Chapter 30
Chemistrydouble update! if you havent already, go read chapter 29
Tao woke up first; Sehun had wriggled his way on top of him and his hair tickled his chin a little, but he didn’t really mind. He was clingy in his sleep. He reached over to the side, where he left his phone last night and checked the time, hoping it wasn't some god-awful time in the morning, because the light was so thin through the curtains. According to his phone, it was 9:24 so maybe it was just raining outside. Tao sighed, rainy days made everything feel lethargic and sad. At least that was better than all the stress and danger they'd been having lately, he hoped that never happened ever again.
Even though Sehun was literally lying on top of him, he wasn't particularly heavy, and it was quite comforting having him there so close. He didn’t know how long it was going to take ‘till he woke up, so he lay back and waited, watching his snoring face fondly.
Someone knocked on his door quietly, as if afraid to come in,
“Tao?” His mother called out softly. . The position they were in was pretty compromising, and Sehun wasn’t supposed to be in here anyway, he was going to be in so much trouble! He grabbed onto his sides, pinching him and shaking him, trying to wake him up quicker,
“Sehun!” he hissed, making the slumbering prince groan loudly. This attracted the confused attention of his mother, who opened the door,
“Tao? Are you ok?” it was futile; Sehun isn’t going to wake up in time. He let hisy head hit the pillow in defeat. At the last second he pulled the covers up over Sehun’s head, hoping that it would hide him, but knowing that it really wouldn’t. It was worth a try.
As his mum crept inside, he tried to look innocent and sleepy but her eyes immediately flew to the lump under his blankets, where Sehun's head lay on his chest. She stepped briskly over to the bed, grasped the duvet and yanked it off in one fluid motion. Sehun shivered in the cool air and groaned again and hugging him tighter,
“Sehun,” he tried to coax him into opening his oblivious eyes, all the while screaming profanities at him in his head. He was totally going to kill him for this later. He attempted to defend himelf to his mum,
“We weren’t doing anything wrong, I swear. All we did was sleep, I promise,” he pleaded, ruffling Sehun's hair. She didn’t look impressed, but he thought she at least believed him. Suddenly Sehun froze, his muscles locked up and Tao realised he was now awake. Finally. Slowly sitting up, he at least had the decency to look mortified. His cheeks were reddened and his eyes still sleepy, and even though he was still mad, Tao thought it was cute.
"It's time to get up," his mum sighs, leaving swiftly. He watches her leave, wondering if maybe there was another reason she came in here, but is soon distracted by Sehun stealing the blankets and trying to hide under them to escape the storm he knows is coming.
An hour later, after breakfast (and Tao beating Sehun's ) they were sat on one of the ratty sofas in the hotel lobby with the obligatory third person there- his sister at the moment- in the room to make sure they weren’t doing anything. Jason's idea. God knows what he thought they would do in a place like this.Certainly nothing that would be horrifying to walk in on; he had his legs resting across Sehun’s lap as they both worked on their written reports.
He wasn't really sure why they thought it mattered so much, they were not that irresponsible. Sehun’s notepad had nearly a full six pages more than Tao's, which bad his heart ache, and he was still writing more. The boy had suffered so much, and had such a messed up childhood. He’d written about his parents too, about how they allowed him to be experimented on. Jason had said everything, after all, but it hurt seeing him closed off like this.
After lunch, someone came into the lobby, bedraggled from the rain. She was obviously meant to be there, because she had a key. She had medium length auburn hair, green eyes and was lugging a huge travel case behind her. Unsure who she was, Sehun moved in front of him, just in case.
“Jason?” She called out, trying to get her suitcase up the small ledge in the walkway. Their rescuer rushed out of the dining room in a flurry of papers and the only word that could be used to describe his expression was besotted. So he actually had feelings other than smug and vaguely annoyed. He scooped her up in a hug and swung her around, and then kissed her. Tao's mum stood in the doorway with a blank face. Ouch.
Later on, once he was done with his own little reunion, he introduced her as Ciara. She was going to be the lawyer for their case. At first glance Tao thought she was going to be a bit scatter-brained, especially with her less than graceful entrance, but actually she was extremely efficient, and seemed used to dealing with child law cases, so it was probably her speciality. That made Tao wonder if maybe they were a team, and did this kind of thing a lot.
Briskly, she told them everything they needed to know and helped them organise what they did and didn’t need to include for their court case, which was apparently going to take place in just over a month. She worked them hard, and didn't allow them to cut corners, so they were discussing and arguing about things all the time.
The second day they and they were working on compiling corresponding evidence to go with each part of their reports, and that night I sleep alone, which is harder than I thought it would be. Two weeks later, most of their material was ready, and now they needed to start memorising it all, and responding to the kinds of questions they might get asked when on the witness stand.
Sehun seemed more scared of the idea of standing up in front of people and talking about this than Tao did. Maybe it was because he’d done so little talking up ‘till now. Being kept from the public meant he didn't so much experience as he did, and Tao wanted to promise him that he would be there, next to him. But he couldn’t, He wasn't allowed to be. Instead, he kissed him and told him that he'd be waiting for him afterwards.
The night before they went into court, Sehun was so nervous he was sweating, and Tao was pretty sure if anyone else were in here they would be acting crazy because of his hormone implant. Not even Tao himself was exempt, unable to focus on anything that wasn't to do with his boyfriend, he could barely look away. It worked in their favour, really, in order to help calm him down he had to get close to him and make him think about Tao, not the impending public speaking he has to do in a few minutes.
He got right in his face, the tips of their noses touching, and spoke to him. He told him that it was all going to be ok, that he was going to be fine, that he loved him, that they were obviously going to win- the evidence was completely in their favour and that that once all this was over they were going to be just fine. Grim faced, he nodded bravely.
Then Tao gave in to his desires and kissed him.
-
Although Ciara had done everything she could to help Sehun out, he still stuttered and lisped his way through his testament so badly he was sure they all thought he was lying. His brain was in a mess, and when he was on the podium he could barely focus on the questions they were asking. The defense lawyer for his parents and Mr Evans kept reminding him that his parents loved him, over and over again, as if he didn’t already know that. It made everything a lot harder.
No one was allowed to be too close to him, on Mr Evans’ orders, in case his implant was triggered by his nerves. From a distance, the defentant and Ciara asked him about things he’d experienced, like being experimented on while, rescuing Tao, and then Isla going crazy and nearly killing him. That’d been difficult to recount, and he was so glad she wasn't there.
After Tao had been questioned they sat together, only half paying attention to the happenings, or more like arguing, of the jury. His parents were sat on the other side of the hall, next to Mr Evans. They looked like they had been crying too, especially his mum, although she’d done a pretty good job covering most of it up with makeup it was still obvious. Because there was a looming possibility that they might be going to prison, Tao 's mother promised that he could stay with them until he turned eighteen. After that, though, he would need to find a place of my own. He wondered distractedly if Tao would be willing to live with him.
It seemed like we the judge and jury were on their side, there was no way anyone could disprove their accusation, and Isla had pleaded insanity. Mr Evans was more than likely to receive a long prison sentence. What was to become of his parents was usure, but they would probably get a prison sentence too. Sehun's chest felt hollow and painful.
Once they were set free from the room stifled with too many emotions, Tao takes Sehun's hand and squeezes it. Ciara is talking to them, but he was only half registering what she was saying, reading the message in Tao's eyes: I'm proud of you, I love you.
“-I was reading their faces, most of them seemed appalled at the treatment both of you have recieved, and I think it’s pretty safe to say they’re going to get a heavy sentence. You did good kids.”
As soon as she turned her back, Tao grasped Sehun's hand and held on tight.
after this its just the epilogue!!
so please leave a comment bc this is almost over
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