Possession - Final!!
Title: Possession
Author: dreaming_col
Notes: I was going to wait 'til tonight to post it, but I just couldn't hold onto it anymore. So, here it is. The final part of Possession. Hope y'all enjoy.
Previous: Part 1: Sidestep, Interlude: Possession, Part 2: Maybe, Part 3: Shift, Part 4: Obvious, Part 5: Plans, Part 6: Dreaming, Part 7: Almost, Part 8: Curious, Part 9: Beginnings, Part 10: Routine, Part 11: Broken
Part 12: Start
You don’t remember much of anything about the accident or the flurry of activity you’re sure followed. The doctors say that’s fairly typical in cases like this, where everything happened so fast and the physical trauma is too much for one mind to hold onto. So all you remember is pictures on the balcony, trying not to laugh at Jae and Junsu’s stories, and waking up in the hospital the next day.
Yunho told you that you’d woken up once between those two events, right after they brought you out of surgery. You don’t remember that either. He says you apologized for making them worry. The tears were still drying on Jae’s face the second time you woke.
You know this wasn’t your fault, nothing you could’ve done differently. Doesn’t stop you from feeling guilty. You’d worked so hard from the very beginning to make sure they never felt they had to take care of you, but now you’re nearly completely dependent on them.
The hospital staff say you’re being released tomorrow. Everything is healing as well as can be expected, so there’s really no reason to keep you any longer. The news both excites and frightens you. You can’t wait to get back to the familiar comforts of your own room. And yet, there won’t be anything preventing the other four from treating you like a china-doll. Here, at least, they’re restricted (mostly) to visiting hours.
“Jae’s been preparing for your return since we found out yesterday. Says he wants to have most of the meals made so he can focus his attention where it’s needed,” Junsu tells you from his seat in the only chair in the room. Yoochun had gotten to it first, but that hadn’t prevented Junsu from sitting. Bouncing his legs, Chun shifted Su just a bit to their left.
You roll your eyes at Su’s statement, imagining Jae running around the apartment like an insane chicken. You’re going to have to fight him off with the broom or something, you just know it. The thought of calling in the nurse and begging for an extension on your stay crosses the four lanes of traffic in your head unsupervised.
~**~~**~
Waiting patiently for the door to close behind him, you roll to your side and out of the bed as soon as Jae leaves to make dinner. The doctor had said nothing about remaining bed-ridden, and you have the sheet of take-home instructions to prove it. You stand, a single crutch under your right arm, and attempt to move around as quietly as possible.
The door cracks open, and Yoochun slips in. He and Junsu have been your greatest accomplices the last three days while the “parents” can think of nothing more than surrounding you in bubble-wrap and feather pillows. “So, have you gone completely stir-crazy yet?”
You glare at him, realizing he’s taking far too much pleasure in your captivity. “Next time he asks me if I need anything else or if I’m comfortable enough, I’m throwing my lap-top at him.”
“Well, see, now I know you’re serious, threatening harm to your precious computer.” He smirks at you, and you can’t help smiling back at him. “Anyway, how’s your fight with the crutch going? Making any progress?”
You stare down at the object of your discussion then eye the distance from the bed to where you now stand. You’d managed a whole 4 steps this time. “Well, it’s further than I got during breakfast, right? It’d be easier if I had my other arm to work with, but, well…” You half-shrug, but the full-arm cast on your left and the crutch under your right turn it into more of a stunted hand wave.
Three soft knocks sound on the wall, and Yoochun moves to help you back into the bed. He’s just gotten the blankets pulled back up to your chin when Jae enters the room with a tray. You nearly glare at the offending meal. “Jae, seriously. I’m broken, not ill. Is all this soup really necessary?”
He flinches at your comment, and a part of you regrets the words. Another part of you almost hopes they’ll make him leave you alone for five damn minutes. You hate that second part of you, but it’s been getting more and more difficult to keep in check the last few days.
You sit yourself up in the bed and shift your eyes to your lap. Yoochun traces the lines on the palm of your visible hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just…” You can’t finish the thought, fighting back the tears that are now wrestling for freedom.
The dinner tray touches down on your bedside table as Jae and Chun switch places. Your door swings shut, leaving you alone with Jae. You’ve known this conversation was in the making; you just hadn’t realized it would happen so soon. “I really am sorry. I don’t even know why I would say something like that.”
You don’t realize you’re crying until the first drops hit your hand. And once you’re aware of them, you don’t know if they’ll ever stop. Jae wraps his arms around you, and you bury your face in his neck while wrapping your one good arm around his waist.
One of his hands strokes your back while the other tangles in your hair, and he rocks you gently without saying a word. And you think maybe this is what you needed more than anything, even if you were too stubborn to allow it from yourself. “It’ll be okay, Min. You know that, right? We’ll have to take a little time to figure out our new kind of normal, but we’re going to be fine.”
You slouch down a bit further and nod into his chest. He brushes the hair away from your face as he lowers both of you down to the bed. You nuzzle into his side then shift around to find a comfortable position to accommodate your casts. “What about--”
Jae cuts you off before you get any further. “You need cheering up right now. Not soup. That can wait.” He brushes his fingers through your hair, and you rise and fall with his breath. “Now, you want to talk about all that?”
You shake your head but start speaking anyway. “I hate this. All of it. I can’t stand feeling so useless and incapable. And I know you guys don’t mind taking care of me, but I mind. I’m getting kind of sick of everyone treating me like just getting out of bed in the morning is going to shatter me into a million pieces.”
He doesn’t reply immediately, just kisses the top of your head then raises your good hand and places more kisses all along the backs of your knuckles. Interlocking your fingers like he never wants to let go, he answers you. “We were terrified, Min. Watching you fall, knowing there was nothing we could do… All I could think was that I was going to lose you so soon after getting a hold on you like this.”
Pausing, he draws in a shaky breath, but he’s not crying. It’s not that kind of breath. “The five of us have been through a lot together, injuries and illnesses and car accidents. But we’ve never been so close to losing someone. I thought for sure there was no way…”
He stops again, tightens his grip on your hand. “So, yes, we’re going to baby you for a while. We’re going to sit by your bed and watch you sleep. We’re going to be over-protective and nervous every time you so much as twitch. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re never hurt again, so you’re just going to have to be patient a little while longer. I’m sorry, baby, but we need to do this. If only for our own peace of mind.”
You allow his rhythmic breathing to relax you and resolve to try just a bit harder to understand their position. After all, there are worse things in the world than having three overprotective hyungs and one half-insane boyfriend. And this is just another beginning to just one more adventure.
End.
A.N.- So, there it is. Hope it didn't disappoint too horrifically... I dunno, somehow, it doesn't feel quite done to me yet. Not this fic, that's definitely over. But this universe. I just get the feeling there's something more to come. Maybe an epilogue. Or a sequel... *grins* Nah, I'm not sure. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, right?
And I just wanna take this chance to thank you all again for all your comments. You've been absolutely amazing, and I appreciate and love each and every one. Special thanks to kittypoker for talking me through bits and pieces of this. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You rock!! *grins* Thanks all!! *waves*
Author: dreaming_col
Notes: I was going to wait 'til tonight to post it, but I just couldn't hold onto it anymore. So, here it is. The final part of Possession. Hope y'all enjoy.
Previous: Part 1: Sidestep, Interlude: Possession, Part 2: Maybe, Part 3: Shift, Part 4: Obvious, Part 5: Plans, Part 6: Dreaming, Part 7: Almost, Part 8: Curious, Part 9: Beginnings, Part 10: Routine, Part 11: Broken
Part 12: Start
You don’t remember much of anything about the accident or the flurry of activity you’re sure followed. The doctors say that’s fairly typical in cases like this, where everything happened so fast and the physical trauma is too much for one mind to hold onto. So all you remember is pictures on the balcony, trying not to laugh at Jae and Junsu’s stories, and waking up in the hospital the next day.
Yunho told you that you’d woken up once between those two events, right after they brought you out of surgery. You don’t remember that either. He says you apologized for making them worry. The tears were still drying on Jae’s face the second time you woke.
You know this wasn’t your fault, nothing you could’ve done differently. Doesn’t stop you from feeling guilty. You’d worked so hard from the very beginning to make sure they never felt they had to take care of you, but now you’re nearly completely dependent on them.
The hospital staff say you’re being released tomorrow. Everything is healing as well as can be expected, so there’s really no reason to keep you any longer. The news both excites and frightens you. You can’t wait to get back to the familiar comforts of your own room. And yet, there won’t be anything preventing the other four from treating you like a china-doll. Here, at least, they’re restricted (mostly) to visiting hours.
“Jae’s been preparing for your return since we found out yesterday. Says he wants to have most of the meals made so he can focus his attention where it’s needed,” Junsu tells you from his seat in the only chair in the room. Yoochun had gotten to it first, but that hadn’t prevented Junsu from sitting. Bouncing his legs, Chun shifted Su just a bit to their left.
You roll your eyes at Su’s statement, imagining Jae running around the apartment like an insane chicken. You’re going to have to fight him off with the broom or something, you just know it. The thought of calling in the nurse and begging for an extension on your stay crosses the four lanes of traffic in your head unsupervised.
~**~~**~
Waiting patiently for the door to close behind him, you roll to your side and out of the bed as soon as Jae leaves to make dinner. The doctor had said nothing about remaining bed-ridden, and you have the sheet of take-home instructions to prove it. You stand, a single crutch under your right arm, and attempt to move around as quietly as possible.
The door cracks open, and Yoochun slips in. He and Junsu have been your greatest accomplices the last three days while the “parents” can think of nothing more than surrounding you in bubble-wrap and feather pillows. “So, have you gone completely stir-crazy yet?”
You glare at him, realizing he’s taking far too much pleasure in your captivity. “Next time he asks me if I need anything else or if I’m comfortable enough, I’m throwing my lap-top at him.”
“Well, see, now I know you’re serious, threatening harm to your precious computer.” He smirks at you, and you can’t help smiling back at him. “Anyway, how’s your fight with the crutch going? Making any progress?”
You stare down at the object of your discussion then eye the distance from the bed to where you now stand. You’d managed a whole 4 steps this time. “Well, it’s further than I got during breakfast, right? It’d be easier if I had my other arm to work with, but, well…” You half-shrug, but the full-arm cast on your left and the crutch under your right turn it into more of a stunted hand wave.
Three soft knocks sound on the wall, and Yoochun moves to help you back into the bed. He’s just gotten the blankets pulled back up to your chin when Jae enters the room with a tray. You nearly glare at the offending meal. “Jae, seriously. I’m broken, not ill. Is all this soup really necessary?”
He flinches at your comment, and a part of you regrets the words. Another part of you almost hopes they’ll make him leave you alone for five damn minutes. You hate that second part of you, but it’s been getting more and more difficult to keep in check the last few days.
You sit yourself up in the bed and shift your eyes to your lap. Yoochun traces the lines on the palm of your visible hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just…” You can’t finish the thought, fighting back the tears that are now wrestling for freedom.
The dinner tray touches down on your bedside table as Jae and Chun switch places. Your door swings shut, leaving you alone with Jae. You’ve known this conversation was in the making; you just hadn’t realized it would happen so soon. “I really am sorry. I don’t even know why I would say something like that.”
You don’t realize you’re crying until the first drops hit your hand. And once you’re aware of them, you don’t know if they’ll ever stop. Jae wraps his arms around you, and you bury your face in his neck while wrapping your one good arm around his waist.
One of his hands strokes your back while the other tangles in your hair, and he rocks you gently without saying a word. And you think maybe this is what you needed more than anything, even if you were too stubborn to allow it from yourself. “It’ll be okay, Min. You know that, right? We’ll have to take a little time to figure out our new kind of normal, but we’re going to be fine.”
You slouch down a bit further and nod into his chest. He brushes the hair away from your face as he lowers both of you down to the bed. You nuzzle into his side then shift around to find a comfortable position to accommodate your casts. “What about--”
Jae cuts you off before you get any further. “You need cheering up right now. Not soup. That can wait.” He brushes his fingers through your hair, and you rise and fall with his breath. “Now, you want to talk about all that?”
You shake your head but start speaking anyway. “I hate this. All of it. I can’t stand feeling so useless and incapable. And I know you guys don’t mind taking care of me, but I mind. I’m getting kind of sick of everyone treating me like just getting out of bed in the morning is going to shatter me into a million pieces.”
He doesn’t reply immediately, just kisses the top of your head then raises your good hand and places more kisses all along the backs of your knuckles. Interlocking your fingers like he never wants to let go, he answers you. “We were terrified, Min. Watching you fall, knowing there was nothing we could do… All I could think was that I was going to lose you so soon after getting a hold on you like this.”
Pausing, he draws in a shaky breath, but he’s not crying. It’s not that kind of breath. “The five of us have been through a lot together, injuries and illnesses and car accidents. But we’ve never been so close to losing someone. I thought for sure there was no way…”
He stops again, tightens his grip on your hand. “So, yes, we’re going to baby you for a while. We’re going to sit by your bed and watch you sleep. We’re going to be over-protective and nervous every time you so much as twitch. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re never hurt again, so you’re just going to have to be patient a little while longer. I’m sorry, baby, but we need to do this. If only for our own peace of mind.”
You allow his rhythmic breathing to relax you and resolve to try just a bit harder to understand their position. After all, there are worse things in the world than having three overprotective hyungs and one half-insane boyfriend. And this is just another beginning to just one more adventure.
End.
A.N.- So, there it is. Hope it didn't disappoint too horrifically... I dunno, somehow, it doesn't feel quite done to me yet. Not this fic, that's definitely over. But this universe. I just get the feeling there's something more to come. Maybe an epilogue. Or a sequel... *grins* Nah, I'm not sure. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, right?
And I just wanna take this chance to thank you all again for all your comments. You've been absolutely amazing, and I appreciate and love each and every one. Special thanks to kittypoker for talking me through bits and pieces of this. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: You rock!! *grins* Thanks all!! *waves*