It was a known fact that Chanyeol hated airplanes. He hated the artificial chill of the interior, the unpredictable swoops and turns of the vehicle, the plasticy food and cramped bathrooms that always seemed to smell of diaper cloth. Most of all, he despised the overwhelming sensation of takeoff and landing, where his stomach flipped inside out and he felt the urge to squeeze his eyes shut in utter terror. It was embarrassing, really, and if he could, he would try his absolute best to escape traveling by air. But of course, after intentionally avoiding all eye contact with his boss for a week around the time when the company was discussing upcoming business trips, it was his luck that his superior called him into his office and slapped a two-week, all-expense-paid trip to the corporation's headquarters in San Francisco.

Sehun, one of his coworkers, had literally hissed in anger like a crabby tomcat when Chanyeol had emerged by the boss's office, printed airplane ticket tucked between his fingers.

"It's not fair that you of all people get to go! Hyung, you don't even like flying. Hyung, talk to boss. Let's trade places, out of the goodness of my heart."

"Trust me, Sehun, I'm thinking the exact same thing. Except that last part, of course. That's bull and you know it."

Of course, it was too late, since the ticket already boasted Chanyeol's name and information in bold, black letters, but it was still a nice thought to entertain. Before Chanyeol knew it, he was scrabbling for his car keys at 4 am the next day, dragging a hurriedly packed, neon orange suitcase down his apartment corridor, wincing as it bumped across every one of his neighbor's doorsteps. Fourteen minutes and one grande espresso later, he found himself zooming through security, practically flinging his shoes off when he reached the scanners, not even taking the time to box them appropriately. He boarded exactly two minutes before takeoff, huffing and puffing while shoving his suitcase into the overhead carrier, before collapsing into 32A.

"Late start?" a voice asked from beside him, when he had buckled himself in clumsily. It was a nice voice, Chanyeol immediately mused, even if itdid seem to have a teasing edge.

"Yeah, that pre-boarding coffee stop probably wasn't the wisest of choices," Chanyeol replied, swiveling just enough to observe his seat mate. God, maybe that was a bad idea. Seat mate was male, with droopy eyes, a small pink mouth, and wheat-brown hair tucked hastily beneath a grey beanie. Maybe it was the caffeine rush or the early hours of the morning, but Chanyeol had the sudden revelation that the flight wouldn't be all that bad.

Seat mate laughed, a wonderful bubble of clarity that sent Chanyeol's heart on a rocket launcher crusade. "I'm Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun. We'll be on this flight for a little more than half the day, so we might as well get acquainted."

"Right!" Chanyeol spluttered, practically knocking the seat in front of him with a wild flail of limbs. "Baekhyun. I mean, you're Baekhyun, r-right. Of course you are, you just said that. I'm Park Chanyeol and I apologize in advance for any rambling I might do, because I tend to do that a lot. Ramble, I mean. Oh god..."

Baekhyun laughed again, eyes curving into delicate crescent moons. "You're cute," he said. Chanyeol wondered if cardiac arrest was possible at 25 years of age. "So Chanyeol, what brings you to California?"

"Work," the taller replied, pumping the seat handle to adjust the decline. "I hate business trips, so naturally, my boss sent me half-way around the globe."

"Naturally," Baekhyun echoed with shining eyes. "I'm here for work too, technically. I have family in the Bay Area, though, so it's a nice break from the busyness of Seoul."

"You're from Korea, too?"

"Well, my name is Baekhyun," the shorter man snorted, unwrapping the plastic around his pre-packaged blanket and pillow. "And we are departing from Incheon airport, I might add."

Chanyeol wanted to die. "You must think I'm so stupid. I assure you, I have a brain, even if I may have left part of it in my sock drawer back at home, along with my cell phone charger and sunglasses. Plus, it's 4:30 am."

"I don't think you're stupid," Baekhyun replied earnestly, smoothing out the cheap fleece over his front with abnormally beautiful fingers. "Just cute. Endearing. In a verbal diarrhea sort of way."

Was Baekhyun flirting with him? Him, Chanyeol? As in him, Chanyeol, who could never match his ties to his suits, misplaced his phone every other minute, and was deathly afraid of the plummeting sensation that accompanied takeoff?

Before he could respond, the pilot's voice crackled through the speakers. "We are about to begin our takeoff process. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts on, until the sign overhead ceases to illuminate."

Crap. "Look, Baekhyun, I hate to add to this poor first impression I've given you so far, but I need to warn you in advance. I absolutely hate the takeoff and landing part of flying and will probably hyperventilate in my seat for a minute... or a few. Please don't mind me; I'll be fine once we actually get up in the air."

Baekhyun quirked an eyebrow. "I wouldn't take you for the type to be afraid of heights."

"I'm not afraid of heights! It's just the... the weird, spinning feeling and the rush of the plane when it leaves the runway. It makes me feel dizzy, like we're about to crash any minute or the pilot will accidentally hit the wrong switch or the entire cabin will implode from the overwhelming pressur--" Chanyeol stopped talking, silenced by the weight of Baekhyun's hand on his.

"Here, you giant baby," Baekhyun chuckled, giving Chanyeol's much bigger palm a gentle squeeze. "For life support."

Chanyeol felt his cheeks warm up considerably and he angled his face away to avoid eye contact with the smaller man. "I'm fine," he muttered, but he enclosed his fingers around Baekhyun's nonetheless. It actually seemed to help, because even through the jostle of takeoff and the thundering noise of the wheels scratching against the asphalt, Chanyeol remained calm, though he may have nearly broken Baekhyun's thin fingers in a crushing grip.

When the plane had seamlessly lifted into the sky, Baekhyun withdrew his hand, to Chanyeol's great dismay. Wait, why was he craving Baekhyun's touch? He just met the guy.

Shaking out his hand, Baekhyun winced before letting out a low whine. "Why are your hands so rough? They're like sandpaper."

"Hey! It's a casualty of playing guitar."

"Oh really?" Baekhyun quirked an eyebrow like this information truly interested him. "Play any other instruments, maestro?"

Chanyeol sat up in his seat, eager to talk music with his new-found friend. "Piano, drums, and I enjoy singing and rapping occasionally as well."

"Oh really?" Both of Baekhyun's eyebrows were defying gravity at this point. So you're cute and you play multiple instruments? I think we have a grade A lady-killer on our hands."

Letting out a weak chuckle, Chanyeol scratched the nape of his neck nervously. "Maybe, if I was into girls."

"Oh," Baekhyun said, eyes widening as he pulled the blanket around his neck so that only his head peeked out. "Okay. Good to make sure." Something in Baekhyun's voice made Chanyeol feel exposed, as if he had forgotten to put on pants that morning. He watched with hyper sensitivity as Baekhyun's eyelids flashed closed and his pert mouth let out a yawn. Then, after a showy stretch, the smaller let his head roll onto Chanyeol's shoulder.

"Is it possible to feel jet-lagged before a change in time zones? Because I sure feel that way."

God, he smelled glorious. Chanyeol forgot how to breathe as Baekhyun nestled closer to him, head burying into the crook of his neck.

"Is this alright?" Baekhyun opened his eyes for a moment to ask, but his eyelids were still half-lowered in some potent and sultry expression. "Tell me if you feel uncomfortable by this." Uncomfortable wasn't the right word. ing terrified was a bit closer.

"Um... heh-yeah, s-sure, you must be tired," Chanyeol blurted out, suddenly unsure of where to place his hands or legs. He opted to sit as still as possible, cautious as to not upset Baekhyun's head.

"Oh yeah, I'm exhausted," Baekhyun agreed, wrapping his blanket tighter around his shoulders. "Thank you for letting me do this. Normally, I'd bring a neck pillow on my travels, but I left it at home, and frankly, a friend's shoulder is a much better option."

Chanyeol grunted in reply, trying desperately to count the dust spots on the plane's ceiling as a distraction. There was one particular spot that held an uncanny resemblance to Sehun's teardrop-shaped head. Briefly, Chanyeol wondered if he should snap a picture and text it to his coworker just to recieve an exasperated reaction.

"Especially when that friend is hot."

Chanyeol choked. Apparently, Baekhyun's flirting was not restrained by distractions of any shape or form. Even the greatest have their limits, however, evidenced by Baekhyun's soft snores a few seconds after. Chanyeol found more freedom after his seatmate's descent into sleep, allowing himself to quietly observe Baekhyun's distinct features. He looked so innocent in sleep, like a young schoolboy instead of a smooth-talking casanova. With one more fond glance, Chanyeol tucked the blanket around Baekhyun's form before drifting off himself.

"Chanyeol, psst... Chanyeol," a voice said from the darkness. Someone jostled his shoulders in attempt to wake him up. With a deep groan, Chanyeol awoke to Baekhyun's face, which floated dangerously close to his. He pulled back in surprise, but Baekhyun seemed unfazed by the abrupt reaction. "We're just about to land, so we need to get ready to remove our luggage from the carry-on compartments."

"Right," Chanyeol said, though some sick part of his brain was secretly disappointed Baekhyun hadn't used that close proximity to do something else. "Do you need help getting your bags down?"

"What, are you insulting my height?" Baekhyun feigned hurt, pulling his pretty mouth into a full pout.

"I didn't even know you were short," Chanyeol replied, lifting his hands in defense. "But if you need help--"

"No, I was joking," Baekhyun interrupted, looking rather desperately at Chanyeol. "HA-HA, see, joking. I would actually love your help in getting my pants down."

Chanyeol blinked, unsure of whether to trust his hearing. "Oh, did I say pants? I meant bags. I would actually love your help in getting my bagsdown." Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol, almost in challenge, before winking almost indiscernibly. When the pilot announced the end of taxiing, Chanyeol followed Baekhyun shakily out of the seat row to the overhead luggage compartments, where multiple suitcases threateened to spill out.

"Mine is that big green one," Baekhyun offered, not even attempting to hide his inspection of Chanyeol's forearms and biceps as he hauled the bags from the space. "Thank you, Chanyeol." It was then when Chanyeol realized the vast height difference between himself and the smaller boy, who appeared more petite in standing position, unobscured by a gigantic fleece blanket. He had a lovely figure and the nicest to ever grace the planet. Chanyeol figured that if Baekhyun could blantantly stare at him, he had the automatic rights to do the same.

Once in the airport, Baekhyun seemed oddly quiet. "Well, it's been a good... fourteen hours or so," he said after a long pause of silence. "I-I...I guess I should go now."

Did Baekhyun just stutter? "Yeah, it's been really nice getting to know you," Chanyeol replied awkwardly as only he could do. "I should also probabl--"

"Oh, it, I'd be remiss if I didn't do this," Baekhyun exclaimed sharply, fumbling in his pockets for his phone. "Can I get your number? Can I...take you out to dinner sometime or something? I know we just met and everything and I act more confidentally when I'm not asking someone out, because it's then when I sound like a total idi--"

"Byun Baekhyun, are you rambling?"

"What?" Baekhyun snapped out of his reverie, donning a deep frown that scrunched his features. "No, that's a reserved right that only looks good on nerds such as yourself."

"Aw, don't frown about it. You look so much better when you smile."

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the smooth talker around here. Actually, I'll take that as a compliment. My influence is that strong, I guess." Instead of retorting, Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun's phone from his hand and punched in his number.

"Now text me so I have yours."

With a crooked smirk, Baekhyun texted with dexterity, pressing enter with triumph. Does this Thursday night 7pm work? With a smile of his own, Chanyeol nodded in reply. "Only if I get to choose the place, though. I'll pick you up, if you text me your hotel address."

"Perfect," Baekhyun agreed. "I'll see you then, Chanyeol."

"I'm looking forward to it." The two began to part ways, disappearing into separate airport crowds, when Baekhyun chose to spin on his heel and call out, "By the way, you drool in your sleep!"

God.