Work Text:
“Look what I made!!” Su Muqiu let out a sharp huff of air as his sister came barrelling into him, his arms coming around her too slow to soften the blow. Before he could recover from the sudden assault his sister was already dragging him by the wrist into the living room where their parents were waiting.
Su Muqiu laughed in delight at the balloons, the banner, his sister’s messy calligraphy spelling out his name. He could picture her knelt over the banner, carefully writing out the characters, forehead furrowed in concentration. His sister yanked on his wrist again, demanding his attention as she pointed at the low coffee table.
“Gege look what I made!” The item in question was a cake. At least, Su Muqiu was nearly certain it was a cake, if a little lopsided with the candles sliding off along with the icing. Su Mucheng was standing by it expectantly as she burst into song, tapping their parents until they joined in before waiting for her brother to blow out the candles.
Su Muqiu obliged and smiled at the squeal of delight his sister let out when he cut himself a slice of cake, his parents nodded encouragingly and he hoped that they weren’t going to let him be poisoned. To his surprise, the cake was actually edible, if over decorated and of dubious structural integrity.
“Is it good? Do you like it? Mama helped me bake it and baba helped me decorate it, look I made it red because that’s your favourite colour, the candles are red too, is it nice, do you think it tastes good?” Su Mucheng was bouncing at his side, twin plaits bobbing up and down with her movements, eyes fixed on her big brother’s face, waiting for his response.
“It’s delicious, you did such a good job!” Su Muqiu swung his sister up into the air, tossing her high above his head as she shrieked in delight, filling the room with her laughter.
His sister stuck to his side for the rest of the day, pressing cake, balloons and gifts into his hands at various times. It seemed she was sticking to a strict schedule, he’d caught Su Mucheng glancing at the clock a few times, face solemn in her concentration as another gift was pressed upon him. And the way she lit up when he accepted the proffered item was well worth the struggle of trying to carry nine things at once while also holding her hand.
Su Muqiu fell asleep with his arms aching and his sister piling more things onto his unconscious body until her parents tugged her away, suggesting that she could give him the rest of his presents when he woke up.
It was a good birthday.
Su Muqiu blinked in surprise when his sister pressed a small cupcake into his hand. When he simply stared at her in confusion Su Mucheng offered a small, sad smile, one that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she spoke.
“Happy birthday gege.” Su Muqiu opened his mouth to speak but she was already continuing, “I didn’t bake a cake because- because mama and baba weren’t here to help me, but it’s red and it has a candle and-“ Su Mucheng fell silent when her brother wrapped her into a tight hug and the tears she’d been trying to hold back spilled over and she cried in her brother’s arms.
From the way her shirt grew damp against her shoulder, Su Muqiu had also cracked and begun to cry. They clung to each other for a long time, seeking comfort in each other until their eyes were rimmed red but the tears had stopped.
They shared the cupcake between them, Su Mucheng’s voice had wavered as she’d sung, voice cracking slightly but she summoned up a smile at the end. The sofa was covered in crumbs once they’d finished breaking pieces off the cake and they remained there for the entire night, trying to keep the tears at bay together.
Despite best efforts, it hadn’t been a good birthday.
“Blow out the candle now!” Su Mucheng’s face was bright with joy and Ye Xiu was smiling as he lounged in his seat. Su Muqiu grinned at them both as the candle flickered and vanished. He yelped in protest when Ye Xiu’s hand shot out and stole some of the icing.
“Hey! You have your own!” He protested, pointing at the cupcake sitting on the plate in front of the other boy who merely shrugged, grin unrepentant.
“But yours is red.” He said, as if that explained everything and Su Mucheng shook her head in disappointment, already delicately eating her own cupcake.
“Next year you can have your own red cupcake if you want to be a child about it.” Ye Xiu hummed to himself as he took a bite from his own cupcake, nodding in approval at the flavour.
“You shouldn’t give in to him Mucheng, I bet he was plotting this to make sure he gets a red cupcake next time.”
“What if my favourite colour is red Muqiu? Would you deny me my favourite colour?”
“Yes.”
“So heartless! Mucheng how have you put up with such a heartless older brother all these years?”
“Maybe he just doesn’t like you?” Ye Xiu gasped, eyes wide with exaggerated sorrow.
“Ahh I see how you’ve put up with him, you’re just as heartless as he is!” Their bickering faded into the background as Su Muqiu enjoyed his cake, basking in the company of his favourite people.
They watched films late into the night, Ye Xiu chiming in with his observations as Su Mucheng offered cutting remarks on the more overdramatic plotlines. They fell asleep before the last film ended, curled up in a pile on the sofa, content with one another.
It was a good birthday.
The cemetery wasn’t busy, but it wasn’t quiet either. Su Mucheng was glad no one stopped her as she made her way through the thin crowd of people, certain that she’d break down crying if anyone tried to speak to her. Ye Xiu was behind her, face carefully blank until they reached her brother’s- her brother’s-
Her brother’s grave.
She still could barely think it, let alone say it.
The grass was wet beneath her knees and she placed the little red cupcake on the grass, lighting the candle with shaky hands. Ye Xiu’s presence was solid behind her, comforting even as her world fell apart around her. Her voice wavered as she sang, like it had the first time she’d sung after- after something like this.
Unlike last time Su Mucheng broke down, unable to keep herself together to finish the song. Through her tears, she could hear Ye Xiu pick up the thread of the song, finishing it for her. It was an anchor, his voice, and her sobs eventually died down and she gathered herself enough to choke out her next words, even if her voice was still thick with tears.
“Blow out your candle gege.” Ye Xiu’s arm was a steady weight around her shoulders as her tears started up again. Su Mucheng trembled and watched as a gust of wind made the candle flicker- once- twice- before it died out, smoke vanishing in the wind. No one was going to eat the cupcake and Su Mucheng curled into Ye Xiu’s embrace.
It wasn’t a good birthday.
There wouldn’t be another good birthday.
Not for him.