When Chanyeol came back, the only thing that he found out was the fact that there was nothing left to return to. Three days on a mission with no results, but he came back nonetheless. He had to. He had to be there. He had to find another way to save the garden.

            Every step into the rubble took a great toll on him, adding another weight on his shoulders because every step brought him closer to the Elder Tree. Every step brought him closer to the familiar figure at the foot of the dying trunk.

            Panting. Broken. Dying. But he smiled, as if he had not smiled in a long time.

            “Y-yeollie?”

            “Baek?”

 

-01-

Perfection.

            The garden was anything anyone could ever ask for. Humans would wander in sometimes, call it heaven; but that wasn’t what it was. The Garden wasn’t heaven. It was escape; diversion; difference.

            It was there that people understood; where answers were among green grass; where hope was grown alongside brightly coloured fruits; where freedom could be breathed in along with the air; where love was hiding in the shade of the Elder Tree, completely content in each other’s arms, in the form of Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

Perfection; everything.

            They would look at each other with those eyes threading their fingers together, even. Sometimes, Chanyeol would take Baekhyun’s hands, kissing every single one of his knuckles. Sometimes, Baekhyun would complain about how his hands got more attention than him.

Which was true, but that didn’t mean that Baekhyun was too bothered by it.

Always together. Even if Baekhyun was supposed to inherit The Garden; even if Chanyeol was bound by blood to lead the faerie army, they we’re always together.

 

When Baekhyun’s father started calling him out for lessons and training, the amount of time they spent together was limited, many conversations reduced to simples hellos.

When Chanyeol had to prepare to leave on a mission to find an alternative to saving the garden during the next winter, even the most trivial conversations ceased to exist. Baekhyun was there to see him off, waving goodbye with tears in his eyes.

Chanyeol padded away, unaware that the small boy was hidden in the crowd.

He was only supposed to be gone for three days, so Baekhyun didn’t think it’d matter. He’d be back before The Garden was handed over to him.

 

-02-

A loud crash; that was the first thing Chanyeol heard in the silence of the forest. He rushed towards the origin of the sound, leaves rustling behind him as he ran, hoping there were no children wandering about. The next thing he knew, he was running into the closed mines.

Another loud crash and Chanyeol knew by the absence of light that he was trapped. He screamed, but the noises merely bounced off the wall and back into his ears. He rattled at the walls, but nature, would never budge; not even to a faerie. He had no choice anymore but to navigate through the mines and pray that there was another exit.

 

Three days; it was three days before Chanyeol found the exit. Any later, and he’d have run out of energy to produce the fire that kept him alive in there. Any later, and he would’ve been left to rot there, with the people of The Garden waiting for his return. Any later, and he would’ve left Baekhyun alone.

He began to rush, tripping on every vine possible on his way back to the Garden. He had to make it there before the ceremony. He had to get there, to hold Baekhyun, to kiss him and tell him that he’d be alright. He had to tell him that the loved him, and that he’d never let go.

“All smiles, okay, Baek?” He could imagine him saying, right before Baekhyun walked up the platform.
            “Of course, Yeollie, as long as I have you.”

He had to hold his hand, and kiss his knuckles, watch him blush and complain, but he stopped in his tracks as he realized that the greenery under his feet had began to wilt.

 

-03-

It had already been a week since Chanyeol had left. Baekhyun had tried to hold the ceremony off, the elders taking into consideration the fact that a pair was a requirement in things like these. Baekhyun needed someone to share the burden, but when his father had finally given in, admitting that he had lost the strength, the boy had no choice but to take over.

The strain had taken its toll immediately, less than a month later, he’d noticed how his fingers shook as he called the youngest pair over, sure that they were each other’s partner. No matter how young they were, there was something in the way that Jongin had looked at Kyungsoo that reminded Baekhyun of Chanyeol.

It stirred something in him, something that made him want to protect those boys and without a second though, he’d sent them to the humans, where changes in The Garden would be less damaging to them.

And slowly, pair by pair, Baekhyun had asked the faeries to evacuate.

The leaves were brown and dry by then, the flowers had begun to wilt and fruit of any sort was nowhere to be found. The Garden had somehow transformed itself into a wasteland, with nothing left to eat at except Baekhyun’s own life force.

Slowly, everything died.

Wilted.

Broken.

The once beautiful garden, reduced to a rotten tree trunk in the middle of a brown field of wilted plants, and Baekhyun, that was still trying to bring it back to life despite being so hungry, so sick, so lonely.

That day marked the third month of Chanyeol’s absence.

 

-04-

Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol approached him, tears streaming down the taller boy’s cheeks as he staggered forward, into Baekhyun’s broken figure.

He smiled the biggest smile he ever could because Chanyeol hadn’t changed at all; because Chanyeol finally saw him; because Chanyeol was finally back. Baekhyun didn’t have enough strength to stand anymore. Instead, he reached out as best he could and Chanyeol staggered to his side, enveloping the frail boy in his arms.

“Y-yeollie?”

“Baek?” He answered, and to Baekhyun, it sounded bittersweet. “It’s only been three days... wh-what happened?”

“No, Yeol, it’s been three months.”

“What? B-but how?” His sobs began to grow louder, until Baekhyun leaned in to press his lips against the boy.

Then Chanyeol remembered. The mines were closed for a reason. It was a place that distorted time.

“Please, Baek, what can I do to help you?” His forehead was pressed against the younger boy’s, holding him so tight that the boy might break; His hands searched for Baekhyun’s, holding them as if he were about to disappear.

He brought it to his lips, kissing every knuckle, but this time, Baekhyun didn’t complain. He merely smiled and leaned in to whisper into Chanyeol’s ear.

“Let me be your light.”

And with the last bit of strength left in Baekhyun, he used his power for the first time, shutting out the light on both them and The Garden.

 

 

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Yeah don't expect me to proofread anything I post lol /o/ But yes *sends hearts to all readers* 

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