Black Magic

Apple Season

Chapter 8: Apple Season

--~~--

The rain was pouring down now, splattering against the ground hard enough to kick up little bits of mud.

Kyungsoo barely noticed.

Kai appeared next to him almost instantly, crouching over Chen's limp form and holding a hand beneath the boy's nose to check his breathing. By the time Ryeowook had jogged over to the scene, Kai had moved on to timing Chen's pulse.

"What's going on?" Ryeowook demanded, waving his arms to control the heavy downpour. The water sluiced around them, hitting an invisible barrier.

Kyungsoo had his eyes fixed on Kai, waiting for his diagnosis.

The Air Dragon shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I think he's fine." Kai pulled back and glanced up at the teacher. "He just fainted."

Ryeowook frowned and bent to study Chen's pale face. There was a shallow cut on one of his high cheekbones. "He should have said something," the instructor murmured before pulling away with a sigh. "Can you take him to the Master Healer?"

Kai nodded and grabbed Chen's wrist.

Kyungsoo jerked, hand snatching out to wrap around Kai's forearm before he could disappear. "Can I go too?"

Chen wasn't his friend, but... he did sort of owe the guy. The least he could do was stay with him until he woke up.

Ryeowook regarded him through narrowed eyes before glancing back at his other students. Some were leaping through the rain, reveling in its cool touch, pushing and pulling it along with them, while the rest of the class...was looking pretty miserable.

Ryeowook exhaled in resignation.

"Go ahead," he mumbled. "We're done here."

--~~--

The Master Healer had a class of this own at his hour, according to the politely scripted note sitting atop his desk, and with Chen still comatose, they decided to simply wait until the older man returned.

Outside, the storm still raged on, the rain hitting the windows with fury. Lightning lit the dim room every few minutes, the thunder only seconds behind.

Once they managed to get Chen on a cot in the infirmary, Kyungsoo went in search of an extra blanket. Chen's skin was hot to the touch, but his clothes were freezing cold and soaking wet. Short of stripping him naked, Kyungsoo couldn't think of anything better to do than pile a couple of dry blankets on top of him.

After opening and closing several drawers and exploring a couple of cabinets, he finally found a stack of spare blankets tucked away on a top shelf in a closet.

Kyungsoo reached for them, straining upward.

His fingers touched soft felt, and then for half a second, his vision swam, and he faltered, feeling dizzy. He swayed backwards on unstable legs, blankets forgotten.

"Are you okay?"

Kyungsoo felt his temperature spike as a strong hand gripped his shoulder and settled him upright.

Kai was close enough that Kyungsoo could feel the warmth of his body radiating through the layers of wet fabric that separated them. Kyungsoo was suddenly hit with the irrational urge to just sink back into him, press his sodden shoulders to Kai's chest and soak up his warmth.

Maybe they could lay in Kyungsoo's bed and Kai could wrap his arms around him and--

"I'm fine," he responded, shrugging Kai's hand off.