The Gods of Hades and Music
—Summary: All you were trying to do, was to complete a stupid assignment, that you’re not even supposed to do. Who knew that a simple task could get out of hand?
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—THIRTEEN
“Oh, screw it.” You mutter, huffing as you got out of your chair, the chair scraping against the concrete floor. “Who the hell cares about his father. For tian’s sake, we are Exousia, we aren’t supposed to be afraid of puny clients.”
Ziyi merely raises his eyebrows and with a firm shake of his long locks, he turns back to his work, a small section just falling over his solemn eyes.
For once, you wished Justin was here to persuade Ziyi, but hell no, he had made an appointment, a study date, with Fan Chengcheng. A study date. Would you believe that.
Sighing, you carelessly brush away the fallen strands and tuck it behind Ziyi’s ear. “Ge, please? Linkai is getting bored, and I’m bored, and I want to go to the amusement park. Please??” You practically beg him, pouting, trying to entice him with puppy eyes, but none of them work.
“You can see Xukun too.” You mutter, hand dropping as it comes to rest on the armrest of his seat. It’s a low blow, and you know it. But it’s the last card you have in your hand.
He closes his eyes and sighs.
Why do you always win?
-
Linkai drags you towards the rollercoaster, and you’re starting to regret this. “Why the rollercoaster??? Do you know how dangerous it is?” You complain as he pouts at you. “Oh come on, don’t be a spoilt sport. Life’s all about taking risks, isn’t it?” He shakes your arm excitedly and you roll your eyes at his childish gestures.
“Oh tell me about it,” You mutter under your breath as he drags you towards the large loop, the blood curdling screams from the carriage hung upside down turns your gut inside out, but at least you’re not cooped up in your room, so that’s something, I suppose.
Ziyi looks like he is about to have a mini heart attack as he follows behind you with a silent Xukun, trying hard to persuade Linkai out of it.
“Linkai, I know you love these kind of things, but can you please reconsider-”
“And the two of you are supposed to be from Exousia.”
“Will you keep it down?” You hush him, looking about, half afraid that someone will spot you.
“The carousel looks nice.” Ziyi tries again as he points towards the cute miniature ponies going round and round, the only people there are those whiny 5 year old kids and their old parents.
“Linkai, please??? I promise I’ll buy you something nice afterwards.”
Your puppy eyes make him weak in the knees and he raises his hands in surrender, a huge sigh coming from his mouth as he allows himself to be dragged by you, a suppressed smile on his face.
Why do you always win?
-
“You better buy me something nice.” He groans as the carousel goes another round. “Does anyone here know how to pick up the speed? There’s no excitement in this thing. At all. At all.” He mutters under his breath grumpily.
“Oh come on. At least the two of them aren’t with us, right?” You comment, nodding towards the two bodyguards who are very much engaged in a heated conversation.
“That’s true.”
He cocks his head to the side, thinking for a moment. But the words already fall out of his lips and he asks the question he has been dying to ask since day 1. “What happened between them though?” Linkai asks as he stretches his arm, fingers grazing your shoulder. You shrug, leaning into his careful touch. “No idea. Ziyi wouldn’t say, Justin tells me to shut up whenever I try to ask.”
“Well, and why do you want to know?”
You raise your eyebrows, turning towards him. “And why do you want to know?” Only, the words come out slightly breathless.
Your hands folded on your lap, his fingers brushing your elbow, you didn’t know when he came so close, but the moment you tilted your head to look at him, the only thing you see are his pink, soft lips, that, by the way, look extremely inviting. His breaths are shallow and rapid, as they fan over your lips, and you unconsciously bite on them, your fingers curling into a fist, fingernails digging into the flesh.
You wonder what it would be like to close the distance, eyes fluttered shut as you press your lips against his. They look soft and velvety, heavenly, pillowy. You suppress a small sigh rising in your throat, your throat visibly moving as you swallow hard, eyes fixated on his lips.
But the moment only lasts for a few seconds, and Linkai clears his throat, retracting his hand, as his eyes wander to somewhere else.
To say you were disappointed would be an understatement.
-
Ziyi rubs his temples as his elbows rest on his knees, his head hung low as he concentrates on the stone floors. “Xukun, there is really no point in bringing this up.”
“Yes there is, Wang Ziyi. You literally left your boyfriend, who you claim you love, all alone, isolated, unprotected-”
“You weren’t alone, neither were you isolated or unprotected. You were in a bodyguard training academy, Xukun.” Ziyi retorts, his nails digging into his palm, red crescents forming on the pale skin.
“I didn’t mean that kind of isolation and unprotection. Ziyi, you left without a word. You didn’t even tell me! All I remember, is waking up to a cold bed, and then I had to find out from Zhengting that you left!” Xukun broke into an outburst, his rage and frustrations, the years of hurt and injustice building up once again in his chest, rising with tension.
“Did you have any idea what you did to me? Do you,” Xukun swallows, his words becoming softer as he retracts into a shell, a vulnerable, rare state.
He swallows again, and the words stumble out.
“Do you even care?”
Ziyi takes in a sharp intake of breath and looks up.
“Of course I did! There has never been a day where I live without regret. I hated myself for leaving you. It was irresponsible of me and it hurt you. I hated it so, so much. But Xukun, I had no choice. Exousia was moving up the charts, Yanjun couldn’t take care of YN, she was only a kid then, a mere kid of 14! Who suffers from PTSD and other mental illness and whatnot! She needed me, Xukun-”
“More than I needed you?” Xukun asks abruptly, the words flowing like a stream, and he couldn’t even stop himself from saying them.
A pregnant silence follows.
“Xukun, stop it.” Ziyi says through gritted teeth, eyes closing and fluttering open.
“You know how much the kid means to me. I love her, almost as much as I, I, love you. Though, though it’s a different kind of love.” He bites his lips, and looks away, squinting as the setting sun shines in his eyes.
He brings his hand up to shield the strong light rays, beating down mercilessly on him. He sighs. “You didn’t need me Kun.” The words whisper and like a needle, it pricks Xukun’s heart, salty droplets forming at the corner of his eyes.
“I did. I really needed you. Ziyi, please, can we-”
“We can’t go back to the same way it was before Xukun.” Ziyi doesn’t bother hearing Xukun’s request, standing up, hands in his pockets as he leans against the rough bark of the tree.
“It’s not the same anymore. We’re on two completely different sides. You’re on the cops and clients side; I’m on the other, much darker side. It doesn’t fit.”
“It will. We can make it fit.” Xukun is practically pleading him at this point.
Eyelids fluttering shut, he whispers out the words he wants to say the most.
“Please stay.”
And the small shake of Ziyi’s locks was his only answer.
-
“Oh come on, who cares? Look their busy arguing, they wouldn’t even notice us leaving.” You beg Linkai as you get off the carousel, looking at him pleadingly. Sighing, he rolls his eyes and nods resolutely, a small smile creeping on to his face as he watches you break into a grin, silently pulling him away towards the cotton candy store.
“A blue one please.”
“And a pink one.” You add on to the order, winking at him, giggling at his scrunched up face.
“I didn’t know I was going to pay for you as well.” His eyebrows furrowed, arms crossed.
“Awh, come on! Just buy me this once please?? Pleaseeee? Wang Linkai, I promise you I will pay you back in some way or another.”
He raises his eyebrows as he hands the cotton candy towards you, the other arm extended as he exchanges his money for the blue one.“Oh yeah? In what form, may I ask?”
You laugh at his seriousness, winking at him once more. “How does a kiss on the cheek sound?”
Red rushing to his ears and his face, down his neck, dissolves you into giggles as he adorably looks down, feet unconsciously tapping unrhythmically. A warm sensation bubbles in your chest as you watch him smile a little, the warm sun rays glowing on his milky white skin, his hair tied up in a neat, soft ponytail, looking like everything you could ever wish for.
-
“What kind of-” Linkai retorts as he looks up. YN is nowhere to be seen. Gone. How long has he looked at the floor? His teeth catch his lips, wild panic rising and bubbling in his chest, like hot water in a pot. Where is she? How could she have just-
“Wait what-”
And then a mask.
And then black.
The last thought on his mind as he slips out of consciousness, is where has he seen that X before?
-
note: why is it called cotton candy, when it’s not made out of cotton? but then if the rule is to follow the second word, why is cotton wool made out of cotton? PLEASE ANSWER ME I NEED ANSWERS
