Leo’s pauses as he watches Ravi’s hand grab a hold of Daehyun’s shoulder, turning his body around to face him.

“Hey, what are-“

“No, what do you think you are doing?” Ravi shouts while grabbing onto Daehyun’s collar, his eyes glance over at me but quickly find their way to Daehyun’s face.

“It was an accident,” Daehyun shouts back at him, “Do you think I –“

“No, I really don’t think you thought this one through,” Ravi cuts him off with.

Leo has stopped to watch the situation. Hyuk’s eyes join him as he drinks in the confrontation nearby.

“She’s had no training, so do you think she could fend for herself? What if you had gotten shot, where do you think you two would be now?”

Daehyun wraps his hands around the fabric of Ravi’s shirt, giving a loud response, “How was I supposed to know there would be a soldier near the entrance? I can’t predict like that.”

I take my eyes from them as Hongbin breathes out a loud sigh, rolling his eyes as he turns his head to address the both of them.

“Can you guys keep quiet for a bit?” He mutters.

The two seem to pay no attention as they continue to argue.

“Well, you walk these tunnels more than she does, more than any of us really,” Ravi seethes as his fists tightens around  Daehyun’s collar, “You know you have to be prepared for the worst in this world.”

I see Daehyun shift uncomfortably as he takes in Ravi’s words, his back to me so I can’t study his expression.

Hongbin grits his teeth loudly as he opens a jar, the liquid contained within it thick and cloudy. He dips his gloved hand into it and makes a point to lock our gazes as he explains what he is going to do.  

“This is numbing gel,” he begins as I try to drown out the noise behind us, “You’ve probably heard about it or seen it, but I’m going to apply it to your wound and the skin around it.”

I nod, the tears that have built in my eyes taking a moment to trickle down my cheeks.

“You’re going to have to take off what you’re wearing for me to be able to do the stitches though… Afterwards, I’ll sta-“

“You’re lucky that it’s not any worse, otherwise you’d be dead right now,” Ravi threatens.

Hongbin lets out another loud breath and shifts his body to peek at them from the corner of his eye.

“Guys, stop, seriously…” I tell them but they pay me no mind.

“Oh yeah? I’d like to see you try,” Daehyun seethes.

Ravi’s eyes widen and I can hear Jongup speak up for the first time since their confrontation started.

“Daehyun, no!”

I plant both my hands flat against the sheet as I turn my eyes to Ravi, and they widen in horror as I see him retract one of his hands from Daehyun’s collar. It balls into a fist and I push my upper half off the stretcher, trying my best to move towards them but my efforts have no avail.

Leo is in between them in mere seconds, pushing them in opposite directions.

Daehyun stumbles back a bit and Ravi gives Leo a hard look which quickly meets the back of his head as he turns to face Daehyun. Jongup is pushing through Hyuk and Hongbin to make his way to the three of them and he mumbles a loud ‘.’

I recognize the cold stare Leo’s eyes hold and I twist to try and move myself from the gurney, the pain of my wound sending stabbing pain through my chest and abdomen.

“Taylor, it’ll rip open more!” Hongbin commands as his hands reach towards me but I ignore them as I watch the scene in front of me.

Leo’s already clenched fist shoots up only to make contact with Daehyun’s face, muffling his yelp as it comes into contact with his lips.

Daehyun’s crashes up against the stretcher I am laying on, sending me back into a laying position. Jong up is soon in front of him, clenching his coveralls as Daehyun attempts to move back towards Leo.

I give Daehyun a once over but my eyes immediately avert to Leo as he watches Daehyun with an icy glare. He takes another step forward but soon enough Hyuk has dropped whatever medical supplies that were once in his hands and is in front of him, holding his shoulders as he fights to move towards Daehyun.

Ravi has thrown both of his hands into the air and he is now a spectator as Daehyun begins to retort.

“What the hell, man?”

Leo doesn’t answer but only tries to push Hyuk away from him to get closer to the tanned man standing near my stretcher.

Daehyun begins to yell profanities as Hongbin stares into the space around my vicinity, his teeth gritting in anger.

“Where the hell is Bree or Yongguk when you need them? Or even N, he could at least scold them,” he seethes as he moves away from the bed I am lying on.

The room is loud as Daehyun continues to yell while Hyuk is ushering Leo backwards, trying to calm him with his words.

“Big brother, stop, seriously!”

Hongbin stands with his shoulders squared as he tries to gain the attention of the men in front of him.

“Guys!”

They ignore him but this time I see Hongbin tense and the veins in his forearms protrude. It’s a stance I’ve never seen him take on and it frightens me a bit as his voice suddenly booms through his office.

“SHUT THE UP.”

All of the men in the room pause and I stare at Hongbin’s back in surprise.

Did he just yell? Using profanity? Before I can utter a word Hongbin continues to scold the various boys in front of us.

“I will not have you fighting in my office now get out before I make you myself.”

He takes a deep breath before turning away from them and ignoring any protest they give. His eyes fixate on my chest as he comes to stand near me once more.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” He adds.

When I look past him I can see Ravi with widened eyes, although the grimace has not left his face. He turns quickly to the door, throwing it open in response.

I see two more tense bodies leave us as well and I can only make out Daehyun’s squared shoulders as he struts through the door. He doesn’t turn to make any eye contact with me, not even the slightest of any comfort… It sends a strange emotion through me but it’s ignored as Hyuk waves at me lightly, exiting the room to follow the flow of males.

Leo doesn’t move as he hangs his head, his feet planted in the ground and his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Hongbin sighs but this time it’s filled with sincerity as he grabs onto a clean set of bandages.

“Everything will be fine,” he mutters quietly, “Just stand outside, I’ll make sure to tell you if anything’s wrong... Well, if she doesn’t first.”

Hongbin looks over to him and gives him a cool smirk and Leo finally lifts his face from the floor to look at him. He brings a hand from his pocket to his thumb across his bottom lip, seemingly in silent protest but eventually nods in agreement.

It’s by now I can feel the pain increasing as Hongbin looks back to me, patting at the exposed skin on my ribs and dabbing at it gently.

The tears spring to my eyes once more but I bite my bottom lip in defense, hoping they wouldn’t spill onto my pale cheeks. When I turn my head, Leo is standing near my side at the stretcher and I take note of Hongbin’s shifting eyes.

Leo stares down at me, his features filling with what seems like melancholy but I try to smile at him, a few tears ignoring my protests as they break the barriers that I had thought I built up around my eye lids in the past few moments.

“It’s okay… Just wait outside,” I breathe out as Hongbin’s hand presses deeper into the graze.

His bottom lip trembles for a moment before his hand touches my cheek, his thumb collecting the salty liquid that had found themselves homes on my skin.

He nods slightly, giving me a half smirk as moves his hand to take the tears away from my other cheek.

I can feel my heart race suddenly and colour finds its way to my face finally. Was it wrong to be feeling like this considering what I had just done with Daehyun…? A small part of me agrees, but an even larger part of me doesn’t want him to take his hand away from my skin, let alone leave the room.

He turns away when I give him a nod, his hand travelling to the back of his neck as he leaves the room. When he exits, he closes the door quietly behind him, his shoulders slumped and I am left alone with a now peeved Hongbin.

It’s silent as I let my body relax, my eyes finding their way to his face. He doesn’t say a word, but my guess is that he is waiting for my heady excuses. He was exactly like my adoptive father in that sense… He would always wait for me to bring it up first rather than confront me out right.

“Hongbin…” I mutter as he throws the now dirtied bandages to the side.

“What were you thinking?” He begins, “Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

I wince as he takes another clean bandage to my side to wipe away any excess blood.

“We didn’t even know where you were, nor did you even take the time to even call!” He continues to scold.

“I didn’t know how,” I breathe out shakily.

“Well, why didn’t you say no? N was fuming for hours.”

I feel a bit surprised as N normally lets me explore my opportunities, or tries to support me in the slightest.

 “He just grabbed me and ran, I don’t have the strength to protest,” I tell him.

Hongbin throws the bandage in with the pile before I can try to continue.

“And you think you have the strength to go on a ‘run’ for at least four days? Or to fend off soldiers or those similar to that kind?”

He’s thrown his gloves to the side and grabbed a pair of new ones, picking up the numbing gel once more, hoping that this time he would actually get to apply it.

“You need to take off what you’re wearing… Including the bra” He breathes, looking down to the floor as he scoops up some numbing medication.

I nod, a bit embarrassed as I pull the now ruined dress above my head, unclasping my bra quickly and placing it next to me.

I’m left in my underwear and I hesitate before lying back down when Hongbin looks up at me.

“I’ve already given you a full physical, don’t be so embarrassed,” he reassures but a smile doesn’t grace his features, “It’s just so it doesn’t get in the way of me doing stitches, considering it’s only an inch or so below.”

When I lay back down there’s a pain that shoots up my side and I wince as I let my body fall against the mat on the metal stretcher.

In that moment, Hongbin glances down at me, my teeth gritting uncomfortably as the wound stretches a bit. He has a long cloth that he puts across my s, covering them slightly to help with my uneasiness.

“Be careful with how much you move,” he mutters as he takes a seat on a stool near the stretcher, “Especially after I give you the stitches.”

His hands make their way to the graze and he smooth’s the gel across it, the pain finally ceasing slightly as the skin numbs both in and around the wound.

“I’m numbing it down to the bottom of your ribs and just under your …” He tells me as his hand moves to said places.

I blush as his hand moves under my chest and he laughs a bit.

“Taylor, medic here, alright? I won’t do anything,” he reassures once more.

I nod, my eyes closing as his hand moves away, knowing that my least favourite part is about to ensue.

“Open your eyes, we can talk.”

I nod again as I look up to him, the needle with the thread held in his hands.

“It’s going to be uncomfortable because of the tugging, but other than that you won’t feel any pain till later.”

“Okay,” I breathe.

His hands move down to the wound and I feel on odd sensation arise as my skin tugs, but I make no effort to look down at it.

It’s quiet as he concentrates on the needle and thread and I finally decide to break the silence.

“I’m sorry,” I begin, “I just wanted to… To experience something I wasn’t used too, and get an idea of what other people are living like... Make sure everythings okay...”

I trail off and he glances at me but looks back at the wound.

“I understand, it just would’ve been nice to know where you were,” Hongbin breathes between tight lips, “I’m not mad, to be honest, I’m just disappointed…”

I feel my heart ache as his words hit me. Tears spring to my eyes and I can’t help but feel overwhelmed as I try to make eye contact with him. It was exactly something my father would say and it has the exact same affect…

He glances at me again and notices the tears in my eyes so he continues his explanation.

“I just thought you would know when to stop yourself… Just promise you won’t do something that reckless again.”

I nod and keep the tears from escaping my eyes.

“I’m all done, stitches are easy for me,” Hongbin mutters, “I’ll put bandages all the way round, and you’ll have to stay down here for a couple days so I can make sure they don’t rip.”

I nod at him as I wrap my arms over the cloth covering my s. He helps me to sit up as my arms are busy in other areas.

When he turns to me, he has one bandage large enough to just cover the wound but a roll sits nearby on the stretcher.

“I’ll put this on,” he instructs as his hand covers the wound with the single bandage, “and wrap the rest around your chest and ribs for the two days you are sleeping down here.”

“Okay,” I agree as I move my hands away from chest, the towel falling as embarrassment creeps up on my senses once more.

“Taylor, just stay calm,” he instructs once more as he secures the bandage against my skin.

I nod as he takes the roll and moves his hands swiftly around my body, securing the bandages like a fitted tube top. My s can barely move and my now fuller figure is quite apparent to someone I could call my practitioner. 

He is giving me a bit of a surprised look before he comments, “Well, someone’s getting chubby.”

I giggle through a small smile and he finally graces me with his in return.

“I really am sorry…” I mumble as I reach over my legs towards the cotton blanket near my feet.

He chuckles a bit before responding.

“I know, but I’m just preparing you for when Ravi decides to actually have a talk with you,” he puffs his cheeks to breathe out uneasily, “because that one should be interesting.”

I pull the blanket to my shoulders as Hongbin signals me to lie down and I follow his instructions quickly, my body sore from the past few days.

“That’s apparent.”

His smile fades as he throws away the supplies left behind from my hectic invasion.

“I’ll go talk to N; he needs to know you’re back… You might want to prepare yourself for that too.”

I nod as my eyes stare towards the ceiling, tracing the cracks of the stone ceiling before I mutter something to him.

“Leo…” I begin but Hongbin cuts me off before I can continue.

“I’ll tell him you’re not seriously injured, stitched up, but you’ll be okay.”

I nod pursing my lips as I shift my gaze to his back as he saunters towards the door.

“He can –“

“And that he can come in, if he likes.”

I smile to myself as I think about his hands grazing my cheek… His touch seems different then Daehyun’s… There’s something different when he touches me. I don’t quite understand, but I like both...

I close my eyes as I picture the past few days as Hongbins pitter-patter of feet have left the room. I lost my ity to someone I trusted, and part of it seemed right… But there was still that part of me that remembered the strange sense of guilt that washed over me as I did so… Was that normal or not? Who would there be to ask? Did all of the VIXX boys lose their ities? Was it something I could just plainly ask…?

Leo’s face pops into my mind as I picture our moment on the stairs before I left with Daehyun… He was going to kiss me. With what I had done, would he still pursue that…? Did I want him too?

My thoughts are quickly cut off when I feel something soft press against my forehead.

My eyes jolt open and I make out a face as a body leans over me, their lips being the soft pillows on my face.

I glance down and can make out a familiar slender body, pieces of red hair falling into my vision.

“Leo,” I mutter as he pulls backward, the sound of my voice startling him.

“I thought you were asleep,” he responds with.

I pause to drink in his features, his face an inch away from mine.

Can I kiss him? Was it okay I still wanted to test the waters?

We lock gazes and my breath hitches as his obsidian eyes seem to eat through my ocean ones.

He begins to shift backwards but my one of my hands moves up to grasp at the fabric of his t-shirt.

“Wait,” I plead as he nervously glances at my hand balling at the base of his neck.

We stare at each other in silence for a moment, his eyes searching my face and I do the same in return. Afterwards, his hand finds its way to the one clenching onto his t-shirt and he places it over top, his features soft as he encircles my hand with his own large one.

“Don’t go…” I breathe out and he smirks at me slightly before speaking.

“Okay.”

I nod but neither of us move away from each other, his hand staying planted on mine.

He’s quiet, as per usual, but he decides to break the silence that surrounds us as his fingers tighten around my small hand.

“I wanted to give you this before you left.”

My eyes widen slightly at his words but they close automatically when his lips press against my own. There’s no hesitation when his lips are on mine; my chin moves forward so my lips eagerly press against his.

In moments, my free hand is slipping around his neck to play in his fiery locks, pulling his head forward in an attempt to make him feel the passion rising inside of me. I can feel his hand leave mine but I feel both as they press against the mattress underneath of me on either side of my shoulders. My hand stays clenching onto the fabric that hangs loosely around his neck.

His tongue gently swipes across my bottom lip and I open it immediately as compliance. I feel it rub against mine and I breath heavily as I let my fingers loosen on the tresses of his hair. It’s then that I feel him smirk against my lips and a chuckle escapes my own.

He lets his tongue dance with my own as I feel him bring one of his knees across my body to rest beside my hip on the mat and quickly enough, the other is pressing against my hip as his body hovers over me. I let one of my hands travel down the front of his shirt to play with the buttons on his chest and I feel him tense slightly.

He breaks our kiss and I feel my hands tighten once more on him in attempt to keep him close.

“You just got stitches; I don’t want to hurt you…” Leo breathes as I try to lift my face to his.

“I don’t care,” I breathe anxiously, my greed getting the best of me.

I push my lips against his and he greets them with no hesitation but only passion, his lips soft yet challenging as my tongue pushes them open to meet his own.

As we kiss, the hand that is on his chest moves downward to slide underneath the fabric of his shirt and outline the muscles of his abdomen. I feel goose bumps crawl across his skin but his lips only press further against mine. The other hand stays in his hair and I can finally feel how soft it is as my fingers tangle in it.

He’s careful as he leans down to press his body against me, the contours of his body comfortable as they meld with mine. In this moment he takes his lips from mine but presses them against my neck, nipping at the already tender skin. It sends shivers down my spine and I moan as he continues to bite at the skin of my neck.

“I missed you…” I suddenly breathe out against his ear, my lips letting my heady confession escape.

I feel him smirk and his teeth leave my skin to respond quietly.

“I’m not the only one then…”

He lifts his face to stare down at me and I smile up at him, Daehyun’s face only jumping into my mind for a mere second but it leaves when Leo’s lips press against mine once more.

I’m about to deepen the kiss when I hear an awkward cough erupt from someone and I turn my head and take note of Hongbin standing in the now open doorway.

“Oh, …” I mutter out as Leo’s face finally turns to seek what has sparked my profanity.

He moves quickly when Hongbin finally greets his vision and sits by my side on the stretcher. He fixes his grey button up shyly and I watch him as my face brightens.

“Well, I figured I’d be interrupting something, but I wasn’t quite expecting that,” Hongbin laughs quietly as he moves towards us.

Leo smirks once more and I chuckle as I watch him fidget.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell that this boy was one of the elder of the six… There was a natural cuteness he held.

“It’s almost night fall, so she should get some rest after I give her a bit of medication.”

Leo nods at Hongbin’s words and quickly looks over to me as I smile at him.

“Night,” I breathe out at him.

He awkwardly looks Hongbin up and down once more before standing up, taking a moment to lean over me. His lips press against my forehead once more before he whispers a quiet ‘good night’ in my ear. He stalks out the door rather cutely, in my opinion and I’m left with a now embarrassed Hongbin… Well, it’s better than his earlier mood.

He breathes in uneasily as he tries to avoid the subject entirely, but is approach is awkward.

“Uhm, N and Ravi said they would come to talk with you tomorrow, and I’ll be back with medication in the morning.”

I nod at him, the smile left from Leo’s passionate kiss leaving a rather hefty load on me.

“Okay,” I tell him and when I’m ready to turn over and close my eyes he begins a different conversation.

“You’re being careful right?” He suddenly asks.

I face him with a confused expression, “About what?”

He rolls his eyes and follows it with a sigh as he brings a cup of water to me, two red pills in his hand for me to swallow.

He looks like he’s searching for a way to explain himself so in the interim I take the water from him, popping the two pills into my mouth and gulping down some water as well. By the time the pills are swallowed Hongbin still hasn’t explained himself and I am about to take another sip when he rushes out another question.

“Are you making sure to use protection or something? I mean it didn’t look like it was far off from you guys having .”

I sputter out the water in my mouth and Hongbin gives me a bit of a shocked expression before handing me a cloth from nearby.

“What kind of question is that?”

He rolls his eyes slightly once more.

“Well, you know there is a chance of you getting pregnant, and we would like to prevent it as much as possible considering we’re in the midst of war talks.”

I blush as I look away from him, clutching the blanket to myself as I think about what to say. Do I tell him about Daehyun…? Or would that be too much for now, considering he just walked in on Leo and I…

I nervously look his way and he seems to be searching my face for some type of explanation.

“Would you rather I send Ravi down to explain this type of thing?”

I shake my head quickly as I picture a not so happy Ravi. I won’t tell him about Daehyun, but I’ll tell him partial truth…

“No… I didn’t know what to use…”

He gives me a fatherly look before rubbing his forehead with his palm.

“You could’ve just asked…” he breathes through his teeth.

I shrug my shoulders in response.

“I am trained as medical personnel; you can trust me with this stuff.”

I nod as I look down at the blanket that is draped over my body.

“I’m embarrassed… I am the only girl around here.”

His eyebrows pop up in surprise.

“You can still talk to us,” he begins as he takes my cup away to rest on the nearby table, “and not anymore, Bree and Yongguk are now here permanently as well.”

I quirk my head to the side and before I can ask Hongbin is already talking.

“It was something serious… A rat was in their tunnels, and they needed to escape,” Hongbin breathes, the conversation tense as he tries to continue, “But N will explain everything tomorrow, he has some other ideas for you too… Right now, I need to tell you how to protect yourself.”

I blush again and look down as he begins his medical lecture.

“There are condoms, which are hard to come by around here considering…” he pauses to cough and I look up as he rubs his hands together awkwardly.

“Just considering, so your best bet is to come and get a shot from me once a month, it’ll be easier for you. I’ll give you your first one tomorrow morning.”

I nod and give him a thank-you as he walks back to the door to let me rest.

“Oh, there’s some shorts and a t-shirt in one of the cupboards. They’re just some spare clothes I have but I’m sure it’s more comfortable than… Well, your underwear.”

“Thank-you,” I tell him as he walks through the doorway, closing it and leaving me to my thoughts.

Tomorrow will surely be a long day… Ravi and N first thing in the morning will not be the most pleasant of situations… I wonder if Daehyun will come and visit me tomorrow… A part of me feels a pang of anger mixed with guilt as I remember his earlier exit.

He could’ve at least looked at me… Then again, it’s probably my fault that Leo punched him in the first place.

My mind shoots back to Leo and the kiss we had earlier shared… He had a tenderness about him that I wanted to explore; I wanted to seek him out and feel the dormant passion that was almost about to break into our kiss if we hadn’t been interrupted.

What would he do if I went to visit him right now…? I know he shared a room with Hyuk but he tended to stay up late with Ken while Leo rested early.

I think about Daehyun for another moment before making my decision, my feet plopping onto the cold floor as I push myself off the stretcher.

There couldn’t be harm in trying to speak to him… I’m sure of it.

My cheeks brighten as I move to the cabinet, taking the clothing Hongbin had just talked to me about out of it. I throw the white t-shirt over top of myself and it falls loosely around me. Luckily, the shorts have a tie at the front so I secure them to my waist as I quietly sneak towards the door.

I just need to make sure I’m not seen… And that I’m back before anyone else decides to come down to the medical wing.

With this, I open the door and I begin to make my way up the stairs, advancing towards the room that held the man with fiery hair.