Help! I'm the Plot Device: Just Here to Save the Heroes

Mission Failed: We Fell in Love Instead

Jerry's next words came softer, almost unintentional.

"I'm worried about you."

Yan's posture shifted-just a fraction. Something in his eyes flickered, softening the sharpness, making him look younger, more startled, more exposed than Jerry had ever seen.

Before either of them could take another breath.

Footsteps approached.

Fast.

Jerry moved instantly.

He blew out the candles-one, two, three-plunging the room into a darkness warm and quiet.
He grabbed Yan by the wrist, pulled him down to the floor beside the bed, and covered his mouth before he could speak.

Yan didn't fight.
Didn't breathe loudly.
Didn't even tense.

He simply leaned closer, settling into the shadows with perfect, silent precision-listening.

A knock.

"Wangye?"
Ran Yi's voice.

Jerry pressed a finger lightly against Yan's lips, eyes telling him don't move.

"I'm here," Jerry answered, voice calm.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I'm a little tired. Tell Ge I'll speak to him in the morning."

"Yes. Wangye."

A short silence... then footsteps retreating.

For a moment they remained exactly as they were-sitting on the floor beside the bed, close enough for their knees to touch. The room was dim, filled only with the thin glow of moonlight slipping through the lattice. Shadows drifted across Yan's face, tracing the quiet curve of his cheekbone.

Yan tilted his head slightly, eyes closed as he listened. Moonlight caught in the strands of his hair as it fell over his shoulder. Even like this-fresh from danger, crouched in darkness-he looked calm. Effortlessly composed. Beautiful in a way that made Jerry's heartbeat catch.

Jerry stared without meaning to.

Not at his eyes.

But at his mouth-soft, parted just a little from quiet breathing.
At the line of his neck where the shadows gathered.
At the steady rise and fall of his chest, visible even through the loose folds of his robe.

Something warm twisted low in Jerry's stomach.

When Yan finally opened his eyes, it hit Jerry like a physical thing.

"It's safe now," Yan whispered. "I'll leave."

He began to rise.

And something in Jerry snapped taut.

Admiration. Fear. The sharp pulse of something he didn't want to name yet. The system whispered inside him with urgent, ridiculous seriousness:

Host... it's now or never.

Jerry moved before thought caught up.

His fingers curled around Yan's wrist-
and he pulled.

Yan stumbled forward, one knee hitting the floor, hand bracing against the wooden boards to keep from falling.

Jerry didn't hesitate.

He leaned in and kissed him.

Not a brush.
Not an accident.
A real, deep, desperate kiss.

Yan froze-utterly stunned-as Jerry's lips parted against his lower lip, drawing it into a soft, trembling pull. Yan's breath caught in his throat-sharp, helpless-and Jerry tugged him down until their bodies leaned fully into each other.