”Come on, Minseok! We should have left already!” Sehun calls out, his feet already in the air. His wings are so sheer it almost looks as if he is floating up towards the pink sky in the horizon.

Minseok stares at the flowers bowing their heads down and closing themselves into small buds for the night. His steps a little closer to the pond in the middle of the forest and watches how the water lilies closest to him awaken by his light. The darker it gets, the more Minseok shines in the evening.

The forest is starting to fill with small flying insects that are drawn to Minseok, which is a clear sign that he should rush after his brothers. The air smells more damp and the leaves are now a dark, gloomy shade of green. This is not Minseok's realm anymore.

Minseok is taking steps towards the pink glow in the distance when he spots a creature, about as small as him, standing behind an old oak. It is peeking from underneath a large root, staring right at Minseok. Minseok has never seen anything like it before. It is not a shrew nor a mouse, and it most definitely is not a vole. Somewhere near the lower branches, Suho is shouting at Minseok to follow him, but this creature behind the oak has made Minseok too curious to leave now.

Minseok slowly walks toward the creature, closer to the dark woods that surround the glade where he and his brothers love to play. The creature crouches down so the roots cover nearly all of it, aside for the tips of its ears, which peek out from underneath the large root. Minseok stops in front of the oak and peers into the dim.

“What are you?” Minseok asks, his voice soft and quiet.

The creature raises itself enough so its eyes are visible from above the roots and a part of its torso can be seen from between them. It blinks a few times, and squints to look at Minseok from such a close distance. Minseok thinks he hears a faint 'hurts' being whispered into the darkness.

“What are you?” Minseok asks again, this time more confidently. “I am Minseok, a sun sprite and a protector of this forest. I demand you tell me your species.”

The creature steps out from behind the oak. It has a short but sturdy body and its face is dirty but the features are beautiful, despite the way it keeps squinting its eyes.

“I am Lu Han,” the creature tells Minseok, who is puzzled. He has never seen such a creature before.

“What is a luhan?” Minseok asks and takes a step closer to Lu Han. The leaves above him shake in an ominous manner. For the first time in his life, Minseok is afraid of the forest. Still, he does not want to leave.

“Please, no,” Lu Han whispers and quickly stumbles into the forest. Minseok hears branches cracking and the soft sounds of moss until it becomes quiet again.

Lu Han squats in the darkness, his back toward the glade. Minseok can barely make out his form.

“Is something the matter with him?” Minseok wonders aloud, not even fully aware he is offering his thoughts for Lu Han to hear.

“You are so bright this close, sprite Minseok,” Lu Han whimpers. “My eyes, I believe they are being burned.”

Minseok looks at the skyline. The hues of pink have begun to turn into shades of violet and purple. His brothers are nowhere to be seen. He knows he should worry for himself but oddly enough he cares more about the well-being of Lu Han, who seems to feel worse by the minute.

“What do you mean?” Minseok asks. “I have done no ill toward you.”

Lu Han turns his face to Minseok but covers his eyes with his arm. Minseok can tell, in the glow of his own light, that Lu Han has nice lips. For reasons he does not quite understand, he wants to get closer to them.

“I am a gnome, a creature of the night,” Lu Han tells him. “You shine with the rays of the Sun, sprite. We were never meant to co-exist. When I was young, I was told your presence can turn me blind. Until now I always thought it was only the elders trying to scare me from going out before twilight has passed.”

“I make you blind?” Minseok whispers, both to Lu Han and himself. He has never heard of the light of the Sun doing harm to creatures. He and his brothers were raised to think that the light cares for all plants and animals. That the creatures of the night would be jealous of the sprites' power and try to steal their light. Lu Han does not seem jealous – instead, he looks like he wants to get as far away as possible from Minseok.

“I am sorry,” Lu Han says, rising up from the ground but still holding an arm to cover his eyes. “I do not mean to insult you. It is the way we have been made, sprite.” He takes a small pause to tap the moss underneath him with his feet, making sure he can keep his balance. “You should go, other creatures may attack you if you stay past twilight. You will not survive them.”

Minseok looks up at the violet sky. He needs to leave. If he leaves now, he will still make it home. He will be safe and live to see another wondrous day.

He takes steps back and watches Lu Han's form slowly become smaller and grow darker in the shade of the forest. He is about to turn toward the skyline and fly away as fast as he can, despite how much he wants to spend more time with Lu Han, when he realizes something. Something he needs to know before he goes.

“Why did you stare at me from behind that oak, Lu Han?” he shouts from the glade toward the trees.

All Minseok hears is the rustling of the leaves and the distant sounds of large wings coming closer. Possibly one of the predators of the night. He should hurry.

“Why, Lu Han?” Minseok presses, desperate to hear Lu Han's voice before he leaves.

Minseok can make out a body stepping out of the shadows to stand next to the oak. Lu Han's face is not covered anymore and Minseok sees his own glow reflected back at him from two black eyes staring at him in the darkness.

“Because you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” Lu Han says, loud enough for Minseok to hear.

Minseok has always had others sing praises of his beauty but it is as if he has never believed any of them before. Not until this enchanting creature of the night told him, so boldly, so honestly.

“I will be back for you,” Minseok decides. “Tomorrow, I will wait by that oak.”

“It is a dangerous game you are hoping to play, sprite Minseok,” Lu Han tells him from the shadows. “No matter what you are wishing for, at the end of it, I will be blind and you will be gone. You ought to treasure your life and stay away from me. Twilight is dangerous for you and the night, deadly.”

Minseok knows what Lu Han is saying is the truth. If he were to think rationally, he should not even wish to see Lu Han ever again. But the flame in his heart burns brighter than it ever has before. Even for a sun sprite, he feels unusually warm and he knows it is all thanks to Lu Han. Perhaps such warmth can defeat the incompatibilities of light and dark.

“But I think you are beautiful, as well. Even if I must look at you from across the glade, I will,” Minseok says and means every word. A glance at Lu Han's lips is worth risking all the dangers. “I will wait for you tomorrow.”

Minseok hears no sound from Lu Han's direction but knows he is still there, looking at him, listening to his words. He gently shakes dew off his wings and rises from the ground to start his lonely journey home, knowing that he will not mind doing this every evening from here on.

“Until the next sundown, Lu Han.”

I hope you enjoyed this! ^^ It was fun for me to put a new spin on an old song that I've loved since grandma sang it to me when I was a small child.

Please don't ask me to continue this, though... all my other ideas for this AU are crazy angsty. TT____TT