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In hindsight, Jongdae shouldn’t have gone off by himself. Not when remnants of the Red Force are still hanging around. Now he’s curled up in the old ruins of a house and nursing a stomach wound that is oozing blood all over the floor, not knowing if his friends had seen his request for assistance.
Hope flares in his chest when the sound of footsteps reach his ears, and a shadow falls over him. Jongdae looks up, ready to whine at whoever has arrived, but the words die in his throat when he sees who it is.
“You?” he chokes out.
Suhø shoots him an unimpressed look and kneels down next to him, gaze focused on the injury that Jongdae is struggling with. One of his hands reaches into a pocket and pulls out a red pouch, which Suhø then rummages through.
Jongdae opens his mouth to ask what Suhø is doing here, but before he can say anything, Suhø shoves a dark red pill into his mouth. Jongdae nearly chokes in surprise, and his throat automatically convulses to swallow it.
“What was that?” he asks, grimacing at the coppery taste that it leaves in his mouth.
“My blood.”
Jongdae almost chokes again. “What !”
“It’ll stimulate the secretion of erythropoietin,” Suhø says in a matter-of-fact way, completely oblivious to Jongdae’s turmoil. “It’ll also fill in your plasma volume deficit until your body replenishes your loss.”
Jongdae’s stomach churns, and he suppresses the urge to vomit. If he throws up this pill, then Suhø will just feed him another, and that’s an experience Jongdae would rather not go through again. He’s content with closing his eyes and convincing himself that he had never ingested a pill of Suhø’s blood in the first place.
“Are you dizzy?”
Jongdae blinks his eyes open to see Suhø watching him with a shallow furrow between his eyebrows. “Oh, um, a little.”
Suhø drops his gaze to Jongdae’s wound again. He swipes a thumb over one of the golden rings on his fingers, releasing the tiny blade that was hidden in the jewelry, and cuts open the palms of his hands. Blood seeps from the gashes, and Suhø presses a palm over the hole in Jongdae’s stomach.
Jongdae can’t help the quiet gasp that escapes him. He instinctively tenses up and holds his breath, acutely aware of the warmth from Suhø’s hand.
After a few moments, Suhø removes his hand and over Jongdae’s injury is a sheet of Suhø’s blood, acting as a makeshift seal to staunch Jongdae’s bleeding. “Lean forward,” Suhø orders.
Jongdae obeys, groaning as pain shoots up his back. Suhø supports him with one arm while he presses his right hand over the gaping wound on Jongdae’s lower back and constructs another seal.
With the bleeding taken care of, Suhø lets Jongdae lean back against the crumbling wall. “Can you stand?” he asks.
Jongdae shakes his head. The blood plasters that Suhø placed on him are ineffective in numbing pain, and even if Jongdae manages to stand up, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to walk without falling over. Suhø will have to call for help...except he doesn’t.
Instead, he picks Jongdae up and carries him in his arms.
Jongdae lets out a pained hiss at the motion, and Suhø carefully readjusts his grip so that he doesn’t jostle Jongdae before picking his way out of the ruined house. Jongdae takes deep, steadying breaths until the agony subsides somewhat before asking, “Where are we going?”
“Find Kāi,” Suhø responds, “He will send you home.”
However, Suhø barely finishes his sentence before someone yells at them from down the street.
“Jongdae!”
Suhø stops and turns around, and Jongdae sees the two figures hurrying towards them. “Baekhyun,” he croaks, “Jongin.”
They stop a few paces away, and Baekhyun’s expression darkens at the sight of Jongdae’s blood. He gives Suhø a stiff nod and asks, “Did you see Jongdae’s back-up signal and come to help?”
Suhø’s face is impassive. “I did.”
“Then, we thank you for your assistance,” Baekhyun says, “We can take it from here.”
Jongin steps forward warily, holding out his arms. Suhø doesn’t move, but he doesn’t resist when Jongin takes Jongdae from his arms either. “I gave him a blood pill. Make sure your healer takes a blood count before giving him any infusions.”
“Duly noted,” Baekhyun replies.
“I’ll remove the blood plasters in one minute,” Suhø continues, “so that your healer can properly look at his wounds.”
Baekhyun gives a curt nod as Jongin steps back. Before they can leave, Jongdae reaches out and grabs Suhø’s hand. “Thank you,” he says, “I owe you one.”
Suhø looks at him and, for the briefest of moments, squeezes Jongdae’s hand before he pulls away. “You owe me nothing.”