16 16 - A Decision is Made

Fang was avoiding Ren. It had been almost two days since he woke up, but the boy hadn't shown his face at all. If not for Steward Paul, Dr. Gordon and Pax assuring him repeatedly that Fang was all right and in the house, Ren would have believed that the teenager had run off.

Ren was immobilised and bored. Dr. Gordon didn't allow him to work much, and his wheelchair wasn't ready yet - since he'd insisted on some cool modifications to it which was proving a little troublesome for the team making it.

Finally, on the evening of the second day, the wheelchair was ready. Pax helped Ren into it, and the supposedly dignified CEO immediately raced down the corridor to test its speed. Pax sighed and ran after him.

Ren went straight to Fang's room. The boy was sitting at his desk, reading quietly. He looked like a wilted flower. His complexion was pale and unhealthy, and there were dark bags under his eyes.

Ren's magic hadn't alerted him about any nightmares...could it be that the boy hadn't slept at all?

"What the hell happened to you?" Ren asked, pressing a button to wheel himself up to Fang.

Startled, the teenager almost fell out of his chair. His eyes fell on Ren's leg in a cast and darkened.

"Why haven't you come to visit me?" Ren demanded. "I wanted to see you."

Fang bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I...you can send me away now."

"Huh? Why would I send you away?"

Fang stood up, agitated. "You got injured because of me! You nearly died! What if..."

Ren grabbed the boy's arm. It was still thinner than he liked. "Accidents happen. And, as you can see, I'm alive and well." He smirked. "I am missing the company of a little brat called Fang, though."

Fang trembled. "Ren..." he whispered. "Don't be so kind to me."

"Why?"

Fang looked away. "Don't...don't make me say it."

"I won't understand if you don't tell me, Fang," Ren said frankly. "Dr. Gordon may have mentioned that I'm a bit dense when it comes to affairs of the heart."

"I don't want you to give me any false hope!" Fang cried. A single tear made its way down his pale cheek. "You rejected me...but then you protected me when I fell and you got hurt...and now you're being kind...it makes me think that you care for me..."

"No shit, Sherlock," Ren retorted.

"But that's the problem...if you show me that you care about me, I start thinking that there's hope for me...that there's a chance that one day you'll return my affections...that maybe you'll like me, too..." Fang flopped down on his chair and buried his face on his hands.

Ren took a deep breath. "All right, I'm confused now, so let me try to get it straight. You said you liked me, but you don't want to be with me?"

Fang's head whipped up and he stared at Ren blankly. "When did I say that I didn't want to be with you? You're the one who rejected me."

Ren shook his head. "Then let me ask you...when exactly did I reject you?"

Fang flushed. "When...when I kissed you."

"You ran away before I could respond! Give a man some time to digest what's happening before you jump to conclusions, will you?" Ren scolded.

Fang stared him blankly. Ren stared right back, his gaze steady.

Fang looked away first. "Are you...are you telling me that...that your answer could be...could be...a yes?"

Ren sighed. "I have to warn you that I know nothing of romance and I'm possibly the most useless boyfriend under the sun - Wolf will tell you something to that effect, anyway. And, also, we're not going to do anything until you're an adult. If you're ok with that, and if you still want me when you've become an adult...I'm all yours." He smiled a little. "As you may have noticed, I am very fond of you, even though I don't know if it's romantic or familial. I like spending time with you, and if I'm very honest, I'll admit that I was rather jealous of my Wade when I thought you liked him...and I hate the idea of you not being close to me. I want to see you everyday, I want to pamper you, I want to see you bloom into the magnificent man I know you'll be. I'm happy when you smile and my chest aches when you're sad. I can bear the thought of you being hurt on in danger. I want to wrap you up and hide you away and protect you from everyone, but I also want to show you off and make everyone else jealous and tell them that I'm the one who discovered this treasure. It's all very confusing and frustrating and I don't know what it all means."

"It means that you're hopelessly in love," came a dry voice from the door. "Any idiot could tell you that, you moron!" Dr. Gordon walked in flicked Ren's forehead.

"Ouch! You're abusing your patients now!?" Ren cried.

Dr. Gordon huffed. "Well, that was a fairly decent declaration of love," he commented. "I can't believe you're such a moron with an IQ of 189!" He turned to Fang. "Well, dear boy, does that answer your question?"

Fang was still staring at Ren with his mouth open. He looked rather comical.

Suddenly, his knees buckled and he fell upon the carpet. Then he burst into tears.

Ren was alarmed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Fang! Don't cry! We'll do what you say! Don't be sad!"

Fang giggled hysterically. "I'm not sad," he said hoarsely. "I'm very happy."

Ren looked at him doubtfully.

"Oh, good lord!" Dr. Gordon snapped. "Let me summarise for you idiots. Both of you like each other, just start dating already!"

Ren raised an eyebrow enquiringly at Fang. "Shall we?"

Fang nodded shyly, his cheeks rosy. "Yes."

Dr. Gordon clapped. "All right, excellent, congratulations. Now I'll give you half an hour to clean up and turn up in the dining hall." He strode away.