Chapter 305 - 6.65 Real Human
cw: short explicit content ;) very short actually
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"I—I saw something." Izher started in a quiet voice and Lu Yizhou drew himself back to focus on his lover. Later, he would slowly analyze the report later. "Just now, when you say—"
"Zachary," he muttered softly. Now that he knew it was his lover’s name, he couldn’t seem to keep it out of his mind. Zachary. Zachary. He rolled the name on his tongue and tucked it deep inside his chest for keepsake. If possible, he also wanted to engrave it into his skin.
"Yes." Izher squeezed him tighter, another hitch on his throat. Lu Yizhou could feel the rapid flutter of his lashes, blinking and blinking. And he pressed his lips on Izher’s temple in response, keeping himself there until the tense lines on Izher’s shoulders gradually loosened. "It is... a memory, I think. I have never seen it before."
So it was from the time before he entered the simulator, Lu Yizhou thought idly as he drew circles on Jillian’s exposed neck and received a pleasant hum in response.
Jillian squirmed to get a better position then reached out to hold Izher’s hand. Izher tilted his head, cheek pressed against Lu Yizhou’s shoulder, to look at him. His eyes were rimmed red, Jillian noticed, and he gave another squeezed in comfort. He had no idea what Izher saw but it must be distressing. The faint lingering dread was still coiling on his own stomach and he took a deep inhale of Lu Yizhou’s wintry scent to calm himself.
If he — with no memory whatsoever — felt this awful, he couldn’t imagine how it was for Izher.
But it was their name, wasn’t it? Why did they feel like this?
Izher’s eyelids fluttered shut. "I was in an unfamiliar place. Everything was glowing blue... as if I was deep in the ocean. My vision was swimming and there’s someone in front of me. He said... He said..." Izher choked on his words, chest heaving. It was clear that he was on the verge of having a panic attack.
"Sssh, it’s okay." Lu Yizhou held him tighter and rubbed his trembling back. "Don’t push yourself so hard. You can tell me anytime you want."