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"What happened?" Nightwolf awakens with a start, almost tumbling off the low bed where Fujin had carefully tucked him in the prior night. He scrambles to get his balance, disoriented and exhausted for reasons he can't recall. He's laced with aches and pains as well, as if he'd passed out on the battlefield mid-duel and been trampled afterwards. "I feel like I just fought a-- a--" He searches for the right word, and fails to find it. He feels so helpless. "Something."
"Oh, you're awake, I was concerned. Welcome back, Grey Cloud." Fujin manifests from thin air beside him, shoots him a bashful half-smile, and kneels beside the bed, his white brows furrowed in sudden worry. He hadn't counted on Nightwolf to wake up before he finished making breakfast. "Do you want the full explanation, or one that would make sense?"
Nightwolf groans, and lays back in the bed, relaxing as Fujin presses a cool, soothing hand to his forehead. Any fever he might have had is disappearing fast. "That's so much better. Thank you." He thinks on the decision for just a moment, breathing a soft sigh of relief as the pain fades away. "The full explanation. Try me."
"Liu Kang used the hourglass to put us all back where we're supposed to be." Fujin reaches for Nightwolf's hand, interlacing his rugged fingers with his own slender, godly ones. "We both crashed onto the Sky Temple courtyard."
"The one paved with stones? That would explain it." Nightwolf manages a wry smile, squeezing Fujin's hand. "But why do I look like hell?"
Fujin bites his lip in concern. "No, you don't."
"Yes, I do." Nightwolf points to his clothes neatly folded across the room, clearly heavily washed and sewn up to repair some damage. He's dressed in some spare monk robes at the moment; not unlike a bathrobe, but comfortable. He raises a skeptical eyebrow at Fujin. "Whatever happened to my clothes, must have happened to me, too."
Fujin glances sideways. Liu had warned him that the humans wouldn't remember all the details. "We had to fight Shang Tsung in his time control hat."
Nightwolf bursts out laughing. "His what?" The idea seems nonsensical, but dangerous nonsense has always been a Shang Tsung specialty. He winces, feeling a twinge of pain in his ribs at the movement. "Well, shit."
"Here. Let me help." Fujin gently tugs open the fabric of the robe, placing his other hand on Nightwolf's toned body and sensing the bruises and pain beneath the skin. Tingling, pleasant healing magic flows through his fingertips and infuses into Nightwolf's muscles, and his eyes gently fall shut, soothed and comforted by Fujin's kindness and his mere presence.
The smell of burning toast wafts through the air vents.
"Oh, shit--" Now it's Fujin's turn to swear. He poofs out of view with a pleasantly warm gust of air, and reappears half a minute later with two slices of overly crispy toast, an entire stick of butter, and a spoon. He may not know much about human food, but he wants to do something sweet for Nightwolf. "Is this right?"
Nightwolf eyes him with amusement, but his expression is one of sincere joy. He's feeling better already, and somehow unbothered by his lack of memories about Shang and the time hat. He would take Fujin's word for anything. "It's close enough, Fujin, my-" He falters. "My, uh--" He swallows hard.
Fujin affirms this, reaching for his hand to squeeze it in a long, lingering, meaningful way. Nightwolf feels his heart skip a beat, and a rush of adrenaline, ringing in his ears as Fujin continues speaking in that lovely voice of his. "Do you remember the Void? And the rest of it?"
"The Void, yes. The rest, it's unclear." Nightwolf spreads a bit of butter onto the toast, using the end of the spoon as a makeshift butter knife, and politely ignores the burned parts. He's having a peculiarly difficult time looking directly at Fujin, as if he's grappling with a boyish crush. Most surprising for a man of his age and status. He finishes off the toast and brushes some loose strands of long black silky hair away from his face. "You'll have to tell me all of it sometime..."
Fujin moves a little closer, leaning towards Nightwolf, yearning for him like a magnet drawn to him. "With pleasure."
Finally, Nightwolf works up his nerve and looks Fujin in the eye - those beautiful glowing eyes, soft blue and radiant and godly. "So… you said that the place we're both meant to be, is together?"
Fujin's eyebrows shoot up. "Well-- I-- I thought you'd-- the Sky Temple is--" He swallows his own protests. He knows. He bows his head softly, still kneeling beside Nightwolf's bed. "Yes, love."
"I knew it. Fujin, my dear… the words came so easily to me." Nightwolf is suddenly quietly ecstatic. He wraps his arms around Fujin's strong shoulders, half-dragging him into the bed beside him. "Where is everyone else?"
"I don't know, and I'm having a difficult time trying to care. Not when I have you here right next to me…" Fujin nestles up to Nightwolf, laying face to face with him. "I don't remember all of it, either. Just that I knew I had to try to save you. I don't know if I did."
"Oh, you did." Nightwolf whispers, wrapping his arms around Fujin with ferocious intensity but a gentle loving touch. He could stay here all day, dressed in loose pajamas and wrapped up in sheets with his lover cuddling up right beside him. In fact, maybe he will. "You really, truly did."
