Together We Will Always Fly

Chapter 7

Entering the apartment building for the first time felt not unlike visiting a temple. It was a moment of reverence and quiet excitement bubbling beneath his skin, a feeling he had not experienced since the days of Kunlun's bright, devilish smile.

The Black Robed Envoy, caught the door behind the HR representative, looking at the trees and the white building stretching above his head, trying to ascertain which one of the balconies he could see, belonged to Zhao Yunlan.

This was it. Today he would officially be collecting the keys for his new apartment.

Following the other man inside, his heart was beating loudly against his sternum, as he thought about Zhao Yunlan walking up these stairs, his unhurried stride just like it used to be walking down the corridors of the Allies Occupied caverns. Did he hum to himself still? He wondered as they came to the third floor, his eyes taking in the walls, painted in buttermilk from the ceiling to a halfway point and then grey down to the floor.

As the Envoy he looked discreetly to see if there were any Dixingians living around here and was pleased to see that the building had implemented some forms of security. He wanted Kunlun's home to be safe, to be warm and comfortable, but this building was not that close to SID, suggesting that his untamed warrior with obsidian eyes had chosen this building with other criteria in mind.

The blue tiles on the floor were nice and clearly new, his mind imagining Zhao Yunlan's boots turning the corner and then down this narrow hallway to the two doors at the end. After spending centuries with nothing but his memories and his imagination, it was easy to re-create what must be a daily scene, those long legs striding down the hall, whistling or humming as he jogged downstairs. He shook his head slightly as the representative unlocked the door and stepped inside, turning to look at Shen Wei as they entered, swinging his blue briefcase slightly.

It was larger than he expected, the walls finished in a grayish sand wallpaper, the floor the same blue tiles as the corridors outside. White cloth covered some of the items that he had arranged to be brought here from his dormitory rooms and from storage, such as his bookshelves and his various artifacts collected over the years.

It smelled stale and everything would need cleaning, after he had aired out the rooms later on, but it was light and there was plenty of space for his desk.

"Professor Shen Are you sure about this house?" He asked, sounding uncertain and displeased with the state of the building. "We can offer you many others houses of better value."

Shen Wei was aware of the man and had heard perfectly well everything he had said, but as he turned back and looked out the front door, all he could see was the plain brown door directly opposite.

Zhao Yunlan.

"...Great refurbishment, convenient neighborhood. You can move right in..."

He had tried to put forward solid reasons why he was doing this; reasons hinging on duty and the Treaty. An alliance with the Guardian was important for Dixing...the man was a trouble magnet...highly emotional and extremely shrewd...it would be better if he was nearby.

So many poorly framed reasons when the truth was far simpler. He couldn't stay away.

He had waited ten thousand years to see Kunlun again, to meet with him and to be with him. While it was clear that Zhao Yunlan did not remember those heady nights and glorious days, the times they had shared as friends and lovers, the bond between them seemed stronger than ever.

The last week alone had proven to Shen Wei that he couldn't keep away. He craved hearing his voice, yearned for the sight of him, so alive and precious...