It was dark again when I woke up. I blinked as I found myself in warm blankets, a contrast to the cold air I had fallen asleep in. It seemed like forever since I had been somewhere warm.

I pushed myself into a sitting position, clenching my teeth as my arms complained once more. This time, the pain was less and I could push myself all the way through.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a blaze of light from across the room. I soon recognized that it was a fire, and there was someone sitting in front of it. From the direction was a soft sound, the plucking of strings from an acoustic guitar.

I bent my legs, marveling how I could feel my toes again. I pushed myself up and almost gasped as I was able to stand. Hope surged through me as I saw how much my body recovered. I tried to hum along with the notes played, but still no sound came from my voice. So much for hope.

As I got closer, I heard Tao’s voice join in with the guitar.

“…I’ve forgotten how long, how much time it’s been, since you have asked for your favorite story.”

My heart beat faster as I heard Tao’s tenor voice sing one of my favorite songs. So what if it had been released almost a whole generation earlier? It was still classic and just as beautiful in its meaning and melody. There was a reason why Michael Wong was one of the best composers in China.

“I’ve thought for a long time, I’m starting to go crazy, have I done something wrong?” His voice rose both up the scale and in volume. I almost choked as I heard the raw emotion in his voice. “In tears you tell me, fairy tales are only lies, I cannot be, your handsome prince. Maybe you don’t know, since when you said I love you, all the stars, lit up the sky. I’m willing to become, the one in the fairytale, the angel that you love, with open arms, shield you with my wings. You must believe, *that you and me will end up happily, in our own fairytale story.*” (*see A/N)

By then, I stood to the side of him. Tao let the chords of his guitar die away as he looked up at me. His gaze was even more powerful as the edges of the fire were reflected in his eyes. All I could was stand there and look at him.

“Did you like it?”

I nodded. Even if I was able to speak, I doubt I would have been able to say anything.

He looked at me at moment. I guess he was trying to let in the news that I still couldn’t speak sink in. He then moved over and patted to the side of him on the couch. In response to his gesture, I sat down next to him.

He started to sing again, picking up where he left off. The warmth of the fire and his voice started to make me drowsy. Unable to resist, I tilted my head until it was resting on his shoulder.

When I realized what I had done, I froze, wondering if he would notice. But he kept singing, as if nothing had happened. Letting out a sigh, I relaxed, staring into the embers. I could feel his breathe and his voice resonating from his body from my position. It both entranced and scared me.

Slowly though, my body took over. Fatigue took me once more. My feelings slowly escaped me as I became numb, trying to not to succumb to sleep.

As I was battling the urge, Tao had finished his song. His arm came around my shoulders, making me feel safe and trapped at the same time. “Sleep. You’re still weak.”

I shook my head.

“Stop being so stubborn.” A trace of amusement laced his voice. “I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.”

I sighed again and finally fell asleep to the lullaby of Tao’s heartbeat.

[A/N] The song that Tao sang was Tong Hua by Guang Liang, or Michael Wong as he is known in the English speaking world. (Yes, he is the guy who composed Zhou Mi's solo from the Break Down album -kowtow-) The line I put asterisks around was the one I got from the English cover of Tong Hua by Jason Chen and J Rice. It’s technically not a direct translation of the lines of the song as it is sung, which is this ->*“believe that we can become that fairytale, that we will end up in happiness.”

But I think their translation is more poetic. I wanted it to be accurate and song-like, so that was my compromise. But you should listen to the real song! Even if you can’t understand, it still sounds so beautiful. (Trust me, I loved this song the first time I heard it, and that was when I didn’t even understand that much Chinese. Maybe it's his voice :P)

Here's the original song:

(BTW, the whisper at the beginning of the mv, is 加油 or FIGHTING!)

It's such a sad song but so romantic T-T Kinda like this story...:P

Here's the cover I took some lines from:

Anyway, don’t you love couple chapters? <3

I want my future boyfriend to do this for me or something. That’s why I’m so jealous of my sister-I mean come on, she has EVERYTHING. She’s successful, a perfectionist, and her boyfriend can sing AND speak Mandarin perfectly. Her boyfriend is so perfect, he’s sung Tong Hua with me :3

As you probably can tell, I want them to get married. He would be the perfect brother-in-law, don’t you think?

-cough- Sorry for going on a tangent there, I really hoped you enjoyed this fluffy chapter! Especially since it’s not going to last too long –cough- I MEAN since I’ll definitely plan more of these! Maybe…>.>

See y’all next time!