yuwin ✧ animus

Seven

Sicheng submerged his clothing into the cold water, scrubbing the fabric against each other then twisting it. His mind continually wandered back; how comforting and oddly addictive the touch was. He sat there with his arms resting millimeters above the surface of the water.

"Hey, Sicheng!" An open palm met the back of his head before Kun squatted down beside him."You'll ruin the fabric of your clothes if you continually treat it roughly like that."

The latter snapped out of his daydream state,"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"The conditions we live in already cause our clothes to tarnish quicker, it's not good to contribute to that."

"I know, I just wanted to make sure it was clean," Sicheng squeezed the fabric once more,"Kun?"

"Hm?"

"How do know if you lo- like someone?"

Kun struct his head to the question,"Please tell me this isn't about-"

"Can you just answer it?"

The elder sighed,"I mean, I don't know. I haven't liked anyone in years so I forgot and it varies for everyone. In simplicity and in general, I would just say you think of them a lot with romantic connotations, you dislike having to be away from them, your heart aches at the thought of that person? You feel emotional pain when you know you can't be with them."

"Oh."

"I don't really know though, as I don't remember the feeling of being that fond of somebody. Even if I did, it was a childhood crush that faded. Now, why are you asking me this?"

"It's nothing, really. I was just curious."

Kun struck the latter in the eyes with his own gaze,"Sicheng, if it is about him, you know-"

"I know, Kun. I'm not stupid, you don't have to treat me like I'm a child."

"I'm not trying to treat you like a child, I'm just being protective. Especially with what has been going on for the past few years and with everyone we've lost; I can't afford to think or carelessly."

"What about escaping?"

Kun submerged his own clothing in the water,"Haven't we discussed this before?"

"Yes, but that was when I barely knew Yuta. He even told me to escape, maybe he'll help us and we can leave with everyo-"

"And if not, Sicheng? What if he's using you?"

"You still don't trust him? Even after everything  I've told you about him?"

Kun seemed to zone out of the conversation, all his attention being given to the body of water in front of him,"Hm."

"He's saved me several times, gotten beaten by his superiors just to see me, given me food even though he himself is starved. Why do you refuse to trust him, Kun? If he wanted me dead, he could've killed me months ago."

"I don't trust the Japanese, Sicheng. You kn-"

Sicheng abruptly stood up, his drenched clothing still in hand and dripping,"One exception? You can't make one exception? You're scared of us getting killed, but refuse to make an attempt to escape the place in which we can get killed at any second. I'm lucky enough to have someone on the other side keep trying to keep me alive, others weren't. I'm not gonna let him break everyone bone in his body and endure endless beatings for me when I could escape as he wants me to. Staying is selfish."

Kun bit his tongue and began,"Sicheng-"

"I refuse to be another civilian causality in this conflict, Kun. I'm going to escape, whether I make it or die trying."

He looked up at his younger who had started to somewhat storm off in the opposite direction, his clothes still in arms.

~~~~

Sicheng crouched by the rice pot, his knees were pulled against his chest as he silently listened to the boiling. It was rather cold and dark at the moment therefore, he used the fire under the pot as both a source of warmth and light. The shuffling noise of both dirt and pebbles alarmed the boy till he saw Yuta's familiar face appear out of the darkness. 

"Hey," Yuta said softly in Chinese, his words defined with his Japanese accent.

Sicheng's cheeks pulled up into a soft grin,"Hey."

Yuta was dressed out of uniform for once. He wore a pair of pants that were a darker olive color in comparsion to the uniform pants and a white tank top. A string necklace hung against the opening where his chest was exposed by a few decimeters. He sat down near Sicheng, his face glowing due to the small fire.

Sicheng quickly stood up and went inside, swiftly grabbing both the dictionary and a thin sheet. He went back outside where he wrapped the sheet around Yuta's shoulders,"It's cold out, you idiot."

Yuta exhaled through a smile as Sicheng lifted up the clay lid of the pot, steamed heavily emitting from the opening. He watched the boy grab two bowl before interrupting,"No, no, I already ate."

"I don't know what you just said, but if it's something about not wanting to eat, I don't care," Sicheng filled one of the bowls up with the steaming rice,"You're malnourished, so eat."

Yuta, aware that he would be forced at this point, accepted the bowl. He held it silently within the grasp of both his palms, wondering how long it had been since he had received food with a warm gesture. He picked up one of the pairs of chopsticks that were set on a clean plate, stabbing through the food as a small lump of rice sat on the tips of the utensils.

Sicheng turned around, seeing as the latter was silently blowing on the rice. He set his own bowl down, leaning forward to readjust the sheet and make it hang over Yuta's head to cover his face. He picked up his own chopsticks and began eating.

As they neared the end of their meal, Sicheng began flipping through the dictionary to find two specific words. "Help" and "escape".

Yuta pointed at himself,"You want me to help you escape?"  

Sicheng peered into his eyes, his head softly nodding"Please?"

"Of course," Yuta answered with a soft tone as his index finger silently trailed behind Sicheng's ear.

~~~~

bye i'm literally such a bad author, four months for a single update 😐