Prompt: Sebaek working together in a cafe

Written by: anonymous until the fic fest ends

Warnings: None

Baekhyun, for the third time that morning, was crouched to the floor attempting to collect the papers he dropped. Typically he would put them in his backpack, like any student attending college (or kindergarten for that matter) would do, but he was forced to put his bag through the wash the previous night due to some covert food-sneaking maneuvers at the movie theatre. Being the forgetful man he is, Baek hadn’t given himself time to both dry his bag and meet his classmate and resident heart-throb Sehuehuehun at the local cafe for a study session, so here he was. Paperless. Once he quite literally got his together, Baek moved his little legs as fast as he could down the hall and out the door into the Spring breeze.

The short yet sweaty walk to the cafe was uneventful, though Baek was ready for the pollen to call it quits. He did his best to his snot back in and appear presentable, as he knew the man he was meeting always looked so and then some. He opened the red wood door to the cafe and noticed a unique fragrance meandering through the shop, one more aromatic than what is usually expected at a university coffee shop. Cinnamon or something. Baek worked his way around the shop attempting to locate Sehun, but after awkwardly perusing his 3rd furniture set, he headed to the very back of the shop. Just as he suspected, a set of long legs and broad shoulders was nestled comfortably in the corner furthest from the entrance and everyone else in the cafe.

“Hey there! You’re here early,” Baek says in an attempt to break Sehun’s concentration.

“I’d actually say you’re late, but don’t worry about. It’ll waste more time.”

“Yeah you’re right, sorry I had a few … complications,” Baek says as he goes to clear a space on the antique wood desk for his numerous and crumpled papers. Baek nervously laughed as he hoped Sehun would loosen up and laugh along. Baek thought to himself, “This jerk… a good looking jerk. Why does he already want to end this study session? I mean yeah I showed up without all the material to study and apparently late, but… I’m still here!!!”

“Alright let’s get to work, the first thing I was hoping to go over was the chemical formulas for photosynthesis? Those have me pretty stumped.” Sehun said, as he skimmed his notes. Sehun has not even looked up to see Baek. Sehun glanced up for a second, “Uhhh? Have a seat?” Baek couldn’t but affix his attention to how stunning Sehun was looking today. His peach knit sweater was large, revealing his collar bones, and his clear-framed spectacles made his faint freckles more noticeable.

“Are you even listening?! Sucrose?? Does that register??” Sehun’s voice breaks Baek’s ill-directed attention.

“Maybe if your Wes Anderson color palette lookin wasn’t so goddamn fine... “ Baek muttered ..

“What??” Sehun says as he pushes away on his chair.

“Yeah sucrose! Sugar!! Good ole energy!!” Baek recovers. He could not believe he just let that sentence come out of his mouth. Baek lets out yet another nervous laugh.

“Why do you keep laughing? You weirdo. Please do not ever say those words again.” Sehun says as he shakes his head and looks back down to his paper. “God, some people are just...odd.” he muttered. “Anyway, about the chemical formulas for photosynthesis…” he says as he hands Baek a sheet of paper.

Baek awkwardly looks at Sehun and contemplates leaving. He thinks to himself, “Ahhh, I should just leave. How are we meant to study if he just heard me say that disturbing sentence?”

An employee at Cafe Ole walked over and broke the silence, “Hey guys, how’s everything going here? Can I get anything for you two?”

“Can I get a chai latte please? Make that to-go because I think we are almost finished here.” Sehun said as he gave her a quick yet annoyed smile. Baek’s heart broke right then and there because he felt as if he just ruined all his chances with Sehun. Baek thought to himself, “How...how can we be ‘almost finished here?’ God I wish I had a time machine so I would have told myself to stop being a little sneaky teen by sneaking dumb unhealthy snacks into my backpack last night. I should have never even gone to that movie, it was terrible! Never recommending that to anyone. Ugh, and was that Panda Express really worth it? Why did I think shoving a to go box into my backpack was a good idea?! I mean that orange chicken was good but … okay no, it was not a good idea! Then I would have never had to put my backpack in the wash. I would have never had to embarrass myself in front of his guy by pulling out papers that I can not even read from because the dampness of my backpack ruined everything. What was I thinking?!”

“Hey...hey Sehun?” Baek nervously whispered like a shy little mouse.

Sehun did not reply at all. It was like when Baek first found him in the cafe and Sehun did not even look up to acknowledge Baek.

“Wow, what a jerk he is. He definitely just heard me. I was quiet but he definitely heard me. Now I just wonder how long he’s going to ignore me.” Baek thought to himself as he squinted his eyes. Baek decided to just sit there with his arms crossed, waiting for Sehun to reply.

About forty seconds has passed, “Oh, did you say something?” Sehun said as he indecently looked up from his study material.

“You know what? Nevermind. It was nothing. Actually, I..was just about to pack up. Hey, I hope you do great on Wilson’s test because...I sure won’t!” Baek says as he quickly shoves his few papers into his damp backpack and gives Sehun two finger guns.

A large sound of blocks hits the ground. Sehun and Baek slowly turn towards the sound and see a couple laugh with each other as their game of good old Jenga just got ruined.

“Wow, I have not played that game since I was a child. Hey, what is it called again? Wow, how come I can’t think of the name? This is so weird, I use to love this game!” Baek’s mood all of the sudden changed as he felt a sense of nostalgia.

Sehun and Baek both looked up with their confused faces as they both could not remember the name. Sehun claps his hands like a dork, “JENGA!” Every person in the coffee shop looked over at Sehun and Baek’s table confused as to why this grown man just shouted “JENGA!” like a child.

Sehun and Baek giggled to each other. Baek started admiring Sehun again. However Sehun went back to his cold ways and began looking back down at his papers and slowly began packing up his work.

Baek, knowing the consequences of Sehun rejecting him, still decided to suggest something bold, “Hey, I don’t have any plans, so I’m free for the rest of the day. I definitely was not going to go home to keep studying. So… I was thinking I should put my time to good use and play some Jenga???”

“We should still study though, I really want to do good on this exam because I did not do so great on the last…” Sehun said as he glanced over at the couple starting a new game of Jenga.

Baek went over to the section in the coffee shop that contained numerous games on a storage shelf and grabbed the game of Jenga. He quickly walked back to their table and smiled hugely while holding the Jenga box in front of Sehun’s face.

Baek opened the Jenga box like it was a Christmas gift, except it wasn’t wrapped and he knew exactly what it was. Sehun smirked. Baek could tell that Sehun was trying to hold in his excitement. Suddenly Baek stopped focusing on the Jenga box and looked outside the window. A cloud of heavy dark smoke was pouring from the new dessert shop across the street. In a matter of seconds the alarming sound of police cars and fire trucks came rushing down. Large crowds of people were surrounding the whole entire street trying to see what all the commotion was about.

“Is that a fire?!” Sehun wailed.

Baek grabbed Sehun’s arm, “Yes, you dummy! That’s smoke from a fire! What else?!” Still grabbing Sehun’s arm, Baek pulled Sehun with him to stand outside the coffee shop. There were dozens of people standing in front of them and everyone was squished together due to the lack of space. Sehun’s broad shoulders was practically pushing into Baek’s neck, that’s how close they were.

“Oh no… that’s the new dessert shop! They barely got to begin their business and now they already have to deal with a fire?! This really … I hope everyone is okay.” The concerned and caring side of Sehun began to show.

Amidst the terrible fire that just started, Baek thought to himself, “Wow… I like this side of him. Even though I still can’t resist him when he’s standoffish, I like this sweet side. Okay, snap out of it, there’s a fire across the street and we don’t know if an arsonist started it or if it was an accident caused by the baker!”

Baek started giggling.

“What are you laughing about you terrible person??? There is a fire going on and who knows if the people inside are safe?” Sehun scolded as if he was Baekhyun’s dad.

Baek could not stop laughing. He tried to hold in his laugh but that just made it worse and people began to start staring.

“Hush, you!!! People are staring! What are you laughing about?” Sehun exclaimed as he put his hand over Baek’s mouth to quiet the noise.

“It’s just… I’m standing here below you and I can see a booger in your nose.” Baek said while still laughing.

“Stop..being..so….” Sehun slowly said as he began to smile.

“Immature!!!” Sehun let out.

Now both Sehun and Baek were laughing, causing even more attention towards them.

“Hey we should get away from here. The smell is...potent to say the least and that can’t be good for our lungs. We need to be healthy for the exam right?” Sehun suggested.

Baek smiled because Sehun keeps letting out bits of his sweet side. “Where should we go? This street is so crowded and looks as if it’s some sort of crowded marathon. There is no way we’ll get out of here unless we push through these crowds for about an hour.”

Sehun says, “Well, we can go back into the coffee shop?”

Baek and Sehun slide back into the coffee shop and there’s only one employee behind the counter. Everyone had already went outside to see all the commotion.

“Well, this is awkward. It’s just us, and an employee.” Baek says as he looks around to see if there are any other people around.

“Lots going on outside huh? Seems like the workers at the new bakery have not gotten use to the kitchen. Can I get you guys anything?” the coffee shop employee asked.

Sehun and Baek look at each other and shrug their shoulders. Both say, “Why not?”

They order typical cafe food like banana nut breads and cheese danishes. As they wait for their orders they go back to their table with their game of Jenga.

Baek begins to set up the blocks and talks about how this was one of his favorite games when he was younger, “Ahhh I’m so excited, this use to entertain me so much back in the day. I would always have trouble with the top blocks though…” Baek looks up to see Sehun just sitting back watching him build the tower, “Uhhh, a little help here?” Sehun was admiring Baek’s excitement over something so little as Jenga. Sehun’s eyes widen when he realized Baek noticed him staring. “Oh...what’s wrong?” Baek asks with concern. “Uh..yeah. No, it’s just… kind of funny how we made this plan to study for some exam and now we are here setting up a game of Jenga and waiting for our food while a crew is trying to stop a fire going on down the street. Like a date scene from some dramatic TV show. Life is weird, huh?” Sehun says as Baek begins to smile.

“Hey guys, sorry for the wait, but your food is ready!” The employee calls out.

Baek and Sehun walk over to the counter to grab their order and see the news channel on the TV. “Haha, that’s us! Wow, and everyone in the bakery is safe.” Baek says as he points to the small TV.

“Oh no, they got us laughing! People are probably watching right now thinking we are crazy for laughing during this. I hope people don’t think we’re laughing at the fact that there's a fire… we were laughing cuz YOU noticed a booger in my nose! Silly.” Sehun said.

“WHAT?! Sehun? Baekhyun?! Oh my gosh!” someone shouts as they hear the cafe door open.

Sehun and Baek slowly turn around and their faces automatically express annoyance. It’s Tamatha Reed, the annoying classmate since middle school. She’s with her friends Camronia and Stephanina. For some odd reason Camronia and Stephanina are not annoying but they have somehow dealt with Tamatha Reed. Baek and Sehun are now in college but they have been stuck with Tamatha since middle school, it is like no one can get rid of her. She is that annoying girl that just won’t go away. Like a fly in your room that keeps staying alive even after you’ve tried a fly swatter on it about a hundred times. “You guys!! How funny that we are seeing each other outside of school?! What are you two doing here?!” Tamatha said with the most annoying voice. Sehun and Baek signalled to each other that they should leave in order to avoid Tamatha Reed.

“Ahem, uh, hey!! Tamatha..” Baek says as he awkwardly waves.

They did not want to be rude so Sehun tried his best to avoid hanging out with Tamatha in the nicest way possible, “Hey, Tamatha.. Baek and I have been here for a while studying for that Chem exam next week, I’m sure you have been too. And good luck with that! We were actually just leaving right now. See you… tomorrow, in school, probably?” Sehun said him and Baek made their way towards the door.

“Oh yeah, see you guys!! Good luck studying!” Tamatha shouted.

“Good one.” Baek said to Sehun.

“Oh...great…” Sehun says as there is still crowds of people outside. “I know this fire is interesting and all but they just announced on the news that everyone is okay and it wasn’t an arsonist, so why are people still crowding around the whole entire street?! Maybe people are bored.”

“What are we going to do now? We cannot go back inside the coffee shop because… I mean… Tamatha Reed is in there. Wow, to this day I am still confused as to why Camronia and Stephanina hang out with Tamatha Reed… pray for them. You know, I am.. a pretty social person I would like to think and I hang out with everyone but that girl, Tamatha… is …. something. ” Baek says as he rolls his eyes thinking about Tamatha Reed. “And we have no car. Guess we’ll have to keep slowly trying to get through these crowds of people?”

“Seems like the only option. Get ready to be super close to me for a while!” Sehun says as he laughs. He holds on to Baek’s arm and says, “Don’t get lost little one!” as he points his finger at Baek’s face.

“Stop talking to me like I am a child!” Baek says like a child who wants to seem like an adult when they really are not.

Sehun chuckles as he walks with his hands inside his front pockets and Baek’s hand rested on his shoulder. The two struggle to get through the crowds. They struggle through the crowds for about twenty minutes until they finally make it to an open part of the street. “Finally!” Baek shouts as he smiles widely.

Sehun turns his head over to Baek and just smiles.

“You are smiling more and more throughout the day aren’t you?” Baek asks. “Usually you’re just…” Baek says as he imitates Sehun’s resting face.

“I do not look like that!” Sehun exclaims.

“Yes you do.” Baek says as he is still imitating Sehun’s face.

“Okay fine. I do look like that.” Sehun admits. “But hey, my facial expression and how I feel inside do not always match you know!”

“I know.” Baek says as he lets out a smile at Sehun.

At this point both Baek and Sehun have no clue where they are headed. They are just walking and sort of forgetting everything going on. They are conversing and getting to know each other more.

“Hey, isn’t it weird that I’ve known you for… forever. But today is the first day we’ve had a real conversation.” Baek brings up.

“That is true… and this should not be the only time! We should do this again! Maybe not around a new bakery?” Sehun suggests. “By the way...where are we headed?”

“I’ve got no clue, Sehun.” Baek replies. “But, I agree. Let’s do this again! We’re going to have a lot more to study for right?” they both groan at the thought of studying for exams.

Today marked the first day of Baek and Sehun’s new friendship. They began to open up to each other more and become more vulnerable instead of staying within safe topics. They built an understanding for each other and Sehun even started becoming less guarded. Through this they learned the value of true friendship within each other.

[Link for voting can be found in chapter 1]