Kai wakes up sometime later in the hospital, wires snaking down from his face and connecting to some weird machines off to the sides of his bed. It's more like a cot, really, so that's what he decides to call it. A cot. Sounds just about right.

His back feels kind of stiff, and he wonders how long he's been out. Probably a while, considering how his legs have practically fallen asleep. Then he wonders why he's in the hospital. His eyes focus to a doctor and nurse standing to his sides. Then he gags.

It feels like he's throwing up, only he's not. The tube begins to pump out the insides of his stomach, and he tries not to actually retch and lose whatever else is in there. Finally, after what seems like years, he begins to calm down, the heaving sensation from within his body lessening. The tube is removed and he's given some water and pills.

"Dammit," he curses weakly. "What's going on?" 

The doctor chuckles a bit. "Full of spunk, this one." He jots something down on a clipboard and nods. "It's very surprising. He got here a bit too late, and he should have been," he says while adjusting his glasses, "Well..." He pauses to glance down at the clipboard again. "Jongin should have been a goner." 

That's when Kai spots the couple sitting on the couch beside his cot. They stand, weary and worried. "Thank you, doctor." With a nod, the doctor leaves them to attend to him. 

"Kai... what were you thinking?" Kyungsoo gently places his hand on Kai's forehead, his hair in the comforting, maternal way that was just so Kyungsoo. Joonmyun followed, his hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder. 

"What? What happened?" Kai croaks, unaware of why he's in the hospital.

Kyungsoo and Joonmyun exchange glances. "You took too many sleeping pills. The doctor said it would be a miracle if you survived. They flushed your stomach." 

"You're stronger than this, Kai." If anything, Joonmyun just looks disappointed. 

Kai shakes his head. "No." Upon seeing the confused faces of the couple, he explains, "I mean, I didn't do it purposely. It was an accident." 

"An accident?" They look skeptical-- and who wouldn't? Taking too many pills is not exactly a common accident. 

"Ah, Kai! You're okay!" A handsome man with a dimpled smile enters the room.

Confused, Kai raises an eyebrow and sits up. Kyungsoo helps him rearrange the pillow behind his back so he won't be uncomfortable leaning against the unsupportive headboard of the cot. "Do I know you?"

He smiles gently. "Probably not. I'm a friend of a friend, you could say. My name's Yixing. Pleasure to finally meet you in person," he greets, giving Kai a warm handshake, squeezing his hand reassuringly. The name seems foreign, like Luhan's.

Luhan.

The name itself sends a pang through Kai's heart. Slowly, things begin to piece together. He recalls shoving a handful of pills into his mouth and swallowing, waiting for things to go black just because--

"Kai?" Yixing's calling his name softly. Kai looks up and clears his throat.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Kai shakes his mind clear and bites his lip.

Yixing nods. "I was just explaining to your friends here that it was purely an accident. Wasn't it? I mean, it's understandable that when you can't sleep, you tend to rely on pills, and when one doesn't work, I mean, you get a bit drowsy and your thought process slows a bit. So it's possible for Jongin to have swallowed all those pills accidentally."

Yixing's a miracle worker-- the couple seems to believe him. He mouths a thank you to him, receiving a wink back. Somehow, it doesn't seem creepy even though it's the first time Kai's ever seen him. 

The handsome man looks down at his watch and tsks. "You know, I really must get going. I'll see you around!" 

Just as Yixing steps out and closes the door, it dawns on him.

Xing. Yixing.

Kai wants to get up and run after him, to interrogate the hell out of him and clear everything up, so he does. Ignoring Joonmyun's worried shouts, he yanks the door open and scans the hospital's hallway, dashing through it. When he finally reaches the waiting room, it's almost empty, only a few worried strangers here and there, visiting their loved ones.

He wants to scream obscenities at the top of his lungs, but refrains from doing so. Instead, he allows himself to be gently dragged back into his hospital room by a doctor. Great. This is just fricking great.

<><><>

Luhan gently taps Yunho. "Can I go visit him? Please? He's asleep, anyway."

Yunho shakes his head. "You almost killed him." Luhan opens his mouth to protest, but Yunho holds his hand up to silence him. "I'm not finished." He heaves a sigh. "Listen... I see a bit of me in you, and I see a bit of Jaejoong in Kai. It's best not to do anything."

"But I love him!" There. It was out, put bluntly for anyone to hear. 

Again. A simple shake of the head. Luhan can see that Yunho's trying his best to stay calm. "Listen to me. You can't stay on Earth for that long, or you'll be forced to stay there forever--"

"So what?! I can live with him! And we'll both be happy! Can't you see?! I'm willing to give up heaven for him!" Hot, angry tears are sliding down Luhan's face now, and he wipes them angrily with the back of his hand.

Yunho finally loses his calm. "Don't you understand?! There are so many things you don't know about Earth! How do you thing an unregistrated person will live on Earth?! And you'll weigh him down! He'll have to work twice as hard to provide for you, and he'll have to hide you from everyone! And you won't even be allowed to tell him why!" 

It was thought that once an angel exposed their true identity, they would disappear forever. A loophole around that would be if one found out about the existence of angels themselves, or had simply believed them to be real all along. 

"He died for me, Luhan, and I wasn't even able to tell him why!" Yunho begins to tear, and Luhan wants to look away, but he can't. 

Luhan gently touches Yunho's shoulder. "I- I'm sorry... But Jong- Kai's asleep, and he won't notice me, I promise. Please." 

Yunho finally gives in, and with that, Luhan slowly disappears.

<><><>

In the morning, Kai wakes up on his cot and stretches out his arms. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun enter, carrying bags. 

"I brought you magazines to read!" Joonmyun announces happily, placing the bag with the stack of magazines on the floor by the couch. "Now, who do you want to read about first? SNSD, or--"

"I brought Gaeran toast! We bought it outside, and I thought we should all eat breakfast together, so--" As soon as Kyungsoo places the bag down on the bed, he turns to Kai. "What's that?" 

"What?" Kai turns to look behind him, but he's not sure if Kyungsoo's referring to anything behind him, because the only thing there is a potted plant. "Well, I'm not sure, but it could be an Arrowhead Vine. Of course, I'm not a plant expert, but those are very common household plants as they are easy to maintain indoors--"

"No, I mean..." It only takes a minute for Joonmyun to come over to look.

"Have you secretly gone clubbing behind our backs?" Joonmyun shakes his head in mock-disappointment and chuckles at his own joke. "Your face is covered in golden glitter." 

Kyungsoo's offering him a mirror so he takes it, examining his own face. It was true-- his face was covered in golden glitter. "What...?"

Golden glitter. His eyes widen.

HEY GUYS DIDJA MISS ME AT ALL?! NO? ...

Well, anyways. Hope you enjoyed! And I did do some research for the potted plant part so

APPRECIATE MY ATTEMPT AT COMIC RELIEF DAMMIT