CBW - Ling-Xiu & Cherry Bomb

Club Better Waifu — Ling-Xiu From the edge of the dance floor, Ling-Xiu watched Mika and Ivory's display with a calm that, underneath, wasn't entirely real. Her fan moved slowly between her fingers, more out of habit than need, while the heat of the club seemed to climb a couple of degrees just for her. It wasn't the first time she'd seen something like this. But there was something about the way the two of them moved, the tension they left hanging in the air between them, that left her stiller than usual, her breathing a little more self-aware. It was Cherry who noticed her first. She recognized that lost look, that uncomfortable stillness — it looked too much like how she herself had felt earlier that night. "Hey... you okay?" she asked, approaching carefully, her usual shyness softened by genuine concern. Ling-Xiu startled slightly, composing her expression in an instant. "Yes. Just... thinking." "You don't have to pretend with me," Cherry smiled, understanding. "I didn't know what to do with myself either, earlier, when we got here." Something in Ling-Xiu's composure seemed to give way at that. The fan stopped completely between her fingers. "It's hard not to feel... affected, watching something like that," she admitted, with a sincerity that was rare for her. "Trust me, I get it completely," Cherry took her hand gently, the same gesture she'd once received from Octavian. "Want me to help you find some company? You don't have to just stand here watching." Ling-Xiu looked at her, surprised by the unexpected tenderness of the offer. For the first time that night, the idea of just watching from a distance stopped feeling like enough. "Maybe... a little company wouldn't hurt," she admitted, with a brief, almost shy smile. "Come on," Cherry smiled at her, leading her with a confidence she was only just starting to feel like her own. "I know the feeling. Let's find you someone who'll know how to appreciate that calm of yours." She let herself be led through the crowd, her heart beating a little faster than her expression let on, the fan now closed firmly in her hand, as if that alone could hold in everything else she was feeling.