It was after breakfast when Sicheng was about to pick up his kids for the day when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a grinning Yukhei, with one of Sicheng's campers hanging off of his arm. 

"Do you want me to take your campers for the day? I'm free today and I don't mind, plus the kids asked me to hang out with them..." 

Sicheng smiled. His campers liked him but they loved Yukhei; he came and helped Sicheng out whenever he could (since managing a large group of five to seven year olds was often not a one man job) so he was sure his campers wanted to spend some extra time with him. Plus Sicheng was exhausted and he needed a break, and even more he needed a break with Yuta. 

"Are you sure? Really?" Sicheng asked cheerfully. 

Yukhei giggled. "Of course!" 

"Thank you," Sicheng said softly before running over to where Yuta was eating breakfast, holding onto his shoulders. 

"Are you busy today?" He asked excitedly. 

Yuta looked up at him with a grin. "I can not be." He stuffed the last of his breakfast into his mouth and put his tray away, following Sicheng out of the dining hall. 

"Wait!" Taeyong cried. 

"Where are you going?" Ten yelled. Yuta just gave the couple a guilty smile before rushing out with Sicheng. 

The two of them slowed down once they were outside; everyone was indoors eating so the camp was empty and peaceful. They walked over the grass and the gravel, just taking in the cool air of the morning. 

"Where are we going?" Yuta asked. 

"I was thinking the ledge." 

"That sounds good." 

Sicheng looked down, noticing Yuta about to reach for his hand but pulling it back. Sicheng knew Yuta had a million and one questions on his mind, like where had Sicheng been? Why didn't he respond to messages? Were they still dating? They had never broken up officially but they hadn't spoken in three years... They had both been so busy these past couple of days, and so exhausted that they fell asleep almost as soon as they were done for the day. But now, they had time, and Sicheng could finally give Yuta the explanation he deserved. 

They finally reached the ledge and climbed up the rocks, smiling when they saw the breathtaking yet familiar view. 

"It's even prettier than I remembered," Sicheng spoke before sitting down next to Yuta. 

They were silent for a moment, not quite sure what to say, how to start this whole thing off. Hesitantly, Yuta wrapped his arm around Sicheng's shoulder, and Sicheng breathed a sigh of relief. He definitely missed being close to Yuta like this, and he quickly rested his head on Yuta's shoulder. 

"Is this okay?" Yuta asked. 

Sicheng smiled up at him and nodded. "Of course." 

Again, they were silent for another few moments before Yuta finally burst. 

"Sicheng, what happened? You were missing for three years...I didn't know what happened. I was so worried..." 

Sicheng breathed in and out, a deep sigh. "First things first, I want you to know that what happened was not your fault. And it wasn't mine either." 

Yuta first breathed a sigh of relief and then looked worried. "What do you mean by that?" 

Sicheng sighed again. "Well, you know how my parents never exactly...liked you?" Yuta nodded and winced. "It kinda just got worse and worse every school year. At first they just didn't like you, but then they decided they didn't like this camp either, and then they decided they didn't like...they didn't like me having a life at all. They kept saying I was getting bad influences but...but I think they just didn't like thinking I had a mind of my own and things I wanted to do outside of them. To be honest, they didn't let me out most of the time during the school year; I didn't have any friends outside of my parents before coming here. The only reason they sent me here in the first place, and then kept sending me, was because one of the other moms in my mother's homeschool parents group threatened to call child protective services on them." 

"Holy ," Yuta said, looking at Sicheng in shock. "How come you never told me?" 

"I didn't know about the CPS thing until recently, and as for everything else...I didn't think it was weird. I thought that's how everyone else lived and that this kind of thing was normal." 

"Oh wow," Yuta mumbled. "Go on." 

"I started to get the idea that it wasn't really normal to be so isolated until after the first summer at camp, and my doubt just grew. But as my doubt grew their fear grew, and they slowly started taking stuff away from me that let me contact the outside world. After our third summer, after we..." They shared a shy, tense look. "You know, in the car on the way home they told me it was my last year of camp and that I couldn't do childish stuff during the summer any more. They knew somehow, that we...I don't know how they knew but they did. Now I know that's bull, that they wanted to keep me isolated and they didn't want me doing things they thought were immoral, but I was so hurt at the time. I was going to tell everyone but they took away my phone and password locked the computer." Yuta's jaw dropped at that. "They had always monitored me but it got way, way worse. One of them was watching me at all times; I couldn't even close the bathroom door. I planned to send you a letter but I couldn't even do that." Sicheng sighed. "I just wish they had talked to me. They didn't like that I had a boyfriend but weren't this angry about it. If they thought what me and you did was so immoral I just wish they had talked to me about it instead of pretending it never happened while at the same time keeping me locked away. I couldn't even leave our house." 

Yuta held Sicheng tighter to him but didn't look down at him; he didn't want Sicheng to see him tearing up. "How did you ever get out of that?" 

"Well after high school they refused to let me go to college, of course. They run a store so they made me help out at that, only when one of them was there. They didn't even pay me; they said feeding me and letting me live rent free was my pay...anyways, while I was working I had to go to the back room and I found my phone. I knew I could only look for a few moments but I saw the message Doyoung and Jaehyun sent me about coming to work here. I didn't want to raise their suspicions so I didn't message anyone, but I knew I had to get out of there. I started stealing money from the store, really only less than half of what they owed me for working there, just enough to get by for a little while. A few days before camp started I slipped the customer I was ringing up a note about my situation. I asked my father to get something out of the back for them and while he was gone, the customer and I went into his car and drove away. He took me as close as he could and I hitchhiked the rest of the way here." 

Yuta's jaw had dropped ages ago and now he turned to Sicheng and held him tight, squeezing him into his chest. 

"O-Oh my god, I thought you hated me or that you were dead or something, thank god you're okay..." 

Sicheng could hear Yuta choking on tears and he felt his own tears rise, burying himself in Yuta. Just in his arms, he felt his entire being calm down. He couldn't even fathom how much he had missed Yuta during those long years in isolation. 

"Yuta...during that time, it was so hard... but I got through it because of you. Thinking of you, being back here with you...it gave me the courage to do it, and the hope to get through it all." 

Yuta was completely silent at that, blown away. What could he say? 

"I...I missed you..." he answered. "You're the strongest person I know." 

Sicheng pulled away to look Yuta in the eyes, both wet with tears. "Now, nothing will stand in our way. Nothing can stop us from being together." 

Despite his tears, Yuta slowly smiled. "So we're..." 

"We're still together? Of course," Sicheng answered. 

At that Yuta's small smile turned into a beaming grin. "Sicheng I love you," he spoke quickly, as if the words had been on his lips these whole four days, just fighting to get out. 

"I love you too." 

"Now...can I please kiss you?" 

Sicheng grinned from ear to ear. "Of course."