“Niel?” Changjo called out. Daniel turned towards him with a questioning glance. “It’s time, can you help me?” Daniel looked to the clock on their wall and understood what he spoke of.

“I’ll be right back guys,” he said as he walked behind Changjo.

“Why can’t one of us do it?” Ricky yelled. Changjo stopped and Daniel barely stopped himself before bumping into him.

“The doctor only showed Niel how to do it, and to tell you the truth, since the doctor was right there, I trust him more. And the doctor said to only let Niel do it.” Ricky merely pouted and turned back to look at the TV. Chunji put a hand atop his head and his hair as if he was a cat.

“Don’t whine; if I break my leg you can help me.” Ricky just pouted even further. He eyed the two as they disappeared into Changjo’s room.

“Don’t forget to lock the door,” said Changjo. Daniel nodded and locked it before placing moving a chair in front of it. “Is that necessary? Does that even work?” Asked Changjo. Daniel nodded.

“Minsoo knows how to pick all the locks, and I tried this before, and it worked for a little.” Changjo couldn’t help but laugh at Daniel’s serious face. Daniel didn’t understand, so he just tilted his head to the side, but he liked Changjo’s laugh, so he smiled along.

“Come and sit on my bed.” Changjo motioned to his bunk and went to his locked drawer. Daniel made himself comfortable and watched Changjo pull out cotton swabs, antibiotic, pills, and bandages. He walked over to Daniel again before motioning him to turn around. He quickly dabbed the cotton swab in antibiotic before cleaning his stitches and feeding Daniel his medicine. He watched as he just swallowed them dry.

“You don’t need any water?” He asked. Daniel merely shook his head.

“Nah, I’m fine.” Changjo merely nodded his head before placing what was left of Daniel’s curls down. “Are you going to help me wash my hair again?” Changjo leaned forward to look at Daniel before nodding.

It’s been three days since, and since then, they have started to bathe together. It wasn’t weird. They have had to bathe and shower together before, since they were trainees, so no one questions them. Well, Ricky asked, but Changjo quickly answered that Daniel was helping him because of his hand and walked away. Daniel followed right behind him.

They had quickly gathered their things and headed to the bathroom. Ricky watched them, but he didn’t say anything to them. He knew he would just get the cold shoulder from Changjo.

“Why do they keep taking baths together?” Ricky asked. The other members shrugged.

“Convenience,” answered Chunji.

“The doctor entrusted Changjo to Niel, so just leave them be,” said L Joe. He watched as how something moved in Ricky’s eyes.

“Well, Changjo is getting older,” he said. The members looked at him inquisitively. “You know hormones and all. He’s also violent and stubborn.” The members knew what he was getting at.

“So you’re saying that Changjo is going to try to sleep with Niel?” Chunji asked amusedly. Ricky just shrugged.

“You said it, not me.” L Joe just couldn’t help but laugh, but Minsoo kept quiet, and stared at Ricky.

“How do you even know he’s gay?” Replied L Joe.

“Niel is girly enough,” Ricky responded. L Joe dropped his smile then. “You know, with those lips, big eyes, and skinny body. Anyone can mistake him for a girl.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re gay,” said L Joe. “If that was the case, half the idols would be gay. You know that you’re not supposed to judge someone on how they look maknae.”  

“Then how about how he’s always so “close” to CAP. He acts like he’s his ing boyfriend! He-,” L Joe cut him off.

“You mean how your always with Changjo, how I always play with Chunji, how Minsoo always plays with you!? You have no idea what either Daniel or Jonghyun likes, so stop trying to start some type of ing drama ! You can’t just assume that someone is gay because your angry that Jonghyun is spending more time with Daniel, because, get this, he trusts Daniel more than you!”

“And why the hell should I be mad at that!?” Yelled out Ricky. L Joe rubbed his face with his hand to try and calm himself down.

 “Maybe because you’re a selfish and spoiled child! Yes, a child. Just because you don’t get what you want you throw tantrums! Yes, I saw you! Don’t try to hide it now! You better fix your little attitude problem now before I beat the out of it from you!” L Joe screamed and walked back to his room but not before flicking Ricky off. Yes, he is a violent hyung, but he prefers to only hit them in a playful way. He knows that if he throws a punch now, there would be no way of stopping it.

Chunji and Minsoo just sat in their positions, only flinching when they heard the door slam. They haven’t seen L Joe that angry, ever. He has never lost his temper that much, not even when he and Daniel were on bad terms. They looked at Ricky, but he quickly just stood and left the dorm, slamming the door behind him.

*****

“Let me start the bath,” Daniel offered. Changjo let him and placed his things on the counter alongside Daniel’s. The first few times, Daniel had to help him his shirt and pants, but now he can do it himself. He got stuck on the two top buttons though, so Daniel just came over and undid it for him before wrapping a plastic bag around Changjo’s hand and removing his own clothing. Changjo went ahead and got into the bathtub, relishing the warm water on his skin, and made sure to keep his eyes away from Daniel. He still has his crush on him, but he’s been able to hide it for years now. 

Daniel sat in next to him and immediately grabbed to soap and scrub. He put some soap on one for Changjo to use, and put some on another for him to scrub Changjo’s back and his other arm, since he can’t really reach it. Once they were done, Daniel poured some shampoo onto Changjo’s head and lathered it for him and then rinsed it out for him. Changjo then gently poured a little shampoo onto Daniel’s head before softly massaging his scalp and he made sure to avoid the stiches.

The cut had already scabbed over, but they were being careful to not reopen it. As Changjo gently washed Daniel’s hair, Daniel scrubbed his own body. Before, when they were trainees, they were really shy, but now this feels normal.

They jumped as they heard creams coming from out the bathroom. They could tell that it was L Joe, but they couldn’t understand what he was saying as his words were muffled through the wall.

“What’s going on?” Whispered Daniel.  

“I don’t know,” answered Changjo.

“We should hurry.” Changjo nodded and started to rinse out Daniel’s hair, but still being careful. They rinsed themselves off one last time before draining the bathtub and stepping out. They kept hearing the screams as they rushed to dry themselves and dress. Daniel helped Changjo balance himself as he put on his shorts with one hand. They heard the screams stop, followed by the slam of a door.  

They finished and quickly headed out the door, towels around their necks. As they stepped out, another slam was heard, but from the front door. They looked at each other and decided to check on L Joe first. As they closed in on his room, they heard things being thrown and things crashing.

Changjo went ahead and opened the door, since it was also his room. They saw L Joe throwing things with tears streaming down his face in anger. Daniel wasted no time in grasping onto L Joe’s arm. L Joe looked at him, getting ready to yell some more, but relaxed when he saw that it was Daniel and Changjo.

Changjo walked up to him as well, and lead him to sit on their bed. L Joe did so, and Daniel followed. Daniel knew from past experience that L Joe was not going to tell him what’s wrong, so he just settled and pulling his close and his hair so that he would calm down. Changjo rubbed his back.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Changjo questioned. L Joe just shook his head. He didn’t want to get angry again, so he just kept quiet. He didn’t question him further, so he stood and left the room. Daniel just sat there and calmed L Joe down.

Changjo walked down the hallway and made his way into the kitchen He poured some water and let it boil as he looked for his herbs and honey.  He looked into the main room, and just saw Minsoo and Chunji sitting in silence. He noticed that Ricky was missing.

‘It was probably him that got in an argument with.’ He went back when he heard the kettle whistle and added his herbs, letting it sit for a few minutes before pouring it into a cup and adding honey. He knew the others heard him, but they acted like they didn’t.

“There’s tea if you want some,” he called out before leaving and making his way back into his room with the tea. He made sure to leave the door open so he didn’t have to open to door with his injured hand. L Joe was still leaned into Daniel, but his expression had softened. He looked up when Changjo entered.

Changjo made his way to sit beside him again before offering the cup to him.

“Here, I put honey in it, so your voice won’t go hoarse.” L Joe nodded before accepting it and drinking it slowly. He was used to Changjo’s teas. Whenever he was stressed, depressed, mad, anything, Changjo would go and make him some tea.

They just sat in silence. L Joe drank his tea slowly. When he was done, he smiled to them both before hugging them.

“Thanks you two. I’ll tell you guys later what happened, let me just go take a shower first.” Both Daniel and Changjo nodded before L Joe let them go. “Let me just go get rid of the rest of that bad energy.” They smiled to him and let him go.

They just sat for a little before they heard a knock come from the door. Minsoo peeked his head in.

“Daniel, we have a phone call,” he said quietly. Daniel just nodded before looking towards Changjo.

“If L Joe comes back before I do, just tell him I’ll be back.” Changjo merely nodded as he watched Daniel leave. He sighed and lay back onto his bed. Minsoo let his stare linger for a moment before closing the door behind him.