Petals…

Soft petals, white with pale pink nuances…

Floating gently downward… wafting on the whispers of breezes that slowed their decent as they succumbed to the gravitational pull towards the pebble-like soil that crunched underfoot as he walked.  The cherry blossom petals also lay scattered along the pleasantly twisting pathway, creating a picturesque scene.  This was heaven – or at least as close as he was going to get for now. 

The last few weeks had played havoc on Baekhyun’s mind, and this trip to Japan was exactly what he needed.  The soft pink petals brushing across his face had a wonderful calming effect and Baekhyun stopped for a minute and closed his eyes as the breeze slightly picked up, brushing his unruly bangs across his forehead. 

The one downside to closing his eyes was what flashed immediately in his mind when the garden around him was no longer in view.

Chanyeol.

It had been over 2 weeks since they had last seen each other in person, and the last time he had talked to Chanyeol was the Facetime session they had over 24 hours earlier when Baekhyun was still in Korea.  Baekhyun had actually cut the call short since he still had to shower and then try to get a 2 hour nap before leaving for a CBX fansign event.  Because of the tight timeframe, he had left straight for the airport after the fansign and Baekhyun planned to squeeze every bit of relaxation he could out of the 2-and-a-half days booked at the Japanese hot springs resort.  Although the room he ended up with was a little small, the private hot springs that connected by a set of traditional sliding doors was worth the extra cash.  The promise of uninhibited relaxation out of sight from prying eyes should have been all he needed to feel satisfied at that moment.  But the image of his forlorn giant was gnawing at Baekhyun’s conscience and he kicked himself for not taking more time to express his love and concern for his equally overworked Yoda.  

Chanyeol had been in his studio almost non-stop over the last couple weeks.  There had been requests for his musical genius on 2 different collaborations and the opportunities were too good to pass up.  Baekhyun was very proud of his giant and the timing seemed perfect at first since CBX had schedules throughout the same timeframe.  He had encouraged Chanyeol to accept the studio work since all these commitments would keep them both busy and productive despite the lack of EXO participation.

Unfortunately it also made them lonely.  When Baekhyun was home, Chanyeol was in the studio.  The times Chanyeol would drag himself back home to shower and sleep in his own bed instead of on the studio couch, Baekhyun would be elsewhere working on CBX activities.  They texted and had brief Facetime sessions, but there was little other interaction.  This stress added to everything else and when Baekhyun realized he wasn’t even using his practiced smile at a fanmeet, he knew he needed a break.

The idea of the quick Japan trip was wonderful but not practical for Chanyeol, since he knew the firestorm that would occur if he tried to take the same two days away from his commitments.  Baekhyun hadn’t even flinched when this came up in their conversation four days before.  It was already a minor miracle the managers were letting Baekhyun go alone since the plan was to meet at the resort with two of his trusted friends from high school days. 

Baekhyun sighed and opened his eyes.  The image of his giant lingered as the petals continued to lightly swirl through the pretty garden pathway.  Right on cue, his phone vibrated in his pocket as a familiar tune drifted in the air.  Smiling at the melody, Baekhyun pushed the answer button and spoke into his phone.

“I would sing along but you haven’t written the words yet. “

“That’s because you won’t let me use the ones we came up with together three weeks ago, B.”

“Well- I still don’t think the public needs to hear about how talented you are at making my body sing.  And even if they liked the words, I don’t want them to know.” Baekhyun smirked.

Chanyeol deliberately dropped his voice an octave. “Then I guess we need to stop working on lyrics right after we work on each other.”

Baekhyun shivered and dropped his own voice an octave. “I do believe that is the iest refusal I’ve ever been given.”

Chanyeol chuckled. “I don’t like refusing you but if I have to, at least I can make it y.”

“You sure can.” Baekhyun replied, and then sighed. “Damn I miss you.”

“I know Babe. I know.”

Baekhyun pouted. “Aren’t you going to tell me you miss me too?”

“I don’t know. I would so much rather show you.”

Baekhyun blinked. “Wait- what?”

He couldn’t help it and began tearing up.  The stress from the last couple of weeks shouldn’t have been any more difficult to deal with than usual but on the plane he had made the mistake of counting how few days he had gotten to see his giant in person.  It was no surprise to find the last 6 months had been woefully inadequate.

“Baby…” He heard Chanyeol say softly. “I know how hard it’s been for you to stay positive recently.”

Baekhyun stayed mum.

“Come on Baek talk to me.”

Baekhyun grumbled. “You’re just trying to make me cry.”

“I’ll let you cry on my shoulder.” Chanyeol said.

“How are you gonna do that, Dumbo? I’m in Japan, remember?”

“Well your friends are very persistent.  And it’s obvious your pouting talents have rubbed off on them over the years.” Chanyeol said.

“What the hell are you going on about?  Here I am missing you and you’re talking about my friends pouting?”

Chanyeol chuckled. “Well I know you have those pretty lips pouting nicely right now, but that’s not my point.”

“What is your point, Yoda?  Why are you laughing?”

Chanyeol stifled his laughter. “I love you Midget.”

“I love you too but that can’t be your point either, dammit.” Baekhyun huffed.

This time Chanyeol couldn’t help but laugh. “Babe, just turn around.”

Chanyeol’s quick laugh was still lingering in the air as Baekhyun whirled around quickly, gasping as he saw his lanky giant standing a few yards away in the same pathway.  “How- what- I- I don’t- -“ Baekhyun gave up trying to talk and speed walked into Chanyeol’s waiting arms.  The two swayed gently while holding each other tight as the petals around them continued to drift.

Baekhyun finally lifted his head from Chanyeol’s chest to wipe his tears and shakily asked “What do my friends pouting have to do with you being here?”

Chanyeol smiled. “Ever since you gave them my number they’ve texted me once a week. I guess they want to check up on you without you feeling like they’re nagging.” 

Baekhyun looked confused. “But-  I’ve been active in our group chat so they know how I am.  And we even had a group Facetime session just last week!  I don’t understand…”

Chanyeol looked sheepish. “When I checked the usual texts this week they actually were nagging but this time they were nagging me.  Apparently right after you confirmed plans for this trip they had their own chat and decided I should be here instead.”

“Good to know that the next time I want to convince you to do something I’ll just have to make sure my friends are free to chat.”

Chanyeol guffawed and slapped his own thigh. “You’re not wrong about that!”

Baekhyun smiled thru his tears. “Seriously tho, how did this happen?  I mean, I love that you’re here but I’m really confused.”

Chanyeol calmed his laughter and smiled at his puppy. “They told me how much stress you’ve been hiding from me and that I should be ashamed of myself for not being more supportive.  After getting the details of your last group Facetime chat and being told how desperate you sounded to get together with them for this trip, I knew I had to make it up to you.  When you cut our last Facetime chat short 2 days ago I knew something had to be done.  So I immediately called Managernim and had a serious talk with him.  He’s the one that switched out the tickets for me to be here instead of the guys.“

Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol with amazement. “You mean it’s actually ok for you to be here with me?  Like, you aren’t getting us in trouble being here?”

Chanyeol raised his hand gently and used his thumb to wipe the remaining teardrops off Baekhyun’s face.  “I have approval to be here with you, just the two of us, for the next 2 days.  We are supposed to leave our phones on but set to silent so we can have the peace and quiet that we obviously deserve.  The hotel and staff are being compensated for leaving all the rooms surrounding ours empty.  The car back to the airport the last morning is being brought by a bodyguard that will be traveling back with us and then more security will meet us once we land in Seoul.”

Baekhyun locked eyes with his giant and furrowed his brow. “What about your work?”

“I pulled an overnighter to complete the one job and gave a rough draft for the other showing the plan I have for finishing that one. They liked my proposal and didn’t even question when I said I was going out of town for a couple of days.”

Baekhyun burrowed his head back into Chanyeol’s broad chest. “Poor baby, you must be exhausted.”

“I’ll be fine. Getting to spend time with my puppy is worth lack of sleep and cram sessions.” Chanyeol said as he softly ran his fingers through Baekhyun’s windblown hair. “Besides, when I get back I’ll send the completed one in to be approved, and once that’s done I can get back to wrapping up the second. So really there’s not much stress waiting for me when I get back.”

Baekhyun’s giggles were muffled by Chanyeol’s shirt.  Chanyeol cocked his head, puzzled at his puppy’s sudden change in demeanor.  “What’s so funny, B?” he asked.

“I was thinking about what you said earlier about the peace and quiet.  If we actually enjoy spending time together while we’re here, I don’t think it’s gonna be all that quiet.” Baekhyun said, raising his head to wink at his giant. “And you know I’m not talking about gaming.”

The breeze had picked up a bit, but Chanyeol knew he couldn’t use that excuse for his suddenly flushed cheeks.  He grinned and crouched down to be nose-to-nose with his smirking puppy. “We both know who the noisy one is when we’re not talking about gaming, Babe.”

Baekhyun pouted. “It’s your fault though.”

Chanyeol smirked as Baekhyun continued. “You know exactly how to make my body sing.”

“Well since you put it that way, “ Chanyeol said taking Baekhyun’s hand and lacing their fingers together “why don’t you show me where our room is and we can get to making more beautiful music…”

The petals at their feet moved briefly as they both turned back towards the hotel, the pebble-like soil crunching underfoot as they walked.  

“I always knew you were a genius, Yoda.”

* * * * * * * * *