We stayed in that embrace for a long while, panting into each other's shoulders. His hands idly traced along my back, and mine did the sa, lacing through his hair from ti to ti and twirling the silky strands around my fingers. I wished I could wrap myself around him just like that.
"Qing-er," he spoke first when our breaths steadied at length, "if you keep this up every day, you'll drain my life before my ti is due."
I loosened my hold on him just enough for a soft kiss. "You still have hundreds of years ahead," I said. "I'll have to work harder than this to drain all of it."
He laughed. Keeping in his arms, he rolled onto his back carefully and rested my head against his shoulder, gently stroking my cheek. Our bodies were sticky from sweat, but neither of us ntioned a bath or cleansing. It was the taste and sll of our love, and I wasn't ready to let go of it yet.
"Do you rember the last ti you ca to in the dead of the night?" he asked.
Of course I did. It was during my first winter at Mount Hua, on a night with howling snow and lightning that lit up the sky like it was day. I had never seen such weather before in my life, and I thought the world was going to end. The only safe place in my mind was by Bai Ye's side, so I ran through the deafening thunder and the heavy blankets of snow to his door, half-frozen by the ti he carried inside and tucked into his own bed. The soothing scent of cedar slowly lulled to sleep, and he sat watching over all night.
He had been like a father to then. Always protective, always indulging my silly, childish needs.
I ran my fingers casually over his chest. His heartbeat was strong and familiar beneath those scars. "It might be less embarrassing if I don't rember," I said. "For a thirteen-year-old, I was a bit too easily scared."
He brought my hand over to his lips and dropped a light kiss on my knuckles. "You've grown up, Qing-er."
He didn't say the rest of the words, but I heard them: grown up enough that I had found the courage to not only brave a thundersnow, but also face my heart's true desire; grown up enough that when I ca to sleep in this bed once again, I was in his arms.
The thought piqued my curiosity. I had always admired him since the day we t, and those feelings only started to turn romantic as I aged. But as soone who had lived many tis longer than , when did he start to feel the sa for ? When did he start to think of as a woman to love instead of a girl to nurture?
I lifted my head and rested my chin on his chest so that I could see his eyes. "Will you tell sothing?" I ventured. "When did you start to realize I'm no longer a child?"
He arched an eyebrow. "You an when did I start to want you?"
My heart skipped a beat. I didn't want him to think I was insinuating that he had filthy thoughts for when I was a little girl, but his brutal bluntness brought the subject straight to the surface. The Bai Ye in my earlier dream seed to have blended in with his image right in front of .
He chuckled at my nervousness. "I'll admit it with no sha, Qing-er. It was when your farewells changed."
His tone eased —at least he didn't take offense at my question—though the answer was baffling. "Farewells?" I asked.
"Every ti before I left Mount Hua for a trip, you used to keep asking how far I was going and if I could co back sooner. When I returned, you were always so excited that you would drop everything you were doing and run out the door to greet , and you wouldn't leave my side for days."
Ah, those embarrassing mories again. "I wasn't always like that when I was young …" I mumbled sheepishly. "My parents said that I beca easily anxious ever since the deadly fever I caught when I was six. It was almost like I had changed into a different person."
He was quiet for a mont. Then he continued, "As you grew older, you asked less and less about how long my trips would be. Before I left, you would tell instead to take care, and sotis you would pack a helpful potion or two for depending on my destination. When I returned, you stopped showing your excitent outwardly, but I could see the relief in your eyes every ti you saw safe and sound."
I stared at him. Those were such trivial things that I never even noticed myself, yet he had rembered all these details over the years.
He rubbed the pad of his thumb slowly over my cheek. "It's easy for anyone to say they love you, Qing-er, but it's through little things like these that you know they truly care. Rember this."
I nodded. Though after thinking for a mont, I realized his words didn't sound quite right. "Why do I need to rember this?" I asked. "You've already proven to enough that you care. More than enough."
He smiled. "Then rember it so that you won't be fooled by other n and leave ," he coaxed.
I propped myself up to seek his lips. "You underestimate yourself, Bai Ye, and you underestimate . No one and no enchantnt will ever make leave you."
I knew it was the type of promise that everyone would make in their youth, only to be broken when the ti ca. But I ant every word, and when I felt the flutters intensifying inside when our lips touched, I believed every word as well.
"Bai Ye," I whispered as the kiss deepened, "the night is still young."
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