Heal These Battle Scars | MxM

Chapter Fourteen - Xiao Fang Should Have Known Better

In the middle of the night, Xiao Fang stirred on the frozen concrete floor as his eyes fluttered. Sweat seeped through his forehead, down his neck and on the lines of his hair while he struggled to move as images of a hand; big and strong and covered in bulging veins, carefully caressed the corners of his cheek in such softness, he hummed; pleased.

Then there were lips, soft, full, warm, crashing against his own, stealing his breath away, forcing a gasp out of his mouth as Xiao Fang welcomed a tongue that tasted like sage tea. Though he knew little of what was happening, he leaned in closer, eagerly kissing back the faceless man a bit rougher, more desperate.

Who could it be?

The soldier did not know, but when the faceless man wrapped his arms around his back — up to his shoulders, caressing him in such a way as if they were lovers — they must have been lovers, Xiao Fang felt warmth blossom inside of him.

"Xiao Fang," a voice coming from the faceless man rasped, echoing from a distance. Yet close at the same time, fading near his ear. "Xiao Fang," it repeated. "Xiao Fang."

When the faceless man stopped kissing and ceased touching him, Xiao Fang's heart quaked. "No," he whispered — capturing the man's hand, squeezing, never wanting to let go. "Where are you going?"

"Xiao Fang."

"Don't leave me," Xiao Fang begged as the images inside of his head faded, disappearing — leaving him. "Where are you going? Come back. I'm all alone. I don't — I don't want this to be over. Don't leave."

"Let's go to Chongqing, Xiao Fang."

Xiao Fang's forehead wrinkled. "...Yi?"

The minute Commander Wang Yi's name slipped from his mouth, a face appeared on the faceless man. A man's face, all too familiar with a childish grin; warm brown eyes and soft pink skin and ruffled inky hair, and a dashing laugh that glowed bright light all around Xiao Fang as his world — this place he envisioned, came crashing down, disappearing —

"Xiao Fang."

Commander Wang.

Wang Yi.

Yi.

There was a hand on him, tapping his cheek to wake him from slumber. It wasn't Yi's dense hand — wasn't Yi's deep voice ringing in his ears, as he wanted to believe.

"Xiao Fang, wake up."

Jie Yu's voice startled Xiao Fang awake, forcing him to scramble upright until his back collided against the hard wall behind him.

With eyes blown wide, heart racing a mile a minute, begging to be released, he searched Jie Yu's expressionless face through the darkness within the prison confine, hoping to find something, anything. "What's happening?" he frowned. "What... What are you doing?"

"Bloody hell," Jie Yu said, his voice worrisome as his eyes roamed over Xiao Fang's body from head to toe, searching for something. "I thought you were running a fever — you're sweating like a pig. Are you alright?"

Xiao Fang groaned, willing himself to sit upright. "I'm fine," he lied.

"You don't look fine," Jiang Han sneaked in closer, sitting crossed-leg next to Xiao Fang's left before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "You sure you're not catching a fever?"

As Xiao Fang fixed himself in a sitting position, watching the rest of his comrades huddled around him, clouding his space and making it hard to breathe, he couldn't — for the love of god, stop catching glimpses of Commander Wang's face.