Song: Worth It - Amber Mark
For three long and stormy weeks, Mei Xiu sat on the roof of Liaoyuan's hut.
Everyday Yue Ya would come outside and beg for her to get down, even going as far as trying to pull her down, but that only resulted in her sparing with the dazed immortal.
It was like Mei Xiu was in autopilot as her hands flew effortlessly through the rain to block the snake fairy's hands.
They'd twirl and flip through the air, breathing as the rain made their clothes heavy and stick to their skin.
Yue Ya would give her all each time, accepting every bruise and cut she received with desperation shining in her eyes.
The immortal was burying her feelings and Yue Ya refused to let the flame in her friend die out.
Even if she smothered it until it was coughing out smoke and dying sparks, she'd gladly sacrifice herself to reignite it.
The snake fairy crawled up on the roof weakly, uncaring of her injuries as Liaoyuan looked up at them anxiously.
"Yue. Please come down."
"No!"
"You'll only get hurt."
"I don't care! She's my best friend." Her tears blended in with the raindrops racing down her cheeks as she pulled herself towards the stoic immortal staring off into the distance."
"Yue, please-"
The moment the fairy reached out to touch her friend she was knocked off the roof with one hard blow to the chest.
Liaoyuan stared in horror as the fairy fell, rushing forward to catch her as he leapt through the rainy air.
Warm fingers wrapped around the dazed fairy as she coughed up blood and weakly turned to see if her friend had broken out of her trance.
Mei Xiu was still staring off into the distance.
She didn't even look when the fairy fell from the roof.
She didn't show an ounce of remorse when she hit her- in fact, the hit was so fast that Yue Ya hadn't even registered she was hurt until she went tumbling backwards.
Sure it didn't kill her, but it still hurt.
She even spat up some blood.
Wasn't that a big enough reason to pull her best friend out of her trance?
"Yue. Please." Liaoyuan whispered as he gently cupped her cheek as he tried to shield her face from the rain. "Stop."
"Fox face, it you broke my heart and I dissociated from myself to this extent- I know Mei Xiu would do everything in her power to bring me back."
"..."
"When I was younger... when I was all alone and unwanted and unloved by the immortal world, Mei Xiu found me and gave me the companionship I yearned for."
"..."
"Haven' t you ever sacrificed yourself for someone you love dearly?"
Liaoyuan was silent as the rain poured down on them, slowly moving his gaze up to the immortal sitting on top of his home.
Had ever loved someone enough to die for them?
Yes.
He took a fatal wound to the chest for his best friend, Xu Feng.
God had been merciful to grant him another chance at life, despite him being slightly disfigured, but that didn't lead him to live a life of sincere regret.
If Xu Feng had died before him, he would probably look like the immortal on his roof.
Void of anything but a defensive autopilot.
She was a smoldered flame, drinking in the misery of the never-ending downpour.
"This is Run Yu's fault." Liaoyuan murmured earning a confused look out of the fairy resting in his arms. "If you want this to end, we need to get him."
"T-That's it!" Yue Ya gasped as the fox-masked man put her down on her feet. "You're so smart, Liaoyuan!"
She bounced up on her toes to kiss the mouth of his mask before she pulled herself away from her lover and flew towards the sky as a green orb of light.
"I'll be back Xiu Xiu!" She beamed before zipping away.
Liaoyuan stood in the rain, bewildered and flustered by the woman he loved.
Lightning began to flash as thunder drummed throughout the dark sky.
The immortal's masked eyes moved to the immortal sitting on top of his house with a soft sigh.
Meanwhile, Yue Ya flew as fast as she could to the heavenly realm, becoming irritated that she hadn't thought of doing this sooner.
Surely the heavenly emperor had, had enough time in heaven to do whatever made him push the tiger immortal away.
Three weeks in the mortal realm were the equivalent of a few days in heaven.
Yue Ya rushed past the guards, not bothering to check in as she flew exhaustedly towards the throne room.
Uncaring of the guards rushing after her, she slammed open the doors and flew inside before materializing into her disheveled human-like form.
"RUN YU!"
The Emperor's head snapped up with wide eyes. "Wha-oh- Yue Ya." He exhaled and relaxed before gesturing for his guards to stand down from the glaring fairy. "What brings you to the heavenly realm?" He tilted his head. "If you're looking for Xiu'er, I don't know where she is-"
"OF COURSE YOU DON'T!" Yue Ya clenched her fists. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU TOLD HER OR DID TO HER TO MAKE HER ANGRY OR SAD OR UPSET- BUT YOU NEED TO COME WITH ME RIGHT NOW."
Run Yu's brows were furrowed as he carefully got up. "What's wrong? Did something bad happen to Mei Xiu?"
"YES!"
His eyes widened before he ran towards the fairy. "What's wrong? What happened to her?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the entrance. "Yue-"
Yue Ya was startled by his concern before tears filled her eyes.
She couldn't be angry when he was panicking like this.
He looked like he hadn't slept in days now that she was up close to him.
"Yue Ya, what's wrong?" He frowned as he wiped her tears away with his sleeves. "Please tell me."
"M-Mei Xiu h-has been sitting on Fox face's r-roof for three weeks in the rain." She cried, hiccupping as she spoke to the concerned man softly patting her head. "I've tried t-to get her d-down, but n-nothing is working."
He frowned. "Take me to her, please."
Yue Ya nodded before turning into an orb of light and zipping away.
The emperor followed close behind, worry for his lover quickly clouding his thoughts as they flew through the sky.
The past few days had left him in anxious, sleep deprived, and miserable.
He had worked endlessly to finish the scrolls containing every single one his flaws and mistakes.
The sleeves of his robes were dirty with crimson ink, nicely complimenting his stained fingers from churning ink and accidentally dragging his hand while writing.
He had to rewrite a few scrolls because of that, but he didn't mind.
If he was going to push away Mei Xiu until she knew everything, he had no choice but to work until everything she needed to know was written down.
All his hard work would be in vain if something terrible happened to the black tiger immortal.
If something bad happened, he would shred himself to bits and hunt her down in the next life, if there was one.
Thunder roared across the lightning lit sky as Yue Ya lead him downwards.
After piercing the thick blanket of obsidian cumulonimbus clouds, they were soaked with heavy rain that made it hard to see beyond his outstretched fingers.
The mortal realm was grey as they descended through an invisible barrier that had a slight rainbow sheen as they slipped though.
The rain also poured inside the barrier just as hard, wetting them until they were cold to the bone.
Yue Ya materialized into her fairy form and crumbled onto the ground.
"Yue Ya-" Run Yu panicked as he rushed to help her.
There was blood spilling from her mouth as she shook her head and pointed ahead. "X-Xiu'er." She coughed.
"But-"
"P-Please." She coughed again. "I-I'm fine."
His eyes moved past her finger as he slowly walked past her with squinted eyes.
His regular eyes weren't handling this rain well.
With an irritated sigh he allowed his dragon eyes to replace his regular ones, furrowing his brows as he noticed Liaoyuan staring up at a large hut.
Run Yu looked up as he continued to approach the masked man, his heart nearly stopping as he saw the love of his life sitting on the hut while lightning flew over her head.
Despite being exhausted to the point that his lungs felt heavy, his body was filled new energy as his dragon form took over and raced forward to surround the motionless beauty sitting in the rain.
"XIU'ER."
Her cold eyes moved to meet his, sending shivers up his spine.
The burning fire he had seen in them when they first met was extinguished and lacking sparks.
Her skin was dull, lacking its red undertone in the light of the bolts of electricity racing above them.
If she hadn't blinked, he could have easily thought she was dead with how slow her pulse was.
Even her primordial spirit felt weak in the tight embrace of his serpent-like body coiling around her.
The gigantic water dragon adjusted himself on the roof of the hut groaning under his weight before he picked up the immortal carefully with a clawed hand.
Mei Xiu dangled in his clutches like a doll, but made no effort to free herself.
His glowing blue eyes moved down to the masked immortal looking up at them with Yue Ya in his arms.
"We'll visit in a few days when Yue feels better." Liaoyuan sighed. "You can leave."
Run Yu let out a soft huff before he flew away, using all of his remaining energy to return to the heavenly realm.
They crashed at the entrance as Run Yu's ability to maintain his true form dwindled as his energy rapidly declined.
As his brain began to countdown to the moment he would black out, he carried the now unconscious immortal to his bedroom and stripped both of their bodies before pulling a blanket over their cold and wet bodies.
Shaky milky white fingers with a faint blue hue slowly worked to move long, cold, soaked obsidian twists off of cold brown skin.
With his last drop of energy, the emperor pulled the immortal's back flush to his chest and blacked out.
The duo slept for hours in the warmth of the blankets and restored body heat coming off of each other.
Run Yu's warmth returned first before it was slowly transferred to the tigress sleeping peacefully in his arms.
After yawning, the emperor was the first to wake from his deep slumber.
He felt like he had been pulled apart and pieced back together again, resulting in known and unknown muscles reflecting their irritation with a dull soreness only time could heal.
His body stiffened for a moment as the tiger immortal in his arms stirred in her sleep.
Cold brown eyes watered as he noticed stretches of lightning-shaped burns decorating her body.
All of the bolts pointed towards her solar plexus, outlining her veins as they blossomed at the ends of the fresh scars.
It must have been agonizing to endure this.
The dragon emperor couldn't wrap his head around how she had managed to remain so cold and callus while facing the elements of the mortal realm.
"Xiu'er."
His words were soft as he pressed his lips to her skin.
"Hm?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Mm."
"Love-" He sighed, gently rubbing circles into her stomach with his thumb. "I need to know how you're feeling."
"I did this to myself..." Mei Xiu coughed softly into the back of her hand as she relished in his gentle touches. "...so don't worry."
Run Yu frowned as he gently grabbed her blood splattered hand before she could hide it. "How can I not worry? You did all of this because of me."
The immortal lowered her head before slowly forcing herself to sit up. "I'm fine."
"There's blood."
"It's just a little bit. I'm fine." She slowly moved to get up.
Run Yu pulled the immortal back down by her waist before repositioning himself so that he was holding her down by her wrist and waist with his hands and hips.
Her eyes lacked their usual fire and her skin was still cool to the touch under his fingertips.
His eyes softened as he gently checked her pulse and primordial spirit through her wrist.
With a soft sigh he loosened his hold. "You primordial spirit feels weak." He looked her over.
"I let the lightning strike wherever it wished."
His eyes watered as he refocused on her burns before he pulled back so that she could get comfortable.
"Xiu'er."
Mei Xiu couldn't hold his gaze.
He sounded hurt, disappointed, and heartbroken.
"I-I just needed time." He whispered as he gently guided her face so that she was looking up at him. "Did I make you wait too long?"
Tears blurred her eyes as she stared at the emperor staring down at her.
"I didn't want to wait."
"..."
"But I felt that I was being irrational, so I decided to force myself to train and refine myself." Her eyes softened. "When I trained under Lord Doumu... I would train myself under icy waterfalls...but my body always struggled with it. Master would often tell me that I was carved from the sun, so constant and consistent training would be required for me to endure it better."
"..."
"So I trained nonstop for three weeks in the mortal realm on top of a roof in the eternal rain until you pulled me out."
He finally dropped his gaze as the tears became impossible to restrain.
"I'll go get a healer."
"I promise I'll be fine Run Yu."
The emperor ignored the beauty in his bed as he carefully got out of bed and moved to get dressed.
"If that's true, then I'm sure a brief examination won't be too bad."
"Run Yu-"
"You're not talking me out of this."
"..."
"I hurt you, so now it is my responsibility to help you feel well again."
"No. I hurt myself."
"Xiu'er."
This time his voice was firm, calm, and collected as he looked at the wounded immortal in his bed.
"This is a consequence of my actions. Please don't argue with me."
Mei Xiu didn't respond and rolled over to express her unwilling but inevitable defeat.
Run Yu sighed as he looked her over. "I'll have Kuang Lu find you some clothes."
She remained silent, forcing his lips into a discontent frown for a moment before he turned and left the room quietly.
Since his spirit was of water and her spirit was of fire, healing her himself would be futile.
He would either have to find a healer or ask his brother for help.
Maybe his reputation would prevent him from getting assistance from either parties.
The emperor didn't have a 'plan c' ready if 'plan a' and 'plan b' fell through.
Waiting for her to heal might work or even taking her to Lord Doumu might help too, but the damage from the lightning may have did some unknown damage.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
With a soft sigh he left the heavenly realm with the hopes of finding help.