Chapter Text
Xiaoge is a liar.
He said that he won't do it again, and here he is, disappearing again. Leaving Wu Xie behind as if he never mattered to Xiaoge. As if Xiaoge's disappearance won't leave any lasting effects on Wu Xie. As if the relationship they had built meant nothing to him.
Wu Xie wants to pull him by his ear and scream at the top of his lungs there. He wants to get a hold of Xiaoge and beat some senses into him. Wu Xie should teach him a lesson about disappearing without saying anything. He screams to the open sea, demanding this troublemaker to come out and face him. He vents his disappointment and grievance until Pangzi calms him down enough for him to stop flailing his arms around.
At least Pangzi is there to appease him and gives him something else to think about. They work together on the empty ship. They laugh and joke with each other. Pangzi is the perfect person for lifting his mood. The heaviness in his heart has lightened by the time they reach the inn to get some rest.
He bathes himself thoroughly, scrubbing all the filth and grime, and stands underneath the showerhead until his skin is tinged red. Being fully clean and smelling like the general shower gel gives him a sense of clarity. And also reminds him of the exhaustion he had completely forgotten thanks to the adrenaline. He wrestles Pangzi to the shower and throws his towel to Pangzi's face.
“You’re not allowed to peek while I take my shower.” Pangzi grunts sleepily, and Wu Xie laughs at that, shaking his head in disbelief.
As if Wu Xie would peek at him. If any, the only person Wu Xie wanted to see while bathing is Xiao—no. Don’t think about him anymore, Wu Xie. Didn’t he say he’s going to get as upset as possible with Xiaoge? Then he shouldn’t think about Xiaoge anymore if he wanted to stay enraged at Xiaoge. The next time they meet, Wu Xie won’t be so kind.
Alas, everything is easier said than done.
Wu Xie catches a fever not long after that. Understandable, after getting drenched several times and not drying himself properly. As the night grows colder, Wu Xie’s fever is getting worse. Not alarming enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, but it keeps Wu Xie confined to the sofa bed.
“Little comrade, your body is too weak.” Pangzi drapes a thick blanket over Wu Xie’s shivering form. “You should exercise more to build up stamina and immunity. Take a look at this Pang Ye for example. I might be fat but I’m strong and healthy.”
He feels too awful to do anything else and can only shoot a weak glare at Pangzi, huddling into a small ball. Still, he manages to mutter out a soft rebuke.
“At least I’m not the one who got mold growing on his back.”
Pangzi mocks him again, and they fall into a comfortable banter until Wu Xie is too tired to argue with him anymore. Despite the teasing and mocking, Pangzi’s hands are gentle and careful as he places a cold towel on Wu Xie’s forehead. He also manages to coax Wu Xie into eating some food before taking a dose of fever medication. Wu Xie is slowly lulled into a restless, feverish sleep from Pangzi rubbing his back.
While he manages to repress the thoughts of Xiaoge during his awake time, once he's asleep those thoughts are running amok in his mind. Wu Xie might say he was furious at Xiaoge, but he can't deny the concern that had begun to eat him from inside out. He knows Xiaoge is skilled, Xiaoge is extremely capable. That doesn't mean he's an immortal who is immune to death. At some point, there must be one time where he can't escape from the danger he encounters.
In his sleep, he dreams about Xiaoge drowning after killing the Forbidden Maiden, and he can do nothing to help except to drag Xiaoge’s lifeless body out to the sand. He’s woken up by Pangzi shaking his shoulder gently, all sweating and shaking but not from the fever.
“Did you have a nightmare, little comrade? You were hysterical. Here, drink first.” Pangzi dabs away the sweat from his forehead and neck, then puts another cold towel on Wu Xie’s forehead. Then he helps Wu Xie sips on a glass of water as he re-wraps Wu Xie in the blanket.
Wu Xie nods, not trusting himself with words.
“It was about Xiaoge, wasn’t it?”
Bullseye. Pangzi sighs and rolls his eyes, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees so he can look straight at Wu Xie’s flushed face.
"What did I say before, hm? He is more capable and has more experience than you. He can kill any monsters he meets and he won't die so easily. There's no need for you to excessively worry for his safety. It's impossible for him to die in a mere tomb." He's less harsh at Wu Xie than before, squeezing Wu Xie's shoulder in reassurance.
Wu Xie doesn’t say anything, only curling into a smaller, tighter ball. He knows it. He knows how strong and invincible Xiaoge is. He doesn’t need anyone to remind him about Xiaoge’s abilities. Nevertheless, his head and heart don’t agree with each other. His head keeps stating the facts, and his heart keeps denying said facts.
“Alright, forget it.” Pangzi stands to ease Wu Xie into a lying position. “You’re still feverish, and it’s getting into you. Sleep now. Don’t worry too much about Xiaoge. If you had another nightmare, I’ll wake you up, okay?”
At times like this, Wu Xie is grateful for Pangzi’s presence. Pangzi can keep a steady head to ground a restless Wu Xie.
“Thank you, Pangzi.” Wu Xie smiles at him, eyelids already fluttering close.
"Eh, don't mention it." Pangzi rubs his arm. "Sleep."
Maybe it is the exhaustion or the effects of the medicine, Wu Xie falls asleep again instantly.
As expected, he has two more nightmares before he finally succumbs to a dreamless, fatigue-induced sleep. One is about Xiaoge dying from the explosion, and the other is about Xiaoge being snatched away by the Forbidden Maiden. In both dreams, Xiaoge always ends up dead and Wu Xie is left alone to take care of his remains. Pangzi, as promised, wakes Wu Xie up after each of his hysteric sleep. He wipes the sweat from Wu Xie’s body, changes the cold towel on his forehead, urges Wu Xie to sip on water, and coaxes Wu Xie back to sleep again.
His fever gets slightly better in the morning, and Pangzi wakes him up so he can eat some breakfast and take another dose of fever medicine. He no longer shivering after that and falls into another sleep. Pangzi's ridiculous play is what wakes him up in the afternoon, and by that time he already feels a lot better. Pangzi sits by his side, and Wu Xie pats his shoulder.
“Thank you, Pangzi.”
“Stop saying it.”
Pangzi was the one who took care of him all night, perhaps he didn’t even get a peaceful rest with Wu Xie getting hysterics over his nightmares. He’s probably was as exhausted as Wu Xie, but he still cared for Wu Xie and kept watch on him all night. He has such a wonderful friend, and Wu Xie swears in his heart that he’s going to cherish this bond between him and Pangzi.
Pangzi and Xiaoge. Both of them saved his life and took care of him. With them around, Wu Xie feels he can do everything and anything he wants. They'll support him and back him up. Wu Xie's affection for them might be different. Even so, they are first and foremost his precious, beloved friends.
Staring into the expanse of the sea, Wu Xie lets out a long exhale.
‘Poker Face, how are you right now? Where are you? Is there really no more next time?’
.
.
.
“I swear by my name, there’s nothing between me and A-Ning!”
“Eh, why are you getting all worked up? Feeling guilty?” Pangzi inches closer to him with a teasing grin.
Wu Xie smiles at him and shoves his food to Pangzi's mouth, which the latter dodges rather deftly. They both laugh at their friendly banter, then continue to dig into their hotpots. Right now Wu Xie is already recovered enough to look cheerful, betraying his agitated state last night. Regardless of his buoyant and playful demeanor, Wu Xie hides how the thoughts of Xiaoge weighing his mind.
Pangzi catches this somberness and pats Wu Xie's forearm.
“I was just teasing you. I know the only person you fancy is Xiaoge.”
Wu Xie chokes on his food.
“Worry not, I won’t tell anyone. Although with how obvious you are, I’m sure everyone can see the passionate glance you always give to Xiaoge. As if you wanted to strip and eat him on the spot.”
“You!”
Pangzi's grin widens, and in a split second, he dashes from his seat, Wu Xie charging after him with the focus of a bull. Wu Xie chases over Pangzi around the guesthouse and tackles him, two grown men tumbling on the floor. They roll around like wrestling children until they're both breathless, lying side by side and laughing freely.
“Tianzhen,” Pangzi wheezes, trying to catch his breath back. “You really like Xiaoge, don’t you?”
“I think so.” Wu Xie adds, rolling to his side and props his head on one arm. “Wait, I thought you already know? Didn’t you keep said before I looked like a girl who got rejected by her first love?”
“That was just a wild guess.” Pangzi mirrors his position. “I didn’t think you actually like Xiaoge until recently, though. No wonder you were so pissed at Xiaoge being MIA. That ought to hurt a lot.”
Wu Xie’s lips pursed. “You understand how I feel. He saved me, made me feel all weird, and out of a sudden, he just disappeared into thin air! Then he appeared again, saved me again, made me feel all weird again, and disappeared again! Didn’t he at least, had a grasp on how that’d hurt me? This behavior of his gave off an impression that he didn’t care about me or considered our relationship as something important!” He vents out his grievance over Xiaoge at Pangzi, who nods in sympathy.
After Wu Xie finishes his rant with a short, angry puff, Pangzi squeezes his shoulder.
“Tianzhen, we both know Xiaoge’s abilities and skills. However, I think you’re putting too much credit and overestimating him here. Xiaoge might be invincible enough to pummel anything standing in his way, but I bet he has zero experience in a relationship. Not only that, he might not even be fully capable of apprehending others’ feelings. Especially yours.”
The pure, innocent look on Wu Xie’s face is enough to put rabbits to shame. He blinks his big, naïve eyes at Pangzi, and it takes a lot from Pangzi’s side not to just wrap him into a small bundle and protect him from the world.
“Do you think so?" He inquires, helpless and vulnerable.
“Yep. So the next time you two meet again, you should make sure he clearly understands your grievances. Make sure to knock them into his pretty head, you understand me, Tianzhen?” As an afterthought, he adds. “Besides, there’s no way Xiaoge didn’t care about you. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t go to such lengths to keep you safe, did he? The fact that he always tries to save you is enough to prove how much he considers you as important.”
“Next time, huh.” Wu Xie ponders over it for a while, and he beams pleasantly, almost blinding Pangzi’s eyes. “I understand! Thanks, Pangzi. I know I can count on you.”
He’s so easy to please and Pangzi doesn’t know why it makes him slightly guilty. For now, Pangzi can only pray for Xiaoge’s sake.
‘Good luck to you, Xiaoge. Pang Ye sincerely hopes you will be safe from Tianzhen’s incorrigible innocence.’