2014: On the highway of your heart (for orangelawliet)

[enaemouredmods]

For: orangelawliet
From: ANONYMOUS until May 12, 2014

Title: On the highway of your heart
Rating: PG-13
Side pairing/s: Suho/Chanyeol
Length: 23638 words
Summary: Long travels are the best way to get two persons more than just close. Road Trip!AU
Warning/s: Maybe too much use of alcohol.

Notes: I hope this is of your liking, I did my best to reach your expectations! I've never been to the US, I hope most part of the information is accurate. I added pictures next to the places in order to easy the imagery, I heard from a friend that it helps somehow, if you think it's not important and you want to imagine it yourself, just read through it. Thank you again to C for being my beta and cheering on me, helping with all the painful plotting process and for all the support, I love you, if it wasn’t for you this story wouldn’t even exist! Also, a huge thanks to S, R, C for proofreading and the whole tlist for all the hand holding!

It’s another boring day in Calculus II. Chanyeol is staring out of the window, Joonmyun is being the good student and taking notes of everything, Baekhyun is playing some game on his cell phone, Jongdae is laughing at something he remembered and Kyungsoo is pretending that he’s paying attention to the teacher’s lecture (when in reality, he’s writing in his notebook). They’re one day away from their summer break, the so-very-awaited three months off from college. They have yet to decide what they’ll do with all this free time. They just know that they won’t touch any notebook, notes or textbooks. They’re all friends, some closer to others and vice versa; Kyungsoo usually sticks to Joonmyun; Chanyeol and Jongdae to Baekhyun, and together they’re a huge mess. Sometimes it gets awkward because some of them don’t know each other that well, so they avoid conversations; usually Kyungsoo with Baekhyun or Joonmyun with Chanyeol and Jongdae. The next day, when they’re almost free from college, Kyungsoo pops up at Chanyeol’s desk. everybody is around and the teacher doesn’t really care about what they’re doing; he wants to get out of here as much as the students. “I have a plan for the beginning of our break, does anyone want to join me?” Kyungsoo asks, furiously shaking the same notebook he was scribbling in yesterday. “It depends,” says Joonmyun with his usual generous smile and a pat on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “What do you have in mind?” “It’s been a while since I wanted to do this,” he says, flipping to the pages and nodding in satisfaction. He had spent the whole night finalising the plans. “A road trip to San Francisco. I’m going to visit my parents, and I plan on visiting one city in each state I stop in. So now, who wants to join?” “You’re from San Francisco too?” Baekhyun asks, raising a brow. He had known Kyungsoo for a little more than two years and the boy never mentioned his hometown, and well, he didn’t bother talking or asking about it either. “Me too, I was planning on visiting my parents, just like you. I think it’s a good idea. I’m in.” Kyungsoo looks at the others, waiting for a reply. “Just texted my mother and she said that I can go,” Jongdae says, after checking his cell phone and giving a thumbs up to the idea. “You need to ask for your mother’s permission?” Chanyeol laughs loudly, slapping his thigh and hitting someone (who ends up being Joonmyun). “Can we stop by LA? I need to show my parents that I’m still alive.” Kyungsoo nods and Chanyeol agrees to his plans with a friendly, and hard, slap on his back. Oh, how much fun he’ll provide them! And by ‘fun’, Chanyeol means alcohol; he’s not The Park Chanyeol, the King of All Parties, for nothing. “Joonmyun?” Kyungsoo asks, looking at his best friend and rubbing his aching back. He’s like some role model among them and the boys usually seek for Joonmyun’s permission, after all he’s the responsible one and it’d be awesome if he decided to go along. Joonmyun purses his lips, and maybe he’s making a estimation of the costs; he’s always one to think ahead. “Why not? Someone needs to look out for you all,” he finally says, and the boys cheer. The teacher turns to look at them. With an accusing finger he sends each one to their respective seats. When classes are over the boys meet outside. They’re all in a rush; Kyungsoo’s idea got them all excited to go back to their rooms and pack. “We can use my car,” Chanyeol offers, because his car is huge; too big for a single person. Maybe it wasn’t Chanyeol who chose it, it must’ve been his mom. Chanyeol would have chosen a Lamborghini instead of an Eco Sport 2011. “Awesome, because mine sucks,” Kyungsoo says, while he checks the ‘find a car that isn’t my Corolla’ off his list. “You all can share the costs for the fuel and I can pay for our food and stay,” Joonmyun suggests and Jongdae is the first to agree with it. “I think we should share everything,” Baekhyun adds and he leans against the wall next to them. “And by everything, really everything.” “Deal, can we go now? I need to pack if we’re going tomorrow in the morning,” Jongdae finally says and he taps his right foot, making an annoying sound. “I also need to sleep, last night I stayed up until 3am finishing my project.” “Which project? We’re in the same major. Don’t lie; as your roommate, I know you were playing minecraft again,” Chanyeol says, poking Jongdae hard on his ribs and earning a groan of pain from the latter’s lips, especially because Chanyeol doesn’t know his own strength. “Can we stop discussing when we clearly figured everything out?” Baekhyun says without trying to be rude (he probably just wants to go to his room, take a nice shower, get all his belongings ready and sleep). “Yes, yes we can,” Kyungsoo says, waving his arms perhaps in happiness. Nobody’s entirely sure, so they decide to just go home and prepare everything. With an excited see you tomorrow, they run to their dorms. “Do you guys have everything that you’ll need?” Kyungsoo asks, with a notebook at hand again. “Is everything okay? Like, did you guys switch off the gas and stuff?” “No, I think I’m leaving it on so we can explode the building, and if we’re lucky, Yifan will explode along with it. I can’t with him screaming in Mandarin when he’s watching basketball games on his television,” Jongdae says and Chanyeol agrees, it’s really exasperating when he starts to curse, that’s not the way they’d expected to learn the language. They’d planned on meeting at Chanyeol and Jongdae’s dorm, since they’ll be using Chanyeol’s car. The rest of the boys are late. “I’m serious. I don’t want to come back to see chaos,” Kyungsoo says and points the pen in their direction. “It’s okay Mama, we shoved our homework under our beds and maybe into the closet, but everything is okay. The bathroom is clean, not really, and the kitchen too,” Jongdae says and laughs, Kyungsoo is about to reply but an arm around his shoulders stops him. “Joonmyun, you’re late! You’re never late, what happened?” Kyungsoo hits his friend with the notebook and looks around. Baekhyun is late too, like, really late; he was supposed to be here first. “I was checking my credit card online, geez. Stop being so temperamental, it’s only 9am,” Joonmyun says rubbing his now-aching arm. He’s lucky that Kyungsoo didn’t slap him. “I’m sorry!” says a breathless Baekhyun. He’s carrying two suitcases and a backpack, and the others are just staring at him and looking down at their single suitcases and non existent handbags. “What the actual fuck Baekhyun,” Jongdae says and shakes his arms up and down. “Don’t worry Jongdae, we have enough space in my car,” Chanyeol smiles and taps the bodywork of it. Almost new, only used to go grocery shopping, it’s clearly stupid to have such a big car. But at least it’ll come in handy now. “While Chanyeol arranges everything at the trunk, let’s decide something really important: who’s gonna drive,” Kyungsoo asks and eyes everybody. “I don’t wanna leave this world at such an early age, so let’s not put Chanyeol near the steering wheel,” Jongdae says while he carries Baekhyun’s suitcases to be placed in the trunk. “Last time we went grocery shopping, at the corner, I thought I’d die. He nearly hit a pole.” “I’m not that bad, how come I have an driver's license?” Chanyeol says, taking the card out of his pocket. “I bet your mom paid for it,” Baekhyun says, eyeing the card that Chanyeol is proudly holding. “So I’ll be the driver, Joonmyun can help me with the directions,” Kyungsoo decides, ignoring all the bickering, and the boys agree silently, better Kyungsoo than Chanyeol. Baekhyun doesn’t have a driver’s license, Joonmyun is afraid of the road and Jongdae would probably exceed the speed limit. However, the boys have no idea about Kyungsoo’s driving skills. Hopefully, he’s better than all of them together. It ended up that Kyungsoo drives just like their mothers; carefulness added to concentration. Joonmyun sits by his side. They just entered the road, and the rest of the boys are cheering from the back seat like the crazy idiots that they are, aside from Baekhyun, who’s trying to look at himself at the rearview mirror. “Take your head out of the way, please,” Kyungsoo says and Baekhyun isn’t given the chance to reply. Chanyeol jumps on his seat. “Please, put in this CD.” Jongdae shoves the disc in Joonmyun’s lap and bounces up and down, Baekhyun sandwiched between the two overly excited boys. “Can you not?” Baekhyun says and brushes his bangs out of his eyes. With a flick on Jongdae’s head, they both shut their mouths. Until Joonmyun puts the disc in to play. Chanyeol and Jongdae start to scream along with the song because this is fucking awesome. Kyungsoo tries to contain his nerves, paying attention to the route they’re taking, and Joonmyun is having a hard time with a map he brought with him. “I think we need to turn the left,” Joonmyun says with uncertainty. He unfolds the map here and there and tries to not hit Kyungsoo on the face.The map is indeed really large. While Chanyeol screams that he’s only got twenty dollars on his pocket, Jongdae beatboxes to the rhythm and Kyungsoo feels like choking him. How the hell does he call that a real quality beatbox? “No, I think it’s right,” Joonmyun corrects his last words and turns the map around. “Joonmyun, we’re in a straight line, do you expect me to crash the car? There’s no right or left, we don’t need this map,” Kyungsoo says, his sight glued to the road. He’s not up to dying this early, and neither are the other boys, so they better shut the fuck up and let him do his task. “Wait, map?” Chanyeol shouts and Baekhyun groans, he’s going to be deaf by the end of this trip. “Why?” Joonmyun asks and looks back. “I thought you guys were using my sat nav,” he replies and Kyungsoo grips the steering wheel harder, his fingers tingling to kill someone, right here and right now. “You should’ve said earlier,” Joonmyun says and folds the map back. Damn it, he thinks and just kneads the paper. “Thank you, but where is it?” “Right in front of you?” Chanyeol says, pointing above the stereo, and indeed, it’s there. Joonmyun turns a light shade of red, because, how come he didn’t see it? Kyungsoo thinks he needs to make an appointment at his eye doctor. “Just put in Pittsburgh and we’re good,” Kyungsoo says and Joonmyun follows his commands. This time Jongdae yells that there's a she-wolf in the closet and Baekhyun just wants to throw himself out of the window, but he can’t, because he’s stuck inside the goddamn car, between the two most obnoxious people he’s ever met. After two pauses at some gas stations to use the restroom, they pass the plaque saying that they’ve entered Pennsylvania. Kyungsoo sighs in relief. It’s his first time driving out of the city; being spoiled by his mother isn’t that good after all. He’s never had the chance to drive for long hours so it’s usually his mother, since his father is always busy at work. Bless her for driving all the way from San Francisco just to make sure he is safe and sound inside the dorms. “I can’t feel my butt,” Jongdae complains, and Chanyeol laughs, probably hearing some stupid joke about it inside his head. “What time is it?” Baekhyun asks. He should check his own cell phone, thinks Kyungsoo but nevertheless, he replies with, “3pm.” He receives a groan in response. “Just wait, in three hours we’ll arrive at our destination,” Joonmyun tries to console the boy, but sighs; his butt is starting to feel sore from all the hours he’d been seated. ‘After 1km, turn to the right.’ ‘Lake Arthur’ Kyungsoo reads as he stops the car. “Where the fuck is this?” Jongdae complains some more. “Isn’t it supposed to be, I don’t know, Pittsburgh?” ‘Turn to the left.’ “Aren’t you going to do what the sat nav is saying?” asks Joonmyun, face more serious than intended. “Are you crazy?” Kyungsoo yells and the boys jump in their seats. “We’re not entering the lake.” “I think,” Chanyeol says, through the loud beats of some Usher song, “that we should move Joonmyun back here with us.” “I volunteer to exchange seats with him,” Baekhyun says with the speed of light, already loosening his seatbelt and shoving Jongdae aside. He takes the opportunity that the car is ‘parked’ to open the door and run to the front. “Move,” he says to Joonmyun, who is still trying to release the buckle and taking longer than needed. “Yes, come here, Hyung,” Chanyeol says, grinning from ear to ear with his signature smile, energetically patting the empty seat between him and Jongdae. After the hard time of releasing his seat belt, Joonmyun is yanked from his seat and manhandled into the back, and Baekhyun plops into his new seat, happier than ever. “Now that I’m here, let’s get things started,” Baekhyun says and laughs at everybody and everything. He turns the stupid sat nav that Chanyeol shouldn’t have suggested off, also taking the currently playing disc out. “We can update it later at a public library.” He takes out a flash drive and shakes it in front of Chanyeol’s face. “16GB of quality music,” he says before plugging it on the stereo and Madonna starts to play. Everybody groans, but Kyungsoo decides to ignore them. They have an addition of three hours inside the car until they make it to Pittsburgh and he needs to get back to driving. “Stop the car,” Jongdae shrieks and knocks on Kyungsoo’s seat. “What now?” Kyungsoo screams, an hour ago Chanyeol forced him to stop to get some food and now he’s being hit without reason. “I need to pee,” he says shaking the seat in front of him some more. “Or I’m going to pee on the seat.” “Stop the car,” Chanyeol screams too, kicking the seat in front of him. Baekhyun turns to the back and glares at them. “Stop,” he says to Kyungsoo and the latter obeys. “We’re in the middle of the road,” Joonmyun points out and he looks confused. “Jongdae doesn’t care,” Chanyeol says, pointing at the boy outside relieving himself in the middle of the bushes. Indeed, he doesn’t, he’s shameless enough. In less than a minute he runs back to the car, and Joonmyun screams please, don’t touch me and Chanyeol laughs. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are thankful that they’re not in the back seats. Driving for a few more minutes, the car finally enters the city. It’s night time already, and after all this time inside the vehicle, they don’t have enough energy - or will - to stroll around Pittsburgh. They find a cheap hotel and fall into bed, asleep, right after taking a quick shower. They wake up early, there’s not too much to do at the city, but the sooner they visit what they want, the sooner they can go back to the road. The time at the PNC Park (✿) is fast. They take a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates house. The stadium looks good but they only manage to stay outside. It is enough though, and they happily run into a library - bless the heavens - having an outdated sat nav is one of the worse things that happened and they upgrade it with the maps and all the necessary information. Chanyeol is sheepish about it, it was his fault for not informing them that it was probably lying in his car since he got it because he only drives to the supermarket. He’s so forgetful. After finding a place to have a good meal, they slowly walk back to the car. They didn’t do much, and the next place they want to visit is only worth it if near the sunset. In the meantime, they get some ice cream and lazy around a park at the center of Pittsburgh. When the clock nears the end of the afternoon, they head to the Mount Washington (✿), observing the beautiful blending of the colors in the sky, the light pink with the orange tones and it’s better than the pictures. The city view is also superb and the nightlife is about to start, but Kyungsoo is sure that he just wants to go back to the hotel and sleep. It’ll only be a short way until they reach Cleveland tomorrow, but he doesn’t want to rush things. The sun goes to sleep and the sky gets dark. All the boys are enjoying the day but, sadly, they can't see many stars, it’s a big city after all. Heading back to the hotel, they stop by a small restaurant to grab dinner and when they reach the room, Chanyeol runs to the bathroom for a shower and the others lie around. Tomorrow is going to be a light day, save from the over seven hours confined inside the car. The drive to Cleveland is pleasant, the weather is nice and they have a good time all the way. This is aside from the constant fights over which song they should play; Chanyeol and Jongdae shoving their disc around and Baekhyun with his flash drive. Surprisingly, Joonmyun takes out a CD from his backpack and they listen to Tchaikovsky until the city plaque comes in sight. That’s the best method to make them all shut up or fall asleep. Joonmyun and Kyungsoo’s plan was to pass by the Cleveland Museum of Art (✿), driving next to the Lake Erie on their way. Jongdae starts to laugh loudly. “Do you think we should enter the lake with our car?” he asks, covering his mouth and avoiding eye contact with Joonmyun. “Don’t be so mean! Hyung was trying to help,” Chanyeol says, and squeezes Joonmyun’s thigh. The elder jumps on his seat and shakes the hand off him. With a dry laugh and burning cheeks, Joonmyun waves the subject away and while he tries to hide his embarrassment, they reach their destination. They leave the car and face the building. There’s a really beautiful fountain in front of it. Kyungsoo takes out five tickets from his wallet. “Bought them in advance,” he says when he notices the questioning eyes on him. Totally ignoring Kyungsoo, the boys take said tickets out of his hands and walk up to the entrance. Already inside, observing the paintings covering the walls and the sculptures inside the building, they finish their visit to the place in 2 hours. 2 hours of Jongdae nagging about how much he wants to go to somewhere fun and not for old people or Chanyeol clapping his hands and laughing at everything. They’d better get used to this because Kyungsoo put some more museums to be visited into his plans. After a late lunch at a Subway they found on their way, the car is on the road again, heading right for Indianapolis. It’s 5 hours until they reach the city and since visiting anywhere right now is out of their hands, they stop by some convenience store and Chanyeol gets them food and drinks, waving the cans of beer in front of everybody’s faces. When they find a reasonable hotel, they eat their snacks. Kyungsoo swears he’ll need to make it up with some walking when he gets back to New York, after all this junk food. He can imagine how much weight he’ll gain. Joonmyun takes control of the beer cans and hands one to each, Chanyeol pouts but it doesn’t mean he got another one. Stomachs full and eyelids heavy, they fall asleep, the atmosphere at ease. These are the times in which they thank the heavens for their being friends. The sun rises, and as always, Kyungsoo is the first to wake up. When he finishes his shower, all the boys are up, aside from Chanyeol, who probably sneaked out the rest of the beer last night when everybody went to sleep. Jongdae manages to get Chanyeol awake by continuously poking him on the stomach with his foot. Chanyeol rolls out of the blankets, hair messy, sticking to all the sides and eyes still closed, and he bumps into everybody on his way to the shower, but in the end he’s the most enthusiastic when they leave the hotel. Cups of coffee in hand, and maybe a muffin or a panini, they exit the Starbucks they stopped at, sitting somewhere at the benches near some park and Kyungsoo finishes his too familiar drink, courtesy of the endless nights awake studying or doing projects. “We’re going to a museum today,” Kyungsoo announces, and both - Jongdae and Chanyeol - complain in unison, but Kyungsoo glares at them for not letting him finish his sentence. “And I chose it especially for you two.” “Really?” Jongdae asks, mouth stuffed with his blueberry muffin and there’s expectation plastered all over his face, the corner of his lips turning upwards, and crumbs of the food stick there, but Kyungsoo just ignores the sight and nods his head. “Let’s go, then?” Chanyeol says, biting the last piece of his sandwich. Baekhyun and Joonmyun agree and wait for Kyungsoo lead the way. “Children's Museum of Indianapolis (✿),” Jongdae reads the plaque and glances at Chanyeol, looking from side to side. “Yup, I looked it up online, I bet you’ll like it,” Kyungsoo says honestly, and instead of being mad that they were called kids, Chanyeol and Jongdae exchange looks and run to the ticket booth, Baekhyun rolling his eyes and Joonmyun smiling at them. It’s after they leave the museum that they end up getting lunch at McDonald’s, hunger sated and high spirited. “I planned another visit to a place you two will like,” Kyungsoo tells them. He knows how boring his preferences are sometimes, all museums and art exhibitions, so he thought a lot about the two of them who are not very fond of all the cultural stuff. “Reeeally?” it’s Chanyeol who asks this time and Kyungsoo nods eagerly, he’s also excited to visit the place. “The zoo, we’re going to the city’s zoo,” he exclaims, biting his lips and checking some of his plans in his notebook. The boys cheer enthusiastically like little kids. Baekhyun is not a huge fan of zoos, but apparently he likes cute things, so Kyungsoo hopes he enjoyed the visit. Joonmyun always remains silent, smile playing on his lips, and oh, Kyungsoo’s eyes shine when they enter the huge aquarium (✿). Chanyeol and Jongdae point at everything all the time and enjoy themselves far too much. Kyungsoo is glad they managed to come here. It takes around 4 hours, at least, for them to leave the zoo. So far it was the best place they visited, according to the common agreement between them. Climbing back in the car, they chat about the animals and how much fun they had, and the 3 hours pass quickly. It is nighttime when they arrive, the city is all illuminated already, bars and clubs opening their doors, but they boys already decided that they would save this for later. By now, they stick to buying more convenience stores food - again - and, just this time, more cans of beer than needed. They hit the hotel and get their room. Since they started travelling, they always got a twin room; two beds and a couch. It always ends up with Chanyeol on the floor, Jongdae sharing a bed with Baekhyun - since they’re best buds -, Joonmyun on the couch and Kyungsoo has a bed just to himself. As for food, tonight, having beef jerky for dinner could’ve been worse. The beer is a good companion to it. Kyungsoo's tolerance for alcohol is not the best, but it's also not the worst, that'd be Joonmyun. But after 4 cans of beer, he sees everything a little blurred, he senses that if he gets up now, he may not be able to stand still like a normal person. Chanyeol is giggling to himself, purposefully leaning closer to Joonmyun. It's obvious that he likes the elder; Joonmyun is just too oblivious. Then there's Jongdae, already passed out in one bed. Baekhyun is not in the room. Kyungsoo attempts to walk, pushing his body off the ground and supporting his weight by one bed, before making his way outside the room. It's one of those opened areas that faces the parking lot directly. It's already past midnight and everybody in the other rooms are probably asleep (all the lights are off, so that’s what he assumes). The palm of his left hand never loses contact with the wall and, from where he is, he can take sight of someone resting against the wall. Cold air hits Kyungsoo's sweaty skin. "Baekhyun?" he asks, or he thinks he does as the alcohol is already taking over his body, but he still is conscious of his surroundings. He brushes his hands against the boy’s shoulder and the latter turns to look at him, Baekhyun doesn’t look affected by the alcohol, in fact, Kyungsoo thinks he saw Baekhyun only having one can. He’s the one who got out of control and ended up with four empty cans next to him, while Chanyeol finished 5, but his tolerance is high - out of experience -, totally different from him, the one who gets dizzy after a glass of wine at end-of-year parties. Baekhyun doesn’t move, he just stays there, looking at Kyungsoo, waiting for him to tell him whatever he wanted to. Kyungsoo grabs Baekhyun by the shoulders, face serious and he ponders over all the consequences of getting this drunk - the worst is yet to come, hangovers are the worst. “I think we should go to sleep, it’s late,” Baekhyun says freeing himself from Kyungsoo’s grip but he’s pushed against the wall and yelps, Kyungsoo is not someone who’s that strong, but the sudden movement caught him by surprise. “Oh my God, what are you even doing Kyungsoo?” He doesn’t shout, yell or scream, he just looks concerned. Kyungsoo is sweating and he wonders what Baekhyun is thinking right now. “You’re out of yourself, please, let’s go back to the room,” he sighs and tries to push Kyungsoo out of the way, but he just ends up pressed harder against the wall. “I don’t know what you want, make a decision quickly, I’m starting to get sleepy.” Kyungsoo makes his decision as told, closing his eyes and pressing his lips against Baekhyun’s. Bless the heavens that they’re almost the same height, Baekhyun being just a little taller than him. If it was Chanyeol he’d have a hard time, but he doesn’t want Chanyeol, so that’s not the point. The point is that this feels really nice. Kyungsoo is not sure if this is the side effect of all the alcohol flowing in his veins, or something he always wanted to do but wasn't fearless enough to actually put into action. He always thought Baekhyun looked good, not the ‘you look good with this shirt and all’ type, but the ‘you look good and I maybe want to hold your hand because that’d be really nice’ type, suppressing this feeling was easy. Until now. That’s why he doesn’t drink, it always puts his guards down and he ends up doing something he might regret later, but he thinks he won’t regret this. At first, Baekhyun may be surprised, but he doesn't push away too, it’s when Kyungsoo tentatively licks his lower lip that he jumps slightly, Kyungsoo’s hand holds Baekhyun’s jaw and he tilts his head for better access, even if Baekhyun didn’t grant it. It takes a lot of effort for Kyungsoo to not pin him against the wall to finally be able to kiss him properly. Baekhyun’s hands move to Kyungsoo’s waist and instead of granting access, he hugs the boy’s waist and pulls him closer, doing the job himself, startling Kyungsoo when he licks his way into his mouth, hot and wet. The kiss tastes like alcohol but Kyungsoo couldn’t care less, it’s mainly his fault. The break apart when Kyungsoo is running out of oxygen, he feels like he might fall and Baekhyun apparently got the message, leading him back to the room with his arms circled around his waist. They enter the room, cans of beer all around, Chanyeol is face flat on the floor and Joonmyun spread out on the couch. Jongdae is taking up basically the whole bed and Baekhyun stops in his tracks, he looks to the only free spot to crash and he doesn't have any other option but to comply to it. They already showered, just their luck, and Baekhyun pushes Kyungsoo down on the bed. They’ll need to share it tonight. When they’re already lying down and staring at the ceiling, Kyungsoo still dizzy and all, he crawls up on top of Baekhyun without care. “What are you even doing?” Baekhyun whispers through gritted teeth, but Kyungsoo ignores him. Kyungsoo’s face is closer to Baekhyun’s. He doesn’t wait much and presses his lips back to Baekhyun’s. They kiss just like before for a few minutes, until Kyungsoo is on the verge of falling asleep and falls to the side. Kyungsoo wakes up confused. So he just runs out of the bed to the bathroom. He smells awfully like beer and he doesn’t want to know what happened last night with Baekhyun. “Good morning,” he says without looking at Baekhyun when he’s out the bathroom from his shower, towel covering his eyes and Baekhyun replies to him with a good morning to you too. The shower was a good idea, it eases his headache a little “We need to get the boys up to enjoy our day in Chicago,” Kyungsoo tosses the towel to a chair and walks to the couch to shake Joonmyun until he wakes up. Baekhyun lies back down, groaning. Kyungsoo hopes to spend the whole day in Chicago and part in Des Moines the next day. Chicago is a big city; there’s a lot of things to do. His throbbing headache is not helping at all, he promises himself to not do that ever again. His memories are in a blurry but the feeling of skin against his own is still vivid in his memory. Walking around the big Michigan Avenue (✿) is not that awesome when you have too much in mind, Kyungsoo is not enjoying the simple walk and window shopping. They parked the car a few blocks from here, all the attractions in just one street, yet, he feels like he’d rather be locked inside the vehicle. Going by foot to the Millennium Park (✿) doesn’t take them more than 10 minutes, and at the end of the day (not really late though), they find their way to the Navy Pier (✿). There’s so many attractions there, but Chanyeol practically forces them to go to the Beer Garden (✿). Great, just what Kyungsoo wanted; beer is the last thing he needs in front of him, especially after the huge hangover he got. Though nobody actually knows that he’s a little grumpy today. He decides to sit on a bench near the trees. He’s not going to consume a single drop of alcohol for the next days and Chanyeol had better not do something stupid this time. A horrifying flash of memory comes into his mind, and the imagery of a really drunk Chanyeol lying atop of his car gets his blood boiling but also get him laughing a little at the remembrance of him falling from there. It’s been more than an hour, Kyungsoo had ordered some chicken wings (real food is a bless) and he’s drinking some Dr Pepper. Looking from afar, the cans of beer are growing at Chanyeol’s table and Joonmyun worriedly glances at the giant boy. Jongdae is also part of this party. The duo will never learn. But Baekhyun is nowhere in sight. Kyungsoo finishes his food and his drink. He gives the waiter the money to pay for everything he got and he decides to just stroll around. They agreed to meet at the hotel later, so they won’t get lost from each other. He didn’t even walk two meters when someone topples over him. He’s still near the trees, but maybe further. He recognizes the person as Baekhyun. “Kyungsoo?” he manages to say. Baekhyun is not that drunk, apparently the alcohol is not taking over him but maybe it’s enough to get his head spinning slightly. Without uttering another word, he holds Kyungsoo by the wrist and takes him somewhere; somewhere far from all the crowd, it’s already dark, they walk, walk and walk, until they’re not at the pier anymore, instead, it’s some kind of park, they cross the road and it’s dangerous - really dangerous - Baekhyun is drunk and Kyungsoo needs to make sure that they won’t get hit. Arriving at another part of the park, where there’s absolutely nobody, and also no benches, just some trees and grass, Baekhyun releases his grip and Kyungsoo tries to form in his head what happened to Baekhyun to do something like this. It’s impossible that only the alcohol is at fault. It’s full moon tonight, the sea a few kilometers away from them and it’s beautiful, Kyungsoo gets distracted at the way the moonlight hits the low waves of the water and he snaps out of his trance when something warm touches his arm, he knows it’s Baekhyun, and he turns to look at him. “I don’t know what you want,” Kyungsoo says and stares at Baekhyun, face calm and still not sure of what to do with this situation. "You don't need to know," Baekhyun says, staring back at Kyungsoo. A little more than confused, Kyungsoo is about to reply when hands find their way to his waist. He freezes; it feels like a déjà vu, but in his mind, it's in a fog. Baekhyun is invading his personal space, and what surprises him the most: he doesn't mind it at all. It takes more than a minute for Baekhyun to move out of his space, a few seconds ago just looking at Kyungsoo's face in maybe awe, maybe fondness, and Kyungsoo is intrigued by the boy's gaze on him. Admiration may be the word, but everything is cut short when a first move is made and lips are pressed against lips. Maybe Kyungsoo knew that this was coming, maybe that’s what happened yesterday while he was too drunk to know what his brain was telling him to do. But maybe, his subconscious wanted this for a long time already. He doesn’t hesitate, kissing Baekhyun back eagerly, holding onto the collar of his shirt and pressing their lips harder. Baekhyun pulls him by his waist, holding him closer, the sea breeze mixed with the nocturne atmosphere making everything feel colder, yet, it feels warm, hot even, this is not right. His brain tells him to stop but his senses tell him to keep going. In the end he breaks the kiss. “I knew it,” Baekhyun says and turns away, hands coming to his lips to rub the spit off. “You don’t like me.” “What? Baekhyun,” Baekhyun looks, hurt? He’s way too drunk to process anything properly, but Kyungsoo thinks that, maybe, the boy was doing what he wanted, but he’s not totally himself right now. He can’t risk being awkward with his friend the next day because of something of the moment. “I do like you.” “Why did you just stop then?” he says without meeting Kyungsoo’s eyes. The latter sighs. It’s too much for him; first the horrible headache, now this. “I think we should go back to the hotel, you need to rest,” Kyungsoo says, avoiding Baekhyun’s question. The boy senses it too and his shoulders drop lower and Kyungsoo just wants to hug him and reassure that yes, he does like him, but he doesn’t do it, not tonight, everything is too confusing right now. He takes Baekhyun by the hand and leads his half-dead self all the way to where they’re staying. He hopes Joonmyun is still sane enough to bring Chanyeol and Jongdae back alive. Kyungsoo wakes up to a silent room; everybody is still sleeping but it’s already 9am. Surprisingly, Jongdae is on the floor and Chanyeol is on the couch with Joonmyun. Kyungsoo snickers at them and gets up. They all need to get ready for the 5 hours and a half travel to Des Moines that awaits them. He shakes everybody awake and when it’s Baekhyun’s turn, he’s not sure if he should do it himself or ask Jongdae; but since Jongdae just ran out of the room and slammed the bathroom door closed, he’s the one in charge now. "Baekhyun, please wake up, we have to leave," Kyungsoo says and shakes Baekhyun's body gently to not scare the boy. Baekhyun opens his eyes and stares at him, Kyungsoo holds his breath, Baekhyun looks like he wants to say something but instead, he licks his lips and turns to the side, whispering I'll be up in a few minutes, don't worry. Kyungsoo releases his breath and sighs, the face Baekhyun gave him wasn't a happy or friendly one. Great way to start the day. Perfect. He suppresses a groan and decides to run to the car. Call him dirty, but he's not in the mood for a shower right now. "Jongdae?" Kyungsoo opens his eyes and asks confused, after he closed the door, he leaned against his seat and fell asleep. He was expecting to find Baekhyun at his side, not Jongdae - he doesn't mind it being Jongdae but, where the hell is Baekhyun? "Baekhyun said he was still tired, he's in the back if you’re wondering.” Jongdae points and Kyungsoo turns to look at Baekhyun. He doesn’t look like someone’s who’s actually sleeping, but he has his eyes closed, so he’ll let it pass. Jongdae puts the damn CD to play again. “I swear to God Jongdae, if it’s that same disc from yesterday, I’m going to murder you,” Kyungsoo says turning the ignition on and getting on the road. “Don’t worry, it’s a new one. That one was Chanyeol’s.” “We also need to refuel. Goddammit, Jongdae!” Kyungsoo yells and fumes, “Not Bootylicious.” The travel to Des Moines was everything but pleasant. Jongdae screaming nonstop to his music, Joonmyun pretending he was caring and Chanyeol leaning way too much into his personal space, added to Baekhyun totally blacked out on the side. “Fuck. Kim Jongdae!” Kyungsoo shouts and stops the car as they’ve reached the place he wanted to visit. The city is just a quick pit stop, but surprisingly - more like daunting to death - the boy does a good thing; he actually closed his mouth and the rest apparently jumped from the back seats. “What?” Jongdae asks, scared; the last time Kyungsoo screamed like this, he gained trauma from baseball equipment. “We’re here,” Kyungsoo smiles and opens the car door, taking out his cell phone to take a picture of the Capitol Building (✿). He takes around six and runs back to the car. “Everybody back in, we’re done here.” “Are you fucking kidding me?” Chanyeol groans and pushes Joonmyun back toward his seat. “Unless you want to stay here and not go to Las Vegas, I mean, we’re four stops away and I think that if we stay here for a day we might need to skip it,” Kyungsoo says with a thoughtful face, the face he uses to bribe the boys to do things for him. “No!” Chanyeol says and shoves Joonmyun back into the car. “Go go.” “Gotcha.” Kyungsoo snaps his fingers and takes the driver’s seat. Baekhyun may or may not be smiling at him from behind. Kyungsoo is not sure, the rear mirror is not the best choice to sneak a peek at someone who has almost his whole face covered by hair. “You’re not putting your music on?” After 5 minutes of driving, Kyungsoo asks Jongdae who’s silent, which is strange, but it’s good news, so he doesn’t question much. “Not really, I think that was enough for a day,” he replies and closes his eyes. He yawns and turns to face the window. “Is it okay if I take a nap?” “Go on,” Kyungsoo doesn’t take his eyes off the road and remembers about something that’s in his backpack. “Wait a minute, Jongdae. Joonmyun, can you get me that CD I brought with me?” Joonmyun shakes Chanyeol’s hands off his arm and turns to the back, accidentally hitting Baekhyun’s head but successfully getting the said CD Kyungsoo asked for. “Here, have fun, I hope it’s better than everything we heard through the whole trip,” he says with a big smile, handing Kyungsoo the disc. Poor Joonmyun must’ve suffered more than Kyungsoo himself. “I bet it is,” Kyungsoo jokes and Jongdae puts the disc to play. “Not Queen,” Jongdae whines as the first song starts and bangs his head against his seat. “I also bet you put on Journey.” “I wasn’t very aware of it, but Jongdae,” Kyungsoo looks at the boy dying beside him and grins from ear to ear, Jongdae looks up, curious about what made Kyungsoo smile at him. “You know me so well.” The boy groans and sinks into his seat. It’s not a long drive, but it’ll probably be long for Jongdae - he was supposed to be napping -, Kyungsoo laughs silently and focuses on reaching Omaha as soon as possible. When they reach the city, night is already falling upon it. Kyungsoo stops the car at the Gene Leahy Mall (✿), the sat nav is really useful now that it has the correct information in it, and he stares at the place in front of him. It’s a park, not really a mall. He steps out first, walking down to see the lake closely. It looks deeper because of the lack of light. The rest of the boys follow him, looking at the empty surroundings. Baekhyun sits somewhere and watches from afar. Kyungsoo wants to be a little braver so he will go there and sit right beside him, but, instead, he turns back to the lake. He looks up and wishes the sky would have more stars, the night feels lonely without them. Kyungsoo’s eyes open; he just remembered that he needs to fill the tank; and it’s only 7am. He takes his coat from his backpack and puts it on; it’s still early so who knows what the weather is like outside. At the same time he also wonders what the other boys are doing regarding their dirty clothes. Baekhyun is reasonable (he brought two suitcases and all), but the others should wash their clothes and hang them somewhere in the room just like he does himself before going to sleep. He takes the car keys and his wallet, exiting the room; the air a little cold so he zips his coat up, quickly getting in the car and using the rear mirror to fix his bed hair that he hadn’t bothered to brush. A knock on the window startles him and Kyungsoo hits his head on the window in surprise. Rubbing the sore place, he looks at the passenger’s seat window and sees Baekhyun there. He unlocks the door and passes a hand through his hair. “You nearly killed me,” he says and Baekhyun whispers sorry. “Do you want something? Do you want to come along with me?” Baekhyun looks ahead and nods. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything further, he just twists the key and drives. “You know, it’s really early,” Kyungsoo starts when they’re in the gas station waiting for the tank to fuel. “I think we should go to the Omaha Garden (✿), which I’m almost certain the boys, aside from Joonmyun, won’t enjoy that much and we can take a walk.” Baekhyun agrees silently with a simple nod of his head. He’s so quiet that Kyungsoo wonders if it’s his fault, maybe some time, just the two of them, can do them good. Maybe he can talk about it with Baekhyun. The breeze is fresh and the place is empty. Baekhyun walks ahead of Kyungsoo and the latter is trying to come up with something to talk about, but even now he still doesn’t know what to do. He sticks to just walking in silence. They pass by a lake, fountains, bridges and beautiful flowers. They reach an even more secluded area. Baekhyun walks up to the gazebo in the middle of all the plants; ivory colored wood, green surrounding everything, and he sits there, resting against the backboard of a bench and closing his eyes. Kyungsoo is still a few meters behind, walking slowly along the cement path that leads to the gazebo. He glances at Baekhyun and thinks he should do something. Quickening his steps he reaches the three stairs and takes a seat next to the boy. “Why would you-” “I want to talk,” Baekhyun cuts his words. “And it’s not just because of yesterday.” Kyungsoo promptly shuts his mouth and waits for Baekhyun to keep talking. “I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t know what happened two days ago.” Kyungsoo searches his memories, purses his lips and bites his finger, because he does remember, but not clearly. “It’s the night I had too much beer travelling around my system,” Kyungsoo mumbles absent-mindedly. “You don’t really remember what happened?” Baekhyun asks, unsure, Kyungsoo shakes his head and sighs, he definitely shall not drink alcohol like that again. “Can I show you?” Baekhyun asks, playing with his feet, hands gripping at the knee of his jeans and he doesn’t look up at Kyungsoo to receive a response. Resting his elbow on the backboard, Kyungsoo hums in response, allowing Baekhyun to show him whatever he did the other day. He doesn’t know what he should wait for, but he’s surprised by Baekhyun’s hands on his waist pulling him up from his sitting position. “Are you sure?” he asks, not letting his hands fall from Kyungsoo’s tiny waist. With a short nod Kyungsoo agrees regardless of what might happen. “Close your eyes.” Kyungsoo is sure Baekhyun won’t take a scissor from his pocket and stab him in the middle of the park, so he closes his eyes as told, licking his lips as anticipation takes care of him, a million of possibilities going through his brain. Yet, he wonders if he did what he’s just thinking about and he wonders if Baekhyun will do so. When light huffs of hot air linger on his face, he’s absolutely sure about it, but Baekhyun is taking too long to make a move. He peeks through one eye carefully to not be noticed and his breathing hitches because Baekhyun’s face is about four inches away from his, a faint tint of crimson coloring his cheeks, long lashes moving quickly and perfect nose waiting to touch Kyungsoo’s skin. With his arms awkwardly dropped to his sides, Kyungsoo closes his eye again and with a deep breath. He brings his hand to Baekhyun’s neck in an almost imperceptible movement, earning a gasp of surprise when Baekhyun takes notice that he’s being pulled into a kiss. Too slow, thinks Kyungsoo while he moves his lips against Baekhyun’s. They’re so soft that Kyungsoo wants to just stay like this. Opening his eyes slightly and trying to look behind himself with his head tilted, Kyungsoo pulls Baekhyun by the neck once again and rests his back in on of the pillars, using the opportunity to savour the taste of mint toothbrush on Baekhyun’s mouth. Baekhyun is the one who breaks the kiss, licking the spit from his bottom lip and Kyungsoo looks away, embarrassed. “I-” “I hope you’re not sorry,” Baekhyun cuts him off quickly with a swift movement of his hand. “I really forgot, I’m so dumb,” Kyungsoo says, hitting his forehead with the palm of his right hand. “I’m sorry for not remembering it.” “That’s okay,” Baekhyun says, smiling shyly and extending a hand, trying to reach Kyungsoo’s. “We should go back to the hotel, you know, it’s going to be like, lunch time if we take longer.” Kyungsoo complies, taking Baekhyun's hand and biting his bottom lip. It should be illegal for someone to feel so much happiness early in the morning. When they hit the hotel, Kyungsoo is not surprised to find all the boys still sleeping, he bets they arrived early morning from the pier. He kicks the sleepyheads awake as they still have a place to visit here. Paying the Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (✿) a really fast visit, in which Kyungsoo is mesmerized once again by the giant aquarium and Baekhyun watches him from afar while the other boys look at everything with excitement. They need to run though, the travelling time until they reach Denver is almost eight hours and it’ll take them more than this because of bathroom and food stops on the road. WIth Baekhyun promptly seated at the front again, he takes out his flash drive. “It better not be the same one,” Kyungsoo hisses and Joonmyun agrees silently from his seat. “Or I’m throwing it out of the window.” “It’s not,” Baekhyun sing songs sweetly and Kyungsoo holds his smile. He plugs the flash drive and waits for the music to play. The boys burst out laughing and Baekhyun jumps on his spot. “Holy fuck, I put on the wrong song,” Baekhyun says, yanking the object before it can play the song further. “Ignore that!” “But Baek, how can you deny it? Your hips don’t lie,” Jongdae jokes and earns a piercing glare and the middle finger from his best friend. Instead of shutting him up, it provides him with a fit of laughter. “It’s true, remember how you-” “Hush!” Baekhyun shouts and hides his face and embarrassment with his hair. Kyungsoo ignores the bickering and starts to drive. They still need to get something to eat and find a place to sleep when they get to the city. The day starts with a visit to a convenience store. Everybody is already awake and the day will be a long one, with not so many places to visit but lots of time confined inside the car. Visiting the Mount Evans (✿) - Highest Paved Road in North America - they observe the beauty and imprint it in their memories. There’s not much time to spend here, especially if they want to hit Las Vegas at the end of the day. Kyungsoo drives their way on the road to Moab, another place that they’ll only pass by and take a look at (the sat nav is still up and working with force), the anticipation to see the neon lights and huge fountains in Las Vegas is too much that it can’t stop them on their way. They drive next to the Arches Park (✿). It’s a beautiful view and Kyungsoo thinks he might pay a visit to the place when he next has the time. The first sight of the big city is their huge and illuminated neon sign saying ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada’. After hours, they’re finally getting what they want. Chanyeol bounces in his seat and Jongdae needs to actually slap him to get the boy to calm down. They point at the place they plan on spending the day, the only day in which they’ll waste money like there’s no tomorrow - well, this is Chanyeol and Jongdae. They pass by the Eiffel Tower Experience (✿) and all the magnificent hotels, the traffic is chaotic and all the lights are a little blinding but the the Statue of Liberty is visible already. New York, New York (✿) and its replicas of buildings, huge rollercoaster - they came to an accord to avoid it at all costs - and enormous pool. Kyungsoo stops the car in front of the hotel, looking up in awe and the chauffeur asks for the key. They all get their suitcases and enter the building. They stop by the reception and get a room with two double beds, but it’s not like they’re going to spend the night in it. They may be tired from the travel but the fun is just about to start. Taking the elevator and pressing the button to their floor, they tap their feet, excited for basically everything. It’s their first time in Las Vegas and oh, they want to make the most of it. When Kyungsoo opens the room with the card key, Chanyeol, literally, throws his bag somewhere, grabs his wallet and runs out of the door, Jongdae following behind and leaving the rest still there. “That was fast,” Joonmyun points out, and stares at the door. “As expected,” Baekhyun says and puts his belongings in a chair. “He’s always been like this.” “I don’t know if I should,” Joonmyun whispers sitting on the bed, staring at the beige silky carpet he’s walking on. Joonmyun’s never been someone who likes parties. “You can stay in the room and watch some tv, you know,” Kyungsoo says and sits by his side, patting his friend’s shoulder understandingly. “You’re not forced to come with us.” “Okay.” “Let’s go then? Have fun Joonmyun.” Baekhyun smiles and takes Kyungsoo by the wrist, pulling him out of the room with him. “Do you think it’s really okay? He looks lonely.” “Let him be,” Kyungsoo whispers back, the corridors are empty because everybody must be down there, having the time of their lives. “He’ll come around if he wants to.” ✿ Just like he promised himself, Kyungsoo doesn’t touch a single drop of alcohol, even with the tempting amount of colored cocktails in front of him. He saw Chanyeol and Jongdae playing something, somewhere, but the place is too packed for him to take notice of what they were doing. Baekhyun is still by his side, mesmerizing smile, second shot of some fruity martini in hands, he looks bubbly and - even with more than the necessary amount of alcohol flowing through his veins - so very lovely. Pink lips shining with what is supposed to be some remainings of gin and vermouth, white teeth showing and hand touching one of Kyungsoo’s thighs. “One more turn on the slot machine and we’re going to the room, we don’t want to waste tomorrow, okay?” The music is too loud and Kyungsoo whispers into Baekhyun’s ear. He takes another sip of his water as the other people around look at him like he’s an alien for drinking water when he has a full bar with all kind of beverages available. “Kay,” Baekhyun mumbles, smirk tugging at the corners of his lips and he puts in his last chip. “We can do whatever you want after this.” Kyungsoo nods and drinks the rest of his water. “Can’t believe I didn’t win anything,” Baekhyun complains while they’re riding the elevator. The doors open with the ring and the expanse of red carpet is the first thing they see. Their room is at the end of the corridor. They walking slowly as Baekhyun is a little tipsy and Kyungsoo needs to guide him by holding his arm. “I still need to shower.” Kyungsoo laughs at Baekhyun groaning at his own misery as they reach the door, using the card key to open it, red light turning green and he lazily pushes the white door open. He just did not expect to see Joonmyun pinned to the wall and Chanyeol kissing him. He pushes Baekhyun back and closes the door silently. “Errrrrr,” he starts, trying to find the right words to describe the scene his eyes just witnessed. “I think we shouldn’t go in there.” “Why?” “C-Chanyeol is kissing Joonmyun,” Kyungsoo says uneasily, covering his face and trying to erase everything from his head. “I don’t think we should interrupt.” “Are they getting laid?” Baekhyun asks, straight-faced. “No,” Kyungsoo squirms at the choice of words and leans slightly against the wall. “But still.” “We should do something to pass the time then,” Baekhyun stares at his nails and stands in front of Kyungsoo. “Chanyeol is not going to do anything to him, I know, so we should just wait for, you know, them to calm down.” “Like what?” Kyungsoo stares at the ground, Baekhyun’s voice is alluring and addictive, it’s just like music. “What do you have in mind?” Baekhyun says, voice near Kyungsoo and when he looks up, he’s trapped between Baekhyun and the wall. Hot and sugary breath stirs up his nose and his eyelids feel heavy, his mouth watering with the want - almost need - to feel Baekhyun’s sweet soft lips on his. Baekhyun bumps their foreheads tenderly and giggles. He places one of his hands on the wall - right next to Kyungsoo’s face - and tangles his free hand on the boy’s black brown locks of smooth silky hair, tilting Kyungsoo’s head to the side while he places hot wet kisses to the expanse of his neck. Kyungsoo’s knees weaken and he uses his hands to clutch at Baekhyun’s shirt, all wrinkled and out of place, a shaky moan escapes his lips and Baekhyun licks his earlobe and whispers,are you okay? “I don’t know,” he breathes out and Baekhyun releases his grip on Kyungsoo’s hair, easing the way Kyungsoo is clutching for his dear life on his shirt and intertwining their hands, he uses his body to press him against the wall gently. “I-” He eats Kyungsoo’s words with the hard pressure of his lips, engulfing him in a lip-bruising kiss. Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter closed again at the first contact of skin, and the way Baekhyun holds his hands - fingers shaking into a mess of sweaty palms and trembling hands - makes his heart beat a little more than just fast. How eagerly Baekhyun angles his head and bites Kyungsoo’s bottom lip, asking for desperate access, how quickly Kyungsoo parts his lips and lets Baekhyun in, letting him suck on his tongue, grasping for more of the boy who’s just so vulnerable in front of him. A hard slap on his back stops Baekhyun from kissing Kyungsoo any more, and they break the contact with an obscene popping sound - lips red and wet from all the spit exchange. Kyungsoo opens his eyes and Jongdae is arches his eyebrows at them. “Chanyeol got the card key and left me,” he explains and Baekhyun groans, taking the card out of Kyungsoo’s jeans pocket and using it to open the door. Jongdae thanks him and enters the room. After less than a minute he reopens the door and peeks through it. “Is it normal for Joonmyun to be lying on top of Chanyeol?” “Are they dressed?” Baekhyun asks, rolling his eyes and tapping his foot to the floor. “Yeah,” Jongdae replies, making a face. “Then it’s normal. You should shower and sleep, we’ll be there in a few minutes,” he finishes and pulls the doorknob to close it. “Yes, mom,” Kyungsoo hears from behind the door and laughs, catching Baekhyun’s attention once again. “Where were we?” Baekhyun smirks and hugs Kyungsoo, placing his head on his shoulder and sighing against his neck. Kyungsoo laughs into Baekhyun’s hair, cupping his face with both hands and staring at his eyes. He kisses him again, not rushed, not needy like before, and it’s not much effort to lick his way into Baekhyun’s mouth, hands moving from his face to his hair gingerly. He switches places with Baekhyun, pressing him against the wall with his own small body - not like Baekhyun is a lot taller or bigger than him -, keeping his eyes opened this time, observing the way Baekhyun looks like under his mercy, closed eyes and faint blushing cheeks, so adorable. He kisses him shortly because they woke up early and now it’s probably past midnight. Skipping a shower won’t kill them. He distances himself from Baekhyun and pecks his bruised lips, one, two, three times. “Let’s just sleep?” he offers, opening the door with the card key. Baekhyun complies, hugging him from behind. Kyungsoo is awakened by a groan and the sound of something falling to the ground. He opens his eyes and finds Baekhyun’s arms around him, keeping him safe and warm. He smiles and shakes the boy, getting him out of his own sleep. Kyungsoo looks around, trying to see where the noise had come from. “Fucking headache,” Baekhyun mutters beside him and he looks around. Chanyeol is staring at the ground beside him and he looks a mixture of startled and horrified. “What happened?” “I’m okay, don’t worry,” Kyungsoo hears from Chanyeol’s direction and Joonmyun appears, apparently from the ground. “Good morning.” “You sure?” Chanyeol asks and pulls him in for a hug. Kyungsoo coughs and turns to stare out the window. Baekhyun snickers at him and holds his hand under the blankets. “Where’s Jongdae?” Baekhyun breaks the awkward silence and leaves the bed, looking around the room. “Ugh, headache,” Chanyeol complains and slumps back into the covers, Joonmyun laughing at him and patting his head. “Never again.” Chanyeol talks like he’s telling the truth. “I’ll look in the bathroom,” Kyungsoo jumps out of the warm blankets and runs to the white tiled room. “Oh.” He starts to laugh uncontrollably at the sight of Jongdae with nothing more than a towel around himself, lying on the ground, back resting against the sink, hair sticking to all sides. “Is he alright?” Joonmyun asks, worried, and shrieks when he sees the state that the boy is found in. Baekhyun pushes them out of the way and turns on the tap, making a cup with his hands and collecting some water before throwing it on Jongdae’s face and waking him up. “Wae?!” Jongdae yells, flailing his arms up and down, opening his eyes and looking up at all the audience staring at him. He takes note of how he’s right now and instead of getting embarrassed he laughs. “Get up, take a shower and don’t take long,” Baekhyun says, leaving the bathroom and closing the door. “Still the same.” After stopping to fill the tank and later at a drugstore to buy a pack of tylenol - after the giant hangover of the whole trip - they stay silent, only the sound of the motor and smalltalk. Kyungsoo focuses on reaching San Francisco as fast as he can without exceeding any limit or earning any penalties. “We’re going to my house, is that okay?” Kyungsoo says, while he stares at the car in front of them. Pisser he thinks, but decides to not get mad as he waits for Baekhyun’s reply. “Mine is at the other side of the city, you know.” Kyungsoo looks to the side quickly, Baekhyun has dark shadows under his eyes and if it wasn’t disturbing - he reminds him of a stupid vampire, with his pale skin, probably because of the hangover and the headache -, it’d be adorable. “I think yours is not near mine. I’ve never seen you around the city, at least I think so. We can stay in my house too.” “Mine is a ten minute drive after we enter the city,” Kyungsoo says, and smiles when he sees the Golden Gate from afar. They’re still a little far from there, but he’s happy to be back home. “It’s easy to find. And yes, we can stay at your house too.” The boys jump in their seats when they see that they’re finally reaching their destination, after 8 tiring hours of nothing inside the car. At 6pm, the car stops in front of a one-storey creamy house. The house looks huge. Kyungsoo takes the key out of the car and exits the vehicle, running all the way to the front door, ringing the bell and waiting for it to be answered. “Mom,” he says when the door is opened, and attacks the woman in front of him, jumping up and down. “We’re here, we’re here.” “I thought you’d never come,” she smiles and pats her son’s head, “Help the boys to bring all of their suitcases and belongings inside.” Kyungsoo obeys, smiling and taking Baekhyun’s handbag out of his grip while holding his own at the other side. “Thanks for the delicious meal, Mrs. Do.” the boys say in unison and Kyungsoo helps to clean the table, carrying the plates to the kitchen sink, followed by the rest of them with the glasses in their hands. “Are you all settled in both rooms?” Mrs. Do asks and smiles, the warm motherly smile Kyungsoo grew used to and has been fond of since forever. “Yes, don’t worry,” Kyungsoo replies and his mother nods, leaving the room, probably going to take a seat at the couch and wait for his father to come back from work. “Now, you can all go to the rooms, set the beds and all while I clean everything.” Joonmyun offers to wash the dishes and Chanyeol promptly raises his hand, offering to dry it all, but Kyungsoo knows better and decides he’ll do it himself. They end up staying in the kitchen watching Kyungsoo work with Joonmyun. “I guess we all showered already, so we can all decide how we’ll split in the two rooms,” Kyungsoo says, drying his hands in the dishrag and hanging it in a chair. They all go after Kyungsoo, it’s his house after all, even though they already know where everything is. They enter the living room to bid Mrs. Do goodnight. Kyungsoo’s father is already home. Shaking hands and introducing themselves to Mr. Do, the boys leave the room. “We have the guest room and my room,” Kyungsoo starts again when they’re at the corridor, it’s a long hall with wooden floors, filled with picture frames and paintings. “Two beds on the guest room and one in mine.” “I can share a bed with Chanyeol. Or Joonmyun, since we’re both, you know, small, and Chanyeol is a monster so he can have a bed for himself,” Jongdae suggests and eyes Baekhyun and then Kyungsoo with a knowing look. “I think Baekhyun can stay in your room.” “That’s okay, I suppose,” Baekhyun says slowly, biting his lower lip and holding the hem of his sweater. “I’m going to go get my belongings from the guest room then.” “I’m going to help him,” Kyungsoo says, after Baekhyun disappears into the room at the end of the corridor. “You guys go brush your teeth. Goodnight." "He talks like we didn't leave our toothbrushes in our suitcases," Chanyeol comments and receives a slap from Jongdae. "Don't be insensitive, let's wait until they leave the room," Jongdae says and watches as Kyungsoo passes by the door. Baekhyun is struggling to drag all of his suitcases with him to the door when Kyungsoo enters the room. "Hey," Kyungsoo says, coming closer and taking the biggest one out of Baekhyun's grip. "Let me lend you a hand." Baekhyun smiles at Kyungsoo thankfully. "My room is the one next door," Kyungsoo says and starts to walk out of the room. "We'll see how we'll manage to sleep." "Don't do anything weird, we're one wall away from you," they hear Chanyeol's loud voice from the other side of the hall and when they look, the giant is getting headlocked by Jongdae. "Don't mind the idiot," Jongdae tells them, out of breath because Chanyeol is shaking himself to get rid of his friend. "Just go to sleep." Kyungsoo nods and takes Baekhyun by the wrist with his free hand. They end up tangled on Kyungsoo's bed, soft blanket on top of them, the improvised bed Mrs. Do made right next to the real one long forgotten. Warm bodies pressed against each other and Kyungsoo wouldn't have the heart to tell Baekhyun to sleep on the floor, when in reality, he just wants to fall asleep in his arms. “Breakfast was good,” Chanyeol comments when they walk down the street. They woke up earlier than normally and decided to stroll around; after all, they have their personal guides - Baekhyun and Kyungsoo - to show the city to them so this is going to be fun. “We’re not going by car?” “Nope,” Kyungsoo replies, looking ahead and smiling at the far sight of the sea. “We ate too much junk food on our way here, let’s walk instead.” You suck, Chanyel mutters under his breath. Kyungsoo makes a face Chanyeol doesn’t see, because if he had he’d be running away, scared from the possibility of getting slapped. “We should have fun today,” Baekhyun starts and pokes Kyungsoo in the ribs lightly. “I think-” “Should we?” Kyungsoo asks, expectantly. “With no doubt,” Baekhyun replies with excitement evident in his voice. “I miss that place,” Kyungsoo says and yanks him by the hand. The boys have never seen him this enthusiastic over something that isn’t a mathematical equation. “Let’s go.” “I think we should get the car though,” Baekhyun says and Kyungsoo heaves a sigh because Baekhyun is right. “You know, it is kind of far, unless you want to torture the non-athletic boys.” “You talk like you’re athletic yourself,” Kyungsoo snorts and laughs, he already stopped walking but oh well, they’ll have to go all the way back to the house so he’s going to spare the boys some walking, even though they have this long slope ahead of them. “I”m athletic,” Baekhyun says and attempts to show off his biceps. “You’re the non-athletic one.” “I’m athletic,” Kyungsoo repeats with conviction, pushing Baekhyun out of the way and using his short legs to literally speed up his pace and run all the way back to his house. “I’m better than you.” “Hell no,” Baekhyun shouts back, following Kyungsoo’s steps and leaving the pack behind who all look utterly amused by their actions. “I’m obviously so much better than you.” They end up in the car, again. It feels too familiar for their liking, but this is just a fast ride, better than hours and hours seated in the same place with sore asses. “And this -” Baekhyun starts while Kyungsoo parks the car. The place is full - it always is - and Baekhyun is practically bouncing up and down on his seat. Kyungsoo is only not doing it because he can’t just crash the car right now, it’d spoil absolutely everything. “- is the Pier 39 (✿).” It’s after hours and hours of walking around that they leave the place. There’s so many shops, restaurants, Kyungsoo’s favorite ever aquarium - this explains his adoration towards them - and when they enter the car they’re all really full from all the food they had. “It’s still early so we’re going to visit more two places before going home,” Kyungsoo announces while he starts the car. “What are they?” Chanyeol asks, and Kyungsoo just grins from the driver’s seat. “Another slope?” Jongdae comments when the car stops. “It’s not just a slope, dumbass. It’s the Lombard Street (✿) and I love this place, so shut up,” Baekhyun says, leaving the vehicle and closing the door. He looks up at the view in front of him. “Ah, it’s still so beautiful.” “Are we going up?” Chanyeol asks, pointing at the streets and curves in front of them. Kyungsoo can detect the complaint in his voice and just like he always does, he silently laughs back at him. “Spring did good to the flowers,” Kyungsoo comments, admiring the flowerbeds from where he is. “Let’s see who can make it to the top first.” “Is this a challenge?” Baekhyun asks, his hands working its way to the sleeves of his shirt, bringing them up in an attempt to probably say, it’s on. “This is up to you,” Kyungsoo replies with a big grin all over his face. “But I’m going there first.” They leave their spots and start running. “What’s wrong with them?” Chanyeol mutters and receives a pat on the shoulder from Joonmyun. “You’re totally non-athletic,” Jongdae says, out of nowhere, and he follows Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s steps, avoiding the possibility of getting hit by Chanyeol. After passing by the Coit Tower (✿) they go back home. Kyungsoo missed everything about San Francisco; the little trip with the cable car at the Tower was the highlight of his day, and he remembered Yifan’s friend - Luhan -, he’d have had a heart attack upon seeing the height (but this is absolutely irrelevant). The night is about to fall and they’re already craving dinner - even though they ate the equivalent of two meals when they were at Pier 39 (ice creams and cans of soda not included). Dinner is served, smell of roasted chicken fills the dining room and after eating until there’s no more space left, they all run to the guest’s room, empty bottle of cola in Chanyeol’s hand and Kyungsoo thinks - and hopes - that he’s not planning anything suspicious and stupid. It’s not a good result when Jongdae is passed out on the bed because apparently he got really bored, bottle forgotten on the carpet and Chanyeol pressing Joonmyun against a wall. Kyungsoo doesn’t know how things turned out like this, he just knows that he wants to get out of this room, now. Kyungsoo gets up and wishes them all goodnight out loud, passing by the door and entering his own room. He doesn’t feel like being a third wheel and he doesn’t need to witness anything. He takes his pajamas and goes to the bathroom; he definitely needs a shower after all the walking they did today. When he gets back in the room, towel wrapped around his neck, hair wetting his clothing and fresh breath of mint lingering on his tongue. It feels so good to be clean and refreshed. He closes the door from habit and takes note that Baekhyun is already curled up under the covers, body facing the wall and cute - and also probably involuntary - yelping noises leaving his mouth as he breathes. He sets his towel on top of a chair or maybe even a suitcase, he’s not sure because he didn’t turn the lights on and the only source of brightness comes from the lamp placed at the desk. He hopes everybody is already asleep because he’s not going to tolerate Chanyeol’s loud laughter interfering in his sleeping schedule. Turning the light off, he nears the bed. He doesn’t really care that his hair is going to get the pillowcase humid. Kyungsoo kicks his flip-flops somewhere and climbs up the bed, the creaking of the wood and the movement of the mattress making Baekhyun stir in his sleep. He slowly lies down, when his head hits the pillow he releases the breath he was holding - he’s still not sure of a lot of things he does, but he’s sure that even with his back turned to him, Baekhyun still gets his heart beats out of control. He takes some of the blankets for him and Baekhyun mumbles and turns his face at Kyungsoo. “Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun whispers, voice drawn and hoarse. He was probably already asleep and now, Kyungsoo only feels guilty for waking him up with his shuffling.Their noses almost touch and their lips are so close that Kyungsoo swears he can feel Baekhyun’s on his. His sight is finally getting used to the dark, and he realizes that Baekhyun is looking at him, heavy eyelids blinking lazily with a small smile playing on his lips. “I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo mutters, the apology is the only thing that he can think of. The sudden closeness of their faces is not something he’s really used to. Of course they’ve kissed more than once but everything is still so new to him. “I’m sorry for waking you up.” The hand playing with his hair was unexpected, and even more unexpected is when it reaches his nape and pulls him until their lips meet. Baekhyun does every move lethargically, from the way his hands travel through Kyungsoo’s still-wet hair, tugging at it lightly, to the way his tongue moves inside the other’s mouth. Kyungsoo discovers that the best choice is to let Baekhyun do as he wants, because oh, well, it’s not bad to be kissed slowly. It’s absolutely mind blowing. The day passes by slightly quickly with, Jongdae and Chanyeol complaining again that they’re visiting another museum because shit, you guys live in San Francisco, it’s obvious that both have been here already. Which Kyungsoo replies promptly with a Joonmyun wants to see the place. Those words are enough to shut them up (or at least shut Chanyeol up). Jongdae whines a lot more though; they’re at the Golden Gate Park (✿) and the place is huge. They’re going to walk around until lunch time hits the clock. And when the time comes, Baekhyun tells Kyungsoo about his favorite restaurant in Chinatown and they have a bowl of Pho each. Getting back home earlier than expected (there’s nothing that interesting to do, also because everybody must have been dead tired from all the exercising they’ve been doing the past few days), Kyungsoo suggests for them to go out at night. “Excellent!” exclaims Chanyeol, throwing his arms up in the air. “Shower first,” Kyungsoo says, pointing his fingers all over Chanyeol. “We’re not going anywhere if you don’t all clean yourselves.” The brick walls and the discreet sign reading ‘The Parlor’ (✿) comes in sight after walking one block from where the car is parked. Chanyeol looks excited, just like Kyungsoo imagined him to be - Chanyeol is always excited when alcohol is involved; or dogs. “I think they’re all good,” Kyungsoo tells Baekhyun when they enter the house. Chanyeol ended up drinking too much, again,. Joonmyun surprisingly followed suit and now they’re both laughing and Kyungsoo is worried his parents will wake up will all the noise they’re making. “Jongdae, please take them to the room and just throw them into bed to sleep.” Jongdae nods his head and manages to push both drunk boys out of the way successfully. Joonmyun accepts his guidance and just walks tortuously, trying to not hit the walls as Kyungsoo watches, while Chanyeol just giggles to himself. “Hey,” Baekhyun says, poking Kyungsoo’s sides and trying to hold his hand. “Let’s go too.” Kyungsoo concurs and starts to walk along with Baekhyun. They fall asleep, Baekhyun facing the wall and Kyungsoo hugging him from behind, a mess of tangled limbs and warmth. Kyungsoo wakes up facing the door. He doesn’t remember sleeping in this position and he doesn’t remember being hugged by Baekhyun, but it doesn’t really matter. “Good morning,” Baekhyun whispers, hands trying to turn Kyungsoo to look at him. Kyungsoo ends up doing it himself and receiving a peck on the tip of his nose. “What time is it?” Kyungsoo looks around with a little more trouble than necessary, trying to localize his clock, and when he does, it shows that it’s past 1pm. “Shit shit shit, my mom didn’t wake us up,” Kyungsoo curses and kicks the blankets off. “You wanted her to walk in on us like this?” Baekhyun says, yawning, and he sits up, passing a hand through his messed-up hair and Kyungsoo holds out his hand. Baekhyun stares at it and laughs, taking it and pulling him in for a quick kiss. “We should go to my house tomorrow. And your morning breath sucks.” “Shut up,” Kyungsoo groans and throws the pillow at Baekhyun’s face, getting up and wondering what the other boys are up to. “I’m going to check if Jongdae, Chanyeol and Joonmyun are still alive.” Kyungsoo walks up to the door, opening it and knocking on the room next door. Nobody replies, maybe they’re already up and somewhere else. “My head hurts,” Kyungsoo hears and accepts it as an invitation, he opens the wooden door and stares into the room, it’s bright inside it already and all he sees is Jongdae playing on his cell phone, Chanyeol still sleeping and Joonmyun holding his temple. “Good morning,” Kyungsoo says and coughs. “Afternoon, I guess.” “I swear, I’m not going to drink ever again,” Joonmyun says, voice low and Kyungsoo knows how he’s not even the slightest used to hangovers. “You want some medicine?” he offers and Joonmyun gets up, following Kyungsoo to wherever he keeps the tylenol. “You’re not going out today?” Mrs. Do asks the boys who are currently lazing around the living room, television playing some show they’re not paying attention to. Chanyeol is too tired to even move from the couch to the bathroom, let alone go out and Joonmyun is finally getting better from the headache and can be found napping at the room. Jongdae is still on his cell phone and Baekhyun is playing with Kyungsoo’s hair while they stare into nothing. “I’m going to make some pie, is there someone who wants to help?” “Me.” Kyungsoo raises his hand, along with Baekhyun. “Both of you come with me then,” she says and turns to leave back into the kitchen. The kitchen is almost the same size of Kyungsoo’s apartment back in New York and he just laughs; he misses this place so much. “Ah, mom, tomorrow we’ll probably be going to Baekhyun’s house,” he says and his mother nods, patting his arm and handing him the mixer. “Better make something special for dinner then, your father said he’d come home earlier today.” “I’m sorry for taking your son away from you like this,” Baekhyun butts in and receives a smile from Mrs. Do. “It’s okay, I can see that you’re excited to see your parents,” she says with her gentle voice, taking the ingredients out of the refrigerator and pointing for him to wash and cut the apples. “Besides, I know you’ll take care of him. Kyungsoo, don’t spill the mixture on the floor.” Kyungsoo laughs and tries to hide his face in embarrassment. Baekhyun watches him from the sink, eyes crinkling when he smiles at him so genuinely. “Kyungsoo, help me set the table,” Mrs. Do calls to her son. They’re so entertained by the game of cards that they didn't see the time fly by. After helping her out with the pie, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo had come back to the living room, finding Jongdae on the phone and Chanyeol looking at the tv. Kyungsoo jolts out of his chair and comes back with the cutlery and napkins in hand, running to the dining room and doing his best to make it look perfect, just like he used to do when he was younger. “Good evening,” Mr. Do says when he enters the room. Kyungsoo hadn’t heard the front door opening. His dad looks somehow tired; he always looked tired when he got home from the office, but he looks happier than he used to. “Good evening.” His mother appears from the kitchen and takes the coat from his shoulders. Kyungsoo watches from his place, admiring how his parents still look happy after years and years of marriage. “Dinner is almost ready, you should shower first.” “I’ll be back in 10 minutes,” he says and disappears into the hall. “Whoa Mrs. Do, the clam chowder was so good,” Joonmyun exclaims when they finish eating. “Thanks for the meal.” “You’re so cute, Joonmyun,” she says, and takes the plate out of his hands. “You don’t need to thank me. Kyungsoo talks a lot about you and how you’re the one that takes care of all of them.” Joonmyun shakes his head and smiles, trying to take the plate out of Mrs. Do’s hands but failing. “No, no, you’re mistaken, they’re all really nice kids. I just try to look out for them like a responsible adult. I need to, after all I’m going to be a teacher and I-” Joonmyun talks non stop like he does when he gets nervous and Mrs. Do giggles at his adorable self. “You don’t need to take the plates from me, you all helped a lot since you arrived. Go and have fun with your friends.” She points with a movement of her head and enters the kitchen. Joonmyun nods his head and walks back into the living room, and sits at the couch and watches as the boys talk with Mr. Do. “Tomorrow we’ll be going to Baekhyun’s house after breakfast,” Kyungsoo says a few minutes before they planned to go to sleep, because he’d totally forgotten about it. “You don’t need to pack yet but let it organized, like, no clothes everywhere, right, Chanyeol?” Teeth brushed and back from the shower, they all bid goodnight to each other and went to sleep. Kyungsoo’s mother told him to wake up early so they could have breakfast before going. “Your parents know that we’re coming, right?” Kyungsoo asks Baekhyun when they’re already all over each other under the blankets. “Yes, I told them,” Baekhyun says, breathing near Kyungsoo’s neck. “And your mom, I think she knows about us. It’s so funny how she practically approved of her son being gay.” “She likes you,” Kyungsoo says, trying to find Baekhyun’s hand to hold onto. “And she already knew.” “I don’t want to know how she already knew,” Baekhyun says, squeezing the hand that’s clutching his. “It was nothing much to be honest,” Kyungsoo says, staring at the ceiling. “Just me screaming how Brad Pitt is so hot, please marry me at the television and then her laugh coming from behind me. Wasn’t sure about it at the time, but yeah.” Baekhyun laughs and snuggles into Kyungsoo, letting go of his hand and holding him closer. “Thanks for the stay,” says Jongdae, who’s the last to finish breakfast and the last to get ready. All the boys are already waiting for him while arranging the suitcases in the trunk. “Also, thanks for lending me the washing machine.” Mrs. Do laughs and hugs each one of them before they climb into the car, ready to go to the Byuns’ house. Kyungsoo drives until they reach Baekhyun’s house, following instructions and directions given by Baekhyun himself. They stop the car in a flat street, in front of a light pink house. Baekhyun face palms and Kyungsoo wonders why he's doing it. As Kyungsoo predicted in his mind, Baekhyun is the first to leave the car. his mother is already at the door smiling at them. “Mom,” Baekhyun says, whiny tone as he stomps his right foot to the ground. “How dare you paint over the blue of the house?” “Look, son, since you told me you’d come here with your friends, I got you tickets to a show,” Mrs. Byun says, shoving some papers in Baekhyun’s face. “San Francisco Symphony (✿),” Baekhyun reads out loud. Everybody is already next to him, greeting Mrs. Byun and trying to look at the papers in his hands. “Mom, you go there like, once a month.” “What about it?” she asks, tilting her head at her son. “You don’t want to go? I can always take it back and go with some friends.” “I want to go,” Kyungsoo says, raising his hand. “My mom used to bring me there with her, I miss the place.” “Oh my God,” Joonmyun almost, shouts taking one ticket out of Baekhyun’s hand. “It’s a Tchaikovsky piece.” “Mom, what are you wearing,” Baekhyun exclaims staring at the woman in front of him, wearing a not short but also not long pink dress. “You look like one of those housewives from old commercials.” “Let’s go inside kids,” Mrs. Byun says, ignoring Baekhyun’s words and existence. She taps Kyungsoo on the shoulder and sends him a gentle smile. “I made pancakes.” “Food!” Chanyeol says, like he didn’t just have breakfast at Kyungsoo’s house. “I don’t think I brough proper clothes to go somewhere like that,” Jongdae says when he looks at Baekhyun buttoning his shirt up. “Just wear jeans and a shirt, I mean, I used to wear that when my mom dragged me along with her.” “Really?” “Yeah, I was a kid though,” Baekhyun tells him, laughing, and receiving a hard slap in the arm. “Don’t worry, gosh, you’re same size as me, just take something from my closet. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun too, but I think they’ll be kind of big on them.” Baekhyun earns a well-deserved kick from Kyungsoo. Joonmyun is too kind to do the same and Chanyeol asks what about him. “Just take something from my brother. He’s just a little shorter than you.” “How come you’re small like this then?” Jongdae jokes and runs out of the room cackling. “Your mother is so nice,” Chanyeol says to Baekhyun while they walk, since they left the car parked two blocks away from the symphony hall. “And she made us lasagna.” “She acts like she’s younger and that’s so embarrassing.” “She made us lasagna, she’s nice and you won’t tell me otherwise,” Chanyeol affirms and Kyungsoo agrees silently; anyone who makes him lasagna is probably going to Heaven. They arrive in front of the glazed walls hall, Joonmyun bouncing on his tracks as they enter the building. “That was so amazing,” Joonmyun says at the moment they exit the place. “I love your mother.” “She’s married though,” Baekhyun tells him and Joonmyun makes a face. “I didn’t mean like that.” “I know, I’m just messing with you.” Joonmyun looks at him and walks away to stand next to Kyungsoo. “Why is your boyfriend being mean to me?” Joonmyun whispers to Kyungsoo and his friend chokes on air, caught by surprise from his question. Baekhyun’s hearing catches Joonmyun’s words and he looks at Kyungsoo who’s turning different shades of red at each second. “Yes, waeeeee,” Baekhyun says making an obvious imitation of Jongdae’s whiny voice. “Let’s just go back home and sleep,” Kyungsoo suggests and runs to the car. “You all should go to the park and have a picnic,” Mrs. Byun tells them in the morning. Baekhyun’s father is reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee, yesterday when they got home Baekhyun’s parents were already sleeping and they didn’t have the chance to greet him. “I even made the basket.” They all nod their heads, agreeing to the idea. They end up sitting on top of a large blanket in the middle of the Yerba Buena Gardens (✿). It’s a sunny day, there are kids running around the place and couples lying on the grass, looking out at the sunny sky and listening to the waterfall. It’s a little paradise in the middle of the busy city and it’s just past 10am. The food is gone in less than 10 minutes. Chanyeol falls face-first to the ground and Joonmyun uses his back as a pillow. Jongdae is apparently asleep and Baekhyun is gathering the pots and putting them back into the basket. Kyungsoo thinks about yesterday, maybe about his words. “We should talk,” he blurts out. The others are currently passed out and hopefully enjoying their day by resting. “I think the place is big enough for us to walk for a good amount of time.” Baekhyun eyes him, worried, maybe not sure about what Kyungsoo has to say. Kyungsoo is not sure himself. He pokes Joonmyun and tells him that they’ll be back later and that he should keep an eye at their belongings. Joonmyun mutters something to him and changes his position, turning his back on him and Kyungsoo gets up, dusting the grass out of his jeans and waiting for Baekhyun to be done. Walking up side by side, they remain silent for the first minutes, just the sound of their footsteps and the movement of families and couples around them. “Are we something?” Kyungsoo asks, hands inside the pockets of his jacket, and he looks at the trees and at the pavement, anywhere but Baekhyun. “I-I’m sorry about yesterday, I shouldn’t have brushed it off like that.” “You’re worrying over this? Gosh, I thought it was something else,” Baekhyun says, holding out his hand to reach Kyungsoo’s arm and he ignores - or he really didn’t hear the first question -. “I thought you’d tell me you don’t want anything from me. That Joonmyun’s statement wasn’t near to becoming something real, ever.” “You serious?” Kyungsoo asks, licking his lips, the weather is really nice, and they’re walking to another side of the park, he just hopes the boy will stay well without them. “I thought you got offended.” “I got more afraid than offended,” Baekhyun admits and Kyungsoo feels slightly bad for his actions the previous day. A smile tries to take over his lips as he feels Baekhyun’s hand holding him by the arm, he looks to the front and sees what he recognizes as the ice rink. “Do you want to skate?” Kyungsoo asks out of nowhere and Baekhyun squeezes his arm, signalizing that yes, he wants to. Laughing, sweating and with sore asses they exit the rank. The number of falls exceeded Kyungsoo’s expectations but the amount of fun was enough to make up for the pain and embarrassment. “Even the kids were better than us,” Baekhyun comments and bursts out laughing some more. “Thank you for holding my hand and falling to the ice with me.” “I’d suggest for us to go to the bowling center, but I guess this was enough fun for today.” Kyungsoo says, wiping the sweat with the sleeve of his shirt and hugging Baekhyun by the waist. “Yeah.” “Wow, took you guys long enough, how long was the walk?” Jongdae says and looks at how Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are beaming at each other. “I hope you had fun for all of us, because we napped for the both of you.” “Let’s just get back home,” Kyungsoo says as Baekhyun folds the blanket. Chanyeol is actually up and Joonmyun is leaning against him, eyes closed and Kyungsoo can still see the remains of his hangover. “Today was a nice day,” Baekhyun says as he uses Kyungsoo’s shoulder as a pillow. The setting for them to sleep is the same as it was in Kyungsoo’s house, aside from Baekhyun’s room being at the other side of the corridor and on the second floor. “I hope everyday will be as fun as today.” “It will,” Kyungsoo says and closes his eyes; he’s exhausted. After they came back home, the boys decided to marathon movies and now he’s trying to forget about the plot of all those horror movies. “Your mother’s food is as good as mine.” “Bless,” Baekhyun utters, and they both laugh. ✿ The next day passes by smoothly. They start it by visiting the Asian Art Museum (✿). At the very end of it, Kyungsoo is happy about the use of their time; the museum is a big building, and they managed to look at everything, even with the constant groans leaving Chanyeol’s mouth, followed by why are we here to look at all these Buddha statues? and Joonmyun correcting that it’s actually Vajradhara or Chanyeol, stop calling everything Buddha, it’s Guanyin this time. It’s amusing and cute and Kyungsoo just wants to take a picture of them walking side by side - which he actually did - and give it to Joonmyun some other day. They end it with Mrs. Byun’s homemade tteokbokki and small conversations with Mr. Byun about nothing and everything, from soccer to college, the weather to politics. “Are you guys doing anything today?” Mrs. Byun asks, holding a pot with cookies. They’re currently sprawled out in the living room, some in the carpet, some on the couch. Kyungsoo is curled up against one and he looks up at her. “We’ll need to leave tomorrow, there are no stops planned and it’s a 6 hours drive,” Kyungsoo tells her with a small pout forming on his lips. “And I think I should go out to refuel today, so we can go without problems.” “Hey,” Baekhyun says when he sees that Kyungsoo is actually getting up to go to the gas station. “I’ll go with you. Also, gimme the money, Jongdae, it’s your turn to pay.” Groaning and taking out his wallet from a pocket, Jongdae hands Baekhyun some bills and his phone rings. “Hello?” he says but Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are already at the door, bidding goodbye to Mrs. Byun, who gives them a playful smile before closing the door. “Am I the only one who wonders what Jongdae does with that phone every minute?” Baekhyun asks when they enter the car, Kyungsoo turning it on and driving to the nearest gas station. “I mean, it’s probably not a game, at least not all the time. He’s always tapping the screen and looking at it.” “So I’m not alone at this,” Kyungsoo says and looks at Baekhyun when they stop at the red light. “Also, someone called.” “We need to find this out,” Baekhyun announces. The light turns green and the place they need to go is right in front of them. “Here’s your change Jongdae,” Baekhyun says and throws the remaining bills at him. “Also, tell me who’s always talking to you through text messages.” “My brother wants me to get him some stuff at LA and he won’t stop messaging me,” Jongdae says throwing his hands up, rolling his eyes and shoving the bills back into his pocket. “It’s really annoying, you know.” “Okay,” says Kyungsoo cutting Jongdae and looking at all of them lying around the living room, in the same position they were when he and Baekhyun left. “I know it’s only 4pm, but please, get your stuff gathered and organized, we don’t want to waste some hours of travel with it tomorrow.” Joonmyun is the first to leave. Noticing the movement, Chanyeol follows him like a puppy. Kyungsoo shakes his head when looking at them disappearing up the stairs. Joonmyun has Chanyeol in the palm of his hands. “You’re not going, Jongdae?” Baekhyun asks. Jongdae is currently lying with his stomach directly against the carpet and tapping the screen of his cell phone - again. “Let them be,” he says without taking his eyes of the phone. “They’ll have more fun without me.” Jongdae’s cell phone rings again like last time and he groans, banging his head on the soft fabric under him. “I said I’m not in New York, stop calling me,” he says and sighs. “Okay, sorry for shouting, but not today, not tomorrow, I’ll call you when I’m back.” “That’s really weird,” Baekhyun whispers into Kyungsoo’s ear, receiving a nod as response. “I think we should go pack too.” “Let’s go, before he decides to flip something,” Kyungsoo replies pushing his back and going up the stairs like Chanyeol and Joonmyun. “How many times do I have to say no?” Kyungsoo hears Jongdae’s voice when they reach the top and it doesn’t sound like it’s a talk with his brother at all. “Thank you for the special meal Mrs. Byun,” Kyungsoo says and smiles, gathering the plates and not giving anyone else any chance to do so. Everybody finished their food already and wow, Kyungsoo ate so much seafood. “Let me help you by cleaning the table and washing the dishes.” “You don’t really need to, that’s why Baekhyun is here,” she says and Baekhyun glares at her, he gets up as well and helps Kyungsoo with the cups. “You two have fun.” “Aw, your mom is so nice Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo says, gingerly dropping the dishes into the sink and getting one sponge and squeezing the detergent in it. “You kidding me?” he says, grabbing the colored dishrag and drying the ware and silverware. “She’s crazy.” “You’re not normal yourself,” Kyungsoo says, cleaning the soap out of the transparent cup. “I mean, I’m not really normal either.” “So charming,” Baekhyun retorts, hitting him with the piece of wet cloth on the ass. “So so charming.” “I really am,” Kyungsoo replies through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the sudden pain. “Just like you, asshole.” “I love you too,” Baekhyun says, making a kissy face towards Kyungsoo with his eyes closed, earning himself an unpleasant surprise of a cup of water thrown towards his face. “Oh no, you didn’t!” Kyungsoo yelps when Baekhyun attacks him from behind and the glass flies from his hands, smashing when it hits the ground and Kyungsoo swears he can see more than a thousand shards. “Baekhyun!” Mrs. Byun yells from the living room. “It wasn’t me,” he cries out while Kyungsoo laughs at his face. “You’ll pay for that,” Baekhyun tells Kyungsoo when they’re already trapped together, his thin arms squeezing Kyungsoo tightly. “I swear, you’re lucky that my mom probably loves you, or else you’d be dead. Not counting that she doesn’t like those glasses, so you’re safe.” “I’m glad, because my mom loves you too,” Kyungsoo breathes out, reaching for Baekhyun’s hands, poking his stomach. “I can’t believe we’ll be already going back tomorrow. And stop doing this, it tickles.” “Yeah, and we’re going to LA. I visited Chanyeol’s house once,” Baekhyun says and squeezes Kyungsoo harder, going against his orders and receiving a light kick. “I mean, his parents are really worried over Chanyeol’s nocturnal tendencies.” “They totally should, the Los Angeles kid just thinks about alcohol and parties,” Kyungsoo says and elbows Baekhyun in the stomach, who grunts and releases Kyungsoo from his grip. “But I think he’d change if Joonmyun asks him to.” “Yeah,” Baekhyun replies and turns to stare at the ceiling. “He’s got it bad, right?” “Totally,” says Kyungsoo, hands touching his own cheeks and biting his lips. I think I’ve got it too. “Do you have it bad?” Baekhyun asks, due to Kyungsoo’s silence. His body stiffens - maybe he can read minds. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to reply, so he decides to turn to look at Baekhyun’s expression. Baekhyun is silent too, lip between teeth and face confused. “Do you?” Kyungsoo whispers, and looks into his eyes expectantly. Baekhyun closes his eyes, sighing and breathing a new batch of oxygen, telling himself something that Kyungsoo can’t understand and he opens his pretty eyes again, smiling and nearing his face to Kyungsoo’s. “I think I do, it’s scary you know?” Baekhyun wets his lips and blinks quickly, averting his eyes from Kyungsoo’s, and looking around, even though they’re in a dark room. “How did some tiny little crush turn into something beyond a foolish attraction?” “So I’m not something of the moment? We’re not a fling?” Kyungsoo asks and remembers the question that was left unanswered the other day. He can sense Baekhyun rolling his eyes; even if he can’t see, he can feel it. “First of all, what the fuck Kyungsoo. Second, we’re not having sex, excuse me? And third,” Baekhyun says, looking at Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo feels like Baekhyun is squeezing his heart just like he did with his body a few minutes ago, his heart feels tight and maybe it’s a little painful, it’s weird how everything is hurting in a good way and Kyungsoo doesn’t think he should try to understand this. “I just don’t kiss someone I don’t like. Please, pay attention, have you ever seen me dating before?” “I used to think you were into Chanyeol.” He answers the question with a timid smile and Baekhyun pulls him by his ear. “It hurts, oh my God Baekhyun, stop.” “How dare you say I was into Chanyeol?” he chokes, incredulous. Kyungsoo can see the horrified face he’s making and this is funnier than Jim Carrey's old movies. “That’s so gross, I’d die if I had to kiss that.” Kyungsoo laughs at Baekhyun calling Chanyeol that, because really, Chanyeol is not that bad, he may be a little out of control and dumb but he’s still very gentle, somehow, not with his limbs or movements, maybe he’s good with words? Kyungsoo decides to not think further or he’ll start calling Chanyeol that too. “I’m sorry?” Kyungsoo tries saying to see if it’ll calm Baekhyun down, even if it wasn’t much of an important matter to start with, Baekhyun is almost flailing and throwing Kyungsoo out of the bed. “I was kidding, I’m sorry, stop dancing here.” “I’m not dancing, stop trying to pin me down on my own bed,” Baekhyun says as he attempts to free himself from Kyungsoo’s prying hands. “Get off you fatass, I want to sleep.” “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” Kyungsoo says, climbing up Baekhyun’s body and straddling him, his legs circling Baekhyun’s as he kisses the corner of his so-inviting lips. “I can’t hear you, your heart is beating too loudly, stop being so in love with me.” “That’d be you, honey,” Baekhyun replies, rolling Kyungsoo over and exchanging positions with him. He kisses the corner of his mouth and teases Kyungsoo by kissing his left cheek too many times, making ridiculous loud smacking sounds and leaving his DNA there. “But, did you know that I adore you so fucking much? Because I think I do.” Kyungsoo smiles and grips Baekhyun by his hair - all messy because of all the moving he had been doing - and brings his face up close to his. “Are you sure? Because I think I do more,” he whispers blowing hot air against Baekhyun’s lips and closing the minimum distance between them. Nobody is in a rush, just by being able to savor how Baekhyun tastes so sweet and addicting, Kyungsoo feels like he’s in heaven. “I like you so much, but can we sleep?” “You’re also such a moment ruiner,” Baekhyun says, diving head first and stealing more kisses from Kyungsoo. “But you’re right, let’s sleep.” “I’m kind of sweaty right now,” Kyungsoo says and Baekhyun makes a noise from the back of his throat that sounds more like yeeeeackkk and Kyungsoo is not sure if he should laugh or feel offended. “That’s really disgusting,” Baekhyun says and receives a hard stab on his ribs but ignores it, he’s not giving Kyungsoo what he wants. “But you know, it must be your undying love for me flowing out of your pores.” “Now, this is disgustingly greasy and also weird,” Kyungsoo says, scrunching up his nose and turning his back to Baekhyun, small smile engraved on his lips as he tries not to titter. “Goodnight to you sir.” “Goodnight mister,” Baekhyun replies catching him by the waist and burying his face into the back of his neck. Kyungsoo takes the hands on his hips and holds them as he sleeps. After finishing their bacon and eggs - or cereal in Baekhyun’s case -, they throw their suitcases at Chanyeol who safely places them in the trunk. Mrs. Byun bids goodbye to each one of the boys with a peck on their cheeks and Baekhyun rolls his eyes. Mr. Byun went out for work early in the morning, telling them to have a safe trip, while breakfast was being served. He’d left to sit in his office and sign papers. “Take care,” Mrs. Byun says, holding a white tissue and dramatically wiping her tears with it. Baekhyun is yanked down by her and forced into a tight embrace. “I’m going to miss you so much.” “Mom,” Baekhyun says, trying to get out of her grip but failing and sending daggers with his eyes at his friends laughing at him. “Let’s not go through this again.” “So tell me you’re going to miss me,” she says, squeezing him harder and making him cry out in pain. “Woman, your nails are long, don’t do this again,” Baekhyun says with eyes wide, he struggles to get out but fails again. “Okay, I’m going to miss you, a lot.” “Now,” she whispers into his ear, and looks at the boys. “Take care of that young boy.” Baekhyun bites his lips and nods, his mom lets him go and sends Kyungsoo a smile, the small boy looks a little confused about why Baekhyun is turning crimson or why Mrs. Byun is hugging him out of nowhere. “Drive safely,” she says and taps his arm with one finger. “I don’t want to hear bad news while I’m making dinner.” “Yes, madam,” Kyungsoo says and Mrs. Byun giggles, hitting her son and telling him to just go. Baekhyun mumbles under his breath how dare you? I thought you were going to miss me. “Bye boys,” she says and everybody hops in the car, ready to go. Chanyeol is more excited than ever; he’s finally going back to a quick visit to LA (he probably just can’t really wait). “Have fun.” Kyungsoo turns the key and starts the car. He’s just so glad that nothing wrong happened to the vehicle, bless Chanyeol for almost not using it, but using it enough to not create dust and problems. “So are we going to listen to something during this 6 hour ride?” Kyungsoo asks, eyes already focused on the road, reading the plaques and eyeing the sat nav once in a while. “Gotcha,” Baekhyun says, taking out something from his pocket. “I got this ready.” “Isn’t it that really embarrassing old playlist?” Jongdae says from behind and Baekhyun turns his head violently to the back, piercing Jongdae with his piercing glare. “No, sir,” Baekhyun says and laughs. Joonmyun looks at him a little scared and he breathes out the breath he was holding. “It’s something I compiled while we were at my house.” He plugs the flash drive on the stereo and waits for it to play. “Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo starts when the first song comes out. “Are we going to listen to teenage girl pop songs?” “Man, let’s just play Kyungsoo’s CD, it’s better than this,” Chanyeol says from behind him and Joonmyun silently nods his head while chewing on his lips, even his is better than teenage songs. “I brought another CD, we should listen to that, and don’t worry Kyungsoo, there’s no Destiny’s Child in there.” “It better not, I swear if something like that plays, I’m going to flip this car.” “Please don’t flip the car,” Chanyeol says and hands Baekhyun the CD carefully. “Also don’t read what’s written in the CD.” “You’re a dumbass,” Baekhyun says and reads out loud what’s written in the cover of it anyway. “Please Joonmyun, go out with me, I think I like you more than I like myself. Okay, let’s put this to play.” “Nooooo,” Chanyeol whines from behind and Kyungsoo feels bad for him, just a little. “I’m just going to jump out of this window, I hate you so fucking much Byun Dumbhyun.” “That’s not even funny, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says pushing the disc into the stereo. “It’s such a crappy pun, let’s not repeat this.” “Man, this is worse than the one before,” Kyungsoo says and Chanyeol just curls up in the available space and hits his head against the seat in front of him. Joonmyun desperately tries to stop him by holding his hand. “We’re not gonna play Wrecking Ball in this car. Joonmyun, let’s play your CD.” “I’m going to die,” Chanyeol wails and Joonmyun smiles right next to him. “Holy hell Chanyeol, why did you bring us to the Malibu Beach (✿)?” Kyungsoo says after hours of driving and trying to not fall asleep at all the Tchaikovsky on repeat. “We can’t enter, they’re private beaches, you know?” “Blame the sat nav and I know, but looking won’t kill us,” he replies. Joonmyun himself is fast asleep at the back seat, head fallen to the side supported by Chanyeol’s broad shoulders. “I mean, it’s on the way, why not appreciate it? It’s really pretty.” “It’s a shame that we’re the only ones awake,” Kyungsoo says as they pass by all the mansions and beach houses. “The water is so blue.” “Just drive by it, I think we’ll be arriving in LA in an hour,” Chanyeol says and yawns, blinking the tears out of his eyes and resting his head against the window. “My house is easy to find. Can you stop by a convenience store? I need to buy something.” “I’ll wake you up,” Kyungsoo says and Chanyeol thanks him, closing his eyes and taking a short nap. “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun aks when the boy gets back into the car, plastic bag in hands and silly grin on his face. “Did you just buy beer?” “No, of course not,” Chanyeol says shaking his head and the bag itself. “It’s whisky.” “Are you fucking kidding me?” Baekhyun shouts. Jongdae jumps in his seat, startled; he was sleeping. Everybody feels sorry for him. “Don’t buy more alcohol.” “But it’s like, just one bottle,” Chanyeol says and makes a face directed at Baekhyun. “We’re not even going to drink everything.” “That’s what you always say,” Jongdae says, grumpy because of his sudden awakening. “And we need to go all ‘get the fuck out with this alcohol’ on you and then shove you into the bathroom hoping you won’t throw up on the floor.” “Thanks, but I don’t remember being like this,” Chanyeol replies, hugging his bottle of not-so-cheap whisky to his chest. “It sounds just like Baekhyun.” “That’s because this is Baekhyun,” Jongdae says glaring at him with his sleepy eyes. “I’m just using him as example.” “I vote to keep Baekhyun away from that drink of satan,” Baekhyun says raising his hand and lifting Kyungsoo’s hand to help him out. “Kyungsoo agrees with me. I’m not sure about him drinking but I’m not going to. I don’t want to ruin anything like expensive carpets or rare vases.” “Okay then, my house is two blocks away from here, just turn the left and you’ll see it from the corner,” Chanyeol says resting his back against the seat and whispering something to Joonmyun. “You mean that ridiculously tall and almost-mansion at the end of the street?” Kyungsoo asks and Jongdae chokes on air. “Yeah that one, don’t mind it, it’s my sister who helped my parents to buy it, because of her job as the weather woman and all,” Chanyeol says waving his hand, Kyungsoo nods and drives until they’re in front of the gates. “Besides, the garden is bigger than the house.” “She’s Park Yura,” Joonmyun gasps while Chanyeol fishes for something in his jacket pocket. “I noticed that she looked like you, oh my God.” “Found it,” Chanyeol says, holding a control in his hand and pressing the button, opening the gates and allowing Kyungsoo to park the car inside safely. “Joonmyun, we’re exactly the same, she’s just older.” “Is she here? Can I meet her? Can I shake her hand?” Joonmyun asks. He’s electric, hands motioning to all sides and making Chanyeol smile. “She’s not here though,” he replies and Joonmyun sinks on his seat. “Maybe next time, you know.” Joonmyun smiles at the mention of next time. Mrs. Park and Mr. Park are a lot funnier than Kyungsoo thought they’d be; living in Los Angeles and in such a huge house, he’d have predicted them to be the uptight type, but their son being Chanyeol is proof enough that they’re really nice people - or just a little bit crazy. “I hope you guys will enjoy dinner, I made pasta and I’m really sorry we won’t be having dinner with you. We had a reservation at this one restaurant we’ve been waiting for for 3 months already and we couldn’t cancel, or we’d have to pay for it, going or not,” Mrs. Park says, adjusting Chanyeol’s shirt and trying to brush his hair with her fingers. Her son is much taller than her but he helps by lowering his head. “Anyway, have fun while we’re out. And you, Chanyeol, don’t destroy anything.” “Yes mama,” Chanyeol replies fixing his hair himself and waving at his parents. “Yes mama,” Baekhyun repeats and laughs, Chanyeol pouts at him and Baekhyun makes a face. “I’m hungry.” “I can’t believe you ate all the remaining pasta,” Joonmyun exclaims. Chanyeol is washing the dishes with all the boys waiting for him, seated at the stools near the counter. “Me neither,” he replies and finishes the last plate. “Actually, I can.” “He eats all the food in the refrigerator; why do you think we go grocery shopping like, twice a week?” Jongdae says, leaving his seat. “What are we going to do now?” “We should to go my room, it’s big enough for all of us to sleep in it,” Chanyeol says, opening the fridge and taking the bottle of whisky out. “So that’s why your mother told you to not destroy anything,” says Kyungsoo, walking up to the door. “You should think before shoving your alcohol where your parents can see.” “Ah, it’s okay, they don’t really care, as long as I don’t die or do something stupid like drive into a pool,” he says, laughing, and Kyungsoo ignores what he just said; Chanyeol has probably driven into a pool before. Actually, everybody ignores what Chanyeol just said, and head to his room, already knowing where it is since Chanyeol showed it to them before. Kyungsoo climbs up the large stairs. The house is tall, but he noticed why when they entered it; it’s just how high the ceiling is, plus the second floor. Chanyeol’s room is the first one to the right - his parent’s is apparently the last one to the left -. They walk through the large corridor and enter the blue painted place. “Your couch is so comfortable,” Kyungsoo says, throwing his weight in it and resting his head against the cushion. “Can I sleep here?” “If you want,” Chanyeol replies and opens the bottle. “I didn't actually get glasses. Oops?” “Just drink from the nozzle,” Joonmyun says, lying down on the carpet and closing his eyes. “Unless Kyungsoo and Jongdae decide to join you, you’re alone.” “Jongdae is already asleep on your bed,” Baekhyun points out and kicks his shoes out, trying to find an empty space on the couch Kyungsoo’s at. “Get out,” Kyungsoo tells him, but leaves his spot, walking up to Chanyeol and taking the bottle out of his hands. “Give it to me, you’re not drinking all of this, I don’t want to deal with an alcoholic coma.” Chanyeol watches as Kyungsoo turns down the bottle and drinks one third of it in one go, Baekhyun’s mouth hangs open from where he’s right now and when Kyungsoo wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, he mutters a low damn to himself. Chanyeol stares at him with a blank expression, taking back the bottle Kyungsoo is pressing to his hands. “Are you okay?” he asks Kyungsoo and receives a snort in return. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Kyungsoo asks, giggling. “Now let’s sleep, don’t drink too much.” “Is he okay?” Chanyeol asks Joonmyun who’s trying to sleep on the fluffy carpet. He opens one of his eyes and stares at Chanyeol from his position. “Yes, he’s probably trying to teach you something,” Joonmyun says, shaking his head and turning his back to Chanyeol. “Finish this and go to sleep.” “Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo says, he’s still - trying - standing in the same place he was. Now he turns his body to the boy who’s trying to fall asleep but got too distracted staring at Kyungsoo being alluring with his alcohol influenced self. “Let’s cuddle.” “No, don’t jump on-” His voice is muffled when the air is knocked out of his socks. “Goodnight,” Kyungsoo says, nuzzling his face into his neck. Baekhyun will probably wake up with a body ache, but Kyungsoo is already too intoxicated by the whisky to care about it right now. “Thanks for the french toast, Mrs. Park,” Joonmyun says and takes another bite, drinking his milk and humming happily. “You’re very welcome,” she replies and strokes his hair, dumping more into Chanyeol’s plate and looking at how silent the other side of the table is. “They’re hangover,” Joonmyun whispers to her. “Well, only Kyungsoo. The others are just tired.” “I’m not hungover, I’m just in pain,” Kyungsoo says from his seat, and bites his food. “I’m in more pain,” Baekhyun says and drinks his juice. “I was the one who got squeezed during sleep.” “But you probably liked it,” Jongdae replies and looks at his cell phone. The screen lights up and he munches while typing something. “So,” Mrs. Park says looking at Jongdae. “Who’s the lucky one?” “Huh?” he replies, looking up. “You and your phone, the dumb smile on your face.” They all laugh and Jongdae almost spits out what he’s eating. “Yes, Jongdae, who’s it? Your brother again?” Baekhyun asks, jabbing his finger in his sides. “Okay, it’s not my brother,” Jongdae says and shoves more food into his mouth. “But leave me alone.” “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer,” Chanyeol tells his mom and pokes the toast with his fork. “You guys should come and visit again, the house is so big and always so empty. Next summer break come and stay for a month,” she offers, pouring Chanyeol more milk and handing him a napkin due to the mess he’s making. “That’d be lovely,” Joonmyun says and finishes his meal. “We’re really walking around Hollywood,” Jongdae exclaims and stares at the white big billboard from afar. “Only by car though,” Kyungsoo replies and stops by a gas station. “We’re just going to drive through that full-of-palms avenue in Beverly Hills (✿) and head to Phoenix.” “Also because you’re still not really well after all the drinking from yesterday,” Baekhyun adds and Kyungsoo groans, what was he even thinking when he decided to do that? “That too.” “Let’s go, let’s go then, it’s only a 4 hour drive,” Chanyeol says animatedly, while Kyungsoo pays for the fuel. When arriving at Phoenix, they choose somewhere to grab a bite and just after it, much to Chanyeol’s delight, they visit the Musical Instrument Museum. It’s a nice place for someone who likes music as much as Chanyeol and Jongdae do. After spending a good amount of time looking at every inch of the place, Kyungsoo drives them to the Desert Botanical Garden, with different foliage from what they’re used to - just Kyungsoo’s luck for being a prepared person and booking tickets. Everything goes by slowly, from staring to the cactuses and the arid ground, to silently snickering at how Chanyeol looks at everything excitedly but complains that they visit too many botanical gardens. Finding a hotel is easy. Even easier is to fall asleep. Coffee at Starbucks is one of the things Kyungsoo is more used to; if it’s not early in the morning, he can be found at the shop near college during night. It’s with his craving for caffeine satiated that he drives them all towards Santa Fé. It’s another one of those tiring travels, 7 hours inside the car, another stop to fuel the tank and Jongdae coming back to the car with a bag of fries. It’s at time like this that Kyungsoo is more than happy with the friends he has - the small stupid and silly things make the difference. Passing through the Museum of International Folk Art (✿), they end up leaving the place earlier than planned. If it’s not from Chanyeol commenting how they keep looking at such weird statues and wooden sculptures, it’s Kyungsoo’s own stomach complaining. Just a local restaurant with a decent meal is enough to get them all content, passing by the Santa Fé Opera House to just look at the architectural structure. There’s a long 8 hour drive to Oklahoma City and it’s necessary for them to be there early in the morning to make good use of the time. “Sometimes I just think I’m going to die from all this driving I’ve been doing for the past few days,” Kyungsoo comments to Baekhyun when 4 hours have passed. It’s a really good way to get a headache, from his eyes starting to sting, even if it’s not even 6pm, from the killing silence, since all the boys decided travel without music. “I just want to sleep when we get there.” When Kyungsoo wakes up, his head feels lighter and the difference of not waking alone in a bed is striking, now Jongdae’s the one who does so. He gets up and prepares himself; today he planned to spend the day at White Water Bay (✿), a water park that he’s sure everybody will enjoy, so he gets his trunks and a shirt and runs to the bathroom. “Told you guys yesterday,” Kyungsoo says when everybody is awake and almost ready. “Just get your swimming clothing on and let’s go.” It’s a typical summer day; the weather is nice enough to jump into a pool and stay like that, Chanyeol and Jongdae running around from toboggan to toboggan and Joonmyun quietly getting a large float and remaining in the artificial beach until the end. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are not much different from him and they get floats themselves, starting water fights with each other and falling into the pool because someone ‘accidentally’ was pushed - Baekhyun’s the culprit. Kyungsoo gets his revenge by pulling Baekhyun in with him. They steal kisses underwater and laugh when they can’t get back into the float, which forces them into leaving the depths of the pool and they just sit by the shore, drying themselves in the sun while they talk. It’s only when the park is about to close that Chanyeol and Jongdae calm down. Joonmyun fell asleep in one of the beach chairs, same for Baekhyun. Kyungsoo pokes both awake and points to the exit. Tonight they don't bother about dining; the tiredness is taking over them and they’re eager to comply. Kyungsoo drives to Saint Louis the next day, early in the morning. Everybody is in deep sleep in the back seats and Baekhyun napping right beside him; yesterday was really tiring and all that they want is to hit the next destination - they’re starting to get homesick, even if New York is not the homeland for some of them. It’s not a real stop; they’re just passing by, watching the Gateway Arch (✿) from afar with its tall glory and the large lake in front of it, when they pass by it near lunch time, but Kyungsoo thinks it’s the best idea to find a place to eat. It’s not the most exciting day, with a quick visit to the nearest gas station, they head to Nashville, resulting in 4 hours confined inside the car. They arrive past 6pm; enough time for them to stretch their legs by walking around trying to find a place to eat dinner. The hotel is easy to locate, taking no more than 5 minutes after they drive around the center. Paying an early visit to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center (✿), they observe from outside; the building is so amazing up close, and it’s a little sad that most events happen at night because they don’t have the time to wait for it - especially when some of the boys keep on whining about wanting to be in New York as soon as possible. Bidding goodbye to the magnificent place, Kyungsoo drives them to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (✿). The place looks amazing, with its tall and piano like external walls. It looks futuristic and the grass is so green, but Jongdae keeps on repeating that he doesn’t like all this country music culture around them. In the end, they grab something to eat at a fast food chain and make their way to Winchester, Lincoln’s hometown. “So,” Kyungsoo says when they’re seated inside the car. It’s the very next day and Winchester looks perfect to stay outside. “Chanyeol told me he had something he wanted to do here.” “That’s right,” Chanyeol starts, taking the lead of the talk and informing them about something he was researching. “So you basically mean more drinking?” Joonmyun says, face serious and lips pursed. Kyungsoo just wants to take something and break it on Chanyeol’s head. He. Will. Never.Learn. “We’re here anyway,” Kyungsoo turns the ignition of the car and punches the address into the sat nav. “You can do whatever you want.” Beer Cheese Festival. “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says, looking at his best friend and laughing silently. “You do know that it’s the Beer Cheese Festival, not the Beer and Cheese Festival“ “It’s a street festival, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, the car was left behind, parked somehow far, the place is full and Chanyeol is dumb. “But I’m sure they still have beer.” “I admit that I’m dumb.” Baekhyun rejoices out loud loud at Chanyeol’s words, earning dirty looks from the passersby. “Hey, don’t need to rub on my face.” “I know but,” Baekhyun locks arms with Kyungsoo and grins from ear to ear, “The Almighty Park Chanyeol said it from his own mouth; it’s something to celebrate. Hurray, for the dumb boy admitting the truth.” Baekhyun pecks Kyungsoo’s cheek and dashes out of the area, pulling Kyungsoo with him and screaming meet us at 7pm at the car, dumb fuck. “He left us,” Chanyeol mutters in disbelief, staring at the two figures running and disappearing into the mass of people. “I don’t understand.” “If you don’t understand, then you're really dumb,” Jongdae says, patting his arm. “I think we ate a lot already,” Kyungsoo tells to Baekhyun who’s eating his nth sandwich. “At least I ate too much.” “I know,” Baekhyun says with his mouth full and Kyungsoo would punch him for being so disgusting if he wasn’t so cute. “But we’ve been doing this for like, 2 hours already, I wonder if the rest are still alive.” “They’re going to survive,” Baekhyun says, putting the last bite into his mouth and smiling, eyes forming crescents and Kyungsoo smiles too, heart shaped lips and white teeth showing. “Now, let’s just walk, I’m starting to get claustrophobic with all these people around.” They end up seated right next to the car; they had enough of the festival and Baekhyun had the excellent - not so excellent - idea of going to a convenience story on their way, resulting in two cans of beer. Baekhyun says it’s to take the taste of cheese from their tongues, but if that was the case, they’d have picked breath mints. “Can we just get in the car?” Baekhyun asks, fishing for his cell phone in his pocket to check the time. It’s 5pm and the boys will probably arrive at the set hour. He gets up and throws the empty cans at the nearest trash bin. “My butt hurts, the concrete is not the best seat.” Kyungsoo pushes himself up from the curb and takes the key out. Baekhyun flings his body onto the back seats and pulls Kyungsoo with him, hitting his head on the door at the other side and yelping in pain. “You’re too reckless, stop acting like a little kid,” Kyungsoo says, closing the door and resting his back against the soft backboard. “But you like this kid,” Baekhyun says and pinches Kyungsoo, something that promptly bothers him and as reflex, he hits Baekhyun in the head. “What the hell.” “Don’t do that ever again.” Kyungsoo feels guilty; Baekhyun probably is just being an attention seeker at the moment and he should just give it to him. Sorry, Kyungsoo says and closes his eyes. He’s tired, and he just wants to go back to the hotel and sleep; they’ll finally reach their dorms in less than two days and he can’t wait to jump into his bed and rest. He’s happily thinking when he feels those familiar pair of lips on his; it’s Baekhyun and he thought the boy would’ve been asleep by now because he looked as tired as he is, but this is not really something he’s going to complain about. Baekhyun is actually a great kisser and Kyungsoo appreciates his initiative. If he could, he would spend all of his days like this. “You taste like beer and cheese and this is actually pretty weird,” says Kyungsoo when the lack of oxygen is too much and he needs to pull away. “You taste like Kyungsoo and this is pretty weird, because we ate and drank the same stuff,” Baekhyun says and dives to capture Kyungsoo’s lips again. A knock on the window stops them and Kyungsoo looks behind Baekhyun’s head and sees Chanyeol waving at him. Baekhyun opens the door and steps out of the car, glaring at his friend with a look that says explain yourself. “We got bored, it’s a lot of time at the same place, you know,” Jongdae is the one that speaks instead, looking at Kyungsoo and grinning. “Can we go back to the hotel?” “Yes,” Kyungsoo says, motioning for them to climb into the vehicle. “Yes we can.” It’s a long drive until they pass by West Virginia. They didn’t plan on visiting anything there, just a quick stop to get some fuel into the tank and grab food. Driving by the West Virginia Turnpike (✿) and reaching Old City after more 7 hours of sore asses and silence (they decided to not play any more songs as it started to be a huge bother). Slumping on the hotel bed, Kyungsoo gives a hushed goodnight and falls fast asleep. Tomorrow is going to be the most tiring day inside the car. Old City, just like its name implies, is an old but still charming-looking place. There’s a Starbucks near their hotel and that’s the place they go to as soon as they leave the hotel, not hesitating to get their coffees and eating hurriedly. Baekhyun pokes Kyungsoo while he drives through the city, trying to reach the freeway, and comments about how comforting and romantic the small alleys and streets look. Kyungsoo agrees with him; they look cozy and the majority of brick houses look fantastic. Joonmyun falls asleep against Chanyeol, the latter smiling like he just won the lottery - and maybe he did -, and Kyungsoo is just glad that they’re reaching home today, with a lot more than when they left - referring to the new bond made between themselves, and maybe the one with Baekhyun. They’re at Pittsburgh again, another stop to fuel the car. Chanyeol ran out of the car with Jongdae to try to look for a restroom as there’s another 5 hours ahead of them and having bladder issues in the middle of it won’t be really pleasing and welcomed. “You’ve been driving for more than 7 hours,” Baekhyun says to Kyungsoo, concerned,and Kyungsoo nods. He knows he had been focused on the road, hands on the steering wheel for a long time and he knows he’s tired - more like bored -, but not sleepy. “Are you really okay about driving more? We can always stop to rest and go back to the road tomorrow.” “It’s okay,” Kyungsoo replies, thankful for Baekhyun worrying about him. “But it’s still past 4pm. It’s not a long drive until we get to New York and besides,” Kyungsoo says, paying the employee and waiting for the boys to come back. “I can’t wait to get back to my room.” “We’re here,” Jongdae says, closing the door. “Victory!” Chanyeol exclaims when Kyungsoo parking the car in his parking space, two storey building right in front of their faces and Kyungsoo takes out the key of the ignition. He’s free. “Yes, the date is tomorrow,” Jongdae says on his cell phone. “Soojung, stop screaming. I said I’m back.” The mystery has been solved, Kyungsoo thinks. “Oh my God,” Baekhyun opens the door and runs out of the car, spreading his arms and spinning around like a happy kid. “We’re back, I thought we would never come back.” “You’re being dramatic Baek,” Chanyeol says, opening the trunk and taking the suitcases out. “I thought my hands would fall off, but they’re still here so I’m just going back to the dorms to shower and sleep,” Kyungsoo says and grabs his belongings, waiting for Joonmyun so they can go back. “Never asked, but Baekhyun, where’s your dorm?” “I don’t live in the dorms,” he says as he struggles to get hold of all of his bags. “I live alone in one shoe box two blocks away from here.” “Do you want to just crash at mine and Joonmyun’s? I mean, as long and Joonmyun is okay with it.” Kyungsoo looks at Joonmyun who’s too busy talking with Chanyeol to pay any attention to him. “You don’t need to; I’m still not tired. I have a lot of things to do at home. I’ll text you later,” Baekhyun says and nears Kyungsoo, giving a long chaste kiss to his lips, ruffling his hair and turning to leave. “Take care,” Kyungsoo shouts when he’s back on Earth. Baekhyun’s just some meters away from him, and he turns his face and mouths thanks with an amused look. Kyungsoo wakes up earlier than he expected to; yesterday was tiring and he wanted to rest until lunch time, but now it’s 9am and he can’t close his eyes and fall back into a deep sleep. His bed feels empty, after nearly a month of sharing it with Baekhyun and his warm hugs and the sweet scent of his presence. He wonders if that’s the reason he’s awake now. He sits up and looks around. Joonmyun is not in his bed and this is really confusing because he remembers clearly hearing a goodnight before he closed his eyes. Maybe Joonmyun got up early. Brushing off the fact that he’s totally alone, Kyungsoo gets up and runs to shower, might as well get back to his routine. There’s two more months of summer break but he’s probably going to spend it in the city or his room. Or with Baekhyun, who knows. He exits the bathroom and notices his cell phone buzzing on his nightstand, signaling that he has a new message. Meet me outside. - Unknown Realization hits Kyungsoo and he remembers that he doesn’t have Baekhyun’s number and that he didn’t give his number to him. The promise of yesterday is still up but Baekhyun had to go search for his number. Kyungsoo thinks he’s the ultimate dumb person. He dries his hair the best he can and takes a sweater with him; it’s summer but the breeze in the mornings is chilly. There’s a figure in white and purple seated at the bench in front of the dorm when Kyungsoo passes by the door. Baekhyun is distracted by his cell phone, eyes almost closed as he stares into it - or the ground, Kyungsoo is not sure. “Hey there Prince Charming, what are you doing here so early?” Kyungsoo asks and takes a seat right next to Baekhyun, leaning his head against his shoulder as Baekhyun notices his presence. “Sorry if I woke you up,” Baekhyun says, using Kyungsoo’s head as support. “I just wanted to ask you out.” “Aww,” Kyungsoo coos and Baekhyun stiffens, hands gripping tightly onto the mobile device and Kyungsoo laughs. “You actually think you need to ask me out.” “Don’t I?” Baekhyun asks and shakes Kyungsoo off his shoulder, looking at him with a thoughtful expression that gets Kyungsoo grinning. “How did you get my number though?” asks Kyungsoo, trying to hide his blush from the stare Baekhyun is giving him. “Called Chanyeol two hours ago. Chanyeol called Joonmyun and got your number from him, then he called me back and gave it to me, basically.” “So that’s why Joonmyun is not at the dorm,” Kyungsoo exclaims and snaps his fingers, it makes a lot more sense now. “Well, I don’t know about the rest, I just know I want to go out to get breakfast with you,” Baekhyun says shyly and tugs at Kyungsoo’s sweater. “Are you okay about it? I hope you didn’t eat anything.” “Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo says in an amused tone. “I woke up half an hour ago, there’s no way that I ate anything.” Baekhyun laughs sheepishly, bringing a hand to his hair and brushing it out of his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t make much sense when I’m nervous,” Kyungsoo cuts Baekhyun’s words by cupping his face slowly and carefully, beaming while he nears his lips. “It’s okay, you don’t need to make sense.” Baekhyun’s eyes close automatically when Kyungsoo’s lips touch his. For Kyungsoo it still feels like the first time he kissed Baekhyun, it’s still in a little fog in his mind, but the feeling of a warm press of flesh is vivid. “Get a room!” someone screams from afar. Kyungsoo breaks the kiss and searches for the voice, seeing Chanyeol waving at him with Joonmyun right beside him. Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol and obscenely gestures at him, making Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at how childish he is. “Let’s just go get the food,” Kyungsoo says, yanking Baekhyun from his place by the collar of his shirt. “We should go on another road trip in the future,” Baekhyun says when they’re finally walking to find the near coffee shop. “Next time we go; just you and me.” “Of course,” Kyungsoo replies, taking Baekhyun’s hand into his and squeezing it. “That’s an excellent idea.” MOD NOTE: You've reached the end of the fic! Thank you for reading. If you'd like to leave a comment, please do so in THIS Livejournal post!