// mad hatters, lost boys ... and a fairy sidekick?
title: mad hatters, lost boys ... and a fairy sidekick?
genre: ...fluff??
pairing: baekhyun/kyungsoo, slight luhan/minseok
rating: pg13 (gotta keep it pg, yo)
word vomit: 3.4k
summary: somewhere in disney world, love blossomed and a certain Peter Pan found that he could actually appreciate bright coloured coats and a (very) mad hatter.
disclaimer: before you could go on to read, I would like to say a huge huge thank you to megs, my little beta! you're the best, I love you. oh and also s/o to fallie & kristy, love you both xx. this is my first time, filling in for a prompt like this ((also s/o to OP!! thanks for that prompt, I hope it satisfied you!!)) so spare me ha... ha.
Look up.
Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed at the new message on his phone screen from an unknown number. Frankly, he wouldn’t reply to an unknown number; he wouldn’t even reply to anyone because he was just not a text message kind of person. But this demanded his attention and honestly, he was curious.
Who is this?
He immediately received a reply and just look up.
He heaved a sigh and skimmed the sight in front of him for any sign of the anonymous person who had been texting him. Staring straight across at Kyungsoo was the mad hatter tipping his hat off to him with a grin wider than the Cheshire cat. Frown evident on his lips, Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and went back to his phone to text the mad hatter back a ‘What do you want now?’
You, to which Kyungsoo scoffed at and absolutely did not colour a bit at the bluntness. He was mad, after all. The boy, in question, was none other than Baekhyun who Kyungsoo met at the job interview. Somehow they were friends and it was all in gratitude to Jongdae. Truthfully, Kyungsoo didn't even know why he befriended Jongdae in high school, in the first place. He was loud, bubbly, and whiny but those traits cancelled out due to him being one of the best friends Kyungsoo had ever had and he would never tell Jongdae that; maybe over his dead body someday.
So when Baekhyun saw Kyungsoo walking out of the interview room, he shouted so loud, Kyungsoo was surprised he wasn’t kicked out after. They weren’t even considerably close but Baekhyun apparently thought that hugging Kyungsoo was within their friendship barrier. Ever since then, Kyungsoo regretted taking up the opportunity to work at Disney World. If only he wasn’t a broke, struggling college student. If only his mother wasn’t so worried about his allowance and didn’t constantly nag at him to get a job. If only rent at the apartment with Jongdae wasn’t necessary. If only life didn’t need money to fucking survive.
Baekhyun enthused about the job all week after their interviews. Jongdae, being the mutual friend between the two, regretted ever suggesting Baekhyun the Disney World job and being friends with him. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, wanted to kill Jongdae for introducing him to a wrecking ball like Baekhyun. The job was all Baekhyun could talk about. He fantasized about the characters, the kids he was going to meet and of course, working with Kyungsoo.
“Hey, imagine if we were the Prince Charming and Cinderella!” Baekhyun exclaimed over his bowl of microwaved mac and cheese. “Wouldn’t that be cute? Us as the ultimate Disney couple?”
Jongdae choked, spluttering bits of macaroni onto his lap. Disgusting, Kyungsoo thought. It was their routine every Wednesday to marathon a television show or a movie series in the middle of the week. They were marathon-ing Friends tonight and it was Kyungsoo’s choice. It was all Jongdae’s fault for inviting Baekhyun over.
“Don’t flatter yourself, B,” Kyungsoo commented, without even sparing him a glance. His eyes were on the television, nothing could ever distract him from watching his favourite sitcom ever. “You wouldn’t be able to pull off a ballgown and a pair of glass slippers.”
When Kyungsoo got the call, he was relieved to hear that he was hired. He was mildly panicking because dealing with people all day wasn’t really his kind of thing but then he remembered the bills mounting on the tabletop, the rent above his head and his mother’s almost shrilly voice on the phone, he took a deep breath and prepared himself. When he received the emails of his job description, Kyungsoo was personally pleased to find out that he was the Peter Pan. Though he wasn’t all keen about wearing pointy, green shoes for three days of the week but he was pretty glad that he was going to be working as one of his favourite Disney characters. Baekhyun, on the other hand, wasn’t all eager about being the Mad Hatter for three reasons. One: he wasn’t working with Kyungsoo; Peter Pan and the Mad Hatter were literal worlds apart. Two: he didn’t even like Alice in Wonderland. Three: did he mention that he wasn’t working with Kyungsoo?
Not like being in different fictional universes stopped Baekhyun from communicating with Kyungsoo during the day. The kids who visited Peter Pan always, always questioned him about the Mad Hatter since he had decided to stick to Kyungsoo like glue especially when the kids were around. A little girl once commented on how adorable they looked together despite being Peter Pan and the Mad Hatter. Ever since then, kids gushed on and on about them and demanded pictures of them together. Kyungsoo complained about it to their boss but he didn’t even care.
“As long as you two are getting me cash, I don’t mind it at all,” Kyungsoo’s boss said, waving him off.
Jongdae found it hilarious whenever Kyungsoo complained about Baekhyun. “You know for someone who ‘doesn’t,” Jongdae had dramatically added two quote marks with his fingers. “Like him, you talk an awful lot about him.”
“But it’s only because he annoy me so much!” Kyungsoo had whined, and he never ever whined. Jongdae chuckled at his roommate and continued to tease him like the absolute horrible best friend he was.
Fast forward to now where Baekhyun was still grinning from ear to ear madly and Kyungsoo simply glared at him, mouthing a “Get back to work!” Of course, he wouldn’t listen. Baekhyun began to make his way towards Kyungsoo, adjusting his hat as he drew closer. He didn’t know when this became a normality, he didn’t know how did Baekhyun slither into his everyday life and dominate his thoughts. He watched silently as Baekhyun stopped for a teenage girl asking for a picture. Kyungsoo never liked orange or even cared about colours much (his favourite colour was black), but looking at Baekhyun donning the bright coloured coat momentarily made him appreciate the colour even if it’s an ugly shade of orange. When he was within close proximity, Kyungsoo fixed the crooked hat on Baekhyun’s head which made his grin grow wider if possible. Kyungsoo ignored meeting his eyes once his hands fell to his side, the tips of his ears reddening a bit.
“Why don’t you have my number saved?” Baekhyun asked. He paused to smile at a little boy holding hands with his father. The little boy tugged on his father’s hand and pointed at the two Disney characters excitedly, to which his father chuckled.
“I changed my phone, doofus,” Kyungsoo replied, picking at the hem of his sleeve. “I don’t have Jongdae’s number either.”
“Yeah but,” Baekhyun turned to him, with a smirk playing on his lips and cheekiness slipping into his voice. “Is Jongdae’s number more important than mine?”
Kyungsoo let out a snort at that, “Yours isn’t important. At. All.”
Baekhyun laughed a bit, looked down and his fingers reached forward to grasp Kyungsoo’s wrist gently. Kyungsoo looked up, angling his head to the left to see him better. His eyes were still bright despite working for 5 hours straight, Kyungsoo didn’t know how he could tolerate meeting people and holding a smile for pictures all day. That was what separated Baekhyun from Kyungsoo; he loved making people smile whilst it’d be hard to pull a smile out of Kyungsoo.
“Dinner later?” Baekhyun asked tentatively. “As usual?”
Usual being Baekhyun dragging Kyungsoo to the food court at the mall nearby. Usual being eating through the menu of the Italian food stall with Baekhyun. Usual being listening to Baekhyun talk to fill up the silence between them and Kyungsoo smiling around a fork full of spaghetti.
Kyungsoo nodded, not missing how Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief. Someone suddenly tugged on his hat from behind and he pulled his wrist away from Baekhyun, turning to see Sehun in his Jack Sparrow costume. Sehun gave a suspicious glance to Baekhyun and gestured at the group of kids behind him.
“Hyung,” he said to Kyungsoo. “The kids were lost and they were looking for a certain Peter Pan so…”
Kyungsoo gave a small smile to the kids, “Where’s Tinkerbell?”
Sehun groaned, “I’m not a tracking device for any of you.” He started walking away from both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun but not before saying, “Minseok hyung is in the washroom, I think.”
Kyungsoo greeted the kids when he approached them, “Hey, are you guys up for a picture?” He tried to give a dazzling smile but he could feel his face grimacing at the attempt. He could also feel Baekhyun’s presence at his back, he tried to ignore it. He really did.
“I could take the picture for you guys, if you want,” Baekhyun volunteered from behind and Kyungsoo could hear the questions popping up in the kids’ minds. But none of them said anything, a little boy simply nodded his head excitedly and gave the camera to Baekhyun before walking over to Kyungsoo to pose for the camera. Kyungsoo let his arms fall around the shoulders of the kids and leaned forward, grinning widely enough to show that he was a happy little Peter Pan with a group of kids. He heard Baekhyun’s chuckle before he shouted, “1, 2, 3, smile!”
Despite the lack of flash in the daylight, Kyungsoo still felt blinded by Baekhyun’s grin behind the camera shutter.
__
“So basically what you’re telling me is that,” Minseok began, while keeping a smile for the passerbys. “You have feelings for a mad hatter?”
Kyungsoo felt that regret from before, felt it filling up his being and lately, it seemed that all he could feel was regret since the Unfortunate Day. He inwardly groaned, “I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, yeah but you’re implying it.”
Man, if only looks could kill, Kyungsoo thought as he fantasized about killing Minseok in his stupid, glittery Tinkerbell costume. He’d be in a pool of blood and glitter if Kyungsoo could just somehow make Minseok choke himself to death from a glare.
Minseok was either utterly oblivious to Kyungsoo’s glare and death threatening thoughts or he had chosen to be as he continued, “I don’t see the issue here, just ask him out?”
“Minseok hyung,” Kyungsoo dragged the syllables out and he had been whining an awful lot lately; it wasn’t good at all. “I was asking for a way to steer clear of him, not encouragement to date him!”
“It’s nice enough that I’m being an absolute supportive sidekick,” to which Kyungsoo muttered, “Supportive sidekick, my ass.” Minseok blatantly ignored him and went on, “Unlike someone here, I’m actually helping you to get laid.”
Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, a smirk threatening to break out on his lips. “Are you that bitter over Luhan hyung?”
Minseok pouted at him, “How do I exactly win over his heart in a fairy costume?” His voice lilted upwards in a whine, mimicking Kyungsoo’s earlier, “He’s literally the Prince Charming.”
“Through magic, of course.”
Minseok turned to Kyungsoo, who was biting his lip to refrain him from laughing, and retorted, “That was horrible, Soo. Really horrible. You’ve been influenced by the mad hatter’s horrible humour.”
Kyungsoo patted Minseok’s shoulder before waving at a family walking by, the teenage girl brightened at the sight of Peter Pan waving at her, Kyungsoo smiled. “Thanks, though,” he said, pinching a bit of Minseok’s skin lightly.
“For what?” Minseok looked at him, questioningly.
“For being the supportive sidekick,” a corner of Kyungsoo’s lips turned upwards as his eyes fought against the sun behind Minseok to look at him. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a familiar hat from a distance. As it drew closer, Kyungsoo’s heart picked up pace and he hated the sight of orange coats and huge green hats, why was his heart beating so fast?
“A family wanted a picture of the infamous Disney couple, so…” Baekhyun started once he was standing right in front of Kyungsoo. He raised his eyebrow, teasingly and shamelessly winked at Kyungsoo. “Shall we, Peter Pan?”
Minseok whispered a “good luck” to Kyungsoo before walking away and he felt abandoned, alone and absolutely vulnerable. He stared at Baekhyun, at his cheeky, rectangular grin, at the faint mole above his upper lip and at him in general and he felt utterly helpless. He could never say no to Baekhyun, that was the most upsetting revelation of it all. He was known to be more careful than this… weakling he was right now in front of Baekhyun.
And so he gave into Baekhyun and punched his arm gently (which still earned him a wince, what a weak ass). “Did you pay this family to suggest such a thing or…?” he asked, rhetorically as he strode ahead of Baekhyun who was a sputtering mess behind (“Did you just agree or was I dreaming?”)
He stood close to the two girls, a hand on one of their shoulders. His smile was ready for the camera shot, but it quivered when Baekhyun’s hand sneakily snaked around his waist and pulled him closer to him. Before the camera go off, Kyungsoo could feel the warmth emitting off Baekhyun and his body went tense all over. He wouldn’t be surprised if the smile on his face turned into a grimace once again, at the expense of Baekhyun.
“Thank you so much, boys!” the girls’ mother beamed at them. “They love you two so much and couldn’t stand to miss the opportunity of a picture.”
A corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth pulled upwards and he thanked them for their company. Before he could return to Neverland, one of the girls, the one he had a hand on her shoulder, he noticed distractedly, approached him. He lowered down to her height to hear her better.
“Are you and the Mad Hatter really dating?” she whispered, wonder shown in her eyes.
Kyungsoo bit his lip, “Why are you asking, miss?”
“It’s just that…” she trailed off, unsure. She shifted her right foot and bit her lip as well. Kyungsoo poked at her cheek and a little smile broke out.
“I really like you and Wendy but I think you look cuter with the Mad Hatter.”
A laugh enunciated out of Kyungsoo’s lips. “And why so?” he mused.
Her expression brightened at the sound of Peter Pan’s laughter and responded cheerfully, “You look happier with him, Mr. Peter Pan!”
He patted her cheek fondly and got up from his knees, “Please call me Peter.” Kyungsoo ruffled her hair a bit and took a step backwards, his heart still beating too fast in his chest. He waved at her and turned to see Baekhyun playing with the other girl. They were doing some sort of handshake and when the girl did a wrong move, they both fell into a fit of laughter and Baekhyun tenderly poked the tip of her nose with his finger.
Kyungsoo’s heart wouldn’t stop racing, the smile on his lips was difficult to erase.
__
Look up.
Baekhyun was on his knees, his trousers scraping the cement, gingerly holding a piece of paper a little girl gave him. The same girl was smiling at him, strands of her brown hair stuck to her cheek. He mildly recognized her from yesterday, the sisters he and Kyungsoo took a picture with. He was confused, his gaze darting from the paper to the little girl.
“What’s this?” he asked, his thumb tracing the inked words.
The little girl shook her head and merely pointed upwards with a dainty, little finger. Baekhyun finally looked up and for a second, he couldn’t see anything that was of importance until he caught sight of Tinkerbell and Prince Charming standing too close for friendliness. He narrowed his eyes at them and noticed them holding two pieces of paper that said, “Meet me in Neverland.”
Realisation dawned on Baekhyun, just a little late and he stood up quickly. Crushing the paper in his hand, he turned to run for Neverland but then he remembered the little girl and bended down slightly to peck her on the top of her head and thanked her with a smile. She grinned so wide, there were crinkles at the corners of her eyes and she clapped her hands in excitement.
“Where’s Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun breathed out heavily, from the run from Wonderland to Neverland. Wendy, or Junmyeon, inhaled before reciting, “If you want to find me, you have to¬”
Baekhyun shook his head profusely, hands on his knees, still panting. “No, just tell me where’s Kyungsoo!”
Junmyeon jumped, startled and Baekhyun muttered an apology. He sighed in defeat, “Kyungsoo will kill me but he’s in the Castle.”
“The Castle?” Baekhyun smiled gently and thanked Junmyeon. He just waved Baekhyun away with a “Go get him, Baek.”
Kyungsoo was standing at the top of the stairway amidst the throng of people and Baekhyun inhaled sharply. He treaded towards Kyungsoo, chest still heaving from all the running he had done and sweat had plastered his bangs to his forehead. Kyungsoo turned slowly and his eyes found Baekhyun wearing the biggest smile on his face. A smile began to grow on Kyungsoo’s lips too; it was awfully contagious.
“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted him once he stood in front of him, blocking the sun.
“Hey,” Kyungsoo replied, still smiling like an idiot, he was sure.
Baekhyun continued to stare at him with that grin and he raised his eyebrow.
“Oh…” Kyungsoo trailed off, remembering what he wanted to do and shoved the piece of paper to Baekhyun. He looked down at the paper, an amused look on his face. When he opened it to reveal a cheesy “Go out with me and you can fly with me to Neverland.” Kyungsoo was sure his face was of a crimson colour and why did he write such a cheesy line when he could just simply ask him out?
“You’re such a little sap,” Baekhyun laughed.
Maybe this was a bad idea, the worst idea. “Hey, I’m not little nor am I¬”
Baekhyun cut him off by crashing his lips onto his. Kyungsoo winced at the impact but went along with it anyway. He sighed at the feel of Baekhyun’s soft lips on his, though it may be the work of lip balm, he suspected. Kyungsoo tilted his head for better access and Baekhyun sighed blissfully into his mouth. When Kyungsoo sucked on Baekhyun’s upper lip, Baekhyun let out a whimper and Kyungsoo wanted to bottle the sound up. In retaliation, Baekhyun bit Kyungsoo’s bottom lip which pulled out a moan out of his mouth. His hand settled on pulling the little hairs on Baekhyun’s nape and he hissed at the pain. Baekhyun pulled away and Kyungsoo opened his eyes briefly to whine before immediately groaning as Baekhyun attached his mouth to the inside of his jaw, sucking on the skin there.
Kyungsoo moved his neck away from Baekhyun and he actually sent a glare towards Kyungsoo. “Not in public,” Kyungsoo breathed out, still recovering from the kiss.
“Oh, shut up,” Baekhyun growled before placing his lips onto Kyungsoo’s, successfully shutting him up. And Kyungsoo thought, maybe this was the best idea he had yet.
__
AFTERWARDS
“Who’s your favourite Disney couple?” Minseok asked the little brunette, his hand intertwined with Luhan’s.
“Peter Pan and Mad Hatter!” she widened her eyes and exclaimed. Luhan mocked a hurt expression, “Not us?”
The little girl beamed proudly, “You are my second favourite.”
“Well, what do you know?” Baekhyun randomly commented from behind, walking past the couple and the little girl. “You two are second best to us.”
“Don’t rub salt into the wound, B,” Kyungsoo appeared at Baekhyun’s side and why would anyone be surprised at this? They were practically inseparable from the start. Kyungsoo grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and gently intertwined their fingers together.
“You guys make me sick,” Minseok spat while the little girl cooed and grinned widely. “Can I have a picture, pretty please?”
“With us?” Luhan joked before grabbing the camera from the little girl. He ordered the lovebirds to get ready, Minseok was placing his chin on Luhan’s shoulder, tickling the older male but he didn’t mind.
The little girl stood in front and center of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, her smile wider than ever. Baekhyun instinctively pulled Kyungsoo to his side by his waist, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. When Luhan shouted the usual countdown, Baekhyun pressed his lips to Kyungsoo’s cheek as a peck.
And Kyungsoo’s smile grew wider, he couldn’t be bothered with hiding it anymore. Baekhyun was the only one who could pull a smile like that out of him anyway.
genre: ...fluff??
pairing: baekhyun/kyungsoo, slight luhan/minseok
rating: pg13 (gotta keep it pg, yo)
word vomit: 3.4k
summary: somewhere in disney world, love blossomed and a certain Peter Pan found that he could actually appreciate bright coloured coats and a (very) mad hatter.
disclaimer: before you could go on to read, I would like to say a huge huge thank you to megs, my little beta! you're the best, I love you. oh and also s/o to fallie & kristy, love you both xx. this is my first time, filling in for a prompt like this ((also s/o to OP!! thanks for that prompt, I hope it satisfied you!!)) so spare me ha... ha.
Look up.
Kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed at the new message on his phone screen from an unknown number. Frankly, he wouldn’t reply to an unknown number; he wouldn’t even reply to anyone because he was just not a text message kind of person. But this demanded his attention and honestly, he was curious.
Who is this?
He immediately received a reply and just look up.
He heaved a sigh and skimmed the sight in front of him for any sign of the anonymous person who had been texting him. Staring straight across at Kyungsoo was the mad hatter tipping his hat off to him with a grin wider than the Cheshire cat. Frown evident on his lips, Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and went back to his phone to text the mad hatter back a ‘What do you want now?’
You, to which Kyungsoo scoffed at and absolutely did not colour a bit at the bluntness. He was mad, after all. The boy, in question, was none other than Baekhyun who Kyungsoo met at the job interview. Somehow they were friends and it was all in gratitude to Jongdae. Truthfully, Kyungsoo didn't even know why he befriended Jongdae in high school, in the first place. He was loud, bubbly, and whiny but those traits cancelled out due to him being one of the best friends Kyungsoo had ever had and he would never tell Jongdae that; maybe over his dead body someday.
So when Baekhyun saw Kyungsoo walking out of the interview room, he shouted so loud, Kyungsoo was surprised he wasn’t kicked out after. They weren’t even considerably close but Baekhyun apparently thought that hugging Kyungsoo was within their friendship barrier. Ever since then, Kyungsoo regretted taking up the opportunity to work at Disney World. If only he wasn’t a broke, struggling college student. If only his mother wasn’t so worried about his allowance and didn’t constantly nag at him to get a job. If only rent at the apartment with Jongdae wasn’t necessary. If only life didn’t need money to fucking survive.
Baekhyun enthused about the job all week after their interviews. Jongdae, being the mutual friend between the two, regretted ever suggesting Baekhyun the Disney World job and being friends with him. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, wanted to kill Jongdae for introducing him to a wrecking ball like Baekhyun. The job was all Baekhyun could talk about. He fantasized about the characters, the kids he was going to meet and of course, working with Kyungsoo.
“Hey, imagine if we were the Prince Charming and Cinderella!” Baekhyun exclaimed over his bowl of microwaved mac and cheese. “Wouldn’t that be cute? Us as the ultimate Disney couple?”
Jongdae choked, spluttering bits of macaroni onto his lap. Disgusting, Kyungsoo thought. It was their routine every Wednesday to marathon a television show or a movie series in the middle of the week. They were marathon-ing Friends tonight and it was Kyungsoo’s choice. It was all Jongdae’s fault for inviting Baekhyun over.
“Don’t flatter yourself, B,” Kyungsoo commented, without even sparing him a glance. His eyes were on the television, nothing could ever distract him from watching his favourite sitcom ever. “You wouldn’t be able to pull off a ballgown and a pair of glass slippers.”
When Kyungsoo got the call, he was relieved to hear that he was hired. He was mildly panicking because dealing with people all day wasn’t really his kind of thing but then he remembered the bills mounting on the tabletop, the rent above his head and his mother’s almost shrilly voice on the phone, he took a deep breath and prepared himself. When he received the emails of his job description, Kyungsoo was personally pleased to find out that he was the Peter Pan. Though he wasn’t all keen about wearing pointy, green shoes for three days of the week but he was pretty glad that he was going to be working as one of his favourite Disney characters. Baekhyun, on the other hand, wasn’t all eager about being the Mad Hatter for three reasons. One: he wasn’t working with Kyungsoo; Peter Pan and the Mad Hatter were literal worlds apart. Two: he didn’t even like Alice in Wonderland. Three: did he mention that he wasn’t working with Kyungsoo?
Not like being in different fictional universes stopped Baekhyun from communicating with Kyungsoo during the day. The kids who visited Peter Pan always, always questioned him about the Mad Hatter since he had decided to stick to Kyungsoo like glue especially when the kids were around. A little girl once commented on how adorable they looked together despite being Peter Pan and the Mad Hatter. Ever since then, kids gushed on and on about them and demanded pictures of them together. Kyungsoo complained about it to their boss but he didn’t even care.
“As long as you two are getting me cash, I don’t mind it at all,” Kyungsoo’s boss said, waving him off.
Jongdae found it hilarious whenever Kyungsoo complained about Baekhyun. “You know for someone who ‘doesn’t,” Jongdae had dramatically added two quote marks with his fingers. “Like him, you talk an awful lot about him.”
“But it’s only because he annoy me so much!” Kyungsoo had whined, and he never ever whined. Jongdae chuckled at his roommate and continued to tease him like the absolute horrible best friend he was.
Fast forward to now where Baekhyun was still grinning from ear to ear madly and Kyungsoo simply glared at him, mouthing a “Get back to work!” Of course, he wouldn’t listen. Baekhyun began to make his way towards Kyungsoo, adjusting his hat as he drew closer. He didn’t know when this became a normality, he didn’t know how did Baekhyun slither into his everyday life and dominate his thoughts. He watched silently as Baekhyun stopped for a teenage girl asking for a picture. Kyungsoo never liked orange or even cared about colours much (his favourite colour was black), but looking at Baekhyun donning the bright coloured coat momentarily made him appreciate the colour even if it’s an ugly shade of orange. When he was within close proximity, Kyungsoo fixed the crooked hat on Baekhyun’s head which made his grin grow wider if possible. Kyungsoo ignored meeting his eyes once his hands fell to his side, the tips of his ears reddening a bit.
“Why don’t you have my number saved?” Baekhyun asked. He paused to smile at a little boy holding hands with his father. The little boy tugged on his father’s hand and pointed at the two Disney characters excitedly, to which his father chuckled.
“I changed my phone, doofus,” Kyungsoo replied, picking at the hem of his sleeve. “I don’t have Jongdae’s number either.”
“Yeah but,” Baekhyun turned to him, with a smirk playing on his lips and cheekiness slipping into his voice. “Is Jongdae’s number more important than mine?”
Kyungsoo let out a snort at that, “Yours isn’t important. At. All.”
Baekhyun laughed a bit, looked down and his fingers reached forward to grasp Kyungsoo’s wrist gently. Kyungsoo looked up, angling his head to the left to see him better. His eyes were still bright despite working for 5 hours straight, Kyungsoo didn’t know how he could tolerate meeting people and holding a smile for pictures all day. That was what separated Baekhyun from Kyungsoo; he loved making people smile whilst it’d be hard to pull a smile out of Kyungsoo.
“Dinner later?” Baekhyun asked tentatively. “As usual?”
Usual being Baekhyun dragging Kyungsoo to the food court at the mall nearby. Usual being eating through the menu of the Italian food stall with Baekhyun. Usual being listening to Baekhyun talk to fill up the silence between them and Kyungsoo smiling around a fork full of spaghetti.
Kyungsoo nodded, not missing how Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief. Someone suddenly tugged on his hat from behind and he pulled his wrist away from Baekhyun, turning to see Sehun in his Jack Sparrow costume. Sehun gave a suspicious glance to Baekhyun and gestured at the group of kids behind him.
“Hyung,” he said to Kyungsoo. “The kids were lost and they were looking for a certain Peter Pan so…”
Kyungsoo gave a small smile to the kids, “Where’s Tinkerbell?”
Sehun groaned, “I’m not a tracking device for any of you.” He started walking away from both Kyungsoo and Baekhyun but not before saying, “Minseok hyung is in the washroom, I think.”
Kyungsoo greeted the kids when he approached them, “Hey, are you guys up for a picture?” He tried to give a dazzling smile but he could feel his face grimacing at the attempt. He could also feel Baekhyun’s presence at his back, he tried to ignore it. He really did.
“I could take the picture for you guys, if you want,” Baekhyun volunteered from behind and Kyungsoo could hear the questions popping up in the kids’ minds. But none of them said anything, a little boy simply nodded his head excitedly and gave the camera to Baekhyun before walking over to Kyungsoo to pose for the camera. Kyungsoo let his arms fall around the shoulders of the kids and leaned forward, grinning widely enough to show that he was a happy little Peter Pan with a group of kids. He heard Baekhyun’s chuckle before he shouted, “1, 2, 3, smile!”
Despite the lack of flash in the daylight, Kyungsoo still felt blinded by Baekhyun’s grin behind the camera shutter.
__
“So basically what you’re telling me is that,” Minseok began, while keeping a smile for the passerbys. “You have feelings for a mad hatter?”
Kyungsoo felt that regret from before, felt it filling up his being and lately, it seemed that all he could feel was regret since the Unfortunate Day. He inwardly groaned, “I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, yeah but you’re implying it.”
Man, if only looks could kill, Kyungsoo thought as he fantasized about killing Minseok in his stupid, glittery Tinkerbell costume. He’d be in a pool of blood and glitter if Kyungsoo could just somehow make Minseok choke himself to death from a glare.
Minseok was either utterly oblivious to Kyungsoo’s glare and death threatening thoughts or he had chosen to be as he continued, “I don’t see the issue here, just ask him out?”
“Minseok hyung,” Kyungsoo dragged the syllables out and he had been whining an awful lot lately; it wasn’t good at all. “I was asking for a way to steer clear of him, not encouragement to date him!”
“It’s nice enough that I’m being an absolute supportive sidekick,” to which Kyungsoo muttered, “Supportive sidekick, my ass.” Minseok blatantly ignored him and went on, “Unlike someone here, I’m actually helping you to get laid.”
Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, a smirk threatening to break out on his lips. “Are you that bitter over Luhan hyung?”
Minseok pouted at him, “How do I exactly win over his heart in a fairy costume?” His voice lilted upwards in a whine, mimicking Kyungsoo’s earlier, “He’s literally the Prince Charming.”
“Through magic, of course.”
Minseok turned to Kyungsoo, who was biting his lip to refrain him from laughing, and retorted, “That was horrible, Soo. Really horrible. You’ve been influenced by the mad hatter’s horrible humour.”
Kyungsoo patted Minseok’s shoulder before waving at a family walking by, the teenage girl brightened at the sight of Peter Pan waving at her, Kyungsoo smiled. “Thanks, though,” he said, pinching a bit of Minseok’s skin lightly.
“For what?” Minseok looked at him, questioningly.
“For being the supportive sidekick,” a corner of Kyungsoo’s lips turned upwards as his eyes fought against the sun behind Minseok to look at him. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a familiar hat from a distance. As it drew closer, Kyungsoo’s heart picked up pace and he hated the sight of orange coats and huge green hats, why was his heart beating so fast?
“A family wanted a picture of the infamous Disney couple, so…” Baekhyun started once he was standing right in front of Kyungsoo. He raised his eyebrow, teasingly and shamelessly winked at Kyungsoo. “Shall we, Peter Pan?”
Minseok whispered a “good luck” to Kyungsoo before walking away and he felt abandoned, alone and absolutely vulnerable. He stared at Baekhyun, at his cheeky, rectangular grin, at the faint mole above his upper lip and at him in general and he felt utterly helpless. He could never say no to Baekhyun, that was the most upsetting revelation of it all. He was known to be more careful than this… weakling he was right now in front of Baekhyun.
And so he gave into Baekhyun and punched his arm gently (which still earned him a wince, what a weak ass). “Did you pay this family to suggest such a thing or…?” he asked, rhetorically as he strode ahead of Baekhyun who was a sputtering mess behind (“Did you just agree or was I dreaming?”)
He stood close to the two girls, a hand on one of their shoulders. His smile was ready for the camera shot, but it quivered when Baekhyun’s hand sneakily snaked around his waist and pulled him closer to him. Before the camera go off, Kyungsoo could feel the warmth emitting off Baekhyun and his body went tense all over. He wouldn’t be surprised if the smile on his face turned into a grimace once again, at the expense of Baekhyun.
“Thank you so much, boys!” the girls’ mother beamed at them. “They love you two so much and couldn’t stand to miss the opportunity of a picture.”
A corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth pulled upwards and he thanked them for their company. Before he could return to Neverland, one of the girls, the one he had a hand on her shoulder, he noticed distractedly, approached him. He lowered down to her height to hear her better.
“Are you and the Mad Hatter really dating?” she whispered, wonder shown in her eyes.
Kyungsoo bit his lip, “Why are you asking, miss?”
“It’s just that…” she trailed off, unsure. She shifted her right foot and bit her lip as well. Kyungsoo poked at her cheek and a little smile broke out.
“I really like you and Wendy but I think you look cuter with the Mad Hatter.”
A laugh enunciated out of Kyungsoo’s lips. “And why so?” he mused.
Her expression brightened at the sound of Peter Pan’s laughter and responded cheerfully, “You look happier with him, Mr. Peter Pan!”
He patted her cheek fondly and got up from his knees, “Please call me Peter.” Kyungsoo ruffled her hair a bit and took a step backwards, his heart still beating too fast in his chest. He waved at her and turned to see Baekhyun playing with the other girl. They were doing some sort of handshake and when the girl did a wrong move, they both fell into a fit of laughter and Baekhyun tenderly poked the tip of her nose with his finger.
Kyungsoo’s heart wouldn’t stop racing, the smile on his lips was difficult to erase.
__
Look up.
Baekhyun was on his knees, his trousers scraping the cement, gingerly holding a piece of paper a little girl gave him. The same girl was smiling at him, strands of her brown hair stuck to her cheek. He mildly recognized her from yesterday, the sisters he and Kyungsoo took a picture with. He was confused, his gaze darting from the paper to the little girl.
“What’s this?” he asked, his thumb tracing the inked words.
The little girl shook her head and merely pointed upwards with a dainty, little finger. Baekhyun finally looked up and for a second, he couldn’t see anything that was of importance until he caught sight of Tinkerbell and Prince Charming standing too close for friendliness. He narrowed his eyes at them and noticed them holding two pieces of paper that said, “Meet me in Neverland.”
Realisation dawned on Baekhyun, just a little late and he stood up quickly. Crushing the paper in his hand, he turned to run for Neverland but then he remembered the little girl and bended down slightly to peck her on the top of her head and thanked her with a smile. She grinned so wide, there were crinkles at the corners of her eyes and she clapped her hands in excitement.
“Where’s Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun breathed out heavily, from the run from Wonderland to Neverland. Wendy, or Junmyeon, inhaled before reciting, “If you want to find me, you have to¬”
Baekhyun shook his head profusely, hands on his knees, still panting. “No, just tell me where’s Kyungsoo!”
Junmyeon jumped, startled and Baekhyun muttered an apology. He sighed in defeat, “Kyungsoo will kill me but he’s in the Castle.”
“The Castle?” Baekhyun smiled gently and thanked Junmyeon. He just waved Baekhyun away with a “Go get him, Baek.”
Kyungsoo was standing at the top of the stairway amidst the throng of people and Baekhyun inhaled sharply. He treaded towards Kyungsoo, chest still heaving from all the running he had done and sweat had plastered his bangs to his forehead. Kyungsoo turned slowly and his eyes found Baekhyun wearing the biggest smile on his face. A smile began to grow on Kyungsoo’s lips too; it was awfully contagious.
“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted him once he stood in front of him, blocking the sun.
“Hey,” Kyungsoo replied, still smiling like an idiot, he was sure.
Baekhyun continued to stare at him with that grin and he raised his eyebrow.
“Oh…” Kyungsoo trailed off, remembering what he wanted to do and shoved the piece of paper to Baekhyun. He looked down at the paper, an amused look on his face. When he opened it to reveal a cheesy “Go out with me and you can fly with me to Neverland.” Kyungsoo was sure his face was of a crimson colour and why did he write such a cheesy line when he could just simply ask him out?
“You’re such a little sap,” Baekhyun laughed.
Maybe this was a bad idea, the worst idea. “Hey, I’m not little nor am I¬”
Baekhyun cut him off by crashing his lips onto his. Kyungsoo winced at the impact but went along with it anyway. He sighed at the feel of Baekhyun’s soft lips on his, though it may be the work of lip balm, he suspected. Kyungsoo tilted his head for better access and Baekhyun sighed blissfully into his mouth. When Kyungsoo sucked on Baekhyun’s upper lip, Baekhyun let out a whimper and Kyungsoo wanted to bottle the sound up. In retaliation, Baekhyun bit Kyungsoo’s bottom lip which pulled out a moan out of his mouth. His hand settled on pulling the little hairs on Baekhyun’s nape and he hissed at the pain. Baekhyun pulled away and Kyungsoo opened his eyes briefly to whine before immediately groaning as Baekhyun attached his mouth to the inside of his jaw, sucking on the skin there.
Kyungsoo moved his neck away from Baekhyun and he actually sent a glare towards Kyungsoo. “Not in public,” Kyungsoo breathed out, still recovering from the kiss.
“Oh, shut up,” Baekhyun growled before placing his lips onto Kyungsoo’s, successfully shutting him up. And Kyungsoo thought, maybe this was the best idea he had yet.
__
AFTERWARDS
“Who’s your favourite Disney couple?” Minseok asked the little brunette, his hand intertwined with Luhan’s.
“Peter Pan and Mad Hatter!” she widened her eyes and exclaimed. Luhan mocked a hurt expression, “Not us?”
The little girl beamed proudly, “You are my second favourite.”
“Well, what do you know?” Baekhyun randomly commented from behind, walking past the couple and the little girl. “You two are second best to us.”
“Don’t rub salt into the wound, B,” Kyungsoo appeared at Baekhyun’s side and why would anyone be surprised at this? They were practically inseparable from the start. Kyungsoo grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and gently intertwined their fingers together.
“You guys make me sick,” Minseok spat while the little girl cooed and grinned widely. “Can I have a picture, pretty please?”
“With us?” Luhan joked before grabbing the camera from the little girl. He ordered the lovebirds to get ready, Minseok was placing his chin on Luhan’s shoulder, tickling the older male but he didn’t mind.
The little girl stood in front and center of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, her smile wider than ever. Baekhyun instinctively pulled Kyungsoo to his side by his waist, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. When Luhan shouted the usual countdown, Baekhyun pressed his lips to Kyungsoo’s cheek as a peck.
And Kyungsoo’s smile grew wider, he couldn’t be bothered with hiding it anymore. Baekhyun was the only one who could pull a smile like that out of him anyway.