- 01 -
"Thank you, Little One," The old woman gives the child a grin, teeth yellow and crooked, "It's so hard to find youth as kind and respectful as you nowadays."
"No thanks is needed, Grandmother," The child responds, tone respectful as he finishes putting the last of the other's fallen items back in her bag. He struggles a bit with lifting it but manages, hugging it close to his chest, "Do you live far? Can I help you the rest of the way home?"
"Hm." Her eyes, a pale blue that reminds him of frosted glass, look at him with a speculative gleam within, "That would be nice of you... Come along, then, it isn't too far to go from here."
"Lead the way, Grandmother, I'm right behind you."
- 02 -
Ye Xiu isn't sure how far the two have been walking, the passing surroundings a blur as he dutifully followed after the old woman with her bag.
"We're here," Said old woman states, causing him to come to an abrupt halt and look around in wary surprise.
Before the two is a wooden cottage that looks as if it's as old as his companion, dilapidated and covered in creeping vines, its ground shrouded in both fog and shadows.
"Come on in," The door opens with a creak, "Don't be shy, I have to give you some sort of reward for your kindness!"
For the first time since he first came across the old woman, he wants to refuse, but instead he finds himself following the other into the candle-lit darkness of her home.
- 03 -
"Drink this, child."
Is the last thing Ye Xiu remembers hearing before he finds himself waking up in his bed, blurred images in place of his memories from the day before.
Had... had it all been a dream, then?
His hand rises, fingertips light as they brush against his throat.
If it had been a dream, then how come his throat still burned?
- 04 -
The ability first makes an appearance one day when the Ye twins are running along the path in a nearby park.
Ye Qiu stumbles over a rock and hits the ground hard. The skin of his elbow is scraped raw and bleeding, tears within the younger twin's eyes as he begins to sob.
"Qiu-di, don't cry," Ye Xiu sits besides his twin, hands gentle as he takes hold of his injured arm, staring at it with the smallest of frowns. His fingertips brush lightly against the edge of the wound, wondering and wanting nothing more than to help ease the other's discomfort.
"W-warm," Ye Qiu murmurs as a sudden but not unpleasant heat seeps into his arm, a soothing balm that washes away the pain.
He turns to look towards it, eyes widening in addition to his brother's as beneath the silver-white glow of fingertips, the scrape disappears until nothing is left of its existence save for the traces of blood still lingering on his skin.
"Xiu-ge!" For what would be the first of many times in their lives, Ye Qiu catches his twin as he slumps forward.
- 05 -
Neither of the twins know what to make of Ye Xiu's apparent powers, but both are in agreement that there is no need for others to find out about it.
So it is kept a secret from all, even their own parents.
Ye Qiu had always been the more active of the pair as the two grew older but after the first time, he tried to be more careful and tried not to get hurt as often - because he knew that no matter how small, his twin would want to help him.
That was something he would have to prevent as much as he could, for as much of a blessing one might consider the ability to heal, it was also a curse considering what it asked for in turn.
- 06 -
The secret was broken one night when, tears in her eyes, their mother informed them that she didn't have much time left to live.
Ye Qiu should of realised something was up with how still the elder of the two had gotten, Ye Xiu staring at their mother with an unreadable look within his golden eyes and the slightest twitch of his fingers against his side.
"Mother, no."
Father and Mother Ye and Ye Qiu turned their attention to Ye Xiu at his words, resigned sadness upon their parents' faces and a dawning realization on his twin's.
"Gege, no -"
"Mother, let me help you." The elder twin stepped forward with outstretched hands, "I can help you."
"Xiu'er, how do you expect to help your Mother when even the doctors are unable?"
In response, Ye Xiu reaches out and takes hold of his mother's hands within his own, gaze determined.
(The doctors are baffled when all results come back negative for a condition they were certain the Ye Matriarch had, and offer sputtered apologies for giving such a grave diagnosis - perhaps results had been switched on accident?
On their end, both Father and Mother Ye just accept their apologies with strained smiles, their thoughts elsewhere, on their eldest son that still lay unconscious and far too pale within their mansion walls.)
- 07 -
"I'm leaving," Ye Xiu announces to no one but himself, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
His suitcase is packed and waiting for him beside his door, a purloined ID within his pocket and his heart racing in his chest at the thought of what he planned to do.
His twin was going to kill him for this stunt, and there was no chance his parents would let his disappearance go uncontested - but that was one of the main reasons why he wanted to free himself from this household, the desire for freedom too strong of a call.
He couldn't blame them, though, for their well-meaning intentions, their desire to keep him safe from a world that might discover what he could do and exploit it at the cost of his own safety.
Regardless of the reasoning, this mansion was still a cage to him. It was a gilded one, where he was offered and given whatever he wanted, but his very soul yearned for something else.
("I'm sorry," He whispers, staring one last time at the large building beyond the gates he now stands before before turning and taking off beneath the cover of night.)
- 08 -
Ye Xiu could count on one hand the number of people he would be willing to give his life for. One point in time, that number was three but after meeting the Su Siblings, he couldn't help but tentatively add the two to make it a full house.
He hadn't known them for long, but there was something about the pair, and their willingness to allow him into their lives?
How could he not.
The older he grew, the more control he gained, and as long as what he attended to was minor, the toll it took was inconsequential.
There wasn't much he could do for them in exchange for their kindness and generosity just yet, and while he still hadn't reached a point where he felt comfortable telling them about what he could do... well, nothing stopped him from helping them in secret.
- 09 -
It seemed his secret wasn't one meant to be kept for long from those he cared about.
The car responsible for the accident had fled the scene with screeching tires and treadmarks burned into the pavement of the small side-road, leaving behind the victims of its crime.
Blood, there was so much blood.
His hands hovered over his boyfriend's broken form, aching to touch but not knowing where to begin and he had to, soon; the other's breathing seemed to be getting worse, the puddle of blood just growing larger...
"Ye Xiu," Cool fingers gripped his hand, their owner staring at him through dimming eyes, "Ye Xiu, please... Mucheng, watch... watch over her and -"
"No, you aren't allowed to speak like that, Muqiu," He responded, "This isn't the end of us, this isn't the end for you." He leaned over to cup the elder's face, a tear falling onto the paling cheek before him, "I won't allow it."
His lips pressed to Su Muqiu's as the glow lit up his hands.
- 10 -
It had been three years since his twin brother had stolen away into the night, and Ye Qiu had never stopped worrying about him.
Oh, he knew that Ye Xiu was more than capable of taking care of himself, but still.
So many different scenarios played themselves out in his head of what-ifs and could-have-beens; they lessened when the other deemed fit to eventually get in contact with him via QQ, but still he worried.
He wished his worries could of remained unfounded, but it was not meant to be when he got a call from an unknown number on his cell phone, the person on the other end barely understandable but in the end he got the gist of it.
Ye Xiu.
So stupid, and too selfless for his own good when it came to the few he deemed worthy.
(His mind operated on auto-pilot as he picked up his phone again and pressed one of his saved contacts.
Later, he could break down later.)
- 11 -
Ye Qiu was numb as he stared at the pale form within the too-white confines of the hospital room.
From all appearances, the other seemed to be in perfect health with no visible injuries and a steady beep-beep-beep of the machine monitoring his heart.
"Coma." The doctors had told them, tone calm as though he were just speaking of the weather and not the fact that his twin brother had almost died.
"I'm sorry." He started at the hoarse voice, turning to look at the male that lingered in the doorway, "If it hadn't been for me, he -"
"If it wasn't this, it would of been something else." Ye Qiu interrupted, tone weary and resigned, "I can't be angry at you, for I know all too well the lengths he'd go for someone he loves."
Neither of the two said anything more, both their attention on the bed and its patient.
(Later on after visiting hours were over, Ye Qiu invited Su Muqiu and Su Mucheng to the hotel he was staying at.
He might as well take this time to get to know the two who his twin had deemed Important, plus... at least afterwards, he could return home knowing that others 'in the know' would be watching over Ye Xiu in his stead.)
