warning: mentions of minor character death

Baekhyun sat at the bar of the hotel alone. He swirled his drink, occasionally sipping at it as he tried to calm himself down. He wasn’t a fan of drinking—Chanyeol was more of a drinker than he was—but he was a bundle of nerves, just thinking of what to say to the man. A drink would really help then.

Baekhyun stared down at the glass before him, turning it in his hand before he knocked it back. Liquid courage tasted so bitter, he thought as he left some cash on the counter.

He stood up and grabbed his coat as he made his way to the lift, heart pounding. This was it. He was going to meet with Chanyeol—if the man even wanted to see him—and Chanyeol would find out the truth. The truth Baekhyun held onto so tightly to for months .

When Chanyeol disappeared, Baekhyun was distraught. He had an inkling that Talon took him, but he couldn’t be sure. Talon had, on multiple occasions, expressed their interest in Chanyeol. What happened on the battlefield was the perfect chance for them to take him away.

Thankfully, it didn’t take Baekhyun long to find him. He found Chanyeol when Commander Kim sent him out a week later to foil one of Talon’s plans. Ironically, the agent sent on the mission was his ex-lover. Needless to say, Baekhyun was dumbfounded and couldn’t focus on the task at hand. His ex-lover was standing right in front of him, but he just wasn’t the same.

Baekhyun snapped out his thoughts as he reached his floor. He took a deep breath, whipping out his hotel keycard as he took small steps towards the room where Chanyeol would be in. They used to be frequent customers at the hotel whenever they needed a quick getaway from the world and its madness.

The cadet opened the door to an unlit room. He sighed, upset that Chanyeol hadn’t gone to meet him. “I really thought I’d be able to tell you the truth this time,” the brunet said aloud as he the lights and kicked off his shoes.

“You’re ing crazy, Baekhyun!” a deep voice whispered angrily. Baekhyun looked up, heart beating wildly in his chest. Chanyeol had just emerged from the bathroom, frowning, his towel tied lowly around his waist and hair dripping wet. Baekhyun swore he stopped breathing for a second there. It was nice to finally see Chanyeol in the light—every time he saw the man, it was dark and he could barely make out the features that he loved so much.

Chanyeol grabbed another towel from the bathroom, toweling his hair dry. “Didn’t get to clean up earlier,” he shrugged, walking towards Baekhyun who was now seated on the edge of the bed. He sat beside Baekhyun, who looked away and swung his legs habitually. “You’re insane. Why did you send that? What if someone else saw it? You could’ve been killed!”

“Jongdae made sure it was untraceable,” Baekhyun unconsciously pouted, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but stare. It seemed like Baekhyun had gotten even more attractive, but Chanyeol was sure it was just because he had been craving the brunet’s touch for too long. He coughed, tearing his eyes away from the brunet’s lips.

“Just because Jongdae made sure it was untraceable doesn’t mean Talon wouldn’t have known who it was from. Do you know you’re on their most wanted list? You’re killing me here, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun shrugged wordlessly, not quite sure how to respond. Chanyeol seemed pretty normal in that instant. “Can you… put on a shirt or something?” Baekhyun asked as he gestured wildly at the taller. Chanyeol chuckled, getting up to retrieve the spare shirt he brought along. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me before.”

“And it’s not like you don’t know I can’t think straight like that,” Baekhyun shot back, in a breath. He stood up. “We do this my way. You answer one of my questions, and I answer one of yours.” Chanyeol opened his mouth, about to refuse, but his eyes met Baekhyun’s defiant glare and he pursed his lips. “Fine.”

Baekhyun gave himself a mental pat on the back, trying not to smile. “First question: How did you end up in Talon?” Chanyeol rolled his eyes, plopping himself on the bed. “That’s the question?”

“It’s the first one. We’re taking things slow tonight.”

‘I thought you liked it hard and fast,” Chanyeol said jokingly, a bad attempt at lightening the mood.

“Hilarious, Chan,” Baekhyun deadpanned, his cheeks colouring. It was Chanyeol’s turn to have his breath caught in his throat. Hearing Baekhyun address him so fondly once again—well, fondly enough—was so heartwarming and yet so painful, just an awful reminder that he couldn’t have Baekhyun the way he did before. Not until all this was over.

“They found me on the battlefield, gave me a new home, honed my abilities, let me see the world in a new light, and so I stayed,” Chanyeol replied tersely. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about because revisiting that meant remembering his sister and her untimely death. That wasn’t something he liked going through over and over again—once was enough to break him. And telling Baekhyun too much would ruin everything.

“New light?” Baekhyun scoffed. “You mean causing destruction even when there’s already enough going on?” Chanyeol ignored Baekhyun’s remark, opting to ask him a question instead of arguing. If he did, he would hear no end of Baekhyun’s lecturing.

“How are you?” Chanyeol asked quietly. Baekhyun looked at him in what seemed like disbelief. “That’s all you have to ask me?”

The taller sighed deeply. “I just want to know how you’re doing, Baek.”

“You don’t want to know who killed your sister?”

“Answer the damn question, Byun,” Chanyeol said, frowning. He didn’t meet Baekhyun to get answers he already had, but Baekhyun didn’t need to know that.

“I’ve been miserable, no thanks to you,” Baekhyun answered. “My turn.” He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. You can do this, Byun. Rip it off like a bandaid. “Did you know that… You killed your own sister?” Chanyeol stilled, breathing shallowly. All the memories were flooding back into his mind.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol warned, not wanting to go into the topic. He thought of his sister and how she died so unjustly. It didn’t help that being in Overwatch meant his sister had to live alone and he couldn’t visit her as often as he wanted to. She was only eighteen and had so much to live for, but it was all taken away the moment the bullet got to her. “This is not the time.”

“This is exactly the time! You’ve been running away, Chanyeol, I don’t know what from but you need to stop blaming Overwatch for this. It’s been a year, please, just come to your senses already.”

Chanyeol looked away, tears threatening to fall. It was only a little over a year since the incident and the wound was still so fresh. His head hurt. He couldn’t stand to look at anything that remotely reminded him of his sister, and that included Baekhyun. The two of them had never met, but Baekhyun was someone he always talked to his sister about. Their phone calls were usually spent talking about how she was so excited to meet the man her brother was raving on about, and how lucky Chanyeol felt to have Baekhyun. She couldn’t even meet Baekhyun once.

Baekhyun scooted closer to Chanyeol in an attempt to hug him, feeling immensely horrible about himself, just throwing the truth into Chanyeol’s face like that without even thinking about the man’s feelings. He wrapped his arms around the taller, rubbing his hands up and down soothingly. “We used to talk about you, you know. She really wanted to meet you. Couldn’t wait to see the man who made me so infinitely happy,” Chanyeol chuckled humourlessly. “I hope she sees you now, as you are right here with me. I hope she’s happy in the skies,” he whispered, subconsciously nuzzling his face into Baekhyun’s chest. The brunet held on tightly to him for a few more seconds before reluctantly letting go, not wanting Chanyeol to leave his embrace.

“Why… why did you have to tell me that?” Chanyeol asked, suddenly annoyed and upset that he had to think of it again. He was doing fine just pretending he was okay with it after a year.

“To stop you from destroying an organisation that wants to protect the world, for just one person who is already dead ,” Baekhyun said harshly, his voice trembling. “Chanyeol please, I know it’s a lot to take in, but you have to stop blaming Overwatch or yourself. She was just at the wrong place at that time, and she’s in a better place now. There’s no need to tear the world apart.”

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun in anger, his body shaking. “I would’ve done the same for you.”

“And I wouldn’t have wanted it,” Baekhyun answered truthfully. To risk world peace for just one person? What was the use of that if you could never get them back anyway? And to leave the entire world in chaos? Simply unthinkable in Baekhyun’s books.

“ off, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol spat. “I’m leaving.” He walked quickly to the door with his belongings, nearly falling in the process, his vision getting blurry. His temple was still hurting like a but nothing could hurt more than that sympathetic look Baekhyun had sent his way. Unfortunately, that was the last thing he saw before he out, Baekhyun calling for him in the distance.

—

“He passed out?”

“He passed out,” Baekhyun echoed, Chanyeol heavy on his back.

“After the two of you had a little chit-chat? And it already seemed like he was going to faint even before that?”

Baekhyun nodded his head once more. “I feel like we should take him to Yixing.”

Jongdae threw his arms in the air. “ Of course we should take him to Yixing! Why did you even bring him to our room first?” He groaned exasperatedly, rushing out of the room to find the doctor. Baekhyun followed behind, as fast as he could with a man nearly double his size on his back. Chanyeol definitely got heavier, and it warmed Baekhyun’s heart to know he was eating well, but he had to focus on the task at hand.

Baekhyun was