in your honor
title: in your honor
pairing: baekhyun/chanyeol
genre: fluff/romance, au
rating: pg-13
words: ~3.6k
summary: chanyeol writes about puppies and rainbows. baekhyun writes about chanyeol.
notes: idk idk idk. i started this forever ago and randomly decided to finish it. p.s., proper case is for squares.
at first, when his teacher asks him to “look after the new student,” baekhyun is hesitant.
the request is annoying, really - he has his own writing to worry about, after all - but he agrees nonetheless. your help is greatly appreciated, he is told. i’m sure having the best student in the class as a mentor will prove beneficial for him.
he doesn’t doubt that this is true, but he can’t help but feel uneasy. this new boy is tall and bit frightening, with his unruly hair and shocking smile that puts him on edge. there is something different about him, and baekhyun doesn’t like different. he likes structure, control, security.
“hi! my name is chanyeol, what’s yours?”
“…b-baekhyun.”
chanyeol is the opposite of structure, with his surprisingly deep voice that causes the other boy to stutter. there is no control in the wild way he carries himself, gesturing and grinning and never seeming to follow one train of thought. and security? well, that flies out the window the moment chanyeol asks baekhyun if he wants some gum, because baekhyun knows gum is not allowed in class and refuses to break the rules.
but he has agreed to help, and he can’t back down now. it is on this first meeting that baekhyun decides to “reform” chanyeol - no matter what.
maybe if he is more like him, he won’t be so scary anymore.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
“look at what i wrote!”
a piece of paper is shoved in baekhyun’s face, and with a light frown, he allows his eyes to focus on the words. the puppy ran across the field and into his owner’s arms. "woof!" he said, or in human speak, "i missed you!"
“this sounds like a five year old wrote it,” baekhyun remarks as he hands the paper back, disinterested. in the few days as his mentor, he has learned that dealing with chanyeol is like dealing with a young kid. a very large kid, but a kid none the less. “are you sure you should be in this class?”
he is not prepared for the way chanyeol’s sad eyes make his heart lurch.
“…is it really that bad?” the taller boy asks, a pout forming on his face. baekhyun suddenly realizes how rude he has been and gulps.
“sorry,” he quickly remarks. ”i didn’t mean that. i just…it could use some work.”
being around chanyeol is still a bit scary to him. it’s like walking on eggshells, he realizes, and he finds himself saying too many of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones. he isn’t really sure why things are this way…they just are. it’s probably the uncertainty in the other boy’s actions and the haphazard way in which he goes about life that makes baekhyun feel tense. everything about chanyeol feels freer than anyone else, and he still isn’t used to that.
“you should start with writing about something else,” he suggests, speaking more carefully now. “puppies are a little…childish.”
chanyeol, much like a puppy himself, cocks his head to the side in confusion. “oh? but the prompt said to write about things that make you happy, and puppies make me happy,” he says. “…what do you write about, baekhyun-ah?”
a little color rises to his face as he thinks the question over. he doesn’t like talking about his writing; the only person who ever reads any of it is the teacher. but he considers chanyeol’s question carefully, wanting to give a truthful answer.
“everything,” he shrugs, biting his lip. “friends. family. love. pain. you know…just…life.”
chanyeol nods slowly, obviously trying to understand. whether he does or not, baekhyun will never know. but he figures it doesn’t matter either way.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
for the first time, he turns in something that he isn’t so sure about. unlike his usual blurbs on life, this one is less abstract and more…focused. ironic, because the subject of this piece of his is the least focused person he knows. chanyeol.
he can feel the curiosity burning in his teacher’s gaze as he reads over what baekhyun has written. he knows how surprising it is for him to hand in writing that is exclusively about one person, as he usually takes a more general approach to things, but he couldn’t help it. chanyeol is interesting. he’s different, and although baekhyun has already decided he doesn’t like different…at the same time, it intrigues him.
this time, when chanyeol asks him to read over his story about kittens with rainbow colored fur, baekhyun doesn’t criticize him. he’s too scared that if he does, chanyeol will ask what he wrote about again, and he’s not so sure that he knows how to lie.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
“your shift in subject matter is quite interesting,” the teacher points out.
baekhyun blushes, unsure of what to say, because he would really rather the things he writes about chanyeol remain unseen. but he has to turn in something, and in the past few weeks, he has been unable to write anything else.
he shrugs, not willing to give an oral answer, because he doesn’t have one. if the teacher is wondering why he is suddenly writing about the boy with the ever-present smile, he will have to remain unsatisfied, because baekhyun has been wondering the same thing.
chanyeol has gone from frightening and intriguing to just intriguing, and that in itself is strange enough to evoke a sense of uneasiness in baekhyun. but as the days go by, he finds himself beginning to enjoy the other boy’s company, a lot more than he has ever enjoyed anyone else’s. there is something in the easiness of his grin and the lightness of his attitude that brings a smile to baekhyun’s face.
his previous notion to “reform” chanyeol still stands, but now it seems just a little more ridiculous. why should i reform him? he thinks to himself. maybe i should try to be more like him, instead.
he mulls this over as he makes his way to his seat, and as the teacher proceeds to drone on and on about diction and syntax and things that baekhyun already knows. normally he is a diligent student and does his best to pay attention anyway, but today is different. today, he spends his time observing his classmates - chanyeol in particular.
if the younger boy notices he’s being watched, he doesn’t show it. he’s too busy scribbling furiously in his notebook - what he’s writing, baekhyun’s got no clue - occasionally looking up to take in what the teacher is saying with a determined nod.
baekhyun thinks it’s sort of cute, how his face lights up when he understands and how his tongue pokes its way out of his mouth when he’s concentrating. not to mention the way he tries so hard to hunch over his paper, long flailing limbs invading his deskmates’ space, a raspy “sorry” on his lips.
chanyeol is a terrible whisperer, though, and his deep voice ends up attracting attention from half the class. it is only then that he realizes people are staring at him; that baekhyun is staring at him. not embarrassed in the slightest, he waves his gangly arms around and flashes him a blinding smile, one that makes baekhyun’s insides churn uncomfortably. the teacher notices chanyeol’s movement and thinks he has a question, which of course, he doesn’t. chanyeol tries to explain this in his horribly unorganized way of speaking and baekhyun tries to ignore the bubbly sensation in the pit of his stomach.
when he goes home that day, it takes all his power not to open up one of his notebooks and write about chanyeol’s arms. they go on for miles and seem to have a mind of their own, and baekhyun knows he could write paragraph upon paragraph describing them. but he doesn’t.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
it’s on an otherwise normal saturday when baekhyun and chanyeol decide to hang out outside of class for the first time. well, chanyeol calls it hanging out - baekhyun calls it studying. that’s what they are there to do, after all. study. they’ve brought papers and books and pens and everything they could possibly need for a good peer review session, but chanyeol seems to have forgotten one thing. his attention span.
“hey, are you even listening to me?” baekhyun says for about the thousandth time, impatience clear in his tone. for some reason, they have chosen to study at the park, and chanyeol is too busy trying to catch butterflies with his bare hands to pay attention to anything else.
“baek, look!” chanyeol says with a chuckle, completely disregarding any traces of irritation in the elder’s voice. he points towards the base of a tree a few feet away and his eyes crinkle up in amusement. the creature that has caught his attention (a squirrel, or maybe a chipmunk, baekhyun doesn’t know - nor does he care) skitters up the tree trunk a bit and pauses before moving back down.
a loud bellowing laugh comes from chanyeol’s mouth and baekhyun watches as he nearly doubles over in hysterics, as if the squirrel/chipmunk/whatever it is is the funniest thing he’s ever seen in his life. baekhyun can’t say he feels the same.
“chanyeol,” he says, frowning slightly. although it’s somewhat endearing how easily entertained his new friend is, it’s also distracting. and they do not need distractions at the moment. “did you hear what i said? your thesis is good, but i think you lose focus near the middle…you should really think about fleshing it out more with…hey!”
baekhyun sighs as he spots chanyeol chasing yet another butterfly, this time managing to actually capture it in between those giant hands of his.
“you’re going to hurt it,” he states flatly, tired of trying to get the other boy to focus.
chanyeol shakes his head vehemently and moves to sit back down next to baekhyun at the picnic table, slowly moving his hands so as not to disturb the fluttering creature trapped inside.
“chanyeol, really. let the poor thing go,” baekhyun tries again.
“no, look,” chanyeol finally says, opening his hands a bit. “it’s hurt. we have to help it.”
baekhyun looks, and sure enough, one of the insect’s wings is slightly folded over itself, crumpled into a wrinkled mess. the butterfly sits in chanyeol’s hand, crawling helplessly and trying to fly. baekhyun frowns.
“…i don’t think we can help it,” he says, biting his lip. “there’s not much we can do. it’s wing is broken. it won’t be able to fly now.”
chanyeol pouts and baekhyun feels his heart lurch a little at the sight of his frown. he feels bad for crushing the other boy’s optimism, but he’s just being realistic.
“but…” chanyeol whines, holding the butterfly up to baekhyun’s face. the older boy flinches away a bit; he doesn’t like creepy crawly things. especially creepy crawly things that can fly (even if this one in particular can’t at the moment). “isn’t there anything you can do? you have small, lean fingers…”
“i…what?” baekhyun reddens and looks down at his hands, wondering why chanyeol would even notice that. it’s true, of course…his fingers have always been a little feminine…but what has that got to do with anything? “what are you suggesting, chanyeol?”
chanyeol pouts again and looks down at the injured butterfly. “you can try to unwrinkle its wing. i bet if you were careful you wouldn’t hurt it.”
baekhyun pales and his eyes widen. “…why do i have to do it?!” he asks.
“you can fix anything. please, baek? at least try.”
a good minute passes before baekhyun sighs and reluctantly agrees. chanyeol’s eyes light up and baekhyun bites his lip, apprehensive. he really dislikes bugs. but he really dislikes chanyeol’s unhappiness more.
“i don’t even know how to go about doing this,” he mumbles before leaning over the creature in chanyeol’s hands. he then proceeds to carefully try to unfold the butterfly’s wing, and after five frustrating minutes, he succeeds - sort of.
it’s enough to get the thing flying again, anyway, and with a sigh of relief baekhyun steps away from chanyeol only to be engulfed in a giant hug seconds later.
chanyeol doesn’t even have to say anything for baekhyun to know how grateful he is, and with a deep blush settled on his face, he tries to pry the other boy’s limbs off of his own body. chanyeol says thank you about a million times and baekhyun lets him know that that as long as he doesn’t make him touch bugs again, then he’s very welcome.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
somewhere along the line, baekhyun forgets about his plan to reform chanyeol and instead just starts accepting his little quirks. they have a lot more of their “study sessions” and go out to eat between classes and sometimes they text message each other. baekhyun finds himself spending a lot more time thinking about chanyeol than he’s ever thought about, well, anything…and it’s weird.
at first he feels ashamed, like he’s let himself go by getting close to someone so irresponsible and so clearly below his league when it comes to intelligence. but he can’t fight the feeling he gets whenever the taller boy is around - the fluttering nerves, the reluctant smiles, the sweaty palms and quickened heart beats. he realizes, of course, what this all means. he just doesn’t want to say it out loud.
so he doesn’t. instead, he just does his best to ignore the way his heart jumps when chanyeol smiles at him, asking him to read his newest story about cotton candy and unicorns.
and when the teacher asks them to hand in their latest journal entries, he gives her a single slip of paper with the words "i think i might be falling in love..." written in neat print.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
baekhyun feels embarrassed about constantly handing in writings about chanyeol, but he can rest assured because the teacher is the only one who knows about it. at least at first, anyway. that all changes one day when the pair is hanging out at baekhyun’s place, testing out this new video game that chanyeol insisted on bringing over.
“wait, i think this is some sort of riddle…we have to write it down or we’ll forget it!” baekhyun says. he’s no expert at things like this, but the words on the screen are bolded and that leads him to believe they will be important later.
chanyeol sniggers and nods, then looks around for something to write on. “here, can we use this notebook?” he asks, reaching for one of baekhyun’s journals that is sitting on the end table. before baekhyun can protest, chanyeol is flipping through the pages, only stopping when he notices what’s inside.
“…hey, is this your writing?” he asks, his tone excited and eager like a child’s. “can i read it?”
baekhyun’s face flushes pink and he begins to panic. “oh, um, i’d rather you not…” he says, reaching to take the notebook out of chanyeol’s hands. he stops cold, however, when he sees the pout on chanyeol’s all too adorable face. biting his lip, he stares at the other boy for a second before sighing, resigned.
“okay, fine,” he mumbles, releasing his hold on the notebook. “just…promise me you won’t laugh.”
chanyeol’s eyes light up and he flips the notebook back open to the first page with a grin. “of course i won’t, baekhyunnie,” he says. baekhyun is too busy freaking out to protest to the nickname.
for a good five minutes, chanyeol reads over the other boy’s writing with more concentrated attention than baekhyun has ever seen him display. he watches him nervously, anxious as to what his reaction will be, heart beating fast and face burning red.
“this is all really good,” chanyeol finally says, looking up at baekhyun in astonishment.
“……thanks,” baekhyun replies.
chanyeol chuckles and baekhyun wants to yell at him because he said no laughing but before he can do so, the younger is speaking again. “i feel stupid. here i am, writing about things like baby animals and ice cream, while all this time you were writing about me.” baekhyun gulps. stupid? no, it wasn’t stupid. well, maybe a little stupid. but that was okay. stupid was okay if it was chanyeol. “…these are about me, right?”
baekhyun hesitates before nodding and diverting his gaze to the ground. well, this is mortifying.
a small grin finds itself on chanyeol’s lips and he looks back down at the notebook. “’a smile so bright and dangerous that it spreads like wildfire.’ hm, that’s romantic,” he says. he glances at baekhyun and bites his lip. “but…why…?”
baekhyun nearly forgets to breathe because chanyeol is asking him the one thing he wasn’t prepared to answer. he has many different responses built up in his head, but none of them find their way to his lips. he wants to tell chanyeol it’s because he’s different, and mesmerizing, and that he’s made life so much more enjoyable for him ever since they met. he wants to tell him it’s because his laugh lights up his world and his childishness is endearing and his reckless love for all things makes his heart ache, but he can’t.
instead, he shrugs and merely says, “you’re cute.”
now chanyeol’s really laughing, but baekhyun still doesn’t have the heart to tell him to stop. he knows he doesn’t mean it in a mocking manner, anyway. or does he?
“thanks,” chanyeol replies. “you’re cute, too.”
oh, baekhyun thinks, blushing even deeper. guess not.
before he can say anything more, chanyeol is moving closer to him, and it isn’t until he feels soft lips pressing against his own that he even realizes what’s going on. his eyelids flutter closed and he presses back gently, the kiss cautious and chaste.
chanyeol pulls back after a split second and smiles down at baekhyun, letting out another nervous, breathy laugh. “…sorry,” he says, scratching the back of his neck.
baekhyun, still in a bit of daze, shakes his head.
“don’t be.”
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
the very next day is monday, and baekhyun is running late to school for the first time since the second grade. he hadn’t meant to sleep in, really - it was just that he didn’t get much sleep the night before due to…things. things meaning chanyeol. he was up until nearly four in the morning thinking about their kiss, and no matter how hard he tried to forget about it and fall asleep, he just couldn’t. as a result, he ended up doing something he didn’t even think was possible: he slept through his alarm.
frazzled and in a hurry, baekhyun rushes through the halls of the school, his backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder. he’s too busy worrying about getting in trouble for being late (and simultaneously reminiscing on his slightly awkward but really great evening with chanyeol) to properly watch where he’s going, though, and he ends up nearly tripping as he rounds a corner.
luckily, someone is there to catch him just as he’s about to topple to the ground. baekhyun clings to the strong arms, embarrassed, and it’s only when he dares to look up that he realizes who it is.
well, speak of the devil.
“baek! are you okay?” chanyeol asks in his deep, overly concerned voice. baekhyun blushes and stands back up, straightening out his clothes (and his demeanor).
“c-chanyeol,” he says, nodding. “yeah, i’m fine.”
chanyeol’s worried look relaxes into a smile. he’s still holding onto baekhyun’s arms, but baekhyun isn’t complaining. “oh,” he responds. “good!”
“hehe, yeah, good…” baekhyun bites his lip and looks to the side for a moment before continuing. “what are you…um…doing here? shouldn’t you be in class?”
the taller boy shakes his head, smiling down at baekhyun. “oh, i was! but i left to use the bathroom. i was just heading back when i ran into you.”
“ah,” baekhyun replies with a small nod. he can feel the heat rising to his face just from their close proximity and he really hopes that chanyeol hasn’t noticed. “well…i’m…running late.”
“i noticed,” says chanyeol.
he noticed? baekhyun doesn’t know what he means by this. did he notice because of the way he was running through the halls frantically? or did he notice because he realized he wasn’t in class?
either way, baekhyun isn’t saying anything, and neither is chanyeol. the two just stand there for a moment, staring at each other, the tension in the air building until finally baekhyun can’t take it anymore.
this time, he is the one to initiate the kiss, standing on his toes to meet chanyeol’s lips with his. he can tell that the other boy is surprised, as he stumbles back for a moment before responding, but he doesn’t regret it. soon he feels chanyeol smile against him and moves to thread his fingers through his hair with one hand, the other still grasping onto his forearm.
baekhyun doesn’t know how long he stands there, his back against the cold metal of the lockers and his tongue grazing against chanyeol’s bottom lip - but regardless, it’s not long enough. he only wishes he had abandoned his “reformation” plan sooner.
it’s the first time he ever skips his writing class (or any of his classes, for that matter) but he doesn’t feel guilty. in fact, he feels pretty damn good.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
baekhyun knows it’ll probably hurt his grade in the long run if he keeps turning in single sentences for his weekly journal assignments, but he doesn’t really care. he’s too happy. so happy, in fact, that it’s hard to focus on writing anything that isn’t about his happiness. and so, the following week his teacher receives a piece of paper that simply reads:
yeah, i’m definitely falling in love.
pairing: baekhyun/chanyeol
genre: fluff/romance, au
rating: pg-13
words: ~3.6k
summary: chanyeol writes about puppies and rainbows. baekhyun writes about chanyeol.
notes: idk idk idk. i started this forever ago and randomly decided to finish it. p.s., proper case is for squares.
at first, when his teacher asks him to “look after the new student,” baekhyun is hesitant.
the request is annoying, really - he has his own writing to worry about, after all - but he agrees nonetheless. your help is greatly appreciated, he is told. i’m sure having the best student in the class as a mentor will prove beneficial for him.
he doesn’t doubt that this is true, but he can’t help but feel uneasy. this new boy is tall and bit frightening, with his unruly hair and shocking smile that puts him on edge. there is something different about him, and baekhyun doesn’t like different. he likes structure, control, security.
“hi! my name is chanyeol, what’s yours?”
“…b-baekhyun.”
chanyeol is the opposite of structure, with his surprisingly deep voice that causes the other boy to stutter. there is no control in the wild way he carries himself, gesturing and grinning and never seeming to follow one train of thought. and security? well, that flies out the window the moment chanyeol asks baekhyun if he wants some gum, because baekhyun knows gum is not allowed in class and refuses to break the rules.
but he has agreed to help, and he can’t back down now. it is on this first meeting that baekhyun decides to “reform” chanyeol - no matter what.
maybe if he is more like him, he won’t be so scary anymore.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
“look at what i wrote!”
a piece of paper is shoved in baekhyun’s face, and with a light frown, he allows his eyes to focus on the words. the puppy ran across the field and into his owner’s arms. "woof!" he said, or in human speak, "i missed you!"
“this sounds like a five year old wrote it,” baekhyun remarks as he hands the paper back, disinterested. in the few days as his mentor, he has learned that dealing with chanyeol is like dealing with a young kid. a very large kid, but a kid none the less. “are you sure you should be in this class?”
he is not prepared for the way chanyeol’s sad eyes make his heart lurch.
“…is it really that bad?” the taller boy asks, a pout forming on his face. baekhyun suddenly realizes how rude he has been and gulps.
“sorry,” he quickly remarks. ”i didn’t mean that. i just…it could use some work.”
being around chanyeol is still a bit scary to him. it’s like walking on eggshells, he realizes, and he finds himself saying too many of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones. he isn’t really sure why things are this way…they just are. it’s probably the uncertainty in the other boy’s actions and the haphazard way in which he goes about life that makes baekhyun feel tense. everything about chanyeol feels freer than anyone else, and he still isn’t used to that.
“you should start with writing about something else,” he suggests, speaking more carefully now. “puppies are a little…childish.”
chanyeol, much like a puppy himself, cocks his head to the side in confusion. “oh? but the prompt said to write about things that make you happy, and puppies make me happy,” he says. “…what do you write about, baekhyun-ah?”
a little color rises to his face as he thinks the question over. he doesn’t like talking about his writing; the only person who ever reads any of it is the teacher. but he considers chanyeol’s question carefully, wanting to give a truthful answer.
“everything,” he shrugs, biting his lip. “friends. family. love. pain. you know…just…life.”
chanyeol nods slowly, obviously trying to understand. whether he does or not, baekhyun will never know. but he figures it doesn’t matter either way.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
for the first time, he turns in something that he isn’t so sure about. unlike his usual blurbs on life, this one is less abstract and more…focused. ironic, because the subject of this piece of his is the least focused person he knows. chanyeol.
he can feel the curiosity burning in his teacher’s gaze as he reads over what baekhyun has written. he knows how surprising it is for him to hand in writing that is exclusively about one person, as he usually takes a more general approach to things, but he couldn’t help it. chanyeol is interesting. he’s different, and although baekhyun has already decided he doesn’t like different…at the same time, it intrigues him.
this time, when chanyeol asks him to read over his story about kittens with rainbow colored fur, baekhyun doesn’t criticize him. he’s too scared that if he does, chanyeol will ask what he wrote about again, and he’s not so sure that he knows how to lie.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
“your shift in subject matter is quite interesting,” the teacher points out.
baekhyun blushes, unsure of what to say, because he would really rather the things he writes about chanyeol remain unseen. but he has to turn in something, and in the past few weeks, he has been unable to write anything else.
he shrugs, not willing to give an oral answer, because he doesn’t have one. if the teacher is wondering why he is suddenly writing about the boy with the ever-present smile, he will have to remain unsatisfied, because baekhyun has been wondering the same thing.
chanyeol has gone from frightening and intriguing to just intriguing, and that in itself is strange enough to evoke a sense of uneasiness in baekhyun. but as the days go by, he finds himself beginning to enjoy the other boy’s company, a lot more than he has ever enjoyed anyone else’s. there is something in the easiness of his grin and the lightness of his attitude that brings a smile to baekhyun’s face.
his previous notion to “reform” chanyeol still stands, but now it seems just a little more ridiculous. why should i reform him? he thinks to himself. maybe i should try to be more like him, instead.
he mulls this over as he makes his way to his seat, and as the teacher proceeds to drone on and on about diction and syntax and things that baekhyun already knows. normally he is a diligent student and does his best to pay attention anyway, but today is different. today, he spends his time observing his classmates - chanyeol in particular.
if the younger boy notices he’s being watched, he doesn’t show it. he’s too busy scribbling furiously in his notebook - what he’s writing, baekhyun’s got no clue - occasionally looking up to take in what the teacher is saying with a determined nod.
baekhyun thinks it’s sort of cute, how his face lights up when he understands and how his tongue pokes its way out of his mouth when he’s concentrating. not to mention the way he tries so hard to hunch over his paper, long flailing limbs invading his deskmates’ space, a raspy “sorry” on his lips.
chanyeol is a terrible whisperer, though, and his deep voice ends up attracting attention from half the class. it is only then that he realizes people are staring at him; that baekhyun is staring at him. not embarrassed in the slightest, he waves his gangly arms around and flashes him a blinding smile, one that makes baekhyun’s insides churn uncomfortably. the teacher notices chanyeol’s movement and thinks he has a question, which of course, he doesn’t. chanyeol tries to explain this in his horribly unorganized way of speaking and baekhyun tries to ignore the bubbly sensation in the pit of his stomach.
when he goes home that day, it takes all his power not to open up one of his notebooks and write about chanyeol’s arms. they go on for miles and seem to have a mind of their own, and baekhyun knows he could write paragraph upon paragraph describing them. but he doesn’t.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
it’s on an otherwise normal saturday when baekhyun and chanyeol decide to hang out outside of class for the first time. well, chanyeol calls it hanging out - baekhyun calls it studying. that’s what they are there to do, after all. study. they’ve brought papers and books and pens and everything they could possibly need for a good peer review session, but chanyeol seems to have forgotten one thing. his attention span.
“hey, are you even listening to me?” baekhyun says for about the thousandth time, impatience clear in his tone. for some reason, they have chosen to study at the park, and chanyeol is too busy trying to catch butterflies with his bare hands to pay attention to anything else.
“baek, look!” chanyeol says with a chuckle, completely disregarding any traces of irritation in the elder’s voice. he points towards the base of a tree a few feet away and his eyes crinkle up in amusement. the creature that has caught his attention (a squirrel, or maybe a chipmunk, baekhyun doesn’t know - nor does he care) skitters up the tree trunk a bit and pauses before moving back down.
a loud bellowing laugh comes from chanyeol’s mouth and baekhyun watches as he nearly doubles over in hysterics, as if the squirrel/chipmunk/whatever it is is the funniest thing he’s ever seen in his life. baekhyun can’t say he feels the same.
“chanyeol,” he says, frowning slightly. although it’s somewhat endearing how easily entertained his new friend is, it’s also distracting. and they do not need distractions at the moment. “did you hear what i said? your thesis is good, but i think you lose focus near the middle…you should really think about fleshing it out more with…hey!”
baekhyun sighs as he spots chanyeol chasing yet another butterfly, this time managing to actually capture it in between those giant hands of his.
“you’re going to hurt it,” he states flatly, tired of trying to get the other boy to focus.
chanyeol shakes his head vehemently and moves to sit back down next to baekhyun at the picnic table, slowly moving his hands so as not to disturb the fluttering creature trapped inside.
“chanyeol, really. let the poor thing go,” baekhyun tries again.
“no, look,” chanyeol finally says, opening his hands a bit. “it’s hurt. we have to help it.”
baekhyun looks, and sure enough, one of the insect’s wings is slightly folded over itself, crumpled into a wrinkled mess. the butterfly sits in chanyeol’s hand, crawling helplessly and trying to fly. baekhyun frowns.
“…i don’t think we can help it,” he says, biting his lip. “there’s not much we can do. it’s wing is broken. it won’t be able to fly now.”
chanyeol pouts and baekhyun feels his heart lurch a little at the sight of his frown. he feels bad for crushing the other boy’s optimism, but he’s just being realistic.
“but…” chanyeol whines, holding the butterfly up to baekhyun’s face. the older boy flinches away a bit; he doesn’t like creepy crawly things. especially creepy crawly things that can fly (even if this one in particular can’t at the moment). “isn’t there anything you can do? you have small, lean fingers…”
“i…what?” baekhyun reddens and looks down at his hands, wondering why chanyeol would even notice that. it’s true, of course…his fingers have always been a little feminine…but what has that got to do with anything? “what are you suggesting, chanyeol?”
chanyeol pouts again and looks down at the injured butterfly. “you can try to unwrinkle its wing. i bet if you were careful you wouldn’t hurt it.”
baekhyun pales and his eyes widen. “…why do i have to do it?!” he asks.
“you can fix anything. please, baek? at least try.”
a good minute passes before baekhyun sighs and reluctantly agrees. chanyeol’s eyes light up and baekhyun bites his lip, apprehensive. he really dislikes bugs. but he really dislikes chanyeol’s unhappiness more.
“i don’t even know how to go about doing this,” he mumbles before leaning over the creature in chanyeol’s hands. he then proceeds to carefully try to unfold the butterfly’s wing, and after five frustrating minutes, he succeeds - sort of.
it’s enough to get the thing flying again, anyway, and with a sigh of relief baekhyun steps away from chanyeol only to be engulfed in a giant hug seconds later.
chanyeol doesn’t even have to say anything for baekhyun to know how grateful he is, and with a deep blush settled on his face, he tries to pry the other boy’s limbs off of his own body. chanyeol says thank you about a million times and baekhyun lets him know that that as long as he doesn’t make him touch bugs again, then he’s very welcome.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
somewhere along the line, baekhyun forgets about his plan to reform chanyeol and instead just starts accepting his little quirks. they have a lot more of their “study sessions” and go out to eat between classes and sometimes they text message each other. baekhyun finds himself spending a lot more time thinking about chanyeol than he’s ever thought about, well, anything…and it’s weird.
at first he feels ashamed, like he’s let himself go by getting close to someone so irresponsible and so clearly below his league when it comes to intelligence. but he can’t fight the feeling he gets whenever the taller boy is around - the fluttering nerves, the reluctant smiles, the sweaty palms and quickened heart beats. he realizes, of course, what this all means. he just doesn’t want to say it out loud.
so he doesn’t. instead, he just does his best to ignore the way his heart jumps when chanyeol smiles at him, asking him to read his newest story about cotton candy and unicorns.
and when the teacher asks them to hand in their latest journal entries, he gives her a single slip of paper with the words "i think i might be falling in love..." written in neat print.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
baekhyun feels embarrassed about constantly handing in writings about chanyeol, but he can rest assured because the teacher is the only one who knows about it. at least at first, anyway. that all changes one day when the pair is hanging out at baekhyun’s place, testing out this new video game that chanyeol insisted on bringing over.
“wait, i think this is some sort of riddle…we have to write it down or we’ll forget it!” baekhyun says. he’s no expert at things like this, but the words on the screen are bolded and that leads him to believe they will be important later.
chanyeol sniggers and nods, then looks around for something to write on. “here, can we use this notebook?” he asks, reaching for one of baekhyun’s journals that is sitting on the end table. before baekhyun can protest, chanyeol is flipping through the pages, only stopping when he notices what’s inside.
“…hey, is this your writing?” he asks, his tone excited and eager like a child’s. “can i read it?”
baekhyun’s face flushes pink and he begins to panic. “oh, um, i’d rather you not…” he says, reaching to take the notebook out of chanyeol’s hands. he stops cold, however, when he sees the pout on chanyeol’s all too adorable face. biting his lip, he stares at the other boy for a second before sighing, resigned.
“okay, fine,” he mumbles, releasing his hold on the notebook. “just…promise me you won’t laugh.”
chanyeol’s eyes light up and he flips the notebook back open to the first page with a grin. “of course i won’t, baekhyunnie,” he says. baekhyun is too busy freaking out to protest to the nickname.
for a good five minutes, chanyeol reads over the other boy’s writing with more concentrated attention than baekhyun has ever seen him display. he watches him nervously, anxious as to what his reaction will be, heart beating fast and face burning red.
“this is all really good,” chanyeol finally says, looking up at baekhyun in astonishment.
“……thanks,” baekhyun replies.
chanyeol chuckles and baekhyun wants to yell at him because he said no laughing but before he can do so, the younger is speaking again. “i feel stupid. here i am, writing about things like baby animals and ice cream, while all this time you were writing about me.” baekhyun gulps. stupid? no, it wasn’t stupid. well, maybe a little stupid. but that was okay. stupid was okay if it was chanyeol. “…these are about me, right?”
baekhyun hesitates before nodding and diverting his gaze to the ground. well, this is mortifying.
a small grin finds itself on chanyeol’s lips and he looks back down at the notebook. “’a smile so bright and dangerous that it spreads like wildfire.’ hm, that’s romantic,” he says. he glances at baekhyun and bites his lip. “but…why…?”
baekhyun nearly forgets to breathe because chanyeol is asking him the one thing he wasn’t prepared to answer. he has many different responses built up in his head, but none of them find their way to his lips. he wants to tell chanyeol it’s because he’s different, and mesmerizing, and that he’s made life so much more enjoyable for him ever since they met. he wants to tell him it’s because his laugh lights up his world and his childishness is endearing and his reckless love for all things makes his heart ache, but he can’t.
instead, he shrugs and merely says, “you’re cute.”
now chanyeol’s really laughing, but baekhyun still doesn’t have the heart to tell him to stop. he knows he doesn’t mean it in a mocking manner, anyway. or does he?
“thanks,” chanyeol replies. “you’re cute, too.”
oh, baekhyun thinks, blushing even deeper. guess not.
before he can say anything more, chanyeol is moving closer to him, and it isn’t until he feels soft lips pressing against his own that he even realizes what’s going on. his eyelids flutter closed and he presses back gently, the kiss cautious and chaste.
chanyeol pulls back after a split second and smiles down at baekhyun, letting out another nervous, breathy laugh. “…sorry,” he says, scratching the back of his neck.
baekhyun, still in a bit of daze, shakes his head.
“don’t be.”
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
the very next day is monday, and baekhyun is running late to school for the first time since the second grade. he hadn’t meant to sleep in, really - it was just that he didn’t get much sleep the night before due to…things. things meaning chanyeol. he was up until nearly four in the morning thinking about their kiss, and no matter how hard he tried to forget about it and fall asleep, he just couldn’t. as a result, he ended up doing something he didn’t even think was possible: he slept through his alarm.
frazzled and in a hurry, baekhyun rushes through the halls of the school, his backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder. he’s too busy worrying about getting in trouble for being late (and simultaneously reminiscing on his slightly awkward but really great evening with chanyeol) to properly watch where he’s going, though, and he ends up nearly tripping as he rounds a corner.
luckily, someone is there to catch him just as he’s about to topple to the ground. baekhyun clings to the strong arms, embarrassed, and it’s only when he dares to look up that he realizes who it is.
well, speak of the devil.
“baek! are you okay?” chanyeol asks in his deep, overly concerned voice. baekhyun blushes and stands back up, straightening out his clothes (and his demeanor).
“c-chanyeol,” he says, nodding. “yeah, i’m fine.”
chanyeol’s worried look relaxes into a smile. he’s still holding onto baekhyun’s arms, but baekhyun isn’t complaining. “oh,” he responds. “good!”
“hehe, yeah, good…” baekhyun bites his lip and looks to the side for a moment before continuing. “what are you…um…doing here? shouldn’t you be in class?”
the taller boy shakes his head, smiling down at baekhyun. “oh, i was! but i left to use the bathroom. i was just heading back when i ran into you.”
“ah,” baekhyun replies with a small nod. he can feel the heat rising to his face just from their close proximity and he really hopes that chanyeol hasn’t noticed. “well…i’m…running late.”
“i noticed,” says chanyeol.
he noticed? baekhyun doesn’t know what he means by this. did he notice because of the way he was running through the halls frantically? or did he notice because he realized he wasn’t in class?
either way, baekhyun isn’t saying anything, and neither is chanyeol. the two just stand there for a moment, staring at each other, the tension in the air building until finally baekhyun can’t take it anymore.
this time, he is the one to initiate the kiss, standing on his toes to meet chanyeol’s lips with his. he can tell that the other boy is surprised, as he stumbles back for a moment before responding, but he doesn’t regret it. soon he feels chanyeol smile against him and moves to thread his fingers through his hair with one hand, the other still grasping onto his forearm.
baekhyun doesn’t know how long he stands there, his back against the cold metal of the lockers and his tongue grazing against chanyeol’s bottom lip - but regardless, it’s not long enough. he only wishes he had abandoned his “reformation” plan sooner.
it’s the first time he ever skips his writing class (or any of his classes, for that matter) but he doesn’t feel guilty. in fact, he feels pretty damn good.
*✲ﾟ*｡⋆*
baekhyun knows it’ll probably hurt his grade in the long run if he keeps turning in single sentences for his weekly journal assignments, but he doesn’t really care. he’s too happy. so happy, in fact, that it’s hard to focus on writing anything that isn’t about his happiness. and so, the following week his teacher receives a piece of paper that simply reads:
yeah, i’m definitely falling in love.