Barefooted, Mina stepped quietly into the hallway. She glanced in both directions and listened for any sounds. There was nothing to be heard and she continued bravely, telling herself that he was sound asleep and that therefore she was safe. She arrived at the couch where he slept and peered over the back, she held her breath as he came into view. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she felt her shoulders sag slightly at the idea that men really will sleep through everything.

She watched him as he stirred in his sleep, momentarily freezing until she was sure that he hadn’t woken up. He did nothing in the end, merely wrinkling his nose slightly as he burrowed himself deeper into the couch cushions. She cocked her head to the side, sighing as she went to the other side of the couch and slowly lowered herself to the ground besides the couch. She made herself comfortable on the ground and waited for a few minutes, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head lightly on them. Seconds, ticked past and Mina said nothing, before finally readjusting so that she could lean closer.

Her eyes roamed over his face, hidden in the shadows of the darkness she could still make out every angle. She remembered every groove and imperfection without fault. His image truly forever burned into her memory. She could trace the outline of his face with her eyes closed. She could picture his smile, the way his lips curved and the way his eyes softened whenever they would look at her. All this, came to mind in a matter of seconds every time that she thought of him.

She rested her head on the edge of the couch and closed her eyes for a moment. Wondering if she could erase any part of it, knowing that it was impossible. After all, she had only been trying for the past two years. It wasn’t going to happen; some people made such an impact on your life that nothing would ever erase the marks they leave on your soul. Truly at this point, she realized he wasn’t just embedded in her heart, he lived in her soul.

Her guilty pleasure, that special memory her subconscious kept perfectly intact for a rainy day. Just enough of him so that even when she had tried to leave him, she would feel incomplete. He had become a piece of her very being, something much more permanent than the place he held in her heart.

She readjusted and quietly pushed the side of his arm.

He didn’t move an inch and Mina smiled, he had always been hard to wake up. It struck her as funny that in her case after only getting an hour of uneasy sleep she found herself awake, then how was it that this guy was sleeping as if all was right with the world?

She turned and reached out once again, with one finger this time jabbing straight into his ribs. He jerked back into the couch, his body jumping slightly as he sat up, bewildered and startled as he looked around frantically. He looked back and forth until he spotted her and everything clicked back into place.

“Let’s talk” Mina said simply.

Sehun relaxed slightly, now at least comforted by the thought that she wasn’t some scary thing of the night out to get him. He collapsed back onto the couch and to his side so that he could see her better. She made no movement and neither did he.

He could make out her features slightly better now, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and as the cloudiness cleared he remembered everything.

“I thought you wanted to talk tomorrow?”

“I did” She said quickly, “But I, unlike others, could not fall asleep” She said, unable to stop the sarcasm from dripping into her voice.

He chuckled lightly, “Sorry”

“It’s fine… I just… I couldn’t sleep. I had so many things to say, but why is it that now I can’t think of anything?” She said quietly.

He thought about it as he sat up and turned to face her. He had often wondered about what he was going to ask next. The answer both frightened him and kept him up at night. It prodded at the back of his mind and he figured now was as good a time as any to ask.

“Why do you love me?” Sehun asked, head bowed in shame, both aware that he certainly hadn’t done anything to deserve it as of late, “If you still love me, that is”

She kept her silence for a moment because she needed time to answer this. Loving him had always come to her as a fact of life, much like the sky is blue, Mina loved Sehun and that was that. So, it took her a moment to sort through everything and decide on an answer.

“Yes” She breathed, her chest easing slightly at the opportunity to say that words she’d been holding in for so long, “Of course I love you. There has never been a moment in which I haven’t loved you. Through the bad and the ugly, I’ve always loved you. Loving you is what kept me besides you, it’s what has me here right now”

Sehun met her eyes in surprise, having braced himself for the worst and it hurt her to see the uncertainty in his eyes. Perhaps, for as much as he had told her that he loved her, perhaps she now needed to spell it out for him too.

“I love you Sehun, not only for how beautiful I find you, but for every single encouraging word you’ve said to me. I love you for the comfort that you’ve given me, I love you for the strength that you shared with me, I love you for the happiness that you’ve given me. I love you for not walking away, despite it being so easy and hard to stay, and I love you for being here right now… I love you for the person you once were and the person you have become now. Every flaw and perfection, I love you for every bit of it”

Sehun stared at her in utter surprise, his heart laid bare before her. He couldn’t stop it, the emotions that swallowed him whole. They came crashing down, a wave that had been building for the past two years, all crashing down at once. He took a sharp breath, tears flowing from his face. He felt her hands gently reach for him and uselessly try to wipe away the tears that just wouldn’t stop. He had wanted to sweep her off her feet, just like before, but found that the opposite was happening. He had never imagined that someone could feel that way about him and that he had so uselessly wasted all these years.

“Please, don’t cry, you’re breaking my heart” He finally heard her plead.

“How can my love compare to yours when you stood by me in my worst?” He said with the realization that nothin