"G-get the hell off me!"

They're the first words Taeyong manages to stutter out after the fall, and maybe not the smartest in his current situation. The drunk male on top the performer doesn't seem at all happy that his catch is trying to get away and with one swift movement of his arm, there's suddenly a small pocket knife, opened and glimmering in the moon's night, that's pointed directly at Taeyong's chest. Lee Taeyong is a good find and this man definitely isn't going to let him get away so easily.

"Now, yur gunna do just as I s-say if you don't want this knife here to enter yur chest, ya hear?!" the man says fuming, his voice sounding jsut as wicked as his appearence looks. 

Taeyong has lost his voice again, any sense of words he's known since his youth lost within his racing mind, and can only hurriedly nob at the attacker to let him know he understands. Everything had gotten ten times worse with the appearance of the knife; Taeyong had whole heartedly believe this was just going to be a simple mugging by a drunk man, but when the man took the knife out of his jacket pocket everything changed.

Taeyong knew he needed to stay calm and listen to everything the man said so no further harm was inflicted onto him, but his head was a complete mess. His thoughts of calmness were washed away by the dark thoughts his mind made up because, to be completely honest, Taeyong felt like this was going to be the end. Whether it be a mugging, , or murder, Taeyong knew, in the farthest reaches of his mind, this man was going to get what he wanted and Taeyong didn't know if he'd be able to handle it. A mugging would be the least harmful thing to occur and as much as he hated to think about it, Taeyong would much rather prefer to get murder than be if those were the only options. Murder is short and sweet, but ... Taeyong would never recover. There would go his career and his life along with.

Taeyong was yanked from his thoughts as he felt something soft carassing his now exposed chest, Taeyong not having even realized that while he was too preoccupied with his own head, the man had managed to his coat fully open and now has a hand tucked underneath his thin, black tee. The night's chilled winter air blows harshly against his exposed skin, but it's nothing comapred to what this man is doing to Taeyong. The knife has made its way to his neck where it's pressed softly against the pale skin, only mere millimeters away from breaking skin. 

His heart starts hamemring in his chest, hard and fast enough for the man to notice as his hand suddenly stops moving along his chest and he leans forward to to whisper into the rapper's ear, Taeyong cringing away the moment the voice fills his ear.

"It's okay baby, you don't have to act scared... I know it must feel amazing, being touched by me. Just embrace it... honey."

The pet names make Taeyong feel sick to his stomach as he cringes away from the man's face that's too close for comfort. To get the man away from Taeyong's face as fast as he can, Taeyong does the first thing that comes to mind: he spits on his face. The man pulls back in anger and brings his hands up to rid his face of the idol's saliva. Taeyong knows it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but when Taeyong sees how the man releases his hold on Taeyong's top half, as well as the knife now no longer near his throat, he takes this as his opportunity.

When he first fell from the chase, Taeyong quickly noticed the amount of large broken up pieces of concrete and rocks lying scattered in the large holes in the sidewalk and along the street, and now he wastes no time with his wide opportunity of escape to grab the largest rock nearest to him and swing it up at the man's head. Taeyong wouldn't say it was the best he could've done, but the hit was strong enough to make the man yell out in pain and fall to his side onto the empty street . He lays clutching the bleeding side of his head in pain, and it's enough to give Taeyong the chance to scramble to his feet, a large painful twing exerting from his injured ankle as he stands, but nonetheless, Taeyong was up and off, running as fast as his legs would take him in the direction of the dorm.

A sudden burst of adrenline from his escape is the only thing fueling his escape, but it's still not strong enough to get him running at his best. He's still too slow to safely escape and once the man recovers, he'll have enough of a chance to catch up to the idol and bring him back down to the ground. Taeyong doesn't even want to imagine what the man'll do to him if he manages to catch up to him, and Taeyong just prays to himself as he runs along the sidewalk that he hit the man hard enough to keep him down for a while. It seems like life wants him to get killed though, because only seconds after his silent prayer he can hear the man's all too familar voice screaming at him from behind. And he doesn't sound far away at all.

He risks a glance back, and his breath catches in his throat when he sees the man has already managed to get to his feet and is now screaming profanity after insult at Taeyong as he searches the ground for what Taeyong can only assume is the knife. His morals have definitely just drop to the all time low of that evening, Taeyong's inner voices now telling him that he should just stop running and wait for his demise, because with the amount of advantages the man has over Taeyong, he starts to see zero way of him getting out of this alive.

But for whatever reason, even after he tries to talk himself towards death, Taeyong continues pressing forward, arms pumping at his sides as he runs across the street and turns down another, now even closer to the dorms. He tries to imagine what the others must be doing right now to distract himself; Jaehyun, Doyoung, and Johnny probably all still awake and awaiting Taeyong's return, their hearts beginning to beat faster as their worry increases as to where their leader could be. He manages to release a short laugh at the thought of those three having of had to handle the rest and their continuous questions about Taeyong and where he went for the entire day without him around. He can't even begin to imagine how much they all probably wanted to call or text him today and-

Call. Text. Phone.

How could he have been so careless to have forgotten his phone, the ultimate cause of everything that went wrong that evening, the device still zipped shut in his coat pocket. Taeyong could easily throw the small device to the ground and smash it into a million pieces for how angry he is right now, but his phone is the only thing seperating life or death for Taeyong.

He manages to get the device out of his pocket this time without falling, but as he does so he hears the distant noise of what sounds like someone yelling in triumph, and Taeyong can only believe the reason for the yelling is that the man has manages to find the knife. Taeyong at this point is too far off to hear any footsteps to indicate the man has begun chasing, but every part of Taeyong's being is telling him he most likely is already on the chase.

He fumbles with his phone as he runs and manages to bring up his contacts and call Jaehyun with a swift click of his finger on the screen. He puts the call onto speaker and anxiously awaits for Jaehyun to answer the call as he continues pressing on down the street, the yelling getting louder with each passing second. After four agonizing rings, Jaehyun picks up just as Taeyong rounds the corner onto the street he's been running for, their dorm of course being located at the far end.

"Taeyong, where are you. It's so late and you should be home by now an-" Taeyong gives Jaehyun no time to finish his sentence as he frantically starts shouting into the phone.

"Jaehyun! I-I need help. I need you-ah!... I-I need you to come outside to help me!" His ankle of course has to start acting up when he's so close to getting away, Taeyong practically smelling that familar pine scent from an air freshener placed right in the entrance of the building. The searing pain from every step he takes with that foot causes him to start slowing, now at a point where he's only barely speed walking down the street. The screams are still growing by the second and it sounds as if the man is right behind Taeyong but with another glance behind Taeyong sees the man hasn't made it to the street yet, but that doesn't mean he isn't close.

"Tae, wh-what's going on? Are you okay? Are you hurt?! Wh-where are you?"

"Jaehyun, get outside now! I'm right down the street but, I don't know if I'll make it back without you..."

Jaehyun tries questioning Taeyong further but with another angry shout from Taeyong for Jaehyun to get outside, the singer finally obeys and tells Taeyong he can't hang up on him as he heads for the front door. Taeyong can hear more worried voices from the other end of the call, the rapper assuming they belong to Johnny and Doyoung. Taeyong's sudden call, his worried voice and heavy breathing from all the running must've scared them all when they heard him, but now's no time to hesitate. Taeyong's life is on the line and with him being so so close to safety, he isn't going to give up now.

He's halfway there when he starts to hear the rushed footsteps, and Taeyong's heart plummets to the bottom of his stomach when he hears the all too clear voice of the man. He's screaming hysterically for Taeyong that he's going to wish he didn't do that and that he's not going to get away, and all Taeyong can do is continue pressing forward, not looking back. 

The gap between the two has practically closed when he hears a door being slammed open from nearby and Taeyong is relieved to see Jaehyun, Doyoung, Johnny, and, to Taeyong's surprise, Mark come running out of the building's entrance, all freezing in shock and horror to watch as the man finally gains onto Taeyong and tackles the idol to the ground, his phone flying from his hand.

Taeyong feels the tears beginning to well up in his eyes as his mind finally registers that he's been caught, it's over for him, and body stays still underneath the man's, as if he's awaiting his punishment. And it comes, in the form of the pocket knife being stabbed into Taeyong's side, the rapper screaming in pain as he feels the sharp metal enter his body. It all happens in a matter of seconds, too little time for Taeyong to try and escape. With his injured ankle acting up and the adrenaline he gained now quickly diminishing to nothingness, Taeyong has zero strength to struggle against the man as he pulls the knife out from Taeyong's side, the object now aimed for his chest. Taeyong squeezes his teary eyes shut, awaiting the pain... but it never comes.

Rather than Taeyong being stabbed in the chest and killed right there in the middle of the street, he feels the man suddenly go flying off of Taeyong's body by another large force. Taeyong opens his eyes and turns his head to see the man being beaten to a pulp right there in the street by Johnny and Jaehyun, the knife carelessly discarded a few feet away, and only seconds after Taeyong's mind registers what he's seeing, he feels arms wrap themselves around his upper body by one person as another approaches his injured side. He recognizes it as Mark who is kneeling at his side, hands visibly shaking as he quickly removes his own jacket from his body and presses it against the open wound, earning a pained grunt from Taeyong. He tries pulling away from the touch, but Doyoung keeps him firmly in place, hands carefully caressing him as he whispers soothing words into his ears, it all reminding him way too much of the man doing the exact same not to long ago.

His ears pick up rushed talking going on between the two by him, but his mind is too hazy to make out a word they're saying. Through hazy eyes, Taeyong takes notice of one of Doyoung's hands leaving his body to bring his phone to his ear, and only seconds later he's frantically talking into the small device to an unknown person. He starts trying to think of who Doyoung could be talking too, but all the thinking is only managing to make his mind more hazy. He has a strong urge to just shut his eyes and drift off to sleep, but as his eyes begin to shut hands appear and cup his face, whoever it is trying to get Taeyong to open his eyes back up. 

He's just too exhausted from everything he just went through that evening, from the injuries to the constant running, and the last thing Taeyong registers before he drifts off into sleep is the faint, distant sound of ambulance sirens.

 

///

 

Taeyong has no idea where he is when he finally regains his senses and feeling throughout his body. The surface he's lying on is soft and warm, a bed?, and as his senses return one by one, his hearing being first, he starts registering the mechanical beeping coming from all around him. Aside from the noise and warm feeling, Taeyong is lost inside a void of complete darkness. He can see absolutely nothing around him, relying soley on his hearing to figue out where he is.

The thought crosses his mind that he's dead, but where he is seems oddly like a hospital and Taeyong knows for a fact there aren't any hospital in death. As thoughts begin forming in his head of what it is that's going on, Taeyong suddenly picks up the sound of a door being opened, followed by hushed voices that begin to approach him. He tries distinguishing who it is that's appeared, but he's still not fully in the right state of mind to figure it out. It's only when he feels a hand suddnely grab onto his own and the owner begin talking in a hushed ton does he realize who is here with him.

"Taeyongie-hyung, the doctors told us that you can hear things around you a-and that it's good to speak to try and get you to wake up. I-we really want you to wake up hyung. When I heard what happened to you, I-I just couldn't believe that that could happen to you. But I know how strong you are... I know you'll get through this."

It takes some time, but Taeyong's mind manages to registers everything Haechan had to say to him. It makes Taeyong feel horrible that he's managed to cause distress and sadness within the group, but then again, it wasn't his fault for getting attacked. He never asked for it, and he also never asked for s to feel this way, and he won't stand for it.

His hand tightens around Haechan's just in the slightest, but it's enough to get Haechan to perk up in disbelief. Taeyong goes even further than tightening the hand and tries to open his eyes, but his first attempt is an utter fail that sends Taeyong back into the black void. The light was too bright for his eyes to take in so suddenly, but with a second attempt and more precaution, Taeyong's eyes softly flutter open.

The first thing that he notices when he opens his eyes in the rest of the members, s, all situated around the bed, either standing or sitting in an anxious manner. He sees a look of joy and relief form on each of their faces upon seeing Taeyong awake, even if he's just barely.  He's squinting from the intense, white light hanging on the ceiling but with one swift movement, Haechan manuvers himself so he's standing directly in front of the light. He can finally see normally and the first thing he does with normal vision is scan the room he's in, which is definitely a hospital room.

He glances down at himself to seeing himself lying covered in a hospital bed, IVs sticking out from his arms and multiple machines wired and positioned around his bed. The others seem to notice Taeyong scanning the room and the confusion he must be feeling from not remembering how he got here, because Doyoung is quick to explain everything to Taeyong.

"You're probably confused abou how you got here, but it makes sense since you've been out cold since that night.-" Upon hearing Doyoung say 'that night', Taeyong can't help but question just how long he's been in this hospital.

"W-wait... h-how long have I been here?" It hard at first for the rapper to speak from not having of spoke for who knows how long, but he manages to get his composure to speak. Doyoung goes to answer his leader's question, but another deep, unfamilar voice beats him to it.

"Two days Mr. Lee Taeyong... allow me to introduce myself; I'm your doctor Park Taehyun, but please just call me Taehyun." The doctor makes his way over to Taeyong's side as the members move out of the way to give the doctor some space.

"You came in two days ago severally exhausted, a singular stab wound to your side, thankfully nonfatal, sprained ankle, multiple bruises and a minor concussion. I would ask how you acquired your injuries, but your attacker was happy enough to explain everything to the police who sent a copy of their report to the hospital. It seems his intentions were quite different from what actually went down, but thankfully your members were able to help you before the man could do anything."

Taeyong shudders at the doctor's words; he knew the man wanted more than just to hurt him and he couldn't be more thankful towards s for saving him.

"Now seeing as your awake, I'll be coming back in shortly to run some final tests before I get you out of here. Your stab wound has been stiched up and bandaged and the only other concern is your ankle, but it's a simple sprain that'll heal in weeks time. But, I'll give you all some time to talk before I come back." With that the doctor exits the room, leaving Taeyong and the rest to talk amongst themselves about that night. Taeyong has no idea where to start, but Jaehyun manages to be the first to speak, breaking the silence.

"You're a real idiot, you know that right?!-"

"Jaehyun-"

"No Doyoung-hyung, he needs to hear this. We talked with the manager yesterday, who had something to say about you. You refused a car ride home and opted to walk and look where that got you. In a hospital bed, but just imagine where you'd be if we didn't show up. You'd be dead Taeyong, dead... because you just couldn't accept the ride home."

Jaehyun manages to create a tenseness in the room that seems almost unbreakable with the curretn situation, and it doesn't help that both Doyoung and Mark are fuming over Jaehyun and what he had to say. Mark is the first to start yelling, the distant sound of a disappearing sickness still evident in his voice.

"Really Jaehyun, you just had to start this now? He's still lying in a hospital, just woke up, and you're already pointing fingers. So what if he didn't take the car ride home, he's here with us now and that's all that matters."

"Mark, you don't realize. He's only here right now because he called me a-"

"Because he called you, of all the people he could've called he chose you Jaehyun. So get your head out of your as-"

"Okay! Everyone just shut up! None of us need this right now, especially Taeyong. Jaehyun, I'm just advising you now if you're going to be an then get out. Clear your head and calm down before you come back in. Mark, don't disrespect your hyungs even if they're in the wrong. We could've gotten through that so much easier." Doyoung's commanding voice fills the room, silencing Mark and Jaehyun's argument instantly. Jaehyun leaves the room grumbling when he hears what Doyoung has to say, and Mark directs his eyes to the floor, not having realized how poorly he started acting.

Taeyong, who sat in utter silence and listened to the arugument, sees Mark's sadness and reaches a hand out to grab the edge of his shirt, tugging at it to gain the younger's attention. Mark looks up and the two make eye contact, Taeyong silently signalling for Mark to sit on the egde of the bed as he starts manuvering himself to sit up in the bed. 

"Don't be upset Markie, Jaehyun, he's just upset about what happened... you know how he can get. But I guess that's why I love him. He's so overprotective over everyone he cares about and when soemthing happens to one of those people that could of ended a lot worse, he doesn't know how to express his feelings. Just give him time..."

"Even if he shouldn't of expressed it how he did, he is right Taeyong. That refusal for a car ride home could've easily cost you your life... or worse. We should just be glad you called early enough to give us time to of gotten down there. If we would've been even a second later, you may... you may of..." Johnny's words ring in Taeyong's mind as he takes in what he's saying, already thinking of an excuse to get off the topic.

"But even so, I'm still here. A little beat up but I'm here guys and... that's all that matters. Thanks to Johnny and Jaehyun, the man was taken care of and I got the help I needed"

"Ya, but I feel like me and Jaehyun, especially Jaehyun, went a little too far with out 'taking care of the man'" Taeyong is curious as to what Johnny means, but Yuta beats him to it.

"Johnny and Jaehyun beat that bastard up til he was unconcious! And, you didn't hear it from be Tae, but presumebly, Jaehyun broke one of the man's arms and his jaw! Now those are my members!"

"Wait, what?! He broke his arm and jaw? How the hell?"

"Now, that's a question you're going to have to ask Jaehyun. All I know is that I saw Jaehyun wasn't getting off the man even when he clearly lose the flight and I had to drag him off of the man. He was... really angry to say the least."

"Okay, well I think it would be best if we all went out to get the doctor to come in. The earlier the better. So everyone, out." The members all leave the room after some final remarks to Taeyong, Taeil even questioning Doyoung about hyungship since it was brought up earlier but the latter just bruhses it off and directs Taeil out the door, leaving him and Taeyoung alone in the room. Doyoung nears the door but before he steps out, Doyoung turn sback around to face Taeyoung, who is clearly confused as to what he's doing.

"Look Taeyoung-hyung, I know we all were just joking around and you were laughing, but I'm not sold... are you okay? And don't pull the I'm fine card hyung because I'm not going to buy it. Answer honestly."

Taeyong's attention is instantly directed towards his lap, where he's twiddling his fingers in nonsense patterns, a clear sign to Doyoung that he's hiding something but doesn't want to confess. It takes a few moment, but Taeyong finally comes to a resolution within himself and brings his eyes back up to Doyoung, releasing a heavy sigh as he does so.

"It's really stupid... I-I guess I'm still recovering a little from that night. Not physically, but more so mentally..."

"What do you mean?"

"... that man was a sadistic, evil bastard who didn't care what he had to do to me to get what he wanted. I know his intentions were to me, and no one could try and reassure me they weren't... He was as far as... feeling me up and whe he was touching me I-I just couldn't help but think that that was going to be the end. I kept thinking I was going to die. Everything seemed to be against me... but somehow, somehow I survived. And and you and Jaehyun were right, I should've taken that car ride home. But now, I learned my lesson... I won't ignore the obvious signs anymore. I'll be a better leader and stop trying to always ignore peoepl when all they're trying to do is help me. I'm foolish and shouldn't of done what I did-"

"Hyung, if this is about what you did that day with Mark, I'm gonna let you know right now to stop it. Stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong with the members or the group. You always do that to yourself Taeyong, fill your head with all this guilt that shouldn't be there. What you did with Mark was what a real leader does in a time like that, and if those executives and directors and whoever else can't see that, then they don't deserve to know such a good leader as you Taeyong. the world doesn't deserve you Taeyong, you just need to realize that."

With those lingering words Doyoung leaves the hospital room and only Taeyong is left inside, thoughts racing a mile a minute as he lets Doyoung's words sink in, feeling a sense of pride and joy for his group knowing that instead of being an unwanted leader for each of the members, Taeyong is exactly what they all need.

 

///

 

It's later that night as Taeyong carefully climbs up the multiple flights of stairs within their dorm building towards the roof. He had only been discharged from the hospital a few hours ago, having received thorough instructions from his doctors on what and what not to do for the next few weeks. And if Taeyong's doctor could see him now, he'd definitely be disappointed. There was to be no extreme physical activity or overexerting himself for a set amount of weeks, along with orders to stay off his ankle as much as possible until it heals enough. Taeyong had basically already broken evreyone of those rules, but he wasn't the one that told Jaehyun to go storming up to the roof the moment they arrived home earlier. His behavior to anyone else would almost seem childish, but to Taeyong Jaehyun was just acting like his self, and he can't help it if that's how he gets when he's upset.

Since his little arugment with Mark at the hospital that morning, Jaehyun has been on mute since, the closest thing he's done that's come close to sny form of interaction being nodding his head. As the leader, Taeyong should be heading up those long flights of stairs to knock some sense back into Jaehyun, but as his boyfriend, Taeyong is going up to make sure Jaehyun isn't wallowing his own emotions instead of letting them out like he should.

After his mile high hike, Taeyong reaches the door for the roof and forces the rusting metal forward, revealing a beautiful, brightly lit, starry night sky. Taeyong can't tell if it's small snow flurries mixing within the stars that make it so beautiful, but the view is enough to make Taeyong pause in his tracks to take in the surrounding, gaping up at the luminous sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The sudden voice breaks Taeyong from his awe as he turns in the direction fo the sound, not surprised in the slightest to see the words came from Jaehyun, who's seated himself on the edge of builiding, legs dangling over the edge and arms placed at his sides to support his weight. Taeyong walks carefully towards Jaehyun, his steps still slight limps as he starts feeling the affects of walking on his ankle and already regretting his choices of disobeying his doctor.

"Every night, I try to find some time to just come sit up here; this is my favorite spot to watch the stars." As Taeyong listens to younger, a gush of chilled winter air blows softly against Taeyong and spreads along his exposed arms and face, arms folding in on themselves almost on instinct to protect himself from the weather. Just like that night, Taeyong feels the flurries landing on top of his head, but this time he has nothing to cover himself with and is defenseless against the growing cold. Just like he was that night.

Jaehyun is quick to sense Taeyong's sudden distress and change in emotion, having always wholeheartedly believed the two of them are connected in someway like studies say couples are, and grabs a hold of the older's wrist when he's not looking and tugs down, trying to get Taeyong to sit with him. His methods work and Taeyong is seated beside the other in a matter of seconds and Jaehyun doesn't hesitate to pull Taeyong into a warm embrace.

"You know, it's dumb to go out in winter weather without anything to keep yourself warm... sound familar?" Indeed it does, because it's what Taeyong always tells the members wheneve they go out into the cold. He seems to be going against his own words right them and there, and Jaehyun takes it upon himself to give him his jacket, already taking his arms out as Taeyong reaches out to stop him.

"No, don't give your jacket to me just because I'm cold. I came up here for you and not me so-"

"I wasn't going to give you my jacket, I was planning on sharing. And even if I did go to give you the jacket, you'd have to take it, especially since you just got discharged from the hospital." The bluntness of his words stuns Taeyong, because never once has Jaehyun spoke like that to him. He must still be feeling angry about earlier, and Taeyong is going to be sure to fix that now, hating this new version of Jaehyun.

"Could you please cut the tough man act Jaehyun... I hate seeing you act like this. I get it if your still feeling angry about what happened earlier, and I understand if you don't feel like talking to me right now... but one second your acting like the sweet guy I know you are then suddenly you turn into this completely different person. Can we just talk about... you know, that night so I can figure out why your being like this."

No response.

"Okay... well, I'll just leave you to your thoughts and whenever you feel like talking with me, your boyfriend, you know where to find me."

Taeyong makes to stand as he brushes the jacket off his now exposed arm, but just like before, Jaehyun grabs a hold of Taeyong's wrist, stopping him from going anywhere. Taeyong turns to protest not being able to leave, but when he sees the expression on Jaehyun's face, it's enough to diminish any sense of protest he had. Jaehyun looks absolutley helpless and scared, an expression Taeyong never saw the younger don before since they've known each other. But it's enough to get Taeyong worried as he turns back to kneel down beside Jaehyun and places his hands on either side of his face, forcing Jaehyun to turn completely towards Taeyong.

"You obviously want to talk, need to talk to me, so just speak to me... please. You helped me the other day so let me help you in return. An dif not that, then at least talk to your boyfriend, you don't have to hide anything from me."

It takes a few moments, but Jaehyun finally releases a heavy sigh he's been holding inside him before he starts to talk.

"Almost three days... three days of me having to watch you sleep in a hospital bed, the only kind of affection I could share with you being holding your limp hands. Three days of me having to live with the fact some crazy bastard just tried to kill you... to kill my boyfriend. I was angry, oh so angry when I heard about the car ride you skipped, because... in my dumb mind... I actually thought that was your way of trying to get rid of me..."

"Jaehyun, you know I'd never do that. We-we love each other so much an-"

"I-I know hyung... it's just, seeing you in that hospital bed looking so lifeless, i-it mad me feel completely powerless. I felt like nothing I did for you helped... and htne I let the voices in a-and they actually managed to make me believe you didn't love me anymore. It mad me so fueled by rage and seeing when you woke up, I judt don't know what happened... I shouldn't of said what I said to you; those shouldn't of been the first words out of my mouth. I-I'm so sorry... I'm such a horrible boyfriend..."

Taeyong cups his hands around Jaehyun's face and forces the younger to make eye contact him, Taeyong trying to send every possible signal of forgiveness and sympathy through his eyes as he can. And it seems to work, because inside Taeyong's eyes Jaehyun sees his strong leader who's there for everything and always willing to put aside his needs for others. He sees his caring boyfriend who's just like his leader, always willing to do anything to please Jaehyun and make him feel better in a tough situation. 

"Listen to me Jaehyun... I love you,and I'm never going to stop loving you. You... you're my rock, my pillar that egts me through each passing day. Without you I would crumble into a million shattered pieces, but everyday when I wake up and open my eyes, the first thing I see is you. Seeing you each morning is what gets me out of bed everyday. Your voice that night over the phone is what made me keep running towards the dorm; if you hadn't picked up I would've gave up. But because of you I pressed on, and because of you this morning I managed to calm my racing heart. Even if you were angry, just seeing your face allowed me to realized I wasn't taken away from one of the most important people in my life. So whenever that voice in you head tries to fill your mind with lies, tell it to off. No matter what, no one and nothing will manage to break us apart."

Taeyong pulls Jaehyun into the tightest hug he could muster, even managing to make the younger joke about struggling to breath. They break apart just the slightest, but its not long before Jaehyun leans in for the kiss the two have been anxiously waiting for the entire day. They savor the moment and prolong their kiss, but get interrupted just as Jaehyun starts fighting for entrance by a loud clearing of the throat. They pull apart and turn in the noise's direction, seeing an angry Doyoung standing just outside the roof doorway with his arms crossed across his chest as well as multiple heads poking out from behind the door frame.

"I love that you two made up and all, but you broke strict order that were put into play by not only me but your doctor too! I can't even begin to imagine how much you've reinjured yourself by walking up all those steps! And to think I trusted you enough to leave you in a room by yourself for not even five minutes! Uhh, sometimes Taeyong..."

Taeyong can hear the loud laughter echoing our from the open stairwell, Taeyong not even able to imagine how much of a kick the others are all getting out of this. He goes to protest against Doyoung to try and reassure the younger that he's fine, but Jaehyun places a firm hand over his mouth so he's unable to talk and does all the talking for the rapper.

"We're sorry hyung, Taeyong was just so anxious to come talk to me. But you're right after all, he shouldn't of walked all the way up here to the roof in his condition. I think his foot was already acting up when he got here and god only knows what else he managed to bother. So allow me..."

And with one fluid motion Jaehyun lifts Taeyong into his arms bridal style and lands a soft peck onto his forehead, earning disgusted shouts from those in the stairwell. But Taeyong embraces those noises as well as the annoyed glare Doyoung continues to send Taeyong's way as Jaehyun carefully walks by towards the open doorway. Because that and so much more is what Taeyong loves about his life. s, brothers, and their big and silly personalities that always put a smile on taeyong's face.

Because even in such a rough time, Taeyong knows he can always rely on them to liven the mood and make everything seem as it's okay. And no matter what life throws his way, he'd never trade it for the world.

 

 

/END/