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Yichen stares after the girls as they leave, Wenxiao dragging Sijing away, the former taking heavy steps to emphasize her anger.
“You’ve known them for quite a while,” Zhuyan says with a knowing look, “it’s impossible to get rid of them.” He casts a sideways look over to Yichen, “let’s go.”
“Don’t forget what you promised me.” Yichen says instead, a statement. Then moves to follow the girls.
Zhuyan catches at his arm, “wait.”
Yichen turns around with a questioning brow raised, and Zhuyan continues, “if anything happens or is demanded of us in there, don’t go sacrificing yourself and whatnot. We leave, and return with a proper plan.”
They still have so many things unsaid between, so much to establish. To fix.
Yichen looks up. “It’s a graveyard. What could happen?”
So many things. “You are literally standing on the bone of a monster.”
He apologetically steps away, “right.”
“I’m serious, don’t do anything. You feel like you would, so tell me you won’t.”
The younger nods, “I won’t.”
Zhuyan searches his eyes, frowning, “don’t be surprised later but if you do anything stupid, I’ll simply be following.”
Yichen shakes Zhuyan’s hands away from his arm. “What?”
“I’ll rephrase that, if you engage in any life threatening acts for us, I will be following suit. We both will end up dying.” Yichen doesn’t say anything but stares at him incredulously at that, “I’m serious. I’ll wait 10 seconds to send a prayer for you before doing the same thing you did, and if you died, I’ll have died too.”
Yichen tilts his head, “is this a threat.”
“Yes. Yes, it is.”
He frowns, “Zhuyan.”
“I feel threatened by the thought of your death too, it’s a return of favour, see now that’s-”
“I won’t risk my life.” Yichen says, then reaches down to take hold of Zhuyan’s hand, clasping at it tightly, “and you won’t either. And if something were to happen to me, do not follow. I won’t purposefully do anything to forsake my life like that, especially not now.”
Zhuyan holds his gaze, Yichen holds up their clasped hands with a helpless smile, “I have plans. For after everything is over, we have plans.” He makes a face before carrying on, “but really, if something does end up happening, please do not follow.”
If something were to happen, let it happen to me. Why do you think it’s your responsibility to bear the weight and go down if anything is to happen? “We’re being awfully negative about this, aren’t we?” Zhuyan asks instead, pulling him a little closer.
“I didn’t know the word pessimism before I met you, actually.” Yichen muses, other arm closing in around Zhuyan’s back, “are we agreed on the previous matter?”
Zhuyan clears his throat, “I’m still deciding.” No. No, he’s not. He’s simply going to pull Yichen out of whatever predicament he finds himself in, and not let the man die. Under any cost tonight. Although he isn’t going to be telling any of this to the guy in question, seeing they’d end up not agreeing.
Which is fine, since when did Zhuyan ever listen to anyone when he’s made up his mind about something anyway.
Since never.
Although, if Yichen keeps his word, he wouldn’t follow if the man were to find himself in trouble. He’d simply just do everything in his power to get him out.
“Okay.” Zhuyan finally says.
Yichen seems to be deep in thought too, but when Zhuyan glances up at him suspiciously, he breaks out of it, “Good.”
They should go now.
Zhuyan snakes his hands up behind Yichen’s back and tugs at the bells hanging down his hair, tucking his body into the taller man’s hood comfortably, “for someone who’s a descendant of the Bingyi Clan, you run quite warm.”
Yichen hums, finger kneading at Zhuyan’s hand softly, “I’ve been told, yes.”
Zhuyan pulls back, “by whom. Who did you-”
Yichen breaks out into a smile, “not like that.”
Zhuyan squints, “like what.”
Their faces are closer than they’ve ever been before, neither of them pull away.
Yichen knocks their forehead together, “like this. You’re, very surprisingly, the only one who ever got this close to me.”
Zhuyan smiles approvingly at the reply, tightens his hold on him, “Surprisingly?”
“Not very surprising for you, is it?”
“Not really, no.”
Yichen smiles, parting their foreheads and letting go his hand. He brings up the same hand and cups Zhuyan’s cheek, “knew even when I hated you that I’d come to like you, didn’t you?”
Zhuyan, heart beating wildly in his chest, tries to move away, but Yichen’s hand’s travel to the back of his head and holds him there, he clears his throat desperately, “we should get going.”
“Yes,” Yichen agrees, his eyes glowing with amusement and a slow smile starting at his lips, “we should.”
Zhuyan doesn’t make to untangle his arms from around Yichen.
They remain like that.
Slowly, Yichen tilts his head up with his hold on Zhuyan’s face and places a light kiss at his temple, then whispers something to his hair. Withdrawing from the Demon’s arms immediately after, taking his hand, “let’s go.”
He takes a second to recover, “I didn’t hear you.”
Yichen pulls at his hand and begins to walk, “I’ll say it again when we get out of here.”
Zhuyan reluctantly moves, brushing at his temple with two fingers, it tingles, “What. Why?”
Yichen lets go of his hand to flick at his forehead, “Why what?”
Zhuyan doesn’t get a chance to reply before they arrive at where the girls wait near the entrance, Wenxiao sitting in the ground while Sijing stays standing next to her, back against the cave wall. The archer turns around to regard them with a raised eyebrow.
Well, that talk really might have to wait until they get out of here after all.
Zhuyan sends an exasperated look over at Yichen, the latter expertly ignores it.
“Took you two a while.” Wenxiao says, not looking up at them.
“She’s still a little mad at you,” Sijing supplies helpfully.
Yichen goes to them, holds out a hand to Wenxiao, “here.”
She looks at it for a second before taking his hand and getting up, brushing off the snow from her robes. She purses her lips and walks away, Yichen in tow. He holds her arm and tells her something urgently, probably trying with an apology.
“Were you two really only talking?” Sijing asks suddenly, walking alongside Zhuyan instead of joining Wenxiao up front.
Zhuyan makes a noise, “obviously.”
“Right, obviously.”
“We really were.”
Sijing lets out a sigh, a small smile on her lips before she turns away to hide it, “no, I’m happy for you two.”
“Honestly, what are you talking about?”
Sijing shrugs and picks up her pace.
Whatever Zhuyan was going to say to persuade her dies down in throat when he enters the Graveyard.
His steps slow down and comes to a complete stop as he looks around.
Something tightens and greys in his chest, something about the place eerie and familiar both at the same time.
He doesn’t think he likes it.
His eyes snap over to Yichen’s, who’d turned around to look at him.
Stay Alive. Zhuyan yells, gaze burning, his malicious energy sparking at his fingertips.
Yichen nods, turns back around. Wenxiao has moved closer to Yichen now.
The other two share a look.
Sijing draws out an arrow, Zhuyan rests his third and fourth finger together, hiding his hand under his sleeves.
They join the pair to the front.
—