5 years later…

Baekhyun watched in wonder as those even, symmetrical European rooftops came closer into view. The plane dipped below the clouds and in the bright blue light of the morning, Paris lay spread like a well-oiled machine before him. He couldn’t help but press his nose to the little square window even as they landed at Charles De Gaulle.

He bounced with anticipation through immigration, baggage claim, and then customs, whiling away the longest hour of his life by fiddling with his phone. His heart thumped loudly in his chest and only served to pound harder as the glass doors slid open and he was admitted into the airport's arrivals terminal. His eyes skimmed over the crowd waiting, searching the signs for a familiar face. His eyes halted on the only sign in Korean, reading his name.

His excitement was so palpable that he couldn’t help but relinquish the hold on his suitcase in favor of running to the man with the sign. Apparently, Chanyeol thought the same and immediately dropped the sign, stepping forward to meet him and tugging Baekhyun up into his arms in a tight embrace. As their faces brushed each other and Baekhyun squished his own against Chanyeol’s neck, Chanyeol’s sunglasses slipped forward and fell to the floor.

“Oops,” Chanyeol muttered amidst a slew of screams. He and Baekhyun pulled apart as the waiting girls (and a few boys) rushed forward shouting.

They waded together with extreme difficulty through the crowd back to Baekhyun’s bag and attempted to push towards the exit doors. Chanyeol held Baekhyun close to his side and pushed his sunglasses back up his nose with a wide grin. Regular patrons of the airport watched in wonder as a small circle began gathering around the two. They whispered to each other, wondering what celebrity had arrived at their airport as they watched the fans snap pictures.

Baekhyun plugged his ears as Koreans and Parisians alike screamed Chanyeol’s name. He blessed all that was good when they finally made it to the curb outside and threw his luggage in the back of a sleek black Mercedes. When Baekhyun hopped in the passenger’s seat and settled in he let out a breath of relief. The silence of the vehicle was momentarily broken as Chanyeol climbed into the driver’s side, waving off the fans surrounding the car. He rolled down the window a bit and sweetly told them to move so they wouldn’t get hurt.

When he rolled the window back up the car was almost silent again and Chanyeol let his hand rest over Baekhyun’s. “Hi,” he breathed as they pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

“Hi,” Baekhyun smiled back brightly, but frowned almost immediately. “Why didn’t you bring anyone with you?”

“Who? The bodyguards?”

“Yeah, we almost got trampled to death.”

“Truth be told, I didn’t think anyone would notice if I came on my own. I thought we could have a moment just to ourselves.”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Chanyeol, you’re too naïve for your own good. Some of your fans hopped on a plane with you and followed you here. Of course they knew you’d be here. See!” he held up his phone and Chanyeol glanced at the screen quickly.

The image revealed a photo of Chanyeol sleeping next to Minseok, opened mouth in the first class section of a plane. Chanyeol laughed, “You’re following these blogs still?”

Baekhyun pouted. “What am I supposed to do? You’ve been on tour and I haven’t seen you in a month!”

“But we skyped!”

“It’s not the same…I’m really glad you asked me to come meet you.”

Chanyeol smiled over at him, “I missed you. I’m glad you came. I didn’t know how much longer I could go without you.”

“It’s really no trouble?”

“Don’t act like you don’t have the concert dates memorized. We don’t start playing here for over a week and I can’t imagine touring Paris without you. My only question is if it’s a problem for you.”

Baekhyun shrugged, “Well if it is, it’s too late. I’m already here.” He stopped when he saw Chanyeol stiffen. “I’m just kidding. You know the theater is out of season and since I’m the one in charge of my piano classes it only makes sense that I can give myself a break.”

Chanyeol nodded in agreement and they chatted lightly until they arrived at their hotel in the heart of the sprawling city.

After touring the bustling city for four days, sitting in coffee shops, walking through museums, and just getting lost with each other, Chanyeol had a surprise for Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol…Where are we actually going?”

He hummed a little, “You’ll see.”

“We’ve been driving for an hour and we checked out of the hotel…where the hell are you taking me?”

He sighed exasperated. “God, Baek, you really can’t just trust me and wait?”

“Ugh, fine.” He folded his arms and pouted cutely, shrugging down into the passenger’s seat.

“Don’t whine. You know I have the best surprises…you’ll see.”

Baekhyun quickly fell asleep and Chanyeol passed the next two hours by whistling to himself contentedly and humming along softly with the radio. He only awoke when Chanyeol pulled up in front of a small villa, the car bouncing lightly over the cobblestones in the courtyard.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Where are we?”

“Bayeux!” he replied happily and pointed out their location on a map.

Baekhyun’s eyes popped open. “What! How long were we driving?”

“Just about three hours. But we’ll only be here for one night, the real surprise is tomorrow.”

Baekhyun groaned.

“Hey don’t complain. I promise you’ll be excit