Sehun wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring at the spot where Yixing had been just a moment ago, before a voice broke him out of his reverie.

“Sehun!”

He turned to see Luhan hurrying towards him breathlessly, waving an arm in the air. The angel stopped in front of Sehun in the garden, panting with his hands on his knees, before straightening up and looking Sehun in the eye. “I’m sorry,” he said earnestly, taking Sehun’s hands in his own. “I should’ve told you from the start—I like Minseok, I always have, but that doesn’t change the fact that I really cherish you as a friend—’’

“Luhan—’’

“—and I feel really bad that you had to find out that way, I didn’t mean for it to happen, honestly I didn’t—’’

“I know, Luhan, I—’’

“—please forgive me, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I really do want to be friends—’’         

“I KNOW, LUHAN, I FORGIVE YOU!” Sehun bellowed.

Luhan jumped, startled. He stared at Sehun with his mouth slightly agape.

“I—what—you do?” he said at last.

“Yes,” Sehun sighed exasperatedly, dropping Luhan’s hands, which had still been clutching his tightly. Less than an hour ago, this contact would have made Sehun swoon, but things had changed. Drastically.

“Oh,” Luhan said, his eyes wide, “oh. Right.”

“But I need your help, Luhan,” Sehun continued, raking a distressed hand through his blonde hair. “Yixing’s gone down to Earth, and I have to go after him because—because—’’ He broke off as his heart gave a painful twinge, and he winced. “Do you know where he might have gone?” he finished desperately.

Poor Luhan still looked slightly shell-shocked, but quickly wrinkled his brow in thought at the question. “Yixing…? Where would he go…ah!” Luhan’s eyes suddenly lit up, as though a light bulb had gone off in his head. “If it’s Yixing, then definitely the Great Wall of China!”

Sehun immediately turned and took off, speeding along towards the gates. Luhan called after him hastily.

“Wait, Sehun! If you’re going down to Earth, you’ve got to let Kris know first…”

“No time!” Sehun yelled back, and tearing past a pair of startled guards, he dove through the gates straight down to Earth.

It occurred to Sehun halfway to Earth’s surface that an angel literally falling from heaven would probably attract some amount of attention, and he quickly redirected his course to a mountaintop near the Great Wall. Landing in the middle of nowhere, Sehun hurriedly magicked away his wings and turned his clothes into some semblance of human ones before setting himself on the course of the Great Wall, trying to look like any other tourist while searching desperately for Yixing.

Several hours had passed before Sehun reached the heart of the Great Wall and stopped, panting. He looked around and received a shock when he saw Yixing sitting in the corner, his head in his arms.

“Yixing!” Sehun exclaimed, hurrying over. Yixing looked up in surprise, and Sehun, seeing that his eyes were red-rimmed from crying, felt a horrible pang of guilt.

Before Sehun could say anything, Yixing stood up and quickly made to run away. Sehun shot out an arm and grabbed Yixing’s, preventing him from leaving, though the other boy struggled. “Please at least hear me out,” Sehun pleaded.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Yixing growled in a low, dangerous voice. Sehun hesitated, taken aback by his usually gentle friend’s sudden ferocity, but kept a firm grip on his arm anyway.

“I know you have every reason to hate me,” he began, his voice wobbling ever so slightly. “I would probably hate me too.” He let out a shaky laugh, and when Yixing remained silent, Sehun took it as a sign to keep going. “I just wanted to let you know that...I’m really, really sorry for taking you for granted. It was completely selfish of me, and I didn’t realize how much I depended on you until you weren’t there anymore.” He swallowed, taking a deep breath. “I thought about it on the way here, and I…I think I’d like to give us a chance at being more than friends…if you’ll still have me.”

Sehun broke off, letting go of Yixing’s arm and waiting. For a moment, the only sound was that of the two of them breathing, and Sehun’s heart hammered in his chest. He bit his lip, preparing himself for the worst.

“Okay,” Yixing finally said, making Sehun jump. He looked up in surprise, to see Yixing giving him a small smile. “I forgive you,” his friend said, and Sehun thought those were the three most beautiful words he had ever heard in his immortal life.

“Really?” he gasped, and when Yixing nodded, he threw his arms around the angel, hugging him tightly. Yixing’s arms wrapped around him as well, and for a moment they just stood there, holding one another. Then Yixing stepped back, his cheeks a little flushed.

“We’d better get back,” he mumbled at his feet, avoiding Sehun’s eye. Sehun found Yixing’s shyness incredibly adorable and wondered why he had never noticed this before.

“Are you ready to face Kris’s wrath?” he asked playfully, and Yixing looked up. He smiled hesitantly, the trademark dimple appearing in his cheek.

"I think so, as long as you’re by my side,” he murmured, slipping his hand into Sehun’s. Sehun’s breath caught, and this time it was he who broke Yixing’s gaze, his heart racing. And as they returned to their original forms to take off a few moments later, Yixing’s hand still warm in his, Sehun was sure that he had never felt happier in his entire life.

A/N: merry christmas everyone! or, if you don't celebrate christmas, happy holidays. <3

i hope you all had a wonderful day!