pairing: BaekLay
length: 2365 words
A/N: Written at the request of zaikenhuo! Hope you like it! And I'm terribly sorry that it took me so long to write this for you! The lack of Yixing with EXO has left me really uninspired (i'm still so salty about this comeback, but that's a rant for another time), but I hope this fluffy piece makes up for it!

--

Lay loved days like this.

The sun was shining. The refreshing breeze was blowing gently. The wispy clouds were lazily drifting through the blue sky.

Today, he could enjoy the group’s schedules with a free heart.

While the production director ordered his staff members to hand each of the nine EXO members a small, black handheld camera, Lay grinned at Baekhyun, who scooted closer to the Chinese male and laid his head against the older male’s shoulder. A chance like this came once in a blue moon, if ever, especially for idols. But today, he and Baekhyun were being given free rein to go on an amusement park date, which they had been wanting since officially entering a relationship with each other. Even though there were cameras surrounding them, as usual, the two idols had perfected the art of subtle touches and looks that often went under the radar, especially since their obvious friendships with other members were scrutinized more often.

Since EXO was endorsing Lotte products, that included the wonderful Lotte World itself and the group had finally been asked to film an advertisement to promote several of the rides in the amusement park. When the company had informed them of the offer, all nine of the boys had cheered and had talked non-stop about this wonderful opportunity whenever they were in the dorm. And now, the day had finally arrived.

Lay couldn’t be happier, especially with Baekhyun by his side.

--

After spending almost the entire day by themselves, briefly joined by Chen whenever he bumped into them and needed a break from trying every ride in Lotte World by himself, Lay and Baekhyun remembered their assignment for the day. “We should probably tell the staff members that we’re ready to film our parts,” Lay said, noting that the sun was slowly beginning to set. The sky had begun to bleed beautifully with reds, oranges, and purples.

“Aw, do we have to?” Baekhyun whined as he snuggled his face against his boyfriend’s neck. “That means our alone time is over.”

“But we also have a job to fulfill,” Lay reminded him, smiling down at the younger male. “Besides, I can tell you’re starting to get tired, which won’t be good for the advertisement. Let’s get the filming done now and then we can find some table to rest at while the other members finish enjoying the park, okay?”

Baekhyun nodded against the Chinese male’s neck and Lay laughed from the tickling sensation. “Which rides are we assigned to again?” the younger male asked as he moved his face away from his boyfriend’s neck and the two continued walking towards the main fountain, where some members of the production crew were waiting.

Lay reached into his back pants pocket for a copy of the advertisement plan that the group’s manager had handed to each of the members while they were en route to Lotte World from their dorm earlier that morning. He held up the piece of paper against the fading sunlight and looked for their names. “I’m at Pharaoh’s Fury and you’re at Camelot Carousel,” he read slowly.

“Let’s go to yours first,” Baekhyun proposed. “It’ll be a lot more magical if we end on the carousel, don’t you think?”

“You’re so cheesy,” Lay teased as he ruffled the younger male’s fluffy orange-blonde hair.

Baekhyun grinned widely as he answered, “Only around you.”

Upon returning to the main fountain, the couple found Xiumin also speaking to several members of the production crew. “Ah, perfect! One of you can come with Xiumin to the Aeronaut’s Balloon Ride,” the production director said when his gaze swept over the two. “He shouldn’t be on the ride alone, so one of you can fill in the background and enjoy the ride with him.”

Xiumin looked at them apologetically, knowing that they didn’t want to be separated. But his ride could only carry one other person after factoring in the additional cameramen who would be filming.

“I’ll go,” Lay volunteered, giving Baekhyun’s elbow a subtle squeeze before letting him go and walking towards the production director. “Save me a spot at the Pharaoh’s Fury, okay?”

The younger male nodded, knowing that he couldn’t argue for Lay to not go with Xiumin. After all, the production director had no knowledge of the relationship that existed between him and the Chinese male. So Baekhyun waved goodbye to Lay and Xiumin before setting course to the Pharaoh’s Fury with a few of the cameramen.

As the production director led another group of cameramen and the two EXO members to the Aeronaut’s Balloon Ride, Xiumin kept close to Lay and murmured, “Sorry for interrupting your date. Chen was supposed to come with me, but he got stuck in line at a ride on the other side of the park.”

“Don’t worry about it. I haven’t spent much alone time with you lately either, so this is a nice change.”

“That’s because Baekhyun hogs you all of the time and doesn’t let any of us get within a foot of you two,” Xiumin pointed out with a cheeky grin.

Lay thanked his lucky stars that the setting sun made it so that the eldest member couldn’t see the faint pink blush that was beginning to spread across his thin cheeks. He couldn’t deny the truth in Xiumin’s words. Baekhyun had become considerably more clingy once their relationship had been clarified, but Lay liked how the younger male latched onto him. It made him feel loved and wanted, knowing that there was someone out there who would be with him through thick and thin. Especially with his status as an idol, in which scandals could smash a career into smithereens or fickle fans could turn their backs on their supposedly beloved celebrities in an instant.

So being with Baekhyun was a blessing that Lay cherished with all of his heart.

--

“Lay! Over here!” A short male with orange-blonde hair waved excitedly, flanked by an equally short brown-haired male and a lanky silver-haired male.

Sehun slung an arm across Lay’s shoulders as he commented, “We’ve been waiting for ages for you to get here.”

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We bumped into Baekhyun after Chanyeol ditched us to hang out with D.O and Kai,” Suho explained with a shake of his head. “And since Baekhyun was alone, we decided to keep him company.”

“And we haven’t ridden Pharaoh’s Fury yet, so we’re coming with you guys,” Sehun piped up as he hugged Lay closer to him. A devilish grin painted his chiseled face when Baekhyun purposefully stepped on his foot and he let go of the Chinese male while stepping closer to Suho, who laughed at Baekhyun’s pout.

“We’ll be gone as soon as the ride is over,” the leader promised with a knowing smile.

Their conversation was soon cut short when the production director called the four EXO members to the ride after the production crew finished fixing cameras to the front of the ride cart that Lay would be sitting in.

After receiving several instructions from the production director, Lay his handheld camera and began recording himself. “Here is Pharaoh’s Fury. It’s not scary!” he introduced while wagging his finger and showcasing his signature dimpled smile. The Chinese male then followed the other three EXO members to the cart and buckled up. “One, two, three, let’s go!”

The cart began driving through an Egyptian pyramid setting, filled with mummies and snake statues. Both Lay and Baekhyun gasped as they drove deeper and deeper into the cavern. Golden treasures and hieroglyphs decorated the walls with yellow lights flashing every so often. When they emerged from the enclosure of the first half of the ride, Lay turned to look at Baekhyun and grinned when he saw how much his boyfriend was enjoying the ride. He took the opportunity to record the two of them waving, forgetting momentarily that he wasn’t holding his personal camera.

Luckily, the action was platonic enough to not arouse suspicion, so he wasn’t too worried about any consequences ensuing. The cart then entered the next part of the ride, bringing them into a cave-like setting with alligator, snake, and sphinx animatronics moving around robotically. Pits of glowing orange water geysers also glowed in between the fake stalagmites and stalactites. The cart then began going up an incline at a fast speed and the EXO members shouted with glee as the wind blew through their hair. Once they reached the top, the cart slowed down since the ride was just about finished and Lay turned to Baekhyun with a huge smile on his face. “Wow, that was amazing.”

The younger male reached over to briefly place his hand on Lay’s knee. “Yeah, it was.”

Once the cart came to a complete stop in front of the lines, the four EXO members cheered again before climbing out of their seats. Some of the production assistants rushed forward to take the handheld cameras from them while others began dismantling the cameras that were attached to the front of the cart. Lay kept his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder as the younger male stepped onto the platform, making sure he didn’t stumble. The Chinese male was rewarded with a beautiful, pearly white smile from Baekhyun and the moment would have been perfect if it hadn’t been for Sehun’s loud snicker from the side.

Suho jabbed the youngest member’s side with his elbow, turning the snicker into a pained yelp instead. “We’re going to get ice cream now,” the leader told the group as he led Sehun through the ride’s exit. “Have fun filming at the carousel!”

“But don’t have too much fun without us,” Sehun called out behind his shoulder as he and Suho strolled away with half of the production crew.

Baekhyun stuck his tongue out at the youngest member before hooking arms with Lay and following the rest of the production crew to their next destination. “That cheeky brat.”

--

They finally arrived at Camelot Carousel and after receiving several instructions from the production director, Baekhyun began to film his segment for the Lotte World advertisement. “Are you still curious to know the prince who rode a white horse in that drama you watched?” he spoke to the camera in his hand while walking backwards to showcase the spinning carousel. “Yes, that is me,” he continued before erupting into laughter at the cheesiness of his words.

Lay also fought to hold back giggles while he watched the younger male.

Seeing his boyfriend laugh at his antics, Baekhyun unabashedly continued, “Do you want to ride the romantic carousel together with me?” Even though this hadn’t been on the script, the production director allowed the EXO member to keep rolling, since it fit the advertisement’s theme. Little did he know that Baekhyun had spoken the line with Lay in mind.

The Chinese male was now doubled over and clutching at his stomach, trying to stifle his laughter so that he wouldn’t interrupt the recording. His boyfriend was such a corny child and seeing him act like this on camera was hilarious.

Baekhyun scrunched his eyebrows up, since the cheesiness was now too much for himself as well. “Do you want to? Please ride it with me!” he ended, still subtly directing his words to Lay, who managed to calm down and was wiping away tears of laughter from his eyes.

“I’ll hold the camera for you,” the Chinese male offered when Baekhyun walked over with his hands outstretched. The younger male passed the handheld camera to his boyfriend before grabbing his free hand and pulling him towards the carousel. Lay almost felt his heart stop when he filmed Baekhyun’s stunning smile as they ran to the ride.

Once the ride attendant let them through, the couple climbed onto two white horses standing next to each other and began squealing like children as soon as the carousel began spinning. The horses dipped up and down in perfect rhythm. Lay handed Baekhyun’s camera back to him so that he could continue filming himself on the carousel for the advertisement.

All throughout, Baekhyun and Lay would wave and smile at the cameras, surreptitiously sneaking glimpses at each other whenever they could. The brilliant lights glinted off of the white horses as the carousel spun round and round. Lay felt his heart balloon with happiness whenever he glanced over at his boyfriend and saw him smile for the camera in the younger male’s hand. He would never tire of looking at Baekhyun’s beautiful smile. It shined even brighter than the carousel lights, which were glaringly vivid against the dark night sky.

Today had already been amazing, but Baekhyun still had to add the cherry on top. “If you want to have a romantic love, look for the horse that has a crown embedded on its chest.” The younger male then pointed down at the crown emblem on the white horse he was riding.

Lay almost fell off of his horse when he heard the words leave his boyfriend’s mouth. “A romantic love?” he asked, raising his eyebrow as he looked at the younger male.

“Of course,” Baekhyun answered matter-of-factly. “What other kind of love would it be?” he added with an impish smile.

Even though it was quite daring to be dating on camera like this, Lay wasn’t scared. He could be daring if it meant he and Baekhyun were having fun together. And since the theme of the today’s advertisement was to capture a dreamy, boyfriend-like vibe for the viewers, Lay reasoned that the authenticity of their footage was strengthened because they were together. Especially after the stunt that Baekhyun pulled earlier.

It wasn’t every day that Lay could spend time like this with the one he loved. So if given the opportunity, he wasn’t going to pass it up. While the dazzling carousel lights sparkled above them and colorful fireworks blasted in the night sky, Lay held out his right hand towards Baekhyun’s left hand and interlocked their fingers together. Feeling their hands fit together so snugly like puzzle pieces, Baekhyun beamed brightly and gripped Lay’s hand even tighter.

Lay loved nights like this.

♈♈♈