(( I have good news~ The worry about having to go on a hiatus has been ended ^^ I finally got my muse to kick out this chapter in a single day, and just finished up next week's update, so no more worries about that :3 Also, there are some things in the upcoming chapters that probably won't make a lot of sense unless you read Fragmenting, (which with any luck I'll get the chance to work on the last two chapters for this weekend) so if you haven't checked it out I would recommend doing so! At least the first two chapters, though the third chapter further explains why Jongdae ended up the way he did. ))
 

Chanyeol kept his word, as much of a setback as it may have felt like. He didn’t take his medication as often as his prescription said since he didn’t need it that often any more. This made it so that when the day came for him to schedule an appointment to evaluate how the medication was working he still had almost half of his prescription.

He was reading the label for the hundredth time when the bathroom door opened and he placed the bottle back into the medicine cabinet as he looked to ZiTao. The younger flashed him a sleepy smile before stepping behind him, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s waist and pressing his cheek against the other’s shoulder.

“You sure that I can’t go to class with you?” he asked and Chanyeol cracked a smile of his own, placing his hands over ZiTao’s.

“I don’t think my professor would like that very much. But it’s not like I’m going to be gone all day, it’s just an hour long class and then I’ll be back,” He replied, feeling ZiTao pout against his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to entertain yourself,” He added and ZiTao eased his hold, allowing Chanyeol to turn into his arms and face him. Chanyeol reached up cupping ZiTao’s cheeks, pressing a light kiss to his lips, and humming in amusement when he pulled back and ZiTao tried to chase after his lips.

“I’ll see you after class,” Chanyeol said, making his way from the bathroom and to the front door, grabbing his bag and slipping into his shoes. ZiTao closed the bathroom door, turning on the shower and tossing his sleep ware into the corner. He heard the front door close while he checked the temperature of the shower, stepping in and sighing as the water slid down his chest.

Once he finished washing he turned the shower off and grabbed a towel off of the rack, rubbing his hair first and then working on drying off the rest of his body. He tied the towel around his waist and wiped through the condensation on the mirror when he heard the front door open again. He looked to the closed bathroom door, eyebrows knitting together. There was no way he had taken a two-hour long shower, so why was Chanyeol back already? He opened the bathroom door, heading down the hall towards the front door.

“Forget something?” He asked, his hand stopping halfway through brushing his damp bangs back as he made eye contact with the brunet sitting on the couch. He had one leg crossed over the other, his elbow propped up on his thigh as his chin rested in the palm of his hand, and when ZiTao stopped the corner of his lips curled up.

“No, but I’m sure I could make you forget a few things.” ZiTao stared at him, shivering when the brunet’s head tilted a little, his eyes combing down ZiTao’s body. His tongue dated out to wet his lips, snapping ZiTao out of his frozen state, and he jerked back into the hall so he could peek out at the brunet while hiding his all but frame.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” ZiTao asked, feeling his cheeks darken as the other giggled.

“I could ask you the same thing,” He replied, the tone in his voice causing ZiTao to frown.

“I’m ZiTao,” he blond mumbled and he got a hum from the other. “Who are you?” He asked, the brunet’s lips curling more as something glinted in his eyes.

“If I tell you, do I get to make you forget it?” The brunet purred and ZiTao pulled his head back, hearing the other laugh as he retreated to Chanyeol’s room.

He came back out once he had gotten dressed, seeing the bathroom door open and the light on when he opened Chanyeol’s bedroom door. He padded over to the bathroom, seeing the brunet tapping Chanyeol’s prescription bottle so that the contents spilled out into his hand, tensing and closing the distance between them a little less hesitantly.

“What do you think you’re doing, those aren’t yours!” ZiTao exclaimed and Jongdae looked over at him, slipping the cut up pills back into the bottle.

“I was just counting them. Trust me, after all that I’ve gone through to keep that idiot alive, the last thing I’m going to do is poison him,” The brunet stated, closing the bottle and looking over the label. “He should have finished this one by now,” He murmured to himself, ZiTao straightening.

“He’s been trying to get off them,” He stated, taking half a step back when the brunet looked to him with an expression that ZiTao wasn’t able to read.

“Has he, now?” The brunet mused, looking back down at the bottle. “So he’s finally trying to get better. This move really was good for him it seems.”

“Are you… Jongdae?” ZiTao asked, the corner of the brunet’s lips quirking up and he set the pill bottle back in the cabinet and closed it as he turned to face him.

“So you’ve heard of me,” He replied, and ZiTao nodded once slowly.

“I’m the one who he crashed with after his first show at the bar. You sound a lot different when you’re not screaming on the phone,” He replied and Jongdae grinned, something glinting in his eyes and making ZiTao step back again.

“I’m sure you sound different when you scream too.” ZiTao tensed and Jongdae stated to laugh. “I’ll have to ask Chanyeol if you’re loud.” Jongdae continued, causing ZiTao’s cheeks to darken. “He has taken you to bed, hasn’t he?” Jongdae asked, stepping closer. ZiTao stepped back, keeping a fair distance between them.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’m gonna go with no.”

“Yes he has!” ZiTao argued, his ears turning as red as his cheeks.

“Yeah? He really has stopped taking his pills then,” Jongdae said, crossing his arms loosely over his chest and leaning his shoulder against the wall, eyes locked on the flustered blond. “Is he any good?”

“Is that all you’re capable of talking about?” ZiTao demanded, Jongdae shrugging.

“I never got to find out myself, I’m just curious,” He replied simply and ZiTao shook his head, looking down and rubbing his upper arm.

“We haven’t gone very far,” He said, not sure exactly why he was giving in and telling the other. “He said he can’t with his medication, but I made him promise he would take it when he needed it because he kept having panic attacks.” When ZiTao looked up at the other, the glint had left his eyes; in fact, his face was voice of any expression.

“So you’re the reason he finally wants to get better.” ZiTao winced at how his voice didn’t offer a single hint as to how he felt about what he had just said.

“Do you… Do you know about what happened to him?” ZiTao asked and Jongdae cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Hasn’t he told you yet?”

“He told me a few things… That something happened a few years ago and he has really bad nightmares and doesn’t know why,” ZiTao said, feeling himself relax a little with the topic change. “Did you know him when it happened?” Jongdae looked away, turning so his back was against the wall.

“I met him about a year after, so no, I didn’t. We never really talked about anything from before we met, or the few days after we did. We didn’t really meet on the best terms.”

“What do you mean?” ZiTao asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

“The only reason I introduced myself to him was because I intended on screwing him and never speaking to him again,” Jongdae stated and ZiTao swallowed hard. The other’s tone was so casual. “Not like it happened. He passed out the moment I got him back to his dorm,” Jongdae added. “I found his medication and brought it up the next morning and we bared our teeth at each other for a bit before I left. I took his pills with me, which proved to be a poor idea on my part,” He admitted, closing his eyes.

“We had a few arguments,” He continued as he reopened his eyes. “And some setbacks, but eventually he let me help him get back to taking only as much as he was supposed to. I was sure that he would start increasing his intake after he moved and hearing that he’s taking less…”

“It’s… good that he is, right? It means he’s getting better. He said that he doesn’t have the same nightmare that he used to, even!” Jongdae blinked, raising his gaze to meet the blond’s. ZiTao fidgeted as the other stared at him emotionlessly for a while before looking to the wall in front of him. “Maybe it means… he’ll remember soon.” Jongdae let out a humorless laugh.

“I don’t think he wants to.” ZiTao frowned.

“I thought you said you didn’t know him when it happened,” He said carefully.

“I didn’t. But something leading to trauma that causes all that he goes though? I wouldn’t want to remember.”

ZiTao opened his mouth, hearing the click from the front door’s lock and he turned, both of them turned their attention to the dark haired male who was standing in the door way. Confusion, then surprised and them a smile lit up Chanyeol’s face before he dropped his bag and the door shut behind him. He crossed the room, wrapping his arms around Jongdae who winced and grunted at the tight hug he was pulled into. ZiTao felt less weary of the brunet, smiling at the way he tried to push back from the embrace like a cat that didn’t like being held.

“Would you let go on me already?” The brunet demanded when Chanyeol lifted him off the ground and ZiTao laughed.

“I thought you were scary, but it looks like I was wrong,” He said as Jongdae straightened his shirt, finally released from Chanyeol’s hold. He squinted at ZiTao, Chanyeol cutting in before he could reply.

“He can be when he wants to. Yifan says he’s got a soft spot when it comes to me though,” He looked to Jongdae who had gotten his faintly displeased expression back. “How is he, by the way?” Chanyeol asked, noticing the faint tension in his shoulders as the brunet walked between him and ZiTao to sit on the couch.

“He didn’t work out,” He mused and Chanyeol’s jaw dropped, following after Jongdae.

“W-wait, what?”

“He. Didn’t. Work. Out,” Jongdae repeated slowly, his expressing and voice just as blank as when he had been talking to ZiTao about Chanyeol’s medication.

“B-but he was completely in love with you!”

“Guess not.”

“Who’s Yifan?” ZiTao asked, stepping closer to Chanyeol.

“No one,” Jongdae said shortly and Chanyeol shook his head.

“He’s someone close to Jongdae-”

“Hey, that’s none of his business!” Jongdae exclaimed and ZiTao frowned at him.

“And what Chanyeol and I do in the bedroom isn’t any of your, but that didn’t stop you from asking me half a dozen questions about it,” ZiTao replied, pouting as he held onto Chanyeol’s arm. Chanyeol blinked, looking from Jongdae to ZiTao and then back.

“Did you really ask him about our life?”

“One, you know me well enough to guess the answer. Two, I don’t think it counts as a life if you’re not boning each other,” Jongdae replied and Chanyeol shook his head, a smile cracking his lips.

“I’ve missed you a lot,” He said and Jongdae looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’ve missed you too,” He mumbled in response, Chanyeol leading ZiTao to sit on the couch and help the two get more comfortable with each other.