Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

116

March 24th. 5:32 PM

Great! Next round!

Baekhyun snickered at the screen. His pointer finger tapped the right shoulder of the control and proceeded to the next level. He took a sip of his water while the screen loaded to the following battle.

Begin!

His fingers switched around with ease. He had been gaming his whole life. Whether at home, an arcade, or someone else's house, he was entertained with the simple concept games of adventure and sometimes horror. He pressed on the triangle and circle button twice before leaning back into the couch. He smiled at the sight of the defeated enemy and was about to click on the next level until someone spoke from behind him. He was shocked by the sudden presence, disappointed in himself for letting down his guard.

"Wow! You're pretty good, hyung."

Baek froze at the "hyung", turning his head ever so slightly to face the grinning male. He bit his tongue, hiding his expression since he wasn't wearing his usual mask.

"Thanks."

"..."

"..."

"Can I-"

"Do you-"

Baek cleared his throat and passed Tao the game control with a nod. He examined the room and clicked his tongue, a bit embarrassed after noticing the unexpected and not-so-hidden audience. Before anything could get too awkward, he grabbed another control and connected it to the console so they could play in partners. "Do you think the rest want to play?" Baekhyun shrugged, deciding to speak a bit louder so that everyone eavesdropping could hear him.

"Probably or probably not. Maybe they're just standing by the door to watch." That seemed to do the trick. A wave of complaints surged through the room as Baek pressed continue.

"I want to play too!"

"Yeah, it looks fun!"

He turned to them with a raised brow. He took the loading screen as an opportunity to question the group.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Ever since you picked up the control-"

"You aren't supposed to tell him that, you idiot!"

"Thank you, Kai. If you wanted to play, you could've asked. I have multiple controls, and we can all take turns or play another multiplayer game."

Their hearts warmed at the thoughtful comment. Baekhyun was slowly but surely getting more and more comfortable with them around. He wasn't hiding his face in a mask anymore, and he was talking to them regularly without it being about work. Baek was trying his best to get used to them, and Blue Blood was persistent in gaining Baekhyuns trust and friendship once more.

Begin!

And that's how the ruthless two-hour competition began. Something that they hoped brought them closer might have separated them even more. They opened new wounds and cussed at each other for multiple reasons.

"You fucking cheater!"

"Son of a bitch. Watch where you're going!"

"That didn't even hurt. Weak ass punch fool-"

"Get this toe-headed frog off of me- YOU MADE ME LOSE!"