Chapter Text
The wind blew gently, the trees hummed their usual tune as they swayed along. Green fluttered through the window as Cheongmyeong adjusted the adorned string fastening his curls. His eyes gazed on a songbird chirping alone, the way it shook from the cold yet played its sweet melody. The sight tugged at his chest, or was it always aching from the start?
‘Cheongmyeong, you okay?’ Yun Jong voiced, placing a hand on Cheongmyeong's shoulder. ‘You’ve kinda been out of it all day, even Tang Gunak noticed a shift in your tone’. Everyday at the Tang estate, the group of them had decided to debrief their days, running the errands they’d been given, and overall discussing things to tell the sect leader when they would eventually depart for Mt Hua.
‘Eh? What tone? I’m always like this’ Cheongmyeong grits through his teeth. He turns his face towards the other chicks, feeling the way they dug holes through him as their gazes intensified.
‘Do you feel sick? Feverish? Maybe tired?’ Baek Cheon suggested, making his way towards the other.
‘Dongryong I'm just a little exhausted, actually, I think I’ll head to bed now’. Cheongmyeong muttered, leaving the room with the usual slam against the doorframe. The chicks share uncomfortable glances, none wishing to address the obviously suffocating feeling that filled the room with their sajae.
‘Theres something wrong’ Iseol murmured, watching as the others affirmed her concerns with slow nods.
‘Maybe it's just one of those days?’ Jo gul suggested.
‘Maybe.. but we never end up learning the cause of those moods he gets into..’ Yun Jong replied. Cheongmyeong's mood swings were truly mysterious. Sometimes he acts his age - a sneaky brat with an inflated ego. Other times he spouts wisdom wiser than the elders. Then there are ‘those’ days, the days he's mysteriously silent, the days he looks at the sky with that melancholic expression. Those days where he sighs and quietly follows behind.
Those days.
And today was one of those days.
★
Cheongmyeong huddled on the roof of the building, the one in direct view of the chicks’ room he’d been in earlier. Perched like a hawk as he waited for the lights in the room to dim out, ensuring all of them went to bed. His eyes twitched, as he pinched the long end of his hair tie, rubbing it between his fingers.
It took no more than 10 minutes before the building had gone completely dark. Only the crickets and the rustling of small critters could be heard in the Tang estate. These nights, these quiet nights reminded him of those nostalgic times. The times he’d giggle with that crazy Tang guy, drinking alcohol without a care in the world. The way they'd lean on each other, relishing the warmth their bodies shared during cold nights. The way those prestigious robes would get muddled up with how much they'd unconsciously nuzzle into each other. Soft spoken nights where they had no more strength to fight, only exchanging sweet glances. Green meeting pink.
Cheongmyeong swore he didn't miss it, he swore he wouldn't keep thinking about the past with the new Mt Hua at present.
But how could he not? How could he not think about those carefree times, especially those times with him.
TangBo.
That sneaky leech just had to wriggle into his life, no matter how much he shoved and beat him back. Now he sat there thinking about that bastard leech with his sly grin, those prominent dimples, the grey hairs that complimented his brown locks. He really should have tried harder, trusted him sooner, just- anything to rekindle the time wasted running in circles than spending their time as something more than friends.
‘Ugh I need a drink…’ Cheongmyeong mumbled as he stumbled off the roof, making his way slowly to a certain spot. Deep within the forest bloomed a plum blossom tree, despite being so uniquely pink among the crowd of green, no one knew of its existence. It dwelled peacefully, growing since the twin saints had planted it all those years ago. The swordsman walked till he could track down that very tree, planting himself right at the thick roots as the flowers bloomed enchantingly. He could still feel the carvings him and Tangbo left all those years ago. Corny little drawings of them, wonky writing of stupid phrases, tallies of spars (obviously Cheongmyeong had the most).
Cheongmyeong never dwelled in the past for too long, but there was always something about staying at the Tang Estate that made his gut churn. Perhaps the memories associated with the place. A hundred years and it still felt the same, yet the air was so different. So much familiar land, yet a lack of faces he knew. The swordsman pulled out a bottle of high-grade poisoned Sichuan wine. He popped the lid off, chucking the cork into a nearby bush before chugging the entire bottle raw. The strong liquid scraped against his throat, yet he didn’t flinch, after all, Tangbo’s poisonous alcohol was much stronger than this. However it still left him a bit delirious, purposefully allowing the poison to enter his system rather than filtering it. Just enough to make him feel numb, but not enough to knock him unconscious. Just enough to feel sentient. Alive. In control.
Throughout the night his breathing laboured. The poison still hadn’t reached his core, more so slowly being filtered and turned into purer Qi. Time’s frozen fingers caressed his body. Slow, deliberate, sharp. Her fingers were akin to venomous knives, which impaled his very core. Cheongmyeong’s thoughts felt sporadic, uncontrollable - as his consciousness flashed in and out. He never realised how much had truly happened during the war, he never had time to sit, to lie down and think. Just think. No time to truly pity the pathetic situation he had been thrown in. To act as a God, the sole savior, rescuing, killing, tearing his way through demons like a prisoner of war. Yet only three people ever cared for his wellbeing. Sahyung, Jin-ya, Bo-ya. Just why did he have to reincarnate? Why him? Why not one of them? Sahyung was more responsible than him, Cheongjin was far more organised, and Tangbo had a knack for dealing with people. So why Cheongmyeong? Why? Why-
‘Excuse me? This is my spot!’ An irritated voice came from beyond. What the hell? Were the trees talking to him?
‘It’s ok I prefer eating meat over plants..’ Cheongmyeong slurs, giggling to himself.
‘What the hell are you on about? I don’t care about your meal preference. You’re in my drinking spot!’. The voice was now full of irritation and malice.
‘Eh? Are you threatening me? Meeeeeeeee? Are you looking for a fight you damn bastard?’ Cheongmyeong grunted, sluggishly pulling himself together as he turned to face the voice hidden in the bushes. Suddenly, a cold wind burst towards him, causing the swordsman to roll to his left. There, carved into the very tree he was hallucinating on, was a perfectly carved dagger, engraved with the signature Tang indents and an incredibly strong, thick, green handle. The hole in the tree began to slowly degrade as the poison crumbled the layers of bark down to a black powder.
Fuck this shit is strong.
Cheongmyeong finally tugged his sword out his hilt, dragging out the metallic sword from its sheath and asserting his usual position. Feet digging into the dirt, as his eyes scanned for the crazy lunatic who’d dare to threaten the divine dragon. Another dagger swung towards him, somehow closer than the first one with deadly accuracy. Even with the near miss, the surface of Cheongmyeong’s cheek slit slightly, as if it were a paper cut. Were there more traitors in the Tang estate? He was sure that executing that crazed elder a while ago outed all the traitors within the estate. So who the hell was this guy? An assassin? No, why would an assassin talk to its victim? That’s clearly not professional, Cheongmyeong would know.
A third dagger flew.
Cheongmyeong had enough.
He swiftly picked up the pace, pointing his sword towards the source, executing a swift sword move, ensuring it would not attack anything else but the target. He’d save the deadlier moves for later. After all… he didn’t know if the person was truly a threat. If need be, he would execute his fluttering shadow petals, but not enough to cause too much commotion.
The swings went back and forth, the dagger exchanged a harsher blow every round, however the technique was.. vaguely familiar. Cheongmyeong had seen this technique before, but where? Was it when he fought Tang Gunak? No it can’t be, the way he threw his daggers wasn't this unpredictable. Tang Pae? No.. Tang Zhan? No... Was there someone else he pissed off? Well, he couldn’t remember, so they probably weren’t important…
Probably…
He finally lifted his sword, spreading his Qi imbued within it as he finally detected the faint appearance of a silhouette under the clouded moon. Faint, but good enough. With one quick slash, plum blossoms littered the skies as his sword pierced through the air, hurling their way towards the figure with a loud crash. He waited for the dust to settle, clenching his teeth as he spat a small amount of blood tainting his lips. However, just as he was about to reposition himself, the silhouette launched themself at him.
They both flew back, rolling across the grass as the person on top shoved him down, panting rigorously as he felt them squeeze his shoulder.
‘What the hell are you-!’ Cheongmyeong grunted as his head throbbed. The other didn’t reply, only pushing their weight on the swordsman, who didn’t understand what was happening. Now that he thought about it, he completely brushed over something. This person fought as if he were an equal, not an enemy. Yes, the daggers were imbued with a lot of energy, but it felt more like a spar than a fight. They could also keep up with Cheongmyeong, even his own chicks weren’t that good at keeping up.
The moon suddenly broke free from the clouds, arraying the forest in a glamorous light as Cheongmyeong finally recognised the figure pressing him down. Those green glinting eyes, those long brown locks tied in a bun, the cheeky grin.
‘So we meet again, taoist hyung nim.’ Tangbo panted, feeling the other person freeze underneath him as his pink eyes erratically stared at the other. He leaned in, his hair cascading as a curtain, as if to block the outside, to keep this moment between them, and only them.
‘Bo-ya…?’ Cheongmyeong quietly murmured. His arms, which had unconsciously gripped the tangs robes to push him away, were now pulling him in. Tangbo flinched, expecting a beating, or some sort of berating from the other.
But nothing came. Only the feeling of his shoulder soaking, and calloused hands desperately digging their nails into his back till they bruised. The tang wrapped his hand around the other’s waist, sitting up and readjusting their positions. One hand on Cheongmyeong's head, soothing his aching heart, while the other hand rested around his waist. Black fingers caressed his lover's obsidian locks as he keenly listened to every sob coming from the swordsman. After what felt like hours, Cheongmyeong pulled back, his eyes had become slightly puffy, bottom lashes drooping from the build up of tears.
It was one thing for Cheongmyeong to initiate physical contact, but to willingly shed tears in his arms was another thing. Tangbo never really saw Cheongmyeong cry, not during the war, not during death, never. Yet here he was, willingly holding onto Tangbo like he were to disappear at any given moment. The green figure held the other’s face in his palm, drawing circles across his eyelids, peppering kisses along his face gently, as if he were to break at any given moment. Tangbo didn’t know whether to smile with the cheesiest grin ever, or mourn that his beloved had gone through so much to the point he felt the need to cling so desperately to his robes.
At last, Cheongmyeong gained some consciousness, wiping his eyes.
‘Just-just how long has it been since you reincarnated?’ Cheongmyeong mumbled.
‘Um, maybe like a year or two? I kind of lost track of time..’ Tangbo pondered.
‘Eh? A year or two? How do you not keep count of that stuff?’ Cheongmyeong inquired.
‘Um.. well I spent the first chunk of my reincarnated life shut off in a small room rewriting medicine recipes and testing out poisons… so I never really went outside, let alone bother enough to check the day of the week- or month-.’
Whack! Cheongmyeong's fist slammed on the Tang who winced in pain. Tangbo grasped his head as he whined.
‘Yah, you crazy bastard! Is this how you treat your partner after all these years apart?’ Tangbo groaned. He glared at Cheongmyeong who stared back ominously.
‘Me? Craazzzyyyy? You're a doctor so you should know better!’ Cheongmyeong sniffled, wiping his nose and face with his arm. Despite his voice using the same aggression, his face said the opposite.
‘Mmm...’ Tangbo hummed, squinting slightly, watching as his hyung fought back more tears from erupting. The silence between them stretched on, as if to finally register the other's presence. He could feel Cheongmyeong clumsily place his fingers to feel the pulse in his arm.
Just a silent confirmation, that this was truly happening. Not a delusion, not a dream, but reality.
‘I did so much, thinking I could finally execute your dead will, and you suddenly appear right after I've begun! Were you waiting around a corner or something?’ Cheongmyeong teased, rubbing the blackened finger tips of the other.
‘Hyung, if I had known you were here, I would have come running! How was I meant to know?’ Tangbo responded, giggling softly as he curled his fingers, lacing them between Cheongmyeongs.
‘You definitely would have, idiot! I'm pretty famous, they basically rebranded me from ‘Plum blossom sword saint’ to ‘Divine dragon.’ the swordsman bragged.
‘Ohhh so you're the dragon prodigy guy everyone's been talking about.’ Tangbo’s eyes widening, as if something finally clicked. ‘I was wondering how there could be another lunatic that sounded as crazy as you- Ack! Mercy you malko!’
Another whack to the head, however it was slightly lighter than the first (doesn’t mean it didn't hurt like hell, seriously is this guy's arms made of boulders?).
‘You’re saying we could have met sooner?!’ Cheongmyeong grumbled, crossing his arms.
‘Hyung, I was so weak and fragile, the study helped keep my frail body alive!’ Tangbo whined. ‘Plus, I had a duty to protect my clan after my death. I wanted to make things right, but the elders, damn those elders and their traditional mindsets…’ Tangbo gritted.
‘Fine, fine, but we have a lot to talk about’ Cheongmyeong huffed.
‘Oh, don't worry Hyung! I'll be thorough with my debrief’ Tangbo grinned, pulling a bottle from his sleeve. How it didn't break from the tumbling and sparring was beyond them. The Tang resisted and bursted into laughter as he watched the other’s eyes light up.
‘Good, good, I like it when you’re thorough’ Cheongmyeong sighed, as they drank and gossiped under the bright moonlight, feeling the nostalgia of the past cover them like a soft blanket.
.