Sehun managed to keep Luhan relatively happy.
Luhan seemed to be comfortable enough with Sehun holding his hand in front of the other boys, but Sehun didn't dare push it and go further than that.
As he expected, Luhan seemed a lot more relaxed after they mailed his letter and Sehun could tell it really took a huge load off his heart.
The cute boy even laughed when Kris cracked one of his lame jokes, which was a big pleasant surprise for everyone including Luhan himself.
Luhan was slowly coming out of his shell, transforming into the bubbly and lovely person Sehun used to wonder if Luhan would ever be, and Sehun couldn't be happier.
But there was one thing Luhan insisted on, which was to watch the sunset together.
Sehun didn't mind.
That was as close to a date as they could get.

"You know what, Lu?" Sehun called out to Luhan, who was standing in the middle of the rose field, inspecting for weeds.
Luhan spun around and cocked his head in confusion at Sehun, and the latter returned the cute gesture with a wide grin.
He sat up straighter against the bark of the usual tree he rested by while he watched Luhan work on the roses, feeling perfectly content.
He decided to tease the other a bit.
Sehun kept the cheeky smile on his face and swallowed his words back in.

"What?" Luhan's brows furrowed a little and he shifted in place on his feet, giving Sehun a displeased stare.
Sehun almost giggled out loud, but he held his laughter in just in time and closed his eyes.

"Sehun!" Luhan whined.
Sehun pretended not to hear him and turned his head sideways, quietly chuckling to himself as he pictured the way Luhan's adorable little nose crinkled whenever he was unhappy with something.
Why are you so perfect?

"Sehun-ah!" The annoyance made Luhan's voice a little higher than usual, and Sehun couldn't resist how cute Luhan sounded.
He opened his eyes to see the annoyed boy frowning at him with his nose crinkled.
How do you always do this to me?
The butterflies in Sehun's stomach became stronger as he took in the lovely sight before standing up and approaching Luhan.
Without a word he picked Luhan up off his feet and spun him around in circles.

"Ah!" Luhan yelped, immediately grabbing hold of Sehun's shoulders and shutting his eyes.
Sehun felt his heart beating faster at Luhan's reaction and he twirled them around faster.
You're driving me insane.

"Stop..." Luhan cried softly, and Sehun complied.
He carried Luhan back to his spot under the tree and set Luhan down across his lap.

"I'm dizzy." Sehun smiled at the spinning image of the rose field in front of him while Luhan nestled his head on the crook of Sehun's neck.

"We made a mess."
Sehun's vision slowly returned to normal, and he could see fallen leaves and rose petals swept around a circle in the middle of the field.
He felt oddly proud.

"We'll fix it." Sehun murmured lazily.
Luhan nodded, his fine hairs brushing against and tickling Sehun's neck.

"What were you going to say earlier?"
That I love you.

"You look really cute when you pull weeds out."

"Anything?"
Luhan shook his head and his eyes droop, not bothering to hide the disappointment from Sehun.
A month later, there was only post for nine people.

"Don't blame her. Maybe she's not ready to reply." Sehun hugged Luhan tightly and led him back into their room.
Luhan nodded slowly, clearly thinking otherwise.
However, months passed and winter came, but still no letters from Luhan's mother no matter how many letters he wrote.

"I don't think she's going to reply." Luhan bit his lip, tucking his knees closer to his chest.
He was sitting in Sehun's spot under the tree with a thick muffler borrowed from Tao and one of Chanyeol's wooly hats.

"Don't lose hope just yet, Lu." Sehun smiled, even though he knew he was growing more impatient and frustrated at himself.
It was no good.
He was losing hope himself.
He wished he could track down Luhan's mother and scream at her for her to write back to Luhan.
But then that would be meaningless.
She has to want to do that on her own.

"'It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.' Persevere. And when she finally replies... It'll make you feel like the happiest person on earth." Sehun scooped up the last bit of snow that fell through the sparse gaps in the bare branches of the trees and onto the field.
He was exhausted from the heavy work, but the field was finally clear.
He had no idea how Luhan did it all by himself for the past two years.

"Maybe she still hates me..." Luhan said softly.
Sehun ignored the sting in his heart and walked over to Luhan, slapping the half-melted snow off his gloves before sitting down next to his lover.

"She loved you once though, right? Otherwise she wouldn't have given birth to you."
Luhan shook his head to Sehun's surprise.

"She kept me because she loved my dad once."

"My dad sent her flowers every year on her birthday. She kept them, with the cards and ribbon, on the kitchen windowsill. The year my dad died though... The flowers ended up in the trash."
Oh...
Sorry was an understatement for what Sehun felt, for both Luhan and his father.
He nodded solemnly and let his gaze wander off to the empty field before him.
Just like the field, Luhan's mother's love for his father died away and turned cold and empty.

"The flowers were the same every year." Luhan said softly after a brief silence.
Must have been her favorite then.

"What kind of flowers?"

"Roses. Eleven white roses, wrapped in a red silk ribbon."

"Is that why you love roses so much?"
Luhan nodded and his lips curved upwards a little.

"I thought of it as a reminder from my dad when I couldn't see him. That he loved my mother and he loved me too."
A reminder.
Sehun jumped up and got up on one knee, then turned and grabbed Luhan's hands.

"Sehun?-"

"Luhan! Your mother doesn't need three page essays. That's not love to her."

"Your father sent her favorite flowers every year as a symbol of his love, and she kept them because she believed he loved her. That's the kind of reminder she needs for you to tell her you love her." Sehun pulled Luhan up on his feet and tugged him gently in the direction of the opening.

"Come on, the last roses we saved before the snow fell are still alive!"

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update :/

Had some plotting to do, and as a result... A very Flangsty chapter.

Story should end soon!