Zitao was quite sad to see Lu Han and Sehun leave, they were a lot of fun to be around. Lu Han was a bit of a troublemaker—Sehun was too, but not quite to the extent that Lu Han was. They complimented each other very well, and it was so sweet to see them together. Zitao could really see how much they loved each other, and he wondered if maybe Krystal and the girls just needed to hang out with him and Kris for a day in order to see how real their feelings for each other were. He planned to suggest that to Kris once Lu Han and Sehun left.

As soon as the door shut behind Lu Han and Sehun, Kris turned to Zitao. “I have a proposition for you,” he said, “But you might not like it.”

Zitao stomach dropped and he gulped. “That sounds ominous,” he said.

“Not really,” Kris said. “Just hear me out, okay?” He led Zitao over to the sofa and they sat down. “I couldn’t help but notice that while Lu Han was here, he didn’t have a problem with the noise at all. He met Sehun at a bus stop, for crying out loud. Anyway, I asked him how he’d managed it, and he told me that he saw a wizard who—”

“Wizard?!” Zitao yelped. “Wait, like Harry potter type wizard?”

Kris rolled his eyes. “No, not at all. More like the fairytale wizard type with a long scraggly beard who lives in a cave on the fringes of society. Anyway, Lu Han saw him because the guy is famous for making potions for people like me, who are mated to humans and who have a hard time blending in with society.”

“Why does he do that?” Zitao interrupted.

“He doesn’t say,” Kris said patiently, “Probably he does it because people will pay anything for the ones that they love. The good news is that since it falls under the category of mating, my clan will help me pay for the spell I need, the spell Lu Han got, which basically dulls our sense of hearing and smell so that we can go out into the human world without being overwhelmed.”

Zitao was thrilled to hear that. “That’s great! Wow, that would change so much for you, why would I not like it?” But as soon as he said it, he got an idea as to what the answer might be. “Oh…where does this wizard live?”

Kris winced. “Well…he lives in Japan, actually, on a really rugged mountain. Basically the only way to get there is…to fly. With wings.”

Zitao felt like he’d swallowed ice and struggled to keep a straight face. “So, how long would you be gone?”

“Maybe a week, if we’re lucky,” Kris said quietly. “But it could take as long as three weeks.”

Zitao gasped and grabbed Kris’ hand. “B-but is it even safe?” He asked. “You said it’s hard to get to, what if you get hurt?”

“Lu Han would come with me,” Kris said, squeezing Zitao’s hand reassuringly. “And he’d guide me along the way. We’d be able to look out for each other, and once I came back we could have a normal life together.”

“This is normal,” Zitao said. “What we have, I mean, we’re fine, aren’t we? We have a very good life together.”

“But I’m basically useless to you,” Kris said.

Zitao shook his head. “No, you aren’t, not at all. You’ve been a blessing to me, I’ve told you that so many times.”

“Maybe for now, but what about in ten years? What about when we get older and can’t ask your parents to keep fronting our rent? I’ll need to get a job, I’ll need to help you. Zitao, I basically can’t leave the house. I want to be able to go out with you, to go see a movie and have dinner with you outside of our living room. And…” he paused for a few seconds. “We haven’t talked about it but…do you want children?”

Zitao gasped again, this time he choked. “I-I…we…you mean adopt, right?” He asked after a moment of floundering.

“Yes,” Kris said, “I do.” He smiled, his eyes b with tears. “I don’t know how you feel about it, but I love kids, and I would be so honored and so happy if we could have a family.”

Zitao pressed a hand to his mouth, his mind racing.

“I know it’s a lot to think about,” Kris said quickly, “And I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but I want you to understand why this is such a concern to me. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and I know what I want, and I want to make sure that those paths are open to us, whether we end up needing them or not. The bottom line is that in the future, there maybe things we want to do which my current condition would prevent us from doing. It’s been seven months already, and we haven’t…we’re not living the way most couples do, and it’s because of me.”

Zitao swallowed a sob and took a few deep breaths, slowly lowering his hand from his mouth. “It sounds to me like you’ve already made up your mind,” he said.

“I have,” Kris said. “I want to do this, for myself as much as for you. But I know that it’s asking a lot of you, too.”

“Because I can’t go with you,” Zitao whispered.

Kris nodded. “Exactly. And I don’t want to leave you but really, you can’t leave work for that long and even if you came to Japan, you’d still have to wait for me somewhere else.”

Zitao felt like his heart was twisting in his chest. There was no way he could deny Kris this, not after Kris had sacrificed so much for him, to come live with him. Zitao hadn’t thought about it but Kris had a point—he had several points. But Zitao really, really didn’t want Kris to go.

“But…you could be gone for weeks, and I won’t be able to contact you,” Zitao whimpered. “What if you get hurt?”

“I won’t,” Kris said. “Lu Han’s made the trip before, he knows it’s safe, or he wouldn’t have gone.”

Zitao nearly growled. Lu Han had done it, sure, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Lu Han hadn’t been mated at the time, maybe his judgment had been skewed.

Zitao took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “You’re not asking anything easy of me, you know that right?”

“I do,” Kris said. “And I understand if you need a little time.”

Zitao nodded and stood up. Yes, he needed time, and space. “I’m going to go for a walk,” he said faintly. “Alone, and when I get back…we can talk about this.”

Kris looked a little sad, but he nodded. “Kiss?” He asked hopefully.

Zitao grinned and kissed him, keeping it short. Kris was smiling when they pulled apart.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Zitao managed to hold off of crying until he got out of the building, and at that point he just couldn’t hold back anymore. He really didn’t deserve Kris at the moment. He was acting like a child, a petulant, pouty child who had just been told that he couldn’t have ice cream for dessert, instead he’d have to settle for cake. It was a bad analogy, but it was all Zitao could come up with. He had a chance to walk down this street, arm in arm with the love of his life, and he didn’t want to say yes because he didn’t want to be alone for a few days.

But there was another problem, sitting at the back of Zitao’s mind, slowly working its way forward. In a situation like this, there was really only one person he wanted to talk to, and he didn’t know if it was possible. But as Zitao continued walking and his feet took him exactly where his brain wanted to stay away from, Zitao was forced to consider that maybe fate was trying to tell him something. So he decided to up his pride and get it over with. He sent a text, because he was a coward, and then he sat on a bench and waited.

This was the exact place that Krystal had taken Zitao on the second day of his freshman year. They were in the same class, and Krystal had seen enough of the bullying. She had found Zitao crying alone in the classroom after their last lesson, and had grabbed Zitao’s hand and walked him away. In broken Korean, the two of them began to talk to each other. Then Krystal had gotten Minji and Suzy involved in their friendship, and suddenly Zitao wasn’t alone anymore. But he and Krystal had often come to this place to talk over the years.

Zitao waited at the park for half an hour before Krystal showed up. She didn’t say hello, just plopped down next to Zitao and handed him a cup of coffee without a word. Zitao took the coffee and sipped it slowly—it had cooled down enough to be just right for drinking. For a moment neither of them spoke.

“So,” Krystal said, “What’s up?”

Zitao put the coffee cup down next to him. “I…I need advice.”

Krystal nodded. “Okay, what about?”

Zitao gulped. “Kris.”

Krystal was silent for a second. “What about him?”

Zitao took a deep breath. “He…he needs to go have a medical procedure,” he invented, “And he needs to go to Japan for it, because that’s where the specialist is.”

“What kind of procedure?” Krystal asked.

“It’s for his eardrums,” Zitao said. “They’re really sensitive to loud sounds, but the specialist can do something…I don’t know what exactly but he can help, and Kris can…he can have a more normal life than what he has right now.”

“He has hyperacusis?” Krystal asked.

“Um, yeah,” Zitao said—he had no idea what Krystal was saying, but it sounded plausible so he’d play along. “But like I was saying, he has to go to Japan for the procedure and he’s not sure how long he’ll be gone and…I won’t be able to contact him.”

“Oh,” Krystal said softly.

“Yeah,” Zitao said, his voice breaking. “And he…he asked me if I was okay with it, with him leaving. I didn’t give him an answer but I so badly want to say no.” Zitao paused to wipe his eyes. “It’s so selfish of me but I just don’t want him to go. I would be so lonely if he left, I mean now that I know what it’s like to love him as much as do and to always have him there when I need him…I’m so scared to be alone again.” Zitao hiccupped, tears flowing. “But what kind of person would I be if I didn’t want what was best for the man that I claim to love so much?” And he buried his face in his hands, giving himself over to his misery.

After a moment Zitao felt a hand on his arm. “That just makes you human,” Krystal said. “All humans are selfish, and nobody wants to be alone. This doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, Zitao.”

Zitao sniffled and picked his head up. Krystal shoved a tissue in his face.

“Wipe your face off, you’re covered in snot,” she said.

“Am not,” Zitao protested weakly, but he did as she said anyway. When he looked over at Krystal, he was surprised to see that she looked a little awed.

“You really love him, don’t you?” She asked wonderingly.

Zitao felt his heart leap—was she finally getting it? “I do,” he said earnestly, “I really do love him, and Krystal…oh my god, I wish I could tell you how much he loves me but I don’t have the words for it—”

“Alright, alright,” Krystal interrupted, “No need to get sappy on me, I get it.”

Zitao gaped at her. “So…you…you believe me?”

Krystal sighed. “Yes,” she said. “I believe you are madly and truly in love with Kris, and I trust you enough to believe that he loves you as much as you say he does.”

Zitao threw his arms around her neck and nearly pushed her off the bench.

“Zitao!”

“Thank you,” Zitao sobbed, “You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that, I’m so happy Krystal, you don’t even know how happy I am!”

“You’re right I don’t,” Krystal sputtered, “Because you’re crying and you’re choking me!”

Zitao released her and scooted back, and Krystal huffed and straightened out her shirt. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” she muttered, “No need to cry about it.”

“What made you change your mind?” Zitao asked.

Krystal sighed again. “Honestly…what you just said.” She ran her fingers through her hair, looking a little bit amazed still. “You say you’re selfish, but obviously you know that wanting to keep Kris here isn’t the answer, and the fact that you got upset means that really, you already know that you’re going to give Kris your blessing to go travel for this procedure. For you to be so concerned about his happiness over yours…what is that if it’s not love?”

Zitao was stunned. “But you were so adamant! Just a few days ago you were…well…”

“I was a jerk,” Krystal said. “I will admit to that, but you really had me scared for a while. I had no idea what was going on, you know. I was jumping between wondering if you’d joined a cult to thinking maybe you’d gotten drunk one night and eloped, or that he was making you feel trapped…but you know the more I thought about it the more I realized that I wasn’t even considering the possibility that you might be right. I think even if I hadn’t seen you today, I would have come around eventually.”

Zitao grinned and took her hand. “You’re my best friend, you know,” he said. “It means a lot to me that you changed your mind.”

Krystal frowned. “If I’m your best friend, why didn’t you tell me about the hotel?”

Zitao drew a blank. “Huh?”

Krystal punched him. “The hotel! You said that those wicked boys put a stick through the door handles so you couldn’t get out! And stupid—you didn’t take your cell phone?! Oh my god Zitao, when you told us that I think I really wanted to kill you. I’m more upset about that than you not telling me about Kris, now!”

Zitao sighed. “I’m sorry…again, I didn’t want to cause any trouble, I knew the boys would leave me alone after that, and I just wanted to put it behind me.”

Krystal sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I swear, if you ever brag about how brave you are again…I will sneak into your house at night and swap your shampoo with puke-green hair dye.”

Zitao laughed. “That’ll only do anything if I go blonde!”

“Well it’ll stain the bathtub at least,” Krystal said. She looked at her phone. “I have to get home now, but I think we’re done here anyway. You know what you have to do.”

Zitao nodded and stood up. “Thanks for meeting me.”

Krystal stood as well and threw her arms around Zitao’s shoulders. “I would have come even if I was still mad,” she said. “Because you are my best friend.”

Zitao hugged her back tightly. “You’re the best.”

Krystal leaned back and gave him a smile. “If you get lonely while Kris is away, just call me up. Me, Suzy and Minji will invade your house and we can have a sleepover.”

Zitao thought he would sooner let Angel bring every stray cat in Seoul into the house, they would eat less. But he didn’t say that.

When Zitao got home, Kris was curled up on the couch, napping. Zitao sat next to him and tugged on the edge of his wing until it slipped out from under his shirt. He dragged his fingers through the feathers until Kris woke up, sleepily arching into the touch.

“Zitao?” He asked, his eyes still closed.

“No, it’s the boogeyman.”

Kris grinned and grabbed Zitao’s hand, following it up his arm until he got to Zitao’s shoulder, when he grabbed tightly and pulled Zitao down next to him.

“Well, Mister Boogeyman,” Kris mumbled, “You smell a lot like my boyfriend.”

Zitao laughed and snuggled into Kris’ chest, playing with the collar of his shirt.

“Kris?”

“Hmm?”

“Krystal’s not mad at me anymore.”

Kris smiled and finally opened his eyes. “That’s great,” he said. “I’m so happy for you, I know she’s very dear to you.”

Zitao nodded and took a deep, steadying breath. “And, um…I’m okay with you going to Japan. I won’t fight you on this.”

Kris looked at Zitao in awe. “You’d do this for me?”

Zitao shook his head. “You’re the one who’s making a sacrifice. You’re changing a part of who you are, for me. I can’t believe you’d do that for me.”

Kris squeezed Zitao’s hand. “I don’t think of it as a sacrifice,” he said. “Because I’m getting so much in return.”

Zitao said goodbye to Kris three days later and wished him luck on his trip. Lu Han was at the door, saying goodbye to Sehun, who had graciously invited himself over to keep Zitao company. Kris had been a little miffed with Lu Han for not getting Zitao’s permission before he dumped his boyfriend on their doorstep, but Zitao was okay with it. He knew that he and Sehun would have fun together.

The first few days were surprisingly easy to get through. Sehun kept Zitao busy, and Krystal called up on the third day to ask if Zitao wanted to join her, Suzy and Minji on a road trip to the beach with her older sister, Jessica. Once they made sure Sehun was welcome, Zitao agreed.

The trip was a lot of fun. Zitao had met Jessica several times and she was a cool person, but Krystal a lot and it was kind of fun to watch her struggle to keep her cool as she in front of “the little ones,” as she called anyone more than two years younger than herself. A few times they did nearly get into an accident when Jessica reached behind her seat to try to whack Krystal over the head, but it was all in good fun.

On the last day of the trip, the sixth day since Kris had left, they drove to the beach to watch the sun rise. It was beautiful and amazing, and it opened a hole in Zitao’s chest that left him missing Kris so much. He was quiet on the way back and pretended to sleep, leaning his head on Sehun’s shoulder the whole time. Sehun didn’t ask questions, just held his hand and offered him tissues when he started crying.

Kris was gone for a week. Then eight days. Then nine. Then ten.

On day eleven, Zitao started to worry.

“Should it be taking this long?” He asked Sehun. “What if something’s gone wrong?”

Sehun tried to calm Zitao down. “Do I look worried?” He asked. “They’ll be fine. They’re very resilient, Pets. They haven’t stayed a secret for this long for no reason, they’re very good at surviving in secrecy and often in inhospitable environments. Kris is fine, you’ll see.”

On day thirteen, Zitao thought he would go crazy if he had to wait any longer. He was distracted at work, and he actually managed to get kicked in the face by a two foot tall three year old. The child had a surprisingly strong kick.

Zitao walked home feeling like he had a cloud over his head. He glowered at the ground, at the trees along the sidewalks, and the happy couple outside the coffee shop, at the flower pots, at the man standing in front of his apartment—

That man looked a lot like Kris.

Zitao stopped in his tracks, staring at the man in front of him. He looked like Kris, he smiled like Kris, he was wearing Kris’ favorite t-shirt.

“Zitao,” Kris said, holding out his arms. “It’s me.”

Zitao ran. He forgot all about the bruise on his jaw and the ache in his chest—he threw himself at Kris and nearly knocked him off his feet.

“You’re here,” he breathed. “You’re back—you’re outside!”

Kris hugged Zitao so tightly he lifted him off the ground. “I’m back,” he said, “And I’m not leaving you again. I missed you so much, but I’m so happy to be with you like this.” He pulled back and looked Zitao in the eyes. Zitao couldn’t tear his gaze away from Kris’ face—he did look so happy, and it was a good look for him. Kris suddenly looked concerned. “What happened to your face? It look like someone kicked you!”

“I thought about it while you were gone,” Zitao said, ignoring Kris’ question.

“Thought about what?” Kris asked.

“What you said before you left,” Zitao explained, his hand pressed to Kris’ cheek. “About kids.”

Kris looked stunned. “You did?”

Zitao nodded. “I want ten of them. Do you think we can manage that?”

Kris laughed so hard he cried, and then he swept Zitao into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.

“Yes we can,” he said. “We absolutely can.”

The story is almost over--for real, this time! The next chapter will be the epilogue, and after that I'll be ready to say goodbye to this story. It's been a lot of fun, and this fic will always be precious to me, like all my stories are, but it's time for me to move on to other stories. I promise I'll give you guys a great ending, so please don't ask for sequels/continuations, and please don't be too upset.