Work Text:
"Yeol."
"Hmm?" Chanyeol looked up from his music sheets to turn to Baekhyun who was currently burrowed in Chanyeol's thickest comforter.
He couldn't fight the smile that seemed to take over his face at the sight of his boyfriend looking absolutely adorable as he peeked at Chanyeol from the comfort of his blanket. Baekhyun's soft features complementing his light pink hair only enhanced the levels of cuteness and Chanyeol wanted to drop everything and just coo at him all day.
"I'm cold." Baekhyun whimpered, the pout on his soft pink lips immediately catching Chanyeol's attention.
"I already turned the air-conditioning off, Baek." Chanyeol told him softly, feeling guilty at the constipated expression on Baekhyun's face.
His boyfriend of a year (and best friend for the past two decades) did not fare well with the cold and he just had to want a sleepover the day after Chanyeol's heater decided to breathe its last puff of air, taking the physical warmth of his home along with it to its death. He had tried to tell Baekhyun that their sleepover could wait, but he never could be as convincing as his partner.
The option of going to Baekhyun's place was no longer available as the older's roommate (Baekhyun often described Kyungsoo as an angel with a smile rivaling all things beautiful, but Chanyeol begged to differ) looked like the devil's incarnate in Chanyeol's eyes the last time he had slept over. During his sleepy walk back to Baekhyun's room after grabbing a bottle of water, (yes, he is the kind of person who wakes up to his bodily needs and is kept from rest unless he is physically sound again) he had curiously followed a strange thud from the living room. It was on instinct and Chanyeol didn't really know what to expect, but he is sure that Kyungsoo pressed up against the door by a tall dark figure who he later figured out is Jongin, Kyungsoo's boyfriend, is not one of them. Said boyfriend was roughly shoved off when Chanyeol spat out the water he'd been gulping rather loudly. He stood frozen as Kyungsoo's glare locked on his trembling form and a menacing, "You didn't see anything" was all the smaller boy said before grabbing a confused Jongin's wrist and leaving the apartment. Suffice to say, he's scared shitless of Baekhyun's angel.
"I told you to bring warm clothes over, it's getting pretty chilly lately." Chanyeol turned around to continue transcribing his music and Baekhyun whined at him from the bed.
"I've used all my thick clothes and I haven't done my laundry yet," Baekhyun groaned. His voice was a little muffled and a peek over his shoulder showed Chanyeol that Baekhyun had buried his face in a pillow. He shifted to have only the side of his face pressed against it to tell Chanyeol, "Can't we close the windows? Your room feels like a chiller."
"I'm afraid we need to keep it open for ventilation, babe." Satisfied at the sight of Baekhyun's flushed cheeks and his silence, Chanyeol continued to work.
"But I'll freeze to death here!" Baekhyun groaned dramatically and Chanyeol sighed. His boyfriend could be such a drama queen sometimes.
"I told you that you could borrow my clothes for tonight, Baek. You know where I keep everything," Chanyeol said distractedly as he wrote. His pencil paused when he heard Baekhyun mumbling into the pillow. He quickened his pace to finish up his assignment. "What's that?"
"You've been sitting there all night. I want to cuddle."
That is Chanyeol's cue to drop everything and join the smaller boy on his bed, but for some unknown reason, he didn't.
"I'll be there in a minute, sweetheart. I need to finish this or else Junmyeon hyung will have my head."
"Yeol," Baekhyun's voice was close to desperate and Chanyeol's heart clenched. "I'm cold."
Chanyeol pushed himself to be as quick as possible without his hand cramping up or refusing to accept the signals from his brain, choosing to remain silent before he launched himself on the boy on his bed and gave him all the warmth he needed. However, it was easier to think that things would go his way. When he heard an indignant huff come from behind him, he panicked. A shadow cast over his table and Chanyeol looked up in a mixture of confusion and fear. Baekhyun's unreadable expression told him he might have messed up.
"I'm really sorry, Baekhyun, but I—" He is cut off by Baekhyun holding a hand up to silence him.
"You're wearing my favorite hoodie."
Silence.
"Excuse me?"
"You said I could borrow what I wanted. Can I please have my favorite hoodie?" Chanyeol blinked twice before nodding dumbly. Baekhyun's voice was flat and his lips set in a tight line, but Chanyeol could see the twinkle in his eyes and felt himself go weak. He pulled Baekhyun's so-called favorite hoodie (a black hoodie with a simple white outline of a beagle just above his heart) off and handed the material over, cautiously gauging his petite boyfriend's mood.
When Baekhyun padded his way back to the bed, pulling the hoodie over his baby blue shirt without as much a word of thanks, Chanyeol's heart sank. He hurriedly finished up his homework, not really caring for the neatness anymore. He took several shots of his work (his photos are not always the best) and hurriedly sent them to his senior. To calm his worried heart, Chanyeol took a deep breath before turning around.
The cold seemed to deep into Baekhyun's mood.
"I'm all done." Chanyeol's announcement hangs in the air awkwardly as he moved closer to the bed. Baekhyun averts his eyes from his phone for a second to acknowledge Chanyeol's presence before proceeding to tap rhythmically on it. When he noticed that his awkward mess of a giant still stood motionless at the bed, he put his phone aside to look at Chanyeol expectantly.
"Do you," Chanyeol chewed on a plump lip nervously before braving himself to meet Baekhyun's eyes. "Do you want to cuddle?"
"No." Was Baekhyun's curt reply before he turned to grab the remote off the nightstand. Before Chanyeol could process the situation, the television blasted on and started a re-run of their favorite show. Baekhyun moved to allow Chanyeol a spot quite a distance away from him before focusing his eyes on the screen.
This was not going as expected at all.
"Baekhyun, I'm sorry. You know how I need to gain their favor to be part of the org," Chanyeol starts softly as a commercial softly played in the background. Chanyeol saw Baekhyun's eyes flicker to him for a moment before staring ahead again. "I didn't mean to ignore you, baby."
Chanyeol heard the smallest sound of Baekhyun's breath hitching and silently wallowed in knowing his effect on the beautiful boy in front of him. The beautiful boy who now wore a frown, much to Chanyeol's dismay.
"I'm going to sleep." Unlike Chanyeol's earlier announcement, Baekhyun's didn't hang around and instead pierced through the air to lodge deep into Chanyeol's gut. He watched mutely as Baekhyun settled into bed and promptly closed his eyes. Chanyeol sighed.
He carefully took the remote from Baekhyun's hand and turned off the television, being careful to not disturb the not-so-convincingly asleep boy. Chanyeol tiredly fixed the sheets to drape over the both of them, wincing at how he noticed Baekhyun curl up on himself at the gust of air that blew. He hurriedly moved to close his windows (flicking the light switch on his way) a little bit more before settling into bed next to Baekhyun. The pink haired boy had turned away from him and seemed like a thousand miles away.
Chanyeol pouted in the dark.
"I'm sorry, Baek. Sweet dreams."
After a minute or two, Chanyeol felt movement next to him, but didn't dare open his eyes. He felt himself loosen up (when did he become so tense?) when the sweet scent of strawberries hit him and Baekhyun's breath fanned his neck gently. Quietly, Baekhyun lifted Chanyeol's arm to settle against his side and tangled their legs together. Chanyeol automatically turned to reciprocate the embrace and brought the smaller boy closer to him.
Against his chest he felt Baekhyun sigh in relief before the boy tilted his head up to meet Chanyeol's large eyes. "I'm sorry. I get grumpy when it's cold."
Baekhyun's words were sincere and his voice is soft and almost shy. Chanyeol offered a comforting smile and Baekhyun leaned up to peck his lips before burrowing himself into Chanyeol's neck. Chanyeol squeezed the boy tighter and mumbled gently into his silky locks, "It's alright. We can cuddle all night, now."
"I love you." Baekhyun's words send a wave of warmth all over him and he kisses the boy lightly in an effort to share it.
"I love you, too."
Maybe he won't always be able to provide warmth as his boyfriend's personal heater, but he knew that he never failed to let Baekhyun know just how warm and true his feelings were for him.