Chapter 7

Wu Fan woke up suddenly in the middle of the night because of a stupid nightmare involving himself in a car, driving fast and a happy-looking Chanyeol standing in the middle of the road. As he took in his surroundings, he realized that his nightmare was loosely based on a true story.

He looked over at a boy lying hunched, on an uncomfortable-looking armchair next to his bed, in the tiny hospital room.

“I thought I told you to go home.” Kris said in a dry voice.

“You did, but I didn’t.” Chanyeol yawned back and tried, probably in vain, to get comfortable in his chair.

“Why not?” The injured guy asked. “Everyone else left hours ago.”

“Everyone else didn’t cause your accident.” The curly-haired boy retorted seriously.

“I barely had two scratches.” The Canadian protested, trying to stand up on his bed.

“And a head injury.” The other put in, giving up on sleep altogether and looking around for something to eat. He stood up and handed Kris a glass of water as he took a chocolate bar that Kyungsoo had smuggled in earlier that day.

 “Chanyeol-ah.” The blonde called intensely and grabbed the boy’s arm.

“Hm?” The younger guy looked up at him, a question on his innocent face.

“You’re not my mother.” Wu Fan stated decisively.

“I mean, ok, you were careless for a second and just because I happened to see what was going on, I pushed you out of the way. And yes, I got a couple of bruises out of it. But that’s not reason enough for you to stay up all night and babysit me, when you already paid my hospital bill.” It was something he’d been meaning to say to the young boy all day.

“So what was I supposed to do, leave you here alone?” Chanyeol crossed his arms stubbornly.

“Yes.” Kris shrugged. “It won’t be the first time I stay here alone, anyway.” He blurted out and instantly, he regretted it.

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed and made his forehead, wrinkle a bit in thought. He had dark circles from sleeplessness and his eyes were narrowed as he glared at the floor. Then, his lips were pushed together, to make a thin line, like he was trying to hold in the things he wanted to say.

“I won’t make any more noises to annoy you. So try to rest.” He finally settled with saying.

“You know it’s not about the noises.” Kris tried more softly, feeling guilty again for everything he had done and everything he was going to do in the future.

However, at that moment Chanyeol’s tired and angry eyes stared at him and froze him. Or burnt him. Probably, the second, since it was Chanyeol.

“Yes, I know.” He said aggressively. “You just want to be here alone, hurting on your own. And I know the reason too.”

 Meanwhile, Kris felt his insides being stirred by a ladle, like those big wooden ones witches used in fairytales to make magic potions in their cauldrons. He tried to hold his breath and keep calm, but his body hurt. I t hurt in many different ways, some of them being more emotional than physical.

“You hate yourself. I saw it before too. Your face frowns on its own and it scowls and becomes scary. That’s when I know you’re in pain. You never say a thing though; you just sit there, alone.” Chanyeol continued, his eyes spitting fires now.

“But what can I do, when I don’t hate you at all? I can’t stand it!” Boldly, he takes Wu Fan’s shirt in his long fingers. He forced him closer threatening to burn him in his flaming eyes- or so Kris thought.

“I said I don’t want you to look sadly at me again. Well, I take it back. To hell with this!” Chanyeol’s hot breath touched his face and Kris felt warmth engulfing him.

“If you’re going to be scowling and hating yourself, do it in front of me. If you’re going to curse me, do it while staring at my face.” He shook Wu Fan slightly at that. If words could not bear all that he felt, the boy had to use body language as well.

“Say that you don’t even know me well enough to be so close, that you’re the kind of guy who doesn’t need people like me, that you’d rather be alone. Just do it now. While looking at me.” It was an order really; Wu Fan knew that. He’d known that even if the other guy hadn’t been holding his shirt for dear life.

“I don’t know if I hate myself. That’s a little too strong.” Kris tried out his voice. He was not used to this sort of thing. “What I know, is that for the past three years, I’ve done nothing right. One mistake after the other. Even now.” He sighed, fighting to figure out what the person across from him must have been thinking. However, Chanyeol’s expression was unreadable at the moment.

“And yes, you are too close to me.” The Canadian smirked as the boy blushed and retreated, albeit only a few inches.

“You keep saying I look sad.” Wu Fan became serious again. “I am. I’m sad when I look at you and sad when I think of you.”

“Why?” The curly-haired guy breathed out tensely.

“It’s not your fault.” The blonde whispered reassuringly.

“Ok, but why?” The question came out of Chanyeol’s mouth quickly, desperately. He had to know.

“You, Park Chanyeol, are fire to me. You’re lighting the way and you’re making everything warmer.” As he spoke, Kris felt the boy’s grip on him tightening.

“But, I’m used to being cold. Like the Eskimos, I’m used to cold climates.” The foreigner looked down at the two hands that were clawing into his shirt. Chanyeol’s knuckles were white now. It must have been hard on the boy to keep a grip on him for so long, Kris realized.

“I put on all those clothes to survive the winter, but you tell me to take off my coat and throw away my boots. And look at me! I’m doing it willingly. I’m doing it because, now, it’s warm. For the first time, it’s warm.” The blonde touched the boy’s hair softly.

It was meant to be just a friendly hair-messing, but without his mind’s full consent, it turned out differently. His hand brushed over the boy’s curly hair and touched the skin next to his eyes. Soon it was moving from his cheekbone to his chin, caressing his face, in a crazy curiosity to feel everything.

“But, Eskimos belong in snowy places.”  With these words Wu Fan pulled back, softly removing the younger boy’s hands from his shirt. “One day, inevitably, I’ll have to go back to the North Pole. And you took my coat and my boots. Because of that, the cold will be ten times harder to live with.”

“Then don’t leave. Stay here. I’ll keep you warm.” Chanyeol retorted.

“You’ll be the one asking me to leave…” The blonde muttered under his breath. “Still, you don’t know that yet, do you? How could you know, anyway?” He added bitterly.

“Give me some space, Park Chanyeol. I’m not leaving right now, don’t worry. Just let me get some air.” He concluded decisively and after a few seconds of what appeared to Kris like an internal battle, the curly-haired boy nodded in agreement.

Then, as if he understood that the atmosphere in the hospital room had become too stuffy, he stood up from the corner of Wu Fan’s bed.

“Get some air…” Chanyeol repeated while stretching. “I get why you’d say that. It’s so hot and suffocating in here.” He put two hands on his throat, pretending to choke and Kris chuckled lightly.

“Do you like the sea?” The younger guy suddenly asked, demonstrating a brand new, lively grin that made all the serious things he said before seem unreal.

“I… do?” Wu Fan answered hesitantly.

“Great! Then tomorrow, after you get discharged, let’s go there. We can call the others and make Kyungsoo prepare something to eat. It’ll be awesome.” Chanyeol narrated excitedly, as if he hadn’t just held on the older boy’s shirt and shouted at him.

Kris didn’t mind the change, though. He knew that all his friend was doing was releasing the tension.

He agreed to the trip and, somehow, the crazy guy managed to plan everything in zero time.

Wu Fan did miss the sea.

He realized it the moment he laid eyes on the dark blue ocean. It was so vast and soothing and refreshing that it made all the bad things go away for a while.

Kyungsoo was forcing Jongin to eat some sort of vegetable pie he had made and Baekhyun and Chanyeol were trying to ruin two very expensive pairs of pants by running across the shore.

The Canadian couldn’t see Sehun and Junmyun anymore. He remembered spotting them walking away from the group ten minutes ago, right after Sehun told him ‘Duizhang-hyung is jjang!’ and didn’t explain why.

“Sehun said he had something important to tell Junmyun-hyung.” Jongin explained, seeing how the blonde was looking around worriedly.

“Did he now?” Kris nodded in comprehension.

“Yeah. Finally.” Kyungsoo mumbled stuffing some food into his dongsaeng’s mouth.

He must have realized what is going on, thought Wu Fan, staring at Kyungsoo impressed.

“Duizhang! Come over, let’s swim!” Meanwhile, Chanyeol had taken his shirt of and was waving it as a flag.

For a mere second, Kris eyed the boy’s bare body, his pale skin and the places where his muscles were bigger from exercise. When had he started exercising anyway?

After the blonde went back to his senses he shook his head.

“My feet still hurt.” He said as an excuse.

“Then let’s carry him around!” Eyeliner Baekhyun suggested mildly, which was more than enough pep talk for Chanyeol.

“You take his feet and I’ll take his arms.” The crazy guy shouted and run towards Kris, who later insisted he was more scared when the two Koreans carried him around the beach, than when the car drove towards him.

“Let me go!” He shrieked unlike himself, while Baekhyun struggled to hold his feet, causing his jeans to dangerously lower down his torso.

“If I let go, you’ll fall in the water.” Baekhyun threatened motioning at the sea.

“I’d rather drown than let you see my underwear.” Wu Fan glared and kept trying to free himself from his abductors.

“Then should we see your upper body instead?” Chanyeol who was the self-appointed, arm-holder giggled from over the blonde’s head.

The sad thing was that the ‘arm-holder’ was stronger and taller than the feet-holder, so he easily grabbed Wu Fan’s shirt and started pulling it up, while everyone else laughed and applauded.

“D-Don’t you dare, Park Chanyeol!” Kris tried to shrug him off but failed terribly.

“Why not? I’ve already taken off your coat and your boots. I might as well keep going.” He didn’t even try to sound innocent, the Canadian thought spitefully.

“Can I take pictures?” Jongin said, his phone already pointed at Kris, who replied with a death glare.

“When did Chanyeol-hyung take Duizhang-hyung’s clothes off?” Sehun who had just arrived with a smiling Junmyun behind him, asked jokingly.

“Never!” Wu Fan grimaced at the sneaky look on the maknae’s face.

“Oh, Duizhang is right! I didn’t…” Chanyeol continued trying to undress his captive. “He said he’d take them off, all on his own!”

For Kris that was the final blow.

“YAH!” He shouted so loud the curly-haired boy jumped up surprised and let go of his arms and shirt, leading to the blonde being half under water and half over it, since Eyeliner Baekhyun hadn’t released him yet.

Kris felt the cold water of the sea attack him from everywhere. He felt slowly drowning even though the water wasn’t even a meter deep at that spot. Not that he was complaining; quite the opposite really. Wu Fan always enjoyed swimming. Even that drowning feeling you get when you relax and go underwater, didn’t scare him one bit. It was suddenly silent and nothing could affect him. A nice change from the anxiety and tension he’d been feeling lately.

Someone must have told Baekhyun to let go of his feet, because now the Canadian was all underwater. And he stood there, motionless, appreciating the tranquility. It was too bad that he couldn’t be a fish, he thought; or a bird… A bird would work too. He could swim or fly away in peace and never have to think about money and people and strange jobs that involved him backstabbing an innocent boy that called him his friend. But Wu Fan couldn’t be a fish. That was stupid. He couldn’t even breathe in the sea.

Just as he was thinking that he needed to come out and take a much needed breath of air, somebody got hold of his arms and pulled him out.

The cold wind was hitting him as Chanyeol dragged him out of the sea. The boy was dripping too, having half-dived in to rescue him- apparently he thought Kris really couldn’t swim.

“Here.” He handed the blonde a towel and sat next to him on the sand.

“Was it very cold? Sorry for dropping you in.” The younger guy apologized honestly.

“It was nice.” Wu Fan shrugged it off.

“You liked it? But it’s October! Oh, what am I even saying? Of course you liked it. You’re an Eskimo.” Chanyeol chuckled by himself.

“Yeah, and apparently I like undressing myself in front of others too.” The blonde challenged with a raised eyebrow.

“You should be careful what you say from now on.” The curly-haired guy smirked and with a ‘thud’ he fell backwards on the sand and put his hands behind his head.

“A-ah… The sand is warm. I like it. You can swim in the cold water if you want, or come out from time to time and sit here in the warmth with me. From now on, until Duizhang decides what he wants I’ll stay here.” He slowly closed his eyes without removing the smile from his face.

And Chanyeol couldn’t see him anymore; and he couldn’t feel Wu Fan trembling under the wet clothes - because swimming in the cold water has that side-effect- but the blonde nodded anyway and wrapped the towel closer around him.

A/N: OMO! I love you all so much for the pretty comments and the subscriptions!!!! 

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