Archive of Our Own

The early afternoon sun sparkled off the ocean as the crashing waves sent sea spray high into the air to cover the squealing children that played in the surf. A mother called after the group to come out of the water to have some lunch and they begrudgingly left the sun warmed water to trudge through the soft sand to their waiting towels. 

Bai Yu smiled at the display, remembering early autumn trips to the beach with his own family as a child- hours spent in the sun, running through the surf until there was enough sand in his bathing suit to weigh them down. He had come here on vacation to try to recapture some of that lightness of childhood. It wasn’t really working. 

No matter how many hours he spent staring at the steady rolling of the tide or reading his book and sipping on drinks with little umbrellas, he couldn’t relax. Thoughts of work crept into his hard sought peace, tainting it and making him flop back on his towel with a frustrated growl. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. Without replacing his glasses, he stared up at the blurry underside of the umbrella above him- red and white bleeding together- and wondered if he would ever learn how to relax and enjoy himself. 

A commotion at the shore pulled Bai Yu’s attention back to the ocean. Sitting up, he replaced his glasses to see what everyone was murmuring about. His eyebrows met his hairline when he saw a man standing up to his knees in the surf- an image that wouldn’t have been strange if the man hadn’t been dressed in a black suit. Immediately, Bai Yu wondered if the man was trying to end his life. However, as he watched, the man sat down in the swirling water and the worried murmurs turned to giggles, but the man didn’t seem to notice. To Bai Yu’s astonishment, the man smiled fondly as the water created little eddies around him. 

None of the other beach goers were approaching him to see if he was alright so Bai Yu might as well be the first. 

He grabbed his floral over shirt from where it lay on his guitar case and threw it over his white tank top to protect him. There was a cool breeze blowing in, bringing with it thick cloud cover and the temperature was steadily falling- he would need the extra layer. One side of the shirt was weighed down by the little airplane pin that he wore everywhere and it made it hard to button the shirt evenly so he left it open as he approached the man in the surf. 

Up close Bai Yu was stunned by how beautiful the man was with his large eyes and long hair that fell in wet locks across his forehead. His skin was flawless but for the light scruff on his upper lip. 

“Hi,” Bai Yu gave a little wave that the man returned with a bright smile that made Bai Yu’s heart stutter. 

“Hello.” The other man did not move to get out of the water so Bai Yu waded in up to his ankles and crouched beside him. He didn’t seem to be insane like many of the onlookers were whispering not so softly. 

“That’s a nice suit. It’ll be a shame if it gets ruined by the salt water,” Bai Yu offered, crossing his arms and resting them on his knees. The other man looked mildly surprised as he looked down at his clothes.

“Are they nice? I never know what I’m going to get,” he replied absently, still letting the water rush around him. 

Bai Yu furrowed his brow. Maybe this guy was a few crayons short of a full box. Still, nobody deserved to be laughed at so Bai Yu stood and offered his hand to the man. 

“Come on, why don’t you get out and get dried off. It can’t be comfortable to be wet in all those layers.”

“It’s really not bad.” He smiled up at Bai Yu, ignoring the still outstretched hand. “You should try it.” 

Bai Yu glanced over his shoulder to the crowd that was starting to gather nearby and clenched his jaw. Some people had nothing better to do. 

“Alright.” Bai Yu sat down in the surf and immediately his face split into a smile. The water immediately drenched his shirts which clung to his chest, but he didn’t care about that when he felt the currents push and pull at him in a steady rhythm. 

When he looked back at the other man he was smiling with a hint of smugness and Bai Yu threw back his head and laughed. When he was able to contain his humor, Bai Yu looked over to see the other man was now laying on his side looking at Bai Yu curiously. 

“Do you not sit in the ocean?”

“Oh, not since I was much younger. Too much important work to be done,” Bai Yu said with a hint of bitterness. 

“This is also important,” the other man told him seriously. He put his hand out just under the surface of the water and closed his eyes. “Feel the tide pull at you. Surrender to its power and grace.”

Bai Yu stared at him incredulously but ultimately shrugged and leaned back on his hands. His fingers dug deep into the ocean sand and he simply focused on the way the water moved around him. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed in that floaty place between awareness and surrendering to the ocean, but when he blinked his eyes open the sun was visibly lower. 

Bai Yu couldn’t contain his awe. He hadn’t been able to let go of his stress for longer than a moment the entire trip, but a few minutes with this man and he’d spent what felt like hours completely at peace. The gawkers from the beach had even dispersed, losing interest in the weird men sitting in the surf. 

When Bai Yu looked over, the man was looking at him steadily. 

“You see?” 

“I do. I feel like I can also see my breath- time to get out I think.” Bai Yu stood and bit back a curse as the cool air hit his wet skin, then he looked over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure what made him offer, but he had the words out before he could overthink it. “Do you want to join me?”

In lieu of answer, the man stood from the water with more grace than should be possible from a man wearing a soaking wet suit and strode confidently towards shore. After a beat, Bai Yu scrambled to follow. 

Under Bai Yu’s umbrella the pair dried off and chatted idly. The subjects were vast and occasionally dotted with odd statements- ‘the common tongue is so strange now,’ and ‘the ocean feels emptier- it’s heartbreaking’. Bai Yu brushed the comments off as unique eccentricities of the beautiful man. 

After the air had sufficiently dried their clothes, Bai Yu gathered his belongings and slung his bag and his guitar case over his shoulder, gesturing along the beach. Their feet lead them along the shore lined with sea beaten crags which they wove between as they talked, barely registering their existence. Occasionally they wandered into the surf which made Bai Yu cringe for the man’s expensive looking shoes, but the water made him smile so obviously he didn’t mind.

The conversation turned to music and Bai Yu unslung the guitar case from his back with a flourish complete with waggled eyebrows. He chose a rock to sit upon in the light of the late afternoon sun and after a quick tuning, began to play. The other man stared at the instrument in wonder while Bai Yu plucked out a simple melody, grinning at the wide eyed stare of the other man. 

After some time he surprised Bai Yu by asking to try the instrument. What surprised Bai Yu even more was how well he played after just watching Bai Yu. He narrowed his eyes at the man in the nearly dry suit and wondered briefly if he was being pranked- nobody could pick up an instrument that easily. Could they? 

Well , Bai Yu considered, if anyone could do it, of course this guy could. 

It was growing dark when Bai Yu realized that they hadn’t even exchanged names. He opened his mouth to say as much, but hesitated. Their meeting felt special- like his life would be fundamentally changed now that they had met. Something as banal as introductions felt unnecessary- Bai Yu would learn his name eventually. 

A chill wind chose that moment to slice through Bai Yu’s bones and he shivered harshly. The other man was immediately on his feet, wearing a look of concern that Bai Yu brushed away. 

Not too far down the beach the stone headland sloped down to dip its fingers in the water creating great stone arches topped in still verdant greenery- it was a beautiful construction of mother nature. The man turned towards it then back to Bai Yu with a look of determination. 

“Come, let’s build a fire.” 

Bai Yu lifted an eyebrow. Most people would just suggest that they head for the shelter of a building, but this intriguing man immediately jumped to fire. Before Bai Yu could say anything however, the other man turned on his still soaked heel and strode off towards the towering wall of stone. 

Surprisingly, it did not take long to gather the necessary firewood from the sand dunes that butted up against the base of the mountain. Bai Yu wondered if he would ever stop being surprised by the man’s wide variety of talents as he watched him deftly build and light the fire. He turned his back to the man to silently watch the ocean’s waters go black then silver in the moonlight. 

Over the ocean the stars above were waking up one by one and Bai Yu smiled at the twinkling spots of light- he’d forgotten how beautiful the night sky was so far from the city. A falling star shot across the darkening blue blanket above them and Bai Yu laughed. 

“Make a wish,” Bai Yu told the man, pointing at the spot where the star had disappeared. He appeared at Bai Yu’s side, humming thoughtfully. 

“You wish upon stars?” He asked, staring at the sky with a faint frown on his lips. “They are not well known for their secret keeping.”

It was Bai Yu’s turn to frown and he turned away from the night sky. “Who would they tell?”

“Each other, the moon, the passing comets- stars are quite gossipy. It is my understanding that wishes must remain secret for them to come true,” the man explained as if he were simply stating the sky was blue or that water was wet. 

“Well then what should I wish upon?” Bai Yu asked with a chuckle- this was not a conversation he ever thought he would have until he had children of his own. 

The man turned and Bai Yu sucked in a sharp breath. He hadn’t realized how close they were standing until they looked away from the crashing waves. 

“The ocean is always discreet,” he murmured. “It will hear your wish and carry it away on the tide.”

“Will my wish come true?” Bai Yu found that he couldn’t speak above a whisper. 

“If it is within the ocean’s power, yes. Many wishes sink to the depths to live amongst the reefs and shipwrecks, others evaporate off the surface, but some,” he paused with a strange wistful smile on his face. “Some are granted to the lucky few.”

“Who grants the wishes?” They were standing so close that Bai Yu could smell the dried salt water on his skin and clothes. 

“One of the ocean lords,” he replied and something ageless swirled in his eyes for a moment.

A loud popping from the fire behind them made them jump apart. The wind reminded Bai Yu that he was cold and with a sheepish grin, he moved closer to the glowing warmth. They took a seat upon the sand, not pressed together, but not on opposite sides of the fire. 

The warmth seeped into Bai Yu’s bones and he sighed. The silence that surrounded them wasn’t uncomfortable, but Bai Yu couldn’t keep his mouth shut. 

“It’s a good thing that it’s a full moon tonight, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see our way back to the hotel,” Bai Yu let the offer hang in the air while he held his breath. If the man was staying at the same hotel, he could read it as simply going home for the night. If not, he could read it as an invitation to Bai Yu’s room. Bai Yu was hoping for the latter and not just for the possibility of sex- he just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. 

“Yes, the moonlight is what allowed me to be here- as limited as my time may be.” He looked at Bai Yu through the smoke rising from the fire. 

So he wasn’t staying long. A part of Bai Yu’s chest twisted with surprising intensity. He had barely known this man for half a day, but Bai Yu was mourning his impending departure keenly. If things went well, he would have to get the guy's number as well as his name.

“Well let’s enjoy the time we have then,” Bai Yu told him with a confidence he didn’t really feel. They held each other's gazes for a few dizzying heartbeats then the man smiled and turned to stare into the fire. 

Bai Yu’s stomach took the opportunity to remind him that he hadn’t eaten in hours. With a laugh he stood and pulled some snacks from his bag, holding out a bag of chips to the man which he took with a curious tilt to his eyebrows. The man savored each chip with eyes that nearly glowed with joy. 

“These are delicious!” He popped another chip in his mouth and chewed slowly as if it were the best food he’d eaten in years. 

“They are pretty good,” Bai Yu laughed. “I try to always carry some kind of snack with me since I sometimes forget to eat meals.”

The man’s eyes swiveled to meet Bai Yu’s and his stare took on a hard edge that made Bai Yu sit back. 

“Do not skip meals- that is very bad for you,” he snapped then blinked several times in rapid succession. “I’m sorry. I just… I feel like I used to know someone who did that and it caused him much pain.”

“It’s alright. I appreciate your concern for my well being,” Bai Yu told him truthfully. 

They munched on their meager meals, simply staring at the fire or stealing glances at each other. When he finished the last chip, the man licked his fingers slowly, being sure to get every last bit of salt and seasoning from his skin. Bai Yu swallowed. 

Shaking himself, Bai Yu wiped his own hands on his jeans then pulled out his guitar and began to play. He had the feeling that if he didn’t do something, his hands may cross a line they weren’t ready to broach yet. From the open guitar case the man picked up a small notebook and leafed through Bai Yu’s scratchy composition notes. He scrutinized the notes with a growing look of confusion then turned to pin Bai Yu with a desperate look. 

“Would you mind?” He asked, pulling out the pencil that was tucked into the back page and gesturing at the small book. 

Bai Yu shrugged. “Sure, go ahead. They’re just scribblings when I can’t get a tune out of my mind.” 

They sat there as the stars made their way slowly across the sky. Bai Yu played so long that his fingers began to hurt so he resorted to humming over simple chord accompaniment. All the while the man wrote slowly in Bai Yu’s notebook. 

When the fire had banked down to glowing embers the man put the pencil away and sighed unsteadily. 

“Everything okay?” Bai Yu asked, moving to set the guitar aside. 

“I believe it is,” the man replied and held the notebook out to Bai Yu. “Would you mind playing it?”

Bai Yu scooted closer and squinted at the tiny notes illuminated by the dying fire and plucked out the melody they had written together. 

The man had chosen to add onto one of his half finished songs that had been in his mind for as long as he could remember. Even as a child, he would hum this tune to himself, but it always ended abruptly with no resolution which left him with a feeling of intense longing. Now this man had finished it and as Bai Yu played he was surprised that he hadn’t thought of the conclusion- it fit so perfectly with the first half of the melody. 

Something pulled at his heart as the guitar filled the air with a song that was somehow both playful and steady- like a stream that splashed merrily at the surface but underneath hid a fast moving current. What he felt most of all from the music was love. This song was about a love so strong that it transcended lifetimes. Bai Yu was having a hard time breathing.

When the final chord resolution faded into the night Bai Yu looked up to find the other man staring at him with naked wonder. No, things like past lives and reuniting with past lovers was something you only read about in books. This wasn’t that- it couldn’t be that. 

Bai Yu tried to laugh off the man’s stare by standing to put the instrument away. 

“What? I’m not that great. Let’s put this away since the fire is dying anyway,” Bai Yu told him with his back turned to the fire to hide how his hands shook. 

The man did not wait for Bai Yu to turn around before speaking. 

“Why is it that when I look at you, I feel like I’ve found something I’ve been searching for? I’ve never seen you before and yet…” His voice was barely above a whisper, but it hit Bai Yu like an arrow to his heart. 

“What are you searching for?” Bai Yu asked, still turned away and looking out over the roaring ocean waves. 

“I don’t remember,” Bai Yu could hear the frustration in his voice. “It's faded and worn smooth in my memory, but if I close my eyes it’s as if I can still feel its indentation with my fingertips.” The man closed his eyes, raising his hand blindly and Bai Yu took a chance. He turned and dropped to his knees before the man then rested the man’s hand over his hammering heart. 

The man’s eyes opened slowly, first looking down with longing at the point where his hand rested over Bai Yu’s heart then up into Bai Yu’s eyes. 

“That’s it,” the man spoke reverently. “That’s what it feels like.”

Bai Yu leaned in and pressed their lips together. Something whispered in his ear that he was always the impatient one, but ignored it to focus on the way their mouths moved together. It was like breaking the surface of the water moments before drowning; his lungs burned as he tried to take in as much of this man as he could as if he were the one thing Bai Yu needed to live. 

The universe had turned around them when the man pulled back from the kiss and cupped Bai Yu’s cheek. The man’s eyes were full of tears and Bai Yu was shocked to feel stinging in his own eyes. Without a word the man rose to his feet and held out a hand for Bai Yu which he took. They gathered Bai Yu’s belongings in silence and walked toward the arch of stone. 

Bai Yu didn’t know why he followed without questioning where they were going, but as soon as they walked through the arch Bai Yu stopped in his tracks, gaping at the sight. 

A cave was hidden just on the other side of the stone opening. It was vast and the waves lapped gently a few feet into the opening. Inside, the walls were lined with something that glowed- some kind of bio-luminescent algae, Bai Yu thought. It was hard to tell in the gentle light, but it looked like there were sconces with torches on the walls as well.  The man didn’t move to light them. Instead, he took Bai Yu’s bag and guitar case and laid them on a small table against the wall. 

The man slipped his hand into Bai Yu’s and he led them to a pile of incredibly soft blankets. 

“You live here?” Bai Yu asked though he was unsurprised when the man hummed an acknowledgement. He looked around the space and nodded his approval- it was beautiful in a wild and untamed way. The sound of the ocean echoed in a steady drone making every muscle in Bai Yu’s body want to relax. “It’s perfect.” 

The man brushed his fingers over Bai Yu’s cheek and Bai Yu leaned in for another kiss. This time the intensity of the kiss built until they were tangled around each other. Hands explored smooth textures hidden under clothes while their mouths filled with the taste of sea salt dried upon their skin. The cave gradually became warmer with the vigor of their activities, sweat slipping down their bare backs and beading across their brows, making their hair stick to their foreheads. The sounds of their voices mingled together and echoed off the stone walls, a symphony of pleasure crescendoing until they both cried out. 

The sea breeze brushed across their heated skin making Bai Yu erupt in goosebumps though the other man seemed immune to the chill. Bai Yu pulled the other man closer, seeking his warmth in the rapidly cooling cave. 

A sense of completion blanketed Bai Yu’s senses and he sighed like he had finally scratched an itch that he’d had all his life but could never reach. 

“It feels like I’m finally home,” the man said and Bai Yu looked down at him curiously though he thought he understood: they had found the missing piece of themselves. 

A piece of himself who would be leaving soon though Bai Yu didn’t know for how long since he lived here. He would have to come back eventually, right?

Bai Yu tried to stifle his sigh; the man was in his arms, but Bai Yu was already missing him. He could feel the man’s breath begin to even out. 

“What do I call you?” the man whispered in a voice thick with sleep.

Bai Yu didn’t pause carding his fingers through the man’s hair. “My name is Bai Yu.”

The man sighed with contentment then he was asleep and Bai Yu chuckled. He would have to wait until the morning to get the man’s name.

Bai Yu didn’t remember falling asleep, but the sound of the waves and the warmth of the man beside him must have pulled him under shortly after the man fell asleep. It was the most restful sleep he’d ever had in his entire life, but he mourned the hours he’d lost to unconsciousness. Judging by the light filtering in from the cave entrance, it was already well into the morning and rapidly nearing mid-day. The rumbling of his stomach reminded him that he had depleted his snack stash the night before. 

Carefully, Bai Yu slid out from the bed without waking the man and dressed quickly. He would go get them some breakfast and then spend the rest of their time together until the man had to go wherever he needed to go. 

He spotted some paper and blinked at the old style brush and ink situated beside the paper rather than an ugly mug full of pens like most people. Shrugging, he dipped the tip of the brush into the ink and wrote a quick- and sloppy- message. 

Going to get us some food. I’ll be right back. - Bai Yu <3

The heart was probably a little much, but Bai Yu didn’t care. He was already head over heels for this man. He’d never fallen so hard so fast before, but this felt like a continuation of their story rather than a beginning. Maybe those stories you read in books or saw on TV weren’t just fanciful daydreams. 

The page fluttered in the ocean breeze and Bai Yu frowned. The last thing he wanted was for the man to wake up to an empty bed and no note. He glanced down at the heavy airplane pin and smiled. The man had shown interest in it when they first came out of the surf and dried off under Bai Yu’s umbrella- said it reminded him of a familiar symbol that he couldn’t quite recall. Quickly, Bai Yu unpinned it from his shirt and laid it on the note. Now the man would definitely expect him to return for his beloved pin. 

He decided to run back to his hotel room for a quick shower and to pack a few changes of clothes. Only when he was packing his bag did he realize that he had left his guitar in the cave. He shrugged off the worry- maybe the man would see the guitar as Bai Yu’s promise to return. It was almost two hours later that he finally returned to their stretch of beach. The noon day sun beat down viciously making Bai Yu long for the cool breezes of the day before. 

Bai Yu’s arms were laden with bags of food along with his bag of clothes. He nearly stumbled over the remnants of their fire the night before, but he smiled fondly at the memory. 

Looking towards the archway, Bai Yu’s stomach became uneasy. Something had changed, but he couldn’t lay his finger on what. The sound of the waves wasn’t the gentle lapping he had heard the night before, instead it sounded as if they were crashing violently against a barrier. The uneasy feeling grew and Bai Yu quickened his pace. The roar of the waves only became louder as he approached the stone arch. The bags fell out of his hands and Bai Yu ran the last few feet towards the opening of the cave, wading through paper debris floating on the top of the water.

Bai Yu stood in the angry surf, battered by fierce waves and lifted his hand to smooth stone. The cave was gone. 

“No,” Bai Yu whispered. He looked around sharply, panic threatening to cut off his air. Had he forgotten where the cave was? He shook his head- no, he had seen their campfire just outside. He ran his hand over the wall again and again, trying to find something that would tell him that the day before hadn’t just been his imagination. When he was met with nothing but solid rock, Bai Yu beat the flat of his palm against the barrier, then his fist. 

His screams echoed against the stone, but went unheeded. Even the ocean seemed to reflect his anguish, battering his legs and back with waves that sliced at his skin like knives. He screamed until his body would give no more then he moved out from under the arch and the brutality of the surf to drop to the sand.

To his right he could see the bags of food strewn across the beach- he’d even picked up extra bags of the chips that the man had enjoyed so much. Tears blurred his vision and he couldn’t drum up the will to chase away the birds that were pecking at the sandwiches that were scattered across the sand. 

One thought kept repeating in Bai Yu’s mind though it made no sense: not again. 

The feeling of loss was so deep it was as if Bai Yu had lost a part of himself- such was the hole that was left in his chest. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks and Bai Yu buried his face in his knees, wrapping his arms tightly around his legs. 

Over the next several hours, Bai Yu oscillated wildly between a deep feeling of loss and a wild hope that the man would somehow return. Maybe it was a door that the man shut and Bai Yu simply had to wait. The idea that maybe the man had shut this “door” and went looking for Bai Yu sent him tearing down the beach only to return to the arch with nothing but sorrow. 

He wondered if it would open in the evening and so Bai Yu waited. He waited until the sun had sunk low in the sky, until every star above him was shining brightly. When the moon came out, her beams felt like a sad caress upon his face. The moonlight only revealed the truth he was unwilling and unable to face: the man was gone… and Bai Yu hadn’t even learned his name. 

The rest of Bai Yu’s vacation was spent in a similar manner: he would rise early and make his way from the hotel to the arch, praying that the cave would miraculously be there once more. Every time he was disappointed. 

After the first day had left him with an intense sunburn, Bai Yu brought protection in the form of blankets and an umbrella. He spent the days waiting patiently, holding out an ever thinning thread of hope that he would somehow see the man again. He knew he probably looked pathetic but he couldn’t stop himself. 

Bai Yu’s best guess was that the other man had to leave on whatever trip he’d had planned and didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. The excuse was weak and Bai Yu knew it, but it was the only explanation he would accept as he packed up his things to abandon his hotel room and head home. 

Watching the town disappear into the distance was one of the hardest things Bai Yu had ever done. 

When Bai Yu returned to work it didn’t take long for his coworkers to notice something was wrong. He tried his best to hide his sadness and move past it. Afterall, it was only one night and it wasn’t like he’d never had one night stands before- just never one night stands that made him feel whole. 

After a month, he decided that trying to ignore what happened and just pretend he was okay with never seeing the man again wasn’t working out. 

One night afterwork, Bai Yu waded through the scattered detritus of the multiple projects he had started to try to distract himself. Buckets of paint sat unopened with tarps and paint rollers for a wall that would likely remain the shade it currently was. Piles of wood filled one corner- an impulse buy after he saw a video of a man making his own desk. Project after project that never made it past the planning phase and just cluttered his home instead. 

Bai Yu unearthed his laptop and a pad of paper and set about scouring the internet for the man. Everyone left a digital footprint, right? 

He lifted his fingers to hover over the keys and stared at the blinking cursor in the search engine. What could he search to find the man? He didn’t have his name, only a mental image and a head full of conversations that didn’t really point towards any details that would be handy in a search. The man had spoken strangely, like he had been around for a long time. Perhaps he was a local?

He looked up shops that sold expensive suits. He gave them a call and described the man, but most places wouldn’t even divulge the smallest detail of their clients, the others simply said they weren’t familiar with a man meeting the description. 

Guessing the man’s relative age, Bai Yu searched through the records of the local schools for a familiar face but only ended up with eye strain. 

He sighed and rubbed at his abused eyes. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Maybe the most unique thing about the man was where he lived in town. Not many people could be living in caves on the beach. A quick keyword search with the name of the town and ‘man living in beach cave’ turned up surprising results. 

He stared at page after page of local legends revolving around two lovers and a jealous goddess. Selecting the first result, Bai Yu settled in to read the legend of ocean lord Zhu Yilong and the goddess Teng Ai. 

The first article did not give him much information- just the basic premise. Zhu Yilong was an ocean lord who was the object of a goddess’ affection, but was himself in love with someone else. Bai Yu sighed and opened the next article. This one held a few more details about the actions that the goddess took to secure Zhu Yilong’s affections and Bai Yu wrinkled his nose. Killing the competition didn’t seem like a good way to go about winning someone’s heart. 

He read that night until the early morning light blinded him through his curtains. Standing to stretch and close his laptop, Bai Yu made his way to bed. He’d gotten a good outline of the legend out of his research. The one thing that bothered him was the lack of details on Zhu Yilong’s lover. Every article was different, but lacked information on this great love of Zhu Yilong’s. The only thing that they seemed to agree on was that they were royal. He plopped into bed and slipped easily into dreams that featured dark eyes and soft lips. 

He wasn’t sure what drove him, but piece by piece Bai Yu built a more complete version of the story after almost a month of all-consuming research. He scoured every article online that he could find- even paying for access to university archives- until he had a better idea of the full scope of the legend. He looked down at his notes and began to write out everything in sequential order. 

Once there was a lord of the ocean who was known far and wide for his beautiful face and his even temper- his name was Zhu Yilong. Because his ocean was always peaceful he was loved by both mortals and gods alike. The water was steady for the fishermen who pulled up teeming nets of fish and the gods were worshiped by the humans in thanks for their bountiful lives. 

The kind-hearted ocean lord caught the eye of many goddesses all who vied for his attention only to be gently turned away. However, one goddess was determined to catch Zhu Yilong’s affections- Teng Ai. 

Teng Ai was widely considered one of the most beautiful of all the goddesses- her black hair flowed smoothly down to her knees and her skin was as flawless and pale as jade. Though her powers allowed her to manipulate the minds of others, she was determined not to use her powers with Zhu Yilong. 

She spent days wandering the shores of his domain wearing the most beautiful robes she owned, but Zhu Yilong did not take notice. She offered him handmade gifts which he graciously accepted as tribute, but did not invite her further into his realm. He did notice when she played her pipa but as soon as she began to sing Zhu Yilong’s smile became tight and he left shortly after she finished her first song. 

Though she was frustrated, she refused to give up. In her opinion, the well won lover was much sweeter than the men who simply fell at her feet. 

While she schemed, Zhu Yilong became better at avoiding the aggressive goddess at all costs, determined not to fall prey to the clutches of love. 

He was wandering the shore one day when a fine boat with stunning golden ornaments of birds in flight- the sigil of the local kingdom- hit upon an unseen rock and tossed one of the occupants standing on deck sailing overboard. The humans all ran to the railing calling after the sinking person, but the impact on the water had knocked them unconscious. Zhu Yilong acted without thought, diving into the water and pulling the human onto the shore. 

The human Zhu Yilong had saved turned out to be a royal member of the nearby kingdom and when they woke they offered Zhu Yilong anything he could ask for. The offer surprised Zhu Yilong who had always granted the wishes of others or received gifts that others wished him to have- no one had ever asked what he wanted. The human was attractive and Zhu Yilong found himself simply wishing for their company. A deal was struck that the royal would visit Zhu Yilong as often as they could.

Teng Ai learned of this feat and went to visit Zhu Yilong to compliment him on his caring soul, but what she found irritated her. The human and Zhu Yilong were walking along the beach simply talking and laughing, even playing in the surf together. She had spent so long trying to catch Zhu Yilong’s eye and here was this human playing with them. 

She approached the pair and addressed Zhu Yilong, ignoring the human. She decided to try the direct approach and confess her feelings to Zhu Yilong while the human shifted uncomfortably in the background. The ocean lord rejected her feelings as gently as he could, and when she looked past Zhu Yilong she could see the human hiding a smile behind their hand. Her blood boiled- she had been humiliated and she would be avenged. She left in a swirl of sand that sliced at their skin. She refused to accept his rejection- Zhu Yilong would be hers no matter what she had to do to make him love her in return.

In the weeks and months that followed, the human and the ocean lord became close- the human teased the ocean lord out of his shyness and the ocean lord tried his best to teach the human to balance relaxation with hard work. Most days the human won their minor wars though Zhu Yilong did not put up much of a fight. Their friendship blossomed into something that they both cherished until one night under the light of the full blue moon, they shared their first kiss. From that moment on, their love became a thing of legend. They were deeply devoted to each other- so much so that Zhu Yilong was willing to half his long life to extend the life of the human. 

When Teng Ai caught wind of their romance she flew into a rage. Days before the scheduled ascension of the human, Teng Ai exacted her revenge. She lured Zhu Yilong into a nearby cave then used a spell obtained from another deity to seal Zhu Yilong inside- none but Teng Ai would be allowed entrance. He raged against the stone walls, he called the waves to beat against the rocks, but the barrier held firm. 

The ocean outside his stone prison became a maelstrom and the humans all huddled in their homes praying for an end to the storms. 

After a week, Teng Ai appeared in Zhu Yilong’s cave. She offered to set him free if only he would marry her. He refused as politely as he thought she deserved and she retreated just as the jug of water shattered against the cave wall where she had once stood. 

She returned every week for a month with the same offer and Zhu Yilong always gave her the same answer. Becoming desperate to see his lover, he tried a different tactic. 

The next time she came, Zhu Yilong asked if they could reach a compromise. He would not marry her- citing his undying love for the human- but maybe there was something else he could give her. She looked at him with pity and explained that the human had been on a boat in the middle of Zhu Yilong’s endless storm- they drowned when their boat capsized in the rough water. 

Teng Ai smiled slyly as Zhu Yilong looked down, pale faced at the news- she simply failed to mention that the hand which sent the human to their watery grave was her own. It had been a simple matter to convince the human to take a boat out into the rough water alone; the rest was inevitable. 

Zhu Yilong’s world shattered into a million pieces. His storm had killed the person he loved; Zhu Yilong was responsible for their death. Outside the cave, the ocean thrashed wildly and Zhu Yilong fought to control his grief until the waters were calm once more. Teng Ai took his hand and patted it gently, telling him that she would make it all better. 

Before he could stop her, she placed a spell on Zhu Yilong that would make his memory of the human erode away. He howled at her to remove the spell, that he never wanted to forget his lover, but his cries went unheeded. Instead she told him that she would be back when his feelings had finally faded away. She knew that the deeper the love, the longer it would take to completely fade, but she could be patient while the spell worked its magic. The only thing that could break the spell would be for Zhu Yilong to reunite with his love, but the imprisonment spell would see to that. 

Teng Ai had greatly underestimated the love Zhu Yilong had for the human because after centuries of waiting, he was still in love with them. Every time she would check on him, he would explain that he still loved his human and she would leave in a huff. 

Her visits became fewer until she only came once a century. During his long years of solitary confinement, Zhu Yilong entertained himself with the wishes that washed in from under the stone door. The spell on the cave prevented him from fulfilling the wishes, but it gave him a sense of what was going on outside.  

The other gods and goddesses went on with their lives, apparently not noticing the disappearance of a certain ocean lord. Except for Chang'e. The goddess of the moon had watched the two men fall in love and the way jealousy had torn them apart. Being separated from her own love, Chang’e did her best to help. On the night of the blue moon, when Chang’e’s powers were at their peak, she held open the door for Zhu Yilong to escape for twenty four hours to search for his reincarnated love. 

The legend deviated off from there. Some sites suggested that eventually Zhu Yilong forgot about his lover and married the goddess. Others claimed he found his lost love and the curse of the cave was broken. Most suggested that he was still looking and was freed every blue moon to go on his quest.   

Bai Yu sat back and stared at the screen. His mouth was dry as cotton as he skimmed what he had written again. He felt like he was perched right on the edge of an endless abyss that terrified and thrilled him all at once.

Bai Yu tapped a fingertip on his bottom lip and reread the section on Zhu Yilong being freed. Blue moons. He recalled the bright full moon on their walk and Bai Yu’s heart took off. There was no way. He pulled up a calendar and stood so fast his chair went flying backwards. It had been a blue moon- the first in four years. Maybe it was just a coincidence. He tried to tell himself to calm down, that there was no way this was real. 

Don't all legends hold a grain of truth? His subconscious happily chimed in. 

He did a quick search on the next blue moon and fell back into his chair- two years. It would be two years before he could test his theory. 

He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. Was he losing his mind? This guy couldn’t possibly be an ocean lord from days long past. A grain of truth in legends was one thing, believing that the man he met in the ocean waves was an immortal deity was something else entirely. The more likely story was that he was just another guy only interested in a one night stand. 

Bai Yu slammed his laptop shut and went to bed, determined to push the memory away. 

-ZYL-

Miles away and trapped behind a familiar wall of rock, Zhu Yilong sat on his bed and stared at the door, willing it to open. In one hand he held a note written in quite frankly terrible calligraphy, and in the other a small airplane pin. He’d read the note a hundred times already, but he still could not believe it. 

The instant he had seen that name on the page, memories started to trickle back into his mind from a time long past. He had nearly lost the last of his prince: a few more years and Teng Ai would have won, but fate was on their side. He held up the little airplane pin and the torchlight danced on the silver surface. A bird in flight, just like the sigil of the prince’s kingdom. 

He had been right there and Zhu Yilong let him slip through his fingers. He wasn’t sure what would have happened if Bai Yu were still in the cave when Chang’e’s magic which held open the door ended. Would Bai Yu have been trapped inside? If Zhu Yilong had realized sooner, would he have been able to explain? Would Bai Yu have even believed him if he did? 

Not for the first time, Zhu Yilong cursed Teng Ai. She had separated him from the prince for a second time and he would not stand for it. The next time she appeared he would demand to be released, then he would go to Longwang for justice. His stomach twisted at the thought of his uncle- the dragon king- who had evidently not cared enough about his disappearance to look for him. 

His ankle throbbed and he rubbed at it without letting go of the precious pin. He had stretched his tether as far as it would reach this time and Teng Ai’s spell had a nasty bite. Though Chang’e was able to let him wander the beach, Zhu Yilong was still tied to the cave by an invisible chain. The bruising around his ankle was evidence of his humanity while he was outside- stripped of all his powers for twenty four hours. It was a vicious reminder that his days of freedom were mere illusion. 

With a resigned sigh, Zhu Yilong set the note down on his table along with the airplane pin. He reached into the drawer filled with pages upon pages of letters. The oldest ones were brittle, crumbling like dry snowflakes back into the drawer. He did not mourn their loss- the ink had faded away long ago. He had written them in a desperate attempt to remember his prince and not let Teng Ai’s spell rob his mind of the love of his life. Gradually, the spell took hold anyway and the pages became abstract longing, their pages filling with nothing but his pain of a loss he could barely remember. 

He dropped the pages into the fire- he would not need to remind himself any longer. The new note from Bai Yu and his pin were reverently placed in the now empty drawer. 

Moving back to his bed, Zhu Yilong picked up Bai Yu’s guitar. He held it to his chest for a moment, remembering the way Bai Yu had looked in the firelight playing their song. 

Zhu Yilong closed his eyes and strummed the first chord and hummed to himself. Even after an unknown number of reincarnations, his prince had remembered their song through each of his lifetimes. His heart had provided the first part, waiting for the other part of himself to arrive with the rest of the melody. 

One of the first memories to return was of the night he and the prince drifted together on a small boat while they stared up at the stars. The prince had been the first one to begin humming a silly little melody and Zhu Yilong joined in shortly afterwards, simply moving from one note to the next and allowing the music to guide them. When they finished they had looked at each other and smiled, then Bai Yu leaned in to kiss him for the first time. 

The memory tasted bittersweet on Zhu Yilong’s tongue as the song came to an end. He wondered if Bai Yu would somehow figure out when to come back- if he would be waiting on the beach when he was freed on the next blue moon. All he could do was wait.

-BY-

Bai Yu tried to forget- he really did- but everywhere he turned, he found something else that reminded him of the man. The songs on the radio all sounded like the song the man had finished for Bai Yu, which he found himself humming nearly constantly. The chips that the man had loved so much stared at him from every shelf in the grocery store. Even ads for cologne featured a man laying in the surf and looking sultry. It was driving Bai Yu insane. 

It had been six months since their night together and no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that it was just a one night stand, Bai Yu’s heart refused to believe it. Their looks had been too meaningful, conversation too in depth, their lovemaking had been achingly tender- definitely not the kind of encounter that simply scratched an itch. 

It probably didn’t help that Bai Yu continued to look for more information on the legend surrounding the beach. He had read almost every article ever written on the story. Most of them had a few variations on the reason behind Teng Ai’s imprisonment of Zhu Yilong- some said that he was her lover and she was rightfully angry, one even claimed that it was Zhu Yilong’s lover’s idea to trap him in the cave- but most of the core details remained the same. Zhu Yilong and the royal had been in love and were painfully separated. 

He would dare to hope that the stories were real since they were mostly consistent, then he would dismiss the idea completely and tell himself that he needed to get a grip. This hiatus usually only lasted a few days before he was searching again. 

This circular pattern of research, denial, hope continued on for another two months until one of his coworkers stepped in. He had been doodling in the middle of a meeting again- waves crashing against a cave this time- and a friend leaned over to examine his work. 

“That must have been some vacation,” she whispered, making sure not to draw attention. 

Bai Yu blushed brightly and tried to cover the doodle. “Yeah,” he whispered back. 

“You should go back- looks like you left something there you can’t get out of your mind,” she nodded at the picture with a gentle smile. 

Bai Yu blinked a few times. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He could just go back- if the man was lounging on the beach with someone else, then it would be clear that it was just a fling. If he wasn’t there and the cave was still sealed then maybe… He stood up, startling everyone in the meeting. Clutching his stomach and claiming illness, he darted from the meeting room to the shock of his coworkers. He paused only long enough to tell his boss that he was taking a few days off, then he was on his way home to pack. 

The beach air was as sweet as he remembered it. Though the late spring air was warmer than it was when Bai Yu had last visited, he turned his face to the sun and smiled. Even if he didn’t find the man, it felt right to be in the seaside city- like this place was now home. 

He decided to go check the local library for any additional information on the legend. A kind woman smiled at him warmly and led him to the archives towards the back of the library. 

“I think you’ll find everything you need here,” she told him with a glint in her eye, then turned and walked back towards the front without further explanation. 

Kicking himself for not thinking of coming to this library sooner, Bai Yu stared at a full shelf of books and articles on the subject of the local legend. He grabbed a few books he hadn’t seen before and settled in for more research. 

Bai Yu’s eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead an hour later. He had found three different sources that claimed that Zhu Yilong’s lover was a man, a scandalous story even in this century- it was no wonder he hadn’t found any information on the ocean lord’s human lover until now. 

The kind woman cleared her throat behind him and he jumped. She explained that the library was closing and offered to reshelve the books for him. He made his way towards the front and when he turned back to thank her, she was gone. Glancing around, Bai Yu shrugged then straightened his spine and made his way to the beach.

He’d put off checking for the cave, fearful of what he would find. Steeling himself, Bai Yu carried the gas lantern he had brought with him through the mountainous archway. 

The smooth wall of stone stared back at Bai Yu mockingly as the surf soaked his pant legs to the thigh. No matter how much he had tried to prepare himself, the cracked and broken remnants of his heart still ground to dust. 

“Where are you?” Bai Yu whispered, running his fingers across the cold damp stone. 

The full moon was rising over the ocean when he waded out of the surf and plopped down on the sand, setting the lantern beside him. He thought back to their night on the beach and turned his eyes to the rolling waves. The ocean listened to wishes. 

With a quick look down the beach to confirm he was alone, Bai Yu leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. 

“Here goes nothing,” Bai Yu muttered. “Hey… ocean… um, someone told me that you grant wishes? So, I guess, here goes. I met this guy here last year, you may remember him- kinda long black hair, gorgeous, no concept of swimwear- anyway… I-” Bai Yu swallowed back the thickening in his throat. “I need to find him. Could you bring him back to me? Please.” Bai Yu watched the waves roll steadily in and out and growled in frustration, rubbing roughly at the back of his head. 

“Ugh, this is stupid,” Bai Yu whined and stared out over the ocean with growing hopelessness. His eyes landed on the bright disk of the moon and he had a senseless urge to hurl something at it. “Aren’t you supposed to help him?” Bai Yu asked in a tone heavy with accusation. “If he is Zhu Yilong, aren’t other gods looking for him?” 

Bai Yu stood up now and pointed a finger at the moon. “Can’t you just tell someone that he’s being held here? If your magic is so strong to release him for a day, then is it so impossible to find help?” Bai Yu was yelling at the top of his lungs, all the frustration and pain of the last few months pouring out of him. “If you can’t even do that-” all at once the anger drained out of Bai Yu and he sat down on the sand once more. “What’s the point of you?”

With a heavy sigh, Bai Yu laid his head in his hands. “What’s the point of me? Why am I even here chasing after a legend? Even if it is true, how can I help an immortal lord of the ocean defeat a goddess ?” 

When he looked back up his face was apologetic. “I’m sorry, Chang’e, I’m just so lost. I have this wild theory that I…” he hesitated to say it outloud, but forced the words past his lips. “I might be the prince? The one that Teng Ai killed all those years ago. I know it sounds crazy, but I just feel so connected to this story.”

He leaned back on his hands and sang their song to the moon as she climbed higher in the sky. The melody slowed as he reached the end and rubbed at his damp cheeks with the back of his hand. 

“I just miss him so much,” Bai Yu whispered to the waves and let them carry away his confession to mingle with the seafoam. 

A whisper on the wind pulled his attention down the beach. Shadows danced in his vision and he stood up automatically, only grabbing the lantern as an afterthought before following the sweet voice that beckoned him. He walked for what could have been a few minutes or a few hours before he saw it. 

A boat was resting on the shore and in the distance Bai Yu could see the figure of a woman watching him intently. She didn’t approach and Bai Yu found it hard to continue to look at her. With near mechanical movements Bai Yu launched the boat into the surf and jumped inside. His eyes were focused on a point near the center of the harbor and he rowed towards it with a fixed determination. 

-ZYL-

Zhu Yilong was staring at the wall covered in scratch marks wondering if he should start on another wall to mark the passage of time when he heard it. 

It was just a whisper, but the voice sang to him as a part of his own soul. He clamored across the cave and fell to his knees where the surf refused to be held back and soaked into the sand under his prison door. He held his breath as he strained to listen. 

“-long black hair, gorgeous, no concept of swimwear- anyway… I- I need to find him. Could you bring him back to me? Please.”

Tears sprang to Zhu Yilong’s eyes and his lungs burned. He dug uselessly at the sand under the door with clawed fingers. Bai Yu had come back and was searching for him. If there was any wish he wanted to grant it was this one. 

With a shout he climbed to his feet and paced like the caged animal he was. His anger echoed in the sudden violent thrashing of the waves against his door. He was churning the water of the harbor, but he could not contain his rage. It was time for this to come to an end. 

“TENG AI!” Zhu Yilong bellowed. 

The goddess appeared sprawled across his bed and Zhu Yilong barely checked the desire to smother her with a pillow. 

“You called, my love?” She smiled at him sweetly. 

Something in Zhu Yilong snapped. He stalked forward and she had the good sense to scuttle off his bed to keep a safe distance between them. 

“I have met my limit. I am not your love, nor will I ever be. This ends now, Teng Ai!”

“Now, now, my lord. You’ll need to keep your temper in check if you don’t want history to repeat itself. It would be terrible if you got the prince’s blood on your hands… twice,” she said with mock sadness.

Everything in Zhu Yilong’s body went perfectly still. 

“What have you done?” He whispered harshly. 

“I have done nothing. You on the other hand…” She waved her hand and the door vanished. 

Outside the sea was boiling. White froth capped the waves which folded and crashed against each other. With a start Zhu Yilong felt the full force of the ocean for the first time since he’d been trapped in the cave thousands of years ago- it was like reclaiming a lost limb. He breathed deeply trying to keep his face neutral as the feeling flowed through his body leaving pins and needles in its wake. This wasn’t like the times that Chang’e opened the door- he flexed his foot experimentally. Something about Teng Ai opening the door had removed his chains. 

As he became aware of the harbor once more, Zhu Yilong also became aware of a boat being tossed about like a bath toy. 

“You see it now?” Teng Ai asked sidling up to Zhu Yilong and running her hands over his shoulders. “He’s growing weaker, my lord, there’s not much time left before he’s tossed out and drowns. Again.” She stepped in front of Zhu Yilong, cupping his cheeks with her hands while triumph danced in her eyes. “All you have to do is agree to marry me and I’ll set you free. You can still save him.”

She leaned in like she was going to kiss him and he let her get close before speaking with barely a hairsbreadth between their mouths. 

“Ah, but you made a mistake, Teng Ai,” Zhu Yilong chided almost playfully and she pulled back cautiously. 

“What is that?” 

“You left the door open.” With a smile approaching glee, Zhu Yilong reached out and pulled the ocean into the cave, swallowing the goddess and pulling her out into the roiling water. 

Zhu Yilong ran from the cave, keeping his eyes on the water for the boat. He stood on the shore and closed his eyes. He could still feel the boat out in the harbor, but he couldn’t feel its passenger. He needed to be out there, but first he needed to stop the immediate danger to Bai Yu. Taking a slow breath, Zhu Yilong tried to calm his torrential feelings until the sea no longer reflected his inner turmoil. 

He dove into the water as soon as it was calmer and swam as fast as he could, wishing that he had the powers his father had to change his shape and swim faster or even fly. A few minutes later he reached the little boat- no more than a dinghy- and tried to pull himself up. The moment he lifted his head over the side, his heart seized in his chest. The boat was empty. 

The ocean started to swirl around him and Zhu Yilong fought to keep calm. Reaching out, he felt for Bai Yu and something called back faintly in the depths below. With a deep breath, Zhu Yilong dove under the water and followed the weakening pulse he hoped was Bai Yu.

He spotted a dark shape tangled in the seaweed and increased his speed. With relief, Zhu Yilong recognized the shape as Bai Yu and with a sharp tug, freed him from the vegetation. The human’s eyes were closed and he was no longer struggling for air. With all his strength and fueled by fear of losing his love again, Zhu Yilong swam as fast as he could towards the surface. 

Hold on, my love. 

As soon as Zhu Yilong broke the surface, he awkwardly pulled them both into the boat- nearly capsizing twice in the process. He listened to Bai Yu’s chest with growing panic. 

No, no, no, not again.

Zhu Yilong searched around for an idea of what to do, Bai Yu was slipping away before his very eyes. He clenched his jaw so hard it hurt and did something he was hoping to avoid- closing his eyes, he thought as hard as he could. 

Uncle, please, I need your help.  

After a beat there was a distant rumble then a crack of lightning split the sky followed by a boom of thunder that could have ruptured a human’s ear drums. Standing firmly on a cloud floating just above the water was a man with red scales and an elongated face framed by a mane of black hair. Longwang- king of the dragons- regarded Zhu Yilong with shock and an uncharacteristic happiness. 

“Longlong, by all the gods, where have you been for the last few millennia?”

Fighting down annoyance and anger Zhu Yilong waved his hand at the question. 

“I’ll tell you later- first, I need your help.” He knelt beside Bai Yu, making the boat rock precariously and looked up at his uncle pleadingly. “He’s dying. Can you help him?” 

“You called me to save a human?” Longwang looked at Bai Yu’s prone form with disdain and Zhu Yilong lost his grip on his patience. 

“Yes, I’ve already lost him once, uncle, and I will not do it again. Please, consider it an apology for not looking for me for thousands of years ,” there was a bite in his tone that made Longwang glower, but eventually he relented. 

“Alright,” Longwang growled and held his hand over Bai Yu’s face, lifting it away sharply. Immediately, water began pouring from Bai Yu’s mouth, pulled from his lungs by Longwang’s power over ocean waters. With a gasp, Bai Yu sat up and coughed up the remaining liquid.

After taking a few rattling breaths Bai Yu looked into Zhu Yilong’s eyes and the dawning of comprehension lit up Bai Yu’s face like the morning sun. 

“Hi,” he croaked and Zhu Yilong laughed wetly. 

“Hello, Bai Yu, I’ve missed you.”

“Missed is such a weak word,” Bai Yu countered shakily and wrapped his fingers around Zhu Yilong’s neck, pulling him closer until they could rest their foreheads together. “I ached for you, I longed for you.” He took a few slow breaths and Zhu Yilong’s heart overflowed. “After only knowing you for a day, I felt like I had lost a part of myself when you vanished,” the gravel in his voice made Zhu Yilong wince even if he wanted to hear more. 

“Shhh,” Zhu Yilong soothed. “Rest your voice; you almost drowned.” He smoothed down the back of Bai Yu’s wet hair, his arms weak with relief. 

“In a moment- I have a few questions then I’ll rest,” Bai Yu told him then coughed a few more times, but staved off Zhu Yilong’s concern with a raised hand. “I feel a little crazy asking this, but… are you Zhu Yilong?”

Zhu Yilong looked at him steadily and nodded- he didn’t trust himself to speak after hearing his name on Bai Yu’s tongue. 

“Wow, holy crap.” Bai Yu laughed to himself then suddenly sobered and took Zhu Yilong’s hand. “Am I… somehow… the prince from your story? I mean, it’s impossible- that was so long ago, how could I be him?” Bai Yu reasoned with himself, but Zhu Yilong laced their fingers together and brought their joined hands to his lips. 

“Yes, Xiao Bai, you are the reincarnation of the prince I fell in love with so many years ago. The person for whom I have been searching so long that my memory of him was nothing more than an eroded carving on my heart. Until I met you. As soon as I saw your handwriting on that note it all came back to me.”

Bai Yu sighed deeply and leaned back on the side of the boat with closed eyes. 

“Thank goodness, I’m glad I’m not crazy. I’ve thought of you every day since that night and how it felt like I’d left half of myself here in that cave.” 

Then Bai Yu’s eyes opened slowly and he turned his head to see a very bored looking Longwang and he nearly fell from the boat once more with a yelp.

“Long-ge, what-” Bai Yu squeaked and Zhu Yilong rushed to calm him. 

“Bai Yu, allow me to introduce you to my uncle, Longwang.”

Zhu Yilong gave Bai Yu credit- he only stared slack jawed at the dragon for a second before recovering himself enough to bow deeply to the god. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Bai Yu managed, but Longwang just sucked his teeth, barely acknowledging the human. 

“Let’s get back to shore to finish our discussion,” Zhu Yilong cut off any sly remarks his uncle had at the ready. 

An annoyed flick of Longwang’s pointed fingers and the boat drove itself towards the shore at a fast clip. Seconds later it beached itself so hard that Bai Yu would have been thrown clear if Zhu Yilong hadn’t gripped his waist just in time. 

They disembarked the craft for the shore and all three turned their heads towards a figure crawling out of the surf. Zhu Yilong grabbed the lantern which lay abandoned just out of the reach of the surf to get a better look. The light shone over a woman on her hands and knees, the waves pulling at her ankles like they were trying to drag her back. She kicked at the water with a curse and managed to free herself, falling back onto the dry land with a huff. 

Her clothes and hair were sodden to the point of rivulets of sea water running off her body as she sat up from the sand. The perfect image of the goddess was replaced with a bedraggled wet rat in smudged makeup. 

Beside him, Zhu Yilong heard Bai Yu scoff. “This is a goddess?” 

“Unfortunately,” Zhu Yilong replied dryly, refusing to move to help the goddess that had been his captor for over two thousand years. 

“So, what are you going to do with her?” Bai Yu asked like he was afraid to know the answer. 

“I think I can help with that,” a woman’s voice cut over their conversation. 

All heads turned to see a woman approach dressed in a smart white blouse and pants. Several gold chains around her neck glinted in the moonlight and her bare feet did not sink into the soft sand of the beach- rather hovered above it. Her eyes were kind and crinkled at the corners as she approached the group. 

Bai Yu was the first to recover. “The librarian?” 

She smiled sweetly at him and winked. 

“Hello Bai Yu, so nice of you to remember me.” She regarded Longwang with a cool expression as if daring him to chide her. Which of course he did. 

“Guanyin? What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t involve yourself directly with the affairs of mortals,” Longwang asked, clearly ignoring his own intervention to save the life of the human standing beside him. 

“Technically, I was helping your nephew here,” Guanyin replied, turning her soft gaze to Zhu Yilong who stood a little straighter. “I couldn’t let his love slip away again. I just gave Bai Yu a nudge in the right direction and provided him with the details he needed to complete the picture of their past.”

“The shelf dedicated to the local legend,” Bai Yu breathed and Guanyin nodded. 

“Precisely,” she replied and gave Longwang a smug smile that he scoffed at. 

“Semantics. Do not think that I am pleased to learn that you knew where my missing nephew was this whole time. We will discuss that later. Now, what were you saying about helping with this problem?” Longwang jutted his chin towards the waterlogged goddess still laying on the beach. 

As soon as she was acknowledged, Teng Ai crawled towards Guanyin’s feet and grabbed hold of her pants leg. 

“Oh, mighty Guanyin, please, help me. Goddess of mercy, please spare me,” she cried into the white fabric. 

Guanyin crouched down and took Teng Ai’s hands in hers- the smile on her face that of a loving mother. 

“Teng Ai, I hear your plea. Your punishment shall be merciful, child, but you will be punished. After all, I was drawn here to offer mercy to these two.” She gestured to Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong who were standing side by side and watching in fascination. “They have suffered greatly at your hands.” 

The young goddess’ eyes went hard and her mouth moved slightly as she stared at Guanyin who laughed, a sound like tinkling wind chimes. 

“Oh child, your tricks will not work on me,” Guanyin’s grip tightened on her hands and Teng Ai winced. “For your crimes I think the most merciful choice would be for you to feel what Zhu Yilong felt. You shall live in the cave you trapped him in for ten times the length you kept him from his love. In twenty thousand years you will be freed and no further retribution will be taken.” At this, she looked up pointedly at Zhu Yilong and Longwang who each nodded in confirmation, though Longwang’s nod came much more reluctantly. 

While Guanyin was distracted by the two dragons, Teng Ai took the opportunity to attempt an escape. She scrambled up from the damp sand, sending grains spraying high into the air, but Guanyin simply raised her hand and Teng Ai froze in mid-step. Her mouth, however, was not frozen. 

“Let me go! How is this a merciful choice?” She shrieked while she tried to wriggle free of Guanyin’s hold. 

The smile that slid across Guanyin’s face was chilling. 

“It’s merciful because I’m not allowing them to kill you,” she said casually, tucking a stray hair behind Teng Ai’s ear. “Which they would very much like to do.” 

Teng Ai’s eyes widened into perfect circles. 

“Long-ge? You want to kill me?” She asked with a waver in her voice. 

“Yes,” Zhu Yilong responded without hesitation and Bai Yu’s head whipped around to stare at him in shock. 

“Never cross a dragon,” Longwang commented, crossing his arms over his chest. “Few live to tell about it. You probably would have been okay if you hadn’t imprisoned him for so long. Longlong has always been the forgiving type.”

“And if you hadn’t killed the prince,” Guanyin added. 

All sound whited out and Zhu Yilong’s vision narrowed to the goddess being held by Guanyin. For a few seconds, Zhu Yilong lost all conscious thought and the next thing he realized he was being held back by both Longwang and Bai Yu, the lantern broken and extinguished at his feet.

“Long-ge, stop!” Bai Yu cried as he pulled as hard as he could to keep Zhu Yilong from advancing. 

“Time to go, Teng Ai, have a good time out,” Longwang said from over Zhu Yilong’s other shoulder, then he took a deep breath and blew out a stream of air, sending the goddess hurtling towards the cave. 

Guanyin pursed her lips at the airborne goddess and turned back to the other three. 

“Thank you for that, Longwang,” she said with a thread of sarcasm that surprised Zhu Yilong. “I’ll just go make sure the cave is properly sealed shut. The Monkey King’s spells are always so tricky.”

She turned to Zhu Yilong and cupped his cheek. “Zhu Yilong, you have suffered for so long and endured the loss of your soulmate once already. Let me do this last thing for you before I leave.” 

With her other hand she cupped Bai Yu’s cheek then all three began to glow. Zhu Yilong felt some of his energy flowing out of his body, through Guanyin and into Bai Yu. When she finished she gave them both a genuine smile. 

“I know you had intended to do that for your prince- I’m just fulfilling the agreement made back then.” She turned to Bai Yu who was staring at her in wonder. “Plus a little extra. Enjoy your immortality, your highness.” 

With a tiny incline of her head, she turned and walked towards the stone arch at a steady pace. 

They watched her walk away for a bit before Longwang cleared his throat. Zhu Yilong turned to find the king of the dragons looking strangely sheepish. 

“I should be going, Longlong. I am sure that you two have much to discuss. Come find me when you’re ready.” Without another word he took off on his nimbus and raced back across the ocean. 

Zhu Yilong tucked away his annoyance at his uncle; he was right: they had much to discuss including how the king of the dragons could not locate his own kin for two thousand years, but that could wait. Beside him, Bai Yu was staring at his hands. 

“Bai Yu? Are you okay?” Zhu Yilong ventured, slipping his hand into Bai Yu’s. 

“I remember,” Bai Yu whispered and Zhu Yilong’s brow furrowed. “I remember meeting you when you saved my life. I remember creating that song together the night I kissed you for the first time. How long I have waited for you without knowing I was waiting.” 

Bai Yu cupped Zhu Yilong’s face with his free hand and his smile made Zhu Yilong’s heart soar. 

“I remember you being my soulmate, the love of all my lives,” Bai Yu murmured then pulled him in for a kiss that held more meaning than he’d felt in lifetimes. Their hearts beat in time, their rhythms speaking of the lifetimes they still had ahead of them- together. 

“I love you,” Zhu Yilong whispered against his lips, unable to hold back his smile. 

“Wishes do come true,” Bai Yu responded and pulled back just enough to look into Zhu Yilong’s eyes.  

“Only when you discreetly share your wishes with the sea,” Zhu Yilong amended and tilted his chin up to claim another kiss.