sugar daddy * baekhyun x chanyeol

Seven

Leaving early had become Baekhyun's new normal. He would close down his laptop at around 3:15pm each day, lock up his office, and leave Yixing in charge of the phones. His inability to sleep well meant he was in the office earlier than ever and by 3pm he was usually wilting. He adjusted his neat black suit and fixed his tie before grabbing his bag. "See you tomorrow." He waved casually to a smiling Yixing as he walked towards the elevator.

Baekhyun was adjusting. It was slow and steady. He cried less and ate more. He slept less and stressed more. He threw himself into his work and removed himself from social media. Last he saw was Sehun tagged in a heap of posts about his band packing into a van and heading off on their version of a 'tour'. Baekhyun knew that just meant travelling around, living rough in the van, playing gigs in tiny bars for a little cash. He was too tired to stay being angry. He just wanted to check out and so he deactivated all his accounts and felt better for it.

Two weeks had turned into six, which swiftly turned into eight, and Baekhyun felt like he was finally starting to heal. His clothes were still loose but his face was losing its gaunt appearance. And today he'd promised himself a treat. He needed to eat.

The little bell above the door rang as he walked in. The aroma that hit him when he opened the door to Sugar Baby washed over him and made him smile immediately. There was one other customer finishing up a cup of coffee and at the ring of the bell he came out from the back. The tall man, the one with the cute ears, and the arms that made him look more like builder or a mechanic than a baker. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, charcoal grey, and a pair of low slung skinny jeans. He really is cute, Baekhyun thought to himself, he must have girls all over him.

"Hey." Chanyeol said when he saw it was Baekhyun. "Mr Wedding Planner. How are things?" Baekhyun smiled at him this time, in a way he couldn't last time he was here, and pointed at the glass counter. "They'll be better when I get that slice of mint chocolate cheesecake." He grinned. "To have here?" Chanyeol asked as he searched for a clean white plate. Baekhyun looked around. The last customer was getting up to leave. He knew they were closing soon so he shook his head. "You sure?" the tall man grinned widely and it was addictive. Baekhyun felt himself smiling back. "Yeah, you're closing right? I don't want to hold you up."

Chanyeol put the slice onto a plate and turned on a small electric kettle. "Well I am closing up. But we're almost friends really. Aren't we?" He smiled again and Baekhyun wondered how the man got through a day without his cheeks hurting. "Just two friends hanging out and having a cup of tea." He closed and locked the door while the kettle boiled and made the tea. He urged Baekhyun to sit and he took up a seat on a low couch with a coffee table in front of it. Chanyeol carried the tea over and came back with the cheesecake and something else.

"You look like the perfect candidate to test my new recipe." Chanyeol put the plate down and scooped a big chunk off with a spoon. "Open up." He grinned at Baekhyun in an almost maniacal way and Baekhyun eyed the cake suspiciously. "As long as it's not Black Forrest," he said and Chanyeol shook his head.

Baekhyun closed his eyes and opened his mouth and when he felt it filled with cake he began to chew. The cake was both richly and bitter, sweet and salty, and as a million different experiences exploded in Baekhyun's mouth he couldn't help but groan. "Oh my god." He said as his lips stuck to his gums while he chewed. "What is that." Chanyeol chuckled at his puffed out cheeks and his muffled voice and scooped a bite for himself. "Peanut butter." He said. "To be exact, it's a flourless dark chocolate cake, with a milk chocolate and peanut butter filling." He hummed in delight as he chewed and picked up his mug of tea. "Does it pass quality control?" Baekhyun just nodded as he swallowed.

"So you look a lot better than last time you were here." Chanyeol said tentatively. "You never called me so I guess you weren't in the mood to talk." Baekhyun suddenly remembered the little card in the bottom of the box and felt so stupid. "Sorry. I should have at least sent you a text to say thank you...." he trailed off as he thought of how low he had been those weeks ago, barely eating, always sleeping. Now it was the opposite. He was eating a little better but could hardly sleep. Maybe talking would do him some good.

"Ah... I had a rough patch a few months back... my fiancé left me." He took a deep breath and continued. "Literally left me at the altar. It kind of destroyed me and it's taken this long for me to get this far." His eyes shone with unsaved tears and he blinked them back quickly.

He looked over to see Chanyeol watching him with a gentle expression. It felt warm and comforting and the floodgates opened. Baekhyun told him everything, from the wedding day preparations, his insane dieting, spending all his savings, throwing Sehun's stuff at him off the balcony. The sun sank lower as he talked and talked, ate some cake, talked some more. Chanyeol made fresh mugs of tea and Baekhyun continued to talk, his recovery, his love of Kyungsoo's tv show, his feeling of finally regaining some strength. Chanyeol was an excellent listener.

By the time he stopped talking the sun had almost set. Baekhyun realised Chanyeol was the first person he'd told. Everyone else in his life where there, they saw the whole thing, like a car crash in motion. Telling Chanyeol had been wonderfully cathartic.

"It's getting dark. Do you need a ride?" Chanyeol asked as he walked Baekhyun to the door. Baekhyun shook his head and indicated his car parked outside. "Thanks anyway. I should have taken up your offer earlier Chanyeol. Talking was really great. Thank you." He said with genuine gratitude. "Anytime." Chanyeol said as he handed over a box containing another big slice of the new peanut butter chocolate cake.

"See you round." Baekhyun said with a smile as he climbed into his car with a wave. "I hope so." Chanyeol muttered before going back inside.