Title of Gift: I'll be late again

Pairing: Neo

Number of words: 4,021

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Domestic

Note to my Giftee: It's not exactly what your prompt said. It's just that I love to write Neo and there just wasn't a ChaSang scenario for which I felt really inspired >.>

I'm sorry, though I really hope you like the gift nonetheless and I wish you a Merry Christmas

I'll be late again

Everything went so fast. One moment he was happily walking home after a tiring day at work and the next moment he found himself running for his life. He always knew that he was putting his life in danger with this particular choice of career. Police officers weren't that popular. More so when you just put the boss of one of the biggest drug traffic rings behind bars. That's why he was currently running at the top of his abilities, while every few moments a gun shot rang through the air. If he just had his gun with him he could put his followers off but he was a good officer that left his service weapon at work. With a curious ten year old kid that loved to explore every last corner of the house it wouldn't be exactly clever to store it at home anyway. Not to mention his furious husband.

Another shot broke through his thoughts as he rounded the next corner. It wasn't helping that it was evening as he stormed from one alley to another. Only when he was a few streets farther and couldn't hear his followers did he pull out his phone and dialled the first number in his contacts.

“Hello?! Wonshik!” He knew he should call 911 but he also knew that it was way faster to call his colleague. “I need help! Lee's men ambushed me on my walk home and are following me and I don't have my gun with me!” Another shot sliced through the air.

“! Wonshik! I'm running to the old bridge in the west! Hurry!”

And without waiting for an answer he ended the call and brought his focus back to his main task: Running. Good thing he was not only a police officer but also a passionate football player. It allowed him more stamina and a faster pace.

Normally he really loved his job but moments like this just made him regret ever taking it. He always wanted to be a police officer to protect those he loved, like his mother did, but how could he do that when he was at risk of getting killed because of his job. The raven haired quickly shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that. His family was waiting from him and he couldn't disappoint them. He hadn't managed to eat with them the whole week, seeing as the case of Lee Jongin was taking up all his spare time resulting in overtime. Now that it had been over his husband demanded that he would be home on time for dinner or so help me god I will personally drag you from your work desk, Jung Taekwoon.

This and the picture of his Sanghyuk waiting was the thought that had stuck to his mind, pushing him forward until a stinging pain shot through his lower back. He groaned and wanted nothing more than to stop right then and there to inspect his wound and to keep it from getting worse, but he willed his legs to keep moving, trying to ignore the ripping pain and the warmth on his back created by the bullet wound. The adrenaline was helping a whole lot with that.

Luckily the old bridge came into view after the next corner, together with the old industry grounds. There he could hide perfectly well. He had been there once to search a kidnapped girl, so he already had a good idea of the place's outline.

A few more straining minutes of running and ignoring the pain, he had finally reached the fabric grounds and a suitable hiding place. It was situated in a full packed warehouse in between high boxes of all kind of things. They were perfectly hidden in the farthest corner next to loads and loads of other stuff. It was also one of the bigger storehouses with many rooms. His attackers wouldn't be stupid enough to search the whole place, seeing as there were about five other store houses and the huge abandoned steel factory itself.

Trying to catch his breath he slowly slid down the wall, clutching at the wound in his lower back. The adrenaline of the chase was slowly subsiding and the pain came back to his senses as he pulled out his phone, dialling a number, when he was sitting on the floor. It took only two rings for the other person to pick up the call before a flood of questions stormed his ears.

“Hyung?! Were are you now?! Are you alright?! What happened!”

“I'm at the old industrial grounds. You know were the abandoned steel factory is,” the blond answered lowly, partly because he couldn't risk getting caught and partly because he was getting weaker. The bullet must have collided with something vital.

“I'm in the last hall, where we found that kidnapped girl a month or so ago. I got shot in the back, so please hurry up.”

“!” In the background he could hear his colleague shout orders to the other people in the office. “Okay, Hyung. We are on our way! Stay there!”

I can't go anywhere you idiot… Before he could answer thought the line went dead and a sigh left his throat. There wasn't much time. It should take them about 15 minutes to arrive and he didn't seem to have those minutes. Again he opened his contacts and searched another number before calling it. Here it took more than two rings for the other person to pick up.

“Appa!” A cheerful voice shouted through the mobile phone and the blond couldn't help the smile creeping on his lips.

“Hey Hyukie. Where's Hakyeon Appa?”

“He is next door asking helping Mrs. Seo with her groceries so I picked up. Where are you? Appa said that the food will be ready soon...”

“I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a bit late.”

“Should I tell Hakyeon Appa?”

“No, I'll tell him myself. Was your day alright?” he tried his best to sound as normal as possible.

“It was great! We've had our first English lesson! And I got a star for my good homework!”

“That's great. I'm proud of you.” Taekwoon heard a door slamming shut through the phone. “Oh! Hakyeon Appa is back! Do you want to talk to him?”

“Yes, that would be good. But Hyuk, before you go I have to tell you something.”

“Hm?”

The blond took a deep breath. “No matter what happens; never forget that I love you and that I'm proud of you.”

“I know Appa. You say that every day.”

A silent tear slipped down his cheeks. “Yes I know. I just thought it was worth repeating.”

“I love you too Appa! I'll give you to Hakyeon Appa.”

“Thank you Hyukie.”

After a few moments of silence the voice, he so desperately wanted to hear, spoke up. “Taekwoonie? What is it?”

“Hey love. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be coming home a bit later...” he couldn't help the weak cough escaping his throat.

“No Taekwoon, please. You promised you'd be here tonight.”

It broke his heart to hear his beloved so upset.

“I'm sorry. There was a last minute case therefore I have to stay and finish the paper work.” He had almost counted on another protest but was proved wrong.

“Why is your voice so different? Are you sure you are alright?”

Leave it to Hakyeon to notice when something was off.

“Yes I went into the hall to take a break and call you so it echoes a bit.”

“I see-” For a short moment Taekwoon out, not quite catching Hakyeon's following words though he quickly pulled himself together again. He had to get it out of his chest, fast.

“Yeon?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

There was silence for a few moments, Hakyeon seemingly confused as his speech about punctuality was interrupted.

“I love you too, Woonie.”

“No Hakyeon. I love you. You and Sanghyuk are everything to me. I wouldn't trade you for the world.” More and more tears slipped from his eyes.

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden? I know how much we mean to you..”

“It's just-” a sob escaped his throat increasing Hakyeon's worries.

“Are you sure you're alright? To me it sounds like you are crying..”

“It's nothing, don't worry. It was just that today we found the dead body of a woman. Her husband was devastated and told me that he regretted not telling her how much he loved her. It made me think of you-” a fit of coughs escaped him, “and the kids and I was reminded of how easily me or you could be gone. That's why I just wanted to tell you that I really, really love you and no matter what happens I want you to remember that. I want you to remember that I would never leave you willingly and-”

“Stop! Taekwoon don't!” Only now did he realize the sobs on Hakyeon's side. “You sound like you're dying! I know what we mean to you and that also works the other way. Please don't work yourself up about it. The case has nothing to do with us.” A desperate tune had taken over his usually warm voice and a weak smile graced Taekwoon's lips as his sight blurred. He wouldn't have much longer.

“I'm sorry, Yeon, I know. Please don't cry.”

“I'm not crying you stupid idiot…!”

“I know. Listen I have to go now.”

“When are you coming home?!”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay. Please hurry and don't overwork yourself.” His husbands crying had mostly stopped though the slight tremble in his voice was still there.

“I'll try. I love you Cha Hakyeon, never forget or doubt that. I'll see you hopefully soon...”

“I would never doubt it and I won't forget it, I promise. See you Woonie.” Taekwoon chuckled quietly to himself as he pressed the end button.
 

The police officer's eyes grew heavier and heavier by the moment as he faintly noticed sirens coming from somewhere outside. Though he didn't quite realize it as his mind was filled with memories of his gorgeous husband and their family. His life seemed to repeat in front of his inner eye.
 

The moment he ran into a door when he first met Hakyeon. The way he graced him with his angelic laugh and helped him up from the ground. Then came the days they'd spent together until the day he finally decided to ask Hakyeon to marry him. He remembered how awfully nervous he was and the way he forgot everything he so carefully wrote onto the crumpled paper in his jeans in order to not forget what he wanted to say.

After that his mind was flooded by the three years of marriage after which they'd decided to get their little cat Coffee and two years later when they had finally agreed on adopting their sweet baby boy Sanghyuk. The poor kid had lost both his parents to a plane crash and his aunt couldn't care for him because of her mental illness. That had been five years ago. Sanghyuk, now a healthy, happy child, was the absolute sweetest and only brought them closer together.

Yes, his life had been perfect. A good job, a loving husband, a mischievous cat and a lovely eight year old. The medics wouldn't get to him in time and this was were he would eventually die. At least he had managed to say goodbye to his loved ones which meant he could leave this earth in peace.
 

The only problem was: He didn't want to die.
 

“Is he like sleeping beauty?”

Taekwoon was greeted by an assortment of different voices in this black space he seemed to be in.

“In a way I think you could say that,” a deeper voice than the first one answered and Taekwoon wondered whom they were talking about, because he still couldn't see anything.

“Then… Can't Appa just wake him with a kiss?”

A sad huff that could almost pass as a laugh, if it wasn't so sad and exhausted, popped up.

“I wish it would be that easy, Love, but this isn't sleeping beauty, so it's a bit more complicated.”

The voice broke his heart. Something was wrong. Why was the voice so sad and why did it bother Taekwoon so much? Where the heck was he even and what exactly was happening?!

“Have you tried it already?”

“Yes, more than once even.”

“But when will he wake up?”

Why did this voices sound so familiar?

“I don't know, Love. It depends on how long your Appa decides to sleep.”

“Is he really going to wake up though? What if he wants to but can't? Like sleeping beauty who couldn't wake up without the kiss of the prince.”

“Sanghyukie-”

“Don't worry, Champ. Your Dad is a tough guy that holds his family very dearly. No spell could keep him away from you. He'll wake up sooner or later, I'm sure.” There was the throaty voice from the beginning again and suddenly he could feel a hand on his arm.

“Please wake up soon. I miss you and you're making Hakyeon Appa sad.”

Hakyeon? Was it himself they were talking about? But why would he make Hakyeon sad? Being sad didn't fit Hakyeon at all.

“I'm sorry, Sanghyukie...”

“It's alright, Appa. I am very strong, I'll protect you.”

No that wasn't right… He should protect Hakyeon, not their son. Sanghyuk was ten, for gods sake, what was happening?!

“Oh Sanghyuk,” the voice of his husband was shaking but he was prevented from saying anything further as the gruff voice, which he could now decipher as Wonshik's, spoke up instead.

“Hey! How about you tell your Appa what he missed yesterday?”

“Yes!” his son's voice chirped up as he clapped his hands in glee.

“Maybe he gets so envious of the fun we had and wakes up!”

“Yeah, some fun you had,” Hakyeon grumbled, the sadness still clearly present in his voice, “Believe me, Taekwoon, I've seen pictures of the battlefield. You don't want to know what they did with our kitchen...”

“It wasn't that bad...”

“You actually managed to set the smoke alarm off.”

“That wasn't me! Jaehwan was the one who let the towel almost burn on the stove top,” Wonshik defended himself and Taekwoon could just imagine Hakyeon rolling his eyes.

“But we made two batches of cookies, for Santa!

Oh and for us.

And for you of course.

But only if you wake up though.”

Was that it? Was he asleep? But why? Obviously something had happened for him to not wake up. What could it be though? Taekwoon's thoughts ran at high speed through his mind as they tried to come up with an answer as it suddenly clicked. Just like the pieces of a puzzle his memories fell back into place.

He was on his way home from work when suddenly a gun shot rang through the air. His instincts had told him to run and he was soon followed by a group of criminals that worked for Lee. More gun shots were fired and Taekwoon called Wonshik before disappearing in the old industrial grounds. There was blood and Taekwoon knew he didn't have time so he called Hakyeon to tell him he loved him and then there was Sanghyuk's voice before that and he was sure he was going to die. Was he dead? Maybe that's why he couldn’t see anything. But then again, why would Sanghyuk plead him to wake up? And what was that constant beeping in the background?

He got more and more aware of his surroundings and all of a sudden he could feel the soft but firm mattress coupled with a warm blanket and a cushion under his head. No, he wasn't dead. Taekwoon didn't know how, but he wasn't dead.

He had to be in the hospital then. That would explain the annoying beeping and the typical smell of disinfectant. He wasn't dead. He could stay with his family!

Driven by this thought he tried to mobilize all his powers and actually managed to pry his eyes open. A sliver of light was the only thing he could see at first but it steadily grew as some blurred shapes came into his vision. There was a row of shocked gasps and a loud exclamation to his right as Taekwoon felt the mattress dip under the additional weigh of another person.

“He's waking up! Appa look! He's opening his eyes!”

There was no mistaking that the cheerful voice belonged to his son, who's shape became more clear by the second, until Taekwoon could make out that the younger was kneeling on the bed next to him, curious eyes studying his face.

“Appa?! Can you see me?! Don't go back to sleep again! I promise you'll get the cookies too!”

A smile crossed Taekwoon's lips. There was nothing like seeing your son after thinking you were going to die. It made everything so real and only strengthen the fact that he was alive.

His throat felt dry like a dessert so he opted to just raise his hand to weakly ruffle Sanghyuk's brown hair, which earned him a gleeful chuckle and a tight hug.

“About time you woke up. Sunmi and the others were already complaining about you slacking of and spending your time sleeping,” Wonshik, who was standing just behind Sanghyuk to prevent the younger form falling, said with a fond smile in his voice, “You scared us, Hyung. Don't do it ever again. I'm sure I acquired a few grey hairs because of you and I'm only in my late twenties. My late twenties!”

A soundless chuckle escaped Taekwoon's throat.

“Ha Ha, Hyung…! That's so funny! I'm not joking, look! Look!” Wonshik said as he held his head just next to Sanghyuk's, who had let go of his father for the time being.

Still not trusting his throat, he just gave his partner's head a gentle shove to show how silly the younger was being.

“Are you alright, Appa?” Sanghyuk piqued up, “Why aren't you saying anything?” Another fond smile rested on his lips and he pointed to his throat.

“Do you need something to drink?” Wonshik asked to which the blond just replayed with a nod.

“Alright,” Wonshik said and patted Sanghyuk's shoulder, “come on, Champ. Let's go and find your old man something to drink.”

“Why do I have to go? I want to stay with Appa,” Sanghyuk protested as Wonshik heaved him down from the bed nonetheless.

“It won't be for long and I'm sure Taekwoon won't go anywhere any time soon. Besides I think your Hakyeon Appa would like some time alone with him.”

As if on cue Taekwoon registered Hakyeon's presence to his right. Turning his head to said side he came face to face with his husband, who stood as still as a statue if it wasn't for the quivering bottom lip and the tears gathering at the brink of his eyes. The brunets delicate fingers were balled into fists and Taekwoon knew Hakyeon was struggling to stay calm while Sanghyuk was still there.

Meanwhile their son had accepted his uncles reasoning and with a “Don't go to sleep again” he speeded towards the door, shortly followed by Wonshik.

“Try to go easy on him, Hyung. The poor man just woke up,” joked the black haired before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Silence reigned over the hospital room for a few short moments and Taekwoon wondered if it was worth the burn in his throat and just try to say something. Luckily he didn't have to as Hakyeon finally spoke up.

“Are you in pain right now?” His voice was quiet and Taekwoon knew it wouldn't stay that way so he shook his head. They'd probably gave him a huge deal of pain killers because other than his dry throat there wasn't anything seriously hurting.

“That's good,” Hakyeon mumbled and before Taekwoon knew what was happening he was punched in the shoulder followed by a pair of arms clinging to the front of his shirt and a head being pressed to his chest.

“Idiot! You ing idiot,” Hakyeon cried out and Taekwoon could feel tears quickly soaking his hospital gown.

“I hate you so ing much you stupid, reckless, idiotic husband of mine!”
The grip on his shirt tightened as a broad smile stretched over his lips. This was his husband, the love of his life, his best friend, his soulmate. His Soulmate that currently used ever curse known to mankind in order to tell him how utterly stupid he was.

Once the triad was over Taekwoon rested his hand on Hakyeon's head and croaked out a weak “I'm sorry” despite his throat feeling like it was on fire.

“Sorry doesn't even cover half the years I've lost because of worrying about you!” The brown mop of hair moved from his chest and the dead grip on his shirt loosened. Instead Taekwoon was now pinned down by the angry -but mostly relieved- gaze of Hakyeon's dark brown eyes. The intensity was almost too much and he wanted to avert his eyes but a pair of warm hands came to rest on his cheeks, keeping him in place.

“Jung Taekwoon, I swear to god, if you ever do that again I will maim you! What did you think you were doing?! Calling as if nothing was wrong and saying that you'd be home soon, my ! If you'd thought about it for one ing minute then you would have come to the conclusion that you're not the only one that would have wanted to say goodbye! Not that I would've said anything of that kind. Oh no. Instead I would’ve told you to stop being a dramatic little and stop dying!” With every word Hakyeon's voice chocked up a bit more until he was full on sobbing again. It got harder to understand him, but having a kid that liked to get into all kinds of trouble made him a master of crying gibberish.

“I seriously hate you but I love you So. ing. Much and I swear if you ever pull off something like that again, I'll come and find you, force your soul back into your body, tell you how stupid you are and then kill you myself!” The tears streaming down Hakyeon's beautiful face landed on Taekwoon's, though he didn't mind it one bit.

“Did I make myself clear, Jung Taekwoon?” With his smile still resting on his lips he gave a nod and wiped Hakyeon's tears away. It was a futile attempt of course, because new ones kept streaming out his eyes, but it conveyed his message that yes, he understood and that he really loved Hakyeon.

The latter managed to give him a little fond smile, which looked a bit odd in combination with the tears, before going back to burying his face into Taekwoon's chest.

“Please, never do this again… I don't want to choose between following you and staying behind for Sanghyuk...” Taekwoon knew this wasn't a choice for Hakyeon, who would never be able to leave their baby alone, but it scared him a bit that Hakyeon actually considered following him into death. At the moment though he didn't want to think about that. Somehow he hand managed to cheat death and now he just wanted to enjoy the feeling of Hakyeon in his embrace. The younger slung his arms around Hakyeon's back as good as he could from his position.
 

“I love you so much, Taekwoon,” Hakyeon's soar voice said after a long time of silence and he straighten up again to look into his husband's eyes. There was nothing of the previous anger, only adoration, warmth and love.

“Don't you ever forget that.”

“I won't,” Taekwoon croaked more than answered and got a long and soft kiss for his troubles.

”I love you too,” was what he originally wanted to say, but Hakyeon knew that already, so it was alright.