Chapter Text
It takes a few weeks before he's really used to this. His room is bigger than his family's tent had been, it's gigantic.
One morning, they have a visitor to the Linghu compound part of the palace— it's the handsome boy from before. Tomas' eyes go as wide as saucers the minute he sees him when he first comes out of his room. Although he is talking to Hong, so the boy doesn't seem to see him at first. "Don't even think about trying to steal my little brother, Kuai Liang." Kuai Liang? That's his name? Tomas leans against the wall, his eyes big and wide as he looks at the teenager like a puppy. Something warm flutters in his chest, but different– when he hears how Hong refers to him as her brother. It would seem that she's fiercely protective of the family that she feels has not "abandoned" her, and he is happy to be a part of it.
Apparently, her mother left when Yingying was born, and now runs a restaurant in Fengjian. He wondered if that was the reason his new sisters had always wanted a brother. Tomas doesn't think he ever wants to be apart of that family that Hong feels has abandoned her. He shudders at the thought, Hong sure can be scary when she wants to be.
"Why would I steal him? Geez, Hong. I just want to hang out and get to know him..." Kuai Liang rubbed the back of his neck, but then Hong's eyes narrow sharply at him. "So, what's the punishment for Chaoyang, Yuxue, and Yifan? Are they being executed or exiled?" Tomas briefly recognizes those as the names of the Lin Kuei that had killed his mother and his twin sister, but then Kuai Liang looks down. He almost looks ashamed. "Kuai Liang..." Hong trails off, her tone sharp. "What is their punishment?" She asked again. Kuai Liang shakes his head. "Father is putting them on restrictive duties." He sighed softly. "But they aren't getting exiled or executed, Hong." He tells her. Tomas feels his heart drop, and it feels heavy in his chest as tears sting his eyes.. They're getting away with it...?
He rubs his eyes repeatedly, and feels as though he cannot breathe. Mama, Hana— His mother, his sister! His sister that died in his arms! Tomas feels absolutely sick to his stomach.
But Hong– her own brown eyes darken, and she lets out a cold laugh without any mirth once so ever. "Your father is a spineless coward who doesn't know when he must punish his warriors."
"He is still your Grandmaster, Hong—" Kuai Liang frowned. Perhaps Tomas doesn't blame him. Jiaoyue seems to be a good man, just not a very effective ruler. Regardless, Hong cuts him off. "Grandmaster or not, the fact remains there is a boy Xueqin and Xuelian's age, orphaned and alone. His sister dead. His mother dead. And your father, our beloved Grandmaster, has decided they only get a slap on the wrist, for the child he'd rescued? No. No, that will not do." Her eyes narrow at him. "Is Bi-Han free at the moment?" Kuai Liang slowly nodded his head, and a smile curls onto her lips. "Good. Then, I'm going to enlist his help in making sure that my new brother's mother and sister are properly avenged." She frowned. "... Don't tell him any of this. We've already had a difficult time getting him to settle in. I have something planned for him, but it's taking some time to set up."
She walks off after that— Tomas does not understand that she means she is planning on returning the trio's "warm" hospitality of his mother and sister tenfold with the help of the Lin Kuei's heir. He also doesn't understand what she means by having something planned for him, and wonders if it's anything bad. He waits until the door slides before he makes his way over. "Hi," his voice is softer than he means it to be, but Kuai Liang looks over, and straightens out his shoulders. He smiles warmly at Tomas. "Hey," he greets back, rubbing the back of his neck. Tomas walks a little closer to the older boy, but thankfully, he doesn't mind. "I'm... Long Kuai Liang." The boy introduces himself, bowing his head. He practically towers over him. "Long?" He asks, unsure of how surnames work in this land. Kuai Liang sits, patting next to him— and Tomas sits down next to him. "In our culture, our last names come first. My family name is Long, which means dragon."
Tomas' jaw drops, his gray eyes widening as he looks at Kuai Liang as if he'd hung the sun. "Dragon?! That's such a cool last name," he gawks, his previous distress forgotten as the boy talks. He presses himself close as he just listens to Kuai Liang talk his ear off. He's fifteen, his favorite fruit is mango (Tomas thinks it is the one gross thing that the boy likes), his favorite color is yellow, and he's supposed to take over his mother's mantle of Tundra. Supposedly, once his brother becomes the Grandmaster, Kuai Liang will be Bi-Han's second in command.
Tomas doesn't quite understand the importance of roles in their clan, but he is happy enough to listen to Kuai Liang talk.
He's not sure when it happens, but he leans his head against Kuai Liang's shoulder. It becomes harder to keep his eyes open, so the boy does not try, instead slumbering against the older boy. Tomas dreams of his mother and sister, of their last moments. He's nudged awake, and he frowns as he peers up at Kuai Liang. "Ah... You were crying in your sleep, so I... wanted to wake you up, to make sure you were okay." He's very kind and warm. Tomas likes that a lot about him.
How does someone end up so warm and gentle in a place like this?
"I'm okay," Tomas mumbles as he curls up against him. He doesn't really want to talk about it, and it seems Kuai Liang respects that. "Just an intense dream..." He mumbles, and Kuai Liang nods along to his words. They stay like that for a long time, before Zhuyue barges into the room– Xueqin, Xuelian, and Yingying hot on her heals. "Tomassss!!" He sits up, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?" He mumbles, slightly out of it. He's still pretty groggy, and Kuai Liang seems to push him against his side protectively. "What's going on?" Protectiveness seems to be Kuai Liang's second nature at this point, but none of his new sisters pay it any mind. "We need to steal Tomas for a second!" Is all Zhuyue tells him before she grabs him by his arm and drags him to a room. From his knowledge; Xueqin, Xuelian, and Yingying all share a room, while Zhuyue, Hong, and Yuyan also share a room. Tomas is the only one who gets to have his own room, because he's a boy.
"Put this on!" Yingying tells him, holding up a gray dress of some sort. Tomas blinked, looking down at it. "Uh... What is this," he asks, unsure. "It's called a hanfu, silly!" Xuelian gently nudges him towards the changing screen. Tomas thinks it's convenient, but given that he has no choice, he changes into the dress. It's a bit long on him, but otherwise, it fits. When he comes out, both the twins and Zhuyue clap their hands together in applause. "Beautiful!" Zhuyue tugs him down, taking out some makeup. Oh no.
So he's forced to sit still as his makeup is done. "Come on! Come on, let's go show Kuai Liang!" He tries to protest, but they still drag him back out. When Kuai Liang sees him, he bites his tongue, blinking quietly as he stares. "You look..." He trailed off, but he's unable to finish, since the door swings open. Hong looks rather unimpressed, raising her brows at the sight in front of her. "At least my closet door isn't covered in my lipstick again. Let's go get you cleaned up..." Zhuyue, the twins, and Yingying all pout, but Kuai Liang jumps up to volunteer. Eager to prove that this was not his idea once soever. She has some red on her dark outfit, and Tomas frowns. "What's that?" He asks her. Hong blinked, pausing for a moment. She shares a glance with Kuai Liang, before she shakes her head. "It's just ketchup, Tomas."
Tomas is none the wiser to what it actually is.