pairing: BaekChen
length: 831 words

Chen felt his mouth salivating as he watched Baekhyun devour the snow crab next to him. The loud chewing noises coming from the older male made everything a hundred times worse and the youngest EXO-CBX member had to consciously gulp down the spit to avoid drooling on camera.

Curse this stupid ladder game—yet Chen conveniently forgot that the ladder game was his idea in the first place.

Even though he had been able to pull big wins so far, his luck had failed him tonight for the biggest win yet and Chen could feel his stomach rumble with disappointment as he looked down at the comparatively lackluster meal in front of him. He smacked his lips, torturing himself by imagining what the tender white meat tasted like.

As Baekhyun cracked open another crab leg and teasingly showed it to him, Chen decided to take a chance and barter for the food. But before he could make an offer, the older male faked giving the crab leg to his best friend and instead slurped down the entire cylinder of orange-white meat from the shell.

A loud, whiny hum rumbled in Chen’s throat as he watched his hopes and dreams disappear into his best friend’s mouth. Baekhyun mischievously hummed with him, which caused the youngest member to burst out into laughter at the sandy-haired male’s antics.

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t a little bit hurt by Baekhyun’s unwillingness to share, so Chen steeled his resolve and pointedly started picking at his own meal.

The older member did feel bad for his best friend and began offering—seriously, this time—another crab leg to Chen, but the other male refused to fall for this trick again. He placed his hand over Baekhyun’s, stopping the other male from handing him the crab leg, and staunchly declared that he didn’t need his best friend’s pity.

But that didn’t stop him from briefly enjoying the feel of Baekhyun’s hand under his as he tightly gripped it for a few seconds before letting go.

However, Chen’s childish anger immediately returned and he continued eating his dinner, loudly commenting on how delicious it was.

Baekhyun chuckled at how his best friend was trying to play off his blatant hunger for the snow crab. He quietly continued picking away at the shellfish, knowing that it was only a matter of minutes before Chen made another attempt at wheedling his favorite person for some food.

And, just like clockwork, the younger male’s body soon shifted towards Baekhyun as he openly stared at the crab meat, not even attempting to disguise his desire to eat. Chen’s shoulders then perked up when his best friend drew his attention to a thick piece of white meat in between the older male’s thin fingers.

But, once again, Baekhyun playfully popped it into his own mouth and the two boys hummed in unison—a sense of defeat within Chen while Baekhyun grinned at how fun it was to taunt the younger male.

Everything is fine, he chanted to himself as he listened to his best friend eat more of the snow crab.

However, the older male continued chewing loudly and kept his eyes trained on Chen, who looked up when he felt his best friend’s gaze. And when Baekhyun hummed again, the youngest member laughed again—and thoroughly enjoyed how much attention Baekhyun was lavishing on him, even though Chen really wanted a bit of that delicious snow crab.

That pearly white, soft, tender crab meat…

Chen reluctantly returned to his relatively meager, crab-less meal and began internally fantasizing how nice it would have been if the ladder game didn’t exist so that he could enjoy the tasty snow crab with Baekhyun. And with no cameras or production crew around either…

The hypothetical scenarios only depressed him even more.

Seeing his best friend deflate so much, Baekhyun decided that the time for teasing was now over before picking up a large section of meat and dropping it in Chen’s bowl.

With that small, seemingly innocuous action, the younger male’s eyes instantly sparkled as his grin widened more than it had the entire day. It was almost too good to be true. So Chen snatched up the crab meat and gulped it down, feeling an explosion of flavor erupt in his mouth. This… This was heaven.

Exclamations escaped his mouth as the savory taste lingered on his tongue and Baekhyun duly listened while cracking open another crab leg. A bubble of happiness floated inside of the older male’s chest, because ecstatic Chen was his favorite Chen.

And the worth of the shared meal was further affirmed upon hearing the younger male’s adoration-filled thanks. Baekhyun’s smile widened just as much as his best friend’s did earlier, feeling a sense of accomplishment at having been able to brighten up Chen’s otherwise arguably pitiful evening.

Another noisy hum thrummed through Chen’s throat, but this time, it was one of complete and utter satisfaction.

Baekhyun really was the best.

♈♈♈