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Never Too Late

Clouds.  Wispy white clouds against a sunset sky that melted over the ocean.

            Chen’s lazy eyes took in this view from his window seat in EXO’s private jet.  He and the rest of the group were returning home for a few days before they began the final leg of their tour.

            To his right, Chanyeol snored so loudly that Chen could hear him over the CNBLUE that was thrumming into his ears.  He increased the volume on his phone until he couldn’t hear anything else.

            Usually, Xiumin sat by him on the plane (and Xiumin didn’t snore), but Suho had asked for him to sit next to him, for whatever reasons.  Probably to talk about hyung stuff.  And Baekhyun, who normally sat with Chanyeol, wanted to sit next to Lay so the two could watch a movie that they had been talking about earlier that day.  Whatever it was, both of them found incredibly funny because they kept bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

            After a few more minutes of staring at the sky outside, Chen checked his phone.  He smiled behind his facemask, involuntarily, when he saw that there was a text message from Wendy.  He hadn’t heard from her all day; the two of them had been too busy to talk, as usual.

            WENDY.  Jongdae-ahhhh! <3 You are on your way home, yes?

            CHEN.  Seungwannie <33 Yes, yes, I’ll be in Seoul for two days. :)

            WENDY.  Will I get to see you tonight?  I miss you so much, you know.  Aigoo~

            Chen’s smile became a more sympathetic one.  He hadn’t seen Wendy in almost a month; the EXO’rDIUM concerts and other events had taken him to several countries over the course of a few weeks.  Time seemed to move so fast--and yet, so slow--these days.

            CHEN.  Yes I will come over as soon as I can, okay?

            WENDY.  Okayyyy~ I will let you go now so you can relax.  See you soon!   I love you <3

            CHEN.  I love you too <33

            He leaned his head back into the seat behind him and closed his eyes, his heart feeling a little less heavy in his chest. 

            If he slept, time would go even faster. 

            Soon enough he was lulled to sleep by Red Velvet’s ‘Body Talk’ and a little bit of airplane turbulence in the background.

They landed at Incheon an hour later without any issues.  All nine boys made their way through the airport, smiling and waving at the fans that were waiting for them there.  They even signed a few autographs and posed for the fansite photographers.  It was the week of their fifth anniversary of debut, after all; a good reason for them to spend some extra time with the fans, even if they were rather exhausted from their travels.

            Their driver waited for them outside with a shiny black van.  To the group’s delight, said van included drinks and snacks inside for them to enjoy on their way back to the dorm.  The members were lively--a little delirious from lack of energy, perhaps, but it was enjoyable for them--the whole drive.  They drank soda, ate chips and sweets, sang and danced along to SM songs (as best as they could in a moving vehicle), and laughed at each other’s usual antics.

            When they were finally home, half of the group (meaning Lay, who had hardly been awake since getting off of the plane, Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun) fell over onto the couches in the living room.  Suho went into his bedroom immediately to put away his luggage.  Xiumin followed him while Baekhyun still stood in the entryway, apparently answering text messages on his phone.  D.O. walked into the kitchen.

            “How about a bottle or two of celebratory wine?” he asked.  Chanyeol’s face was smashed against a couch cushion, but he managed an affirmative sound.  “I’ll cut some cheese, then.”

            “Please cut some melon, too, hyung?” asked Sehun.

            “Sure, if you get your beanpole self over here and reach the wine glasses that you put on the very top shelf.”  said D.O, somehow politely.  The maknae sighed and swung himself up to help in the kitchen.  Taking the place left by Sehun on the sofa, Chen called Wendy.  She answered after two rings.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey, baby.”  said Chen.  Chanyeol got up and sat somewhat properly, eyeing Chen conspicuously now that he knew that the latter was on the phone with Wendy.  His facial expression was a little suggestive.  The other glared at him.

            “Heyyyy.”  she drawled on the line. “How’s things?”

            “Good.  I’m home.  The guys want to party for a little bit.  Celebrate the anniversary, you know.”  said Chen.  “...Are you there alone tonight?”  Chanyeol laughed at that, and Chen kicked his shin.

            “Yes; Irene went home for the weekend and Seulgi went with her, Joy is away for her drama, and Yeri is over at Koeun’s.  I have a show tomorrow morning, so.”  she paused.  “Why do you want to know that, huh?”

     “Because I can think of no better way to spend my Friday night then with you in my arms.”  Chen half-regretted this cheesy line not a millisecond after he had said it--Chanyeol was grinning at him in a sloppily sentimental way--but he couldn’t help that he said it, he was a romantic and it was the first thing that came to his mind.

            Wendy tried to laugh off her embarrassment.  “Awe, chinja... You are so sweet.”  she said.  “Don’t be too late, okay?”

            “I could just come over right now, honestly--“

            “No, no!  Have fun with the guys for a bit.”