The Fallen

XIV : RUTHLESS

Yugyeom had to admit it: it truly was a beautiful place to die.

"Leave me," Eunwoo rasped. His eyes widened and skin reddened as he was overcome by another coughing fit. Yugyeom watched on helplessly. "Go, Yugyeom," he scratched out with effort. "You might - you might not be not be infected. You can — still live."

"Nah," Yugyeom shook his head and gave his friend a small smile. "It's too pretty here. Don't wanna leave."

They both knew the truth anyway. Elysium Fever was deadly and highly contagious. The chances that he hadn't been infected were so small it was pointless to think otherwise.

Eunwoo gave a strangled laugh, pained and conflicted, and Yugyeom placed a hand on his shoulder. They sat quietly for a while, on the harshness of Eunwoo's breathing breaking into the tranquility as they looked out at the vista of wildflowers, rolling hills, and deadly beauty.

Helplessness curled its way around Yugyeom's heart as he tried to stay calm for his dying friend, partner, and occasional lover. He wouldn't leave him, not like this. Eunwoo only had a cough and chest pain, but that was just the beginning of the sickness taking root in his system. The delirium would hit soon enough, until it turned to utter madness. Yugyeom wouldn't let it get that far; he didn't want Eunwoo to suffer through more than he had too.

They were barely two days into their mission. The Fever was always a risk, but neither of them expected it to happen quickly, but Yugyeom supposed, that was the terrifying thing about the disease - it was merciless and unpredictable.

"I guess we're not going to be able to help Jungkook, after all," He sighed.

Eunwoo hit his chest a few times and cleared his throat. "Yoongi won't let anything happen to him."

"I know, but I think there's a hell of a lot going on." Eunwoo made a hum of agreement. Yoongi grimaced. "Yoongi, the Emperor, and Jungkook. They're all hiding something. I just wish they'd trust us more," Yugyeom grunted, frustrated.

"Of course they're hiding things. They're dealing with angels." He paused. "With Jungkook's angel," Eunwoo responded, glancing at him pointedly.

Yugyeom scrunched up his nose. He wasn't sure how he felt about the angel and Jungkook. He wasn't fully comfortable about their relationship; still held back by ingrained prejudice. But he loved Jungkook, and that was enough for him not to question to deeply. What kept his doubts and worries at the forefront were the memories of how Jungkook had been when he'd returned from Illenium - the abyss in his eyes that had never fully left him, - and the day the angel came to Enniko.

He was fallen, then. Black-winged, just like the demons whose blood his hands were soaked in. No one who faced him had stood a chance against the bloodlust and rage, as he yelled for Jungkook, demanding him. He fought with abandon, a terrifying sight of primal brutality. Yugyeom remembered his legs has trembled, and his body seized with fear. He had never felt like that before, not once during the war, and he'd never felt it again.

Jungkook had seen him and said in a blank, emotionless voice, that he was a monster, and he would never go with him. Yugyeom had been inclined to agree, and he would have. But the look of pure anguish on the Fallen's face at hearing Jungkook say it, the pain seemed unfathomable, and had been enough to plant seeds of doubt within him. It had plagued Yugyeom for the last two centuries, though he'd never approached Jungkook about it. But it wasn't just the fallen from that day who lingered in his mind, it was also the Emperor. She had watched the scene unfold and done nothing but let the fallen go when it was over, despite how grievously he'd injured several demons. Her response had baffled them all.