CHINGUX 2014: that may be all i need (1/1) for tiggie0307
Title: that may be all i need
Author: severalstories
Recipient: tiggie0307
Pairing/Focus: Chanyeol/Kyungsoo
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,023w
Summary: Chanyeol isn’t sure what to think of Jongdae’s new roommate until they bond over music. Then he can’t stop thinking about him.
Chanyeol’s heard stories about Kyungsoo-the tenor who has severe enough stage fright to keep him from earning solos but is still to keep half their college’s music department in line with a single look-for as long as he’s known Baekhyun and Jongdae. He doesn’t meet him until their senior year, when Kyungsoo becomes Jongdae’s new roommate and Chanyeol helps him move in.
Jongdae’s older brother, Jongdeok, is outside the apartment building when Chanyeol gets there, adjusting the angle of the huge box in his arms. “Just grab a box and bring it inside,” Jongdeok tells him, pointing his foot toward his van for emphasis. “We already brought the furniture over, so these and one more load of boxes are all that’s left.”
Chanyeol waits until Jongdeok is out of the way, then reaches into the van and pulls out the nearest box. Its flap is open far enough that Chanyeol barely has to nudge it to see inside. A set of Death Note volumes, the first two seasons of Hannibal, vinyl gloves, a set of items that Chanyeol doesn’t recognize but could be anything from weird cooking devices to instruments of torture, and… is that a riding crop?
Someone who’s definitely not Jongdeok clears his throat from behind him, and Chanyeol whirls around, quickly shoving the box away.
The first thing he thinks when he sees Do Kyungsoo is cute. He’s tiny and narrow, with the biggest eyes Chanyeol’s ever seen, not to mention the fullest lips.
His gaze lingers on those a little, so his second thought is that Kyungsoo’s not smiling.
Instead he’s scrutinizing Chanyeol in a way that makes Chanyeol feel painfully lacking somehow. Chanyeol smiles twice as widely to make up for it.
“Don’t do that, you’ll scare him,” Jongdae tells Chanyeol, stepping around Kyungsoo to join Chanyeol next to the van.
Chanyeol elbows him. It’s either that or say he’s scaring me. “Hi!” he says to Kyungsoo. “I’m Chanyeol!”
“I’m Kyungsoo.” His voice is lower than Chanyeol had expected-which is what everyone says about Chanyeol himself, but still. It feels off, somehow.
“Nice to meet you!” Scrambling for something to say, Chanyeol blurts out, “So is Death Note your favorite series?”
“… yes.”
“Oh, cool! I really like it, too!” The last thing he should be doing is making it so obvious that he looked through the box, he knows that, but what comes out next is, “Cool, uh, riding crop!”
Jongdae bursts out laughing. Kyungsoo just keeps looking at him. “It’s not mine,” he finally says. “It’s for a friend.”
“Really?” Jongdae asks, intrigued. “Which friend?” Kyungsoo shakes his head and picks up the box in question, then takes it inside.
Chanyeol drops his face into his hands. “I’ll never be able to come over again.”
Jongdae snickers. “He’s not that bad.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Trust me,” Jongdae says, patting his shoulder, “you’ll love him.”
Chanyeol just whimpers.
Kyungsoo isn’t there the when Chanyeol visits the next day, so the next time Chanyeol sees him is Monday. He doesn’t intend to-after the disaster that was their first meeting, his plan had been to avoid him for at least another week. But when he stops by their apartment to pick Jongdae up for band practice, Jongdae’s still rubbing a towel against his wet hair when he answers the door. “Hey! Give me like five minutes, okay? Go hang out with Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol gives him a disbelieving look, but that doesn’t stop Jongdae from nudging him toward the kitchen.
Kyungsoo, dressed all in black again, is chopping vegetables with a massive knife. Of course he is. He looks up as Chanyeol approaches. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi!” Chanyeol looks at the spices lined up on the counter, wondering if any of them are hiding the cyanide Kyungsoo will probably use for other people’s portions. “Making dinner?”
Kyungsoo nods. “Someone ate the last of my spicy pork, so now I have to make something else.”
Chanyeol can feel the color draining from his face. “That was yours? I’m so sorry, I thought it was Jongdae’s!”
Jongdae’s laughter echoes from the bathroom. “Was that what you were eating?”
“You told me there were leftovers!”
“Yeah, leftover Chinese food!”
“You should’ve said that!”
“I did!”
Kyungsoo’s lips are pressed together, his eyes narrowed behind his thick glasses as he stares at Chanyeol. Chanyeol gulps. “It’s fine,” Kyungsoo says at last, his tone suggesting anything but, and Chanyeol glances at the spices with a shudder.
Baekhyun and Jongdae are in hysterics by the time Chanyeol finishes retelling the story during practice. Chanyeol slumps over the back of his folding chair, scowling at his so-called best friends as they enjoy his misery. “He was holding a knife!” Chanyeol reminds them.
“Yeah, a vegetable knife,” Jongdae says with a snort.
“I thought he was going to kill me!”
“Look,” Baekhyun says, wiping his eyes, “I lived next door to him until middle school, remember? And I’m still alive.”
“Maybe it didn’t start until after that,” Chanyeol says darkly, then looks at Jongdae. “Are you sure he’s not a serial killer?”
“I’m sure!” Jongdae insists.
“Because I’m not. One day you’re going to wake up dead-”
“How can he wake up if he’s dead?” Baekhyun asks, which sets Jongdae off again.
“You know what I mean!”
All three of them have band practice every Monday, and then Chanyeol practices with Jongdae once a week, too. Chanyeol can’t play drums and guitar at the same time, after all, so he’d taught Jongdae to play guitar after they’d decided to form The Beagles. Jongdae hasn’t needed real lessons from Chanyeol in months, but they still have their own weekly jam sessions. Sometimes Baekhyun joins them, but he’s busy this week, so the only person Chanyeol expects to see tonight is Jongdae.
He’s proven wrong when Kyungsoo opens the apartment door instead.
Kyungsoo stops short when he sees Chanyeol. So does Chanyeol, for that matter. He’d specifically asked Jongdae when Kyungsoo would be away from the apartment tonight. The last thing he wants is for Kyungsoo to be bothered by their practice and add to his list of reasons to dislike Chanyeol. “Jongdae and I were going to practice for a while,” he explains. “Is he here?”
“No, he went out,” Kyungsoo says, gaze flickering briefly to Chanyeol’s guitar case. “I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“I guess I’ll… oh, I brought something for you, too!” Chanyeol holds out the store bag in his hand, and though it takes a few seconds Kyungsoo accepts it. “It’s spicy pork! To make up for last week. It’s from my mom’s restaurant, and their food’s the best.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes dart back up to his face, still assessing. For once Chanyeol doesn’t feel like he comes up short. “You should wait inside,” Kyungsoo tells him at last.
“Okay!”
It’s weird being alone with Kyungsoo in the apartment, and weirder still when Kyungsoo’s the one who sits down with him on the couch and keeps the conversation going instead of retreating to his room. “I thought you played the drums,” Kyungsoo says.
“I do! I play guitar, too. And piano. But I wouldn’t practice the drums here, the walls are too thin and-I don’t have to play this, either, if it’ll bother you. I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight. I guess Jongdae got your schedule wrong.”
“It’s not bothering me,” Kyungsoo says absently, shifting a little closer to him. Chanyeol still can’t read him. He’s starting to think he’ll never be able to. “What songs can you play?”
“Um, anything? I play by ear, so-I mean, I can read music, too! But I can pretty much play anything by ear. Not to… brag…” He laughs nervously, though inside he’s cursing himself. He’s finally having a real conversation with his friend’s roommate, and he’s ruining it. Then again, Kyungsoo’s not leaving. Chanyeol forces a smile, hoping his face doesn’t twitch too much. “Is it okay if I warm up and practice a little before Jongdae gets here? If you want me to, like, play a song, or-”
“‘Nothing On You’?” Kyungsoo asks without hesitation. Almost like he was hoping Chanyeol would ask… but no, Chanyeol can’t get his hopes up.
“Sure! I listened to that all the time when it came out.”
Kyungsoo actually smiles at that, and the way it lights up his eyes makes Chanyeol’s stomach flutter a little. Maybe because it’s so unexpected. “Me, too.”
Common ground with Kyungsoo? Chanyeol can hardly believe it. Maybe he shouldn’t push his luck, but he can’t resist. “What else do you listen to?”
And just like that, everything changes.
From Maroon 5 to Dynamic Duo, their tastes in music line up exactly. Kyungsoo won’t sing for him, even though Chanyeol plays a few songs at his request, but they do talk-for hours, it turns out, Chanyeol quickly forgetting that he’s waiting for Jongdae-and Chanyeol sees him smile more in that one evening than he has since Kyungsoo moved in, every single one making Chanyeol feel warm all over.
“You’re coming to see us perform Friday, right?” Chanyeol asks Kyungsoo impulsively before he leaves, having given up on Jongdae ever putting in an appearance. “It’s not a huge deal, we’re not even the only band playing, but you should come. And then we can all hang out!”
“Okay,” Kyungsoo agrees. “I’ll be there.”
Chanyeol grins. “Great!”
By the time Friday rolls around, Chanyeol is more nervous about their upcoming gig than he’s been since the first few months they started playing at smaller restaurants and clubs around the city, before it had all become routine. He takes longer than usual to decide what to wear, and is extra fidgety as they warm up, drumming restless patterns until even Baekhyun notices and shoots him bemused looks. It’s too hot in the club tonight, so he strips off the white button-down he was wearing over his t-shirt and tosses it aside, then takes a long drink, wondering how Jongdae can stand to keep his jacket on.
Kyungsoo’s somewhere out in the crowd, he thinks yet again, and has to resist the temptation to search for him. This is the same as when Yura or any of his friends come to see them, he tells himself. He’s not nervous. He’s excited. He’s determined to make this the best show it can be. Nothing’s different about that. Nothing’s different about having Kyungsoo there at all.
Well, except for how badly he wants to see Kyungsoo’s reaction when they’re done. Kyungsoo had been attentive when Chanyeol had played for him the other day and appreciative when he was done, but Chanyeol had wanted… he’s not even sure. He’s always thrived on praise. He wants Kyungsoo’s, too.
He remembers Kyungsoo asking him about being a drummer the other day, when he’d noticed Chanyeol’s guitar. Maybe that’s it. Maybe this is more Kyungsoo’s style. Maybe Kyungsoo will be more impressed by the full effect of the stage, the crowd, having Jongdae and Baekhyun with him.
“Nice hair,” Baekhyun tells Jongdae.
“Thanks! Kyungsoo did it for me.”
Chanyeol looks up quickly. “Really?”
“Yeah, he has a bunch of tools and everything,” Jongdae says. “You should know--they were in that box you were poking around in when he moved in.”
“They were?” Chanyeol tries to think back, and dimly remembers what he’d assumed were torture devices. “That’s what those were?”
“Yup! So if he had killed you, you could’ve at least had great hair at the funeral.”
“Shut up, Jongdae,” Chanyeol tells him, and groans as Jongdae cackles. He’s never going to live those first few days down.
“So what did you think?” Jongdae asks Kyungsoo eagerly after their set. He’s aiming for the seat next to him, but Chanyeol gets to it first, ignoring Baekhyun’s snicker in favor of smiling at Kyungsoo. They’ve been texting a lot during the past few days but this is the first time Chanyeol’s seen him in person again. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been looking forward to it until now.
Kyungsoo smiles back. That still isn’t any less amazing to Chanyeol, seeing Kyungsoo smile and knowing it’s for him. “You guys were great!”
“Thanks!” Chanyeol tells him. It’s usually hard to get a table here, and all but impossible for one person to hold onto it for long, but it doesn’t surprise him that Kyungsoo could.
There’s something different about Kyungsoo tonight-beyond the fact that this is the first time Chanyeol hasn’t seen him dressed all in black-but he can’t figure out quite what. Then he’s completely distracted when Kyungsoo asks them, “So why The Beagles?”
“Chanyeol named us,” Baekhyun explains.
“Not really,” Chanyeol says quickly. “We were all trying to come up with ideas for names, like we were all talking at the same time, and my sister said we sounded like her boyfriend’s beagles. So I said we should be The Beagles.” Jongdae had yelled with laughter and said they could perform dressed as The Beatles for Halloween, and somewhere in the next few minutes the name had stuck.
Kyungsoo eyes him, considering. “Why aren’t you in the music department, too?”
“I’m a business major,” Chanyeol explains. “I’m going to take over my mom’s restaurant when she retires.” It had been her suggestion, but one he’d been happy to agree to. He’d spent a lot of his childhood there and looks forward to making it his. “I don’t think I’d want to go to school for music, anyway. This way it’s just a really good way to relax.”
“Not that Kyungsoo knows much about music being relaxing,” Baekhyun cracks, and laughs until Kyungsoo gets up from his chair, circles the table and easily puts him in a chokehold, at which point he starts begging for mercy or something. Chanyeol’s not paying attention to him anymore. He’s too busy staring at Kyungsoo’s steady grip, remembering Jongdae and Baekhyun speculating about how that riding crop from moving day could be Kyungsoo’s after all.
He drains his glass and look over at Jongdae. “Want another?”
“You buying?” Jongdae asks, eyebrows raised.
“Sure. Why not.”
By the time he gets their drinks and returns to the table he’s shrugged off the odd moment and is ready for things to get back to normal.
“Why didn’t you get me one?” Baekhyun demands, now freed but still rubbing his neck, as Chanyeol hands Jongdae his drink.
“You were too busy being strangled,” Jongdae explains, rolling his eyes when Baekhyun mimics his words. “Hey, Kyungsoo, how embarrassing was Baekhyun when he was a kid?”
“I was delightful,” Baekhyun says.
“He ran around naked outside until he was five,” Kyungsoo says flatly.
“Delightfully,” Baekhyun adds, not missing a beat.
“How can you do that delightfully?” Jongdae asks, laughing.
Baekhyun waggles his eyebrows. “Want me to demonstrate?”
“No! How do you always win at this?”
Baekhyun flashes him a peace sign and a mile-wide grin, eyes curving into crescents. “It’s a gift,” he says, voice lilting.
Jongdae looks desperately at Kyungsoo. “Please tell me you have something better on him than that.”
“Well, there was that time we were nine,” Kyungsoo begins, drawing his words out, his lips curving as Baekhyun’s head whips around, “and he-”
“No,” Baekhyun says firmly. “We’re not telling that story. Ever.”
“Never is a long time,” Kyungsoo says.
“Not long enough.”
Chanyeol takes a long swallow of his drink, his chest warm as he regards the other three. It’s like Kyungsoo’s presence has filled in a hole he hadn’t even realized was there. He should’ve made them invite Kyungsoo to one of their shows months ago.
They call it a night when Taeyeon picks Baekhyun up after her shift ends, and Chanyeol volunteers to help Kyungsoo take Jongdae home on the train and crash on their couch.
“Highest tolerance for spicy food and lowest tolerance for alcohol,” Chanyeol tells Kyungsoo over Jongdae’s head as the train rushes along, Jongdae giggling into his shoulder, and feels warm all over when Kyungsoo smiles at him. “Go figure.”
Once they’ve put Jongdae to bed he follows Kyungsoo out of the room, and can’t resist stopping him before he can retreat to his own room. “You really liked it? The show, I mean. Us.” Kyungsoo had already said so, but Chanyeol needs to hear it again. Kyungsoo’s opinion matters, more than he had ever expected it to.
“You played really well,” Kyungsoo says. “You were…” He pauses, teeth sinking into his plush lower lip. Chanyeol stares a little. “Charismatic,” Kyungsoo decides at last. “Powerful.”
Chanyeol swallows. “Thanks.” Then he realizes what it is about Kyungsoo that’s been bothering him all night. “Wait, you sound different!”
“What?”
“Your voice. It’s-when we met it was lower. Wasn’t it?” He frowns, trying to remember.
“Probably.” Kyungsoo shrugs a little, avoiding Chanyeol’s eyes. “Everyone says I sound different when I’m around people I don’t know. I don’t mean to, it just happens.”
For once he seems-embarrassed. Unsure. “I like your voice,” Chanyeol tells him.
As he’d hoped for, Kyungsoo smiles, small but there. “Thanks.” Then, abruptly, he adds, “I have a friend, Hyunsik-we had a band in high school, and since we’re both in Philly we’ll still play together sometimes, for fun. If you ever want to see-”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says quickly. “Yeah, of course, just let me know.”
Kyungsoo nods. “What about you guys? If you’re not in our department, how did you meet Jongdae and Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol laughs, a jarring, nervous sound. He doesn’t mean to, but Kyungsoo has no idea what he’s getting into by asking that. “It was freshman year, after a party,” he begins. Kyungsoo makes a vague affirming noise. Fuck it, Chanyeol decides. He needs to know if this is going to be a problem, and Kyungsoo already knows about Baekhyun, anyway, since Baekhyun’s never shy about broadcasting it to everyone in a five-mile radius when he finds someone hot. “He and Baekhyun were roommates that year, and Baekhyun and I hooked up at the party, and Jongdae walked in on us. But we became friends anyway!”
Kyungsoo’s looking at him, now, gaze searching. For what feels like the millionth time, Chanyeol wonders what he’s thinking. “I never told you why I moved in with Jongdae,” Kyungsoo says at last.
“No,” Chanyeol confirms, holding his breath and fearing the worst. What does this have to do with anything?
And then he’s breathless for an entirely different reason when Kyungsoo says, “My ex-boyfriend and I broke up, and he wanted to keep the apartment so that his dogs wouldn’t have to get used to a new place. It took a few weeks, but when I heard Jongdae needed a roommate…”
“Oh. Oh. Um.” Scrambling for something to say, all he can come up with is, “Do you like it here? With Jongdae?”
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says. “He’s a good roommate.”
“That’s good. I’m glad it worked out. And…” He swallows. It’s going to sound strange, under the circumstances, but… “I’m glad I could meet you.”
Kyungsoo says, “Me, too,” his voice more earnest than Chanyeol has ever heard it. And somehow that’s the best part of Chanyeol’s night.
Chanyeol’s fate is sealed the next morning, when he staggers off the couch and heads to the bathroom, only to find that Kyungsoo’s beaten him to the shower. And Chanyeol can’t even be annoyed-not only because he’s too tired, but because he can hear Kyungsoo singing through the door, and wow.
Chanyeol presses his ear to the door so he can hear better, body thrumming. Kyungsoo has a gorgeous voice, reminiscent of Baekhyun’s in some ways but lower, sultrier. It would be ideal for R&B duets. Kyungsoo’s voice is all he wants to listen to. Kyungsoo’s voice-
The shower cuts off, and for a few glorious seconds Chanyeol can hear Kyungsoo even more clearly, until he finishes the line of the Fly to the Sky song he’s been singing and his voice tapers off. Chanyeol snaps out of his trance with some difficulty and is away from the door by the time Kyungsoo exits the bathroom in a cloud of steam, eyes widening when he catches sight of Chanyeol.
“Oh! Good morning!” His wet hair’s plastered to his forehead and he runs a hand through it, sending water droplets scattering. Chanyeol watches one run down the side of Kyungsoo’s face, along the smooth skin of his neck, and wants to lean down and taste-
Fuck. Oh, fuck. “Hi,” Chanyeol stammers. “I’m just-need to shower-”
“Right,” Kyungsoo says, his plush lips curving into one of those pretty smiles, and Chanyeol is so fucked.
He’s still reeling from the realization two days later, when they gather for the next Beagles practice.
He’s lost in his own thoughts as they warm up, and is quiet enough that Jongdae waves a hand in front of his face.“Chanyeollie? You okay?”
“I want to fuck Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol says numbly.
The other two both blink at him. “This is new?” Baekhyun asks.
“Or be fucked by him, I don’t care which,” Chanyeol continues, ignoring him. He’s definitely not going to mention how last night he’d awakened from a far too realistic dream in which their latest get-together had culminated in Baekhyun and Kyungsoo making a bet to see which of them can ride Chanyeol until he cries. “Whatever he wants.”
“But how is this new?” Baekhyun asks again. “I know it didn’t take you this long to notice his mouth.”
“It took him this long not to practically wet himself every time Kyungsoo looked at him,” Jongdae points out.
“It didn’t take this long!” Chanyeol says defensively. “I’ve been fine ever since I got to know him.” (“Like I said you’d be,” Jongdae says, but Chanyeol ignores him.) “He’s really cute! And he’s not half as scary as I thought.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jongdae tells him. “He’s really cute and exactly as scary as you thought.”
“And as hot,” Baekhyun adds.
“But if you guys break up and he decides to move out you owe me a new roommate,” Jongdae tells him. “Or if you guys stay together and he decides to move in with you. Either way. You owe me.”
“If we even get together.” Just because Kyungsoo’s interested in guys doesn’t mean he’s interested in Chanyeol, and just because they’ve become friends doesn’t mean he wants more than that. Normally Chanyeol can tell if he has a chance with someone and doesn’t hesitate to at least try, but with Kyungsoo he’s not sure either way, and he’s not willing to risk losing this newfound friendship by guessing wrong. Not to mention the whole recent breakup thing. Chanyeol groans. “Why can’t everyone be loud and obvious, like us?”
Kyungsoo goes to see them perform the next Friday, too, and by the third week they all know they won’t even have to ask. Chanyeol stays over at Kyungsoo and Jongdae’s apartment again after both shows, talking to Kyungsoo late into the night and staring after him when Kyungsoo finally goes to bed.
He wakes up first for once on the third Saturday, early enough that he has time to shower and fix Kyungsoo a cappuccino with Jongdae’s machine before Kyungsoo emerges from his room. It can be a thank-you for letting him stay over so often, Chanyeol rationalizes, though he forgets all his excuses as soon as he hands the drink to Kyungsoo and sees Kyungsoo’s eyes go round with astonishment behind his thick glasses as he looks at the string of music notes in the foam.
“Oh, wow!”
“Jongdae used to work at Starbucks, so he taught us some things,” Chanyeol explains, unable to keep from puffing up with pride a little. He’d known Kyungsoo would like it. “You should ask him to show you, too!”
Kyungsoo nods, smiling up at him. “Then I can make one for you next time.”
Chanyeol wishes he’d made himself a drink, too, since Kyungsoo’s words have his mouth going dry. Just thinking about staying the night with Kyungsoo-not that it would be like that, he quickly reminds himself. He’ll be cramming his lanky body on the couch again, that’s all. “Yeah,” he says quickly, and ignores the temptation to wipe away the foam above Kyungsoo’s lip.
“Last night was fun,” Kyungsoo says, and takes another drink.
Chanyeol watches his throat work as he swallows, barely able to keep himself from licking his lips. “Yeah,” he agrees. If his voice is a little hoarse, well, hopefully Kyungsoo will assume it’s left over from the night before.
“You did really well.”
“Thanks.” He quickly adds, “You should sing with us sometime. You’d sound great with Jongdae and Baekhyun.”
Kyungsoo blinks. “You’ve heard me sing?”
Shit. How is he supposed to explain listening in on Kyungsoo’s shower singing without Kyungsoo going right back to giving him constant judgmental stares? “Yeah, um-a few times, I-I can hear you in the mornings, sometimes. Is that okay? I’m sorry, I can, I don’t know, cover my ears or something if you want-”
“You don’t have to do that,” Kyungsoo says. He’s gone very still, his hands cupped around his mug. “I was just. Surprised.”
Chanyeol laughs out of sheer relief and Kyungsoo’s brow furrows. There’s some judgment, but not the kind that makes Chanyeol feel four inches tall, just the kind that Kyungsoo bestows upon them all regularly. “Sorry! I was thinking-I’m glad everything’s okay. You know, that you don’t hate me anymore.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “I never hated you!”
“You kept glaring at me all day when we moved you in here! Every time I looked at you you were staring like-” He does his best impression of Kyungsoo’s narrow-eyed look, and Kyungsoo frowns.
“I wasn’t glaring,” he admits, pushing the brim of his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “I forgot to put in my contacts that day. I was trying to look at you. I know I was awkward, but I’m just-I need to get used to things, and people.”
“Good point. I can be a lot.”
He’s teasing, but Kyungsoo’s eyes sharpen, honing in on his face. “You can-” he begins, but all at once he draws away, his gaze dropping to the remains of his drink. And while it’s much easier to breathe this way, Chanyeol reaches for him. He wants Kyungsoo’s attention back.
“Kyungsoo-” he begins, but under Kyungsoo’s expectant gaze for once he has nothing to say. Instead before he knows it he leans down, Kyungsoo meeting him halfway, and watches Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter closed as Chanyeol brushes his lips against Kyungsoo’s.
The kisses are sweet and easy, warmth filling Chanyeol as he feels one of Kyungsoo’s small hands come to rest on his arm. When their lips part Chanyeol rests his forehead against Kyungsoo’s for a moment, smiling uncontrollably, before straightening back up.
“I’ve wanted to do that for days,” Chanyeol admits. He can hear his pulse rushing in his ears.
Kyungsoo nods, lips parted. “Me, too,” he admits. “Ever since that first night.”
Chanyeol’s jaw drops. “Wait, when I brought my guitar? I thought you weren’t into it at all! You barely even said anything!”
“Do you really want to know what I thought?” Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol nods.
There’s nothing cute about Kyungsoo’s smile now as he sets his mug on the counter, then leans in again, pulling Chanyeol down. This time Kyungsoo takes control of the kiss easily, tilting Chanyeol’s head until he’s at just the angle he wants him, demanding entrance to Chanyeol’s mouth, swallowing his gasps. Chanyeol remembers how easily Kyungsoo had manhandled Baekhyun weeks ago and shudders under his hands, wanting-
But what he ends up doing is the last thing he wants-he pulls away long enough to blurt out, “Wait, wait.” Kyungsoo makes a dissatisfied noise low in his throat but obeys, and Chanyeol stares dazedly at Kyungsoo. He looks anything but neat and controlled now, damp hair wrecked and pupils dilated, gaze focused on Chanyeol’s mouth. Chanyeol bites at the inside of his cheek and commands himself not to dive back in for more. He doesn’t want to mess this up. “Are you sure this isn’t too-too soon, or fast, or-”
“It’s perfect, come here.” Kyungsoo tugs him back in and Chanyeol happily concedes, letting Kyungsoo claim his mouth again. Chanyeol grips tightly at Kyungsoo’s hips as Kyungsoo’s hands start to wander, every noise they make seeming to echo in his ears.
He doesn’t think anything of how he also hears footsteps until the sound is followed by Jongdae’s startled cry. “It’s too early for that!” Jongdae complains from the doorway as they spring apart. “And why do you have to do this here? I don’t want to watch!”
Kyungsoo’s flushed, either from the kissing or embarrassment, but when Chanyeol takes his hand Kyungsoo’s the one that links their fingers and says, “Don’t worry, we’re going.”
“I meant what I said, Chanyeol!” Jongdae calls after them.
“What does he mean?” Kyungsoo asks.
Chanyeol remembers Jongdae’s insistence that Chanyeol find him a new roommate if he and Kyungsoo were to break up or to stay together, and squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand. He knows which he’s hoping it’ll be.
Chanyeol enters Kyungsoo’s bedroom first, so he takes a quick look around as Kyungsoo closes the door behind them with a firm click, too filled with anticipation to take much in-until he sees the Prince of Tennis poster on the wall. “I thought Death Note was your favorite?” he teases Kyungsoo.
“I might have lied,” Kyungsoo admits.
“First your voice, now Death Note. What next?” Chanyeol grins at him, lowering his voice for dramatic effect. “You can tell me. Was the riding crop really for a ‘friend’?”
“That was true,” Kyungsoo says. “Long story.” But before Chanyeol can decide if he’s disappointed or not Kyungsoo starts to back him toward the bed, adding, “You should’ve looked in the box behind that one instead.”
“Really?” Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo’s answering smile is full of promise.
Author: severalstories
Recipient: tiggie0307
Pairing/Focus: Chanyeol/Kyungsoo
Rating: PG-13
Length: 5,023w
Summary: Chanyeol isn’t sure what to think of Jongdae’s new roommate until they bond over music. Then he can’t stop thinking about him.
Chanyeol’s heard stories about Kyungsoo-the tenor who has severe enough stage fright to keep him from earning solos but is still to keep half their college’s music department in line with a single look-for as long as he’s known Baekhyun and Jongdae. He doesn’t meet him until their senior year, when Kyungsoo becomes Jongdae’s new roommate and Chanyeol helps him move in.
Jongdae’s older brother, Jongdeok, is outside the apartment building when Chanyeol gets there, adjusting the angle of the huge box in his arms. “Just grab a box and bring it inside,” Jongdeok tells him, pointing his foot toward his van for emphasis. “We already brought the furniture over, so these and one more load of boxes are all that’s left.”
Chanyeol waits until Jongdeok is out of the way, then reaches into the van and pulls out the nearest box. Its flap is open far enough that Chanyeol barely has to nudge it to see inside. A set of Death Note volumes, the first two seasons of Hannibal, vinyl gloves, a set of items that Chanyeol doesn’t recognize but could be anything from weird cooking devices to instruments of torture, and… is that a riding crop?
Someone who’s definitely not Jongdeok clears his throat from behind him, and Chanyeol whirls around, quickly shoving the box away.
The first thing he thinks when he sees Do Kyungsoo is cute. He’s tiny and narrow, with the biggest eyes Chanyeol’s ever seen, not to mention the fullest lips.
His gaze lingers on those a little, so his second thought is that Kyungsoo’s not smiling.
Instead he’s scrutinizing Chanyeol in a way that makes Chanyeol feel painfully lacking somehow. Chanyeol smiles twice as widely to make up for it.
“Don’t do that, you’ll scare him,” Jongdae tells Chanyeol, stepping around Kyungsoo to join Chanyeol next to the van.
Chanyeol elbows him. It’s either that or say he’s scaring me. “Hi!” he says to Kyungsoo. “I’m Chanyeol!”
“I’m Kyungsoo.” His voice is lower than Chanyeol had expected-which is what everyone says about Chanyeol himself, but still. It feels off, somehow.
“Nice to meet you!” Scrambling for something to say, Chanyeol blurts out, “So is Death Note your favorite series?”
“… yes.”
“Oh, cool! I really like it, too!” The last thing he should be doing is making it so obvious that he looked through the box, he knows that, but what comes out next is, “Cool, uh, riding crop!”
Jongdae bursts out laughing. Kyungsoo just keeps looking at him. “It’s not mine,” he finally says. “It’s for a friend.”
“Really?” Jongdae asks, intrigued. “Which friend?” Kyungsoo shakes his head and picks up the box in question, then takes it inside.
Chanyeol drops his face into his hands. “I’ll never be able to come over again.”
Jongdae snickers. “He’s not that bad.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Trust me,” Jongdae says, patting his shoulder, “you’ll love him.”
Chanyeol just whimpers.
Kyungsoo isn’t there the when Chanyeol visits the next day, so the next time Chanyeol sees him is Monday. He doesn’t intend to-after the disaster that was their first meeting, his plan had been to avoid him for at least another week. But when he stops by their apartment to pick Jongdae up for band practice, Jongdae’s still rubbing a towel against his wet hair when he answers the door. “Hey! Give me like five minutes, okay? Go hang out with Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol gives him a disbelieving look, but that doesn’t stop Jongdae from nudging him toward the kitchen.
Kyungsoo, dressed all in black again, is chopping vegetables with a massive knife. Of course he is. He looks up as Chanyeol approaches. “Hi,” he says.
“Hi!” Chanyeol looks at the spices lined up on the counter, wondering if any of them are hiding the cyanide Kyungsoo will probably use for other people’s portions. “Making dinner?”
Kyungsoo nods. “Someone ate the last of my spicy pork, so now I have to make something else.”
Chanyeol can feel the color draining from his face. “That was yours? I’m so sorry, I thought it was Jongdae’s!”
Jongdae’s laughter echoes from the bathroom. “Was that what you were eating?”
“You told me there were leftovers!”
“Yeah, leftover Chinese food!”
“You should’ve said that!”
“I did!”
Kyungsoo’s lips are pressed together, his eyes narrowed behind his thick glasses as he stares at Chanyeol. Chanyeol gulps. “It’s fine,” Kyungsoo says at last, his tone suggesting anything but, and Chanyeol glances at the spices with a shudder.
Baekhyun and Jongdae are in hysterics by the time Chanyeol finishes retelling the story during practice. Chanyeol slumps over the back of his folding chair, scowling at his so-called best friends as they enjoy his misery. “He was holding a knife!” Chanyeol reminds them.
“Yeah, a vegetable knife,” Jongdae says with a snort.
“I thought he was going to kill me!”
“Look,” Baekhyun says, wiping his eyes, “I lived next door to him until middle school, remember? And I’m still alive.”
“Maybe it didn’t start until after that,” Chanyeol says darkly, then looks at Jongdae. “Are you sure he’s not a serial killer?”
“I’m sure!” Jongdae insists.
“Because I’m not. One day you’re going to wake up dead-”
“How can he wake up if he’s dead?” Baekhyun asks, which sets Jongdae off again.
“You know what I mean!”
All three of them have band practice every Monday, and then Chanyeol practices with Jongdae once a week, too. Chanyeol can’t play drums and guitar at the same time, after all, so he’d taught Jongdae to play guitar after they’d decided to form The Beagles. Jongdae hasn’t needed real lessons from Chanyeol in months, but they still have their own weekly jam sessions. Sometimes Baekhyun joins them, but he’s busy this week, so the only person Chanyeol expects to see tonight is Jongdae.
He’s proven wrong when Kyungsoo opens the apartment door instead.
Kyungsoo stops short when he sees Chanyeol. So does Chanyeol, for that matter. He’d specifically asked Jongdae when Kyungsoo would be away from the apartment tonight. The last thing he wants is for Kyungsoo to be bothered by their practice and add to his list of reasons to dislike Chanyeol. “Jongdae and I were going to practice for a while,” he explains. “Is he here?”
“No, he went out,” Kyungsoo says, gaze flickering briefly to Chanyeol’s guitar case. “I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“I guess I’ll… oh, I brought something for you, too!” Chanyeol holds out the store bag in his hand, and though it takes a few seconds Kyungsoo accepts it. “It’s spicy pork! To make up for last week. It’s from my mom’s restaurant, and their food’s the best.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes dart back up to his face, still assessing. For once Chanyeol doesn’t feel like he comes up short. “You should wait inside,” Kyungsoo tells him at last.
“Okay!”
It’s weird being alone with Kyungsoo in the apartment, and weirder still when Kyungsoo’s the one who sits down with him on the couch and keeps the conversation going instead of retreating to his room. “I thought you played the drums,” Kyungsoo says.
“I do! I play guitar, too. And piano. But I wouldn’t practice the drums here, the walls are too thin and-I don’t have to play this, either, if it’ll bother you. I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight. I guess Jongdae got your schedule wrong.”
“It’s not bothering me,” Kyungsoo says absently, shifting a little closer to him. Chanyeol still can’t read him. He’s starting to think he’ll never be able to. “What songs can you play?”
“Um, anything? I play by ear, so-I mean, I can read music, too! But I can pretty much play anything by ear. Not to… brag…” He laughs nervously, though inside he’s cursing himself. He’s finally having a real conversation with his friend’s roommate, and he’s ruining it. Then again, Kyungsoo’s not leaving. Chanyeol forces a smile, hoping his face doesn’t twitch too much. “Is it okay if I warm up and practice a little before Jongdae gets here? If you want me to, like, play a song, or-”
“‘Nothing On You’?” Kyungsoo asks without hesitation. Almost like he was hoping Chanyeol would ask… but no, Chanyeol can’t get his hopes up.
“Sure! I listened to that all the time when it came out.”
Kyungsoo actually smiles at that, and the way it lights up his eyes makes Chanyeol’s stomach flutter a little. Maybe because it’s so unexpected. “Me, too.”
Common ground with Kyungsoo? Chanyeol can hardly believe it. Maybe he shouldn’t push his luck, but he can’t resist. “What else do you listen to?”
And just like that, everything changes.
From Maroon 5 to Dynamic Duo, their tastes in music line up exactly. Kyungsoo won’t sing for him, even though Chanyeol plays a few songs at his request, but they do talk-for hours, it turns out, Chanyeol quickly forgetting that he’s waiting for Jongdae-and Chanyeol sees him smile more in that one evening than he has since Kyungsoo moved in, every single one making Chanyeol feel warm all over.
“You’re coming to see us perform Friday, right?” Chanyeol asks Kyungsoo impulsively before he leaves, having given up on Jongdae ever putting in an appearance. “It’s not a huge deal, we’re not even the only band playing, but you should come. And then we can all hang out!”
“Okay,” Kyungsoo agrees. “I’ll be there.”
Chanyeol grins. “Great!”
By the time Friday rolls around, Chanyeol is more nervous about their upcoming gig than he’s been since the first few months they started playing at smaller restaurants and clubs around the city, before it had all become routine. He takes longer than usual to decide what to wear, and is extra fidgety as they warm up, drumming restless patterns until even Baekhyun notices and shoots him bemused looks. It’s too hot in the club tonight, so he strips off the white button-down he was wearing over his t-shirt and tosses it aside, then takes a long drink, wondering how Jongdae can stand to keep his jacket on.
Kyungsoo’s somewhere out in the crowd, he thinks yet again, and has to resist the temptation to search for him. This is the same as when Yura or any of his friends come to see them, he tells himself. He’s not nervous. He’s excited. He’s determined to make this the best show it can be. Nothing’s different about that. Nothing’s different about having Kyungsoo there at all.
Well, except for how badly he wants to see Kyungsoo’s reaction when they’re done. Kyungsoo had been attentive when Chanyeol had played for him the other day and appreciative when he was done, but Chanyeol had wanted… he’s not even sure. He’s always thrived on praise. He wants Kyungsoo’s, too.
He remembers Kyungsoo asking him about being a drummer the other day, when he’d noticed Chanyeol’s guitar. Maybe that’s it. Maybe this is more Kyungsoo’s style. Maybe Kyungsoo will be more impressed by the full effect of the stage, the crowd, having Jongdae and Baekhyun with him.
“Nice hair,” Baekhyun tells Jongdae.
“Thanks! Kyungsoo did it for me.”
Chanyeol looks up quickly. “Really?”
“Yeah, he has a bunch of tools and everything,” Jongdae says. “You should know--they were in that box you were poking around in when he moved in.”
“They were?” Chanyeol tries to think back, and dimly remembers what he’d assumed were torture devices. “That’s what those were?”
“Yup! So if he had killed you, you could’ve at least had great hair at the funeral.”
“Shut up, Jongdae,” Chanyeol tells him, and groans as Jongdae cackles. He’s never going to live those first few days down.
“So what did you think?” Jongdae asks Kyungsoo eagerly after their set. He’s aiming for the seat next to him, but Chanyeol gets to it first, ignoring Baekhyun’s snicker in favor of smiling at Kyungsoo. They’ve been texting a lot during the past few days but this is the first time Chanyeol’s seen him in person again. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been looking forward to it until now.
Kyungsoo smiles back. That still isn’t any less amazing to Chanyeol, seeing Kyungsoo smile and knowing it’s for him. “You guys were great!”
“Thanks!” Chanyeol tells him. It’s usually hard to get a table here, and all but impossible for one person to hold onto it for long, but it doesn’t surprise him that Kyungsoo could.
There’s something different about Kyungsoo tonight-beyond the fact that this is the first time Chanyeol hasn’t seen him dressed all in black-but he can’t figure out quite what. Then he’s completely distracted when Kyungsoo asks them, “So why The Beagles?”
“Chanyeol named us,” Baekhyun explains.
“Not really,” Chanyeol says quickly. “We were all trying to come up with ideas for names, like we were all talking at the same time, and my sister said we sounded like her boyfriend’s beagles. So I said we should be The Beagles.” Jongdae had yelled with laughter and said they could perform dressed as The Beatles for Halloween, and somewhere in the next few minutes the name had stuck.
Kyungsoo eyes him, considering. “Why aren’t you in the music department, too?”
“I’m a business major,” Chanyeol explains. “I’m going to take over my mom’s restaurant when she retires.” It had been her suggestion, but one he’d been happy to agree to. He’d spent a lot of his childhood there and looks forward to making it his. “I don’t think I’d want to go to school for music, anyway. This way it’s just a really good way to relax.”
“Not that Kyungsoo knows much about music being relaxing,” Baekhyun cracks, and laughs until Kyungsoo gets up from his chair, circles the table and easily puts him in a chokehold, at which point he starts begging for mercy or something. Chanyeol’s not paying attention to him anymore. He’s too busy staring at Kyungsoo’s steady grip, remembering Jongdae and Baekhyun speculating about how that riding crop from moving day could be Kyungsoo’s after all.
He drains his glass and look over at Jongdae. “Want another?”
“You buying?” Jongdae asks, eyebrows raised.
“Sure. Why not.”
By the time he gets their drinks and returns to the table he’s shrugged off the odd moment and is ready for things to get back to normal.
“Why didn’t you get me one?” Baekhyun demands, now freed but still rubbing his neck, as Chanyeol hands Jongdae his drink.
“You were too busy being strangled,” Jongdae explains, rolling his eyes when Baekhyun mimics his words. “Hey, Kyungsoo, how embarrassing was Baekhyun when he was a kid?”
“I was delightful,” Baekhyun says.
“He ran around naked outside until he was five,” Kyungsoo says flatly.
“Delightfully,” Baekhyun adds, not missing a beat.
“How can you do that delightfully?” Jongdae asks, laughing.
Baekhyun waggles his eyebrows. “Want me to demonstrate?”
“No! How do you always win at this?”
Baekhyun flashes him a peace sign and a mile-wide grin, eyes curving into crescents. “It’s a gift,” he says, voice lilting.
Jongdae looks desperately at Kyungsoo. “Please tell me you have something better on him than that.”
“Well, there was that time we were nine,” Kyungsoo begins, drawing his words out, his lips curving as Baekhyun’s head whips around, “and he-”
“No,” Baekhyun says firmly. “We’re not telling that story. Ever.”
“Never is a long time,” Kyungsoo says.
“Not long enough.”
Chanyeol takes a long swallow of his drink, his chest warm as he regards the other three. It’s like Kyungsoo’s presence has filled in a hole he hadn’t even realized was there. He should’ve made them invite Kyungsoo to one of their shows months ago.
They call it a night when Taeyeon picks Baekhyun up after her shift ends, and Chanyeol volunteers to help Kyungsoo take Jongdae home on the train and crash on their couch.
“Highest tolerance for spicy food and lowest tolerance for alcohol,” Chanyeol tells Kyungsoo over Jongdae’s head as the train rushes along, Jongdae giggling into his shoulder, and feels warm all over when Kyungsoo smiles at him. “Go figure.”
Once they’ve put Jongdae to bed he follows Kyungsoo out of the room, and can’t resist stopping him before he can retreat to his own room. “You really liked it? The show, I mean. Us.” Kyungsoo had already said so, but Chanyeol needs to hear it again. Kyungsoo’s opinion matters, more than he had ever expected it to.
“You played really well,” Kyungsoo says. “You were…” He pauses, teeth sinking into his plush lower lip. Chanyeol stares a little. “Charismatic,” Kyungsoo decides at last. “Powerful.”
Chanyeol swallows. “Thanks.” Then he realizes what it is about Kyungsoo that’s been bothering him all night. “Wait, you sound different!”
“What?”
“Your voice. It’s-when we met it was lower. Wasn’t it?” He frowns, trying to remember.
“Probably.” Kyungsoo shrugs a little, avoiding Chanyeol’s eyes. “Everyone says I sound different when I’m around people I don’t know. I don’t mean to, it just happens.”
For once he seems-embarrassed. Unsure. “I like your voice,” Chanyeol tells him.
As he’d hoped for, Kyungsoo smiles, small but there. “Thanks.” Then, abruptly, he adds, “I have a friend, Hyunsik-we had a band in high school, and since we’re both in Philly we’ll still play together sometimes, for fun. If you ever want to see-”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says quickly. “Yeah, of course, just let me know.”
Kyungsoo nods. “What about you guys? If you’re not in our department, how did you meet Jongdae and Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol laughs, a jarring, nervous sound. He doesn’t mean to, but Kyungsoo has no idea what he’s getting into by asking that. “It was freshman year, after a party,” he begins. Kyungsoo makes a vague affirming noise. Fuck it, Chanyeol decides. He needs to know if this is going to be a problem, and Kyungsoo already knows about Baekhyun, anyway, since Baekhyun’s never shy about broadcasting it to everyone in a five-mile radius when he finds someone hot. “He and Baekhyun were roommates that year, and Baekhyun and I hooked up at the party, and Jongdae walked in on us. But we became friends anyway!”
Kyungsoo’s looking at him, now, gaze searching. For what feels like the millionth time, Chanyeol wonders what he’s thinking. “I never told you why I moved in with Jongdae,” Kyungsoo says at last.
“No,” Chanyeol confirms, holding his breath and fearing the worst. What does this have to do with anything?
And then he’s breathless for an entirely different reason when Kyungsoo says, “My ex-boyfriend and I broke up, and he wanted to keep the apartment so that his dogs wouldn’t have to get used to a new place. It took a few weeks, but when I heard Jongdae needed a roommate…”
“Oh. Oh. Um.” Scrambling for something to say, all he can come up with is, “Do you like it here? With Jongdae?”
“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says. “He’s a good roommate.”
“That’s good. I’m glad it worked out. And…” He swallows. It’s going to sound strange, under the circumstances, but… “I’m glad I could meet you.”
Kyungsoo says, “Me, too,” his voice more earnest than Chanyeol has ever heard it. And somehow that’s the best part of Chanyeol’s night.
Chanyeol’s fate is sealed the next morning, when he staggers off the couch and heads to the bathroom, only to find that Kyungsoo’s beaten him to the shower. And Chanyeol can’t even be annoyed-not only because he’s too tired, but because he can hear Kyungsoo singing through the door, and wow.
Chanyeol presses his ear to the door so he can hear better, body thrumming. Kyungsoo has a gorgeous voice, reminiscent of Baekhyun’s in some ways but lower, sultrier. It would be ideal for R&B duets. Kyungsoo’s voice is all he wants to listen to. Kyungsoo’s voice-
The shower cuts off, and for a few glorious seconds Chanyeol can hear Kyungsoo even more clearly, until he finishes the line of the Fly to the Sky song he’s been singing and his voice tapers off. Chanyeol snaps out of his trance with some difficulty and is away from the door by the time Kyungsoo exits the bathroom in a cloud of steam, eyes widening when he catches sight of Chanyeol.
“Oh! Good morning!” His wet hair’s plastered to his forehead and he runs a hand through it, sending water droplets scattering. Chanyeol watches one run down the side of Kyungsoo’s face, along the smooth skin of his neck, and wants to lean down and taste-
Fuck. Oh, fuck. “Hi,” Chanyeol stammers. “I’m just-need to shower-”
“Right,” Kyungsoo says, his plush lips curving into one of those pretty smiles, and Chanyeol is so fucked.
He’s still reeling from the realization two days later, when they gather for the next Beagles practice.
He’s lost in his own thoughts as they warm up, and is quiet enough that Jongdae waves a hand in front of his face.“Chanyeollie? You okay?”
“I want to fuck Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol says numbly.
The other two both blink at him. “This is new?” Baekhyun asks.
“Or be fucked by him, I don’t care which,” Chanyeol continues, ignoring him. He’s definitely not going to mention how last night he’d awakened from a far too realistic dream in which their latest get-together had culminated in Baekhyun and Kyungsoo making a bet to see which of them can ride Chanyeol until he cries. “Whatever he wants.”
“But how is this new?” Baekhyun asks again. “I know it didn’t take you this long to notice his mouth.”
“It took him this long not to practically wet himself every time Kyungsoo looked at him,” Jongdae points out.
“It didn’t take this long!” Chanyeol says defensively. “I’ve been fine ever since I got to know him.” (“Like I said you’d be,” Jongdae says, but Chanyeol ignores him.) “He’s really cute! And he’s not half as scary as I thought.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jongdae tells him. “He’s really cute and exactly as scary as you thought.”
“And as hot,” Baekhyun adds.
“But if you guys break up and he decides to move out you owe me a new roommate,” Jongdae tells him. “Or if you guys stay together and he decides to move in with you. Either way. You owe me.”
“If we even get together.” Just because Kyungsoo’s interested in guys doesn’t mean he’s interested in Chanyeol, and just because they’ve become friends doesn’t mean he wants more than that. Normally Chanyeol can tell if he has a chance with someone and doesn’t hesitate to at least try, but with Kyungsoo he’s not sure either way, and he’s not willing to risk losing this newfound friendship by guessing wrong. Not to mention the whole recent breakup thing. Chanyeol groans. “Why can’t everyone be loud and obvious, like us?”
Kyungsoo goes to see them perform the next Friday, too, and by the third week they all know they won’t even have to ask. Chanyeol stays over at Kyungsoo and Jongdae’s apartment again after both shows, talking to Kyungsoo late into the night and staring after him when Kyungsoo finally goes to bed.
He wakes up first for once on the third Saturday, early enough that he has time to shower and fix Kyungsoo a cappuccino with Jongdae’s machine before Kyungsoo emerges from his room. It can be a thank-you for letting him stay over so often, Chanyeol rationalizes, though he forgets all his excuses as soon as he hands the drink to Kyungsoo and sees Kyungsoo’s eyes go round with astonishment behind his thick glasses as he looks at the string of music notes in the foam.
“Oh, wow!”
“Jongdae used to work at Starbucks, so he taught us some things,” Chanyeol explains, unable to keep from puffing up with pride a little. He’d known Kyungsoo would like it. “You should ask him to show you, too!”
Kyungsoo nods, smiling up at him. “Then I can make one for you next time.”
Chanyeol wishes he’d made himself a drink, too, since Kyungsoo’s words have his mouth going dry. Just thinking about staying the night with Kyungsoo-not that it would be like that, he quickly reminds himself. He’ll be cramming his lanky body on the couch again, that’s all. “Yeah,” he says quickly, and ignores the temptation to wipe away the foam above Kyungsoo’s lip.
“Last night was fun,” Kyungsoo says, and takes another drink.
Chanyeol watches his throat work as he swallows, barely able to keep himself from licking his lips. “Yeah,” he agrees. If his voice is a little hoarse, well, hopefully Kyungsoo will assume it’s left over from the night before.
“You did really well.”
“Thanks.” He quickly adds, “You should sing with us sometime. You’d sound great with Jongdae and Baekhyun.”
Kyungsoo blinks. “You’ve heard me sing?”
Shit. How is he supposed to explain listening in on Kyungsoo’s shower singing without Kyungsoo going right back to giving him constant judgmental stares? “Yeah, um-a few times, I-I can hear you in the mornings, sometimes. Is that okay? I’m sorry, I can, I don’t know, cover my ears or something if you want-”
“You don’t have to do that,” Kyungsoo says. He’s gone very still, his hands cupped around his mug. “I was just. Surprised.”
Chanyeol laughs out of sheer relief and Kyungsoo’s brow furrows. There’s some judgment, but not the kind that makes Chanyeol feel four inches tall, just the kind that Kyungsoo bestows upon them all regularly. “Sorry! I was thinking-I’m glad everything’s okay. You know, that you don’t hate me anymore.”
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “I never hated you!”
“You kept glaring at me all day when we moved you in here! Every time I looked at you you were staring like-” He does his best impression of Kyungsoo’s narrow-eyed look, and Kyungsoo frowns.
“I wasn’t glaring,” he admits, pushing the brim of his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “I forgot to put in my contacts that day. I was trying to look at you. I know I was awkward, but I’m just-I need to get used to things, and people.”
“Good point. I can be a lot.”
He’s teasing, but Kyungsoo’s eyes sharpen, honing in on his face. “You can-” he begins, but all at once he draws away, his gaze dropping to the remains of his drink. And while it’s much easier to breathe this way, Chanyeol reaches for him. He wants Kyungsoo’s attention back.
“Kyungsoo-” he begins, but under Kyungsoo’s expectant gaze for once he has nothing to say. Instead before he knows it he leans down, Kyungsoo meeting him halfway, and watches Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter closed as Chanyeol brushes his lips against Kyungsoo’s.
The kisses are sweet and easy, warmth filling Chanyeol as he feels one of Kyungsoo’s small hands come to rest on his arm. When their lips part Chanyeol rests his forehead against Kyungsoo’s for a moment, smiling uncontrollably, before straightening back up.
“I’ve wanted to do that for days,” Chanyeol admits. He can hear his pulse rushing in his ears.
Kyungsoo nods, lips parted. “Me, too,” he admits. “Ever since that first night.”
Chanyeol’s jaw drops. “Wait, when I brought my guitar? I thought you weren’t into it at all! You barely even said anything!”
“Do you really want to know what I thought?” Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol nods.
There’s nothing cute about Kyungsoo’s smile now as he sets his mug on the counter, then leans in again, pulling Chanyeol down. This time Kyungsoo takes control of the kiss easily, tilting Chanyeol’s head until he’s at just the angle he wants him, demanding entrance to Chanyeol’s mouth, swallowing his gasps. Chanyeol remembers how easily Kyungsoo had manhandled Baekhyun weeks ago and shudders under his hands, wanting-
But what he ends up doing is the last thing he wants-he pulls away long enough to blurt out, “Wait, wait.” Kyungsoo makes a dissatisfied noise low in his throat but obeys, and Chanyeol stares dazedly at Kyungsoo. He looks anything but neat and controlled now, damp hair wrecked and pupils dilated, gaze focused on Chanyeol’s mouth. Chanyeol bites at the inside of his cheek and commands himself not to dive back in for more. He doesn’t want to mess this up. “Are you sure this isn’t too-too soon, or fast, or-”
“It’s perfect, come here.” Kyungsoo tugs him back in and Chanyeol happily concedes, letting Kyungsoo claim his mouth again. Chanyeol grips tightly at Kyungsoo’s hips as Kyungsoo’s hands start to wander, every noise they make seeming to echo in his ears.
He doesn’t think anything of how he also hears footsteps until the sound is followed by Jongdae’s startled cry. “It’s too early for that!” Jongdae complains from the doorway as they spring apart. “And why do you have to do this here? I don’t want to watch!”
Kyungsoo’s flushed, either from the kissing or embarrassment, but when Chanyeol takes his hand Kyungsoo’s the one that links their fingers and says, “Don’t worry, we’re going.”
“I meant what I said, Chanyeol!” Jongdae calls after them.
“What does he mean?” Kyungsoo asks.
Chanyeol remembers Jongdae’s insistence that Chanyeol find him a new roommate if he and Kyungsoo were to break up or to stay together, and squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand. He knows which he’s hoping it’ll be.
Chanyeol enters Kyungsoo’s bedroom first, so he takes a quick look around as Kyungsoo closes the door behind them with a firm click, too filled with anticipation to take much in-until he sees the Prince of Tennis poster on the wall. “I thought Death Note was your favorite?” he teases Kyungsoo.
“I might have lied,” Kyungsoo admits.
“First your voice, now Death Note. What next?” Chanyeol grins at him, lowering his voice for dramatic effect. “You can tell me. Was the riding crop really for a ‘friend’?”
“That was true,” Kyungsoo says. “Long story.” But before Chanyeol can decide if he’s disappointed or not Kyungsoo starts to back him toward the bed, adding, “You should’ve looked in the box behind that one instead.”
“Really?” Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo’s answering smile is full of promise.