Sanctuary | Chanbaek

Epilogue

Baekhyun woke in the morning to the feeling of someone lifting up his left hand as if to examine it. He left his eyes shut, body and mind still half asleep. It was probably just Chanyeol moving his arm out of the way so he could go to the bathroom. He felt rough fingertips trace around his ring finger and over the rings that adorned it. Jinho's and Chanyeol's ring. Baekhyun shot up in bed, his head smacking into Chanyeol's, who had been leaning over him to examine his hand.

"Ow, Baek. That excited to see me?" Chanyeol laughed, using his free hand to rub his forehead where they had collided.

"What are you doing?" Baekhyun pulled his hand away and quickly hid it behind his back as if Chanyeol hadn't already seen it. His face was flushed with embarrassment, eyes wide.

"My ring. On your finger." Chanyeol gave him a cocky smile, reaching out to tug Baekhyun's arm back toward him so he could see it again.

"I thought you died!" Baekhyun stuttered over his words, hand shaking a little against Chanyeol's touch. "I was very emotional, this is so embarrassing. I can put it back on the chain!"

"No! I think it's cute, please don't take it off." Chanyeol's reaction was nearly immediate, and Baekhyun noticed a blush creeping across his face as well. He brought Baekhyun's hand up to his lips and pressed multiple soft kisses over his finger. Baekhyun's heart pounded in his chest as he watched Chanyeol lean in towards him, his eyes closing as their lips met. Chanyeol kissed him delicately. Rough fingers grazed his cheek, caressing Baekhyun as if he might break under too much pressure.

"I got you something by the way. Don't worry, I found them before we went into the mall." Chanyeol pulled away to dig through his backpack. After some searching, he pulled out two small packets labeled 'carrot seeds' with a proud smile.

Chanyeol showed zero hesitation as Baekhyun climbed up into his lap and tugged him down into a much more passionate kiss. Baekhyun's legs spread to straddle over Chanyeol's thighs so he could press as close as possible. His fingers tangled into messy brown hair, still wet from the shower he must have taken while Baekhyun was asleep. Chanyeol's arms snaked around his waist to pull Baekhyun flush against his body. His fingers just barely slipped up into the back of Baekhyun's shirt, fingertips caressing the soft skin of his lower back. Baekhyun parted his lips to whine, allowing Chanyeol an opportunity to tease along his lower lip with his tongue. Baekhyun was just about to part his lips more, about to allow Chanyeol to do whatever he wanted with him, when there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Chanyeol? Are you in there? Sehun is awake and asking for you." Jongin's voice carried into the room. Baekhyun shifted off of Chanyeol's lap, hand covering his mouth to try and hold in the laughter that dared to spill out.

"I'll be there in a minute!" Chanyeol called out before turning to press Baekhyun back into the mattress and give him a few more kisses. "Why don't you go up to the garden? I'll meet you up there and we can start planting."

—

Baekhyun was rested in one of the chairs Chanyeol had set out, eyes closed as he soaked in the warm comforting sunlight. His whole body was tingly and warm with contentment. He thought of the way Chanyeol's lips slotted so perfectly against his own, his strong arms enveloping Baekhyun into safety. He'd spent so long fearing the idea of ever connecting to someone like this again. He had worked so hard to accept the reality of loneliness. Loving Chanyeol, however, came with zero regrets. He'd risk the fears of falling in love over and over again if Chanyeol was on the receiving end.

"Sehun is doing good. Sana said he'll be fine, probably some chronic pain issues but that was expected," The deep voice pulled him from his thoughts and he opened his eyes to see Chanyeol approaching the other seat. "Is this seat taken?"

"Oh, my boyfriend usually sits there."

"Perfect," Chanyeol replied as he sank into the seat. Things really were going to be okay.

A/N: thank you all so much for giving your time to this story <3 i started this 4 years ago before taking a (very) long break from writing due to health issues and i'm so glad to have it finished finally. i have rediscovered my love for writing and storytelling and plan to create many more wonderful chanbaek adventures for you to enjoy. since this is my return to writing after so long i hope my abilities grow so i can give you better-written stories in the future. please look forward to them!

thank you again to james for not letting me give up and for listening to me do nothing but talk about my lil gay kpop delusions for the past few weeks <3