Some had happened.
Yuze wouldn't admit what or even acknowledge that he was being weird, but Eirian knew something had happened. He was being weird, and he wouldn't look her in the eye, and there was a bruise peaking over the collar that Eirian could have spotted from a li away.
She knows that bruise.
She knows that placement.
She knows that shade.
Rong Yuze had sex, and Eirian hasn't since she left Aontacht. Which is ridiculous because she has two gorgeous men who share her bed more nights than not. They even bathe together. They've all seen each other naked and stopped feeling uncomfortable. She knows Chenzhou has a freckle on his left ass cheek and Mingzhe has those dimples at the base of his spine, and they want to spend their lives together; they're making plans to do that. Eirian has had sexual relationships that were less intimate than what she has with Chenzhou and Mingzhe now, so she was slightly confused at the way it's progressed. If only because she either did it backwards this time or all the other times.
Why relationships had to be this hard, she had no idea, but she was beginning to suspect that they were only easy when you were young and just got progressively harder as life went on. Just like everything else.
Yuze had that relaxed gait as he walked, but he was holding himself so stiffly that he almost looked injured all over again.
Everything about him screamed, 'I had sex, and I don't want to talk about it.' Normally, Eirian would have pushed regardless, especially because of what had happened yesterday with Akari. The healer was an ass, and Eirian gets why Chenzhou doesn't like him. For someone who's dedicated his life to helping people in pain, Akari isn't too good at actually listening to them, to what they needed. She heard an entire conversation yesterday where he didn't listen to a single thing Yuze said while he was talking to him, or to anything Kai Low said while they were screaming at each other, and by the time he left, he still hadn't heard anything anyone else said.
Eirian can't even imagine how frustrating that would be in a relationship and decides that the only reason Yuze and Akari lasted as long as they did is because Yuze was so busy, so dedicated to his work that he didn't notice the issue at all, and Akari got fed up with being ignored. They would never have lasted, no matter what, but also, they were not a fit for each other at all. She can understand how they were young and distracted and rushed things, that's the only way that really makes sense for them to get together. It's not surprising it didn't work out.
It's more surprising that Akari seems unhappy with that when he was the one who realized it wasn't working and left.
Kai Low saw it immediately, too. And clearly didn't like it. A lot of things make sense now, with the way he was acting around Yuze. The man's torn between his people and his attraction, which is strong enough to make him upset and off balance. Peace or not, in the minds of most people on both sides, the other is still the enemy. It's only been a couple of weeks since the world shifted and changed. Eirian hasn't even been at the Camelia for a full year.
Eirian hasn't even been at the Camelia for a full year.
Wow. She hadn't stopped to think about that, really think about it at all. It hasn't even been a full year.
Maybe she's not actually doing that badly?
But still, she resolved to talk to Chenzhou and Mingzhe, because she would like to have sex again sometime in her lifetime.
Especially if Yuze, who was determined to become a celibate monk for the rest of his life just last week, is already having some.
She eyes Kai Low, who's managed to look pleased with himself while also scowling all morning. She'd bet gold that he was upset because Yuze told him to keep his mouth shut.
"Who are we seeing this morning?" She asks instead of the other questions she'd rather be asking.
"The Valients." Yuze ground out, sounding already done with the day and everyone around him.
Kai Low glanced at him, eyes sharp. "Perhaps someone will finally tell us something useful."
He and Yuze glared at one another as Eirian's eyes darted back and forth between them, amusement growing again.
Since she knew where the Valients live,d she led the way, keeping one ear on the heated silence behind her and the other focused on the people they passed along the way. She needed to walk with Mingzhe one day and see if the rumors really were having the effect on the public that the noble families claimed.
"How has the stick up your ass gotten bigger when I-" Kai Low hissed and then yelped in pain before he could finish.
For Yuze's sake Eirian pretended not to hear any of it..
~ tbc