Baekhyun was notorious for being about 100 times more audacious when he was still partially wrapped in sleep's warm embrace.

Half awake and only slightly conscious of what was transpiring around him, he mindlessly raised a small hand into the air upon hearing soft, guarded exhalations coming from above him.

"Yeollie," He mumbled, causing the steady breathing to halt for a split moment as his dainty fingers found purchase with Chanyeol's collar and gripped the fabric as tightly as if it were the only thing keeping him from fully slipping under.

As far as Chanyeol could recall, Baekhyun had only ever called him as such one other time, when they were younger and Chanyeol- being the he tended to be- decided to jump off of the roof of the elementary school building in an act of what he thought was bravery.

His supposed bad-assery led to a broken leg and constant muted whimpers of pain, his features twisted in an attempt to keep quiet while enduring the hurt and struggling to remain impassive- to remain the 'cool kid' which he believed he was.

Baekhyun had immediately thrown himself onto the ground beside him, wails which Chanyeol himself didn't dare to utter streaming forth as he cradled the boy's head in his lap and screeched for somebody to get his best friend help.

As soon as Baekhyun was sure that aid was incoming, he had exchanged his shouts for whispers, softly murmuring 'Yeollie' several times as he comfortingly ran those same thin fingers through Chanyeol's silky, tangled locks.

But now, as Chanyeol stood above the same boy who had in that time been looking down at him, the nickname sounded exceedingly sweeter and far gentler as it spilled past Baekhyun's parted lips.

And it was because of that fact that Chanyeol allowed himself to be yanked down by Baekhyun's surprisingly strong grip, firm chest solidly connecting with the slumbering male's- the same slumbering male who didn't even seem to realize the actions he was currently executing, for he took it one step further and winded his arms around the younger's neck, pressing their chests more tightly together.

Chanyeol remained in the immensely awkward position for a few moments before deciding that it was too uncomfortable to stay bent over at a 90 degree angle like he was forced to do.

He made a split second decision. Instead of prying Baekhyun's arms away from him and straightening up- which most likely would have done nothing to disturb the boy who was currently on the brink of dozing off completely- he tentatively joined his best friend on the couch, swinging a long leg up and over Baekhyun so that it was on the opposite side of the older before the rest of him followed.

Now Chanyeol found himself practically lying on top of the all too unaware boy, the bending of his knees being the only thing keeping his full weight from bearing down on the smaller male.

Finding their present arrangement to be a bit... odd, Chanyeol painstakingly sat up, making sure to gently lift the other boy with him until they got to the point where he was able to switch positions, sliding Baekhyun out from underneath him and hoisting him into the air- yes, Chanyeol was that strong- before lowering the mumbling boy onto his lap.

Surprisingly, Baekhyun had managed to keep his arms tightly wound around Chanyeol's neck throughout the entire ordeal, and now that Chanyeol had ceased movement, the unintelligible supposed words which Baekhyun had been muttering stopped as well.

His sleeping no longer disrupted, Baekhyun nestled his head against where Chanyeol's collarbone met his neck, light breaths ghosting across the exposed skin.

Chanyeol couldn't help but shiver at the strangely exhilarating feeling, and this slight motion caused Baekhyun to release an irritated whine as he snuggled closer to his own personal source of heat.

Chanyeol began to regret his decision of displacing Baekhyun, for the boy wouldn't stop fidgeting and it wasn't exactly doing wonders for his self-control.

But when he began tugging lightly at Baekhyun's hold on his neck, the boy reacted in a similar fashion to a cat.

"Stop moving." He hissed, sharp fingernails leaving crescent moons at the nape of Chanyeol's neck as he tightened his grasp.

Chanyeol’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets upon hearing the fierceness in Baekhyun’s words. Had the boy woken up or was he still asleep?

Chanyeol couldn’t tell.

“Baek,” He asked timidly, and the called boy reluctantly lifted his face from where he had been absent-mindedly nuzzling Chanyeol’s neck.

Right as their gazes met, a loud squeal resounded throughout the living room, causing both Baekhyun and Chanyeol to jump in surprise and resulting in Baekhyun hurriedly scrambling off of Chanyeol’s lap and towards the opposite end of the couch.

“You two are just SO. CUTE.”

“Mom!” Chanyeol cried, giving Baekhyun a deeply apologetic look before meeting his mother’s eyes, where his gaze promptly became filled with indignation.

“I didn’t know you were coming home,” He uttered, his voice carrying somewhat of a whiny tone.

"I didn't know you two were together. Although, I suppose I should have guessed as much..."

"We aren't!"

His mother lifted a brow in challenge of his statement.

"Sure looked like it."

"He was asleep, I was just-"

"Dear Lord, Chanyeol, taking advantage of him in his sleep? I taught you better than that."

Chanyeol appeared positively horrified.

"Mom, no! I would never!"

"Save it for the jury, Chanyeol."

"Wait, what?"

Ms. Park entirely ignored her son’s confusion, instead choosing to amble over to where Baekhyun was sitting rigid with embarrassment, a faint coral hue staining his typically pale cheeks.

“Sooo, Baekhyun…” Chanyeol’s mother began, a mischievous twinkle in her supposedly innocent eyes.

“What?” The boy squeaked, face turning an even darker shade of red under the scrutinizing look he was receiving.

“Disregarding Chanyeol's obvious denial of the truth... you are together, yes?"

When there was no reply, she bent down so that her grinning face was on the same level as Baekhyun's.

"When are you going to marry my son?”

The extent as to which Baekhyun’s eyes grew to rivaled that of Chanyeol’s only minutes prior.

“Uh… um…” He stammered, blinking incessantly as he tried- and quite horribly failed- at formulating some sort of response.

“Mom!” Chanyeol protested almost instantaneously, worried amber orbs assessing Baekhyun’s current immobilized state. He reached out for his best friend before second-guessing himself, and instead he rose to his feet and approached the devil incarnate who was, at the moment, sporting a self-satisfied smile.

“You can’t just say that,” He complained, coming to a stop directly in front of his mother before folding his arms in a petulant matter.

“But Channie, you two are-”

“Don’t call me that!”

Ms. Park rolled her eyes in annoyance before continuing with her sentence. “You two are perfect for each other! Right, Baekhyun?”

Baekhyun looked like a deer caught in headlights, round eyes alternating between staring at Chanyeol’s mother with a panicked expression on his face and gazing at Chanyeol himself.

“Don’t ask him that!” Chanyeol reprimanded under his breath, unconsciously jutting his lower lip out into a pout as he gave his mother the most betrayed look she had ever seen.

“Are you two fighting?” The woman thought aloud, wondering why Chanyeol was so adamant about her ceasing her questioning of the older boy.

“No, that can’t be it… you two were cuddling when I came in…”

"Were not!"

"Oh, dear." Ms. Park sighed, "It seems you two may actually be having a bit of a rough patch, hmm? Doesn't explain the cuddling, but I suppose the hormonal drive and need for another's touch outweighed the anger. I know!"

Chanyeol's mother suddenly snapped her fingers. "You two should go on a date."

"A... what?"

"A date," The woman reiterated, and before Chanyeol could shake his head in disagreement, she spun on her heel and exited the room.

Chanyeol turned to look at Baekhyun helplessly, but the boy's gaze was currently directed on his clasped hands in his lap, mindlessly toying with his fingers as a wave of awkward silence washed over them.

"Maybe... maybe we should just do what she said," His voice wa