it takes every ounce of his willpower to avoid spilling tears of joy to hear that sweet, lyrical voice. he wraps his arms around xie lian, pulling him into a tight embrace. the hug lingers, and he doesn’t let go.
“gege... you should be worrying about yourself, not me,” he chokes out, burying his face into xie lian’s shoulders.
hua cheng’s grip tightens, then he finally lets go and sits back. avoiding xie lian’s gaze, his eyes sweep over the frostbitten skin of xie lian, cracked and broken from the fierce cold earlier. his expression downcast. he bites his lower lips, his brows knit with concern. he opens the palm of his hand, summoning a few butterflies who flutter over to the damaged skin. they land, lazily flapping their wings, and begin transferring their energy over to the injury. the injuries slowly begin to heal.
“is that better?” he asks weakly.
before he could hear a reply, chaos unleashes. the windows go black. what was once heavy snow suddenly showing nothing. voices begin to project their message, speaking of the imminent destruction by ‘null’ or ‘gpu’, and asking everyone to fight against the invaders and save the world as they know it. instinctively, hua cheng grabs xie lian’s hand.
the world is quiet after the final words are said. the peace breaks with the sound of the windows being slammed by bloodlusted creatures. cracking noises can be heard over the screams of the fearful citizens.
hua cheng only holds xie lian tighter.
cont. from here - @trashgege
