Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Music And Memories Part 9

Mo XuanYu wakes up slowly, his body stretching naturally and chasing the sleep away. He's warm and comfortable, the blanket pulled up to his neck and he would just turn over to catch a few more winks...but his mouth feels too dry and a little bit stale. There's a dim yellowish glow from the nightlight next to him, allowing him to squint and see shapes. He sits up blinking, reaching for a glass of water that isn't there. It's enough to wake him up out of the stupor that usually takes time to dissipate, and he throws the covers off himself, letting his bare feet sink into the plush pile of the thick carpet. It's nice to squish his toes and feel the softness of it against his bare skin. It's so nice that he decides to leave his fleece-lined slippers here at the foot of the bed, and he stands up. Lan Zhan must have carried him to bed, because the last he remembers is sitting on the couch in the lounge. That thought makes him blush.

Lan Zhan is strong, Mo XuanYu knows that. But seeing the proof after the fact is a whole new pocket of rabid thirst. The man is far too attractive for Mo XuanYu's peace of mind. And, he hides that strength under flowy, loose clothing...and if Lan Zhan can carry his weight all the way up the stairs and put him to bed, well that's a wonderful bonus, isn't it?

Thankfully, Mo XuanYu's fingers are cold enough to bring some relief to his hot cheeks, and he grins. What is he, a teenager? The wish to kick his feet wildly, swooning like a maiden with her first crush is agonisingly real.

Lan Zhan has also thoughtfully plugged his phone in to charge and it's at full battery now, the screen reading two twenty-two. That's a magic number, he thinks, leaving it on the bedside cabinet. He pads across the room to the window and a wish to see the stars makes him pull the curtains towards himself.

Out there, the world is quietly recovering from the day it's had, the light of the half moon casting a pale silvery glow over the tall, wide cedars, the long pine trees and the grass. It's like a dark watercolour painting, the greens all mixed up with shadowy black to wash their brightness out, make their colours bleed into one. He watches the way the wind shakes the leaves and the outer branches, imagines the rustling sound they would make if he was outside now. Up above him, there are so many stars shining down that Mo XuanYu has to marvel at the fact that they're not visible during the day. They don't vanish at all, but they go pale, disappearing under the strength of the sun. The blinding powerful light of it makes them impossible to see during the daylight. They are still there, but not.

It's like his memories.

The blankness in his head, really a dark pit of nothingness, has always worried him. How his mind could store nothing beyond his first memory of a bloody hand as it left the aching part of his head, how he had stumbled to his feet and leaned against the wall until everything stopped moving. How his whole body hurt. The confusion of looking around and finding the ID card on the ground and picking it up, because that was a normal thing to do. The face on the photo matched the memory of his own and of this, he was certain. So he put it into his pocket and looked around.

Now he knows that it was some seedy basement in Koi Tower. The light had been too dim to see anything clearly and there was another long shape on the ground, covered by a dark sheet and-

Suddenly a sharp, piercing pain hits his temple that has Mo XuanYu falling to his knees. It's so bad, he lets go of the heavy curtain to clutch his head, pressing tightly so that the pain goes away. He needs his painkillers. Breathing through the pounding in his head helps enough that he can stand up slowly, waiting for the gaps in between to take a step at a time. He reaches the stairs that lead down and he holds onto the bannister as he descends. The wood is a polished, smooth coldness that slowly travels up his calves and he wishes that he had put on his robe. The nights really are much chillier up here in the mountains.