Chanyeol taps his pen on his desk, slightly irritated. He really needs to finish this report, but, if we have to be honest, it doesn’t look like he is going to make it. For some reason, knowing that makes him even more upset. He’s not used to working with an audience. Well, it’s kind of the point of having an office to yourself, but such trivial details have been demolished lately.

His glares are not having any effect, the grunts go unnoticed, the frowns are ignored, thus, the whispers, shuffles and various noises from inanimate and living objects keep floating in the air; and consequently, his patience is running thin. His concentration span has reduced to the like of a fennel. Finishing this report is in the company’s best interest, so one could argue that he is working for the people of this company, but a certain few of the people in this company are very poised against his productivity at work. With a frustrated sigh, he saves his work so far and decides to take a break from trying. The numbers had started wiggling in his vision anyway.

He leans back tiredly in his comfortable, yet detestable, office chair and glances around. Paper castles everywhere. He can’t decide if it is stressing or depressing. Maybe a bit of both, but it’s kind of comforting too, in a weird way, because it proves that he’s good at what he does, even though what he does is drowning him. It’s March and there are many new contracts and company-related stuff he is in charge of, which have increased his workload to terrifying amounts of paperwork. Chanyeol doesn’t think he has seen an inch of the surface of his desk in the past fourteen days. He thinks it was black. His father has recently entrusted Chanyeol yet another division of the company as well, and that doesn’t make his life any easier; he has one more department to handle, new names to learn, slackers to rat out and fresh ideas that will boost the department to come up with. Oh, and, according to Kai, he has to put up with some girl with really suffocating perfume, even though he doesn’t really like her, because she’s someone important in the new department.

He doesn’t mind the work, he has studied and trained for it; it’s the time pressure he hates. Lay coming in his office to pick up folders on time has become a nightmare to Chanyeol, and it’s obviously not the sweet male’s fault that Chanyeol’s knees tremble with anxiety and his stomach lurches even at the thought of deadlines and schedules. Does anyone know why there are only twenty four hours in one day? Couldn’t there be, like, thirty?

His office is crowded more often than not with all sorts of employees coming and going, asking for all sorts of things, and it is all so tiring that he wishes he could scream out his frustrations and yell at everyone to leave him alone. But he cannot do that. He can’t be so cruel and selfish and unfair to them. He has to be a good leader. Working in an office which has glass walls and an open door practically all the time is as good as working in an office with no walls.  Kai, Luhan and Lay are always around these days. They work just as hard as him. So, even when employees are not around, Luhan and Lay stop by to bring him more paperwork or Kai tries to keep him some company, occupying his couch and reminding him that he has to eat, sleep and stay alive if he wants to run the company for another day.

As you can tell, Chanyeol has been extremely busy and it’s to an unusual degree, so, he has entertained the thought to ask his mother about it; to ask her if his father is punishing him with all this work for something he did without realizing. But, god forbid, he doesn’t even have time to visit his own mother! This month has been all about work and nothing else; he cannot remember when or what he last ate, he doesn’t care about his hair that need to be trimmed soon, he sleeps the least possible and, in the end of the month, he can’t even remember what he has been doing during said month. His personal life is also put on hold, which is utterly infuriating and frustrating; it is spring, the season of cherry trees, romance and couples! There are so many nice places he could have gone with Baekhyun, blooming gardens, romantic walks in the sunset, parks, restaurants, sunshine; who knows, maybe he could have asked him out officially even! But the sad truth is, he doesn’t have the time or the energy to do something like that properly, and he needs to be perfect for their official first date. He has not even seen Baekhyun all month, and the text messages they exchange at the late hours of night before going to bed are always cut short, because Chanyeol cannot keep his eyes open for much longer after his head touches the pillow –once, he crushed while he was typing a message, this is how bad his situation is. Unicorns know how much he misses Baekhyun, his presence, his smile, his voice…

At least he is not the only one. Luhan doesn’t look any better. He has his own problems with work and his own paperwork to juggle. As a matter of fact, often times they sleep at the office together because they have to review things together, and after the sun goes down, you can expect it up in the sky again too soon. Weekends and outings are a thing of the past for them both, as sad as that sounds. They are healthy young men who should be living their lives to the fullest, but, instead, they wither away slowly, their forms skewing over the desk, trapped inside four walls. At least Luhan doesn’t have anyone to miss all the time, and Chanyeol thinks he is a bit luckier for that fact. He can focus on work with no regrets, without feeling like he is missing out on the greater things. The only thing Luhan might be missing is sleep, because he looks more tired than usual in the past few weeks and he gets grumpy more easily. When Chanyeol asked him about it, he said he is having certain dreams that keep him from enjoying his night’s beauty sleep.

Lay is working just as hard, but he looks more ‘sane’ to the world. He is functioning normally during his social interactions and, dare Chanyeol say, he even looks like he has a private life, practicing it actively, in spite of all this work. Now, isn’t that remarkable? Chanyeol might have to ask him how he does it sometime…for future reference. Lay is cheerful every morning, smiling and, sometimes, he receives calls in the middle of the day that make him even more cheerful afterwards, or he receives lunch with delivery, even though he has not ordered anything. Maybe having someone to lean on, a ‘special person’, keeps you from feeling overworked, stressed and depressed. Chanyeol can only imagine how happier he would be, if he found Baekhyun waiting for him back home every night, with a sweet smile and a warm hug…But he is obviously, very clearly, very, very many miles far, far away from this scenario. The text messages at night are his only consolation for now.

Kai is a whole other story. He is the most happy of them all. He is working too –which is a surprise, but it is happening, for real –but he always finds time to visit Chanyeol and chide him about his work habits, or time to visit Kyungsoo, or go out on a date with him. How amazing is that; Kyungsoo is now open to the idea of dating Kai –and Chanyeol thinks thank god, because midnight sessions over the phone about Kai’s love life are not currently affordable, given his energy supplies. Kai’s determination seems to have paid off, and now, however simple and undemanding, they go on dates occasionally, like a ‘real couple’, as Kai says. Chanyeol feels partly happy for his friend’s happiness, and, hearing his stories, he thinks it is wonderfully strange that one person can make Kai so willing to commit and gloating with excitement in the same time, because, well, Kai and commitment were never really a ‘thing’.

But another part of Chanyeol feels jealous; because he wants it, too. He wants to see how Baekhyun’s eyes would sparkle if he saw the cherry trees blooming, and how the sunset by the river would color his skin, and if he would find the ending of that movie sad, and how he would react if Chanyeol touched his chocolate ice cream on his nose…And then, there are the other things that Chanyeol would like to know about Baekhyun –and he would rather not know about Kyungsoo, but alas, Kai is unstoppable when he’s excited–, things that he is not likely to learn any time soon, like which kisses Baekhyun prefers, if he likes spontaneity or romance, if he has a beauty mark on his back or on his thighs…Chanyeol is so hopeless in his situation that he might find out about those things, hmm…probably never. (Italics necessary and, actually, maybe that should be in bold, too…)

Today things have been a bit easier though. They have managed to finish work at a relatively reasonable time and they can finally make some plans for the rest of the day. It feels unreal, to be honest. Nevertheless, Chanyeol already has a plan; he is going to go home and sink in his bathtub with thoughts of never getting out of there, he is going to put on some nice music to relax and enjoy a glass of wine, and then he is going to eat dinner like a proper human. Then, he is going to let a movie play in the background, stretch and lie in his bed and message Baekhyun with all the interest and cheerfulness in the world, because they both deserve it.

“Oh, sorry Yeol, I have to get going” Kai realizes suddenly, glancing at his watch. He has been here for half an hour or so, making small talk, mostly with Luhan and Lay because Chanyeol has been admittedly busy. Kai detaches himself from the couch and picks his jacket on the way. Chanyeol only now notices that his friend is rather nicely dressed, with dark jeans and a nice shirt.

“Where to, lover boy? Another date with Do?” Luhan teases him and smiles a tired smile, leaning his head on his hand and his hand on Chanyeol’s desk. Yes, furnishings are always very supportive.

“Of course, hyung! We are going to have dinner on the roof tonight and I have to cook” Kai answers proudly, flashing a brilliant grin. Chanyeol knows Kai all his life and he has to admit that Kai is having one of the happiest periods of his life, now that he has Kyungsoo.

“Besides the danger presented in your doubtful cooking skills, isn’t the roof a dangerous place? It is not meant to be a restaurant” Luhan points out. Chanyeol has been to the roof of Kai’s apartment building and he doesn’t worry about it; it is as big as a restaurant, if not bigger than that. He wonders if he should make a verbal contribution to the conversation but he decides against it; it’s easier if you just think about stuff and your tongue stays behind your lips.

“Yes, it’s very safe, hyung, and it is also very romantic” Kai retorts, ignoring the cooking remark. Luhan is too tired to argue, so he dismisses him with a vague gesture of his hand. Kai doesn’t look very happy to be ignored but it doesn’t look like he needs Luhan’s attention anyway, as he starts fumbling to put on his jacket.

“What about you, Lay?” Luhan asks, turning to the secretary. Lay looks at all three of them for a moment, with innocent round eyes, but Chanyeol can see he is thinking about something, and then he offers a shy smile, showing his dimple.

“I have a date” he admits, placing some books back to their selves.

“You are dating someone?!” Luhan asks in a squeak, raising his eyebrows incredulously. The voice pierces right through Chanyeol’s tired head and he grimaces, but no one is paying him any attention in the first place.

“Of course he is” he mumbles without thinking, assuming everyone will ignore him once again. The rest of the people in the room turn to stare at him in shock and Chanyeol looks back at them slightly intimidated with the sudden attention. What?

“You told him and you haven’t told me? What sort of friends are we?!” Luhan exclaims then, turning to Lay again and throwing his arms in the air.

“But I didn’t tell him!” Lay defends, raising his hands in surrender.

“Then how did he know?” Luhan turns to Chanyeol, bewildered.

“I just…know things” Chanyeol mumbles innocently. It is true that Lay didn’t tell him, but to Chanyeol it seemed like it was pretty clear to everyone that his secretary is happily dating someone. Oops…

“Yeol, you haven’t slept for so many days that you developed a sixth sense by now?” Kai asks in surprise, receiving a flying pen from Luhan.

“You can always count on the idiot to say something stupid anytime” Luhan mumbles and Kai sticks his tongue out.

“What about you, Luhan?” Lay asks casually, seeming relieved that the conversation has stirred away from him. Luhan stretches his fingers and hums.

“I haven’t seen the cherry trees this year. There are not many still blooming, but I think I will try my luck”

“Ooh, romantic hyung…Are you sure you are not dating anyone either?” Kai teases, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“If you don’t get out of here right now, there is a good chance of me killing you in the elevator” Luhan warns, smiling angelically in a way that promises a painful death, and Kai laughs before saluting everyone goodbye.

“Do you want me to give you a ride to the train station?” Lay asks soon after Kai is gone.

“Sure, that would be nice” Luhan agrees and they both say goodbye to Chanyeol. And so, his office is finally empty after so many days. It’s like a miracle. Chanyeol closes his eyes and enjoys the blissful silence for a while –but not for too long, because he might fall asleep without noticing.

Chanyeol stays in his office for a while longer. He finishes the report, even though he swears the numbers were dancing on the screen the whole time, and he grabs his things quickly; the faster he gets out of here, the better. When the elevator bell dings and the doors close, he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Going home.

--

This is the sort of outings he is made for; slow, peaceful, calm, relaxing. Work finished early today –which is a surprise Luhan wouldn’t have seen coming in a hundred years –and he decided to do something before cooping up in his bed for good. He went home and showered –the temptation of the bed was great, but he resisted–, and then he changed into more casual clothes and, with his light jacket at hand, he left home to seek the last of the blooming cherry trees in the area. He managed to find them in a park, bending in the breeze and releasing brilliant pale petals in the air. The weather is still nice and the sun has only now started to set, bathing everything in golden color. There are a few children with their mothers playing in the park, a few dogs with their owners taking a walk and a few couples strolling by in the romantic picture.

Luhan stuffs his hands in his pockets and sits on a nearby bench. It feels exquisite not to have something to worry about, no deadlines, no paperwork, no complaints, nothing. He feels like he has been reborn into a carefree child –only he has considerably less energy than that. But even if he cannot walk too far or do other exciting things, he is happy to be allowed to enjoy the warm, fresh weather of spring on his skin, to imagine a nice dinner home with the scent of food in the air courtesy of the street vendor down the corner, to sit back and let his thoughts travel on the sunny paths of the park and on, to happy places. He doesn’t have to pay attention to anything but himself, his plans for the immediate future at home and the whims of his fantasy.

“Oh! Luhan!” a familiar voice calls and Luhan panics for a moment; is he that tired that he has started having hallucinations now?! He thought he had made it pretty clear to himself: no thinking or fantasizing about Oh Sehun, or else the dreams will never go away. But he thought he heard his voice just a moment ago…He risks a glance around him.

And sure enough, Sehun is standing a few feet away in flesh and bone. Luhan wants to scream in agony; the object of his romantic yet torturous dreams is standing very close to him, living and breathing, and that is not fair by any means in this world! Why is he being punished by the universe? As if Sehun has not hunted his sleep enough during the past month…

“Hello” Luhan greets meekly, trying not to make a face as Sehun approaches and takes a seat on the same bench. This is obviously a master plan of the universe to torture Luhan, because, in a fairer world, Sehun could have said hi and then strolled by without any further implications. But no, not in this lifetime.

“It’s nice to see you after so long” Sehun says and a small smile is playing on the corners of his lips, even though his eyes are gazing the children who are playing ahead. Luhan wishes he could say the same. And no, he did not just think of where those lips ended up the last time he saw Sehun. “Even after so long, we keep bumping into each other”

“Yeah…” Luhan makes a tremendous contribution to their interaction. In his mind, Sehun’s words only go to show that the universe-plan theory is true.

“So, how come you are here?” Sehun asks casually and Luhan sighs. He was trying to get away from his troubling thoughts, but it is kind of hard to do, if the object of your troubles keeps popping up out of thin air!

“I wanted to watch the flowers”

“Oh, so you like that sort of romantic things?” Sehun asks with interest. Where the hell did that question come from?! Luhan inwardly curses Kim Jongin for putting ridiculous and illegal ideas in his head and he gives Sehun a strict look.

“It’s not romantic” he presses in a growl. Sehun keeps looking at him levelly in response. Luhan keeps glaring stubbornly but, upon reconsidering his answer, he decides to revise it. “Okay, it might be romantic for some” he amends –there is no way around it, I mean, walking under blooming cherry trees is the definition of romantic scenery in every single manga…– and then he puts on a strict and detached look, not caring one bit if he looks like a stubborn five0year-old. “Personally, I think it’s pretty; the cherry trees look pretty in this time of the year. I think anyone would agree that they look nice; but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily romantic. It’s romantic only for those who have someone beside them, holding their hand, sharing the moment…” Luhan realizes that his voice is slowly becoming dreamy and he stops himself from any further disclosure –to Oh Sehun no less…– of his secret romantic fantasies “And, you know, stuff, like how these things go with couples and such” he finishes nonchalantly.

Oh, was that supposed to be nonchalant, because it sounded really weird to me…Yours sincerely, your brain. Luhan wonders why slapping yourself is not an acceptable sign of sanity in this world. A small smile appears on Sehun’s lips.

“I see…” he says in a quiet voice and then turns to the children again. Luhan turns his gaze to the children too, feeling something less than happy –why did he just make a fool of himself? Sehun probably doesn’t think the same, but Luhan feels pretty embarrassed. Why did he have to talk so much and why did the kid have to be so insightful, reading correctly between the lines? Ugh!

Suddenly, a hand invades Luhan’s pocket, making his mind go blank, and the foreign hand fishes his own hand out in the cold air. He turns around startled and tries to pull his hand away from Sehun.

“What are you doing?” he demands, slightly more abruptly than it would be polite. But excuse him, the kid is not polite either –forcing his fingers between Luhan’s?! Luhan frantically struggles to disentangle his fingers, as if it is life and death he’s fighting for, but Sehun’s hold is made of steel and he doesn’t seem very keen on letting Luhan go. Instead, he smiles and keeps watching the children, ignoring Luhan’s squirms and death glares. What is wrong with this kid’s brain?! “Sehun, what are you doing?” he asks again, trying to stay calm because they are in public but his insides are going slightly like 0!@#$%^&*(.

“I am holding your hand” the blond answers casually, as if it is the most natural thing in the world. Luhan feels infuriated –and slightly blushed, but that might be just his idea– and he contemplates if biting Sehun’s hand would have the desirable effect.

“Yes, I can see that, but maybe you shouldn’t?” Luhan snaps, trying his luck again but to no avail; Sehun keeps holding his hand securely, smiling calmly, with the setting sun shining beautifully in his eyes. Wait, what thought was that? ‘Sehun keeps holding his hand securely, smiling calmly, with the setting sun shining beautifully in his eyes’…that almost sounds like Luhan’s dreams. Actually, it could be read in such a wrong way, because Luhan feels irritated not romantically swooned right now, okay?

“Luhan, please; I am trying to share the moment, as you put it” Sehun answers calmly.

Why didn’t someone shoot Luhan when he was saying that? He would have saved him from so much trouble…Why does Luhan keep putting ideas in Sehun’s head?! Oh, he knows, maybe he has a secret death wish. But, it’s not death we are talking about, it’s romance. Luhan doesn’t even want to attempt at making the substitution of the terms in his previous sentence…

“Okay, moment is over, now let me go” Luhan tries in a tired, cold voice. Sehun only smirks at his attempt and Luhan knows it failed; he lets out a frustrated sigh. “For how long are you planning on holding my hand like this? There are people around, it’s uncomfortable” he complains with a mopping expression, glancing around at the people strolling by. They don’t seem to be paying attention but that doesn’t help with Luhan’s fluster.

“I don’t know” Sehun answers with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Luhan makes a disdainful face in response; he will be damned if he lets the kid so much as suspect that he is secretly enjoying this. Because he is. “However, if you are uncomfortable, here” Sehun amends and scoots closer on the bench. Before Luhan knows it, Sehun ends up sitting lightly pressed against Luhan with their linked hands are hidden between them. Oh, like that is comfortable in public….It’s not what Luhan had in mind and it is not very good news to him either, because his heart starts thumping with excitement automatically. “Is this a better arrangement?” Sehun asks with a cheerful smile. Luhan lets out a long sigh and shakes his head, glancing at the sky and asking from the universe to tell him what he has done to deserve this.

“Why are you here anyway?” he asks, frustrated. He might as well know where all this incredible timing of Sehun’s appearance comes from.

“My friends set me up for a failed date again, but they thought it would be more successful in this sort of place. There was no chance of success really. It’s not even fun anymore, it’s just plain boring”

“How come I always see you after a failed set-up date?” Luhan asks suspiciously, but also slightly genuinely curious.

“Well, my friends are very persistent in finding me a girlfriend, and since there are too many girls out there, there are so many dates, and I am working most of the time, so in my limited free time I am forced to invest a lot of outings in these dates, therefore the statistic probability of meeting me outside, in general, after a date increases greatly, let alone the timing of our meetings, which is either afternoon or late at night, is very typical of-”

“Okay, stop” Luhan interjects abruptly and Sehun stops, looking at him innocently. “Never mind I asked” he murmurs and turns his eyes to the blooming trees. Luhan is tired after all the work he has done in this month and Sehun was talking too fast and too much and the whole thing was getting too long for Luhan’s tired brain to process, so he might as well not hear it.

No matter the reason, Sehun is here. Which is…maybe, good? Well, they are friends and they haven’t seen each other in a long time, so it can’t be bad either. Not only is he here, but Sehun is also holding Luhan’s hand, sitting close to him, sharing a very romantic moment under the wavering petals of the cherry tree blossoms, which is bad, very bad, as far as the world can know, but, secretly, it is kind of nice, because there’s that distinctive heart rate that Luhan didn’t even remember his heart was capable of. That doesn’t make Luhan feel any less uncomfortable in this moment or straggle with his feelings any less though; he never thought he would say this, but he now hopes he hadn’t finished work earlier today…

--

A light knock on the door stops him abruptly from making his way to the living room. He wouldn’t have heard the knock if he hadn’t been passing by the door by chance. Chanyeol glances at his Vacheron Constantin; 8:30. Who could it be at this hour? The maids don’t visit so late in the day and he is not expecting anyone –the fact that he is at home seems like a miracle in itself, given the schedules from the rest of this month. Curious as he is, Chanyeol gets out of his way and moves to the door to open it, without thinking twice about it.

“Hey, look at that! It’s Park Chanyeol!” Baekhyun exclaims cheerfully with a wide smile, standing right outside the door. Chanyeol blinks a couple of times and then pinches his hand, which is hidden behind the door, to make sure this is not just a dream and that he is not asleep in the bathtub in reality. He felt it, so it’s not a dream.

Baekhyun is here; Baekhyun is really here!

His eyes travel up and down Baekhyun’s figure; it feels almost surreal to see him after all this days! Chanyeol had almost forgotten how bright his eyes shine, and how they look like beautiful crescent moons when he smiles, and how dazzling that smile is. He is so happy to see him in flesh and blood, with his smooth, white skin and his pink cheeks and pretty red lips. Chanyeol can’t help but smile at the sight of him, feeling his heart thumping loudly. He keeps examining Baekhyun with his eyes –still not believing his luck and that this is real– and his gaze travels down his sharp chin, and his graceful neck, and his navy blue jacket, which hangs perfectly on his shoulders and wraps around his chest and tapered waist, flaring slightly, right above his skinny jeans, which clad those hips in such a way that…

“Wow, Baekhyun…” Chanyeol wheezes, his thoughts travelling somewhere far away, accompanied by Baekhyun’s cute and se*y figure.

Wait; what did he just say? This was not a proper greeting! Oh my god, how did that slip?! It should have sounded something like ‘hi, Baekhyun’, but no, Chanyeol’s mouth stopped communicating with his brain a long time ago. You would think that he would know how to contain his feelings and desires around Baekhyun, or at least not let them show, but reasonable thinking has jumped out the window, abandoning ship for now. Maybe it is because he hasn’t seen Baekhyun in so long, or maybe it is because he is really tired and all this looks like a dream anyway. It still wasn’t an appropriate greeting, stupid Chanyeol!

“Surprise!” Baekhyun cheers either way, smiling brightly, and even if he noticed the weird greeting earlier, he doesn’t show it. Chanyeol forces his brain back into proper function.

“Oh, yes it is!” he answers cheerfully, smiling back. Actually, it is so surprising that Chanyeol wishes he had spent a moment of thought before opening the door; because he looks less groomed than he would like. He is wearing loose sweatpants and a t-shirt which turned slightly pink after an accident in the washing machine –the drama of being a bachelor…–, he has a towel thrown around his neck and his hair is messy, knotted and dump, plastered slightly on his temples and dripping above his eyebrows.

Yeah, he looks a lot less than perfect.

“Kai sent me a message and he said you would be home and that I should pay you a visit…so I did!” Baekhyun explains with a big smile at the end. Then, he glances behind Chanyeol and his smile becomes a sheepish expression “Is it not a good time?” he asks, keeping his voice down. And only then does Chanyeol realize that he has left Baekhyun standing at the doorway; ugh, where are his manners?

“Nothing like that! Please, come in!” Chanyeol invites him quickly, stepping aside. Baekhyun comes through the door and slips out of his shoes, trying to balance the paper bags he is holding. “Can I ask what is all this?” Chanyeol asks curious.

“Oh, this? I thought we could have dinner together, so I bought a few stuff on my way here” Baekhyun answers casually with a smile “Do you know how hard it is to find authentic Italian pasta in this city? It took forever!” he adds and smiles carefree after his comment.

Chanyeol takes a moment to hop on his heels and blush to himself while Baekhyun is not watching him. Maybe it is just Chanyeol’s imagination, but that sounded a lot like Baekhyun is taking care of him, like he is worried about whether he has been having his dinners properly, like he wants to cook something to cheer Chanyeol up; maybe it is just his imagination, but, in his imagination, it sounds nice.

“Let me take that” Chanyeol offers eagerly, relieving the smaller man of the heavy bags with one swift move. Baekhyun tries to keep one for himself, but Chanyeol won’t let him carry something heavy if he can do it instead. He takes them to the kitchen, followed closely by Baekhyun.

“Did I pull you out of the shower?” Baekhyun asks with a shy smile, examining Chanyeol’s appearance with lingering eyes.

“No, I was done” Chanyeol reassures him and then he checks the towel around his neck and his dripping hair. He smiles awkwardly. “Well, almost done…”

“Mmm, how about you go and finish your business and I will wash up the vegetables?” Baekhyun proposes agreeably, taking off his jacket, revealing a white shirt, buttoned to the top. Chanyeol tries to ignore how smoldering hot the image of Baekhyun taking off his jacket seemed in his eyes. Then, Baekhyun proceeds to ing his cuffs to roll up the sleeves, revealing white, tender skin up to his elbows –and Chanyeol can take only so much.

“Ah, yeah, okay, let’s do that” he stutters, hoping he is not blushing too obviously –because that would telltale his indecent thoughts– and he stumbles out of the kitchen, tripping over the doorframe if that is possible, leaving a smiling Baekhyun in the kitchen behind him.

As he strides across the hallway to the bathroom, he tries to calm his thoughts and that results in confused hisses of ‘what is happening to me?’ and angry, stubborn muttering of ‘get it together, Chanyeol’. Talking to yourself is definitely normal and justified in such predicaments. He tries to dry his hair a little better and then he combs them neatly in the bathroom. In the meantime, his thoughts travel to Kai and he is thinking about five different ways to strangle his best friend when he sees him again, because he sent Baekhyun without so much as a warning to Chanyeol; he could have looked more presentable and he could have prepared mentally, so that he wouldn’t stare in god knows how many ways at who knows how many inappropriate places, or let dangerous things slip out of his mouth.

He glances at his phone before leaving the bedroom. One new message from: Kai the idiot best friend.

‘You’ll thank me later for this’

Chanyeol pretends to spend a minute of thought about it. Thank Kai later for sending him Baekhyun? Maybe. But that will be after he has killed him, so it doesn’t really matter.

He starts his way to the kitchen, after changing into a light blue t-shirt which looks infinitely better on him, and he puts on a confident, cheerful smile, but he slows down to a stop before he makes the turn for the kitchen door. He stills and listens intently, and a genuine, wide smile starts creeping slowly on his lips; Baekhyun is doing it again. He is humming. Chanyeol stays quiet and unmoving in the darkness of the hallway, listening to Baekhyun’s sweet voice.

He already knew Baekhyun has a beautiful voice, he can hear it when he talks or laughs; but he even sings, so beautifully, like an angel. Chanyeol can’t say anything about it or ask him, even though he has heard it twice; because he was not supposed to hear it neither of those two times. The first time was the last time Baekhyun was in his apartment, when he was in the shower and Chanyeol passed by his bedroom because he had wanted to pick a flower for the breakfast table. He was more than surprised that time to hear Baekhyun’s angelic voice, so he stayed still behind the bathroom door and listened for a while in awe and admiration. And now, he is doing the same, only he is in the hallway and Baekhyun is in the kitchen. It is not fair to Baekhyun, because both times he is under the impression that he is safely out of hearing range from Chanyeol, but the latter cannot bring himself to regret listening in on him; Baekhyun has such a beautiful voice and he would do anything to hear it, he would like to hear it all the time and he swears he will never get bored. Baekhyun’s singing comes to a stop with a small ‘oops!’ On this cue, Chanyeol makes his smiling appearance at the kitchen door.

“Oh, welcome back!” Baekhyun says cheerfully, noticing him immediately.

Oh, please, someone save Chanyeol! Baekhyun is smiling at him, looking like an angel in the bright lights of the kitchen, his sleeves are rolled up and his top buttons are open for comfort, showing a bit of the marble skin on his collar bones. This sight alone and in combination with Baekhyun’s tight jeans makes Chanyeol’s insides boil and melt and claw at him; he has an insane urge to undo the rest of the buttons of that shirt. What?! No. Baekhyun trusts him, he is his friend and, Chanyeol’s twisted imagination aside, he is not being provocative or anything, so Chanyeol has to contain himself. He really needs to remember how to act comfortably, like a normal person, around Baekhyun again…

“Look; I made myself a badge” Baekhyun jokes, pointing at a red splatter the tomato he was cutting has made on his shirt, right above his heart. Chanyeol laughs lightly at his cuteness and retrieves a clean kitchen towel to wipe off the stain. Baekhyun tries to claim the towel, but Chanyeol pushes his delicate hands aside with one hand while playfully lifting the towel out of reach.

“The rest of your fingers are dirty” he explains before Baekhyun has time to protest and his eyes warn Baekhyun to stay put, even though his lips are incapable of shedding the happy smile. Baekhyun huffs stubbornly but he drops his hands, and Chanyeol starts cleaning the smaller’s shirt carefully, with a smile that might be this little bit triumphant.

This feels natural, taking care of Baekhyun, looking after him and accommodating him like a child. It feels really natural to Chanyeol. He risks a small glance at Baekhyun’s face, and the latter is watching Chanyeol’s hands working on his shirt with a pout. Chanyeol smiles at himself, feeling somewhat closer to the way he used to be around Baekhyun. No matter what Baekhyun does, it only reminds Chanyeol why he likes him so much.

--

It feels nice to have Chanyeol around again after so long. Baekhyun will admit it to himself; he missed the giant a lot. Sure, they were messaging each other once or twice every week, but Chanyeol was always drained of energy and Baekhyun let him go to sleep much, much sooner than he would like. He felt bad for Chanyeol, for seeing him work himself to exhaustion, but Baekhyun is not one to understand fully the responsibilities that come with Chanyeol’s work and status; he can imagine that Chanyeol needs to work hard in his position and he accepts that fact with tremendous understanding, but he still wishes his friend didn’t have to go through all this.

After Kai sent him the message, at first Baekhyun was a bit reluctant and shy to take his advice to pay a surprise visit to Chanyeol. But then he thought that it would really cheer Chanyeol up, just like Kai pointed out and just like it would happen if Baekhyun were in Chanyeol’s shoes. So, he thought, why not? And, since he decided to do it, he would do it properly, so he looked in every shop on his way to Chanyeol’s house for the ingredients to make Italian pasta. Thankfully, Chanyeol’s neighborhood is fancy and Baekhyun managed to find the authentic Italian –overpriced– spaghetti and not just a noodle-fied version of them.

Chanyeol was a bit awkward at first, maybe because Baekhyun surprised him or maybe because they hadn’t seen each other in so long. But as they cooked, Chanyeol gradually became himself again and now Baekhyun can enjoy him fully. He had almost forgotten how much he adores Chanyeol’s eye twitching grins, and how his deep voice makes Baekhyun shiver inexplicably sometimes, and how he can be so funny and so all over the place that Baekhyun cannot help but laugh his heart out. He had also forgotten how tall Chanyeol feels when he is standing next to him, how nice he smells, how warm his skin is when it is brushing against Baekhyun’s forearms, how cute he looks when he is focusing on something with his large caramel eyes; but Baekhyun’s heart remembers all of this and it reacts just the way it used to.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is dinner!” Chanyeol announces in his booming voice, setting a plate full of spaghetti on the table, with a huge smile of pride.

“Yeah, we actually did it!” Baekhyun agrees with a smile of his own, lining up some of the utensils he has laid on the table. It wasn’t easy to cook this; Baekhyun had never cooked anything Italian before and Chanyeol’s constant hovering around him was not very helpful to his concentration. But there was no way around it, because Chanyeol was helping him cook and he was giving instructions at the same time. There were casualties; half the pasta got dearly attached to the bottom of the pot in an unrelenting lump, so they only salvaged one plate of food instead of two. The sauce turned out well though, primarily because Chanyeol was in charge. Seeing him cook was amazing, how he tasted the sauce and then decided on what to add next, humming to himself and sprinkling ingredients like a pro, moving in the kitchen with such grace that it made Baekhyun’s insides melt at the sight with a sense of endearment.

“After you, sir” Chanyeol opens the chair for Baekhyun and the latter sits reluctantly. Chanyeol has made a habit of holding out his chair for him and Baekhyun finds it cute and chivalrous, but he also finds it romantic and he doesn’t want Chanyeol to know that his heart jumps a few beats every time he does things like that. Chanyeol walks across the table and brings two glasses of wine on the way, only half full, because they sipped the rest while cooking. Yes, Baekhyun doesn’t like drinking, but he can manage a glass of good wine with good dinner and good company.

“Are you sure this is safe to eat?” Baekhyun jokes and Chanyeol pretends to examine the plate for a moment as he takes his seat.

“Yup” he agrees, nodding feverishly, and Baekhyun laughs at his childish expression.

“Okay then, let’s eat!” he says cheerfully, picking up his utensils. He doesn’t let anything show, but he feels his heart picking up the pace, as Chanyeol stretches his long legs under the not-so-big table and entangles them with Baekhyun’s legs comfortably. Hoping he is not blushing furiously, Baekhyun tries to focus on remembering how to eat spaghetti with a fork and a spoon. While he struggles with the strings, he notices that Chanyeol is not eating on the other side of the plate. He lifts his eyes, bewildered. “Is there something wrong?” he asks.

“Nope; I am just waiting to see if you can still do it” Chanyeol answers casually, his eyes glancing up at Baekhyun and then returning to his hands. Baekhyun suddenly feels pressured; he doesn’t want to mess up. He gulps and tries to pick up the food as best as he can from what he remembers, glaring at the spoon in concentration. But in the end, the fork slides off the spoon and the spaghetti spill on top of the rest. He sighs in disappointment.

“Sorry for that…”

“It’s okay, you did great actually” Chanyeol reassures him quickly with a small smile on his lips. Baekhyun wonders idly what classifies as failure for Chanyeol. “Come on, try again” he encourages him. Baekhyun doesn’t really want to try again, because the task bears disappointing fruit for him, but he has to eat as well, so he has to try again. As he begins his second effort with considerable fewer hopes than before, Chanyeol starts talking.

“It is just practice; it took me a while to learn how to do it, but I had a lot of practice. That’s how I gained two kilograms in Italy; I lost them again, of course. Oh, god, those chubby cheeks…Anyway, if you practice you will master it, I am sure” he stops momentarily to fix Baekhyun’s hold on the spoon and then lets him continue his effort. “You know what? For the sake of your practice, you should do my share as well for today”

Oh, look, a decent food bite! Wait, what did Chanyeol just say?

“Come again?” Baekhyun asks disoriented and bewildered, as he watches Chanyeol putting his utensils aside.

“You will do the work for both of us today and we will share the bites” he says simply.

“Uh, I don’t get it” Baekhyun admits, feeling silly but it’s unavoidable, because half his attention is on the fork, still hanging mid air above the plate, and is the spaghetti alive or something, why does it threaten to unravel so soon? Chanyeol pouts childishly for a moment.

“Basically, you will feed both of us today. Now come on, I am hungry. Ah~” he opens his mouth in expectation. Baekhyun feels all rhythms of heartbeats and the blood rushing to every direction in his body as he realizes what Chanyeol expects from him. He freezes for a moment, but then he realizes that it is not polite to leave Chanyeol waiting like that; so, he slowly extends his hand toward Chanyeol, lowering his chin. And if Chanyeol knew anything more than average on body language, he would have guessed how Baekhyun’s heart is beating shyly and excitedly in his chest. Chanyeol closes his lips around the fork and Baekhyun’s hard work disappears in his mouth; Baekhyun pulls back quickly and Chanyeol stretches his lips in a small, friendly grin. Baekhyun would rather not think too much about what he just did or his heart might jump out of his mouth.

“So, how was your work during this month?” Chanyeol asks happily while Baekhyun continues his next battle with the spaghetti. It is nice that Chanyeol is so carefree and comfortable sometimes; it puts Baekhyun at ease as well.

“Well, we have had a lot of weddings, which is a lot of work, but I like weddings, so I didn’t mind. There were many people who wanted to get married under the cherry blossoms” Baekhyun smiles at the reminiscence of all the happy brides and grooms, the beautiful decorations and the romantic slow dancing under the cherry trees. They enjoyed the weddings just as much as the guests; the couples were nice and they wanted to share their happiness as much as possible, so they invited the organizers to participate in their wedding as much as the actual guests. Baekhyun even slow danced with Kyungsoo –since they didn’t know anyone else and Sehun was rather popular with the ladies. It was odd, but it was fun; it actually felt like they were guests and they enjoyed themselves, and they got a taste of their hard work.

“You like planning weddings?” Chanyeol asks with interest.

“Well, they are not bad, even if they do require quite a hustle. But the results are always spectacular. I guess I like the concept of weddings” With his eyes focused on his work on the plate and then mindful while feeding Chanyeol, his words feel like he is thinking aloud. Chanyeol nods in understanding.

“I see…I guess the thought of eternal commitment to someone else is nice” Chanyeol says absentmindedly after a while.

“Oh, it’s not that what I like about weddings” Baekhyun corrects quickly; he is romantic but not in such a way as to think that ‘together forever’ is used as anything more than a sappy line nowadays. He sees romance in a different way, which he might delve into some other time. “What I like is the idea of commitment” Chanyeol tilts his head to the side inquisitively, and Baekhyun decides to continue. He might sound considerably less cool and more dreamy than he would like, but if it is Chanyeol, Baekhyun thinks he can share a small embarrassing moment like that.

“Weddings are like declarations of commitment. You tell the world, in the most beautiful setting you can create, that you love someone so much and that he belongs to you. You also tell the world that you are proudly accepting the fact that you belong to him alone as well. No one else can have either of you, because you don’t want anyone else, you don’t need anyone else and you don’t care for anyone else as much as you care for each other. It is a way of telling each other that you will do whatever it takes; that you are so bonded to them that nothing matters more than your small unit. I think that weddings are important the most for the two people who are getting married; the rest are there to celebrate and acknowledge the fact that two people are happily bound to each other”

Baekhyun stops his day dreaming and looks at Chanyeol, half expecting to find him bored or weirded out. And no one would blame him. It is not something to be proud of, if you have such deep thoughts on marriage; people will think you are either a conceited know-it-all skeptic or suffering from the male version of Cinderella syndrome; but it’s Baekhyun’s job, so he has spent a while longer thinking on the topic and talking to brides through their mental breakdowns.

He lets out a nervous laugh, wishing he could find some nonchalant words to change the heavy atmosphere he has created, but nothing comes to mind. How can his mind be so blank? Chanyeol looks at him seriously, his eyes half focused on reality and half travelling to far places –where it must be very bright, because his caramel orbs are twinkling. And so maybe Baekhyun has an idea about why his mind has gone blank. Baekhyun would like to know what Chanyeol thinks of his own ideas, but he doesn’t dare ask. His fingers twitch and he bites his lower lip in uncertainty. Come on, Chanyeol, tell me, are they boring, strange, foolish, meaningless…what? The anxiousness is clawing at him and he doesn’t know what sort of look he has in his eyes.

“That’s…” Chanyeol says finally, his deep voice breaking the silence sublimely and sending shivers down Baekhyun’s spine. Baekhyun’s eyes widen and he suddenly realizes that maybe he doesn’t really want to know, because it might hurt. He braces himself mentally to take the blow but…

“That’s very beautiful, Baekhyun”

--

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Kai asks in a calm, low voice. Kyungsoo doesn’t move in his arms.

“Mmhm” he agrees with as little interest as he can feign. This feels really very nice actually, but if he says that, it will get to the idiot’s head.

If he had to guess, Kyungsoo would say that Kai tried really hard to make this night as great as he could. Kyungsoo would have a nice time either way, because, according to his romantic side, dinner on the rooftop is so so so beautiful an idea –Kate and Leopold style– but Kai doesn’t know about Kyungsoo’s sweet-to-death side, so he tried to make their dinner super pretty. He decorated the rooftop with flowers and twinkling lights, he cooked dinner and dissert, he picked a great bottle of wine and there was also some soft music playing in the background while they were eating, but Kyungsoo can’t hear it anymore. To wrap up this night perfectly, Kai laid a blanket on the rooftop and he invited Kyungsoo in a warm hug. They have been stargazing peacefully since, enjoying each other’s warmth and safety, talking quietly, laughing sometimes or bickering lightly.

If he has to admit it, this is one of the best moments in Kyungsoo’s life.

“This past month has been nice too” Kai adds. Kyungsoo takes a moment to remember all those dates that Kai dragged him to, from the cherry trees to the sunset by the river to anywhere and everywhere that fits in Kyungsoo’s secret fantasies. Maybe Kai is not so oblivious to his corny side after all. He smiles widely, even though Kai cannot see it, because he is holding Kyungsoo close to his chest; it is not a smile to be seen, it is a smile to express his happiness (Baekhyun had babbled uncontrollably and cutely about the difference once, psychologically speaking, but Kyungsoo hadn’t understood it fully at the time; well, now he does.).

“Yes, it has been” he mutters absentmindedly.

“Maybe he doesn’t hate me after all” Kai teases, feigning surprise, and Kyungsoo slaps his chest playfully, feeling Kai shake slightly with laughter and hearing his heartbeat under his ear. “Soo?” Kai says after a calm moment of thump…thump…“Do you remember our try-out-vacation plans?”

“Sure” Kyungsoo tries to sound indifferent and not go rigid, but in truth he is all but that; how could he forget? He has never been more excited and scared about any vacation in his lifetime. And he has been talking to Baekhyun nonstop about it, too.

“Well…” Kai shifts and Kyungsoo takes the hint to lift his eyes and look at him. Kai looks back with an innocent and guarded expression. “I found a place” he says seriously and lets a moment pass in silence, allowing Kyungsoo to absorb the information. Kai found a place; so, it is official, they are going to go on a try-out vacation. He makes sure not to show either his happiness or his horror on his face and he keeps a calm expression.

“Go on” he encourages calmly, settling back on Kai’s chest where the taller boy can’t see him. Kai starts running his hand up and down Kyungsoo’s arm and mmm…yes, it feels relaxing –how can Kai know him so well already?

“I have a friend who has more money than he could count in ten lifetimes –you know, various businesses abroad, offshore accounts, three accountants working for him in a bank in Switzerland and stuff –and he has a nice family house here in Korea, but he also has a vacation home for whenever he is here for the summer, and not relaxing in the Caribbean or the French Riviera. So, I talked to him about it, and he said he would be glad to host us for a few days. Would you like to hear about the house?” Kyungsoo nods wordlessly, appreciating the fact that Kai is not smothering him with information, and Kai continues.

“It’s a huge house, Soo –for a vacation home, I mean. It has five bedrooms and it is really pretty inside, decorated to look chick and simple but also luxurious and impressive. It is built right next to the sea shore, just outside a small vacation town, where we can go by car. Apparently, the sea is always warm in that place, so there are many rich people and families taking their vacation there all year long, especially when the weather gets sunny in the spring and summer. The garden is in full bloom now, being spring, so I think it will look very nice, and we can even take a swim in the ocean and play on the beach! My friend said we can go anytime we want, and he said we can bring as many friends as we would like; he is a wonderful host, very polite and friendly, and I think he is a bit bored spending his time in a huge and empty house. So far, what do you say?” Kai asks hopefully and Kyungsoo can hear the heart go thump-thump-thump underneath him.

Kyungsoo starts to think about it but he stops himself quickly; there is nothing to think about. It sounds wonderful, almost too good to be true; but it is true, and it will be wonderful. Kyungsoo needs to start trusting other people. He feels Kai growing uneasy under him, misinterpreting his long silence.

“I say…” Kyungsoo starts quietly and Kai freezes completely. Kyungsoo lets a wide smile on his face and turns to look up at Kai, who has the most adorable timid face in the history of forever. Kyungsoo smiles a bit wider at that. “We need to think about who we are inviting”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a/n. Hello, beautiful people! The internet was being mean to me yesterday >.< I hope you enjoyed the update all the same! I don’t know when I will be updating again, because my ‘exams mode’ is on and I’m going to be an overworked kitten until mid-June, so I can’t make any promises. To those of you who are currently undergoing or preparing for exams, good luck & fighting! To the lucky ones who’re free of exams, happy summer time!

As for the chapter: Surprise date for Hunhan under the cherry trees, home cooking date for Baekyeol & rooftop date for Kaisoo!

I love blooming cherry trees!*-*Did you notice how Luhan and Sehun bring each his own color in their relationship? Luhan is a bit older and Sehun is a bit younger so, their concerns, viewpoints and conditions are different; but it’s working between them. I like urging Sehun to take initiative to start changing their relationship (even though one romantic moment is not all it will take). Baby steps, guys, you can’t push too much or it might break.

A man who cooks like Chanyeol is a part of every girl’s dream*melts*Have you noticed how balanced baekyeol is? There isn’t the definite pattern of either one being prince charming, because they both do knightly things for each other and they both fanboy over each other; sure, their personalities are different, so one of them might seem more prince than the other, but if you notice the details, there are interesting things…Also, first thoughts about weddings, hurray!

I’m sure you’ve noticed Kyungsoo warming up to Kai, little by little, so Kai must have been doing something right. I think they are going into a phase where they both know they are actually together but neither wants to admit it, because the chase is fun. But if you read between the lines, beyond their games, they’re both changing and adapting to each other while simultaneously changing the other. We’ll see couply sides of them soon! ^^

As you can tell, vacation chapters are coming! Please anticipate them patiently! Until next time~ kitty