Us? Us. [ Hyunlixଓ ]

Chapter 11 : Lies

Having woken up by the pounding headache, felix tightly shut his eyes although they were already closed considering how he had only just woken up from god knows how long he was unconscious. he uttered a small groan at the pain. as much as he loved winter, he hated it when he's in such condition. with his head aching as if it was about to crack into two, his eyelids feeling so heavy that he had trouble opening them and his body all fatigued from all the energy drained for simply getting sick. those aside— never had it ever crossed his mind to trouble the one and only friend he just made with only after days of spending time together.

speaking of spending time, he remembered collapsing then being taken to the older's house but the  house felt oddly quiet. way too quiet for his liking. even the soft breath of another being wasn't heard anywhere near him. wasn't the raven haired male supposed to be there when he woke up? but he didn't feel another presence in the room at all. oddly quiet. way too quiet for his liking. even the soft breath of another being wasn't heard anywhere near him. wasn't the raven haired male supposed to be there when he woke up? but he didn't feel another presence in the room at all.
"i'll b here when you wake up," was what the ravennette said before he went to sleep. so he fought off the heaviness of his lids and forced his eyes open. felix blinked his eyes once, twice— to clear his vision then letting his vision scanned through the whole room. nope. he lied. he was supposed to be there but hyunjin wasn't there at all.

it's not like he wanted to cage hyunjin as if the male was his, to have him there all the time, there on his side on whatever occasion it was. but he can't do anything about his clinginess whenever he fell sick. back then when his mother was still around, he'd latch himself to his mother just like a baby koala would and his mother wouldn't even push him away. yet, she would baby his one and only son. so, having someone— your one and only friend, to promise you something like that especially during sickness— really had him hoping for the exact same thing. he wanted to have someone to depend on, to latch himself to, to— bluntly out, to cling himself to.

being sick got him sensitive, he felt like bursting into tears but he held the urge to. maybe— maybe the latter would be around the house, just not in the room?

upon having the thought crossing his mind, he pushed himself up then dragged his feet off the bed. his fatigues were worse than he thought but he paid no mind to it at all. his mind was clouded with one thing only and that was, to look for hyunjin, to have him there with him again, to have him pat his head again. his embarrassment had long since threw itself out of the window.

"j-jinnie..?" his voice came out hoarse. it actually hurt his throat to speak but he could care less about that as it wasn't his priority as of the moment. felix then continued his search, dragging his feet around the house to every inch of it to look for the said male. he knew well it wasn't his house— however, he just couldn't stop himself to go around with the objective in mind. although to his dismay, hyunjin wasn't around at all. not even a single note anywhere saying anything about his whereabouts.

Just when he was about to drown himself into his trail of thoughts, he heard the clicking sound of the front door opening— revealing the one person he had been looking for the past half an hour.

Hyunjin, surprised at the sight of the latter standing in the middle of his living room— quickly fixed his composure before rushing his way towards the latter. His right hand occupied by a plastic bag filled with god-knows-what, was left forgotten as it plopped down at the entrance. he placed his left hand to gently hold Felix's shoulder. Eyes carefully scanning the petite boy up and down— for any signs of discomfort.

"Lixie? What're you doing here? You should be resting—" hyunjin pressed his palm against the latter's forehead, frowning at how the temperature wasn't going down at all and his frown only deepened at the sight of the smaller male bawled his eyes out. As if it was the only thing to do, Felix threw in arms around the latter. With quivering lips, he answered.

"L-lies.. Jinnie lied.." his voice trembled, which did nothing but worried the said male more than he already was. What did he do wrong for this precious boy crying his heart out like this? Rubbing comforting circles on the small of Felix's back with his left hand, his right went up to smooth down his disheveled hair.

"Lied?" He paused, thinking for a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry for not knowing what did I do wrong. But, Lixie, I'm willing to admit. So tell me— What did I lie to you about, hm?" Hyunjin asked. His voice soft as if hoping that Felix would feel comforted upon hearing him. Hepulled away, enough to look at the petite boy's face then brushed his locks back.

"J-jinnie.. said you'd be here.. When I wake up b-but.." Felix whimpered as he couldn't go on to complete his sentence, breaking down once more. Hyunjin was beyond speechless. He didn't need to hear the full sentence to actually figure out what the other meant. Right. He did tell Felix that before the latter drifted off into his slumber.

He frowned. The guilt came into him in a rush yet he knew there's no time for him to dwell into his guilt. He needed Felix to calm down or else his fever was going to get worse and he wouldn't want that.

"Baby, listen. This may sound like an excuse but I didn't think you'd wake up before I come home. Jinnie needed to run a quick grocery shopping," he paused, softly muttering a small apology as he swept Felix off his feet, carrying him into his arms.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you in the dark, I should've left a note so you'd at least know where I went off to," he gently nudged the younger's cheek with his forehead apologetically, his legs leading them both to his room. The hand supporting the back of Felix's head brought it to rest against the crook of his neck, to which the latter didn't protest. Yet there he was, now that the relief washed over him he felt so exhausted he just went and nuzzled closely against Hyunjin's frame.

The ravennette laid Felix gently onto the soft mattress then knowing well he couldn't just simply leave the younger's side, he settled himself in the spot next to the latter. Tucking them both in bed. As if it's the most natural thing to do, Felix scooted closer to snuggle in the warmth of the ravennette's chest. His eyes were already shut as he blindly went to search for Hyunjin's hand to which the raven haired male quickly grasped on for Felix to bring it up to his head. Signalling the latter to pat, caress his hair.

Taking the hint, Hyunjin obliged to do exactly that. His fingers slipped through his hair and with gently caresses, he smoothes those tangled strands. The ravennette couldn't help the genuine fondness he felt upon watching the sight before his eyes.

"Lixie, baby." He whispered softly, tucking the stray hair behind his ears, away from his face. Hyunjin leaned down to press his forehead against the younger's temple.

"Please forgive Jinnie, okay? This time, I'll keep my words. Promise, I'll be here when Lixie wake up," was the last thing Felix heard, to which he only uttered a small, almost inaudible hum— before his exhaustion brought him drift back to his beauty slumber. In the warmth of the person, whom made him felt as if he belonged there, between his arms.

The grocery bags dropped at the entrance long since forgotten.

[ word count : 1389 words ଓ ]