Kissing Chanyeol at the airport before he left to board his plane was as cliche as all the stories Baekhyun spent his time reading. They had been together for 2 years now- faced as many of highs and lows a couple could, argued about pointless things like washing the dishes (it 100% Baekhyun's fault, but he was not owning up to it) or more important things like the time Chanyeol accidentally flirted with his English teacher to bump up his grade so he'd pass the class.

But they'd gotten through that- Baekhyun knew that they would. Long distance on the other hand was so much more different. It wasnt even in the same country, so the time would be different, the clocks would never sync up, Chanyeol would make a million new friends, they would never have time for each other- and then they would fizzle out. All the love and affection they had in the past two years would die in a matter of months.

He was being brave though, he would push through this- maybe none of that would happen. Maybe Chanyeol would be glued to his phone and message him every day, maybe he would fly out to see him every now and then, maybe Baekhyun would be okay too.

Baekhyun's phone jingled softly to notify him of  a new message;

From: Sarangyeol

I'm just boarding now. I'll let you know when I get there. I love you :)

Baekhyun blushed softly and bit back a smile; what was he worrying about? Of course, Chanyeol loved him more than a million friends and more than a new city. They could do this.

To: Sarangyeol

I love you too babe, safe travels <3 

_______________________________________________________________________

He warned himself that it was the beginning of the end. And honestly it was, the first blow came only 2 weeks after Chanyeol had been in America. They were on their routine Wednesday call, everything had been going smoothly, until;

"I'll call at 12? That should be the perfect time for both of us?" Baekhyun chirps and Chanyeol nods before realising the other can't see him.

"Yeah- that's great Baek. Actually look, I'll be honest, I got invited out by my dorm buddies. So, maybe raincheck on the call?"

Baekhyun slumps, "Yeah of course, Yeol- you go have fun" 

This was like every romance novel or every 'does long distance work?' article he had ever read. Except this was real life- his life.

He hears Chanyeol fumble around in the background and sigh "Baekhyun don't do this"

"Do what?" The other grouches, pout on his face and sounding out in his voice;

"Tell me that it's okay when you actually want to rip my head off" Chanyeol chuckles and Baekhyun winces at the accuracy "What? You don't think I know how your tone changes when you're upset about something, Baek?"

He can hear the smirk in Chanyeol's voice at calling him out and he sighs frustratedly;

"Okay, fine- I'm not happy that you're blowing me off to hang out with your dorm buddies- they get to see you all the time, I get you one skype call a week, Chanyeol" Baekhyun argues, feeling ever the petutlant child, arms crossing across his chest as he pins his phone between his ear and his shoulder. "It's not fair"

"Wow, okay" Chanyeol's voice is still full of amusement "Firstly, I really wish I was blowing you right now, just to hear all those wonderful noises you make-" He could feel Baekhyun's blush at his words through the phone "Secondly, it's Fresher's week Baekhyun, I'm just getting to know everyone. I promise, I'll call you the day after is that okay?"

Baekhyun finally agrees, voice soft "Yeah of course it, I'm sorry" he whispers "I just... I miss you already y'know? And I  know it's only two weeks, and I know I shouldn't be needy and I should be okay by myself, but you've been here with me for two years and I, I'm just so used to seeing you and not seeing you is killing-" Baekhyun's voice wobbles and Chanyeol sighs once more;

"I..." He starts and then drops any annoyance, he loves the petite pink haired boy on the other end, more than he could ever put into coherent sentences, he doesnt want him to feel like this "It's okay. I miss you too y'know. But we'll see each other soon, and it'll be fine" He's never been great with words, or expressing how he feels, he's always been better at showing. But he can't show Baekhyun because they're on the phone- a million miles apart.

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Chanyeol plops down on the edge of his dorm bed and tries to convey how much he really wants to say in his next words; "I love you Baek, really, so please don't worry"

"I know, I love you too"

____________________________________________________________

A month later Baekhyun was walking through campus.

Jongdae, for lack of a better word, was a nuisance. He was an amazing architect and an even better photographer, but he was a social media addict and a down right nuisance in Baekhyun's life. Aka his best friend (after Chanyeol).

"Aww" The sharp cheek-boned boy smiled "Are you missing your little boyfie?"

Baekhyun smacked his arm "Knock it off Jongdae, I'm getting Chanyeol to kick your when he's back. And yes, of course I am- like crazy." He stops "I wonder if he's even thinking about me, he didn't message me good morning or good night yesterday. I just assumed he was busy- but I don't want to message him too much and annoy him either"

Jongdae just looks at him like he's grown a third head "This is Chanyeol, Baek. The love of your life. You're worried about messaging him now? You two have never been worried about anything. You guys weren't even worried when his mom nearly walked in on you getting your brains ed out last summer!"

Baekhyun shoves Jongdae at that and turns crimson "We never speak of that!" But his sharp eyed friend had a point, he'd never been nervous about messaging Chanyeol before or bothering him in the slightest, why was he panicking to do it now?

"Baekhyun," Jongdae was serious, mirthful expression dropping at his friend's sullen expression "Don't make this more dramatic than it is. Just message him, tell him how you're feeling. You know he'd be there to help in seconds"

Baekhyun nods and pulls out his phone;

To: Sarangyeol 

Hey babe. Just wondering how you are, thinking about you lots! 

Sent; 08:14

He waits a few minutes and recieves nothing back. He's probably busy in a new place, he convinces himself and dives back into conversation with Jongdae and Xiumin who had joined them for their morning coffee before lectures. He promises he wont check his phone, partially out of anger that the other is so caught up in his new life to actually respond, and partially because he doesn't want the hurt of a blank message screen.

He manages to make it from 9AM to 6PM purely clinging to Jongdae. His phone hasnt made a sound all day and Baekhyun feels beyond upset at the thought that Chanyeol had already forgotten about their routine, their messages- their way of communicating after only a month and a half. Did he mean that little to the taller?

When he gets into his apartment, he chucks his phone on the night stand, refusing to even glance at it. He would deal with Park Chanyeol in the morning, first he wanted to get a bubble bath and drown his sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol and pass out on his couch.

He gets to undoing his belt buckle when curiousity, the same one that had been edging him to check his phone all day, got the better of him. He hastily flicked the button on his phone that caused his screen to light back and held back a sound of mortification.

No.

He hadn't.

He had left his phone on silence mode. There were 6 messages and 2 missed calls , a third facetime notification and a voicemail- all from Chanyeol.

Jesus . Baekhyun's heart flipped in his chest soaring to new heights at the thought that Chanyeol hadn't forgotten about him and had been messaging him all day, before plummetting when he realised, he had been the one ignoring the other and refusing to reply.

From: Sarangyeol

Hey baby, I'm thinking about you too. Just heading to my lectures, I can't wait for our call later.

Recieved; 08:21

From: Sarangyeol

I'm out of lectures now, are you still okay to call tonight? I'm free just for you ;)

Recieved; 17:32

From: Sarangyeol

Hey babe, not heard from you all day. How was your day? I hope you're okay- I love you.

Recieved; 18:17

From: Sarangyeol

I'l be ready to call in 5 mins, just heating up some ramen. God, I can't wait to see your hair again.

Recieved; 20:56

From: Sarangyeol

Hey Baek? Are you running late? Maybe we can call later? I don't mind staying up :)

Recieved; 21:37

From: Sarangyeol

Goodnight. love you.

Recieved; 01:08

Fingers numb, Baekhyun clicked the voicemail message and Chanyeol's tired voice sounded from the speakers, his usually jovial tone lacked any emphasis;

"Hey, just wanted to say I'm off to bed now. I hope I haven't upset you or anything today, that wasn't my intention- and if it's something I did I'll try not to. I miss you. And I love you. Really hope you're just busy and not out with a new boyfriend already-" Baekhyun pushes back tears at Chanyeol's attempt to lighten the mood "Haha, I'll kill him. Joking. But not really. Anyway, erm... I hope you've had a good day. I'll try and catch you tomorrow"

Baekhyun feels guilt creep up his spine, like a horribly attached spider, his fingers sift through his contacts, dialling before he can stop himself;

"... hello? Baek?" Chanyeol's voice sounds tired, groggy and Baekhyun imagines his thick brown hair ruffled in different directions as he hears him sit up "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Baekhyun manages holding back a sniffle "I'm sorry Yeol, I'm sorry I messed up- I'm such an idiot- I'm such an idiot, I didn't thi-"

"Baek." Chanyeol's voice is flat and it scares the smaller into silence "Calm down babe. What happened?"

"I'm an idiot" Baekhyun whispered, letting his tears fall freely at his stupidity "I... I thought you were ignoring me after I messaged you this morning. I got so caught up in being angry I forgot we were meant to call. And I only realised I put my phone on silent mode and I'm so stupid, please forgive me."

Chanyeol sighs on the other end "It's okay Baek, I'm not mad. I was... I was worried about you"

Baekhyun gulps, feeling horrible at making his love feel like this "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He manages "I just... It feels so different without you here. With me. I know it's just anxiety and that everything is still so new with you being so far away. I don't want you