As soon as Yixing made it through the door of their dorm he was stampeded by an extremely enthusiastic and boisterous beagle line, followed by Jongin who sleepily grinned and pulled him into a hug and Kyungsoo who nodded in greeting, hanging back to give him some space. Once the hubbub died down a little, Minseok and Junmyeon patted him firmly on the back before offering to take his bags and swatting at the beagle line, scolding them for being so noisy when their hyung must be so tired.

Something uncomfortable tugged at Yixing’s chest as he looked around at each of his fellow members. Something was missing. Someone was missing. He frowned.

“Where’s Sehun?” He asked Junmyeon, attempting to sound casual but he could tell from the way Junmyeon’s expression changed he hadn’t quite pulled it off.

“In the living room. He fell asleep waiting for you.”

Junmyeon was smiling warmly but there was something mischievous and knowing about it, like he was privy to a secret and silently promising to keep it and it made Yixing feel oddly embarrassed. He thanked him, blushing a little, before slipping away from his greeting party to pad quietly into the living room. The heaviness that had settled in his chest lifted immediately and bloomed into light, fluttering warmth as he took in the sight of Sehun curled up as small as his tall frame would allow on the couch, clutching his phone tightly in one hand and a cushion in the other.

“Sehunnie,” Yixing whispered, crouching down to run a hand through Sehun’s hair. It had grown longer since he saw him last.

Sehun opened his eyes slowly, sleepy and a little disorientated. “Ge?”

“I’m here.”

Sehun sat up suddenly, unsettling the cushion he’d been holding onto and knocking it onto the floor.

“You’re here!” he said, face lighting up into one of his trademark crescent moon eye smiles. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Yixing beamed, flopping down tiredly on the couch next to Sehun who immediately draped himself across his lap, sighing in contentment. Yixing resumed running his fingers through Sehun’s hair, humming happily and listening to the low buzz of the rest of the member’s voices as they each got ready for bed.

“I didn’t know you were going to be away for so long again,” Sehun murmured after a few minutes had passed. A familiar leaden feeling sunk heavy in between Yixing’s ribs like an anchor without its chain. His hand stilled in Sehun’s hair and the younger turned in Yixing’s lap to face him, eyes shining bright in the dim of the room. “Junmyeon hyung kept saying you’d be back soon.” He smiled sheepishly. “I think he was beginning to get tired of me asking about you.”

“Sehun, I--” Yixing began, but Sehun quickly interjected.

“Hyung, it’s okay. you don’t have to apologise for anything. I know how hard you work and I know it’s not your fault and I know you really love China because of course you do, it’s your home.” He looked away, hands fidgeting in his lap. “I was just being a baby about it.”

Yixing managed a smile. “Perfectly understandable, considering you are Exo’s baby after all,” he teased, poking at Sehun’s flat tummy.

Sehun feigned offence, pouting and furrowing his brows in an exaggerated frown and Yixing couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering the frowny emoji Sehun had texted him hours earlier.

“What’s so funny?”

Yixing shrugged. “Nothing really. Just -- you.”

“Me?” said Sehun, smiling despite himself. “What about me?”

“I love you,” wasn’t exactly supposed to slip out in that moment but to Yixing’s horror it did; hanging between them in limbo as Sehun froze, silly smile slipping from his face and morphing into something terrifyingly unreadable. He sat up from Yixing’s lap.

“You...” Sehun faltered, voice so quiet Yixing had to strain to hear him over the sound of his own erratically racing heartbeat. “You love me?”

“Yes,” said Yixing, closing his eyes to avoid Sehun’s searching gaze and to brace himself for Sehun’s answer.

“Again.”

Yixing’s eyes shot open. “Sehunnie?”

“Say it again,” He breathed, and all at once Yixing understood. He gently took Sehun’s face in his hands.

“I’m in love with you,” he said, leaning in to bump his nose against Sehun’s. “Deeply,” a soft press of lips to his cheek, “desperately,” a kiss on the forehead, “maddeningly-” Sehun’s breath hitched as Yixing began mouthing at his jaw, down to his neck and back up again to peck teasingly at the corner of his mouth. Sehun whined and, taking the hint, Yixing finally cupped the back of Sehun’s neck to close the distance between them and kiss him deeply, revelling in the way he sighed into his mouth and moaned softly when Yixing traced his bottom lip with his tongue.

He pulled away quickly, though, when the reality of the situation suddenly dawned on him and Sehun actually whined, making matters ten times worse.

“We really shouldn’t be kissing in the middle of the dorm like this,” he explained, trying - and failing - to not stare at Sehun’s pretty pink mouth.

“I’m pretty sure everyone’s in bed right now,” Sehun said, staring right back at Yixing’s mouth in return.

“Someone could still walk in and catch us,” he said unconvincingly, angling his head to kiss Sehun again anyway.

“Then you’ll just have to take me to your room,” Sehun said once they’d parted again, smiling cheekily and Yixing playfully smacked his arm.

“You’re terrible.”

“But you love me,” Sehun retorted. Yixing shook his head in mock exasperation and pulled himself up from the couch. He offered a hand to help Sehun up too, who took it and held it tight and refused to let it go until they made it to Yixing’s room. They hastily got ready for bed, stealing glances and smiling giddily at each other until they were both finally settled down in Yixing’s bed. Sehun immediately curled into Yixing’s side, tangling their legs together. “I love you too,” he said quietly and Yixing searched for his hand in the dark to squeeze it in response. “I’m so glad you came back.”

“Me too,” Yixing whispered. He yawned, exhaustion finally catching up with him again, but he was warm, and he could smell Sehun’s shampoo and feel the rise and fall of his chest as his breathing slowly evened out. He smiled to himself in the dark, “Goodnight, Sehunnie.”

“Mm, goodnight, hyung,” Sehun mumbled sleepily.

It was difficult, travelling to and from countries and finding himself in a different city every other day, spending what felt like half of his life on planes and missing activities with his fellow members.

But in moments like this, Yixing thought, as Sehun sighed contentedly in his sleep, it was worth it all.

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a/n: WOW ok guys i got a little carried away with this chapter like it honestly wasn't supposed to be this long or cheesy or end with declarations of love but it just ??? sort of happened ??? i can't help myself with ing apparently

also fun fact my internet went down literally just as i was originally about to publish this so it's later than intended rip