Baekhyun's socked feet slipped a little as he rushed across the dark wooden floor. He stumbled a little in his excitement as he ran towards the front door for his shoes. He slid his feet into the muddy sneakers and ran out the door and through the back gate of the nursery. He lingered just a little to admire the initials carved into the big tree that was now a part of his backyard and a soft smile crossed his face.

He turned back to admire the beautiful wooden home. It was two storey with a long balcony that ran the length of the top floor. Baekhyun's favourite thing to do was to sip his coffee in the morning and wander the length. He could see the nursery and the school, the bakery, and almost all the way to the creek.

But this morning had no space or time for casual musings. Chanyeol had been promoting his new album in the city for two weeks and even though it was number one on every single chart he had stuck to his guns. He was taking a holiday. He was picking Baekhyun up and driving him back to the city and they would fly out in the morning.

"Hey Mum!" Baekhyun called out to the beautiful woman smiling behind the counter. She smiled back and Baekhyun's slightly tense demeanour relaxed. "You excited?" She asked and Baekhyun grinned. He'd never been out of the country before and he had been begging Chanyeol every night on the phone to tell him where they were going. "Wish you'd change your mind and come with us!" Baekhyun said as he put his arm around her shoulder and she shirked him and gave him a gentle push. "The last thing I want to do is third wheel on your delayed honeymoon." She chuckled and they both suddenly fell silent.

Saying quiet vows outside under the old willow tree was the best thing they had ever done and Baekhyun would be forever grateful Chanyeol pushed them to do it before he lost his Dad. He had been gone for six months and he missed him every day but life went on and so did the Byuns. Life was tough but they were tougher. Like the deep initials carved into Baek they would endure.

"Are you sure you'll be fine without me?" Baekhyun's sense of responsibility hadn't been lost and his mum just laughed. "For the hundredth time Baekhyun. Yes." She picked up her tea and sipped it. "Anyway my cousin's son will be here in two days. He's going to stay in your room for a few weeks to see how he likes it and if it all goes well he'll get a house." Baekhyun sighed a little with trepidation. His second cousin, Luhan, was smart mouthed and lazy, but had run into what the family referred to as 'some trouble' in China. Apparently a stint in the country working in the nursery was an offer he couldn't refuse.

Baekhyun hoped he would make himself useful and be somewhat of a help to his Mum. 

"I better be ready when Yeol gets here..." Baekhyun said as he hugged his Mum again and wandered the short distance home. He looked up at the enormous building. It was a little ostentatious, easily the biggest home in town, but Chanyeol wouldn't have it any other way. He made noises about them needing the space for their future children and so they could adopt a hundred dogs one day and Baekhyun had relented and let Chanyeol build him a palace in the sky. They divided their time between here and the city, mostly together and sometimes apart, and it just worked. Sometimes love is strong enough to withstand any distance.

He dragged his suitcase to the door and waited. It wasn't long before he heard the familiar sound of tyres on the gravel driveway and he opened the heavy front door. When Chanyeol stepped out of his car Baekhyun started to walk towards him it his excitement overwhelmed him and before he knew what was happening he began to run. 

Chanyeol's arms were strong and muscular and always open to Baekhyun. He jumped into them and when he was surrounded by their warmth and security Baekhyun relaxed into the feeling. "Welcome home." He whispered into Chanyeol's chest. "Hello my love." Chanyeol whispered softly in return.

The drive to the city was filled with talk. Loud happy talk of Chanyeol's latest album, charts success, minor gossip and upcoming schedules. Joyful conversations of town news, the sale of the bakery and the impending arrival of Baekhyun's second cousin who he hoped would turn out to be useful. With conversation flowing easily the two hour drive passed by in a flash.

Baekhyun tried to grab his case from the car but Chanyeol slapped his hands away and grabbed it out like it was a paper bag. Baekhyun just let him. He knew by now that Chanyeol wasn't happy unless he was taking care of Baekhyun. Spoiling him, showing him off, treating him like he was precious. And Baekhyun would never admit it but he liked it. It made him feel wanted, cared for, and loved.

He knew how to love Chanyeol back. He knew the way to catch his eye, give him a sweet smile, admire him in the way that he adored. He knew that if he clung to Chanyeol in public the tall man's ears would get red on the tips and he would grin like a goofy idiot. 

It was easy to love Chanyeol. And being loved by him was even easier.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Chanyeol asked quietly as they made their way inside the small apartment. The penthouse was long gone and they had made the cozy two bedroom their base in the city. It was warm and filled with thick rugs and potted plants and Chanyeol's guitar stood in pride of place next to a flat screen tv. "I know what I want to do tonight...." Baekhyun pressed his body against Chanyeol's and nibbles at his neck. "Tonight?" Chanyeol laughed. "How about now!" Baekhyun shrieked as he felt himself swooped up in Chanyeol's arms as the taller half carried him into the bedroom.

An hour later they were lazing languidly in a hot bath. The indoor spa was Baekhyun's only luxury request and as Chanyeol sank back in the warm water he was pleased with Baekhyun's insistence. "So really. What do you want to do tonight? We don't fly out until 9am so we could catch a movie or just order takeaway." Chanyeol said as he watched Baekhyun soap his body. "Suho invited us to this dinner with some people he wanted me to meet but I said no." 

Baekhyun frowned at him. "Is it important?" He asked and Chanyeol shook his head. "Kind of. But I told him our honeymoon starts today. I'm serious. We've been waiting for this break for so long..." Chanyeol closed his eyes and when he opened them Baekhyun was getting out the bath. "Call him and tell him we'll be there Chanyeol." Baekhyun smiled as he wrapped himself in a towel. "We can spare a night if it's important." When he turned to Chanyeol with a soft expression the taller fell in love with him all over again. "We've got forever to be together Chanyeol."

Forever.

=====

Sehun frowned at his assignment. He needed stuff from the nursery and he really didn't feel like driving three towns over. But then he remembered Baekhyun and Chanyeol we're away and he grabbed his backpack and lost of items.

It had been a year and he had gotten over Baekhyun pretty quickly but he was still kind of embarrassed about the way he had behaved. It had taken hitting rock bottom to realise he had been so jealous of his brother that he would use someone like that. He had played with Baekhyun like he meant nothing. It was wrong and he still planned to apologise to them both one day. But not anytime soon. Sehun still had his pride.

He scowled as he walked into the nursery and grabbed a cart. He added potting soil, some seedling trays, some pipes and taps for a hydroponic system. He planned on doing a comparison between soil and hydroponic growth methods and he needed the right kind of fertilisers.

He looked around for Mrs Byun but she was nowhere to be seen. Sehun grumbled under his breath and headed towards the counter to find some assistance. Mrs Byun wasn't there either. Instead he found a stranger. A beautiful stranger with wide innocent doe eyes and skin that looked like it was carved from glass.

Sehun stood and stared and the stranger stared back. Finally Sehun croaked our some words through his strange newfound nerves. "I need some liquid fertiliser for a hydroponic system." The stranger just eyed him up and down and went back to looking at his phone. "Yeah, it's my first day, so I don't really have a clue..." he chewed his bottom lip as he focused on his mobile game and Sehun frowned at him. 

"Rude." He said as he scowled and the stranger looked up at his sour expression. "What?" He said and Sehun's frown deepened further. "I said YOU'RE RUDE.." he thundered, a little louder than he expected, and the stranger yelled back. "SO ARE YOU. Rude little ..." He went back to his phone but Sehun could see the flush on his cheeks. 

"Hey. Who are you to call me that. I'm not little..." Sehun's pout proved his words wrong and the stranger began to laugh. "You're definitely younger than me so show some respect."

"Respect is earned." Sehun said and the stranger found himself nodding in agreement. "So. What's your name? So I know who I'm telling on when I go to Mrs Byun about her ride employee." Sehun's scowl had broken a little at the sight of the cute man in front of him and a rare smile was threatening to break free from his lips.

"Me? I'm Luhan and I live here now. Mrs Byun is my Aunty, kind of, and she loves me so good luck trying to get me in trouble." The smirk on his face was adorable and Sehun felt a crack melt into his cold heart.

"Ok Luhan. I won't tell on you if you do me a favour in return." Sehun smiled and he noticed Luhan blush a little and his heart fluttered as he realised he might have a chance.

"Let me take you out for dinner tonight." Sehun waited for the response and when it came he was surprised and a little excited.

"Sure. But only if you promise you won't be so rude all night."

===

I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I feel like I put the weight of expectancy even higher on myself with each book and it's a lot of pressure. But that's who I am. I always knew this wasn't going to be a roller coaster ride of events. The heart of this story is the emotions and it turned out to be probably my second or third favourite work. 

My first favourite will always be Hearts Adjacent in case you were wondering. I love that story like it's my baby. I don't know why but I feel like my Seventeen stories are always better than my EXO stories but maybe that's just because hardly anyone reads them so I feel more like I'm writing just for myself.

I was inspired by two things to write this story. Obviously the song 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol. My other inspiration was the MV for 'Violet' by Pentagon and if you haven't seen it please please please go watch the video it's beautiful and Pentagon are perfection.