Everybody seemed thrilled with the idea of SeHun staying and Wufan joining the crew and Yixing was one of those people too. Even Cecily, who provided the Ariadne's kitchen with a new table in record time, congratulated the boys on finding the big brother. She was now off to do some digging for information about this GD guy, and LuHan and JongDae couldn't have been more grateful.

But back to the topic. Yixing understood why LuHan was concerned. Yixing, like LuHan and Wufan, knew what it was to lose someone dear and the feeling of wanting to protect the ones you loved.
The problem was, Wufan was too blind with anger and LuHan was still afraid as he had spend the last two years living like a hermit instead of dealing with his feelings. If only, like Yixing, he had learned to move on earlier. It didn't mean that LuHan was weak or that Yixing had forgotten about JongIn. Even though they had been hurt in different ways, the result was still pain. 

Unbearable pain.

Yixing had times when he thought he wanted to join JongIn and just be done with all this crap. But JongIn wouldn't want that and Yixing had promised himself he'd be happy again. And LuHan too. LuHan had to be happy too.

That was the reason why Yixing was on the deck, sitting with his former captain right now.

"Are you OK?"

LuHan frowned yet smiled. "You know me."

"It's called formalities," Yixing explained, showing his dimple. “No matter whether or not I know you're okay – which you aren't – I'm supposed to ask if you are." 

LuHan sighed and shook his head in disbelief as he sat back in his chair but Yixing went on. "Don't worry, I'll cheer you up even if you deny it, but you can just tell me honestly that you're concerned about SeHun and his future on the Ariadne."

Yixing sat back in his chair as well and looked at his friend, tilting his head a little as to say Am I right?.

"I told you, you know me," LuHan said still frowning. His best friend had always had the most peculiar ways to cheer him up.

"Wufan will come around," Yixing said softly.

"I hope not," LuHan disagreed immediately. "He is right, SeHun is not safe here."

Yixing looked straight into his friend's big doe eyes and shook his head. "Then where will he be? Where else can he possibly be safe if not with his friends and family? It's not where LuHan, it's with who."

LuHan stared back in silence and finally scoffed, mouth pouting cutely, making him look a lot younger than he was. "I hate you." 

"For being right."

Things changed more in a month than it did in two years and Yixing found it ironic how love had killed LuHan once and love had brought him back on his feet. 

Yixing stood up and LuHan looked up at him in interrogation. "You have to stop blaming yourself, LuHan." Yixing said seriously. He was always being serious but people didn't seem to believe him most of the time, and this was important. Yixing wanted LuHan to understand that. "Not all people around you meet a tragic end. I'm living proof of it. And JunMyeon and JongDae and everyone on this ship."

Yixing smiled, showing his dimple as always, and started to walk away to let LuHan think about what he just said for a while, but before he could walk out LuHan called his name. Yixing turned to his best friend and waited for him to speak.

"Are you happy?"

And Yixing smiled even more, finding all this quite ironic again. 

"I'm OK."

LuHan smiled too and Yixing extended his hand, inviting his friend to follow him to the kitchen, where everybody was waiting impatiently for SeHun and Wufan to come down.

Yixing wouldn't call it a fight, but Wufan definitely went back up very much upset. Yixing filled a cup with black hot coffee from the pot and quickly joined Wufan, who was now crashing in Yixing's old room.

"Coffee?" Yixing offered, as the automatic door opened to the sight of a sad Wufan sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I don't drink coffee," he said, without even bothering to lift his head to see who asked the question. Yixing thought Wufan maybe knew by sent, or anyone else than SeHun just didn't matter.

"You don't drink coffee, or you can't drink coffee?" Yixing should have stopped at that. "Or you never tried it because you've always lived outside in the wild and don't know the taste of it and are afraid you won't like it?"

Wufan frowned yet didn't move. It made Yixing smile and he decided to step into the room.

"Would you like me to put some milk in it? Or maybe some sugar?"

"I don't like sweet things," Wufan retorted coldly, still not looking at Yixing.

It seems you don't like a lot of things, Yixing wanted to say, but he sighed instead and sat on the bed, beside Wufan. "I might as well drink it then," Yixing said taking a sip from the cup that had a big chuánzhǎng written in Chinese on it. It was LuHan's mug.

Wufan finally looked at Yixing, but immediately faced away when he saw the dimple at the corner of Yixing's mouth as he smiled drinking. Their eyes didn't meet and Yixing found Wufan's reaction really cute. He is SeHun's brother after all.

Wufan looked like he wanted to say something, but obviously didn't know how, so Yixing gave him a little help.

"Are you upset because Krystal let that hunter get away and you are worried about your brother's safety?" Yixing asked and Wufan was about to nod as to say, Yes! Finally someone who understands me, but Yixing added an "Or is it because SeHun has a boyfriend?" and Wufan's mouth stayed shut. "I guess being an endangered species, procreating would be one of your life goals," Yixing went on drinking the coffee, "but just let me say this: SeHun never looked so happy. Am I wrong?"

Yixing glanced at Wufan as he asked the question and waited patiently for the man's answer.
Yixing didn't know SeHun. He hadn't even spoken to him once when he thought about it. But Yixing did know how SeHun felt about LuHan, just by seeing the look on the boy's face when he was looking at his best friend. And LuHan loved SeHun dearly, and the two had never been happier. No doubt.

Wufan sat still, frowning. He didn't want to admit Yixing was right and once again, Yixing found Wufan's stubbornness quite appealing. It reminded him of JongIn, in a way. Proud and stubborn and never wanting to rely on others.

"It doesn't mean you're a bad brother," Yixing said putting the mug down by his feet. He was about to give a comforting squeeze on Wufan's thigh but Yixing's hand stopped at the man's word.

"I abandoned him." Wufan stared hard at the wall, probably playing the scene in his head.

"It was the right thing to do," Yixing said in a low voice after a moment of silence. 

Wufan didn't answer and Yixing studied his beautiful profile. It was those thick eyebrows and sharp jaw line that made Wufan seem like he was always angry, Yixing thought. And those burning golden eyes. But Wufan's skin was fair and he had small, pink and soft lips. Full and inviting like JongIn's.
Yixing blinked a few times, surprised by his own thoughts. Wufan didn't notice anything though, and was still sitting there frowning. It seemed like he was looking for words, but when Wufan finally opened his mouth, a scream was heard from downstairs.

"Krystal," Yixing said and Wufan immediately stood up mumbling something about them being here.

The two rushed as fast the elevator would let them and ran down the hall to reach the kitchen. There, was indeed, GD and another blond and tanned man, holding up his tattooed arms in surrender.
All eleven of them were now circling the two intruders and the blond spoke up.

"Listen, we're not here to fight," he started, looking at everyone but mostly LuHan and Zitao, who were giving them the bad eye as they stood in front of SeHun protectively. "My name is TaeYang," the man said calmly, "and unlike SeungHyun, we would very much like to stay alive." TaeYang gestured to GD and himself.

Yixing thought GD and TOP were probably code names and he assumed SeungHyun was the real name of the blue-haired man, whose body they had burned earlier this morning in the rocky valley.

Everybody was holding steady, ready to fight, but all TaeYang did was kneel slowly. "Please help us," he said bowing to LuHan, knowing that was the captain of the ship. "And we promise we will never harm any of you ever again."

As he lifted his head, TaeYang looked up at Wufan. LuHan opened his mouth but nothing came out. He eyed JongDae and frowned at his first mate, asking  him silently what the hell was happening. TaeYang could take the hint and started explaining.

"We're not doing this for fun, you know." TaeYang was looking at LuHan, but Yixing noticed how the two hunters seemed distracted by something. "We didn't have a choice," TaeYang went on when LuHan just stared down at him and Yixing held back an angry Wufan who was about to go rogue.

"Explain yourselves," Yixing spoke up before anyone else could say anything. He was talking to TaeYang but looking at Wufan and raised his eyebrows, silently telling the Therianthrope to calm down. And surprisingly he did.

 "Well," TaeYang was now looking at Yixing, but he still seemed distracted by something else. Someone else. "We were hired to kill anyone who wouldn't cooperate with our employer."

Yixing followed TaeYang's gaze as he spoke and he ended up casting eyes on

JunMyeon?

"And who is your employer?" Yixing heard LuHan ask, but he feared he already knew the answer.

TaeYang gulped and looked at GD, who nodded, before looking back up at LuHan, and cleared his throat.

"Ethan Griffith." 

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

Oops!
I'm leaving you guys at a horrible place, sorry xD

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
And for those who wanted a TaoRis... well... 

xoxo~