Double update - make sure to read the previous chapter

‘No.’ Leo’s tone was final. Lily nodded, crossing her arms defensively.

It was evening now and they were gathered in the living room of the HQs, discussing Rose’s proposition.

‘Yes,’ Rose asserted, crossing her arms as well, her tone brooking no argument. ‘Either that or you go back to mom.’

‘I’m not leaving you,’ Leo snapped back irritably. Had he been a better condition, he would’ve tossed something – the coffee table perhaps – over, to express his displeasure.

‘I’m not alone here,’ Rose countered, equally irritable. ‘And I know what I’m doing.’

Leo snorted rudely at that, making Rose’s eyes flash dangerously. Lily, sensing the incoming verbal attack, intervened, holding up her hands.

‘Calm down, both of you.’

‘You stay out of this,’ both siblings snapped at her, making her bristle.

Before the argument could escalate further, Suho spoke up. ‘What would you like to do, Leo?’ he asked. Rose frowned, opening but Lily shook her head sternly. Rose’s lips pursed into a stubborn line and she huffed, looking away.

‘Not treat her like a goddamn prisoner, for starters,’ Leo’s tone was curt and it obviously irked the Legends. But Suho glanced around the room firmly once before turning back to Leo.

‘She’s not,’ he answered.

‘It sure sounds like that. She can’t leave the place, she’ll have trackers on her and you’ll have someone hovering over her all the time. I’m calling it as I see it.’ Lily, well aware of her brother’s temper, moved to pat his shoulder gently but the sharp gaze on her back stayed her fingers.

Frowning, she made a show of putting on her gloves, glaring at the healer before placing her hand on Leo’s shoulder. Lay didn’t look too happy but he looked away. Xiumin glanced at her questioningly but she ignored him.

‘Look,’ she spoke to Rose, ‘I’m sure you think it’s the right thing to do but it’s not practical.’

‘I’m not a child, Lily,’ Rose replied, arms still crossed. ‘You really think I didn’t consider this?’

Lily looked at her sister pleadingly. ‘I just don’t want you to face this alone,’ she said softly.

Rose turned her face away. ‘Then you shouldn’t have left.’

The entire room fell deathly quiet at that as Lily stared at her sister, shock and hurt warring for dominance on her face before it shuttered off completely.

‘Fine,’ she said stoically, ‘do whatever you want.’

She her heel without another word and marched out. Leo looked torn between going after her and confronting Rose. Rose didn’t wait for him, turning to Suho instead.

‘You heard her,’ she told the leader. Her voice trembled but she pushed ahead. ‘I’ll be in my room, then.’

She headed to the hospital wing, leaving a ringing silence in her wake.  

…………………………………

Rose knew that she’d hurt Lily, perhaps irreparably but if that was what it took to keep her siblings safe, she’d gladly do it all over again.

Now only if her heart would stop hurting.

Her vision blurred before she reached her room but she held the tears back by sheer force of will, slamming the door behind her and falling face first into her bed. The tears came in a flood and she sobbed quietly into the pillow, muffling her cries.

Lily… she knew why Lily had left, she understood it. And she’d not once resented her sister for it. She’d missed her, yes; desperately wished for her to be there for her, yes. But she’d also understood why Lily had gone away, the pain of her breakup still new and raw.

It was a low blow, Rose knew that. And maybe, some part of her did wish that Lily had stayed but this… this was as hurtful for her as it was for Lily.

She cried until her head felt like it would explode, until she couldn’t breathe anymore.

Lily loves you…

The observation from Star was quiet, soft, warm. And even though the presence inside her couldn’t manifest in any physical form, Rose could feel herself surrounded by warmth that felt comforting.

She’s not angry with you.

Rose sniffed. She didn’t want to take comfort from a monster but perhaps, Star understood the love between siblings better than anyone. She’d spent an eternity waiting for her brother to show up, to save her from the darkness that plagued her.

It’s okay…

For some reason, it felt like Star was coddling her and it was funny, making Rose snort with hysterical laughter. Star, a child, was comforting her, the adult in this scenario. Gosh, who was she kidding? She was a child and Lily was right to worry about her.

There was a knock on the door. She didn’t want to talk to anyone; she wanted to be miserable on her own, knowing that her siblings probably hated her.

Her lip wobbled. There was another knock followed by the sound of the door creaking open. Instead of turning to look whoever it was – probably Leo, here to comfort her even after… her eyes watered and she sniffed – she turned her head and buried her face back into the pillow.

There was silence even as she heard footsteps, lighter than Leo’s naturally heavier ones, and the person stopped right beside her.

Feeling self-conscious, knowing it wasn’t her brother, Rose hesitantly glanced from beneath her fingers. Please don’t be Chen… It might be silly but she’d rather not look like a nightmare in front of him; she’d already accomplished that by showing up here covered in Leo’s blood.

It wasn’t him, thankfully, but someone she still felt self-conscious about, if only because he seemed to be able to read into her.

She felt a flush rise on her face as she hurriedly straightened, not wanting to look more of a mess than she already was. ‘Wh-‘ She had no idea what to say.

He smiled gently, the groove in his cheek deepening as he lifted a finger to push her hair back softly. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture but it didn’t feel uncomfortable, his presence more reassuring and calming than intrusive.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, voice soft as his fingers still playing with her curls.

Maybe it was his gentleness, the kindness in his eyes or the sweetness of his smile. It made her tear up again and she looked away, biting her lip to stop herself from bawling.

‘Fine.’ The word was loaded with unshed tears.

He clucked his tongue disbelievingly but it wasn’t offensive; more like a gentle reprimand. She closed her eyes, felt the tears slip out anyway.

The fingers withdrew and for a moment, she thought he might touch her face, trace the tears – the fingers hovered but eventually pulled away. She looked up at the sound of something getting dragged and blinked when he plopped in the seat he’d put in front of her bed. He gestured for her with his fingers and she frowned, not entirely sure but let her fingers touch his hesitantly.

Instantly, warmth spread through her, pleasant at first but turning painful the next moment. She withdrew her hand, yelping in surprise. He smiled knowingly. ‘Did that hurt?’

She shook her head. He nodded understandingly, steepling his fingers and fixing her with a sleepy gaze.

‘Lily’s not really angry at you,’ he spoke conversationally, after a moment. Her shoulders slumped and she pouted. Of course, Lily was angry with her. She was being a brat, and she’d deliberately hurt her sister.

‘She’s just sad because she already blames herself for leaving you alone…’ He looked up, met her eyes. ‘You know how she is.’

Rose sighed. ‘I know…’ Her eyes teared. ‘I just… I didn’t mean-‘

‘It’s okay to say you were angry that she left you alone,’ he responded quietly. She sniffed. ‘It hurt you, of course it did. You just got out of the coma and yet, it seemed like no one cared enough to stick around for you.’

Rose took in shuddery breath as the emotions, the hurt, the feelings of abandonment rose inside her. She didn’t really care if anyone else went away but she’d expected – hoped, wanted – Lily to stay. Lily always stayed beside her. And her sister leaving like that, it had hurt. So much.  

She didn’t realize she was crying again until he passed her a bunch of tissues; she pushed them against her eyes and let the tears dissolve into them. He took hold of her free hand, and his thumb ran soothing circles on her knuckles, the connection feeling comforting.

It was a while before she stopped and by then, her nose felt clogged, her eyes weighed like bricks and she was sure she had snot running down her nose.

Still, her heart felt a lot less achy and she felt better.

It was then that she noticed that the grip around her fingers had loosened significantly and when she looked up, Lay looked very tired, sleepy eyes looking even sleepier. And sad… he looked sad, like he’d somehow taken her…

‘What did you do?’ she asked, pulling her fingers back. His hand tightened briefly as if to keep her there but let go and he straightened with a sigh, shaking his head. His eyes were red.

‘Did you…’

He stood up slowly, smiling softly at her. ‘You looked like you had a lot on your mind. I just listened.’

‘But-‘

‘I’ll get going now. You should probably talk to Lily – she won’t know you’re not really angry with her unless you tell her that.’

‘I- okay.’

He departed with another smile, the sad droop to his shoulders still present. Rose watched him leave, not sure what to think or feel.

I like him, Star commented. He is nice and he doesn’t hurt Star.

Rose didn’t say anything.

………………………………….

Xiumin wasn’t sure how to approach Lily or what to say.

It was obvious that Rose’s words had hit her hard and he wasn’t sure how he could handle that. If they were together, he’d just hold her until she’d cried her heart out. But now, he wasn’t sure if the touch would be welcome.

Also, he hadn’t missed the laser eyes Lay had given Lily on touching Leo, nor the way she’d put on her gloves.

Now that he thought about it, Lily had been quite particular about touch. Since she wasn’t a very touchy person in general, it wasn’t immediately noticeable. But he remembered how she’d pulled her hand back like she’d been burned when they’d accidentally touched, that fateful meeting outside the Black Pearl. And… she’d fainted when he’d touched her; before that, she’d been obvious pain after hugging Rose.

And Lay had been very vague about her condition.

What was going on?

He figured he could answer that question after he’d comforted Lily. Softly, he knocked on the door to his room. And he tried to suppress the satisfaction rising inside him at the fact that she’d gone to his room in distress. Now was not the time.

Lily didn’t respond, staring lifelessly at the wall in front of her.

‘Hey…’ he called softly, stepping inside. He waited a while to see how she’d react but she didn’t move, so he slowly made his way, settling beside her. She had her fingers clasped tightly in her lap, lips pulled into a tight line, eyes unseeing.

He took the lead from her, and simply sat beside her, waiting.

They were silent for who knew how long before she let out sigh. He took the chance to talk to her again. ‘How’re you feeling?’

She shook her head, looking up and swallowing, as if to will the tears away. His heart ached at the sight and the beast inside him whined, wanting to hold its mate and comfort her.

‘You know she didn’t mean it…’ he muttered quietly, fingers curling into the sheet to stop from reaching out. Lily smiled humorlessly. ‘Didn’t she?’

‘Lily…’

‘We say things we’ve wanted to say when we’re angry…’ her voice cracked and her eyes glossed over. She sniffed. ‘And she’s right… I shouldn’t have left, I should’ve just-‘

The way she was holding herself around the middle, like trying to keep herself from falling apart, made her look so… small, so vulnerable, it tore his heart. Lily’s throat worked as she tried to keep herself from crying and that just made it harder to watch, to see her try and hold it together even now when she was obviously falling apart.

Lay’s warnings be damned, he couldn’t just leave her like that. And he’d held her when they were sleeping, she obviously wasn’t hurt.

Gently, he extended his arm, hovering a moment around her shoulders before dropping, pulling her into his side. She didn’t seem to notice, just slumped against him. He squeezed her once and rubbed her side gently.

Tears slowly started dripping down her face, getting absorbed into his shirt, steadily increasing in intensity until her shoulders started shaking. Without a word, he turned and pulled her into his chest, tucking her face under his chin and holding her, feeling her tears wet his neck. She shuddered, sighed and he felt her fingers tighten into his shirt, pulling it taut around the middle.

He held her until she ran out of tears and her shoulders stopped quaking. Still, he didn’t let her go but tightened his arms, pulling her closer. She moved like a ragdoll, letting herself be adjusted until she was draped into his lap, hugged closer, held tighter. He wanted to kiss her face so badly, his lips actually tingled with the urge but he stayed it, looking down at her softly, one hand coming up to cup her cheek.

Her eyes closed and she leaned into the touch, eyes closing, teardrops still clinging to her lashes.

‘It’s gonna be alright,’ he promised. He’d make it so.

Her lips curled into a wan smile at that, eyes still closed, calling his attention to her lips.

The urge to kiss her returned tenfold, the beast whining inside him, begging to be let out so it could show her that she was cherished. He couldn’t fight it, not when he wanted nothing more than to dot her face with pecks and kisses and just… take her pain somehow.

He bit his lip to stop himself and glanced away lest he be tempted. Instead, he started tracing her face, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks – they were reddened by her crying spree, a little swollen and tear tracks obvious but she was so gorgeous.

He sighed soundlessly; he was such an idiot, letting someone like her go. His own reasoning seemed nonsensical in the wake of the emotions rising inside him like a tidal wave. He was so, so in love with this woman right in his arms, so in over his head.

It was freeing to acknowledge that. Whether or not he was able to claim her made no difference – nothing could change the way he felt. Not even Evil. Not even his past.

I love you was on the tip of his tongue when his eyes landed on her neck. The collar had come loose, pushed to one side and the scarf she had tied around her neck – to torture him with temptation, he was sure, since it highlighted her slender neck so well – was knocked askew.

That wasn’t what distracted him though. The bruising underneath it was what caught his eyes.

He was about to push the material further back, to get a better glimpse, when she stirred. Her hands, resting around his stomach, flattened to push her up and she straightened slowly. Her hair was a complete mess, escaping its tight confines and sticking up here and there. The redness had faded from her skin so she just glowed.

Also with embarrassment, perhaps. He chuckled when she caught sight of herself in on the opposite wall, eyes widening comically. She tried to pull her legs in, to get up but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back.

‘Xiumin-‘ Her voice was a surprised squeak.

‘Shh,’ he murmured, pulling her closer so she nestled perfectly in his lap, back to his chest and hugged her from behind. ‘Just relax.’

Her back tensed, indicating she was anything but. He chuckled again, his breath tickling her neck and ear, making her squirm.

‘Promise I won’t do anything,’ he told her, ‘just let me hold you. For a while.’

He thought she might not agree but slowly, her shoulders relaxed and she fairly melted into him. He held her like that, quietly humming under his breath. After a while, she started patting his hands. He loosened his hold, getting ready to mourn the loss of her heat, but instead, she moved back so they were seated more comfortably, and tangled her fingers with his. There was some quiet intimacy about the action, so innocent and yet so deep.

He gripped her hand tightly. ‘You know that Rose doesn’t hate you, right? Or really blame you for leaving her?’

She let out a wan laugh. ‘Yeah.’

He could tell she was still stuck on Rose’s words though. ‘You know why we don’t say what we’ve wanted to except when we’re angry?’

 She didn’t reply. He didn’t wait for her to. ‘It’s because we know it would hurt the other person – and we love them too much to want that.’

Lily threw her head down, her fingers tightening in his hold before she sighed and looked back at him, smiling a little. ‘When did you turn into such an emotional expert?’

He smiled self-deprecatingly. ‘After letting you go like an idiot.’

‘Idiot is right,’ she answered lightly, though her cheeks had turned pink. She patted his hands again and he let her go, pouting a little when she scrambled off the bed. It had been so nice, holding her and sitting just like that. He could spend the entire day doing it.

She didn’t wait for him to join her, heading straight for the door. He figured she was done letting him into her space. At the threshold, she turned to look at him. ‘Thanks, by the way.’

He shook his head, smiling, and watched her leave.

‘Idiot, indeed.’

………………………………….

There was a hustle in the living room when Xiumin finally made it outside, having stayed behind to gather his senses. And bask a little longer in the bubble Lily had created inside his room.

Rose and Lily were hugging each other tightly while Leo hovered around, looking ready to cry. There were others around too but most of them were trying to be mindful and give the siblings some privacy. Others were hovering around in varying degrees of emotions. Sehun looked frankly disgusted by Tiffany’s sniffles but Tao was positively bawling, Raina patting his back.

Lay looked like he’d swallowed something sour when Xiumin’s gaze landed on the healer. He decided it was about time he confronted the healer about whatever was going on with Lily.

‘It’s not my place to tell,’ Lay told him, stubbornly crossing his arms across his chest. Xiumin glared at him, deliberately trying to look intimidating. It didn’t work and Lay rolled his eyes.

Xiumin sighed. ‘Come on, why can’t you tell me?’

‘Because Lily doesn’t want me to,’ he answered easily, shrugging and looking at the sisters again. A frown appeared on his forehead and he cleared his throat loudly.

Lily glared at him over Rose’s shoulder but took notice of whatever Lay was communicating with her, gently parting from her sister. Xiumin noticed the slight wince that she covered up immediately, cupping Rose’s cheek as she talked to her sister sweetly.

‘Don’t think I haven’t noticed anything,’ Xiumin told Lay, rounding on him. ‘She can’t touch anyone without hurting herself. That’s it, isn’t it?’

Lay merely buffed his nails, not meeting his eyes. Xiumin wanted to pull his hair out.

‘I don’t get it!’ he huffed, turning around. ‘She didn’t seem too uncomfortable when I touched her… more like-‘ He shut up, face flushing. No need to tell Lay how she looked. That was for him and him only.  ‘She seemed okay, it didn’t look like she was hurting.’

‘Mmm…’ Lay only hummed in response, a teasing glint in his eyes. Xiumin frowned, remembering the bruising around her neck.

‘And there’s… her neck is-‘

Lay raised his eyebrows questioningly, interest peaked. ‘Oh? Did you see it?’

‘No,’ Xiumin huffed out, ‘I couldn’t get a clear look but it looks like it’s bruised. Badly.’ He pursed his lips, jaw clenching. ‘Is she hurt?’

He swore if there was a single mark on her body, he’d make the one responsible for it pay a million times over.

‘Depends on how you define ‘hurt’’, Lay said, eyeing him meaningfully. It was as if he was trying to tell him something without actually saying it. Xiumin frowned.

‘I don’t know? How else would she bruise?’

Lay smirked. ‘I’m sure you can think of more pleasurable ways.’

Xiumin threw him a wide-eyed scandalized look before pushing his face away. ‘Shut the up!’ he growled, pulling his arm back to land a punch.

Lay jumped behind his Shadow who had appeared out of nowhere. Baekhyun stumbled, throwing his arms out. ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’

‘I just meant,’ Lay spoke from behind Baekhyun, using him as a shield while Xiumin tried to grab his neck, ‘that you probably know how she got that bruise. Swear!’

‘How would I know?’ Xiumin asked irritably, lunging and succeeding in capturing the healer.

Lay hunched his shoulders, giggling as Xiumin tackled him. It felt like the healer had switched souls with his Shadow, the way he was acting. Xiumin landed a couple of friendly punches – or not so friendly one since Lay winced at each one – anyway. ‘She left months ago!’

Lay raised his eyebrows, again meaningfully, but Xiumin was sure he was missing the point. What was he trying to say? That she’d had that bruise since then?

‘Duh.’

Xiumin loosened his grip, a little lost. Lay used the chance to push him, throwing him on his back and standing up, looming over him. He grinned mischievously. ‘Come on, I know you can figure this out!’

Xiumin aimed a kick at his shin but Lay danced out of reach, blowing him a raspberry – definitely switched souls with Baekhyun – and running away.

Xiumin sat up slowly, rubbing his head and thinking. What could it be?

…………………………………….

A/N

Yeah Xiumin, I wonder what it coulde be? Here's to him figuring it out soon XD

Alright, see you guys hopefully soon <3