'Why are we holding hands?'
'How did we end up holding hands?' He thought, almost frozen tot he spot.
His eyes drew very cautiously up his arm and his heart fell out from beneath him. If he wasn't already sitting down, he very much thought his legs would have either froze solid or just became jello beneath him. Because Baekhyun was clutching his hand, their fingers intertwined. And his brain reeled as it assessed the situation and searched for an answer. It took him a moment before the fog over his thoughts lifted and he remembered Baekhyun being thrown into him. And him, clutching onto Chanyeol's hand to steady himself and push away so he could stand up and counterbalance.
And in all the fuss, they had just forgotten to let go. Because at the time there were more important things going on.
Much more important things.
Now...
Well...
Now, he struggled to find a way to let go without it being totally obvious to do so.
'And if he did that, was it rude? Had Baekhyun even noticed their hands still intertwined?' The more he thought about it the more he realized his arm was actually being pulled slightly up because of Baekhyun's arm's length compared to his own. And that their hands were just sort of suspended there carelessly. He couldn't even tell from his angle if it was hurting or uncomfortable for Baekhyun.
He tested it gently very slightly moving his fingers.
Baekhyun didn't seem to notice.
So he tried to retract them slowly. His mind and body working carefully, slowly like a snail.
"Ah! Are you feeling better now?" Chanyeol heard Baekhyun ask. And he turned to look to see the girl hobbling over, shoes off and ankle wrapped in a small white bandage.
Baekhyun stepped forward and his hand slipped out from Chanyeol's as he raised his hand out to the girl so she could take it and help her back into her spot in the picture.
Chanyeol breathed a sigh of relief. Then Baekhyun walked up to him, clutching the girl in hand gently as if she were porcelain.
"Would it be okay if she sat here on this one Chanyeol?" Baekhyun asked innocently.
Chanyeol stared in shock for a moment before nodding and popping up out of the seat quickly.
"Of course... I... Uh... Yes. I hope you feel better." He said and then smiled softly at the girl who flushed and mumbled a gentle thank you.
Chanyeol stepped back and turned to look at the group. And noticed people were staring at him in open shock, awe, and with curiosity twinkling their features.
For a moment he was confused. Then remembered Baekhyun had called him by his name,
"I was... Am the contest winner... It's on my tickets." He said nervously. But they all nodded with understanding. And he let out a little sigh of tension.
"Stand beside me!" Baekhyun said, Popping up next to him. Startling him, a little with how fast he had appeared back at his side.
"Huh? ..." He fumbled.
"You're tall..."
"Too tall to be in the front of the picture without sitting down. That's why we had gotten you sitting down at first. That way the photographer wouldn't have to zoom out to fit your head into the frame." Baekhyun said cheerfully.
Chanyeol blushed a deep scarlet embarrassed, but grateful they had tried to do such a sweet thing for him discreetly. But now felt super awkward knowing that this was a problem.
"Don't worry... we will just get them to zoom out to fit in your big head. There is nothing else to be done." Chanyeol turned to look at Baekhyun mouth agape.
"Well, don't stand there, we don't have all day," Baekhyun said as he walked to his spot in the back and stood there waiting for him.
Chanyeol nodded, feeling utterly foolish and then squeezed into the back beside him. He felt so large, and cumbersome standing there now.
Never had he been so aware of his size before.
"Don't worry, this is a better spot for this anyway," Baekhyun said gently. And then Chanyeol had to hold in a gasp as Baekhyun slipped his hand back into his own large palm.
"Smile," Baekhyun said cheekily and then raised their hands up in the air.
Chanyeol only had a split second to hold on and smile. His brain was too frozen to do anything else.
'What was Baekhyun thinking?'
***