More Short Stories!- Kai Ships Only

Sookai- Good Times

Soobin stared at the ceiling, letting his mind wander. He started coughing. His lungs and throat were killing him. Water didn't do much to help but he drank a glass regardless. His head laid back against the pillow as his mind drifted off again. According to his phone, it was 3:30. His boyfriend probably just got
out of school. He should be here any
minute now.

Kai practically ran out of the car to see him. "Baby!" He leaped onto the bed then wrapped him in a hug. "Are you feeling any better?"

"No... I feel worse. Can we please not talk about this again? How was your day?"

"I really missed you..."

Soobin stroked his cheek. "Kai..."

"Nothing interesting happened though! We got a new kid at school. I told them about you and she asked how we met. I honestly didn't remember. We've been together for so long."

Soobin looked offended. "You don't remember?!" He kissed Kai's forehead then pinched his cheek. "I remember it perfectly."

Kai giggled as he complained "let go!" Soobin winced when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Kai sat up. "When's the last time you've eaten?"

"This morning but I threw it all up. I feel awful."

"What sounds good? Plain rice? Oatmeal? Soup?"

"Rice and broth."

"I'll be back."

Soobin really didn't want him to leave. His arm fell to the bed when Kai let go of his grasp. This sucked. He would do anything to feel better again. He started to shiver under his three layers of blankets. Another fever was setting in. His skin flushed to pale white as the room started to spin. "Baby... come back..."

Kai came back with a sports drink and food. "Here." He placed the back of his palm against his boyfriend's forehead. "You feel worse than yesterday. I'm worried about you."

"I feel worse than yesterday..." Soobin groaned as he sat up. He took small sips of the red sports drink then set it on the nightstand. The bowl of brothy rice felt comforting in his palms. As he ate, he tried to ignore the way Kai was looking at him. His boyfriend was close to crying. If Kai cried, he definitely would. His thumb rubbed the back of his palm. "I love you. You're the best thing that's happened to me."

A tear slipped off of Kai's cheek. "You too..."

"The best thing and you can't even remember how we met!" Soobin looked up to see that smile return. It was faint but it was enough. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"Sure..."

Soobin finished off his food then set the dishes down. He opened his arms widely. When Kai laid down between his legs, he held him closely around his stomach. "It was your first day at the academy. You know how I get around cute things."

Kai wiped another tear away. "I know..."

"You were so small. The cutest little person I've ever seen! Your squishy cheeks made you even cuter! I ran up to you. I think I scared the shit out of you but I wrapped you in a BIG hug like this!" Soobin squeezed all of the air out of Kai. He attacked his cheek in kisses until he felt his boyfriend smile again. "Do you remember now?"

"I remember you wouldn't leave me alone."

"I knew I loved you when I saw you."

"So... you stockholm syndromed me?"

Soobin pushed him away with a smile on his face. He started laughing when Kai took him in his arms. Laughing turned into coughing. His lungs hurt so much. His throat hurt worse. Kai held out the sports drink for him. He coughed out the first sip onto the blanket. Everything started to hurt as the fever spiked. Drowsiness overcame his body. He felt the top blanket get dragged away by his boyfriend. As he closed his eyes, he grumbled "come back baby...."

Kai came back to see Soobin curled up in a ball. He looked so fragile. His boyfriend was his source of strength in life. It felt wrong that he had to be his now. Kai whispered "are you awake?" Soobin didn't react. He decided to pull up a chair and do his homework on the nightstand.

The routine had been the same for both of them for the past two weeks. Kai would go to school, go straight to Soobin's house when it was over then complain to his parents when they came to pick him up. On the weekends, he spent all day with him. He had to. Every single night and every single morning, he prayed that Soobin would get better. He never did. He kept getting worse and it killed him to watch.

The Chois came into the room with a cup of tea. They saw their son asleep with Kai writing math equations on his bedside. "How's he doing?"

"Worse..."

"I'm glad he has you."

"He's going to get better!"

"Kai..."

"He has to! He'll be better tomorrow! You'll see!" Even Kai didn't believe what he was saying. If he didn't have hope, who would? He went back to doing his homework to distract his thoughts. An hour later, he looked up to see Soobin the palest he's ever been. His skin felt clammy as he touched his head again. He wasn't burning up anymore. He felt cold. "Baby?"

The air felt off. The energy in the room just felt wrong as Kai grabbed his hand. He held it to his heart as he lightly slapped Soobin's cheek. "Wake up! Come on baby, wake up!" He pressed his ear to his heart. It was barely beating. He slapped him again as he squeezed his hand. "SOOBIN YOU NEED TO FIGHT! BABY WAKE UP! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Kai frantically looked around. "MRS. CHOI! MR. CHOI! CALL 9-1-1! HE ISN'T BREATHING!" The Chois weren't home. They were out getting food. He screamed for them again."CALL 9-1-1! PLEASE!"

Kai started CPR. His breath was shaky as he pressed below his ribs. He felt one break but he kept going. Soobin's chest only rose when Kai blew air into them. His lips were turning blue. "SOOBIN! WAKE UP! GOD PLEASE WAKE UP! PLEASE! I CAN'T LOSE YOU! SOOBIN!"

A neighbor heard all the yelling. She called 9-1-1 as she looked through the window to see Kai doing chest compressions.

"BABY PLEASE! PLEASE!" Kai desperately propped his mouth open again. He blew all of the air he had into his boyfriend. He stopped to inhale then started again. Soobin felt freezing to the touch.

Kai cried as the EMTs bursted through the door. They checked his vitals. His world stopped when one of them shook their head "no". They turned to look at him. He couldn't hear what they were saying. One of them mouthed "I'm sorry". Kai crawled over then started CPR again. "YOU'RE NOT DEAD! WAKE UP SOOBIN! WE HAD OUR LIVES PLANNED OUT TOGETHER! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! SOOBIN YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE!"

An EMT placed their hand on his shoulder but he brushed them off. "BABY WAKE UP!" Kai sobbed against his chest. He desperately wanted to hear a heartbeat. None came. "You left me... you said forever and you left me..." His hand finally let go of Soobins' when they placed his body on a stretcher.

Kai was left alone on the floor in the bedroom. He made a promise to himself to never remember his boyfriend that way. To honor the perfect person Soobin was, he promised to only remember the good times.