As always, Kyungsoo felt the keen sense of impending violence right before it hit him.

He had barely made it out of Jongdae's door before a blur of red hair and flailing limbs wrapped itself around his body, slowly cutting off his air supply.

“Kyungsoo, we missed you!” Luhan laughed, tucking Kyungsoo’s head deeper into this shoulder.

“I saw you three days ago,” Kyungsoo muttered, voice muffled against the thick material of Luhan’s sweatshirt. Kyungsoo felt another set of hands ruffling his hair, rough palms gently massaging his scalp.

“Isn’t it strange? It felt like such a long time ago,” Yixing said softly from behind him. Kyungsoo knew that if he looked, there would a dimple in Yixing’s cheek right about now.

“You are so touchy,” Kyungsoo grumbled, but he leaned in a little deeper all the same. Luhan steered Kyungsoo to the car with one arm around his shoulder.

“Scoot!” Luhan clucked as he pushed Kyungsoo gently into the car. Kyungsoo obliged and hunched over, sliding further into the car so that Luhan could crawl into the back seat beside him.

“Like I said. So damn touchy.” Kyungsoo groaned as Luhan immediately sprawled out on the backseat, head pillowed on Kyungsoo’s lap, limbs splayed haphazardly all over Kyungsoo’s personal space.  

“But we missed you, puppy,” Luhan whined with a smile, patting Kyungsoo’s cheek with one hand, “didn’t you miss us too?”

“I think I could have lived without your presence for a little while longer.”

~~~

The next few weeks were the slowest patches of time Kyungsoo had ever experienced. Guilty anticipation somehow dammed up the flow of his life. He wondered what they would feel, if they knew that he didn't trust them either. Not completely. The days were sluggish, and each night, before he fell asleep, he lay awake staring at his ceiling, silently wondering if his guilt was greater than his need to know.

He knew that Yixing had noticed it. There were times when he could feel Yixing’s eyes lingering on him, and when Kyungsoo helped with the cooking or the cleaning, Yixing would lay a hand on Kyungsoo’s back for a few moments longer than usual, rubbing careful, comforting circles into his skin.

But he never asked, and Kyungsoo appreciated Yixing’s patience now more than he ever had in his life.

But even as the weeks passed and Kyungsoo evaded suspicion, his sense of unease grew stronger. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, and he wasn’t quite sure what it was anymore. He knew that it wasn’t just the fact that he had even less of an idea of what Yixing and Luhan actually did.

Something wasn’t right. Something really wasn’t right but he had no idea what it was. All he had was the strange buzz in the back of his mind knocking against his consciousness when he least needed it.  Like he had forgotten to pick something up or broken something but couldn’t for the life of him remember where he had done it.

The next week, Kyungsoo found himself abruptly listless and tired for no reason at all. He began to pick at Yixing’s food, and found himself waking up more tired than when he collapsed into bed.

He woke up one morning to the strong, spicy smell of frying kimchi sausages which should have made him hungry but instead made him nauseous. He gingerly sat up in bed, rubbing his eyelids as he swung his feet over to the side. The feeling of nausea increased and Kyungsoo swallowed thickly as he tried to settle his stomach. Slowly, he leaned forward, feet hitting the wooden floorboards as he straightened up.

The next moment, the floorboards jerked up to meet his body as his legs collapsed from underneath him. A ominous cracking sound shot through the room as his chin collided with the wooden floor. Pain blossomed white and hot under his head. Kyungsoo groaned, dazed with pain, before reaching up under his chin and wincing as he felt something wet. He heard the hurried sound of footsteps rushing up the stairs before his door was wrenched open. There were hands on him in an instant, gently turning him over onto his back. He looked up to see two pairs of worried eyes fixed upon him and winced when he felt the wound under his chin sting as he shifted.

“I’m fine,” he croaked as he tried to sit up, “I just fell.”

He felt Yixing wrap an arm around his back, supporting his frame as he tried to straighten up.

“Kyungsoo,” Yixing whispered, “Don’t move. You fell pretty hard.”

“No, no I’m fine,” Kyungsoo groaned, as he tried to push his weight forward, “I’m- ”

The next moment, Kyungsoo pitched forward, the edges of his vision tinged with black. Arms immediately wrapped around his torso, holding him up and refusing to let his head touch the ground again. He clutched at the floor weakly, wondering what the hell was going on.

“You need to get back into bed,” Luhan urged, gently maneuvering him backwards so that Kyungsoo could rest most of his weight on Luhan’s chest, “I need to move you, alright?” Kyungsoo weakly nodded, head lolling against Luhan’s shoulder.

He felt Luhan slide an arm under his legs and then slowly lift him upwards. A wave of dizziness rocked through him at the motion and Kyungsoo fought the urge to vomit. Little by little, Luhan lowered him gently back down onto his warm comforter. As he sank into his pillow in relief, Kyungsoo felt a hand lightly brush away the sweaty bangs from his forehead.

“He’s burning up,” Yixing whispered, and Kyungsoo could almost feel the look they threw at each other with his eyes closed.

“Kyungsoo,” Yixing said softly, “I need you to open your eyes. Just for a little bit. Can you do that for me?”

It was like dragging leaden weights up with his eyelids but Kyungsoo complied, eyelashes fluttering open. There were white spots swimming in his vision and he tried to shake his head to clear them away. He felt Yixing slide a hand under his injured chin, carefully avoiding the wound and lightly tugging his face upward. Kyungsoo stared blearily back at him, his gaze unfocused. And then Luhan heaved a sigh, and Kyungsoo saw some of the tension drain out of Yixing’s shoulders.

“Go back to sleep Kyungsoo,” Yixing said gently, “you’ll be alright.”

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and complied, letting himself be soothed by the feeling of Yixing’s fingers combing through his hair.

~~~

He is shivering but there are warm arms around him. Holding him together. He is pressed against gentle heat, his limbs wrapping themselves around the radiating warmth. Voices diffuse around him, words slipping in and out of understanding.

“The next time this happens, you get to go out in the cold and I stay in and cuddle.”

A warm hand is massaging the back of his neck. Smooth, steady pressure rolls over him in waves. He makes a soft sound and tries to sink deeper into that warmth, clings tighter to the body surrounding him. The arms holding him tighten their embrace, and there is the light touch of a kiss in his hair.

“Can we take a picture? God, he’s adorable when he’s like this. Why can’t he let us do this when he’s awake?”

“Shhh. Don’t be so loud. Go find what you need to and come back.  

“Fine, fine. Be that way. Have fun at home while I do all the dirty work.”

“Luhan.”

“Yeah?”

“Stop whining and go.”

“Ok, ok. I’m going. Try not to shed everywhere this time.”

Footsteps. A door opening and closing. A rush of cool air flowing into the room that makes him quake with the sudden chill. He whimpers and tries to dig deeper into the warmth, tries to burrow himself into this hidden, safe place and never come back out. A warm, low, chuckle reverberates around him, and he is held tighter, pressed closer.

“Shhhhh. Calm down.”

The heat is growing stronger. He grasps at it, refuses to let it go.

“I’m right here. I’ll always be here.”

All around him, the warmth spreads outward, morphs beneath his pliant body. Heat pools and intensifies, a silky, smooth softness replacing the feel of skin and clothing. Softness tenderly wraps around his body, encircling him in a heavy, drowsy warmth. His eyes open a little, and he sees an ocean of white fur surrounding him, and above him, dark, liquid eyes that look achingly familiar. Something warm and wet slides across his cheek, and he closes his eyes again, sinking back down into velvety fur and comforting heat. A solid weight settles on his shoulder, nuzzling him, and he drifts back into the comforting dark.