It's cold. It's dark.
It surrounds you like this world has lost its warm ray of light. A vision of yours has been taken away somewhere and it left you alone. Trembling hands, numb lips and chilled spine seem to be your only company- unwanted company.
This must be one of those dreams again.
As you attempt on steadying your feet, you slowly step forward, hoping for a light at the end- if there is one. It doesn't matter to you that you are not able to see a thing or how badly your body freezes; you know you just have to escape this nightmare despite how you can't even breathe properly.
Heeding to the front, you eye two specks of bright blue lights shaped like a pair of eyes- a mundane pair of eyes that somehow radiates warmth among your freezing surrounding. Figure those specks of lights might seem to be your only hope to escape this, with all the strength you have, you move your feet forward closer to the lights.
You know you're getting closer to the light as you start to vision a male figure before you; the source of the lights that has been guiding you- those are his eyes indeed. And a hand of his is trying to reach out to you as if he's about to help you out of the darkness.
Or is he?
Something isn't right.
Wrapped around his hand is a large amount of hoarfrost, spreading across all curves of his fingers and palm. Stains of blood flawed the clear icy exterior as if this hand has just taken someone's life in the most brutal way imaginable.
Heaving on remark of what you're witnessing, you notice the coldness begin to frost one of your hand, and it's spreading quickly like a wildfire. There's nothing you can do to stop the frost and you need to escape this dream quick.
Wake up, wake up…
The little voices inside your head screams so as you feel your surrounding shakes like crazy. The darkness seems to cracks slowly as it reveals disorganized lines with extremely bright light- almost making you feel as if you're about to lose your sight permanently.
Trying to cover your eyes, you shut your eyes tight, and a drop of tear starts appearing on the brink of your eye. But you could care less. You try to scream, but you can't seem to produce even a little voice- just a helpless, throaty moan. Your head feels like exploding- a choice you'd take if you had one rather than being trapped in this miserable dream.
And before you know it, the dream consumes itself into a endless black hole, drowning your soul into it as well...
A sudden gasp escape your lips as your eyes shoot wide. Feeling your chest pounding and cold sweats drip down your body, you are greeted by yet another darkness. Thankfully, with some illumination from the windowpane.
You breathe a sigh of relief- it's just another nightmare. You're not trapped in a strange darkness with no way out. You're safe and sound in your bedroom, lying above the soft sheet covering your bed.
But this very nightmare is not your first time. You've been having the same dream for almost two months now.
The strangest thing is that it has been visiting you ever since Kuai walked away.
You sigh in confusion as the thought of that beautiful creature creeps back inside you, shifting your body towards the window, tucking a hand under the pillow. You wonder how can such thing as a one night stand with a complete strange man affects your thought like this. Normally, you'd get over these stuff after a drink or two, but it didn't seem to work this time. The thought of seeing a therapist starts to crawl into your head.
Shaking your head, you discard that thought immediately, figuring you just need a glass of water. You rise up to a sitting position, grabbing a glass of water off your nightstand and press the clear glass against your mouth, devouring the pureness of water that soon quench the dryness of your mouth.
Meow, meow!
A sound of a kitten in distress suddenly flows through your ears, but within another sip of water, you dismisses the thought of checking it out immediately as you lie on your back once more, trying to go back to sleep.
Meow, meow!
The kitten let out that high voice again, but right now, it starts to get annoying for you. Not that you're not fond of animal- you'd actually prefer them over human, but the nightmare you had left you quite exhausted that you just feel like staying still with only solitude surrounding you.
But that kitten shows no sign of stopping any soon. Grumbling in advance, your hand heavily reach for the clock sitting nicely over your nightstand.
It's 2.40 am.
You roll your eyes in annoyance. No wonder that kitten sings its high pitched melody like there's no tomorrow, you thought to yourself.
Looking out, you notice drizzles of rain start pouring down and slowly embellish your window with its wet little dots. You can hear the wind blowing behind the window before a thunder strikes, which sends you flinching at the shock of it.
And then your mind travels to the sound of the kitten which gets louder every second. In this weather, there is no way the kitten could survive on its own. Maybe the kitten needs protection, but where is its mother?
Alright, at the point the noise the kitten's making is getting longer and louder, your heart is moved to bring the kitten inside your home- maybe lay it on a stack of blanket for it to seek some warmth, or feed it with milk.
With a deep sigh, you raise from your back and place your feet on the ground, gathering yourself before you grab a light coat to protect your nightgown from the rain.
It's all about getting a kitten in distress then going back inside, right?
You head outside your penthouse and follow the noise coming from the kitten. As you step down the stairs, you can't help but thinking how come such little thing as a kitten could have such a loud noise that you can hear it from upstairs.
This mustn't be an ordinary kitten... What if it's a trap?
Your consciously suspicious mind kicks in as you stop your tracks, debating yourself whether you should sacrifice yourself and go through the nasty weather for something… almost too sketchy to be true.
Shaking your head, you decide to discard the thought away- maybe you've been watching too much scary movies. Continuing your tracks, you finally reach the door heading outside. You notice the rain is pouring slightly heavier as you look up to the sky, so pulling up the hood attached to your coat could be the safer option.
The noise is getting louder with each step you take, which you think is a good sign as you know you're going the right way. But then it's no longer a good sign as you realized your feet has taken you into a dark alleyway. Your nose smells the unpleasant smell of garbage- so pungent you cringe before you bring your palm to cover your nose, and the rain just make it worse as the puddles you stepped on seeps into your feet through your footwear.
At this point, there is no turning back. You just need that kitten to show up as you're certain this is where the noise come from.
"Here, kitty…" You try to call the kitten out as you take a peek behind all the garbage cans, "I have some-"
"At last, we finally met."
Startled by the deep, dark voice, you reflectively shift yourself to the source, hitting the metal trash can cover in advance before it clanks itself to the solid ground.
What stands in front of you is nothing you have ever seen before. Beneath the dark, rainy sky, all you see is almost nothing but darkness within this male figure. His pupiless eyes are staring right at your soul, making your heart skips a beat- in the worst way possible. The rest of his face is covered with black mask, including his head with a black hood draping over it. All-black attire covered his entire body with skin nowhere to be seen.
You clench your teeth as you're trying to stop it from trembling in fear. No, no matter how scary he looks, you mustn't show fear.
Profounding your gaze, you say, "I- I do not know you."
The man lets out a mocking chuckle at your remark as he takes a few step to corner you, "Shame, because I do."
"Stay where you are!" You exclaim as your hand roams through things behind you to throw at the man. You dearly wish you've got your beretta with you right now, clearly you did not see things like this coming.
"Pity I do not take orders from you."
"Pity you've confronted the wrong lady today."
As you're saying those words, your hand firmly grab onto what feels like a piece of broken glass you've luckily found. The sharp edges of the object almost cuts too deep into your skin, but you could care less- you just want to get out of here. Without wasting any second, you dart the object hard at the creep in front of you as you growl powerfully.
Thankfully, because you own a beretta, your aim is decent and the glass object harshly lands on his belly and cuts through it. As he bows and grunts in pain, you begin to run like the wind, passing the dark man you just injured.
You're getting closer to the end of the alleyway as you feel your heart races harder and sweats of fear starts dripping on your neck, afraid that the man will caught up with you. Your feet could definitely run faster, but the tremble makes it impossible to do. The discomfort feeling of blood mixed with sweat on your palm and the slippery ground don't help either.
But no, you're not planning on looking back. You know you have to keep running to get away from the mysterious man.
You let out a scream as you suddenly feel a strong arm circles your neck firmly as another arm holds your arms and body down. No matter how hard you try to escape as you wriggle your body, you find it impossible to escape- the grip only gets stronger in each movement you make.
Now, you think the mysterious man has caught you, and he's holding you down right now like there's no tomorrow. Terrifyingly, you can see the dark man you injured earlier walk up in front of you before he faces you as he lets out a smug laugh out as if you've done nothing to him.
"Trying to escape, I see. Very brave of you, young lady, but it could be your downfall. Because I, should be feared."
As you feel your breathing gets more rigid on what you're witnessing, you start to notice that what's currently holding you down is nothing but a lump of dark shadow resembling the dark, pupiless man.
It's his shadow clone…
You really feel you could faint anytime soon as what you're seeing is something so alien- so out of this world you've already known. These things shouldn't exist, but here you are; being held by it- something you have never believed in as you thought these things only exist in nightmares.
But you guess you know nothing- your life is already based on nightmares.
You try to scream for some help, but strangely, there are no voice coming out of your throat. Your throat can feel nothing but acute pain hovering through it. Your jaw is left dropped and trembling in fear. At this point, you almost give up, and hiding your fear can do you no good.
"Sub-Zero's secret lover: so brave, so fair. Let us see what he'd do to save you from me." The man mumbles again.
"I- I don't know what you're saying," You stutter in between your rigid breath, still trying your hardest to escape his grip though you know it won't help much, "I d-don't know who S-Sub-Zero is…"
The man laugh devilishly at your remark, "I guess lying is not one of your strongest suits… yes?"
"You will be in s-some serious trouble if y-you don't believe m-my words…"
"You expect me to believe a liar? I-"
"I swear I don't know who Sub-Zero is!" You bark to the dark man again.
You assume you have pissed him off by the way he claws his hand around your neck and snatch you off of his shadow clone, which then dissolves into lump and travels back into the dark man's body.
The sight you just witnessed already terrifies you, but what sends you even weaker is the fact that your feet aren't touching the ground as the dark man chokes you in the cold thin air, moving your legs back and forth in panic, almost running out of breath.
A near-death experience is probably the right term to describe this, but you feel like you could die anytime soon if he keeps on choking you this hard.
"Listen, woman!" The dark man exclaims, "Defending Sub-Zero will not save him or you from my wrath! You better-"
Between your rigid breath and your body that is getting number, you can suddenly feel the dark man's hand that is choking you being stroked by ice coming from above, causing his hand to freeze and forcing you off his grip.
"Stop, Bi-Han." The knight in shining armor shouts from above.
But you haven't got a chance to see what your savior looks like as your feet hits the ground, sending your behind to collapse onto the ground as well and rubbing your newly freed neck. For the first time in your life, you feel grateful for air that couldn't get inside your lungs for a good few minutes earlier.
"You do not control me, Sub-Zero." The dark man denies as the frost throughout this hand starts shattering and finally frees his hand, growling at him afterwards.
Catching you off guard, the dark man's leg swings up in the air before it lands hard on your hip, sliding you through the coarse ground and sending your head hitting the hard brick wall of the alleyway.
You grunt at the excruciating pain as you hear someone yells the word 'no'- you assume it's your savior, but you could care less at this point. As your hand reach through your temple and detect some wetness beneath your hair, you know you're bleeding heavily. You gasp weakly as you find out your assumption is true after you see the thick, red liquid scattering all over your palm.
As you feel a cold hand supporting your back, your eyes are already flickering. You are trying so hard to keep your eyes open, afraid if you close them, you might never be able to open them anymore.
You're not sure how long you can keep fighting… but oh, the cold hand feels strangely pleasing. For a split second, you think it will be alright to close your eyes here… maybe forever, but this feels right…
Before you give up on keeping your eyes wide, the last thing you see is a pair of soft blue eyes of your savior.
A pair of soft, calming blue eyes you think you've laid your eyes on before...
Your eyes flicker open to find a dim surrounding. Warm, dusk-like lighting does not feel so bad to your eyes – even though you prefer to have no lights at all as your head feels surprisingly heavy and shutting your eyes back might be best, but your head hurts too much to even try to go back to sleep. The cold atmosphere in the room does not help either.
Rubbing your poignant eyes beforehand, you find yourself lying in a charming bedroom. You can almost smell the pinewood which you think the bed is made of. The soft mattress is covered with a clean white sheet and you can tell it is washed regularly. Litting up in front of you is a fireplace, radiating its warmth to you- it doesn't do much, though. You can see a big wooden wardrobe at one corner of the room, but then that's it. For a big space like this, this room is quite simple. You can hear the cricket sings its nighttime melody and that's all it takes for you to find out it is night time before it hits you…
This bedroom is not yours.
"No, no, no…" You mutter in peevish once you find yourself wrapped in someone else's t-shirt – male's t-shirt, judging by the size of it. You lift your left hand to check the time, but you find out you aren't wearing your watch.
Your hand then roams through the soft sheet in panic as you feel a sting of pain all over your palm. Then you realize bandage has covered your entire hand.
What happened? Why can't you remember a single thing…?
Grunting on the extreme pain, you push yourself to sit up and lean back to the headboard despite your heavy head is dying for you to keep your head above the pillow. A hand of yours reach out for a digital clock on the nightstand and you find out it is 1.32 AM.
You force your mind to remember what happened before you got in this unfamiliar bedroom, but your mind won't ring a single bell. Did you hook up with someone? But you don't recall meeting someone… Did you drink too much? But you don't recall going to the bar…
You're not even sure where you were the last time and how you end up here.
Your mind shuts down once the door slowly creaks open. Your hands that grip tightly on the blanket start to sweat as your heart races against the heavy breaths coming out of you – this very person could be the one who wants something from you that he has to snatch you off to his place.
Though it could also be the one who has saved you from whatever it is, but you can't afford to think of anything right now- let alone positively as this whole thing is nothing but one, blurry mess.
The door reveals a ripped male figure in a blue, and what it seems like, ninja attire. A gleaming icy blue badge with golden edge and some strange symbol in the center is placed neatly on the right side of his chest. His face is covered with a black mask that enfolds his whole head except his bright blue eyes that shines. The mask has a glowing cyan line that goes from the nose part to the mouth.
But it's not the mask or the badge that captures your attention.
It is those blue eyes which looks scarily familiar.
Did it had something to do with what kind of mess has happened to you?
"I see you have woken up." The masked man speaks in a deep croaky voice, "How are you feeling?"
You can barely make out his voice because of that mask, but you're almost certain that depth and huskiness of his voice rings a small bell somewhere in your mind. Nonetheless, you decide to not get carried away with the familiarity.
"Who are you? Where am I? And why am I here?" You exclaim your piles of questions, trying to hide the slight fear with your skepticism.
The masked man's eyes squint up as if he's smiling under his mask. Moving closer to you, he answers, "It does not matter right now." He takes a sit next to your legs before he continues, "You received a rather serious hit on your head earlier this morning. It is normal if you cannot recall the event, but I hope you are feeling better by now."
You roll your eyes at his endless mumbling, "Just so you know, Sir. I will not let you know until you answer my questions."
But recalling on his words, now you know you've been unconscious for almost a whole day. Though you're still unsure how.
The man sighs weakly at your remark, "As I have mentioned before, you received a serious hit on your head, so I brought you here in my… home, as one would say."
"And where is this located?"
"Arctika"
Instantly, your forehead scrunches hearing the name of the place. Your geography skill isn't the best but you know that a place named Arctika can't be a legit place.
"Come again?" You ask for his confirmation in disbelief. You dearly wish you did not hear it right and that he was mentioning a place that you know of.
"It does not matter right now. You are safe here." The man simply says at your remark.
"Of course it does! For God's sake, I am here in this strange place lying in some stranger's bed and—"
"I assure you, I am not a stranger." He cuts you off in a tone that attempts to calm you down, but it doesn't work on you and you just want to storm off this place if you are not so paralyzed.
Well but he does look familiar. And he does remind you of someone… but could it be... him?
No, no. It can't be…
But oh, all these clues just won't stop messing with your head. That deep voice he possesses. Those glowing bright blue eyes. The way he speaks… Oh, if only he's not covered with all those complicated attire…
At this point, your heart races faster and you don't realize you've kept him waiting for your remark, but you could care less. This man sitting in front of you could be that man who won't leave your thoughts alone for the past two months. That man whom you just met once and for only a few hours. That man who gave you the best you've ever had…
You slowly reach out for his arm before gripping it tightly, and one touch is all it takes for your lips to part as you recall that night at the bar where you met him the first time. The first time you fondled his arm and feeling the strange ice coldness of it. Where spilled red wine brought you closer to him and how it led to how your bodies are jointed in one, steamy, unforgettable love making session.
And how he ended up leaving because of some strange reason when you feel it could lead to something more and how it felt like someone punched your chest repeatedly… But the strangest thing is that how it only happened once in your life; only with him.
Then you recall something… It was raining heavily when a dark soul choking you in a dark alleyway… before an ice ball strikes his hand and frees you… but then your head is slammed against a wall and then the last thing you see are those blue eyes…
These things are starting to make sense, but there's only one way to find out.
"Do me a favor. Take off your mask," You utter before he nods at your request.
You retract your hand as soon as he brings his hands to the back of his head, unbuckling the face cover before removing it completely and revealing his scruffy beard framing his beautiful face. But your heart skips a beat once he removes the latex head cover off of his face.
It really is him…
"Kuai Liang…" You manage to let out his name despite your lips part in surprised.
You're not sure is it a happy kind of surprised or the other way around, though. It's baffling that you barely know this greek god yet he's been haunting your loneliness ever since he left that night.
And now he strangely appears as… Sub-Zero, as the dark man addresses him.
But why would he need two names? Though the name Sub-Zero suits Kuai- remembering how cold those hands are.
"Yes, it is I." Kuai simply smiles at your speechlessness. Oh, that sugary smile again. You almost forget how it used to curl your toes. Well, turns out it still does…
But getting carried away with that smile isn't an option right now. Your mind spins around, trying to calculate this and that and how can he magically appears after he's been gone without any contact. You are barely aware that your jaw drops and you've left him with no words for quite a while.
Trying to loosen your stilted jaw, you finally have some words to mutter, "But… how is it even possible?"
"I am unclear on the meaning of your confusion."
"I'm not the one you can play dumb with, Kuai." You say firmly.
"Forgive me, but I truly do not grasp where you are heading." Kuai apologetically says. Though you're certain he really don't understand by his concerned expression, you're almost losing patience. Your teeth clenches tight behind your firmly shutted lips and you find it hard to control yourself.
But then you remember that this man is Kuai. The gentleman you know he is.
Taking a deep breath in advance, you manage to remark in a soft tone, "After we spent the night together, you left without any valid reason. You left me with questions and mixed emotion because the truth be told I-" Your voice trails off before you stress your next words, "I felt a strange connection between us. And you wouldn't leave my thoughts alone and now you appear out of the blue saving me from God knows what sort of darkness it is. You owe me an explanation, Kuai."
Kuai stuns in front of you. Eyes looking down at your hand jointed with his. He rubs your knuckles softly with his finger, seems like he's trying to arrange words in his head, but you don't know for sure. He's leaving you in silence. A silence that kills you slowly. The normal you would just storm out and don't bother with it forever.
After what feels like an eternity, he finally answers, "The life I am living is… complicated, and I do not wish for you to be involved in it as it might harm yours as well."
"Whose life is not complicated?"
"Believe me; you would not want to get too familiar with me." Kuai mutters dejectedly.
Feeling rather dismayed by his answer. You lift his chin up, forcing him to look directly into your eyes, "You can't be that complicated, Kuai."
"Even if I recite who I really am, you would not believe me. It is that complicated indeed."
"Well if that so, why did you even bother saving me this evening?" You launch your somewhat efficacious bullet in attempt to break what's inside that peahead of his, which Kuai remarks with another dead silence.
You scold desperately at his silent treatment, "If you don't even want me in your life, why couldn't you just leave me there? That could've saved you some time, couldn't it? I didn't ask you to save me or bring me back to your place, did I?"
Nothing's coming out of his mouth, still.
"And the strangest thing is you were right there when I was in distress. What are the chances of that?"
Despite you being so close to snapping and you've made it obvious within your tone, Kuai's mouth still suppresses into a single line.
The solitude he's giving you is enough to push your button. You lift your head towards the ceiling as you shut your eyes tight. The frustration keeps building and you can't hold the bark any longer, "I demand answer, Kuai Liang!"
His answer is almost immediate, "Truthfully, I too felt some sort of attachment to you, after our night together. I could not resist the need to stay close to you, but I am unsure of what to do, so I-" His voice trails off, "I have been watching over you from distance ever since."
"You've been… following me?"
"Merely once a day, but still I apologize…"
You find your lips parting in disbelief. Having him confessed his feelings to you doesn't come as a surprise - heck, you realize from the get go the chemistry's real. What baffles you is that how instead of telling you, he decided to follow you around as if he's your stalker. You refuse to believe he's a wuss, but it never crosses your mind that such mighty fine creature could have no gut to do so.
Still thunderstrucked, you slowly mutter, "Just - why, Kuai? W-what are you?"
"I… I could not reveal it still…"
Frustrated for not getting answers from him, you firmly raise your feet off the bed in attempt of drifting from him despite of how your head spins harshly at the sudden movement you make.
"By the gods, why? Why do you have to make everything so complicated, Kuai Liang?! We like each other but how is it not enough?" You exclaim as you glare at him furiously.
"It is -"
"Ever since you left me that night, there is not a second that I did not think about you. The strangest thing is that I've never felt this way to anyone else but you. Isn't it enough to know that you're wanted?" You confess, trying to convince Kuai. Somehow you see all kinds of emotion within his eyes as you pour your heart out; anger, sadness and doubt, but you cannot be bothered by it and maneuver yourself towards the door anyway, "Then you won't let this happen but you can't seem to let me go either… you're toying with me, Kuai. You make me feel all these alien feelings and now you—"
"BECAUSE I DO NOT WISH TO PUSH YOU AWAY ONCE YOU HAVE LEARNT THE TRUTH!"
Cutting you, he raises his tone rather furiously before stopping your tracks with a sturdy grip on your arm. You cock your head to find him with quickened breath as if he's holding his emotions back.
It's quite obvious that he's feeling rather emotional. You'd never thought his composed exterior could let out such… anger, you could say.
His grip on your arm is almost too much for you to handle, but you can't afford to think about it as you're processing his sudden blow up. There's more to him than just a pretty face, and you think you've figured it out the minute he walked out on you.
But for all you know, what he's trying to hide could be nothing simple. Maybe Kuai knows something about the dark man that confronted you. Maybe that was one of the danger he was talking about. Maybe there's no use barking back at him- for all you know, his intentions to you are good.
"Why do you think the truth would push me away?" You ask composedly, gazing at him in pity.
"Because it is... you…" He answers wryly, weakening his grip on you. His tone is much calmer, but again, there's sadness in the way he's saying it.
Oh, if only he knew how much of a shipwreck you are, he wouldn't be thinking that highly of you..
"Kuai Liang, I have flaws too."
"I refuse to believe that."
"I have issues, Kuai," You remark, slowly letting yourself go from Kuai's weak grip as you walk a few steps away from Kuai. You can't afford to look at or stay close to him when you know you're going to expose yourself to him.
"I know myself as someone who has issues when it comes to this sort of attachment. I—I've lost count on how many men I've had casual relationship with since it's hard for me to stay committed because I'm… a loner who never felt lonely, I would say. But then I met you and then after you left… I don't know, there's a gap inside of me that I feel like only you can fill. I—"
"I am an assassin."
Your eyes shot wide hearing Kuai, lips parting slightly in disbelief.
No, no. A man like him couldn't possibly kill someone…
But then your mind travels back to the words he left before he walked out. Those words that stabs your heart repeatedly… The ones that left an unexpectedly deep wound within you…
Engaging with me could endanger your life…
You know not my evil side… What I do… it is dangerous…
The life I am living is… complicated
Those words from Kuai's mouth echoes back through your mind, adding a much heavier burden to your already heavy head. You don't think you can breathe properly as you absorb this truth.
And it's all starting to make sense now...
You try to shut your eyes tight as you pinch yourself. This could just be one of those dreams you keep on having, but you realize this isn't as you open your eyes back to reality. This time you have to face the truth.
"What…?" You mutter in skepticism as you shift yourself to where he's standing, finding his head lowered and his fists balled.
"It is true… I am Sub-Zero, grandmaster of Lin Kuei, and you are at the Lin Kuei Palace." He confesses slowly. Eyes still pinned on the ground, not showing any sign of maneuvering them to you.
Still baffled from the new informations, you slowly take a few steps towards him, hoping for earful of it. You realize this must be hard for him having confessed this job of him that you think supposed to be confidential, but at the same time you know you can't rush him into pouring it all out.
But before you can even speak any word or move closer, he overtakes you, making you stop your tracks, "I am… a cryomancer…"
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"I have the ability to yield and control… ice." He adds.
Again, you're exposed to a new, odd fact yet you're still trying to believe the other one he told you earlier when you thought that's the most twisted he can get. But no, Kuai Liang turns out to be full of surprises.
You're at that point when you're not sure what you're feeling anymore about all this. Shocked, pity, even a little sad for yourself. Odd combination, you realized.
But you're sure of one thing; your feelings for Kuai Liang stays the same. No, you're not backing away and strangely, the fear isn't present this time.
"So… you are not human?" You ask carefully, raising an eyebrow.
"My mother was human. My father was a cryomancer."
"So… half human, then?"
"Cryomancers have the appearance of human, but yes, I am technically only the descendant of a cryomancer."
You quietly breathe a sigh of relieve. If this was the first thing he'd told you, you would've lost it, but compared to the other facts he has smeared to your face, this is the most handleable of all.
But now, you're not sure of what to say to him. No, you're not going to run away, but you can't seem to remark this lightly either.
What are you going to say?
"I sometimes wonder if I still have the ability to care because of my troublesome situation, but after our encounter, I— I discovered that I do have the ability to see a significant other in such… romantic way. And what I feel towards you evolves the more I watch over you…" Kuai Liang breaks the silence. His eyes still avoiding yours.
You take another step towards him, trying to get his attention, "Kuai Liang, look at me."
"But then I keep reminding myself that I could not put you in such danger that my life possesses because I am afraid something would take effect on you as how Bi-Han found out about you and utilize you to my weakness"
"Kuai Liang," You say his name again, louder this time. He's not fixing his gaze on you still as if the floor is the most interesting thing in the whole world.
"If you wish to not see me again, I understand and I could escort you to another room. But I plead you; do not leave this place yet. Bi-Han is out there, still."
Good lord, when will he stop talking and turn his viewpoint towards you?
Losing your patience, you feel like you have no other choice but to snap to get his attention, "Kuai!"
Your snap works and almost immediately, he lift his head to meet your gaze, and it's calling to you as if he actually wish you'd stay for him. To accompany his lonely soul. And by this moment on, you're lost for words.
But one thing you've learned in this life is that action speaks louder than words.
In a blink of an eye, you throw an arm above his neck before meeting your lips with his soft ones, closing your eyes in the process. Your sudden movement draws Kuai Liang to slightly flinch as if he's not expecting you to answer his confessions with a simple kiss, but he doesn't back away from you.
You certainly wouldn't mind to go on and melt within the familiarity of Kuai Liang's intoxicating scent, but you do need one last assertion from him as you slowly pull away, caressing his beard gently, "Still thinking you're pushing me away?"
Gaze fixated on you, he lets his breaths of ice shrouding your face. He's looking at you as if he's having a debate with himself whether what he just witnessed is real or not. As if this is something out of his expectation, but you're not quite sure- you're not a mind reader per se.
Catching you by surprise, he cups one side of your jaw and presses his lips with yours once again- something you've been yearning for long. That's why instead of flinching, you gladly comply to this remark of his. As you drape an arm above his broad shoulder, he grabs your waist to close the gap between you. His prevalent soft, tender lips immediately drown you within his embrace, turning the kiss more passionate.
Normally, with other guys, you'd do this with pure lust, but there's something you find it hard to describe about this kiss with Kuai Liang. It's feels somewhat familiar, but you've never have this kind of kiss before.
It's like your lips are created only for each other.
Either way, there's only one thing you need to say to clear this thing out.
As you slowly release his lips, you keep your face close to him, embracing the closeness fully as if you won't let him go for the second time, "I've missed you, Kuai."
You can't quite make out his expression as the distance between you two is intimately close, but you're quite sure his lips twitch into a beautiful smile of his you've grown to love, "So have I, my dear."
Surprisingly, Kuai's embrace is much warmer this second as he pulls you closer onto his chest and wraps his arm around you. For all you know, Kuai's skin is always cold, but this right here, is far away from chilly.
And for a split second, you wouldn't mind feeling this in a long term.
As you feel Kuai's lips on top of your crown, your hands wrapping on his torso gets tighter as if you'd never let go of his embrace. Maybe this is the real intimacy you've never felt before- the peak of your satisfaction lies within this moment, and you wish this never ends.
"So what do we do now, Kuai?" You ask weakly as you paint his perfectly carved back with your fingers.
"Do you wish to keep seeing me?" He answers, stroking your hair gently in his embrace.
"Yes."
"That is good to hear," Hearing him breathing a sigh of relieve, you know his lips twitches upwards right next to your ear before he kisses you gently right there, "Because I too, would like to give this a chance."
Instantly, your heart is filled with joy and a split thought about asking him regarding the earlier Bi-Han catastrophe has gone out the window. For once, you'd rather savor the moment. This second. With Kuai Liang.
As your fingers travel up and bury them beneath his dark hair, you pull him closer to you before landing your lips on his once again, pouting your lips on his bottom lip as he does with your upper lip, dueling both of your lips which movement soon gets more intense.
His hands on your hips soon drive your back against the wall- there is no rush in his movement, but he's certainly been craving for you. Your hand slides down to his neck before darting your tongue out to gain entrance into his mouth. Complying, Kuai soon gives into your kiss as your tongues dance to your desirable, passionate rhythm.
All too soon, Kuai breaks the kiss as he dips his head on the crook of your neck, showering you with gentle kisses that sends shivers down your spine, tilting your chin up and draping your arms through his neck as you curl one of your legs on his.
As the little game you're having gets more heated, unfortunately, a knock on the door is heard which sends you grunting as Kuai stops himself and stands properly.
With his hand still on your jaw, Kuai presses his forehead against you as he chuckles apologetically, "I'm sorry, I must get the door."
"It is way past midnight, Kuai. Why would anyone disturbs?" You frown as you place your hand over his arm.
"It is merely normal, dearest," Kuai remarks, kissing your forehead afterwards, "Besides, it is better for you to get some rest. I will have someone sending you food as well. You need to feed yourself."
As Kuai lets yourself off of his embrace, he walks through the nightstand to get his mask as you reply with your hands jointed neatly behind your back, "But… will you be back?"
"Indeed," Fetching you a reassuring smile, you know he's telling the truth, "Very soon."
Thanks for reading the sequel! :D Because of some demands, I decided to write this and I hope you enjoy this as much as you enjoy the first one. Not sure if I should continue this because I currently feel like this is enough lol but what do you think? Please press that favorite button for me + review the story as they are much appreciated by me. They let me know this worth the effort and that I should keep writing :) Oh, and as usual, s/o to my best bud MartengaPop for the continuous support and love for this. Love u gal x
