Social Working

Sehun excitedly breathed, taking one last nervous huff before pulling the key that Yixing had given to him from his pocket. After a lengthy 'interview' with the guy, he had been accepted, much to his delight. Yixing had given him a key and a list of food that Sehun would need to buy every week. It included odd things like vanilla ice cream, frozen pizza, canned baby corn, and zero calorie, no caffeine soda, among other things. Holding the brown paper bag filled to the brink with treats in one arm, Sehun carefully unlocked the door to the ancient looking house, it's chipping paint falling onto his jacket as little faded blue specks. The entire mood of the home disgusted Sehun. It's wood was creaky under his worn red sneakers, it's stairwell was riddled with holes, which Sehun made a note to never step onto. The smell was musty and dry, with almost a tiny hint of sugar to it, but any good aroma was crushed by the overwhelming stench of dust and mold. Sehun quickly noticed a palm sized sign on the little table by the door that read "close door now... entomophobic and arachnophobic inside!"

"Entomophobic and arachnophobic?" Sehun repeated out loud, scoffing to himself.

"C-Close the d-damn d-door!" A voice suddenly yelled, startling Sehun into accidently backing into the door and slamming it shut.

"Oh... I'm sorry!" Sehun called out, eyes frantically darting around as he tried to find the voice. "Is anybody there?"

When no voice answered, the teen began to shake in fear. "Are you a ghost?"

"Y-y-you stu-u-upid!" The voice stuttered, it's owner suddenly appearing from behind the doorway to the living room.

Sehun knew the male was disturbed, but he didn't really expect him to be so... normal looking. His skin was a vibrant and healthy pinkish, and his hair was brushed and clean, gleaming like a raven's feather under the hall light. This was quite different compared to Sehun, with dyed and fading blonde hair coupled with slightly tan skin from a summer spent on the beach. The only sign that this man could even be considered odd was the fact of the dark circles that hung from his eyes. They seemed too big and dense to be natural, but Sehun could see a small ring in the middle of the grey area that showed where his skin was naturally grey, and the outer ring was obviously caused by the insomnia. All in all though, Sehun thought he was... cute. Quite cute. Cute enough to date if he wasn't terrified of everything.

"You see, my cousin is very... how should I say this?" Yixing crossed his arms in thought.

"...unwell?" Sehun tried.

At that, Yixing snapped his fingers. "Yes, yes, unwell, to put it nicely. Let me see, what doesn't he have?" The older laughed. "Anyway, you'll need to become used to Zitao and his fears. He's got agoraphobia, so don't even try to convince him to go outside. Then there's the fear of insects and spiders, so if he suddenly screams for you to come over with a tissue, it up and squish the thing, cause he won't stay calm if you don't kill it. He's also got insomnia, but the circles under his eyes are actually natural, so it's not that bad. He sleeps maybe... two or three days out of the week? What else... what else... oh right, the stuttering. Be very patient with him, cause it'll take him a bit to get out what he wants to say, but it'll happen sooner or later. Don't try to help him finish the sentence though, that'll throw him off even more."

"If I'm not supposed to help him though... what are you hiring me for?" Sehun cut in, head tilted in confusion.

"I'm paying you to keep my cousin company, because that helps to keep away the athazagoraphobia."

"The what?"

"The fear or being forgotten, ignored."

"Ah, there you are. Hello! I'm Oh Sehun!" The teenager exclaimed, waving happily to the taller.

"Y-Yixing told m-me." Zitao mumbled, drawing half of himself behind the wall again.

"You must be Zitao then," Sehun grinned widely.

"H-Huang Z-Zitao," said boy corrected.

"And it's a beautiful name." Sehun complimented, laughing to himself at the blush that spread across Zitao's face. "I've brought food. Yixing told me that you like food."

"H-He w-was not wr-wrong."

"I'm happy! Then this food would've been a waste." Sehun pulled out a large bag of cheese coated chips. "Here, let's have some."

The first day was spent in silence after the initial meeting. Zitao and Sehun sat at the kitchen table while they shared and ate the chips and a bowl of dip that had been bought. Whenever Sehun would try to start a conversation after that, Zitao remained quiet, but whenever Sehun began to stand, the taller would panic and grab his wrist, shyly tugging him down to a chair and refusing to let go until Sehun had assured him that he only wanted to use the bathroom.

When Sehun returned the next day, the door opened in front of him before he could even reach for the key, and none other than a smiling Zitao stood in the doorway, ushering Sehun inside so he could close the door and protect himself from the invading bugs.

"That was very quick." Sehun commented, patting Zitao's shoulder.

"I-I was waiting f-for you," Zitao muttered, pointing to the wooden chair seated in front of the window that brightly shone light into the living room.

"I can tell. I think it's very endearing."

"Y-Yixing th-thinks it's... weird..."

"Eh, he's just your cousin. Family members do that, especially when they're close in age you. He's twenty four and you're nineteen, right?" Sehun questioned, hoping and begging to be the older of the two, for a reason he couldn't figure out.

"Y-Yes... how o-old are y-you?"

Sehun hid his defeat behind a soft chuckle. "I'm eighteen."

"You guys," Sehun dreamily said during lunch one day, playing with the food on his tray, "I'm in love."

"Tch... in love? With who?" Luhan's jaw fell open at his usually stoic friend's sudden burst of emotion.

"Oh... just some guy..." Sehun mumbled, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "He's amazing."

"Luhan asked who, just say it Sehun." Chanyeol begged, a sly smirk suddenly growing on his lips. "Unless it's one of us."

Sehun snapped out of his daze to elbow his taller friend in the ribs, the whole table erupting with laughter.

"No, it's not one of you idiots! His name is Huang Zitao, and he's nineteen." Sehun proudly announced, leaving out the details of his crush's insanity.

"Ah sweet, a Chinese dude! You gotta introduce me to him." Luhan snapped his fingers.

"Hey, I think Sehun already called dibs." Chanyeol laughed, eyeing Sehun's scowl.

"I was just kidding, Sehun, damn. Seriously though, after you two get together, I wanna meet the man." The eldest of the three said, the tallest soon nodding in agreement.

"Well I'm not sure how soon that'll be. I mean... we've only known each other for a week," the youngest guiltily revealed.

"A week!? You're in love with a guy after knowing him for only a week!? Oh Sehun, you're crazy!" Luhan yelled, hitting the table with his fist.

Every weekend at noon, and everyday after school, Sehun would make the daily commute to his 'patient's' home. They'd often simply sit in half silence as they'd watch t.v. while eating the snacks that Sehun would bring, commenting about things every now and then to each other. As time went by though, Zitao began to be more open with the new person to keep him company. He'd talk a little louder and with more confidence every day, and he began to reveal the pieces of sarcasm he had, which delighted the younger to no end. Instead of this being practice, Sehun found that visiting Zitao every day was more of a gift, and his kindness towards the young man grew more and more sincere.

"..." Zitao hissed one evening, on his thumb after a tiny shock and coursed through it.

"What's wr- oh my god, what are you doing!? Zitao, that's really dangerous!" Sehun yelped as he looked up from his magazine to find Zitao sitting in front of an outlet in the wall, wires and plugs spilling from the rectangle in the wall.

"Th-The t.v. w-went out," Zitao nearly whispered. "Y-You didn't n-notice b-because y-y-you were read-d-ding."

"There are so many other ways to fix it though! You're gonna electricute yourself!" The younger was pleading now as he sat by Zitao, his hands worriedly on the older's shoulder.

"I m-made one s-slip u-u-p, but I usually kn-know how to-to do this. St-staying inside gives-s m-me the ti-time to learn how to d-do this stuff." Zitao shrugged, fumbling with another wire as Sehun anxiously watched, a smile growing on his lips as he heard the t.v. switch back on.

"How did you do that? How are you not fried like a fish or something?" Sehun gaped at the glowing, well functioning screen.

"I-It'll t-take a while to... to... to explain."

Sehun's muscles released themselves from their self induced tension, and he shook his head lightly. "Tell me anyway. We've got until eight p.m., three hours."

As Zitao distractedly ate from a plate of now heated frozen pizza, he turned to Sehun one day, tilting his head, his eyes locked on the smaller.

"Uhm... yes? Do you need anything?" Sehun helpfully offered with a caring grin.

"A-Are you a-afraid-d of anyth-thing?" Zitao questioned, his mouth full of food.

Sehun suddenly remembered all of the times when he would mentally scream after being being inside for too long. He remembered the rare, yet significant panic attacks when he found himself in a tight space. His fear stemed from when he hid under the sink while playing hide and go seek with his parents at the young age of three. They later found him hyperventilating.

"Small spaces." He sighed with a shake of his head. "Damn claustrophobia."

"Th-that e-explains why y-you-o like being o-outside," the taller muttered to himself.

"Hey! It's only minor."

The next day, Sehun asked why Zitao was so afraid of going outside and of being forgotten, among also being terrified of spiders and insects. Zitao stubbornly looked to the wooden floor, his eyes locked downwards. He told Sehun to give him another month, only to mentally slap himself when Sehun had said that he'd only be around for less than another week.

"Yifan, could you take Zitao and Yixing outside?" Yixing's mother asked, pulling the eldest child, then nineteen to the side.

"Yeah, of course auntie. Why though?"

"I need to wrap Zitao's birthday presents, and if my son see's them, he'll just run to tell his cousin. We've got to keep things a surprise, right?" She snickered.

"I totally understand, just call me when it's safe to come back inside," Yifan gave a thumbs up before turning towards his kid brother and teenage cousin. "Hey Taozi, Xingie, you guys wanna go play outside?"

Zitao's eyes brightened at his brother's idea. "Y-Yes! C-Come on Xingie, l-let's g-go go g-o!" He exclaimed, pulling the fourteen year old up with him from their spot on the couch.

"How old's Taozi again? He's friggin strong!" Yixing said through clenched teeth as he felt his wrist being pulled off.

"Nine." Yifan calmly answered, cracking a smirk at Yixing's widening eyes.

They had only been outside for ten minutes when Yixing and Zitao ceased their game of tag because of the loud scream that had come from the front porch of the house. They would later find out that, as he was peacefully watching his young brother and cousin run and play, Yifan wouldn't notice as a dangerous spider called the Nephila Clavata would crawl onto his leg, and after being startled by his wiggle of laughter, it would bite him. That certain type of spider is not deadly to humans, but with a certain allergy to them, they would be, and Yifan would unluckily be the latter case.

That would be the cause of his entomophobia and arachnophobia.

With his unstable and young mind, he would also connect that to the outside world in general, and before he knew it, he had developed agoraphobia.

With his parents and family being so occupied by the death of their pride and joy, Zitao began to feel isolated and alone. One morning, he awoke to find a ladybug on his ceiling, and he would frightenedly ask his mother to remove it, or even better kill it. She ignored him, continuing to bury her face in a tissue as tears poured from her eyes.

Young Zitao then found himself with athazagoraphobia, and the insomnia came with being too afraid to sleep in fear that an insect would crawl into his bed while he slept.

"Oh my goodness... Zitao..." Sehun was speechless at this, having stayed completely silent during his crush's stutter filled story.

"Sehun... don't leave me... ok?" Zitao softly spoke, his arms wrapped around the younger's shoulders, his knees to his chest.

"I would never, I promise."

"It's a saturday... can you stay the night?"

Sehun felt a tiny smile. "Of course. And Zitao?"

"Yes?"

"You're not stuttering."

Zitao bashfully giggled, that little sound sending waves through Sehun's heart. "That's what happens when I trust some one."

Sehun awoke to hear the strangled and harsh screams of a person in panic outside. He jumped from his spot on the couch, where he noticed Zitao's pushed aside blankets on the matching one across the room. The yell and cry sounded again, and Sehun bolted like a speeding car when he realized it was Zitao's, and when he heard his name being called. The door was wide open, a butterfly swooping through, catching Sehun off guard for a moment. Out of the numerous times that Zitao had yelled because of a bug, it was, of course, always inside, and the door was always closed, leading Zitao to go on about how he wondered how the creatures even got inside. When the teen looked through the door though, he saw a middle aged man holding Zitao's wrist as he dragged him towards the little black picket fence that surrounded the house, and Sehun instantly knew it was the older boy's father. Zitao had briefly described one day to Sehun about how his parents like to show up every now and then to try and force him to be "normal". When Sehun had asked when he should look out for them, Zitao had shrugged absentmindedly.

"They arrive randomly all the time, so don't be too surprised if you end up hearing a screaming match between my mother and I as she holds out a jar with a beetle in it."

Sehun of course had panicked when he found out the fearful young man wasn't being sarcastic.

Zitao's eyes were bloodshot as they rapidly blinked, his free arm was flailing, and his legs were deeply rooted in place, ready to sprint back inside if the chance got to him.

"Sehun! Sehun! Aaah!" Zitao continued to scream, his arm twisting against the man's grip.

"Zitao!" Sehun sprinted to the taller, clutching onto his wild forearm.

"Damn it Zitao, you need to get outside!" The man struggled to say against the force of his son.

"Dad, stop! Please! I can't take it, I really can't take it!" At that time, Sehun noticed that Zitao's eyes were clenched shut, the morning sunlight blinding him from after being inside for so many years.

"Mister, please, let him go! He's panicking! This isn't the right way to solve his fear." Sehun tried his hardest to be heard over the young man's screeches for help.

"I didn't drive all the way here just to have him get nowhere with this stupid, little, childhood fear. He needs to get over it!" Zitao's father growled, reluctantly letting his son go, only to sigh in disappointment when the tall man raced back inside.

After the initial shock, Sehun's lungs were empty of their air, and he heaved in his spot for a second. "What... the hell... was that?"

"I got here about twenty minutes ago so I could convince my son to get help. He wouldn't listen to me, so I forced him outside, maybe to show him that nothing out here was going to harm him."

"He knows that though! He knows that he isn't in constant danger, but it's a thing he can't control. Why now? Just let him be, he was fine." Sehun snapped out.

"It's been ten years since the death of my normal son, and I want him back! If I can't have that, I need to make Zitao normal again."

"He is normal though! He's perfect, and beautiful, and nice, and smart, and normal, and-" as if on cue, the sound of Zitao calling Sehun's name over the butterfly that was 'terrorizing' him sounded through the walls.

Mr. Huang waved off everything as if it hadn't happened. "Just take care of the little freak."

After the butterfly and the outside ordeal had been dealt with, Zitao proceeded to spend the next two days locked in his room, blocking out even Sehun's calls to him. He folded himself into the fetal position on his bed, thoughts and memories flying through his head like a wild fire. He only moved to take a shower and clean himself, then sitting under the blasting water for hours upon hours until the liquid ran freezing. He used that chance to get some water to drink as well. Sehun returned every day too, waiting around the house until Zitao would return. His friends noticed his stress and depleting energy during school, and they questioned him until he refused to answer, but they essentially got no information out of him.

Sehun, on the sixth day, tried the door knob again, his breath hitching when it worked. He twisted the brass, peaking his head in to see Zitao sitting in a corner, eyes glued to the ceiling. He stepped forward, standing in front of the lone bed.

"Hey... Zitao... it's me, Sehun," the teen tried, smiling gratefully when the young man turned his head down to look at him.

"Sehun..." Zitao cried out softly, reaching towards Sehun with his stretched arms.

Before Sehun could happily, and nearly run, to Zitao, said boy leaped up, crashing his lips into the teen's. The younger stumbled out of shock, collapsing backwards onto the bed with Zitao falling with him, his slender fingers clenched into Sehun's collar. Beyond ecstatic, Sehun wrapped his arms around Zitao's neck, pulling the older closer on top of him, their lips opening to gently share a deep kiss.

"Sehun... oh my god, I love you so much. I'm sorry for hiding away, I missed you." Zitao uttered between kisses, saying everything, despite being in an odd order, all at once.

"It's fine, just as long as you're ok, and... that you love me back." Sehun hurriedly mumbled before being hushed by the taller's lips once more.

Yixing arrived, a day earlier than expected, to find the house a little too quiet. Like a mouse, he made his way upstairs, careful to step over the holes, only to flail backwards at walking in on a certain scene. He covered his giggle with his hands, his stomach hurting from the repressed laughter as he instantly left the house.

"I'll let them just do their thing."

"Are you sure it's alright?" Zitao heavily breathed, the open front door intimidating him.

"Only if it's alright with you."

"They won't laugh at me, right? The world I mean. They won't think I'm a freak?"

Sehun kissed his boyfriend delicately, pointing to the outside world. "They won't. If they do, I'll make sure they stop. I promise though, you will be safe."

"Two rules for today though." Zitao pouted, the little face sending glee through his boyfriend.

"And they would be?"

"Just a walk through the garden... and you can't let go of my hand."

Sehun laced his fingers through Zitao's, kissing their knuckles. "I promise, I've got 'ya."