Chapter Sixteen: Fervid

fervid: intensely enthusiastic or passionate

~*~

Baekhyun woke up first. He felt something warm pressing against his back and turned to see Jongdae. That was when he realized he wasn't at home but at Jongdae's... and he was sleeping on Jongdae's bed. A smile danced on his lips as he stared at the brunet's sleeping face. Baekhyun disliked having to see another person first thing in the morning, but this he didn't mind.

Until Jongdae threw an arm around him. Baekhyun went rigid. Then Jongdae tried to pull him closer but when that didn't work Jongdae squirmed closer. Baekhyun instantly thought back to their sleepover and how Jongdae had wrapped himself around Baekhyun. But at least then they were under separate blankets, now they shared the same ones. Baekhyun took a hold of Jongdae's hand and tried lifting it away from him.

Half-conscious, Jongdae felt something odd. First off, his body pillow felt... hard, and then something was touching him...

Jongdae's eyes fluttered open. A smiling Baekhyun greeted him, "Good morning sunshine."

Jongdae pulled away in alarm, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here last night, don't you remember? We must have fallen asleep when we actually began doing our homework."

Jongdae kicked and tossed the blankets to Baekhyun before rising up, "Yeah, I remember."

Baekhyun huffed as he shoved the blankets away from his face before a sly grin appeared, "Hey at least we can say we slept together the first night." Jongdae rolled his eyes as Baekhyun started laughing uncontrollably.

You're not that funny.

"If I recall right we slept together months ago when we barely knew each other."

"Oh right, I thought it was going to be a one-night stand but look where we are now," Baekhyun ruffled his hair with one hand, reaching for his phone with the other. Five missed phone calls from his mother and six text messages from Chanyeol, two from his mother. Baekhyun sprang to his feet, "Oh !" He forgot about the milk.

Mama: I sent your father to buy some milk on the way home since he's off tonight, so you're off the hook. --Sent at 10:12 pm, yesterday.

Mama: You're sleeping over at Jongdae's? You could have told me before making me worry my hair off. I'm going to go bald because of you. Anyway, good morning :) --Sent at 12:25 am.

"What?" Jongdae asked.

"I forgot I was supposed to run an errand for my mom and I didn't tell her I was staying over this long because I sure as hell as didn't plan to," Baekhyun check his messages from Chanyeol. "!" He was supposed to take Chanyeol out for breakfast that morning. Baekhyun shot Jongdae a glare before he began packing his things, "Look what you did!"

"What? What did I do?"

"You lured me in bed! Not only did I worry my mom to death but I left Chanyeol waiting for me for an hour! I was only supposed to be here for the kiss and then I was going to leave, but you just... gah, I don't know."

Jongdae scoffed, arms across his chest, "Excuse me? We were finishing up homework until we both fell asleep. I did not lure you to my bed. You could have gone home, no one was stopping you."

Baekhyun's cheeks and ears were burning as he shoved the last of his books into his backpack. The truth was simple -- Baekhyun lost track of time. They began doing some homework just because they might as well, when they began to talk about their relationship. If they were going to tell anyone, if there was going to be frequent physical interactions, what they should do on their first date.

Jongdae glanced at his alarm clock, "It's not even 9:00 yet, why would you agree to go out with someone at 8:00 in the morning?"

"Early bird special. Well, I'll be going now, thank you for your bed," Baekhyun flashed an awkward smile before brushing past Jongdae. The brunet sighed and followed after Baekhyun down the stairs. The boys walked by Mr. Kim as Baekhyun went into the garage to retrieve his bike.

Mr. Kim raised a brow at his son, "Did Baekhyun sleep over here?"

Jongdae nodded and disappeared before his dad could ask anymore questions. His father disapproved of him and Baekhyun hanging out after listening to Jongdeok's testimony. Jongdae understood to a point the reason for his father's concerns, but Baekbeom and Jongdeok weren't Baekhyun and him. Yes, things may have gotten mixed up in the past that led to the current situation but it had nothing to do with Baekhyun and himself, nor did it necessarily affect their relationship, if it had at all.

~

"Baek, where are you?"

Baekhyun frantically waved at the brunet, but Jongdae's eyes flew right past him. Jongdae's sigh traveled through the phone to Baekhyun before he walked off into another direction. Annoyed, Baekhyun shouted into the phone, "Come back you idiot! You don't see me waving at you? Do I have to stand up on the chair?"

Jongdae scanned the crowd once more, "Hey, you wanted food."

"Turn to your right." As soon as those words left his lips, Baekhyun regretted it. Jongdae had spun to his right and almost dropped the bags of popcorn as he nearly collided against Yoonmi. Baekhyun heard Jongdae apologizing through the other end of the phone. "Hurry up."

"Where the hell are you?"

Baekhyun could tell Jongdae was barely holding onto his patience. "I meant turn to your left, sorry." He threw his arm into the air once more and waved. Jongdae's eyes finally locked onto his and the brunet made his way through the bustle of bodies.

Jongdae took his seat beside Baekhyun, the urge to throw Baekhyun's bag of popcorn in his face stronger than ever. Instead, the brunet set the bag on Baekhyun's lap, "I must have missed you because you were so short."

"I'm taller than you."

"Are you really? Prove it."

Baekhyun would have argued back if it weren't for the class presidents walking toward the center of the stage.

Although he was still bored, Baekhyun couldn't deny some acts intrigued him. Dancing, singing, acting, musical instruments, ventriloquism, make up -- Baekhyun was rather impressed. He elbowed Jongdae, "You could have sung up there." Jongdae merely nodded as he watched a couple of second years sing a song in Chinese. He caught several phrases enough to understand the gist of the song.

Eventually Chanyeol and Kyungsoo emerged onto the stage wearing sunglasses and head mics with Kyungsoo sitting on top of Chanyeol's shoulders. Chanyeol set up a keyboard in front of him before handing Kyungsoo a guitar.

"What the hell..." Baekhyun muttered. Jongdae understood why his friends were wearing sunglasses. Kyungsoo had a wonderful voice but he was extremely shy about it. Kyungsoo probably convinced Chanyeol to wear a pair as well.

"We hope you enjoy our musical performance," Chanyeol grinned before pressing a test key. Kyungsoo followed after with a couple of strings and a few vocal warm ups. Both boys pushed their sunglasses up on the bridges of their noses before Chanyeol's fingers magically danced across the keyboard.

Baekhyun jumped excitedly, gripping tightly onto Jongdae's arm, "Oh, the piano classes paid off."

Kyungsoo's guitar joined with Chanyeol's keyboard. The moment Kyungsoo parted his lips, everyone stopped and stared at the red-haired boy sitting atop the giant brunet. Like several of the past singers, Kyungsoo's voice floated with the wind and touched everyone's hearts.

"I didn't--"

"Shh!" Jongdae hissed and Baekhyu did as he was told.

It all seemed surreal, him sitting with Jongdae -- his boyfriend -- in the audience at a school talent show while two of their friends performed on stage. Baekhyun felt out of place, truthfully. Attending social events, particularly ones at or involving school, wasn't Baekhyun's idea of spending a good time. If it weren't for Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Joonmyun, Baekhyun wouldn't even have bothered.

Baekhyun stole a glimpse of Jongdae's bright, smiling face, the latter oblivious he was being observed. Deep down, Baekhyun was grateful Jongdae hadn't participated because then who would he sit with the whole time? Baekhyun smiled before resting his head on the brunet's shoulder.

He'd never expected to get into a relationship until college at least, but here he was and it wasn't as overwhelming and bad as he'd predicted. Baekhyun shut his eyes, allowing Kyungsoo's and Chanyeol's voices to flood him completely.

---

It was Joonmyun's turn but Baekhyun was asleep. Jongdae weighed the decisions in his head -- allow Baekhyun to continue sleeping and miss Joonmyun's performance or wake Baekhyun up and have a grumpy Baekhyun for a companion.

Jongdae repeatedly tapped Baekhyun's nose until the raven-haired boy came around. "Hey little baby, it's time to wake up."

"What?" Baekhyun mumbled as he slowly lifted his head off Jongdae's shoulder. He scratched the back of his head and yawned, "When did I fall asleep?"

"I don't know. I'm surprised you did. Didn't you say you weren't able to take naps? Yet you fell asleep here with hundreds of people around."

"I'm really sleepy," Baekhyun pouted, hugging Jongdae's arm and resting his head against the brunet's shoulder once more. "Are we done yet?"

"Almost. There's Joonmyun and a couple of others I think," Jongdae gently patted Baekhyun's head.

As if on cue, Joonmyun walked to the center of the stage, followed by several teachers who each spoke different languages -- Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, English, Spanish, and French. He proceeded to casually speak to each teacher, jumping from language to language in hopes of throwing them off before the five minutes were up.

Although no one knew entirely what Kim Joonmyun said, they were well impressed. Of course, some students muttered about what a show-off he was being. Baekhyun 'accidentally' kicked the chair in front of him, feigning a smile and apology.

"He's really good," Jongdae whispered to Baekhyun. "How does he know all of those? I barely know Mandarin and I spent two years in China."

"He began learning at an early age," Baekhyun responded. "But that was only English and Japanese. After awhile he began using it to distract himself and as an excuse to avoid whatever his parents wanted." Baekhyun 'accidentally' kicked the chair before him once again before turning to Jongdae, "I don't know about you but I think my head would explode."

The audience broke into a clamor when they realized the Korean teacher failed to respond to Joonmyun's question. Everyone broke into applause as the Korean teacher laughed and bowed to Joonmyun.

"Ha, that was good," Baekhyun tugged Jongdae toward him. "Let's go now."

"But the show's--"

"We came here to see Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Joonmyun. Well they're done now which means we can go," Baekhyun interrupted, eyes boring in Jongdae.

Please don't make me stay til the end.

They stared back at another for several long seconds before the brunet averted his eyes from Baekhyun's sleepy brown eyes and stood up. Jongdae knew he couldn't win from the start, but it didn't hurt to try.

~

Christmas morning was colder than Jongdae expected. About halfway to the car he ran back inside to retrieve a scarf. He and his mother waited in the car for Kyungsoo, who Jongdae could see wobbling toward them. Buried beneath a large, dark puffy coat, Kyungsoo looked like a penguin that escaped from the zoo.

"How cute," Mrs. Kim laughed, thinking the exact same thing.

Once they arrived at the venue, the three met up with Dongbin and the others before heading to the tents. The group proceeded to warm up before setting out for their jog.

Kyungsoo tossed his oversized coat at Jongdae before heading to the restrooms. Jongdae sighed as he gently sent the coat beside him and stretched his arms high into the air. A yawn escaped his lips as he stared off into the distance, a familiar raven-haired boy walking toward his direction.

Baekhyun grinned and waved at the brunet with a gloved hand. "Merry Christmas."

"What are you doing here? You said this wasn't your kind of thing."

Baekhyun reached into his coat and pulled out his lanyard. "I'm here to support... and I need some community service. I heard you can walk on the outer track."

"You're walking? By yourself?"

Baekhyun fluttered his eyelashes, hands clasped together, "Not if you join me." Baekhyun knew Jongdae had been preparing for the jog with Kyungsoo and the others, but he was hoping Jongdae would decide to walk with him. Of course if Jongdae chose to jog, Baekhyun didn't mind. He would simply search for his boyfriend in the crowd each time.

Jongdae sighed, wishing Baekhyun hadn't just said what he said. Jongdae had been preparing for the jog. That year, joggers raised 5,000 won per lap. Together with his mom, Kyungsoo, Dongbin, Jongin, Sehun, and Taemin, Jongdae planned to jog 15 laps to raise a total of 525,000 won.

Baekhyun cleared his throat and hugged himself, "Of course you don't have to. I'm not pressuring you. Don't feel bad."

As Jongdae contemplated his answer, Kyungsoo emerged from the restrooms. Kyungsoo seemed just as surprised as Jongdae at Baekhyun's presence.

Baekhyun huffed in annoyance, "Hey, you make me sound like an . Would an do favors for people?"

"It's not really favors if you charge them," Kyungsoo responded, eyes flickering briefly to Jongdae. "I heard you asked Jongdae for a lot, how much? You know Jongdae doesn't have as much as you right? He has to actually do chores to get an allowance.  He can't just whip out money and throw it in your face, why do you--"

"Kyungsoo," Jongdae interrupted. "Do you mind telling the others I won't be joining you guys. I'm going to walk with Baekhyun." Kyungsoo stared blankly at the brunet. Weeks of preparation and Jongdae was going to ditch them for Baekhyun? Why?

"Are you two suddenly so close now you're willing to ditch me for him?" Kyungsoo joked before walking off. If he hadn't formed a comfortable relationship with Dongbin and Jongin he would have spat in Jongdae's face. Well not literally, but Kyungsoo would have held a grudge against his best friend for bailing on him. Of course the grudge would probably last only a couple hours.

"Look, you've made him butthurt," Baekhyun murmured softly before squishing Jongdae's cheeks together. Baekhyun pursed his lips, "Oh look at you, taking my side instead of your best friend's. If there weren't so many eyes I could kiss you."

Jongdae would have brushed Baekhyun away but he welcomed the warmth from Baekhyun's gloved hands. When their eyes met, Baekhyun nervously let go and walked away toward the direction Kyungsoo went. Jongdae followed after, a giant smile on his face. Before they started dating, Baekhyun rarely broke eye contact first.

"Hello Baekhyun. Merry Christmas," Dongbin grinned brightly. He introduced Sehun and Taemin to the raven-haired boy, Sehun failing to hide his smirk upon realizing it was the Byun Baekhyun that his friend admired ever so dearly.

---

Baekhyun linked arms with Jongdae, using the cold as an excuse. "How long do you think before anyone finds out?"

The couple decided to refrain from revealing about their relationship even to their friends. Baekhyun figured someone would notice sooner or later. Chanyeol was his best friend, almost like a brother that Baekhyun couldn't imagine living without. Surely Chanyeol would notice the change in Baekhyun's behavior and if he didn't, the ever observant Kyungsoo would realize something between Baekhyun and Jongdae.

Considering they were friends before boyfriends, Jongdae couldn't help but worry about their friendship should they break up. Jongdae wasn't going to pretend he and Baekhyun were going to get married and live together until they became old. It would be nice but life wasn't perfect.

Baekhyun's thoughts were far off from Jongdae's. While the brunet was occupied with their possible futures, the raven-haired boy's thoughts were filled with cuddles and Jongdae and cuddles. Baekhyun never dated anyone before and was rather overly thrilled at having his first boyfriend. An exciting new adventure awaited him.

Lost in their thoughts, the two walked arm-in-arm along with the crowd. People of all ages dressed in warm clothing. There was no wind but the chill in the air was enough to freeze water, or at least that's what Baekhyun thought. Jongdae didn't mind the cold as much as Baekhyun, but that may have been because he felt it less than the raven-haired boy.

A sneeze brought the two back to reality. Baekhyun shoved Jongdae away from him in disgust, "Thanks for sneezing your on me!" Baekhyun scrunched his face as he attempted to shake off Jongdae's germs from his left arm.

Jongdae quickly apologized to the girls he bumped into before he found his way back to Baekhyun's side. "Hey watch your language, there are children present."

"Just cause my jacket is white doesn't mean I'm a tissue."

"I'm sorry," Jongdae said in exasperation. "I'm used to covering my sneezes with my right arm, it's a natural instinct. Not my fault you were collateral damage."

Baekhyun stuck his tongue out before slipping his arm through Jongdae's again. "I don't get why you're so worried about children and swearing. Kids are the ones who curse the most."

"So you're a kid? You seem more like a baby to me." Jongdae smirked, awaiting the jab bound to happen. As expected, Baekhyun playfully punched Jongdae's shoulder.

"If I'm a baby you're a fetus."

I like this. Fetus Jongdae, ahahahaha.

Baekhyun looked at Jongdae and attempted to compare their heights. He found it rather difficult since they were walking but said, "Have you accepted that I'm taller?"

Jongdae snorted in derision. "Get a measuring tape and we'll see."

"Later at Kyungsoo's. You are going to be there, aren't you?"

Jongdae nodded before looking toward the inner track where he could see Kyungsoo running alonside Dongbin. Kyungsoo's hair may be in the midst of reverting back to its original brown, but the remaining red could be seen miles away. None of the joggers noticed the couple in the outer track among the hundreds of bodies.

"So how many laps are we doing?" Baekhyun asked.

About two hours later they found the answer. Their cheeks and noses were pink from exposure to the cold. Jongdae thought it made Baekhyun extra cute and he endlessly teased his boyfriend about it as they waited for their ride.

Baekhyun took Jongdae's nose in between his thumb and forefinger and wiggled it back and forth, brows furrowed in concentration. Jongdae waited until Baekhyun finished before asking, "What were you doing?"

"I was hoping your nose would break off," Baekhyun smiled before he checked his phone in case Joonmyun texted or called but there were no notifications. "Joonmyun is taking an awful long time. I wonder if this is his revenge cause I still haven't paid him back."

Jongdae focused his attention on the little puffs of air escaping from Baekhyun's lips. The brunet untangled the scarf from his neck and stood in front of Baekhyun. He pushed Baekhyun's hood back -- much to Baekhyun's confusion -- and threw his scarf around Baekhyun's neck. Jongdae continued to wrap the scarf around and around before gently pulling the fabric up to cover the lower half of Baekhyun's face.

Jongdae tapped Baekhyun's nose before tugging Baekhyun's hood back on, "I can't have my baby turning to ice."

Baekhyun gulped nervously as Jongdae broke in a grin. It was moments like those that made Baekhyun's chest flutter, that made his heart race and his ears burn. "Wh-What about you?"

Jongdae repositioned himself behind Baekhyun and slipped his arms around the older boy's waist, "As long as I have you to hold, I'm good."

Baekhyun wished Joonmyun hadn't shown up a minute later.

What a nice moment ruined.

---

"Oh?" Baekhyun raised a brow as he took the wrapped gift from Jongdae. "I thought you weren't participating in the Secret Santa."

Jongdae laughed in embarrassment, "Well I gave it some thought."

"I see," Baekhyun muttered as he tore through the paper without a care. A white box, the one used to gift clothing, just slightly larger. Perhaps a large winter coat? "I'm guessing it's a--" Baekhyun stopped the moment he removed the lid, blinking in silence at the olive-colored jacket laid neatly inside the box. He couldn't suppress his smile, "I thought you bought the last one."

"I did," Jongdae replied, "for you."

Baekhyun bit his lower lip, "Was that before or after I said I liked it?"

"Before."

Chanyeol glanced over at Baekhyun's gift, "Wow that looks nice." He extended his arm to get a feel of the fur but Baekhyun moved just out of his reach. "Who is that from?"

"Jongdae," Baekhyun grinned as he closed the box. He turned to Jongdae, "What did you get?"

"I don't know yet," the brunet mumbled as ran circles on the paper wrapping of his present from Chanyeol. He didn't really want to open it at the moment, not with so many people around. Not to mention he was rather scared to see what Chanyeol got him. But the expectant smile on Chanyeol's face urged Jongdae to slide his finger beneath an opening to tear the wrapping.

A giant grin found its way onto Jongdae's face once he saw his items. The brunet covered the lower half of his face in joy. "You did not."

"What is it?" Baekhyun asked curiously. He couldn't comprehend how a couple of albums could make someone so ecstatic... but then he remembered Jongdae's love for K-pop. How did he forget?

Chanyeol rubbed the back of his head and laughed in relief, glad Jongdae liked the present. "I didn't know which version to buy so I got you both."

"But how did you know they were my favorite group?" Jongdae gasped as he carefully ran his fingers over the album covers, glad he hadn't preordered the albums as he had planned before.

"Kyungsoo mentioned it to me during one of our rehearsal sessions."

"Thank you," Jongdae wet his lips and carefully set the albums carefully into the box. Oh, he couldn't wait to get home and flip through the photo books and rip the songs onto his laptop and transfer it to his phone--

Chanyeol slapped Jongdae's back so unexpectedly -- and harder than necessary, Jongdae might add -- that Jongdae's arm twitched as a response to defend himself. Chanyeol grunted from the sudden elbow jab, his face scrunched in pain. Wide-eyed, Jongdae quickly apologized to Chanyeol. "I am so so so sorry. Please don't take the albums back."

Baekhyun failed to suppress his laughter, receiving a non life-threatening glare from his best friend. He only found it hilarious because he had done the same to Chanyeol on so many occasions when they were younger.

"Don't worry, I won't," Chanyeol exhaled sharply. "I can't imagine what you would do if I did."

Baekhyun suddenly remembered his conversation with Jongdae earlier. "Hey, Kyungsoo. You have a measuring tape we can use?" Jongdae burst into laughter while Kyungsoo went to retrieve the said item without a response.

Kyungsoo returned, arms folded across his chest, "And why exactly do you need a measuring tape?"

"To see if Jongdae is taller than me or not," Baekhyun replied as he rose from his seat. "Come on Jongdae, get up."

"No," Jongdae's word dripped with sarcasm as he slowly stood up, "I'm just gonna sit here so I'll reach up to your thighs."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes as he measured each individual before making them stand back to back. Kyungsoo pursed his lips, "It's Jongdae."

"What?" Baekhyun whipped around. Meanwhile, Jongdae failed to suppress his smile. Baekhyun managed to get everyone in the room to double and triple check before bitterly accepting the truth.

Jongdae backhugged Baekhyun, "It's okay, there's not much of a height difference so no one will really know. You can be the tall one."

"Don't pity me," Baekhyun blew his hair away from his eyes. "I can still grow two centimeters somehow." Baekhyun gently patted Jongdae's arms, signaling the brunet to let him go. He must not allow Jongdae to use the secret weapon of hugging to keep him at his current height.

A chapter taking place in the winter and Christmas when it's hot outside in real life, lmao. What is even happening...