Minho loosely tied the pouch of water around Pluffy's neck. The large white dog sat obediently, wagging its tail as Minho finished his task and rubbed the dog's large, white head.

"Go. Taemin's waiting," he said softly. An image of the sick boy flashed through Pluffy's mind, and the dog gave Minho's hand a few comforting before rushing off. His paws crushed small branches and dried leaves as he followed his scent trail back to Taemin.

The group had been out of the base for three days, and Taemin wasn't showing any signs of improvement. The nights seemed to get longer as Minho stayed up until dawn to fend off monsters attracted to Taemin's sick scent.

The pale boy was curled up in a thin blanket that Minho had found in his backpack, his body snuggled in the bowels of a tree's roots. Pluffy whimpered and nosed the boy's cold skin, watching the tired eyes open and the cracked lips curl up in a smile. The dog laid down, sharing his warmth with Taemin. The boy put his lips to the water pouch and drank as much as he could, his stomach feeling empty.

"Thank you," the boy croaked out as he put the pouch on the dirt next to him and curled into Pluffy, burying his face in the warm fur. The dog panted appeasingly, Taemin's face like he'd a sick pup. Taemin's slim fingers curled into Pluffy's soft pelt.

"You feeling better?" Minho asked as he settled onto a swathe of wood next to the huddled pair. Pluffy whimpered happily as Minho held up a bucket of raw fish. He'd found the bucket, stained with blood, washed up against the riverbank. He didn't even want to know what had happened to the previous owner.

"I'm tired," Taemin muttered, keeping his eyes shut tightly. He didn't want to look at Minho. He still felt horrible about everything, everything that had happened from the moment he'd met Minho. For everything Minho had done from that moment to protect Taemin. Care for Taemin.

"You have to eat," Minho murmured as he tossed four of the fish to Pluffy, who caught them in his jaws and gulped them down. Minho pulled out the knife he'd been given and started scaling and gutting the rest.

"I'm not hungry," Taemin whispered. He felt like crying as Minho reached over with his clean hand and brushed the hair from Taemin's pale cheeks. Taemin peeked shyly at Minho, saw that face that he'd grown to rely on. Those eyes that had pierced through the shell that Taemin had put up. Those lips that had soothed Taemin with gently kisses and breathtaking words.

"I'll be back in a second," Minho murmured. He leaned over and pressed his warm lips to Taemin's cool cheek. He walked off a distance until he was far enough that he'd be able to stop any monsters attracted to the smoke. He started a small fire and skewered the fish, holding them over the flame. It was only then that he realized how much he was shaking.

He was scared. He wasn't just scared of the monsters who crept around in the dark. He wasn't just scared of those horrible, cold nights that he'd sit up, holding a gun in his fist and hearing Taemin's unsteady breathing. He was scared that maybe those nights would be the last nights he'd see Taemin. That the next day might never come. That Taemin might just slip away. Every day, he was forced to move so that he couldn't be tracked by scent. Every day, he could feel Taemin getting lighter and lighter in his arms.

"Where the did I go wrong? What did I do?" he whispered, watching the meat cook on the makeshift skewer. He sighed as he slowly wafted the smoke from the cooking fish, trying not to shake too much as he thought about all the things he might've done to protect Taemin from whatever illness this was. He could've... He might've... He could've done everything, but instead, he let Taemin get sick.

He walked back with three skewers of fish held between his two hands. He sat down next to Taemin, and Pluffy gently nuzzled the sleeping boy. Taemin groaned softly and sat up slowly, reaching automatically for the food. Minho gently handed him hunks of white meat, watching Taemin force himself to swallow.

"It's good," Taemin mumbled, looking up at Minho. The older boy's lips formed a small smile, but it wasn't a full smile. Neither had really smiled for a while. Not Taemin, who was too weak to even raise his arms, and not Minho, who was scared every moment of his day.

"I'm glad," Minho murmured. He could see Taemin trying to smile, but Minho gently cupped Taemin's cheek. "No, just rest and eat, okay? You're going to be okay."

"Alright," Taemin whispered as Minho kissed his forehead. They both looked into each other's eyes, seeing each other's fears for a moment. "Minho, why do you keep protecting me?"

"Because you're everything to me," Minho murmured without a single pause. Taemin whimpered softly as Minho gave him a strange look, one that made his whole body shiver. He didn't know how Minho did it, made him feel this way, but he knew that Minho made his heart thump and his throat tight and the world a happier place with just a look.

I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop wanting you. Tell me what's wrong with me, Taemin, Minho thought desperately. He was an idiot. Taemin was sick and all Minho could think about was Taemin in his arms, warm and safe and happy.

Warm, happy, and his.

Pluffy's howl drew both of them away from each other. Minho looked up and stood quickly, a hand on his weapon that he'd strapped onto his hip. Plufy leapt to his side, bristling from head to toe with growls exploding from his body.

"M-Minho," Taemin whispered, clutching his blankets with all of his feeble strength. The first snarls of monsters were heard from behind, and Minho managed to turn fast enough to shoot one in the head. The thing crumpled to the ground. He heard Pluffy attacking those that tried to sneak up on Minho's back, breaking necks and spines expertly.

"Taemin, duck!" Minho shouted. The boy lowered his head in time for Minho to shoot a monster twice in its rotted chest. Strings of flesh hung together as the thing fell to the ground and bled out. Minho quickly scooped Taemin away from the foul liquid and backed up against the tree, a blood-soaked Pluffy by his side.

"T-too many!" Taemin whimpered. Minho cursed as his gun mowed down as many monsters as it could before it clicked empty. His backpack, full of extra ammo, was too far away to reach. He used the of his gun to pistol-whip one, making it stumble back trying to hold its brains in. Minho snarled as he pulled out the knife he'd used to scale and gut the fish, but...

A sudden bang sounded off a few feet away, and a monster's head blew open. The thing collapsed, and then another bang. This time, a zombie's left side was torn out, and it fell screeching in pain. Taemin and Minho looked at each other while Pluffy shrank against the tree, not wanting to get into the crossfire.

"Die, you ing little s!" a voice shouted through the growls and gunshots. Minho perked up as the shots got more rapid, and more beasts fell in bloodied tatters. The shooter appeared into view, his arms bulging enough to stress his black t-shirt. His hair was matted and his face was dirty, but Minho recognized him without fail.

"Jonghyun!" Minho shouted as the monsters finally got the hint and retreated. They snarled as they retreated into the water and waded to the other bank, where they slinked off until they disappeared against the horizon. Minho panted as he held Taemin, nearly sinking to his knees in gratitude.

"Are you all okay?" another voice demanded. Key raced into view and adjusted the huge duffel bags in both of his shoulders. "Oh my gosh, that boy looks horrible! Put him down!"

"O-okay..." Minho said, slowly lowering Taemin to lean against the roots of the tree again. Key immediately set down one duffel bag and nearly tore it open, revealing a jumble of medical equipment. He pressed a thermometer to the inside of Taemin's ear, frowning as the red raced towards the other end.

"You're lucky we found you," Jonghyun said as he reloaded his guns. Minho nodded sheepishly, looking at the ground. The blood-soaked dirt seemed to clump together as Minho kicked at it softly.

"Why'd you come after us?" he asked, looking up at the soldier, or maybe ex-soldier. Jonghyun chuckled and jabbed a thumb in Key's direction, smirking a little.

"He insisted that we do it, so we packed up our bags and told TOP that we'd take care, and then it was off to track you down," Jonghyun said with a proud grin as he tugged at his own collar.

"I'm glad you found us. We would've been dead without you," Minho said, hugging Jonghyun. The older man stiffened a little, but slowly hugged back. He patted Minho's back gently.

"Hey, you two, get over here! We need to find an actual hospital, and quick. Taemin's not looking too good," Key said. At the sound of Taemin's name, Minho tore himself away from Jonghyun and stooped to the younger boy's side. He looked at how pale Taemin was, and he immediately scooped Taemin into his arms.

"Key, the hospitals are abandoned and they've been looted a billion times. What the are we supposed to find there?" Jonghyun asked skeptically as Key packed up his bag.

"A clean bed, sheets, and somewhere I can really diagnose him. Out here, he's only going to get worse," Key pointed out with an I-mean-business glare. The two other boys looked at each other before hurrying to pack the bags up. Pluffy wagged his tail as he cleaned his muzzle and waited to set out. He seemed to be the only one in Key's favor at the moment.

"There's an abandoned town about five miles north of here," Jonghyun muttered. Minho scooped Taemin up, feeling how light the boy was even with all of the added weight from his blanket.

"Cute doggie," Key cooed as he reached down and rubbed Pluffy's head. For a moment, the dog seemed to bristle, but then Key found the sweet spot behind Pluffy's ears and the huge, zombie-killing, wolflike beast became an overgrown puppy. He whined and wagged his tail appeasingly and rolled onto his back and seemed to laugh when Key rubbed his belly. Minho stared, amazed, as Key straightened up and Pluffy immediately got up too, whining for affection as he followed Key.

"Pluffy?" Taemin croaked. Hearing the boy he loved call him, Pluffy immediately trotted to Minho's side, eyes on the small bundle in Minho's arms. Jonghyun accidentally stepped on a twig, snapping it, and Pluffy launched himself in Jonghyun's direction, snarling like mad.

"Yah!" Jonghyun cried out, stumbling backwards. Seeing who it was, Pluffy immediately calmed himself and sat down, panting as if waiting for a treat. Jonghyun cautiously patted Pluffy's head, and the dog nuzzled the hand as if it belong to his best friend in the world.

"Pluffy, here boy," Minho called, and the dog bounded away again to the boy that he saw as a pack mate. The dog trotted long Minho happily, and the boy was pretty sure that if Pluffy were a human, he'd be whistling a carefree tune. Jonghyun raised an eyebrow.

"Bro, your dog's bipolar," he chuckled. Minho chuckled as Pluffy sensed the condescension in Jonghyun's voice and bristled. Taemin reached down and brushed his fingers against Pluffy's head, smiling as the dog calmed down.

"Are you okay?" Minho murmured to his charge. Taemin blinked and nodded, looking at Minho with clouded eyes. Why did Minho mean so much to him? How could anyone mean so much to him in a world like this, where the heart should matter the least? Slowly, in a torturous cyclic torrent, Taemin knew that he was falling in love.

And that falling in love was the last thing he should be doing.

"Minho, how long until we get to town?" Taemin asked. There was something stupid. Why ask Minho when Key and Jonghyun were the ones with the answers? But Taemin's eyes only seemed to see Minho, and that scared him more than he could even imagine.

"Maybe an hour or two," Jonghyun piped up. He let out a little grunt of pain as Key tossed a thermometer at his head. The older boy turned back to glare, but Key just narrowed his eyes as he scooped the tool up from the ground.

"Shut. Up," Key mouthed slowly and definitively. Jonghyun gulped and started to walk faster. Minho chuckled as he watched them, slowly picking his way over the rocky terrain. Then, he fixed his eyes on Taemin with a smile that made Taemin's heart pound.

"They're like a married couple, huh?" Minho murmured. Taemin nodded mutely, his eyes catching the dips and curves of Minho's features. He bit his lip subtly as he looked straight into Minho's eyes and found his heart beating too hard for him to hold the gaze.

"I-I'm tired," Taemin said quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard. He knew that the memories were coming back, of those bad times when he was really low and he had nothing but his innocence to pan-handle away. He knew it was coming because his stomach would hurt and his fists would contract and he'd be so ing angry.

And then Minho would whisper to him and it'd be alright again.

"You alright?" Minho murmured when he felt Taemin's nails digging wells in his chest. His shirt was dirty and soaked with sweat and he was scared that he was going to make Taemin even sicker by holding him, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Fine," Taemin mumbled. Minho frowned at the harshness grating through Taemin's voice. Pluffy noticed it too, something primeval. Something he could sense from those instincts that killing so many life forms had awakened. He bristled, his mane rising.

"Calm down," Minho snapped at the dog, but suddenly the animal was growling in earnest, and there was something in his eyes that screamed, "Put him down. He's going to kill you."

In Taemin's head, there was something pounding in his brain. A man, large and sweaty and strong. Flabby hips pushing something into him that hurt, and suddenly he opened his eyes and the man's face was there and all he could do was lunge at it and try to rip it from his view. He hadn't done it the first time, and he wasn't going to pass up this chance.

"Get away!" Taemin shouted. He wanted to cry when he realized that his tongue wasn't working and he was just screaming, his arms swinging violently. He fell, his body hitting something soft, like grass.

Only this couldn't be grass. Taemin looked up and saw the man, looking down at him with a look of a predator. The man's thick, hairy arm reached down and Taemin attacked with his teeth. The man's voice bellowed out a scream of pain as he jerked his arm back. Taemin fell and attacked again. He wanted this man gone. This man had ruined everything.

"Pin him down!" the man's voice said, and another figure held down Taemin's shoulders. The boy flailed as a weight landed on his chest. It was a monster, a beast, a snarling demon. Taemin screamed and kicked violently, but the the man pushed the dog away. His smirk was just as cruel as ever.

"Calm down," he cooed in that sickeningly baiting voice of his as his legs pressed down on Taemin's. Taemin snarled and lunged up, snapping his jaws together, and then his mouth was covered with a pair of lips, and he started to fear the worst.

Only, these lips weren't the lips he remembered. They weren't flabby and bitter and covered in spit and mucus. Instead, they were... Soft. They were sweet and a little dry, but warm and plush. They were lips that Taemin had begun to imagine kissing him, lips Taemin had only dreamed of. The lips pulled away, and Taemin opened his eyes a little.

"Minho?" he whispered at the sight of his friend. His friend, not the man who he'd been attacking. His solace from that horrible nightmare. His comfort, his everything. Minho was panting, and he had scratched on his lean, muscular arms, but Taemin could fathom how they'd gotten there, except...

"You okay?" Minho asked. Taemin threw his arms around Minho's neck, whimpering and hiding his face in Minho's neck. He couldn't believe it. He had to be going crazy. He had to be.

"I'm so sorry... This wasn't—I didn't mean to, Minho. I thought you were someone who hurt me before," he whispered shakily, as if that explained anything. Minho pulled away and cupped Taemin's face in his hands.

"Who hurt you?" he murmured, and Taemin could hear in his voice that Minho clearly meant to track this person down, no matter what. Taemin whimpered and shook his his head,  the memories had to be locked away. Locked far, far away.

"Let's just go. Please, Minho, let's go now, okay?" He was clinging to Minho's arms so desperately that the older boy didn't question anything. He just scooped Taemin into his arms, feeling how Taemin's ribs seemed to poke out of his skin.

It was only when they'd gotten on the way again that Taemin remembered the kiss, and then strangely enough, the picture that the stranger had drawn so long ago. The stranger who had touched Taemin's heart so simply.

And then there was Minho, who had simply, by some wonderful method, become Taemin's heart. He had somehow made Taemin so happy, so warm and cold and just unbelievably...

I love you, Minho. I can't fight it anymore. There's no way you could ever love me, no matter how many times you save me or kiss me or tell me how special I am to you, I'm not the one you'd love. You'd love someone pure, wonderful, perfect. Taemin closed his eyes, his tears wetting Minho's shirt.

You'd love someone... who isn't me.

A/N—;~;

More to come, comments are love.