Chapter 43 - Serendipity (1)

His dress shoes made a soft thump when landing on the pile of snow and the huge gate of the Roderick household clanged loudly as the guards pulled the gates closed. 

Hot puff of air surrounded Han's lips as he breathed out, in contrast to the cold weather of the early morning. What a way to start a morning, a new day was what he thought the moment he stepped out of the Roderick household.

They never cease to amaze him with the ruckus they caused, though there seemed to be a little problem in Derek's situation. He wondered what he should do about it. Emotional consolation was never his strong point. He always weighed the pros and cons in any situation, always had his logical reasoning. 

It was weird how Derek just loved to turn to him for this kind of stuff, but it couldn't be helped when Derek had fallen in love with the other party. 

Han kicked the snow to show his little frustration, only to get the karma right away as the cold bit into his skin, making him shiver. "Cold…" 

He clutched the collar of his trench coat, tugging them up, hoping he could hide in it. It wasn't helping his case as he had drowned himself in cold dirty water before, causing him to tremble from the frostbite. "Gosh, I truly need a shower, a hot, hot one at that, goddammit."

Cupping his hands and blowing hot air into his palms, Han hurried home. If there were disgusted gazes being sent by his way, he pretended to never notice and just focused on his destination. 

Moving lightly on his feet, Han reached home in no time. Shivering hands kept on missing the keyhole of the gate of his own home, curse words flooded out of his mouth like tsunami. The wet clothes that were now dry felt dirty and filthy on his skin. 

A snowflake landed on his hand and another landed on the tip of his nose. The sudden tiny bits of coldness spreaded from the tip of his nose and melted instantly from the heat of his body. 

Blinking, Han looked up to the sky. 

Snow. 

Snow had never really brought a good impression in his life. Unlike good memories like any other people have, it meant nothing much to him. 

Until… 

Until that day. 

What should he call it? What was the term for it anyway? 

Serendipity? 

The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. 

Han almost barked out a laugh at that. 

Indeed. 

Maybe it was fate. 

Their first meeting was under a heavy snowy day. 

Two kids. 

One unconscious while the other was looking at him with bright emerald eyes that were filled with distrust, wary, and even fear. 

How many years had that been? 

What would happen if he wasn't the one who found them? 

Would they still be standing here, alive and living? Or trapped in the laboratory of an unknown syndicate as a living experiment instead? 

Han couldn't do anything but agree more. 

Serendipity. 

How sweet it sounded. 

<<Flashback>>

The first time Han had gotten drunk was the day he finally found himself back at Atlantis. Since he wasn't going to stay permanently, the Rodericks-- well, more like just Derek and Lynn-- had thrown a small welcome back party for him. They planned to have a heart to heart talk, to catch up with each other's life, which only ended up with them drinking their ȧss off. 

The golden-eyed Roderick had offered him to stay the night, more like Lynn did, because Derek couldn't even form anything coherent after drinking. He needed to grab a few things at home before leaving again since he wasn't planning on staying here permanently. 

It was dark by the time Han bid them goodbye. Han swayed his way home, yes swayed, because he was just tipsy, not completely drunk yet. The desolate streets of Zariya rested in silence as the dark sky loomed over, lit up only by the glow of blinking bright and yellow street lamps. 

Huge giant buildings stood, looming over the streets. Some windows gave out white and yellow gloomy lights, while others were pitch black. The streets were almost empty besides a few cars passing by, causing stray dogs to bark and cats screeching. Once the cars passed and stray animals stopped barking and screeching, the streets of Zariya now rested in lifeless silence again. 

Holding onto the wall of buildings in the alley for support, he tried to drag his buŧŧ back home. Walking through the alley, his body naturally led him through the familiar route until his blurry and drunken sight caught the view of his old cottage. 

But overall, the house looked intacted. 

His dark brown eyes blinked rapidly when the scene kind of doubled as a wave of headache washed over him, dizziness almost causing him to stumble forward. Burping, the smell of alcohol was unyielding. 

'Damn, I must have drunk too much.' 

Grumbling, his clumsy fingers fumbled the pockets of his long trench coat, looking for keys to unlock the gates of his cottage. Just as he managed to pull the stubborn key out of its hiding place, a sniffle caught his ears. The brown-eyed Alpha paused all of his movements, listening for more. In this state, he couldn't really trust any of his senses anymore. 

'A cat, perhaps?' 

Shrugging his shoulders, Han plunged the key in and unlocked the gate. He was about to push the gate open when a louder sniffle was heard and Han was a hundred percent sure, in this deafening silence, it wasn't a cat. 

It sounded… 

Like… 

Like a human.