Archive of Our Own

Chenle knew that it wasn't a rough break up, but it wasn't easy to take either. After all, break-ups always hurt like hell. Because at some point in his now broken relationship, he was happy. They were happy.

But Chenle never really knew why his now ex-boyfriend still remained friends with him, not even a year had passed (it had only been 8 months since they broke up). To him, it was a huge slap in his face that even after three and a half years of being together, Donghyuck was fine with being just friends. That at the end of it, all he ever was to Donghyuck is nothing more than a friend he once loved. While Chenle was still very much in love with him.

He couldn't help but chuckle at how ironic his whole situation with Donghyuck was.

“Lele?” Donghyuck gasped as he pushed himself off of Chenle's chest. “You think it's funny? Hopper died and you just fucking laugh at his death?”

Chenle brought himself back to where he was. In his apartment, watching the third season of Stranger Things in his living room, on his sofa bed with none other than his ex-boyfriend who he was cuddling with a few seconds ago.

He rolled his eyes. “You're so dramatic. I just find it funny how cursed Joyce is.” he lied. “His son went missing and came back possessed, and now he witnessed both his love interests die with her own two eyes.”

Donghyuck wasn’t suspicious, but he untangled his legs from Chenle so he could sit farther away and sulk. Chenle chuckled again.

“Big baby.” he mumbled fondly, lazily crawling towards him.

Out of habit, Chenle wrapped his arms around Donghyuck's waist and rested his chin on his shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, silently watching the rest of the episode. And when the credits started playing, Chenle could hear Donghyuck sniffling.

“Don't say anything,” Donghyuck said in between sniffles. He was always the dramatic one in their relationship, the type to cry about movies.

“I won't.” Chenle couldn't help but laugh, making Donghyuck pinch his arm out of spite. “Hey, that hurt!” he said, but he didn't even flinch, not wanting to pull away from him.

Chenle squeezed Donghyuck tighter. Then, he felt him relax in his hold, the latter's head falling to the side and landing on his softly. Donghyuck had stopped crying now.

They stayed like that, until Donghyuck pulled away again. He always did.

“Okay, let's end it here!” Donghyuck scrammed to reach for the remote before the next season played. “I say we should wait for Volume II, so we can watch Season 4 as a whole!”

“Whatever you say, Hyuckie.”

Whatever Donghyuck said, Chenle would always agree. He would do anything for Donghyuck, even if it would cause him pain at the end of the day. Because as long as it made Donghyuck happy, nothing else mattered to him right at that moment.

Besides, the nearest bar was just a 4-minute drive and a 15-minute walk from his apartment complex. He would let loose there whenever a day came that the pain would be too much to handle in a sober state.

Thursday, early in the evening. Chenle had been moping all day because Donghyuck had just texted him that he would have to take a rain check on their hangout the next day. Donghyuck didn’t even bother to mention any alternatives about the hangout itself. Chenle had stared at his phone for 5 minutes when he received the text, waiting for the speech bubble to come up and a message to pop out along with the lines of ‘Don’t watch it without me!’ or ‘I’ll let you know when I’m free!’. But there wasn't.

So, Chenle had ended up at the bar again. Choosing the 15-minute walk to clear his thoughts.

“Oh, hey!” Just as he walked inside, someone had already waved at him. “We were just talking about you,” the bartender said, gesturing to the guy on the barstool who seemed like he didn't want to look at him as he hid his face and focused on his phone.

Chenle greeted the bartender, “Hey, Jaehyun.” He cautiously sat beside the aforementioned guy, careful not to startle him, which clearly wasn't what Jaehyun was doing.

“Dude, don't be rude! Say hello.” Jaehyun had smacked his forearm, making the guy look up at Jaehyun.

Chenle could now clearly see the side of his face, his hair intentionally tucked behind his ear.

“Doyoung?” he said, shocked.

Because despite how hot he looked wearing a somewhat clubbing outfit in a few of his many OOTD Instagram posts, Chenle knew for a fact that Doyoung would rather hang out anywhere else than at a place filled to the brim with alcohol. Even if his best friend, Jaehyun, was working there.

“Hello,” Doyoung muttered. “Chenle.” He took a quick look at Chenle before going back to looking at his phone.

Chenle was confused and albeit a bit amused. He hoped Jaehyun had the answer but the latter only shrugged at him.

“Well, I guess I'll leave the both of you for a while!” Jaehyun said. “Still the usual?” he asked Chenle, pertaining to his drink of choice, which in return he received a nod.

“And get Doyoung a cocktail. I'll pay for it.”

Doyoung, despite his obvious urge to object, didn't bother to look at Chenle nor did he say anything. So, Jaehyun had left, sighing. It was very clear that Doyoung didn't want to start up a conversation.

But Chenle was determined to do so.

“You're not gonna talk, are you?” Chenle faced his body towards Doyoung, one arm leaning on the counter as he tilted his head to the side staring at him. “Cute,” he mumbled.

Doyoung remained unbothered, or did he not?

Doyoung did indeed show signs of uneasiness but it wasn't on his face or anywhere near that like his throat bobbing up and down when he would swallow hard. Instead it was his knee that bobbed up and down.

“So you prefer kissing me than talking?”

Doyoung continued scrolling on his phone even if he wasn't reading anything. Chenle was baffled by the lack of reaction on his face, scoffing as he looked away from him for a moment. His eyes traveled down and saw that Doyoung had been twisting his ankles from side to side.

Cute habits. Chenle thought as he remembered a jittery Doyoung the last time they talked.

And that was when Doyoung last hung out in a place that had alcohol. Eleven months ago.

Thursday night, very late night. A small spontaneous gathering. It had been over a year since Chenle and Donghyuck graduated. For some reason their college friend group, whom they hadn't seen since, gathered together. That night, all their attention was on Doyoung. Especially Donghyuck and Chenle.

Losing in every round of rock paper scissors, Doyoung had one too many shots of tequila. His head had started to spin and his vision had become blurry, fortunately, he could still recognize some of his friends’ voices. So, judging by the incredibly insufferable laughter, he knew it was Donghyuck who had escorted him to the bathroom. Which was ironic to Doyoung considering that the game was Donghyuck’s idea.

“Oh come on, don’t be a sore loser!” Donghyuck said when Doyoung had gone outside of the stall, done with throwing up everything that he could.

Doyoung only flipped him off in response as he went to wash his hands, standing next to Donghyuck who was leaning on the sink.

“Babe, you should’ve seen your face! I thought you weren’t even going to make it to the bathroom.” Donghyuck laughed. “You almost threw up on someone—damn!—I would’ve left your ass right then and there.”

“Shut up.” Doyoung splashed water at him, making Donghyuck move away.

“You’re going to mess up my shirt!”

“It’s just water, sunshine. Be grateful I didn’t throw up on you.” Doyoung made his way to Donghyuck but he failed miserably as he wobbled from side to side, vision still blurry.

Donghyuck was quick on his feet though, he caught Doyoung, draping the latter’s arms around his shoulders as he helped him walk balk to their table. When they arrived, the bottle of tequila was already empty and it was no longer standing upright, instead it was laid on the center of the table. Their friends had already agreed on a different game, spin the bottle as it seemed.

“Hey, Doyoung, you good?” Chenle was the first to notice that they were back, because he didn’t want to start the game without his boyfriend, Donghyuck—not Doyoung.

They weren’t close, Chenle and Doyoung, but Chenle had been worried about the latter because he and his boyfriend were close enough for him to know that Doyoung doesn’t drink much. That was why Doyoung's friends had agreed with the game earlier because apparently he had the worst luck among all of them when it came to rock paper scissors, and it was the best option they had to make him drink more. Because, out of everyone in their table, Doyoung was the most competitive—next to Donghyuck of course.

Doyoung nodded confidently at Chenle who was sitting on the couch. “Thanks for asking,” he said then he slammed his hands on the table to steady himself, trying not to fall face flat on the table. “Okay, I’m up for the next game! Hit me with the rules.”

Jaehyun had explained the game to both of them, but he had to explain it again a few times to Doyoung who was utterly drunk and confused. While he did that, Chenle had stood up pulling Donghyuck close to him.

“Don’t you think Doyoung had enough? Shouldn’t he sit this one out?” he frowned at Donghyuck, and the latter knew exactly what he was trying to convey.

Donghyuck was being too much.

“Don’t worry about it, he can handle his alcohol well. He just doesn’t like to drink with us for some reason we still don’t know about.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes for a split second and nudged Chenle's side. “Besides, the game is more about dancing than drinking.”

Chenle scoffed. “And by dancing, you mean grinding and kissing on the dance floor?”

“Exactly.”

In one swift movement, Donghyuck pulled Chenle by the nape of his neck as he placed his lips on him. They locked lips, wet and sloppy that Donghyuck's grape-flavored lip gloss smudged all over, and the taste and smell of gin spread on his mouth. But the kiss only lasted for a few seconds as they were interrupted by their friends erupting in cheers. Chenle was the first to figure out what it meant.

Because he had caught Doyoung's gaze, staring hazily at him with half-lidded eyes. Doyoung had spun the bottle and it so happened to land on him.

Awkwardly averting away from Doyoung, Chenle met eyes with his boyfriend who was smirking at him. “Don't have too much fun without me.” Donghyuck winked.

He winked at him, making Chenle so confused that he was as good as frozen meat when Doyoung had dragged him to the dance floor after he took yet another shot, a different drink this time but none of them could care any less of what it was.

“This is my first time playing 7 minutes in heaven,” Doyoung admitted out of the blue, snapping Chenle back to his senses.

“This isn't exactly the traditional game; the one where they lock us in a closet.” Licking his lips, that still tasted like Donghyuck, Chenle quickly shuffled through his mental list of information about Doyoung (that he found out through his boyfriend). “Isn't this like… the first time you went out drinking?” Chenle said as he stood and watched Doyoung awkwardly swaying from side to side.

Doyoung laughed as he rested his hands on Chenle's shoulders. “You're funny, I like it.” He wasn't making any sense.

The sudden close contact made Chenle jump, quickly backing away. Which he regretted right after because Doyoung stumbled forward, crashing into him. Fortunately for both of them, Chenle had a quick reflex and was stronger than he looked so they didn't embarrassingly fall on the floor. But now, equally as embarrassing, their faces were an inch apart, they both could feel each other's breath fanning their skin as the smell of different alcohols had mixed.

Chenle was gripping tightly on Doyoung's surprisingly small waist while the latter held onto his forearms for support. Doyoung clearly didn't have any ounce of shame left in him because his next words were thoughts he wouldn't entertain when he was sober. Yet here he was, saying it out loud.

“I kinda wanna kiss you.”

Doyoung's breath was hot on Chenle's lips, and it didn't help that they were the same height. By now, Chenle had lost sense of rationality. He pulled Doyoung by the waist, slamming their hips and crashing their lips together. Doyoung's hands found their way up, grabbing a fistful of Chenle's silver-dyed hair.

Chenle would never admit it, that he found Doyoung really attractive. He wasn't as bold as his boyfriend who gushed about Doyoung almost everyday, not that it was something bad. Being attracted to someone wasn't a sin, especially when his relationship with Donghyuck wasn't the conventional one. Blatantly, they were open to dating and/or fucking other people. And Donghyuck had been trying to get in Doyoung's pants ever since he admitted to his boyfriend that he had a crush on the latter. But he never seemed to find the right timing to ask Doyoung if he's down with it, and Doyoung seemed to not get the hint. It didn't help that Donghyuck would throw flirtatious remarks at anyone, even strangers, so the people who knew him had established it as his default speaking manner.

Chenle couldn't help but chuckle at how ironic this was. He was swapping spit with Doyoung instead of his boyfriend being the one to do so.

When Doyoung heard the unfamiliar laugh, he pulled away almost as quickly as Chenle placed his lips on him. “Fuck.” he blinked rapidly. “You're not Donghyuck. You're his boyfriend.”

Chenle's eyes widened as he chuckled again. “You sound disappointed. Did you wanna kiss my boyfriend that badly?” he said, half joking.

Doyoung had untangled his fingers from Chenle’s hair. He dropped his hands on the latter’s shoulders and pushed their bodies apart, making Chenle loosen the grip on his waist due to the sudden harsh shove. They were now at arm's length from each other.

Doyoung had something to say. That's what Chenle thought because Doyoung just stood there in front of him, clenching his teeth as he looked everywhere within the limit of his vision except at where Chenle was standing.

The silence—Doyoung's silence, not the club—was long. It gave Chenle a moment to take in Doyoung's existence from head to toe. He started from his shaking eyes to his lips that formed a thin line, then he traced his broad shoulders from end to end. Doyoung's white polo shirt was hugging tightly on his chest, buttons holding on for dear life. His sleeves were rolled up neatly, hands fumbling everywhere to hide that he was trembling. The hem of his polo was tucked in his high-waist jeans.

Feeling his throat go dry, Chenle gulped hard as he continued to move his eyes down Doyoung's body trying to get the image of his chest and waist out of his head. Oddly enough, it worked when he looked at his feet. (And no, before anyone will have suspected, Chenle does not have a foot fetish.) There was something so adorable with the way Doyoung was standing like an anime girl.

Chenle was a bit concerned though. “Why are you standing like that?” he asked.

That had made Doyoung look at him, then down at his own feet. “O-oh…” he stammered. “Force of habit.” Yet, he didn't stand properly. He continued twisting his ankles.

Chenle frowned at the short response. “Are you nervous that we kissed when we shouldn't have?” he prompted. “Don't be, it's just a silly game.”

He looked up again at Chenle. “No! It has nothing to do with your relationship with my friend. It's just that—” he slipped his hands in his pockets as he pulled his knees together, leaning forward and backward “—it’s odd enough to kiss someone that has a boyfriend, and now it’s absolutely embarrassing that I kissed the wrong one…”

Chenle burst out laughing. “Hyuck would do anything to be in my shoes right now,” he said, “he never shuts up about you.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured. Honestly, I wanted to ask for your permission first since you know… you're his boyfriend,” Doyoung replied. “Now that I think of it, it's better that you're the one I drunk kissed because it doesn't mean anything to the both of us.”

Chenle smiled in amusement, seeing Doyoung hop like a little bunny before going back to twisting his ankles. “So, you've liked Donghyuck for how long?” he asked.

Doyoung chuckled sheepishly. “Ever since I met him?”

“Four years! And you never said anything?” Chenle said, shocked.

“I didn’t want to make a move,” he admitted. “Not when the two of you were pretty much inseparable. Everyone around you thought you were dating back then before you were even actually dating.”

It was true, and it wasn’t a shock to Chenle because they had gotten those comments a lot. He also had been in many similar situations like this. Donghyuck was a very popular student both in high school and in college, so as Donghyuck’s best friend, Chenle was popular by default. Though, regardless of Donghyuck’s popularity, Chenle still would’ve climbed up the ladder naturally since he was a nosy social butterfly (who most probably talked to the entire school population and the alumni). People liking them was inevitable. A lot had confessed to either of them, though some preferred pining from afar mostly because they were sure Donghyuck and Chenle were in love with each other.

“If it helps, my lips taste like Donghyuck right— I mean—right now it probably tastes like you but you get what I mean,” Chenle said just in time before Jaehyun had found them.

“Time’s up!” he cheered. “Hope you had fun.” He patted Doyoung’s back, making Doyoung jolt up and stand properly on his feet.

“Yeah, I’d definitely do it again.”

That was a drunk Doyoung speaking.

Because sober Doyoung had utterly regretted having said that, and especially what he had done. So, he avoided Chenle like the plague ever since that fateful night.

“You said you'd kiss me again. Wonder when that will be.” Chenle blurted out upon remembering his last conversation with Doyoung.

This made Doyoung finally notice him.

Turning off his phone and putting it on the counter, Doyoung strained his neck to the side to look at Chenle. “I didn't say that. I said I'd do it—the game—again.”

“He speaks!”

Doyoung, frustrated, let out an odd noise. Another one of his habits; making incoherent noises.

“You really don't like it when people say the wrong thing about you.”

“Seems like you know a lot about me, sunshine.” Doyoung’s voice went an octave lower.

Chenle, amused, leaned closer to Doyoung. “Hyuck told me everything about you.”

Doyoung’s eyebrow arched at the mention of Donghyuck. “You care enough to remember.”

Chenle was about to say something when Jaehyun arrived with their drinks.

“Here's a bottle of Jack Daniel's for my favorite customer.” He placed the small 50cl bottle in front of Chenle along with a glass and an ice bucket. “And a Pink Lady for the shy and awkward stranger!”

Doyoung glared at his best friend as he snatched the pretty pink cocktail from his hand, spilling some of its contents. Chenle could only laugh as he turned away from Doyoung, sitting properly on his seat and no longer leaning his arm on the counter as he poured himself a shot. Both of them drank in unison, but Doyoung was quick to put his glass back down as he only took a small sip while Chenle drank the whole glass in one shot.

They stayed silent, Doyoung quietly taking small sips while Chenle played with the ice in his glass, swirling it around and eating some. The silence broke when Jaehyun left them, sighing again.

“I thought you only used ‘sunshine’ on Donghyuck,” Chenle said.

“How are things going with you and Donghyuck?” Doyoung asked at the same time.

They paused for a moment before looking at each other, then they laughed. Apparently, they had been waiting for Jaehyun to attend and amuse another customer so they could continue their conversation.

“I’ll go first,” Doyoung said, since Chenle was still laughing. “How have you been?”

The question made Chenle stop laughing, but his smile didn't fade. “I'm pretty sure I heard you say Donghyuck.”

Doyoung shrugged. “I realized it was too invasive. This one has a broad range of answers.”

Chenle groaned as he poured himself another shot. “We still act like how we always did. I mean, we've already acted like a couple before we were dating—you know!—minus the making out, the sex, and the romance .

“The only difference now, being both best friends and exes, is that I feel alone—no! Lonely . I feel so fucking lonely every day when he’s not around. I miss him more. So much more than before because I want to do more than just hanging out on weekends, cuddling with him while we watch TV.

“I’m not like the way that I used to be, because I experienced what it’s like to love him. And I still love him, Doyoung. I want him to let me love him like that. I love Donghyuck so much—” Chenle was about to pour another shot when he realized that the bottle was half empty. He could hear Doyoung snickering.

“Yeah I can tell how much you love him. I’ve never seen you drink five straight shots of whiskey,” Doyoung said.

Chenle glared at him. “I don’t think you’ve ever seen me drink other than today. Sure as hell you don’t remember what and how many shots I drank the last time we went drinking.”

“But you do.”

Chenle was confused. “What do you mean?”

“You remember what I drank. Donghyuck told me you were keeping an eye on me, and said you were worried.”

Chenle doubted that Doyoung was being serious but if he really wasn’t, that meant Doyoung was teasing him.

Why would he be teasing me? Chenle thought.

He knew enough to know that between Donghyuck and Doyoung, the former was most likely the one who would tease him unprovoked and the latter would be too shy to even joke around him. But maybe Chenle didn’t know enough about Doyoung. It had been eight months since Chenle and Donghyuck broke up, and eleven months since Chenle had last seen Doyoung. Donghyuck also hadn’t been gushing about him ever since he broke up with Chenle. That left a heavy pit in the latter’s stomach because it was something that he had thought was a constant in their conversations.

Another constant that changed after they broke up was that they didn’t spend as much time with each other as they did before they dated (not just in person but also in text messages). They still were friends but they decided to give each other space to heal their hearts on their own while still being there for each other among other aspects in life. Donghyuck had told Chenle that exes shouldn’t be healing together because it was very toxic. Yet, Chenle believed Donghyuck didn’t quite understand his own words. Because whenever Donghyuck’s heart ached, the person he would lean onto was Chenle—his ex.

Donghyuck was not a quiet crier, he would ramble on and on about what was bothering him but when he would cry to Chenle now, it would be quiet sobs. Donghyuck would bury his face in Chenle’s chest as he would ball his fists around his exes shirt. It didn’t happen often but Chenle had lost count of how many times he had thrown a crumpled shirt, wet with tears and snot in the laundry bin as he changed into a new one.

It took a while for Chenle to answer. “Eight shots.” he mumbled as he stared idly at his glass, the ice slowly melting into water as he hadn’t poured his sixth shot yet.

“Excuse me?” Doyoung asked, confused.

“I remember how many shots of tequila you took that night.” Chenle faced him. “I don’t know why I remember that out of all the other things I could possibly count.”

Doyoung smiled wide, his gums coming into view. “See, I told you! You care about me enough to remember the little things about me.” he exclaimed, then he took a long swig of his drink and raised a fist in the air as if he was celebrating a commemoration in the means of a congratulatory cocktail.

Chenle furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Doyoung. He couldn’t put his finger on what Doyoung wanted from him with the way he was acting because Doyoung had tried three different approaches on him. First was the silent treatment, next was the casual conversation, and lastly, the teasing. Chenle was sure that not all of those were intentional, but it was unusual to him that Doyoung went from shy and jittery to bold and flirty. From the moment Chenle had heard the word ‘ sunshine’ come out of his mouth, something shifted in the atmosphere and Chenle couldn’t tell if it was because of the alcohol or that there was some kind of tension between him and Doyoung. 

“You’re confusing me,” Chenle said.

“Then it’s working.” Doyoung turned away to check the time on his phone. “Do you wanna head out?”

Chenle was even more confused. “What?”

Doyoung didn’t reply, instead he stood up and took out his wallet. Leaving a tip for Jaehyun, he paid more than enough to pay for his drink and the bottle of whiskey which was quite expensive for most people, but not for Doyoung. He placed the bills under his unfinished glass of cocktail. Chenle on the other hand was just observing him, the alcohol had already kicked in as his head had started to hurt, no longer wanting to think and comprehend what the hell it was that Doyoung was doing.

“I have my car parked near here, come on.” Doyoung tapped Chenle’s knee, urging him to get up from the barstool.

Chenle had felt that he was in no position to object, so he got up from his seat. His balance wasn’t much affected, yet , so he had no problem walking on his own. Doyoung followed suit, but a hand had stopped him. It was Jaehyun, bending over the counter to reach for him.

“Don’t do it,” Jaehyun firmly said.

Doyoung smiled bitterly. “I promised him, Jae. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him well.”

“You can’t just fill in for Donghyuck like he’s our sickly English Grammar professor back in college!” Jaehyun whisper-yelled.

“I will be leaving now. I already told you; you can’t convince me to stop.”

And for the nth time that day, Jaehyun sighed heavily.

The car ride to Chenle’s apartment was tedious despite the short distance. The silent and awkward atmosphere had made the journey seem too long. Doyoung had decided, in his head, to just bring Chenle back to the his apartment and spend time with him there since he had already drank (he was supposed to stop him, but he was too invested in listening to him that he forgot). Chenle was still out of it; his forehead had been creasing ever since he stood by the door outside the bar, wondering why it took a while for Doyoung to come out.

“Can I use your kitchen?” Doyoung asked while Chenle was punching in the code to his apartment.

“Will you cook? I haven’t eaten anything today.” Chenle didn’t bother to look back at Doyoung when the door opened, he went straight for the sofa bed, flopping himself on it with a loud groan.

Doyoung frowned at that. He knew the door would automatically lock, so he pushed it close with his back as he took his shoes off. After that, he briskly walked to the kitchen, heading for the large fridge then the pantry.

“How does Kimchi Fried Rice with three sunny-side-ups sound?”

“Make it four,” Chenle replied. “I want to eat four.” he rephrased to make it clear that Doyoung should cook eggs for himself if he wanted some.

Doyoung expertly maneuvered his kitchen like he owned it. Chenle had to remind himself that it was Doyoung cooking for him, not Donghyuck. But the crease on his forehead still hadn’t disappeared. Everything was familiar yet new to him at the same time.

Sitting on the dining table with Doyoung in the seat in front of him, Chenle chuckled at how ironic this was. About an hour earlier, he had been trying to start up a conversation with Doyoung, and now he was trying to avoid it. This was the quietest meal Chenle had ever had; he was the type to converse while eating. He was thankful that Doyoung seemed to understand that he didn’t want to talk. They both felt that it would become more devastatingly awkward than it already was.

When they were done, Chenle had beaten Doyoung to the sink.

“Lele, you should rest. I’ll wash the dishes.” Doyoung was trying to take the plate from Chenle’s hands.

A chill ran down his spine from the nickname that only the people closest to him had ever called him, that made him loosen his grip on the plate. Doyoung was quick-witted; he realized, upon snatching the plate away, that something slipped out of his mouth when it wasn’t supposed to.

Doyoung cleared his throat. “Chenle,” he corrected. “Leave it to me, I insist.”

Chenle looked at him briefly before nodding and making his way to the bathroom. He tightly clutched the basin of the countertop sink as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He could see himself in a different light, a different man with a newly-sparked interest. He had thought he could even see his chest thumping rapidly from how his heart was racing.

Maybe it’s the alcohol.

To rid himself from the many thoughts scattering in his head right now, Chenle continuously splashed himself with water then washed his face, roughly rubbing the foaming cleanser all over. He proceeded to brush his teeth, and after about a minute of brushing, he settled the toothbrush in his mouth so he could wash the foam off of his face. Once his face was all clean, he continued brushing his teeth. When he was all done, he grabbed a towel and dabbed it lightly on his face to dry himself.

He put his toothbrush inside its container and hung it on the rack. As he did, he noticed the purple toothbrush, also inside a container, hanging next to his. It was Donghyuck's. At this hour, Donghyuck would’ve stayed the night. So Chenle opened the sink drawer, finding a blue toothbrush still in its package and a spare container. He placed it on the countertop for Doyoung to use, in case he was going to stay like Donghyuck.

Chenle really didn’t know why he was doing this and more importantly, why he allowed Doyoung to take him home and take care of him. Yet here he was, laying on his already-made bed (that he was sure he didn’t fix ever since he got out of it this morning) while the lights were dimmed to his liking as well as the AC was in the perfect setting for him. It made Chenle think twice again if it really was Doyoung and not Donghyuck.

He stared off into space, replaying the day in his head bit by bit until he drifted to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he fixed his bed as some kind of action of gratitude for sleeping in a well-made bed. There’s a pang in his head, but it wasn’t strong enough for him to mind it. So he ignored the painkillers and the bottle of water on his bedside table. He crouched down to look under his bed, which he regretted right away because it made his head throb. He tried again, this time he used his hands and blindly searched for his phone. He was certain it was there because he was sitting on the floor when he received Donghyuck’s rain check message. He had thrown his phone in frustration and it had slid under the bed.

His memory served him right as he did indeed find his phone. It was dead though so it was all for nothing, and now he needed to find the charger. Standing up, he scanned the room with his eyes. The action made his vision spin. On second thought, Chenle grabbed the painkillers and the water bottle. He drank them before leaving the room, discarding his phone on the bed since it was useless.

When he entered the kitchen there was a bowl of scrambled eggs seasoned to perfection (he knew by the smell and the way it looked). He went to wash his hands and gargle his mouth with salt before grabbing a spoon and heading to the living room.

Doyoung wasn't there. But as if on cue, he appeared from the direction of the bathroom.

“Oh you're awake!” Doyoung smiled at him. “Good morning. Thanks for the toothbrush by the way.”

Chenle nodded in response as he shifted to a comfortable position on the sofa bed, his legs crossed under a big square pillow that somehow acted like a table for his bowl.

“Did you take the painkillers?”

Chenle nodded again while looking at the TV that was showing his Netflix account's home screen. He first noticed the shows under the Continue Watching section, which he assumed was what Doyoung had been watching since he hadn't watched those yet. Then he noticed the New Releases section. Stranger Things was the first on the list, its thumbnail having the 'new episodes' banner.

“We were supposed to have a marathon today,” Chenle mumbled.

Doyoung immediately understood what he meant since it was the reason why he was at Chenle's in the first place, but he would never tell Chenle that. “You can watch it with me!” he said with a bit more enthusiasm than usual for someone who didn't fancy sci-fi films.

Chenle laughed at that. “Sure you would,” he sarcastically said as he looked down on his bowl. For a moment, he thought that Doyoung was being serious.

And Doyoung (not) surprisingly was.

“Come on, you can just continue watching it from where you left off.” Doyoung sat next to him, but he still left a large space between them. He was more invested in the TV screen than in Chenle's reaction to his scrambled eggs.

Chenle took it as a chance to taste it without being careful with his expression. One small spoonful and his eyes went wide. He hummed as he took another spoonful, bigger this time.

Doyoung noticed on the third spoonful that Chenle had started eating, he watched him and smiled to himself. “Ten out of ten?”

Chenle snickered as he looked at Doyoung. “I'd say eight. Wouldn't want to flatter you too much.”

“You wound me.” Doyoung grabbed the remote and clicked on Stranger Things. It showed them the 4th season, wherein episode 1 already had a very small line of red.

“Hey, are you sure you'll watch it with me? The episodes are more than an hour long.” A crease formed on Chenle's forehead.

“Very sure. I don't have anything to do today and tomorrow so why not keep you company!”

Chenle, suspicious, carefully took another spoonful, the spoon dragging out slowly from his mouth. “Fine. But I don't want to hear you complain.”

He was about to say something along the lines of 'Just say you want to kiss me and go' but he still was very much confused and he didn't want to add more confusion to it if and when Doyoung would flirt back.

“I'm sure I won't!”

Chenle really wasn't expecting that his day would've gotten like this. Surprisingly, Doyoung was genuinely interested in the show and he asked a lot of questions (because of the obvious reason that he had missed three seasons). Chenle wasn't annoyed with questions, in fact he found it amusing especially since Doyoung was quick-witted. He liked conversing while watching as he believed that it would stimulate the brain, tighten the bond with the person he was with, and overall heighten the experience of absorbing the show.

The longer they watched, the smaller the gap between the both of them on the sofa bed had become.

Friday, the next day, late evening. Chenle was sleeping soundly on Doyoung's shoulder. They were laying on the sofa bed with their back propped up with pillows to not strain their neck while they were watching. There were also pillows between them, but Chenle somehow fell to Doyoung's side so the latter had no choice but to let him rest on his shoulder.

He turned off the TV and grabbed his phone just as a message popped up. Doyoung looked at Chenle's face that was illuminated by the light of his phone screen. He opened his front camera to take a photo of the both of them, he smiled wide showing off his gums. Then he clicked on the message notification and sent the picture there.

~~~

no. 1 sunshine

icb ur spoiling everything

im asking for updates on lele, not the show!

*attached an image*

no. 1 sunshine

awww cute :D

dont u dare spoil anything else!

good night. both of you <3

I’ll update you on who dies this season 🫶

We're almost at that part already

no. 1 sunshine

🖕🖕🖕