Yixing is getting tired of walking, he's getting tired of the same grey walls everywhere, he's tired of ending up in the same places, and he's just tired of everything right now. Having woken up to the same bland walls, Yixing had crawled on to his knees, and had realised, for the first time, how hungry he was. And now, here he is, still slowly walking, his stomach growling, and his head full of angry thoughts. Pausing for a moment, with a hand on his stomach, Yixing wonders, if maybe, that their goal isn't to get out, but simply to survive. For all he knows, an exit might not even exist, and never has.

He hears something swish by above, and he looks, but doesn't see anything. Strong arms encircle his waist, and Yixing starts, scared, until he realises who they belong to.

"Yifan," he whispers, leaning back against the other. “Yifan…"

"Yixing," Yifan's calming voice says, and Yixing relaxes completely. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Are you okay?" Yixing asks, tilting his head to look up at him. "You're not hurt, right?"

Yixing giggles as his feet are slowly lifted off the ground; he has missed this feeling.

"I'm fine," Yifan replies, his arms tightening around the other's middle. "I would just like to fly with you for a little, even if not for long, or high…"

"Why not?" Yixing asks, confused, as they steadily rise higher until Yifan stops. They can just barely see the rest of the maze, and Yixing's heart drops at just how vast it is. "So, we can't just fly out of here, can we?"

"I'm afraid not," Yifan tells him. "There's a force field right above our heads."

Yixing reaches arm out, and when his fingers touch the surface, he knows that Yifan is telling the truth, not that he ever doubted him. He sighs, disappointed, when Yifan's arms suddenly tighten, to the point of constricting, and Yixing is finding it hard to breathe.

"Yifan, what's-!"

And then they're falling out of the sky, plummeting to the earth.

Yifan manages to slow down slightly before they both crash, and he takes the brunt of it, protecting Yixing. For a long time, they both just lie there, breathing heavily. Yifan has his eyes closed when Yixing turns to face him. There’s a trail of blood dribbling down one side of his face, and his leg is bent at a weird angle. Yixing is willing to bet that there are many other injuries that he currently can't see. Gathering what little energy he has left, Yixing sits up and places his hands first over the cut on Yifan's head. A familiar blue glow forms around his hands, and at first it feels normal, like any other time he's done this, but then it starts hurting. It starts in his arm, and just when he's almost done, there's a sudden spark of pain in his chest, which startles him into stopping. He takes a moment to recover, deciding to concentrate on Yifan's leg instead, but just as he reaches over, with a shaky hand, Yifan's hand shoots out and grabs his wrist, stopping him from doing anything more.

"Yixing… it hurts you, doesn't it?" Yifan whispers, his voice barely audible, and not continuing until Yixing gives him the barest of nods. "It hurts when I fly too… but just now, just now, I couldn't control myself… and I was scared. I'm glad you're okay though, but please, leave me, before I hurt you."

"No, no…" Yixing shifts closer, placing his head upon Yifan's chest, after his wrist had been released. "I'm not leaving you alone. We don't need to fly. Let me heal you, though, please."

"What if I hurt you though?" Yifan sounds hesitant as he raises his arm and sweeps aside a few stray strands of Yixing's hair away from his face. "I would never forgive myself…"

Yixing can hear the irregular beating of Yifan's heart, and Yixing wonders now, if like Yifan, Jongdae was also being controlled when he had led him on a wild goose chase. It's not a comforting thought though, not at all. Yifan's arms are encircling his shoulders now, and Yixing almost relaxes into the hold until he feels a dark aura that he hadn't felt earlier. It sends very unpleasant shivers down his spine. And then he's struggling, trying to get away from the darkness that's threatening to swallow him up.

"I'm sorry, Yixing," Yifan is whispering in his ear as they slowly rise into the air again. "I never wanted to drag you into this… but when I saw you… I just…"

He trails off and Yixing just smiles because he would have been the same way. He turns his head, so that he's partially facing Yifan, before lifting an arm and awkwardly making it so that they can share a kiss.

"And I don't mind," Yixing replies, lips still on Yifan's. "If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be by your hands."

Yixing can see Yifan's tears in the dark, shining as they slowly fall down his cheeks. And then the dark aura is back, stronger than before, and emanating from one very specific spot: the base of Yifan's neck. Yixing knows, now, that if they both want to survive, he's going to have to remove it. His hand releases Yifan's face, and moves to the back of the other's neck. For a moment he just feels about, trying to find the exact location, his fingers are prying, his powers reaching the small seed-like object, and pulling. Yifan screams and his entire body goes rigid as he starts thrashing about in the air.

Yixing can feel that it's almost out, and he prays that Yifan can hold on for just a moment longer, but then his arm loosens its grip, and they're falling. With one last desperate pull, the object shoots out of the other's neck and disintegrates in thin air. Yixing is now free falling, having lost his grip on the other. Having regained control of his body, Yifan reaches out and grabs Yixing's wrist tightly, attempting to slow them down, even a little bit. They still crash into the nearest wall, Yixing cradled against Yifan's chest, but it's just a slight bump.

"Thank you, Yixing," Yifan whispers, his arm pulling the other as close as possible. "I love you…"

Yixing places both arms around Yifan, just glad that his lover is okay. "I love you too…"

And that's all he can manage to say before tears fill his vision, and he realises just how scared he'd been. He subconsciously tries to get closer to the other, and he starts crying harder when he feels Yifan's hold on him tighten as well. And for a long time they just stay like that, never wanting to be away from the other again, having been this close to losing each other. 

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I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long OTL I think I'm going to try to update twice a week, since it still has a lot of parts. I'm almost done writing it, and when I'm done, I'll try to update it more often.

Thank you to everyone that's commented on, subscribed to, upvoted, and just taken the time to read this fic, it really means a lot ^_^ And a special thank you to Postcane1, your encouraging comments helped me a lot. <3

So until the next part, which I will post on Tuesday. For the rest of this week, I'll post every other day, promise. ^_^