The days afterward Jongdae's luck went back to normal, he had ups and downs, but the down days never seemed so down with Baekhyun around.

Jongdae wanted to give a thanks to Baekhyun somehow, and after days of mulling whether he should buy him two boxes of pop tarts or not, he got an idea.

A really good idea if he did say so himself.

He hummed to himself as he shot a look towards the couch where Baekhyun sat reading a home improvement magazine.

"I'm off to work",Jongdae simply told him picking up his keys.

"Buy some tuna",Baekhyun replied.

Jongdae raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we had a lot of cans already?",

"We did. Now we don't", Baekhyun retorted and Jongdae considered whether or not he really should give back to the love god.

"Fine. I'll be back",

"Be safe my duckling",

Jongdae resisted the urge to argue on that nickname again. He'd never win anyway and headed off to work and to prepare his gift to Baekhyun.

__________________________________________________________________

When Jongdae got home, beaming brightly and dropping off not only a giant backpack which looked like it was stuffed with items and the grocery bag with tuna cans and pop tart boxes, Baekhyun raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"What's the backpack for? Going camping? I don't think your soulmate is big foot-then again it might be",Baekhyun teased.

Jongdae blinked.

"Big foot exists?",

"Jongdae, I, a love god, exist, why wouldn't big foot?",

Jongdae mulled over the thought, but shook his head before he got distracted. He cleared his throat before shooting Baekhyun a brilliant smile.

"This is my thank you to you",

"Are you telling me to take a hike?",Baekhyun said eyeing the backpack.

"No!", Jongdae sighed before he ped the backpack and pulled out tools like hammers and nails and weed cutters.

Baekhyun looked at Jongdae, confusion in his eyes.

"I want to fix up your temple-And I'm not insulting it! I'm just saying...We should fix it up. Redecorate. A makeover", Jongdae said with a smile.

"You want to what?", Baekhyun asked shock written across his face.

"I want to help you fix up your temple. I mean, you've been doing a lot for me-don't think I haven't noticed so don't deny it,so I think it'd only be right for me to give back to you somehow",

"Jongdae that's not necessa-", Baekhyun began.

"But it is! I want to do it.Plus! It might help attract people to your temple",

Baekhyun bit his lip in uncertainty but seeing Jongdae's determined and warm gaze, he agreed. He was also secretly very flattered and touched, not that he'd ever admit it to Jongdae, he was positive the human would only use it as teasing material.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"This place looks worse than when I first came-I mean homey, cozy,that's what I meant",Jongdae quickly said when Baekhyun shot him a look.

The ground and building had overgrown vines everywhere, bushes and weeds here and there too, you could hardly see the steps leading up to the entrance. The door and window panes were basically rotting wood, the windows had cracks in them and the whole floor inside was filled with moss and stains. The paint both inside and outside was dull and peeling away.

"I know it's not exactly flashy...but I've never really had time to fix it. Keeping it from being demolished or closed takes a lot of effort and convincing. Even though I'm a god...I can't even properly defend my temple from greedy humans who want to destroy it to build complexes",

The tone in Baekhyun's voice is both bitter and upset, making something in Jongdae's chest clench.

He's always kept thinking of Baekhyun as a god, even when he acted like a human.

However he was closer to a human than Jongdae had thought,since he was still a minor god, there were things even he could not do.

Jongdae places an arm around Baekhyun's shoulders, which makes him stop looking down at the vine covered ground in defeat and instead at Jongdae who smiles at him.

"Don't worry, that's why we're here to spiff it up. To show everyone this temple's worth saving and worth keeping. Soon, it'll be a national treasure",

Baekhyun returns Jongdae's smile, it's soft and thankful. Jongdae wonders if Baekhyun's always had such pretty pink lips with a mole at the top.

Before Jongdae's thoughts can go further astray, he pulls away from Baekhyun and takes off his backpack, emptying it of the supplies they'd need.

"My monthly marathons of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will finally pay off", Jongdae grinned taking out some shears and handing them to Baekhyun as he grabs his own pair.

"You watch that too? I catch it sometimes at the TV store", Baekhyun chuckled.

"Guess with our experience this temple will be a mansion at the end",

"You think so?...I really want the best for this place",Baekhyun stared at the temple, at his home, a warm affection in his eyes that made Jongdae's heart swell and determined to deliver on his words.

"It'll definitely be beautiful, so let's get to work",

First things first was to cut down all the weeds and trim the bushes. Which was fairly easy although tedious since Baekhyun wanted the bushes to be shaped like hearts which Jongdae thought was incredibly cliche but he did his best anyway.

"It looks like a ",Baekhyun commented.

"It's just a very big heart",Jongdae insisted.

"I'm the god of butts now",

"Just trim",

Bushes however also had bugs and after being attacked multiple times is when Baekhyun decided he'd just go get them drinks and get more supplies that Jongdae hadn't brought.

"At least you can see the steps now",Jongdae said, after he was done clearing the ground of vines and weeds.

"They're cracked. I can't believe I let my home get so...so worn down",Baekhyun shook his head.

"I'll just put in new ones",Jongdae supplied

"Jongdae it's concrete, you can't put in new ones",Baekhyun pointed out.

"Paint?",

"I want it white",

"You really like that color huh?",Jongdae again couldn't help but note Baekhyun's spotless white outfit.

"Is there something wrong with that?",Baekhyun raised an eyebrow.

Jongdae smiled.

"No, it fits you",

Baekhyun feels giddy at Jongdae's words, but he turns away to look at the doors and windows of rotting wood. Which was also next on their fixing agenda.

"How do we fix that?",Baekhyun asked.

"I have an idea for the windows. We can just leave the entrance without a door",

"Um, hello? What if I get robbed?",

"I didn't know criminals came into the woods",

"I'm talking about the raccoons",

"Raccoons?",Jongdae snorted.

"Hey! They've taken a lot of my offerings before. They're part of the reason why the door is so chipped away",Baekhyun huffed.

"You're a god aren't you?Can't you talk to them?",Jongdae joked.

"I tried. They're nothing but liars",Baekhyun crossed his arms.

"Wow, I did not actually think you could talk to animals",

"It's not always a good thing. The pigeons that always hang outside are a bunch of gossips, sometimes it's interesting but other times they're just trash talking other pigeons. Although the cat I've been secretly feeding is really nice. Good for conversations when you're not home",

"Wait, you've been secretly feeding a cat?",

Baekhyun stopped realizing he just gave himself away.

"The tuna thing makes sense now. Is he a stray?",Jongdae asked.

Baekhyun shrugged.

"I don't know. He randomly shows up, but he says he's a stray, his collar says otherwise. He's a strange cat. I've named him Noodle",

Jongdae turned back to the temple.

"We should start painting",

"It's already afternoon. If we paint, you'll get home late",

"Then we'll just stay here",Jongdae suggested.

Baekhyun turns to him, his eyes widening slightly.

"What?",

"Yeah, why not? I don't have school or work, so let's just stay and finish this up. We'll sleep and continue any work we don't finish",

Baekhyun turns back to his temple.

"Are you sure you want to sleep here?",

"Why not? You've slept at my home for awhile. I find it's only fair I do the same",

Baekhyun smiled.

"Then, I'd like to show you something. As my thanks for you doing this",

"You're thanking me for thanking you?",

"Don't be a smart ",Baekhyun rolled his eyes, turning them towards the setting sun. He had missed how beautiful it looked from his home, bathing the forest surrounding them in hues of oranges and pinks.

"I'm just saying. You thanking me for thanking you defeats the purpose of me thanking you",

"Fine then, see it as more of a you learning something new about gods and the immortal world, since I know you're a very curious person",

Jongdae's curiosity was indeed peaked.

"What is it?",

"You'll see when the stars come out", Baekhyun said mysteriously, a knowing smile on his face.