Stone Walls and Lamps

Returning to Vasileia always makes Baekhyun a bit nervous.

Set: Chapter 39 of Cutlass, technically, although I changed around the dialogue somewhat. This chapter is so incoherent that I don’t even know what it’s supposed to be about. Jumped from BaekXing to BaekHei in like 3 pages, I’m sorry in advance. Idk what I was writing :’)

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Baekhyun did not like coming back to Vasileia.

It was, partially, the cold. Or so he liked to tell himself. Sixteen years growing up had forced him to become accustomed to the awful weather in his hometown, and save Minseok, he had a better tolerance for freezing temperatures than anybody else in the crew. Especially Luhan, who bundled up ridiculously every time the temperature dropped below zero and had a tendency of catching colds. Figures, given that he was from Xiyuan. 

So—the weather was irritating. If Baekhyun was generous, he’d give it about twenty percent of the reason he didn’t like returning home.

But as their ship drew closer and closer to the city, he knew very well it wasn’t that.

Vasileia made him feel like he was sixteen again—made him feel like he couldn’t trust anybody, especially himself; made him feel guilty about things that weren’t his fault; made him feel helpless and inexperienced and blind. It stripped bare the eight years he’d spent away from his family, building strength and determination and knowledge until Baekhyun was once again crouching over a cooling body with a slit throat as the only person who had ever seen him for who he was bled to death.

He took a deep breath. Maybe the cold wasn’t a bad thing after all. It kept him awake and aware, and Baekhyun needed as much of that as possible going back into the city.

Yixing joined him on the helm a little while later, and, wordlessly, took the wheel from Baekhyun. “You’ve been giving yourself longer shifts,” he said, then eyed him for a couple of moments. “You’re nervous,” came the conclusion.

Baekhyun snorted. “That obvious, huh?”

“There’s no reason for this not to go well,” his friend replied steadily. “You’re prepared, and you’re not even going to be engaging in combat with anyone. Just getting Minseok and Kyungsoo and leaving.”

“We all know what happened last time I had to get out of Vasileia,” he replied drily, but the joke immediately fell flat. Baekhyun groaned and scrubbed his hand down his face. “Okay, fine, that was probably in bad taste.”

“If it’s any comfort to you,” Yixing said after a little while, “I kept you alive last time you got out of Vasileia, so I’m sure I’ll be able to do it this time as well.”

“Thanks for engaging