Metal

60%

The question hangs in the air between them, heavy with tension. Tao can tell Sehun is awake beside him on the bed even though he can hear even breathing and see closed eyes, but he's hesitant about saying anything to confirm it. He can't remember very much from a good part of the day before, nor does he know if he might have done something offensive. It's best to tread carefully at this point, he thinks.

Whereas yesterday morn had been cheerful moods and an out-of-place livelihood, today is wary and uncomfortable. Even with the figure beside him, limp as he is, he can sense a sort of distrust. Or maybe it is his paranoia acting up again. Either way, he's cautious to be the one to break the silence.

But he does, despite.

"Are you awake?" he asks gently.

He sees Sehun nod hesitantly. The boy's body visibly stiffens and he almost cringes at the sight. What repulsive crime could he have committed to cause that sort of reaction?

He gulps. Guilt is a heavy anvil in his stomach, a weight he finds himself unwillingly shouldering. He's not sure how to approach the subject.

Sehun is the one to do so instead, with closed eyes and furrowed brows. "Where did you get it?" He asks Tao in an accusing tone.

"I didn't, Sehun. I don't know how to explain it to you without...." without having to tell you the truth.

"Without what?"

"Just know I didn't drink it on purpose. I didn't go looking for it myself. I- I swear it, Sehun." He stumbles over words, looking for a better way to explain it all.

A silence sits there. He waits for Sehun to say something.

"Are you saying it was deliberately placed? By someone else?" Sehun finally opens his eyes to look at him.

"Yes," he admits. "That's exactly what in saying."

Sehun bites his lip as if he wants to inquire further but knows he'll get no merit from it. "Then," he starts, "was it intended for me?"

He hadn't thought about it that way, but now that the idea has been proposed, it makes sense. Poisoning Sehun would have been much more advantageous, though he'd assumed it had been for him all along. To him, it was a test. To Sehun, it would have been a matter of life or death.

However, he chooses to give reassurance. "No. I don't believe so."

Sehun curls up, dragging blankets away from Tao's body to wrap his own in. Tao lightly tugs on them, but to no avail, and settles with moving closer to Sehun for warmth.

"Tao," Sehun says, "do you remember anything you did yesterday?"

Tao shakes his head. "No, I don't," he answers. "I didn't do anything bad, did I?"

Sehun burrows his head in the blankets. "No," he says, voice muffled by the layers of cloth. "Forget it." He rather spits out the phrase, making Tao think he really shouldn't do that at all.

"What did I do?" He asks, knowing that reaction couldn't have possibly meant nothing.

To his surprise, instead of giving an answer, Sehun scoots towards him and hugs his midsection. He feels Sehun press his head against his chest, feels the warmth from his body, feels the light thrumming from Sehun's heart beat so close to him.

"Wha-"

"Don't question it," he hears Sehun say. He shivers; Sehun's breath had sent wisps of hot air curling down his front and caused a sharp contrast in temperatures. "That's as close an answer to that question as you'll ever get."