Perched atop the arm of the couch, little Baekhyun let out a long sigh, his eyes glued to the television. No matter how many times he re-watched the same episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pinkie Pie seemed to keep getting into the same trouble time and time again. Often Baekhyun would question why the pink filly kept falling for the same tricks, after all, Chanyeol had always taught him to learn for his mistakes. If even he could learn from them, why couldn’t Pinkie Pie?

“Oh, Pinkie,” he murmured softly and, allowing his shoulders to slump, he sighed again. This was an action that Chanyeol had often used whenever Baekhyun would do something that the Giant had not expected (and used it often, too); Baekhyun simply loved mimicking his Mister Giant. Getting to his feet, he scrambled across the armrest of the couch and down onto the seat where the remote control lay. It took quite a lot of effort, both hands and a lot of force, before the skip button would work and the episode that had been on loop for the past two and a half hours disappeared, a new episode taking its place.

Baekhyun smiled; he knew this episode very well – it had a good moral to it, a moral that Baekhyun had long wanted to try out. The story was about making those who were upset smile once again.  Watching his favourite fillies play across the screen, laughing and joking in an attempt to cheer up their friend, Baekhyun frowned.

Chanyeol had been acting strange for the past few days; more distant. The art exhibition that he had spent months creating a masterpiece for had rejected his canvas without so much of an explanation and Chanyeol was utterly crushed. He had worked so hard on it – and even let Baekhyun help out – so the rejection was devastating.

Baekhyun missed the way Chanyeol would smile every morning when Baekhyun attempted to hug him, wrapping his tiny arms around Chanyeol’s wrist as best he could. He missed the way his Giant’s booming laugh would echo throughout the house whenever Baekhyun would perch on his shoulder and attempt to bury himself in the curls of the others’ hair.

He even missed the way Chanyeol would scold him for scrawling beautiful (or, at least, he thought they were) murals on the walls of the apartment, just above the skirting boards. Or when he thought he was a Ninja Turtle and bent all the teaspoons, pretending they were weapons. Chanyeol didn’t utter a word. He simply took the pile of bent teaspoons, straightened them and put them back in the kitchen drawer.

But what hurt Baekhyun the most was whenever Chanyeol would tuck him into bed at night and Baekhyun would murmur ‘I love you, Mister Giant,’ Chanyeol didn’t respond.

Chanyeol had been this way for about four days and to Baekhyun, that was four days too many. This had to stop and it had to stop now. Slowly, with his eyes still trained to the television, Baekhyun got to his feet, his tiny fists clenched in determination.

Yes, he was going to cheer up Chanyeol, put that beautiful smile back on his Giant’s face; and it looked like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was the perfect solution to his problem.

“Wait! Where are you going?”  Pinkie Pie’s voice called.

“Not now, Pinkie,” Baekhyun said sternly, turning his back to the television and scrambling down the front of the couch. “I have a Giant to save.”

“Apple Jack – “

“Pinkie, shhh! I’m trying to work here!”

Baekhyun frowned. He should have muted the television before he climbed down, but as of this very moment, that was the least of his problems. He had to think of a way to make Chanyeol smile.

Creeping as quietly as possible across the lounge room, his cape wrapped tightly around his body and narrowed eyes darting this way and that, it felt as though Baekhyun was a spy on a mission – the only thing that was missing was his very own theme music. A small smile crept onto Baekhyun’s face as he began to hum softly to himself.

In the corner of the lounge stood Baekhyun’s craft box; a small shoe box filled with an assortment of things that Chanyeol had prepared for him, crayons, small pieces of coloured card, paper, offcuts of felt and fuzzy pom poms; Chanyeol had long ago confiscated the sequins and glitter tubes that once filled the tub after he found sparkles all through the carpet.  Baekhyun blamed Mister Byun for that.

It took quite a lot of effort to pull the large blue wax crayon from the box, and even longer to carefully colour an entire sheet of paper with the waxy blue. Baekhyun knew it could have taken a quarter of time to simply use one of the blue pieces of card in his craft box, but that didn’t require effort and he was willing to put in his all to see Chanyeol smile once again.

With his creation carefully rolled up and tucked away under his shirt, Baekhyun waddled into the kitchen, taking care not to crush his surprise for his Giant. There, perched atop the stool in front of his easel was Chanyeol, his head supported by his hands, staring blankly at the canvas that the two had created together.

Baekhyun’s brow creased in concern and he hurried across the smooth kitchen floor, his socks slipping this way and that, making it a good deal harder to get to Chanyeol’s side.  Extending a hand, he gave a gentle tug on the hem of Chanyeol’s trousers and the Giant looked down at him, confusion in his eyes.

Baekhyun offered him a warm smile and extended his arms upwards, waiting for Chanyeol to scoop him up and sit him on his knee.

“Baek,” Chanyeol murmured, Baekhyun’s hair gently with his thumb. “Where did I go wrong? I don’t understand what I did that – why?”

Turning around to face his Giant, Baekhyun nuzzled his cheek against Chanyeol’s thumb. “I liked your painting Mister Giant,” he said gently. “I think it’s beautiful.” Just like you.

“You’re the only one who thinks that,” Chanyeol sighed, closing his eyes.  He couldn’t work out what was so horribly wrong with it that the exhibition organiser so flatly rejected it? Was it the sparkles – a last minute addition by Baekhyun? The inclusion of Pinkie Pie in the corner? It was abstract. Anything goes. They can’t have been the reason.

Creeping closer to his Giant, Baekhyun frowned, tugging on Chanyeol’s cardigan. “Mister Giant,” he snapped. “You listen to me right now! There is nothing wrong with this painting, in fact, it won!”

Chanyeol blinked in confusion. “Won?”

“Yes!” Baekhyun nodded, irritated. Reaching up his knitted duck jumper, he pulled the waxy blue surprise out and unfurled it. “Here!” he said, holding up the piece of paper. It was at this very moment that Chanyeol had noticed for the first time the stains of blue all over Baekhyun’s hands and cheeks.

“You won,” Baekhyun repeated, holding the paper out to his Giant.  It was crudely coloured and flecks of white still peeked through the waxy gaps. The sides of the paper were rough and bumpy; torn in the shape of a first place ribbon.

For the first time in four days, Chanyeol found himself smiling.

“You don’t need to have your painting in that grumpy old man’s exhibition Mister Giant!” Baekhyun comforted. Perched atop Chanyeol’s shoulder, he attempted to mirror his Giant’s previous actions by his hair, only Chanyeol had too much hair for Baekhyun’s little hands. And so, Baekhyun settled on a small tuft in favour of the rest.

“Why is that, Baek?”

“We can have our own exhibition!” Baekhyun beamed excitedly. “Right here in the apartment! We can invite Mister Ducky and Mister Byun – Oh, oh, and Pinkie, too! We can’t forget about Puppy, either. Can Puppy come? Please?”

Chanyeol chucked softly to himself. “An exhibition of our very own?” he asked and Baekhyun nodded eagerly.

“Yes, and not a single grumpy old man in sight!”

 “Oh,” Chanyeol grinned. “That does sound like fun!”

 

Perched atop the back of the couch, Baekhyun stood, his arms behind his back and chest puffed out importantly. Chanyeol’s old canvases lined the walls, the Giant scrambling up and down the hallway, following Baekhyun’s commands.

“No, no,” Baekhyun ordered. “Over there, Mister Giant! That one should be there! Yes – no, no. There. Now just move that one to the side a little more  - ah, no – try putting it upside down. I like upside down.”

Chanyeol huffed, hauling the canvas around so that bottom had become top. Shooting a questioning glance up at Baekhyun, he waited. Baekhyun frowned, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“Actually, Mister Giant,” he said slowly. “Upside down isn’t nice. I don’t like upside down. Right way up, please!”

Chanyeol grumbled quietly to himself. When Baekhyun had said that they could hold their own exhibition, he did not think that it would mean spending the afternoon hauling his heavy – dusty – old canvases out of the store room and down the hallway all afternoon.

“Perfect!” Baekhyun nodded, clapping his hands together. “Now all the paintings are in place!”

“Finally,” Chanyeol sighed, dragging his fingertips through his hair. He had worked up quite a sweat. Then again, following Baekhyun’s orders was never an easy task.

Baekhyun was absolutely exhausted and felt himself dozing off in Chanyeol’s lap. It had been a very long day; working on his surprise for Chanyeol and ‘helping’ set up their very own art exhibition. It was tiring work and Baekhyun couldn’t keep his eyes open for very much longer.

Snuggling himself into Chanyeol’s lap, Baekhyun yawned.

“Alright,” Chanyeol said softly. “Time for bed, Baek.” 

In most cases, Baekhyun would protest. He would whine: ‘But Mister Giant, I’m not sleepy yet!’ or ‘Cape Crew leaders don’t have a bed time!’ (to which Chanyeol would playfully retort: ‘But Cape Crew leaders shouldn’t be cranky in the morning, either.’ ) But this time, Baekhyun didn’t protest. Instead, when Chanyeol carefully scooped him up, Baekhyun stretched out in his Giant’s hand and stared up at him bleary eyed, a wary smile on his face.

“Mister Giant?” he yawned, raising a hand to rub his eyes. “Do you know how much I love you?”

Chanyeol grinned. “No,” he replied. “Tell me.”

Baekhyun’s brow furrowed as he pondered a response. He wanted Chanyeol to know exactly how much Baekhyun loved him. “I love you more than … More than Pinkie Pie!”

Holding back a chuckle, Chanyeol lifted Baekhyun to his face. “Wow!” he gasped. “That’s definitely a lot! But, tell me, Baekhyun. Do you know how much I love you?”

He didn’t wait for his sleepy Bunny to reply. Instead, Chanyeol made his way through the dark hallway to prepare Baekhyun for bed. “I love you,” he began, “more than Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.”

Baekhyun pushed himself into a sitting position, his mouth hung open in surprise. Wow, he thought. Chanyeol really did love him a lot! But, he wasn’t ready to back down just yet. “Oh yeah?” he challenged. His head swayed from side to side and his drooping eyelids did not match the determination in his voice. But still, he continued: “Well, I love you from my toes all the way to the tips of my fingers!”

Chanyeol snorted as he attempted to help Baekhyun into his pyjamas, muttering a quick ‘stop squirming!’ Scooping his sleepy bunny up once more, Chanyeol carried Baekhyun back down the hallway and into the bathroom, his tiny toothbrush and hair comb looked quite odd next to Chanyeol’s. Gently placing him atop the bathroom counter, Chanyeol took a step back.

“Well,” he smiled. “I love you from my toes, right up to the tips of my fingers.” Propping himself up on the ends of his toes, Chanyeol stretched upwards as far as he could, his fingertips brushing across the ceiling.

With his toothbrush in his mouth, Baekhyun grumbled to himself, crossing his arms across his chest with a huff. “Wergh,” he said, the toothbrush making his left cheek puff out. “Ay lub yew as muhh as– “

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Chanyeol scolded lightly and Baekhyun scowled, tugging the toothbrush from his mouth and spitting the minty toothpaste into the basin.

“Sorry, Mister Giant,” he squeaked, reaching for his little comb and smoothing out his hair. “I was trying to say – I love you as much as Puppy!”

Lifting Baekhyun up, Chanyeol placed him atop his shoulder before pondering what his Bunny had said. Tapping his chin in thought, Chanyeol grinned. “That is a lot indeed. But, do you know what Bunny? I love you more than you love Puppy – and I know how much you love Puppy.”

Baekhyun nodded warily, snuggling into the side of Chanyeol’s cheek and closing his eyes. He did love Puppy. He loved Puppy a lot. But, he loved his Giant much, much more. His eyes were growing heavy and Baekhyun found it harder and harder to keep himself awake. He wanted to make sure Chanyeol knew just how much Baekhyun loved his Giant before he fell asleep.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as Chanyeol tucked him into bed, ready to welcome whatever dreams may come his way. Before Chanyeol had a chance to move his hand, Baekhyun took hold of the cuff of his jumper, his arm slack with exhaustion.

“Mister Giant,” he whispered, his eyes closed. “I love you all the way to the moon!”

Chanyeol smiled. The moon was far. It was very, very far. He said nothing, perched on the edge of the bed until Baekhyun fell asleep. Getting to his feet, he started towards the door, only to pause, his hand on the doorframe.

“Baekhyun,” he murmured. “I love you to the moon – and back.”

That was bad.
I'm sorry
ORZ
Happy one year of Baek in a Box existing?
Thanks guys <3