Just Us [✅] (YiZhan)

~5~

I ignore all consequences just for you,

I don't even care if it's forbidden,

I so want my heart to tell the truth,

But I'm unsure of what to become then.

<<<<<<<~*~*~*~*>>>>>>>

Three months passed by in the blink of an eye, and Xian found himself very happy during these short periods, even more than his past fifteen years. With Bo-di coming to meet him almost every day to talk and eat with him, he never wanted anything else in the world. Bo-di had found a big sunken ship as a place for Xian to reside. 

Three times a day, he would personally bring food for his friend to eat. And once a day, Xian had to eat that foreign thing to keep his merman form. Strangely, Bo-di always told him to close his eyes when he fed him that. 

He once asked for the name of the thing and its origin, but Bo-di just smiled and said, "You don't have to know. It's the secret of our kind."

Hearing this seemed to make Xian disappointed a little. He had thought Bo-di was his best friend and would always share everything with him. Just like he was with him. But the disappointment vanished as soon as Bo-di, and he went out to swim freely with other sea creatures. The calmness and the lovely sight of the ocean life really could take one's worry away. 

One day...

"Bo-di, are you alright?" Xian asked worriedly when he saw Bo-di stopped short while swimming. 

With labored breath, Bo-di replied, "I-I'm f-fine."

But Xian wasn't convinced. He also noticed that during each visit, Bo-di seemed to become thinner and paler than before. He tried asking several times for the reasons, but Bo-di just brushed it off. However, this time, he determined to get the answer. 

"Hey Bo-di, what do you regard me as?" With his arms folded across his chest, Xian stared at his friend.

"Xian, what do you mean?" Bo-di looked at him in a mixture of confusion and nervous countenance.

"I mean just that. What do you regard me as?"

"I regard you as my..." Bo-di hesitated a little before continued, "best friend, of course. What else?" 

Though these were Bo-di's words, his heart knew this wasn't the genuine answer.

"If you really think of me as your best friend, you shouldn't have hidden things from me. There are many things that I've asked you, and you just refused to answer me. Is this what best friends do? Back then, I told you everything about my problems. But you never tell me a single thing. Not then, and not now."

"Xian, I've told you it's because一"

"Because it's a secret of your kind, right?" Xian cut him off angrily. "I don't understand. If it's that secretive, then why brings me to your world at all? Living in a who-know-when abandoned ship ALONE while you enjoy your life in the castle. How is this life different from my old one?" He paused to scoff at himself. "Looks like I was born to be neglected after all. No matter where I go."

"Xian, it's not like that. I promise I'll tell you everything when the time is right." Bo-di took Xian's hands in his and tried to reason with his friend.

"And when is that?"

"I- I don't know yet, but I一"

Shaking his hands away from Bo-di's grasp, Xian shouted, "One year? Ten years? Or wait till I die and rot alone in that ship? Bo-di, I'm starting to have a second thought of my choice in coming with you now." Xian swam towards the ship and shut the door, preventing Bo-di from entering. 

Knocking and calling from the outside, Bo-di tried to make Xian come out to talk. "Xian, please. Open the door. I can explain it."

"I don't want to hear a word from you anymore, Prince Bo-di. Now leave me alone."

No matter how hard Bo-di was pleading, Xian didn't even utter a single word of response. Despite being ignored, Bo-di was still persistent in getting Xian to answer the door. However, after half an hour, he suddenly felt lightheaded and lost all his body strength. He didn't even know he fell into unconsciousness until darkness consumed his vision, and his body got drifted away. Luckily, there was a pair of strong arms waiting to intercept his body from floating afar.

*******

Bo-di opened his eyes and was greeted by the canopies and decorations of his own room. He was quite confused as the last thing he remembered was standing outside of Xian's door. Despite having almost no strength left in his body, he still tried to get up. Yet, it was an unsuccessful attempt as his body fell back down with a thud on the bed. The sound seemed to awake another presence in the room. Rushing towards his prince, he helped him to sit up. 

"You shouldn't try to exert much force, my prince. Your body is frail." 

"Ji Yang," whispered Bo-di. 

"What happened?"

"You collapsed."

"What? Why?"

With a big sigh, Ji Yang replied with a frown. "My prince, you aware of the reasons very well."

Bo-di dropped his gaze, unable to meet his personal bodyguard in the eyes. 

Taking the silence as a yes, Ji Yang started. "Why did you do it, my prince? Why sacrifice this much for a mere human?"

Bo-di resisted answering, making Ji Yang even more enraged. "Is he even worth it? Is he worth shortening your life and pride for?"

"Yes." The answer came as a barely audible whisper. "He's worth sacrificing my life for."

"What?" Ji Yang stared at his prince in disbelief. "My prince, please don't tell me that...you...you..." He trailed off. Not that he couldn't find the right words to finish the sentence. He just found it disgusting to even think about it, never mind saying it out loud.

"Yes, Ji Yang. I love him." Bo-di replied. This time, he looked straight into Ji Yang's eyes with unwavering and absolute determination.