Page 2 of Saint

Yejun felt bad for Nix. Plain and simple.

In the end, that sympathy had taken control over the past week, morphing into something stronger—something dangerous and all-consuming. That, coupled with everything he knew about Phoenix Monroe and West’s comments about how he wouldn’t hold him responsible for his father’s actions had wormed their way inside of Yejun. He’d snapped out of his anger. Only, it’d been too late.

Nix could barely look at him now. Flinched when he got too close. Any of the closeness they’d developed over the past couple of months had been obliterated, and now Yejun was left scrambling to collect the pieces. Even after he had them all, was it even possible to put them back together?

Would Yejun forgive someone else if they’d abused his body and fucked him into unconsciousness? If they’d forced him to lose his breath, over and over again, virtually suffocating him on and off for hours on end?

No.

No, he wouldn’t.

But Nix wasn’t him, and more importantly, Yejun couldn’t allow that to be their outcome. Whether either of them liked it or not, they were bound together for eternity thanks toLake’s claiming mark and West’s affection toward Nix. It was good he’d realized his error, but even if he hadn’t, even if all he still felt for Nix was hatred, there was nothing Yejun could do about it. He couldn’t punish him further, certainly couldn’t kill him…

There was only one path forward.

Forgiveness.

Understanding.

Supplication.

The first for Nix, the second for them both, and the last done by Yejun.

“You’re making it worse.” Beck reappeared and untangled Yejun’s fingers from his hair, pulling away his left hand to cover it with a cool compress made of shitty bathroom paper towels. “Does it hurt?”

“Yes.” Pretty much everywhere.

Beck frowned down at him and pulled the towel away to peek underneath. “It doesn’t look that bad. Hang on. I’ll go get a nurse.”

Yejun grabbed onto Beck’s wrist before he could take more than a single step away and shook his head. “No, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“But you just said—”

“I wasn’t talking about my hand. It’s all good. Look.” He twisted his hand around so Beck could see it from all angles. “The redness is already subsiding. Thank you.”

“There’s no need to be so polite.” It seemed like he wanted to argue, but Beck ended up sighing and returning to the spot next to him.

“That’s my line,” Yejun teased, trying to change the mood to prevent being asked about anything personal. “You don’t have to be so attentive with me. It’s not like I’m West.”

The tips of Beck’s ears brightened and he turned his face away, but not before Yejun caught sight of the light blush. Usually, Beck was good at keeping his cool, but whenever his crush was mentioned, he always seemed to slip up.

Which was why Yejun always found it so strange that no one else had noticed. West spent more time around Beck than he did, and yet he’d never once brought up Beck’s feelings for him. Could he really be that obtuse?

“When are you going to do something about that, huh?” He shouldn’t be encouraging this, but he felt badly for Beck. At least if the other guy finally tried to make a move, he could be properly shut down and finally move on. And he would be shut down, there was no question there.

West cared for Nix, more than he’d ever cared for any past lover or fling that Yejun was aware of. So much so, he’d made a point of telling Yejun he needed to fix things between them in order to make Nix feel comfortable around them again. His best friend was trying to patch things up, but not for his benefit. It was all for their Firebird.

Theirs, because despite what had taken place between them, Yejun still had a claim to Nix.

He just needed to figure out a way to get Nix to acknowledge him once more.

“Groveling, perhaps,” he muttered, but not quiet enough because Beck overheard, and misunderstood.

“I don’t think begging for his love and attention is the right way to go,” Beck said. “West isn’t the type to succumb to those sorts of manipulations.”

“You’re right, you may as well try the straightforward approach. So, why haven’t you?”

“It isn’t that easy, Yejun.”

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