First and foremost Holy shit 55 THOUSAND reads. That's insane. I remember being giddy over one thousand reads. I definitely never pictured this. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. You guys have become such an important part of my life. I'm so, so glad for that.

One last hurrah everyone. For old times sake.

I suppose this will contain spoilers for the DaeHyun/Li Jie spin off. But only tiny ones.

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Yixing's POV

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I cracked an eye open, stifling a yawn and moving my stiff body slowly. Being in your eighties had that affect on you anymore. Especially after running the country for so, so long. Longer than even father before me. But I'd enjoyed every single moment of it, so long as my family were a part of it. They were my every reason. Back then and now.

"Hmm?" I hummed to myself thoughtfully, noticing an empty bed beside me. Junmyeon must have gotten up before me today. I rose and stretched, shuffling quietly to the closet to retrieve my outfit for the day. Something comfortable, as we often did things during the warmer parts of the day. I groaned at the thought of taking the one flight of stairs down to the kitchen, but the thought flittered away before it fully formed. I smiled softly. My husband would be waiting for me in the living room. That was enough to motivate me to get downstairs.

"Who are you?" Another tiny piece of me shattered as Junmyeon's scared and unfocused expression swung my way. Another one of the many reason's I'd decided to step down when I did. Junmyeon retired about five years before I did, when his mind began to go. At first it was small things. Forgetting where he'd put things. The names of certain countries leaving him. DaeHyun took over shortly after that, and I'd continued to run China until it just became unbearable. The final straw had to be when we'd wake up together and Junmyeon had no idea who I was anymore.

"It's me baby boy," I whispered, approaching him slowly. He followed my movements. I parted his hair and planted a kiss to his forehead. "It's Yixing baby. Your husband. We've wmbeen married for sixty years."

"We have?" he asked me, eyes widening in wonder. I couldn't help but smile at him even if a part of me felt like it would never be the same. "You're cute," he told me next as I sat in the chair opposite him. It was the same conversation we had every morning. On one hand I was thankful to have it at all. On the other hand...

"Thank you Junnie," I told him at last, my gaze wandering to the wall behind him. Lined with photos over the years. After we both stepped down from our positions we moved from the castles to the small community Yifan and my aunt and uncle lived in, so now our days were spent in a cozy two storey home just outside of Beijing. Surrounded by the memories of what once was and what was yet to be. Shots of Junmyeon and I in our younger years. Pictures of DaeHyun and ChaoXing. Luhan and Yu Yan. Ying Yu and her family. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Sungbin. Tao and the twins. Pictures of Hyeja on her adventures.

My favorite pictures were, of course, of my favorite memories. Pictures from mine and Junmyeon's wedding. Our honeymoon. Us just being together. The children when they were little. A picture DaeHyun begged us to take down but we never did. A shot of him and Li Jie at their own wedding, twirling around long after the crowd departed for the night. ChaoXing and Sungbin feeding each other cake at theirs. My children, finally happy. All I'd wanted in life, finally complete.

"I love you," I told Junmyeon, causing him to jump. He studied me seriously for a second before his expression morphed into one of pure delight. He giggled to himself. Music to my ears.

"I love you too," he exclaimed, and I swear my heart stopped again. He hadn't said it in so, so long. "Yixing," he said, some clarity seeming to come back to him all at once. "I love you. I always have..." He paused, staring at me expectantly.

"And always will," I choked out. "Oh Junmyeon..." But off he was again, staring at the TV opposite us like it was the most interesting thing in the world. These moments were few and far between anymore, with uncertainty taking up large chunks of our days together. That was why, whenever they happened, I treasured them like it was the very first time.

Or maybe it was more like the last time.

"Can we look through the book?" Junmyeon suddenly asked. I followed to where he was pointing, once again melting when it appeared to be our photo album of memories. I stood and plucked it off the shelf, sitting on the couch beside his chair so he could see better. I rested it between us. He peered over. I flipped carefully through, savoring each photo with him. He smiled, fingers reaching out to brush along the corners of a particular shot of us when we were a newly married couple. Sun setting behind us as we sat candidly for Luhan to take a shot of us on the beach, his head on my shoulder.

"The light of my life..." he murmured to himself. I swallowed hard, nodding along with him. "The biggest, brightest, and best. That's you Yixing. You're my light."

"Yeah?" I asked him, placing my hand on top of his gently. I brought his hand up and softly kissed his fingertips. "You are too Junnie. The biggest, brightest, and best. And I love you." He stifled a yawn and I took the time to carefully close the album and rise. I threw a blanket over him. He still never slept well. And it wasn't like we had anywhere to be. "In this life. In the next. And in every life after. I love you Junmyeon. So much. Have a good nap." I kissed his forehead again, making my way to the kitchen to start lunch.

...

Junmyeon's POV

...

It was so dark. What's going on? Where am I? Why is it so dark? Oh wait. There's a light. I see it. I'm coming. Almost there. I blinked, peering around blearily. It was so bright now. And colorful. And...

"Junmyeon." I turned as someone said my name, coming face to face with someone I hadn't seen in about three years. "Hello," Luhan greeted me. I could feel myself smiling as I sprinted towards him, arms open wide.

"Luhan!" I cried, slamming into him. He embraced me again. "Is?" And before I could even finish someone else filled my vision, his arms going around the pair of us. "Heechan," I choked out. I'd lost him to a battle with cancer nearly twenty years ago. Wait... "It's...it's not my time," I said, backpedaling. But suddenly it felt like my legs were made of cement. I couldn't move. "No!" I hollered, whipping around. "No! I can't leave Yixing. I can't leave my family. It's not my time. Please..."

"Don't worry sweet Junmyeon," Heechan said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Yixing will understand, alright? You'll be safe here. With us. We've all been waiting for you guys. We've missed you."

"I...I've missed you too," I stammered, gazing around. More familiar faces. Mother and father. Queen and King Zhang, Yixing's parents. "There's someone special here to meet you," Heechan added, leading me along. We stopped suddenly, and I glanced around.

"Oh," I exclaimed, immediately dropping into a crouch. A tiny body crashed into me and I held it tight. "Sungbin and ChaoXing miss you so, so much sweetheart," I breathed, feeling tears prick my eyes. Woosung, my precious stillborn grandson. "Granddad and I miss you too." I stood with Woosung in my arms. "Alright Heechan, I... I guess I'm ready."

"It's so good to see you again sire." I grinned tiredly, gazing our at the great expanse before me. At all my loved ones. At everyone waiting to meet me again.

I'm so sorry Yixing, I thought at Heechan gently grabbed me by the elbow and led me farther and farther from the tunnel I'd come out. But I promise you I'll wait for you. I can't wait to see you again. I love you. So much. Thank you for the life we've lived. It hasn't always been perfect. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

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Yixing's POV

...

"Alright Junnie, lunch is..." I paused when I stuck my head into the living room, frowning thoughtfully. Junmyeon was always easy to wake up. He was by no means a heavy sleeper. "Baby boy?" I crept closer, my concern only growing when he didn't appear to be moving at all. "Junmyeon, hey, it's time to wake up." I shook his shoulder gently. But nothing. Bile climbed my throat as I slowly backed away, my phone in my hands.

"Pa?" DaeHyun asked when he picked up. "What's going on Pa?"

"Your dad," I choked out, already feeling everything in me breaking. "Come quickly. I think... I think..." But I couldn't think. Couldn't speak. Couldn't breathe. "Please come," I whispered.

"Jie and I will be right over," he assured. "Just...stay there, okay? We'll be there in five minutes, tops." And just like that he hung up. I slowly folded in on myself as the phone slipped and clattered away. Tears blurred my vision and my hands shook. My breath came out raspy and quick.

My Junmyeon. My light. My everything. He was just...

Gone.

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DaeHyun's POV

...

~one month later~

"It's gonna be okay Dae," Li Jie whispered, rubbing circles on my shoulder. I hissed out a breath, my fingers curling into the pew of their own accord. ChaoXing sat to my right, motionless. Sungbin beside her looked just as lost. It had been long since everyone left. Long since they even wheeled out the casket. But here we four sat, unable to process it.

First dad a month ago. And now Pa. How could the universe be so cruel and take them both from us? How? We didn't get to properly say goodbye to either one of them. Dad passed before we got there, peacefully. Pa's health really declined after that, to the point that he needed almost around the clock supervision. At home nurses and the four of us always taking turns. ChaoXing's shift a week ago. She said goodnight to him. He whispered back that he loved her very much. And in the morning he had gone to be with dad again.

He honestly probably died of a broken heart before anything else. He missed dad. So, so much. He couldn't function without him around. So on one hand I was happy they could see each other again. On the other hand I was cursing out every god that would listen to me for taking them both so soon.

"Let's go," I told Li Jie at last, finally rising. I offered my hand to ChaoXing, hauling her to her feet when she accepted. Sungbin jumped up like he'd been stabbed in the backside with a tack. I slowly made my way out of the funeral home (home being a subjective term of course). The royal burial ground, just outside of Seoul. There bad been much debate on where to bury both of them, as they both ruled a different country. It was finally decided here, where the guards would forever keep them safe. And dad had already been buried here. I took a deep breath, not at all ready to see the new gravestone. But we marched across the grounds until we landed on an all too familiar plot of land.

"Oh," ChaoXing breathed, her hands coming up to her mouth, tears instantly welling in her eyes. I could feel my own forming as I made out the pair of headstones, side by side.

King Kim Junmyeon. A great husband, father, and ruler until the very end.
I love you. I always have...

King Zhang Yixing. Kind. Caring. And loved his family more than anything in the whole world.
And I always will.

"Damn it you two," I swore softly, swiping a hand under my eyes. Of course they would put that on their headstones. I expected nothing less. "Hey Sungbin?" I asked next. "Did you bring the thing?" Sungbin nodded, pulling the worn album out from under his coat. I took it in shaking hands, running my fingers over the cover one final time. I sucked in a breath and flipped it open to the final page, carefully balancing it between their graves. "I feel better now that it's here," I announced. "Come on Jie. Let's go home." Li Jie slipped his hand in mine, squeezing gently. ChaoXing fell in step with us as well as we retreated, Sungbin hanging off her arm.

"That was sweet," Jie told me when we all parted. "One final memory for them." I could only nod. A picture of our entirely family at the end, spanning both pages. Forever displayed for the generations after to see. And a caption that summed up their life to a T.

Happily ever after, after all.

...

Damn it I made myself tear up after all. That's it guys. It's done. It's...it's really done. Wow.