The second week of the second month of Chanyeol's vacation was spent watching over a sleeping Baekhyun. He'd wake up from time to time, smile weakly at Chanyeol despite his massive headache and unbelievable fever, call for a nurse to assist him in his personal needs (things that he wasn't comfortable in making Chanyeol do), and go back to resting. Chanyeol would talk quietly for hours, talking about random things to keep the blond entertained and somewhere near happy. Baekhyun would listen quietly, head nodding at some points, smiling and laughing softly, until he fell asleep to Chanyeol's deep voice. This was their routine.

It hurt Chanyeol to watch Baekhyun like this. Baekhyun was growing thinner and paler as each second passed, faint dark circles forming under his eyes. He now had a tube attached to his wrist, dextrose flowing through the tube because it was difficult for Baekhyun to eat anything solid now. His once slightly chubby cheeks now looked hollow, and it was very rare of him to sit up on the bed by himself.

Chanyeol had no idea what hit Baekhyun, but he didn't really need to find out. Baekhyun was weak, and anything could have caused him all these pain. On the nights that Baekhyun was restless in his sleep, Chanyeol was there to hold his hand, sitting on his usual seat and rubbing Baekhyun's hand until the pain went away, his breathing going back to its usual ragged and short state, but regular, as far as what regular was for Baekhyun. The doctors had allowed Chanyeol to stay with the sick boy, at a dead-end on what to do to make Baekhyun better.

On the third week, Chanyeol was in Baekhyun's room again, the sick blond bundled up in his covers, the arm with the tube exposed and on top of the cover. Chanyeol's arms were crossed on Baekhyun's bed, his head resting on them as one of his hand was lazily laced with Baekhyun's fingers. Baekhyun moved his fingers weakly, and it was enough to get the taller boy's attention.

"Yeol...?" He called out, voice weak and hoarse from all of his recent coughing fits.

"Yeah, I'm here. Do you need something?" He rubbed his thumb on Baekhyun's finger, trying to focus on breathing instead of the urge to just cry.

"...I'm sorry."

Chanyeol frowned, leaning closer so that he could see Baekhyun's face more clearly. He was getting teary eyed, and he bit his lip to prevent them from crying as he looked at Chanyeol's worried face, their hands still linked.

"What are you sorry for?" Chanyeol asked, lips pursed into a thin line.

"For keeping you here and...y-you're not obligated to stay with me, Chanyeol. You can go."

"I don't want to."

"...what?"

Chanyeol closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together. It was nothing special, but Baekhyun's eyes widened, the feeling of Chanyeol's warm and soft lips too much on his chapped and dry, probably cold, ones. He felt a hand softly caressing his cheek, and as Chanyeol pulled away, he realized that it was the taller boy's hand, rubbing his cheek affectionately.

"I want to be here, Baek. I don't want to be anywhere else, because I want to be with you." Chanyeol whispered softly, breath ghosting over Baekhyun's face.

Baekhyun nodded, closing his eyes as Chanyeol kissed him on the forehead. The taller boy sat back down, holding Baekhyun's hand and resting his arm and head on the bed. He smiled at the blond, and Baekhyun tried to smile back, fighting the tears that he knew was coming.

"Now, go back to sleep. No more stupid thoughts, shorty." Chanyeol whispered, squeezing Baekhyun's hand gently.

"...okay." Baekhyun replied, looking away and glancing at the full moon outside, feeling the hot tears stream down the side of his face.

I'm sorry.

Chanyeol came the next day to see Baekhyun sitting up on the bed, focused on something in his hands. He walked over to the boy, ruffling the blonde locks as Baekhyun looked up, gently pulling him closer by the head and planting a kiss on his forehead. Baekhyun smiled, and he reached out for Chanyeol's hand, softly holding his fingers.

"Hey." He breathed out, weak and soft, and Chanyeol sat down beside him on the bed.

"What's that?" Chanyeol nodded his head at the object in Baekhyun's hand, and the latter held it up for both of them to see.

"Your mom gave it to me last night. It's an hourglass." He said softly, transfixed on the sands in the glass.

Chanyeol stared at the delicate looking object, small in Baekhyun's hand. The pretty white sands were flowing down inside, and he couldn't help but feel sad. Why the hell would his mother give Baekhyun such a thing? It was anything but cheerful in Chanyeol's thought, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Why would she give you that? That's..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"What? It's some kind of a countdown or representation of my life?" The blond boy looked to his side, cocking an eyebrow at the other.

"...no, it's not. It's--

"I know it is, and I know that it's what you meant, Yeol. Honestly, I almost cried when she gave this to me, but she explained really well, and this is now my favourite thing. Well, after you comes the bracelet; this is only third in the list of my favourite things." He nudged Chanyeol's shoulder, smiling.

"What did she tell you?"

Baekhyun laced their fingers together as he flipped the hourglass over, watching the sands fall. A smile grazed his lips, and he moved it closer to Chanyeol's face.

"Just when you think that everything's done, it's not. If you believe hard enough, another day will come." He said softly, and Chanyeol squeezed his hands.

"Her words. She told me that this hourglass is like my life. Just when I start to think that my time is running out, it's not. It can start again with a simple flip, and just like that, my time's back to the starting point. She told me that I shouldn't give up." Baekhyun continued, and Chanyeol placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Keep fighting, Baekhyunnie." He murmured against the soft skin of the blonde's cheek, and the latter nodded.

"I need to. I don't want to leave you." He leaned his head on Chanyeol's shoulder, snuggling closer and placing their linked hands on his lap.

Chanyeol took the hourglass from Baekhyun's hand, flipping it over to restart it. The sands started slowly, and as he watched, he observed how the sands seemed to be falling faster as it reached the end. He gripped it tightly, and Baekhyun reached out to hold his hand, trying to calm him down.

Baekhyun's breathing was ragged, and he had trouble speaking and breathing. He was paler, thinner, sicklier-- he wasn't getting any better, and truthfully, he was growing worse each day. Chanyeol's chest felt heavy, and he knew he was going to cry any moment now.

I just want one more minute, one more second-- just one more moment with him. Is that too much to ask for?

"Chanyeol, relax. I'm not going anywhere." The blond whispered, and the taller boy couldn't help but pull him closer.

Yes, you are...but I don't want you to.

Chanyeol knew. He wasn't stupid. He could see Baekhyun's state. He could see the blond falling into a worse state with second that passed. A few days after the hourglass incident, Baekhyun kept lying in his bed under the covers, sleeping. His breathing was more ragged than usual, and he breathed in quick and short breaths. The doctors came in more frequently, checking up on him and trying to look deadpan, but Chanyeol never failed to notice the fleeting look of sadness and pity that crossed their faces. He'd grip Baekhyun's hand tightly at times like that, feeling that maybe if he held on like that, Baekhyun wouldn't slip from his hands.

But life wasn't sweet that way, and he knew it.

The first warning came in the form of a fever. A high fever that alarmed Chanyeol because Baekhyun was burning to the touch. He pressed his palm against the older boy's forehead, and he flinched because that was not normal body temperature. He called for the nurse, and they came in again in a group. This time, they let Chanyeol stay, seeing no purpose in ushering him out when all he's done the past few weeks was care for the boy.

Chanyeol listened to the conversation, not quite catching everything but hearing enough to know that Baekhyun wasn't faring well. The nurse injected something into him, and she patted his hair affectionately. The adults nodded their heads at him as they left, and he was left alone with Baekhyun, sleeping with a frown on his pretty face.

"Y-Yeol..."

Chanyeol's head snapped up at the hoarse whisper, and he noticed that Baekhyun was still sleeping. Ah, he's sleeptalking.

"...Yeol..." He murmured again, and the taller boy felt something twitch in his chest.

"I'm here..."

"...please...don't let me die..."

That sent Chanyeol to Baekhyun's side, holding his hand and crying silently, letting the tears fall. Baekhyun sounded really weak, as if it pained him to even sleep. Chanyeol bit his lip to prevent himself from sobbing, holding Baekhyun's hand tightly as he pressed it to his lips.

"I...I won't, Baek, I won't..."

The second warning came in the form of Baekhyun finally crying from a massive and major headache he was experiencing on top of his never-ending fever. Chanyeol arrived the next day (from a quick trip back home to freshen up) to see Baekhyun squirming under his covers, hands pressed to the side of his head as he sobbed quietly. Chanyeol, dropping everything he was holding, ran to Baekhyun's side.

"Baekhyun, what's wrong? Oh God, what's wrong?" He pulled Baekhyun into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around the thin boy.

"My head hurts...so much, Chanyeol...it hurts." He sobbed, voice cracking as he cried.

"I'll call someone. Just wait."

A nurse came in for her daily round, and went into panic mode when she saw Baekhyun crying in Chanyeol's arms. She called the doctor, and once again, the usual thing happened. Chanyeol was getting used to it, but he didn't want to. He'd do anything to not be used to this, to see Baekhyun outside just like a normal teenager. He'd die just to give Baekhyun that chance.

When the doctor was done, Baekhyun was sleeping again, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks still wet from the tears, but looking considerably more in peace. He watched the nurses and doctor file out of the room quietly, catching the doctor's hushed whisper as they closed the door.

"He's not going to make it."

A/N: I don't know what's wrong with Baek, just that he's a sickly kid. Please don't make me explain because I am not a medical person and I failed Biology years ago. XD Thank you for reading up to this point, my loves. I appreciate it. ♥