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Sehun lie in bed, back against the red silk sheets with his eyes open staring at the ceiling. He listened carefully to the piano playing from the downstairs foyer, it was Moonlight Sonata, one his husband played too well and increasingly often now for Sehun’s tastes. Not because he disliked the piece, no, but he knew what that meant for his husband. He was just grateful it didn’t reach Clair De Lune yet. Sehun ran a hand through his thick black hair, standing up now as his feet touched the heated hardwoods, going over to the sofa chair to grab his red silk robe and adorning it on his body.
He tied it, covering his shirtless torso and legs only cladded in boxers before slipping on some black slippers, opening the door to the piano music sorrowfully filling the house. It was something else, how his husband would immerse himself into his piano pieces and each time he played the same pieces they were different from the last. Sehun went down the spiral staircase to see the lamp by the black F. Steinway piano lit.
Baekhyun’s hands practicing so delicately over the keys, his black thick messy hair was askew, cherub cheeks appeared slightly wet as the bags beneath his eyes were slightly darker from yesterday. Sehun noticed it this morning, but for the sake of the other he failed to mention anything. He sat down on the bench, looking down at the keys, Sehun knew he was approaching the end of the song so he looked over to Baekhyun.
His light pink bottom lip was quivering as his brown eyes glossed with tears, Sehun lifted his hand to run his fingers through his hair with a soft kiss to his head. The piano ceased, Baekhyun only leaning into Sehun who accepted him with the free open arm. “Can’t sleep?” Sehun started, simple, quiet, soft. “When can I ever?” Baekhyun responded, he felt Baekhyun’s cheek rest against his robe. Sehun didn’t mind though, he only held his husband to him tighter. “You can always wake me, my love. I don’t want you to deal with insomnia alone.”
Baekhyun let out a soft sigh, clinging desperately to Sehun. “You have work, you have other things to attend to than a silly boy who can’t sleep.” Sehun tsked aloud, looking down at Baekhyun with a swift removal of his hand through the messy hair to tilt his chin up. “You’re not silly, this isn’t silly, I worry so much about you Baekhyun. What am I going to do if my brightest star burns out?”
Baekhyun opened his eyes at the words, eyes watering even more as he shrugged. “Let me go.” Sehun felt his own eyes water now, shaking his head quickly as they spilled down his cheeks. “No, no I can’t let you go ever. I love you, more than words can ever say.” Baekhyun’s lips parted, moving his hands up to gently brush his thumbs along the soft skin of Sehun’s newly wet cheeks. “I’m sorry I worry you so much.”
Sehun shook his head, the tears falling down his face freely as he held Baekhyun’s petite figure tightly to his chest that he could feel the other wheeze in his next breath but he couldn’t find it in him to let go. Baekhyun brought his thinner arms around Sehun, crawling into his husband’s lap with what minimal movement he could provide under the tight squeeze of Sehun, bringing his shorter legs around Sehun’s lithe thin waist. Sehun buried his face in the other’s neck, tears dampening the warm soft skin as he inhaled Baekhyun’s scent. Always a pine smell mixed with clean cotton linens, no matter how faint it may be since Sehun could always smell his own cinnamon smell on his husband. Maybe he liked how Baekhyun always smelled like them both, but right now he just wanted the pine and linen smell filling his nostrils.
“Sehun.” Baekhyun softly spoke through Sehun’s quiet sobs, thin fingers sliding through the thick hair. Sehun couldn’t find a response, his star was burning out and he didn’t know how to make it burn again. He didn’t know what else to do, his Baekhyun was slipping away faster than Sehun could hold on. “Sehun, baby, please.” Baekhyun tried again, his own throat burned with tears as Sehun’s own wet his skin.
‘You’re slipping away from me, the only star to light my skies during my days and night is going away.” Baekhyun winced at the broken voice of his husband as tears fell down his face from the words. He isn’t the star he used to be when Sehun met him. He doesn’t play piano on international stages anymore, Moonlight Sonata and Clair De Lune were always his show stopping pieces, in fact it was what caught Sehun’s eye. Baekhyun got into a car accident, breaking his left hand and even though he plays beautifully now, before his therapies he was unable to play making him become a stay at home assistant for Sehun, who was a CEO of the company.
He was fortunate enough that Sehun’s company was successful enough that he could keep his husband at home, but he wished and yearned to be on stage again playing piano. To be the shining star Sehun once fell in love with, but that dream died along with a heavy part of Baekhyun, but it only weighed heavy since he wasn’t the same star Sehun fell for long ago. “I’m not a star anymore, Sehun.” Sehun shook his head with a soft shaky exhale out, it felt hot on his face but he didn’t care. “You’re a star to me, you’re the star I married three years ago, the star I met six years ago, the star that caught my eye and not for your piano playing.”
Baekhyun raised an eyebrow at that, finally managing to lift Sehun’s head up. His face was red, cheeks tear stained, it tugged hard at his heart as he softly wiped away the tears with the pads of his thumb. “What caught your eye? Why do you call me a star?” Sehun sniffled, thumb brushing over his bottom lip with a soft whisper that Baekhyun wouldn’t have heard if he wasn’t listening intently, but he knew Sehun only spoke so soft so his voice wouldn’t break. “When you smiled at the end, your smile was brighter than any star in the night sky, so I thought you must have been one.”
Baekhyun went to speak before Sehun buried his face in his hands, Baekhyun looked at their Swarovski diamond wedding bands, Baekhyun’s gold while Sehun’s black, his thumb resting over it while his eyes glossed over with water at Sehun’s broken voice speaking once more. “I’m sorry I don’t make you happy as I should.” Baekhyun shook his head, moving Sehun’s hands away, tears falling from his face. “No, Sehun. You saw me as a star because of my smile, got me a gold wedding band because you said it needs to shine almost as bright as I do, cause I’m your shining star. All because of my smile?” Sehun nodded, he sniffled with a hitched breath.
Baekhyun scoot closer to Sehun and took his husband’s face in his hands, resting his forehead against Sehun’s. “I’m sorry, I’m so terribly sorry.” Baekhyun shakily exhaled as Sehun closed his eyes, whispering. “Why? It’s me who should be sorry.” Baekhyun pressed a light kiss to Sehun’s cupid bow, shaking his head. “You love me so much, and you wanted me because of a smile, not because of some dream I let go of long ago. I thought I was going to lose you eventually because I didn’t play on stages. I wasn’t the same person you fell for long ago. And, and I’m so stupid to think something so stupid because it’s been in my face every single day since then,” Baekhyun paused, meeting the brown eyes with wet lashes staring at him.
“You wake up when you hear me play piano and sit down here with me until I return to our bed with you, you sit with me all day and tell me how beautiful I am, you always compliment me, always ask me to play songs on the piano and sing because you know it makes me happy, you make me eat and you make sure I take care of myself, and you make me so happy.” Baekhyun spoke out through a soft voice, watching as Sehun shakily exhaled from his nose. “I’m sorry I made you think you didn’t make me happy, I was scared you were going to stop loving me because I wasn’t the piano player who caught your eye with Moonlight Sonata or Clair De Lune.”
Sehun pressed his lips to Baekhyun’s in a chaste kiss, noses nudging softly against one another. “You shine brighter than anything in the universe when you smile, my love. You’re a star, your smile lights up anywhere dark, and you light up every moment of my life. Please don’t burn out, please don’t slip away.” Sehun pleaded at the end, making Baekhyun blink back a few more tears as he shook his head. “I won’t, I won’t slip away. I love you, Sehun.” Sehun smiled, pressing soft kisses to Baekhyun’s lips which were met with soft giggles and kisses given in return. “And I love you.”
Baekhyun clung onto Sehun, who gladly held him in his embrace and stood up off the bench. “Bed?” Sehun asked, inhaling the pine and clean linen with the trails of cinnamon tagging along. “Bed.” Sehun smiled to himself, kissing Baekhyun’s temple. He hoped after tonight Baekhyun wouldn’t have to play Moonlight Sonata at the late hours of night sorrowfully anymore. He hoped Baekhyun would continue to shine bright like the radiant star he is.