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“Be home before it gets dark, okay?” says Yan pensively. Nathan ruffles her hair.
“I will. Do you want anything other than this?”
“Mangoes would be nice,” she adds, and Nathan nods, leaving the cottage.
—
He’s lived in the Cloud Village for the majority of his life by now, but Nathan wasn’t complaining. The people were nice, the fruits were ripe, and the crops harvested on time — usually. Life did get boring sometimes, but he’s grateful for what he has.
He collects water from the stream, wondering how it’s still so clear after all these years. He can see his own reflection in it, and a flicker of red just pass by behind him — wait, what?
Nathan looks around, but there wasn’t anyone there. What else did Yan ask for? Oh, right, mangoes.
Yan was the protector of the Cloud Village despite being one of the youngest, but she was capable. They were close, too; he considered her family. Like a sister, and maybe even a daughter if you stretched it. Yan’s teased him about a wife before, but his thoughts divert from that pivot fast. He’s never thought of that kind of family.
He made his way across the forests to the mountains where most of the Mango trees were. It wasn’t May, yet, so most of them would still be green. As he plucked them, he heard a noise like a beaver or squirrel behind him, but it was gone as he turned around. Huh. Strange.
Maybe he’s imagining things...
...that’s what he would have said, two minutes ago, if not for the stranger in bright-red attire sitting on the boulder in front of him, in a monkey-like stance. They grin at him.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” greets Nathan. Judging by their straw hat and red clothing, they weren’t from anywhere near. “Are you from these parts?”
On the other hand, P3-NG is confused why he’d come across someone in a place like this, but maybe humans liked to trek more than he thought. Anyways, he’s never quite seen a human so... beautiful? He’s never thought of that word while thinking of someone else, so why this stranger? He eyes him curiously before concluding that he must be from the Cloud Village Peng was heading to.
“No,” he jumps off the boulder, but for some reason, this stranger isn’t surprised by that. As if he's seen something like this before. “I am a Traveler. Lotus Dragon, P3-NG.”
Nathan laughs; a bright, clear sounded that brings heat to the back of the Lotus Dragon’s neck. He doesn’t know why he’s being like this, today, of all days. “P3-NG? *That’s* your name? Really?”
Peng nods, still feeling a bit flustered. “Yeah. However, you may call me Peng, if you’d wish.”
“Okay, Peng. I’m Nathan. Where are you heading?”
“The Cloud Village,” explains P3-NG. “I’m staying there for a few days, because my destination is still far north.”
Nathan grins. “Okay, then. Come with me, I just happen to be a villager there.” P3-NG nods, awkwardly so; he’s never received nor accepted such hospitality from a human, ever. But he presumes there’s first times for everything, so he lets himself be led to the village by Nathan.
—
“Yan? I’m back.” Nathan knocks on the door and turns to P3-NG, “I live with Yan, she protects this village. Don’t mind her if she’s a bit... hostile at first, she doesn’t warm up to strangers very easily.” Peng nods at this, but there’s a light pang in his chest. If Nathan lived with a woman, wouldn’t that mean they’re...
“She’s my friend. Kinda like a sister, even,” says Nathan, smiling at Peng. P3-NG doesn’t know why, but when he clears that up, he feels a lot more relieved. “Yan, c'mon, I brought the mangoes you asked for.”
The door opened, and Peng looked down. So, this was Yan. She was short, but somehow still the protector of the village, apparently, and the two really did seem close. P3-NG envied their bond, a bit, because he’s never had that sort of thing with anyone.
He wishes he could. But he wasn’t a human.
“Who’s this?” asks Yan, eyeing Peng suspiciously. Nathan elbows her.
“Be nice. This is P3-NG — you can call him Peng. He’s staying with us for a few days. He’s a traveler.”
It was surprisingly spacious for a cottage. The room seemed airy and was brightened by the sunlight coming through the windows. The carpet was nice, too, and P3-NG didn’t really know what to do except sit on the cot. Nathan sat down near the fireplace.
“You play the Guqin?” asks Peng curiously. Nathan nods, looking up at the taller man.
“I do. Wanna hear?”
“I would like that.”
His playing was beautiful, too. Peng watched intently as Nathan’s fingers ran over the guqin, tugging on the strings. He seemed to be concentrating deeply, too. Once he was done, P3-NG clapped instinctively, making Nathan blush.
“What is the name of this song?”
“Inquiry,” says Nathan, getting up. “C’mon, I’ll show you around. I can play more for you later, if you’d like...” there’s this certain nervousness to the last part of his sentence, and P3-NG tentatively closes the gap between them.
“I would like that.”
“Okay, Nathan, the mangoes aren’t even ripe--” Yan opens the door to see the two men in a... questionable stance. Well, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but they were standing close. Very close.
“At least lock the door next time...” she mumbles, closing the door. Nathan opens the door again.
“It’s not what you think!”
“I just wish you would’ve told me,” says Yan, smirking. “You were a cutsleeve this whole time?”
Nathan laughs, but he doesn’t bother denying it. He turns back to P3-NG. “Sorry about that. So, about my earlier offer?”
P3-NG packed up the Guqin back in Nathan’s case neatly. “Affirmative.”
“...I’ll assume that’s a yes.”
—
Days passed. Days became weeks, weeks became months and months became years. Well, three years.
P3-NG was close with the other villagers of the Cloud Village, too, by now, and even Yan regarded him as family. Even though he wasn’t exactly human.
“P3-NG, what about your destination? The one you talked about the day we met?” asks Nathan one day curiously. Peng looked up at the sky.
“...That reminds me. Nathan,” he smiled, but it wasn’t the usual smile Nathan would see from the Lotus Dragon. It was almost eerie, somehow. “I’m not from this realm.”
“W-what?” Nathan took a step closer to him, “what do you mean by that...?”
“I mean I was due to go to my own realm three years ago,” says P3-NG, “but after all. How could I not love this mortal realm?”
“So... do you still have to go?”
“Well, I would’ve said yes, but I have someone precious to me in this world,” P3-NG looked at Nathan, meeting his gaze. He thinks back to the days where he had first met Nathan; they were the happiest he’d ever been, but they had been confusing, too. It was confusing as to why he’d feel so much for a mere human in such a short span of time. Nathan widened his eyes.
“You know, Nathan, when I first met you, I had strange emotions. Strange emotions I’ve never felt before,” Peng did his best not to stutter, “At first, I... chalked it up to some kind of malfunction.” he held Nathan’s wrists, “you may not return these feelings due to how I was created, or something else entirely. But you will not deny my feelings.” He felt himself heating up after saying that, so he did the only other thing he could think of. He reached for his pocket and handed Nathan a lotus, before realizing that Nathan was kissing his cheek.
“You scared me... I thought you were leaving, or something,” Nathan wrapped his arms around P3-NG’s neck, pulling him into a hug, “Also, you should’ve said this earlier.”
Peng swallowed. “So, is that a—”
This time, Nathan kissed him firmly, and Peng put his hands on the shorter man’s waist, still in shock. “Yeah. Wasn’t that already clear?”
“Oh, great,” P3-NG found himself smiling dumbly. “Also, remember the time Yan asked you if you were a cutsleeve?”
Nathan nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”
“Forget the sleeve. I’d cut my entire arm off for you.”
P3-NG grins as Nathan blushes as that, pushing him away before laughing himself. “Who taught you that—?!”
“I came up with it. Is it bad?”
“Well, for a first attempt, it was decent. You have plenty of time to practice, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Peng nods, a twinkle in his eyes as he looks at Nathan, “I wonder... how will Yan take to this?”
“I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Maybe we could break it to her on our, say, fiftieth anniversary?”
Nathan laughs, again. “P3-NG!”
In the end, there wasn’t really much to say as they walked back to their cottage. They had walked the same path together many times, but this somehow felt different, P3-NG thought as he gazed as the setting sun. And not in a bad way.