Yifan knew, he just knew that he shouldn't have let Chanyeol go to that game alone. So what if his favorite unnecessarily large chick mascot was there to advertise the new chicken nuggets being sold at the neighboring fast food joint? That didn't mean an additional free pass to get bullied and pummelled to the ground!

Yifan cursed as he pedalled on his bicycle (because his dad was using his car and damn it, dad! Why today of all days?!) to get to Chanyeol's house all the way from his cousins'. He was stuck baby-sitting his younger cousins that day, which was why he couldn't go with Chanyeol to the game at their school's field. He had hoped Chanyeol would change his mind, because they sort of had this unspoken rule that they'd do anything together - it's been like that for years, ever since they were toddlers - so it came as a surprise to Yifan when he got a text from Chanyeol that morning stating that he was going to the game because not-so-baby chick mascot was going to be there and he needed an autograph.

「Canlie, you are not getting an autograph of that insanely huge chick.」 Yifan texted, a smile on his face despite his baby cousin pooling drool all over his shirt.

「I will, 'Fan! I'll send you a pic later! ^ㅂ^」

「You do know it's just some random dude in there right?」

「Don't ruin my dreams! ㅠ.ㅠ」

Everything was fine after that. Yifan figured that all Chanyeol was going to do was get that little autograph, brag about it via text or call (and maybe facebook) and head home. So it was definitely not on Yifan's to do list to receive a two-word text from Chanyeol that afternoon... and it had nothing to do with the huge chick.

「Damage control」

That text message was never a good sign. Anybody but Yifan wouldn't be able to understand what that really meant, but through their long years together, he'd come to decode Chanyeol's texts. Simply put, Chanyeol had been bullied - again. Ever since they were little, Chanyeol had always been bullied. At first it was because of his ears, which eventually became some sort of an inferiority complex for him; later on, it grew to blatant discrimination. Chanyeol has always been a little different and he was never one to shy away from people, but maybe that's one of two reasons why he was a target - the other reason? Chanyeol never fought back.

Either way, it bothered Yifan to his wits end.

Finally, Yifan arrived in front of the Park's, noticing that neither of his parents were home - which could be a good thing for the both of them, especially Chanyeol's. He really didn't need his mother fussing over him. Maybe? With no room for a break, Yifan skipped steps to get to the porch, kicking the hat off one little garden dwarf sitting nearby to retrieve the spare key. Chanyeol's room was at the very end of the house and Yifan zoomed past all the rooms in the house, reaching Chanyeol's door in record time--

"Canlie?" Yifan panted, taking his first real breath as he entered the ever familiar, ever nostalgic bedroom. Said male was on his bed, hugging his legs with his head buried on his knees. Yifan took a deep breath, closing the door, only then did Chanyeol meekly lift his head up. Yifan tried his best not to make a face but it was proving to be difficult. There was a huge blue-to-black bruise forming on Chanyeol's right cheek, a few cuts on his lips, some red marks (scratch marks?) on his arms and a fresh track of tears on his face. The last part was the last straw. Yifan never, ever liked it when Chanyeol cried.

Chanyeol hurriedly wiped his cheeks, trying to rid of any evidence that he had cried, which was ridiculous considering Yifan already saw everything. "Hey, 'Fan." He croaked, sniffing as he pulled at his knees again.

Yifan sighed, running his hand through his hair before digging around Chanyeol's room for the medicine kit. "Come here." He said, sitting at one edge of the bed. Chanyeol silently scooted towards his childhood friend, sniffing. This thing was such a common occurrence already that both already knew the protocol for "damage control". "Handkerchief?"

"You already know where it is." Chanyeol pushed the sleeve of his shirt up to his shoulder, revealing more bruising and marks. Yifan frowned momentarily before pinching his arm. "Ouch!"

"I do know where it is, I'm just wondering why you don't carry one with you." Yifan teased, going over his drawer to retrieve one handkerchief. Returning to Chanyeol's side, he pressed the cloth over his nose and pinched. "Blow." He said, grinning as his childhood friend blew his nose like a little kid with a runny nose.

Taking the handkerchief in his hands, Chanyeol mumbled a weak, "Thanks." as Yifan sat down, resuming to bandage some of his injuries.

"All right, start talking." Yifan began, placing a cotton ball over one bleeding scratch mark to clean it. "What happened and who did this?"

"Same old story." Chanyeol winced. "I'm actually more upset that I didn't get to meet Chirpy Chick."

"Seriously? Seriously, Canlie?" Yifan raised an eyebrow, exasperation in his voice. "You look like you've been run over, you know? This is not something I enjoy seeing in a day-to-day basis."

Chanyeol frowned, "Do you think I enjoy being bullied, 'Fan? I'm sorry to ruin your moment but I do not enjoy being a victim and I know my no-to-violence dogma doesn't sit well with you."

"Well, it's good that you know that because it really doesn't and do you know why?" Yifan growled, the anxiety, concern and tension from before suddenly boiling up inside of him. Seeing Chanyeol like this didn't help either. But it's not like he wanted to start a fight with Chanyeol, well, it was happening now and it just agitated him further. Now he wanted to punch someone; of course, Chanyeol was out of the question. "It's because I don't understand how you could let these good for nothing people hurt you like this. I don't understand how you could just let them hit you and degrade you only to leave you to cry alone in your bedroom. I don't understand, Canlie, because as far as I'm concerned I'd be kicking someone's back if I was in your place because I am not going to be put down by imbeciles lower than dirt."

By the time Yifan was finished, he was panting and Chanyeol was ogling at him, stunned. There were a few silent seconds that passed before the younger of the two leaned forward, pressing his head against Yifan's shoulder. "... Sorry."

Yifan shut his eyes, sighing in defeat. God, he did not intend for Chanyeol to apologize to him. In fact, Chanyeol shouldn't apologize for anything at all. He was being a little inconsiderate back there, suddenly shouting at him like that when he had just recovered from crying. He should know by now that Chanyeol was brave enough to not cry in front of bullies, holding it in instead until he was in the safety of his own bedroom. That takes guts and Yifan was always impressed with him. There had never been a stronger person than Chanyeol for Yifan and that wasn't going to change so easily.

He pressed his cheek against Chanyeol's hair, grumbling. "It's not your fault." He paused, "I'm counting on that."

Chanyeol chuckled softly before groaning as his bruise stung. "I swear I'm innocent."

Yifan smiled derisively, "Of course you are." He patted the back of his head gently, earning a little whimper. "All right, princess, let's see your face."

"If it's any victory," Chanyeol added while letting Yifan cup his cheeks gently to tilt his head up, checking the bruising and injuries. "I got out of there without punching anyone, kicking anyone or breaking down in tears - that is, until I got to my bedroom."

"I'd say that's big improvement from your grade school days."

Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he winced when Yifan applied some medicine to the cuts on his lip. "Yeah well, still doesn't change the fact that I didn't get to have Chirpy Chick's autograph."

"Forget that oversized bird and give me those idiots' names."

"Uh-oh," Chanyeol pulled his head back when Yifan placed a bandage on one cut near his temple. "You aren't going to paint the town red, are you?"

Now it was Yifan's turn to roll his eyes, leaning forward to flash a feral smile. "That depends on whose blood I'd be using, right? C'mon, who were they? I'm itching to kill."

"Yifan!" Chanyeol playfully punched at his shoulder, "You're not going to beat these guys' asses as payback. What's done is done."

"Fine, I'll compromise." Yifan deadpanned. "How about I'll kill them first, and if we find out they're actually friendly, then I'll apologize."

"How was that a compromise?" Chanyeol laughed, ignoring Yifan's serious and offended look before standing up from the bed. He gave a little wince as he did so before rubbing on what seemed to be a sore spot near his stomach.

"You'd think to praise me considering I even offered to compromise in the first place." Yifan replied, getting up and reaching for Chanyeol's shirt. "What's up? Does it hurt there?"

"A little..." Chanyeol allowed Yifan to lift his shirt slightly and he frowned, seeing the slowly forming bruise over his milky skin. "Ugh, that's not going to go away for a while."

"Same goes for the rest of your bruises," Yifan rolled his eyes as he nonchalantly traced the bruise over Chanyeol's abdomen. "Maybe it'd be better to ice this?"

"I think so too." Chanyeol pursed his lips before he did a little squirm, "That tickles, 'Fan."

Yifan raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk forming on his lips. "What? This?" And he gently the pale skin underneath his fingertips and the little giggle that escaped Ch