Chapter Text
“...be prepared for tropical storm size winds and heavy rainfall that may last well into the night. Localized flooding and storm surge possible for those close to the coast. We are advising for the general public to stay home if possible.”
He Tian sighed, looking out the window. The weather forecast wasn’t wrong, the sky was overcast, deep gray clouds painting the atmosphere and a heavy downpour had started about an hour ago. There went his plans to go and pick up some takeout. He frowned, pondering the state of the groceries in his cupboard. He really should try and learn to cook one of these days.
Standing from his comfortable position on his couch, he padded over to the large window and gazed out onto the gloomy horizon of the city. Rain puddled in the streets, pedestrians were running down the sidewalks getting wet as their umbrellas were useless in the face of the wind. It was truly a shitty day, and he was grateful there was no school today.
He crossed his arms, following a droplet of water down the expanse of the window. It was lonely on days like this, made him reminisce about things in the past. It caused his frown to deepen. There was nothing worse than having regrets, it made his chest hurt, heart pounding loudly in the silence of his apartment.
It was only around 2pm, maybe he could take a nap to pass the time…
A quick knock on the door interrupted his musing. He Tian raised an eyebrow and turned, thinking the noise had been part of his imagination or the noise created by the wind outside. His brother didn’t usually visit without communicating first and there wasn’t anyone else he could think of that would be standing outside his door at this time of day given the weather outside.
He jumped when there was another knock, more insistent and louder this time. The sound echoed off the walls, breaking him free from his trance by the window to see who was at the door. Taking a deep breath, he unlocked and pulled open the door, fully expecting to see his brother or Qiu standing on the other side.
“Can you learn how to call first?” He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
The words were out of his mouth before he caught sight of the person in front of him.
If there was anything He Tian had learned in the past couple weeks, it was to not expect anything from the fiery boy he couldn’t get out of his head. However, the one thing he would have never expected was said boy to show up on his doorstep drenched in rain, shaking from head to toe.
“Guan Shan?”
“Fuck, I - I didn’t know where to go.”
His brain short circuited, limbs frozen at the sight of his friend. Mo looked worse for wear, his clothes and book bag soaked through with rain as water dripped from the sleeves of his sweater. Hair stuck fast to his forehead, eyes red and skin so pale he could see the veins in his eyelids.
“What the hell?”
He Tian internally smacked himself, watching as a series of emotions passed over his friends face, settling on a rather guilty look.
Guan Shan bit his lip, “Look if you’re busy I can go -
Tian shook his head, “No, Jesus I-, sorry. Come on in.”
Usually he could handle his emotional reactions much better in strange situations, but the pitiful sight of Mo was enough to give him a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease if he'd ever heard it. There was obviously something wrong if the redhead had willingly come to seek him out. There were about three different goading retorts he had stored up in the back of his mind, but the aura radiating off Mo made him bite his tongue.
Mo gave a pained smile that bordered the line of a grimace in return, pausing as if regretting his decision to come to his place. But he quickly entered through the doorway, taking his shoes off and waited in the living room as He Tian relocked the door.
A peculiar air of curiosity struck through his brain, a slew of unwavering thoughts nagging at his conscience. He Tian swallowed the questions begging to be asked, why did Mo come here? Why was he out in this sort of weather to begin with? What was wrong that he’d come to the one person who he said he despised?
The boy looked so small in the large expanse of his empty apartment. It was a strange sight, one that lit an anxious flame in his chest.
“Follow me.”
He ushered Mo down the hall to the bathroom, listening to the sound of wet socks on the hardwood floor. Opening the door and turning on the light did nothing to decrease the anxiety building up, he felt helpless, not knowing what to do for the other boy and why he was here in the first place.
“There’s a bunch of towels on the rack there, I’ll go get some dry clothes and be right back.”
Mo opened his mouth and closed it just as quickly. He shook his head, “Maybe I should just go, I don’t want to bother you.”
He Tian pushed an arm against the doorway, blocking the exit as Guan Shan began to make his way out.
He wasn’t letting him out of his sight just yet.
“It’s not a bother, Little Mo.”
They stared at one another for a minute, a silent communication that must have put the redhead at ease as he sighed and glanced away quickly.
“Fine. Thank you for…”
“You don’t have to thank me Guan Shan.”
Though they had each put each other through hell at one point or another, the use of their given names was nothing if not an indication that there was a mutual trust between them. Forged from the many events they had been through in such a short amount of time.
Mo seemed to melt into the floor, his tense shoulders falling with the loosened weight that he wasn’t being a burden. He wasn’t bothering He Tian in any way possible. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to get rid of that worry line between his brows, even if it took years.
“Okay.”
With that one acquiescence, Tian knew Mo wouldn’t try to run again. There was a reason he had shown up on his doorstep, searching for...something. Maybe it wasn’t anything that He Tian could pinpoint on his surface behavior, but underneath there was a tidal wave of emotion brewing in his amber eyes.
“You can take a shower if you want, I’ll just set your clothes on the counter.”
Mo nodded, gingerly setting his bag on the ground. Tian quickly turned away as he started to undress, intently marching down to his room to pick out a set of clothes that might fit the other boy. He methodically sifted through his pants and shirts, settling on one of his many simple black t-shirts and a pair of striped track pants. The items were probably going to be too big, but at least they were dry.
Clenching his hands around the soft fabric he tried not to lose his cool. His heart was doing circles in his chest, a need to comfort and put at ease the haunted look Mo had fixed on his face. Guan Shan was always somewhat high-strung, with a permanent bitch face settled on his features. He was cautious to a fault and never spoke his mind, so the fact that he came to him in a time of need...he must trust him, right?
He’d gotten the boy to tell him the story of how he and She Li had met and how that asshole had blackmailed him. The guilt and tears were enough for him to want to rip that bastard's head off. Along with his overall arrogant, malicious behavior he displayed towards him, Guan Shan, Jian Yi and Zhan.
Releasing his grip on the cloth, he forced the heat building in his stomach away. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. It was time to figure out what was going on in Mo’s present.
Making his way back to the bathroom, he avoided his gaze from the naked silhouette in the shower, gingerly setting down the clothes beside the sink. He took a deep breath, willing the anxiousness and heat wanting to build in his cheeks to settle. The sound of water pouring from the shower head and falling to the ceramic floor of the shower did nothing to ease the curious thoughts pounding in his skull; the fact that Guan Shan had so willingly taken up his offer was interesting. He had never been so pliant before, so able to do what he was asked of, when every action he took had an underlying meaning to go against whatever it was someone asked him to do. He didn’t follow orders, he made them and stuck to his core beliefs in every action that he took. That much was obvious in the short time he had known him.
It was one of the many things that he admired about Mo. His unwavering ability to be himself no matter the circumstances, and his heart. It was pure, a stark contrast to the waging storms that he held in himself. There were two conflicting sides that battled for dominance.
On one hand: the need to make his brother and father proud; the want to follow in their footsteps and do something that he knew he could succeed in.
On the other hand: he wanted to be free. He didn’t want to think about whether or not he was making the right choice or decision. Whether or not he was good enough in every moment that passed. To be able to make his own choices and deal with the consequences.
But right now, none of that mattered. The only thing he could try and focus on was the water softly hitting the bottom of the ceramic tub, and the methodical noise of Mo in the shower.
Sitting on the floor facing away from the shower, he stole a tiny peek at the figure thinly veiled by the opaque door. Tian propped his elbows on his knees, digging the joints into one another. He sighed, breathing in the humid air steaming up the bathroom.
The silence was oppressive, he wanted nothing more than to fill it with something, anything to get rid of the unknowing, the fear he felt at how distraught Mo had looked standing in his doorway. He'd obviously walked here, though from where he had no idea. Mo wasn't one to give out personal information unprompted, but all he did know was that him and his mom seemed to live a simple life.
Though Guan Shan could be called a "delinquent", he'd seemed to not be getting into much trouble these days. Besides any shenanigans that he or Jian Yi dragged the four of them into. That was another thing he admired about the other boy. He'd come from a less wealthy background, but still held his ground and attempted to succeed in everything he tried. He was much more mature than him, and it was an interesting dynamic to watch him display his knowledge of things He Tian would have never given a second thought to.
The smell of his shampoo wafted into the air and it sent a sharp thrill up his body. The thought of Mo using his shower products shouldn't have been as arousing as it was. Maybe he was weird, but the thought was pleasing for some reason.
Goosebumps rose on his skin, and he absentmindedly started picking at the cuticle on his right thumb.
He couldn't get the hollow look Mo had sported in the entryway out of his mind. His eyes were rimmed red, had he been crying? Or was it just the cold rain and wind that had also had his cheeks flushed pink? Swallowing down some of his nervous energy he finally decided to break the silence. Hoping Mo was a little less distraught than before and would be willing to talk.
"So what exactly was so important that you were out during a hurricane?"
The moment the words were out of his mouth he wanted to take them back. The way he asked the question was a little callous, and he feared the words would rub Mo the wrong way.
A long pause came after that and the silence stretched onto the point Tian thought Mo wasn't going to answer.
His voice was soft when he finally answered, "I went to see my father."
Wait, Father?