pairing: BaekChenLay
length: 1354 words
Part One: Moving Forward

It was well past noon when they gathered together in the living room, wine glasses filled to the brim. Baekhyun wasn’t much of a drinker, much less a daytime drinker, but gone were the days when they could stay up all night without a care in the world.

Gone were the days when the only responsibilities they had were towards themselves and their group.

Gone were the days when it was only the nine of them.

When it was only the three of them.

Yixing took a sip of the dark red wine, humming in satisfaction as the sweet and sour flavors blended together in harmony around his tongue.

Meanwhile, Jongdae drained the glass more quickly, his smile not quite reaching his eyes like it used to. His face was noticeably thinner and paler, and there was a general air of lethargy surrounding him. And for the first time, Jongdae’s eye bags were the heaviest and darkest of the three. But whenever he made eye contact with the other two men, the ends of his lips immediately curled up and some of the exhaustion that seemed to weigh down on his shoulders instantly dissipated.

“Have you been able to sleep recently, Jongdae?” Yixing kindly asked while reaching over to rearrange the blanket they were all sharing, so that it completely covered the younger male’s thin legs.

“Sort of…” he replied, not bothering to mask the fatigue in his voice. “I was on night duty yesterday and I had to wake up early to make breakfast for everyone this morning, but it’s fine,” Jongdae continued, flippantly waving his hands. “Our sleep schedules were way worse when we were rookies. This is a piece of cake in comparison.”

“We were also a lot younger back then,” Yixing gently pointed out. “Our bodies aren’t as resilient as they used to be.”

“And when was the last time you slept a full nine hours, Mr. CEO?” Baekhyun smartly quipped, lightly knocking his knees against the eldest male’s leg. “Don’t think we forgot the pledges you used to make every year about sleeping less so you could work more.”

Yixing laughed while holding his free hand up in admission. “Touché.” He then leaned back against the couch and gazed across the room at the tall glass cabinet that showcased all of the albums they had released over the past decade. “But can you guys believe it’s been three years since we last met up like this?” A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “So much has happened since then.”

“Yeah, it feels like I’ve come back to an entirely different place, even though I technically wasn’t completely blocked off from the rest of society,” Baekhyun agreed. “But…wow… The industry is just…so different nowadays… If it weren’t for you guys keeping me in the loop during your own promotions, I’d feel way more out of place than I do already.” He also laughed as he jokingly said, “I’m gonna have to grind a bunch to keep up with the kids now.”

“It is weird though, isn’t it?” Jongdae refilled his wine glass before downing it in an instant. “A bit scary too, if I’m being honest.”

Baekhyun sent the youngest male an encouraging smile. “You’ve overcome the biggest hurdles already, Jongdae. And when we’re all back on stage together, it’ll be even better since we’ll have each other. Just like the good ole days.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Baekhyun confidently answered. “We’re sitting here together now, aren’t we?”

Jongdae nodded in response, the edges of his lips gradually curling back up again.

“So there’s nothing to worry about,” the older male cheerfully said. Baekhyun then held up his half-empty wine glass, wordlessly prompting the other two men to clink their glasses against his.

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t take us another three years to get together like this again though,” Yixing said with a lopsided smile after they all finished drinking and set down their empty glasses on the short mahogany table in front of them. “We’ll be fossils by then, according to industry standards.”

“That’s okay. I’ve always wanted to be a dinosaur with Jongdae,” Baekhyun said, sending the youngest male a cheeky grin. He then playfully lunged towards Jongdae, who let out a surprised yelp as they both tumbled to the floor.

The sheer force of their sudden movements caused the Chinese male to fall to the carpeted ground as well and soon, the three friends were rolling around the room without abandon. Their collective laughter rang out like a series of golden bells and Baekhyun’s heart swelled with happiness as he s his way into the middle, reveling in the familiar presence of his two favorite people. It was wonderfully reminiscent of their previous hang-out together and Baekhyun would be lying if he said he hadn’t purposely instigated these rowdy shenanigans because of that fond memory from three years prior.

“Look at us. Three men in their thirties acting like we’re three,” Yixing joked several minutes later as the trio gradually untangled themselves from each other before lying flat on their backs and looking up at the white ceiling. “It’s like we never grew up.”

“Growing up is overrated,” Baekhyun simply said while lightly tugging both Yixing and Jongdae closer to him. “We’re still allowed to goof off and have fun like kids do.”

“Yeah, anything that keeps me feeling young is great in my book,” Jongdae concurred with a rueful smile. “Why d’you think I like hanging out with you two so much? It means I get to be the youngest and get away with more stuff than I usually would, especially nowadays.”

Baekhyun posed dramatically with his right hand against his forehead. “I knew you were just using us!”

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Jongdae replied with a saucy smirk, playing into the sudden theatrics.

The three friends then erupted into laughter and rolled around the carpeted floor again without abandon, reveling in the freedom of it all.

Once their intense giggles subsided, Baekhyun briefly glanced at Jongdae and Yixing before asking, “Now what?”

“I dunno,” Jongdae answered with a shrug. “Wanna take a nap?”

“Isn’t that what an old person would suggest?” Yixing joked. “What happened to being young?”

“Drinking all that wine earlier made me sleepy,” the youngest male explained with a loud yawn. “Besides, kids take naps all the time. We can still be young, even if we take a nap.”

Yixing hummed in agreement as he reached over to pull the blanket they’d been using earlier from the couch and covered the three of them.

Once they were all snuggled underneath the soft blanket, Baekhyun quietly asked, “Do you guys remember the pledge we made three years ago?”

“How could we forget?” Jongdae lifted his hand into the air, curling his fingers into a fist. Yixing and Baekhyun duly followed his lead, forming a triangle above them. “You sent us a picture of this every time you were on break,” the youngest male continued with a chuckle.

“I didn’t mind though,” Yixing said with a wide smile as they brought their arms back down. “I like getting notifications in our group chat.”

“Yeah, don’t complain, Jongdae,” Baekhyun teased while bumping shoulders with the youngest male. “You should feel honored that I always text you guys first.”

“Perks of being your best friend, huh?” Jongdae blithely asked, shifting onto his side so he could poke Baekhyun’s left cheek more easily.

“Yup, and you’d better get used to it. After all, we’re best friends forever, right?”

“Yeah, best friends forever,” the other two echoed, grinning widely. And they all embraced each other tightly, never letting go.

Yes, much had happened over the past three years.

Yixing was continuing to grow his ever-blossoming career overseas.

Jongdae was juggling a new life as a family man in between his idol activities.

And Baekhyun?

Baekhyun was back where he belonged. With the people he loved and cherished the most in the world.

“Together forever, no matter what.”

Three years later, in spite of all of the changes, this still rang true.

♈♈♈

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! It's my seventh anniversary of being an EXO-L and what a momentous one this is with all of our boys finally back home for the first time in four years! And my time as a military wife is finally done with the return of our genius idol, Byun Baekhyun!

Welcome back to civilian life, Baekhyun! I can't believe it's been twenty-one months. 640 days. Your enlistment was longer than most and yet, it still feels like just yesterday when we sent you off on your 29th birthday. And now, your 31st birthday will be here in a few months. Yet you somehow still look like the 19-year-old boy from debut, which is insane to me. Seeing you smile and laugh in your return livestream, seeing you booked and busy with so many schedules already, and seeing all of your funny posts on Twitter has filled my heart with so much love and joy. It really is a blessing to have you back on stage again and I hope I'll be able to see you in person soon.

Our lives have changed so much in two years. We've worked hard, we've pushed through the challenges, and we're going to take the world by storm with our accomplishments. We've also taken time for ourselves, prioritized other parts of our lives, and taken a step back to see the bigger picture. Family, friendship, love for others and ourselves. All precious things that we're holding closer to our hearts while still pursuing our dreams without a single moment's hesitation. And now that we're all recharged and ready to go, I'm very excited to see how we continue to grow and transform as artists on the worldwide stage that we call life.

I'll always love and support you, Baekhyun! Thank you for being my light in the darkness! My days are much brighter again with your return!

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