[ Xichen does not hesitate to wrap his arms around the boy, carding his fingers through his hair soothingly. ]

They did. They will find each other again. And they will find you again.

[ It doesn't take away the pain of missing them here and now, of the gaping hole of their absence. Xichen knows that, hard as it may be for him, Sizhui is the one who feels it most keenly. One or the other of those two men have been part of his life, sheltering and protecting him, throughout his memory. With both of them absent, and as sweet as Sizhui is... ]

It will be all right, A-Yuan. And it's all right to cry.