Try Me If You Dare

30

I think I'm having trouble expressing my depressing...

Oh well, nothing crème brulée can't fix

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Chan sighed as he filled little cups of water from the cafeteria for the boys. Leaning over the counter of the little cafe, Chan smiled at the cashier before ordering whatever was strongest for himself and something non-caffeinated for Kun. After the disaster that happened not 10 minutes ago, Chan was sure that caffeine was the last thing that Kun needed.

Not 10 minutes ago...

"No, get your hands off of me!" Kun wrestled with the male nurse, desperately trying to heave the older man back onto the hospital bed. "Mr Qian, please! You are in no condition to be moving around!" Kun whipped his head around, glaring at the nurse. "Changmin, you don't let go of me, I'm going to knock you out."

Changmin paled a shade and hurriedly exited the room, mumbling about how he would return later. Chan and the boys flattened against the door as the nurse ran out at top speed, YangYang giggling at the scenario. Upon the new sound, Kun swivelled his body and ran towards them, snatching his little and holding YangYang to his chest. 

"Are you ok?! Did that rat do anything to you? I'll never let you out of my sight again!"

YangYang squirmed and tried to wriggle out of his caregiver's grip. "Mama, I'm hungry!" Kun smacked his forehead and ushered YangYang to the small table and seats set in a snug corner next to a balcony, where a tray of food had been prepared for the patient. "Baby, have some of the food, I'm not going to have any."

Obviously not.

Not missing a beat, YangYang dug into the micro-waved mashed potatoes, obviously not caring for the healthiness of it. Kun sighed contently and finally sat back on the hospital bed. "I tried to get them to discharge me since I'm fine but they insisted that they needed a "test". He rolled his eyes and smoothed his sheets. "The only thing they're testing is my patience, I swear."

Chan gave a low whistle and went to sit down beside Kun. "I know, Hyung, but it's only for a day more and they have to make sure..." Chan's voice dropped down and he looked around for any eavesdroppers. "That he didn't do anything to you."

Kun scoffed and gripped his carefully smoothed blanket. "That man couldn't do anything to me if he tried." Chan nodded uneasily and patted the older man's knee. "Yes yes, we just want to make sure."

Amid their grown-up conversation, both of the caregivers failed to notice Felix and Yang Yang's new favourite past time: using the plastic spoons to catapult spoonfuls of potatoes out the window (Yang Yang had quickly realised that no amount of gravy could disguise the plasticy aftertaste). It wasn't until Felix had accidentally flicked a large lump of mash onto an elderly man's bald head and the pair burst into hysterical laughter had the caregivers recognised the situation.

"Yang Yang you put that spoon down! You too, Felix!"

Chan winced while closing the window. The pair had managed to hit the gentleman that they almost knocked over at the hospital's entrance. It was hilarious considering that Chan didn't have even to look down to see the man. It was confirmed that the wind is very good at carrying sound, he supposes. 

After adjusting the wind-blown curtains, Chan turned to see the boys restlessly rotating from staring at the Doraemon cartoon on TV to play-wrestling on Kun's bed, leaving the older man wrinkling his nose in slight irritation. "C'mon guys, time to go, Mama Kun has to rest."

"Why you little shi..."

Chan ignored the intended swear words and ushered the two littles out of the room, letting them receive one last cuddle before saying goodbye, with Yang Yang acquiring strict instructions from Kun to 'not wreck havoc' and to 'leave the poor old man alone' once they got down to the main lobby.

Kun sighed at the silence that followed after Chan and the kids left. Maybe Chan was right, he was feeling a bit off. Padding to the balcony, Kun allowed the doors to swing open and the curtains to billow wildly before leaning over the edge. He remembered back when he loved the thrill of being so high, with his room being on the 7th floor, leaving the man to feel every wisp of wind whittle through his thin frame.

He feels nostalgia whip through him, escaping to his headspace where Kun could see himself, younger and reckless, in his position on a rooftop, enjoying the wild winds when a pair of arms wrapped around his wai-. 

As fast as that flashback came onto him, Kun snapped himself out of it. He had Yang Yang, and so many friends supporting him and willing to look past his flaws. He sacrificed too much to have precisely what he has now, and he was not going to shatter this perfect image by letting past decisions dictate his current ones.

"You know, if you are going to hide, it would have been wiser to hide from below."

Kun groaned inwardly when he heard a chuckle and a pair of feet lightly hitting the concrete floor of the balcony, as calculated as a cat's.

"Still as sharp as a whip, even after all these years." 

"Old habits die hard." Kun shrugged, his back still to the man. "But it is in your best interest that your habits should di- Don't touch me!" Kun turned around, glaring at the intruder. "I had given up on the idea that you would actually leave me and Yang Yang alone, based on your history, but I meant it."

Boss grinned and leaned on the balcony next to Kun, casual and carefree. "It was nice to see you trying to get over me though. Do you honestly think I don't know what you keep behind all those photos on the fireplace mantle? Fucking adorable." Kun whitened a shade but kept his mouth shut. And of course, he knew what Kun was trying to bury all these years.

The man made a sudden move, pinning Kun against the railings of the balcony and his body. 

"I think it's high time little Kunnie came back to his Daddy."

Kun inhaled sharply and twisted himself out of the hold. "Don't try to rekindle anything, I am no longer a little, let alone yours! I've coped with my past experiences and have become a caregiver to a little. All. Without. You! So as far as I'm concerned, Kunnie disappeared a long time ago!"

Boss stared at Kun sadly. "If only it was true, honey. I've seen how you've looked at little things. And you've only coped, not healed." He captured Kun's face in his hand, seeing how Kun experienced an inner struggle of either pulling away or melting into the touch. 

"I just want to help you."

Kun felt the sharp prickle of tears when he flitted his gaze to the man.

"Go fuck yourself, Ten."

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You know what, I actually really like this chapter, even though I feel like this is more Kun centered than ChanLix. But I suppose it's necessary for preparation for another thing.

Until next time, sweethearts! Mwah~