Baekhyun sat, perched atop the easel; his legs swung this way and that as he surveyed the vastness of the room, and more importantly – Chanyeol’s expression as he worked on his newest canvas. Brows knitted tightly together in concentration, Chanyeol stuck his tongue out and squinted at the canvas, as though these actions would somehow change the way he saw it.

A dabble of red here, the colour of cherry tomatoes – a of lavender there.

Chanyeol had focused his attention completely on his canvas, his face mere inches from the stretched material, scrutinizing it. At this, Baekhyun’s lips tugged upwards into a small smile and he rested his head in his hands, watching with amusement as the giant grumbled to himself in annoyance.

Baekhyun had so many things he wanted to ask Chanyeol, but he didn’t want to disrupt him whilst he was working. So instead, Baekhyun puffed out his cheeks and sighed, dozens of questions bubbling around inside his mind.

“What’s wrong with you?” Chanyeol asked, not even bothering to look up at the tiny male. Instead, his tongue lolled to the side, his eyes narrowed as he dabbed delicately at his canvas with a paintbrush.

Baekhyun’s ears pricked up at Chanyeol’s words. Chanyeol wanted to know what was wrong with him? A broad grin spread across Baekhyun’s tiny face and he wriggled on the spot eagerly.

Well, since Chanyeol asked …

“Mister Chanyeol Giant? What is that? And why are you mixing the purple with the orange? What are you painting?”

Chanyeol sighed inwardly. He shouldn’t have asked, he really shouldn’t have.

“Why do you put your face so close when you paint? Are you blind?”

“I’m not,” Chanyeol groaned, trying his best to drown Baekhyun out.

Baekhyun’s brows furrowed in confusion and he scooted closer to the edge of the easel.

“Then why do you?” he asked.

Chanyeol exhaled loudly, allowing his shoulders to slump in defeat. Twisting behind him, he placed his paint pallet on the kitchen table.

“Why do I what?” he quizzed, irritated.

“Put your face so closely to the canvas,” Baekhyun responded. “Do your eyes hurt?”

Chanyeol rubbed his temples gingerly and closed his eyes. “No,” he said. “But my head does.”

Carefully sliding down the back of the easel, Baekhyun padded quietly across the cold floorboards and stopped next to Chanyeol.

“You’re silly,” he said. “You can’t be blind just because your head hurts.”

“That’s exactly -“

Chanyeol was cut off with a small tug on the cuff of his jeans. Sighing, he peered down at the ground. Baekhyun stood no higher than his ankle, and stared up at him; his big, brown eyes unblinking.

“Mister Giant?” he asked. “Can you please lift me up? I want to see the canvas, too.”

“Can’t you see it from down there, Baekhyun?”

“I can, but I want to see it from your perspective.”

Wordlessly, Chanyeol scooped the tiny male up in the palm of his hand and placed him gently on his knee. With brows arched in amusement, he watched as Baekhyun studied the canvas, occasionally his miniature chin deep in thought.

“I see,” Baekhyun said quietly. “Hmm, yes. Okay. Well – there’s your problem.”

“Sorry?” Chanyeol asked, taken aback. “My problem?”

“Yes!” Baekhyun said seriously, turning on the spot to glance upwards at his new friend. “Shouldn’t painting come naturally? You keep trying too hard to get it right, but I think it will be even more beautiful if you stopped trying – just painted whatever came to mind.”

At this, Chanyeol tried not to snort. Baekhyun had to be joking, right?

“And what do you know about art?” he asked dully. A broad grin spread across Baekhyun’s face, one that reached his eyes.

“Well, I painted on your bathroom mirror, didn’t I?”

Chanyeol closed his eyes warily. “Please don’t remind me.” 

Chanyeol paced back and forth in his living room, occasionally pausing to mutter something to himself, before pacing once more. The idea was utterly ridiculous and he could not believe that someone so tiny – and annoying – had convinced him to partake in such an idiotic …

“Are you sure this will work?” Chanyeol grumbled. “I feel stupid.”

Baekhyun giggled to himself as he hurried throughout the house, trying to find the perfect hiding spot. Chanyeol looked stupid stopping and starting all of the time – not to mention always grumbling away to himself. But, Baekhyun had decided, Chanyeol needed more fun and amusement in his life. He needed to learn not to take things so seriously all of the time.

And what better way to do just that than play Hide and Seek?

It always made Baekhyun happy. So, naturally, it should make Chanyeol smile, too.

Chanyeol grumbled to himself once more before pacing the length of the living room. What was it that Baekhyun had told him to count to again? Seven hundred and thirty, was it? That was hardly fair. Then again, being so tiny, it must be hard to get somewhere quickly … Or do anything, really.

“Erm, twelve…?” he muttered, taking a seat on the couch. Could it really take someone that long to hide?

From his hiding spot, Baekhyun peered out into the hallway. He had a clear view of Chanyeol as he sat on the couch, counting slowly. Giggling quietly, Baekhyun sat down on the cabinet and crossed his legs, his head resting in his hands.

Chanyeol’s baseball hat was the perfect thing to hide under. Yes, this was going to be a very fun game of Hide and Seek.

Chanyeol was frantic. He had searched high and low for Baekhyun but he was nowhere to be found. Two hours. It had been two hours, and not a single sign of that annoying little … Was a single game of Hide and Seek supposed to last for so long?

No, of course it wasn’t.

Chanyeol knew that whenever he began to panic, his mind would begin to imagine scenarios, often with the worst outcomes. And that only seemed to make him even more frantic.

“Baekhyun?” he called as he began pulling cushions off the couch. “Baekhyun?”

What if he had hurt Baekhyun’s feelings when he washed the toothpaste mural off the mirror and scolded him? What if Baekhyun was upset by that and had used this time to leave? Chanyeol knew he wouldn’t be able to last the night out in the cold. Not without a little jacket and some food – both of which he didn’t have.

Chanyeol made a mental note to make Baekhyun a miniature winter coat – if he ever found him again.

“Baekhyun?”

He was growing more and more panicked as the time wore on. There was no sign of him still and Chanyeol was sure that, should Baekhyun of left, at least managed to make it out of the building by now.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he made his way to the coat hook on the back of his door. Tugging his jacket roughly off the hook, he spun around, crossing the small distance between the door and the hallway cabinet in three long strides.

Scooping his baseball hat up in one swift movement, a shout of surprise escaped his lips. There, curled up asleep in the spot where his hat had been just moments before was Baekhyun.

Exhaling, relieved, Chanyeol shook his head. He was so worried about losing Baekhyun and … This guy. Did Baekhyun even realise how worried he was? Or was he asleep the entire time? How could he be so calm all of the time? Was that what he meant about learning to relax?

Quietly, he disappeared into his bedroom, returning a few moments later with a single mitten. Gently draping it over the sleeping Baekhyun, Chanyeol relaxed his shoulders.

“Unbelievable,” Chanyeol said, the corners of his lips tugging upwards into a small smile. That was exactly what Baekhyun meant.