Following the wind that blows in between our fingers

This moment of tightly holding your hand and walking side by side

Even if we can’t freely fly just like the birds in the blue sky

You and I just like this is enough

(Like a Bird - Urban Zakapa)

----

Chanyeol woke peacefully Saturday morning, with pale sunlight that almost made him forgot it was two days until December shining in between his curtains and Baekhyun snoring softly into his ear. It was nice to be able to just lay there for a while, looking at the ceiling for a while before deciding to look at Baekhyun instead.

He wasn't holding onto him anymore, but he was still close to him, so Chanyeol had to be careful not to wake him as he rolled onto his side to face him. He looked angelic and very human all at once, his face soft and peaceful all the way down to how his mouth was hanging open slightly. His ears were mostly hidden in his messy hair, and that prompted Chanyeol to wonder if he might've ever had a chance to wake up next to him if things were a little different and he didn't have cute floppy ears atop his head. Probably not. He wasn't typically that lucky on the rare occasions when he met random people that ended up in his bed. (He realized, suddenly, that he could no longer have random people there now. There wasn't exactly room for three, and he found himself not particularly minding.)

And anyways, that would probably entail a lot more than cuddling, and Chanyeol didn't really want to think about that when he'd just woken up. Didn't want to think about that at all, he corrected himself. 

He didn't wake Baekhyun up for a while, didn't bother him at all except for idly his hair with one hand while texting Kyungsoo to ask when he wanted them to come over. Instead of receiving a response, he got a call.

“Hi.” he mumbled into his phone, clearing his throat and sitting up.

“Hey. Did you just wake up? It's noon already.” Kyungsoo chastised, as if Chanyeol wouldn't have already figured out what time it was by being on his phone.

“I know. It's also Saturday, so I reserve my right to sleep as late as I want.”

Kyungsoo snorted, which indicated he disagreed with that. “Is Baekhyun awake?”

“Nope.”

“Are you going to wake him up?”

“Nah. He's too cute when he sleeps, I can't bring myself to do it.” he hummed, still sleepy enough to be candid about that. Baekhyun nuzzled his hand, and Chanyeol grinned so widely he felt like Kyungsoo would somehow be able to see it through the phone.

Kyungsoo wasn't interested in his delight, though, sighing with exasperation. “Well, whenever he wakes up, I want to take him shopping.”

“For what?”

“Clothes. He needs some, right? I can't let you take him and buy him a closet full of sweatpants and sleeveless shirts even though it's winter.”

“I wouldn't do that. He'd be cold.” he mumbled, taking a bit of offense to Kyungsoo thinking he was that careless, even if he was just mocking him.

“Also, you have a horrible sense of style, and he’ll buy anything that you like just to make you happy. C’mon. It'll be easier for you, all you have to do is let me borrow Baekhyun and your credit card for the day.

Chanyeol looked over at Baekhyun, sighing. He probably wouldn't be opposed to the idea, since he seemed to like Kyungsoo a lot. “Okay, if he wants to.”

“He will. He likes me.” Kyungsoo said smugly, and Chanyeol refused to agree with him even though he'd just thought the same thing. “How much money can I spend?” he asked after remembering that was sort of important.

Chanyeol was still looking at Baekhyun, at the slow movement of his chest when he breathed and his dark eyelashes and- “As much as you need to buy him whatever he wants.” he replied matter-of-factly, talking a little louder in his haste to interrupt his own thoughts and causing Baekhyun to squirm and rub at his eyes. “Aw, , you made me wake him up.” he complained even though it wasn't Kyungsoo’s fault at all.

“Oh, my bad.” Kyungsoo said sarcastically. “Text me when you want me to come pick him up. Also, you have to babysit Jongin while we’re shopping. Bye.” He hung up before Chanyeol could reply.

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun murmured, eyes still closed and hands reaching out blindly until they located him. “Can you stay a few more minutes?”

“I'm not going anywhere, it's Saturday.” Chanyeol reminded him.

“I know, I mean can you stay.” he said, placing emphasis on the world like that was supposed to make Chanyeol understand what he was saying. He gave up when it was apparent that he wasn't getting it and opened his eyes before pulling him closer by the front of his t-shirt.

It clicked in Chanyeol’s head then and complied, laying down beside Baekhyun again. Baekhyun snuggled closer, resting his palms on Chanyeol’s chest and nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. He was breathing sort of deeply, and Chanyeol wondered if he intended to go back to sleep.

“Who were you talking to?” he asked, and Chanyeol tried not to think about the fact that he could feel his lips moving against his neck.

“Kyungsoo. He wants to take you shopping for clothes today instead of us going over to his house. Is that okay with you?” He felt Baekhyun nodding, so he accepted the fact that he'd be spending the day playing video games with Jongin instead of… whatever this was with Baekhyun. Oh well. He'd just have to take advantage of the few minutes he had left.

“I didn't have nightmares. Not even one.” he said quietly after a moment.

“Good.” Chanyeol murmured, petting his hair for a moment before his hand came to rest at the nape of his neck.

“Thank you for protecting me.” Baekhyun said, his tone playful. He tilted his head upwards to place light kisses along his jaw, and Chanyeol was extremely aware of the fact that he should probably stop him. 

But instead he told himself this was fine. It wasn't like he was kissing him on the lips or anything, he was just being affectionate. There was nothing wrong with platonic affection (even if it was a little different from how any of his other friends might've showed their affection, even if the warm lips pressing against the skin below his ear were stirring distinctly unplatonic feelings within him).

They stayed in bed like this for 15 minutes longer than either of them really intended, and Chanyeol was a lot sleepier when he got out of bed than he was right after he woke up. Still, he felt warm and content enough that it made it worth the tiredness that was clinging to him. He waited for Baekhyun to get dressed and brush his teeth before calling Kyungsoo. 

His friends let themselves in with Jongin’s spare key and walked into the kitchen to find Chanyeol laughing hysterically at the funny faces Baekhyun was making from across the table.

“Hi.” Baekhyun greeted once it became apparent that Chanyeol was too out of breath to do so, smiling brightly at them.

“Hi, Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo greeted, smiling at him as he walked over to whack Chanyeol in the back of the head. That made Baekhyun giggle, which made the throbbing at the back of Chanyeol’s skull feel a bit more bearable.

Baekhyun finished his yogurt in two very large bites, grinning a little as he listened to Kyungsoo ranting at Chanyeol about how he'd been awake for an hour so there was no reason why he couldn't have made Baekhyun a proper breakfast. “I like yogurt, though.” he said when Chanyeol glanced desperately over at him. That successfully diffused Kyungsoo’s anger, and he soon moved on to talking about their plans for the day instead.

Chanyeol was listening at first, he really was, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jongin talking to Baekhyun and eventually resting his arm over his shoulders and tracing a finger along the collar of his shirt. No big deal, really, because Chanyeol was used to the way he encroached on personal space. However, he wasn’t used to the way Baekhyun was flushed slightly, his smile a little crooked and different from usual when he turned to look at Jongin.

“...Are you listening to me?” Kyungsoo asked once Chanyeol stopped smiling and started staring right over his shoulder with a crinkle between his brows that indicated he was either frustrated or concentrating very hard.

Jongin and Baekhyun must've been paying more attention than he thought, because they both looked over at him when he took too long to reply. “...No, sorry, I was, um, distracted.” he mumbled, looking at Kyungsoo now instead. He looked confused, placing a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder that he was quick to shrug off as subtly as possible (which was not very subtle, unfortunately).

Kyungsoo did, at least, gather that his sudden agitation was related to Baekhyun, so he was soon acquiring Chanyeol’s credit card and steering the boy in the direction of the door. “Chanyeol”, Baekhyun said sort of softly, like he was trying to whisper at him from across the room, and Chanyeol knew instinctively that he wanted a hug. He swallowed his aggravation, aware that this was a matter of him overreacting rather than Baekhyun doing anything wrong, and shuffled over to wrap his arms around him.

“I'll miss you.” Baekhyun whispered in his ear, sounding playful but somehow completely genuine at the same time. All was forgiven then, and Chanyeol kissed his cheek as he pulled away without really thinking about it. Kyungsoo was looking at him with raised eyebrows, but it was hard to take any notice when Baekhyun’s grin was so blinding.

The sudden happiness left with him, and it was awkwardly quiet for a minute or so aside from the sound of Jongin flipping through channels on the TV from the other end of the couch. 

“So.” Jongin said eventually, stopping on a channel that was currently playing the end of a movie. “You know I wasn't trying to flirt with him, right?”

It took Chanyeol a moment to react. He hadn’t really expected that question, though he supposed maybe it was a logical assumption. “Of course I know that.” he assured him, replacing the look of slight hurt on Jongin’s face with one of confusion. “I would've already killed you for Kyungsoo’s sake if I thought you were.”

“Why are you being pissy, then?” 

“I'm not pissy, I just didn't really know how to react to how he was looking at you all of a sudden.” he mumbled, frowning.

“Well, he was looking at me like, wow, this very attractive man is all over me right now, cool,” he paused to wait for Chanyeol to stop laughing at his lack of modesty, “but he looked at you like, huh, Chanyeol just kissed me on the cheek and it was really great, almost as great as the time when he saved the world or maybe when he hung the sun in the sky. So I dunno what you're so concerned about.”

“Shut up, he was not looking at me like that.” he argued, feeling very much like a defensive teenager under Jongin’s terrifyingly accurate scrutiny.

“He was. He does pretty frequently, from what I've seen. I don't know how you got him to like you so much so quickly, it took me and Kyungsoo at least a year to stop requesting roommate changes once a week.” 

“Oh, shut up. You loved me since the day you met me, Kim Jongin.” 

It was almost offensive, how hard Jongin laughed at that, as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. Eventually he got over it, though, turning his suspicious gaze on Chanyeol again. “But if you knew I wasn't flirting with him, why were you mad just about how he was looking at me? Are you being possessive?” he accused, never one to miss out on the opportunity to harass Chanyeol about his feelings.

“Why shouldn't I be? He's mine, isn't he?” he mumbled, unable to find a better argument. It wasn't good enough for Jongin, judging by the way he was furrowing his eyebrows at him.

“You know that's not what I meant.”

“Yeah, I do know that. I dunno why you're implying that I have feelings that I could never morally have, though.”

“Why couldn't you?”

“I dunno, maybe because he's kind of part dog?” he said incredulously.

“He acts more like a normal person than you do. Look, if that actually bothers you then that's fine, but don't mess this up because you think it technically should bother you.” Jongin said much more gently than his previous words, scooting closer to him. “Unless I completely misjudged this entire situation, in which case I guess you can ignore this advice.”

Chanyeol frowned at him, because even though that wasn't a question Jongin was clearly waiting for him to reply to that. “Not completely, I guess. Damn you.” he huffed after a moment, looking away from him.

“I knew it.” Jongin mumbled smugly before softening again, patting his shoulder invitingly when Chanyeol looked at him again. “Do whatever you think is best, of course, but you know overthinking things never works out for you.” he said once his best friend had leaned his head against his shoulder.

That was true, but it stung a little hearing Jongin, of all people, saying it. He couldn't be mad, though, when he was just trying to help. “Why are we watching ending credits?” he asked after a moment, frowning.

“Harry Potter comes on after this.” 

Chanyeol hummed, deeming that an acceptable reason. They didn't talk about Baekhyun anymore, but he was still thinking about him as the Sorcerer’s Stone came on and Jongin wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he must have, because suddenly they were halfway through the Chamber of Secrets, he was horizontal on the couch, and Baekhyun was leaning over him. “Hi, Channie. We’re back.” he said, smiling brightly at him.

“Hi.” Chanyeol replied. He meant to say more but his eyes had landed on Baekhyun’s legs, which were now clad in light wash jeans instead of loose sweatpants. That was fine. They looked nice, along with the pale pink sweater he was wearing. He wasn't sure how to feel about the myriad of tears going from his knees to dangerously high up this thighs, though. “...Won't you get cold?” he asked dumbly, forcing his sleepy eyes to look up at Baekhyun’s face.

“I don't think so. They're cute, don't you think?”

Chanyeol was glad he supplied a word for him, because if he'd had to come up with one himself, cute might not have been his first choice. “Yes.” he agreed anyways, deciding that maybe he could deal with a bit of distraction for the sake of how widely Baekhyun was smiling.

Baekhyun got out of the way so Chanyeol could stand up and promptly took Kyungsoo’s armful of shopping bags from him, taking them to the bedroom.

“You alright?” Chanyeol asked, running his fingers through his hair and raising an eyebrow at Kyungsoo’s expression. He looked like he'd had a very trying experience.

“I like him. I really do. But I don't envy you being stuck with him all the time.”

“Why?”

“He's so loud and he tells bad jokes constantly and his taste in clothing is almost as bad as yours.” he said, speaking in a hushed tone even though Baekhyun was too far away to hear him anyways.

“I think he looks cute.” he argued, unsure of how to defend the other two things when they were probably true but didn't bother him in the slightest.

“Well, I guess that's good. That's what he wanted you to think.”

“...What?” Chanyeol asked, suddenly very interested in what knowledge Kyungsoo might have acquired during his day with Baekhyun.

“Oops.” Kyungsoo replied, covering his mouth with one hand as if sharing that piece of information had been an accident, though his smug expression clearly stated otherwise. Baekhyun returned before Chanyeol could harass him for details, attaching himself to Kyungsoo with an enthusiastic hug.

“Thank you for taking me. It was fun.” he said, seemingly ignorant of how uncomfortable Kyungsoo was with being squished in such a way until he made eye contact with Chanyeol over his shoulder and winked playfully at him. Perhaps he wasn't as clueless as he sometimes seemed.

Kyungsoo patted Baekhyun’s head in a way that indicated he was still a bit fonder of him than he'd suggested, though he did look relieved when Baekhyun finally let go of him. “I'll see you Monday?” he asked, to which Baekhyun nodded.

“You will?” Chanyeol asked, trying to recall why exactly Kyungsoo was coming to his house Monday.

“Yup, I've invited myself to have dinner at your house. I'll cook, though, don't worry.” 

Well, Chanyeol supposed he couldn't refuse that. It was weird, though, because even if they were his best friends, they hadn't been such an overwhelming presence in his life since they'd all lived together. He couldn't help but feel like this was part 2 of pulling him out of his rather extended period of grumpy loneliness.

“I’m coming too, obviously, because I recorded the next two Harry Potter movies on your TV while you were hibernating and I intend to watch them.” Jongin announced before making his way out the door with a wiggly wave at Baekhyun and a suggestive wink at Chanyeol. Kyungsoo followed soon after, though he did at least say goodbye.

Baekhyun hummed contently and walked over to Chanyeol as soon as they were gone, as if he'd been impatiently waiting to do so, wrapping his arms around his waist and waiting for the action to be reciprocated before leaning his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Chanyeol had expected Baekhyun to start talking, but he didn't, so he spoke first. “Did you have fun?”

“Yep. The mall was really big, I wish you could've seen it.”

“I've been to the mall before, Baekhyunnie.”

“I know. I wish you could've seen it with me.” he mumbled, pulling away a little to peer up at him.

That didn't really make sense, but it made Chanyeol smile anyways. “Wanna help me make space in the closet for your clothes?”

Baekhyun nodded eagerly, and they spent the next half hour taking seemingly endless tags off of his clothing and then hanging and folding them all. It turned out that Baekhyun did dress a lot like Chanyeol, who would be tempted to steal some of the comfy sweatpants he'd acquired if he could possibly fit in them.

“Why'd you wear the least comfortable thing that you bought?” he asked eventually, because even if Baekhyun looked… cute, he wasn't exactly dressed for lounging around at home for the rest of the evening.

“I wanted to look nice so you'd feel like your money was going to a good cause. I figured I could spring the sweatpants and hoodies on you once you're completely enthralled by my charm.” he said with a mile wide grin, laughing a little at himself.

Chanyeol was pretty sure he was already completely enthralled, but he laughed anyways, shoving Baekhyun and laughing even harder when he dramatically fell off of the bed. 

He raised his eyebrows when he pulled out a white button up shirt from the bottom of the last bag. “Fancy.” he observed, nudging Baekhyun with his elbow. “Do you have a hot date planned?”

“Yeah, with you.” he said very casually, as if he hadn't just caused Chanyeol’s heart to skip a few more beats than could possibly be healthy. “Kyungsoo said there's some party thing happening next month at your work next month, for Christmas, so I’m gonna be your date.”

“Oh.” he mumbled, his heart rate slowing a bit now that he'd clarified.

“Kyungsoo isn't making me go or anything like that, mind you. He said a bunch of drunk women kept harassing you last year, so I figured I should go to protect you.” Baekhyun said enthusiastically. His smile was absolutely dazzling and Chanyeol was having a hard time looking away. It faded a bit after a moment, though, his expression becoming concerned.  “Unless you don't want me to go?”

“No, I do. It's kind of boring and I don't know if you'll enjoy it, but I… would like you to be with me.” he said, cringing inwardly at his own questionable wording.

Questionable wording or not, Baekhyun seemed pleased. Eventually they finished sorting through clothes and making space in the closet (and on the bed for the Eddy from Pororo stuffed animal that Baekhyun had acquired at some point today), so they went to bake the cookie dough that Chanyeol had purchased the previous day.

Chanyeol baked cookies, anyways, while Baekhyun sat on the counter watching him and occasionally reaching over to steal bites of cookie dough. He whined in complaint when Chanyeol put the baking sheet in the oven and left him cookie dough-less, as if he wasn't the one who'd requested that they make cookies.

“Cookie dough is bad for you.” Chanyeol informed him, though he didn't really believe that. Baekhyun hummed dismissively, pouting even more at that. “I'll get you some more, though.” Chanyeol mumbled helplessly after a moment. He was a weak man. Even weaker when Baekhyun smiled and pulled him closer, grabbing his face between his hands and squishing his cheeks.

“You're too good to me.” Baekhyun said, but he was grinning like he didn't particularly mind.

“I think you deserve it.” Chanyeol mumbled, his voice a little muffled due to his face being smushed. It was soon un-smushed, though, because Baekhyun abruptly let go of his face in order to latch onto him with clinging arms and legs.

“Hey, shut up, you're gonna make me emotional.” he complained, kicking Chanyeol in the back of his leg until he got the hint and lifted him off of the counter.

“Such a brat.” Chanyeol murmured fondly, tugging one of his ears gently while carrying him to the living room. Baekhyun laughed and bit his shoulder, squawking indignantly when Chanyeol pretended he was going to drop him.

He sat on the couch to wait for the timer for the cookies to go off, and Baekhyun made the time pass a little quicker by sitting in his lap and playing with his hair while giving a very detailed account of his entire day. He was pretty sure there was technically something nerve wracking about this situation, or about the way Baekhyun’s knees were on either side of his thighs and he seemed to be wiggling impossibly closer by the minute, but he was so comfortable he could've fallen asleep. 

Perhaps that was a cause for concern, that Baekhyun was such a new presence and he already felt like home. Maybe if Chanyeol wasn't quite so happy, he'd wonder if the boy had cast some sort of spell on him. He was happy, though, and Baekhyun was practically glowing as he animated his tale with elaborate hand motions, talking like he had an audience of a hundred people instead of just Chanyeol. 

He paused eventually, though, frowning at him. “Why're you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” Chanyeol asked, because he'd hardly been paying attention to how he'd been looking when he was busy intently listening to Baekhyun.

“Like you like me.” he accused. Chanyeol didn't really know what he meant. Like seemed like a very vague word.

“Because I do.” he said simply, deciding that Baekhyun could take that however he wanted to because he was pretty sure he sort of meant it however he wanted him to.

He wasn't expecting him to laugh, though, loud and close enough that Chanyeol could feel it as much as hear it. It was sort of a frightening reaction, in this situation, until he leaned closer and nuzzled his face into Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“Good. I like you too.” he said quietly, smiling.

Chanyeol had no idea how to take that, so perhaps they were even now.

----

(A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter took so long! I ran a little low on inspiration, but I'm working on getting it back. Also, sorry that the chapters vary so much in length, though they do seem to be getting progressively longer, so I guess that's a good thing? Thank you for reading!)