The sun was barely peeking through the clouds, casting a frosty glow upon everything it touched. In Jonghyun’s opinion, it was just the right temperature for a walk; Key, on the other hand, was only outside because he had run out of food in his apartment.

It was under such circumstances that they met at a market downtown.

Jonghyun was the first to notice the other, the shock of light hair clearly visible in a sea of varying shades of brown. He nudged his way through the crowd, pausing every few metres to lift his oxygen tank out of harm’s way.

By this time, Key was in front of the stands of apples, trying to find the best price to fit into his student’s budget.

Walking as quietly as he could, Jonghyun stopped behind the smaller boy, placing his hands over his eyes. “Guess who,” he sang quietly into the heavily pierced ear, not missing the shiver that passed through his slender frame.

“Um…Jjong?” came the answer, light and hesitant. Woollen-clad fingers pried the hands from his eyes, grinning triumphantly when he saw Jonghyun’s defeated reflection in the store’s mirror. He ruffled the brunette curls playfully. “Better luck next time!”

Jonghyun stuck his tongue out in response, a gesture so childish that a peal of laughter erupted from the blonde. It wasn’t an especially attractive sound, but it had a certain melody to it that Jonghyun found himself wanting to hear more of.

“What are you buying?” he asked, trying to turn his attention away from his attempt at surprising Key.

“Apples,” the other replied simply. “Any input?”

Jonghyun examined the display of fruit, and then picked one up. “This one’s shiny; you should get this one.”

Key laughed again, placing some more of the same type of apples in a bag before marching to the checkout.

Jonghyun trotted behind, lugging his oxygen with him.

“Do you want to come over?” the flaxen boy questioned, smoothly swiping his debit card as he spoke. “I don’t have class today.” The cashier handed him his groceries.

The former boy fumbled for words; it had been a while since he’d been invited anywhere.  “Yeah, sure,” he finally managed, offering a watery smile.

Key grinned back, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Come on then.”

~

The two boys approached an old apartment building, the paint chipping off the faded interior in flakes.

Key smiled apologetically at Jonghyun. “My apartment is less old-looking,” he promised, leading the way up a weathered flight of stairs.

Jonghyun cringed at the metallic clunking his trolley made as they ascended. There was a sort of undisturbed stillness in the air, the kind of quiet which warranted whispers and hushed voices.

“Just up here.” Key spoke softly, gesturing down the hallway.

Jonghyun caught up as he was unlocking the door, letting it swing open. He wheezed as air was forced into his lungs; it had been a while since he had performed such strenuous activity.

Key ushered him inside, bustling about as he picked pillows up off the floor and offered tea.

Jonghyun eased onto the couch, sighing heavily as his breathing regained a steady rhythm, his lungs somehow feeling even heavier with what he presumed was fluid build-up.

His host sauntered back into the living room, graciously offering steaming mugs of earl grey and apple slices before joining him.

Key took a dainty sip, closing his eyes as he savoured the hot liquid.

Jonghyun watched the blonde with a sort of strange fascination, mesmerized at how every movement seemed carelessly calculated until it had just the right effect.

Said male stretched his legs out, placing his feet in Jonghyun’s lap, his limbs popping as he reached his arms upward.

The latter shifted to accommodate the added weight, leaning back against the sofa.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Warm hands lightly brushed past skinny ankles, climbing higher to rest on knobbly knees, the outlines clearly visible through the tight jeans he wore. Jonghyun glanced at the other boy, who gazed down at him with a lazy smile.

A pale, slender hand reached out to rest on top of his as if to say its okay, I trust you.

Jonghyun returned Key’s smile with one of his own and that small, almost miniscule gesture carried them on to the next stage in their relationship.

~

Jonghyun rubbed his eyes, looking around blearily at his unfamiliar surroundings. A puff of air against his neck brought him out of his stupor as he looked down to investigate.

What he was met with brought a small smile to his face: Key, fast asleep against his chest on the couch in his apartment. He passed his hand across his face, rosy and peaceful with sleep. Pink lips parted as he sighed, burying his face further into his neck.

Ring ringggg.

Jonghyun fumbled for his phone, quickly answering so as not to wake the other boy. “Hello?”

“Jonghyun!” was the shrill answer on the other line. “Do you know what time it is?”

He sighed, already exhausted from his overbearing mother. “No…”

“How could you forget? You had an important appointment with the respiratory specialist thirty minutes ago! You always do this –“

“,” he swore under his breath. “Bye mom.” He promptly hung up, not in the mood to argue.

He looked back down at the blonde boy, unwilling to disturb him but knowing his previous commitment was important. Carefully shifting off the couch, he reverently laid the other boy down against the cushions, smiling softly when he immediately hugged a pillow to himself.

He wrote a quick note for Key, thanking him for letting him sleep over, signing it with his phone number before dashing out the door.

~

Two hours later and Jonghyun was still at the clinic. He had undergone about three different tests at the outpatient portion of the hospital, but the nurse had told him to wait until the results came back. He stood up, taking some deep breaths as he waited.

The only time he had ever had to stay this long was when he was younger and had a lung infection. It was hard to breath then, too, he remembered.

As if on cue, the door to his room opened, revealing a smiling doctor. “Hello,” she greeted, pulling up a chair.

“Hi,” Jonghyun responded warily, taking his seat.

“So we have your results,” she began, her expression changing from sunny to serious. “Your throat culture was good and so was your CT scan, but I’m afraid your chest x-ray didn’t look so great.”

Receiving no reply, she continued. “The panel of specialists and myself reviewed it carefully because we don’t want to have to hospitalize you if it’s unnecessary, but we agreed that it looks like you have a lung infection.” She rustled her papers, scanning down his medical history. “You haven’t had one since you were about fourteen, I believe.”

Jonghyun nodded numbly, confirming.

“Good, so you’ve been taking really good care of yourself, but with cystic fibrosis you have to remember that infections every so often are to be expected. As such, we have a few more tests we’d like to perform to confirm our speculations.” Pausing, she assessed her patient carefully. “Perhaps you’d like to call someone while we prepare your bed and book everything?” With that, she took her leave.

The brunette pulled out his phone with the intention of calling his mother to tell her the news; he had moved out a couple months back, but it still felt necessary to keep her informed when it regarded his medical care.

His phone decided to ring instead with an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

“Hi…um Jjong? It’s Kibum.”

Jonghyun’s eyes widened. “Kibum? You called!” he answered excitedly, his current predicament all but forgotten.

“Well yeah, you did leave your number on my counter.” He could practically hear his eyes rolling. “So what’s up?”

Jonghyun’s face fell. “Oh…just at the hospital. You know how that goes.” He smiled bitterly at his oxygen tank.

Key’s voice immediately lost all trace of humour. “What’s wrong,” he all but demanded.

“Just routine stuff,” he replied nonchalantly. “AndIhavetostayhereforabit,” he quickly mumbled.

The last time he had mentioned anything to anyone regarding his condition he had found himself friendless.

There was silence on the other end.

“…Kibum?” He closed his eyes and hoped history wouldn’t repeat itself.

The response was faint, but there. “I’m here.”

hello ^^

how was everyone's christmas/hanukah/kwanzaa xD

I would've updated sooner but first there was school and then I got sick because my immune system is e

but it's up now! /yay

a huge thank you to everyone who's supported my writing this year

i just started posting my fanfiction in june and the amount of support is amazing and for that i wish you all the best new year ever because support is most possibly the best thing ever because i literally don't get it anywhere else but here

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happy new year<3