EXO OTP's One Shots Collection ⭐

108 - CHANBAEK: Better Late than Never

Title: Better Late Than Never
Pairing: Chanyeol/Baekhyun
Rating: M
Genre: Fluff, Smut
Word Count: 6.3k words
Summary: It's EXO's 10th year anniversary and nobody uses the dorm room anymore. Chanyeol and Baekhyun should thank Junmyeon for this.

Notes: This fic was supposed to be published on EXO's anniversary but I got busy so, I guess it's better late than never!

*

Baekhyun has lost count of how many times he glanced at the door. Looking at his watch and peeking at his phone several times will surely make it obvious, so he hides his long-drawn anticipation by laughing at Junmyeon's unfunny joke. Sehun tells the leader to stop, pulling Junmyeon back to his seat, while the waiter enters their private room to serve more alcohol and dishes. Minseok closes the door and asks Kyungsoo to help the server unload the food since they're quite a lot to distribute. Jongin is as clumsy as ever, spilling some soup on the table when he tries to willingly assist.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, steals a piece of grilled pork belly from Kyungsoo's bowl while everybody is busy.

Three members aren't present for tonight's dinner: Zhang Yixing, Park Chanyeol, and Kim Jongdae. Jongdae's reason is understandable; he already informed everyone a week before via group chat that he might not be able to make it to their 10th debut anniversary celebration. He must be feeling guilty about it, that he even personally called each one of them to apologize. He said he'd definitely make up for it when his kids have recovered from the cold his little ones caught due to the weather. Jongdae's also busy working as an active duty soldier and asking for a break might be inconvenient for him. Everybody reassured him that it was okay and that he doesn't have to feel sorry about it.

As for Yixing, he couldn't come, obviously. Although he's in China, his spirit will always be present whenever the group holds a gathering. Their ever-loyal hyung sent a congratulatory flower stand to the SM office all the way from Changsha, aside from the present he prepared for the members. It's a heartfelt song he wrote for the nine of them as well as for EXO-L's, as if leaving a comment on Jongin's surprise Instagram live with Minseok and Junmyeon wasn't enough of a gift. Yixing is unconditionally compassionate, indeed.

Now that Baekhyun thinks about it, it will never be not funny how his dear brothers always struggle with two particular things. They can do everything well except for cutting cakes and working with technology. Baekhyun almost joined the Instagram live when he was notified of the unannounced broadcast last night, but he rightfully held himself back and browsed through Twitter instead. He just left a short message for Eris and read tweets under the hashtag #10YearsWithEXO.

After all, his military service as a public social worker restricts him from being frequently active on SNS. He must keep a low profile while he serves his duty no matter how much he misses the fans, so he hopes the monthly vlogs on EXO's Youtube channel every 17th will suffice while he's temporarily gone.

Meanwhile, the third member who is absent tonight is Chanyeol. He is the one who planned everything so he's supposed to be here, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he canceled his attendance right after the schedule for The Song of Meissa was released. He explained that the date for the Blue Helmet performance happened to be also April 8, and he couldn't possibly go missing as Laman, the main lead of the show. Chanyeol promised he'd treat the group to a delicious dinner to make up for his absence. He volunteered to pay the bill for Sehun's birthday party which the youngest joyfully agreed on, being the stingy brat that he is.

Baekhyun only replied an Okay, fighting to Chanyeol's long-ass message in the group chat.

The six EXO members spend three hours in the restaurant eating, drinking, laughing, and reminiscing old memories within the ten years they were together. They all thought nobody would cry, not until Kyungsoo suddenly blurts out he misses performing at concerts, spending time with the members, living at the dorm with the guys, interacting with the fans, and preparing for comebacks. He also wishes to do a reality show with the boys again if possible, because it's always fun when he's with the members although it may not show on his face. EXO feels like home to him and they're his closest life-long friends.