AN: Tomorrow we will going premium. Thank you all for having my back always. I appreciate it so much. Happy FriYay!
Yu Xi was even more concerned than before. The flickering neural map on the screen reminded him of something he had seen before. One of his half-brothers had the same symptoms. He was writhing in chains, eyes wild with agony. At the time, Yu Xi hadn't known there was a name for it. He only knew the screams never stopped.
Their father had made no effort to ease the suffering. He didn't give him any stabilizers or sedatives. Gander just observed him coldly. The boy had screamed until his voice broke, until his body gave out. The sound had echoed through the lower levels like a curse. It was a reminder to all of them that they could be next.
Yu Xi had covered Xiaobao's ears, holding him close as the little one cried silently, trembling in his arms.
His voice now was barely a whisper. "Is there really no cure?"
Jian Wei looked away, jaw tight. "No. Not yet. We can delay it. We can suppress the symptoms but once the final stage begins…" He hesitated. "Hopefully your father's research will give us some insight. Something to help him."
Yu Xi stared at the neural map, at the storm of psychic energy trapped in Jian Ci's mind. It pulsed like a living thing, chaotic and beautiful yet also terrifying.
"How long before he reaches the final stage?" he asked, voice steady despite the dread curling in his chest.
"I estimate four to five years," Jian Wei said, his voice flat but not unkind. "Let's keep our fingers crossed."
Yu Xi's response came without hesitation. "Take whatever you need from me. Blood, stem cells, spinal fluid... you can take it all if it helps."
Jian Wei looked up, startled. For a moment, he didn't speak, caught off guard by the quiet intensity in Yu Xi's voice. Before he could ask if he was serious, or if he was out of his mind, a soft chime echoed from the diagnostic equipment.
"You can put your clothes back on," Jian Wei said, turning away and walking back to the main floating screen, his expression unreadable.
Yu Xi reached for his clothes, slipping into his underwear and pants with practiced efficiency.
The door hissed open.
Jian Ci's silhouette filled the frame, backlit by the corridor lights. He tossed the bottle in his hand into the air and caught it with ease, but the motion froze mid-catch as his eyes landed on Yu Xi's back.
It was a lean and elegant form. It was slender and almost fragile in its proportions, but what arrested Jian Ci wasn't the shape. It was the scars.
A ladder of pale, deliberate marks ran down Yu Xi's spine. Each one was a record of the painful needles from the serums being injected into his body. It was a reminder of Gander's cruelty.
Jian Ci's breath caught. His eyes traced every line, every healed wound, and in that moment, he saw not just the body, but the little boy who had endured it. He must have been alone and scared with no one to shield him.
His hand clenched around the bottle. He stood there, heart aching with a quiet, helpless fury.
Yu Xi tugged the shirt down over his back, the fabric whispering against his skin as he turned around. His expression was unreadable, calm, and composed, but it was also distant, like a mask carefully placed.
Then their eyes met.
Jian Ci felt something tighten in his chest. The scars haunted him, but he knew better than to let the pity in his heart show. Yu Xi didn't need that. He deserved dignity, not sympathy.
So Jian Ci tilted his head, voice light. "Ah, Yu Xi," he said, "you have a small waist." Yu Xi blinked, caught off guard.
From the console, Jian Wei looked up, his face a flat wall of disbelief. "…"
Jian Ci walked over, hands already forming a rough circle. "Let me measure it." He moved closer, his hands hovering, then settling lightly at Yu Xi's waist. "See? It's really small."
Yu Xi didn't flinch. He understood what Jian Ci was doing. He was directing the conversation away from his scars to ease the heaviness in the air. He was grateful Jian Ci hadn't seen the numbers tattooed into his chest. That would have been harder to avoid talking about.
"I can hold it with two hands—no, one hand." Jian Ci's arm nearly circled him, a partial hug disguised as a joke.
Jian Wei's voice cut through the moment. "Ah-Ci, what the hell are you doing?"
Jian Ci looked up innocently. "What? I'm just saying."
He immediately stopped fussing over Yu Xi's waist and popped open the bottle of electrolyte water with a satisfying hiss. But instead of handing it to Yu Xi, he tilted his head back and drank.
Yu Xi's gaze dropped, involuntarily drawn to the movement of Jian Ci's throat. His Adam's apple bobbed with each swallow, the motion oddly mesmerizing. Yu Xi didn't blink, just... staring.
It wasn't until the bottle was half empty that Jian Wei, still seated at the console, looked up and said, "Wasn't that for Yu Xi?"
Jian Ci froze mid-sip. "Shit, I forgot."
He turned to Yu Xi, eyes wide with mock guilt. "You just watched me open it and didn't say anything."
Yu Xi shrugged, voice calm. "I thought you were thirsty."
"I will get you another one," Jian Ci offered, already turning. But Yu Xi stretched out his hand. Jian Ci didn't hesitate, he handed it over without a second thought.
Yu Xi drank, lips brushing the rim where Jian Ci's had just been.
Jian Wei stared at them, utterly baffled. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to process what had just happened.
Jian Ci turned with a grin. "Can we go now?"
Jian Wei sighed. "Yeah, sure. Yu Xi, you can go have your hair cut."
Jian Ci grabbed Yu Xi's hand. "Let's go. After we are done we can go eat. Argh, I am starving."
Jian Wei watched them walk out, their steps light, their hands still linked. Then he turned back to the floating screen, his expression unreadable, lost in thought.
Yu Xi's mood had lifted considerably. The water Jian Ci had handed tasted especially sweet, as if it carried something more than electrolytes. A warmth lingered on his lips, subtle but persistent, like a memory he didn't want to let go of.
Jian Ci was talking beside him, animated as always, but Yu Xi was distracted, teeth gently tugging at his lower lip. His thoughts drifted, unfocused, until Jian Ci suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
Yu Xi nearly collided with him but stopped just in time.
"What are you thinking in that brain of yours?" Jian Ci asked, peering at him with mock suspicion.
"Huh?" Yu Xi blinked.
Jian Ci chuckled. "I just explained the haircut options allowed in Halo Squad. You weren't listening, were you?"
"I am sorry," Yu Xi said. "I was just thinking about something else."
"You better be thinking of me," Jian Ci teased.
Yu Xi laughed softly, the sound light and genuine.
"Do you want me to choose a haircut for you?" Jian Ci asked.
"Okay. I don't mind."
"Wah, you trust me that much? That must mean we are friends now... very close friends," Jian Ci said, tapping a panel. The door to the barber and salon slid open.
An old man with a scar running down his cheek looked up. "What are you here for, you brat?"
"Wow, so hostile," Jian Ci replied.