Aobing looked lost, staring at his hands. He flexed his fingers a few times to make sure it was all real, he and Nezha had finally built themselves a body. They were free.

He turned around to hug Nezha before stopping in his tracks. Madam Yin and Li Jing were embracing their son. Of course, Nezha was the light of their life.

Aobing could feel tears of shame building in his eyes, he had betrayed his kind. He had nowhere to go, and in shame he fled.

Nobody would notice he was gone, nor would they mind. If anything, they were probably glad that he had left. Aobing had thought briefly about going to the sea, but then realized he would have to face the wrath of his brethren.

No, he couldn't. No sources of water. Aobing looked at one of the mountains, they were far from most sources of water. Secluded and quiet, the perfect place for him to be.

Aobing didn't look back.

Nezha was wondering where his friend went. The townspeople didn't know either. He might've demanded a search party, but Nezha had spent three years in that Lotus. He wanted to spend some time with his family.

He would worry about Aobing later, there's no way he could've disappeared, right?

A twenty year old Nezha barrels through the woods, his father and his soldiers close behind. Nezha doesn't need them, though, his target is in sight.

He thrusts his spear forwards, impaling the è gui falls forwards, it's body dissolving into dust. There are ten more, his father's soldiers taking care of the rest.

All ten of them congratulate each other on the successful hunt, Li Jing smiling proudly at his son. Nezha had grown into a fine young man, fiery but well behaved. They had raised him well.

They are on one of the tallest mountains in the region, the air thin and hard to breath in. The mountain was known to be free of demons, yet no one dares to populate it, they say a dragon lives there.

Nezha stills as the earth begins to shake, the sky turning dark and stormy as rain pours down, thunder booming across the sky as lightning flashes.

Somethings not right. He can feel a powerful and very angry presence, yet it's familiar. There is a low rumble and then a roar, the sound drowning out everything else and echoing across the valley.

A serpentine figure is illuminated by the lightning, curling and twisting, rising towards the sky.

Nezha sets his spear ablaze, everyone else getting ready to fight.

"Leave." The word isn't said loudly, but it echoes in their bones and drains the warmth away.

The dragon's voice is soft and melodic, but tainted by loneliness and anger.

"You are trespassing. I have protected this mountain for a long time, I know every nook and cranny. I will give you ten seconds to leave." It lands in front of them, it's mouth slightly agape and revealing dozens of gleaming ivory fangs.

The dragon is absolutely huge, yet there is a familiar energy.

Nezha gathers his courage to speak, managing to keep the trembles out of his voice.

"Why are you here? I thought... I thought all the dragons were imprisoned at the bottom of the sea.."

This seems to make it angrier, "Abandoned! Left alone to die, the only home I know no longer feels like home. Nay! I have none, but you step foot on the closest thing I have to home." The dragon lets out a keen, smashing a rock with with its powerful tail.

Nezha narrows his eyes, trying to find a feature that would confirm his suspicions. He finds it soon enough, a blue marking on the dragon's forehead.

"Aobing...?" The dragon stills at the name, calming slightly before roaring.

"Once, when I had a friend. No longer, you will leave before I kill you all." Aobing growls, the years have worn down on him, compressing him into a jewel harder than a diamond and colder than ice.

Nezha ushers the rest of his team away, giving his father a hard look. This is something he had brought upon himself, and had hurt his dearest friend. He was going to fix it.

They leave hurriedly, the dragon narrowing its eyes.

"Why do you stay here? Is it a battle you want?" His voice is thunderous, Nezha is treading on thin ice.

"Please! Why are you like this? What happened to the Aobing I knew?" Nezha cries out desperately, gripping the shaft of his spear tightly.

Storm clouds envelope the dragon, disappearing and revealing Aobing. His antlers have grown, and his pupils have turned to slits.

He rushes forward and summons his dual weapons, all forms of gentleness and kindness gone.

"You abandoned me! I waited for years, hoping you would come meet me! I sent message after message, yet you never came. This is your creation, Nezha! The work of art you sculpted with your bare hands!" His voice is bitter and angry, yet a trace of longing remains.

Nezha manages to dodge, struggling to come to terms with his own conflicted feelings. Aobing doesn't give him time to think, only act.

The two battle like demons, exchanging blows so fast no mortal eye could trace their movements. At last, Nezha grows desperate and manages to disarm Aobing, pulling him close and pressing their lips together.

Aobing grows boneless in his hold, laying his head on Nezha's chest when they pull away, breaking into soft sobs.

Nezha feels many emotions, yet the strongest is overwhelming amounts of guilt and relief.

He will fix the damage he has wrought upon Aobing's mind, he swears it on his life.

Is it bad that I'm proud? This is probably trash but I wrote it all in one night and currently it's 3:42 in the morning. No editing I die like a sleep deprived idiot. Please like this so I can feel better about my miserable existence and absolute waste of time.

If you do the math (I'll do it for you), Nezha and Aobing are the same age, 3. So they were three when the mortal calamity struck. And in this timeline they spent 3 years in the Multicolored Lotus, making them6 when they escape. Since Nezha is 20 when they reunite that means Aobing has spent 17 years waiting for Nezha. (Seventeen to long but plot reasons.) rip Aobing's sanity.

954 words, not including the bolded words.