Broken

Part Five - Release

The days passed quickly. Kai woke with a smile, and Chanyeol ended their day with one. Adventures arose, moments were shared and within a week or two Chanyeol and Kai had caused double the amount of trouble Kai could have done alone in his entire life. Chanyeol perked up a lot, cheering up into a happy virus that was almost weird to look upon considering what Kai had witnessed in his first few days of admission. But depression changed people, he'd learnt it first hand now, and he would have done anything to keep Chanyeol this way.

The other thing that changed, was Kai. Chanyeol didn't think much of it, but his "sessions" were growing a lot more frequent now. "At least he'll be getting better." He had thought, as he spent seemingly day after day waiting for the other to return and awaken.

But now, Kai had a week off from treatment and Chanyeol was about to be released so the friends had sought out a quiet place on the rooftop to talk, watching the cars drive by below as they joked.

"Kai, my face is ugly. Isn't it." Chanyeol had murmured at one point, arms crossed on the balcony and cheek resting atop. Kai had frowned, wheeling forward a little so he could poke at the other's side. "I don't think it is." he had voiced strongly, continuing to poke until the other made eye contact with him.

"But you didn't see it before."

"But I didn't know you before."

"It's not fair." Chanyeol huffed, turning the other way to sulk, Kai just laughed.

"What?"

"You always win our arguments."

"That's cause I'm usually right about these things."

"You're a cheat."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Chanyeol stop!"

Flailing as the other resorted to tickling him, Kai slapped the other's hands away, still laughing slightly when the other relented. Chanyeol chuckled, leaning back against the railing again.

"What do your family think about it, the new ones." Kai started this time, watching the other with a fond smile as he thought. Chanyeol had been disowned after the whole house fire incident, and now that he had been found a foster family, he would be released from hospital in the next few days. Chanyeol seemed to like the new adults, but he never liked it when Kai brought it up. The tanned male just figured, that he was nervous... or something like that.

Chanyeol hummed in thought before replying.

"The same as you, the said it was a part of me. And that I wouldn't be the same me without it... but if it makes me uncomfortable, then they're willing to give consent for a reconstruction." he nodded a little and Kai grinned.

"And are you going to get one."

"I don't know..." sighing, a pair of searching fingers slid off Chanyeol face, the redheads own replacing them and testing at the edge of burnt scar tissue, tracing the edge that ran around just under half his face.

"I'm sure you'll decide in time, perhaps when you go home for the first time hmm?" With a smile and a nod, an exhausted Kai rests his back against his chair, gracing the curves of the clouds with his chocolate irises, soon Chanyeol piped in again.

"And when are you going home Kai, surely your, treatment is over soon too.. right? You'll get to go home soon?"

Kai almost choked, his hands grew sweaty and hastily he tried to find the right words before he started to tremble...

He'd never been good at lying.

"Yeah, I will. Not long after you I expect. We'll both be free hmm? Sounds nice right?" Kai sighed, an easily mistakable sound. Chanyeol took it for one of contentment, of wishing that the moment would come closer. But Kai knew it to be much more than that.

"Promise you'll come visit."

"I promise Chanyeol."

"I'll miss you Kai..."

"I'll miss you too."

"Don't take too long to get better, okay?"

"I promise Chanyeol, okay. I promise. I'm not going to forget you, I'm going to get better real quick, and come right on over to inspect that new home of yours, so you better get moved in fast, got it?"

"Roger that... You tired?"

"Yeah..."

"Come one, I'll take you back down."

Before Kai knew it, he was asleep. He was barely even out the elevator, and much too far gone to hear Chanyeol's chuckles when he noticed the other had drifted off. Strong arms tucked him bed and plugged in all the right tubes before slipping across to his own bed, curling up for his own nap until only soft snores filled the room.

But when Kai woke up, there was only silence.

Chanyeol was gone.