チェルス ✩ · @cityscape
4th Nov 2013 from TwitLonger
for @breath because coffee dates and cosy little cafes are already the best - what more if you throw baeksoo into the mix? ;) love you bb ♥
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"Where are we going?" Kyungsoo asks, voice only marginally louder than a murmur. The wind does carry his question to Baekhyun, though, who only responds with a non-committal shrug and pulls his hoodie a little more snug over his head.
Now that Baekhyun isn't wearing the snapbacks he usually dons during performances and at the airport, Kyungsoo notices that his fringe is fluttering lightly in the chilly autumn air. Unconsciously, he reaches out to straighten them, earning himself a small grin from his companion. "You should go cut your hair," he says, wispy caramel strands flitting through his fingers. "It's getting too long."
"That's not my decision to make, and I'm not going to pick a fight with the stylist-noonas," Baekhyun says, then as an afterthought, adds, "At least not till the next comeback, or unless you go with me." Kyungsoo only snorts in acknowledgement and Baekhyun punches him lightly in the arm.
They walk a few more steps in silence, but then Kyungsoo punctuates it with a "What?" when he catches Baekhyun's gaze. "You better be sure we're going somewhere safe, lest the company has to explain to a million girls that two members of EXO got mugged in a decrepit Hongdae alleyway or I sue you for kidnapping."
It's Baekhyun's turn to snort. "It's not kidnapping if it's consensual, idiot." Right when the light from the overhead street lamps bathes them both, Baekhyun says, "I miss this." He doesn't need to clarify for Kyungsoo to know what he's talking about. He chances a glance around - there's an elderly lady at the bus stop up ahead, a schoolteacher with two rambunctious children, a woman on a late-evening jog. No one would recognise them, not here.
Kyungsoo slips his fingers between Baekhyun's and marvels at how perfectly their hands melded together. Almost as if, the more logical side of his brain snickers derisively, they were made for each other.
A flicker of surprise crosses Baekhyun's features, but he smiles nonetheless; in that instant, Kyungsoo is reminded of everything he loves about Baekhyun.
"Why miss it," Kyungsoo says, grinning, "when it's never been gone?"
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Baekhyun hums in appreciation at the lustre and dark depths of the coffee set out before him as Kyungsoo settles into the seat next to him. "You know me really well," he observes, blowing gently at the rim of the mug as Kyungsoo sips on the foam of his latte. "Scarily well."
Baekhyun had brought him to a quiet establishment in the back alleys of Hongdae, a small, quaint cafe that served - according to him - the 'best pastry and coffee combo you'd ever pay for in all of Seoul'. It's warm and reminds Kyungsoo of the place he used to frequent as a high schooler, which has since closed down. The bookshelves are laden with novels and little trinkets, lending a rustic charm to the brick-walled interior.
They ended up choosing a sofa set furthest to the back, away from prying eyes, if any at all, next to the mildly frosted window and a table full of Cecilia Ahern books.
Kyungsoo shrugs. "You never seemed like the type of guy who liked sugar in your coffee anyway. You'd like it pure. That was actually," he says, matter-of-factly, pausing to take another scalding sip, "one of the first things I thought about you when I first met you."
"Do you regularly analyse other people's palates or coffee preferences when you first meet them?"
"Only you," Kyungsoo says, a smile breaking across his face. "You seemed like the type of person that I wouldn't mind having coffee with."
Baekhyun scoffs. "/Wouldn't mind/?"
Kyungsoo tells him of high school days, when he used to finish his homework at coffee joints whenever club activities or student council meetings weren't holding him back. "I didn't like having people with me; it was kind of distracting," he finishes, shrugging lightly.
"Then... is this better?" Baekhyun asks, and for all their familiarity and the years they've spent training and singing together, his voice is still laced with the slightest hint of caution. He scoots closer to Kyungsoo, linking their arms together, and presses his cheek against the soft cotton of Kyungsoo's jumper.
Kyungsoo chuckles softly, the low vibration pleasing both their ears and coursing through Baekhyun's body. "Much," he notes, smiling at the flyaway strands of Baekhyun's hair tickling the side of his neck.
They end up staying late into the night, Baekhyun occasionally sneaking glances at the Jane Austen novel Kyungsoo has balanced in one hand. Kyungsoo brushes his lips against Baekhyun's forehead at erratic intervals, even steals a kiss when he least expects it. The laugh Baekhyun breathes into his mouth is well worth the risk he took, and Kyungsoo decides he likes it - likes this, likes him, everything.