356 RTYY 352 - Specially Crafted For Deep Dark Hair

"You can get dressed now," Snow finally declared a few minutes later

Sitting on his heels, he watched as ZaiWin nodded and pulled an old brown tunic over his head. It was a bit too large, Snow noticed, but at least it was dry and clean. Seeing him undo the knot in which he'd tied his long, black hair, Snow suddenly thought of something, fishing for it inside his tunic.

"Here. You can use this," he said, opening his hand, where the small, blue hairpin rested.

Turning to see what he meant, ZaiWin was immediately frozen in place.

"So … you got it back."

Snow nodded, blinking his eyes, his weariness weighing heavier and heavier on him.

"It was inside your pouch. With your crystals. I'm really happy that you managed to find it," the boy declared with a sad, gentle smile on his lips.

Stretching out his hand, ZaiWin touched the small hairpin with the tips of his fingers, gently tracing the delicate welts that gave it the shape of a feather blown by a breath of wind.

"You were holding on to it, when I found you in that ice cave. I guess … it means a lot to you."

Blushing slightly, Snow nodded.

"It was a gift. The first gift I ever received in my life. For a very long time, until I met you, it was also the only one," Snow added, smiling up at ZaiWin.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the delicate hairpin again.

"There was this boy. I found him lost in the forest, near Woodbridge. He was injured, I guess. I remember he couldn't walk, and his leg was all bloody. I was a lot smaller than him, and probably very useless, but I still tried my best to help him. And so he gave me this hairpin as a reward." Snow smiled again.

"I guess he felt sorry for me, because I was so poor and skinny back then. He wanted me to exchange it for food. But I had never seen anything quite so beautiful. And so I immediately decided that I wouldn't sell it. That I would give it to Sand, instead. I really wanted to see her wear it. I thought that if she wore such a beautiful thing, other people wouldn't look down on her so much. I really didn't understand much of anything. Even if she had covered her hair with gold and precious stones, people would have still looked down on her for the mere fact that she was a homeless, mute orphan.

"In the end, I never got to see her again. When I returned home, no one was there. I thought she had left to go to work, and so I waited for her to return. I waited for three whole days, and then decided to go look for her. But before I left home, fearing someone might steal it, I took the time to bury this little treasure under that bridge. In the end, she had already been dead all along. And I was never able to return home again. So I was really surprised, when I found it buried exactly where I'd hid it all those years ago."

So, he had managed to recall that much, ZaiWin concluded, watching him closely, wondering if he had managed to recall anything else, if he was hiding something from him. But, apparently, that was it. Snow had recalled the boy that had given him that hairpin, but either he didn't remember what he looked like, or he wasn't able to recognize ZaiWin as the dying boy he had met back then.

Gently closing Snow's fingers around the small object, ZaiWin smiled at his inquisitive look.

"If it's that important to you, you should keep it safe."

Pushing his larger hand aside, Snow opened his hand again.

"I want you to wear it. I think it will look very beautiful amongst your black hair."

ZaiWin could almost laugh at how ironic that was, that he would sit there and finally hear those words after all those years.

Nodding, he took the small blue feather from Snow's hand and skillfully gathered all his hair at the top of his head, locking it in place with the all too familiar hairpin.

Looking up at him, Snow couldn't help smiling. He'd been right, he thought, blinking again, forcing his sight into focus. It really looked good, the small feather glistening amongst all that deep darkness as if it were made of small blue stars. He couldn't imagine it looking quite as beautiful amongst blond or red hair. It was almost as if it had been specially crafted to adorn deep-dark hair like ZaiWin's.

Closing his eyes, he had intended to open them again, but, instead, his head lolled forward, startling him, allowing him to open his eyes again.

"You need to rest."

Snow nodded. There was no denying it. He'd completely exhausted his energy freezing that door shut, and he'd been forcing himself to remain alert, wanting to make sure that ZaiWin had really forgiven him, before he inevitably closed his eyes.

Grabbing his arm, ZaiWin pulled him closer, and Snow's body simply obeyed, even though his heart was beating frantically inside his chest.

"Come here." Pulling him across his legs, ZaiWin sat him between them, wrapping his arms around Snow's waist.

"What are you doing?"

"Allowing you to get some sleep," ZaiWim simple declared, placing a hand over Snow's head and making him lean against his chest.

Snow blushed all the way to his ears but didn't complain. Instead, he clenched the rough fabric of ZaiWin's tunic with one hand and closed his eyes.

"Use the crystals I charged …" he mumbled, already half-asleep, and ZaiWin couldn't help smiling, burying his fingers in his soft hair.

"I know. Don't worry."

Snow nodded and burrowed into his chest, looking for a more comfortable position. He really liked being held like that, being surrounded by ZaiWin's warmth, being able to listen to his heartbeat. The thought that he had almost lost all that, that he could still lose it as a result of his own selfish, foolish actions, made his chest ache.

Clenching ZaiWin's tunic even harder, Snow lowered his head.

"LanRan …? I'm really … really … sorry …"

Two warm fingers in his chin easily made him raise his head, and then hot-scalding lips captured his. Snow moaned, instinctively opening his mouth, inviting him in. ZaiWin really loved that about him, the way he seemed to melt every time he touched him. Still, this was no time to play around, he immediately scolding himself, suckling Snow's bruised lower lip before he released him. Cradling his head against his chest again, and covering Snow's hand with his own so he could relax, ZaiWin simply leaned back against the cold, hard wall and took a deep breath.

"Stop thinking and worrying. Rest. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Mumbling something unintelligible, Snow finally fell asleep.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Ugh, that must be kind of frustrating. On the other hand, it seems ZaiWin wants Snow to focus on the present, so I guess he's fine with the way things are 😌

On another note, I'm trying my best to reorganize my work life and get enough free time to do what I love most. So please bear with me. Thank you so much for all your love and endless patience! 😔

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