Yuling was still reeling from all the successive events that had taken place in the past few weeks. It didn't even hit him that it was Winter Solstice until they passed by houses decorated by lights, and people on the train started to sing Solcetice songs loudly.
They were entering some difficult times, but Furians had always been a resilient group of people.
The singing had even Yukio, who had been silent for most of the ride, perking up and joining in the singing.
Yuliang smiled a small bitter smile.
He had agreed to accompany Elys to a Solstice ball, hadn't he? He wondered how the young omega was doing.
He hoped that Elys didn't hate him too much for abandoning him without a word.
It wasn't like he had a phone to contact him with any more.
Yuliang sighed.
The people he cared for were very few. Two, the last time he had counted, but in the months he spent in Linos, that number had multiplied many times over without him realizing it.
Elys, Mina, Norma, the Healing and Enforcing students he worked with...
Eric...
Even if it hurt so much now, Yuliang could not bring himself to regret caring.
He had made many memories, learned many things, and made many friends.
Losing loved ones was always something that took time to heal from.
At least, like granny always used to tell them, his parents, and now Eric, died loved.
Yuliang leaned his head against the cold glass and hummed along to a more familiar song.
On a normal year, Yuliang a Yukio would have been home on Winter Solstice night.
They would have had a warm fire going, Solstice music quietly playing in the background, and eating from the banquet that Yuliang would have spent the week preparing, in the lounge area Yukio would have spent the entire day decorating. If things weren't too busy at the clinic, granny would also occasionally join them with the celebrations.
The wine would be emptied, and the arguments would be many, but at the end of the night, they all went to sleep happy.
Those were simpler times.
Times that Yuliang would do anything to return to once more.