It had been a while since he’d been home and truthfully, he’d been looking forward to it, almost as much as seeing Mei again. The joy of homecoming was somewhat dampened from the events of the night but he still felt a sense of relief set in when he stepped inside the HQs.

Mei had kept him updated about the number of changes wrought inside their home but it was still surprising to see it with his own eyes. He didn’t spend too much time on it though, since he had a mate to comfort.

Mei had been clinging to him since coming out of that car and quite frankly, he had no intentions of telling her to stop. As far as he was concerned, she could cling to him all day and he would be the happiest man alive.

As it was, he swung Mei into his arms before crossing the threshold of his room, making her smile wanly.

‘Mrs. Lu…’ he murmured, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against hers. ‘Welcome to home sweet home.’

She let out a reluctant giggle, still too shaken to laugh properly.

‘Welcome, Mr. Mei,’ she returned, biting her lip coyly. He kissed her as he stepped over, making her laugh into the kiss. ‘Put me down.’ She struggled to get out of his grip but he didn’t let her go until they reached his bed. There, he set her down gently, her hair fanning out all over the pillow.

Seeing her lying on his bed soothed the beast like nothing else and he leaned over to kiss her some more. He could feel the tension drain out of her as she lost herself into the pleasure and her fingers came up to play with his hair.

His hands were busy travelling all over her, touching her reverently and they were both gasping by the time they parted. She stared at him with muted awe, as if she still couldn’t believe he was here. He pecked her nose.

‘You okay?’

She swallowed, nodding slowly. ‘Yeah.’

‘Not hurt anywhere?’

She shook her head before wincing, hand coming up to her head. He tangled his fingers with hers to let her guide him, gently massaging her head. ‘What happened?’

‘I think I hit it against the corner when I fell down.’

She pouted miserably, making him chuckle. ‘What?’

Her pout intensified. ‘I’m sick of Evil attacking whenever we have something special planned.’

He laughed, finding her anger cute. She glared at him, not amused. ‘I’m serious. The last time, you promised you’d come over and we’d have a fun night and then, Evil showed up in my dreams. And now, you finally came back after so long and he’s attacked again. Doesn’t he have anything better to do? Is he jealous of our relationship?’

The thought of Evil, infamous heir to the Red Forces, ruler of the Abyss, lord of the darkness, and their sworn archenemy being something as petty as jealous struck him as very funny. He laughed until Mei, despite her efforts to stay serious, started giggling as well.

‘Don’t laugh!’ she insisted, ruining the effect by breaking into laughter immediately afterwards.

Finally, their amusement faded and he smiled down at her, knowing he was going to say something extremely cheesy. But he couldn’t help it.

‘You know, he totally could be jealous of our relationship.’

Mei bit her lip, holding back a smile. ‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. After all, I have the best mate in the whole wide world.’

Mei grimaced, making him laugh again. ‘You’re so cheesy.’

He nuzzled against her neck, making her squeal. ‘You bring out the best in me…’ he mumbled in sing-song way.

‘Stop it…’ She started struggling to get away from him, inciting an impromptu wrestling session that quickly devolved into a tickle fight until he was screaming with laughter because Mei knew all his ticklish spots – how she even thought to target the back of his knees was beyond him – and soon, he was gasping for breath and pleading for mercy.

Only after falling silent did either of them realize the compromising position they were in. Mei was straddling him on all fours and somehow, all the fantasies he’d been talking to her about before the unfortunate interruption, came back.

Mei’s eyes had darkened as she neared him, the intent to kiss written plainly on her face. Luhan was beyond belief because Mei taking charge was superhot and he always had a soft spot for badass women. He closed his eyes just before their lips met when…

‘Grrrrrr.’

Mei sat up abruptly, turning adorably red, as her stomach grumbled even more, demanding to be filled. With a start, Luhan realized she hadn’t eaten, since he’d dropped all their food in his hurry to get to her.

‘Aw…’ He sat up, pulling her into blushing face into his chest. ‘You’re so cute, baby.’

She whined, blushing harder. ‘Let’s make something to eat, okay?’ he suggested, feeling her perk up in his arms.

‘Corndogs?’ she asked, giving him wide puppy eyes. He melted like cheese. ‘Of course.’

……………………………………

It was way past midnight, far too late for hustle and bustle going on outside. It sounded like pretty much everyone was awake.  

Kyra had been tossing and turning, unable to settle down because the itch/fever felt worse than ever, after spending an entire day without any botheration. She couldn’t seem to find any comfortable spot and even the light night-suit she’d thrown on grated on her skin. The air felt too hot, the stillness nothing short of suffocating and every single sound felt magnified tenfold.

After spending what felt like hours in bed without a single moment of rest, she sat up, groaning.

‘You okay?’ Raina sounded far too awake to just have woken up.

‘Can’t sleep.’ she grumbled, pushing her hair back. It irritated her, rubbing against her skin and making her even more annoyed. ‘You?’

‘Same.’ She heard her shift. ‘Should I turn the lights on?’

‘Yeah.’

Raina looked as disheveled as Kyra felt, hair standing on end and eyes wide awake. ‘Why can’t you sleep?’ Kyra asked, genuinely curious.

Raina bit her lip. ‘Tao’s worried. It’s making me nervous.’

Oh. Sometimes, Kyra still forgot that Raina was now mated. Sure, she noted her improved wardrobe but Raina was still, primarily, an airhead, acting in her usual air-headed way.

‘What’s it like?’ she asked. ‘The mate’s link?’

Raina’s sighed in a lovesick manner, making her grin. Her friend was so in over her head.

‘It’s like…’ she began, abruptly blushing. ‘This is going to sound super cheesy but it’s like finding a missing part of yourself, one you didn’t even notice was missing until it’s there. Everything he feels, I feel it too. Its great most of the time, especially when we…’ Her blush intensified, accompanied by a dreamy smile. ‘You know, kiss and stuff. It’s nothing like I’ve ever felt before.’ She shut up with an entirely un-Raina-ish giggle.

Kyra made a face, mildly jealous. Raina laughed at her face. ‘Hey, no one’s stopping you from kissing D.O and finding it out yourself, you know?’ 

Kyra sniffed delicately. ‘Whatever.’ She eyed Raina again. ‘But what about now? Like if he’s worried and it’s making your worried as well. Doesn’t that get uncomfortable?’

‘Only when I’m not with him.’ Raina answered promptly. ‘Even if I can’t do anything else, I can always hug him better. You know,’ She leaned forward with a conspirational whisper. ‘Their beasts are extremely affectionate, so touching them is the fastest way to calm them down.’ She sat back up, pouting. ‘But he’s busy right now, so there’s nothing I can do.’

‘What about you?’ Kyra’s curiosity was fully aroused. Now that she thought about it, it was foolish that she’d never talked to the other girls about this before. ‘When you’re upset or happy?’

‘It’s two-way. He can sense my emotions too.’

Kyra grinned mischievously. ‘And touching? Does that work?’

Raina’s face burned red as she looked away, not meeting her eyes. ‘It’s not like I have any objections to him touching me.’

‘Uh huh...’

‘And he gives very nice hugs.’ Raina defended herself. ‘Besides, I can’t turn him away when he’s being so nice about it.’

By now, Kyra was clearly laughing at her, so Raina looked away, pouting. ‘You’re just jealous D.O doesn’t hug you.’

That shut her up quickly as she glared at her Raina, frowning. ‘For your information, he back-hugged me today.’

Raina’s jaw dropped. ‘No way!’ She sounded properly awed. Kyra smiled smugly. ‘Yes way.’

Raina quickly rushed to her side, landing on her bed with a bounce. ‘Spill!’

Kyra pretended to hold out for a moment but truth was, she was itching to spill and squeal about how cute D.O was with Raina. Beside her, Raina was squirming with excitement and she conceded.

Their loud squeals brought others to their room. ‘Psst, Raina?’

‘Mei?’

‘Are you awake? We’re making corndogs!’ She sounded excited and hearing corndogs, both girls were out in an instant, rushing out in their pajamas.

………………………………………….

Chen peered down at the sleeping girl.

Rose’s face showed the effects of the long day she’d had, her face and hands covered in blood, which had dried and crusted. Her clothes were also completely soiled and she looked absolutely wasted. He didn’t want to wake her up but he didn’t like the thought of leaving her here either.

Gently, he touched her shoulder. She stirred but didn’t open her eyes.

‘Rose?’ he called softly. She snored in response. ‘Star?’ he asked in an even lower voice, simultaneously reaching out through his link.

He was met with a block, the sort he suspected D.O would face if he tried to open his link with Chen. It felt like a solid wall. He pushed against it cautiously but it had very little give. Rose had closed herself up completely.

He would be impressed if he weren’t so worried. His connection with Star could not be compromised. Still, attempting to awaken Star when he was in the Legend’s territory would be downright stupid, what with the security cameras and other measures specifically meant to raise alarm at any sign of the Red Forces or Evil. Within their premises, it would be akin to suicide.

And while he may not be as averse to the idea as he would be if he were in a, say, completely healthy state of mind, he couldn’t drag innocents with him.

Sighing, he gently shook Rose’s shoulder again. ‘Hey, wake up! Let’s get somewhere more comfortable.’  

Of course, that didn’t wake her up. He bit his lips, thinking before abruptly turning and heading to the HQs.

The noise from the living room brought him up short. It was deathly silent in the hospital wing and the operating room, save for the ominous noises of machines – sounds that bothered him much more than he let on.

More than that, it was far too late for anyone to be up. But the living room was full of people – everyone except D.O, Xiumin and the Legends who were in the operating room, was gathered there, talking amongst themselves.

‘Chen!’ Baekhyun spied him first, waving him over. ‘Come on, Mei was telling us what happened.’

Chen forced a smile, not particularly eager to confirm what he suspected had transpired. ‘In a minute. I need to talk to Luhan.’

Luhan looked at him questioningly from where he’d been snuggling with Mei. Chen gestured with his head and thankfully, the Legend understood. He kissed Mei’s head before coming towards Chen. ‘Lead the way.’

Luhan’s face showed some surprise when he saw Rose but he didn’t ask any questions, just helped carry her to the room Chen had unlocked.

‘Just…’ Chen hurried over to the bed, pulling the covers back and setting the pillow properly. ‘Okay, you can put her down.’

Luhan gently set her on the bed and waited while Chen adjusted her, taking her boots off and tucking her in. The blood on her clothes dirtied the sheets but he didn’t think Xiumin or Leo would appreciate him changing their sisters’ clothes for them. ‘That should be enough,’ he muttered, looking down at her sleeping face.

‘That’s Lily’s sister, right?’ Luhan asked from where he was standing. ‘What happened?’ To his credit, Luhan did try not to sound too presumptuous or suspicious.

‘Dunno,’ Chen replied wearily. ‘I was out buying snacks, so I have no idea what they talked about but Suho had a meeting.’

‘Yeah, I heard.’ Luhan nodded.

‘Yes, well, somehow they figured something was happening with Leo and Rose, so Xiumin and Lay went over there, around the same time Kai took Suho and the rest to the amusement park… I suppose that rules her out as the attacker.’

Luhan nodded again, looking somewhat relieved. ‘So… that’s Leo in the OT?’

Chen nodded gloomily. Luhan sighed. ‘Xiumin’s…’

‘Talking to Lily. Don’t think he was looking forward to it, though.’

‘No, I imagine not.’ Luhan made a face. ‘This is such a mess.’

Chen nodded. ‘You can say that again.’

………………………………………