Prince's Gamble | HAOBIN

24. Awake

As much as Hanbin wanted to run to Zhanghao's side, he knew for sure Yujin would run away if he did, so he ran to his bedroom door, wrenching it open as he called for his guards to come.

It was seconds before there were guards in Hanbin's room, chaining Yujin's wrists as they led him out. It was then minutes until nurses were rushed into the room, Hanbin at Zhanghao's side as the nurses attended to him. Zhanghao now bandaged temporarily, Hanbin was forced to carry him as the nurses walked with him to the castle infirmary. 

As Hanbin carried Zhanghao, Zhanghao's body fell limp and heavy in his arms, his bandage already stained blood red. "Hold on, Zhanghao." Hanbin whispered as they entered the infirmary, laying him down on a hospital bed. 

The nurses ushered Hanbin out of the room as they began to unwrap Zhanghao's bandage and a surgeon walked over to him. Mind buzzing with worry, the nurses assured Hanbin that they would try their best and that he could wait outside if he wished to do so. Hanbin knew that even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to sleep—not with everything that had just happened and Zhanghao being attended too. 

Sitting in the sort of waiting room of the infirmary, Hanbin sat with his elbows resting on his knees, head in his hands as he grabbed at tufts of his hair. Hanbin's thoughts fuzzed together in a cloud of regret. Should he have even called for Zhanghao before? If he had never used the spell maybe Zhanghao wouldn't be in the hospital right now. 

As Hanbin began to lose himself in his mind, a hand came to rest on his shoulder, making him look up. It was Matthew, a smile on his face despite the large eyebags under his eyes. 

"Matthew? What are you doing here?" Hanbin looked to him in surprise. 

"I dunno, here to comfort you I suppose." He replied, "I couldn't sleep with your father yelling throughout the castle, he really needs to invest in soundproof walling." Matthew sighed. 

Hanbin gave a small laugh, "But how'd you know I was here?" 

Matthew shrugged, "Word gets around fast between the servants." Matthew looked towards the infirmary room, "Is he okay?" 

Hanbin's face dropped a little as he let a breath out, "I don't know, they said they would tell me when they're finished with whatever they're doing." His hands trembled, "There was blood everywhere, Matthew, and Zhanghao—he just collapsed, I didn't know what to do."  

"Hey hyung," Matthew said, grabbing Hanbin's hands to make them stop trembling, "It's okay, you actually did the best thing you could've done. Now it's just up to the doctors. You've done everything you could've." Matthew comforted. 

"I guess you're right." Hanbin said, "Let's not talk about it, tell me about something else." 

Matthew thought for a moment, "Uhh.. actually Jiwoong and I-" 

Suddenly, the nurse came out, looking towards Hanbin. "You can come back in, sir. He's not awake yet but the surgeons have finished." 

Hanbin stood up immediately, "Oh, thank you!" Hurrying into the room, Matthew followed behind. As he entered, Hanbin stared at asleep Zhanghao who lay peacefully underneath the white sheets of the hospital bed. Taking a seat next to the bed, Hanbin leaned onto the blanket, still staring at Zhanghao. 

All the blood that had stained Zhanghao's body before had been washed off, his face now clean as he slept. The nurses had left his arms resting over the covers, while the rest of his body was covered. Clasping Zhanghao's hand between his own, Hanbin pulled it close to his face as he leaned in closer to Zhanghao. 

A long while passed before Matthew got up, "You should go back to sleep, hyung. I don't think he's waking up anytime soon." He said.   

Hanbin shook his head, not looking at Matthew, "No, I want to wait here."

Matthew sighed before shrugging, "Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he bid Hanbin goodnight. Nodding towards Matthew, Hanbin breathed a sigh as his friend left. Putting his arms down on the side of the bed, he continued to gaze at Zhanghao until his chin dropped onto his arms and he fell into sleep. 

—

When Zhanghao awoke, his eyes opened slowly as the sunlight shone down onto the bed. Looking down, he saw Hanbin, who was asleep at his side. Smiling to himself he brought out a hand to nudge him. 

"Hanbin, Hanbin." He whispered as he shook Hanbin gently. 

Hanbin's head rose slowly, his eyelids flicking open as he gazed around, confusedly, "Hm..?" Then his eyes fell on Zhanghao, "Oh, Zhanghao! You're awake." He smiled. 

Zhanghao nodded. "How long was I asleep?" 

"Pretty much the whole night since you passed out." Hanbin replied. 

"Oh okay, I thought it might be longer." Zhanghao said before moving to get out of the bed. However, his stomach was met with pain as he moved. Wincing, he pulled the covers back, revealing a large bandage that wrapped around his waist. 

Hanbin's eyes lit up in alarm, "Wait, don't move! You need to rest." He told Zhanghao, "I'll go get my book to heal it faster but until then you need to stay still." Hanbin said, pushing Zhanghao's shoulders down gently back onto the bed.

But Zhanghao grabbed the front of Hanbin's shirt, pulling Hanbin to hover on top of him. "The book can wait," Zhanghao smiled as he gazed into Hanbin's eyes, "Stay with me for a while." And without letting Hanbin reply, Zhanghao craned his neck up to kiss Hanbin, melting their lips together.

Hanbin was taken by surprise only to smile back as he kissed Zhanghao, grabbing his neck as Zhanghao's arms came to rest on his shoulders. Hanbin didn't open his eyes as he lost himself in Zhanghao, wanting to stay in this moment forever. He kissed Zhanghao faster, furiously, as he thought of all the times he had wanted to do this but had never worked up the courage to do so. 

Hanbin moved his hand away from Zhanghao's neck, bringing it down to hold his waist only to hear a sharp repsonse from Zhanghao. 

"Ow!" Zhanghao exclaimed. 

"Sorry, sorry!" Hanbin apologized, after realizing he had grabbed at Zhanghao's wound. 

Cheeks flushed, Zhanghao waved his apology away, "It's okay. That was nice." Zhanghao said. 

Hanbin gazed down at Zhanghao who still lay under him, "Yeah, it was." 

They stayed like that for a while before Zhanghao grinned, hitting Hanbin lightly, "Okay, now go get that book."