Luhan wakes up first. He feels very calm and relaxed. Dare he say, he feels happy. He has not woken up to feeling happy in a long while. Unlike his usual state in the morning, his body is warm and his muscles unknotted, his head is not pounding and fretting over things he has to do during the day; yes, this is vacation, soothing, peaceful, happy and wonderful. With a smile on his lips he rolls on his soft pillow, feeling his hair tickling his cheek, and then he stretches his limbs lazily, like a cat after its nap.

But then he feels something brushing against his hand and panic floods him instantly. Sehun.

He coils back to himself quickly, squirming away from the other sleeping body. Sehun has his back turned to Luhan, white skin showing on his broad shoulders that peek above the covers. Luhan squints in the faint light of the room and, is that red scratches on Sehun’s skin? Oh my god. Luhan covers his mouth with both hands. He did this, didn’t he? He cups his face with his hands and shakes his head as if he is trying to make his brain shift to the right place inside it again. Okay, keep calm. You must absolutely keep calm. Last night…well, last night. He slept with Sehun. Very objectively speaking, last night was amazing and congratulations to the kid, but right now Luhan doesn’t know what to do now or what to feel about last night. He has not felt so good and so confused, so delighted and so scared ever since he was a teenager. This is all very overwhelming. Was all of that even legal? He pinches his cheeks, although they are already a bright shade of red. He doesn’t know how to look at Sehun after last night, or what to say. He can’t stay here.

He gets out of the bed as quietly as he can, careful not to jolt Sehun. He tiptoes his way to the bathroom and gets in the shower quickly. The water on his skin is consoling and it helps him view more calmly the bruises on his hips and stomach –Luhan’s skin bruises easily, it’s not something to worry about. They are there, Sehun made them last night and they will be gone by tomorrow morning, but his situation doesn’t come and go as easily. At least, Luhan remembers Sehun’s age while he’s in the shower and he’s actually legal, so that’s a consolation. Also, he had some sense left last night and didn’t let Sehun mark his neck, so not having to worry about covering up such things is also a consolation. He stays under the calming flow of water for a while, until he decides that, as much as he finds comfort in the shower, he won’t find any answers or advice as to how to deal with Sehun.

When he tiptoes out of the bathroom, fully clothed and with his hair combed and slightly curly already as it dries, Sehun is still asleep. Luhan was not planning to wake him up anyway, so he slides out of the room swiftly and soundlessly.

It is still early in the morning and the house is quiet. Luhan sees the blankets and tossed pillows in the living room, remnants of last night when they were watching the movie. There are many windows in this house, so the light flows abundantly inside. He walks to the kitchen and he is surprised to see someone already there. Chen is sitting on a stool by the kitchen island, probably because that is more comfortable than sitting at the table all by himself. As the fashion designer he is, even his comfy-clothes are nicely styled and paired, in pastel colors of baby blue and mint green. His hair is not styled but only brushed to the side and the morning sun, coming through the large kitchen windows reveals some copper highlights in his hair. He is reading a magazine casually, sipping coffee from a mug every so often.

“Hey” Luhan croaks out and clears his throat right after to prevent that sound from coming out of his lips again. Chen looks up at him and the corners of his lips twitch upwards.

“Good morning” he says and leaves the magazine aside, picking his mug with both hands.

“Are you the only one awake?” Luhan asks, moving closer and sitting on a stool across from Chen. He’s not excellent with small talk, but he guesses it would be awkward otherwise.

“No, Suho is awake too; he has gone out for a swim” Chen points outside the kitchen windows, where there is sand and the ocean.

“Hm, I see” Luhan says, noting absentmindedly that the weather is nice today, very sunny and bright. A small silence follows but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable; Luhan doesn’t know Chen, but he seems like a good guy –not necessarily a nice guy though. He looks a bit mischievous, but good at heart, so Luhan doesn’t mind him.

“So…how was last night?” Chen asks casually, but there is something in his voice that makes Luhan stop gazing at the sea and look at him. Chen is trying to keep his smile normal and not smug or sneaky, but Luhan is a good actor himself and he knows when someone is trying to hide.

“It was good, I guess. How was yours?” he answers evasively. Chen shrugs his shoulders.

“Not as good as yours”

“What do you mean?” Luhan asks straightforward; it is too early in the day to play games and try to decipher Chen. Chen smiles at Luhan and Luhan is sure in that moment that Chen knows; he knows. Luhan doesn’t know how, but Chen knows what happened last night. A wave of panic washes through him. “I-I…Can you please tell me in words?” he stutters, feeling his cheeks turning pink. He’d better make sure of what Chen knows before he opens his mouth and embarrasses himself more than he already has.

“Well, I bet Sehun is a good roommate” Chen hides his suggestive smile behind the rim of his cup as he sips his coffee.

“Xiumin must be a good roommate as well” Luhan tries casually, as if they are just talking about their roommates, even though this seems hardly the case. Chen almost chokes on his drink because of his laugher.

“Not the same sort of good” he points out, dabbing the side of his smiling lips with a napkin with the grace of the queen of England. Luhan knew it; Chen knows. He obviously knows… Oh god, Luhan wants to be swallowed in the ground.

“How did you know?” Luhan mumbles, looking at his fingers on the counter and blushing furiously. Chen has probably known all along, because even his first question was ‘how was last night’ which Luhan can interpret in a different way now. Suddenly, Chen seems very smart.

“I came down for a glass of water during the night. Let’s just say you sounded like you were enjoying yourself. Not to mention how loud you were; almost as much as Kai and Kyungsoo upstairs! The house was so quiet and so noisy in the same time; I almost ran back to my room and locked myself in there for good measure” Chen laughs lightly.

“Were we really that loud?” Luhan is worried that other people might have heard as well. He doesn’t know how to face Sehun, but now he is not sure he knows how to face the rest of the people in this house either.

“Mmm, look, the house was quiet and I have really good ears. Listening to things I don’t want to hear is a problem sometimes, but I am pretty good at ignoring stuff. I felt a bit violated but I slept over it, don’t worry, I am fine now. I don’t think anyone else heard you, but I wouldn’t know for sure; I slept like the dead for the rest of the night” Luhan nods, still feeling embarrassed and flustered, but somewhat reassured as well. It is not something gravely dire –not too gravely at least –so even if one person knows, it is not so bad. It feels awful, but maybe it is not as bad as it feels. But Luhan should explain to Chen how their case is slightly sensitive, just to make sure that he will have the chance to talk with Sehun before anything else.

“Look, Sehun and I-” Luhan starts to say but Chen holds up one finger to stop him.

“No need to explain anything to me; I am not the telltale kind and I am certainly not judging. Sehun is not my type, but he is a good kid. So, if he suits your tastes, I really don’t think I care what you do, sorry”

“No, you didn’t…I mean, Sehun and I…w-we are not…this was not…” Luhan tries to say something but it is stubbornly stuck on his tongue and he is only embarrassing himself and making himself more flustered and stressed out. Chen looks like he is about to burst with laughter. Luhan takes a deep breath, bracing himself. “Last night was a one-time thing” he blurts out. He is not sure it was, but maybe he can save some of his self esteem if he says that. It doesn’t feel like it is working. It doesn’t look like it is working either, because Chen raises his eyebrows knowingly.

“Suuuure it was” he says, hopping down the stool and heading for the door. Luhan sighs in frustration. Even if he calls out to Chen, there is no point in trying to convince him of something he is not sure himself. What is he going to do with himself?! Just as Chen disappears, his roommate Xiumin comes through the door.

“Good morning, Luhan. How was last night?” he asks casually, reminding Luhan how this torturously mortifying conversation began with Chen. Does Xiumin know too?!

“Is it written on my forehead or something?!” he explodes and lets his head fall on the counter in despair. Xiunmin only looks at him curiously and shrugs his shoulders, unaware.

--

Kyungsoo opens his eyes and yawns, feeling the strain of something that would of course be weighing on his body. He peeks, cracking his eyes ever so slightly, because the sun stings you in the morning like it has a grudge against you since your previous incarnation, and it is revealed that this time he has only one lean arm sprawled across his chest and one long leg hauled above his own limbs. That’s Kim Jongin for you. He lets his head fall back on the pillow resignedly and starts stretching his arms, as he would any other morning. He might or might not have accidentally whacked something in the process, but hey, it’s not his fault that Kai chose to ignore so many inches of the fine linen and mattress of their king sized bed only to cling on Kyungsoo throughout the night…

“Soo?” Kai asks in his sleep, and it really sounds like Smmum, but Kyungsoo is accustomed to the sleeping alien language of Jongin by now and he can decipher it.

“Who else?” he retorts sarcastically but there is no bite in his voice. Kai starts shifting and crawling on the bed, relocating himself and even managing to lift his upper half off the bed in his sleep; only to let it fall right on top of Kyungsoo’s chest the next moment. Kyungsoo chokes and fights for breath after the impact of the taller’s landing on his small self, his eyes growing wide and his body fighting back instinctively. Such impressive and aspiring half-asleep skills from Kim Jongin have not been perfected yet, if ever; he should have known and removed himself from harm’s way sooner.

“I’m seriously suffocating here!” he complains, successfully grabbing Kai’s shoulders and throwing him on the side. The moment he is free from the burden, he sits up and leans against the headboard, coughing slightly and panting to regain his breath. He throws a deathly glare at the sleeping man next to him, wishing he could just kick him for revenge, but his better part reminds him that they’re on vacation and he should be nice. He can kick him after the weekend.

A glance at his phone helps Kyungsoo decide that it’s okay if he stays in bed for a while longer, and so he stretches his legs comfortably, wiggling his ankles under the fluffy sheets, and he fixes the pillow behind his back, getting comfortable. He gazes out the window at the bright blue sky and fleeting, white clouds for a while, and then he returns his attention to his phone.

Somehow, by some bizarre power which possesses him in unsuspecting time, he finds himself going through the photos of Kai and himself, the ones that Kai insisted on taking during their dates, because, according to the idiot, Kyungsoo needs to have some proof of the smoking hot person he is dating to show his friends. Are we back in high school or what? What’s even more bizarre though, is the fact that Kyungsoo is smiling fondly at the pictures, and it’s obviously not because he is entertained by his pouting face in most of the pictures or Kai’s blinding grin which literally reflects sparkles on the screen, but because of the memories. Popcorn at the movies, sunset at Han river, cherry trees…

And then there is a picture that Kyungsoo didn’t know Kai had taken, one of them kissing somewhere. He tries to figure where they were and to remember how on earth could Kai have taken a picture without him noticing, but the background is so simple and commonplace that it could be anywhere and the lighting is not indicative of anything further than daytime. There’s nothing remarkable about it. He frowns.

Why does he like this picture so much?

The body next to him shifts and Kyungsoo knows Kai is almost awake. He puts the phone away and turns on his side to look at Kai. The taller stretches his long arms above his head and then curls them under the pillow, gathering everything under his head and resting his bed hair and puffy eyes on the lump, smiling lazily at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo doesn’t know why he finds it endearing.

“Morning, princess” he wheezes, and Kyungsoo still doesn’t understand why he is always being called a princess in the morning, but he doesn’t mind anymore. He ruffles Kai’s hair, finding a bit of his obsessive compulsive side and trying to smooth it out in the process. Kai leans into the touch with a content smile and Kyungsoo thinks that it’s okay if he spoils Kai on just one morning of vacation.

He keeps combing Kai’s dark brown hair with his fingers, playing with the ends of the few wild tufts that stick out from the rest mop of hair unyieldingly. Without noticing, things have turned into a war between him and the hair strands and he is furiously fighting to place them in what he deems is their rightful place, but they are interestingly stubborn. If they are anything like their owner, Kyungsoo doesn’t think he stands a chance at changing their mind, so he gives up, laughing at himself, when he realizes exactly what he has been doing pointlessly for the last few minutes. Kai chuckles too, blinking up at him from where he has settled. Kyungsoo doesn’t know why his smile softens when his eyes cross paths with Jongin’s, and the latter’s eyes are clear and warm and familiar and just happy.

Kyungsoo closes his lips in a small mien as his fingers caress the other’s cheek, his thumb touching the edge of Kai’s smile in wonder, and then his fingers skim the chestnut hairline to Kai’s strong neck, flattering over his nape with a ghosting touch that raises goose bumps on Kai’s arms. Kyungsoo unconsciously bites his lower lip slightly, as his fingers dance lower and lower on Kai’s exposed back, tracing doodles over every bone of his spinal cord, until he reaches his waist. The sheets are pooling over Kai’s hips and maybe it’s because they are white against his skin, or maybe it’s because of the lighting in the room, or maybe it’s because Kyungsoo is paying attention, that he notices a scar. It is slightly lighter in color than the rest of Kai’s skin, a good few centimeters long, perfectly aligned with his spine, just above his tailbone.

“What’s this?” Kyungsoo asks curiously, tracing his finger experimentally over the imperfection he hadn’t noticed before. It’s strange that he never noticed, after so many nights and so many mornings together, after so much skin he has seen that he could swear he knows every inch. He looks at Kai’s face for the first time after a while, but Kai has closed his eyes again, not sleeping, just savoring the touches.

“Back surgery” Kai answers simply, his voice still raspy from slumber at the edges. Kyungsoo feels even more bewildered, his eyebrows creasing with concern. How come he never heard of this? How come they never discussed about it? Surgery is…important stuff, right? People share such stuff…don’t they?

“What happened?” he asks quietly, timidly even, splaying his fingers on Kai’s warm skin, covering the scar with his palm protectively and experimentally; part of him belatedly worries about Kai’s health and part of him wants to memorize the scar by touch and to know it just as well as he knows every other part of Kai. He doesn’t know if he is allowed to ask this, if he is allowed to remind Kai of something probably painful. When Kai’s eyes open this time, he looks more awake than before, but his eyes are slightly unfocused.

“I used to be a dancer; ballet. I was good at it, too. I don’t remember why I asked my parents to take me to ballet classes one day, but I remember they weren’t happy about their only son picking up such a hobby. I had to fight tooth and nail to convince them; even Chanyeol remembers those epic challenges. The yelling, the hunger-strikes, the tears –he even cried with me sometimes, that giant softie. We’ve been wondering for years what it might have been that made me so motivated, but too bad, no one remembers why it all started.

“Anyway, as it turned out, I was amazing at dancing; and I felt amazing, in a way you cannot understand if you haven’t felt it. I fell in love for the first time. The feeling of spinning on your limbs, defying gravity and soaring above the ground, straining your last bone for position, expanding and coiling around yourself, painting your core on every inch of movement…It was so liberating, so free, so earnest. Dancing wasn’t just pretty moves and counting steps; it was pain and endless effort, it was ugly feelings, frustration and disappointment, it was passion and joy, pride, it was forcing your soul out of your body where everyone could see. Everything good and everything bad, what was there not to love? It was perfect. At least, to me it was…

“But, after my parents realized that the teacher wasn’t just sweet-talking them when he said I was good, everything started to change. It wasn’t fun anymore, it was a competition. I had to be better, I had to be the best, I had to make them proud, I had to make myself important. It hurt to see it that way; but I was only a child, and children are parent-centered, so of course it all changed for me. It was all a blur of endless hours sweating in front of a mirror, bleeding and bruised limbs, music that cued torture and only the expressions of anger, melancholy, hatred. I found myself in a twisted world.

“Growing up, there was this boy in my class, who was really good. Everyone admired his technique, even me. But the guy was the meanest incarnation of evil I had ever seen; he used to trip other dancers down the stairs, just to get their parts in the choreography. He was arrogant, rude to everyone, aggressive, competitive…not that I was any better at the time. Puberty and parenting took their toll on me. We were basically a ticking time bomb. One day, we had been practicing really hard and, while our teacher was away, we exploded. We had this silly dance battle to see who’s best; we were both tired and it was reckless to strain ourselves so much. Proud childish fools. I just happened to be the first one to get hurt; it could have been him, it was him a few months later. Now we both can’t dance”

Kyungsoo bites his lips to hold back a shaky breath. All this is unexpected and he feels…shocked, frozen, speechless. He feels bare of his own protective layers of existence and directly linked to the being he is touching. When he woke up this morning, he couldn’t possibly imagine that he would find himself in this situation. He always thought Kai was transparent, so easy to figure and understand. He never guessed there would ever be such moments with him; hidden, deep confessions that make Kyungsoo feel as exposed as Kai himself, as if skin and bones don’t have any significance between them. He thought he knew everything there is about Kai, his unique habits, his breathtaking expressions, the way his silly head works. He never wondered why Kai is the way he is, Kyungsoo simply assumed that that’s just how Kai is in general and that’s a given. But, maybe not.

He would have never guessed that Kai once went through such rough times. Sure, people out there have to go through worse every day, but you cannot compare different people’s pains. It always hurts when you lose something you love. And Kyungsoo can see the hurt in Kai’s eyes. There is something mournful swimming in his brown irises, his eyelids are droopy and he can see a twinkle of longing. It makes Kyungsoo want to hug him and hold him close, tell him everything’s alright, cry with him for the first love that Kai lost in a moment of childish pride and in years of false parental guidance. He wishes he knew how to do those things for Kai, how to do something for him for once, but he doesn’t know how. It feels like Kyungsoo has never regretted his past more, for the way it has scarred him and changed him into something useless. Kai blinks and his lips twitch but he sounds less affected by his narration from then on.

“Two surgeries and many months of recovery later, doctors said I wouldn’t dance professionally ever again. Maybe I could still dance, as a hobby, minding my physical limits and being careful with my bones. My parents thought it would be pointless. I thought it would be hurtful, to be reminded by my own body that I could never experience the same liberating moves again, that I would forever be a broken toy. The physical pain subsided, I picked up other hobbies, I focused on my studies, I started working with Chanyeol…Life went on and I was happy; but I was never committed in anything; work, relationships, pets, responsibilities…I never got too close. Getting close is not worth it…It would only hurt again and hurt more, right?” Kyungsoo blinks at the sudden question and Kai smiles at him, making Kyungsoo feel more confused than ever. How can he smile right now?

“Wrong, Kyungsoo. All wrong. Because of you” he says and kisses Kyungsoo on his numb lips. All this feels too surreal for Kyungsoo to react in any way and, before he knows it, Kai is looking in his eyes levelly. “All wrong. It is worth it, getting close and getting hurt. You’re worth committing. Everything good and everything bad, what is there not to love about you?” 

--

Baekhyun’s consciousness flairs at the edges, painting his world from endless noir to dull senses. The first thing he registers is his breath, warm air fragranced by the fresh scent of the sheets under his head and the flower scent of his shampoo. It smells distinctly sun, because the air always smells differently in the sunlight, more familiar and like home. In the vagueness of terms that the brain registers information so early in the morning, Baekhyun can only say that he also inhales skin, a sweet scent that is warm by itself and very comforting.

The next thing he discovers about himself is his limp body. Starting from his shoulders that feel wonderfully relaxed, and then his chest that feels a bit heavy pressed on the mattress, and then his tangled legs. Baekhyun feels warm and calm, a small sigh of satisfaction escaping his lips. And, oh, sweet lord of cuddles, Baekhyun hasn’t felt so right while waking up in forever! There are certain mornings in your life when you wake up and discover the perfect feeling you’ve always wanted to wake up to but you never knew; like stretched all over the bed, or with your back perfectly rested, or smelling flowers and food, or being perfectly warm in absolute darkness, or your puppy kissing your face, or with your ankles crossed on your pillow –it’s different for every person. And Baekhyun thinks he just found his.

Baekhyun’s mind doesn’t know why this is happening or how, but he doesn’t bother because it feels perfect either way. It is very hard to describe it, but if had to give it a try, he would say it feels marvelously heavy, with just the right amount of pressure on his bones and body. He is not suffocating at all and it is not stuffy; the pressure makes his body feel even more relaxed, so much he could go back to sweet, deep sleep immediately, and the warmth is seeping under his skin, combining brilliantly in his senses with the scent of sunshine, skin, fabric softener and flowers. He feels safe and peaceful, floating on soft clouds and wafting in strawberry marmalade. Everything in the world is beautiful and happy for him; he can’t explain why but he feels, crystal clear, this is the perfect place.

It doesn’t take long for his eyesight to become a curtain of gold behind his closed eyelids and his body to tune in better with his brain, making him aware of a tangled mess of both his lower and upper limbs. He has probably messed up the covers a lot, to tangle them around him so much. His hearing comes next, but everything is very quiet, except for his heartbeat in his ear which is trapped under his head, and his breath…and another breath. Baekhyun’s curiosity spikes at the obvious inconsistency and his brain forces his senses to work for more information, pushing him out of sleep and into consciousness faster than before.

It takes less than a heartbeat to panic, because everything new tells him that he is not alone, like he had assumed. The warmth around him is more than his small body usually emits and the pressure on his chest is more than any blanket has ever weighed; in fact, he can feel a second heartbeat echoing in his chest if he stills completely. His legs are not tangled with sheets but with something more solid and long, something like legs, and his arms are strangely twined with another pair of arms. There is one strong limb around his waist, trapping him close to the foreign body in the perfect angle to fit it, and his own fingers are woven in between those of that hand. Another arm in under his head and he realizes that it must have been the source for the scent of skin he detected earlier. It is easy to count the steady breaths, leaving the other’s chest and then ascending in a warm path over Baekhyun’s ear and jaw.

Baekhyun has a pretty good idea who the person might be, when he opens his eyes, glances down at the familiar hands in defiance of the stinging sunrays, then mumbles “Oh my god” as quietly as possible, and plants his face in the pillow with despair and burning cheeks. 

--

Chanyeol can feel something pressing against his cheek in medium tempo. The pressure is very soft and it repeats rhythmically. This is strange…He opens his eyes slightly to check and bright white light blinds him instantly. He immediately closes his eyes again, tighter this time, to keep the light away, scrunching his nose in distaste.

“Good morning, Chanyeol!” a sweet voice chirps familiarly, sounding like music to Chanyeol’s ears, and Chanyeol opens his eyes instantly and keeps them open this time, even if it hurts.

Baekhyun is lying on his stomach next to Chanyeol, smiling brightly, like the sun through the glass wall. He is above the covers and he is dressed in his bright, day-time clothes, so he probably woke up before Chanyeol, got dressed and ready, and then returned to wake him up. His hair is combed but it still falls across his forehead, innocently and childishly, his small teeth sparkle white under his rosy lips and the sun rests on his face, making his skin look velvety and his puppy eyes twinkle adorably. This is a very nice picture to wake up to, Chanyeol thinks.

Chanyeol tries to form a small smile on his sleepy lips; he had not slept so well in a while. He lifts one hand to rub his eye, in hopes to soothe the pain from the light and make the sleep go away from where it is perching on his lashes. He is surprised to see that he can only use one hand; the other is on his side and Baekhyun is holding it, just like last night. Chanyeol doesn’t think Baekhyun managed to get dressed and ready while keeping his fingers entwined with Chanyeol’s all the while, so that means Baekhyun took his hand again and tangled their fingers after he got back to the bed to wake Chanyeol. The thought makes Chanyeol all sorts of excited, but don’t ask which sorts specifically, because he just woke up and it is hard to describe.

“Good morning, Baek” he mumbles in a velvet, chesty voice, slowly gaining better control of his lips to smile properly.

“Wow!” Baekhyun’s eyes go round in surprise and his eyebrows lift. He lifts the upper half of his body, resting his weight on his elbows on the mattress. Chanyeol tries not to pout, feeling the slender fingers untangle and slide away from his now awfully empty hand. “Your voice is even deeper in the morning!” Chanyeol laughs at his cuteness and his unusual remark. But it is true that his foreign, deep voice gets even deeper when he is not in full consciousness or full control of it.

“Sorry” he apologizes, not sure of what, and he lifts his body to sit on the bed. Baekhyun keeps his pose, looking up at Chanyeol with a happy look and the most adorable eye-smile.

“Well, I am sorry, too; I didn’t know how to wake you up, so I kept poking your cheek” he admits sheepishly and then giggles quietly at himself. Chanyeol smiles even wider; it takes someone like Baekhyun to think of such a cute way to wake someone up.

“It’s okay; Kai usually kicks me awake, so, poking is not so bad” he makes a face at the memory of Kai kicking his bed until he was awake to get up and go to school. Friendship doesn’t always translate to affection. Baekhyun flashes an entertained smile but doesn’t say anything further on the subject.

“Say, Chanyeol, how did I get up here last night?” Baekhyun asks, changing the topic with curiosity etched but somewhat hidden in his voice. He starts swinging his shins back and forth in the air in lazy intervals, like a child waiting to hear a story.

“You slept downstairs, so I carried you up here” Chanyeol offers casually, not really thinking much before his mouth moves. A flash of shock crosses Baekhyun’s face and suddenly he keeps his legs still. Shoot, I shouldn’t have said that. Chanyeol belatedly realizes the implications. The situation was all sorts of unicorns last night, what with him carrying Baekhyun bridal style, and then Baekhyun sleep-talking and sleep-moving, and then making Chanyeol sleep in the same bed because he’s a stubborn little koala, and if you think about it, it was all Chanyeol’s fault, because he was supposed to be the awake and responsible one, and then-

“Oh my god, did I say anything embarrassing again?” Baekhyun breathes with a look of horror on his adorable puppy face. Chanyeol holds in a sigh of relief and thanks the gods that this seems to be Baekhyun’s only concern, because he would be having serious trouble to answer other, more pressing questions, while his brain is half asleep. No, wait, he would be having trouble answering in any case, even if he were wide awake. Chanyeol laughs lightly.

“No, you were pretty normal” he reassures him. Extraordinarily cute, endearingly chivalrous, impressively stubborn and adorably sleepy, but pretty normal overall.

“Thank god” Baekhyun sighs in relief with a glance to the heavens and then he allows his elbows to give in. He falls on the bed, planting his face in the covers. He is so cute that Chanyeol’s brain finds the power to squeal deafeningly at his thoughts so early in the morning and his fingers curl in agony of being filled with so much fanboying emotions and yet being unable to express them. Chanyeol laughs, rocking the bed slightly with his laughter, and it lets out only a small portion of what he’s feeling, but it’s better than nothing. He calms down soon enough though, worried that Baekhyun might take offence or feel even more embarrassed and stay hidden until he starts suffocating under there.

In the still silence that follows, a loud growl resonates in the quiet room.

“What was that?” Chanyeol asks, wide-eyed, and Baekhyun lifts only his head, otherwise keeping his position. His hair is a bit tussled to all directions in the front and Chanyeol can see only half of his face and a bit of his lips when he talks. It looks funny and adorable in the same time; so much so, in fact, that Chanyeol kind of wants to scoop him in his arms and ruffle his hair and kiss his button nose and hold him close, close and closer. Kind of.

“I think I am hungry” Baekhyun admits and, just on cue, his stomach growls again. Chanyeol feels the bubbling emotions in his chest again, so he starts laughing again, and Baekhyun turns slightly more pink in embarrassment, hiding in the covers again. Chanyeol ruffles the smaller’s hair playfully to comfort him, smiling all the while. This is hands down the best way Chanyeol has ever been awakened so far, and he guesses how much more perfect it would be if he could only do the things he imagines and wishes he could do.

--

“Good morning, everybody!” Kai exclaims as he and Kyungsoo reach the kitchen. Almost everyone is already there and they return their good mornings.

Suho and Lay are cooking in two pans and something is baking in the oven, sending a sweet scent inside the house. Xiumin is helping Suho and Lay fit everything in large plates and Chen takes the plates one by one to the long dining table. Luhan is setting the table with unnecessary zeal, while Sehun is sitting down –even if he is the youngest…ugh, this little brat– and he watches Luhan intently with a kicked puppy look that Kyungsoo can’t guess where is coming from. Kyungsoo should be helping with the cooking and Kai should be making himself useful as well by now, but they are late to come to the kitchen –because Kai had other thoughts about how they should spend their early morning in bed, even if they had been doing the same thing last night in bed as well…Baekhyun and Chanyeol are the only ones missing; Kyungsoo doesn’t know how he feels about that, but it is better if he doesn’t make any scandalous assumptions. Yet.

“Can I help with anything?” he offers quickly, approaching the cooks with a big, heartwarming smile. And if you are thinking that Kyungsoo has improved his morning interaction skills, you are right; Kai has taught him how to be more cheerful and less grumpy and pouty in the morning. In his defense, Kyungsoo saw the morning as a time to mourn his lost sleep, until Kai showed him that the morning can be the time to do something nice or something fun instead.

“Everything is under control here” Suho reassures him with a bright smile, saluting him with the ladle. Kai walks to the table and starts helping Luhan with the utensils –or, messing them up, more accurately put, until Luhan shoos him away. Kai resolves to poking and teasing Sehun out of his trance, but Sehun remains pouting, moving only to slap Kai’s prying and teasing hands away from him. But alas, Kai is not so easily shot down, so he tries again, even sticking his tongue out and sing-songing in weird voices. Sometimes Kai is such a kid…

“Is there anything else I can do then?” Kyungsoo offers kindly.

“Um, you could go and wake up Baekhyun and Chanyeol, if you’d like” Lay suggests, stirring some vegetables for one last time in the pan “Breakfast is almost ready”

“Well, somebody has to wake those two up” Chen agrees, winking at Kyungsoo suggestively as he passes him by with deliciously smelling food in his hands. Kyungsoo nods; those two need to wake up, both literally and figuratively.

--

“So, what happened?” Kai asks again, nudging Sehun’s leg under the table with his knee; they’re both tall people, so their limbs are easy to bump in the small space. Sehun keeps staring forward. Kai huffs inwardly. Something is bothering Sehun and that much is painfully obvious to Kai. And that ‘something’ might or might not have to do with Luhan, because Sehun has been staring at said male. But Kai can’t guess what might have gone down in their room, so he has to keep asking. Poor Sehun seems desolate. Well, not exactly, because Sehun’s face doesn’t show much emotion on regular basis, but it’s clear that his eyes are droopy and his eyebrows are on the verge of frowning, and the corners of his lips are turned downwards. That’s as clear as you can ever see sadness on Oh Sehun’s face. “You’re blue so early in the morning” Kai pushes a bit more. He must have said the same things at least four times in all the five minutes he’s been in the kitchen, but he has had plenty of chances to do so, since Sehun doesn’t respond to anything, resulting in Kai repeating himself. Kai nudges Sehun’s knee again, this time jolting him more than before.

“I’m not” Sehun snaps, turning to give him a dead glare. Kai finds his neutral face kind of intimidating but it’s just Sehun, so he knows that the face is not meant to scare him but to make him believe that there’s nothing wrong. As if Kai would fall for it so easily. He smiles obnoxiously in Sehun’s face.

“Sure you aren’t, Sehunnie~”

Kai receives a smack on the head, and what the hell, it wasn’t even from Sehun. He rubs the hurting area, turning to the side just enough to see who hit him, not angry but just curious and feeling completely wronged in this unjust world, because who deserves to get hit when he is only trying to help a fellow human?

“Don’t bicker” is Kyungsoo’s dry and almost soulless explanation as he passes by them to exit the kitchen. Kai still feels the reprimand against his skull, because his little Soo has a heavy hand if he wants to, but he doesn’t mind at all. He opens his mouth to protest playfully after Kyungsoo, but he is stopped by another voice near him.

“Listen to mama Soo and be good children now” Chen advises ostentatiously with dramatically raised eyebrows and both hands on his waist, and Kai giggles, Sehun cracks a smile and Chen winks at them playfully before bounding happily after Kyungsoo. Kai hadn’t thought that his idol designer Chen would share a bit of his mischievous nature, but it turns out he does, and that makes Kai see him as more of a human than before, and it’s nice.

“You just smiled!” Kai accuses, pointing a finger at Sehun triumphantly. He’s not sure why he claims this victory, since it wasn’t his, and he has no idea why it’s even considered a victory to make Sehun smile in his blue weather place. Sehun frowns.

“I didn’t!”

“You so did!”

“Don’t bicker!” Kyungsoo’s strict voice carries from the stairs in exasperation, promptly sending Sehun and Kai into a hysterical giggling fit.

--

Kyungsoo starts making his way back to the floor where he came from, rolling his eyes at the echo of the giggles. He really doesn’t deserve to be the mother of such giant idiots; he’d much rather have a son like Baekhyun. Then, he could boss him around more easily. He sighs; the universe works in mysterious ways…He realizes that he is being followed only when he is halfway to his destination, detecting carpet-muffled steps behind him. He turns around and sees Chen, smiling up at him from a few steps down the stairs.

“Do you want to do the honors?” Kyungsoo asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise and motioning vaguely in the direction of Baekhyun’s room. Chen shakes his head.

“Nope; I just find it suspicious that they are not up yet. I want to see if you will find anything…interesting, you know” Chen’s smile turns mischievous and Kyungsoo smiles knowingly himself; he would be lying if he said he didn’t have the same thought. Much as you try to keep the scandalous thoughts out of your head, they always find the way to sneak back in it. The two men reach the door of the room together and stop outside. This is when Kyungsoo starts hesitating.

“Maybe you should wake them up; you’re Baekhyun’s childhood friend”

“You’re Baekhyun’s friend too! And they sent you in the first place; I could be somewhere else and not here, so you are doing it” Chen declines.

“But what if Chanyeol is difficult to wake up? I am still very shy with him, so I cannot keep nagging at him timidly forever! You are better with those things” Kyungsoo thinks that, as a fanboy, he cannot bring himself to treat Chanyeol roughly; Chen, on the other hand, has the tendency to be efficient, no matter the means.

“Are you implying that I am insensitive?” Chen quirks his eyebrow and Kyungsoo raises one of his own.

“Are you implying that you are not?”

“Well, I can be, at times, but –wait; this is not the point”

“I know it is not the point; the point is, who is going to wake those two up!” Kyungsoo whispers urgently. They need to decide already, because they have been passing the ball like a hot potato between each other.

“They sent you; you should do it” Chen says decisively.

“They sent me randomly! Can we please to do it together?” Kyungsoo pleads. Chen crosses his arms in front of his puffed out chest.

“Do Kyungsoo, man up and go in the room!” he orders strictly. Kyungsoo looks down at his hands.

“But I am scared…”

“Of two people sleeping?”

“Of what I might see” Kyungsoo admits and looks up at Chen with distress “Just like you said, what if I find something interesting? What if I walk in on them doing…interesting things? I don’t think I can handle the trauma, let alone face either one of them ever again after that!” Even something as innocent as a hug between Chanyeol and Baekhyun or any other sugar that those two do in their private time which Kyungsoo is not supposed to see will make him want to die on the spot!

“Hmm” Chen hums in thought “…you have a point there. But hey, better you than me” he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. What was it about insensitivity again?

“Please, Chen, I don’t want to do it! I don’t want to tarnish my innocent eyes or ruin my relationship with them! Or squeal and faint due to severe cuteness overload right in front of them. Let’s find another way to wake them up, please!” he whispers in agony.

“Well, what do you suggest we do then? Bang on a baking pan outside the door? Oh, wait, that actually might work!”

“What…? No, this is a brutal way to wake someone up. Think of something else”

“Why don’t you think of something too?”

“Um, guys?” a deep voice, which sounds too loud in the silent floor compared to their whispering earlier, makes them both squeal like girls in surprise and flinch away from the door. Chen and Kyungsoo stare at Chanyeol as if he is the chainsaw killer, but Chanyeol is only standing in the doorway in a very non-threatening way –even though his height is commendably intimidating. He quirks his eyebrow, seeing the odd reaction of the two shorter men and Baekhyun’s head pops up behind Chanyeol’s elbow to look at them with innocent curiosity. Making a small note of how cute Baekhyun looks with his slightly too long hair and how gorgeous Chanyeol looks too, even in his sleep-clothes, Kyungsoo regains control of himself and fixes his posture. These are his friends, for crying out loud. Chen mimics him on his side.

“Hey, guys! We came to wake you up” Chen explains, clearing his throat mildly. So, now it is ‘we’? Kyungsoo gives the side of Chen’s skull a judging glare. When his eyes return to the pair in the doorway, Chanyeol nods in understanding but Baekhyun is squinting his eyes and giving Kyungsoo the I-know-you-too-well-to-believe-this-and-I’m-going-to-corner-you-soon-to-find-out-the-truth-I-promise-you-pain look, unbeknownst to Chanyeol. Kyungsoo cringes a little. Thou shall not invoke the wrath of the mighty puppy...

“Well, we were awake already” Chanyeol says casually, even though his eyes scan the two men with suspicion. Kyungsoo shrugs; he doubts that Chanyeol could guess what he and Chen had been scandalously assuming about the sleeping pair; the worst of Chanyeol’s suspicions is probably that both men are crazy. Which is not entirely untrue, so okay.

“Did you sleep well?” Chen asks cheerfully with a wide grin, but it sounds suspiciously like fishing for information to Kyungsoo’s ears. Kyungsoo briefly wonders why they haven’t left yet.

“Sure!” Baekhyun chirps from behind Chanyeol, catching the latter’s attention, who moves to the side of the door, allowing full view of Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo now knows that his fears were irrational. Baekhyun is fully clothed and groomed for the day, so he must have woken earlier than Chanyeol. Also, Baekhyun would have never been able to smile so casually at them if something interesting had happened last night between him and Chanyeol, and he would be blushing furiously at Chen’s question if not at Chen and Kyungsoo’s presence alone. And Chanyeol is smart, so he would have suspected their indecent assumptions by now, if he had ever had the same thoughts about last night between him and Baekhyun. But, apparently, Chanyeol is just as oblivious as Baekhyun, unaware of his feelings and unable to make any steps to get this relationship started. Chanyeol probably just slept on the floor last night and they both woke up on their own or by Baekhyun’s alarm this morning.

“Breakfast is almost ready, so hurry and come downstairs” Kyungsoo delivers the message he was sent to deliver and smiles timidly. Chanyeol nods innocently in understanding.

“I’m ready, so I’ll come with you” Baekhyun decides, stepping around Chanyeol and in the hallway. “Don’t be late, Chanyeol!” he calls back to the taller one, who nods affirmatively with a sweet smile. If Kyungsoo takes a picture of them or captures them in film, he is pretty sure that he would never be able to convince someone that those two are not a couple already…

The three men leave and Chanyeol closes the door behind them. Baekhyun soon walks ahead of the other two and starts hopping down the stairs cheerfully and cutely like a child, with all the energy and sunshine in the world.

“How sure are we that nothing interesting happened?” Chen asks Kyungsoo in a hushed voice, watching Baekhyun exclude so much happiness so early in the morning. Kyungsoo leans closer to Chen.

“90%?” he suggests in a whisper.

“I’d say 95%, but 90 is a good number too” Chen agrees.

“You two are not off the hook and I’m going to find out what you’re on by any means necessary; I will torture and tickle you to submission if I have to. So, in the very likely case you sneaky fennecs are not innocent, prepare for the appropriate punishment” Baekhyun’s cheerful voice does nothing to downplay the threat and both Kyungsoo and Chen gulp uncomfortably, pale and frozen in position, halfway down the stairs. But wait.

He called them fennecs –and no, that’s not an insult, because Baekhyun actually finds fennecs adorable. Kyungsoo thinks their ears are too big, but hey, Baekhyun seems to like creatures with big ears in general, like, ahem, Park Chanyeol? Not the point right now.

If calling them fennecs was an endearment though, does it nullify the threat?

Or is he just being playful?

Or is he going to be making yelping fennec noises until they go berserk and give in?

Or is it a scheme to give the two possible victims a false sense of safety?

Or is he simply in mischievous mood and he’s playing cat and mice with them?

Or? The uncertainty of what the future holds for him drives Kyungsoo up the wall, and Baekhyun knows it and he’s taking advantage of it to torture them further. Baekhyun is harmless most of the time but that only makes his punishments more unpredictable and gives him time to plan perfectly excruciating retaliations. A bit of psychological torture is always involved when you’re trying to get back at your best friends.

Baekhyun hops down the last step and whirls around, smiling up at them angelically, brown locks an inch too long falling across his forehead and over his eyes innocently. His eyes turn into adorable crescent moons as he chirps “Just so you know.”

Kyungsoo and Chen are so dead.

--

Baekhyun steps shyly closer to the water on the shore. The soft, moist sand under his feet dips and cools his skin. He takes one step closer and the water comes rushing above his feet, covering the skin up to his ankles with a soft, warm yet slightly cool, wet sensation. It tickles as the water draws back and comes out on the shore again, soundlessly and peacefully. Baekhyun smiles and takes a few more steps, so that his feet are plunged to the middle of his calves under water. He has not been to the sea in such a long time; ever since a school trip, six –or was it seven?– years ago.

“Come on, Byun, I’m getting old here!” Kyungsoo calls and Baekhyun sticks his tongue out playfully in response. He doesn’t want to rush; it’s vacation, so it should feel like he has all the time in the world –which he does, Kyungsoo’s nagging aside. And while we’re on the topic of Kyungsoo, Baekhyun is willing to be merciful and let him be during his vacation but, after they go back, he’s going to make both him and Chen spill the beans, because there’re definitely some beans hidden between those two.

They all decided to spend the first day of their vacation on the beach. All of them are hard working city people, so they have a mutual deprivation of cheery, lighthearted moments. Suho and Lay are already used to this place, so the sea is not as much of a thrill to them as it is for the rest and they opted for a quick dive; Baekhyun can see them swimming vigorously in the far deep waters. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are not the sort of people for such activities though, so they decided to play games in the shallow waters; Kyungsoo is already covered to his waist with water, waiting for Baekhyun who has successfully moved to knee-high waters. Chen was planning to do some sunbathing when Baekhyun asked him if he wanted to join, so Baekhyun left him lying on a towel under the sun with the rest of their group, whose plans Baekhyun doesn’t know. For Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, sunbathing is not an option though, since they both have very sensitive and white skin; even as they get accustomed to the strange feeling of water surrounding their submerged legs before they start playing, they are still wearing their white t-shirts to protect their bodies from the sun.

Just like the kids they are at heart, it doesn’t take Baekhyun and Kyungsoo long before they start playing with each other, splashing water and chasing around in the sea. The water droplets are slightly cold on their skin, but it is not flinching cold, it is comforting cold. The water makes it hard to move around, but it is even more fun, stumbling around like that. They are laughing non-stop, as if the sun in the blue sky above their heads is unlocking a lifetime’s worth of happiness and laughter. Luhan approaches shyly after a while, wearing his white t-shirt as well.

“You boys look like you are having fun! I could hear you all the way from the tree over there” he says with a smile, as he watches the other two fooling around. Baekhyun always knew it that happiness is contagious! Before they know it, Luhan is dragged into their game and they are playing and laughing together. Baekhyun thinks Luhan has a nice laughter and he looks even younger when he is joking around like this.

While they are playing, Baekhyun discovers he is fast; he moves around more swiftly and his hands splash water at the other two at the speed of light. It is very effective in keeping them away, because they jolt away and turn their backs, trying to recover from the overbearing, constant flow of droplets, but Baekhyun’s hits don’t hold much force. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, raises tidal waves with his hits; if he gets you, you get soaking wet and you have to take a few moments to recover, it feels like you went underwater and resurfaced in one moment. Kyungsoo is slower though and there is time for one to move away from the torrent of water he sends their way. Luhan is usually caught in crossfire, sacrificing his dryness more than Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have. He is not showing his full combat potential, because he is confused and shocked to receive blows on both sides; his counter attacks are sloppy, but not to be taken lightly, Baekhyun knows from experience. When a particularly strong slash of water hits Luhan from Kyungsoo, rendering him completely wet, the other two start laughing –or, more like keep on laughing– while Luhan coughs slightly and blinks the water away from his eyes furiously; but he is still smiling brightly, so all is good.

“Hey! Don’t tease Luhan too much, hyungs!” Sehun’s voice sounds slightly distressed as he approaches them quickly in the water. He waddles his way to Luhan’s side and starts attacking Kyungsoo playfully on Luhan’s behalf. Their closeness still surprises Baekhyun a bit, but it is nice to see it and he thinks he likes it.

“I knew this kid hated me!” Kyungsoo exclaims, trying to protect his eyes with his hands and Sehun laughs mischievously.

“Soo, baby, I’m coming!” Kai exclaims and he comes to the rescue, splashing water around his legs as he takes a few steps in the sea.

“Kai!” Kyungsoo shirks in embarrassment, but Kai misinterprets it as a cry for help and he picks up his pace, until he is slashing water back and forth with Sehun, as stubbornly and effectively as two five year olds.

“Hohoho, looks like we forgot about someone!” Kyungsoo says with an evil smile, eyeing Baekhyun. They are all in the game now, so everyone stops and turns to Baekhyun with a dangerous glint in their eyes; Baekhyun is suddenly scared. He starts taking a few steps backwards, feeling like he is being cornered by a pack of hyenas and he braces himself for a downpour of water from their combined attack.

He covers his face with his hands, hiding from the daunting group of men and the water they are about to throw him; and he hears the water being thrown, but he only feels a few sprinkles instead of a tsunami. He hears the others laugh heartily and he opens his eyes to Chanyeol’s chest. He looks up surprised and sure enough Chanyeol took the blow for him. His hair is trickling with water on the sides and his t-shirt must be completely see-through on his back. But he doesn’t look surprised or annoyed; he is only smiling down at Baekhyun, hunched protectively around him. Baekhyun smiles in response and thanks.

“You guys are so mean” Chanyeol’s loud voice sounds playfully and he turns back to the others who prance around in the water. He glances at Baekhyun, making sure he is ready, and they start their revenge on the rest together.

They gradually fall back to their games, attacking anyone and everyone randomly and at their convenience. The amount of water they sprinkle must be creating rainbows all around them, but Baekhyun cannot keep his eyes open for long enough to check; they are either recovering from a blow or they are squinted in happiness as he smiles and laughs. They must be very loud, but Baekhyun can only hear Chanyeol’s laughter clearly, because the giant is on his side. Sehun topples over and sinks under the water for a moment, while Luhan giggles suspiciously –but Baekhyun doubts there are witnesses to Sehun being pushed down by Luhan, so he pretends he didn’t see Luhan’s expression. Kyungsoo starts bickering with Kai playfully for an unknown reason and they turn on each other, splashing water and trying to cover themselves in the same time. Baekhyun glances at the beach; it is supposed to be a private part of the beach in front of the house, but there isn’t a fence, so people can stroll by freely, and now there are some people who have stopped near the shore and stare at the boys who are playing happily in the sea. Happiness is contagious, so Baekhyun guesses they feel happy too, just by looking at them.

“That’s for making us work too hard!” Kai’s voice brings Baekhyun back to their game. Kai has turned against Luhan now, splashing him as much as he can. Chanyeol joins him and poor Luhan cannot be saved, not even from Sehun.

“You ungrateful brats!” his voice sounds above the splashing noise of water.

“You…are so dead!” Kyungsoo exclaims playfully –which clashes strangely with his sentence–and throws himself on Baekhyun, who is not safely next to Chanyeol anymore. He smiles and wrinkles his nose while trying to splash Kyungsoo away and he manages a few steps back, but water goes in his eyes and he stops to recover. In that time, Kyungsoo lands a massive blow on him and Baekhyun loses his balance, tripping on his own feet and going down fast. He reflexively grabs something before he submerges and he has the feeling that he just dragged someone down with him.

Whoever it is, he grabs Baekhyun and pulls him up on his feet and out of the water in an instant. Baekhyun laughs and coughs out water, trying to open his drenched lashes and clutching his fists around the other’s wet shirt. He knows who is cradling him comfortingly and securely, protecting him from the others’ ongoing battle, the moment his eyes unhinge. For one thing, he sees that this certain someone is tall enough to block the sun from Baekhyun’s eyes. For another, he hears a murmured laughter from a very distinct deep, velvet voice. But most importantly, he knows what it is like to be in this someone’s arms. He flips his dripping hair away from his face and smiles up at Chanyeol.

Okay, he didn’t see that one coming. Chanyeol looks positively stunning. His hair and his eyelashes are dripping, but he is smiling brightly. His eyes are scrunched on the sides and one of them is twitching adorably, sparkling in a fascinating way. Baekhyun has never seen Chanyeol’s smile up close like this before, and he must admit that it looks even prettier now; how his rosy lips curl and reveal his many white teeth in a brilliant smile, how the smile forms soft lines on each side of his lips, how his smooth skin glistens with fine water droplets. Baekhyun feels his heart picking up the pace and he hopes Chanyeol can’t feel it against his chest. And Chanyeol’s chest, oh my god, don’t even go there. With the way the t-shirt is so wet and clingy, flimsy under Baekhyun’s touch, he can feel Chanyeol’s toned muscles and the contour lines between them and –okay, we said don’t even go there.

“Hey, Baekhyun hyung, are you okay?” Sehun asks and Chanyeol steps away, releasing him from his arms, and keeping only one hand behind Baekhyun’s waist. Baekhyun likes that comforting hand on his waist or else he thinks he would have felt abandoned.

“Sure, Sehun!” he chirps with a smile, still coughing slightly over the words. His throat feels awfully dry from the salt, but he will survive. “Would you like to see for yourself?” Baekhyun starts making his way to Sehun with the best intentions to catch him and push him underwater playfully. Sehun is a tall kid, but Baekhyun feels like he can count on Luhan’s help anytime, if the plan is to shove Oh Sehun underwater.

“Hyung, you love me, remember?” Sehun squeals playfully above the others’ laughter as he makes a start to run away from Baekhyun. Baekhyun only flashes a mischievous smile before he starts waddling after him.

--

About ninety minutes later, Baekhyun finds himself sitting under the thick shadow of a tree on the beach, waiting to dry. He feels a bit tired and a bit like a sizzling squid in such heat, but he is still a bit hyper from all their games earlier. Kyungsoo is sitting on his left and Chen on his right, while Luhan is sitting on his own towel next to Chen. The three are waiting for the water to evaporate and Chen is cooling down after roasting in the sun. They don’t talk much, but don’t worry, there is a show to keep them entertained.

A few yards away, there is a beach volleyball court, where the tallest people of the bunch, Kai, Chanyeol and Sehun, and Xiumin, who is not really that tall, decided to play with a few people who came over from the other side of the beach. They mingled as they split teams, so Chanyeol ended up with Xiumin and some strangers, while Kai teamed up with Sehun and some other strangers. Despite the existence of foreign men, Baekhyun can easily tell where his friends are on the court. He can also tell apart their voices, their cheers and their laughter as they fill the beach with noise. Suho and Lay are missing for now, but Baekhyun hopes they are not trying to sleep, because the court is almost under the master bedroom’s glass wall, so it must be very noisy for them. There are also a few girls –or a lot of them, actually– who are standing close to the court as an audience to the match, and they squeal and giggle or root for their favorite player; of course they recognize the rich and handsome bachelors Chanyeol and Kai, so their names are heard often, but even Sehun, who is a tall nobody to them, has quite a fan club too.

Even though both teams are very good in scoring points, the volleyball game is not the only spectacle. Because the boys decided to leave their wet shirts behind when they left to meet the others; the others were wearing only their swimsuits too anyway. Baekhyun can only say wow, seeing how many muscles Kai actually has. Kyungsoo has mentioned he was a dancer, but do all dancers have abs like those? And Baekhyun hadn’t realized how tanned his skin is, but it looks great on him. Sehun was a surprise, because Baekhyun always thought the kid was a toothpick, tall and skinny. Apparently, he is a toothpick with muscles. Even though he is young, he has muscles that flex under his skin, which is so white that it almost looks fluorescent under the sun. As for Chanyeol…ah, Chanyeol. When he took off his shirt casually, exposing everything that Baekhyun touched earlier when Chanyeol pulled him out of the water, Baekhyun had to put a lot of conscious effort to keep his mouth closed. And Baekhyun still cannot stop following him with his eyes on the court, even though he tries to convince himself that he should watch the game a bit as well. But his eyes seem to like Chanyeol a lot, because they don’t want to leave his side. Baekhyun doesn’t miss how his white skin glistens with perspiration under the sun, or how the bright sunlight casts dark shadows around each muscle frame, be it on his long legs, on his waist, on his back, on his shoulders, on his abdomen, on his chest, on his arms…Baekhyun feels really embarrassed. He is not the type to stare in such a way. He pretends he is innocently watching the game to avoid uncomfortable confrontations, hoping he’s doing it right.   

“Now that, my friend, is proper drooling” Chen says, catching Baekhyun’s attention. Chen was probably talking to Luhan but Baekhyun turns as well in the direction Chen is pointing his finger. Kyungsoo is the last one of the line, but he doesn’t turn; he is more like the reason the others turned their heads.

Kyungsoo is staring at the court, but Baekhyun doubts his attention is focused on anything else there but one man. He must be watching Kai, breathing slightly more heavy and quiet than usual and blinking slowly. His big eyes are open wide and they have a strange glaze over them, which does not look entirely healthy, in Baekhyun’s opinion. Kyungsoo’s mouth is open, his jaw hanging lax; he is not drooling per se, but he is as close as one can get. It is endearing to Baekhyun, seeing his friend so smitten with someone; Kyungsoo is cute when he is in love.

Just to make sure, Baekhyun touches his chin with his hand as inconspicuously as he can; nope, we are good, his mouth was closed.

“Well, I can’t blame him…” Luhan smiles slyly and focuses on the game again “So many hot, shirtless men” he sighs under his breath. Chen chuckles and Baekhyun frowns in thought. There are girls over there, too, and they’re not invisible in their frilly bikinis, so he doesn’t think it’s fair that no one is paying attention to them. Baekhyun is not exactly attracted to men but he’s not exactly attracted to women either, so he doesn’t know if he should be agreeing with Luhan or not. Baekhyun doesn’t realize that Chen has been continuing a discussion with Luhan all the while he’s thinking, until he blinks and nearly flinches, because Chanyeol waved at them from the distance.

“…but I think Kai is good material. I could use him in one of my shows; he would look great in a suit. Or maybe, as an underwear model? He has such great abs and hips, and his skin is like made of delicious chocolate-”

Kyungsoo suddenly starts choking and coughing beside Baekhyun, convulsing and making weird noises of confusion and indignation. Baekhyun pats Kyungsoo’s back in alarm and Chen bursts into loud laughter. Kyungsoo flails his arms around and glares at Chen with eyes wide as saucers, but he is still coughing and hiccupping. There seems to be something urgent in the way he’s sputtering half words in between his fits but Baekhyun can’t make sense of the jumbled syllables. Chen starts hitting Luhan’s thigh in amusement, still barking with laugher.

“Oh my god, look what your teasing did to poor Kyungsoo!” Luhan exclaims and Baekhyun gives Chen a pointed glare because Luhan is right. Chen doesn’t seem fazed, even though Kyungsoo is now burbling gibberish at both Chen and Luhan with an indignant glint in his eyes which would most definitely be homicidal if it weren’t for the choking in his throat.

“What? It could be just a heat ” Chen defends with ragged breath but no one really believes him, not even himself it seems, because he bursts into another giggling fit soon after he made his excuse.

“It’s obviously because your input has over stimulated his brain! You broke him!” Luhan points a finger at Kyungsoo’s deteriorating condition as proof and Kyungsoo looks like he’s torn between strangling everyone in indignation or dying from mortification and excessive choking. Chen laughs more, as if he finds it funny when Luhan hits his thigh, reprimanding him, and Baekhyun, for the first time in his life, finds himself in the uncomfortable situation of having to use his hands to fan his friend who is undergoing a fanboying spazzing crisis. Kyungsoo raises his hands towards the sky mumbling something to the heavens and then keeps convulsing, gurgling under his breath and muttering nonsense in weird voices.

“Come on, Kyungsoo, let’s take you for a walk” Luhan gets up from his seat and helps a wobbling Kyungsoo off the ground. Kyungsoo is trying to explain something to Luhan but, even though his cough is gone, he’s not forming any coherent words, his speech is just a mix of sounds. Luhan nods his head anyway, patting Kyungsoo’s arm comfortingly as he leads him away. “I know, I know Soo, it’s okay, we’ll fix you, don’t worry, I’m here, I know just what you need to come to your senses again…”

Baekhyun turns to Chen who is quiet now, raising an eyebrow, the scolding ready on the tip of his tongue, but Chen raises his arms in surrender.

“I was just talking about modeling!”

“You broke him!” Baekhyun motions towards the general direction of Kyungsoo and Luhan –and did he just see Luhan physically hauling Kyungsoo into the sea?

“I wasn’t just talking about Kai, you know. I also mentioned Sehun and his broad back and his lean frame, but I didn’t see Luhan going into crazed owl mode. He was more like a stunned deer…” Chen trails off thoughtfully and Baekhyun huffs in frustration at his friend. You can’t just go around pushing people’s buttons! He is about to start a lecture about how Chen should stop teasing their mentally fragile friends but Chen stops him just in time once again. “Look, I was just testing the waters to find my teasing limits with them. I could have been talking about anyone over there –well, except for that pudgy guy on the side– because everyone could be a model. I mean, look at them, Baekhyun!” Chen turns Baekhyun’s head with his hands so that they’re both looking at the ongoing match and Baekhyun frowns, but Chen is right. Any of those men could be a model and Baekhyun can’t even spot the pudgy guy, because everyone has a sort of perfectly chiseled and lean body, and Baekhyun is definitely pudgier than all of them. Chen keeps explaining.

“That guy with the blue shorts has good angles, too. The guy with the black wrist band has nice hair. Xiumin has great biceps. And Chanyeol is like the perfect sample…right?”

Baekhyun realizes that he has been staring for an inappropriate amount of time, so he blinks and frees his head from Chen’s hold. He feels the tips of his ears redden at Chen’s last comment and he’s trying to convince them not to go scarlet or else he will have to cover them with his hands and there’s not any inconspicuous way to cover your ears.

“I don’t know, I guess” Baekhyun answers noncommittally, shrugging his shoulders. He’s pretty sure he said it perfectly, pretending nonchalance like a pro, and yet he can practically hear Chen’s smirk behind him.

“I didn’t expect you to say no, because you’re not completely blind, but come on Baek; I don’t know? I guess? What do you have to guess, you’re in the same room as him! I haven’t spent as much time with him as you have, and it’s crystal clear to me that the man is high quality! I mean, look at that skin, flawless and fair, and those shoulders, so strong and broad…Not to mention the chest and arms, oh god, even his legs are toned to perfection. He’s tall but a bit flat on the rear area, but I’m sure with the right pants we can make those hips look wonderful, and he has those abs that-”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, I know” Baekhyun stops Chen’s ranting about Chanyeol’s physical perfection because he seriously doesn’t need this right now. He knows, okay?! Of course he knows. There is a number of occasions that he has seen Chanyeol dressed nicely or in something with short sleeves and yes, how could he not have noticed that the man has a great body? He’s only human and he likes pretty things. And as if that familiarity wasn’t enough, he woke up this morning with that breathtaking body pretty much wrapped around him…so yeah, he knows. But nobody else knows. No one needs to know that he knows. He can pretend that he doesn’t know as well and it’s better that way.

Baekhyun is sure that his cheeks have gone eleven shades darker in embarrassment and fluster, and he shifts his whole body to the side. He makes it look like he’s changing positions to comfort his numb limbs, but in truth he’s just trying to hide from Chen’s perceptive eyes by turning his back to him and hugging his legs to his chest to create a small hiding place for himself until he calms down. Happy thoughts Baekhyun, happy thoughts; think puppies, kittens, chocolate, the sea…

“Hey, Baekhyun?” Chen asks and Baekhyun hums, still focused on trying to calm his raging blush “You’re doing that shy bunny thing again” Baekhyun turns around in a heartbeat and shoves a giggling Chen begrudgingly.

“Kyungsoo is coming to reap your soul and that’s my only consolation in life right now!” he yelps but his friend only giggles more, seeing his strawberry cheeks. Chen always says that he looks like a shy bunny when he’s flustered, ever since they were kids, but –even though Baekhyun kind of does look like that– he doesn’t want to admit it, he never will. He can’t believe he has just been victimized by one of Chen’s teasing schemes as well, the same he used on Kyungsoo and Luhan earlier!

--

Chanyeol keep wondering what Chen meant earlier. Kai asked him if they looked cool during their water games and Chen said ‘You were noisy; and interesting’ and he then proceeded to the most troubling part, to explain ‘interesting’ –because noisy is easy to understand. He said that there were ‘distinct dynamics’ in each team, and then he described how Luhan kept pushing Sehun away and Sehun kept coming back around, how Kyungsoo pushed and pulled Kai and how Kai was constantly trying to shield Kyungsoo, and how Chanyeol allowed Baekhyun to venture out on his own, but he was always ready to take the blows instead of him, while Baekhyun playfully hid behind him or tried to play with others, but never leaving Chanyeol’s side for too long. Baekhyun knows psychology stuff and he probably understood something beyond the obvious –which is not all that obvious, at least, to Chanyeol’s brain it isn’t– but he didn’t say anything.

But Chanyeol would like to understand beyond the obvious as well, even if his business-oriented brain is refusing to take him there.

After wrecking his brain for longer than he has ever before, Chanyeol decides that enough is enough; Chen is insightful sometimes but his words could have meant nothing as well. With a sigh, he lets his troubled thoughts untangle and scatter in the soft wind. He leans his head back on the trunk of the tree on the beach, enjoying the shadow and thinking how the weather is starting to get chillier. The view is amazing. The sea flairs near the shore with a soft sound, the sun is sparkling sweetly in the sky, there are no clouds and the water reflects a million sparkles that waver and disappear. He didn’t have the chance to gaze at the sea earlier; first he was watching Baekhyun playing carefree like a child in the water, then he joined him with the rest, then he played volleyball with a few new friends and, generally, the day has been so lively and loud. Chanyeol doesn’t regret it though, because all the cheerfulness came to a comforting silent end, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. The view must be very nice from their room as well, but Baekhyun chose to fall asleep at the beach instead of their bed. (Their bed, ahem)

Baekhyun must have been really tired, because, by the time their match ended, he was only half awake, leaning on Luhan’s shoulder. The rest wanted to go inside, wash up and sleep before dinner, so Chanyeol offered –severely more than happy– to stay with Baekhyun until he woke up, since he was his roommate. So the others left, and Chanyeol moved Baekhyun closer to the base of the tree, because the sun was still moving in the sky and he wouldn’t want Baekhyun to get sunburns. Baekhyun moved on his own, but Chanyeol had seen it before and he could tell that he was not completely awake. He doubts that Baekhyun knows where he is or who is with him.

When Chanyeol sat down pulling Baekhyun to sit as well, the latter not only sat, but he also lied down, resting his head on Chanyeol’s lap and curling his body close. It was adorable and it made Chanyeol feel flustered in the sweetest way he has ever felt so. He looked down at the sleeping angel, with the long lashes and the cute pink lips, who was smiling in his sleep, making those cute puppy sounds that Chanyeol has no idea why Baekhyun is making in his sleep, and sleeping peacefully, as if he was resting on a cloud, not on itchy sand and Chanyeol’s bony legs. They were left completely alone at the beach and there was only so much Chanyeol could do to restrain himself from smiling endearingly and comforting Baekhyun in his sleep by combing his fingers through his hair. Except for the softness of Baekhyun’s brown locks, Chanyeol also noted how Baekhyun seemed to like it when his fingers brushed above the skin behind Baekhyun’s ear. Chanyeol could only hope his heart could not be heard from the house.

Two hours later, Baekhyun starts to stir. He presses his eyes harder for a moment and then he flutters them open, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sun. This is the second time Chanyeol finds himself in this situation and he doesn’t know what to do this time either. He looks around anxiously, as if his salvation will come out of the sea, and then he realizes with a sudden wave of panic that his fingers are still tangled in Baekhyun’s hair. Who is awake. Not sleeping anymore. He pulls his hand away quickly, just as Baekhyun lifts himself off the ground and looks at Chanyeol with an adorable disoriented expression.

“Um, I, ah…There was something in your hair” Chanyeol sputters as an excuse, feeling his cheeks growing hotter. Baekhyun only blinks in response, but he looks like he believes it.

“Chanyeol?” he says then, his puppy eyes wandering off to the stunning view of the sea “This might sound funny but, I think I am hungry again” His tummy makes a loud sound accordingly just on cue. Chanyeol bursts out with laughter at the cuteness and Baekhyun lowers his eyes, embarrassed. Chanyeol wonders if Baekhyun is always hungry when he wakes up; this is the sort of things he wants to learn about his little guy, small things, cute, endearing things that other people cannot know easily.

“Come on” Chanyeol says with a smile and he lifts himself off the ground, offering his hand to Baekhyun, who accepts the hand with slight surprise and gets pulled up on his feet. “I think you are hungry too, but dinner is close; let’s go wash up until then”

--

“Hey! Luhan! Wait!” Luhan can hear Sehun calling behind him, but he is determined to run for his life right now, so he doesn’t even spare a glance above his shoulder. He picks up his panicked pace as much as he can and runs out of the house, seeing everything passing by in a blur, nearly ramming his head against the doorframe. A frantic glance over his shoulder –which he couldn’t resist entirely after all, because it’s his survival instinct calling– informs him that Sehun chose to jump over any furniture Luhan managed to shove in his way as he was making his escape and the taller is now approaching fast.

This is a pretty standard situation: Sehun wants to talk. Luhan doesn’t. So he runs away.

He ignores Sehun’s calls but he doesn’t fail to notice that they are getting closer. He panics even more, straggling to run faster in the open air, but the damned sand is tricky material and it holds him back, not to mention they just had dinner, like half an hour ago, and everything inside Luhan feels heavier and stuffier. Ah, where is his youth? Well, he cannot really reminisce and mourn about his youth right now, with all the blood in his head due to extreme physical exercise. He should really change his couch potato lifestyle soon.

He knew this moment would come, the ‘dreadful confrontation’. They need to discuss about their, um, association. Luhan wants to have this talk with Sehun as well, because he sure as hell doesn’t know what the kid is to him now –a casual friend, a close friend, a lover, a friend with benefits, what?– but he would prefer to have this conversation after preparing a plan and reasonable arguments and after figuring what he wants, for ice cream’s sake!

Luhan has avoided the awkwardness successfully throughout the day, with all their games and fun with friends at the beach. Sehun felt like his friend, like a playful young member of their group, and everything was easy in an environment full of laughter and distractions. When Sehun was playing volleyball with the others, Luhan remembered in every little detail their last night together and, watching Sehun half clotheless like that, it was hard for Luhan not to get excited; he had to remind himself that Sehun is just a kid and Luhan is in public. And that Chen doesn’t deserve to get punched for ranting about seemingly random things. He went inside to wash up first and, by the time Sehun came to their room, Luhan was already fresh from the shower and pretending to be asleep in bed. Seeing how he looked like he was asleep, Sehun let Luhan be and went to shower too. But Luhan had to wake up, and they had to have dinner, and he couldn’t just go back to sleep right after, so Sehun cornered him in no time after that.

Luhan managed to escape that corner, running to the sea –and if all else fails he can drench himself and hope to drown sometime soon– but he must admit that it doesn’t seem a bright choice anymore. At the time, anything seemed like a good escape route, but as he glances around furiously at the quiet beach and the setting sun, he realizes there is nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. There is no one to save him either and Sehun is catching up; so it looks like he is doomed. Farewell to the cruel universe that has hated me all these years. With a passion.

“Will you stop, please?” Sehun calls for the last time, grabbing Luhan by the arm. Luhan yelps in surprise and tries to free himself, but all he manages is to stumble on Sehun’s feet and throw them both off balance. They make a spectacular landing on the sand –and why is something, which you can hardly hold between your fingers, so hard when your lands on it?– but Luhan doesn’t stop his efforts to break free. Sehun is very determined though and very patient, dealing with Luhan’s hysteric tantrum, until he pins both Luhan’s hands on the ground and gives him a glare. Luhan quiets down quickly; he knows when he drives people to their limits and he doesn’t really want to make things between him and Sehun from awkward to hostile. They have a mini staring contest, Sehun glaring strictly and Luhan blinking submissively.

“You can let go now” Luhan mumbles in a small, breathless voice when his wrists begin to feel numb.

“If you try to run, I will hunt you down to the end of the earth, just so you know” Sehun warns him seriously and Luhan feels that Sehun might actually do that because he has that look in his eyes, so he just nods in understanding and Sehun lets go of his hands.

“What is it that you want so badly?” Luhan asks, pretending to be casual. He knows all too well what Sehun wants already. The kid has every right to want it, too. Luhan wants it too; he wants to know where they stand, how to deal with everything that happened and with each other from now on.

“Don’t run away from me; it’s not nice” Sehun says quietly and calmly, looking Luhan straight in the eye. Reminded of last night, Luhan looks away; he cannot bear to look in Sehun’s eyes anymore. Luhan is not sure what it sounded like when Sehun said it last night, but if he says it now, it sounds like a promise –and Luhan agreed to it last night. Luhan is not good with promises; deadlines, yes, but promises, no. He doesn’t know how to keep them and he keeps breaking them all the time; maybe it is because there were promises made to him which other people broke.

“Sehun, please; what do you expect from me?” he asks in mild despair. It is better if they don’t play confusing games.

“I expect you to be my boyfriend” Sehun announces decisively. Luhan feels slightly surprised at how straightforward that was and he flinches, but he manages to give Sehun a sad smirk.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for…” he says, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Yes, I do” Sehun says sincerely, straightening as much as he can as they sit on the ground. “I have never had a boyfriend before, but I have had a couple of girlfriends. I don’t want that sort of relationship with you though; I want this to be different, more sincere. I want to be someone for you, someone special, and not just a friend. And I want you to accept that you are someone special for me as well. I want you to allow yourself to trust me and I want to never ever let you down. I am not good in expressing sentimental stuff, like Baekhyun hyung, but I can understand them very well and I can feel them very vividly. And I am pretty sure I am feeling them towards you, Luhan. So, I want a chance. I am asking you to give a chance to me, to yourself, to us. Let me be someone for you; let me be your boyfriend”

“But I am not good for you, Sehun” Luhan looks Sehun in the eyes and tries to convey all his thoughts straight to the other’s mind. There are so many reasons why Luhan is defective, even if Sehun can’t see it; but Luhan does see it, and he won’t let himself harm the goodhearted boy in front of him. “You are a great kid but…If you get yourself stuck with me like you want –be my boyfriend– how long do you think it will last? You will drop me at the first given chance, and with a good reason, believe me, and then you’ll run away. This is why I am running away first, so that you won’t have to do it. We’ll both be miserable. Because I am damaged, I-I’m flawed”

“I want your flaws!” Sehun cuts in, opening his eyes earnestly. Luhan throws his hands in the air in exasperation.

“You don’t even know my flaws!”

“So give me a chance to learn them!” Sehun retorts “You need me, so allow me to fix you. You don’t see yourself the way you should; so allow me to show you what I see. Let me teach you a few things about yourself and make you happier” Sehun takes Luhan’s hand in his own, entangling their fingers. Luhan looks at their hands and sighs. This is wrong, but he cannot bring himself to pull his hand away. Such a coward. This man will be the death of him. Luhan’s expression softens.

“That is a wonderful promise, Sehun, but you cannot do that-”

“Because I’m young?” Sehun finishes, perking up “But I’m a genius, remember?” he flashes a smile and taps one finger against his temple. Luhan smiles halfheartedly; it doesn’t take a genius to fix him, it takes a lifetime. Sehun slowly grows serious again, but he keeps a calm, sweet expression as they both look at their entwined fingers in silence. As disturbing as it might be to his moral code, Luhan is selfishly starting to grow accustomed to that sight. Sehun breaks the silence first. “I really think I can help you, Luhan. I wouldn’t risk hurting you if I was unsure of myself” he says in a quiet voice.

“But Sehun, if I ever hurt you…” I will kill myself, because I will have destroyed a wonderful person...Sehun deserves better.

“If you ever hurt me, I will come running after you, because you will need me” Sehun finishes for him again with conviction, tightening his hold on Luhan. Luhan looks up at him with his eyes still b with sadness; how can Sehun be so sure of himself? How can he seem so steadfast and confident, when he is only a kid? It settles as a great burden in his heart but Luhan is dangerously close to believing Sehun’s words; if he says it like that, Luhan can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, Sehun can really fix him. Luhan is not to blame; show him a sinner who doesn’t hope to be saved. It is not just stubbornness that drives Sehun on, Luhan can tell; Sehun is not the stubborn type anyway. But then why…

“Is this because of what happened last night?” he makes a guess and Sehun scoffs.

“Would I have kissed you two and a half times before that and then chased after you like a mad man if it was just because we slept together?” he points out. Luhan is very aware that this is not the point right now but, Sehun was counting kisses?! Luhan thought it had been just a game! But he is right; the amount of patience Sehun has shown to Luhan’s antics is bizarre, if you assume it is because of a night in bed. “Please, Luhan, I am not that overdramatic”

“No, you are not” Luhan agrees with a soft smile. He feels tired, maybe from running, maybe from arguing, maybe from his whole life. He cannot do this anymore. He needs to think. Now he knows what Sehun wants and he needs to find out what he wants and how he is going to proceed with this relationship, or whatever this is.

But not now. For now, he lets Sehun rest his forehead comfortingly against his own forehead and takes strength and hope from this small gesture. “This is far from over” he warns Sehun calmly, barely audible over the sound of the sea behind them.

“I know it is. But for now let’s just be boyfriends and enjoy our time here together, shall we?” Sehun suggests alternatively and Luhan has to admit that he cannot think of a better way to spend his vacation right now; even though he is not used to describing himself as someone’s boyfriend. He smirks at the term of choice. Sehun is such a kid…He closes his eyes and listens to the waves breaking against the sand, feeling the small breeze on his skin, breathing fresh air. He opens his eyes again, watching his hand in Sehun’s. The sunset paints their skin in brilliant vermillion and amber colors.

“This is not how I had imagined it…” he murmurs with a sarcastic smirk, remembering all those romantic dreams he used to have about Kris first and then Sehun. His foolish brain tried to warn him, but Luhan is deaf to his fears and he wouldn’t listen until his heart got trapped. And now it’s too late to walk away.

“Mmm, let me see…the sea, the faint sound of waves, the beach, the setting sun…” Sehun says in a velvet tone, pretending to be thoughtful. Luhan smiles, realizing how close to his true thoughts Sehun got, even if Luhan barely revealed anything. “Oh, I know. What you had imagined was more like this, right?” and he kisses Luhan with a smile.

--

They decided to watch another movie tonight; although Baekhyun has to admit that he had had trouble watching the movie last night, because he fell asleep halfway through it. It doesn’t feel like he will fall asleep today though; he slept for two hours on the beach earlier and now he is not sleepy in the least. They sit in the living room again, leaving the big flat screen tv as the only source of light in the darkness. The movie starts playing but not all of them are paying too close attention for now. Baekhyun decides that he wants to pay attention from the first to the last minute, to atone for his dozing off last night.

Fifteen minutes into the movie, he is interrupted by Kai. Kai nudges him and gives him a bottle of something silently. Baekhyun takes it in his hands bewildered, until he reads the word ‘sunburn’ on the label, in the flickering lights of the tv. Baekhyun checks his arms; he doesn’t have any sunburn, so maybe he should just pass it along. He stoops a bit and extends his hand to Chanyeol, who is sitting next to him on the couch. Chanyeol tears his attention away from the movie and looks at Baekhyun bewildered, bright light flickering in his large eyes. After a closer inspection of the bottle he is holding, he nods in understanding.

“Will you help me with this?” he asks in a whisper, so that the others won’t be disturbed. The others whisper too at times, so Baekhyun thinks it is okay if he whispers too.

“Okay” he agrees in a whisper. But the next thing he knows, he wants to shirk, because holy chocolate cakes in heaven, Chanyeol is taking off his t-shirt! And this shouldn’t be entirely legal, because Chanyeol is gorgeous and well built and se*y as any other male model on the planet, with that perfect body of strong and defined muscles that Baekhyun has witnessed too many times for a day, and Baekhyun feels like fainting at the sight. But he has to contain himself, because there are people around. In his thoughts however, he is allowed to scream and fanboy and yell and pray as much as he likes…

Chanyeol leaves the t-shirt on the couch and slides down, off the pillows, to sit on the floor in front of Baekhyun. Baekhyun, still feeling slightly lightheaded from his earlier confrontation with Chanyeol’s toned body and still unsure of what sort of help Chanyeol wants him to offer, pulls his legs on the couch and folds them underneath himself. He is not sure if he is pale as wax or red as a tomato right now, but no one is paying him any attention, so let it be. He stares at the back of Chanyeol’s head without thinking, just staring blankly and feeling his heart slowing down to normal speed again. Chanyeol turns halfway around and points at his shoulders to indicate something to Baekhyun, and only then does the latter remember he is supposed to help Chanyeol with something. Chanyeol turns his back to him again, hunching his shoulders to expose a broader surface for Baekhyun’s convenience –and much to his fluster.

Baekhyun is thankful for the lack of lights in the room, as he feels his cheeks growing hotter than ever before. He puts some of the jelly content of the bottle on his fingers and then reaches out shyly. He flinches slightly when his fingers touch Chanyeol’s skin, but he keeps his eyes trained on his task, trying not to hyperventilate and keep a straight face in case someone turns around and sees him. The red skin on Chanyeol’s shoulders is pretty indicative of where Baekhyun’s boundaries lay; he must not touch any other inch of skin, no matter how much he wants to. Because, even though he is very flustered and scared of touching Chanyeol’s skin, his skin is also addictive, making Baekhyun feel like his fingers get magnetized by the smooth, flushed, marble-perfect surface. Chanyeol’s skin is very warm under his fingers –burnt as it is from the sun– and velvet soft, and Baekhyun wants to see what the rest of Chanyeol’s skin feels like…but he is not allowed. Obviously. He is only allowed to touch that blushing area above his toned shoulders, feeling the silky skin and the hard texture of the muscles and tendons underneath. Baekhyun bites his lips to make sure he is not drooling, feeling his heart beating faster and his insides boil, and when the air gets too hot to endure, he pulls his fingers away, coiling back to himself. Oh boy, was that an experience…

“Thanks Baek” Chanyeol whispers, grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head. Baekhyun only smiles weakly in response and tosses the bottle over to Chen.

He was planning on sighing in relief, as the torment of being physically close to Chanyeol is over, but he doesn’t have the chance to do so. Chanyeol, who seems to be comfortable in his seat on the floor in front of Baekhyun’s seat on the couch, grabs Baekhyun’s hand and places it on his shoulder. Baekhyun is too surprised for words, staring at his hand resting on the fabric of Chanyeol’s t-shirt. He blinks several times and he wishes he could see Chanyeol’s face so that he could understand better; then again, maybe it is better that Chanyeol cannot see how rosy Baekhyun’s cheeks are. So he only stares at Chanyeol’s hair, his fingers twitching above the soft fabric which covers Chanyeol’s shoulder.

Baekhyun has a crazy idea. He has been having a lot of those lately, but that is not the point of his trepidation right now. He glances right and left to check on the rest first –because this is not like when they were alone in the car and Baekhyun could do as he wanted because, back then, he was wondering what Chanyeol’s lips feel like. See? Crazy ideas…

First of all, Suho and Lay have been MIA since midday; Kyungsoo said he heard them inside their room just before he came down for dinner and Xiumin confirmed this information in a matter-of-factly voice. Baekhyun is not the scandalous type, so all he has to comment is let the men do whatever they like behind closed doors.

Baekhyun’s examining gaze falls on Luhan and Sehun first. They both seem to be watching the movie intently –probably because this scene is hinting at a big secret that the guy is has in his past and that information will be the key to solving everything later in the movie. They are sitting close to each other on a couch of their own, ignoring the unused space on it to tangle their legs strangely. Except for the four uneven in length tangled legs, Baekhyun is sure they are holding hands, even if they have buried them between their hips. Baekhyun is not sure what to think about those two yet, but he thinks this is probably what it looks like. Well, Baekhyun is not judging anyway and if they want to hide, so be it.

Then he moves his gaze to the other side of the room. Xiumin and Chen are crammed in a smaller couch, their arms touching as they sit next to each other, watching the movie with interest. They are both sporting slightly sun-irritated skin on their arms, but they don’t seem to mind it much. Another thing they don’t seem to mind much is their proximity; they were complete strangers a day ago and yet they are perfectly relaxed and comfortable now, leaning on each other while watching the movie. They see eye to eye in many things and they have very casual attitudes towards many issues, so, even if they weren’t friends already –which they probably are by now, since they seem to agree on everything and spend more time with each other than with the rest– they wouldn’t mind sitting like this next to a stranger, because they are so casual.

His eyes move inconspicuously to Kyungsoo and Kai. Kai is sitting normally on the other end of the couch from Baekhyun, watching the movie as well. He, Sehun and Baekhyun are the only ones who didn’t get sunburn –because Kai is naturally tanned, Baekhyun didn’t stay in the sun for long and Sehun’s skin is probably genetically mutated to reflect the sun and stay completely white and unharmed under the UV rays. Luhan was burnt only a little on his forearms and Chanyeol on his shoulders, but Kyungsoo has a more prominent case of sunburn across the butterfly zone on his face; it looks childish and cute somehow, and Baekhyun is sure that his friend enjoyed being treated by Kai with the sunburn jelly earlier. He is sitting next to Kai, with his legs thrown over Kai’s, while the latter rubs his knees and shins every now and then as they watch the movie. Baekhyun briefly wonders what that feels like.

Baekhyun’s mind returns to his situation, because, oh no, he has not forgotten about that hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder or about his crazy idea. After his earlier assessment, he decides that the environment is safe enough to execute his idea. The thing is: he is curious about what Chanyeol’s heartbeat feels like. Crazy enough for you?

Okay, here we go.

Baekhyun makes sure that he leans forward as inconspicuously and discretely as he can –and indeed the rest don’t seem to notice him moving. His hand slides down from Chanyeol’s shoulder and slowly travels above his clavicle and down, above his shirt. As he moves, his chin ends up resting on Chanyeol’s shoulder and he can smell Chanyeol’s shampoo and feel his warmth and the soft rise and fall of his body as he breathes. He brings his other arm around Chanyeol’s neck and accidentally caresses his way down Chanyeol’s sternum –that was honestly not a part of the plan–, until his hands meet and lock with each other on the taller’s chest, right above Chanyeol’s heart. Baekhyun surprises himself with how innocently he can execute such shameless acts. His hands rest unobtrusively on the other’s chest, feeling the faint heartbeat underneath the fabric of his t-shirt. Chanyeol stiffens for a moment when Baekhyun moves, until the smaller culprit settles his arms around him and his chin on his shoulder, and then Chanyeol relaxes again. Slowly, he lifts one of his own hands and engulfs both of Baekhyun’s hands inside it, as if he is securing them in place. Baekhyun thinks that his hands are so much smaller, in a comforting way.

Admittedly, this is not the most common position one would expect to see between friends. But oh well, it is a crazy idea after all. Baekhyun feels a bit less ashamed of his actions with Chanyeol’s warm hand around his hands, because, oddly enough, it feels like acceptance and approval. Baekhyun’s curiosity slowly fades away, after his thoughts get accustomed to the rhythmic sound of a beating heart, but he stays there. Because, for one thing, Chanyeol is holding his hands, so he can’t move without jostling him, and for another, it feels unexpectedly comfortable there. He smiles and he doesn’t even think of asking why Chanyeol took his hand and left it on his shoulder in the first place.

Baekhyun smiles to himself, blinking up at the ongoing movie. This feels like small Baekhyun is hugging –even if it is just back-hugging with the assistance of a couch– the giant Chanyeol; and how can Baekhyun not think that he is like a cute koala?

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a/n. Hello, my little sunbeams! I hope you’re spending your summer having fun and resting! I hope you didn’t die too much with this update~ (I know it is huge OTL)The title of this chapter is from a song which I find perfect to listen to when I’m on golden sands!

Did you notice Chen lying and maneuvering conversations as he likes in this chapter? (he’s a master manipulator like your kitten author) Also, Chen’s psychology-oriented remarks at the beach are based on attachment theory (feel free to ask me, if you’re interested in that) And just how many times did I describe body parts in this chapter?! (I promised shirtless boys, didn’t I? *winks*)

Now you know a bit of Kai’s past, too! He “lost” his first love, and since then, he hasn’t taken love seriously until Kyungsoo! There was an inadvertent confession in there*A* And another confession in the hunhan department!!! They needed a proper confession, and this was with a sunset and everything! Sweet lord of cuddles for baekyeol!*-* You can always count on me for cuddle times and baekyeol’s adorably weird more-than-friends-but-not-exactly relationship. There will be more next time, this vacation is not over yet! Until then, kitty~