Yixing lived a good life before he left home to proceed to college. His father was a hard working man who made a good living, owning one of the biggest companies’ in the country and his mother worked a part-time job to make more money for the family. Yixing was an only child living in a big house and a nice neighborhood. Despite the fact that he came from a family of wealth, he was unbelievably caring and humble. When he was a boy, his mother would always tell him that "Money means nothing in the world if you use it selfishly. Work hard to earn your money and you'll be rewarded with the pleasure of offering your family a nice and safe place to live in. Do as I say and you'll be surprised at how happy giving to others makes you." Yixing always took what his parents said to heart and hoped that he would make a difference in someone’s life. He always felt that giving was better than receiving. It was his kind and gentle personality that made Yixing so likable. "Always live a humble and hard-working life." His father would tell him. Those words his father said circled around in his mind everyday. It was a motto that he lived by. Having such a close relationship with his parents, Yixing always went to them for advice. He knew he always had someone to lean on no matter what.


Like his father, Yixing worked hard and was a straight-A student in school. He worked hard from the second he walked onto school grounds up until he left. Teachers loved Yixing, but last period they would always notice him glancing over at the old clock on the wall. Although he worked hard in school, Yixing would always be jumping out of his skin the last hour of school, waiting for the bell to ring so he could grab his guitar and head to the dance studio. Behind the face of the hardworking, straight-A student held a boy with an undeniable passion for dance and music. Yixing would practice hours in the dance studio they had in school then write and sing songs with his guitar until it got dark.



From the first time he set his eyes on a guitar and took his first dance lesson, he knew he wanted to be a dancer and musician when he got older. He joined a small dance team with members around his age, and then got pushed up to a professional dance team that paid each member for big performances. It was when he was standing in front of thousands of people when he realized he got paid to do what he loved. Dance and perform. He was saving up to buy his parent's tickets for a one week, romantic vacation to thank them for always being there for him. With each check he received he cashed it into the bank and marked off how much more he needed in order to purchase the tickets.

_________________________________________________________________________________


The plan was working out perfectly, until tragedy struck and turned Yixing's world upside down.


Yixing was five minutes away from home when he was driving back from dance practice and a drunken man came speeding down the narrow road Yixing was on and crashed into him. It was a cold January night and the roads were extra slippery. His world suddenly went black as his car's turbulence jerked him to the side, the airbags blew up and his leg twisted in an un-natural position.


He woke up in the hospital wondering were he was. Still blurry-eyed from waking up, Yixing looked down at the two casts that were on his legs and the bruises, cuts and stitches all over his body. He looked up to see several doctors and his parents standing next to his hospital bed.


It had been three days since the accident and he'd been knocked unconscious.


When Yixing got hurt, it wasn't simple. A simple cut could kill him.



His mom had tears running down her face, but he couldn't tell if she was crying out of worry or out of happiness that her only son was still alive.


He hated seeing his mom cry.



"I'm okay Mom. Please don't cry." Yixing whispered.



But that just made her cry more.



"You're lucky you're alive, Son." A tall and thin male doctor said.



"You're father here tells me that you dance." he continued, "Unfortunately, you will be unable to dance anymore from this point on."



Yixing’s eyes widened and his heart shattered into a million pieces like a knocked over flower vase. At this moment, it was his time to cry.



"I need to dance sir. It's my air. Without it, I might just really die." Yixing stated.



"I know it's what you love doing, but you need to keep it in perspective. Your health is more important than dancing." The doctor replied.


"Barely..." Yixing muttered under his breath.



"I'm sorry." The doctor said again. "Try to get some sleep though. You'll be okay."



Yixing didn't bother arguing at that point. He just wanted to rest and forget about everything.

_________________________________________________________________________________

It took about a half a year for Yixing to heal completely. He was thankful that he was okay, but he still couldn't dance.



When he woke up the day after the accident, he saw his guitar lying on the end of his hospital bed. His dad had brought his guitar from home when he was asleep and rested it where Yixing would be sure to see it as soon as he woke up. Yixing was happy that he had his guitar with him, but he didn't touch it until he was still laying there in hospital bed for the forth day.


Some days were better than others. In the days in the hospital, he would either sleep through the day or be awake and do short physical therapy sessions. On the good days, he would sit on his hospital bed and play his guitar with as much passion as he could.


He realized that although he had to give up dance, he would always have the memories in his heart, and he had his music too. He would always be able to play guitar and sing, and those were things he loved just as much as dancing.


Through the days in the hospital and the boring days at home resting, Yixing had written thirty-two new songs. Not all of them were amazing, but there was one that he played over and over. It was the best song that he had written throughout the years.


He leaned over and grabbed his laptop that was sitting on his desk next to his bed. He logged into the blog he had uploaded the lyrics to his masterpiece. He then recorded the song and uploaded the audio clip underneath the lyrics and posted it.


His blog was private and only close friends and family could see it, so he wasn't worried about someone stealing his work. He was always careful about that sort of thing. He never really shared his music to the public until he thought it was completely perfect. But then again, what is perfect?


He closed his laptop and grabbed a folder that had all his college applications in it. Yixing was applying to a total of seven colleges with the hopes that he would get into at least five or six of them so he would have more options of colleges to choose from.


_________________________________________________________________________________



The end of August came quickly and Yixing was walking up the front steps of his college saying goodbye to his parents.



"Be good son. Study hard and listen well. And remember: Always stay humble." His father said as he hugged Yixing.



"You'll do great here." His mom said with the gentle and soothing voice she always had. "Don't have too much fun." she continued with a wink and a hug.


"I'll be fine. I'll work hard, stay humble and do my best. I won't disappoint you." Yixing said standing up straight and leaning in for one more hug.


His father nodded, Yixing took a deep breath and made his way into the building.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Yixing looked down at the school map as he made his way through the long corridors and passing the many unfamiliar faces that were there. With his backpack in one hand and his guitar in the other, he walked up a small set of stairs and found his room. He unpacked the things he hadn't yet already put into his room a week before then walked up to his first class.


Yixing didn't talk much, and after even after the first five months of university, he still had barely made any friends.
There was no one there that liked the same things as him, or had the qualities that he looked for in a friend. University was huge and held thousands of students, so he did have some friends, but none that he could really call a best friend. His best childhood friend got accepted into an Ivy League school overseas and his other friends went to school at the least, seven hours away from him.
Sometimes after studying, he would feel lonely so he would get out his guitar, walk outside and play the song he wrote when he was in the hospital over and over again.


He was getting good grades, had good health and lived in a nice dorm, but his greatest wish was that he'd one day find a best friend to lean on and have forever. He figured that he would find one before he graduated college in three years, and he wasn't going to rush finding one just to have one. They would come to him just at the right moment.


Good things take time, he repeated to himself.


Good things take time.


He sat there alone on a bench outside and continued playing his song until he felt someone watching him from behind.



Yixing took his hand of his guitar, stopped singing and slowly turned around to see a handsome young man standing less than five feet away from the bench, staring at him with calm and glistening eyes.

 _________________________________________________________________________________


Luhan was a first year college student taking only five majors. His family consisted of himself, his mother and father. He lived in a house close to the high school he went to. He didn't live in best neighborhood, but he always got through each day by sticking with the good people. There were kids his age that lived near him that were troubled. They would skip school or be found in a junk yard after school full of blood from fights. Fortunately, Luhan wasn't like that. He didn't carry the best school grades with him, but he tried. School was never really his thing. Although he wasn't an honor student, he was exceptionally talented in photography and writing.


He had gotten a brand new camera with dozens of lenses for his fourteenth birthday and he treasured the gift with all his heart. His Grandfather had gotten it on sale from a local electronic store. It was the best camera of that year and Luhan spent countless hours taking photos of everything. Flowers, old buildings, run-down businesses, people, bugs, windows, and pretty much any subject that he could find. His father didn't approve of it as much as his mother did though. His mother saw Luhan with the camera in his hand almost 24/7 and realized how important photography was for him, but his father never saw how taking a photo of a dead leaf or a falling raindrop was going to get him anywhere in life. He didn't see anything artistic or academic about it.



"But Dad! Really. Just look at them!! Please. If you see how just a simple photo can tell a whole story-"



"I said no, son."



"Fine." Luhan walked away from his father and closed his door with a strong push.



He closed his eyes and slouched down against the back of the door and began to really hate himself for not being able to convince his dad, once again, to look at the recent photo's he'd taken.



He leaned back and overheard his mom talking to his dad about his photographs.



"You should really give him a chance. He loves it. It's your own son."



"I told you. How is it going to help him get a job? How is it going to get into college? How is it educational?" His father snapped



"You never know. He could use it to do something great. There are photographers that make money and as long as he keeps his grades up, he'll get into a college for sure. Just give him some time to cool down, and then ask to see his photos."



Luhan's mouth formed into a half smile as he appreciated the fact that his mother always backed him up and helped him when his father wouldn't approve of something that was unreasonable not to approve of.



It wasn't a full-on smile but it wasn't a straight face frown. It was more like a sideways grin, like a forced and fake smile, but he really did feel loved because his mom cared about what he was passionate about. That was one of the things he loved about his mother.



His father let out a sigh as he continued to go on about the matter.



"If it really means a lot to you and him, I guess I can look at some of them. Some. But I still don't see how it will benefit him." He walked away without waiting for a response from his wife.



Luhan was tired of trying to please his father all the time and it was stressing him out. He stood up, brushed himself off, jumped onto his bed and fell asleep.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The sun streamed through the open windows and fell onto his closed eyes.



Luhan opened his eyes and squinted, blocking the sunlight with his right hand.



He looked around his room and slowly got up. As he sat down at his desk, he began to de-clutter the mess of homework, papers and photographs. He was organizing them into subject until he got to one paper which he picked up and read:



JUNIOR/SENIOR COLLEGE PLANNING! PLEASE FILL OUT FORM BY DATE BELOW! THANK YOU-



Luhan leaned back in his swivel chair as he let out a deep sigh and wondered where to begin. The paper was due in a week and he'd completely stalled and waited for the last minute.



"I can't believe I forgot about this." He muttered under his breath, hitting his forehead against his closed fist.



He opened his laptop and opened up the list of universities that he was considering. He'd made a small list of select colleges a while back, but there was so much more research to do.



He clicked the first link on the list which was his dream college. The main page of the university came up and he stared at the picture on the home screen. A large building with a huge campus and beautiful trees filled up his computer screen. The school had great writing programs, diverse language classes and most of all, the school was known for its amazing photography and art studies. The school had an amazing music and dance hall as well, but Luhan wanted to go for the photography and writing. It was one of the best art and music schools in the country and Luhan was debating whether or not to even apply. The chances of him getting into the school were slim and it was also expensive. Surely he would have to apply for a scholarship if he did apply to the school.



Luhan glided his finger on the laptop's mouse pad as he clicked the 'Photography' course link.


The page came up just as Luhan felt someone behind him. He turned around and saw his dad standing there. Without hesitation, he immediately slammed his laptop shut and looked up at his dad with guilt. He knew his dad didn't approve of his passion of photography, let alone going to a school for it.


"What are doing?" His dad asked him.


"How long were you standing over me?" Luhan asked, ignoring his father’s question.


"Doesn't matter. I asked you what you were doing." His dad repeated.


"Nothing." Luhan replied forcefully and quick enough that his father could tell that he was hiding something from him.


"Just... college searching." he continued.


His father nodded in approvingly.


"Good. I'm glad you're finally doing something other than running around with that camera of yours."


"I'm not 'running around.' I'm searching for inspiration." Luhan said not caring about the tone in his voice.


"Don't answer me like that." His father said sternly.


"Yes Sir. Sorry." Luhan apologized quietly.


"I'll leave you alone now. Continue college searching, but look for schools that are high in academics and not in those silly art forms." His father said, leaving Luhan alone in his room again.


When he left, Luhan got up and shut his door. He kicked it in anger, than jerked his laptop open again. He didn't care what his dad had to say about colleges anymore. It was his future and his dream school. Not his dad's.


He scrolled down the 'Photography' page, reading the information word for word, intrigued by the amazing student work complimenting the page.


When he got to the bottom of the page, he clicked back to the school's main page, clicked 'APPLICATION FORM,' printed it, and shut his laptop closed.


He took the form out of the printer and slid it underneath his bed, hiding it from any disapproving eyes.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Three months had passed since Luhan had sent in his college application and some of his best photographs. Everyday after school, Luhan would get home as quick as possible and check the mail to see if he got anything back. His dad worked all day and usually didn't get home until near dinner time, so he didn't need to worry about his dad finding a college letter before he did, but he still felt paranoid on his way home from school. If his dad found something from a school he specifically told him not to apply to, he would be grounded for life.


Luhan was at the end of his street, when he saw his dad's car parked in the driveway.



"Why is he home?" He asked himself, praying that the school didn't contact him.



He got nervous walking up the front steps of his house, wondering why his dad was home so early.



The second he opened the front door, he knew.



Luhan looked up at his father who was standing up straight and tense, one hand on the kitchen counter and the other one holding onto a manila envelope with a firm grip.


"What is this?" His father asked.


Luhan gulped, "Uhhh... an envelope?"


"Don't be smart with me, young man. Let me ask you again: What is this?" he yelled as his eyebrows turned down.


"I don't know. I haven't seen the address." Luhan replied, even though he knew exactly what it was.


"I thought I told you not to apply to schools like this!" His father yelled again.


"You read my mail?" Luhan shouted back in anger.


"No! But I looked up the address. Why didn't you tell me you were applying here? And more importantly, why did you apply here after I specifically told you not to?" His dad continued.


"I didn't tell you because I knew exactly how you would react! And I applied because I wanted to. It's my dream school. And it's my passion, not yours Dad. It's mine. I probably didn't even get in anyway... I didn't apply for a scholarship, so even if I did get it, it's not like I could go. I just wanted to see if I was good enough to get in." Luhan said, feeling a tear fall down his left cheek.


His father sighed and looked at him. He relaxed the tense looking muscles in his body and handed the envelope to Luhan.


Luhan's eyes grew wide as he slowly retrieved the dull orange envelope from his father’s hand.


"You're... going to let me open it?" He asked, still in shock from his father's actions.


"You're crying. The least I can do is let you open the damn envelope. You know son, I'm not a bad person. I have a heart and I do care about you. I just don't express it as well as you and your mother do. That's just the way I am. I grew up working hard on academic subjects and never got taught any form of art. It wasn't my thing, and I certainly wasn't good at it. I never believed that taking pictures or painting a picture would get you anywhere in life. I still strongly believe that, but if photography really means that much to you, then I promise you that I'll try my hardest to understand and accept it. I know I'm a strict parent, but give me a chance. Okay?" His father smiled, putting his hand on his son's shoulder.


Luhan slowly nodded with uncontrollable tears coming down from his eyes. He'd never once heard his dad say anything like what he just said. He suddenly felt a bit of guilt from thinking such harsh thoughts about his father.


"Thank you." He whispered, looking up at his father and leaning into hug him.


His dad pat him on the back and said, "Are you going to open it, or not?"


Luhan let go of his father and nodded. He reached for the envelope which was sitting on the kitchen counter. He unclasped the metal seal, and opened the envelope. Multiple papers were packed inside as he took the top one out. He read the paper, eyes widening every time he read a new sentence.


"What is it? Why are your eyes like that?" His father laughed.


"I... I got in... With a full scholarship!" He replied with a shaky voice.


"What? With a scholarship too? I thought you said you didn't apply for one!" His father said, joining his son in excitement.


"I-I- I didn't apply for one. But I sent in some of my photographs and a couple of quotes I wrote that went with the photographs. The school saw them and loved them so much; they just offered me a full scholarship! They couldn't believe a student my age took the photos and wrote such simple and inspiring quote to go with them. They saw my writing grades too, and found them outstanding." Luhan said as he scanned the paper, finding exact quotes of phrase from the letter.


His dad, carefully listening to his son, smiled and exclaimed, "Luhan! This is huge! I'm so proud of you! Did you apply to any other schools though?"


Luhan frowned hearing the last part of his father's sentence.


"Just two other ones but I haven't heard from them yet. They were ones that you suggested. All academic subjects." He said.



"Well I don't exactly approve of this university, but since you earned a full scholarship and photography and writing is your passion, I'll allow you to go if you really want to." His father explained.


Luhan almost started crying again as he heard his fathers words.


"Thank you Dad! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I'll work hard, do my best, and make you proud! And don't worry; I will be taking some main academic courses like math and language. It's required there. I'll just be taking them as minors rather than majors." He said, smiling harder than his face could handle.


"Then it's settled. My one and only son will be going to his dream school!" He nodded in proudness of his son.


"I love you, Dad." Luhan said.


His dad put ruffled Luhan's hair and said, "I love you too, son. I love you too."


_________________________________________________________________________________


It felt like just days since Luhan had opened up the envelope to his future, but months had passed and he was now sitting in the back of his parents car, parking in his dream school's parking lot.


When they parked, Luhan's dad turned the car off and sat there without saying anything.


His mom looked over at him and put her hand on his shoulder.


"He'll be fine." She said, comforting her husband.


His dad turned around and looked at him, "Do well, son. We'll miss you."


Luhan smiled as he got out of the car with his dad and unloaded his bags from the car.


"I will, Dad. I promise. I'll miss you guys more. But this is good for me. I need to be here."


"We know. You really do belong here. You'll do amazing things in life, but remember to call every now and then. Don't forget about us too quickly." His mother said with a smile.


"I'll miss that smile..." Luhan thought to himself.


"Don't worry. I'll call as much as I can, and you know I'll never forget about the two most important people in my life. I love you guys." He replied.


"I can take it from here." He continued, grabbing all his bags and closing the car door with his foot.


His father nodded as Luhan turned around and started walking towards the university's front door.


He was about five feet from the steps when he stopped, looked back, and saw his parents still standing next to the car, watching him leave.


He smiled, took a deep breath, and headed up the steps and into the school.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Walking around the school's campus one day after class, Luhan found a bench underneath a tree to sit on. He set his backpack on the ground and pulled out his camera and his photograph binder. He opened the binder through all of the photographs he'd taken since the first day of university. He looked through the first section of the binder, which was the first month of school and then he made his way to the second month of school and continued reviewing the photos until he got to the fifth section. The sections stopped in the middle of the fifth section ready for the rest of the month to pass by and get new photos added to it.


Luhan nodded as he looked through his photographs, not afraid to realize that the photos he'd taken were exceptionally great.



He was about to put out his laptop and start working on his latest assigned essay, when he heard someone playing music. It wasn't just any music though. The music the person was playing sounded different. Calmer and unique. Luhan was indulged with the sound and took it as a photo opportunity. If he could capture the true essence of one in their own world of music and peace, it would be like winning the lottery for him.


Luhan stayed sitting on the bench, turning his head from left to right searching for the person who was playing the music.



He suddenly caught sight of a young man sitting on a bench, calmly strumming a wooden acoustic guitar and singing quietly.



Luhan quickly stuffed his binder into his backpack, whipped out his camera and walked slowly towards the bench.



He made it to bench without the boy noticing him there. His back was turned towards Luhan, so he didn't see him at all when Luhan kneeled a short distance behind him and took a few pictures.



After feeling satisfied with the shots that he took, Luhan stood back up on his feet and walked closer to the bench.



He couldn't take his eyes off the guitar or the person playing it.



He stood there in awe with his backpack slung over his shoulder and the camera in his hand, when the boy slowly lifted his hand on the strings of the guitar and turned around looking up at Luhan with dazzling eyes.


_________________________________________________________________________________



Luhan stood standing behind the bench with his mouth hanging open, unsure of what to say.



"I- I... I'm sorry..." He finally said.



The boy laughed, "It's fine. No problem. I'm Yixing, nice to meet you." He said with a smile as he put his guitar down and held his hand out.


Luhan sighed in relief that the boy wasn't wierded out by him standing there almost two feet behind him.



"I'm Luhan. Nice to meet you." He replied, shaking hands with Yixing's warm hand.



"You must go to school here." Yixing said looking at Luhan's backpack.



"Ah, yes. It's my first year here. What year are you?" Luhan asked.



"Oh, it’s my first year too! I've never seen you around campus though." Yixing replied.



"Yeah, I've never seen you either. Do you come out here often? I usually walk around taking photos. I'm not really in one place for a long period of time." Luhan said with a slight laugh.



"I come out here all the time to write and sing. It's like my safe haven out here. I love being outdoors. Something about nature makes me go into a better state of mind. I would sleep out here if I could." Yixing said, looking up at the sky, then back to Luhan's glistening eyes.


Yixing closed his guitar case, slipped his writing notebook into his backpack and moved over to the left side of the bench.



"Here, come sit here." He said, motioning towards the empty space on the bench he was sitting on.



Luhan nodded and sat down next to him.



"Thanks." He said smiling at Yixing.



"No problem!" Yixing replied.



"Oh man, I'm so glad its Friday." He continued, "But I usually don't do anything on Friday's anyway... Hey! What are you doing tonight?" He asked.



"Nothing!" Luhan answered, a little too fast.



Yixing raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Really? Do you want to hangout?"



"Sure! My last class is in ten minutes, but it's only about an hour long." Luhan said, looking at his watch.



"My classes are done for the day, but I'm going to keep writing for a while. What do you have next? I'll meet you in front of the classroom when it's over." Yixing said.



Luhan took out his notebook and scribbled out the building and class he was in and handed it to Yixing.



Yixing nodded and smiled, "Thanks!"



Luhan looked at his watch again and widened his eyes in surprise of how fast the time went by.



"I gotta go now, but it was nice meeting you! I'll see you later!" He said as he grabbed his backpack and walked away from the bench, looking back and waving to his new friend.

_________________________________________________________________________________


The bell rang as Luhan got up from his seat, collected his school supplies and headed out of the classroom to see Yixing leaning up against the wall waiting for him, just as he promised.


"Hey." Luhan said with a smile, tapping Yixing on the shoulder.


Yixing looked up from the notebook he was writing in and smiled back. "Oh, hey! Are you ready? Where should we go? We could go to that café right next to the bookstore off campus?" He suggested.


"Yeah, sure! Sounds good!" Luhan replied.


"Do you want to bring your backpack back to your dorm before we go? It looks heavy." Yixing asked.


"No, I'll just bring it with me, thanks." Luhan said, adjusting the straps on his backpack to be more comfortable.


"Okay, if it gets too heavy, I can... carry it for you." Yixing said quietly.


Luhan smiled and looked into Yixing's glistening eyes. He couldn't believe how caring and handsome he was. He struggled to find the right words to say next, and as if he could read his mind, Yixing continued the conversation noticing Luhan looked lost.


"Anyway, let's go before it gets too dark." Yixing said walking towards the door and holding it open for Luhan.


_________________________________________________________________________________


As the two of them took a seat at a table, Yixing reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of glasses. He put them on, and looked up at the menu which was written on a chalkboard above the counter where you placed your order.


"You wear glasses?" Luhan asked.


"Yeah, but only when I'm sitting far away from something I have to read. Why?" Yixing replied.


"Oh, I was just wondering. I have trouble seeing all the time. I wear contacts though." Luhan said.


"I hate contacts. I mean, I guess they can be useful, but they can be really inconvenient sometimes. I like my glasses." Yixing said with a smile.


"I don't look very good with glasses on. I used to get made fun of for wearing them when I was younger." Luhan said.


"Really? That must have been hard. I never really got made fun of as a kid. Maybe for being too shy, but nothing extreme." Yixing replied.


"You? Shy?" Luhan laughed, wondering how his talkative and outgoing friend could ever get made fun of for being quiet.


"I know. It's hard to imagine, huh?" Yixing said laughing, thinking about the irony. "When I got to the end of elementary school, I made more friends and I began to let myself step out of my comfort zone and start talking to people more. When I got to middle school, I became president of the Dance Club, started a few songwriting workshops and started singing live in front of people. Ever since that time period, I've been a social guy. I guess I overcame my shyness through music and dance." He explained.


"Whoah. I wish I was that cool. All I did when I was in middle school was walk around town taking pictures and writing stories ever now and then. I didn't even have that many friends." Luhan said, impressed with Yixing's accomplishments.


"Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't have hundreds of friends either. I made friends through the activities I did, but none of them were really close to me. My best friend moved to America the summer after fifth grade. That's probably one reason I forced myself to become more social and active in school and after school activities. Without him by my side all the time, I had no one to talk to, and I would go back to being the shy boy who sat alone at lunch. And trust me, dancing is my passion but it was hard work, and singing live always gave me nerves. Your photography sounds so nice and calming! I'd love to see some of your photos if you let me." Yixing said, looking up at Luhan.


"Yeah! Definitely! I have some good ones back in my dorm. I can show them tomorrow or later tonight. And still, your life sounded a lot more interesting then mine was when I was a kid, but... why did you say dancing was hard work? Don't you still do it? You said it was your passion." Luhan asked with questioning eyes.


"I-I... I don't dance anymore." Yixing said quietly, looking down and suddenly looking sad and on the verge of tears.


Luhan saw that his question upset Yixing as he gulped in guilt for asking him about it. He reached out and put his hand on top of Yixing's hand which was sitting faced-down on the table.


"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that." Luhan apologized, squeezing Yixing's hand.


Yixing looked up again and felt unbelievably thankful that he had a friend like Luhan.


"It's not your fault. You didn't know. You don't need to apologize. I just don't want to talk about it right now." Yixing said.


"Yeah, definitely!" Luhan said, understanding how Yixing felt. "So, what do you like to order here? We should go up and order something now. Have you tried their chai tea? It's to die for." he continued, changing the subject.


"Thanks, and no, I haven't. I usually get the vanilla latté. But the chai tea sounds really good. What should I get?" Yixing replied, returning to his normal self with a big smile on face.


"Hmmm... I've never tried their vanilla latté. Let's get both and we can split them." Luhan said with exciting eyes.


Yixing nodded, "Let's go for it." he said, getting up from the table and pulling Luhan out of his seat to go to the counter.


The two of them laughed as they made their way through the café’s night crowd of busy college students and hungry business men.


_________________________________________________________________________________


A year passed as Luhan and Yixing's friendship grew and the feelings towards each other became stronger.


The once-a-week meet's for chai tea and vanilla latté’s became an every-other-day routine. The slight knowledge about each other's life and personality became precise and perfected, as they learned countless things about one and other. The playful fist punches became intertwined hand-holding and the quick, friendly hugs when greeting each other became thirty seconds of pure bliss for both of them.


Once again, the brisk autumn air transformed into a cold and frosty winter as the snow began to fall and the town workers started hanging lights onto all of the trees.


Luhan and Yixing walked hand-in-hand through the snowy night, shivering in coldness.


"It's freezing!" Yixing exclaimed.


Luhan let out a breath and watched a cloud of frosty air trail out of his mouth. He smiled and looked at Yixing. "I know! I can barely feel my hands."


Yixing laughed and squeezed Luhan's hand in attempt to make him warmer. "What? My hands aren't warm enough for you?"


"You know what I mean." Luhan giggled as he let go of Yixing's hand and bent down, collecting a small ball of snow and throwing it at Yixing.


"Hey!" Yixing shouted, grabbing some snow as he chased his love though the city streets.


_________________________________________________________________________________


They spent almost every cold winter night walking hand-in-hand through the sparkling and crisp snow.


As December was coming towards the end, Yixing would pay attention to the bright lights lighting up the city, while Luhan caught snowflakes on his tongue.


They would be out until midnight enjoying the night and making every moment count.


"We should go back to the dorms now. It's getting really late. It's almost one in the morning." Yixing laughed.


Luhan smiled, "Good idea. Let's go back, I'm about to fall asleep."


Yixing's dorm was closer to the University's entrance, so he was always the first to settle in for the night.


"I'll see you tomorrow morning." Luhan said, leaning in and kissing Yixing lightly on the cheek.


"I'll be here." Yixing said, kissing Luhan back. "But tomorrow's Saturday, so don't come too early."


"I'll try not to." Luhan said with a wink, slowly backing away from his boyfriend and heading towards his own dorm.


Yixing looked at Luhan and smiled as he walked into his dorm room and closed the door.


_________________________________________________________________________________



The next morning, Luhan woke up to the sound and vibration of his phone. He rubbed his eyes, yawned a little and reached for his phone.


A text from Yixing read: I think I'm coming down with a cold or something. Don't come over today- I don't want you to catch anything.


Ignoring his simple and thoughtful request, Luhan sat up like lightning and began to get ready to go over to Yixing's room. He opened his drawer and grabbed a shirt and threw on some pants. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth and on his way out, he grabbed an apple and his backpack. He stuffed the apple in his mouth and made his way towards Yixing's room.


When he got to Yixing's dorm, he stood before the closed door and knocked. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of Yixing coughing and walking towards the door. The door opened and Yixing stood there looking tired and sounding all stuffed up.


"I thought I told you not to come." Yixing said.


"I know. But I couldn't help it. I was worried about you. I'll stay and take care of you. How are you feeling?" Luhan answered in a calm, but worried voice.


"Eh. I've been better. I woke up in the middle of the night coughing so much that my roommate left and stayed with his friend in their dorm. I didn't get much sleep after that. I woke up early and couldn't stop sneezing. I think I used up about ten boxes of tissues." Yixing slightly laughed through a fit of coughing.


Hearing this made Luhan more worried. He knew it was probably just a cold, but Yixing got sick easily, so he wanted to make sure he was okay. He put his hand out and placed it on Yixing warm forehead.


"You feel hot. Where's that thermometer your mom made you bring to college?" Luhan asked.


Yixing coughed again and pointed towards his desk. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on top of the mattress, in annoyance that he was sick again. He had just gotten sick three weeks ago and he was also sick in the beginning of October. He looked over at Luhan while hugging his pillow.


"It's in the top drawer on the right." Yixing said.


Luhan pulled the drawer open and took the thermometer out, fiddling with the on and off button. He walked over to his bed and stuck the thermometer in Yixing's mouth.


After about a minute, the thermometer beeped and Yixing took it out of his mouth and handed it to Luhan, too lazy to look at it himself.


"You have a fever." Luhan said, looking up at his boyfriend.


"It's okay. I always get fevers. I just need to rest, that's all." Yixing replied with a smile.


Luhan was still worried, but he didn't want to make Yixing feel worse by being so glum, so he forced on of his half-smiles.


"Hey. Was that a half-smile?" Yixing said with a frown.


Yixing knew that when Luhan was lying or trying to hide an emotion from someone, he would always half-smile with the ends of his mouth just barely curving upwards and his lips pursed shut. He liked Luhan's real smile more, but he couldn't help but fall in love with the


"Sorry. You know I worry when you get sick." Luhan said, placing his hand on Yixing's arm.


"I know. Thank you. I really appreciate you caring about me, but I can take of myself. I'll be okay." Yixing said gripping hold of Luhan's hand.


The room grew silent at Yixing slowly shut his eyes and fall asleep, still holding hands with Luhan.


After about twenty minutes of just sitting there watching Yixing sleep, Luhan slouched down against the wall next to the bed and closed his eyes repeatedly telling himself that Yixing would be okay, until he fell asleep too.


______________________________________________________________________________

A week had passed since Yixing had first gotten sick, and he was still in bed. Luhan took care of him no matter how much Yixing said he could handle it on his own. Luhan woke up, got ready, went straight over to Yixing's dorm to check on him, went to his classes and then went back to Yixing's dorm up until it got dark. It became a daily routine for that week- And the week after that, and the week after that. The simple cold got worse and Yixing became slower and thinner. After the constant fighting about what the next step would be, Luhan finally convinced his stubborn boyfriend to go into the emergency room. This was more than just a cold.


In the previous week, Luhan dragged Yixing to the doctor. The doctor told them that it was a just flu, but to get a lot of rest because with Yixing's coagulation disease, the flu could be a lot worse for him. They were told to come back if it got any worse and to notify the doctor if either one had any questions.


Luhan was hoping they wouldn't have to go back, but who could change reality?


After what seemed like ages of waiting for Yixing's test results from the doctor, a nurse called the couple back into the hospital room.


"Well? What's wrong with him? Is he okay?" Luhan asked the doctor, shaking in nervousness.


Yixing nudged him.


"Sorry. I'm just really worried." Luhan apologized to the doctor.


"That's quite alright, Son. I understand." The tall man said. "So, based on the test results, I'm sorry to say that Yixing has been diagnosed with Type A Influenza. It can be a very simple sickness but for some people, it can be fatal. In Yixing's case, I'm afraid it can't be treated. With his rare blood type and blood disorder, having Type A Influenza can kill him." He continued, in a serious voice.


Yixing gulped and looked up at Luhan. Everything was a blur to Yixing after Luhan asked the doctor what to do next. Knowing he only had a little time left, he began to think of everything he wanted to do in his life. Time was everything, and from that point on, he was going to make the most of it.


_________________________________________________________________________________


The Winter turned to spring and the spring turned to summer. The new school semester started and Yixing and Luhan were still going strong. The doctor said he could get better and have days where he felt fine, but inside, Yixing really was slipping away.


One day after class, Luhan and Yixing were heading down the stairs towards the main building of the school, when Yixing stopped halfway down the stairs and the last thing he saw from that moment was his handsome boyfriend widen his eyes and jump towards him in effort to catch him.


Luhan was a few steps in front of him when he saw Yixing suddenly grow pale and collapse on the stairs, dropping his unprotected guitar which tumbled down the long flight of stairs and break into pieces. Luhan's eyes widened as he leaned towards Yixing trying to catch him before he fell, but it was too late.


Luhan felt Yixing's soft and smooth hair as he caught Yixing's head in the palm of his hand to prevent it from hitting the stairs.


He thought for sure that Yixing had fainted and didn't know if he would ever wake up, but he saw Yixing's eyes open slowly as he looked around, confused as to what had just happened.


Luhan's eyes grew wide, "Yixing! Are you okay? Are you okay?" He asked, grabbing hold of Yixing's hand.


Yixing slowly sat up and closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath.


"Yeah. I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I felt fine, but then I suddenly just felt really weak and everything just went black."


"Here, get up. I'm taking you to the doctor." Luhan insisted.


"No, I'm fine. Really." Yixing said, smiling.


"I don't care. I'm not taking any chances. You know your health conditions. I'm taking you." Luhan said, standing up and carefully pulling Yixing up from the stairs.


Yixing didn't bother arguing anymore. He was too tired and weak to start a fight.

_________________________________________________________________________________


After getting prescribed more medicine from his doctor, Yixing thought even harder about life.


He knew he wouldn't have long to live.


He even knew how many years it would be. But he didn't tell Luhan.


He wanted to make the rest of his life the fairy tale that he imagined the first time he met Luhan.


They walked and talked as usual until there was a moment of silence between the two of them.


Luhan stopped walking and faced Yixing, holding both of his cold hands.


"What's wrong?" Yixing asked with a questioning look on his face.


Luhan reached into his pocket and slowly wrote words on a bright blue sticky note with black marker.


He re-capped the marker and let it fall in the snow, then he turned the sticky note towards Yixing to let him read it.


Yixing stood there in shock, heart beating fast and a single tear falling from his eye as he read the sticky note.


The sticky note was getting wet from the falling snow, but Yixing could still read the message after standing there for five minutes.


"Will you, Zhang Yixing, marry me?"


Yixing wiped his eyes, and retrieved a pale yellow sticky note and a black marker from his backpack and scribbled something on it.


He finished writing then he held up his sticky note so Luhan could read it.


"Yes." It read. The big black character written on the sticky note began to fade and drip as the wet snow fell onto it.


Luhan stood there smiling. He went to lean in to kiss Yixing but Yixing took the sticky note out of his hand and carefully put it in his backpack.


"Why'd you take it?" Luhan asked quietly.


"Because. Even though I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life, this sticky note asking me to marry you is real proof that dreams really do come true." Yixing whispered.


Luhan smiled as he took Yixing's sticky note out of his hand and pulled his camera out, capturing the memory of his one love accepting his proposal.


Luhan leaned in, and the two of them stood there in the snow in front of the pale sky kissing as the sun began to set.


Snowflakes melting on their eyelashes and their own hand's freezing, they started walking again as the snow fell harder and the afternoon turned to night.

_________________________________________________________________________________


The next day, Luhan woke up to see Yixing's guitar case still next to his bed.


He had forgotten that when Yixing fainted the day before, he took his guitar back to his own room.  Yixing was at a point where he didn't even remember he didn't have his guitar in his room.


Luhan rubbed his eyes, slipped out of bed and picked up Yixing's guitar case, carefully placing it on the floor and opening the hard black case.


He looked down and saw Yixing's guitar in pieces.


Luhan didn't play guitar and didn't care for it that much, but when he saw Yixing's guitar in pieces, it broke his heart.


"I have to get him a new guitar." Luhan thought.


He scratched his head as he suddenly got up from the floor and rapidly got dressed then making his way down the hallway, down the stairs and out the door.


Closing his car door, Luhan started his car and headed towards the closest music store.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Sure enough, Luhan found almost the same exact guitar Yixing previously had, which happened to be on sale.


Luhan had a giant red bow tied to the neck of the case and he was hoping Yixing would love it just as much as he loved his other one.


He made his way to Yixing's dorm holding the guitar and is backpack in his left hand and the stair railing with his right hand.


Before Luhan even had the chance, Yixing opened the door.


"Whoah. Hi!" Yixing said, surprised Luhan was there.


"Hey, can I come in?" Luhan asked, looking up at Yixing's dark brown eyes.


"Of course you can. I was just heading out to buy something to drink, but that can wait." Yixing replied.


Luhan sat on the edge of Yixing's bed, holding out the guitar with both hands, looking up at Yixing again.


Yixing's eyes grew wide, "W-What's this?" He asked.


"Open it." Luhan said.


Yixing slowly untied the shiny red bow and opened the case, setting both his eyes on a brand new guitar.


"When you fainted, you dropped your guitar down the stairs, and it... kind of... broke into pieces. I'm sorry I couldn't find the same exact one but I tried to get you the closest replica I could find. But I have the receipt, so I can-"


Yixing cut Luhan's words off, "Stop." He looked up at Luhan.


"This is the most thoughtful and amazing gift anyone has ever given me. I can't believe you did this for me. But of course I'll pay you back." Yixing said, still in shock from his gift.


"Don't. My money was well spent. If you're happy, I'm happy." Luhan said, smiling.


"I'm going to try it out!" Yixing said as he carefully took the guitar out and strummed it slowly.


But he didn't strum just any chord. It was the first chord to the song he wrote when he was healing from the car accident.


The song that he played over and over again.


The song that brought him and Luhan together.


Luhan recognized it right away.


"Hey. That's the first song I ever heard you play. If it weren't for that song, we wouldn't be here together right now." Luhan said.


Yixing smiled hearing Luhan say that, "Yes, but the song's meaning became deeper after we met. I changed some of the lyrics to make it fit better. At first, it was talking about finding a first love, but after I met you, I changed some of it because I found my first love. It's dedicated to you actually."


Luhan almost started crying because no one's ever dedicated a song to him or made him feel that loved before.


But he held in his tears. Instead one of his signature half-smiles appeared on his face.


"Hey, is that a half-smile?" Yixing said with a chuckle.


Luhan grinned, "It's really dedicated to me?"


"Wouldn't want it to be dedicated to anyone else." Yixing replied.


"Thank you." Luhan quietly whispered.


"No. Thank you." Yixing whispered back, placing his hand on top of Luhan's hand.

_________________________________________________________________________________


It was a slow winter that year. Yixing would have good days in terms of his health, and other days when he couldn't get out of bed. But he'd rather have that and be alive. As the winter ended, spring came, then summer, then fall and once again, a new year would start and pass by. Yixing and Luhan decided to wait until they graduated college to get married. They focused on school and had their regular coffee dates, but the regular coffee dates became less frequent and Yixing slowly became weaker.


They held their agreement and got married shortly before the end of the school year. It was the last week of school and the happy couple were walking down the street, intertwining fingers closed tightly together. The sun was shining bright and students were busy running around the city excited to finally be done with the long four years of college.


"Last week, I saw an apartment that looked really nice. I think we should buy it and finally move in together next week." Yixing blurted out of nowhere.


"An apartment? Really? What's it like?" Luhan asked, excited about the idea of moving in with his husband and finally starting the next chapter in his life.


"Want to see it? We can go there now if you want." Yixing said.


"Yeah, let's go, I'm curious." Luhan replied with half-smile.


"Hey, I'm not taking you if you don't show me a full smile." Yixing laughed.


Luhan laughed, showing a big smile and sparkling eyes.


"That's better." Yixing said approvingly, grabbing Luhan's arm and pulling him towards the direction of the student parking lot.


_________________________________________________________________________________


"It's down a block from here, but let's walk. We can see what different thing's are around here." Yixing said, parking his car and getting out.


Luhan got out of the car and made his way to Yixing. The two of them walked for about fifteen minutes before they got to the apartment buildings. Yixing stopped at the building's door, but Luhan kept walking.


"Yah! Where are you going?" Yixing shouted to Luhan who was well past the building.


Luhan turned around, "Why are you stopping?" He called back.


"Because this is it." Yixing yelled, pointing at the building.


Luhan walked back to Yixing, slowly looking up at the building in awe.


He walked past it not even thinking that he could have a chance living in a lavish apartment like the one Yixing had picked out. It was a huge building with a big clock on the top. There were elegant carvings on the edges of the building, clean glass windows, gold rimmed doors, a red carpet leading into the building and two young men standing by the door greeting guest's and resident's. This was nothing that Luhan was used to, let alone could ever afford in his life. Even when on vacation when he was a boy, his parents would always choose a hotel that had what was needed and was the most reasonably priced. This looked like a castle to Luhan, but for Yixing, it was just a regular looking building.


But Yixing didn't choose it because of the appearance. He chose it for a reason that only he could make deep meaning into.


"This?" Luhan said, emphasizing the way he said it. "This is the apartment we're going to buy?"


Yixing looked at him with disappointment, thinking Luhan didn't like it. "Why? You don't like it? You should come inside before you say no."


Luhan shook his head, "No, it's just so big and fancy. It's like I'm living in a fairytale."


Yixing grabbed Luhan's hand and they made their way inside the modern building.


"Okay, the elevators are right over here." Yixing informed Luhan as he walked towards the newly washed, golden elevator.


Yixing's eyes scanned the floor panel as he searched for the right floor. He finally found it and clicked the button that was numbered twenty-eight.


"The twenty-eighth floor? Isn't that the very top of the building?" Luhan asked with a worry on his face.


"Yeah. Isn't it great?" Yixing smiled. "I know you're deathly afraid of heights, but trust me, it'll be fine." He continued.


Luhan just gulped and looked down at the floor, putting one hand on the wall of the elevator wishing he didn't have to go up so high.


_________________________________________________________________________________


The elevator door slid open as Yixing lead the way to the end of the hallway to a double-door room.


He opened the doors and walked inside. The first thing Luhan noticed were the giant windows almost covering every single wall in the room. The ceilings were high and the sun was shining through the window's making the whole room light up.


"Take a look around. I've already been here a couple of times, but remember: If you don't like it, anything in here at all, we won't buy it. I'm going out to the bedroom balcony." Yixing said, looking at his husband with the same dazzling eyes that caught Luhan's attention when they first met.


"Okay." Luhan said slowly, still in shock from the big apartment room.


Yixing nodded and disappeared into a small hallway next to the kitchen area. Luhan lifted his head up and looked around while still standing in the same spot. The apartment was beautiful but he still had to get used to the fact that it was really a place for wealthy people to live in. With his money and Yixing's money combined in addition to the amount of money Yixing's parents gave him to move into an apartment, they could definitely afford to live there, but was it really Luhan's style? Yixing wasn't the type that looked much into appearance or spent his money as if it grew on trees, and Luhan knew that. Yixing loved saving money for the important things that he needed and with his humble personality, he never bragged about his money or made it a big deal. He actually didn't like talking about it. He kept it to himself and didn't make it a priority to always wear the best brands or get the latest and most popular technology like some of the other wealthy people Luhan knew. That's one of the reason's Luhan loved his husband. He always thought of other people before himself and always treated everyone equally no matter what their situation was.


Luhan started to explore the big apartment walking towards the kitchen first. He opened all the cabinets and brushed his hand against the stainless steal appliances making up the kitchen area. The granite counter tops were stone-cold and the island and mini-bar both had a small display of fake fruit sitting in a deep silver bowl. He looked at his reflection through the bowl and moved on to the next room. The next room held a big flat screen TV on the wall and a DVD player with game remotes in a shelf underneath. There was a large couch in front of the TV and two recliners on either side with built in cup holders and foot rests. In between the island in the kitchen and the TV room, there was a brand new grand piano waiting to be played by the new owners. Luhan pressed the middle 'C' key and went to the next room which had a pool table and a few other billiard games with a small snack bar on the side. Throwing a dart from the floor onto the dartboard hanging on the wall, Luhan made his way to the next room which was empty, probably a space for the new owner's to choose the use for.


Suddenly wondering where Yixing was, Luhan walked around the apartment trying to find him. Finally he found him in a master bedroom, the one room Luhan hadn't been in yet. The sun was beginning to set and he stopped at the doorway looking at Yixing sitting outside on the balcony, looking out into the city and occasionally looking up at the sky. He looked peaceful there and Luhan was debating whether to go in or not. He stepped into the bedroom and sat on the king sized bed and watched Yixing. After a few minutes, Yixing looked behind him and saw Luhan. He motioned for Luhan to come outside but Luhan looked frightened to do so.


Yixing opened the glass door, "Come on, it's really beautiful out here." He smiled.


Luhan loved that smile so he slowly walked towards the glass door and stepped outside into the warm summer air.


Luhan took one look down from the balcony and turned around to go back inside feeling dizzy but Yixing grabbed his arm and pulled him back.


Yixing slowly walked behind Luhan and pushed him closer to the balcony rail, wrapping his arms around Luhan's waist and turning his head to look at him.


"Look." Yixing whispered.


"Look where?" Luhan replied.


"Just look." Yixing said.


Luhan looked out in front of him realizing why his husband was so mesmerized by the view.


The orange sun was setting and its thin rays of light shone through the sky. The billboards interchanged every half a minute, letting the
city know what the newest products were. The birds flew high, making their bodies look like silhouettes next to the sun. The noise of honking cars from below became more frequent as the night began and the temperature began to slowly drop.


Luhan took a deep breath and still felt uneasy standing on top of the highest floor of the building. His muscles grew tenser as he began to squeeze Yixing's hands tighter.


"Relax. I'm right here. I'm right behind you. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Yixing said, hugging Luhan from behind and squeezing his hands again.


Luhan relaxed his muscles and for the first time he didn't feel nervous being up somewhere so high. He felt like he was nearly on top of the world and he didn't feel one ounce of fear in him.


"What do you think? Can we buy it?" Yixing asked, still in whisper tone.


Luhan looked up in the sky and closed his eyes taking everything in and making the moment last.


He slowly nodded, silently answering Yixing's question.


"Yixing?" He whispered.


"Yeah?" He replied?


"Don't let go."


"I won't."


Luhan squeezed Yixing's hand again making sure it was still intertwined with his, and Yixing squeezed back with his warm, soft hands.


"Promise?" Luhan whispered.


"Promise." Yixing whispered.

_________________________________________________________________________________

A year later, the crisp autumn leaves were falling from the trees and Yixing's days of living were becoming shorter and shorter.


"I'm home!" Yixing called as he opened the door to their apartment, using as much strength as he could.


Luhan got up from the couch and greet his husband with a hug.


Yixing was pale and looked tired. He stood in front of his husband looking like he wanted to say something.


But he didn't.


"What's wrong?" Luhan asked, his voice trembling.


"Nothing." Yixing replied. "I'm going to get a glass of water then take a little nap. Wake me up when dinner's ready." He continued, kissing Luhan on the forehead.


Luhan stood there watching Yixing as he walked to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, swallowing at least six different pills.


"Yixing, are you okay?" Luhan asked uncertainly.


"I'm fine." Yixing said, walking past Luhan and heading towards the bedroom.


Luhan stood there not knowing what to do. He knew that something was wrong.


He made his way to their bedroom to continue asking Yixing questions, but when he got there he didn't open the door.


Luhan stood there silently, reading the yellow sticky note that was stuck to the closed door.


"Don't worry about me now. Let me rest. I need it. I'll talk to you at dinner and tell you what happened at my doctor’s appointment. I promise."


He ripped the sticky note off the door as he read another sticky note that was on the bottom of the door.


"Oh, and don't forget: I love you Xiao Lu."


Luhan felt a tear fall down his cheek as he bent down and took the second sticky note off the door.


He quietly opened the bedroom door and slipped in without Yixing noticing.


Walking over to his dresser, he opened up a small keepsake box and dropped the two yellow sticky notes into it.


Ever since the day of the proposal, Yixing always wrote important messages or just a few words on a sticky note and stuck it in places he knew Luhan would find it.


Yixing had written dozens and dozens of notes to his husband, and Luhan kept every single one of them.


Luhan through all the notes in the box, smiling at the memories from all of them. He looked back at Yixing making sure he wasn't making too much noise. He closed the box, walked over to Yixing, kissed him on the cheek and picked up a sticky note from the night stand that was next to the bed. After finding a pen, he wrote something on a blue sticky note and stuck it to the back of the door where Yixing would see it when he woke up.


"I love you too, Yixing."

_________________________________________________________________________________


It was dark by the time Yixing woke up and saw the nicely set dinner table with Luhan sitting at one of the seats.


"Hey, you didn't wake me up." Yixing said, rubbing his eyes.


"I wanted to let you sleep as much as you needed it, and I was making dinner." Luhan replied, motioning for Yixing to join him at the table.


"This looks good." Yixing said with a smile.


"I'm really worried about you." Luhan said.


Yixing's face turned sad as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from Luhan.


"I went to the doctors again today." Yixing said as he reached for a spoon.


Luhan watched as Yixing hand trembled as he scooped out the vegetables.


"I know. And I want to know what they said. Tell me everything." Luhan said anxiously.


Yixing dropped the spoon, sighed and leaned back in chair.


"Well first of all, I can't play guitar anymore." Yixing said, looking up at Luhan.


"But that's what you love doing. That's one of the biggest parts of your life. You can't just give it up!" Luhan said forcefully.


"I know that. My body is getting weaker and my hands are starting to lose function. At some point, I won't be able to use them, and my doctor wants me to lay off the guitar because it's bad for my hands. I'll get more time with them if I stop playing." Yixing said, staring into Luhan's eyes, which were watering.


"Stop." Luhan whispered.


"I don't have that much-" Yixing started, "I said stop!" Luhan practically shouted as he interrupted Yixing.


"You said you wanted to know everything, and as much as I don't want you to hear half the stuff I'm about to say, I need to tell you." Yixing said sternly.


Luhan bit his lip and sat there waiting for Yixing to continue.


Yixing just sat there staring into space, having a blur of memories swarm around in his mind. The moment the drunk driver hit him, the moment he heard the doctor say he could no longer dance, the moment he knew everything would be okay, because he always had his guitar. But that was all in the past, and now his guitar playing was at an end.


Remembering how he had to quit dancing, Yixing continued, "Sometimes you have to give up things you think you couldn't live without, but in order to survive, you have to. I'm not going to live the rest of my life ignoring my doctor’s orders and be stubborn about it."


Luhan nodded looking at Yixing who was looking down and endlessly pushing the food around on his plate.


"Eat. You need food." Luhan said.


"I could say the same thing to you." Yixing said, nodding towards Luhan's untouched plate of food.


Luhan picked up his fork, stabbed it in a small piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth, "There. I ate." He said sarcastically.


Yixing looked at him with disapproving eyes.


"I have one month to live." Yixing blurted.


The fork that was in Luhan's hand, dropped and hit the cold hardwood floor.


Yixing looked at Luhan who had tears slowly running down his face.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Twenty minutes passed and the two lovers still sat there, not saying a word.


Yixing sighed again, "Speak. Say something. Please."


"I can't. How am I supposed to live without you? One month? How long did you know about this?" Luhan said through tears.


"I knew for a while. In the beginning, the doctor had said a little more than a year. The year is ending." Yixing replied.


"You knew about it this long and you didn't think to mention it to me? I thought you loved me!" Luhan cried.


"I do. That's why I didn't tell you. If I told you I had a year left, you would be so worried about losing me, that for that whole year you would have a mental countdown and not live happily. I don't want my life expectancy to be a burden. Look how much fun we had this past year and how much we accomplished. That never would have happened if you knew I only had a year left." Yixing explained, reaching across the table, taking Luhan's hand.


"You would never be a burden to me, Yixing. You know that. Why don't you seem upset? It's your life." Luhan said quietly, still slightly crying.


Yixing looked down and sighed again, "I don't know. I guess because I was expecting it. But I don't want to feel sorry for myself, I have a whole damn month left, and though I'm getting weaker as I speak, I'm going to make the best of what I have left. If I live the last days in sadness or anger, I would be living with no purpose. I want to die knowing that I lived my life to the fullest and made the best of it, up to the last second and my last breath. So, please. Help me with that. Help me live the rest of my life in happiness. I don't want to die knowing that the whole time you were worrying about me or feeling sad all the time."


Yixing looked up at the clock and got up from the table, leaving Luhan sitting there silently.


Luhan watched as Yixing took another big dose of his medicine and put his hand over his eyes, rubbing them in stress.


"I'll be in our room. Thanks for dinner, Lu." Yixing said, as he walked towards their bedroom and fluffed Luhan's hair on the way.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Later that night, Luhan walked into the room and found Yixing leaning over the balcony, looking up at the stars. He walked towards the glass door and slid it open.


"Hey." Luhan said, walking out onto the balcony and making his way next to Yixing.


"Hey." Yixing replied, "Isn't it nice out?"


"Yeah. It's nice." Luhan replied.


"Look at all the stars." Yixing said. "You know why I chose to live here?"  He continued.


"Because it's big?" Luhan guessed.


"No. I don't care about the size of it. It's a nice place that we could afford, but that's not why." Yixing said, looking up at the stars.


"Is it because of the balcony?" Luhan asked.


Yixing nodded, "When I was younger, my father used to bring me up to the balcony on our house and lift me up to see all the stars through the telescope we had. He told me that each one was unique and different, like a snowflake, no two stars are alike. I asked him how the universe could be so big. I thought that the universe was bigger than everything in the world, but he told me that there was one thing that was bigger than the universe, and nothing was bigger than it. I didn't believe him of course, but I listened to him anyway. I remember looking through the telescope trying to find the biggest star that was in the sky that night. 'But Dad, what's bigger than the universe?' I asked him. He looked at me and told me that 'Nothing was bigger than love.' My father began to work more after that and he would be at working all hours at night and I no longer got lifted up to see the stars every night. But as the years went by, I grew taller and I was able to look through the telescope without needing him to lift me up, but even though I could reach, I was always looking at the stars by myself. It felt empty but it was calming and I loved to just stand out there and think about life while looking at the stars. Standing here looking out at the sky and looking down on the city lights makes me feel a sense of home. It makes me feel a sense of my childhood memories and it makes me feel like I can do anything."


Yixing kissed Luhan on the top of his head, "Remember Lu, nothing is bigger than love."


"When I'm gone, look up and find the biggest and brightest star in the sky. That star will be me. Even when the sun is out, the stars are still there. Even though you can't see them, they're there because they never leave the sky. Remember that, because if even though you can't see me, I'm always in your heart. I'll never leave you." Yixing whispered.


He turned around and walked back inside to brush his teeth and go to bed. Luhan watched his husband move slowly to the bathroom, and then he looked back up into the night sky, tears falling from his eyes.


_________________________________________________________________________________


For the next few days, Luhan got up early in the morning and learned the chords to Yixing's song. He had no experience so he was at it for twelve hours at a time, determined to learn it. If Yixing couldn't play, he should at least have the joy of hearing his song. Luhan's fingertips became rough from playing guitar constantly but he finally mastered the song, and only that song.


It was a cold night and Yixing was out on the balcony as usual. Luhan put Yixing's guitar strap over his head and started playing Yixing's song while walking towards the balcony and behind Yixing.


Yixing turned around immediately after he heard his song and his jaw dropped as soon as he saw that it was his husband playing it. Yixing started crying as he looked up at Luhan's glistening eyes and his soft lips turning up into a smile.


"You learned my song?" Yixing gaped.


Luhan nodded, "I learned your song." he repeated back.


Yixing wiped the tears from his eyes, and hugged Luhan, "Thank you." he whispered into Luhan's ear.


Luhan could tell that learning how to play the song meant the world to Yixing, and just knowing that made him feel like happiest person who ever lived.

_________________________________________________________________________________


It was now the first week in December and there was already snow on the ground. Luhan was sitting on his bed looking through all his developed photos from the past few years. Most of them were of Yixing or of the two of them together, but a lot of them were of the memories they shared. He flipped through photos of their drinks at the café they always had, the delicate strings on Yixing's guitar, the autumn leaves and the college campus they graduated from years before. There were countless photographs of the memories, but Luhan stopped looking through the photos when he came across a photo he had forgotten that he took. It was a photo of a spilled canister of Yixing's medicine. The pills spilled out on the counter, each with a number and name stamped onto it. Luhan bit his lip and put the photos away, because seeing that photo was just a reminder that Yixing didn't have that much time left.


Three weeks including the current one, to be exact.


Just as Luhan put the photos away, Yixing came into the room and collapsed onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling.


"What time is it?" He asked.


"Probably around four o'clock, why?" Luhan replied.


"Just wondering. Time slips away fast, don't you think? It feels like just minutes ago I was waking up and eating breakfast." Said Yixing.


"Yeah. Time goes by fast." Luhan mumbled to himself.


"What?" Yixing said, unsure of what his husband had just said.


"Nothing." Luhan said, quickly.


Yixing looked at Luhan who looked tired, "Hey, are you okay?" He asked.


Luhan gave him a half-smile.


"That's your half-smile. You're not okay. What's wrong?" Yixing asked, moving closer next to Luhan.


The two of them lay side-by-side on their bed and their hands were now intertwined with each other.


"I'm okay, really. I'm just thinking about life." Luhan said.


"I do that too. It's good to think about life and reflect on your days, but don't think too hard or you'll set yourself up for disappointment." Yixing replied.


"What do you mean?" Luhan asked.


"I don't know, sometimes when you think to hard about what you did in the past, you only remember the flaws and mistakes. When you just look at the big picture, you'll see the positive things. I've learned that." Yixing explained. "Anyway, should I start dinner? I know it's early, but I'm tired and I'll probably end up falling asleep around six o'clock" He continued.


Luhan let go of Yixing's hand and sat up, "I'll make it, you rest."


"Luhan, you know I'm not helpless, right? I'm still functional, just not as energetic as I was. I can make it." Yixing said, disappointed that his husband didn't think he could do anything for himself anymore. "You've been doing a lot for me the last couple of weeks and I really appreciate it, but really, it's time for you to get some rest. I'll make dinner."


Luhan sighed, giving into Yixing's request, "Okay, okay, I guess I can take a nap or something."


"Good. Dinner in a half an hour." Yixing smiled.


Yixing slowly got up and walked out of the room, unaware that it would be the last time he ever cooked dinner.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Two weeks later, Yixing became unexpectedly weaker, faster than his doctors predicted. The most Yixing could do was walk from bed to the balcony.


Yixing and Luhan were both sitting next to each other on the balcony, once again, looking up into the sky.


"How are you feeling?" Luhan asked Yixing.


"Can't complain." Yixing replied, eyes still glued to the night sky. "I need more pills though. I finished my last dose this afternoon. I think I'm feeling pretty good now, I know I can't do much, but I really hate you waiting on me all the time. I'm going to go out and get another dose from the pharmacy."


Yixing started to get up but Luhan grabbed his arm and pulled him down again.


"No. I'll go get them. You can't even go to the kitchen and you expect yourself to be able to drive all the way to the pharmacy? I know you hate lying around all the time but you can't go from one extreme to the next so easily." Luhan said sternly. I really don't mind getting them for you. It's not a big deal." He continued while looking away from Yixing.


He sat there for five minutes without a response from him.


"Yixing?" Luhan said in panic as he turned around and saw his husband looking more pale than usual. His eyes became squinted as he was trying to keep them open. Luhan put his hand on Yixing's forehead which was stone cold.


"Yixing!" Luhan shouted at him, making sure he was still cautious.


"I'm okay." Yixing finally answered.


"No you're not. You need your medicine. I'm going out to get them now." Luhan said as he picked Yixing up in his arms and brought him to their bed.

Luhan suddenly felt weak as his heart began to suddenly throb. He ignored it and left the room after softly kissing Yixing on the lips.


"Luhan?" Yixing called.


Luhan ran back into the room, "Yeah?"


"Before you leave, can you bring me that white gift bag that's on the kitchen counter? Don't look, just bring it to me please." Said Yixing.


"Uhhh, okay." Luhan said, making a run for the kitchen, grabbing the bag then tossing it onto the bed, "Call me if you need anything, I'll be right back."


Yixing nodded slowly and waited for the sound of the apartment door to be shut. When he was sure his husband was gone, he opened the bag and pulled out an elegant looking, white and silver box with a red satin ribbon tied neatly around it. It was Christmas Eve that night and the box held Luhan's Christmas present in it. Yixing felt weak and his body was shaking. He reached for his phone and dialed the emergency number.

_________________________________________________________________________________


Luhan's car wouldn't start so he sat in the driver’s seat, hitting the steering wheel in anger.


"I don't have time for this! Yixing needs his medicine!" He yelled to himself.


After about ten minutes of frustration, Luhan finally got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He leaned against the door and clutched his chest as a sharp pain presented itself. He took a deep breath and ran out of the parking garage and out into the city streets, running in the direction of the pharmacy. He groaned as he got to the cross walk and waited as the cars zoomed past him. He could see the pharmacy from across the street which meant that he was that much closer to saving his husband's life. Luhan was catching his breath from running so fast when he started to feel dizzy. He held on to the pole that was next to him and closed his eyes. The pain in his chest began to stab him again as he gasped for air and fell to the ground and hit his head on the cold, snowy cement.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Yixing lay there in the hospital bed, tubes hooked up to him and IV needles stuck into his arms. He was about to close his eyes, when he saw about five doctors wheeling an ambulance stretcher past the room. A man was lying on it with his eyes closed. Yixing recognized the young mans face with just a quick glance.


It was Luhan.


He watched through his hospital room window in confusion and panic as the doctors turned the corner and headed down the hallway.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Luhan woke up in a hospital bed surrounded with equipment and wires attached to him and a tube to help him breathe.


He heard a knock on his hospital room's door as he looked up and saw a nurse and a doctor come in.


"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked.


"What happened to me?" Luhan asked, wanting to know why he was in the hospital.


"You suffered a minor heart attack, but you needed a heart transplant, so you received that last night. You also suffered some minor brain damage from hitting the ground so hard, so if you might forget things here and there." The doctor replied. "We'll take good care of you though, don't worry." He continued, as he adjusted some wires and made his way out of the room.


"Merry Christmas by the way." The nurse said with a smile, before leaving the room.


"Heart transplant?" Luhan said to himself, still taking in everything that was happening. "What was I even doing when I got a heart attack?" He questioned himself again.


Suddenly it hit him and flashbacks circled around him.


"Yixing!" He cried out as his eyes got wide and his eye's started to water. He looked around his bed trying to find the emergency help button that would bring doctors to his room if he clicked it. He finally found the small blue clicker next to his pillow and pressed it.


Within less than five minutes, his doctor came running into his hospital room, "What is it? Is everything okay Luhan?"


"I just remembered something. I need to leave." Luhan said.


The doctor looked at him strangely, "Leave? Leave where?"


"The hospital." Luhan replied.


"I know its Christmas and you'd love to get out of this place, but you just can't. Not until you're completely healed and we know the surgery went okay." the Doctor said with sympathy.


"I need to leave though. Now." Luhan stated.


"Why do you need to leave so badly? Is there something you need? I can see if I can get it for you." said the Doctor.


"I need to get my husband's medicine from the pharmacy. He need's it. He doesn't have much time left. Please just let me leave. Please." Luhan cried.


The Doctor looked down at Luhan and bit his lip while letting out a sad sigh.


"Where is he?" Luhan asked through tears. "Where is he?" he repeated again.


The Doctor put his hand on the side of Luhan's hospital bed and said, "I'll be right back."


Luhan wiped his eyes and watched as his doctor left the room.


When the doctor returned, he was holding a yellow sticky note.


Luhan looked at the piece of paper in the doctor's hand and tried to figure out why it looked so familiar. There was something strangely significant about seeing the sticky note, but he couldn't remember what it was.


The Doctor stuck out his arm and handed the sticky note to Luhan.


Luhan took the note from his hand and looked down at it.


"Remember Lu, nothing is bigger than love. My heart will always beat for you. Thank you for everything. I love you. -Yixing"


Luhan's tears fell onto the sticky note as he looked up his doctor, "What is this?" he asked.


"Who do you think gave you the heart?" the Doctor said, making his way out of Luhan's room again.


Luhan put his right hand up to the left side of his chest and closed his eyes.


He could feel his heart beating as tears continued to fall down his face, onto the yellow sticky note that he was still holding.


"Yixing." he whispered.


_________________________________________________________________________________


Luhan was discharged from the hospital on the night of Valentine's Day, two months later.


He opened the door to his apartment and slowly headed for his room. When he got there he saw a white and silver box with a red bow, sitting on his bed. He walked over to it in curiosity and picked it up. He carefully untied the ribbon and read the yellow sticky note that was placed underneath it.


"When I'm gone, look for me in the sky. Just like the stars never leave the sky, I'll never leave you. I'll be the biggest and brightest star when you look up. There are trillions of them in the sky, so you might think it'll be hard to find me, but trust me, you'll know it's me when you find it. Chase the stars tonight. I'll be waiting for you. I love you Luhan, Merry Christmas."


Luhan bit his lip to keep himself from crying as he carefully opened the box. He looked inside and saw a beautiful, silver telescope sitting in a bed of satin cloth. Luhan closed his eyes and took the telescope out of the box and made his way to the balcony.


He opened the glass door and walked outside into the cold, February air. He opened the telescope up and held it against his right eye, squinting his left eye shut. He leaned over the balcony rail and circled himself slowly around, looking at the stars in every direction until he laid eyes on a star that was particularly bigger and brighter than all the other one's in the night sky. He froze in his place and stood there looking up at the star through the telescope as a single tear fell from his left eye.


"I found you." he whispered.