Work Text:
Tahimik na binuksan ni Baekhyun ang pintuan. Katulad ng nakagawian, pagkapasok na pagkapasok niya, ang una niyang ginawa ay tinanggal niya ang suot niyang sapatos at nilagay sa may shoe rack sa gilid bago dumiretso sa may sala para isabit ang bag na dala niya.
Hindi maiwasan ni Baekhyun ang mapabuntong-hininga.
Pagod na pagod siya ngayon.
Napa-OT siya sa sobrang dami ng kailangan niyang tapusin sa trabaho. Not to mention, ilang araw na rin silang busy dahil may project silang inaatupag na kahit nasa bahay na siya, may mga kausap pa rin siya online na mga katrabaho niya.
Oo, tapos na work hours, pero may mga pagkakataon talaga na hindi niya naiiwasan 'yon kahit pa gustong-gusto niyang wala na siyang ginagawa pagkauwi sa bahay.
Thankfully, it's the end of the week at wala siyang pasok kinabukasan. Oras na para sa well-deserved pahinga niya.
Pagod na pagod lang talaga siya. Wala na siyang ibang iniisip kundi ang mahiga sa kama nila habang mahigpit siyang niyayakap ni Chanyeol.
Yakap na… binibigay na sa kanya ngayon pa lang.
Hindi naman maiwasan ni Baekhyun ang mapangiti nang yakapin siya ni Chanyeol mula sa likod at nag-iwan siya ng halik sa ulo niya.
Pakiramdam ni Baekhyun, kahit papaano, nawala ang pagod na nararamdaman niya.
“Hey…” bulong ni Baekhyun at humarap sa kanya. Napangiti siya nang makita ang maliit na ngiti sa labi ni Chanyeol. Hindi niya tuloy napigilan na halikan ito. “You’re home early today… sorry if hindi ako nakasabay…”
“I finished everything early and I had nothing else to do, so I figured I should just go home and cook, and be the best hus–I mean boyfriend that I should be,” sabi nito, and Baekhyun’s just busy staring at Chanyeol’s face that he didn’t even notice the slight slip up. Chanyeol just leaves a kiss on his cheek before letting go of him. “You should go shower. Parang malapit ka na makatulog.”
“But you said you were cooking… we should eat…”
“Hindi pa malambot yung beef… and you know how it takes a long time para lang lumambot siya.”
“Okay. But can I help you with something?”
“No. Mag-shower ka na. ‘Wag ka matulog sa CR ha. Parang pipikit ka na anytime soon eh.”
“I will not do that,” bulong niya.
Pero hindi rin malayo mangyari.
It’s weird, since most of the time, kapag naligo ka or naghilamos ka man lang ng mukha, madalas kahit papaano, magigising ka. Pero siguro, pagod na pagod lang talaga si Baekhyun na kahit pati ‘yun, hindi nagwowork. Nagmamakaawa na lang ata katawan niya na magpahinga na siya.
At some point, napasandal pa siya sa pader at napapikit. Kung hindi lang siya masyado nainitan sa tubig, baka nagpatuloy pa siya doon at nakaidlip. (Which for sure, ikakaait ni Chanyeol dahil sasabihin niya magkakasakit siya, saynag tubig, at kung ano-ano pa. All perfectly reasonable.)
Kaya binilisan na lang din niya bago pa niya maisip na okay na ang sahig ng CR, tutal malamig din naman.
Nang matapos siya, agad lang din siya bumalik sa may kusina. Nandun din si Chanyeol. He was chopping something, humming a song with a small smile on his face.
Cute.
He looks like he’s in a good mood.
Enough na ‘yun para mapangiti siya. Ganun-ganun lang, masaya na siya at parang kumpleto na ang araw niya. He can just stare at him for the whole day and he’s content with it.
Pero syempre, kapag sinabi niya ‘yon, baka asarin lang siya ni Chanyeol. Cheesy, sasabihin nito.
In his head, kapag sinasabi ‘yun ni Chanyeol, sinasabi niya lang, Not cheesy. I’m just very in love with you.
Now that’s cheesy. And that’s probably because he’s very sleepy and may urge lang siya to just say all of that out loud.
“I should help…” sabi ni Baekhyun, para na lang din pigilan ang sarili niya.
Just as when he was about to get a knife and help Chanyeol, agad na hinawakan ni Chanyeol ang kamay niya, umiiling pa. “No, no, nooooo. I don’t want someone who’s about to close his eyes to hold a knife. ”
“Pero kaya ko–”
Umiling lang si Chanyeol. “You should just wait sa may couch. I’ll tell you when it’s ready. No, ‘wag ka na umangal. Please. I know you’ve been very busy and I don’t want you to do anything else. The help is very much appreciated, but I don’t need it right now. You can just reward me with some very nice Baekhyun hug and a very nice Baekhyun kiss later to say that I did a good job in being the best hus–I mean, boyfriend. Best boyfriend.”
“You already are just by existing…” sagot ni Baekhyun, and again, not noticing the slip up, too tired to even notice the slight panic sa mukha ni Chanyeol. “If it’s okay, then–”
“It’s very okay. So go.”
Baekhyun gives him one last look bago siya pumunta sa may sala. He really did want to help a while ago, pero a part of him is also thankful na makakahiga na siya ngayon sa may couch.
Sinusubukan niyang ‘wag makatulog dahil ayaw naman niyang hindi makasabay sa pagkain si Chanyeol. Ayaw niyang masayang ‘yung pagkain. And he doesn’t want to miss the part of the day wherein Chanyeol will just talk about how his day went.
But with the comfortable position he is already in and the way he can hear Chanyeol softly humming a song, hindi na rin niya napigilan ang mapapikit.
Pagkagising niya, nakaramdam siya ng panic. His first thought was the food, and that he should get up, pero may nakayakap din sa kanya, preventing him to do so.
Napatingin siya kay Chanyeol na katabi niya na ngayon, mahimbing na natutulog. Paanong katabi niya na ‘to ngayon? He was on the couch.
Hindi niya naiwasan ang mapatingin sa paligid niya. Nasa sala pa rin sila. Madilim, pero nakabukas ang lamp na nakalagay sa may table. Napansin din ni Baekhyun na nakagilid ang lamesa na madalas na gamit ni Chanyeol, kung saan nakapatong ang laptop at ibang mga papel niya. Nakahiga na silang dalawa sa may sahig, may nakalatag na comforter, which Baekhyun is pretty sure na galing sa kwarto nila. Chanyeol probably brought it out to have something to lie on (dahil wala silang ibang malatag dahil bihira lang naman na dito sila sa may sahig makakatulog).
But the question is: Bakit dito sila natulog?
“You should go back to sleep…” bulong ni Chanyeol na ikinagulat pa ni Baekhyun. Napatingin siya kay Chanyeol and nakita niyang nakapikit pa rin ito, as if he’s trying not to open his eyes dahil baka mawala ang antok niya. “Dalawang oras pa lang…”
“But the food–”
“We can eat pagkagising.”
“Pero sayang…” bulong ni Baekhyun. “I was looking forward to it…”
“Hindi ‘yan masisira agad. Init na lang natin,” sagot nito. Baekhyun was about to say something, but Chanyeol just tightened his hold on him. “‘Wag ka na makipatalo. Matulog ka pa.”
“But I wasn’t able to give you your reward.”
“My reward?”
“A very nice Baekhyun hug and a very nice Baekhyun kiss,” sabi niya. “I need to know how well it was for me to give you your reward.”
Natawa si Chanyeol. “How tempting, pero it would be better if you just sleep and I get my well-deserved award later.”
“But–”
“Please?”
Baekhyun drops the topic. Yumakap na lang din siya kay Chanyeol, thinking that he’s right. Parang hindi rin niya kayang bumangon. Masyado nang kumportable ang pwesto niya at ayaw niya rin na humiwalay siya kay Chanyeol.
But just as he was about to sleep again, bigla niya ulit naalala ang tanong niya. “Chanyeol?”
Chanyeol just hums as an answer, to make it known na naririnig niya si Baekhyun.
“Bakit dito tayo natutulog?”
“I didn’t want to wake you up. Sobrang sarap na ng tulog mo. So, hindi na kita ginising.”
“But I was on the couch. Wala naman nakalatag dito kanina.”
“Well…” hindi agad nasabi ni Chanyeol ang rason, pero Baekhyun noticed him smiling, bago niya tinuloy ang sinasabi niya. “Nahulog ka.”
“What? Nahulog?”
Natawa naman si Chanyeol. “Yeah, nagulat din ako. At mas nakakagulat na hindi ka man lang nagising nun. I panicked a little bit, but I checked and you were okay. Sobrang lalim lang talaga ng tulog mo.”
Hindi rin napigilan ni Baekhyun ang matawa. “I can’t believe I fell. The last time that that happened was when I was a child.”
“You’re just very tired,” sabi ni Chanyeol and kissed his forehead. Baekhyun thought the story was over, pero nagpatuloy si Chanyeol. “Then I thought that I should just find something na pwedeng ilatag dito para may katabi ka. Baka magising ka pa bigla kapag nilipat kita ng pwesto, and that would interrupt the nice sleep that you’ve been having. And… I don’t want you to sleep alone here… without me… and I want to sleep beside you too… kaya tinabihan na lang din kita dito.”
Natahimik si Baekhyun sa sinabi nito. Nakatitig na lang siya kay Chanyeol ngayon, and he’s suddenly feeling a lot of emotions, too much, at parang nahihirapan siyang makahinga. Hindi niya alam kung bakit ganito ang nararamdaman niya ngayon, kung bakit he’s just suddenly feeling like he needs to say how much he loves him, just because he can see how fond Chanyeol was of him.
“Then I just hugged you, then you also did. Hindi naman dapat ako matutulog agad, but then it was just so nice, warm, and comfortable, and you didn’t want to let go, so… natulog na rin ako…”
Hindi pa rin makasagot si Baekhyun sa kanya. Nakatingin lang siya sa kanya, and the only thing that Baekhyun can think of was how this is how he wants to end his day for the rest of his life–with Chanyeol just beside him, comfortable, happy, and content.
Ilang beses niya na siguro ‘to inisip. Ilang beses niya na sinasabi sa sarili niya na ganito ang gusto niya for the rest of his life. But god, this time, it’s just different. It’s like he needs to say it or else… ewan. Baka hindi niya kayanin at sasabog na lang siya dahil sa sobrang pagmamahal.
I love you.
And before he can even stop himself, he says, "Will you marry me?"
It was silent after that. At parang nagising si Baekhyun dahil sa biglang nasabi niya.
No. Not like this!? He wasn’t supposed to say it like this. He's been holding back for so long, kasi hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin nila napag-uusapan ni Chanyeol. So he's not sure if it's okay, if they're already okay with all of this. Baka hindi pa rin tamang time. Baka hindi pa rin handa. Dapat niya itong tanungin if may idea na ba siya, pero hanggang ngayon wala pa rin.
Sobrang tahimik. Nakatingin lang si Chanyeol sa kanya. And Baekhyun’s scared, kasi hindi niya na kayang bawiin ang sinabi niya. Kahit naman hindi ito ang tamang oras dapat to say it, he has no intention of taking it back because it’s what he wants to say. He meant what he said. At natatakot siya na… na ayaw ni Chanyeol.
Na baka hindi pa rin ito dapat pag-usapan. Marriage is still something that… they shouldn’t entertain.
Kung ano-ano na rin ang iniisip ni Baekhyun, and he’s expecting the worst.
So Baekhyun wasn't prepared when Chanyeol said, "Yes."
Baekhyun wants to cry, too overwhelmed with everything. Parang gusto niya na lang din kurutin ang sarili niya, just to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming or anything.
“So… where’s my ring?”
Baekhyun was still just staring at him. Parang hindi pa agad nagreregister ang sinasabi nito.
“I know you already have a ring, and this is technically already a proposal, so…”
When he heard that, agad na napatayo si Baekhyun. Parang nawala ang lahat ng antok na nararamdaman niya. Nagmamadali niyang kinuha ang singsing na nakatago lang sa may bag niya. Muntikan pa siya madapa sa sobrang pagmamadali para makabalik sa kung nasaan si Chanyeol, na ngayon ay napaupo na habang nakatingin sa kanya. He looks like he wants to laugh, and Baekhyun can’t blame him, because it’s not always that he’s so flustered at parang hindi mapakali. He probably looks funny right now.
Nang makuha na ang singsing, agad siyang pumunta ulit sa may tabi ni Chanyeol. Si Chanyeol pa mismo ang humawak sa kamay niya, and Baekhyun can just feel his hand shaking habang hawak niya ito at dahan-dahan na nilagay ang singsing sa may daliri niya. Napatitig siya dito, liking the way that it perfectly fits. Hinalikan niya ito, just because he had the sudden urge to do so. It’s beautiful and it fits just right, and he can’t believe that Chanyeol’s already wearing it.
Napatingin siya kay Chanyeol na ngayon ay nakatingin lang din sa singsing, and he still had the same small smile on his face. Baekhyun wants to take a picture of it para mapakita niya ito sa lahat. Everyone will be surprised when they see Chanyeol wearing the ring.
Ang tagal na rin na sa kanya, and he’s just glad na hindi alam ni Chan–
“I know you already have a ring.”
Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Baekhyun nang marealize kung ano ang sinabi ni Chanyeol kanina. Chanyeol noticed it and he said, “What?”
“Paano mo nalaman na may singsing na ako?”
Bigla naman natawa si Chanyeol. He sticks his tongue out and says, “Secret.”
“Madaya!”
Baekhyun tried to tickle him para sabihin nito, pero hindi rin gumana ang technique niya. He tried to shower him with kisses, but Chanyeol took advantage of that and he just kissed him. Baekhyun knows na ginagawa niya ‘yun para madistract siya at para hindi na siya magtanong.
Well… it worked.
Sorry, Baekhyun’s just very weak.
But one of these days, he will know the truth. He’ll make sure of it.