Truth Be Told, This Is The First Time He’s Ever Been Faced With The Question. Brows Rising In Surprise,

truth be told, this is the first time he’s ever been faced with the question. brows rising in surprise, all that liu xiao can do is listen attentively, his eyes catching glimpses of fangs beneath saccharine lips. he returns the smile, ‘ all those examples can be attained simply. money, pleasure, violence; they’re all corporeal in a way. what i seek is… well, let’s just say that it can’t be grazed with your fingertips. not in the physical sense anyways. ’

no other humans around, the privacy that the room offers is welcomed. something about the dark incites truths, like the thrill before the leap down the waterfall. it lures you in, magnetic temptation. he feels a similar pull from vein’s words, just for that moment. serenity shrouds his expression, fingers idly tapping at the bar stool behind his back, where he leans. 

vein watched him with a fierce stare. something about the stare makes his skin crawl, even after all this time, like being gutted alive, needles lined up across the wings of a butterfly for display. he’d seen him push a knife inside a man’s stomach, coming back bloodied and reeking of death, and his eyes had been exactly the same as they were now.

when vein gestures him closer, his first instinct is to stay, but decides to humor him, slow gait driving him closer, enough so that when he glanced down, vein’s face was just a dip away from his own face. through the narrow space, he can sense the vacancy become filled with his warmth, danger, an invitation that he deliberately ignores. 

‘ you sound confident… thinking that i will tell you without receiving something in exchange. a truth for another truth. ever played truth or dare? i was never fond of it, growing up, but i've come to like it. ’ 

gravity makes his sunglasses slide off from their place, his hand moving to take them between two fingers. their absence, by all logic, should make him feel bare, exposed. he searches for the feeling, finding none of it. what he does find is an ache, burning like a plague. his free hand traces a line across vein’s jawline, lifts his chin up so their gazes meet.

lips part slightly, voice serene, ‘ what about you? ’

liu xiao / @einshi asked: "Freedom isn't enough. What I desire doesn't have a name yet." // lx to xf vein 😏

“ that wont do. here I thought you were a wordsmith. have I rendered you speechless? chasing a nameless dream? ” the smoke that exhales from vein’s lips collides with liu xiao’s face, momentarily engulfing his features in a sea of cloudy haze. despite the atmosphere around them carrying weight, leaning back into the plush cushions of the chair, vein appears laxed. a shrug of his shoulders. not often does he get to pick his brain, learn about the innerworkings of a mind he'd still felt a stranger to. “ bridon currently houses two million impoverished people— and wouldn’t you know? your family happens to one of those sitting on wealth, large enough to outlive generations. " a scoff leaves him, " now, it couldn’t be monetary liberation you’re seeking… ”

lips curl, the smoking pistol pipe dancing in his fingers as he swaps hands. fishing for the answer, seemingly coming up emptyhanded at each suggestion he makes. “ maybe it's the itching desire to kill? watch the light leave the eyes to the mere touch of your fingertips. but— you’re no stranger to that either, ” wagging his finger, luring liu xiao closer. he'd be welcomed to take a seat on his lap, if pride allotted him to. whilst vein mentally toys with the principles and concepts these two share. blood. money. connections. indulgences. power. yet liu xiao is greedy enough to crave beyond these vices. there's no judgement in the way vein prods. only curiosity. " enlighten me. when you've got nearly everything, what more could you want? "