Taecyeon

Thankfully Gain had gone to sleep without an argument. She'd been doing so well with her new schedule, but Taecyeon had been afraid having Jun home would throw her off that schedule.

Prince Grumpy Pants had stayed in the living room while he'd given Gain her bath and read her three books. He'd been hoping that reading books about mice that ate cookies and moose that fancied muffins would help cool his anger against Jun, but now that he was about to walk out into the living room, he could feel that anger simmering below the surface. He'd done everything in his power to make Jun's homecoming a happy one and Jun had been a first-class dickhead. All he'd done since the moment he'd stepped his crutches in the door was and moan.

Taecyeon took a deep breath and prayed for the strength to control his temper "Hey, can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, my house back." Jun didn't bother looking up from the letter he was reading.

"Excuse me?" what the hell was Jun talking about?

"You're damn right excuse you." Jun's dark eyes blazed with anger.

The kind, benevolent God who'd saved Jun's life was apparently not answering his prayer now "I can't read your mind, Jun. If you're angry at something just tell me what it is." 

"You took over the house while I was gone."

At least Jun was using his words "Yes, I did. Gain needed someone here to do laundry and cook dinner."

"So you'll cook for her and not for me?" Jun sounded like a petulant child who was overdue for a nap.

"Is that what this is about? That I didn't have a home-cooked meal ready for you when you came home, Ward Cleaver?"

Jun scowled at him.

So much for Jun using his words "Today is Friday. It's my busiest day of the week to see students. Not to mention the fact that evaluations are coming up so that I can help parents plan what should be done with their kids over the summer. Then I had to pick Gain up at Narsha's and go food shopping. You were texting saying to come get you, so I only had time to come home and put the groceries away before I was off to get you at the hospital. There wasn't time to cook a meal."

Jun crossed his arms over his chest, but he still wasn't talking.

Taec felt like he'd aged ten years in the last week, what with the fear of losing Jun and playing Mr. Mom all week. Dealing with a grumpy and obviously angry Jun wasn't helping the situation. If they weren't in the middle of a fight, Taecyeon could fall asleep where he was standing. 

"Look, I know you're recovering. I'm sure it wasn't easy to be away from home and your job for a week. I'm sure it not being able to walk without crutches or to need help pulling your pants down to take a leak. I know it needing to deal with the insurance company and to even think about buying a new car. All I want to do is help you, Jun and you're treating me like the enemy." Taecyeon sat down hard on the sofa. He had a sinking feeling this was going to be his bed for the night.

"Everything was moved." Jun mumbled.

"I moved the cat's bowls because I kept tripping over them when I got up from the table."

"What about moving the drying rack?"

God, Jun sounded like a cranky five-year-old "I moved it so it would be easier for Gain to reach when she was drying the dishes."

"And that's another damn thing. What's with this chore chart?"

Taecyeon laid down on the couch with his head resting on a navy throw pillow. He folded an arm over his eyes "A lot of parents have told me that a chore chart helped with their kids who act out. They like the structure of knowing what was expected of them. Gain has enjoyed getting stickers when she makes her bed, feeds Blackie and dries the dishes. She's been going to bed without complaint and hasn't been a diva in the morning because she knows she won't get a sticker if I can't get her out of bed." 

Jun snorted "She behaves fine for me."

Taecyeon felt like he was holding on to the last shred of his patience "Yes, Jun, she behaves fine for you, but you weren't here. You have no idea how hard this last week has been-"

"I have no idea how hard this week has been? Are you ing kidding me? I spent the week in the hospital with my ing head bashed in and a broken leg. All you did was play the happy housewife all week."

"Okay, Jun. Whatever you say." Taec got up and headed toward the bedroom. He knew it was a move walking away like that, especially since Jun couldn't chase him. All he wanted was a hot shower and to get some breathing room away from Jun.

Taec couldn't help seeing the irony in the situation. All he wanted for the last two years was to be as close as possible to Jun. Right now, he wanted to be as far away as he could get.

Minjun

It took some effort, but Jun managed to finally make it to bed. Between maneuvering himself down the narrow hallway and in through the bedroom door, he was exhausted just getting into the room. He could see the shapeless lump that was Taecyeon over on his side of their bed.

Jun felt a tug at his heart. All he'd wanted was for Taecyeon to be back in this house and back in his bed and now he was. He knew he had ruined his homecoming with his dickish behavior.

The last thing he wanted to do was turn on the lights and wake Taecyeon. He tried to move carefully toward the bed but thumped his left crutch against the bed frame. He heard Taecyeon shift around. Figuring he'd already woken him up, he fell heavily onto the bed and laid his crutches down on the floor beside the bed.

The next hurdle was actually getting into bed with his damn cast. He slid his leg under the blankets while leaning to his right and nearly tipped off the side of the bed. Jun could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

It would have been easy to wake Taecyeon and ask for a little help but Jun was too proud to do that. Being babied for a week in the hospital was all he could take. If he'd had to endure one more day of the pitying glances from the nurses, he would have lost his mind.

If he didn't want pitying glances from the nurses, he sure as hell didn't want them from Taecyeon. He knew his boyfriend meant well, but he just couldn't stand the thought of Taecyeon not seeing him as the vibrant, self-reliant man he'd been a week ago.

Once he was settled on his back and his breathing had returned to normal, he turned his head to look at Taecyeon. He was lying in his favorite position on his right side, so that his back faced Jun. In the dim light cast by the hall nightlight, he could see Taec's black hair just above the comforter. 

Taec loved to sleep with the covers practically cocooned around himself. It was the reason they always fought over the covers. Lying here now, watching his lover sleep, Jun could see how petty he'd been to disturb Taec in the past. He should have just gotten another blanket.

Jun should have brought one of the throws in from the living room so he could have covered himself up in that. With his brain not working the way it had before the accident, he'd forgotten to grab one.

Doctor Seokjin mentioned he might have trouble with his short-term memory while his brain continued to heal. He'd been right. Jun hated the disconcerting feeling of not being able to remember things.

He couldn't ever remember feeling this frustrated in his life. What he should do was poke Taecyeon awake and spill his guts. Tell his man what was really going on with him and ask for help. For whatever reason, he just couldn't do it.

The last two years he spent without Taecyeon had been almost impossible to bear. There were times when he thought the crushing loneliness would kill him and other times he prayed it would.

Jun could feel tears coursing down his cheeks. It seemed like just when he and Taecyeon were finally getting their together, again, something happened to rip them apart.

What if they weren't meant to be together? What if Jun's behavior tonight was pushing Taecyeon to the point of walking away for good? 

"Jun? Are you okay, babe?" Taecyeon's voice was thick with sleep.

"No, I'm not all right."  it, Jun thought. He was going to tell Taecyeon the truth even if it killed him.

"Tell me what you need. Can I get you a bottle of water or a snack?"

"What I need is to be back at one hundred percent. I hate having a Swiss cheese short-term memory. I'm jealous of the changes I missed when you were here with Gainoo this week. I missed my kids at school." Jun swiped angrily at his tears. It seemed like all he did lately was cry, which also pissed him off.

"Most of all, I feel like a complete and total dickhead for the way I treated you tonight. I love you so much. All I thought about all week in the hospital was how much I wanted to come home to you."

Taecyeon rolled over onto left side, pressing a kiss to Jun's cheek "I know it doesn't always feel like it, but everything is going to be okay. The doctor said you are going to make a full and complete recovery, which in itself is miraculous. All we need now is a little patience."

Jun snorted "You sound like that Guns N' Roses song."

"Sometimes the poets of our age say things best."

"You think Axl Rose is a poet?" Jun sounded surprised. 

Taec laughed "Yeah. His songs were killer, but so were the drugs that broke up the band. But, I digress. We have to take things one step at time with your recovery. I want to be here every step of the way, but with the way you were acting tonight, Jun, I just wanted to stab you with my dinner fork."

"God, I was a total prick."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, babe. You need to tell me when you're feeling angry or frustrated. I'll do everything I can to help you, but you gotta work with me here."

"I promise." Jun opened his arms and thankfully, Taecyeon was all too eager to rest his head on Jun's shoulder.

"This is paradise." Taecyeon sighed against Jun's collarbone.

"Paradise? Are you sure you're not the one with the head trauma? I'm lying here with my brains scrambled and my leg in a cast and you think this is paradise?"

Taec giggled against Jun's shoulder "I'm in bed cuddled up next to the man that I love. We may not be in Key West or Cabo sipping pina coladas, but anywhere you are is my paradise."

Jun felt tears gathering at Taecyeon's words. He knew if he opened his mouth to agree with him, he'd start blubbering. Instead, he held Taec tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.