With a start, Siwon jerked awake when the front door open, bringing in the nasty cold air into the cabin. Dear God he didn't even know when he fell asleep. The book he had been reading a few hours ago, slipped off his lap as he sat up rubbing his eyes. He watched Heechul hung his coat and remove his gloves. "I am back." The dragon announced and Siwon hummed. Siwon noticed the dragon was holding a bag in his steel hand. Turning, Heechul brush off the snow that had settled on his head and Siwon's shivered, just thinking about being in the snow for that long without a head wear. He hated the cold, and avoided it as much as he could. "Are you cold?" Heechul asked, walking to the fireplace. The woods had burnt out at some point and Siwon didn't bother to add more. "It's bellow zero, you should have added more woods before taking a nap." The concerns Heechul showed him were something he was having a hard time getting used to. Wordlessly, Siwon watched as the dragon grabbed more woods from the corner adding them to the hearth, then changed his skin to scales and he blew fire to the woods. He remained crouched until the fire was burning as it should, before he stood and made his way over, bring the bag with him. He sat next to Siwon, reaching a hand to touch his. "You're practically freezing. Do you want me to warm you up?" Siwon pulled his hand back, shaking his head. He would only accept a cuddle from Heechul if he had no other choice to keep warm. Because his feelings for the dragon were as raging as they had been years ago.  They had been living a quiet life. And the dragon was trying to redeem himself,  but still Heechul hadn't made any indication he would reciprocate Siwon's feeling and probably never would. But Siwon was content with they way things were. Heechul was changing that's what mattered. Beside now they could be considered friends. That was something. Nodding, Heechul brought out the contents in the bag. Food, some tea, and a few gold coins. "Gold coins?" He asked, his eyes narrowing on Heechul. Heechul quickly shook his head with an expression like a child about to be scolded. "The old lady in 14th street gave it to me, after I helped repair her leaking roof." He said. "I swear." He added, gauging Siwon's expression. Siwon couldn't help the laughter that escaped him. "I believe you." He just wanted to be sure Heechul hadn't strayed, was still on the right track. Heechul visible sagged, relived as a small smile graced his face. "I'll never shame you Choi, no matter how difficult life gets." The genuine emotions in his tone, had Siwon's throat tightening, as he gave a jerky nod. Heechul had been doing meager jobs to provide as best as he could without turning to the bad side and Siwon truly appreciated him trying even if it was hard on him to suddenly live that way when he had been use to luxury all his life. "How's your students?" Heechul changed the subject, relaxing further into the old couch. "Inquisitive as always." Siwon was a tutor for three teenage kids down the east street. One would become Sadok's grandmother in the near future and the other two were her younger siblings. It was exciting to live through history.  "Anything new lately?" Heechul asked, unwrapping the food he brought, his eyes on Siwon. Siwon nodded snatching a piece of ancient cookies and moaned softly when he took a bite. "So good." He mumbled between bites. "You have to make it a habit to repair this person's roof." Heechul laughed, taking a bite too. "It's really good."he mumbled. "So what's the latest?" He brought the conversation back on track. Swallowing his food, Siwon allowed himself a little memory trip. A year ago, Siwon was lucky to have a part of his magic return. Not much, not even close to what he had as a kid, but it was enough to monitor the activities in the future from time to time and to maintain their appearance to pass as natives of the planet. Which was how he knew Sehun had been searching for him. The reason why he couldn't be found was because Sehun wasn't looking in the right place. Ironically Siwon and Heechul were in Lyfe, but in a different timeline,long before either of Siwon or Heechul's time. Long before elves lose the females and even had their first battle, long before the Tree of Life came into existence and the elves were a race without magic.  The best way to hide was in a different timeline. Where no one would think to look. Siwon was certain Sehun would have found them by now had it been they had stayed in their original timeline. It didn't matter how far away they were in the Galaxy or even in another, they were bound to be found. There was no hiding from Sehun. That was what he had in mind when he made the decision that day. After leaving Lyfe with Heechul, they had stopped in Nero. In his fortress, Siwon had kept a magical artifact that he had Inherited from his mother. It was a powerful artifact that could be used to travel through time. He had never tried it, never had the reason to. At first he wasn't sure it would work, considering he had lost his magic back then. Fortunately when reading the texts from his mother's journal, he realized one didn't need to be a mage to operate it.  Retrieving it, they had gone back to Lyfe before activating it, with the exact timeline in mind. The artifact had sent them millions of years in the past. It wasn't a permanent solution. They would have to leave at some point, get back to their original timeline. But not yet. Things needed to be more calmed. Honestly Siwon didn't even have a profound future plan, he liked it here, living with Heechul, just the two of them with no pressure whatsoever was becoming his favorite thing, that would be hard to give it up. He had plenty of time to think things through. Was what he had been telling himself. The most challenging was to avoid contact with people, the less people they meet the better for history sake. They try as best to stay away in fear of interfering with history. One little mistake could cause a chain of reaction in the future. And Siwon didn't want that.  Which was why he had been against– Heechul had wanted to travel to the timeline just before he met Siwon, to warn his past self not to make the mistakes he was about to. Siwon had stopped him. It wouldn't be wise, they wouldn't know the effect it would have if Heechul was prevented from doing all he had done in the past. Some things were better left unchanged . Deep down Siwon was selfishly afraid Heechul's past self would actually listen and never get to meet him. "Penny for your thoughts?" Heechul snapped him out of his thoughts. "Huh?" Siwon mumbled, blinking slowly. "You still haven't answered my question from earlier. Do I need to get worried?" Putting the remaining food on the table , Heechul rose to pull off his shirt, walking to hang it near his coat. He hardly get cold, due to his dragon's higher body temperature. As a result, Siwon get to ogle his body, that usually left him hot and bothered, resulting to a a short trip to the bathroom for a quick session. Heechul had a sweltering hotness that made Siwon ignite inside. If Heechul noticed, he never said or do a thing to give himself away. However Siwon suspected, most of the time the dragon was doing it on purpose to rile him up. What he was hoping to achieve was lost to Siwon. Genuinely. Despite knowing the consequences, Siwon took a moment to appreciate Heechul's broad back, the strong muscles that seemed to stretch out for miles, tapering into a small waist, and then that glorious tight in his breeches. The steel hand only adding to his allure. He swallowed, quickly averting his gaze when the dragon turned to face him. "They're still searching for us." He said, squirming in his seat. Heechul's lips twitched like he wanted to smile, but didn't. Damn the dragon and the things he did to Siwon. "So no need to worry?" "No need." Siwon said, hastily rising when the dragon made to sit back next to him. "Bathroom?" Heechul asked, stretching out on the couch, letting out a yawn. Hiding his blush, Siwon nodded, biting his lower lip. "I am gonna take a nap, wake me in a couple of hours, to make dinner." He added, shutting his eyes, however a smile was dancing on his face, that had Siwon confused. Heechul was a mystery box he still hadn't the chance to uncover. "Go do your thing Choi. Don't let me stop you, unless you want me to watch." He added the last part as joke. "What?" Siwon exclaimed. Heechul cracked an eye open to watch him, quirking an eyebrow."You're going to , are you not?" He said it like it was a conversation they'd had a thousand times. "Oh my gods." Siwon slapped a hand over his mouth.  "I am a dragon you know. It's natural to pick your arousal." He said, with a lazy shrug. "Beside I know what you feel for me." "That doesn't bother you? I mean getting aroused by you?" He held his breath and waited, while Heechul took his time, only responding after gazing at Siwon for a while. That look had him, shifting from one foot to another. It was like Heechul was gazing beyond his physical appearance. "Have I ever given you a reason to think it does?" Heechul finally said, no judgemental or disgust in his tone. Siwon shook his head."Not anymore." True. Heechul's tolerance for him had took a turn. Unlike in the past when he would ceased his brows, or shy away from having skin contact with Siwon, no matter how casual. It didn't bother the dragon now. He initiated it most of the time. Heechul hummed softly. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Saying so he made a shooing gesture, shutting his eyes back. It was clear he didn't want to make Siwon uncomfortable. He could be considerate. Another character development Siwon liked. Siwon didn't spend another moment, as he hastily made for his bedroom. He had given up on . He couldn't, not after their little conversation that he still didn't know what to think of it. Was Heechul giving him hope? He pondered to the point his head began spinning. Groaning he plopped down on his tiny bed, shoving that thought away. Now he should do something productive with his time. 
****  
The baby was sleeping.  Sehun smiled, laying a hand against the artificial womb’s outer wall, projecting comfort and love. This was his nephew. Baekhyun's babe.  There was no scientific proof that unborn Florian babies could sense emotions coming from the outside world, but that didn’t faze him, he wanted to connect with the babe. "Hey there! This is uncle Sehun" he mumbled, smiling.  The door behind him opened, Kai, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Jimin and Jungkook walked in. Sehun had been eager to meet the unborn child, that he had raced over, briefly after their arrival. He had been surprised to see Jungkook and Jimin were already in Flora-x. Like many, the couple had made a home in Lyfe. Now that Eunhyuk was king again, Jungkook had been relieved of his duty as Sehun's protector and directly serve the king like a knight should.  Jimin as Sehun's knight though, had wanted to accompany Sehun on his quest for the cure. However the knight had suddenly came up with a stomach bug– Sehun couldn't stop laughing whenever he thought of it. The truth was, it was no bug, but a bigger life form growing inside the sea elf.  It was shocking how clueless Jimin had been about his pregnancy, and downright funny when he tried to come to terms with losing his ity and getting knocked up on that first time. Though most of his prudery, was gone. When Yixing had congratulate him, a sniffing Jimin had accused Jungkook for getting him pregnant when all the older knight had promised was a sweet session of love making, while an embarrassed Jungkook tried to explain it was the result of said love making. Jimin wasn't having it. Refusing to accept it. It wasn't until Jungkook reminded him even though they were mates, Jimin had the magic, he could have prevented conception had he wished, coupled with the fact that elfin race couldn't be breed, not if they didn't allowed it, meaning Jimin had wanted it. The sea elf had slammed his mouth shut, after that. Sehun and Kai had laughed breathless and still did whenever they thought back to that day. And five months later, the couple had welcomed their first child that they had named –Taegun– after Jungkook's deceased father. It was customary to name the first son after a father or grandfather, especially if they were deceased. Sehun had been there with Jimin during the birth, just like the sea elf had been there for Sehun's. And that was when Sehun truly realized Jimin had the foulest mouth, that not even Baekhyun could rival that. He swore loudly and colorfully, had cursed at Jungkook and his ancestry DNA that made their baby bigger than a usual elfin baby, had sworn to never let Jungkook's rotten anywhere near his again. It was fortunate Jimin had drove his husband out of the birthing room, or Sehun feared Jungkook would surely shed tears from all the insults thrown his way. Jimin was fickle, though. Because after he held his babe, Jimin had changed his mind, declaring to have more babies if they're always this cute. His whole life, Jimin's son was the first elfin baby Sehun had seen and he was glad to be able to witness it. It was a pleasant, albeit hilarious experience. "He's asleep,” Kai said, slipping his hand into Sehun, promptly snapping him out of his thoughts, turning back to the womb."He's beautiful." He told Baekhyun, squeezing Sehun's hand.  "He looks like Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said.“He has your hair.” Jungkook hummed. "Yeah he does." "You think?"Baekhyun wrinkled his nose and looked dubiously at the few wisps of hair on the baby’s head. “It might change yet." "He looks like my brother." Jimin said, with a tilt of his head. "Nah, he looks like Baekhyun." Chanyeol disagree, grabbing Baekhyun shoulder. "Why are so insistent that our son looks like me when it clearly wasn’t the case" Baekhyun said. The babe didn't look like Baekhyun. Sehun did agree. They hadn’t used genetic engineering, but Sehun could already tell that the baby was going to be Chanyeol's little copy, the color of his hair notwithstanding. “Why do you want him to look like me?” Baekhyun murmured, putting his head on Chanyeol's shoulder. Yeah Sehun wanted to know too, and if the babe would be an octopus when he grew. For a long while, Chanyeol was silent, playing with Baekhyun's fingers idly as they watched their unborn son sleep.“I think it will be easier for me,” Chanyeol said at last, haltingly, “to love him if he looks like you.” Oh that was unexpected. Apparently Chanyeol had his issues, which he didn't let others catch on. The octopus was a ray of sunshine, always smiling and wanting everyone to be happy. "You’re going to be a great father,” Baekhyun said firmly, burying his fingers in Chanyeol's hair and pulling him down to press their foreheads together."Trust me.” the cyborg murmured. “I do,” Chanyeol said, kissing the corner of Baekhyun's mouth, then the other. Sehun looked away, he felt like he was– they all were intruding on an intimate moment, they shouldn't be. After a moment of awkwardly gazing at his legs, Sehun cleared his throat. "So is the babe ready to be born?" Baekhyun looked his way, his human hand holding tightly onto his husband's "Not until in a couple of hours." "Oh in that case, there's something I need to talk to you about before then." "In private?" "Not really. " Everyone present was his confidant. It was safe to share with them. "Okay. Let's get back the living room." They all made their way back to the living room, taking their seats. "Tell me what it is." Baekhyun made a gesture toward Sehun, the moment his was down. Sehun didn't need to be asked again. He told Baekhyun about the dark haired visit and what he wanted from him. His friend didn't seem surprised, not the slightest. It turned out Baekhyun had a vision years back about the fight with multiple Sehuns. That wasn't all. Baekhyun had given Sehun the best news of his life. Wei Ying's cure might be tied to the other him. He wasn't hundred percent certain it would work, but he strongly believe it might. According to Baekhyun the other him wasn't just a powerful shifter, but a god too, a real God that would have his powers activated during the fight. Baekhyun also called him the giver of life. A gift unlike any other, that could even revive the dead with their soul intact no matter how power that person was. The cyborg believed a little from his godhood, hopefully would be able to cure Wei Ying. Though Sehun didn't know how to get it, however that didn't damper the hope he hadn't for a long time. "How the I am suppose to steal, store and bring back the godhood?" He asked, after some pondering. "We can just ask him nicely?" Kai suggested, and Jimin nodded, crossing his legs. Sehun pursed his lips."You think he'll give up a part of his godhood If i ask?" He doubted he would. It would be like asking Sehun to give a part of his soul. "I don't know." Kai said with shrug. "He seems like a nice guy. But I am not sure if he will give us what we want." "Then I won't bother asking, I am not gonna take any chances now that I know Wei Ying might finally get back to his feet. After all I am helping him fight his war