After school, Baekhyun rushes to the art room to work on his top priority, Kyungsoo's request.

With only three days to finish a full fledged portrait, Baekhyun was nervous about not being able to pull it off. He had been working on a sketch during his spare time in class today, and pulled out the now-slightly-crumpled paper.

He stares at it for a long moment, not knowing where to start or what colors to use at all. Giving up, he pulls out his phone and texts Kyungsoo, asking for a picture of Jongin to base his work off of.

Kyungsoo doesn't reply right away, so while waiting, Baekhyun begins to mix a little bit of paint to work on Chanyeol's portrait. He smiles as he fills in the dimple on his boyfriend's left cheek, recalling how much he loves to poke it to get a reaction out of Chanyeol.

He's working on the folds of Chanyeol's tee when the giant himself walks in, hair dripping slightly with water and a few wet spots on his tee. "Hey."

Baekhyun looks up from his work, setting his brush down and wiping his hands on a piece of paper towel. "Has it really been an hour?"

"No, Coach had to leave early. Family emergency or something." Chanyeol sets his stuff down next to Baekhyun's and sits down next to him. "Aren't you supposed to be working on Kyungsoo's request?"

"I would, but Kyungsoo hasn't replied yet." Baekhyun unlocks his phone and passes to his boyfriend. "See?"

"Ah." Chanyeol reads the text and passes the phone back. "Can I see the sketch?"

"Here." Baekhyun passes the paper, which had a tiny splatter of red paint, to Chanyeol. "I was doing it during class, so it's rushed."

"But good nonetheless." Chanyeol looks at the sketch and then at its creator. "It's always good."

"Smile." Baekhyun picks up his brush again.

Chanyeol does, and Baekhyun pokes the prominent dimple, causing Chanyeol's grin to widen. "What are you doing?"

"Relieving stress." Baekhyun continues to prod the dimple.

"By poking me?" Chanyeol taps Baekhyun's nose teasingly.

"No, by being with you and making you smile." Baekhyun's sporting a smile that could rival the sun's brightness.

"Baekhyun..." Chanyeol trails off and presses a kiss to the brunet's lips to hide his hesitation.

"Hm?"

"Nothing, just wanted to say your name."

***

"Can I go to the media center?" Baekhyun asks as soon as he steps into homeroom the next morning. "I need to return a book."

"Sure. Just put your stuff down."

Baekhyun walks over and sets his binders down on his desk, then walks out the door, almost overdue book in hand.

The hallway was almost empty, just a few students were here and there, getting the last things they needed. Chanyeol was one of them.

Baekhyun walks over and wraps an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Hey."

"Hm?" Chanyeol looks to the side and immediately, a smile brightens his face. "What are you doing here?" He pecks his boyfriend's forehead swiftly.

"I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I need to return a book." Baekhyun holds up said object.

"Oh really? Hold on then. I need to get some poster paper from the library workroom as well."

"Alright." Baekhyun watches the giant close and lock his locker, then disappears into his homeroom. He emerges a second later, empty handed.

"Come on." Chanyeol puts an arm around the brunet as they walk down the hallway.

A few minutes later, Baekhyun helps his boyfriend carry some of the paper back upstairs.

"I'll see you later."

"Later." Baekhyun reluctantly squeezes Chanyeol's hand one last time and lets go.

As soon as the bell for English rings, Baekhyun jumps out of his chair and heads for the class, anticipating the arrival of his tall boyfriend. When he gets to his seat, Chanyeol's already there, scrolling through his phone. He sets the device down as soon as Baekhyun drops his binders on his desk.

"Hey Baek."

"How are you?" Baekhyun slides into his seat, a rectangular grin on his face. Chanyeol immediately steals a kiss, taking advantage of the almost empty room.

"Better, now that you're here."

"So cheesy."

"What? It's true."

"Okay okay." The brunet nuzzles into the crook of Chanyeol neck, inhaling his scent.

"Do you want my sweatshirt?"

"Hm?"

"Here, take it." The giant takes off his outer layer and gives it to the brunet, who slips it on. Baekhyun automatically brings the sleeve up to his nose and inhales.

"Aw look, you have sweater paws." The giant tugs at said sleeves.

"Mm-hmm."

Chanyeol looks at the back of the clothing, at his last name, Park, and his number, 61. "The name Park suits you," he teases.

"You'll have to marry me if you ever want that to happen."

"Already thinking about the future?" Chanyeol tickles Baekhyun's chin as the students begin to trickle in, filling the previously quiet room with rowdy chatter.

"What? It's true."

"Okay. Speaking of, aren't you doing score at tonight's game?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Sneak in a few extra points for us tonight, why don't you? The team we're going against is tough." The humor in his eyes indicates that the giant is only joking.

"Nah. You'll be fine. I believe in you."

***

"Chanyeol, Chanyeol, Chanyeol!" The crowd chants as the giant rushes down the court, ball in hand. The white 61 flashes over and over again, matching the number on a certain brunet who was sitting behind a table, score board controls in hand.

The officials had long ago trusted the brunet with doing the job fairly. Plus, with about two hundred pairs of eyes staring at the score constantly, there was little chance of cheating. Everyone knew that Baekhyun had close—really close—ties with the giant wearing a gray jersey, but never once had it interfered with the fairness of the score.

When Chanyeol easily tosses the shot up, the crowd—the portion of the crowd that supported EXO High School that is—wave handmade banners and hoot and holler.

Chanyeol high fives his teammates on court, his eyes seeking out the brunet that proudly adds three points to EXO's total score, now a healthy 32 points.

There's a change of possession, and the crowd excitedly counts down the seconds before half time.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

The player hurls the ball at their goal in a last ditch effort, and albeit the not ideal conditions, the ball brushes the net and lands out of bounds.

A chorus of 'aww's and a few sighs of relief cloud the air as the teams made their way to the sidelines. Chanyeol instantly head for Baekhyun, who tosses him a half-empty bottle of water after setting the clock to five minutes and starting the timer.

"I thought I had a full bottle?" Chanyeol asks after taking a few sips of the refreshing liquid.

"I drank a bit. My throat was getting dry from all the shouting." Baekhyun grabs his collar in dissatisfaction. "I also spilled some."

"As long as it was you and no one else." Chanyeol smiles, still a little red in the face from sprinting. "I would kiss you, but there's about two hundred other people here, and I'm sweating."

"Chanyeol! Get over here! You can chat with Baekhyun later!" The coach hollers in their direction.

"Oops, gotta blast. An angry coach means trouble."

The rest of the game runs smoothly with both teams steady gaining points. That is, until Jongdae fouls the shooter and costs his team two points, putting them one point behind.

Baekhyun bites his lip nervously as he watches the orange numbers on the clock tick down. Two more minutes... come on...

Luhan powers the ball down the court, the deafening thunder of shoes on the floor (and the occasional squeak) only amplified in the gym. He slips slightly, and the ball escapes his hold and rolls off. Chanyeol dashes over and grabs it before it rolls out, only to find himself stuck, two opponents reaching for the ball. "Help!" He pivots on his heel the best he can.

Oh come on Chanyeol... one minute...

"Bounce pass it!" Chanyeol spins around and follows the instruction blindly. The ball somehow makes it's way into Sehun's clutches, who drives his way to the net, slowed down slightly by his opponents. A little dizzy, Sehun overshoots and the ball bounces off the far rim.

And into the giant's grasp.

Without a second thought, Chanyeol puts the ball up. The basketball bounces between the rim and finally drops in just as the buzzer goes off, signaling the end of the game.

Panting, Chanyeol realizes just how quickly his heart was racing. He looks up to see the score flashing proudly in bright red lights, viewing it clearly despite the black dots blinking in his vision.

45-44.

Oh man. Baekhyun, are you proud? One look at the brunet confirms his answer. Yes, the brunet was indeed, very very proud.

It's only then that Chanyeol realizes just how loud the crowd was. Cheering, yelling, whooping, the waving of banners. His own teammates were louder still, running up to him and clapping him on the back. (They would have lifted him up, but what was the point isn't that, when he was already taller than almost all of them?)

And suddenly, what started out as a high school basketball game... wasn't just a game.

It was something so much more.

Pride flooded him. Only it wasn't as familiar. It was no longer a selfish pride, it wasn't just pride for him. It was for the team. For Baekhyun. For the school.

And it felt glorious.

Chanyeol sneaks another glance at Baekhyun, who had taken off his sweatshirt and was waving it around, back facing out. Chanyeol has to grin, no matter how tired he is, at his boyfriend's 'banner'.

As he steps into line to shake hands, the giant's thoughts are still swimming.

Wow. His mouth goes on autopilot, so used to the ritual of saying 'good game' after every game. It left Chanyeol to his own thoughts.

"Yeol!" Baekhyun runs up to his exhausted boyfriend and wipes him down with a towel. "That. Was. AMAZING!"

"It's was just a regular game." Chanyeol tries to downplay it, something that would have never crossed his mind to do it the past.

"Maybe so, but you didn't play it like it was."

"Go shower!" The coach once again interrupts their exchange.

"I'll see you later, when I'm not smelling of grime." Chanyeol grins and follows the rest of his teammates into the shower.

- § -

Don't question why gray is their team color. I did some research, and the other option was a light tan. :l

Next chapter is the last one before the epilogue!

<3

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