There was an air of contentment around Baekhyun when he came home that evening, humming cheerily.

‘I’m home…’ he called lightly, hanging his keys.

Mei stepped out from her room, finishing tying her hair. ‘Hey!’

He stopped his movements, eyes taking in her form. There was something so… unbearably fond in his eyes, it made her heart flutter. ‘Baekhyun?’ she asked softly, feeling self-conscious.

At the sound of his name, he seemingly shook himself out of whatever daze he’d fallen in.

‘Hey,’ he replied, straightening. There were a few moments where they stood at opposite ends of the room, staring at each other.

Then Baekhyun stepped forward, walking purposefully towards her until he was a mere foot away. He didn’t break his gaze and Mei didn’t, couldn’t, look away, tilting her head when he came close.

He kept looking at her until she could feel steam coming out of her face and then, he stepped even closer and pulled her into a hug, arms wrapping snugly around her shoulders and tucking her face into his chest.

If she’d been blushing before, she was burning up now. ‘Baek…?’

‘Shh…’ he muttered, hand coming up to pet her hair. ‘Just… shh.’

She fell silent, relaxing after the initial shock had worn off. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and he made a noise of satisfaction, stepping even closer. Mei closed her eyes, letting the beat of his heart lull her.

Who knew how long they stood like that, entwined in each other’s embrace. She felt disoriented when he finally loosened his arms, taking a step back.

She blinked up at him, not willing to part. Baekhyun gave the best hugs and she’d always loved them. Now that she knew he was her soulmate, it felt even better.

To her quiet delight, he stayed put. Instead, he brought his hand down from her head to cup her face, a thumb caressing her jaw as he looked at her. His eyes were filled with so much love, so much affection that she felt breathless.

He smiled softly and her own lips curved in response.

The spell was broken by the jarring noise of the phone ringing and Mei jumped, surprised. Baekhyun made a face but stepped away.

Before she could whine – even internally – at the loss, he reached back and grabbed her hand, pulling her along as he dug out his cellphone and answered. Mei didn’t pay any mind to who was on the phone, staring at the way his fingers intertwined with hers, his long, delicate fingers completely wrapping around her smaller ones. It made butterflies erupt in her tummy.

She didn’t notice when he hung up but she did notice when he pulled her down beside him on the couch. ‘Let’s watch something,’ he said, then promptly pulled her into his side, arm draping over her shoulder. ‘Pull your legs up.’

Mei complied easily, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. They sat in companionable silence as Baekhyun the television, stopping at some random movie. Mei stared at the screen, not seeing anything.

This… this was nice. This was like the old days, when hugging and snuggling with Baekhyun wasn’t something she’d think twice about, without the worries of their feelings coming in the way. It felt warm and cozy, like home.

And she realized this was exactly why Baekhyun was her soulmate. Because he was her home. Smiling a little, she stretched her legs out, tangling them with his. He humphed, moving his foot to capture her legs and stop their movement. Mei giggled to herself and Baekhyun’s lips curved in response. Mei stared at his smile, a little star-struck.

‘You didn’t tell me you met Taeyeon,’ he said after a while. Mei had gone back to snuggling with him. She stiffened but his arm tightened around her shoulder, stopping her from moving away.

‘How…?’ she asked.

‘Kyungsoo told me.’ He’d told him about the entire discussion preceding his and Mei’s breakup after Baekhyun had bugged him.

Mei was quiet for a moment. ‘You didn’t tell me you guys broke up because of me.’

Baekhyun grimaced in response. ‘She said that?’

‘She said I came in between you guys… that… that you refused to give me up, even if it meant losing her.’ Her voice became small.

Baekhyun didn’t say anything immediately which worried her. But his hands refused to loosen when she tried to sit up. Giving up, she leaned back in.

‘Well, I couldn’t give up my soulmate, now could I?’ he answered softly, the images from the screen flashing over his face.

Mei blinked, not sure she’d heard him correctly. ‘S-soulmate?’ Did that mean Baekhyun knew all this time?

Baekhyun glanced at her. ‘What? Our heartlines match!’

She pushed away from him. ‘It’s not a joke,’ she said, feeling stupid. How could he joke about something so serious?

‘No it isn’t,’ he agreed amicably, pulling her back in. ‘Are you denying that you’re my soulmate?’

‘Wha-? No, I’m not!’ she protested, blushing immediately afterwards. This wasn’t how she’d planned to confess to him.  

‘Good. Keep that in mind the next time you decide to write Luhan’s name on your wrist.’ He pouted sulkily, holding up his arm. Luhan’s name, penned and shaded in Mei’s distinctive writing gleamed merrily on his skin. Mei’s eyes widened and she looked at her own wrist. Her skin was clear where she’d painstakingly penned it.

‘Uh… it was just…’

Baekhyun decided to look at her fully this time. ‘It was just?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mei looked away. ‘I was confused, okay? I knew you’re my soulmate but you’ve been acting so… nonchalant, I didn’t know if you knew or were just being your usual weird self.’

‘I’m not weird,’ Baekhyun protested. ‘Just special.’

‘… anyway, so I decided that until I knew for sure, I’d stick to Luhan.’

‘You’d pick Luhan over me?’ Baekhyun asked, putting a hand to his chest, looking hurt.

‘NO!’ Mei exclaimed, pulling his hand away and squeezing it between both of hers. ‘I just meant until I was sure you knew I was your soulmate… and that you were ready to commit to it. I… I know you don’t think it’s important but…’

‘Hey,’ Baekhyun interrupted, cupping her cheek with his free hand. ‘If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.’

Something about the words hit her right in the heart, making her tear up. ‘Baek…’

He freed his other hand, bringing it up to push her hair back and caress her cheek. ‘Not simply because you’re my soulmate… but because I love you.’

Mei stared at him, eyes b over. He rubbed his thumbs under her eyes, catching the tears and smiled. ‘This is the part where you tell me you love me too, Mei.’

Mei started bawling at that. Baekhyun panicked. ‘You don’t have to, I just meant… come on now, please don’t cry…’ he pleaded, pulling her into a hug. ‘Please…’

‘I…’ she choked out, sniffling, ‘do… I love… you… too.’

‘Okay, okay, hush now…’ Baekhyun muttered, petting her head and dropping soft kisses on her forehead.

His sweetness made her cry even harder.

…………………………….

‘We should move,’ Baekhyun suggested weakly after a while.

Mei had rallied quickly after her initial breakdown and had glued herself to his side, fingers not settling, touching him as if to make sure he was there. He found it adorable. Of course he did. He was a er for her.

‘Nuh uh.’ She shook her head, laying it over his chest. ‘I like it here.’

Baekhyun smirked, tickling her side. ‘Here?’ he teased.

Mei pouted but didn’t back off. ‘You know what I mean.’

Baekhyun didn’t have any objections to Mei snuggling with him. Why would he? He liked it just as much as she did. But Mei’s fingers tickling over his torso was doing things to his body and well. He’d rather keep this innocent, at least for now.

‘I wasn’t sure if you’d be happy about it…’ Mei muttered quietly. ‘Because you’ve always been so… skeptical.’

‘I wouldn’t be if it was anyone but you.’ Baekhyun replied honestly. Mei pinched his tummy in retaliation. ‘Ouch, hey! This is domestic abuse!’

Mei attacked his sides, making him laugh and double over, trying to get away from her. ‘Okay, okay, stop! I’m sorry, I’d be grateful for whoever my soulmate was, I swear!’

Mei narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You’d better be,’ she threatened. Baekhyun scrunched his nose but nodded anyway. It was a sensitive issue after all.

Mei backed off, trying to step back but she slipped and fell, face first, into Baekhyun whose breath was knocked out of him on the impact. They lay there, winded.

‘Not that I don’t like this but I’d prefer if you were a little gentle next time,’ Baekhyun spoke after he’d caught his breath.

Mei pushed against his chest to back off but he wrapped his arms around her. ‘No, I like it here!’ He smiled cheekily at her.

Mei tilted her head thoughtfully, making Baekhyun self-conscious. ‘What?’

She stared at him for few moments before shaking her head, her cheeks blooming red. ‘Nothing.’

Baekhyun latched onto her, sitting up. ‘What were you thinking about?’ he asked teasingly. ‘Why’re you blushing? Oh, Mei… you weren’t thinking about kissing me, were you?’ He puckered his lips jokingly.

He expected her push him away or at least refute his statement. Instead, her cheeks flushed even more and she looked away. ‘So what if I was?’

He stilled, lips still puckered. ‘For real?’ he asked, sobering. She didn’t say anything, just backed away. Baekhyun grabbed her arm, stopping her. ‘Wait!’

They stared at each other for a few moments and Baekhyun could feel heat rise to his own cheeks as well. ‘Can…’ he began hesitantly, lifting a hand to her face, pushing her hair back. Her cheeks felt warm underneath his fingertips. ‘Can I kiss you?’

Mei nodded slowly.

‘Okay,’ he said, feeling like a total noob. His heart was beginning to race. ’Okay…’ he repeated nervously.

She lifted her face, eyes scrunched shut tightly.

It was very cute and a lot of Baekhyun’s nervousness dissipated at the sight. He leaned in and felt her breath stutter when she felt him close. Instead of kissing her lips, he kissed her nose.

She wiggled it curiously, opening her eyes gently, a hand coming up to touch her nose self-consciously. He smiled when she looked at him quizzically, then closed the distance between them, meshing their lips together.

It was like homecoming and he smiled into the kiss.

…………………………………

A/N

And then, they lived happily ever after, just like Mei had always dreamed. So that's a wrap and personally, I find this a little lacking in closure. Which is why I'll probably write a proper epilogue and give this story a good ending. However, that might take some time, since I'm a little busy right now. But never worry, I have a few things in mind which I may or may not turn into bonus chapters. 

Thank you all for reading and leaving your comments for me, I really enjoy your anticipation and thoughts. So, do give my other stories a try. And if you're interested in reading something new, I've just added a new story. I won't start posting immediately since I have to figure a few things out but probably in the next few weeks, I'll start it. Here's the link if you wanna subscribe: Love like Confetti, with highschool heartthrob Luhan and delinquent Sehun as the main protagonists. I think this is one my first stories set purely in a highschool setup and I must say, I'm having a lot of fun. Do give it a read :3

Until later, bubye!