Caged (Chapter 6)
Title: Caged (Chapter 6)
Characters/Pairings: Kyuhyun, Sungmin, eventual!KyuMin, Siwon, Han Geng
Rating: R
WARNINGS: Implied sex/rape, disturbing situations
Genre: au, angst, drama
Summary: It is a world full of dirt, abuse, selfishness and greed. It is an even worse world for a slade. A slade is a type of slave that is trained for a different form of manual labor. In today's terms, a prostitute of sorts. However, slades are purchased permanently and for one master only. Each slade has their own form of training, their own past, their own story. When four slades are forced to accept the idea that there is a world outside of their own, do they dare try to escape? Do they even have enough of their old selves left to be able to?
~~~~~
Kyuhyun awoke with the lights at 7am sharp. He was a bit disoriented at first, but soon realized where he was.
He heard sniffling and groaning.
Kyuhyun stood up, wincing at the slight soreness in his back, and made his way to the side of his cage that was closest to Sungmin. He stopped short when he was close enough to make out the figure crumpled on the bed.
Sungmin was curled in on himself. He was lying on his side with his back towards Kyuhyun. He was hugging his knees and whimpering. His tremors from how much pain he was feeling were visible.
In the middle of the night, Sungmin had awoken with his whole body on fire. It seemed that nothing could help and that even his clothes were causing him pain. He had quickly divested himself of all clothing, ripping the blanket off the bed and tossing it aside, as well. He had laid himself back down, but it was no use; his body still felt on fire.
Kyuhyun's jaw fell as he continued to stare at the crumpled Sungmin. On his back, Kyuhyun could see criss-crossing red streaks. There were slashes of dried blood from which he assumed Sungmin had been hit multiple times in the same place. His whole back was flushed with the streaks a darker red, almost purple, a sign that they were turning into bruises. Kyuhyun's vision move from Sungmin's back to his bottom and thighs; they were equally red and purple. He could see Sungmin trembling, hear him whimpering, and sense him trying not to cry. He wanted to be with him to comfort him and tell him it would eventually be okay. It killed him inside that he knew he could do nothing.
“S-Sungmin?” Kyuhyun whispered, his voice cracking. He walked to the bars of his cage and leaned his face against the cool metal.
Sungmin didn't move; he didn't really think he could without being hurdled into another wave of nausea brought on by the pain. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut tighter and wished for a different life.
“Sungmin...I-I'm here. It will be okay.” Kyuhyun tried.
Sungmin could feel the tears he had been pushing down surge forward. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to show his weakness, yes, but it physically hurt too much to cry at the moment. He tried to keep them down for a bit longer.
“Sungmin, can you j-just say something...So I know you're o-okay?” Kyuhyun was worried. He couldn't see Sungmin's face, he couldn't tell that he was, in fact, awake and conscious. He was worried Sungmin may be in a state of shock because of the amount of wounds covering his body.
Sungmin tried mumbling a “hello,” but it just came out as a pained grunt.
Kyuhyun reached his hands through his bars but quickly retracted it when he realized he would never be able to reach Sungmin by himself. But then he remembered what had been said at dinner last night.
“Sungmin! Ah..sorry.” Kyuhyun quickly lowered his voice upon seeing Sungmin flinch. “But Sungmin, at dinner last night, Master Iljun told me something. He said we will be staying in the same cage together, while two more slades will stay in my cage! Just think about it! I will actually be able to help you then!”
Kyuhyun was gripping the bars of his cage in anticipation of being so near Sungmin and being able to help him every morning.
Sungmin opened his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows together. Was Kyuhyun telling the truth? Or better yet, was Iljun telling the truth?
It was a rule that slades must be kept separately, but greed and seedy masters lessened the strictness of the rule. When slades were first formed, it was standard that each master had one slade. Eventually, as time passed, greed grew stronger, and it became the norm to have two slades per master. Even in this time, it was still standard for each slade to be kept in their own cage; but it wasn't long before greed once again changed the rules.
Now, it is normal for a master to have as many as five slades to himself. By following the rules on how big each cage must be and what furniture must be available, it is nearly impossible to fit five separate cages in one mansion, no matter how big. Because of this, the rule of one slade per cage began to lose it's strictness. However, it is still frowned upon to allow slades to live with each other.
“He said his son was going to get two slades of his own. And because there isn't enough room down here, we will live in pairs.” Kyuhyun continued. He wished he could tell if Sungmin was happy about this news, or if he was even conscious, he was still unsure of that fact. “Sungmin?”
“Y-yes?” Sungmin croaked out, clutching tighter to his knees. Speaking only brought back the throbbing pain throughout his body.
“You're awake. Good...” Kyuhyun mumbled, more to himself than to Sungmin. “Are you cold?” Kyuhyun had to admit that it was chilly in the basement where they were kept, and there was Sungmin, no blanket and not a scrap of clothing on him.
Sungmin closed his eyes again. He was cold; he was freezing, in fact. But his body was still on fire. He didn't want to move for fear of brushing one of his wounds, he didn't want to put clothes on or use his blanket for the same reason. He didn't know which was worse, but he just didn't want to feel pain anymore, so he chose to stay cold.
“Gah! I wish I knew how to help you. I can tell you're cold, why don't you put on your blanket?” Kyuhyun said. He was getting frustrated that he couldn't reach Sungmin, and that Sungmin wouldn't help himself.
“I-It hurts...to move...it just hurts.” Sungmin mumbled.
Kyuhyun let his head fall against the bars of his cage. He felt so helpless.
Suddenly, as if they knew they were needed, Siwon and Hankyung walked through the double doors and moved quickly to Sungmin's cage. Siwon unlocked the door and both quickly moved towards Sungmin.
“Are you alright?” Hankyung asked as he knelt down beside Sungmin's trembling form. He brush the hair out of Sungmin's eyes to make sure he was awake and conscious. Sungmin looked up at him, but didn't say a word. Hankyung figured this was enough to show the slade was still alive.
Siwon was at Sungmin's desk, emptying his pockets. He had brought a bottle of painkillers, several bottles of water, and a container of cream that soothes burns. He laid them all on the desk before he took three painkillers and a bottle of water over to Sungmin's bed.
“Here, take these.” Siwon said, motioning to Hankyung to help Sungmin sit up to drink.
Sungmin winced and groaned at the feeling of hands on his back, lifting him so he wouldn't choke on his water. He wined at the pain in his bottom when Hankyung finally managed to get him in a sitting position.
Siwon grabbed the blanket from the floor and as gently as possible, placed it over Sungmin's lap to cover him. He didn't miss the wince from Sungmin when the blanket brushed against his reddened thighs.
“Open your mouth.” Siwon said as he brought the painkillers to Sungmin's mouth. He then placed his hand behind Sungmin's head and the bottle of water at his lips, tilting it slightly for Sungmin to drink.
“These will help.” Hankyung said. He was a bit distracted, looking at all the marking on Sungmin's chest.
All the while, Kyuhyun stared in silence. His jaw had dropped again when Sungmin's chest was brought into view during his repositioning. He couldn't take his eyes off of Sungmin's chest; it mirrored his back. It was covered in more red-purple criss-crossing lines, some outlined with dried blood. He felt like crying.
“Achem!” Siwon coughed and knocked Kyuhyun from his daze. “We are moving you into his cage now. The other slades are coming tonight.”
Kyuhyun's attention was brought to his own doorway. He had been so concentrated on Sungmin that he didn't even notice Siwon had moved to his own cage.
Siwon motioned for Kyuhyun to follow him out of the cage.
“Mmhmm,” Kyuhyun mumbled, nodding his head. However, he paused at his desk, his attention drawn to the notebooks and pens scattered on top of it.
“Oh..no, you can't take anything from here. You will share what is already in the other cage.” Siwon said, holding the cage door open for Kyuhyun. Hankyung had remained in Sungmin's cage, making sure the older slade could stay sitting up on his own.
Kyuhyun made his way across his cage towards Siwon, following him to Sungmin's cage. Upon stepping in, Kyuhyun felt a heaviness in the pit of his stomach at finally being able to see Sungmin without bars in his way. The feeling got even heavier when he saw the look of pain on Sungmin's face.
“Sungmin...” Kyuhyun mumbled as he made his way to Sungmin's bed, making sure to not look desperate in front of Hankyung and Siwon. It didn't help, Siwon noticed how much Kyuhyun seemed to want, no, need to be by Sungmin's side.
“Sungmin?” Siwon asked.
“Huh?” Kyuhyun said, turning from where he had froze near Sungmin. “It's-oh...”
“It's my n-name...” Sungmin mumbled so quiet that Hankyung had to repeat it out loud for Siwon to hear.
“Your name?” Siwon was puzzled for a minute. He had thought slade were given numbers for names. It took a moment for it to click that these were the names of the slades...before they were slades, when they were people.
“Your name...Sungmin?” Siwon said, looking at Sungmin. Said boy nodded. “And?” Siwon looked towards Kyuhyun who had been looking back and forth from Siwon to Sungmin for the past minute.
“K-Kyuhyun.”
“Kyuhyun.” Siwon nodded his head slowly. “I have something to call you now.”
Siwon motioned for Hankyung to get up and follow him.
Hankyung turned back to Sungmin for a final affirmation that the slade was okay to be left alone, before he got up and walked towards Siwon.
“There is cream for burns on the desk. It should help. Kyuhyun, you'll help him, right?” Siwon said as he locked the door behind himself and Hankyung.
“Yes.” Kyuhyun answered politely and watched as the two guards nodded, satisfied, and left.
“K-Kyuhyun, can you get that cream?” Sungmin asked. His eyes were starting to flood with tears again. When Hankyung had sat with him, he had been able to lean against him for support, but now that the guard was gone, he had to keep himself straight, and it just made everything hurt again.
Kyuhyun was snapped back to reality and rushed to the desk. He grabbed the container and moved to kneel beside Sungmin's bed.
“W-what should I do?” Kyuhyun asked, a bit puzzled at what was expected of him.
“I want t-to lay down. C-can you put the cream on my chest? Please?” Sungmin said, struggling to lay his body down without hurting himself any further. It felt strange to be asking someone for help; he had never done it before. But he was desperate.
Sungmin suddenly felt two cool hands on his shoulders, trying to steady him as he tried to lie down. The cool hands felt good on his burning skin and he gave into the touch and allowed Kyuhyun to help him.
“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin could hear the desperation in his voice. He must have gotten worried when Sungmin winced as soon as his back touched his bed.
“Argh...I-it's okay. My back...it hurts, too.” Sungmin grumbled, trying to find a more comfortable way to lie. He ended on his side, facing Kyuhyun, his head resting against his right arm.
Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin. The older slade had his eyes closed, his tear stained cheeks shining in the florescent light. Kyuhyun quietly unscrewed the top of the container and took out a bit of the cream. He slowly moved a bit closer to Sungmin. He reached his hand out and, as gently as he could, rubbed a bit of the cooling cream on Sungmin stomach.
Sungmin jerked at the cool sensation, completely not expecting it. His eyes opened to see a concentrating Kyuhyun rubbing small, gentle circles on his stomach.
He closed his eyes again as he could feel the pain ebb away in the area where Kyuhyun put the cream.
Kyuhyun continued to add more cream, moving up to Sungmin's chest. When he finished, he realized Sungmin had his eyes closed. He assumed Sungmin may have fallen asleep, so he began to pull the blanket off of Sungmin's lower half in order to put the cream on Sungmin's thighs.
“What are you doing?” Sungmin's mumbled.
Kyuhyun looked up and locked eyes with a sleepy-looking Sungmin.
“Your thighs and back are red, too. I should put cream on them too, right?” Kyuhyun said. His innocence was shining through again.
“I suppose.” Sungmin mumbled, closing his eyes again to enjoy the cooling sensation on his belt burns.
Kyuhyun continued pulling the blanket off, not even reacting to the lack of clothes on Sungmin. He simply set to work rubbing the cream on Sungmin's thighs.
When he finished with the front of Sungmin's thighs, he looked to see if Sungmin was still awake. Once again, he assumed the slade wasn't. He tried to figure out how he could reach Sungmin's back without having to turn him over.
Realizing there was no other way, Kyuhyun climbed onto the bed, making sure not to bump the sleeping Sungmin, and moved to the space between Sungmin's back and the bars of his cage. He planted himself against the bars. Getting more cream on his hand, Kyuhyun began work on Sungmin's back.
Kyuhyun tried to be as gentle as he could; however, the marks were still very sensitive, and Sungmin would jerk and wince every now and then. Kyuhyun would wince along with him, imagining the pain Sungmin must have felt and is still feeling.
Kyuhyun got to Sungmin's lower back and paused before making another move. Sungmin had clear streaks of red across his bum, but Kyuhyun wasn't sure what he should do.
“I...It feels really good. I-” Sungmin started, it was as if he could sense Kyuhyun's hesitation. He didn't want to for Kyuhyun to continue putting on the cream if he felt uncomfortable, and he knew that Kyuhyun really shouldn't even be touching him, especially not on his bottom, but his skin still burned.
As a response, Kyuhyun got another glob of cream on his hand and started rubbing in on Sungmin's red streaked bum.
Neither of them truly cared about the somewhat intimate action. Both were just focused on their thoughts; Sungmin on the soothing sensation on his belt burns, and Kyuhyun on helping Sungmin.
When he was finally finished, he recapped the container and leaned over Sungmin to place it on the nightstand. He looked at Sungmin, who once again had his eyes closed. His figured the slade must have finally fallen asleep as his breathing was deep and regular. Kyuhyun didn't want to wake the slade, he wanted him to finally get some rest after last night.
Kyuhyun gently maneuvered a bit down the bed so that he head will fit on the side of Sungmin's pillow. He gently laid himself down, taking care to not touch or move Sungmin. It was when he was fully laying down, that it hit him how close he finally was to Sungmin.
Kyuhyun took a sharp intake of break at the realization. He had finally been able to touch Sungmin, to help him, to comfort him. He had never been close to another slade before. And now thinking about it, he had never been this close to another person without that person wanting to have sex with him. He relaxed into the bed, taking in that final thought.
He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was woken up by the sound of Siwon and Hankyung bringing in their breakfast. Kyuhyun got of the bed quietly, but realized too late that Sungmin was already awake.
“Just, don't move, okay. I'll get it.” Kyuhyun said, motioning for Sungmin to stay laying down.
Sungmin nodded.
“You helped him?” Siwon asked when Kyuhyun made it to the door.
“Yes,” Kyuhyun took the first tray of food.
“Good. I-I think he will need your help from now on. You understand he treats both of you differently, right?” Siwon asked gently, talking about Master Iljun.
“Well, y-yes. I do now.” Kyuhyun mumbled, looking back to Sungmin, who, once again, had his eyes closed.
“Eventually he will treat you both the same. But not now, don't worry. For now, it is only Sungmin who will need your help.” Siwon warned. He handed Kyuhyun the second tray and locked the sliding door.
Hankyung gave Kyuhyun a meaningful looking, trying to portray the seriousness of Siwon's words, before both guards moved out through the double doors.
Kyuhyun turned balancing both food trays in his hand and moved to Sungmin's bed. He tried to forget the meaning of Siwon's warning. He placed one tray on the nightstand and held the other as he sat on the floor next to Sungmin.
“Don't move. I'll help you.” Kyuhyun said, concentrating on the food he held in his lap. He took a spoonful of rice and held it up to Sungmin's mouth.
When Sungmin finished chewing his first bite, Kyuhyun held a bottle of water to his mouth for him to take a sip.
“Thank you...” Sungmin mumbled when Kyuhyun took the water bottle away.
“It's fine.” Kyuhyun said, smiling up at Sungmin as he held another spoonful to his mouth.
Sungmin stared at the permanent grin plastered on Kyuhyun's face as he continued to feed him. He decided he would never get over the beauty that is a smile, a genuine smile, Kyuhyun's smile.
Kyuhyun finished feeding Sungmin his food in silence and placed the empty tray aside. He let Sungmin have another sip of water before he took his own tray off the nightstand to eat. His food was now cold, but he didn't care. He turned himself so that his back was leaning against the side of Sungmin's bed, not wanting to get to far away from the older slade in case he needed something.
As he munched contentedly on his own breakfast, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Sungmin staring at him.
“Thank you.” Sungmin said. He sounded better now that the painkillers had kicked in, he had a stomach full of food, and his wounds were not on fire as much, thanks to Kyuhyun and the cream.
“It's okay.” Kyuhyun said, grinning as usual.
“I...I am happy we get to stay together.” Sungmin mumbled. He had remembered how excited Kyuhyun had sounded when he spoke about Iljun making them stay together in one cage.
“Me, too.” Kyuhyun said, smiling widely again before turning back to his food. “It's like we are a small family or something.”
Sungmin stared at the back of Kyuhyun head for a moment, trying to digest what Kyuhyun had proposed. A family? He had never had a family before. Would he finally get to understand what it was?
“Yeah...a family.” Sungmin mumbled. He left his hand on Kyuhyun shoulder as he closed his eyes again, reveling in the sheer amount of contentedness he felt at the moment, knowing it wouldn't last long.
To be continued...
Chapter 7
a/n soo apparently I'm wicked inconsistent.. it takes me two weeks to get one chapter out, and then one day to get out another... I'm sorry? But I'm sure you are happy just that this is out, right? Hehe
& to clarify, again, I DO love Min!
Characters/Pairings: Kyuhyun, Sungmin, eventual!KyuMin, Siwon, Han Geng
Rating: R
WARNINGS: Implied sex/rape, disturbing situations
Genre: au, angst, drama
Summary: It is a world full of dirt, abuse, selfishness and greed. It is an even worse world for a slade. A slade is a type of slave that is trained for a different form of manual labor. In today's terms, a prostitute of sorts. However, slades are purchased permanently and for one master only. Each slade has their own form of training, their own past, their own story. When four slades are forced to accept the idea that there is a world outside of their own, do they dare try to escape? Do they even have enough of their old selves left to be able to?
~~~~~
Kyuhyun awoke with the lights at 7am sharp. He was a bit disoriented at first, but soon realized where he was.
He heard sniffling and groaning.
Kyuhyun stood up, wincing at the slight soreness in his back, and made his way to the side of his cage that was closest to Sungmin. He stopped short when he was close enough to make out the figure crumpled on the bed.
Sungmin was curled in on himself. He was lying on his side with his back towards Kyuhyun. He was hugging his knees and whimpering. His tremors from how much pain he was feeling were visible.
In the middle of the night, Sungmin had awoken with his whole body on fire. It seemed that nothing could help and that even his clothes were causing him pain. He had quickly divested himself of all clothing, ripping the blanket off the bed and tossing it aside, as well. He had laid himself back down, but it was no use; his body still felt on fire.
Kyuhyun's jaw fell as he continued to stare at the crumpled Sungmin. On his back, Kyuhyun could see criss-crossing red streaks. There were slashes of dried blood from which he assumed Sungmin had been hit multiple times in the same place. His whole back was flushed with the streaks a darker red, almost purple, a sign that they were turning into bruises. Kyuhyun's vision move from Sungmin's back to his bottom and thighs; they were equally red and purple. He could see Sungmin trembling, hear him whimpering, and sense him trying not to cry. He wanted to be with him to comfort him and tell him it would eventually be okay. It killed him inside that he knew he could do nothing.
“S-Sungmin?” Kyuhyun whispered, his voice cracking. He walked to the bars of his cage and leaned his face against the cool metal.
Sungmin didn't move; he didn't really think he could without being hurdled into another wave of nausea brought on by the pain. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut tighter and wished for a different life.
“Sungmin...I-I'm here. It will be okay.” Kyuhyun tried.
Sungmin could feel the tears he had been pushing down surge forward. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to show his weakness, yes, but it physically hurt too much to cry at the moment. He tried to keep them down for a bit longer.
“Sungmin, can you j-just say something...So I know you're o-okay?” Kyuhyun was worried. He couldn't see Sungmin's face, he couldn't tell that he was, in fact, awake and conscious. He was worried Sungmin may be in a state of shock because of the amount of wounds covering his body.
Sungmin tried mumbling a “hello,” but it just came out as a pained grunt.
Kyuhyun reached his hands through his bars but quickly retracted it when he realized he would never be able to reach Sungmin by himself. But then he remembered what had been said at dinner last night.
“Sungmin! Ah..sorry.” Kyuhyun quickly lowered his voice upon seeing Sungmin flinch. “But Sungmin, at dinner last night, Master Iljun told me something. He said we will be staying in the same cage together, while two more slades will stay in my cage! Just think about it! I will actually be able to help you then!”
Kyuhyun was gripping the bars of his cage in anticipation of being so near Sungmin and being able to help him every morning.
Sungmin opened his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows together. Was Kyuhyun telling the truth? Or better yet, was Iljun telling the truth?
It was a rule that slades must be kept separately, but greed and seedy masters lessened the strictness of the rule. When slades were first formed, it was standard that each master had one slade. Eventually, as time passed, greed grew stronger, and it became the norm to have two slades per master. Even in this time, it was still standard for each slade to be kept in their own cage; but it wasn't long before greed once again changed the rules.
Now, it is normal for a master to have as many as five slades to himself. By following the rules on how big each cage must be and what furniture must be available, it is nearly impossible to fit five separate cages in one mansion, no matter how big. Because of this, the rule of one slade per cage began to lose it's strictness. However, it is still frowned upon to allow slades to live with each other.
“He said his son was going to get two slades of his own. And because there isn't enough room down here, we will live in pairs.” Kyuhyun continued. He wished he could tell if Sungmin was happy about this news, or if he was even conscious, he was still unsure of that fact. “Sungmin?”
“Y-yes?” Sungmin croaked out, clutching tighter to his knees. Speaking only brought back the throbbing pain throughout his body.
“You're awake. Good...” Kyuhyun mumbled, more to himself than to Sungmin. “Are you cold?” Kyuhyun had to admit that it was chilly in the basement where they were kept, and there was Sungmin, no blanket and not a scrap of clothing on him.
Sungmin closed his eyes again. He was cold; he was freezing, in fact. But his body was still on fire. He didn't want to move for fear of brushing one of his wounds, he didn't want to put clothes on or use his blanket for the same reason. He didn't know which was worse, but he just didn't want to feel pain anymore, so he chose to stay cold.
“Gah! I wish I knew how to help you. I can tell you're cold, why don't you put on your blanket?” Kyuhyun said. He was getting frustrated that he couldn't reach Sungmin, and that Sungmin wouldn't help himself.
“I-It hurts...to move...it just hurts.” Sungmin mumbled.
Kyuhyun let his head fall against the bars of his cage. He felt so helpless.
Suddenly, as if they knew they were needed, Siwon and Hankyung walked through the double doors and moved quickly to Sungmin's cage. Siwon unlocked the door and both quickly moved towards Sungmin.
“Are you alright?” Hankyung asked as he knelt down beside Sungmin's trembling form. He brush the hair out of Sungmin's eyes to make sure he was awake and conscious. Sungmin looked up at him, but didn't say a word. Hankyung figured this was enough to show the slade was still alive.
Siwon was at Sungmin's desk, emptying his pockets. He had brought a bottle of painkillers, several bottles of water, and a container of cream that soothes burns. He laid them all on the desk before he took three painkillers and a bottle of water over to Sungmin's bed.
“Here, take these.” Siwon said, motioning to Hankyung to help Sungmin sit up to drink.
Sungmin winced and groaned at the feeling of hands on his back, lifting him so he wouldn't choke on his water. He wined at the pain in his bottom when Hankyung finally managed to get him in a sitting position.
Siwon grabbed the blanket from the floor and as gently as possible, placed it over Sungmin's lap to cover him. He didn't miss the wince from Sungmin when the blanket brushed against his reddened thighs.
“Open your mouth.” Siwon said as he brought the painkillers to Sungmin's mouth. He then placed his hand behind Sungmin's head and the bottle of water at his lips, tilting it slightly for Sungmin to drink.
“These will help.” Hankyung said. He was a bit distracted, looking at all the marking on Sungmin's chest.
All the while, Kyuhyun stared in silence. His jaw had dropped again when Sungmin's chest was brought into view during his repositioning. He couldn't take his eyes off of Sungmin's chest; it mirrored his back. It was covered in more red-purple criss-crossing lines, some outlined with dried blood. He felt like crying.
“Achem!” Siwon coughed and knocked Kyuhyun from his daze. “We are moving you into his cage now. The other slades are coming tonight.”
Kyuhyun's attention was brought to his own doorway. He had been so concentrated on Sungmin that he didn't even notice Siwon had moved to his own cage.
Siwon motioned for Kyuhyun to follow him out of the cage.
“Mmhmm,” Kyuhyun mumbled, nodding his head. However, he paused at his desk, his attention drawn to the notebooks and pens scattered on top of it.
“Oh..no, you can't take anything from here. You will share what is already in the other cage.” Siwon said, holding the cage door open for Kyuhyun. Hankyung had remained in Sungmin's cage, making sure the older slade could stay sitting up on his own.
Kyuhyun made his way across his cage towards Siwon, following him to Sungmin's cage. Upon stepping in, Kyuhyun felt a heaviness in the pit of his stomach at finally being able to see Sungmin without bars in his way. The feeling got even heavier when he saw the look of pain on Sungmin's face.
“Sungmin...” Kyuhyun mumbled as he made his way to Sungmin's bed, making sure to not look desperate in front of Hankyung and Siwon. It didn't help, Siwon noticed how much Kyuhyun seemed to want, no, need to be by Sungmin's side.
“Sungmin?” Siwon asked.
“Huh?” Kyuhyun said, turning from where he had froze near Sungmin. “It's-oh...”
“It's my n-name...” Sungmin mumbled so quiet that Hankyung had to repeat it out loud for Siwon to hear.
“Your name?” Siwon was puzzled for a minute. He had thought slade were given numbers for names. It took a moment for it to click that these were the names of the slades...before they were slades, when they were people.
“Your name...Sungmin?” Siwon said, looking at Sungmin. Said boy nodded. “And?” Siwon looked towards Kyuhyun who had been looking back and forth from Siwon to Sungmin for the past minute.
“K-Kyuhyun.”
“Kyuhyun.” Siwon nodded his head slowly. “I have something to call you now.”
Siwon motioned for Hankyung to get up and follow him.
Hankyung turned back to Sungmin for a final affirmation that the slade was okay to be left alone, before he got up and walked towards Siwon.
“There is cream for burns on the desk. It should help. Kyuhyun, you'll help him, right?” Siwon said as he locked the door behind himself and Hankyung.
“Yes.” Kyuhyun answered politely and watched as the two guards nodded, satisfied, and left.
“K-Kyuhyun, can you get that cream?” Sungmin asked. His eyes were starting to flood with tears again. When Hankyung had sat with him, he had been able to lean against him for support, but now that the guard was gone, he had to keep himself straight, and it just made everything hurt again.
Kyuhyun was snapped back to reality and rushed to the desk. He grabbed the container and moved to kneel beside Sungmin's bed.
“W-what should I do?” Kyuhyun asked, a bit puzzled at what was expected of him.
“I want t-to lay down. C-can you put the cream on my chest? Please?” Sungmin said, struggling to lay his body down without hurting himself any further. It felt strange to be asking someone for help; he had never done it before. But he was desperate.
Sungmin suddenly felt two cool hands on his shoulders, trying to steady him as he tried to lie down. The cool hands felt good on his burning skin and he gave into the touch and allowed Kyuhyun to help him.
“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin could hear the desperation in his voice. He must have gotten worried when Sungmin winced as soon as his back touched his bed.
“Argh...I-it's okay. My back...it hurts, too.” Sungmin grumbled, trying to find a more comfortable way to lie. He ended on his side, facing Kyuhyun, his head resting against his right arm.
Kyuhyun stared at Sungmin. The older slade had his eyes closed, his tear stained cheeks shining in the florescent light. Kyuhyun quietly unscrewed the top of the container and took out a bit of the cream. He slowly moved a bit closer to Sungmin. He reached his hand out and, as gently as he could, rubbed a bit of the cooling cream on Sungmin stomach.
Sungmin jerked at the cool sensation, completely not expecting it. His eyes opened to see a concentrating Kyuhyun rubbing small, gentle circles on his stomach.
He closed his eyes again as he could feel the pain ebb away in the area where Kyuhyun put the cream.
Kyuhyun continued to add more cream, moving up to Sungmin's chest. When he finished, he realized Sungmin had his eyes closed. He assumed Sungmin may have fallen asleep, so he began to pull the blanket off of Sungmin's lower half in order to put the cream on Sungmin's thighs.
“What are you doing?” Sungmin's mumbled.
Kyuhyun looked up and locked eyes with a sleepy-looking Sungmin.
“Your thighs and back are red, too. I should put cream on them too, right?” Kyuhyun said. His innocence was shining through again.
“I suppose.” Sungmin mumbled, closing his eyes again to enjoy the cooling sensation on his belt burns.
Kyuhyun continued pulling the blanket off, not even reacting to the lack of clothes on Sungmin. He simply set to work rubbing the cream on Sungmin's thighs.
When he finished with the front of Sungmin's thighs, he looked to see if Sungmin was still awake. Once again, he assumed the slade wasn't. He tried to figure out how he could reach Sungmin's back without having to turn him over.
Realizing there was no other way, Kyuhyun climbed onto the bed, making sure not to bump the sleeping Sungmin, and moved to the space between Sungmin's back and the bars of his cage. He planted himself against the bars. Getting more cream on his hand, Kyuhyun began work on Sungmin's back.
Kyuhyun tried to be as gentle as he could; however, the marks were still very sensitive, and Sungmin would jerk and wince every now and then. Kyuhyun would wince along with him, imagining the pain Sungmin must have felt and is still feeling.
Kyuhyun got to Sungmin's lower back and paused before making another move. Sungmin had clear streaks of red across his bum, but Kyuhyun wasn't sure what he should do.
“I...It feels really good. I-” Sungmin started, it was as if he could sense Kyuhyun's hesitation. He didn't want to for Kyuhyun to continue putting on the cream if he felt uncomfortable, and he knew that Kyuhyun really shouldn't even be touching him, especially not on his bottom, but his skin still burned.
As a response, Kyuhyun got another glob of cream on his hand and started rubbing in on Sungmin's red streaked bum.
Neither of them truly cared about the somewhat intimate action. Both were just focused on their thoughts; Sungmin on the soothing sensation on his belt burns, and Kyuhyun on helping Sungmin.
When he was finally finished, he recapped the container and leaned over Sungmin to place it on the nightstand. He looked at Sungmin, who once again had his eyes closed. His figured the slade must have finally fallen asleep as his breathing was deep and regular. Kyuhyun didn't want to wake the slade, he wanted him to finally get some rest after last night.
Kyuhyun gently maneuvered a bit down the bed so that he head will fit on the side of Sungmin's pillow. He gently laid himself down, taking care to not touch or move Sungmin. It was when he was fully laying down, that it hit him how close he finally was to Sungmin.
Kyuhyun took a sharp intake of break at the realization. He had finally been able to touch Sungmin, to help him, to comfort him. He had never been close to another slade before. And now thinking about it, he had never been this close to another person without that person wanting to have sex with him. He relaxed into the bed, taking in that final thought.
He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was woken up by the sound of Siwon and Hankyung bringing in their breakfast. Kyuhyun got of the bed quietly, but realized too late that Sungmin was already awake.
“Just, don't move, okay. I'll get it.” Kyuhyun said, motioning for Sungmin to stay laying down.
Sungmin nodded.
“You helped him?” Siwon asked when Kyuhyun made it to the door.
“Yes,” Kyuhyun took the first tray of food.
“Good. I-I think he will need your help from now on. You understand he treats both of you differently, right?” Siwon asked gently, talking about Master Iljun.
“Well, y-yes. I do now.” Kyuhyun mumbled, looking back to Sungmin, who, once again, had his eyes closed.
“Eventually he will treat you both the same. But not now, don't worry. For now, it is only Sungmin who will need your help.” Siwon warned. He handed Kyuhyun the second tray and locked the sliding door.
Hankyung gave Kyuhyun a meaningful looking, trying to portray the seriousness of Siwon's words, before both guards moved out through the double doors.
Kyuhyun turned balancing both food trays in his hand and moved to Sungmin's bed. He tried to forget the meaning of Siwon's warning. He placed one tray on the nightstand and held the other as he sat on the floor next to Sungmin.
“Don't move. I'll help you.” Kyuhyun said, concentrating on the food he held in his lap. He took a spoonful of rice and held it up to Sungmin's mouth.
When Sungmin finished chewing his first bite, Kyuhyun held a bottle of water to his mouth for him to take a sip.
“Thank you...” Sungmin mumbled when Kyuhyun took the water bottle away.
“It's fine.” Kyuhyun said, smiling up at Sungmin as he held another spoonful to his mouth.
Sungmin stared at the permanent grin plastered on Kyuhyun's face as he continued to feed him. He decided he would never get over the beauty that is a smile, a genuine smile, Kyuhyun's smile.
Kyuhyun finished feeding Sungmin his food in silence and placed the empty tray aside. He let Sungmin have another sip of water before he took his own tray off the nightstand to eat. His food was now cold, but he didn't care. He turned himself so that his back was leaning against the side of Sungmin's bed, not wanting to get to far away from the older slade in case he needed something.
As he munched contentedly on his own breakfast, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Sungmin staring at him.
“Thank you.” Sungmin said. He sounded better now that the painkillers had kicked in, he had a stomach full of food, and his wounds were not on fire as much, thanks to Kyuhyun and the cream.
“It's okay.” Kyuhyun said, grinning as usual.
“I...I am happy we get to stay together.” Sungmin mumbled. He had remembered how excited Kyuhyun had sounded when he spoke about Iljun making them stay together in one cage.
“Me, too.” Kyuhyun said, smiling widely again before turning back to his food. “It's like we are a small family or something.”
Sungmin stared at the back of Kyuhyun head for a moment, trying to digest what Kyuhyun had proposed. A family? He had never had a family before. Would he finally get to understand what it was?
“Yeah...a family.” Sungmin mumbled. He left his hand on Kyuhyun shoulder as he closed his eyes again, reveling in the sheer amount of contentedness he felt at the moment, knowing it wouldn't last long.
To be continued...
Chapter 7
a/n soo apparently I'm wicked inconsistent.. it takes me two weeks to get one chapter out, and then one day to get out another... I'm sorry? But I'm sure you are happy just that this is out, right? Hehe
& to clarify, again, I DO love Min!