May

Playlist: http://youtu.be/o-l21CTY27Q 

Chanyeol was in the kitchen creating an utter mess. He fiddled with the many equipment that he had bought but never used, attempting to mix the batter in a less messy fashion.

It was Baekhyun's birthday the following day and Chanyeol had nothing much to give apart from his love which lead him to the idea of baking a cake for him.

He swirled the batter around, attempting to manually break down the lumps of sugar floating in it. There was a reason why he and Baekhyun always ate out

He swiped a finger into the bowl and tasted the creamy mixture.

"Needs more sugar," he commented.

He then proceeded to empty the remaining sugar in the bag and mixed it all up. He tried it once more and almost gagged at how sweet it was. But he figured it'd be fine, Baekhyun did have an awful sweet tooth.

With careful hands, Chanyeol poured the batter into a baking pan and sent it off to bake in the oven.

It was only a short time later before his timer went off and he came back to find his batter all fattened up.

He stared blankly at its golden brown surface and thought that it could use a little decorating.

Picking up the stray icing tube, he squeezed out its contents to scribble a few words.

After he was done, he bent forward to inspect his work and immediately regretted not calling Luhan over to help him with the writing.

Chanyeol stared at the squiggly words which spelt out 'Happy Birthday Baekhyun" and sighed in disappointment. At least it made sense.

Once the cake was lowered into a box, he wrapped a giant bow around it to make up for its plainness and placed it in the fridge before proceeding to clean up the huge mess he had made with his own two hands.

Chanyeol leaped onto his bed, plunging his freshly showered body into the clean sheets. These days he had went back to sleeping on the bed instead of the couch. At first he couldn’t bear to sleep on the bed he had shared with Baekhyun, knowing the boy wasn’t there. But he’s gotten a little used to his absence now.

Time really did heal everything.

He suddenly remembered something and shot out of bed.

Leaning over his desk with only a small nightlight on, Chanyeol wrote a birthday letter.

He thought hard of what to write and seemed to reach for his eraser every five seconds. It was only after an hour and three broken pencils later did Chanyeol fold up the letter and kept it safely in his wallet.

He brought a hand up to his mouth to stifle a yawn and shuffled slowly to his bed.

Turning off the lights, Chanyeol closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

The oaken door swung open and Mrs Byun welcomed Chanyeol with a warm smile.

“Glad you could make it Chanyeol dear.”

“Thanks for having me and this is for Baekhyun,” he held up the cake.

Chanyeol watched on in embarrassment as Mrs Byun took a peek into the box.

“Sorry about my handwriting.”

“It’s fine,” she waved it off. “You made this yourself?”

He nodded.

“That’s so thoughtful of you Chanyeol. I don’t know what on earth my son did to deserve a guy like you.”

“It’s really the opposite Mrs Byun,” he smiled.

“I’ll go place this in the refrigerator. Baekhyun’s upstairs why don’t you go keep him company?”

“I’ll get going then."

Mrs Byun gave him a thumbs up and mouthed the words ‘good luck’ before disappearing into the kitchen.

Chanyeol smiled to himself as he climbed up the stairs. If it weren’t for Baekhyun’s parents he figured he’d already given up by now. He was grateful for how supportive they were of him and hoped that he wouldn’t disappoint them.

He knocked gently on the door and waited nervously for Baekhyun to answer. Chanyeol’s tongue lodged in his throat, Baekhyun wasn't expecting him this early so he wondered how the boy would react.

“The door isn’t locked.”

Taking in a breath, he twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Baekhyun was lying on his bed, still dressed in his pyjamas, reading a comic book and almost screamed when he saw the tall boy standing at his door.

“Why are you so early?!” he squealed, sitting up immediately and throwing his book to the side.

“Early bird gets the worm I guess," Chanyeol shrugged.

Baekhyun tried to fix his hair and shot him an awkward glance.

“I had no idea… sorry… for having to see me like this.”

Chanyeol chuckled. He shouldn’t even be sorry, seeing him in his pyjamas reminded him of how he’d used to wake up to him sleeping soundly by his side. Who would’ve thought these small little things would be what he missed the most.

“You still look cute," he chuckled.

“You don’t have to stoop so low just to hit on me.”

“Considering our height difference I think I’d have to.”

Baekhyun face scrunched up in annoyance.

“Oh please we aren’t even that far apart in height.”

“Is fifteen centimetres not far enough?”

“Who insults a boy on his birthday?”

Chanyeol picked up the comic book from the floor and handed it back to him.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult, since, that was one of the things I adored about you.”

Baekhyun laughed and fiddled with his fingers awkwardly.

“I’ll go get changed," he blurted.

He then excused himself to the bathroom and Chanyeol heard the shower turn on.

He looked around at his surroundings. Baekhyun’s room hadn’t changed at all since the last time he was here. His eyes chanced upon his dresser and the many bottles of pills made his heart ache. Was Baekhyun on this much medication already?

His fingers traced the dresser's surface and stopped before something.

Reaching forward to cradle it in his fingertips, he placed the flowery ring in his hands. Why was this still here? Did Baekhyun still remember this small piece of the past?

His hands shook as he held onto the ring. Memories from February flooded his mind, those days when he could still hold Baekhyun’s hand and claimed him as his own, when nothing was stopping him from showing his love to the boy.

The promises he made were still waiting to be kept. He hoped he was right back then, that everything would turn out fine in the end. He really hoped it would.

“Chanyeol?”

He looked back to find Baekhyun staring curiously at him, in the middle of drying his hair with a towel.

“You still have this?” Chanyeol asked, holding up the ring.

“I found it in one of my pockets while doing laundry the other day.”

“Do you perhaps…remember what this ring is for?"

"Am I supposed to remember anything?" he arched an eyebrow.

Chanyeol's smile faltered and the little hope in him disappeared.

"Oh...it's nothing much."

"You sure? Your expression doesn't seem to say the same."

"I'm fine."

"Chanyeol..." Baekhyun's face softened. "Is it something I don't remember?"

He looked at the boy's guilty face and died a little inside.

"No you're just over thinking," he reassured.

Baekhyun looked at him warily, squeezing his towel harder. But before he could question him further, Mrs Byun called out from the living room.

"Come down you two!"

"Let's go."

"Wait! I haven't fixed my hair yet!"

"It's just me and your family down there, who you trying to impress?"

Chanyeol grabbed his hand.

"Come on."

Before Baekhyun could protest, he was already lead down the stairs by Chanyeol and into the dining room where a cake was waiting for him on the table.

Baekhyun lit up and ran to it like a child.

"I wanna eat it all up already."

He then chanced upon the squiggly words amongst the white frosting.

"Did one of you make this?" he mused.

"How did you know?" Mrs Byun chuckled good naturedly, "Chanyeol here made it."

"You made this?" Baekhyun turned to him.

"Guess the secret's out."

"I thought so; the handwriting looked like something your hands would create."

"Sorry about that...I don't exactly have the best handwriting," Chanyeol muttered sheepishly.

"It's cute."

Baekhyun's eyes disappeared into half-moons and Chanyeol couldn't help but blush.

Meanwhile, Mrs Byun had already lit the candles and brought it to Baekhyun's side.

"Make a wish, son."

"Wish?"

"Anything your heart desires just say them under your breath."

Baekhyun contemplated for a while. He shifted his gaze to Chanyeol, thought hard, and then focused back on the cake.

Clasping his hands together, he shut his eyes and his lips parted to utter words that were too soft for anyone to decipher.

With the glow of the candles softly lighting up his face, Chanyeol had never seen Baekhyun this beautiful. It was almost ethereal.

And it might have just been his imagination but Chanyeol could've sworn he heard his name among the sea of words.

The shorter boy's lips finally stopped moving and he bent forward to blow out the candles.

"Blow it all out in one shot. I heard it's the only way for your wish to be granted."

Baekhyun nodded and in a huge gust of air before releasing it. The candles flickered dangerously before turning into wisps of smoke.

He did it -the flames were all put out in just one shot. Chanyeol cheered in delight and his parents watched on in silence, a smile filling their faces.

"You're officially twenty-five," Chanyeol congratulated, "and officially older than me."

"Stop making me feel old."

"Don't be dramatic."

Baekhyun poked a tongue out at him and proceeded to take a slice of cake for himself.

His fork poked through it and ripped apart a huge chunk of cake before sending it straight to his mouth.

Baekhyun almost cringed at how sweet the cake was but fought hard to keep his face as neutral as possible. He didn't want to hurt Chanyeol's feelings.

"Does it taste alright?" the taller boy asked, eyes shining in anticipation.

"It's great," he replied, forcing a smile.

Chanyeol broke into a huge grin and dug into his own serving.

But he immediately realised that it had all been a white lie. He saw Mr Byun from the corner of his eye, dumping his half eaten serving into the waste basket and he suddenly felt incredibly stupid for even thinking this cake would turn out fine.

Chanyeol watched on in exasperation as Baekhyun reached for a second serving, and then a third, and then a fourth.

Just as he was about to reach for his fifth serving -Chanyeol stopped his hand in mid-air.

"That's enough."

The shorter boy shot him a quizzical look.

"What'd you mean? Are you depriving me of cake?"

"Don't force yourself Baekhyun...I know it tastes like ."

"You're ridiculous it tastes fine."

Baekhyun pulled his hand free and reached for the last piece. It had always been one of his bad habits -his undeniable stubbornness.

"Baek..." Chanyeol grabbed his hand again, "drop the act alright? You already look like you might puke."

"I'm fine," he waved it off and sent a spoonful of cake into his mouth.

"I hate it when you're like this."

"I hate it when you're like this,” Baekhyun returned.

Chanyeol felt horrible. How much of a failure was he? He couldn't even bake a decent enough cake and Baekhyun still had to pretend to like it. Did he even have the rights to want him back?

"Look Chanyeol stop looking so miserable," Baekhyun finally spoke up, putting his plate aside, "I'll admit the cake was pretty horrible but the reason I continued eating it wasn't to hurt your feelings but to show that I appreciate the effort you've put in for me."

Baekhyun took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I appreciate you Chanyeol."

Chanyeol was momentarily lost in his eyes. It almost felt as if everything was back to normal and Baekhyun was the Baekhyun he knew from the past. Was this really him?

He didn't pulled the boy into his arms and held him close, not caring that his parents were just beside them. How long had it been since they were this close? To Chanyeol, he had already forgotten how Baekhyun's small frame fit perfectly in his embrace, like they were born just to be in each other's arms.

Baekhyun let out an awkward laugh and patted his back.

"You're welcome," he teased.

He broke free from Chanyeol's hug, avoiding eye contact. And it was then Chanyeol realised that it had only been wishful thinking on his part, the Byun Baekhyun he knew was gone.

"Sorry,I'll tone down on the PDA."

"Thanks."

"So…what you planning to do after this?"

"I don't know but I'm not really in the mood to stay in...all that sugar's screwing up my energy levels."

"You up for some karaoke?"

"Read my mind."

Chanyeol motioned his head to the door.

"Let's go. My treat today."

Baekhyun let out a whoop and fist palmed the air.

"I love birthdays."

"Oh my god they have the entire Snsd playlist," Baekhyun buzzed in excitement, scrolling through the list of songs on the screen.

"It's your birthday so choose whatever you want-"

But Chanyeol's voice was already interrupted by the familiar instrumental to the boy's favourite song. He smiled as he watched Baekhyun hit all the notes with ease, even Taeyeon's high notes were a walk in the park for him.

"Come on get your up!" Baekhyun yelled, pulling him up from the couch.

He danced half-heartedly at first, knowing that his dancing was nothing despite Baekhyun's exaggerated moves. But Baekhyun had insisted he wasn't going to look like the only fool, so that was how Chanyeol found himself shaking his like there was no tomorrow and singing in an overly cutesy voice.

Fan boy Baekhyun was always his favourite Baekhyun, especially when he started acting all cutesy and adorable.

They spent the hours in the dim cubicle singing along to everything from rap to ballads. A couple of times the staff even had to come in to ask them to tone it down a bit -Chanyeol hadn't even known that was possible.

Baekhyun's cheeks had already gone a little red from all the cheap beer he was drinking and just for tonight Chanyeol was going to let him get away with it. Tonight they weren't going to hold back.

After the fiftieth song that night, or fifty-three Chanyeol had lost count, the both of them finally collapsed on the couch in exhaustion.

"I think we've lost our minds," Baekhyun spoke between huffs.

"We didn't even have minds to begin with," Chanyeol shot back.

"Your words not mine."

Chanyeol laughed and lay limply against the couch. Baekhyun noticed the shine of sweat on his forehead and leaned forward with a tissue.

"You're all sweaty," he muttered as he dabbed the fabric gently onto Chanyeol's pale face.

He remained silent as he let Baekhyun wipe off the sweat on his forehead. His heart fluttered with each touch but he was just too tired to react, he was fighting just to keep his eyes open.

"Oh yeah before I forget," he said, fishing out the letter from his wallet, "happy birthday. And only read this when you're alone."

He handed him the letter in which Baekhyun looked at him strangely.

"Is this like the secret to world domination or something?"

"Something like that."

“I'm afraid the world would be gone in three days if I was in charge."

"I won't let that happen," Chanyeol smiled dazedly, "coz I still wanna spend more time here with you."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and looked away. Chanyeol couldn't seem to fight anymore, his eyelids were growing heavier and heavier.

"Chanyeol-ah...do you really like me? I'm just afraid this will turn out all a lie and you'll leave me... you're not that kind of person right?"

There was only silence and Baekhyun could hear the distant music from the other cubicles. He craned his neck to see Chanyeol fast asleep, face completely serene.

He sighed and draped his jacket over Chanyeol's body, though it only covered his chest as he was just too lanky  compared to him. Baekhyun sat back down beside him and stared into space.

Then he thought of the letter and took it out of his pocket.

Should I read it now? He contemplated.

He stared at the crisp paper and slowly unfolded it to reveal the familiar scrawny handwriting etched onto it in black ink.

Dear Baekhyun,

                            Happy Birthday! You're getting a year older but still as beautiful as you were two years ago. How is that even impossible? You're so selfish Baekhyun. This is the third birthday I'll be celebrating with you and I hope to be there for the rest of your birthdays as well. I know the references I make of the past won't make any sense to you but I just want you to know it doesn't matter. What's past is past and what we have now is the present and the future. I'd like to think I'd spend these with you too so don't push me away okay? Be it a year or a decade I promise I won't change, I'll be by your side till the day one of us isn't here anymore. And this may be the first time you hear this though I've said it many times in the past but…I love you Byun Baekhyun and thank you for all that you’ve given me. Thank you for all the smiles. Thank you for being by my side. Thank you for everything. And thank you so much for being born.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Love,

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chanyeol

A drop of liquid fell onto the paper; Baekhyun felt wetness on his cheeks. He folded it up and clutched it tight in his hands.

“I guess I found my answer already Chanyeol.”

He ran his hand through the sleeping boy’s hazel locks absent-mindedly and was surprised to find the whole feeling so familiar.

Scared, he tore his hands away from him. It was all so confusing; Baekhyun didn’t know what to believe. He had all the answers he needed –what he lacked was the courage to face them.

His head was spinning rapidly and he felt a sudden acute pain at the back of his head. Thinking it was just him thinking too much, Baekhyun surfaced from the shelter of his palms and gazed at Chanyeol’s sleeping form.

He was such a strange being -and Baekhyun wondered how much more tears it would take for Chanyeol to give up on him.

He stifled a yawn and propped his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder because surely, the boy wouldn’t mind?

Then he fished something else out of his pocket –the flowery ring that Chanyeol had seemed so caught up with.

Without sparing much thought Baekhyun slipped it onto his finger and gazed at it keenly, taking in every nook and cranny of its form.

Had they really been in love? He wondered.

But deep inside him he knew what the real question was. 

Could he fall for him again?

a/n: Incredibly sorry for the long wait! I got really lazy and uninspired and I just couln't come up with anything so please forgive me if this chapter is lacking. T^T And please if you think I can improve in any way by all means leave a comment! Or you can share your thoughts on the story so far too ^^ I promise I'll work harder on the next chapter!