Jaehwan almost doesn't want to go outside to watch the stars tonight but when he looks through the window in his bedroom he sees Hongbin walking out to the shore. He flicks his eyes up to the sky but as usual, there are no stars out again. He hopes that maybe, just maybe, the stars might come out when he's standing next to Hongbin. He smiles at the thought of seeing the stars again as he walks down the stairs and out of his front door.

The wind blows as Jaehwan walks across the sand and he pulls his jacket tighter around himself. His hair is probably a mess but he doesn't have the motivation to fix it. It's just Hongbin anyways.

As Jaehwan walks he searches the night sky for a sign that the stars are still there, that Hakyeon really didn't take every star when he left. Hakyeon had left because he'd thought Jaehwan was in love with someone else. Jaehwan never understood why or how Hakyeon could ever think those things, but he likes to believe he's finally starting to get it. It's Hongbin, the person Jaehwan loves. Hongbin hasn't left Jaehwan but he's not Hakyeon. Hakyeon took Jaehwan's whole world and Hongbin is the one taking back every individual star, every piece of Jaehwan. He's placing them in the night sky for Jaehwan to see every night, to help him remember who he is and why Hakyeon left him. Jaehwan thinks that's enough for Hongbin to be his Hakyeon.

Once Jaehwan is close enough to Hongbin he sighs, catching Hongbin's attention. He turns around and smiles when he sees Jaehwan. "I never told you who he thought I was in love with, did I?" Jaehwan asks, his gaze directed at Hongbin instead of the night sky.

Hongbin shakes his head slightly and as the smile slowly disappears from his face, Jaehwan knows why. Knows what Hongbin is thinking. Jaehwan usually ends up crying when Hakyeon is mentioned but not tonight, not under an almost starless night with Hongbin. Jaehwan's smile doesn't falter as he walks to Hongbin's side.

They stand with their shoulders touching and their hands entwined. The wind has dyed down now but Jaehwan doesn't notice as he searches the sky, whispering and begging for the stars to come out in this moment. To stop hiding from nothing.

"You." Jaehwan says finally and Hongbin looks at him, a smile on his face again. "He thought I was in love with you." Jaehwan pauses for a few seconds before opening his mouth again but he closes it right after, shoving the words back down.

"And?" Hongbin asks, urging Jaehwan to continue.

"And I threw away all of the picture I had of Hakyeon and I." He swallows to keep his throat from closing up. He can prove to himself and Hongbin that he is over Hakyeon now. "He's really not coming back this time."

Hongbin doesn't say anything as he looks back up at the sky. There are millions of stars and he wonders if Jaehwan can see any of them. He squeezes Jaehwan's hand twice, a silent question of can you see them?, and Jaehwan squeezes back twice. Yes.

It's been a year since Jaehwan has seen any stars and smiled as wide as he is in this moment. The stars were always Jaehwan's favorite, and Hongbin is happy that Jaehwan can finally see them again. Hakyeon had taken, pulled every single star out of the night sky when he'd left and Hongbin is finally putting each star back where they belong. Each star is a piece of Jaehwan, a piece that Hakyeon had broken and hidden for a year, and each star tells Jaehwan in this moment everything he'd forgotten about himself when Hakyeon had left.

"And..." Jaehwan trails off, not completely sure if he should continue or not. He looks at Hongbin the same time the younger turns his head. Hongbin's eyebrows are raised and his eyes are gentle, telling Jaehwan that he could say whatever he needed.

"And what?" Hongbin asks.

"Nothing." Jaehwan says, his lips curving into another smile. Hongbin smiles too before he looks away but Jaehwan's gaze lingers on his face for a couple more seconds before he looks away, back at the stars that have been hiding for a year.

After a few more minutes of standing there Hongbin pulls on Jaehwan's hand, catching his attention. They start walking away from the shore and Jaehwan pouts. "I don't want to go inside yet." He says and Hongbin starts shaking his head.

They stop walking and Hongbin pulls Jaehwan down to the ground with him. The sand is damp and cold against their legs. "Were not going inside… just laying down instead of standing." Hongbin says and the both of them lay down. Hongbin's arm is wrapped around Jaehwan's back to keep him close and Jaehwan was hesitant to lay his arm across Hongbin's stomach.

Jaehwan has a fuller range of stars to look at now and his smile never fades. His head is resting on Hongbin's chest and a warm feeling floats through Jaehwan's body. Hongbin rubs little circles into his back and although Jaehwan always told Hongbin that it was weird to do that when they hugged for a while, he finds comfort in the tiny motion. Comfort Hakyeon barely ever offered.

When Jaehwan looks away from the stars and the moon and the clouds that make everything look dusty at night, he looks at Hongbin. He doesn't know if he's imagining the stars being there tonight or if he was imagining that the stars were gone the whole time. He doesn't know if the stars will be in the sky tomorrow night or the night after that but all Jaehwan cares about is this moment. Hakyeon had never liked to stay outside everynight with Jaehwan but Hongbin has, and Jaehwan realizes how much it means to him. The stars had disappeared and he was lost without them, but the whole time Hongbin stayed by his side.

Every single night Jaehwan asked Hongbin why Hakyeon had left him and it was the same answer everytime. He doesn't know if Hongbin said the same answer everytime because he was trying to help Jaehwan figure out who he was in love with, or because Hongbin was only trying to help him remember. Either way, Jaehwan found out within himself that he had always been more than friends with Hongbin and had never realized it when he was with Hakyeon.

He was still in love with Hakyeon when he had left though. The Hakyeon who dragged him back to bed, and who (on occasion) stayed outside with Jaehwan to watch the stars. Hakyeon was his whole world and Jaehwan was almost completely lost without him. The stars had disappeard when Hakyeon left and Jaehwan always had the thought in the back of his mind that if he went outside, he would be waisting his time because there would be no stars anyways. He liked to keep his hopes up though.

With Hakyeon, the stars shined beautifully but without Hakyeon they disappeard from Jaehwan. Hongbin had been the one to bring them back to Jaehwan.

The stars were Jaehwan's whole world, not the sun or the daytime, but when everything was dark outside and the stars were one of the brightest things in the night sky. Hongbin brought Jaehwan's world back to him, and Jaehwan couldn't be more thankful for that.

Jaehwan moves the hand he has on Hongbin's hip to Hongbin's hand and entwines their fingers. He squeezes three times, something new to Hongbin and Jaehwan doesn't tell him what it means. Hongbin squeezes back once but it's good enough for Jaehwan.

◇◆◇

The tide rolls over Jaehwan's feet and its not cold or warm. The sun was just beginning to set but he wanted to surprise Hongbin by being out there first. His knees are drawn up to his chest and his fingers were crossed, out of sight of anyone that could see him. He is hoping that the stars would stop hiding when the sky gets darker and the world quiets down.

The last few people left ten minutes ago, Jaehwan counts the seconds until the sun goes down and Hongbin comes outside. The silence is everywhere around him, even the water crashing in the near distance sounds quiet to Jaehwan.

Another minute passes and Jaehwan uncrosses his fingers as the sky grows darker and the first star pops out. He begins to wonder where Hongbin was at. He wouldn't ditch, would he? Hongbin never did even on the many nights when Jaehwan didnt show up.

Two more minutes pass and all of the oranges and pinks and yellows have faded from the sky, replaced with a dark blue and black. The colors are dark, but they bring comfort to Jaehwan. More comfort that Hakyeon had ever provided.

The stars come out one by one, minute after minute, and a smile stretches across Jaehwan's lips. His fingers run through the sand picking some up and letting it sit in his palm, feeling it run through his fingers. He doesn't miss the sound of a door slamming and he waits for Hongbin.

He can hear footsteps in the sand and he smiles wider at the thought of Hongbin finally being there with him.

Hongbin sits down next to him and he sighs. "You're out here early."

Jaehwan looks over at Hongbin. "Yeah.. I kind of wanted to surprise you because I'm never the first one out here anymore ever since Hakyeon left."

Hongbin smiles and looks down at the ground before looking at the stars. Jaehwan chuckles before looking away too.

Jaehwan counts star after star after star. It always amazed him how easy it was to get lost in the night sky.

Jaehwan covers his feet with sand and then watches it fall off as he lifts his feet from the ground. Hongbin does the same after a few minutes of just watching Jaehwan and he smiles softly to himself. Jaehwan can see it out of the corner of his eye and he smiles himself. He hasn't smiled in a while.

Before, a smile was hard for Jaehwan to manage but now, with Hakyeon gone and Hongbin still standing by his side, it was easier. He lets the corners of his lips curve up and feels relief wash through his body.

Hongbin reaches over and slides his fingers against Jaehwan's, locking them together. Jaehwan looks up from the sand and the water that runs over their feet to look at Hongbin only to find that Hongbin was still looking at the stars. It was easy for him to get lost too, Jaehwan concludes.

Jaehwan looks back to the night sky and squeezes Hongbin's hand three times. He smiles when Hongbin only squeezes back once again.

◇◆◇

Jaehwan looks out of the window in his bedroom, the sky already full of stars. He can see Hongbin sitting out there, the same spot they were in last night, and he chuckles lightly at how small Hongbin looks. He throws on a light jacket before leaving the house, his door slamming shut behind him.

He jogs out to the shore to get to Hongbin faster and he watches the stars as he goes along. Once he gets close enough for Hongbin to hear his footsteps he notices Hongbin standing up. He stops jogging a few feet away from where Hongbin stands, his smile wide and full of teeth.

Jaehwan breathes heavily, the jacket he has on makes him a little warmer, and the wind messes up their hair but neither of them do anything about it. Jaehwan decides that he wouldn't trade this moment for anything else in the world.

"Hakyeon left because he thought I was in love with you." Jaehwan says as he walks closer to Hongbin. "I threw away everything that has kept me tied to Hakyeon ever since he left because he isn't coming back this time."

Hongbin's eyebrows furrow and he smiles softly. "I know." He says but Jaehwan shakes his head.

"And…" Jaehwan's voice cuts off and he sighs, looking up to the stars.

"And?" Hongbin asks encouraging Jaehwan to continue.

The wind beings to pick up more and Jaehwan runs a hand through his hair. Their shirts try to fly the way the wind goes and sand brushes past them.

"And I think I'm in love with you." Jaehwan confesses to Hongbin and to himself after a year of believing he wasn't in love with Hongbin.

Hongbin lets the words sink in and Jaehwan smiles watching Hongbin realize what he just said. Hongbin blinks once, twice, before softly taking Jaehwan's face in his hands. The first time their lips touch becomes the most recent memory in Jaehwan's mind instead of Hakyeon.

Hongbin's lips are soft compared to Jaehwan's but it doesn't matter the first time they kiss, or the second, or the third.

They kiss underneath a sky full of stars, the moon and stars their only source of light where they stand. They kiss as the wind blows harder and the water crashes against the shore behind them. They kiss to forget all the times Jaehwan had been hurt and to remember the true reason why Hakyeon had left. Jaehwan wouldn't trade this moment, as they stand with their lips connected and wind blowing, for anything else in the world.

Out of all the times Jaehwan had wondered how it would feel to kiss Hongbin, none of it compares to the actual thing.

For the rest of the night they follow their usual routine of watching the stars and Jaehwan squeezing Hongbin's hand three times. Jaehwan expected one squeeze back from Hongbin but he gets three instead. Jaehwan smiles the widest he has ever since Hakyeon had left, and he's happy that Hongbin is the first person to see it.

People usually think that darkness and night are the endings of some things but to them, it was the beginning of their new found relationship, happiness, and the ending of Jaehwan's pain.

I know it's been a while since I last updated but I hope that you enjoyed the final chapter! I also hope that this was an enjoyable story to read because I had so much fun writing it for you guys. There might be a sequel coming soon so if i do write it, i will put a link here to it incase anyone would want to read it!