The evening sky was beautiful. Xīn stared at Cloud for a moment before withdrawing his eyes from his face towards the evening sun shower sky. It is also known as the fox's wedding day but it's just a legend that people believed and somehow it's similar, when his grandmother told him before she died that he had met Han-Cloud in his childhood for the very first time. On the day, when there was a sun shower without any clouds. But his grandmother was a little happy yet not fully telling about those things as if it was an inauspicious sign.
But, Cloud…
Cloud gaze was still cold, as Xīn spat out, "Cloud,"
Cloud looked towards him with his frozen beauty phoenix eyes as he slowly upwarded his long lashes, he said, "It's nice to meet you again Bēi Xīn."
Xīn blinked for a second, completely taken aback, wait wait wait..what's going on?
Noticing his confusion, Cloud said "You…are not happy to meet me again?" he said coldly, and continued, "Or you were captivated by that little inhumane there? And decided to quit our friendship."
Flustered and baffled, Xīn spoke up, "No you are the one who is…I mean…you–were."
The Cold icy expression on Cloud's face twitch which almost brought a smile but maintained a solid ice composure. The evening sun was almost about to set, Cloud opened his mouth but before the words came out from his mouth, another voice rang in the distance of the mountain top hill that Xīn knew pretty clearly who it was, it was Seo Hma. Who looked like he looked ages to climbing the mountain for how many hours who knows, he was huffing as he shouted in the distance, looking to and fro.
"Bē…..Bēi Xīn.."
Xīn was taken aback by how this person looked now, he was messy and some wild grass leaves over his head and his dress slopping out was not in good condition also. Xīn felt pity and looked at his poor condition. So, when Seo Hma was looking to and fro he waved his hand, catching his attention to look at them.
Xīn felt a little cold, he peaked at the Cloud who had turned into ice again but with an icy colder expression than before.
The powers of Seo Hma left drain can be seen over his face as he searched and when he finally saw Xīn standing next to Cloud he was little at ease that he was almost about to topple down from the top of hill, and thankfully that wasn't high enough.
Seo Hma slowly came down. As soon as he reached he walked straight towards them like a car without a speed breaker, he said, "You okay Xīn?" Seo Hma asked as he huffed for air.
"You should be the one I am asking to right now," Xīn said in concern.
Seo Hma sighed before turning towards the Cloud who had completely turned into an ice cold expression again, "Han Cloud, you said you are busy with Bai Shao today so why did you come here?"
Cloud, who had already turned into a freezing ice expression, lowered his leashes before moving up and into a twisted dark anger expression he said freezingly, "Today is the only day I came here to meet my childhood best friend Bēi Xīn. What nonsense are you spitting around?"
Both of them are dumb struck. Today what? So who was that Cloud he had met a few days ago? Was that some kind of trick played by Bai Shao?
Before Xīn can think and Seo Hma can talk clearly the scenario before him changed as the wind lifted the leaves and drew upwards and snap, he was in his messy room again. Behind him he can still feel some kind of warmth, on the side mirror reflection he could see Cloud's icy cold expression.
Cloud came behind Xīn, and then plopped.
Cloud pinned Xīn down on the bed, capturing his hands on top and pressed down his one hand on upright as he leaned slowly on Xīn. The dusk slowly went, it was night time Xīn's room window was opened and the moon wasn't at its peak to come into his dark room, he can hardly see Cloud, when he heard his voice gentle and hoarse from corner of his ear "Its been years my Bēi," he continued "But why you let that inhumane creature to sleep in here with you?"
"...." Xīn said nothing, a little shocked by this sudden grasp.
The Cloud voice was warm on Xīn's neck when he spoke, and somewhat his nature from cold and icy phoenix has changed into warm and hot phoenix. As Xīn kept his silence, Cloud seized him harder on his hands, when finally Xīn couldn't maintain his silence longer, he stammered, "It's …not..I–There..Is there problem letting that little creature sleep on my bed?"
"Yes." Cloud replied.
As the words left out from Cloud's mouth he flipped the Xīn making him see face to face. Xīn can feel his warm breathing on him and his frozen beauty phoenix eyes melted away and was brimming with fire beauty phoenix. Xīn was taken aback, thinking what the fuck is happening right now?
Before Xīn could think anything Cloud leaned closer to him as their soft lips were about to touch, Xīn used most of his energy to gather in his arm to break free from Cloud's grasp and then push him back before their lips could touch. There was silence in the room. As Xīn thought he couldn't Cloud, he must be someone.
As Cloud furrowed, Xīn gathered his voice before bursting in to anger, and asking "Who the fuck are you? You can't be Cloud one I know. Because Han-Cloud, that I know, won't ever do this to his best friend."
There was even more silence in the room before. Cloud brows twitched in a somewhat irritated way, retreating back to give Xīn space to get up himself from bed to sit on it and listen to what that fake Cloud says.
"Did you meet my counterpart?" Cloud asked.
Xīn's heart stopped for a moment before asking "What do you mean?"
The look on Cloud's face standing in front of Xīn was serious. Cloud seated bear Xīn on bed and looked at him before explaining again that, in ancient times when people had to, two important work they divided their souls in to two, the original soul of the body will called 'owner' and thus half part of that soul, that carries half amount of your strength is called 'half counter part'.
Xīn's heart was tensed up a little, thinking that the Cloud he had met wasn't real at all but half of his soul.
Cloud looked at him, and before glancing towards the window he said, "I haven't retrieved that soul yet, did that soul do something to you that makes you uncomfortable?"
"No" Xīn said, ofcoursely Xīn was fucked up by the process of dividing soul and Clouds changing from Cold to warm. Whole thing was mess like what the fuck.
Xīn couldn't help but ask, "Earlier why were your expressions cold?"
Cloud watched him carefully. Xīn seriously wanted to kill himself. Why had he asked some weird question instead of the one he was planning for.
"Because the matters were a bit fierce in battle and I wasn't able to help there. And….." Could was about to finish his word but he stopped.
Xīn's heart beat slowly before asking another question, "Do you know Bai Shao?"
Cloud didn't think and replied quickly, "No"
As Cloud said this, somehow Xīn felt relieved a little, probably because his friend isn't dating a guy anymore. And that the fake all those rumors turned out to be false was also the one. But there was also one thing why Cloud leaned on him and tried to….no no probably my imagination. Xīn didn't think much about it for now. Xīn looked towards the Cloud, who still has warm phoenix beauty eyes looking towards him. And this time Could asked him, "Who was that guy earlier in Shao mountain?"
Xīn reluctantly replied, "He was just a classmate," as he continued "Umm..you won't mind if you sleep in here today with me right? Because it's getting late."
The first reply that Xīn to Cloud somehow was okay but, when he continued the second Cloud was somewhat surprised. As he said, "I can just go back home by using my powers. But since you asked personally. I won't mind and would like to stay."
Xīn moved and turned on his room light before starting cleaning his messy place where Cloud waited for him. Due to today's experience inside Shao mountain, Xīn somehow forgot that when he came out of Shao mountain it was already evening, not only evening but an actual evening sun shower. And because of those fast time differences inside Shao mountain he had forgotten that it was already night and his aunt and uncle weren't home at all and he was stepping into the kitchen slowly like a sneaky cat before realising soon. He grabbed some instant noodles, filled them with hot water to bring one for Could and him along with some sodas in his hands.
Since Xīn's uncle's bad aunt doesn't have their own children they treated Xīn like their own children giving him the necessary requirements for him in studies and thus he got to study here living in his uncle and aunt's house.
Xīn walked into the room where the window is closed now, and Cloud was sitting on the floor near the round table that Xīn had put in the corner and never used.
Clack
"Here"
Cloud smiled, "Thanks"
"Is something wrong?" Xīn noticed Cloud smiled and asked.
"No" Cloud said, but actually the noodles that Xīn brought were always the same he used to eat since childhood, when parents went for work and Cloud also knows that clearly too. And even now it feels like they were back in those times when Xīn excitedly invited Cloud to his house when both of their parents were busy with their work. They used to eat together and sleep together too.
"So where have you been all this time?"
"I was busy doing my work."
"What kind of?"
It was like Cloud had completely ignored his question and said, "Lets start eating then,"
Xīn didn't intend to ask any further, he quietly picked up his fork and started eating his noodles. As his gaze slowly fell on Cloud's eating style he slurped noodles hard and started coughing, when a hand gave him a glass of water.
As his cough slowed down, he calmed down a little bit but what he saw ... .that cloud was using a fork with left hand? Xīn couldn't help but ask "Why are you using your left hand?"
Cloud had stopped eating by the time when Xīn started coughing. He stared at him quietly, "It's just my new habit of eating" He said.
It was also something new for Xīn to watch Cloud eating with his left hand. After finishing their noodles and soda they didn't really speak much and just went ahead to sleep in the silent night like that night when he brought the little creature into his room. Somewhat similar.