inspiration

music

baekhyun/junmyeon

~800 words

Rain is supposed to be soft, calming, and soothing.

Baekhyun disagrees.

Rain is loud, cold, and sad. It makes him feel alone, lonely even, especially when that’s exactly what he is: alone.

He hates when Junmyeon leaves for business trips, his work keeping him away for at least two weeks out of every month. That’s fourteen days, 336 hours, and 20,160 minutes he won’t have with Junmyeon, time he can never get back. That much time is too much, but then again, Baekhyun considers any second without Junmyeon wasted.

The rain just makes it worse. Bitter icing on the dry, flavorless cake of Baekhyun’s already miserable day. Class was horrible, seeing as the kid in front of him was as tall as a skyscraper and he couldn’t hear his teacher properly when she was talking about logarithms, and he doesn’t even want to think about dropping his chemistry book in the puddle outside the apartment because oh my god my teacher is going to kill me. Needless to say, Baekhyun’s day has been beyond rough, and he really wanted nothing more than to go home to a warm blanket and chick flick movies with Junmyeon.

It’s only when he’s unlocking the door, a bit too excitedly, that he remembers Junmyeon left today for a business trip to China with his co-worker Jongdae (Baekhyun never trusted Jongdae much; his smile always reminded him of the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, mischievous and more of a smirk than anything). He deflates at the thought, wondering if he should just leave his door locked and mope over to Chanyeol’s place for a pick-me-up night of video games and booze. He decides against it, though, if only because it’s pouring outside and he doesn’t feel like getting drenched.

After struggling to even get out of his clothes and into a pair of sweatpants, Baekhyun flops down on Junmyeon’s bed (he really should say their bed, because really, the only time they sleep in separate beds is when one of them is sick) and curls up into a tight ball, a pillow clutched to his chest. He lets the sound of the rain on the window replace Junmyeon’s heartbeat, the fleece blanket he’s wrapped in a sad imitation of Junmyeon’s body heat. This is the longest trip Junmyeon’s taken yet, a week-long one, and it’s only the first day, but Baekhyun can already imagine the loneliness that the rest of the week will entail.

The fake presence the rain and blanket are trying to provide aren’t enough, and Baekhyun thinks he might cry. He feels stupid because he should be able to handle being away from his boyfriend for at least a week, especially since he’s only on day one. But he can’t help getting up from his cocoon of imitated warmth and rummage through Junmyeon’s closet for one of the elder’s dress shirts. Even though he hasn’t worn it yet, it still smells like him, fresh and ataractic. Baekhyun buttons the three buttons in the middle, letting the shirt stay loose on his torso, the crisp fabric chafing his skin in a way that isn’t all-too uncomfortable. Lying back down, he decides that he doesn’t need the blanket anymore; the rain has subsided to some degree, leaving behind a humid atmosphere that will have Baekhyun complaining later, but the scent of newly washed concrete with Junmyeon’s cologne is one that he isn’t going to pass up.

He pops the collar, inhaling the familiar aroma of what he can only describe as Junmyeon. It’s comforting, much more comforting than the rain, and Baekhyun is close to the edge of slumber when he hears a faint buzzing noise coming from his right. It’s his phone, vibrating on the nightstand beside the bed, alerting him that he has an incoming call. Baekhyun scrambles for the phone, immediately hitting the green “accept” button without even bothering to look at the caller id. He knows who it is.

“Hello?” he answers, trying desperately to keep the tears from running into his voice.

“Baek? Are you okay?” Junmyeon’s voice is covered in a thin layer of static and concern, but it makes Baekhyun smile nonetheless.

“I’m okay. Now,” he adds the “now” last minute.

“Do you miss me already? We still have another six days to go,” Junmyeon teases, but the way he says “we” instead of “you” makes Baekhyun want to cry for a whole other reason; he isn’t the only one suffering from the pain of a missing half.

“I’m wearing your shirt right now, if that answers your question,” Baekhyun says and hears Junmyeon’s soft laughter from the other end. They talk and talk and talk until ungodly hours of the night (in both time zones) before Baekhyun falls asleep to the sound of Junmyeon’s voice and the scent of Junmyeon’s cologne instead of those of the rain.