The moon was shining brightly in the sky with thousands of stars Sparkling around it, with very few clouds lazily lingering by. The late night breeze blew through the trees, shaking the empty branches and rustling the large piles of dead leaves that loitered the large yard. Although the temperature had dropped significantly, Heechul was enjoying the peacefulness of the night with a thick blanket, a cup of warm tea, and not a single bother besides the noise of nature.

Late nights in the backyard, curled up on the porch furniture by moonlight was one of the few moments of the day that he could enjoy alone. By this time of the night the boys were asleep and he could take the time to clear his mind and rejuvenate for the next day. The only way it could be better was if the love of his life was able to be there to enjoy it with him. But that was a subject for a different night of deep thinking; it was getting late and he’d been out there long enough that his tea had gone cold and so had his toes.

He stood up, yawning tiredly, and grabbed his mug and blanket before trudging back inside, locking the back door behind him. The house was still and dark, but there was a lamp on a few feet away that gave him enough light to make his way to the kitchen to dump his glass in the sink before making his way towards the hallway to on Donghae and Mir before he went to bed. He made sure to be extremely quiet as he peeked into Mir’s room; his youngest son always woke up at the tiniest noise. But his presence was unknown and he smiled lightly when he saw Mir sleeping soundly. Next door he found Donghae curled up in a cocoon of blankets with his television playing the end credits of some movie. He moved in to turn it off before heading upstairs to his own room.

He left the hall light on, as always, and shuffled into his bedroom. Depositing his blanket back on the bed, he moved to the nightstand where his cell phone lay charging and checked for any new messages; there was a single one from Leeteuk informing him that he loved him and missed him a bunch. He smiled to himself before crawling into bed and leaning against the headboard. It was late but he wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep yet, so he reached for the book in his night stand – a trashy romance novel that was absolutely addicting.

He couldn’t have gotten through half a page before his attention was diverted when he heard a creak in the floor boards. A few seconds later his door pushed open and in walked an absolutely miserable looking Key. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were puffy as if he’d been crying for hours. Tossing his book aside, Heechul patted the bed next to him and waited for Key to crawl over before speaking.

“What’s wrong honey? Did you have a nightmare?” He asked softly, rubbing Key’s arm soothing