YIXING’S POV

I knelt in the snow, letting the fistful of snow I was holding trickle out of my hand slowly. I looked around at all the broken bodies of the dead werewolves and faeries left behind by the battle. I closed my eyes, hoping their souls at least received proper care in the next life.

A pulse of faint energy caught my attention from somewhere close by, and I stood uncertainly. The energy mark was big enough to be a person, but there was no one staying in the direction I was walking. Unless...it was an enemy who had escaped.

I brushed through the small layer of pine trees surrounding the energy mark, tensed to attack. Instead, I saw the body of Jaeshin lying on the ground gently. His black wings were folded and broken around him, the silver hilt of the dagger rising from his chest.

I shook my head, wishing I had found something else. The energy mark had been a trick - sometimes they lingered a few minutes after death. I walked forward, meaning to pick Jaeshin up and take him back to the others for a proper burial.

I got close and leaned down, looking at his flawless face. It was marked now with bruises and a cut on his lip, but I could still see why Baekhyun loved him. I knew Baekhyun truly loved the faerie; I had felt the energy pulse when Baekhyun attacked after Jaeshin’s death. It was not an amount of power that could be accessed without feeling deep love for the person you were defending.

I sighed, reaching down to pick Jaeshin up carefully, then froze when his eyelid flicked. I gasped, sitting back on my heels and watching carefully. There it was again! You could see Jaeshin’s eyes moving under his closed eyelids.

I got even closer, resting my hand on Jaeshin’s neck, searching for a pulse. There was none, and I sat back in disbelief. Closing my eyes, I reached out, and definitely felt a faint pulse of energy coming from Jaeshin’s body.

I stood quickly, picking him up and rushing back to the others. I was careful not to move him too much, feeling just how many broken bones he had. I burst into the clearing where the others were sitting around a fire and beckoned Skye over quickly.

I set Jaeshin down in the snow gently, frowning as I looked at the extent of his injuries. Especially the dagger rising out of his chest...

"What is it?" Skye asked, kneeling by me. I shook my head, not entirely sure if I knew what I was doing. I looked up at her, meeting her eyes.

"I’m not sure, but I think..." I trailed off, reaching forward to touch the dagger absentmindedly, trying to see how deeply it was embedded in Jaeshin’s chest. I immediately yanked my hand back with a short yelp, looking down at my burned hand.

"Yixing, what is it?" Skye asked, rubbing some snow over my burned hand carefully. I looked over at Jaeshin, seeing his eyelids flicker again.

"Sometimes...sometimes when faeries are injured, they can go into a dream state. It’s kind of like a false death, to make whatever is bothering them leave them alone. Usually, they use the time to heal, but if they’re hurt with iron...it stops the healing process." I said, running my hands through my hair.

"Wait, are you saying Jaeshin isn’t dead?" Skye said seriously, fixing me with her serious gaze. I nodded, swallowing hard, and she sighed slightly.

"How do we wake him up?" Skye asked. I shrugged, running my eyes along Jaeshin’s body. Broken wings, broken ribs, cuts all over himself...

"We need to heal him as much as we can, and he should wake up when he feels recovered enough." I said. Skye nodded, and I hovered over Jaeshin carefully.

"Okay. You pull out the dagger, and I’ll heal the rest." I said. Skye nodded, and a sudden voice behind me made me look up.

"Need a hand with the healing?" Yongguk asked, hovering a few steps away. His wings were folded against his back, Himchan and Daehyun standing behind him. He offered a gentle smile, and I nodded gratefully.

"Thank you." I smiled, beckoning him over. All three of them knelt in the snow, sitting around Jaeshin.

"Skye, could you pull that out?" I asked, gesturing to the dagger. Skye nodded, grasping the hilt firmly and drawing it slowly out. She tossed it aside, watching as Yongguk and I immediately focused our healing on Jaeshin’s chest. The knife had missed his heart by a hair, and we quickly closed the wound.

I focused on pulling all the iron out of Jaeshin’s system, and Daehyun and Himchan started painstakingly healing Jaeshin’s wings. I trusted them the most, seeing how they had wings themselves, and I watched distractedly as they carefully made each individual feather whole.

Yongguk and I healed Jaeshin’s broken ribs, carefully patching up each cut and bruise we could find after that. Finally, Jaeshin was fully healed. He rested softly in the snow, wings tucked against himself, and I picked him up gently.

"I’ll put him inside, where it’s warmer." I said softly, striding towards the truck. I went inside quietly, careful not to disturb Baekhyun, asleep on top of Chanyeol. I explained what was going on to Chanyeol, then went to sit by Jaeshin. It could take hours or even days for him to wake up, and I wasn’t even sure he would, but I could hope.

BAEKHYUN’S POV

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling the warm weight underneath me shift. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks but I scrubbed them away quickly, trying to swallow around the gaping hole in my chest. I had only know Jaeshin for two days before he died, but I knew I loved him. And now I had lost him.

I sat up, looking down at Chanyeol next to me, and he patted my back gently.

"Look." Chanyeol said softly, pointing to two shapes in the truck with us. I recognized Yixing immediately, sitting by a figure stretched out on the floor. I focused my eyes, my vision still foggy from sleep, and recognized with a start. I turned away, not wanting to see his broken, bloody body again.

"Baekhyun, look. Trust me." Chanyeol said. I shook my head, closing my eyes tightly. My hearing focused, and I froze when I picked up an extra heartbeat. There was mine...then Chanyeol’s...then Yixing’s...then who’s?

"Baekhyun. Come here." Yixing spoke softly, beckoning me over. I paused, standing slowly and walking over to where Jaeshin and Yixing were warily.

"He’s not dead. He’s sleeping." Yixing said, gesturing to Jaeshin. I dropped to my knees next to him in disbelief, looking at his once again flawless face. I leaned down, pressing my ear against his chest, and closed my eyes when I heard his heart beat slowly. Tears trickled down my cheeks again, a smile on my lips as I grasped his hand gently.

"Dream sleep?" I asked. Yixing nodded, giving me a pleased smile. He had mentioned dream sleep during one of his long lectures, the ones he used to give when the wolf pack still listened to his boring speeches.

"When will he wake up?" I asked. Yixing shrugged, standing up and stretching stiffly.

"Reports say the faerie will recover from dream sleep when they feel safe or not threatened." Yixing shrugged, standing up and walking off.

"Thank you!" I called, meaning it from the bottom of my heart. I looked down at Jaeshin, a smile curling my lips, and I brought his hand up to my chest.

I stayed like that all through the first day and night, refusing to sleep or eat. Then I stayed like that all through the second day and night...then the third...then the fourth. Finally, Kris came to see me.

I was kneeling by Jaeshin, pale and exhausted, but still holding his hand. There were bags under my eyes and I was incredibly thirsty, but I wasn’t going to leave his side. Kris’ sudden hand on my shoulder startled me, but I barely reacted.

"Yeah?" I asked, my voice dry and gravelly. Kris knelt down carefully on the other side of Jaeshin, looking at me gently.

"Baekhyun. I know it can be hard to let go. But sometimes...you have to accept the fact that someone is gone." Kris said. I shook my head, ignoring him. Jaeshin wasn’t gone, he just needed time. Kris sighed, reaching out and resting his hand on my knee.

"Baekhyun, it’s been four days. If Jaeshin hasn’t woken by tomorrow, we’re going to bury him." Kris said. I looked up at him, shocked, then started to protest.

"But he’s alive! You can’t bury him alive, he’ll die!" I said, leaning closer to Jaeshin protectively. Kris frowned, looking down at Jaeshin’s face for a moment, then back up at me.

"Baekhyun, this isn’t living. He’s merely not dead, he’s not alive." Kris said. I shook my head stubbornly, refusing to listen to Kris after that. He eventually left, and I leaned closer to Jaeshin.

I lied down next to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and draping my wings around him, like I had our first night together. I scooted closer until my lips were right by his ear, and I sighed softly.

"Jaeshin-ah. Jaeshin-ah, can you hear me?" I asked quietly. He didn’t stir, but I pressed on. "Jaeshin-ah, you have to wake up. I’m waiting here for you to wake up. You can’t leave me now, not now that I’ve come this close to having you again. I won’t let you."

Jaeshin still didn’t stir, his chest rising and falling smoothly underneath my arms. I swallowed hard, dropping my head onto his chest and sniffing quietly when more tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Jaeshin-ah, you can’t leave me because I love you." I whispered. I clung tightly to him, trying to keep him from leaving me.

"Baekhyun?" A low throaty voice croaked, the chest underneath me moving. I bit my lip, praying it was real, and looked up to see Jaeshin looking down at me confusedly.

"Jaeshin!" I exclaimed. And then I did something I had been waiting two days to do - I leaned forward and kissed him.

HE’S ALIVE! *dances around excitedly* Oh, how I love messing with your feels...I was never really going to kill him! *evil laugh*

Tell me how you’re liking it~

Seriously, I would kill for a comment. JUST. ONE. Jebal!

Okay, I’m done begging...

Saranghamnida, kamsamnida~

-Sujin

<3