"Ryeowook?" Kyuhyun's voice drifted from the other side of the door, distracting Ryeowook from his thoughts, but not doing anything to distract him from both the emotional and physical pain still bombarding his small body, "Are you awake yet?"
Ryeowook didn't speak.
A part of him wanted to tell Kyuhyun that he was, of course, awake, because he knew that if he spoke up, Kyuhyun would walk through that door, take him into his arms, and carry him away from the hurt, if only for a few moments.
But, at the same time, he didn't want the company. He didn't want the companionship. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to isolate himself from everyone. He wanted it all to stop.
He wanted everything to simply end.
Only twelve hours, Ryeowook. You only have to last twelve more hours.
"I'm awake..." His voice came quiet, strained, and Kyuhyun walked into the room, concern lacing his features.
They didn't know.
They didn't know yet.
And that's how Ryeowook wanted it to stay.
He didn't want to scare them or concern them in these last hours.
He didn't want their sympathy or their crying eyes. He wanted smiles and laughter and fond memories. He still had a little more time, after all, to hopefully make them happy. If he made them happy right before, then maybe it wouldn't be so difficult on them when he finally...
Ryeowook sat up as Kyuhyun came closer. He made it look a lot easier than it was, pain shooting through every inch of his weak body, threatening to make him double over. But he'd grown used to pretending he was alright, and Kyuhyun didn't even seem to notice that anything was wrong.
He only had to be strong for a little while longer.
"You look tired..." Kyuhyun stated, running his fingers through the smaller man's hair, "And you're so thin. I've been worried about you..."
"I'm fine. Just sick, I think." Ryeowook smiled a bit, as convincingly as he possibly could.
"Well, hopefully you get better soon. I don't like seeing you like this." Kyuhyun pouted, wrapping his arms around the frail frame of the dying man. And Ryeowook almost cried.
He wanted to tell Kyuhyun he /would/ be better soon. He would. But not in the way that Kyuhyun /wanted/ him to be better. He wanted to share the fact that he was terrified, but at the same time, it was a selfish relief to know that there would be no more pain.
"Aish. Don't fret so much!" Ryeowook scolded light heartedly, poking Kyuhyun's cheek with a small laugh, "I'll be fine!"
Kyuhyun chuckled lightly and leaned down to kiss his best friend's forehead. This one little action never failed to make Ryeowook's heart beat faster. Maybe if he had these kinds of affections all the time, it would keep his heart from stopping.
He almost laughed bitterly at that thought. It was juvenile... but it had sort of cheered him up for the moment.
Kyuhyun pulled Ryeowook up from the bed, "Let's go eat breakfast, okay? Sungmin just finished making waffles! They're probably not as good as yours, though." Kyuhyun added the last line with a little snicker, though he was completely sincere.
He'd always adored Ryeowook's cooking, more so than he enjoyed anyone elses. If he'd had to choose between his mother's cooking and Ryeowook's, he'd have to apologize to his mother because... Ryeowook had her beat.
Kyuhyun laced his fingers with the smaller man's, and Ryeowook wondered whose fingers Kyuhyun would lace his with once Ryeowook was gone. Maybe Sungmin's? Maybe Donghae's? Maybe Jungsu's? Or Hyukjae's? O