afterthemoment | [Open RP Post]

"You killed two men while defending yourself and other from attack." It's quiet, no judgment just a statement of fact while his hand smoothed up and down Wei Ying's back, trying to soothe him.

"...You were protecting yourself, Wei Ying. You did nothing wrong." He curled fingers in Wei Ying's hair, dragged his head back enough to dip his head and kiss him. It's gentle but demanding, using the contact to distract him even if he keeps it brief.

"Breathe." The command is soft when he breaks the kiss. "I'm here. I've got you and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You know I won't."

The command grounds him, along with the kiss and being held so tightly and securely. Wei Ying begins to focus on his breathing, just listening to the rhythm of it. Very slowly, some of the tension begins to dissipate.

"...I know. I trust you."

So much of what they do with one another relies on trust. Wei Ying holds onto him like he's the only stable thing in the universe. And right now, he is. Everything's so uncertain and he knows he's in deep trouble. He buries his face against Lan Zhan's neck, the tears he's been holding back starting to sting his eyes.

"...I don't know what to do, Lan Zhan."

If there'd been someone he could blame for his plight, Wei Ying might've lashed out with violence at them. But right now, it's just him. Him and his own mistakes and his own folly and the terrible results of all of it.

His hand moves through Wei Ying's hair, his eyes closing because he knows there's no good way out of this for either of them. It was an accident, a mistake, and he believes that because Wei Ying doesn't hurt people because he enjoys it.

He has to be pushed that far to lose control and there's nothing he wants to do more than carry him home and make him forget this ever happened.

'I'm not leaving your side." It's softer. "Whatever we do next, we're doing it together, Wei Ying."

"...I don't deserve you."

A single tear slides down his cheek, dripping onto Lan Zhan's shirt. Wei Ying's so selfish, dragging him into his mess. He'd run away to keep his lover safe, protect him from the fallout of everything that had gone so wrong in the past few weeks. Yet part of him is still happy to see him again, if only for one last time.

Wei Ying wants nothing more than to go back home to their little house on the corner of campus, where they'd only just begun to build their new life together. But he knows they can't. Not anymore. Or at least, he can't.

But Lan Zhan can. Lan Zhan still has a chance. It's not too late yet, not for him.

"No. I can't let you do that. I go alone. I'll figure something else out. I've made it this far without you."

The sound he makes at those words is pained, his expression somewhere between despair and agony before he reins it back in, his grip tightening on his lover, his life. "..Wei Ying..that's not how this works." It's very soft and he's been so careful trying not to say too much, to push too hard.

"If I lose you....I have nothing left in this world. Do you understand that? I will stand beside you through anything but you can't... you can't push me away and expect me to just nod and tell you that it's fine for you to shoulder this alone.

That's not how this works. We go together or we don't go at all."

"You can't stay here and I can't leave. It's too dangerous for both of us."

Wei Ying can't allow him to weaken his resolve, no matter how much he wants to simply stay in this moment where the man he loves the most in the world is holding him so tightly. Their feelings for each other aren't the issue here, no matter their strength. This moment will pass and the problem they're facing will still be there. Inaction isn't an option.

"You still have your brother. Your uncle. The school. Are they really that meaningless to you?"

There's a cold, harsh bite to his words, ordinarily reserved for his opponents and people he dislikes. He's never once taken this kind of tone with Lan Zhan, at least, none that he can remember. Wei Ying can't even remember the last time they even argued. Sophomore year? When they'd first began dating?

But he can't watch Lan Zhan throw his life away for him without trying to stop him.

"Let me go, Lan Zhan."

He's not letting go, not until Wei Ying accepts his words. Whether they find freedom or fall together, it doesn't matter as long as they're together.

"Don't ask me to give up my own heart and expect me to just agree, Wei Ying. I meant every word I said and nothing is worth more to me than you. I would forsake everything for another hour or day by your side." His lips brush Wei Ying's ear as he speaks.

"...For you, I'd do anything."

Beautiful, loving, and loyal Lan Zhan. Whatever he did to earn such devotion from this man eludes Wei Ying. It's taking every bit of his strength not to give in and just let him have his way yet again.

"I know you would and that's the problem, Lan Zhan. You shouldn't. I'm not worth it."

But the words don't ring quite as true for Wei Ying as they would've when they first met at the school. Back when his adoptive mother had cast him aside rather than fight for him and the rest of his family. Letters from his adopted sister, the occasional call from the youth who'd once been his brother and best friend, and monetary gifts from his adopted father, hadn't been enough to ease the sting of abandonment.

Meeting and being with Lan Zhan had. Their relationship had made him a better person than he'd been, given him a home and support when he'd no longer had any.

Now Wei Ying does start to cry, silent, shaking sobs.

He'd had it all. He'd had everthing he should've wanted. But Wei Ying had still reached for more and ruined everything.

"Don't make me do this. Please. Just let me go."

You are worth it, Wei Ying." His voice is firmer here, his hand lifting Wei Ying's chin, fingers wiping those tears away. "But you ask too much to ask me to stand by and do nothing while you walk into something that may mean I never see you again. You can't ask me to do something that's impossible for me."

His hands move, frame Wei Ying's face before he leans down to kiss him, desperation and love fueling the kiss as he deepens it, one hand sliding into the other man's hair.

"I will not leave your side. Do not ask me this again." When he finally pulls back from the kiss.

Once again, Wei Ying's tried words.

Once again, words have failed.

Once again, Wei Ying has no choice but to use force.

But at least, they had one last kiss goodbye before the end.

Wei Ying closes his eyes, expression pained, before he opens them again. There's sorrow in them but also renewed determination. He's been in this embrace enough times to know that he doesn't have the physical strength to break it on his own.

Psychic strength on the other hand...

Spectral hands of telekinetic force and shadow, invisible in the darkness surrounding them, grip Lan Zhan's arms, exerting intense pressure in the limited space between in an attempt to pry him off. In all the years they've known each other, not once has Wei Ying ever turned his powers on him in this way, and he'd never, ever wanted to. Especially not after killing so many people with them in the past three weeks but it's the only defense he has left.

But this one. This one Wei Ying doesn't want to harm, this one he wants to protect. This one he's far more careful with.

It doesn't register at first for a few shocked moments, his expression betraying every emotion he's feeling when those hands take hold and pull him away, Wangji starting to fight them as soon as it connects, his hands reaching for Wei Ying, his voice hoarse.

"Wei Ying, I...let me go! You can't do this! Don't..." Don't leave me, don't go where I can't find you. He wants to say but his throat closes up, choking on the words he can't say. And he's powerless down here, against this attack because unlike Wei Ying, his powers require light to be functional.

"Please!" He doesn't know if he's said out loud or if the cry is inside of him at the moment but he needs Wei Ying to listen, to hear him.

"I'm not going anywhere. This is the end of the line for me but it doesn't have to be for you. You still have a life to go back to, Lan Zhan. Mine ended three weeks ago when I killed those men."

It's hard to talk and maintain control of the shadows keeping Lan Zhan immobile. The past three weeks have given him more practical experience with using his powers than years in a NSO classroom had. Whether it'd been a problem with the teachers or the the student, it doesn't matter now.

What does matter is getting Lan Zhan out of here alive and in one piece and with that intent in mind, Wei Ying directs the shadows to begin carrying him toward the residential district. Of all places in the Last Ward, it might be the safest for him to be until he can leave this place. The corporate police in the area are untrusworthy but the metahumans down here look after and take care of their own. They won't let him come to harm, even if another private security team from the Central Ward comes after him.

"....I'm sorry for this, Lan Zhan. For all of this."

Wei Ying's voice sounds entirely too calm and cool, given the panic it's exhibited before he'd started using his power.

Ge's never felt this powerless in his life, struggling against Wei Ying's power, growing more frantic as they move. "I don't have anything without you there beside me!" His eyes are locked on Wei Ying's face, his hands trying to yank at the darkness holding him alll but immobile and pulling him backwards.

"...I love you... don't do this.. They're not going to let you go if they see this! You have to let me help you. I'm the only one who can..."

They're attracting notice now. It's only natural, given the situation appears to be a dangerous metahuman holding his struggling lover hostage. As lawless as the Underground may be, attracting attention at all is dangerous when someone's on the run wih armed pursuers on their trail.

But Wei Ying's not quite himself when he uses his power this often or extensively. He stares blankly at Lan Zhan, stonefaced with dilated pupils. He's already losing awareness of time, his detachment from their surroundings growing.

The more Lan Zhan fights to free himself, the more the hands tighten their grip.

"....Lan Zhan, who told you where to find me? I didn't think to ask before."

There's an unsettling edge to his voice, an underlying hint of instability. Human minds were not meant to endure a connection this strong to darkness.

The question made him freeze if only for a moment. "Wei Ying, I came here to bring you home. To fix this." Because Wangji was the only one capable of getting through to him when he was scared like he'd known Wei Ying would be.

But this isn't his Wei Ying, the tone of his voice, the question, it's wrong. It's all wrong and he's trying even harder to rip himself free.

"You have to stop, it's... You're not yourself, Wei Ying. Let the power go and come back to me! Let me help you!"

"What can you possibly do to help me?" Wei Ying shouts harshly, feeling something clench in the pit of his stomach, turning his face away to blink away a sudden fresh sheen of tears.

"My life is over! They won't stop until I'm dead! Do you think I wanted to drag you down here with me? I wanted you safe! That's why I ran!"

First, the perception of time. Now his emotional control is going next. Next will be hallucinations and potential violence if he's not stopped.

"Instead, you came here! Don't you realize what you've done? You've brought them right to me! Where are they!? They're already here, aren't they!?"

Wei Ying suddenly whirls around, peering suspiciously at an anxious passerby. But as he does so, his focus on maintaining the grip on Lan Zhan suffers, weakening the hold. If he struggles again and pushes through, he might be able to break free this time.

"They're not here, Wei Ying!" He finally manages to break free, footsteps carrying him to the other man arms wrapping around him from behind, lips against his hair.

"..Please listen to me. Let the power go. Do this one thing for me and we can talk again. You need to let it go, Wei Ying.

Nobody here is going to hurt you. So, please....stop." It's almost begging at this point, his voice shaking as he tries to reach him. The real Wei Ying, not the person he is right now.

"I know you didn't want to hurt anyone. You don't want to hurt anyone..."

It's a twist of fate too cruel for words.

Still, caught in the grip of his power's madness and unable to fully process what's happening, Wei Ying struggles to break free of Lan Zhan's grip, lurching violently to the left.

The sharp crack of a gunshot comes out of nowhere.

The bullet pierces the back of the left side of Wei Ying's head and travels right on through. Blood, skull fragments, brain matter, and bits of hair go flying as the young man collapses like a rag doll in Lan Zhan's arms, his grip on the shadows of the Underground broken by force.

It didn't connect, one minute his arms around his partner, trying to plead with him to let go and then a spray of warmth over his face, the body he's holding going limp and Wangji sinks down with him, his arms still around Wei Ying as he looks down at his face, his fingers reaching to stroke his cheek.

"...Wei Ying.." It's soft, shaky, his eyes widening slowly as what just happened sinks in. The noise of the gunshot, Wei Ying in his arms unmoving and his voice cracks this time.

"Wei Ying, please..open your eyes. I need you to look at me."

Edited 2020-02-03 11:19 (UTC)

Heavy booted footsteps approach the pair from behind, their owner some kind of armed bounty hunter decked out with body armor.

Miraculously, if anything about this situation could be considered a miracle, Wei Ying's eyelids to flutter open a fraction, eyes unseeing, his face slack. But he manages to turn his cheekly slightly into Lan Zhan's hand.

The foosteps stop just behind them.

"Subject is alive but incapacitated. Awaiting further orders," says an emotionless, genderless, and mechanical voice.

Wei Ying opening his eyes even that much is something and it's a moment before he's moving to stand, adjusting his hold so Wei Ying's head on his shoulder, his arms supporting the other man before he turns to walk back toward the entrance.

Toward the light so he can heal this, so he can do something to bring him back, to help him and his eyes are blazing with light as he moves, steps purposeful, daring anyone to come near them.

"Stay with me, I can fix this." Lips brush his forehead as he steps out into the light, fingers moving to the wound once he can access his powers again.

The damage is extensive as a shot through the head would be but the healing seems to be having a slight effect. At least, Wei Ying's eyes shift slightly toward Lan Zhan is some vague semblance of alertness.

"Lan Zhan," he whispers so quietly, the name slurring together. The left of the brain is where the speech and language functions are located, after all. That he can speak at all is a positive sign.

"I'm sorry..."

Edited 2020-02-03 12:02 (UTC)

"..No, I.. This is my fault. I didn't .. I should have protected you." His voice is shaking as he sinks to the ground, his hand still working on the wound, his head turning to look Wei Ying in the eye.

"...Don't leave me, Wei Ying. I can't... I need you to stay with me. Just hold on, I'm trying to fix it. I love you..."

"I love you..."

Wei Ying's eyes drift closed again, tears trickling out of the corners, and then comes one last slurred whisper.

"Not your fault... Mine."

His body slumps as he falls completely unconscious. In the distance, those heavy marching footsteps can be heard approaching again. The bounty hunter steps just out of the dark and into the light, rifle in hand. He raises it, cocks it, and gets ready to aim it directly at the still faintly, moving chest of Wei Ying.

Edited 2020-02-03 12:34 (UTC)

"No..." His voice cracks again, and he adds more power to the healing, "Wei Ying..please..." Because this isn't how it ends. It can't be. And until he hears those footsteps, his entire focus is on the man in his arms.

But when he hears them, he turns his eyes gold eyes blazing as he attacks, light blasts heading directly for the bounty hunter and his expression gone cold.

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cw: somewhat graphic gun violence

Re: cw: somewhat graphic gun violence

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