Thunder And Lightning Ain't Shit
Author: ANONYMOUS
Recipient: 335
Title: Thunder And Lightning Ain't Shit
Word Counts: 5862
Side Pairing(s): slight Chanyeol/Suho
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): lots'a cuddles
Disclaimer: The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Out of all things Chanyeol could think about when it rains on his date, he thinks of Baekhyun.
Author's Note: I'm sorry to my dear recipient if this isn't what you had in mind? I took the prompt and ran away with it and I came back with this. Urm. Thing. Ha. I hope you like it! And thank you to S for the mental support.
“You’ll be fine, right?” Chanyeol asks, muffled through the thick red scarf wrapped around his neck. “It’s a little drizzly now. Don’t think there’ll be a storm coming our way.”
“My fuckin’ God, mum, I’ll be fine,” Baekhyun scoffs and crosses his arms. “I won’t die or anything, probably, like, scream and cry but that’s it.”
Chanyeol frowns, hands hovering over the handle of his umbrella leaning against the wall. “That’s not convincing.”
“Just go already, jeez,” Baekhyun laughs and shoves Chanyeol out of the door.
Chanyeol hesitates. “But-”
“Go!”
Ideally, October isn’t a great month to be dating. It’s in between the odd scale of being in Antarctica and being in a beautiful meadow. And somehow, Chanyeol did score a date, in that very month.
It’s drizzling tonight and looking how it has been drizzling non-stop since the afternoon, there could be a heavy rain coming. Of course, Chanyeol had to lie to Baekhyun about it because he’ll be back in time before the heavy rain. In time to be by Baekhyun, constantly assuring him that everything was alright.
But the thing is, he didn't expect the date to be so long.
“You told me you worked at a studio? Do you do music?” His date, Junmyeon, asks him as he sips on his drink (it’s a cocktail). Chanyeol hums an answer before he tries to finish chewing his food.
“Yeap. Music, kind of.” Ha. Music. Don’t make him laugh. All he has done since he worked there, which was approximately six months ago, was fetching coffee for the Higher Ups and rushing around sending demos to producers from all over the city.
Hmm. Music. What a dream.
“And you?” Chanyeol asks, biting on his last piece of chicken cutlet.
“Oh, I’m in grad school,” Junmyeon answers and he smiles, placing his hands on his lap. Chanyeol stares at his empty plate and looks back at his own. He mentally groans. He’s the one prolonging the date.
It’s eight in the evening and the rain is becoming heavier.
“What are you taking?” Chanyeol asks and uses the ends of the tissue to wipe his mouth. “Law? Medicine?”
Junmyeon, sitting across him, chuckles and shakes his head. The man was pretty and very fair, like a dracula kind of fair. Small, too, just like Baekhyun. Chanyeol didn't know how someone like that asked him out for a date.
“Psychology, actually,” he answers.
“Whoa,” Chanyeol mutters in awe. “So you’re going to be, like, a psychologist?”
“If I graduate then yeah,” Junmyeon says and grins, his eyes disappearing with it. Chanyeol couldn't help but smile back.
Then, thunder strikes somewhere outside, making Chanyeol jump in his seat.
Baekhyun.
“Oh,” Junmyeon observes. “Are you scared of the thunder?
It’s loud. Really loud. Because he’s inside of a diner and could still hear it. Was Baekhyun okay-
“No,” he cuts his thoughts off. “But my roommate is. Do you mind if I make a call?”
“Oh no, go ahead,” Junmyeon says and smiles. He’s so nice and Chanyeol is such a terrible fucking date, honestly. Chanyeol shyly makes his way to the bathroom and as soon as he reaches there, he locks the door and dials Baekhyun’s number.
There’s beeping and it doesn’t stop for the past two minutes. He isn’t answering. It’s either his phone is on silent (which is honestly unlikely as his phone is always on sound mode, ringtone being the opening of Hedwig’s theme song) or he’s just ignoring it in an attempt to drown the sounds of the thunder outside.
So Chanyeol doesn’t put his phone down immediately, knowing that the sound would distract him. Even if it was a few minutes.
“I’m sorry. The person you are calling is not reach-”
Maybe he should stop worrying about Baekhyun a little. But still regardless of what he tells himself, he could not take Baekhyun off his mind. Baekhyun might be bundled in his blue blanket, shivering and shaking in fear. Chanyeol could only hope his best friend was fine. Hopefully he is deep in sleep, so that the thunder wouldn’t be such a bother.
Then Chanyeol facepalms, almost crying out of frustration at the sudden realisation. Who was he kidding? Baekhyun can’t be in deep sleep, he’s a light sleeper for God’s sake. The mere sound of the door creaking open could wake him up in milliseconds. He holds the door knob of the bathroom door and groans silently. He’ll be okay.
“He isn’t answering,” Chanyeol says as he sits back across Junmyeon. Junmyeon looks concerned when he was walking back, all he could do was say something.
“Oh no, will he be all right?” Junmyeon asks as he calls for a waiter to their table.
“Yes,” he lies. “He’s probably asleep.”
“At eight? On a Friday night?” Junmyeon asks and the waiter that Junmyeon called for earlier made his way to their table.
Chanyeol laughs awkwardly and places his hands on his knees. “You know, teachers. A tough day today, probably.”
Junmyeon laughs along and smiles at the waiter when he stops at their table.
“Can we have dessert?” Junmyeon asks the waiter and Chanyeol’s heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach. But Baekhyun. Oh no. His poor, poor roommate. As if he read Chanyeol’s mind, he turns his head to look Chanyeol’s way and asks, “Is that okay with you?”
Fuck, how could he say no?
“Yeap,” Chanyeol answers and musters a smile. “Cake’s a good choice.”
will be a bit late!! dont die or anything okay he texts Baekhyun under the table as Junmyeon is still asking about the various flavours of ice cream and cake here. im serious dont die in our apartment
Chanyeol shivers and shoves his hands deeper into his jacket’s pockets. His teeth has been chattering non-stop since he stepped out of the diner. It’s cold obviously; the heavy rain has been reduced to drizzling but the thunder is still present, making his thoughts crawl back to Baekhyun.
Baekhyun must be fine since he hasn’t replied to Chanyeol’s text. Maybe he has fallen asleep. It doesn’t matter really because Chanyeol’s about to find out soon anyway.
He hails a cab to get to his apartment instead of his usual route with the subway to avoid wet and damp bodies pressed against him. It’s a Friday night, so of course it would be packed like a can of sardines. A shiver runs through Chanyeol at the mere thought of it.
It only took fifteen minutes to Chanyeol’s apartment block but in that span, the heavy rain had come back, and the thunder roared louder as if trying to prove something, like, hey I’m really fucking loud, wanna hear? Whatever it is, he hopes his best friend isn’t screaming or crying.
Chanyeol enters the pin into his apartment and was expecting wailing but all he got was silence.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol calls out as soon as he steps into his shared apartment. He toes off his shoes and hangs his jacket on one of the coat racks by the door before slowly making his way into their apartment. The apartment was dark and gloomy, mirroring the outside’s situation as well. Chanyeol squints hard and carefully makes his way to Baekhyun’s room first to check him.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol repeats, knocking on the closed door. There wasn’t any noise or disgruntled groan that came right after, so Chanyeol, worried, turns the doorknob and pushes it open.
Empty. It was empty.
Chanyeol frowns and furrows his brows, making his way into the kitchen instead, where the lights were off too. It was empty, unexpectedly. Chanyeol at least expected a curled up Baekhyun sitting by the fridge with a tub of ice cream but alas.
“Baekhyun, where the hell are you?” Chanyeol calls out one more time and stands in front of his bedroom’s door with his hands on his waist. He waits for a while, still worried before opting to change out of his clothes first.
He sighs, pushing his bedroom door open before screaming at the highest pitch he can muster at the sight of a huge lump of blanket on his bed.
Oh.
“Baekhyun, what the hell!” Chanyeol yells, although relieved that his best friend was fine and well, not dead or anything. Then, he hears sobs coming from the lump of blankets. Screw the last part. He’s relieved he found his best friend.
Thunder boomed like gunshots right as Chanyeol approaches Baekhyun and his heart almost drops to his feet when he hears loud wailing. The bed dips a little as he sits on it, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand that was the only part of his body visible from under those blankets.
Chanyeol rubs his thumb on the back of Baekhyun’s knuckles and sighs. “Why didn’t you text me?” He asks, genuinely worried. He hears a soft whimper before hearing a soft but clear, “I didn’t want to ruin your date.”
“It doesn’t matter, bro. Bros before hoes,” Chanyeol chuckles and ruffles, where Chanyeol assume is, his hair. At that, Baekhyun peeks out from his position under his blankets and glares Chanyeol.
“You haven’t gotten laid for months,” Baekhyun deadpans and runs a hand over his face, simultaneously wiping his tears away. “That only works for when your bro is about to die.”
“Well, aren’t you about to die, right now?” Chanyeol asks, eyebrow raised and vaguely gestures at Baekhyun’s current condition.
Baekhyun glares. “Shut up.”
Chanyeol pushes the blanket around Baekhyun’s face and frowns. The area around his eyes were red and his eyes were bloodshot, probably, from all the crying.
He sighs and reaches out to cup Baekhyun’s face. “You cried,” Chanyeol comments and Baekhyun frowns. “And you didn’t even reply my text! I called you and you didn’t answer, too. You were scared the whole time! Byun Baekhyun, I swear.”
“Hey, look-” the sound of thunder booms through Chanyeol’s bedroom, making Baekhyun shriek and pull Chanyeol down with him. Baekhyun gulps before continuing, “-I didn’t want to ruin your date by texting you ‘hey bro I, an adult male, is afraid of thunder. Can you please come back, so you can cuddle me to sleep?’”
“You know I would, right?” Chanyeol admits.
“I know you would,” Baekhyun chuckles and pats Chanyeol’s cheek. “That’s why I didn’t text you.”
Chanyeol pouts and shoves Baekhyun off him. Chanyeol gets off his bed to change to his pjs when Baekhyun starts wailing and whining.
“Don’t leave me! I’m going to die,” Baekhyun whines, burying himself further into the blanket.
“Chill, you baby,” Chanyeol says as he rolls his eyes and enters his bathroom to change. Moments later, he slips back into bed in his pjs.
Baekhyun automatically wraps his arms and legs around Chanyeol’s body, his cheek resting on Chanyeol’s shoulder. His shoulder has always been the best pillow, quote unquote. Chanyeol likes the sound of the rain hitting the windows and hums himself to sleep. He draws circles on Baekhyun’s back with his finger to calm him down, just the way Baekhyun likes it.
“Feel any better?” Chanyeol asks after the thunders had stopped temporarily.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun asks, sniffling. “Now that you’re here.”
There was comfortable silence for a while, only the sound of their breathing accompanied with the rain outside could be heard.
“How did the date go? Was he nice?” Baekhyun asks.
“He was okay. Nice, yes but we’ll see.”
“We’ll see?” Baekhyun asks, looking up. Chanyeol nods and sighs.
“I felt bad because I was kind of…not there. So I promised a second date,” he explains and feels something heavy rest on his stomach. All he could think of during the date was Baekhyun this, Baekhyun that-
“Wow, was it me? Shit, I’m sorry I ruined your date, man,” Baekhyun grumbles and pats Chanyeol’s chest. “Fuck you, weather. Seriously bad timing.”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol laughs. He thinks about all those time he left Baekhyun alone when it was raining with loud thunder in college and even now, when he was in the studio. Yeah. The weather has some terrible timing, indeed.
x
“Hello, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon greets him as he slips into his seat. Chanyeol looks up from the menu and smiles at him.
Their second date was at another diner, slightly further away from the last one, and believed to be better. Which is what all this second date was all about. Better than the last one.
“So how was your roommate the other day?” Junmyeon asks suddenly, making Chanyeol jump in his seat.
“He was fine,” Chanyeol explains and continues flipping through the menu.
“He has astrophobia, right?” He asks and Chanyeol nods. Chanyeol calls for the waiter and as he made his way to the table, Junmyeon asks another question.
“Severe?” Is it? Baekhyun does go for therapy but it doesn’t seem to get any better.
“Kind of,” Chanyeol answers, shrugging.
“May I take your order?” The waiter asks and Chanyeol tries as hard as he can to push any thoughts of Baekhyun out of his mind. Tonight is all about Junmyeon.
But it had to rain. It just had to.
Chanyeol isn’t worried about it really. Since it was only drizzling but then what if the date was longer and he wasn’t on time to get home for Baekhyun?
Fuck. Why is it always Baekhyun-
“You’re worried about him, are you?” Junmyeon interrupts his thoughts and he looks up, startled.
“Huh?” He says, confused. Seriously, does this Junmyeon guy have some weird clairvoyant skills or what?
“You looked distracted now that it’s raining,” Junmyeon points out. “It’s always raining when we’re out.”
“I’m sorry,” he says and looks down at his lap, head hung low. Junmyeon was right. Baekhyun wouldn’t like it if he was worried about him all night. He even sent Chanyeol off to the date, telling him to have fun!
This isn’t fun.
“It’s fine,” Junmyeon shrugs and his burger comes first, the waiter lays it out carefully in front of him before making his way back into the kitchen. “Just treat this as a dinner with a friend.”
What? With a friend?
“I’m sorry, what?” Chanyeol asks and leans forward to listen to Junmyeon better since the rain was getting louder.
“Hmm?” Junmyeon questions back as he bites into his burger. “Your roommate. You like him, don't you?” He asks after chewing.
Okay, now this is just confusing.
Chanyeol shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Urm, what makes you think so?”
Junmyeon chuckles, wiping his fingers with a tissue. “Omniscience comes with taking psychology,” he explains and looks up to see Chanyeol with wide eyes and obvious bewilderment in his face.
“You looked worried on our first date and even now. I don’t think this is a worried friend kind of thing because you immediately went to call him and text him and you know, your eyes say a lot,” he explains further and sips onto his drink (it’s strawberry milkshake this time) as if he isn’t making Chanyeol feel all weird and wiry inside.
“My eyes?”
“Wide, glassy, eyebrows pulled together in worry. It’s cute,” Junmyeon smiles. “I read people easily if you haven't noticed. Don’t tell me you didn’t even realise you liked him?”
“I don’t know,” he answers truthfully.
I mean, yeah sure, he did have a crush on him at first before they became friends and that dates way back into freshmen year in college. But the crush died down, right?
Right?
“You’ll settle with your feelings sooner or later,” Junmyeon tries to console a distraught Chanyeol by patting his hand.
Shit. Suddenly all the times they’ve spent time together comes flooding down his way. The way Baekhyun is always holding his hand, how Chanyeol’s first thought when there’s rain is Baekhyun, how he’s always frustrated when he sees Baekhyun bending down-
“Oh,” he mutters softly. “Oh fuck.”
Junmyeon laughs and wipes the ends of his mouth with a tissue. “Congratulations!”
Chanyeol groans inwardly and rubs his cheeks in disbelief. This is a joke. He surely didn’t have a crush on his best friend slash roommate, right?
“I’m so sorry, oh my God,” Chanyeol mumbles into his palms. “For this date,” he continues, gesturing at the air in between them.
“It’s fine, man. It really is. Nothing to worry about,” he assures Chanyeol and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“So this roommate of yours. He has astrophobia, right?”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol answers and leans back as the waiter serves him his food, deep fried chicken with a side of chips.
“I studied that to make the person less scared you must be by his side at the time. Be it cuddling or just holding him in your arms.”
“Yeah, I do that.”
“Cuddling?” Junmyeon asks, in which Chanyeol replies with a nod.
“It’s been raining a lot these days,” Junmyeon points out and smiles at Chanyeol. “You must be by his side at all times, huh.”
Chanyeol arrives home to a dark and gloomy apartment yet again. But this time, he wasn’t worried as of before. It was drizzling outside and it probably puts Baekhyun to sleep by the soft pitter patter of raindrops.
He sighs, throwing his coat over the sofa, not even bothering to hang it on one of the coat racks. This date had been mentally and emotionally exhausting. Did he really like Baekhyun? Or was it just because they're friends? What is the truth.
He frowns as he walks towards his room, turning the doorknob open only to find Baekhyun fast asleep on his bed.
His bed.
He was confused. It isn’t roaring with thunder outside, it was just a little drizzling. Sure, the outside looks dark and gloomy but it isn’t that scary.
“Hey, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol calls out softly as he slips into his bed, carefully carrying his head to make it rest on his shoulder instead.
Why are you here? He wants to ask but instead, he asks, “you okay?”
Baekhyun doesn’t answer at first, chooses to snuggle closer to the warmth. But by the time Chanyeol feels like sleep was pulling him in, Baekhyun stirs awake.
“Hey, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun mumbles sleepily. “How’s the date?”
Chanyeol looks down at Baekhyun, just noticing how close they were, how intimate this position was. Even under the blanket, their legs are entangled together. Like lovers.
Chanyeol gulps.
“Fine,” he answers and runs his fingers through his hair. It’s soft.
“That’s good,” Baekhyun hums and flutters his eyelids close. He’s asleep in mere seconds and Chanyeol lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. What a relief now that he’s awake, alone.
“God, what am I going to do with you?” He asks a sleeping Baekhyun and chuckles to himself. He can’t even hear him.
Does he like him? Nevermind. He can worry about this tomorrow. Or any other day. Tonight, he’ll sleep with Baekhyun in his arms and hopes he’ll wake up with the same thing.
x
It’s a few weeks later at the grocery store does Junmyeon’s words resurface back in his mind. He has been trying as hard as he can to push those words away but everytime he looks at Baekhyun, his heart beat quickens. He was about to reach out for the tub of chocolate ice cream when it replays in his head again.
You like him, don’t you?
He pauses his actions altogether just to think, ears turning deaf at his surroundings just to listen to himself. Of course he likes Baekhyun. Then why are they best friends? And roommates even. But what Junmyeon was implying was liking him romantically. And Chanyeol isn’t even sure if he does like Baekhyun in that sense.
Or is he?
He looks down at the tub of ice cream that he was about to grab and retracts his hand back, eyes widening as the realisation hits him. God, it was chocolate flavoured. He hates chocolate. Why is he even buying chocolate? He likes vanilla-
Wait. Chanyeol extends his hand back out to grab the said tub. Baekhyun likes chocolate flavoured ice cream. Baekhyun likes chocolate flavoured anything. He’s buying this for their food storage and yet it’s Baekhyun’s preferences that he prioritises.
He panics suddenly on the spot and turns to look into the trolley. Strawberry milk carton, chocolate flavoured wafers, marshmallows with blueberry fillings, onion crisps - it’s all Baekhyun’s favourite food.
Fuck.
Oh God, he thinks to himself as he places the tub of ice cream into the trolley. He does like Baekhyun. Romantically.
“Hey, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says as he unloads the grocery and places them onto the island. “What happened to Junmyeon? You still seeing him?”
Junmyeon. The damn guy that made him realise his feelings for the man standing right in front of him. A month ago. How could he even look at that man in the eye again?
“Uh, no,” Chanyeol chokes out, feeling nervous. Baekhyun stops his movements and gives Chanyeol an odd look. “Huh? Why? I thought he was an Okay Boyfriend candidate,” Baekhyun says, shrugging as he continues on unloading the groceries. He was placing down the tub of chocolate flavoured ice cream when he speaks again. “Oh, sweet my favourite,” he says and continues doing whatever he was doing, not noticing how affected Chanyeol was by that.
“I like someone else,” Chanyeol confesses and that made Baekhyun stop everything immediately to stare at him, confused.
“Who?” He asks and he doesn’t continue what he was doing previously. His focus was all on Chanyeol. As if the world around him had stopped, Chanyeol’s breath hitches.
“You’ll know. You’ll know one day.” And Chanyeol didn’t exactly lie. And it’s true, he’ll know. Sooner or later he will. Just not now.
You. I like you.
x
The weather forecaster is a motherfucking liar. It says that for this whole week (finally), there will be no rain whatsoever. And yet.
Chanyeol looks up from his laptop and pulls off his earphones at the familiar sound of rain against his windows. Oh shit. Baekhyun isn’t even back yet.
Chanyeol stands up and paces around his room. It’s just rain. Baekhyun is okay with rain, he just hopes he’ll be driving safely or anything. Hopes he won’t panic on the road or something.
Shit, Chanyeol, you and your mouth.
And then, it happens. Loud booming thunder strikes outside non-stop and Chanyeol scrambles for his phone. He searches his bed, his desk, his closet and even the living room and it’s not there. Out of all times, Park Chanyeol, you had to lose your phone now?
Chanyeol hears a familiar buzz and the opening of Um Oh Ah Yeh echos around the room and he lies on the floor, looking under his desk and oh. There it is.
He reaches out for it and quickly looks at the caller ID. Baekhyun 🐶 flashes on the screen and he quickly swipes right.
“Hello?” Chanyeol quickly jumps in, panic in his voice. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Baekhyun replies and Chanyeol is already on his feet, ready to go wherever Baekhyun is. This isn’t the first time it has happened. “Chanyeol? I’m sorry but can you help me?”
“Of course. Just tell me where you are,” Chanyeol answers quickly, arms slipping into the arm holes in his jacket, with his phone wedged between his shoulder and ear.
“Parking lot,” Baekhyun stammers out and Chanyeol stops trying to shrug on his jacket. Parking lot?
“I know it’s inside the building but I can hear it still and fuck, Chanyeol, I’m so scared. Please help me,” Baekhyun begs from the other line and Chanyeol feels like there’s a wet, cold fish flopping around in his stomach just hearing the tone of Baekhyun’s voice.
“I’ll be there in a jiff. Wait for a while, all right? Stare at your shoes, distract yourself,” Chanyeol guides Baekhyun as he locks the door behind him and speedwalks to the elevator. Baekhyun is still on the line when Chanyeol enters the elevator.
“Baek, you still there?” He asks as the elevator made its way down. Seven, six, five, four…
“Yes,” he answers, voice shaky.
“Okay, I’m about to reach,” Chanyeol adds as he stares at the screen on top of the elevator door. It lets out a loud ding! when it reaches the parking lot and he quickly rushes out, looking around for the familiar black Hyundai, which is kind of difficult. What wasn’t difficult was finding a man curled up at the driver’s seat.
Chanyeol lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Baekhyun and he walks towards the car. “Baekhyun, look up,” Chanyeol orders and from the small window, Baekhyun peeks out from his arms.
He opens the driver’s door and Baekhyun quickly jumps out of the car, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol. “I’m sorry and thank you,” he mumbles against Chanyeol’s shirt and all Chanyeol could do was laugh, rubbing his hand in an upwards and downwards motion on Baekhyun’s back.
“No, no, it’s okay I’m your,” he gulps, walking towards the elevator with Baekhyun latching onto his arm. “…your best friend after all. Hey, c’mon, I’m here, you’re fine.”
“I know,” Baekhyun mutters quietly as he stares at his feet.
The whole ride on the elevator, Baekhyun had his face pressed against Chanyeol’s arms. Chanyeol has never seen Baekhyun this scared before. It must be because he was outside alone.
As soon as they entered their apartment, Chanyeol had suggested Baekhyun to take a warm shower before he sleeps. Baekhyun said yes, only if Chanyeol sits outside the door.
So here he is.
“Was work okay today? How’s the kids?” Chanyeol shouts from outside the door.
“It’s good. The kids were great today,” he shouts back and Chanyeol nods, even though Baekhyun can’t see him. “I gave them a spelling test today.”
“And?”
“They did okay. Well, most of them - fuck, it’s so hot - I graded a few earlier.”
“That’s good,” Chanyeol replies. The sound of water coming from the showerhead hitting the bathroom tiles stops a few minutes later and Chanyeol looks up just in time for Baekhyun to open the door, fully clothed in his pyjamas.
“I went to my therapist today,” Baekhyun starts as he throws his dirty laundry into the basket in his room. “I don’t know when I’ll get better, Chanyeol. I can’t always rely on people when there’s thunder.”
“I’m here for you,” Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun turns around to stare down at Chanyeol.
“What if you’re not at home? What if you’re at work? Out? On a date? Somewhere far? It’s bad for the both of us, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighs and reaches out a hand to Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks at his hand in confusion. “Come on. Bed?” Baekhyun answers and yawns.
“But you know, I’ll always be here for you,” Chanyeol comforts and Baekhyun shoots him a small shy smile.
“Thank you, then.”
It’s when they’re under the covers, ready to sleep when Chanyeol can’t take it anymore. He must. He must tell Baekhyun. He needs to know. When Baekhyun snuggles close, his nose buried into Chanyeol’s sides, he flinches.
“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, his arms suddenly loosening around Chanyeol’s body. Chanyeol quickly grabs his wrist to stop him.
“Chanyeol?”
Okay. He’ll-He’ll do this and he’ll be okay. Whatever it is. He’ll be okay.
Inhale. Exhale.
“I need to.” Oh shit, he’s really doing this, huh. “I need to tell you. A thing.”
Baekhyun looks up from where his head rests on Chanyeol’s shoulder and quirks an eyebrow at him. Chanyeol gulps. He’s so close. If he just turns his head a little they would already be kissing. He doesn’t continue straight away, instead he pulls Baekhyun closer as another thunder struck somewhere outside, making Baekhyun squirm in his hold. He’s going to say it. No matter what happens, he won’t. He gulps again. He won’t regret it.
Right?
“What thing?” Baekhyun asks. Oh, right. He didn’t say anything after that. He just kept quiet, expecting Baekhyun to know or something.
“I kind of like you.” Whoops, there you go. Now that it’s out there, it is now real and not only in Chanyeol’s scattered mind. “I like you, like, romantically,” he repeats, trying to make himself believe that he really said it.
Silence. There was silence. There’s nothing that can get any louder than absolute nothing. This is it, isn’t it? Baekhyun’s going to reject him and then he’s going to live in this apartment all alone without a best friend and Baekhyun’s going to find a new Cuddle Buddy and-
“What?”
Baekhyun finally voices out something and Chanyeol lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You like me?” He asks and he’s suddenly sitting up, back facing Chanyeol. He feels jittery inside, his palms sweaty and heart beating too fast. What was Baekhyun going to do?
“It’s totally understandable if you don’t like me,” Chanyeol starts, pushing himself up and trying to scoot away from Baekhyun if he was uncomfortable. “I mean, I get it, you know-”
“Shut up,” Baekhyun cuts him off, voice wobbly. Huh? Why does he sound like that? Maybe it’s the thunder. Or was it. Was it him? Chanyeol was about to reach out to him when Baekhyun’s shoulders start shaking and he pauses, hands in the air in between them. “I can’t breathe. Give me a moment.”
Oh God. This. This wasn’t his intention.
“Are you okay, Baekhyun? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks, worried and ugh, fuck his worries. He’s going to have Baekhyun in his arms. He scoots closer and gathers Baekhyun in his arm, and like always, over probably the ten thousandth time, Baekhyun automatically presses his face against Chanyeol’s shoulder.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sobs through Chanyeol’s shirt and Chanyeol panics even more, hands rubbing up and down his back. Possibly the most pathetic way to comfort someone.
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispers into Baekhyun’s hair. Then he hears a strangled laugh coming from Baekhyun and he furrows his eyebrows.
“Baekhyun?”
“Oh my God, Chanyeol, I’ve been in love with you for so long and you just,” Baekhyun pauses to push himself off Chanyeol’s shoulders to wipe his tears with the sleeves of his pyjama shirt. “Your confession is making me feel so overwhelmed. Fuck, this is so embarrassing.”
What?
“What do you mean for so long?” He asks, confused. Does this mean Baekhyun isn’t going to reject him? Baekhyun likes, no, wait, loves him?
“You heard me the first time, I’m sure,” Baekhyun mumbles, wiping his tears and smiles.
“Why didn't you say anything?” Chanyeol asks and cups Baekhyun’s face in his hands. Baekhyun laughs and his eyelids flutter close, trying to stop his tears from falling.
“I didn't want to change anything between us,” he explains and places his hands over Chanyeol’s. “I like it like that. Plus, you’re always on blind dates, I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”
Holy shit. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. He’s a fucking idiot. Congrats, Park Chanyeol. You played yourself.
“I’m sorry,” he mutters and leans forward to press their foreheads together. Baekhyun’s breathing hard in his face and turns red at the close proximity.
“It’s nothing. We didn’t say anything in the first place so,” Baekhyun mumbled and frowns at Chanyeol’s expression. God, he felt like shit. Baekhyun has been in love with him for so long and he. He didn’t even notice? What a dense asshole, he is. “Hey, hey, Chanyeol, it happens. We know what we feel about each other now, right?”
“So what are we?” Chanyeol asks quickly and slowly pushes Baekhyun down on the bed. It’s too bad that Baekhyun’s face was already red because Chanyeol would love seeing Baekhyun’s face getting redder and more flustered.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun stammers out, hands fisting the front of Chanyeol’s shirt.
“What are we,” Chanyeol repeats and supports his body by placing both of his elbows at the sides of Baekhyun’s face. “What do you want us to be, Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol studies Baekhyun’s face as he waits for an answer. His eyelashes are still wet, his cheeks were dusted pink and his lips-ugh, what he’d do to kiss all of those places.
“I want to date you,” Baekhyun answers finally, looking straight into Chanyeol’s soul.
“Okay,” he agrees and grins down at Baekhyun, his. He pauses and grins wider. His roommate. Best friend. He’s possible next lover. “After we go on a date and we both like it, is it okay to call you my boyfriend?”
Baekhyun laughs and accidentally knocks their foreheads and noses together. Chanyeol yelps, sitting up and rubs the bridge of his nose. He glares Baekhyun playfully only to see Baekhyun laughing, eyes crinkling and oh God, he would really like to have this sight when he wakes up everyday.
“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun wheezes out in between laughter and pulls Chanyeol back on top of him. “Yes, you can call me your boyfriend.”
“So can I kiss you?” Chanyeol asks, head tilting to the side. His question only made Baekhyun laugh more and oh, there’s that eye smile again. If only Baekhyun knew how much pain that causes him from his goddamn eye smile.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Baekhyun breathes against Chanyeol’s face and wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, simultaneously pulling him closer. “And yes, you can kiss me.”
And Baekhyun pulls him close, so close, until they’re breathing against each other’s mouth before their lips meet, soft and delicate, just like Baekhyun. Their lips move against each other slowly and Chanyeol knows it’s not perfect. His nose is wedged uncomfortably against Baekhyun’s cheek but he doesn’t say it. Baekhyun’s lips prove to be an amazing distraction.
Chanyeol tests the waters by rubbing his thumbs against Baekhyun’s cheek and licking Baekhyun’s lower lip. Baekhyun does open his mouth to let out a moan and Chanyeol mentally gives himself a pat at the back. He tastes Baekhyun’s lips and tongue and they taste like mint and strawberry. Must be the toothpaste.
He pushes Baekhyun’s hips down, pinning them to the bed as he kisses the breath out of Baekhyun, head tilting to the side to have better access. That is until Baekhyun pushes him away slightly.
“Chanyeol,” he pants out as Chanyeol looks down at him. “I’m really fucking in love with you.”
“Me, too,” Chanyeol blurts out, unknowingly.
“You too?” Baekhyun asks back and Chanyeol pauses. He stares at how ruined Baekhyun is under him just from a kiss and imagines how ruined he’d look if they had-
“Yeah. I,” Chanyeol says and leans back to kiss Baekhyun. “I really love you, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun smiles into the kiss and pulls Chanyeol closer, as if they weren’t close enough, by wrapping his arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Chanyeol pulls away to laugh slightly at how clingy Baekhyun seems and places kisses all over his face and neck. The thunder is suddenly not a bother anymore as Baekhyun melts in Chanyeol’s arms.
“Yeah, okay, I can live with that,” Baekhyun giggles when Chanyeol kisses under his ear. Chanyeol looks up and God, Baekhyun is so, so beautiful. He’s really in love.
“Yeah?” He asks, brushing Baekhyun’s bangs off his forehead.
“Yeah.”
Recipient: 335
Title: Thunder And Lightning Ain't Shit
Word Counts: 5862
Side Pairing(s): slight Chanyeol/Suho
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): lots'a cuddles
Disclaimer: The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Out of all things Chanyeol could think about when it rains on his date, he thinks of Baekhyun.
Author's Note: I'm sorry to my dear recipient if this isn't what you had in mind? I took the prompt and ran away with it and I came back with this. Urm. Thing. Ha. I hope you like it! And thank you to S for the mental support.
“You’ll be fine, right?” Chanyeol asks, muffled through the thick red scarf wrapped around his neck. “It’s a little drizzly now. Don’t think there’ll be a storm coming our way.”
“My fuckin’ God, mum, I’ll be fine,” Baekhyun scoffs and crosses his arms. “I won’t die or anything, probably, like, scream and cry but that’s it.”
Chanyeol frowns, hands hovering over the handle of his umbrella leaning against the wall. “That’s not convincing.”
“Just go already, jeez,” Baekhyun laughs and shoves Chanyeol out of the door.
Chanyeol hesitates. “But-”
“Go!”
Ideally, October isn’t a great month to be dating. It’s in between the odd scale of being in Antarctica and being in a beautiful meadow. And somehow, Chanyeol did score a date, in that very month.
It’s drizzling tonight and looking how it has been drizzling non-stop since the afternoon, there could be a heavy rain coming. Of course, Chanyeol had to lie to Baekhyun about it because he’ll be back in time before the heavy rain. In time to be by Baekhyun, constantly assuring him that everything was alright.
But the thing is, he didn't expect the date to be so long.
“You told me you worked at a studio? Do you do music?” His date, Junmyeon, asks him as he sips on his drink (it’s a cocktail). Chanyeol hums an answer before he tries to finish chewing his food.
“Yeap. Music, kind of.” Ha. Music. Don’t make him laugh. All he has done since he worked there, which was approximately six months ago, was fetching coffee for the Higher Ups and rushing around sending demos to producers from all over the city.
Hmm. Music. What a dream.
“And you?” Chanyeol asks, biting on his last piece of chicken cutlet.
“Oh, I’m in grad school,” Junmyeon answers and he smiles, placing his hands on his lap. Chanyeol stares at his empty plate and looks back at his own. He mentally groans. He’s the one prolonging the date.
It’s eight in the evening and the rain is becoming heavier.
“What are you taking?” Chanyeol asks and uses the ends of the tissue to wipe his mouth. “Law? Medicine?”
Junmyeon, sitting across him, chuckles and shakes his head. The man was pretty and very fair, like a dracula kind of fair. Small, too, just like Baekhyun. Chanyeol didn't know how someone like that asked him out for a date.
“Psychology, actually,” he answers.
“Whoa,” Chanyeol mutters in awe. “So you’re going to be, like, a psychologist?”
“If I graduate then yeah,” Junmyeon says and grins, his eyes disappearing with it. Chanyeol couldn't help but smile back.
Then, thunder strikes somewhere outside, making Chanyeol jump in his seat.
Baekhyun.
“Oh,” Junmyeon observes. “Are you scared of the thunder?
It’s loud. Really loud. Because he’s inside of a diner and could still hear it. Was Baekhyun okay-
“No,” he cuts his thoughts off. “But my roommate is. Do you mind if I make a call?”
“Oh no, go ahead,” Junmyeon says and smiles. He’s so nice and Chanyeol is such a terrible fucking date, honestly. Chanyeol shyly makes his way to the bathroom and as soon as he reaches there, he locks the door and dials Baekhyun’s number.
There’s beeping and it doesn’t stop for the past two minutes. He isn’t answering. It’s either his phone is on silent (which is honestly unlikely as his phone is always on sound mode, ringtone being the opening of Hedwig’s theme song) or he’s just ignoring it in an attempt to drown the sounds of the thunder outside.
So Chanyeol doesn’t put his phone down immediately, knowing that the sound would distract him. Even if it was a few minutes.
“I’m sorry. The person you are calling is not reach-”
Maybe he should stop worrying about Baekhyun a little. But still regardless of what he tells himself, he could not take Baekhyun off his mind. Baekhyun might be bundled in his blue blanket, shivering and shaking in fear. Chanyeol could only hope his best friend was fine. Hopefully he is deep in sleep, so that the thunder wouldn’t be such a bother.
Then Chanyeol facepalms, almost crying out of frustration at the sudden realisation. Who was he kidding? Baekhyun can’t be in deep sleep, he’s a light sleeper for God’s sake. The mere sound of the door creaking open could wake him up in milliseconds. He holds the door knob of the bathroom door and groans silently. He’ll be okay.
“He isn’t answering,” Chanyeol says as he sits back across Junmyeon. Junmyeon looks concerned when he was walking back, all he could do was say something.
“Oh no, will he be all right?” Junmyeon asks as he calls for a waiter to their table.
“Yes,” he lies. “He’s probably asleep.”
“At eight? On a Friday night?” Junmyeon asks and the waiter that Junmyeon called for earlier made his way to their table.
Chanyeol laughs awkwardly and places his hands on his knees. “You know, teachers. A tough day today, probably.”
Junmyeon laughs along and smiles at the waiter when he stops at their table.
“Can we have dessert?” Junmyeon asks the waiter and Chanyeol’s heart sinks to the bottom of his stomach. But Baekhyun. Oh no. His poor, poor roommate. As if he read Chanyeol’s mind, he turns his head to look Chanyeol’s way and asks, “Is that okay with you?”
Fuck, how could he say no?
“Yeap,” Chanyeol answers and musters a smile. “Cake’s a good choice.”
will be a bit late!! dont die or anything okay he texts Baekhyun under the table as Junmyeon is still asking about the various flavours of ice cream and cake here. im serious dont die in our apartment
Chanyeol shivers and shoves his hands deeper into his jacket’s pockets. His teeth has been chattering non-stop since he stepped out of the diner. It’s cold obviously; the heavy rain has been reduced to drizzling but the thunder is still present, making his thoughts crawl back to Baekhyun.
Baekhyun must be fine since he hasn’t replied to Chanyeol’s text. Maybe he has fallen asleep. It doesn’t matter really because Chanyeol’s about to find out soon anyway.
He hails a cab to get to his apartment instead of his usual route with the subway to avoid wet and damp bodies pressed against him. It’s a Friday night, so of course it would be packed like a can of sardines. A shiver runs through Chanyeol at the mere thought of it.
It only took fifteen minutes to Chanyeol’s apartment block but in that span, the heavy rain had come back, and the thunder roared louder as if trying to prove something, like, hey I’m really fucking loud, wanna hear? Whatever it is, he hopes his best friend isn’t screaming or crying.
Chanyeol enters the pin into his apartment and was expecting wailing but all he got was silence.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol calls out as soon as he steps into his shared apartment. He toes off his shoes and hangs his jacket on one of the coat racks by the door before slowly making his way into their apartment. The apartment was dark and gloomy, mirroring the outside’s situation as well. Chanyeol squints hard and carefully makes his way to Baekhyun’s room first to check him.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol repeats, knocking on the closed door. There wasn’t any noise or disgruntled groan that came right after, so Chanyeol, worried, turns the doorknob and pushes it open.
Empty. It was empty.
Chanyeol frowns and furrows his brows, making his way into the kitchen instead, where the lights were off too. It was empty, unexpectedly. Chanyeol at least expected a curled up Baekhyun sitting by the fridge with a tub of ice cream but alas.
“Baekhyun, where the hell are you?” Chanyeol calls out one more time and stands in front of his bedroom’s door with his hands on his waist. He waits for a while, still worried before opting to change out of his clothes first.
He sighs, pushing his bedroom door open before screaming at the highest pitch he can muster at the sight of a huge lump of blanket on his bed.
Oh.
“Baekhyun, what the hell!” Chanyeol yells, although relieved that his best friend was fine and well, not dead or anything. Then, he hears sobs coming from the lump of blankets. Screw the last part. He’s relieved he found his best friend.
Thunder boomed like gunshots right as Chanyeol approaches Baekhyun and his heart almost drops to his feet when he hears loud wailing. The bed dips a little as he sits on it, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand that was the only part of his body visible from under those blankets.
Chanyeol rubs his thumb on the back of Baekhyun’s knuckles and sighs. “Why didn’t you text me?” He asks, genuinely worried. He hears a soft whimper before hearing a soft but clear, “I didn’t want to ruin your date.”
“It doesn’t matter, bro. Bros before hoes,” Chanyeol chuckles and ruffles, where Chanyeol assume is, his hair. At that, Baekhyun peeks out from his position under his blankets and glares Chanyeol.
“You haven’t gotten laid for months,” Baekhyun deadpans and runs a hand over his face, simultaneously wiping his tears away. “That only works for when your bro is about to die.”
“Well, aren’t you about to die, right now?” Chanyeol asks, eyebrow raised and vaguely gestures at Baekhyun’s current condition.
Baekhyun glares. “Shut up.”
Chanyeol pushes the blanket around Baekhyun’s face and frowns. The area around his eyes were red and his eyes were bloodshot, probably, from all the crying.
He sighs and reaches out to cup Baekhyun’s face. “You cried,” Chanyeol comments and Baekhyun frowns. “And you didn’t even reply my text! I called you and you didn’t answer, too. You were scared the whole time! Byun Baekhyun, I swear.”
“Hey, look-” the sound of thunder booms through Chanyeol’s bedroom, making Baekhyun shriek and pull Chanyeol down with him. Baekhyun gulps before continuing, “-I didn’t want to ruin your date by texting you ‘hey bro I, an adult male, is afraid of thunder. Can you please come back, so you can cuddle me to sleep?’”
“You know I would, right?” Chanyeol admits.
“I know you would,” Baekhyun chuckles and pats Chanyeol’s cheek. “That’s why I didn’t text you.”
Chanyeol pouts and shoves Baekhyun off him. Chanyeol gets off his bed to change to his pjs when Baekhyun starts wailing and whining.
“Don’t leave me! I’m going to die,” Baekhyun whines, burying himself further into the blanket.
“Chill, you baby,” Chanyeol says as he rolls his eyes and enters his bathroom to change. Moments later, he slips back into bed in his pjs.
Baekhyun automatically wraps his arms and legs around Chanyeol’s body, his cheek resting on Chanyeol’s shoulder. His shoulder has always been the best pillow, quote unquote. Chanyeol likes the sound of the rain hitting the windows and hums himself to sleep. He draws circles on Baekhyun’s back with his finger to calm him down, just the way Baekhyun likes it.
“Feel any better?” Chanyeol asks after the thunders had stopped temporarily.
“Yeah,” Baekhyun asks, sniffling. “Now that you’re here.”
There was comfortable silence for a while, only the sound of their breathing accompanied with the rain outside could be heard.
“How did the date go? Was he nice?” Baekhyun asks.
“He was okay. Nice, yes but we’ll see.”
“We’ll see?” Baekhyun asks, looking up. Chanyeol nods and sighs.
“I felt bad because I was kind of…not there. So I promised a second date,” he explains and feels something heavy rest on his stomach. All he could think of during the date was Baekhyun this, Baekhyun that-
“Wow, was it me? Shit, I’m sorry I ruined your date, man,” Baekhyun grumbles and pats Chanyeol’s chest. “Fuck you, weather. Seriously bad timing.”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol laughs. He thinks about all those time he left Baekhyun alone when it was raining with loud thunder in college and even now, when he was in the studio. Yeah. The weather has some terrible timing, indeed.
x
“Hello, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon greets him as he slips into his seat. Chanyeol looks up from the menu and smiles at him.
Their second date was at another diner, slightly further away from the last one, and believed to be better. Which is what all this second date was all about. Better than the last one.
“So how was your roommate the other day?” Junmyeon asks suddenly, making Chanyeol jump in his seat.
“He was fine,” Chanyeol explains and continues flipping through the menu.
“He has astrophobia, right?” He asks and Chanyeol nods. Chanyeol calls for the waiter and as he made his way to the table, Junmyeon asks another question.
“Severe?” Is it? Baekhyun does go for therapy but it doesn’t seem to get any better.
“Kind of,” Chanyeol answers, shrugging.
“May I take your order?” The waiter asks and Chanyeol tries as hard as he can to push any thoughts of Baekhyun out of his mind. Tonight is all about Junmyeon.
But it had to rain. It just had to.
Chanyeol isn’t worried about it really. Since it was only drizzling but then what if the date was longer and he wasn’t on time to get home for Baekhyun?
Fuck. Why is it always Baekhyun-
“You’re worried about him, are you?” Junmyeon interrupts his thoughts and he looks up, startled.
“Huh?” He says, confused. Seriously, does this Junmyeon guy have some weird clairvoyant skills or what?
“You looked distracted now that it’s raining,” Junmyeon points out. “It’s always raining when we’re out.”
“I’m sorry,” he says and looks down at his lap, head hung low. Junmyeon was right. Baekhyun wouldn’t like it if he was worried about him all night. He even sent Chanyeol off to the date, telling him to have fun!
This isn’t fun.
“It’s fine,” Junmyeon shrugs and his burger comes first, the waiter lays it out carefully in front of him before making his way back into the kitchen. “Just treat this as a dinner with a friend.”
What? With a friend?
“I’m sorry, what?” Chanyeol asks and leans forward to listen to Junmyeon better since the rain was getting louder.
“Hmm?” Junmyeon questions back as he bites into his burger. “Your roommate. You like him, don't you?” He asks after chewing.
Okay, now this is just confusing.
Chanyeol shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Urm, what makes you think so?”
Junmyeon chuckles, wiping his fingers with a tissue. “Omniscience comes with taking psychology,” he explains and looks up to see Chanyeol with wide eyes and obvious bewilderment in his face.
“You looked worried on our first date and even now. I don’t think this is a worried friend kind of thing because you immediately went to call him and text him and you know, your eyes say a lot,” he explains further and sips onto his drink (it’s strawberry milkshake this time) as if he isn’t making Chanyeol feel all weird and wiry inside.
“My eyes?”
“Wide, glassy, eyebrows pulled together in worry. It’s cute,” Junmyeon smiles. “I read people easily if you haven't noticed. Don’t tell me you didn’t even realise you liked him?”
“I don’t know,” he answers truthfully.
I mean, yeah sure, he did have a crush on him at first before they became friends and that dates way back into freshmen year in college. But the crush died down, right?
Right?
“You’ll settle with your feelings sooner or later,” Junmyeon tries to console a distraught Chanyeol by patting his hand.
Shit. Suddenly all the times they’ve spent time together comes flooding down his way. The way Baekhyun is always holding his hand, how Chanyeol’s first thought when there’s rain is Baekhyun, how he’s always frustrated when he sees Baekhyun bending down-
“Oh,” he mutters softly. “Oh fuck.”
Junmyeon laughs and wipes the ends of his mouth with a tissue. “Congratulations!”
Chanyeol groans inwardly and rubs his cheeks in disbelief. This is a joke. He surely didn’t have a crush on his best friend slash roommate, right?
“I’m so sorry, oh my God,” Chanyeol mumbles into his palms. “For this date,” he continues, gesturing at the air in between them.
“It’s fine, man. It really is. Nothing to worry about,” he assures Chanyeol and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“So this roommate of yours. He has astrophobia, right?”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol answers and leans back as the waiter serves him his food, deep fried chicken with a side of chips.
“I studied that to make the person less scared you must be by his side at the time. Be it cuddling or just holding him in your arms.”
“Yeah, I do that.”
“Cuddling?” Junmyeon asks, in which Chanyeol replies with a nod.
“It’s been raining a lot these days,” Junmyeon points out and smiles at Chanyeol. “You must be by his side at all times, huh.”
Chanyeol arrives home to a dark and gloomy apartment yet again. But this time, he wasn’t worried as of before. It was drizzling outside and it probably puts Baekhyun to sleep by the soft pitter patter of raindrops.
He sighs, throwing his coat over the sofa, not even bothering to hang it on one of the coat racks. This date had been mentally and emotionally exhausting. Did he really like Baekhyun? Or was it just because they're friends? What is the truth.
He frowns as he walks towards his room, turning the doorknob open only to find Baekhyun fast asleep on his bed.
His bed.
He was confused. It isn’t roaring with thunder outside, it was just a little drizzling. Sure, the outside looks dark and gloomy but it isn’t that scary.
“Hey, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol calls out softly as he slips into his bed, carefully carrying his head to make it rest on his shoulder instead.
Why are you here? He wants to ask but instead, he asks, “you okay?”
Baekhyun doesn’t answer at first, chooses to snuggle closer to the warmth. But by the time Chanyeol feels like sleep was pulling him in, Baekhyun stirs awake.
“Hey, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun mumbles sleepily. “How’s the date?”
Chanyeol looks down at Baekhyun, just noticing how close they were, how intimate this position was. Even under the blanket, their legs are entangled together. Like lovers.
Chanyeol gulps.
“Fine,” he answers and runs his fingers through his hair. It’s soft.
“That’s good,” Baekhyun hums and flutters his eyelids close. He’s asleep in mere seconds and Chanyeol lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. What a relief now that he’s awake, alone.
“God, what am I going to do with you?” He asks a sleeping Baekhyun and chuckles to himself. He can’t even hear him.
Does he like him? Nevermind. He can worry about this tomorrow. Or any other day. Tonight, he’ll sleep with Baekhyun in his arms and hopes he’ll wake up with the same thing.
x
It’s a few weeks later at the grocery store does Junmyeon’s words resurface back in his mind. He has been trying as hard as he can to push those words away but everytime he looks at Baekhyun, his heart beat quickens. He was about to reach out for the tub of chocolate ice cream when it replays in his head again.
You like him, don’t you?
He pauses his actions altogether just to think, ears turning deaf at his surroundings just to listen to himself. Of course he likes Baekhyun. Then why are they best friends? And roommates even. But what Junmyeon was implying was liking him romantically. And Chanyeol isn’t even sure if he does like Baekhyun in that sense.
Or is he?
He looks down at the tub of ice cream that he was about to grab and retracts his hand back, eyes widening as the realisation hits him. God, it was chocolate flavoured. He hates chocolate. Why is he even buying chocolate? He likes vanilla-
Wait. Chanyeol extends his hand back out to grab the said tub. Baekhyun likes chocolate flavoured ice cream. Baekhyun likes chocolate flavoured anything. He’s buying this for their food storage and yet it’s Baekhyun’s preferences that he prioritises.
He panics suddenly on the spot and turns to look into the trolley. Strawberry milk carton, chocolate flavoured wafers, marshmallows with blueberry fillings, onion crisps - it’s all Baekhyun’s favourite food.
Fuck.
Oh God, he thinks to himself as he places the tub of ice cream into the trolley. He does like Baekhyun. Romantically.
“Hey, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says as he unloads the grocery and places them onto the island. “What happened to Junmyeon? You still seeing him?”
Junmyeon. The damn guy that made him realise his feelings for the man standing right in front of him. A month ago. How could he even look at that man in the eye again?
“Uh, no,” Chanyeol chokes out, feeling nervous. Baekhyun stops his movements and gives Chanyeol an odd look. “Huh? Why? I thought he was an Okay Boyfriend candidate,” Baekhyun says, shrugging as he continues on unloading the groceries. He was placing down the tub of chocolate flavoured ice cream when he speaks again. “Oh, sweet my favourite,” he says and continues doing whatever he was doing, not noticing how affected Chanyeol was by that.
“I like someone else,” Chanyeol confesses and that made Baekhyun stop everything immediately to stare at him, confused.
“Who?” He asks and he doesn’t continue what he was doing previously. His focus was all on Chanyeol. As if the world around him had stopped, Chanyeol’s breath hitches.
“You’ll know. You’ll know one day.” And Chanyeol didn’t exactly lie. And it’s true, he’ll know. Sooner or later he will. Just not now.
You. I like you.
x
The weather forecaster is a motherfucking liar. It says that for this whole week (finally), there will be no rain whatsoever. And yet.
Chanyeol looks up from his laptop and pulls off his earphones at the familiar sound of rain against his windows. Oh shit. Baekhyun isn’t even back yet.
Chanyeol stands up and paces around his room. It’s just rain. Baekhyun is okay with rain, he just hopes he’ll be driving safely or anything. Hopes he won’t panic on the road or something.
Shit, Chanyeol, you and your mouth.
And then, it happens. Loud booming thunder strikes outside non-stop and Chanyeol scrambles for his phone. He searches his bed, his desk, his closet and even the living room and it’s not there. Out of all times, Park Chanyeol, you had to lose your phone now?
Chanyeol hears a familiar buzz and the opening of Um Oh Ah Yeh echos around the room and he lies on the floor, looking under his desk and oh. There it is.
He reaches out for it and quickly looks at the caller ID. Baekhyun 🐶 flashes on the screen and he quickly swipes right.
“Hello?” Chanyeol quickly jumps in, panic in his voice. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Baekhyun replies and Chanyeol is already on his feet, ready to go wherever Baekhyun is. This isn’t the first time it has happened. “Chanyeol? I’m sorry but can you help me?”
“Of course. Just tell me where you are,” Chanyeol answers quickly, arms slipping into the arm holes in his jacket, with his phone wedged between his shoulder and ear.
“Parking lot,” Baekhyun stammers out and Chanyeol stops trying to shrug on his jacket. Parking lot?
“I know it’s inside the building but I can hear it still and fuck, Chanyeol, I’m so scared. Please help me,” Baekhyun begs from the other line and Chanyeol feels like there’s a wet, cold fish flopping around in his stomach just hearing the tone of Baekhyun’s voice.
“I’ll be there in a jiff. Wait for a while, all right? Stare at your shoes, distract yourself,” Chanyeol guides Baekhyun as he locks the door behind him and speedwalks to the elevator. Baekhyun is still on the line when Chanyeol enters the elevator.
“Baek, you still there?” He asks as the elevator made its way down. Seven, six, five, four…
“Yes,” he answers, voice shaky.
“Okay, I’m about to reach,” Chanyeol adds as he stares at the screen on top of the elevator door. It lets out a loud ding! when it reaches the parking lot and he quickly rushes out, looking around for the familiar black Hyundai, which is kind of difficult. What wasn’t difficult was finding a man curled up at the driver’s seat.
Chanyeol lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Baekhyun and he walks towards the car. “Baekhyun, look up,” Chanyeol orders and from the small window, Baekhyun peeks out from his arms.
He opens the driver’s door and Baekhyun quickly jumps out of the car, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol. “I’m sorry and thank you,” he mumbles against Chanyeol’s shirt and all Chanyeol could do was laugh, rubbing his hand in an upwards and downwards motion on Baekhyun’s back.
“No, no, it’s okay I’m your,” he gulps, walking towards the elevator with Baekhyun latching onto his arm. “…your best friend after all. Hey, c’mon, I’m here, you’re fine.”
“I know,” Baekhyun mutters quietly as he stares at his feet.
The whole ride on the elevator, Baekhyun had his face pressed against Chanyeol’s arms. Chanyeol has never seen Baekhyun this scared before. It must be because he was outside alone.
As soon as they entered their apartment, Chanyeol had suggested Baekhyun to take a warm shower before he sleeps. Baekhyun said yes, only if Chanyeol sits outside the door.
So here he is.
“Was work okay today? How’s the kids?” Chanyeol shouts from outside the door.
“It’s good. The kids were great today,” he shouts back and Chanyeol nods, even though Baekhyun can’t see him. “I gave them a spelling test today.”
“And?”
“They did okay. Well, most of them - fuck, it’s so hot - I graded a few earlier.”
“That’s good,” Chanyeol replies. The sound of water coming from the showerhead hitting the bathroom tiles stops a few minutes later and Chanyeol looks up just in time for Baekhyun to open the door, fully clothed in his pyjamas.
“I went to my therapist today,” Baekhyun starts as he throws his dirty laundry into the basket in his room. “I don’t know when I’ll get better, Chanyeol. I can’t always rely on people when there’s thunder.”
“I’m here for you,” Chanyeol replies. Baekhyun turns around to stare down at Chanyeol.
“What if you’re not at home? What if you’re at work? Out? On a date? Somewhere far? It’s bad for the both of us, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sighs and reaches out a hand to Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks at his hand in confusion. “Come on. Bed?” Baekhyun answers and yawns.
“But you know, I’ll always be here for you,” Chanyeol comforts and Baekhyun shoots him a small shy smile.
“Thank you, then.”
It’s when they’re under the covers, ready to sleep when Chanyeol can’t take it anymore. He must. He must tell Baekhyun. He needs to know. When Baekhyun snuggles close, his nose buried into Chanyeol’s sides, he flinches.
“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asks, his arms suddenly loosening around Chanyeol’s body. Chanyeol quickly grabs his wrist to stop him.
“Chanyeol?”
Okay. He’ll-He’ll do this and he’ll be okay. Whatever it is. He’ll be okay.
Inhale. Exhale.
“I need to.” Oh shit, he’s really doing this, huh. “I need to tell you. A thing.”
Baekhyun looks up from where his head rests on Chanyeol’s shoulder and quirks an eyebrow at him. Chanyeol gulps. He’s so close. If he just turns his head a little they would already be kissing. He doesn’t continue straight away, instead he pulls Baekhyun closer as another thunder struck somewhere outside, making Baekhyun squirm in his hold. He’s going to say it. No matter what happens, he won’t. He gulps again. He won’t regret it.
Right?
“What thing?” Baekhyun asks. Oh, right. He didn’t say anything after that. He just kept quiet, expecting Baekhyun to know or something.
“I kind of like you.” Whoops, there you go. Now that it’s out there, it is now real and not only in Chanyeol’s scattered mind. “I like you, like, romantically,” he repeats, trying to make himself believe that he really said it.
Silence. There was silence. There’s nothing that can get any louder than absolute nothing. This is it, isn’t it? Baekhyun’s going to reject him and then he’s going to live in this apartment all alone without a best friend and Baekhyun’s going to find a new Cuddle Buddy and-
“What?”
Baekhyun finally voices out something and Chanyeol lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You like me?” He asks and he’s suddenly sitting up, back facing Chanyeol. He feels jittery inside, his palms sweaty and heart beating too fast. What was Baekhyun going to do?
“It’s totally understandable if you don’t like me,” Chanyeol starts, pushing himself up and trying to scoot away from Baekhyun if he was uncomfortable. “I mean, I get it, you know-”
“Shut up,” Baekhyun cuts him off, voice wobbly. Huh? Why does he sound like that? Maybe it’s the thunder. Or was it. Was it him? Chanyeol was about to reach out to him when Baekhyun’s shoulders start shaking and he pauses, hands in the air in between them. “I can’t breathe. Give me a moment.”
Oh God. This. This wasn’t his intention.
“Are you okay, Baekhyun? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks, worried and ugh, fuck his worries. He’s going to have Baekhyun in his arms. He scoots closer and gathers Baekhyun in his arm, and like always, over probably the ten thousandth time, Baekhyun automatically presses his face against Chanyeol’s shoulder.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sobs through Chanyeol’s shirt and Chanyeol panics even more, hands rubbing up and down his back. Possibly the most pathetic way to comfort someone.
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispers into Baekhyun’s hair. Then he hears a strangled laugh coming from Baekhyun and he furrows his eyebrows.
“Baekhyun?”
“Oh my God, Chanyeol, I’ve been in love with you for so long and you just,” Baekhyun pauses to push himself off Chanyeol’s shoulders to wipe his tears with the sleeves of his pyjama shirt. “Your confession is making me feel so overwhelmed. Fuck, this is so embarrassing.”
What?
“What do you mean for so long?” He asks, confused. Does this mean Baekhyun isn’t going to reject him? Baekhyun likes, no, wait, loves him?
“You heard me the first time, I’m sure,” Baekhyun mumbles, wiping his tears and smiles.
“Why didn't you say anything?” Chanyeol asks and cups Baekhyun’s face in his hands. Baekhyun laughs and his eyelids flutter close, trying to stop his tears from falling.
“I didn't want to change anything between us,” he explains and places his hands over Chanyeol’s. “I like it like that. Plus, you’re always on blind dates, I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”
Holy shit. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. He’s a fucking idiot. Congrats, Park Chanyeol. You played yourself.
“I’m sorry,” he mutters and leans forward to press their foreheads together. Baekhyun’s breathing hard in his face and turns red at the close proximity.
“It’s nothing. We didn’t say anything in the first place so,” Baekhyun mumbled and frowns at Chanyeol’s expression. God, he felt like shit. Baekhyun has been in love with him for so long and he. He didn’t even notice? What a dense asshole, he is. “Hey, hey, Chanyeol, it happens. We know what we feel about each other now, right?”
“So what are we?” Chanyeol asks quickly and slowly pushes Baekhyun down on the bed. It’s too bad that Baekhyun’s face was already red because Chanyeol would love seeing Baekhyun’s face getting redder and more flustered.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun stammers out, hands fisting the front of Chanyeol’s shirt.
“What are we,” Chanyeol repeats and supports his body by placing both of his elbows at the sides of Baekhyun’s face. “What do you want us to be, Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol studies Baekhyun’s face as he waits for an answer. His eyelashes are still wet, his cheeks were dusted pink and his lips-ugh, what he’d do to kiss all of those places.
“I want to date you,” Baekhyun answers finally, looking straight into Chanyeol’s soul.
“Okay,” he agrees and grins down at Baekhyun, his. He pauses and grins wider. His roommate. Best friend. He’s possible next lover. “After we go on a date and we both like it, is it okay to call you my boyfriend?”
Baekhyun laughs and accidentally knocks their foreheads and noses together. Chanyeol yelps, sitting up and rubs the bridge of his nose. He glares Baekhyun playfully only to see Baekhyun laughing, eyes crinkling and oh God, he would really like to have this sight when he wakes up everyday.
“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun wheezes out in between laughter and pulls Chanyeol back on top of him. “Yes, you can call me your boyfriend.”
“So can I kiss you?” Chanyeol asks, head tilting to the side. His question only made Baekhyun laugh more and oh, there’s that eye smile again. If only Baekhyun knew how much pain that causes him from his goddamn eye smile.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Baekhyun breathes against Chanyeol’s face and wraps his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, simultaneously pulling him closer. “And yes, you can kiss me.”
And Baekhyun pulls him close, so close, until they’re breathing against each other’s mouth before their lips meet, soft and delicate, just like Baekhyun. Their lips move against each other slowly and Chanyeol knows it’s not perfect. His nose is wedged uncomfortably against Baekhyun’s cheek but he doesn’t say it. Baekhyun’s lips prove to be an amazing distraction.
Chanyeol tests the waters by rubbing his thumbs against Baekhyun’s cheek and licking Baekhyun’s lower lip. Baekhyun does open his mouth to let out a moan and Chanyeol mentally gives himself a pat at the back. He tastes Baekhyun’s lips and tongue and they taste like mint and strawberry. Must be the toothpaste.
He pushes Baekhyun’s hips down, pinning them to the bed as he kisses the breath out of Baekhyun, head tilting to the side to have better access. That is until Baekhyun pushes him away slightly.
“Chanyeol,” he pants out as Chanyeol looks down at him. “I’m really fucking in love with you.”
“Me, too,” Chanyeol blurts out, unknowingly.
“You too?” Baekhyun asks back and Chanyeol pauses. He stares at how ruined Baekhyun is under him just from a kiss and imagines how ruined he’d look if they had-
“Yeah. I,” Chanyeol says and leans back to kiss Baekhyun. “I really love you, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun smiles into the kiss and pulls Chanyeol closer, as if they weren’t close enough, by wrapping his arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Chanyeol pulls away to laugh slightly at how clingy Baekhyun seems and places kisses all over his face and neck. The thunder is suddenly not a bother anymore as Baekhyun melts in Chanyeol’s arms.
“Yeah, okay, I can live with that,” Baekhyun giggles when Chanyeol kisses under his ear. Chanyeol looks up and God, Baekhyun is so, so beautiful. He’s really in love.
“Yeah?” He asks, brushing Baekhyun’s bangs off his forehead.
“Yeah.”