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It had been a long time since Ye Xiu had been here, a long time since he’d been anywhere near the company’s main building and even longer since he’d been inside. It had been long enough, in fact, that while the name on the door was still Ye, it wasn’t his father who was sat inside any longer. Ye Xiu felt his wings twitch, feeling like he was a teenager waiting to see his father and he shook off the nerves, not bothering to knock.
Ye Qiu’s head flicked up as his brother entered, face creasing in a frown at his appearance.
“Nobody saw you like that did they?” Ye Xiu shrugged casually, unconcerned, certain his Happy uniform was perfectly acceptable as clothing. From the way his brother’s wings were bristling, Ye Qiu didn’t agree but he didn’t press it, turning back to his computer. “Why are you here anyway?”
“You’ve been here all night, mama and baba sent me to check on you.” Ye Qiu flapped one hand, a wing mimicking the motion as his gaze remained on his screen, fingers flying across his keyboard.
“I’m busy, I have things to finish before I can go home, tell them I’m fine.” Ye Qiu missed the way his brother’s eyes flicked over his appearance, taking in the shadows under his eyes, the slight tremor in his wings. All of it pointing towards his brother being exhausted, pushed to his limit and more. The multiple cups of coffee spoke to the effort Ye Qiu was putting into staying awake and Ye Xiu shook his head.
At the familiar rustling sound Ye Qiu’s gaze snapped to his brother, falling on the packet of cigarettes in Ye Xiu’s hand and his feathers fluffed up unhappily at the sight. Far from being threatening, it only emphasised the disarray of the usually meticulously cared for wings, a sight Ye Xiu didn’t like.
“You can’t smoke in here, go out on the balcony.” His brother’s voice brooked no argument but Ye Xiu widened his eyes in deliberate shock, watching as Ye Qiu’s gaze turned wary.
“But mama and baba always said we can’t go out there unsupervised! What if I fell?” Ye Qiu snorted, attention successfully pulled away from his computer screen in favour of glaring at his older brother.
“You’ll catch yourself before you hit the ground, go on, outside.” Ye Xiu hid his amusement as his brother began pushing him out of the door.
“Don’t you want some fresh air, you can keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t fall over the railing.” Ye Xiu ignored his brother’s muttering, something about if he fell over the railing it would be a part of one of his plans but Ye Qiu gave in, likely to get Ye Xiu to shut up.
The two sat in silence, Ye Xiu watching the way the smoke curled through the morning air, the half light of near dawn enough to see the whisps of grey. Ye Qiu had his gaze fixed on the horizon, one hand curled around his cup, the other hanging loosely by his side. He seemed lost in thought, wings draped across the floor and Ye Xiu could see just how ruffled they were.
“Don’t stub your cigarette in the soil!” Ye Qiu’s voice was so comically offended that Ye Xiu couldn’t hold back his huff of laughter, his brother’s frown deepening at that as he shoved an ashtray in his direction.
“You keep one out here?”
“I always thought you’d show up and ruin my garden with your ash.” Despite the biting words, his brother’s eyes were soft with hidden vulnerability and Ye Xiu felt the old twist of guilt at not visiting, of leaving and only sending messages to reassure his family that he was okay.
“I’ll ruin your garden with my ash now if you want.” Ye Qiu scowled, one hand grazing gently over his ferns and Ye Xiu took the opportunity to grab his coffee cup while he was distracted. “You’re tired.” Ye Xiu watched as his brother’s wings bristled at the accusation before his shoulders slumped slightly, too exhausted to argue.
“There are things I need to do, things that can’t wait, there’s never enough time.”
“So you neglect your wings to make time?” Ye Qiu levelled a tired glare at his brother, knowing his wings were in desperate need of grooming but Ye Xiu was right, he never had the time.
“You can’t lecture me on that, the only reason yours are presentable are because of Miss Su Mucheng, otherwise your wings would be ungroomed constantly.
“Let me help then.” Ye Qiu’s nose wrinkled at the suggestion but Ye Xiu didn’t back down, “I used to groom your wings all the time.”
“You used to pull my feathers out all the time.” Ye Xiu smiled, remembering clumsy hands trying to copy what their parents did, tried to replicate the gentle grooming. It always ended in fights, who pulled a feather, or who twitched first which was the reason the feather was pulled.
“I’m much better now, besides mama wouldn’t like you walking around like this.” Ye Qiu scoffed, eyeing his brother’s outfit once more.
“She wouldn’t like what you’re wearing either.” When Ye Xiu reached out for his wings Ye Qiu gave in, shuffling until his back was to his brother, eyes trained on the city skyline, slowly illuminated by the rising sun.
Ye Xiu’s hands were gentle as he sifted through his brother’s feathers, seeking out misaligned feathers and carefully combing them back into place. After Su Mucheng had smacked him with her wing for the third time in as many moments, he worked to change his technique and as Ye Qiu wasn’t sniping at him, it was successful.
He frowned at just how unkempt his brother’s wings were, the last time he’d seen him, Ye Qiu’s wings had been meticulously neat, carefully groomed without a single feather out of place. His brother had always taken care in his appearance and to see him too exhausted to care for his own wings only reinforced how much was on his shoulders.
“You should take better care of yourself didi.” Ye Qiu only twitched one wing unhappily at the diminutive, eyes slipping shut, the rhythmic brushing lulling him to sleep.
“Don’t have time.” He murmured, voice breaking around a yawn and Ye Xiu sighed, carefully brushing out loose feathers as he spoke.
“I’ll take care of you then, keep your wings nice like we used to when we were little.” Ye Qiu offered a soft pleased noise, eyes slipping shut as his head dropped and his breathing evened out into quiet huffs of air.
Ye Xiu smiled at his success, managing to lure his brother into sleeping without too much effort, finishing the grooming, satisfied that his brother’s wings were now in much better condition. He eased his brother into a more comfortable position, wrapping one of his wings around his shoulders, much like they used to do when they were younger.
Ye Qiu curled into the touch, content to remain tucked up in his brother’s wings, head resting against Ye Xiu’s shoulder. He looked younger asleep, as if all his worries and obligations melted away and Ye Xiu tugged him closer, gazing out at the sunrise, making a silent promise to himself.
“I’ll make sure your wings stay neat didi.” He thought to himself, thinking of everything that promise implied and settling against the wall, letting his brother sleep. And the sun continued to bathe them in warm light, sky painted with tendrils of pink as dawn broke the horizon, bringing with it the promise of new beginnings.