pairing: BaekChen
length: 992 words

Baekhyun anxiously adjusted his navy blue bowtie as he stared wide-eyed at his reflection in the mirror. But no matter how many times he fiddled with the silk accessory, it refused to sit straight on his chest, always tilting slightly to one side or the other.

And there was a thick strand of hair on top of his head that refused to stay slicked down, looking horrifically like an exaggerated cowlick one would find on an anime protagonist. Which would have been fine if he were also a two-dimensional fictional character whose life had been plotted out for him to the very last second, meaning he wouldn’t have to actually worry about making any decisions since they had all been already made for him. But unfortunately, Baekhyun was very much a three-dimensional living, breathing human being with his own agency, which meant he was solely responsible for any foolish decisions made throughout his life.

Which further meant that any mistakes he made during his presentation tonight, any social faux pas that occurred during the company-wide gathering, were all his doing and couldn’t be blamed on an all-knowing, all-seeing creator who mischievously decided to add some misery into the white-collar worker’s life for “plot purposes.”

Baekhyun was just about ready to puke and call his secretary, Kang Seulgi, to cancel the entire affair. Or at least his part of it. Seulgi wringing his neck for letting his nerves get the better of him was much more preferable to actually fainting on stage from all of the built-up stress in front of dozens of industry colleagues who held ungodly amounts of financial power. At this moment, Baekhyun wished nothing more than to be a tiny fish in this vast ocean with absolutely no expectations, no responsibilities weighing down on his thin shoulders.

“Are you still fussing with that?”

Baekhyun jolted, flinging his arms outward and almost whacking his boyfriend across the face since he hadn’t expected Jongdae to suddenly walk into their bedroom. Which was silly, now that he thought about it, since of course Jongdae was entitled to enter their bedroom whenever he wanted since it was his as well, not just Baekhyun’s. And—

“Hey, do you need me to help you with that?” Jongdae sent him that lovely smile, where the ends of his lips curved up ever so slightly and his eyes reminded Baekhyun of the crescent moons that used to decorate the ceiling of his bedroom when he was a child.

“Y-yes, please,” Baekhyun answered with a nervous chuckle as he turned around, duly dropping his arms to his sides so his boyfriend had more room to move around if needed. “Thanks for checking in on me, Dae. A-and sorry I’m a mess right now… I—”

“Don’t worry. You’re going to be great tonight, Baek,” Jongdae swiftly reassured the older male, smiling sweetly as he gently slid the bowtie buckle slightly to the left, which fluidly straightened the silk accessory into place. “Is it too tight around your neck?”

Baekhyun shook his head and replied, “Nope, not at all.” His shoulders relaxed under his boyfriend’s familiar, comforting touch and Baekhyun was finally able to smile as he turned around again to look at his reflection in the mirror once more. Although his palms were still mortifyingly clammy as he unconsciously rubbed them against his dress pants, Baekhyun’s insanely high heart rate had now slowed to a much more manageable pace. And luckily, it continued to stabilize as he instinctively leaned back into Jongdae’s soothing and strong embrace.

“Jaebum will be here soon to pick us up,” Jongdae murmured as his fingers tenderly trailed through Baekhyun’s black hair, magically smoothing down that previously stubborn strand that had refused to bend under Baekhyun’s command earlier. “Are you ready to go or do you still need some time to shake out your nerves?”

Baekhyun swallowed thickly and folded himself inwards against Jongdae even more, not caring at all that his suit was getting mussed from the extra movement. “Y-yeah, I’m good… I’ll be ready in…in a…in a minute…” He gulped loudly, hands automatically reaching towards his bowtie to fidget with it again before stopping himself from self-sabotaging again. “I just… Do you think… Will they even like my proposal?” Baekhyun squeaked out before hastily clearing his throat, cheeks turning bright red from embarrassment.

Jongdae chuckled as he deftly swung his boyfriend around and looked at him lovingly. “You’re going to blow them away with your genius, Baek. There won’t be an investor in town that’ll be able to resist working with you after tonight.” The younger male grinned cheekily as he added, “I’ll have to pick up a bunch of new hobbies to keep me from missing you too much, since you’ll be too busy to hang out with me in the future.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened comically as he shook his head and frantically yelped, “No way! You know I’d never—”

But before the taller male could ramble even more, Jongdae quickly sealed Baekhyun’s lips with his own. As they kissed, Jongdae cupped his boyfriend’s cheeks instead of wrapping his arms around the other male’s slender body like he usually would, to avoid wrinkling Baekhyun’s suit even more. And Baekhyun instantly melted under Jongdae’s touch, letting all of his thoughts dissipate into the void as he focused solely on the feel of his boyfriend’s soft lips and the taste of his sweet mouth.

Their kiss lasted for what felt like a lifetime yet simultaneously just a split second before Jongdae pulled back first. “Alright, we probably shouldn’t keep Jaebum waiting any longer,” the younger male said, slightly out of breath. “He might actually quit if we’re late again.”

Baekhyun smiled wryly as he nodded in agreement before planting a quick peck on Jongdae’s cheek. “Thanks for always being here for me, Dae. Whatever happens tonight, just know that you’ll always be my number one.”

“Just like you’ll always be mine, Baek.”

♈♈♈