10080 | chanbaek

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In his short time there, he noticed Baekhyun moved a little slow at things. Sometimes it'd take him a minute to process something complex and when he had to do a task that involved too much labor, Luna was around to do it for him.

Chanyeol still couldn't understand Baekhyun's relationship with Luna. He didn't know whether she was a housekeeper, a maid, or a girlfriend—though "girlfriend" was out of the question since their interaction seemed strictly brother and sister. But even though Chanyeol couldn't draw the line as to what it was, he knew that Luna was protective over Baekhyun for whatever reason.

As he waited in the foyer, he could hear Baekhyun and Luna's voices around the corner. With ears perked, Chanyeol couldn't help, but eavesdrop.

"Are you sure you want to walk that far?" he could hear Luna's concerned voice say.

"I've walked there plenty of times. I'll be alright."

"That was before..."

"It's okay. I have Chanyeol."

The conversation ended there. In the next moment, Chanyeol saw Baekhyun turn a corner and start walking towards him. Behind him, Luna tried to keep a happy look on her face, but Chanyeol could see the distinct look of true concern.

________________________________________

They walked for ten minutes on a path and only came upon the tree Baekhyun was talking about when they went off the trail. After a fair amount of vegetation, Baekhyun pointed at a tree that seemed to be the master of all trees around it.

Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun happily inspected the tree's base. Then he took a seat as Baekhyun started to work on his tiny project. As he watched, Chanyeol felt something warm inside of him just by looking at the sight of the tiny male against the gigantic tree. It was a pleasant sight and for the first time in so long, Chanyeol let his guard down.

After five minutes of trying to penetrate the hard wood, Baekhyun sighed and turned to Chanyeol, holding out his pocketknife. "Can you do it for me?"

Chanyeol blinked before rising to his feet. He walked over and gently took the sharp object from Baekhyun. "Is the wood hard to cut?"

"I'm just a little tired."

Chanyeol glanced at him. "Did you sleep well at all last night?"

Silence grew for seconds before Baekhyun answered. "Yes..."

"Then why're you tired?" Chanyeol asked, looking back at the tree and inspecting the knife.

"I've been sick for a while..." Baekhyun replied.

"Have you gone to the doctor?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"They said it was just a cold," Baekhyun said, looking away. "They told me I'd be alright..."

"Just a cold, huh?"

"Just a cold."

Chanyeol pursed his lips and pointed the knife at the tree. "So, what do you want me to write?"

"Binary."

Chanyeol snorted, but he smiled softly anyways. "It's always binary with you."

"Numbers can say things that humans never have the courage to say in words sometimes," Baekhyun said, smiling back. "Where words are vague, numbers are clear."

They paused for a second before Chanyeol moved again and Baekhyun slowly told him the sequence. By the time Chanyeol was done, an hour and a half passed. In the end, it wasn't wasted time. They talked about the past and the times that made them laugh until tears were pouring out of their eyes.

Baekhyun laughed for the first time in so long and it seemed to unlock something in Chanyeol's ears as the beautiful sound filled them. For so long, Chanyeol was deprived of the laugh that made him look twice at Baekhyun back in their college years. And now, with the ringing back in his life, Chanyeol was flooded with different types of emotions. He wasn't sure how to feel. All he knew was that he felt warmness inside his chest and the beating of his heart coming back to life.

And by the time that it was all done, they walked back together to the house at Baekhyun's slow and staggering pace, leaving behind a message in the forest that read:

"01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101"

And if Chanyeol had known binary, he would have known what the numbers were trying to tell him.

I'm still in love with you.

That night, Chanyeol felt something warm crawl into bed with him. When his eyes cracked open, he saw the outline of Baekhyun's figure standing over him against the moonlight. Then in a quiet voice, Baekhyun asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He should have hesitated, but Chanyeol didn't. He moved and flipped the covers over. "Come on in..."

Slowly, Baekhyun laid himself down. He kept his distance, facing the other way, but it was Chanyeol who unexpectedly pulled them together. It wasn't necessary. There was nothing in their deal about physical contact, but Chanyeol wrapped his arms around Baekhyun's waist anyways. It surprised Baekhyun for a second, but then he settled into his husband's strong arms, biting back tears as he tried to fall back to sleep.