“Hyung, he’s driving me mad.”  Kyungsoo is careful to keep his voice at a whisper, but it still floats into the common room, where Baekhyun is playing with his phone.  At those words, the older boy’s lips twitch upwards, and he pauses his game to hear more.

“You normally don’t have a problem with kicking when you’re bothered,” Minseok whispers back.

“But hyung,” Kyungsoo whines, “Baekhyun has started flinching even when I so much as walk towards him, and he still won’t leave me alone.”  This time, Baekhyun can’t help letting out a quiet snort.  The kid didn’t even call him hyung.

A few minutes later, he slips outside and calls the first number on speed dial.

“Hey, Jongdae, where are you?”

Fifteen minutes later, the doors to a local coffee shop open, and Baekhyun, decked out in a huge black hoodie pulled over a snapback and sunglasses, is assaulted by clouds of espresso stained air.  He quickly orders an americano and heads to the back of the shop, where a familiar red hood is bent over a phone laid on the table.

“I feel like we’re becoming a cliche,” Baekhyun says as he approaches the table.

Jongdae lifts his head, and Baekhyun can’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of them—two young men in the middle of August wearing giant hoodies, snapbacks, skinny jeans, and sunglasses inside a bustling coffee shop where nearly every other customer is wearing short sleeves and shorts.

“And how do you propose we spice things up?”

Baekhyun shrugs.  “I think I’d be a good stripper,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows when Jongdae only looks at him appraisingly over the edge of a mug.

“You can practice that for next time,” he says.

“I’m a natural talent,” Baekhyun says, pouting.

“My room’s the only one big enough to practice in, though.”

“Practice… could be arranged,” Baekhyun says nonchalantly.  

Jongdae smirks a little.  “So why have you asked me here today?”

Baekhyun grins.

It’s the morning after Exo’s last schedule of the promotional period, and Kyungsoo blinks blearily as he wakes up.  They’d gotten in late, so the dorm is still quiet, and he is grateful that his body needs so little sleep, allowing him to savour every second of the morning.  He slips out of bed, putting on slippers.  They fit a little tighter than usual, but Kyungsoo pays it no mind, shuffling into the kitchen for breakfast.  The only other member up is Minseok, who smiles over his mug of coffee and nods at the younger man.  Breakfast is a silent affair, both men understanding after so many days as members of Exo that on mornings like this, preserving the quiet is both the easiest and best thing to do for their sanity.

When the other members wake up, the dorm is filled with noise, and Kyungsoo leaves to meet up with Hongbin.  Exo is a needy group, though, and Kyungsoo finds his phone regularly ringing with texts until he finally gives in and agrees to cook dinner again.  Baekhyun is strangely silent, and Kyungsoo briefly wonders if the older man is feeling well before shrugging and deciding he’s probably just off bothering Chanyeol instead.  It’s a welcome change, at least, to not have to deal with Baekhyun being dumb, and Kyungsoo is not about to question the source of this absence. 

That afternoon, Kyungsoo returns to the dorm and opens the refrigerator.  He knows where everything is—since they want him to make dinner more than one twelfth of the time, nobody is allowed to move things out of where he wants them.  He’s reaching blindly when he notices that for some reason, the containers are all shifted one shelf down.  Frowning, Kyungsoo makes a mental note to switch everything back and continues to cook as usual, noticing with annoyance that everything in the drawers have been tilted just slightly to the left.

Over the next couple days, Kyungsoo also notices that the lights in his room get progressively dimmer every day.  Then, he just barely catches himself one sleepy morning, when the body lotion and shower gel somehow switch places.  Kyungsoo stops wondering if maybe he’s just going a little crazy, though, when he wakes up one morning to see that certain contacts in his phone have been altered.  Really, it’s only Jongin, who’s been changed to “Yeobo<333”; Wonsik, who’s been changed to “Sen3.14”; and the addition of a contact named “Jongin” that actually dials a phone operator.

It takes a whole three more days for Kyungsoo to catch them, and in the meantime, he endures pillows that are a touch too soft, the mouthwash and the food coloring-tinted soju switching places, and several more irritations.  It’s great pleasure, therefore, that he experiences when he finds Jongdae and Baekhyun in his closet, pulling out black shirts to replace with dark grey shirts.

After a full minute of rambling about protecting society against the menace of black t-shirts and how important it is to keep black dye from touching human skin, Baekhyun and Jongdae are interrupted by Kyungsoo.

“You’re such considerate hyungs.  I just wanted to get my watch before I go to the company, though, so I’ll see you later!” he says sweetly, grabbing a watch and leaving quickly.

The two older men stare at the door with furrowed brows.

“What kind of hell does he have planned for us?” Baekhyun wonders, trying valiantly to keep the fear out of his voice (and failing).

Jongdae chuckles.  “Well he likes me, so I’d guess it’s just a special hell for you.”

For the next week, though, Kyungsoo exhibits his normal level of zero tolerance for Baekhyun’s presence and converses happily with Jongdae.  He makes dinner one night, just an easy kimchi spaghetti.  Baekhyun takes one bite, and his eyes begin to tear up.  Gulping down water, he stares at Kyungsoo, who just smiles serenely at him and turns to talk to Joonmyun.  

Nobody else seems to have a spicy dish, so Baekhyun catches Jongdae’s eye and goes to the kitchen to refill his cup.  Shortly after, Jongdae joins him, grinning.

“Is something up?”

“Kyungsoo made my spaghetti spicy.  So spicy.  Like I feel like I’ll be sweating by the end of dinner kind of spicy.”

“Aww, my poor baby,” coos Jongdae, laughing as he pulls Baekhyun into a hug.

“Stop laughing at me,” says Baekhyun with a frown.  “My mouth is burning, and I can’t feel my tongue.  He’s always liked you more, so you can’t understand my pain.”

Jongdae tries very hard to hide his smile as he apologizes, nose poking Baekhyun’s cheek playfully.  “I’m very sorry, Baekhyun.  I have no idea how painful it is to feel Kyungsoo’s wrath.  I can help make it feel better, though,” he adds, wiggling his eyebrows.

Baekhyun pretends to sniffle.  "That would be very much appreciated."

Laughing, Jongdae pulls Baekhyun a little closer.  “Later,” he whispers, and when the other man pouts, he presses a kiss to Baekhyun’s lips with a smile.

Everyone has just about finished dinner when Kyungsoo leans forward to ask Baekhyun why his plate is still so full.  Baekhyun replies that he’s not very hungry today, but Kyungsoo’s small smirk says he’s not fooled.

On the way to his bedroom, Kyungsoo brushes past him, and Baekhyun pales when he hears a faint whisper—“At least it was edible.”

Later that night, the clock is displaying a single digit in the hour spot, and the only members up are Chanyeol and Sehun, who are playing video games in the living room, and Jongdae and Baekhyun, who are huddled together under the covers of Jongdae’s bed.

“I think I can feel my whole mouth again,” Baekhyun whispers excitedly.

Jongdae laughs.  “You think?”

“Shut up.  Why do I always listen to you?  Nearly every single time we pull something on Kyungsoo, it’s your idea, but he only ever gets back at me.  Why does he like you so much?”

“It’s probably because that first time with the pickles, and honestly, at this point, you could literally buy him a present, and he would hit you with it.”

Baekhyun laughs.  “True.  That was so worth it, though.  Jessica and Hyoyeon were even there, and do you remember the look on his face?”

Jongdae smiles and pokes Baekhyun’s cheek fondly.  “You were so proud.  It was cute.”

“I am pretty cute,” Baekhyun concedes.

“The cutest,” Jongdae says, nuzzling into Baekhyun’s cheek.

Baekhyun’s lips stretch into a wide smile as he turns his head to drop a kiss on the corner of Jongdae’s mouth.

“So now that I can feel my mouth….” He trails off to wiggle his eyebrows.

Jongdae raises an eyebrow in response.  “That might be the worst way to proposition anyone.  Ever.”

Baekhyun just laughs again, rolling on top of Jongdae to press his lips to Jongdae’s adam’s apple and slightly.

Jongdae’s breath hitches, hands coming up to rest on Baekhyun’s hips.

Baekhyun looks up with a smirk.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

A/N: Obviously, I will still be writing and shipping Baekchen even though Baekhyun and Taeyeon are dating.  I've never taken shipping or stanning too seriously, so I'm not hurt or upset because of Baekyeon.  I know that's not how everyone feels, though, so I won't be offended if any of you choose to unsubscribe.  

Since I last updated, I've been really busy, so I haven't had much time to work on fics, sorry!  I was practicing for my senior recital for piano, and there were a lot of end of the year things to do.  I also graduated from high school last Tuesday!!  Anyway, I hope you guys are all doing well, and feel free to come talk to me :)