“Let’s run away.”

Yifan dropped his chopsticks, the ramyun cup almost slipping out of his hold, but remembering the packaging strongly advised to hold it on the crooked part of the cup because the contents are hot, he grabbed his sanity quickly to hold it tightly. “What?” He wasn’t sure if he heard Baekhyun correctly, yet it made his heart stop.

“I said, run away with me.” Baekhyun grinned, his rectangle smile apparent. “We can leave everything behind, go to a new city, meet new people. Interesting people—“

“Baek, people around here are interesting.” Yifan chuckled. “If Chanyeol heard you, he would have been wailing nonstop.” He blew on his noodles before taking a big slurp. The soup trickled down his chin but he didn’t care, ramyun was just too good.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, moving closer to Yifan as he wiped the soup on Yifan’s chin. “Look at you devouring that ramyun. Such a kid.” He laid his head on his shoulder as he looked ahead, watching people move on a low-volumed TV. “I meant, new other people. It will be best for both of us, I promise.” Honestly, he has never even thought about this, and the more he’s trying to persuade Yifan, the more he’s being dissuaded himself. But Baekhyun doesn’t really care. He was used to being the “spontaneous and irresponsible kid”, maybe it’s time he really embodied it.

There was only a 2 year between them but people around them think they are having a May-December affair. Baekhyun blames it mostly on Yifan’s tall, imposing and intimidating build, plus the fact that the man has a chronic resting face but Yifan, on the other hand, blames it entirely on Baekhyun’s petite frame and baby face features. There was one time when Yifan was looking for a bowl on Baekhyun’s cupboard and he absentmindedly just put his glass on top of Baekhyun’s head, totally forgetting that Baekhyun was cooking in front of him. Baekhyun didn’t talk to him for the rest of the afternoon even until Yifan left to go home. Really the perfect example of the “opposites attract” quote.

“Are you crazy?” Yifan snorted until the soup he was currently slurping made his throat on fire. The idea might have scared him off if it was the pre-Baekhyun relationship Yifan, dashing immediately out the door without even bothering to put on his shoes but somehow hearing it directly from Baekhyun made the butterflies in his stomach flutter a little. Somehow, the idea wasn’t as crazy as Baekhyun had said it out loud. He was even a little excited, but he still feels the walls struggling to build again. “Baekhyun, this is such a huge step. Are we even ready for this?” He mentally kicks himself for sounding so unsure and unwilling.

Baekhyun groaned as he laid down and stretched out his legs, kicking the air. Yifan evaded his kicks, primarily protecting his ramyun rather than his own face. “I know and I think we are more than ready. We’ll definitely get an apartment, get new jobs, adopt a puppy even!” His face scrunched up as he murmured, “I’m your only pup so I think we should rule out the puppy.” He shook his head, the idea bulb so bright he feels his head ache. “No, Yifan. Let’s just run away and worry about everything later. Come on!! Are you seriously going to wait until we’re diaper-old and can’t even do stupid and irrational decisions like we can now?” Baekhyun sat up as he cupped both Yifan’s cheeks, leaning a little to rest his forehead on his and sighed contently. “My youth is yours, Yifan. Let’s run away. I just want you and me, out of this place, together.” He smiled lovingly, caressing Yifan’s cheeks.

“You’re 25 years old, Baekhyun. You’re not exactly youth anymore.” Yifan rolled his eyes.

Baekhyun reached behind him to throw a pillow hitting Yifan’s face directly. Yifan, with his super fast reflexes stretched out his hand to protect his ramyun from being hit by the pillow boulder. “Seriously?! You still care for that ramyun than what we’re talking about right now? Ugh!” He groaned. “Why are you so unromantic?”

Yifan laughed, his crinkling eyes and gummy smile out. There are only two things that can make this smile be seen on his face. One is when he knows everyone around him is happy and second is this, Baekhyun making him this happy unconsciously. He looked at him, how Baekhyun looked so excited sharing this idea to him but annoyed how he thinks he doesn’t care and thinks it’s outrageous, and he really feels a little guilty for even thinking of turning him down. The idea was actually brilliant and he mentally kicks himself that he hasn’t thought about it. Baekhyun was right, it was now or never. Their youth won’t just come a second time, and as he thinks more on this, he feels himself agree to this ridiculous thought.

Yifan set his ramyun on the table in front of his bed and gently pulled Baekhyun towards him. Baekhyun’s pout won’t seem to go away from his face and he was tempted to kiss it away. So he did.

He felt Baekhyun melt a little and smiled into the kiss. Baekhyun pulled away and murmured, “I still hate you for being unromantic but I will let this slip,” and closed the distance between them, eager to have his lips on him again.

Yifan is elated. That feeling of being back in his early 20s is so tempting, being here with Baekhyun now, right this moment, making stupid and irresponsible choices together from being intoxicated by the imagined reality. His 20s was made of grown up choices and mature decisions that he sometimes feels he’s a 36 year old man trapped in a 27 year old body. But as the more grown adult between them, he needs to consider a lot of things too; his job, his mom, their friends. Does he need to apply for a new job or a commute can easily solve this problem? His mom will worry though he knows he can let her in on the little secret, but what if she spills it to Baekhyun’s mom? He can’t just run head on and jump to…

Until it hit him.

“Didn’t you say there was an apartment for rent near the subway station?”

“Does this mean…?” Baekhyun trailed off, happiness evident on his face but tried to retain a straight face. Yifan wanted to laugh, seeing Baekhyun’s I-badly-need-to-go-to-the-toilet face, but decided he doesn’t need to be an today.

“You said that you want to be with me, together; that your youth is mine. Well, I like that, very much. I love it even.” Yifan smiled as he enclosed Baekhyun in a tight yet gentle hug. “My youth is yours, too, Baek. We’ll run away, be with each other, and live together. Forever.”