pairing: BaekLay
length: 2290 words

The loud thumping noises on the roof roused Yixing from his deep sleep and he drowsily opened his eyes to look at the digital clock sitting on his bedside dresser. The bright red numbers told him that it was currently four in the morning and he then angled his head towards the window, seeing how dark it was outside. It wasn’t until seconds later that his brain finally registered how it was raining heavily outside, the drops quickly pelting the tile roof of his house. Since he didn’t have to be up for another four hours, Yixing sleepily snuggled himself between his blankets even more and closed his eyes again, blanking out his mind so that he could drift off into dreamland again as it continued to rain throughout the night.

--

Usually the rain would let up by the time morning came, but not today. When Yixing woke up at eight o’clock, courtesy of his obnoxiously loud alarm that played siren noises, the rain was still coming down as hard as it had been while he was sleeping earlier. The sky was gray, casting dark shadows on the varnished wood furniture when he pulled the window curtains aside, and the sidewalk was flooded with rainwater. He could see the expansive puddles forming as more drops of rain quickly fell from the sky.

The cold, dreary day dampened his mood since it meant he would have to walk through the rain to the train station to get to work. Rainy days in general weren’t well-liked by Yixing, unless he was curled up on his living room couch with a cup of hot tea by his side and a drama playing on his television screen. Piping hot tteokbokki to snack on was also very welcome, but he was trying to cut down on the amount of street food he consumed after seeing how empty his wallet looked after a recent night out with friends.

The sound of coffee dripping into the clear pot took his mind off of his impending walk through the rain and as he cooked an omelet for breakfast, Yixing hummed happily to psych himself up for a productive day at work. The new intern he was working with had texted him earlier, saying that their project proposal was ready to be presented in front of the board of directors that afternoon, so Yixing was glad that he had one less thing to worry about this morning.

Today wouldn’t be that bad. At least he hoped it wouldn’t be.

--

Yixing’s mood was considerably drearier by the time he stepped off of the train after a long day at work. Although he and his team had successfully presented their project proposal, his boss nodding his approval once they had wrapped up the presentation, that didn’t mean Yixing’s day hadn’t been without other struggles.

In his haste to leave his house as soon as he finished breakfast, he had forgotten to wear his rain boots over his sneakers, which meant that his shoes and socks were thoroughly soaked with rainwater. It had been quite troublesome walking in water-drenched shoes the entire day and he was lucky that he at least hadn’t forgotten his raincoat or his umbrella, so the rest of him was relatively dry. The train had also been packed with dozens of people, which made standing around very uncomfortable since people’s wet bodies were pressed up against his in a stuffy environment. Not to mention, Yixing had also forgone lunch that day, since he needed to practice for his presentation, so his empty stomach growled painfully as he strode away from the train station.

But it was all over now. Just a short ten-minute walk and he’d finally be home. Yixing couldn’t wait to strip off his clothes and take a hot shower before making dinner for the evening. He was hungry and tired, and his couch at home was calling for him. The newest drama he had started last night sounded like a great way to unwind before he went to bed.

The rain hadn’t relented one bit the entire day, so there were pattering sounds of raindrops falling steadily on his white umbrella as he walked with his back slightly hunched over and his left hand jammed in his coat pocket to keep it warm. Yixing’s teeth chattered slightly, since his right hand had no such protection and had to bear the intense cold. He was careful not to bump into anyone and had moved towards the inner side of the sidewalk after narrowly escaping being drenched by a fast-moving taxi trying to parallel park; its tires had created a large wave of dirty rainwater that splashed towards him and Yixing had scooted away just in time.

The familiar neighborhood didn’t seem to appear soon enough, and he let out a sigh of relief when he turned the corner and saw the large cherry tree on his neighbor’s lawn. Sunyoung would usually be outside, tending to her flowers and pulling out any weeds that had sprung up, but it was too stormy for her to garden this afternoon. Perhaps he’d visit his neighbor later, having yet to accept her invitation to meet her friend from China who was visiting for the month. Song Qian was her name, if he remembered correctly.

However, a harsh gust of wind quickly drove that idea out of his head and Yixing desperately wanted to escape the rain before the storm grew any worse. Only a handful of houses left to pass and he’d finally be safe from this terrible weather.

As he continued walking, Yixing suddenly heard the most melodious singing amongst the loud, heavy downpour. The male voice was like a nightingale’s—granted, Yixing had never heard a nightingale sing before, but he assumed that the songbird’s voice was as lovely as this stranger’s—as it merrily belted out a pop song that Yixing recognized, having heard it play in the mall when he had gone shopping the other weekend.

Yixing slightly tilted his umbrella back so that his view wasn’t obscured and he swept his gaze around to look for the source of the beautiful voice. It only took moments for his eyes to find the singing man carelessly dancing around in the middle of the street. There was no abandoned umbrella in sight, which Yixing thought was strange, and as the rain beat down even harder, the man’s singing grew even louder.

He sang without abandon, twirling around and lightly jumping into puddles. His clothes were utterly soaked through, plastered against his skin and showing off his thin frame, but he seemed not to care. His dark hair was drenched as well and droplets of rainwater flew from the tips whenever he moved his head to the beat of the song.

This street was his stage and with the splash of every puddle the singer lightheartedly jumped into, Yixing’s admiration grew.

When the song finally ended, the man took a short breather and placed his left hand on his hip while running his right hand through his wet hair, a wide smile decorating his face. Yixing’s breath caught in his throat as he marveled over how beautiful the man looked, despite how waterlogged he was from the pouring rain.

It wasn’t long until the stranger’s gaze caught sight of Yixing’s white umbrella and he turned to look at his unexpected audience straight in the eye.

Yixing began panicking as he squirmed under the other male’s curious gaze. His brain was short-circuiting and the sound of falling rain grew into a roar with the absence of the stranger’s singing.

Without thinking, knowing only that he wanted to get to know this man who sang so marvelously, Yixing couldn’t help but blurt out, “Do you need a place to stay until the storm passes? My house is right there,” he jerked his thumb to the right where his house was, “and you can dry off inside.” When the stranger just silently looked at him, his eyes wide with surprise, Yixing added hesitantly, “I have ramyeon you can eat?”

The stranger’s eyes then crinkled into crescent moons and his thin lips stretched to reveal a brilliant, toothy smile before he brightly answered, “Sure!”

--

Yixing puttered around the kitchen as he nervously boiled enough water for two bowls of chicken ramyeon. He didn’t know what had come across him to invite the rain-soaked, singing stranger, whose name was Byun Baekhyun and who was currently showering in his guest bathroom, into his house. Even now, Yixing could hear Baekhyun singing at the top of his lungs.

But what was done was done, so he anxiously continued watching as the noodles softened in the boiling water and stirred them every couple of minutes before finally deeming them ready and turning off the stove. Yixing was so focused on dividing the pot of noodles into two portions that he hadn’t realized the sound of running water from the shower had ceased and soft, squelchy footsteps coming towards the kitchen could be heard.

“Hey.”

Yixing let out a scream as he jumped around and brandished a pair of chopsticks at the intruder.

“Whoa, hold your horses.” Baekhyun held up his hands, one of which was holding a small towel that he had been using to dry his hair, while an amused smirk decorated his face. “It’s just me. I was wondering if you had any clothes I could borrow.” He smiled guiltily as he continued, “My clothes are drenched right now, so I don’t actually have anything to wear… At least not comfortably.”

“O-oh, yeah, I can lend you some clothes.” It took Yixing a second to fully comprehend what he was asking, and then he realized that Baekhyun only had a large white towel draped over his lower body and that his upper half was completely exposed. Some stray water droplets were still dripping down his arms and his chest, and Yixing found his face flaming up as he stared at the other male’s very nice body. “I-I’ll be right back!” he squeaked before hastily dropping the chopsticks on the counter and bolting out of the kitchen towards his bedroom upstairs.

“Thanks!” Baekhyun called back, chuckling as he resumed drying his hair while sauntering to the living room couch to wait.

--

Although Yixing had been jittery and his stomach had been full of butterflies after seeing Baekhyun in the new set of clothing he had bought at the mall last weekend, the singer’s friendly disposition was able to set Yixing more at ease. He had already guessed it, but Baekhyun was weird. The other male chattered without abandon and didn’t seem to know what personal space meant as he poked around Yixing’s living room, marveling at everything he came across.

Even when he was sitting down, waiting for the hot ramyeon to cool down, Baekhyun didn’t stop commenting on just about anything. The stream of conversation considerably slowed when they finally began eating, but Baekhyun still managed to speak in between bites. Every so often, he’d also shoot a grin at Yixing, who would smile back shyly as tints of pink dotted the apples of his cheeks.

“So what do you like to do for fun?”

“I, uh, watch dramas,” Yixing answered bashfully, looking down at his ramyeon like it was the most interesting thing to exist at this moment; Baekhyun was clearly more interesting, but Yixing knew he might accidentally choke on his food if the other male sent another blindingly bright smile his way.

“Ooh, what are you watching right now? Can I watch it with you?”

Yixing made the mistake of looking at Baekhyun then and the other male, who had shifted his position on the couch until he was right next to Yixing, had the most beseeching expression on his youthful face. With the addition of the extremely close proximity, Yixing gulped loudly as he willed his heartbeat to calm down before nodding vigorously and reaching for the television remote. He navigated to the latest episode that was in the queue after his marathon the previous night and pressed Play.

His eyes shining with excitement, Baekhyun brought his knees up and moved further back into the couch seat. “Thanks for inviting me over.”

“Is there a reason you were outside even though there’s a rainstorm?”

Baekhyun just smiled as he replied, “I felt the rain calling out to me and I happened to be in the mood to answer its call.”

It was a cryptic response, but Yixing decided he wouldn’t pry. The two barely knew each other, so if Baekhyun didn’t want to divulge his reasons, Yixing would respect that. The two males watched the drama, interjecting with comments every few minutes before lapsing into silence as they grew more invested in the storyline.

About half an hour later, Yixing suddenly felt something land on his shoulder, so he angled his head down to see Baekhyun’s head resting on him. The other male’s eyes were closed and soft snores escaped his thin, pink lips. Yixing felt his cheeks burn again at the intimate position, considering he had met the guy this afternoon, but Baekhyun looked so peaceful while he slept that Yixing didn’t have the heart to move him away. Instead, he carefully reached over with his free right arm to pull a thin blanket over the sleeping male and lowered the volume of the television so as not to wake Baekhyun.

The minutes ticked by and Yixing found his eyes beginning to droop as well. Before he knew it, his own head was now leaning against Baekhyun’s and the two males slept soundly as the rain rhythmically drummed on the tile roof of Yixing’s house.

♈♈♈