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The thunder rolls in like drums at the beginning of a song. The clouds are dark, filled with the coming rain that was in the forecast for today. Gally knew about the set of thunderstorms that would be coming to their city, Minho did too. Which is why Gally decided to go out to the store ahead of the rain to ensure that he would be back in time to have an attempt at a relaxing evening. But seeing as it's the first thunderstorm since it happened, Gally isn't exactly optimistic.
Gally sighs and adjusts his grip on the grocery bags in his hands as he treks up the three flights of stairs to his and Minho's shared apartment. The long, steep stairs wind him easily, so he takes his time getting up to their small home.
Once he gets up to their door, he quietly sneaks inside. He frowns when he sees that there are no lights on. Not in the kitchen, nor the living room. The absence of light inside means that Minho is hidden away in their bedroom, isolating himself.
It's been two weeks since Minho came home from the hospital after getting struck by lightning on his early morning run, and so far.. It isn't going well. Nerve damage, night terrors, hearing loss, and the general lingering of anxiety has made it hard for Minho to do anything around the house.
Gally has been his boyfriend's main caretaker throughout all of this. Minho's dads—Jorge and Vince—visit at least three times a week. So do Newt and Thomas, but Minho pushes all of his visitors away after twenty minutes of being around them, going back to the bedroom and curling up under his weighted blankets.
Minho has never liked looking weak, vulnerable. Gally has known this since he met Minho back in elementary school, when Minho would shake off a broken ankle with a smirk and a dismissive wave of his hand.
But now, needing help just getting up and out of bed, unable to carry his own cup of coffee more than two inches from a counter, and waking up to the sound of his own screams is not exactly the picture of strength that Minho hopes for. At least, not in his mind. Coping with the accident is not only wearing him down physically, but mentally too. And Gally is trying his best to help him in any way he can.
Gally puts all of the groceries away and in their proper locations before grabbing a mug from the cupboard to make some tea for Minho. He flinches slightly when he feels the soft rub of a cat's fur on his calf.
"Hi, bud." He greets their cat, Enculé, who meows in response. Gally turns away from the tea kettle on the stove and bends down, giving the brown cat a few head pets, smiling at the way the cat arches into his touch. Gally crouches down, allowing the cat to climb into his arms. "Minho's in the bedroom again, hm?"
The cat nuzzles his face into Gally's neck, purring softly as Gally scratches behind his ears. Gally nods to himself, sighing.
Gally finishes the tea, making sure to place a pot holder underneath it in order to make sure he doesn't burn himself or Minho with the cup. He then walks to the bedroom, Enculé following close behind him. Knocking quietly, he waits for Minho to say something, but he doesn't. Instead of knocking, Gally enters.
He sees a pile of blankets on the bed, a lump underneath them. He takes a deep breath, placing the tea on their bedside table.
"Min? I made earl grey tea, want some?"
Minho doesn't respond.
"Minho?" Gally asks a bit louder, crouching down beside the bed. He reaches his hand out, wanting to put a hand on Minho's back, but he hesitates. He knows that the nerve damage and still healing scars are sensitive. It's now that Gally notices the hearing aids sitting on the bedside table. Instead of touching Minho, he taps the side of the comforter, attempting to get Minho's attention.
Minho shifts, peeking out from underneath the blanket and hood of Gally's sweatshirt that he's wearing. Gally smiles, brushing back some of Minho's hair that is stuck to his forehead.
"I grabbed some stuff to make soup, your favorite. The kind your dads always make." Gally says, strumming his thumb across Minho's cheekbone and up the side of his head. Minho's eyes soften, a small smile peeking out from where his face is buried in the pillow.
"You're the best." He mutters, bringing a hand out of the cocoon he's wrapped in, threading his and Gally's fingers together.
"Just trying to take care of the person I love." Gally shrugs, pressing a kiss the Minho's fingers and knuckles. Minho smiles, pulling their hands to his mouth, copying the pattern of kisses on Gally's hand.
Enculé jumps on the bed in an attempt to get underneath the covers with Minho, but Gally blocks the cat, moving him towards the end of the bed by Minho's feet instead. The cat hisses, but curls up on the edge of the bed instead.
A sharp crack of thunder makes Minho jump, his hand immediately tightening around Gally's. Gally peeks behind the curtain and up at the sky, scowling as he sees lightning flashing in the distance. The storm must be only a couple of miles away from them.
Gally climbs into the bed, shuffling his way under the covers with Minho. He pulls the blanket over their heads, blocking out the flashes of lightning that begin to enter through the crack in the curtains.
Minho immediately lays his head on Gally's chest, pressing close in order to feel his breathing and heart beat. Gally carefully wraps his arms around Minho, avoiding the areas where the pain seems to be worse at. Gally taps his fingers on Minho's arm in time with his own heart beat.
"Alright, five things you can smell." Gally murmurs, pressing a kiss to Minho's nape. Minho huffs, Gally knows he's rolling his eyes at him despite not being able to see Minho's face. He nudges Minho's head with his shoulder, urging him. "Come on, it'll help."
"I'm not five years old, Gal." Minho mutters, trying to keep a strong front up. It fails rather quickly as he flinches at a loud bang of thunder that shakes their apartment. He sniffles, pressing impossibly closer into Gally's chest and side.
Gally shushes him, rocking them back and forth. He had done the same thing in the hospital when Minho had bad nights. Gally would climb into the small, uncomfortable bed with Minho, bringing as many thin hospital blankets that he could get from the nurses. He'd then hold Minho close, avoiding the wires, bandages, and monitors hooked up to him.
They'd sit like that for hours, Minho listing off things he could smell, touch, taste, hear, see. All of his senses, one by one. Until his heart had calmed and his breathing evened out.
"Come on, you know the drill by now." Gally urges again, tilting Minho's head up so that he's looking at his face. Gally smiles at the annoyed look on Minho's face. "Hi, grumpy."
Minho rolls his eyes, huffing a breath out of his nose.
"Worst nurse ever."
Gally laughs quietly, shaking his head at his boyfriend's attitude, though he understands it. He knows Minho is struggling more than he'd like to admit, which is exactly why he makes Minho do this exercise.
Gally ducks down and kisses the bridge of Minho's nose, then another on his lips. Minho relaxes back into Gally's chest, his head nestled in between Gally's collarbone and neck.
"You.. The tea.. The cologne you're wearing.. The candle from last night…. Enculé." Gally laughs at that last one, nodding in agreement.
"Okay, good. Four things you can see."
"Your freckles.. Your eyes.. My blanket.. Darkness."
"Mhm, three things you can touch." Gally hums, petting the back of Minho's hair with his free hand. He can feel Minho relaxing more and more, his breathing slowing.
"Your hand.. Your shirt.. The duck plush." Minho lists, grasping Gally's shirt in a tight fist as a flash of lightning lights the room up again. Gally shushes him, running a hand up and down his spine, tracing the scars that he's already memorized.
"And.. Two things you can taste." Gally says before pausing, quickly adding to it. "..Don't be gross."
This earns him a small, teary chuckle.
"The tea.. Your lips."
Gally's heart flip-flops at the answer, but he doesn't say anything, just continues to trace the line of scarring up and down Minho's spine and sides. He takes a breath in, knowing the last sense is still a touchy subject for Minho. Minho losing a lot his hearing has been one of the things that has continued to haunt him, more than the lingering nerve damage and pain from his scars.
"One thing you can hear."
Minho freezes for a moment, nodding slowly. He presses his ear into Gally's chest, trying to find his heart.
Beat.. Beat... Beat.. Beat…
Minho closes his eyes, focuses on the steady beat of Gally's heart and the tapping of Gally's fingers against his arm, both rhythms in sync with each other. He feels himself relax into Gally more, the anxiety and pain slowly fading as he focuses on his boyfriend.
"Your heart."
Gally smiles at the response. He leans down, kissing the top of Minho's head. His fingers continue to tap the slow, steady rhythm that he's been drumming on Minho's bicep.
"You're safe, I'm here." Gally whispers into Minho's hair, his breathing lining up with Minho's. Minho hums, snuggling closer. Gally moves his hand up to Minho's hair, combing it. "I've got you."
"I love you." Minho sniffles, burying his face in Gally's bunched up shirt. Gally feels his heart glow as he holds the back of Minho's neck, holding him impossibly closer. Minho repeats himself, like Gally will vanish if he doesn't hear him. "I love you."
"I love you more, so much more." Gally murmurs, feeling his own tears well up in his eyes. He moves Minho's head up once again, pressing a few kisses to Minho's cheeks, nose, lips, and forehead.
The realization of almost losing Minho weighs on him a bit more than normal. He tends to forget—Or he pushed it out of his memory—that Minho's heart actually stopped during the whole ordeal. Not once, but twice. When Gally was informed of this, his knees had almost collapsed underneath of him. He holds Minho a little tighter.
"How about that soup?" Minho asks, earning a breathy chuckle from Gally. He pushes himself up, wincing at the strain before perching himself on Gally's lap. Gally takes both of his hands, intertwining their fingers. He then gets up, Enculé stretching before getting off of the bed as well. Gally turns his back to Minho, patting it.
"Hop on, let's go make soup."
Minho doesn't need to be told twice.