Oh man. The double update wasn't really successful today, was it... Haha, I'm about four hours late (as long as Myungsoo had accidentally slept for). Sorry guysss!!! Please comment, subscribe, and vote!! Thanks, ily guys!! <33333

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"The hospital...the hospital..." Myungsoo mumbled to himself as his feet pelted the sidewalk. Myungsoo wondered why his friend was there, but Sungyeol's mother hadn't looked too frazzled when she'd given him information on Sungyeol's whereabouts, so Myungsoo wasn't all that worried. Turning left down the road, Myungsoo vaguely recognised the drive to the hospital, when his sister had driven him there that day.

His sister.

She'd come to visit him five times already, but he'd not answered the doorbell, pretended that he wasn't at home. And when his sister finally got her set of keys ready to let herself in, Myungsoo'd escaped unnoticed (or so he hoped) through the back door. It was a silly cat-and-mouse game he was playing with his sister, but Myungsoo knew what was going to happen if his sister caught up with him. She'd sit him down, and hand him those little leaflets he'd seen on the doctor's table that day, and try to make him live as painless a life as possible (probably monitored at the hospital). And Myungsoo didn't want that. He didn't want to be cooped up in the building--he wanted to live his normal life, with the wonderful addition of Sungyeol in it. Myungsoo didn't want to know about his condition, the disease--he wanted to pretend he was all fine, that the attacks were not getting more and more overwhelmingly excruciating.

Myungsoo wanted a happy ending where he wouldn't die, and could live happily ever after with Sungyeol. He wanted his own fairytale. Was it too much to ask?

The huge white building loomed up ahead, brilliant lights cheerily shining through its glass doors, its many windows. Myungsoo entered with a sense of dread. Keeping an eye out for his sister, Myungsoo realised that he'd not stayed long enough to ask Sungyeol's mother where exactly the boy would be in the vast building. He could have kicked himself. Just how was he going to even start looking for his best friend in here?

Myungsoo decided to scan each level, and work his way up the floors. Perhaps he wouldn't miss seeing the guy then.

After completing one round of the first floor with no results to show for it, Myungsoo stepped into the lift to go to the second floor. His finger hovered over the button labeled 'two'. There were fourty storeys to this building. Myungsoo savagely stabbed at the button. There was probably no way he was going to be able to catch Sungyeol tonight. It would be insane to search all the levels.

Damn it. Sungyeol, where are you?!

Myungsoo's dejection stopped him from realising just where he'd walked out to, and by the time he'd noticed, the lift doors had closed, and it was too late for him to escape to a different level. He cursed inwardly. The x-rays were just to his right. Unknowingly, he'd walked straight to where his sister probably would be.

Drat.

The clack of heels on the linolin floor alerted him, and Myungsoo tensed. His sister wore heels to work. She might be approaching, and Myungsoo really didn't feel up to meeting with her just yet. He backed away a little, and ducked behind one of the curtains in the nearest room. Chest heaving a little, and trying his best to conceal the sound of his half-pants and wild heartbeat, Myungsoo listened for the sound of the retreating footsteps. When all was silent again, Myungsoo leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. He looked around, and realised that he'd squeezed himself into one of the changing rooms, where he'd put on the hideous gown before.

"...don't even have to take the xray, and I'm wearing the stinking frock with you, okay. And I'm not complaining." A very familiar voice floated to Myungsoo's ears, and made Myungsoo's very recently calmed down heartrate rise steadily again.

Sungyeol! What was he doing? Myungsoo crept to the curtain and peeped out. A sense of deja vu swept over him. Myungsoo couldn't help but grin at the sight before him.

Sungyeol was standing beside yet another small kid (a little girl this time), wearing the ridiculous frock again. Sungyeol sighed when the little girl didn't stop picking at the bile-green fabric.

Sungyeol stepped forward, and twirled around, making the fabric billow out a little, exposing more of his bony legs to the little girl (and Myungsoo) in the process. Myungsoo froze on the spot. Sungyeol was still tall, and a little gangly, and his arms and legs still stuck out awkwardly from holes cut in the gown, but for some reason, Myungsoo's reaction to the sight was completely different. He tried not to let his eyes linger on Sungyeol's exposed legs for too long, because he found the sight strangely.... Myungsoo felt the back of his neck burn, and raised a hand to rub it. Now that he'd finally found Sungyeol, Myungsoo couldn't think of what to say to him. Myungsoo couldn't help wondering if that was because of the fight, or because of the tantalising glimpses of Sungyeol's smooth, long legs. Maybe a mixture of both factors. But whatever it was, it made Myungsoo's brain empty of words, and left him tongue-tied.

For some reason, all that Myungsoo was capable of now, was to stay rooted to the spot, and watch Sungyeol interact with the child. He saw the way Sungyeol gently led the little girl by her hand to sit on the plastic chairs. He wondered why Sungyeol had never grabbed his hand so softly before, as if it were something precious.

Myungsoo stayed hidden until Sungyeol had carried the little girl to the children's ward, taking extra care not to jolt her broken arm, and turned back to the changing rooms to change back into his regular clothes again (Myungsoo was almost disappointed when Sungyeol reappeared in jeans and a t-shirt). He still didn't know what to say to him, much less begin to apologise for the morning's events (God, that felt like an age ago).

 All the way when Myungsoo had rushed to see Sungyeol, he'd pictured the apology as an easy chore, like how they'd apologised to each other that day, when Sungyeol'd not turned up at the movies with Myungsoo and his group of friends. Somehow, getting to know Sungyeol better seemed to make it harder to apologise to him. Myungsoo didn't know how that worked, but he was almost certain of it, because he simply didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say: a simple sorry just didn't convey even a tenth of what he wanted to say to his best friend.

So Myungsoo ended up following Sungyeol out of the hospital, absolutely b with unknown words to say to the boy, and feeling like a complete, creepy stalker.

Rubbing his hands and blowing on them slightly to warm them against the winter chill outside, Sungyeol took a sharp turn right, and Myungsoo almost lost him. He peered down the narrow alley where Sungyeol had disappeared.

Sungyeol had his back facing Myungsoo, and was making comforting kissy noises and talking soothingly to... A crate?! Myungsoo frowned in confusion. Sungyeol looked quite mad right now.

Then a puff of grey fur shifted in the gloom, and Myungsoo leaned back on his heels, finally understanding that Sungyeol hadn't lost it (and had started talking to a wooden crate), but had struck up a one-way conversation with the kitten seated atop the crate. It was a young one--it couldn't have been more than a two months old. Sungyeol fished out an eye dropper and fed the creature a white liquid (Myungsoo assumed it was milk). Sungyeol didn't stop speaking as he replaced the three hot water bottles that surrounded the kitten with new ones, and Myungsoo strained his ears to hear what the guy was saying.

"...Arrogant -head, that piece of stinking turd..." Sungyeol muttered to himself, oblivious to his audience. Myungsoo's mouth fell open: Sungyeol's voice was so low, and soothing--he'd never imagined the language that spilled out of his mouth now. The surprise freed Myungsoo's tongue as he ventured towards Sungyeol, stopping by his shoulder.

"You're not talking about me, I hope...?" Myungsoo quipped, half-smiling, unprepared for Sungyeol's reaction.

"OHMYGOD!! What--" Sungyeol whirled around, and threw a blind fist in the air, that clipped Myungsoo heavily on the jaw. Myungsoo yelped, and hunched over, clutching his face.

"OH. Jeez. Sungyeol... OW." Myungsoo's voice came out muffled and annoyed, "I'm not trying to you, for pete's sake..."

Sungyeol closed his eyes for a split second, and heaved a gentle sigh of relief. "Oh good..." Then he opened his eyes again to take a better look at the person whom he'd punched, and his eyes widened.

"Myungsoo! What are you doing here?! Oh Myungsoo, I'm so s--" Sungyeol's words died on his lips when Myungsoo held up a weary hand to halt Sungyeol's small speech.

"I followed you, dolt." Myungsoo took a breath, and continued. If he didn't force himself to think of an apology right here, right now, he'd probably never get round to doing it. And then he'd not be able to live with the fact that he'd been a silly coward.

"Listen, Sungyeol, I'm really, really--" Myungsoo took another breath as he tried to stall for time to think of what to say after 'I'm sorry', but he could see Sungyeol was opening his mouth to say something, and Myungsoo wanted to be the one to apologise first.

"Sorry. I'm sorry..." Myungsoo trailed off, desperate for more words to say, to express his feelings.

Sungyeol shook his head, and exhaled, a thin stream of mist escaping from his mouth, hanging there in the air for a moment, before disappearing, and leaving the two boys alone to sort themselves out.

 "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you." Sungyeol's voice wavered a little, "You were just trying to protect me..." He was about to say something more, but Myungsoo cut him off, mouth full of words he knew he wanted to say now.

"But I stank at that, and so I'm sorrier." Myungsoo's throat closed a little, and he swallowed to whisper a small "ha, beat that."

The boys smiled at each other, reluctant to be the first one to start crying. They were males, for god's sake, not hormonal teenage girls.

"Myungsoo..." Sungyeol held out his arms, as if to try to hold all of his best friend at once, and Myungsoo was reminded of his nightmare. But this time however, he didn't hesitate, and closed the distance, and his movements weren't awkward anymore.

When Myungsoo wrapped his arms around Sungyeol, and held him close, their bodies came together so hard that there was a muffled bump, and both boys were rendered breathless for a while.

"Sorry..." Myungsoo repeated, raising one hand from Sungyeol's waist to ruffle his hair. Sungyeol's chest heaved, and his arms tightened around Myungsoo's neck in an almost vice-like grip. Not that Myungsoo was complaining or anything. He could have stayed like that forever.

"Myungsoo," Sungyeol released Myungsoo (who felt the chill once again), and wiped his eyes sloppily. Myungsoo helped him.

"Could I--" Sungyeol was looking at Myungsoo hpoefully, and Myungsoo laughed, nodding, cutting him off.

"Yeah. Sure. My place tonight." Myungsoo set off back down the alley. He looked over his shoulder.

"Come on..." Myungsoo's voice was impatient, but his hand was gentle as he took Sungyeol's in his. He tried to mimick the way Sungyeol's hand held the little girl's just minutes ago--as if it were something precious.

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