guys my age | yuta/taeyong

(the summer's wild) and i've been waiting for you all this time

The night following the breakup is a long and empty one for Yuta. He considers following Taeyong after he storms off, but ultimately decides against it, realizing quickly that seeing as he was the one that wanted to break things off, he shouldn't really be chasing Taeyong down. Besides, Taeyong's an adult—he won't let Yuta forget it, either. He should be fine.

He doesn't sleep easy that night, and rises early the next morning. The house is so still. It's not like he's not used to being alone, it's just that the world seems wrong. Even the bright sunlight does nothing to improve his mood; he slogs through his work halfheartedly. It does nothing to distract him. He keeps expecting Taeyong to be around every corner.

You did the right thing, he tells himself firmly as he starts the dishwasher and heads upstairs. Eventually, this hurt will fade, and Taeyong's will too. He'll agree, and everything will be fine. You just have to get through the first couple of days, that's all.

But if it was the right thing, why does he feel so empty? He curls up in bed that night feeling cold and alone. He knows he should start the process of removing traces of Taeyong from his life—he should delete his number and erase their text threads and call history, he should check around his house for things he may have left behind and box them all up, maybe even throw away some of his clothes that he remembers seeing Taeyong wear. But he can't. His heart is too heavy, and he's so tired.

He actually manages to fall asleep relatively early, and doesn't wake until his phone rings right next to his ear. He nearly jumps out of his own skin, scrambling to find it in the sheets and turn the ringer off. He's about to deny the call—it's three in the morning, for fuck's sake—but he catches the caller ID and freezes.

Lee Taeyong.

Why the fuck is Taeyong calling me at three in the morning? He runs through possibilities in his head. He's probably drunk, and it's quite possible he's in trouble. Yuta sighs. Maybe he should just ignore it. But he knows if he doesn't pick up, he'll regret it, and he won't be able to sleep without knowing if Taeyong's okay.

So he picks up the phone, feeling around his room in the dark for clothes as he talks to Taeyong, half running, half falling down the stairs to go pick him up.

Taeyong is more or less incomprehensible by the time he arrives. Yuta catches him when he falls into his arms, making sure he doesn't lose his phone, which is dangling precariously in his fingertips. He slings one of Taeyong's arms over his shoulders and wraps an arm around his waist, and helps him into his car.

"I'm sorry," Taeyong slurs out, again and again. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, honey." Yuta clicks his seatbelt into place. His hands are shaking. The last time he saw someone this far gone, he was at university and it was a rough night. He tries not to show his fear, handing Taeyong a plastic bag. "I'm glad you called me. I'd rather you call me in the middle of the night than get hurt." He goes around to the other side of the car quickly, sliding in and starting the engine. Taeyong groans softly. Yuta looks over at him and his heart twists in his chest. Taeyong's head is lolled forward and his eyes are screwed shut. There are tear-tracks streaking his makeup. I did this, Yuta thinks miserably. Oh god, I did this. It's all my fault. He reaches over to rest a hand on Taeyong's knee as they pull out onto the street. "We'll be home soon," he says, hoping to soothe him. "You're gonna be okay."

"I know," Taeyong replies, and it breaks Yuta's heart. "I'm with you."

Taeyong throws up about halfway up the hill, but luckily he's aware of the plastic bag in his hands, and he doesn't spill anything. Yuta rolls the windows down a little to help with the smell, apologizing for the sharp twists and turns as they make their way to his neighborhood. At last, they pull into his garage. Yuta swears he's never moved faster in his life, parking the car and basically jogging around the hood to go help Taeyong.