyeol said to Jongup, just as Baekhyun dropped some popcorn on his shirt. He brushed it off quickly and wondered why they had an ant problem. Jongup rolled his eyes and got up and walked off to his room, slamming the door behind him and grumbling about how stupid this was.

               “He homophobic?” Baekhyun asked through a bite. Chanyeol picked up his ICEE and slurped it, shaking his head no and waiting to swallow before talking. He at least had some manners.

               “No, he’s just bitter. He and his girlfriend don’t get to spend too much time together so he gets mad that we seem to see each other every other day. It’s really more like once every three days you come over, isn’t it?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun looked up and tapped his chin, thinking about it. He didn’t want to think about it though, so he brushed it off with a shrug and another bite of popcorn.

               By the time they got back to watching the movie, it was pretty much almost over. There was no point in keeping on watching, so they decided to just talk about what the rest of the movie was like. Even then, they didn’t know what to really do. They were under a blanket in the middle of summer with nothing to do. They watched movies more often than not, but sometimes it got tiring. Chanyeol sat up and threw off the blanket, stretching himself out before looking at Baekhyun.

               “Do you want to go out for ice cream or something? I mean, we should do something besides watch movies all the time, don’t you think?” he said, and Baekhyun nodded.

               “Ice cream sounds good. Maybe we can go to the mall?” he suggested. Chanyeol agreed.

               They walked around with their hands in their pockets because otherwise they would have held each other’s, and they didn’t want the looks. Chanyeol and he both walked toward the food court to get some frozen yogurt or ice cream or whatever looked appetizing at the time and chatted about anything and everything along the way. Whenever Chanyeol would laugh, Baekhyun’s heart fluttered and Chanyeol’s face lit up red like a rose. He thought it was the cutest thing in the world.

               Nothing seemed to happen anymore since Baekhyun has kissed the younger male. It was as if that sealed the deal and they would go slower than a snail’s pace in this relationship because that’s what it seemed like. Baekhyun’s slow life was going even slower than usual now that he knew Chanyeol had some feelings for him. How much did he actually like the older male? He had no idea, but some instances it showed more than others. Like when Baekhyun was tired after work, Chanyeol would be there no matter how late to cook him dinner or just talk.

               Chanyeol was a better mother than he was a partner Baekhyun sometimes thought. But it didn’t bother him too much. He just was waiting for the time they’d kiss again and Baekhyun was sure that would be heaven. He sighed as they walked in the mall and when they got to the food court, they decided on some fruity Popsicle like thing and Chanyeol got it in apple while Baekhyun settled on grape. He didn’t even really want grape and he would have much rather have apple, but Chanyeol had ordered before him and he felt guilty and people would be suspicious if they ordered the same thing. He was hyper sensitive to being with another guy in public for some reason. God forbid he saw someone he knew and they started to ask questions. Who is he?

               “My boyfriend?” Baekhyun asked Luhan back incredulously. Luhan nodded, looking down at his nails to avoid counting the money in the register. The movies were a slow place today, being it was Tuesday and who really goes to the movies on a Tuesday? Luhan hummed a little and gave Baekhyun a side glance.

               “Don’t act like you haven’t heard that before. You two are boyfriends, right?” he asked, and Baekhyun’s shoulders were stiffer than they should be. He gulped and went to the popcorn machine, grabbing a handful and popping some into his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and looked to Luhan.

               “I don’t know. We haven’t said anything or done anything aside from me kissing him once, but that was it. We just go out together on the occasion but other than that, nothing. I’m fine with that too for now. If he doesn’t want to be in a relationship with me right now, who am I to complain? I got to talk to him and we live in the same apartment complex literally a stone’s throw away and, and I don’t know. He’s perfect Luhan. Probably too perfect for me actually.” Baekhyun grimaced, but Luhan hit him in the chest, causing him to spit out some popcorn on the floor.

               “Have some confidence you loser. He let you kiss him and he’s still with you, so what makes you think he doesn’t like you? I mean, you go and watch movies like it’s your air and I’m sure you’ve spent the last twenty dollars in your wallet on Skittles and blue ICEEs. Am I right?” Luhan asked. Baekhyun sighed, because he knew he was defeated. Chanyeol probably did like him, but for some reason the thought of that was really scary. What of Baekhyun didn’t live up to his expectations? He didn’t think Chanyeol had dated another guy, so it was nerve wracking.

               Luhan wasn’t much of a help either. He kept asking him if they had yet, which Baekhyun had barely kissed him, so it was an obvious answer. He felt really uncomfortable whenever he was asked that. He just wanted to cuddle with Chanyeol right now. He could barely hug the other male without feeling like Jell-O. Luhan would not stop pressing him to do something, anything, but he didn’t want to make a move. He was fine just running in place with Chanyeol next to him. It was peaceful and it was comfortable.

               “Have you ever been with someone who just made you feel like you were the king of the world even if you weren’t in a relationship? I don’t expect you to answer seriously because you’re you, but just, nod or something?” Baekhyun asked, and Luhan sighed.

               “I used to have a crush on you until I realized how pathetic you were.” he laughed. “I mean that in the nicest way possible, but when we first started talking, I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, he’s the one’, and then I quickly changed my mind because while you make me feel like I king I also knew to you I was nothing but a pawn.” Luhan explained. “But I don’t think Chanyeol thinks of you as a pawn. I think to him you’re a queen potentially, but right now you’re a rook. Make the right moves though and you can capture him.”

               Baekhyun lifted his brow and smirked.

               “Since when do you know chess terms?” he asked. Luhan smiled.

               “I don’t.”