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The afternoon air was heavy with the promise of eventual rain, the sky grey and overcast; only a few rays of sunlight feebly shone through the clouds. The breeze that caressed Cao Chunhua’s loosened hair was pleasantly cool and carried the scent of freshly cut wood and decaying autumn leaves.
They perched on a large tree stump, chin resting on their hand as they watched Ge Chen miserably hack away at a tree trunk laid horizontally in front of him, his mind clearly wandering elsewhere. His movements lacked the needed force, and mostly worked to splinter the wood more than to actually chop it.
Cao Chunhua visited Ge Chen fairly often in the past weeks, and the man that greeted them every time was always bright and energetic, either ready to talk their ear off about new developments in Ling Shu Institute, or exhausted after a long day but nevertheless welcoming and friendly to a charming extent. Even his silences carried light in them.
So when Cao Chunhua came to bother him this time and he had a lost, melancholy look on his face, they were at a loss for what to do.
Too disoriented by the development, they did not yet get the chance to ask what ruined his mood. If they had to guess, it probably had something to do with a project going wrong, — why else would he be focused on cutting wood in the middle of the day, taking time away from his precious work?
In all their years of knowing Ge Chen, Cao Chunhua has rarely seen him truly upset. Although the man was not prone to hiding his true emotions, his inherent nature was incredibly positive; even when he faced troubles, he treated them as challenges to be overcome instead of letting himself succumb to misery. In the aftermath of Yanhui Town’s destruction, Ge Chen even learnt to cry much less and if he ever did, he tended to hide away from everyone, especially Chang Geng.
However, Cao Chunhua would always find him. They were always too curious and poked their nose in other people’s business, especially when they were a child and had less subtlety than they did now. Unsure of how exactly to calm down a crying person, they used to babble complete nonsense, from recently learnt phrases in other languages to common street gossip, until Ge Pangxiao’s tears dried and he tentatively joined the conversation. The incident would be over quickly and forgotten in less than a day, and Cao Chunhua would not bring it up afterward.
This effort was fully reciprocated, although Ge Chen’s approach involved a lot more physical contact. He had plenty of reassuring words and light-hearted jokes to offer, but his most commonly used method was to tightly hug Cao Chunhua and not let go until they finally smiled. They grumbled about it every time it happened, but in reality they had nothing against it; the embraces were warm and comforting, and Ge Chen was so earnest about making them feel better that it was difficult to stay upset.
While they were no longer kids and old methods might not work so well anymore, they still wanted to try. Seeing their closest friend is such a mood worried them, not to mention that the current crimes being committed against the poor tree were infuriating to watch.
On the bright side, Cao Chunhua mused as they watched his sleeves tighten briefly around his biceps as he picked up a pile of wood scraps and tossed it to the side, at least they had a view to enjoy.
“Hey!” they suddenly called out. Ge Chen paused with his hand loosely grasping the axe handle, and turned his head to give Cao Chunhua a questioning look. They smiled brightly and slipped off their perch, then walked over to stand next to him, holding their hands out. “Let me try, hm?”
“Alright,” Ge Chen agreed easily and passed the axe over to them. Cao Chunhua received the weapon with both hands, then studied the wooden trunk thoughtfully, trying to pick out a good cutting spot.
“What size should I aim for?” they asked.
Ge Chen shrugged. “You can chop it however you want, it doesn’t have to look pretty. Don’t make it too small, though.”
Cao Chunhua nodded seriously, then firmly gripped the axe handle in both hands and swung. The dull sound of steel hitting wood rang out in the air.
It barely made a dent.
Cao Chunhua could feel Ge Chen giving them a look. They were also aware that Ge Chen knew they were more than capable of using an axe not only to chop wood, but human limbs, which were arguably much more difficult to cut through. Completely unfazed, Cao Chunhua turned and gave Ge Chen a sheepish smile.
“Ah, I must be out of practice,” they said lightly, prying the axe blade out of the unfortunate tree. “Could you give this humble one some pointers?”
Ge Chen looked like he was torn on what part of the request to focus on, the humble or the pointers. At least he seemed a little less sad now. “What pointers are there to give? Just swing harder.”
“No, I’m sure my form is wrong,” Cao Chunhua insisted and scooted closer to him. “Adjust it for me.”
“Your form is fine, you just need more power behind it.” Ge Chen did not take the bait. “Try it again.”
Cao Chunhua did, to the same result.
“Well,” Ge Chen said in a wavering voice, clearly holding back a laugh. Cao Chunhua smiled in quiet self-satisfaction. “Listen, I know what you are trying to do.”
“I’m trying to help you chop some wood, of course,” Cao Chunhua countered without missing a beat. “Maybe something is wrong with my grip…”
“There is nothing wrong with your grip,” Ge Chen sighed.
“Can you check?” Cao Chunhua turned to him, as earnest as could be, and fluttered their lashes. “It’s been so long since I’ve had to do hard labour like this.”
Ge Chen mouthed the words “hard labour” like he couldn’t believe it and shook his head in exasperation, trying to keep his smile down. “You… alright, fine.”
He resignedly came up behind them and caged them in with his arms, hands covering theirs to probe at their supposedly unrefined grip on the axe handle. As Cao Chunhua expected, he was close enough for his chest to press against their back, melting slightly into the close contact; he rested his chin on their shoulder, peering over to study their joined hands.
Cao Chunhua wondered if this was how cats felt when they lounged together — even though they were supposed to be comforting Ge Chen instead of the other way around, it still felt nice to be safely gathered up in someone’s arms like this. They leaned back slightly, shifting some of their weight to press entirely against him. Warmth bloomed in their chest and skittered all over their body.
Feeling incredibly comfortable, Cao Chunhua had a moment of inspiration and turned their head, intending to give Ge Chen a small kiss on the cheek. However, he just happened to turn his face at the exact time, and they accidentally planted it on the corner of his lips instead.
The two of them froze for a few moments, both surprised by the outcome. Cao Chunhua belatedly remembered that they were both holding onto a weapon when it almost slipped out of their slackened grips, and they both scrambled to hold on to it.
Cao Chunhua came to their senses first, giggling quietly. “Ah, my fault!” They slipped their hands out of Ge Chen’s, leaving him to hold the axe on his own. “Don’t be angry with me, mn?”
“I…” Ge Chen stepped away to hide his flustered face, awkwardly rubbing his cheek. “Why would I be angry?”
“Good answer!” Cao Chunhua pat his shoulder good-naturedly. “If someone became angry over kissing me, it would be a serious blow to my pride.”
Ge Chen finally registered the axe still in his hand and, with one quick movement, lodged it into the tree trunk. This time, it sank in halfway just from that bit of force alone. Cao Chunhua couldn’t help a small shiver running down their body; displays of strength tended to render them embarrassingly weak.
While Cao Chunhua was internally debating whether asking him to put those muscles to use and pick them up will make the situation more awkward or not, Ge Chen turned around and was studying them thoughtfully.
Cao Chunhua caught his gaze and smiled playfully. “You really do like looking at me.”
“I —” Ge Chen lowered his eyes and huffed. “It’s you who likes messing with me.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” Cao Chunhua declared and came closer to put their hands on his shoulders, as well as to take away his ability to hide his face. “Are you still sad? I can kiss you again if you are.”
“So that’s what…” Ge Chen trailed off and shook his head slowly. “No, I’m not anymore.”
Nevertheless, Cao Chunhua stood on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Just in case.”
Ge Chen hummed in response, then quickly lowered his head to put his forehead on Cao Chunhua’s shoulder, hiding a soft smile.
“It is working very well, I see,” Cao Chunhua cooed, patting the back of his neck. “Do you want another one?”
“You are very generous today,” Ge Chen mumbled into their robe, the tension completely bled out of his shoulders. Cao Chunhua hummed quietly as they shamelessly rubbed and prodded his biceps, which Ge Chen endured without complaint.
“I am always generous,” Cao Chunhua bragged. They were about to say something else, but were interrupted by a big droplet splashing on the tip of their nose, startling them into closing their eyes. A few more raindrops landed on their head in quick succession.
Ge Chen raised his head, sensing the water quickly soaking into his hair and clothes. He was much less bothered by the sudden rain than his smaller friend, who shrank in closer to him and tried to use him as an umbrella. He simply looked back at the tree trunk and pile of wood next to it, then sighed to himself and took a moment to stretch his back and arms; Cao Chunhua scrambled to duck around him, stubbornly trying to avoid the rain.
“Is something the matter?” Ge Chen asked, his mood much improved from before. Cao Chunhua gave him a wronged look and grabbed his arm, holding it above their head.
“I would rather not get all wet,” they complained, and quickly swept up a sleeve to hide a small sneeze behind it. Ge Chen tried to muffle a laugh as they let out a few more kitten sneezes, then heartily pat their back.
“You stayed out here for my sake, it’s my fault,” he said lightly and slipped off his topmost robe to drape it over Cao Chunhua’s head, seemingly undisturbed by the wet chill himself. They grabbed onto the offered robe without any ceremony and quickly wrapped it tightly around themself like a cocoon.
They sniffed. “You are forgiven as long as you take me to a dry place.”
“Alright.” Ge Chen swept an arm over their shoulders to tuck them in closer to his chest.
“And keep me warm!”
“Of course!”