Three – Eighth Sunrise

The piece of cloth looked as good as new right after Baekhyun washed it twice by the lake. The smile on his face was like a permanent ink painted on it, even when the Aeri wasn’t aware. Maybe it was because of the fact that he made a progress with the Daevric man. Ever since he healed him with the sap of the tree, the taller man hasn’t done anything to harm him. His glare reduced into curious one. Although the Aeri brushed it off most of the time, he wouldn’t be able to deny the fact that sometimes the Daevric man was stripping him to his core with just his eyes.

When he was done, the young Aeri squeezed the cloth dry, shaking his hands as well. Turning around, he found the other sitting still on his usual spot with one knee bent up to his chest with the other leg sprawled out on the grass. His arms served as support for torso from the back.

Baekhyun walked towards the Daevric, a small smile gracing his lips. Once he was a few feet away from him, he folded the cloth into a handful square. He sat on the nearby root, to the right of the Daevric man. Tentatively, he reached out for his face, carefully so the other would not jerk back and think he meant to hurt him. But Baekhyun doesn’t need to do that. The Daevric man, even if he doesn’t want to admit, was slowly seeing past through their differences and history. He doesn’t see him as an enemy right now, but a kind-hearted man who would offer his only source of warmth for the other. He sees him as a careless young man who cries over little things such as a lion snake bite, and a man who had the brightest smile amongst all the darkness that there was in this forest.

The Daevric man closed his eyes when the Aeri’s fingertips touched his jaws, turning his head a bit to the side. He let the other wipe the dirt off of his skin with the cloth he was washing a few moments ago. He let him wash off the dirt from his forehead, down his cheekbones and nose bridge. They were too close but he was not complaining.

In fact, the Daevric man liked what he saw when his eyes fluttered open. The Aeri’s eyes were reflecting the glow from the tree sap, and they were like purple diamonds that served as his moonlight from above.

He was captivated by the flawless complexion of the other, and his thin, rosy lips punctuated with a small mole on the upper right corner.

He wondered, why was he in this kind of place again?

Burning fire, undying ember, tough, solid and powerful, that’s how Baekhyun would describe the Daevric’s pair of crimson orbs. As he met his eyes and the other’s met his, the world seemed to dissolve into ashes. It clashed together, forming their own little world without care.

Suddenly, the young Aeri wanted to know him better. What was his name? How long has he been in this place? And why? What did he do to deserve this kind of punishment? Why chain him in this forsaken forest? Why in the heart of the woods where no one would be able to find him, let alone, rescue him.

Why… why does it feel like he suddenly cared about him?

Why does it feel like he was his responsibility?

Why does it seem like there were thousands of fireflies around them, dancing and flying around, watching them drown in each other’s gaze. Why does it seem like there were eyes that witnessed how the Aeri’s hand caressed the Daevric’s face with concern, and how the latter seemed to let him do anything.

∞ ♡ ∞ ♡ ∞

“I found these over there,” Baekhyun panted as he ran to the ravenette on the other side of the tree. Kneeling in front of the bound Daevric, he let the lower part of his robe down. He made it into a pouch upon realizing he doesn’t have anything to put the berries into. Baekhyun giggled softly, oblivious how it affected the man in front of him. For the other, whenever the Aeri would laugh or smile, he’d feel something in the pits of his stomach, something unrecognized, something foreign and he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

“Look, there’s a lot of berries! You should eat,” Baekhyun offered, taking one of the blue berries before hovering it over the man’s lips, “I haven’t seen you eat anything since I came here…and the last time I tried feeding you…you got mad,”

There’s a frown marring the Aeri’s face and the Daevric didn’t like it. He wondered if he hurt him that bad last time. Apology was on the tip of his tongue, yet even if he was given a chance to speak right now, still, he wouldn’t be able to say it aloud.

“Here,” the Aeri offered, pressing the berry on his plush yet dried lips. He watched him open his mouth, a gesture for him to do the same. Even when his brows were pulled together and his look wasn’t that pleased, the Daevric man mirrored the epitome of innocence and purity in front of him.

Soft pad of finger barely touched the Daevric’s chapped lips. And if the Aeri felt it, he tried hard not to show it on his face. However, deep inside, he was deafened by the violent slam of his chest. The red tint that heated up on his face travelled to his ears, giving away the supressed emotion. He couldn’t help himself but move his gaze from the man’s eyes to his lips.

“W-Was it good?” clearing his throat, the Aeri slapped himself mentally upon realizing what he was doing. He pulled his hand away and sat back a few feet in front of the man. He saw him bob his head a bit, and it was more than enough to make the Aeri smile again.

By nightfall, neither of them expected a storm to come. The wind harshly slapped Baekhyun’s skin, freezing it cold and moistening it. Though the calamity wasn’t as harsh as it was above and the tree’s branches were protecting him, the young Aeri still shivered even if he hugged himself.

Still on the other side of the ginormous tree, Baekhyun wondered how the other man was. Was he awakened? Was he cold as he was? Baekhyun frowned as he wiped the water off of his face, covering it from the unforgiving storm. Of course he was, he told himself. The Daevric was practically save from the robe that he offered him.

Worried, Baekhyun cautiously went to the other side, careful not to slip. He opened his mouth to call for the other, when he remembered that he doesn’t know his name. He made a mental note to ask him tomorrow. When the young Aeri found the man, he was shocked and amazed at the same time to find him sound asleep in the middle of disaster.

Was he so used to this that it has become a normalcy for him?

Baekhyun whimpered as he shivered once again, feeling his bones making funny sounds from the cold. He moved a tiny step forward, his feet sliding himself next to the man. His feet barely touched his back and Baekhyun wondered if it would be alright if he stays beside him for the night.

The Daevric man was lying on his side giving him a tiny space beside him. It was cold and Baekhyun was desperate to survive and was craving for some heat. Thinking that he’d face the consequences tomorrow, he sat beside the ravenette and lazed on his side too, back facing the other. Like this, he could feel the heat radiating from the other man, and it was more than enough for the Aeri to succumb into slumber.

Little he did know that the Daevric man has been awakened since he slipped beside him. The man fluttered his eyes open, his lashes wet from the wild storm happening. He could say that he was used to the cold and the feeling of the rain a