7/12 with Lay!

There's a reason why people never agree to the beagle line's ideas.

But they are beagles after all, incorrigible pups who hash out a masterplan and persuade one very oblivious unicorn into carrying out for them.

"What should we do for vacation this time?" Suho asks at a very inopportune time when most people are chewing away at their fried chicken or flopped face-down on the studio floor.

Baekhyun kicks a leg out at Lay immediately, to which the poor unicorn reacts badly and blurts out "Baekhyun's grandmother's house!" in self-defence.

Chen, on the opposite side of the circle, slaps a hand against his own forehead in exasperation. Trust Lay to forget what their carefully revised plans are despite an entire hour of drilling it into him.

"Ah? Oh! We should go on a roadtrip!"

Suho narrows his eyes, since it sounds suspiciously like a certain vocal beagle group's idea, but Lay looks so innocent that Suho just put his instincts aside and rolls with it. "Awesome! Let's do it!"

"We should invite ___ along too!"

The unicorn genuinely cheers at he prospect of his girlfriend joining them.

And that is precisely how everyone is stuck outside in the cold at a gloomy 5AM, waiting impatiently to get into the van.

"Who thought this was a good idea?" you grumble as you hop up and down trying to warm yourself up.

Lay stops you and gives you an eskimo kiss with a guilty smile. "Ah don't say that yet- it will be fun!"

"It'd better be."

But the first obstacle in the roadtrip makes itself apparent before the van even begins moving. You guessed it. Seating arrangements.

Every long trip incites heated arguments about who will sit where no matter how early it is in the morning, or how cold it is.

Kai goes into the van first while most are still bickering outside and makes a nest with a pillow and blanket in the back corner. Kyungsoo in an attempt to find peace, follows and takes a seat beside him, knowing that Kai will probably sleep the entire way.

Suho starts scolding the members and ushering them into the van like a shepherd would do with sheep. Petulant protests ensue. You squeeze into the row in front of Chen and Chanyeol with much regret and slide in beside Lay yearning to distance yourself from the loudness. Your poor ears. The beagle line will most likely sing karaoke for a good portion of the journey.

Then Baekhyun gets into third seat in your row and slams the door shut. You mentally prepare for the onslaught of noise and jostling that is sure to happen in the following hours.

Lay puts a cloud-shaped pillow on his shoulder and gestures for you to put your head there. Once you're comfortable, he drapes a blanket around the two of you and lets his head bump yours.

The van barely gets going, and Baekhyun starts complaining.

"They're third-wheeling me," he groans and tries to sneak under the blanket. Suho, who is preoccupied with driving responsibly, hands Kyungsoo a rolled up newspaper with which he deals Baekhyun a scarily accurate blow without even looking back to aim.

"Don't harass them."

"Your hands are so cold Baekhyun-"

Chen dangles a hot pack in front of your face. "Do you need this?"

You gently move it away from you. "Thank you, but no. I think Baekhyun needs it more."

Chen laughs and chucks the hot pack at the unsuspecting beagle's head. "Hey, you can cuddle the hot pack if you're feeling lonely."

That gets a chorus of laughter and a long whine from Baekhyun, and everything seems to be sailing smoothly-

Until the van breaks down.

Luckily it's not in the middle of nowhere, and Suho makes a stressed trek to the nearest car rental place after calling people to come and do something with the van.

You and the rest of EXO are thus huddled on the side of the road until help arrives to take the van away and Suho dials you anxiously.

"Yeah just get Google map directions for the location I just sent you. Please stay safe and watch out for cars... Also don't forget regular headcounts."

"Relax. It's 500 metres. They're adults."

"You're hilarious ___. As if that makes a difference. Have you seen that lot?"

"True. See you soon!"

"Guys let's go find the car rental place."

Within 10 minutes, all of you are back on the road in two separate cars. Unfortunate luck puts you in the presence of Chen and Chanyeol again, but at least Suho is driving. The other car is having Kyungsoo drive (ha).

Honestly, everyone might be wondering why Kyungsoo being the driver is a problem. So let the author explain. Kyungsoo is a magnificently placid person 95% of the time despite his occasional Satan moments, but once he gets behind the wheel... Well that 95% calmness turns into -95%.

He literally has no chill. From slamming the brakes unnecessarily hard to blasting the horn to even the rare curse, Kyungsoo is a changed man with zero sympathy for his passengers.

But moving on, since this vivid description of Kyungsoo's driving habits is detracting from the story's overall romantic feel. Let's put in a few more squeal-inducing moments, right? I'll just gloss over a rather unspectacular period of time and fast-forward past another minor incident involving Chanyeol needing to pee, half of the members demanding a gas station break and a subsequent sugar high from convenience store candy.

Wait no no, there was a cute romantic moment there. While everyone pushed and shoved to stretch their legs, buy food or run for the bathroom, Lay tried to convince you to go out too.

But it was too cold for your liking outside, so you refused. Nevertheless, he carried you out, swathed the blanket around you and let you stand next to the car looking like a snowman.

Lay ran off to the convenience store which was part of the gas station, and returned with two steaming styrofoam cups, and some edible goodies in a plastic bag. He came to a halt by the car moments later, in confusion because of why you weren't where he put you.

You waved from inside where you had stretched yourself out over the row of seats for comfort, and Lay gave a sigh of relief, then presented you with your food. He clambered in beside you, and told Suho to push the schedule back half an hour so you could enjoy a peaceful meal break exchanging spoonfuls of assorted delights and sipping hot chocolate without worrying it would splash everywhere and scald someone.

Well, eventually Chanyeol did scald himself, but at least it wasn't your fault. Then Suho got really antsy about moving on, and about hotel check-in times, so you were forced to strap yourself in, and let Baekhyun into the car.

Somewhere along the way Suho lost sight of the other car because Kyungsoo got distracted and decided to speed ahead in an impromptu race of sorts with another driver. He had to threaten the fiery-tempered man into stopping by the road, and you and Lay took advantage of that with another mini-picnic spread over your laps.

Baekhyun stole some food, and Chen still kept trying to offer hotpacks, but that thankfully didn't ruin the atmosphere.

Now, you're cooped up in a hotel room, but Lay is rooming with you, so it's a lucky thing. He's finishing off a shower while you try to block out the noise of Suho frantically yelling about how he's never organising a roadtrip again.

"Hey ___," Lay says sweetly as he steps out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. The steam puffs out from behind him, making him look like he just stepped out of heaven.

"You're going to get cold! Put on a shirt!"

But do you really want to make him put on a shirt? Yes. Kind of.

And he reads your mind. "Sure about that?"

You pout huffily and chuck the magazine you were reading in his direction. He catches it smoothly, puts it down on the bed, throws on a shirt and slides under the covers with you.

"Okay what shall we do?"

"Read to me."

Lay complies endearingly, reading sections out of different columns in improving Korean. You sit against the headboard, leaning on his shoulder and following the words silently.

As his voice always does, it sends you to dreamland without much struggle.

~

When you wake up it's almost 11AM, obviously way past the time Suho would've allowed. Lay is already awake, and turns out the rest of EXO has gone on without the two of you since your boyfriend refused to let them wake you up. It seems a little silly that they've continued on even though the person who suggested the trip in the first place is next to you, head propped up with a hand on his chin as he admires your features closely.

But you're not complaining at all. Lay explains he has planned a few relaxed days for the two of you, and to be very frank, you are looking forward to it much more than you were to the roadtrip.

"How's breakfast in the brilliantly warm and cosy Sunlit gardens," Lay reads from a tourist pamphlet.

"Sounds good," you murmur, reaching up to press your lips his sweetly.

Lay smiles at you and reciprocates tenderly. "Let's go."