(Baekyeol) Everything, I Know
Title: Everything, I Know
Rating: pg (warning: angst)
Word count: 2003
Summary: Baekhyun's the only one who sees it happening.
One morning, Baekhyun wakes up to find that he Chanyeol are the same height.
It takes him a little while to notice - in fact, they go through their morning like usual, Baekhyun cooking breakfast and Chanyeol heartily eating it before getting ready for work.
Baekhyun usually likes morning. He likes waking up and being with Chanyeol, even if both of them are sleepy and don’t talk much. He likes cooking, and he likes watching Chanyeol eat his cooking. He likes mornings.
But this one feels different. He’s not sure how, but it makes him feel on edge.
The problem becomes glaringly obvious, though, when Chanyeol gives him the usual goodbye kiss before he leaves.
"Hmm?" Chanyeol murmurs when Baekhyun pulls away early, frowning.
"This," Baekhyun gestures vaguely. "That is. You’ve never had to lean down to kiss me before now."
"What do you mean?" Chanyeol asks. "It's always been like this."
Baekhyun continues to frown, but allows the younger boy to kiss him once more before hurrying off to catch the bus to go to work.
Chanyeol may have acted oblivious, but Baekhyun knows the boy had been taller than him.
It had been one of the things that made their relationship a bit comical, the rather big difference in their heights. Their friends always teased them about it. Baekhyun never minded, since Chanyeol’s height had been one thing he’d loved about the boy.
Had he imagined it? Had Chanyeol been right, that that’s always how they kissed?
No. Baekhyun is certain Chanyeol had been taller than him.
After a short cleaning spree, he manages to locate one of their photo albums from his birthday party last year, the one that Chanyeol had rented a whole movie theatre for since Baekhyun loved movies. He’s glad he'd forced Kyungsoo to photograph the whole thing.
He spends a good twenty minutes staring at the pictures, scanning each one thoroughly and scouting out the ones with both him and Chanyeol in them. Finally, he returns the album where he found it, rattled and unsatisfied.
"That can't be right," he mutters, brows furrowed in confusion. "We're the same height. In every picture."
When Chanyeol gets home that evening, he's half an inch shorter than Baekhyun. The older boy forces himself to ignore it.
The next morning, the formerly tall boy is a good two and a half inches shorter than Baekhyun. Baekhyun stares at him all throughout their morning routine, burning their breakfast in the process. He apologizes profusely, but Chanyeol doesn’t mind.
“I like your cooking no matter what,” he says with a wide grin. It looks different when Baekhyun is taller than him.
Everything looks different.
He doesn’t have to look up to look Chanyeol in the eyes. Now he’s the one leaning down slightly to press their lips together. Chanyeol has to stand on tiptoes to fulfill his habit of resting his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder and burying his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck.
It feels wrong.
Chanyeol still doesn’t seem to notice.
The next day, Chanyeol is almost a half foot shorter than Baekhyun when they go visit Jongin and Kyungsoo. While Chanyeol and Jongin immediately mess around on the younger boy’s X-Box, Baekhyun sits with Kyungsoo with the hopes of conveying his growing concerns to his good friend.
“They’re really energetic,” Kyungsoo says with a laugh, soft gaze turned upon the two boys. “Sometimes I forget, since things get kind of quiet when we’re on our own. It’s nice to see you guys again.” He turns to smile at Baekhyun, but it falters when Baekhyun’s own expression stays one of nervousness. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t... don’t you see it?” Baekhyun asks hesitantly, eyes glued to Chanyeol’s short figure. “Tell me I’m not imagining things, Kyungsoo, please.”
“Imagining things? Baek, seriously, what are you talking about?” Kyungsoo says, confused.
“His height!” Baekhyun hisses, biting his tongue when Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and both Chanyeol and Jongin look over at them. Chanyeol cocks his head to one side, and Baekhyun wishes he could look past this strange phenomenon, just ignore it and be with this adorable, perfect person.
But something is wrong. He just knows it.
“What about his height, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo asks once the other two have returned their attention to the video game.
“He’s....” Baekhyun swallows hard. He should have known.
Why can’t anyone else see it?
“Nevermind,” he mutters bitterly.
The next day it’s 2 inches shorter. The day after that, 3 more. He’s now about as tall as the piano in the music room that Baekhyun has been neglecting to play since this all started.
A few days. In a few days, Chanyeol has gone from giant to almost midget height, and the only one who sees it happening is Baekhyun.
The once tall boy can’t reach the cupboards to get plates for dinner. Instead of looking like an adult heading out for work, he more has the appearance of a child on his way to school. It’s a wonder his clothes are shrinking with him because Baekhyun’s not sure he could have afforded a new wardrobe for his boyfriend. He would have bought clothes, though, if that’s what was needed. He’d do anything for Chanyeol.
It becomes hard to look at the younger boy. Each day as he grows shorter, Baekhyun feels himself growing more and more terrified. He has to bend at the waist just to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. He can fit Chanyeol in his lap like a small dog.
He’s not just imagining this. Something is so horribly wrong, and Baekhyun is petrified.
When Chanyeol leaves for work, he buries himself in the blankets of his bed, shivering and shaking and wishing for this all to be a dream, that he’ll wake up and Chanyeol will be his normal size.
He misses the things they used to be able to do. He misses a time when he wasn’t scared out of his mind, when he wasn’t afraid he’s going insane.
When Chanyeol is a mere four feet tall, Baekhyun goes to see Sehun and Luhan. Anything to bring some sort of normality back to his life.
“How are you?” Luhan asks cheerfully.
“I’ve been better,” Baekhyun says truthfully.
“What’s wrong?” asks Sehun.
“It’s just... There’s something... wrong… with Chanyeol, I mean...” He struggles to explain, but remembers that no one else seems to see what he sees.
“Who’s Chanyeol?” questions the youngest boy. Baekhyun chokes and coughs, taking a moment to recover.
“What do you mean, who’s Chanyeol?” he responds hoarsely. “This had better be a joke. Luhan, tell him to stop joking around.” The older boy looks helplessly at him.
“Well, I would, Baek, but seriously, who’s Chanyeol?” Baekhyun stares at his friends.
“You’re kidding, right?” he whispers in disbelief. “Chanyeol, my boyfriend?”
“Wait, when did you get a boyfriend?” Sehun bursts out, a smile returning to his face. “You never told us!”
“You’ll have to introduce us sometime,” Luhan adds slyly.
It takes all of Baekhyun’s effort not to scream.
Have they really forgotten Chanyeol’s existence?
“Baekhyun, will you help me with this?” Chanyeol calls from the entrance. Baekhyun cringes and forces himself out of his permanent residence under the blankets of his bed.
“Y-yes?” he shakily asks a two and a half foot Chanyeol.
“I can’t seem to reach the closet to hang my coat up,” Chanyeol laughs as if it isn’t a big problem. Baekhyun wants to scream You’re as short as a toddler!! He wants to make Chanyeol realize this isn’t normal, that something is, indeed, exceedingly wrong.
“Here,” he says, taking the petite coat and managing to hang it up in the closet.
“Thanks,” Chanyeol says. His smile is still the same. It’s probably the only thing that hasn’t changed.
Baekhyun stops going out to see his friends. He hardly leaves his room, hardly gets out of his bed except to cook meals and help Chanyeol with small things. He can’t bring himself to look at Chanyeol, can’t smile, just can’t.
He’s so scared and it’s turning him inside out.
“Baekhyun, is something bothering you?” Chanyeol asks one night. He’s hovering just under a foot now, and his voice is starting to sound quieter, hazy almost. It brings hot tears to Baekhyun’s eyes, so he keeps his face hidden under his blankets.
“No. Everything’s fine,” he says.
“Everything’s not fine,” Chanyeol says, and for a second, Baekhyun’s heartbeat quickens; maybe Chanyeol has noticed. But he goes on, “You’ve been avoiding me. You hardly speak to me. I miss you.”
Baekhyun has to bite his lip and swallow hard not to cry.
Why is this happening? He doesn’t understand.
Chanyeol is everything to him.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, slowly pulling the blankets over his head. His doll-sized boyfriend stands at the edge of the bed. He’s not even as tall as it. Baekhyun chokes out, “I m-miss you, too,” and slowly reaches down, picking Chanyeol up and cradling him in his arms.
It’s like holding a small cat. Chanyeol feels fragile. Baekhyun holds him and fights back more tears.
“I love you, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol says softly, pressing tiny lips to Baekhyun’s cheek. “Please don’t cry.”
“I love you, too,” Baekhyun whispers. “I’m sorry.”
When Baekhyun awakes the next morning, he nearly has a heart attack. He can’t find Chanyeol anywhere. It’s only upon closer inspection of the bed that he discovers his half-foot tall boyfriend practically buried beneath the blankets. He cries for a little while, but Chanyeol assures him everything is fine.
“I’m sorry, Baekhyunnie. I promise it won’t happen again,” says that small voice. It’s even quieter today.
“Don’t apologize,” Baekhyun says tearfully. “Please, don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol repeats.
Chanyeol spends the days sleeping. Baekhyun wanders the house, thinking. He feels like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off. He’s anxious, unstable, and he has no idea what to do.
If only this had never happened. If only Chanyeol was still six feet tall. If only Baekhyun was shrinking, too.
Chanyeol… Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat. When is Chanyeol’s birthday? How old is he? What’s his favorite food? How long have they been dating?
He can’t remember!
His breath quickens and he starts a frenzied search all over the house for anything to jog his memory, anything to do with Chanyeol. He can’t find certain things, like the sweater Chanyeol bought him during the winter to stay warm, or the photo-albums from all of Chanyeol’s birthday parties that Baekhyun himself had photographed.
Things are missing. Everything is missing.
Baekhyun runs back to the bedroom to make sure Chanyeol is still there. He’s now just three inches tall.
Baekhyun is awoken during the night by a soft, sort of pop!ing noise, and in an instant, he knows. He just knows.
He sits up, throws the blankets off the bed. He’s sobbing in a matter of seconds, breath coming out in ragged huffs as he mirrors his search from earlier in the day, all the while shouting his boyfriend’s name.
He looks everywhere, the kitchen, the closets, the bathroom, the bedroom again. More is missing. He’s not paying attention, too wrapped up in his futile search.
It’s over. He just knows.
Chanyeol is gone. His Chanyeol is gone.
He collapses onto his bed, weeps uncontrollably, screams into his pillows. He repeats Chanyeol’s name over and over again. He wants to die. There is nothing worth living for if he doesn’t have Chanyeol.
He passes out when he can’t cry anymore, when he can’t even hold his eyes open. The last thing he thinks of is Chanyeol’s face, the features fading from it.
He opens his eyes the next morning. Sitting up, he feels his bed.
Why are his sheets wet? And why does his head hurt so much? Had he been crying?
He gets up and goes to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror.
A name is on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t remember anymore.
Rating: pg (warning: angst)
Word count: 2003
Summary: Baekhyun's the only one who sees it happening.
One morning, Baekhyun wakes up to find that he Chanyeol are the same height.
It takes him a little while to notice - in fact, they go through their morning like usual, Baekhyun cooking breakfast and Chanyeol heartily eating it before getting ready for work.
Baekhyun usually likes morning. He likes waking up and being with Chanyeol, even if both of them are sleepy and don’t talk much. He likes cooking, and he likes watching Chanyeol eat his cooking. He likes mornings.
But this one feels different. He’s not sure how, but it makes him feel on edge.
The problem becomes glaringly obvious, though, when Chanyeol gives him the usual goodbye kiss before he leaves.
"Hmm?" Chanyeol murmurs when Baekhyun pulls away early, frowning.
"This," Baekhyun gestures vaguely. "That is. You’ve never had to lean down to kiss me before now."
"What do you mean?" Chanyeol asks. "It's always been like this."
Baekhyun continues to frown, but allows the younger boy to kiss him once more before hurrying off to catch the bus to go to work.
Chanyeol may have acted oblivious, but Baekhyun knows the boy had been taller than him.
It had been one of the things that made their relationship a bit comical, the rather big difference in their heights. Their friends always teased them about it. Baekhyun never minded, since Chanyeol’s height had been one thing he’d loved about the boy.
Had he imagined it? Had Chanyeol been right, that that’s always how they kissed?
No. Baekhyun is certain Chanyeol had been taller than him.
After a short cleaning spree, he manages to locate one of their photo albums from his birthday party last year, the one that Chanyeol had rented a whole movie theatre for since Baekhyun loved movies. He’s glad he'd forced Kyungsoo to photograph the whole thing.
He spends a good twenty minutes staring at the pictures, scanning each one thoroughly and scouting out the ones with both him and Chanyeol in them. Finally, he returns the album where he found it, rattled and unsatisfied.
"That can't be right," he mutters, brows furrowed in confusion. "We're the same height. In every picture."
When Chanyeol gets home that evening, he's half an inch shorter than Baekhyun. The older boy forces himself to ignore it.
The next morning, the formerly tall boy is a good two and a half inches shorter than Baekhyun. Baekhyun stares at him all throughout their morning routine, burning their breakfast in the process. He apologizes profusely, but Chanyeol doesn’t mind.
“I like your cooking no matter what,” he says with a wide grin. It looks different when Baekhyun is taller than him.
Everything looks different.
He doesn’t have to look up to look Chanyeol in the eyes. Now he’s the one leaning down slightly to press their lips together. Chanyeol has to stand on tiptoes to fulfill his habit of resting his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder and burying his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck.
It feels wrong.
Chanyeol still doesn’t seem to notice.
The next day, Chanyeol is almost a half foot shorter than Baekhyun when they go visit Jongin and Kyungsoo. While Chanyeol and Jongin immediately mess around on the younger boy’s X-Box, Baekhyun sits with Kyungsoo with the hopes of conveying his growing concerns to his good friend.
“They’re really energetic,” Kyungsoo says with a laugh, soft gaze turned upon the two boys. “Sometimes I forget, since things get kind of quiet when we’re on our own. It’s nice to see you guys again.” He turns to smile at Baekhyun, but it falters when Baekhyun’s own expression stays one of nervousness. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t... don’t you see it?” Baekhyun asks hesitantly, eyes glued to Chanyeol’s short figure. “Tell me I’m not imagining things, Kyungsoo, please.”
“Imagining things? Baek, seriously, what are you talking about?” Kyungsoo says, confused.
“His height!” Baekhyun hisses, biting his tongue when Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and both Chanyeol and Jongin look over at them. Chanyeol cocks his head to one side, and Baekhyun wishes he could look past this strange phenomenon, just ignore it and be with this adorable, perfect person.
But something is wrong. He just knows it.
“What about his height, Baekhyun?” Kyungsoo asks once the other two have returned their attention to the video game.
“He’s....” Baekhyun swallows hard. He should have known.
Why can’t anyone else see it?
“Nevermind,” he mutters bitterly.
The next day it’s 2 inches shorter. The day after that, 3 more. He’s now about as tall as the piano in the music room that Baekhyun has been neglecting to play since this all started.
A few days. In a few days, Chanyeol has gone from giant to almost midget height, and the only one who sees it happening is Baekhyun.
The once tall boy can’t reach the cupboards to get plates for dinner. Instead of looking like an adult heading out for work, he more has the appearance of a child on his way to school. It’s a wonder his clothes are shrinking with him because Baekhyun’s not sure he could have afforded a new wardrobe for his boyfriend. He would have bought clothes, though, if that’s what was needed. He’d do anything for Chanyeol.
It becomes hard to look at the younger boy. Each day as he grows shorter, Baekhyun feels himself growing more and more terrified. He has to bend at the waist just to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. He can fit Chanyeol in his lap like a small dog.
He’s not just imagining this. Something is so horribly wrong, and Baekhyun is petrified.
When Chanyeol leaves for work, he buries himself in the blankets of his bed, shivering and shaking and wishing for this all to be a dream, that he’ll wake up and Chanyeol will be his normal size.
He misses the things they used to be able to do. He misses a time when he wasn’t scared out of his mind, when he wasn’t afraid he’s going insane.
When Chanyeol is a mere four feet tall, Baekhyun goes to see Sehun and Luhan. Anything to bring some sort of normality back to his life.
“How are you?” Luhan asks cheerfully.
“I’ve been better,” Baekhyun says truthfully.
“What’s wrong?” asks Sehun.
“It’s just... There’s something... wrong… with Chanyeol, I mean...” He struggles to explain, but remembers that no one else seems to see what he sees.
“Who’s Chanyeol?” questions the youngest boy. Baekhyun chokes and coughs, taking a moment to recover.
“What do you mean, who’s Chanyeol?” he responds hoarsely. “This had better be a joke. Luhan, tell him to stop joking around.” The older boy looks helplessly at him.
“Well, I would, Baek, but seriously, who’s Chanyeol?” Baekhyun stares at his friends.
“You’re kidding, right?” he whispers in disbelief. “Chanyeol, my boyfriend?”
“Wait, when did you get a boyfriend?” Sehun bursts out, a smile returning to his face. “You never told us!”
“You’ll have to introduce us sometime,” Luhan adds slyly.
It takes all of Baekhyun’s effort not to scream.
Have they really forgotten Chanyeol’s existence?
“Baekhyun, will you help me with this?” Chanyeol calls from the entrance. Baekhyun cringes and forces himself out of his permanent residence under the blankets of his bed.
“Y-yes?” he shakily asks a two and a half foot Chanyeol.
“I can’t seem to reach the closet to hang my coat up,” Chanyeol laughs as if it isn’t a big problem. Baekhyun wants to scream You’re as short as a toddler!! He wants to make Chanyeol realize this isn’t normal, that something is, indeed, exceedingly wrong.
“Here,” he says, taking the petite coat and managing to hang it up in the closet.
“Thanks,” Chanyeol says. His smile is still the same. It’s probably the only thing that hasn’t changed.
Baekhyun stops going out to see his friends. He hardly leaves his room, hardly gets out of his bed except to cook meals and help Chanyeol with small things. He can’t bring himself to look at Chanyeol, can’t smile, just can’t.
He’s so scared and it’s turning him inside out.
“Baekhyun, is something bothering you?” Chanyeol asks one night. He’s hovering just under a foot now, and his voice is starting to sound quieter, hazy almost. It brings hot tears to Baekhyun’s eyes, so he keeps his face hidden under his blankets.
“No. Everything’s fine,” he says.
“Everything’s not fine,” Chanyeol says, and for a second, Baekhyun’s heartbeat quickens; maybe Chanyeol has noticed. But he goes on, “You’ve been avoiding me. You hardly speak to me. I miss you.”
Baekhyun has to bite his lip and swallow hard not to cry.
Why is this happening? He doesn’t understand.
Chanyeol is everything to him.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles, slowly pulling the blankets over his head. His doll-sized boyfriend stands at the edge of the bed. He’s not even as tall as it. Baekhyun chokes out, “I m-miss you, too,” and slowly reaches down, picking Chanyeol up and cradling him in his arms.
It’s like holding a small cat. Chanyeol feels fragile. Baekhyun holds him and fights back more tears.
“I love you, Baekhyunnie,” Chanyeol says softly, pressing tiny lips to Baekhyun’s cheek. “Please don’t cry.”
“I love you, too,” Baekhyun whispers. “I’m sorry.”
When Baekhyun awakes the next morning, he nearly has a heart attack. He can’t find Chanyeol anywhere. It’s only upon closer inspection of the bed that he discovers his half-foot tall boyfriend practically buried beneath the blankets. He cries for a little while, but Chanyeol assures him everything is fine.
“I’m sorry, Baekhyunnie. I promise it won’t happen again,” says that small voice. It’s even quieter today.
“Don’t apologize,” Baekhyun says tearfully. “Please, don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol repeats.
Chanyeol spends the days sleeping. Baekhyun wanders the house, thinking. He feels like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off. He’s anxious, unstable, and he has no idea what to do.
If only this had never happened. If only Chanyeol was still six feet tall. If only Baekhyun was shrinking, too.
Chanyeol… Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat. When is Chanyeol’s birthday? How old is he? What’s his favorite food? How long have they been dating?
He can’t remember!
His breath quickens and he starts a frenzied search all over the house for anything to jog his memory, anything to do with Chanyeol. He can’t find certain things, like the sweater Chanyeol bought him during the winter to stay warm, or the photo-albums from all of Chanyeol’s birthday parties that Baekhyun himself had photographed.
Things are missing. Everything is missing.
Baekhyun runs back to the bedroom to make sure Chanyeol is still there. He’s now just three inches tall.
Baekhyun is awoken during the night by a soft, sort of pop!ing noise, and in an instant, he knows. He just knows.
He sits up, throws the blankets off the bed. He’s sobbing in a matter of seconds, breath coming out in ragged huffs as he mirrors his search from earlier in the day, all the while shouting his boyfriend’s name.
He looks everywhere, the kitchen, the closets, the bathroom, the bedroom again. More is missing. He’s not paying attention, too wrapped up in his futile search.
It’s over. He just knows.
Chanyeol is gone. His Chanyeol is gone.
He collapses onto his bed, weeps uncontrollably, screams into his pillows. He repeats Chanyeol’s name over and over again. He wants to die. There is nothing worth living for if he doesn’t have Chanyeol.
He passes out when he can’t cry anymore, when he can’t even hold his eyes open. The last thing he thinks of is Chanyeol’s face, the features fading from it.
He opens his eyes the next morning. Sitting up, he feels his bed.
Why are his sheets wet? And why does his head hurt so much? Had he been crying?
He gets up and goes to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror.
A name is on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t remember anymore.