Chapter 100: Chapter 100

The boxes stacked high against the walls, their entire lives wrapped up and put away for transportation. Even with so many boxes already sent off ahead of them, there were still many, many more trapped in their home. Even some of the things that they weren’t taking with them was being packed away, to be sent to storage or just wedged into the deepest, most secret part of the closet. It was a mess; but it felt good.

Change was coming. They were actually leaving. They were actually going to do this—they were actually… moving on.

The mere thought was staggering.

Sun Fang moved a box out of his way as he moved to the apartment below. Despite the pool that now took up part of it, and the old purchase Ivy had made in his name, they had never actually made use of this place. Sun Fang’s apartment was already more than big enough, after all, and they had only bought the one below for the pool space.

Now, he walked through the halls that he’d never visited, looking into room and wondering how much they should put away. It was all very impersonal, actually, just furniture left behind from the previous owners. Some rooms were entirely empty, though. Not even a table left behind.

There was no dust, though. Ivy must have been taking care of it, regardless of is disuse. 

Sun Fang walked through the whole apartment twice, stopping at last to stare into the pool’s depths. From here, the transparent glass-walls gave him ample view of the sunlight hitting the pool’s surface and diffusing in the water. He saw the murky depths, too, the way it swallowed all the light up. He almost gulped at the sight, but the view was too familiar. Finally, he closed his eyes and let his forehead thump onto the deceptively thick glass.

He wondered, was Ivy sad that they were leaving its gift behind? Was Ivy upset that Sun Fang could just walk away from its gift? 

(Did Ivy… had he hurt Ivy?)

Sighing, his breath fogging up the glass, he stepped back. He pinched his forearm and walked away from the pool, utterly refusing to look back. 

In this apartment’s living room, where there was only an old couch and a coffee table, nothing more, Sun Fang picked up his phone. He spun it around in his hands, staring silently down at it for a moment. Then he turned it on, and went to the app for voice messages. There was one waiting for him there; one from Hua Xingyi that he hadn’t listened to yet.

Biting his bottom lip softly, he played the message. First, it was mere static, then the sound cleaned up and he could hear Xingyi saying, ”Sun Fang? I found a touring sea-world that will be coming to Firelight in about a year, and I was wondering if you and Ivy wanted to go with me? It’s got really good ratings, and they’re supposed to have pretty diverse sea-life.” There was a pause, then, ”Anyway, let me know. Tickets get more expensive the more time passes, so let me know soon, will you? And tell Ivy it needs to call me back.”

The message ended there. Sun Fang blinked at it, his head tilting slightly. He scrunched up his nose after a moment, finger tapping on the phone’s screen. A traveling sea-world? He’d never heard of such a thing, but then again, it had never been something he was interested in.

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Maybe… no, it would definitely be fun to go with both Ivy and Xingyi.

He smiled to himself, muttering softly, ”Xingyi is too nice.” Then he threw away the phone and stood up, patting down his thin summer pants for non-existent dust. He was about to leave when he remembered his phone, and his ill-advised throw, and coughed. He looked around, but luckily he was alone. Nobody saw that.

”Good,” he muttered, walking quickly over to his phone and picking it up off the floor. He crammed it into a pocket and jogged to the stairs, deftly running running up them. At the top, he glanced around and listened for sounds of Ivy. After a moment, he set off for the kitchen.

Ivy wasn’t cooking, sadly. It was, rather, packing pots and pans and cutlery away. Sun Fang watched it for a second, cocking his hip on the doorframe, and then said, ”Xingyi has invited us to visit a traveling sea-world with him.”

Ivy stopped and turned around. ”Sea-world?” it asked, voice already softer then Sun Fang was used to. It even attempted to widen his eyes like Sun Fang so often did when he wanted something, and that was simply too adorable. It was, in fact, so adorable that it should be illegal! It was going to send Sun Fang’s chest right to the hospital for emergency surgery!

Coughing, Sun Fang said, ”Yes, a sea-world. I don’t really know anything about them, but I gather you’re excited?”

Ivy nodded quickly, stepping closer to him. It was starting to radiate joy, lips forming a small smile and elegant fingers bending and unbending by its side. It looked at him with increasingly glittering eyes, and Sun Fang felt a tight ball unroll in his stomach, suddenly just coming undone. With no warning, the heaviness that had sat in his stomach since his conversation with Mianmian was just… unraveling.

Huh. 

He didn’t really know how to react to that.

Smiling, he kicked off the doorframe and walked up to Ivy. He grinned at it, his eyes gentle. Raising a hand, his smile grew wider when Ivy gripped it. He squeezed it tightly, felt Ivy squeeze his hand back. Then he blew out a large breath and said, ”Xingyi also wants you to call him back.” Looking at Ivy from under his eyelashes, Sun Fang fluttered them at Ivy. Amusement heavy, he asked, ”Have you been neglecting him?”

Ivy’s widened, and it torn its hand free, turning away to resume packing. Sun Fang cackled behind it.