Eunhyuk watched silently as Donghae fell asleep cuddled deep inside of his arms.

From the whole commotion that had happened earlier that afternoon, Hyukjae felt the need to protect the younger from the world.

He still couldn't get rid of the churlish, vulgar assertions from the two men out of his head.

Though he tried to keep his composure for the rest of the flight, he was about to loose it right then and there, especially since they were sitting only a few spaces bordering on them.

The two older men were leaning back on their seats, both deeply asleep.

It was midnight now and when the first break of sunlight peaked through the clouds, they would've already arrived in the ravishing, bustling city known as Seoul.

Eunhyuk glanced out of the window, only to find purple stained dark skies and wispy stratus clouds that were hardly visible from the void darkness that engulfed the whole scenery.

"Mmm..." Donghae stirred and moaned from his position on Eunhyuk's shoulder tiredly, which was the only sound he was able to make that Eunhyuk knew about, beside the few whimpers and sobs that escaped his lips when he was crying. 

The older wished that he could trade places with Donghae even for just a day. He wanted so badly to hear the latter's voice, he wished for Donghae to express himself more, and he longed for Donghae to experience the joy of words.

If his Broca's area was damaged as a child, Hyukjae thought, did someone drop him as a baby? Had he fallen off of something? Was he...abused?

Eunhyuk flashed back to a few days ago when he had first found the younger on his doorstep and helped bathe him. Bruises marked his body from his chest, to his abdomen, down to his upper thighs. Some of them were already past the healing process and becoming less noticeable while some looked like they've been there for years. Dr. Siwon noticed them too but had assumed they were part of the signs of his early pneumonia. 

Eunhyuk thought differently though.

Those bruises were not from any illness, they were physical inflictions and he was sure of that. 

Donghae snuggled his face deeper into the older's chest before looking up and meeting Eunhyuk's eyes, interrupting the older's current thoughts. 

"Good evening Hae, you're awake." Eunhyuk greeted with a warm smile.

Hae...I like that name... Donghae thought.

For some reason he liked it when the older called him that.

The fact that Eunhyuk gave him a nickname was comforting and touching at the same time.

Donghae pointed to a flight attendant who had been making her way through the aisles, passing out liquid refreshments for anyone who was still awake. 

"Are you thirsty? What do you want? Water? Orange juice? Apple juice? Cranberry?" Eunhyuk asked, content held in his voice.

The younger male simply shook his head 'no' before continuing to stare at the woman with the cart of drinks who was heading closer and closer in their direction. 

"What? There's nothing else on that except...no Donghae. I'm not letting you drink alcohol, you are under my care mister." Eunhyuk voiced sternly.

He wasn't quite sure about how the younger reacted to alcohol and under his condition right now, shivering and snuggling himself into Eunhyuk's chest because of his illness, there was no way Hyukjae would let his sweet dongsaeng drink that poison.

Donghae, beginning to get frustrated, cuddled himself closer to Eunhyuk and looked up at him with intense, pleading eyes. 

Strawberry milk; thought Hyukjae, relieved that Donghae wasn't really interested in alcohol.

It was the same look the younger would give to Eunhyuk every time he would ask for strawberry milk.

He finished the whole half gallon in the fridge back at the townhouse in two days.

Hyukjae was pleased to have someone who shared his love for strawberry milk, but he found himself running to the new milk store more often than planned because of Donghae's sudden cravings. 

The older had gotten quite used to taking care of Donghae at his home but was definitely less than ecstatic about letting his parents meet the younger while the two have only know each other for a week now. As much as Eunhyuk was already attached to the latter, he had no idea about how his parents would react about him.

The untold reactions that gnawed on his head were about to drive him insane, but he tried his best not to worry so much. 

"Hae...they don't serve strawberry milk on airplanes silly! I promise I'll buy you some at the airport the minute we land, okay?" Eunhyuk chuckled at his friend's cuteness.

Donghae's eyes lit up before he flashed a sweet, candied smile.

Aww, Hyukjae thought, he's so cute when he smiles, I wonder how parents can give birth to children that grow up to be this sweet. 

Suddenly, Donghae took hold of the older's hand and placed it on his chest, letting out a pained mewl. 

"What's wrong? Does it hurt?" Eunhyuk asked concerned. 

The older gently ed the younger's black dress shirt to his chest before pulling the latter's body closer to him, trying to hide Donghae's upper physique from any intrusive passengers.

The bruises that were still new were beginning to turn a detestable shade of black and purple. 

Eunhyuk cursed himself, how could he forget? 

He grasped the blanket and put it over Donghae's form before standing up and rummaging through the top compartment where the extra carry-on baggage was stored. He came back down with a green shoulder sling backpack he had been wearing before they left the townhouse and quickly sat down close to Donghae.

Hyukjae pulled out a plastic tube from inside the bag, removing the cap before squeezing the said liquid onto his fingertips and coating the younger's bruises carefully with it. 

"I'm sorry Hae. Dr. Siwon told me to give you this before we left. You were supposed to put it on the bruises that were close to healing." Eunhyuk said apologetically.

Donghae inhaled deeply after Eunhyuk had finished and he grabbed the older's hand, prying his fingers away from his chest. 

The oversized, ed shirt slid right off of his shoulders, baring his toned s and upper abdomen. Eunhyuk hurriedly hauled the shirt up before buttoning it,

"Yah! Cover yourself Hae, I don't know how many erts are riding this airplane!" Eunhyuk exclaimed. 

Donghae snuggled himself closer to Hyukjae before the older even finished fastening his shirt.

The younger slowly closed his eyes again, feeling the weight of the day come crashing down into oblivion, once again protected inside the older's arms. 

◊

It took a few minutes for the other to even realize that Donghae had fallen asleep, exhausted from the long, weary day.

The younger's breathing became slow and even, creating the perfect intonation, nearly lulling Eunhyuk to sleep.

It was different; how they both fell asleep so comfortably, as if Eunhyuk was all Donghae needed to fall asleep beside and the latter's breathing was the only thing the older needed to float away into dream land.

Hyukjae's own eyelids started to get heavy until he heard a voice beside him, 

"You care a lot about your cousin don't you?" an ajuma sitting on the center of the three rows between him and the two inconsiderate men from earlier asked politely. 

Eunhyuk chuckled quietly, amazed at how many people thought him and the other male were related,

"No ma'am, we're friends. Well, close friends now. He's a lot like a dongsaeng to me." Eunhyuk said tenderly, trying not to wake the younger. 

The ajuma shifted her gaze from the older to the younger before stating, "He sure is cute. He must be glad to have someone as kind as you are."

"Thank you." Eunhyuk said carefully, before flashing a honeyed smile at the elder.

Hyukjae glanced at the sleeping man beside him, leaning on his shoulder.

Donghae looked so relaxed and beautiful, just like an angel.

Gently, Eunhyuk wrapped the thin blanket around the both of them, paying extra attention to Donghae who he didn't want to freeze during the night. He tucked the corners into the younger delicately, giving him the majority of the warmth.

Hyukjae didn't mind though, as long as Donghae was safe and protected he was okay also.

"Goodnight Hae...you can always count on your hyung, alright?" Hyukjae said before closing his arms around Donghae and falling into a deep, undisturbed slumber. 

◊

The two most popular music groups in South Korea blasted through the low-quality sound speakers attached to all of the T.V.'s on the backs of the airplane chairs.

An advertisement of the city appeared on the screens with the motto, Infinitely yours, Seoul drawn in at the end of the commercial with rainbow colors.

The screen flipped over to a commercial of a popular boyband and he could've sworn one of the members looked exactly like doctor Siwon.

Donghae was still bundled up next to Eunhyuk, eyes closed and head resting on the older's chest.

He stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the early morning sunlight that seeped in through his window. He glanced up, met by the excited face of his hyung as he wrapped both of his arms around the blonde, taking him by surprise. 

"We're here Donghae! We're in Seoul!" Eunhyuk exclaimed before ruffling Donghae's hair.

The fun was just about to begin.