ZOOM ZOOM MY HEART LIKE A ROCKET for PARTYBUTTS [1/2]
For: partybutts
Title: Zoom Zoom My Heart Like A Rocket
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/L.Joe
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Tentacle porn, crossovers, VIXX is in here for no reason but go figure
Length: 11511w
Summary: Chanyeol thinks the new guy is a little weird. He has no idea.
Author's note: dear recipient, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity but I’m pretty sure you wanted hardcore smut but I CAN’T DO THAT so this is more fluff with like 1/10 smut. I am sorry. I hope you like it anyway. Mod, thank you so much for everything. Celia and Tayler, you guys rock thanks for putting up with me.
"Hey," Chanyeol whispers, elbowing the man beside him, "is that a new guy?"
Hakyeon huffs, not happy about being disturbed, and reluctantly diverts his attention from Taekwoon, who works the information desk and is busy sorting pamphlets. "Yeah, Joonmyun mentioned something about hiring a new guy. Or maybe it was an intern." He looks at the clock on the wall and sighs. "We start in ten minutes. I'm going to go find which closet Hongbin and Wonsik are hiding in. If Kyungsoo or Jaehwan comes looking for me, I'll be by the dinosaurs."
"I'll tell them," Chanyeol promises as Hakyeon marches away, a man on a mission. Now alone save for Taekwoon, he cranes his head to stare as Joonmyun leads a bleached blond down the hall and into the staff room. He's curious, but he's sure that everyone will be talking about the new worker by the end of the day, so he'll just have to wait until then.
As he passes the information desk, he crows a greeting and beams as Taekwoon nods in acknowledgement. Chanyeol skips up the stairs just as the front doors open and the first visitors of the day walk in.
With his bachelor's in astronomy, three years of summer internships spent among astrophysicists and rocket scientists, and his-perhaps most impressive-five years spent as a summer camp counselor, Chanyeol has landed himself a job at a museum.
The Modern Museum of History and Natural Science is horribly named because the structure it calls home was built in the seventeenth century (it has been remodeled since) and its most recent exhibit is a few decades old. Despite that, it attracts a decent amount of visitors, and season pass sales skyrocket during the summer. Kids like them because they have a giant foam model of the human body to scale and a room dedicated to pirates, complete with a giant wooden ship whose mast reaches from the ground floor to the roof of the fifth floor. Parents like them because they offer interactive activities and carefully researched information on just about every subject matter out there, and they have day camps during the summer that serve as a great substitution for day care. Critics give them four out of five stars and tourists make sure to visit when in town.
Chanyeol resides on the fourth floor, where all the outer space exhibits are. He pulls on a white lab coat that he bought at a party store a couple years back and spends his day teaching young'ins the ways of the universe.
During the summer, he had been able to get his own camp idea passed, so Park Chanyeol had headed the Space Cadets. They laughed, they cried, they science'd, and Chanyeol had given each of the chosen ten a model of a personalized space shuttle (he had given the youngest a smile and offered his shuttle with a, "You get Soyuz because I'm always scared you're going to break something.") and then he had gone home and cried because his little Space Cadets had graduated Pre-Astronaut school.
Now it was fall and Chanyeol was Space Cadet-less, but he still had his floor.
"Let us embark on our quest to discover the mysteries of the universe!" Chanyeol crows because he is nothing if not enthusiastic. His meager gathering of tourists and adults trying to kill time look everywhere but directly at him and Chanyeol’s raised arms drop. “Go dance among the stars, my fellow homo sapiens,” he dismisses, allowing the small crowd to pass. Eventually, he wanders over to the launching simulator to help a toddler work the controls while the kid’s parents watch a virtual explanation on supernovas.
He ends up working late because some kid threw up on the solar system. He has to make multiple trips to the bathroom in order to get it all off the metal wiring that connects each planet to the sun. By the time he leaves, there are only the night guards and janitors-who thank him for cleaning up the mess-left in the building, and Chanyeol guesses he’ll have to wait to find out more information about the new addition to the team.
For many reasons- One of which being the day Jupiter was discovered and Chanyeol had to pay homage and dress up like the gas giant, effectively earning the position of outcast for the entire day. Kyungsoo had only talked to him because he hadn’t known if Chanyeol was Saturn or Jupiter. The astronomy buff was appalled. -Chanyeol doesn’t find out anything about the new worker until a week after his first sighting.
He sidles up next to Baekhyun during his break, offering a nut bar in return for juicy gossip. Baekhyun nods slowly, unwrapping the bar and taking a big bite before he decides that the offer is genuine. “What do you want to know?”
“New guy. Tell me everything,” Chanyeol demands, wiggling excitedly in his seat. Two more people join him before Baekhyun has the chance to deliver, though, and Chanyeol sags in disappointment.
“What’s up with Super Star over here?” Jaehwan asks, poking Chanyeol in the side with his spoon. When he tries to poke him again, Chanyeol bites onto the spoon and Jaehwan wails in distress, gesturing to his vending machine pudding as Chanyeol spits out the plastic spoon with a frown. It lands right in front of Wonsik, who flinches and moves down a seat.
Baekhyun sighs, waiting for all eyes to fall back on him. “He wanted to know about Byunghun.”
Ooh. A name. Chanyeol vibrates happily with the new information. “What’s his last name?”
Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrow with the effort. “Lee? I think?”
Chanyeol bounces in response. Lee. Cute.
“Why does he want to know about New Guy?” Wonsik wonders out loud, realizing his mistake when Jaehwan and Baekhyun turn on him with matching grins. He rolls his eyes. “Shut up. I’m gonna go hang out with the globe. Bye, you assholes.”
At Chanyeol’s confused expression, Jaehwan explains, “We have a bet with Kyungsoo about Wonsik being a nosy Nancy. He found out and has been very adamant so far about his extremely un-inquisitive nature but he is wrong. I am going to win one hundred bucks.”
“Our deal was seventy-thirty,” Baekhyun states, eyes narrowed. “Anyway. New Guy is a tour guide, his name is Byunghun and that’s it. There is the extent of my knowledge.”
“Except the kid is kinda weird, too,” Jaehwan adds, ripping off a piece of nut bar for himself. Baekhyun smacks him but Jaehwan merely grins and whispers, “You slap like a bitch.”
“What do you mean, he’s weird?”
Jaehwan sticks his tongue out at Baekhyun before turning to Chanyeol, head perched on his fist. “Well, he’s a little odd. Which, I admit, is a lot coming from me. The guy’s got one screw loose. I was trying to talk him into maybe assisting me on my tour I was leading on his first day because maybe it would help him get used to things. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘that is not what I have been tasked with,’ and walked away. The guy is weird, there’s no way around that.”
“Huh,” Baekhyun grunts around another bite of the nut bar. “Hadn’t heard about that.”
Chanyeol whirls on him. “You only knew his name?”
“Don’t blame me, blame my informers.”
“I bought you a Gourmet Nut Bar,” Chanyeol whines, slumping forward onto the sticky break room table.
“And now it’s gone.” The shorter boy takes one look at Chanyeol’s pathetic form and rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’ll see what else I can dig up about our newest friend. I expect just compensation.” he says before standing and walking out, presumably to stand in front of the fossils and glare at small children.
“Don’t worry, buddy.” Jaehwan thumps him on the back. “He can’t be weirder than Taekwoon.”
Chanyeol frowns, but finds himself agreeing.
He doesn’t see much of Byunghun Lee. Apart from glances in the morning and sometimes catching blond hair out of the corner of his eye, they might as well not even be working in the same place. Upon further questioning, he finds out that he’s not the only one. Hakyeon doesn’t even know who he’s talking about for a good few minutes, Kyungsoo confesses they’ve never said a word to each other, and Taekwoon admits-ever so softly-that the man leaves work right when his shift ends, before anyone else.
So Chanyeol knows something’s up when he hears shouting as he jogs down the four flights of stairs a good hour after his shift has ended. He was having issues with the Build Your Own Planet game shutting down, and ended up having to unplug the thing entirely. It’s going to be a mess tomorrow, but he’ll just go ahead and ignore it for tonight.
He slows down the stairs when the raised voice initially meets his ears, then hurries the rest of the way, trying to mute his loud footsteps. He sidles up beside Hongbin and Hyuk, who are sitting on the sidelines, and quietly asks them what’s happening around the corner.
“I guess New Guy lost a foreign visitor on his last tour,” Hongbin explains with slight disinterest, he’s not a fan of confrontations, “They found the guy two hours later huddled in an elevator. Joonmyun’s chewing him out for it.”
Chanyeol nods his thanks and rounds the corner, lips pulling down as he takes in what’s happening.
The rest of the staff are grouped together in a loose huddle around the main pair, some looking like they’d rather be anywhere else and a few looking like they want to step in and say something. It’s not that Joonmyun’s a tough guy; he just takes his job very seriously and has an extreme dislike for people who do not do the same.
“Do you want to give us a bad reputation? Is that what you were thinking?” Joonmyun is saying, voice rising higher. “Because I can’t imagine what else you were thinking, if you were thinking at all.”
This is too much. The poor guy looks like he’s backed into a corner, head down and eyes trained on the ground. Chanyeol sighs and takes a step forward. “Sorry, Mr. Kim. It’s my fault.”
“Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says, stunned. He takes a moment to collect himself as the head of the space exhibit stands in between him and the tour guide. Suddenly, he remembers all the eyes on his and he clears his throat, fixing Chanyeol with an unnerving stare. “And tell me, how is it your fault?”
“I was distracting him,” Chanyeol explains casually, dopey smile on his face. “He kinda freaked out when he saw someone was missing but I told him not to worry about it. My bad.” He can see that Joonmyun’s practically fuming with anger, but he knows if he handles this brazenly, the man will direct his anger at Chanyeol, not New Guy.
“I see.” Joonmyun presses his lips into a straight line. He knows Chanyeol’s lying. The incident hadn’t happened anywhere near the fourth floor. Chanyeol knows that, too. “I suppose we shall have to have a talk in the future about the importance of treating our customers with the respect they deserve.”
“Of course, Sir.”
When Joonmyun sighs, Chanyeol knows he’s won. The man deflates like a punctured balloon and waves his hand dismissively. “You all may go home now. It’s past closing time and the show is over.” He heads back to his office as the workers disperse, heading out the large double doors.
Chanyeol grins and throws an arm around New Guy, who looks a little dumbfounded. “Lessons suck when you learn them the hard way but hey, now you’re not going to lose anyone, right? Headcounts are your friend.” He pats the guy’s head and backs away, still smiling encouragingly. “But hey, if you ever get in trouble again you can hide out in my area. I’ve got this giant model of a constellation that I could fit five people behind. So. Yeah.”
The man nods and then turns on his heel and walks out. Chanyeol smiles.
The next day, Chanyeol has a large group of people walk into his exhibit-through the star-covered streamers in the doorway-in a tight huddle. They look a little confused and he can’t blame them because he feels the same way. It’s that odd time in the middle of the day when people usually stop what they’re doing to go eat lunch in the cafeteria before continuing with their visit. If he had any tours that were supposed to pass through (he usually doesn’t) someone would have notified him. Chanyeol is trying to piece together an invisible puzzle when a familiar face steps out from the back and things fall into place.
Chanyeol smiles warmly at Byunghun and greets the tour with open arms, leading them through his second home before ending his presentation with a bow and the invitation to check out the interactive activities placed throughout the section.
When the crowd disperses, he turns to Byunghun, who had been standing behind him the whole time, and sits down on a model space shuttle chair. “So. What brings you to my humble abode?”
The man frowns. “You live here?”
“No, I don’t I was just-um, what I meant to say was: Hi! How are you doing? What brings you to the fourth floor?”
Byunghun frowns slightly, pushing his bangs from in front of his eyes before he speaks. “You aided me yesterday. For what reason?”
Chanyeol blinks. Jaehwan wasn’t kidding. “Um. Yeah. Wait. Reason?” Chanyeol scoffs. “I don’t need a reason to help somebody. I’m like the big momma bear of this place. I make sure everyone in trouble doesn’t get found out. It’s like my job.” He puffs out his chest proudly.
“You are no bear.”
“Uh. You’re right. I was just being-never mind. And, uh, don’t worry about it. I’m here if you ever need me,” Chanyeol tries to regain his footing, flashing a grin.
The odd tour guide frowns. “How am I to repay you, then?”
Chanyeol shrugs. “I like to help out where I can. I ask only that you hail me as a god.” He catches the look on the man’s face and quickly plasters a smile on his face. “Kidding.”
“Oh,” Byunghun says. “Ha?”
“Right,” Chanyeol agrees, looking around. They’ve been talking for too long, the tour group is starting to get bored. “Actually, there’s this diner around the corner,” Chanyeol doesn’t know what he’s doing, “I haven’t gone there in a while. Maybe, if you really want to thank me, we could go there tonight and you could buy me dinner?” What is he doing?.
Byunghun’s eyes flash with the offer and he nods. “I accept.”
Chanyeol finds himself grinning without even thinking about it. “Great! Then, I’ll meet you at the bottom of the staircase after work. For now, though, you should probably round up your charges before they desert you.” Chanyeol chuckles as Byunghun nods seriously and marches off in the direction of his group. “Remember, headcounts are your friend!”
Chanyeol’s day passes slowly. Incredibly slowly. It’s actually unbelievable how slow time goes when one is waiting for something. And it really doesn’t help that the excitement mounts each time the clock ticks closer to closing time. As the crowds shuffle out, Chanyeol shuts down his area and almost kicks a planetary map when the switch sticks. He practically runs downstairs and even though he’d been in a rush, the floor is clear by the time he reaches the lobby.
Clear as in deserted. No one is waiting for him. No bleach blond with a funny way with words standing around, waiting for a space nerd. Chanyeol sighs. Maybe he’d been reading the situation wrong. Maybe Byunghun had no interest in him, and Chanyeol was just internalizing everything. As he mopes, he paces. He comes to a stop in front of the staircase, where he sees a pair of red sneakers on the bottom step.
“We have met at the bottom of the staircase,” the man notes, pointing to the both of them, “what next?”
“I’ll lead the way,” Chanyeol offers, and he can’t help grinning when Byunghun nods and follows behind him as they leave the building and head down the street. The diner is only a few blocks away, and is brimming with people when they enter. Luckily, there is an empty table for two and they are seated almost immediately.
Chanyeol taps his knees together beneath the table as he looks at his menu, though he already knows what he’s going to get. He peeks over the top and sees Byunghun, eyes narrowed, flipping through his menu.
“You okay, there?”
“No,” Byunghun almost snaps, sounding frustrated, “I’ve never heard of any of these things before.”
Chanyeol’s eyebrows rise in surprise. The place has the usual offering of food, from burgers to soups, personalized by their eager chefs who add ‘a little bit of love’ to each meal-or so the menu claims. “They have really good chicken tenders,” Chanyeol says when Byunghun looks like he’s about to rip his menu in half. “Best in town.”
“Then I’ll have that.”
They order and food comes in no time, Chanyeol supplying most of the idle chat while they eat, but he’s used to that. Byunghun doesn’t seem annoyed by it, in any case, and that cheers Chanyeol up a bit. It looks as though he’s made a new friend.
Byunghun places his crumpled napkin onto his plate and sighs contentedly. “You were correct. The chicken was quite good. Thank you.”
Chanyeol waves him off without looking up. “No problem, Byunghun.”
“My name,” The man starts, voice no longer light but low and heavy with trepidation, “how do you know it?”
“I, uh…” Chanyeol takes a big gulp of his drink because suddenly his throat is dry. “I’m sorry. I asked around about you.” When he looks up, Byunghun is looking guiltily onto his plate.
“I must confess, I asked about you, too,” he admits.
Chanyeol laughs. “Great! Now we’re even.”
Even though Chanyeol offers to split it, Byunghun pays the entire bill when they leave. They bid goodbye in the street before they head in different directions and Chanyeol hopes that this isn’t the last time they’ll be out together like this.
“A little bird told me that you and New Guy are getting along pretty well,” Baekhyun says, elbowing Kyungsoo away so that he can get closer to Chanyeol. Kyungsoo narrows his eyes and kicks the man under the table, frowning when Baekhyun doesn’t even flinch.
Chanyeol nods. “Yeah, we’re friends now.”
“Friends,” Baekhyun repeats dubiously, rolling his eyes, “Yes. Of course. Now, when do you think you guys are gonna do the do because I have a bet with Jaehwan and I really don’t want to lose.”
Kyungsoo mutters something about insufferable jerks and elbows Baekhyun out of his way, going back to picking at his salad and looking forlornly at the back of the break room, where Hongbin is still having issues with the vending machines.
Chanyeol’s jaw is dropped, brain still trying to form an answer. He and Byunghun are just friends, why would they ever-
“Hey, whatcha guys talking about?”
Baekhyun starts at Wonsik’s sudden intrusion, but quickly rearranges his face into a smirk. “Wonsik, you are nosy and I need to go get fifty bucks bye.” On his way out, he shouts over his shoulder, “You are all my witnesses!”
Kyungsoo stands to pat Wonsik on the shoulder. “You’re not nosy,” he whispers to reassure the man, who nods in response. Then, he turns to Chanyeol. “You and Byunghun are a little close, so it’s understandable that Baekhyun would think something like that but he’s an asshole and you don’t have to be anything more if you don’t want to be.”
Chanyeol grins. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem,” Kyungsoo salutes, heading away to help Hongbin with the machines. Wonsik nods to Chanyeol and follows the smaller man, throwing an arm around him as they near Hongbin.
Chanyeol smiles and makes sure that Hongbin’s issues are resolved before he heads back to his post.
It’s Thursday, an awkward time for all and not a big museum day so Chanyeol resumes his task of trying to build the ultimate planet-complete with an infinite amount of invulnerable vegetation, the most important part-and is halfway through its life cycle when a flood of people appear in his gateway.
Confused, he greets his new space travellers and remains nonplussed until he sees a shock of red hair remain after they all disperse.
“You changed your hair.”
Byunghun clucks his tongue in dismay. “You noticed.” When Chanyeol makes no sign of speaking, he continues on with, “I enjoyed eating with you. I request we do it again. But maybe with a different cuisine.”
Chanyeol laughs. “The way you talk is no joke,” he laughs, “but sure. Sounds great. I’ll meet you in the same place, at the bottom of the stairs?”
Byunghun nods. “Affirmative.”
They go on several more dinner outings until finally, after another unneeded intervention from Baekhyun, Chanyeol reaches out and grabs Byunghun’s hand. The man looks at him, surprised, before staring back at the sidewalk, idly swinging their joined hands.
Several more dinner dates later, and Chanyeol breaches the subject of their relationship. With a few vague questions, he tries to figure out whether or not Byunghun is even interested but unfortunately, he is met with simple answers that give him no hints. When they get their check, he comes right out and asks if they’re dating.
Byunghun seemed surprised, but quickly schooled his expression and smiled warmly, something Chanyeol doesn’t see much despite their almost daily meetings. “It would make me endlessly happy if you agreed to a partnership with me.”
Chanyeol took that as a yes and leaned across the table to kiss the man, knocking over a glass of water on the way.
So, now Chanyeol has a boyfriend. He’s quirky and still the New Guy, but Chanyeol really likes him. He tells Kyungsoo as much when they run into each other in the offices.
“That’s great to hear, Chanyeol,” he responds with a sincere smile, handing the taller a single m&m from his bag as a congratulatory gift.
Almost everyone at work finds out by the end of the week and Byunghun comes up to Chanyeol, looking a little out of it. He falls into Chanyeol’s chest and mumbles something about too many people. Chanyeol laughs and squeezes the life out of him before leading him out the door and to a quaint little cafe he’d found just a few days ago.
Now, it is a new week and Chanyeol is ready to bring his relationship to the next level.
He says as much at lunch and Hakyeon spits out his water. “Dude. What. I’m trying to eat.”
“I think now is a perfect time to announce the fact that our dear little rocket scientist is going to get some,” Baekhyun sing-songs, breaking off a piece of his nut bar and offering it to Chanyeol. “Pre-game?”
Chanyeol scoffs. “First of all how dare you.”
Kyungsoo nods.
“Second, I will not be getting some. Our love transcends your crude physical bonds,” he almost shouts. “And also I want to wait until we have a king-size bed and rose petals. That’s important.”
“So wait,” Hongbin speaks up, sandwich held in mid-air from where he was just about to bite into it, “what are you doing, then?”
“Secret.”
Baekhyun screams. “You are killing me, Park!”
Shrugging, Chanyeol takes another bite out of his snack bar and smiles. He’s excited.
They meet at the bottom of the stairs, as usual, but instead of leaving out the front door, Chanyeol grabs Byunghun’s hand and leads him back up the staircase, towards the space exhibit.
“Where are we going?”
Chanyeol shushes him, stopping to check for janitors. They’re not supposed to be here. “You’ll see,” he whispers, pulling the man along. He stops in front of the exhibit, opening a door on their left that has been painted the same color as the wall, making it almost invisible save for the black handle. Once inside, they are faced with a spiral staircase that Chanyeol mounts quickly, looking over his shoulder to make sure Byunghun isn’t far behind. “You’re so slow,” he complains.
“My legs are not freakishly long,” the man shouts back, “mine are average and normal, as is my height.”
Chanyeol rolls his eyes and whispers something about a Napoleon Complex, to which Byunghun grumbles in response.
They reach the top and Byunghun immediately collapses on the ground. Grinning, Chanyeol lies down next to him and stares at the sky above them, large hole in the ceiling leaving nothing hidden.
“Where are we?”
“They were going to add an observatory to the museum, but they ran out of money,” Chanyeol explains, “It was stopped during construction and never resumed. I accidentally found the stairs when I thought the door led to a supply closet. I’m sure that Joonmyun knows about this place, but I’d like to think that it’s my own little hideaway.” Byunghun chuckles at the statement and Chanyeol turns his head to stare at the man, noting the way the blue streaks in his blonde hair stick out in the dim light-it’s new, and Byunghun had seemed down when Chanyeol made a comment about the new do. Chanyeol had quickly assured him that it was a great dye job but only after a bear hug did the shorter man seem mollified.
They lay in silence as the sky darkens, until all the stars illuminate the sky. Although they live in a city, they get a fair showing of tiny dots that light up the sky and it makes Chanyeol happy to no end.
“I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid,” Chanyeol murmurs, fighting the sleep that threatens to drag him down. He hadn’t slept very well last night, anxious just thinking about bringing Byunghun up here. “But then I got in a plane and couldn’t stop throwing up. Motion sickness. My dreams were dashed. But-” he pauses, lifting a hand as if he can reach up and grab a handful of stars if his arm is high enough, “I’d still love to go up there. If I ever find a way to completely get rid of motion sickness.” He laughs. “That would be neat.”
“Chanyeol.”
When Chanyeol nods and turns to face Byunghun, he finds that the man is staring right at him. He’s surprised for a moment, but inches closer, until he’s breathing right into blue-streaked hair. The unique aroma of Byunghun fills him and he smiles. “Hm?”
“I have something I wish to tell you.”
Chanyeol closes his eyes. “I just told you my embarrassing childhood dream. Whatever you have to say can’t be nearly as bad,” he mutters, thinking he might fall asleep soon like this, arm thrown over Byunghun and the smaller man playing with his hoodie sleeve.
“I am… not from around here.”
Chanyeol snorts. No kidding.
“The truth is that I…” Byunghun pauses, as if he’s thinking about going on or not, but then he takes a deep breath and proceeds, “I am from a planet far, far from here and I was sent to acquire a carrier. You see, my people are dying. We have lost most all of our population with reproductive capabilities. Now, all we have left is a barren race that cannot carry progeny. I had hoped to acquire one of your females but this place has only males and females who have already been claimed-an awful ratio, in my opinion-and instead I found you. I am sure you will be much more unwilling but, my offer stands true.” He holds Chanyeol’s hand in his own. “Should you accept, I am able to take you to the stars.”
Chanyeol barely holds back a gasp. Damn. That was the most out of this world poetry he has ever heard. He knew this one guy who compared roses to gears and hearts to stone but this leaves that guy in the dust. He almost feels compelled to clap, but doesn’t want to stop Byunghun from whatever he’s doing with his hands.
He realizes that an answer is expected from his only when the short man looks up and stares at Chanyeol with wide eyes.
Chanyeol clears his throat. Smooth. He has to be smooth. “I would love to see the stars, but only at your side.”
Nailed it.
Byunghun seems very excited after that, hastily detangling himself from Chanyeol, who groans at being left, and fires off a bunch of words that Chanyeol doesn’t catch before dashing down the stairs. After a minute, Chanyeol gets up to follow but can’t find the man anywhere. He gives up after a fair amount of time wasted whisper-shouting and heads home, crawling into bed and thinking about how he’s going to face Byunghun tomorrow. He’ll have to start with an apology. Definitely.
“Chanyeol.”
He opens his eyes. It’s still dark, so he closes them and rolls over.
“Chanyeol.”
He blinks. It’s Byunghun. He sits up and rubs at his eyes, blinking when he catches the man standing at the bottom of their bed.
“Do you remember what I was saying earlier?” The man asks, hands holding something but it’s out of sight; Chanyeol can’t see it. “Do you agree?”
Chanyeol frowns, rolling his shoulders. This is some kind of guilt-dream but he will not be deterred. He nods. “I remember. And yes, I agree.”
Dream-Byunghun seems surprised. “Really? You do not wish to think about it? As I have understood, this will be very strange to you. I do not wish to involve you unless you are completely sure.”
He barely resists cooing. Even the dream version of his boyfriend is unbearably cute. “Yes, I know what issues may arise and I accept.” Honestly, he’s just so honored that dream-Byunghun is even being this sure with him. Of course he wants their relationship to progress. He’s confused as to why Byunghun would even need to ask.
Smiling sweetly, Byunghun climbs onto the bed and pads forward, until his forehead is against Chanyeol’s.
For a second, Chanyeol blanches. He hasn’t had any sex dreams yet. But hey, maybe this is a good thing. Byunghun leans down to press their lips together and Chanyeol smiles into the kiss, throwing his arms around Byunghun’s neck and leaning back into his pillow. As Byunghun angles his face to make the kiss deeper, Chanyeol is struck by how real this all feels. Dreamworld rocks.
Abruptly, Byunghun pulls away and Chanyeol suppresses a whine, arms still thrown over the smaller’s shoulders.
Byunghun brings both hands forward and reveals what he has in his hands-a small, glowing sphere that gradually increases the intervals of glowing and dimming the longer Chanyeol stares at it.
“Hold on to me tight,” Byunghun advises and suddenly this doesn’t seem like a dream. “This only works one way and I would hate to lose you after all this time.”
Chanyeol opens his mouth to ask what on earth Byunghun is talking about, but his breath is stolen from his lungs as the sphere glows blindingly bright and Chanyeol’s breath is stolen from his lungs.
When he blinks, his arms are still around Byunghun’s neck, but they’re standing and the walls surrounding them are all white and glossy.
Chanyeol pukes.
“I apologize,” Byunghun says again, “I was sure that the force and speedy nature of the trip would prevent you from having any adverse reaction.”
Chanyeol says nothing. He’s exhausted. Byunghun had pulled him down white hallway after identical hallway, and then had him sit in some sort of pod that had dropped them off in front of a large igloo-like structure. Byunghun had led him inside and then pushes him down onto a plush chair and that was about an hour ago.
“Here, drink this. It should help.”
Chanyeol eyes the clear, winding glass. It has a deep blue liquid inside that looks lumpy. Nope. “I’m fine,” he assures weakly, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes. He realizes he’s only in his pajamas, a ripped old tee and basketball shorts, and groans.
Byunghun hovers awkwardly by his side. “Oh, hey. The suns are rising.”
Frowning, Chanyeol looks up with a correction on the tip of his tongue, but then he looks out what appears to be a window and sees two bright balls of light on the horizon. “Take me home,” he begs, grabbing Byunghun’s arm with both his hands, “I don’t where we are or why you’ve taken me, but please just bring me home.”
The sympathetic look that Byunghun gives him almost makes him want to cry. “I cannot,” he says, squatting down to Chanyeol’s level. “And you should know why you’re here. I explained it to you. I wanted to make absolutely sure that you wanted this.”
Chanyeol moans, head falling into his hands. “I didn’t know,” he murmurs, sighing and slumping forward when a hand pets his back.
Byunghun sighs, “It is okay, maybe this will just take time,” he reasons. “Oh! I have a bed in another room. Would you like to see it?”
He sounds excited. It kind of scares Chanyeol. “Um. Sure?” He gasps in surprise when the smaller man hauls him off the couch and through a small opening in the wall, into a large room with a giant circular bed in the center that is, of course, white.
“I had it made as soon as I heard I would be sent to Earth,” he explains, still bouncing in place, “it was hard to find someone willing to make it but the job was completed. Do you like it?”
Chanyeol nods because a bed is a bed and crawls onto it, closing his eyes and welcoming the soft, spongy mattress. He falls asleep almost immediately, thinking he hears Byunghun say something, but it’s only an unintelligible murmur.
When he wakes up, the room is bright. He sits up slowly, takes one look at the bed, and remembers where he is. He sighs and stands, stepping through the opening that was made for someone much shorter than him. He doesn’t see Byunghun anywhere. He supposes that means the man left him here, all alone.
Chanyeol sighs and sits back down in the plush seat he had been led to when they first walked in. At least he knows that this one is safe. He groans and tries to figure out what is going on when he leans back and hears an ominous click. That can’t be good.
The wall in front of him flickers to life and worried shouting in a language Chanyeol doesn’t understand fills the room. Images flash across the large screen, none staying longer than a few seconds until the voices trail off as red flashes across the screen accompanied by the far-off sound of a child crying. Byunghun had said something about no reproduction, Chanyeol remembers. Maybe that is what they’re talking about.
He finds the device he disturbed, a clear oval object with a single, large button in the center. When he presses it, the screen flickers off. Chanyeol amuses himself with the substitute TV, curling up in his chair and listening to the odd sounds that must be a language all day, accompanied with pictures or color. It certainly is different.
When his stomach begins to rumble, he stands. He needs food. But, where is he going to find it? He wanders around the surprisingly large building, finding nothing that even looks remotely familiar, and idles by the window where Byunghun had pointed out the rising suns.
Both are out of sight, presumably setting though Chanyeol doesn’t think it has been that long. He touches the glass and the image magnifies. Chanyeol jumps back and blinks. The window now shows stars and the hint of a meteor belt. He steps forward and tries to magnify the screen like he would with his phone, but nothing happens. Frowning, he pokes the window again and the image surges forward. Chanyeol sits on what appears to be a counter and happily taps at the screen, a smile donning his face despite his surroundings as galaxies and gaseous planets whiz past. He's tapped the screen quite a few times, enough to garner smudge marks on the surface though there doesn't appear to be any, when he spots something familiar. It's a dying star, and he's seen the same image from a different angle in the released pictures from the Hubble telescope. Slowly, he taps the screen and there, there's Pluto, the lone little dwarf planet-still qualifies as a planet, in Chanyeol's book-and he taps just a bit further. The screen blows up the image of a small planet, mostly blue with patches of green, and a thin veil of white surrounding it. Chanyeol's hand falls.
At that same moment, the front door opens. It moves to the side, disappearing into the wall, and a creature slithers inside.
It's a light shade of pink, which is off-setting enough, but then Chanyeol notices the several long, rounded limbs that are splayed out in the ground and his fingers curl over the bottom of the counter as his fight or flight response slowly kicks in.
The creature seems to notice him, paling to a light gray before scuttling into the opening and disappearing. Chanyeol holds his breath until a white-gray head pokes out of the opening, eyeing Chanyeol warily.
"Did I startle you?"
Right. Byunghun is an alien and Chanyeol is far, far from home. "No, I just... forgot," he settles, deciding not to tell the man that he was scared. That wouldn't help at all.
Byunghun nods, stepping out and standing beside the plush chair. "I've just had a meeting with the officials and it was rather draining. I completely forgot about switching forms. I apologize."
Switching forms. "Is that what you usually look like, then?" Chanyeol asks, unabashed.
"That is my true form, yes."
"You look kind of like an octopus," Chanyeol muses aloud, then gapes at his own callousness and makes to apologize, but Byunghun laughs.
"Yes," he agrees after he calms, "I had been made aware that a creature sharing our characteristics resided on your planet. Though, as I understand, it is being used as a food source. So a camouflage was clearly needed," he gestures to his figure with a half-smile.
Despite himself, Chanyeol steps forward and lightly touches the man's hair, clearing his throat when he sees that Byunghun is looking up at him in question. "Sorry. Your hair..." He struggles to explain.
"Oh, yes." Byunghun takes a step back and smiles as the strands change color. First the roots turn a violent red, and then the color spreads down the length of the short hair, stopping only when all of his hair is the same color. "Survival instinct. Because my skin can no longer change, my hair will. I was quite upset when you noticed. It was meant to be subtle." He pouts. His face takes on a more serious expression when he looks past Chanyeol. "What is that?" He steps past Chanyeol and stares at the screen. Raising a hand slowly, as if to gently touch the image, but then he stops halfway and harshly taps the screen so that the planet is replaced with a darkening horizon. "You want to go back."
It isn't a question, Chanyeol realizes. "Yes. I want to go home." He sighs. "I can't give you what you want."
When Byunghun turns, he's biting his lip and he doesn't look up to meet Chanyeol's eyes. "I'll... talk to the officials. I will convince them that you are ill. But, Chanyeol, it may take a while."
Chanyeol nods and retreats back through the opening, burrowing into the circular bed and trying not to think the worst.
►
Title: Zoom Zoom My Heart Like A Rocket
Pairing(s): Chanyeol/L.Joe
Rating: NC-17
Warning(s): Tentacle porn, crossovers, VIXX is in here for no reason but go figure
Length: 11511w
Summary: Chanyeol thinks the new guy is a little weird. He has no idea.
Author's note: dear recipient, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity but I’m pretty sure you wanted hardcore smut but I CAN’T DO THAT so this is more fluff with like 1/10 smut. I am sorry. I hope you like it anyway. Mod, thank you so much for everything. Celia and Tayler, you guys rock thanks for putting up with me.
"Hey," Chanyeol whispers, elbowing the man beside him, "is that a new guy?"
Hakyeon huffs, not happy about being disturbed, and reluctantly diverts his attention from Taekwoon, who works the information desk and is busy sorting pamphlets. "Yeah, Joonmyun mentioned something about hiring a new guy. Or maybe it was an intern." He looks at the clock on the wall and sighs. "We start in ten minutes. I'm going to go find which closet Hongbin and Wonsik are hiding in. If Kyungsoo or Jaehwan comes looking for me, I'll be by the dinosaurs."
"I'll tell them," Chanyeol promises as Hakyeon marches away, a man on a mission. Now alone save for Taekwoon, he cranes his head to stare as Joonmyun leads a bleached blond down the hall and into the staff room. He's curious, but he's sure that everyone will be talking about the new worker by the end of the day, so he'll just have to wait until then.
As he passes the information desk, he crows a greeting and beams as Taekwoon nods in acknowledgement. Chanyeol skips up the stairs just as the front doors open and the first visitors of the day walk in.
With his bachelor's in astronomy, three years of summer internships spent among astrophysicists and rocket scientists, and his-perhaps most impressive-five years spent as a summer camp counselor, Chanyeol has landed himself a job at a museum.
The Modern Museum of History and Natural Science is horribly named because the structure it calls home was built in the seventeenth century (it has been remodeled since) and its most recent exhibit is a few decades old. Despite that, it attracts a decent amount of visitors, and season pass sales skyrocket during the summer. Kids like them because they have a giant foam model of the human body to scale and a room dedicated to pirates, complete with a giant wooden ship whose mast reaches from the ground floor to the roof of the fifth floor. Parents like them because they offer interactive activities and carefully researched information on just about every subject matter out there, and they have day camps during the summer that serve as a great substitution for day care. Critics give them four out of five stars and tourists make sure to visit when in town.
Chanyeol resides on the fourth floor, where all the outer space exhibits are. He pulls on a white lab coat that he bought at a party store a couple years back and spends his day teaching young'ins the ways of the universe.
During the summer, he had been able to get his own camp idea passed, so Park Chanyeol had headed the Space Cadets. They laughed, they cried, they science'd, and Chanyeol had given each of the chosen ten a model of a personalized space shuttle (he had given the youngest a smile and offered his shuttle with a, "You get Soyuz because I'm always scared you're going to break something.") and then he had gone home and cried because his little Space Cadets had graduated Pre-Astronaut school.
Now it was fall and Chanyeol was Space Cadet-less, but he still had his floor.
"Let us embark on our quest to discover the mysteries of the universe!" Chanyeol crows because he is nothing if not enthusiastic. His meager gathering of tourists and adults trying to kill time look everywhere but directly at him and Chanyeol’s raised arms drop. “Go dance among the stars, my fellow homo sapiens,” he dismisses, allowing the small crowd to pass. Eventually, he wanders over to the launching simulator to help a toddler work the controls while the kid’s parents watch a virtual explanation on supernovas.
He ends up working late because some kid threw up on the solar system. He has to make multiple trips to the bathroom in order to get it all off the metal wiring that connects each planet to the sun. By the time he leaves, there are only the night guards and janitors-who thank him for cleaning up the mess-left in the building, and Chanyeol guesses he’ll have to wait to find out more information about the new addition to the team.
For many reasons- One of which being the day Jupiter was discovered and Chanyeol had to pay homage and dress up like the gas giant, effectively earning the position of outcast for the entire day. Kyungsoo had only talked to him because he hadn’t known if Chanyeol was Saturn or Jupiter. The astronomy buff was appalled. -Chanyeol doesn’t find out anything about the new worker until a week after his first sighting.
He sidles up next to Baekhyun during his break, offering a nut bar in return for juicy gossip. Baekhyun nods slowly, unwrapping the bar and taking a big bite before he decides that the offer is genuine. “What do you want to know?”
“New guy. Tell me everything,” Chanyeol demands, wiggling excitedly in his seat. Two more people join him before Baekhyun has the chance to deliver, though, and Chanyeol sags in disappointment.
“What’s up with Super Star over here?” Jaehwan asks, poking Chanyeol in the side with his spoon. When he tries to poke him again, Chanyeol bites onto the spoon and Jaehwan wails in distress, gesturing to his vending machine pudding as Chanyeol spits out the plastic spoon with a frown. It lands right in front of Wonsik, who flinches and moves down a seat.
Baekhyun sighs, waiting for all eyes to fall back on him. “He wanted to know about Byunghun.”
Ooh. A name. Chanyeol vibrates happily with the new information. “What’s his last name?”
Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrow with the effort. “Lee? I think?”
Chanyeol bounces in response. Lee. Cute.
“Why does he want to know about New Guy?” Wonsik wonders out loud, realizing his mistake when Jaehwan and Baekhyun turn on him with matching grins. He rolls his eyes. “Shut up. I’m gonna go hang out with the globe. Bye, you assholes.”
At Chanyeol’s confused expression, Jaehwan explains, “We have a bet with Kyungsoo about Wonsik being a nosy Nancy. He found out and has been very adamant so far about his extremely un-inquisitive nature but he is wrong. I am going to win one hundred bucks.”
“Our deal was seventy-thirty,” Baekhyun states, eyes narrowed. “Anyway. New Guy is a tour guide, his name is Byunghun and that’s it. There is the extent of my knowledge.”
“Except the kid is kinda weird, too,” Jaehwan adds, ripping off a piece of nut bar for himself. Baekhyun smacks him but Jaehwan merely grins and whispers, “You slap like a bitch.”
“What do you mean, he’s weird?”
Jaehwan sticks his tongue out at Baekhyun before turning to Chanyeol, head perched on his fist. “Well, he’s a little odd. Which, I admit, is a lot coming from me. The guy’s got one screw loose. I was trying to talk him into maybe assisting me on my tour I was leading on his first day because maybe it would help him get used to things. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘that is not what I have been tasked with,’ and walked away. The guy is weird, there’s no way around that.”
“Huh,” Baekhyun grunts around another bite of the nut bar. “Hadn’t heard about that.”
Chanyeol whirls on him. “You only knew his name?”
“Don’t blame me, blame my informers.”
“I bought you a Gourmet Nut Bar,” Chanyeol whines, slumping forward onto the sticky break room table.
“And now it’s gone.” The shorter boy takes one look at Chanyeol’s pathetic form and rolls his eyes. “Fine. I’ll see what else I can dig up about our newest friend. I expect just compensation.” he says before standing and walking out, presumably to stand in front of the fossils and glare at small children.
“Don’t worry, buddy.” Jaehwan thumps him on the back. “He can’t be weirder than Taekwoon.”
Chanyeol frowns, but finds himself agreeing.
He doesn’t see much of Byunghun Lee. Apart from glances in the morning and sometimes catching blond hair out of the corner of his eye, they might as well not even be working in the same place. Upon further questioning, he finds out that he’s not the only one. Hakyeon doesn’t even know who he’s talking about for a good few minutes, Kyungsoo confesses they’ve never said a word to each other, and Taekwoon admits-ever so softly-that the man leaves work right when his shift ends, before anyone else.
So Chanyeol knows something’s up when he hears shouting as he jogs down the four flights of stairs a good hour after his shift has ended. He was having issues with the Build Your Own Planet game shutting down, and ended up having to unplug the thing entirely. It’s going to be a mess tomorrow, but he’ll just go ahead and ignore it for tonight.
He slows down the stairs when the raised voice initially meets his ears, then hurries the rest of the way, trying to mute his loud footsteps. He sidles up beside Hongbin and Hyuk, who are sitting on the sidelines, and quietly asks them what’s happening around the corner.
“I guess New Guy lost a foreign visitor on his last tour,” Hongbin explains with slight disinterest, he’s not a fan of confrontations, “They found the guy two hours later huddled in an elevator. Joonmyun’s chewing him out for it.”
Chanyeol nods his thanks and rounds the corner, lips pulling down as he takes in what’s happening.
The rest of the staff are grouped together in a loose huddle around the main pair, some looking like they’d rather be anywhere else and a few looking like they want to step in and say something. It’s not that Joonmyun’s a tough guy; he just takes his job very seriously and has an extreme dislike for people who do not do the same.
“Do you want to give us a bad reputation? Is that what you were thinking?” Joonmyun is saying, voice rising higher. “Because I can’t imagine what else you were thinking, if you were thinking at all.”
This is too much. The poor guy looks like he’s backed into a corner, head down and eyes trained on the ground. Chanyeol sighs and takes a step forward. “Sorry, Mr. Kim. It’s my fault.”
“Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says, stunned. He takes a moment to collect himself as the head of the space exhibit stands in between him and the tour guide. Suddenly, he remembers all the eyes on his and he clears his throat, fixing Chanyeol with an unnerving stare. “And tell me, how is it your fault?”
“I was distracting him,” Chanyeol explains casually, dopey smile on his face. “He kinda freaked out when he saw someone was missing but I told him not to worry about it. My bad.” He can see that Joonmyun’s practically fuming with anger, but he knows if he handles this brazenly, the man will direct his anger at Chanyeol, not New Guy.
“I see.” Joonmyun presses his lips into a straight line. He knows Chanyeol’s lying. The incident hadn’t happened anywhere near the fourth floor. Chanyeol knows that, too. “I suppose we shall have to have a talk in the future about the importance of treating our customers with the respect they deserve.”
“Of course, Sir.”
When Joonmyun sighs, Chanyeol knows he’s won. The man deflates like a punctured balloon and waves his hand dismissively. “You all may go home now. It’s past closing time and the show is over.” He heads back to his office as the workers disperse, heading out the large double doors.
Chanyeol grins and throws an arm around New Guy, who looks a little dumbfounded. “Lessons suck when you learn them the hard way but hey, now you’re not going to lose anyone, right? Headcounts are your friend.” He pats the guy’s head and backs away, still smiling encouragingly. “But hey, if you ever get in trouble again you can hide out in my area. I’ve got this giant model of a constellation that I could fit five people behind. So. Yeah.”
The man nods and then turns on his heel and walks out. Chanyeol smiles.
The next day, Chanyeol has a large group of people walk into his exhibit-through the star-covered streamers in the doorway-in a tight huddle. They look a little confused and he can’t blame them because he feels the same way. It’s that odd time in the middle of the day when people usually stop what they’re doing to go eat lunch in the cafeteria before continuing with their visit. If he had any tours that were supposed to pass through (he usually doesn’t) someone would have notified him. Chanyeol is trying to piece together an invisible puzzle when a familiar face steps out from the back and things fall into place.
Chanyeol smiles warmly at Byunghun and greets the tour with open arms, leading them through his second home before ending his presentation with a bow and the invitation to check out the interactive activities placed throughout the section.
When the crowd disperses, he turns to Byunghun, who had been standing behind him the whole time, and sits down on a model space shuttle chair. “So. What brings you to my humble abode?”
The man frowns. “You live here?”
“No, I don’t I was just-um, what I meant to say was: Hi! How are you doing? What brings you to the fourth floor?”
Byunghun frowns slightly, pushing his bangs from in front of his eyes before he speaks. “You aided me yesterday. For what reason?”
Chanyeol blinks. Jaehwan wasn’t kidding. “Um. Yeah. Wait. Reason?” Chanyeol scoffs. “I don’t need a reason to help somebody. I’m like the big momma bear of this place. I make sure everyone in trouble doesn’t get found out. It’s like my job.” He puffs out his chest proudly.
“You are no bear.”
“Uh. You’re right. I was just being-never mind. And, uh, don’t worry about it. I’m here if you ever need me,” Chanyeol tries to regain his footing, flashing a grin.
The odd tour guide frowns. “How am I to repay you, then?”
Chanyeol shrugs. “I like to help out where I can. I ask only that you hail me as a god.” He catches the look on the man’s face and quickly plasters a smile on his face. “Kidding.”
“Oh,” Byunghun says. “Ha?”
“Right,” Chanyeol agrees, looking around. They’ve been talking for too long, the tour group is starting to get bored. “Actually, there’s this diner around the corner,” Chanyeol doesn’t know what he’s doing, “I haven’t gone there in a while. Maybe, if you really want to thank me, we could go there tonight and you could buy me dinner?” What is he doing?.
Byunghun’s eyes flash with the offer and he nods. “I accept.”
Chanyeol finds himself grinning without even thinking about it. “Great! Then, I’ll meet you at the bottom of the staircase after work. For now, though, you should probably round up your charges before they desert you.” Chanyeol chuckles as Byunghun nods seriously and marches off in the direction of his group. “Remember, headcounts are your friend!”
Chanyeol’s day passes slowly. Incredibly slowly. It’s actually unbelievable how slow time goes when one is waiting for something. And it really doesn’t help that the excitement mounts each time the clock ticks closer to closing time. As the crowds shuffle out, Chanyeol shuts down his area and almost kicks a planetary map when the switch sticks. He practically runs downstairs and even though he’d been in a rush, the floor is clear by the time he reaches the lobby.
Clear as in deserted. No one is waiting for him. No bleach blond with a funny way with words standing around, waiting for a space nerd. Chanyeol sighs. Maybe he’d been reading the situation wrong. Maybe Byunghun had no interest in him, and Chanyeol was just internalizing everything. As he mopes, he paces. He comes to a stop in front of the staircase, where he sees a pair of red sneakers on the bottom step.
“We have met at the bottom of the staircase,” the man notes, pointing to the both of them, “what next?”
“I’ll lead the way,” Chanyeol offers, and he can’t help grinning when Byunghun nods and follows behind him as they leave the building and head down the street. The diner is only a few blocks away, and is brimming with people when they enter. Luckily, there is an empty table for two and they are seated almost immediately.
Chanyeol taps his knees together beneath the table as he looks at his menu, though he already knows what he’s going to get. He peeks over the top and sees Byunghun, eyes narrowed, flipping through his menu.
“You okay, there?”
“No,” Byunghun almost snaps, sounding frustrated, “I’ve never heard of any of these things before.”
Chanyeol’s eyebrows rise in surprise. The place has the usual offering of food, from burgers to soups, personalized by their eager chefs who add ‘a little bit of love’ to each meal-or so the menu claims. “They have really good chicken tenders,” Chanyeol says when Byunghun looks like he’s about to rip his menu in half. “Best in town.”
“Then I’ll have that.”
They order and food comes in no time, Chanyeol supplying most of the idle chat while they eat, but he’s used to that. Byunghun doesn’t seem annoyed by it, in any case, and that cheers Chanyeol up a bit. It looks as though he’s made a new friend.
Byunghun places his crumpled napkin onto his plate and sighs contentedly. “You were correct. The chicken was quite good. Thank you.”
Chanyeol waves him off without looking up. “No problem, Byunghun.”
“My name,” The man starts, voice no longer light but low and heavy with trepidation, “how do you know it?”
“I, uh…” Chanyeol takes a big gulp of his drink because suddenly his throat is dry. “I’m sorry. I asked around about you.” When he looks up, Byunghun is looking guiltily onto his plate.
“I must confess, I asked about you, too,” he admits.
Chanyeol laughs. “Great! Now we’re even.”
Even though Chanyeol offers to split it, Byunghun pays the entire bill when they leave. They bid goodbye in the street before they head in different directions and Chanyeol hopes that this isn’t the last time they’ll be out together like this.
“A little bird told me that you and New Guy are getting along pretty well,” Baekhyun says, elbowing Kyungsoo away so that he can get closer to Chanyeol. Kyungsoo narrows his eyes and kicks the man under the table, frowning when Baekhyun doesn’t even flinch.
Chanyeol nods. “Yeah, we’re friends now.”
“Friends,” Baekhyun repeats dubiously, rolling his eyes, “Yes. Of course. Now, when do you think you guys are gonna do the do because I have a bet with Jaehwan and I really don’t want to lose.”
Kyungsoo mutters something about insufferable jerks and elbows Baekhyun out of his way, going back to picking at his salad and looking forlornly at the back of the break room, where Hongbin is still having issues with the vending machines.
Chanyeol’s jaw is dropped, brain still trying to form an answer. He and Byunghun are just friends, why would they ever-
“Hey, whatcha guys talking about?”
Baekhyun starts at Wonsik’s sudden intrusion, but quickly rearranges his face into a smirk. “Wonsik, you are nosy and I need to go get fifty bucks bye.” On his way out, he shouts over his shoulder, “You are all my witnesses!”
Kyungsoo stands to pat Wonsik on the shoulder. “You’re not nosy,” he whispers to reassure the man, who nods in response. Then, he turns to Chanyeol. “You and Byunghun are a little close, so it’s understandable that Baekhyun would think something like that but he’s an asshole and you don’t have to be anything more if you don’t want to be.”
Chanyeol grins. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem,” Kyungsoo salutes, heading away to help Hongbin with the machines. Wonsik nods to Chanyeol and follows the smaller man, throwing an arm around him as they near Hongbin.
Chanyeol smiles and makes sure that Hongbin’s issues are resolved before he heads back to his post.
It’s Thursday, an awkward time for all and not a big museum day so Chanyeol resumes his task of trying to build the ultimate planet-complete with an infinite amount of invulnerable vegetation, the most important part-and is halfway through its life cycle when a flood of people appear in his gateway.
Confused, he greets his new space travellers and remains nonplussed until he sees a shock of red hair remain after they all disperse.
“You changed your hair.”
Byunghun clucks his tongue in dismay. “You noticed.” When Chanyeol makes no sign of speaking, he continues on with, “I enjoyed eating with you. I request we do it again. But maybe with a different cuisine.”
Chanyeol laughs. “The way you talk is no joke,” he laughs, “but sure. Sounds great. I’ll meet you in the same place, at the bottom of the stairs?”
Byunghun nods. “Affirmative.”
They go on several more dinner outings until finally, after another unneeded intervention from Baekhyun, Chanyeol reaches out and grabs Byunghun’s hand. The man looks at him, surprised, before staring back at the sidewalk, idly swinging their joined hands.
Several more dinner dates later, and Chanyeol breaches the subject of their relationship. With a few vague questions, he tries to figure out whether or not Byunghun is even interested but unfortunately, he is met with simple answers that give him no hints. When they get their check, he comes right out and asks if they’re dating.
Byunghun seemed surprised, but quickly schooled his expression and smiled warmly, something Chanyeol doesn’t see much despite their almost daily meetings. “It would make me endlessly happy if you agreed to a partnership with me.”
Chanyeol took that as a yes and leaned across the table to kiss the man, knocking over a glass of water on the way.
So, now Chanyeol has a boyfriend. He’s quirky and still the New Guy, but Chanyeol really likes him. He tells Kyungsoo as much when they run into each other in the offices.
“That’s great to hear, Chanyeol,” he responds with a sincere smile, handing the taller a single m&m from his bag as a congratulatory gift.
Almost everyone at work finds out by the end of the week and Byunghun comes up to Chanyeol, looking a little out of it. He falls into Chanyeol’s chest and mumbles something about too many people. Chanyeol laughs and squeezes the life out of him before leading him out the door and to a quaint little cafe he’d found just a few days ago.
Now, it is a new week and Chanyeol is ready to bring his relationship to the next level.
He says as much at lunch and Hakyeon spits out his water. “Dude. What. I’m trying to eat.”
“I think now is a perfect time to announce the fact that our dear little rocket scientist is going to get some,” Baekhyun sing-songs, breaking off a piece of his nut bar and offering it to Chanyeol. “Pre-game?”
Chanyeol scoffs. “First of all how dare you.”
Kyungsoo nods.
“Second, I will not be getting some. Our love transcends your crude physical bonds,” he almost shouts. “And also I want to wait until we have a king-size bed and rose petals. That’s important.”
“So wait,” Hongbin speaks up, sandwich held in mid-air from where he was just about to bite into it, “what are you doing, then?”
“Secret.”
Baekhyun screams. “You are killing me, Park!”
Shrugging, Chanyeol takes another bite out of his snack bar and smiles. He’s excited.
They meet at the bottom of the stairs, as usual, but instead of leaving out the front door, Chanyeol grabs Byunghun’s hand and leads him back up the staircase, towards the space exhibit.
“Where are we going?”
Chanyeol shushes him, stopping to check for janitors. They’re not supposed to be here. “You’ll see,” he whispers, pulling the man along. He stops in front of the exhibit, opening a door on their left that has been painted the same color as the wall, making it almost invisible save for the black handle. Once inside, they are faced with a spiral staircase that Chanyeol mounts quickly, looking over his shoulder to make sure Byunghun isn’t far behind. “You’re so slow,” he complains.
“My legs are not freakishly long,” the man shouts back, “mine are average and normal, as is my height.”
Chanyeol rolls his eyes and whispers something about a Napoleon Complex, to which Byunghun grumbles in response.
They reach the top and Byunghun immediately collapses on the ground. Grinning, Chanyeol lies down next to him and stares at the sky above them, large hole in the ceiling leaving nothing hidden.
“Where are we?”
“They were going to add an observatory to the museum, but they ran out of money,” Chanyeol explains, “It was stopped during construction and never resumed. I accidentally found the stairs when I thought the door led to a supply closet. I’m sure that Joonmyun knows about this place, but I’d like to think that it’s my own little hideaway.” Byunghun chuckles at the statement and Chanyeol turns his head to stare at the man, noting the way the blue streaks in his blonde hair stick out in the dim light-it’s new, and Byunghun had seemed down when Chanyeol made a comment about the new do. Chanyeol had quickly assured him that it was a great dye job but only after a bear hug did the shorter man seem mollified.
They lay in silence as the sky darkens, until all the stars illuminate the sky. Although they live in a city, they get a fair showing of tiny dots that light up the sky and it makes Chanyeol happy to no end.
“I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid,” Chanyeol murmurs, fighting the sleep that threatens to drag him down. He hadn’t slept very well last night, anxious just thinking about bringing Byunghun up here. “But then I got in a plane and couldn’t stop throwing up. Motion sickness. My dreams were dashed. But-” he pauses, lifting a hand as if he can reach up and grab a handful of stars if his arm is high enough, “I’d still love to go up there. If I ever find a way to completely get rid of motion sickness.” He laughs. “That would be neat.”
“Chanyeol.”
When Chanyeol nods and turns to face Byunghun, he finds that the man is staring right at him. He’s surprised for a moment, but inches closer, until he’s breathing right into blue-streaked hair. The unique aroma of Byunghun fills him and he smiles. “Hm?”
“I have something I wish to tell you.”
Chanyeol closes his eyes. “I just told you my embarrassing childhood dream. Whatever you have to say can’t be nearly as bad,” he mutters, thinking he might fall asleep soon like this, arm thrown over Byunghun and the smaller man playing with his hoodie sleeve.
“I am… not from around here.”
Chanyeol snorts. No kidding.
“The truth is that I…” Byunghun pauses, as if he’s thinking about going on or not, but then he takes a deep breath and proceeds, “I am from a planet far, far from here and I was sent to acquire a carrier. You see, my people are dying. We have lost most all of our population with reproductive capabilities. Now, all we have left is a barren race that cannot carry progeny. I had hoped to acquire one of your females but this place has only males and females who have already been claimed-an awful ratio, in my opinion-and instead I found you. I am sure you will be much more unwilling but, my offer stands true.” He holds Chanyeol’s hand in his own. “Should you accept, I am able to take you to the stars.”
Chanyeol barely holds back a gasp. Damn. That was the most out of this world poetry he has ever heard. He knew this one guy who compared roses to gears and hearts to stone but this leaves that guy in the dust. He almost feels compelled to clap, but doesn’t want to stop Byunghun from whatever he’s doing with his hands.
He realizes that an answer is expected from his only when the short man looks up and stares at Chanyeol with wide eyes.
Chanyeol clears his throat. Smooth. He has to be smooth. “I would love to see the stars, but only at your side.”
Nailed it.
Byunghun seems very excited after that, hastily detangling himself from Chanyeol, who groans at being left, and fires off a bunch of words that Chanyeol doesn’t catch before dashing down the stairs. After a minute, Chanyeol gets up to follow but can’t find the man anywhere. He gives up after a fair amount of time wasted whisper-shouting and heads home, crawling into bed and thinking about how he’s going to face Byunghun tomorrow. He’ll have to start with an apology. Definitely.
“Chanyeol.”
He opens his eyes. It’s still dark, so he closes them and rolls over.
“Chanyeol.”
He blinks. It’s Byunghun. He sits up and rubs at his eyes, blinking when he catches the man standing at the bottom of their bed.
“Do you remember what I was saying earlier?” The man asks, hands holding something but it’s out of sight; Chanyeol can’t see it. “Do you agree?”
Chanyeol frowns, rolling his shoulders. This is some kind of guilt-dream but he will not be deterred. He nods. “I remember. And yes, I agree.”
Dream-Byunghun seems surprised. “Really? You do not wish to think about it? As I have understood, this will be very strange to you. I do not wish to involve you unless you are completely sure.”
He barely resists cooing. Even the dream version of his boyfriend is unbearably cute. “Yes, I know what issues may arise and I accept.” Honestly, he’s just so honored that dream-Byunghun is even being this sure with him. Of course he wants their relationship to progress. He’s confused as to why Byunghun would even need to ask.
Smiling sweetly, Byunghun climbs onto the bed and pads forward, until his forehead is against Chanyeol’s.
For a second, Chanyeol blanches. He hasn’t had any sex dreams yet. But hey, maybe this is a good thing. Byunghun leans down to press their lips together and Chanyeol smiles into the kiss, throwing his arms around Byunghun’s neck and leaning back into his pillow. As Byunghun angles his face to make the kiss deeper, Chanyeol is struck by how real this all feels. Dreamworld rocks.
Abruptly, Byunghun pulls away and Chanyeol suppresses a whine, arms still thrown over the smaller’s shoulders.
Byunghun brings both hands forward and reveals what he has in his hands-a small, glowing sphere that gradually increases the intervals of glowing and dimming the longer Chanyeol stares at it.
“Hold on to me tight,” Byunghun advises and suddenly this doesn’t seem like a dream. “This only works one way and I would hate to lose you after all this time.”
Chanyeol opens his mouth to ask what on earth Byunghun is talking about, but his breath is stolen from his lungs as the sphere glows blindingly bright and Chanyeol’s breath is stolen from his lungs.
When he blinks, his arms are still around Byunghun’s neck, but they’re standing and the walls surrounding them are all white and glossy.
Chanyeol pukes.
“I apologize,” Byunghun says again, “I was sure that the force and speedy nature of the trip would prevent you from having any adverse reaction.”
Chanyeol says nothing. He’s exhausted. Byunghun had pulled him down white hallway after identical hallway, and then had him sit in some sort of pod that had dropped them off in front of a large igloo-like structure. Byunghun had led him inside and then pushes him down onto a plush chair and that was about an hour ago.
“Here, drink this. It should help.”
Chanyeol eyes the clear, winding glass. It has a deep blue liquid inside that looks lumpy. Nope. “I’m fine,” he assures weakly, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes. He realizes he’s only in his pajamas, a ripped old tee and basketball shorts, and groans.
Byunghun hovers awkwardly by his side. “Oh, hey. The suns are rising.”
Frowning, Chanyeol looks up with a correction on the tip of his tongue, but then he looks out what appears to be a window and sees two bright balls of light on the horizon. “Take me home,” he begs, grabbing Byunghun’s arm with both his hands, “I don’t where we are or why you’ve taken me, but please just bring me home.”
The sympathetic look that Byunghun gives him almost makes him want to cry. “I cannot,” he says, squatting down to Chanyeol’s level. “And you should know why you’re here. I explained it to you. I wanted to make absolutely sure that you wanted this.”
Chanyeol moans, head falling into his hands. “I didn’t know,” he murmurs, sighing and slumping forward when a hand pets his back.
Byunghun sighs, “It is okay, maybe this will just take time,” he reasons. “Oh! I have a bed in another room. Would you like to see it?”
He sounds excited. It kind of scares Chanyeol. “Um. Sure?” He gasps in surprise when the smaller man hauls him off the couch and through a small opening in the wall, into a large room with a giant circular bed in the center that is, of course, white.
“I had it made as soon as I heard I would be sent to Earth,” he explains, still bouncing in place, “it was hard to find someone willing to make it but the job was completed. Do you like it?”
Chanyeol nods because a bed is a bed and crawls onto it, closing his eyes and welcoming the soft, spongy mattress. He falls asleep almost immediately, thinking he hears Byunghun say something, but it’s only an unintelligible murmur.
When he wakes up, the room is bright. He sits up slowly, takes one look at the bed, and remembers where he is. He sighs and stands, stepping through the opening that was made for someone much shorter than him. He doesn’t see Byunghun anywhere. He supposes that means the man left him here, all alone.
Chanyeol sighs and sits back down in the plush seat he had been led to when they first walked in. At least he knows that this one is safe. He groans and tries to figure out what is going on when he leans back and hears an ominous click. That can’t be good.
The wall in front of him flickers to life and worried shouting in a language Chanyeol doesn’t understand fills the room. Images flash across the large screen, none staying longer than a few seconds until the voices trail off as red flashes across the screen accompanied by the far-off sound of a child crying. Byunghun had said something about no reproduction, Chanyeol remembers. Maybe that is what they’re talking about.
He finds the device he disturbed, a clear oval object with a single, large button in the center. When he presses it, the screen flickers off. Chanyeol amuses himself with the substitute TV, curling up in his chair and listening to the odd sounds that must be a language all day, accompanied with pictures or color. It certainly is different.
When his stomach begins to rumble, he stands. He needs food. But, where is he going to find it? He wanders around the surprisingly large building, finding nothing that even looks remotely familiar, and idles by the window where Byunghun had pointed out the rising suns.
Both are out of sight, presumably setting though Chanyeol doesn’t think it has been that long. He touches the glass and the image magnifies. Chanyeol jumps back and blinks. The window now shows stars and the hint of a meteor belt. He steps forward and tries to magnify the screen like he would with his phone, but nothing happens. Frowning, he pokes the window again and the image surges forward. Chanyeol sits on what appears to be a counter and happily taps at the screen, a smile donning his face despite his surroundings as galaxies and gaseous planets whiz past. He's tapped the screen quite a few times, enough to garner smudge marks on the surface though there doesn't appear to be any, when he spots something familiar. It's a dying star, and he's seen the same image from a different angle in the released pictures from the Hubble telescope. Slowly, he taps the screen and there, there's Pluto, the lone little dwarf planet-still qualifies as a planet, in Chanyeol's book-and he taps just a bit further. The screen blows up the image of a small planet, mostly blue with patches of green, and a thin veil of white surrounding it. Chanyeol's hand falls.
At that same moment, the front door opens. It moves to the side, disappearing into the wall, and a creature slithers inside.
It's a light shade of pink, which is off-setting enough, but then Chanyeol notices the several long, rounded limbs that are splayed out in the ground and his fingers curl over the bottom of the counter as his fight or flight response slowly kicks in.
The creature seems to notice him, paling to a light gray before scuttling into the opening and disappearing. Chanyeol holds his breath until a white-gray head pokes out of the opening, eyeing Chanyeol warily.
"Did I startle you?"
Right. Byunghun is an alien and Chanyeol is far, far from home. "No, I just... forgot," he settles, deciding not to tell the man that he was scared. That wouldn't help at all.
Byunghun nods, stepping out and standing beside the plush chair. "I've just had a meeting with the officials and it was rather draining. I completely forgot about switching forms. I apologize."
Switching forms. "Is that what you usually look like, then?" Chanyeol asks, unabashed.
"That is my true form, yes."
"You look kind of like an octopus," Chanyeol muses aloud, then gapes at his own callousness and makes to apologize, but Byunghun laughs.
"Yes," he agrees after he calms, "I had been made aware that a creature sharing our characteristics resided on your planet. Though, as I understand, it is being used as a food source. So a camouflage was clearly needed," he gestures to his figure with a half-smile.
Despite himself, Chanyeol steps forward and lightly touches the man's hair, clearing his throat when he sees that Byunghun is looking up at him in question. "Sorry. Your hair..." He struggles to explain.
"Oh, yes." Byunghun takes a step back and smiles as the strands change color. First the roots turn a violent red, and then the color spreads down the length of the short hair, stopping only when all of his hair is the same color. "Survival instinct. Because my skin can no longer change, my hair will. I was quite upset when you noticed. It was meant to be subtle." He pouts. His face takes on a more serious expression when he looks past Chanyeol. "What is that?" He steps past Chanyeol and stares at the screen. Raising a hand slowly, as if to gently touch the image, but then he stops halfway and harshly taps the screen so that the planet is replaced with a darkening horizon. "You want to go back."
It isn't a question, Chanyeol realizes. "Yes. I want to go home." He sighs. "I can't give you what you want."
When Byunghun turns, he's biting his lip and he doesn't look up to meet Chanyeol's eyes. "I'll... talk to the officials. I will convince them that you are ill. But, Chanyeol, it may take a while."
Chanyeol nods and retreats back through the opening, burrowing into the circular bed and trying not to think the worst.
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