Jongin startled awake. It was still pitch black outside. He was dead tired, why had he woken up? Had he gotten a nightmare? But then he realized Sehun lay beside him in the bed, shaking. Worried he might be cold, Jongin pulled the covers up higher over him. Sehun was shivering something fierce. Something wasn't right. Jongin reached for the bedside lamp, turning it on to get a better look at him.

Jongin let out a quiet gasp.

Sehun was drenched in sweat. His hair was so wet, it looked like he had just come out of the shower, not bothering to dry his hair at all. The pillow had large water stains on them. What was going on? The hand of fear got a hold of Jongin's heart, its fingers squeezing it until it hurt. Something was really, really wrong with Sehun. Exorian bodies were supposed to have expert temperature regulation. No matter how energetically Sehun jumped around, he never ever broke a sweat.

Jongin felt Sehun's forehead. He was burning up. Jongin tried to stop panicking long enough to focus on figuring out what could possibly be wrong. Had he caught a cold? Oh! The faint headache Jongin had gave him an idea. Maybe Sehun was hung-over. It had to be one hell of a hangover though, one for the books. Maybe alcohol was more poisonous to Exorians than humans. It was plausible. Sehun had gotten drunk alarmingly fast and passed out after consuming a ridiculously small amount.

Sehun let out a low whimper.

Jongin fought back the tears. He didn't know what to do. He could see Sehun was in a bad way, maybe dangerously so. Jongin wanted to make it all better, but how? The only thing he could think of was taking him to the doctor, but could human doctors do anything for him? He was pretty sure human doctors knew nothing about Exorian physiology. Besides, the moment they caught on that Sehun was an extraterrestrial, they would take him away and quarantine him, putting him through all kinds of scary tests, just like they did to E.T. in that movie. Jongin would probably never see him again. No. He couldn't take Sehun to the doctor. No way.

A single tear broke free, running down Jongin's cheek. He tried to calm himself down. He had to maintain a level head, even though he was freaking out. He had to do it for Sehun. Sehun needed him and he couldn't let him down.

Jongin took a deep, calming breath.

What to do? What to do?

Jongin wished his dad was here, he would know what to do. His dad was not only a farmer, but a self-taught vet. He really had a way with creatures. Jongin tried to think back, to what his dad used to do when one of their animals were sick.

Ah, the most important thing was to get Sehun's temperature down. He jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed a bowl and filled it with water, fetching some ice in the freezer and throwing it in there as well. He sprinted to the bathroom, grabbing a couple of small towels, and the first aid kit, along with some painkillers and cold medicine.

“Please don't die. Please don't die.” Jongin hummed in a whisper while he was getting everything ready. He returned to the bedroom armed with everything he could think of that could help when one was sick. He was going to have to improvise. He was determined to save Sehun, no matter what it took.

Jongin dipped one of the towels into the bowl, letting out a low hiss when his hands hit the ice cold water. He got a shiver down his spine. Man, that was cold.

Jongin put the freezing cold towel on Sehun's forehead, using another one to wipe the sweat off his face and neck. Sehun was white as a sheet. Jongin wondered whether it could be possible that Sehun was dying because Jongin refused to accept the role as his soulmate. Nah. Sehun had said that even though unbonded Exorians had a shorter lifespan, they did have life, albeit a lonely one. It had to be the alcohol. But that wasn't any better, because it was still Jongin's fault Sehun was dying. He had poisoned him.

Jongin couldn't hold back any longer, the tears started running at full speed, sliding down his cheeks and falling to their demise, one after the other. He wet the towel again, the water was still insanely cold. He couldn't tell if it was working.

“Ehh...” Sehun stirred, struggling with opening his eyes and failing.

“I.. I need...” Sehun whispered nearly inaudibly, half delirious.

Jongin put his ear up to Sehun's mouth so he wouldn't miss a word. “Yeah? What do you need?” he asked anxiously. He was ready to give Sehun anything he needed, if only he would get better.

“I need to consummate... the bond.” Sehun murmured, raising his hand sluggishly, his hand grabbing nothing but thin air when it was too weak to reach Jongin.

The bond. So this was all because of that retched mark of his. Not only did it want control over both of their lives, it was making Sehun so sick he was barely surviving.

Ah, maybe Sehun was in heat, kind of like werewolves or something, and it was temporary and would eventually pass. It had to pass, right? They just had to wait it out. Jongin was not going sleep with him just because he had a fever. Sure, it was no ordinary fever, but still, that was asking too much. Jongin had never even done it before, not with a girl, definitely not with a guy, let alone an alien. And it wouldn't be just sleeping together, consummating the bond meant that he succumbed to being Sehun's soulmate, agreeing to bind himself to him for the rest of his life. He was not ready for alien marriage just yet.

“No. I'm sorry. I can't.” Jongin whispered softly to Sehun. “I'll do anything else for you, just not that.”.

“Please... just... take my hand.” Sehun pleaded as he reached his hand out towards Jongin again.

Okay, hand-holding he could do. It was the least he could do after rejecting him.

Jongin took Sehun's hand in his, holding it firmly.

Sehun's hand felt really warm. It felt so warm, Jongin was starting to feel warm too. He could feel a couple of pearls of sweat sprout out from his forehead. He closed his eyes, trying to send Sehun some healing energy through his hand, even though he didn't really believe in that kind of stuff, but hey, it couldn't hurt.

Sehun groaned and held Jongin's hand tighter, entwining their fingers together.

Jongin was not ready for what came next. A wave of extremely powerful feelings washed over him. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was intoxicating. Overpowering. Endorphins rushed through his body, creating a euphoric haze in which he lost himself. Everything disappeared, except Sehun's hand. He could still feel Sehun's hand, connected with his. It felt like there was an invisible bond forming between them, like a thin rope was crawling up his hand from Sehun's palm. When it reached his heart, it sprouted invisible roots. He was overtaken by an extreme feeling of belonging.

What was happening?