Stay ||| Wooyoung/Jongho/San (Ateez)

40

The next week passed in a blur for Wooyoung. The radiation therapy seemed to be going well according to Dr. Fields' reports. The cancerous cells weren't spreading for now, which he said was a win in his book.

But Wooyoung was feeling worse as each day went on. His nausea was almost always present and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep food down.

Because of this, his body was also getting weaker.

Jongho was with him as much as possible to help him out. There were only a few times that he needed to leave to go check on the farm, but he would always time it so he was gone for the evening and then get back early the next morning.

And San was hardly present at all.

He would call at least once a day to check in, but it was becoming more and more obvious that his company couldn't function without him.

Wooyoung could always tell just how sorry he was and that he genuinely wanted to be here. But this just validated his choice even more.

Jongho had always been there for him when he needed it.

When San finally did manage to get an evening off, Wooyoung felt the dread building in his stomach as he waited for the older to arrive.

It grew even more when San walked in with his usual wide smile and holding a bag of food from a nearby restaurant. "Hi Youngie! How are you feeling? I wasn't sure if you'd feel up to eating or not so I brought some food just in case."

Nova lifted her head from where she was laying on Wooyoung's lap to watch him with large, curious eyes.

"San, before we do that..." Wooyoung started. He knew he had to do this now otherwise he may never be able to do it. The thought of hurting San was tearing him apart inside, but this was something that was going to happen at one time or another. "I need to talk to you."

The older tilted his head to the side and sat down next to him. "What is it? Did something change with the doctor?"

"No, everything is fine there fo row. But things have changed... with me..." Wooyoung cringed, then turned to look directly at San. He saw the older's face fall a little bit. "San, I-"

"It's ok. You don't need to explain." He sighed and leaned forward so that his elbows were pressed into his knees and brought his fingers to his lips. "I think... I think I saw this coming."

A shadow moved at the door that stole Wooyoung's attention for a moment and he couldn't help but smile a little when he realized it had to be Pierre.

"Can I ask what the main reason was?" San whispered.

"I don't really know if I could pick... but really, I think the biggest this is that-"

"We never really fit together." San sighed once more, but then smiled. Wooyoung was surprised to see this reaction coming out of him and he didn't quite know what to make of it. "Did you already talk to Jongho?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad you two worked it out."

"San... How are you taking this so well?"

The older laughed. "I have no idea. I think it's because I was expecting it after you couldn't give me an answer when I asked you to marry me. And even though I haven't been here, I have been thinking about you, and that turned to thinking about us." San leaned back so he could stare up at the ceiling. "And... I think I knew that we would work from how you reacted to seeing Jongho at the benefit."

Wooyoung felt his mouth open a little in shock. This was not how he was expecting this conversation to go at all.

"I may not seem like it, but I'm a very selfish person sometimes. And seeing how you were after I introduced Jongho to you as my brother... I wanted to do everything I could to make sure you would pick me. Making you move in with me... Giving you Pierre to drive you around... Proposing... I wanted you for myself and I wanted to prove for once that I'm better than my brother."