Chanyeol woke up in his room, all alone, and realized that he liked it more when Baekhyun was there to wake up next to him.

Baekhyun was basically living in his room and it felt weird not seeing his face first thing in the morning.

He stayed laying there for a few minutes after opening his still heavy eyelids processing that thought. The shorter shadowhunter had entered his life so unexpectedly but he had made it so much more interesting.

Chanyeol came from a family of proud shadowhunters that fought demons to protect humans ever since the Archangel created their special species. His parents were known for their contribution to the community and he and his sister were excellent at their missions.

Baekhyun came from a family that had decided to leave the dangerous life of shadowhunters behind. His parents had gotten their runes stripped from their skin and moved on as normal people. The Sight had led Baekhyun to the Institute, asking for help, asking for an explanation for that gift of his. It was completely unexpected, but after the head of the Institute had explained everything to him, every little detail about what he was, what his parents had done, what the world that he could finally see clearly hid, he had decided to become a proper shadowhunter like he was supposed to be and never see his parents or brother again. 

Training Baekhyun was difficult. All the young shadowhunters started training after getting their first rune drawn onto them, usually at around twelve years. Baekhyun was already 19 and he wasn't the most active person in the world either. It took time and a lot of effort but Chanyeol, Joonmyun, Kyungsoo and Minseok were able to get him ready for the battles to come.

Their attraction was mutual and it didn't take long before it became apparent. Baekhyun was not the type of person to beat around the bush. He had pinned Chanyeol against one of the walls of the gym when they were training until late one night. He had left him no room for escaping and he had kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

Joonmyun, Chanyeol's parabatai, had gotten a little thrown off after they announced that they were officially dating, mostly because she secretly had a crush on Baekhyun for a significant amount of time, but it was impossible for her to stay mad at her best friends over something so stupid for more than two days. Minseok knew that they would end up together since the first time he saw them next to each other, so he was more than pleased with the outcome. Kyungsoo had not made a comment and had just accepted the fact. He really didn't seem to mind the new information.

The sun shining through the open window indicated that he had slept for longer than usual. Not that he complained, however he could admit that it was rather strange. The institute was never quiet, at least not that quiet. After taking a deep breath, he got up and started getting dressed to inspect the situation.

Everyone, except from Joonmyun, was sitting around the table in the kitchen, quietly eating their breakfast. Minseok was on his phone, probably texting his mundane girlfriend that was oh-so-totally-okay with what they were and what they did. Kyungsoo was reading a book. Baekhyun was eating his cereal, his back turned to him.

"Still giving me the cold shoulder?" the tall male asked his boyfriend as he sat down next to him, grabbing the box of cereal to pour some for himself. That was going on for three days already.

"I'll stop giving you the cold shoulder when you start really trusting me, ." he replied with a smile and got up from his seat, leaving the room, his cereal half-eaten. Baekhyun was not one to care about proper language ethics, especially when he was angry about something.

Chanyeol could only sigh.

"What did you do again?" Kyungsoo asked and Chanyeol was surprised for a moment. Kyungsoo never cared for that kind of stuff.

"His brother got into a car accident. A demon must have located him, you know, shadowhunter blood and all that jazz. It wasn't anything major, they contained it early, the guy didn't even realize a thing. He got a couple of bruises but that's it." Chanyeol explained.

"By the Angel, really? When did that happen?" Minseok asked, clearly concerned. That was more of a regular behavior.

"About a month ago. And Baekhyun wasn't supposed to know about it. And now he does and he also knows that I knew and I didn't tell him." he explained further and ran a hand through his newly died, red hair, courtesy of Minseok's very stylish, very mundane girlfriend.

"Ouch..." Minseok muttered. 

"You have to fix this." he continued but Chanyeol was already out of the room, searching for his boyfriend.

They were complete opposites but Chanyeol wouldn't have it any other way. Baekhyun was all rough edges, his patience nonexistent, his mouth uncontrollable and could fire out such hate when he wasn't in control. However, when he was calm he was all giggles and smiles. His kisses were equally perfect, sweet or scorching hot. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was always careful with his words and actions and didn't really get mad. However, he could turn into himself really easily. He may be friendly and approachable but it took him a lot time to actually show his true colors to another individual.

The tall redhead found Baekhyun sitting in the library, a place that he normally hated for being so quiet and boring. He was sitting on the floor, his back resting against one of the large bookcases.

"He is my brother, Chanyeol. He is part of my family. This is not a ing children's matter. This is important." he said the moment Chanyeol walked into the room. Baekhyun's senses were better than anyone else's in their small group.

He approached him with big steps and sat down next to him, once again in a time span of an hour.

"Do you want me to say sorry? Do you want me to promise you that I won't do it again? I think that you know better than that." he replied and he was in awe with the firmness of his voice. His feelings for Baekhyun always got in the way when they were talking about something serious and he always backed out. He wanted to always please him and he had to admit that Baekhyun's opinion was more often than not the right one. Not that time, though.

"I know that I can't meet them again, but knowing is a completely different thing." The black haired male said and for the first time in three days, he turned to look him in the eyes. His dark eyes were hiding the pain and sorrow of his soul, but Chanyeol had long ago figured how to read them. There was nothing he could hide from him anymore. The eyes were the window to the soul, after all.

"You don't want me to ever lie to you but you do it so easily to yourself right now." Chanyeol deadpanned and that earned him two eyes full of tears from Baekhyun. They both knew that he would have gone running to make sure that his brother was safe and sound.

Chanyeol raised his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had escaped the shorter male's eyes. 

"It's not that I don't trust you. I just want to keep you from getting into trouble." he explained. 

Baekhyun replied with a kiss. He cupped Chanyeol face and kissed him like there was no tomorrow, just like he had done on their first kiss, just like he did after each and every one of their fights, no matter whose fault it was. Besides his eyes, Chanyeol had also managed to decipher his kisses. These desperate kisses were exchanged only when Baekhyun was scared. Firstly, scared of giving a big part of himself to Chanyeol and every time after than losing Chanyeol along with that part of his.

It took Chanyeol a little while but he finally understood that it wasn't a completely irrational fear. Baekhyun had lost a lot already.

"You are too kind to me." he whispered after breaking the kiss that he initiated.

"I'm not complaining, though. Keep up the good work." he added and broke into a smile, tears still threatening to escape his eyes.

"Hmmm....I guess I love you too much..." Chanyeol told him, in the same, whispered tone.

And he truly meant it. The amount of adoration he felt for Baekhyun was something new to him, something completely strange, something that could most probably destroy him, maybe destroy them both. However, he liked the current reality. Even with its ups and downs. It was a challenge and he always up for a challenge.

The next morning he woke up with his boyfriend in his arms, breathing on his chest, filing him with a special kind of warmth. His black hair was a mess and his matching black T-shirt was a little lifted, letting him take a peak at the soft, smooth, pale skin of his stomach. The runes and the scars that they left behind were enough to remind him that they were equally strong, equally clever, equally good shadowhunters but Chanyeol knew that he would always get a little extra worried about his wellbeing, no matter the circumstances.

A frantic knocking on the door didn't let him enjoy the feeling as much as he wanted.

"Chanyeol, Baekhyun get both of your asses to the weapon's room. We have a problem." Minseok's loud voice was ringing in his ears even after he stopped screaming. 

"Good morning to you, too." Chanyeol said back mockingly and kissed Baekhyun, who got up with a yawn, on the cheek.

"It's about Jongin." Minseok said after a few silent moments, his voice a lot softer that time, and it was enough to make the both of them run to the door.