Waking up in Chanyeol's arms felt oddly natural, and surprisingly pleasant.

Baekhyun was used to waking up relatively early, even before someone knocked on the door to wake the two of them up for whatever schedule they had that day. It was like he had an internal alarm clock of sorts; he would open his eyes to stare up at the ceiling and mull things over, until he heard the familiar sound of knocking as one of the members did their wake up rounds. This time, he felt significantly more rested than usual, and instantly knew it was later than it should have been. He looked around curiously, shifting his position ever so slightly as not to disturb Chanyeol. He became suddenly aware of the fact that he was still in his clothes from the night before, when Chanyeol stirred behind him, tightening his arms around the smaller's waist. Baekhyun touched his bare arm gently, to see if he was awake. "Chanyeol-ah," he whispered. "Are you asleep?"

Chanyeol took a deep breath. "Not anymore," he said with a groggy voice, snuggling even closer. 

Baekhyun secretly relished the intimate contact. There was still an intangible distance between them, one that Baekhyun had created on his own when he made it clear that their interaction was a mistake. It seemed to have shrunk considerably overnight, judging by the way they were currently pressed closely and comfortably against each other in the same bed, but to Baekhyun, it still felt insurmountable.

"What time is it?" Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol lifted his arm from the other's waist and turned it to look at his wristwatch. "6:00. Why?"

"Aren't we late?" Baekhyun sat up quickly, looking down at the taller boy in panic. "What about our schedule?"

Chanyeol waved a hand dismissively. "Manager-nim said he cleared up our morning. There was a mistake on our schedule-- sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"Oh," Baekhyun said shortly. "Alright. Fine by me. What's with the sudden hospitality, though? I would have thought we'd be sent to the practice room straight away..."

Chanyeol smiled. "I don't know. Maybe they feel bad because half of us broke down in tears at the concert yesterday."

Baekhyun laughed through his nose. "Yeah... That was a bit embarrassing, wasn't it," he said, turning a bit pink.

"Speak for yourself," Chanyeol teased, grabbing Baekhyun's wrists and tugging them until the short boy fell back on the bed unceremoniously. "I barely shed a tear. You, on the other hand, were full out sobbing for the better part of your speech."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, smiling in spite of himself. "You liar," he accused, propping himself up on one elbow and glaring at Chanyeol-- the other boy was grinning smugly. "You were sniffling all the while."

"Yeah, sure," Chanyeol looked unconvinced. "At least no one felt the need to walk over and console me," he teased, with a jab to the older's ribs.

Baekhyun, who was in no mood to put up with his friend's usual antics, promptly snatched a pillow and smothered the younger's face with it. Chanyeol writhed about, clawing at the pillow before yanking it away and using it to take revenge on Baekhyun's stomach. The smaller let out a startled grunt, taken aback by the force of impact, and narrowed his eyes. "You are so dead," he warned, the threat sharp on his tongue.

All conversation eventually died down as a full out wrestling match ensued, but it was soon replaced by shouted threats, growls of anger, and indignant cries. At one point, there was a banging from the other side of the wall beside them, followed by Sehun's noticeably unhappy voice shouting: "Hyung, would you please shut up?"

By that point, Chanyeol laid entirely helpless under the short (yet admirably strong) boy as Baekhyun sat on him, pinning him to the mattress. "Sorry Sehunnie," Baekhyun called sweetly, as Chanyeol groaned in defeat.

"How in God's name could someone so small be so ing heavy...?" He muttered in a strained voice, struggling under his friend's weight.

Baekhyun flicked the back of his head lightly, but made no move to dismount the taller's back. "Wait, what about your teaser?" He asked suddenly, remembering that Chanyeol was planning to film it soon.

"I'm leaving to film at noon," Chanyeol explained, still panting slightly from their impromptu judo match.

Baekhyun smiled, straightening up happily, still perched proudly on top of the other's back. "Perfect. Now we have the whole morning to ourselves. What do we do first?"

Chanyeol hummed in thought, his face partially smushed in a pillow. "Well, I was planning on sleeping in until at least 9:00. Or laying down and talking for a few hours-- whatever works for you."

Baekhyun suddenly remembered that up until last night, he was planning to stay angry with the younger boy that was currently pinned under his rear. The boy who happened to at wrestling, even when facing an opponent he was head and shoulders taller than. The boy who Baekhyun took for granted, the one he seemed to have forgotten was his best friend. Oh well, he thought dismissively. I have the rest of my life to get mad at him.

"The last option sounds lovely," he said. "I'm in a talking mood."

Baekhyun vaguely remembered something Chanyeol had said almost three years ago: You better get ready to spend the rest of your life by my side. The memory brought a smile to his lips. It was meant as a joke, but Baekhyun didn't necessarily care. A life spent entirely with Chanyeol was a pretty damn good life, as far as he was concerned.

I can't remember why I ever decided to shun this big dope in the first place. It's aggravating, really, the way he manages to win back my trust every single time.

"Hey, Baek?" Chanyeol's voice broke him away from his thoughts.

"Mm-hm?" He snapped to attention.

"If you want to carry a civilized conversation, you might want to get off of me first."

"Oh. Right," Baekhyun swung a leg over Chanyeol's waist and rolled off of his back. "But now I get to tell the rest of the members that you were totally demolished by a short person."

"You do that, and I'll tell them that..." Baekhyun almost expected him to bring up the incident. "...well, I've got so much more dirt on you than you do on me. So I wouldn't try anything, if I were you."

"Alright, alright. I call a truce," Baekhyun sighed, shifting around under the covers until he was in a comfortable position. When Chanyeol did the same and went silent, Baekhyun suddenly felt wide awake and in the mood for some meaningful conversation. "Hey, Chanyeol?" He called softly, nudging the other's side with his elbow.

"Uh-huh?"

"Let's not go back to sleep just yet," Baekhyun murmured, as he didn't plan on wasting a minute of their time together before he messed something up yet again-- it was bound to happen, after all. "I want to talk."

Chanyeol rolled over to face the other boy, staring intently at him. For a very brief moment, Baekhyun could have sworn he caught a glimpse of that look flashing behind his eyes-- that longing, vulnerable look, the one he hadn't seen in a very long time-- and felt an almost endearing sensation stir deep within him. When Chanyeol spoke, his voice was unexpectedly low and tender. "Alright then," he said softly with a little smile. "Let's talk."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Baekhyun found it hard to keep his eyes off of Chanyeol as the his friend prepared to exit their room for the first time all morning. It was 11:45, and he was getting ready to leave for filming. "How long do you think you'll be gone?" Baekhyun asked, unaware of how disappointed he sounded at the moment.

Chanyeol gave a devilish little half smile. "Missing me already, I see," he commented, making the other boy go red in the face. If Chanyeol had only turned around, he would have seen just how much he managed to affect the older boy. "I should be back later tonight. It won't be until well after dark though."

Baekhyun nodded, staring awkwardly at the floor. Once he was ready, Chanyeol spun around on his heel and looked at Baekhyun. "Well... See you around, I guess," he sounded a bit uncomfortable, and Baekhyun couldn't help but wonder if he was hoping for a better farewell.

He nodded again, but said nothing. The doubts were beginning to flood his mind once again, the same ones that had presented themselves on the night of the incident. Over the past couple of hours, the only thought that seemed relevant in Baekhyun's head was how much he wished that there weren't so many insecurities holding him back. It occurred to him that he probably wanted to be with Chanyeol just as much as the latter wanted to be with him. But the fact that he still found a way to over complicate things drove him to near insanity.

At the dismissive gesture, Chanyeol pressed his lips into a thin line. He was noticeably put out, and Baekhyun felt the sudden urge to spring up and wrap his arms around the taller, to tell him goodbye like he really meant it, to confess everything-- his feelings, his doubts, everything. But, of course, he didn't. He simply stood by and watched as the boy he was now admittedly in love with walked out of the door.

As soon as he was gone, Baekhyun threw himself rather violently back on the bed. He cursed himself for letting the opportunity slip away, and hated how much he let his worries control him. Why do I even care so much? He's only leaving for a day, he thought in exasperation. It was more the fact that three whole years had gone by, and there he was, still hiding his emotions like a coward. He flashed back briefly to his recent conversation with Chanyeol.

"This is definitely not how I expected my life to turn out." Baekhyun had mused, mere minutes ago.

"How do you mean?" Chanyeol had sounded genuinely curious.

"I don't really know, to tell you the truth." Baekhyun remembered confessing, and the fact that he was so close to confessing even more. "It just seems like so much has changed from our trainee days."

It had taken Chanyeol quite a while to respond. Baekhyun had found himself trying to picture the other boy's thoughts. What he was feeling-- if he remembered every detail of that one night, if he still thought about it from time to time, if he could recall exactly what it felt like to be so wonderfully, intimately close to his best friend like Baekhyun did himself. If he still felt the same way, or if it was too late for Baekhyun to finally return the emotion. However, he had decided not to try too hard in fear of hurting himself.

"Well, I guess it has, in most ways," Chanyeol had said thoughtfully. "Things have changed-- we've all changed, I suppose, at one point or another..."

"I sure have," Baekhyun had said before he could stop himself. "I mean... Well, I don't really know how to explain it. But I do know that I've changed. A lot."

The look that had crossed Chanyeol's features was hard to figure out. Baekhyun hadn't realized exactly what the younger boy had meant until now, as he sat alone on his bed and did nothing as his best friend walked away without knowing how Baekhyun really felt.

"I haven't. Maybe I'm the only one, but it's true. I've felt the exact same way for over three years now." When Baekhyun had turned to stare at him curiously, Chanyeol had returned an earnest look of his own.

"I can't change, Baekhyun."

Those were the last four words that had left Chanyeol's lips, before he sat up abruptly and began preparing to depart.

Baekhyun sprang up from his position, flinging open the door and rushing down the hall towards the staircase. He couldn't let Chanyeol leave without hearing what he had to say. As he bolted down flight after flight, Baekhyun wondered if he had ever really changed, or if he had simply been oblivious to the fact that he felt this way all along.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When he reached the lobby, Baekhyun was relieved to see that Chanyeol hadn't yet exited the building. "Chanyeol, wait!" He called, jogging over to him as he turned in confusion.

Chanyeol watched him run up in confusion, raising an eyebrow when the shorter boy slowed to a stop in front of him. Baekhyun didn't say anything-- he grabbed Chanyeol by the wrist and began towing him away from the front doors, leading him down a few empty hallways before he was convinced that no one else was around to hear him. He came to a stop again, pushing Chanyeol against a wall and staring up at him with a confidence he had no idea he possessed. "Baekhyun, what are you--?"

Chanyeol didn't have time to finish the question, because Baekhyun had risen up on his toes, pulled the taller down by the front of his shirt, and was now kissing him with just as much passion as he had on their first night. It took Chanyeol a good couple of seconds to register what was happening, but once he did, Baekhyun felt his friend kiss him back with equal desire, if not more. It became apparent just how deprived Baekhyun had been from the other's affection when his heartbeat began to pound in his ears, drowning out all noise except for the sound of thundering breath. Chanyeol spun them both around until the older's back was now pressed against the wall, trailing a hand down to his thigh and hitching it up around his waist. Baekhyun got the hint, lifting the other leg to meet an already outstretched arm, and soon both of his feet were off the ground and he was at eye level with Chanyeol. He had lifted Baekhyun with little effort, and the latter began to wonder if he was only feigning his weakness a moment ago when they were attacking each other in their room. Their lips barely separated for a second throughout the entire process, and Baekhyun was cupping Chanyeol's face and kissing him again in a heartbeat. Thinking he should probably explain himself, he tried to get a few words in between kisses. "Chan-- I couldn't-- I couldn't let you leave without--" the tactic turned out to be ineffective, as Chanyeol seemed reluctant to break away for more than a brief moment, and no matter how fast the words spilled out of his mouth he never ended up finishing his sentence.

Baekhyun was pressed harder into the wall when Chanyeol leaned in closer, seemingly desperate for the contact he had spent so long without. The smaller boy became breathless, letting out a small puff of air, and thinking about how much he wanted Chanyeol to forget about leaving to film and return to their room back upstairs with him. Chanyeol must have read his mind, because he eventually pulled away to rest his forehead against Baekhyun's. "As much as I'd love to continue this upstairs--" Baekhyun's heart skipped a beat. "-- I still have to go... Otherwise I'll be late..."

Baekhyun nodded with a noticeably disappointed sigh. Chanyeol set him back down, pressing a slow kiss to his lips, followed shortly by another. "I'll be back in a few hours. Wait up for me?" He asked hopefully.

Baekhyun smiled, and nodded again, because he had no intention of falling asleep when the promise of something better-- Chanyeol-- awaited him past nightfall.

If changing meant getting Chanyeol all to himself, and knowing deep down that he belonged to the happy virus alone, Baekhyun figured a little change couldn't possibly do anyone any harm.