When Baekhyun arrived at the party, it took him a moment to find Kyungsoo, and once he had they immediately ran towards the drinks. Baekhyun pouted as he watch Kyungsoo get greedy with the alcohol, while Baekhyun shot him the stank eye over the rim of his plastic cup full of punch. He took a few sips before asking, "So, are you going to your parents tomorrow or will I just have to tell you the news over the phone?"

"You'll probably have to call me," Kyungsoo replied after he took another sip.

Baekhyun nodded. "I'll be sure to tell you first."

"How about Sehun? When are you seeing him again?" Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun pursed his lips in thought before saying, "After the holidays, I think."

Kyungsoo nodded. "I'm sure he'll be happy when he hears from you."

Baekhyun nodded with a small smile as he softly replied, "So do I . . ."

As the party stretched further into the night, and Baekhyun lost Kyungsoo to Jongin, he was on his own to mingle. He was nearly ready to call it a night, and even started walking towards the door when a hand tapped him over his left shoulder. He turned around curiously and glanced up, a huge smile splitting across his face as he cried, "Elfie, it's good to see you!"

Chanyeol chuckled and smiled too as he replied, "It's good to see you too, Baek—-"

"Nope," Baekhyun said, cutting Chanyeol off. "I'm not Baekhyun tonight, because I give you permission to call me Smurf."

Chanyeol laughed. "Why? Do you still not remember my name?"

"No, I do, I just like calling you Elfie," Baekhyun said with a smile.

Chanyeol frowned curiously and asked, "What are you so happy about?"

Baekhyun laughed and threw his head back as his arms flew out at his sides as he happily cried, "Because we're one day away from Christmas Eve, what's not to be happy about!"

Chanyeol was momentarily struck mute by Baekhyun's radiant beauty, and it took him a moment to compose himself, and he laughed to play off his true feelings as he replied, "You're absolutely right, tonight is a happy night...."

Baekhyun smiled and giggled, nudging Chanyeol's arm as he teasingly said, "See, you get it!"

Chanyeol smiled and stretched his hand out to tuck one of Baekhyun's hairs back into place as he replied, "I definitely get it . . ." Baekhyun blushed, and Chanyeol smiled shyly before muttering, "I'm sorry if that was—-"

"It's okay," Baekhyun replied.

Chanyeol nodded and his smile grew as he asked, "Would you like to go on a walk with me?"

Baekhyun smiled. "That sounds like a lovely idea...."

Baekhyun grabbed his coat before going on his walk with Chanyeol; both of them slipping out the backdoor of the party into the dimly lit hallway. They walked aimlessly for a while, neither one of them really knowing what to say, but the silence wasn't awkward; it was just nice having that other presence instead of the constant loneliness.

They turned down another barely lit hallway, and Chanyeol finally decided to break the silence as he asked, "It's so different in the dark . . ."

Baekhyun nodded and muttered, "I know, it's hard to tell what floor we're on . . ."

Chanyeol chuckled before replying, "I think we're close to the break room."

Baekhyun smiled. "Want to get something from the vending machine?"

"Sure, we can talk office gossip while eating M&M's!" Chanyeol exclaimed with another laugh.

Baekhyun laughed too before pulling out his wallet from his coat pocket as he skipped into the break room. The soft glow from the vending machine helped to guide him over the chair legs, so he didn't trip and completely make a fool of himself. He pulled out a dollar bill as he quietly muttered, "M&M's where are you . . ." When he found them, he pressed the numbers and waited patiently for the coil to unravel and drop the bag. He bent over to retrieve them before teasingly shaking the bag as he singsonged, "Do you want some . . .?"

Chanyeol laughed as he accepted the bag, before opening it and shaking a few into his open palm. He gave them back to Baekhyun with a smile as he asked, "What's your favorite candy?"

Baekhyun grinned as he replied, "I love chocolate, and I don't really have a practical favorite candy. How about you?"

Chanyeol thought for a moment before replying, "I really like Twix."

Baekhyun laughed. "So what are your plans for Christmas? Are you going to visit family?"

Chanyeol pursed his lips before muttering, "My sister is planning to come see me."

Baekhyun nodded. "And your parents?"

"They passed away when I was younger," Chanyeol replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Baekhyun muttered.

Chanyeol smiled weakly and muttered, "It's okay, I was young. But what about you, are you visiting your parents?"

"Um, yeah, my brother too," Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol nodded and pursed his lips, hearing an odd tone in Baekhyun's voice. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but knew it wasn't his place being that they didn't know each other as well as he'd like. He smiled and gestured forward with his hand as he said, "Come on, let's continue our walk."

Baekhyun nodded with a weak smile as he softly replied, "Alright, where to now?"

"So, what's one of your favorite childhood memories?" Baekhyun asked as he popped an M&M into his mouth.

Chanyeol pursed his lips in thought before laughing as he said, "Oh, I know! When I was younger, maybe five or six, my sister Yoora and I would always play this ghost game before bedtime. We would throw a blanket over our heads and then have to find the other while not being able to see. It was fun, and I remember the excitement from the game and running around in the dark would make us so sweaty and sick. It sounds awful, but we loved it."

Baekhyun smiled and giggled. "My brother and I use to play hide-and-seek, and I remember this one time I was hiding in the kitchen behind the table and he scared me so much I literally peed my pants!"

Chanyeol bursted into laughter as Baekhyun's eyes widened and his cheeks turned beet red, but then he laughed too as he gasped, "I can't believe I just said that! I'm so embarrassed!" Baekhyun said with another giggle.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I tried scaring my sister in the dark, only for it to back fire when I accidentally scared my mom and made her scream. I had laughed so hard I wet my pants!"

"That's horrible," Baekhyun exclaimed with another laugh; Chanyeol laughed too. And as they both reminisced the moment began to feel like more than two people sharing a few childhood memories, and their eyes met, causing both of them to blush before continuing their walk in a comfortable silence.

They were approaching the door that lead back to the party when Chanyeol's phone buzzed in his back pocket. His steps slowed as he pulled it out of his back pocket and quickly skimmed the message before muttering, "Crap, my ride home bailed on me."

"You don't have a car?" Backhyun asked.

"No, I do, it's at the mechanics for a repair. My roommate drove me here and apparently got held up...." Chanyeol mumbled.

"Oh, I—-I could drive you home, if you want?" Backhyun offered.

"Really, you don't have to offer if it's an inconvenience," Chanyeol said. "I didn't say anything to mooch a ride off you, or anything like that...."

Baekhyun shook his head and waved his hand as he said, "It's okay, really. I'd be happy to drive you home."

Chanyeol smiled. "Thank you, that's seriously so kind of you."

Baekhyun smiled and said, "You're welcome, and maybe next time we hang out you can buy the candy?"

"Or maybe you could just let me eat lunch with you...." Chanyeol muttered, as his gaze turned an incredibly deep brown that practically had Baekhyun melting.

Baekhyun smiled shyly and blushed as he softly muttered, "Maybe . . ." And then they were leaving the building and walking out to the parking lot to Baekhyun's car, that had been dusted with a thin layer of snow as he had been inside.

Word count: 1,383

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A/N: Things are developing ~ ~ 😊

What do you think will happen next, hmm? 🤔😁 Anyway, thank you so much for your support, have an amazing day/night!

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️