The numerous chirps that came from birds pierced into the darkest corners of Changbin's mind, filling his head with them, and them alone. The normally pleasing sound gradually became annoying to hear, and Changbin wanted to block his ears and force the sound to stop, but he just lied there, unable to move.
His chest felt light, like he was floating on clouds, and he used his hands to grip the area surrounding him, searching for something, or someone.
With one deep breath, Changbin's eyes fluttered open, quickly scanning wherever he was. The room looked unfamiliar, and the window on the white walls was open. Rays of light cascaded through the opening, brightening the already lit up room, and a blue bird was perched on a branch next to the window, chirping over and over again. It watched Changbin with its head cocked to the side curiously, and then flew away.
A hand slipped into Changbin's own, alerting him of another person's presence next to him. That was when he took sight of his mother's relieved face, and the IV stand next to the bed he was in. Changbin stared at his left wrist, seeing the drip inserted into his vein.
"You're okay," Changbin's mother whispered, smiling at him.
"I am..." Changbin slowly nodded, despite feeling a bit confused. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was when he entered that tribal mountain's temple with Minho and Woojin, and then everything became a blur after that. "...I'm in the hospital." He said while looking at his mother, but it sounded more like a question.
"Yes, sweetie," she replied. "You and the rest of your friends came to the house really early yesterday. Said that you were unconscious and needed to go to the hospital, and Chan drove us there. You've been here ever since."
That was when Changbin thought about Felix, and his heartbeat accelerated. He mentally scolded himself for not thinking about the Australian before now, and felt himself overwhelmed with anxiety, because Felix wasn't there.
Felix said he was going to be the first person Changbin saw when he was better, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Mom, where...is Felix?" Changbin carefully asked, afraid to hear the answer. He didn't want to hear that anything bad happened to Felix during the last twenty four hours. He wanted to see Felix. He needed to see him.
"He's not here," his mother replied, her voice low.
Changbin forced himself to seat up, ignoring his mother's worried eyes as he did so. A huge lump formed inside his throat that made it hard for him to speak. "Where...where is he?"
"...He's in another room in the hospital. He fell unconscious along with you, so he was brought to the hospital."
Changbin was lost for words, and so, so scared. He didn't know what happened to make Felix become unconscious, and he hoped that Felix was okay. He cautiously swung both his legs over the bed, eyeing the IV stand warily.
"What--what are you doing?" Changbin's mother asked.
"I...I need to see Felix." He proceeded to stand up, surprised that he actually did it when his legs felt so weak. "I need to see him."
"You can't leave," replied his mother, "the nurses haven't checked your vitals yet."
"I'm going to see him," Changbin finalized, though he had no idea where Felix's room was, and his legs felt like they were a few seconds away from giving way under him. "I-I have to."
"Please, Changbin. You're not fully well yet."
Changbin bit the inside of his cheek as cold tears stung the brim of his eyes.
The door opened then, and a nurse stepped in, a practiced smile taking over her face at seeing Changbin.
Since she was there, there was no use of trying to get past her, Changbin realized. And he probably wouldn't be able to walk five feet without falling to the floor and making a fool out of himself too.
He sat back on the bed, feeling smaller and more helpless than he ever felt before. He wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything really, because he wanted to see Felix but couldn't. He was being held back by his body's weakness, so he had no idea if Felix was alright.
_______
Changbin wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, but he was allowed to leave his room that afternoon. Or what he thought was the afternoon. He couldn't really grasp the concept of time when he was too preoccupied with too many thoughts in his mind.
His fingers wrapping around his IV stand, he stepped out of the suffocating room with his mother by his side, watching his every move. Patients lined the hallways and talked to each other on the benches, and some looked his way, but Changbin didn't care about that. He knew he was bare faced, but for the first time in a long time, he didn't care that they saw that he was a demon hybrid. That fact seemed so insignificant next to what he was currently going through, and the only thing that mattered right now was seeing Felix and knowing that he was okay.
"He's in room 76," Changbin's mother told him a minute into their walking.
Changbin wordlessly nodded, his grip on the stand tightening so much that he swore he'd break it if he wasn't careful. His mouth felt dry, and his legs still felt heavy even though he was able to walk better now. In the midst of all the seemingly happy patients, he felt like he was alone, and that he was burdening his mother by getting himself into this situation in the first place. She was supposed to be at work now, but here she was with Changbin, who wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone.
Changbin hated hospitals, and he always would. It was a place of death and misery, and the fact that he and Felix were now associated with that kind of thing made him both angry at himself and at the world.
Room 76 was open, and as Changbin peered inside, his heart sank when he saw no one inside. The room was completely void of anyone, and the interior felt so cold and impersonal that it seemed like no one had spent time in there at all.
"F-Felix isn't there," Changbin said, looking at his mother. She looked as confused as he felt, and her eyebrows gathered together at the middle.
"He...he must've left. I saw his parents last night."
Or he isn't alive anymore, a voice inside Changbin's head whispered, but a very huge part of himself hoped that wasn't the case. His hands formed fists, his fingers digging into the skin of his palms.
Changbin's mother must've sensed the resignment in her son's demeanor that she placed her hand on his shoulder, making him look at her.
"He can be at the canteen. Many people are in there at this hour," she suggested, and Changbin nodded.
His legs felt lighter with every step he took, maybe because of the newfound determination that flowed through his veins at the chance that Felix would be inside the canteen. Changbin had never been there before, but as his mother led him there, his pulse increased just by looking at the people inside that canteen.
There were too many people in that wide area of space, but there was no Felix. No matter how hard Changbin searched, he couldn't spot Felix anywhere. He longed to see Felix's face again, to see his familiar caramel coloured hair, and to be at the receiving end of one of Felix's gorgeous smiles. But there wasn't any of that. Instead, there were bland empty walls and an array of different unknown faces.
Changbin didn't think a heart was physically capable of breaking apart, but at that moment, his heart felt like it had.
Maybe Felix had gone home, but if that was the case, Changbin guessed he wouldn't see Felix for a while, because who knew when he was getting discharged? But then, Felix should've visited him already. He should've been there when Changbin woke up. He should have been the one holding Changbin's hand.
"Changbin!"
The voice startled both Changbin and his mother, and Changbin spun around to find the person who had just called him.
Seungmin's grin greeted his vision, and Minho waved at Changbin from where he stood next to Seungmin. They looked so happy to see him, and Changbin felt that way too, but his heart still felt heavy, and that tightness in his throat wouldn't leave.
"Hi, guys," Changbin greeted, making his way towards them whilst dragging the IV stand along with him, his mother by his side.
"Hey Changbin and Ms Seo," Minho grinned, before staring right at Changbin. "We were looking everywhere for you. We thought you'd left, or that you were still unconscious."
"I'm okay now. Thanks," Changbin replied. He figured Woojin and Minho had succeeded in healing him, even if he ended up in a hospital as a result, so why was Felix admitted to the hospital in the first place?
"Where..." Changbin tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but all to no avail, "Where is Felix?"
Seungmin turned around. "He's on his way with Chan, Woojin and Jeongin. At least I think so."
Minho smacked the Elf's chest. "Felix is coming. He like, almost fell off his bed earlier because he wanted to see you, and then we passed different places to see if you were there after he was free to leave his room."
"We were looking for you too," Changbin's mother answered, because Changbin couldn't find it in himself to say anything. Hope and instant happiness clouded the half demon's head, because Felix was alive, and he was looking for him too.
"Oh look, there they are," Seungmin said, looking behind him. Changbin slowly followed his eyes, and his heart sped at a pace that could only be described as insane when he came across Felix.
The Australian was adorned in hospital scrubs and his hair was slightly touseled, but he still looked amazing. He wasn't looking Changbin's way since Woojin was telling him something, and he was frowning.
"Guys!" Seungmin exclaimed, catching the attention of some of the patients. Minho told him to shut up.
Seungmin's sentence was also enough to catch Felix's attention, and his steps quickened, only stopping when his eyes met Changbin's own pair.
"C-Changbin?" Felix let out, his normally calm sounding voice holding emotions in it.
Changbin couldn't believe that Felix was right there, calling him by his name.
Come on Changbin, his mind scolded him, do something.
But he couldn't move.
He didn't have to worry though, because Felix took the initiative for both of them. In swift movements, Felix's arms were around Changbin, his hands clinging to Changbin's hospital clothes for dear life.
"I--I thought I lost you," Felix stammered, his face buried in Changbin's shoulder. Changbin used his free arm to hug Felix's shoulder, and his tight throat let out a choked sob at Felix's words.
"Me too, Felix..." Changbin admitted. His tears were pooling on the surface of Felix's scrubs, but they weren't tears of sadness. No, they were a result of Changbin's happiness. The fact that Felix was there, his arms wrapped around Changbin's waist in that comfortable and secure way that Changbin always loved, with his head on Changbin's shoulder while laughing and crying at the same time, saying how glad he was that Changbin was okay, because that was all he hoped for all along; for Changbin to be okay, made the half demon's lips stretch into a full grin, even if tears were still running down his face. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you so much too, Binnie. I love you," Felix replied. "I love you, I love you, I love you."
And slowly but surely, the broken pieces of Changbin's heart started mending themselves once more.
"I love you too Felix. So much."
_______
"How did you also end up in the hospital?" Changbin asked Felix once they were alone. It was night, and the hall they sat in was lit up with fluorescent bulbs that were too obnoxiously bright.
Felix looked at his hands, his left wrist holding an IV drip that looked identical to Changbin's own, and fisted them. "I...I don't know, actually. I thought I died..."
"But you didn't," Changbin cut in. "I'm so glad you didn't."
Felix smiled at the shorter male. "I--when you were in that temple with Woojin and Minho, you were crying. A lot. I...I can still remember how sad you sounded, and I couldn't bear seeing you in some much pain." Felix inhaled a breath, before adding, "So I went inside."
Changbin's eyes were wide when he looked at the Australian. "Really? But you couldn't do that."
"I--I knew that. But I didn't care at that moment. I just ran in and held you. You weren't responding to me, and your heart wasn't beating either. I-I was so scared, because I didn't want you to die. Something strange happened afterwards. A blue kind of light ran up your arms until it got to where I held your hand, and then it...spread through the veins on our wrists. At least I think it did. It was weird, and I passed out right after, that's what Chan told me."
Changbin stared at his wrists, but there was nothing on them to indicate what Felix had spoken about. His veins looked normal. He held Felix's right hand and stared at it.
"What are you looking for?" Felix asked.
"The blue light you were talking about."
Felix lightly shoved Changbin to the side a little bit. "There's no light there, obviously."
Changbin rubbed the shoulder that the Australian had shoved, since he'd gotten an injection there earlier. "Ow."
"I'm sorry," Felix quickly apologized, seeing as Changbin was affected by his little push, and then placed a hand on his own shoulder, mindlessly running his palm over it. "My shoulder kind of hurts too."
"Did you get an injection there too?" asked Changbin.
Felix shook his head, before shrugging. "It just started now. Don't worry, it'll go soon." He folded an arm over the bench and turned to face Changbin squarely. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"
"I have." Changbin smiled when Felix stroked the side of his face. "Have you?"
"My parents already bought me something. Did you know they think you and I had a skating accident that knocked both of us out?"
Changbin chuckled, copying Felix's position. They were only a few inches away from each other now, and both boys didn't mind it at all. "Really?"
Felix grinned, the sight catching Changbin off-guard for a couple of seconds because of how breathtaking the human looked. "Yeah. Really." He poked Changbin's cheek. "You aren't wearing that mask anymore. And your eyes look great, by the way."
Changbin shook his head. "They don't." He was pretty sure his face was a bright red colour by now, especially with the way Felix was staring at him. "...What?"
Felix drew nearer and placed his lips on Changbin's own, and Changbin's head and heart spun in both anticipation and satisfaction. He shut his eyes as Felix's lips molded perfectly with his, his fingers trailing down Changbin's arms which made the half demon feel hot all over.
They were well aware that they were kissing in an hospital hallway, and there was a high chance that someone might come along and spot them, but they didn't care. Not when they were back together again after they'd thought they'd never see each other again.
_______
Changbin got discharged from the hospital around the same time that Felix got discharged, which was on a Thursday.
They hung out as soon as they got to their homes, not spending even a second apart, and spent the next day at Chan's apartment, because he said he wanted to talk to them.
As soon as they entered, Woojin ordered them to seat on the couch, and everyone else gathered around them.
"Why are you guys so serious?" Felix asked in a light tone. "Is this bad news?"
"No. It's not," said Woojin, furrowing his brows. "I'm just curious. As we all know, Felix entered that temple just as soon as the spell was almost complete, and he touched Changbin while doing so. You guys are lucky that nothing bad happened to you because of what you did, Felix."
"I...I know. But I was scared."
"Changbin could've died," Seungmin added.
"I felt like he did..." Felix whispered, glancing at Changbin who'd been silent this whole time. "When I held him...he felt so cold. And he was so pale too. I was so terrified."
"We saw it too," Minho said. "The weird thing was how dark the temple got after what Felix did. It felt like everything was over."
"Night was coming, afterall," Jeongin spoke. "That could be the reason."
"Maybe," Chan said, folding his arm. He stared at Minho. "What was it about the blue light that you wanted to talk about?"
"Seeing a blue light after casting a spell usually means rebirth, or a drastic change. It can also stands for the soul's fate."
"One that note, let's see your hands," Woojin instructed both Felix and Changbin, and they did as he asked.
Woojin took out a pin, and without warning, pricked Changbin's palm, drawing a slight hiss out of the demon hybrid. Almost a second later, Felix gripped his own hand as if Woojin had pricked him instead.
Minho flashed an accomplished smile. "Looks like we've found the answer."
"What is it?" Changbin asked.
"I think that when that blue light passed through your hand and Felix's hand, some kind of energy was transferred. Changbin could've died, but since he's alive, something had to given away. That's where you come in, Felix."
"You aren't in control of your soul's fate anymore," Woojin continued. "Your fate's eternally intertwined with Changbin's own, so Changbin's basically living off of you now. Whatever happens to him, happens to you too, and vice versa. So if he dies, you die."
"Like...soulmates?" Jeongin questioned.
"For lack of a better word, yes," Minho concluded. He looked at Felix and Changbin, monitoring their reactions to what he and Woojin just said.
"So...we can't let each other get hurt?" Felix asked after a long moment of silence.
"No. I mean, you'll always get sick with the flu and all that, so you guys can't avoid that. But you can take extra precautionary measures in order to protect each other."
Changbin felt Felix's eyes on him, his heart skipping a beat when the Australian covered his hand with his in a gesture that felt extremely comforting.
Felix would be there for Changbin through it all, and everyone could see that. Changbin could see it too. Now that their fates were connected, they had to be extra careful now, but everything would work out.
Everything would always work out in the end.