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“Baekhyun, what are you doing here?”, Jongdae calls out when he recognizes him lazily sprawled out on the couch in the lobby. A small smile ghosts over his face as he makes his way over just a little faster than usual.
“I’m picking you up”, Baekhyun says and rises to his feet as if it were the the most obvious thing on earth.
Jongdae is about to protest because their dorm is not even a ten-minute drive away and he did already have a ride, but he gets distracted - eyes wandering over Baekhyun’s appeal; the fitted black jeans, the white button up, his simple but classy dress shoes and the dark coat draped loosely over his shoulders to top it off. Jongdae thinks he could walk a runway.
“You look nice”, he comments and tries not to sound too surprised, “I didn’t know you had a schedule today?”
Baekhyun just shrugs without giving an answer and finally slips his phone into the back pocket of his jeans to focus on Jongdae. He wants to lean in and kiss Jongdae because he’s missed him, but he catches himself just in time, remembering their surroundings, and quietly forces a small smile instead.
“Let’s go”
He grabs Jongdae’s wrist to pull him along, walking to his black Audi in complete silence and Jongdae finds himself a little puzzled by Baekhyun, who can usually never find it in himself to shut up for even just a second. Especially when they’ve spent their days apart.
“Everything okay?”, Jongdae breaks the silence when it becomes too unusual for him to bear.
“Sure”
Baekhyun doesn’t look at him, his answer short and unfocused and anything but reassuring as he fumbles with his keys to unlock the doors.
Jongdae purses his lips, a sarcastic comment sitting at the top of his tongue, but he remains quiet. He’s missed Baekhyun too much to risk getting into an argument over something silly.
He shakes off his frown as he gets into the car, shifting uncomfortably in his seat and he can’t help but timidly stare down at his knees as if he were on a first date instead of with the person he spent half his life with.
“How was your day?”, Jongdae tries once more to make conversation when Baekhyun pulls onto the main road.
“It was fine”, Baekhyun replies curtly – a lie – and bites his lip, remembering the way in which he’d stressed about the apartment all day long, rearranging the dinner table, fluffing every pillow multiple times, vacuuming every room and getting changed at least thrice before rushing out to get Jongdae.
“Oh, okay”
Jongdae’s voice is small, and he wonders why Baekhyun would come pick him up if he’s not really in the mood to spend time with him at all.
Baekhyun’s eyes flicker sidewards, ghosting over Jongdae’s pouting face and he exhales slowly, trying to still his nerves before he accidentally ruins the mood for real.
He reaches over to take Jongdae’s hand, squeezing gently, and presses a soft kiss against his knuckles – a wordless apology for his edgy attitude.
Jongdae can’t hide the smile that blooms on his face almost instantly.
“You should keep both hands on the steering wheel”, he teases quietly, finally relaxing into his seat at the affectionate gesture.
“But where’s the fun in that?”, Baekhyun grins, the first one Jongdae’s seen that day, and it makes up for the long hours he’s spent at work.
He’s so caught up staring that he almost doesn’t realize when Baekhyun takes a wrong turn, driving away from their dorm instead of taking him home.
“That’s not the way”, Jongdae points out, tapping lightly against the window, “Where are you going?”
“My place”, Baekhyun says and Jongdae instantly shakes his head.
“We’re not supposed to stay out of dorms in the middle of schedules”, he protests a little confused because Baekhyun knows the rules, “I have my showcase tomorrow”
“I sorted it out”
Baekhyun glances to his right just to see Jongdae’s suspicious expression fixated on him, “I really have. You trust me, don’t you?”
Jongdae hesitates for a moment but eventually nods slowly and forces himself to be patient.
“I’ll take you to your showcase tomorrow”, Baekhyun promises, “I’ll even make sure you get there early”
Jongdae just rolls his eyes, prompting an endearing chuckle out of Baekhyun that doesn’t fail to make him smile along.
By the time they get to Baekhyun’s apartment, Jongdae is entirely puzzled.
“I’ve never been here”, he states in surprise because he’d assumed Baekhyun would take him to his home in Bucheon.
“I’ve never brought anyone here”, Baekhyun explains, now clearly unnerved as he walks through the hallway to the elevator, “It’s kind of new”
Jongdae squeezes his hand reassuringly, feeling touched even if he doesn’t really understand just yet.
He can’t help but glance around curiously as soon as they step through the front door, letting Baekhyun politely take his jacket and hang it into the wardrobe.
“Are you nervous?”, Jongdae asks a little perplexed when he catches sight of Baekhyun’s pale face, “You look like a ghost”
“Just…shut up”, Baekhyun mutters and walks ahead into the spacious flat, “Come here”
Jongdae follows right behind and finds himself at a loss for words the more he looks around.
It’s obviously a nice flat, modern and spacious on one of the top floors of the building. But it’s something else entirely that makes his chest grow a little tighter in a way that only Baekhyun can do.
He can see the effort behind it all; the flowers on the coffee table, his beloved blanket draped over the couch, his favourite movies stapled next to the tv, the candles, the fancy arrangement on the dinner table and the way the entire place is spotless when he knows that Baekhyun is not always the tidiest, often letting clothes lie around, leaving the dishes by the sink for later and putting off cleaning like a true procrastinator.
“You did all this?”, Jongdae asks dumbfounded and turns towards Baekhyun.
“I wanted to do something nice”, Baekhyun mumbles and timidly reaches for Jongdae’s hands again, “You’ve been working so much and I know the dorm is always loud and a mess, which is also partially my fault, so I wanted to take you somewhere peaceful but I thought you might be too tired to go out and since your showcase is tomorrow, I thought we should celebrate but that you should also rest and-“
“Thank you”, Jongdae interrupts Baekhyun’s endearing rant with a genuine smile, “It’s amazing”
“I was just looking at places at first, not really knowing what I even wanted or needed”, Baekhyun drifts off for a moment, nervously clearing his throat, “Chanyeol told me I’ll know it’s right when it feels like home and when I first came here, I could just picture you in every corner and it was perfect. It was home. So I bought it…”
He trails off again, laughing uneasily and refusing to meet Jongdae’s gaze.
“That sounded a lot better in my mind”, he mumbles with a small pout, but Jongdae just cuts him off and kisses him.
“It’s perfect”, Jongdae breathes against Baekhyun’s lips and gently cups his cheek.
“Thank you”, he says, genuine and heartfelt because Baekhyun never seizes to surprise him, making him fall deeper and faster than he would have thought possible.
“Don’t thank me yet”, Baekhyun smiles, clearly more relaxed now, “I’m making dinner”
“You don’t cook”, Jongdae points out warningly and follows Baekhyun into the kitchen, “You can’t cook”
“I’ve been practicing”, Baekhyun insists confidently.
“I mean Kyungsoo isn’t there, but Chanyeol taught me a little”, he adds quickly, a soft blush tinting his cheeks.
Jongdae’s heart crumbles and heals itself all over again. His eyes roam over the kitchen counter, utensils and ingredients all readily laid out and prepared.
“You really thought this through, huh?”
Jongdae sneaks his arms around Baekhyun’s waist from behind and kisses the back of his shoulder.
“I did”, Baekhyun whispers and finally feels calm for the first time all day, leaning back against Jongdae’s warm chest and putting his hand over Jongdae’s for a moment. It takes him a minute before he finds it in himself to move away and start boiling some water.
“You still surprise me every day”, Jongdae says quietly, more to himself than to Baekhyun, but he’s heard nevertheless. He always is.
“Oh, you have no idea what I got in store”, Baekhyun teases light-heartedly.
Jongdae just chuckles, feeling warm all over and it’s one of those moments where he can’t quite believe how much their relationship has changed over time. How good those changes have been for them. How happy he is.
Without a warning, he gently pulls Baekhyun back to kiss him one more time just because he can. They’re dating. Baekhyun is his boyfriend. It may have taken years, but they figured it out eventually. Sometimes, Jongdae still can’t wrap his mind around it.
“You shouldn’t catch me off guard like that when I’m holding a knife”, Baekhyun speaks against his lips. Jongdae smiles with an innocent shrug of his shoulders.
“Where’s the fun in that?”, he mocks Baekhyun’s words from earlier and tenderly brushes the fringe away from Baekhyun’s eyes, “Let me help you?”
“That’s a lovely thought but I think I trust your cooking skills even less than mine.”, Baekhyun teases and gracefully moves away from Jongdae, “Remember that time you wanted to cook rice in the plastic bag it came in? On camera?”
“That was years ago!”, Jongdae protests indignantly and yet he can’t help but smile at the distant memory, “And I was just measuring”
“Although speaking of that show, I guess that was around the same time you gifted me a picture of yourself for Christmas?”
It’s Baekhyun’s turn to blush this time and he kicks his foot towards Jongdae.
“What did you write on it again? I’m yours now?”, Jongdae continues to taunt gleefully, unable to keep his hands to himself as he reaches for Baekhyun’s waist to hold him, “Should have become a fortune teller”
Baekhyun groans quietly and kicks his elbow into Jongdae’s side.
“Just go sit down”, he complains and playfully sticks out his tongue at Jongdae, “I’ll be there in a bit”
The meal doesn’t take long to cook and Baekhyun can’t help but send a picture of the final outcome to Chanyeol because he’s a little proud of himself.
He ignores that it’s basically the easiest thing he could have made. He also ignores that he still practiced it multiple times in advance.
He feels a little shy and nervous when he walks out with two plates in his hand and puts one down in front of Jongdae. Then again, he’s been a little shy and nervous all night.
“Tteokbokki? Chanyeol is so predictable”, Jongdae jesters and Baekhyun sends him a little side-eye.
“I’m kidding”, Jongdae says quickly and bashfully takes Baekhyun’s hand, “It looks delicious.”
He smiles apologetically before moving his chair a little closer to Baekhyun’s, pressing a gentle kiss onto the back of his hand.
“Thank you”
Baekhyun nods with a small smile, absent-mindedly eyeing the dish in front of him.
“It wasn’t Chanyeol’s idea. I wanted to make it”, he explains before raising his gaze to look at Jongdae expectantly, “It’s fitting, no?”
Jongdae thinks about it for a split second before he catches on.
“The day we met”, he says, feeling the lump in his stomach at the memory as he stares at the simple meal in front of him.
“It’s our thing now”, Baekhyun chuckles a little to lighten the mood again and nudges Jongdae’s side.
“You’re wonderful”, Jongdae mumbles under his breath, staring at Baekhyun for a little too long before slowly starting to eat.
His mind can’t quite follow how they’ve ended up together, going from competitors to band mates to friends to lovers. It seems so surreal, but it just feels right.
He glances over to Baekhyun and catches his eyes, staring on as Baekhyun breaks into a wide grin, beaming at him so happily that Jongdae wants to frame the moment forever.
“I can wash up?”, Jongdae offers sheepishly once they’re done because he’s felt useless all evening so far, and follows Baekhyun back into the kitchen, plate grasped in his small hands.
“I’ll just do it tomorrow, yeah?”, Baekhyun sighs and quietly sets down the dishes into the sink.
Jongdae bites back an amused smile at Baekhyun’s signature laziness and just nods in agreement.
“Do you want to watch a movie?”, Baekhyun suggests and mentions towards the living room.
“Sure”, Jongdae agrees though he couldn’t really care less. He just wants to be close to Baekhyun. Spend time with him. They’ve both been so busy lately that every minute he gets to be near him feels like heaven.
Baekhyun puts on a cheesy romance movie that they’d obviously both deny enjoying but he feels like neither of them will be paying much attention to the screen anyways.
He subtly picks up the simple, black box, wrapped in golden ribbon that he’d put by the coffee table before joining Jongdae, who has gotten comfortable on the couch.
“I got something for you”, he says shyly and extends the gift towards Jongdae with a nervous flush on his cheekbones.
Jongdae sits up with an adorably puzzled expression on his face as he accepts the rather large box with a small frown.
“Am I missing something? Are we celebrating? Should I start making up excuses?”
Baekhyun giggles quietly and shakes his head.
“It’s nothing much, don’t worry. Just have a look.”
He can see that Jongdae’s trying to suppress his eagerness while pulling on the sparkling ribbon. He knows that Jongdae loves surprises, no matter how much he always denies it.
“Wait what?”
Jongdae stares at the box, then at Baekhyun, then back at the box, taking a moment to catch on before he thinks he understands.
The first thing he finds inside is a necklace Baekhyun had gifted him once many years ago. Baekhyun’s signature on his version of CBX’s Hey Mama album. Baekhyun’s old EXO-M Mama album with Jongdae’ signature on it.
He finds business cards of various places he could either vaguely or not at all remember having eaten at. He finds an ugly, red bandana that he regretfully remembers to have worn during their rookie years. There’s a few fan letters and sticky notes. An old baseball cap that they both used to fight over – Jongdae doesn’t even remember who it originally belonged to.
His mask from when he participated in King of Mask Singer. His first ever set of in-ears. A dark, unflattering pair of glasses that Jongdae also sadly remembers having worn. The small, pink charm Baekhyun had once found at the airport and given to Jongdae.
In the bottom of the box, he finds many pictures of them that have been taken throughout the years. Including the previously mentioned photo that Baekhyun had gifted to him so many Christmases ago. Jongdae hadn’t even realized he’d lost it.
“Baekhyun”, Jongdae mumbles silently, looking through all of the stuff in detail, “What is all this?”
“When I started to move some stuff from the dorm, I found so many things of you and me that I felt like I had to do something with them. I didn’t even realize how much of your stuff I kept. I guess I always treasured you very much, even when we were friends”, Baekhyun explains calmly and shifts a little closer.
“I thought it’d be nice memories. You actually tried to throw out some of these, but I always managed to save them. Other things, we just forgot about and moved on. At some point, it just became your box. Kind of.”
Jongdae bites his lip, looking so touched and speechless that for a moment, Baekhyun is scared that he’s about to cry.
“I can’t believe you kept all this stuff”
Baekhyun shrugs, a small smile ghosting over his face as his blush intensifies.
“You just… you really made it, you know? But I already knew you would when I even met you”
“We both made it”, Jongdae mumbles quietly.
Baekhyun smiles a little and takes Jongdae’s hand into his, intertwining their fingers as he mediates his next words.
“I’m really proud of you”, he says eventually, refusing to meet Jongdae’s eyes, “I think you’re very amazing and you have to take my word for it because I’ve been there for all of it.”
Jongdae doesn’t know what to say. He kisses the back of Baekhyun’s hand and just lets the words sink in for a moment. He’s so lucky.
Baekhyun chuckles a little when Jongdae eventually takes out the necklace and mentions for Baekhyun to put it on him.
“I literally thought I lost this”, Jongdae smiles when the silver chain snaps in place. He remembers the day Baekhyun had gifted it to him.
Then, as if the child within him suddenly came to life, Jongdae puts on everything he can find - the silly bandana, the nerdy glasses, the stupid baseball cap – and breaks into laughter.
“I can’t believe we had fans when we used to dress like this”
“I think you look nice”, Baekhyun chuckles along and Jongdae can’t help but roll his eyes at him.
“I think you’re full of it”
They laugh together for a little while before Baekhyun clears his throat, shifting nervously all of a sudden.
“Actually, there’s one more thing”, he says hesitantly and pulls some papers out from under the table, nicely rolled up and bound together with a ribbon too.
“I feel like it’s Christmas”, Jongdae banters a little overwhelmed.
“It’s more of a question than a gift”, Baekhyun explains quietly as Jongdae unwinds the papers and starts reading them.
It’s silent for a nerve-wrecking minute during which Baekhyun desperately tries to read Jongdae’s face but his expression is motionless, giving him no clues at all.
“Is this what I think it is?”, Jongdae asks quietly, “Baekhyun?”
Baekhyun takes a deep breath before nodding slowly.
“It’s the lease of the apartment. I wanted you to be able to sign it with me if you want to of course. But you don’t have to. There’s no pressure, I am fine keeping the place under my name too.”
Jongdae remains silent for a while longer and Baekhyun almost panics. Maybe it’s too much. Too early. Too demanding. He swallows hard.
“Like I said, you don’t have to sign it. I just wanted to show that I want this to be your place too. Our place. But it’s absolutely fine if not. Really you don’t-“
“Shut up and hand me a pen, you idiot”, Jongdae interrupts him and finally looks up at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun, who freezes for a solid moment before breaking into a wide, toothy grin.
“You’re going to sign it? Really?”, he asks, half in triumph and half in disbelief.
“Of course I am”, Jongdae smiles and reaches for the pen on the coffee table to neatly scribble his signature right next to Baekhyun’s.
“There you go”
He hands the papers back to Baekhyun and amusedly watches him run his fingers over both their signatures before putting them down on the coffee table.
“You didn’t even think it through”, Baekhyun whines jokingly, making Jongdae laugh a little.
“Don’t be ridiculous” he says and pulls Baekhyun into his arms before lying down on the couch.
He brushes through Baekhyun’s hair before gently tracing his face and Baekhyun naturally leans into the touch.
“You’re beyond wonderful”, Jongdae murmurs, his hands wandering down his back now before wrapping his arms around Baekhyun’s waist.
It’s warm and comforting and all Baekhyun could have ever asked for. He beams up at Jongdae, can’t help it because he’s beautiful and leans down to kiss him softly.
He lies down on Jongdae’s chest, curling up even more into his embrace just because he can. They start to pay attention to the movie, but not even ten minutes in, Baekhyun feels his eyelids droop. He doesn’t even hear Jongdae call out his name before he dozes off to a soft hand carding through his hair.
He wakes up some time later with a jolt, pushing himself off of Jongdae to check the time as if he’d been struck by lightning. “Fuck”
He realizes the movie’s about five minutes away from rolling the credits.
“I’m so sorry- “
Jongdae shuts him up easily with a gentle hand on his face. He’s all smiles when he slowly shakes his head and pulls Baekhyun back down into his arms.
“You look adorable when you’re sleeping. Much more entertaining than any movie”
“Please shut up”, Baekhyun whines and lightly pushes against Jongdae’s chest. “In my defence, today was very stressful for me”
“Let’s go to bed then?”, Jongdae suggests with a small smile and teasingly pokes Baekhyun’s side.
“So much moving”, Baekhyun whines as he drags himself off of Jongdae and down the hallway, with Jongdae and his beautiful laughter following right behind.
It doesn’t stop there, though, the surprises. In the bathroom, Jongdae finds a second toothbrush and his favourite toothpaste all ready to go.
In the wardrobe, he finds some shirts and jumpers and jeans and a couple of pyjamas, all his very own, some of which he’d been looking for over the past weeks.
He finds that Baekhyun really went the extra mile to make him feel at home, to make him feel like it’s his place too, to make him feel welcomed.
He knows it means more than that too. He knows it’s not just about comfort, about practicality. It’s about belonging.
Baekhyun is trying to show him that Jongdae belongs with him, by his side, in a home that he’d rather share than keep to himself.
It makes him feel weirdly giddy in the best possible way, his presence being wanted like this, that he doesn’t know how to address it out loud.
He can’t even tease Baekhyun for being so sappy and romantic.
Instead, he just revels in how Baekhyun makes him feel, treasures it, keeps it to himself and imprints it into his mind forever.
He’s still quiet when he slips under the sheets, moving over and demanding Baekhyun’s attention by tentatively taking his phone away, slowly, still asking for permission, before putting it onto the bedside table when Baekhyun gives him a bright smile.
He kisses Baekhyun then, pouring what he feels into the way he touches him, so tender, always warm and always full of affection.
The response is immediate, hands moving up his back, cupping his face before settling around his nape and in his hair.
Jongdae kisses Baekhyun deeply, mapping out every inch of his mouth, of his lips, and committing the feeling to his memory, taking all the time in the world to slide their tongues together until they’re both out of oxygen.
Jongdae draws a small whine from Baekhyun when he pulls away just enough to catch his breath.
Baekhyun hums dreamily and stares up at Jongdae with wide, dark eyes, “I should treat you more often”
Jongdae chuckles against Baekhyun’s mouth, trailing his lips over Baekhyun’s jawline and leaving soft kisses in his wake before moving down his neck and sucking gentle marks into the sensitive skin until Baekhyun whimpers underneath him.
“I love you so much”