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When Cale overused his powers, there came the usual blood spilling from his lips. Raon, usually, didn’t bat much of an eye, this was normal. This wasn’t to say he wasn’t worried, because he was worried regardless. He worried for the weak human all the time.
He wished the weak human would take care of himself better.
But the thing that really disturbed Raon was the way Cale acted when it happened. He covered his mouth, not unusual for a normal person but unusual for the red headed man, and acted as though grabbing something that spilled from his lips before shoving it in his pockets.
He knew this was unusual. It’s not like Cale was putting blood in his pocket. What was he so desperate to hide?
-
Raon was pretty confident he knew the weak human better than he knew himself. Cale, after all, was the one he dedicated his life to. The first four years of his life blurred together, only punctuated with anger and hatred and pain.
But then there was Cale. This weak human, who saved him from inevitable destruction (of himself or others, he didn’t know. Perhaps the human did, though.) without expecting anything in return. Every moment he spent with this human was joyful for him, even through all the worry and war.
(Raon would fight this stupid White Star a million times if it meant his human was happy. He would fight the stars, fight the Gods, he would do anything. If the human asked, Raon would wreak havoc on the world.)
For as much as Raon knew Cale, he couldn’t understand him. The human was a walking contradiction. Strong yet weak, greedy yet giving, prideful yet always putting himself down. He was confident in himself yet anytime someone dared compliment him, he would turn to his comrades in exasperation, asking if this person knew what they were talking about. He’s trash, after all. What an idiot.
Only Cale himself ever believed that, though. They could try to tell him otherwise, but it fell on deaf ears each time. Raon wondered why he was so persistent about it. After all, this man was saving the world at the cost of his own health, which was constantly deteriorating. (And oh, how he wished this stupid human knew how to take care of himself.)
Cale’s health was deteriorating faster than before. The rest of his comrades and family might not notice, but Raon does. Raon always notices sudden changes in this human. Well, he thinks Choi Han might also notice, because that human was more observant than most.
He burns a worried glance into Cale’s back, before turning and flying out of the room, seeking the counsel of a certain gold dragon.
-
Raon recalled something that struck him as particularly bizarre.
The crown prince had called Cale on the video communication device, and upon accepting the call, the weak human went on his usual spiel.
“Oh, how I am humbled by the presence of the Sun of our Roan Kingdom! What may this lowly-”
He had interrupted himself by going into a fit of coughs, coughing into his hand instead of his elbow. Raon exchanged worried glances with the crown prince while Cale was out of view of the communication device. Cale had wiped at his mouth, seemingly holding something in his hand, before immediately continuing his conversation. Unfazed.
Cale didn’t notice the blood on the side of his mouth. Raon and Alberu did.
He hadn’t used his ancient powers.
Later, Raon would return to that room and discover the petal of a strange flower he didn’t recognize on the floor, with blood splattered on it. Concerned and confused, he would put it in his spatial storage. Just in case.
-
–Cale, this is something serious.
Cale scoffed at the Super Rock. Yeah, right. It would probably be fine. It normally was. After all, he has Vitality of the Heart. It’s not like it’s just sitting there, twiddling its thumbs, waiting for Cale to activate it. It was a passive power, after all. He can’t just turn it on and off like a lightswitch.
–No, you don’t understand, this can’t be fixed by Vitality of the Heart.
He paused at that. That didn’t make him nervous or worried. Not at all.
“What do you mean? Is it broken or something?” Cale asked. Though he knew what the answer was, he decided it was better not to acknowledge it. He looked around, making sure Raon didn’t see him talking to himself. (After all, who’d believe his ancient powers were talking to him? Silly. They’d start thinking he has schizophrenia now.)
–It’s an ancient power. It doesn’t just break.
It was the hungry priestess this time. Cale sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. He knew that already, but she didn’t have to say it.
There was a constant itch in the back of his throat. It took him what little physical power he had not to cough it up. Not that that would solve the problem, in any case. No, this problem was a lot deeper than an itch or a need to cough.
The Super Rock sighed in Cale’s mind. This was a problem that, theoretically, was easy to solve. But in reality, for Cale, it was a very complicated matter. After all, they are in the middle of a war, it’s not like he can just-
–Cale, the Vitality of the Heart can only keep the worst at bay for a short while. You have to do something about this.
- profess his undying love for someone on the battlefield. Of course, that would be the thing that would solve the problem.
Or bring my ruin, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered. He carefully chose to ignore that.
“I know. It’s not that simple, though.” He silently bid a sad farewell to his peaceful slacker life. An orchard didn’t sound too bad anymore. Anything but this, really. “It’s not like I’m in control of what happens. My entire fate basically lies in his hands.”
He bit his lip, sighing. He didn’t particularly enjoy his fate lying in the hands of other people. No one would, really, but it reminded him a little bit too much of Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo.
I’m suddenly getting very irritated at the God of Death right now, that bastard.
The Giant Scary Cobblestone was silent.
–Still, though, you’ll die if you don’t tell him.
“I could die regardless of if I tell him,” Cale argued back.
–But there’s a chance you’ll live if you do. It’s not necessarily unrequited. Not until you ask.
“...” He had nothing to say to that.
–If you can’t do it for yourself, at least do it for your family.
He was referring to Raon, On, and Hong. Probably Choi Han and Mary too. Perhaps all the people whose lives he’d interfered with. Well, Cale thought, it would be pretty pathetic if I died from this stupid disease.
Hanahaki disease. He was familiar with it, but it didn’t exist in his world, when he was still living as Kim Rok Soo. Though, it could be said that with new worlds come new things. Dragons exist, so why not this?
It was, however, rather inconvenient. Inconvenient being an understatement, considering this was Cale’s life on the line.
Cale was avoiding the source of the problem as much as he could, but ignorance was not bliss. In fact, ignorance was just more flowers in his lungs and more blood. More concerned stares from a certain dragon.
He knew Raon wasn’t dumb. He knew the dragon paid more attention to him than most. Of course Raon would have noticed his deteriorating health. Not to mention, Cale kept slipping up around the dragon. He clenched and unclenched his fists, letting out a shaky, unsure exhale.
Both of them were in awkward situations.
Cale was the spearhead for this war. He was always at the front, taking the lead. He constantly had to be three steps ahead of the White Star.
And the other…
The crown prince.
It was pretty self explanatory, Cale was sure. Alberu was a busy man, and the King had given pretty much all responsibilities of a King (save the title) to Alberu.
But God, Cale couldn’t help but fall in love. He didn’t know when it happened, but he knew at some point he was noticing everything about the other. That’s also when he noticed those dreadful fucking flowers.
It started as a bearable tingle, before developing into that and a tightness in his chest. Soon enough, petals started leaving his mouth. While the Vitality of the Heart certainly slowed the process, that also meant he could feel every excruciating detail in the disease’s progress.
Better than being dead, he supposed. The bar was pretty damn low in the first place. That was pretty much the only thing under it.
A fit of coughs erupted from his chest, leaving blood-stained petals in its wake. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He clenched his shirt, crinkling it.
I don’t know how much more I can take.
-
Truly, Cale has no clue when it started.
It was a sudden thing. Out of the blue. An inability to make eye contact, flushed cheeks as red as his hair, an observant gaze.
He tried not to let it linger. “It’s not meant to be. It’s not supposed to be.”
But it stayed like a parasite, feeding on his thoughts and feelings toward this man.
“It’s not meant to be.”
Perhaps the more he thought that, the further the vines in his lungs grew. The further he tried to deny it, the more he put himself in peril. He couldn’t help it. He’d never been in love before, so he didn’t know how to handle it.
All he did was shove it down.
“It’s not meant to be.”
–It’s an issue with your mentality, not with his feelings,
the Super Rock told him.
Cale knew. He always knew that was the issue. But he couldn’t possibly bring himself to speak what he felt. Emotional vulnerability was never… His thing. So he let it sit, and he let it grow.
What else was he to do? He was accidentally brewing himself a potion for self destruction, and all he would do is sit there and watch.
-
It wasn’t hard to find Eruhaben. The dragon was never far, and didn’t try to hide his presence in the castle. Raon found him talking to Lord Sheritt. What’s better than one ancient dragon? Two ancient dragons. Raon thanked his luck as he entered the room.
“Goldie Gramps, M-Mama,” Raon said, stuttering as he called for his Mom. (He didn’t think he’d ever get used to that) “The weak human has been acting weird.”
“The weak human isn’t as healthy as he was before. He doesn’t- He won’t tell me but I know there’s something wrong with him.” Raon pulled the petal out of his spatial dimension and began fiddling with it. “I think the human is sick.”
Eruhaben furrowed his brows in thought. Unlucky bastard. “What’s that in your claws, punk?”
Raon stopped fiddling with the petal. “I don’t know. It’s a petal, I think? But we don’t have any flowers like it.” He paused. “The human has been coughing these up. He’s not eating flowers, is he?”
Lord Sheritt gently took the petal in her hands, inspecting it, and noticing the blood. Her eyes widened.
“Raon, I need you to tell me. How long has this been going on?”
Raon was quiet. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I only found this recently. Is there something really wrong with the human?” Lord Sheritt bit her lips and looked at Eruhaben.
The dragons’ silence only served to answer Raon’s question. “I don’t… I want the weak human to be okay. Isn’t there anything we can do?”
Eruhaben looked at Lord Sheritt for a moment before looking back at Raon, sighing. “Unfortunately, if it’s the condition we think it is, only that unlucky bastard can deal with it. We can’t do anything to help him”
Especially since we don’t know who caused it, was thought but left unsaid. He didn’t want to distress Raon any further. If he knew Cale could die from this…
Eruhaben didn’t dare to continue that thought. Raon would be inconsolable, and On and Hong would find out somehow as well. A small part of Eruhaben was almost convinced that Cale would find a way to fix this if those kids did find out, but he quickly erased that thought from his mind.
This needed to be handled by Cale and Cale alone. Any outside interference could make or break the situation, and Eruhaben didn’t want to take any chances.
That damn jar sure would be useful.
-
Alberu wasn’t too fond of the color red. It stained his every waking day, and it was a constant lingering threat to him in his youth. Red was the color of blood, but it was also the color of Cale Henituse.
He wasn’t sure what to think of Cale when he first met him. A noble with a very glib tongue and other intentions, for sure, but that noble turned into a hero and a close confidant. He was one of the biggest things keeping the kingdom’s destruction at bay.
He made Alberu think that, perhaps, the color red wasn’t so bad after all. Perhaps he even wished everything were as red as Cale’s hair.
He wasn’t sure if Cale ruined the color or made it the highlight of his day. Every red carpet, every red piece of furniture… All made him think of Cale, Cale, Cale.
He wondered if he had the same effect on the red head. Did Cale think of him everytime he saw brown? Yellow? Blue?
Alberu was, however, averse to red blood. Especially coming from Cale.
Every time Cale spat blood from his mouth, it was a blackened color. “It’s due to Vitality of the Heart,” Cale explained to him. “It’s getting rid of wastes in my body when I use my ancient powers, it’s nothing bad.”
Yet… The blood was red. Why was the blood on the corner of Cale’s mouth red? He hadn’t used his ancient powers in weeks, as far as Alberu knew. This was only a video call, and the red head wasn’t the one using his powers.
What is Cale Henituse hiding?
Alberu clenched his fists. That man was always so meticulous with what information went to who, and unless it was forced out of him, Alberu really didn’t think he’d ever know. Not until it could be too late, at least.
“I could always threaten his future slacker life.” That wouldn’t be too cruel, would it?
-
Cale’s (not-so) peaceful discussion with his (almost parental??) ancient powers ended when On and Hong burst into his room, almost slamming into him. Raon trailed behind them, seeming unsure of himself.
When On and Hong slammed into him, he practically choked on blood and petals, but quickly managed to swallow it back down before any of the three children could notice something wrong with him. He hated to worry those children, and it’s not like these petals are poisonous… Right? Well, regardless, he’s dying right now anyway, so what does it matter? Vitality of the Heart can’t deal with those stupid flowers, but hopefully it can deal with poison. He might end up coughing up some gross blackened blood from it, but that’s just business as usual.
He could feel Raon’s piercing stare. He carefully chose to ignore it, opting for petting On and Hong on the heads as they rested in his lap. His breaths were rather shallow, for fear that if he breathed in too deeply, it would irritate his lungs. It was unconventional and annoying, but if the children knew what was happening right now, he didn’t think it would end well for him.
They’d probably force me to ‘fix it,’ Cale thought, sighing, which is not what I need to focus on right now.
The children come first on his list of priorities right now. Then dealing with the White Star, then Cale, which is why he won’t tell anyone about his condition.
But Raon knows something.
Cale had long noticed Raon’s awkward demeanor, like he didn’t know how to act around him. Raon had been staring at him like he wanted to say something, but would glance at the cats in Cale’s lap like he was reluctant to say anything around those two. Cale had never seen Raon so careful about a topic, since he was always one to speak his mind at any given moment, but the topic must’ve been especially sensitive since he was being quiet around the other children.
Ah, of course he knows something. It’s me, after all.
Raon spent most, if not all, of his waking (and sleeping) hours around Cale, unlike the rest of their companions. Of course the young dragon would notice something wrong.
And he would probably take it to Eruhaben-nim or Lord Sheritt, as well.
Cale could feel a headache growing at the thought. He remembered Raon leaving the room a while earlier, seeming rather preoccupied. Ah, I’m screwed.
He removed a hand from Hong’s head, rubbing it against his temple.
–Human, you… Are okay, right? You’ll be okay?
Cale’s gaze softened as he heard Raon’s unsure voice in his head. He hated lying to Raon. He never wanted to do so, the young dragon had already been through so much pain in his life, it was unfair to him.
“Of course I’m okay.”
–Liar.
Cale’s eyes widened. Raon wasn’t looking at him. Cale was sure he refused to look at him, even. He knew Raon knew something about Cale’s condition, just didn’t expect him to be so upfront about it.
–But Goldie Gramps said we can’t help you and that you have to take care of it yourself, so if you don’t and you get hurt, I’m going to wreak havoc on this planet.
Raon turned his gaze toward Cale. He looked so sad that Cale couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“I’ll… Try my best.” He’d never felt so unsure of himself until now. Was the way he was handling things the right way?
Regardless of him trying to rationalize his actions, the truth was that Cale was being dumb and trying to avoid the way he felt. We’re in the middle of a war, he’d think, or Our positions are too precarious for it to work.
But reasons and logic aren’t going to get rid of this stupid disease. Reasons and logic can’t overpower feelings.
He’d figure this out properly somehow, someday.
Perhaps not today, but soon.
-
1,000 years wasn’t a short time. For dragons, perhaps, but for humankind, it was several generations. A lot could happen within that time frame.
Good humans are few and far between, Eruhaben would think. He’d seen and heard of plenty; he wasn’t just sitting in his lair all those 1,000 years. He wasn’t as isolated as the rest of his species had a tendency to be.
Wars and genocides were common happenings, and hearing about these sad things only gave Eruhaben more of these thoughts.
Good humans are few and far between. Revered heroes normally had some sort of dark side that the world wouldn’t discover until decades or even centuries later, and the bar for these revered people began to lower and lower some more.
Cale is.. An interesting person. An unlucky bastard, for sure, but interesting nonetheless. Eruhaben doesn’t mind working with this human.
He isn’t an entirely good person, of course, as all people aren’t. He is extremely materialistic, and if he could, would laze around all day and do nothing.
He’s almost like a dragon, in that sense. Eruhaben remembered his poor destroyed lair and sighed in remorse.
Cale, Eruhaben is sure, is one of those good humans. The ones that are infrequent, hard to find, as much as the red head denies it. The stupid bastard doesn’t even know it.
Otherwise, why would he have saved the young dragon? Why does he still have that jar Eruhaben used previously? Why does he feed and house all his companions? Why is he saving the damn world?
Yes, Eruhaben nodded to himself, that unlucky bastard does deserve the slacker life he covets.
It’s the least the world could give to that good human.
-
Living with this wasn’t as hard as Cale had expected. It was annoying, inconvenient, and a pain, but it wasn’t as hard as it could be. Though, he probably had Vitality of the Heart to thank for that. It was painful, but due to his time as Kim Rok Soo (and all these damn wars ) he’d developed quite the pain tolerance.
He still hadn’t figured out a solution to his issue yet, and it was becoming clearer by the day that he’d better hurry the fuck up, god damn it . It still wasn’t that simple for Cale, but he was itching for a way out of this situation. (So were his lungs.)
He still got piercing stares from the dragons in the castle, and he was pretty sure he could feel Choi Han staring into the back of his head right now, but he was relatively confident that information about his condition was exclusive to those four people. Hopefully.
Cale kept his mouth shut about what exactly was going on. What the others knew was what they had figured out themselves.
The dragons knew his condition, but Choi Han just knew something was wrong. (He’d come up to Cale on several occasions trying to figure something out, but Cale would just immediately deflect. “Wow! Look at the time, I should go to bed now.” “Cale-nim, it’s 3 in the afternoon.”)
He had a perpetually sore throat now, and swallowing food was becoming a pain in the ass, but he still dealt with it. I can figure something out later, he’d think, it’s not urgent right now.
He couldn’t see the Super Rock, but Cale was sure that if he could, the ancient power would be shaking his head in disappointment. The flowers in his lungs not only affected his ability to function like a normal human being, but they also made the use of his abilities more strained. He could use less power for less time, and spat up blood more easily. The metallic taste in his mouth was now a constant instead of just an occasional thing.
He was doing his best to act normal, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess of fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. What else was he supposed to think? A way out of this mess? Yeah, right. Anytime he even tried to clear his throat, petals and leaves would come up and he’d be forced to swallow them back down if he was in the company of other people, which was constantly. (It really goes to show how little time he has to himself.)
In his off time, he was still trying to figure out something that could get these stupid flowers out of his lungs, but never really considered actually talking to Alberu. Just the thought made him flushed and embarrassed. What would he even say? Oh, yeah, I love you. Please say you love me back because I am so in love with you that it is quite literally killing me. That wasn’t a good conversation starter in the slightest.
He’d even considered using the jar he was preserving for Eruhaben to solve this. (Eruhaben was the one who suggested it.) He’d immediately wiped the thought out of his head, first because that was Eruhaben’s jar that the dragon would definitely want to use in the future, even if the old man denied it, and Sound of the Wind had also told him that it wouldn’t work.
–Yeah, it’s been tried before by one of those stupid priests, but he died anyway. Serves him right, though. Those stupid flowers are magical or something. They piss me off.
Cale could sympathize with that. These flowers piss him off, too. He almost considered having someone cut open his chest and yank them out, but he was sure that would end terribly.
The vines in his lungs grew slowly, but unfortunately, progress is progress. He isn’t sure if he has the liberty to stall for time anymore.
Vitality of the Heart wouldn’t keep him alive forever, wouldn’t keep it at bay forever.
Cale dryly swallowed, feeling unusually nervous. He could hear the Super Rock sigh in his head.
-
Choi Han admired Cale. Not in a love kind of way, but in the way one would look up to their idol. He prided himself on being rather observant of his liege, and of the other people around him, which was how he recognized the emotions his student, the crown prince, had begun feeling toward Cale.
Cale was a little bit harder to read, the man had a hell of a poker face, but Alberu was easier to read, in Choi Han’s opinion.
Choi Han was quick to notice how Alberu wouldn’t take his eyes off Cale when they were in the same room together. When Cale would pass out, Alberu would visit often regardless of how busy he was, sometimes doing his work in the same room as the man.
He was always one of the first people Cale would see when he woke up. Choi Han thought that really showed how much care Alberu had for the man.
Choi Han didn’t know exactly what Cale felt for the other, but if he had to say anything, it’d be that the way Cale’s (normally rough) eyes softened for the crown prince whenever he looked Alberu’s way, similar to but not entirely like how his eyes went soft whenever he looked at Raon, On, or Hong, showed that the red head probably felt the same way.
Yes, he was sure of it.
Though, if Alberu ever ended up hurting his liege, Choi Han has a perfectly good sword and two perfectly good hands. He could throw a revolution if need be.
Choi Han nodded to himself in satisfaction. Yes, that is a perfectly good threat. The Western Continent’s oldest standing kingdom held nothing in front of the sword master, and he was sure Raon would help.
Choi Han smiled.
(Alberu, who was elsewhere, felt shivers go up his spine. Ah, another headache could be headed his way.)
-
Another day, another battle.
Cale was at the forefront yet again, and wouldn’t budge no matter how much Raon protested. “The soldiers should see the back of their commander,” Cale had explained. “It’s important for morale.” Raon just thought he was trying to be self-sacrificing.
“Why would I sacrifice myself?” he’d asked, appearing genuinely confused, “That’s just stupid.”
He got exasperated looks from all around the table.
Some of Arm’s forces had begun to attack a place in the Roan kingdom, so Alberu was there as well, as another commander and also to help morale even more. He figured that it would give the soldiers the confidence they needed to overcome this crisis. It was one after another, but Cale hadn’t lost yet. Perhaps the presence of two of the kingdom’s leaders was what they needed.
Cale had promised he would take it easy. He’d promised to Raon, to Eruhaben, to Choi Han.
He’d been planning on it, but the battlefield was chaotic and, really, anything could happen there. He had to be prepared for anything, because everything could go wrong with one little slip up. One gap in his careful planning.
Vitality of the Heart was working overtime. If it was sentient, surely it’d want to quit this stupid job of keeping its stupid owner alive. Cale wouldn’t blame it, but fortunately the power was not sentient, and continued to work to keep him alive.
It had never not worked. It was the reason why Cale could afford to use his powers often, without it he would faint a lot more quickly.
Though, perhaps it was because of Vitality of the Hearts overworking that Cale was starting to lose his grip on his ancient powers. Every thunderbolt, every boulder, every gust of wind made him feel the vines in his lungs further. It was overbearing and painful. The Vitality of the Heart couldn’t keep this up for long, but Cale was getting attacked constantly. What could he do?
Alberu, under his helmet and in his dark elf form, with blood from a cut in his head streaming down his face, couldn’t help but spare a few glances at Cale every few minutes.
Why does he appear to be in so much pain? Why is he clenching his chest like that? Alberu swallowed down his nervousness. No, it’s fine, he has that one ancient power. He’ll be fine.
Cale’s mouth filled with a metallic taste, blood he was sure, perhaps mixed with flowers. Every time he opened his mouth, more blood and flowers and leaves came out. He would yell orders to others, and whoever stopped and stared got a harsh glare.
His eyesight was blurry. It was getting hard to see, but he had to continue going. To fall here would be pathetic.
–Cale, you need to stop now.
He heard Super Rock in his head, but he shook his head back at the voice.
–...
Super Rock was silent. The ancient power didn’t have much control over his powers, most of that was up to Cale, but damn. If he could, he would knock the stupid man out with a rock.
He stumbled. He saw Alberu look back at him and yell.
His vision darkened further.
–Weak human? Human, are you okay? Please respond to me. Cale?
He heard Raon’s urgent voice in his head, felt Raon’s paws (claws?) on his shoulder, saw Alberu running toward him. He felt Raon remove himself from Cale’s shoulder as Alberu scooped him up.
Ah, shit. Is this it?
-
Alberu knew something was wrong. He knew something was wrong and still let his stupid dongsaeng take the frontline. He yelled orders at passing soldiers, and left the command to his teacher, Choi Han, as well as a few other individuals.
“He..y, hyunh?” Cale slurred. Alberu didn’t look at him, pushing his way through to an empty tent and laying him down on the bed inside. He removed his helmet, revealing a bloodstained face.
“Stupid dongsaeng, you said you wouldn’t push yourself, but look at you now.” Alberu cursed. He was planning on getting up to grab someone, anyone, who could help, but was stopped by feeling someone clench his hand.
“I nee..d to tell yoo sumthin, hyunh.” Cale mumbled. He almost sounds drunk, Alberu thought hysterically. He watched blood and petals leave Cale’s mouth as the man coughed. Ah, fuck, that’s what was wrong with him.
“I luv yoo.”
Alberu almost laughed, feeling hysteria wash over him. Cale was on the verge of passing out, maybe worse, and this is what he had to say?
“I love you too, but we should talk about this later, when you wake up.” Alberu whispered. Cale smiled with dim eyes.
“Ah, I’m.. glad.”
Cale closed his eyes, and Alberu, in a panicked and jumbled state of mind, quickly checked his neck for a pulse and made sure the dumb red haired man was breathing. When he found both of those things, he finally let himself relax, grabbing onto Cale’s hand.
–Is.. Is the human okay, crown prince?
Alberu heard the young dragon’s broken voice in his head and nodded. “Yeah, he’ll… He’ll be okay.” The flowers had long since deteriorated, he’d noticed. Ah. It was me. I’m glad.
He was glad.
He asked Raon to watch over Cale before putting his helmet back on and walking out of the tent. After all, he still had a battle to win.
-
When Cale finally woke up, it was dark in the room he was laid in. Ah, I must have passed out again. He felt weirdly free, unlike how he’d felt just a while before. How long has it been?
–You’ve been asleep for 3 weeks.
The Super Rock spoke as though reading his mind. Despite having no living body and only having his conscience, he sounded tired. Cale tried to move his hand to rub his head, only to find it being grasped by someone else. He looked to his side, and found Alberu in a chair at his bedside, asleep, and holding his hand in both of his.
Cale tried to recall what happened before he passed out, and flushed when he remembered, bringing his free hand to his mouth.
God, I can’t believe I told him in that state. Cale was nothing short of embarrassed. But…
He removed his hand from his face and lowered it to his throat, feeling no clogging feeling. He could breathe just fine.
He could cry. Actually, he might cry. He was so worried over nothing.
He felt the grasp Alberu had on his hand tighten slightly as the man groaned, probably awoken by Cale shuffling around in the bed. He opened his eyes slightly, looked at Cale, before he was fully awake.
Before Alberu could say anything, Cale tightened his hand in Alberu’s, smiling at him. “Hey, you love me too, right?”
Alberu opened and closed his mouth, almost like a fish, looking flushed in the small amount of moonlight coming through a window. He sighed, removing his hands from Cale’s, and placing them on the red head’s cheeks.
Suddenly, Cale felt a pair of lips against his own. It was awkward, like Alberu had never kissed anyone before, (which he probably hadn’t) but Cale kissed back anyway, closing his eyes, feeling happier than he had in months.
“Does that answer your question for you?”
Cale laughed. “Yes, it does.”
--
Extras:
Choi Han: Cale-nim, how are-
Cale, immediately: Is that the White Star over there? Sorry, Choi Han, we can talk later, gotta go save the world.
Choi Han: :(
-
Alberu: So how long were you planning on hiding it?
Cale, sweating: ...
Alberu: Oh, so you were just gonna die? God damn it, you are the source of all my headaches.
Cale: I love you?
Alberu: ...I love you too. But never do that again.
-
Eruhaben: You should just use the jar.
Cale: How about fuck you. This jar has your name written on it.
Eruhaben, inspecting the jar: ...Did you just now write my name on it in Sharpie?
Cale, lying: No.