In a corner of a warehouse, there was an angry curse and someone kicked an empty can across the room. 

"That idiot Suho! Can't even execute his plan properly, gets turned against by Chen and now completely disappears with Tao! Damn him!!"

The can landed smack on the ground some distance away, rolling slowly.

"I don't have time to waste. With the plaque's energy down, it's the perfect time to execute my plan. The final plan of revenge."

The rolling can slowed to an eventual stop.

"And when that happens, let's see how our darling Luhan will react to it..."

                                                                                    ***

"Chen...? Chen!! Wake up."

Chen opened his eyes slowly, and rubbed them blearily. "Hhgnnn...."

"You're all fixed up now! The barrier in your mind has been restored. And the plaque has been recharged as well, so everything has been settled!!"

Chen blinked at the speaker, which was Minseok, leaning down and peering into his face. Chen sat up without warning, colliding his forehead with Minseok's nose and forcing the latter backwards with a grunt.

"You could've said Excuse Me..." Minseok rubbed his bruised nose with a scowl.

"Mmmffmph." Chen obviously hadn't found his tongue yet.

Minseok handed him a glass of water. "You'd better drink. It has been almost six days. I'll go bring some food up for you." He disappeared through the door.

Chen took a good look at his surroundings. He was lying on a hospital cot beside the therapy machine, dressed in a comfortable white robe. Chen couldn't remember what happened during the five days inside - the moment he had strapped himself in, there was a strong pressure that put him into an induced coma. 

What day is it? What time is it? Chen to swung his legs off the bed and got up, but they were shaky and he collapsed onto the ground immediately, knocking his arm in the process.

"Arghh..." He clutched his arm.

Minseok burst in a few moments later, and sighed. "You weren't supposed to move, buddy."

"What time is it?" Chen croaked.

"Time?" Minseok glanced at his watch. "It's five pm. It's around seven in the morning in Korea now. You want to give Luhan a call?"

Chen nodded, and Minseok passed him his handphone. Chen leaned against the cot and dialled Luhan's number. While waiting for the line to connect, Chen started on the food that Minseok brought for him.

"You should sit at the table or something..." Minseok commented, but Chen waved him away, and he left with a snort.


"Hello?" Luhan's voice was groggy and laced with sleep. He must have just gotten up, Chen thought with a smile.

"Hi."

There was a pregnant silence, and Luhan gasped. "Chenchen!!"

"Yeah, it's me." Chen grinned between chews. 

"Oh my god!! Are you okay?!" Luhan almost shrieked at him, and he laughed.

"Never been better. I missed your voice."

"I MISS EVERY INCH OF YOU!! Get your back here now." His voice was whiny, but Chen found it endearing.

"Coming, coming. I need to recover first, Luhan. I got out of the machine not long ago."

The tone of Luhan's voice changed immediately. "Oh!! Okay, please rest please rest, don't hurry! I don't want you falling sick along the way..."

Chen felt his heart melt into goo. "Thanks, sweetheart."

"It's okay! I'm at Chanyeol's now, Minseok told me to stay with someone just for precaution."

"That's a good idea. How's it like there?"

"Hmm... I wear earplugs to sleep every night." He replied with an air of nonchalance.

Chen burst into laughter. "What?!"

"Chanyeol advised me to. I complied." 

Chen leaned back with a happy sigh. He missed this hearty banter with Luhan.

                                                                                    ***

"Are you sure you're ready to go already?"

Minseok stood by the entrance, watching Chen with worried eyes. 

"You should stay a little longer. The journey is long and you've only been resting for a day and a half."

Chen sighed, adjusting his backpack. "What to do. I'm homesick." He grinned widely.

Minseok rolled his eyes. "Or should I say, lovesick." Then he patted Chen's shoulder. "You should really go visit the city in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. You know, get your beloved a souvenir or something."

Chen contemplated this, then nodded. "Yeah, I probably should."

Minseok hesitated a while, before handing him an envelope.

"There is a message for you. Good luck on your mission Chen." Minseok grinned and smacked Chen on the back. "Read the note on your way back."

Chen nodded. "Thanks Minseok."

Minseok spun on his heel to walk away, then stopped and turned back. 

"I just want to remind you again, about you and Luhan. Remember what I said about not getting too attached. Okay?" His forehead creased with worry.

Chen sighed and closed his eyes.

                                                                                    ***
 

Hey Chen, this is Chief here
I said you won't hear from me until the six months are up
But after I heard you were going back to HUMP, I decided to write you this note.

I must say you are doing a good job in protecting Luhan.
I know he's still getting injured and all, but I can tell you are trying your best.

I know about how you feel towards Luhan.
Actually, I think it is perfectly normal to feel this way.
Not that I approve of it, but there is not much I can do now at this stage.
I just hope that in your quest of protecting Luhan and completing your mission, you keep your feelings in check and don't let it get the better of you.

I trust you, Chen.
The journey isn't over yet.
Fighting!!

                                                                                    ***

Chen fished out a wad of US bills from the envelope as well, and figured it must've been from Minseok. Count on him to make sure I'm alright, he thought with a grateful grin. Thanks buddy.

He arrived at Harrisburg in roughly two hours, quickly adjusting his speed as he neared the town to a steady and more normal gait. The marketplace was bustling with people despite the cold, and he realised how much he missed being in a huge crowd. Not that he enjoyed squeezing through crowds, though. He was just happy that he needn't have to keep relying on Touch Heat to keep warm. 

Touch Heat made his physical state warm, but only true body warmth could warm his heart.

The thought of that filled Chen with longing for the warm snuggly boy waiting for him back in South Korea. He sighed, weaving through the masses, as he searched for a souvenir for Luhan.

What would Luhan like?

Then something at a makeshift stall caught his eye.

                                                                                    ***

"Oh, loooooook who's here!!"

"Stop doing this, I command you to!"

"Please go away, my dear."

"I'm NOT going away until you stop this!"

"Hey, shorty punk, do you really think that by barging in here and yelling at me, I would obediently bow my head and listen to you and waste ALL my efforts this past three and a half months? HUH?!"

There was a loud hard smacking sound, followed by a cry and a thud.

"Please... Don't do this... You'll regret it..."

"Get lost before I kill you."

                                                                                    ***

Chen pulled up on the shore of an unknown beach, gasping in annoyance. The wind hadn't been in his favour, and after some hours of pointless wriggling in the ocean, Chen had given up. He huddled at the edge of the shoreline, waiting for a change of wind direction, feeling his teeth chatter wildly against each other.

Even Touch Heat wasn't working as well as it should. He was way too cold. 

"Oh dammit I should have bought a glider or something, this ." He grumbled, pulling his fluffy coat tighter around him. 

Oh well, no choice but to wait out the night.

He closed his eyes and imagined a soft warm bed, and soft warm arms welcoming him to soft warm lips in a soft warm kiss...

                                                                                    ***

Oh my god nearly there... Nearly there...

Every single muscle and bone and inch of skin on Chen was aching. He was desperate to get home and crash head-first onto the bed and just sleep his aches away.

His palm hit the front door as he fumbled about for the doorknob. In his sleep-ridden eyes, he could barely make out the outline of the knob, and he swung it open as quickly as possible.

"Luhan, I'm-"

All his breath was knocked out of his chest when a figure collided into him fiercely, slamming him against the front door and pushing it shut. 

It is Luhan. Oh my god it's Luhan.

Luhan pressed his face against Chen's neck and breathed in deeply, ignoring the layer of dirt crusted on the other boy's skin as he traced his fingers down his neckline, his sides and up his back, slowly cupping his cheeks and thumbing his cheekbones.

Chen let out a gasp, his exhaustion dissipating as Luhan pressed kisses against his eyelids. He moaned softly and hugged the older boy closer to him.

"You're back," he murmured against Chen's lips, breath soft and fluttery, his eyelashes brushing gently against the bridge of Chen's nose.

"Mmm," Chen hummed in response. "Will you let me go take a shower first?"

"No."

"Please, Luhan..."

"I'll come with you."

Chen blushed furiously, and so did Luhan. "Luhan..."

"I...I won't stare, I'll try not to."

Chen laughed at this, threading a hand through Luhan's soft locks. "Alright, if you promise to keep your hands off."

Luhan giggled and rubbed his nose along Chen's jawline. "Okay."


Luhan didn't manage to keep his hands off, though, and the two of them ended up in the shower together. Later they tumbled back into the room in a tangle of limbs, falling onto the bed and sharing kisses as they made love in the bed sheets.

Afterwards, Chen rolled over with a grunt, pulling the blankets over himself, snagging almost all the sheets and wrapping his bare body with them. Luhan swatted at him in protest.

"Chenchen!! Give me some blankets too, I'm cold!!" He only got a snore in return.

"Aish, this boy..." Luhan got up, shivering, to grab another set of blankets from the cupboard. Then he curled under them and hugged the giant Chen roll on the bed tightly, falling asleep.

                                                                                    ***

I must warn them... I must... But how?

I can't let them know who I am... They'd never listen to me if they know.

How should I warn them? How should I warn Chen of what is going to happen?

They cannot be together, this puts both Chen and Luhan in great danger.

Chen must leave Luhan.

I know he loves him, but... He has to leave.

A/N: So the finale is coming soon ARGH. Soon!! xD not for another few chapters though. Tension slowly builds up :)

MY RANDOMNESS SPOT:

They look too snuggly here OMG

AHH i remember the prev Love Game and the Chenlay and SuDO hahahaha 

LOL @baek choosing himself xD and Chen and DO still being 'faithful' awwwwh

I havent finished watching it though :) will continue soon!!

The boys are so adorable and clueless and shy here!! esp Luhan awwwwh

The song that Baekhyun sang @20:49 - Taemin sang it before didn't he xD here with his wassups haha :D

Kyungsoo's jpg moment @26:55 to 27:06 LOLOL

Luhan being told what to say @36:29 HAHA and the "one piece of meal" so cute!!

THE 3-line poem is OMG!! @37:25 Man-neh-opp-pfft made me DIE IN LAUGHTER

Chen's high pitch voice at @44:00 is so cuuuuute!!

Thank you boonyi for subbing!! :D so hard to find EXO radio shows in subs suddenly :(