Chanyeol was just about to fall asleep when his phone starts violently vibrating on his bedside counter.

He contemplates ignoring it but remembers the last time he did, Sehun ended up getting lost in the city and sleeping on street for a cold, long night after his date left him in a restaurant Chanyeol drove him to. Sehun didn’t talk to him for a solid week after that.

So, reluctantly, he reaches over, cracking a few bones in his back in the process and retrieves his phone. He swipes the screen and brings it to his ear.

“What?”

"Yeollieeeeee” A loud voice yells down the line. Chanyeol winces away from the phone.

“Jongdae-ah. Please don’t tell me you’re drunk again at-” Chanyeol pulls away to look at his phone screen, “Two in the morning?” He whines disapprovingly.

“Yeol, I’m telling ya, I found this sick pub at the corner of town, you’re coming here with me one day! One day, I tell you.” Jongdae bellows, the music in the background almost drowning out his voice. Chanyeol wipes his hand down his face.

“How many drinks have you had?”

“I don't know, one, two, eleven? Doesn’t matter, I’ve got everything under con-...is that my pants?” Jongdae hollers. Chanyeol groans, and starts to put his shirt on.

“You need me to pick you up.” Chanyeol walks out of his room, already searching for his car keys. He grabs his wallet from the coffee table and the keys from sofa.

“Ah, Yeollie. What a man needs in his life.” Jongdae says and Chanyeol sighs, defeated. He’s already on his way out of the flat.

“Why?” Chanyeol corrects, but shakes his head at the worthlessness of that action. “Text me your location.”

“Coming right up, sir!” Jongdae hollers once again and the line goes dead. A few seconds pass until Chanyeol’ phone dings with the text. Reading the address, he curses under his breath seeing that the place is at least a twenty-minute drive from where he is. He shuts the door to his car and turns on the engine anyway.

Nearly half an hour later, he arrives in front of a pub booming loud music and even louder cheering. He feels a headache coming as he steps out of the car. He approaches the brown-headed fellow who’s currently slumped over some other guy’s shoulders.

“I’ve got him, thanks.” Chanyeol says, and tries to take over the uncoordinated dolphin-like creature.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” The other man asks when Jongdae was pulled away from him. His voice is one pitch higher than Chanyeol, and he has a head of blonde locks that Chanyeol shouldn’t be so endeared by. His eyebrows are furrowed, looking at Chanyeol with a confused and defensive expression.

“Um. He’s my friend. He just called me to pick him up.” Chanyeol explains, reaching out again for Jongdae.

“No, no, wait. He called me to pick him up.” The other man argues.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think—”

“Look, if you’re here to with him, I suggest you leave and find someone else to entertain yourself with. Thanks.” The other man spits. 

Chanyeol’s mouth drops open, looking at him shocked.

“Okay. Look. We both know the one who’s trying to with him is you. So I suggest you to off.” Chanyeol says, and all he gets is a very disapproving look from the other man that strangely reminds him of his mother’s pup.

“Well, I—”

“Aigoo! Guys!” Jongdae suddenly bursts out, and giggles. “So I might have accidentally called both of you.”

Chanyeol says nothing. The other man also stares at Jongdae, silent.

“Anyways! Yeollie, Baekkie. Baekkie, Yeollie” 

Jongdae shouts, gesturing between a lamp post nearby and the ground. Chanyeol simply stares at the other man, trying to process the situation.

“What.”

“You’re Jongdae’s friend?” The other man asks.

“He..he’s my flatmate. And you’re…?” Chanyeol says.

“We used to take the same course on college. He’s my friend.” The other man explains, and Chanyeol just nods slowly. Processing the information.

“Well then. I’m Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. You are?” 

The other man—Baekhyun—grins at him with his hand extended, his previous intimidating air gone. The way his lips curved up to reveal rows of white teeth, the little mole he had at the corner of his mouth. Tiny boy isn’t exactly that tiny, he realises when he takes a step forward and looks down cross eyed at the top of his head, which was actually at just about his eyelevel.

Chanyeol has to struggle to keep himself from staring too hard at the way his eyes curved into half moons and his lips quirked, pink and soft and entrancing. 

“Park Chanyeol” He takes Baekhyun's hand and shakes it. He has small hands. Slender fingers.

Chanyeol shakes his head immediately.

“Right. So this is pretty awkward.” Chanyeol says as he retreats his hand to rub it behind his neck. Baekhyun cackles, head thrown back and his neck fully exposed. Chanyeol looks away at Jongdae who’s throwing up in a drain nearby.

“I wouldn’t say it’s awkward. Just interesting. An unusual way to meet an attractive man. In the right place at the right time, I’d call it.” Baekhyun says, and smirks playfully at Chanyeol. Chanyeol’ mouth opens and closes repeatedly, completely taken back by his bold response.

“Yah. Guys. can I go home now? Or are you going to making out in the toilets? Just walk in straight and to the left. It’s pretty clean. I’ll wait here. I give you ten minutes.” Jongdae calls out to them, lying on his back in the middle of the walkway. “Ten minutes!” Chanyeol laughs, and Baekhyun just flushes.

“Nah, not today, Jongdae. Maybe some other time.” Chanyeol says looking at the boy in front of him, turning away immediately when Baekhyun stares back at him. 

“Let’s get you home, Jongdae.” 

Baekhyun walks away from Chanyeol to Jongdae, pulling him up by the arms.

“Woah, too fast, bro!” Jongdae manages to scold before turning to the right and going another round. Baekhyun immediately leaps away, shrieking.

Chanyeol looks at the sickly green substance that litters the ground and cringes. “Right. Baekhyun. So you’re here now, you deal with that. Goodnight, all.” 

Chanyeol rushes out, stepping over the mess towards his car. 

“Goodnight!” Jongdae calls after him at the same time Baekhyun yells “But he lives in your flat!”

“I'm sorry. Goodnight, all.” Chanyeol emphasizes again and quickly gets in his car and speeds off. 

When Chanyeol wakes up the next morning, it’s to a sun shining too bright through his window and an incredibly sore neck. With a wince he climbs out of his bed in his sweats, hand on the right side of his neck, massaging. He walks out of his room with his phone in his hand, scrolling through Instagram and perfect pictures of what everyone’s eating for breakfast.

Walking towards the kitchen, he sees movement in the corner of his eye. He looks up.

And screams. And drops his phone.

Baekhyun turns around so quickly and his eyes widen impossibly big at the sight of Chanyeol. Chanyeol screams even louder. 

“Oh ,” Baekhyun says, realising what was on display before grabbing the nearest dishcloth and covering himself.

“Why the are you in my kitchen?!” Chanyeol shrieks, covering his eyes with both of his hands.

“I’m so sorry, I forgot you lived here.” Baekhyun gushes. Chanyeol doesn’t move his hands.

“What do you mean ‘I forgot you lived here’?”

“Um. Jongdae's used to it. Um. I like to be . I’m in my flat like, all the time. He hangs around there, so he’s seen it and he’s—”

“No! I mean, how could you forget I live here?” Chanyeol shouts. He hears footsteps thudding towards the living room.

“I come here all the time! Jongdae lets me be around here—”

“.”

“, around here and so I’m used to it. And you’re never here, anyway.” He hears Baekhyun sigh. “You can open your eyes now.”

Chanyeol slowly separates his fingers and peeks out of them. Once he’s satisfied that Baekhyun is now fully clothed, he drops his hands. He’s still glaring at Baekhyun when Baekhyun guffaws out of nowhere. Head thrown back, neck fully exposed. Chanyeol is reminded of the night before.

“What?” Chanyeol asks, a little annoyed yet endeared at the same time. He waits for Baekhyun to stop.

“Oh my god.” Baekhyun wheezes in between his laughs.

“It’s not funny.” Chanyeol spits.

“No, come on, just admit it, it’s pretty hilarious.”

Baekhyun laughs again. He’s bent forward this time, hand clutching his stomach. Chanyeol finds himself chuckling along a few moments later, finding Baekhyun's laugh too contagious to ignore.

“ing hell. Seriously, Bacon. It was just there, dangling like a ing church bell.” Chanyeol says in between his chuckles, causing Baekhyun to double up in laughter again. It feels nice, Chanyeol thinks. 

He’d like to make Baekhyun laugh again soon. Again, again and again.

“My name’s not Bacon.” Baekhyun says, when he finishes laughing and wipes off a few tears.

“Sure, Bacon.” Chanyeol says and walks back toward the kitchen. “Why are you here, anyway?” He turns around and asks, realising he hasn’t actually got a legitimate understanding of this situation.

“I was too tired and it was too late last night for me to drive back home so I just decided to bunk in here. Because someone completely ditched his drunk mate in the middle of the street for his other mate to bring home despite the fact that they basically live in the same building.” Baekhyun says, glaring at Chanyeol while he snickers. He turns back into the kitchen, satisfied with the explanation.

“You can cook?” Chanyeol teases. “Well, what have we got here?” He muses as he looks over what’s on the kitchen counter.

“Breakfast.”

“Isn’t breakfast like, cereal and milk? Or ramyun, if I’m determined enough? What in god’s name is this?”

“Bacon, egg and chicken soup." Baekhyun states simply. Chanyeol looks over at him as he smirks.

"I told you. Bacon loves bacon.”

“Eat.” Baekhyun says, ignoring what the taller had said and sitting on one end of the kitchen counter.

“Gladly.” Chanyeol sighs. He sits opposite Baekhyun and takes a spoon of his soup . He moans, and hears Baekhyun’s light chuckle floating in the air around them.

“Can I, like, lock you up in here so you can cook all my meals for me for the rest of my life? And as a bonus do my laundry as well because you seem like the person who would.” Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun erupts in giggles. Chanyeol smiles as well, focusing on Baekhyun crescent eyes. trying to store it in his mind as something to think about when he’s frustrated

Chanyeol glancing up at Baekhyun to see him staring intently back at him. He quickly looks away, feeling somehow exposed under Baekhyun’s gaze.

“Will you marry me?” Baekhyun blurts after a prolonged silence. Chanyeol chokes on soup, hand on his chest and sputtering out spits.

“What?” Chanyeol manages. He takes a swig of water and looks at Baekhyun, incredibly puzzled. Baekhyun only stares back, looking at Chanyeol like he’s trying really hard to read him.

“Like, let’s say, we were in We Got Married; one of those dumb reality TV shows where complete strangers literally living like a newlywed couple. And you’ve got me. Would you marry me or bail out?” Baekhyun asks, seriously. He watches Chanyeol searchingly, looking all over his face for an answer.

“Um.” Chanyeol says. “What?”

“Answer the question.” Baekhyun says, like it’s the most simple and obvious thing in the universe.

“Um.” Chanyeol says again. He looks at Baekhyun, then at the wall, then at Baekhyun. “Yes?”

Baekhyun nods, smiling. He seems satisfied with Chanyeol answer, and continues eating without uttering a word.

A minute or so passes, and Chanyeol starts chuckling. He finds himself grinning like mad, completely drawn to Baekhyun's way of words and questions. Baekhyun looks up and starts laughing too as though Chanyeol’ were infectious but creepy at the same time.

“You’re totally a weird bacon.” Chanyeol says. And Baekhyun just nods agreeably. 

Chanyeol thinks he’s interesting. He wants to keep him. He wants to know what questions he’ll ask next, or what jokes he’ll crack next. He wants to be there the next time Baekhyun says something amusing or strange. He decides that, he will.

~~~~~~

“Byun Baekhyun, please do not—”

Baekhyun turns around and leaves, straight into the dressing room—that has a ing sparkly door like how did Chanyeol even end up here—and locks it behind him.

Chanyeol sighs. Two weeks into meeting the kid and Chanyeol is already following him into girly slice teenager stores because Baekhyun wants a cute sheer top and he can’t get any in men’s stores.

Chanyeol hears the cling-clanging of hangers against hooks. Then a bang and a crash.

“For god’s sake Baek—”

“I’m fine!”

Chanyeol reaches a stool nearby and sits on the dusty thing. He stares at his wiggling toes under his shoes, furrowing his eyebrows. He looks at his nails, picks at them for a bit, and lets them go. He looks up, catches a teenage girl eying him with distaste, and rolls his eyes.

He looks at the door of the dressing room Baekhyun is in, and sees the shuffling movement of his shoes from under it. Chanyeol chuckles to himself. Of course Baekhyun’s dancing in there. If he concentrates hard enough, he can hear Baekhyun humming one of the girls generation song, the velvety sound tucked under the shuffling of his shoes and chatter in the shop.

 Chanyeol smiles suddenly, staring right at the centre of the sparkly door. It swings open.

Baekhyun steps out next to it and looks around for a split second for Chanyeol. His eyes land on him and immediately turn to face him while fiddling with his shirt.

“Do you think it’s too sheer-y? Or not sheer-y enough? I don’t know but I really like how it’s sheer at the front but not at the back and also these color is red—or maroon I guess. It's not too girly right? and…”

Baekhyun looks up slowly at Chanyeol’ lack of reply. “What?” Baekhyun asks when he catches Chanyeol simply grinning at him.

“Yeol, what?” He lets out a confused chuckle.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Baekhyun’s smile falters, but that only lasts for a second before it comes back full force. He starts giggling, looking right at Chanyeol with a sort of soft look in his eyes.

His blonde hair falls from the top of his head and flows down right above his eyes. One of his hands instantly reaches up to push it back up, all the while still looking at Chanyeol. His head tilts to the left like an amused puppy. Chanyeol might be in love with him.

“What do you think of my shirt?”

Wait, what? Chanyeol hesitates.

“What do you mean—”

“Do you like it?”Baekhyun says, still grinning like a child. Chanyeol is so confused.

“Baekhyun, I just asked you—”

“And I just asked you if you like the top.”

“Um. Yes?” Chanyeol genuinely did like the shirt.

It was a girl’s top, but since when did things like that stop Baekhyun. But he wasn’t really wanting to express his love for the top because he just asked Baekhyun to be his boyfriend and Baekhyun is not responding the way Chanyeol hoped—what is happening.

“Nice. I thought so.” Baekhyun smiles and makes his way back to the dressing room.

Chanyeol is going to cry.

Right before he goes into the dressing room, though, Baekhyun whips his head around and looks at Chanyeol puzzled.

“Well, do you want to come in and make out with me or what?” Baekhyun grins when Chanyeol’ jaw drops.

“Park Chanyeol. You're my boyfriend? Right?”

you, Bacon. Chanyeol thinks. you.

He ing giggles and follows Baekhyun into the dressing room though, closing the door behind him.

He grabs Baekhyun by the waist and gently pushes him against the mirror. Baekhyun’s letting out these cute breathless chuckles that’s tugging at Chanyeol’ heart and making him ache.

Before he knows it he grabs Baekhyun’s cheek and surges up to kiss him. Baekhyun responds with a little satisfied hum, and Chanyeol thinks he’s going to explode so he presses on firmer. He pulls off softly, and Baekhyun’s staring at him with blown pupils.

“I hate you.” Chanyeol says.

“You love me.”

And Chanyeol thinks he does. He’ll tell him one day, three weeks later when he wakes up and sees Baekhyun’s puppy face beside him, with his messy-after--hair. He’ll tease Baekhyun with soft kisses all around his face and when he wakes with a giggle Chanyeol will say it. 

He’ll say it almost in a whisper, but Baekhyun’s tiny eyes will shoot open because he’s heard it loud and clear. He’ll say it back and they’ll kiss all morning without a care for morning breath and a starving Jongdae. He’ll do it, and it will be the best feeling but now, now he’s got a blushing Baekhyun against a mirror in a dressing room giggling against his shoulder. And now, now Chanyeol will just kiss him and buy him that damn top.