A Fox That Tricks The Wolf

THIRTEEN

!!TW!! mentions of child abuse, mentions of child neglect, mentions of addiction, gang attack, fainting!!

it'd been a week or two of the boys remaining silent and staying laying low. zeyu had been healing well and could get around considerably well, only needing a cane to help himself get around at times. it hadn't been too bad, a lot of staying in the base and keeping themselves busy, mingrui messing around in his workshop often. xinlong had taken a lot of the time to spend with zeyu, sitting by the boy and ready to jump up for him whenever.

it was a around the afternoon, xinlong sat quietly outside the back door, hands fidgeting in the grass as he took in a breath. it had been nice not to worry about missions and their safety for a while, instead just relaxing like a group of friends instead of a teenage gang. xinlong let the sun cover his face like a gentle touch before hearing a voice from behind him.

"whatcha doing out here?" zeyu asked, sending xinlong a sweet smile, holding himself up against the black cane next to him. xinlong sent the expressino back as zeyu moved closer, slowly settling himself onto the grass beside the elder. xinlong shook out his slowly growing hair, before shutting his eyes once more as he faced the sun.

"thinking, i guess." the elder shrugged, earning a curious look from zeyu as his hand idly traced the wood graining on his face, moving just a little closer to xinlong.

"thinking about what?" zeyu pried, xinlong feeling his lips curl into a grin at the boys question, zeyu never being one to fear wiggling his way into someones thoughts. he finally opened his eyes, finding zeyu with his chin rested in his hand, staring at xinlong expectantly.

"mm.. everything." he paused to let out a small sigh. "its just.. lifes changed so much in such a short time. it used to just be me, shuyang, and school. and now.. well, you know." xinlong hummed, a similar sound coming from zeyu as he younger nodded understandingly, the boy very aqquanited with his life being flipped around.

"you know, you got to hear everyones stories, but i never heard yours or shuyangs." zeyu mumbled, giving xinlong a questioning look. xinlong chuckled, knowing exactly what that statement entailed. he picked at the grass next to him, taking a deep breath before relaxing on his hands propped behind him comfortably.

"it's just not really that interesting, to be honest." he shrugged, zeyu still listening intently. "we've been friends for.. god, who knows how long. we went to the same school, he lived with me.. thats about it, really." xinlong finished, though zeyus head cocked with curiosity.

"you lived together? are you related?" zeyu questioned.

xinlong felt his back stiffen a bit, not expecting such a question from zeyu. he thought for a second, wondering what the best way to go about this topic would be, if he should even tap into that bit of information that really, was only shared between him and shuyang. though it wasnt as if shuyang was secretive about it, just not something he brought up if it wasnt asked.

the elder sucked in a breath, before shaking his head, "no, we're not. he just stayed with me." he started, watching zeyu lean in from the corner of his eye, pushing him to continue. "shuyang.. had a bad home life. his parents were.. neglectful." he tried to pick out the right words. "they were addicts. they didnt really pay attention to him a lot, they'd leave for long amounts of time, they wouldn't even check in on him." xinlongs heart clenched as he thought back to when they were younger, shuyang going to school without eating that morning or even the night before, the guilty look on the young boys face as xinlong almost dragged him back to his place so he'd at least feel safe.

"our yangyang..." zeyu whispered, eyes soft and hurt at the idea of shuyang being so utterly.. alone.

"people would go to his house because his parents owed them money or something similar, he'd have to sit there and watch these strange people just.. go into his house and start demanding shit. sometimes his parents would run before they'd get there, shuyang would have to just- wait until they gave up." xinlong let out a shaking sigh, squeezing his eyes shut as he pulled himself together. "eventually i just told him to come live with me, if the police ever got involved i'd defend him. and that was that, he'd lived with me since then. things got better but.. i think it still gets to him sometimes." xinlong paused, before looking at zeyu, who's eyes had turned slightly glassy. "i never told him but.. they never looked for him." he confessed, his heart breaking as he did. "they didnt call the police, they didnt ask around. they just.. let him disappear." zeyu sniffled, and xinlong bit his lip. "i think he knows, but i just cant say it myself. it hurts."

zeyu leaned into xinlongs shoulder, comfortingly nuzzling his cheek against the boys arm as xinlong accepted the touch, the boys sat in silence together. it hurt to admit what happened to shuyang, and the result was xinlongs slight over-protection of the younger. shuyang never admited it, but xinlong knew how it effected him. he knew of shuyangs fear of the abandonment, the fear of being alone again. he swored he'd never let it happen again. shuyang couldn't go through that hurt again.

there were a few good minutes of silence, before zeyu spoke. "my aunt was kind of like that." he started, xinlong rubbing his shoulder as he waited for zeyu to continue. "she was an alchoholic, but just kind of a bitch overall." zeyu shrugged, taking in a breath before continuing. "i was the product of teenage pregnancy, unfortunately. so my parents couldn't take care of me, and my grandparents despised me for 'ruining my moms life'." zeyu put up faux quotations with his fingers, rolling his eyes a bit. "so i got shoved with my aunt, and god she hated me."

zeyu paused for a while, giving xinlong an uncertain look. the elder hummed, lips close to zeyus ear as he nodded, squeezing zeyus arm gently. "go on, im listening." xinlong mumbled, zeyu giving him a small smile as he continued.

"most of it was verbal, just yelling at me and calling me names. she used to tell me i was responsible for everything bad that happened to her, that i was lucky she didnt throw me out." zeyu traced the dirt beneath him, not meeting xinlongs eyes that were plastered to him. "she'd hit me sometimes, but it wasnt really that much." he looked over at xinlong, whos eyes were wide in disbelief. "still wrong! i know it was wrong." zeyu clarified, though it didnt stop the sorry look xinlong gave him. "but i uh.. ran away after a few years. i couldnt take it anymore. i ran away and.. somehow found hanyu, mingrui, and zihao. and ... here i am." zeyu let out a sigh, finishing off his story with a little clap.

xinlong learned his cheek to zeyus head, wrapping his arms around the boys figure, "im sorry that happened to you, im glad your here, xiaoyu." xinlong smiled at the boy, earning the same as both boys felt a weight come off their shoulders.

there was a good minute of silence, and xinlong once again found himself staring at zeyu. the sunlight hit zeyus features in an indescribable way. xinlong felt his heart slam against his ribcage as the shades of yellow, orange and red coated the world around them, as well as zeyu himself. zeyu stared right back, eyes darting over xinlongs face. the elder moved closer, holding zeyus hand gently as he felt the atmosphere change in a way he hadn't felt before. zeyus fingers intertwined with his, pulling the boy just a bit closer as xinlong felt his heart stop. not at the closeness, but at the sound that was heard shortly after.

a thud, then four loud bangs from inside their base.

there was a plethora of muffled voices, shouted words xinlong couldnt recognize.

xinlong shot up faster than he knew he could, zeyu quick to grab the wooden cane next to him, beginning to push himself up. xinlong ran into the base, entering the main room as he was met with what felt like a wall of smoke. the room was filled with the gray clouds that made his eyes water and his chest feel tight, as well as shouting and coughing, strained voices, along with those muffled by protective masks. before he could get far, something was brought down against the back of his head, sending him right to the floor.

his ears were ringing as his hands came to clasp over the throbbing pain. he couldnt see anything past the smoke, as a foot to his back pushed him down to the ground. his head became light, as his body fell limply to the cold ground. his eyes stung, throat dry as he coughed weakly, his eyes slowly closing as he watched zeyus cane fall to the ground, just in the corner of his eyes. every sound soon drowned out, as his vision turned blurry, then black.

his mind finally stopped racing as he allowed unconsiousness to whisk him away.

// i finally update 😱😱😱😱 i have more time to write so hopefully ill update more haha i hope you liked this update ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️