Frost at Midnight
Pairing: Kuai Liang | Sub-Zero x Fem! Reader
Angst and Hurt/Comfort.
For now, peace had returned to Earthrealm. Shao Kahn had been defeated, Shinnok was banished, and the Outworld portal to Earth had been closed. Peace had not yet returned to you. Your mind returned to the last time you'd seen Kuai Liang, the coldness that perpetually radiated from his form a stark contrast to the flaming chasms above which you'd bid him goodbye. 'Until next time.'
A/N: This may be a niche for only me specifically, but Sub-Zero's brother in Annihiliation though...
Moonlight glittered on an early spring frost, lending the world a ghostly sheen that transformed the earth into both a land of the living and a land of the dead. Your exhale clouded in the air, then dissipated into the darkness. For now, peace had returned to Earthrealm. Shao Kahn had been defeated, Shinnok was banished, and the Outworld portal to Earth had been closed. Peace had not yet returned to you. You wondered if it ever would, or if the invisible scars that now marked your mind would linger for the rest of your life.
Your mind returned to the last time you'd seen Kuai Liang, the coldness that perpetually radiated from his form a stark contrast to the flaming chasms above which you'd bid him goodbye. 'Until next time.' The words rang hollow in your memory. Grief welled up in your chest like blood in an open wound. If he still lived, he surely would have returned by now. You tilted your head back and looked upwards at the Arctikan sky. Antares burned brightly in the blackness, the glowing heart of Qing Long. A chill ran down your spine, a presentiment of something soon to come. Whether the nature of it would be positive or negative you could only wait and speculate.
The moment arrived sooner than you had expected, the temperature of the air dropping a few degrees lower. Your gaze snapped back down from the sky, searching the deep shadows that surrounded you. Even in the relative security of the Lin Kuei Temple, things could lurk in the night. Your heart nearly jumped from your chest at the sound of footsteps on the grass behind you. Turning quickly and dropping into a fighting stance, you immediately froze, as motionless as if you'd been paralyzed.
"Kuai Liang." The words came out as a hoarse whisper, barely audible above the hushed sound of the wind on the rocks below the terrace.
"Yes." He hesitated for an instant before stepping towards you, as if afraid that time and distance had upset the delicate balance of the dynamic between you.
The two of you had never quite been a couple, but you had also never been simply companions in arms. There had always been an underlying tension, like a cable waiting to snap. You had never been brave enough to face the consequences of breaking that tension one way or another. The idea of jeopardizing what was easily your closest friendship stopped you as effectively as shooting yourself in the foot would have. The only time you allowed yourself to dare to imagine what it would be like if your attraction was requited was in the long, dark hours of the dead of night when you were alone in your chamber and only the silent Temple guards remained awake.
Now Kuai Liang stood close enough for you to feel the chill emanating from his skin, to see the scar that ran across his eye and down the right side of his face. He wasn't wearing his mask, and in the moonlight you could see the dark stubble that you had always longed to run your fingers over.
Deep down in your heart you had always known it, but now you truly realized how irreplaceable he was in your world. To your own chagrin you found tears pricking at your eyes, and when he drew you into his arms you buried your face in his shoulder, clutching the fabric of his clothing and breathing in the familiar scent of sweat and winter air.
"I swear that you will never have to suffer like this again." Kuai Liang's voice was rough with half repressed emotion. You weren’t sure whether he was referring to you believing that you had lost him permanently or to the recent half-merging of the Realms. Perhaps it was both. Right now the specifics didn't really matter. He held you tightly, with a relief and desperation that you could feel in the tension that permeated his muscles.
When he drew back, his eyes searched yours, silently seeking permission before he leaned in and slowly pressed his lips to yours in a tender kiss that left you breathless and your knees weak. "I've wanted to do that for a long time," he confessed, his breath cool against your skin.
For an instant you wondered if you had fallen asleep on one of the benches beneath the great conifer tree that grew in the center of the terrace, and if this was all just a wonderful dream. “So have I.” The bite of frost on your cheek where he gently brushed his fingers across your skin assured you that this was reality.
When the second kiss, deeper and more exploratory than the first, ended he folded you in his arms, cradling your head against his chest. You could hear the quickened beat of his heart, and closed your eyes as he carded his fingers through your hair. He was silent for a moment before he gently pushed you back, strong hands resting on your biceps. "Everything is going to be different now."
"Maybe that's a good thing,” you murmured.
"I hope it is." His dark brows furrowed slightly.
You gave him a soft smile, placing your hands lightly on his chest. "I'm just glad that you're back." Your expression tightened. "I can't lose you."
His nostrils flared as he inhaled sharply. "You won't." For a long moment the memory of his older brother's death hung in the air between you like an icy specter. Kuai Liang's slow exhale dissolved it like a zephyr brushing aside a bad dream. That chapter of his life had ended. It would never be gone, but it was over. The memory was replaced by an unspoken question.
What happened now? Now that there was peace, if only for a time, you were so used to war that you didn't know how to start living without it. For now you settled on taking his hands in yours and pressing them gently.
It was time to rebuild, to forge new alliances and strengthen old ones, but for now the long hours of the night stretched slowly towards dawn, and Kuai Liang held you close.
