@obscurites
Baekhyun’s legs almost gave out.
Zero caught him before he hit the dirt and for a second, there was nothing but silence between them, save for the wet rasp of breath clawing at the elder’s throat. “Tch.” His eyes flicked downward. What was left of Baekhyun’s side was still weeping, muscle twitching beneath torn flesh, heat radiating from the wound like a dying furnace. Blood soaked through his sleeves, but he didn’t look at it. He didn’t need to because he already knew how bad it was.
“This is pathetic,” he muttered underneath his breath, more for himself than for the other to hear. With a sharp breath through his nose, he shifted his stance and knelt low in one smooth, silent motion, hauling Baekhyun forward. One arm wrapped around their knees, the other under his shoulders, and for the briefest moment, Zero held them like something fragile. Without a word, he dipped lower, back turned. “Get on,” he started, “Don’t make me say it twice.”
Needless to say, it was a graceless process. Baekhyun was too weak to lift himself and Zero was too impatient to pretend otherwise. But eventually, he managed to maneuver the other on his back, limps limp, head resting just beneath the curve of his shoulder. Baekhyun practically felt like dead weight on him. Their blood seeped down the nape of his neck, warm and slow.
Zero hooked his arms under their legs and stood. He groaned, and the forest groaned with him. “Try to get some rest,” a soft mutter, pausing briefly. And then he says, almost reluctantly. “I’ll handle things from here, hyung.” He steps forward slowly, each movement calculated to minimize the jolt of pain. His hand shifted slightly, almost imperceptibly, curling against the back of Baekhyun’s thigh; steadying them against him in a protective manner.
“I told you not to die,” he began, his voice just barely above a whisper. “So don’t.”
