Sunlight poured in through the parted curtains of the art studio, warming up the worn out hardwood flooring and the off white walls. It was a small studio, hidden away in an old mill factory in the city that was converted into a usable building. Chanyeol walked around carefully, his fingers tracing over the edges of the canvases, his eyes drinking in the sights of flowers, people, the ocean, and the other pieces Baekhyun created.

"Did you really paint all these?" he asked. He looked towards Baekhyun as the other carried a blank canvas and leaned it against the wall on the far side of the room.

"Of course I did. Who else would?" Baekhyun asked back.

"They're really beautiful," Chanyeol mumbled, stopping in front of an intricate painting of Manhattan as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge. In the background, he could see the Empire State building and both of the Twin Towers. The bridge itself was lit up with small bulbs of yellow lights. "I should really buy one to hang in my living room."

Baekhyun came to stand next to him and they both looked down at the painting. He had spent so much time on it, hoping someone would be willing to buy it off of him but, to his dismay, no one has called for it. Cocking his head, he pursed his lips as he asked, "Is this one your favorite?"

"It's slowly becoming my favorite."

"Then take it."

Chanyeol looked down at him, his face clearly troubled with the prospect of just taking one of Baekhyun's pieces. "Take it?" he asked, "Baekhyun, I can't just take it. Isn't this going to be in your exhibit next week?"

Baekhyun shrugged. "Nah. This is an older piece. I was hoping someone would buy it but no one has so you can have it."

"At least let me buy it. I'd feel really awful if I just took it from you and gave nothing back in return," Chanyeol urged.

Baekhyun waved a flippant hand. "Nonsense," he said. He turned to face Chanyeol and the taller looked down at him. Baekhyun reached up and fixed the collar of Chanyeol's jacket, busying his hands. "Think of this as a gift from me to you. Just take it."

Chanyeol reached up and rubbed his thumb across Baekhyun's cheekbone. Leaning in closer, he whispered, "Thank you." Baekhyun could feel his breath across his lips.

"Yeah, no problem." He grinned as he tilted his head up and kissed Chanyeol softly. The taller returned his touches lightly, one hand holding onto Baekhyun's hip, the other tracing down Baekhyun's neck.

Baekhyun had just managed to get an arm around Chanyeol's neck when the door to the studio swung open and someone let out a very distinguishable, "Well, what have we here?"

Pulling away from Chanyeol, Baekhyun whirled around and came face to face with a smiling Jongdae with Junmyun in tow. "Seriously, I thought the door was locked," Baekhyun said, exasperated.

Jongdae rolled his eyes. "I know where you hide the key," he said in an obvious tone. "Junmyun and I just wanted to come and visit because we knew you were pretty much going to be living here until your exhibit opens but it seems like you were busy with something--or should I say someone-- else. Hi!" He waved to Chanyeol in a friendly manner.

"Oh, right um, Jongdae, this is Chanyeol my--" He paused. What exactly was Chanyeol? Baekhyun knows they've been going out for a a few weeks but they never acknowledged each other as boyfriends. Or was the 'boyfriend' title supposed to come naturally as soon as they started dating? "--yeah," he finished dumbly.

Jongdae pulled a face. "Riiiiigghhhtt," he said, stretching the word out more than neccessary and Baekhyun is suddenly feeling the strong urge to choke his best friend. Fortunately for him, Chanyeol wasn't listening and if he was, he made no show of hearing what Baekhyun said.

"Hey, Baekhyun?"

All eyes turned to Junmyun who was standing by an easel with a canvas on it that was covered by a large piece of cloth. "What's underneath here?" he asked.

"Oh, that's a project I just finished a few days ago. It's being unveiled at the gallery the night of the exhibit," Baekhyun answered.

"We don't get a sneak peek for being your friends?" Jongdae asked, smiling at Baekhyun in that kittenish way he does.

"Absolutely not," Baekhyun deadpans. "I want this to be a surprise."

Jongdae tsk-ed. "You're no fun."

Baekhyun just rolled his eyes and said nothing else as he made his way to the supply closet and grabbed wrapping paper for Chanyeol's piece.

~~~~~~

The exhibit was looking to be a great success. Baekhyun walked around proudly, dressed in formal pants, a white button down, a black waistcoat, and thin tie. His brown oxfords were shined to perfection. He met other artists and drank champagne with prospective buyers who were all impressed with his work. His friends were there including Chanyeol who stayed close to Baekhyun's side through out the night. He only kept his distance when Baekhyun was talking to buyers or other important people.

Chanyeol has yet to see Baekhyun's surprise art piece but he was sure that if he just walked around a bit, he'd spot it. Turning a corner, he came into a different section of the exhibit. This was filled with portraits of people, most of them Chanyeol recognized. A few were paintings of celebrities, others were of fictional movie characters, and some were of Baekhyun's friends and, Chanyeol would guess, his family. His eyes went over a portait of Jongdae, done to perfection down to the last detail. There was another painting of an older woman who resembled Baekhyun slightly.

Chanyeol kept going until something else caught his eye.

It was himself.

He moved closer to make sure his eyes weren't decieving him. No, this was real. There, on a medium sized canvas was a portrait of himself. It was painted from the chest up so Chanyeol could only tell that he was wearing a white shirt and a gray hoodie. His eyes weren't looking back at him. They looked down from behind his black framed glasses where his hands were holding his guitar. Right below the painting was a plaque that reads, "Music with Chanyeol". He was so caught up in staring at himself, he almost missed Baekhyun calling out to him.

"Chanyeol?"

"Baekhyun?" Chanyeol called back.

"Oh. I guess you found my surprise." He walked up to Chanyeol and stood next to him. "So--um, yeah. I painted a picture of you and put it up for the public to see without your consent. Please don't sue me," he joked.

Chanyeol laughed as his eyes continued to take in the portrait of himself. "Baekhyun, I-- I don't know what to say... How did you do this? It looks absolutely amazing!"

"Oh, I took a picture of you when you weren't looking and used it as my inspiration," Baekhyun said nonchalantly.

"What?"

The shorter took out his phone and began scrolling through his photos until he came up on the one he was looking for. He showed it to Chanyeol.

The taller looked back and forth between the photo and the painting in awe. "You really do have a talent, Baekhyun. I feel honored."

"It's nothing really. You've just been giving me a lot of inspiration lately, I needed to dedicate something to you."

Chanyeol smiled widely down at him. Wrapping an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders, he pulled him closer. "I love it," he said.

Baekhyun gave a small, proud smile as he crossed his arms and leaned his head against Chanyeol's shoulder. "I'm glad."

~~~~~~

The night was going pretty smoothly. Baekhyun had already sold a few of his older pieces and people have placed bids on some of his newer works.

It was nearing the end of the event when Baekhyun felt a tap on his shoulder. Chanyeol had walked off in search of something to eat. Turning around, Baekhyun immediately wished the Earth would open up and swallow him whole.

"Hey, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun looked the man up and down. Same dyed blonde hair, same height, same unimpressed expression, same everything.

"Hello, Kris." I might as well be civil with him. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard tonight was the night of your next art exhibit so I thought I might come and have a look."

God, he's annoying. "Ahh, I see. Well, I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight. If you're interested in buying anything, just contact me. I'll see you--"

"Can we talk for a bit?"

Baekhyun sighed. Always interrupting me. "What's there to talk about?" he asked.

"Come on, let's go for a walk. I'm sure you can take a few minutes off. Besides, it looks like everyone's getting ready to leave anyway."

"I don't understand what's so important that you can't just tell me here," Baekhyun said impatiently.

Kris rolled his eyes as he turned his body towards the exit. "Come on," he said before walking over to the door.

Baekhyun scoffed. "Un-ing-believable," he muttered as he forced his feet to move after Kris.

~~~~~~

He shouldn't have followed Kris.

"You want to what?" Baekhyun asked in disbelief. They were in the parking lot of the art gallery with nothing but empty cars, the moon and the stars to hear them.

"I want to know if you ever considered getting back together with me." Kris looked at him expectantly.

Baekhyun wanted to laugh at him. "What happened to that other guy? You know, the one that you were two timing me with?" he asked.

Kris waved his hand. "That was just a stupid fling."

"Did you break up with him at least?"

"We've been broken up but Baekhyun, I couldn't stop thinking about you." Kris' eyes took on a pathetically bad attempt at looking sorry. "I was being dumb. I should never have done that to you and I fully regret it." He moved closer to Baekhyun and reached out for his hand. Baekhyun tried to move away but Kris was quicker and he grabbed a hold of Baekhyun's hand, squeezing it uncomfortably and in a way that felt almost foreign to Baekhyun. "We could give this another chance, Baek."

"Kris, let go of me. We can't do this anymore." Baekhyun's voice was firm and unyielding. "You made a fool of me. I felt humiliated because you."

Kris' eyes softened just a bit. "Yes, I understand but what's past is past. I can show you that I can be a better person."

"I think you should let go," Baekhyun said, trying to pull away but Kris' hold on him was strong.

"Please, Baek... Just--"

"Let go of him."

Baekhyun and Kris both turned to see Chanyeol striding up to them, movements planned and hard, and ripped Kris' hands off of Baekhyun. He pulled Baekhyun closer to him and Baekhyun almost wanted to hide behind him but he had to hold it in.

Kris glared at Chanyeol. "What the hell do you think you're doing? This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh I think it has eveyrthing to do with me," Chanyeol replied coolly.

"Who the are you?" Kris demanded.

"His boyfriend," Chanyeol deadpanned.

Kris was taken aback, clearly not expecting that. His gaze turned back to Baekhyun. "You're dating him?"

"I--" Baekhyun looked between Chanyeol and Kris before hardening his gaze on Kris and saying, "Yes. We're dating and he is my boyfriend."

Kris scoffed. "You moved on already?" He looked at the shorter in disbelief but Baekhyun was having none of it.

"Yes, I moved on. Did you not think I could? Did you believe that I was so hung up on you that I was going to wait for the day you come back and tell me how much you actually cared about me?" He stopped to take a deep breath and to keep his composure in check. "Listen, Kris, at one point in time, I thought we could've worked out, but now I know we can't. I'm not stupid. I'm not going to walk into the same trap twice. I have Chanyeol now and he treats me so well and I honestly think he's better than you." Baekhyun was finished.

Kris was silent for a moment as he took all this in. After a while, he asked, "So this is it then?" Baekhyun nodded.

"I think you should leave," Chanyeol said, no trace of amusement on his face. Kris glared at him, his eyes piercing.

"Go, Kris. We're through here," Baekhyun ordered.

With one last look of disgust, Kris turned around and walked away, muttering something about artists and stupid tall bastards.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Baekhyun pulled away from Chanyeol and walked a few steps away. He rubbed at his eyes before crossing his arms and letting out a deep breath. "Well, that was something," he commented quietly.

"Sure was," Chanyeol agreed. "So that was your ex-boyfriend, huh?"

Baekhyun nodded. "Yeah. Kris Wu, official douchebag."

Chanyeol laughed softly at Baekhyun's choice of words. "I don't think he's going to be bothering you anymore."

"I don't think so either," Baekhyun said. There was a moment of silence before he walked closer to Chanyeol and said quietly, "Thank you, Chanyeol. For defending me that is."

Chanyeol smiled easily as he uncrossed Baekhyun's arms and held his small hands, the touch warm and familiar. "It's nothing. What kind of man would I be if I can't defend someone I care for?"

Baekhyun chuckled at that. "Thank you so much." He wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's midsection and the taller hugged him back, placing a kiss at the top of his head. "I love you," Baekhyun mumbled into Chanyeol's collarbone, hoping the man didn't hear him.

"What was that?" Chanyeol asked. Damn.

"Nothing," Baekhyun replied back anxiously.

"No, repeat yourself. What did you say?"

Baekhyun closed his eyes for a moment, releasing a sigh of defeat before leaning back and looking at Chanyeol. "I love you. No one has defended me like that before and I'm so happy because it was you and I'm grateful we met that night in the bar and I love y--" He never got to finish his spiel before Chanyeol had his lips on him, kissing him breathless. Chanyeol had Baekhyun pressed up against his body, holding him as close as possible.

They would've kept going if not for a car honk going off and the flash of headlights landed on them. Pulling apart and giggling like school children, they ran off to the side of the lot, in between two empty cars. Baekhyun felt his adrenaline pumping. Even through the darkness, he felt like he could see Chanyeol clearly. A hand reached up and a thumb rubbed itself against Baekhyun's cheek in that tender, loving way he craved. He held Chanyeol's hand against his cheek.

"Hey," Chanyeol whispered in the dark, "I love you too."

Baekhyun looked down and smiled widely, loving to hear those words from Chanyeol. He reached up and and gave another peck to Chanyeol's lips. They both smiled. "We should get back inside. They're going to wonder where we've been," Baekhyun said.

The taller kissed his nose. "Well, let's go then." Chanyeol put his arm around Baekhyun's shoulders as they walked back towards the building. Baekhyun held onto the fingers on his shoulder while his other arm wrapped itself around Chanyeol's waist.

~~~~~~

Two weeks later...

Baekhyun had his legs stretched out onto the other arm of the small loveseat he had moved into the studio (with help from Jongdae) while Chanyeol sat facing forward with his guitar in his hands, playing a song for Baekhyun. Near the window was an easel with an unfinished portrait of the view outside the windows of the studio. Outside, the sun was setting, engulfing the sky in orange and lighting the walls in a softer, yellow glow. The frames of the windows cast dark, broken shadows across the room.

It was a tiring day. Baekhyun was traveling all around the city, dropping off the artworks that people had bought. It was a thing he liked to do. He preferred to personally drop the paintings off himself, to know that they got to where they need to be in one piece.

Chanyeol finished playing his piece and looked over at Baekhyun who was falling asleep against the arm of the loveseat. "Baek?"

"Yeol?" Baekhyun answered tiredly.

"Maybe we should get you home. You've had a long day."

Baekhyun opened his eyes and saw the concerned look on Chanyeol's face. "Nah, it's alright. Just let me take a quick nap." He closed his eyes once more.

"Well, you should at least eat something. You can't survive the day on just a bagel and tea," Chanyeol said, putting his guitar back into its case nearby.

Baekhyun groaned and turned his body to face the back of the loveseat. "Go get me food," he utters.

Chanyeol just rolls his eyes and hits Baekhyun's thigh, smiling a bit when he heard the other's hiss of pain. "Tell me what you want at least."

Baekhyun shrugged a shoulder. "You choose."

"Want to just order in some Chinese food and eat here instead of actually going out and buying something?" Chanyeol suggested.

Baekhyun grinned, his eyes still closed and facing the loveseat. "You know me so well," he said. "But you're doing the calling."

Chanyeol chuckled as he took out his phone. "Your wish is my command."

Baekhyun rolled onto his back again and looked at Chanyeol, a small smile on his face. Chanyeol was definitely larger than life and more than what Baekhyun has ever asked for and he was grateful. Everything about him was just so positive, it made Baekhyun's otherwise normal life seem more sunny. He was so lost in thought, he almost missed Chanyeol's question.

"Uh, Baek. They guy asks 'white or fried rice.' White, right?"

Baekhyun smiled. "White."

Chanyeol grinned. "As you wish."

~~~~~~

Well that was a y ending.

After what feels like forever (it has been forever) this fic is finally done~! Yayayayayay! This started out as just a oneshot but I turned it into a 3 parter for all those who wanted more so now there's more for your enjoyment. I hoped you all liked this. I really enjoyed writing it!

~Raksa <3

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