Exo really is just a group of kissers, Baekhyun thinks, because all too often a member is sneakily leaning in to kiss another, and then the kissee lets him get really close, and then he pulls away rather quickly and everyone laughs, but whether the kiss was pretend or not, it doesn’t matter. Exo is just a group of kissers; there are a lot of gifs that can be used as evidence for that.

That’s why he doesn’t get why his bandmates would even lean in for kiss from him, because he really doesn’t understand the pretend-kiss bull. If someone is going to with kisses, Baekhyun is going to kiss him, simple as that. So, in retrospect, Baekhyun thinks that’s probably why he never really gets any more pretend kisses from the other members, but oh well, no harm no foul.

Except for Yixing, of course.

Yixing is a kissing monster, quite frankly. In the morning he’s placing a kiss on Sehun’s neck, during dance practice he’s kissing Jongin’s forehead, at a meet and greet he’s kissing Joonmyun’s cheek, on the escalator at the airport he’s kissing Minseok’s hair, and yet, despite all his caring kisses, almost all of them shy away with a laugh and a swat, telling Yixing to stop.

Except for Baekhyun, of course.

i.

The first time Yixing kisses him is sometime during their Wolf comeback. Due to the fact that they were separated into their subgroups right after debut, Baekhyun and Yixing didn’t get to spend any time getting to know each other, so it took the many months of Wolf’s comeback preparations for Baekhyun and Yixing to fully enjoy each other’s company, and then it happens.

This time, it happens before one of their performances on Show Champion, the one with their Beauty vs. Wolf challenge. Baekhyun doesn’t know if it is because Yixing is especially excited and giddy from the game, or for performance, or what it is, but a few minutes before they take the stage, Yixing is jumping up and down excitedly, and then he leans in to give Baekhyun a kiss, and well, Baekhyun has never been the squeemy type to push someone away like the rest of the members, so there it was; his first kiss with Zhang Yixing was backstage before one of their performances.

Yixing pulls away and giggles, then he moves on to one of the other members, Baekhyun thinks it’s Zitao, who he tickles until the other whines. Chanyeol moves to stand beside Baekhyun until their performance begins, and the whole time Chanyeol is telling him crappy jokes, Baekhyun is smiling, but certainly not from the corniness of what Chanyeol’s saying.

ii.

The second time Yixing kisses him is after their filming of Happy Camp. Baekhyun attributes the kiss to Yixing being excited to be back in Changsha, and to see his old friends (including the MCs, of course), as well as being able to speak his mother tongue, instead of Korean which he still struggles with sometimes.

After they play the Eagle Catching Little Chicks game on Happy Camp, even though Yixing’s team lost (just like they did in the game before their performance on Show Champion), Yixing is continually bouncy and happy, so much that the minute they step off stage, Yixing pulls Baekhyun into a heated, intense kiss until he removes his lips in favor of yelling Mandarin words of excitement Baekhyun only halfway understands. He sees Yixing speed off after his MC friend, and Baekhyun, when no one is looking of course, runs a finger over his lips, sighing at the hasty loss of Yixing’s soft, pillowy lips.

iii.

The third time Yixing kisses him he’s not even bouncy and excited like he usually is when he kisses Baekhyun. This time, everyone is in the living room, watching a movie after a rather grueling dance practice, when Yixing sits down beside Baekhyun and oddly bends his body so that he can lay his head in Baekhyun’s lap. Baekhyun chuckles at the other boy, and without removing his eyes from the TV, runs his fingers through Yixing’s damp hair, damp from a shower or from sweat, Baekhyun doesn’t really know.

All of sudden, Yixing joins in on Baekhyun’s chuckling, and then he’s putting a hand on Baekhyun’s neck to pull him down, and Yixing’s lifting his head out of Baekhyun’s lap, and their lips meet in a kiss, despite the fact that the vibrant Yixing who usually kisses him is replaced with a drowsy, groggy Yixing. This kiss is also different in the fact that Yixing doesn’t automatically remove his lips from Baekhyun’s; he actually takes enough time with this kiss to move his hand from the nape of Baekhyun’s neck into his baby hairs before he’s pulling away with a cute, sleepy grin. Yixing returns his head to Baekhyun’s lap, and no more than ten minutes later, the dancer falls asleep to Baekhyun playing with his hair, and his ear, and maybe even his sensitive neck, causing the other boy to wake up instantly and glare at Baekhyun before falling asleep again in his lap, much to Baekhyun’s (secret) delight.

iv.

The fourth time Yixing kisses him, he’s starting to wonder what all these kisses mean, if anything.

At first, Baekhyun assumed that Yixing kissed him out of pure delight and excitement, especially because he knew that Baekhyun was one of the only members who would actually kiss him back, but by this point, Baekhyun’s not all too sure his original theory is correct.

This time, the kiss happens after their introductory first episode of EXO’s Showtime. After they leave the interview room and are safely hidden in the van from the cameras, Yixing wraps an arm around his waist, and lays his head on his shoulder. Not one to reject affection, Baekhyun lays his head on top of Yixing’s, causing the older boy to look up at Baekhyun with a gaze full of surprise, and is that a smidge of hope?

The look is gone as quickly as it came with Yixing’s eyes crinkling and his face contouring as he giggles. Yixing lifts his head up and kisses Baekhyun, much to Kris’s chagrin, as he happens to be on the other side of Baekhyun. Once again, this kiss isn’t brief like the first two kisses; no, this kiss is long enough for Kris to feel the need to move, under the pretense of, “giving the love birds some extra space.” Baekhyun breaks away at his comment, ready to deny his claim, but Yixing pushes him down on the seat shared only between the two of them, and he kisses him again, languidly and for who knows how long.

Finally, Yixing pulls away with one of his innocent smiles before he peppers kisses all along Baekhyun’s face, including his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose, and finally, a short chaste kiss on his lips. After that, Yixing pulls out his phone and offers Baekhyun an earphone, and though Baekhyun’s ear is full of indie Chinese music, Baekhyun’s mind is reeling at Yixing’s intent behind all these kisses, because he’s seriously doubting that they’re purely out of giddiness anymore.

v.

The fifth time Yixing kisses him, Baekhyun is determined that he’s going to figure out Yixing’s motives behind these kisses.

This time has to be the most deliberate and thoughtful, because Yixing asks just him after dinner if he will help him practice his piano accompaniment to Miracles in December by singing the last chorus for him, and never one to deny anyone help, Baekhyun readily agrees.

They head to the practice rooms in near silence, except for a little joke here and there. When they arrive, Yixing motions for Baekhyun to warm up, as he does the same, by playing an incredibly too complex piece to remember without sheet music. However, Yixing moves his hands gracefully over the keys, playing a rather delightful melody, that is until he looks over at Baekhyun, and, noticing that he is staring, smirks. “Baekhyunnie, are you going to warm up?”

Baekhyun elegantly wakes from his stupor with, “H-huh, oh yeah, I’ll do that.” He slightly flushes and looks away from Yixing’s playing, so that he can focus on warming up.

Around five minutes later, Baekhyun returns to Yixing’s side and asks, “So, you want to begin at the last chorus?”

Yixing rubs his chin as if he’s a long beard in thought. “Hmm, can you start at the bridge going into that? You know, the part between you and Soo-ah?”

Baekhyun simply nods, and off of Yixing’s pickup notes, Baekhyun begins singing the last part of the bridge, then he leads into the chorus powerfully. Once they reach Jongdae’s vocals in the song, Baekhyun stops and smiles. “Did you get it?”

Yixing bounces his head back and forth, assumingly as a way of saying, “Sorta.” Baekhyun, understanding what Yixing meant, signals for him to begin with the pickup notes again, and Baekhyun re-sings the bridge and then the chorus, once again ending at Jongdae’s part.

Just as he’s going to ask Yixing if he fixed whatever he was getting wrong, Yixing pulls him forward so that his legs surround the piano stool Yixing is sitting on, and he smiles quickly before kissing him, sweetly and languorously. Obviously, Baekhyun hasn’t been keeping time of their kisses, but he’s sure that this one is definitely the longest, so long that eventually his legs give out (he would never admit that was because of his desire for Yixing, not from fatigue), causing him to sit in Yixing’s lap and continue to kiss him. Yixing’s hands move to Baekhyun’s waist, holding him there as Baekhyun wraps his arms around Yixing’s neck.

Soon enough, Baekhyun’s curiosity causes him to break the kiss, and, as elegant as ever, he asks, “Why?”

Yixing tilts his head sideways, confused. “Why?”

Baekhyun sighs and pokes his nose. “Why do you keep kissing me?”

Yixing’s eyes grow wide, with anything but fear, Baekhyun hopes. “Do you not like me kissing you? I can stop if you-”

“Xingxing, I never said that, I’m just wondering why you keep doing it. Like, what do your kisses mean? You know?”

Yixing bounces his head back and forth, this time Baekhyun’s assuming out of happiness. “Does it really matter? What all this means?”

“Well, I, uh, I guess not, but um, now that you know that I like your kisses, it does mean that you’re going to be kissing me more often, right?”

Yixing giggles, and Baekhyun pokes his dimple. “Oh, but of course!” Baekhyun tightens his arms around Yixing’s neck and, finally, it’s not Yixing who kisses Baekhyun - it’s Baekhyun who kisses Yixing.

He doesn’t know what that means either, but he guesses it also doesn’t matter. Ultimately, all that matters is that Baekhyun’s lips are on Yixing’s, and he’s sure it will be like that again, this time in the near future.

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a/n: written for this prompt