Jongdae reluctantly moved Suho off of him when he woke. He smiled when he realized he was a cuddler. He slowly sat up, trying not to wake the sleeping angel beside him. Jongdae proceeded to tiptoe down the stairs and into the kitchen.

He wanted to get back to Suho as quickly as possible, so he just made a simple breakfast. When he walked back into his bedroom, Suho was struggling to sit up.

He laid the tray on the nightstand and rushed to help him. He fluffed his pillow and laid him back onto it so he was sitting up but still reclined. He then grabbed the tray with oatmeal, a banana, and milk and sat it onto Suho’s lap.

Jongdae grabbed his bowl from the tray and they ate in silence. Jongdae glanced worriedly at the angel several times. Blood stained the bandages throughout the night and bruises began to form on his skin.

When every last crumb was gone from Suho’s tray, Jongdae moved it back onto the nightstand.

After biting his lip and battling with his mind, Jongdae decided to finally address the elephant in the room.

“Suho, what happened to you last night? Please tell me the truth.”

Suho wet his lips nervously. He was pretty much unconscious the previous night, so he didn’t get to think of a cogent excuse.

“I didn’t see much because they attacked from behind and-”

“Oh! I’m so stupid for not thinking of this before! A lot of cases involving halo theft has come before the council. They have been stolen from new angels for the most part. Some of the victims have been beaten pretty badly, as you have. Those profligate bastards. We’re working on sorting out this problem as soon as possible; it’s our priority. I wish we would’ve fixed the problem before they attacked you.”

Jongdae’s face fell and Suho immediately moved beside him to comfort him. The sharp movement caused his bones to ache, but he ignored it to rub the worry out of Jongdae.

Suho’s hand rubbed circles into his back which caused all the stress to temporarily leave his mind. Between council duties, Minseok’s disappearance, and Suho’s injured state, he had been doing quite a bit of worrying.  

Suho moved to lie back down and a yelp escaped his throat. Jongdae then remembered that he had to help tend to Suho’s wounds and reduce his pain.

He retrieved what he needed and started at Suho’s cut and bruised legs. He pushed every thought of his milky white, toned legs out from his mind. Jongdae had to play helpful nurse, not dirty nurse. He cleaned the wounds and redressed them. Winces and little cries were heard from Suho, and Jongdae gathered up all his strength to continue. It was difficult for him to hear how much pain Suho was in.

Last night he was oblivious to Suho’s toned body, but he was now since it was not an exigent situation any longer. He lifted Suho’s loose shirt to his neck so that he could change the bandages there too. He focused on Suho’s cuts to clear his mind of any intrusive thoughts.

Suho lifted his shirt above his head so Jongdae could work without having to constantly lift the shirt back up. Jongdae’s fingers on him caused him to feel flustered and a little hot in between his legs. But he knew Jongdae was just tending to his wounds. Nothing more.

Jongdae tried to reach Suho’s bruises and cuts on his face and neck, but it was too difficult. It was hard to work from his position on the side of Suho.

Without thinking, Jongdae threw his leg over Suho and straddled him. He reached down to begin peeling off a bandage on his neck.

He didn’t realize their suggestive position until he looked up and saw Suho’s wide eyes.

“I-I-I, umm didn’t mean to, uh, yeah.”

Jongdae’s face turned red and he tried to climb back down. Suho held Jongdae’s hips to keep him steady.

“It’s fine. If this is easier for you, then you can stay right here. I don’t mind.”  

Jongdae nodded his head and continued with a still blushing face. Suho chuckled and watched Jongdae’s flustered face.

“Suho?”

“Hmm?”

“Your hands are still on my..”

Suho quickly removed his hands; he was now the one who was blushing.

Jongdae finished up and went to put the supplies back into the cabinets. When he came back into the room, his phone was ringing.

He excused himself and went out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. Suho laid in the bed trying to collect himself. His heart was still beating fast from Jongdae’s touch, from Jongdae straddling him.

It took a few minutes, but his breaths and heart eventually evened out. Jongdae stepped back into the room with a frown on his face and red eyes.

“That was Jongin. Zitao went missing last night, and he was definitely supposed to be here by morning. He went to earth to collect a few souls. The strange thing is, the souls were delivered but not by Zitao. A few witnesses said they saw someone, but it wasn’t clear enough to know who. They knew it definitely wasn’t Zitao though because he usually talks to them. Jongin and Luhan think it’s definitely related to Minseok’s disappearance. Since he has been missing for so long, we’re going to have a funeral for him tomorrow. And if Zitao hasn’t returned we’re going to have one for him as well.”

Jongdae’s voice began breaking halfway through his news and tears were running down his cheeks by the end. Suho felt his eyes moisten at the sight of Jongdae and at how his guilt pooled in the pit of his stomach. He was why Jongdae was so upset.

He grabbed the sobbing boy and buried his head into his chest. He rocked them back and forth without saying a word. No words were needed.

After a long while, Jongdae’s choked sobs stopped. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He announced that he was going to go pull himself together and return shortly.

In the bathroom he splashed cold water onto his face and applied some makeup to make his face look less puffy.

When he walked back into his room, Suho wasn’t there. He ran down the stairs and found him writing a note in the living room.

“What are you doing?” Jongdae asked.

“I have to go home, but before I left I wanted to write you a thank you letter and let you know I borrowed some clothes. You’ve really been too kind, Jongdae.”

Jongdae clicked his tongue and moved to crumble up the paper. He gently pushed Suho onto the couch and stood in front of him.

“I don’t think so! There is no way I’m letting you go home to be alone in this condition. You’re to stay at my house for a few days until your wounds completely heal.”

Suho shook his head and opened his mouth to protest, but Jongdae didn’t give him the chance.

“I’m a council member and if I think you need to spend a few days in the hospital, I could arrange that. So either you stay in a cold, lonely hospital or you stay here with me. It’s your choice.”

Suho didn’t need much time to think of his options. He would much rather spend time with Jongdae than with himself and disinterested nurses.

“I’ll be staying with you then, Jongdae.”

Jongdae smiled and clapped his hands before sauntering off into the kitchen to make coffee.