(A/N: Warning - suuuuuper dramatic and cheesy)

Yixing's POV

There were only two more people to bring to Tao's mind for the meeting. I trusted the wolf knew what it was doing when it decided to bring everyone together, but something felt off. Maybe it was a side effect of dipping into so many different minds, but I started to feel strange, like I had suddenly been plugged into an outlet and energy was being stored somewhere I couldn't reach.

My senses were growing. In this new dream world I entered, my vision was expanded far out to include much more of the room it displayed than in all the other dreams I'd experienced. I never knew just how little I actually saw of the other's dreams until then.

But maybe Baekhyun's abillity helped to show even more.

Light bounced off of the walls of a spacious yet nearly bare room that looked to be still under construction. Large windows set in these walls let in much of this light, but the brightest source came from a boy, Baekhyun in fact, lying on a section of floor covered in a white tarp. This boy was not alone; another lay close by the bright boy's side, trailing fingers over nonsensical patterns of light glowing beneath the other's skin.

"It's really never been so bright." said Baekhyun in a soft voice to the other boy, Chanyeol, ignoring my entrance into his dream entirely. "I think that's because I like you." he continued with a playful smile.

"Yeah?" Chanyeol chuckled in the same kind of low voice, the kind that greeted only themselves and no intruders into their bubble made just for them. "Well, I like you too."

"Oh, you do? I couldn't tell by the way you practically yelled my ear off yesterday." Baekhyun chuckled in kind. "I'm surprised Sehun didn't kick us both out of the gym. BAEKHYUUUUN-" he imitated the other in a loud whisper. "-BAEKHYUN, I REALLY LIKE YOU. YOU'RE PERFECT AND I LIKE YOU AND I THINK YOU'RE MY SOULMATE."

"I think I was a little more elegant than that with my wording."

"No," Baekhyun laughed out. "You weren't."

Chanyeol leaned over and kissed him softly. "Maybe I wasn't." he murmured.

"Maybe?"

"I was a little excited."

"A little?"

"Okay, now you need to shut up."

Clearly taken aback, Baekhyun did as told and bit his lip to keep from speaking.

"No, no," Chanyeol shook his head carelessly. "This is the part when you're supposed to say 'make me' and then I kiss you and it's all romantic and passionate and stuff."

"Oh, okay, I didn't know." Baekhyun agreed with a nod before clearing his throat and putting on a seductive face with ease. "Make me." the teen ordered Chanyeol in a sultry voice, and I sighed as they kissed again. What a cute memory.

"No, no, no-" Chanyeol said again, parting away from their kiss early. "This isn't right. I think we have to start all over."

Laughing and clutching his stomach, Baekhyun asked, "Why do we have to start over? You really want to start over? BAEKHYUUUN-" he started loud-whispering again. "BAEKHYUN I LOVE YOU, BE MINE BAEKHYUUUN. BAEKHYUUUUUUUUUN-" he cut off under the force of Chanyeol's quick kiss on the cheek.

"I didn't say that. I didn't say that I love you."

Face falling under the realization, Baekhyun uttered a quiet, "Oh."

"I should have." Chanyeol continued, looking disappointed in himself. "Because I do love you."

"It hasn't even been a full day. You don't love me; you like me."

His eyebrows met sternly in the middle of his forehead. "No, I love you." he insisted.

"Then prove it."

The kiss this time was a surprising mashing of lips, definitely the kind that causes broken capillaries.

"Was that good?" Baekhyun asked between a flurry of more kissing. Was he planning on making out with his Dream Chanyeol in front of me?

"Yeah-huh," that dream boy groaned back excitedly, muffled because the other began using teeth to tug on his lips.

"Uhm, Baekhyun?" I called out, suddenly unsure if he knew I was there.

"Shut it, Xing!" Baekhyun shot back.

Startled, I let him resume his previous activities and sat down against a wall to wait. So he wanted to play a bit longer, I could understand. I just hoped it didn't take long.

But it turned out that I didn't have to wait. Baekhyun left behind kissing to begin apologizing while holding his dream tighter, who began to move down to his neck instead. "-sorry, I'm sorry, I just-" He stopped and closed his eyes as Chanyeol's right hand roamed over his stomach and smoke began to issue from under the left that lay on the tarp just by his head.

"Baekhyun," I called again, in worry this time. Baekhyun's face scrunched in pain, causing tears to eke out of his eyes, but he didn't move away from the hand that burned him. His Dream Chanyeol didn't seem to notice right away, but the smell of the tarp turning black must have reached him as he broke away from the other with a start.

"I hurt you!" The Dream Chanyeol looked stunned. "But the wolf said-" Abruptly, he stopped and froze as if Tao had used his power on the boy.

But it wasn't Tao who did this - it was Baekhyun. He had stopped his dream of his own will to stare up into the boy's shocked face. "The wolf told him to find his soulmate because that's the only way to lose his powers." he explained, still unmoving from where he lay. "Chanyeol told me a few minutes before this memory that losing the fire in his chest was his biggest wish. You know, I almost believed him when he said he loved me, but what if he only wanted to use me to get rid of his power?"

I came to crouch by his side, observing the frozen boy myself. "Chanyeol is the type to say the truth without thinking. When he said he loved you, that was the truth."

"Then why was he so quick to leave?"

"I don't know. I'm going to his dream next. Do you want to come with and find out?" I offered. Xiumin had requested to visit Luhan's dream, so I knew already that I could do it, I could bring him with me no problem.

Baekhyun lovingly brushed back his Dream Chanyeol's hair with his fingers. "Yeah," he answered in a rush of breath. "Let me just-"

The dream lunged forward into play again, with Chanyeol leaving off exactly where he had stopped mid-ramble. "-to find my soulmate. You have to be my soulmate, Baek; I love you. You're light and I'm fire, so it makes sense, but I hurt you..." He trailed off, looking at the small burn mark with guilt and confusion. "I can't believe I hurt you; I shouldn't be able to. I didn't mean to, I promise-" He gasped in epiphany, eyes wide. "I was wrong. I was wrong; it's not you. How can it not be you? I was so sure. If it's not you... But what goes together better than fire and light?"

"I don't know." Baekhyun answered in a monotonous voice simply to keep the memory moving.

"It's not water, that's for sure... Ah! Fire and power!" he shouted, getting up and nearly skating towards a wide screen glass door in his rush to leave. "It's Kyungsoo! Baek, I'm sorry, I'll be back - I just- I have to see-" The door behind him was left wide open, letting in a cool breeze.

"He really just left you here like that?" I asked, a little shocked.

Steadily, Baekhyun stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles of his uniform - the new one he picked out from Suho's parents' shop. "It's not like the burn was severe and he did say he was coming back. I'm the one who decided not to wait that long."

I set a hand on his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry I couldn't heal your broken heart, but I can heal that burn again." I offered, pointing to his clothed stomach with my other hand. He nodded and it didn't take long for the little wound to disappear, especially since it didn't actually exist anymore - it was just another part of his dream.

"Let's go; I don't want to stick around here any longer."

"What is this place anyways?" I asked, looking around the partially built house bathed in morning light.

"I don't know." Baekhyun shrugged as I took his hand. "It looked nice, so we broke in."

It did look nice. I hummed a little as I took one last look, then turned my concentration around to find Chanyeol.

***

This wasn't a memory.

Stepping into Chanyeol's dream was like stepping into hell. Where Baekhyun and I stood was a deep cavern that was suffocatingly hot with no openings anywhere. In the distance, a constant sound of a crackling fire echoed. The dark rock walls around us and even the ground below all glowed a flickering orange with heat like the embers of a fire. Everywhere, blackened hand prints were stamped across the rock, often in swiping movements as if someone had repeatedly clawed at every corner of the cavern trying to get out.

In the middle of the cavern sat Chanyeol on his knees, looking at nothing, seeing nothing. His clothes were burned in many places, his sleeves ripped and falling off his shoulders. Even his skin looked to be charred all over. He looked up at us as we approached with red-rimmed eyes sporting molten orange irises.

"You shouldn't come any closer." he warned in a run down voice.

Ignoring this, Baekhyun collapsed to his knees in front of the boy, eyes inspecting every inch of the destruction on Chanyeol's body. With shaking fingers, he just barely touched the boy's cheek before yanking his hand back with a hiss of pain. His fingertips were scalded. I sat down next to him and held his hand, healing the small burns quickly.

"I thought I could get rid of it." Chanyeol continued, molten eyes watching with detached interest. "I thought if I just found my soulmate, it would be gone, and I could go back to you without hurting you, but it came back stronger."

Baekhyun looked to me and I could tell what he wanted me to do. I lay a hand at his back and nodded to show I understood. Without any hesitation, he jumped back to caressing Chanyeol's face, involuntarily crying as he the charred skin. With my help, he was able to endure the pain as I constantly sent power into calming his pain receptors and healing the new burns being formed.

The light in Chanyeol's eyes seemed to come back to life as the molten orange was replaced with a cool, familiar brown. It was like Baekhyun had healing powers of his own; underneath his hands, the dry, blackened skin faded back to normal again. The original smoothness of Chanyeol's skin spread across his face and down his body, peeking out through the holes burnt in his clothes.

"Why do you insist on hurting yourself to be with me?" Chanyeol asked in a much more alert voice, keeping his own arms stiff at his sides and refusing to move in any way except to clench his hands into fists on the ground beside him. "I'm not worth it, Baek."

"Whether you're worth it or not, it's too late. I already love you." the other countered. "And staying away from you hurts so much more than a few burns." Suddenly, Baekhyun threw himself forward to hug the teen, causing a gasp from him. I had to struggle to keep up with the new burns now covering much more of his skin than before.

"Baek-"

"For the record, you will always be worth it!" Baekhyun hissed back in what was undoubtedly a voice burderned with pain. "You are perfect and I love you, you dork!"

"Baekhyun, let go." Chanyeol warned, and I spotted flames flaring to life around the edges of the cavern, up the rock walls and growing in height with each passing second.

"No!"

"Baekhyun-" I called to him, as the heat only seemed to grow stronger. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up.

"No, he doesn't understand yet!"

"What am I supposed to understand?" Chanyeol yelled, now clearly panicking. His arms hovered in the air, unsure whether it would be wise to push the boy off or not.

"That I would rather die than be without you. We had one day together and that was the best damn day of my whole miserable life! What am I supposed to do without you?"

Gasping, Chanyeol shut his eyes tight. Around the room, the flames crackled louder and with more ferocity until it was almost deafening. I grit my teeth and pushed my power harder against the torrent of heat assaulting Baekhyun, hoping I wouldn't get burnt as well - as I couldn't heal myself.

And then it all stopped. The flames disappeared, the crackling died down to that of a whisper, and the oppressive heat in the cavern became much more tolerable. Chanyeol opened his eyes, panting and looking to be in shock. "Baek,"

"Forget it! I'm not letting you go!" the boy shouted, still clinging onto the other for dear life.

I chuckled tiredly and removed my hand from his back. "Baekhyun,"

Instead of answering, Baekhyun only held on tighter.

And Chanyeol finally hugged back with a gentle, hesitant movement. "That was the best day of my life too." he whispered.

Startled, Baekhyun pulled back and looked around. "What happened?" he asked, just then noticing the situation.

"I ordered the fire to stop and it did- it actually did this time." Chanyeol grinned and squeezed Baekhyun tight. "Maybe you are my soulmate! It's never listened to me before!"

"It's a good thing I saved you two for last." I sighed, taking a moment to lay on the floor and recuperate. Using my power always caused a lot of mental fatigue. "You guys, you both, are so dramatic. Really, what am I supposed to do with you two?"

"S-shut it, Xing!" laughed Baekhyun, burying his face in Chanyeol's chest, shoulders visibly beginning to shake.

"Are you crying?" Chanyeol asked.

"A lot." admitted the other in a muffled sob.

"If you cry, you lose."

"S-shut- shut up."

"Make me." Chanyeol said, making Baekhyun laugh through his tears. "If I can keep controlling my power," he continued, sniffing and looking down fondly at the boy in his arms with wet eyes. "Then can we try this out a little longer?" He released a small sob himself and tears slid down his cheeks. "It's so selfish and I might end up hurting you, but I need you, so-"

"Don't ask," Baekhyun cut him off with a sniffle, pulling away from his chest to make eye contact. "if you already know the answer."

Chanyeol moved his arms to encompass the boy's head in his hands and they kissed passionately, a show of both light and warmth. The glowing rock walls around us all faded into blackness, along with the sounds and smells of fire, but the stuffy heat remained as almost a comforting feeling. Gradually as they moved into the kiss more, Baekhyun's lights glowed brighter and swirled around happily under his skin.

It seemed like they had forgotten I was still there, but I let them enjoy the moment a while longer before clearing my throat to get them to stop. "I don't think we should keep the wolf waiting." I said as they parted.

"The wolf?" they asked in near unison.

Oops, I had forgotten to tell them about that. "We're all meeting the wolf." I explained. "It said we need to talk, so I need you guys to come with me."

"Come with you where?" asked Baekhyun.

"To Tao's mind."

***

(Really long) Author Note:

So that was ridiculous. The chapter is kind of short because I didn't want to forcefully fit the meeting with the wolf in there - it would just be better to have more room to go crazy, so why not start a whole new chapter just for that space?

Just to be clear: Baekhyun cannot stop time nor can he heal.

-> when time stopped, it was in his dream and he simply paused it like Kris did.

-> and when he "healed" Chanyeol, that was because his comfort had reached Chanyeol and made him wake up enough to forget his own personal scars. Since it's a dream, when he forgot his personal scars, they disappeared.

It sounds more complicated when I try to explain it omg, but just know that Baekhyun isn't like the avatar of exo with a million powers or anything.

Anyways, wow, thank you guys for all your support. It means a lot to me, really. I debated telling you guys that story for a really long time - ever since the sickness started. I didn't want to say anything before because I wanted to make sure everything was alright first so you wouldn't worry and so I could leave it with a happy ending, and then I kept it to myself still because it seemed unnecessary to share.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I'm just really thankful and really hope I don't disappoint you guys. You deserve the best and I'll try my hardest to deliver!

Oh! I forgot -> Some of you know, but I've been going back to the very first chapters of this fic and editing them to fix grammar mistakes and typos that I missed. Don't freak out! This is just to make it easier to read and it won't change the plot or anything. I haven't gone through all of them yet, but I got a good chunk of them cleaned up and pretty!