"Hyung! It's here!" Jongdae cried with joy, running around their shared apartment with a package in his hand, making more noise than necessary.

    "Calm down you Beagle," Minseok joked as he emerged from the bathroom, fluffing his brown locks that he had just blow dried, "I didn't expect you to be this excited."

    "Of course I'd be excited!" Jongdae exclaimed, practically bouncing in place as Minseok walked up to him, "You see my paintings all the time, but I never see any of your own work!"

    "Well, a book does take longer than a painting," Minseok said somewhat matter-of-factly.

     "Excuses excuses," Jongdae tsked, taking Minseok's hand and leading him to the studio, "You could've at least given me glimpses of what you were writing about. Besides, you began that book pretty much when we met and finished in the amount of time that it took for us to get used to living together."

     They entered the studio and Jongdae snatched a piece of paper before dragging Minseok over to the same couch that they had sat on during that first blackout. The studio was very much the same, but there were little modifications that showed that someone else was now residing in the apartment and using the studio as their own work place. In a corner was a desk, and it was obvious that the desk and the corner could be labelled as "Minseok's Domain". The desk was organized, but there were items that showed it belonged to the writer. There were notebooks stacked in neat piles, a cup holding a plethora of pens and pencils, and Minseok's laptop was resting in the center of the desk. The wall around the desk had pictures littered across it, all of them containing those close to Minseok. There was a picture of Yixing, Junmyeon, and Sehun on Sehun's 7th birthday, and another of Minseok with his arm around his younger sister's shoulder. A lot of the pictures had Minseok and his friends, but the majority were of Jongdae, pictures of Minseok taken by Jongdae, or Jongdae and Minseok together. There was one of their first date, a simple selca with their cheeks squished together, another was of Minseok eating ice cream but his cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk's, and there was even one of Jongdae waving a paintbrush in the air, happy when he realized that Minseok was there.

      The desk and the entire corner showed that Minseok had made a place for himself in Jongdae's life, and vice versa. They had been known each other for only roughly two and a half months, having met in late February and it was currently the early May. But it felt like they had been known each other and had been dating for much longer. Was it a little early to ask someone to move in with you when you had only known them for about a month and a half? Admittedly, yes, it was a little fast compared to most people's standards. But it didn't matter to Minseok or Jongdae, it just worked out so easily between them. It was as if it was fated for the two of them to be together, making the moving in process a lot easier. They easily placed themselves in each other's lives, and it felt like they had been living together for years.

      There were, of course, some disagreements like how to rearrange certain furniture. But there were also instances that held much more weight to them, that would impact Minseok and Jongdae much more heavily. One such instance was when Jongdae found out about Minseok's unhealthy nightly routine.

      "Hyung, what're you still doing up?" Jongdae had asked one night, having shuffled into the kitchen to get some water when he found Minseok sitting at the kitchen bar, typing away at his laptop.

      Minseok panicked for a moment, not really knowing what to do in this situation. He didn't want the younger to worry with his sleep patterns. Or rather, lack of. It was something that Minseok felt only he should be burdened by, not wanting to rope Jongdae into it. So, Minseok did what he thought was the best option, he lied, "I'm fine, just having a little trouble falling asleep. But I'll come to bed soon, don't worry."

       Unfortunately, even though Jongdae was very much half asleep with messy bed head and droopy eyes (something Minseok found to be absolutely adorable), he was still very perceptive, and he saw straight through the deception, "Hyung, tell me the truth."

        But Minseok, if anything, was a stubborn person, "That is the truth."

        At first, Jongdae's expression was one with his lips set in a thin line and his eyes as hard as stone. But after a little bit of time, his facial expression softened. Walking up to Minseok, he gave the older man a look of love and concern, "Hyung, what's wrong?"

        Minseok looked into Jongdae's eyes, trying to find anything that would possibly seem like Jongdae wouldn't listen. Anything that'd give him an indication that the other really didn't want to hear about his issues. But Minseok didn't see any of that. What he saw was a young man who would do anything to help him out. He saw the eyes of his boyfriend, his kind, patient, and wonderful boyfriend who would refuse to leave him behind. And Minseok knew, that he could trust those eyes. So, he decided that it was now he should talk, not just because in the long run Jongdae would find out and how keeping things from each other in a relationship was bad, but because Minseok knew that he could completely trust Jongdae.

        "I stay up late because my sleeping pattern is screwed up," Minseok began, looking directly into Jongdae's eyes because that small fear of the younger rejecting him was still present, "And it's not because I spend so much time working, although it does help in preventing me from sleeping. It's just that I can't sleep. It's not because I don't want to sleep, god Jongdae, I wish I could just lie in a bed and sleep the night away. But I can't. My nights started to be like this when I was began college, I'm not really sure why this began, or how. But all I know is that the start of college was when I went through the first sleepless night that was definitely not the last, not by a long-shot. Nothing has worked, no matter what doctors have given me or what I've searched up online, I still remain wide awake."

        Sighing, Minseok looked into Jongdae's eyes, and it was at that moment that Jongdae truly saw Minseok's tiredness. Jongdae thought that he had seen its full extent on the day he first invited Minseok to his studio, but he had apparently been wrong. Oh so very wrong.

         Minseok's eyes, they looked so...dull. Not necessarily dead, but definitely not shining bright either. They looked like the eyes of someone who had been through a lot, who wanted their journey to at least stop for a moment so they could rest. But his eyes showed that he hadn't been allowed to rest, that something had kept pushing him until he would break and shatter. Minseok's eyes were the eyes of a fighter, but they belonged to a fighter that didn't want to keep fighting. They were the eyes of someone who really, truly wanted to stop struggling.

         When he truly seen the extent of Minseok's exhaustion, Jongdae felt his heart ache. It explained so many things that he had noticed about Minseok. How the elder would always be awake whenever Jongdae woke up in the middle of the night to do something trivial like get a glass of water or how he was awake before Jongdae in the morning. How Minseok was never in their bedroom for the purpose of sleeping, only really coming in to change clothes. How the elder was already pretty much done his novel, a piece of information given to Jongdae when he had pestered Minseok for details. It was because Minseok worked non-stop through the night.

         It explained how Minseok would always walk with a slump to his shoulders and a slower gait, how he would always seem like he was in his own reality. How he had just didn't seem to have a lot of energy in anything he did. How Minseok was always at least slightly on edge and twitchy, like he no longer knew what it felt like to fully relax. Everything about Minseok just seemed slightly off, and Jongdae finally knew why when he had discovered his boyfriend's sleeping habits.

         But there was something else too. Past the tiredness that seemed almost stifling, there was something else. There, in the very depths of the elder's dark brown eyes, was faint, almost completely snuffed out. It was a light of stubbornness and passion in Minseok's eyes. It was a light that was weakly shining, and it seemed like that light was showing how Minseok was stubbornly hanging onto the ledge, even if it was just with two fingers. But Jongdae didn't want any of that. He wanted that light to be stronger, he wanted that light to completely overwhelm the tiredness in Minseok's eyes.

          So he had made a decision. Jongdae had decided that he'd be the one who would add more fuel to that small light so it'd burn bright. He'd be the one to finally make that tiredness go away. Jongdae decided that he'd be the person who would grasp Minseok's hand and pull him up from that ledge, and then make sure that he'd never think about it again, much less hang off it in danger of falling.

           After hearing what his boyfriend had said and taking in the other's eyes for a little longer, Jongdae softly said, "These nights must be so lonely for you hyung."

          This managed to startle the elder, "What do you mean Dae?"

           Jongdae reached out and gently cupped the elder's pale cheek, "I mean that it must be so, so crushingly sad and exhausting staying up by yourself. You have to be up at night when others are sleeping, being by yourself in the dark with only your mind and maybe a few other things like the star or the moon to keep you company. I can't imagine what it must've been like to be stuck with your own thoughts, to have nobody there for you because you didn't want to go and disturb their sleep. You endured alone, and I can see how it must've been so, so tiring and just lonely. How many times have I said lonely? Probably too much to be considered proper speaking or writing, but I just don't what else to say. I just...can't fathom how much it must've affected you to be by yourself for so long."

           Even though Jongdae was half asleep and wasn't necessarily speaking in the most eloquent way, his words still managed to make Minseok's eyes begin to fill with tears. What had he done to be able to have someone like Jongdae? The younger always managed to see what Minseok was really seeing, to see past the mask that Minseok had somewhat unknowingly built over the years. And when he did see what Minseok was really feeling, the younger was always able to lay those feelings out in front of Minseok, allow the elder to know that he isn't alone, and to see that Jongdae understood or was willing to understand and help. And Minseok didn't think he could've been any luckier to have such a person as his significant other.

           Slightly hiccuping, all Minseok managed to do was nod his head, agreeing with the younger's words. He didn't know what to say, it just all hurt so much. Everything he had been trying to ignore for years, how he really did hate staying up so late and how empty it made his heart feel, how much he craved to have someone by his side through the night and even during the day, it all just came rushing forward. And it all made the tears fall from his eyes and slip down his cheeks, because he finally was letting everything that he had spent so long bottling up be released.

            Wiping the tears from the writer's cheeks, Jongdae gently cooed as he looked into the other's eyes, "Shh, it's okay hyung. I'm here now, you have me now. And I promise you, with all my heart, that you won't be alone anymore. I promise that I'll be by your side and get rid of that tiredness that you always seem to have. I promise that I'll always love you."

            Sniffling, Minseok came around just wrapped his arms around the other, holding onto the painter as if if Minseok let go, the younger would disappear. He buried his head into the crook of Jongdae's neck and began to softly speak, "Thank you so much Jongdae. I know that I'm a writer, but I really am at a loss of what to say to you. I-I don't think I'll ever be able to fully express how much you, how much all of this, means to me. But I hope that this can give you at least an iota of my appreciation. I love you so, so much Jongdae."

             And after he spoke, Minseok's sniffles and small hiccups turned into sobs. He clung onto Jongdae, and Jongdae felt Minseok's warm tears seep through his t-shirt. But that didn't matter, Jongdae only softly smiled and returned the hug, one hand running through Minseok's brown hair that had black roots beginning to become visible. He just let Minseok cling onto him and cry, he knew that Minseok wasn't going to fall asleep from exhaustion, but that didn't mean Jongdae was going to leave him alone. He was going to stay up with Minseok, after all is was only about 3:30 in the morning. He'd be fine. Minseok mattered more.

             Still running his hand through Minseok's hair, Jongdae just continued to gently talk to the elder, telling him how it was okay to cry, that he wasn't leaving. And as the entire event carried out, Jongdae knew that they had taken the first step onto the new path that they'd walk down together.

             But those issues were easily solved, because Jongdae was always there for Minseok and vice versa. Now, Jongdae would stay up late with Minseok, only going to bed when he had to meet a potential client the next day. But that didn't matter, because he was trying to make Minseok feel better. And it meant much more to Minseok than Jongdae would probably ever be able to understand.

             Because of Jongdae staying up with Minseok, they chose to place Minseok's desk from the study in Jongdae's apartment to the studio. I was there that they'd spend their nights together, both working or talking or even just staring up at the studio's ceiling. There had also been a cot added to the room for Jongdae to sleep on since he refused to leave Minseok and go to the bedroom. Overall, the entire place felt like a home to both Minseok and Jongdae. It was nice to have someone else there to keep you company, or who you can talk to or who can work in the same room as you with a comfortable silence filling the air.

             Jongdae basically jumped onto the couch and made Minseok sit next to him, holding the package and the paper, which was actually a bookmark on closer inspection, he had snagged when they entered the room eagerly in his hands. Minseok chuckled and sat down next to the other.

             "The same could be said for you Dae," Minseok said dryly as he made himself comfortable, "You haven't revealed to me what that canvas has on it."

             Pointing to said canvas, Jongdae stuck out his tongue, "It's a secret hyung, you aren't supposed to know."

             "Well, then the same logic could be applied to my book," Minseok stated simply, eyes still on the canvas that was covered with a dark blue cloth.

             "No it can't," Jongdae countered, also looking at where the canvas stood, "With paintings, the entire work is ruined if you catch a glimpse of it because everything to a painting is seen at once. But a book is different because you have to keep reading and turning pages, unraveling it little by little as you read. Reading an excerpt from a book won't give it away."

             After hearing his boyfriend's argument, Minseok only huffed and took the package from the other's hands, "Yeah yeah, I stand corrected. But I really did want it to be a surprise."

             "Well, we have it now, so it's time to reveal the surprise!" Jongdae exclaimed, eagerly leaning against Minseok and looking as the writer opened the box and took out the book.

             "What, do you want me to read it?" Minseok asked, obviously not catching on to what Jongdae was saying.

             "No, I want you to stare at the cover for hours on end," Jongdae replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "Yes I want you to read it! It'll be a type of pastime for us, something to do when we have free time but don't know what we can do during said free time."

             "You realize how long this book is, right?" Minseok asked, holding up the somewhat large novel to prove his point, "What if you get bored of reading it?"

             "Hyung, when I'm with you there's no way I can get bored," Jongdae reassured, "Trust me."

             Studying the other for a little longer, Minseok relented, "Alright then, have it your way."

             He looked down at the book, and Minseok couldn't help but smile. Even though he had been the one to come up with the idea behind what the book should look like, it was at that moment that Minseok saw what the final product was. The cover was rather simple, it showed one hand holding a pen and writing the title: Lullaby in black ink. Another hand was at the bottom of the page, holding a paintbrush and painting a picture of someone sleeping. The person sleeping only had their profile being visible, and around them was the night sky that stopped right before the title. Xiumin was written at the bottom in silver lettering, blending in with the night sky. The rest of the book followed the same patterns, a midnight blue sky dotted with stars spilled onto the spine and the back of the book. But the white on top of the night sky made it seem like the sky was from a dream. The book looked breathtaking and eye catching, and Minseok was so happy that it had turned out so well.

             "You know, you could've asked me to make the outside of the book for you," Jongdae said, sitting back so he could give Minseok a pout.

             "I wanted to make this book be a complete surprise, you seem to forget this," Minseok teased, lightly punching Jongdae but with there being no malice behind his actions or words.

             "I know that you would need to tell me a little bit of what the book's about, but still," Jongdae whined, "I would've loved to help you."

             "First of all, I would need you to pretty much read the book in order to know what the cover should look like and to understand the title and where it came from. Second, you were busy and I didn't want to interrupt your work. And third, I want you to make a cover for the right book. And this wasn't the right book," Minseok explained, smiling slightly at the end of his explanation.

            Jongdae blinked, really only focusing on the last reason, before he flashed the other his characteristic bright smile, "Hyung, I'd be honored to make a book cover for you one day."

            Minseok returned the smile, before redirecting his gaze back to the book, "Well, let's see what it's like inside."

            He opened the hardback, and he let Jongdae lean back over his shoulder to see the pages. They were the standard first few pages that one would find in a novel, a page filled with the names of publishing companies, another with the title of the book, and another with the name of Minseok's previous work. Jongdae looked at the final page, and he looked at the dedication.

            For The People Who Have Always Been There to Support Me, and For the People Who Will Always Be There For Me

           "Hyung, doesn't that seem a little vague?" Jongdae asked, eyes looking over the black inked words.

           "There were too many people important to me," Minseok hummed, gently running his fingers across the words, "This is to encompass all of those people, I didn't want to exclude anyone."

           Jongdae gave a noise that showed he understood what the elder meant, and Minseok flipped the pages to the first chapter. Clearing his throat, he began to read, "I was always that kid who never really did much in class. Always isolating myself from everyone, keeping an extremely small circle of friends, even through university. And I thought it'd stay that way, that my life would actually be rather lonely and boring, the same things happening everyday. Wake up, get dressed, eat, brush my teeth, go to work, have lunch, get back to work, go home, do more work, eat dinner, shower, sleep, and repeat. I thought I'd be stuck in this cycle for the rest of my life. But the keyword there is thought. I THOUGHT I'd be stuck in that same cycle until I died. But then you stumbled into my life, and I found out that I was completely wrong.

            I had been trapped in that cycle for so long, that it seemed like it was how I had always lived. That I had always been stuck in a lifestyle where everything seemed bleak and hopeless. But I knew that was false, my life has been different. I know that I said that I had always kept a small friend group, isolating myself from others. And it is true that that aspect of me hadn't changed. But it wasn't always so crushingly lonely. I used to like to be by myself. I remember that when I was a child, the idea of being alone to do my own things sounded like paradise to me. I liked to be on my own, I was able to do the things I wanted to do like read a book or make up my own fantasy worlds. I was alone, and it concerned people like my parents and teachers because it was apparently odd to them to find a little boy who would rather play by himself than go out and make new friends. But I was a child. I was free and able to be that way because a child doesn't have responsibilities, a child doesn't necessarily register the idea of others judging them. But then, the child grows up. And the child realizes that yes, others are watching. The child becomes pressured to follow what others say, to do what society wants. The child is forced to grow up like how society wants them to grow up. And subsequently, they have shackles clamped around their wrists and chains holding them down.

            I was unfortunate enough to have those restraints placed on me, and it was then that everything just seemed to get worse. I suddenly became aware of how lonely I really was. It all just came crashing down on me. But the worst part was, was that I had never felt that way before. It all came into perspective because I suddenly saw society as looking down upon me and my habits. I felt society glaring at my back because it was "strange for an adult to isolate themself from society" and not really want to socialize. Thoughts and opinions like that, those that belonged to others, began to affect me. I saw everything I was doing as wrong, but it was too late to fix what I had been doing for so long, it was what I was comfortable with and what I had known. The stress was on my back, and it just made me feel even worse. I was unable to see how wanting to keep to myself was not a bad thing, that preferring to read a book with a hot cup of tea as opposed to going out to a night of drinking was perfectly okay. I was unable to see how my way of life wasn't wrong, that it was only different, because of the limitations society has placed on me and the bar it had presented for me to reach. The chains had wrapped around me, and the walls were trapping me, I was stuck in that bleak life that didn't seem like it'd ever get better, that I would never be able to be like the child I had been so long ago.

            Then you appeared, and like I said, you changed everything. You pretty much broke every wall and chain that was keeping me confined and trapped in the same cycle. You were the one who taught me how to once again be that child, free of any shackles and chains. You were the one who managed to make my own inner turmoil become calm, you were the one who allowed me to be able to relax and just enjoy life. And I can't thank you enough for coming and disrupting my life in the best way possible..."

            Minseok kept reading, his voice filling the air as Jongdae leaned against him, curled up into the writer's side. They stayed like this for hours, neither of them daring to move. They stayed next to each other until the sun had gone down and the sky was dark. It was longer than any time Minseok had to speak, he didn't even talk this much during lectures he had given at universities. But he found himself not caring.

             Instead, he found himself caring about Jongdae, giving more attention to the painter than how sore his throat was beginning to feel. He instead focused on how Jongdae's presence felt warm and comforting. He focused Jongdae's soft, silky black locks of hair and how it tickled his neck and cheek as Jongdae leaned against him. He focused on how the younger would occasionally make comments when he liked a scene or became frustrated with the characters or when he was surprised by something. Minseok focused on how the younger made him feel at completely at ease, and he focused on how much he loved and adored the artist.

             Eventually, Minseok felt Jongdae's head slightly slip, and he knew that the younger had fallen asleep. Smiling, Minseok took the bookmark that Jongdae had grabbed earlier and placed it where they had stopped. Shutting the book, he slowly got up from the couch. Supporting the younger's head and back, Minseok carefully lowered Jongdae onto the couch so that the younger was fully lying down. He stood up and turned off the lights, making the studio be illuminated by the glowing night sky Jongdae had created. Minseok then went over to the cot, grabbing the blanket and pillow. He came over and placed the pillow under Jongdae's head and then gently threw the blanket over the artist's sleeping form. The younger sighed and snuggled further under the blanket, and it made Minseok smile.

             Sitting down by the couch, Minseok took in the artist's features. Jongdae looked completely at peace, his features relaxed and Minseok thought the younger looked like a sleeping angel. He looked even more amazing with the soft light coming from the ceiling, the mixture of pale blue and silver light making Jongdae look like he was some othe