Chanyeol awoke to the sound of rain against the roof, an immediate soundtrack in pitch black. He wiggled his exposed feet back under the sheets and peered into the darkness, only the very faint outline of furniture visible. It wasn’t often he woke up in the middle of the night, and when he did, it was only for a brief moment; roll over, curl into the warmth of whoever was there for the night, and fall asleep. Feeling for the sheets beside him this midnight came out useless: they were cold.

And so he listened to the dynamics of the rain with his arm still stretched out, eyelids fluttering in an attempt to resume slumber without someone to hold. His fingers twitched, unoccupied, eager to settle its jitters with silky locks threaded in the spaces between, trace patterns into smooth skin-

A violent, ripping noise reverberated against the wall behind the headboard, nerves lighting like fire to ignite a sudden jerk of his body. The sheets twisted, his balance kinked, and the hardwood floors greeted Chanyeol’s face with a welcoming thud. He gave a low groan as pain throbbed behind his skull, akin to leaving for work without coffee.

“God damn wind,” he muttered. “Stupid branches.”

He was a tangle of long body parts but he managed to turn onto his back with a huff, staring at the still dark ceiling. Definitely not sleeping now, he thought. Still, he didn’t feel like moving at all, suddenly finding the ground comfortable; there was a new perspective even for what little was able to be seen. Tilting his head toward the bedside table he recognized the outline of a picture frame where he knew a sunny photograph of his family resided. He stared at the rectangle shape for awhile, a different kind of pain digging into his bones like dust settling on antiques. Four white smiles should be staring back at him – one of which is his – but he can’t help but remember how scared he had felt when taking that photo. Photographs mean forever in Chanyeol’s dictionary, they mean trillions of inked pixels forming a history to be remembered.

Upon taking the photo Chanyeol was aware of the fact that maybe he would look at it in the future and only succeed in filling his heart with regret. Jongdae had seen the distant gaze the giant procured, a definite oddity for the usually energetic boy. Chanyeol missed the first few shots without a smile. It took immense tickling sessions from the other three before he let the daunting future dissipate in toothy grins among summer air.

Today wouldn’t be that future though, and as he heaved a sigh; he hoped there would never be that future, it scared him more than anything, hurt him more than anything.

He spotted a bottle of lotion and other various objects beside the frame, assuming those objects were loose change or packets of soy sauce in the very least; there’s a vague remembrance of Chinese takeout before passing out on the bed. But that’s lost to him. He let his eyes roam a bit more before the hallway light suddenly filled the room in ghostly white.

“Chanyeol?”

The sound of his name upon a dulcet tone roused him from the floor, sitting up so his head peeked over the bed. Long fingers ran through his bed head as he squinted into the light, unable to decide who it was; all three of them were short and equipped with beautiful voices.

“Oh my- what are you doing down there? We have a bed for a reason,” the voice chastised, increasing in volume as the person approached.

“It’s pointless if you’re not in it,” Chanyeol mumbled.

A soft chuckle was heard and Chanyeol felt arms pulling him up to his feet, grunting as his muscles held the consistency of jello. The shorter steadied him with hands at his shoulders and he peered down where a bowl of dark chocolate hair and pouty lips became visible. His head craned up to glance at him, concern swimming in large round eyes set in a cherubic pale face.

“Soo.” Chanyeol smiled sleepily and leaned down to kiss his lips only to be met with more wood. Kyungsoo had sidestepped his advance and without his support the giant being flopped with his own momentum. The younger grinned.

“Nope,” he chirped and promptly walked out of his room.

The boy groaned into the floor, head reeling with curses at the tease. His gentle motherly instincts smother him, all loving and gentle when it came to Chanyeol, but he turned evil at Chanyeol’s output of love; poking fun at needy Chanyeol was one of Kyungsoo’s favorite pastimes. Chanyeol didn’t enjoy being pushed away when he wanted to cuddle, or being rejected in general; he was a sensitive giant with an increasing need to show his affections. In a way Chanyeol found this relationship a game of tug-of-war. The harder the younger tugged at Chanyeol’s feelings, the harder he pulled back, eager to pull him in and satisfy his desire to just love him. He enjoyed the chase as much as he enjoyed Kyungsoo’s warmth.

By the time Chanyeol solidified his legs and shuffled into the hallway, Kyungsoo had busied himself with rearranging the house. He watched as the younger cleaned up the bookshelves ridden with ancient textbooks and literature anthologies, the occasional stash of cheap takeout chopsticks hidden between the pages; the life of a liberal arts major, really. The elder wrinkled his nose at that and headed for the kitchen. He could never understand the joy in grammar and such, but he respected it for Jongdae’s sake.

Chanyeol spotted said man bent over, plaid bottoms peeking from behind the open fridge door. As he drifted closer he let out a pained yelp. Lifting his leg to peer at the bottom of his foot he found his tiny assaulter: dried rice. He hissed and looked up to find Jongdae grinning apologetically as he shut the fridge door.

“Why is all the food out?” Chanyeol grumbled, kicking at the sack of rice on the floor.

The pantry had been cleared out and strewn across the tiled ground, cans of soup, boxes of crackers, bags of flour and sugar, and a year’s worth of ramen among the variation. Chanyeol was sure he recognized a bag of chips bought months ago. Freezer and refrigerated items were placed on the counters. Ice cream and frozen peas sat on top of leftover pizza with cheese turned rubber by now. Baekhyun’s mother gave them a large batch of bibimbap when they first moved in and they all assumed someone ate it all when it went missing one day. Cartons of milk and juice lie on their sides at the sink, emptying of their contents; Chanyeol assumed they were old. Kyungsoo’s spice and herb rack had been cleaned out and the overpowering aroma of cinnamon lingered as a heavy reminder.

“I decided we needed to clean up the food around here. It’s old, if you haven’t noticed.” Jongdae scrunched his nose as he dropped the contents of a mysterious bowl of noodles into the trash.

“Pft, I have. But why now? It’s almost midnight and I was all alone in bed!” Chanyeol whined.

The shorter just laughed, eyes crinkling and lips curling endearingly. He reached a small hand up to caress his cheek and grinned as Chanyeol placed his hand over it. Everything about Jongdae was so small and delicate and Chanyeol thrived off of it, knowing he was the only one allowed to baby him. He would never allow Baekhyun or Kyungsoo to hold him like Chanyeol did, cradle, and kiss, and utter his perfection into his ears like Chanyeol did.

“Aww, you were missing me?” Jongdae cooed.

“Well, the rain was a nice change from your snoring,” he snorted.

“I do not snore, you’re hearing yourself!”

Chanyeol chuckled and pulled him into a bear hug, nosing at the crown of his golden brown hair. Wisps of mint laced with vanilla and something darker invaded his senses, the irresistible scent unique only to Jongdae. He sighed as the elder pressed his face into a hard chest, wrapping thin arms around his shoulders in another silent apology.

“Hey, hey, hey, PDA in check!” Baekhyun’s voice bounced off the walls.

Jongdae crinkled his nose and pulled away to make faces at Baekhyun over the counter.

“You’re just jealous Yeol likes to cuddle with me better,” Jongdae huffed.

“Oh please, you act like Cinderella and smell like the inside of a gingerbread house, I have nothing to be jealous about,” retorted Baekhyun.

Baekhyun simply left the elder sputtering and stole Chanyeol away into the living room, making sure to kiss Jongdae on the way out.

“Someone’s feisty,” Chanyeol noted, feeling the carpet underneath his feet.

“Because you were sleeping earlier and then I didn’t even know you woke up! I needed you to help me with something, you’re tall, right? Right. Which means you have longer arms and that’s what I need.”

They stepped over webs of wires and cables tangled across the floor in some disaster only Baekhyun could create, all seemingly leading towards the TV. A box of DVDs sat on the couch where a few titles had been set aside, like Mean Girls and Madagascar 2. In the end they reached the flatscreen TV sitting on a coffee table backed against the wall and Baekhyun relayed his dilemma over. I need you to plug this wire into the TV, it's connected to the DVD player in my room. Just make sure you put it in the green rimmed hole because any other one will mean it's stuck there foreve, and I'm not the one who's going to yank it out.

Chanyeol found it a relatively easy job, so he took the end of the cable and stomped over to the space between the TV and the wall. It was then he remembered they bought a sixty inch flatscreen with all the ports in the very middle.

"Here." Baekhyun shined a flashlight in the general area. With a sigh he reached his arm out to as far as he could go. Just centimeters away. Chanyeol growled in annoyance and pulled back.

"I can't reach it."

"What do you mean you can't reach it?"

"It means my arms are too short."

Baekhyun put the flashlight down and snorted, "Well that's a first. Try again, I'll push you."

"Bossy," the younger mumbled and returned to his position, arm stretched out with the cable protruding from his fingers.

He felt hands at his waist pushing him further out a few centimeters to where he could scrape the input uselessly on the opening.

"More," Chanyeol groaned. His sides were not going to like him after this.

"I don't want you to fall!"

"Just hold me tight and push!"

Baekhyun hissed and gave a large heave, cocking his elbows back then snapping them out. Except Chanyeol's body slipped from his fingers and sent the large male hurling into the tight space, a terrified shriek leaving his mouth.

"Oh my god- Baek-"

The elder screeched as Chanyeol bounced off the wall and slammed into the TV before crumpling into an awkward position. The TV wobbled precariously on it's tiny stand and Baekhyun reached to steady it, but it was too late; it tipped forward, crashing to the floor with a booming clatter. He just stared in frozen silence, arms outreached, mouth wide open.

"Th-That was fourthousand dollars... On sale's price Chanyeol- Look what you did!"

Chanyeol just moaned. His head was wedged between the table edge and the wall, body disappearing underneath him.

"Yeah, well, sorry you pushed me."

About half an hour later all four had gathered onto the couch, staring at the toppled and cracked TV at the floor. Jongdae found a bag of popcorn from last year and deemed it healthy enough for them to snack on while Baekhyun called Sears. At the glass sliding door Kyungsoo pulled the curtain back to reveal city lights winking merrily at them. The rain had calmed down, now a gentle ghost of water sprinkling over the land. He grinned.

"You know, this isn't so bad. No TV so we can spend time with each other. The house smells clean. And now we won't get food poisoning! I think this is a good start people," the youngest hummed, curling up onto the couch next to Chanyeol. The entire outline of his body had icepacks pressed against his skin.

"Perhaps it could have been less painful," he noted drearily.

"Well, it's not getting any cheaper either," Baekhyun says, angrily putting the phone down.

"How much?"

"Another fourthousand. We might as well use that money to buy a better TV and ing mount it to the wall."

"Aw, honey, don't be such a potty mouth. Besides, you really want to take our frames down?" Jongdae motioned to the various picture frames hanging on the wall, a history spanning about a year's worth of memories. Baekhyun just sighed quietly and came over to snuggle into Jongdae's side on the floor, a soft no leaving his lips.

"So, I've been wondering, why are we all awake anyway?" Chanyeol asked. It seemed he happened to wake up by chance, there was no way he would've gotten into this mess if he hadn't been awake. Was he missing something? The other three just glanced at each other with peculiar expressions, like he was the weird one.

"It's New Year's Eve Chanyeol," they replied simultaneously.

Oh.

Oh.

It wasn't just New Year's Eve. When thinking of New Year's Eve on a year not specifically this one Chanyeol thinks of parties, gold and silver lights with the sharp scent of fruity alcohol imprinted in his nostrils. He remembers glitter and body shots, and hangovers spent in the corner of Junmyeon's room with some body laying next ot him. But this year was different. It brings him to warm hands and lithe hips rocking slowly against his, breath against his ear as someone utters his name, lovingly. Perfect eyelashes brushing against perfect cheekbones with perfect skin, sunlight dancing across the crumpled bedsheets, that's what he remembers now. As sensual and desperate that eve was, it was the night of their anniversery.

"Oh my god. I- I- really didn't mea-" Chanyeol stumbled across his words, starting to rise from the couch. How do you explain forgetting the best life-changing night of your life?

"Hey," Jongdae said quietly, glancing at the clock. "It's okay, we knew you'd forget."

"I know, but I shouldn't fo-"

"Look here, Dumbyeol," Baekhyun hissed, standing to stradle the younger's lap.

"You forgot, oh well. It's fine, really, I'm sure we'll have plenty more years for you to remember. So just sit and let us kiss you."

"Kiss- mmph."

The elder pushed Chanyeol back down with a firm hand and followed, laying atop his body to slot his lips against his. They both sighed into the kiss, lips moving sliding against each other in an exotic firey dance. The thing between Baekhyun and Chanyeol was dominance of the fittest. Chanyeol generally made the decisions: he was taller, bigger, louder, and all of that in bed times two. But Baekhyun doesn't like being submissive, doesn't like to be like Jongdae who literally melts into the giant. He wants to call shots, push them around, bully into submission. In whatever aspect of their polyamorous relationship it's alpha against alpha.

Eventually Kyungsoo pulled the two away with a needy whine and nearly threw Baekhyun out of the way. The younger took up his spot on his stomach and instantly dropped down to press their lips together, noses bumping painfully. Chanyeol reached a hand to the back of Kyungsoo's head, threading his fingers in thick locks as he tilts his head. Tongue flicks against the seam of his lips and before Chanyeol can part his lips he's already pulling away, grinning.

"Tease," Chanyeol mumbles as he lifts to go soothe Baekhyun, still laying where he was discarded.

"Ooh, I get the last kiss of 2014," Jongdae says excitedly, crawling onto his long figure.

Chanyeol just laughed and cupped his face, pulling him down for the kiss. It was buttery and salty among other things, but it couldn't have been any more perfect. Their mouths moved against each other slowly and gently, each slide a carress of love. Jongdae's eyes fluttered shut when teeth nibbled at his lower lip, tugging at the plump appendage. Chanyeol smiled against his lips and pulled back.

"You did not just pull a Soo on me," Jongdae whined.

"Guys, it's midnight already!" Baekhyun laughed wildly. "Happy New Year!"

"And happy first anniversery you three," Chanyeol hummed happily, watching with amused eyes at them spreading their own kisses around.

They made it. They really made it to a year. Chanyeol couldn't have had a better surprise that night.

soldaeseoul: Ahh, I hope you had fun reading this late New Years Anniversery comeback fic. u w u The ending was abrupt but it came out longer than I thought, so I'm satisfied. Until next time!