"What do we do now?" Baekhyun asked quietly as the stars hung heavy overhead and the damp earth seeped cold into their bones. " I don't know. I didn't come here to ask you to accept me Baekhyun. I just want us to go back to the way we used to be." He pulled the small man closer and his soft hair and inhaled the scent he loved most in the world. Lavendar and lilac and earth and sun. Baekhyun smelled like everything that was good in the world and Chanyeol relaxed as he held him.

"I don't expect anything from you. I just want to have you in my life. I just want to be able to come here and hang out with you. I want to walk by the creek and eat cakes from the bakery and just be together like we used to be." Chanyeol sighed as Baekhyun sat up and he did too. "I was fine with the way things were. I'm used to it Baekhyun. I don't need you to feel the same."

The smile they shared melted away the years. "Want to go inside and make some food?" Baekhyun grinned and got up. "Won't we wake your parents?" Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun laughed. "Dad wont wake up and so what if Mum does? We're adults now Chanyeol we're allowed to be drunk!" he squealed with a sudden and uncontrollable laughter and it was infectious. Chanyeol joined in and soon the two were chuckling as they sneaked quietly in through the back door of the little house attached to the nursery. "Do you still like nachos?" Baekhyun asked as they entered the kitchen and Chanyeol responded with a smile.

——-

"Shhhhhh!" Baekhyun whispered loudly before dissolving into the giggles. In that very moment there was nothing funnier than the sight of his tall friend, now sixteen and all arms and legs and ears, trying to sneak quietly throught the little house Baekhyun lived in with his parents. They had been out at a party but ended up leaving and drinking with Jongdae and Minseok down by the creek and it had taken them three times the usual time to walk the length of the town's main street. Chanyeol kept stopping to look at the stars, mumbling musings and imaginations about different songs he wanted to write, and Baekhyun just found everything that came out of his mouth hilarious.

"What do you want to eat?" Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol bumped into the wall, the table and the doorframe on his way to the kitchen behind him. He opened the fridge and began to get out sour cream and jalapenos and avocadoes. "lets make nachos!" he giggled excitedly as Chanyeol searched the cupboards for the corn chips and salsa. They found a big bowl in the kitchen cupboard and laughed as they poured the chips out, covering them with salsa and grated cheese and topings until the chips had totally disappeared under the pile of condiments.

Baekhyun microwaved the snack until the cheese melted and went to grab it out. "Ah hot!" he shrieked and pulled his hands back and Chanyeol came to the rescue with a tea towel to use and pulled it out. "We cant eat this in my room." Baekhyun whispered. "Let's go outside."

They tried to move quietly out to the nursery but Chanyeol's big feet kicked every piece of furniture on the way just making Baekhyun laugh harder. They finally made their way out into the freedom of the night and sat up the back on the ground leaning on the flower beds containing potted lavender and pine trees. The best spot in the nursery. It was a warm night and the stars were fast disappearing as clouds rolled in from the east and they stuffed the nachos into their mouths like they hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Did you see her flirting with him?" Baekhyun asked and Chanyeol nodded with his cheeks full of food. He chewed quickly and swallowed and prepared himself for what was coming. Baekhyun was an emotional drunk, he usually cried and would eventually throw up, before Chanyeol would carry him up to his bed. He knew it was coming and it still broke his heart every time. 

Baekhyun began to cry, quietly at first, but soon his body was shaking with sobs as corn chips flew out his mouth and spilled onto his shirt. "Why? We just broke up again. And she was flirting with him right in front of me. She was all over him Chanyeol." Chanyeol sighed and put the bowl of nachos down. "I know." was all he could say as he put his arm around his sad drunk friend. "Chew your food Baek." Chaneyol said and Baekhyun chewed his mouthful of nachos and swallowed. "Do you want to be sick?" Chanyeol asked as he balanced Baekhyun with one arm and the almost-empty nachos with the other. Baekhyun shook his head. Chanyeol half carried him through the nursery, through the kitchen, and up the stairs to the bedroom.

As soon as Chanyeol laid him on his bed Baekhyun sat up. "I'm going to be sick." He said as he went pale and Chanyeol scooped him back up and dragged him to the bathroom. He sat next to him on the floor as Baekhyun emptied his stomach into the toilet bowl. He washed his face and helped him rinse his mouth out. And when he laid him back down on the bed so he could take the mattress on the floor Baekhyun wouldn't let go of him. "Sleep up here with me." He whispered and Chanyeol complied. He climbed onto the bed and shifted close to Baekhyun who rolled over and put his head on Chanyeol's chest.

"Why doesn't she love me?" Baekhyun whispered and Chanyeol's heart clenched in his chest. It hurt so much and he gave the only honest answer he could. "I don't know Baek. I don't know why she doesn't love you." Because in that moment he didn't know. He didn't understand how anyone couldn't love the precious boy snuggled against his chest. He ran his fingers through Baekhyun's hair and felt him drift off to sleep in his arms. "But I love you and I wish that was enough." He whispered to the sleeping boy who never heard him as he laid his head on his heart.

——-

"What do we do now?" Baekhyun asked after they made their nachos with minimal noise. They took them out into the heavy atmosphere outside. No stars were visible through the thick cloud cover and there wasn't even a hint of a breeze. "I guess we just eat." Chanyeol said as he lifted a corn chip dripping with cheese towards his mouth. Baekhyun watched him close his eyes in satisfaction as he crunched the chip and he couldn't stop the smile from playing across his lips.

He knew what he had to do. It wasn't going to be pretty but it was his own fault anyway. Baekhyun knew as he watched Chanyeol stuff nachos into his mouth, spilling salsa all over the front of his expensive dress shirt, that he had to end things with Sehun. 

It wasn't fair on either of them.