Time | NCT

Just Breathe

-06:00, January 1st, 2019, Flashback-

"...Kun? Kunnie, wake up!" Sicheng said as he softly patted his cheek. It was Kun's birthday, and no way did Sicheng let the opportunity of making it first slide. A few seconds later, Kun started to stir awake; a bit annoyed that he was woken up at an ungodly hour and on their day off.

"W-What? Sicheng? What are you doing up?" Sicheng giggled quietly and hushed him. He held Kun's hand and led him outside the dorm, but not the building entirely.

"Close your eyes," Sicheng said excitedly. Sighing, Kun followed his instructions. "Okay, now hold out your hands." Sicheng quickly went back inside the dorm and grabbed the small wrapped gift he had gotten for him months earlier.

"Whoa, whoa, what is that?" He started to fidget around, almost dropping the gift Sicheng had made.

"Don't drop it! You can open your eyes now!" Sicheng bit his lip nervously and watched Kun open the box carefully. Kun's eyes started to light up like the sun in the sky. The younger felt satisfied with Kun's reaction, "Happy birthday!"

"Winwinnie, I love it! It's lovely, thank you!" Kun smiled brightly at Sicheng, giving him a tight hug with the gift still in his hand. They stayed in that position for a while before letting go, and at that point, Sicheng had become a blushing mess. Kun reached up and ruffled his hair playfully while chuckling.

"W-We should go back inside!" The pretty present Sicheng had given him was a locket that contained a picture of not only his parents but the members of NCT as well. It was a pretty big locket; Kun didn't mind, though. Any present from Sicheng was a present he would cherish for years on end.

-21:00, January 11th, 2019-

This day, most members came back early. Doyoung was still an MC, Jaehyun and Johnny were doing their radio show, but they should have finished by now. Still, it was quite early.

Yuta came back from recording their new song; he had another schedule at 00:30 so he decided to go home and take a nap. Poor soul couldn't sleep, his mind was racing millions of miles an hour, and one thing started to stick in that race: Taeyong.

"Why can't I get you out of my mind?" Yuta whispered. Lee Taeyong, the melon-loving perfectionist that despised dust with his very existence. TY Track, who danced and rapped his heart out every day. Yeah, that Lee Taeyong, and wow did Nakamoto Yuta love him.

"Can't get who out of your mind?" Yuta jumped at the voice that crept behind, causing him to fall off the couch with a loud thump. He held his hand to his heart and made sure he didn't just die from a heart attack. Once Yuta looked to where the voice came from, he didn't spare a second to hit the perpetrator with a pillow.

"Damn it, Taeil! You scared the absolute crap out of me!" Yuta scowled.

"I'm sorry, but I was curious, and you haven't exactly talked to me lately." As much as he denied it, Taeil was right. He was distant from people, and no one knew why.

"It's nothing important, don't worry about it. My mind has just been all over the place, and I can't help but think." Gently and slowly, he sat next to Yuta with an open heart. He wasn't the leader, but he was the oldest. He cared for all of these boys like they were his brothers.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me about this person you can't get out of your mind?" Yuta shook his head, and instead of fleeing to his room like he usually did, he laid his head down on Taeil's lap. The oldest member smiled and started stroking Yuta's hair. The group knew that whenever Yuta felt stressed, he loved his hair brushed; it was a comforting feeling for him.

Before Yuta knew, it was already 23:00 and he was left to sleep on the giant couch. He got up and winced at the pain in his neck; he fell asleep on a pillow.

He looked around the darkened room and spotted a figure on the chair next to him. It took Yuta a while before he realized it was no other than the person who stuck in his brain. He looked tired and sweaty, which was weird for Taeyong. Usually, he would take off his makeup and take a shower when he got home.

"Oh, Tae..." Yuta whispered to himself. Little did he know, Taeyong was wide awake and had just been spending the last hour staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes, Yuukuri?" Again, the poor baby's heart jumped out of his chest, "I didn't mean to scare you, I can't get myself to my room. I feel a bit numb, honestly." Taeyong's voice was quivering slightly, and even though Yuta couldn't see his face, he could tell Taeyong was on the verge of crying.

Yuta didn't know what came over him at that exact moment, but he stood from the couch and walked over to him. Carefully, he pulled Taeyong's face to his chest and wrapped his arms around him. It was Taeyong's turn to cry now.

"I-I can't do this alone! It's so hard; I don't know what to do anymore!" Yuta stayed quiet, letting Taeyong go on and hug his waist close, "I feel like I can't breathe, too. A-All day, I've been practicing with U then going to check on Dream, then back to China, too! I haven't eaten, I didn't get a chance to brush my teeth or-" Yuta thought for a second and cut him right off. Taeyong always washes his hands or uses hand sanitizer right after he meets a person.

"Hold on, show me your hands." Yuta cupped Taeyong's tear-stained cheeks and looked straight into his eyes. He looked away from the other's worried eyes, but held his hands and looked away in shame, "Look at me, Taeyong, don't be ashamed, okay?"

When Yuta looked at his hands, they were dry, and in some places, they were bleeding because of the over washing. He was warned before to carry lotion and use it. Although, now that his schedule became packed to the brim, he didn't have time to use it at all.

"Oh, Taeyong..." Taeyong looked back at him with eyes full of fear, expecting a lengthy scolding, but all he got was a tighter hold on him. Yuta tackled him down and gave a soft kiss on his forehead before cupping his cheeks once again, "I'm not going to yell at you because none of this is your fault. The managers know about your phobia of germs and limits as a person. They're just mistreating you, sweetie." For a minute, the nickname made Taeyong smile lightly.

"Thank you... I can't thank you enough, Yuta..." They both gave a small grin and stayed in that position for a while, tangled in each other's arms. Cautiously, Taeyong peeled Yuta's hands off his neck and brought them down to his lips. He pecked each with such love it almost made Yuta in the same state Taeyong was. He then kissed his cheek, sniffing and wiping his tears away.

They needed to breathe; one little breath, one small hug that could save them from insanity.

Or was it just a touch of their lips?