It’s only about mid-morning and it’s scorching. It’s also loud. Too loud, Baekhyun thinks. Everything and everyone is a jumbled, soot-cloaked mass in the kitchen. The kitchen that seemed too big just last night and this morning seems too small to contain the construction crew Dongwoo has brought along with him.

Baekhyun should be grateful for this excess of manual labor. For one thing, he knows that Dongwoo is cutting them a deal since he’s such good friends with Chanyeol. They’re getting all these workers for a fraction of the price they would’ve had to pay had they gone somewhere else. For another thing, all Baekhyun has to do is sit back and watch as the workers systematically, methodically, and knowledgeably remove the debris and wreckage from a forty year old fire.

He sits in a corner of the room on a spindly-legged chair – he’d liberated it from the library earlier that morning – and tries to stay out of the way. He’s dripping sweat even though all he’s doing is watching the laborers. There’s a sketchbook open on his knee, turned to a blank page. He’s supposed to be drawing, designing, pulling something fantastic out of his that’ll really draw guests in to this poor, neglected hotel, but his mind is drawing a blank. Instead of seeing fabrics and eye-catching centerpieces, his eyes focus on Chanyeol.

His boyfriend is across the room, working with the more skilled laborers to remove rows of antique stoves that probably would’ve had to be removed even if they hadn’t been wrecked by fire. Chanyeol is shirtless, rivulets of sweat sliding down the curve of his spine, shiny in the bright sunlight pouring through the windows and the gaping hole in the wall.

Of course Dongwoo is there as well. Baekhyun doesn’t know what they’re talking about, but whatever it is makes Chanyeol chuckle.

Baekhyun groans and forces his eyes back down to his blank paper. There’s no use being jealous, he tells himself over and over again. He’d be an idiot not to know that Chanyeol has eyes only for him. His eyes flicker up to Dongwoo once more. Maybe he should start working out a bit more, at least.

He jumps when something bumps into his foot. Glancing down, he finds a blue rubber bouncy ball settling against the inside of his loafer.

Frowning, Baekhyun bends down to pick up the ball. It’s heavy and dense in his hand, warm as if someone had just been holding it.

His eyes flicker up over the assembled workers. None of them are looking particularly frivolous at the moment, so he doubts the ball came from any of them. Mostly they’re just giving him grumbling, sidelong looks like he’s just in their way. As if he doesn’t already know that.

So where did the ball come from then?

He rolls it around his hand. Maybe it was underneath one of the appliances or counters and got kicked away by one of the unsuspecting workers.  Yeah, that must be it.

Only, if that’s the case, why isn’t the ball charred and ashy like everything else in this kitchen? Even if it’s rubber, it should show at least some signs of the fire that decimated the rest of this room and many others in the hotel.

Maybe he’s thinking too much about it, he decides. Just like the ring the coffee cup left on the charred counter. He should just forget about it. Yeah, that’s what he’ll do. He shoves the bouncy ball into his pocket and immediately does just that. He forgets about it.

The workers are efficient, timely. The kitchen is well on its way to being gutted by the time dusk falls, huge and mostly empty. Baekhyun sort of thinks he dislikes this type of kitchen less than the crowded, busy, charred type.

“Baek,” Chanyeol says, looking up from where he’s crowded around one of the lone tables that remains in the kitchen with Dongwoo and some of the other higher ups in the construction team. “Can you go grab those plans for the kitchen out of the library? I want to go over what needs to get done with these guys before we call it a day.”

“Sure,” Baekhyun agrees at once, happy to feel useful for the first time that day. His body is stiff from sitting in the chair so long.

Shoving his sketchbook into his bag – he hasn’t gotten any work done – and slinging the bag over his shoulder, he heads for the library. Though the kitchen seems so stifling and crowded and loud, the rest of the hotel is blissfully, eerily quiet. The library seems like his own personal sanctuary when he steps into it, but he doesn’t waste any time un-tacking the kitchen plans from the wall. The sooner he gets these plans to Chanyeol the sooner the crew can get out of here and the sooner he’ll have Chanyeol all to himself again. It’s selfish, he knows, but Baekhyun has never pretended to be anything but.

When he turns to return to the kitchen, however, he finds the doorway from the library blocked. He’s so startled that he drops the rolled papers in his hands.

It’s a little boy, no more than seven or eight. He’s not tall, dressed in nondescript clothing with light-colored hair falling into flat brown eyes.

“O-oh,” Baekhyun says, trying to collect his wits as he bends down to collect the fallen papers. “You startled me. What are you doing here, kid? You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous. The hotel’s not open.”

“You have my ball,” the little boy says. His voice is flat, emotionless, expressionless.

It takes Baekhyun several seconds to realize what the little boy is talking about. “Oh!” he finally says, digging in his pocket until he finds the blue bouncy ball from that morning. “This is yours?”

The boy nods wordlessly.

“I wondered where it had come from,” Baekhyun says with a nervous chuckle, bouncing the ball back to the little boy, who catches it easily with both hands. “Were you playing in the kitchen this morning?”

“I always play in the kitchen,” the boy says simply.

“Well you shouldn’t do that,” Baekhyun replies, trying to stay stern. It’s difficult; the boy is terribly cute and Baekhyun has always had a weakness for cute kids. “We’re doing construction and it’s dangerous. In fact, you shouldn’t be in the hotel at all. Should I call your mother to come and get you?”

The boy is silent for a moment before he says, “I’d like that.”

“Let me just get a pen and I’ll write down your phone number…” Baekhyun glances around for something to write with. Even though there were pens and pencils aplenty only the day before, he can’t seem to find one now. Eventually he sees one on the table and grabs it. “Okay, what’s the number?” he asks, turning back around.

But the little boy is gone.

Baekhyun frowns, hurrying out into the lobby. “Hello?” he calls, but the lobby is empty. There’s no sign of the little boy. “Hello?” Baekhyun calls again, a little more uncertainly this time.

“Yo, Baek!” Chanyeol’s voice calls from the kitchen. “What’s the hold up?”

Baekhyun carries the plans into the kitchen. “Did you see him?” he asks, depositing the plans on the wooden table.

Dongwoo gives him a confused look. “See who?” he asks.

“The little boy,” Baekhyun explains. “I was just talking to him and then he ran off.”

“A little boy?” Chanyeol repeats, brows furrowing together in consternation. “Baekhyun, there’s no little boy.”

“There was,” Baekhyun says stubbornly, more than a little miffed that Chanyeol doesn’t believe him. “He said he hangs out in the kitchen all the time. I take it that means you haven’t seen him.”

Dongwoo, at least, looks concerned. “This is no place for little boys,” he says. “It’s dangerous, even without all this construction.”

“That’s what I told him,” Baekhyun says, perching himself on the edge of the table. “I offered to call his mom to come and get him, but he ran off before I could get the number.” He hesitates. “Do you think he’s hiding out here in the hotel?”

Chanyeol shrugs, smoothing out the papers. “It’s possible, but there’s really nothing we can do about it.”

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, find him or something?” Baekhyun presses, feeling a bit annoyed – okay, more than a bit – that Chanyeol isn’t taking this thing seriously.

The younger quirks an eyebrow at him. “This is a big hotel, Baekhyun. Do you really want to spend all night searching for him? As long as he stays out of the main construction areas, there’s really not much we can do about him. Not now, at least.”

Still, Baekhyun presses it. “Don’t you think his mother will worry about him?”

Chanyeol gives him a pointed look. “I’ve got work to do right now, Baekhyun. Just let it rest, okay?”

Baekhyun huffs and puffs for a second but, when it becomes clear that Chanyeol’s attention is focused on the plans for the kitchen instead of him, he leaves the room. He calls for the little boy a couple of times as he heads up to the second floor, but he doesn’t get a response. He doesn’t really expect one.  

He’s buried under mounds of blankets in their room on the second floor, pretending to be asleep, when Chanyeol finally comes up. He keeps his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his breathing even. It’s much more difficult now than when he was a teenager trying to fool his mother.

Chanyeol takes his time getting ready for bed, washing off the accumulated grime and soot in the shower, brushing his teeth at the sink, changing into low-hanging sweatpants to sleep in. Then there’s a dip in the mattress and Chanyeol’s familiar warmth presses against Baekhyun’s back, strong arms encircling his waist.

“You’re the worst fake sleeper I’ve ever seen,” he teases in a low voice, breath tickling Baekhyun’s ear.

Baekhyun is annoyed. He’s annoyed with Chanyeol and with Dongwoo and with everything really – but mostly because he’s so easy to read. He huffs. “Well excuse me for not wanting to talk to my of a boyfriend.”

“I’m an , am I?” Chanyeol asks, sounding more amused than angry at the name. Baekhyun has a nasty habit of name-calling when he gets angry; Chanyeol has gotten used to it by now. “And why, pray tell, is that?”

“You blew me off about the little boy, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun finally bursts out, turning to face the younger. “It’s a serious situation and you didn’t even believe me!”

“This isn’t about a little boy. There isn’t a little boy,” Chanyeol says. “This is about Dongwoo, isn’t it?”

That certainly trips Baekhyun up. “I-I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he lies, but the bright blush spreading across his cheeks is a dead giveaway.

Much to his chagrin, Chanyeol laughs, wrapping his arms around the elder once more. “Babe, I’ve already told you that you’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“How do you even know Dongwoo?” Baekhyun demands, finally giving up the pretense that he’s not preoccupied with the handsome builder.

“We went to high school together,” Chanyeol admits. “He was a couple grades above me, but we hung out a lot.”

Baekhyun swallows the lump in his throat. “Did you ever date him?”

Chanyeol laughs so loud that Baekhyun jumps. “Jesus, Baek, no. Of course I didn’t. Even if I was interested in Dongwoo – which I’m not, by the way – he’s as straight as an arrow.”

“Really?” Baekhyun asks, surprised.

The younger continues to chuckle. “Well, unless his eight year marriage and two kids are a complete farce, yeah, pretty sure he’s not batting for our team.”

“But he doesn’t care that we’re…?” Baekhyun leaves the question hanging. The people in their lives haven’t exactly been eager to embrace their unconventional lifestyle.

“Nah,” Chanyeol shrugs, snuggling closer and burying his face in Baekhyun’s neck. “He’s known I was gay probably before I did. He used to date my sister back in high school, back before he met his wife. He’d try to set me up with girls he knew so we could double date, but I never really had any fun going out with them. So yeah, he’s pretty accepting.” He grins suddenly; Baekhyun can feel the way his lips turn up against sensitive skin. “So you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m yours forever. You’re never going to get rid of me.”

“I certainly hope not,” Baekhyun chuckles, allowing himself to relax in his boyfriend’s arms. He hesitates, then smiles sheepishly. “I’ve ben an idiot, haven’t I?”

“Just a little bit,” Chanyeol says, which is really nice considering Baekhyun has been something of a jealous the past couple of days.

“What about the little boy, though?” Baekhyun presses, never one to forget. “I know you don’t believe me, but I saw him, Channie. He was here.”

Chanyeol sighs and gives the elder a level look. “We’ll see if we can find him, okay? Tomorrow. But he’s probably long gone by now.”

“But we’ll look?” Baekhyun demands.

“If it’ll make you feel better, yes,” Chanyeol agrees, silencing him with a kiss. “Now let’s get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

So, introduction of a little boy? Who can guess who the little boy is? Cookies for you if you guess correctly >.<