Chu Yun didn't realise he had been crying until he felt Xiao Zai's thumbs on his cheeks, brushing away his tears.
His chest heaved with pent up emotion. Chu Yun had kept that terrible, fiery, night to himself all these years, but now that he had told it to Xiao Zai part of him felt as if he was back there, his tongue rough with a layer of ash.
It took some time, under Xiao Zai's gentle touch, for his breathing to return to normal.
Xiao Zai pulled him into his arms, wrapping him tightly in his embrace as if trying to shield him from the horror of his past.
"Thank you for telling me that," he said, brushing the words against the top of Chu Yun's wet hair. Then, slowly, he added, "and I'm sorry."
