"You're gay, aren't you."

Baekhyun spits the coffee on Jongin's face. What a waste of a good brew. Jongin closes his eyes and dabs his cheeks with the proffered tissue from Junmyeon. He smells like coffee but he'll wash the aroma away later on. A more pressing matter is at hand.

It isn't in the way Jongin structured his sentence that made Baekhyun dirty those who are near his proximity. It's in the way he stated it, so sure of himself, so accusatory without the space for doubt. It wasn't even a question.

When Jongin asked him to have a little intervention session, this is not what Baekhyun expected. Some of the members chuckled a little on their seats around the dining table, trying to cover their laughters a second too late.

"Kkamjong!" Baekhyun scolds. "What are you talking about? Why would I even be gay? I know we had this concept that we came from Exo planet or something but please speak in a language that I could actually understand and not whatever nonsense you're trying to–"

"Hyung," Sehun disrupts him because it looked to them that Baekhyun isn't going to take a breath for the next hour.

"See, you're even rambling." There's a hint of amusement in Jongin's voice. "It makes you nervous, doesn't it?"

"You don't make me nervous, Kim Jong–"

Baekhyun stops talking as his breath gets caught in his throat because Jongin has suddenly come too close to his face that he can actually count the reducing acne scars he got from his teenage years.

"What, you got a crush on me, hyung?" Jongin teases, laughing as he goes back to his seat.

"Shut up, I'm not like Chanyeol who's wrapped around your fingers." Baekhyun spits his words like they contain venom.

"Oh, were you jealous all this time that Chanyeol hyung was always a fanboy around Jongin?" Sehun gasps dramatically, a hand covering his gaping mouth as his eyes widen in mock surprise.

It's all too much.

Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo for help. He seems to be the only one he can rely to in times when the K members are putting him on the hot seat like now. But the doe-eyed male only continues eating his breakfast, spooning more cornflakes and draining the milk from the spoon before putting it into his mouth. Baekhyun has lost hope. He's a withering dandelion on a winter ground.

"You're gay, aren't you?" This time, Jongin asks it.

"I told you, I'm not!" Baekhyun starts to sound whiny.

"Don't deny it anymore, hyung. It's so obvious when you're with Chanyeol," Jongin insists.

"Your true colors show when you're around him," Sehun adds.

Baekhyun tries to ignore them. They usually just press on with the teasing the more frustrated he becomes. "Junmyeon, Kyungsoo-ya, won't you help me escape these two brats?"

"It's okay to be gay, Baek." Kyungsoo's not helping at all.

Meanwhile, Junmyeon is just giving him an apologetic smile – he can't help this time around. The leader admits he's also curious about the grounds of this ChanBaek ship he's hearing from the fans online and from the ones they meet, giving Chanyeol and Baekhyun couple stuff.

"It's not being gay, okay?" Baekhyun argues. "We're just really close friends, you guys know that. When I came here, it was Chanyeol who made me–" feel like I'll always belong beside him, is what's on the tip of Baekhyun's tongue. He settles with, "It was Chanyeol who made me feel welcomed the most."

Sehun scoffs, rolling his eyes. "That's just so gay."

"We're bros, like, really, really close friends and- wait, why am I defending myself alone in here- where the is that giant assemble of lanky limbs-" he looks around but with no sign of his really, really close friend. "Chanyeol! Breakfast is ready! Come down!" Baekhyun shouts at the direction of the bedrooms, before continuing to feed himself.

"You even have a cutesy nickname for him!" Jongin teases, poking Baekhyun's cheek that's full of cornflakes as of the moment. "Where is that giant assemble of lanky limbs?" Jongin imitates, saying it in an octave higher than Baekhyun's actual voice.

"What?" Baekhyun squints his eyes at Jongin for his ridiculous attempts of an evidence. He's getting frustrated now. "How the is that a cutesy nickname?"

"You say it with such sparkling eyes, you just don't realize it," Jongin retorts, his eyes squinting like he's trying to make it sparkle.

"I absolutely do not have sparkling eyes!"

Junmyeon steps between them, figuratively, as they're all still sitting around the dining table. "Chanyeol is with manager hyung. Went out when we were still asleep and he left a note on my lamp," he says.

"He left you a note but not one for me?" Baekhyun asks, offended, confused, hurt, all these emotions stirring inside him and he doesn't understand this at all.

"Hyung," Sehun is chuckling, "don't be jealous over petty things. It just makes your argument of being not gay... weak. You're proving it yourself right now."

"Also," Jongin says before taking a sip of his milk because coffees are too bitter for his taste, "many fans are speculating already, saying you're dating Chanyeol."

Let our fans think of what they want, Baekhyun wants to say. He doesn't think it's harmful to fantasize about two boys dating, he's had multiple– Anyway, Baekhyun wouldn't admit that he reads a few fanfictions here and there because he's amazed at all the fans who can imagine things like those, and that those stories make him blush most of the time. He's still confused why all these things related to Chanyeol and him together have this kind of effect on him.

"We're not going to judge here, you know," Kyungsoo says, effectively interrupting Baekhyun's thoughts. His bowl is already empty of cornflakes so he brings the edge of it to his lips and drinks the remaining milk in one go. After he puts it down, there's a white mustache on his upper lip that he tries to off. Baekhyun is a bit hypnotized with the way Kyungsoo fails to clean the milk off and he almost leans in to help his friend.

Junmyeon's voice gets him back to what they were talking about. "Yeah, we'd support whatever swings your boat," Junmyeon adds, so leader-like of him, holding Baekhyun's hand and- wait, are those tears welling in his eyes?

"I appreciate it, Junmyeon hyung and Kyungsoo, unlike these two prosecuting me. But I'm really not gay, you guys. I'm straight. Like a rod."

Sehun talks again, because he finds it fun to disregard Baekhyun's rebuttals and his mouth is just unstoppable like that. If he thinks he's getting away with this just because he's the maknae, he's so wrong. Baekhyun can already picture out what Sehun will turn out to be after he'll punish him. "Okay, remember that time when–"

"Ooh, I know!" Jongin interrupts Sehun, raising his hand with enthusiasm as if they are in a kindergarten classroom. Baekhyun could send them there right now, with the level of their immaturity. "That time when we had a horror movie marathon?"

The two brats high fived. Curse them, Baekhyun thinks.

"Chanyeol and Baekhyun were under the same blanket on the couch," Sehun says while wiggling his eyebrows.

Jongin laughs at Sehun and continues teasing. "And when the scary scenes come up, they cover each other's eyes and scream simultaneously that it's like we're all screaming but it's actually just the two of them making that noise and then–"

"Then they would hug the daylights out of each other, cheeks squished together until we won't know where Baekhyun's face ends and where Chanyeol's begins." Sehun doubles over with laughter at the way Baekhyun's face is morphing out of picture.

At the corner of his eye, Baekhyun sees the edges of Kyungsoo's pillow lips lift into a slight smile. He doesn't want to believe his own eyes. Kyungsoo? Laughing with the brats? How–

Sehun continues, "If we weren't watching a horror movie, I'd say they were being gay all over each other and cuddling in front of us–"

"I wonder where their hands were placed while under that blanket," Jongin says suggestively. "Of all places to display their obvious affection for each other, they did it in front of us," he adds.

"It's actually better if they do it in front of us rather than in front of the whole world," Junmyeon says between bites of his chocolate-dressed pancakes.

"Junmyeon hyung! I thought–"

Junmyeon looks at him with apology in his eyes. "Baek, what Sehun and Jongin are saying... kind of makes sense. It's okay if you're gay for Chanyeol. We would understand. We can't blame you that he's hot and we're always ually frustrated here in our dorm because we're idols with no one else beside us."

Maybe Junmyeon should shut up or else the entire intervention would be directed to his ual frustration. Baekhyun blinks. Sehun and Jongin clear their throats. Even Kyungsoo looks uncomfortable, probably thinking if it's okay to leave the breakfast table now and continue watching his infinite list of animes.

"As we were talking," Jongin continues, not going to be strayed off topic, "after the marathon, Chanyeol hyung and you just couldn't be separated. Right?"

"Right!" Sehun replies, glad that they're not letting Baekhyun go easily. "Even when we went to sleep already, you still couldn't get separated. Did either of you get some that night?" He snickers.

"Sehun!" Junmyeon scolds, totally surprised at what the maknae was implying. "If they'd like to keep that sort of information for themselves, let them be."

Baekhyun's eyes widen in disbelief. "We just slept together, okay? Nothing hap–"

"So you did sleep together!" Sehun and Jongin chorus, clearly amused at how Baekhyun phrased things.

"Not slept-got laid, but like sleep in its most innocent meaning. You guys," Baekhyun whines. He doesn't want to deal with this load of crap so early in the morning. He just wants to– Is it wrong to just want to bury his face on Chanyeol's chest and get comforted with Chanyeol's manly scen– wait. What?

"I remember that night," Kyungsoo speaks up, making everyone's eyes turn to him. It's a rare occasion that he involves himself with matters like this, after all. "I remember Chanyeol and Baekhyun begging me to leave the lights on so they could sleep together peacefully on the couch but when I looked at them again, their legs were tangled together. I don't know if that's comfortable or if they even got a peaceful sleep that night but... I think they're naturally touchy people, especially wih each other. Baekhyun and Chanyeol."

"Why are you siding with them, Kyungsoo-ya?"

"I'm just stating facts, Baek."

"Wh–"

"And I also remember," Kyungsoo says in his voice that makes everyone stop whatever they were doing, looking at his empty bowl of cereal, "that time we had a day off and you were both happy that you were feeding each other cereals at breakfast. With the same spoon. That's indirect kissing... isn't it?"

Jongin and Sehun ogle at Kyungsoo because never had they imagined Kyungsoo to be a... contributor for them in situations like this where they tease the hyung that reacts so childishly to everything. They always thought Kyungsoo was closest with Baekhyun despite the former always torturing him – or apparently in Kyungsoo's dictionary, torturing equates to being friendly. They raise their palms in front of Kyungsoo, waiting to get a high five, but Kyungsoo just blinks at them and stands up to wash his bowl, before retreating to the bedroom.

"Did Kyungsoo hyung just–" Even Jongin can't believe that Kyungsoo actually supported them in this intervention but still didn't give them a high five.

"Baekhyun, even Kyungsoo says you're gay for Chanyeol," Sehun states.

"But guys, honestly, that's just–" Baekhyun starts to rebut again, but Jongin interrupts him. Again. Honestly, who's the hyung here?

"Kyungsoo was talking about the time you guys were wiping the excess milk off each other, weren't you? I wonder what it would take for you to kiss and the excess milk off each other..." Jongin says suggestively, as if he's in a daze, and as if he himself wants to excess milk. Maybe he has read one too many mangas and has become gay himself. Nobody's sure.

"That's so gay!" Sehun wrinkles his nose for effect.

"Well, for your information, that's just being friendly. Chanyeol and I have just the same definition of that while all of you give meaning to every single thing. This is unbelievable," Baekhyn huffs. Actually, he has already forgotten why he's wasting time arguing with Sehun and Jongin here but he also won't allow those brats to win over him. "And I trusted you, Junmyeon hyung. I thought you were different."

Junmyeon pales at Baekhyun's words. He hates it when a member doesn't think of him as a leader good enough for them. A lot of pressure on his shoulders is supposed to make him more efficient but... He cowers into the corner of the room, a thundercloud hanging above his head.

Now it's only Sehun and Jongin critically observing Baekhyun like he's some sort of unknown specimen from the laboratory.

"If that was being gay," Baekhyun starts, "then you were pretty gay yourself, Oh Sehun, when Luhan hyung was–"

The door in the living room suddenly opens.

Chanyeol is back.

And he is looking at Baekhyun with that ah, finally I'm home with my wife look that husbands have when they come home from a long day at work. It is serenity evident on his face. It is...

Something Baekhyun always wants to see.

"What did I miss?"

Sehun and Jongin turn their heads slowly to look at Baekhyun who is looking at Chanyeol who is looking at the three of them on the dining table. He doesn't even notice Junmyeon looking up from the corner he is sulking at just to see how the scene will unfold.

"Were you talking about me?" Chanyeol asks while taking off his shoes. No one answered any of his questions yet. Baekhyun is still frozen in his seat. "Why are they looking at you, Baek?"

"What?" Baekhyun snaps out of his trance. (Yes, looking at Chanyeol puts him into a trance.) Then he notices everyone's eyes on him now. "Ya, why are you all looking at me?" He should've been used to this attention – he likes attention, to begin with – but any minute now and he'll turn beet red with the way Chanyeol's peering down on him.

"O...kay?" Chanyeol is confused at what's happening.

"Hey, Yeol! Why didn't you leave me a note? You left Junmyeon hyung a note but not me?" Baekhyun whines and he might have pouted his lips for a second.

"Ah, I was in a hurry..." Chanyeol answers sheepishly, smiling apologetically at Baekhyun. "Tell me what I missed and why they're acting so weird after I shower, okay?" Chanyeol says to Baekhyun before ruffling the latter's bed hair.

Baekhyun only nods, like a puppy seeking his master's acknowledgement of being what a good boy he is. Chanyeol's hand on his hair makes him blush from the nape, spreading to his cheeks. Chanyeol doesn't see it as he makes his way to the bathroom but Jongin definitely doesn't miss this.

Everything is silent for one eternal minute.

When they start to hear water from the showers running, Jongin and Sehun explode into peals of laughter.

"He's blushing!" Jongin teases.

"I'm so not!" Baekhyun denies furiously. But that only makes him blush even more. Damn it.

"You so are," Sehun confirms, as his laughter calms down.

"I'm n–"

"I remember another time he's beet red like this," Jongin says.

"Was it at the airport?" Sehun snickers.

"Yes, and Chanyeol was tickling his thigh!" They both burst into cackles again. "His hand was so, so near Baekhyun's crotch."

"He was tickling me!" Baekhyun strongly defended himself. "Guys, if I tickle your thighs right now, wouldn't that make you blush?" And to prove his point, Baekhyun reaches out to touch Sehun's legs because the maknae is sitting beside him but his hand lands on something softer. Sehun is a dancer, so his thighs must be firm but–

"Hyung, what the –"

Baekhyun retreats his hand from Sehun's crotch calmly. Sehun is blushing, so that just goes to prove Baekhyun's point. But the maknae is blushing because he is scandalized – or perhaps traumatized – with what Baekhyun did. "You know you used to beg me to touch you there when you were still a baby. You'd whine until the wee hours of the morning but I'd just bite your and you'd instantly go back to sleep," Baekhyun says, as if Sehun is his real dongsaeng and they grew up together and the younger guy really did ask him that when he was an infant. It's a pretentious world Baekhyun lives in.

The bathroom door opens. They haven't even noticed the shower water stop running. Chanyeol leaves a wet trail on the floor he's walking when he goes to the dining table with his hair still dripping and his bare torso not so properly dried. The towel wrapped around his waist hangs too low for Baekhyun's liking and he admits he may have stared happily at the happy trail that disappears into–

.

Focus, Baek. You are not gay. No. Don't give in to these brats who rejoices at your downfall.

Baekhyun is overly dramatic like that. Sehun and Jongin are only having a good time. Even Baekhyun is. Because he finds it a wonderful feeling to have butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Wait, did he just–

Chanyeol decides to dry his hair with another towel right then, and his biceps flex in doing so, and if no one was talking, asking about where the carton of fresh milk is, Baekhyun's gulp – the bob of his nonexistent Adam's apple – would have been audible.

"Hyung, put some shirt on or else Baekhyun might get a nosebleed with the show you're giving him," Jongin says, trying to sound nonchalant but Sehun still laughs. "Bet 100,000 won that Baekhyun hyung is gonna have a nosebleed in 5, 4, 3–"

"Are you feeling well, Baek?" Chanyeol asks, interrupting the countdown and stopping in the middle of drying his hair with his hand lost in the towel on his hair. Baekhyun doesn't know how his best friend can make that pose look like he's an underwear model. Then Chanyeol leans down and touches Baekhyun's cheek with his free hand. "Why would you be having a nosebleed?"

His heart is beating faster inside his chest, like the feeling he gets before stepping on stage. Chanyeol's hand is a little bit cold with the water, a nice contrast to Baekhyun's warm cheeks.

Baekhyun turns his head away from Chanyeol so he wouldn't do things he shouldn't do. It takes a lot of will to control himself. And for that, he glares at Jongin for being such a bastard. "I have no idea why Jongin would say such ridiculous things," he replies, sneaking a glance at Chanyeol's torso before crossing his eyebrows at Jongin and Sehun's direction again.

"It's just that Baekhyun really, really treasures your body, hyung. Please take care of it," Sehun says before slightly bowing his head to seal the plea formally.

"Huh?" Chanyeol is obviously confused. By now he has long forgotten about drying himself up and just puts the towel around his neck.

"Remember?" Jongin says. "In Macau last year, Baekhyun hyung danced like he was giving up his dignity–"

"He probably was," Sehun quips.

"–just because Chanyeol hyung, and of course the other members, too – they were changing their shirt and this flimsy excuse of a cover was torn apart and it was about to expose Chanyeol's torso and the fans were really excited already but Baekhyun hyung just had to dance his goofy moves to distract them."

"Shut up, you two. Stop planting ideas in Chanyeol's head."

Of course Baekhyun remembers that night in Macau. One of the most memorable concerts for him. Before the EXO'luXion started, they had eaten a lot on the plane and in the hotel they were staying at because the food was just so irresistably delicious, leaving Chanyeol with a full stomach that his well-defined torso was... not so well-defined anymore. Baekhyun had been laughing about it in the dressing room while they were both shirtless because it's not only him that had a belly that night but also Chanyeol and probably the other members too.

It wasn't a problem then because the both of them weren't performing topless anyway but Chanyeol still asked him to help protect his image. Baekhyun doesn't know what's wrong with Chanyeol's body then, because honestly, the little belly he had tonight only made him cuter. He still agreed, because a small voice inside of him was saying that he shouldn't let just anybody see Chanyeol's torso and silently apologizes to the fans after thinking like that. But the more rational voice inside of him was saying that Chanyeol's like a brother to him and that's what bros do – protect each other at all costs. Sort of. So when the curtain fell down during Lucky, Chanyeol crouched for cover so quickly that fans have wondered what he wanted to hide. As promised, Baekhyun did everything to avert the audience's attention so he danced with moves he intended were bursting with his aegyo. For Chanyeol's sake. Because the other members, specifially Yixing and Jongdae, seemed like they didn't mind being seen shirtless at all.

Baekhyun remembers feeling like a knight in shining armor mounted on a white horse back then, so proud of being able to protect someone precious to him.

But right now, he wants to forget that. Because Sehun and Jongin are still spouting gibberish about that night in front if Chanyeol who seems amused as well. Baekhyun is really embarrassed by now, even though he's not really sure why he should be. He's really confused at how Chanyeol doesn't seem to be uncomfortable with the topic that his best friend might be in love with him but he guesses that, maybe, because they've been close friends for such a long time already, this is just normal for them, albeit being both boys. Every friendship passes through this sort of phase, right?

Chanyeol conjures a white muscle tee and wears it before sitting down on the seat across Baekhyun's. He scoops a spoonful from Baekhyun's cereal bowl before preparing his own.

"Why don't you do that to me when I dance almost , hyung?" Sehun asks, blinking his eyes innocently at a Baekhyun who's trying to finish the seemingly infinite supply of cornflakes on his bowl.

"Why would I? You obviously like showing off your ugly body, idiot."

"The fans would beg to differ, though," Jongin rebuts. They all laugh. Even Chanyeol is laughing with all of his teeth showing as if he understandseverything.

The subject is dropped after that. Not because Sehun and Jongin is giving up on proving to the most oblivious person alive that he is gay, but because they can see that the said person is desperate not to let Chanyeol know what they were talking about.

Let Chanyeol be blissfully ignorant.

These two dumb best friends.



After lunch, the M members invite themselves into the their dorm. Minseok and Jondae enter together, the former's arm slung over the latter's shoulders, bringing noise louder than the television. Yixing comes in after them, smiling softly with a bag full of chips in one hand and a pack of beer in the other hand. There are still some bottles of alcoholic beverage inside the fridge. They do this sort of thing when there is no schedule the next day, and it's quite a miracle – even for them – to have two consecutive days off like this. It's rare to have one day out of the limelight and they're having two this time. It's truly a blessing.

They gather in the living room, like little kids, excepts that they drink beer, cans of them, instead of juice from pitchers. Junmyeon usually tells them to take care of their liver but even he has drunk two glasses already.

And then Jongdae brings the fun. It's always Jongdae, with his annoying, overly excited voice doing an announcement. It's always him that gets them out of the faux drunk phase when they get together for drinks. "Alright, everyone, time to play!"

Minseok is the first to move to create a circle around the carpeted floor. Yixing follows, and then the rest. Baekhyun's the last to complete the circle, but only because he's not sure where to sit down. He sees Chanyeol patting the space next to him, but Baekhyun moves to the space across him, beside Yixing.

And only because Baekhyun thinks that it's a better view from there.

"Spin the bottle!" Jongdae cheers, and everyone groans except Yixing who is blinking like a child without any idea. "Come on, it's gonna be fun! I wanna experiment with some things," he tries to convince them. He throws a significant look towards Sehun and Jongin who immediately get what their hyung meant.

Once Sehun and Jongin are in, everyone else agrees to play with them. It's a classic game for a time like this, was their main argument for the rest of the members to finally play along with them. They also might have implied that they will put Chanyeol and Baekhyun's friendship to a test.

They look for an empty bottle among the many cans and bottles of unfinished beer littered on the floor, but it is Sehun who picks up one that is just almost empty, but not quite, and showers Chanyeol the rest of its content.

"Ya, why did you do that?" Chanyeol yells at a laughing Sehun. Now his muscle tee is ruined, stinking with beer.

Sehun and Jongin tries to hide their snickers to themselves as they look at Baekhyun who is clearly disturbed – or very much interested, rather – at the sight of a drenched Chanyeol.

It does not help at all that Chanyeol strips off his tee and tries to wipe the beer off from his skin.

"Aren't you gonna put another shirt on?" Minseok asks.

"Nah, it's tiring to walk to my room and go through the closet," Chanyeol says. He looks around everyone and asks them, "You guys don't mind, right?"

Jongdae's laugh is the most prominent among their chorus. "Oh, I'm sure one of us doesn't mind it the most."

Chanyeol doesn't know who that is but nobody's complaining. Oh well.



Baekhyun is not complaining. He absolutely will not. Was that beer made of glitter or is Baekhyun's eyes just automatically make Chanyeol's skin shine? He has observed that Chanyeol is a shade darker than him, almost a golden skin, but it's such a faint difference that nobody would have noticed. Maybe Baekhyun just noticed it because of the amount of staring he has done. (He knew this seat has the best view.)

The first spin has the bottle pointing to Kyungsoo. When drunk, his hands somehow find their way around Junmyeon's body and right now he's like a monkey clinging on Junmyeon. Kyungsoo's dare is to tap Baekhyun on any part of his body, but he looks like he wants to do more than just tap Baekhyun.Who gave this dare anyway, Baekhyun whines. But his friend is approaching him faster and suddenly there's a light series of taps on his chest, and then on his , and Kyungsoo pinches it.

Baekhyun yelps in pain before Kyungsoo decides to go back with clinging to their leader. "The dare didn't tell you to pinch my , you sneaky–"

"I just did what I wanted to do," Kyungsoo shrugs.

While Baekhyun is caressing his stinging (which he realizes too late is weird and sort of ual), the bottle is spun again and it points to Jongdae this time. Baekhyun thinks he should get a taste of his own medicine since he started this game and all that. In the end, Jongdae is dared to drink his own concoction that's made up of all the fruits in their dorm and maybe even vegetables because he's quite slow on distinguishing which is a fruit and which is not. Junmyeon sometimes uses it as a threat so they would properly practice and work harder. Baekhyun has smelled it before and he swears he wouldn't have a taste of it so he made Jongdae swear on it.

"You're a special friend to me, Baek, of course I won't," Jongdae has told him with a wink.

Looking at Jongdae, Baekhyun feels a tinge of sympathy for his friend when his face becomes a shade of green and purple and it really can't be painted at all.

The next one who gets the dare is Yixing and Jongdae asks him to sing anything. They don't want to be mean with Yixing – no one is mean to Yixing because he's such a precious angel for them. They joke with him sometimes but they end up adoring him even more instead of laughing at him. Even if he's such a devil on stage, full of power when he dances, he's just such a child when they're not performing.

Just like right now, when he's singing a song he made up on the spot, about him being grateful to the members and his wish for them not to forget him, and that they're still a family after everything that happened. Everyone cries a little and Baekhyun even gives him a tight hug – "Hyung, we're..." – and Junmyeon wants to say something but he doesn't because he's busy trying to calm his own heart.

It is quite hard to move on from that touching song but the next spin points the bottle to Junmyeon who gets a flick on the forehead from Minseok. Junmyeon tries to mask the pain (which only makes him look constipated) but it shows in the way his skin is so red on the spot where Minseok's finger has flicked.

Baekhyun wants to soothe it back to its fairness but the bottle is already spinning for its next dare and Jongdae is saying something like spicing up the dares and Baekhyun doesn't want to think what he means by it.

The bottle almost stops at Chanyeol – and Baekhyun holds his breath at what Chanyeol's dare could be, if it would involve him because Sehun, Jongin, and Jongdae orchestrated this and if so–

But the bottle slowly moves to the left until it's pointing past Chanyeol and stops at Minseok. His dare is to strip from his clothes, which is what Jongdae means by spicing up the dares.

Baekhyun flits his gaze away from the stripping man across him and lands on Chanyeol who's already looking back at him. The rest of the members clap their hands, laughing, and Baekhyun lets go of Chanyeol's gaze in favor of sneaking a peek at Minseok whose limp is hanging between his legs.

Baekhyun is regretting choosing this seat now because beside a shirtless Chanyeol is a Minseok and it's really getting hot in this dorm that he thinks the AC should be turned up to its fullest.

As Minseok sits back down on his spot and starts spinning the bottle again, still in his birthday suit, Baekhyun panics. He's getting nervous because why the is the dare like that and what if he's gonna–

The bottle stops and points at him.

At Baekhyun.

Everyone cheers loudly, like they've finally achieved their goal or something. Jongdae and Sehun keep suggesting dares Baekhyun doesn't think he can actually do. But it's Jongin who has thought of the dare that everyone agrees Baekhyun should do.

"Put one finger of any member in your mouth for a minute," Jongin says with a proud smirk.

Baekhyun's stomach drops to the ground.

He looks around at everyone who has the same smirk plastered on their lips, save for Chanyeol who's just looking at him with a– is that a smile in his eyes?

"Hurry, Baek," Sehun tells him, "just pick one person and his finger!"

Sehun's words only make him the more nervous because if he puts it that way... Someday, Baekhyun's gonna cut that tongue from the maknae's throat.

Without no one much of a choice, Baekhyun crawls to Chanyeol and everyone starts clapping again. It's weird, even Minseok who's beside Chanyeol is laughing at the situation.

Once Baekhyun has sat in front of Chanyeol, he quickly explains, "I'm only doing this because you're my bestfriend and I don't want to their- I mean, I think you're the least dirty among these bunch of s."

Jongdae hears the last word though and grabs the opportunity to for it. "Jesus, Baek, you're getting just his finger in your mouth, not his ."

Baekhyun reddens and tries to ignore the hearty laughter everyone lets out. They say that Jongdae is the life of the party but all Baekhyun wants to do right now is kill this party. Damn it.

With a look, he pleads at Chanyeol. "You get what I mean though, right?"

But Chanyeol's not helping at all. He just shrugs and lifts his index finger in front of him for Baekhyun to put inside his mouth.

And everyone high fives and mutters but Baekhyun barely hears anything as he looks at Chanyeol in the eyes, and lowers his head, mouth opened and engulfs Chanyeol's finger in his mouth, without actually touching it, just enclosing his lips around a knuckle. He really doesn't mean it when he said Chanyeol's the least dirty because he could even be the dirtiest but he just lets his tongue lie low in his mouth, trying hard not to put his saliva on Chanyeol's finger.

It's like everyone's holding their breaths along with Baekhyun. All that can be heard is the two youngest brats' restrained snickering.

There's nothing going on at first – Chanyeol and Baekhyun just sitting down, looking at each other and doing nothing, really, except that Chanyeol's finger is in his mouth.... And then Chanyeol's finger starts moving – ing moving – inside of him. God knows how much that sounds so, so wrong but Baekhyun can feel Chanyeol's nail on the roof of his mouth, and then the pad of the latter's finger tapping Baekhyun's tongue. Damn it, he was trying not to think what Chanyeol might taste like. If his index finger is driving him insane, then he can't imagine what his–

The finger is ing rolling on his tongue, slicking itself with saliva. Baekhyun sits straighter, his body visibly stiffening, while Chanyeol is looking at him so amused. But it isn't amusing for Baekhyun at all.

The members pay more attention to them after this subtle movement, looking closely with bated breaths at the couple they've been curious about. Half a minute hasn't even passed yet, according to Jongin's watch.

Inside Baekhyun's mouth is where the action happens, with only Chanyeol and Baekhyun being aware of the mystery going on. Chanyeol turns his finger upside down and scratches the roof of Baekhyun's mouth. That's the one action that makes the smaller guy release the finger that's already covered with his saliva. It was actually like Chanyeol has hit a bundle of nerves inside Baekhyun – it sounds so wrong yet feels so right.

"What happened?"

"Why is Baekhyun so red?"

"What did Chanyeol do?"

The members simultaneously gush their questions.

Baekhyun tries hard not to blush. Honestly. But it's just bloody difficult. Why did Chanyeol have to do that anyway? Was it fun for him to add the feeling of realness in Baekhyun's fantasies? He looks at the said person and finds him laughing at his embarrassment.

Everyone laughs. Even Chanyeol. And his laughter is ringing in Baekhyun's head, echoing in the crevices of his mind. Making Baekhyun really embarrassed right now.

He goes back to his place beside a grinning Yixing before the bottle is spun again for the next dare. It seems like they haven't fully recovered from Baekhyun's weird and mysterious reaction yet since they just asked Sehun to stand up with just his hands and since he's wearing a loose shirt, he ends up showing his torso, his pink s also visible on the expanse of milky skin.

Minseok grabs his clothes and puts them on with the excuse that he "got cold" but that may not be the truth because Baekhyun's feeling hot all of a sudden.

Jongdae whistles as he kicks Sehun's perfectly-shaped , causing the maknae to stumble down face first on the carpet. Junmyeon glares at the culprit before helping Sehun up again.

The next spin has the bottle pointing to Jongin this time. His dare is quite simple: eat those marble-shaped chocolate the M members brought with them. Baekhyun wants to protest why Jongin's dare is easy and should not actually be considered as a dare.

"Why is Jongin getting this dare?" Baekhyun wails like a kid. Well, maybe he is. "I wish you guys gave me this kind of dare."

Sehun smirks. "All right. Since it seems like you like this dare so much, why don't you join Jongin?"

Baekhyun doesn't know why he's getting nervous but with Sehun looking at him like that... "What do you mean–"

"Oh, I wasn't finished yet, hyung. Jongin is gonna eat the chocolate with you. The two of you. One chocolate."

Jongdae claps his hands at Sehun's ingenuity. Baekhyun looks at the freaking genius with a horrified face before turning to Jongin who looks like he wants to do it. What a madman.

"What if our lips touch? That's so filthy!" Baekhyun whines.

"A dare is a dare; you can't refuse this now," Jongdae says.

Sehun teases him, "What if it was Chanyeol? Would you do it if it was with him?" He's talking as if Chanyeol is not actually sitting with them in this circle. He's not saying anything anyway (which is a miracle because Chanyeol always has something to say) so it's like he's not there. Baekhyun is worried that their friendship may change so he just rolls his eyes at Sehun and faces Jongin.

There are five marble-shaped chocolates whipped out of nowhere for them and then Jongin pops one in his mouth.

"Ya, we're both gonna eat it, not just you!" Baekhyun complains. He is never gonna eat that chocolate covered in Jongin's saliva.

"Just testing how it tastes like... Hmm. Sweet."

"Alright, enough nonsense. Go kiss now." Jongdae chuckles with Sehun.

"Let's get this over with, hyung."

Jongin holds Baekhyun by the nape. The other members are sneaking glances at each other except Chanyeol who doesn't look too good and just staring at Jongin who's descending his head to Baekhyun's and Baekhyun somewhat cowering back – the members know the dam's going to burst sooner. Jongdae will finally achieve the goal of this game.

The chocolate is already between their lips but Baekhyun still refuses to make their lips touch so he thins his lips and looks at the chocolate under his nose. But before it is finished, Chanyeol interrupts with a hand pulling them away from each other and the chocolate slips down Baekhyun's chin, making him look like a kid who doesn't know how to handle his sweets. Maybe he is. He doesn't bother cleaning the mess off him.

"Chanyeol, what's wrong?" Jongdae asks, pretending to be oblivious when he knows what's happening right now. He predicts that there will be fireworks sooner or later.

"I dont think this is right," Chanyeol whispers, brows crossing while he's looking at Jongin.

"It was just a dare, Yeol. Calm down," Baekhyun says.

"Yeah, hyung, our lips actually didn't touch."

Chanyeol grumbles. Baekhyun doesn't understand why his best friend is acting like this. Or he refuses to think about the possibilities and get his hopes up.

"Still... You should have just used a spoon..." Chanyeol mumbles shyly.

"But that's not the–"

"Okay, moving on..." Junmyeon, trying to redeem himself as the good leader, stops the thread of the coversation before spinning the bottle again. Chanyeol decides to plop himself down between Baekhyun and Jongin. Baekhyun finds it difficult to breathe because shirtless Chanyeol is beside him.

Just one more push and someone will definitely break...

The lord of spinning bottles must be helping them as the bottle stops with its head pointing at Chanyeol. It's like time has frozen.

"Chanyeol's dare should involve Baekhyun since he chooses to sit beside him now." Jongdae gives the idea which Chanyeol doesn't argue with. Baekhyun knew it was gonna end up like this.

"Hmm, the dare is this," Sehun starts, tapping his chin with a finger. The three of them – Sehun, Jongin, and Jongdae – are monopolizing this game, really. Kyungsoo hasn't even done anything besides clinging onto Junmyeon the entire time.

"Clean Baekhyun's face with your tongue," Jongin says.

"What–"

"Are you kidding–"

Chanyeol and Baekhyun say simultaneously. Even if they bawl their eyes out, Jongdae reiterates, "A dare is a dare; you can't refuse this now."

It doesn't help at all that Yixing says he wants to see two boys kissing. And it's Yixing. The struggle is real on the conscience to refuse such an angel.

The rest of the members know that Chanyeol and Baekhyun are just pretending to whine about such a scandalous dare and that they actually want to even kiss the life out of each other.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I," Chanyeol states at which Jongdae immediately answers with a nope, you don't.

Chanyeol then looks at Baekhyun who's beside him and his hand comes up to hold onto his best friend's shoulder before he leans down and trails his tongue to wipe the chocolate mess on Baekhyun's chin up to the area below his lips. At this point, Baekhyun is already squirming on his seat. There's also chocolate smeared on Baekhyun's pink lips which Chanyeol stares at for maybe a bit longer than normal, even for best friends.

The lips pout just a tiny bit when pronouncing the two syllables of Chanyeol's name, and it seems like slow motion in Chanyeol's eyes, a film that's driving him out of his mind.



Baekhyun is nervous about what may happen next. Will Chanyeol his lips? After all, he was the one who stopped Jongin and him possibly kissing barely minutes ago. His best friend must not be thinking of kissing him, right? But the way Chanyeol is staring at his lips right now...

Baekhyun calls out for a Chanyeol who seems like he's entered a trance. He can see his best friend's eyes glazed with something he can't recognize but has probably seen before. Something like his–

Suddenly, there are soft lips pressed against Baekhyun's own.

Baekhyun's eyes widen in shock at the same time Chanyeol's eyes close. But then Chanyeol parts away from him as quickly as he has leaned down. Baekhyun can see that chocolate have smeared on Chanyeol's lips too, and the latter's tongue darts out to it off as he stares into Baekhyun's eyes like he's mesmerized by the way they're looking at each other.

However, what's more surprising is when Chanyeol leans down again and  on Baekhyun's small lips to completely clean the chocolate off them. And his tongue is poking on Baekhyun's lips and it makes the smaller guy want... more.

Baekhyun doesn't get it either, why he reaches out to cup Chanyeol's face with one of his hands and opens his mouth to let Chanyeol's tongue explore him... Pleasant shivers run down his spine as their tongues touch for the first time. Chanyeol's tongue moves down to Baekhyun's chin where the chocolate trail ends and it back up to Baekhyun's small lips, effectively cleaning the mess of chocolate on Baekhyun's face.

And then the sudden realization hits Baekhyun like a freight train.

He wants this. So bad.

He moans at the sensation Chanyeol is giving him and wonders if he is reciprocating this feeling as well, because he wants Chanyeol to feel this, too, this wonderful flutter on the tips of his toes, this tickle on the pit of his stomach, this–

But as soon as this thought comes in mind, Junmyeon interrupts them, saying that the dare is done beyond what was required. This makes the redness on Baekhyun's cheeks deepen. It takes all of Baekhyun to push Chanyeol away by his bare shoulders and by the time they're apart, they're both panting heavily to catch their breaths. They can hear the members snickering as their senses return to the world outside of their own.

"Baekhyun moaned," Jongin states it as a matter of fact.

"He liked it," Sehun adds. They both like the way Baekhyun's blood rush to his face, seemingly wanting to burst on his ears.

Baekhyun abruptly stands up and excuses himself, muttering he'll get water from the kitchen. He can feel Chanyeol's eyes on him that whole time.

"But there's water here," Yixing points to the pitcher near him. But Baekhyun's already halfway to the kitchen.

Chanyeol stands up and follows the smaller guy to the kitchen. He sees him holding the fridge open but not moving. Even his eyes that are supposedly searching for water is just staring at one place. Then Chanyeol notices Baekhyun lift a finger to touch his lower lip, and Chanyeol doesn't know why but the action makes his heart beat a little faster than the normal.

He doesn't know what possessed him that moment but it seems like Chanyeol's body has grown a mind of its own when he approaches Baekhyun's back and makes the smaller guy turn to face him.

Shock is evident on Baekhyun's face when he sees Chanyeol right before him, so close and so handsome. He's afraid to say anything but the words are unstoppable.

"I'm gay," Baekhyun admits, finally. Chanyeol's lips curl up into a smile and Baekhyun sees this, because he's been stealing glances at Chanyeol's lips. He realizes that what he has admitted is only partially true. He is gay, but only for Chanyeol.

His breath hitches when Chanyeol slides his forefinger and middle finger from Baekhyun's nonexistent Adam's apple to his chin and then tickling him there, just like Baekhyun being a defenseless puppy under his master's touch.

There's no word needed to be said to know that they both like this kind of association. Just Chanyeol leaning down and kissing Baekhyun on the lips to seal the deal.

"Okay, time to go home!" Minseok shouts from the living room.

"Our mission here is done!" Jongdae says.

"Maybe we could leave the whole dorm for them," Sehun suggests.

"Are you an idiot?" Jongin smacks the back of the maknae's head. "By the time we come back, they'd have covered the whole place with–"

"Let's just leave them alone, you guys," Junmyeon mediated between them.

And they all went to their bedrooms while Chanyeol and Baekhyun are still kissing in front of the fridge, not knowing what was happening between the other members since they are stuck in their own bubble again.



They decide to conduct an experiment while the other members are out. Trying to find out what happens when they lay side by side each other, skin to skin. What happens next is exactly what they expected and what they both wanted. An explosion of feelings, of each other's essence, fireworks bursting in their stomachs – something they both haven't felt before. After a long time of trying to suppress these feelings... Perhaps there was also love in one of those feelings. Perhaps they have been feeling it long before but have been too dumb to realize it until now.

It was a pleasant experiment they couldn't forget.



They're in Manila this time. Chanyeol kisses Baekhyun on the lips before they go on stage. The latter is not surprised with it anymore. Since that game of spin the bottle and that experiment, the both of them have alternately stolen kisses from each other. It's a wonder why Baekhyun still feels those tingles running on his veins like it's the first time they've shared a kiss with each other.

But something's new this time. Chanyeol drops a kiss on his forehead before they start the countdown to enter the stage.

"That morning I was with manager hyung," Chanyeol starts.

"Hm?" Baekhyun barely processes the words because of the haze his mind is in.

"That morning, hyung asked me about some internet article that said we were in a relationship."

Baekhyun's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"It's funny how they knew what I was going to do before I even did it."

"Are you gay?" Baekhyun asks tentatively, because he couldn't trust his ears to hear the truth when his fantasies are going overdrive. As much as he likes their new relationship, they haven't really talked about the specifics yet and now Chanyeol is bringing this up.

"I must be." Chanyeol is looking at him seriously.

"What do you mean with that?" They're so close right now that Baekhyun can only see Chanyeol's collarbones if he doesn't look up.

"I mean," Chanyeol starts, tilting Baekhyun's head up, "I didn't know I was gay but I've wanted to kiss you for a long time already and since it came true – since then – I've always wanted to press my lips against yours."

Hearing that, Baekhyun can't help but smile shyly at the man. He's pretty sure he's gay for Chanyeol, the only one who makes him want to be kissed all the time.

This time, it's Baekhyun who tiptoes and plants a kiss on Chanyeol's lips.

And then they step out to meet the silver ocean.



When they exit the main stage to change clothes, Chanyeol moves closer to Sehun to whisper something in his ears. They only have a few minutes to change before the VCR ends and they have to go back on stage again.

"Make us hug," he says to the maknae. He noticed Sehun has grown taller than the last time he can remember and the kid is now ready to surpass his height.

Sehun looks at him weirdly after putting the striped shirt on. He doesn't have to ask who to get what Chanyeol just said. The funny thing is, Baekhyun has asked him the exact favor back in the plane while they were flying from Incheon International Airport. Even made him a deal in exchange of free meals with Baekhyun's treat.

The funnier thing is, Jongin and him were planning ahead of time to make Chanyeol and Baekhyun hug in one of their concerts. They didn't have to make all that fuss, really. It just had to be Philippines this time. He just rolls his eyes at his hyung and pretends he already made plans for which members he was going to set up and that he didn't need Chanyeol's intervention. It's kinda true, anyway.

But Chanyeol understands it the wrong way that Sehun won't make them hug which just made him so whiny about it the entire time they are changing. "I'm only asking you this favor once and you're gonna deprive me of what I want? Gee, thanks, now I know how much you treasure me," Chanyeol says in spite of himself.

Sehun wants to laugh.

Baekhyun sees the two of them and approaches them.

"Baekhyunnie!" Chanyeol startles, trying to make the hug a surprise for Baekhyun. He fixes the smaller guy's hair and pats his cheek before planting a kiss there. He just can't help it.

"Oh Sehun," Baekhyun calls out in what he hopes is a strict enough voice but he actually just sounds like a cute kid pouting for more candy, "we had a deal."

"Yes, hyung," Sehun says boredly before rolling his eyes at them.

"Ya, what does that mean–"

"Ya, don't just roll your eyes at my Baekhyunnie–"

Chanyeol and Baekhyun say at the same time at which Sehun just wanna gag. Ever since that kiss at the game, they've become so sickeningly sweet and lovey-dovey even in front of the members.

The coordinators tell them they're entering stage in 3, 2–

Chanyeol steals a kiss from Baekhyun's lips.

When they all froze during Peter Pan, Sehun wants to burst out laughing. He puts Chanyeol in one place and since the guy already knows what will happen next, he attempts to hold back such a huge grin from his face. It only makes his dimple more prominent, though.

Sehun walks towards Xiumin who was sitting down because of his injury and tries to lift his shirt up just because he wants to. Then he proceeds to Baekhyun who looked like he has been waiting for Sehun to walk him down the aisle. These two lovebirds, really. Ahh, what's he gonna do with all the butterflies in his stomach that they both have infected him with?

Baekhyun resists his pulls and pushes weakly. Chanyeol can be seen turning around to face his back to them that when Sehun and Baekhyun arrived, the former has to force him back so they would be facing each other. There's no need to force Chanyeol to hug Baekhyun, just Sehun pushing Baekhyun forward a bit before his hyung removes his hat so it won't hit Chanyeol's face. So considerate. Sehun actually contemplates to be the officiating officer for when these two decide to marry each other. He can't help but smirk at the sight in front of him, feeling like the proud little brother he is for setting up his hyung with someone he found will be a good boyfriend for him. 

On the inside, Baekhyun's heart is thumping loudly than the sound of what is supposed to be Sehun's footsteps. He closes his eyes and tries to feel everything with his other heightened senses. The shiver brought by Chanyeol's arms wrapping themselves around his waist is heavenly. He encloses his own arms around Chanyeol's shoulders too, almost burying his face on the crook of Chanyeol's neck when he can smell his aftershave with a hint of sweat. It's definitely Chanyeol's fragrance. The fans are screaming all kinds of things and he doesn't even remember when they have started screaming, or if they even stopped at all, or if their voices would be okay after tonight, but he just really, really want to snuggle deeper into Chanyeol's chest like what he would do in their dorm.

But it can't be, because they have a concert to perform – they have a song to finish – and the moment Chanyeol's lips have been close to his ears, he hears it.

"Mahal kita." It's the Filipino word for I love you. And Baekhyun knows this because the members have been practicing to say it during their ment. And then Chanyeol's parting from him, and then they're back to singing about looking for Tinkerbell.

After the entire concert is done, the first thing Baekhyun does is hug the life out of Chanyeol, the kind that suffocates a person who doesn't know how Baekhyun's hugs are. But Chanyeol's different – he is used to these spontaneous bear hugs from his little guy already. If there is such, he'd be the one suffocating Baekhyun with how much he wants to squeeze him in his arms.

Some of the members whistle – Baekhyun strongly suspects Jongin or Jongdae – but he doesn't care as long as he finally gets to bury his face on Chanyeol's strong chest. Chanyeol, in return, holds him like the way he knows how Baekhyun wants to be held and they're such a perfect fit like this.

Baekhyun feels Chanyeol's lips brush on his temple.

"You've done well tonight. Let's go get some rest now." Chanyeol says as he holds him closer to his heart.

"You were so cool being a DJ," Baekhyun mumbles into his chest. "And when you showed your arms." Baekhyun then rubs his palm on Chanyeol's biceps.

The taller guy makes a move to kiss Baekhyun but then Junmyeon's voice interrupts them.

"Come on, guys!"

There is no need, really, to say those three words to a couple who were just about to kiss, but Junmyeon makes a scene out of everything, so they just follow him and save that kiss for later.

They shower together when they reach the hotel they're staying at. There's nothing out of place with that because they've been doing this sort of practice even before they were in this sort of relationship, to save water and time. But right now, they're just wasting water and taking more time whenever they share showers together.

Manager hyung didn't allow Chanyeol and Baekhyun to room together but Jongin closes an eye when Baekhyun sneaks out of their shared room.

The fans and the people over the internet can speculate with things that are close to the truth, but they'll never really know half of the story how Baekhyun fell in love with the multi-talented Happy Virus of EXO. They'll never really know half of the struggles they go through because they're both boys and they're in a boy band with a lot of eyes watching them. Their manager might have accepted them but there's still a doubt that the company will be as lenient.

Baekhyun thinks, as he rings the doorbell on Chanyeol's room, that he'll just make the best out of this.

"Chanyeol-ah," he greets when the door opens.

"You're here." Chanyeol pulls him into a tight embrace even before the door is closed.

And Baekhyun knows, as he presses himself closer onto Chanyeol's warmth, that all the struggles have been and will be worth it, because he's with the one that will be best for him. Always.


 

-end
-bc tel mnl just have to be in a canon fic and it happened when i was writing this fic so

-thank you for reading!

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