067
Descended FromThe StarsThere are no drastic changes in the days that follow my confession and it's not until we finish training the Saturday after that I actually register the small differences in the behavior of my Warriors.
Our food has cooled significantly by the time I am able to drag Chanyeol and Chen inside and stop them from sending small jets of heat at each other when they think I'm not looking. The heat waves and faint orange glow are actually rather easy to see, contrary to what they seem to believe.
Despite their playful nature when left to their own devices, once all of us are gathered in one room, the atmosphere turns darker and it feels like black clouds are pouring rain over us, dampening the mood and draining everyone of their energy. No one looks beyond their plate and unless it is to ask for someone to pass something over, no words are spoken. This has been the norm for over a month now and despite not liking it, I've become accustomed to the silence.
So when I hear a faintly whispered exchange between DO and Tao, I react as if someone has yelled at the top of their lungs from right behind me and startle in my seat, losing grip of one of my chopsticks and all but launching it towards an unsuspecting Kris.
When the small stick of metal hits him in the cheek, he doesn't glare or even scowl like I thought he would, he simply rolls it across the table back towards my cowering form and continues eating without actually raising his eyes.
A small noise from the stairwell sends jolts shivers down my spine because there's only one person who it could be and despite sorting through my problems with Seunghyun, we haven't even begun to make progress on the main issue at hand.
As quietly as he can, as if he's trying not to disturb us, Luhan shuffles through the doorway of the living room, sliding along the floor in his white socks to move almost silently, a bowl carefully balanced on a plate in one hand and a glass in the other. I cannot bring myself to even glance upon his face, I'm not certain I want to know what he looks like and give the faceless attackers who visit me in my sleep features beyond what they already have.
I turn my eyes to my food and follow a piece of kimchi as I push it around my plate.
Without even glancing our way, he passes by the table and enters the kitchen. He places his items in the dishwasher and opens the microwave to grab his serving of the food we currently eat without him.
A draw opens and I assume he's collecting a clean pair of chopsticks for the now luke-warm noodles. I flinch at the small sound and suddenly don't feel like eating, my stomach churning as I see a brief flash of his face, placing my own utensils down and pushing my bowl out from in front of me, offering it's leftover contents to anyone willing to take it.
A covered hand is placed on my own and draws my attention to Lay who sits to my right and peers down at me with slight concern in his glazed orbs.
For some reason or another, whether it be him using his abilities or not, I unearth a minuscule amount of courage that allows me to raise my head and somehow block out the faint noises and partial view of Luhan to look around the table at the others.
This is when I notice the first changes. The first piece of evidence that slowly starts steering us back to our normal selves.
Unlike every other time Luhan has snuck past to get his own fill of whatever DO has set aside for him, no one goes out of their way to try and set him on fire with their eyes or make him scurry out of the room faster than he already does. Not even Xiumin who is very protective
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