》《

@nepotisms 
            
            it's  unpredictable..  you  know  that  as  well  as  i  do.

said  that  last  time  and  then  you  were  gone  most  of  the  day.

@nepotisms 
            
            it  won't  take  long,  i'll  be  back  soon.

and  i’m  glad  you  were  here..

@nepotisms 
            
            ..  i'm  glad  you're  alive.

@electricluos,   it  happened..    and  i  /lived/.  i’m  fine. 

@nepotisms 
            
            then  it  just  needs  some  upgrades,  mg  knows  you're  smart.  the  tech  will  be  easy  to  get  for  it.

whiiiich  is  a  suit  issue.   your  reaction  time  is  fine,   we’ve  tested  that,   i  just  don’t  think  the  suit  is  keeping  up..

@nepotisms 
            
            ..you're  not  vulnerable,  not  to  me.  //  it's  not  the  suit,  my  reaction  time  was  off.

*   MORE

@nepotisms 
            
            ..  you  really  want  to  see  my  face  that  badly  ?  
            [  there's  lingering  bitterness  behind  those  words,  slender  fingertips  twitching,  as  if  hesitant  to  set  themselves  on  the  helmet.  the  scars,  the  dullness  in  his  eyes..  ‐   maybe  he  doesn't  want  shang  chao  to  see  it.  ]  

..    this  entire  discussion  is  pointless.   you  only  care  about  what  the  people  want.   you  don’t  ..   listen  to  me.   

@nepotisms 
            
            is  what  i  look  like  so  important  !?  the  people  want  e-soul,  i'm  /giving  them/  e-soul.  it  hasn't  been  that  long  since  i  took  it  off..  people  still  know  my  face.

@nepotisms 
            
            ..  fine.  have  it  your  way,  shang  chao.

just  for  a  few  days..    so  you  can  focus  on  what  matters  and  not  just..    my  injury.

@nepotisms 
            
            you  nearly  /died/,  i  can't  just  forget  about  that  –  ..you're  leaving  ?

*   MORE

@nepotisms 
            
            ..  nevermind–   you  did  enough,  leave  my  insides  alone  ///.

i  did  a  little  more  than  kissing  earlier.   that  wasn’t  enough?  

@nepotisms 
            
            mn,  you  could  kiss  me  again..  if  you  really  want  to  make  a  point.

@nepotisms 
            
            ..i'm  not  stopping  you  ?

you  want  me  to  wear  a  dress?

@nepotisms 
            
            then..  ring  and  suit  shopping  ?  or  dress.  //

@nepotisms 
            
            [  it's  warm,  unlike  anything  he's  felt  lately.  the  focus  has  just  been  the  rankings..  to  get  stronger,  to  protect  shang  chao  and  those  he  cares  about  the  most-  but  still..  it  feels  like,  in  doing  that,  he's  been  isolating  himself.  subconsciously,  yang  cheng  leans  into  the  touch,  a  comfort  in  this  world.  ]  ..sorry.  i  know  i've  been..  distant.

..  yang  cheng.     (  even  face to  face,   they  feel  like  strangers,   like  the  yang  cheng  he’d  met  years  ago  was  a  different  person  than  the  one  he’d  been  so  invested  in  five  years ago.    shang  chao hesitates  before  reaching  out,   a  palm  against  his  cheek.   )    ..    there  he  is.   

@nepotisms 
            
            [  roughened  fingertips  twitch,  hesitant,  before  moving  up  to  lift  the  helmet  off.  it  feels..  strange.  midnight  orbs  flick  up,  meeting  shang  chao  for  the  first  time  in  a  while.  the  way  they  flicker  is  different,  now.  ]  ..shang  chao.