Yunho screamed, unwilling to believe his own eyes.

-Jaejoong!

Both dragons suddenly turned in the air and dived after Jaejoong. 

…

There were flying over a chain of mountains, the high peaks sticking their sharp edges to the sky. Even for the dragons it was a tricky manoeuvre to catch Jaejoong due to the edged cliffs. To Yunho’s horror, before the purple dragon was able to catch an unconscious Jaejoong, the man had helplessly struck against the face of the mountain. 

Yunho jumped from one dragon to the other to check on his friend. One side of the face was covered in blood, the skin scratched where it had slid against the rock. But what looked far worse was a deep cut on the head. He used his own sweater to wrap Jaejoong’s head and pleaded with the dragons to fly as fast as possible to the hospital. 

Sailor and Blur were both anxious and worried, their feelings reaching Yunho at full force. However, he was barely aware that he felt not just his dragon but Jaejoong’s too. He could only hold his friend closely to his body, cradling his head with the utmost care while silent tears fell down his face and fear made his entire body feel cold. He had only just realised Jaejoong was his Linked One. What had happened?

…

Sarah was on her carriage, her mind lost in thoughts. She hated how she still hadn’t learned to ride a horse even after being in Lhara for months now. Or as the people from Lhara put it, some blue cycles. 

She sighed while edging the horse to move faster. The track along the canyon was beautiful but deserted at such a late hour. Almost everyone had decided to stay behind to party but she had not felt in the mood. 

Her mind insisted on thinking about Kim Junsu. The annoying and yet lovable Kim Junsu. She was back at trying to figure out why the man liked to so much. She wasn’t from Lhara and, even if she was, he could never like her unless if both of them were under the effects of the infamous Connection. That only left that he didn’t like her or was jealous of her. 

Looking at the dragons crisscrossing the sky she decided it might have been jealousy. She had been made doctor, regardless of her young age, and Junsu had to wait for the adulthood ceremony. She huffed. That was not her fault. 

A dark shadow passed over her. Sarah ignored it. She had grown accustomed to the dragons flying around, sometimes as low enough as to almost topple her to the floor with the gushes of wind they caused. 

-Hello!

Sarah screamed, startled. A pair of strong arms pulled her up and off her seat on the carriage. The horse darted away scared, leaving her dangling her feet over the edge of the canyon. 

-Kim Junsu! What the hell do you think you’re doing? 

-You know you asked me the same thing when I pulled you from your carriage the other day?

Sarah sunk her nails into Junsu, too angry to answer back but also too frightened of the increasing height. The dragon was flying belly up. She had no idea how that was even possible. Junsu was apparently holding himself to the dragon only by his legs, his hands still pulling her arms and trying to reach her waist for a better hold. 

The dragon slowly turned and Junsu was able to grab Sarah properly. She found herself sitting on the man’s lap, much like the other day he had mentioned. This time, however, she swallowed her anger and simply held on to the man, feeling relieved that he seemed to be hugging her so strongly. 

Junsu looked down and struggled to keep his chuckle silent. Sarah was probably scared judging by how she was hiding her face in his chest. He tried to move a little but decided against it. Her nails were sunk in him like a scared kitty stuck in a tree. 

With a satisfied sigh, Junsu simply held Sarah closely and enjoyed the dragon’s flight into the night. 

…

Yunho rushed inside the hospital with a still unconscious Jaejoong in his arms. The doctors lost no time waiting for explanations and took him for treatment, leaving behind a lost Yunho. The tall man leaned against the nearby wall and almost collapsed to the floor. 

Outside, the two dragons sent warm breath through the window in Yunho’s direction. He turned to the two huge animals. They were leaning against each other, although their eyes were on him. That sent a pang to his heart. His arms were feeling empty without Jaejoong. His heart, body and mind were feeling empty without his Linked One’s presence. 

Yunho walked out and hugged his dragon’s neck. Jaejoong’s dragon nuzzled his legs. The tall man allowed himself to cry and let his despair run free. Soon, Jaejoong’s parents would probably be alerted and race to the hospital. He would have to be ready to talk to them. He knew they’d likely look to him for answers. 

…

After Changmin’s challenge, the dragon didn’t disappoint him. The young man even had to hold on tight to the scales on the dragon’s neck, going so far as to wish there were belts there too.

“Red scales.”

“What?”

Changmin blinked back the tears caused by the speed and looked at the spot he hadn’t noticed before. It had a slightly reddish colour among the deep dark green. He touched the scale and to his surprise it hid a leather strap.

“No way…”

“Heechul liked to call me a big flying horse. Any way, you seem to like the same kind of flying he did, so you better use those leather straps to hold on. I haven’t even started yet.”

“Heechul?”

The dragon didn’t give his rider enough time to wonder because he suddenly turned and dived; causing the young man to hold one as hard as he could when he found himself staring at the ground. Upside down. The damn dragon was flying upside down. 

After the surprise wore off, Changmin felt relaxed and at ease. It was as if he was in some sort of limbo. They were still flying across forest, mountains and lakes as if they had all the time in the world. Life was on hold. He didn’t really had to worry about anything for the moment. He could just enjoy the view and the fantastic feeling that he was the one with open wings riding the wind.

…

Junsu was feeling conflicted. The temperature was dropping. He needed to warm Sarah but he wasn’t even wearing a jacket. Besides, he had no idea how he was going to talk to her. How could he just tell a girl he only meet a few blue cycles ago that she was his Linked One? Especially when he had been so awful to her all that time. 

In the end, he asked the dragon to fly to Sarah’s house. Without waking her up, Junsu carried her inside and tucked her in bed. Maybe it was that infamous adulthood finally kicking in but he had a feeling that stupid senseless teasing was not the way to handle things. Fighting the sudden desire to kiss Sarah’s forehead goodnight, Junsu left the house with a thoughtful look.

“What is the matter?”

“I have no idea how to make her like me. She won’t feel The Connection. There is nothing to make her agree to be my Linked One.”

“She likes you.”

“You think? Lhara, I hope so. Otherwise, I think I’ll be in big trouble.”

“Where to now?”

“My house. I need a jacket and some blankets. It gets cold for us little humans to fly as high as you dragons do with no protection.”

…

Yunho and Jaejoong’s parents were waiting for the doctors. The sisters were also starting to arrive. Like Yunho had predicted, everyone assumed he had answers in the doctor’s absence. 

The young man tried standing alone in viewing distance of the dragons. When a doctor finally arrived, Yunho recognized him as one of Junsu’s teachers.

-Mr. Kim, Mr. Jung, ladies. Jaejoong is still unconscious for the moment. His head was hit rather badly but there appears to be no damage. All our tests showed nothing. However, we still need to wait until he wakes up to make a better assessment. 

-Can we go see him?

-Yes, just please keep quiet. He’s not sedated but it’s probably best if his body is allowed more rest. 

Yunho felt as if he could breathe again.

…

Jaejoong woke up dazed and confused. There was a hand holding his own. Yunho. If he was in bed with Yunho holding his hand it meant he was sick. He searched his memory finding nothing. Other things started to penetrate his senses. The smell was definitely the one from a hospital. The bed wasn’t as comfortable as his. The only familiar thing was Yunho’s warm hand holding his own.

With some effort and fighting a blinding headache, Jaejoong blinked and opened his eyes. Yunho looked at if he was holding back from hugging him in relief. It even looked as if Yunho had cried. Jaejoong thought that was completely odd. The only time he had ever seen the man almost cry was when his little sister had been very sick when she was still in diapers. He blinked again at his friend.

…

Yunho felt such a rush of relief when he saw Jaejoong wake up that he was almost dizzy and breathless. The last hours had been absolutely awful, the worry eating his insides and the guilt driving him insane. If he hadn’t distracted Jaejoong…

Then everyone had looked at Yunho searching for answers and reassurance. Even his friend’s parents had only calmed down after seeing him, as if he could control what happened to their son. All that time Yunho felt alone like never before in his entire life. He was supporting everyone, keeping them calm and comforting them. However, no one could do the same for him; in fact, no one even seemed to think he might need it. He never felt so scared. 

Looking into those deep brown eyes again was like a balm on his mind and body. Jaejoong was awake. Everything was going to be ok. Yunho smiled broadly at his best friend, at his future Linked One, at the one person he loved the most in the entire world. All his love shining in his eyes. He was actually physically holding himself back so he wouldn’t just hug and kiss Jaejoong. Especially with so many people in the room with them. He sighed a little. There was so much he wanted to tell his Joongie. His. Really his. Yunho smiled again. 

…

Jaejoong smiled back at Yunho. The man looked so relieved he could only wonder what had happened and how he had ended up in the hospital, He gave him a smile and nodded at his parents and sisters, who were unusually quiet, before returning his attention to his friend. Yunho was almost vibrating. Then, as he looked more closely at the taller man, he noticed something strange. The way Yunho was looking at him was different. Very different. It made him uneasy for some reason.

Jaejoong suddenly let go of the warm hand and looked better around the room. His parents and his Linked moms. His sisters. A doctor. And Yunho. There was no Lydia. Changmin, Yoochun and Junsu were missing as well. 

-W-where’s… Lydia? Max? Chun? Su?

-I think they must be long gone with their dragons. Even Yoochunnie, how about that? Some dragon apparently took pity on him and agreed to take him flying. And more surprising, Chun let him. They are all too far away and immersed in creating the new bond for us to be able to contact them telepathically. We weren’t even authorized to use the bracelets. 

Jaejoong smiled uneasily at Yunho. He wasn’t worried about his own dragon bond. Not right now. Maybe later he would ask if he should be near his dragon instead of in a hospital room. He wasn’t even wondering anymore about why and how he ended up here. He simply wanted someone else in that room. Now. He needed someone to look at him the same way as Yunho so that he could relax that everything was normal. He needed his other friends next to his best friend. Because right now Yunho was looking far from normal and it was freaking him out. Worst part was that he knew that look very well. It was how his moms looked at his father when he was unwell. It was a look full of love, caring and concern but a different kind of love than motherly or friendly. It was a look you could only give to a Linked One. 

…