ephemeral | baekxing

Exalted

He winced as the thorns of the rose bush pierced through his delicate skin. The roses held the same dark red in their petals as the blood that started to pool on Yixing's finger. Wincing, he sucked the blood before deciding that it tasted vile and wrapped it with a handkerchief he had tucked away in his Givenchy branded blazer. Despite the pain, Yixing grabbed another rose and pried it from it's thick vine. He wrapped the roses in an old subway wrapper and finished it of with a bow made by the thread that he had ripped of his sock.

Tacky? Yixing called it resourceful. There wasn't much he could do though. It was late and all the florists had closed. Getting into his sleek porsche, Yixing placed the dingy roses on the passenger seat where he had also placed a kindly purchased bottle of Pinot Noir. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel wondering why he had messaged Baekhyun. It was unusual for him to reach out to someone. Yixing preferred to feel and deal with everything himself, yet when his eyes glimpsed at Baekhyun's name settled into his contacts - he couldn't help himself.

The name Baekhyun only oozed temptation for Yixing. Every time he thought of Baekhyun, he thought of the first moment they met. It was clumsy yet it may have been one of the best things to happen to Yixing. Byun Baekhyun was ethereal, his hair was jet black whilst his face was unusually pale. His lips were sweet and pink.

Breaking out of his trance, Yixing started driving. He was eager to see Baekhyun. He wanted to know what he'd missed out on, how Baekhyun had grown as a person, and most importantly how had he been.

However, no matter how much he wanted to focus on Baekhyun, there was only one word lingering in his mind - cancer. The word wasn't as scary as Yixing had previously thought it was. He had battled it once already and succeeded, his health was stellar and he felt no side effects but the news of its return brought a heavy heart for Yixing. Though he had been reassured by his Doctors that it would be gone indefinitely this time, Yixing could only worry and think about how the upcoming months could be his final few.

In the time that Yixing had thought about his burden, he had arrived at Baekhyun apartment. Taking a deep breath, Yixing grabbed his gifts and stepped out of his car. He locked it and then pushed his shoulder onto the glass door of the apartment block. Stepping into the lobby, he was greeted by the doorman who cheerfully wished him a good day.

Yixing tapped his foot impatiently on the silver floor of the narrow elevator. Finally it stopped on Baekhyun's floor. Yixing stepped out and made his way to Baekhyun's door. The heels of shoes clicked along the polished floor. His heart leaped as he rang the bell.

Baekhyun's face appeared in the doorway. Yixing blinked, astounded by Baekhyun's handsome features; he had forgotten how breathtaking Baekhyun was. After seconds of silence, Yixing greeted Baekhyun. Baekhyun reciprocated, stepping aside to let Yixing in.

Yixing pattered over to Baekhyun's living room and sheepishly stood there. In his arms were nearly wilted roses and a bottle of red. Baekhyun thanked him for the gifts before telling him that it was unnecessary.

Baekhyun chuckled as his fingers traced the curves of the petals. The thread and the subway wrapper were seemingly ingenious to him. He poured the wine into two glasses and handed one to Yixing.

Although it was awkward and a little bit strange the two had soon fallen into a long and deep conversation about many things. They had settled onto the sofa in front of the tame orange flames of the fireplace. The slow crackling sound was accompanied by warm embers glowing in the darkness of the living room. It was a long night that ended with one short kiss.