As Xichen stared at Xiao Zhan, Yibo was surprised why Xichen halted and so, he looked at who was inside the ward and there he saw the man who contacted him, the man who broke his heart and the man who rejected him with so much hatred at his tone that Yibo can never forget.
"Xichen-ge," Zhan called out with his voice that made him sound fragile that if touched carelessly, he'll break. "Z-Zhan," Xichen stuttered unable to grasp the situation in his head. When he first met Zhan, he was different from what he is right now, his body was still healthy and not like this, all he could see was that Xiao Zhan became skin and bones.
"What happened to you?" Xichen asked as he made his way to Xiao Zhan and pulled a chair for him to sit so that he can hear the explanation of the frail-looking man in front of him. "A-Ah," Zhan hesitated. He hesitated whether he should explain his situation to his friend or choose to hide it but in the end, he changed the topic. "Where's Bo-di?" he forced out a smile while asking Xichen who nodded, understanding the situation that Zhan is not yet open to talking about it.
"Yibo?" Xichen called out his best friend who was stuck, standing on the door with shock, pain and many emotions expressed in his eyes. "Come inside," Xichen urged Yibo to come inside but what he did was something unexpected, "I visited you, I'm here, what do you want?" Yibo tried to sound calm but it seems that his hidden emotions were overflowing to the point where he talked to Zhan with a hateful tone.
"Yibo," Xichen's voice became low, reminding Yibo that he has to change this attitude of his or he'll regret it. "What?" Yibo snapped at his best friend who was glaring at him. "Why are you doing this?" his voice was asking for an answer. Xichen needed an answer so that he'll not blame Yibo if ever something happens to Zhan after this.
Xiao Zhan who was quiet the whole time decided to remain silent and that he'll step up if ever things will get out of hand. "Why am I doing this? Ha! This...what I'm doing right now is considered to be the light punishment for you because what you did to me back then...you broke a part of me...a piece of me that I'm unable to get back," Yibo expressed his true feelings and this sudden confession made Zhan guilty and Xichen quiet.
"Yibo, I-" Zhan was about to talk when Yibo cut him, "No Zhan...I don't need your explanation because I clearly remember the words you used to reject me back then," Yibo said and then walked out, leaving Xiao Zhan and Xichen all alone.
Xichen who recovered from what happened decided to ask Zhan about other things since he might feel uncomfortable after what he heard earlier from Yibo.
"Xichen-ge, why are you here?" Zhan changed their topic and Xichen who was paying attention to Zhan answered truthfully. "I'm here to support Yibo whenever something happens. I really thought that you became a doctor at this hospital and that you wanted to talk to Yibo...but-"
"A patient," Zhan cut Xichen short since he noticed that the older felt uncomfortable saying the word 'patient'. XIchen who let out a sigh of relief turned his head towards the door thinking that maybe Yibo will come back and apologize to Zhan since what he did was immature of him. He was different from his usual attitude, it seemed that the cold Yibo crumbled down when he saw Xiao Zhan.
"Ah, I'm sorry for dragging you here," Zhan apologized but Xichen told him, "none of this is your fault. I came here to support Yibo but you're the one whom I supported at the end," Xichen replied and scratched his head while slightly laughing.
"Truth to be told, I was expecting more than that ge...I thought that he would cause a scene because of me telling him to come here but he didn't, he remained his usual self," Zhan sighed while Xichen became dumbfounded when he heard Xiao Zhan that what Yibo did earlier was 'normal'.
"How was that normal?" Xichen asked thinking deeply while Zhan explained to him how he thought how Yibo's reaction was normal, "he only said words to me, no actions were done," said Zhan.
"Zhan, if only you knew how Yibo was for the past few years then you would definitely say that this...what he did earlier was not normal," Xichen said, accidentally triggering something inside Zhan without him knowing. "Yeah...how were you two at the past few years?" Zhan asked masking his sadness from Xichen but the older who had sharp senses from birth noticed how Zhan's expression changed. He wanted to curse at himself for saying those words that triggered the younger.
'You should think about the words you are going to say from now on Lan Xichen!'
"Uh, Yibo changed while I'm still the same," Xichen said after thinking the words he said but because of his reflexes, he accidentally asked Xiao Zhan about his situation, "how about you?" both were stunned at the words that came out from the older's mouth.
'The fuck Xichen?! You screwed it up!' he scolded himself while covering his mouth and his eyes expressing how sorry he is.
Xiao Zhan understood the older's situation and took a deep breath before explaining what happened to him. After all, it was the sole purpose of him calling Yibo and making him visit him. But it made him sad that it wasn't Yibo who was in front of him but Yibo's best friend. "Ge, what I'm about to say has to remain between us, no words will be spilt to anyone...got it?" Zhan asked the older for confirmation and the older immediately nodded, curious of what the younger is about to say.
---
Yibo on the other hand was taking a walk in the nearby park when he saw some people walking, doing their own business. Yibo continued his stroll until he decided to take a rest on the nearby bench, calming himself down.
"Ugh," Yibo groaned as he completely relaxed on the bench. "What a beautiful day it is," he said sarcastically because, for him, this day was completely ruined, he was not sure if it is because of Xiao Zhan's presence or Xiao Zhan's situation. He was confused why someone as healthy as Xiao Zhan would end up at the hospital and be that skinny!
"What happened to him for him to end up at the hospital with those machines all over him?" Yibo asked a question out loud hoping for someone to answer him but sadly, people who passed him only looked at him with weird looks. "People here are making me uncomfortable," he stood up and walked away from the crowd because he felt weird when people kept giving him those judging looks, it makes him unable to concentrate on anything.
So Yibo walked and walked until he found a perfect spot for him to rest. A tree with it's shade was perfect for Yibo to rest at. Without any delay, he sat there and continued his thoughts, finding an answer to his question when his eyes met with something. It was a checkered mat, he lifted his head up hoping that he would see more but his eyes ended up at the couple sitting comfortably at the mat, feeding each other their food and were constantly teasing each other. From the looks of it, both were high school students!
"Aiya, kids these days are so..." Yibo did not complete his statement when a certain memory came into his mind...
It was a sunny day and there were almost no dark clouds visible in the sky. Beneath the sun laid two teenagers in their high school uniforms with one laying on the other's lap and constantly showing his beautiful smiles to the other.
"Why are you smiling?" asked the teenager who was sitting while watching the other laying on his lap. "No reason at all," replied the other and continued gazing at the teenager whose lap he had borrowed. The two of them went quiet until the older one decided to ask, "hey, Yibo...I was wondering if you would ever get angry at me if I keep something from you..." the older one brought up a topic that made Yibo confused.
"Why are you asking me that? Are you keeping something from me?" Yibo asked and immediately got up from the older's lap to properly face him. The older was stunned for a bit before replying Yibo a strong 'no'.
"Why would I?" the older asked and the younger took it as a sign that the older will never hide something from him and so he laid back on the older's lap and showed his smile once again. "But I'm serious though, would you be angry at me?" the older brought back the topic and Yibo just sighed at the older's troubled face.
He raised his free hand and cupped the older's cheeks, "why would I be angry at you Zhan?"
Yibo came back to himself when he felt something moving beside him. He looked at where the movement came from and saw a furball. "What's this?" he picked up the furball that was constantly moving beside him. When he took a clear look at it, he noticed that it was a rabbit, a dwarf rabbit.
He studied the tiny rabbit and was surprised at how calm it is in his grasps. "Why are there rabbits here?" he asked himself before putting it back down, giving it a chance to hop away but it remained still, looking at Yibo with its cute eyes and twitching nose. "I don't have a thing for cute things," he bluntly said before walking away.
"Was I too harsh on him?" he asked himself while thinking back at what he said at Xiao Zhan when he felt something heavy on his left foot. He looked down and saw the same rabbit from earlier. "Do you want to come with me?" Yibo asked the bunny and the bunny who seemed to have understood what Yibo said, moved its ears as a sign of confirmation.
"All right, then help me with something," he said and then made his way back to the hospital while carrying the bunny in his arms.
---
Edited
01/30/22
enjoy!!