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"Stand there."
Chanyeol rolled his eyes at his smaller friend's snappy attitude, pretending to himself that Baekhyun hadn't said anything.
"Are you fucking deaf, Chanyeol? Stand there!" Baekhyun glared up at his friend, gesturing to the space in front of him desperately. His eyes were flickering side to side so quickly, Chanyeol was seconds away from calling an ambulance for the poor kid until he noticed a familiar figure walking toward them.
Oh Sehun. Baekhyun had been obsessing over him for months, and they had spoken a few times, exchanged numbers and the like. But it had never gone beyond that so Baekhyun decided to play hard to get, (quite easy when the person you want to be chasing you doesn't actually know they're catching you) and was using Chanyeol to draw attention to himself. To make himself seem irresistible. Chanyeol laughed for ten minutes after the plan was revealed, and then he had been punched so hard in the thigh he couldn't feel it for twenty minutes straight.
"Ah," Chanyeol nodded, finally giving in to Baekhyun's demand and depositing himself directly in front of the smaller. "You're so cute, Baek," he mocked.
Seemingly embarrassed, but still determined, Baekhyun started laughing easily at absolutely nothing while Chanyeol shuffled from foot to foot with a soft smile of his own gracing his face. Momentarily forgetting his wingman position, he lifted his hand to touch the corners of Baekhyun's tilted lips, enjoying the feeling of the deep crevices.
Chanyeol figured he was probably a masochist, because he knew this harmless touching would serve to be anything but when he was in bed late at night and all he wanted was to feel the smooth skin again.
He had seen it in all those dumb movies, where the main character falls in love with their best friend and they're in high school and they're just so in love and there are absolutely no repercussions. And if there was one thing Chanyeol hated, it was clichés.
So, it really sucked that he was the walking personification of one.
Snapping back to reality, he noted how Baekhyun's eyelids lowered slightly at the gentle caress, before his best friend's eyes broke contact with his to stare behind him, watching Oh Sehun walk carelessly past them. Chanyeol swore he felt another piece of his shitty, big, bisexual heart drop away. His hand fell back to his side, burning from the contact.
"The cheek touch was good," Baekhyun said casually, as if he hadn't just been blanked by the Oh Sehun. "You almost looked a bit too into it."
Chanyeol shoved him hard enough to remind himself that they were just best friends. "You're fucking welcome, shit-brick." He replied flatly as he turned to walk away, hoisting his backpack higher on his shoulder.
He heard Baekhyun struggle to keep up beside him and after a second of deliberation slowed down somewhat, and after a minute, he heard the smaller's breaths return to an even pace.
"When do you think he'll catch on?" Baekhyun asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.
"Never," Chanyeol stated. "You're short and annoying."
"Chanyeol, seriously!"
"Ugh, fine," he grumbled. "Pull your pants down and shove your ass in his crotch and I'm sure you'll slam yourself into his radar."
Baekhyun let out an irritated noise and Chanyeol started running to avoid being pushed/kicked/bitten/scratched/punched by his best friend. (All of which were possible because Baekhyun was actually a cross between a toddler and a small puppy).
~
The next day, Chanyeol found himself sitting on a hard bench in the changing rooms, staring at the light blue bruise blossoming on his shin. A reminder that Baekhyun was a lot faster than he looked, and could kick way harder than even Chanyeol could, and he was the captain of the soccer team.
As soon as an image of Baekhyun popped into his head, the physical Baekhyun appeared out of nowhere and dropped his bag down next to his best friend who was startled out of his bruise-induced trance.
"Look what you did." He said, flatly, pointing to the fifty-pence-sized mark.
Baekhyun merely shrugged. "It's hardly my fault you bruise like an apple, is it?"
"Ass," Chanyeol muttered before fastening the laces on his soccer boots. "You'll be lucky if I don't roundhouse you with these babies," he gestured to the thick cleats that decorated the bottom of his boot.
Baekhyun shrugged again and began changing out of his work uniform and into more casual clothes. Chanyeol discreetly averted his eyes and his cheeks tinged pink. His stomach felt almost fluttery at the thought Baekhyun came straight from work to see the game, even though he must have been exhausted from a nine hour shift.
"This changing room isn't even for you, there are functioning toilets across the field," the taller pointed out, leaning against the electric blue lockers and trying to reign in his feelings. "People might think we're up to something shifty."
"Oh, please, everybody knows you're straighter than the number one."
Chanyeol rolled his eyes but stayed silent as he mulled over the words. Straighter than the number one. How ridiculous. He's easily the number two; a little rounded, a little straight.
"Seriously, why can't you use the toilets? You're not even supposed to be in here, anyway."
Baekhyun hesitated, before claiming it was because the changing rooms were cleaner.
"I'm calling that the fuck out." The taller said, bluntly.
"You call me out on everything, get a grip," Baekhyun retorted easily, slipping a white tee over his head. "I don't know, I don't wanna get my clothes dirty because seriously, those toilets are disgusting. I also quite like chatting with you before a game. You get all annoyed, it's cute, you're like a puppy."
Chanyeol could only blink. Cute?
A few more minutes later, both boys emerged pushing each other out of the door and laughing at their own stupid antics.
"Park!" The coach shouted. "Get on the field, you're team is waiting for you! Byun, stay the hell out of my changing rooms, I've told you too many times!"
"Sorry, coach!" Baekhyun hollered back, sounding the complete opposite of apologetic.
Chanyeol nodded and pushed Baekhyun over to the crowded bleachers.
"Good luck, loser." Baekhyun grinned as he ran over to Chanyeol's mother,
who was waving ecstatically on the first row. The football captain smiled in their direction before he ran onto the pitch to gather his teammates to give them a pep talk.
~
The crowds screamed when Chanyeol belted the ball straight into the net, seconds before the game ended. He could hear his mom's and Baekhyun's embarrassingly loud and high-pitched screaming along with the blood drumming in his ears.
He scored the winning goal. The winning goal of the season. A feat his own father had deemed impossible only two days before.
He felt arms wrap around him and lift him off his feet and when he focused, he realised he was being carried off the pitch by his teammates and toward their families while his friends whooped beneath him.
When he was finally set down, after making rounds to see everybody and the pitch began to empty out, his mother hugged him fiercely and congratulated him with a teary smile.
"Your father couldn't make it, something came up at work," Chanyeol already knew his father really did not care for his football, but he appreciated the lie his mother had used nonetheless. "Do you want a ride home?"
"It's okay, I'll catch one with Baek," he said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks for coming, by the way."
She smiled and pinched his cheek softly before making her way through the dwindling crowd.
"All you do is win, win, win, no matter what!" Baekhyun's voice broke his train of thought. He was very nearly tackled to the ground by his small friend as he felt arms snake around his waist and squeeze.
He laughed and basked in the embrace Baekhyun had offered, wrapping his scarily long arms around the smallers shoulders. Knowing he probably wouldn't get another one soon because for some reason, Baekhyun was very stingy with his skinship and very rarely initiated it, he held on tight.
"I've told you before, Byunbaek, I'm a fucking machine." Chanyeol sniffed, laughing into Baekhyun's hair.
"Alright, Vinnie Jones, get the fuck off me now, you've exhausted your hugging privileges," the ash-blond laughed. "People might think you're, y'know, gay."
Reluctantly, Chanyeol released Baekhyun but smiled down at him anyway. "Don't be stupid, everybody knows I'm straighter than the number one."
Chanyeol had meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he started to feel a little bit sick. Baekhyun's face dimmed a little bit but his smile remained, although Chanyeol could see it didn't really reach his eyes.
"Okay, number one," he said, and it sounded not at all like Baekhyun. His voice wasn't full of jokes and joy, but instead replaced with a horrible sounding, forced kind of calm. "I did come to congratulate you, but I wanted to tell you that Sehun just asked me out."
What followed was silence.
"Oh."
"Jeez, you could be a bit happier for me, Yeol, it's not like I've been trying for months or anything." Baekhyun forced out a laugh and punched Chanyeol in the shoulder.
"I am," Chanyeol started, clearing his throat. "Happy for you."
There was another silence.
"Well, thanks," the blond smiled sardonically. "The date is tomorrow so I'm gonna go home and get some beauty sleep. I'll see you later."
Chanyeol watched Baekhyun walk toward the car park, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be getting a ride from the best friend who had just walked away from him. As soon as said best friend was out of sight, the giant sat down on the floor, hardly caring that mud had sloshed up his entire body.
Sehun had actually asked Baekhyun out. On a date. A date.
The truth was, Chanyeol never thought his best friend would've been able to land Oh Sehun, not in a trillion years. Not because he wasn't good enough or anything stupid like that, but simply because he never actually imagined Baekhyun had legitimate feelings toward the popular boy, that maybe it was just an aesthetic attraction. And now he was completely miserable because he had been proven wrong.
He frowned at the mud clinging to his thighs.
Well, what was he supposed to do now?
He was a little bit broken-hearted.
Not to mention freezing cold and also incredibly cliché.
Chanyeol laughed out loud at the thought of feeling cliché, because that's exactly what he was. This entire situation was so fucking cheesy and dumb, and he knew he'd seen it in the movies more times than he could count.
What would the protagonist do? He thought, miserably drawing shapes into the soft mud with his finger. The protagonist would run after the lover and cry because they're both massive pussies with no idea that that's not how it fucking works in real life.
Rain started coming down, for the second time that day, just as Chanyeol was about to stand up and finish his grumbling thought process when he was pushed back down by a solid two hands on his chest. He blinked up at Baekhyun, whose eyes were wet and slightly pink.
"Why the fuck are you on the floor?" He asked, glaring at Chanyeol.
"Uh," Chanyeol was about to blame Baekhyun, but he was interrupted.
"Why do you get to sit around looking like a kicked puppy?" The taller had caught on that he didn't need to answer his question. The rain was getting heavier by the second and Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun was only in a short sleeved shirt and skinny jeans, his white converse were being murdered by the almost-black mud. "I'm the one hurting, you stupid fuck. You're such a fuck, Chanyeol, you're such a fucking fuck. The biggest fuck there is. The biggest fuck that ever lived."
Not even thinking about standing up, Chanyeol just stared up at Baekhyun, his chest heaving. "What the fuck are you talking about? I can sit here all I want, I have every right to look like a goddamn kicked puppy. The real question is why did you come back? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your special date with Sehun?" There was a mocking lilt to his voice and he hated it so much, because he knew that it was a low blow, especially after months of trying.
"Because you'll catch your fucking death, you ungrateful little shit. In fact, no, Chanyeol," Baekhyun's voice broke on his best friend's name. "The real question is, why the fuck do you care so much about me and Sehun?"
Chanyeol was silent. And this was probably a bad time to notice how fucking pretty Baekhyun was, even with snot running from his nose and red eyes and that stupid glare. Byun Baekhyun was so fucking beautiful and Chanyeol was fucked and in love.
"He wasn't supposed to like you!" Chanyeol blurted out, shocked at himself but continuing anyway. "He wasn't supposed to like you, for fuck's sake! You weren't even supposed to like him, I don't even know why you like him, I've heard he's a huge dickhead and I don't think that it's something you of all people would want in a boyfriend, what is there to like about him other than his hair and he has to use some sort of oil on that because literally nobody has hair that shiny without trying and I didn't think you liked try hards-"
Baekhyun fell to his knees right in front of Chanyeol and clamped his hand over his mouth, stopping the flow of words that never seemed to end. "I like you, you fucking lame giant. I like you and your dumb hair and your dumb smile and your dumb squinty eye when you get too excited and your dumb everything. And it makes me feel like shit, Yeol, because I know you're straight and it's not a secret and it's my fault for even having these feelings and I was just trying to make you jealous. Sehun and I are friends and we have been this entire time, and he's been trying to help me and its obvious you're jealous but you said it yourself, you're as straight as the number one!" Baekhyun took his hand away from Chanyeol's mouth and the smaller slumped even more till he was sat in the mud, directly opposite his best friend.
"I'm not straight!" Chanyeol jumped to his own defence. "I only said it then as a joke because you said it as a joke earlier, I've never told you I was anything, you just assumed and I didn't wanna talk to you about it because you were already obsessed with Sehun, I figured there was no point!"
"I'm your best friend, I want you to to be able to tell me anyway!" Baekhyun looked at him expectantly. The rain had flattened his fringe to his forehead, his shirt was soaking wet and the rain bounced off his bare arms as he leaned forward.
"I'm bisexual, Baek," Chanyeol filled in the short silence softly, making it harder for Baekhyun to hear him over the pounding rain.
"Can we, like, go into the changing rooms or something? I can't hear you." Baekhyun all but shouted at Chanyeol. The latter nodded and stood up, feeling mud slide down his legs and fall back to the floor. He led the way and when they got to the small block, he opened the door for Baekhyun to go first.
They ducked in, and headed straight for the showers.
They stood opposite each other, fully clothed, as hot water sprayed down on them, washing leftover mud down the drain while simultaneously warming them up.
"Did you say you were bi?" Baekhyun asked, keeping eye contact.
"Yeah."
"Alright."
"Okay?"
"Alright."
"We're not singing Macklemore right now, Byun." Chanyeol frowned and prodded Baekhyun's shoulder with a single finger.
Baekhyun snorted, "You fucking knew what song it was, though, you loser."
Chanyeol ignored this and instead, finally took initiative and pushed his best friend over so they were both stood under the same spray of water. He noted how Baekhyun's breath hitched.
"So, you like me, huh?"
Baekhyun only rolled his eyes in response.
"I said, so you like me, huh?"
"You heard me out there, don't make me say it again." The smaller mumbled, looking at the floor.
And, with a move any cliché'd protagonist would be proud of, he put his finger under Baekhyun's chin and tilted his head up. "I won't lie, Baek," Chanyeol started. "I'm quite partial to you, too."
"In the gay way?"
"In the gay way."
Chanyeol grinned at the joyous expression on Baekhyun's face when he pulled them together, and they ended up chest to chest.
He leaned forward eagerly. Too eagerly, he concluded, when he headbutted the smaller.
"You fucking moron, I want you to kiss me, not give me a concussion!" Baekhyun complained, holding his forehead while glaring up at the giant.
Instead of replying, he dipped his head, closed his eyes, and softly this time, pressed his lips to Baekhyun's.
They were both still for a few seconds, until Chanyeol opened his mouth a tiny bit and closed it over Baekhyun's lower lip, sucking softly, and then they found their footing, the kiss became languid and slow. He wrapped his arms around the smaller's waist and pulled him even closer while Baekhun brought his hands up to rest one on Chanyeol's chest and the other on his shoulder.
Their first kiss was sweet, and very baekhyunchanyeol. And Baekhyun was not a sweet kind of person. But he thought this time, this time he'd be as sweet as Chanyeol needed him to be. He didn't even mind that he had to stand on his tip toes.
Their second kiss was a little bit more heated, with Baekhyun in Chanyeol's lap in the passenger seat of his car outside the latter's house.
Their tenth kiss was under Chanyeol's duvet, and they whispered love declarations, promises and wishes. Maybe it was stupidly soon, but then again, it was probably ridiculously late.
Because those two idiots had been in love for a lot longer than anyone could have known.