Fang lay back on a bench, overtaken by sheer exhaustion, guarding them with a loyalty truer than honor itself. His eyes were closed, yet his senses remained as sharp as a tightened string, giving them space and safety.
Ari opened her eyelids very slowly. She felt a heavy, warm weight pressing gently against her firmly held hand. Turning her head, she found Lu Ming leaning beside her bed. The face that once radiated sheer power and terror now looked corpse-pale, and the golden scales that used to adorn his cheeks had completely faded back beneath his skin due to his depleted life essence.
(Ari to herself, gazing at his close, calm features: You idiot... How could you give me your blood knowing you'd be weakened? Look at you... The terrifying Dinosaur King falling weak just to hear my heartbeat again?)
She raised her other hand with great difficulty, her trembling fingertips touching his soft black hair, pulling the strands away from his warm forehead.
Lu Ming stirred instantly, as if his senses were tuned only to her touch. He opened his tired golden eyes, and the moment his gaze met her lively blue eyes, every trace of ego and pride vanished from his face.
"Ari..." he growled in a low voice, a mix of strain and relief wrestling in his throat.
Instead of pulling away or acting cold as he usually did, he slowly pushed himself up and climbed onto the metallic bed beside her, oblivious to the cramped space or the wires. He wrapped his strong arm around her waist, pulling her toward his chest with extreme gentleness, as if terrified she might break if he held her too tightly.
"You're awake..." he whispered against her hair, his warm breath fanning across her neck as his body heat bled into her shivering frame. "You troublesome girl... Do you have any idea how much fear you put me through?"
Ari buried her face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his distinct scent—a blend of cold rain and deep forest wood. Closing her eyes, she felt Lu Ming press a long, warm kiss to the top of her head—a kiss that wasn't just gratitude, but an open confession of being utterly lost without her.
(Ari to herself, hearing his rapid heartbeat against her ear: Your heart is beating so fast... Is it because of your weakness, or because I'm in your arms? You ask if I know fear? Real fear is opening my eyes and not finding you in front of me.)
She raised her head slightly to look into his pale eyes and whispered in a warm, teasingly affectionate voice: "And who said I gave you permission to give me your blood? Now I have a part of you running through my veins... You'll never be able to get rid of me, Lu Ming."
Lu Ming let out a faint, small smile, filled with a transparency and tenderness no one had ever seen from him before. He leaned in closer until his lips brushed against hers, whispering words that melted all the ice between them:
"And who told you I wanted to get rid of you? You are mine alone now, and there's no backing out."
His fingers tightened behind her back, pulling her even closer until no space remained between them. They sank together into a warm, deep embrace, where the blood, the wars, and the laboratory all faded away—leaving nothing in the world except two hearts beating with the very same pulse and the very same blood. (つ≧▽≦)つ