Voyage With The Pirate King

'Let's sleep together.... let's sleep.... sleep... sleep!!!'

These were the words echoing in Ji Yao's mind as he stared blankly at the instigator. Sleep together? Ji Yao hadn't held hands with anybody yet they were jumping right into sharing a bed just like that.

Granted, he had already been cuddled by the very same person on the ship but that was when Rui Fei was passed out while having nightmares.

"No," he straight up refused while aligning the pages of his new project.

Rui Fei wasn't resigned to this response so he tried to coax him into it as he grabbed one of the past volumes of Shadow master. Flipping through the colourful pages with an elaborate plotline,

Rui Fei said, "I promise I am a good sleeper. I am not a blanket hog and my body temperature is cool so you won't have to worry about feeling hot. Matter of fact, I can keep you cool. You don't believe me..... here, feel my hand?"

Rui Fei stretched out his hand towards Ji Yao with a smile like that of a top salesman. Ji Yao just glanced over the stretched out hand before looking away.

When Rui Fei asked him to feel his hand, he almost instinctively touched it. Maybe it was because of the urge to slip his fingers in between the youth's and compare the difference?

Rui Fei's hands had long slender fingers with bones protruding from underneath the skin and an intricate pattern of veins that made Ji Yao want to paint them. The one glance was enough to leave a lasting impression in his mind.

Rui Fei wanted to convince him further but his attention was drawn in by this manga. He had always wanted to know what inspired Ji Yao to draw stories about him. Of course, Rui Fei had made him believe that the person in the dungeon was his half older brother Rui Pianzi. But the truth of the matter was that Ji Yao was drawing stories about him.

"Why do you keep drawing him? Is he that handsome that you can't get over him?" asked Rui Fei with his cheek resting on his fist acting all cute.

Ji Yao sneered before saying, "Handsome my ass... it's just a coping mechanism." That was the truth. He had been scared so much by that boy two years ago that he couldn't think straight for a very long time.

The person even appeared in his dreams hunting him down so how could he not need some type of therapy to help him overcome his fear and anxiety. Giving the black shadow a human persona and drawing him doing regular activities made him less terrifying.

Before this, he was afraid of nothing but after he met that boy, well, we know how that ended.

Surprisingly, the nightmares he had before had somehow come to an abrupt end but just in case the black shadow decided to make a comeback in the future he decided to keep drawing.

These days the only time he dreamed of something he dreamt himself in a canola flower field with Rui Fei which was both creepy and refreshing at the same time.

"He is a terrifying beast so that's why I am drawing him," further explained Ji Yao without looking up at him.

Rui Fei who had just been called a terrifying beast, "..."

He wasn't that terrifying, was he? "What do you mean? Terrifying beast seems a bit excessive?... I overheard you that day and all he said was stay and that wasn't scary. He barely even touched you.....," said Rui Fei unwilling to carry that pot over his head. 

Ji Yao took a brief look at him and decided not to explain himself further. Regardless of what he says, Rui Fei wouldn't be able to understand how much of a threat that boy was. He would rather stay as far as possible from him for the rest of his life.

"What are you so afraid of when he is far away from you," he mumbled the question with an 'I am guilty' expression written all over his face.

Ji Yao slammed the paper on the table with a loud bang and said, "That brother of yours even haunted me in my dreams asking me where I am like he was interrogating an escaped convict!"

Rui Fei, "..."

He did do that but his presence was so weak as his seraphic energy couldn't go beyond land at full strength. So he could only appear like a shadow in a dream that wasn't necessarily a dream.

Because he was obsessed with finding this person sometimes he would unconsciously look for this person while asleep. He couldn't control it half the time which meant he pestered Ji Yao both knowing and unknowingly.

"Okay, okay don't be angry. How about we talk about something else, yes?" replied Rui Fei while touching his nose to hide his guilt. If he had known Ji Yao was this afraid of him he wouldn't have used that method to draw him out.

"So how about it? How about we sleep together tonight?" he said going right back to square one. He had his elbows on the table with both his clenched hands supporting his chin. He leaned in closer this time not taking no for an answer.

Since Ji Yao was afraid of him then why not cultivate feelings so that by the time he finds out that he is that boy he won't be kicked to the curb. Please excuse his teenage logic as it made so much sense to him.

Ji Yao was about to give a big fat no when Rui Fei placed his index finger on Ji Yao's lips. It was just a light touch but it set Ji Yao's nerves on fire. What the hell was wrong with Rui Fei? He can't just go around touching others, right? Even brothers have boundaries, right?

It seemed Rui Fei realised he went too far as well because he took away his finger immediately but the damage was already done.. The porcelain was already cracked so why not smash it to the end.