It’s happening again.

He doesn’t know how he’s managed to get into this predicament, but the only thing he does know is that he needs to run; to get away. He shoots a look over his shoulder only to see his pursuer gaining on him, and picks up his speed, running blindly forward. The muscles in his legs are starting to burn from overuse and he finds himself having a hard time pulling air into his lungs. But still, he continues to move forward; because stopping is definitely not an option.

How long has he been running now? How many minutes? How many miles?

It feels like it’s been a long while, like his fight for flight has been going on for days.

‘Where is he?’ He continues to look around as he runs, searching for a familiar face in the suffocating darkness. Panic starts setting in when he reaches the end of the alleyway. He spins around, moving his head from left to right as he looks down his two paths. Making a split-second decision, he sprints to the right, pushing himself off of the wall to gain momentum. He’s not sure why he chooses the darker path; chooses to move away from the more lighted path rather than towards it. His gut tells him it’s a good decision though, and he’d always been one to trust his gut.

Another glance back confirms that the person chasing him, whoever it is – whatever it is – is still hounding.

He turns left down the next alley and stops short, his eyes widening as his throat closes up. How did he get there? Wasn’t the man behind him just now? He finds himself unable to move as the hooded figure advances on him, and watches in horror as the man reaches into his pocket.

‘Is this it?’ he thinks as he once again tries to move, but is still unable to. His feet seem to be stuck, like there is something holding him there, trapping him. He swears he can feel the cold touch of hands around his ankles; but when he looks down, there is nothing there. ‘Is this how I–”

“Baekhyun!”

'Chanyeol?’

The call of his name breaks him from his frozen trance. He turns, and he runs. He runs for all his life is worth towards the lone figure at the end of the alleyway, basked in a soft glow.

“Baek!”

‘Chanyeol, help me!’

He trips and feels the pain of the gravel scraping across his bare knees through the rip in his jeans, and then looks over his shoulder and forces himself to move when he realizes the distance between himself and the hooded man is getting shorter. Pushing himself up, he runs with everything he has towards his beacon.

“BAEKHYUN!”

He jolts up and throws a hand over his chest. His breathing comes out in small, short gasps as he looks frantically around. Dark. Warm. He’s in a bed, he realizes, when he feels the firmness of the spring mattress underneath him and the fleece blanket covering his lower half. The light that illuminates the room from the doorway reminds him that he’s in a room. Their room.

He jumps when a hand lands on his shoulder, afraid that his pursuer has followed him into reality; but he leans into the touch when the hand reaches lower to rub comforting circles on his back. “Chanyeol.”

“Another dream?”

He nods slightly, almost chuckling at Chanyeol’s use of the word. Dream. If only it were that. No, what he’s been experiencing for the past few nights is not a dream; it’s a nightmare. One so horribly haunting that it’s crept even into his consciousness, not giving him even a moment of respite.

“It’s okay,” Chanyeol’s low, calming voice calls out to him, “I’m here.”

The light from the bathroom casts upon Chanyeol’s right side, keeping most of him hidden in the dark. Even through the darkness, though, Baekhyun can see the lines of worry on Chanyeol’s face as he observes the boy before him. The creases on Chanyeol’s forehead seem to deepen the longer Baekhyun remains quiet. “Y-Yeah…” he whispers, running a hand over his face. He feels Chanyeol pulling the covers up, feels the movement to his right as the bed dips even lower, and then feels Chanyeol wrapping his arms around him as he pulls the both of them back to lie down. He forces himself to relax, to forget about the hooded man that even now, seems to have followed him from his nightmare. He melts himself into Chanyeol and wraps his arms around the other’s waist, seeking the warmth and comfort. He feels Chanyeol’s fingers running through his hair, relaxing him further still.

“Sleep,” Chanyeol whispers against his forehead, his lips brushing across his skin.

Baekhyun closes his eyes, and sleeps.

* * *

He wakes up the next morning to the feeling of warmth on his cheek, and light that’s too bright burning against his eyelids. Groaning, Baekhyun’s eyes peek open as he stretches his arms above his head. It takes him a moment to notice that the space beside him is cold. Empty.

“Chanyeol?”

No response.

Baekhyun swings his legs over the edge of the bed and pushes himself up, padding his way over to the bathroom – also empty. ‘He’ll be back…’ he tells himself as he returns to the bed and makes it.

Then, he climbs onto it and leans against the headboard, and he waits.

Exactly seven minutes later, Chanyeol returns. He’s balancing a paper bag on his arm and holds two Styrofoam cups in one hand; in the other, he holds the keys to their motel room. “I got breakfast.”

Baekhyun nods and climbs off the bed, making his way over to the small, round table by the window. He sits on one of the chairs and watches as Chanyeol pulls out two bagels, cream cheese, butter, and a few packets of jelly. Baekhyun looks down at the cup of coffee Chanyeol has placed in front of him, watching as the steam rises and then disappears from the hot liquid.

Chanyeol grabs one of the bagels, twists it apart, and spreads a generous amount of cream cheese onto one of the bagel halves. He then sits back in the chair and takes a bite, and then reaches into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a folded piece of notebook paper. His eyes scan the words on the paper. He nods, and then folds it back up and puts it away.

“What’s on today’s agenda?” Baekhyun asks.

Chanyeol swallows and then looks across the table at Baekhyun. He smiles.

“It’s a surprise.”

* * *

The drive to wherever it is Chanyeol decided they are going takes nine hours, and by the time they roll up to the desolate parking lot, Baekhyun is stiff, sore, and more than eager to jump out of the car and stretch his aching limbs.

“The beach?” he asks, stretching his arms as he his head at Chanyeol from his side of the car.

Chanyeol nods. “The view here is amazing.” He points upwards and grins. Baekhyun finds himself mimicking Chanyeol’s expression when he looks up in awe at the picturesque sky, where the traces of stars begin to peek through. He hears Chanyeol rummaging around in the trunk, and then feels Chanyeol’s fingers intertwining into his. Baekhyun squeezes Chanyeol’s hands lightly as he allows the man to lead him down the path towards the beachfront.

He helps Chanyeol lay out the blanket, and then takes his spot right next to him, reclining so that he’s resting on his forearms. The soft breeze of summer brushes across Baekhyun’s face. He breathes in the salty scent lingering in the air, and shivers slightly when another wind carries the cold from the sea across his body. He turns and smiles when he feels the sudden warmth of Chanyeol’s jacket covering his shoulders.

“This is amazing…”

Chanyeol nods, and reclines. “See that star right there?” He points towards Baekhyun’s right, towards the bright, blue-white star twinkling in the sky. “That’s Vega. Vega and the stars around her,” he traces a parallelogram with his finger, “makes up the constellation Lyra.”

Baekhyun nods. “She’s beautiful.”

“It’s sad how sometimes the most beautiful things have the most tragic outcomes,” Chanyeol says softly, eyes glancing over at Baekhyun for a moment before he turns back to the sky.

Baekhyun turns to face Chanyeol. “Vega, you mean?”

“Vega was a celestial princess who fell in love with a mortal,” Chanyeol explains. “Her father didn’t approve of their love, so he placed them in the sky and kept them separated by the Celestial River.”

“Forbidden love…” Baekhyun looks down at his hands and frown. “But they’re still able to meet.”

Chanyeol nods. “On the seventh night of the seventh moon, every year.”

“Tonight…”

Chanyeol nods again. “It seems our lovers were able to meet tonight, after all.” When Baekhyun turns and gives him a questioning look, Chanyeol holds out his hand, palm side up. “No rain.”

He smiles.

They spend the rest of the night talking about the stars; and come morning, when he wakes up in Chanyeol’s warm embrace, Baekhyun realizes that he didn’t dream.

* * *

Their next destination takes longer to get to – two days of driving, with Baekhyun filling in for Chanyeol whenever the other was too tired to drive, before they reach the bottom of the mountain. Their hike up takes about half the day, and by the time they finally reach their mark, the sun has already begun to set.

Baekhyun shrugs his knapsack off his back, walks towards the edge, and looks down. “Whoa…” he whispers as his eyes widen in amazement at the waterfall on the side of the mountain, and the water below them. Way below them. He swallows and turns back towards Chanyeol, who has collected Baekhyun’s bag and places it next to his own by one of the trees. “I-I’m not sure this is such a good idea anymore…” Baekhyun says, averting his eyes by looking at his feet. The cliff they’d picked wasn’t the highest, but even this height was a feat considering his acrophobia. Baekhyun can feel his heart hammering against his chest, threatening to break out of its cavity as he takes a few steps backwards. He can already feel himself breaking out in cold sweat. “Maybe we shouldn’t–”

“You wanted this.”

Baekhyun nods. “I did…but–”

‘But thinking about looking over that edge again, nevertheless jumping down it, makes me want to ing vomit.’

“Nuh uh. Nope, you’re not backing out now,” Chanyeol cuts him off again. However, Chanyeol can see the way Baekhyun’s body begins to tremble, and the way he worries at his bottom lip in fear. Chanyeol’s arms wrap around his body, trying to relax him. “Don’t be scared, I’ll be right beside you.”

“Okay,” Baekhyun whispers after a while. “You’re right. I did, no…I do want this.” He nods up at Chanyeol and then wraps his arms tightly around the taller male’s waist. “I-Is this okay?”

“Don’t think about how high up you are,” Chanyeol says instead of answering, “just think about me.” Chanyeol brings his hand up to cup Baekhyun’s cheek lightly. He pauses, as if debating something, and then leans down to brush his lips ever so slightly against Baekhyun’s own