Kris shifts uncomfortably as he slowly cracks open his eyelids. His sweaty shirt clings to him and there's a crick in his neck from falling asleep on the couch. He shakes his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from his sleep-muddled brain and he slowly grows aware of the weight that's lying on top of him.

"Baekhyun, wake up. You're heavy." Kris nudges him but Baekhyun merely grunts and does not bother opening his eyes.

"Baekhyun, I'm going to tickle you if you don't get up." Baekhyun doesn't stir at the threat.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you." And Kris launches into an all-out tickle attack. His shirtless boyfriend (Baekhyun never did like wearing shirts to sleep) made it easier for him to find Baekhyun's sensitive spots and soon, Baekhyun was wide awake and squealing with laughter.

"You ."  Baekhyun pouts as he rolls over to sit next to Kris on the couch that they are on.

"You were crushing me you fat , I could have died under you."

"Well, you would like that, wouldn't you? Me being on top."

Kris groans at his innuendo and smacks him on the stomach, "Shut up, it's way too early for your ual innuendos."

"Actually, it's still in the evening. We fell asleep while watching the movie." Baekhyun gestures at the now blank television. "Besides, it's never too early for ."

Baekhyun plops himself in Kris's lap, straddling him and proceeds to press his lips against Kris's. Kris immediately winds his arms around Baekhyun and kisses back with equal fervour. He bites Baekhyun's lower lips, earning a little gasp from the other. Baekhyun leans forward to at Kris's earlobe and the latter releases a muffled moan. "B-baekhyun, we should stop." Baekhyun pulls back and looks into his boyfriend's eyes - eyes that are darkened with desire - and whispers, "Kris I-"

Whatever words he was planning to say were lost when the doorbell rings, interrupting his train of thoughts. Kris frowns, wondering who could it be. People rarely visited them, especially not on a Sunday evening. He gives Baekhyun a slight nudge and tells him, "You'd better get dressed, I'll get the door."

Baekhyun releases an annoyed huff and stomps into their bedroom as Kris briefly fixes his hair and shirt. He then unlocks the door and is surprised by the presence of his colleague.

"Lu Han what are you doing here?"

Lu Han barges his way into the apartment and scoffs, "I knew you'd forget. You promised to hang out at Hongdae with a few friends remember? Luckily, I already predicted this happening so I'm here to get you dressed and your out of the house."

"Hyung, who is it?" Baekhyun calls questioningly as he steps out of their bedroom.

Well, .

 

 

"Baekhyun meet Lu Han. He's a friend and a fellow teacher at the school. Lu Han, this is Baekhyun. He's my-" Kris swallows, "distant cousin."

Baekhyun's heart clenches painfully at the words but he forces the feeling down. It's unreasonable to feel hurt, he tells himself. No one could know about their relationship, after all. He could get expelled and Kris could lose his job.

"Huh. I never knew Kris was staying with a relative." Lu Han squints at Baekhyun and the latter squirms under the scrutiny. "But it's nice to meet you."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too, Lu Han ssi."

"Just hyung will be fine." Lu Han waves his hand at the formality. "Anyway, I'll be borrowing your cousin for a while. We're off to a bar to meet some friends. A casual friend-date thing y'know to see if he'll meet someone he likes. I think your cousin could use some spicing up in his love life." Lu Han winks conspiratorially but Baekhyun feels sick to his stomach.

"Yeah, his love life is rather boring." He laughs hollowly. "Hey hyung? Do you think I could tag along?"

 

 

Kris slides into the front passenger seat of Lu Han's car wordlessly so Baekhyun settles himself in the back. Baekhyun has just resigned himself to staring out of the window for the whole trip as Lu Han makes small chatter with Kris when his phone vibrates with a notification.

From: Kris ♡♡♡

What do you think you're doing?

 

Baekhyun shoots a glance at Kris but the latter pretends to be engrossed in whatever nonsense Lu Han is spewing and does not acknowledge Baekhyun.

 

From: Baekhyunnie

what do you mean? i'm out to have fun. besides im old enough to drink

 

From: Kris ♡♡♡

No you're not. Not in korea anyway.

 

From: Baekhyunnie

you never had a problem with that before, you even let me taste your wine

 

From: Kris ♡♡♡

That's different. We're heading to a bar now. In public. With other people.

 

From: Baekhyunnie

it's fine, i have an ID anyway

 

Baekhyun sees Kris reading his message but his own phone does not light up with a reply for the rest of the ride. Baekhyun guesses he deserves receiving the cold shoulder since he has just basically told his teacher-boyfriend that he's been sneaking into prohibited places underaged.

 

 

The bar they go to is rather classy and not at all Baekhyun's type of hangout. He'd rather sneak into clubs where the music is blaring with people partying. He likes being surrounded by a crowd, even though it may feel suffocating at times. The soft jazz music and the patrons dressed smartly in suits make Baekhyun feel rather out of place in the bar.

They are brought to a table where a group of people are already waiting.

"Hey guys! This is my friend Kris, the boring old grandpa I've been telling you about and his nephew Baekhyun."

Kris does not bother to correct Lu Han. Cousin, nephew, it's all the same to him. It is not as if Lu Han will be any more right if Kris corrects him since none of those terms actually mean "boyfriend" anyway. Instead, he focuses on memorising everyone's faces and names as Lu Han introduces each person. A waiter approaches them to take their orders and when Baekhyun opens his mouth, Kris interrupts, "He'll have an orange juice."

Baekhyun shoots a glare at Kris and sticks out his chin defiantly, "I'll have a beer, thanks."

"Wow, overprotective much?" The man sitting next to Baekhyun - Soryong, Baekhyun's mind supplies - laughs.

"Yeah well, gotta look out for family." Kris gives a terse smile.

"So Baekhyun, how old are you? You look a little young." A girl with shortly cropped hair that frames her face nicely, Minyoung, speaks up.

"Seventeen, actually." Baekhyun admits readily as he sips his newly-arrived beer.

The group hoots and Soryong slaps his back.

"Looks like we have a rebel!" Amber grins and Baekhyun winks at her.

"And what does our teacher Wu think of our rebel?" Joonmyeon, a seemingly quiet but charming man stares at Kris with an amused smile. Baekhyun dislikes him already. His teeth are too straight and he looks like a frog.

Kris lifts his shoulders slightly as if to say "well, what can he do? Baekhyun's all grown up now." and Joonmyeon's smile only widens, causing Baekhyun to grit his teeth in irritation.

The food they ordered arrives and Lu Han stares incredulously at Kris's plate of German sausages and mashed potatoes.

"You hate mashed potatoes."

Kris merely shrugs, scoops up a bite and holds the spoon out to Baekhyun as a way of explanation. Baekhyun instantly brightens and instinctively leans in and wraps his lips around the spoon.

Lu Han narrows his eyes at the pair but does not say anything.

 

 

As the night progresses, Baekhyun's dislike of Joonmyeon increases tenfold as he watches Joonmyeon and Kris laugh over whatever dumb thing they were talking about. He does not bother to hide his contempt, giving snarky replies when spoken to by Joonmyeon, yet remaining nice and polite to the others, leaving Kris furrowing his eyebrows at Baekhyun’s rudeness and Joonmyeon raising his own in confusion.

It's after Baekhyun’s third glass of beer that the drowsiness kicks in and he slumps sideways into Minyoung who is now sitting beside him. Soryong has gone out for a smoke and has yet to return, while Kris has gone to get more drinks with Joonmyeon accompanying him. They were taking an awfully long time and his eyelids are starting to droop when Minyoung nudges him.

"Hey, get up, I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate you draping all over me very much." Minyoung drawls.

"Whatever, he's too busy with Joonmyeon to care anyway." Baekhyun is too sleepy to realise that Minyoung has just called Kris his boyfriend. He doesn’t give his own words any further thought either and his mumbles slowly trail off as he succumbs to sleep.

Kris and Joonmyeon return with drinks and a pang of jealousy strikes Kris when he sees Baekhyun leaning into Minyoung. He slides back into his seat on Baekhyun's left and tries to shake him awake.

"Baek, wake up. You're drooling on Minyoung."

"Hyuuung you're back," Baekhyun slurs into Kris's ears as he pushes himself away from Minyoung and towards Kris.

"I think we should go home now." Kris softly pats the sleepy boy on his cheek and the boy blinks blearily.

"But, your drink-"

"It's okay, we can just leave it."

"No, m' fine. You should finish it." Baekhyun crosses his arm adamantly but his accompanying pout destroys whatever attempt he is making in trying to be stern.

The older sighs as everyone watches, amused by their interactions.

Soryong returns just as Kris finishes his drink and by then, Baekhyun has already drifted off on the table. Deciding not to wake him up, Kris pulls him onto his back, slinging Baekhyun's arms over his shoulders and gripping Baekhyun's thighs firmly in his hands. Lu Han offers to drive the pair home but Kris tells him that it's late, he should head home himself and they'll take a cab. Lu Han nods and everyone disperses once the bill is settled.

Kris hails a cab just outside the bar and slowly places Baekhyun in the back seat, taking care not to hit his head on the car frame.

"Apgujeong apartments." He tells the cab driver and the taxi pulls out of the curb into the night.

 

 

Kris nearly falls as he tries to take off his shoes with Baekhyun on his back. The sleeping boy doesn't stir despite Kris losing his balance and the latter chuckles quietly to himself.

He deposits Baekhyun on the bed and shakes his head in mock disapproval. "You'd sleep through a hurricane."  If Baekhyun was awake, he would've been kicked for that comment.

Baekhyun mumbles indistinctly and Kris pats his hair fondly. He knows that he should be angry at Baekhyun for sneaking into places under-aged and being hostile to his new friends (or just Joonmyeon, really) but he understands that Baekhyun was just jealous. Sure, the way Baekhyun had dealt with it was a little childish but Kris thinks it's cute that Baekhyun got jealous over him.

"Silly kid, you have nothing to worry about." Kris whispers softly and presses his lips lightly on Baekhyun’s forehead.

Kris thinks he can fall asleep right then and there but he has to take care of Baekhyun first. He gets off the bed and tugs off Baekhyun's sneakers. He silently debates for a minute whether or not to remove Baekhyun's shirt as he has always complained that it was too hot to sleep in shirts. Figuring that Baekhyun is probably too deeply asleep to wake up, he pulls Baekhyun into an upright position and lifts up his shirt. He throws the shirt in a corner of their bedroom - he'll deal with it tomorrow morning - and gets a wet cloth to wipe Baekhyun down. Baekhyun whines softly as the cool cloth touches his skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake but he does not rouse from his slumber.

Kris tosses the cloth in a corner, again, and slides under the comforter next to Baekhyun. He watches his boyfriend endearingly for a couple of minutes before he feels his own eyelids slipping shut, the last thing he feels before sleep overtakes him is Baekhyun's breath blowing lightly on his face.

 

 

The house is silent when Baekhyun finally arouses from dreamland. He winces at the rays of sunlight shining through the window and promptly reaches out to shut the curtains. His throat feels terribly parched, as if he's swallowed sandpaper and the pounding in his head is doing nothing to make it better. He slowly shuffles out of his room, holding the walls for support as the ground shifts below him. (At least, that’s what it feels like to Baekhyun.)

What time is it? It's way too quiet. Has Kris left for work already?

At the thought of Kris, he instantly lets out a small groan and buries his face in his hands. Was Kris mad at him? He was being terribly immature the day before.

Why did I do that?

The image of Kris and Joonmyeon materialises, leaving him scrunching his nose in distaste. Baekhyun lowers himself onto a seat gingerly so as to not aggravate his headache further and he spots a glass of water on the table with a note atop of it.

 

Baek,

I bet you're feeling the effects of the hangover now, aren't you? Serves you right for drinking >:( Here's some aspirin, take it and go back to sleep. I won't be letting you skip school anymore after this, so don't get too complacent!

Kris ^___^

 

Baekhyun sighs in relief when he reads the message, lips twitching at the silly smiley faces. So Kris wasn't mad after all. That makes him feel guilty however, for his juvenile behavior. Baekhyun decides that he'll find a way to make it up to Kris for his immaturity but first, he needs to sleep. He'll deal with the apology after he naps away his agonising headache. With that thought, Baekhyun pops a pill into his mouth and chases it down with water.

 

 

"Yo Kris, my man! How's your boyfriend doing? His head must be killing him." Lu Han greets Kris cheerfully as he walks in on the latter preparing a cup of coffee in the teacher's lounge.

Kris hums absentmindedly in vague agreement before the words actually register. When they do, he straightens up sharply from the counter and the sugar that he was emptying into his drink goes flying in all directions from its packet.

"W-what?" Kris chokes out.

"Come on, you don't actually think that I don't know how your Byun kid looks like, right? I mean, what kind of friend would that make me? You've been complaining about that 'brat' since forever. Plus, he was so obviously jealous of Joonmyeon last night. No wonder you never agree to the dates I try to set you up with. You could have told me, y'know. It would have saved me all the trouble from trying to set you up." Lu Han rants while Kris stares at him open-mouthed, a little stunned at his friend's tirade.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Lu Han slaps Kris's shoulder and Kris blinks, snapping back to attention.

"Sorry. It's just- I wasn't comfortable with telling anyone about our relationship. It's technically against the rules and frowned upon, you know. We would be in deep if we got caught."

Lu Han rolls his eyes at those words. "You're such an idiot, you know I wouldn't tell anyone. I don't care about this whole teacher-student anyway. Anyway here, have this." Lu Han whips out a thermos bottle and shoves it into Kris's hands. "I had my flatmate made it. He makes the best ginger tea. Pretty sure your brat would appreciate it."

"Thanks." Kris nods gratefully at Lu Han and they both know that it is not just for the tea.

 

 

The apartment lights are turned off when Kris steps through the door. His eyebrows furrow with worry at the darkened state of his apartment. That's weird, shouldn't Baek be home right now?

"Baek?" He calls out uncertainly as he fumbles with the light switch while attempting to slip off his shoes.

He flicks the switch and arms come to snake around his waist just as the room brightens. "Welcome home," Baekhyun murmurs against his neck. "I made you dinner as an apology for last night."

Kris allows himself to be pulled to the dining table where a steaming hot bowl of ramyeon with an egg floating on top greets him. His heart warms at the sight and a smile automatically find its way onto his lips. Kris knows his boyfriend is terrible with the kitchen and can't cook to save his life. The last time he tried, he'd burnt the rice so Kris knows it probably took a lot of effort for Baekhyun to cook and not burn down the whole kitchen. "You didn't have to, really. I wasn't mad in the first place."

"I know, but I'm still sorry for yesterday. I was jealous of you and Junmyeon hyung." Baekhyun hides his face bashfully in Kris's chest. "I know this isn't much but I swear I'll cook you something better next time!"

"Don't be silly, you know I love you. Joonmyeon's just a friend. And you don't have to worry Baek, I'll eat anything you cook."

"Even if you die from food poisoning?"

"...maybe you'd better leave the cooking to me."

"Hey! Just you wait, Kris Wu, one day I'll whip up something so delicious that you'll be begging me to cook everyday."

Kris barks out a loud laugh that has Baekhyun laughing along despite his own protests of hey, don't laugh! How dare you doubt my great culinary skills!

"I'll look forward to it, Baek."