He sat and watched him sleep for what seemed like hours. Sometimes he ran his fingers lastly through the soft waves of his hair, and other times he just grazed his hand with the pad of his thumb.  He didn’t want to move, not until he saw those eyes open again, thus reassuring himself that he was okay, and that this was real. 

He was all set to doze off when he felt his phone vibrate. With a heavy sigh he pulled it out of his pocket and stepped away from the bed to take the call.  A silent curse left his lips as he looked at the display.  It was about noon in Seoul by now and his cell always rang at exactly 12pm.

“Hi, Baekhyun.” He said trying not to sound as tired as he felt.

“Where the heck are you?” the voice on the other end sounded frantic, though there was a hint of relief as he stopped to breathe.  “You just left this morning with no word, and then you didn’t show up for work, I was beginning to worry about you.”

“I’m sorry Baekhyun,” he sighed.  He really was sorry for worrying his boyfriend.  It was hard to explain though, and he didn’t think that he would understand, could anyone understand this if he didn’t even get it?

“Don’t apologize; just tell me where you are so my heartbeat can go back to normal.”

“I’m with a friend…he’s in the hospital.”

“Was that what the phone call was this morning?”

“Yes,” he said truthfully.  “He needed me and I couldn’t say no to him.  Don’t be mad, okay?”

“How could I possibly be mad?  Your compassion is one of the reasons I love you so much.  When will you be home?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. Look he’s waking up, I have to go. I’ll call you back later okay?”

“Okay, hon. I hope your friend is okay.  Love you.”

“Bye, Baek,” he whispered before hanging up the phone. He didn’t like lying, and he hadn’t…not really.  This just didn’t seem like the best time to mention that the friend was his ex-boyfriend, and he was in Southern California.  No, Baekhyun definitely wouldn’t understand that.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and walked back over to his bed.  Just as he reclaimed his seat those eyes he remembered so much opened.  “Welcome back to the waking world,” he said smiling as he took his seat beside the bed.  “How are you feeling?”

“Better, now that you’re here.  I’m glad you came, Sehun.”

“What happened, Luhan,” He asked, looking deep into those brown eyes as if they held all the answers to his questions.

“I got into a fight.”

“What did he do to you,” Sehun asked sternly.  The he in question was Luhan’s boyfriend, Jongin, whom Sehun had never particularly liked. 

“Why do you always assume he did something?” Luhan asked defensively.  “Do you think I’m not capable of getting into a fight?”

“You’re kidding right?” Sehun said incredulously.  “I think I know more than most that you can fight, Luhan.  This wasn’t a fair fight.  You could have been killed.”  I could have lost you.  He dared not say that last part out loud, though he sensed that Luhan knew what he was thinking.  Luhan lowered his head to avoid Sehun’s gaze.  “Luhan, look at me,” he said even as he touched Luhan’s chin and forced him to face him once more.  “I’m not trying to accuse you of anything…I can’t help if you won’t let me.  What happened?”

“He was in a bad mood…I guess he had a bad day at work.  And I wasn’t having the best day myself, so I snapped at him and told him I was doing the best that I could.”

“So he hit you?” Sehun asked, allowing his hand to Luhan’s face gently.

“Really, it’s nothing, Sehun.  I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“If that were true you wouldn’t have called me,” Sehun pointed out.  “And you wouldn’t have been outside UCLA medical center, not sure where you were.  And that’s not counting the fact that you were bleeding and lost a lot of blood.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you did.”  He regretted his tone the moment Luhan’s head lowered again and he sighed.  He wasn’t angry at Luhan…or was he?  He didn’t want to be, especially not now when Luhan needed him.  “I’m sorry,” he said softly, squeezing Luhan’s hand to get his attention.  “You’re hurting and you’re scared, and the last thing you need is me snapping at you.  You probably get that enough at home don’t you?”

There was a long moment of silence before he answered, and Sehun knew before he spoke that he wasn’t going to like it.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Those brown eyes were pleading with him to understand, and Sehun felt like he had no choice.  For the moment, he needed to be supportive, and not judgmental. 

“I just want to help you, Luhan.  Tell me what I can do.”

“Sehun…” he started, wetting his lips with his tongue as if that would help him to articulate.  “I…I don’t know how you can help, okay?  All I know is that I had to call you because hearing your voice helps me to be less scared.  I need you here…I want you here, and that’s all I really know.  It has to be enough, okay?”

Sehun lifted Luhan’s hand to his lips and allowed them to linger there for a moment before he looked into those sad brown eyes again. “That’s all I needed to know.”  He saw tears forming in Luhan’s eyes and reached up to wipe them away, oblivious to the moisture on his own cheeks.  “I’m here Luhan, for as long as you need me to be.  Nothing short of death will change that.”

**

Sehun wasn’t by his side the next time he opened his eyes.  He frowned for a minute, shifting in his bed in an effort to sit up.  He heard the crinkle of paper and looked down.  There was a note strategically placed in his hand.  It made Luhan smile…the note was from Sehun.

Luhan,

I’m sorry I’m not there to see you wake up.  I needed to step away to make some phone calls.  I’ll be back and I’ll bring coffee and something to eat.

See you soon

Sehun

Simple words, yet to Luhan they were better than gold.  It wasn’t a dream, Sehun was there, he had come and he wasn’t leaving.  He reread the note a second time before folding it neatly and pressing it to his lips.  It was just like Sehun to leave him little notes; that had always been a part of their relationship in the past.  He missed it, he missed Sehun.

There was a noise at the door and Luhan quickly hid the note behind his pillow before he looked up and froze.  “How did you find me?” He asked, staring at the steel grey eyes that were coming toward him.

“It wasn’t easy,” the man said his voice gruff with just a hint of concern.  “I had to check every single hospital to see if they had anyone who fit your description.  I was worried sick about you Luhan.  Don’t you ever do that to me again.”

***

“I have to tell you something,” Sehun said as he leaned against the wall near Luhan’s room.  He had a cup holder in one hand, a bag of burgers in the other, and he was very grateful to the Bluetooth his boyfriend had gotten him for Christmas just a year ago.

“You sound stressed,” Baekhyun pointed out.  “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine; I’m just concerned about my friend.  He’s in pretty bad shape.”

“Well where are you?  Maybe I can come and keep you company.  You shouldn’t be alone right now, Sehun.”

“Um, that may be a little difficult,” Sehun sighed. 

“I don’t understand…what do you mean?”

“That’s what I need to tell you, Baek. I’m way too far away for you to just come to me.  I’m in California.” 

“Oh.”

“And the friend…its Luhan.”  Silence followed his confession and if not for the breathing on the other end he would have thought that Baekhyun had hung up on him.  “Baekhyun please say something.”

“I didn’t realize you and Luhan were back in contact,” Sehun’s boyfriend’s voice sounded almost too calm to his ears.  He sighed; he didn’t want to hurt Baekhyun. 

“We weren’t…before Luhan called…God was that yesterday…this morning?   He needs me Baekhyun, I had to come.”

“He hasn’t called you in five years, Sehun. Why do you think he needs you now?”

“He kept a promise,” Sehun muttered as he turned to head into Luhan’s room.  He stopped in the doorway, his attention caught immediately by the man who had his back to him.  Sehun could see Luhan in the bed, listening to what the man was saying to him…Luhan’s body language conveyed calm, but those eyes…those deep brown told another story.

***

“Thank you,” he said as Luhan placed a caramel latte in front of him.  Luhan smiled and took his seat across from Sehun, his arms resting on the table as he looked at his best friend.  Sehun’s heart fluttered as he fiddled with the lid of his coffee cup.  Their relationship may have cooled but Luhan still affected Sehun with the simplest of glances and he knew it.

“Next time it’s your turn to buy,” Luhan said reaching for his own coffee.

“How do you like being back to Seoul?  It’s been a while.” Luhan asked

“Yeah,” Sehun smiled sadly.  “I’ve missed you, Luhan.  I’ve missed everything…I can’t believe how much has changed since I left.”

“I missed you too,” Luhan said fidgeting uncomfortably. It was a habit Sehun knew all too well.  It meant he was nervous about something.

“We’ll have to have a massive movie night now that I am home,” he teased.  “I promise to stay alert and ready for each movie…I’ve missed those.”

“Yeah,” Luhan managed a smile.  “About those…”

“Are you still living in the apartment above the coffee house?” Sehun asked.

“Um…about that,” Luhan started again. 

Sehun noticed the brown-eyed guy as he came closer to their table.  He narrowed his eyes when the man put an arm around Luhan’s shoulders possessively.  “Hey Babe,” the man said, tilting Luhan’s chin upward so he could kiss him.  Luhan looked down, embarrassed by the sudden display of affection though he wasn’t certain why it bothered him so much.  It wasn’t as if Luhan didn’t have a right to kiss whomever he pleased, but there was something off about this guy. Sehun just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Who is this?” the man asked, drawing Sehun’s attention back to Luhan who looked uncomfortable. Sehun could just make out the faint blush that stained Luhan’s cheeks.  He hasn’t been expecting the man to do that either.  “Who is this, Luhan?  You didn’t tell me you were having coffee with a guy.”

“Uh, yes I did,” Luhan said clearing his throat.  “I told you this morning, I was having coffee with my best friend.  He just came back from London, and we’re catching up.”

“Well then introduce us,” the man ordered as he pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards.  He put his arm around Luhan, and Sehun thought he could have died from that killer stare.”

“I don’t know if this is the right time, Jongin.”

“Why not, he’s going to find out sooner or later.  Just do it so we can get out of here.”

Luhan looked like a deer caught in headlights and he opened his mouth to speak but closed it quickly, turning his attention back to Sehun.  “Sehun, this is Jongin…Jongin this is Sehun, my best friend.”

 ***

“Sehun,” Baekhyun’s voice pulled him back into the present.  Luhan still looked agitated, Baekhyun sounded worried, and Jongin was still running his mouth.  “Sehun, are you alright.  Do I need to come to California?  Answer me, please?”

“I’m going to call you back,” Sehun said, even as he entered the room. Both men turned at the sound of his voice. Luhan visibly relaxed, but Jongin looked at him with that same disdain he had on that first day. Sehun sighed, but he was anything but relieved when those eyes Luhan instead.

“What is he doing here?"