02

Long after Kuai Liang's tears had dried up, he and Tomas stayed entwined, kneeling on the stones of the terrace. His limbs were stiff, and his eyes felt swollen, yet he refused to let go. Pulling away meant returning to face the reality of loss—a reality he was not ready to face.

He was incredibly drained, and could not muster the strength to speak. So when Tomas gently extricated himself, he could only make a small noise of protest. The other man kept one arm around Kuai Liang and gingerly hauled him to his feet. He allowed himself to be ushered away, pliant in Tomas' grip as he led him across the gardens. Everything was fuzzy, and he paid little attention to where he was taking him.

It was the height of embarrassment for the Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei to be brought so low. His brother would be rolling in his grave if he saw him. He could not even remember the last time he had shed tears, let alone in front of someone else. When Bi-Han passed, he remembered simply growing very numb, aware that Sektor and the Grandmaster were watching his reaction carefully. Not even alone with his Tomas did he ever allow himself to cry. Then again, he had never lost this much in quick succession before.

"—ai? Kuai?" he heard distantly. He banished the fog in his mind with great effort.

When he came back to awareness, he was standing in the middle of the guest room he'd been provided. Tomas was in front of him and had both hands on his shoulders. From his concerned stare, Kuai Liang had guessed he'd been calling for him for a while.

"Are you back with me, Kuai Liang?" Tomas asked.

He blinked before nodding absently.

"I apologize for not asking, but I figured you would want privacy, so I brought you back here."

No tears for the past two or more decades, and yet this simple kindness was almost enough to send him off the edge. What was wrong with him?

"Hey, it's all right," Tomas said soothingly, somehow understanding his distress. "Why don't you take a seat, and I'll make us a cup of tea?"

Utterly exhausted, Kuai Liang could do nothing but follow. He sat by the low dining table in the room, and watched Tomas as he puttered around the kitchenette. This version of his friend was not the same man he knew, and it was incredibly unfair of him to have unloaded his issues on him. Self-loathing was not new to him, but the strength with which it surged to the forefront of his mind made him clench his jaw.

A warm cup was pressed to his hand, snapping him out of his dark thoughts. He took the proffered drink, letting the heat of the porcelain seep into his skin. Kuai Liang had so many questions for this younger Tomas, but like a coward, he hid behind the safety of the tea. As he took a small sip, his eyes widened.

Kuai Liang swallowed, the familiar, fruity flavor filling him with nostalgia. His Tomas used to prepare this tea for them during particularly difficult days. He had picked up the ingredients on a whim during one of his missions, and made the tea almost instinctively. Tomas had confided in him that smelling the fruit and tea leaves brought a feeling of comfort in him, though he had not known why. It had been a milestone in their friendship when Tomas had shown him his hidden stash beneath a loose tile in their dorm and prepared it for him after he'd endured a particularly brutal punishment.

"You recognize it?" Tomas asked.

"This is your favorite tea," Kuai Liang managed to say, finally meeting Tomas' eyes. "Probably the only one you ever drink."

Tomas watched him carefully, as if assessing his reaction. "It is my mother's recipe."

Kuai Liang jerked in surprise. "Your mother?"

"Yes…" Tomas gave him a guarded look. "Did I never tell you?"

The cryomancer stared at him for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "Tomas…my Tomas has no memory of his life before the Lin Kuei."

Tomas mouthed his words then coughed uncomfortably. "You can call me Smoke. I mean if it makes it easier to differentiate—," he sounded almost flustered.

"Do not feel the need to…" he shook his head, rephrasing his statement. "I shall refer to him as Smoke."

"Are you sure? I do not mind. Of course you don't really know me. Not like you know him, so I can only imagine it's so confusing—," Tomas was babbling now, and Kuai Liang felt the need to reassure him.

"Tomas, it is all right."

"Sorry, I simply—," he took a deep breath, then changed the subject. "Smoke didn't know his family?"

"His only memories are of the Lin Kuei. It was his greatest wish to have known them. I am glad this at least happened for you in this life."

Instead of the smile Kuai Liang expected, Tomas' expression grew bitter. "Perhaps it would have been easier not to know them, than knowing then losing them."

So he was not as untouched by tragedy as he'd previously assumed, Kuai Liang thought sadly. "I am sorry for your loss."

"My apologies, here I am lamenting my family's death when you've…gone through so much more."

Kuai Liang took another mouthful of tea to stall but it seemed their conversation was turning to more present matters.

"Grief is not a competition," he finally said quietly.

"I do apologize for my…ill-thought words earlier. I should not have said those things about you."

"Those words coming from you were an unexpected shock." Kuai Liang admitted. "But I do understand, Harumi told me that the Kuai Liang here betrayed all of you?"

Tomas scratched the back of his neck in seeming embarrassment. "I thought you were Bi-Han."

"…Oh." That explained quite a lot. Suddenly, every other interaction Kuai Liang had had apart from Liu Kang's made more sense. In hindsight, he felt like a fool for not realizing sooner, especially when Harumi had called him Bi-Han. He had been too embroiled in his own thoughts to understand. Years ago, when they had gone to Outworld to discover his brother's fate, Smoke had told him that there would be misunderstandings when he took on the Sub-Zero name. He could not have been more right, and despite everything, he could not help but huff in amusement.

"So when I was speaking about Bi-Han's death, Harumi assumed I was talking about…myself?" At Tomas' nod, he continued. "Is my counterpart still alive in this timeline then?"

Tomas seemed to be surprised by this question. "You don't know?"

"Why does this surprise you?"

"I…had assumed that was why you ran from him when you saw him at Wushi."

Kuai Liang heard the words, their implications, but could not comprehend them.

"I understand that in your timeline, you were not Scorpion." Tomas continued hesitantly. "Does that mean Bi-Han was?"

The absurdity of the question startled a laugh out of Kuai Liang. He did not mean to, but the image of Bi-Han in Shirai Ryu colors that his mind had conjured for him was hysterical. The humor suddenly drained from the situation as his mind replayed what Tomas just said.

"I'm Scorpion?" he asked in disbelief. "What happened to the original Scorpion?"

Tomas shifted in his seat, looking uncertain. "You've…always been the only Scorpion?" His expression suddenly shifted to alarm. "Kuai?"

His world tilted, and all sounds seemed to fade into the background. He could not conceive of a world where Hanzo Hasashi did not exist, but it seemed Liu Kang had manipulated events to such a degree that his friend was wiped from existence, and he took his place.

Kuai Liang felt utterly sick.

An arm was thrown around his shoulder, and the warmth of another body pressed against his side.

"—iang please, you have to breathe," Tomas was pleading, and Kuai Liang automatically obeyed and took deep gulping breaths.

"Breathe with me, okay?" Tomas slipped a hand in his and brought it to his chest, palm first.

Kuai Liang could feel Tomas' heart beating as he followed his breathing and matched it to his. After a few more repetitions, the world came back into focus, and his shame, along with it.

It was silent, save for his harsh breaths, and it took him several attempts before he was able to croak out an apology.

"That is unnecessary." Tomas repositioned himself so they could simply sit side by side, but he did not let go of his hand.

Kuai Liang forced himself to unclench his jaw. "My…condition is no problem of yours. I am a stranger to you."

"You may not be my brother—,"

"Brother?"

"In truth, I believe I will never think of you in that way. We may be strangers, but still, I find my heart drawn to help aid you in your time of suffering."

Kuai Liang's heart ached at the kindness Tomas displayed. This man was not his Tomas. But he was familiar, enough so that his guard automatically went down around the man and allowed him past his icy exterior.

"When my family died," Tomas spoke in a hushed tone, staring at the far end of the room. "I could not sleep, I could not eat. As a child, life with them was all I had known. My whole world started and ended with them."

Kuai Liang made a small noise of sympathy.

"I stared at nothingness and could not speak. My adoptive parents—Kuai Liang and Bi-Han's parents—could not get around the wall I had built around my heart. And for many months, nothing would."

"What happened?"

"One day, Bi-Han," his voice wavered as he said his name. "Pulled me aside, thoroughly beat me in a spar. Then once he had treated my injuries, he wrapped me in his arms and simply didn't let go. And I broke—I cried and cried, until I had utterly exhausted myself."

Tomas sniffed and turned misty eyed. "But that was the start of my healing. The only thing that helped me in the long run was grieving them." He turned his head to look at Kuai Liang. "Everyone grieves differently; some prefer to reminisce and talk about the good times, others cry, some go into periods of mourning. Whatever you need, you must allow yourself to feel, Kuai Liang. You cannot simply bottle this in."

The hardest part of it all, Kuai Liang thought, was allowing himself. All his life, he had divorced himself from his emotions, taught that they were signs of weakness—something that impeded rational thought. It was difficult to realign core beliefs, especially when they were ones that kept you safe for decades.

But Tomas was right, even though it pained him to admit it.

"It is a difficult thing to accept, that I will never see my world again." He spoke haltingly. "I will never be able to rebuild the Lin Kuei and honor my fallen. I will never walk the halls of my own home. I will never see it flourish again in service of Earthrealm. I will never be a Grandmaster again."

And while his clan was the most important aspect of his life, there were many smaller things that were taken from him. So many what ifs and to dos that he'd always thought he'd have time to accomplish later. Suddenly, the words were spilling out of him in quick succession.

"I will never see Kitana's reign as Kahn, if she will be as strong and fair as expected. I will never again receive those ridiculous 'memes' that Cassandra Cage insists on sending me to 'lighten my mood'. I will never be able to attend Jacqui Briggs and Takeda Takahashi's wedding. I will never hear Jonathan call me 'Grandmaster Blueberry Ice' again, though it used to drive me mad. I will never receive another ill-thought mission from Raiden. I will never be able to journey to the Netherrealm to find and free Smoke—"

Tomas inhaled sharply.

"I will never be able to destroy Noob and set Bi-Han's soul to rest. I will never be able to bury H—," his voice hitched, but he powered through it. "I will never be able to bury Hanzo."

He brought a hand up to his mouth to hide his quivering lips. Saying it out loud made it more real, and it hurt like nothing else in the world.

"Who was he?" Tomas asked softly.

"His name was Hanzo Hasashi." Kuai Liang stared up at the ceiling as he spoke, unable to meet Tomas' gaze. "He was the Grandmaster of the Shirai Ryu, and he held the title of Scorpion."

Tomas squeezed his hand in comfort. "Tell me about him."

"He, his family, and his clan were murdered. Later on, he was resurrected as a wraith, and given the chance to have his vengeance. He killed Bi-Han."

The hand in his flinched in shock, but did not let go.

"Brother had been framed for the crime, and I in turn, fought Scorpion to avenge him. There were many things that happened in between," he glossed over his cyberization and his death, "but the two of us were at each other's throats for years. I grew tired of fighting, and I proposed a truce, which was accepted. The truce turned into an alliance, and eventually, he became one of my closest friends."

"I can't imagine that road was easy."

"They do say the hardest fought battles have the sweetest victories. Fighting by his side was a privilege. We knew each other so intimately that we could anticipate each other's moves before they happened. When there were no battles, we spent time in each other's homes—him in the Lin Kuei Palace, and me here in the Fire Gardens. We often had tea by the large maple tree." The ceiling turned blurry, and Kuai realized his eyes were filling with unshed tears.

Tomas made a sympathetic noise. "I am sorry you were taken from him."

"He was taken from me." Kuai Liang shook his head and surreptitiously dashed the tears from his eyes with his other hand. "I lost him a few days before I arrived in this timeline. He was killed by D'vorah, a Kytinn. If I had only stayed by his side instead of leaving him alone—,"

"It is no fault of yours." Tomas' voice was steady and sure.

"I could have saved him." His chest felt tight.

"His death is no one's fault except the Kytinn's. You mustn't punish yourself."

Anger surged inside of him, but as he met Tomas' sympathetic eyes, he found himself deflating. The younger man gave his hand a pointed shake as he spoke.

"Assigning guilt to yourself is pointless. Your hand did not wield the blade that ended his life. I do not know him, but if he was as good of a friend as you say, your Hanzo would tell you the same thing."

Kuai Liang swallowed thickly. "He would be furious at me for even thinking it."

"I know it's not easy. I had always harbored imagined guilt for the death of my family. But I learned to be kinder to myself."

Being kind to myself assumes I am worthy of that kindness. Kuai Liang was barely able to bite back the words, instead giving Tomas a tight nod.

"I can see you don't believe me yet, but we'll work on it." He gave him a boyish grin, and Kuai Liang's gaze softened at the sight. "I am here for you; I won't abandon you in your time of need."

His throat closed up at the heartfelt words from Tomas. "Thank you," he managed to whisper.

Tomas gave his hand one last squeeze before he let go and refilled their tea cups. They enjoyed the rest of their tea in comfortable silence. The presence of the other man filled Kuai Liang with warmth, and gave him some measure of peace, something he'd never thought he'd feel again.

When Tomas had left for the night, Kuai Liang sat at the table for a long time. He stared at the cup of tea the man had made for him as he steeled his mind for what he planned to do tomorrow.

The next morning, as Kuai Liang suited up, his hand hovered over his mask for a good minute, before deciding to leave it. He went to his kitchenette and filled a teapot with hot water, and grabbed the small tin containing tea leaves.

It was still early; the sun had not breached the sky as of yet. He inhaled the balmy air as he stepped out of his room and made his way around the compound. His walk was uneventful, the gardens were quiet at this time of the day as most were already in the training yard.

Kuai Liang sat beneath the maple tree, placing the pot and tin on the low table. He prepared the tea as he remembered it, slowly and carefully mixing in the tea leaves, giving it a small stir before setting it aside and waiting for it to steep.

After exactly two minutes, he removed the wilted leaves, and poured two cups of tea, placing one by his side, and the other in front of him. He brought the cup up to his face and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the sweet scent of jasmine. Taking a small sip, he savored the light flavor, his eyes tearing up as memories surfaced to his mind.

"I miss you," he said out loud, breaking the silence. "Every day, I am reminded that you are no longer with us—with me—and I feel like I am about to crawl out of my skin."

The wind rippled past him, ruffling his hair. He struggled to continue speaking, but he soldiered on.

"I am sorry I was not able to save you, old friend. I know I could have, had I been there beside you, as I should have been."

He took a deep breath as a tear made its way down his face. "My heart has been torn asunder at your loss, and I do not know how to move on."

More tears followed and soon, he found himself all but sobbing.

"Though this pain is unbearable, I am truly thankful that I knew you—truly knew you. My life has been enriched just by being your friend."

Kuai Liang drank his tea, allowing its warmth to soothe his soul.

"I am…not okay," he admitted and as he looked across him, he could almost imagine Hanzo giving him an understanding look.

He watched the sun rise slowly to the sky, its rays passing through the leaves, bathing his surroundings in an orange glow.

"But one day, hopefully I will be."

A/N: Welp okay I guess this fic is now multi-chap. I wrote multiple interactions but couldn't fit them in one chapter so I'll dump them in another.

Also: poor Kuai :((