Some of the students who had lost their energy earlier on were more well-rested and healed now thanks to Mr.Wagner who decided to be merciful and help them out. Mr. Wagner had planned to help out with the actual battle but Elena sent all the monsters away so he didn’t have to.

“Go to sleep you two.” Mr. Wagner said and patted Viktor’s back. He wasn’t technically supposed to help this much but he felt it was warranted when they all looked so tired.

Yue was going to ask if it would affect their grade but Viktor just pulled him along since he was still shaking and clearly looked tired. Yue let it happen and yawned as they walked into the tent. He was trying to relax so he couldn’t stop shaking but his mind kept on leading him in the wrong direction. He was going to try and just hide it and go to sleep so Viktor didn’t worry even though he knew he was too anxious to sleep.

Viktor hugged Yue from behind, pulling him up against him and resting his head on his shoulder. Yue almost flinched and smacked him but Viktor caught his wrist before he could do that.

“I-I’m Sorr-”

“It’s okay,” Viktor said and used his mana to calm Yue’s nerves a bit and to warm him up. Yue’s cheeks burned bright red as he was being hugged. Viktor was helping him stop shaking but his heart rate was still through the roof.

“Go to sleep.” Viktor said after holding Yue for a while. He felt that Yue had gotten used to it and noticed that he had stopped shaking so he let him go.

Yue hesitated a bit before getting ready for bed. He kind of wished he could be hugged a little longer but he had no intention of asking him to hug him for a bit longer. He was way too shy to make such a move, although he did consider it.

‘He’s tired...and so am I, we should just sleep’ 

—

Yue woke up after a few hours, he was still tired but he expected the monsters to return at the same time they usually did. He was worried that he woke up late since Viktor wasn’t in the tent and the sun had already set so he hurried to put his boots and jacket back on.

The group wasn’t at all in formation. A few campfires were set up and everyone was eating dinner. Yue was a bit confused but he found Viktor and Mai sitting around a campfire that was close to the barrier with a few other people. They were eating dinner but they were also all on guard about being near the barrier.

“The monsters haven’t appeared?” Yue asked and yawned as he walked up to them and sat down next to Mai.

“I don’t think they’ll come back in the next few days but keeping watch on the barrier is necessary,” Viktor said and passed Yue some food.

“Oh…?” Yue looked down at his plate and noticed it was different from what everyone else was eating from. Everyone else had bowls of French onion soup and some salmon on a separate plate but Yue wasn't handed a bowl. He just had a covered plate. Everyone generally had the same meal with only slight differences depending on allergies and religious practices that Viktor took into account but Yue’s meal was just generally different today.

“Anya made you those, she heard you tell Mai that you miss Chinese food so she went and learned some recipes. She would like a detailed report on how to improve.” Viktor said through telepathy as he noticed Yue’s confused look.

Yue was actually a bit excited after hearing that, he only vaguely remembered mentioning that but it was definitely true. He removed the cover from the plate and the excitement on his face was obvious. Mai glanced at him and did a double taken when she noticed his small smile.

“Lotus root? They sell that in academy city?” Mai asked and looked at Yue’s plate. Yue was smiling because his plate had Biang Biang noodles and stir-fried lotus root, they were two foods he liked and he could tell that they were going to be delicious.

“They don’t. My head maid bought them from China.” Viktor murmured.

If Ava hadn’t come over and sat down next to Viktor, Mai would’ve said something cheeky about Viktor spoiling Yue but she held her tongue and just watched Yue eat cheerfully. 

“Aren’t you two still tired?” Ava asked Viktor and Yue. Everyone else had slept much more than they had.

Yue nodded without hesitation but Viktor didn’t give any sort of response.

“You guys can just sleep while the rest of us keep watch,” Alexius suggested.

Viktor looked unsure and was going to suggest for Yue to sleep while he kept watch with everyone else but Yue confused everyone by turning around. It looked like he was staring at the barrier but he was actually having a prophecy. He didn’t see any monsters coming even at sunrise so he turned back.

“That would probably be fine…” Yue murmured and continued eating.

Viktor assumed everything would be fine since Yue checked beforehand and nodded.

“Tomorrow the two of us can stay out while everyone else rests,” Viktor added. Ava seemed like she wanted to protest but she didn’t end up saying anything. 

After Yue finished eating, he and Viktor walked around the barrier for a bit.

“How was it?” Viktor asked, noticing Yue’s satisfied look.

“It was good, I can’t really write a detailed report on it but it was really good,” Yue said and smiled. 

“She’ll have to manage with that,” Viktor said and smiled as he watched Yue. Yue was definitely tired but he seemed much more relaxed than he had during and after their fight.

“...It’s gotten a bit colder..” Yue murmured, his smile faded, in the past few hours it got colder.

“...I can try to add a temperature regulation spell to the barrier but it’ll have to wait a few days,” Viktor murmured, it still didn’t feel all that cold to him but since Yue could feel it through his blazer he would assume that it got colder.

“Are you really low on mana ?” Yue asked, he was a bit worried that Viktor might’ve been low because he had been using his mana to warm him up before their long fight earlier.

“Yes, but we aren’t going to be fighting for a few days so it’s fine,” Viktor said and started to lead Yue back to the tent.

“You should still use mana crystals though…” Yue murmured, he remembered how terrible he felt when he ran out of magic and felt worried for Viktor.

“It’s fine, my mana will regenerate after a while,” Viktor said and smiled. He really wasn’t that low on magic but he had definitely used more than he was used to using.

Yue didn’t look convinced and still wanted Viktor to use some mana crystals to replenish his mana but he dropped the subject and got ready to sleep. This would be one of the longest nights he would get to sleep for during the expedition so he wanted to fall asleep as soon as possible but when he took off his blazer he felt the cold even more.

Viktor was going to use mana to warm Yue up but Yue would definitely tell him to stop since he mentioned that he was low on mana. He just gave Yue his blanket instead.

“You don’t need to—”

“It doesn’t feel that cold to me, I’m used to colder,” Viktor said and patted Yue’s head.

Yue blushed and looked away, he found himself wanting to be hugged again but he didn’t say anything. Viktor tilted Yue’s chin so he would look at him again and carefully examined his face.

“Do you feel sick?” 

Yue’s cheeks were tinted red but the rest of his face was pale. He didn’t really feel anything except fatigue but he hadn’t really been thinking about it much since he had only slept an hour or two.

“Do I look sick?” 

Viktor slid his hand onto Yue’s cheek, moving some of his hair away from his face as he looked at him.

“You look pale…” Viktor murmured.

“It’s probably just because I’m tired,” Yue murmured. Viktor decided to leave it at that and murmured goodnight before going to lay on his cot. 

Yue felt a bit awkward as he held Viktor’s blanket and got onto his cot. He layered his blanket over the one he got from Viktor and felt a bit embarrassed as he turned away from Viktor’s cot. Viktor’s scent was very clear on the blanket despite how he never really used it. 

Yue didn’t cover himself completely, he was trying to curb his desire to nuzzle into the blanket and inhale Viktor’s scent. He eventually fell asleep despite being a bit cold but Viktor, who was still awake, used his mana to pull the blankets up on his body while still laying on his own cot.

He watched Yue for a bit before closing his eyes and get some sleep.

—

The night went by with no issues so none of the students weren’t very tired when morning came. Yue still felt tired when he woke up and he couldn’t help but groan.

“This again?” Yue murmured, he didn’t want to be constantly sleepy again. It was definitely better than being sick like the civilians in the hospital but it was annoying to feel constantly sleepy when he has to fight for his life.

“I had a feeling this would happen again,” Viktor murmured and used some purification magic on Yue. It wouldn’t do much in the long run because he was surrounded by negative energy even inside the barrier so he would just get tired again. Yue felt a bit more awake but he felt a little distressed because Viktor was using his mana to heal him when he probably hadn’t replenished it all.

“Your body must be bad at handling negative energy..” Viktor murmured as he stopped purifying Yue’s body.

Yue nodded, Viktor’s statement wasn’t exactly true but it was close enough to the truth. His body was invulnerable to negative energy, but only when he was in his “domain”. London, and pretty much all of Europe, was within White Tiger’s domain, so Yue was vulnerable to negative energy pretty much everywhere. East Asia was Yue’s domain and generally where he had lived for most of his life so he wasn’t very used to being easily affected by negative energy. 

Yue and Viktor left the tent and went to watch over the other students who were just doing their usual routine patrols around the area.

“What should we do?” Yue asked as he saw that everyone was doing their own thing without being told.

Viktor seemed to be trying to figure that out too, he was going to suggest something but Mr. Wagner called out to Yue and made him go to him.

“Mr. Anderson says thank you.” Mr. Wagner said and handed Yue a small package.

“Huh? For what?” Yue asked and opened the small package.

“Recruitment.”

Yue only looked more confused. The small package was full of emerald green gems, they were valuable gems from mana infused meteorites that had fallen earlier that year. Yue was confused about why he was given the valuable gems and what Mr. Wagner meant by recruitment.

“Frida Kühn and Olivia Easton, they were listed as Academy hopefuls as of yesterday. The Wolfsstadt area has never had any mages so you were generally just supposed to get a pat on the back for that but Olivia Easton is the daughter of a Duke here in England so it’s a bigger accomplishment.” Mr. Wagner explained.

Yue was taken aback, he didn’t expect the daughters of a Duke to be out on the streets but it was likely that their parents didn’t survive with all the chaos going on. He smiled a bit as he walked around looking for Viktor, he was a bit excited. He hadn’t looked into the future but he was hoping that Olivia and Frida could join the academy together when they’re older and maybe even be good friends.

He wasn’t quite sure what he would do with the gems though. He wanted to tinker with them a bit but he didn’t have any tools or time to do so.

He finally found Viktor and he was with Ava who was holding Alice in her arms. Yue noticed Alice and smiled and hurried a little to go over to them.

“I don’t know where she lives though? Can you take me there Captain?”  Ava said with a smile as Alice was thrashing around and trying to break free from her arms.

Viktor knew Ava’s intentions as she said that but Yue who was only focused on Alice as he walked over didn’t even process it. Alice noticed him and held her arms out to him making Viktor and Ava notice him as well.

“Hehe, you need to stop running away,” Yue said and took Alice into his arms.

“I’ll go to bring her back...Can you take a look at these?” Yue said and handed Viktor the package of gems.

Viktor wanted to go with Yue to bring Alice back but he looked at the gems and became curious. Ava just sighed and pouted as she ended up alone when Viktor walked away while inspecting one of the gems.

“Throwing a tantrum?” Alejandro laughed as he walked over while on patrol.

“S-Shut up,” Ava said and glared.

Alejandro noticed Yue walking away in the direction of the city with Alice in his arms and laughed a bit.

“She likes kids a lot.” He murmured.

“Yeah...She does.” Ava murmured.

—

The students were having dinner near sunset, they had all decided to just tire themselves out so they could sleep through the whole night since Yue and Viktor said they could handle it. 

Yue was sleepy because of the negative energy again so Viktor purified him before they ate. Their little group seemed concerned when they noticed.

“Again?” Mai asked, she would’ve exaggerated a bit to seem cheeky but she knew Yue was more annoyed at this than anyone else.

“Yes…” Yue murmured and ate his food quietly.

“Wait but last time it was because you got injured?” Alexius asked and Yue and Viktor both froze.

“Yue,” Viktor said and stared at Yue.

“I’m not injured,” Yue said and looked away a bit nervously.

He honestly hadn’t checked so he wasn’t sure, nothing really hurt but he knew that could easily be because he was running on adrenaline and didn’t notice the injury when it first happened. Viktor didn’t look convinced but he didn’t mention it. He was a bit angry at himself for not remembering that an injury could be why Yue felt the effects of negative energy again.

Mai also looked like she wanted to nag about it but she held her tongue and continued to eat. The students went to their tents to rest when the sun fully set and Yue and Viktor just stayed near the campfire closest to the barrier and kept watch. 

It was quiet and pretty peaceful for a while.

“Those gems would probably be useful to make magic jewelry or a staff,” Viktor said and gave Yue the small package of gems back. Yue was already nodding off a little but he focused as he was handed the package. He looked at the gems and smiled for a second but then felt a bit troubled.

“What is it?” Viktor asked, moving a bit closer to Yue.

“I don’t know Frida’s birthday…This color would look nice on her,” Yue murmured.

“It’s in Late March… But you could just send it over for Christmas.” Viktor suggested. 

“Am I allowed to send her a gift for Christmas even though I’m not her family member?”Yue asked, tilting his head. Viktor nodded and smiled at the little grin on Yue’s face.

“But,” Viktor said and picked up one of the gems, holding it so it was in front of Yue’s cheek.

“This color suits you too, as all colors do.”

Yue’s cheeks burned bright red, he didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I-I have e-enough green jewelry…” He responded, stumbling over his words and keeping his gaze on the gems in the package.

“You probably don’t have magic jewelry in this shade of green though,” Viktor said and chuckled.

Yue wanted to change the subject but he didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that he hated this flirting, he was just much too inexperienced to follow along without feeling embarrassed. He definitely wanted to try and to say something that could get even Viktor to become flustered but it seemed impossible to think when his heart started racing at every word Viktor uttered.

“W-What about you? Y-you could probably make some earrings like the ones you usually wear with these.” Yue stuttered, only managing to change the subject slightly.

“These are yours though…” Viktor trailed off, putting the gem in his hand back into the package. He looked back at Yue’s face and found that he was blushing even more. He was confused for a second about how Yue became even more embarrassed within the course of a few seconds.

“Oh...” Viktor murmured and chuckled, he had forgotten that he was wearing the earrings that Yue had come to associate with the drunken kiss in Paris. There was silence for a bit but Viktor ended it all, he knew this was one of the few moments like this that they would get.

“I’m sure you know how fond of you I am by now…” Viktor whispered, wrapping his arm around Yue’s waist. He smiled as he felt Yue flinch. He pulled him closer and looked into his eyes, they both had thought they would be taking this slowly but here they were. Viktor was pushing forward and Yue had no intention of stopping him.

Viktor slid his hands away from Yue’s waist and instead up to his face as he leaned in closer, he knew he’d be much to tempted to undress him if he kept them there. He gave Yue a second, looking him in the eye, letting him decide if he really wanted to continue. Yue surprised him with how quickly his eyes fluttered closed.

Their lips pressed together softly and Yue couldn’t help but think it was so odd. He could only barely remember the drunken kiss he had given Viktor in Paris but he could just tell it was different now. Maybe it was because Viktor was the one in control instead of him, there was probably a difference in skill there. Although it could just be that the memory didn’t do it justice.