Dancing King

Epilogue

Wow. It's... It's really the end. I never know how long the stories are ever going to be, but right now it feels about perfect. Thank you all so much for going on this journey with me.

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Junmyeon's POV

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~five months later~

I scrubbed my face with my hands, letting out a heavy sigh, swinging my legs over Yixing's. He simply raised his arms until I was comfortable, the plopped his book on me instead, his eyes never once leaving the page. I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless. Simple, domestic life. I loved it so.

After the crew's big reveal, the outpour of support was almost overwhelming. Both for Yixing and his boys, but also for mine and his relationship. The number of fans skyrocketed, and they were looking at ways to open more space. And with much of the original crew sticking pretty close to home, they agreed to frequent and keep tabs on everyone. Ten, Taeyong, and Jungkook, the newly appointed heads, promised to keep a close eye on things, and of course make their big brothers proud.

"Thinking baby?" Yixing's soft voice penetrated my thoughts. He rubbed my leg. "What about?" he asked, setting his book aside and turning his full attention to me. We'd gotten better at that. Reading each other and sensing when the other needed to talk, no interruptions or distractions. Almost six months into this thing and we were finally figuring each other out. I never once said a relationship would be easy. Far from it. But it was definitely worth it. The good days far surpassed the bad days.

"We graduate tomorrow," I said. He hummed in response. "It feels odd. Our lives are going to really take off after tomorrow, and the lives we've lived until now will be all but forgotten about." I turned to study him. "Are you ready to leave Lay behind?" I asked. He pondered that, pursing his lips.

"In a way I kind of already did," he said at last. "But yeah. That part of my life has been fun. Some of my favorite few years. But I'm ready for the next chapter of my life to begin." I nodded along.

"And you're sure you won't miss your home?" I asked, referring to his home country. That worry had sprung up the last couple of weeks. What if he regretted his decision to stay? He gently pushed my legs off his lap and sat to face me instead. He reached out and cupped my chin in his hands.

"Home isn't always a place," he said, his gaze losing focus slightly, being transported elsewhere. "I always thought China was where my home was. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. My home isn't even here in Seoul. My home, my precious Junmyeon, is wherever you are." I ducked my head, my insides turning to mush and a light blush coating my cheeks. He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. "My carefully constructed plan had fallen apart at the seams and I always thought if that happened I'd free fall into nothingness. But that was far from accurate. Instead of falling apart they fell together. I was so dumb to ever think I could leave this all behind and not feel something." He brushed my bangs from my face, planting a kiss to my forehead. "And you are the reason. The best reason."

"Stop it," I whined, my blush deepening at his corny words. He chuckled, sinking back to his side of the couch. This time I crawled over, pressing myself to his side, sapping the warmth radiating from his body. He laughed. But I mulled his words over, and the more I thought about it, the more accurate that seemed. Yeah. That made so much sense. Yixing did kind of remind me of a warm, safe place to return to, time and time again, even if it hadn't always been easy.

We still fought from time to time. Disagreements and petty squabbles. We would take a couple hours to cool down so we didn't say things we'd regret, then meet back up to discuss why we'd gotten upset in the first place. We quickly learned that even if it seemed trivial and unimportant to you, the other might find it soul crushing. And that strategy helped us work through a lot of things. And I definitely wouldn't trade our time together away for anything.