take my hand, i'll take the lead
Title: take my hand, i'll take the lead
Pairing: Kris/Baekhyun
Word count: 9607 words
Side pairing(s): chankai
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): -
Summary: "You two have been together for like what, ten years? When is your turn coming?"
Author's Note (if any): I must say that I have close to zero knowledge about how weddings and the like work, so I apologise for any inaccuracies there might be in this fic ;-; (written for the krisbaek exchange)
Jongin is presently somewhat hiding behind Chanyeol's back, and Yifan has fingers curled around Baekhyun's wrist to hold him back just in case. Jongin is an adult who is perfectly capable of protecting himself and Chanyeol is being overprotective right now, but Yifan understands because Baekhyun can come off a little too strong sometimes.
"You two are getting married?" Baekhyun's eyes are widened as he speaks and there's this look he has on his face. Yifan isn't too sure if it's betrayal or surprise and judging by the looks on Chanyeol and Jongin's faces, they don't seem to be too sure either.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol had made a pact to have double weddings when they were kids-things changed when they ended up together instead, but even if they grew up together and knew each other like the back of their hands, it didn't work out. That doesn't mean that the pact is called off though, and Chanyeol and Jongin are obviously taking a step ahead first.
Upon Chanyeol and Jongin's silence because the answer is obvious, Baekhyun continues on his own. "I can't believe you are telling me only now! When is it? Where is it going to be? Am I going to be your best man?" Yifan sees the tension visibly bleed out of Chanyeol and Jongin's shoulders, and he can feel himself relaxing too, since his boyfriend did look unfriendly before. Baekhyun's gaze is shifted to Chanyeol then, and Chanyeol quickly shakes his head like the look of surprise would disappear before nodding. At least Baekhyun isn't feeling betrayed, that much is sure now.
Yifan is quickly tugged towards Jongin and they start to plan for it, taking down notes on their phones. Baekhyun never brings up the pact and Yifan wonders if he remembers it at all. He only knew because Baekhyun told him, but it was only three months into their relationship and while Yifan loved him, that new level of commitment wasn't the first thing on his mind. Right now, as they are approaching four years as a couple, it still isn't because they haven't found a flat for the both of them to move into, but the idea sounds a lot more plausible now that they have spent more time together.
Yifan pushes that thought away into the back of his mind and focuses on what Jongin seems to be saying at the moment, something about having dogs walk them down the aisle instead. He visibly deflates when he remembers that Chanyeol is actually allergic to them, and Yifan laughs and gives his hair a light ruffle.
Looks like he'd have to talk to Baekhyun soon.
//
None of them are young anymore. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are childhood friends, but the rest of their friendship circle really met each other only when they were in university. There were always jokes about how one day, they might not be able to sit together at the same cafeteria table anymore, seeing as how people seemed to be joining faster than people could graduate.
Luhan was Yifan's only friend despite the orientation camp that was held before school actually started. What made being a new student easier was that most of these people were seeing each other for their first time too, but they seemed to get along better in spite of that. It wasn't like he hadn't tried approaching people. They were either too intimidated by his height or too busy staring at his face to actually continue a conversation with him.
Yifan had frowned when he accidentally overheard a bunch of girls talking about him. The frown only deepened when he heard something about a resting bitch face, and he actually went to ask Luhan about it.
"I think it’s just your height." Luhan's kind smile is on his face again, but it's always there so Yifan doesn't know what he should feel.
Soon, Luhan met Yixing through a shared class, and Yixing introduced Jongin as a lonely dance class partner who just wanted some fried chicken. They were all different, what with their different majors and interests, but they still made great friends anyway.
Baekhyun was the first to actually approach him with a wide grin and not plan to sell him a product.
Luhan had barely introduced him to Baekhyun, but he remembers getting dragged towards the rest of the group faster than he could say sure. He then found himself standing back to back with someone with big ears and a snapback with a bill that jutted at the back of his head while Baekhyun looked up.
"Chanyeol, he's taller than you!" Baekhyun's eyes were shining like he had found some sort of treasure, and Yifan was amused, to say the least.
"Never said I was the tallest around but hey, it's nice to meet you, fellow tallie." The one with big ears-Chanyeol-extends a hand and Yifan gladly takes it, offering him a genuine smile as they shake hands. Baekhyun fights to sit beside him and introduces him to the rest of them and by the end of the meal, Yifan couldn't help the smile he had on when he looked over at the smaller sized guy next to him. Smaller sized, but so full of energy.
//
"You two have been together for like what, ten years? When is your turn coming?" And Jongdae just had to open his mouth.
The bar Chanyeol chose today played decent music that did not make Yifan feel like his eardrums were going to burst, and that alone makes the whole gathering a lot better. The last time it was Chanyeol's turn to choose a meet up place, half of them got lost while they were trying to find their way home and the others-well. It obviously didn't end too well.
The current situation isn't exactly ideal either; Baekhyun is leaning all his weight on Yifan's side while he laughs in the middle of conversations, which isn't an unwelcome thing because Baekhyun is warm but he's also close to getting drunk with Jongdae right behind him and a drunk Jongdae is never up to any good. A drunk Baekhyun is simply giggly and he starts to say weird things, but Jongdae can start to say things that should never be said. Or ask questions that should never be asked.
It was all good. They were discussing some details about Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding, like if they should get polka-dotted or striped bowties and the kind of flowers to be used as decorations. No one was going to say anything about Yifan and Baekhyun because they are not the ones getting married. No one also knew that Yifan has been starting to think of it, and where his boyfriend externalizes most things, he internalizes it.
They have not been together for ten years, not even five, but they sure have known each other for a handful of years of so. This handful has allowed Baekhyun to understand that Yifan is prone to thinking about things himself instead of sharing them, but Baekhyun's nature had made it easier to get Yifan to talk about whatever he was thinking about. But what if this time he scares Baekhyun off with the word marriage?
Yifan subtly presses a kiss into Baekhyun's hair while his boyfriend continues babbling, making the entire table laugh. He needs some peace and quiet now to properly think about things.
//
Letting out a soft groan, Baekhyun rolls to lie on his side only to grab at empty sheets. He squints his eyes open after rubbing sleep out of them, lifting his head when his brain finally manages to register the smell of breakfast wafting through his apartment.
There is the unmistakable sound of Yifan working in the kitchen, and Baekhyun steps in after washing up with still half-opened eyes, nose immediately attacked by the stronger smell of food being cooked.
"Good morning, small one." Yifan chuckles at the pinch to his arm and Baekhyun huffs because that was not the reaction he was looking for.
"If you don't move the food will be burnt." But Yifan is warm and his shoulders are broad and he feels comfortable hugging him from the back like this. Baekhyun juts his bottom lip out and moves to sit himself down in one of the chairs instead, slumping against the table while he waited for the food to be done.
"There is aspirin and coffee on the table. Go take them."
"You are the best." Baekhyun hears a laugh come from Yifan above the sound of pancakes sizzling, and he smiles along. "Remind me why haven't we moved in together yet?"
"Because we can't find a place? The kitchen is either too small for you or the ceiling is too low for me." Baekhyun gives a chuckle at that, because that is true.
Yifan sets the plates of pancakes on the table and Baekhyun actually gets up to take the cutlery, and he doesn't miss the way Yifan's eyebrows raise in amusement because he is usually the laziest in the morning. Settling down after setting the table, Baekhyun finally digs in, giving a delighted hum at the taste of the homemade pancakes.
"Sometimes I feel like you're the actual chef here. Maybe our jobs are meant to switch-but I can't draw for nuts." Yifan chuckles and shakes his head. He is still wearing the Hello Kitty apron Baekhyun owns and it isn't the first time he is seeing it, but Baekhyun still coos over how he looks cuter everytime he sees it.
Yifan keeps quiet otherwise, and while Baekhyun isn't exactly up for loud chatter with a slight headache and his boyfriend isn't the most talkative person around, it is still weird for it to be so quiet. Baekhyun lifts a leg to nudge it against Yifan's calf, looking up from his food to look at Yifan. "What are you thinking about?"
"Hm? Nothing. Just about how happy Chanyeol and Jongin look at the thought of getting married." Yifan unconsciously tenses up. The words had slipped out of his mouth without his notice, but he could take this chance to gauge Baekhyun's reaction towards that topic, he guesses.
"I know right? Now they're all cute and gross. But I guess they have actually always been so." Baekhyun snickers and Yifan can't help the soft chuckles that leave him as well. That, he has to agree.
"What do you think about it though? I mean about marriage."
Baekhyun pauses in the middle of picking up the next pancake with his fork and Yifan can't tell if it is because he is thinking or because he had just made a wrong move. He almost heaves a sigh of relief when Baekhyun starts to open his mouth again.
"I think it'd make the people in the relationship feel safer. They're officially tied to each other, after all. It doesn't sound like a very bad thing to me though, if only a little scary." Immediately after finishing, Baekhyun dips his head down to devour the pancakes and Yifan leaves it at that. He has some more questions, but he doesn't think a morning hangover will make Baekhyun give answers that will help him in his mini internal conflict.
//
Yifan thinks back to when Baekhyun and Chanyeol were together.
He had felt so bad back then, for pining over someone who was already taken, but he couldn't help it. That wasn't to say that he was the one who caused their breakup. In fact, it could barely be called one.
Yifan remembers the drop he felt in his heart physically when he found out that they were together. But when he actually thought about it, everything was right in his face.
They went to parties together, went to school together-hell, Yifan would bet that they had even gone to bed together before. Baekhyun was always seen hanging off Chanyeol's arm, or when he isn't, Chanyeol would be asking after his whereabouts. Yifan usually pretended not to hear since he really didn't know, and someone else would always reply anyway.
They were one of the cutest couples around, Yifan had to admit, even as he feels his heart clench at the admission. For months, Yifan stayed by Baekhyun's side as nothing more than a close friend (Baekhyun really likes tall people, apparently) and did what he could, dealt with what he couldn't. Like hugging the smaller one and pressing a kiss into the crown of his hair, or enveloping those warm hands with his own bigger and colder ones.
Yifan had honestly learnt to accept it already. That was the only thing you could do when the facts were being shoved into your face so brutally almost every single moment. Chanyeol and Baekhyun never kissed or did anything much in front of their friends, but Yifan didn't miss the way they always sat closer, or how their hands were probably linked under the table. He wasn't looking, not at all.
Yifan never told anyone this-not that he could, what would people think about him if they knew?-but he secretly felt just the slightest bit happy when Baekhyun told him the news personally. His best friend didn't look too affected, anyway. He was never considered to be really close to Chanyeol, and he doesn't know if it's because of Baekhyun.
Yifan was just about to drift right off into slumber when his window suddenly sounded. The loud sound jolted him right awake and he muttered curses as he sat up, pushing his blanket off of himself haphazardly. On his way towards the windows, his legs got entangled and he tripped and fell and landed on his face. Yifan would never forget that. He remembers how he had hoped so hard for no one to witness how embarrassing that was.
When he reached the window though, he was greeted by the sight of Baekhyun in an impossibly big sweater, his cute look complete with tousled hair that made him look like he just woke up and jeans that hugged his skin comfortably.
"Chanyeol broke up with me," was the first thing Baekhyun had said after Yifan let him in. He didn't take up much space on Yifan's bed since he sat himself down at a corner and brought his legs up for him to hug. Yifan's mind took a few long moments to register what was just said to him. There is the sound of crickets literally chirping outside, only made this loud because the night is horribly quiet for once in Baekhyun's presence. Everybody knows that almost nothing can be quiet when Baekhyun is around.
Yifan doesn't know what to say after he realizes what that sentence implies, because nothing he could come up with sounded appropriate enough to not let Baekhyun find out that he's secretly slightly interested in the smaller one. "Why?"
Cringing at the sound of his own voice, Yifan swallows before he continues speaking again. This time, he cringes at what his stupid mind came up with. "Are you okay?"
If okay means waking Yifan up in the middle of the night and looking like he couldn't sleep because of this break up, then fine. Maybe that was Baekhyun's definition of okay. But okay sure as hell doesn't mean that to Yifan. He mentally facepalms himself for asking the obvious.
"Not really, but also sort of." Baekhyun licked his lips, and Yifan's eyes followed that action. "He said he thought that he liked me, when it was actually just him being confused about his own feelings. We had seen each other naked countless times as we grew up, tried holding each other's hands when we were young and didn't know better because our hands were soft enough to pass off as a girl's."
When that didn't work out, we even took it further after we got dared to kiss each other at a party. People often mistook us for a couple because we were just that close. I know his laundry preferences, and that he likes his tea with less sugar and coffee black. He knows that I cried watching Little Mermaid because he was there, and he knows that I secretly prefer cats over dogs even though I never told anyone." After Baekhyun was done, Yifan took another few moments to internalize everything again, only that he didn't take as long this time.
"What did you feel about him though?"
Baekhyun shrugs. "It's sort of the same, except that I realized that I did like him a little. He's tall, he's cute and nice, he has known me since forever. I can't help that he understands me better than I do sometimes, and it is the same for him too."
Yifan is tall, but he doesn't really look cute and has known Baekhyun for only half a year. If that was Baekhyun's type of guy, Yifan should probably start looking somewhere else, if he could even bring himself to.
"But I do like someone else as well. Or maybe you could say that I'm more interested to know him better? If I didn't see things wrongly, I think he might be interested in me too, but I don't really know..." Yifan's legs are now crossed on his own bed, and how he wishes he could kick Baekhyun off and bury himself under his blankets again now. It was like Baekhyun had just given a child candy, but he had to take it away from him because he realized that he actually wanted to eat it himself.
"We haven't known each other for long, but I like him enough. He hasn't seen me cry over Little Mermaid, but he was there when I got headaches from trying to come up with original recipes. He was there when I fucked up my first audition into choir because I was too nervous. He was the first one I thought of to go to after the break up happened... and here I am."
Here he was...? Was Baekhyun trying to imply what Yifan thinks he was trying to? What were the chances that it could be him? He was now looking at Yifan, and Yifan desperately wished that he wasn't looking at Baekhyun in the first place, because he doesn't want Baekhyun to think that him looking away could be a sign of rejection. But Yifan can't hold Baekhyun's gaze, not now, not when his mind is spinning with a thousand possibilities and he's struggling to form a proper sentence.
One, two, three. Baekhyun uncurled himself and gave Yifan a small smile, one that didn't show his teeth or make his eyes form crescents. "Nevermind. Go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Even before Yifan could answer, Baekhyun was already putting on his shoes, getting ready to climb back out and get back into his own dorm room. Baekhyun turned back just before he pushed himself through to give Yifan another small smile and a wave of his pretty fingers, and Yifan takes the chance.
He closes his fingers around Baekhyun's wrist to pull him closer and Yifan closes his eyes as he feels Baekhyun's lips press against his, only daring to open them again a few moments later. Even behind closed eyelids, he felt Baekhyun's smile, and he couldn't stop himself from returning it as well.
Getting to know each other ended up taking two years, and Yifan only dared to ask Baekhyun out after he had graduated, wanting to be sure of his future before he invited Baekhyun to be a part of it. Two years weren't short, but none of them rushed anything, especially Yifan. The two years made him realize that what he knew about Baekhyun from the six months were really almost nothing-not that two years could be comparable to anything either.
Yifan still smiles out of nowhere when he remembers how Baekhyun had kissed him in front of everybody else when he asked him out on his graduation day. Jongdae had shouted something that sounded dangerously like Get a room!, but it was followed by boisterous laughter. Yifan wouldn't doubt that Baekhyun had actually flipped him off behind Yifan's back to have caused that laughter.
That was four years ago, and after knowing each other for six years, Yifan thinks that he is ready to settle down with Baekhyun.
He just doesn't know if Baekhyun thinks the same.
//
If asked, Yifan would honestly answer that he's the luckiest man around, really. He hasn't won the lottery, nor has he picked up a cheque off the floor, but he has Baekhyun. Baekhyun, who is always home before him with food on the table.
Having a boyfriend who is a chef has its perks-maybe not so much when your boyfriend is anal about people sneaking food into their mouths while it’s cooking, but Yifan is still always reminded of that whenever the smell of cooked food enters his nostrils every evening. Baekhyun works during the lunch and early evening period, which makes him available for breakfast and usually dinner, unless he has to take over for someone. He usually goes in earlier though, just to check on everyone. Just because he has a high position doesn't make him any less hardworking.
"I love you." Yifan announces, though his eyes are focused on the dishes that Baekhyun has prepared for today instead. Baekhyun laughs. "You love the food, or me?"
"The food." Yifan cheekily answers, grinning when he sees his boyfriend frown at his answer. "But I love you more."
Yifan knows that he is forgiven when Baekhyun presses a kiss to his cheek, and he leaves him to set his coat on the hanger before he joins Baekhyun on the dinner table. Baekhyun feels most comfortable when he's cooking in his own kitchen, which is why Yifan goes over for dinner, and he sometimes stays over.
"Have you gotten any calls?"
"Yeah, I have. There's this one place that sounds nice. It's near the sea which means a great view is promised. The manager told us we should visit soon if we're interested, because there are a few other people who are looking at it too." Yifan nods, hoping that this house will be more promising than the previous one.
//
It happens a few days later, and they both take half the day off to look at the place.
"It has three rooms, and you can see the sea from here." The manager points in the direction of the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, and Yifan hums. That's good.
The ceiling isn't too low for Yifan for once, and he can see his plan being carried out in this place nicely. Baekhyun had gone straight for the kitchen after the door was opened, and Yifan walks back into the house from the balcony to meet Baekhyun again.
"What do you think about it?"
"It has a nice feel to it, what with the sea being near and the amount of light that gets here and all." Then, he shifts his gaze over from the kitchen counter to Yifan.
"I like it."
//
Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding is set to be on the 21st of June. No one thought anything about the date at all, until Jongin mentioned that Chanyeol had specifically picked this date because it was the middle of their birthdays. Baekhyun didn't know if he should gag or find it sweet.
Until his best friend had announced his marriage, Baekhyun had never thought much about that topic. He does realize that this year is going to be his fourth year together with Yifan after knowing each other for another two years, and his mother had been nagging at him to get settled down soon.
(Baekhyun swears sometimes his mom likes Yifan more than she likes him, her own son. Not that he really blames her. Yifan is the perfect son, after all; he's a tall, handsome architect working in a big firm which meant that his pay wasn't measly, to say the least. Yifan could cook up some dishes if he tried-all thanks to Baekhyun-and he's nice and filial, unlike Baekhyun who had initially gone against his mother's wishes to enter culinary school. It took years for them to finally fully reconcile, and even that involved Yifan's help.)
He just never thinks much about it, because Yifan doesn't seem like he's that interested in getting married. Not for now, at least. When he had time back then, when their relationship was still beginning, Baekhyun used to wonder.
They would pick out each other's outfits. It would be nice if they could get married on the beach too. But Yifan hates the sun. A church would be nice as well. He would probably tear or cry and ruin the makeup while he says what he has prepared to his friends and family, but he knows that Yifan would be there to wipe his tears away at the end of the day, even if he would only do that after laughing. The wedding reception is going to include lots of good food because Baekhyun is going to pick out the dishes personally and everyone is going to be satisfied-
"Baekhyun?"
He blinks. "Baekhyun!"
Looking around, instead of the church that he saw himself in just seconds ago, he sees white walls and mirrors and suits and flowers. "Yes?"
"I can't find the rings!" Baekhyun suddenly remembers that today is the day of the wedding and wait-what?
"What do you mean you can't find the rings?" His gaze lands on Chanyeol, only to focus on a panic-stricken best friend. The last time he saw Chanyeol look something like this, it was when he had confessed to Jongin, and Jongin had said something about Chanyeol being comparable to his dogs. Chanyeol had panicked because he had no idea what being comparable to Monggu meant, and he didn't want to lose his friendship with Jongin just because of his feelings.
"I don't know! I was just getting ready and someone asked for the box and I-suddenly couldn't find it?" Now Chanyeol is pacing back and forth like that would make the rings magically appear, and Baekhyun is definitely dragged out of his daydrean from before now. "Have you checked the toilet? Underneath the seats or something? Along the aisle? You were walking down there earlier."
"Yifan and the others have gone around searching and none of them have found anything from those places. They've flipped this entire room around and there's nothing here too. Where have I been..." Chanyeol mutters that last part to himself more than to Baekhyun, and Baekhyun surveys the messed up state of the dressing room. How long had he been dreaming for to have not noticed all these going on?
"Did you leave it in the car? Maybe it dropped out of your pocket or something when you got out of it?" At that, Chanyeol snaps his fingers and looks at Baekhyun as if he was a genius before he rushes out of the room, leaving Baekhyun to the mess that is piles of suits being left around and things being displaced. Baekhyun hopes that Chanyeol really finds the rings, because this is his best friend's special day, and he doesn't want anything bad to happen.
As he picks the suits up and arranges them according to size, Baekhyun is suddenly reminded of his juvenile expectations of how his wedding was going be like. His daydream was how he saw his wedding with Yifan to be when their relationship was barely two years old, and that was when he was still a low ranking chef in a hotel with more time to spare.
Older and wiser now, he only wanted his wedding to be simple. If there was going to be one at all, that is.
Chanyeol bursts into the room all of a sudden, and he almost knocks Baekhyun, who had armfuls of suits with him then, over when he raises the box of rings up triumphantly. Baekhyun grins and awkwardly lifts his arm to pat Chanyeol's head, genuinely happy for his best friend.
Jongin is probably off with Yifan, settling more important things like doing last minute checks of the food and guest list and everything else, while Chanyeol is forced to sit down and have his makeup be done again. Baekhyun vaguely wanders if this would be him on his own big day, all nervous but still immensely happy.
"So it was there?"
Chanyeol smiles, his eyes remaining closed as the makeup artist does her magic at the area around his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks."
"Nah, it was nothing. I should have recorded your face or something though. That would have made excellent footage for the montage video."
At that, Chanyeol's eyebrows crease into a frown, before he is nagged at by the makeup artist to keep his face relaxed lest the makeup turns out uneven. "Hey. That isn't very nice of you."
"I've never really called myself nice, if you haven't noticed."
"Yeah, because you call yourself cute and all. Only Yifan is willing to put up with the shit you say." Baekhyun is unable to hold in the laugh that threatened to burst at that. That is true.
Minutes of silence lapse between them after that, because Baekhyun is unable to defend himself anymore. Eventually, he is unable to resist asking. "How does it feel like?"
"How does what feel like?"
"This whole marriage thing."
"I feel lucky. Lucky that tomorrow I'll be able to wake up next to Jongin as his husband, no longer his fiance or his boyfriend." A soft chuckle is heard, and the way Chanyeol looks so content with his eyes closed and smile on his face, like he is imagining that scene, does things to Baekhyun. He wants to feel like that too.
"I'm not sure of the future because that is something no one can predict so I did feel scared about this before I proposed, because it felt like such a big leap-from being boyfriends to husbands. But I felt that it would be worth it." Baekhyun hums, stuffing Chanyeol's words into the back of his mind for further thinking because just then, someone calls out their name for a final rehearsal. The makeup artist lets Chanyeol go after one last touch up to his cheek, and Baekhyun pats Chanyeol's shoulder on the way out simply because he looked like he needed it.
It isn't long before Chanyeol is finally standing at the end of the aisle, looking expectantly at the other end while all their families and friends are here, watching them. Chanyeol has to clasp his hands together to stop himself from clenching and unclenching them into fists, still nervous that he might mess up at the last part somehow. He looks around and Baekhyun catches his gaze, fist pumping him from the side. Chanyeol returns his grin with a small smile, eyes immediately going to the entrance of the church when music starts playing.
Baekhyun's hand never leaves Yifan's throughout the entire ceremony, and Yifan doesn't have the heart to tell Baekhyun that his hand is gettig numb from all the squeezing he's getting, especially when they were saying their vows.
Chanyeol starts to sing after he's done speaking, and everyone immediately erupts into cheers. He winks at Jongin while he does, and suddenly there's someone playing a guitar at one corner of the hall. Jongin looks like he's stuck in between having his face split from that wide grin he's wearing or dying from embarrassment at the cheesy lyrics.
Yifan had his hand clasped together with Baekhyun's, and he could feel the beating of his heart because he held their hands against his chest. He swears that if anyone looked closely, Baekhyun's eyes were starting to get watery.
Before Yifan could offer tissues or anything though, Baekhyun lets go of Yifan's hand to give a loud cheer and clap loudly when the pastor announces that they may kiss.
Yifan smiles, not only because of Baekhyun, because his best friend is finally settled down, and Yifan feels so happy for him.
Chanyeol and Jongin hadn't invited a whole lot of people, but the crowd can still get overwhelming sometimes, so Baekhyun makes his way out of the church with Yifan trailing behind him. They could congratulate them later; hopefully they'd remember it before they start to drink.
Yifan and Baekhyun are laughing over something when Chanyeol and Jongin make their way over instead, seemingly having greeted everyone already.
"Hey, congratulations on getting married. Don't forget to use my gift!" Baekhyun says, earning three confused expressions staring at him.
"What did you give us?" Chanyeol says, eyeing Baekhyun almost warily. Baekhyun only wiggles his eyebrows, making his grin more suggestive just for the sake of scaring the two of them. "You'll see. Thank me later."
Yifan looks at him like he's surprised, but Baekhyun is pretty sure he knows what the gift is, seeing as how he bought it online using Yifan's card. Yifan takes his turn to congratulate them too, and the next question that comes is so sudden that he stops breathing for a few seconds.
"So, when are you two getting married?" As much as Yifan wants to know more about Baekhyun's thoughts about this, he doesn't know how to ask explicitly. What if Baekhyun doesn't think he is ready to settle down and finds Yifan weird for thinking so?
Opening his mouth to speak, Yifan is about to say something like Not now, but just then, Baekhyun actually laughs. "Soon. Hopefully. If he wants me, that is."
Yifan is positively speechless. He is sure Baekhyun hasn't had anything to drink yet. Does Baekhyun really mean what he is saying right now?
By the time they reach home, the only thing Baekhyun can think about is how much he wants to sleep. Next to washing up first, of course. He hadn't managed to take leave for two days, even though he knows that he should have, because the celebration after the ceremony is bound to include wine. Going to work with a hangover is not part of any of the best decisions he has made in life, but it seems that he does not have a choice now.
After washing up, Baekhyun flops down onto his bed, rolling over to make space for Yifan when he spots the other approaching. Yifan's mind is still buzzing with the amount of possibilities he's thinking about right now, the implications of Baekhyun's words since noon. The feeling of how his heart seemed to refuse to listen to him and calm down in those few moments when he had first heard those words is up there on his personal ranking of the things that makes his heart beat. Wildly.
Pulling Baekhyun closer to him so that he's resting his cheek more on Yifan's arm than on the pillow, Yifan looks down. Baekhyun's eyes are closed, but his breathing is still uneven, and Yifan guesses that now is better than ever. In retrospect, maybe he should have thought more.
"Hey Baekhyun, would you be happier if we were married?"
Baekhyun blinks an eye open before closing it again, snuggling closer up against Yifan's side. "I don't know about being happier, because it's just another title for our relationship. But I'd be happy, yes, because it's you." A gentle smile pulls the corner of his lips up at that, and Yifan is unable to stop himself from mirroring that smile too.
This is going to be too casual for his liking, but he's going to do it properly another time if Baekhyun says yes. He just wants to know how Baekhyun thinks. Baekhyun's head is heavy on his arm, and he has an arm draped across Yifan's waist. He looks beautiful as he's falling asleep, and Yifan has never felt luckier.
"Baekhyun. Would you marry me?" He's holding Baekhyun tighter against him, anxiously waiting for his reply.
But it never comes.
Or maybe it does, but it's in the form of a snore. Soft snores start leaving Baekhyun seconds after Yifan is about to ask if he is actually still awake and Yifan doesn't know what to feel. Should he be relieved that he has more time to surprise Baekhyun with an actual one, or should he be disappointed because he doesn't know when will he have the courage to say those words again?
//
"What were you even thinking?"
Jongin is laughing in this weird, half-shrieking way of his, and Chanyeol is slapping the table so loudly that people are turning around to glare at the cause of the noise. Yifan doesn't want to be associated with either of them right now, but he needs help.
"I don't know. It was only a question anyway! Who would have known that he would fall asleep before I actually ask it?"
"He was tired! You said it!" Wiping some stray drops of tears that have fallen from laughing, Chanyeol finally straightens up, sniffing. "Okay, but really. What do you plan to do next, then?"
Upon seeing his husband get serious, Jongin stops laughing too, and he leans in further like he's paying attention, but Yifan saw it. He saw the hand that was on Chanyeol's thigh, and the last thing he wants is to be here when things start to get too frisky. Why is he even friends with such people?
"I'll find more chances to ask him, I guess. What else can I do?" Almost right after he says that, Chanyeol's suddenly clutching onto his belly again, looking like he's going to burst out laughing any moment. Yifan doesn't see the humour in this, or maybe it's because he's the joke here.
"Make sure he isn't tired when you do then."
//
"Baekhyun. Wouldn't it be good if we got married?"
Yifan is staring at the screen right now, and Hazel is crying. Okay, maybe she's weeping, Yifan doesn't know. He's only staring at the screen because he doesn't want to see Baekhyun's reaction. But if he doesn't, this will never end-he's going to continue to get plagued by what ifs and there'll be no answers.
There is a sudden tight grip on his arm and more broken sobbing, except that now Yifan isn't sure if it's coming from the screen or the man beside him.
"Baekhyun, did you-wait, do you need more tissues?" Baekhyun is making a mess. There's a tub of ice cream propped up on his knees but he's crying more than actually eating. Yifan rushes towards the tissue box without waiting for Baekhyun's reply, holding it out to him once he's gotten it.
It is sad, and Yifan's pretty sure if he was still into it as much as he was at the start, he would have shed a few tears too. But now his fingers are playing with themselves and he's too busy wondering if Baekhyun heard his question to keep up with Hazel's crying and Augustus' death.
So maybe asking the question while watching The Fault In Our Stars wasn't the best decision Yifan has made, but hey, everyone makes questionable life decisions at least once in their lives, right?
After the movie ends, Yifan spends some time trying to coax a still crying Baekhyun to bed, though not to sleep, not yet. Baekhyun washes up while Yifan cleans up the mess of tissues and finished ice cream tubs, before he takes his turn with washing up as well.
Brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Baekhyun's face, Yifan opens his mouth again. Baekhyun's awake this time, definitely, because his eyes are still open. They're unfocused because he isn't focusing on anything, fingers idly playing with the hem of Yifan's sleep shirt.
"Hey. Earth to Baekhyun?" When Baekhyun looks up at him, his heart skips a beat.
"Would you... would you marry me?"
Baekhyun immediately tenses up against him, and where his fingers were previously fiddling around, they have now stopped. Yifan's mind is suddenly thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. Why hadn't he thought of this possibility earlier?
"I don't mean now. But in the future. After we've gotten a home together and all."
"It feels like a really big step towards something more, but I don't see myself being with anyone else. Not in the near future, at least." Baekhyun laughs, because that is what he really thinks, but it isn't like Yifan is going to propose to him anytime soon. Or at least that's what he thinks.
Some time ago, they had agreed on getting a place together first before moving onto anything else, more specifically marriage. Sure, that apartment is already more or less theirs at this point, but Baekhyun doesn't think Yifan would be this fast with things. He had taken his time to try to get to know Baekhyun, after all. And Baekhyun is willing to wait, should Yifan decide to do the same thing this time.
Their manager has not yet contacted them about the house they've gone to view just a few days ago, but Yifan has already stopped paying rent for his place, positive that they are going to get that place anyway.
Baekhyun is scared, but it doesn't bother him too much because marriage doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, despite what he had said during Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding.
//
"We've gotten the house?"
"Yeah, it's ours now. We're supposed to be paying the first down payment soon."
Baekhyun promises to cook Yifan a feast once they've settled down in their new house, but for now, he suggests throwing a mini celebration at Chanyeol's place. Baekhyun secretly loves how new their kitchen seems to be because they never use it anyway, even though he would nag at them for not learning how to cook since too much takeout is unhealthy.
The celebration is in a few days, which means that Yifan has a few days to prepare a few more things aside from the wine Baekhyun had asked him to buy.
Choosing a ring has never been this difficult, Yifan thinks. A wide array of silver, and even gold, bands are staring right back at him, but he doesn't know which to choose.
Yifan had dragged Jongin along to help him since he'd definitely be more experienced, but it turns out that Chanyeol had done all these behind his back as well. Which means that Jongin has no idea how Chanyeol managed to pick a ring. Which also means that they're both stuck at the jewellery shop groaning with a not-very-impressed worker staring at them.
"Jongin. Which one should I get?" Yifan holds a gold and a silver band in each hand up, figuring that he shouldn't be biased towards a certain colour since the design is going to be more important. "Jongin?"
His best friend looks up from his phone only at the second call, but even then his broad smile isn't erased from his face. Laughing with Chanyeol over his misery, probably.
"The silver one. Gold is tacky. Or at least Chanyeol says so."
"It's traditional." Yifan gives the wedding bands one last look. "But you're sort of right. I think he'd prefer silver anyway."
The salesgirl mutters something under her breath when Yifan hands the rings over to her and says that he'll take those, and Yifan is too busy being nervous about the entire thing to bother with her lack of politeness.
"What if he doesn't like it? Wait, does this shop allow returns-" Yifan starts to look around, hopefully for a sign somewhere that would say something about it, but Jongin suddenly takes his hands and holds them in his own. Yifan suddenly notices how his own hands are clammy, in contrast to Jongin's warm ones.
"This shop doesn't allow returns. He will like it. I will succeed. Repeat the last two lines after me."
"I will succeed. Repeat the last two lines after me." Yifan slowly says, and Jongin smacks him up the head gently, snorting while he's at it.
"It's He will like it, I will succeed, silly. Now repeat them after me again. Without the silly."
"He will like it, I will succeed," Yifan finally breathes out.
Even though he doesn't know if it is working yet, the temporary brainwashing, he feels better knowing that he still has Jongin here with him. And by extension, Chanyeol too.
//
Baekhyun had brought the idea up with all intentions of being the only chef in the kitchen, but as the date of the celebration draws near, his friends are all trying to convince him to set up barbeque instead. This way, he wouldn't have to cook too much, and all of them would be able to share the load. Baekhyun reluctantly agrees because well, he doesn't really have a choice. It'd be great to take a break from being a chef, anyway.
Yifan had texted Baekhyun before that he'd be going over to Chanyeol's earlier because he had finished his work early. Chanyeol then texts him a dress code for the celebration, and he will apparently not be allowed in unless he's wearing... a suit? For barbeque? Things are getting increasingly strange.
Baekhyun shows up in one anyway, or in the closest thing he has that's like a suit. He stands in front of Chanyeol's door, fidgeting around for a bit because he isn't used to how the stiff material is hugging his skin, as opposed to his usually oversized clothes or nicely fit chef outfit. More than that, he's sort of nervous, though he doesn't even know why. It's like his senses are sending him an alarm beforehand about a danger that is to happen, even though Baekhyun has no idea when it would.
Letting out a deep breath, Baekhyun rings the bell and gets let in... only to be greeted by balloons and streamers being placed around the room.
He is pretty sure these banners were meant for birthday celebrations, but he doesn't have the time to point it out, not when Chanyeol and Jongin are busy popping more streamers and making a bigger mess. It's like they're the actual ones who are getting a new place, Baekhyun thinks as he laughs.
He gets dragged in and dinner proceeds on as usual, with all of them fighting to cook whatever they want with the obviously undersized pit Chanyeol had somewhere in his storeroom on the rooftop. The occasional wind makes it hard for the fire to start quickly, but they manage it in the end.
Soon, it gets too hot for him to be wearing the blazer, and none of them protest when he takes it off. Actually, now that he looks at them properly, none of them are wearing anything formal at all. Maybe except for Yifan. He looks he picked out the least formal shirt and pants out of all his formal wear which he usually wears to work.
"Hey, do you want some more food? I'm going to cook more meat-" Yifan jerks when Baekhyun rests a hand on his thigh, and he immediately pulls it back. It has been happening for the entire night; Baekhyun talking to everyone as usual, but Yifan is somewhat avoiding Baekhyun but not really at the same time. He jerks at touches and looks like he's nervous, like it's the day before he needs to do his presentations in front of all the big bosses and he's scared he might screw up somewhere.
Things are getting a little-okay, maybe pretty-weird, and no one is saying anything about it. Weird, indeed.
They are almost done with wiping out all the food they prepared and Chanyeol and Jongin have suddenly disappeared after fighting over the last chicken wing. Baekhyun vaguely remembers one of them winning, and them making some weird excuse about needing to check if the desert was ready, leaving Baekhyun and Yifan to clean up the mess in their rooftop.
It takes them a while before the place is clean again, and Baekhyun is just about to head back down into Chanyeol and Jongin's place when Yifan suddenly takes his hand, pulling him back into the middle of the rooftop.
Just then, Chanyeol and Jongin appear from behind a few randomly placed racks of clothes, and Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol is about to start one of his random singing bouts again, where he makes people sit there while he plays the guitar.
Baekhyun doesn't remember seeing any of them come back up to the rooftop, but that's not important because Yifan is suddenly letting his hand go and taking a few steps back before he could even question what is happening.
"Baekhyun. I know I said we should probably do this only after getting a home together, but with how things are now, I think it'd be a great time to ask this. We've been together for what, four years? Have known each other for six. It has been six years, but sometimes I still look at you and I go wow, he's mine." Somewhere behind Yifan, Baekhyun hears a snicker that sounds suspiciously like his best friend.
"I feel so glad to have you, and I am thankful to you for sticking with me through our hard times before," a deep breath. Baekhyun thinks he knows where this is going, but he doesn't want to spoil Yifan's plan-things are starting to click now-so he puts on his best mask of innocence.
There is a collective intake of breath when Yifan gets down on a knee, reaching into his pocket. By now, Baekhyun's heart is threatening to make its way out of his chest, through his mouth or something. But even his mouth seems to be clamped shut by now, when Yifan finally asks the question. Properly, for once.
"I hope that you'd be able to share the happiness I feel with me too, and hopefully you'll never let go of my hand even if it's wrinkly and bony." Yifan chuckles, and Baekhyun manages to lift the corners of his lips up into a semblance of a smile. "So, Baekhyun. Will you marry me?"
Baekhyun wants to groan. His hair is messy because the wind has made its way through it, bulldozed its way through it, more like it. His blazer is on his arm and his stupid best friend is playing the guitar now. He probably looks horrible now, but Yifan is kneeling down in front of him asking one of the most important questions anyone will ever hear, smile hopeful and nervous and Baekhyun wants.
So he just nods furiously, sniffing slightly to push back the tears that were threatening to flow-he hadn't even realized that.
Seeing as his mouth is still clamped shut, Baekhyun helps Yifan up and Yifan takes the chance to press his lips against Baekhyun's, sneakily slipping the ring down Baekhyun's finger while he's at it. Baekhyun almost forgets that Chanyeol and Jongin are there until Jongin starts to cheer, nudging at Chanyeol who is still playing the guitar-apparently too engrossed to pay attention to what is happening around him-to cheer for his friends too.
"No more mopey Yifan!" comes from one of them, and even as Yifan flips the person off, he is glad that he doesn't have to worry anymore.
//
It really helps having an architect as a boyfriend-now fiancé-Baekhyun thinks, as he watches Yifan go about calling places up for their new apartment's renovation. Yifan has this thing which he calls The Plan, with the capital T and P. It's apparently a design he drew up some time ago for when he finally moves in together with Baekhyun.
"You were so sure that we'd move in together?" Baekhyun arched a brow, delighting in the way Yifan flushed.
"I... don't know. I thought it'd be good, then I started thinking about what you'd like, and what I'd like, and combined them together. And this came out." Baekhyun had taken the drawing over from Yifan, keeping him away with a firm hand on his chest. He had been hearing about it for the longest time, and every time they visited apartments, he'd murmur something about the place not fitting his plan.
Now Baekhyun finally knows what plan he is talking about.
There are floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a granite kitchen counter, a built-in wardrobe-Baekhyun can't believe this.
"You've been hiding this from me for so long?"
"Well, like you've said, I didn't know if we'd actually move in together. I was bored when I drew this, now will you please give it back to me-“ Yifan huffs and straightens the paper when it is finally handed back to him, and Baekhyun grabs him by the shoulders and makes Yifan face him.
Looking into his eyes, Baekhyun grins.
"I love you, do you know that?"
"If this is for the kitchen counter-“
Baekhyun shuts Yifan up by pressing his lips to Yifan's.
//
Whatever doubts he had about getting married earlier are all cleared, things like wondering if his mother would actually approve, if he'd be good enough for Yifan and everything else.
Turns out he didn't have to worry about his mother at all.
"You're getting married! To Yifan! When will it be?" his mother shouts. Beside him, Yifan chuckles as he dices the piece of meat up into smaller ones, preparing them for marination before actual cooking.
"Mom. I can hear you just fine, you don't have to shout. And about the date... we haven't set one yet. We were hoping you could help us with that."
They hang up with promises of getting an auspicious date for the wedding, with Baekhyun cutting the call short because he has to rush over to help Yifan before his precious kitchen gets burnt down.
//
"What made you want to get married?"
"Well, Chanyeol and Jongin, mostly. I saw how happy they were, and I thought we could be like that too." Yifan shrugs a shoulder, looking down at where Baekhyun is playing with his fingers.
"And what made you think I'd agree?"
"I didn't know how you'd react to it, hence mopey Yifan." Yifan laughs and turns Baekhyun around so that he could back hug him to face the sea, mostly. This is one of the reasons why Baekhyun had loved Yifan's plan. The sea view wasn't in it, but the glass windows would allow them to enjoy any view fully. The fact that they managed to get an apartment near the sea only makes it better.
"I tried asking a few times though, don't know if you picked those hints up. We were already planning to move in together, and we've been together for a few years already, so I wondered, if not now, then when?" Their entire apartment still isn't fully renovated yet, but Yifan had made sure that these glass windows were fixed first. After the workers knock off, he and Baekhyun would sneak in sometimes to enjoy the view, excited for what the completed apartment would look like.
It smells a little more like paint than the sea, and they sway side to side, simply enjoying each other's company. Baekhyun's wondering how perfect his kitchen would turn out, how perfect Yifan would look in there with his Hello Kitty apron and a spatula-he's going to make sure Yifan actually learns cooking this time. His workplace had signed him up for a few cooking competitions, some that'd take him out of the country, and he needs Yifan to know how to cook for himself. Ordering takeout is not an option.
"You know, there was another reason why I had wanted these glass windows," Yifan suddenly says, voice a lot louder now that he's whispering next to Baekhyun's ear. A shiver runs down his spine, and Yifan unconsciously tightens his arms around Baekhyun.
"Mhm? Why else did you want them?" Baekhyun does his best to play innocent, lashes batting even when he turns his head a little so that he could look at Yifan.
"You know why."
In seconds, he's being pressed up against the glass window, and Baekhyun suspects that more than being able to have a great view, this had been Yifan's motive the entire time. When he looks up, he finds that Yifan's eyebrows are raised suggestively, eyes glinting with something that looks like a promise.
//
In retrospect, it might not have been the best decision; they fooled around for a bit before returning home and continued.
Now, they are struggling to get up for their own wedding, what with tripping over clothes that are haphazardly laid around and trying to smooth down tousled hair. They reach the venue a little later than agreed, but no one complains because they're the main people for today.
Yifan is running around, probably settling some last minute things when Baekhyun is getting his makeup done. Since he isn't allowed to move around too much, he starts to daydream instead.
There's this horribly odd sense of deja vu when Chanyeol rushes in, causing him to open his eyes only because of all the noise the tall man made. Baekhyun almost laughs at the other man's widened eyes and comical face-until Chanyeol opens his mouth and tells him the same thing he heard months ago, only that it's worse now that it's his wedding rings.
"Yifan can’t find the rings!"
Pairing: Kris/Baekhyun
Word count: 9607 words
Side pairing(s): chankai
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): -
Summary: "You two have been together for like what, ten years? When is your turn coming?"
Author's Note (if any): I must say that I have close to zero knowledge about how weddings and the like work, so I apologise for any inaccuracies there might be in this fic ;-; (written for the krisbaek exchange)
Jongin is presently somewhat hiding behind Chanyeol's back, and Yifan has fingers curled around Baekhyun's wrist to hold him back just in case. Jongin is an adult who is perfectly capable of protecting himself and Chanyeol is being overprotective right now, but Yifan understands because Baekhyun can come off a little too strong sometimes.
"You two are getting married?" Baekhyun's eyes are widened as he speaks and there's this look he has on his face. Yifan isn't too sure if it's betrayal or surprise and judging by the looks on Chanyeol and Jongin's faces, they don't seem to be too sure either.
Baekhyun and Chanyeol had made a pact to have double weddings when they were kids-things changed when they ended up together instead, but even if they grew up together and knew each other like the back of their hands, it didn't work out. That doesn't mean that the pact is called off though, and Chanyeol and Jongin are obviously taking a step ahead first.
Upon Chanyeol and Jongin's silence because the answer is obvious, Baekhyun continues on his own. "I can't believe you are telling me only now! When is it? Where is it going to be? Am I going to be your best man?" Yifan sees the tension visibly bleed out of Chanyeol and Jongin's shoulders, and he can feel himself relaxing too, since his boyfriend did look unfriendly before. Baekhyun's gaze is shifted to Chanyeol then, and Chanyeol quickly shakes his head like the look of surprise would disappear before nodding. At least Baekhyun isn't feeling betrayed, that much is sure now.
Yifan is quickly tugged towards Jongin and they start to plan for it, taking down notes on their phones. Baekhyun never brings up the pact and Yifan wonders if he remembers it at all. He only knew because Baekhyun told him, but it was only three months into their relationship and while Yifan loved him, that new level of commitment wasn't the first thing on his mind. Right now, as they are approaching four years as a couple, it still isn't because they haven't found a flat for the both of them to move into, but the idea sounds a lot more plausible now that they have spent more time together.
Yifan pushes that thought away into the back of his mind and focuses on what Jongin seems to be saying at the moment, something about having dogs walk them down the aisle instead. He visibly deflates when he remembers that Chanyeol is actually allergic to them, and Yifan laughs and gives his hair a light ruffle.
Looks like he'd have to talk to Baekhyun soon.
//
None of them are young anymore. Baekhyun and Chanyeol are childhood friends, but the rest of their friendship circle really met each other only when they were in university. There were always jokes about how one day, they might not be able to sit together at the same cafeteria table anymore, seeing as how people seemed to be joining faster than people could graduate.
Luhan was Yifan's only friend despite the orientation camp that was held before school actually started. What made being a new student easier was that most of these people were seeing each other for their first time too, but they seemed to get along better in spite of that. It wasn't like he hadn't tried approaching people. They were either too intimidated by his height or too busy staring at his face to actually continue a conversation with him.
Yifan had frowned when he accidentally overheard a bunch of girls talking about him. The frown only deepened when he heard something about a resting bitch face, and he actually went to ask Luhan about it.
"I think it’s just your height." Luhan's kind smile is on his face again, but it's always there so Yifan doesn't know what he should feel.
Soon, Luhan met Yixing through a shared class, and Yixing introduced Jongin as a lonely dance class partner who just wanted some fried chicken. They were all different, what with their different majors and interests, but they still made great friends anyway.
Baekhyun was the first to actually approach him with a wide grin and not plan to sell him a product.
Luhan had barely introduced him to Baekhyun, but he remembers getting dragged towards the rest of the group faster than he could say sure. He then found himself standing back to back with someone with big ears and a snapback with a bill that jutted at the back of his head while Baekhyun looked up.
"Chanyeol, he's taller than you!" Baekhyun's eyes were shining like he had found some sort of treasure, and Yifan was amused, to say the least.
"Never said I was the tallest around but hey, it's nice to meet you, fellow tallie." The one with big ears-Chanyeol-extends a hand and Yifan gladly takes it, offering him a genuine smile as they shake hands. Baekhyun fights to sit beside him and introduces him to the rest of them and by the end of the meal, Yifan couldn't help the smile he had on when he looked over at the smaller sized guy next to him. Smaller sized, but so full of energy.
//
"You two have been together for like what, ten years? When is your turn coming?" And Jongdae just had to open his mouth.
The bar Chanyeol chose today played decent music that did not make Yifan feel like his eardrums were going to burst, and that alone makes the whole gathering a lot better. The last time it was Chanyeol's turn to choose a meet up place, half of them got lost while they were trying to find their way home and the others-well. It obviously didn't end too well.
The current situation isn't exactly ideal either; Baekhyun is leaning all his weight on Yifan's side while he laughs in the middle of conversations, which isn't an unwelcome thing because Baekhyun is warm but he's also close to getting drunk with Jongdae right behind him and a drunk Jongdae is never up to any good. A drunk Baekhyun is simply giggly and he starts to say weird things, but Jongdae can start to say things that should never be said. Or ask questions that should never be asked.
It was all good. They were discussing some details about Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding, like if they should get polka-dotted or striped bowties and the kind of flowers to be used as decorations. No one was going to say anything about Yifan and Baekhyun because they are not the ones getting married. No one also knew that Yifan has been starting to think of it, and where his boyfriend externalizes most things, he internalizes it.
They have not been together for ten years, not even five, but they sure have known each other for a handful of years of so. This handful has allowed Baekhyun to understand that Yifan is prone to thinking about things himself instead of sharing them, but Baekhyun's nature had made it easier to get Yifan to talk about whatever he was thinking about. But what if this time he scares Baekhyun off with the word marriage?
Yifan subtly presses a kiss into Baekhyun's hair while his boyfriend continues babbling, making the entire table laugh. He needs some peace and quiet now to properly think about things.
//
Letting out a soft groan, Baekhyun rolls to lie on his side only to grab at empty sheets. He squints his eyes open after rubbing sleep out of them, lifting his head when his brain finally manages to register the smell of breakfast wafting through his apartment.
There is the unmistakable sound of Yifan working in the kitchen, and Baekhyun steps in after washing up with still half-opened eyes, nose immediately attacked by the stronger smell of food being cooked.
"Good morning, small one." Yifan chuckles at the pinch to his arm and Baekhyun huffs because that was not the reaction he was looking for.
"If you don't move the food will be burnt." But Yifan is warm and his shoulders are broad and he feels comfortable hugging him from the back like this. Baekhyun juts his bottom lip out and moves to sit himself down in one of the chairs instead, slumping against the table while he waited for the food to be done.
"There is aspirin and coffee on the table. Go take them."
"You are the best." Baekhyun hears a laugh come from Yifan above the sound of pancakes sizzling, and he smiles along. "Remind me why haven't we moved in together yet?"
"Because we can't find a place? The kitchen is either too small for you or the ceiling is too low for me." Baekhyun gives a chuckle at that, because that is true.
Yifan sets the plates of pancakes on the table and Baekhyun actually gets up to take the cutlery, and he doesn't miss the way Yifan's eyebrows raise in amusement because he is usually the laziest in the morning. Settling down after setting the table, Baekhyun finally digs in, giving a delighted hum at the taste of the homemade pancakes.
"Sometimes I feel like you're the actual chef here. Maybe our jobs are meant to switch-but I can't draw for nuts." Yifan chuckles and shakes his head. He is still wearing the Hello Kitty apron Baekhyun owns and it isn't the first time he is seeing it, but Baekhyun still coos over how he looks cuter everytime he sees it.
Yifan keeps quiet otherwise, and while Baekhyun isn't exactly up for loud chatter with a slight headache and his boyfriend isn't the most talkative person around, it is still weird for it to be so quiet. Baekhyun lifts a leg to nudge it against Yifan's calf, looking up from his food to look at Yifan. "What are you thinking about?"
"Hm? Nothing. Just about how happy Chanyeol and Jongin look at the thought of getting married." Yifan unconsciously tenses up. The words had slipped out of his mouth without his notice, but he could take this chance to gauge Baekhyun's reaction towards that topic, he guesses.
"I know right? Now they're all cute and gross. But I guess they have actually always been so." Baekhyun snickers and Yifan can't help the soft chuckles that leave him as well. That, he has to agree.
"What do you think about it though? I mean about marriage."
Baekhyun pauses in the middle of picking up the next pancake with his fork and Yifan can't tell if it is because he is thinking or because he had just made a wrong move. He almost heaves a sigh of relief when Baekhyun starts to open his mouth again.
"I think it'd make the people in the relationship feel safer. They're officially tied to each other, after all. It doesn't sound like a very bad thing to me though, if only a little scary." Immediately after finishing, Baekhyun dips his head down to devour the pancakes and Yifan leaves it at that. He has some more questions, but he doesn't think a morning hangover will make Baekhyun give answers that will help him in his mini internal conflict.
//
Yifan thinks back to when Baekhyun and Chanyeol were together.
He had felt so bad back then, for pining over someone who was already taken, but he couldn't help it. That wasn't to say that he was the one who caused their breakup. In fact, it could barely be called one.
Yifan remembers the drop he felt in his heart physically when he found out that they were together. But when he actually thought about it, everything was right in his face.
They went to parties together, went to school together-hell, Yifan would bet that they had even gone to bed together before. Baekhyun was always seen hanging off Chanyeol's arm, or when he isn't, Chanyeol would be asking after his whereabouts. Yifan usually pretended not to hear since he really didn't know, and someone else would always reply anyway.
They were one of the cutest couples around, Yifan had to admit, even as he feels his heart clench at the admission. For months, Yifan stayed by Baekhyun's side as nothing more than a close friend (Baekhyun really likes tall people, apparently) and did what he could, dealt with what he couldn't. Like hugging the smaller one and pressing a kiss into the crown of his hair, or enveloping those warm hands with his own bigger and colder ones.
Yifan had honestly learnt to accept it already. That was the only thing you could do when the facts were being shoved into your face so brutally almost every single moment. Chanyeol and Baekhyun never kissed or did anything much in front of their friends, but Yifan didn't miss the way they always sat closer, or how their hands were probably linked under the table. He wasn't looking, not at all.
Yifan never told anyone this-not that he could, what would people think about him if they knew?-but he secretly felt just the slightest bit happy when Baekhyun told him the news personally. His best friend didn't look too affected, anyway. He was never considered to be really close to Chanyeol, and he doesn't know if it's because of Baekhyun.
Yifan was just about to drift right off into slumber when his window suddenly sounded. The loud sound jolted him right awake and he muttered curses as he sat up, pushing his blanket off of himself haphazardly. On his way towards the windows, his legs got entangled and he tripped and fell and landed on his face. Yifan would never forget that. He remembers how he had hoped so hard for no one to witness how embarrassing that was.
When he reached the window though, he was greeted by the sight of Baekhyun in an impossibly big sweater, his cute look complete with tousled hair that made him look like he just woke up and jeans that hugged his skin comfortably.
"Chanyeol broke up with me," was the first thing Baekhyun had said after Yifan let him in. He didn't take up much space on Yifan's bed since he sat himself down at a corner and brought his legs up for him to hug. Yifan's mind took a few long moments to register what was just said to him. There is the sound of crickets literally chirping outside, only made this loud because the night is horribly quiet for once in Baekhyun's presence. Everybody knows that almost nothing can be quiet when Baekhyun is around.
Yifan doesn't know what to say after he realizes what that sentence implies, because nothing he could come up with sounded appropriate enough to not let Baekhyun find out that he's secretly slightly interested in the smaller one. "Why?"
Cringing at the sound of his own voice, Yifan swallows before he continues speaking again. This time, he cringes at what his stupid mind came up with. "Are you okay?"
If okay means waking Yifan up in the middle of the night and looking like he couldn't sleep because of this break up, then fine. Maybe that was Baekhyun's definition of okay. But okay sure as hell doesn't mean that to Yifan. He mentally facepalms himself for asking the obvious.
"Not really, but also sort of." Baekhyun licked his lips, and Yifan's eyes followed that action. "He said he thought that he liked me, when it was actually just him being confused about his own feelings. We had seen each other naked countless times as we grew up, tried holding each other's hands when we were young and didn't know better because our hands were soft enough to pass off as a girl's."
When that didn't work out, we even took it further after we got dared to kiss each other at a party. People often mistook us for a couple because we were just that close. I know his laundry preferences, and that he likes his tea with less sugar and coffee black. He knows that I cried watching Little Mermaid because he was there, and he knows that I secretly prefer cats over dogs even though I never told anyone." After Baekhyun was done, Yifan took another few moments to internalize everything again, only that he didn't take as long this time.
"What did you feel about him though?"
Baekhyun shrugs. "It's sort of the same, except that I realized that I did like him a little. He's tall, he's cute and nice, he has known me since forever. I can't help that he understands me better than I do sometimes, and it is the same for him too."
Yifan is tall, but he doesn't really look cute and has known Baekhyun for only half a year. If that was Baekhyun's type of guy, Yifan should probably start looking somewhere else, if he could even bring himself to.
"But I do like someone else as well. Or maybe you could say that I'm more interested to know him better? If I didn't see things wrongly, I think he might be interested in me too, but I don't really know..." Yifan's legs are now crossed on his own bed, and how he wishes he could kick Baekhyun off and bury himself under his blankets again now. It was like Baekhyun had just given a child candy, but he had to take it away from him because he realized that he actually wanted to eat it himself.
"We haven't known each other for long, but I like him enough. He hasn't seen me cry over Little Mermaid, but he was there when I got headaches from trying to come up with original recipes. He was there when I fucked up my first audition into choir because I was too nervous. He was the first one I thought of to go to after the break up happened... and here I am."
Here he was...? Was Baekhyun trying to imply what Yifan thinks he was trying to? What were the chances that it could be him? He was now looking at Yifan, and Yifan desperately wished that he wasn't looking at Baekhyun in the first place, because he doesn't want Baekhyun to think that him looking away could be a sign of rejection. But Yifan can't hold Baekhyun's gaze, not now, not when his mind is spinning with a thousand possibilities and he's struggling to form a proper sentence.
One, two, three. Baekhyun uncurled himself and gave Yifan a small smile, one that didn't show his teeth or make his eyes form crescents. "Nevermind. Go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Even before Yifan could answer, Baekhyun was already putting on his shoes, getting ready to climb back out and get back into his own dorm room. Baekhyun turned back just before he pushed himself through to give Yifan another small smile and a wave of his pretty fingers, and Yifan takes the chance.
He closes his fingers around Baekhyun's wrist to pull him closer and Yifan closes his eyes as he feels Baekhyun's lips press against his, only daring to open them again a few moments later. Even behind closed eyelids, he felt Baekhyun's smile, and he couldn't stop himself from returning it as well.
Getting to know each other ended up taking two years, and Yifan only dared to ask Baekhyun out after he had graduated, wanting to be sure of his future before he invited Baekhyun to be a part of it. Two years weren't short, but none of them rushed anything, especially Yifan. The two years made him realize that what he knew about Baekhyun from the six months were really almost nothing-not that two years could be comparable to anything either.
Yifan still smiles out of nowhere when he remembers how Baekhyun had kissed him in front of everybody else when he asked him out on his graduation day. Jongdae had shouted something that sounded dangerously like Get a room!, but it was followed by boisterous laughter. Yifan wouldn't doubt that Baekhyun had actually flipped him off behind Yifan's back to have caused that laughter.
That was four years ago, and after knowing each other for six years, Yifan thinks that he is ready to settle down with Baekhyun.
He just doesn't know if Baekhyun thinks the same.
//
If asked, Yifan would honestly answer that he's the luckiest man around, really. He hasn't won the lottery, nor has he picked up a cheque off the floor, but he has Baekhyun. Baekhyun, who is always home before him with food on the table.
Having a boyfriend who is a chef has its perks-maybe not so much when your boyfriend is anal about people sneaking food into their mouths while it’s cooking, but Yifan is still always reminded of that whenever the smell of cooked food enters his nostrils every evening. Baekhyun works during the lunch and early evening period, which makes him available for breakfast and usually dinner, unless he has to take over for someone. He usually goes in earlier though, just to check on everyone. Just because he has a high position doesn't make him any less hardworking.
"I love you." Yifan announces, though his eyes are focused on the dishes that Baekhyun has prepared for today instead. Baekhyun laughs. "You love the food, or me?"
"The food." Yifan cheekily answers, grinning when he sees his boyfriend frown at his answer. "But I love you more."
Yifan knows that he is forgiven when Baekhyun presses a kiss to his cheek, and he leaves him to set his coat on the hanger before he joins Baekhyun on the dinner table. Baekhyun feels most comfortable when he's cooking in his own kitchen, which is why Yifan goes over for dinner, and he sometimes stays over.
"Have you gotten any calls?"
"Yeah, I have. There's this one place that sounds nice. It's near the sea which means a great view is promised. The manager told us we should visit soon if we're interested, because there are a few other people who are looking at it too." Yifan nods, hoping that this house will be more promising than the previous one.
//
It happens a few days later, and they both take half the day off to look at the place.
"It has three rooms, and you can see the sea from here." The manager points in the direction of the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, and Yifan hums. That's good.
The ceiling isn't too low for Yifan for once, and he can see his plan being carried out in this place nicely. Baekhyun had gone straight for the kitchen after the door was opened, and Yifan walks back into the house from the balcony to meet Baekhyun again.
"What do you think about it?"
"It has a nice feel to it, what with the sea being near and the amount of light that gets here and all." Then, he shifts his gaze over from the kitchen counter to Yifan.
"I like it."
//
Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding is set to be on the 21st of June. No one thought anything about the date at all, until Jongin mentioned that Chanyeol had specifically picked this date because it was the middle of their birthdays. Baekhyun didn't know if he should gag or find it sweet.
Until his best friend had announced his marriage, Baekhyun had never thought much about that topic. He does realize that this year is going to be his fourth year together with Yifan after knowing each other for another two years, and his mother had been nagging at him to get settled down soon.
(Baekhyun swears sometimes his mom likes Yifan more than she likes him, her own son. Not that he really blames her. Yifan is the perfect son, after all; he's a tall, handsome architect working in a big firm which meant that his pay wasn't measly, to say the least. Yifan could cook up some dishes if he tried-all thanks to Baekhyun-and he's nice and filial, unlike Baekhyun who had initially gone against his mother's wishes to enter culinary school. It took years for them to finally fully reconcile, and even that involved Yifan's help.)
He just never thinks much about it, because Yifan doesn't seem like he's that interested in getting married. Not for now, at least. When he had time back then, when their relationship was still beginning, Baekhyun used to wonder.
They would pick out each other's outfits. It would be nice if they could get married on the beach too. But Yifan hates the sun. A church would be nice as well. He would probably tear or cry and ruin the makeup while he says what he has prepared to his friends and family, but he knows that Yifan would be there to wipe his tears away at the end of the day, even if he would only do that after laughing. The wedding reception is going to include lots of good food because Baekhyun is going to pick out the dishes personally and everyone is going to be satisfied-
"Baekhyun?"
He blinks. "Baekhyun!"
Looking around, instead of the church that he saw himself in just seconds ago, he sees white walls and mirrors and suits and flowers. "Yes?"
"I can't find the rings!" Baekhyun suddenly remembers that today is the day of the wedding and wait-what?
"What do you mean you can't find the rings?" His gaze lands on Chanyeol, only to focus on a panic-stricken best friend. The last time he saw Chanyeol look something like this, it was when he had confessed to Jongin, and Jongin had said something about Chanyeol being comparable to his dogs. Chanyeol had panicked because he had no idea what being comparable to Monggu meant, and he didn't want to lose his friendship with Jongin just because of his feelings.
"I don't know! I was just getting ready and someone asked for the box and I-suddenly couldn't find it?" Now Chanyeol is pacing back and forth like that would make the rings magically appear, and Baekhyun is definitely dragged out of his daydrean from before now. "Have you checked the toilet? Underneath the seats or something? Along the aisle? You were walking down there earlier."
"Yifan and the others have gone around searching and none of them have found anything from those places. They've flipped this entire room around and there's nothing here too. Where have I been..." Chanyeol mutters that last part to himself more than to Baekhyun, and Baekhyun surveys the messed up state of the dressing room. How long had he been dreaming for to have not noticed all these going on?
"Did you leave it in the car? Maybe it dropped out of your pocket or something when you got out of it?" At that, Chanyeol snaps his fingers and looks at Baekhyun as if he was a genius before he rushes out of the room, leaving Baekhyun to the mess that is piles of suits being left around and things being displaced. Baekhyun hopes that Chanyeol really finds the rings, because this is his best friend's special day, and he doesn't want anything bad to happen.
As he picks the suits up and arranges them according to size, Baekhyun is suddenly reminded of his juvenile expectations of how his wedding was going be like. His daydream was how he saw his wedding with Yifan to be when their relationship was barely two years old, and that was when he was still a low ranking chef in a hotel with more time to spare.
Older and wiser now, he only wanted his wedding to be simple. If there was going to be one at all, that is.
Chanyeol bursts into the room all of a sudden, and he almost knocks Baekhyun, who had armfuls of suits with him then, over when he raises the box of rings up triumphantly. Baekhyun grins and awkwardly lifts his arm to pat Chanyeol's head, genuinely happy for his best friend.
Jongin is probably off with Yifan, settling more important things like doing last minute checks of the food and guest list and everything else, while Chanyeol is forced to sit down and have his makeup be done again. Baekhyun vaguely wanders if this would be him on his own big day, all nervous but still immensely happy.
"So it was there?"
Chanyeol smiles, his eyes remaining closed as the makeup artist does her magic at the area around his eyes. "Yeah. Thanks."
"Nah, it was nothing. I should have recorded your face or something though. That would have made excellent footage for the montage video."
At that, Chanyeol's eyebrows crease into a frown, before he is nagged at by the makeup artist to keep his face relaxed lest the makeup turns out uneven. "Hey. That isn't very nice of you."
"I've never really called myself nice, if you haven't noticed."
"Yeah, because you call yourself cute and all. Only Yifan is willing to put up with the shit you say." Baekhyun is unable to hold in the laugh that threatened to burst at that. That is true.
Minutes of silence lapse between them after that, because Baekhyun is unable to defend himself anymore. Eventually, he is unable to resist asking. "How does it feel like?"
"How does what feel like?"
"This whole marriage thing."
"I feel lucky. Lucky that tomorrow I'll be able to wake up next to Jongin as his husband, no longer his fiance or his boyfriend." A soft chuckle is heard, and the way Chanyeol looks so content with his eyes closed and smile on his face, like he is imagining that scene, does things to Baekhyun. He wants to feel like that too.
"I'm not sure of the future because that is something no one can predict so I did feel scared about this before I proposed, because it felt like such a big leap-from being boyfriends to husbands. But I felt that it would be worth it." Baekhyun hums, stuffing Chanyeol's words into the back of his mind for further thinking because just then, someone calls out their name for a final rehearsal. The makeup artist lets Chanyeol go after one last touch up to his cheek, and Baekhyun pats Chanyeol's shoulder on the way out simply because he looked like he needed it.
It isn't long before Chanyeol is finally standing at the end of the aisle, looking expectantly at the other end while all their families and friends are here, watching them. Chanyeol has to clasp his hands together to stop himself from clenching and unclenching them into fists, still nervous that he might mess up at the last part somehow. He looks around and Baekhyun catches his gaze, fist pumping him from the side. Chanyeol returns his grin with a small smile, eyes immediately going to the entrance of the church when music starts playing.
Baekhyun's hand never leaves Yifan's throughout the entire ceremony, and Yifan doesn't have the heart to tell Baekhyun that his hand is gettig numb from all the squeezing he's getting, especially when they were saying their vows.
Chanyeol starts to sing after he's done speaking, and everyone immediately erupts into cheers. He winks at Jongin while he does, and suddenly there's someone playing a guitar at one corner of the hall. Jongin looks like he's stuck in between having his face split from that wide grin he's wearing or dying from embarrassment at the cheesy lyrics.
Yifan had his hand clasped together with Baekhyun's, and he could feel the beating of his heart because he held their hands against his chest. He swears that if anyone looked closely, Baekhyun's eyes were starting to get watery.
Before Yifan could offer tissues or anything though, Baekhyun lets go of Yifan's hand to give a loud cheer and clap loudly when the pastor announces that they may kiss.
Yifan smiles, not only because of Baekhyun, because his best friend is finally settled down, and Yifan feels so happy for him.
Chanyeol and Jongin hadn't invited a whole lot of people, but the crowd can still get overwhelming sometimes, so Baekhyun makes his way out of the church with Yifan trailing behind him. They could congratulate them later; hopefully they'd remember it before they start to drink.
Yifan and Baekhyun are laughing over something when Chanyeol and Jongin make their way over instead, seemingly having greeted everyone already.
"Hey, congratulations on getting married. Don't forget to use my gift!" Baekhyun says, earning three confused expressions staring at him.
"What did you give us?" Chanyeol says, eyeing Baekhyun almost warily. Baekhyun only wiggles his eyebrows, making his grin more suggestive just for the sake of scaring the two of them. "You'll see. Thank me later."
Yifan looks at him like he's surprised, but Baekhyun is pretty sure he knows what the gift is, seeing as how he bought it online using Yifan's card. Yifan takes his turn to congratulate them too, and the next question that comes is so sudden that he stops breathing for a few seconds.
"So, when are you two getting married?" As much as Yifan wants to know more about Baekhyun's thoughts about this, he doesn't know how to ask explicitly. What if Baekhyun doesn't think he is ready to settle down and finds Yifan weird for thinking so?
Opening his mouth to speak, Yifan is about to say something like Not now, but just then, Baekhyun actually laughs. "Soon. Hopefully. If he wants me, that is."
Yifan is positively speechless. He is sure Baekhyun hasn't had anything to drink yet. Does Baekhyun really mean what he is saying right now?
By the time they reach home, the only thing Baekhyun can think about is how much he wants to sleep. Next to washing up first, of course. He hadn't managed to take leave for two days, even though he knows that he should have, because the celebration after the ceremony is bound to include wine. Going to work with a hangover is not part of any of the best decisions he has made in life, but it seems that he does not have a choice now.
After washing up, Baekhyun flops down onto his bed, rolling over to make space for Yifan when he spots the other approaching. Yifan's mind is still buzzing with the amount of possibilities he's thinking about right now, the implications of Baekhyun's words since noon. The feeling of how his heart seemed to refuse to listen to him and calm down in those few moments when he had first heard those words is up there on his personal ranking of the things that makes his heart beat. Wildly.
Pulling Baekhyun closer to him so that he's resting his cheek more on Yifan's arm than on the pillow, Yifan looks down. Baekhyun's eyes are closed, but his breathing is still uneven, and Yifan guesses that now is better than ever. In retrospect, maybe he should have thought more.
"Hey Baekhyun, would you be happier if we were married?"
Baekhyun blinks an eye open before closing it again, snuggling closer up against Yifan's side. "I don't know about being happier, because it's just another title for our relationship. But I'd be happy, yes, because it's you." A gentle smile pulls the corner of his lips up at that, and Yifan is unable to stop himself from mirroring that smile too.
This is going to be too casual for his liking, but he's going to do it properly another time if Baekhyun says yes. He just wants to know how Baekhyun thinks. Baekhyun's head is heavy on his arm, and he has an arm draped across Yifan's waist. He looks beautiful as he's falling asleep, and Yifan has never felt luckier.
"Baekhyun. Would you marry me?" He's holding Baekhyun tighter against him, anxiously waiting for his reply.
But it never comes.
Or maybe it does, but it's in the form of a snore. Soft snores start leaving Baekhyun seconds after Yifan is about to ask if he is actually still awake and Yifan doesn't know what to feel. Should he be relieved that he has more time to surprise Baekhyun with an actual one, or should he be disappointed because he doesn't know when will he have the courage to say those words again?
//
"What were you even thinking?"
Jongin is laughing in this weird, half-shrieking way of his, and Chanyeol is slapping the table so loudly that people are turning around to glare at the cause of the noise. Yifan doesn't want to be associated with either of them right now, but he needs help.
"I don't know. It was only a question anyway! Who would have known that he would fall asleep before I actually ask it?"
"He was tired! You said it!" Wiping some stray drops of tears that have fallen from laughing, Chanyeol finally straightens up, sniffing. "Okay, but really. What do you plan to do next, then?"
Upon seeing his husband get serious, Jongin stops laughing too, and he leans in further like he's paying attention, but Yifan saw it. He saw the hand that was on Chanyeol's thigh, and the last thing he wants is to be here when things start to get too frisky. Why is he even friends with such people?
"I'll find more chances to ask him, I guess. What else can I do?" Almost right after he says that, Chanyeol's suddenly clutching onto his belly again, looking like he's going to burst out laughing any moment. Yifan doesn't see the humour in this, or maybe it's because he's the joke here.
"Make sure he isn't tired when you do then."
//
"Baekhyun. Wouldn't it be good if we got married?"
Yifan is staring at the screen right now, and Hazel is crying. Okay, maybe she's weeping, Yifan doesn't know. He's only staring at the screen because he doesn't want to see Baekhyun's reaction. But if he doesn't, this will never end-he's going to continue to get plagued by what ifs and there'll be no answers.
There is a sudden tight grip on his arm and more broken sobbing, except that now Yifan isn't sure if it's coming from the screen or the man beside him.
"Baekhyun, did you-wait, do you need more tissues?" Baekhyun is making a mess. There's a tub of ice cream propped up on his knees but he's crying more than actually eating. Yifan rushes towards the tissue box without waiting for Baekhyun's reply, holding it out to him once he's gotten it.
It is sad, and Yifan's pretty sure if he was still into it as much as he was at the start, he would have shed a few tears too. But now his fingers are playing with themselves and he's too busy wondering if Baekhyun heard his question to keep up with Hazel's crying and Augustus' death.
So maybe asking the question while watching The Fault In Our Stars wasn't the best decision Yifan has made, but hey, everyone makes questionable life decisions at least once in their lives, right?
After the movie ends, Yifan spends some time trying to coax a still crying Baekhyun to bed, though not to sleep, not yet. Baekhyun washes up while Yifan cleans up the mess of tissues and finished ice cream tubs, before he takes his turn with washing up as well.
Brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Baekhyun's face, Yifan opens his mouth again. Baekhyun's awake this time, definitely, because his eyes are still open. They're unfocused because he isn't focusing on anything, fingers idly playing with the hem of Yifan's sleep shirt.
"Hey. Earth to Baekhyun?" When Baekhyun looks up at him, his heart skips a beat.
"Would you... would you marry me?"
Baekhyun immediately tenses up against him, and where his fingers were previously fiddling around, they have now stopped. Yifan's mind is suddenly thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. Why hadn't he thought of this possibility earlier?
"I don't mean now. But in the future. After we've gotten a home together and all."
"It feels like a really big step towards something more, but I don't see myself being with anyone else. Not in the near future, at least." Baekhyun laughs, because that is what he really thinks, but it isn't like Yifan is going to propose to him anytime soon. Or at least that's what he thinks.
Some time ago, they had agreed on getting a place together first before moving onto anything else, more specifically marriage. Sure, that apartment is already more or less theirs at this point, but Baekhyun doesn't think Yifan would be this fast with things. He had taken his time to try to get to know Baekhyun, after all. And Baekhyun is willing to wait, should Yifan decide to do the same thing this time.
Their manager has not yet contacted them about the house they've gone to view just a few days ago, but Yifan has already stopped paying rent for his place, positive that they are going to get that place anyway.
Baekhyun is scared, but it doesn't bother him too much because marriage doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, despite what he had said during Chanyeol and Jongin's wedding.
//
"We've gotten the house?"
"Yeah, it's ours now. We're supposed to be paying the first down payment soon."
Baekhyun promises to cook Yifan a feast once they've settled down in their new house, but for now, he suggests throwing a mini celebration at Chanyeol's place. Baekhyun secretly loves how new their kitchen seems to be because they never use it anyway, even though he would nag at them for not learning how to cook since too much takeout is unhealthy.
The celebration is in a few days, which means that Yifan has a few days to prepare a few more things aside from the wine Baekhyun had asked him to buy.
Choosing a ring has never been this difficult, Yifan thinks. A wide array of silver, and even gold, bands are staring right back at him, but he doesn't know which to choose.
Yifan had dragged Jongin along to help him since he'd definitely be more experienced, but it turns out that Chanyeol had done all these behind his back as well. Which means that Jongin has no idea how Chanyeol managed to pick a ring. Which also means that they're both stuck at the jewellery shop groaning with a not-very-impressed worker staring at them.
"Jongin. Which one should I get?" Yifan holds a gold and a silver band in each hand up, figuring that he shouldn't be biased towards a certain colour since the design is going to be more important. "Jongin?"
His best friend looks up from his phone only at the second call, but even then his broad smile isn't erased from his face. Laughing with Chanyeol over his misery, probably.
"The silver one. Gold is tacky. Or at least Chanyeol says so."
"It's traditional." Yifan gives the wedding bands one last look. "But you're sort of right. I think he'd prefer silver anyway."
The salesgirl mutters something under her breath when Yifan hands the rings over to her and says that he'll take those, and Yifan is too busy being nervous about the entire thing to bother with her lack of politeness.
"What if he doesn't like it? Wait, does this shop allow returns-" Yifan starts to look around, hopefully for a sign somewhere that would say something about it, but Jongin suddenly takes his hands and holds them in his own. Yifan suddenly notices how his own hands are clammy, in contrast to Jongin's warm ones.
"This shop doesn't allow returns. He will like it. I will succeed. Repeat the last two lines after me."
"I will succeed. Repeat the last two lines after me." Yifan slowly says, and Jongin smacks him up the head gently, snorting while he's at it.
"It's He will like it, I will succeed, silly. Now repeat them after me again. Without the silly."
"He will like it, I will succeed," Yifan finally breathes out.
Even though he doesn't know if it is working yet, the temporary brainwashing, he feels better knowing that he still has Jongin here with him. And by extension, Chanyeol too.
//
Baekhyun had brought the idea up with all intentions of being the only chef in the kitchen, but as the date of the celebration draws near, his friends are all trying to convince him to set up barbeque instead. This way, he wouldn't have to cook too much, and all of them would be able to share the load. Baekhyun reluctantly agrees because well, he doesn't really have a choice. It'd be great to take a break from being a chef, anyway.
Yifan had texted Baekhyun before that he'd be going over to Chanyeol's earlier because he had finished his work early. Chanyeol then texts him a dress code for the celebration, and he will apparently not be allowed in unless he's wearing... a suit? For barbeque? Things are getting increasingly strange.
Baekhyun shows up in one anyway, or in the closest thing he has that's like a suit. He stands in front of Chanyeol's door, fidgeting around for a bit because he isn't used to how the stiff material is hugging his skin, as opposed to his usually oversized clothes or nicely fit chef outfit. More than that, he's sort of nervous, though he doesn't even know why. It's like his senses are sending him an alarm beforehand about a danger that is to happen, even though Baekhyun has no idea when it would.
Letting out a deep breath, Baekhyun rings the bell and gets let in... only to be greeted by balloons and streamers being placed around the room.
He is pretty sure these banners were meant for birthday celebrations, but he doesn't have the time to point it out, not when Chanyeol and Jongin are busy popping more streamers and making a bigger mess. It's like they're the actual ones who are getting a new place, Baekhyun thinks as he laughs.
He gets dragged in and dinner proceeds on as usual, with all of them fighting to cook whatever they want with the obviously undersized pit Chanyeol had somewhere in his storeroom on the rooftop. The occasional wind makes it hard for the fire to start quickly, but they manage it in the end.
Soon, it gets too hot for him to be wearing the blazer, and none of them protest when he takes it off. Actually, now that he looks at them properly, none of them are wearing anything formal at all. Maybe except for Yifan. He looks he picked out the least formal shirt and pants out of all his formal wear which he usually wears to work.
"Hey, do you want some more food? I'm going to cook more meat-" Yifan jerks when Baekhyun rests a hand on his thigh, and he immediately pulls it back. It has been happening for the entire night; Baekhyun talking to everyone as usual, but Yifan is somewhat avoiding Baekhyun but not really at the same time. He jerks at touches and looks like he's nervous, like it's the day before he needs to do his presentations in front of all the big bosses and he's scared he might screw up somewhere.
Things are getting a little-okay, maybe pretty-weird, and no one is saying anything about it. Weird, indeed.
They are almost done with wiping out all the food they prepared and Chanyeol and Jongin have suddenly disappeared after fighting over the last chicken wing. Baekhyun vaguely remembers one of them winning, and them making some weird excuse about needing to check if the desert was ready, leaving Baekhyun and Yifan to clean up the mess in their rooftop.
It takes them a while before the place is clean again, and Baekhyun is just about to head back down into Chanyeol and Jongin's place when Yifan suddenly takes his hand, pulling him back into the middle of the rooftop.
Just then, Chanyeol and Jongin appear from behind a few randomly placed racks of clothes, and Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol is about to start one of his random singing bouts again, where he makes people sit there while he plays the guitar.
Baekhyun doesn't remember seeing any of them come back up to the rooftop, but that's not important because Yifan is suddenly letting his hand go and taking a few steps back before he could even question what is happening.
"Baekhyun. I know I said we should probably do this only after getting a home together, but with how things are now, I think it'd be a great time to ask this. We've been together for what, four years? Have known each other for six. It has been six years, but sometimes I still look at you and I go wow, he's mine." Somewhere behind Yifan, Baekhyun hears a snicker that sounds suspiciously like his best friend.
"I feel so glad to have you, and I am thankful to you for sticking with me through our hard times before," a deep breath. Baekhyun thinks he knows where this is going, but he doesn't want to spoil Yifan's plan-things are starting to click now-so he puts on his best mask of innocence.
There is a collective intake of breath when Yifan gets down on a knee, reaching into his pocket. By now, Baekhyun's heart is threatening to make its way out of his chest, through his mouth or something. But even his mouth seems to be clamped shut by now, when Yifan finally asks the question. Properly, for once.
"I hope that you'd be able to share the happiness I feel with me too, and hopefully you'll never let go of my hand even if it's wrinkly and bony." Yifan chuckles, and Baekhyun manages to lift the corners of his lips up into a semblance of a smile. "So, Baekhyun. Will you marry me?"
Baekhyun wants to groan. His hair is messy because the wind has made its way through it, bulldozed its way through it, more like it. His blazer is on his arm and his stupid best friend is playing the guitar now. He probably looks horrible now, but Yifan is kneeling down in front of him asking one of the most important questions anyone will ever hear, smile hopeful and nervous and Baekhyun wants.
So he just nods furiously, sniffing slightly to push back the tears that were threatening to flow-he hadn't even realized that.
Seeing as his mouth is still clamped shut, Baekhyun helps Yifan up and Yifan takes the chance to press his lips against Baekhyun's, sneakily slipping the ring down Baekhyun's finger while he's at it. Baekhyun almost forgets that Chanyeol and Jongin are there until Jongin starts to cheer, nudging at Chanyeol who is still playing the guitar-apparently too engrossed to pay attention to what is happening around him-to cheer for his friends too.
"No more mopey Yifan!" comes from one of them, and even as Yifan flips the person off, he is glad that he doesn't have to worry anymore.
//
It really helps having an architect as a boyfriend-now fiancé-Baekhyun thinks, as he watches Yifan go about calling places up for their new apartment's renovation. Yifan has this thing which he calls The Plan, with the capital T and P. It's apparently a design he drew up some time ago for when he finally moves in together with Baekhyun.
"You were so sure that we'd move in together?" Baekhyun arched a brow, delighting in the way Yifan flushed.
"I... don't know. I thought it'd be good, then I started thinking about what you'd like, and what I'd like, and combined them together. And this came out." Baekhyun had taken the drawing over from Yifan, keeping him away with a firm hand on his chest. He had been hearing about it for the longest time, and every time they visited apartments, he'd murmur something about the place not fitting his plan.
Now Baekhyun finally knows what plan he is talking about.
There are floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a granite kitchen counter, a built-in wardrobe-Baekhyun can't believe this.
"You've been hiding this from me for so long?"
"Well, like you've said, I didn't know if we'd actually move in together. I was bored when I drew this, now will you please give it back to me-“ Yifan huffs and straightens the paper when it is finally handed back to him, and Baekhyun grabs him by the shoulders and makes Yifan face him.
Looking into his eyes, Baekhyun grins.
"I love you, do you know that?"
"If this is for the kitchen counter-“
Baekhyun shuts Yifan up by pressing his lips to Yifan's.
//
Whatever doubts he had about getting married earlier are all cleared, things like wondering if his mother would actually approve, if he'd be good enough for Yifan and everything else.
Turns out he didn't have to worry about his mother at all.
"You're getting married! To Yifan! When will it be?" his mother shouts. Beside him, Yifan chuckles as he dices the piece of meat up into smaller ones, preparing them for marination before actual cooking.
"Mom. I can hear you just fine, you don't have to shout. And about the date... we haven't set one yet. We were hoping you could help us with that."
They hang up with promises of getting an auspicious date for the wedding, with Baekhyun cutting the call short because he has to rush over to help Yifan before his precious kitchen gets burnt down.
//
"What made you want to get married?"
"Well, Chanyeol and Jongin, mostly. I saw how happy they were, and I thought we could be like that too." Yifan shrugs a shoulder, looking down at where Baekhyun is playing with his fingers.
"And what made you think I'd agree?"
"I didn't know how you'd react to it, hence mopey Yifan." Yifan laughs and turns Baekhyun around so that he could back hug him to face the sea, mostly. This is one of the reasons why Baekhyun had loved Yifan's plan. The sea view wasn't in it, but the glass windows would allow them to enjoy any view fully. The fact that they managed to get an apartment near the sea only makes it better.
"I tried asking a few times though, don't know if you picked those hints up. We were already planning to move in together, and we've been together for a few years already, so I wondered, if not now, then when?" Their entire apartment still isn't fully renovated yet, but Yifan had made sure that these glass windows were fixed first. After the workers knock off, he and Baekhyun would sneak in sometimes to enjoy the view, excited for what the completed apartment would look like.
It smells a little more like paint than the sea, and they sway side to side, simply enjoying each other's company. Baekhyun's wondering how perfect his kitchen would turn out, how perfect Yifan would look in there with his Hello Kitty apron and a spatula-he's going to make sure Yifan actually learns cooking this time. His workplace had signed him up for a few cooking competitions, some that'd take him out of the country, and he needs Yifan to know how to cook for himself. Ordering takeout is not an option.
"You know, there was another reason why I had wanted these glass windows," Yifan suddenly says, voice a lot louder now that he's whispering next to Baekhyun's ear. A shiver runs down his spine, and Yifan unconsciously tightens his arms around Baekhyun.
"Mhm? Why else did you want them?" Baekhyun does his best to play innocent, lashes batting even when he turns his head a little so that he could look at Yifan.
"You know why."
In seconds, he's being pressed up against the glass window, and Baekhyun suspects that more than being able to have a great view, this had been Yifan's motive the entire time. When he looks up, he finds that Yifan's eyebrows are raised suggestively, eyes glinting with something that looks like a promise.
//
In retrospect, it might not have been the best decision; they fooled around for a bit before returning home and continued.
Now, they are struggling to get up for their own wedding, what with tripping over clothes that are haphazardly laid around and trying to smooth down tousled hair. They reach the venue a little later than agreed, but no one complains because they're the main people for today.
Yifan is running around, probably settling some last minute things when Baekhyun is getting his makeup done. Since he isn't allowed to move around too much, he starts to daydream instead.
There's this horribly odd sense of deja vu when Chanyeol rushes in, causing him to open his eyes only because of all the noise the tall man made. Baekhyun almost laughs at the other man's widened eyes and comical face-until Chanyeol opens his mouth and tells him the same thing he heard months ago, only that it's worse now that it's his wedding rings.
"Yifan can’t find the rings!"