Sun Fang was incredibly pleased with himself—he’d convinced Hua Xingyi to join Ivy and him on a walk through the city (that would undoubtedly involve him buying too much again). Hua Xingyi was a part-time worker at the resort, so Sun Fang wasn’t taking up too much of his time. And their vacation was, sadly, coming to an end. Soon, he’d be back on Guillotine and all this would be but a memory; just a knot on the thread of life.
Holding Ivy’s arm, Sun Fang was leading the way through the town, carefully keeping the ocean in sight. It wasn’t hard; the town was above the ocean and city-planners had clearly kept the view in mind when they designed the place. Ivy kept glancing over at it intermittently, and Sun Fang’s stomach tingled, knowing that he was making Ivy happy.
Hua Xingyi was walking on his other side, a white, peaked cap on his head to block the sun from his eyes. He was keeping pace effortlessly, though the many stairs did occasionally slow him down. Sun Fang tried to keep them on fairly even roads.
”Do you like the ocean, Hua Xingyi?” Ivy asked out of the blue. Sun Fang almost twitched, but he kept his reaction suppressed.
”Sunsets are the prettiest,” Hua Xingyi answered after a moment, looking around Sun Fang to Ivy. ”What about you?” he asked, adjusting the cap on his head as the shadows shifted from passing new buildings. He added, ”Do you like them?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ivy nodded, its artificial lips smiling. ”Oceans are beautiful,” it said. The eyes were still glued to the distant view and Sun Fang carefully committed Ivy’s smile to memory. It looked so happy, so genuinely joyful to see the ocean. If something like this could bring Ivy so much joy, if it make it so happy…
What were they doing on Guillotine?
Hiding his frown, he slid his hand down Ivy’s forearm to curl it around Ivy’s fingers, squeezing tightly and swinging their hands. ”What do you like, Hua Xingyi?” Ivy asked, looking away from the ocean to make eye-contact with Hua Xingyi.
Hua Xingyi hummed and said, ”You know, you don’t have to say my full name. Just Xingyi is okay. We’re not speaking Chinese and anyway, I don’t even know it.”
”Understood,” Ivy nodded. ”What do you like, Xingyi?” Sun Fang’s eyes narrowed. Hua Xingyi could get a simple Xingyi that easily but Sun Fang had to fight a whole battle to be called Xiao Fang and A’Fang and other nicknames? Unfair.
Xingyi scratched the tip of his nose, visibly thinking, and finally said, ”I like ballroom dancing.”
Sun Fang turned to look at Hua Xingyi. The other omega ducked his head when he he realized he had both Ivy and Sun Fang’s attention, looking away. He kept peeking at them from time to time though, evidently trying to discern their reactions. That should be difficult; Sun Fang’s brain was currently going through a myriad of thoughts. Honestly, he’d forgotten that ballroom dancing existed.
”Do you dance, yourself?” he asked at last, licking his lips. He couldn’t quite keep himself from trying to picture Xingyi dancing, both in a dress and a suit. Xingyi was almost a hundred-and-ninety centimeters tall, above average for the omegas who tended to have heights that more resembled their ancient human ancestors from their home planet. (Sun Fang was just over one-seventy-eight, also above average.) When dancing, Hua Xingyi probably looked amazing, huh.
Xingyi curled his shoulders up a little, a faint blush staining the top of his cheeks. ”I do,” he said, body straightening out a little when Sun Fang and Ivy didn’t react badly.
”You must look amazing dancing,” Sun Fang couldn’t stop the words from coming out, and he nearly flinched. He was trying to keep them stuck in his head, damn it.
Xingyi’s mouth pulled to the side, and then he seamlessly switched subjects. ”Ivy, do you want to go to a hill with a fabulous view of the ocean?”
”Yes, thank you,” Ivy said. It was infallibly polite, but when they all started walking again, Ivy was subtly speeding the pace up. Hua Xingyi was leading the way, forced to keep pace with Ivy and was thus huffing and puffing when they finally reached the hill.
As soon as Xingyi said, ”We’re here,” he dropped to the grass-covered ground and wheezed loudly, chest lifting and rising in time with his breath. Sun Fang went over to him and kneeled down to pat his shoulder.
”There, there,” he said, unsuccessful in hiding his amusement.
”Fuck you,” Xingyi wheezed.
Sun Fang just grinned, kindness oozing out of his every pore. He switched around so he was sitting cross-legged on the ground, turning to look at Ivy with the sound of Xingyi’s wheezing in the background. Ivy was standing still, frozen, facing the ocean view. Its hands were clasped behind its back, tightly laced together. Standing there, still like that, Ivy radiated a calmness and quiet joy that made up Sun Fang’s mind right then and there.
Hua Xingyi finally managed to sit up, accidentally leaning against Sun Fang for a moment. ”Sorry,” Xingyi muttered, but he didn’t move away. Sun Fang felt the other’s body-heat through their clothes, and he swallowed. Glancing at Xingyi through the corner of his eyes, he saw only a peaceful expression as Xingyi, too, gazed out at the ocean. Sun Fang looked back ahead.
In the distance, the dark waters glittered in the sunlight. Soft clouds drifted over the sky, the entire horizon an unbroken blue line. The town below them was made of brick-houses and green gardens, the laughter of children ringing loudly through the air as they ran through the streets. The sunlight on his face gentle, soothing instead of stinging.
Pushing his sunglasses up on his face, Sun Fang breathed in the fresh ocean air. It wasn’t the filtered and purified air on Guillotine, and as his lungs expanded, he felt only tranquility.
thanks for the chapter… 😭
thanks for the chapter <3