#bbhnet

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You sit on hold impatiently waiting to be connected to the inter-company help desk. 

One minute you’re uploading an important journal to your client’s software, the next minute you get the blue screen of death.

“Shit shit shit” you mutter as you try to get your laptop to turn back on. You hear Kyungsoo sigh from across the room. 

“You saved before you uploaded right?”.

He looks up from his screen when you don’t reply, a glint of concern behind his glasses. 

“Right?”

You screw your eyes shut tightly and continue to ramble, “shit Shit SHIT”.

“Oh no,” Kyungsoo breathes. 

The irritating hold music finally cuts and a familiar voice sighs down the other end.

“...again?”

“I keep you busy don’t I?” you wince, as the low voice grumbles something indistinguishable.

“What did you do this time?” 

“I don’t even know Yixing, I was trying to upload this client journal and then the whole thing just broke!”

Zhang Yixing, a member of your company’s IT support department and a colleague you knew very well much to his dismay.

You were unfortunately infamous for breaking something IT-related every other week.

“How big was the file?” he starts, the sound of his keyboard tapping faintly through the line.

“I don’t know, like 3000 lines last time I checked”. 

In the corner of your eye, Kyungsoo stands up and raises his coffee mug while gesturing to yours. 

You nod gratefully and he picks up your mug on his way out. 

“Hmm, it might be a server crash. I heard they’ve had WiFi issues on and off this week”. 

“So it wasn’t my fault?” you ask, suddenly perking up.  

“For once,” Yixing deadpans, “Did you save the last version before upload?”

“....no.” you sigh, “I was in such a rush to get it done I forgot. Ugh-I’m such an idiot!” You slump down in your chair feeling depressed.

“It’s fine, It’s fine” the IT tech soothes, his voice always somewhat reassuring. 

“I’ve had your cloud drive set to take a backup every hour since that time you accidentally deleted your hard drive.”

“Yixing I owe you my life!” 

He just chuckles down the line.

“Try restarting your laptop, I’ll hop on remotely and restore what I can”. You nod gratefully, even if he can’t see you. 

It’s late in the evening when you finally leave the office. 

Yixing restores what he can but you still have some gaps to fill, so between that and the continued server crashes you finally give up and leave two hours past quitting time.

“You didn’t have to stay Yixing, but I still really appreciate it” you thank him gratefully. 

“It was mostly for the safety of our IT systems”, he yawns, scratching the back of his head as you walk side by side out of the building together.

“I didn’t have any issues until I worked here,” you huff as you swipe your ID card and exit the building. “My computer at home works just fine!”.

“Yeah yeah yeah” mocks Yixing with a dimpled smirk. You wave goodbye in defeat and walk towards the subway station. 

Much to your surprise, you see Baekhyun when you step onto the train.

Sitting towards the middle of the carriage, his tie loosened and hair dishevelled as he sits forward scrolling through his phone. 

He sighs about three times as you make your way towards him, plopping down in the seat next to him.

“Rough day?” you ask, nudging his shoulder gently with your own. 

He looks up disinterestedly at first, but then his usual warmth returns to his eyes and he smiles softly, dark circles present under his eyes. 

“That obvious huh? And you?”

You sigh “Computer issues and stressing out the IT department”.

 Baekyhun snorts, “Computers were never your strong point.”

You scoff, sitting up in your seat to cross your arms over your chest, “What does that mean!”.

“Um, what about those times you pressed the wrong button at the radio station!?”.

Memories of Baekhyun talking in a chipmunk voice flashes through your head, or the time he thought he was talking live on the radio for twenty minutes before you realised you hadn’t paused the commercial recordings, you snort.

“Can’t say I recall…” He looks up at you with accusing eyes, “Uhhh have you eaten yet?” you ask, looking to change the subject as your own stomach aches with hunger. 

He shakes his head in response. 

“I know a great burger place?” you offer, “and they serve alcohol”. 

He hums in satisfaction. “You had me at burgers”.  

“Great let’s get off at the next stop”.

It’s been a few weeks since Baekhyun came back into your life and things are slowly becoming more comfortable.

Things really eased one morning when you discovered Baekhyun had been walking to the wrong subway station. 

“Do you get a ride to work?” you’d asked nonchalantly as you both walked out of the building one morning.

“Huh-no the subway,” he shrugged, starting to turn off in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” you’d called out. “I thought you said you worked in the same part of the city as me?”

He turned to face you, his head tilted to the side, lines forming between his brows as he looked back at you. “What, yeah. Why?”.

“You’re walking to the station after ours…” you realise he’s making the same mistake you made when you first moved to the city.

Without thinking you step forward and link your arm in his, steering him in the right direction. 

“Come on Mr Byun”.

Turn out he thought you were the one getting a ride to work

You started walking to the subway together every morning after that day. Baekhyun cut ten minutes off his journey time thanks to you, but you never usually saw him on the ride home. 

Baekhyun’s office was situated farther in the city than yours so you’d get off a couple of stops before him. 

“Come on, let’s go eat, “ you yawn, standing up from your seat as the carriage halts at your stop. 

You walk to the restaurant together quietly, the street lights flickering on above you as the night seeps into the evening. 

“Table for two?” a cute waitress chirps when you enter the restaurant.

“Please” You both follow her over to an empty table. 

You take your seats and she pulls out her order pad, “Can I start you off with anything to drink?”.

“Can I get two beers please?” Baekhyun asks politely, the waitress failing to hide the way her eyes almost bulge out of her head when she looks at Baekhyun properly. 

“I’ll be right back to take your order” she sing-songs as she steps away.

“Rude, she didn’t even ask what you wanted to drink” he grins, looking up cheekily from the menu. 

You scoff and swat him with yours. 

“Menus are for reading not hitting” he whines, jutting out his bottom lip to feign upset. 

“I already know what I'm getting, this is one of my favourite places!” you declare, looking around at the bright American diner themed decor. 

Admiring the cute neon milkshake sign and wondering if you could buy one for your apartment. 

“Should I get Onion Rings or Bacon Cheese Fries” Baekhyun ponders out loud.

 As if your body heard him, your stomach growls audibly. “He says both” you laugh, pointing to your stomach. 

The waitress takes your order and after what seems like an eternity your food finally arrives. 

You stare down at the beauty in front of you. The golden crisp of the grilled cheese bread, the way the cheddar and monterrey jack oozes teasingly out of the sides. The smell of the freshly made fries as the salt grains twinkle under the lights of the restaurant.

“I think I'm in love...” you gasp, gazing down at the piece of art on your plate.

Your mouth salivates as you bring the first half of the sandwich towards your mouth and take your first bite.

Tears spring to your eyes as you groan in happiness.

“Shall I give you and the sandwich a moment” Baekhyun teases, snapping you out of your trance.

“Don’t ruin my happy place” you sigh contentedly, as you swallow the first delicious bite. You steal one of his onion rings and shove it into your mouth whole. 

He shakes his head at you as he lifts his burger to his mouth. 

“Might want to take the cucumbers out, it’ll ruin your experience”, you say absentmindedly as you take a long swig from your beer, gesturing towards the burger.

He puts the burger down and lifts up the bun, his eyes widening in surprise, “You remembered that?”.

The realisation hits you and you feel your face heating up, “Uh-yeah, well...of course” you stumble over your words, unsure of what to say. 

Baekhyun doesn’t take notice, removing the cucumbers from his burger with disgust and taking a huge bite.

“Wow, you weren’t wrong” he groans, his mouth still full. 

You raise your hand to the waitress to order two more beers as you both sit in comfortable silence enjoying your meals.

“Wow, you weren’t wrong about this place” Baekhyun swoons, patting his stomach in satisfaction when you both finish eating.

“Stick a fork in me, I’m done”. You sigh, causing Baekhyun to chuckle. 

“Thanks for inviting me” he starts, playing with the label on the beer bottle. “This has really cheered me up.”

“No problem” you smile back at him. 

He hums thoughtfully “I’m really grateful you know, to be able to sit together like this after all this time.” 

You drain the dregs of your beer and nod, you know from experience that he gets sentimental after a couple drinks. 

“Me too, shall we pay up?”

You call out to the waitress and bring the bill, despite arguing back and forth Baekhyun is adamant he’s paying and thrusts his card at the poor waitress, who is just standing there waiting for you to finish bickering.

“You guys are so cute” she giggles as she processes the transaction on the card machine. 

You start to shake your head to deny whatever she’s insinuating but Baekhyun throws his arm around your shoulder and drags you out of the restaurant. 

“Should we get a cab, it's pretty late?” He looks down at his watch as you walk down the street towards the subway station. It’s a little after 9 pm.

The night sky black with few stars twinkling sparsely against the city fog that seems to shield them from sight. Baekhyun still has his arm around your shoulder and you feel more and more self-conscious about his touch. 

You unwrap yourself out of his hold and stuff your hands in your coat pocket. “You’re always so clingy when you’re tipsy”.

“I didn’t want you to feel cold” Baekhyun replies absentmindedly, you bite your lip instantly feeling guilty.

He really is clueless. 

He stops suddenly and looks behind him, waving a cab over just before it passes you by. 

“Come on, jump in”. 

You both hop in the cab and Baekhyun gives the driver the address, as the taxi pulls off you opt to stare out of the window for the remainder of the journey, to refrain yourself from saying anything stupid.

When the cab pulls up you lean over and hand the driver payment, ignoring Baekhyun’s protests as you step out of the vehicle.

“You bought dinner, this is the least I can do” you shrug as you walk towards your building. 

“You’re so stubborn!” he huffs, jogging up behind you so that you’re walking side by side again. 

“Speak for yourself” you retaliate. 

 You feel yourself grinning as you continue to banter back and forth in the elevator until you arrive at your front door.

“Goodnight hyunnie” you grin. Leaning back against your door as you watch Baekhyun unlocking his own. 

He pauses at the sudden nickname. The name you used to call him all the time back in college, it was strange how easily it rolled off your tongue.

“Night sunflower” 

The nickname he called you over ten years ago. 

Smiling fondly back at you as you step back into your apartment, trying to still the way your heart flips at his words.

The next evening you’re at a karaoke bar with Key and Aria, it’s Friday evening so you don’t hold back from the cocktails that Key keeps reordering.

You fill them in on your evening with Baekhyun.

“That’s practically a date!” screams Key, shaking you by the shoulders. “He paid for your meal, escorted you home AND walked you to your door!”.

“They live together you dumb dumb” Aria sighs, flipping through the song lists with the karaoke remote. “But I mean it does sound like you both got closer?”.

You laugh nervously, throwing back your cocktail to calm your sudden nerves. “I mean it was nice, it felt like the old days but I also can’t help but feel cautious”. 

You run your fingers through your hair as you feel everything suddenly bubbling over and you start ranting.

“At the end of the day he stopped talking to me, I probably didn’t try that hard but why put in energy that’s not reciprocated, am I just convenient?”

You sigh “I realise now that he’s just himself, too friendly and doesn’t realise it. I was misleading myself”. 

Key wraps his arm around you,“You...my beautiful, intelligent, way too sober friend, need more cocktails!”. 

“She needs a date!” shouts Aria excitedly. “Remember that thing we were talking about?”. 

You look between your friends suspiciously. “What thing?” 

“Speed dating, there’s an event next weekend. You should go!”.

Key is sticking his head out of the door to order more drinks but he turns back into the room and points at Aria.

“You’re also going A”. 

Aria chokes on her soda, “ME!?”.

“Yes, you!!” Key shoots back, “when was the last time you had a date?”.

You don’t see your friend speechless often but in this situation Key has her stumped. 

“I never even agreed to this!” you defend, “Why do I need to go?”.

“Well why not” Aria turns the conversation back to you. “Is it because you're secretly hoping something will happen between you and Baekhyun?”.

“No!” you shout. 

Key gasps. “You still like him!” he points his finger at you accusingly. 

“No, I don’t” you whine, taking an extra-long slurp of your mojito. 

“Prove it!” Aria and Key shout back in unison. 

“Fine! If it shuts you both up! But Aria is coming or I’m out” you huff, selecting the next karaoke song and grabbing the mic angrily.

“He got, me, go-ing crazzzyyyyyyyyyyy” you shout out the lyrics. Venting out all your evening's frustration.

Your friends grin like hyena’s in the mirror behind you. 

What have you got yourself into.

Bonus Scene (in collaboration with @xingslove​ ) :

Aria practically herds you and Key out of the karaoke bar. 

“I feel bad leaving that last cocktail there. It must be so lonely” Key whines, looking back towards the bar longingly.

Aria dragged you away before you could finish off the last of your drinks, declaring you’d both had enough. 

There’s a long walk to the cabs at the far end of the street. Key dragging his feet on Aria’s right as she pulls you along from the left. 

“For someone so short you have the strength of a bull” groans Key, trying to wrestle himself out of Aria’s vice grip. “You could have at least let me finish my cocktail!”.

“Key, I am not your date from last week” Aria mutters under her breath, “I will not let you get into the same state that results in you throwing up on us!”. 

Key winces slightly at Aria’s words. You recount that night, Key stumbling through the door of Aria’s apartment covered in vomit.

You had been there watching a movie and had to help take care of your upset and incredibly drunk friend.

“Yeah, you disgrace!” You point at him mockingly.

“He challenged me! What was I supposed to do!” he shoots back at you. 

Maybe it’s the cocktails, but you start laughing like a hyena as your friends argue back and forth.

“Don’t think I forgot about you!” Aria retorts, rounding to face you. “Miss ‘throws up in the toilet after way too many shots’”.

“Wait, which time? That happens a lot?” Key asks, finally breaking free from Aria and starts to pirouette back towards the bar. 

“Hey!” you shout, but any words of defence are lost on you as the street starts to spin with Key. 

You brace yourself against the wall for a quick rest.

“Oh you know, that time I held her hair back as she threw up...” Aria starts to recount, letting you go to herd Key back in the right direction. 

“We left her to go get some fresh clothes since she pulled a you!” She pokes Key in the chest as she grabs his shirt collar and redirects him back towards you. 

“And we came back to find her taking a nice nap against the toilet seat”.

“Was that when she slipped off as soon as we walked in? You thought she had lowkey knocked herself out”.

Key grabs the lampost nearby to brace himself as he bursts into laughter.

“Oi” you slur, pointing at your friend only to trip over nothing. 

“You can’t judge ussssss”. You hiccup, clutching back onto Aria’s arm to steady yourself. “You don’t even drink!” 

“Yeah!” joins in Key, swinging around the pole like he’s dancing in the club, “isn’t it harsh to laugh at your friends' misfortunes!”.

“Just get in the cab!” huffs Aria, finally shoving you both into a waiting taxi.

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Tag List: @xingslove​ @shesdreaminginoverdose​ @bbyunz​ @sehunsthetics​