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They argue and tug at each other like children. Sol and Ming are at it again, clashing over Joe. They both want him. Neither deserves him. Neither can have him. Yet, it doesn't matter to them. Nothing matters to them, especially not Joe's opinion. They both want him, and if they can't have him, they won’t let anyone else have him either.
"Ming! Stop!" Joe yells, trying to break them up.
"Sol! Stop! Sol! Ming!" he screams. Sol pushes Ming, and just as Ming’s hands slip from Sol’s hair, the man is shoved back. He hits his head against the wall and collapses unconscious onto the floor.
Joe is the first to run to him. He tried to catch him. Tried to take the brunt of the impact for him. But he didn’t succeed. Ming lies unconscious on the floor.
"Ming! Ming? Ming!" Joe calls, shaking him, trying to bring him back to consciousness. His actions, however, have no effect on the unconscious man.
Sol huffs, still irritated. He tugs at Joe’s shoulder, trying to get him to leave Ming lying there on the floor. But Joe can’t do it. He touches Ming’s head, feeling it gently with his fingertips, as carefully as he can. He searches for wounds, blood, anything. He finds nothing. Ming has only lost consciousness from the blow. Joe sighs in relief. His shoulders relax a little. Some of the stress eases off him. But he can’t fully relax. Ming is still unconscious. He has to take him to the hospital.
He lifts the man into his arms, takes him to his car, and drives him to the hospital.
Joe waits outside the room while Ming is examined. No one tells him anything. He’s not even a family member, and he doesn’t have the courage to say that he’s his boyfriend. Is he? Can he still call himself that? He’s not sure anymore. The hospital calls Ming’s sister. They meet in the hallway. The woman goes in first. Then they allow Joe to enter.
Ming lies on a large, comfortable bed. White sheets, white walls, light clothing. All of it makes Ming seem so much smaller. Much more vulnerable. Joe can’t stop the voice inside him that urges him to stay, that tells him to take care of him.
May exchanges a few words with the nurses, then leaves. She says she’ll return later. She can’t just sit by Ming’s side; she has other duties. Joe stands in the room, unsure of what to do with himself. He stands there, not knowing for how long. Finally, one of the nurses who regularly checks on Ming takes pity on him and tells him to sit in the chair next to the bed. He does.
He doesn’t want to admit it, but he still loves him. Ming is everything he’s ever wanted. He’s sweet and stubborn, strong and independent, but at the same time, he lets Joe take care of him. He indulges Joe’s whims even when he pretends not to like it, or doesn’t want to do it. Joe can still see the faint smile and the spark in his eyes. He knows that Ming likes him too. He had hoped that Ming loved him, but… his feelings for Tong stand and will always stand between them. Joe doesn’t want to live in Tong’s shadow, not now, and never again. He’s had enough of it. He wants to be an actor on his own, he wants Ming to love him, he wants… Tong to stop destroying everything that matters to him.
He waits in silence by Ming’s bed. He watches every little wrinkle on his face, every slight change in his expression. Ming sleeps soundly. He doesn’t move for hours.
Joe finally falls asleep, slouching in the chair with his head resting next to Ming's hand on the bed. Their fingers are intertwined. Joe sleeps peacefully, although his mind had been filled with worry for Ming. Now that he's here with him in the hospital, he believes that if Ming’s condition worsens, he will notice it immediately.
Joe sleeps deeply when Ming starts to stir.
At first, his fingers twitch. He feels another hand in his grip and tightens his hold. He doesn’t sense any reaction from the other person. After a moment, his eyes flutter open. The hospital room is unbearably bright and impersonal. The worst part, however, is the smell—the sterile scent of cleaning products attempting to cover up the scent of sickness.
He looks around. His gaze immediately lands on Joe. He squeezes their hands once more. Joe is asleep, unaware of anything. Ming smiles faintly, then lifts his other hand, ignoring the IV needle in it connected to a fluid bag. He moves his hand to Joe’s head, gently combing through his soft hair. He likes doing this. It calms him to the point where, after a while, he falls back to sleep again.
+++
Waking up and falling asleep has become Ming’s new favorite pastime. No matter how many times he opens his eyes or closes them again, every time, Joe is there. By his side. Watching over him. As long as their eyes don’t meet, everything is fine.
But when Ming wakes up once more, Joe isn’t lying on the bed, holding his hand, or embracing him. Joe is sitting on the chair beside the bed, looking almost scared.
With sleepy eyes, Ming scans the entire room. Over there, on the other side, Tong and May are standing next to each other, watching Ming from the bed. His gaze meets May’s for a moment. Their silent exchange lasts just a heartbeat. That’s enough for them.
Ming returns his focus to Joe, shifting slightly on the bed to get closer to him.
Tong furrows his brows from the other side, but Ming doesn’t mind.
Joe reaches out to him but stops halfway. He clenches his fist, and his hand returns to his knee, where it had been before. Ming shifts closer to him again.
"Ming! How do you feel?" Tong says, loudly, too loudly for the quiet hospital room. Too loudly for Ming’s ears, which are used only to the sound of Joe’s heartbeat. Too loud. Ming furrows his brows, stares at Tong, and forces himself to focus his gaze on him.
"Who is Ming?" he asks with all the seriousness he can muster. He hears everyone’s reaction in the room. Joe mutters a curse under his breath. May inhales sharply, her breath hissing. Tong… It seems he doesn’t care much. Why would he? He never cared about Ming.
"Ming?" Joe asks, stepping closer to Ming but not touching him. He’s afraid to do anything Ming might not want, especially with his sister and Tong in the room, the person Joe still believes Ming loves.
Ming shifts even closer to Joe, as close as he can without falling off the bed.
"Mhhh?" He makes a soft sound, not quite a confirmation. He looks deep into Joe’s eyes. He has a plan.
"Who is Ming?"
He asks again. Seriously. Calmly.
Joe flinches slightly. He finally reaches for Ming's hand resting on the bed.
"You are Ming."
He answers briefly. Ming furrows his brow, pretending to try to remember. He closes his eyes, squeezing his eyelids tightly. A soft groan of pain escapes his lips. He opens his eyes, feeling a gentle touch on his head.
Joe is softly stroking his hair.
He no longer holds back.
"I don’t remember,"
Ming finally says, still frowning.
Joe rubs his thumb between his eyebrows. Ming relaxes a little.
"You had an accident. You hit your head against the wall. I'll ask the doctor soon; we need to do more tests. They said it was a mild concussion…"
Joe says, panicking. Ming watches as Joe's hands begin to tremble. He speaks faster, less clearly. He sees how worried Joe is about him.
Ming smiles at Joe.
Their intertwined hands lie on the bed. He doesn't care about anyone else. Just Joe.
"You feel familiar…"
He whispers, just for Joe's ears. The man blushes at this. Ming doesn’t stop smiling. He leans in even closer, swaying on the edge of the bed. Joe catches him. He gets up from the hospital chair, holding Ming close, pulling him against his chest. Ming likes it.
"I’ll talk to the doctor. Stay with him."
Finally, May says, and Ming is grateful to her. He can't stop the sigh of relief when Tong leaves with her.
Joe starts a quiet conversation with Ming. He describes what happened. He tells him about his sister and brother. Ming feels cared for. He feels Joe’s feelings toward him. He feels his love and warms himself in its embrace.
When May returns to the hospital room, Joe is asleep with his head on Ming’s shoulder. He had tried not to sleep. He gave it his all, staying by Ming’s side as long as he could. He had watched over him all day, and eventually, exhaustion caught up with him. Maybe the worry had also lulled him to sleep. Joe had been constantly worried about Ming and his health.
"It’s a low blow."
May says with a smile.
"But it worked."
She answers with the same knowing smile.
"It worked. For now, but you won’t be able to keep this up for too long."
The woman agrees.
"Just long enough for him to take me home, then I’ll remember everything."
He yawns, tired. He adjusts the pillow and lies down comfortably. Sleeping with Joe, even in a hospital, even in such an uncomfortable position, was always his favorite thing.
He loved having him by his side.
Joe always took care of him.
His own knight in shining armor.