The sound came like thunder with bad timing.
A burst of heat and pressure rolled through the wind, followed by a column of smoke spiraling up from the south ridge where the second team had been scavenging old gas canisters.
The tower shook.
Metal screamed.
So did Yin Yue.
His boot slipped on the grating. He stumbled, lost balance and fell sideways.
Not far or not fatally but far enough that it could have been worse.
If Liang Yu hadn't caught him.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
⚠️ FALL DETECTED
🤝 EMERGENCY CATCH INITIATED
💘 ML Reaction Time: 0.4 seconds
💬 Emotional Status: Panic Level: 🔴 RED
Yin Yue gasped, gripping Liang Yu's arms as he was hauled back onto solid footing.
Liang Yu didn't let go.
Didn't blink, didn't breathe and his hands were shaking.
Yin Yue stared at him.
"You.."
"You could've fallen," Liang Yu said, voice hoarse.
"I didn't."
"You almost did."
"You caught me."
"I almost didn't."
They were nose to nose again, the world roaring beneath them.
But there was no kiss this time and no teasing.
Just Liang Yu's hand on Yin Yue's chest, flat over his heart, feeling it beat.
"I can't lose you," he said. "That's the only reason I'm an idiot."
> 💘 ML Affection: Overflow
💬 Subtext: "I love you but don't know how to say it yet"
🫶 Host Emotional Stability: Hanging by a thread (but smiling)
Yin Yue's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Then stop pushing me away."
Liang Yu's eyes met his.
And this time he didn't look away.
The fire crackled and the dinner was cold, everyone exhausted. Jiang had a cut on her arm. Scar-Jaw was treating burns on a spare pack of bandages. No one was talking much.
Yin Yue didn't eat.
He couldn't.
His stomach had been doing flips since the kiss the first kiss, the yelling, the explosion, and the way Liang Yu had grabbed him like he meant it. Like he was terrified.
And now?
Now Liang Yu sat alone in the stairwell behind the main building, one hand curled around a cup of cold tea, gaze fixed on nothing.
Yin Yue found him there.
Didn't say anything. Just stepped forward, stopped in front of him and waited.
Liang Yu didn't move.
Didn't flinch and didn't ask.
Yin Yue knelt down, straddled one step between them, and placed both hands on either side of Liang Yu's face.
Then kissed him.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 KISS 2: DEPLOYED
🎯 INITIATOR: HOST
💬 CONTEXT: Post-Apocalyptic Emotional Clarity
🫶 ENERGY: Slow, Certain, Real
It wasn't dramatic or It wasn't desperate. Just lips against lips familiar now. Finally right.
Liang Yu didn't resist.
He dropped the tea. Forgot the world. Slid his hands to Yin Yue's hips and kissed him back like he'd been holding his breath for days.
Yin Yue smiled against his mouth. "See?" he whispered. "Not a mistake."
Liang Yu pulled him closer. "I know."
Yin Yue rested his forehead to his. "I'm still here."
Liang Yu's grip tightened. "Don't stop being."
> 💬 SYSTEM 520:
❤️ EMOTIONAL MILESTONE: CONFESSION COMPLETE (NO WORDS NEEDED)
💘 STATUS: Officially, Softly, Finally Together
💭 Host Mood: Floating
📊 Relationship Status: Upgraded to 'The World Can End, But We Don't'
They sat like that for a long time. Until the wind died down. Until the stars peeked through ash-dust clouds. Until neither of them needed to say anything at all.
The next morning, they rejoined the group like everything was normal.
Yin Yue was glowing.
Liang Yu looked exactly the same except his hoodie was rumpled, his hair slightly mussed, and his neck suspiciously flushed.
Jiang looked up from her breakfast ration bar. Paused and stared.
"So," she said, dry as sandpaper, "you're glowing. He's glowering. One of you finally confessed?"
Yin Yue sat down beside her and smiled sweetly. "He kissed me. Then immediately yelled at me. It's our thing."
Scar-Jaw choked on his water.
Chen Zhi muttered, "Kinky."
Liang Yu froze mid-step, looked at Yin Yue, then at Jiang, then up at the sky like maybe it would swallow him.
"I regret everything," he muttered.
"You regret nothing," Yin Yue shot back. "You regret how much you like me."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 ML Affection: 100/100 (Still)
📣 Public Relationship Status: Soft-Launched
🎯 Teammate Awareness: MAXIMUM
🫶 Host Mood: Smug and Smitten
Jiang offered him half a boiled egg. "Congrats. You've domesticated a knife."
Yin Yue bowed. "It took a frying pan and severe emotional neglect, but yes."
Liang Yu sat down beside him, arms crossed.
"You're never going to shut up about this, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Yin Yue said. "You kissed me on a tower, Liang Yu. That's, like, peak drama. I'm thriving."
Liang Yu sighed, but didn't deny it.
And when Yin Yue leaned lightly against his side he didn't move away.
The sunlight was rude.
It streamed through a cracked window in dusty rays, landing directly on Yin Yue's face like a personal attack from the universe.
He groaned and rolled over.
Immediately tangled himself in the blanket like a tragic caterpillar.
The bedroll was thin, the floor harder, and the air smelled like ash and antiseptic. The safehouse is a ruined river guard post and was technically secure, but the roof was missing two corners and someone had written "HELP" on the front wall in chicken blood. Charming.
Yin Yue squinted at the ceiling and whispered, "Did he kiss me or did I hallucinate from emotional dehydration?"
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💘 ML Kiss Log: Confirmed
🫠 Host Brain: Currently Replaying Event on Loop
📢 System Suggestion: Get up, drink water, act normal. (Fail at Step 3.)
He sat up, hair wild, hoodie halfway off his shoulder, blanket trailing behind him like a cape of shame.
Just in time for Liang Yu to appear in the doorway holding a metal cup.
"Drink," he said, offering it.
Yin Yue took it and took one sip.
Then blurted: "So are we dating now or is that just implied because I drooled on your sleeve last night?"
Liang Yu blinked.
"...Yes," he said.
Yin Yue stared.
"You mean yes you noticed the drool, or yes we're dating?"
"Yes," Liang Yu said again.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🧠 Host Brain Status: Blue Screened
💘 ML Communication Style: One-Word Romance
🎯 Emotional Impact: Devastatingly Hot
Yin Yue covered his face with both hands.
Then peeked through his fingers. "That was your idea of a relationship confirmation?"
"You're awake, you're drinking water and I'm still here so It's implied."
"Oh my god," Yin Yue whispered. "You really are bad at this."
Liang Yu turned to leave.
Yin Yue caught his sleeve. "Wait."
Liang Yu looked back.
Yin Yue grinned. "You're my emotionally stunted apocalypse boyfriend now."
Liang Yu didn't smile, but he didn't pull away either.
"Finish your water," he said.
Then paused, leaned in and kissed the corner of Yin Yue's mouth soft and brief.
Yin Yue blinked.
"Okay," he said breathlessly. "Yeah. We're dating."
> 💘 ML Affection: Still Max
🫶 Host Fluster Level: Maximum
💬 System Note: Achievement unlocked – Boyfriend Status: Confirmed (via Hydration & Lip Contact)
The gossip started before breakfast.
It probably started before Yin Yue even woke up. Everyone knows and everyone talks.
He stepped outside, hair damp from a cold rinse, hoodie too clean for this hellscape, and immediately walked into Jiang's smirk.
"Good morning," she said. "How's the romance?"
Yin Yue blinked. "The what now?"
"You know," she continued sweetly. "Tension, longing, that kiss by the stairs you thought was private…"
Scar-Jaw walked past carrying firewood. "Newlyweds."
Yin Yue flushed scarlet. "Can you all please focus on not dying?"
Chen Zhi strolled over, munching on something probably not legally food. "I just want to know was the kiss sweet? Spicy? Soul-devouring?"
"I will bite you," Yin Yue said flatly.
Chen Zhi wiggled his eyebrows. "Is that a threat or a flirt?"
Liang Yu, from behind them, calm as ever: "Let him."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🧠 Gossip Level: Catastrophic
🫢 Social Fallout: Delicious
💘 ML Sass: 1 use per apocalypse
💬 Silence Duration After "Let Him": 4.3 seconds (felt like 40)
Everyone stopped.
Jiang choked on her protein bar.
Scar-Jaw stared like someone had shot a gun indoors.
Yin Yue slowly turned toward Liang Yu. "You did not just say that."
Liang Yu looked at him. "You threatened to bite him."
"You're not supposed to encourage it!"
"You're very committed."
Yin Yue squawked.
Chen Zhi nodded solemnly. "I see now. It's love."
Yin Yue buried his face in his hands. "This camp is a disease."
Jiang patted his back. "And yet, your man's letting you get away with crimes. You're thriving."
> 💬 SYSTEM 520:
💘 RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Public
🧃 Camp Reaction: 40% amused, 40% disturbed, 20% desperately shipping
📢 Gossip Forecast: Endless
Yin Yue dragged Liang Yu behind a half-burned shed.
"I swear," he hissed, "if one more person asks what our first kiss tasted like.."
Liang Yu: "Smoke and you."
Yin Yue short-circuited. "That was not an invitation to answer!"
Liang Yu looked pleased.
Yin Yue flailed.
"I hate you."
"You kissed me first."
"And I'll do it again," Yin Yue muttered. "When everyone's asleep."
Liang Yu smirked. "Then I'll stay up."
Yin Yue covered his face, again.