The first night was hard. Jinki roused Kibum enough to eat and take the tablets his mother had given him, but it was a struggle. While Kibum woke up, he hid under the covers for a long time, purposefully not looking at Jinki.

                “You should eat something,” Jinki coaxed, staring at the trembling lump on his bed with twisted feelings of hurt and concern.

                “I’m not hungry,” came the delayed muffled reply, followed by a quiet sniff.

                “Please, Kibum,” he urged earnestly. “At least a couple bites.” There was no immediate response other than more quiet sniffles, but eventually, a pale hand reached out from under the covers and felt around. Jinki pushed the tray into range, making sure the mela was in easy reach, and then sat back. To his satisfaction, Kibum’s hand closed around the red fruit and quickly pulled it under the blanket with him. Jinki listened until he heard the sound of the first bite and allowed a tiny smile to curl his lips. “There are a couple tablets there too. You should take them since you’re starting to get a fever. And my mother suggested-” he stopped when he saw the hidden figure jerk as if struck.

                Jinki frowned and thought about what he’d said before he cringed. ‘Mother’ most likely. He mutely smacked his lips as if in punishment and sighed. “You should take them both since they’ll help give you energy for later.” Waiting was agonizing. But it did pay off. The mela was returned – two bites missing, and the hand felt around again. Jinki carefully pushed the tablets into its path and nudged the water container close at the same time. Once more, the items disappeared under the blanket and only the water container came back, still mostly full.

                “Do you think you can take a shower?” he asked when Kibum continued to stay under the blankets. The response was a vague shifting motion under the blanket and Jinki didn’t know what he meant. “Are you shaking your head or nodding?”

                “No,” Kibum answered directly, literally curling up further into a ball under the covers.

                It made Jinki feel helpless and at a loss. “Okay,” he murmured in response, frowning in uncertainty. “Would you mind if I go take a shower?” he asked, not sure if he should leave the other man alone right now.

                Another delay extended between them, but Kibum eventually hummed, “Mm.”

                Not the most direct answer, but it sounded like agreement. Hopefully. “Okay. I’m stepping out now then. If you can, try to eat a little bit more, alright?” There was no answer this time and Jinki grimaced again. Before he left, he rummaged about in his drawers for a change of clothes and hurried off. He didn’t want to leave Kibum alone any longer than he needed to right now.

                When he came back, he knocked on his door to let Kibum know he’d returned. He didn’t hear a response but that could have been because Kibum hadn’t said say anything loudly enough to carry. Carefully, he opened the door and peeked inside to make sure it was alright. The other man was lying on the bed more normally this time, face uncovered by the blanket and the food tray on the floor. It was otherwise untouched.

                Jinki exhaled again and retrieved the tray, setting it up out of the way for now. Then he turned back to check on Kibum. He felt a little warmer than last time. Retrieving the temperature reader, he checked it again. 37.6. “Well that’s not good.” Looking closer, Kibum was starting to appear a little flushed. Jinki deliberated on asking his mom, but it was only a small change and maybe the medicine hadn’t had a chance to kick in yet. He had taken the medicine, right?

                He wanted to believe that Kibum had but… Wincing at the thought, Jinki carefully lifted up the covers enough to check around without actually touching Kibum. Nothing there. Unless he was laying on them. Or had put them under the pillow. Neither were places he could easily check right now. So he looked around the room instead. There was nothing in obvious sight and if he’d put them in the wastebin, he’d never know. It was set for auto-decomposition. There was nothing left to say whether he actually did or not, but there was no denying his fever had gone up. Jinki defaulted to the only other thing he knew to do: cold compresses.

                It kept Kibum’s temperature stable, but that was only the beginning of Jinki’s night. Before too long, Kibum’s sleep turned fitful. His body moved in small, jerking motions and he made whimpering noises periodically. It was sad but manageable until he cried out, “Come back!”

                Jinki fell off the edge of the bed in startled surprise and missed being smacked by the flailing hand that shot out from under the blanket. “Kibum?” he called, sitting up to kneel beside the bed.

                “She’ll die if you leave,” he whimpered then, fingers twisting the sheets roughly. His soft cries suddenly turned harsh and he growled, “Liar!” nearly choking in the process.

                “Kibum!” Jinki called, rising up to shake the sleeper, trying to wake him from his nightmare.

                Kibum came to with a gasping inhale, panic strong hands scratching Jinki through his clothes as they grabbed at him blindly. His breath came fast, like he’d just finished a race, and his eyes stared blindly until recognition flashed and all his strength suddenly fled. “Jinki,” he whispered in a trembling voice, eyes shining too brightly. “He left us and she died,” he cried, searching Jinki’s face as if he had some kind of answer. “I couldn’t…” he started to say before his quivering voice failed him.

                “Shh,” Jinki soothed, settling on the edge of the bed to pull Kibum close and into his arms. “You were having a nightmare,” he promised, wincing when the other man clung to him too tightly, claw-like fingertips digging into his back. “I’ve got you. I’m here,” he added, gently rocking the other man as he pet his hair soothingly until he fell back into an uneasy sleep. And so passed the first of many such nights to come with Jinki sleeping against the side of the bed on the floor holding Kibum’s hand.

                Even though they were both exhausted in the morning, they did attempt to get ready for class. Kibum’s fever had broken sometime in the early morning hours, though neither had slept well. On their way out, Mrs. Lee noticed them trying to leave and stopped them. For all intents and purposes, it looked like she’d been waiting for them, since all of Jinki’s siblings had already left for school. Jinki tried to marshal some sort of explanation or defense but then saw the way his mother was looking at Kibum: concerned was a nice way of putting it. He looked over to see for himself and noticed that Kibum had that look like he was a hair’s breadth from falling apart.

                Quickly, Jinki stepped in front of him to break his view of his mother. “We have to go to class,” he explained, though every part of him denied that reality.

                “Hah,” Mrs. Lee barked a laugh and mutely pointed towards the stairs.

                “Mom. We… he has to,” Jinki tried to reason, feeling panic well up at the thought of everything falling apart now because he wasn’t able to uphold his promise.

                Mrs. Lee sighed and crossed her arms. “Who do I have to call?”

                The question took a second to register and Jinki blinked dumbly. “Uh…” When she raised her brow, he shook his head to try and clear his sleep deprived thoughts. He’d never had to give her that information before. “Provost Adeleke,” he finally blurted when the name eventually came to his tongue.

                “Contact number?” she questioned, opening her personal screen in preparation.

                Again, Jinki found himself dumbfounded. The thought clicked a heartbeat later and he opened his own personal screen to access the Provost’s number. It would likely go to the secretary first, but it would be enough for his mother. Of that he was sure. “Here you go,” he mumbled, transferring the number to her personal screen.

                When she had it saved, she shifted her focus back to them again and pointed up the stairs once more. “Now.”

                “Yes, ma’am,” Jinki said in a low tone, turning on the spot and then urging Kibum to go before him. Kibum seemed in a bit of a daze, staring at Jinki’s mother for a moment longer, but then he blinked and turned, following the gentle nudging that guided him back upstairs.

                Jinki didn’t know what magic his mother worked, and he was reluctant to ask, but somehow they got permission to ‘study at home’ for at least a week. Psitassi practically volunteered to bring Kibum all his homework when Jinki messaged to ask if she would be willing. Nor did he have a shortage of volunteers amongst his group in case he needed a helping hand in turn.

                In the evening, Kibum tried to put up a front and say that he needed to go to work, but a quick call to Garum nixed that with no trouble. He was given the same week break to get himself sorted out. Though Jinki did get several concerned messages from Passeri and Jackson when it became apparent that Kibum was not answering them.

                Jinki also found himself bearing the brunt of his siblings’ frustration and disappointment when he was in no condition to help with their practices as usual. Hajoon took it in stride – an upcoming professional for sure, Doyun seemed to understand given the situation, and Siwoo appeared most offended by the lapse, but no one argued outright. Especially if they happened to see Kibum in Jinki’s company, which was rare, to be fair.

                Kibum mostly stayed in Jinki’s room, effectively hiding. He was skittish and unusually shy, even ducking away from Jinki when he tried to help him study or do his homework. Revealing his past had apparently rocked him to his core and the man Jinki was spending most of his time around was vastly different from the one he’d first met. What confidence he managed to muster was nothing more than a thin façade and he was prone to jumping at the any unexpected sound, up to and including Jinki reentering the room.

                 What was worse were Kibum’s sleep habits. At night, his sleep was fitful and often full of feverish nightmares that usually broke before the morning. During the day, his concentration was spotty at best. Even more troubling was that Jinki had to figure out what possible trigger words he needed to avoid to prevent an episode of sorts; one wrong phrase and Kibum would shut down, either mentally or physically or both. It was exhausting. And when it came to Terran biology… the subject was still a show, though Jinki had found a foothold at last.

                He now knew enough about what Woman’s Demise was, and how it affected the body, to keep from drawing direct comparisons, but it still made tutoring Kibum challenging. Frustrated with another tumultuous study session, he exhaled forcefully. “Okay!” Kibum startled and jerked back, blinking wide eyes at Jinki. “Sorry, but hear me out,” the second year insisted, chopping his hand between them as if it might stop any objection. “This picture,” he stated, pointing firmly at the digitext. It was some diagram of the internal workings of the human body. “Imagine it’s you or me,” he instructed, watching Kibum’s features to see what effect it might have. When nothing but a conflicted cloud appeared, Jinki stifled his desire to groan and refocused his attention. “Me,” he amended. “Imagine it’s me, alright?” he asked for confirmation, looking at Kibum to make sure he understood.

                “You,” he echoed in response, turning new eyes on the image.

                “Right. And this one…” he trailed off, flipping through images to get to a female version, but he stalled because there weren’t many female Terrans that Kibum knew he was on good terms with. Fans, yes, but friends? Not so much. But an idea occurred to him at the last second and he blurted, “…is Sunny! Just imagine her as a living Terran, alright?”

                “Sunny,” Kibum nodded, a frown of intense concentration on his face. “Right.” But then a look of confusion crossed his face and he turned to Jinki, “But she’s not alive.”

                “You’re right,” Jinki nodded, again fighting a surge of frustration. He really could nitpick anything lately.  “But pretend. What if Sunny was a living Terran. Yeah?”

                “Imagine. Okay,” he nodded after a delayed thought response. “If she was a living Terran.”

                “Yes!” Jinki cheered, beaming at the seemingly inconsequential but significant connection. “Now, pay attention to this part and this part. In females, it…” he explained, doing his best to contextualize everything in a more specific setting so that it might not trigger a response like before.

                 It wasn’t nearly as much as Jinki had hoped it would allow for, but the week they’d been granted gave them enough time to lay a foundation to work from. And in the days that followed, Jinki’s persistence, attentiveness, and determination started to pay off. In public and with Jinki nearby, Kibum could mostly maintain his fragile façade and go back to classes. Work was still off the table – the one time he tried had ended in a spiraling panic attack that had scared everybody and disrupted the evening’s entertainment. Afternoon practices were also out for Kibum, though he could handle first thing in the morning, when he was still fresh and there weren’t as many people around.

                At school, Psitassi seemed to have made it her personal mission to run interference for Kibum to help alleviate the possibility of too much attention being put upon him. “Of course I’m doing this for you,” she preened with a wink, threading her fingers together in front of her happily. “But it’s also a mission from Passeri,” she added, leaning close like she was delivering a very important secret so that Jinki and Kibum could hear her lowered voice. “She says I should learn to ‘harness the crowds more effectively’,” she imitated, copying the other Moladhi almost to perfection. “I’ve no idea why. She hasn’t told me yet, but it’s Passeri,” she grinned, twirling in place in giddy excitement.

                She was also responsible for rallying the fan club to continue sending Kibum support as well as putting out any fires that might have cropped up in the meantime. The Moladhi would not suffer someone speaking ill of Kibum in her presence. In the grand scheme of things, they weren’t many, all things considered, but they were vocal: a small legion of dedicated students who were hoping for Kibum to succeed.

                Another week later, when the wounds weren’t quite so fresh anymore, Kibum started talking about other parts of his life. Maybe it was because he was tired of keeping it bottled up or perhaps it was because he thought Jinki was a good and safe listener, but in the quite privacy of Jinki’s bedroom, one story after another emerged bit by bit as the semester marched on.

                The first story was fragmented and choppy. Rather like he was struggling to thread everything together in a cohesive manner, patching it into a whole piece by piece as the words came one after another. “I do have a guardian. Had,” Kibum corrected, looking down. “Maybe he still thinks I’m his charge. I don’t know. He’s a Varium though. Eric Munn. Mom and… dad knew him before I was born. They were friends. For a long time.” He sighed then, a deep and heavy sound. “Mom asked him to look after me. No other family wanted me. Planets away and no interest in accepting me. Mom knew she was dying. Would probably die soon. I hated him for saying yes. He wasn’t her. Could never be. And I didn’t know how to be around his kids. Two of them,” he laughed once, a sound bereft of amusement. “Young and Moon. Generic names. He wanted them to be able to choose freely. I hated them for that too. Choice,” he scoffed, mouth twisting like he had tasted something bitter.

                Another night, another continuation of the story. “Thank the universe Eric didn’t look like my dad. Bastard.” The usual vitriol seeped through, a colorful array of mixed emotions in a single word. “He looked Terran. Probably still does. Taller than average. Handsome I guess. He liked to smile,” Kibum explained, a confused expression on his face. “I never got it. I didn’t want to see it. Couldn’t see what there was to be happy about. He paid so much money to take care of most of mom’s funeral debt. Take care of me. What in the stars was there to be happy about? A trip to the incinerator and she was gone. Ash to be scattered across the planet. She’s gone but her debt remains. In my father’s name of course, but he’s not here. So it’s mine now. Thanks dad.” That had been the end of that conversation.

                “Eric did try,” Kibum admitted, a guilty air permeating the space around him. “Young and Moon did too. But they couldn’t understand. I was angry. I think I still am.” Jinki had to laugh at that, earning the barest smile in response to the admission. “Angry he left. Angry she died. Angry that I was alone. Only I wasn’t but it felt like it because they weren’t them. Then I had to go to school and that was a whole other issue. No one there could understand. It’s hard to connect with the angry home-schooled kid who doesn’t like anybody,” he admitted in a dejected tone. “Everything was so hard then. Life. School. Home. I got into so many fights,” he laughed, shaking his head at himself.

                The stories were intermittent most days, spoken in a distracted and detached manner as Kibum was studying. Or at least appeared like he was studying. Jinki never pried, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious for the continuation of the tale. There were more days of success and failure at school before another tidbit was forthcoming though. Gradually, Kibum started going to afternoon practices. A little bit here and a little bit there. If it got to be too much, Jinki had to bow out. The coaches understood, but the players were harder to convince. Universe bless Hajoon for her protectiveness of Jinki on those days. Doyun was a different story, though...

                Fortunately, Jinki had backup. Henry wasn’t nearly as gifted in grav jumping as Jinki, but it was no secret Doyun had a crush on him. For that alone, she was willing to overlook any lack of skill when the other man jumped in to help fill the gap as needed. And Larad managed to strike fear into the heart of the teams when he assisted, curse the inhumanly talented Varium. And Ercite, with their plethora of stored knowledge, was able to assist in Jinki’s habitual tutoring and mentoring activities, a position they rather enjoyed actually.

                When things calmed down a bit in the second half of the semester, the stories continued again with a lessening of nightmares to boot. “I made it through junior high on sheer grit and stubbornness alone. But high school was a different story,” he cringed, remembering something particularly painful. “Different classes. Different students. And no Young and Moon to surreptitiously watch my back. Oh, I know now that Eric had them looking out for me then,” he explained with a dramatic head nod. “You think I got into fights before…? Oof,” he snorted, rolling his eyes. “I can’t even tell you how many times Eric had to come to the school to smooth things out. I never made friends so I was an easy target. Everyone was an enemy. No one could be trusted.”

                “Kibum,” Jinki exhaled, aching to embrace the younger man and offer what comfort he could, but he knew better. Doing so would break the font of words and end the tale. It was better to let the story end in its own time, no matter how much he desired otherwise.

                Kibum shrugged and looked away. “You know, Eric probably had something to do with it in the end, but Young and Moon started… training me not long after I began high school. I didn’t see it that way at the time,” he admitted, sighing heavily again. “They would always come at me from behind.” He winced shoulders unconsciously bunching at the memory. “You know how young Varium are. Far more flexible than a standard Terran. I had to learn real quick how to be creative in escaping their… surprises,” he explained, tempering the word he likely wanted to use. “I still hate it when anybody’s behind me. Makes my skin crawl,” he admitted with a shiver.

                At some point in the semester, he was able to rejoin ‘family’ life in the Lee household. Oh, everyone knew he was a regular in Jinki’s room, but seeing him at meals was not par for the course.

“How’s the food?” Mrs. Lee questioned, pointing at the barely touched tray in front of Kibum. She wore the same smile Jinki often did, her brown eyes crinkled at the corners.

                The rest of the chatter around the table died down as they listened in, making Kibum more self-conscious for the fact he had hardly tried anything. Panic flickered across his face while he looked down until Jinki brushed his arm with careful fingertips. It was hardly a touch at all and yet it seemed to help ground him, giving him something to focus on. “Good,” Kibum managed to choke out, looking up quickly to offer a weak smile in response.

                “I’m glad,” Mrs. Lee nodded, her eyes drifting to Jinki before settling on Kibum once more. “Eat as much as you’d like,” she encouraged, one hand gesturing at him as if to give permanent permission. And then her attention shifted, swinging to the rest of the table with practiced ease. “How’s practice going, Hajoon?”

                “Huh?” she inhaled in surprise, clearly caught off guard by the question. “Fine,” she added quickly, recovering as fast as if she was on the field.

                “Jinki reminded us you have a match coming up,” Mr. Lee commented, food deftly clasped between his chopsticks as he waited for her response.

                Hajoon huffed with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “Don’t tell me you forgot the first match of the quarter finals are coming up after exams?!” Mr. Lee laughed, a dry but bemused sound that rumbled in his middle-aged chest.

                “As if,” Doyun snorted, wrinkling her nose at her older sister. “You’ve been dropping reminder hints for weeks now.” She yelped when Hajoon raised a hand like she wanted to smack her younger sister. “Mom!”

                “So noisy…” Siwoo grumbled with a frustrated sigh before she stuffed another bite of food into . “Mm!” came her muffled cry when one of the siblings kicked her under the table. It was impossible to tell who, but her glare was laser sharp.

                “Doyun,” Mrs. Lee chided, a baleful glare settling on her daughter.

                “Sorry,” she mumbled immediately, hunching down in her chair to take another bite in silence.

                “Can I go play games now?” Daejung asked into the quiet that followed. “What?” he wondered when most eyes looked at him.

                Mr. and Mrs. Lee shared equally tired sighs. “Did you finish your food?” Jinki piped up, pointing at the half-eaten food.

                “Yeah,” was the quick response, an eager nod accompanying it.

                Jinki raised a brow and cast a quick glance at Kibum. “Did you finish your homework?” he asked, turning back to focus on his youngest sibling. Daejung fell quiet with a pout and took another bite of food with about as much enthusiasm as one would while eating dirt.

                “Three more bites,” Mr. Lee instructed, holding up his fingers accordingly.

                “Then finish your homework first,” Mrs. Lee added right after, in perfect sync with her husband.

                “Ugh…” Daejung groaned, playing dramatics again.

                “Told you,” Siwoo shrugged, pointing her chopsticks at him and snorting once.

                And that was a relatively quiet meal. Kibum almost didn’t know how to respond. Lunch at the canteen was nothing in comparison and their sheer vibrancy was almost overwhelming. But Jinki had refused to let him stay cooped up in the room by himself and it was his one delayed condition for sharing his living space – ‘You must eat meals with me and the family.’

                And the stories continued from there, as if given new life by the exposure to a ‘normal’ day in the Lee household. “I mean, look at me,” Kibum snorted, gesturing at himself disparagingly. “It’s not like I was ever going to be anything sizable in high school. Even with Varium… siblings,” he added with some hesitation. “I would never be one to win fights. Not with people who were larger and stronger and faster than… this,” he explained, gesturing at himself again. “After so many losses, one learns or gives up.” When Jinki looked at him with a hesitant smile, Kibum added, “You can guess which path I chose.” Stretching hugely, he laughed once. “Words can be a far more effective weapon when used correctly. I taught myself how to confuse my antagonizers and charm with backhanded compliments and hidden insults which worked much better than these,” he explained, holding up his hands like they were some useless part of him.

                Another night and another story followed, the hint of longing in his voice. “I think that’s why I get along with Passeri as well as I do. The Moladhi can use words like a sword and it’s beautiful,” he exhaled, a wan smile pulling at his mouth. “You know, the minute you stop talking and start listening, you begin winning the war. People are fonts of information if you give them the chance.” His expression darkened slightly, the hint of insecurity present. “And the more you know about them, the easier they are to manipulate too.” He scratched at his face, clearly uncomfortable. “The lines start to blur when you use people like that,” he admitted, chewing on his bottom lip. “Are they really your friend or just a tool or are they trying to use you too?” he wondered, dark eyes drifting up to look at Jinki directly, a challenge or a question. It was hard to say.

                Jinki took his time to answer, mulling his words with care. “If you’ve already come to a decision about me, I don’t think I’ll be able to change your mind,” he admitted after a significant pause. “But you should also know that, if nothing else, I keep my word.” He had promised he’d help him to see this semester through. That much was indisputably true. If he had questions about anything outside of that, well… Jinki might have to consider them at length as well.

                That had been the end of that night’s tale, neither completely satisfied with the ending. But it did not preempt the continuation of the story in the days to come. “My choice of university would likely determine the direction of my life. I could have stayed in the other dome. I didn’t want to though. Eric offered to help. Young and Moon tried to be friends. I know that now. But none of it was enough.” Kibum sighed and looked at his open palms hovering over the digitext he was trying to study. “I needed to know I could do it on my own. Without help. Without depending on anyone else to make it happen,” he explained, folding his fingers slowly to clench his fists. “I wasn’t given student housing but I did have the apartment,” he murmured, shivering at the reminder. He hadn’t been back since Jinki had brought him to his house. “I don’t know how well I’ve succeeded,” he admitted, letting his eyes trail over to meet Jinki’s in that moment.

                “Hey. No man is an island,” Jinki shot back, holding up his hand with one finger hovering in the air between them.

                It was enough to make Kibum laugh once with a smile. “No, he is not,” he agreed, nodding slowly and looking down at the confirmation. “But…” he continued, looking up again and making eye contact with Jinki. “At some point, I will need to find my father. He needs to know the pain he caused. He needs to pay for the hurt he left behind. And someday, I will be the one to make him see it.”

                Slightly taken aback by the vehemence that infused Kibum’s words, Jinki blinked and took a breath, exhaling noisily. “I have no doubt of that. There’s just one tiny little problem right now,” he continued, holding up his fingers to indicate the small issue.

                “What?” Kibum questioned, his expression clearly indicating he had a pretty good idea of what Jinki was talking about.

                “End of semester tests are coming up and you still have to pass those before you can really consider the next step…” he explained, a worried grimace on his face.

                Kibum sighed in exasperation. “I know. My grades are subpar. For now. But if I pass the exams…” he trailed off, his hand lingering in the air in the space between them.

                “You can stay at the university, you’ll become eligible for university housing, and you’ll progress to the next level!” Jinki cheered, a voluntary cheerleader in the dark moments of Kibum’s psyche.

                “Exactly!” Kibum agreed after a brief delay. It was obvious he wasn’t sure how to respond himself. But that was the long and short of it.

                “Okay!” Jinki grinned, the personification of enthusiasm. “We have a few weeks left before finals. We can do this!” he promised, extending his hand so as to give Kibum the option to take it.

                For a long moment, Kibum just looked at it uncertainly, his hand curled loosely into a fist in front of his chest. Oh so slowly, his fingers curled open and extended in front of him before he carefully reached out to place his hand atop Jinki’s. Fingers curled beneath his, gripping lightly, a silent promise. “Okay,” Kibum whispered, staring at their joined hands with all the hope his battered heart could muster.