Baekhyun's P.O.V

Baekhyun tries to not cry too much as he hurries to hug Chanyeol tightly. He doesn't know what to say, but he knows what he wants to do. He hugs Chanyeol tightly and inhales his sweet scent. He smells aftershave and shampoo, but it's a lovely combination. Chanyeol hugs Baekhyun back as tightly as he can and without saying anything, they just sit there on the bench.

Minutes passes, but none of them pulls out of the hug. Baekhyun leans against Chanyeol's chest and listens to his heart beating. Why does it hurt so much to hear it beat like this? Doesn't it hurt for him to know that Baekhyun will be leaving soon? Chanyeol doesn't even know that tonight Baekhyun will leave him and they might not see each other for a very long time.

“Baekhyun... I... I still don't want you to go... I don't know how many times I have said this now, but I truly want you to stay. If I can't make you stay, I want you to take me with you. I already know your answer, yet I want to ask.”
“You know I can't take you with me... Y-You know that... we might never see each other again... You know that so well... Yet you did all this...”
“I'm sorry... I did it because... I just can't let you go without telling you how I truly feel. I know that it's selfish of me, but...”
“Chanyeol... It's not selfish of you to express your love to someone... It's selfish to want to keep me here with you and put everyone in danger... Yet... I have thought about staying...”
“S-Stay then! Stay with us!”

Chanyeol pulls out of the hug and stares seriously at Baekhyun. His eyes are dazzling and he's already full of hope. Baekhyun feels another pain hit him as he opens his mouth to speak further, but instead he cries. Baekhyun cries as he holds the necklace tightly in his hand.

“I... I can't... I can never put anyone in danger like last time... C-Chanyeol... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for hurting you so much... I'm sorry that I can't be with you... I'm sorry for letting you fall in love with me...”
“D-Don't be sorry about me loving you! Baekhyun, I chose to love you and it was my choice to do this. Please... Don't cry... It hurts to see you like this.”
“Chanyeol... T-There is something... I need to tell you...”
“W-What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”
“Tonight... I... I will never return back home with you... Tonight... I-I'm afraid... t-that I will have to leave...”
“W-What...? I-I knew that you couldn't stay for that long, b-but j-just one more day-”
“I can't... The demons will be back after midnight... I was supposed to leave earlier today, but I managed to convince the angel to let me stay longer... I asked them to let me do such a selfish thing... But I didn't want to miss out what you had planned for me...”

Baekhyun feels the tears stream down his face as he puts a hand over his heart. It hurts... It hurts so much even though he's sitting right beside the one he loves so dearly. How can someone fall in love with another person this deeply that it feels like real physical pain? Why does love hurt so much when it's supposed to make you happy?

“Baekhyun... D-Do you... really mean that... I-I won't see you... tomorrow morning...?”

Baekhyun nods slowly while the tears roll down his cheeks. Chanyeol looks hurt and his eyes screams in pain, but he doesn't cry. He doesn't cry because he already sees Baekhyun cry out of pain. Instead he pulls Baekhyun into a warm hug and then just holds him there. He doesn't try to comfort Baekhyun with words, because he knows it's useless. He feels the same pain as Baekhyun, therefor he doesn't need to express how he feels himself.

“I don't want to go...”
“I know... I don't want you to go as well...”
“Chanyeol... I love you so much... I'm sorry for not telling you about it earlier...”

Chanyeol doesn't say anything as pulls out of the hug to stare straight into Baekhyun's eyes. Chanyeol's deep brown eyes is literally warming Baekhyun up from the inside with the love his showing Baekhyun. Baekhyun feels how Chanyeol's hands gently grabs his cheeks and wipes away the tears with his thumbs.

“Baekhyun... I love you... I will never love anyone else than you...”
“B-But what if I die-?”
“Don't say such things. Even if you die, I will never love anyone else than how I love you.”

Chanyeol then leans closer to Baekhyun and his lips meets Baekhyun's soft lips. The soft touch feels ridiculous good, but Baekhyun loves it. He wishes he can do things like those every day with Chanyeol, to spend his time with him and enjoy a lifetime with him. But he can't, because that will be too dangerous for them both.

When the kiss ends, Baekhyun can't help but to glance down at Chanyeol's clock. It's already late and Baekhyun will have to go soon. He knows that the angel woman is somewhere near here and that she's waiting for him. Chanyeol stares at Baekhyun who struggles to not cry again.

“I love you... Chanyeol... But... it's time for me...”
“To leave...?”

Baekhyun nods as Chanyeol struggles to not cry. Baekhyun hurries to hug Chanyeol again, this time kissing him at the same time. It feels weird since the kiss is both lovely but also painful. Then, Baekhyun pulls out of the kiss and hug before he forces himself to stand up. His hand holds Chanyeol's necklace tightly as he watches Chanyeol stand up as well.

“I... I don't know... If I ever... will see you again... But... I will definitely try to come by when it's safe.”
“Baekhyun... I will wait for you, till the very day I die.”

Chanyeol gently grabs one of Baekhyun's hands as he smiles. His warm smile hurts so much, but Baekhyun smiles back at him with teary eyes. Baekhyun suddenly senses another presence near him as he looks to the left to find someone who is waiting for him. It's the angel woman.

“Chanyeol... Tell the others that I'm truly thankful for everything they have done... Tell them that if I never see them again...”
“You will see them... W-We will meet again.”
“But just in case we don't... Tell them that I have never had such wonderful friends as them. And I have never loved anyone so dearly as I love you.”

Chanyeol struggles with the tears. This time it looks like he can't handle the pain as a tear streams down his cheek. Baekhyun never thought that it is even possible for Chanyeol to cry like this, but yet he cries right in front of Baekhyun. Chanyeol is always so strong and kind, it feels so weird to find him crying. But it's only a sign of love and it painfully warms Baekhyun's heart to know that Chanyeol loves him as much as he loves Chanyeol.

“Dearest Chanyeol and Baekhyun, I have come to interrupt this very touching moment.”

Baekhyun looks up at the angel woman who is suddenly standing by their side. Chanyeol almost jumps ten meters up in the air as startled he gets. Baekhyun hurries to grab Chanyeol's hand to calm him down while the angel woman smiles apologetic at him.

“I'm sorry if I startled you young Chanyeol, but I couldn't resist to come over anymore. Baekhyun, we need to leave before we put Chanyeol in danger again.”
“M-Mm... I understand.”
“But before we leave... Let's leave him a gift.”
“A-A gift...?”

Chanyeol stares at the angel woman who nods. She then reaches her hand out to Baekhyun and she only has to touch his forehead before something strange happens. Baekhyun's body gets filled with a strong and light power that fills him up. Within a second, his wings appears by his sides as the woman smiles gently. Chanyeol stares at Baekhyun with amazed eyes as the woman clears gently.

“Chanyeol, have you ever heard someone say that an angels feather makes your life better?”
“N-Not really... I have heard things like: an angels feather makes you a speeder.”
“Haha, what a lovely way of thinking. But the truth is, a feather from an angel can actually give protective power.”
“W-Won't it attract the demons if he has a feather from me?”
“It will only do the opposite. If you leave a feather to Chanyeol that comes from your very own wing, then it will give him a protective power that will make the demons blind. They won't be able to go near Chanyeol or his home, because the feather symbolize peace and innocence. With other words, the demons can't attack him because of an invisible barrier.”

Baekhyun stares amazed at his wings and Chanyeol does the same. Carefully and gently Baekhyun touches one of the wings before he finds the softest feather he has. With a quick snatch, he picks the feather out and holds it carefully in his hands. This little feather... can protect Chanyeol while he's gone?

“C-Can I give more than one feather?”
“Of course you can, but they won't grow out very quickly. Pick only some few if you have too and don't give them to just anybody. Just give them to the people who you think deserves them.”
“Then... This one is for Chanyeol. And...”

Baekhyun picks four other feathers before he holds them out to Chanyeol. The angel woman watches Chanyeol gently receive the feathers while his eyes stares at them with such precious expression. It's like he thinks they're fragile diamonds.

“The other four is for Sehun, Kai Suho and Kyungsoo. Make sure they receive them and that you take good care of them.”
“Y-You just... picked your own feathers...”

Chanyeol stares with wide eyes at Baekhyun, like he expects Baekhyun to be hurt or start bleeding. Sure, it did sting and the spots missing a feather feels a little sore now. But the pain is very small compared to the pain he feels when he thinks about Chanyeol and the others getting hurt because of him.

“Chanyeol... Be careful on your own and... Don't be scared to live your life. As long you have the feather somewhere at home where it's safe, then you will be safe.”
“Baekhyun... It's time to leave. I'm afraid that we can't waste more time here.”

Baekhyun nods as he gently puts a hand on Chanyeol's cheek and smiles. He will miss him so much, but he has the necklace with him. He will think of Chanyeol every day and pray that he and the others will be safe. And one day, they might meet again. It's not a promise that they will meet, but Baekhyun will still hope to see him again.

Chanyeol's P.O.V

Chanyeol tries to find the right words to say as he watches the woman grab one of Baekhyun's hands. She then smiles a sad but kind smile towards Chanyeol. Within only a second they're gone. Chanyeol doesn't know how but they just disappeared out of nowhere. He hurries to look around to spot them, but they're probably already far away from here.

Chanyeol feels how tears stream down his cheek as he struggles to not collapse on the ground. He forces himself to walk over to one of the benches where he sits down while the tears rolls down his cheeks. It hurts... It freaking hurts... Chanyeol stares down at the feathers in his hands, they're all from Baekhyun. It hurts to see them, but it somehow warms him on the inside.

Baekhyun never wanted to leave, but he had too. He left to protect everyone, to keep them out of danger. Yet it hurts so much to know that they might never see each other again. He wants to believe and hope that they will meet one day, but that might never happen. All he has left of Baekhyun are those feathers. One of them is his, the whitest one that feels softer than anything else Chanyeol has ever felt. The other feathers are for Kai, Sehun, Kyungsoo and Suho.

Slowly Chanyeol picks up his phone and looks up Suho's number. He knows that he won't be able to hide the sadness in his voice, but he can't sit here the whole night. He has the feathers in his hand and he doesn't want to accidentally lose one of them. Suho picks up after three signals passed.

“Suho... It's me... Can you... come and pick me up?”
“S-Sure, but... Is everything alright?”
“I will explain everything when we get back home... Just... please come and pick me up...”
“I will come right away. Are you at the park or near the restaurant?”
“The park... Meet me there please...”
“I will, I promise.”

After that, Suho hangs up on the phone and leaves Chanyeol alone in the silent park. Why does it feel like everything is so peaceful? Baekhyun is gone and there are demons trying to kill him out there somewhere. Why must everything be so freaking... calm?

***

Suho doesn't say anything on their way back home to his mansion. Chanyeol, who doesn't know what to say, sits silently on the passenger seat. The car is totally silent, not even the radio is like it usually is. The past days, everything has been so lively and wonderful, but now it's silent and just... dead?

When the car gets parked outside Suho's mansion, the others already stands waiting at the entrance. Both Suho and Chanyeol walks silently towards them as they look confused around. Chanyeol can clearly see what they're all thinking: Where is Baekhyun?

“Let's go inside... I... I have something important to tell you.”

The others nods slowly, but they already seem to understand what is going on. Suho must also have understood what has happened when he picked up Chanyeol and therefor didn't say anything on their way back home.

They all walk into the mansion and Suho leads the way to the living room. Chanyeol holds he feathers in his hands gently, he doesn't want to break them or misshape them by mistake. They all sit down on the soft couches as Chanyeol lets out a long, yet painful sigh. Now they all really knows what is going on.

“Tonight... Baekhyun... Had to leave... That's why he's not here now. He said that... he truly doesn't want to leave us, but he doesn't want to put us in danger. The angel woman who cured Baekhyun was also there when Baekhyun left... She... told him about something that could protect us while he's gone... Those feathers is a gift from Baekhyun. Those are literally his own feathers from his very own wings. If you put this somewhere safe in your homes, you will be protected from demons and they won't attack you. Baekhyun wants to be sure that we all are safe, even though he's not even here. Therefor he gave us all a feather each. But... he also want us all to remember him.”

Chanyeol falls silent for a while as he struggles to not cry. He watched Baekhyun leave and he was the last one to speak to him. Everything that happened this evening and night was so wonderful, just like it's supposed to be. But tonight ended sadly and they all can only accept the fact that Baekhyun is finally gone for now.

“He told me... that he has never had any better or more wonderful friends then you guys...”
“And what did he think about you?”

Kai asks quickly before Chanyeol can say anything else. Well, what should he say? Baekhyun said he loves him and Chanyeol believes him. But... their love is so complicated.

“He... accepted my gift with tears...”

Chanyeol struggles even more to not cry as he lets his head hang low to not show the others that he's on the edge to cry. He loves Baekhyun so dearly, he can't help to feel this pain in his heart now when Baekhyun is truly gone.

“H-He said that... we might not see each other ever again... Yet he... He promised he would always remember us all... And that he would always... love us...”

Chanyeol's voice is cracking by now and his eyes is full of tears. The others doesn't say anything for a couple of minutes before Kyungsoo finally moves. He hurries to walk over to Chanyeol and within a second, he hugs him. Chanyeol tries to not cry, but the tears still somehow manages to stream down his face. The others look pained, but they somehow look happy.

“At least we all know that he truly cares about us...”
“Let's never forget him... Never.”
“I wish I could have done something more for him before he left...”
“Hyung... We love you... Please come back to us safely.”

Chanyeol tries to not sob, but all he can do is cry. His heart hurts so much, it's almost unbearable to just sit here and let it ache. Why did he let Baekhyun go? He knew that he might never see him again, yet he let him go.

“Chanyeol... Have you ever heard the quote 'If you truly love someone, then let them go'? That is exactly what you did with Baekhyun and you did the right thing. Don't ever think that you were stupid or foolish to let Baekhyun go. He didn't want to stay if he would hurt us, therefor he needed to go. He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to us. He said it himself, remember?”

Chanyeol nods as Kyungsoo pats him gently on the head. Chanyeol sits up and lets Kyungsoo pull out of the hug before him. He can't believe that Baekhyun has actually left them this time. He's not dead, but he won't be able to be with them. He might never see Baekhyun again...

“Here... Your feathers... I almost forgot.”

Chanyeol holds out the four feathers Baekhyun picked for Suho, Kai, Sehun and Kyungsoo. They all carefully picks one of them each as they holds it carefully in their hands. They're just like Chanyeol when they hold their feathers: they're scared that it will break so they hold it as lightly as possible.

“This is... from Baekhyun...?”
“Mm... This is... his last gift to us before... he left.”

Chanyeol tries to keep his voice steady, but it won't stop cracking from time to time. Chanyeol stares down at the soft feather in his hand before he closes his eyes. He can still see Baekhyun in front of him with a huge bright smile on his lips. He looks so happy and he's saying something, but Chanyeol can't hear what he actually says.

“Let's go to bed everyone... It's late and we still need to get up tomorrow. The world hasn't ended after all.”

The others nod slowly as they gently holds onto the feather Chanyeol gave them. Everyone gets up to leave, but Chanyeol stays. He doesn't want to move or go to bed. He wants to sit here and think through the evening he had and what he should do from now and on. Baekhyun would probably want Chanyeol to go back to his normal daily life, but that would be... impossible.

“Chanyeol... Please go to bed and don't stay up like this. It will help you calm down, I promise you. Or would you rather drink some tea before you go to bed?”

Kyungsoo asks carefully as he approaches Chanyeol. He didn't leave with the others? Maybe he's worried about Chanyeol? Chanyeol hurries to stand up as he clears his throat and wipes away his tears.

“No, I'm fine... I-I will go to bed too. G-Goodnight Kyungsoo.”
“Chanyeol... Don't give up your hope, okay? He will come back to us, I just know that.”
“M-Mm... T-Then excuse me... I'm quite exhausted.”

Kyungsoo nods as he whispers a quick goodnight to Chanyeol who leaves the room. He doesn't want to worry Kyungsoo or the others. He will have to keep his sorrow to himself and hide the pain he feels until he's alone. From now and on, he won't let anyone see the pain and sorrow he feels.

Ayo guys! Wazzup?! :D

So, today I finally got to update again :D *cheers happily in the corner of my room all alone*.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, because I really enjoyed writing it. Anyway, I want to thank you all for reading and supporting this fiction! ^.^

And thank you for your love you have shown me and this fiction. All upvotes, comments and subscriptions are very appreciate, but isn't a must! Though, like I said, it's very appreciated and it motivates me to write more! ^.^

For now I don't have anything else to say except: let's stay tuned for the next chapter! Have a nice continuing day/morning/afternoon/evening! ^.^

Peace and love to you all! <3
/ Lovelo