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[bringingdowndisaster]

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[gentledawn]

"Mm..." Xingchen kisses over Xue Yang's face slowly, "Can you take the pot off of the fire, love? I don't want our dinner to burn and you definitely need to eat." he smiles a little, "By taking care of yourself, you are taking care of me too."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang hesitates, but of course, Xingchen is right. He reluctantly separates himself from the other man and takes the pot off the fire as requested, all the while he keeps stealing glances at Xingchen.

He grabs three bowls and pours the stew into them before bringing them to the table. "Maybe you... you have to find A-Qing," he murmurs. He doubts that she'll want to eat with him present, but he doesn't want her to go hungry.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen keeps his senses attuned to Xue Yang, smiling softly as the man does as he asked him to do. Rising from the seat, he takes a bowl and bends down to kiss Xue Yang's cheek. The thoughtfulness is noticed.

"I'll bring this to her." he smiles a little more, "Sit down and eat, love. I won't be long."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang frowns, very reluctant to let Xingchen go, but he knows that A-Qing would probably run at the sight of him, so it's for the best to let Xingchen go to her on his own.

He's tense the whole time Xingchen is away for though, and when he comes back he'll find that Xue Yang hasn't even touched his food.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen hurries, sensing that Xue Yang won't eat until he returns. So stubborn! He finds A-Qing and makes sure she has her stew and something to drink. Then he wraps a blanket around her shoulders and promises to visit her before bedtime.

Then he returns to Xue Yang, reaching out to stroke the man's hair.

"Eat."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang taps his foot and leg anxiously as he waits for Xingchen to return. When he hears his footsteps again he relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief.

He leans into the touch, soaking up all the affection. "Mm..." he agrees as he starts to dig in.

[gentledawn]

The little sigh goes straight to his heart. He bends down and embraces Xue Yang, kissing his cheek.

"I'm here." he sits at the table too and begins to eat. Slowly. His stomach has to remember how to accept food.

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang's cheeks warm a little and he easily leans into the embrace.

He watches Xingchen as he eats, almost forgetting to eat himself, but eventually he starts to as well. "How is it?" he asks.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen hears Xue Yang eating and smiles to himself. That just makes him want to try harder with his meal. While the food is good, it's like his body forgot how to be hungry.

"It's good. I'm just... I don't know. I should be ravenous. Maybe that will come in time."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang chews his bottom lip thoughtfully. "When I realized your soul was shattered, I tried to repair it, but... I think that could only happen if you wanted to return to your body." He reaches out over the table and takes Xingchen's hand gently in his. "Your body... it's been dead for over a year, but you're not. I think it'll... it'll be some time before your body catches up, you know? And remembers it's supposed to be alive."

[gentledawn]

He nods slowly, a little unsure how souls work. He had been...torn. Too torn to make a decision in that state until...he did. Then he had woken up in the coffin.

"I was hurt and scared. I didn't know how to pull myself together." Xingchen lifts his head at the touch and turns his hand so their fingers can lace together, "Mm that makes sense. I'll need help regulating my temperature for awhile too...if you don't mind."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang nods, expression softening when their fingers are laced together. He lifts their intertwined hands and kisses Xingchen's knuckles.

"You probably shouldn't have been able to stick around like you did, but something... something must've kept your consciousness anchored to your soul." His expression softens further. "I'll keep you warm." Of course he could never mind doing that.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen goes very still at the kiss and then smiles warmly. His A-Yang is terribly sweet! He knows what kept his consciousness anchored and there really isn't a reason to keep it from Xue Yang.

"I love you." he states plainly, "Leaving someone I love to writhe in agony goes against my soul."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang feels warm hearing that. Xiao Xingchen had already said that he'd come back for him, but to have it further reinforced makes him feel so much better.

"I brought it on myself," he murmurs, rubbing his thumb over Xingchen's knuckles. He turns his hand over to kiss his palm, where a faint scar from where Xingchen had cut himself on Fuxue can be seen. "But I'm... I'm so happy you came back."

[gentledawn]

"I'm staying with you." Xingchen softens at the kiss and raises his hand to stroke Xue Yang's cheek, "Eat, love, and rest. You're not alone." and he is sure they can take care of each other.

After they are strong again, poor Zichen can be awoken. If his soulmate wants revenge, Xingchen realizes he needs to be strong enough to stop him.

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang nods, feeling reassured by that. He eventually starts eating again, more for Xingchen's sake than his own.

He's thinking about Song Lan too and once he's finished his meal he broaches the subject again.

"Do you... want to see Song Lan?" he asks, hesitantly.

[gentledawn]

"I...want to check on him." Xingchen admits, "If he can sense me even a little bit, I want him to know our plan."

It feels...fair. To be honest. But he is scared and it shows as his forehead furrows above his bandage.

[bringingdowndisaster]

"I don't know how... how aware he is," Xue Yang admits. He kind of hopes that he's not too aware, because that'd be pretty awful for him. Being trapped in his own body like that...

He reaches out and takes Xingchen's hand again, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

[gentledawn]

"It's alright." Xingchen murmurs, holding onto Xue Yang's hand and forcing himself to breathe evenly, "He's strong. Holding him to your will as long as you have has depleted your power. Releasing him will be good for both of you. But I won't take chances with him killing or hurting you."

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang shakes his head. "I'm not using my powers to control him. I did at first, but a while back I came up with these... nails. They can be pushed into the skull of a strong fierce corpse to control them. The Jin wanted me to control Wen Ning, the Ghost General, for them, but I couldn't get it to work on him, only on corpses I raised myself..." he explains.

Despite everything, he can't help but to be a little proud of his own work, though he makes sure not to let that on since he's sure that would just be off-putting to Xiao Xingchen.

[gentledawn]

"Xue Yang..." his expression falls. Nails? His stomach churns and he shakily pushes himself onto his feet.

Zichen isn't just trapped, he is in horrific pain! How could he not be? And yet...

They can't do anything today. Maybe not tomorrow either. He grips onto Xue Yang's hand.

"Why didn't you raise me like that?" he is certain the other man could have.

[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang swallows and looks down at the table. "I... I tried to raise you the normal way at first, but it didn't work because your soul was shattered... The soul has to be intact or there'll be nothing to power the body."

He'd really become desperate then, but he'd never experienced anything like it before and didn't know how to fix it. In the end, it seems as though Xingchen had repaired his own soul.

[gentledawn]

Shakily, he strokes over Xue Yang's hair and listens to him. Some good news at last. Zichen's soul is intact. He bends down and kisses the top of Xue Yang's head.

"Where is he? You are welcome to accompany me, but I understand if you don't want to."

[bringingdowndisaster]

"I'll come with you," he says and stands, still holding onto Xingchen's hand. "I've told him to patrol around the coffin home. I... worried that A-Qing might get cultivators to come here."

He leads Xingchen outside and looks around until he spots Song Lan coming from around the corner. "Zichen, come here," he says. "...He responds the best when I call him that," he explains. "Maybe... maybe he'll respond to you too."

[gentledawn]

Xingchen keeps a firm hold on Xue Yang's hand, using the contact to give himself courage. His heart hammers when he hears Zichen's footsteps and then it begins to ache.

"Zichen..." he lifts his voice as much as he is able, "I'm sorry I took so long." and, "I'm so sorry for...for everything. Let me help you now."