Tao spoke to Minah before Kris entered the room for his daily counselling session, conveying to her the new situation.

“He saw Lay?” Minah asked in shock. Tao finished explaining the predicament he was in.

“This might not be too bad.” Minah said at last. “Would you be able to bring Lay along with you tomorrow when you bring Kris for his counselling?” She asked.

“I’ll see what I can do, if Lay doesn’t want to come I can’t blame him.” Tao shook his head sadly.

Kris was brought in and his session went on as usual, however none of them mentioned that Lay would be coming tomorrow.

Later that day Tao contacted Joonmyeon and asked about Lay’s state.

“He isn’t too bad now. Well…” Joonmyeon said, looking at Lay who was curled up on his sofa in that old purple hoodie of his. Earlier that day a box had been delivered to Joonmyeons’ apartment and he was shocked to realise that it was all of Lay’s possesions. He owned so little that it would fit in one measly card board box.

“Well?” Tao repeated. “What do you mean ‘well’, is he okay or not?”

Joonmyeon moved into a different room so that Lay wouldn’t over hear.

“He isn’t blaming Kris at all, he seemed to just nod and accept it, understanding that the hard situations Kris has been faced with could cause that.”

“But…” Tao said, hearing that there was more to this by the tone of Suhos’ voice.

“But I have a niggling feeling that if he isn’t blaming this on Kris then he is blaming it on someone else.”

“Who?” Tao asked.

“Well at first he was asking me if you had brain washed him. After I explained he apologised about his accusations and seems fine with you again. I think now he can’t seem to find anyone to blame but himself. He’s just too nice. He’s willing to forgive Kris in an instant, and even you whom he barely knows and has little reason to trust yet.”

“Could you do me a favour?” Tao asked after a moment of silence.

“What is it?” Joonmyeon asked.

“Could you get Lay to come along to Kris’s counselling session tomorrow, Minah wants to see him.”

After hanging up Joonmyeon went back into the living area and looked at Lay. He was hugging a rather large stuffed unicorn toy and was snuggling into his hoodie. He had a rather used pair of purple headphones around his neck but they weren’t currently plugged into anything.

“Hey Lay.” Joonmyeon said sitting down next to him. “I would really like it if you came with us to take Kris to counselling tomorrow. I think it would give you first-hand experience of the situation, plus out of all of us, I think you have the most right to be there with him.”

“I don’t have the right…” Lay trailed. “He has forgotten me, of all people. He wouldn’t want me there.” Lay fiddled with the ears of his unicorn as he spoke and looked a lot like a sad child.

“He forgot because of his own guilt, you’ve done nothing wrong Lay. Just go once tomorrow, if you still think that it’s not your place then you don’t have to go again. But now that you’re here you might just be able to bring him back.”

Lay seemed to be weighing things in his mind before he finally agreed to go with them.

The car journey the next day was very awkward. Tao sat in the front of the car with the driver and Kris and Lay sat in the back. Joonmyeon wasn’t able to go with them due to work reasons. It was only two days until the court case officially started and he had too much work to be getting on with.

Lay couldn’t keep his eyes off of Kris in the car. It had been months since he had last seen his boyfriend.  He noticed that through everything Kris was still wearing his ring. That sight alone gave him hope.  He a finger across his own ring and the movement caught Kris’s eye.

“Oh! You have a ring just like mine.” Kris pointed out.

Lay nodded silently and swallowed, feeling slightly fearful of Kris. It felt like an imposter in his boyfriends’ skin and it scared him a lot. At the same time it was a relief. For a while he had started to feel like Kris was an imaginary friend he had invented at SM. No one spoke of Kris there, and he had no way of contacting him or seeing his face.

Kris now took the opportunity to observe Lay. He didn’t seem to be in a good condition, he was clearly stressed and on the brink of developing a fever. He didn’t know why this person was so stressed, but for some reason in his heart he believed that it was all his fault. A ridiculous notion seeing as how he’d never met the man before.  But he couldn’t help feeling like he had. He frowned and scanned him head to toe and back to his head again.

Lay couldn’t meet Kris’s gaze and pretended not to notice those familiar eyes scanning him, but he did notice and it only made him more awkward.  He didn’t want Kris to be looking at him. It was one of the most painful experiences, having someone you loved so dearly looking at you but not knowing who you are. Luckily Lay was soon spared as they arrived at the hospital where the therapy sessions took place.

Tao distracted Kris by buying him coffee while Lay was told to go on ahead. He followed the directions Tao had given him and soon found himself knocking on a door in the psychiatric ward.

“Hello, you must be Lay.” A smiley young woman said. Lay gave a quick nod and she introduced herself. “You can call me Minah. I’ve heard that you’ve found out about Kris’s situation then.”

Lay nodded again.

“It’s quite unfortunate. However the main reason for what has happened is because of the stress and the guilt that he feels over what happened. I think now that you are here you could actually be a valuable tool to helping him recover. If you are able to speak to him about what happened and settle the situation, he might return to normal.”

Lay looked perkier at this.

“The key question is…” Minah said delicately. “Can you forgive him?”

Lay looked confused for a moment. Forgive him? Wasn’t it Lay that needed forgiving?

“Well… of course.” Lay finally spluttered.

“He only slept with Tao once, and if you see his side of things, he was lonely, stressed and on that occasion; very drunk. It was actually the realisation of what this act meant that we believed pushed him over the edge.”

“But wasn’t it me? Because I didn’t leave with him when he wanted to?”

“No, we don’t believe so.” Minah assured soothingly. “Kris felt guilty about that too. He felt guilty for getting angry and walking out, leaving you there alone. He wished that he had either stayed or dragged you out with him, but he in no way felt bad that you didn’t want to leave. It was a difficult decision to make and you decided to do what you thought was the best, especially since you weren’t aware of the full situation at the time.”

Minah looked at the clock. “Kris will be in in a moment, would you mind sitting at the side and listening in, it would be useful if you could see the situation. And also tomorrow if you wouldn’t mind coming in again and actually talking to him that would be great. Of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to! After tomorrow you will not be required to come again, but I have a feeling this will really help Kris to return, and it is crucial with the case just days away.”

Lay agreed and took a seat at the edge of the room. Kris and Minah carried out their usual style of therapy and Minah noticed a larger improvement than normal. Her hopes were high.

When the session was over, Lay found Joonmyeon waiting outside in the hall. The two smiled and walked over to each other.

“So… how was it?” Joonmyeon asked cautiously, but obviously eager for a reply.

“Enlightening.” Lay replied. It was a witty yet somehow honest reply from Lay that caused a small chuckle from Joonmyeon’s lips. “I got to found out more about Kris and how he is. It help open my eyes.”

Joonmyeon nodded as he led Lay towards his car.

Behind them Kris was watching them leave and felt a strange feeling in his gut. Jealousy? Why would he be feeling like that when he’d never even seen the man before until he caught him in Tao’s lounge that time. Yet somehow, just somehow he felt that it should be him taking that man, no. Lay… he should be him taking Lay to his car and back to his house. Of course in his current state he didn’t have a house or a car. That only succeeded in making him feel more jealous.

He turned back to where Tao said he would be waiting for him and saw him laughing with Sehun. That same pang of jealousy struck again and he balled his hands into tight fists and stormed up. Pulling Tao into a standing position he dragged him with him towards the car.

Tao let out a small surprised yelp at this and pulled his arm out of Kris’s grip. Kris turned angrily around to face Tao.

“Hurry up! I want to go home!” This only made him angrier as he realised it was Tao’s home, not his own. He didn’t own anything, he just lived off of everyone else. Tao who was still in shock just stood still trying to work out why Kris was angry, while behind them Sehun came jogging over, looking confused and angry at Kris.

“Oh never mind.” Kris snapped and walked out of the building. He was several paces down the road when he passed Lay and Joonmyeon who both looked at Kris then at each other when they saw him.

“What do you think’s the matter with him?” Joonmyeon asked Lay, who shrugged worriedly.

They got into Joonmyeon’s car and watched as Tao and Sehun came out looking for Kris, spotting him a few yards away and eventually talking him into getting a ride in their car.

“Strange… I wonder why his mood so bad.” Lay mused to himself.

The rest of the car journey was spent in silence as Lay thought over the meeting they had just had. He had gotten to see the full extent of Kris’s condition and while it was useful to finally know the truth, it was a scary sight. There were only a few traits of the Kris he knew left. What if they never returned? He would never get his Kris back. But even worse, what if Kris did return but didn’t want Lay anymore? That would be more painful than losing him this way.

They were stopped at a red light and Joonmyeon must have noticed Lay’s mood because he reached out his hand and put it on top of Lay’s which were clenched together on top of his lap. Lay looked up at Joonmyeon in surprise and received a kind smile, the hand on his squeezing gently before Joonmyeon took his hand away and they were driving off again.

They arrived back at Joonmyeon’s and Lay went into his room to get changed. Whilst out he had been wearing designer clothing that Joonmyeon had bought him, but now he was back to his temporary home he wanted to feel more relaxed and comfy.  Pulling on loose denim jeans and a snuggly blue hoodie Lay returned to the living area to find Joonmyeon busy at work in the kitchen. 

The kettle had boiled and hot chocolates were steaming away on the side while Joonmyeon quickly chopped away. The rice cooker was beeping in the corner and food was already simmering in a pan.

“Do you need help?” Lay asked, coming over to the counter.

“No it’s fine. Go sit down I’ll be over in a minute. Wait hang on, take your drink first!” Joonmyeon said, sliding one of the hot drinks across the counter towards Lay. Lay accepted it and sat on the sofa.

“Could you find something good on TV? I need a relaxing night in I think.” Joonmyeon said, hoping to have a relaxing night amongst the stress of his newest case.

Within minutes Joonmyeon was seated beside Lay, each holding a plate of food and focusing on the new episode of drama that was starting on TV.  They ate their food with their eyes glued to the TV, occasionally letting out outbursts like “Why would someone do that?” and “They’re going to catch them at the scene!” When they finished their food they put their plates down onto the coffee table but carried on watching the drama, laughing, gasping and frantically trying to tell the characters on the screen messages they wouldn’t hear.

Joonmyeon looked at Lay’s relaxed happy face and smiled to himself. It was the first time he had ever seen Lay this happy in the entire time that they had been together so far. He decided to be extra careful not to mention Kris or anything relating to him for a while, making sure not to break Lay’s good mood.

However his efforts were in vain, there would always be one part of Lay’s brain that would be thinking of Kris and only Kris. It didn’t stop him from having fun with Joonmyeon tonight though, because even though he was worried about him, he needed to relax. The whole night had reminded him of his time with Kris in the dorms and the formation of their relationship, but it had been nice. He needed the time to smile and laugh again, even if it was just for one night.

After the episode finished Joonmyeon worried that Lay would return to his more depressed self, and so took it upon himself to distract Lay.

“I’m bored now.” Joonmyeon announced, pouting.

“Bored?! It only just finish!” Lay said in his cute accent.

“Yes well… I’m still bored!”

“Then what do you want to do?” Lay said, turning so that he was now facing Joonmyeon, his legs crossed.

“Hmm, we could play a game.” Joonmyeon suggested.

“What kind of game?”

“How about a question game? That way we can find out more about each other.”

Lay agreed and the two asked each other random questions for around forty five minutes, but around this point they were desperately running out of questions.

“How about we do an online quiz instead?” Joonmyeon proposed, opening up his laptop and pulling up a new tab.

They laughed and filled out the online questions, cheering when they got a good result and pouting when the result was less satisfactory.

“You are… it’s still calculating the results. Ah! You are Dara of 2ne1!” Joonmyeon announced when Lay’s results appeared on the screen.

“Aigoo~ the two of us must look like teenage girl right now!” Lay chuckled.

Back at Tao’s estate things were not so frivolous. Sat over his desk, Tao was unable to concentrate on his paperwork as his mind wandered to Lay. Although Lay might have the power to bring Kris back to himself, Tao couldn’t help but feel worried about Lay returning to Kris’s live. He had lived alone for years, with Kris’s new company it had felt amazing. Like somebody finally depended on him. Would he just leave after all of this was over? Would him and Lay buy an apartment and move in together, Tao left forgotten in the wind? Tao groaned and ruffled his hair in annoyance, leaning back in his chair and up at the ceiling, no longer able to sit still staring at the work on the desk. 

Suddenly the door opened and Sehun walked in, a bottle of beer in each hand. Although Sehun appeared indifferent on the exterior, he had noticed Tao’s stress and how much he had been working. He decided Tao needed to relax for the night and have at least a drink or two.

“Is that for me?” Tao asked, shocked at Sehun’s thoughtfulness.

“No, I want two.” Sehun said sarcastically before putting the drink in front of Tao.

“Aish, you little!” Tao said teasingly, unable to stop a small, grateful smile slipping onto his thin lips. Sehun sat on the sofa just behind Tao’s office desk and made himself home, as always. Tao turned in his chair to face him and was shocked yet happy to see how relaxed Sehun seemed to be. It was nice to be in the company of a friend, rather than just a random somebody he had to do business with.

“Do you enjoy your time here?” Tao asked Sehun curiously.

“I do. Why?” Sehun seemed suspicious, it became aware to Tao that Sehun had never had anyone to trust before.

“I was just wondering. If you’re not comfortable here I could always arrange for you to go somewhere else.”

A look of panic flashed through Sehun’s eyes before he managed to cover up his emotions.

“I’m fine here, unless you want me gone.”

It was Tao’s turn to panic. “No, no! It’s quite nice to have some company here.”

“You have Kris.” Sehun pointed out, drinking more from his beer bottle.

“Kris isn’t quite the same though.” Tao replied, sighing and also drinking from his bottle.

The two engaged in light chatter as time went on, asking the butler for more drinks as they did so. Their usual behaviour with each other became heightened due to the alcohol and it wasn’t long at all before playful bickering broke out.

“What do you mean you’re better looking than me! My complexion is always admired by the noonas and hosts! Look how milky white it is!” Sehun got up from the couch and put his arm alongside Tao’s.

“Yah don’t touch me you’ve got germs!” Tao squealed and pushed Sehun away.

The two began to play fight, Tao trying to push Sehun away while Sehun was trying to push their arms together to show his skin and to “give Tao germs”.

Tao goes to give Sehun a large push but his movements are slowed due to alcohol. Sehun sees it coming and moves to the side but Tao’s drunkenness throws him off balance and his own weight works against him. He falls forward and grapples at whatever he can to stop from falling, and only manages to find purchase on Sehun. The two of them tumble down and land on the sofa, with Tao laying on his back and Sehun looking down on Tao. As they land on the sofa, their foreheads smack together while their limps are tangled amongst each other’s.

Realising their compromising position Sehun nervously his lips out of habit, but the movement is caught by Tao’s eyes which now linger on Sehun’s lips.  At that moment a butler walked in carrying a tray with the beers that the two of them ordered.  Sehun tries to stand up as quickly as he can with his clumsy drunken limbs, while from underneath Tao whacks Sehun with everything he has squealing “get off you great dweeb!”  

Sehun recovers the fastest, sitting down in Tao’s office chair and smirking at Tao however the butler simply watches with a raised eyebrow, hands the two their drinks and steps back outside.  Tao glared at Sehun, not really knowing what else to do and promises to himself that one day he’s going to wushu that smirk straight off of Sehun’s face.

So I'm not writing chapters as quickly as I hoped I would, however I can explain. At the minute I have a job, school work, and very little time due to other personal activities. In the next 7 days alone I will have been in 4 different countries so I doubt I'll have much time to write. However I will write when I can so please please please please please don't lose patience with me. I'm doing the best I can.

I hope you have been well my readers! I've been very tired with my busy schedule, I bet this is what a K-pop star feels like. It's been weeks since I got a full night of sleep so much so that I actually fell asleep sitting the other day, and again while travelling on the train!!! I'm not the kind of person that sleeps anywhere like that so it just proves that I need a rest. One that I wont be getting for a while... oh well.

Tell me what you think of the story so far and leave comments below. Upvotes are also greatly appreciated. *wink wink*

Love you all my baby stalklings.

-1990stalker-