“We are one! Annyeonghaseyo, EXO-imnida!”

The crowd’s roar sent a tingling feeling down his back, the jitters and butterflies still present inside of him. He let his eyes take in the thousands of silhouette cheering and chanting their name. This was it, he thought to himself. This was what they had been training for so long. The vocal lessons, the dance sessions, the language classes; it all led down to this very moment.

Luhan turned to stare at s, his brothers, and all of them were sporting the same look as he was. The happiness, the anxiousness, the anticipation; it was a mix of every emotion but they knew they were ready for this. They were ready to show the world what they’re made of.

“EXO, saranghaja!”

*~*~*~*~*

Backstage was in total chaos as people were running around shouting orders in multiple directions and making sure everything was ready. Well, almost everything.

“Kim Jongdae, give me back my pants!”

“Noona, Tao ruined my hair again.”

“I did not!”

“Kris, save me!”

“Oh no, you are not pulling me into this.”

Luhan chuckled slightly at ’s antics, trying not to move too much as the stylist did her work. Xiumin was running around chasing Chen who had stolen his pants, Tao and Lay were quarrelling in front of a flustered noona and Kris was doing his best not to get into any of the problems, failing miserably when the noona pulled him to deal with the hair issue.

“Guys, I don’t think-“

“It was just a ruffle. It’s not like I messed it too much.”

“Can’t you two just-“

“Well, you did. What if I ruffle your hair and mess it up? You’d probably be flying off the roof.”

“Guys, seriously. Why can’t you-“

“You want to know what messy is?”

Soon, both Lay and Tao were trying to attack each other’s hair, Kris standing in the middle of them and trying to keep them apart.

A shrill scream had Luhan turn to the other side of room, barely catching the sight of Xiumin pouncing onto Chen, succesfully pinning him to the ground.

“Chen, give me back my pants.”

“Never!”

“You’re wrinkling it!”

“Then get off me.”

Luhan chuckled to himself as the stylist added the finishing touch on her work before going over to the with a cross look on her face.

Nothing like a rowdy start to kick off the day, he mused.

*~*~*~*~*

“Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da

Saeng il chuk ha ham nida

Sarang ha neun Luhan shi

Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da.”

Luhan opened one eye to see all his brothers surrounding him wearing party hats and funky glasses. Kyungsoo was standing at the edge of his bed, a small cake perched carefully in his hand.

“Happy birthday, Luhan!” Kai exclaimed but earned a few shush from his hyungs.

“Do you want the manager to hear us?” Baekhyun scolded him before turning to Luhan with his puppy dog eyes. “Can you please wake up so that we can eat the cake?”

Luhan chuckled at his brothers. His birthday had completely slipped out of his mind with their schedule getting busier and busier. He got up and sat crossed-leg on the edge of his bed and Kyungsoo passed the cake to him.

“Make a wish.”

He did and soon after the candles were blown, the cake was viciously attacked by the hungry pack until only the crumbs were left.

“Thanks, guys. I completely forgot my birthday.”

Kris playfully rolled his eyes at him. “Of course you did.” That earned him a kick to his shin.

Sehun nudged Luhan playfully. “Hey, that’s why we’re here. To actually remember to celebrate one of our birthdays every single year without fail.”

“Besides,” Tao added with a sly grin. “Mine is just around the corner.”

After that, they fall back into easy conversation until everyone passed out in Luhan and Xiumin’s hotel room.

*~*~*~*~*

“You’ve got ten minutes!” the stage handle shouted above the chaos of boys before disappearing in the sea of people outside the changing room. Of course, when you have 12 members having to change into their next outfit in a relatively small room in under ten minutes, it was bound to get interesting somehow.

“Shoes incoming!” Chanyeol shouted from the front of the pack and soon stuffs started flying everywhere.

“Hey, who threw that?”

“Baekhyun, you’re wearing mine!”

“Someone pass me my shirt.”

“Yah! You’re wearing it backwards.”

“Hey, who took my pants again? It’s not funny.”

“Kris, stop stepping on my feet!”

"Sorry!"

“Anyone saw my jacket?”

“Tao, I swear...”

“Move out of the way, coming through.”

“Luhan, heads up!” Luhan barely had the time to react as his shoes went flying towards him, almost hitting him in the eye.

“Thanks, whoever that was,” he called out, hastily putting them on and ran out the door.

“Two minutes!”

A few curses were heard as everyone stumbled around and finding their position, some were being followed by the stylists for last minute touch up. Luhan chuckled with Baekhyun and Chen as they reminisced the flying clothes and stumbling bodies before the two was pulled to their position. It was show time.

*~*~*~*~*

“It’s okay,” Luhan whispered into the sobbing boy’s ear, trying his best to calm him down. It was one in the morning and he didn’t want to wake anyone up, especially their counterpart group who were going to be on a plane back to Seoul first thing in the morning. “Just let it all out.”

“I’m sorry,” the boy chocked out, his sobbing still hadn’t died down. “It’s just I just remembered and then it happened so fast and I don’t- I didn’t know what to do and-“

“I know,” Luhan cooed, still holding him and telling him he’s not leaving him anytime soon. “You just miss him.”

Luhan knew that Kris’ departure hurt all the members but he knew it killed Tao. Kris was someone he looked up too, a best friend, a big brother he never had. He knew how close both of them were and seeing him this broken was heart wrenching.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry of, Tao.”

He felt tears pooling in his eyes but he held it in for the sake of Tao. He needed a shoulder to lean on more than ever and he was willing to help. Anything for his little brother. Anything.

*~*~*~*~*

He stared at the signed piece of paper, his heart getting heavier and heavier. The man opposite him proceed to retrieve the paper, said a few words and left after a hasty handshake. Luhan stopped the urge to chase after the man and ripped the paper in pieces just like how the news would shred their hearts into pieces.

‘I’m sorry,’ Luhan thought as he let himself break down in the safety of his room. It was too late to back out now.

I’m sorry....

*~*~*~*~*

He basked in the atmosphere of the concert in, knowing this might as well be the last time he’d be performing on this very stage with the ones he had learned to love, to cherish with all his heart. He stared at s, memorizing every little detail of them. Every little thing that made him love them more and more.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were playfully shoving each other on the main stage, DO was doing some fan service with Kai and Sehun beside him, Chen was belting out his high note, Suho was trying to pull a certain panda with him to the middle stage and Xiumin was heading towards Lay and him, Lay’s hand grasping tightly in his. Not wanting to miss out, Xiumin draped an arm around his neck and the three of them went to join back with the group.

They had been doing this a lot during the whole concert. Lay never leaving his side –except when they had to do their choreography- and Xiumin running up to him now and again to join him into the fun. Sehun and Kai had been sending a few worried glances one too many time and Luhan was touched.

‘What did I do to deserve this love? Even when I broke their heart, I broke their promise; they still treat me like family.’

Sehun’s question from before rang in his mind as the concert came to a close. “Do you have to go?” Luhan glanced at each member. All had a satisfied glint in their eyes and he noticed something else; sadness. It was nearing the end and they knew what was going to happen after this, something they had been dreading and trying to stall for as long as they could.

‘I’m sorry, Sehun. I’m sorry Exo. I’m sorry I had to leave and reopen old wounds. I’m sorry if I had disappointed all of you with my decision but maybe it’s for the best. For Exo and for myself. Thank you for a memorable life as an Exo member.”

Standing with the other members, Luhan took his final bow in front of Exo’s fans.

*~*~*~*~*

He wasn’t sure how long he had stood there. It could’ve been seconds, minutes, hours; he wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure what he was doing here. It was probably his memories that subconsciously brought him here. Luhan looked up at the building across the street again. Their old dorm.

Luhan just stood there motionless as his inner battle continued to rage on. He shouldn’t be here but his heart was not cooperating very well with his brain, an usual recurrence he had since the phone call with Lay. After staring up for so long, Luhan turned to walk away with a heavy heart. He wasn’t ready.

“Luhan?”

Luhan froze mid step. He wasn’t ready.

“Luhan hyung?”

He turned around, eyes widen slightly. Ten pairs of eyes were trained on him, looks of disbelief crystal clear. They were not expecting him there and he did not expect to meet them this way. It took a while before someone broke out of their trance. The youngest bound towards him, almost knocking him backwards. It didn’t take long before the others joined in as well.

“What took you so long to even visit us?” Kai asked fiercely, tears falling down his cheeks. “We missed you so much!”

“We thought you might never visit us ever again,” Chen whined, burying his face in to the back of my shirt. “We thought we might never see you again.”

“And you lied to me!” Lay exploded cutely somewhere in front of him. He caught a glimpse of black hair and a hand trying to pinch his side. “How could you lie to me like that? You’re my gege, you’re suppose to set a good example.”

Luhan couldn’t hold it in anymore. Screw his brain.

Luhan pulled as much of his brothers into his arm, relieving the dull ache of missing them for so long. “I’m sorry,” he managed to say. “I promised I’d see you guys in the future, didn’t I? Besides, I called in every chance I got.”

“Hearing your voice and seeing you in person are two different things, Lu hyung,” Chanyeol mumbled into his shirt from his right. “And Lay was right, that was uncalled for, lying about you being here.”

“Oh!” Baekhyun suddenly interrupted. “We also promised to do this when you finally visited us again.”

Instantly, ten hands smacked the back of his head.

“Hey!”

Xiumin ignored his friend and quickly pulled his head into a headlock, ruffling his hair. “Never leave me alone with these idiots ever again.” A sad smile perched on his lips. “I thought I’d never get to see you again.”

“You did, didn’t you?”

“For a millisecond and then you disappeared like you teleported or turned invisible or something!”

Luhan pouted but couldn’t stop the chuckle escaping his lips. He missed this. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry.”

Luhan snapped his eyes to their leader who was staring him with mixed emotion. He was the only one who hadn’t join in with the hug but he could he was itching to with the way his body was shaking ever so slightly.

“Just stop.”

Suho was probably the one he was most worried about when he first left, knowing he was bound to over think these situations unnecessarily and break under the pressure. He had one too many nights listening to his problems with Xiumin to know he’d be doing the same for his situation.

“Suho shi.” Suho looked up with glassy eyes and Luhan sent him a reassuring smile, the same ones that usually calmed him down in situations like this. He opened his arms and Suho broke down in it just like old times. The others soon joined in, enveloping the two of them in a death-like grip.

“It’s good to see you again, even if it’s for a while.”

He returned his smile. Glancing at the other members around him, he had never felt more complete. “It’s good to be back.”

If you were to ask Luhan what home was to him, he’d say home was wherever his brothers were. Even if they were on two opposite sides of the world, he would still come back to them because they were a family. Not by blood but by the bond they had created over the years they had spent together, the ups and downs they went through together. They were still incomplete but they will wait because that was what family do.

So, Luhan’s definition of home is his brothers, the ones who never gave up on him. The ones who will always be there for him and who he will always be there for them. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

----------

And that, my fellow readers, marks the end of Home... . 

I'm not sure what to feel to be honest. I've been attached to this story since it first formed in the midst of my imagination and actually reaching the final result is both satisfying and a little saddening, knowing this is it, this is the end. I'm going to miss this but I'm satisfied with it's end product.

I'd also like to thank the people who took their time to read this story. I'm still learning the ropes of being an author and my stories are far from being exceptional but as long as people enjoy reading them, then that's all that matters. So, I really hope you had enjoyed this story and not felt like you had wasted your time. If you did, then I'm really sorry.

So, adios for now and thank you for reading.

~BookWorm61 ;)