My Arch Nemesis (ZiLing/LongLing)

V ; Five-day Countdown

Haa-

A short yawn was breathed by none other than the half-asleep, half-awake, Zilong.

Before he knew it, the brunet snapped his eyes open and abruptly sat up at the jolting feeling of being splashed by cold water. He rubbed his eyes and blinked them before properly looking around to scan his surroundings. With a turn of his head, he locks eyes with the perpetrator of said splash from before. Who else could it be, really?

"What was that for, Ling?"

"For waking your senses."

"That's a harsh way to be waking someone up, don't you think?"

"Mn, whatever. It was efficient."

"You know, you got me thinking how dreadful it would be for our kids if you were the one waking them up every morning."

"Baichi. We're both guys."

Those words left Ling just barely holding on to his stern tone of voice, as he was left dazed and embarrassed at Zilong's thought.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to imagine such a scene," the brunet returned with a teasing chuckle.

Ling was left quite dazed for a moment before continuing their conversation with newfound curiosity in his mind.

He couldn't help himself and asked, "Zilong, do you like children?"

Catching him a tad bit off guard, the Spear of Dragon simply had to come up with an answer while he was still surprised.

"Ah- uhm. Maybe?"

"I see..." were the words Ling mumbled with a gradually frowning expression.

"Ah! I think I know what you're thinking. And no, I would not prefer anyone else just because we can't have any children of our own."

"...That wasn't exactly what was on my mind... I'm sorry to have brought up something irrelevant like that, knowing how we are right now."

By 'how we are right now', the light-haired assassin was referring to how they somehow got together in less than a month after reuniting, despite being at each other's throats just the last they met.

But now, after finding out that their bond goes beyond that of sheer rivalry or friendship, he concludes that they were more important to the other than they thought they were.

"I don't mind. Besides, now that we're together, I think I kind of like talking to you about things like this~"

"You-"

"Aha, don't kill me for this, but I've actually thought about this topic on more than one occasion. On several occasions, I even thought of you... erm-"

?

"Never mind," he says, shrugging off the topic with a grin.

Ling notices a glint of mischief and something else surrounding that grin but dares not to inquire about it.

Sighing, Zilong got up and started packing up for their trip back to the Dragon Altar. Ling seemed to be recovering quickly enough for them to be able to make that trip today.

▪ ▪ ▪

"You're back!" Exclaimed the tiger-like girl.

"Yeah, certainly a day later than what was intended, but it's great to be back here!"

Ling joins in the greetings by simply remaining silent whilst looking away from the small crowd that had gathered around the two returning seniors of the Dragon Altar.

"Ling, aren't you going to say anything?"

In a whisper, he answers, "It's not like they're welcoming me back here. They're just here to greet you."

Zilong hates to admit that it was true.

"But don't you want to fix this attitude of theirs toward you?"

"There's no point. I'm not as welcome here as I was before. Not that I had any good relations with anyone to begin with, though."

"Wanwan."

"Huh?" The girl raised her eyebrow at the sudden mention of her name.

"My fellow brothers and sisters of the Dragon Altar."

They all turned to face the brown-haired senior brother they all respected.

"I'll just say this. If you wish to get along with me, you'd better treat Ling with the same respect you have for me. Understood?"

"...Shixiong, I'm sorry if this might sound a little upsetting, but isn't he a traitor?" Asked one of the people gathered there.

"Yeah... Shouldn't he be ashamed to be here again after all that he's done?" Added by another.

"Shixiong, this isn't like you. You don't seem like the kind of person to stand up for someone who has turned their back on us, on the great grandmaster."

...

In the far distance, a golden trail of smoke nears as it weaves the pillars nearing the entrance of the Dragon Altar they were all standing at. In the blink of an eye, the smoke gathers and dissipates into the old human figure of the Great Dragon.

"What's all this commotion about? Ah- I see that you've returned, Long-er."

Hearing that emitted a 'tch' sound, clicking off Ling's tongue.

"And you, too, Cyan Finch," the old man kindly added.

"He's back now, Shifu. If you may, please refrain from calling him that again," requested Zilong with a serious air to it.

"I'm sure he's not ready to be welcomed here again so soon, given that he didn't pay much mind to the reflections I tasked him with. Am I right?" He finishes his sentence, glancing at the fair-skinned former disciple of his.

The grandmaster then continued again, "And Long-er, I've heard of your actions in interfering with his redeeming progress and therefore I shall be facing you the consequences which I know you were aware of."

"...I understand, but may I request that both our punishments be put off until Ling fully recovers from the incident that happened just yesterday?"

The Great Dragon spent no time at all in glancing at the two. Once he noticed, he immediately called off the crowd and summoned the medical professionals within the Dragon Altar to tend to the yin-inflicted male.

And then they found themselves in this situation. Ling, lying at rest inside his dorm room. The Great Dragon and Zilong isolated outside the dorms, walking through the windy airs of the afternoon.

"The suggestion I gave you before, have you given it any more thought?"

"I have..."

"Then, have you made your decision yet?"

"I have. But I'm still reluctant to share the details at the moment. Sorry, Shifu. I'm still... hesitating about something."

"Young Zilong, I won't rush you, but I'll give you this small word of advice. Always remember to look at what matters most, but if what matters most to you is something trivial that would do no good to you or anyone, know what to do and what's best for yourself and others."

...

"There's five days left to the due of your answer. Be sure to have finalized it by then."

"Yes, Shifu."

▪ ▪ ▪

A/N: I know I haven't really left any author's notes on any of the previous chapters, but I would like to know if y'all would want MATURE CONTENT in this fic. By mature content, I mean like actual SMUT. Or would you like it if it were milder, like kissing/make out scenes ONLY? OR would you like it if I left this idea all out of the way and keep things WHOLESOME until the end? You can leave your thoughts right here on this part of the chapter. Thank you.

~
Chapter first published on April 18, 2024.