Xiumin frowned as he walked with Lay and Chanyeol up to the latter’s office. The whole way there had been relatively quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts as the fire user let out little disgruntled noises every now and then at not finding a great solution. The ice user let out a little sigh, walking ahead of the other two and freezing his hand so it reached the temperature level needed for the door to unlock. The fire user remodeled the locks for his door to also include freezing temperatures so it could be opened. Once the signature clicks were heard, Xiumin opened the door while Chanyeol let their king enter first before they followed after him.   They walked inside, momentarily at a loss, before Chanyeol moved to get the folders and stacks of paper littering more than half of his shelves. He saw an old notebook tucked away in the corner of the tallest shelf, and he smiled. That was the notebook he found seven years ago and taught to Sehun to win them the battle. “Are you sure about this, king?” he quietly questioned, looking away from the notebook to turn and drop the stacks of paper onto the large desk in the center of the room they moved in there years ago.   Lay shrugged, “You know I won’t go down without a fight.”   “This is about your life though, Lay,” Xiumin protested, walking around to grab at pieces of paper and reorganize them again out of habit, “You could die.”   “But I won’t.”   “Don’t be stubborn this time, king,” Chanyeol argued, “You fainted at bringing back the smallest of animals. We haven’t had a chance to try and bring back a human who has died from unnatural causes. We don’t know what will happen if you try to bring both of them back in succession.”   “I no longer faint when reviving animals,” Lay answered back, turning around to go look out the windows and open them up for fresh air, “I believe I am strong enough to bring them back now.”   Xiumin frowned, about to freeze something out of frustration. His irises tinted ice blue as he looked to the king, “But believing you can do something and actually having the ability to do it are two different things. You can die, Lay. What about Suho?”   A moment of silence fell over them as the fire user looked up to stare at Lay’s back as well. They really didn’t know what their king was thinking. He was still a double-edged sword whether he liked to be called one or not. “King?” Chanyeol questioned quietly, wondering what the other could be thinking about now.   “I want to bring back Luhan and Kris so they can have a chance at being truly happy with each other,” Lay softly said, watching as birds flew by the window. He stared up at their beautifully painted sky. “But I don’t want Suho to suffer because of me.”   “We can’t keep messing with lives though,” Xiumin gently countered back, looking back down to their notes, “They won’t come back if they don’t want to.”   “We have to believe that they want to come back.”   Chanyeol looked at their king sympathetically, sharing a quick look with the ice user beforehand. “Luhan suffered a complete mental breakdown while Kris suffered a complete physical and medical breakdown. Don’t you think they’re happy now and not in pain anymore?”   Lay frowned before turning to look at his right-hand man, “I thought you wanted to bring your best friend back.”   “I do,” the other instantly said before walking forward towards the elder, “But if they don’t want to come back, you have to substitute your own life to bring one of them back.” Once he reached the elder, he pulled him in for a comforting hug. He tilted his head so he could lightly nuzzle the side of his head against the king’s temple. “Remember? We had to pull you away from accidentally giving up your own life for a steed who didn’t want to come back.”   Lay frowned at the memory, arms hanging by his sides as he let the younger hug him for however long he wanted. He was too focused in trying to bring back their steed that he didn’t realize he was slowly losing his own life in the process. He lightly shivered at the thought. The feeling of bringing something back always gave him gooseflesh.   “We can try having Chen shock them as well while you try to bring them back,” Xiumin mumbled out, concentration focused on the notes he was reading from a month ago, “If he delivers one strong enough, it could bring them back too.”   “His shocks couldn’t bring them back the first time,” Chanyeol murmured disapprovingly into Lay’s hair, “Striker would need help to bring them back, and he would probably hurt our king in the process.”   “But he has gotten stronger throughout the years,” the other countered back, moving the current sheet of paper he was reading away from him to look at another one, “It’s possible.”   Chanyeol frowned, “But Lay could still lose his life anyways.”   “I won’t die that easily,” the healer grumbled out, thinking about their little argument. He gently pushed their phoenix away. “Trust me, you guys.” The others looked at him worriedly, Chanyeol moving his grip to lightly hold the king by the shoulders. Lay looked at each of them and sighed. “Should I create another useless law that makes it to where none of you can look at me worriedly and fear for my health?”   “It’s a legitimate fear!” Xiumin exclaimed out, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, “You are our king! If you die, who would take your throne? You have been one of the best kings I have seen in a long time, Lay. It’s okay to keep them frozen together. They are together.”   “But what about D.O?!” Lay shouted out next in anger, looking to the ice user, “D.O. has been waiting for seven years, Xiumin. We’ve all been fortunate enough to still have each other, but for some unknown reason, Kai refuses to wake.” He shifted his gaze to the wooden table in the center of the room to keep himself from losing his temper completely and accidentally draining Chanyeol’s energy in front of him. “If waking Kris and Luhan will wake Kai up, then I will bring them back. D.O. has done nothing to deserve the punishment he got from the past queen. He has been loyal and true to our land and his calling even before they were called to each other.”   The fire and ice users quieted, looking down in shame. Their king was right. Their precious earth user had done nothing to deserve what he’d been suffering from all this time. Xiumin forgot often that Chen spent half of his time with D.O. if they weren’t together and he wasn’t watching over the land by himself. His calling often worried about the earth user not eating because of Kai.   “D.O. has been nothing short of patient, hopeful, and strong,” Lay gently continued, stepping away from the fire user to look at their notes himself, “I have seen our earth user cry himself to sleep at night, hitting Kai’s chest repeatedly hoping to wake him. I have seen our earth user’s eyes light up when he sees someone coming from the previous Land of Night, and he thinks it’s Kai suddenly coming towards him. I have seen our earth user try to find something to inflict immense pain upon himself, wondering if it would wake Kai up.”   Chanyeol and Xiumin frowned, looking to each other briefly before moving in to look at the papers their king was reading. The ice user timidly brought a hand up to wrap an arm around the healer’s back to rest on his hip before reaching up to lean his cheek on the other’s shoulder. “I am sorry, king,” he softly murmured, hearing the other let out a puff of breath, “I often forget myself.” They accepted their king’s decision.   “If things don’t occur how they should,” Chanyeol started off slowly, reaching across the table to get a chart, “Who would succeed you? Would it be Suho?”   Lay shook his head, sighing as he tilted his head against the top of the ice user’s in an act of acceptance. “He may be a great leader, but he may weaken if I leave.” He shifted his gaze to the fire user standing next to him. “I would choose you and Sehun to succeed me.”   “What?” Chanyeol gasped out, whipping his head down to look at his king, “What did you say?”   Xiumin tightened his hold on Lay, tilting his head up to look at the king curiously. There was no malice or ill intentions in his question. He didn’t want to take a position as important as that. There was only genuine curiosity. “Why Chanyeol and Sehun?”   The king hummed, shifting his gaze back to the papers in front of him. He had a small smile on his face, showcasing his loveable dimple. “Chanyeol knows all the secrets, strengths, and weaknesses of the Land of Day. He is raw strength and passion. Sehun has proven his strength and will when his people need him. He comes from the Land of Night, is compassionate, and is young; he will actually prove to be a great king.” He paused slightly, voice becoming even softer. “I would leave my position to the both of you.”   Chanyeol smiled softly at the compliments given to him and his husband. He moved his gaze down to the silver ring on his left fourth finger. Sehun had proven to be strong twice after the queen’s end, and he couldn’t have been more proud. “Thank you, our king,” he softly replied back, turning so he could bow to the elder.   Lay laughed lightly, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes, “Do not think more of it, sir Chanyeol. That is simply my opinion.” He looked back to the notes in front of him. “Let’s figure out a plan to bring them all back safely.”   The ice and fire users nodded, separating themselves and spreading out around the table. Xiumin looked out of the corners of his eyes to see Chanyeol still looking touched about what the king just told them. His own small smile grew on his face, and he caught his friend’s gaze, sharing the smile before getting to work.   ...   “What did I tell you about adding that to a hot pot?!” D.O. suddenly shouted out in panic, other chefs running around to grab buckets of water, “We don’t need to become the next Chanyeol!” He turned around to see Chen’s irises flickering between his normal dark brown color to a goldenrod color. His eyes widened in shock. “Chen! Don’t shock anything or anybody!”   “I’m trying not to!” the lightning user yelped out, grabbing one of the buckets a chef brought and dumping it into the flaming pot himself. He watched as the fire quickly died out before he sighed, trying to calm himself down.   The earth user let out a breath of relief, walking over to the pot to see everything in there already ruined. He sighed again before tilting his head to look at his friend next to him. “You somewhat ruined the food, Chen.” He watched as the other pouted, looking into the pot with him.   “I know.”   And for some reason, D.O. started laughing, heart still feeling light since an hour prior when they heard news of their friends waking up. Chen looked at him surprised before the younger’s happy expression soon caused him to laugh as well. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was glad the other was still enjoying himself.   “D.O?” he eventually chuckled out, watching as the other wiped away a stray tear from laughing so much. “D.O,” he sang out, waiting for the other to calm down enough.   The earth user continued to chuckle, picking up the ruined pot to bring it to an empty sink. “Come on, Chen,” he breathed out happily, walking back over to him to see what else they could cook instead, “Let’s try making something else.”   “I’m good at grilling things,” the other offered, following the other like a small puppy, “Let’s try that?”   “Sure,” D.O. happily said, getting stuff needed to grill some food. He hoped this dish didn’t turn out like the other four meals they tried to cook earlier.   ...   Baekhyun hummed as he and Suho walked down hall after hall, aimlessly traveling about. His arm was entwined with the elder’s, seemingly lost in their thoughts before they managed to catch sight of Amber walking around as well, talking to Luna. His brows scrunched together as he tried to focus his gaze on the other. She was still sweating from her class. “Hey, Ambs,” he called out, watching as the other two stopped talking to look at him.   “What’s up, flare?” she responded back, laughing when the other gave her a look. “Or did you want to be called blazing angel? Shining angel? Blizter?” Suho and Luna laughed, watching the progress of their light user’s expressions. The extraordinaire gave a hesitant, nervous laugh. “Uh, what do you need, sir?”   The light user continued to stare at her before he sighed, pulling along the water user with him by the arm still looped around the other’s. “Go to D.O’s room in about an hour, extraordinaire,” he ordered, only to turn around and give her a playful smirk.   Amber noticed the look before rolling her eyes, continuing to walk ahead with Luna following after her, “Of course, sir Baek.”   The other laughed, turning down a different hallway. He looked at his partner out of the corners of his eyes to see the water user smiling happily before starting to hum again, shifting his gaze down to his left hand that was resting on Suho’s slightly propped up arm. He admired his own wedding ring, a silver band with three grey stones in a row in the center of it. “So,” he started off softly, stopping his humming, “You will become our king as well when you and Lay decide to wed.”   Suho looked at the other, slightly shocked at the sudden thought, before he chuckled. His gaze shifted down to the other’s ring as well, staring at it. “Most likely, Baekhyun,” he looked up to his friend, “Why do you say that?”   Baekhyun shrugged, lifting his gaze up to look at the windows they were passing by before realizing they were coming up to Luhan and Kris’ room. “It just popped up into my head. I don’t think you’re on the same level as Lay when it comes to leading a kingdom and whole land, but being with him for so long, I think you’d make a great leader as well.”   “Thanks?” the water user said uncertainly, earning laughs from the other man. He laughed as well, entering the designated room first.   “You give off a motherly or fatherly vibe,” Baekhyun explained, following the other in with a bright smile on his face. He immediately made his way for Kris, putting a hand up on the case to trace the designs on it. “This is the last time we’ll see them like this,” he commented quietly, walking up close enough so he could look down at the other, “Then we’ll have our endearing angel back as well as our odd Head Guard.”   Suho let out a sad sigh, walking up next to the other before turning to face Luhan instead between the two cases. He looked down to the other, admitting quietly to himself that even he thought the telekinesis user was captivating. “It will be weird, right?” he softly questioned, reaching out a hand to touch the other’s case, “When we pass by this room, it’ll be empty and probably contain an odd beauty around it.”   Baekhyun nodded, lifting his gaze away from his frozen friend to look around the brightly lit room thanks to the large windows to the side. They took their time decorating it, making sure it was fit for their two friends. The room was elegant and complimented their colors. It was even pristine because Luna was the one in charge of keeping the room clean. “I wonder what this room will become then.”   “Lay told me he was engaged to Luhan before,” Suho suddenly stated, his overwhelming thoughts getting the best of him. He continued to stare down at the frozen man in front of him. “He said they were going to wed even though they knew they weren’t each other’s callings.”   The light user looked over his shoulder, having expected that but never hearing anything to confirm it. “So, what happened besides the obvious?”   “They tried over and over again to will fate to let them be each other’s callings. They did everything together – they grew up together, they had fun together, and they slept together. They were even considered ‘the powerhouse couple.’” Suho then turned to Baekhyun, sad smile on his face. “How can I compete with that, Baekhyun?”   The other gave him a sympathetic look, turning around to pull the elder into a hug. It felt like that one time seven years ago when Lay broke down in his arms, wondering why he and Luhan weren’t each other’s callings. How ironic. He rubbed his hand on the other’s back soothingly, hoping the elder wouldn’t cry. “You’ve already won, Suho,” he murmured, “You give him steady strength and support like the waves of an ocean. You give him the space he needs but know when to come back.” He paused briefly, pulling away to look the other in the eyes. They were misting over. He gave him a small smile, “It may be hard to compete with Luhan when he wakes but know that you are the one Lay will always come back to. You are the one he really loves whether he knows it by now or not.”   Suho gave him a short look of uncertainty, “But-”   “Our king loves you, Suho,” Baekhyun firmly said, eyes shining with a mixture of mischief and sincerity, “We’ve all heard you two love each other at all times of the day in the most random of rooms anyways.”   “Baekhyun!” the other suddenly shrieked, completely caught off-guard by the other’s comment. He blushed, lowering his voice considerably. “You don’t just say that.”   The light user shrugged, smiling happily as he stepped away from the elder. He shifted his gaze to look at Luhan next to Suho. “He really does love you, Suho,” he softly restated, putting a hand on Kris’ case right behind him, “Even though he’s barely said it in all the times you’ve been dating. It’s clear as day.” He paused to wiggle his eyebrows at the other at the little pun he said before he continued, “He may continue to go to Luhan like the times of old, but he won’t feel the same with him like he does with you. He started feeling different about Luhan the first day you showed up to our land.”   Suho instantly became quiet, thinking his friend’s words over. He shifted his gaze to his own best friend frozen behind the light user. “The first time he told me he loved me,” he gently started, walking up next to the other to peer down at his sleeping friend, “The first time was when we first made love.”   Baekhyun tilted his head to the side and looked at the other uncertainly, a bit confused where he was going with this.   “The second time he told me he loved me was when we were swimming around in the Land of Night. I was messing with him and tickling him, making him laugh until day actually broke over there.”   The light user smiled, remembering both their healer and their water user coming back from the other land looking refreshed and truly happy.   “The third time he told me he loved me was after I woke him up while he was having another nightmare.” Suho slightly frowned at the memory. “I kept telling him I loved him and that he wouldn’t succumb to the pain his mother and Luhan felt and inflicted. He wouldn’t become anything like them because he is truly a great man.” Beats of silence passed between them before he felt an arm snake around his back and a chin gently place itself on his right shoulder. He smiled softly at the gesture. “I think all three times are significant enough because during each time, they were said during precious moments.”   “That is true,” Baekhyun softly said, smiling down at Kris’ sleeping figure, “I think he said those three words at some of the most important times of your lives.”   Suho’s smile brightened at the other’s agreement. He tilted his head to place it gently on the light user’s own. “Yeah, right?” They heard the door open, not bothering to remove themselves from each other.   “Yeah,” Baekhyun softly agreed with his own smile before shifting his gaze to see who entered the room. His smile softened as his irises shifted colors. “Hi, Zitao,” he called out, snuggling a bit closer to Suho anyways.   The other smiled back his own cute smile as Sehun closed the door behind them. “Hi, Baekhyun,” he responded back, walking over to Luhan’s case instead.   Sehun watched them curiously before following his other best friend to the past Head Guard’s case. “Do you think we’ll be ready for their arrival?” he quietly asked, wondering if Luhan would be just as fierce as he was seven years ago, “Or if they’ll be ready to awaken?”   Baekhyun shifted his gaze to Suho, both of them still leaning on each other, before answering for the both of them. “I don’t know, Sehunnie. Probably not.”   The wind user let out a noise of understanding, agreeing wholeheartedly. He still had the little fear of Luhan and his power inside of him, but only because he never got to properly talk to the man who tortured him when he first arrived. He still had a nightmare every now and then where he was choking and he couldn’t get the much-needed air into his body. “Please don’t hate me, Luhan,” he mumbled out, hand reaching out to touch the glass above the frozen man’s face, “Chanyeol is still your best friend.”   Tao smiled at the younger’s words, looping an arm around his shoulders. “He will not hate you, Sehun.”   “You never know,” the other murmured out, hearing the door open again to hear laughter coming from the other end. He turned to look who entered, only to see D.O. and Chen entering the room as well, smiling happily. He smiled at them before turning to look back down at Luhan. “They’re waiting for you as well. Don’t think you’ve just fallen through the cracks.” He felt Tao’s grip tighten on him. “You’re not forgotten.”   ...   “I swear,” Chanyeol excitedly stated, walking with the other two up to the designated room, “Sehun does this… this thing where he-” He let out a muffled noise when his lips were suddenly stuck together with ice. His eyes widened as he looked down to his o