@charmandersoo Baekhyun likes to be spontaneous. It’s not like he can help it, in all truth, but he wouldn’t do anything to prevent it either and he can’t say it for sure, but he thinks Kyungsoo likes that about him as well. Even if he shrugs and says it’s annoying not to know what he’s ‘planning’.

“What is your favorite time of the day?” Baekhyun asks one day, completely out of the blue, of course. They are peeling potatoes and Baekhyun is trying to do it the right way -- the way Kyungsoo taught him -- so the other looks at him and probably blinks. Baekhyun doesn’t catch it because he’s busy trying to prevent the peel hanging out from breaking (simply because he wants to pick it up and go ‘tadah’ with it so that Kyungsoo can be impressed about him having a perfect spiral-shaped peel).

“Mine is the afterglow.”

(’that’s not even a time of the day,’)  he would be so offended if the person he’s asking wasn’t Kyungsoo, but still, he looks up at him and frowns. “of course it is. it’s the light or radiance remaining in the sky after the sun has set.”

(’so you just like night better than day’) 

Baekhyun frowns again. “I’ll show you and you’ll get it.” 

That day, Baekhyun drags Kyungsoo out when he is trying to get cozy under his blanket on the couch and despite all the groans and death threats, it all subsides when Baekhyun simply drapes the blanket over Kyungsoo’s shoulders and effectively tugs him out of their shared space. Kyungsoo is his grumpy self all the way until Baekhyun stops at the spot he deems perfect. They don’t leave the mansion’s grounds, but the place is already huge as it is, they would have to walk for days before they reached the ‘border’.  Baekhyun deems that spot one of his favorites, but Kyungsoo thinks every spot is Baekhyun’s favorite. (he may have a list). Kyungsoo is not sure if he gets what Baekhyun is trying to prove or show him, but he does admire the setting all the same and Baekhyun is chattier as ever, obviously excited for sharing that experience with the dragon shifter so maybe that’s what’s beautiful about the afterglow: Baekhyun. 

The blanket is draped around the younger’s shoulders when the night falls on them. That quick moment of magic colors adorning the sky passes quickly, but they don’t leave as soon as it ends. Baekhyun has a few more stories to share and Kyungsoo seems to be entertained; strangely in the mood to listen, and so, he shares the source of his warmth. Baekhyun doesn’t stop talking, but holds the tip of the blanket before Kyungsoo’s arm does the same and now it’s not just the blanket over Baekhyun’s shoulder, but the shifter’s arm as well. Kyungsoo’s hand rests on his shoulder and he makes himself smaller, tentatively snuggling against the other.  The moon is already high in the sky when they leave but one hour later Kyungsoo sneezes twice and there’s a finger pointed in Baekhyun’s direction.  (’I’m going to die now. Take responsibility’) Baekhyun takes the cue and scurries to the kitchen. He has this down, he knows the recipe by heart too but only because he has a sweet tooth and Kyungsoo is in need of a sugar rush.  His bottom lip is trapped by his teeth that bite it in concentration as he whisks away as if his life depended on it. Kyungsoo has sent him a look of worry that screams judgment but Baekhyun carries on with his mission even when scalding drops land on top of his hand, making him wince slightly, but immediately lick it off. Kyungsoo is ready to tell him that he’ll do it, but Baekhyun chirps a “DONE!” that ends up slightly more high-pitched than the shifter may have desired, so he gets a groan instead.  Baekhyun tiptoes to get the mugs from the upper cupboard and adds a mental note for them to place those maybe next to the rest of the cups that can be reached better. Kyungsoo whines about Baekhyun doing unnecessary things like using mugs they never use just because, but Baekhyun likes to be thorough. He pours the thick hot chocolate on the mugs, slides one towards Kyungsoo and clinks his mug against the other’s.  (’What’s this?’) “Me taking responsibility. Drink, it’ll warm you up.” he says before doing the same. The mug warms his hands and the chocolate makes him hum in delight so Kyungsoo stares even though he sips on his chocolate as well. Baekhyun smiles in return and then pretends he doesn’t see when Kyungsoo flushes red right after. 

__

Baekhyun is watching an infomercial and tilting his head. Kyungsoo thinks it’s the most amusing thing in the world because he looks like a dog except he’s lacking a tail and floppy ears.  “Hey kyungsoo?” (’WHAT?”) The tone catches Baekhyun off-guard (and Kyungsoo as well if he’s being honest, but they pretend that the shifter’s voice didn’t almost crack at the end nor that he replied a few decibels too loud after being surprise-called). “Do dragons like sweaters?” Kyungsoo doesn’t reply, but the ‘what?’ lingers above his head and if he was a cartoon, it would hit him like a ton of bricks falling from the sky, spelling out the word for Baekhyun. “You know, sweaters for dragons --” (”I’m not a dog!”) is all Baekhyun hears before Kyungsoo stomps away, mumbling something about dogs and humans with their stupid ideas) Baekhyun thinks Kyungsoo would look adorable wearing a knitted sweater while in dragon form.  On the first day of December, Kyungsoo wants to leave the room as soon as he enters. Baekhyun is there, being swollen by a whole tree while trying to fix it’s footing and making it stand. Of course, the tree is fake -- Kyungsoo would kill him if he had gotten a real tree just for the sake of decorating it. Looking around, he can see the boxes on top of the coffee table: ‘40 red christmas ball ornament - shatterproof’ he reads on one of them before exhaling so loud that Baekhyun whips his head back to look at him. “Oh, I didn’t hear you coming in.” he trips over the pile of entangled christmas lights he had set aside but, thankfully, doesn’t fall. Kyungsoo sighs, loudly again. 

@charmandersoo Moving against all odds, one foot after the other, circles made under his feet, a rugged carpet underneath them and a need for fulfillment following an unexplainable blood thirst. The raging heartbeat, the empty look in his eyes; he can only see red despite the brave fight being fought in his head. It’s him against himself - or against the one that has taken him over -  an onerous labor that can bear disastrous consequences if done wrong. The part of him that is still there, blames himself for his carelessness, for his inability to keep his mind shielded.

Not even half of him is left; his conscious mind left forgotten in favor of the hunt ahead of him. He can hear the whispers in his ear, the insolent and guttural voice dictating his actions - he is nothing but a puppet, strings up, manipulated by his invisible puppeteer.

He walks with a horde of minions surrounding him, little paws stealthy climbing up his arm, up to his neck, fur rubbing against his skin before sharp teeth dig deeper into his flesh. It’s enough to make him wince, painful enough for him want to swat the rodent away yet it moves quickly when others follow through. The blood drives them insane, feeds its instinctively savage nature as they feed from the open gashes, blood and flesh out in the open - an inviting feast.

@charmandersoo Three hundred and sixty-five days ago have him climbing those (now) familiar stairs with one suitcase full of the things he acquired throughout the last four years of his life. All in all, he wants to avoid being sappy and cliché by saying that his life started only that long ago; maybe he should say his life restarted there, but he’r rather keep that for some novel author struggling with developing roles and plot lines of an overworked theme.

One year ago he thinks he wants the freedom that he is offered with his own room, a whole place to wander around and no restrictions as to when he can come and go. Baekhyun isn’t one for restrictions after all. He isn’t one for solitude either though, and that is exactly what happens while he is still adapting to his new home. The change isn’t all that big, he still leaves every morning to go to work, he still sees the same faces, the only exception being that now he has more faces to try to keep up with. Even if his memory fails him a lot, Baekhyun is proud of how photographic it is even when he can’t attach the correct name to their face. It works almost like a game.

Five months after he is fully adapted, knows most of the people walking around even if he doesn’t go through extensive conversations with every single one of them, but he makes friends, yes. He did have one there even before he decided to join, one that he still remembers despite the long time of absence from sight and all. Nonetheless, he still goes to his room after he comes back from work or from practice or from hanging out with someone, he still shoves the instant rice container in the microwave and takes the lid off of the store-bought kimchi he got from the seven-eleven on his way to the foundation. He still rolls on his stomach in bed with a book that he can’t seem to close even though he should probably sleep because he will be up at 5:40 in the morning whether he shuts his eyes or not. It starts getting boring at some point and so he asks around and someone tells him that he can sign up for a roommate or to be one, whatever comes first, really, and he does just that. When he hits six months there, he is relocated.

He collects his things a little too quickly (although he doesn’t have that many, he’s just oddly unorganized) and he drags his suitcase across the corridor all the way to the elevator because he is not going to climb the stairs all the way to the sixth floor. He wouldn’t get tired if he did, but still the sloth in him protests and wins any argument he might have had (and he had none).

Okay, so maybe he should have knocked first. Maybe he should not have assumed that his new roommate was simply fine and dandy with having a roommate himself. Maybe he should have listened to that guy with a weird dye job when he told him that he’d be asking to be sent back to his previous room in less than a week. (that’s nonsense, Baekhyun tells him). Maybe he should have not have been that cheerful. Maybe it’s the ripped jeans and the plaid shirt. Maybe it’s the slightly mess of a hair that sticks out here and there, two days of combing his bed hair with nothing but busy fingers. Maybe it’s the tinny silver rattles dangling from one of his many colorful bracelets - and chiming ever so faintly as he waves his hand - that annoys the guy even before Baekhyun can open his mouth to say hi. He looks at the short man who gives him inquisitive eyes and gulps. Just smile, Baekhyun, smile and look friendly. He tries but it comes out lopsided. Well, shit.

@charmandersoo

Out of all the mysteries in the universe, Kyungsoo has to be the one that intrigues Baekhyun the most. In comparison, nothing can really stand a chance, nothing (and no one) can make Baekhyun that intrigued. His fascination with the dragon shifter isn’t news to anyone, of course. If anything, Baekhyun always made very clear how much he wanted to get closer to the other even before he knew that he and the beautiful navy-colored dragon that impressed him so much were one and the same. He also thinks it’s unfair how long Kyungsoo goes without telling him what he really is, but he can’t hold that against him. In fact, it only made Baekhyun a little more interested in the end. 

Kyungsoo is not an easy person, he knew that from the first day he stepped into their (now) shared dorm room. There were so many people warning him against the idea of moving there, so many telling him he wouldn’t be able to tolerate the guy (or maybe the other way around. It’s not worth the trouble, some said, he won’t like you, ‘he doesn’t like anyone’. Baekhyun would beg to differ (especially now).

Sometimes he looks at Kyungsoo for a little too long. Sometimes he stares. Sometimes it feels like he’s seeing him for the first time every single day. It takes him a long time to understand that those actions have a simple explanation. 

(It takes Kyungsoo longer to admit it himself)

Kyungsoo is not good with words. Centuries of knowledge were not enough to give him enough proficiency with speech and expression. Kyungsoo’s default mood is grumpy, his default actions include seven different expressions that range from annoyed to ‘run before I kill you’ and all of them include some sort of glaring. Instead of menacing, though, Baekhyun thinks it’s fascinating and sometimes quite amusing. He has no idea why he’s only ever used level 3 of glaring at him, but Baekhyun feels proud of himself for it. Their conversations can get deep faster nowadays, but it was not always like that. A few months ago, there was no such thing as dialogue and conversation. Instead, Baekhyun’s monologues had to be extensive enough to make up for the lack of communication. The healer being (perhaps) too talkative would be a cause of stress in the near future, he’d have a few things being thrown at him or a door closed on his face when he asked too many questions. Yet, it was always Kyungsoo pulling back, as if some sort of regret threatened to consume him after he figuratively kicked a puppy. 

He’s mean -- someone tells him when he’s out one day, picking up a few herbs and stuffing them in a little basket. He’s going to dry those later and do something with them, maybe even ask Kyungsoo if he wants to help with the process. Careful, he may bite you for even offering. He doesn’t let anyone be his friend, he’s too high and mighty for that. He probably thinks you’re human trash like everyone else. 

Baekhyun asks anyway, raises his tone and challenges Kyungsoo into doing something fun. He gets a huff, but that is not a no and Baekhyun’s smile is so bright that it may as well rival the sun.

They both like flowers, Kyungsoo and him. He supposes that some kind of fate must have brought them together although he can’t explain why even if someone asks. There is something extremely endearing in the fact that someone seen as ‘mean’ by everyone would be so delicate when they handle the frail flowers they grow. Kyungsoo is sensitive, Baekhyun decides, and he likes that sensitivity, he convinces himself that no monster would be so gifted at keeping delicate things alive and blossoming with each passing season. 

Kyungsoo’s garden is beautiful. He calls it ‘greenhouse’ although it’s mostly a mix of the two. “You spend a lot of time here, don’t you?” Baekhyun asks although he is given no reply. he knows the answer though.  Sometimes Kyungsoo brings over a few flowers, shoves them into Baekhyun’s chest and mumbles something along the lines of “you said you needed lavender”. Baekhyun thanks him all the same and then bursts into the dragon’s room later on, too excited to even think of knocking (which is something he gets yelled for all the time) and presents a small glass vial covered with a cork. A present, he offers, “It smells nice, I promise. A free sample for a special customer.” He may be imagining things, but he thinks Kyungsoo blushes a little. 

Stereotypes are hard to break. People can’t change their opinion as easily as Byun Baekhyun can, but he thinks ignorance is a bliss because it makes the fact that he knows something they don’t, way more special. Kyungsoo is nice and oh-so gentle. He makes them food and sometimes Baekhyun’s favorites as well -- probably because he whines a little and he doesn’t want to listen to that for longer than necessary -- but still. He makes sure Baekhyun doesn’t forget the things he has to do (some days he’s just more forgetful than others, he can’t seem to help it) and he helps him not feeling so bad when he does something twice and someone else points it out. When he feels stupid for the things he does, Kyungsoo helps him feel better about it. 

“Are we friends?” He asks over breakfast one day. Baekhyun has been up since before the sun was out, Kyungsoo took a little longer (as he usually does) but he still improvised a quick stew for them. Baekhyun is still lounging around in his obnoxiously bright blue boxers and pink shirt, wrinkled from having been what he slept in the previous night. Kyungsoo’s hair is in disarray, sticking out everywhere. Baekhyun pretends he doesn’t notice that the white fluffy sweater Kyungsoo is wearing has been missing from the healer’s wardrobe for three days now. Kyungsoo looks up but doesn’t stop eating, managing a hum instead and that just has to do as an answer because Baekhyun knows he won’t be getting another one. 

“Are we best friends?”

“Aren’t you eager to label it...” he seems to dismiss it, but he should know there’s something else coming so he looks up from his food again.

“Yeah.”

“What’s the difference?” the dragon asks. Baekhyun wonders if he’s genuinely intrigued or if that’s just his way to go around it and not reply.

“Best friends are special. They’re more than just friends, they share more things, they act silly for each other sometimes because they can’t judge each other. There’s no real barrier, everything is allowed because you’re best friends. They can talk shit about each other but no one else can talk badly of them. You are sort of attached to the hip, you don’t lie about being busy so you don’t hang out because you’re comfortable enough to tell them you just want to nap and watch master chef on TV. They kind of stay around too. You know... for longer.” 

He says the last part in a hushed tone. Kyungsoo frowns a bit, perhaps trying to understand the purpose of that request and maybe he wants to ask if something happened, if Baekhyun isn’t feeling well today, if he’s in one of his ‘sensitive’ days like Kyungsoo calls it. He doesn’t though. Somehow he thinks that a sassy remark doesn’t really fit that situation “If that’s what you want...”

Baekhyun smiles so wide that his eyes close completely and when he stretches his feet under the table to casually place his bare feet on top of Kyungsoo’s socked ones, the other nearly chokes on his kimchi. 

No one would have placed their bets on them. In fact, there were more bets trying to figure how many weeks Baek would survive in the dragon’s lair than anything else. He survives the first week (barely because he walks in on Kyungsoo showering and nearly dies), then the first month (even after daring to fall asleep on the shifter’s shoulder), and the second one (who said petting a fire-breathing dragon was dangerous?). On the third month, Baekhyun finds out Kyungsoo has a thing for oversized, fluffy sweaters just like he does), on the fourth month, winter creeps on them and along with it there’s a cold dragon boy sliding under the covers, trying not to freeze to death. Baekhyun doesn’t mention how thankful he is for the company especially because he feels less tired in the mornings. (he dreams less too). On the fifth month, he tries to ignore the little tingles he gets every time Kyungsoo smiles at him. 

On the sixth month Baekhyun kisses Kyungsoo. (who would have known he had it in him)

He forgets how many months have gone by, he’s not counting them at that moment and it’s so spontaneous too...  Kyungsoo looks adorable in that green hoodie that Baekhyun bought him for his last birthday and Baekhyun has been counting the freckles on his face for the last twenty minutes as the dragon concentrates on the task of making the perfect chocolate chip cookies. The entire kitchen smells like coffee and freshly baked sweets, Kyungsoo looks beautiful and Baekhyun has been trying not to do something stupid for so long that he supposes he can stop being a good boy and just rebel. 

It doesn’t happen like in the movies, he doesn’t pull the other and steals away the most breath-taking kiss. Instead, he feels like it happens in slow motion, like he can count every heartbeat because he can hear it ringing in his ears. He approaches carefully, leans over to catch the corner of the shifter’s lips with his eyes open all the way, perhaps waiting for rejection. It never comes. Surprise, yes, he can see it on the other’s features, on his hands covered in flour, that remain motionless as if he’s been stopped in time. Baekhyun tugs on the green hoodie gently, pulling the older towards him so he can kiss him full on the lips and when Kyungsoo finally relaxes, Baekhyun closes his eyes.

It’s not like Baekhyun ever imagined what Kyungsoo would taste like, (he did), but it’s wonderfully sweet. It’s a sensory challenge; coffee and vanilla on his tongue, raspberry on his skin. 

The back of his neck is white from where Kyungsoo’s flour-covered hands were holding him; he can still feel the roughness of his palms and his pilow-y lips over his thin ones as if all of it is nothing but a surreal dream. Thankfully this time, it’s not. He could find a thousand excuses for his behavior yet a thousand I’m sorry’s would never be anywhere near sincere because he isn’t sorry at all. Not when his name is whispered after a deep breath. 

“Baekhyun”

“I’m not going to apologize.” he admits and there’s a slight pause before Kyungsoo continues.

Baekhyun x Kyungsoo 

“You’re going to like him.” Is her reply, her smile always strong enough to disarm Kyungsoo’s glare ( doesn’t mean he stops trying though ). “I can feel it.”

“You said the same about the last one—”

“A week. Give him at least a week.”