The Long Game//XiuChen [UAU II]

XVII / A Match Into Water

WARNINGS: Strong language; implied sexual references; aquaphobia and PTSD

-Day 49; Tuesday, July 18th, 2017-

"Here." Kim Jongdae said, pulling his red, faded tee shirt over his head and laying it on the grass, tossing his phone onto it. "Ditch your stuff there."

Byun Baekhyun did as he was told, dropping his keys and phone onto his friend's tee shirt, ditching his own tee shirt beside it.

Both boys stood at the start of an old wooden dock, stretching out into the calm, standstill river. They were both barefoot, wearing nothing but swimming trunks.

It was Jongdae's idea to go out to the dock. Kim Minseok had returned to work the day before, and Baekhyun had spent the day with Chanyeol.

Chanyeol was asked if he wanted to come to the dock, but he had declined, saying his sister was dragging him out somewhere. Baekhyun said it was in preparation for him going abroad.

Others were asked, too. Kim Junmyeon, Huang Zitao, and Do Kyungsoo politely declined, Junmyeon being at work, Zitao having just returned from overseas and recovering from jet lag, and Kyungsoo saying he already had plans with someone.

Oh Sehun and Zhang Yixing (both of who had also recently returned to Korea), and Kris Wu had opted to come, but the three boys were nowhere to be found.

"Haven't heard back from them, have you?" Baekhyun asked, and Jongdae shook his head.

"Last I heard Kris was on his way to pick up Sehun and then make his way out here."

"Would it be rude to go in without them?" Baekhyun asked again, and again Jongdae shook his head.

"It's their fault for being late." they laughed, and Jongdae reached out and gripped Baekhyun's hand, dragging him behind him as he ran off down the dock.

"Wait!" Baekhyun squealed, trying to bring his friend to a halt before they picked up too much speed. "We have to yell something."

"What?"

Baekhyun nodded. "Yell something. When we jump off. Like a pledge or something. You've never done it before?"

Jongdae shook his head. "Min usually pushed me in before we jumped in. Or let me jump in on my own."

Minseok had originally shown Jongdae the dock, as Minseok's childhood home wasn't too far from it. He had spent a lot of summers here, and this was one of the first summers he and Minseok hadn't went to it together as Minseok began working a lot.

"Okay, then." Jongdae continued, sighing. "What do we yell?"

Baekhyun shrugged. "Whatever. When I was little, we would yell something like our names or random words."

Jongdae paused a moment, tilting his head to the side as he thought. When the light bulb turned on, Jongdae smirked, gripping Baekhyun's hand tighter.

"I have an idea." he said. "Don't say anything though, okay? Just me."

"Okay." Baekhyun laughed nervously, a little scared of what Jongdae was about to do.

The two boys took off down the dock again, their bare feet hitting the old dock, the wood warmed by the sun.

"Byun Baekhyun's a fucking asshole!" Jongdae yelled as the two leapt off, and before the water enveloped them, Baekhyun managed to yell out a "Fuck you!"

"Seriously." Baekhyun whined when he surfaced, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "Fuck you, Dae."

"Maybe later." Jongdae retaliated, wiping the water away out of his eyes. "I am also in a very committed relationship right now, so later might be a little bit."