let the future fall into place
baekyeol || fluff, romance slice of life || 4663 words || pg-13
this is how they fall in love, hypothetically speaking.
let the future
fall into
place
The second Chanyeol lays his eyes on Baekhyun, he falls head over heels.
Literally-face-first into the pavement.
It was inevitable really, based on the speed Chanyeol was hurtling down the walkway on his long board and how sharply Baekhyun took the corner. If anything, they were both lucky that Baekhyun was nimble on his toes and stepped back just as Chanyeol impulsively swerved to the right and clipped the end of the concrete barrier, sending himself flying through the air, forearm first and books in close second.
Well, it’s nothing like love at first sight.
Of course there isn’t really time for attraction, mostly because they’re both preoccupied with the stream of crimson trickling down Chanyeol’s shin. Chanyeol’s seeing stars not from Baekhyun’s presence but from the impact of his face against the solid concrete sidewalk, and the only thing that’s making Baekhyun’s heart stop at the moment is not Chanyeol’s physical features but rather the blood that’s streaming out of Chanyeol’s knee and dripping onto the pavement.
But there is a spark. Sometime between Baekhyun scrambling to collect Chanyeol’s stuff and dumping it into his backpack, Chanyeol gets a good look at Baekhyun, and realizes with a tiny thrill, that he’s pretty damn cute. It’s also somewhat endearing, Chanyeol thinks, that Baekhyun is as apologetic as he is, eyebrows knitted in a expression of mild distress as he runs around scooping up articles of Chanyeol’s belongings off the ground. The look of disbelief on Baekhyun’s face is kind of funny too after he stares, lightly clutching a piece of card stock he had just snatched off the ground that advertised Chanyeol's band's upcoming performance and asking Chanyeol how badly his knee hurts. And Chanyeol just smiles, sucks in a breath as the sting sets in and lies through his teeth.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t hurt?”
“I’m a skater, so this doesn’t hurt.” Chanyeol’s leg twitches involuntarily, and his breath hitches slightly because it actually does fucking hurt. A lot. But Baekhyun doesn’t need to know that. “We don’t feel pain.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s okay,” fuck. That stings, Chanyeol bows his head to hide his cringe. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”
“You just winced,” Baekhyun blinks pointedly.
“No, I-” ouch, he braces himself through another wave of pain, goddamn, then Chanyeol wrenches his grimace into a less-than-assuring grin. “-I didn’t.”
“Sure.”
It also helps that when Baekhyun does eventually hoist Chanyeol up and swings Chanyeol’s arm around Baekhyun’s own shoulder that Chanyeol will be able to peer down and inconspicuously take peeks at Baekhyun as they bumble along, appreciating Baekhyun’s concentrated features as they slowly make their way down the walk.
And when they find the closest bathroom, which will luckily turn out to be that nice one in the student services center that no one uses, and after Baekhyun is in the process of scrubbing gravel flecks out of the scrape on Chanyeol’s cheek, Chanyeol won’t miss how Baekhyun’s eyes will flick over and meet his multiple times, how he bites his bottom lip with his teeth, and how his cheeks progressively grow pink.
His heart beats a little faster.
Where they could go from there, there are a lot of possibilities.
They could hit it off on the first date, like they’ll overstay their welcome at wherever they’re hanging out, loitering at the table for hours and maybe even after it gets dark. Then they’ll leave after exchanged phone numbers, mutters of I’m free on Saturday, and rapidly beating hearts in the anticipation of the next one.
And if that happens, they’ll have their first kiss about one month down the line after a series of infrequent meet ups, each one more fun than the last. It’ll happen just as Chanyeol is figuring out why his heart acts up whenever Baekhyun is near, it’ll happen five weeks into winter quarter, and it’ll happen when he glances over his drum set, past the soulfully singing Kyungsoo and into the crowd and when he spots Baekhyun, and realizes with a skip of his heart that Baekhyun actually came.
It’ll happen like hours after the show ends, in a spur of the moment move initiated by Chanyeol. It’ll probably be on that semi-date he plans, the one where he takes Sehun’s suggestion to drive up to the mountains at night and gaze over the twinkling flats, the lights of the cities sparkling in the distance as they both sit on the railing, hands stuffed in their pockets, as they just breathe. And eventually Chanyeol will look at Baekhyun, head snuggly fitted into a blue beanie, eyes glassy in the glow of the lights, and lips red from the cold, and he’ll decide, this is the time, and bracing himself with his hands against the icy iron railing, hoping fervently he’s reading the signs right, he’ll lean down and press his lips against Baekhyun’s.
And luckily, this starts out like a kiss in the movies, where Chanyeol puts just enough pressure to make it a soft lip-to-lip meet up, and that slight touch is enough to send a sensation of million and a half lightning bolts through his body. And Baekhyun, while initially caught of guard, quickly recovers from his shock, cocks his head to the side and shuts his eyes, sealing any gaps between their lips.
Though a little less than luckily, in the heat of the moment, they’ll forget that they’re still sitting on a thin railing, and they’ll lose their balance, awkwardly slipping off and stumbling through the dirt to stay upright. It ruins the mood more than a little bit, but Chanyeol’s okay with that because Baekhyun’s laughing pretty hard, arms bracing his stomach and breath dispelling from his mouth in faint, white puffs. In a minute, a gust will sweep by, and the wind chill will cause Baekhyun to scuttle towards Chanyeol and wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s waist in an attempt to brace against the cold. They’ll stay like that, arms wrapped around each other, for a few minutes until Chanyeol suggests they get back into the car. And once the heater’s running and the interior lights dim, Chanyeol will swoop down for another kiss.
This time, they won’t get interrupted.
The morning after will be slightly awkward, because they won’t know exactly how far they’ve crossed the blurred line between friendship and something more. The entire lecture will pass without so much as a word, and they’ll awkwardly bid their goodbyes after with confusion swirling in the pits of their stomachs as they wonder whether the other considers the night before something closer to a mistake. A stolen kiss behind a coffee stand later that day will clear things up a bit, the combination of clumsy lipwork and spontaneity resulting in at least one bleeding lip.
For at least two weeks, Chanyeol will still have the chronic hover hand, they’ll walk next to each other, closer than what would be considered plantonic, but fingers just beyond reach. It takes a horror movie to get them to start holding hands, when during a particularly gory scene, Baekhyun will grab Chanyeol’s palm with the strength of Hercules and refuse to let go. After that, it becomes more natural, their fingers finding each other almost subconsciously whenever they’re in clasping distance, digits loosely looping together almost becoming a habit.
And that’s the point where they decide to get a little more serious, when they start to officially “go out.”. It’ll probably be one of those relationships that people tend to envy, the one where they can finish each other sentences, the one where they flood their friends’ newsfeeds with cute couple shots on the beach, sunlight streaming through Chanyeol’s wind-tousled hair as he hugs a grinning Baekhyun from the back, the one filled with a million smiles and laughter and dopey happiness, the one where they just understand each other so well, they’re like-no, they are-two halves of a whole.
If anything significant happens at all, Chanyeol will be the first to fall. He’s clumsy with his heart like that, easily tripping and dropping it over subtle and silly things, like the slight slip of a smile, a lilting light laugh, or a candid compliment tossed his way. He doesn’t fall instantly but he falls quickly, stumbling over those multiple mundane moments in succession before losing his balance and tumbling straight into amour. It will just click the night after their seventh or eighth date, when he’s lying face-up in bed, unable to sleep because his heart’s thudding in his ears and his mind can’t seem stop whirring over thoughts of Baekhyun.
And well if Baekhyun falls, he doesn’t fall until much later because he has a measured guard on his heart. Love for Baekhyun is less of an inadvertent plunge and more of a deliberate dive. It’ll be a choice he makes if and after they’ve gotten together, and the catalyst will be an action on Chanyeol’s part that demonstrates some infallible kindness that just plucks the right tune on Baekhyun’s heartstrings. Like maybe when Baekhyun succumbs to mono in the spring and Chanyeol stays with him in the hospital overnight, for every night, Baekhyun on one of the sleepless nights, will gaze at a dozing Chanyeol, the light of the moon filtering over his features as his chest rhythmically rises and falls. With his heart thrumming with a sort of thermal energy, he’ll decide that, yeah, this one’s a keeper.
Of course few relationships evade rough patches, and they could end up breaking up in a week, a month, a year, or a few more. Depending on the length of time they’ve been together, it might be over something petty or something significant, over jealously or exhaustion, infused with profound anger or sadness, with clashing shouts or with shaking whispers, or some sort of miserable combination of those things. It might be over friends, family, habits, or disposition. Breaking up might happen once, twice, three times, or they might flit in and out of each other’s lives in an unhealthy dance as that one ex they each just can’t let go, unable to live without the other when apart, but unable to stand the other when together.
They might fall apart in an excitingly dramatic way with an almost theatrical explosion with showy screams and shouts, bristling anger and fists clenched so hard that nails dig into palms and leave angry, crescent welts. What the fight is about will be a lesser significance, because it’s scope will be blown out of proportion. It will be the result of an existing wound in their relationship rubbed raw red, the last fight in a long string of conflicts, the final tipping point for a boulder perched at the edge of an abyss just biding time for its inevitable plunge. It will be over a difference that cannot be absolved, different financial philosophies, jealousy over an ex, a perceived lack of respect from either side. And these differences will frame the trigger in the shape of a hidden bill, a suspicious text, or something as subtle as a choice vocal influx that just rubs the other party the wrong way. It won’t matter who starts it because it will escalates exponentially, with Chanyeol’s passive-aggressive tendencies driving Baekhyun nothing less than insane, and Baekhyun’s absolutist attitude fanning Chanyeol’s festering fury. Arguments, historically, have never ended well, because neither takes well to uncompromising criticism, but this particular one just grates too hard in the wrong direction.
Wake up Chanyeol, Baekhyun will snap. You’re always so narrow minded.
See this is the problem, Chanyeol forces a smile, eyes bright and blinking with vindication.You always pigeonhole people, stereotyping them with your first impression and harping on every single little thing they do wrong.
Okay, Chanyeol throws up his hands. I’ll do what YOU want, because all of your choices have worked out SO well.
What, Baekhyun lowers his voice. Are you insinuating, exactly?
I don’t know about you, Chanyeol shrugs apathetically, But I’m not the one who harps about not getting that promotion every fucking night.
You, Baekhyun sucks in a breath, fist tightening around his cup hard enough for his hand to shake and voice softening sinisterly low enough to raise the hairs on Chanyeol’s neck. Have crossed the line.
As the yelling escalates, it becomes quickly apparent that this time will be a last fight, this time will be a last straw, this time no one will compromise and so this time it will end with Baekhyun spiting out the last set of scornful spite, storming out and slamming the door. This time it will end with Chanyeol fuming with unleashed anger and furiously punching the nearest object in sight. This time it will end with angry tears sliding down his face, with a tensed shoulder sliding down the wall, with his heart humming the heartbreak hymn. This time it ends with a weary body sliding into a crumple, with Chanyeol’s world sliding off its axis, with his will sliding out just beyond his grasp.
And probably, this time, it will end for good.
Though it’s more likely if they break up it’ll be a peaceful dissolution, an inevitable separation spurred by a mutual epiphany that there’s something fundamentally not right with them being together right then and there, and that they’re intrinsically incompatible at this that day, that year, or maybe that lifetime. Growing tensions will cumulate into an unusually serious sit-down talk over some defensively positioned food, a good look in the eye, and the firm resolution:
it’s-, one of them will look down at his plate, cautiously playing with the remnants of his food with his fork. -It’s just not working out.
And after the clean break, they’ll leave each other in good standing, still keeping each other close by. They’ll be that ex that still hangs around, that ex that they can still consult, that ex that always stays on the fringe of friends, always a phone call away, always knows them the best, always a little guilty of that undercurrent of a amorous yearn, but never quite sure exactly how close they’re allowed to stand.
If they break up this way, maybe one day, over coffee, mutual longing, and a sense that the other’s grown up and changed that troublesome characteristic, they’ll crack open that forbidden heart-buried chest and revel in rose-tinted and wistful remember whens. And after hours of nostalgia and a subsequent series of ostensible “hang outs” that really feel closer to dates (with held gazes, heart-fluttering accidental brushes of the hands, and hugs that last a little too long), they’ll get back together and rekindle what they had.
Or, it’s possible they’ll never break up at all.
Of course, they may never get together in the first place, and their intimacy could end the night it begins. If their first date’s rocky, like Chanyeol lets it slip that he owns five cats or Baekhyun mentions offhandedly that he really hates cats, then they both won’t be feeling the vibe at the end. But they’ll both somewhat aesthetically attracted to each other and they both would have had enough alcohol coursing through their veins to be okay with hailing a taxi for the nearest hotel, stumbling through the hallways, bursting through the door and messily getting to town, fingers quickly yanking down waistbands, hands ripping off shirts, primal instincts and fervent hunger prowling free in the savannahs of soft silken sheets, with hands, lips, and other bits on the hunt for physical pleasure, and their desperate, drunken movements bathed in sensual glow of city lights.
In the morning, they’ll wake up to severe hangovers, instant regret, probable soreness, confusion, crumpled sheets and strewn clothing. And they’ll hastily get dressed, silently agreeing to never speak of the incident again. Then they’ll burst through the door and race down the hall in the rush of shame to get out to class, Baekhyun’s hair a bird’s nest, and Chanyeol’s shirt askew.
And whatever chemistry they had lasts only a night. They might not ever really get together, in their moments of passing, one or the other will awkwardly duck behind a concealing hand or hurriedly shuffle away, and they’ll both pretend like nothing ever happened. Like smoke from doused embers, their relationship will begin with fantastic fervor and quickly dispel, the plume of initial attraction quickly dissipating from sight, leaving behind a couple subtle yet lingering wisps-a memory and a mistake they’d rather forget-which will faintly stain the ceilings of their minds for a while to come.
Though maybe something improbable and funny will bring them back together, like they’ve ended up with each other’s underwear or phones, or they get assigned a project together, or somehow they meet again at a party, get drunk, and have a second-night stand. And in a romcom-esque series of events, like seeing each other’s virtues in some comedic sort of test full of sexually-tense moments while hinging on a sort of hilarious desperation, they’ll see something they really like in each other and somehow end up falling in love.
It’s unlikely, but maybe nothing remotely romantic will happen. Nothing magical ensues on that first date. It’ll be awkward, uncomfortable, and painful affair, and they’ll spend a majority of it fiddling aimlessly on their phones as the silence grows more unbearable by the second. When the bill is finally paid, they’ll awkwardly part ways right outside of the restaurant, with handshakes, a disingenuous “let’s hang out again” (hesitation, before a flicker of an insincere smile) and a vague “maybe in the future,” and lingering thoughts of how that couldn’t have been worse.
And maybe there won’t even be a first date.
There are a lot of possibilities.
It really depends on how Chanyeol reacts next. Back in the present, awkwardly peering down at the bleeding Chanyeol, Baekhyun rubs his forehead sheepishly as he extends a hand.
“As an apology, let me treat you to something?”
And if Chanyeol says yes, they’ll probably make their way to the coffee shop after lecture, the one on the end of the street that just opened last month, the one with sit-down service and on-the-side snacks, and one with quaint tables and modern deco and sharply-dressed wait staff, and the one that’s not Chanyeol’s style, and really isn’t Baekhyun’s either. But they’ll go anyway, since supposedly their coffee’s pretty damn good, and Chanyeol likes his coffee-like fucking loves it actually. And Baekhyun will pick up on that after spending a good few minutes scooping up Chanyeol’s numerous coffee shop membership cards strewn across the sidewalk.
They’ll sit in one of the tables for two, tucked in a corner between the ceiling-to-floor window and a looming indoor tree. Chanyeol will order an Americano-triple shot espresso-and Baekhyun, well, Baekhyun doesn’t really drink coffee (yet), so after scanning the menu frantically under the watchful gaze of both waitress and Chanyeol, he’ll smoothly snap the booklet shut with a smile, and enunciate in a clear voice, I’ll take one of those too. Which, will turn out to be a less than great idea, because for the rest of the date, Baekhyun will shake from the sheer amount of caffeine.
And if, through his heighted awareness, and before Chanyeol gets nervous and begins to ramble about his devotedness to his cats, Baekhyun happens to reach towards his back pocket for his phone, and his fingers brush against a piece of cardstock, and he remembers that tidbit of information he picked up while scrambling to retrieve Chanyeol’s stuff, the one about how Chanyeol’s the drummer-come-guitarist for an underground indie band, then they’ll hit it off extremely well over their shared interest in music. The first hour easily becomes the second and the second hour will seamlessly blend in to the third, fourth, fifth, (sixth). And before they know it, they find themselves a nice little downtown café just off main as night finishes falling, stealing glances over candlelight as they try to pair fine wines with finer food.
The next few dates will be a little less fancy, in fact it won’t even be clear if they’re actually dates. They’ll still be dancing around as friends at this point and going on outings that are easily platonic, like stops at the milk tea place just off campus, or hiking trips up into the mountains. Whatever they’ll initially choose to do doesn’t really matter because they always end up conversing for hours in the end, spilling bits of their hearts to each other as time flies by. It’ll rarely about anything serious, mostly lighthearted debates about their favorite shows and artists, or occasionally academic related things about certain professors or that difficult midterm that they will have taken last Thursday. Everything’s punctuated by romantic teasing, like playful ragging on Chanyeol on why he probably shouldn’t buy a penny board.
I dunno, Baekhyun will shrug as they sit side-by-side on a park bench, his pinky resting innocously resting ontop of Chanyeol’s. It seemed like you couldn’t even hold your balance on your longboard, and that’s like, what, twice the length? I mean, just going off of that...you’re like an accident waiting to happen.
You’re so mean Baekhyun, Chanyeol will jokingly clutch his chest, as he swings his head, stopping when his face is mere inches from Baekhyun’s. His eyes will sparkle as a his lips curl into coy grin. That was an accident. Don’t crush my hopes and dreams.
Forget your hopes and dreams, Baekhyun will roll his eyes as he pushes Chanyeol away by the side of his head, matching smile adorning his features. Worry about crushing your skull first.
Then on the weekend, likely a lazy Saturday afternoon, when Baekhyun’s studying at Chanyeol’s place as the latter lightly plucks his guitar, Chanyeol will mention offhandedly how he’s playing a show the next night, and hey, it’d be great if Baekhyun could attend. Without hesitation or even looking up from his physics textbook, Baekhyun will say sure, of course, and what time.
The next night, through the thudding beat and the streaming lights, Chanyeol will be able to pick him out from the crowd, eyes framed with dark eyeliner and darker irises glinting from the stage lights. And after the show, Baekhyun will meet him backstage, hands stuffed in pockets, and after Chanyeol introduces him to the rest of his band mates, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Junmyeon, Sehun, and spurred by Sehun’s grinning face, his mind will flit back to Sehun’s suggestion. Through the excitement of the post-show buzz, he’ll lean down and whisper into Baekhyun’s ear, Hey have you driven up to the mountains and seen the city lights? And Baekhyun will shake his head no, and Chanyeol will grin and take Baekhyun’s hand, leading him out of the building and towards his car. Eventually he’ll navigate his way up through the dusky winding roads carved in the hills and under the arching oak trees and eventually perch next to Baekhyun on that icy rail. And eventually there will be sweeping views of twinkling flats, snugly fitted beanies, red lips, glassy eyes, the thought of this is the time, and eventually he’ll lean in and-
Well, we know where it goes from there.
If they do end up getting together, it’ll be Chanyeol who confesses first. He’ll be nervous when he does it, choosing a secluded area behind a tree in a moonlit park. He’ll stall for a bit, trying to keep up the conversation as he works up the nerve to tell Baekhyun how he feels. It takes about three hours, and it’s only when Baekhyun gets up and mentions that he probably should get going because it’s 10pm and his internship starts tomorrow, that the panic mode sets in and Chanyeol unceremoniously dumps his heart into Baekhyun’s lap.
I need to tell you something, Chanyeol will gently grab Baekhyun by the arm. Something important.
Baekhyun will look up at him with mild confusion, probably due to the spontaneous dramatics, brows slightly knotted, Yeah?
Chanyeol will take a deep breath, because really at this point it's now or never, I-I really like you-and not just as a friend.
Baekhyun will hesitate for a moment, bent head hiding his expression as Chanyeol becomes significantly more agitated, pants getting into a twist as he waits for his verdict. He'll feel about 50 percent sure whether he'll be turned down, because he's never read signs very well, although that grows as the seconds tick by and he squeezes his eyes shut as he braces for the impact of rejection.
Out of the blue, he'll feel a different impact, a light thud against his chest of a head as the Baekhyun's arms snake around his waist. He still won't be able to see Baekhyun's face, but he'll glimpse the tips of his ears poking out through his hair, burning bright burgundy as Baekhyun murmurs into his chest.
What took you so long?
They won’t return to that cafe again, except maybe for one of their anniversaries down the line when Chanyeol will bring Baekhyun back, fingers looped together, and they’ll sit down and wrinkle their noses at the prices at same time. And Baekhyun will remark how the cappuccinos are incredibly expensive, and Chanyeol will catch the tinge of longing in his voice, noting it even as Baekhyun quickly orders something relatively cheap and snaps the tiny menu shut. And when Baekhyun leaves for the restroom, Chanyeol will get up and casually switch his order, swapping that standard decaf for the pricier drink.
Maybe, if things happen fall just into the right place, if the stars align just so, if they’re just meant to be, this will become the site of a bigger anniversary. If it’s Chanyeol, he’ll prefer to do it right outside the shop in the wintertime, sliding onto one knee, and dramatically whipping out the box as Baekhyun shields his face in a mixture of happiness and embarrassment. Between puffs of materializing breath and (preferably) gently falling snow, Chanyeol will indirectly pop the question with something cheesy like let’s grow old together, eyes sparkling in earnest and mouth pulled into a wide grin. And Baekhyun will probably say yes, frame outlined by the glow of the cafe, black peacoat dusted with snow, and smile just a bit broader than Chanyeol’s.
If it’s Baekhyun, he’ll prefer to do it on a nice spring day, inside at the same table at where they had their first date. Sometime between getting their drinks and paying the bill, he’ll slip the box towards Chanyeol. And Chanyeol (being Chanyeol) won’t notice it until Baekhyun taps the box twice, the first time enduringly, the second time much more impatiently. When Chanyeol realizes what it is, he’ll lunge across the table, grab Baekhyun by the shoulders, and kiss the daylights out of him. He’ll forget to give a verbal conformation until about two days later, when he realizes (while he’s speeding down the freeway) he'd neglected to give Baekhyun an explicit answer.
And Chanyeol (being Chanyeol) will whip out his phone just as he’s merging to the left and while he’s enthusiastically yelling YES, YES, I WILL over Baekhyun’s confused WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, attract the attention of a cop and gets slapped with a ticket for phone usage while driving.
Then they’ll grow old together.
But if Chanyeol declines Baekhyun’s offer to treat him then-well, that’s irrelevant now, since he doesn’t say no.
Because right now Chanyeol’s nodding and taking Baekhyun’s extended hand to hoist himself up from the concrete, not noticing how Baekhyun slips the piece of cardstock into his back pocket as he gingerly shifts his own weight to his unwounded knee.
And as Chanyeol leans his tall frame against Baekhyun’s shorter one and hobbles to that bathroom to wash off his wounds, someone, somewhere sets a timer for 23 days, 5 hours, and 32 minutes until Chanyeol falls again.
This time, figuratively-in love.
~•~
this is how they fall in love, hypothetically speaking.
let the future
fall into
place
The second Chanyeol lays his eyes on Baekhyun, he falls head over heels.
Literally-face-first into the pavement.
It was inevitable really, based on the speed Chanyeol was hurtling down the walkway on his long board and how sharply Baekhyun took the corner. If anything, they were both lucky that Baekhyun was nimble on his toes and stepped back just as Chanyeol impulsively swerved to the right and clipped the end of the concrete barrier, sending himself flying through the air, forearm first and books in close second.
Well, it’s nothing like love at first sight.
Of course there isn’t really time for attraction, mostly because they’re both preoccupied with the stream of crimson trickling down Chanyeol’s shin. Chanyeol’s seeing stars not from Baekhyun’s presence but from the impact of his face against the solid concrete sidewalk, and the only thing that’s making Baekhyun’s heart stop at the moment is not Chanyeol’s physical features but rather the blood that’s streaming out of Chanyeol’s knee and dripping onto the pavement.
But there is a spark. Sometime between Baekhyun scrambling to collect Chanyeol’s stuff and dumping it into his backpack, Chanyeol gets a good look at Baekhyun, and realizes with a tiny thrill, that he’s pretty damn cute. It’s also somewhat endearing, Chanyeol thinks, that Baekhyun is as apologetic as he is, eyebrows knitted in a expression of mild distress as he runs around scooping up articles of Chanyeol’s belongings off the ground. The look of disbelief on Baekhyun’s face is kind of funny too after he stares, lightly clutching a piece of card stock he had just snatched off the ground that advertised Chanyeol's band's upcoming performance and asking Chanyeol how badly his knee hurts. And Chanyeol just smiles, sucks in a breath as the sting sets in and lies through his teeth.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t hurt?”
“I’m a skater, so this doesn’t hurt.” Chanyeol’s leg twitches involuntarily, and his breath hitches slightly because it actually does fucking hurt. A lot. But Baekhyun doesn’t need to know that. “We don’t feel pain.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s okay,” fuck. That stings, Chanyeol bows his head to hide his cringe. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”
“You just winced,” Baekhyun blinks pointedly.
“No, I-” ouch, he braces himself through another wave of pain, goddamn, then Chanyeol wrenches his grimace into a less-than-assuring grin. “-I didn’t.”
“Sure.”
It also helps that when Baekhyun does eventually hoist Chanyeol up and swings Chanyeol’s arm around Baekhyun’s own shoulder that Chanyeol will be able to peer down and inconspicuously take peeks at Baekhyun as they bumble along, appreciating Baekhyun’s concentrated features as they slowly make their way down the walk.
And when they find the closest bathroom, which will luckily turn out to be that nice one in the student services center that no one uses, and after Baekhyun is in the process of scrubbing gravel flecks out of the scrape on Chanyeol’s cheek, Chanyeol won’t miss how Baekhyun’s eyes will flick over and meet his multiple times, how he bites his bottom lip with his teeth, and how his cheeks progressively grow pink.
His heart beats a little faster.
Where they could go from there, there are a lot of possibilities.
They could hit it off on the first date, like they’ll overstay their welcome at wherever they’re hanging out, loitering at the table for hours and maybe even after it gets dark. Then they’ll leave after exchanged phone numbers, mutters of I’m free on Saturday, and rapidly beating hearts in the anticipation of the next one.
And if that happens, they’ll have their first kiss about one month down the line after a series of infrequent meet ups, each one more fun than the last. It’ll happen just as Chanyeol is figuring out why his heart acts up whenever Baekhyun is near, it’ll happen five weeks into winter quarter, and it’ll happen when he glances over his drum set, past the soulfully singing Kyungsoo and into the crowd and when he spots Baekhyun, and realizes with a skip of his heart that Baekhyun actually came.
It’ll happen like hours after the show ends, in a spur of the moment move initiated by Chanyeol. It’ll probably be on that semi-date he plans, the one where he takes Sehun’s suggestion to drive up to the mountains at night and gaze over the twinkling flats, the lights of the cities sparkling in the distance as they both sit on the railing, hands stuffed in their pockets, as they just breathe. And eventually Chanyeol will look at Baekhyun, head snuggly fitted into a blue beanie, eyes glassy in the glow of the lights, and lips red from the cold, and he’ll decide, this is the time, and bracing himself with his hands against the icy iron railing, hoping fervently he’s reading the signs right, he’ll lean down and press his lips against Baekhyun’s.
And luckily, this starts out like a kiss in the movies, where Chanyeol puts just enough pressure to make it a soft lip-to-lip meet up, and that slight touch is enough to send a sensation of million and a half lightning bolts through his body. And Baekhyun, while initially caught of guard, quickly recovers from his shock, cocks his head to the side and shuts his eyes, sealing any gaps between their lips.
Though a little less than luckily, in the heat of the moment, they’ll forget that they’re still sitting on a thin railing, and they’ll lose their balance, awkwardly slipping off and stumbling through the dirt to stay upright. It ruins the mood more than a little bit, but Chanyeol’s okay with that because Baekhyun’s laughing pretty hard, arms bracing his stomach and breath dispelling from his mouth in faint, white puffs. In a minute, a gust will sweep by, and the wind chill will cause Baekhyun to scuttle towards Chanyeol and wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s waist in an attempt to brace against the cold. They’ll stay like that, arms wrapped around each other, for a few minutes until Chanyeol suggests they get back into the car. And once the heater’s running and the interior lights dim, Chanyeol will swoop down for another kiss.
This time, they won’t get interrupted.
The morning after will be slightly awkward, because they won’t know exactly how far they’ve crossed the blurred line between friendship and something more. The entire lecture will pass without so much as a word, and they’ll awkwardly bid their goodbyes after with confusion swirling in the pits of their stomachs as they wonder whether the other considers the night before something closer to a mistake. A stolen kiss behind a coffee stand later that day will clear things up a bit, the combination of clumsy lipwork and spontaneity resulting in at least one bleeding lip.
For at least two weeks, Chanyeol will still have the chronic hover hand, they’ll walk next to each other, closer than what would be considered plantonic, but fingers just beyond reach. It takes a horror movie to get them to start holding hands, when during a particularly gory scene, Baekhyun will grab Chanyeol’s palm with the strength of Hercules and refuse to let go. After that, it becomes more natural, their fingers finding each other almost subconsciously whenever they’re in clasping distance, digits loosely looping together almost becoming a habit.
And that’s the point where they decide to get a little more serious, when they start to officially “go out.”. It’ll probably be one of those relationships that people tend to envy, the one where they can finish each other sentences, the one where they flood their friends’ newsfeeds with cute couple shots on the beach, sunlight streaming through Chanyeol’s wind-tousled hair as he hugs a grinning Baekhyun from the back, the one filled with a million smiles and laughter and dopey happiness, the one where they just understand each other so well, they’re like-no, they are-two halves of a whole.
If anything significant happens at all, Chanyeol will be the first to fall. He’s clumsy with his heart like that, easily tripping and dropping it over subtle and silly things, like the slight slip of a smile, a lilting light laugh, or a candid compliment tossed his way. He doesn’t fall instantly but he falls quickly, stumbling over those multiple mundane moments in succession before losing his balance and tumbling straight into amour. It will just click the night after their seventh or eighth date, when he’s lying face-up in bed, unable to sleep because his heart’s thudding in his ears and his mind can’t seem stop whirring over thoughts of Baekhyun.
And well if Baekhyun falls, he doesn’t fall until much later because he has a measured guard on his heart. Love for Baekhyun is less of an inadvertent plunge and more of a deliberate dive. It’ll be a choice he makes if and after they’ve gotten together, and the catalyst will be an action on Chanyeol’s part that demonstrates some infallible kindness that just plucks the right tune on Baekhyun’s heartstrings. Like maybe when Baekhyun succumbs to mono in the spring and Chanyeol stays with him in the hospital overnight, for every night, Baekhyun on one of the sleepless nights, will gaze at a dozing Chanyeol, the light of the moon filtering over his features as his chest rhythmically rises and falls. With his heart thrumming with a sort of thermal energy, he’ll decide that, yeah, this one’s a keeper.
Of course few relationships evade rough patches, and they could end up breaking up in a week, a month, a year, or a few more. Depending on the length of time they’ve been together, it might be over something petty or something significant, over jealously or exhaustion, infused with profound anger or sadness, with clashing shouts or with shaking whispers, or some sort of miserable combination of those things. It might be over friends, family, habits, or disposition. Breaking up might happen once, twice, three times, or they might flit in and out of each other’s lives in an unhealthy dance as that one ex they each just can’t let go, unable to live without the other when apart, but unable to stand the other when together.
They might fall apart in an excitingly dramatic way with an almost theatrical explosion with showy screams and shouts, bristling anger and fists clenched so hard that nails dig into palms and leave angry, crescent welts. What the fight is about will be a lesser significance, because it’s scope will be blown out of proportion. It will be the result of an existing wound in their relationship rubbed raw red, the last fight in a long string of conflicts, the final tipping point for a boulder perched at the edge of an abyss just biding time for its inevitable plunge. It will be over a difference that cannot be absolved, different financial philosophies, jealousy over an ex, a perceived lack of respect from either side. And these differences will frame the trigger in the shape of a hidden bill, a suspicious text, or something as subtle as a choice vocal influx that just rubs the other party the wrong way. It won’t matter who starts it because it will escalates exponentially, with Chanyeol’s passive-aggressive tendencies driving Baekhyun nothing less than insane, and Baekhyun’s absolutist attitude fanning Chanyeol’s festering fury. Arguments, historically, have never ended well, because neither takes well to uncompromising criticism, but this particular one just grates too hard in the wrong direction.
Wake up Chanyeol, Baekhyun will snap. You’re always so narrow minded.
See this is the problem, Chanyeol forces a smile, eyes bright and blinking with vindication.You always pigeonhole people, stereotyping them with your first impression and harping on every single little thing they do wrong.
Okay, Chanyeol throws up his hands. I’ll do what YOU want, because all of your choices have worked out SO well.
What, Baekhyun lowers his voice. Are you insinuating, exactly?
I don’t know about you, Chanyeol shrugs apathetically, But I’m not the one who harps about not getting that promotion every fucking night.
You, Baekhyun sucks in a breath, fist tightening around his cup hard enough for his hand to shake and voice softening sinisterly low enough to raise the hairs on Chanyeol’s neck. Have crossed the line.
As the yelling escalates, it becomes quickly apparent that this time will be a last fight, this time will be a last straw, this time no one will compromise and so this time it will end with Baekhyun spiting out the last set of scornful spite, storming out and slamming the door. This time it will end with Chanyeol fuming with unleashed anger and furiously punching the nearest object in sight. This time it will end with angry tears sliding down his face, with a tensed shoulder sliding down the wall, with his heart humming the heartbreak hymn. This time it ends with a weary body sliding into a crumple, with Chanyeol’s world sliding off its axis, with his will sliding out just beyond his grasp.
And probably, this time, it will end for good.
Though it’s more likely if they break up it’ll be a peaceful dissolution, an inevitable separation spurred by a mutual epiphany that there’s something fundamentally not right with them being together right then and there, and that they’re intrinsically incompatible at this that day, that year, or maybe that lifetime. Growing tensions will cumulate into an unusually serious sit-down talk over some defensively positioned food, a good look in the eye, and the firm resolution:
it’s-, one of them will look down at his plate, cautiously playing with the remnants of his food with his fork. -It’s just not working out.
And after the clean break, they’ll leave each other in good standing, still keeping each other close by. They’ll be that ex that still hangs around, that ex that they can still consult, that ex that always stays on the fringe of friends, always a phone call away, always knows them the best, always a little guilty of that undercurrent of a amorous yearn, but never quite sure exactly how close they’re allowed to stand.
If they break up this way, maybe one day, over coffee, mutual longing, and a sense that the other’s grown up and changed that troublesome characteristic, they’ll crack open that forbidden heart-buried chest and revel in rose-tinted and wistful remember whens. And after hours of nostalgia and a subsequent series of ostensible “hang outs” that really feel closer to dates (with held gazes, heart-fluttering accidental brushes of the hands, and hugs that last a little too long), they’ll get back together and rekindle what they had.
Or, it’s possible they’ll never break up at all.
Of course, they may never get together in the first place, and their intimacy could end the night it begins. If their first date’s rocky, like Chanyeol lets it slip that he owns five cats or Baekhyun mentions offhandedly that he really hates cats, then they both won’t be feeling the vibe at the end. But they’ll both somewhat aesthetically attracted to each other and they both would have had enough alcohol coursing through their veins to be okay with hailing a taxi for the nearest hotel, stumbling through the hallways, bursting through the door and messily getting to town, fingers quickly yanking down waistbands, hands ripping off shirts, primal instincts and fervent hunger prowling free in the savannahs of soft silken sheets, with hands, lips, and other bits on the hunt for physical pleasure, and their desperate, drunken movements bathed in sensual glow of city lights.
In the morning, they’ll wake up to severe hangovers, instant regret, probable soreness, confusion, crumpled sheets and strewn clothing. And they’ll hastily get dressed, silently agreeing to never speak of the incident again. Then they’ll burst through the door and race down the hall in the rush of shame to get out to class, Baekhyun’s hair a bird’s nest, and Chanyeol’s shirt askew.
And whatever chemistry they had lasts only a night. They might not ever really get together, in their moments of passing, one or the other will awkwardly duck behind a concealing hand or hurriedly shuffle away, and they’ll both pretend like nothing ever happened. Like smoke from doused embers, their relationship will begin with fantastic fervor and quickly dispel, the plume of initial attraction quickly dissipating from sight, leaving behind a couple subtle yet lingering wisps-a memory and a mistake they’d rather forget-which will faintly stain the ceilings of their minds for a while to come.
Though maybe something improbable and funny will bring them back together, like they’ve ended up with each other’s underwear or phones, or they get assigned a project together, or somehow they meet again at a party, get drunk, and have a second-night stand. And in a romcom-esque series of events, like seeing each other’s virtues in some comedic sort of test full of sexually-tense moments while hinging on a sort of hilarious desperation, they’ll see something they really like in each other and somehow end up falling in love.
It’s unlikely, but maybe nothing remotely romantic will happen. Nothing magical ensues on that first date. It’ll be awkward, uncomfortable, and painful affair, and they’ll spend a majority of it fiddling aimlessly on their phones as the silence grows more unbearable by the second. When the bill is finally paid, they’ll awkwardly part ways right outside of the restaurant, with handshakes, a disingenuous “let’s hang out again” (hesitation, before a flicker of an insincere smile) and a vague “maybe in the future,” and lingering thoughts of how that couldn’t have been worse.
And maybe there won’t even be a first date.
There are a lot of possibilities.
It really depends on how Chanyeol reacts next. Back in the present, awkwardly peering down at the bleeding Chanyeol, Baekhyun rubs his forehead sheepishly as he extends a hand.
“As an apology, let me treat you to something?”
And if Chanyeol says yes, they’ll probably make their way to the coffee shop after lecture, the one on the end of the street that just opened last month, the one with sit-down service and on-the-side snacks, and one with quaint tables and modern deco and sharply-dressed wait staff, and the one that’s not Chanyeol’s style, and really isn’t Baekhyun’s either. But they’ll go anyway, since supposedly their coffee’s pretty damn good, and Chanyeol likes his coffee-like fucking loves it actually. And Baekhyun will pick up on that after spending a good few minutes scooping up Chanyeol’s numerous coffee shop membership cards strewn across the sidewalk.
They’ll sit in one of the tables for two, tucked in a corner between the ceiling-to-floor window and a looming indoor tree. Chanyeol will order an Americano-triple shot espresso-and Baekhyun, well, Baekhyun doesn’t really drink coffee (yet), so after scanning the menu frantically under the watchful gaze of both waitress and Chanyeol, he’ll smoothly snap the booklet shut with a smile, and enunciate in a clear voice, I’ll take one of those too. Which, will turn out to be a less than great idea, because for the rest of the date, Baekhyun will shake from the sheer amount of caffeine.
And if, through his heighted awareness, and before Chanyeol gets nervous and begins to ramble about his devotedness to his cats, Baekhyun happens to reach towards his back pocket for his phone, and his fingers brush against a piece of cardstock, and he remembers that tidbit of information he picked up while scrambling to retrieve Chanyeol’s stuff, the one about how Chanyeol’s the drummer-come-guitarist for an underground indie band, then they’ll hit it off extremely well over their shared interest in music. The first hour easily becomes the second and the second hour will seamlessly blend in to the third, fourth, fifth, (sixth). And before they know it, they find themselves a nice little downtown café just off main as night finishes falling, stealing glances over candlelight as they try to pair fine wines with finer food.
The next few dates will be a little less fancy, in fact it won’t even be clear if they’re actually dates. They’ll still be dancing around as friends at this point and going on outings that are easily platonic, like stops at the milk tea place just off campus, or hiking trips up into the mountains. Whatever they’ll initially choose to do doesn’t really matter because they always end up conversing for hours in the end, spilling bits of their hearts to each other as time flies by. It’ll rarely about anything serious, mostly lighthearted debates about their favorite shows and artists, or occasionally academic related things about certain professors or that difficult midterm that they will have taken last Thursday. Everything’s punctuated by romantic teasing, like playful ragging on Chanyeol on why he probably shouldn’t buy a penny board.
I dunno, Baekhyun will shrug as they sit side-by-side on a park bench, his pinky resting innocously resting ontop of Chanyeol’s. It seemed like you couldn’t even hold your balance on your longboard, and that’s like, what, twice the length? I mean, just going off of that...you’re like an accident waiting to happen.
You’re so mean Baekhyun, Chanyeol will jokingly clutch his chest, as he swings his head, stopping when his face is mere inches from Baekhyun’s. His eyes will sparkle as a his lips curl into coy grin. That was an accident. Don’t crush my hopes and dreams.
Forget your hopes and dreams, Baekhyun will roll his eyes as he pushes Chanyeol away by the side of his head, matching smile adorning his features. Worry about crushing your skull first.
Then on the weekend, likely a lazy Saturday afternoon, when Baekhyun’s studying at Chanyeol’s place as the latter lightly plucks his guitar, Chanyeol will mention offhandedly how he’s playing a show the next night, and hey, it’d be great if Baekhyun could attend. Without hesitation or even looking up from his physics textbook, Baekhyun will say sure, of course, and what time.
The next night, through the thudding beat and the streaming lights, Chanyeol will be able to pick him out from the crowd, eyes framed with dark eyeliner and darker irises glinting from the stage lights. And after the show, Baekhyun will meet him backstage, hands stuffed in pockets, and after Chanyeol introduces him to the rest of his band mates, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Junmyeon, Sehun, and spurred by Sehun’s grinning face, his mind will flit back to Sehun’s suggestion. Through the excitement of the post-show buzz, he’ll lean down and whisper into Baekhyun’s ear, Hey have you driven up to the mountains and seen the city lights? And Baekhyun will shake his head no, and Chanyeol will grin and take Baekhyun’s hand, leading him out of the building and towards his car. Eventually he’ll navigate his way up through the dusky winding roads carved in the hills and under the arching oak trees and eventually perch next to Baekhyun on that icy rail. And eventually there will be sweeping views of twinkling flats, snugly fitted beanies, red lips, glassy eyes, the thought of this is the time, and eventually he’ll lean in and-
Well, we know where it goes from there.
If they do end up getting together, it’ll be Chanyeol who confesses first. He’ll be nervous when he does it, choosing a secluded area behind a tree in a moonlit park. He’ll stall for a bit, trying to keep up the conversation as he works up the nerve to tell Baekhyun how he feels. It takes about three hours, and it’s only when Baekhyun gets up and mentions that he probably should get going because it’s 10pm and his internship starts tomorrow, that the panic mode sets in and Chanyeol unceremoniously dumps his heart into Baekhyun’s lap.
I need to tell you something, Chanyeol will gently grab Baekhyun by the arm. Something important.
Baekhyun will look up at him with mild confusion, probably due to the spontaneous dramatics, brows slightly knotted, Yeah?
Chanyeol will take a deep breath, because really at this point it's now or never, I-I really like you-and not just as a friend.
Baekhyun will hesitate for a moment, bent head hiding his expression as Chanyeol becomes significantly more agitated, pants getting into a twist as he waits for his verdict. He'll feel about 50 percent sure whether he'll be turned down, because he's never read signs very well, although that grows as the seconds tick by and he squeezes his eyes shut as he braces for the impact of rejection.
Out of the blue, he'll feel a different impact, a light thud against his chest of a head as the Baekhyun's arms snake around his waist. He still won't be able to see Baekhyun's face, but he'll glimpse the tips of his ears poking out through his hair, burning bright burgundy as Baekhyun murmurs into his chest.
What took you so long?
They won’t return to that cafe again, except maybe for one of their anniversaries down the line when Chanyeol will bring Baekhyun back, fingers looped together, and they’ll sit down and wrinkle their noses at the prices at same time. And Baekhyun will remark how the cappuccinos are incredibly expensive, and Chanyeol will catch the tinge of longing in his voice, noting it even as Baekhyun quickly orders something relatively cheap and snaps the tiny menu shut. And when Baekhyun leaves for the restroom, Chanyeol will get up and casually switch his order, swapping that standard decaf for the pricier drink.
Maybe, if things happen fall just into the right place, if the stars align just so, if they’re just meant to be, this will become the site of a bigger anniversary. If it’s Chanyeol, he’ll prefer to do it right outside the shop in the wintertime, sliding onto one knee, and dramatically whipping out the box as Baekhyun shields his face in a mixture of happiness and embarrassment. Between puffs of materializing breath and (preferably) gently falling snow, Chanyeol will indirectly pop the question with something cheesy like let’s grow old together, eyes sparkling in earnest and mouth pulled into a wide grin. And Baekhyun will probably say yes, frame outlined by the glow of the cafe, black peacoat dusted with snow, and smile just a bit broader than Chanyeol’s.
If it’s Baekhyun, he’ll prefer to do it on a nice spring day, inside at the same table at where they had their first date. Sometime between getting their drinks and paying the bill, he’ll slip the box towards Chanyeol. And Chanyeol (being Chanyeol) won’t notice it until Baekhyun taps the box twice, the first time enduringly, the second time much more impatiently. When Chanyeol realizes what it is, he’ll lunge across the table, grab Baekhyun by the shoulders, and kiss the daylights out of him. He’ll forget to give a verbal conformation until about two days later, when he realizes (while he’s speeding down the freeway) he'd neglected to give Baekhyun an explicit answer.
And Chanyeol (being Chanyeol) will whip out his phone just as he’s merging to the left and while he’s enthusiastically yelling YES, YES, I WILL over Baekhyun’s confused WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, attract the attention of a cop and gets slapped with a ticket for phone usage while driving.
Then they’ll grow old together.
But if Chanyeol declines Baekhyun’s offer to treat him then-well, that’s irrelevant now, since he doesn’t say no.
Because right now Chanyeol’s nodding and taking Baekhyun’s extended hand to hoist himself up from the concrete, not noticing how Baekhyun slips the piece of cardstock into his back pocket as he gingerly shifts his own weight to his unwounded knee.
And as Chanyeol leans his tall frame against Baekhyun’s shorter one and hobbles to that bathroom to wash off his wounds, someone, somewhere sets a timer for 23 days, 5 hours, and 32 minutes until Chanyeol falls again.
This time, figuratively-in love.
~•~