exo: does this song make me look fat?

[rustle]

Does this song make me look fat?
— Baekhyun/Kyungsoo. PG-13. 2611 words.
— Kyungsoo attempts to create the soundtrack of his life. Baekhyun sings each and every single song in the list. (Alternatively: Baekhyun sends links of good, obscure songs to Kyungsoo for appreciation; Kyungsoo replies with his own roster of songs that speak of his feelings for Baekhyun.)
— For Chels spiel, my BaekSoo buddy, and for Dan daeseol. Thanks for holding my hand and helping me get through Tough Times ♥

It starts with Kyungsoo falling asleep on Baekhyun's shoulder. Chanyeol has already taken up the whole back row when Kyungsoo arrived at the van. Sehun's conked out in the passenger seat, and Joonmyun looks like he needs to occupy the second row. So Kyungsoo gestures at Joonmyun to take the free seat, mouths, you need it, and sits a good few inches away from Baekhyun. "Hey," Baekhyun says, then disappears behind the hood of his jacket and his earphones. "Hey," Kyungsoo replies, then leans back and closes his eyes. The rest is a blur. All he remembers is drifting into too deep a slumber, a cold hand snaking to his neck, cocking his head so that he's in a more comfortable position. Then there's music and Baekhyun's scratchy voice soaring above the backing track, soon fading into the steady humming of the air conditioning unit. The morning after, he finds himself humming the tune, and Baekhyun slings an arm around his shoulder to pull him close to whisper, "Project 1.9." "Huh?" "The song you're humming, it's by the band Project 1.9.." Kyungsoo nods thoughtfully. "Nice. How did you discover them?" Commence Baekhyun's in depth narration of how he came across the artist and the other songs worth noting in the debut single. It takes two cups of coffee to get through the first half of Baekhyun's story, and two rounds of Chanyeol interrupting their conversation to talk about this cool new game to finish the rest of the story. At the end of the conversation is a promise of sharing songs the next time they sit beside each other, either by chance or by choice. Kyungsoo is rarely Baekhyun's first choice. The habit develops when Baekhyun sends him a series of Youtube links the following day. There's a short review at the end of every song recommendation, and a question in all caps at the end of the spam. "Do you think I'll sound good singing this," is Baekhyun's staple question; some permutations are "I wish I had his tone" or "Do you think Chanyeol can play this for me" and, much later, "We'd sound good singing this." rly? Kyungsoo types, then erases, then types again. Baekhyun is just in the other room, just three knocks on the door away but somehow, uncertainty seems to be easier to wear when he's on the other side of the wall. So he drums his fingers on the table, his phone, his thigh, until his phone sounds off, buzzing in a sound that's dedicated to Baekhyun Notifications. y not, Baekhyun replies. And then, you'd sound good singing this, def. we should probably— Kyungsoo hits the send button all too early. sing this sumtym i mean, he rushes. He knows Baekhyun well enough that he knows the text might warrant light laughter, a chuckle, or even a scoff, so he send a smiley for good measure. Kyungsoo presses his hear against the wall and hears an indistinct sound, then three knocks on the door. He looks at the direction of the door and sees the knob moving. "Can I," comes Baekhyun's voice, loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear on the other side of the door. Kyungsoo waits for an impasse and a request from Baekhyun — "Please." — and gets up on his feet, a perfunctory smile on his lips as he opens the door. "Too lazy to text?" Baekhyun chuckles. "I thought we could use some practice." Baekhyun hums on his way to the bed, even when his voice gets muffled when he dives head first into the pillows. Kyungsoo chuckles and sings an entirely different song, something from the top of his head, the first one that played when Baekhyun walked into the room. Sunday morning, rain is falling, the song goes, but it's eleven in the evening and if there's anything in this room that's falling (failing), it's Kyungsoo's eyes, his arms, his whole body sinking in the pillows and finding a perfect fit in Baekhyun's arms. "That someday, it would lead me back to you," Kyungsoo sings, nodding thoughtfully as Baekhyun looks at him, raising his eyebrows in the process, still singing along. "That someday, it would lead me back to you." (Kyungsoo wakes up with his nose pressed against Baekhyun's chest, Baekhyun's fingers curled lightly on his nape. Kyungsoo catches the faintest sound of humming and chuckles; even in his sleep, all Baekhyun thinks about is music and singing. Baekhyun complains about sore arms and a Maroon 5 song stuck in his head over breakfast. Kyungsoo just laughs into his morning cup of coffee and sings, "I never want to leave.") On a whim, Kyungsoo suggests, "Let's sing I See The Light." Baekhyun wheezes, lips pressed tightly together in an effort to keep himself from spewing coffee all over the table. "I can take Beauty and the Beast, but Mandy Moore?" "Hey," Jongin calls from the other side of the kitchen counter. "No hating. I love Mandy Moore." "No one asked for your opinion." Jongin sneers, frowning at Baekhyun. "No one wants you. Go away. Get lost." Later, Baekhyun details the reasons why they shouldn't sing a Mandy Moore song. In no particular order — the key is too high, it will make him sound screechy, he likes blond on Rapunzel better (to which Kyungsoo argues, "How is this even a logical reason?"). Finally, he concedes, saying, "As long as you take the Mandy parts." "You'd make a great Mandy, though." "Don't push it." Before they go to bed, Baekhyun sends him a voice clip. "Don't forget: you're doing Mandy," Baekhyun begins, then starts singing in a tiny, tiny voice. There's something bottling up in Kyungsoo's chest, fighting its way up his throat, through his lips. He starts singing, softly at first, hitting a crescendo as he approaches the chorus. Baekhyun's backing track fills the silence in between verses with shy laughter, giggles, and the occasional, "I really hate you for doing this." Kyungsoo chokes on the last line, when Baekhyun's voice cracks. He stares at his phone and sees another voice clip, a series of stickers, then a panicked, omg taht ws the first verion no dont listen 2 that too late :P you sounded good tho mandy ;) wow i hate u i hope you wake up sounding like a frog no im kidding i cant sing your parts just go to bed. lets sing tomorrow gnight zach Kyungsoo realizes he's in too deep when he starts hearing every song in Baekhyun's voice. He passes it off as something normal at first; they have vocal lessons on a daily basis, after all, but he starts hearing Ed Sheeran's voice morphing into Baekhyun's when he blasts Give Me Love on his iPod, starts hearing Baekhyun singing different Korean songs when they walk along restaurants and hear music on the radio and Baekhyun's not even within hearing distance. Dare You to Move is playing in one of the stores they pass. He texts Baekhyun, "Dare You to Move suits your voice." In less than a minute, he feels a hand sliding up his back, settling on his nape. "You think so?" A sharp intake of breath, and then, "Mhmm. You should do a cover of that sometime." The trip back to the van has Baekhyun singing the song — just humming it at first, while they tread the streets of Myeongdong, then belting out as soon as they shuffle inside the van. Baekhyun pushes Kyungsoo to the back row, stretching his legs when Joonmyun attempts to occupy the back row and glaring at Chanyeol when the latter attempts to sit on his feet. Chanyeol grins at the two and mouths, the sex is daebak! Baekhyun stops midway through the chorus and erupts into a peal of laughter. Kyungsoo leans back, gandering at Baekhyun, and studies the way Baekhyun's chest rises and falls as he wheezes, clamoring for air, the way Baekhyun turns to him and slaps him repeatedly on his thigh, the way Baekhyun's hands linger, his fingers dancing on Kyungsoo's thigh, tracing figures on his knees. He hears the song in his head; this time, it's a duet. They win their first Mutizen, but here's the highlight of the night: Baekhyun gets ass drunk and throws up on Kyungsoo's pants. "Shit, sorry—" Baekhyun mumbles when he sees the unattractive pool of white conveniently spilled on Kyungsoo's crotch. "You should probably take that off— take my pants or something." "Booty call!" comes Chanyeol's voice from behind them. Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder and mouths, fuck off. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." "But it's too early and I'm still drinking and—" Kyungsoo slips an arm around Baekhyun's waist and drags him to the bathroom to wash up. He manages to make Baekhyun gargle and wash his face a bit, but Baekhyun is still a mess, so he sits Baekhyun up on the counter. But Baekhyun moves around too much, laughs too much. Sings too well in his drunken state. Baekhyun buries his face in the crook of Kyungsoo's neck. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and keeps stil for a few seconds, trying not to shiver. Here Baekhyun is in all his drunken stupor, careless and carefree, licking his collarbone and whispering things on his skin. Exposed, vulnerable, waiting to be his. He grips Baekhyun by the shoulders and slowly pushes Baekhyun away. "You're drunk." "Are you holding back like the way I do," Baekhyun half-sings, half says in between laughter. Kyungsoo flicks some water in Baekhyun's eyes, but Baekhyun just keeps singing. "Baekhyun, please—" Baekhyun leans in and rests his forehead on Kyungsoo's own. "I know this crush ain't going away." Kyungsoo sucks in air and Baekhyun presses soft lips on his. There it is again, David Archuleta's voice morphing into Baekhyun's, the weird sensation clawing at his chest, rising to his throat. Baekhyun tastes of many different alcoholic drinks, a cheesy love song, and regret, but Baekhyun's hands are snaking around his waist, pulling him closer so that they're grinding against each other. Kyungsoo bucks his hips in reflex and Baekhyun bites too hard on Kyungsoo's lips to keep laughter from spilling from his own. The taste of blood stings Kyungsoo's tongue. Baekhyun's taste is stronger. That night, he watches Baekhyun sleep. There's a few good inches between them and Baekhyun no longer reeks of alcohol and sweat. Kyungsoo had changed him into a fresh white shirt and loose boxers earlier, but not without putting up a fight and trying not to indulge in Baekhyun's attempts at pushing him against the wall. Now, Baekhyun smells of shampoo and powder and Kyungsoo, and a hint of a realization. Kyungsoo rolls over and lies on his side. They're at this point again, where the air thins and Baekhyun's just a reckless decision away. But Kyungsoo believes in logic and planning and thinking things through. He doesn't know how it all happened — one minute, he was exchanging music recommendations with Baekhyun, singing with him, harmonizing; the next minute, he was falling in love. He's spent a couple of nights trying to make sense of things, but all he could hear in his mind was Baekhyun's voice, Baekhyun's shrill laughter, Baekhyun's distinct tone. He closes his eyes. Maybe he's just dreaming. Maybe, when he opens his eyes, everything will go back to the way it was and they'd just be plain old Baekhyun and Kyungsoo again, music buddies, duet partners. But Baekhyun reaches out, pulling him close so that their noses touch. "Aren't you going to sleep," Kyungsoo manages to make out from Baekhyun's murmured remark, and he just lets out a small sound of approval and breathes out. Kyungsoo hears himself singing The Corrs in his mind, stuck on the chorus — What can I do to make you love me? Kyungsoo begins to compile a list of songs he associates with Baekhyun. He reaches a hard stop when, five minutes in, he lists at least three albums worth of songs. Baekhyun can sing the national anthem and Kyungsoo would still associate Baekhyun with it; that's how bad the situation is. When Baekhyun peers over his shoulder and asks what he's working on, he simply replies, "Have you heard of Jamie Cullum? You'd sound good singing his songs." Baekhyun rummages through Kyungsoo's bag and fishes for his iPod. "Is the album here?" Baekhyun asks, and Kyungsoo doesn't even bother to dissuade Baekhyun from going through his music when he nods. Instead, he peeks at the list, but quickly crumples it when Baekhyun slides next to him, then plugs one of the ear buds in his ear. Everything you didn't do is standing right in front of you. By the time they have to do a duet for their second album, the list triples. Kyungsoo pulls a stop completely when Baekhyun asks to co-write the duet with him, says, "You're the only one who can do this right." And who is he, really, to deny a request from Baekhyun? Singing with Baekhyun is one of his responsibilities as a member of the group. Singing with Baekhyun day and night, night and day, comes so naturally to him; singing a solo is almost an afterthought. Kyungsoo finishes writing the song, calling it Let Me Down Easy, and Baekhyun stares at him for a good thirty seconds when he finishes singing it for the first time. "Why do you need to convince me to love you," Baekhyun comments, then reaches out to ruffle Kyungsoo's hair. "It's not about you." "I know. It's about us. Scrap it; write a happier song." "Come on, be real; it's not as if—" Baekhyun grabs a fistful of Kyungsoo's hair and leans in. "I said, write a happier song." Kyungsoo lets his shoulders fall, a faint oh escaping his lips as he does so. Baekhyun removes Kyungsoo's glasses and laughs a little before tilting his head just lightly, pressing their lips together. Kyungsoo sees words — lyrics — at the back of his eyelids, in the crinkle of Baekhyun's eyes when he takes a deep breath as they part, in the curve of Baekhyun's lips. "There's your material," Baekhyun says, then pushes Kyungsoo's glasses back on the bridge of his nose. "Use it well." Kyungsoo bites back the urge to sing his favorite Westlife song and slaps Baekhyun on the butt, instead. The new song Kyungsoo writes doesn't make the second album, but it's catchy enough that it gets stuck on Baekhyun's head for the next few weeks. "I really hate you," he says, seething as Kyungsoo rest his head on Baekhyun's shoulder. "Says the person who has my song covers on his iPod." Baekhyun scowls. "Don't push it." Kyungsoo plugs an earbud in Baekhyun's ear and wears the other, then navigates to a playlist of familiar songs. "Cheesy," Baekhyun says, cackling, but sings along, anyway. The playlist is creatively named Dear B... (Later, while Baekhyun is asleep, Kyungsoo discovers a similar playlist on Baekhyun's iPod. Dear B... is a better title than SDHFAHSSKD by a long, long mile.) --- the songs, listed in the order in which they appear: 1. Project 1.9 - All Figured Out 2. Maroon 5 - Sunday Morning 3. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi - I See The Light 4. Switchfoot - Dare You to Move 5. David Archuleta - Crush 6. The Corrs - What Can I Do 7. Jamie Cullum - Everything You Didn't Do 8. Sheppard - Let Me Down Easy 9. Westlife - Obvious You can listen to the mix (+1 more song) HERE.