Darkness was what first greeted him when he first came to.

Panic rose inside him, his breathing quickened and his thought the worst. It wasn’t until he registered the feel of soft fabric-like material covering his eyes did he relax. His right hand came up to his face to rest against the material, right above where his eyes were.

When he finally calmed down enough, he was able to assess his surroundings using his other senses. Steady rhythmic beeps filtered into his ears, and the heavy stench of antiseptics and cleaning detergent invaded his sense of smell. That, along with the feel of an IV drip attached to his left hand, told JR that he was in a hospital.

“JR?”

JR snapped to attention at the sound of his name. The voice was familiar, but JR’s mind was still too hazy to put a name to it. It was a voice that JR knew well and it helped soothe his mind and relax his tense body.

“JR? Jonghyun?” the voice called out once again, and he was finally able to put a name to the person.

“Ren,” JR breathed out. He tried to smile at the younger teen, although he himself could feel that it was obviously a pathetic attempt.

He heard faint footsteps beside him, and nearly flinched in surprise when a hand grasped his. It was cold to the touch, and a little clammy. But JR didn’t flinch away, even when Ren’s manicured nails were digging uncomfortably into the palm of his hand.

“Jonghyun-ah,” Ren said softly, running the pad of his thumb along JR’s knuckles, “How are you feeling?”

JR tried to speak, but his voice was too raspy and everything came out unintelligible. JR cleared his throat, and tried once again. “Thirsty.”

The hand that was grasping his let go as he felt himself being lifted up into a sitting position, and then a cold object press against his lips.

“Drink,” he heard Ren say.

JR wasted no time in gulping the contents down his throat, almost choking in the process. The cool water was a much-welcomed relief to his parched throat. JR sighed contentedly as Ren carefully laid him down on the stiff hospital bed again.

“I have to go somewhere for a while,” he heard Ren say, “The doctor’s going to be here soon to tend to you, okay? I’ll be right back.”

JR murmured incoherently under his breath as Ren’s light footsteps echoed and faded and he heard the door click shut. As much as he wanted Ren to stay with him, he really didn’t have the energy to tell Ren that. It wasn’t long until he heard the door open and shut and heavy footsteps resonated throughout the room.

“Hello there, Jonghyun,” the doctor said, the sound of a chair creaking under exertion following soon after, “I see you’re finally awake. How do you feel?”

“I’ve been better,” JR said, voice still slightly raspy. He heard the sound of scribbling soon after. Most likely the doctor was jotting down some notes.

“Jonghyun,” he heard the doctor say in a monotonous voice, “Do you know why you’re here?”

“Yes,” JR answered blankly.

More scribbling sounds were heard before the doctor settled what JR assumed was his clipboard on the bed, near JR’s thigh. JR felt a hand snake under his back and lift him up into a sitting position, JR complying easily.

“I’m going to take off the bandages on your eyes, alright?”

JR made no move as the doctor carefully unfasten and unwound the bandages around his eyes. The long piece of fabric shifting slightly every time the doctor moved. In a few seconds, the bandaging was off of JR’s eyes and the doctor let out a satisfied huff as JR opened his eyes.

“There,” he heard the doctor say, “They’re all off.”

But JR still couldn’t see anything.

-xOx-

“Careful, JR, one step at a time.”

Ren’s voice patiently guided him as JR took his first steps after being bed-ridden. He was unstable, and his stitches hurt, but he was determined to be able to walk on his own again. Although JR could no longer see, he knew the younger was constantly by his side, encouraging him and ready to catch him if he fell.

After the fifth step, JR suddenly felt extremely light-headed and lost his footing. He tumbled into Ren’s already stretched out arms, face planted firmly onto the younger’s chest. He felt Ren laugh—something that managed to make JR’s heart flutter ceaselessly—before Ren steadied JR once again.

“I told you to be careful,” Ren teased as JR got back on his feet. JR just pouted as he started walking again, but this time, Ren’s arm was placed firmly around JR’s waist. Not letting go even as JR protested.

-xOx-

After a few weeks of being cooped up inside his hospital room and undergoing tedious check-ups, JR was finally allowed to go home. His mother fretted over JR the entire car ride home and as she led JR into his room. JR just about collapsed on the bed as his mother twittered about with a worried tone in her voice. It wasn’t until did JR assure that he was fine for the umpteenth time did his mother leave him alone in peace and quiet.

JR sighed as he closed his eyes and made himself comfortable, already half-asleep. He didn’t notice the door open and close as a person walked into the room until he felt the bed dip next to him. Though JR was too tired to react.

“Hey,” was the person’s simple greeting.

JR groaned as he buried his face into his pillow, “Go away Ren, I’m sleepy.”

JR heard Ren chuckle as he felt Ren’s hand on his shoulder. “That’s okay,” Ren said, “You can sleep, I won’t bother you.”

He lifted Ren’s cold hand from his shoulder and placed it on top of his forehead, sighing contentedly as the cold hand soothed his heated skin. “You can stay,” JR murmured, “But your hand has to stay there.”

“You’re really warm,” he heard Ren mutter worriedly, “Do you have a fever?”

JR shook his head wordlessly, opening his unseeing eyes as he looked to where Ren’s face presumably was. JR knew Ren was here for a reason. The younger never really visited unless he had something in mind.

“What’s on your mind?” JR asked.

Ren paused, his hand still attached to JR’s forehead, before saying, “You know I’ll always be there for you, right?”

“Yes,” JR nodded.

“And you know I’ll take care of you if you need me to, right?”

“Yes,” JR repeated.

“Okay then,” Ren’s cold hand left JR’s forehead—JR had to bite back a whine of protest at the loss of contact—and he felt the bed straighten out as Ren stood up, “That’s all I wanted to confirm.”

JR lay still as he heard Ren walk away from his bed and walk out of his bedroom, the door closing with a soft click. JR let out a breath as he closed his eyes once again, ready to drift to sleep. He made himself comfortable as he finally fell into unconsciousness.

When he woke up, a hand was shaking his shoulder and he heard a voice that was unmistakably his mother’s voice. JR’s eyelids fluttered open as he turned his head to face where he assumed his mother’s face was. The hand that was shaking his shoulder stopped and instead moved to cup JR’s cheek.

“Jonghyun, sweetie,” he heard his mother say, guilt evident in her tone, “I’m so sorry Jonghyun, but I have to go to work. I’ll try to go home as quick as possible. I’m sorry I can’t stay at home with you, but I promise I’ll sort all of this out as soon as possible so I can take care of you, okay?”

JR nodded groggily, not exactly taking in what his mother said, as he was still half-asleep. He let his mother pull him into a hug, the stiff fabric of her work clothes and sharp smell of her perfume invaded JR’s sense of touch and smell in a matter of seconds. JR let his mother rock him back and forth, as if he was a toddler being lulled to sleep.

“Don’t go out of your bedroom until I come home, okay?” his mother continued, “Unless if you really need to go to the bathroom. I’ve put a water pitcher and a glass on your desk if you’re thirsty along with some snacks. If there’s something wrong, just yell for help, I’ve already informed the neighbors to rush in immediately if they heard a yell. And also—”

JR cut off his mother’s rant when he pulled away from her hold. He gave his mother a sleepy smile and fell back onto the bed, head resting comfortably on his pillow. Stifling a yawn, he said, “Don’t worry mom, I have a friend that will come and take care of me when you’re not home.”

-xOx-

JR was struggling to put on his pajama shirt by himself. His fingers glided over the soft flannel to locate the buttons and buttonholes. He slowly buttoned his shirt, one button at a time, until he stopped when he heard a familiar burst of melodic laughter.

“You skipped a buttonhole,” he heard Ren say, walking closer to where he was.

JR felt the fabric once again, and true enough, he had missed a buttonhole. As JR was about to fix it, Ren brushed JR’s hands away and fixed it for him. Fastening each button for JR all was fastened.

“You know,” JR snickered, “I really could get used to you putting on my clothes for me.”

A light smack on the arm was the younger teen’s only response. And JR couldn’t help but to laugh in return.

-xOx-

It was a lazy Tuesday afternoon, and JR was sitting on the couch in his pajamas, one hand was twiddling the remote control to the television while the other busied itself adjusting the sunglasses perched uncomfortably on his nose (which he later decided to forgo) He was watching—or rather, listening as the television droned on about the latest news.

“...Further investigations into the traffic accident that took the life of one person and injured four others show that—”

JR promptly turned the television off and placed the remote on the small coffee table in front of him. He propped his legs up the table and leaned his head back against the couch, exhaling deeply as he closed his eyes. He heard Ren walk into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to JR.

“Why’d you turn the TV off?” JR heard Ren ask.

“TV’s a lot more fun to watch,” JR murmured, “And besides, I’m bored of listening to the news.”

JR heard Ren hum in thought next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for a while. The only sounds that registered in JR’s ears were soft breathing and the quiet hum of the electric fan placed in the room.

“I’m bored,” JR finally spoke up.

“What do you want to do?” Ren replied.

JR paused as he thought about it, before turning to where he presumed Ren was and beamed, “Read a book for me.”

JR could imagine Ren looking at him with a surprised and disbelieving expression at his request, and the mental image really made JR want to laugh. There were some things about Ren that was easily predictable to him, like how he knew Ren would definitely refuse his request outright.

“No,” Ren refused sternly.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please, Rennie?” JR continued to plead, “Don’t make me have to use it.”

JR could imagine horror washing over the younger’s face. He couldn’t help the smirk that graced his lips when he heard Ren say, albeit hesitantly, “No. Still no.”

JR’s smirk grew as he brought a curled fist under his chin, wiggling the hand slightly. “I’m really going to do it, Rennie,” JR chirped. He mentally cheered when he heard an exasperated sigh come from the younger boy.

“Okay fine,” he heard Ren grumble, defeated, “But don’t blame me if I bore you even more.”

-xOx-

JR was maneuvering his way through the house, trying to test his knowledge of the positions of the furniture and doors around the house. So far—if his memory served right—he had managed to successfully sidestep the dining table, a few chairs and a small side table. He grinned as he avoided collision with the dreaded coffee table, but his success was short-lived as his shin collided with the leg of the couch.

He bit back a curse as he crouched down to tend to his shin. No doubt the impact was going to result in a lovely bruise to add to the vast collection of bruises littered along both shins.

When he heard laughter, he glared at where he assumed the person was. “You could have told me, you know,” JR scolded.

Ren laughed even more as JR heard him walk closer to where JR was. JR blindly made a grab in front of him, managing to grasp Ren’s cold hand in one try. JR didn’t need to see to know when his friend would reach out his hand to guide JR.

-xOx-

JR sat inside the bathtub obediently as Ren bathed him thoroughly with a sponge, slightly wary of the scars and stitches that was present on JR’s body. Ren took ahold of JR’s wrist and lifted his arm, scrubbing it until it was squeaky-clean. JR barely even flinched when the sponge travelled to his chest and down his abdomen.

“I can bathe myself just fine thank you very much,” JR muttered, squirming slightly when the slick sponge rubbed against his ticklish ribs.

JR heard Ren scoff from above him, and he felt water rushing down on him as it washed away the suds. “I’m not going to be responsible if you slipped and fell in here.”

JR just pouted as Ren poured shampoo on his hair, “What does that have to do with me bathing myself? Can’t you just watch as I take bath to make sure I don’t slip?”

JR didn’t mind if Ren kept watch, really. The concept of showering together wasn’t foreign to both boys.

Ren chuckled, rubbing the shampoo into his hair, “Alright, I just like treating you like my own personal baby.”

JR swatted at Ren, smiling when the younger teen protested about the soap suds that stained his shirt. Ren retaliated by smacking JR on the back before going back to shampooing JR’s hair harshly. JR endured the pain with a large grin on his face.

“You know,” JR spoke up, wincing when Ren tugged particularly harshly at a strand of hair, “I wonder how the others are.”

Ren hummed absently, pouring more shampoo into his hair. “The others?” he repeated.

“Yeah. Aron, Baekho and Minhyun. I wonder how they are.”

JR heard Ren pause for a moment, “I’m sure they’re doing okay.”

“Maybe when I’m allowed to go out,” JR mused, “We should go visit them. The two of us.”

Ren paused once again, and JR felt Ren place his cold and soapy hand on JR’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. “We should.”

-xOx-

“Scissors paper stone!”

JR immediately splayed his hand out to form a paper. He heard Ren clap and smugly say, “I win!”

JR frowned, drawing his hand back. “How do I know you’re not lying?” he grumbled bitterly.

JR heard Ren huff, “Don’t you trust me?”

JR smiled softly, his hand gliding across the floor until he found Ren’s hand. He rested his hand on top of Ren’s and gave it a firm squeeze, “I always trust you.”

Next part will be posted when I have my friend's approval of it. Which is hopefully soon.