The front door creaks a little in the gentle way it always does whenever Chanyeol hasn’t oiled it for a while. The sound makes Baekhyun smile as he closes it behind himself, only to realize after a moment the reason for that sound reappearing.
Chanyeol hasn’t been home to oil it. The apartment echoes emptily in the same way it had when Baekhyun closed the door on it to leave on the afternoon of his thirtieth birthday.
He sighs, cracking his neck and letting the duffel bag fall to the floor. A nudge to it from his foot before he takes off his boots gives it some semblance of neatness. He’ll unpack it later anyway. Right now he needs a shower and a very, very long nap in his own sheets.
The apartment smells faintly stuffy so Baekhyun opens a window as he moves through to the back of the living spaces where his bedroom and en-suite lie. The scents of downtown Seoul are tangibly different to those of the training camp and for once the more industrial smells are welcome. He’s home. He’ll be able to come home every night and that alone is a luxury he still sometimes feels guilty for. Junmyeon had talked him through processing such feelings several months ago and Baekhyun will always be eternally grateful for that. Leader-nim leading even when he could take a break.
The bed looks so inviting that Baekhyun is tempted to flop face-first into it but he knows he will ruin the fresh sheets with his camp-smell so he resists… barely.
The shower when he steps in is divine purely because Baekhyun can take as much time under the hot water as he wants again, unhampered by the constant regulations and timers of the regimented military. He uses every product on his shelf (including Chanyeol’s leftovers) purely because he can. Does he need three body washes? Absolutely not. But you can be sure he’s going to apply each. Liberally.
He smells a little like a fruit salad when he finally steps out and it makes him unreasonably happy. The towels he had washed and left are still there and he scrubs himself in the steamy room until he’s pink and dry all over. He almost goes to put his hair up in the remaining towel before realizing with a laugh that he’s still essentially bald; Baekhyun playfully raises his chin at himself in the mirror and clicks his tongue. “Still handsome.”
The move makes him notice a small, now heat-curled piece of paper stuck to the side of the glass. Frowning, Baekhyun plucks it off. Words are scrawled there.
‘Three. Thinking of you. Box.’
Baekhyun tilts his head. He’d been the last of the two of them to leave the apartment -Chanyeol having enlisted a fraction earlier- and this had absolutely not been here when he’d locked up.
Three? Baekhyun places the note onto the countertop and slips into some dark blue pajamas. It’s Chanyeol’s handwriting; Baekhyun would recognize it anywhere but he doesn’t understand the full message.
Wandering out with a toothbrush stuck between his lips, Baekhyun takes the note with him. He’s still pondering over it when he passes the lounge… and then backtracks past the low table in front of the couch.
Three of his tissue boxes are piled up on one side of the settee. Very much not where Baekhyun had left them nearly a month ago. Eyebrows raised and curiosity piqued, Baekhyun lifts the boxes.
Another note sits underneath.
‘Two. Missing you. Just Us 2.’
Baekhyun sinks onto the couch, heart pounding almost painfully. He reaches out and picks up the piece of paper. Underneath it is a single yellow rose petal. Their little in-joke flower color.
Baekhyun’s voice cracks. “You sentimental goof.”
Just us two. Two, two two…
Baekhyun jolts up and scrubs his teeth double-time, dashing to the bathroom to spit and rinse before getting back to the game. Because this is what it obviously is now; a little treasure hunt. Something only Park Chanyeol and his huge heart would think up.
Papers and petal in hand, Baekhyun returns and checks the cushions on the couch, tossing them up into the air before coming to the conclusion that the clue doesn’t mean there. He’s grinning before he realizes it, jogging into the next room as he scours for other items.
The two pillows on his so-far-untouched bed stand out and Baekhyun squints at them in contemplation before climbing up and onto the mattress. The left side has always been Chanyeol’s and it’s under the pillow there that Baekhyun finds another petal and one more note.
‘One. Loving you. Candy.’
Candy. Food. Scrambling off the bed nearly takes the comforter with it but Baekhyun doesn’t pay it any mind as he skids up the hall and into the kitchen.
A glass vase sits on the kitchen counter, stuffed to the brim with two dozen fresh yellow roses. Baekhyun slows to a stop in front of it, heart full to burst. He’s still so confused as to how this is all here but he’s too overwhelmed to question it right now.
The roses smell amazing and Baekhyun steps closer to inhale, realizing only as he’s next to the vase that there’s a different kind of note below the glass.
Junmyeon’s neat handwriting covers the paper, alongside their spare key that’s been placed there.
‘Chanyeol asked me a favor. Hope I followed the instructions correctly. You two are ridiculously cheesy. Drink some water before you sleep. Welcome home.’
A soft, choked-up sound leaves Baekhyun’s mouth and he just stares at the items; at the sheer amount of planning and coordination that Chanyeol would have had to do once he was able to have his phone back. He’d have to have posted these notes out to Junmyeon from his training base too. All for Baekhyun.
His own phone beeps a text message. Baekhyun opens it without even really looking, too immersed in the overwhelming adoration he feels for the love of his life. Finally he drags his eyes away.
It’s a recorded video message. Junmyeon’s number sits at the top of the screen but it’s not his face that appears when Baekhyun starts it playing.
Chanyeol’s grin is huge; goofy and giddy with excitement. He’s almost rocking on the spot in his uniform, beret askew. A quick glance around and then on-screen Chanyeol holds the phone closer. He’s flushed and suntanned.
“Byun Baekhyun,” he says softly. Deeply. “Congratulations on completing your training. Welcome back home.” A bite of his lip and Chanyeol leans imperceptibly closer, eyes sparkling. “Come visit soon. But until then, think of me.”
Stretching back, Chanyeol tugs at his collar and Baekhyun nearly drops the phone because the camouflage material is open across his chest, leaving only his dog tags resting between Chanyeol’s broad pecs, defined even more now from his strict exercise routine. A faint sheen of sweat makes everything glisten and Baekhyun has never wanted to lick some skin so badly in his fucking life.
Chanyeol continues to pull the shirt aside until one dusky nipple pokes out -Chanyeol’s thumb gives it a quick flick and Baekhyun whines to himself- before letting it drop back into place. Such a fucking tease. Chanyeol’s laugh is breathless, as if shooting a video like this is affecting him too knowing Baekhyun is going to watch him.
“Junmyeon will scold me if I do too much more. So we’ll save the rest for later, hmm?” A pause, a quick air kiss and Chanyeol is suddenly almost shy. “I love you,” he says. “Message me to know you’re home safe. I’ll be able to check it after six.”
Baekhyun wonders if you can end up with whiplash from being both horny and soft for someone in the same breath. But that’s always been Chanyeol to him; home and sin all in one six foot form. Baekhyun glances at his watch, steadying his shaky breathing.
Its’s 6:10pm. He’s never hit the call button as fast in his life.
Chanyeol picks up immediately as if he’s been lying there waiting with the phone in his hand in the barracks. And his voice sounds just like coming home.
