“What are we–“

“Hush.”

“But you said–“

Xiumin groaned, rolling over onto his side and ignoring the grains of sand in his hair. He screwed up his eyes and tried to focus on the sound of the ocean, the gentle crashing of the miniscule waves onto the sand. He let out a sigh as Joonmyun laid down beside him, elbow brushing his back.

“That rock back over there looked kind of–“

“Don't say it.”

“... familiar?”

Xiumin weighed his options. He could be logical. Why yes, Joonmyun, that is the same exact rock we passed two hours ago. How could you tell? Was it the green residue or the SOS scratched into the side? Minseok was fairly sure he would burst into hopeless tears if he did that, so he went with his next choice.

“How good of a swimmer are you?”

“You didn't answer my–“

“Can. You. Swim.”

Joonmyun groaned, throwing an arm over his face. It hadn't been that hot lately, but he could still feel the sun hitting his face. He cringed inwardly, hoping that he would return a burnt mess when they got back. He'd hide in his room for months if his fair skin was traumatized. But back to the matter at hand. “Yeah.”

Opening his mouth to continue, Xiumin was interrupted by a loud growl. He frowned and looked down. “I suppose we should eat.”

Joonmyun groaned and kept his arm resolutely on the ground when Xiumin tried to stand. “If I have to eat another plant I'm going to become one.” He stated matter-of-factly, going on to conclude, “I was never meant to be a vegetarian.”

“Yeah, and I was never meant to be a fisher but look at me.”

Joonmyun held back another complaint and reluctantly peeled his arm off his face, wondering what the other is even talking about. Xiumin is on his feet, a long pointed stick in his hand, staring resolutely into the waves.

Joonmyun was yanked forward before he had time to argue. He was definitely not in the mood to run but Xiumin obviously doesn't care, pulling him into the water.

Which is cold. Very cold. Joonmyun shrieked and Xiumin slammed his hand over the younger's mouth with a meaningful look.

“I need to catch the fish that you're scaring away.”

Joonmyun nods and stiffens because food. He in a breath and tries not to whimper when a larger wave crashes into his knee and the water hits his thighs. He closed his eyes and tried to think of somewhere he'd rather be. A bed. His bed, in the dorm. Despite Sehun's teasing–that brat–he had all his skin care products lined up on the top of his dresser and although they were but a pin head compared to Kris's collection, he wished he had them right now so that he could smother himself in scented cosmetics and ensure his porcelain exterior.

Xiumin glanced over after two failures. The fish were very small and moved too fast, he reasoned. “You look happy,” he noted. “What are you thinking about?”

“Anti-wrinkle cream.”

“... You have a problem.”

Joonmyun opened an eye to glare at Xiumin, but the other had already gone back to stabbing viscously at the water. He huffed. The elder didn't understand; he was cute. He had that going for him.

“I GOT ONE!” Xiumin shouted with understandable excitement after a little less than half an hour.

Joonmyun's eyes shot open, expecting a guppy or something. But no. “What even is that?” He gaped.

Xiumin grinned. “I don't know, but it's big.”

Grinning despite their soaked pants, the pair made their way back to the beach. Xiumin stabbed the stick into the ground, made sure it was stable, and then dragged Joonmyun into the line of trees. “Firewood,” he explained simply, stopping to pick up a few dry twigs. Joonmyun followed suit and before long they has a sizable amount between the two of them, and they both hurried back to their dinner which was thankfully still on the stick.

Xiumin, proving himself to be quite the boy scout, arranged the wood and started making a fire while Joonmyun sat and made sure that the fish didn't swim away.

The growing flames the sides of the fish as Xiumin turned the stick this way and that, holding it far enough away so that it wouldn't catch fire. It was a while until the elder deemed the food edible, and even then he still had to divide it between the two of them. He sat, wondering exactly how to go about it when Joonmyun knocked into his side.

“I'm hungry.” He tore a piece off the side, popping it into his mouth and grinning, savoring the warm food and motioning that they could just tear it off bit by bit as they ate.

The sun set and the two sat in companionable silence, Xiumin complaining about things being easier if he had a knife and Joonmyun assuring him that it was fine.

Xiumin added the stick to the fire, adding to the bones and guts already discarded. He ran a hand through his hair, grumbling at the stickiness and sand that came from staying on a beach for days. Joonmyun was lying prone at his side. “Walk?” He suggested.

Joonmyun stood willingly and stretched, content smile still on his face. He followed Xiumin once more into the woods as the elder led them deeper as it got darker.

And darker.

Joonmyun frowned. He had thought this was going to be a little stroll; a small walk along the beach and then bed. Apparently not. The wind seemed to be picking up and once he started tripping over things he couldn't see, he decided it was time to stop. “Xiumin–“

“I know,” the man whispered back before Joonmyun could finish. “We're almost there.”

Joonmyun frowned and contemplated digging his heels into the earth and stopping Xiumin before he could go any further, but the other seemed to know what he was doing. And Joonmyun was curious.

The broke through the brush into a rockier area and the wind whipped at Joonmyun's hair. He followed Xiumin up to higher ground, hugging himself when the wind became worse.

“I saw an island this morning. There were boats there. It's not that far away,” Xiumin shouted over the wind.

Joonmyun processed the words while being battered by the wind. He looked down and saw white froth hitting the beach below. They were on a cliff.

“It's a straight shot,” the brunet continued, pulling Joonmyun closer to the edge. “As soon as you hit, start swimming.”

Joonmyun was yanked forward, and his scream was swallowed by the unforgiving wind.

Tao had enough sand and twigs in his hair to completely camouflage him, and it wasn't on purpose. Had he meant to cover his hair in dirt, he would have done it himself, not have the ground do it for him.

Two shouts of surprise sent a small group of birds up into the air as two bodies hit the ground. Tao was already anticipating bruises covering almost every inch of his body over the next couple days. This wasn't the first time this had happened. He sneered at the metal attached to his wrist. It had gotten caught on yet another tree.

“We can't keep doing this.” Chanyeol sounded as tired as Tao felt. But that was where the two differed. Chanyeol wore his emotions on his sleeve whereas Tao could hate everyone and everything but have it all carefully disguised under a practiced poker face.

So, when he opened his mouth to say he had no idea what the light-haired man was talking about, he was surprised when a sob escaped instead. Chanyeol was as well, if his slight jump was anything to go by.

“Are you... okay?”

Tao was exhausted. So, so exhausted. But aside from that he also felt sad. “Why?” He whimpered, shivering as the breeze threw more dead leaves into his hair. “Did he even care?”

Chanyeol wriggled closer. “I don't understand.”

Tao closed his eyes, feeling as though he couldn't move another muscle. “Duizhang,” he mumbles, “do you think he misses me?”

Chanyeol cracks a smile and laughs for the first time in a couple days. “Why does that even matter right now?”

“Because I miss him.”

Chanyeol belatedly realized he did something wrong just in time to see a bead roll down Tao's cheek. He flailed, searching for help. He wasn't good with emotions, just smiling. Where was Suho? Suho was good with emotions. He heard a quick intake of breath and launched himself over the distance into Tao's line of sight, a friendly smile etched onto his features.

Tao became quiet and in a stuttering breath.

“I miss Kris, too,” Chanyeol murmured, grinning cheekily at Tao despite the other's outraged expression. “I also miss Baekhyun, Jongin, Joonmyun, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo's food, Sehun, Minseok, Luhan, Yixing and Jongdae.”

Tao wiped at his face. “You miss everyone?” His voice was small and not unlike a child.

“I miss everyone,” Chanyeol affirmed with a nod. “And I'm going to go ahead and assume that everyone misses me, because honestly, who wouldn't?” He grinned when he received a small scoff. “And I bet everyone is missing you, too.” He punctuated the statement with a poke to Tao's chest. “Even Kris.”

Tao gave a watery smile, collapsing back into the leaves, unresponsive to Chanyeol's additional pokes.

“Is something else bothering you?”

“Home.” It was only a whisper and Chanyeol didn't catch it.

“Sorry?”

Tao his side, looking up at Chanyeol with tired, sad eyes. “I want to go home.”

The lighter-haired man inwardly groaned and pulled Tao's head into his lap, distractedly weaving his hands through midnight strands. “We'll get there. It'll just take a while,” he sighed. “Just a while.”

Tao stared at the handcuff on his wrist, glinting in the weak light. “I hope so.”