“One dance?”

“One dance.”

 

---

 

“Dance with me.”

Chanyeol looks up from the game on his phone, frowning at the brunet currently staring down at him with an intense look in his eyes. ”I'm sorry, what?”

The brunet sighs and rolls his eyes but repeats himself anyway. “I said dance with m-”

“I heard you the first time,” Chanyeol says, cutting the brunet off.

“Okay, so dance with me,” Baekhyun replies, cocking an eyebrow at the senior.

“Baekhyun-” Chanyeol begins, a threatening note in his tone. 

“It's just one dance, Park, just one little dance. Why are you so scared?” Baekhyun asks, an exasperated tone in his voice.

“I'm not scared!” Chanyeol replies indiginantly, before calming himself down and releasing a long sigh. “Look, I have things to do-” 

“Just one dance, and I promise I'll leave you alone after that,” Baekhyun suddenly says, and Chanyeol falls silent, studying the younger boy's features.

“One dance?” 

“One dance.” 

Chanyeol sighs and stands up, pocketing his phone and his earphones. He thinks that he might as well do this, seeing that he's all alone and dateless on the night of senior prom, courtesy of Kim Jongin stealing his supposed date away from him. Not that he minds, Kyungsoo is really nice, but Chanyeol couldn't help but feel so cautious around the younger doe-eyed boy who can be such a softie one moment and a knife-wielding monster the next (this is not an exaggeration, Chanyeol really did see Kyungsoo wielding a butcher's knife in cooking class when the school's bully pissed him off). 

Also, Byun Baekhyun had been bothering him ever since the last two years, and if this dance is all he needs to stop bothering him for the night, then who was he to turn down his offer? He wouldn't be the weird loner at prom and he gets to play games in peace.

“So, why the sudden offer, Byun?” Chanyeol mutters, placing his hands on Baekhyun’s hips awkwardly when they get to the middle of the dance floor.

“Making small talk, aren't we?” Baekhyun chides, placing his arms on top of Chanyeol's shoulders and interlacing them behind his nape. Chanyeol rolls his eyes. 

“If I'm going to spend one dance with you I might as well make it the least bit enjoyable for me,” Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun chuckles.

“Of course you’re going to have a great time with me, I’m Byun Baekhyun,” Baekhyun says, as if that in itself is enough to clarify everything. 

“Alright, whatever you say Mr. Byun,” Chanyeol shrugs. 

They were both quiet for a while, moving to and fro as slow music plays from the speakers placed around the gym. It isn't as awkward as Chanyeol thinks it would be, but the close proximity of him and Baekhyun is suddenly overwhelming. And to top it off, the brunet looks like he's in another world as he dances with Chanyeol, with his eyes glazed over and his whole face having the look of absentmindedness. 

“Look, I know I'm not the best dancer but you could at least act like you're enjoying this,” Chanyeol muses, cutting off Baekhyun's train of thought. The brunet whips up his head to look at him, an alarmed look in his eyes. 

“Oh, no, it's not like that!” he says, brows furrowing and his lips forming a small pout, “I was just... thinking.”  

“Yeah, obviously,” Chanyeol mutters, chuckling softly at the small pout on the brunet's lips. 

“I'm sorry, I know I'm not the best dance partner for tonight,” Baekhyun sighs, “I don't mean to be such a downer but some things are just too distracting.” 

Chanyeol raises an eyebrow at this. “What things?” he asks.  

“Well, um, my Dad is going to be transferred to another branch again,” Baekhyun mumbles, “so we’re gonna have to move as soon as possible.”

Chanyeol stays silent, studying the brunet as he keeps his eyes trained on the floor. He doesn't really know how to feel about this. Baekhyun, after all, had been something of a constant figure in his life for the past two years. He doesn’t know why he suddenly feels so hollow.

“That ,” he finally says after a while, and Baekhyun looks up at him, a questioning look in his eyes, “I mean, you having to leave , since you're gonna have to leave your friends and all.” 

“Hm, yeah,” Baekhyun nods, but a smile suddenly takes over his features, “but let's not talk about such depressing things. It's prom night! We're supposed to enjoy and have fun.” 

“Yeah, we are, but I’m not sure how that’s possible when I’m here with you,” Chanyeol teases, making an equal effort to lighten up the mood and to throw out the fact that Baekhyun is leaving out from his mind. Baekhyun chuckles and hits him playfully on the shoulder.

“Shut up, I bet you half of this room wants to have a dance with me,” Baekhyun smirks, and Chanyeol rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah yeah, we get it Mr. Popular,” Chanyeol sighs teasingly, “I'm sorry but not all of us here can be as perfect as you.” 

“Apology accepted, dear sir,” Baekhyun says, throwing in a flirtatious wink. Chanyeol pretends to groan in disgust but Baekhyun only laughs at him.

Chanyeol knows that most of the guys in the gym right now are giving him the stink eye for getting the chance to dance with the Byun Baekhyun. A few of them, mainly his friends, were giving him congratulatory and amused looks (thanks, Jongdae).

He can’t blame them really. Baekhyun did look stunning tonight. His brown hair is parted to the side, each part curling slightly at the end. His eyeliner gave his normally puppy-like eyes a more mature look to them, and he doesn’t even want to get started on how Baekhyun’s body looks in the flattering suit he’s wearing.

Chanyeol had said it as a joke, but Baekhyun is indeed quite popular. Ever since the brunet came to their school last year as a transfer he had gotten confessions and requests for dates left and right, but he had never accepted any single one of them. And Park Chanyeol doesn't know what the boy's mother puts into his food, but it mustn't be a very healthy ingredient seeing that Baekhyun might possibly be off his rocker for turning down every confession all because of him.  

He doesn't know what he did, but Byun Baekhyun, famous flower boy of their school, is head over heels for him, and there is no getting out of it, because as most people say, what a Byun wants, a Byun gets.

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun looks up at the tall giant currently studying his features, noting with a sad sigh that this is probably going to be their first and last dance. What a sad end to their (one-sided) love story. 

It also hurts even more seeing how perfect Chanyeol looks tonight. He hadn’t went through the troubles of trying to straighten his hair or even make it stay in place using wax like most guys did, he had his fluffy black hair the same as it is on any usual day. He chose black contacts over glasses today, and Baekhyun’s heart had skipped a few beats when he first saw him tonight without glasses. His suit was pressed perfectly, clinging to his bow legs and emphasizing his height even more. Also, he had his rolex watch around his wrist, and Byun Baekhyun had a huge thing for Park Chanyeol wearing watches.

The hands on his hips seem to burn through the layers of Baekhyun’s clothes, and he couldn’t help but sigh as they move to and fro.

He shakes his head and clears his throat, he shouldn’t waste this time daydreaming over Chanyeol and being such a bore.

“Hey, do you still remember how we first met?” he suddenly asks, throwing a cheerful grin at the giant who his head to the side and nods. 

“How could I forget? You literally went up to me, kissed my cheek, and said 'you're mine',” Chanyeol mumbles, shaking his head at the memory, “did you know how startled I was?” 

“How could I not know? You were so bug eyed, it's like you traded eyes with Kyungsoo or something,” Baekhyun teases. 

“Hey, that's no way to talk to your senior at all!” Chanyeol mutters. Baekhyun's heart does flip flops at the sight of the small pout on the giant's face. He swears this giant can be the biggest baby sometimes. 

“Well, you're not my senior,” Baekhyun grins, cocking his head to the side, “you're my boyfriend!” 

“Ugh,” Chanyeol groans, “I swear, you're the reason I spent the last two years single. You keep telling people that!” 

“Uh huh, and you never told me to stop saying it,” Baekhyun teases, although he knows it's because the giant can be too kind sometimes and he had clearly taken advantage of it, it doesn't hurt to tease the giant a bit, and it's worth it when he sees the pink rising to Chanyeol's cheeks. 

“Well... It is a bit handy since I got rid of unwanted people,” Chanyeol muses. “Remember Kris? You know, the Falcon's basketball team captain?”

“Oh yeah, the one they call dragon!” Baekhyun says, “he's the guy who wouldn't leave you alone right?” 

“Yeah, like you, but much, much taller,” Chanyeol teases, and Baekhyun pouts.

“I was not like him at all! I’m definitely cuter,” Baekhyun mutters, “and hotter.”

“Whatever you say, Mr. Stalker,” Chanyeol coos. Baekhyun hits him again on the shoulder playfully.

“Oh shut up, you liked the attention, you pretentious man,” Baekhyun accuses.

“Please, I couldn’t wait to get home just to get rid of you,” Chanyeol mutters, and although the mood is light and joking, Baekhyun’s smile still falls.

Stupid, stupid heart.

“Hey… You know that was a joke right?” Chanyeol says again after a few beats of silence, a worried frown creasing his eyebrows. Baekhyun curses his heart for forgiving Chanyeol immediately after seeing him look like this.

“’Course I do, are you worried about hurting me, boyfriend?” Baekhyun teases. Chanyeol only chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.

Baekhyun watches him in silence for a while, letting the slow song wash over them. It’s coming to a stop, Baekhyun realizes sadly. It’s been nice, playing in this fantasy world for a while, but he has to come back to reality one way or another. He wonders if he can ever call the giant as his boyfriend for serious.

Probably not, since he’s going to move to another country soon enough.

“Well, it’s been great dancing with you, Mr. Park—” Baekhyun begins, just as the song slowly comes to an end, but Chanyeol cuts him off.

“Would you like to get some drinks with me?” the giant suddenly blurts out, looking every bit like he hadn’t meant to say the words that had slipped out of his mouth right after.

“Huh?” Baekhyun blinks.

Chanyeol clears his throat awkwardly. “Um, drinks, you know, with me… I figured since you’re going away soon this can be my going away gift… or something.”

Baekhyun blinks again, and a smile overtakes his features while the whole zoo takes over his stomach. “Ah, playing the sweet boyfriend aren’t we? Alright, let’s get some drinks, my dear boyfriend!”

Baekhyun leads Chanyeol around the throes of bodies slow dancing to some other romantic song resonating from the speakers, taking advantage of the gesture to wrap his hand around the giant’s and to interlace his fingers with him. Call it taking advantage, call it whatever you want, but Chanyeol is definitely his for the night; he might as well live it up for as long as it lasts.

If Baekhyun had been paying less attention to his thudding heart, he might have felt how sweaty Chanyeol’s palms are against his.

Red cups are littered all over the long table situated at the side of the gym. Aside from the two of them there are also a few other people getting drinks, but none of them stayed for long, leaving the two of them alone as they take cups of their own and venture to the big bowl containing the punch.

“I heard some seniors spiked this,” Baekhyun mumbles, looking at the red, frothing drink cautiously.

“What, little Baekkie can’t hold his alcohol yet?” Chanyeol mumbles teasingly from his side, taking the ladle and adding a generous amount to the cup in his hands.

“What are you talking about, my friends don’t call me ‘Drunken Master’ for nothing,” Baekhyun replies, ing his chin out in defiance.

“I see. Alright then, Drunken Master,” Chanyeol smirks, cocking an eyebrow at the brunet and holding out the red cup for him to take, “have a drink.”

Baekhyun blinks, gulping at the sight of the red cup in his line of vision. He bites his lip, looking at the cup then to Chanyeol and back again. Damn his heart for letting him do this.

He steels his resolve as he takes the cup and gingerly takes a sip from it. He closes his eyes and waits for the bitterness to settle in his tongue as most people had described it, but the drink is surprisingly sweet and hugely similar to the four seasons flavored juice his Mother would buy from the grocery sometimes.

“Hm,” Baekhyun muses, opening his eyes and smacking his lips together, “that wasn’t so bad.”

Chanyeol suddenly explodes in laughter, clutching his stomach as he laughs heartily and even slaps the table a few times. A few people nearby the table give them weird looks, but Baekhyun pays them no mind as he stares in bewilderment at the giant with his twitching right eye and frenzied laughter.

“What…” Baekhyun mutters, “if I’d known me drinking alcohol was so amusing to you I should’ve tried it a long time ago-”

“You idiot,” Chanyeol finally says after he has calmed down, wiping tears of laughter away from his eyes. “What kind of a boyfriend am I if I let my illegal boyfriend drink something spiked?”  

Chanyeol is still chuckling when he takes another red cup to pour some of the drink for himself, but Baekhyun pays him no mind. Both his heart and stomach are doing somersaults and it’s all the giant’s fault.

Damn it Chanyeol, you were supposed to be an about all of this and I was going to move on and forget all about you after tonight. Why the heck do you have to be so perfect?

He knows Chanyeol is just being his usual kind, caring self, and how he treats Baekhyun tonight is probably no different from how he treats all of his other friends, but Baekhyun still can’t stop the grin forming in  his lips and the warmth settling in his heart.

He sighs. He thought he was going to walk away from prom with his heart settled but now Chanyeol is giving him reason to hope again.

The truth is, Chanyeol had always been like this to Baekhyun, even if he turns down each and every one of Baekhyun’s advances, he had always looked out for the younger, always made sure he was okay, and that was why Baekhyun kept coming back to him no matter how much his mind tries to convince him that the obviously better choice would be to move on.

Chanyeol probably thinks of him as a younger brother of some sort, and Baekhyun just doesn’t know how to move up from that zone. Not that he’s getting any more chances to.

He doesn’t know why he had been so smitten with Chanyeol the first time he saw him. Perhaps it was Chanyeol’s ridiculously good looks, the way he held himself, or the way he smiled and laughed genuinely with his friends.

Chanyeol had been wearing a black varsity jacket and round glasses on top of his nose that day. His fluffy black hair was bouncing a little as he ran to catch up with his friends who took his phone from him, and although he was threatening them there was just something in his eyes that told Baekhyun all of it were empty threats.

Most people told Baekhyun that compared to him, Chanyeol is nothing special, but Baekhyun had always known they were all wrong.

Everyone had treated Baekhyun like a prince his whole life because of his status in life and his parents, but Chanyeol treats him like how he would treat any other person, and it is definitely a breath of fresh air for him. 

With Chanyeol, social hierarchy meant absolutely nothing. He looks at everyone the same exact way, and that is both what is most perfect and most infuriating about him.

Baekhyun is snapped out from his thoughts when he suddenly sees Seohyun, a girl from Chanyeol’s class, approaching him with a predatory gleam in her eyes.

Oh hell no.

 

 

 

 

“Yeol-ah!”

Chanyeol looks up from his drink when he feels a slender hand on his shoulder. He turns to smile at Seohyun.

“Seohyun, you look good tonight,” he compliments, and he did mean it. Seohyun looks ravishing with her off shoulder, floor length, black gown and her hair tied up with a few curls falling over her face.

Seohyun giggles, taking her hand from Chanyeol’s shoulder to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Oh, you flatter me too much,” she says, and cranes her neck to look around for someone, “so, uh, who’s your lucky date for the night?”

“Ah, I don’t have-” Chanyeol begins, but Baekhyun is suddenly by his side and hooking an arm around his elbow.

“He doesn’t have time to chat since we’re going out to get some fresh air,” Baekhyun grins cheerily, and even when Chanyeol can’t see him he definitely knows the smile is plastic. “Isn’t that right, Yeollie?”

“H-huh?” Chanyeol mutters, Baekhyun nudges his side gently in warning and he clears his throat, turning to face Seohyun again with an apologetic smile on his face. “Uh yeah, I’d love to stick around and chat but um, Baekkie here needs some fresh air since he’s been feeling a little bit claustrophobic and all…”

“Oh, is that so?” Seohyun says, her voice taking on a steely note. “You take such good care of Baekkie here; he’s just like a little brother to you, isn’t he?”

Chanyeol can feel Baekhyun stiffening up beside him but he doesn’t say anything as he smiles in reply and tugs on Baekhyun’s hand to lead him outside and into the football field, not minding the wet grass.

The cold air is refreshing, and Chanyeol is suddenly glad they had gone outside and he had the chance to escape the stuffy air inside the gym.

“So… Yeollie, huh?” Chanyeol mutters teasingly, nudging Baekhyun’s shoulder with his as he tries to break the ice that had suddenly surrounded them.

The corner of Baekhyun’s lips turns up ever so slightly and he lets out a small hum of acknowledgement as he walks, but that’s it. He doesn’t nudge Chanyeol’s shoulder back or for it.

Chanyeol stops in his tracks but Baekhyun doesn’t seem to notice. The brunet keeps on taking small steps away from him, and Chanyeol doesn’t know why but it just doesn’t sit right with him.

The sight of Baekhyun’s small figure walking away from him slowly doesn’t sit right with him.

“Did I say something wrong?” he suddenly blurts out. Baekhyun stops in his tracks, but doesn’t turn around to face him.

“You called me Baekkie,” he muses, and there’s something different in his voice that Chanyeol can’t quite place.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Chanyeol replies, “do you not like me using the nickname?”

“A nickname, huh. For a younger brother, I suppose?” Baekhyun asks, and this time Chanyeol knows there really is something wrong with how cold Baekhyun’s voice is and how tense his shoulders are.

“Baekhyun, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol mutters cautiously, taking slow steps until he’s right behind the brunet.

Baekhyun slowly turns to face him, and Chanyeol’s heart clenches at the sight of unshed tears shining in the brunet’s eyes.

“Baek…” Chanyeol mutters, and he doesn’t know why but he wants so badly to take the brunet in his arms and hold him until he feels better, but his feet seem to be nailed to the ground, rendering him incapable of doing anything.

“Am I, Chanyeol?” he asks, fists clenching at his sides as he stares up at Chanyeol with so much sadness in his eyes that Chanyeol feels his insides churning. “Am I a little brother to you? Should I… Should I call you hyung? Or perhaps, sunbae?”

A mirthless chuckle makes its way out from Baekhyun’s lips, and Chanyeol feels his heart clench again as he sees tears make their way out from the brunet’s eyes and onto his cheeks, sliding down to reach his chin, but before they could, Chanyeol is cupping Baekhyun’s cheek and wiping the treacherous tears away.

“I’ve never thought of you as a little brother, Baek,” Chanyeol confesses, concentrating on wiping each and every tear coming from the brunet’s eyes.

“Then what am I, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun hiccups, grabbing Chanyeol’s hand to stop him from wiping away his tears, “what the heck am I to you?” 

Chanyeol turns his eyes to the warm hand holding him and then to Baekhyun’s sad eyes. He smiles weakly. “You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

Baekhyun chuckles without any humor again. He clutches Chanyeol’s hand tight before dropping it and taking a step away from him.

“Please stop,” he whispers, so quietly that had it not been so silent in the football field Chanyeol wouldn’t have heard him. “Stop doing this to me.”

“Stop doing what?” Chanyeol whispers, taking a step closer to Baekhyun but the brunet backs away in response, eyes trained firmly on his shoes.

“This,” Baekhyun says, a desperate tone in his voice as he looks up with a pleading glance. “Stop being like this to me, please.”

“Stop being like what?” Chanyeol asks, his fists clenching at his sides.

“Like you can actually like me back,” Baekhyun whispers, looking down at his shoes again, “like you actually care for me more than you would for any other friend you have. Like I actually have a chance. Please stop making me feel like this, because I don’t want to keep hoping for something impossible anymore. It would be a whole lot easier if you can just reject me, if you can just throw me away like I’m nothing and be done with everything, it would be a whole lot easier if you’re an , Yeol, but you’re too perfect to be like that aren’t you?” Baekhyun sniffles, his own hands coming up to wipe away his tears.

“I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t be burdening you with this. Just,” Baekhyun sighs and wipes away the last of his tears (thank God for water proof eyeliner) as he turns his head up to face the giant with a decent enough smile on his face, “just go back inside, Park. I’ll be fine. I just need to get more of this fresh air, it’s awfully stuffy inside, don’t you think?”

“Baek…” Chanyeol mutters, reaching out a hand to the brunet, but Baekhyun only shakes his head as he steps away, smiling sadly at the giant, and Chanyeol doesn’t know why but he feels like he’s losing something huge when Baekhyun steps away.

“Why me?” Chanyeol suddenly asks, after a long pause with nothing but silence around them. Baekhyun looks up, confusion in his eyes, and Chanyeol opens his mouth to speak again but Baekhyun beats him to it.

“Why are you suddenly asking this?”

“I asked first.”

“Touché,” Baekhyun mutters. He sighs, turning around and walking towards the bleachers to take a seat. Chanyeol follows suit. “I don’t know, to be honest. I like a lot of things about you, but none of those are the reason why I like you. I guess I just really, really like you.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that right?” Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun lets out a breathy laugh.

“Wow, add more insult to the injury, why don’t you?” Baekhyun chides, crossing his ankles and nudging Chanyeol’s shoulder slightly.

“Nah, I guess I know why you fell, I mean, with this face, it’d just be impossible not to,” Chanyeol grins teasingly. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and turns his head up to watch the sky, even though being in the center of a bustling city; there are no stars visible at all.

Suddenly, Chanyeol stands up and offers his hand out to Baekhyun. Baekhyun looks at it curiously before looking back at the giant.

“What’s this about?” Baekhyun mutters.

“Dance with me,” Chanyeol grins.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and chuckles. “I’m sorry, what?” he asks, repeating Chanyeol’s lines from earlier.

Chanyeol lets out a small laugh at this and imitates the brunet rolling his eyes. “I said dance with me.”

“I heard you the first time,” Baekhyun grins teasingly.

“So dance with me,” Chanyeol mutters, all of the teasing gone in his voice and his grin mellowing down into a soft smile as he stares down at the younger.

“One dance?” Baekhyun asks, his voice a mere whisper.

“One dance,” Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun slowly takes his hand and stands up just as a new song resonates through the speakers.

He guides Baekhyun’s hands up to his shoulders before wrapping his own arms around the brunet’s waist, pulling him much closer than they were before, Baekhyun’s forehead leaning on his chest as they slow dance in an empty football field.

“Hey Baek?” Chanyeol asks after a few seconds of silence.

“Yeah?” Baekhyun replies, tearing himself away from Chanyeol’s chest to look up at him.

“You’re right, everything would be a whole lot easier if I pushed you away,” Chanyeol mumbles.

“Oh,” Baekhyun mumbles, looking down at his feet, but Chanyeol brings up a hand to tip the brunet’s chin up to face him.

“But I can’t. No matter how hard I try, I can’t. Even when I tell myself that I should avoid you for your own good, I can’t. I try, sometimes, but I don’t know why I keep gravitating back to you,” Chanyeol says, letting his hand drop and encircle Baekhyun’s waist again, “a-and sometimes, I don’t know if it’s that I can’t, or if it’s that I won’t.”

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun feels his heart racing, and he doesn’t care whether Chanyeol hears it or not, or if it’s about to leap out of his chest. All he cares about right now is how sincere Chanyeol’s eyes look, and how he can feel Chanyeol’s heart beating just as hard as his own heart.

“What are you saying?” Baekhyun mutters, eyes searching Chanyeol’s for any hint of Chanyeol joking or teasing him, but there is none of that at all.

Both of them have stopped moving, instead, they are both standing still and staring at each other and Baekhyun has never felt so vulnerable before.

“I’m saying… That I can’t stay away from you,” Chanyeol finally says, “and I don’t know why that is.”

Baekhyun stares at him quietly for a while, before a smile slowly lights up his face. “Alright, well then, you better figure it out soon, Park. I can’t wait forever, you know?”

Chanyeol blinks and nods slowly, smiling back at the younger and before any one of them could say anything else, the clock strikes 12 and the bell inside the tallest tower in their school is suddenly ringing, filling the football field air with the loudness of it.

Baekhyun chuckles and drops his hands from Chanyeol’s shoulders, taking the giant’s hand and tugging on it.

“Come on, let’s get inside, it’s 12! They’re going to start some really good music now,” he yells over the bell, almost tripping in his haste to get back inside the gym. He can hear Chanyeol laughing in amusement behind him and it draws out a small laugh from his own lips, even when he can feel his heart slowly breaking, piece by piece.

As they enter, they are greeted by loud music and throes of bodies gyrating against each other, and as they make their way through it, Baekhyun slowly, deliberately, loosens his hold on the giant, and before Chanyeol could tighten his hold, Baekhyun is gone, lost among the hundreds of bodies dancing to the loud music blaring from the speakers.

It’s better this way.

 

 

 

 

“Jongdae!” Chanyeol yells over the loud music, sighing in relief as he manages to spot at least one of his friends.

“Chanyeol, my old friend!” Jongdae yells back, grinning at him while holding something in his hand and suspiciously looking like he had poured it on the bowl of punch. He’s beside the table where he and Baekhyun had taken drinks from earlier, and Chanyeol suppresses a smile at the memory of Baekhyun looking so furtive about drinking alcohol.

“Don’t tell me you ing spiked the drinks?” Chanyeol yells, laughing in amusement.

Jongdae only winks as he throws an arm around his shoulders. “My lips are sealed, man!” he yells into Chanyeol’s ear, “by the way, where’s your y brunet of a boyfriend?”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes at the term but doesn’t make any effort to correct it. He had long stopped doing so.

“I don’t know, I lost him earlier! I was hoping that you’ve seen him around!”

“Nah, m’sorry man, I dun’ even recognize my date’s face anymore!” Jongdae slurs.

“Alright, I think you’ve had one too many drinks, Dae,” Chanyeol muses, taking the red cup from his friend’s hand and putting it down on the table.

“Chanyeol!” someone calls out, and Chanyeol turns to see Jongin with his date making their way towards him.

“I see you turned down Byun again huh?” Jongin yells when they’re close enough. Chanyeol frowns.

“What do you mean?” he asks, nervousness creeping in his heart.

“He’s going home already! We saw him leaving the gym earlier and saying goodbye to his friends!” Kyungsoo answers. Chanyeol blinks in shock.

“B-but, he didn’t even say goodbye yet-”

“Well, um, my Dad is going to be transferred to another branch again,” Baekhyun mumbles, “so we’re gonna have to move as soon as possible.”

“Oh no, oh heck no,” Chanyeol mutters. He pushes Jongdae off of him and into Jongin’s arms. “Here, take Jongdae; I need to take care of something!”

He rushes outside, shouldering bodies out of his way and not even bothering to mutter half-hearted apologies as he pushes his way out of the gym and to the courtyard. The air outside is suddenly not as fresh as it was when it was him and Baekhyun outside, instead, it is bitingly cold but he ignores it, along with the painful clenching of his chest as he runs to the school gates, looking left and right for the brunet.

When he reaches the school gates, he spots a certain brunet about to open a car door and get inside, but before he could, Chanyeol is already yelling his name, making him turn around in surprise.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaims in response, and in a flash, Chanyeol is right in front of him, clutching at his chest as he tries to catch his breath. “Why the heck did you run? You ! Where’s your inhaler?”

Baekhyun doesn’t wait for his response and instead fishes out his inhaler from Chanyeol’s pocket, bringing it up to his lips. Chanyeol takes it from him with a grateful smile before taking in long breaths from it, trying to steady his breathing.

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, and Chanyeol nods as he finally manages to catch his breath. Baekhyun suddenly hits Chanyeol’s chest, harder than he had before. “You idiot! You have ing asthma, or did you forget that while you were trying to be ing Flash?”

Chanyeol massages his chest, ignoring the pain from Baekhyun’s fist as he smiles at the brunet.

“I…I thought I lost you already,” Chanyeol mumbles, clutching his inhaler tightly, “I thought, I thought I would never catch up to you and I would never see you again.”

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun mutters, gazing at him sadly, “I have to go. Our flight is 3:30 am—”

“I like you,” Chanyeol blurts out. Baekhyun stops, blinking at him in shock.

“W-what did you say?”

“I like you, Byun Baekhyun, and not just as a little brother, or a friend, I like you,” Chanyeol mutters, letting out a bright smile as he stares at the brunet’s surprised face, “it took me some time, but I finally figured it out. I’m sorry for taking so long, but I like you.”

“Yeol…” Baekhyun mumbles, but before he could say anything else, Chanyeol is already wrapping his arms around him, and then the tears just kept coming, until he’s all out sobbing into Chanyeol’s chest and most definitely ruining his suit by creating a wet blotch on it, but Chanyeol didn’t seem to care, if the way he clung on to Baekhyun even tighter is any indication.

“Yeol I-I’m going to have to leave you,” Baekhyun mutters, hiccupping softly as he looks up at the giant and tightens his hold around Chanyeol’s shoulders. “I’m not just going to be in another city here, I’m going to be in America, and I don’t know for how long, or when I’m ever going to get the chance to come back here.”

Chanyeol shakes his head and leans his forehead against the brunet’s, tracing small circles on the small of Baekhyun’s back.

“You’re not leaving me, Baek, you’re just going away for a while, but you’ll still have me, and I’ll still have you, right?” Chanyeol mutters, tightening his hold around Baekhyun. “There’s skype and our phones, we can figure this out, Baek.”

Baekhyun stays silent for a while, until Chanyeol opens his mouth to speak, and Baekhyun doesn’t know if he wants to cry or laugh at the next words that came out of his mouth.

“Be my boyfriend, Baek,” Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun can feel his heart drop to his feet as he untangles his arms around Chanyeol and steps away from him.

“Yeol, I… I can’t, you’ll only be hurting yourself by being in a long distance relationship,” Baekhyun begins, but Chanyeol only shakes his head and reaches out to hold Baekhyun’s hand in his.

“I’ll be hurting myself more if I don’t take this risk. Please, be mine, Baek,” Chanyeol whispers, and how can Baekhyun even stand a chance against that?

Baekhyun finally nods, slowly, and then eagerly, until Chanyeol is grinning at him and is taking him up in his arms, swinging him around. Baekhyun laughs in delight, placing his arms on top of Chanyeol’s shoulders as the giant slowly lowers him.

“You idiot, you shouldn’t have carried me like that,” Baekhyun mumbles as his feet finally reach the ground.

“You shouldn’t have made me fall for you so hard,” Chanyeol retaliates, and takes delight in the red rising to Baekhyun’s cheeks.

“Shut up, you,” he mutters, hitting Chanyeol’s chest playfully as he feels his heart doing somersaults around in his chest.

“We’re going to figure this out, Baek, I promise,” Chanyeol mutters, sincerity ringing in his tone.

Baekhyun nods and smiles. “I know, I trust you,” he says, bringing up a hand to cup the giant’s cheek, “wait for me to come back, boyfriend.”

“I will,” Chanyeol smiles, and Baekhyun looks at his face as if he’s trying to commit it to memory, before smiling one last time and turning to get into the car, but before he could, a hand clasps around his wrist.

“Chanyeol, what-” Baekhyun blinks, looking down at the hand clamped around his wrist.

“You can’t just leave your boyfriend without a goodbye kiss, Baek, that’s just rude,” Chanyeol grins. Baekhyun gulps, despite how forward he is, he had never even kissed anyone in his life before.

“O-okay,” he mutters, and leaves a quick peck on Chanyeol’s cheek then turns to the car again, but Chanyeol turns him around again and suddenly, Chanyeol’s lips were on his, warm and plush and inviting, and Baekhyun is melting, holding on to Chanyeol as the giant kisses him softly.

They part slowly, both of them breathing hardly and Baekhyun blushing madly.

“That, is how you kiss,” Chanyeol smirks. His smirk slowly turns into a smile as he caresses Baekhyun’s cheek and pushing away stray strands of his hair away from his face. “Call me when you get home, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Baekhyun smiles, still a bit breathless because of the kiss.

“Call me when you get to the airport, and when you land, and when you get to your house there—”

 “It hasn’t even been a whole hour yet and you’re already being a protective boyfriend,” Baekhyun chuckles, cutting the giant’s nagging off.

“What are you talking about? You’ve been my boyfriend the moment you called me yours,” Chanyeol says innocently, and Baekhyun can feel his face heating up again as he swats at the giant’s chest.

“Shut up! Ugh, okay, I really have to go now,” Baekhyun mumbles, getting inside the car and rolling down the window.

“Bye, boyfriend,” Chanyeol mumbles, holding his hand up to wave lazily.

“Bye,” Baekhyun says with a smile, and the car slowly takes off, but before Baekhyun can fully close the window, he hears Chanyeol’s voice calling out something.

“What?” he yells out, sticking his head out of the window.

Chanyeol grins and cups his hands around his mouth as he yells, “I said, ‘you’re mine!’”

 

 

 

 

⇔ Five years later ⇔

 

Baekhyun steps inside the campus, weaving his way through bodies clothed in black garment as he makes his way to the courtyard where the event is going to take place.

The courtyard is packed to the brim with students and their families, some of them were wandering around and some were taking pictures, but Baekhyun pays them no mind as he searches for a certain giant.

“Baekhyun!” someone calls out, and he turns to see Jongdae waving cheerfully at him.

“Dae!” he greets, running over to him and hugging him tight.

“Well, someone’s excited to see me,” Jongdae exclaims, hugging him back loosely and patting his back before letting go, “careful there, someone might see and get the wrong idea.”

“As if,” Baekhyun teases, sticking out his tongue at the older, “where is he?”

“Right here,” a deep voice calls out, and Baekhyun squeals before turning around and running full speed towards the giant, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“Yeol!” he grins, releasing the giant from his hold and taking in the sight of him with a black cap and black robe, his hair now a caramel color but still fluffy as ever. “Wow, my boyfriend looks so handsome.”

“Don’t ‘Yeol’ me, how could you hug another man first before your boyfriend?” Chanyeol fake pouts, but Baekhyun only laughs and pinches his cheek.

“It’s not my fault I saw Dae first,” Baekhyun grins.

“Please, you two, tone it down with the sickening sweetness, single man present here!” Jongdae pipes up, rolling his eyes at the two before making his way toward their other friends.

Chanyeol only laughs at his friend before turning to Baekhyun and ruffling his now red hair.

It’s been five years, five years of them being in a long distance relationship, and Baekhyun had to admit that it hadn’t been as easy as he thought it would be. Both of them were willing to sacrifice sleep and to put in a great deal of effort, but working around their schedules were so tiring and hard that sometimes most of the skype calls have been spent fighting over something irrelevant.

But as Chanyeol had promised, they had always figured it out, because after all, Baekhyun knows he is more important to Chanyeol than his pride is to him, and of course, he’s just the same.

He sometimes flew back and forth from Seoul to America, but it had been worth the jet lag and fatigue to see Chanyeol’s face light up in happiness whenever he fetches him from the airport.

And then came the meeting the parents part, and Chanyeol had initially been terrified, but eventually Baekhyun had managed to calm him down enough to get him to come to their house- a mansion, in Chanyeol’s opinion- and talk to his parents. Baekhyun’s parents had thankfully been accepting, as were Chanyeol’s parents.

Last year, Chanyeol had surprised Baekhyun in his graduation day and had popped up in his graduation ceremony. Unbeknownst to Baekhyun, Chanyeol had actually been saving up money to buy a ticket to America so he can be there for his boyfriend’s graduation, and now…

“You’re finally graduating, I’m so proud of you, Engineer Park,” Baekhyun muses, and Chanyeol grins at him.

“I’m so proud of you too, CEO Byun,” Chanyeol teases.

“Oh shut up, you know I’m not at that position yet,” Baekhyun chuckles.

“Ah well, you’ll be there someday. Just promise me work won’t always come first,” Chanyeol mutters.

“Already acting like a nagging wife huh?” Baekhyun chides, nudging him with his shoulder, “don’t worry, boyfriend, I promise to make an effort to not miss any anniversaries or dates.”

“Good enough for me,” Chanyeol smiles and pulls the brunet closer again to hug him, inhaling in the sweet scent of his hair. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, but you have to go back to your seat now, I think it’s already starting,” Baekhyun grins and lets Chanyeol go.

“Do I have to?” the giant whines, “can’t I just sit with you at the back?”

“Nope,” Baekhyun says, popping the ‘p’, “especially not when you’re graduating as valedictorian. Now go up there and make me proud, boyfriend.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol grins and leaves a gentle kiss on the brunet’s forehead before making his way to his seat.

 

 

 

 

After the ceremony, they all make their way to Chanyeol’s house, Baekhyun’s parents are already engaged in a deep conversation with Chanyeol’s parents and most of Chanyeol’s family and guests are inside the house, with only the two of them sitting outside at the back porch.

Chanyeol had long discarded his black robe in favor of wearing a blue button up shirt and black slacks.

They were both looking up at the sky, talking about nothing in particular, when a slow song suddenly plays from the stereo inside, and Chanyeol stops talking, a small smile lighting up his features.

“What?” the brunet asks, and Chanyeol just can’t help but to smile wider at how beautiful his boyfriend looks.

Damn, how good was he in his last life to deserve someone like Byun Baekhyun?

Chanyeol stands up and brushes dirt off of his slacks, offering his hand out to Baekhyun.

“Dance with me,” he offers, and Baekhyun laughs as he eventually catches up on what Chanyeol is trying to do. “Just one dance.”

“One dance?”

“One dance.”

 

The End.

---

once again, image is not mine, it's from here 

oh wow i never thought i could finish something in just one day but here it is. i've been writing this ever since like, 9 am and this has been in my mind for weeks. the song playing in my mind while i was writing this was versace by bruno mars but i didn't think it was appropriate to use it here since the lyrics are not that fitting lmfao but the mood is definitely right. i hope you guys liked this! comment, upvote, subscribe, anything, love you all!