Chanyeol was working on his latest design as Sehun flipped through their Netflix account.  A box of pizza sat on the coffee table between them. It was their typical, lazy Friday night routine.  Grab a pizza, put on something from Netflix that neither of them really were going to pay attention to and relax, though Chanyeol was technically breaking the rules with his tablet out, sketching away.

Sehun let him do it though, for which Chanyeol was grateful even if he suspected Sehun’s silence actually was because Chanyeol’s distraction meant Sehun got to pick what the entertainment was for the evening.  Chanyeol didn’t really mind. He had been struggling for the better part of two weeks to come up with inspiration for this 15th anniversary jewelry line. Now that inspiration had finally come, he had to get it all down before it left his head again.

Moreover, Sehun’s taste in movies wasn’t that bad.  He ended up settling on Skyfall, which had Chanyeol smiling as the cool tones of Adele wafted through the room.  Even if he wasn’t entirely invested, Skyfall wouldn’t be too bad of an audio track for the evening while he worked on perfecting the designs in front of him.  In all honesty, spending the evening that way sounded perfect.

It wasn’t long before Chanyeol was completely lost in sketches of rings and necklaces while gunfire echoed in the background, which was why it took a pillow crashing into his legs for him to look up.  “What?” he asked, startled.

Sehun inclined his head towards the door.  “Someone is knocking,” he said, making Chanyeol turn his head to look over the couch towards the front door.  It took only a few seconds for him to make out the distinct sound of knocks echoing over the sound of the action sequence playing out on their television.

“Did you invite someone over?” Chanyeol asked, turning back towards Sehun, brow furrowed in confusion.

“No.  You?” Sehun replied.

Chanyeol shook his head and turned back towards their front door.  A fresh wave of knocks had begun, more insistent than before.

“Go check,” Sehun said after the knocking ceased a second time.

“Why me?” Chanyeol whined, loathe to abandon the sofa where he was so comfortably settled.

Sehun shrugged as he leaned forward to grab a lukewarm slice of pizza.  “I got it last time,” he answered simply, making Chanyeol sigh as he gave in and pushed himself up from the sofa when a third round of knocks began.

“Aright, alright, I’m coming,” he mumbled, reaching the door and undoing the deadbolt as he glanced through the peephole at their insistent guest.

The second he did, Chanyeol’s eyes widened.  “Baekhyun?” he gasped, suddenly fumbling to undo the second lock and pull open the door as quickly as he could.

“I was beginning to worry you had gone out,” Baekhyun said, eyes curving into crescents above his facemask.

Chanyeol could only stare, taking in the site of Baekhyun standing outside his apartment in a pair of nondescript sweats and a hoodie with a facemask obscuring most of his face and a baseball cap covering his hair.  Baekhyun had gotten back from a fan meeting in Japan a few days ago and had immediately begun working on preparations for encore concerts. With his schedule packed full of rehearsals, they hadn’t actually figured out a good time to meet up yet and had stuck to their usual late night call and texting sprees.

Regardless, even if they had managed to make plans, they would never have involved Baekhyun coming here, to him.

“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol managed after a few seconds as he stepped back and let Baekhyun step into his apartment.

“I wanted to see you,” Baekhyun replied as he worked off his shoes and reached to pull off his mask and cap.  Chanyeol took them automatically and hung them up on one of the hooks by the door. “I hope that’s okay,” Baekhyun continued, smiling as he spoke, making Chanyeol’s heart beat double time as he took in Baekhyun’s ruffled hair and make-up free face.

He looked perfect.

And Chanyeol was definitely okay with Baekhyun wanting to see him.  More than okay really, but, that didn’t mean Baekhyun’s sudden appearance wasn’t setting off several alarm bells in his head that had nothing to do with how much Chanyeol wanted to hug Baekhyun right then.

“It’s not that it’s not okay but…. didn’t Junmyeon say you shouldn’t come to my apartment?” Chanyeol questioned nervously, mind flashing to Junmyeon’s face as he’d very carefully lectured the two about the do’s and don’ts of their relationship a few months ago.

He was pretty sure Baekhyun visiting his place was pretty high on the list of don’ts.  They could never know who was watching.

Baekhyun let out a sigh as he nodded his head.  “He did,” Baekhyun conceded, expression falling slightly as they continued to hover in foyer.  Chanyeol found himself frowning slightly at the change in Baekhyun’s expression. He didn’t like the disappointment he saw there, but he couldn’t help but ask again, the question escaping his lips unbidden.

“Then why…” Chanyeol asked, voice trailing off as he took in the further darkening of Baekhyun’s expression.  Something had happened. Chanyeol was sure of it, but what? Nothing had come up on twitter that he was aware of, yet.

It took a couple of seconds for Baekhyun to collect himself, but once he did, he was suddenly smiling again, nearly blinding Chanyeol with the force of it.  “Because I wanted to see you,” he repeated. “Now, what does a guy have to do to get a welcome back hug from his boyfriend?” He continued, eyes glinting as Chanyeol jerked in surprise before he let his arms fling wide.

“Nothing,” he replied, letting Baekhyun step into his embrace as he tried to push down the concern gnawing at the back of his mind.  Baekhyun’s arms squeezed around his back, clutching the fabric of his hoodie as Baekhyun’s face pressed against his chest, inhaling deeply.

“I’ve missed you,” Baekhyun breathed out, humming softly as Chanyeol leaned down to gently press his lips against the crown of Baekhyun’s head.

“Me too,” he murmured, only pulling back as he felt Baekhyun begin to step away, and even then, one of Baekhyun’s hands slid down Chanyeol’s arm, linking their hands together and giving a little squeeze.

Chanyeol smiled softly, squeezing back.  “Are you sure this is going to be okay?” he asked gently, hating the side of him that refused to just pull Baekhyun deeper into his apartment.  Having Baekhyun here was like a dream, but it was a dream that could have many unintended consequences.

Baekhyun gave a firm nod.  “Yeah, I am. I changed trains six times on my way here,” he explained, giving Chanyeol enough assurance to turn and lead Baekhyun towards the couch.  From where he lay on the love seat, Sehun offered up a nonchalant wave. They’d met a while back for a few rounds of bowling. Thankfully, they’d gotten along well, quickly removing any of Chanyeol’s fear of a clash between his new boyfriend and best friend.

Baekhyun returned Sehun’s wave as they settled on the couch, Chanyeol letting out a sigh. “How long did that take?” he asked as Baekhyun slid up beside him, thigh pressing against Chanyeol’s as Baekhyun’s head leaned against his shoulder.

Baekhyun shrugged.  “An hour or two? I kept doing it until they started to complain,” he said, making Chanyeol raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“Complain?” he asked, not following.

Baekhyun reached into the front pocket of his hoodie with his free hand, passing it to Chanyeol after holding down the home button so it’d unlock.  “Yeah, they can get a little nasty,” he said dismissively, nuzzling his cheek into Chanyeol’s shoulder once Chanyeol had taken away the device and started to scroll through Baekhyun’s messages.

Do you think you can get rid of us?

Why’d you get off again?

, you really think we won’t find you again?

Chanyeol frowned at the escalating negativity of the messages, closing the messaging app and passing the device back to Baekhyun silently.  Baekhyun was also silent, haven taken up playing with the fingers of Chanyeol’s other hand while half watching Daniel Craig run around on screen.

Chanyeol sighed and pulled his hand away, opting to move his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders and pull him closer.  Baekhyun didn’t resist, his own arm sliding behind Chanyeol’s back and giving his waist a squeeze.

“Why don’t you block them?”  Chanyeol asked softly, leaning his head down to rest his cheek against Baekhyun’s hair.  It smelled nice, sweet and floral. Perhaps the stylists had suggested a new shampoo.

Baekhyun shrugged against him.  “They just get new numbers.”

“And if you change yours?” Chanyeol ventured.

“They’ll know the new one within days,” Baekhyun confirmed, voice monotone, defeated.

Chanyeol sighed and turned his head, placing another kiss against Baekhyun’s hair.  “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Baekhyun squeezed himself a little closer to Chanyeol’s side.  “It’s not your fault.”

“I know but…” Chanyeol’s voice trailed off into a sigh as they fell silent, the movie still playing in the background.  There was nothing he could do to fix this. Nothing but hold Baekhyun to him as long as Baekhyun wanted.

Chanyeol wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Baekhyun shifted slightly against him, pulling away enough to gesture towards Chanyeol’s tablet, which had been abandoned on the coffee table when he’d gotten up to answer the door.

“Were you working on something?” he asked, head inclining towards the tablet though he made no move to further separate himself from Chanyeol.

It took Chanyeol a second to fully process Baekhyun’s question.  By the time he had, Sehun was already answering from where he lay on the opposite couch, playing a game on his phone.

“He’s been going all afternoon.  Good luck getting to see it though.  He never likes to share his work in progress,” Sehun said, focus returning to his game as Baekhyun shifted, turning so he could look at Chanyeol, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

“So you are working on something,” he said, making Chanyeol flush as he quickly bobbed his head.

“Yeah,” he admitted, eyes flicking towards his tablet briefly before going back to Baekhyun who was now smiling wide as he moved to better face Chanyeol while they talked.

“What’s it for?” he asked, tone bright and intrigued.

Chanyeol shook his head.  “Nothing that exciting. Just some jewelry,” he explained, watching as Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? I thought you worked on toys,” Baekhyun said clearly impressed.

Chanyeol blushed and quickly began shaking his hands in front of himself.  “It’s not a big deal. It’s still for work. They wanted to do something special for the anniversary, and I mentioned I’ve done a few things here and there for myself so they gave me a chance.  It’s like, rhinestone bears and stuff. It’s not that exciting,” he assured, trying to lower Baekhyun’s expectations. It wasn’t a big deal. I was just an extension of what he had been doing before really.

Baekhyun however was seemingly not deterred.  He had an eyebrow raised as he evaluated Chanyeol critically for a couple seconds before looking towards the tablet on the coffee table once more.

“Can I see?” he asked, voice surprisingly soft.  When he turned back towards Chanyeol, the critical expression was gone too, replaced by a soft, hopeful smile.  “Please,” he intoned, eyelashes fluttering as Chanyeol found himself flushing deeper before he turned away, heart pounding as he reached for the tablet.

“Okay, okay.  Just stop looking at me like that,” he whined, ing the tablet towards Baekhyun who took it with a tinkling laugh.

“Thank you,” he chirped, tapping the screen and awakening the device before Chanyeol had to reach over to unlock it.  Baekhyun used the opportunity that presented to slide back up along Chanyeol’s side, pressing against him as he tapped on the various windows Chanyeol had open, flipping through different sketches while Chanyeol kept sneaking small glances at his face before looking away, nervous about what Baekhyun’s reaction would be.

He shouldn’t have been.  It wasn’t long before Baekhyun was looking away from the table to smile up at Chanyeol.  “These are so good,” he praised, sending a wave of relief washing over Chanyeol almost instantly.  Even he wasn’t 100% certain these designs were good. To have Baekhyun’s approval of them meant a lot, a whole lot.

“You really think so?” he asked, glancing down at the sketch windows still opened on the tablet’s screen.

Baekhyun nodded wholeheartedly, turning back towards the screen as well.  “Definitely. I really like this one,” He added, tapping to a window which revealed a silver number fifteen pendant with a meticulously detailed rhinestone bear affixed to one corner.  It had been one of the first things he’d drawn that afternoon when inspiration had finally struck. It was quite possibly Chanyeol’s favorite too.

He reached out to zoom in on the bear, smiling at Baekhyun’s small gasp as the detailed work around the rhinestone placement became more visible.  “If they end up making it, I’ll get one for you,” he whispered, a smile widening on his face as Baekhyun’s head snapped towards him, eyes wide.

“You don’t have to.  I can buy—”

Chanyeol shook his head with a laugh.  “I want to,” he said simply, cutting Baekhyun off.  “Besides, it’s good advertising,” he added with a wink, making Baekhyun shake his head with a laugh as he turned back towards the tablet.

“You’ve been talking to Junmyeon too much,” he accused, settling back against Chanyeol’s side as he held up the tablet to where Chanyeol could see it better.  “Anything else I can look at?” he inquired, making Chanyeol scramble to remember exactly which folders had things Baekhyun definitely should not see, like the explicit fan arts he’d saved before they’d started dating but that he hadn’t remembered to delete yet.

From across the room, Sehun shook his head, amused.

---

It was a few hours later that Chanyeol found himself digging through his dresser to find something Baekhyun could sleep in.  He was not entirely sure how’d they’d reached this point, but by the time Baekhyun had finished flipping through his other drafts and they finished off Spectre, the inferior follow-up to Skyfall, it was far too late for Baekhyun to take the train back home.

He seemed too tired to do it even if it hadn’t been, yawning every few minutes from where he lay with his head in Chanyeol’s lap as Chanyeol mindlessly ran his fingers through Baekhyun's hair.  Thus, Chanyeol had found himself offering up his bed and some clothes, which he was now trying to find as Baekhyun brushed his teeth in the bathroom across the hall.

It was as he finally found something he deemed suitable, one of his smaller pairs of shorts and a plain white t-shirt, that his phone began to ring from where he’d placed it on the bed.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened as he read the caller ID.  In an instant he had the phone up against his ear as he answered the call.  “Hello.”

“Is he with you?” Junmyeon asked without preamble, voice tinged with enough worry that Chanyeol felt bad for not texting Junmyeon earlier.  He should have done it once it became obvious Baekhyun was going to stay.

“Yes,” he confirmed with bated breath, waiting for what he was certain would be a heavy scolding.  Baekhyun being at his apartment was in direct violation of Junmyeon’s rules after all.

To Chanyeol’s surprise however, Junmyeon just let out a relieved sigh.  “Okay then. That’s good.”

“What?” Chanyeol asked, confused.

“‘That’s good’ as in it’s good I know where he is now, because he definitely is not at Jongin’s like he said he would be,” Junmyeon clarified, tone holding a hint of annoyance that made Chanyeol cower slightly even if the annoyance wasn’t directed at him.

“I’m sorry.  I told him he wasn’t supposed to be here, but he—”

“Insisted I’m sure.  It’s alright. I’m not mad,” Junmyeon reassured, cutting Chanyeol off.

“You aren’t?” Chanyeol asked surprised.

“No, I’m not.  I am… mildly annoyed,” Junmyeon admitted, “but I get it.  He probably thought I’d say no, which I would have, at least to you meeting at your place, but it’s fine.  I’ve got enough angry texts that I’m pretty sure he lost them all.”

“You get them too?” Chanyeol asked, incredulous.

“Yeah, I do,” Junmyeon said with a sigh.  “More importantly, Chanyeol—”

“Yes?”

“Talk to him for me, would you?  He could use a friend right now,” Junmyeon said softly, making Chanyeol’s mind flash to Baekhyun’s momentarily dark expression in the foyer.  So he hadn’t been wrong. Something other than a simple desire to see him had led Baekhyun to his apartment that evening.

“I’ll try,” Chanyeol assured, turning as the door to his bedroom opened and Baekhyun walked in.  His eyes widened as he saw Chanyeol on the phone, but Junmyeon was already bidding Chanyeol goodnight, promising he’d be in touch in the morning with plans for Baekhyun’s departure.

Chanyeol pulled the phone away from his ear under Baekhyun’s watchful eye.  “That was Junmyeon, wasn't’ it?” he asked.

Chanyeol nodded as he tossed his phone on the bed and reached for the clothes he’d pulled out for Baekhyun.  “Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Was he upset?” Baekhyun asked quietly as he took the clothes, turning around to pull off his shirt as Chanyeol turned and started to prepare his bed, moving his phone to its charging station and pulling back the comforter before getting settled against the headboard.

“A bit.  I don’t think he liked that you weren’t with Jongin,” Chanyeol answered, hazarding a glance back towards Baekhyun who had by now finished changing into Chanyeol's clothes.  He turned to face Chanyeol with a guilty shrug.

“Yeah, that probably was an unpleasant surprise,” he admitted, bending down to pick up his discarded clothes before looking to Chanyeol in a silent question of where to put them.  Chanyeol gestured towards the chair at his desk, which Baekhyun moved towards while Chanyeol considered his response.

“Why didn’t you tell him you wanted to see me?” Chanyeol asked after a couple of seconds, watching as Baekhyun took his time neatly folding his used clothes before turning to Chanyeol with a sigh.

“I wasn’t sure if he’d let me, for one,” he admitted, eyes settling on Chanyeol’s as he bit his lip.  Chanyeol nodded his head in understanding. It wouldn’t have been the first time Junmyeon nixed a meetup request for one reason or another.

“And two?” he prompted after a couple seconds during which Baekhyun didn’t continue.

Baekhyun let out a frustrated sigh and raised a hand to ruffle his hair, looking away from Chanyeol.  “Two, I didn’t want to admit I was upset. I still don’t,” he admitted wryly, looking back towards Chanyeol with a twisted half smile that made Chanyeol’s heart ache.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he answered, the words falling from his lips almost automatically.

Somehow Baekhyun looked both sadder and happier in response, moving towards the edge of the bed to finger the comforter, not looking up at Chanyeol’s face as he spoke softly.  “I’m doing a good job of making a mess of the first time I sleep in your bed aren’t I?” He murmured, looking up as Chanyeol sputtered, caught off guard.

“I—it’s really—It’s not a big deal,” Chanyeol fumbled his words as he watched Baekhyun climb onto his bed and crawl towards him, stopping just to the right of Chanyeol’s hip.

“Can I get another hug?” he whispered, eyes on Chanyeol’s own, expression unreadable.

Chanyeol nodded his head.  “Of course,” he whispered, arms opening up as Baekhyun crawled onto his lap, cheek settling against Chanyeol’s shoulder as his arms wound around his back, pulling him closer.  Chanyeol let his own arms settle around Baekhyun’s waist as Baekhyun let out a deep, relaxed breath and snuggled closer.

“You’re warm,” he murmured, making Chanyeol chuckle deeply as he gave Baekhyun’s waist a small squeeze.

“So are you,” he answered, falling silent as he took in the feeling of Baekhyun pressed against him.  It wasn’t often they got to be like this, between Baekhyun’s various schedules and the necessity of keeping their meetups private.  He was going to enjoy every second he got.

Chanyeol was just starting to drift off to the quiet lull of Baekhyun’s breaths when Baekhyun shifted, voice breaking the silence.

“We got the list of required attendees for MAMA,” he whispered.

Chanyeol’s brow furrowed.  “Required attendees?” he questioned gently.

Baekhyun nodded against his shoulder.  “Yeah… With the award shows… they don’t tell us exactly who is winning but, they do tell the agencies who needs to be there, ya know?”

“I see,” Chanyeol whispered, pulling Baekhyun a bit closer as shiver rippled through him.  “So?” he prompted softly after a couple a seconds when Baekhyun did not continue. His mind was already racing with possibilities, but he tried to keep it out of his tone.  Baekhyun seemed to be struggling enough.

Baekhyun sighed, pulling Chanyeol as bit closer as he turned his face and pressed it against Chanyeol’s chest, voice muffled as he spoke.  “My name wasn’t on the list.”

Chanyeol’s chest tightened as he squeezed his arms around Baekhyun’s back.  So it was as he had feared. Since his debut Baekhyun hadn’t won a single year-end award.  Not one. Some had even wondered if music shows would give him weekly awards, but over the years his sales and streams had become too high for them to ignore.  Still, the year end shows with their professional judging panels remained out of reach no matter how much Chanyeol and the rest of the Bright fandom bought, streamed and voted.

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered softly, nothing else he could say coming to mind as Baekhyun trembled against him.  Chanyeol was pretty sure he was crying, something he confirmed when Baekhyun pulled back from his chest, expression twisted and a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

“It’s not fair.  I have the best sales.  My streaming is competitive.  Everyone… everyone worked so hard this year but it’s not going to get acknowledged again, because of me.  I shouldn’t have debuted like I did. I shouldn’t have. It’s only made everyone’s lives more difficult. I was such an idiot and I—”

“You weren’t an idiot,” Chanyeol said, cutting Baekhyun off as he raised his hands to cup Baekhyun’s cheeks, thumbs swiping at the tears still leaking from his eyes.

Still Baekhyun tried to protest.  “Chanyeol—”

“You weren’t,” Chanyeol repeated firmly.  “You gave hope to so many people, so many.  I’ve seen it Baekhyun. I’ve lived it. It’s the people that don’t see what we see, what I see, who are idiots.  Not you,” Chanyeol said, surprising himself with the how certain he felt of his words, how assured.  Baekhyun’s debut had been one of the best things that could have happened for him. He wasn’t going to let anyone say it wasn’t, not even Baekhyun himself.

Baekhyun smiled sadly between Chanyeol’s palms.  “I’m not sure I believe that right now,” he whispered, making Chanyeol’s heart clench.  He slid one of his hands to the back of Baekhyun’s head, drawing him in so that his face nestled against the crook of Chanyeol’s neck.

“Then I’m going to keep holding you until you do,” Chanyeol replied, hand Baekhyun’s hair as he felt another tremor ripple through Baekhyun’s form while Baekhyun’s hands gripped at his shirt, clinging to him.

Chanyeol didn’t mind.  He held Baekhyun through it, hands moving to rub up and down Baekhyun’s back in soothing as he waited for Baekhyun’s doubts to disappear.

Finally, Baekhyun pulled away again, a loud sniff breaking the relative silence of the room before he reached out to cup Chanyeol’s face.

“How is it you can make me feel better just by being here?” he questioned softly, eyes still a bit red and damp, but also dripping with a familiar affection.

Chanyeol smiled as he clasped his arms around Baekhyun’s waist to pull him closer.  “Now you know how I feel all the time,” he answered, watching as Baekhyun blinked before letting out a quiet laugh.

“Is it really like this?” he asked softly, fingers tracing over the contours of Chanyeol’s face, eyes holding a hint of wonder.

Chanyeol nodded against his fingertips.  “It is. For me and for so many others. I don’t know how many fan accounts you’ve read but… you’ve helped a lot of people, you really have and if award shows are still too afraid to acknowledge it we’ll just keep yelling until they have to pay attention,” Chanyeol promised, voice firm.

Baekhyun smiled in response.  “You don’t have to,” he assured, fingers stalling in their movements as his palms settled back against Chanyeol’s cheeks.

“I want too,” Chanyeol countered simply, watching as Baekhyun’s smile widened.

“Thank you,” he whispered, drawing Chanyeol forward for a soft kiss, the contact delicate and tender.  Chanyeol was smiling as Baekhyun withdrew, a promise on his lips.

“Always,” he assured.

Baekhyun smiled wider, one of his hands sliding from Chanyeol’s cheek to the base of his neck to draw him forward once more.