The look on Luhan’s face told him all he needed to know. There was only one thing he could do in a situation like this; only one answer that was going to be acceptable, and in essence save Luhan’s life…at least for the moment.

“I was here visiting my sister when I heard Luhan was brought in.”

He had to lie.

“I promised him a burger and some good coffee so we could catch up on old times.  It’s been while,” he continued, a smile crossing his lips as he moved further into the room.  “Do you want me to come back later, Luhan?”

“I want you to stay,” Luhan replied, his voice soft as his eyes said so much more. Sehun offered him a smile and placed the cup holder on the table along with the bag of burgers.  “If your sister won’t mind of course.”

“She kicked me out of her room. I think she’d be very grateful that you are keeping me preoccupied,” Sehun teased. He could tell that Jongin wanted to say something, those deep brown eyes were narrowed and he had a grim look on his face. Sehun kept his features even, not wanting to glare, but not appearing completely complacent either.  It was a staring match to end all matches, and Luhan was the only spectator.

The sound of Jongin’s cell phone caused him to lose and he cursed as he looked at the display.  “I have to take this,” he said leaning down to kiss Luhan’s mouth.  “Sehun you take care, good seeing you again.”  He turned and focused on his phone as he left the room, the door slamming behind him. Luhan held his breath for a long moment, and he didn’t have to see Sehun to know that he was holding his too.  After a minute they sighed and Sehun grabbed the bag and started to empty the contents onto Luhan’s table.

“You remembered,” Luhan said as Sehun handed him a container of fries.

“Of course I did,” Sehun said popping a fry into his mouth.  “You still like pickles on the side?”

“Yes…that’s the only way I’ll eat them.  I see you still put your fries on your burger.”

“Yeah,” Sehun smiled and took a seat on Luhan’s bed, being careful not to let anything fall as he took a bite of his sandwich.  “I guess some things never change.” 

Luhan nodded and took a bite of his own food. They ate in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Luhan was grateful to Sehun for not revealing the real reason he was there, and Sehun was worried about Luhan.  He still didn’t know how to help, but he knew he wanted to. 

“Sehun?” Luhan’s voice broke through the quiet. Sehun focused on Luhan and raised an eyebrow, even as he wondered if their old way of communicating still worked five years later. “Is your sister really in the hospital?” Luhan asked, a worried frown crossing his lips.

“Well, she is here,” Sehun said truthfully. “But she’s not sick…she’s working, and I haven’t seen her in six months.”

“I’m glad she’s okay,” Luhan’s voice was soft, and his sincerity touched Sehun’s heart.  “Do you think she’ll stop in to see me?”

“I don’t think she knows you’re here.  She would have called me…she would have let me know somehow.”

“Are you sorry that I called?”

“What?  No, Luhan not at all.  I’m glad you wanted me here…I just wish there was more I could do.”

“Just talk to me for now…I miss hearing you talk.”

“What do we talk about?”

“I don’t know…tell me about Baekhyun.  Are you guys happy?”

His question inevitably took Sehun by surprise. He wasn’t dating Baekhyun when Luhan left.  In fact, even though they cared deeply for each other, their relationship was still relatively new at two and a half years.  “We’re happy,” he said finally, smiling for Luhan’s benefit.  Baekhyun has been traveling a lot lately.  Photo Journalism keeps him busy. Though for some reason he likes taking pictures of me more.”

“I can understand that,” Luhan said appreciatively.  “You were always my favorite subject too.”

“Do you still have those old movies,” Sehun asked shyly. He remembered all too well the moments that Luhan had managed to catch on film during their college days. 

“I watch them sometimes,” Luhan confessed.  “They help me feel close to home…I miss it a lot.”

“Then why don’t you ever come back?” Sehun asked, even though he knew it wasn’t really a fair question.  The pained look in Luhan’s eyes told a tale of entrapment and Sehun balled his fists, as if he were ready to deck Jongin the moment he walked through that door again.

“Jongin’s job keeps him here,” Luhan’s voice filtered through the anger.  “He’s always so busy, and he works so hard.  I can’t just pick up and leave him…that wouldn’t be right.  He does so much for me Sehun.  I never want anything else.”

Sehun bit his tongue and focused on the now empty French fry container.  He wanted to ask if that was the case then why couldn’t Luhan come home.  He wanted to know why Jongin felt the need to police Luhan on everything he did.  He needed to know why Luhan felt the need to explain himself, and his every move…he wanted to know a lot but he wouldn’t ask. Now was not the time. He could not and would not get himself evicted from Luhan’s life. He didn’t want that to happen again, five years was a long enough time for them to be separated.

“How’s work for you,” He asked smiling at Luhan again. They needed to find a topic they could discuss…one that wouldn’t bring them back to Jongin. That was proving to be more difficult with every minute.  “Have you gotten any closer to making that blockbuster movie you were always dreaming about?

When Luhan’s head ducked down, Sehun knew this was the wrong question to ask. Luhan became fidgety again, and he winced when a sudden movement caused him pain. “I’m not working much these days actually,” he admitted finally. “I was working at a local TV station, but they let me go…budget setbacks and all.  And I had a chance to do a movie with Ang Lee but I had to turn it down.”

“What?  Why?” Sehun asked. You idolize Ang. At least you used to.”

“I still do,” Luhan said with a sigh. “It was just bad timing…and I hope that one day he will want to work with me again. Jongin just needed me to be close to home…he was going through a rough period at work and didn’t want to be alone.”

“What about what you want,” Sehun asked, the words spouting forth before he could stop them.  “I can understand you wanting to be a good boyfriend, Luhan. You were always an amazing partner…but it just seems to me like….” He trailed off not really sure how to explain exactly what he meant.  He didn’t like the way Jongin treated Luhan.  It just wasn’t right. Luhan would never have allowed someone to pay for everything. He was more independent than that.

“You don’t understand, Sehun,” Luhan insisted.  “He likes having me there to take care of him.  He never had someone he could count on for that before. So I don’t mind being at home making sure everything is neat, and cooking.  You know how much I love to cook.  I get to do it every night, and it’s nice.”

“So you like being home every day?” Sehun asked pointedly. Luhan was right, he did know him pretty well, and he was certain that there was something Luhan wasn’t saying.  He didn’t need Luhan to answer his question; the silence made his answer very loud and clear. Luhan wasn’t happy at all…but he was trying.

A knock on the door brought their conversation to an end, and Sehun turned to see a petite blond nurse standing in the doorway.  “Hi Mr. Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt but it’s time for me to check your vitals and your bandages.”

Sehun looked at Luhan and raised his eyebrows. Luhan looked sheepish for a moment before turning his attention to the nurse.  “Okay…would it be alright if Sehun stayed in here with me?”

“I think I can allow that this time,” the nurse gave Sehun a warm smile and went to work checking Luhan’s blood pressure and his temperature. She checked his bandages and asked him how he was feeling. Sehun stepped to the side but kept himself in Luhan’s line of vision so he wouldn’t panic. It pained him to see just how many nicks and scrapes there were on Luhan’s body. He wanted to ask about them, but he knew he couldn’t. He listened as the nurse examined Luhan, explaining that the doctor was concerned about the blood loss but other than that he was going to be fine. Sehun frowned. The nurse he spoke with on the phone had said there was so much blood…where had it all come from?  What happened that put Luhan in such bad shape?

“Is he going to be okay?” he asked once the nurse was through. He stepped out of the shadows, returning to Luhan’s side as they both waited for an answer.

“Your boyfriend is going to be just fine,” the nurse said without looking up from her chart.  “He has to stay for a few days, but you should be able to take him home in no time.”

“Thank you,” Sehun said not bothering to correct the nurse’s assumption.  “I’ll take good care of him.”

The nurse didn’t catch the look that passed between Sehun and Luhan just then, and it was probably just as well. She wouldn’t have understood the intensity of that gaze, or the truth behind Sehun’s words. She was oblivious to the silent communication that was happening as she rattled on about what Luhan needed to do until the next nurse’s visit. They were lost in a trance, and it was a few minutes before they even realized that they were once again alone in the room.

“You’re not mad are you?” Luhan asked breaking the silence.

“Mad?  About what?” Sehun inquired.

“That I used your name,” Luhan explained.  “I wasn’t trying to lie or anything, but I was talking to you, and I didn’t want Jongin to know where I was…and I wanted to feel closer to you, until you got here.”

Sehun didn’t know what to say to that, nor was he certain that Luhan was expecting an answer.  It was flattering at best that Luhan wanted to use his name. During their time together he had often assured Luhan that he was family…his family.  It seemed only fitting that Luhan would embrace the name of Oh, but somehow Sehun didn’t think Jongin would agree.

“Speaking of your boyfriend,” Sehun said changing the subject.  “Where is he?  He couldn’t possibly still be on the phone.”

Luhan frowned and shook his head.  “That must have been his boss; he probably got called back into work.”

It was on the tip of Sehun’s tongue to say that the least Jongin could have done was tell Luhan that he was sorry, but he those words and focused his attention on making Luhan comfortable. He fluffed his pillows and straightened his blankets all the while trying to think of something to talk about. It seemed at the moment that every conversation brought them back to Jongin. And that bastard was the one thing Sehun wanted to avoid.

“I read your books,” Luhan said as if he had read Sehun’s mind about changing the subject.  “When I get out of here, I’m going to get you to sign them for me…every single one.”

“Did you really think they were good?” Sehun asked his heart beating despite itself. He was curious about what Luhan thought of his writing. When they were in school it was Luhan who kept pushing him to put himself out there. Luhan was his biggest supporter…and Luhan was the sole inspiration for every book he had written thus far. The dedication and the acknowledgement were always the same…and only Luhan understood, at least he hoped he did.

“I love the stories you tell, Sehun,” Luhan replied honestly.  “You have this way of speaking to my soul.  I read your books whenever I feel lonely; your characters are like old friends…just like the movies I used to watch all the time.”

“You don’t watch old movies anymore?” Sehun asked trying not to sound too surprised.

“Only when I get a chance on Turner Classic Movies or American Movie Classics. I miss those movies, they used to help me through a lot of hard times with my dad growing up…and while you were in London that time, I’d watch our movie and it always made me smile”

Sehun wasn’t sure which part of that he wanted to focus on. It warmed his heart that Luhan still referred to their movie, and that it made him smile when he watched it. Sehun often found himself smiling too whenever it was on. On the other hand it made him sad to think that Luhan didn’t find comfort in his old DVDS anymore. There was never a moment when they dated that Luhan didn’t have a DVD in the player, a blanket draped over his legs and a bowl of popcorn sitting in front of him as he lost himself in black and white movie glory.

“You don’t watch movies anymore?” he asked carefully.  “What happened to all your DVDS and VHS tapes?  Those were as sacred as comic books to you;”

“Yeah,” Luhan acknowledged sadly.  “Jongin sold them all about two years ago at a yard sale.”

“He what?” Sehun took a deep breath and reigned in his temper.  The thought of other hands touching the movies Luhan held so dear seemed so wrong.  “Why…why did he do a thing like that?  Those movies are part of your history, Luhan.”

“That’s what Jongin said,” Luhan insisted.  “He said that the movies were part of my past and I needed to let them go.  If I continued to use them to escape I wasn’t going to move on…and it was time to focus completely on him.  I didn’t want to let him down, so I have tried not to miss the movies so much, but I do catch the occasional black and white film on TV late at night.  Our movie was on just last week in fact, and I put it on the DVR and watched it while Jongin was at work.”

“I watched it last week too,” Sehun said, smiling for the first time since Luhan’s confession. The thought of them watching their movie at the same time just made him happy. He had been thinking about Luhan heavily that day.  And now here he was in the same room with him…

“Sehun?” Luhan’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he immediately went to sit by Luhan’s side. Those brown eyes looked so sad and there was a loneliness there that only one who knew Luhan well could see.

“I’m here Luhan; just tell me what you need.”

“Could I have a hug?” Luhan asked, sounding like he was trying not to cry.

Without a word Sehun positioned himself on Luhan’s bed and pulled his former lover into his arms. He was careful not to squeeze too hard as Luhan settled against his chest and Sehun’s fingers instinctively went into his hair.  It didn’t surprise Sehun to feel wetness against his shirt, and in that moment he vowed that he would always be there to take care of Luhan, no matter what it took. Luhan needed him and he had to admit at least to himself that he needed Luhan as well.