Chapter 88: Moon’s Teardrop

He hadn’t noticed anyone’s presence at all.

"Who?" he snapped back, to look behind.

A deadly wind passed, shivering Moon’s bones in this chilling night.

Though with his Mage’s body, blood running deep within spiritual Qi, he shouldn’t have felt that cold in this world’s seasonal temperature.

But he did shiver.

Moon looked back over his shoulder.

His two tears were still lingering like traitors.

A tall figure was standing just behind him in the dark courtyard. The little bit of soft silver light from the moon barely touched the man’s face.

"Ugo," Moon muttered.

Moon looked at his emerald-green eyes and unknowingly grabbed the hand that was resting on his shoulder. It was still warm from the inner room’s heat.

Moon stayed still. He didn’t bother wiping the wetness from his cheek. His so-called mate had already seen him crying in their first meeting. So, it should be alright not to pretend to be strong sometimes.

He was not strong to begin with.

Why pretend?

Just let it be whatever he was in their eyes.

He did not care at all.

He didn’t care what they thought of him.

A weak, wasted mage like his father, or an omnipotent witch in their Monalis Celestia. Whatever they thought was all the same.

He really didn’t have to think.

It was not like they cared.

No one cared.

And he also didn’t care.

"I don’t care," Moon sniffed.

Once.

Twice.

"Damn it, I don’t care who cares."

He glared at Ugo for a while.

Then he snapped at those green eyes, "What are you looking at in my eyes? Are you laughing inside?"

The pressure on Moon’s shoulder tightened a little, maybe shook a little too.

But Moon didn’t care.

He wanted to push the hand off his shoulder, but he was afraid he would be cold.

"Sigh..."

A soft sigh landed on Moon’s shoulder.

A warm breath touched his neck.

A pair of soft lips pressed against his hair as a pair of arms hugged him from behind.

"What are you even mumbling here alone?" Ugo pressed Moon’s back against his chest.

He could feel a slight, almost non-existent shiver from the slender body in his arms.

He could also feel the wet sensation landing on his wrist.

But he didn’t point it out.

He only raised his palm to hold the cheek, slowly turning Moon’s face around to meet his eyes.

Their foreheads touched each other.

And just like that, Ugo kept looking into Moon’s eyes.

Moon turned back and held Ugo’s other hand in his palm, asking in a low voice, "What are you doing here?" His voice came with a soft, sobbing hum.

Ugo didn’t answer right away.

He only looked into Moon’s eyes, as if to figure out what he was even thinking.

Moon didn’t push him back.

The warm breath of this man was making him dizzy, removing the stress from the day of running around.

His throat suddenly felt dry.

He craved that warmth one more time, maybe a little deeper than he thought.

Moon’s eyes lingered on Ugo’s eyes for a little while, then moved to his nose bridge, and down to his lips.

And then he leaned down, softly licking Ugo’s lips.

This cedar wood and dry winter grass smell was invading his dry heart.

Ugo grabbed Moon’s head softly and pressed closer, but he still didn’t kiss him, though. Feeling the warmth on his face lingering yet not giving him what he wanted, Moon felt cheated again.

With all the grievance piled up, he bit down on Ugo’s lips hard.

Ugo hissed in pain, but he didn’t flinch away.

Instead, he sucked on Moon’s lips.

The sharp, slurping sound momentarily made Moon speechless.

But then again, he remembered those stardust cinder lilies.

And the way he really thought that was his present. Someone had given him something.

Deep inside his heart, he had always thought, maybe... maybe those cinder lilies were left behind by his mother.

How naive was he?

Clearly, his mother had died long ago, and she had no connection to this other world.

She didn’t even have a connection to her own realm. So how could she leave something behind here?

Moon’s heart welled up in pain again.

He grabbed Ugo’s head with both hands, pressed him closer, and sucked hard.

He wanted to bite Ugo to death.

Whenever he remembered that the pond and that hidden star lily sanctuary were entirely meant for Ugo but not him, he wanted to bite Ugo to take his grievance out on him.

But Ugo was faster this time.

He tilted Moon’s head with one hand and shoved his tongue inside Moon’s mouth, sucking and licking so hard that Moon thought his jaw would fracture from the force.

After a while, Ugo stopped. He peeked at Moon’s wet lips a few times and hugged Moon from the front, pressing him closer to his bosom.

With his other arm, he lifted Moon’s thigh up.

After picking him up from the stone platform, he turned toward the one room in the center of the houses.

The winter air was chilling, and it was not a good choice to stay too long outside.

Upon reaching the room, he placed Moon on the bed.

Moon was still sniffing slightly.

He lay flat as soon as his back touched the mattress.

But Ugo pulled him up and sat beside him.

"Not yet. What happened?" he asked, pulling Moon into his lap. They leaned against the headboard just like that.

As the lamp waned with a wave of Ugo’s hand, the room settled into the dark.

"Nothing, put me down," Moon muttered.

"Umm."

"I said put me down."

"I am not holding you."

"..."

Moon became silent.

He could not find a word, and sitting like this only made him look like a fragile woman.

He became angry. "You are just mocking me."

"I am not," Ugo said helplessly.

"You are."

"Fine, I am."

"Damn, you are mean."

"Uhm."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Moon tried to stir and roll down, but Ugo held him down. He ruffled Moon’s hair and asked softly, "Moon, the place you came from... was it nice?"

Moon gave up the struggle and settled down on Ugo’s lap, placing his head on Ugo’s shoulder.

His ragged breath gradually calmed down.

"Um... very nice."

"Where did you come from?"

Moon chuckled.

"You are talking in such a roundabout way. So scheming, aren’t you?"

"I am just asking." Ugo took Moon’s hand in his palm.

As their ten fingers interlocked, Moon’s heart throbbed. His eyes lingered on their hands, and a soft smile spread across his cheek.

Anyway, no one can see that I am smiling in the dark, he thought.

But he didn’t know a pair of green eyes could still see perfectly well in the pitch blackness.

And Ugo’s gaze was on the interlocked hands intently, like a suppressed wolf trying hard to keep himself on a leash.

"I came from another world, in fact, another dimension, another realm... I don’t even know what they call it here." he paused.

"I never thought there was another realm beyond all space and time."

"Umm," Ugo nodded. "Was it good? Were you happy?" he asked again.

"Um, I was," Moon lied.

He knew he lied. At the same time, he didn’t really lie, because he still had the leftover memories of his mother.

And some vague, scattered memories of some people he could not find later on.

"Don’t cry again," Ugo murmured.

"I wasn’t," Moon denied.

But after thinking that he had already been caught in an embarrassing way, he scoffed, "So what if I am?"

"It will puff up your eyes."

"No. My eyes are so small that it will not look ugly if they puff."

"It’s not ugly. But you will go blind if too many tears drop."

"Bullshit, who said this to you?"

"Didn’t you hear it before?" Ugo laughed.

The deep vibration from Ugo’s chest spread through Moon’s skin, burning away the residual loneliness that had crashed into him a few moments ago.

Close to his ear, he could feel every word Ugo was uttering in a gentle hum.

"They say,

’Moon is my blessing, and so her pain.

Through her pain, we all get gain.

If her tears fall, the moon turns to sea.

If she is in agony, the air takes her glee.

Oh, ocean pearls, you cannot be Moon’s tear.

Even the winter cannot freeze you; he is hidden in that fear.

Fear of the Moon, or fear of her lover.

You cannot touch them; leave them here, forever.’"

Ugo’s hum stopped softly.

But Moon’s mind was no longer on his tune or his pulling voice.

All he was thinking was that this sounded so familiar. And just something didn’t sit right.

After a while, he suddenly jolted up, almost poking Ugo’s rib with his arm joint bone.

He asked in a low voice, "Isn’t this the Black Sea Gorge you are singing about?"