“Where do I move my horse?” Luhan asked as he picked the white chess piece up and hovered it above the game board. He looked at Kris from across the table expectantly, waiting for advice that Kris had reminded him three times already he couldn’t give lest the game be rendered pointless.

“Knight.” Kris corrected with slight irritability “And you can move it anywhere but here” he pointed to all the areas unavailable to Luhan’s knight and Luhan huffed.

“If there’s no rider he’s just a horse though” Luhan retaliated and placed the arguably named piece in his chosen spot earning a howl of “Not there!” from Kris. “You told me I could put it anywhere but there so I put it over here! Now what’s wrong?” Luhan wailed and knocked over a few other game pieces with his sleeve as he moved his knight to a different spot.

“Because I could wipe you out in the next two turns if you put it there” Kris explained and took the white knight from Luhan’s hand to put it in the most strategically beneficial place from Luhan’s point of view “The best place is here because-“ Kris stopped mid lesson and his eyebrows knitted together slightly annoyed at the sight of Luhan slumped in his chair with his head craned over the back “Luhan…” he said lowly to get his boyfriend’s attention again.

“Why do we even own chess?” Luhan complained without lifting his head “Can’t you just play yourself? I don’t understand this at all.”

“You would if you’d let me teach you” Kris tried to reason but he got a droned out “No thanks” in reply.

“You’d let Yixing teach you if he was here” Kris muttered but his tongue immediately felt heavy in his mouth with regret as soon as the words left his lips. The guilt made itself known in his gut as Luhan lifted his head and looked at him with an expression that Kris could only read as hurt and confused. Injured doe eyes searched Kris’ face for an explanation and pale pink lips parted in silent resignation as things settled in.

“Sorry,” Kris apologized softy “I don’t know why I said that, I wasn’t thinking.” Luhan acknowledged what was being said but the edge to his posture was there to stay.

“I’m going to shower” Luhan said tonelessly as he pushed his chair back and got up. He met Kris’ eyes once before scampering off and Kris decided it best not to interfere. Luhan had always preferred to collect his thoughts and emotions alone if he had the option, so Kris didn’t mention that his lover had showered only two days ago and kept to himself until the sound of running water could be heard from under the bathroom door.

Kris sighed and mentally scolded himself for not thinking before he spoke. Luhan was sensitive to the mention of names and to say the subject was a touchy one would be an understatement. Kris held his forehead in his palm and simply sat alone with the abandoned chess game in silence for a while before getting up and pouring himself a glass of water from a Brita filter on the kitchen counter next to the sink.

He tried not to dwell on thoughts of the past as he leaned against the counter but found he couldn’t help it. He was suddenly flooded with images of Yixing’s dimples, Jongin’s hair when he claimed he was having a bad hair day, the scrunch of Chanyeol’s nose when he laughed, and the half-moons of Baekhyun’s eyes when he smiled. He was reminded of little moments, like when he joined Chanyeol and Jongin on the floor in front of the television while playing video games because it enhanced the experience, or so they said, only to have Baekhyun snap at them because their yelling was getting out of hand while he, Luhan, and Yixing gorged themselves on a mixed box of doughnuts on the couch.

The reel of memories halted however when the whirr of something other than the sounds of the shower caught his attention. He went silent and listened to make sure he was hearing right, even going so far as to hold his breath momentarily before turning slightly to his right.

The fridge. Humming loudly and trying it’s best to cool its insides after having been dormant for months. It took a while for Kris to realize the implications set forth by this sudden source of sound, but then it hit him.

The power was back on.

Before he could even consider what exactly that meant, a shriek followed by a crash tore him from secondary thought. He practically threw his glass on the counter, not caring if the contents spilled, before rushing down the hallway to where he knew the fear inducing scream had come from.

Luhan.

Kris threw open the bathroom door and barged inside not knowing what to expect but intent on making sure Luhan was alright.

“Luhan!” He yelled upon entry, his eyes quickly scanning the small room for the blonde and finding him curled up tightly in the corner of the bathtub, the shower curtain pulled down and draped over half his bare body. Steam welled up from the streams of water still pouring from the shower head and water splattered loudly against the downed curtain.

Luhan looked up at the mixture of fear and bewilderment still present on Kris’ face before the relief washed over him as his brain caught up with his eyes and he pieced together what had happened. He took a few steps forward and turned off the taps to the shower but not before running a hand under the stream and feeling the quick stab of hot water. He picked up the shower curtain and helped a still slightly in shock Luhan out of the tub. The other’s skin was still heated from the sudden attack of scorching water.

“You still turn on the hot water?” Kris asked after he’d dried Luhan off and dressed him in a grey tee and tan capris.

“Well yeah,” Luhan said, looking slightly embarrassed upon realizing he’d let Kris dress him as if he were a child that couldn’t do it himself “Don’t you?”

“No, not really” Kris replied and followed Luhan as he went around the house turning appliances on and off to see if everything still worked “I guess I’m less of a creature of habit than you.”

Neither of them understood what might have prompted the return of electricity but they didn’t bother to question it.

“Hey you know what this calls for?” Kris asked before heading back into the kitchen, leaving Luhan hanging as to what could be on Kris’ mind. Luhan’s curiosity got the best of him and he followed after his boyfriend with a smile and a roll of his eyes. When he rounded the corner to the kitchen however, he found Kris mopping up a puddle of water on the counter with a dishcloth. Luhan cocked a puzzled eyebrow and Kris gave a light laugh.

“It’s not this; you scared me when you screamed and I wasn’t necessarily concerned about spilling water at the time” he gave a sheepish grin and threw the wet cloth in the sink “No, what I was thinking was” he opened the nearest cupboard on the right and fished out a box, holding it out for Luhan to see.

“Macaroni and cheese?” Luhan said with a judging half smile.

“Yeah why not? The stove’s working so we can boil water and that’s it really”

“Okay, but we can’t eat a lot, we don’t want to make ourselves sick after-“ Luhan stopped mid-sentence and it was Kris’ turn to raise a brow.

“What?”

Luhan’s eyes went wide.

“Our phones, we can charge our phones” before Kris could reply Luhan was rushing back down the hall to the bedroom where he frantically dug out his cell phone and charger from one of his dresser drawers and plugged the device into the outlet near the bed.

Kris stood silently in the doorframe and waited with bated breath as the phone lit up after months of hibernation. Kris admitted he was scared. Scared that there would be no messages or missed calls, no indication that maybe someone had made it out in time. He knew that Luhan feared the same, could tell by the way Luhan’s fingers trembled and the proximity he held the small piece of electronics as if it would melt between his fingers at any moment.

Through the heavy silence echoed a familiar jingle; a small bell chime. Messages. The sound brought a mix of undecided emotion and Kris shifted, waiting for Luhan’s reaction and silently yearning for a smile or even tears of relief. When Luhan finally looked up there was a smile on his thinned lips and though the tears had yet to run down Luhan’s cheeks, Kris could see they were about to spill.

“Jongin. 14 missed messages, the latest one is from last week” Luhan managed to speak out as he blinked back tears so the screen wouldn’t be blurry through his eyes. Kris moved quietly to Luhan’s side and they went through each and every message with care. Jongin and Yixing had gotten out and were alive and far from danger. Collectively what all the messages declared in clear text was “we’re okay, please be okay too”.

A/N: So uhm, hello it's been a while (a long while I know) but tadah I'm not dead =w=