The direction passed by Ein like a cloud, and he kept single-mindedly murmuring prayers.
Adriel tapped the chair he was sitting on, growing concerned. "Dean's talking to you. Are you ignoring him on purpose or...?"
Dean's voice lowered, tense. "Are you high?"
"What are you talking about?" Ein whispered back.
"You've been acting weird since dinner. Getting friendly with that kid, drinking my juice, and now laughing for no reason." Dean paused, his eyes narrowing. "And you're sweating like crazy."
Ein heard the words, but they felt nonsensical, as if coming from the other side of a thick wall. He raised an eyebrow, or at least he thought he did. His mind was stuck in a thick, muddy swamp where every thought sank before it could take shape.
The world around him shimmered and blurred at the edges. And a dumb grin tugged at his lips. "Yeah?"
Dean groaned, looking more exasperated.
Adriel gasped, anxiously tapping Ein's chair. His voice sounded faint, like it was echoing through a tunnel. "The barman!" he blurted out, pointing somewhere. "The jerk who drugged me at the Red Tail bar! He's here!"
The ghost rubbed his chin, speaking faster now, "Dean's the only one sober—he didn't drink the juice. It must have..."
Ein didn't catch all of it, but the urgency in Adriel's tone made something click. His eyes went wide, and he gasped. "It must have been the ju—"
Dean slapped his hand over Ein's mouth. "Shut up! Don't shout," he hissed. "We need to get out of here. Follow me, quietly."
Compliant, Ein stood to follow, but the world tilted sideways. He stumbled, barely managing to catch himself on the back of the chair.
As the room warped around him, his gaze was drawn back to the stage, which was bathed in a strange, holy light.
It was so pure, so beautiful. If he could just stay here, everything would be fine. He could almost feel his body swimming towards the stage.
"Ein! This is bad—really bad! Stop looking there!" Adriel was panicking. "You drank three cups! You could die from overdose!"
The warning barely registered. Ein's heart hammered unevenly in his chest, and his legs wobbled under him. The room tilted once more, and he crumpled to the floor, the cold tiles meeting him in a blur.
✧ ✧ ✧
The next time Ein opened his eyes, he was in the shared bedroom with Dean.
Everything was bright and fuzzy, almost dreamlike. The lights twinkled like stars, doubling in count.
"Hey, hey. Are you awake?" Adriel's voice pulled him back, an edge of concern in his tone.
Ein blinked slowly, his mind barely making contact with gravity, and then... there was the beautiful angel, standing right in front of him, with a warm light cascading over him.
A breathy laugh slipped from his lips.
Pure white wings had spread out behind Adriel's back, unscathed and pristine, like he had just descended from heaven.
"Oh my God," Adriel breathed, leaning closer. "Your pupils are huge."
Ein's fingers twitched before lifting into the air, reaching out slowly, not daring to blink. The ghost glanced over his shoulder, trying to understand what he was staring at.
"What are you doing?"
"Your wings..." Ein whispered, grasping something invisible above Adriel's shoulders. His fingertips brushed through nothing, and he tried again.
Adriel's smirk faltered, caught between amusement and concern. His voice was softer, unsure, "Wings?" He spun around twice, like a dog chasing his tail, just to make sure no feathers had sprouted on his back.
But when he turned back, Ein was still gazing at him with an awe-struck expression, higher than the moon.
"This is driving me insane," the ghost mumbled. "How long will it take for you to come back to your senses?"
Senses... That's right—Ein had one of those. A sense of something like bliss and ease. Everything felt possible, even flying.
"Did it... hurt?" Ein slurred, his tone turning serious.
Adriel's eyebrows shot up. "Did what hurt?" he asked tentatively.
"Falling from heaven..."
Adriel was speechless for a moment, but the earnest look on Ein's face made him crack up. Seeing the cold man spout nonsense with sincerity wasn't something he ever expected to witness.
"Are you kidding me?"
"...Why would I be kidding?" Ein watched him blankly.
Adriel chuckled, shaking his head. "Never mind, forget it."
With the slow look on his face, Ein looked like he would have answered anything Adriel asked.
This was his chance to ask Ein the questions he refused to answer while sane, but...
The ghost fiddled with his fingers, observing the man who looked at him with an absolutely foolish look of adoration in his eyes.
Adriel sighed, abandoning this opportunity. He wasn't that much of an opportunist. Either way, there was no guarantee Ein would remember anything serious in this state.
He sat on the corner of the bed, resting his chin in his hand. "You're completely gone, aren't you?"
Ein shrugged sluggishly, his grin widening. "I dunno."
"You dunno?" Adriel leaned closer, a teasing grin crossing his face. "Since when has there been something you didn't know?"
Ein let out a huff, his eyes drifting over Adriel's face, memorizing every detail. "Since you showed up..."
The door creaked, and Dean returned to the room. When he saw Ein was conscious, a flicker of relief crossed his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"You got your stomach pumped and hooked up to an IV," Dean told him flatly. "Said to watch out for any side effects. Do you feel any?"
Adriel snapped out of his flustered state to remark, "You know, with how casually the nurses did all that, this was probably not the first time it happened."
Ein's gaze fell to his arm, noticing the IV for the first time. He stared at it with such intense concentration, as if it were a magic wand that could turn into a flower any moment.
"Side effects..." he echoed slowly, his mind foggier than ever.
Dean sighed. "Yeah, side effects," he said firmly, enunciating each syllable. "Nausea, hallucinations, dizziness, weakness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath..."