Around the same time Luhan, Kai and Sehun left for the airport, all three eager – for their own, varying reasons – to see Mei again, Chanyeol opened his eyes.

At first, he couldn’t see anything and thought he’d gone blind. So he panicked and thrashed about and struck something.

Or someone, going by the rather loud yelp.

‘OUCH!!!’

Baekhyun.

Relaxing at the familiar voice, Chanyeol blinked and rubbed the gritty film that was sticking his eyes together away. Everything was blurry but a couple more blinks and he could make out his friend leaning over his worriedly.

‘Hey.’ He’d meant to say it loudly, clearly but what emerged from his mouth was a dry croak. Which suddenly drove home the fact that he was thirsty. Terribly so.

‘Water…’ he croaked out again and Baekhyun’s head disappeared before reappearing almost immediately.

‘Here you go!’

He pushed himself up on his elbows, groaning as the joints ached with movement. How long had he been out? He felt stiff and rather sore all over and man, was that stink coming off him?

He grabbed the glass from Baekhyun’s hand and poured it over his face, rubbing his fingers vigorously to clean his eyes, then gulped the remaining and swirled it around in his mouth instead of swallowing. He looked around for a place to spit it out in and Baekhyun directed his head towards the bin that was resting beside his bed.

Wait, what was with the clinical setting? He hurriedly glanced down at his chest, half-expecting tubes and pins sticking to him – like they showed in the movies – but all he was wearing was his extremely dirty t-shirt, the one he’d been wearing when they fought Evil.

He tried to talk but coughed, the dryness in his throat too much but another glass was offered and he swallowed it in one huge gulp. Then coughed again, punching his chest as to ease the water down and then finally, land into his stomach.

It grumbled loudly, eliciting a several laughs. That’s when he realized that there were others in the room as well.

D.O, leaning against the wall at the far end, looking brooding as ever. Lay sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking pale but cheerful as he held Xiumin’s hand, his thumb caressing the elder’s fingers. And of course Baekhyun, his hair standing on end and circles under his eyes.

‘You look like .’ Chanyeol told him, not liking the way his lower lip was trembling.

‘And whose fault is that, you ?’ Baekhyun snapped, angrily blinking the tears that leaked out of his eyes. ‘Fainting like that! What are you, a girl???’

Say what now?

‘WHAT?’ he yelled, making Xiumin and Lay jerk. Xiumin let out a pained groan, the movement obviously hurting him. Dude looked like a dead carcass come to life but Chanyeol addressed the most pressing issue. ‘Come again? I fainted?’

‘Like a sissy damsel.’ Baekhyun sniffed elegantly, his pretty hand coming up to buff casually against his chest.

‘Pff…’ Chanyeol sputtered, ‘as if…’

Baekhyun smirked, looking away but the relief was evident on his face and that made Chanyeol feel better. He didn’t like worrying people, hated that more than he hated being unhappy. But for some reason, he couldn’t find it in his heart to smile.

That was strange.

He always felt like smiling. Something wasn’t right. He furrowed his brow, his teeth emerging to gnaw on his bottom lip as he thought it over.

It felt like something was missing but he couldn’t put a hand on it.  He thought back, trying to remember what had happened before he passed out – in a manly way, not like a sissy damsel…

They had been fighting Evil. Then, the bastard started playing the tragedy of Karen’s death and Kris…

That was what was wrong.

He couldn’t feel his Shadow, couldn’t feel that distinctive tug near his heart that connected him with his counterpart. And soon as he realized that, something else registered with him.

‘Whoa, easy!’ Baekhyun hurriedly hopped off the bed as Chanyeol yanked the sheets away, jumping to a stand. His balance wasn’t so good, not when he’d been lying down for who knew how long and his head felt dizzy but he ignored it all, snapping his fingers.

‘Come on!’ he muttered, snapping them over and over again. When that didn’t do anything, he grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and concentrated with all his might.

Nothing.

Not a goddam single spark, let alone the inferno that should’ve shot out.

‘Wha…’ he had to clear his throat before he could talk. ‘What happened? Where’s Kris?’

An awkward silence fell among them. Baekhyun looked away, not meeting his eyes and Xiumin, still looking terrible, weakly pulled his hand out Lay’s grip, patting his back and nodding towards him. D.O hadn’t moved from his spot but his huge eyes were fixed on Chanyeol.

Lay stood up and approached him slowly, lifting his hands in a familiar gesture. ‘Sit down, I need to make sure…’

‘What’s wrong with me?’ He tried not to panic but it was worrisome. Very very worrisome. Oh heck, who was he fooling? He was panicking, damn near hysteric but Lay’s soothing hands on his arm were like a tranq shot.

‘Sit down.’ Lay directed him to the sofa and forced him down. ‘Nothing’s wrong with you and if something does come up, I’m here.’ He smiled his gentle smile and Chanyeol let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

Maybe it was just that he’d been knocked out like that and had been inactive for so long…

It’s never been a problem before, his mind spoke up, raising doubts. Why now?

Lay went about his work as he always did, running his hands over him like scanners, taking his pulse, making him open his mouth and peek inside. He even asked Baekhyun to flash light into his eyes. After all that, he sat back on his heels and scratched his head.

‘Nothing’s wrong as far as I can determine.’ He sounded confused. ‘You’re in a better physical condition than before since I healed you and I honestly don’t detect any other conflicts.’

‘But?’ It was obvious there was a but.

Lay looked at him in the eyes. ‘But there’s no power inside you.’

……………………

Angel was feeling very warm and very, very comfortable. Her pillow was rather hard but comfortingly warm and the blanket over her felt like a hug – a very loving, very protective embrace. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled deeper.

Her pillow rumbled, moving a little so she patted it and made herself more comfortable on it, her arm going around to look for something to put over her head. She grabbed the first thing that touched her questing fingers and put it on her eyes. It was warm, like the pillow, and rather slim but she was too sleepy to make anything of it.

She was sleeping in after what felt like years and she was going to make the best of it. No way was she getting up before noon, nu uh!

Her pillow seemed to have other ideas. It rumbled again and the slim thing on her head moved to her hair. Not that she minded because it was caressing her head softly but honestly, she wanted to block the sunlight. Whining, she buried her head into the pillow.

It rumbled again, louder this time and a voice accompanied the rumbling.

Angel, baby, I need to get up.

She shook her head. Why did her pillow need to get up? It needed to stay where it was, right under her head. She wrapped her arms around it tightly. She wasn’t letting it go anywhere.

Angel please…

Funny, her pillow sounded just like Suho.

Suho… she smiled dreamily – she’d had the most wonderful dream last night. He’d come over to her house, wanting to climb in through the window but she’d insisted he come in through the front door because he was sick and then…

There was a puddle of gooey warmth and melting inside her tummy, just remembering that sweet, unrestrained kiss. So passionate and yet so loving. And then…

Tonight, I just want to hold you…

Argh, he was giving her butterflies – hundreds of thousands of them – even in her dreams.

There was that rumble again – it reminded her of Suho’s laugh so she was going to forgive her pillow for not staying still.

‘It wasn’t a dream, baby.’

The words were whispered right in her ear, breath fanning over it and her neck and chills went up and down her spine. Then, the meaning registered.

What?

She hurriedly opened her eyes and met the warm, brown ones of her boyfriend.

Suho.

Suho was in her room. In her – she gulped – bed. In her arms.

Blushing to the very roots of her hair, she loosened her death grip around his chest – which, she might add, she’d been using as her pillow… no wonder it had felt so hard and warm and… snap out of it!!!

She hurriedly backed away, trying to untangle her legs from his but he chuckled quietly and followed her, rolling her onto her back and looming over her.

Blushing furiously, she looked away from his face but trust her, looking at his chest was not a good idea. His button down shirt was open more than halfway and the pale sliver of skin she could see in the morning light was beautiful, to say the least. She quickly looked away, her eyes snagging on his arm resting beside her head.

Her neck was exposed at this angle, her hair spread out on the pillow and this was so not the time to remember the hickeys he gave her. If she’d been blushing before, surely she was on fire now…

‘Aren’t you going to give me a good morning kiss?’ He asked, the pout clear in his voice. She closed her eyes and shook her head furiously. She’d probably attack him if she got her lips anywhere near him right now and…

‘What makes you think I won’t like that?’

Crap. She had forgotten about the eerie connection they had – that let them read each other like open books. In her defense, she’d been really sleepy until a few moments ago.

‘So…’ Now his voice had a teasing quality, amusement lacing each syllable. ‘How about it? Hmm?’

Geez, she’d also forgotten how much he enjoyed teasing her. In her defense – no really, hear her out first – she had been too busy mourning not being able to be with him. Yes, that was it.

‘I won’t move until you give me my morning kiss. You know that, right?’

Crap, crap, crap. When had she turned so forgetful? In addition to teasing her, he loved putting her in uncomfortable situations and forcing her to take initiative. She knew he wouldn’t move until she gave him that damned morning kiss.

Scrunching her eyes so she could barely squint at him – because if she looked at him, with his hair mussed like that and looking so unbelievably handsome, she’d lose her nerve. Or her control. Neither of which would be good, seeing as they were in her room, her parents right down the corridor and God, this was so embarrassing – she slowly lifted her head and kissed his cheek.

Of course, he wasn’t having that. Refusing to let her back off with that chaste kiss, his hand gripping her head in place, he smiled at her. Nope, there really was no getting out of it.

Closing her eyes completely, she let her lips brush against his.

Electricity seemed to shoot from the point of contact and the rest of her body. With him, it was always, always explosive and it always got out of hand, like an uncontrollable fire.

He deepened the kiss and she let him, her control not lasting even a second. She pushed herself up on her elbows, then put one arm on his shoulder, her hand resting on the back of his neck. He pushed her back into the headboard, getting a bit rough but she didn’t mind that at all. This gave her the leverage to wind her other arm around him as well. He pulled her up, making her straddle his lap as he straightened, their lips not separating even for a second.

His arms were around her now, wrapped in a tight embrace that wouldn’t let her escape if she tried to. Thing was, she had no desire to do so.

When he finally did let her go, they were both panting. His chin rested on her head, nestled into his neck in a familiar position and his hands started playing with her hair, twisting the loose strands around his fingers.

She’d missed this so much. She sniffled, too overjoyed to contain her happiness.

‘I love you.’ He murmured quietly, kissing her temple. She hugged him tightly, knowing that he was saying goodbye.

‘Do you have to go?’ She didn’t look at him.

‘I’ll come back.’

‘Tonight?’

There was silence and she wondered if she’d been too bold. But he laughed quietly again. ‘If that’s what you want…’

Smiling a little herself, she looked up at him. Their eyes held, stretching the moment into one of deep profundity and infinity and before she knew it, she was rising up to meet his lips again. He lowered his and they were a mere breath apart, her eyes sliding close as she anticipated that beautiful, sweet touch…

The harsh sound of phone ringing loudly completely shattered the mood. They stared at each other for a second, then glanced at the cellphone that was resting beside the pillow and she burst out laughing as Suho scowled

Here was yet another thing she’d completely forgotten.

They were always interrupted when they were getting serious.

Suho’s lips pursed in annoyance as if that alone was enough to shut the thing up but it’d never worked before and it didn’t work now.

Still giggling, she slid off his lap and grabbed his cellphone, delighted to see their couple selfie in the background. He really was the best.

He was grumbling when he took the phone and she giggled again – he could be such a whiner at times – then leaned down to kiss his cheek and pranced to the toilet. If he was going to leave, she’d better make him breakfast.

It was still too early for her parents to be up, so it wouldn’t be a problem.

Hopefully.

……………………

Suho’s frown deepened when he heard what Baekhyun was saying. ‘Are you sure?’ He asked again.

‘Absolutely.’

‘Like nothing?’

‘Yup. I guess Kris has his powers now… like D.O has Chen’s?’

‘Certainly seems like it.’ He bit his lip, chewing it worriedly. ‘What about Chanyeol, how’s he taking it?’

‘He hasn’t smiled since he woke up.’ Baekhyun’s voice quavered a little.

‘That bad?’ It was hard to picture an unsmiling Chanyeol – heck the guy had kept up his happy smiles when the whole fiasco with Chen had started, doing his damnedest to keep up the team morale. He must be taking it really hard.

Then again, he’d lost both his powers and his Shadow. They had no idea where Kris had taken off to or what the hell he was doing. He’d been the first to recover – or not, seeing how unstable his mental condition had been… not that anyone could blame him. His mate had been murdered ruthlessly by their archenemy, of course the guy had lost it. So it was not that much of a shock – to most of them, anyway – that he’d suddenly taken off.  

But that didn’t nullify whatever pain Chanyeol was going through. Another, even more terrible thought occurred to him. ‘He’s not crying, is he?’ God, he didn’t think he could take tears from their resident happy virus.

‘He hasn’t, not yet… though I think it’d be better if he did.’ Baekhyun sounded subdued himself. ‘He’s blaming himself.’

‘What for?’ Suho was astounded. What part in this entire situation was Chanyeol’s fault?

‘He saw Xiumin’s burns and even though I explained that it was Kris’s doing, he thinks it’s his fault. I kinda think he feels like he should’ve foreseen how Kris would react and stopped him from taking his powers.’

There was nothing more to say, so Baekhyun said goodbye and hung up.

Suho rubbed his forehead. He normally didn’t get headaches but it certainly felt like one was coming on right now.

Between Kris’s leaving and Xiumin’s near death and Chen’s certain death, things were bad. Tao was in shock – he’d been wrecked when Kris had left for the first time, Suho wasn’t sure if the cub could survive this second round – and Sehun had definitely hit maturity. He was going through it right now.

And he had to arrange for proper equipment to sustain Chen’s comatose body until D.O was ready to pull the plug… euthanasia… and Baekhyun was obviously going through hell with both his best friends out of commission and now Chanyeol…poor guy.

Poor Lay, too. The guy took it to heart if his healing didn’t work. He beat himself up over everything that went wrong because he could foresee and not always act on it. They knew he’d seen Chen’s death and probably, even Kris’s departure.

Oh crap. He rubbed his forehead harder, feeling a throb right behind his eyes. To think he’d thought he might get a chance to relax now that they were in Oulphesden.

Angel opened the door and peeked inside, ‘Come on, I made breakfast for us.’ She whispered quietly. He nodded, smiling so she wouldn’t worry.

Of course, with their link, it was useless. She slid inside, the sight of her wearing an apron cute enough to almost distract him from his problems, and stood beside him, her hands rubbing soothingly on his back. ‘I know you’re worried and you need to figure out how to handle things but you can’t think on an empty stomach. Trust me, you’ll feel better if you’ve had something to eat.’

As if in agreement, his stomach rumbled loudly, making them smile. He stood up, giving her a hug. The day had just begun and he already knew things were going to be hectic and who knew when he’d get the chance to see her again.

She hugged him tighter. ‘You can come whenever you’re free. I understand.’

God, he had the best mate in the world. 

Kissing her – just because – he took her hand and let her lead him out.

……………………

A/N

Because we all need Suho and Angel moments, I'll shamelessly post fluff regarding this couple.

Also, i kind of sort of mess with everything I've built so far to bring it crashing down like a house of cards - literally, I'm not even joking because there are just so many things that go wrong :/ Chen and Kris... and now Chanyeol... I'd like to say that's the end of it but its not. So... yeah, just a heads up. I'll fix it, though - promise :)