Leaning heavily against the kitchen counter, Chanyeol heaved a quiet sigh. Lifting his cup of coffee to his lips, Chanyeol paused, inhaling the rich scent of freshly ground beans. The tiny voices of Baekhyun’s friends carried through the house, but it didn’t matter how hard Chanyeol would strain to listen, he couldn’t hear Baekhyun.

“He’s just overwhelmed,” Joonmyeon smiled, sensing his friends uneasiness. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back to his playful self soon.”

Taking a long sip of the bitter coffee, Chanyeol nodded, his eyes fixed on the mug in his hands. He hoped Joonmyeon was right; he usually was, after all. But with Baekhyun, it was different. Chanyeol could always tell when something was bothering him and it hurt not seeing the other smile.

With his hands in the pockets of his jeans, Baekhyun trudged slowly into the kitchen, his eyes trained to the floor. No sooner had he entered the kitchen was Chanyeol at his side, his arms wrapped tightly around him.

It took some time before Baekhyun was ready to speak and slowly, he lifted his head, drawing in a sharp breath.

“Mister Joonmyeon?” he asked softly, his voice wavering. “Where is Jongdae?”

“Jongdae?” Joonmyeon asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Baekhyun said with a nod, his hair falling across his eyes. “Is he sleeping? Can I go wake him up, please? I want to see my friend.”

Joonmyeon’s brow creased. “I’m sorry, Baekhyun,” he said simply, placing his cup of tea on the kitchen counter before leaning into Kris. “Jongdae isn’t here.”

Puzzled, Baekhyun frowned. “Oh,” he said quietly. “Is he outside playing?”

Joonmyeon shook his head. “Jongdae hasn’t been here for a while, I’m afraid.”

Almost immediately, Baekhyun’s eyes widened with fright and he held up his hands, trying to maintain the distance between himself and Joonmyeon.

“No,” he said flatly, shaking his head. “No, no, no! Jongdae has to be here! What if … What if Puppy found him? What if Puppy hurt Jongdae?”

Baekhyun began to tremble at the very thought of his friend suffering the same fate as he. Drawing in a sharp breath, Baekhyun strained against Chanyeol’s embrace in an attempt to escape – he had to rescue his friend.

“Baek,” Chanyeol  whispered soothingly as he fought against Baekhyun’s flails to maintain his hold on the other. “That dog isn’t going to hurt Jongdae, I promise.”

“But what if he does?” Baekhyun sniffed, his bottom lip quivering. “Puppy … Jongdae … No.”

Joonmyeon cleared his throat, leaving Kris’ side and crossing the kitchen. Coming to a halt in front of Baekhyun, Joonmyeon offered him a kind smile.

“Jongdae isn’t living here anymore,” he said gently. “But I can assure you that he is well looked after – very safe.”

Drying his eyes with the back of his sleeve, Baekhyun took in what Joonmyeon had said. “Really?” he asked, his eyes stinging. “Where is he?”

“Jongdae,” Joonmyeon replied with a smile, “is being looked after by my sister, Jisoo. To him, she is very important and I thought it would be best for him to stay with her.”

“Oh,” said Baekhyun dully. “Does she mean to Jongdae what Mister Giant means to me?”

Ruffling Baekhyun’s hair, Joonmyeon’s lips tugged upwards into a broad grin.

“Not quite,” he said with a small chuckle. “I think your love for Chanyeol is hard to beat.”

Baekhyun felt the blood rush to his face at those words. His love for Chanyeol? Did he hear that too? Unable to speak, Baekhyun responded with an embarrassed nod, but deep down, he couldn’t quite deny the fact that he felt proud of that statement. 

After having an afternoon tea with his friends, Baekhyun – somewhat reluctantly – followed Chanyeol through the bustling city, stumbling over the uneven concrete footpath as he ducked and swerved out of the way of stranger, doing his best not to lose sight of Chanyeol.

On the odd occasion, he would cry out for his Mister Giant, the other stopping almost immediately to wait for Baekhyun to catch up.

“Hold my hand,” Chanyeol would say, extending his arm out to Baekhyun but the other would simply shake his head, a determined smile on his face.

“I can do it!”

Normally, Baekhyun would have given anything for a chance to hold onto Chanyeol’s hand and never let it go – particularly in public, that way others knew that Chanyeol was his Mister Giant and only his. But today, Baekhyun was eager to prove that he was fine on his own.

“Mister Giant?” he asked, hurrying to Chanyeol’s side; wrapping his fingertips around the loose cotton sleeve of Chanyeol’s shirt, he gave it a sharp tug. “Erm, we walked past the apartment.”

“I know,” Chanyeol responded mischievously. “I thought we could eat out tonight.”

Baekhyun’s brows raised in confusion. “Eat out?” he asked. “Eat out of what? I like eating off of plates.” He paused, thinking of anything he’d like to add. “And ice cream cones.”

With a small chuckle, Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun’s waist, guiding the smaller closer to his side.

“My sweet Baekhyun,” he murmured, lips brushing against Baekhyun’s cheek, a playful grin twisting the corners of his mouth upwards. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

After making a quick stop at a supermarket, the two continued their way through the busy city, their arms laden with grocery bags. Without a word, Baekhyun walked at Chanyeol’s side, unsure of where they were headed. Deeper into the city they went until Baekhyun spotted a park a short way off and beamed.

Was that where they were headed?

Noticing Baekhyun’s excitement, Chanyeol offered him a small smile, taking the heavy grocery bags from Baekhyun’s hands.

“Go play,” he said. “I’ll get dinner organised.”

Without a second thought, Baekhyun sprinted for the swings, his laugh full of mirth. With an amused shake of his head, Chanyeol followed after Baekhyun slowly, entering the park. On the other side of the playground was a small, grassy hillock – the perfect place to have their dinner.

Exhausted from playing, Baekhyun staggered up the small hillock, his arms and legs aching. Catching sight of the top of Chanyeol’s head as he crested the small hillock, Baekhyun beamed happily and he contemplated sneaking up on his Mister Giant whilst the other prepared their dinner.

To one side of the grassy hill was an uprooted tree; leaning on an angle, its leaves brushed against the ground – it was perfect for leaning against. Spread out across the grass was a picnic blanket – something Chanyeol had kept hidden in his backpack – various snacks and drinks decorated the patchwork surface.

A picnic.

Chanyeol lifted his head as he noticed Baekhyun’s gaze. A gentle smile crossed his face and Chanyeol patted the space on the blanket next to him. Taking the hint, Baekhyun grinned broadly, stepping across the blanket, careful not to knock their dinner over in the process, before sitting down at Chanyeol’s side.

Heaving a deep sigh, Baekhyun rested his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder. From their spot on the hilltop, they had a spectacular view of the cityscape; the sky, alight in hues of deep orange and purple wrapped around the skyscrapers as the sun slowly dipped behind the horizon. The sky grew darker still, the night chilly.

Baekhyun shivered, snuggling into Chanyeol’s side, nuzzling his face into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck.

“Mister Giant?” he breathed, his eyes closed. “There’s something I want to tell you, but … I’m afraid.”

“What are you afraid to tell me?” Chanyeol asked gently. Baekhyun felt his cheeks heat up and he refused to meet Chanyeol’s eye.

“I’m afraid that you will laugh at me,” he said softly. “And that you … “ he hesitated. “And that you won’t return my feelings.”

“Pardon?”

“Mister Giant, I love you.”

First update in a long time where I don't have a title
planned before writing the chapter itself.
Yeah nah, let's wing it~

Your comments were fun to read.
Thanks for putting up with my stupid and often trolling replies.
<3

(Especially the Yoda comment. That was fun.)

What would you like to see in future chapters? ^^