“It’s exhausting to always be alone, isn’t it?” Baekhyun lifts his heavy gaze up from the redhead downstairs, turning away from the window. Junmyeon leans against the doorway, face smug and poised as always. “Go greet him and introduce yourself. Hopefully you’ll be civil towards him.”

 

Junmyeon leaves even before giving Baekhyun a chance to get a word in. He doesn’t mind. Baekhyun turns to look at the newcomer once again through the window, tracing the other’s bright smile and tousled red hair. Baekhyun finds the change in his appearance refreshing, especially when the contrast between the blood red and the blanket of snow he stands on satisfies Baekhyun. 

 

He waits a few minutes just to make sure everyone in the house is settled in the living room to wait for the newcomer. He makes his grand entrance, before the newcomer does, casually taking his usual seat in the middle of the room. No one dares to take the seat next to him although there’s too much space on the couch. Well, except Jongdae because he doesn’t know what a sense of privacy is. Baekhyun doesn’t mind.

 

Junmyeon appears by the door again, drink in hand and eyes surveying the room to make sure everyone’s behaving. Baekhyun almost scoffs when the newcomer’s footsteps echoing loudly by the door catches his attention. A mop of red peeks into the door first, eyes big and bright as always. 

 

Newcomer steps in after Junmyeon, limbs a mess and figure too tall to be seen as anything but lanky and awkward. He bows to the whole room, smiles and when he’s about to say his name, Baekhyun meets his sight. He gasps, widening his eyes even more if that’s even possible.

 

“Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gives him a small, serene smile.

 

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol blinks. 

 

“You guys know each other?” Junmyeon brushes the tense atmosphere to the side, taking steps forward to presumably sit next to Baekhyun.

 

At the stare the ravenhead gives him, Junmyeon awkwardly halts in his tracks and stands in his spot like a fool. Chanyeol’s quick to shake his head, giving Baekhyun a quick, nervous side-glance before staring down at Junmyeon again. The rest in the room seem visibly interested now in his presence. The fact that Baekhyun’s not denying anything doesn’t help either.

 

“We do. Barely.” Baekhyun leans back on the couch, drawing a long breath out through his nose. 

 

‘Barely’ is a mendacity in itself. Chanyeol thinks back to all the memories they share, to all the lives they’ve lived through together, all the lives they’ve lived through apart from each other. Chanyeol can practically see and draw out a time where Baekhyun laughed so hard and so openly because of him that it’s stayed ingrained into his memory for years on end. Chanyeol can remember the number of tears he’s counted flowing down Baekhyun’s cheeks. 

 

Baekhyun avoids Chanyeol’s unblinking eyes. Chanyeol decides it’s okay. He has Baekhyun now, he’ll be fine. 

 

“Yeah, barely.” Chanyeol nods. “Anyways, my name is Chanyeol and I hope you’ll take care of me.”

 

          Baekhyun leans back on the wall before tucking a leg under him. The glass of the window is cold enough to make him actually feel the lack of heat but Baekhyun still warms up to it in no time. Down below, he sees Chanyeol walking around with Jongin, giggling about something together. 

 

Baekhyun sighs, eyes still trailing after Chanyeol’s pretty smile. So he’s chosen to be friendly this time around. Maybe Chanyeol missed having friends around. They haven’t seen each other for three lifetimes now and Baekhyun can only guess that Chanyeol’s younger than him in this life. 

 

The door to his room slides open and Jongdae walks in all prim and proper. Right, he wasn’t there when Chanyeol first came. He must have heard what went on from the others. Baekhyun lazily twists his head enough to see Jongdae throw him a sleazy grin. 

 

“Care to tell me what happened?” 

 

“No,” Baekhyun shuts him down immediately. 

 

“Aw, c’mon, Boxian.” Jongdae pouts, resulting in Baekhyun completely turning away from the hideous sight that is Jongdae’s face.

 

“Shut the up, Zhongda,” Baekhyun says almost too monotonously if not for the slight emphasism on the profanity. “You already know.”

 

“That he’s kin to us?” Jongdae provides, then he changes his mind, “Wait, that’s not it.”

 

“Whatever it is, you know,” Baekhyun says, matter-of-factly. 

 

“Do I really?” Jongdae gurns, or at least that’s what Baekhyun would have described it. “How do you know that I know?” 

 

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun warns.

 

“Okay, fine. I’ll just ask him myself.” 

 

“Kim Jongdae.” 

 

“I hate you,” Jongdae spits out, tone entirely venomous and gaze almost deadly, “so ing much.”

 

The huge change in Jongdae’s demeanour doesn’t faze Baekhyun. He’s grown so used to the other’s behavioural patterns that this small difference won’t make him budge. Instead, Baekhyun lifts an eyebrow up and scoffs.

 

“Oh, yeah?” Baekhyun provokes Jongdae. “But you’re too afraid of me to do anything about it.” 

 

“Maybe I am, but a day will come where you will feel the same way I do.” Jongdae tries to stomp out of the room but when Baekhyun waves a finger in a twirl and robs Jongdae’s sight, the latter freezes in place. “Baekhyun, give me back my vision.”

 

“Did you ever learn what politeness is and how to be polite?” Baekhyun’s amused tone aggravates Jongdae even further. “Maybe I should just let you walk around, blind, like all the others are to our kind.” 

 

“I’m sorry,” Jongdae says, voice just under a whisper as resignation laces through his tone, “so just please make me see again.” 

 

“You better keep your behaviour in check, Zhongda. Don’t let your element control you.” 

 

Baekhyun says this only out of pure concern. As a fellow… kin—as Jongdae would say—Baekhyun just wants him to be able to survive longer than he can. There’s really only three of them left in the world, Baekhyun can’t afford to lose more. 

 

“Yeah, I know,” Jongdae grumbles, mumbling a thanks somewhere in between when Baekhyun finally gives back what he stole. “I’m going to introduce myself to Chanyeol.”

 

“I’m going with you.” 

 

Baekhyun makes a move to get up from the window seat but when Jongdae gasps and points at him accusingly, Baekhyun freezes mid-action. Why must Jongdae be so dramatic all the damn time?

 

“So you do know him! Something really is up between you two!” 

 

“Oh, for ’s sake, Jongdae.” 

 

          Jongdae’s rhythmic steps and the crunching of snow underneath Baekhyun’s boots sync up together. The cold doesn’t bother them as much as it should, for Jongdae only has a piece of sweater on while Baekhyun left the warm confines of the house in a hoodie. For humans, this was enough to bring death upon them in such extreme temperatures.

 

When they take a left turn, Jongdae’s pace slows down and Baekhyun can finally see the backs of Chanyeol and Jongin standing close by each other. It irks him, but not enough for him to voice it out.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun calls out, voice calm and almost sounding a lot like home to Chanyeol.

 

Jongin turns around the same time Chanyeol does, mouth and eyes wide open as he stares at Baekhyun. When Jongdae mocks a shiver running down his body and steps closer to Baekhyun’s natural body heat, Jongin finally notices the other standing there. 

 

As expected, Chanyeol’s only wearing a thin shirt whereas Jongin’s sporting a scarf over a winter jacket, over a normal jacket, over a hoodie, and probably even then over a shirt too. 

 

“Hey…” Jongin trails off, not quite understanding why Baekhyun’s all the way out here only to greet Chanyeol. “I was just making sure the newbie knows his way around.” 

 

“I’d hate to be a spoilsport but I kinda need to borrow new guy over there for a minute.” Jongdae snickers at Baekhyun’s lame attempt at being vague before shutting up at the older’s warning glare.

 

“Uh, sure. What for?” Jongin’s careful as always, not wanting to be lax even in the presence of his greatest fear. He had let slip once the fact that Baekhyun scared him more than anything in the world, and he honestly only has vodka to blame for that. That doesn’t stop him from being meticulous with his work though. “If Junmyeon sees me slacking, he’ll slaughter me.”

 

“He won’t if you mention me.” Baekhyun’s smug tilt of the head and his succeeding smile doesn’t falter Jongin’s suspicion any. 

 

“You’ll slaughter me if I ask why once again, won’t you?” Baekhyun simply nods at Jongin’s question, and Jongdae supplies a brusque snort. Jongin doesn’t pay Jongdae any mind. “Fine, but if Junmyeon asks, I’m saying you forced me to.”

 

“Fine by me.” Baekhyun shrugs the small weight of Jongin’s blame off. “Run along.”

 

Jongin really does run along. He trots back into the house and when Jongdae’s sure no one’s there to hear him, he turns to Baekhyun and—again—gurns. 

 

“Run along?” Jongdae scoffs. “You speak like you’re old. Oh, wait, you are old!” 

 

“I’d appreciate it if you shut the up, infant.” Baekhyun flicks the tip of Jongdae’s ear, finding pleasure in the way the younger yelps. 

 

“Uh, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol’s deep voice shakes the two out of their own little world. “What do you need?” 

 

“Nothing, really,” Baekhyun admits, “but I just wanted to introduce you to Jongdae.”

 

“Hello!” Jongdae’s cheerful tone appears when he’s not facing Baekhyun. He waves at Chanyeol, even gives him a bow. “I’m a Demon too!” 

 

Baekhyun waits for Chanyeol to react, for him to express his explosive self once more. Baekhyun’s waited over three lifetimes and three decades to be able to see it, see his smile, hear him laugh. He wants to see the light in the other’s eyes. Instead, the shadows of exhaustion shines clear in the way Chanyeol smiles. 

 

“That’s good then.” Chanyeol rocks from the front to the back on his toes then to his heels. “What’s your element?”

 

Baekhyun frowns at Chanyeol’s attitude. Even he had freaked out at the fact that Jongdae had been born as a Demon. And he’s not usually vocal about anything anymore. 

 

“Lightning.” Jongdae smiles, his mood softening up. Perhaps he realised he should go easy on Chanyeol. “What’s yours?”

 

“Fire.” The tails of Chanyeol’s lips lift just a little higher, dimples now showing. Baekhyun wants to poke it but he doesn’t. “It’s cool how all three of us has the element of light.”

 

“Oh…” was the only thing that falls from Baekhyun’s lips. He then blinks, looking up at the redhead. “Is that not a sensitive topic for you anymore?” 

 

“No.” 

 

Five lifetimes ago, Baekhyun had mistakenly stole the light from Chanyeol’s fire, s