A/N: The café I'm going to mention in the story isn't real.  The name came from the Teen Top fan color.  It's pearly light purple, right? . -. Oh, and by the way, the story takes place in winter.

*~*~*

The next morning, Byunghun woke up with his back slightly aching.  He should've just let the boy sleep on the floor.  Heaving a sigh, he quickly washed up for the morning and then changed into his uniform before heading out.  He didn't wait for Chanhee to wake up.  He'd find his way to school.  Byunghun really needed to let out his stress at the moment, and the only way to do that was to go to the Lavender Pearl Café and talk to his friends.  He flipped out his phone and dialed Niel's number, who picked up on the third ring.  The energetic boy always picked up on the third ring.

"Hi, hyung," Niel said.  "We're at the café.  Are you coming?" 

"I'm coming," Byunghun said before hanging up and putting his phone away.  He scratched the back of his head and kicked a pebble.  For some reason, something in the pit of his stomach felt wrong.  He had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, but not to him.  Shrugging the feeling off, Byunghun picked up his pace and arrived at the café.

"Good morning," he said as he took his seat from across Niel.  "How are you guys?"  He raised an eyebrow at Niel, who was hiding his neck for some reason by buttoning up his usually slightly ed shirt.  Then a smirk spread across his features.  "Hickeys?" he asked in a low voice, and Niel just blushed and smacked him, digging his face into the crook of Minsoo's neck.

"Yes," Niel finally mumbled.  He kissed his boyfriend lightly on the cheek before looking back at Byunghun.  "Minsoo hyung is so nice!  So...."  Niel started rambling, and while Minsoo listened, Byunghun just sipped his coffee, which was just black.  He yawned and then watched as Niel and Minsoo chatted.  It was entertaining to watch, Niel blushing madly and Minsoo being oblivious and hugging and kissing the younger at random times.

"Well, you two have fun," Byunghun suddenly said, getting up from his seat.  "I'm going to go to school early, okay?"  He left without waiting for an answer.  He walked down the street, kicking pebbles.  His breath came out in white puffs of vapor, and he wrapped his scarf tighter around him.  It was getting a bit cold, so he wanted to get to the school as fast as possible.  He picked up his pace, sloshing into snow and splashing into puddles.  And then he saw Chanhee.

The black haired boy seemed to be lost.  His bangs were gelled up, probably to keep them from his eyes, and his large eyes blinked behind the thick frames as if he was trying to find something.  And then his eyes slowly made their way over to Byunghun, who just stood there and stared.  At the sight of the blonde haired boy, Chanhee jumped and mechanically turned around, walking in the opposite direction of school.

"Chanhee, school's this way," Byunghun called.  He might as well be a bit nice.  

Chanhee turned and blinked before smiling a little.  His cheeks that had turned pink due to the cold added to his cuteness as he bounded over to Byunghun.  "Thanks," he murmured in a small voice.  He followed Byunghun, noticing that the other was shorter than him.  But he kept his mouth shut, because he didn't want his new brother to hate him.  Chanhee fidgeted a little, uncomfortable in the cold.  He wrapped his scarf around him tighter and hugged himself over his blazer; he wore a sweater underneath it to keep himself extra warm, but it didn't really seem to help.  He blew his warm breath over his cold fingers and rubbed his cold hands together before glancing down and wondering why Byunghun wasn't cold.  But he shrugged it off and stuck his hands in his pockets, flexing them to keep the blood flowing.

"You cold?" Byunghun finally asked, noticing Chanhee's behavior.  

Chanhee wrinkled his red nose to get some blood flowing and then sniffed, shaking his head.  "I-I'm fine," he stammered."

Byunghun shrugged.  If the kid said he was fine, why should he doubt him?  It's not like he really cared, anyways.

At school, Byunghun, being his "new brother", was naturally asked to guide Chanhee through the school.  Sighing in irritation, he dragged Chanhee all over the school, showing him this and that before the bell rang, signalling they had about ten minutes before first period.  Byunghun, figuring that they were in the same class, gestured for Chanhee to follow him and led them towards his classroom.  There, he talked with the teacher a little before introducing Chanhee.  The black haired boy seemed rigid; his eyes glanced back and forth from Byunghun to the teacher.  He almost reached out and grabbed the blonde's hand when he started to leave, but he held himself.  The classroom buzzed with conversations, mostly on Chanhee.

"Class, we have a new student today, as you can probably tell," the teacher, Mr. Choi announced once the bell rang.  "Please introduce yourself."

Chanhee stood there, frozen, and his nerves got to the best of him.  He looked as though he could start crying, and when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.  He just looked like a gaping fish, and a few snickers could be heard fromm the class.  And, being the delicate child Chanhee was, tears sprang to his eyes, which he desperately blinked away.  He glanced at Byunghun, who was staring at him with a slightly perplexed expression.

Byunghun sighed.  "His name is Lee Chanhee," Byunghun said, gaining everyone's attention.  "He's a good kid.  Be nice to him, okay?"  With that, he looked at Chanhee, who looked surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Thank you," the black haired boy said after class.  He looked down at his shoes, completely embarrassed.

"It's okay," Byunghun replied.  He then got up from his chair and went to Niel's classroom.  

Chanhee wanted to follow the other, but he just stayed put, biting the inside of his cheek.  He then sat back down in his seat and pulled out his favorite book, flipping to his favorite page.  It was of a nerdy boy like him getting the chance to be loved back by a girl he loved.  He smiled gently and closed his book as the bell rang, and just sat there in his seat while the teacher went over stuff he already knew from his old school.

After school, Byunghun looked for Chanhee.  He felt like he was obliged to go home with him.  However, after thirty minutes of searching, he gave up and went home, waiting for the black haired boy in the living room, flipping through channels.  His parents both worked, and that day, both of them were on a business trip for three weeks.  He and Chanhee were to be alone for those days.  Byunghun began to get worried when he noticed that Chanhee hadn't come back home after two hours.  He bit his lip; since Chanhee seemed so delicate and weak, he could be hurt.  Shaking that idea out of his head, Byunghun returned to the TV.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Chanhee stumbled in, his breathing ragged.  His cheeks were red and there seemed to be tears sliding down on them.  His clothes were slightly wrinkled and his glasses were a bit crooked on his nose.  Byunghun frowned and walked up to the boy, who smiled at him.

"Sorry for being late," Chanhee said, taking his scarf off.  "I was called by some people."  He easily hid the fact that he had been beaten by some random kids who seemed to have put an eye on him.  He was used to it.  It didn't really hurt anymore, anyways.  He was about to push past Byunghun to get a drink when the other boy grabbed his arm, right where a bruise was forming.  He bit his tongue to keep from gasping, and turned to Byunghun with a smile.  

"You should change first," Byunghun said in a quiet voice.  "You can get sick; you look like you were sweating."  Byunghun decided to pretend that he thought Chanhee was sweating, not crying, since the black haired boy didn't seem to notice the tears sliding down his own cheeks.  

"Oh, yeah," Chanhee mumbled, and he ran upstairs.  In his and Byunghun's room, he noticed that another bed had been added for him.  Sitting down on it, he took off his shirt and examined the forming bruises, sighing when he realized that they would take a long time to heal, and those freaks were going to be back again.  He touched his face then, and realized that he was crying.  The blood slowly drained from his face.  Did Byunghun see?  Did he suspect anything?  Crap, why was he so stupid?  Shaking his head, he quickly wiped his face and pulled on a slightly over-sized sweater over a black tank top.  He then pulled on a pair of snug fitting jeans.

He touched his hair, which he had gelled up to keep out of his eyes.  He lifted it again before making his way downstairs to join Byunghun in watching TV.  When he came in, Byunghun just glanced at him before going back to his show.  Chanhee wanted to curl up beside the boy, because he wanted to cry into someone's shoulder, but he held himself back and sat on the edge of the couch, curling up there and resting his head on the large cushion beside him.  Since his new parents were out for a few weeks, he and Byunghun were alone.  He felt a bit nervous about that, but he let it go.  His hand unconsciously closed around the ring hanging from a chain around his neck.  It was his father and mother's wedding rings, plus his mother's engagement ring, and his brother's favorite ring.  They had all been given to him by their owners at the time of the accident.  He had only ended with stitches on his head, but the others...weren't lucky.  Probably knowing their fate, they had given them to him.

His brother's ring was a simple silver ring with a small cross on it.  His mother's engagement ring had a purple gem embedded in it, and the ring itself was silver with some vine patterns on it.  The wedding rings were also silver, and they just had his parents' initials engraved in them.  The rings were like good-luck charms.  Whenever he held on to them, he felt courage seeping into him.

Before he knew it, night had fallen, and it was time to go to sleep.  Chanhee decided to take a shower and while he did so, he heard some shuffling outside.  He turned off the water since he was done washing and dried himself, wrapping the towel around his waist.  He had forgotten about the bruises since it didn't really hurt him anymore, and so when he opened the door and went to their room to change, he didn't really understand the reason for Byunghun's gasp...until he remembered.

"Crap," he muttered and dove for his bed to hide under the covers, but Byunghun was faster.

"Chanhee!  What is this!?" Byunghun practically shouted.  His face was filled with worry and anger, his hand gripping tightly on Chanhee's wrist while the other traced the bruises, making the black haired boy shiver.  

"N-nothing," Chanhee stammered.  He grunted in pain when Byunghun pressed his thumb lightly against a bruise.  "S-stop."  He shoved Byunghun away, his cheeks red and biting his lower lip.  "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" Byunghun repeated.  "You're covered in damn bruises!  How can that me 'nothing'!?"  Byunghun felt like punching whatever it was that he could reach.  And he did.  He punched the wall.

"I'm used to it; I'm fine," Chanhee insisted, pulling on clothes over his body.  

"Fine," Byunghun murmured, wiping the little pieces of dust that had gotten on his hand when eh punched the wall.  He crawled into bed and watched as Chanhee did too, and he couldn't help but notice how the other boy flinched at every movement.  "Chanhee," Byunghun called.  Chanhee looked up, his expression blank and innocent.  "Good night."

Chanhee smiled.  "Good night."

*~*~*

A/N: Yay~ for two updates in one day :D This fic is moving a bit faster than I'd thought :3 Um...so yeah. Their relationship is getting better. Woot!! ;DDD I don't know why I'm cheering. I'm the one writing this fic, I should know that this was going to happen O.o I'm a weirdo.