The day after reuniting with Junmyeon was, at least to Baekhyun, more nerve wrecking than his departure from the hospital, he was ecstatic to return home! Junmyeon, on the other hand was extremely afraid that the others, now waiting for them, since Sehun had warned them all that Junmyeon had come to the hospital, to Baekhyun, would still be mad at him.

Sehun, who made his peace with Junmyeon, deeply regretting his words now that he saw their effect, tried to reassure their leader, however, Junmyeon only seemed to respond to Baekhyun’s words, trailing after the younger like a duckling. While it was really cute to watch, especially since Sehun was a er for Baekhyun’s maternal side, as the older man took care of the leader to perfection, giving him all the attention and love he needed without judging, it was also very sad to watch how things had affected Junmyeon in such way that he reverted to a more childish type of behavior.

On the car, Baekhyun had chosen to ride in the back of the car with Junmyeon since the other was too nervous about meeting everybody. They sat huddled together, Baekhyun with his arms around Junmyeon who contemplated the scenery around him quietly.

It had been a hell of a ride convincing Junmyeon to come with them; it had taken lot of tears and a lot of begging, with a little bit of groveling on Sehun’s part, for Junmyeon to agree.

“Baekhyun…” called the older man softly, eyes never leaving the pale blue sky outside.

“Hmm?!”

“What if they still hate me?”

“They don’t hate you Myeon. They never did!” explained Baekhyun patiently, tightening his grip on the leader’s shoulders. “They were scared and worried about you because you showed them a side of yours different than what we’re accustomed to. You scared us all and you did some things that you’re not proud of but they only reacted due to fear; fear of losing you, your essence and your spirit. The negative feelings that they had held nothing against the angst they passed while realizing that they almost lost you. EXO is nothing without you; you are our leader and we love you, mistakes or no mistakes. Sure there will be times when we fight but in the end, bonds speak louder. Just accept it Myeonnie, we love you.”

Junmyeon muttered a small ‘thank you’ while he snuggled up into Baekhyun’s embrace. The words spoken by his tiny dongsaeng were ringing in his ears; he wanted to believe in them so much, especially because it was Baekhyun and, to all his credit, Baekhyun wasn’t a liar. He could trust Baekhyunnie. However, there was still that cloud of doubt that told him he was delusional, that no one could ever forgive him for what he had done and this was all a cruel joke; after all his actions had been pretty serious, therefore no one could forgive him like that, could they?

As they got nearer, Junmyeon could feel his anxiety rising up and, when the car finally stopped, parked in its usual spot near their dorm, Junmyeon almost rethought this returning thing and ran but both Sehun’s and Baekhyun’s comforting faces and he admitted that the warm hug that the maknae had given him allied to Baekhyun’s smile made him keep going. So he made his way, with both his dongsaengs by his side, his hands firmly clasped on theirs.

The door was only a few meters away he could hear the noise. It always had been like this in their dorm: loud noise, music blaring, game sounds, singing voice and laughter. But the laughter had been so rare lately; giving to the sound of sobs and choked tears and, never did Junmyeon wanted so much, that everything went back to those moments.

“What are you thinking?” asked Sehun quietly once they stop in front of the door.

“I miss the laughter…” replied Junmyeon absentmindedly.

“It will come. You have the key to unlock the laughter; use it!” commented Baekhyun gently before taking Junmyeon’s hand in his and use it to unlock their door, a symbolic act that illustrated his words.

When the door opened the loud noise was substituted by silence. A multitude of eyes turned to the newcomers and Junmyeon physically recoiled at the staring he was being subjected to and mentally thanked Sehun for throwing an arm around his waist, grounding and protecting him.

Everyone was just staring at each other and, funnily enough, it was Jongin who diffused the tension by suddenly appearing from the kitchen, skidding on the floor. It took him a glance at the door.

“Junmyeon hyung! Baekhyun hyung!” he shouted, hurrying over to hug both of them, completely overjoyed. It was actually precious to see him so joyous and happy.

“You’re back!” he whispered in the leader’s ear. “You’re here again. I’m so happy!”

Then hell broke loose: everyone present in the room came running down on their directions, hugging, kissing and patting both Baekhyun and Junmyeon, whispering things such as ‘I miss you’, ‘so happy that you are back’, ‘don’t leave us again’ or ‘I love you’. Such small declarations of love and affections made Junmyeon’s eyes water, this was the complete opposite of what he thought it was going to happen! Everybody seemed so glad to have him back!

Seeing the shocked and dazed look on Junmyeon’s face, Sehun leaned down to murmur something.

“Baekhyunnie never lies. They love you hyung!”

And that was the moment when Junmyeon’s tears simply fell out, unrestrained. All of the EXO members looked at each other and then at their leader, very fondly. Jongdae suddenly grabbed Junmyeon in a hug and screamed ‘group hug’, to which everyone joined in, making Junmyeon giggle a little at the display of affection, especially after seeing Sehun gently guiding Baekhyun to the side, despite the huge pout on the other’s face, stating that he didn’t want anyone to hurt him unintentionally.

After the hug, Kyungsoo led Junmyeon to the couch and made him sat, immediately snuggling to his side, while Jongin took the other side. Chanyeol and Jongdae sat on the floor, leaving the smaller couch for Sehun and Baekhyun and a chair for Minseok, while Kris just stood behind the oldest man, hands softly massaging his shoulders.

“So let’s talk a bit.” started Kris while Junmyeon looked at him with wide eyes, afraid of what might come out of this conversation. “Actually, we need to talk to you and you just need to listen to us.”

“Spit it out, Kris! You’re prolonging this too much.” chided Minseok, slapping Kris on the chest and earning himself a suspicious look from Baekhyun, who narrowed his eyes at Minseok; the eldest simply ignored his gazed but blushed slightly. Seeing things going nowhere, Jongdae decided to talk in everybody’s name.

“So, I think we need to apologize; all of us. As our leader, we tend to rely a little bit too much on you; we expect too much from you and, especially, we blame you a lot when things go wrong, however, and shame on us, we also forget that you, just like us, are human too. You make mistakes, you have problems and you feel like everybody. We have been putting an unfair amount of responsibilities on your shoulders. And we are sorry because due to our immature ways, we have completely alienated you and made you lose trust in us, I mean who wouldn’t? You gave us the world and we simply weren’t there when you needed us the most.”

“All in all, we failed you; as friends, as family. In every possible way and we are sorry.” added Chanyeol softly, eyes downcast and guilty.

“But I hurt Baekhyun…”

“We know. We also know that you are sorry and while we were angry at first, Baekhyun helped us all understand that we pushed you to do so by giving up on you when all you wanted was somebody to lean on; for someone to stop and see the pain that you were going through.” replied Kyungsoo, hugging their leader a tiny bit tighter.

“I shouldn’t have done, it was wrong.”

“It was. It was very wrong of you; however, we are certain that it was a time only event, which will never be repeated. Also, this time around we will be much more supportive and actually listen to you, even when you’re not saying a thing, and seeing you, even when you pretend to be a shadow.”

“Minseok, I don’t get it!” muttered Junmyeon.

“It means that everything is going to be forgiven. It’s time for let this event go and start anew, with stronger bonds.” replied Baekhyun.

“I actually wanted to apologize to all of you.” began Kris hesitantly, gaining the attention of everyone. “I left you guys and, while I offered you an explanation, it feels like I should have done more for you. I feel guilty for leaving you and not tolerate things a bit more.”

“Don’t be a Kris.” chided Baekhyun “We never blame you; yes, it was heartbreaking to watch you leave, but how could we, as your friends and family, stand to cage you with us knowing that you were not happy?”

“Being with you all made me happy…”

“But it didn’t make you complete!” cut Baekhyun “You were half as happy as you could be and that is why letting you go was the best decision. Seeing you know, pursuing your dreams and living the live you replayed a thousand times in your head makes us happy. It’s not like you can’t see us whenever you want. Especially now!”

That last bit, added with a smirk, caught everyone’s attention but no one seemed to get the jab made at the couple. Minseok cursed Baekhyun’s keen eye and wished that the other would stop but then Kris surprise him and everyone else.

“You’re right. I dreamed of all this but not a single one of those dreams can be compared to the one I’m living right now, just by being with the person I love.” he interjected softly, fingers interlacing themselves with the ones on Minseok’s smaller hand.

“What?!”

“When did this happen?”

“Kriiis, you sly dog!!”

Comments were being shouted at the older couple and Junmyeon felt like giggling because Minseok was very flustered while Kris gently, with a gorgeous smile painted on his lips, hid his smaller boyfriend from the others, hands oh so very soft on the other’s skin.

“See? Nothing to be afraid of, we love you.”

Junmyeon turned his head to Jongin and gave the younger a small smile.

“I don’t understand how you can forgive me this fast!”

“Love has no explanation hyung. Just don’t leave again. Never leave!” whispered the younger, leaning against the smaller leader. From above Jongin’s shoulder, Junmyeon could see Baekhyun smiling at him and it made him feel eternally grateful to the younger who, despite everything, had always stuck to his side.

“What’s going on?” asked a voice from the staircase way.

Everyone turned to look at a sleepy Luhan. Nobody had remembered that the Chinese man had been sleeping his drunk self away in one of the rooms. Junmyeon turned very pale at the sight of the older male and attempt to hide himself in Jongin’s arms, suddenly very anxious again.

“What’s happening? Why is everyone being so loud?” asked Luhan again.

It was an awkward moment, especially considering the fact that Luhan had babbled to everyone, and everything, that he liked Junmyeon. Sehun wasn’t sure who made Luhan glance and spot Junmyeon but his bets were on Chanyeol since the Yoda boy wasn’t aware of the meaning of the word discretion.

As soon as Luhan’s eyes darted to Jongin and, subsequently, to Junmyeon, his eyes widened impossibly wide, to the point where even Kyungsoo was impressed.

“Junmyeon…” he breathed out.

And that was when Junmyeon freed himself from Jongin’s arms and ran past Luhan only to lock himself in the bathroom.

It had taken a lot of Baekhyun’s persuasion skill to convince Junmyeon to agree and let him inside the small bathroom. Even thought Luhan had been struggling to get inside too, to the point where Minseok had to physically restrain him, Junmyeon would only allow Baekhyun inside. Luhan had inquired Sehun about that fact that their leader was so vehement on the smaller man presence beside him but the maknae shrugged his shoulder.

“It’s Baekhyun!” he replied to his friend, as if it explained all the mysteries in the world, which it probably did.

When Baekhyun had entered the bathroom, Junmyeon had been sitting on the floor, chin resting on his knees and looking like a kicked puppy. When he saw the younger he immediately latched onto him.

“What do I do? He’s outside that door!”

“Junmyeon, calm down!” started Baekhyun in a soft voice. “This panic will lead you nowhere.”

“He knows! He knows about what I have done!”

“Yes, he does. Hence the reason why you should talk to him or at least, hear what he has got to say.”

“I’m scared! What if he hates me?”

“You thought that about the rest of the guys and you were wrong, weren’t you?”

“But this is Luhan. You know about how I …”

“How you feel about him; yes, I do Junmyeon. However, you can’t keep running away from him forever, much less since he’s sharing, even if for the moment, the same house as you do. Sooner or later he’s going to catch you and then you’ll have to talk to him.”

“Can’t it be later?” asked Junmyeon childishly, which had Baekhyun smiling.

“It can, however, you only be hurting yourself and being anxious for nothing. Whatever he may say, I am here for the outcome. The others are here for you. We’ll kick Luhan if we have to.”

That sentence had Junmyeon chuckling a little bit at the other’s attempt to cheer him up. He sighed in defeat; Baekhyun was right. He always was the damned midget.

“I’m scared that he won’t like me anymore. Even as friends.”

“If he doesn’t like you, he doesn’t like you. You can’t force someone to like you and while it pains you, it will set you free. So talk to him. Hear him!”

“I will!” agreed Junmyeon, cursing the fact that Baekhyun could make him do something he was reluctant to, so quickly. No wonder he had all of them wrapped around his fingers.

Baekhyun smiled at the other, softly. As Junmyeon was getting up, to get this conversation done with, the younger pulled him by the wrist.

“I didn’t mean that you had to talk to him now! First, you need some cuddles.” He announced brightly, making the leader sit down and immediately curling to his side. “You need to know that no matter what, I’ve got your back!”

Junmyeon smiled a little at the younger’s words.

“Thank you dongsaengie!”

Junmyeon had cuddled with Baekhyun for a long time before Sehun knocked on the door asking him if he could have his boyfriend back. They both smiled at the maknae’s words before Baekhyun slid out of the bathroom, not without giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek and another tight hug, whispering an ‘I love you, mamma Myeon’ to his ear, that had his eyes watering in no time.

He was preparing himself mentally for the conversation, when the door burst open and a frantic Luhan walked in, scaring him half to death.

“Luhan?”

“Shut up! Shut up!” rasped Luhan advancing like an enraged bull in his direction.

Junmyeon closed his eyes and raised his arms up, completely convinced that Luhan was going to strike him or punching him or something. However, his arms were pushed away and soft, plush lips met his.

When Luhan pulled back a few seconds after, Junmyeon was staring at him completely shocked.

“Don’t you dare to run away! Don’t you dare to leave me! Not when I love you like I do!”

A/N: I AM SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! T-T  I am so sorry! I wanted to update soon but life isn't letting me! I want vacations, like ASAP! 

Next chapter will be the last one and I hope I can write it and update soon, but don't count on that, work has been slaying me these days!  I hope you like this chapter and that you'll stay with me to see the end of this story! 

A big hug to all of you, have a wonderful day and much love for you all!