Work Text:
Changbin had to take Chan to the living room, placing him to rest on the couch and kissing his forehead before he pulled away. His colors were dull and his soul was still twitching around the edges, uneasy because of the strain put on it in such a small amount of time.
Not to mention, he doesn't have enough strength to withstand the force and insight of the Cosmos being shown to him.
Felix doesn't regret it. Among the chaos and the pain he saw all around them, the only solution had been clear, they had felt and sensed the Bond frantically asking to be protected. They had only responded in the best way they could.
It worked, the side effects could be dealt with later. When none of them were a scrambled mess of feelings and all their usual colors are back to normal, there are more important and urgent things to immediately attend to, presenting Chan with Life itself and altering his understanding of his reality could wait.
Right now, they follow Changbin back into the spacious entrance hall, leaving Jisung to fret over Chan and the scattered mess of magic books on the floor.
There's a tense silence when they both stop, Changbin giving them his back. He rises a couple of inches above Felix this way, with his legs gone and instead replaced with a long, strong body covered in scales.
They don't need to see Changbin's face to know it's full of pain and sorrow, all the magic around him and the influence that the Cosmos has on him to keep him alive is enough to clue them in. Felix hates it. From the way there are random bursts of anger to how quickly it changes to resignation.
Felix wants to reach out and touch him, cup his hands between their hands and kiss his eyelids, caress the row of scales on his face and lay down on his body. Hug him until all those self-deprecating thoughts vanish and change into the brightly colored purple of Changbin's personality.
Instead, they refrain from any kind of contact with him. It doesn't matter how hard it pulls at their soul because it feels like they're leaving him behind to suffer alone, their own feelings will always fall into second consideration when it's this particular situation.
Changbin's comfort will always come first and, if a lack of touch and other people present is what he needs, Felix can do nothing but respect his wishes. So they turn around and make their way down the hall, momentarily passing Jisung and exchanging a tiny furtive glance. He knows too, for longer than Felix, how painful the transformation back to Human form is for Changbin. How many things resurface and make him almost sink into memories of a past where he wasn't accepted for who he is.
It feels like leaving Changbin behind, like abandoning him in the moment where he needs them the most. But he has been vocal about his wishes, Felix won't go against them for their own sake.
All they can do is be there for him in the aftermath, something they've become particularly good at.
They head to the principal bathroom, the one attached to the bedroom capable of withstanding the seven of them, and get to work. Everything is familiar and exactly where they remember it being, doesn't matter how many months pass between their last visit, they always come back to each and every room in their house feeling the exact same. Like home, a place where they'll always be welcomed.
They prepare a bath, letting the water flow and setting it to the perfect temperature for Changbin's sore muscles, they search around the shelves to take out the salts and bubbles and complements to mix with the water. The gentle aromas quickly rise and permeate the room, already making them relax under it.
There are bathrobes for each of them, personalized with tiny embroidery they had personally made: a small gardenia for Changbin and a sunflower for themselves. After a bit of pondering, they pull Jisung's out too in case he decides to join them, running a finger along the little caricature of a squirrel.
It's not until they're sure the bath is completely filled that they move onto their next task, not confident in their inability to keep track of multiple things at the same time. They're not Jisung, they're incapable of moving around with a million things to pay attention to, their brain gets overwhelmed and tired easily if they pay attention to different environments so they have learned to mediate themselves over time. By waiting for the bath to be done, they prevent a flood from happening. Again.
Going to the closet, they open the door where they know the sweaters are and pull off two oversized ones, exactly the kind Jisung and Changbin like. It doesn't matter who was the original owner of the clothes, everything inside this bedroom is for sharing, so they don't hesitate on choosing a loose black shirt with Chan's scent all over it and their favorite duck-patterned pajama pants for themselves. Along with underwear and two pairs of sweatpants, they place the clothing neatly on the bed and sit down beside it to wait.
Felix knows it won't take much time, if something had gone wrong with the transformation they would've heard about it by now, it's only a matter of seconds before Jisung comes into the room supporting Changbin or they hear him calling for help.
It was something he outright refused at the start— in that patch of time where Felix hadn't arrived to Earth yet—, they'd heard about how Changbin would deny any form of care from his partners and would instead isolate himself to his pain and thoughts. Now it's something long in the past, a problem they all worked through and Felix is glad for it, they're not sure they would've been able to take watching their partner in pain.
When Jisung appears through the doorway, an arm around Changbin's waist and letting him lean his weight against him, Felix shoots to their feet and approaches them quickly. Without prompting, Changbin is shifted to their embrace and stumbles on shaky legs, Felix doesn't hesitate before they're pressing kisses to his face and every part of his neck they can reach.
Changbin melts.
Truth be told, Felix isn't the strongest among them, they can probably compete against Jisung in who's the skinnier and most incapable of lifting weight; Changbin's added weight makes them falter a little where they're standing, but nothing they can't take. Jisung flutters away with a rushed excuse about the boy he brought back, all thrumming energy and adrenaline high.
That leaves the both of them alone, ready for some well deserved care.
Slowly, they start directing Changbin to the bathroom, taking small steps and periodical stops so he can catch his breath or rest his aching muscles. Felix doesn't push him, they just advance with him at whatever pace he decides to set. All they want is for Changbin to be okay.
When they step foot inside the bathroom, Changbin exhales so deeply all the tension in his body bleeds away, his colors regaining back some of that purple hue that makes him look himself. It's muted and still tinted with grey and black tendrils of unease, but it's an improvement, one that makes them extremely happy to see.
Changbin collapses onto the cushioned chair they keep inside this bathroom for situations like these, closing his eyes and tipping his head backwards. Felix can almost pinpoint the exact place where his muscles are still cramping and knows they have to do something about it, perhaps it would be better to wait until they're both inside the bath so the array of salts can make their part in helping, yet they can't hold themselves back from approaching Changbin and start massaging his shoulders.
Predictably, Changbin groans and becomes a puddle where he sits. Felix smiles, happy and relieved and enamoured, straining their eyes to watch as Life and magic responds to Changbin's progressive comfort, there are rivulets of gold twisting around and particles floating everywhere, mixing with the soft mood and enhancing it. When they look back to Changbin, he's already looking at them, eyes at half mast and lips stretched on a tiny, endeared smile.
Felix kisses it. Deep and slow, if it weren't for his current encounter with getting his bones and muscles rearranged, Felix would climb into his lap and make themselves at home there. However, they pull back, now it's not the time to get carried away.
Changbin seems to understand without them having to speak and hums, "I love you, starlight."
They combust a little brighter, burn a little hotter, and hurry to respond back. They bring their left hand in a fist, with their right hand open and rubbing above it repeatedly. Changbin smiles, wider this time, and simply raises both of his arms.
Felix doesn't waste time, afraid of the warm water becoming cold, and starts slowly undressing Changbin. It's not a hard process, his pants are already unbuttoned from his haste to put them on, and soon enough they're helping him into the bath with gentle hands.
After they finish undressing and putting their clothes aside, they climb behind Changbin, rejoicing on the weight of his body against their chest. This time, they don't hold back with their firm massage on his shoulders, moving dutifully to give the same treatment to the small of his back and his thighs, satisfied only when they feel the muscle relax under their hands.
Kisses are exchanged, giggles are pulled from Changbin when they adoringly squish the softness of his stomach, and exhales are manifested among neck caresses. Every touch and every lingering kiss is welcomed by him, finally at peace now that he's back on the form he prefers and loves. When Felix tenderly brushes their fingertips over the span of his chest, tracing the scars that rest there and mapping the outline of his defined muscles, Changbin doesn't hide or shy away.
This is not the body Changbin despises, after all. Felix might have not understood the importance behind a physical appearance before getting to Earth, especially when it was so difficult for them to see past the true reflection of a soul and how Life curls around a creature, but they learned. He has always been himself to their eyes, it was a question of the rest of the world deciding to be blind to it.
But now, their Changbin is happy with who he is. That's all that matters.
A knock on the door startles him. Felix merely buries their face deeper into the crevice between Changbin's shoulder and his neck, already knowing Jisung was bound to come along. They don't even look up when they hear him approach, only opening their eyes when Jisung speaks.
"How do you feel, beautiful?" A whisper, barely audible but full of adoration. Jisung rests one hand on Changbin's cheek and smiles when he nuzzles it in response.
"Better now that you're here."
Jisung laughs, eyes full of sparkles and that same sad melancholy he's been wearing since he crossed the portal. "You sure it's me? Yongbokkie seems to be making all the magic happen." Jisung turns to look at them, probably expecting a response he's not going to get, so they simply smile back. He catches up immediately, "No words left?"
"It's been a long day." Their current position is enough to testify to Changbin's words. Felix kisses his neck again.
Jisung winces, "Rough landing?"
That's one way to say it. It was more rushed than rough, they haven't crashed into Earth since the first time they fell and they didn't cause any major disasters this time, but forgoing to cool down properly before breaching the atmosphere is never a good decision.
Felix wasn't thinking about the wellbeing of the habitants of Earth as a whole, all there was in their mind was arriving as soon as possible to be with their loves. Their safety is always a priority and when Jisung's soul twitched and snapped far away, it was their right to get worried.
If they happened to scare some spaceship pilots on the way, no one has to know.
"A bit. Little starlight here was burning so much I bet they fried some satellites."
"Hmm, gonna get the Space Force banging on our door again." Jisung teases, running one finger down the bridge of their nose and ending it with a tiny boop. Felix, in response, scrunches their face and earns a kiss on the tip of their nose.
Most people would take Jisung's words as a joke, the International Space Force is a team of professionals that in no way should be related to any of them. It's a shame that Felix has gained attention all around the globe, be it because they triggered some protocol alarms or, as Changbin said, because they have caused damage to expensive equipment.
One of the perks of being unique on this planet is the amount of things and disasters they can get away with. Living in a house filled with supernatural creatures and one Human only adds to the benefits, the Space Force will only send another notice of warning.
Probably.
In the worst case scenario, they can leave Min to answer the door for the next few weeks, even Humans know you can't get in the way of Royalty from Hell.
Felix gets lost in thoughts about a government official passing out under Min's vicious stare, all while they absentmindedly touch Changbin's tummy with one hand and keep the other wrapped around his bicep. The water is slowly working its way into becoming room temperature, and they wonder if they could get away with combusting a tiny bit more so their body heat can warm it again. It seems like a good plan, even if what their body needs right now is to keep cooling down instead of heating up again, but the consequences won't be too severe. Maybe they'll be more tired than usual and that's fine, nothing they can't handle.
When they're about to concentrate in their core, Jisung suddenly takes their hand, snapping them away from their scheming plans. Jisung is considerate enough to let them come back into their senses, blinking away the immediate focus on Life and instead paying attention to the two people in front of them.
"I missed you." Jisung says in an explosion of silver, "All of you. I'm never trying any other dark magic branch if it means potentially losing you."
There's a protest rising inside them like a whole body shudder, willing to push back their difficulty to utter words if that means they can reassure Jisung. Before they can, Changbin is already there, kissing Jisung's knuckles and shaking his head.
"That's not our ambitious and reckless Jisungie talking, what happened to mister 'I'll do whatever i want'? Maybe only stay away from Dimensional and Parallel." Felix nods in agreement, they reach out on their own to lift Jisung's down-turned face, tracing the shape of his lower lip in the process, "I understand that those three months away were hard, I can't even imagine what you felt, baby, but don't give up completely on what you're passionate about because of it."
Not much comfort is washed over Jisung's colors of unease, there's still a layer of murky green over them but Felix isn't worried. It always takes a bit of time with Jisung, for all of his brain working a mile a minute, he needs to mull over his own feelings and everyone else's perspective of the situation. He'll be fine, right now he's working purely on shock and relief and the blood pumping with force through his veins, once he calms down he'll crash just like Chan did.
Changbin isn't as reassured, also in his usual manner, he just went through the painful experience of getting rid of his Viper body and is currently soaking in a bath especially made for him, but still forgoes any of this in order to make sure Jisung is okay. Felix doesn't regularly make a fuss about it, as long as Changbin still takes care of himself while offering comfort to others, they'll let him be. As much as all of them like to complain about Chan's incapability to look after himself, none of them are exactly professionals at it. Except probably Min.
"I was worried about you." There's an underlying note of despair on Jisung's voice, raw and deep in the way it only gets when he's been carrying something that troubles him for too long, "I couldn't remember the last time I checked the spell for your T increment and I should've before I left. I thought it was only going to be a couple of hours for me but when I wasn't snapped back I-"
"Babe, it's okay. I'm okay, even if you had disappeared for longer than five hours for us, I would've never held it against you. It was an unpredictable situation, it's okay." Changbin pecks Jisung on the lips and rests his forehead against his, "And I know how much you missed us, I think my lip is bruised now."
Jisung clicks his tongue, unamused, and scoots forward to catch Changbin's lips on his own again, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and pulling a small noise from him. When they separate, Felix pouts, expecting to be covered in kisses too. It doesn't take much for any of them to indulge them, and soon they have Changbin and Jisung taking turns to press their lips together.
They stay like that for a few more minutes, happy to be entangled with each other and enjoying these soft moments together. It's not until Changbin starts to get drowsy from the cold water that they decide it's been enough and, with Jisung's help, they get him out of the bath and engulfed in his fluffy robe in no time.
Changbin immediately crashes face-first on the bed, melting against the sheets and inhaling deeply. Felix slowly climbs beside him and turns him over, giggling when they see him already half way to falling asleep.
"I'll get the heater going, we'll probably have to turn it off once Seungminnie is back through." Jisung is already fluttering and rushing around with newfound energy, "I set up some mattresses on the living room, I know none of us have the strength to move Channie right now."
With one last kiss to Felix's nose, he's gone. That leaves the task of dressing a drowsy and soon-to-be grumpy Changbin on their own. It's not a difficult thing to do, they undo the knot of his robe and start pulling on his boxers and sweatpants, kissing his tummy and nuzzling everywhere they can at any opportunity, giggling at every mildly annoyed grunt Changbin voices when Felix goes over a particularly ticklish spot.
Once they're both dressed, Felix gets a couple of hot packs to warm Changbin up and hopefully get rid of some of his sluggishness, at least for enough time to get him settled on a mattress in the living room. It works it's magic just fine, and the journey from their room to Jisung requires minimum help from Felix.
When they arrive, Jisung is running his hands through Chan's hair. They'll never get tired of this sight, of watching the connection between their souls rejoice at physical contact and reach out of each other, colors mindling together to form the vast mass that they all are.
Felix watches as Jisung makes grabby hands for Changbin and engulfs him as soon as he has him in his arms, murmuring inaudible words to their ears. They decide not to join them, it's clear Jisung still needs time to reassure himself that Changbin is safe and okay, so instead they go sit down beside Chan's passed out form. Like this, he looks calmer than he's been since Felix arrived, yellow and orange twirling in pale pulses, in rhythm with the beat of his heart.
Somewhere outside of this room, there's a boy sleeping peacefully, unaware of the workings of this world and what it conveys to live on Earth. Somewhere, on a neighbouring Realm, there are three souls attached to theirs, trying to figure out what to do with the outsider who burst the peace of their home.
Everything will resolve itself. Sooner or later, they all will overcome the challenges currently being thrown at them. The eight of them, that is.
For now, all Felix can do is sit down and wait.