[Year 19 of Exile]

My eyes flew open and I immediately turned my head towards the window, where the blinds had been drawn and sunlight streamed through the folds and into the room.

No need to change the weather. Good job, Mother Nature.

My eyes left the window and rested on a silhouette that lay on a couch next to it.  

His tummy rose and fell in time with his breathing as occasional snores echoed in the room. Sunlight lit up his features and his bangs obscured his eyes while his sharp nose scrunched up slightly as he sniffled. His hand left his side and reached towards his tummy where he scratched it through his wifebeater. He rested it there and when it slipped off after awhile, the cloth that covered his tummy moved and revealed part of his chiseled abs. Abs that he almost made me touch. That rascal! I smiled at that memory.

I stifled my snickers as a different snore surfaced. My eyes flitted to another silhouette on the bed that was situated right next to mine. His arm hung limply over the edge of the bed while the other was nestled under his head. Like his roommate’s, his bangs covered his eyes and his mouth was open. It was rather dark though I highly suspected that drool had escaped and was spreading over his pillowcase. I must remind the boys to wash their bedsheets and pillowcases later.

My hand reached over to him and gently brushed his hair away from his quivering eyelids. A small smile tugged at my lips as I slipped my hand into his and placed it back onto the bed. I was about to remove my hand when it got gripped tightly and I yelped softly in shock.

“Gotcha.”

He opened one of his eyes and grinned cheekily. Holding onto my hand, he let them fall into the middle of our beds and began to swing them playfully. I watched our hands for awhile before looking at him. Both of his eyes had opened and they were gazing at me intently. Even in the slight darkness, I could see them perfectly.

Hope. Fear. Worry. Determination.

Affection.

I could see all of that in his pair of orbs that shone like a cat’s in the bedroom’s darkness. I let mine turn into crescents as I smiled.

“Good morning, Kai.”

[Yixing]

“Good morning, everyone!”

I chirped as I bounded into the kitchen where almost everyone had gathered and they smiled at me. The smell of pancakes wafted within the space and I breathed it in fully and sighed in satisfaction at the pleasure it brought me.

“Here you go, Yixing.” Jen handed me a plate with a tall stack of pancakes. “Eat up!”

I drowned them in syrup and wolfed them down without further words. In fact, no words were spoken and only the sounds of twelve boys and one girl gobbling their pancakes can be heard.

“I’m going out into the woods today.”

I choked on the piece in my mouth and Sehun pushed his cup of apple juice onto my lips almost immediately. Gulping it down and blinking back tears, my ears listened to the conversation that gradually heated up.

“Why?” Xiumin-hyung.

“Just because.”