all that you've waited for; for cocacola
Title: all that you've waited for
Rating: r
Side pairing/s: -
Length: 4130 words
Summary: baekhyun keeps waiting for jongin to grow out of his crush. jongin's been waiting for baekhyun to grow into one.
Warning/s: sex, language
Notes: i'm sorry i couldn't make this six seasons and a movie for you but i hope you like it anyway ❤
» 2012
"So, Jongin's going to be at school with us in the fall," Jongdae informs Baekhyun. "I don't think you're ever going to be able to get rid of him."
Baekhyun groans. Jongin's a good kid-but he does have the tendency to cling sometimes. Especially to Baekhyun.
"Cheer up," Jongdae says. "It's a big campus and we're not in the same departments. It might not be so bad."
« 2002
There isn't a childhood memory Baekhyun has that doesn't feature a pair of dark, sleepy eyes somewhere in the background. As far back as he can remember, since the first day he met his best friend Kim Jongdae, Jongdae's little brother Jongin has always been their little shadow, tagging along to the playground or later, the arcade.
Baekhyun is only peripherally aware of Jongin's existence-he's ten, after all, and although he doesn't have a little brother of his own, he's familiar with how this is supposed to work. Jongin's a minor inconvenience, the price they pay for the freedom to wander where they please: sure, you can walk to school without a parent. But you have to bring Jongin, too.
But then one day, Jongdae gets sick. Sick enough that he has to stay home from school. Baekhyun spends the day without a desk mate and feels the sting of loneliness that comes with the absence of a best friend. Baekhyun doesn't even think about Jongin until he's halfway home, and he almost decides to just keep going, but something makes him turn around and go back to the school gates, just to check.
Jongin's waiting there, hugging his knees to his chest. He looks up woefully at Baekhyun when he hears the footsteps approach and then his face splits into the sunniest grin Baekhyun's ever seen. Something thaws inside of him.
"I'm sorry," Baekhyun says, offering his hand. "I didn't mean to forget."
"It's okay," Jongin tells him, slipping his tiny hand into Baekhyun's palm. "I knew you'd come back."
So that's how it starts.
» 2012
Jongdae comes in around six from his opera scenes class and finds Baekhyun sprawled across the futon, watching the television on mute with his head dangling off the edge.
"Wow. I can see you're studying hard for that physics test." Jongdae drops his backpack at the door and toes off his shoes. "Do you have anything to do tonight?"
Baekhyun cranes his neck to look up at Jongdae. "Uh?" he tries, intelligently.
"Jongin's got a dance. Thing. I figured I'd do the supportive brother thing and go make fun of him. You wanna come? I figure we can get dinner afterwards."
Baekhyun sits up hastily at the mention of Jongin's name. Too hastily-the head rush stuns him into momentary silence as he tries to shake the dizziness. "I-what is it?"
"Some modern dance group he joined. I don't even know if I'm supposed to know about it."
This comes as a surprise to Baekhyun. "He didn't ask you?"
"I think he's trying to strike out on his own. Live out of my shadow a little bit."
Baekhyun chuckles. "We're talking about the same Jongin?"
"Hey, he hasn't called me once since we arrived on campus. I think he's finally making friends of his own instead of trying to steal mine."
Baekhyun rubs at his eyes. He doesn't really want to go to a dance thing, Jongin or not, but if he can con Jongdae into paying for dinner-it could be worth it.
So he goes, and Jongin's good-a lot better than Baekhyun remembers, but it's been a long time since he's seen Jongin do much of anything. Still, it's an hour and a half of dancing. Baekhyun spends a solid 70 minutes of that slumped in the auditorium seats, wriggling to find a comfortable position until Jongdae kicks his ankle and tells him to stop making so much noise.
Afterwards, they pick through the throng of people to find Jongin backstage, chatting with a few of the other dancers. His eyes go very round when he sees Baekhyun and Jongdae approach.
"Oh," he says. Baekhyun feels similarly awkward. He hasn't seen Jongin in almost a year now. He's gotten a little taller, maybe, and his hair's in his eyes now, but he's mostly just the same kid Baekhyun's always known.
"Oh? That's all you can say? Oh?" Jongdae wraps Jongin up in a big bear hug, even though Jongin's got several inches on him now. "I'm so proud of you!" he crows, drawing the attention of half the people in the room. Jongin looks vaguely pleased, cheeks flushed, but he swats Jongdae away anyway.
"Stop. You're being embarrassing," he mutters. His gaze falls on Baekhyun. "Oh. Hi, hyung. Thanks for coming."
"Yeah," Baekhyun says, watching a rivulet of sweat work its way from Jongin's hair down his neck. "You were really great."
Jongdae looks between them expectantly. Whatever he thinks is going to happen doesn't-probably because Baekhyun doesn't really know what to say, and Jongin seems similarly uncomfortable.
"We're here to take you to dinner to celebrate," Jongdae says finally, punching Jongin in the arm. "Get your coat."
Jongin's face scrunches. "Uh."
"Jongin!"
"Yeah?" Jongin whips around. There's a lanky boy standing a few feet away, fiddling with a snapback. He looks bored.
"You coming?"
Jongin looks back at Baekhyun and Jongdae. "That's my roommate, Sehun. We've already got plans. Thanks for coming. I've gotta go." He smiles apologetically. "I'll catch you later, though? Maybe we can get dinner later this week."
"Yeah. Make sure you call Mom!" Jongdae calls after him. Jongin waves his hand in the air as an acknowledgement.
Baekhyun's still got his mouth open, frozen mid-compliment. Jongdae elbows him in the ribs.
"Normally he's the one begging to let him hang out with us." He taps his chin. "Have we become uncool?"
"You were never cool." Baekhyun rubs at the sore spot on his side, watching Jongin bounce down the hallway with Sehun.
"Guess he finally got over that little crush he had on you," Jongdae says, following Baekhyun's gaze.
"Yeah," Baekhyun says slowly. His chest feels like it's being squeezed. "I guess he did."
« 2008
By the time Jongin turns fourteen it's not quite as cute anymore. Baekhyun and Jongdae have to resort to truly drastic measures to do anything without Jongin tagging along. He's been enrolled in dance classes for two years for something to do, but he brings his weird little friends home with him and then Baekhyun and Jongdae have twice the number of spectators.
"Can you say something to him?" Baekhyun asks Jongdae one day. "Tell him to go hang out with friends his own age or something."
"I've tried," Jongdae says. "It's your fault. He doesn't bother me when you're not around." He smiles, but it's more of a leer than anything. "He loves you."
Baekhyun's cheeks color. "That's not true," he says. "He does not."
"He wants to kiss you." Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows. "He wants to marry you."
"Gross!" Baekhyun says, shoving Jongdae in the chest with both hands. "He's like my little brother, too."
"But he's not," Jongdae reminds him. "Get used to it. When Jongin wants something, he doesn't stop until he gets it."
» 2012
Baekhyun runs into Jongin at the dining hall a few weeks after the dance recital. He's not expecting to see him there. They hadn't even gotten that celebratory dinner they'd talked about. Every time Jongdae calls Jongin he's too busy, which Jongdae gets a kick out of.
"He's finally got a social life of his own. It's weird. Only took him eighteen years."
Baekhyun blinks a few times, watching Jongin burst into hysterical fits of laughter, slapping at Sehun's shoulder until Sehun gets fed up and slaps back. He's never seen Jongin come out of his shell quite like that. At home, around Jongdae, he's a lot more reserved. The serious Kim sibling.
Acting on an impulse, Baekhyun swings by the table just to say hello. Jongin's got a plastic fork in his fist and he's picking his way through a salad that looks like it's mostly wilted iceberg lettuce and italian dressing.
"Oh. Hi hyung," Jongin says, his mouth full. His chewing slows, eyes settling on Baekhyun's face. He sets the fork down on his tray and wipes his mouth with a napkin. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Baekhyun says, aiming for casual. "Just saw you, thought I'd come over and say hi. I feel like I saw you more at home."
Sehun looks up at Baekhyun, expression perfectly blank. "Is this your brother? You don't look anything alike."
Jongin shakes his head. "This is my brother's best friend, Baekhyun. Baekhyun, this is Sehun-my roommate."
"I remember." Baekhyun holds out his hand. Sehun shakes it limply, almost like it's too much effort to execute a proper handshake. "You were really good the other night, too."
Sehun frowns. "What?"
"He came to the recital," Jongin supplies helpfully. Then, at Baekhyun: "Where's Jongdae?"
Baekhyun glances at his watch even though he knows the answer. "Voice lesson."
Jongin nods a few too many times, trying to fill the awkward silence. Baekhyun can't put his finger on it, but something's different. He tries to see if maybe there's something between Jongin and Sehun, if that's why he's suddenly being so awkward, but there's no time. Jongin gets to his feet and gathers his books to his chest.
"I've gotta go," he says. "But thanks for coming the other night. That was pretty cool."
"No problem," Baekhyun says. "Let me know when the next one is."
Jongin turns and there's that grin again. "Really?"
"Definitely," Baekhyun assures him. "Wouldn't miss it for anything."
« 2004
"Mom," Jongdae whines. "Jongin won't leave us alone."
Baekhyun tears his eyes away from the television screen long enough to notice a mop of dark, wavy hair disappearing past the crack in the door. A moment later Jongdae's mother appears, frowning.
"What's the matter?"
"Jongin won't stop bothering us," Jongdae says matter-of-factly. "He's obsessed with Baekhyun."
"I am not!" pipes a tiny voice from down the hall. Jongdae's mother smiles tiredly.
"He just looks up to you boys. Let him play, he'll tire himself out soon enough."
Jongin darts past his mother's legs and scrambles onto the bed next to Baekhyun. Jongdae sighs, exasperated because he knows this is one battle he'll never win, and turns back to the television.
"Don't make any noise," he says, mashing the buttons on his controller, "or I'll make you leave."
"I won't," Jongin protests. A moment later he's sidling up to Baekhyun, head resting on Baekhyun's bicep. Baekhyun looks down, ready to shake him off, but Jongin smiles at him-that same sunny smile of his-and Baekhyun finds he doesn't quite have the heart to anymore.
» 2012
Baekhyun doesn't see Jongin in the dining hall again until the following week although (embarrassingly) he looks for him every meal after that first encounter. Jongin's sitting alone this time, a thick textbook cracked open in front of him as he works his way through an apple. He's wearing a pair of sweatpants again-seems like his new dress code these days, now that he's out of high school and doesn't have to wear the uniform anymore.
Baekhyun watches him flip a couple pages before he decides that Jongin's probably not studying that hard, and plants his ass into the seat across from him.
"Hyung," Jongin says, a note of surprise in his voice.
"Saw you hard at work so I thought I'd come say hi," Baekhyun says.
Jongin nods uncertainly, glancing back at his textbook. It doesn't go unnoticed.
"Am I interrupting you? I can-if you want me to leave-"
"No, you can stay," Jongin says quickly, putting his hand out to stop Baekhyun from getting out of his seat.
Baekhyun slides back into the chair, one knee cocked and ready to bolt. They sit there for what feels like hours. Baekhyun jiggles his knee anxiously, watching Jongin's eyes scan from left to right on the page and then flick to the next one, over and over.
"Next weekend," Jongin says finally.
"Hm?" Baekhyun frowns.
"We have a showcase. With one of the other dance teams," he says. "If you're interested, I mean. Whatever." He's never been good at nonchalance. He really wants Baekhyun to come. Baekhyun realizes that he really wants to go.
And he's got no idea what that means.
« 2010
Over Christmas break, Chanyeol comes to visit and even he says something about Baekhyun's little shadow when Jongin finally (and reluctantly) leaves the room.
"It's cute," Chanyeol insists the minute Jongdae mentions it. "He's like a stray puppy."
Baekhyun scowls and throws a fistful of popcorn in Chanyeol's direction. The kernels fly everywhere, scattered across Jongdae's duvet like buttery snow.
"That's what I've been telling him for years but he refuses to believe it," Jongdae says. "Jongin is persistent."
"Shut up!" Baekhyun says, hand already poised to fling more popcorn. "He does not have a crush on me."
"Please. He's practically the president of the Byun Baekhyun fan club," Jongdae says. "I bet he's been really lonely since we've been gone."
Baekhyun doesn't bother to mention that Jongin's been texting him almost every day so he's probably been dealing with the transition just fine. It doesn't feel like the right moment to bring it up, not when they'd just use it against him.
» 2012
Baekhyun makes the mistake of mentioning his plans to go see Jongin's next recital to Chanyeol, who, true to form, shows Baekhyun no mercy when it comes to Jongin.
"Does Jongdae know you've been having thoughts about his baby brother?"
"Shut the fuck up, Chanyeol." Baekhyun grumbles. "I haven't been having anything about anything. He's the one that used to follow me around."
Chanyeol looks amazed, like a brilliant thought's just occurred to him. Of course he's going to share it. "That's it. You just miss the attention."
"Shut the fuck up, Chanyeol," Baekhyun says again, more sharply this time. It's insulting on two levels: the implication that he's too much of a narcissist to handle being undesirable; the idea that Jongin is only interesting to him when he's following him around like a puppy on a leash.
"I'm just kidding," Chanyeol says. "Don't be so sensitive."
Baekhyun gets up, swinging his backpack onto his shoulders. He wants to say something else, something brilliant, but can't think of anything, so he just storms out of the library, papers fluttering in his wake.
« 2011
Baekhyun doesn't go over to Jongdae's at all over the summer break. He figures it's just as easy for Jongdae to come over-and this way, he can avoid Jongin, which means he can also avoid being teased about Jongin's crush on him.
Jongin stops texting him after the third week of deleting his messages. Baekhyun feels guilty about it-but really, the kid's got to get over this stupid crush sometime, and Baekhyun's in college now. He really doesn't have time for high school kids.
(He's a little surprised that Jongin never tags along when Jongdae comes over, but he figures maybe Jongin's finally grown out of it.)
» 2012
After the disastrous conversation with Chanyeol, Baekhyun swears he's had enough humiliation. He swears this, but finds himself at Jongin's second show of the semester anyway, even though Jongdae's not dragging him this time. He even waits for the crowd backstage to clear before he goes looking for Jongin. He finds him in the green room, packing up his duffel bag.
"Where's Jongdae?" Jongin asks when he sees him, getting up on his tiptoes to look over Baekhyun's shoulder like he needs any more of a height advantage. "Did he even come?"
"He couldn't. Busy," Baekhyun says. Jongin beams.
"But you came anyway."
"Yeah, I did." Baekhyun returns the smile. He can't remember when Jongin got so tall-or handsome-but he's looking at him now and he's kind of beautiful like this, despite the fact that he's disheveled and sweaty, eyeliner collecting in his lower lashes. "You were great. Again."
The energy between them feels strangely electrified. He's having trouble reconciling the impression he has of Jongin the little boy waiting to be walked home from school with this Jongin. Confident, mostly-grown Jongin, who hasn't once pestered Baekhyun and Jongdae this entire semester, who seems to be doing really well for himself without having to rely on his brother and his brother's best friend. Which is great, but truth be told, Baekhyun's so used to having Jongin around that he really misses it.
Or do I miss the attention?
Baekhyun swallows, hard.
Jongin reclines a hip against the dressing table behind him, watching Baekhyun. It brings him down a few inches, just enough that Baekhyun can shuffle right in between his knees and doesn't have to look up to meet Jongin's eye.
"Hi," Jongin says, smile pushing at the corners of his mouth. He hasn't blinked yet.
"Hi."
"Any reason why you've been following me around lately?" Jongin asks. He licks his lips nervously.
"Any reason you've been avoiding me lately?" Baekhyun counters. He's shocked at himself the moment the words come out of his mouth. He honestly hadn't thought he cared this much-but he does. He feels more relieved now, standing here with Jongin, than he had before. It's too weird now, trying to adjust to a life that doesn't have a lot of Jongin in it.
Jongin shrugs. "I know I bugged you and Jongdae a lot growing up. Especially you."
"Nah," Baekhyun lies. "It was cute." He coughs. "You were cute."
"Were?"
Baekhyun leans in, pressing his forehead against Jongin's. He hopes he's reading the signals right, that it's okay to be in Jongin's space like this. Jongin doesn't push him away, so he figures at least this much is alright.
"Are. I guess," Baekhyun says.
"Took you long enough." Jongin says it so quietly Baekhyun almost doesn't catch it. But he knows-it's been years now, ten whole years of running while Jongin chased. He's tired. He wants to be caught now.
Jongin closes his eyes, lashes fluttering against Baekhyun's cheekbones. An unbearable lifetime passes, Jongin's breathing husky but soft. He smells like wax and makeup and too much hairspray, and a little bit like sweat and cologne. It's-incredible. Baekhyun's pulse throbs crazily in his throat.
Finally, he dares himself to break the calm. "I'm going to kiss you," he says, feeling his heart climb up into the back of his throat. He expects Jongin to pull away. He's not prepared for Jongin to nod a few times and beat him to the punch across the threshold, lips soft and warm.
And just as quickly as it happens, it's over. Jongin's more than an arm's length away again, smile twinkling in the low light of evening.
"Hey," Baekhyun says, and then chokes on the rest of what he wants to say.
"Gotta go," Jongin says, still smiling. "Sehun's waiting. Bye, hyung."
Baekhyun sits alone for a moment in the empty green room until he hears a pair of sneakers squeaking against the tiled floor. Jongin appears, out of breath and grinning, hair tousled like a madman.
"Hey," he says. "If you want, why don't you come with me?"
»» 2013
Jongin comes back from the bathroom and crawls up from the foot of the bed to sprawl out across Baekhyun like a blanket. This January's been bitter cold and even though the rest of Jongin's body is warm, his feet are like ice. Baekhyun scrunches up his face and squirms away from the source of discomfort. Jongin remains undeterred. Baekhyun's dimly aware of the way Jongin sets to work kissing down his throat but his brain's still floating somewhere in between dreams and consciousness. He's so relaxed, so sleepy.
"You're up early," he mutters after a moment, carding his fingers through Jongin's hair. Jongin hums an affirmation, hands settling on Baekhyun's waist.
"I have class."
Baekhyun groans and rolls over on top of him, pushing Jongin into the mattress, face buried in Jongin's warm neck. "Skip it," he says, voice muffled.
"Can't," Jongin says, hands slipping from Baekhyun's waist down to his ass. "Exam."
"Skip it." Baekhyun grunts and lets himself relax. Jongin bucks a few times against the dead weight.
"I can't." He kisses the top of Baekhyun's head. "I can come back, though. When I'm done."
Baekhyun pretends to consider this for an extended pause, but really he's just working up the energy to roll back over and release Jongin.
"I've got a few minutes, though," Jongin says, palming Baekhyun's morning erection through the thin fabric of his sleep pants. Baekhyun lets out an embarrassingly loud groan. He's always hypersensitive to touch the first thing in the morning, every nerve in his body starved for attention, but especially the ones near his groin.
"Shit," he says, and then nothing else because Jongin's got his palm clamped over Baekhyun's mouth.
"You want to wake Jongdae up?"
Baekhyun kicks off his sweatpants and pulls his knees to his chest, eyes still closed. He waits for the click of the lube, for Jongin's slippery fingers to push him open.
"You going to wake up now?" Jongin asks after he nearly makes Baekhyun come with just his fingers. He starts mouthing at the skin below Baekhyun's ear while he fiddles with the condom.
"Yeah," Baekhyun pants, squirming with the heat of Jongin's body draped over him. "I'm awake."
"You sure?"
"Do it already," Baekhyun says, scowling. Jongin laughs and asks for permission with the tip of his dick, tentatively, a few shallow thrusts into Baekhyun to test the stretch before he slides in and holds himself there. Baekhyun's eyes finally flutter open as Jongin bottoms out. He catches Jongin's intense gaze and holds it, a drowsy smile inching across his face.
"God, you're incredible," he breathes, cupping Jongin's chin in his hand.
Jongin laughs. "You only say that in the mornings."
"I mean to say it all the time, though," Baekhyun says.
Jongin fucks him so slowly that Baekhyun's long past wide awake and scrabbling at the sheets by the time Jongin wraps his hand around Baekhyun's dick and tugs him to completion. Baekhyun's still breathing heavily, stomach sticky with come, when Jongin pushes himself deep and stills inside Baekhyun.
"That was a good one," Baekhyun murmurs with a satisfied smile. Jongin rolls off, wincing, and does his best to clean up while Baekhyun lies there, boneless.
"I did all of the work."
"Payback for waking me up so early."
Jongin scoffs, but he's got a fond smile when he leans over and kisses Baekhyun on the tip of the nose. "I'll be back later." He retrieves a pair of underwear from the floor and sits up, head cocked and listening. "I think Jongdae's still asleep. I can probably sneak out the front door instead of going out the window."
"Mm," Baekhyun agrees, eyelids sinking. "Better hurry."
"Fine," Jongin says. "I'm hurrying." He pulls on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then steals one of Baekhyun's hats and crams it over his hair. He bends down for one last kiss, and then a second, third and fourth last-kiss before he manages to peel himself away. "Bye," he whispers. The door shuts with a soft click behind him.
Baekhyun waits for the click of the front door and then rolls over, already drifting off again. He feels well-fucked and ready to sleep for another few hours before he has to get up for his own classes.
Unfortunately, he peace is short-lived. No sooner than he starts to doze, the door slams open and bounces off the wall. Jongdae storms in, looking more smug than Baekhyun thinks he's ever seen him. His stomach sinks. He knows what's coming and doesn't even have time to brace for impact.
"I knew it!" Jongdae says, face triumphant. He's got a pair of Jongin's underwear in his hand. The ones from last night. Bright blue with orange trim. They must've gotten caught up in the pants Jongin was wearing on his way out. "I knew you two have been sneaking around!"
Baekhyun groans. "It's too early for this."
"It's too early for a lot of things," Jongdae says, stretching the underwear like a slingshot on his fingers. They snap free with a twang and land true on Baekhyun's face. "But apparently defiling my little brother is not one of these things. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Baekhyun tugs the underwear off his face and squints up at Jongdae. "Worth it. Now get out of my room."
Rating: r
Side pairing/s: -
Length: 4130 words
Summary: baekhyun keeps waiting for jongin to grow out of his crush. jongin's been waiting for baekhyun to grow into one.
Warning/s: sex, language
Notes: i'm sorry i couldn't make this six seasons and a movie for you but i hope you like it anyway ❤
» 2012
"So, Jongin's going to be at school with us in the fall," Jongdae informs Baekhyun. "I don't think you're ever going to be able to get rid of him."
Baekhyun groans. Jongin's a good kid-but he does have the tendency to cling sometimes. Especially to Baekhyun.
"Cheer up," Jongdae says. "It's a big campus and we're not in the same departments. It might not be so bad."
« 2002
There isn't a childhood memory Baekhyun has that doesn't feature a pair of dark, sleepy eyes somewhere in the background. As far back as he can remember, since the first day he met his best friend Kim Jongdae, Jongdae's little brother Jongin has always been their little shadow, tagging along to the playground or later, the arcade.
Baekhyun is only peripherally aware of Jongin's existence-he's ten, after all, and although he doesn't have a little brother of his own, he's familiar with how this is supposed to work. Jongin's a minor inconvenience, the price they pay for the freedom to wander where they please: sure, you can walk to school without a parent. But you have to bring Jongin, too.
But then one day, Jongdae gets sick. Sick enough that he has to stay home from school. Baekhyun spends the day without a desk mate and feels the sting of loneliness that comes with the absence of a best friend. Baekhyun doesn't even think about Jongin until he's halfway home, and he almost decides to just keep going, but something makes him turn around and go back to the school gates, just to check.
Jongin's waiting there, hugging his knees to his chest. He looks up woefully at Baekhyun when he hears the footsteps approach and then his face splits into the sunniest grin Baekhyun's ever seen. Something thaws inside of him.
"I'm sorry," Baekhyun says, offering his hand. "I didn't mean to forget."
"It's okay," Jongin tells him, slipping his tiny hand into Baekhyun's palm. "I knew you'd come back."
So that's how it starts.
» 2012
Jongdae comes in around six from his opera scenes class and finds Baekhyun sprawled across the futon, watching the television on mute with his head dangling off the edge.
"Wow. I can see you're studying hard for that physics test." Jongdae drops his backpack at the door and toes off his shoes. "Do you have anything to do tonight?"
Baekhyun cranes his neck to look up at Jongdae. "Uh?" he tries, intelligently.
"Jongin's got a dance. Thing. I figured I'd do the supportive brother thing and go make fun of him. You wanna come? I figure we can get dinner afterwards."
Baekhyun sits up hastily at the mention of Jongin's name. Too hastily-the head rush stuns him into momentary silence as he tries to shake the dizziness. "I-what is it?"
"Some modern dance group he joined. I don't even know if I'm supposed to know about it."
This comes as a surprise to Baekhyun. "He didn't ask you?"
"I think he's trying to strike out on his own. Live out of my shadow a little bit."
Baekhyun chuckles. "We're talking about the same Jongin?"
"Hey, he hasn't called me once since we arrived on campus. I think he's finally making friends of his own instead of trying to steal mine."
Baekhyun rubs at his eyes. He doesn't really want to go to a dance thing, Jongin or not, but if he can con Jongdae into paying for dinner-it could be worth it.
So he goes, and Jongin's good-a lot better than Baekhyun remembers, but it's been a long time since he's seen Jongin do much of anything. Still, it's an hour and a half of dancing. Baekhyun spends a solid 70 minutes of that slumped in the auditorium seats, wriggling to find a comfortable position until Jongdae kicks his ankle and tells him to stop making so much noise.
Afterwards, they pick through the throng of people to find Jongin backstage, chatting with a few of the other dancers. His eyes go very round when he sees Baekhyun and Jongdae approach.
"Oh," he says. Baekhyun feels similarly awkward. He hasn't seen Jongin in almost a year now. He's gotten a little taller, maybe, and his hair's in his eyes now, but he's mostly just the same kid Baekhyun's always known.
"Oh? That's all you can say? Oh?" Jongdae wraps Jongin up in a big bear hug, even though Jongin's got several inches on him now. "I'm so proud of you!" he crows, drawing the attention of half the people in the room. Jongin looks vaguely pleased, cheeks flushed, but he swats Jongdae away anyway.
"Stop. You're being embarrassing," he mutters. His gaze falls on Baekhyun. "Oh. Hi, hyung. Thanks for coming."
"Yeah," Baekhyun says, watching a rivulet of sweat work its way from Jongin's hair down his neck. "You were really great."
Jongdae looks between them expectantly. Whatever he thinks is going to happen doesn't-probably because Baekhyun doesn't really know what to say, and Jongin seems similarly uncomfortable.
"We're here to take you to dinner to celebrate," Jongdae says finally, punching Jongin in the arm. "Get your coat."
Jongin's face scrunches. "Uh."
"Jongin!"
"Yeah?" Jongin whips around. There's a lanky boy standing a few feet away, fiddling with a snapback. He looks bored.
"You coming?"
Jongin looks back at Baekhyun and Jongdae. "That's my roommate, Sehun. We've already got plans. Thanks for coming. I've gotta go." He smiles apologetically. "I'll catch you later, though? Maybe we can get dinner later this week."
"Yeah. Make sure you call Mom!" Jongdae calls after him. Jongin waves his hand in the air as an acknowledgement.
Baekhyun's still got his mouth open, frozen mid-compliment. Jongdae elbows him in the ribs.
"Normally he's the one begging to let him hang out with us." He taps his chin. "Have we become uncool?"
"You were never cool." Baekhyun rubs at the sore spot on his side, watching Jongin bounce down the hallway with Sehun.
"Guess he finally got over that little crush he had on you," Jongdae says, following Baekhyun's gaze.
"Yeah," Baekhyun says slowly. His chest feels like it's being squeezed. "I guess he did."
« 2008
By the time Jongin turns fourteen it's not quite as cute anymore. Baekhyun and Jongdae have to resort to truly drastic measures to do anything without Jongin tagging along. He's been enrolled in dance classes for two years for something to do, but he brings his weird little friends home with him and then Baekhyun and Jongdae have twice the number of spectators.
"Can you say something to him?" Baekhyun asks Jongdae one day. "Tell him to go hang out with friends his own age or something."
"I've tried," Jongdae says. "It's your fault. He doesn't bother me when you're not around." He smiles, but it's more of a leer than anything. "He loves you."
Baekhyun's cheeks color. "That's not true," he says. "He does not."
"He wants to kiss you." Jongdae wiggles his eyebrows. "He wants to marry you."
"Gross!" Baekhyun says, shoving Jongdae in the chest with both hands. "He's like my little brother, too."
"But he's not," Jongdae reminds him. "Get used to it. When Jongin wants something, he doesn't stop until he gets it."
» 2012
Baekhyun runs into Jongin at the dining hall a few weeks after the dance recital. He's not expecting to see him there. They hadn't even gotten that celebratory dinner they'd talked about. Every time Jongdae calls Jongin he's too busy, which Jongdae gets a kick out of.
"He's finally got a social life of his own. It's weird. Only took him eighteen years."
Baekhyun blinks a few times, watching Jongin burst into hysterical fits of laughter, slapping at Sehun's shoulder until Sehun gets fed up and slaps back. He's never seen Jongin come out of his shell quite like that. At home, around Jongdae, he's a lot more reserved. The serious Kim sibling.
Acting on an impulse, Baekhyun swings by the table just to say hello. Jongin's got a plastic fork in his fist and he's picking his way through a salad that looks like it's mostly wilted iceberg lettuce and italian dressing.
"Oh. Hi hyung," Jongin says, his mouth full. His chewing slows, eyes settling on Baekhyun's face. He sets the fork down on his tray and wipes his mouth with a napkin. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Baekhyun says, aiming for casual. "Just saw you, thought I'd come over and say hi. I feel like I saw you more at home."
Sehun looks up at Baekhyun, expression perfectly blank. "Is this your brother? You don't look anything alike."
Jongin shakes his head. "This is my brother's best friend, Baekhyun. Baekhyun, this is Sehun-my roommate."
"I remember." Baekhyun holds out his hand. Sehun shakes it limply, almost like it's too much effort to execute a proper handshake. "You were really good the other night, too."
Sehun frowns. "What?"
"He came to the recital," Jongin supplies helpfully. Then, at Baekhyun: "Where's Jongdae?"
Baekhyun glances at his watch even though he knows the answer. "Voice lesson."
Jongin nods a few too many times, trying to fill the awkward silence. Baekhyun can't put his finger on it, but something's different. He tries to see if maybe there's something between Jongin and Sehun, if that's why he's suddenly being so awkward, but there's no time. Jongin gets to his feet and gathers his books to his chest.
"I've gotta go," he says. "But thanks for coming the other night. That was pretty cool."
"No problem," Baekhyun says. "Let me know when the next one is."
Jongin turns and there's that grin again. "Really?"
"Definitely," Baekhyun assures him. "Wouldn't miss it for anything."
« 2004
"Mom," Jongdae whines. "Jongin won't leave us alone."
Baekhyun tears his eyes away from the television screen long enough to notice a mop of dark, wavy hair disappearing past the crack in the door. A moment later Jongdae's mother appears, frowning.
"What's the matter?"
"Jongin won't stop bothering us," Jongdae says matter-of-factly. "He's obsessed with Baekhyun."
"I am not!" pipes a tiny voice from down the hall. Jongdae's mother smiles tiredly.
"He just looks up to you boys. Let him play, he'll tire himself out soon enough."
Jongin darts past his mother's legs and scrambles onto the bed next to Baekhyun. Jongdae sighs, exasperated because he knows this is one battle he'll never win, and turns back to the television.
"Don't make any noise," he says, mashing the buttons on his controller, "or I'll make you leave."
"I won't," Jongin protests. A moment later he's sidling up to Baekhyun, head resting on Baekhyun's bicep. Baekhyun looks down, ready to shake him off, but Jongin smiles at him-that same sunny smile of his-and Baekhyun finds he doesn't quite have the heart to anymore.
» 2012
Baekhyun doesn't see Jongin in the dining hall again until the following week although (embarrassingly) he looks for him every meal after that first encounter. Jongin's sitting alone this time, a thick textbook cracked open in front of him as he works his way through an apple. He's wearing a pair of sweatpants again-seems like his new dress code these days, now that he's out of high school and doesn't have to wear the uniform anymore.
Baekhyun watches him flip a couple pages before he decides that Jongin's probably not studying that hard, and plants his ass into the seat across from him.
"Hyung," Jongin says, a note of surprise in his voice.
"Saw you hard at work so I thought I'd come say hi," Baekhyun says.
Jongin nods uncertainly, glancing back at his textbook. It doesn't go unnoticed.
"Am I interrupting you? I can-if you want me to leave-"
"No, you can stay," Jongin says quickly, putting his hand out to stop Baekhyun from getting out of his seat.
Baekhyun slides back into the chair, one knee cocked and ready to bolt. They sit there for what feels like hours. Baekhyun jiggles his knee anxiously, watching Jongin's eyes scan from left to right on the page and then flick to the next one, over and over.
"Next weekend," Jongin says finally.
"Hm?" Baekhyun frowns.
"We have a showcase. With one of the other dance teams," he says. "If you're interested, I mean. Whatever." He's never been good at nonchalance. He really wants Baekhyun to come. Baekhyun realizes that he really wants to go.
And he's got no idea what that means.
« 2010
Over Christmas break, Chanyeol comes to visit and even he says something about Baekhyun's little shadow when Jongin finally (and reluctantly) leaves the room.
"It's cute," Chanyeol insists the minute Jongdae mentions it. "He's like a stray puppy."
Baekhyun scowls and throws a fistful of popcorn in Chanyeol's direction. The kernels fly everywhere, scattered across Jongdae's duvet like buttery snow.
"That's what I've been telling him for years but he refuses to believe it," Jongdae says. "Jongin is persistent."
"Shut up!" Baekhyun says, hand already poised to fling more popcorn. "He does not have a crush on me."
"Please. He's practically the president of the Byun Baekhyun fan club," Jongdae says. "I bet he's been really lonely since we've been gone."
Baekhyun doesn't bother to mention that Jongin's been texting him almost every day so he's probably been dealing with the transition just fine. It doesn't feel like the right moment to bring it up, not when they'd just use it against him.
» 2012
Baekhyun makes the mistake of mentioning his plans to go see Jongin's next recital to Chanyeol, who, true to form, shows Baekhyun no mercy when it comes to Jongin.
"Does Jongdae know you've been having thoughts about his baby brother?"
"Shut the fuck up, Chanyeol." Baekhyun grumbles. "I haven't been having anything about anything. He's the one that used to follow me around."
Chanyeol looks amazed, like a brilliant thought's just occurred to him. Of course he's going to share it. "That's it. You just miss the attention."
"Shut the fuck up, Chanyeol," Baekhyun says again, more sharply this time. It's insulting on two levels: the implication that he's too much of a narcissist to handle being undesirable; the idea that Jongin is only interesting to him when he's following him around like a puppy on a leash.
"I'm just kidding," Chanyeol says. "Don't be so sensitive."
Baekhyun gets up, swinging his backpack onto his shoulders. He wants to say something else, something brilliant, but can't think of anything, so he just storms out of the library, papers fluttering in his wake.
« 2011
Baekhyun doesn't go over to Jongdae's at all over the summer break. He figures it's just as easy for Jongdae to come over-and this way, he can avoid Jongin, which means he can also avoid being teased about Jongin's crush on him.
Jongin stops texting him after the third week of deleting his messages. Baekhyun feels guilty about it-but really, the kid's got to get over this stupid crush sometime, and Baekhyun's in college now. He really doesn't have time for high school kids.
(He's a little surprised that Jongin never tags along when Jongdae comes over, but he figures maybe Jongin's finally grown out of it.)
» 2012
After the disastrous conversation with Chanyeol, Baekhyun swears he's had enough humiliation. He swears this, but finds himself at Jongin's second show of the semester anyway, even though Jongdae's not dragging him this time. He even waits for the crowd backstage to clear before he goes looking for Jongin. He finds him in the green room, packing up his duffel bag.
"Where's Jongdae?" Jongin asks when he sees him, getting up on his tiptoes to look over Baekhyun's shoulder like he needs any more of a height advantage. "Did he even come?"
"He couldn't. Busy," Baekhyun says. Jongin beams.
"But you came anyway."
"Yeah, I did." Baekhyun returns the smile. He can't remember when Jongin got so tall-or handsome-but he's looking at him now and he's kind of beautiful like this, despite the fact that he's disheveled and sweaty, eyeliner collecting in his lower lashes. "You were great. Again."
The energy between them feels strangely electrified. He's having trouble reconciling the impression he has of Jongin the little boy waiting to be walked home from school with this Jongin. Confident, mostly-grown Jongin, who hasn't once pestered Baekhyun and Jongdae this entire semester, who seems to be doing really well for himself without having to rely on his brother and his brother's best friend. Which is great, but truth be told, Baekhyun's so used to having Jongin around that he really misses it.
Or do I miss the attention?
Baekhyun swallows, hard.
Jongin reclines a hip against the dressing table behind him, watching Baekhyun. It brings him down a few inches, just enough that Baekhyun can shuffle right in between his knees and doesn't have to look up to meet Jongin's eye.
"Hi," Jongin says, smile pushing at the corners of his mouth. He hasn't blinked yet.
"Hi."
"Any reason why you've been following me around lately?" Jongin asks. He licks his lips nervously.
"Any reason you've been avoiding me lately?" Baekhyun counters. He's shocked at himself the moment the words come out of his mouth. He honestly hadn't thought he cared this much-but he does. He feels more relieved now, standing here with Jongin, than he had before. It's too weird now, trying to adjust to a life that doesn't have a lot of Jongin in it.
Jongin shrugs. "I know I bugged you and Jongdae a lot growing up. Especially you."
"Nah," Baekhyun lies. "It was cute." He coughs. "You were cute."
"Were?"
Baekhyun leans in, pressing his forehead against Jongin's. He hopes he's reading the signals right, that it's okay to be in Jongin's space like this. Jongin doesn't push him away, so he figures at least this much is alright.
"Are. I guess," Baekhyun says.
"Took you long enough." Jongin says it so quietly Baekhyun almost doesn't catch it. But he knows-it's been years now, ten whole years of running while Jongin chased. He's tired. He wants to be caught now.
Jongin closes his eyes, lashes fluttering against Baekhyun's cheekbones. An unbearable lifetime passes, Jongin's breathing husky but soft. He smells like wax and makeup and too much hairspray, and a little bit like sweat and cologne. It's-incredible. Baekhyun's pulse throbs crazily in his throat.
Finally, he dares himself to break the calm. "I'm going to kiss you," he says, feeling his heart climb up into the back of his throat. He expects Jongin to pull away. He's not prepared for Jongin to nod a few times and beat him to the punch across the threshold, lips soft and warm.
And just as quickly as it happens, it's over. Jongin's more than an arm's length away again, smile twinkling in the low light of evening.
"Hey," Baekhyun says, and then chokes on the rest of what he wants to say.
"Gotta go," Jongin says, still smiling. "Sehun's waiting. Bye, hyung."
Baekhyun sits alone for a moment in the empty green room until he hears a pair of sneakers squeaking against the tiled floor. Jongin appears, out of breath and grinning, hair tousled like a madman.
"Hey," he says. "If you want, why don't you come with me?"
»» 2013
Jongin comes back from the bathroom and crawls up from the foot of the bed to sprawl out across Baekhyun like a blanket. This January's been bitter cold and even though the rest of Jongin's body is warm, his feet are like ice. Baekhyun scrunches up his face and squirms away from the source of discomfort. Jongin remains undeterred. Baekhyun's dimly aware of the way Jongin sets to work kissing down his throat but his brain's still floating somewhere in between dreams and consciousness. He's so relaxed, so sleepy.
"You're up early," he mutters after a moment, carding his fingers through Jongin's hair. Jongin hums an affirmation, hands settling on Baekhyun's waist.
"I have class."
Baekhyun groans and rolls over on top of him, pushing Jongin into the mattress, face buried in Jongin's warm neck. "Skip it," he says, voice muffled.
"Can't," Jongin says, hands slipping from Baekhyun's waist down to his ass. "Exam."
"Skip it." Baekhyun grunts and lets himself relax. Jongin bucks a few times against the dead weight.
"I can't." He kisses the top of Baekhyun's head. "I can come back, though. When I'm done."
Baekhyun pretends to consider this for an extended pause, but really he's just working up the energy to roll back over and release Jongin.
"I've got a few minutes, though," Jongin says, palming Baekhyun's morning erection through the thin fabric of his sleep pants. Baekhyun lets out an embarrassingly loud groan. He's always hypersensitive to touch the first thing in the morning, every nerve in his body starved for attention, but especially the ones near his groin.
"Shit," he says, and then nothing else because Jongin's got his palm clamped over Baekhyun's mouth.
"You want to wake Jongdae up?"
Baekhyun kicks off his sweatpants and pulls his knees to his chest, eyes still closed. He waits for the click of the lube, for Jongin's slippery fingers to push him open.
"You going to wake up now?" Jongin asks after he nearly makes Baekhyun come with just his fingers. He starts mouthing at the skin below Baekhyun's ear while he fiddles with the condom.
"Yeah," Baekhyun pants, squirming with the heat of Jongin's body draped over him. "I'm awake."
"You sure?"
"Do it already," Baekhyun says, scowling. Jongin laughs and asks for permission with the tip of his dick, tentatively, a few shallow thrusts into Baekhyun to test the stretch before he slides in and holds himself there. Baekhyun's eyes finally flutter open as Jongin bottoms out. He catches Jongin's intense gaze and holds it, a drowsy smile inching across his face.
"God, you're incredible," he breathes, cupping Jongin's chin in his hand.
Jongin laughs. "You only say that in the mornings."
"I mean to say it all the time, though," Baekhyun says.
Jongin fucks him so slowly that Baekhyun's long past wide awake and scrabbling at the sheets by the time Jongin wraps his hand around Baekhyun's dick and tugs him to completion. Baekhyun's still breathing heavily, stomach sticky with come, when Jongin pushes himself deep and stills inside Baekhyun.
"That was a good one," Baekhyun murmurs with a satisfied smile. Jongin rolls off, wincing, and does his best to clean up while Baekhyun lies there, boneless.
"I did all of the work."
"Payback for waking me up so early."
Jongin scoffs, but he's got a fond smile when he leans over and kisses Baekhyun on the tip of the nose. "I'll be back later." He retrieves a pair of underwear from the floor and sits up, head cocked and listening. "I think Jongdae's still asleep. I can probably sneak out the front door instead of going out the window."
"Mm," Baekhyun agrees, eyelids sinking. "Better hurry."
"Fine," Jongin says. "I'm hurrying." He pulls on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then steals one of Baekhyun's hats and crams it over his hair. He bends down for one last kiss, and then a second, third and fourth last-kiss before he manages to peel himself away. "Bye," he whispers. The door shuts with a soft click behind him.
Baekhyun waits for the click of the front door and then rolls over, already drifting off again. He feels well-fucked and ready to sleep for another few hours before he has to get up for his own classes.
Unfortunately, he peace is short-lived. No sooner than he starts to doze, the door slams open and bounces off the wall. Jongdae storms in, looking more smug than Baekhyun thinks he's ever seen him. His stomach sinks. He knows what's coming and doesn't even have time to brace for impact.
"I knew it!" Jongdae says, face triumphant. He's got a pair of Jongin's underwear in his hand. The ones from last night. Bright blue with orange trim. They must've gotten caught up in the pants Jongin was wearing on his way out. "I knew you two have been sneaking around!"
Baekhyun groans. "It's too early for this."
"It's too early for a lot of things," Jongdae says, stretching the underwear like a slingshot on his fingers. They snap free with a twang and land true on Baekhyun's face. "But apparently defiling my little brother is not one of these things. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Baekhyun tugs the underwear off his face and squints up at Jongdae. "Worth it. Now get out of my room."