Title: So They Say
Characters: Baekhyun/Chen
Genre: University! AU, Fluff, Crack
Rating: PG-13
Summary: 1702 words. Kyungsoo is a good friend, so he gives Jongdae the perfect present for his birthday.
Note: Set in the same verse as "
One on One" and "
Eyes Wide Shut." This can be read as a standalone fic, although it is better if you read at least Eyes Wide Shut to get a better picture.
Kyungsoo still thinks this is a bad idea, but it's already too late to back out.
The wind today is particularly chilly; the shiver running through his entire body has made the worst kind of complement for his already anxious state. He stands alone in the gymnasium's open rooftop with one hand nervously clutching a small white envelope, its front side neat with elegant handwriting.
The blue sky above him is clear of clouds. He has been there for five minutes; he notices when he stops to check the watch on his wrist. He keeps a consistent pace of walking to and fro the empty space around him, visible puffs of smoke swirling from the corners of his lips as he exhales.
Of all days, he has chosen to wear a thinner kind of sweat shirt today; the cotton scarf wrapped around his neck can barely satisfy his need for warmth. But somehow, his movements make him feel warmer.
The door opens and Kyungsoo holds a breath.
"You're the one who called me?"
The person clad in a green and white Nike varsity jacket walks toward him, wearing the kind of smile that Kyungsoo thinks has high chances of landing a toothpaste commercial anytime soon. Kyungsoo notices the gaze of the other's almond shaped eyes lands on the envelope in his chilled right hand.
"Is that a letter you are holding?" The other points out with his forefinger and Kyungsoo watches the other's smile transform into a subtle frown.
"Y-yes."
Kyungsoo mentally reprimands himself, thinking how it is very unnecessary for him to be nervous about this. He grips on the paper in his hand tighter, feeling the texture with fingers yet in such a way that it doesn't get creases.
The boy in front of him lets out an awkward laugh, the side of his mouth twitching while asks in an unsure voice, "Erm, you aren't planning to cheat on the Captain, are you?"
Kyungsoo's eyes widen, a blush creeping up his round face.
"N-no!" He yelps, flapping his arms like a lost penguin.
"I thought so," the boy snorts and Kyungsoo notices how the other has relaxed his shoulders, looking as if he has just been stripped of a load worth thousands of pounds.
"What is that for then?"
Before the other can fully raise an eyebrow, he sees Kyungsoo take a deep breath, whispering words of encouragement to himself. He gives the other an innocent smile and with the white envelope in his hand, he extends an arm before bowing, "Byun Baekhyun, please go out with my best friend!"
***
"Kyungsoo what?!"
"He asked me," Baekhyun sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, "-to go out with his best friend."
Chanyeol spits the water he is drinking on the floor and Baekhyun rolls his eyes.
"Oh my God," he coughs as he almost chokes on the liquid, wiping his wet chin with the back of his hand. "That must have been awkward…"
"I know," Baekhyun lets out a deeper sigh, rubbing his face with his palms, thinking about what else could be the possible implications of setting a rooftop as a meeting place, a nervous boy waiting for him, and a love letter on his hand.
"What did you say?" the taller of the two asks.
"I couldn't really say no to that cute face," Baekhyun shrugs and Chanyeol looks at him sympathetically.
"Not when he said it like asking someone out for another person in that particular set-up is the most normal thing in the world. I almost thought he's going to cheat on Joonmyun with me but I should have known better. Kyungsoo's just so innocent; I'd hate to burst his bubble and make him cry. You'd know the feeling if you were in my situation."
Chanyeol rubs circles on the shorter one's back, finding words to comfort his closest friend, "You read too much shoujo mangas."
Baekhyun shoots his friend with a glare but Chanyeol just sniggers. "Think of it as Kyungsoo's unique way of setting you up for a blind date?"
"I guess, yeah. What else could I do?"
"Hope that his best friend is hot at least?"
"Wow, I did not know there's a genius thriving inside your rotting brain," Baekhyun comments, rolling his eyes.
Chanyeol wonders if he should be offended, but lets it go anyway, after hitting Baekhyun's head with his knuckles and quickly escaping to the locker room though.
***
Jongdae looks at his reflection on the full-length mirror and frowns. Somehow the flesh-colored top that he is wearing does not look good with his designer jeans. The shade of the top doesn't match his complexion either, and the way the jeans fit him makes him look fat. He infuriatingly strips down to his boxers for the nth time today and throws the rejected set on the massive pile of clothes on bed.
"There's nothing to wear!" He shouts angrily at no one in particular, throwing himself facedown to the mountain of fabric on his bed.
He curses against mattress of clothes, momentarily kicking and punching air like a small kid throwing tantrums. Today is the day he is supposed to meet Byun Baekhyun, the basketball player from the Green Hunters that he has been crushing on, for a date his best friend has thoughtfully set-up for him as a gift for his upcoming birthday.
Of course Jongdae is more than thankful, finding it a little bit funny and cute that Kyungsoo has seemingly taken to heart all the "Set me up with Byun Baekhyun" jokes he has mindlessly thrown in their conversations ever since Kyungsoo has been assigned as a student team manager for the Green Hunters' basketball team.
He contemplates about cancelling the date but it will probably break his best friend's heart and Jongdae has a very soft spot for Kyungsoo so he decides to go against it. It's his birthday gift anyway, so better to enjoy it than to spoil it.
He decides to grab the last outfit he tried out from the pile of clothes on the bed and wears it, before his nerves give up on him. Not even taking a minute to fix himself in the mirror, he quickly heads over to the restaurant that Kyungsoo has reserved for them.
***
"You must be Kim Jongdae?"
Jongdae swears he is hypnotized the moment the boy in front of him gives him the most tantalizing smile, with the perfectly shaped lips and the perfect white teeth to back it up; he has ever laid his eyes on. Byun Baekhyun, the epitome of a living perfection in Jongdae's standards, is just within an arm's reach in front of him.
If Jongdae thinks more about the fact that Baekhyun has just acknowledged his puny existence in this world, he might just as well get down to his knees and propose to him at this instance. But that might creep his pretty prince out before he even gets his chance so he abandons the option, not like it's a feasible one though.
He notices that Baekyun is wearing a white tank top printed with a silver 'I shoot balls' embossed underneath a grey cardigan, in which Jongdae identifies as something he saw on G-Market the other day. He takes a mental note to order the exact same top as soon as he gets home because you know, couple shir-
"Um, hello?" Baekhyun clears his throat with an angelic voice that Jongdae wishes can lull him to sleep every night when his insomnia attacks him during an exam-free week in school.
"Ah, sorry, " Jongdae swallows nervously, feeling his ears heating up. "Y-yes, I am Kim Jongdae, please take a seat."
He gestures toward the seat opposite him and Baekhyun gives him a sweet smile in return. He tells himself to not stare at Baekhyun's perfectly eye-lined orbs too much or he might space out again.
"I am Byun Baekhyun," the basketball player introduces himself as he sits down and Jongdae nods, because he knows. He knows about Baekhyun's blood type, where he went for high school, his favourite color, his favourite food, the name of his pet dog, his career-high statistics in basketball - but of course, everything is on an assumption that the information in Baekhyun's fan cafe is accurate.
"Do you always space out like this?"
"I'm sorry?"
Baekhyun laughs, eyes crinkling. "You've said 'sorry' twice to me already and we've just met."
Jongdae opens his mouth, "Sor-"
"Hush," Baekhyun interrupts as he presses a finger against Jongdae's lips, "you're saying it again."
Jongdae squirms when Baekyun moves to thumb the corner of the former's lips, as if gently wiping a non-existent dirt away. "Stop making me feel like a bully."
Jongdae swears he just heard Baekhyun say it in teasing tone, so he raises an eyebrow, wishing it looks sexy enough because he has never had anyone to try it with before except the mirror, but that doesn't count.
"You are already hitting on me and we've just met," Jongdae blurts out wittily and Baekhyun finds the telling smirk on the other's lips just as hypnotizing.
***
Jongdae thinks about calling Kyungsoo, but his best friend will probably just scold him with a lecture about 'no-sex-on-first-dates' moralities and then proceed to whine about how he and Joonmyun have not even gone as far as making out and groping. Sometimes Jongdae thinks of Kyungsoo's innocent act as a facade, but when he pictures his best friend blinking at him with those innocent wide eyes that scream “What-are-you-talking-about?” he drops the thought.
As for Baekhyun, he'll probably give Chanyeol, who is already dying to know the details, a call just to assure him that Kyungsoo's best friend is a pretty hot catch and they might just get along, much to the other's disappointment because he was actually wishing for Baekhyun's misery.
Baekhyun hangs up and smiles when he receives a text message on his phone, "I enjoyed your company. See you soon. ;)" He is already looking forward to a second date; thanks to Kyungsoo and his just as awkward "An Idiot's Guide to Understanding Kim Jongdae" that came with the white envelope that day.
***
A/N: What is this pairing, idek how it happened okay. lol I originally planned this to be a drabble but I don't think it will be enough for my liking, so the result is this longer-than-a-drabble oneshot.
Again, big thanks to my beta reader Clara
mara_ciro, who claims that the heavy BaekYeol bromance in this fic is some sort of an apology for the KrisYeol in One on One. I told her I am not apologizing for anything KrisYeol in which Agot backed up with 'One shall not apologize for an OTP' argument. lol ily bb, and you know it. And also for Nina
lessvocals who encouraged me to give Baek/Chen a shot in this verse, here you go.
Hello to my new LJ-Twitter friends, if you are reading this? Yay :D