Metal

27%

Sehun has trouble sleeping that night. It's something about the atmosphere. Too quiet, or too dark. But no, that's not it, those things were normal. It's windy outside and a tree branch keeps tapping against the window glass. It bothers him more than it should, and he has the right mind to pull his blankets back in one swift motion, walk over there, and snap that branch in half. A fatigued Sehun equals a highly irritable Sehun.

The light thumping against his window soon becomes like a sort of background music. Eventually, he drifts off...only to awaken a couple hours later with a suffocating feeling.

He's a little more than shocked. His health has never been this bad in the recent years, and these attacks have rarely occurred since he was very young. He struggles to gasp for air and tries to regulate his breathing. Realizing it's to no use, he throws back his covers and sits up. Immediately, the breathing seems to worsen with his shift in position. He brings his hand up to his chest and clutches his shirt, taking more rugged breaths. His foot hits the floor with a thump and he barely makes it to the table where the medicine box now resides. It's closer than before, but admittedly not close enough. He falls on his knees right when his hand reaches the edge of the table. He thinks he's unable to stand up, and his vision is becoming more blurry....

----

Tao awakens with a start, sitting up instantly. He'd heard a thump again. It's only natural to assume that it was the young master again, correct? He begins to analyze.

No sound can be heard at the moment. The noise had inevitably come from across the hall.

He shakes his head.

There's no doubt it's Sehun again.

He runs to the door as silently as he can and quickly enters Sehun's room. He ought to be the boy's medical aid rather than his bodyguard, he thinks, though it's a cruel joke in the heat of the moment. He's a regrettably impulsive thinker. He finds Sehun on his knees, bent over in a hunched position. Even from here, he can hear his sharp intakes of air. He rushes over and grabs the medicine box, setting it on the ground and flipping through its contents for the inhaler. He practically shoves it at the other boy. He watches Sehun fumble with the cap and its parts before finally bringing it up to his mouth. 

Sehun collapses onto his side once he's finished with the medicine, taking in as much oxygen as he can. Tao stares at him, waiting for some sort of reaction.

"My God, Sehun are you okay?" He puts a hand on Sehun's shoulder and hears a dark laugh.

"I'm...pathetic...aren't I?" Sehun says between breathes. He coughs. "Pathetic inhaler...deteriorating health.... Pathetic." He spits out the word. Shadows cover his eyes, but Tao can see his lips curl into a cold smile.

"Shut up, Sehun." He takes his arm and, dragging him up to a sitting position, pulls Sehun towards him and hugs him. He feels Sehun stiffen in his arms. "You're not pathetic. You're going to be fine. Your health is going to get better, and you're going to stop wallowing in self-pity."

"You wouldn't say that...if you knew why this stuff happens." His breathing is more even now. 

Tao looks down at him. "What is it?"

Sehun covers his face with his hands. He mumbles something incoherent and Tao leans down to hear it. "Come again?"

"Allergies." The word is muffled by Sehun's hand and Tao barely hears it.

"Allergies to what?" He asks gently.

"Not saying. So pathetic." Sehun's body seems to relax in Tao's hold. Tao rubs Sehun's arm and they sit there together. He's waiting for Sehun to suddenly blurt out to let him go, but the boy is strangely quiet. And then Tao remembers the last time this had happened.