Safe and Sound

Epilogue

January

Sehun spends the third anniversary of the accident curled up on Jongin's arms. There is a movie playing, though the volume is so low it's white noise. Their legs are tangled together, unsure of where one person ends and the other begins. Jongin's steady strokes of Sehun's brown hair lulls him into a comforting headspace.

Sehun's mind wanders back to the ocean. He doesn't dare dip his feet in, but he stands a good distance away to stare at the dark waters. The ocean is always cold, but today Sehun is warm. He feels like he won't fly away if the wind blows too hard. The cloudy sky doesn't scare him. He is safe.

A step, and then another. Sehun walks slowly until his toes are being lapped by frigid waters. The sand sticks to his feet only to get washed away by the water. It's coming up to his ankles now. Sehun suddenly doesn't feel so warm anymore. He frowns, glancing to the sky and seeing even more dark clouds that roll in. Is he safe? He must be, yet he can't help but feel like he's going to drown.

The water becomes rougher, crashing in louder and larger. Sehun takes a step back, but the waves follow him. His knees are wet now, pants soaked through. His left ankle begins to throb and Sehun stumbles back, falling into the sand. It sticks to his clothes and skin, burying him in its coarseness and Sehun feels the water pull him in. He struggles, but the water has no definite form Sehun can kick or fight away. It dunks his head under and Sehun feels water fill his nose, mouth, and lungs.

Just as he begins to surrender to his captor, Sehun feels hands pull him up by his armpits and suddenly, he can breathe again. He gasps and sputters as the hands pull him to shore. Through the mess of hair, water, and sand, Sehun sees that the skies are somewhat clearing. He coughs up water once they touch land, holding himself up with weak arms. After all the water is gone, Sehun purges his stomach.

"I saved you. You let me save you."

Sehun wipes his mouth with he back of his hand and finds Jongin, panting and soaked clothes sticking to his skin. "What?" he says weakly.

"You've never let me save you. You always swim out further and further. But this time, I got close enough to pull you back."

Sehun rolls away from his puddle of vomit and lays on his back. His chest rises and falls with labored breaths. "Thank you, Jongin. For saving me."

"Thank you, Sehun, for letting me save you."

---

February

"I think I want to drop out of school."

"No." Sehun brushes cookie crumbs off of his textbook onto Jongin's side of the table. "I won't let you."

"Let me live my life. I hate school. I'm almost graduating but I still have no idea what I want to do with my major." Jongin lies his head flat on his textbook while staring out of the window.

"It's kinesiology, you can do a lot of things with it." Sehun gives Jongin a pointed look. "You need to start thinking about those things."

"What if I become a house-husband?"

"What."

Jongin lifts his head up and runs his fingers through his hair tiredly. "Honestly, I'm really thinking about it."

"Who's going to want you to be their house-husband? You can't even cook," Sehun laughs.

"I can be your house-husband," Jongin offers.

"I'd rather you get a college degree." Sehun chucks a piece of cookie at Jongin, which he catches with his mouth. "Or become a circus seal. That was such an amazing trick," he gushes sarcastically. "I can say that my boyfriend is part of a circus act."