R.I.P 2 My Youth

Macau spent a week in the hospital wing before he was moved to his room and Porchay spent every day by his side. The boys had taken a leave of absence from school for the rest of the semester. Kinn said it would be best for them just to relax while Macau fully recovered but the two boys knew that wasn't the case. Macau could move around on his own and his doctor had fully discharged him only prescribing mild painkillers. The truth that nobody wanted to voice out was that they didn't know what Vegas would do next, so they wanted to keep Chay and Macau sheltered until they figured out a way to neutralise the situation.

Everyone was on eggshells around Macau. It pissed him off but it didn't make them stop. Nobody wanted to tell him what was happening with his brother so they avoided him lest he asked about Vegas. Pete wasn't allowed near him either. Korn had decided to release him but he didn't trust that he really knew nothing about what Vegas was going to do. It's not like I'll go find him if they tell me where he is, Macau thought to himself trying not to roll over onto his side.

He was bed-bound still despite being able to walk around without help now. Chay was the worst enforcer of the doctor's orders. The boy had left the room to get them food and Macau was trying to stay still. It was true that he could move around by himself but he still felt some pain in his side when he breathed, talked or walked. He also had occasional mild headaches and dizzy spells which were reason enough to keep him bed bound but he hated it.

There was a knock on the door which caused the boy to lift his head to get a better view of the door. Chay wouldn't have knocked so he was both excited that someone had come to visit him but also irritated that it wasn't his favourite human. The door opened to reveal Pete smiling at the boy, "P'Pete!" Macau tried to sit up only to wince and lie back down.

Pete rushed over to the bed and helped Macau sit up without so much as a word to the boy. The older man quietly looked the boy over and then his eyes filled with tears and he sniffed. Macau watched him in silence. He didn't know what to do or what to say so he just sat looking at Pete while Pete took a second to compose himself. After a while, Pete looked back at Macau, "Hi."

Macau scoffed at the way Pete's voice cracked when he spoke, "Hi."

They were quiet. Macau was fidgeting with his fingers while Pete tried to figure out what to say next. He had no part in what happened but he couldn't help but feel guilty for not realising what Vegas was up to sooner. After a while Macau finally spoke up, "Do you know what's happening? With my brother I mean."

Pete scratched the back of his head while avoiding eye contact, "Macau..."

"You can't tell me?" the boy asked deflating.

"I can't tell you. There's a lot going on that we don't want you getting involved in..."

"But that's not what I'm asking for. I just want to know what's going to happen to the only family I have left."

Before Pete could answer the door opened and Chay walked in holding two pizza boxes. The boy didn't seem to have noticed Pete in the room because he started rambling about how annoying the bodyguards were and how much he would rather Pete was watching over him than his new detail. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Pete trying not to laugh next to Macau, "When did you get here?" Chay asked blinking at the older man.

"Not long," he replied, "I have to go talk to Porsche. I'll stop by later," he said resting his hand on Macau's head before standing up.

Chay only spoke when the door closed behind Pete, "How was he allowed in here? Hia said that Khun Korn doesn't want him around us."

"You knew he was out of holding?" Macau asked instead of answering Chay's question.

"Yeah, I found out on my way out," Chay said busying himself with nothing mostly because he was trying to avoid Macau's eyes.

It was true that he had only found out about Pete walking free when he went to buy them food but he couldn't help but feel guilty for some reason. He heard Macau sigh before looking at the bed, "You're worried about Vegas."

It was a statement. There was no asking what was bothering Macau. If anything, Chay would have been surprised if he wasn't worried about his brother. Macau nodded and dropped his eyes to his hands in his lap, "It's annoying how nobody's telling me anything."

Chay walked over to his boyfriend and sat on the bed next to him. He didn't know what to do to ease Macau's mind. He knew that the last thing he needed was to hear words of false affirmation, so he just pulled his boyfriend into a hug. It was the only way he knew to comfort Macau at this point because words failed him.

They stayed like that until Macau's stomach grumbled. They just looked at each other before laughing. It felt good to laugh. What with everything going on, it was difficult to find a reason to smile or laugh so it was small things like this that kept them both going.

They ate their pizza and Macau took his medication and then they watched movies until they both fell asleep. It was easy to pretend everything was okay when they were alone in their own bubble together. Macau was Chay's safe space and Chay his. It baffled them both to that day how they went from being strangers to friends to being each other's lifeline and safe space.

The sun hadn't come up yet when Chay woke up. It was unlike him to wake up that early, but he felt sick to his stomach, so he woke up. He was about to grab his phone to look at the time when the door flew open. Pete was standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. His lip had burst open, and he had a bruise forming on the side of his head. His hair stuck to his head from sweat and his eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the two boys, one sleeping and the other staring doe-eyed at him. Chay was about to speak when Pete walked into the room towards the bed, "Can he move?"

Chay blinked at him trying to make sense of the man's words while still taking in his roughed-up form, "He can but..." the boy began.

"Wake him up. Take whatever you think you're both going to need. You have ten minutes," Pete said before walking toward the door.

"Phi what's going on?"

"Vegas is on the move, and we believe he's coming for Macau so we're taking you both to a safe house outside of town."

With that, he walked out of the room closing the door behind him. Chay stared at the door for a second trying to gather his thoughts. What Pete had just told him should have had the boy panicking from fear but for some reason he was calm. He walked into the bathroom with an overnight bag he grabbed from the closet and threw his and Macau's toiletry bags in along with the boy's medication. He went back into the bedroom and took a change of clothes for both of them before throwing it into the bag followed by both their cell phones and chargers despite them having kept their phones off since the day they were taken to the compound.

Chay changed his clothes and grabbed something light and comfortable for Macau too. He got changed and made his way towards the bed before putting them on the bed. Macau was usually a light sleeper but thanks to his medication he didn't wake up. Chay sat on the edge of the bed watching him sleep for a while. He dreaded having to disrupt Macau's peace despite the seemingly pressing situation. He only wanted his boyfriend to have a few moments of undisrupted peace. He brushed the boy's hair out of his face and gave him a light peck on his forehead. Macau smiled before his eyes fanned open, "Hi," Chay said smiling sadly at his boyfriend.

"Hi."

Chay stood up and held his hand out for Macau. He didn't need to explain. The boy understood that something had happened, and they had to leave. He grabbed Chay's hand and dragged himself out of bed. He got changed while Chay made sure he took everything that they needed which was mostly all of Macau's medication. There was a light knock on the door before it opened. Porsche walked in looking like death. He hadn't slept properly in days, and it was wearing on him. He scanned the boys frantically for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and bowing his head. Porchay watched his brother not knowing what to do while he steadied himself. Pete walked in and took the bag from the couch before looking at Macau for a moment.

"Pete and Kim and taking you guys away. Tankhun, Arm and Pol will be following you guys along with half of Khun Korn and Kinn's detail. We already have things set up for you guys there but only for a few days. You two are leaving the country," Porsche said not leaving any room for protest from either one of the boys not that they had any intention to, "We were thinking Switzerland or Germany, you can decide," he added with a sad smile.

"What about you?" Macau asked.

"Don't worry about me. Kinn and I will probably follow you guys in a couple of days so don't fret," he ruffled Macau's hair earning himself a glare from the boy.

"Probably isn't affirmative enough," Chay said staring blankly at his brother.

"What?"

"You said you'll probably follow us. Don't give me that crap. Either you are or you're not which one is it?"

Porsche was taken aback by his brother's words, but he scoffed either way, "I'll see you in a couple of day Porchay and when I do, we're going to have a talk about your colourful language yeah?"

"Deal," Chay said.

He walked past his brother without another word. He knew that Porsche meant it when he said probably but he didn't want that to be a probability. He also didn't want his brother to see him crying because he knew that he was only doing what he had to sohe simply walked away before he lost all restraint and begged Porsche to gowith them.

Porsche understood too well why Chay was acting the way his was, so he simply looked at Macau and smiled at him, "Take care of him for me."

Macau nodded and began to walk away only placing his hand on Porsche's shoulder for a second before walking out of the room.

It was as Porsche had said. There were at least ten cars waiting for them outside. Tankhun was standing next to one of the cars looking a lot more collected than usual. When he saw Macau walk out next to Chay and Pete he smiled slightly before walking up to them. Pete nodded before walking off to talk to some of the other guards, "You kids okay?" Khun asked scanning the boys' faces.

"As okay as the situation allows," Chay replied earning himself a disheartened mn from khun.

"I trust Porsche already explained everything to you guys. I just need your phones before we leave, we have burners waiting for you guys when we reach the safe house."

"They're in the bag," Chay said pointing at the bag Pete was still holding.

Khun hummed in understanding before walking away. Pete came back and gave the bag to Chay so the boy could take the phones out. Once that was done, he led the boys to a car where he scanned them both before closing the door. He got behind the wheel and sat there waiting for another guard to climb into the passenger seat. He looked at the boys through the rear-view mirror. They were huddled next to each other with Macau's head rested on Chay's shoulder no doubt still tired.

They had been on the road no longer than thirty minutes when the car stopped abruptly along with the few behind theirs. Chay lifted his head to try and see what was going on when the window on the passenger seat shattered. The guard that was sitting there went limp and the metallic scent of blood rushed into Chay's nose. Macau tried to lift his head, but his boyfriend's hand was covering his eyes and keeping his head down. Chay looked back up at the same time that he heard Pete curse to see a figure dressed in a zebra stripped shirt walking towards the car "You guys are okay right?" Pete asked pulling his gun out from his waist holster while looking into the rear-view mirror.

Chay nodded slowly, "Good."

Pete opened the car door and climbed out with the gun raised pointing and Vegas' chest.