I can finally share this story with all of you. It's been quite some time since I wrote it. It was after my Genshin KhunBam story actually. I won't bore you with the details of why this is up only now. I just hope you'll enjoy it.
As always, I want to thank my Bakura and my Aether for going through this story and entertaining me with their comments. My Bakura helped me correct some mistakes and make the story more accurate. Thank you! And of course, thank you all for all the comments and kudos you leave on my stories!
I Will Always Follow You
The snowflakes were dancing around the navy-blue haired boy as he pulled his coat closer to his body. Dragonspine was a place he had never imagined himself to visit in the middle of winter and yet there he was, climbing yet another rocky path. The trees were bare and covered with fresh snow and the air was full of menacing whispers. More than once he had encountered some blue winged creatures that attacked him as soon as they spotted him. Each step closer to the location he was hoping to reach made Xingqiu realize that his vision wouldn't be any help to him if he got in any serious trouble.
Being a hydro vision holder was a great boost for his martial arts training and he had easily learnt how to incorporate water into his sword fighting but in a place that the temperature dropped every some minutes and everything was covered in snow, water was only a hindrance. He was already frozen beneath his layers of clothes but he was determined to keep going.
He had received intel that Chongyun was up there training. He knew that the young exorcist would do that during summer; when the heat was too much for him, he'd spend some time on the mountain to balance himself. However, he had never travelled there during such a cold winter. Moreover, he was gone for quite some time.
"Couldn't he have chosen a better place to train?" Xingqiu whispered to himself, feeling his lungs freezing as the words came out.
His limbs hurt but he knew if he stopped to rest, he wouldn't be able to start walking again.
He had started his search from a research camp in the borders between Mondstadt and Dragonspine. The adventurers there knew Chongyun and told him the boy usually liked to camp close to a frozen lake really high on the mountain. A nice lady had shown him the location in a map. Everyone in the camp seemed to believe the exorcist was crazy to go up there in that weather and begged Xingqiu to rethink his decision to follow him. It was a good thing they didn't know who he was or they would have probably sent word to his father to notify him of his son's recklessness.
Xingqiu couldn't wait for his friend to return home. Worry was nibbling his heart and he felt he had already lost precious time by waiting some days before setting on this trip. At first he hadn't thought much of Chongyun's disappearance, thinking the boy was gone for an exorcism in a village outside Liyue. Then, he had met Chongyun's mother who told him the boy had set on a trip to Dragonspine and would be gone for some time. The woman seemed to be worried since the trip was a spar of the moment idea her son had. Chongyun usually planned those at least some days prior to his departure and never in the dead of winter.
Xingqiu tried to think back to what had happened the previous days but he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. He had seen Chongyun the day before his abrupt departure. They had spent the evening in his room talking and enjoying each other's company but then the light blue haired boy had said he was tired and had gone home.
"Stupid Chongyun. If you weren't okay, why didn't you tell me?" Xingqiu's vision was getting blurry as he kept climbing.
Even though Xingqiu trained often, his stamina wasn't the same as the other boy's. He'd often spend days reading or doing paperwork for his family when the exorcist was out training and working daily. Moreover, he wasn't as used to the cold temperatures as Chongyun was. Chongyun's Cryo vision gave the exorcist a great advantage over him. Xingqiu had hoped that he would be able to find a place to rest and light a fire but the last resting point was far behind him. He had tried to light a fire under a big arch but the wood was wet from the fresh snow. He had no other option but to keep walking. The lake shouldn't be that far away from there. He could definitely make it.
As he said that, the snowstorm that had started an hour ago seemed to shift and everything cleared. Xingqiu smiled in relief. Maybe luck was on his side. With the edge of his eye he caught sight of something red moving a great distance ahead of him, only visible now because of how clear everything was. It looked like a little flame. The boy's heart filled with hope. Could it be Chongyun? If that was a campfire, it had to be Chongyun. There couldn't be another crazy person up there, right?
Xingqiu pushed himself to move towards the flame, each step harder than the previous one. Soon, he noticed that breathing felt like swallowing ice. He covered his mouth with his scarf once again but it didn't help. The snowstorm had stopped but every minute the temperature seemed to drop more and more. The flame was still there, moving like it was performing a little mocking dance, but Xingqiu felt he was barely approaching it.
It was too cold. His lungs worked overtime to provide him with oxygen and he was pretty sure his skin was blue. His boot caught on a rock and before he knew what was happening, his knees hit the frozen earth. It hurt. His whole body hurt. He tried to pick himself up and keep moving but he could barely move his hands.
His eyes filled with tears that froze before they could even fall. He didn't want to die such an unheroic death. He didn't want to die alone in such an unwelcoming place. But most of all, he didn't want to die before he saw Chongyun a last time and found out what was wrong with him.
"'Yun, I am sorry." He whispered, as he slowly closed his eyes. Maybe if he rested for just a moment, he could find the strength to stand up.
Deep inside he knew he wouldn't stand again. But his body wouldn't follow his commands. Everything hurt. It was too cold and yet he felt as if his skin was on fire. It hurt. It hurt so much. He tried to focus on something that wouldn't hurt and his thoughts took him to his friend's beautiful eyes and all the time they had spent together.
Chongyun, his dear Chongyun. Oh, how much he missed him. He would never again see his icy cat slit eyes that were always so calm in front of strangers but filled with heated mist when Xingqiu added spices in his food. He would never again feel his weight on his shoulder when the exorcist would fall asleep on him after a long day of hunting evil spirits. He would never again feel warmth spreading all over his body knowing the other boy had his eyes on him and only him as he spoke about the last book he had read.
Warmth. Just thinking about Chongyun made Xingqiu feel warmer. His hazy mind connected the dots and if he had the strength, he would smack himself for only realizing he was in love with his best friend when he was dying. And yet even in that moment of irony and pain, Xingqiu couldn't find himself being scared of his feelings. He could think of no greater person to love but Chongyun. Too bad he'd never have the chance to tell him.
"I'm sorry." He whispered again, but the words were lost as the storm started again and the little warmth that had touched him slowly left him. As his consciousness slipped, Xingqiu dreamt of an endless autumn by Chongyun's side.
The wind howled trying to break the exorcist's concentration. It brought the scent of the pine trees surrounding the area and a bunch of pine needles and snowflakes fell around him. Still, Chongyun didn't move from his place in the middle of the frozen lake. He had claimed that space many summers ago and whenever he felt his yang energy overpowering him, he'd come back to train some more. However, this time nothing seemed to help him.
His Cryo vision was glowing a soft light blue as he channeled it to keep the snow at bay. The cold had never really bothered him but even he could admit that it was exceptionally cold that day. He had been in Dragonspine during autumn but never in the winter. This was quite new for him, but extreme situations required extreme measures.
"I wonder what Xingqiu is doing right now." He thought and instantly regretted it.
The second heir of the Feiyun Commerce Guild was the reason Chongyun had packed his things all of the sudden and left Liyue before the sun even rose more than a week ago. Well, maybe it wasn't his fault exactly but it had to do with him.
It had been just another evening of the two boys sitting together in Xingqiu's room after Chongyun had returned from yet another unsuccessful exorcism. Well, he couldn't call it unsuccessful. The evil spirit haunting that couple had disappeared as soon as the exorcist had appeared but that was due to his pure yang energy. He hadn't even seen it. He had returned to Liyue disappointed only to find Xingqiu waiting for him by the gates. Winter in the city was always soft so the boy had only thrown a coat over his usual shirt and shorts managing to make the look work in a way that the exorcist didn't think any other person could.
Xingqiu had taken one look at him before grabbing his hand and pulling him all the way to his house. One of the maids brought them tea and snacks and the two boys spent some time talking about Chongyun's trip and the last book Xingqiu had read. The exorcist loved hearing his best friend talking about his books. There was something about the way the navy blue haired boy's amber eyes lit as he described the characters and their adventures that made him shine.
"He's so beautiful." Chongyun had thought, his heart beating faster and faster.
It was a universal truth that Xingqiu was good-looking but the thought had never made Chongyun's heart beat that way. Even when the boy played pranks on him, the exorcist felt content by his best friend's side. He admired his determination, his smartness and his sense of justice. Thinking about it, he also admired how cute he looked when he was deep in thought or how his eyes filled with mirth while apologizing to him for the latest prank he had pulled on the exorcist.
Xingqiu seemed to have sensed his heavy gaze on him so he asked him what was wrong. Instead of trying to reply, Chongyun had focused on the other lips and how soft they seemed. Unconsciously, he had found himself leaning closer. Understanding what he was about to do, he jolted back and made an excuse saying he was tired and had to return home. He had the decency to move slowly as the two boys said their goodbyes and until he was out of the door. Then, he ran.
The same night, he packed his things and in the morning he was gone, leaving a note to his parents to explain he had gone to Dragonspine to train. Just thinking of the incident made his whole body feel hot. He had wanted to kiss his best friend. It took him some time to realize he was in love with his best friend and probably had been for quite some time and then another day or two to accept those feelings. He hoped by the time he returned to Liyue he would have found a way to control them.
His concentration was completely destroyed when something red stopped almost right in front of him. Chongyun smiled. During his first trip there he had met a little red seelie which seemed to have taken a liking to him and kept following him around. Unfortunately, its heat seemed to trigger Chongyun's condition so he couldn't touch it but it'd often appear when he was training there. However, it'd never come that close to him before.
"Hey." He greeted it, curiously looking at it as it flew even closer and then pulled away. The seelie kept repeating the same motion until Chongyun understood. "You want me to follow you?"
The seelie sprang in action as soon as Chongyun stood up, grabbing his claymore. As he took some slow steps to allow the blood in his legs to circulate once again, he noticed that the snowstorm had picked up again. It was a usual phenomenon, he had noticed, for the snowstorms to pause temporarily before picking up again; the temperature dropping dangerously each time that happened. The weather there was deadly and even his Cryo vision didn't fully protect him from it.
Since he was done with his training that day and it was getting darker, he thought he could entertain the seelie for a while. It seemed to be moving towards the cave he was using as his shelter anyway. However, the little thing took a turn towards the other side a bit later. Chongyun contemplated if he should continue following it but there was something about the way the seelie kept coming closer and then moving further away that made him feel it was urgent.
As the boy jumped over the trunk of a broken tree, he saw the seelie dancing around an uneven heap of snow. The warmth of the little creature slowly turned the snow into water and Chongyun's eyes widened as he understood there was a person there. He rushed closer to the seelie and the person covered by a thick furry coat dyed dark blue. A backpack was attached at the person's back but when the person fell, it moved in such a way that it half hid their head.
"Hey! Are you…?"
The words died on his lips as Chongyun knelt down and moved the backpack away only to see familiar navy blue hair being revealed.
"Xingqiu!"
The exorcist was in shock. This had to be a nightmare. He had stayed in the cold for way too long and now he was hallucinating. There was no way the other boy was there. There was absolutely no way the frozen boy in his arms was his friend, the person Chongyun loved so much.
Tears started gathering in Chongyun's eyes as he took in the porcelain skin of the boy that was paler than usual and his lips being as blue as his own eyes. Xingqiu's body was painted in hues of blue and violet. Trembling, he checked the boy's pulse but he could feel nothing. He brought his face close to the other's trying to feel his breath; touching his cheek to the boy's lips. There…the softest of puffs, came his breath, elaborated and weak.
"Please, can you help me?" He begged the little seelie moving the frozen boy's towards the little flame and the seelie came closer, softly touching the boy's skin.
Chongyun held his breath, worried that the seelie could burn the boy's skin but nothing of that sort happened. The semitransparent body of the seelie was barely touching the boy's skin, slowly returning color to it. Then, it suddenly pulled back and left as if its job was done.
"Thank you." Chongyun whispered, his heart filled with gratefulness.
Quickly, he raised the boy in his arms, after throwing the backpack around his shoulder. With quick but careful steps he walked all the way towards the cave he had chosen as his shelter and placed his precious bundle on the pile of stones and furs he used as his bed. Starting a fire, he tried to make the place warm enough for the boy who hadn't moved even a bit all that time. The fire blazed and the exorcist placed a pot on it to warm some water.
"What are you doing here, my dear Xingqiu?" He asked, quietly, but the boy lying on his bed couldn't answer him.
Even though the seelie's heat had dried the boy's clothes, Chongyun removed the other's coat and replaced it with his own. Running a hand through the navy blue hair, he found his hand burning. Xingqiu had a fever. He was burning up. Quickly, he placed some wet rugs on the boy's forehead, hoping to lower his temperature.
"Y…yun…" the boy's lips parted, the word coming out of them not making any sense to the Cryo vision holder.
Xingqiu's hand tried to move; making a motion as if he was searching for something but it was so obvious the boy had no strength since too soon he stopped and fell into an uneasy sleep once again.
Chongyun cursed. It was such a rare thing for him to do but he was so scared. He had never considered he would need medicine for a fever or a cold. He had bandages and some ointment that would help him with any wounds he could suffer but nothing to give the boy for his fever. His eyes fell on the backpack the other boy was carrying and he prayed to the Geo Archon that his friend had something in there. It seemed like he was in luck. Xingqiu had been his usual self and had prepared things for all kinds of scenarios. In his backpack he had dressings, extra clothes and medicine for frostbite and fever.
"Thank the archons."
He continued trying to keep the boy's skin dehydrated, knowing that his hydro vision would slowly help him as long his skin was in touch with water. Since Xingqiu couldn't do it himself, Chongyun would keep helping. He couldn't give him the medicine that would surely bring him back to health but he had found some herbs that mixed in the water would help enough until the boy was awake again.
"Ch…Chongyun…" Xingqiu's voice was only a whisper but hearing his name being called the Cryo user thought the boy had woken up. However, once again the unconscious boy's hands were searching…searching for something he couldn't find. Instinctively, Chongyun held the boy's hands in his. "Yun." The word fell from Xingqiu's lips in a soft relieved sighed and he stopped trashing.
Chongyun kept holding his friend's hands. Xingqiu was searching for him? There was no other explanation really for why the boy had been found on that mountain. But why? What had possessed him to travel all the way there to find him? He wasn't gone for that long. He might have left abruptly but that was no reason for Xingqiu to follow him, was it?
After hours of taking care of the boy, Chongyun found himself dozing off. He rested his head on the boy's lap and closed his eyes, promising it'd be only for some minutes. When he opened his eyes again, there was some light entering the cave but it was barely enough to touch the shadows inside. Thankfully, the fire was still burning but that wasn't what caught Chongyun's eyes.
Tired but still beautiful amber eyes were staring at him with interest as their owner was awake. Xingqiu had managed to slowly sit up and lean on the wall behind him without really moving enough to alert the other boy. His breathing was still erratic but there was a much healthier color on his cheeks and his eyes were clear.
"X…Xingqiu?" The Cryo user's voice broke. "Xingqiu!" He cried out and hid his face in the boy's lap as the amber eyed boy softly ran his hand through the icy blue hair.
"My dear Chongyun." Xingqiu's voice was hoarse from his fever and the emotions that drowned him. "I thought I'd never see you again."
Chongyun didn't answer. He couldn't answer. Something had broken inside him and all the fear he had experienced finding the person he loved the most almost frozen to death poured out as tears ran down his face. His sobs were muffled as he kept his face hidden but Xingqiu could understand. He kept stroking his best friend's back, his tired eyes taking in the boy's shaking form.
"I'm so sorry, my dear Yun. I'm so sorry." Xingqiu kept whispering, sadness sipping into his voice as his tears fell down.
"I thought you were dead! I thought…I thought I lost you forever!" Chongyun choked on his words as he slowly looked up, finding his friend's eyes filled with tears, too. "Why did you come here?"
"I came for you."
Chongyun had of course guessed that was the reason but for the other boy to say it so easily, as if it was nothing but obvious he would follow him up a dangerous mountain, made the cryo user's heart beat fast. It only got worse when Xingqiu weakly placed his hand on his cheek making him look at him.
"Why did you run away? What thoughts plagued your mind that you couldn't share with me, my Yun?"
Xingqiu would often call him 'dear Chongyun' or even 'Yun' but 'my Yun'? It came as a surprise to both of them and it gave Chongyun some courage to talk. Maybe it was how close to losing the other boy he had come, or the way Xingqiu looked so ethereal even after all that had happened. Or maybe it was the warmth of his palm on Chongyun's cold cheek that made him speak his mind.
"I needed to sort out my thoughts. I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd come after me. I never imagined my absence would make such a difference to you." Xingqiu had come there because he was worried about him. "I came to realize my feelings for you changed." Amber eyes looked at him with confusion and…hope? "I didn't know what to do so I ran. I was hoping coming here would help me understand those feelings better; learn how to control them. But nothing changed."
Chongyun wasn't sure if it was the vulnerable look Xingqiu wore-such a rare sight- or his yang energy overpowering him but he kept going. "I'm feeling things for you that friends shouldn't feel and I don't know what to do with these emotions that have awakened inside me. I understand if you don't want to…"
Whatever else he was about to say was forgotten as Xingqiu left a sound -that later on Chongyun promised to never call a squeal- and pulled him into a kiss. It was soft and quick; barely a brush of lips upon lips but it made a mess of Chongyun. The blush that painted Xingqiu's cheeks sent him overboard and he pulled the boy in another kiss; equally soft but lasting longer.
"When I thought I was dying all I wanted to do was to see you one last time." Xingqiu whispered on his lips. Being so straightforward and open with his feelings was new to him but he would always let his walls down around Chongyun, even if it wasn't as apparent as others thought. "Don't ever run away from me again."
Sitting up, Chongyun rested his forehead on Xingqiu's. The boy's skin was still a bit warm but with how his own skin was burning, he wasn't sure if it was due to the fever or their kisses and confession.
"I promise."
A smile that could rival the sun bloomed on Xingqiu's face. "And even if you do, I'll follow you." He whispered, closing his eyes, feeling content. "I'll always follow you, my Yun."
The snowflakes danced outside the cave the two boys had found shelter in but neither of them cared. Dragonspine wasn't a place either of them had imagined themselves to visit in the middle of winter but there they were, and they were together. Nothing else mattered but that. In the coldest of places, their love kept them warm and safe. The snowflakes continued their dance as the newly couple rested together in each other's embrace, gathering their strength before they had to make their trip back home.
So, here it is. A deathly trip to Dragonspine was turned into a love confession and had a happy ending. I'll go down with this ship so, hopefully, I'll come back soon with another story!
Have a good day and, since Christmas is soon, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
