At that moment in time, Kyungsoo didn't know who to put the blame to, Kai or Sehun. The bird boy was nowhere to be seen, and Oh Sehun was walking beside him. He really had no idea which was worse. Kai was a dream come true, and Sehun was a nightmare come true, quite literally. Then quite ironically, Kyungsoo desperately wanted Kai to be by his side. His presence made everything seemed more... Free.

"Who are you looking for?" Sehun asked suddenly. Kyungsoo instantly turned his head back to the front and answered quietly, "No one." Dragging the luggae behind him, the other asked in an amused tone, "Really?" "Listen here, kid," Kyungsoo said threateningly as he stopped in his tracks and turned to glare at Sehun, "I'm only going to bring you to wherever you want and then you will out of my life. Understood?"

It was difficult to give a death stare to someone who was at least a head taller, but Kyungsoo made sure he had made his point. Sehun on the contrary just looked at him with a blatant light and answered, "Are you sure I can out of your life?" "Why not?" Kyungsoo retorted, almost angry. He was trying to keep it in since they were in public.

Sehun then looked at Kyungsoo as if he were an animal to be pitied for. He began in his never changing drawling voice, "Well, your mother..." At this, the shrillest alarm rang in Kyungsoo's head. "What about her?" he asked in his coldest voice.

"She asked me if I would like to stay at your house."

"Well what did you say?"

"Of course I accepted! I don't need to spend money on accomodation. Kind of your mother, don't you think?"

Sehun laughed good naturedly and walked off, leaving a very seething Kyungsoo behind. Clenching and uncluneching his fists, Kyungsoo was somehow lost for words. This was too much. Was Sehun getting erased out of his life such a difficult thing? He then pursed his lips furiously and hurried after Sehun.

Once back at the house, his mother welcomed Sehun with a little more affection than he had liked. Kyungsoo shifted restlessly at the side, his eyes shifting towards the two every few seconds although he told himself not to. The more he stood there, hearing all their familial greetings, the poison seeped through his heart little by little. He never wished for it to return, for he knew too much of that poison would land him into deep trouble. He too, never wished to return to seven years ago.

But now, it was extremely difficult to clear the cloud covering his eyes. His mother and Sehun's exchange of greetings lasted for a while. With every 'how' asked, Kyungsoo bit back mentally with jealousy. 

Why are you still caring so much after what he did to your daughter?

How are you still so forgiving?

Why did you ask him to stay here?

Why do you chose him over me?

The last question hung around his mind relentlessly like a fly, and Kyungsoo had not had an answer for it for long years. It burned in his heart like never ending fuel, sometimes igniting small flames, sometimes causing wildfires. This time round, it was a wildfire.

By the time Sehun headed to the guest room, Kyungsoo was already filled to the brim with anger. "Why did you ask him back?" Kyungsoo lashed out harshly at his mother. He knew it wasn't right, but he was too infuriated to care. His mother stood rooted to the kitchen floor, shocked by his outbursts. Finally, she said, "I wanted you two-"

"To patch up? To hug each other like nothing ever happened? To smile at each other?" Kyungsoo cut in sharply, and his mother fell silent. He then continued in a fury, "You know best what happened to your daughter. Why are you always so lenient towards him?" At this, his mother responded quickly, but not without some of the fight going out from her voice, "I know, Kyungsoo, I know. B-But Sehun... He's been through so much."

Kyungsoo couldn't believe she was still defending Sehun. "Been through what?" he asked in a trembling tone, "He just walked away. He even flew to America. Not even one note of apology. He did it, Mum. Not me, not you, not anyone else. It was him." The two of them stared at each other tensely across the hall and his mother looked like she was about to break down into tears.

Kyungsoo wanted to as well, but he knew very well their intentions of letting the tears were vastly different. His was full anger, digust and anguish. "Why? I don't understand!" he shouted, "You always favor him. What about me? You never cared! You probably never cared about Kyungri anyway! That's why you're so... Forgiving towards that brat."

His mother couldn't hold it back anymore and she let the tears fall. Kyungsoo turned away, very much heartbroken and sad to see her crying. "You don't understand Kyungsoo..." He didn't wait for her to complete the sentence. Kyungsoo bit his lip in an attempt not to cry and half ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

The moment he hit the duvets, the tears just came flowing. All the pent up emotions came with it. It was terrifying how silent he could cry, but after all these years in silence himself, he wasn't surprised. He was only barely aware of a hand pressing gently against his forehead before he fell into the darkness called sleep.

Kyungsoo wasn't crying in the dream, which was good. On the other hand, the room had faded to grey, and the rose prints were a faded red. "I told you already," Kai said in a clearly disappointed voice, "You can't dream in color if your life isn't even colorful." "Yeah and thanks for leaving me there and flying off," Kyungsoo snapped haughtily as he turned around, glaring.

"You could have helped," Kyungsoo continued bitterly. It annoyed him to see Kai standing there, all holy and unaffected while he felt like a wreck. "I don't think it would have helped even if I were there," Kai said, looking right into his eyes. Kyungsoo immediately changed his trail of sight, afraid that the other's piercing gaze would detect the sharp shards of broken soul deep inside him.

Nevertheless, Kai said in a soft voice, "Kyungsoo, you cannot go on living like this." "It's not my choice to be like this!" The moment the words left his mouth, Kyungsoo knew it was a lie but he kept quiet. Whether Kai knew or not, he didn't reveal it. Kai then replied in an equally quiet voice, "It wasn't Sehun's choice either."

"Stop defending him," Kyungsoo retorted flatly. He was tired of hearing that name, so tired of remembering. As he looked at the grey floor, he could feel Kai's gaze settling on his back. A second later, Kyungsoo felt Kai's arm intertwined with his and he asked in tired annoyance, "What now?"

"You need to fly, Kyungsoo. The bird in you has been trapped for a long time," was the only thing Kyungsoo heard before the surroundings faded around him. Wind whistled around his hair and the grey faded into a picture of blue. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he took in the secnery below him. He was flying above the rocky coast, with great waves crashing onto the beach.

Taking in a deep breath of the salty yet refreshing air, Kyungsoo swooped through the air, his vision somehow enhanced and he no longer felt tired. Looking to his left, he noticed an eagle flying beside him. It gave out a ear piercing cry which echoed powerfully throughout the coast and dived down towards the sea.

Filled with a sudden thrill, Kyungsoo followed suit, dipping his head downwards and began falling at terminal velocity towards the sea. At the last moment, he gave a powerful sweep of his wings and took off upwards, with the sea spray wetting his feathers. Kai gave another cry above him and Kyungsoo returned the cry with his own before flying after the other.

The two started playing a game of tag, swooping, diving and somersaulting in mid-air, lost in time. Kyungsoo called out with cries of exhilaration so often that he nearly lost his voice. With the wind in his wings and the whole horizon below him, he felt unstoppable and never ever so free. It felt surreal, in a realm with only Kai and him.

The game continued for a while and Kyungsoo wanted it to last forever but Kai had gotten tired and he gave a cry as he flew back to the coast. Reluctantly, Kyungsoo beat his wings downwards and glided after the other eagle. Kai led them both to a dead and dry tree atop a rock overlooking the sea before settling down on a sturdy branch.

Kyungsoo flew in with a little too much speed and crashed into Kai unintenionally. Kai let out a muffled screech as Kyungsoo came tumbling onto him which made him feel good for it was so difficult to surprise the other. Kai playfully gave him a bite on the side of his head as punishment but Kyungsoo just laughed inwardly. 

Afterwards, the two of them sat under the tree in a peaceful silence, watching the waves crash and recede. Kyungsoo mildly surprised when Kai spoke in his mind.

Beautiful isn't it?

Yes, it is, he sighed happily in reply. I don't want to ever wake up.

Kai didn't reply to his sentence but Kyungsoo didn't mind. Sleepiness slowly covered his eyes and he subconsciously leaned his head over to Kai's plummage. The two of them enjoyed a moment of peace before they drifted off into sleep beside each other.

Days passed after Sehun had moved into their house and things had gone mildly well. Kyungsoo tried his hardest not to hiss at Sehun whenever he passed the taller along the corridor. Fortunately, Sehun was smart enough to not enter Kyungsoo's room. It was not only his privacy and artwork that he wanted to keep intact, it was the yellow-brown bird flying free that he wanted to keep out of sight.

Kyungsoo had certainly grown very attached to Kai over the course of time and secretly wanted to keep him for himself. He knew for sure he would go ballistic if Sehun found out the existence of Kai. For some reason, his parents were obliged to keep the bird as a secret. Maybe they felt sorry for him.

Kyungsoo missed seeing Kai in person no matter how long of a time they spent together in a dream. However, Kyungsoo was wary of Sehun at the same time, so he did not want to risk it. The dreams were good enough to compensate the missing physical contact though. Slowly but surely, the color had flooded back into the room and there was an even a newest addition of other rooms.

Then the day Chanyeol had picked for all of them to meet soon arrived. Sehun had left earlier in the morning to the dance studio to practice his dance and his parents were out working, leaving Kai and Kyungsoo alone in the house. That left Kyungsoo in an exceptionally good mood as he went to scavenge for food in the kitchen for breakfast.

He nearly had a heart attack when he found Kai leaning casually against the kitchen counter muching on an apple. "Good morning," Kai said simply while taking a bite off the fruit. Kyungsoo in a silent breath to calm himself down before answering, "Good morning." "You seem to be in a better mood today. May I know why?" the other asked as Kyungsoo shuffled around the kitchen to find the cereal.

Kyungsoo opened a cupboard and finally saw the blue box. Giving himself a mental congratulation, he then replied, "I'm going to meet my old university friends today. We're going to start on the exhibition for the university's art department." Kyungsoo then swiftly grabbed the milk carton from the fridge and poured the milk into a bowl before adding the cereal flakes.

The sound of Kai biting into the apple crunchily and the contact of the metal spoon against the ceramic bowl were the only sounds for a minute, then Kai said between a mouthfuls of apple, "I want to follow you." Kyungsoo momentarily stopped scooping cereal into his mouth when he heard that. "What?"

"Mm this apple is very sweet."

"Kai, this is very serious."

"Serious? What serious?"

For another moment, Kyungsoo felt completely lost as he stared at the other. These were very strange words coming from a nature spirit like Kai, plus he felt very protective over Kai. "Have you sort of, lost your mindi?" Kai took another bite and replied emotionlessly, "Nope. I sincerely want to see your friends."

"Sehun will see you."

"If you are thinking that by keeping me in here will stop the others from knowing me you are completely wrong."

"I-I..."

"Do this a favour, please?" Kai asked with a puppy-like smile directed towards Kyungsoo across the counter. Kyungsoo swallowed a spoonful of cereal and delivered another into his mouth as he stared at Kai contemplatively.

"Pleaseeeee-"

"Okay okay okay. I'll take you along," Kyungsoo quickly agreed, just as Kai began to add the puppy dog eyes to the smile. He didn't want to have an overdose of sugar early in morning. Kai then flashed a rare grin and exclaimed, "Thanks!" This is very strange, Kyungsoo couldn't help thinking to himself, He's become more human.

That soon became the very least of his concerns an hour later. "Kai, you can't just walk out onto the streets in broad daylight in... those," Kyungsoo deadpanned for the hundredth time as he shoved a shirt in Kai's direction. The other just made a face at the shirt and said adamantly, "But I like my robes!"

"No you have to change into these."

"I don't want to."

"Yes you are going to."

"No."

Kyungsoo gave Kai a withering look and he returned it with an equally withering one but Kyungsoo ultimately won the round and Kai sulked as he took the t-shirt over. Still, the problem was far from over.

No sooner than Kai had received the shirt, he complained, "This shirt's so plain." Kyungsoo crossed his arms and sighed, "Now you're arguing fashion?" "This is an insult to my kind. A bird must have colors." Kyungsoo wanted to hit his head against the wall for good measure and make sure he wasn't still in a dream, but instead he pointed out, "Swans and doves have white feathers."

"That's because they are always docile and neat. Do I seem like that kind to you?" Kai asked in a challenging tone. Kyungsoo then scanned his determined expression and the halo of feathers atop his head which had been messed up due to their earlier scuffle about wearing appropriate attire. "No," he admitted truthfully.

Kyungsoo then relented and let Kai choose his own pick of clothing. At first, Kyungsoo was skeptical of his fashion choices, but it turned out that he didn't have to worry much. Kyungsoo had chased Kai into the bathroom to change and insisted he wasn't a bird anymore and shouldn't shed- strip anywhere, but the actual truth was that it would get awkward. Really awkward.

A few minutes later, the other came out of the bathroom and Kyungsoo had to keep his shock in and his jaw above the ground. "So? How do I look?" Kai asked, twirling around. Kyungsoo said haltingly, "Uh... Okay." It was more than 'okay', Kai looked more of a seasoned model than a bird man.

Kai had chosen a tie-dyed shirt that Kyungsoo was rather fond of (but oh well) and a pair of skinny jeans which Kyungsoo rarely wore. Kyungsoo decided not ponder about his bodily dressing anymore.There was one more problem though. After getting through the initial fashion shock, Kyungsoo commented, his eyes  concentrated on the ring of feathers, "Last thing, you need to lose the feathers." If anything, Kai looked more horrified than ever.

"You mean my crown?!" he asked, putting a hand protectively on the white fluff on his head. Kyungsoo nodded his head in a matter-of-factly manner. 

"Never."

"Come on..."

"It's my most important thing!"

"Are you even sure?" Kyungsoo replied with a chuckle. Kai then sat cross legged on Kyungsoo's bed and hurled a pillow at his direction in retaliation, "You, human, keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself." Seizing this distraction, Kyungsoo lunged towards the head piece in an attempt to steal it off Kai's head. However the little bird was quicker.

Kai caught hold of Kyungsoo's arm with a surprisingly strong grip and flipped him over onto the bed. In less than a second, Kyungsoo found Kai on top of him and their faces were suffocatingly close by. Kyungsoo couldn't help but widen his eyes. They were so close, Kyungsoo could hear the other's short breaths. "I always win, Do Kyungsoo," Kai told him softly with a smile.

Kyungsoo took the chance and flipped their positions over. He returned the smile as he looked into Kai's eyes, "Not everytime, Kim Jongin."

A/N:

As compensation for the lack of quotes, I'll be writing an author's note.
Firstly, you've got a little comic relief up there (yay). Then I'm going to leave the next part all to your imagination #nohomo
Secondly, as usual, I'm gonna ask for comments on how the fic is going so far (character development, story flow etc).
Comments really keep me going as well!
Thirdly, thank you to all my subscribers! I hope you guys will stay with me til the end of this fic :)

Random fact: I was listening to Eyes, Nose, Lips while writing this chapter.