The safehouse had two dry rooms.
One of them was technically the armory, though it really just contained a pile of knives, half a crossbow, and a locked metal crate with a "DO NOT TOUCH" label on it.
Liang Yu sat on a crate with a whetstone and his usual expression: focused and unbothered.
Yin Yue walked in holding a rag and determination. Yin Yue offers to help clean Liang Yu's gear, claiming "domestic contribution."
"I'm here to contribute," he announced. "Also, avoid Jiang asking me about kissing noises."
Liang Yu didn't look up. "You don't have to."
"Excuse me, I'm extremely competent. Look." Yin Yue picked up a smaller blade. "I will clean your dangerous boyfriend tools."
He wiped it once, dropped it.
Froze.
Liang Yu blinked. "You're bleeding."
"It's a symbolic wound."
"You cut yourself with the handle."
Yin Yue sat on the crate beside him and hissed dramatically as he sucked on his thumb. "Maybe I'm not meant for war."
Liang Yu reached for his hand.
Yin Yue froze but still let him.
Liang Yu held it gently, checking the scrape like it mattered or like it meant something. Then pulled a bandage from his jacket pocket because of course he carried those.
Yin Yue watched him in silence.
Then, when Liang Yu leaned forward to tape the bandage on, Yin Yue shifted and sat in his lap. Liang Yu stilled.
"More efficient," Yin Yue said quickly. "Fewer angles."
Liang Yu said nothing.
But his hand didn't leave Yin Yue's waist.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 PHYSICAL INTIMACY: Upgraded
🫶 Host Comfort Level: 95% (and rising)
💬 Relationship Status: Cuddly and Combat-Ready
They sat like that while Yin Yue very carefully wiped down one of the smaller blades.
Liang Yu resumed sharpening.
Their movements sync'd like clockwork.
Finally, Yin Yue said, "Do you ever think about after?"
Liang Yu glanced at him.
Yin Yue kept his eyes down. "After all this. After zombies. After camps and rations. Just… after."
"Yes," Liang Yu said.
Yin Yue looked at him. "Really?"
Liang Yu nodded. "Every day."
Yin Yue tried to play it cool but failed. "What does it look like?"
Liang Yu didn't hesitate. "Quiet house with a good tea and with you in it."
Yin Yue nearly dropped the knife again. "You cannot just say things like that!"
"You asked."
"I expected vague, not marriage proposal by vibes!"
Liang Yu smirked. "Too specific?"
Yin Yue leaned back against his chest.
"Just right," he said quietly.
> 💘 ML Affection: Still Max
🌅 Emotional Setting: Peaceful Apocalypse Domestic
🧠 Host Thought: "Oh no he's serious, I might love him back harder"
The wind picked up in the afternoon, stirring some ash and loose tarp edges.
Inside the safehouse, Scar-Jaw and two others were prepping a map.
"We'll have to split," one muttered. "If something goes wrong, we can afford to lose one an acceptable casualty."
"Not Liang Yu though," someone said. "He's too valuable."
Then a laugh. "You can spare the pretty one."
They didn't say his name, they didn't have to. But Yin Yue heard it anyway.
Yin Yue overhears someone in the camp make an offhand comment about "acceptable casualties" during a supply run. He thinking hard. All the old fears come back for not being enough and being left behind.
Five minutes later, he was pacing behind the shed, fingers twisted in the hem of his hoodie, mind spiraling so fast it left his body behind.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💬 HOST STATUS: Critical
🧠 Thought Loop: "They'll leave me. I'm not enough. I'm disposable."
💔 Emotional Threat Level: MAXIMUM
He couldn't breathe.
He knew he'd done well in helped, cleaned, contributed. He'd fought, laughed and survived.
But those words…
"Acceptable casualty."
It only took four syllables to undo everything he thought he'd rebuilt.
He pressed his back to the wall, eyes squeezed shut.
Then a hand closed around his wrist, gently and firm. Feel familiar and safe, its Liang Yu.
"Breathe," he said softly.
Yin Yue did or tried to.
He looked up, heart in his throat, trying not to cry, trying not to say everything at once.
"I heard them," he whispered. "They said I was expendable."
"They're wrong."
"But what if they're not?"
"They are."
Yin Yue shook his head, eyes wet now. "I'm not like you. I'm not a soldier. I'm not useful."
"You are," Liang Yu said. "You're more than that."
"I talk too much."
"I like it."
"I cry too easily."
"I notice."
"I'm not good at this."
"Yet you're still here."
Yin Yue blinked fast.
Liang Yu stepped forward.
Wrapped both arms around him, pulled him close tightly this time. Protective and fierce.
"You don't have to earn your place," Liang Yu said into his hair. "You already have it."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 ML Emotional Support Level: 100
🧠 Host Crisis: Deescalated
🫶 Affection Action: Hug as Shield
💬 Trust Milestone: "He doesn't need me to be strong. He just needs me."
Yin Yue clung to him. Didn't speak and didn't need to. Because for once, someone didn't just want him to survive. Someone chose him to stay.
Yin Yue and Liang Yu take a perimeter patrol together. The woods were quiet.
Too quiet, by apocalypse standards which meant only three things: no zombies, no traps, and no time to think dangerous thoughts.
Yin Yue walked beside Liang Yu, hands in his hoodie pocket, occasionally kicking a pinecone like it owed him money.
"Hey," he said casually, "if you turned into a zombie, I'd let you bite me."
Liang Yu didn't even pause. "I'd handcuff myself first."
Yin Yue stopped walking. "Oh my god."
Liang Yu looked over. "What?"
"That was the most romantic thing you've ever said to me and it involved self-restraint and cannibalism."
Liang Yu raised an eyebrow. "You started it."
"You didn't even hesitate! That's, like, emotional whiplash. Do you practice being devastating?"
Liang Yu reached out and took his hand. Just like that. Their fingers laced, palms warm, no drama and no build-up. Just.. there.
Yin Yue blinked. "This is happening?"
Liang Yu didn't let go. "It's been happening."
> 💘 ML Affection: Still Max (But Now Tangible)
🫶 PHYSICAL TOUCH: Normalized
💬 Relationship Status: Domestic Apocalypse Boyfriends, Confirmed
💭 System Note: You're holding hands like it's not the end of the world. That's growth.
They walked the rest of the trail in silence. Birds chirped somewhere in the trees, and Yin Yue leaned into his side.
"Hey," he said. "If I turned into a zombie, would you shoot me?"
Liang Yu: "Only if you asked nicely."
Yin Yue: "So romantic."
Liang Yu: "You're welcome."
Yin Yue wakes up to the impossible: breakfast. The smell hit first, not a good smell, kind of like a smoke but definitely edible.
Yin Yue sat up slowly, blankets tangled around one ankle, and hair resembling a post-battle wheat field.
He sniffed again.
"Someone's cooking," he muttered. "Or trying to cook. Either way, I smell an affection and disaster."
The door to the hallway was cracked.
Beyond it: clattering, muttering, and the unmistakable sound of someone swearing at a pan.
Yin Yue padded into the common room of the safe zone compound, hoodie sliding off one shoulder and stopped.
Liang Yu stood over a rusted stove, sleeves rolled, brows drawn in concentration. On the table behind him:
There is two slices of blackened toast. A bowl of instant noodles, with no seasoning packet in sight. One boiled egg, peeled with absurd precision. And a mug of hot water, because apparently "tea" was just a wishful thinking today.
Yin Yue stared.
"Is this for me," he asked carefully, "or is this a trap?"
Liang Yu didn't turn. "It's food."
Yin Yue walked over and sat down. He looked at the tray like it might explode.
"This toast," he said, picking up a slice reverently, "is the love language of emotionally unavailable men with murderous tendencies."
Liang Yu said nothing.
"Did you… make me breakfast?"
"You didn't wake up."
"So you made me food?"
"I made food."
"You made me food."
"You're the only one who eats noodles without complaining."
"You did made me breakfast."
Liang Yu finally looked over. "Eat it or I'll take it back."
Yin Yue took a bite of the toast. He winced slowly but still chewed and swallow it anyway.
"I will remember this charred love offering for the rest of my life."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
🍳 ML Cooking Skill: 2/10
💘 Affection Expression: Passive-Aggressive Toast
🫠 Host Reaction: Melting
🎯 Romance Status: Domestic Disaster and fully Initiated
Liang Yu slid the perfectly peeled egg closer.
"Why's this one beautiful?" Yin Yue asked, staring.
"I only had one."
Yin Yue popped it into his mouth, grinning.
"Congratulations," he said. "We're officially dating. I expect badly made coffee and matching apocalypse mugs by next week."
Liang Yu didn't smile. But he brought over the water and sat beside him.
Yin Yue leaned lightly against his shoulder and sighed.
And whispered, "You really like me, huh?"
Liang Yu didn't answer but his hand drifted beneath the table and gently rested over Yin Yue's. That was enough even without answering.