7. Home is with you

"I-I have to go."

That was the first thing Jongin said the moment he opened his eyes. Sehun rushed next to him and took his hand. "What—are you okay? You were crying a lot in your sleep…" Jongin nodded weakly; he was feeling weak, tired and a bit sick, but he needed to go back home, to Kyungsoo. He was waiting for him, and he was probably incredibly worried. He glanced at the clock; it was already three in the morning, so he immediately sat up and looked around. Sehun's apartment was simple, even a bit too much: the young man seemed to live in flat that had only a room. Jongin got up and wobbled towards the door, as Sehun helped him to stand.

"You can't go out!" He cried; but Jongin just kept walking and in the end, he managed to go on without the other's help. "I have to." He mumbled weakly. "Kyungsoo is certainly worried, and you need to sleep, too." Sehun lowered his gaze, knowing that he was telling the truth. "Jongin, what are you doing…?" He asked after a long minute of silence. What was he doing with his life? Didn't he want to be happy, too? Didn't he want to smell the scent of freedom and green fields? Didn't he want to grab juicy fruits and bite them with a new, unknown hunger for life? "After what happened to Chanyeol I understood that waiting is only going to harm and cause pain to me." Sehun muttered with a sad tone.

Jongin gasped quietly; he should have expected that, but he didn't want to face the truth yet. It hurt knowing that no one was going to be there with him, in order to be his friend. "When are you going?" He mumbled after a while. "Tomorrow morning." Sehun answered, his gaze still on the ground, not wanting to look Jongin in his eyes. The older man nodded silently and he immediately run away from the house, away from the problems and the cruel truth. He arrived back home in a few minutes, and Kyungsoo welcomed him in worried tears. "Where were you?! It's late, you didn't tell me anything!" Jongin was so happy to see that someone still cared about him that he tightly hugged the man, and he started crying once again. "Kyungsoo!" He sobbed loudly, not caring if it was late.

His lover made him sit on their bed, surprised by that kind of reaction. "Jongin, what happened? Your eyes are so red, did you cry?" Jongin nodded as his body shook hard. "It's Chanyeol…! Kyungsoo, he killed himself!" The other man froze, and only after he saw that Jongin kept crying, he started frantically to shake his head, not wanting to believe those words. "No, it can't be true! Chanyeol is… he was…" The older man's body was shaking, and soon he was sobbing, too. Jongin took his hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to comfort his lover and a bit himself, too. "His body isn't here anymore." He announced as he dried his own tears. "He's now in the dark side." Kyungsoo sobbed harder and clutched his other hand on Jongin's shirt.

"I'm sorry." The younger man muttered, his eyes still shining with tears, his gaze on their linked hands. "I did nothing… I didn't expect him to do such a thing. But Chanyeol is free, now." His lover shook his head once again, not understanding the meaning behind those whispered words filled with sadness; he didn't ask anything, though, way too desperate in order to say something rational. Kyungsoo just wanted to close his eyes and forget everything, in that moment, while Jongin simply decided it was better to remember what happened during those days and especially during that night. "I l-love you…" The older man stuttered as he took Jongin's face in his hand and kissed him on the lips. The other automatically kissed him back, sighing and letting his mind getting cloudy. The kiss was needy, full of fear of losing the other, desperate to reach something that was impossible.

"I love you, too." He heard himself answering back. Was he saying to Kyungsoo or to the soft voice? It didn't matter in that moment, because his lover tugged him to their bedroom; they fell on the bed and Kyungsoo cried himself to sleep, hiding his face on Jongin's chest; their hearts felt heavy, but for very different reasons from each other.

Jongin passed his next day at home, just like Kyungsoo; the older man decided to call Taemin and Minho, and when the couple had arrived, he didn't wait a second and immediately told them what happened to Chanyeol. Both of them shed some tears, but Taemin looked like he really wanted to burst in tears and to sob hard. Kyungsoo had to explain everything, since Jongin refused to speak and talk to Taemin, who, during that short visit, had treated him as if he was going to die, too. "I will go to the borderline, tomorrow." That was the only thing the young man had said to his old friend; that statement didn't surprise Kyungsoo, and he didn't oppose, since he wanted to go, too.

The couple had nodded and before going back home, they reassured Kyungsoo and Jongin they were going to be there, too. The day, though, passed rather slowly for everyone: Jongin didn't want to say goodbye to Sehun, but he was beginning to believe he was going to be happy staying there in Eden with Kyungsoo. He knew that the soft nameless voice was going to watch over him and he was never going to be seriously alone. He was lucky to have them, but he still wanted both of them to be happy. That night, he didn't sleep at all, since he was way too nervous and he couldn't stop imagining how life was going to be for Sehun. Was Luhan going to love Sehun only? Or was he going to stay with Yixing? Did Sehun know about that? Was the nameless voice going to cry every day? With those thoughts, he watched the sunset and with those thoughts, he watched Kyungsoo sleeping in his arms.

There were many people at the borderline, more than the last time Jongin went there to watch at that cruel show based on blood and screams. He was there with Kyungsoo, but he wanted to talk to Sehun alone, since he didn't want his lover to hear anything. "Go up there; I'm coming in a few minutes." Kyungsoo just left him after a peck on his lips and Jongin started to search for Sehun; there were many people, but he managed to get near the gate, where the rest of prisoners were. His young friend was there, but he looked happy and excited to go away from Eden. "Sehun… I'll miss you." He muttered after a sigh. The young man smiled sadly at him, but suddenly Jongin was thrown in his arms.

Kyungsoo was watching down when he saw the usual cart trained by two horses arriving near the gate. Jongin was late, but maybe it was better like that; he didn't want to see him crying ever again. "Kyungsoo!" Someone called; he turned around and he smiled. "Oh, it's you. It's already starting." They both turned around and started looking at those poor citizens being thrown out there. "You know…" The other man started saying. "Jongin won't ever come back." Kyungsoo frowned, not understanding, but he widened his eyes as he stared at a certain white figure on the ground.

A guard recognized Jongin and decided his time had come. The dusty desert welcomed him with his hard ground, and when he stood up once again he didn't even mind the laughing people behind him. He did turn around, thought; he was searching for a particular face in the middle of the crowd. He didn't want to leave without saying nothing, it was wrong of him, especially when he had thought of staying in Eden. He stopped searching when he heard step sounds coming near him. When he turned towards the noise, he felt like his heart stopped for a long second. In front of him, there was a young man with dark eyes and hair and a red, incredibly low-necked shirt. His gaze was magnetic, his lips were curled in a soft smile, and Jongin finally found his voice to talk.

"Tao." He whispered; the name slipped as if he had already said that before, but he couldn't remember when. He didn't mind; he loved how that sounded, he was ready to said thousands of times more, if it was necessary. He was ready to murmur or scream that name for the rest of his life. He was immediately wrapped in a tight hug and Jongin felt tears in his eyes; his heart was bursting with happiness, and suddenly he was complete. He had never realized how much he needed that man before of that. Tao had a sweet scent on his skin—peach, or maybe just a mixture of flowers; but he loved it, just like he loved his silky hair, his smooth cheeks, his roughs hands that carefully took his ones. And of course, his voice. "Jongin, you're really here with me…" Jongin smiled widely, as his cheeks tinted of red. He loved how his name fit perfectly with Tao's soft yet strong voice. The screams were long forgotten, just like Sehun and Kyungsoo, and so he didn't hear someone desperately shouting his name. "Let's go home." Tao tugged him and made him sit on the cart, quickly following him. They sat next to each other, their hands never letting the other go, and only when the cart started moving Jongin realized that in front of him there were Sehun, Luhan and Yixing, too.

He looked behind him: the crowd was just a white spot that blended with Eden's buildings. Now Eden was nothing but a prison to him. He shifted his gaze and he looked at Tao. He was truly handsome, and he was already falling for him even more than before. "Tao." He called; it was like it was the only thing he could say. The man turned around and with a gentle smile, he kissed the younger man on the lips. "I love you." Tao whispered. Jongin grinned and put his arms around the other's neck, starting another kiss. "I love you, too." He answered as he rested his head against his chest. He was going to live in a free world, together with the people he truly loved. He was finally free and he didn't have to suffer anymore, his problems didn't exist anymore. Sehun too was smiling and he blushed when Luhan kissed his cheek.

But behind them, in the middle of the crowd, a man was crying, next to his friend. "I'm sorry, Kyungsoo. He just didn't belong here." Kyungsoo glared at him. "Was it really necessary to throw him out there?! And why didn't you tell me he was dreaming?! I could have helped him!" He snarled. "It was you who started everything! I could have a happy ending, just like you decided to have! Taemin, why?! We were your friends!" The other man looked at the ground and sighed. Kyungsoo was right: it was his fault if Kibum decided to run away. It was his fault if Chanyeol died, because he had told the guards to be cruel with people outside the border. It was his fault if his friend Jongin left Kyungsoo. It was his fault because it was he who had Eden in his hands.

A/N:
I'm sorry to everyone who hoped that Chanyeol and Baekhyun were going to be okay... and to everyone who hoped for a Kaisoo happy ending! ;^:
Anyway, next chapter is going to be the last one; a sort of an epilogue, where I'll explain some things.
So, if you want to know something, please do tell me! I'll include it in the chapter or I'll just answer you ^^

Did you enjoy this chapter? Write me a comment! ;w;
Also, do you like that poster? If you are on tumblr, reblog/like this post! ^^;

Until next time!