disappointed.
***
Chanyeol's left alone with Baekhyun to clean up. He's sure it isn't a coincidence, but for once, he's grateful for the opportunity.
He doesn't have his guitar (ahem, Louis William Suga Adams Junior the third) with him this time. He doesn't have an excuse to not talk to Baekhyun either.
It's especially frustrating because Baekhyun is uncharacteristically reserved tonight. Ever since Chanyeol ran out of the kitchen earlier, he'd been like this. If it were anyone else, Chanyeol might think Baekhyun was offput by his impromptu exit, but it's happened with Baekhyun more times than Chanyeol would like to admit. And it's not that Baekhyun's ignoringChanyeol. But he might as well be, because he keeps answering Chanyeol's rambling with faint smiles instead of some sharp retort or even a cocksure smirk.
Chanyeol knows that they've long since finished cleaning up and Baekhyun is just pretending to be immersed in the salt and pepper shakers. He knows because he's also pretending to wipe down the counter although he doesn't even have a rag.
He closes his eyes, breathes in deeply and counts to ten.
When Chanyeol opens his eyes, he forces his legs to walk straight toward Baekhyun. When he finds himself directly in front of Baekhyun, he thinks he can really just say it and get it over with.
Baekhyun looks up.
Closer, Chanyeol urges himself.
"Do you have something to say to me?" Baekhyun asks, and it's only mildly mocking.
"Yeah." Chanyeol clears his throat. Everything gets stuck. "Uh, how's the weather?"
"Let me check." Baekhyun turns his head to look out the window. "Specialists say that tonight's forecast includes darkness."
Chanyeol hears the slightest hitch in Baekhyun's breath. They're so close, chests nearly touching as they inhale and Chanyeol's heart nearly stops. He's sure that Baekhyun's eyes just flickered briefly downwards to land on his lips and Baekhyun immediately looks away like he's guilty. They both know that even the most miniscule action is impossible to miss at this proximity.
"Chanyeol, I-"
Chanyeol doesn't let him finish his sentence. His pulse is roaring in his ears, mind nearly blanking, but he leans forward the last few inches to fit his lips against Baekhyun's. It's so light that their mouths barely touch but Chanyeol thinks he hears a sigh the moment they connect and he's not sure whose it is but he doesn't care. He doesn't care, because Baekhyun feels perfectly soft beneath him and there's a fluttering like an anxious bird in his stomach.
It's short, innocent, and Baekhyun doesn't know what to think except that it's so completely Chanyeol-clumsy and anxious and holding his jaw carefully and so, so soft that it's sweet.
As soon as it ends, Chanyeol opens his eyes to find Baekhyun looking back at him, wearing a stunned expression.
And oh God, what if he just offended Baekhyun and it wasn't really like this at all and Chanyeol can't even read road signs properly so what in the world made him think he could read Baekhyun and Baekhyun's not responding.
"Oh fuck. I mean, excuse me," Chanyeol says hysterically, "I just screwed everything up, didn't I?"
Baekhyun just stands there for a moment but Chanyeol doesn't notice how he's slightly dazed and how he raises one hand halfway up almost as if to touch his mouth in surprise before catching himself.
Chanyeol's halfway into his apology before Baekhyun finally finds his voice again.
"You know, for the longest time, I thought I was pushing it too far." Baekhyun speaks quietly and he looks elsewhere, fixed on a stain on the tabletop, maybe. "You keep running out on me, but you still always come back and I wasn't sure if it was because you're just too damn nice to tell me no."
