Running to You | Park Han + JL + Steven | Haneulz + Stejay AU

Chapter 86: For the First Time

JL set both files aside and leaned back in his chair, overwhelmed by the scope of what they had lived through together. The excitement of early competitions, the camaraderie of shared hotel rooms, the giddy exhaustion of late-night training sessions. The mountain lodge where everything had begun to shift between him and Han. The rooftops and roads in Shanghai where they had stumbled through their first tentative conversations about wanting each other. The villa suite in Australia where panic and desire had collided in desperate, fumbling kisses.

And then the long, dark months that followed. The rage and despair, the physical agony, the way Han had absorbed every cruel word and refused to surrender. How he had chosen to be JL's anchor when JL was drowning, even knowing it might cost him everything. All of it felt simultaneously like yesterday and a lifetime ago.

"We lived all of this together," JL said softly to the photographs spread before him. 

* * * 

The walking trials began without fanfare on a Tuesday morning that felt like any other.

JL gripped the parallel bars with hands that trembled from more than just physical effort. Moisture had already begun to gather along his hairline despite the fact that he hadn't moved yet. Han stood behind him, close enough to catch him if he fell but far enough away to let him try.

The physical therapist offered encouragement, but JL barely heard her. All of his focus had narrowed to the impossible task of convincing his legs to remember their purpose.

He shifted his weight forward, feeling the muscles in his left leg engage with a mixture of pain and possibility. The foot lifted -- barely an inch -- and moved forward in a motion that was more controlled fall than step. It landed with a small, uncertain sound against the rubberized floor.

Then the right foot followed, equally hesitant but equally genuine.

Han's sharp intake of breath was audible across the room.

JL's laugh erupted from somewhere deep in his chest, part sob and part disbelief. The sound broke as it escaped, revealing the months of held-back hope that had accumulated beneath his careful composure. "I moved," he breathed, wonder heavy in his voice. "My legs actually moved."

Han stepped forward immediately, his arms wrapping around JL from behind as they both trembled with the magnitude of what had just occurred. No words were needed, just the solid warmth of Han's chest against JL's back, both of them breathing hard and giddy with disbelief.

"One step," Han said softly against JL's ear, his voice rough with emotion. "That's how it starts."

For the first time since the accident, the future felt possible again.

Two months later, JL walked onto the track under his own power.

The crutches he relied on were sleek, modern things that had become extensions of his will rather than symbols of limitation. His legs remained thin from months of atrophy, pale and marked with surgical scars, but they moved with purpose. His gait was uneven, each step requiring conscious effort, but he was upright and moving forward.

The team had gathered again, maintaining the same respectful distance they had held during his first visit. This time, though, their reverence was mixed with something closer to celebration. 

Steven stood furthest from the group, his throat tight as he watched JL make his careful circuit around the track on his crutches. Han walked beside him, not touching but close enough to provide stability if needed. The afternoon light caught in JL's dark hair and cast long shadows from his crutches, creating a tableau that was both heartbreaking and triumphant.