"The sky's so nice!" Baekhyun exclaims. "Get my phone and take some pictures for me. You remember my password right?" Jongdae hums his answer and snaps photos of the sky through the passenger side's window, but the pictures don't do any justice. The phone will never be able to capture the beauty that is seen through the eye, but that doesn't hinder Baekhyun's excitement nor Jongdae's ambition. 

Baekhyun sees Jongdae rolling down the window, "Hey, you might not want to do that." Baekhyun side-eyes Jongdae, who's got his arms propped over the edge of the window. "Kim Dae, you're going to drop my phone."

"Don't worry, I got this."

Jongdae squints at the screen. With the sun on their backs and therefore, shining on the screen, it makes it difficult for him to see what he's aiming at. It would probably help if he took off his sunglasses. He pushes his glasses up on his head and instantly regrets it. He somehow loses his grip on the phone and it flies out the window.

Baekhyun steals a glance at Jongdae, horrified when he sees Jongdae in his stupor with empty hands. Baekhyun slams on the brakes, "Jongdae!"

"Baekhyun!" Jongdae screams back when he sees a car behind them through the side mirror. He shuts his eyes and embraces for impact.

Fortunately, all that happens is a honk and the other driver flipping his middle finger at them as he passes them up on the other side of the road and speeds away. Baekhyun nudges with his head, "Get out of the car and get my phone."

Jongdae obeys without protest. The phone's screen is cracked, but surprisingly, it still works. Baekhyun merely sighs as he the side of his phone. "Sorry," Jongdae mutters, "I was just trying to get a good pic of the sky."

"I wanted a new phone anyway." Baekhyun shrugs and reluctantly tosses his phone into Jongdae's lap before he resumes driving. "Now I have an excuse."

Jongdae sulks in his seat as he fiddles with the phone. He's unsure whether Baekhyun is upset or not. Jongdae couldn't understand why Baekhyun wasn't because Jongdae had ignored Baekhyun's warning and look what happened. He is at least grateful that Baekhyun isn't nagging at him or screaming, "I told you so!" because, whether Jongdae was at fault or not, triggering a pet peeve wouldn't help steer them in the right direction.

"You're unbelievable," Jongdae says. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to throw my phone out the window."

"Look on the bright side, the sky's still pretty," Baekhyun says and it's true. The sky's still blue and the clouds still puffy like cotton balls. Nothing about the sky has changed between Baekhyun's admiration of it and the time Jongdae recovered the phone. "It's just a phone, Kim Dae, and I've got insurance. It's not as if you dropped one of your rings."

They find a local gas station where they refill their tank and switch drivers. Baekhyun doesn't mind that Jongdae either goes five miles per over the speed limit or five miles under; he's not a perfect driver himself. He gets a break this way, until Jongdae gives up. Jongdae dislikes driving so it's usually Baekhyun behind the wheel, which Baekhyun finds quite amusing considering he received his driver's license two years after Jongdae. 

Baekhyun pumps gas into the car while Jongdae runs off to use the restroom. Jongdae returns shortly with bags of dried fruits and beef jerky. Laughter escapes Baekhyun's mouth before he opens it wide enough for Jongdae to pop in a piece of dried strawberry. After a second and third piece, Jongdae gets into the car, where he smiles up at Baekhyun who's busy standing by the pump.

"Why are you smiling at me?"

Jongdae's smile disappears, replaced by a pout.

"Stop making faces at me. That's not cute."

Jongdae scoffs before shutting the door. Through the small window opening, he sticks out his tongue at Baekhyun and says, "I am cute. My mom told me so. You did, too."

"I never said you weren't cute," Baekhyun winks with a smirk.

Out of boredom, Baekhyun scans his surroundings. "Hey, Kim Dae," Baekhyun says, eyeing a group of girls surrounding a two-door compact. After a "what" from Jongdae, Baekhyun says,  "Have you ever thought about how every driver on the road has a destination? Where do you think they're all headed to?"

Jongdae peeks over from where he is, wondering what Baekhyun was blabbering about. "Your guesses are as good as mine."

"I wasn't talking about them specifically," Baekhyun laughs. He looks away from the girls before he's caught and smiles at his friend, "I mean... look around us." Jongdae does just that. Other than the group of girls and themselves, there are three other vehicles -- a truck hauling a small trailer, a sedan with a bicycle rack, and a car similar to theirs, only in a newer model and in silver rather than blue. 

"Okay." Jongdae continues snacking on the food. When Baekhyun gets in the car, Jongdae asks, "Aren't you going to use the restroom?"

"I don't have to," Baekhyun says as he sanitizes his hands with some wipes.

"Just use it. We're already here."

"But I don't have to. Now start the engine."

The look of disapproval on Jongdae's face only makes Baekhyun grin. With one hand gripping his seat belt, Jongdae says, "You want to drive?"

Baekhyun sings, "No thank you, Kim Dae."

"Put on your seatbelt, punk," Jongdae orders as he buckles himself in. He relocates all the edible goodies over to Baekhyun's lap. "Do not eat them all."

"Don't worry, I won't," Baekhyun says as he opens a pack.

The fields surrounding the road are littered with white daisies and it reminds the boys of their early school years. Baekhyun's the first to speak on the matter, "Hey Kim Dae, you remember when you made me a crown of daisies in the second grade? All the boys laughed at me, but the second the girls flocked around us they all begged you to help them make more."

"I remember. I got crowned the cutest boy, which was a huge surprise."

Jongdae can recall brief glimpses of that day. He remembers crouching down alone picking up the daisies and carefully holding them as not to break or damage the petals or the stems. He just knew that Baekhyun would probably win because everyone loved Baekhyun, and because Baekhyun was going to win, Jongdae wanted to make a very special crown for Baekhyun. After he gathered the many flowers, Jongdae sat down under the shade of a tree and began weaving the stems together. He had heard buzzing nearby and when he looked up he saw sunflowers. He wasn't sure if he would get in trouble, because plucking daisies were one thing, but sunflowers...

Someone must have helped him with the sunflowers because he had two of them that he used for the winning boy and girl. He knows for certain he didn't grab them himself.

"You somehow managed to convince everyone to vote for me," Jongdae laughs. "Now I'm starting to wonder what it was you did."

"You really want to know? Now? After how many years? Watch out for those bicyclists."

"I see 'em." Jongdae slows the car and carefully passes the bicyclists. He steps hard on the gas, harder than Baekhyun had expected. Baekhyun involuntarily whimpers while his fingers tighten around his seat belt. "Sorry, too fast?" Jongdae eases his foot from the gas pedal.

The tension leaves Baekhyun's shoulders. "I told them it was your idea so you should win and you did." He tears through a new bag of beef jerky, his mouth already salivating from the smell. He's aware of Jongdae stealing glances in his direction, but doesn't offer Jongdae any. Instead, he grabs a piece and bites into it.

"Can I have some?" Jongdae finally asks.

"It's going to cost you."

"But I bought the meat."

"With my money."

Jongdae whines and hits Baekhyun with his right arm and a battle of arms and hands ensues until Baekhyun gives in because, one, he doesn't want to die, and two, he doesn't want Jongdae to die. "Say 'ahh' and I'll give you some."

"I will not," Jongdae whines and bounces in his seat.

"Then no food for you!" Baekhyun shouts and stuffs his face, exaggerating each chew and moan. He smacks his lips loudly and sighs in bliss. "You sure know how to buy your meat."

"You're such a meanie!"

"You really just call me a 'meanie'?"

"Byun Hyun!"

"Kim Dae!"

"Ahh," Jongdae says, mouth wide open. With a triumphant grin, Baekhyun sticks a piece of meat into Jongdae's mouth. 

"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it? By the way, we're camping out on the balcony tonight."

Jongdae whines again. "We're sleeping outside?"

"The heater doesn't work, it'll probably be warmer outside anyway."

Jongdae almost spat out the food. He couldn't believe Baekhyun rented a place without a working heater without telling him beforehand. "The heater doesn't work? Was that before or after we decided on the place?"

"They knocked off the rent by half, I couldn't refuse. It's summer, not like we really need it."

"Oh, nice, but why didn't you tell me? I would have brought something warmer, how am I supposed to prevent myself from freezing to death?"

"Sleeping bag," Baekhyun winks and the conversation stops there. Jongdae isn't too certain if there's more to Baekhyun's secret agenda, but he trusts Baekhyun.

Not long after, Jongdae wants to ask Baekhyun to help him with the stereo. As if Baekhyun had read Jongdae's mind, Baekhyun pushes the large, round button and turns the volume up. The only problem is that Baekhyun keeps skipping song after song. To annoy Baekhyun, Jongdae started to say "ooh" for a song he wanted. In turn, Baekhyun began to say "no" right after each of Jongdae's "ooh" before he pressed the skip button.

"The song selection !" Baekhyun takes his phone and plugs it into the speaker, hoping that the audio still works. It does. "If only I can read my screen," he mutters under his breath, but Jongdae still hears him. Baekhyun manages to find his playlist and the couple bursts into song, singing their hearts out while cruising down the road. It was enough to keep Baekhyun distracted from his bladder, because yes, he regrets not using it back at the gas station, but he can't let Jongdae know that.

Jongdae tightens his grip on the steering wheel and sits back in his seat once he spots the traffic jam up ahead. Baekhyun shoots Jongdae a glance, knowing how the latter feels about clusters of cars. Jongdae gets uptight and nervous when there's more than four other cars. One reason why Baekhyun prefers being behind the wheel, to save Jongdae the unnecessary stress.

That familiar, yet uncomfortable feeling rises in Baekhyun's lower abdomen again. Baekhyun gives in and says, "I have to urinate. When is the next rest stop?"

"About 30 miles away. Want a bottle? The bushes?"

"I can hold."

"We're stuck in traffic, Byun. Look how slow we're going, are you sure you're able to hold?"

Baekhyun groans and makes a face at Jongdae. "If I can get my mind off of it."

"Just find something to pee in."

"That's disgusting. People can see me and what if I spill? Just find a gas station or anything."

Jongdae clears his throat before singing, "Empty bottle in the backseat."

Baekhyun holds for the next hour before they arrive at a rest stop. Jongdae steps out the car and looks across the top of the vehicle at Baekhyun, "You're driving next."

"I know, I know." Baekhyun waves away Jongdae's words and hurries along to the restrooms. The first door he tries is locked, so he goes for the second. Relief washes over him, but then his face goes pale at the sight of a woman bent over at the toilet. Stunned, Baekhyun's right foot remains just centimeters above the floor. When he finally snaps out of his daze, he apologizes and bolts out, shutting the door behind him.

Jongdae notices Baekhyun's haste and the look of alarm and distress etched onto his face. Jongdae can only guess that Baekhyun had walked in on someone. He doesn't say anything about it and pretends not to notice to save Baekhyun the embarrassment. "Here are the keys. Don't--" As an afterthought, Jongdae decides to keep the keys on him and wait until they finish their business.

Jongdae just has to buy more food. They're at the rest stop and the various scents were making him drool. After using the toilet, Jongdae asked Baekhyun if he wanted anything. Baekhyun replied with a, "Surprise me," before taking the keys and heading back to the car, leaving Jongdae alone with a million options of food to choose from.

Jongdae returns to the car with three bags of food. He can hear Baekhyun calling out his name, but it doesn't register in his mind that Baekhyun's voice is a lot farther away than it's supposed to sound, not until Jongdae ducks halfway into the passenger side of the vehicle and is staring across at a pair of unfamiliar eyes.

"Oh god," Jongdae gasps. "I'm so sorry. Wrong car." He closes the door and quickly looks around for Baekhyun, who's waving through the driver's window across the parking lot, a giant grin on his face. Jongdae can feel himself burning alive as he jogs to the correct car. He slides inside with a whimper. "I almost died."

"I thought you were going to leave me," Baekhyun laughs. "I was calling out to you, but you couldn't hear me."

Jongdae sighs. "You good?"

"I've let go all of my pee and watched you embarrass yourself, I'm more than good, I'm friggin' fantastic." Because Jongdae looked so dejected, Baekhyun caresses his face and pats his head and says in the most adorable voice he can manage, "Oh, it's okay Jongdae. We all make mistakes. If it makes you feel any better, I walked in on a woman using the toilet."

Jongdae gives Baekhyun a look and all the while, Baekhyun continues his face and telling him it's okay. Secretly enjoying the attention, Jongdae waits patiently for Baekhyun to stop before revealing his purchases -- roasted sweet potatoes, cream puffs, and various corn chips. He also purchased a few different bottles of flavored milk.

Baekhyun finishes eating before Jongdae and because he wants to hurry to their destination, he proceeds toward the highway while Jongdae is still finishing up the rest of the sweet potatoes. "You're a slow eater," Baekhyun laughs, knowing well that he had started eating long before Jongdae had taken his first bite.

"I'm going to get so chubby after this," Jongdae laughs, or at least Baekhyun thinks it's a laugh. 

"More like broke." Baekhyun's eyes flit to the bags of food through the rearview mirror. "And if anyone's getting chubby, it's going to be me."

"We can be chubby together." Jongdae doesn't know why, but saying that suddenly reminds him of something. "You remember that time in the 4th grade when I had to wear glasses?"

Baekhyun laughs, short and sweet. "Yeah, I got in trouble for wearing fake glasses to school."

"Yup I remember, you were summoned to the principal's office and your mom had to come to school. I almost got in trouble, too, but it was nice of you to do that for me."

"Of course!" Baekhyun can recall the expression on his mother's face when he revealed why he was adamant about wearing his fake glasses. It was because Jongdae had felt shy and embarrassed for wearing glasses for the first time in public. So his friend wouldn't feel ashamed and alone, Baekhyun purchased a pair at the store.

Then about two years later, Baekhyun had to get braces. Jongdae, in turn, begged his parents to allow him to wear braces as well. The two friends had entered into the seventh grade wearing glasses and braces together. The bullies began calling them Glass Face, an upgrade from their other insults, but Baekhyun and Jongdae turned the situation around and made t-shirts for themselves and stickers for anyone who wore glasses or braces.

"You got braces with me afterwards," Baekhyun smiles, "but unfortunately for you, you had to experience both in reality, unlike me who only dealt with the braces. My vision was fine."

"But you still wore the glasses."

"That I did. It wouldn't be fair to you. Plus, I looked extra cute. Don't you ag-- hic!" Baekhyun groans with a hand pressed over his chest.

Jongdae laughs and can't stop because Baekhyun hiccuping is one of the cutest things in the world.

"It's not funny! Wait-- hic!-- til you get it! Then we'll-- hic!-- see who's laughing."

Sure enough like a contagion, Jongdae begins hiccuping shortly after and Baekhyun is the one who's laughing. Jongdae doesn't say anything because that's karma for him. He is wearing a frown, an adorable one according to Baekhyun. 

"Hey Kim Dae," Baekhyun hums, "did you know you're the cutest when you've got that pouty frown across your face?" Baekhyun pinches Jongdae's cheek for emphasis. "Yes, you are," Baekhyun coos, "you're so cute, Kim Dae, the cutest! Cuter than me!"

"Hic! Oh, stop it!" Jongdae shouts. He smacks Baekhyun's hand away, but fails to suppress the smile creeping onto his face. "Stop touching me and focus on the road. That's called distracted driving."

"Then stop being distracting."

"Not my fault I'm too cute for you."

Similar to how Jongdae began hiccupping shortly after Baekhyun, about twenty minutes before their estimated time of arrival, Jongdae needed to use the restroom. Baekhyun by telling him to use the bottle as Jongdae had teased Baekhyun. "It's all that milk."

"Everything comes around to bite me in the ," Jongdae says with a shake of his head. "You aren't allowed to touch my phone."

Baekhyun's right hand darts out for the phone before returning to the steering wheel. "Touch! I touched it!" Jongdae rolls his eyes.

When they arrive at their lodging, it takes Baekhyun three tries to unlock the door. Jongdae rushes past him, desperately searching through every doorway for the bathroom to relieve himself, leaving Baekhyun alone to haul everything inside. By the time Jongdae returns, Baekhyun has shut and locked the front door and all their belongings are piled by the door.

"Now we gotta eat," Baekhyun states. "Can you get the rice cooking? There should be a cooker, please tell me there's a cooker."

"Yup, I see it."

As tired as they are, they fulfill their duties and manage to clean out the cooler and restock it, shower, and set up a tent in the balcony all before the rice finished cooking.

"Today was some day," Jongdae comments while waiting for the rice cooker, "wouldn't you say so?"

Baekhyun makes a noise in his throat as he emerges through the front door with two bundles of sleeping bags. He tosses them on the floor. "Staring at the cooker won't make it work any faster. Help me, Kim Dae, help me."

Jongdae mocks Baekhyun's tone, "I will, Byun Hyun, I will."

Once the rice finishes cooking, they reheat their chicken and sit outside on the balcony to eat, along with a few bottles of soju. Baekhyun stops during his second, but Jongdae has at least four before he calls it quits.

With their bellies full and happy, they clean up and crawl into their tent. The sky is a dark shade of blue and the stars that decorate it are much brighter here than in the city. It's quiet without cars speeding down the road; no honking, no screeching, no motor sounds. No chatter from other people either. The other vacation home nearest them was off in the distance. They can see a faint glow between the trees, but it's not close enough to be a disturbance.

That night it's only Baekhyun and Jongdae.

"May the toughest man win." Baekhyun slaps Jongdae's shoulder.

"May the toughest man win," Jongdae repeats, making certain he hits Baekhyun back harder. He's not quite certain what Baekhyun is referring to, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

Baekhyun retaliates and so does Jongdae. Before they know it, they're rolling and wrestling in their tent. Then Jongdae has Baekhyun pinned against the floor.

"You still wanna fight?" Jongdae smirks. Baekhyun suddenly reaches out for Jongdae's crotch. Taken by surprise, Jongdae yelps and his instincts tell him to leap off and put distance between them. He realizes too late it would be his last mistake. Baekhyun takes the opportunity to lie on top of Jongdae. 

Jongdae can easily shove Baekhyun off; Baekhyun isn't trying, but they're both a little tired. Baekhyun rests his face against Jongdae's chest, his head rising and falling with every breath that Jongdae takes. 

"Hey Byun Hyun," Jongdae says, "today was fun. I think it was a good plan."

The vibrations as Jongdae speaks tickle Baekhyun and make him smile. "Yes, very. Glad you had fun."

"When do you plan to get off me?"

"Later." Baekhyun closes his eyes and shifts his head so he can hear Jongdae's heartbeat. 

"I just ate; I'm going to puke on you."

Baekhyun groans before pushing himself up. He was having a nice moment and Jongdae just had to ruin it. Baekhyun offers his hand out to Jongdae. "You lost."

"You cheated."

"There were no rules."

"True, but you know I would have won."

"You did," Baekhyun whispers and he isn't only referring to the fight, but Jongdae's too focused on the fight to get the hint. "It's going to get chilly tonight. Sorry, I should've mentioned about the heater. We can go inside."

"No, I'll be fine."

"Do you remember our first camping trip together? Your brother thought it would be funny to put a water snake in our tent to scare us."

Jongdae pursed his lips. "Did you put a snake in here?"

"Gross, no. We haven't camped together in awhile, since we were in middle school. We used to play cards and make our parents go on scavenger hunts we made ourselves. Or they would have hunts for us. And the mud castle."

"God, we were so dirty. Always covered in dirt and mud." Jongdae pulled out the leftover bag of dried apples and offered it to Baekhyun.

"How can you still eat?" Despite his question, Baekhyun grabs a handful.

"I found the cutest little house on the market. No offers as of this morning. We can go check it out once we get back. See if you like it or not."

Jongdae can't help but smile. He and Baekhyun have wanted to find a place together for awhile, ever since the end of high school, but because money was short, they each lived in their parents' home until they managed to make and save enough for a place to call their own.

"I'd love to. What's it like?"

"There's a small garden in the back. There's a cute trail and I was thinking we could have an arched trellis and hanging lights. We could even put a little gate there."

"For our puppy?"

"Sure," Baekhyun says, "for our future puppy. It's a two-bedroom home. That's all we need."

"One room for you, one for me, right?" Jongdae laughs. 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "Sure. I'm going to sleep now." He quickly slips into one of the sleeping bags and lies down while Jongdae struggles with the other bag.

When Jongdae sees Baekhyun's name on the sleeping bag, he tosses it over Baekhyun's face. "You're using my sleeping bag! Get out."

"But my zipper is stuck! And you didn't help me bring them in so I'm using yours."

"Then let me help you un-stuck it! I want mine."

After several moments of more struggling with the zipper, they finally manage to unjam it. Baekhyun reluctantly emerges from Jongdae's sleeping bag and uses his own. "You're welcome for pre-heating it," Baekhyun comments.

"Thank you."

As the night passes on, Jongdae starts to feel the cold creeping to his bones. He snuggles closer against Baekhyun's back for warmth. He doesn't say anything at first, but eventually he can't take it anymore. 

"It's so cold," Jongdae whines. He tries to bury himself deeper into his sleeping bag, but it makes no difference. He wiggles closer to Baekhyun, "Can we please share?" With a soft laugh, Baekhyun sits up and s his sleeping bag. Jongdae follows suit and they combine their sleeping bags together. 

Now comfortable and happily snuggled against his best friend, Jongdae says, "Byun Hyun, about your phone--"

"Aw, so that's why you're being all cute and cuddly. You're just trying to butter me up."

"Is it working?"

"If me asking you only pay half counts as working."

Jongdae chuckles against Baekhyun's shoulder. It worked, but Baekhyun's always like that; it's no surprise.

"Jongdae."

Hearing his name almost always sends alarms blaring into his ears. The two rarely ever called themselves by their first names when they were alone together. That would make it the second time that day. "What?"

"You're a sunflower in a field of daisies," Baekhyun whispers. "Sunflowers face the sun, you know."

The only word that comes out of Jongdae's mouth is, "Okay." It hits him a second later. "So you're saying you're the sun? While I'm just a teeny tiny flower?"

"Shut up, I'm trying to be romantic. And sunflowers can be huge okay."

"Can a sunflower grow by itself with a bunch of daisies?"

"In my world, yes."

"I like your world."

"Well, you're kind of my world, so..."

"Aww, stop it, you're making me blush."

"I'm sure that's the alcohol adding color to your cheeks."

"I'm sure it's the heat from your back." Jongdae pokes Baekhyun and traces a flower with his finger.

Baekhyun fails to remain still because it tickles. A lot. Realizing the situation, Jongdae entraps Baekhyun's legs and starts to tickle Baekhyun's sides. Baekhyun's laugh is by far one of Jongdae's favorite sounds in the world. He actually uses a recording of Baekhyun's laugh for text notifications. In return, Baekhyun made Jongdae say his famous "Aw wae!" and set it as his notification. He'd have to that all over again once he receives a new phone.

"I give up!" Baekhyun screams and Jongdae releases him.

"Can we go over tomorrow's schedule?"

"We'll go over tomorrow's schedule tomorrow. Go to sleep now, Kim Dae."

"But I'm not tired," Jongdae whines. "Let's play a game."

"All right," Baekhyun sighs, "we can play the sleeping game. Whoever falls asleep first, wins."

"Fine," Jongdae huffs before shifting around and rolling onto his other side, his back pressed against Baekhyun's.

Jongdae ends up being the first to fall asleep and Baekhyun finds it most endearing. He can't wait until they begin sleeping in their own bed every night in their own place. As quietly as he can, though he's sure Jongdae's deep asleep, Baekhyun s his backpack and pulls out a small box. He opens it, just to make sure the ring is still there.

Tomorrow morning, Baekhyun has planned. He's thought of many different ways to propose and decides it will be fitting to propose at dawn before the sun rises, so that after Jongdae says yes, oh how he wishes and hopes Jongdae says yes, they can watch the sunrise together.

The next morning, Jongdae sees the box while searching for Baekhyun's phone charger and panics, thinking it's his and that he's lost the element of surprise, but then he finds his ring in his hiding spot when attempting to hide the one he found in Baekhyun's backpack. Baekhyun returns to the tent to a hysterical Jongdae, tears streaming down the latter's face. The two had purchased the same exact engagement rings.

Although they've both been made, they stick to Baekhyun's plan because honestly, Jongdae wasn't sure when he would pop the question. Jongdae's fine without the formalities of asking because it's obvious what the answers will be, but Baekhyun still wants to, so before the sun rises, Baekhyun takes Jongdae's hand and asks him, "Kim Jongdae, will you marry me?"

Jongdae smiles, "Yes, I will."