Milk Carton
Main Pairing: Sehun/Chanyeol
Genre: slice of life
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1.6 k
Summary: Sehun finds a man drinking milk from the carton at the convenience store. Attraction is a weird thing.
Not Beta Read
A/N: small & simple :)
Sehun closes the refrigerator in vexation. Again, for the fourth time at the week, there is no milk. It's all Kyungsoo’s fault because when finals are around the corner he can't stop drinking milk. Just another weird nuisance of his roommate.
The clock says 11 pm, not really a good hour to go to the convenience store but Sehun won't sleep without eating cereal. Not this time. So he goes to the nearest convenient store with his sweatpants, a t-shirt and his flip flops. Too sleepy to change into something more bearable.
Who cares about fashion at almost midnight anyway? A fully awake Sehun will complain about it in the morning, no doubt.
He greets the lazy cashier Yixing before going to the milk section. There is only one milk of his favorite brand, but before picking it he gets distracted by the chocolate ice cream. Why not buying a container? He deserves something nice before the finals too.
Just when he is grabbing the ice cream, someone else takes the last milk, his milk. He turns in disbelief, Oh Sehun doesn't bear people to take his stuff.
At least that's what he thinks until he faces the thief.
It's a redhead man even taller than him. Slim with a trail of muscles showing due to the tight black t-shirt he is wearing. He has sweatpants too, a lazy outfit, Sehun thanks the heavens.
He is drinking right from the milk carton and Sehun would be disgusted if it wasn't for the deep black eyes suddenly laying on him.
The taller raises a questioning eyebrow as he stops drinking, plush lips shining due the liquid. Sehun’s mouth opens and closes like a golden fish. He finally purses his lips into a thin line and looks back to the milk aisle.
Said man walks away and Sehun waits for the door closing sound to take the less awful milk remaining and go to the register machine.
After paying and packing, he turns to the door. The street is empty, so he turns to Yixing who is still smiling sleepy.
“So… does he comes often?” he asks motioning to the door.
“Who?” Sehun is pretty sure no one else was in the store for the last minutes. As always, he rolls his eyes at Yixing.
“The tall dude with red hair.”
“Oh, you mean Chanyeol?” Yixing smiles. “Yes, he comes a lot at night. Why?”
Sehun smiles but he doesn't answer. He bids goodbye and returns home. That night he eats cereal and curses Kyungsoo who is already sleeping in the couch.
+++
For the next week he doesn't return to the convenience store. Yet, it's Friday night and he is about to watch some movies with Kyungsoo. It's almost midnight as he goes to the store for some popcorn.
Yixing is almost sleeping above the register machine. Sehun pats his head but stays still when hearing a noise in one of the aisles. To be more exact, the same aisle where the popcorn is.
There he finds Chanyeol crouched in front of the chips. He has about five open chips at his side and one in his hand. Sehun wishes he could say he didn't flinch when the man turned to him.
He has a mouth full of chips, but Sehun can forget that because those dark eyes are fixed on him again. Sizing him from head to toe. Sehun can swear the taller man’s ears turn a slight shade of pink as he gulps. He picks his chips fast and stands up.
Sehun walks closer only to get some popcorns packs. Caramel flavored for his irritant roommate. For the corner of his eye, he pays more attention to the man’s outfit: a sweatshirt and tight pants. He has pretty nice legs too.
When he looks upside, he finds the man looking at him. He has a piece of chip right near his mouth. A dorito.
Sehun must have been crazy to think this man was attractive…
“Hey,” the tall man says with the deepest voice Sehun has heard.
Maybe, he is attractive. He even half smiles at him. Nice teeth.
“Hey,” Sehun doesn't smile, but nods in acknowledgement. The taller man seems not to take offense on that and leaves the aisle.
Once again, Sehun waits for the door closing sound for him to reach Yixing.
“So, how often did you say he comes here?”
“Who?”
Sehun wonders how the cashier manages to work like that every night.
When he returns home he already knows two new things: one, said man goes every night from Monday to Friday near midnight and two, he studies music at the same university as Yixing.
+++
It's not that Sehun looks for him, but he conveniently finds Chanyeol every night for the next week. To be fair, it's the finals week when he and Kyungsoo doesn't have time to cook so he buys instantaneous soup every night.
Sehun finds Chanyeol in a different aisle each time, doing different things. Attractive is supposed to be separated from weird but Chanyeol seems to blend those characteristics pretty well.
Monday, he is on the sodas trying to pile as many sodas as he can on his arm. Tuesday, he is on the candies buying different kinder eggs to obtain a certain comic character (he never gets it). Wednesday, he is on the yogurt section trying each brand and flavor. Thursday, he is on the medicines searching for honey bear pills for his throat.
They have exchanged some words during the week, including some light laughs. It's friday when Chanyeol is talking, more like laughing and clapping like a seal, with Yixing. Sehun doesn’t hesitate on walking towards them to pay his soup.
“Sehun.” Yixing smiles but Sehun’s eyes go directly to Chanyeol who seems like is checking him out.
Sehun wouldn't blame him, who wouldn’t? When Chanyeol meets his eyes, he licks his lips fast and smiles.
“Hey.” Chanyeol says with his voice even deeper and lower than seconds ago when talking to Yixing. “Sehun, right? I’m Chanyeol.”
Sehun smiles cheeky, turning his attention to Yixing who is starting to talk about his guitar lessons. He steal some glances to Chanyeol who keeps staring at him even when replying to the cashier.
“See you on Monday.” The latter says waving at both. Sehun smiles noticing how the taller faster his pace to join him at the door. Yet, the former keeps walking.
“Do you live near here?” Chanyeol asks.
“A block away.”
“Why haven't I see you around then?” He smiles brightly, the street lights aren't half that bright.
He shrugs wondering the same thing. “Maybe you aren't around?”
“I live two blocks away, we should go around some day.”
He says casually with his hands on his hoodie pockets. Sehun bites his inner cheeks. There is no way he is acting happy about that question.
“Sure.”
They walk until they arrive to Sehun’s apartment complex. Seducing rule number six, use teasing at the correct time.
“Hey,” Chanyeol turns to him almost flinching because of the sudden loss of silence. “Didn't you buy something?”
Chanyeol’s eyes grow bigger as he turns to his sides. He had forgotten his bags at the convenience store.
“Shit,” he hisses as he runs back the store, Sehun’s laugh filling the silence.
+++
There hasn't been any date, not an actual invitation, not even a text. They have exchanged numbers two weeks ago and Sehun was sure he would text him the next day.
And he did, he sent kitty pictures.
Sehun isn't needy, he could have a date with anyone else right now. But he is stubborn, and if he wants a date with the redhead giant, he will have a date, no excuses.
But, he won't be the one asking one, of course not. Oh Sehun never takes the first step, he never does the chasing.
Or maybe he would once, for Chanyeol wearing a green jacket with military pins, tight jeans ripped on the knees and black heavy boots.
He is on the juice aisle drinking from the carton. No one can drink orange juice as attractive as Chanyeol, for sure.
“When is ‘the going around’ then?”
Sehun would facepalm himself right in the place. Even a silly and lame pick up line from Kyungsoo would be more effective.
No, that's too low.
Hopefully, it seems to work as Chanyeol starts to choke on his juice. Sehun tries to help patting his back only for the orange juice to land on his clothes
“Ugh,” Sehun steps away looking at one of his favorite jacket and shoes. “My fucking clothes.”
Chanyeol is red from ear to ear.
+++
“Does it fit?” Chanyeol asks with Sehun’s jacket on his arms.
Sehun nods as he takes a look at his reflection on the door. Chanyeol’s jacket is the less he could ask for the clothes he ruined but the taller man paying for everything on the date will have to do.
“I'm so sorry,” he says for the tenth time as he handles him his own jacket. His cheeks still have slight pink on them. Sehun can’t stop himself from laughing and returning the piece of clothing.
“Keep it, it's cold outside. You can return it tomorrow.” Sehun smiles. “But you have to wash it.”
Chanyeol smiles again as he puts the jacket on.
Both walk together until they arrive to Sehun’s apartment.
+++
“Is that yours?” Kyungsoo asks as soon as Sehun enters the kitchen.
“No.” Sehun smiles leaving the soup on the counter. He ignores the questioning look on the smaller as he goes to sit on the couch.
Saturday’s date is at a place called Lotto, which Sehun has never heard of. He looks for the place on Internet just to discover is a small bar where students and amateur singers perform each night.
“Looks good on you tho,” Kyungsoo says before giving him the hot soup and sitting beside him.
Sehun isn’t giving the jacket back, never.