Warning! This is unedited since I'm in a rush to go to the hospital.

My apologies.

Upon first sight, he felt guilty. Even coating the words with kindness couldn't help the boy's disposition. To say the least, Taemin was a mess.

His hair fell in the same silent waves, but was frayed. As if he had tried to get some sleep and ended up tossing and turning instead. Bags under his eyes were a testament to that assumption. And his clothes, though disheveled, seemed put on haphazardly. But Taemin's eyes didn't reveal a thing. No, it even appeared as though they were saying "I look fine, I feel fine, I am fine." so much to the point of where it became an unhealthy habit.

Minho reached out to touch the younger one's cheek, maybe get a sense of how he was feeling, but Taemin would have none of it. He raised the plush, speaking of his victory, to subtly dodge the doctors hands.

It was his small frog which had been hiding, or rather been shoved, under his bed for some time now. Silently he cursed himself for not having tossed the rag out the window, but he never had the heart to throw away a gift.

"I see you've found something personal...other than files."

"More personal than files, Minho hyung." He quipped, walking toward one of the huge windows with the plush in hand.

For a minute Minho imagined him petting the plush as one would with a feline in their arms, but as the boy turned to face him, eyes distant, the image faded and instead of a plotting male with a cat, he simply saw a school boy. A very tired school boy.

Minho shook his head. "You should get some sleep."

"Impossible." Taemin stated, kissing the plush "It's not in my nature to sleep..."

"Ah. That's right! Biologically enhanced humans don't need sleep, my apologies."

Tawmin didn't smile at the joke offered because he wasn't done with this man. Just because he could fairly easily amuse the boy, didn't mean Tae was about to let him get away with his last cowardly act. Minho stayed still as the young boy's eyes remained cold, seemingly freezing him to the spot. "Precisely." He finally uttered, moving back toward the doctor.

"..."

"Also, I have a tendancy to take my clothes off in my sleep...or so I've been told."

Minho forced himself to remain passive and still, though his feet were urging him to back away. He allowed himself to run away once, at some point, this had to end. And he was going to make sure that that time was now.

Taemin closed the distance, eyes level with Minho's chest. His head inclined, challenging the older male to run before he whipped one of his arms away from the plush, bending it above his heart. His thumb raised, pointer finger extended to simulate a gun aiming at the beating organ.

"Bang."

He blinked.

"You're dead, hyung."

"...So it would seem."

"Is that what you imagined I would do?" he paused, his hand flattening on Minho's chest "Is that what you feared?"

Minho sighed, itching to grab Taemin's hand and toss it away as if it were acidic. Burning through his skin and melting his heart in the third degree. "Looks that way, doesn't it, Minnie?"

Taemin pulled his hand away, sensing his unease about it. "A hand is only a hand, hyung. Yet it seems mine is more trouble than I previously thought..."

"That's not it." He rubbed his brow. It was high time he stop hurting this boy. Minho was a doctor for physical infirmity, not emotional. And he was tired of causing Taemin pain. He didn't deserve as much from him. Spotting the plush, he extended his hand in askance.

Taemin handed it over without a word or a glance.

He smiled a little to himself. It was easy to remember how ridiculous he felt when he opened the present. The frog bit wasn't so far-fetched, but a smile on its face? Frogs don't smile. Still, Jinki was so anxious when Minho cracked his own smile at the object, immediately thanking the boy and receiving a rambunctious hug of excitement. It was a moment he'd treasure, but the plush wasn't treated as nicely as it should have been.

While Minho didn't have the heart to throw it out, he also didn't have the heart to show it out. It was either hide it someplace no one would think to look or burn it. Obviously the first option won his opinion as the latter of the two didn't seem logically sound.

Minho looked at the boy with a huff. It wasn't him he was afraid of. If it was, he would have never come back to the condo. At times like this, he wished he could explain his problems openly with Taemin if only for the boy's peace of mind. Then he would understand why he so feared touch. As gentle as it may seem, in the end, it would be a slap in the face.

"I may never be able to go without some kind of discomfort when you touch me, Taemin... But that doesn't mean I fear you. Moreover, I fear the consequences of such actions."

Taemin slowly nodded, looking through him. He must have known. The dim light in the boy's eyes told him he did.

Minho reached out, watching in triumph as Taemin backed away in confusion. He cupped the side of his fa