Brigitte & hanzo: characters in the game
Meta: sort of like a strategy
Support: a role in the game
Getting steam-rolled: EFFORTLESSLY ANNIHILATED

beta'd. I think.

The next few days are nothing but a blur. Baekhyun is busy with preparations for their next match, and Chanyeol has nothing to do but explore the city by himself. He knows Baekhyun is disappointed by the fact that they didn’t win their last stage, but he kinda worries for the guy. By the time Baekhyun comes back at night, Chanyeol is fast asleep, and by the time Chanyeol wakes up, Baekhyun is gone for scrims.

After the first two days of it happening, Chanyeol realises that things are going to be hectic as hell for Baekhyun. He starts to make an extra portion of dinner every night, leaving them in the microwave and texting Baekhyun to let him know. The replies are never instantaneous but when they come, Chanyeol finds himself smiling at them more than a normal person would.

Today, Chanyeol decides to make lunch for Baekhyun too. He prepares it along with dinner and leaves it in the fridge, pasting a little note on the fridge to let Baekhyun know there’s food for him. Satisfied, he logs on to his computer and goes to buy a ticket for Baekhyun’s next match.

+

“Let’s take a break,” Baekhyun yawns, stretching in his seat. “That was a good scrim.” 

“Hyung, Brigitte will be playable in the next stage and that really isn’t good news for us,” Sehun says worriedly. “Plus the Hanzo changes… Oh. Oh. Our match on Friday is the first match of stage 2.”

Baekhyun sighs. “We’ll figure it out,” he replies, even though he knows that it’s hard with his team where everyone specialises in a particular hero or two. The introduction of a new hero meant a change in the meta — the meta that Dynasty was the best in. It doesn’t help that the new hero, Brigitte, is yet another support, because the team only has two support players and Baekhyun foresees that the team composition would need 3 supports — that is, including the new hero. With this new meta, it means someone has to learn to play Brigitte and unfortunately, that someone is him. 

“Sehun and Jongdae can’t play support,” he mumbles to himself, deep in thought, “but Sehun can fill my tank role so I’ll play Brigitte…”

“Hyung. Hyung,” Sehun calls, startling him.

“Sorry, I was thinking. What’s up?” Baekhyun answers, putting his keyboard aside to make space for his belongings.

“Lunch?” Sehun asks, and Baekhyun shakes his head, smiling. “I brought food today,” he says, reaching into his bag and pulling out his lunch box. Sehun looks surprised and he quirks an eyebrow.

“Interesting. Well then, we’ll see you later,” Sehun waves, leaving with the rest of the team. His coaches stay back with him, but they’re busy with their own things. He fetches his notebook and reading glasses and makes notes on the new changes.

Munching on the gimbap Chanyeol prepared for him, he steals a quick glance at his handphone, deflating when it doesn’t have any new notifications from a certain someone. “I’m so bored,” he grumbles to himself, going back to making notes.

 Crossing his legs and biting his lip in concentration, he draws out a couple of team compositions that may benefit his team. He gobbles the food up pretty fast, when he realises he only has one piece left. He’s distracted by the sound of a camera shutter going off, and he looks up to see Jongdae taking photos of him with his phone.

 “I thought you left with the others,” he states, and Jongdae shakes his head, camera clicking away. “I stayed back because I have food with me,” he replies, and Baekhyun sees a container in his other hand.

 “Girlfriend?” Baekhyun points with his chin, and Jongdae snorts. “You know she can’t make anything other than instant noodles. It’s Chanyeol,” he answers, and for some reason, that strikes a nerve.

 “I have one too,” Baekhyun mumbles, chewing angrily on his food. Jongdae walks towards him and goes closer, taking even more photos, but this time with the shutter sound off. Baekhyun gently slaps his hand away.

“Aww, is someone jealous?” Jongdae teases, grinning. Baekhyun stifles a yawn and rubs his eyes. The lack of sleep is getting to him. Jongdae notices and frowns at him.

“You should get more rest, you know,” Jongdae suggests. It is more of a demand than a suggestion, but Baekhyun pays no attention to him. “We don’t have much time. We’re lagging behind compared to the other teams. I can’t believe we still haven’t figured this out yet, even though Brigitte has already been out for a month.”

Jongdae sighs heavily and sits next to Baekhyun. He stuffs the last gimbap into Baekhyun’s mouth, and shuts the container. Baekhyun looks at him like he’s gone mad, but Jongdae doesn’t care and proceeds to take the reading glasses off his face and the pen out of his grasp.

“Sleep,” Jongdae demands. “You look like complete and you can’t think straight like this. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you leaving later than the rest of us just to do this. You’re not our coach, nor our analyst. I know you think you need to do this, but your health is more important, Baek. Everything is gonna be fine.”

“You think it’s going to be fine but it isn’t. I’ve seen the way the other teams play — they’re aggressive and quick. They know how to utilise the new changes to their advantage and they adapt fast. Why are we not the same? How are we not doing what every other team can? We’re going down the ranks, Dae, can’t you see? We’re no longer invincible! I’m so sick and tired of losing game after game and reading disappointed comments from fans about how ‘Lunatic Hai has lost their touch’, ” Baekhyun snaps angrily, frowning at Jongdae.

“But the thing is that we aren’t LH anymore, Baek. Half the team has already been switched out,” Jongdae says gently. “You need to stop thinking so much about the fans. Some of them don’t make sense and you should stop letting them get to you. And I know we’re not doing very well — we all know that — but we’re trying. That’s also why coach is planning to get someone else on our roster, remember?”

Baekhyun nods hesitantly, looking away. He’s frustrated and he can feel the tears prickling his eyes, but he doesn’t want to show any sign of weakness, especially not in front of a teammate. Jongdae turns him around, and looks him in the eye. “Breathe, Baekhyun. Breathe.”

Baekhyun exhales deeply and closes his eyes, thankful for Jongdae by his side. He knows himself and he’s terrible at dealing with his emotions, but Jongdae has always been there for him and calming him down. “That’s good,” Jongdae encourages, “now try to get some rest before the others get back. Everything is going to be fine. ”

Baekhyun rests his head on the table and closes his eyes once more, dozing off. Jongdae steals a glance at his notes, smiling at the amount of effort Baekhyun put into it. He stealthily takes a few more photos of Baekhyun sleeping and leans back in his seat, scrolling through the photos. He selects a couple from earlier when Baekhyun was unaware and posts them to the team’s Instagram, stifling a laugh.

“Our Baekhyunnie hard at work~,” the caption reads, and Jongdae rolls his eyes at the sheer amount of comments complimenting Baekhyun’s looks. He sends the photos of a sleeping Baekhyun to Chanyeol and smiles.

You
<3 images attached>   14:02

Park Bambi
14:03   Cute.

You
packed lunch, eh?   14:03
I thought I was special (｡•́︿•̀｡)   14:03

Park Bambi
14:04    I don’t want him to overthink it
14:04    It’s just a nice gesture
14:04   He’s been coming home pretty late
14:04    Is he okay?

You
we’ll take care of him :)  14:05 

Park Bambi
14:05    I don’t trust that smiley face >:(

You
are you coming for the match on Friday??   14:06

Park Bambi
14:06   Wouldn’t miss it for the world.

+

“You’re home early today,” Chanyeol greets, surprised. He sits up straighter on the couch and puts down the book he’s reading. Baekhyun kicks off his shoes as he enters the apartment, yawning.

“Couldn’t stay,” Baekhyun mutters, putting his bedroom slippers on as he shuffles towards Chanyeol. The coach sent everyone home at 5pm, giving Baekhyun a pointed look that said you better get your home now and Baekhyun couldn’t defy his order.

He lets himself fall onto the couch, resting his head on Chanyeol’s lap. “I’m tired,” he mumbles sleepily, closing his eyes and letting an arm fall over his face. Over the course of two weeks, the both of them have become even closer without even trying. Baekhyun has always been a naturally clingy person and Chanyeol has always been naturally giving, so they fell into routine pretty quickly. Hugs are a normal occurrence, and so is leaning against each other, like now. 

Chanyeol gently runs his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair before realising what he’s doing. That definitely isn’t part of their… routine. As he retracts his fingers, he prays that Baekhyun doesn’t think much of it and ignores it, but Baekhyun grabs his hand and makes him continue. Chanyeol sighs to himself, cheeks turning pink. Why does Baekhyun do things like this and expect him to be completely unaffected?

“I was just about to make dinner. Are you craving anything?” He asks, heart hammering in his chest. Baekhyun wants me to coddle him. Baekhyun wants this. Baekhyun.

“Whatever you want is fine,” Baekhyun replies, lips curling into a small smile. Baekhyun isn’t even looking at him, but Chanyeol can feel his heart racing because Baekhyun is smiling. He shakes his head at himself and leans back, sigh