A lot of people have birthdays upcoming!

@opptae on 2/6

@BYUNHEARTS on 2/6

Exo-Byun on 2/8

(If I didn't mention you, I'm sorry. I just saw these in the comments of my books.) :l

Happy early birthday y'all! (No, I am not southern.) :)

(Ignore the black mark on the picture. I'm too lazy to go back and fix it...)

:)

- § -

I flop down on our shared bed as soon as we enter. "I'm exhausted."

"Then sleep." Chanyeol sits down on the bed and strokes my slightly damp hair. "Do you want food? I have some stashed inside a cabinet."

"Later. I want to brush my teeth right now. And then sleep." I drag myself up and into the bathroom.

When I return, Chanyeol's on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Hey beautiful," he calls when he notices me.

I smile coyly at the name, laying down on the bed and letting him cuddle me. Mmm.

"Yeol, you smell good." I murmur. I nibble on his earlobe sleepily.

"You tell me that all the time." He shivers. "Don't mess with my ears."

"Why?" I flick them gently. "I like them."

My mate groans. "They're sensitive."

"Good." I bite the outer shell of his ear teasingly.

"Yah! Baekhyun!" Chanyeol rolls us over and places a hand on my chest. "You're really asking for it. And didn't you say that you were sleepy?"

"Eh." I push him off so that we're side by side again. "I like teasing my mate better." I swing a leg over his hip and bury my face into the crook of his neck. Mmm.

I feel Chanyeol's hand run under my shirt and float over the burn mark. I whine in protest and tug at his collar.

"It's okay. I just want to see how bad it is." Chanyeol gently lifts up my shirt and examines the still pink mark. "It'll be okay." He kisses me gently. "Sleep now. You'll recover faster if you get some rest."

"Mm-kay." I close my eyes and roll over onto my side. I hear Chanyeol grab a pillow and tuck it under my head. His scent invades my system, and I grip at the material. It's his pillow.

"You sure you don't want to be under the covers?" Chanyeol cards through my hair.

"I'm sure. This is comfy." Even though, I can feel my mate tuck a bit of the blanket over my feet, his hand never leaving my hair.

"I love you." The words escape my parted lips as I drift off.

The last thing I feel is Chanyeol's lips on mine, and his throaty whisper as he repeats the words back.

I love you.

I wake up to Chanyeol asleep beside me, arm around my waist. He's had rough day too. I nuzzle his neck slightly, wanting his touch. His arm tightens around me, and I smile in content.

"Mmph. How are you feeling?" Chanyeol's voice surprises me.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Okay."

It's silent for a while.

"Did I wake you?" I tuck my head into his neck.

"Yeah," he breathes softly, "It's fine. I'd rather spend time with you." He kisses the top of my head. "You're amazing, you know that?"

I look to the side, unable to come up with an answer. Luckily, someone knocks on the door, the sound filling our silence.

I twist myself out of Chanyeol's hold, meander to the door, and swing it open. "Hm?"

"Baekhyun! You're feeling better!" I'm instantly wrapped in four pairs of arms.

"Eek! I can't breathe!" I push them off me.

"Hi!" Yixing and his mate wave at me from behind the mob.

"Baek? What's going on? Get them to come in," Chanyeol calls from inside our room.

"You heard him." I push Sehun inside. "Move."

The six of them make their way into our room and settle on the couch and floor.

"Baek? Come over here." Chanyeol beckons me, still lying on the bed.

I walk over, sit down, and push him into a sitting position. "Get up, you lazy bum."

Our guests burst out into hooting laughter.

"What?" I question innocently as I mess up my mate's hair.

"Shush." Chanyeol grabs my wrists. "I have an excuse today."

"I don't understand how you took care of all these wolves while lazing around all day."

Kyungsoo takes in a sharp breath.

"Was that a challenge?" Chanyeol looks like he's about to pin me to the bed, but then decides against it. "I'll deal with you later."

"Wow, that was certainly something. You don't see Alpha getting challenged very often. Especially by his mate," Sehun snickers. He gets a jab in the rib from his mate.

"Alpha, your hair looks like a tornado went through it." Yixing tries his hardest to stifle his laughter. Junmyeon pokes him playfully.

Chanyeol shoots me a playful glare. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." I jump off the bed and run to Kyungsoo, who sits in front of me protectively. This earns him a look from Beta Jongin. "Absolutely nothing."

My stomach rumbles. 'Chan, I'm hungry.'

Chanyeol walks over and pulls me off of Kyungsoo. "Let's go grab some food. It's about time we ate."

At the prospect of being in the kitchen, Kyungsoo stands up and dashes out the door. "I'll go get something set up!" His mate runs after him.

Sehun shakes his head. "I need bubble tea." He jogs out the door.

Gamma Luhan rolls his eyes. "Of course."

Yixing lets out a breath. "He need to monitor his sugar intake." The medic goes after Sehun, Gamma Luhan at his side. Junmyeon heads after his mate.

As soon as Junmyeon gets to the stairs, Chanyeol links his arms around my waist and gives me a sweet kiss. 'Man, you don't know how hard it was to wait for them to be gone.'

I smile into our lip-lock, nibbling on his bottom lip.

'Don't think you're quiet off the hook yet. I'll get you back later.'

"Mm-hmm." I pull back and drag my mate along. "Come on, they'll be worried about us."

Chanyeol pulls the door shut behind us, and we run to catch up.

***

I'm sitting in Chanyeol's lap, half-eaten apple in hand. Mmm. A little bit of juice dribbles down my chin, and Chanyeol takes the chance to kiss it away.

My mate holds out a cheese cracker in front of me. "Want it?"

I nod and eat the snack out of his open palm. A little cheese powder is left in his hand.

Chanyeol wipes it off with a napkin and sets it aside. He holds out a Pocky stick. "Let's do this." He points to Kyungsoo and Beta Jongin, who had a stick between them, their mouths on either end. "The point of this is to bite off the smallest section, without letting our lips touch."

I take one end of the stick in my mouth, and Chanyeol does the same. I slowly move my way towards him, pausing a bit to chew in between. Soon, I'm close enough to brush our noses together.

'Wait. Slowly tilt your head.'

I comply, and Chanyeol carefully moves closer.

'Okay, Now bite down.' I can feel him breathing on me. I clench my teeth together. The stick cracks, and I swallow what I got.

Chanyeol holds my end of the stick between his index finger and thumb, then bites down. He holds the tiny nub out. "Kyungsoo. Let's compare."

The two of them hold the remainder of the sticks out side by side. Our's is the tiniest bit longer.

"Darn. You win."

Kyungsoo smiles in triumph.

Chanyeol feeds our bit of stick to me. I kiss him on the cheek in return.

Just then a guy burst through the door to the dining hall. He's lean, with dark eye bags. "We're under attack!"

- § -

...

CLIFF HANGER!

Haha.

On a totally unrelated note...

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! <3

Today, I'm officially a teen! :D

<3 <3 <3

Byee! Until Tuesday!

(The Countdown album is amazing! Cosmic Railway is meh fav.) :)

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