I know I've been away for a long while now, but finals and school is finally over so I can get back to the writing. I'm so happy that some of you still stick around just to read my stories. I honestly love every single one of you and it really does mean a lot to me. This chapter is split in two because I didn't really like the flow of it together, I hope you don't mind. I'll probably upload part two later.

Luhan could no longer understand his brother Sehun anymore, the boy he had raised from baby, to toddler, to child, to now, and the effects of such a bond morphing set the entire manor on edge. Luhan's mental capabilities had been zipping out of control, nearly breaking the TV on two occasions and whisking through two ancient plate sets within the blink of an eye. He used to be easily attached to Sehun, sticking to his side almost as if he were an extension of Sehun himself and nothing could separate them.

But that had changed as well.

 It was becoming increasingly difficult to catch Sehun off guard and every moment Luhan stepped into the very same vicinity, the younger would stick to someone else, either Suho or Kai, or disappear altogether, leaving nothing but distance between them. The youngest would keep to his room for days, ignoring the human necessity for school, or took vacant trips to The Tree of Life with Yixing. It didn't matter how Luhan looked at it, Sehun was being blunt with his new feelings, hate, anger, possibly hurt, that he himself had caused and Luhan was at a loss.

The human emotion known as love didn't come complete with a reader's manual and batteries. It wasn't simple as quantum physics or fun like unlocking the secret to a mass structure of rubic cubes without touching a single colored square. Love was difficult and hard to interpret and Luhan wasn't sure how to make his feelings known to the younger. He wasn't like Sehun; he wouldn't just place his vulnerable heart on his sleeve and say the three words in his heart carelessly; he needed a plan. He needed a perfect plan to express how much he loves his Sehun.

.

The living room was dark, lit by a few candles and a small floating globe of light, courtesy of Chanyeol and Baekhyun, and the house had been swept of energy, collected and saved in a jar, the many different colors twisting in an out of focus from the sealed container. It would come to be useful if any member felt ill, saving a trip to the Tree of Life. The young, by EXO standards, healer sat propped up against his lover, the Guardian of EXO, and water manipulator, Suho. The pair had successfully managed to empty the house except for themselves and had decided the couch would be a perfect place to spend their night, Baekhyun's orb of light never dying and Chanyeol's flames never whisking away with the light breeze in the house.

"What are we going to do Joonmyeon?" Yixing spoke Suho's true name only in intimate settings such as this, when they are closely pressed together and he is barely able to tell where he begins and where Suho ends. Suho sighed, his grasp around the youngers’ waist tightening a fraction and his head leaning back against the couch.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen Sehun act like this. . . So immature towards Luhan. If I didn't know any better, with his constant contact with humans, Sehun is . . ." Yixing allowed his shoulders to tremble lightly as he reigned in his laughter at how amusingly oblivious Suho could be. Suho sighed heavily as he realized the situation and raised his free hand to press his index and middle finger to his head.

"Please tell me Sehun is not in love with Luhan." Yixing found the small window of opportunity to tease his lover and spoke in a monotone.

"Sehun is not in love with Luhan." Suho groaned inward as well as outwardly and turned his head to press his lips against Yixing's temple sweetly.

"Don't do that. You know I hate it when you tease me, and how did you know?" Yixing laughed lightly, his slightly high-pitched voice coming out so very sweet and soft; it warmed Suho's heart.

"You saying that just makes me want to tease you more Moonie. And Sehun told me when I first took him to be with the Tree. He asked me about how I confessed to you and eventually admitted that he wanted Luhan to love him the way we love each other. He thinks Luhan doesn't love him at all and that he doesn't care about him because he has Xiumin. I didn't know what to make of it. I thought you knew." Suho sighed, quickly connecting the focal points in his mind and easily bringing together all of the information into one sphere to assess. He felt his heart twist painfully in his chest as he realized his carelessness as Guardian caused the problem to throb, to live. He could've easily sat them down and forced them to see eye to eye, but having no idea of Sehun's feelings made it impossible.

"It's not your fault Joonmyeon," Yixing murmured lowly, sensing Suho's distress from their close contact, his heart beat pulsing through the air, "I decided to let them solve the problem on their own. Sehun is just a child, his actions aren't surprising, and Luhan may be the second eldest,but this is a lesson he needs to learn. You can't solve everyone's problems Moonie. . . You solve the right ones."

The atmosphere changed abruptly, Suho's charged energy melting through his pores in an imitation of sweat as Yixing's ran from his fingertips, their energy swiftly twisting through the air, searching for each other, and when they were one, Suho couldn't help but smile. Green meshed into the blue and in vice versa, creating and vibrant yellow that breathed with them.

"How did I get to be so lucky," Suho murmured quietly, his eyes tracing over the three colors in the air. The blue swam in his irises, his pores closing up after spilling his energy; green littered Yixing's own eyes, his hand crawling along the soft material of the couch  until they found Suho's, intertwining their fingers.

"I'm the lucky one," Yixing replied a moment later, "you lived."

And when Suho breathed, Yixing did too.

/

Sehun quietly inspected the small bedroom with his feline like eyes, taking in the plain white walls that were weaker and thinner than any physical aspect of Sehun's personal bathroom, which was much more commodious than the simple space. There was a small, brown dresser and a medium sized bed that took up almost half of the room itself, complete with an open closet blocked off by the mattress. It would mean nothing but a tiny speck of dust to his family, but to Sehun, this ordinary place felt more like home.

Jongup's mother and father were a nice, aged couple that had adopted him, and his slightly younger adopted sister was sweet and giddy. He had a small rabbit he named Yongjae along with a house cat he and Sehun had found and named Daehyun. The house itself was tiny and quaint and Sehun wished he had decided to visit sooner. His chest rose and fell lightly, his emotions calm and his ring intact, hiding away his powers completely and stabilizing his frantic thoughts. His form sat atop the bed, where he had easily agreed to share with his blond best friend.

"I know it's nothing much," Jongup called from the doorway, a fresh, white towel around his neck, a piece currently rubbing into his wet hair, "but it is home and your always welcome. It's nice to have someone to talk to, all Jeeun cares about is shopping." Sehun cracked a small smile, the first in a while, depending on various time zones and dimensional fluxation, and Zi Tao.

"Ani, I like it here Jongup. It feels like home." More than mine. He's not here to make me feel ashamed . . . Unwanted . . . Ugly. Sehun kept his eyes light as another small wound was laid to his heart.

"Then I'm glad you came." Jongup trudged into the room and used his foot to close the door, towel drying his hair a bit more before tossing the towel into the clothes basket by the dresser. The smaller blond walked over to the bed and spread his arms wide, as if he were flying, and fell into the squishy bed, sinking in with a sigh. Sehun watched with a small dazzle in his eye, loving how carefree Jongup made him feel. Maybe things would have been easier . . . If it were you?

"So . . . Tell me about your house Sehun. Will I ever get to go?" Only if you wanted to possibly die. Sehun shook his head to rid himself of the morbid thoughts and met eyes with his best friend, patting his thigh in a motion to come closer. Jongup understood the message and scooted across the bed until his partially damp head lay across Sehun's lap, giving the other full advantage to play with his bleached locks.

"It's big. And it has so many rooms I can't count. A piece of it, I'm not allowed to be in, and the rest consist of one of our rooms. My room is on the fourth hall. The living room is rather big and we can all fit if we want. Most of it is ancient stone, but the kitchen has been remodeled with wood and a few other pieces of the house, oh, and we all gather at night to talk about our day since we're all busy somewhere else in the world." If only Jongup could understand the double context to his words. The blond peered up at him, a bright smile on his lips.

"It sounds beautiful. How many people do you live with? And what are your mother and father like?" Why he kept answering, Sehun didn't know. He just wanted to, needed to share.

"10. It's not as much as people would think and it's never felt crowded. To be honest, my parents died when I was young." When I was 23 years old.

"But from what I remember, my mother was kind and gentle, she had my older brothers take care of us and she loved us equally, always giving us whatever we pleased. She called us her stars. My father was strong and humble, he taught us the meaning of life."

"I wish I could meet them," Jongup murmured, closing his eyes and relishing in the feeling of another person's hands in his hair. He liked this, being with Sehun was natural. They were meant to be friends.

"How I wish I could meet them as well," Sehun whispered, lazily braiding Jongup's bangs. Jongup opened his eyes, the corners crinkling up as he smiled.

"Well, you can always call my parents yours." The bond between them strengthened in that moment alone.

"Thanks Jong. I appreciate that." Jongup shook his head, his hair hitting Sehun's thighs, and sat up, moving towards the edge of the bed.

"Let me get the lights, it's about time we go to bed if we want to get to school on time." Sehun nodded his head and watched, those cat like eyes peering softly at the smaller male as he walked over to the light switch and flicked it down. The room was instantly flushed in darkness, nothing but a sliver of light from beneath the door and a blue tint from the moon.

Jongup's figure quickly padded along the soft carpeted floor and sat atop the bed again, pulling at the covers and burrowing under. Sehun couldn't help the smile that grew as he found himself under the covers as well, instantly tugging Jongup into his arms, back to chest. It was a reflex that was hard to shake after having held Luhan for so long. It didn't feel the same, but it would have to do for now.

"Don't think I'm trying to come onto you or anything," Sehun murmured into the smaller's ear, "I'm just used to holding something while I sleep." Or rather someone.

"It's fine," Jongup murmured back, Sehun could sense he was smiling, "I don't really mind, as long as you keep your hands to yourself; I actually really like it." Good. Relief swelled in the trenches of Sehun's heart, transcribing through his arms as he pulled Jongup a bit closer and leaned his head down, pressing his face into the still damp blond locks. The smell wasn't the same, there was no pink lemonade, no ----- whisking through the air, just Jongup's sweet scent of apples and strawberries from his shampoo.

"Do you ever . . . Wonder . . . What it would be like if we were . . . You know. . ?" Sehun picked up on the connotation and sighed against Jongup's hair, closing his eyes to the darkness.

"I know both of us would be better off. You wouldn't be going after someone emotionally unable to attach himself to you and I wouldn't be chasing after someone a thousand years from me. I know I'd take care of you forever and I'd love you. But I've never given it much thought. Have you?" Jongup readjusted his head a bit against the pillow they found themselves sharing and hummed before answering the question.

"Neh. Once, when you were gone for a week. It wasn't so much how it would be like, I just missed you so much I could barely function. I mean it when I say you are my only friend and the best there could possibly be. If you were mine, I'd never leave you." But you would. You'd die. Sehun flinched as the harsh thought muddled his brain, his arms tightening around Jongup.

"Well, that's good to know Jong." Jongup made a sound of appreciation before they lapsed into silence, and not long after, he felt Jongup's heartbeat slow to a soft pitter patter. Sehun laid stock still with the boy in his arms, calm, yet restless, sleepy, yet more awake than ever, every piece of flesh within alive and throbbing. A small breeze brushed against his face and Sehun squeezed his eyes tight, chanting small. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. He continued to chant until his wind had shriveled into nothing but a small gust of cold air, sighing softly against Jongup's hair. It didn't take him long to fall into a deep sleep, the boy in his arms feeling like someone else, someone older, taller, someone with honey brown hair and a smile that could light the darkest night.

"I love you. . . Luhan." Unbeknowest to him, Jongup was stuck in dreams of his own, where a blond with beautiful features smiled at him and told him he was perfect just the way he was.

"Himchan. . . Be mine."

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