The Distance

Rise and Shine!

       J.R. groaned as he opened his eyes with a pounding headache. He blinked, the lights in the hospital room blinded him slightly. He blinked until his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. He looked around confused. 'Where's Ren? Why isn't he here? I thought I'd get to see him when I woke up.' The nurse walked in and smiled widely.

      "Well, it looks like you finally decided to join us and enjoy the sun huh?" she said. "We will call your boyfriend right away. He's been very worried about you, we've had to calm him down several times because he's accused us of not doing enough to help you." She said sighing. "I'll be back with lunch soon, any request?" he blinked.

      "Uh, no... How long have I been out?" he asked.

       "A little over 3 months." she says. "I'll talk to the doctor, well do some tests before releasing you" she said before walking out. J.R sighed and looked around and then looked at his arms.

         "Wow... I've lost some weight." he said. He sighed softly and rolled his neck popping it, he groaned and relaxed. He laid back and sighed smiling to himself. "Ren's been visiting..." He bit his lip and got up and nearly fell. He caught himself and laughed. "Wow, looks like it's my first day on my new legs." He chuckled to himself and sighed then looked around the cabinets for clothes he could wear.

     The nurse got the phone and dialed Minhyun and told him J.R. had woken up. Then called Ren.

      "Hello? Did something happen?" He asked once he picked up and had seen the number. The nurse chuckled.

           "Yes, big news. J.R. Just woke up. You can come see him. He should be released after he has some testing. " she said. Ren nodded and smiled wide overwhelmed with excitement.

        "Okay I'll be right over." He said before hanging up and driving to the hospital. He got their as quick as he could. When he reached the room J.R. was dressed and laughing with Minhyun. He stopped and it felt like his heart plummeted to his stomach. J.R. turned and smiled then held his arms open. Ren ran to him and hugged him hard, burying his face in his chest. J.R chuckled and kissed his forehead.

      "Hey, princess. How have you been?" He asked rubbing Ren's back. Ren took a deep breath. Then pulled back.

     "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He said before kissing J.R. Well more so J.R. kissed him. J.R. smiled and held him close, pulling away and pressing their foreheads together. "I missed you so much..." he said softly. J.R cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead.

     "Well now you don't have to miss me anymore." J.R. said kissing Ren's hand. "I'm here to stay this time. " he said with a smile. Ren hugged him tightly, making sure this wasn't all just a dream  and he was actually hugging J.R. 

    "When can you go?" he asked eagerly. J.R. chuckled.

   "After they run some tests. So probably late tonight or tomorrow morning." he said. He ran his hand  through Ren's hair. "You cut it? And dyed it back?" he asked smiling. Ren nodded and blushed. "You look hot." J.R. whispered into his ear. Ren's face flushed and he bit his lip. J.R. chuckled and kissed his cheek again "Sorry, it just feels  great to touch you again."

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      After some tests J.R was released that night. He went home with Ren, of course,  their car ride was mostly silent. J.R. held Ren's hand and kissed it occasionally. They reached Ren's place shortly.  J.R got out and smiled taking a deep breath in.

      "Man... It's good to be back. The smell of  fresh air is great."He said and followed Ren in. Ren smiled and closed the door behind him. 

   "It's good to have you back..."Ren said smiling. J.R turned around and smiled pulling Ren into a tight embrace. "I'm still trying to convince myself that this is  real and this isn't a dream." he said into J.R's shoulder. J.R. held him close then pulled away kissing his forehead. 

    "I'm as  real as it gets. "He said pressing his forehead against Ren's. "I'm not leaving again. Okay, I'm here to stay." J.R. said.  Ren smiled and nodded.

      "Want something to eat?" he asked. "You must be hungry." J.R. nodded smiling.

    "Starving now, something filling and fatty!" he said eagerly. Ren shook his head. 

    "No. The doctor said simple foods. If its anything like meat or anything greasy, you'll shock your system and end up in the hospital."Ren scolded.  J.R. groaned and pouted. 

      "So what are you going to make?" He asked as they walked to the kitchen. 

  "Rice soup or porridge, with an egg or stir fried pickled cabbage." Ren said taking out a small bin of rice from his cabinet and a pot. He set it on the stove and poured water into it. "So pick." he said as he measured out the rice.

    "Porridge and pickled cabbage." J.R. said. "Reminds me of what my mom used to make me when I was sick as a kid." he smiled as he walked to Ren kissing his cheek. 

    "I knew you'd pick that. " He said kissing J.R. he turned back to the stove turning it on and cooked the rice slowly until it became soft and large, then set it to a low temp to stay warm. He opened a can of pickled cabbage and poured it into a pan frying it and letting cook slowly. He turned off the stove. He grabbed a bowl and a small plate. He poured the porridge into the bowl and put some of the cabbage into the plate and set it down for J.R. he set a spoon beside it and smiled. "Eat up!" Ren said happily. 

     "Thank you. It looks great." J.R. said as he picked up the spoon scooping up the porridge. He blew it to cool it off before scooping up some cabbage and eating it. "Mmmm, Ren this is great." he said chewing slowly. Ren smiled and kissed his head before sitting down. 

    "Thank you." he said watching J.R. eat. He finally felt content like this, all the stress of waiting for J.R. to wake up, or fear of J.R. never waking up was gone. Now his world was bright again, it had color, his heart felt complete... He felt at home. 

    J.R. looked at him confused "What?" he asked after swallowing.

   "I love you."Ren said unconsciously  before blushing deeply. 'Oh my god.. Did I really just...' he thought frozen.  J.R. paused as he opened his mouth to eat.

    'Did he just say... what I think he just said?' J.R. thought still frozen.