“Baekhyun…”

Baekhyun was surprised to hear that voice again. When Chanyeol told him that Yunho had disappeared, he had been afraid that it was for good, now that the curse was broken. “Yunho? What happened to you?”

“Sorry, Baekhyun.” Suddenly, instead of the usual darkness that accompanied these dreams, there was a light and Yunho appeared before him. “I had to rest for a bit. Even with the energy from the pendant, summoning Hangeng was no easy task.”

“I can imagine…” Baekhyun wasn’t really sure what to say, just taking in Yunho’s appearance now that the situation was less dire. He looked exactly the same as Baekhyun remembered; he had always idolized Yunho as a child, but his uncle seemed just as strong and kind and amazing as he had back then. “Yunho… thank you. You saved my life, and Chanyeol’s. Even after sixteen years, you’re still protecting me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Baekhyun,” Yunho said. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “I promised your father that I would protect you. And more importantly, I promised you that I would always be there for you.”

Baekhyun didn’t know if he was imagining it or not, but there was a hint of regret in Yunho’s eyes. “What happens now, then?”

Yunho’s sad smile told Baekhyun he wouldn’t like the answer. “I’m sorry to say that this is goodbye… for good this time. It’s time for me to move on.”

“Why?” Baekhyun asked, blinking back tears. Apparently he could cry even in his dreams.

“Because you’re safe, and the curse is broken,” Yunho explained, his own eyes glassy. “I’ve fulfilled my duty to protect you, and now… now you’ve got someone else to look after you. He’s a good kid, Baekhyun, and you’ve made yourself some wonderful friends. Hold onto them.”

“I will,” Baekhyun replied. He agreed wholeheartedly with that. “Do… do you think you’ll be able to see dad?”

“Yeah, I do,” Yunho smiled, looking Baekhyun straight in the eyes. “And I know he must be as proud of you as I am. For everything you’ve accomplished, for taking care of your mother in our absence… I know it’s hard Baekhyun, but you’ve grown into an amazing man even without us around, and you’ll be fine now too.”

Baekhyun nodded, finally letting the tears fall. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. But even if we can’t talk anymore, I’ll always watch over you.” Yunho move his hand down from Baekhyun’s shoulder to the left side of his chest, over his heart. “I’ll always be here. So don’t be too sad, okay?”

“Yeah…” Baekhyun looked down, covering the hand on his chest with his own. His eyes widened as he felt Yunho’s hand begin to disappear beneath his. His gaze traveled from Yunho’s arm to his face, watching as his uncle’s figure faded away. With one last smile, Yunho was gone.

When Baekhyun opened his eyes again, he was staring at the bed spread. He felt wetness on his cheeks, and realized he must have been crying for real in his sleep. Deep down, he knew that this was for the best; Yunho was where he was supposed to be now, with his father, and that was good. But it felt like he had lost his uncle all over again, and no matter what he told himself it didn’t make it hurt any less.

Glancing at the clock on the night stand, he saw that there wasn’t much time until they were supposed to meet the others. Baekhyun took a few moments to calm himself, not wanting Chanyeol to see him upset. He would tell Chanyeol about it later, but for now they would never get out the door if he started crying again.

Once he was sure he would be okay, Baekhyun turned in Chanyeol’s arms as carefully as he could, trying not to hurt himself too much. Smiling at Chanyeol’s peaceful sleeping expression, he leaned forward, kissing his boyfriend’s lips lightly. “Time to wake up.”

Chanyeol’s eyelids fluttered at the kiss, the corners of his lips curling upwards. He brought his hand up to Baekhyun’s hair, running his fingers through it gently as he returned the kiss. He pulled away after a moment, finally opening his eyes fully. “Good morning.”

“Not morning,” Baekhyun laughed, shaking his head. He kissed the tip of Chanyeol’s nose. “We have to go for dinner soon.”

“Do we have to?” Chanyeol whined, scrunching his face up when Baekhyun’s lips touched his nose. “Can’t we just tell them you’re not feeling up to it?”

“We could, but that would be lying,” Baekhyun replied. He wouldn’t mind staying in bed either, but the others deserved to finally get some answers. “Come on, we can be lazy later.”

Chanyeol reluctantly agreed, and the pair dragged themselves out of bed to get ready. Their clothes were wrinkled from being slept in so they decided to change, which presented a bit of a challenge for Baekhyun. The medicine he had been given at the hospital was wearing off, and his arm had chosen to remind him of his injury. The doctor had told him to immobilize it, but he hadn’t liked the idea of sleeping with a sling and now he was paying for it.

Stepping out of the bathroom in fresh clothes, Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun struggling with his shirt. “Need some help?”

“Uh… yeah, maybe?” Baekhyun looked up from the shirt, which he had only managed to get his right arm out of, grinning sheepishly. “Can’t really move my arm much.”

Walking over, Chanyeol helped Baekhyun maneuver out of the shirt, pulling it first over his head and then down off of his arm so that he didn’t have to move too much. Frowning as Baekhyun grabbed the clean shirt he had laid out on the bed, Chanyeol realized what his boyfriend already had. “Weren’t you supposed to be wearing a sling?”

“Yes…” Baekhyun said, pouting. “But I don’t like it, it’s uncomfortable.”

“Right, and letting your arm move too much in your sleep has absolutely nothing to do with why it hurts so much now,” Chanyeol said, raising an eyebrow. Taking the shirt from Baekhyun with a sigh, Chanyeol helped him get his left arm carefully through the sleeve, then pulled it down over his head for Baekhyun to get his right arm into the other sleeve. “I know it , and believe me I wish you didn’t have to go through this at all, but you have to take care of your injuries properly or they won’t heal right.”

A stab of pain shot through Baekhyun’s arm as if to punctuate Chanyeol’s words and he sighed in defeat. “Alright, I’ll wear it. Help me get it on?”

“Of course. Are you sure you’ll be okay tonight?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun went to get the bag he’d left on the floor by the bed when they came in, where he’d stashed the sling before leaving the hospital. “If it hurts that much, we don’t have to go out. They really will understand.”

Baekhyun shook his head, handing the sling over when he pulled it out of his bag. Chanyeol helped him fit his arm into it as comfortably as possible, adjusting the strap and securing it over his other shoulder. “It’s not that bad, I’ll be okay. Besides, I want to see them.”

“If you’re sure… at least take some medicine before we go,” Chanyeol said, worried that Baekhyun would try to push himself too much. His worried expression deepened when he noticed the red around Baekhyun’s yes, now that he was more awake and able to take a closer look at the older man. “Baek… were you crying?”

“No,” Baekhyun said instinctively, though he knew there was no point in trying to lie to Chanyeol anymore. “Yes, but its… we can talk about it later, okay? After dinner.”

“…Alright.” Chanyeol was still worried, but he chose not to push the issue. Baekhyun could tell him when he was ready.

The two of them finished getting ready and head downstairs to meet the rest of the group in the lobby. When they got there, Kyungsoo, Kai, Jongdae, Minseok, Suho, and Yixing were already there waiting, and they all chatted quietly as they waited for the other four. Sehun and Luhan didn’t take too long to show up, both of them looking like they had done anything but sleep. Another five minutes passed before Tao came running into the lobby, followed by a scowling Kris.

“Sorry, sorry!” Tao apologized. “We slept longer than we meant to and then my hair wouldn’t cooperate and Mr. Grumpypants over there wasn’t helping at all… anyway, what’s the plan?”

In the end, after several assurances from Baekhyun that he would be fine, they decided to go find a restaurant outside of the hotel to eat at. They figured since there were so many of them they could reserve a private room, and lessen the chances of anyone overhearing their conversation. They asked the front desk for recommendations, and eventually found a nice sounding, inexpensive restaurant that was only a ten minute drive away. Suho called ahead to get them a room, and then they all headed out.

The restaurant wasn’t too busy, so even with their last minute reservation it didn’t take long for them to be seated. A waiter quickly took their drink orders, and then they were momentarily left alone. They could hear muffled chatter from the main dining area, but they were well isolated from it, ensuring no one would overhear them. None of them really wanted the whole restaurant looking at them like they were crazy; not everyone was so open minded towards the paranormal, and even for those who were this whole situation was a little out there.

“You know, if we were worried about privacy,” Sehun said once the waiter had left, “why didn’t we just stay at the hotel to talk about this?”

Jongdae looked at him in disbelief. “Maybe because there are twelve of us and those hotel rooms aren’t very big?”

“Anyway,” Suho interrupted, cutting off Sehun’s reply and making the youngest frown. Luhan patted his shoulder sympathetically, though he had to agree with Jongdae on this one. “How are you doing, Baekhyun? Honestly.”

“For the hundredth time, I’m okay,” Baekhyun replied. Chanyeol shot him a glare, though there was no real heat behind it, and Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “My arm is bothering me a bit and my side isn’t enjoying me moving around too much, but it’s bearable. I’ll be okay. And, my head feels much better, so that’s a plus.”

“Good.” Tao grinned, relieved to see Baekhyun being his usual self – it meant he really was feeling better. He turned his gaze to Chanyeol. “I’m trusting you to look after him, since we both know he’s going to be stubborn through his whole recovery, and I can’t bully him into listening when you guys leave.”

Baekhyun frowned at that, sending both of them dirty looks, but neither of them were bothered. Chanyeol draped his arm very carefully over Baekhyun’s shoulders, not wanting to hurt him, and mirrored Tao’s grin. “Of course, he’s in great hands.”

“I’m not a child you know. I hate you both.”  Baekhyun moved to cross his arms over his chest in annoyance, then made a frustrated noise when he remembered he couldn’t with the sling on. Glancing up, Baekhyun found Chanyeol giving him his best kicked puppy look and sighed, caving much more easily than he would have liked. “Okay, except for you, I still love you.”

“Hey!” Tao protested, but Baekhyun wasn’t paying attention anymore. Chanyeol had flashed him a brilliant smile at those words, leaning in quickly to kiss Baekhyun. He mouthed ‘I love you too’ as he pulled away, bringing a smile to Baekhyun’s face as well. As he watched the scene, Tao forgot his previous indignation. He was so glad that Baekhyun had finally found someone, that his best friend got to know love – real love, not the unrequited feelings that Baekhyun had harbored for so long. It was a truly wonderful thing. Turning to look at Kris beside him, Tao smile softly, placing his hand on Kris’s thigh under the table. Kris gave him a questioning look at the random affection, but took Tao’s hand anyway, squeezing it lightly in response.

The group continued chatting about less serious things until they had ordered and their food had arrived, waiting until they wouldn’t be interrupted to begin the real conversation. The room was quiet for a moment once the waiter left again, no one really sure how to start. It was Kai who finally broke the ice. “Okay, I know you two have had a rough couple of days, but do we get the full story now or what? All we know is what we saw through that window, and I doubt you want us to continue making up our own theories.”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to scold Kai for being insensitive, but Baekhyun stopped him, shaking his head. “It’s okay, Kai is right. I’m sorry, I know you all must have been worried, after everything… but it’s all over now. I suppose I should start from the beginning.”

Baekhyun told them everything, from the dreams to the pendant to the note, and finally Heechul following them and showing up at the church. He filled in any details he may have left out in his previous attempts to keep the problem to himself, and Chanyeol helped where he could, taking over when they started explaining what happened in the church. He could tell Baekhyun’s voice was starting to get hoarse and he shuddered, thinking back to the flames and the smoke… they hadn’t brought that part up to the doctor, as it would make their falling down the stairs cover extremely questionable, and Chanyeol could only hope that Baekhyun didn’t have any serious issues from the smoke inhalation. Just in case, he didn’t want Baekhyun straining his throat, so he explained what he could to the others about the incident.

Tao gasped when Baekhyun revealed the truth behind the curse; a part of him couldn’t help but feeling guilty, just knowing that he was in any way involved in something that had gotten Baekhyun hurt. The other part of him was proud of Baekhyun’s choice, and how strong he had been through everything. Tao knew that Baekhyun hadn’t been doing too well after he left, and that Chanyeol had helped fix that, but even beyond that… Baekhyun seemed different, better, even after this whole mess, and Tao knew who to thank for that.

“And then, Yunho was there,” Baekhyun said, smiling sadly. “He was… amazing. He put out the flames and talked Heechul down like it was nothing. He never would have admitted it, but Heechul was scared I think; he knew my uncle had him beaten.”

“What about the other guy who was there?” Minseok asked. They had all tried to stay quiet and listen, but it was hard not to ask questions.

“That was Hangeng,” Chanyeol answered, eliciting surprised looks from the others.

“You mean… the lover that Heechul killed?” Kyungsoo asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes.” Chanyeol thought back to Hangeng and Heechul’s conversation that night. “I don’t really know how Yunho knew this would work, but I guess he figured that Heechul had to face the emotions that had built up over the years about what he had done. They talked a bit, basically apologizing and blaming themselves for what happened, admitting they were still in love and all of that. As unhappy as I am with Heechul, it was kind of sweet, and apparently what he needed because he wasn’t so angry after that. I suppose those two were truly a match made in heaven.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help but laugh at the lame pun, elbowing Chanyeol in the side (and regretting it when it sent a stab of pain through his arm – right, not supposed to do that).  “Heechul actually came up and apologized to me. Honestly, I think part of the way he acted was just the curse forcing him; the whole point of it was to draw vengeful spirits to the owner, so I doubt he would have acted so violently otherwise. But, yeah… then they disappeared, and you guys know the rest.”

“Wow, that’s… that’s one hell of a story,” Yixing said, speaking for the first time since the explanations had started. When he had joined this team with Luhan, he had never expected to witness something like this. It wasn’t exactly what he signed up for, though he didn’t regret it either. He didn’t know Chanyeol and Baekhyun too well yet, but they seemed like good people, along with the rest of their team. Yixing was decidedly happy as a member of EXO, even if that meant getting dragged into some crazy scenarios. “I’m glad everything turned out alright for the both of you.”

“No kidding,” Kai said, shaking his head. “Baek, next time you pick up a cursed object, try to warn us before you decide to nearly get yourself killed and scare us all half to death.”

“Yes sir,” Baekhyun laughed. He smiled gratefully at Yixing, making a mental note to get to know the other man better in the future – he was nice, a great fit for their team. “Really though, thank you all. I don’t say enough how much I appreciate your support… I couldn’t have gotten through this without everyone helping me. Even when you didn’t know what was wrong, you helped just by being there.”

“You don’t have to say it. We’re a team, it’s a given that we support each other,” Suho replied. He didn’t miss the meaningful glances cast at Chanyeol as Baekhyun spoke; the words were for everyone, but especially for the man who had helped Baekhyun through far more than just his ghost problem. “I’m just happy that it’s over now, and that you came out of it relatively okay.”

The rest of the team echoed the sentiment, and soon the talk turned to their usual playful banter as they finished their food. All in all it was a pleasant night, and as they headed back to the hotel it was with a sense of closure. This nightmare was finally over, and everything was going to be okay. Baekhyun would need time to recover, but they could all begin to move on now.

By the time they made it back up to their hotel room, Baekhyun was exhausted. It was true that he was feeling better, but he was still in pain, and the bit of walking he had done had taken its toll. He had his own suspicions about the smoke inhalation as well; it was nothing too bad, but he had definitely noticed himself getting winded more easily than usual, and his throat was persistently sore. Hopefully it would clear up in a few days – he really didn’t want to have to try to explain a ghostly fire to a doctor.

Chanyeol wordlessly guided Baekhyun to sit on the bed, having noticed how tired his boyfriend looked on the way up. He sat down next to him and began running a hand up and down Baekhyun’s back soothingly. Baekhyun leaned into Chanyeol’s touch, resting his head against the taller man’s chest and closing his eyes. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Baekhyun had almost managed to fall asleep when there was a quiet knock on their door. Baekhyun glanced up at Chanyeol, who sighed, pulling away momentarily to answer the door. He was mildly surprised to find Kris on the other side; he had expected Tao or Kyungsoo, maybe even Suho, but not Kris.

“Hey,” Kris greeted simply, peering into the room around Chanyeol and waving at Baekhyun. “Mind if I come in for a sec?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Chanyeol replied, stepping aside and opening the door wider for Kris to enter. “What’s up?”

“Well…” Kris started, moving to stand in front of Baekhyun. Chanyeol reclaimed his seat on the bed, curious what Kris wanted to talk about. “You said the curse was broken, right?”

Baekhyun blinked at that, not exactly the question he was expecting in his half asleep state. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”

“Before we left the church the other night, I found this.” Baekhyun’s eyes widened slightly as Kris pulled a familiar silver pendant out of his pocket, still hanging from the black cord Baekhyun had bought for it months ago. Kris shrugged, “Even with everything that happened, something told me you might not want to lose it. If it’s not cursed anymore… you told us before that you started wearing it as a reminder of your uncle. I just thought maybe it could still be that for you.”

“Kris… thank you,” Baekhyun said, eyes watering as he reached out with his good hand to take the pendant. “It has a lot of bad history associated with it, but even so… without Yunho, the curse never would have been broken. So yes, I think you’re right, it is a good reminder.”

“You’re welcome. And don’t sell yourself short – it couldn’t have been broken without you either.” Kris smirked slightly, stepping forward and ruffling Baekhyun’s hair, much to the younger’s annoyance. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve had enough sentimentality this week to last a lifetime.”

Kris let himself out, leaving the pair to rest. Baekhyun held the pendant up in front of him for a moment, thinking, before he finally decided to slip it around his neck. Chanyeol helped after Baekhyun struggled trying to get it on one-handed, and eventually the comforting weight hung around his neck once again, tucked under his shirt just as he had worn it before. He thought it might be strange wearing it again, knowing all of the evil the pendant had brought, but it wasn’t. Baekhyun knew that evil was gone now; instead, the pendant simply served to remind him not only of Yunho’s love, but his father’s as well.

After that, the two of them got ready for bed, Baekhyun once again needing help to change. He really hated not being able to use his arm, but he knew Chanyeol wasn’t going to let him get away with not wearing the sling anymore. They turned the lights off and got into bed, but they didn’t go to sleep right away; though the outing had been taxing on Baekhyun, neither of them were quite ready for sleep so soon after their earlier nap, so instead they took some time to simply enjoy each other’s company.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said quietly, breaking the silence. “Do you want to talk about earlier? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but you know I’ll listen if you do.”

Baekhyun was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. He had considered telling everyone about his dream earlier, in the interest of being completely open, but in the end he decided it was something private and personal and that they would understand if he kept this one thing to himself. But he knew that if he didn’t tell Chanyeol, his boyfriend would just continue to worry about why he had been crying. And really, he didn’t mind sharing personal things so much when it came to Chanyeol; he was starting to learn that talking about these things often did make him feel better, and Chanyeol was so easy to talk to.

“I had another dream. Of Yunho.” Baekhyun’s free hand found Chanyeol’s, which had been resting lightly against Baekhyun’s stomach, and held it, searching for comfort. “He spoke to me.”

It wasn’t hard to guess what had been said. Chanyeol could see it in the expression on Baekhyun’s face, hear it in his voice, and his heart ached for the other man. “He said goodbye.”

Baekhyun nodded, biting his lip when he felt the tears starting again. Chanyeol moved his other hand up to Baekhyun’s hair, running his fingers through it soothingly. He didn’t really know what to say, having no idea what it was like to lose someone like that  let alone to go through it twice, so instead he offered as much comfort as he could through his presence and his touch. Baekhyun very much appreciated the effort, and his lips curved upwards as he remembered something. “He said you were a good kid, and that I should hold on to you.”

Chanyeol laughed softly at that. “Well, your uncle is certainly a smart man.”

“He was. Is,” Baekhyun said, correcting himself. “After everything we’ve seen, I guess he isn’t truly gone. Heaven, the afterlife, whatever you want to call it… I’ve seen enough to know there’s something else out there. He said he’d always watch over me, and I believe he will.”

“I know he will,” Chanyeol agreed, pressing his lips to Baekhyun’s temple. “Will you be okay?”

“Yeah, I will,” Baekhyun replied, and for the first time in a long time he was sure of that. “I miss him, and it hurts, but I know he’s where he should be now. When he died, it was so hard, because I was alone… without my dad around, Yunho had been my world, and then he was gone. I had my mom, of course, but I always felt like I had to be strong for her. I didn’t have friends, really, there was no one to talk to about any of it and certainly no shoulder to cry on. But now? I have a family, ten brothers who I know would be there for me through anything, who will be there to get me through this. And beyond that, I have you.”

“You do, and I’ll be here as long as you’ll have me.”  Chanyeol pushed himself up on one arm, leaning over to kiss Baekhyun’s lips. It was soft, chaste, but it expressed everything it needed to. He pulled away just enough to speak, their noses brushing against each other, and whispered, “I love you, Baekhyun. I can’t say it enough.”

“Good, because I’ll never get sick of hearing it. I love you too.” Baekhyun closed the distance between them again, kissing Chanyeol one last time before the pair finally fell asleep.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by. The group spent as much time together as they could, re-working their previous plans to accommodate Baekhyun. They had originally had a second investigation planned, but they decided to cancel it despite Baekhyun’s protests. He swore that he would be fine, but they all knew better; though his condition was much improved from that first night at the hospital, he clearly wasn’t up to pulling an all-nighter yet. The second, unspoken reason was that they all needed a bit of time before facing the paranormal again. They knew the curse was broken, and nothing would deter them from doing what they loved, but they had almost lost something much more precious than their work and it would take time to get over that.

Before they knew it, the week was over, and Baekhyun and Chanyeol were in their room packing. Their flight was leaving early the next morning, and they wanted to have everything ready before they went to sleep.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun whined, frowning as Chanyeol grabbed yet another shirt out of his hand, folding it neatly and placing it in his suitcase. “I can at least pack on my own.”

“I’m sure you can,” Chanyeol replied, eyeing Baekhyun’s arm doubtfully. He would be more willing to let Baekhyun use his arm when they got home and he got his cast, but for now he didn’t want to risk the older man moving it too much and hurting it more.  “But I can do it faster, and I’d like to get this done as quickly as possible. Curling up in bed with you is much more appealing than packing.”

Baekhyun couldn’t really argue with that logic. He sat down on the bed next to the suitcase with a sigh, giving up on helping for the time being. “It’s going to be weird, not having Tao and the others around again. I mean, we’ve only been here a week, but it’s been so long since we’ve even spent that much time together that I was kind of starting to get used to it. It’s been nice getting to know Luhan and Yixing better too.”

“Yeah…” Chanyeol had to admit, he was going to miss the others as well. He didn’t know them nearly as well as Baekhyun, but it was obvious why his boyfriend loved them so much. The team really was like a family, and Chanyeol was truly starting to feel like part of that family. He had never needed to worry about Tao, Kris, or anyone else accepting him; they welcomed their newest member with open arms, and had been wonderfully supportive to both he and Baekhyun over the past week. “Hey, have you thought about what you’re going to do when we get back? Like, going back to your apartment…?”

“I’ve tried not to think about it, really,” Baekhyun said, shaking his head. “I know I don’t want to stay there though. Too many bad memories, and not just because of Heechul. Would it be okay if I stayed with you for a bit while I look for a new place?”

“Yeah, of course you can,” Chanyeol replied, without any hesitation. His face flushed slightly as he mumbled, “You could just stay permanently.”

Baekhyun almost didn’t hear the last part, but when he realized what Chanyeol had said he couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face. “Chanyeol… are you saying you want me to live with you?”

“Well, it’s just… it’s been nice, sharing this room with you this past week, and you staying with me before. And if you’re planning to move, then it would just make sense, and save you some trouble… but of course, I know it’s probably too fast, so I’ll understand if you don’t want to, I just thought…” Chanyeol rambled, suddenly all nerves. He took a deep breath, calming himself. “Yes. Yes, I want you to live with me.”

Finding Chanyeol’s nervousness absolutely adorable, Baekhyun was positively beaming now. He found that he didn’t really need to think about his answer. “Okay.”

“Yeah, of course, I understand, it’s… wait, what?” Chanyeol blinked, seeming to realize halfway through his sentence that Baekhyun hadn’t in fact said no. “You will?”

Baekhyun nodded, and now Chanyeol was grinning too. He pulled Baekhyun into his arms, hugging him as tightly as he could without hurting him. Baekhyun returned the embrace as well as he could with his good arm, nuzzling the crook of Chanyeol’s neck affectionately. “Yes. I love you, and I’d love to spend every day and night with you. Maybe it is a bit fast, but it feels right, and I have no doubts about you, about us.”

“I love you too, so much.” Chanyeol kissed the top of Baekhyun’s head, elated at the turn of events. He had never really expected Baekhyun to say yes, but he couldn’t be happier about it. “And I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Though, perhaps I should have thought this through a bit more… I think we’re both aware that my apartment is not really fit for two people, not if you plan on keeping most of your stuff.”

“No, it isn’t,” Baekhyun laughed. He moved away just enough so that he was talking to Chanyeol’s face, and not into his neck. “How would you feel about moving? You know, Kyungsoo’s place is going to be free soon.”

“Sure, but isn’t he moving precisely because it isn’t big enough for two people?” Chanyeol asked, puzzled by the suggestion.

Baekhyun just laughed again, rolling his eyes. “No, they’re moving because it’s not big enough for Kyungsoo and another person. He’s got way too much for his own good, his second bedroom is filled to the brim with all of the books, case files and research he’s collected over the years, which he refuses to move to our office. He could make room there for Kai if he wanted to, he’d just rather find a place where he can have a proper office and a bigger kitchen. For us, it would work just fine. It’s pretty nice, actually, and affordable. I think you would like it.”

“Then I guess we need to have a talk with Kyungsoo, before his landlord rents it out to someone else,” Chanyeol replied. He didn’t mind moving, not if it meant sharing his life with the man he loved.

Baekhyun nodded his agreement, resting his head against Chanyeol’s shoulder for a moment. Yes, things were definitely going to be okay.

The scene at the airport was unsurprisingly emotional, the two groups sharing tearful goodbyes. Luhan was happy to be leaving with Sehun, but it hit him then just how much he was going to miss his team. Yixing had been a good friend for years, letting Luhan drag him into investigating even though he hadn’t been too interested in the beginning. Kris had always been willing to help as well, flying his whole team out before Luhan had ever been a part of it, and was a fantastic leader. Luhan had never really minded letting Kris make decisions for them, despite being older, because he knew that the other man made a far better leader than he ever would. He had made fast friends with Tao, Minseok, and Jongdae too, and he would miss their late nights out together, laughing and joking like they had known each other forever. Even so, he knew this was the right thing for him, and he didn’t regret his decision to leave. Sehun stayed by his side as Luhan said his goodbyes, holding his hand and offering all of the support he could.

Tao was crying as he and Baekhyun hugged, the older man blinking back tears as well, though they were both trying to smile through it. “It’s been so great to see you, Baekhyun. Let’s not let another year go by though, okay? Maybe I can come see you next time.”

“Yeah, I’d really like that,” Baekhyun said, giving one last squeeze with his good arm before pulling away from the hug, taking Tao’s hand instead. “I’m really, really going to miss you.”

“Me too. But we’ll keep in touch and we’ll see each other soon, I promise.” Tao clapped a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder gently, comfortingly, before stepping back and turning to Chanyeol. “It was great meeting you, Chanyeol. I’m glad to have you on the team. I heard the news as well, congratulations.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks.” Chanyeol blushed slightly when Tao winked at him, causing the others to give them confused looks. Baekhyun had only told Kyungsoo and Tao about their decision to move in together, and while it was likely that Kai and Kris knew as well, the others did not. “No threatening best friend speech this time?”

Tao laughed. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary. I know you don’t need any threats, I trust you not to hurt him.”

“Yeah, I think you’ve more than proven yourself,” Kris said with a smirk, stepping up beside Tao. “Just don’t be too quick to corrupt his innocence, at least let him recover first.”

“Corrupt his…?” Chanyeol went even redder when he realized what Kris meant.

Baekhyun glared at Tao, horrified, knowing he must have told Kris what he had said before in the church. “I hate you guys, I hope you know.”

“No you don’t,” Tao said, poking Baekhyun’s chest. “You’re even going to miss our teasing, admit it.”

Baekhyun’s glare softened, fading into a smile. “Yeah, I will.”

The team spent the next ten minutes talking and saying their farewells, until finally Suho had to break things up, reminding them that they had a flight to catch and still needed to get through security. The seven of them left reluctantly, and soon they were seated on the plane, waiting to depart. On the ground, the other five waited for the plane’s departure outside, having found a spot where they could watch it take off.

Standing there, watching their friends go, they found that they weren’t really sad. They would miss the others, of course, but they also knew they wouldn’t be apart for good. Because despite the distance, they would never really be separate teams; the twelve of them together made EXO, their bond only made stronger by the events of the past week, and nothing was going to change that. They were one.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: And done. There will be a short epilogue, which I will try to get posted within the week, but otherwise this is it. Also, sorry for the delay in this chapter, after finals I got really busy with some personal life stuff. Had some rough times and I really wasn't motivated to write, but thankfully things have gotten better now. Thank you all SO much for all of your support, you have no idea how much it means to me. When I started writing this, I had no idea if it would get finished or if anyone would even like it, but the response has been better than I ever hoped. It's because of you wonderful readers that I was able to push myself to keep working over the past year, to keep writing and finish this, so again, thank you. I'll be posting some information on my writing plans for the future along with the epilogue, so I hope you'll all stick around! <3