Taeyeon: What time do you get off work?

Baekhyun: My last lesson ends at 4, why?

Taeyeon: Well if you’re still interested I think I owe you dinner.

Baekhyun: Well I am in no position to turn down dinner…

Taeyeon: Awesome! I’m cooking ;) How does 5 sound?

Baekhyun: Looking forward to it!

“Are you supposed to be texting?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and put his phone in his pocket. Luhan had somehow convinced Minseok to hire another part-timer, a high schooler named Tao. He was tall and had just moved to Korea from China with his parents company. He wore a lot of eyeliner and looked intimidating but honestly he was the biggest pushover Baekhyun had ever met other than himself.

“It was important,” he said.

“Sure it was,” Luhan said, emerging from the office. Because Tao was still in training, Minseok wanted two people other than him working. Baekhyun ignored Luhan and he playfully ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, “hey what’s with your pissy mood lately, lovestruck?” Luhan teased.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes again and ignored his friend. “Just finish what you were doing”

“Hey I’m the manager today so you should show some respect”

“I guess Minseok feels better. You have the glow of someone whose life is back on track”

Luhan didn’t even blush, “and you have the attitude of someone who hasn’t been laid in years” He shot back, “anyway Minnie and I are getting kind of…bored so if you’re ever interested I’m sure the three of us can work something out” Luhan ‘seductively’ the side of Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun pretended to gag and pushed Luhan away, “Ew as if. Maybe Minseok but you? Come on.”

“Are you saying I’m not alluring Byun? Is it because I don’t have a nephew?”

“Oh come on!”

“Um…should I help the customer?” Tao tapped them on the shoulders, and nodded towards a tall man at the counter. As soon as they saw him both Baekhyun and Luhan’s eyes went wide and Baekhyun felt like he was going to pass out. Luhan glanced quickly between Baekhyun, who was frozen, and the man at the counter who was pretending to look at the menu but was obviously looking at Baekhyun.

“Um yeah Tao, you take care of him. Baekhyun why don’t you go take inventory in the back” Luhan said, his mind was working quickly, “Baek,” Baekhyun didn’t move, “Baekhyun!” Luhan sighed and grabbed Baekhyun’s shoulders, pushing him to the back and closing the door to the storage room.

“Hello, sir how can I help you?” Tao said. Luhan stood behind him, he was pretending to keep an eye on Tao at the register but his arms were crossed and he was glaring with hard eyes at the customer.

“Um, can I…” the man was tall with large ears. He had a huge black hoodie on and a red snapback, “Can I just get an iced Americano?” He stammered, faltering under Luhan’s piercing look. It was impressive how intimidating someone so soft could look when he wanted.

“Yes of course. Can I have a name for the drink please?” He asked, sliding the man’s card and returning it to him.

“Chanyeol,” The customer said, he looked like he was trying to hide from Luhan’s gaze.

“Thank you, sir, Have a good day,” Tao said smiling. Luhan muttered something to Tao in Mandarin, and Tao nodded before going back to the storage room where Baekhyun was.

Luhan started to slowly prepare the drink for Chanyeol, not taking his eyes off the other man.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said finally. Luhan ignored him, “um. Long time. Haha,” Luhan still didn’t respond. He placed Chanyeol’s drink on the counter,

“Chanyeol” he called out before returning to stand behind the register. Chanyeol grabbed his drink and went to stand in front of Luhan.

“How is he?”

Luhan ignored him.

“He looks good.”

Luhan still didn’t respond.

“Come on Luhan, you can’t ignore me forever.”

Luhan was very stubborn.

“Well, he’s going to have to come out of that storage room eventually.” Chanyeol finally sat down at an empty table near the door and pulled out a book. Luhan saw it was something about music theory.

Back in the storage room, Baekhyun was staring at the shelves of coffee while Tao was actually counting them. “Who is that man? Luhan looked like he knew him” Tao asked finally. Baekhyun felt like his head was going to explode.

“He’s no one. Just, someone we used to know.” He said after a moment. He felt like he was talking through led, the words stuck in his throat. Tao nodded in understanding. After a couple moments of silence, Luhan peeked in.

“Tao, can you watch the front for a second?”

“Alone??”

“Yes? There’s like, three people. We’ll be right in here.” Luhan stepped inside the room as Tao shuffled past him. Luhan walked over to Baekhyun and leaned against the shelf, staring at him.

“Can you stop?” Baekhyun finally met Luhan’s gaze.

“He’s still out there. If you want to go home you can leave out the back.”

“Why is he here?”

“Hell if I know. Just go home, Baek. We don’t really need three people here anyways. Also, I’m good enough I basically count as two people.”

“Don’t get smug,” Baekhyun said with a half-smile.

“Just go home okay? I’ll see you later.” Luhan punched Baekhyun’s arm and pushed him out the back exit.

Baekhyun glanced inside the store once before he started to the bus stop, there he was, sitting at one of the tables and sipping his coffee like he hadn’t ruined Baekhyun’s life.

“What are you doing home? Are you sick?” Minseok was reading on the couch when Baekhyun walked through the door. Baekhyun collapsed on the couch next to him, hugging a pillow. Minseok put his book down and mentally prepared himself to take care of the younger man.

“Luhan sent me home” Baekhyun mumbled, “so if you get mad at anyone get mad at him”

“I’m not mad.” Minseok scooted closer and put his hand on Baekhyun’s back, rubbing soothingly, “are you okay?”

“I’m just ing spectacular,” Baekhyun said.

“What happened?” Minseok had known Baekhyun his whole life basically, it was easy to tell when he was lying. Baekhyun stood up abruptly and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath.

“I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it. I have a lesson to prepare for.” He said, retreating quickly to the bathroom. He wasn’t going to have time to shower before Taeyeon but now that he was home early he could look mildly presentable for his date. If that’s what this even was.

He had been so preoccupied with Chanyeol’s reappearance in his life he didn’t have time to overthink dinner with Taeyeon however as he was trying to decide what to wear he managed to find the time. “MINSEOK” he shouted from his room. Minseok rushed in to find Baekhyun in his underwear laying in a pile of clothes.

“What’s wrong are you okay?”

“You’re gay”

“Okay?”

“What should I wear?” Baekhyun limply held up multiple shirts.

“Where are you going?” Minseok walked in and started shifting through the clothes on the bed.

“Taeyeon’s house for dinner”

“Is it like…a date?” Minseok’s lip turned up in one of his gummy smirks.

“I don’t know. Is it?” Baekhyun groaned.

“Okay okay. Calm down, just….are these clean? Never mind no they aren’t. You know we have a washing machine here in the house for free?”

“I don’t need this right now. I’ll ask Jongin.”

“Nonono I can’t pass up an opportunity to dress you. Here, and here.” Minseok handed Baekhyun a pair of dark jeans and an eggshell turtleneck, “anndd this.” He went to Baekhyun’s closet and found a tan coat. “Brush your hair down so it looks soft.”

“I could kiss you,” Baekhyun said, quickly putting on the clothes and looking at himself in the mirror.

“Luhan would get upset if he wasn’t there to watch,” Minseok said as he began folding the clothes on Baekhyun’s bed.

“Oh my god ew will you guys stop”

“Stop what?”

“Never mind my student is coming soon.” Baekhyun sighed and left the room. Minseok followed

“What did Luhan say?”

“Nothing! Ask him yourself!”

Minseok sighed, “Okay well I’m going to work so I will. Have fun on your date.”

Minseok walked past Soojung, Baekhyun’s student, smiling at her and ruffling her hair before closing the door.

Soojung’s mother had an emergency with her older sister and was half an hour late to pick her up, making Baekhyun late to Taeyeon’s apartment. Not a great first impression. At least he had the presence of mind to bring a bottle of wine, (or rather Taemin had the presence of mind to give him a bottle of wine on his way out).

“Hey, Taeyeon I’m sorry I’m late my last student left late,” Baekhyun said as the door was opening. Taeyeon was smiling

“Of course no problem at all! I was a little late starting dinner so it’s perfect.” She said, “oohh what’s this?”

“Oh um…wine?” Baekhyun awkwardly handed her the bottle. She spun around and headed back inside, Baekhyun tentatively followed.

Her apartment was obviously not set up yet, there were boxes everywhere still but it was warmly lit and the apartment had the same vanilla scent Taeyeon had. It was comforting. “Let me get some glasses” Taeyeon pushed past him to get to one of the boxes in the living room. “Sorry for the mess all my boxes arrived like, yesterday and I worked most of the day.” She somehow managed to pull out two glasses and quickly poured them both a glass.

Taeyeon was so pretty, Baekhyun realized with alarm, even in the simple jeans and sweater she was wearing she was one of the most attractive people Baekhyun had ever seen. Oddly enough he found himself without anything to say but, true to form that didn’t stop him from talking.

“How is the move coming?” Stupid question. He flashed back to asking Jongdae how work was. Apparently with the Kim cousins Baekhyun lost all semblance of someone cool.

“Oh it’s a wreck but moving always is. At least all my stuff is here now. I’ve got like three bookshelves though and no way how to assemble them and I just got water and wifi like, yesterday.” She laughed, “But that’s how it always goes. I love this city it’s so cute” She moved to the kitchen to finish whatever it was she was making. It smelt like heaven.

“I could help you with the bookshelves if you want”

“Would you? Oh my god, that would be a lifesaver. I didn’t want to ask Jongdae he’s so stressed right now.”

“Yeah, he…he’s got a lot on his plate,” Baekhyun said.

“Oh yeah. But he’s strong, he always has been. I’ve only seen Jongdae cry like, twice in our whole lives. It’s so rough, though, he and Jongdeok were so close you know? And he has Jongsu to take care of.”

“I actually don’t know much about Jongdeok, I mean, it’s never really seemed appropriate to ask and despite what my roommates say I do have some tact.”

“I’m sure when he’s ready Jongdae will talk about it. He seems to trust you,” Taeyeon smiled, “I’m glad he has found such a good friend.”

Baekhyun felt himself blushing but he wasn’t sure why, Taeyeon smiled at him again, maybe that was why. He finished his glass of wine.

“Anyway enough about my cousin,” Taeyeon said, “I want to know more about the cute piano teacher slash barista”

“Oh um, I mean you’ve basically got everything, cute, piano teacher, barista. That sums me up pretty well” Baekhyun said, Taeyeon laughed.

“You forgot humble,” She said,

“Oh , also forgetful.”

“I can work with that,” She said. Baekhyun’s heart leaped into his chest. She was definitely flirting with him. He was trying to flirt back.  She poured more wine and finally dinner was ready so he could focus on something other than how beautiful she looked and how terrified he was of that.

Dinner was nice. Taeyeon was nice. After Baekhyun got over himself she was easy and comfortable to talk to. She was cute and had a loud laugh and smiled a lot. It was refreshing. After dinner, Taeyeon led him to her room to show him the bookshelf that needed assembling.

Her room was empty basically, just a mattress on the floor and a dresser and a bunch of boxes. Baekhyun began to try and figure out the different parts of the shelf while she found more wine. They had already killed the bottle he brought and he figured that had something to do with how comfortable he was starting to feel around her.

Thankfully there were instructions that were clear and it wasn’t difficult for him to figure out the shelf. It didn’t take them long to build it and before long they were sitting on her floor next to the assembled shelf giggling over nothing.

Baekhyun wasn’t drunk but he felt the peaceful buzz that gave him enough confidence to forget all his concerns. “I should hire you to assemble all my furniture” Taeyeon laughed.

“I mean I am a man of many many talents.” Baekhyun said,

“Oh yes I’m sure you are” She said suddenly lowering her voice and causing something to stir inside of Baekhyun. For some reason things began to get warm and fuzzy. He felt himself focusing on her lips and her jaw and her neckline. She moved closer to him and his breath caught.

“I…I am…” He stammered, suddenly forgetting what they were talking about. Taeyeon smiled and stood up quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her.

“Do you want dessert?” She asked. Baekhyun blinked a couple of times and almost fell over.

“What’s dessert?”

“Follow me” Taeyeon said, not letting go of his hand and leading him back to the kitchen. She went to the oven and pulled out a chocolate lava cake proudly. “Annndddd” She reached to the cabinet and pulled out a fresh bottle of wine, “taa-daa”

Taeyeon turned out most of the lights and lit enough candles so that they could see each other clearly but it was still dark enough that they seemed to be enclosed, like they were in a little bubble. She put a blanket on the living room floor and they sat on pillows to eat the cake.

“I have a question for you,” She asked slowly. Baekhyun was worried he was drunk enough to be honest, Taeyeon narrowed her eyes, “and I want you to be honest with me, and I’ll know if you aren’t”

“Okay,” Baekhyun smiled and leaned back a little bit.  

“Are you gay?”

“I thought I was but…I’m not sure anymore,” He said cautiously, which was the truth. His head started spinning. Taeyeon smirked,

“Am I changing your mind?”

“No, I mean, maybe, I mean…I don’t know” He hoped it was dark enough that she wouldn’t see him blush. She moved closer to him; her face inches from his. Baekhyun forgot how to breathe.

“Have you ever kissed a girl?” She asked quietly, glancing at his lips. He returned the glance and swallowed.

“Does my mom count?” he asked quietly and weakly. Taeyeon chuckled but didn’t stop moving forward. She was leaning over him, he could feel her breathing slowly. He could feel himself not breathing at all.

“Your mom doesn’t count,” She said. Her hair was falling down her shoulders. Baekhyun leaned back and she followed. He tried not to look down her shirt but that left him to focus on her lips, “do you want to kiss a girl?”

Yes. He did. He wanted to kiss Taeyeon specifically. And there she was. “uhh” he articulated.

“Is that a yes?” She raised her eyebrows a little and smirked. Baekhyun nodded and sat up a little bit, and he wasn’t sure who closed the gap but he was sure her lips were the softest thing he’d ever felt. He sat up more and she moved so she was basically in his lap, her chest pressed against his. He brought a hand up to weave through her hair and she cradled his face in her hands.

It was drunk and sloppy and wonderful and Baekhyun wasn’t quite sure why he hadn’t kissed a girl sooner. The kiss deepened and he wasn’t sure entirely how but they ended up laying down, legs tangled, he was basically on top of her. Her shirt had lifted up exposing her stomach and if Baekhyun wasn’t so obsessed with on his he would have been obsessed with how soft she was as he ran his hands across her.

Their breathing got heavy and at this point they weren’t so much kissing as they were just rubbing their open mouths against each other. It was gross and if he had time to think about it he probably would have been disgusted but at that time it was the best feeling he had ever felt. Taeyeon reached up and grabbed his hand, guiding it down so that it cupped her .

For some reason, that’s what snapped Baekhyun out of the trance he was in. He quickly broke away and sat up, breathing heavy. He ran a hand through his hair. She sat up too, looking confused. Her hair was muffled and her shirt was half up.

“I’m…um” He stammered, trying to come up with an explanation as to why he suddenly freaked out, “I’m sorry I’m…” Her face softened and she moved close to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest.

“It’s okay, we went kinda fast there huh?” She said, Baekhyun hoped she couldn’t feel how hard his heart was beating.

“Yeah,” He said, calming down and wrapping his arms around her. She was warm and felt good in his arms.

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything,” Taeyeon said, not looking up at him but rather focusing on picking at one of the threads of his sweater.

“no no no it was…that was really good it was…different I’m not…” He faltered.

“You’re cute.” She said, smiling, he relaxed a little bit, “I’m not gonna rush you or anything I know you’re…confused right now. I’m here and I’m not gonna freak out on you or anything so you can relax.”

“I…thank you,” Baekhyun said. He kissed the top of her head gently and she smiled into his chest. They stayed like that until it was time for Baekhyun to go home. He kissed her on his way out, nothing dramatic just a soft kiss.

“I’ll see you later?” She asked leaning against the door. He nodded and put on his jacket and shoes.

“I’ll see you later.” Baekhyun got home at like, one thirty in the morning. It took him awhile to get home because he was walking slowly and the busses didn’t run as much that time of night. He got home and found his bed still covered in clothes. Instead of trying to figure that out he changed into pj’s and quietly opened the door to Minseok’s room where he and Luhan were fast asleep.

He felt kind of bad because he didn’t want to wake them, but he knew Luhan would sleep through anything. He slowly pushed Minseok aside and slid in bed next to him, curling up. Minseok woke up and turned, with confusion, but when he saw it was Baekhyun he smiled.

“Are you okay?” He asked, twisting around to wrap his arms around Baekhyun. They had done this before. Especially after Chanyeol left. Baekhyun had been a wreck, he slept with them for a couple of weeks after Chanyeol left, until the coldness in his own bed became bearable.

“I don’t know” Baekhyun admitted, curling his face into Minseok’s chest. Minseok gently his hair soothingly. It reminded Baekhyun of crawling n bed with his parents after a nightmare.

“How was your dinner?”

“I don’t know. I mean. It was fine.”

“Did you get laid?” Luhan had woken up now and was resting his chin on Minseok’s shoulder, blinking with sleepy eyes.

“No,” Baekhyun said, blushing a little.

“Oh” Luhan sounded disappointed, but he turned over and went back to sleep, his curiosity bated.

“Luhan told me who came to the coffee shop” Minseok said gently and cautiously, Baekhyun cringed. He had almost forgotten about that. “If you want to talk about it you can”

“What’s there to talk about, he showed up, I left. No big deal. I’m over it” Baekhyun wasn’t quite sure if he was lying or not. He still was kind of fuzzy from all the wine. “I’m just tired” He admitted.

“Okay. Go to sleep then” Minseok said, pulling the covers up over all three of them and moving closer to Luhan so they would all fit. He continued to Baekhyun’s hair soothingly until the younger fell asleep.

“He’s cute when he’s asleep” Luhan whispered behind Minseok.

“So are you,” Minseok said, reaching back to pull Luhan’s arm around him.

“Are you saying I’m not cute when I’m awake?”

“Just go to sleep” Minseok smiled and snuggled into Luhan, keeping a protective hand on Baekhyun.

** A/N ** 

This got kinda long sorry guys also a lot happened ^.^ I wanted to move things along a bit with some of the character development so there u go. Please please let me know what you thought of this I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it but here we go. Love u all xoxo.