Title: Take My Nightmares Away
Pairing: Sehun/Baekhyun
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Romance
Word Count: 6.6K words

Warnings: Broken ChanBaek, Broken HunHan, Swearing, Drama, Homophobia, Slight Violence, Nightmare

Summary: Baekhyun has nightmares that Chanyeol can't take away. Sehun is the only one who can put him back to sleep.

Long Note: Read the warnings mentioned above before reading the story.

This one shot was written over a year ago, so the events in this fic were based on what actually happened that time. I never had the urge to publish this because it was quite hard to write, but I made it, and I really tried my best! For you who requested this, and for all my SeBaek and ChanBaek stans out there, this is for you.

*****

A loud shrill bursts out from Baekhyun's room upstairs, causing Chanyeol to shoot up from his sleep. He blinks his eyes and looks up to the ceiling.

"Nooooo!!!!"

Eyes widening, Chanyeol stands up from the couch to where he was sleeping, and hastily runs, sleepiness now gone but replaced with worry.

What is it again this time? Is he alright!? Did he have a nightmare again? He didn't forget to take his meds, did he? Chanyeol climbs up the stairs, feet stumbling and hands finding purchase on the railing. His heartbeat is ringing inside his ears, worry filling his face.

Baekhyun... I'll be right there..

A sobbing voice is what greeted him as Chanyeol opens the door, seeing all dark. The lights are off while the sheets are lying on the floor. He squints his eyes and finds a crouched figure at the corner of the bed.

He steps forward.

Baekhyun needs him right now, he should comfort him, hug him, stay by his side, wipe his tears away, and tell him everything is going to be okay--

"It's going to be all right.. Stop crying, ssh.. It's okay, hm?"

Chanyeol pauses.

"I'll be right here... Shh, it's all right, I won't leave you... no, no, no.. I'll stay with you until you're okay. I promise.."

He steps backwards, slowly, hesitantly.

"Y-you won't go anywhere, will you?" Baekhyun asks in a shaky voice, crying. "You'll sleep beside me? You'll be right here?"

"Yes."

"T-thank you..."

A pang pricks his beating heart, so Chanyeol closes his eyes shut in attempt to will away the ache building up once again. He swallows the pain down to his throat, lowering his eyes on the floor.

It has always been him, the first person Baekhyun wants to see when he cries, is not Chanyeol but him.

He already knows that fact like the back of his hand, but it still hurts the most when it opens like a fresh wound. He just can't find himself stopping, because he really loves Baekhyun so much.

Even though Baekhyun doesn't see him that way, because...

"Sehun, I love you so much."

It's the naked truth and it stings.

"I love you, I need you, I can't live without you. Just stay. Please."

In the dark, Sehun turns to look at Chanyeol with worried eyes as he pats Baekhyun's back, mentally asking him for assistance.

Chanyeol shakes his head.

And turns his heel away as he quietly leaves.

*

"Are you all right?"

Looking up from his phone, Baekhyun blinks and nods quietly. He's checking his Instagram account as he reads funny comments of fans to at least brighten up his mood. Chanyeol contemplates whether to sit beside him, or just leave him alone because it seems like the other male is not in the mood to have a conversation right now. Otherwise, he just sits there on a stool a meter away from the singer, not too close, not too far.

"I heard you had another nightmare," Chanyeol starts, slightly squeezing the body of his Starbucks coffee. "Didn't you take the pills the doctor gave you?"

"Chanyeol, you know I hate the taste of medicine," Baekhyun says as he scrunches his nose. "It's bitter."

"But it will help to at least make you sleep.."

"I don't need to take those, I'm quite all right now. Sehun's watching me every night." A little smile forms into his lips. "And I think I'm getting better now."

"All right, good to hear that," Chanyeol answers, and he's thankful there's a mirror he can see how his smile would come out fake or real.

Silence.

Baekhyun is tapping on his phone again, and Chanyeol hates it. The ticking of the clock is too deafening, and the breeze of the aircon inside the room is too hot for the both of them. He feels suffocated, he wants to leave yet he wants to stay.

He chooses the former.

"Uh, I should probably go to the others first."

A nod.

"Do you want something to drink? I could buy it for you before we leave for the concert."

"No. Just tell Sehun to come here."

"Okay."

Chanyeol stands up after saying a curt goodbye. He closes the door with a silent click, before heading to the nearest trashcan to throw away the bag of medicine he bought from the pharmacy.

"Chanyeol-hyung, have you seen--"

"Ah, he's inside the studio, he's waiting for you there now so--"

"No, not him." Sehun scratches his head, sighing. "What I'm talking about is Lay-hyung. He left his passport inside my bag. Isn't he outside yet? That hyung is really forgetful, seriously."

Chanyeol furrows his eyebrows. Aside from the fact that he really hates being cut off when he talks, he also just can't accept Sehun's nonchalance about Baekhyun waiting for him, and also his nonchalance about Baekhyun in general.

It pisses him off for the most part.

"I just told you Baekhyun is inside waiting for you. Didn't you hear me?"

Sehun blinks twice, scanning Chanyeol's straight-faced expression. He waits for the other male to say something more, probably a joke or a laugh, but he gets nothing.

"Hey, are you being angry for real?" Chanyeol doesn't speak. "Okay, okay, fine. I'm getting him, alright?" He thrusts the passport into the rapper's hand, and walks past him, shoulders brushing against shoulders.

Chanyeol doesn't know if there's heat on that simple gesture, but seeing Sehun now as tall as him has Chanyeol balling his fists by his sides. When does this kid get so tall like this? Shaking his head, he walks off and finds Lay instead. At least he has something better to do.

*

The frown that was once on Baekhyun's mouth immediately eases away at the sight of a poker-faced Sehun taking off his coat after they finished dancing Playboy. Beaming ear-to ear, Baekhyun, like he usually does, walks towards the youngest to pester him some more. He's not contented by just bugging him at the airport, where he had clung to his arm, leaning his head against his shoulder as they listened with a pair of earphones to Adele's Hello.

Baekhyun didn't understand the English lyrics of the song, but Sehun's can you please change the fucking music with an annoyed blush on his face had Baekhyun knowing he had just gotten out another precious reaction from the robot. Fixing Sehun's shades, Baekhyun had laughed and turned the music to Justin Bieber's Love Yourself. Sehun had silenced after that.

"Hey," Baekhyun calls, smiling, and his sweet voice blends in with the loud screaming of Japanese fans when Suho talks about Chen's Musical. "Aren't you tired yet?"

Sehun stares.

"Hey. Hey. Do you want to see me do aegyo?"

No response.

"Or do you want to see my guns?"

Tsh. Sehun rolls his eyes. He doesn't even have guns. Chanyeol does.

"Notice me, senpaiii," Baekhyun coos, forming a big heart on his head and bending his body to the left and to the right. He wiggles his butt cutely. "Notice me! Buing buing!"

No reaction.

"I have a rose for you. Tada," Baekhyun says, thrusting a plastic rose to Sehun. Sehun only sighs and lowers his head, as if contemplating whether to grab the rose to throw away, or to grab it to stomp down with his foot.

"Hmm. You're tough, huh?" Baekhyun pokes Sehun's hard chest, specifically to his nipple, earning a glare from the blonde. Smirking, Baekhyun continues what he's doing. He touches it, pinches, presses, and even strokes it until Sehun is yelling at him to please fucking stop we're in a concert!

Not satisfied, Baekhyun inches closer to the annoyed male and puts his hand inside Sehun's pockets. He shakes his fingers, feeling the warmth of the cotton enveloping his fist. Xiumin's thank you for watching my web drama can be heard bursting out from the speakers when Sehun grunts, helplessly allowing the playful hyung to continue fumbling with the zipper of his pants. It's not like he can do something to stop him, though.

"Hyung, can you just please bother the others? I'm not the only one here who's available, you know," Sehun mutters, shortly glancing at Chanyeol at the other side of the stage. He can feel the other's heated stare from where he is standing, so Sehun averts his eyes, subtly gripping his microphone.

"But I want to play with you."

"You're really annoying," Sehun hisses.

"Here we go again," Baekhyun mutters, mostly to himself with a pitiful pout. He stays beside Sehun's side, too close to be considered normal, as he happily waves at the fans holding banners and lightsticks among the silver ocean. "Hi guys! Are you having fun!?"

"YES!"

Baekhyun cups his left ear, urging the fans to shout louder. "Do you want to see my nutella abs!?"

"YES!"

"You perverts!"

Bowing his head down low, Sehun trains his eyes on his shoes, hiding the growing smile forming on his lips.

*

Baekhyun is crying again.

Most people don't know, including the members aside from Chanyeol and Sehun, about Baekhyun's constant nightmares. Contrary to his on-stage attitude, Baekhyun has this grieving side of him that keeps on haunting him to sleep. He would wake up crying in the middle of the night, catching for his breath as if he were being chased by ghosts, beads of cold sweat trickling down his temples.

There are too many ghosts chasing him, the ghosts of his past.

He sees faceless people, murmuring incoherent jumbled words into his ears, blaming, hating, cursing, dissing him, forcing him down, telling him he's not a natural. He's gay, people won't accept a person like him. He's a fake, a great pretender. All of him is ingenuine. He had gone plastic surgery, he has less talent, his popularity is a fudge. EXO doesn't need him, he's underrated. He should get back to the cave where he belongs. He's just a good for nothing creature, a fucking worthless bitch hungry for fame and attention.

Baekhyun sobs into his palms, whole body shaking in fear.

"Baekhyun, hey, Baekhyun," a gentle voice says, pulling him into a warm embrace. "It's all right, they're now gone, okay? Shh, stop crying. I'm right here."

Burying his face into that familiar scent without looking at his face, Baekhyun hiccups and curls himself into a ball. "D-don't leave me.. please, don't go.. S-stay here."

"I will," Chanyeol says, smoothing his palm across Baekhyun's back as he hugs him tight. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you," Baekhyun is still shaking as he silently cries when he mutters, "Sehun, w-will you sleep beside me? I-I'm scared.."

Chanyeol closes his eyes shut and bites back the tears threatening to fall. He feels his heart painfully clench when Baekhyun clutches his arm, afraid to let go.

"S-sehun, don't leave me alone.."

"I won't."

Laying Baekhyun down on the bed, Chanyeol carefully tugs the blanket up to Baekhyun's chin. He's now peacefully sleeping after several minutes of calming him down. Chanyeol watches how the singer's eyebrows furrow, so he smooths it with the pad of his thumb. Baekhyun flinches, murmuring puppy noises in his sleep as he still holds Chanyeol's hand on top of his chest.

"Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom," Sehun apologizes when he comes back with a wry smile. Chanyeol nods quietly and is about to stand, when Baekhyun pulls him, holding on to his hand with their fingers still intertwined.

"N-no," Baekhyun whispers, still unconscious.

Sehun doesn't say anything when Chanyeol releases Baekhyun's hand, and walks out of the dark room to leave.

"W-where have you been?" Baekhyun softly murmurs, looking straight at Sehun with his glassy eyes, to Sehun's bare face only inches away from him. He can feel the younger breathing through his nose, and it sends an unspoken comfort down to his anxious heart.

"To the bathroom."

"Are you leaving me again?"

Sehun averts his eyes, and his mouth parts to speak a mere whisper in the dark, "No. I'll stay."

Baekhyun weakly smiles, scooting closer to Sehun's body and nuzzling his nose into Sehun's addicting warmth. "Thank you."

Sehun doesn't sleep that night.

*

A week is what the company gave EXO after they had debuted in Japan, to rest and do whatever they want. Half of the members went sight-seeing to Tokyo's finest hot spots, shopping around Shibuya and strolling at every tourist places in Osaka their feet could bring them. While the five members are out, four of them choose to stay in their new dorm to at least make up for their sleep-deprived nights spent on practicing new choreography.

A grumble on his stomach causes Sehun to get up from his comfortable position on his king-sized bed, heading to the kitchen in hopes to find something to eat. He wishes Kyungsoo had at least cooked food before he immersed himself to slumber. That hyung is really grumpy when you wake him up just to cook for you. Happy when he sees a plate of kimchi fried rice and egg on the table, Sehun quickly takes a seat on a stool and starts digging in without hesitation.

"Hey, that's mine!"

Sehun turns his head, grains of rice sticking messily on the side of his lips. Baekhyun walks over with a furious pout as he grabs his plate away from Sehun's hand, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why were you eating my food!?"

"It didn't say it was 'Baekhyun's food', though," Sehun sighs. "And besides, I'm starving." He tries to reach for the half-eaten plate behind Baekhyun's back but to no avail. The older is blocking and swatting his hand with that annoying face of his, and Sehun thinks, here we go again.

"Hyung! Just give me the fucking plate! I'm in the middle of eating, can't you see?" Sehun snaps, eyebrows furrowing downwards. Baekhyun smiles, even wider now that he gets the reaction that he wants.

"I won't give it to you," Baekhyun coos, grinning, as he stuffs his mouth with the whole sunny side up egg that Sehun was saving for beside his plate. A crestfallen look paints Sehun's face, seeing Baekhyun licking his lips in completion, as he smugly chugs the glass of milk Sehun had managed to prepare for himself. He knows he might sound so immature for being angry about this petty thing, but it seems like all the pent-up irate feelings inside him have piled up, doing the job for him to burst out.

"What the fuck!?" Sehun shouts in rage, standing up from his seat. He is hungry, and thirsty, exhausted and sleepy, and he is not having any of Baekhyun's prank pulling and pestering attitude right now. "You're being too much! It's not funny anymore! I fucking hate you!"

Baekhyun's eyes flicker a slight pain hearing those hurtful words, but recovers immediately with a cocky smirk. "Oh really? It's not funny? Am I annoying now?" Like a loyal puppy, he follows Sehun padding into the living room. Sehun groans, his hand is on his forehead as he curses under his breath. "Hey, hey, hey. Am I annoying now? Am I annoying?"

"Fuck off."

Plopping himself on the couch angrily, Sehun crosses his legs while Baekhyun sits beside him and grins, arms flushed against arms.

"Hey--"

"What!?" Sehun grits, running a hand across his blonde fringe. He wants to be alone by himself, he wants silence, but Baekhyun is not giving him the chance to enjoy his leisure.

"Do you really hate me that much?"

There's a subtle glimmer of seriousness reflected on Baekhyun's eyes as he lets out those words, but Sehun is too worked up to notice it, especially when a bothersome arm is circling around his waist. Too warm, too fluttering causing his insides to flip hoping it is due to annoyance. A soft cheek is being snuggled to his shoulder, that Sehun feels like leaning into him for a few more seconds but he can't.

He knows someone is watching him.

"Get off!" he yells, pushing Baekhyun away with unnecessary force. Baekhyun loses his balance and stumbles on the floor, hitting his forehead on the corner of the coffee table.

Sehun's eyes widen.

Baekhyun is holding his bumped head, curling himself into a ball as he tries to get up. Standing there like a rock, Sehun's mouth parts and steps forward.

"What the fuck is your problem!?" a voice sneers, and Chanyeol is rushing into the living room to assist Baekhyun up, holding him by the elbows as the singer silently cries due to pain. "Hey, are you hurt? Did it bleed?"

"I-I didn't intend to push him," Sehun retorts lamely.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"No. I-I'm fine," Baekhyun weakly answers, giving Chanyeol a reassuring smile. "It's nothing.."

"Are you happy now!?" Chanyeol says to Sehun who is frozen on his position. Sehun is just staring at Baekhyun's face, to his features contorting in pain. A red swollen bump is evident on his forehead, which the singer tries to hide behind his bangs.

Sehun feels guilt eating him up.

"Is this what you want!? Hurting him?" Chanyeol says, teeth gritting and eyes glaring at Sehun. The younger averts his eyes, keeping his face neutral.

"Chanyeol, it's not his fault. It's an accident. He didn't mean it," Baekhyun says, pulling the taller in front of him ready to pounce at Sehun any minute. "You're overreacting."

"I'm sorry. I'm just," Chanyeol trails off, sighing as he massages the bridge of his nose. "I'm just worried about you. Come on, let's treat your concussion." He holds Baekhyun by the arm, coaxing him to follow him. Baekhyun turns to look at Sehun for the last minute, but the younger never sets his eyes upon him. He mutters a soft I'm sorry as he half-heartedly follows Chanyeol inside the bathroom.

When the two males are gone, Sehun finally breathes and sits on the couch, furiously cursing himself as he buries his face into his palms.

*

"Ouch."

Baekhyun flinches, eyes twitching when the cotton comes into contact with the fresh cut on his forehead. Chanyeol leans the tongs away for a brief second, before continuing on dabbing the skin around the wound carefully.

"You shouldn't have said that," Baekhyun says, and his soft voice echoes around the empty bathroom. Quietly, Chanyeol opens the medicine cabinet and pulls out a plaster to cover Baekhyun's concussion.

"Said what?" Chanyeol asks.

"It wasn't necessary," Baekhyun mutters. "You didn't have to snap at him like that. If only you had seen the look on his face, Sehun was really hurt and--"

"What?" Chanyeol can't believe he is hearing this. "You were the one who got hurt here, and now you're still worried about what he would feel?"

Baekhyun keeps quiet.

"I'm the one who's tending you, yet it's still my fault," Chanyeol bitterly says, fingers shaking as he applies antiseptic on the swollen wound. Baekhyun winces and closes his eyes shut, head leaning against the wall for support.

"At least make me feel you're indebted to me," he adds, before finishing with a deep sigh. Baekhyun says a quiet thank you to the taller as Sehun's words still ring into his ears.

I fucking hate you.

Baekhyun wishes it was just a lie.

"You know how I feel about him, right?" he starts carefully, drumming his fingers on top of his lap as Chanyeol watches him on the mirror.

"I didn't know that was for real." The taller closes the first aid kit, and his mouth suddenly tastes like bile. He forces it down to his throat and faces Baekhyun fully.

"I was serious when I told you I love him."

Chanyeol wishes it was just a lie.

"And I was also serious when I told you I love you."

Baekhyun is averting his eyes, inhaling a deep breath. His heart is constricting again, in times like this when Chanyeol would tell him things he tries to never bring back up. "Chanyeol, please."

"No, Baekhyun. Listen to me. I don't," Chanyeol says, eyebrows furrowing, "I just don't understand you. You and me, we are us right? We are real. We have something going on between us, don't we? I believe on us, I believe that everything we do is real. The thing I just can't believe is that you're making things serious with him. Why him? Why Sehun? That guy is not even--"

Baekhyun stands up in disbelief. "That guy? Chanyeol, he's your friend. For fuck's sake!"

"Well, not anymore because he's taking you away from me!"

"No one's taking anyone away from someone because I am not anyone's property! Don't fucking mix up what's us on-stage because that's completely different! This is reality, and in this reality, I am not yours! In this reality, I am in love with Sehun and not with you! We are not fucking real. Goddamnit!"

Silence envelopes the room save for the pitter-patter of the loosely closed faucet.

"Do you really need to say that out loud in front of my face?"

Chanyeol faces the wall and bumps his forehead against the flat surface, stifling the tears threatening to escape. Baekhyun doesn't say anything when he sees Chanyeol's fists balling by his sides.

"Baekhyun, why are you being so cruel?" Chanyeol mutters. "I've been always right beside you yet you're always looking at somebody else... Am I lacking? Am I not good enough?"

"The problem's not with you. It's with me," the shorter replies. "I don't exactly know what happened to me why I suddenly feel this way... I thought it was you all along, but then things change, and he just came in..." Baekhyun hugs his thighs against his chest and buries his face into his knees, listening to the sound of his erratic heartbeat.

"One moment it was you whom I want to hold-hands with, it was your face I want to see first in the morning, but," he trails off, droplets of liquid falling from his eyes blurring his vision.

"B-but next it is Sehun whom I want to feel this close to me. It is him whom I want to hear the voice of, it is him whom I want to hug when I cry at night." Baekhyun clutches the hem of his shirt tightly. "It's now Sehun whom my heart beats for. It's not you anymore."

Chanyeol walks towards him, shaking his shoulders desperately. "W-why the change of heart? I-I have never done anything wrong but to love you! I never hurt you since day one. W-why are you.. why are being like this?"

"You're loving me so much, that you're expecting me to love you back just like how you feel for me. I never promised you that I can do this, Chanyeol. I-I never said anything about us being real.."

Baekhyun can feel blunt nails digging into his skin, but chooses to ignore them when Chanyeol is looking at him with eyes full of emotions he could drown just by having a glimpse of them.

"It fucking hurts me hearing you say that, but I still love you so much! I-I know you love me too, you're just being confused with your heart, right? Sehun's just being close with you, isn't he?" Chanyeol asks, eyes hoping.

"He's such a friendly kid, and he doesn't have something to do with this. He doesn't even feel that way with you! So please, Baekhyun," Chanyeol begs. "Please, come back to me, please--"

"Chanyeol, don't make things hard for you. Let me go." He pushes Chanyeol away weakly. "Chanyeol."

"No. I don't want to let you go... It has always been you, and, and, I can't afford to lose you. Not now. Not ever."

"Chanyeol.... I am not happy with you... I am happy with Sehun, so please. Just please, let me go."

"Baekhyun, I love you--"

"I don't want this anymore."

Baekhyun stands up and wriggles Chanyeol's hold away from him. Complying, the taller releases Baekhyun and listens to the fading footsteps behind him. The swift sound of the door closing has Chanyeol finally giving in, punching the wall hard as he muffledly cries inside the bathroom. His knuckles hurt, but his heart is more aching than any physical injury that could cost him as he punches the mirror in front of him.

The mirror breaks into shards just like his heart ripping into two.

But Baekhyun is never there to see Chanyeol's bleeding fist.

*

Clearing his throat, Sehun takes a deep breath and walks.

"I can do this," he mutters to himself, walking back and forth, back and forth across the pathway in front of the closed door of Baekhyun's room. He stops for a while, glancing at the wood as if it would swallow him alive, before shaking his head and continuing to walk again.

He can't do this.

Being the youngest in the group, he has the highest pride among all of them. Sehun is not one to apologize even the act was accidentally or intentionally done by him The hyungdeul would do the job for him, preserving him as if he were a delicate sensitive prince. The olders, especially Baekhyun, would catch the blame for him, in times when Sehun fails to do his responsibilities, be it personal or professional.

Baekhyun is always there for him, and Sehun feels like an asshole of every seconds passing by breathing and doing nothing, his egoistic pride eating him alive.

"Shit," he curses, stepping forward to clutch the cold doorknob with trembling fingers. When Baekhyun is having nightmares and is crying in the middle of the night, Sehun would open this doorknob without any reluctance, as he hastily gets to the sobbing male on the bed, hushing him to sleep and staying until dawn.

But why it is so hard to do that, when a simple quick turn of the knob could let Sehun reach him? His heart feels so heavy he wants to go yet he wants to stay.

He chooses the latter.

"What are you still doing there," a deep voice says, and Sehun is turning his head to Chanyeol leaning against the wall adjacent to Baekhyun's room. He has his sight trained on the other direction, and Sehun doesn't want to know the reason behind those red eyes, as well as to that fist wrapped in a bandage.

"If you want to go inside, just do it."

"I-I was just passing by and--" Sehun looks on the ground. "I-I am not planning to go inside..."

"Fine. Suit yourself," Chanyeol mutters coldly before turning his heel away.

"Wait."

Chanyeol pauses.

"Don't you want to talk to him?" Sehun asks. "That is why you're here, aren't you?"

"We had talked enough," Chanyeol says. "And I wasn't the one whom he wanted to talk to."

Sehun averts his eyes. "Hyung."

Chanyeol wants to yell at his face to stop calling him that, it makes him want to throw up.

"I am partly doing this for you."

"I never asked you to do me a favor."

"I am being a good a friend, that is why," Sehun swallows dryly, feeling his eyes prick, "I am restraining myself."

"If you being nice to me hurts Baekhyun, then fuck you. I don't need a good friend. I need Baekhyun coming back to me, and it's impossible if you're existing in this group."

With that, Chanyeol leaves and Sehun feels his heart just got impossibly heavier than before. He leans against the wall and cranes his neck up, staring at the criss-cross patterns of the ceiling. Bringing a hand on top of his chest, he pounds it and tries to breathe.

He's suffocating.

"What did I do wrong..." he says. "I'm just... doing what I think is right."

The door opens with a light creek, and Sehun's heart jumps out of his chest in surprise. He turns to look at Baekhyun who is now staring at him emotionless. He feels his throat running dry.

"What are you doing here," Baekhyun asks flatly, scratching his tummy underneath his pink pajamas. His hair is totally disheveled and Sehun knows he had just woken up.

"I-I was just--" he stutters, looking away. "I-I am just..."

"What?" Baekhyun says, annoyed. He had a bad dream, and the ugly images of those monsters are still etched freshly in his mind.

"If you have nothing to say, then you can go," Baekhyun says, holding the door to close it again just as Sehun's lips part to speak.

"I'm sorry."

Baekhyun pauses, lifting his head up slowly and swinging the door open wider.

"I'm sorry," Sehun says again, louder.

He clears his throat, feeling the singer's deep stare piercing through the side of his face. It has his palms clamming up, sweat forming on his forehead. Baekhyun waits, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Baekhyun."

"What is it?"

"I just want to let you know that--"

Baekhyun takes a deep breath. "That?"

Sehun unleans himself on the wall and walks towards Baekhyun who is standing by the door. Intently looking at the shorter, Sehun breathes in and speaks:

"I was lying when I told you I got a call from Luhan," Sehun starts. "I have never contacted him ever since we ended what's going on between us.. Ever since he left me."

Baekhyun doesn't want to hear that name again, it makes his heart clench in an undesirable way, especially when it is coming out from Sehun himself, out of all people. He allows his hand to drop from its holding on the doorknob, stepping back weakly.

"Maybe I was being really outright annoying, that you have to hurt my feelings to stop pestering you around," Baekhyun says, letting out an unamused snicker as he looks down on the floor.

"I-it's not like that. I just want to be honest with you.. since you are giving me," Sehun sucks air sharply, "your heart."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Baekhyun, I want to take care of you."

Baekhyun holds his breath.

"And stay right by your side."

Sehun slowly leans in to Baekhyun's face, a hairsbreadth away separating their lips that Baekhyun can feel Sehun's warm breath from his nose. Eyes widening as he freezes on his stance, Baekhyun flushes and blinks, the apples of his cheeks burning hot due to their proximity. He doesn't manage to say a word when Sehun holds his chin up, and presses his soft lips against his mouth for a gentle kiss.

Their lips brush for a few seconds, and Baekhyun senses a zap of electricity running up to his body, feeling the sweetness of Sehun's lips, kissing him tenderly like this. He closes his eyes and unclenches his hands by his sides loosely, allowing the younger to swiftly lick the seam of his lips with his tongue. The new-found warmth has Baekhyun leaning into the touch, finding purchase on Sehun's shirt as he grips it with his small fists.

The younger leans away, just to kiss the wounded skin on Baekhyun's forehead covered by the plaster, and that makes Baekhyun feel a surge of emotions bubbling up inside of him because of the sweet gesture. Sehun claims his lips again for a second kiss, and roams his way inside Baekhyun's willing mouth for a more heated kiss. Sehun sucking his lip gently as he kisses him more deep and passionate, has Baekhyun's knees melting like jelly, heart thumping rapidly like he is running a thousand miles.

Baekhyun is the one who pulls away first, eyes looking elsewhere aside from the male in front of him. Sehun nervously clears his throat and steps backwards, rubbing his nape disorientedly.

"G-good night," Sehun mutters and Baekhyun nods quickly in reply.

"Good night," he softly says, before closing the door with a silent thud. Leaning his back against the door with his heart fluttering wildly inside his chest, Baekhyun listens and waits for the footsteps outside to fade away.

Deeming that Sehun is now gone, Baekhyun breaks into a wide glowing smile, touching his lips delicately with his fingertips. He can still sense Sehun's gentle lips against his own, feeling his heart go lighter as if he were floating within thin air. He lets out a soft chuckle and dives in to his fluffy bed, smile never leaving his face until he gradually drifts off to a delightful sleep.

That night, he dreams of a beautiful winter beach, the sea breeze fanning his hair as he watches the peaceful waves hitting the shore.

He doesn't drown because of a hand intertwined within his fingers, holding him tight and never planning to let go.

*

"Hey, hey, wake up. Wake up."

Baekhyun slowly opens his eyelids, eyes adjusting to the sun rays peeking through his curtains. He lets out a long groan, automatically wiping the saliva dribbling on the side of his lips.

"Five more minutes," he mumbles, bringing a hand to cover that smiling face off his vision. He turns to his side and hugs the pillow, but the soft material is being grabbed away from his embrace.

"Good morning," a cocky voice says, snatching off Baekhyun's sheets so that the cold aircon would crawl up to the exposed skin of the singer's thighs and belly. Blinking repeatedly, Baekhyun receives three pillow hits on his morning face, pulling him out of his sleepy state. He shoots up on his back and shouts.

"Fuck! Why did you do that!? Can't you see an individual sleeping!?" he hisses, angrily kicking his feet in the air as he glares at the male who has his arms crossed against his chest. "Get out!"

"What, am I being annoying now?" Sehun says, giving the older a teasing smirk. "Am I annoying?"

"G-get out," Baekhyun mutters a little softer this time, as he awkwardly attempts to fix his messy hair and crumpled clothes which is not doing him any justice. Sehun is just staring at him amusedly, watching a blushing Baekhyun hugging his knees close to his chest.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

Baekhyun nods.

"No more nightmares so far?" Sehun asks, sitting on the edge of the bed, not too close for discomfort.

Baekhyun nods again.

"Great. Good to hear that."

"Sehun," Baekhyun calls softly, latching his tiny hand on the hem of Sehun's sweater. "D-do you... regret what you did last night?"

Sehun stops for a while, furrowing his eyebrows as Baekhyun looks up to him, eyes expectant and anticipating.

"Did what?"

Baekhyun's face falls.

"I never did anything to you," Sehun says, rolling his eyes as he breaks into a smug smile. "The last time I remembered, I kissed a rock. And it was so terrible I swear to god."

Baekhyun's eyes brighten up in relief, but quickly recovers as he wears a mock kicked-puppy look on his face. He punches and jabs Sehun's diaphragm, earning a not-so manly squeal from the younger. Baekhyun chuckles at that, watching in victory as Sehun slumps on the floor, holding his abused stomach.

"Hyung, this isn't funny anymore," Sehun says, wriggling underneath Baekhyun who is now riding his back like a cowboy. Baekhyun pays him no heed, hitting Sehun's butt with a ruler he grabs from somewhere.

"Fuck!"

"Shut up! You need to bear with this for hurting my feelings, how dare you!" He slaps Sehun's behind harder with the ruler, so Sehun wails out in pain.

"Ouch! This isn't how you treat your potential boyfr--"

"Enough of that, breakfast's ready," Chanyeol calls from the outside, staring at the two males on the floor. He quickly averts his eyes. "Please at least refrain from any physical intimacy. We have a concert to perform."

"We are not fucking doing anything!" Baekhyun shouts, blushing hard.

"Get off me, you're too heavy, damnit," Sehun grunts, crawling away but to no avail. Baekhyun is still sitting on his back like a princess.

"Am I annoying now? Am I annoying? Huh?"

"You're always annoying," Sehun quietly says, staring at the carpeted floor as he bears the heavy weight on top of his back. Baekhyun peeks down to his face to upset him some more.

"And it turns me on for the most part."

Face flushed, Baekhyun keeps quiet after that. Sehun hides the smile growing on his quirked lips, as he gently carries Baekhyun on his back towards the kitchen. Quiet on his seat, Chanyeol follows with his eyes how the two playfully argue who's going to drink the last carton of milk in the fridge.

"You're going to come back to me, Baekhyun," Chanyeol says to himself, nails digging into the flesh of his palm as he stands up to leave. "You'll regret this."

Baekhyun buries his face into the crook of Sehun's neck, clinging to him tighter. "Chanyeol is mad at me. God knows how true it is that I didn't mean to hurt him. I really loved him, but now I feel like I'm a terrible person.."

"You're not a terrible person," Sehun says, pouring the milk in a tall glass. "You're just being honest with your feelings."

"You think so?"

Sehun nods, a tiny smile forming on his lips as he places Baekhyun on top of the counter. He settles in between his thighs.

"If he really loves you, then he would accept and understand us," Sehun grabs the glass of milk and puts it in between Baekhyun's tiny hands. "Just how I accepted your past and imperfections, and how I dealt your constant nightmares." Baekhyun beams up to him, taking a sip of his milk.

"I promise you I'm taking all your nightmares away," Sehun says, looking down at Baekhyun's lap. "So that you won't cry at night to me anymore. Because now, I want to see you smile, especially at night when I would hug and kiss you... and probably make love to you."

"Well, that escalated quickly," Baekhyun says, chuckling softly.

"You're really annoying," Sehun blurts out, but there's no heat in his words. "I hate you so much."

"And I love you, too."

Sehun keeps silent after that, watching how Baekhyun happily drinks his milk. Baekhyun grins up at him, telling him he is the most ridiculous yet most special person in his entire world.

"You should smile more often," Baekhyun tells him, poking Sehun's smooth cheek with his index finger. Sehun snorts, swatting away Baekhyun's persistent finger toying with every inch of his face.

"Maybe I should. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I now have the reason to smile."

Baekhyun laughs heartily as he points to himself. "It's me, isn't it?"

A shy nod and a tiny smile is all Baekhyun needs for him to understand Sehun's reply. More than enough, though. It's more than enough.

*

END

(A/N: You guys know how I really love Chanbaek right, but this one is just. I'm just. :'( I'm crying okay I love this.)