Chapter Text
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Of course the one behind his kidnapping was none other than his meanest, oldest bully. Not Riley, for once, but someone with a little more evil in his heart.
Brooks.
He was so young to be such a villain in Tianyu's life, but he fit the bill of 'bully' to a T.
He almost doubled over with laughter at the sight of Tianyu tied up like a hunter's catch. Nothing amused him more, it seemed. He laughed so hard, there were probably tears in his eyes.
Then, after all his amusement, he gave an order to untie Tianyu, and 'settle things once and for all'.
To Tianyu, that meant he would have to fight for his very life. He wasn't sure what it meant for the other guys, but he wasn't ready to find out either. So, once they unbound him, he prepared himself for the brawl of a lifetime. They had plenty of room in this big open field, and no one appeared to have any weapons. With any luck, Tianyu would win.
He wouldn't hope on anyone coming to his rescue. He'd beat these guys, send them running, and find his sense of direction come morning. He's slept in a field before. He'd be fine.
They left all of his stuff back at what's-her-name's house. He'd return there and fetch it all tomorrow.
Assuming Maomao didn't find it first and pick it up.
Shit. Maomao will definitely come looking for me.
These fools wouldn't do much more than rough him up and leave him here, would they? But if Maomao showed up…
Okay… maybe he was a little hopeful that someone would come rescue him. Long before Maomao could get here.
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Luck wasn't on Tianyu's side. He was forced to fight for his life while dizzy and unbalanced. They weren't out for blood, but they weren't going easy on him either.
They taunted him, fighting him only one at a time, as if he were prey to be toyed with. They smacked him around, knocked him down just to pick him up, and fought using tactics Tianyu's only ever seen women use. He was seeing stars every time he got to his feet. All of his attacks got slower and more unsteady as time went on.
When would it end?
When would they have their fill of fun with him?
He could hardly see in the dark. He ended up twisting his ankle stepping in a dip in the earth just to throw another wobbly punch. Crumbling to the ground wasn't an option, so he stayed on his feet and bit his tongue to fight the pain.
"Haha! Not so tough are you now wolf boy! Huh?"
This fight wasn't even close to fair. He'd landed a few shots, sure, but only because he was trained for situations like this. Throwing left hooks instead of rights only helped every so often.
"Where's your girlfriend?" One of them jeered before shoving him backwards. Tianyu hit the ground with a thud, and didn't have the energy to get back up. "She's lucky we didn't have enough hands for her too."
At that, Tianyu got a second wind. He didn't bother getting steady on his feet. He immediately flung himself at Brooks and tackled him to the ground.
"Keep her out of this!" he spat furiously, grabbing him by the throat. "I'll kill you if you lay a hand on her!"
"Ack!" Brooks choked, swinging his fists at Tianyu. But he didn't care. He meant his words. Maomao didn't deserve any physical harm that came to her. The fact that this idiot would even try threatening her made Tianyu's blood boil.
His rage didn't end even when he was strangled off of him.
"You better hope she doesn't come to your rescue, rat." Brooks coughed. "We'll make her regret it."
Tianyu bit down on the arm trying to hold him back. Hard enough to draw blood.
He wouldn't let them touch her!
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A soft slap on his face woke Tianyu right out of darkness. He wasn't sure what he'd been dreaming about, but he could feel his head and body throbbing. Aching didn't begin to describe what he was feeling at the moment.
"Can yo-... -e?" Someone said to him. "-nyu!"
Tianyu thought he rolled his head to one side. His brain wouldn't process whatever it was he was looking at. All he could tell was something was touching his face, and he was laying down. He thought he was laying down, anyway. His whole body felt super heavy. Something bright flashed him and he heard a noise—probably came from him—then the world went dark again.
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When he came to properly, he recognized his room. He tried to remember how he got there, but it wouldn't come to him. Instead, he just got a worse headache, so he laid back down. That was when he noticed someone in the bed with him.
Maomao was sleeping next to him, but the look on her face… she didn't look like she was peacefully sleeping at all. It seemed more like she'd been having a fitful rest.
Tianyu pinched her nose, but she didn't move. She really was asleep… but she was over the blankets.
Any other time, he might move her to put the blankets on top of her, but he felt weak just about everywhere. What the hell happened to him again…?
He laid in silence next to Maomao, his headache preventing him from sleeping again, for who knew how long. After some time, his bedroom door creaked open, and his uncle peered in.
"Awake, are ya?" he spoke softly. "Does yer head hurt?"
Tianyu nodded. His uncle slipped out, then came back in with a cup of water and a bottle of pills.
"Luomen gave ya these for pain."
"Thanks…" Yikes. When did his voice get so raspy?
His uncle sat down on the bed, careful not to wake Maomao. "How are ya feelin?"
Tianyu downed the medicine, then sat up again. He shrugged at the question. He hurt all over, vaguely remembered what happened at the party…
Shit… the party… his bullies…
"They uh… they didn't hurt Maomao, did they?"
"No. She stayed in the car while they all ran." His uncle laughed. "You really tore 'em a new one."
Tianyu hummed. "One of them said they'd get her next." It wasn't something Tianyu felt like laughing about. He felt no pride at all for winning a fight he didn't remember well. All he could piece together was what happened before he got kicked in the head. Everything after that was spotty, except for the threat to Maomao. That set him off, he knew.
"Couldn't let that happen, could ya?"
Uncle Ray was trying to insinuate something, but Tianyu was too exhausted to try to figure it out. He just shook his head and turned to look at his sleeping friend.
"You should have seen her. I'd never seen the girl so panicked before. She acted like you'd die right in her arms." Uncle Ray sighed. "It took more time to get her to relax and stop worrying about you, than it took to drive you home."
Tianyu resisted the urge to put his hands on her. He didn't want to disturb her for once. What would he even say to her whenever she woke up?
"Don't worry about anything. The school already knows what happened, and you're not expected to go back tomorrow. Just, rest up. Okay?"
"Yeah… Thanks, Uncle Ray."
Uncle Raymond nodded, then left after turning out the lights. Tianyu heaved a sigh, and forced himself to go back to sleep.
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"They stole a bunch of my stuff," Tianyu complained while Maomao checked him over. "I'm so pissed. I should go fuck them up again."
"Don't do that." Maomao scolded him. She'd raised her hand like she'd thought about hitting him, but clearly she decided against it.
Something about him possibly being concussed and not wanting to further risk injury by slapping him around more. Huffing, Tianyu slouched in his chair. "I want my stuff back." He meant to grab it from that girl's house after everything, but it'd been days and all of it had been cleaned up. His phone. His pocket knife. Gone.
"It's gone now. Get over it."
"Ugh! I miss when you were nice to me Nyan-nyan!" Tianyu wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into an embrace. Instantly, she was fighting to be let go, like a cat who wanted nothing to do with the human grabbing it. Tianyu hung on tight though, only letting go when he was sure she'd fall on her ass, just so he could prevent her from doing so.
"You're such a—" She cut herself off, choosing instead to grab her notebook and slap him on the head.
"Ow!" He pretended to cry. It hardly hurt.
"If you're feeling better, I won't keep checking on your head."
"Fine, fine. Here's my noggin." Tianyu bent forward all the way, letting his hair droop over his face. All that got him was a softer smack on his head, and he couldn't help but laugh. He knew Maomao was smiling, but he didn't look up to check. He just watched as her feet left his field of view.
"You need a haircut."
"You say that all the time."
In the background, Tianyu heard a chuckle. Likely, it was his uncle. "Listen to your wife, boy," is what he had to say, right before another laugh.
Again, with the 'wife' business! Maomao was his friend. Sure, she was exceptionally pretty to him and he wanted to pick her apart like one would a frog in class, but those were normal things to feel about friends. He just had a desire to know her deeper than he did currently. Completely normal.
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Getting to know Maomao meant a lot more than Tianyu expected it to mean. Such as, after graduating with her, she got a lot… pushier with him. Suddenly all lines were crossable, and she had no qualms about stepping over any of them.
She started not wanting to wear swimsuits around him, and she'd give him weird looks just on how his body reacted. Not his fault! She had to know she wasn't unattractive!
Then, she kissed him for the first time, in her bedroom of all places. It was so… strange. A simple cheek kiss, when she thought he was sleeping. He didn't have the guts to tell her that he was awake the whole time.
After that, nothing seemed to matter anymore. They only got more and more comfortable with each other. He got to know her mind and her body, just as she got to know his. Forgoing swimsuits for midnight visits to the creek, Tianyu saw more of Maomao than he ever thought he would. Seeing her clothes soaking wet over the bare skin of her thighs had Tianyu itching to dissect her more and more. He wanted to know everything about how she functioned internally.
She never let him take a blade to her body, but she did allow him something similar.
In the aftermath, they became inseparable. Inseparable to the point that when she decided she'd lived in the brothel for long enough, he felt he had no choice but to go with her. She didn't even need to ask.
"We're moving out," he said to his uncle one fateful morning. With Maomao's hand squeezing his, they explained how they saved up all their money, picked a place, and were leaving the following weekend.
Luomen looked the same as always, just a little sadder. Maybe a bit of pride showed too, but it was hard to tell through his nonchalance. Uncle Raymond couldn't be happier, though.
"It's about time!" He had said. "I'm tired of you two fooling around at piss hours in the morning!"
Guilty as charged.
He also spared no part of his immediate lecture on how to move out properly, and not get screwed over by the landlord. Thankfully, Tianyu zoned out during all of it. Maomao wouldn't remember much of it either—she hated being lectured—but they'd make it out okay.
As long as she was by his side… they'd make it out okay.
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