Baekhyun’s shift that night began like any other.  He texted Chanyeol about where he wanted to go on their late lunch date the next day before pocketing his phone and heading towards the patient bay.

It’d been two weeks since he and Chanyeol had agreed to try putting their relationship into more formal terms.  Chanyeol called Baekhyun his boyfriend now, something that had made Baekhyun blush deep scarlet the first time he heard it in front of the guys on their usual Thursday night get together.  The group had been nothing but complementary, and Baekhyun definitely didn't miss the small nod directed his way courtesy of Kyungsoo. He mouthed back a ‘thank you’ when he got the chance, which was met with a warm smile as Chanyeol’s arm draped around Baekhyun’s shoulders to pull him closer while Jongdae peppered the pair with a hundred questions.  Typical Dae.

Baekhyun smiled at the thought as he scanned through the patient file he had grabbed.  A child had gotten a hold of q-tips and had managed to make her ear bleed. Unpleasant, but probably not life threatening.  He was about to head towards bay number two where the six year old was waiting when Joy reached out to grab his arm.

“Hold that thought.  We just got a call. A bus will be here in about two minutes, police ,” she explained, not missing a beat as Baekhyun’s steps stalled and he turned to face her.

“Why?” he asked, six year old already forgotten as he focused on the incoming case.  A police always meant something serious was inbound, though in what way Baekhyun could never guess.

“It seems they had this guy in lockup when he started acting crazed.  They’re guessing he tried to balloon* something and it burst. They ended up stunning him and he’s been strapped down, but the paramedics are wary of drugging him with anything else since they don’t know what’s already in his system,” Joy explained, moving to drag Baekhyun towards the bay doors.  If the ambulance was only two minutes out then it’d be arriving very soon. (*AN: See explanation at bottom.)

Baekhyun nodded along to Joy’s words, mind quickly cataloguing the details as he tried to come up with a plan.  Hopefully, the patient stayed subdued and they could just keep an eye on his vitals until whatever drug that was flooding his system wore off.  If they couldn’t, Baekhyun would need to use a sedative, but which one was harder to determine when he had no idea what the guy had swallowed in the first place.

As they drew up to the door, another nurse flanked Baekhyun’s left side.  He nodded in Changmin’s direction. “I take it you’re my extra muscle,” he said with a small chuckle, ears picking up on the faint sound of nearing sirens.  Even if their female nurses were far from pushovers, in a fight with a drugged up patient Baekhyun was glad to have all of Changmin’s 185cm next to him.

Changmin gave a clipped nod, eyes already on the doors.  “Somebody’s got to do it,” he reasoned grimly.

Baekhyun let out a humorless laugh as the lights of the ambulance came into view.  “Let’s hope it’s quick,” he whispered before stepping towards the doors, stealing himself for what would come next as the ambulance pulled to a stop in front of the emergency room entrance, police cruiser drawing up behind.

Unfortunately, it only took a few minutes for the scene to turn chaotic.  The patient, who had been subdued during the ambulance ride, entered a drug induced psychotic episode the moment his gurney was lowered out of the back.

Even with both his wrists and ankles strapped to the gurney, his movements made it impossible to even move him from the parking lot to inside the hospital.  Eventually, Baekhyun gave up trying to move him and called for a sedative, selecting one he knew elicited the fewest negative responses when mixed with psychotic drugs.

Still, even after he had the syringe in hand, he still had to get it into the flailing, struggling man on the gurney who easily had 10 centimeters on him.  Baekhyun approached as the paramedics and cops struggled to keep him still, heart racing as adrenaline pumped through his veins. If he messed this up, who knew what would happen next, but thankfully, the needle hit home.  Instantly, the tension in the air dropped.

Everyone relaxed, including the paramedic holding down the man’s left arm, and that was a mistake.  In a last burst of super human strength brought on by his drug induced frenzy, the man’s arm flailed, breaking out of its restraint and slamming directly into Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun stumbled back with a pained cry, falling down to ground.  Instantly, he felt the painful drag of asphalt against his palms as the area around his left eye lit with an intense heat.  He didn’t have to even look in a mirror to know it was swelling. He could feel the stretch of his skin as it expanded painfully while Joy rushed towards his side.

---

A black eye, scraped palms, and a somewhat sore backside.  That was the list of injuries Baekhyun had to document before being sent home with strict orders to rest for a week while he recovered.  Baekhyun hadn’t even tried to protest, too frustrated and embarrassed by his carelessness.

How could he have made such a rookie mistake?

Of course the patient wouldn't respond instantly to the sedative.  He should have stayed on high alert. If he had, he probably could have dodged the errant fist that came flying for his face, but he had been so relieved to get the sedative in, he’d relaxed too soon.

Really it was such a rookie mistake.

Dr. Zhang wouldn’t hear any of it though as he checked Baekhyun’s vision and treated the scrapes on his palms.  If anything, Dr. Zhang sounded about two seconds away from storming into the nearby room where the patient resided and giving him a matching black eye for injuring one of his doctors.  The fiery passion made Baekhyun smile. Even if he had screwed up, it was nice to know Dr. Zhang cared for him. Joy and Changmin did too, hovering over him and carefully attending to every one of his bumps and bruises until Baekhyun was cleared to leave.  Joy even offered to take Baekhyun home, but he declined.

“They need  you here,” he said as he shouldered his bag.  Joy bit her lip, clearly still hesitating.

Baekhyun offered up a reassuring smile.  “It’s just a black eye. I’m not going to die taking the subway,” he said with a laugh.

That seemed to do the trick, making Joy smile as she nodded her.  “Alright, but you’ll call us when you get to your place.”

It was a statement, not a request.  Clearly this was not up for debate. Baekhyun nodded his head, heart warming at the concern that still lingered on Joy’s face.  “Of course,” he promised, even letting Joy lead him to the exit before shooing her away while he shouldered his bag and stepped out into the night.

It was as he was walking towards the train, eye sore and body sagging with exhaustion from the night’s excitement that Baekhyun remembered Chanyeol and their lunch date.  Baekhyun pulled out his phone. Flipping to their chat, he typed out a quick message before returning his focus to getting to the train.

---

Chanyeol’s phone alarm went off at 12:30 PM.  It had him groaning as he d for the offending device, room still darkened by his blackout curtains.  Finally, his fingers touched the smooth glass and plastic of his phone. He pulled it towards himself as he tapped off the alarm, catching sight of a message from Baekhyun on his lockscreen.

[01:33] Hey, I think I’m gonna have to cancel this one.  Took a pretty bad bump at work and I’m gonna need some time to sleep it off

A bump?  What did that mean?

Chanyeol frowned as he unlocked his phone.  Baekhyun hadn’t sent anything else, which was unlike him.  He usually let Chanyeol know when he got off work and that he got back home to his apartment safely, but neither of those messages were present.  Just the bump message, sent in the wee hours of the morning when Baekhyun should have been in the middle of his shift.

Chanyeol’s frown deepened as he moved his thumb to tap out a response to Baekhyun’s message.

[12:33] Hey, are you awake?

Chanyeol waited nervously, uncertain whether or not he’d get a response, but, after a few seconds, the message on his phone was shown as read.  It took a few more for Baekhyun to send back a response.

[12:34] Am now

[12:34] Did I wake you up ><

Chanyeol texted back, feeling guilty.  Baekhyun had said he needed rest. He should have waited a bit.

[12:35] Nah jk, I was already up :P - my stomach is growling

Or not.  Chanyeol chuckled to himself as he tapped out a response.  At least Baekhyun seemed alright.

[12:35] I’d still be down for lunch if you want

Baekhyun’s response was slightly delayed, but when it came through Chanyeol was frowning.

[12:36] As wonderful as that sounds I don’t think I should go outside right now - might scare the children haha

[12:37] What are you saying?

Chanyeol asked, now even more confused.  His confusion wouldn’t last long as after about thirty seconds, a dark square appeared on his screen.  Baekhyun had sent a picture. Chanyeol tapped the small button to download it and then just stared, almost not able to believe the image that greeted his eyes.

Baekhyun was propped up in bed much like Chanyeol.  His hair was slightly askew and there was a bit of drool on his chin that made Chanyeol doubtful of his earlier claim of having already been awake, but Chanyeol really didn’t have much time to focus on that because the real issue was Baekhyun’s eye, his left eye, which was barely opened and surrounded by mottled purple hues.

Chanyeol didn’t even bother typing out a response.  He just hit call. His phone had barely started to ring when the sound of Baekhyun’s laughter echoed through his phone.

“It looks that bad huh?” he asked, laughter not quite able to hide the forced lightness in his tone.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked without preamble, heart in his throat as his mind flashed back to Baekhyun’s face again.

Baekhyun greeted his question with a sigh, a rustling of blankets through the phone indicating he was fidgeting a bit before he spoke.  “I screwed up. We had a guy come in high out of his mind on something. I managed to get the sedative in him, but I relaxed too soon and took a fist to the face,” Baekhyun explained, soft tone not hiding his clear frustration with himself.  Chanyeol’s heart clenched even more as he processed Baekhyun’s words. A patient had done this to Baekhyun. A patient Baekhyun had treated at work had injured him enough that Baekhyun’s left eye could barely open, and whenever he went back to work there would be more patients capable of doing the exact same thing.

Chanyeol’s stomach turned unpleasantly at the thought even as he tried to push it away and focus on Baekhyun, who clearly shouldn’t have been blaming himself for a drugged up idiot punching him in the face.  “It’s not your fault the guy got high,” Chanyeol reasoned, hoping to comfort Baekhyun while simultaneously hiding his mounting panic at the thought of Baekhyun returning to his job.

“Maybe not, but I should have been more careful.  I know better. It’s not like this was the first time,” Baekhyun countered.

Chanyeol’s stomach lurched again.  Of all the things he’d wanted to hear, that hadn’t been one of them.  He wasn’t used to this. He was supposed to be the one who could get hurt on the job, not Baekhyun.  Chanyeol’s grip tightened on his phone as he closed his eyes and took a breath, head feeling a little light.  On the other end of the line Baekhyun must have heard it because it wasn’t long after Chanyeol took that breathe that Baekhyun was talking again.

“Chanyeol, are you alright?” he asked softly.

Chanyeol took another breath before speaking into his phone, tone shakey.  “Sorry, I’m suddenly learning I’m not used to being on the other end of this,” he whispered softly.

“Oh…” Baekhyun’s voice trailed off into silence that lingered for a while.  It seemed neither of them knew what to say next until, finally, Baekhyun was letting out an awkward cough.

“I uh… I don’t know if it helps, but I promise these kinds of things don’t happen that often,” he said, tone hesitant.

Chanyeol let out a sigh, free hand running through his hair before gripping at the ends and tugging gently, letting the slight twinge of pain ground him.  “But it does happen,” he responded with a heavy sigh.

Baekhyun let out a quiet sigh in reply.  “Yeah, sometimes,” he admitted, sounding a bit defeated.  He must have realized his attempt to comfort Chanyeol had failed.

Chanyeol didn’t like that.  If anything, Chanyeol should be the one comforting Baekhyun.  He was the one who had gotten punched in the face after all. Chanyeol frowned at his own selfishness as he glanced towards the clock on his wall before quickly coming to a decision.  “Hey, I know you said you don’t want to go out, but do you think I could come over? I’ll bring food,” he offered, waiting with baited breath.

He had dropped Baekhyun off at his apartment a few times, but he hadn’t been inside, not yet.  Now seemed as good a time as any though, what with Chanyeol somewhat desperate to make sure Baekhyun was really okay and Baekhyun most definitely in need of food since he had readily admitted to Chanyeol that his fridge was mostly stocked with water and beer on more than one occasion.

Baekhyun was quiet for a while before he spoke.  “My place is mess, but if you really want to come, I’d love some pad thai.”

A small bit of the weight in Chanyeol’s chest lifted as he moved to get out of his bed and headed towards his closet.  “You got it,” he promised, reaching for a grey t-shirt to throw over his sweats.

---

Less than an hour later, Chanyeol was knocking on the door to Baekhyun’s apartment, two orders of pad thai hanging from a bag looped around his wrist.  Chanyeol was pretty sure he heard some cursing before the door swung open to reveal Baekhyun in a pair of jeans and a button up shirt with his hair neatly styled.

Despite the sight of Baekhyun’s black eye in the flesh making his heart clench, Chanyeol found himself laughing as he reached out to gently cup Baekhyun’s chin, turning his head to the side so he could get a better look.  “I thought we weren’t going out,” he murmured, eyes studying the darkened purple spots that encircle Baekhyun’s swollen eyelid.

It looked worse in person, at least to Chanyeol, and that was without even considering the bandages he could see wrapped around Baekhyun’s palms.  Baekhyun hadn’t mentioned those earlier. Chanyeol filed the observation away as Baekhyun flushed, cheeks turning pink as he stepped out of Chanyeol’s grip and turned to usher him into his apartment.

“We aren’t.  I just figured some part of me should be presentable,” he explained as Chanyeol stepped over the threshold and into Baekhyun’s space.  He kicked off his shoes as he took in the mostly white walls and the white leather sofa Baekhyun was walking towards. Baekhyun’s apartment decorations were… sparse, to say the least.

There even seemed to be a few moving boxes still stacked in the corner of the living room despite the fact that Baekhyun had been living in the city for at least half a year.  Chanyeol smiled as he stepped around the couch to find Baekhyun pushing aside medical journals and sports magazines on his coffee table to make way for the food in Chanyeol’s hands.

“I’m sorry for the mess.  If I had known this would happen I would have—”

Chanyeol reached out to clamp a reassuring hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze that made Baekhyun pause in his movements and turn to face Chanyeol with an inquisitive expression.  “Your apartment looks lovely Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said with a little smile as Baekhyun’s eyes met his.

Baekhyun snorted, but the words were successful in making him abandon his attempts to organize the coffee table in favor of sitting on the couch while Chanyeol unpacked their food.  “There are still moving boxes over there,” he said with a nod of his head to the boxes Chanyeol had spotted earlier.

Chanyeol shrugged as he broke a set of chopsticks before handing them off to Baekhyun along with a plastic container of noodles.  “I can help you unpack them later if you’d like,” he offered before reaching for his own pad thai.

Baekhyun shook his head.  “Nah, don’t bother. I feel like if I’ve lived this long without it then whatever is in there I can probably just throw away,” he said with a laugh, a smile overtaking his features as he swallowed his first bite, eyes closing for a moment to savor the flavor.

“I can help with that too,” Chanyeol offered with a laugh, heart warming at the sight.  It had been worth making sure he swung by the better thai place on his way over. Baekhyun definitely appreciated good food.

---

Baekhyun didn’t understand what it was about Chanyeol that made it all so easy.  How, with just a few sentences he had Baekhyun sitting down to eat pad thai and laughing about things that have nothing to do with his eye or work or why they had to be spending their lunch date cooped up in Baekhyun’s apartment.

Given their conversation on the phone earlier, Baekhyun had felt like his eye would be the only thing they’d be talking about.  It was the main reason why he’d taken the time to try to make the rest of himself look presentable Maybe, if he put the rest of himself together, Chanyeol wouldn’t worry as much about what was so clearly broken, but as they ate together on the couch, Baekhyun wasn’t so sure it had worked.

Chanyeol had immediately examined his eye when he’d seen Baekhyun, and now his eyes kept going towards Baekhyun’s wrapped palms as he ate.  Finally, as Chanyeol’s eyes flicked towards his palms again, Baekhyun set his emptied carryout container on the coffee table and decided to change tactics.  Perhaps it’d be better if he let Chanyeol take a look. He needed to change the bandages anyway.

“I scraped them when I fell,” he explained, holding out his hands towards Chanyeol, who, after flinching slightly at having been caught, reached out to carefully cradle one of Baekhyun’s hands between two of his.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, eyes trained on the bandages where a few blood stains had seeped through.

Baekhyun shook his head.  “Not too much, but I do need to change the bandages, if you’d like to help,” he offered, smiling as Chanyeol’s gaze snapped back to his, eyes wide with concern as he gripped Baekhyun’s hand just a tiny bit tighter.

“I’d love too,” he whispered softly.

Baekhyun smiled wider.  Chanyeol had never sounded more sincere.  He gently pulled back his hand so he could push himself up from the couch.  “C’mon, the bathroom is this way,” he said, motioning for Chanyeol to follow him down the hall to the bathroom where he kept his medical kit.  He pulled it out and was about to start rummaging through it to pull out what he needed when Chanyeol’s hands stopped him.

“I know how to do this much,” he murmured, gently pushing Baekhyun to sit on the closed lid of the toilet before he turned and started to pull out the gauze and ointment Baekhyun had been searching for.

“I take it you guys suffer your fair share of cuts and bruises?” Baekhyun asked as he took the opportunity to unwind the soiled bandages from around his palms and deposit them into the trash.

Chanyeol nodded as he turned after washing his hands, ointment bottle uncapped.  “Sometimes. We try to avoid it when we can, but things happen,” he explained, kneeling down on the floor before carefully reaching for one of Baekhyun’s hands.  He settled the back of Baekhyun’s hand against his palm, keeping it in place as he squeezed some ointment out onto the still healing abrasions that littered Baekhyun's skin.

“Sorry, this may sting a little,” Chanyeol whispered as he dropped the ointment and began to carefully spread it over the wounds.  Baekhyun held back a grimace as Chanyeol worked, not wishing to upset him further, but he couldn’t stop his shoulders from tensing up until Chanyeol was finished applying the ointment to both his hands and was capping the tube with a quiet ‘sorry.’

“Don’t.  It’s not your fault,” Baekhyun said with a small shake of his head as Chanyeol turned back with a long strip of gauze.

Chanyeol frowned as he carefully set the wrap against one of Baekhyun’s palms.  “I’m still going to say sorry,” he murmured, movements smooth and steady as he began to wrap the gauze around Baekhyun’s hand.  Baekhyun didn’t know what to say to that so he stayed silent, watching as Chanyeol switched from one hand to the next, a tender yet sorrowful expression on his face that Baekhyun wished he could wipe off.  Why did it seem everything Baekhyun did in regards to this situation only served to upset Chanyeol more?

Finally, Chanyeol was done, pulling away from Baekhyun’s hands after affixing the wrapped gauze in place with two small strips of medical tape.  “Let me know if it’s too tight,” he whispered as he pulled back, troubled gaze going to Baekhyun’s face as Baekhyun experimentally flexed his hands before offering up a smile.

“They’re perfect,” he complimented, watching as the words cracked through Chanyeol’s worried expression and brought the tiniest of smiles to his face.

“Really?” he asked, reaching out to cup the good side of Baekhyun’s face.

Baekhyun nodded into his palm.  “Really. Even better than Dr. Zhang,” he teased, smiling when Chanyeol laughed in response and lightly tapped his cheek before moving to start cleaning up the small mess he had made.

“I’m sure I’m not that good,” he countered, pausing when Baekhyun’s own echoing laughter was interrupted by a long yawn.

“Sorry, I didn’t get a lot of sleep,” he admitted after he finished, hands moving to rub at his eyes before he could remember that one of them was still black and blue.  He flinched at the contact, hand falling away swiftly as Chanyeol watched, expression pained while Baekhyun cursed softly. That had hurt.

“Are you alright?” Chanyeol asked, moving back in front of Baekhyun as he took a breath and closed his eyes, trying to will away the sudden throbbing of his left eye.

Baekhyun offered up a nod as the throbbing subsided slightly, looking up at Chanyeol with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.  “Yeah, it’s passing. I can’t believe I forgot,” he said as he allowed Chanyeol to help him up from where he was seated on the toilet, expression turning thoughtful as he helped steady Baekhyun on his feet.

“Do you want to take a nap?” he questioned softly, hands not leaving Baekhyun’s shoulders as Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol with a grateful smile despite himself.

“That sounds nice, but also kind of boring for you,” he said, not entirely surprised when Chanyeol just shrugged.

“I could use a nap too,” he said, releasing his grip on Baekhyun’s shoulders so that he could instead slide his hands down Baekhyun’s arms and gently clasp his hands around Baekhyun’s wrists.  His thumbs rubbed soothingly back and forth across Baekhyun’s skin, making Baekhyun tremble before he let out another yawn.

“I might nap for hours,” he said as he finished, already anticipating the second shrug Chanyeol shot back at him.

“I’ll play with my phone,” he said simply, making Baekhyun let out a sigh.

“You’re not going to let me say no are you?” he asked, somewhat surprised when Chanyeol shook his head.

“If you really don’t want to take a nap, that’s fine, but don’t say no just because of me.  I’ll be fine,” he explained, making Baekhyun’s heart beat a touch faster as his cheeks flushed before he decided to just walk past Chanyeol towards the exit of the bathroom, mind made up.

“Where are you going?” Chanyeol called out behind him, quickly turning to follow.

“To nap,” Baekhyun replied as he stepped through the doorway into his bedroom before he stalled and Chanyeol nearly collided with his back.  Baekhyun could practically feel Chanyeol’s breaths against his hair as reality sunk in. They hadn’t exactly done this before.

Sure, they’d slept together on Doctor Zhang’s couch that one night and dozed off on the fire station couch a few times since, much to Jongdae’s amusement, but they’d never really gotten on a bed, together.  Baekhyun gave his head a little shake, mentally bracing himself before boldly striding forward. A bed really wasn’t all that different from a couch.

Moreover, it wasn’t like they were going to do anything but sleep.  Baekhyun honestly didn’t have the will or desire to do more no matter how much his stomach might be flipping  at the thought as he crawled onto his mattress and pulled back his comforter.

From behind him, Chanyeol moved as well, coming to a stop at the side of the bed.  When he didn’t move from there after a couple of seconds, Baekhyun looked up curiously only to find himself greeted with Chanyeol’s own hesitant expression.  “Are you going to sleep in that?” He finally asked after a few seconds of silence had passed between them, eyes flicking towards Baekhyun’s button up and jeans in turn.

Baekhyun’s cheeks tinged.  Chanyeol was right. His current outfit wasn’t exactly ideal for napping, but he’d been so focused on just getting on the bed that he’d forgotten about it.  Hoping to mask some of his embarrassment, Baekhyun barked out a laugh as he flopped down on the bed on his side, propping his head on his hand as he looked up at Chanyeol.

“Are you trying to get me comfortable enough to take a nap or are you just trying to get me ?” He teased, watching as Chanyeol’s own cheeks turned pink while one of his hands rubbed at the base of his neck.

“What if I say it’s both?” He admitted, making Baekhyun laugh to cover up another blush as he rolled onto his back, face still turned in Chanyeol’s direction.  The movement allowed him to appreciate the image of Chanyeol standing flustered at the side of his bed for a few more seconds as he considered his next move.

Finally, he decided what he really wanted—what he really, really wanted—was probably a bit childish and silly but, he had a feeling Chanyeol would still do it for him, at least for today.  Baekhyun reached out a hand in Chanyeol’s direction, beckoning him forward.

“Help me,” he whispered, watching as Chanyeol’s eyes widened before he slowly nodded his head, cheeks still beautifully tinged as he crawled onto the bed.

“Alright,” he whispered as he hovered over Baekhyun from the side, hesitating for a few seconds before he reached to undo the button of Baekhyun’s jeans and pull down his zipper.  

Baekhyun shivered at the sound before Chanyeol carefully worked his hands around Baekhyun’s waist to tug at the waistband of his jeans.  Baekhyun lifted his hips, body arching to ease the slide as Chanyeol’s hands grazed down his legs, pulling his jeans all the way off before tapping Baekhyun’s socked feet with a tilt of his head.

Baekhyun gave a nod down to Chanyeol where he was at his ankles and his socks were delicately removed.  Chanyeol rolled them down his ankles and across his soles in such a way that his fingertips were dancing against Baekhyun’s skin in a light massage that had Baekhyun’s eyes closing in contentment before Chanyeol returned to his chest to work on the buttons of his shirt. Getting that off of Baekhyun’s shoulders took a little more work, but finally, Baekhyun was bare down to his boxers as Chanyeol tossed his shirt towards the floor before biting his lip, hesitating.

Baekhyun cocked his head to the side in question.

“Do you mind if I…” Chanyeol trailed off as he gestured towards his own shirt.  Baekhyun’s eyes widened before he slowly inclined his head.

“Go ahead,” he murmured, watching as Chanyeol pulled off his shirt to reveal the toned planes of his chest and stomach.  Baekhyun drank in the sight, not looking away as Chanyeol flushed at his scrutiny before sliding down beside Baekhyun and reaching out to pull him to his side.

Baekhyun accommodated the movements, allowing for his good cheek to be comfortably pillowed against Chanyeol’s chest while he snuggled up against him.  The soft and steady thrum of Chanyeol’s heart beat was soothing as Chanyeol drew Baekhyun’s comforter up over both of them before letting his fingers gently scratch against Baekhyun’s scalp while they both drifted off to sleep.

---

When Baekhyun began to stir a few hours later, Chanyeol had shifted, sliding up the bed so that his back was propped up against the headboard and Baekhyun's cheek rested against his thigh.  It took a few blinks for Baekhyun to understand where he was before he was slowly turning with a yawn to look up at Chanyeol who had noticed his movements and was looking down at him with a soft smile.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, placing his phone off to the side before reaching down to affectionately the good side of Baekhyun's face.

Baekhyun smiled at the contact, leaning into it while closing his eyes.  "Better. I'm not as tired at least."

Baekhyun was greeted by a wider smiled as he reopened his eyes and Chanyeol moved to run his fingers through Baekhyun's hair.  "Good," he whispered softly.

Baekhyun smiled, enjoying the attention.  "How long was I out for?"

"About three hours," Chanyeol murmured, making Baekhyun's eyes widen as he jerked in surprise.  Chanyeol's hand stalled in it's movements before falling away as Baekhyun sat up to face him.

"You stayed here the whole time?" he asked.

Chanyeol shrugged.  "I got some sleep too," he said dismissively.

Baekhyun frowned.  "You didn't have to do that," he whispered softly, feeling guilty to have wasted so many hours of Chanyeol's day.

Chanyeol shrugged again before reaching out his fingers to hook under Baekhyun's chin, prompting him to look back up at Chanyeol's face.  "I wanted to, and besides, I could use some lazy days. My neck has been cranky lately," Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun imagined Chanyeol was trying to be reassuring but his words stirred something else in Baekhyun almost immediately, his doctor’s instincts.  "What do you mean by cranky?" he questioned, eyes already shifting to study Chanyeol's neck critically, looking for any outward signs of a flaw.

"It's just been kind of sore.  It hurts to turn my head to the left," Chanyeol explained simply, tone matter of fact.

Baekhyun frowned.  "That’s not good," he said, quickly ascertaining that visually, nothing appeared wrong with Chanyeol's neck, which meant any discomfort he was experiencing was internal, as expected with neck pain really.

Chanyeol offered up a noncommittal shrug.  "Yeah… it’ll probably go away in a few days," he said, tone calm and dismissive.  Clearly, this wasn't a big deal to him.

It was to Baekhyun.

"Let me look at it," Baekhyun said, hands reaching out to try to pull Chanyeol away from the headboard.

Chanyeol's eyes widened in surprise.  "It’s really not a big—do I need to move?" Chanyeol asked, giving up his protest half way when Baekhyun hardened his expression, staring him down as he carefully curled his fingers around Chanyeol's shoulder, avoiding putting pressure on his wrapped palms while still pulling rather insistently.

"Yes," Baekhyun replied, guiding Chanyeol to lay down on the bed with his head near the foot as Baekhyun crawled off and stood above him.

"What are we doing?" Chanyeol asked as he blinked up a Baekhyun, expression confused as  Baekhyun stared down at Chanyeol's upside down face, thoughtful.

Neck pain could be caused by any number of things.  Since he didn't have a clear cause, it was probably safest to keep things simple.  With that thought, Baekhyun carefully pushed his fingers under Chanyeol's neck, lifting slightly so that the weight of Chanyeol's head was partially supported by Baekhyun's fingertips.

Chanyeol let out a soft moan.  "Oh that feels good," he murmured, eyes closing as Baekhyun held the position for a few more seconds.

"It’s taking pressure off your neck and stretching it out," Baekhyun explained quietly before letting his fingers move to start firmly massaging Chanyeol's neck and shoulders.  It was tricky considering he couldn't press his damaged palms against Chanyeol's skin, but it seemed effective if the soft grunts Chanyeol was releasing were any indication.

"Your shoulders have a lot of knots," Baekhyun observed as he pressed against another one, feeling it give under his fingertips as Chanyeol let out a breathless laugh.

"Comes with the job I’m told."

Baekhyun frowned.  "You should let me do this more often," he said as he deemed Chanyeol's shoulders as well massaged as they could be given the current state of his palms and the cramping in his fingers.

Chanyeol noticed the ceasing of Baekhyun’s movements, eyes popping open as he looked up at Baekhyun with a somewhat dopey smile.  "You think I’m going to argue with you on that?" he asked, tone teasing.

Baekhyun snorted and reached out to tweak Chanyeol's nose.  "Felt that good, huh?" he asked, fingertips trailing down the side of Chanyeol's face.

"Yeah, pretty amazing actually," he said, making Baekhyun chuckle as Chanyeol's eyes fell closed, and he gently pressed his cheek against Baekhyun's fingertips.

"I'm glad," Baekhyun murmured, heart swelling with affection before he leaned down to gently brush his lips against Chanyeol's own.  He pulled back to find Chanyeol's eyes had popped back open pretty wide. Baekhyun blushed, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed.

"Sorry I forgot... you probably don’t really wanna kiss me when I look like this do you?" he said, starting to pull farther away when a hand on the back of his neck kept him in place.

"I have no problem kissing you like this," Chanyeol whispered, giving the back of Baekhyun's neck a little squeeze.

Baekhyun shuddered under the weight of Chanyeol's palm before slowly lowering his head back down to kiss Chanyeol again, his head turning to make it deeper as he let his tongue dart out from between his lips and dip into Chanyeol's mouth.  Chanyeol against it instantly despite the odd angle, and pretty soon, they had a rhythm that had Baekhyun forgetting about the slight pain in his eyes in favor of the burgeoning fire in his gut as Chanyeol's fingers tangled in his hair.  When they finally separated, Baekhyun was panting just above Chanyeol's lips, breathless as Chanyeol's fingers remained twisted in his hair.

"How do you feel," he whispered softly, making Baekhyun want to laugh.

"Amazing," he whispered before leaning back down again.  His need for air be damned, Chanyeol's lips were more important.

Chanyeol accomodated the motion, though this time, his hands slid from Baekhyun hair to his shoulders, tugging gently until Baekhyun acquiesced, allowing their kiss to be broken so that Chanyeol could pull Baekhyun over top of him on the bed.  Baekhyun hovered there, on all fours above Chanyeol for a few seconds, still panting, as Chanyeol looked up at him, hair mussed and cheeks flush as nervousness played across his face.

Baekhyun cocked his head to the side, asking silently.

Chanyeol his lips as he reached up, pushing a few strands of  hair behind Baekhyun's ear. "Is it too fast?" he questioned softly as he let his hand fall away, cheeks still flushed.

Baekhyun considered his words briefly before shaking his head.  "I don't think so," he answered. Really, how could it be too fast when all he was thinking about right then was how much he wanted to lean down and kiss Chanyeol's lips again, and maybe the mole on his nose too, just because.

Chanyeol chuckled before his hand moved to the back of Baekhyun's neck again, tugging firmly.  "Agreed."

Baekhyun was laughing as their lips collided, quickly transitioning to moans as Chanyeol's tongue tangled with his once more, their movements becoming heated and more insistent until Baekhyun was flinching away after he pressed his palms too hard against the mattress.  Chanyeol blinked up at him in confusion for a few seconds before Baekhyun managed to explain. Once Chanyeol understood, it wasn't long before Baekhyun found their positions reversed as Chanyeol hovered over him.

Baekhyun's arms wound around Chanyeol's shoulders, hands hanging safely in the air as Chanyeol's lips mouthed at Baekhyun's neck, and his hips rolled down, making Baekhyun moan as they quickly found a pleasurable beat that built to a crescendo that had Baekhyun and Chanyeol both panting as they stared into each other's eyes.

And right then, despite knowing that his face was a hideous, broken mess, Baekhyun found that he had never felt more complete.  A laugh bubbled up from somewhere deep in his chest, giddy and carefree. "We should do this more often," he teased.

Chanyeol smiled down at him in response as he reached out to brush some sweaty strands of hair out of Baekhyun's face.  "Whatever you want," he promised.

---

*To those of you that don’t know, to try to hide drugs people will put the drugs in balloons and either ingest them or hide them in their rectums.  In the cases where they eat the balloon, the balloon passes through the digestive system and can be recovered once it is passed, but sometimes the balloon ruptures inside the person who ate it, which can lead to serious complications.  (Yes this is real - google can confirm it lol)