It had been a whole two hours since Baekhyun had sat in the library, books spread out in front of him. It had been a whole two hours since Chanyeol had sat to his right, annoying him at any given opportunity just as promised. It had been a whole two hours of amazing conversation, something the two had missed in the past few years. But Chanyeol had noticed something else...

It had been a whole two hours of interesting conversation, but in the breaks Baekhyun would be checking his phone and smiling so lovingly at it. Chanyeol was unreasonably jealous, after all, it wasn’t really his place right now. The two had just made amends after years of silence, the idea of ruining that gave Chanyeol dreadful anxiety. He decided for now it was ok to just let Baekhyun text the mystery person in their comfortable silences. 

“Sehun is so funny,” as if reading Chanyeol’s mind, Baekhyun explained why he was so affectionate towards a small piece of electricity, “We’ve really hit it off, Yeol. I kinda want to see him again.”

“Go for it,” Chanyeol knew Baekhyun didn’t need his permission and wasn’t necessarily asking for it, but he still said, “if it’s what makes you happy, go for it.” He couldn’t help but notice a twist in his stomach even as he said it, he didn’t know why, but there was something causing reluctance within the taller. 

“But I can’t just ask him out!” Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol, his books completely forgotten by now, if even remembered in the first place, “That would be so creepy of me! Oh god, what do I do?!” 

“Relax, God,” Chanyeol laughed at the teenager like mannerisms, “I’ll talk to Sehun, he’s bound to be interested in you too, if he’s somehow making you laugh. Seriously, he’s got the humour of a rock, what is making you laugh?” 

“Um, he mentioned your ears at one point.” Baekhyun looked sheepish to say the least. 

“That little-“ Chanyeol sighed, smiling anyway, despite the teasing of his appearance, “well, it’s a matter of opinion I guess. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

“Thank you so much, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun leaned in, as if to give a hug, pulling away at the last moment. The taller noticed the hesitation, regret once more haunting him, the shyness was his fault in the first place. Baekhyun laughed awkwardly, “sorry, I don’t know why I did that, guess old habits die hard, right? Ha oh I’m so socially awk-“

His final sentence was masked by a “oomf” as Chanyeol dragged him back in and hugged him tightly. “Please don’t feel like you can’t do this with me,” he whispered, “I’ll be here for you always now, Baek. I will never lose you again.” 

As they pulled away, Baekhyun’s eyes were glistening, like the constellations on a clear, dark sky. Chanyeol felt emotional just by staring into them, Baekhyun may have appeared stronger than his younger self, but the little boy was still shining through those wonderful orbs. Chanyeol always thought of Baekhyun’s eyes as the night. When he smiled, crescent moons were formed, making even the angriest man on earth crack his own grin. His excitement shone through like sunshine, a cheeky glint that was almost blinding to anyone unprepared. And finally his tears, even such a sad experience was one of wonder for a spectator, Chanyeol’s being no different to a strangers. 

He’s often told the shorter about his eyes. Baekhyun would usually just slap him playfully and tell him to get on with his work for once, “bastard,” but there was always a slight blush dusting his cheeks. For the first time in almost three years, Chanyeol wanted to tell him again, just how glorious they were. 

“Please don’t mention my eyes,” Baekhyun pointed his finger in Chanyeol’s face, “and thank you, I’ll make sure to give you all the hugs in the world. Right after we watch the Avengers that is! Come on, the next viewing is in half an hour and it takes twenty minutes to get there!” 

“Race ya!” 

“Ha, go for it, slow coach”

“I was on the track team!”

“Being on the track team for a total of half a meeting does not count, Yeol.”

“I told you, I twisted my ankle, it was an injury!” 

“Yeah yeah,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, then exclaimed suddenly, “3,2,1 go!” Before sprinting off, leaving Chanyeol bewildered. 

“You left your-“ Chanyeol turned to the table, where Baekhyun’s books lay scattered. Sighing, he picked them up. Of course it was Baekhyun’s plan to leave Chanyeol chasing after, but not before cleaning up this mess. “Little devil,” Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile fondly at the scribbled notes and forgotten pencils. 

“Sehun,” Chanyeol called that evening when he came back into his dorm, “I need to talk to you.”

An indifferent grunt sounded from the kitchen, alongside the smell of ramen. The roommates rarely had enough time to cook proper meals; if they did it was hopeless anyway, because one would say the two were helpless. Thinking about it, Chanyeol realised how much of a miracle it was they had made it this long. This was the third ramen dinner of the week. 

When Chanyeol walked into the room, Sehun turned and raised his eyebrow, “Welcome back, didn’t realise that episode this m