"Chanyeol, get up, we'll be late."
An undefined grumble reached him from somewhere inside the blanket cocoon, and with an exasperated sigh, Kyungsoo nudged him. Not too gently.
"Park Chanyeol. Get. Up."
"We only slept like two hours..." the half-dozing boy slurred, and Kyungsoo clucked his tongue.
"Don't be ridiculous, it was four hours at least. Now stop being a baby about it."
With the practiced ease of someone growing up surrounded perpetually by small (and big) whiny children, Kyungsoo tugged at the blanket. Unfortunately, Chanyeol had this stupidly long limbs which were tangled with the blanket like a lovesick octopus clinging on to his favorite stone, and Kyungsoo had to tug harder. As a result, Chanyeol landed on the ground with a numb yelp, and Kyungsoo was tempted to check up on him, when a head popped out of the lump, revealing the most impressive bed hair he'd ever seen.
" you." he said blankly.
"I don't think we're on that level yet." Kyungsoo deadpanned right back at him. Chanyeol changed his method of operation, holding out his hands to make childish grabby motions.
"Kay, but what about cuddles in bed?"
Kyungsoo didn't even blink.
"Nice try. Now get ready, I'll get us some coffee from the lobby."
Chanyeol incoherent whine of general discontent followed him to the door, and Kyungsoo made sure to close it behind him before he let the smile take over. Sleepy Chanyeol was cute. Sleepy Chanyeol, who was too incapacitated to be reminded of all the conflict he felt towards Kyungsoo was cute, Kyungsoo corrected himself. Maybe sleepy boyfriend Chanyeol could even be hot. Not that he'd find out anytime soon, but alright, Kyungsoo was smiling anyway as he padded down the stairs.

It was already Thursday, and so far, their little trip had been nothing but exhausting work and no sleep - just like he'd predicted. It was a little sad, having to make Chanyeol work this much, but that was exactly what they came here for. The orphanage's way of dealing with paperwork was shocking, and the databases and programs horrendous, to say the least. Kudos to Chanyeol for attentively listen to him rant about it for at least half an hour straight, even though the poor lad was the type of person to freak out at the mere sight of an open prompt window. The rest had been history - Kyungsoo diligently worked on improving the functionality and security of their programs, while Chanyeol continuously called almost everyone of relevance who'd ever gotten in contact with the facility over the last ten years, negotiated with officials or possible sponsors. They'd stay cooped up in the office room on the top floor, surrounded by two old, buzzing computers, piles of paperwork and a dysfunctional fan the whole day - and most of the night, too, adhering to Kyungsoo's belief that four hours of sleep were completely fine at a time like this. Chanyeol disagreed, with every fiber of his being. And yet it was him who seemed eerily awake at night, always insisting that he was fine, but that Kyungsoo clearly needed rest. Crazy world.

Yes, it was Thursday already, and Chanyeol had reached the point where he'd stopped talking his ear off in the morning on their way to the facility, far-too occupied with sleepily trotting after Kyungsoo, completely trusting the Northener to not guide them in front of a moving car, when-
"Puppy!"
Kyungsoo turned around and blinked, panic rising when he didn't spot Chanyeol immediately, but there he was, crouching on the ground a few steps behind him, petting a little puppy. With a relieved sigh he approached the big man-child, whose sleepiness seemed completely forgotten, melted away by the fluffy pup which was eagerly trying to climb into his lap.
"It's a dog, Soo, it's a puppy!" he exclaimed happily, petting the little thing with as much enthusiasm as the puppy himself had for him.
"Doesn't look like a stray." Kyungsoo commented, though he remained standing.
"I know right? It's so tiny, and so pretty!" Chanyeol replied, burying his nose in the dog's fur in a silly fashion that tugged at Kyungsoo's heartstrings.
"That's because it's a shepherd pup."
"Wah, you really know everything, don't you?" the Northener asked, though most of his attention was still focused on the little dog with its fluffy brown fur and dark nose. Kyungsoo only shrugged. Courtesy of one of his childhood friends who'd been obsessed with dogs as a kid, collecting all sorts of information on them. Some basics still stuck to this day. He watched the other play with the dog and talk to it in a gleeful voice.
"You know, it's time we get going." Kyungsoo began, preparing for what he knew was about to come.
"We can't leave it here!"
The Northener sighed, but it was all in good nature, since of course Chanyeol wouldn't let a stray puppy be. After all, he was all over Jongin, too.
"Then let's take it to the facility, so someone can bring it to a shelter." he reasoned, and Chanyeol shook his head, looking quite like a wet dog himself.
"Nooo, I don't like that!" he whined, cuddling the dog closer as if daring Kyungsoo to take it away from him. An idea struck him, and Kyungsoo knew he wouldn't like it, could tell it by the way his eyes lit up.
"The orphanage should keep it! I bet the kids will love it-"
"Bad idea," Kyungsoo interfered, "what about the costs and everything?"
"I'll provide the costs until we have a better solution!" Chanyeol argued immediately, and Kyungsoo fell silent. Something about the way he said it, about the defensive determination in his eyes... it made Kyungsoo realize something. Something vital, something that didn't necessarily hurt right now, but was scary nonetheless. What was meant to be an exasperated sigh, came out more like a breathy laugh, and Chanyeol looked at him in question, tilting his head until it rested against the puppy's. Kyungsoo dismissed the silent question with a shake of his head.
"It's nothing. Let's try and ask them whether they'd like to take care of it. Shepherds get really big and need lots of playtime though, just saying."
Chanyeol cheered happily with the clueless dog, moving the rather big paws with his own hands. When Kyungsoo didn't show an immediate reaction, still too engrossed in his earlier realization, Chanyeol lifted the dog a little, both looking up at him with their ridiculously big and shiny eyes.
"Don't be like that, Soo... I'm sooo thankful," he said in an altered voice, moving the dog's paws as if it was gesturing along, "and look at how cute I am - you just gotta love me, don't you?"
"I already love you though." Kyungsoo sighed, before he knew it. "What else do you want from me?"
The statement had Chanyeol freeze in place, and to downplay his statement, Kyungsoo finally crouched down to pet the dog himself. It really was a lovely little thing, all naive and trusting, nudging his palm insistingly. He felt Chanyeol's gaze bore into him. Kyungsoo spoke up without meeting his eyes, voice slightly defensive, but also stubborn.
"What? It's true. You wanted me to speak my mind, now live with the consequences."
For a couple seconds it was quiet, and Kyungsoo was beginning to worry he might have ruined the atmosphere, when Chanyeol pushed the dog right into his face with a playful bark, and Kyungsoo almost fell over in shock - much to Chanyeol's amusement, the ringing laughter smoothing over his worries.

It was Sunday night and Kyungsoo hated everything. If one wanted to be precise, it was an early Monday morning. 3:30AM the clock said. What a time to be alive and working. But he could always sleep on the train later, and if they left at around five, they'd still get their obligatory four hours of sleep. He rubbed his eyes, staring at the numbers on screen. Sweat was running down his back, gluing his thin t-shirt to his skin in the most disgusting fashion.
"I'm dyiiiing..." Chanyeol whined behind him, and Kyungsoo had no energy left to reprimand him for wasting time on complaints.
"I feel like a puddle of goo, why doesn't this room cool down?"
Because of its small size, the buzzing machines, the tiny window and our body heat, Kyungsoo could say, except they'd already uncovered this mystery days ago.
"You can always go to the hotel already." he said instead, and Chanyeol dismissed him like the stubborn person he was.
"No, that wouldn't be fair to you."
At night, when making calls was no longer possible, Chanyeol would diligently sort and categorize the mess that was the orphanage's paperwork, emphasize lying on 'work', though there was plenty of paper, too. But he'd finished that task the earlier night, and now he was basically on standby, patiently waiting for Kyungsoo to delegate minor tasks to him. Unfortunately, Kyungsoo was buried up to his nose in his easy, but effective version control system, and there was absolutely nothing Chanyeol could help him with.
"I'll be right back." Chanyeol called out, and Kyungsoo didn't even bother turning towards him, merely humming. If only they could buy some food - but everything had long closed. Kyungsoo would have loved to indulge the other, to treat him to some ice cream or a chilled coke, for staying up even though he didn't have to. Maybe he could instead tell him how much he appreciated it. Yeah. He should do that.
The night they arrived Chanyeol had asked him to be more outspoken, in order to get through his supposedly dense mind. Kyungsoo wasn't afraid to embarrass himself, but still, he was holding himself back, that much he'd noticed already. The reason should have been obvious, but the incident with the puppy had him finally realize-
Something cold and wet was placed on his forehead from behind, and Kyungsoo yelped.
"What the-" he began, shirking away from the touch and turning in his chair to reveal a grinning Chanyeol, who held up two silly hand washcloths of the kids, which were dripping wet, obviously filled with ice cubes.
"I improvised!" he happily said, pushing one of them into Kyungsoo's hand.
"Here. To cool yourself!"
Kyungsoo silently stared at him, as an icy droplet of water dripped from his now wet bangs. Then he got up to calmly sit on the ratty old couch stuffed in the corner, plunging down and ignoring his cracking bones. Chanyeol followed dutifully, sitting down next to him. and the moment his touched the couch, Kyungsoo had pressed the wet cloth into the back of his neck. Chanyeol actually yelled in shock, and Kyungsoo couldn't help smirking in victory. Chanyeol retaliated and soon they were trying to get the other as cold as possible, wrestling each other until the couch got too narrow and they landed on the floor instead. Chanyeol was taller, but Kyungsoo was sturdy and quick, squeezing the cloth right over the others collar to have the water drip down his shirt, while the other practically doused his head. Ultimately, they resorted to fighting with the ice cubes themselves, and Kyungsoo was sure his voice had never gotten as high as it got when Chanyeol dropped one inside his shirt, supposedly accidentally.
Chanyeol's laughter was loud, too loud probably, but Kyungsoo didn't have it in him to care.
Soon they were both lying on their back, staring at the ceiling, all huffing and exhausted. And dripping wet.
They were both chuckling breathlessly, and Kyungsoo twisted his head to locate Chanyeol, lazily reaching out for him. Chanyeol noticed it and met him halfway, their fingers only loosely touching since both of them refused to move. His skin was cold and wet.
Kyungsoo smiled.
"You're unbelievable." he said into the silence, voice slightly hoarse. Chanyeol hummed.
"I'm trying."
Kyungsoo closed his eyes, concentrating on nothing but breathing steadily and feeling the others fingers gently pressed against his. Why did he feel so peaceful like this?
"Thanks for staying up with me." he murmured, feeling the urge to share this positive feelings of his in some way. Chanyeol squeezed his fingers in response.
"Don't mention it. We're in this together, right?"
"Still, having someone to keep me company is really nice." Kyungsoo insisted, and now the other was chuckling in embarrassment.
"Wah, having you actually voice your thoughts makes me all flustered." he claimed lightly, but genuinely nonetheless. Because Park Chanyeol just had this uncanny talent of being honest and yet very aware of the atmosphere around him.
"Is that so? Wanna have one more, then?" Kyungsoo asked nonchalantly, the smidge of nervousness perfectly concealed. The Southener hummed in question.
"I..." he began tentatively, searching for the right words. Chanyeol waited.
"I never lied about liking you. The reason that I'm hesitating to really give you everything..."
He trailed off, deciding on a different approach since this didn't led where he wanted it to.
"You remember when I told you what I'm most afraid of?" he asked instead, eyes trained on the ceiling.
"Not being true to yourself." Chanyeol replied almost diligently, and of course he would have remembered it well.
"Yeah. You said I wouldn't hold back on anything but emotions, and that's true. It's not like I don't like you, but... ugh, this is hard to explain." he claimed in frustration, covering his face with the back of his free hand. Icy fingertips began to caress his own, rubbing along the digits slowly, soothingly. It sparked more in Kyungsoo than a caring gesture should, and he tried to regain focus.
"Alright, look. Standing in for your beliefs and whatnot is easy if your 'attitude' is resolute and certain. I know what my heart wants, I pursue it, and I never regret anything. But if something... touches your heart, maybe changes something... then it becomes hard to tell whether what you're doing is something you want or something others want. It's like... not entirely belonging to yourself? Am I even making sense, this is such a bad way to word it-"
"It's okay, it's not bad, very clear actually!" Chanyeol fell in, though he took his time in the following silence to ponder his words. His fingers never ceased playing with Kyungsoo's, and truth to be told, he reveled in the tiny display of affection. Usually, Jongin would be on the receiving end of Chanyeol's attention and care, because Jongin obviously needed it. Kyungsoo didn't resent him for that - he liked Chanyeol, and being a generous people pleaser was who he was. Still, it was nice to see that Chanyeol didn't hesitate turning towards him as well, should he ever voice out the need for comfort.
"I think everyone's afraid of change, though to different extents." Chanyeol finally said, voice thoughtful.
"It may not be the same, but I realized it while writing for my blog - that I've begun to accommodate my posts, holding back on stuff in order not to cause trouble since we're all quite in the public's spotlight, right?"
Kyungsoo hummed in agreement, as he peacefully lay there and let the others deep voice fill the room and envelop him.
"So in a way, my posts were becoming more and more fake. It's such a gradual process, but at one point you stop, look back and forth and ask yourself what even happened. Even you noticed it, back then. And I was so amazed that you would just fight people trying to sway you, so now I'm trying to regain control over myself again, until I'm more comfortable. So... you actually touched me, too. Maybe some changes are good, you know?"
The little speech warmed Kyungsoo's insides, in a way more pleasant way than the heavy air fanning over his skin. He had changed Chanyeol, and the other liked it? To Kyungsoo, changes of heart had to come from the inside, otherwise they rendered him open and vulnerable. But maybe Chanyeol was right. And if the other entrusted him a part of himself, even though he may not love him to the extent Kyungsoo loved him yet... then Kyungsoo could be brave, too.
"Maybe, yeah. I'll keep that in mind." he simply said, the pads of his fingers feeling for the tiny fissures in Chanyeol's nails, not minding the way they scraped his skin.
"Uhm... what did I do to change your mind about anything, if I may ask?" Chanyeol inquired carefully, as if testing his boundaries. As if Kyungsoo would hold back after just baring a much more intimate part of himself.
"Ah, it's just... when you were petting that puppy, I thought about this stuff. How the way you are, and the fact that I like you influence my judgment. Suddenly, I felt like something as irrational as carrying a lost puppy to an orphanage of all places would be a really good idea. I don't know, you make me believe in stuff, I guess."
With a stretched out hum, Chanyeol pulled his hand away to roll on his stomach. Kyungsoo looked up at him, his vision almost upside down. The other looked surprised, but not negatively so.
"You told me that before. You said my voice makes you believe. I guess that makes sense now."
Kyungsoo shot him a small grin.
"Don't let it get to your head."
"Will you get to my head, then?" Chanyeol cheekily replied, avoiding Kyungsoo's flailing arm aiming at him in retaliation.
"That doesn't even make sense!"
But Chanyeol was only laughing as he sauntered away to get them some towels. Kyungsoo knew he should get back to work, but for awhile he just kept lying there, getting used to the way pieces of himself had been laid out, and possibly rearranged a little. It didn't feel all that bad.

 

"Yay, it's the same ferry as last time!" Chanyeol cheered, padding around the deck. Kyungsoo could only shake his head at him.
"How can you be so eager after your last disastrous experience?"
Chanyeol turned towards him with a blinding smile, silver hair already severley tousled form the wind.
"Because sailing is fun! Besides, this time I took your pill thingies, so I'll be fine, right?"
"I can't fathom why you don't have those yourself." Kyungsoo deadpanned, but he still stepped next to Chanyeol, who shrugged and leaned over the railing to stare into the waves.
"We never even enjoyed ourselves with all the work we had," he pouted, swaying a little as the ferry took off, "we should go to the sea again, for real vacations."
Kyungsoo silently smiled to himself, leaning his head into Chanyeol's side. We. This time, he was perfectly certain that Chanyeol was talking about the two of them. Just the two of them, for once.
"I enjoyed myself." he peacefully said, and he felt the others hand reach around to rest on his shoulders. Keeping him close. Pressing him closer. Kyungsoo craned his head to look up at him in question, but the Southener's eyes were glued to the waves, an unreadable expression in them.
"You don't deserve this." he suddenly said, sounding distinctly sad and conflicted. "But my attraction towards him is still there."
Jongin.
Kyungsoo didn't draw away, and he wasn't angry that Chanyeol brought him up. Jongin played a big role in Chanyeol's heart. Still. It was only about the two of them.
"What you feel for others has little meaning to me," Kyungsoo began, voice calm and neutral, "I don't care about that. I care about what you feel for me."
He felt the Southener's grip relax, now that Kyungsoo had made it clear he wasn't going anywhere.
"Really?" he asked, genuinely wondering aloud, his gaze roaming the clouds now. "Is it really that easy?"
Kyungsoo let out a short, breathy laugh.
"Isn't the world complicated enough already?"
A look upwards revealed that Chanyeol was nodding to himself in confirmation, and then everything was suddenly shifting as the Southener used his arm to steer Kyungsoo away from the railing and against one of the cabin walls, sheltering them from prying eyes.
There was no hesitation left in Chanyeol as he leaned in to kiss him, and Kyungsoo felt an immediate, pleasant shudder when their lips met. One hand came to a rest on the side of Kyungsoo's neck, firmly palming the slightly damp and salty skin, as the other lay on his hips, already sneaking below his shirt.
It was everything he had expected and more, because this was not the pity kiss Kyungsoo had predicted he'd get eventually. Chanyeol meant it, and he felt it in his devotion, in the way his lips boldly nipped at his, warm, eager, slightly moist. Sharing the impatience Kyungsoo had kept to himself all the time. Just letting go. A few stray drops of salt water hit his cheeks, and suddenly, Kyungsoo wanted to smile - just because they were standing on a ferry, kissing like they had no care in the world and he was just so, so happy. He couldn't, obviously, and so he chose to turn them around with determination, playfully pressing Chanyeol against the wall to show him exactly how he liked to be kissed.
 

Haha, I split the arc and it's still this long, what direction is this fic even going in?
This chapter was brought to you by NCT's "Switch" and Taeyeon's "Why", because summer vibes!
Seriously, those make me so happy and carefree, why am I only getting summer vibes when the leaves are already falling...?

A lot of character development happened here, and I know you're all eager for Jongin - don't worry, he'll star in the next chapter c:
Don't lose faith in any of them~
Love,
Sugar-and-Salt