Yin Yue finds his old pre-Liang Yu journal while cleaning out his supply bag. The journal was buried between two emergency blankets and a crushed pack of gum.
Yin Yue hadn't seen it since week three back when he'd first arrived at the base, still thinking the apocalypse was temporary. Back when he slept in corners and flinched at kindness.
He wiped the dirt from the cover with one sleeve and flipped it open.
"Day 1. No coffee. Morale: suicidal."
"Day 2. Met a man who called me 'civilian' like it was a slur. 10/10, would fight him in a parking lot."
Yin Yue snorted. That was definitely about Liang Yu and he flipped forward.
"Day 5. I keep pretending I'm not scared and maybe if I say it enough, it'll be true."
"Day 9. I hate sleeping alone. I hate waking up alone more."
He swallowed and turned another page.
"Day 13. I saw him smile today. I wanted to keep it and use it as armor."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
📖 Journal Status: Reopened
🧠 Host Emotional Threat Level: High
💘 ML Mention Count in Journal: 47
💬 Memory Flag: Softcore Devastation
He shut the book gently, sat still then stood up and went to find Liang Yu.
Liang Yu was sitting on the rooftop knife across one thigh, sharpening stone in hand.
He looked up when Yin Yue approached. He didn't speak just shifted over slightly. Yin Yue sat beside him. Quiet for a minute then held out the journal.
Liang Yu took it. Flipped through a few pages and stopped somewhere around Day 13. Read in silence.
"Why are you showing me this?" he asked eventually.
Yin Yue stared out over the treetops.
"Because you made it better."
Liang Yu looked at him.
"I was so angry at everything," Yin Yue said. "All the time. I thought if I stopped feeling, it wouldn't hurt. Then you showed up. Bleeding. Breaking orders. Judging my fashion choices."
A pause.
"You made this survivable," he said. "You made me survivable."
Liang Yu closed the journal. Didn't hand it back. Just slid his hand over Yin Yue's on the rooftop ledge and laced their fingers together.
No words. Just that.
> 💘 ML Affection: Overflow
🫠 Host Heart: Unraveled Gently
💬 Relationship Clarity: Maximum
And for a long time, they just sat there.
Holding on. Like they meant to never stop.
Jiang corners the couple and demands answers. Jiang ambushed them during water rotation.
Yin Yue was carrying a jug. Liang Yu was, as always, being helpful by carrying literally all the other jugs without breaking a sweat.
Jiang stepped in front of them with a smirk.
"Okay," she said. "It's been, what, three weeks since the kiss heard 'round the courtyard? Time for a relationship update."
Yin Yue blinked. "I didn't realize we were required to submit forms."
"You're a public menace," she said. "I deserve answers."
"I don't know what you're implying."
"You were spoon-feeding him rice last night."
"That was nutritional care."
"You kissed him behind the compost bins."
"...That was privacy."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
📢 PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP INTEREST: HIGH
💘 Host Fluster Level: Rising
🧠 ML Response Probability: Low but Devastating
Jiang crossed her arms. "So?"
"So what?" Yin Yue huffed.
"What are you?"
Yin Yue tried to look calm but failed.
"We've kissed eleven times. He held my hand during a minefield incident. He took a bullet for me once and now I have permanent feelings so we're basically married."
Liang Yu, without looking up from the jug he was adjusting: "Twelve times."
Yin Yue choked on air.
Jiang's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"
Liang Yu added, "You forgot the one behind the weapons shed."
Yin Yue sputtered. "That didn't count, it was raining and.."
"It counted."
"I will evaporate right now."
> 💘 ML Affection: Casual Precision
🫠 Host Mood: Publicly Flayed by Kiss Math
📊 Team Reaction: Highly Entertained
Jiang laughed so hard she almost dropped her clipboard.
"I'm writing this down," she said. "Future generations must know."
"I hate it here," Yin Yue muttered.
Liang Yu touched his shoulder lightly on the way past.
"You're the one who kissed me first," he said.
Yin Yue groaned loudly but didn't deny it.
Dinner was quiet that night.
Just the two of them in the corner of the courtyard, sitting on a tilted crate and a flipped-over bucket, sharing a slightly burnt bowl of rice and mystery protein.
Liang Yu had his sleeves rolled.
Yin Yue had his courage half-loaded and very badly timed. Yin Yue tries to say it casually. He fails. He ends up blurting it out while handing Liang Yu a bowl of reheated rice.
He stared at the bowl in his hands. Lifted it and handed it to Liang Yu.
And blurted, "I love you."
Liang Yu blinked once. Took the bowl, didn't drop it, didn't even pause just smiled softly.
And said, "I know."
Yin Yue's brain stalled.
"You..what..you know? That's it? No fireworks? No dramatic wind? You don't even look surprised!"
"I'm not."
"I could take it back."
"You won't."
"You're infuriating."
"You're blushing."
"I am not."
Liang Yu took a bite of rice. Chewed and swallowed.
Said, "Say it again."
Yin Yue scowled. "You just said you knew."
"Say it anyway."
Yin Yue looked away. Then back.
Then muttered, "I love you."
Liang Yu touched his wrist under the table.
And said, quieter now, "You'll hear it every day."
Yin Yue blinked.
"What?"
"You don't need it all at once. You'll get it over time. Like water. Like air."
> 💘 ML AFFECTION: Eternal Mode
🫠 Host Heart: Vaporized
💬 System Note: Romantic Stability Achieved
📈 Relationship Forecast: Lifelong, Apocalypse-Proof
Yin Yue stared at him then leaned forward. Rested his forehead against Liang Yu's.
"You're not fair," he whispered.
"I'm yours," Liang Yu whispered back.
Which Yin Yue decided was better than fair.
The roof was cool under their legs.
They sat side by side, backs against the chimney stack, shoulders brushing. A shared thermos of tea rested between them. Barely warm anymore, but neither of them cared.
They sit on the roof together before dawn. The sky is clearnand the sky in the east was pale pink.
No alarms and no growls. Just birds and wind and the smell of mint growing, real, alive.
Yin Yue stretched his legs out and sighed. Not dramatically. Just… content.
Liang Yu was watching the horizon like he was searching for something. But his hand found Yin Yue's anyway. Their fingers laced quietly and automatically.
Yin Yue leaned his head against his shoulder. They didn't speak for a while and didn't need to.
When the sun finally cleared the trees, warm and clean and safe, Yin Yue whispered, "I don't think I'm scared anymore."
Liang Yu didn't answer. Just turned and kissed his temple softly.
> 💘 ML Affection: Max
🫶 Host Emotional Status: Safe
📅 Apocalypse Status: Survivable (with Him)
Yin Yue closed his eyes and smiled.
And whispered, "We're gonna be okay."
Liang Yu's thumb brushed his knuckle.
"Yeah," he said. "We are."
World 2: COMPLETE – ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE ARC CLOSED
💘 Relationship: Fully Realized
🌱 Future: Growing