It had only taken a few minutes with Yongguk’s speedy and rather reckless driving for them to get back to the hospital. They walked quickly, ignoring the stares of the nurses as they made their way back to the waiting room they had left the younger members of their family in. Daehyun was nervous as they approached the door, after all, even though they didn’t know at the time that Youngjae might have been in danger, they had still left him alone and unguarded.

The gust of air that Daehyun wasn’t even aware he had been holding rushed out in a single sigh as Yongguk pushed open the door and Daehyun could see Youngjae still slumped down in the seat that they had left him in.

Turning in his seat, the nurse from earlier looked back to great them, “Oh, good, you guys are back… I was just about to explain what the doctors are going to do.” He waited until Daehyun and Yongguk had sat down before glancing back at the door to make sure none of the other nurses had come in. “Alright the bullet did significant damage to the muscular tissue, but luckily, it didn’t strike the bone like the surgeon had originally thought. He won’t be able to use his arm for much as the muscle repairs itself, but with physical therapy, he’ll still have use of his lower arm, which is good because had the damage been too bad, it might have been paralyzed.” Ignoring the look of shock on the faces before him, JB pressed on before anyone could walk through the door to interrupt him.

“I don’t want to know what happened, and why, but I do know that this is an important situation that needs to be handled with care,” he gave Youngjae a pointed look before continuing, “I filed him under as an unknown, and if any nurses here ask why you are waiting in here and who you are here to see, tell them your relative is here because his cancer relapsed and you were told that there is nothing more that we can do for him. He’s in room 235 on the seventh floor. His name is Kim Eunseok, and if a nurse takes you in there to talk to him, just go with it.”

Jongup raised his hand a little, “Won’t he know that we aren’t related to him and tell the nurse that he doesn’t know us?”

JB shook his head, “Yeah, he will, but at the same time, he won’t tell the nurse. When I was still a volunteer, he became one of my favorite patients. I asked him to help me…” Suddenly before anything could be said, he pointed at Youngjae, “And don’t you dare yell at me, I could get fired because of you so deal with my decisions!”

Youngjae held up his hands, “Yah! I was only going to say that’s pretty smart.”

“Of course it is, I thought of it.”

Youngjae rolled his eyes at JB, choosing not to make the comment.

However, JB mumbled a soft “I heard you think that, Jae.” Before standing, “I’m going to go check on the progress, I’ll let you guys know when we have moved him to a room and when it’ll be safe to visit him.”

Youngjae stood, following JB to the door, “Thanks again…” He mumbled. “I really don’t want you to get fired because of this-“

JB merely smiled, “It’s a risk worth taking.” He patted Youngjae on the shoulder before pushing the swinging doors and disappearing into the hallway.

Before Youngjae could join the others in the only slightly uncomfortable chairs, Daehyun was standing by him, “Me and you have first shift off…” he said.

“Wait… what do you mean? I want to stay here… what if something happens… We shouldn’t split up!” Youngjae tried to pull back from Daehyun, but the elder was now holding firmly onto his hand as he pulled him along through the hospital. Youngjae had no choice but to give up and go with him unless he wanted to cause a scene and get the attention that they didn’t want from the nurses.

“Hmm, I think it might be cold.” Daehyun mumbled, his acting skills completely as he pulled off the hoodie he was wearing and pulled it over Youngjae’s head, pulling the hood up completely right before they got outside. He made sure it stayed up, despite Youngjae’s protests and flailing limbs, until they were safely in the car, in which Youngjae yanked off the hood and glared at Daehyun.

“What gives, Dae? You’re being weird.”

Daehyun gave him a strained smile, trying to pretend as though everything was okay. “Hey now, I thought we agreed that my weirdness was a good thing.”

Youngjae scoffed, rolling his eyes just a little, “I’m starting to debate against that… Seriously, though… what gives?”

Daehyun shrugged, “It’s just a bit chilly, I don’t want you to get sick.” He said as he cranked up the van, turning sideways and resting his hand on the side of the passenger seat so that he could rotate his body enough to see out the back windshield to make sure that nobody was behind him.

“U...uh… Daehyun?”

“Mhmm?” Daehyun had returned back to his original position, backing the van out of the parking space before easing carefully through the small parking long in front of the ER.

“U...uh... well... You do know…uh, you know? ... I mean… obviously… or maybe not…”

“Youngjae. Spit it out.”

“You can drive… right?”

Daehyun looked over at Youngjae, “Are you doubting me now?”

“Yes.”

Daehyun scoffed as he pulled onto the main road, taking the turns with a bit more ease that Yongguk had. “I’m hurt, Youngjae.”

To this, Youngjae pouted as he slumped back in his seat, crossing his arms. “Well, that’d be just my luck, to make it through not one explosion, but two, then be shot at, only to survive and later die at the hands of a weird Busan bunny who didn’t know how to drive.”

Daehyun couldn’t help but laugh, “There’s no need to worry about that, okay, Jae? I’m pretty sure that I can drive better then Yongguk hyung, if that is any consolation.” Another laugh shook him as he caught Youngjae nodding.

They shared light conversation up until Daehyun pulled up in front of the warehouse. Before the van’s engine had even cut off fully, Daehyun was already out the door, running around the front to get to Youngjae’s door. He opened the door for the younger, but froze as Youngjae’s hand suddenly flew up to block his. “Touch the hood, Jung Daehyun, and you will never taste another slice of cheese cake for as long as you live.” Youngjae held contact, making sure Daehyun understood that he meant the threat before climbing out of the van and heading to the side door of the warehouse, Daehyun half a step behind him the whole time. “Seriously, Dae… You are acting weird…” he said once they were both inside, the door shut and locked behind them.

Youngjae glanced back, instantly regretting the threat (no matter how silly it really had been) towards the other as he noticed the flicker of emotion in Daehyun’s eyes. “Daehyun?” he stood a bit awkwardly as the elder moved forward, pulling him into a tight, needy hug.

“You were almost killed by Infinite.”

“But they didn’t—“

“We almost lost you in that explosion, had Soohyun not been there to help me unbury you from the debris.”

“Dae—“

“Youngjae…. You could have been shot today… it could have been you.”

“Daehyun!” Youngjae pulled out of the hug, bringing his hands up to Daehyun’s face and pressing his palms to the others cheeks as he pulled him in for a soft kiss. “I’m right here. Okay.” He whispered, resting his forehead on Daehyun’s. “I’m right here.” Youngjae closed his eyes, feeling Daehyun’s shaky breath wash over his skin as the elder nodded just a little, keeping their foreheads pressed together.

“You’re right here…” He repeated, his hands slipped around Youngjae’s waist as he held the younger close.

They stood like that in silence for what felt like hours, but in reality couldn’t have been more than five minutes. When Youngjae felt that Daehyun might have gotten it all out of his system, he pulled away and attempted a smile, “I think this calls for desert first… I think I remember something about someone wanting a cheese cake?” A bubble of laughter escaped him as Daehyun pulled away completely with a bright sparkle in his eyes, grabbing hold of Youngjae’s hand and practically dragging him to the kitchen in excitement.

“I should probably make dinner too…”

“Ulgh… I don’t think I could eat anything else though…”

Youngjae glanced over at Daehyun, the elder slumped back in his chair as his head lulled back and his hand rubbed at his stomach. Of course, Youngjae misjudged Daehyun’s stomach, as the elder finished not one, but nearly two whole cheese cakes by himself. He smiled a little, rolling his eyes in a good natured way. “Well, if you hadn’t eaten so much cake…”

“I couldn’t help it! You laced it with addictive drugs or something…”

Youngjae laughed, “I didn’t use anything outside of the normal ingredients.”

Daehyun stood, despite the urge to curl up and nap off the very filling two cakes, and helped Youngjae begin to clear away everything that had been used to make the cakes. They worked in a comfortable silence, Youngjae washing the dishes as Daehyun dried and put them away.

“So… Where did you learn to cook, anyways… or is it just baking?”

“Mostly baking,” Youngjae said, handing over the damp plate and moving on.

Daehyun dried said plate and put it away, watching Youngjae carefully as the younger suddenly kept his eyes focused on the dishwater in which his hands were submerged. “But where’d you learn?” he smiled, “I need to thank the wonderful person that taught you that amazing recipe.”

Youngjae sighed softly, puffing out his cheeks as he did so. He pulled his hands out of the water and rested then right on the edge of the sink as he stared at the wall in front of him, the memories finding their way to the forefront of his mind.

Each was crystal clear, as though Youngjae was right back there with P.O and his Umma, learning to bake and cook and anything else the nice woman could think of doing to keep Youngjae from thinking about how much his own mother wasn’t around for him.

Daehyun watched, knowing that he must have hit a vaguely sore spot for Youngjae as the younger remained silent, staring blankly at the wall. It seemed like ages before Youngjae snapped back into the present, reaching back into the water to grab the last of the dishes, “I’ve mentioned my friend P.O before, right? His umma taught me.” A small smile graced his lips as he passed Daehyun the last of the dishes to dry. “If I ever get to see her again, I’ll pass on your thanks…”

Daehyun smiled in return; glad to see that he hadn’t upset Youngjae. Not wanting to cause tension by pressing into sensitive waters, Daehyun dropped the subject as he put up the last dish. “So what now?”

“Wanna watch a movie?”

Daehyun chewed on the inside of his cheek, staring down at the frankly adorable sight before him. After debating over which sort of movie they would watch (Youngjae wanted to watch what could only be described as a ‘chick flick’ and Daehyun wanted an Action movie, however, both agreed not to watch one of Yongguk’s ‘war films’), Youngjae and Daehyun curled up on the couch together and settled down to watch the movie (in the end, Youngjae got what he wanted and they ended up watching a Rom-Com).

About halfway through the movie, Daehyun noticed Youngjae’s breathing beginning to even out, the warm air ghosting over the skin on his neck as Youngjae stilled, his head nuzzled into Daehyun’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around the elder’s waist loosely.

Daehyun knew sleeping in the odd position would cause the younger to wake up with several pains in his neck and back, but Daehyun couldn’t bring himself to move Youngjae. It was comforting the way that he held onto him so tight, even in sleep, and with Youngjae so close, Daehyun could feel each pulse of his heart, softly beating in reassurance that Youngjae was okay.

It was silly, Daehyun knew this. His worry was a bit extreme, but after everything that had happened in these past few days, it was justified. He slowly raised his hand, tracing his fingertips along the smooth skin of Youngjae’s cheek, counting each small cut that still littered the once perfect skin. He sighed softly, deciding that if he didn’t move the younger to bed now, he never would because frankly, he could literally stare at Youngjae for hours. He kept his movements slow as he eased Youngjae into a sitting position so he could slide out from underneath him. Even more carefully, he scooped the other male up into his arms, just as he had done all those nights ago when they had gotten drunk. Just as he had done that night, Youngjae curled up instinctively in Daehyun’s arms, his hands into the elders shirt as he nuzzled his face into Daehyun’s chest.

Smiling down at the still sleeping boy, Daehyun made his way slowly through the warehouse, pushing open Youngjae’s door carefully and sliding him into bed. He was a bit sadden that unlike last time; Youngjae didn’t awaken in the slightest and drag him into the bed with him. None the less, Daehyun leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Youngjae’s forehead, “G’night, Jae…” he whispered, leaving the room just was quietly as he had entered before slipping into his own room.

His bed felt colder than normal, as Daehyun began to miss the warmth of Youngjae pressed against his side. He really wanted nothing more than to just cure up in the bed with the other, but, they had literally just made it official and Daehyun didn’t want to ruin anything by moving too fast, nor did he want to give Youngjae the wrong impressions. So for the next two hours, Daehyun tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable place in his bed so that he could fall asleep so he could just wake up already.

He sighed for the billionth time, “To hell with it…” He grumbled, throwing back his covers along with the last little thoughts of trying to keep Youngjae from getting the wrong impressions. He eased open the bathroom door on his side with the intentions of just slipping into Youngjae’s room and curling up in bed with the other and hopefully getting some sleep.

However, partially through the bathroom, he was met with the soft cushion of a pillow as he ran right into something, or rather, someone as a soft curse could be heard as something hit the ground. Daehyun reached around blindly, turning on the bathroom light and wincing as the bright lights burnt at his retinas. “Youngjae?”

He reached down, helping Youngjae to his feet as he pouted up at Daehyun. “I can’t sleep.”

Daehyun couldn’t help but smile at the words, “You were sleeping when I put you in bed.”

“But I woke up.”

“I see that… Why do you have your pillow in the bathroom?”

Youngjae continued to pout, his blinks slow as Daehyun figured he wasn’t actually quite awake. “Going to your room… Can’t sleep.”

Daehyun couldn’t help the small bubble of laughter, “C’mon Youngjae… let’s just go get in your bed. I couldn’t sleep either…” He raised an eyebrow as Youngjae shook his head, clutching his pillow tighter to his chest as he side stepped Daehyun and headed for the elders room.

“I’ve got my pillow already…” he mumbled.

With a shake of his head, Daehyun knew it would be better not to argue with Youngjae as he followed him back into his room. He smiled as he lifted back the covers, curling up into the bed with Youngjae.

Youngjae instantly rolled over, nuzzling his face into Daehyun’s chest as he wrapped his arms around his waist and his legs tangled with the elders. A smile crossed his lips as the familiar scent seemed to wrap a cocoon around him and the warmth that he just couldn’t find in his own bed surrounded him. His eyes drifted closed fully as his mind gave back into the sleep that he needed.

Daehyun, on the other hand, put off sleep for a few more minutes so he could take in the feeling of Youngjae’s body pressed against his own in the most innocent of ways. He let his fingertips glide through Youngjae’s hair, smiling as Youngjae merely held onto him tighter in his sleep. He leaned forward, pressing his lips softly to Youngjae’s before resting his forehead against the younger’s, “I think I love you, Youngjae…” He whispered, letting his eyes close as he continued to hold the other close.

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm still working on that laptop. i worked over time last week, so I should get back a nice overtime check that'll help pay for it.  In the mean time, enjoy some fluff as I outline the next few chapters.

Cuddles,

Lynn