Work Text:
“Do you still remember the first birthday you spent with me?” Xue Meng asked in between munching his pastry. He wiped the flakes of pastry skin off his mouth with a napkin and muttered, “I still do.”
“Mm. I do remember.”
It was a cool and windy day. A single dead leaf quietly landed on Shi Mei’s hair. The sun was slightly dim today, but Shi Mei’s face was still radiant with the bygone spring, brilliant even under the shadows of autumn. Xue Meng reached out to brush the leaf away.
“You gifted me a lovely jade comb,” Shi Mei gripped Xue Meng’s outstretched hand. Xue Meng went wide-eyed, as if Shi Mei’s hand was around his neck instead of his wrist. “We went swimming together. You almost drowned.”
Shi Mei shook his head a little and the leaf on the top of his head slipped down. Xue Meng sighed when Shi Mei interlaced their fingers together.
“Why do you have to remember that part, ah.” Xue Meng clicked his tongue. It was long ago, and it was an embarrassing memory, and Xue Meng, with his big ego, naturally didn’t want to remember embarrassing events for longer than a week at most. At that time, he had even shown off his ‘swimming skills’ to Shi Mei. In the end, it was Shi Mei who rescued him from drowning.
“I remember every part,” Shi Mei’s voice seemed to carry the cadence of the rustling wind around them, breezy and soft. “You picked some flowers and made a very crooked flower crown that fell apart once it touched my head.”
“Shut up…”
“Then, out of the blue, you told me that you were going to marry me when we were older.”
“Shi Mei!” Xue Meng couldn’t take it anymore and scolded. With an angry huff, he moved closer to Shi Mei and pinched Shi Mei’s cheek, pulling hard. “Don’t say anymore.”
Shi Mei only laughed. “Is the pastry good? Is it sweet enough?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s delicious,” he nodded, forgetting his annoyance in a flash and taking another huge bite. That morning, Xue Meng had nearly turned the kitchen upside down attempting to make pastries for Shi Mei. Shi Mei found out, so they cooked together - not quite, no; Shi Mei cooked as Xue Meng watched, taking the emotional support role instead of the co-chef role.
“If you like it, then I’m happy,” after a heartbeat of silence, “You know, we should spend more time like this.”
Just the two of them in a quiet and cozy place, eating their favorite snacks, away from everybody else. Things were warming up between him and Xue Meng; the years-long pining had finally come to an end, like a bud that’s finally blossomed. They really needed more moments like this.
“Of course we do. Shi Mei, here, have some,” Shi Mei hadn’t said yes or no, yet Xue Meng was already shoving his bitten pastry to Shi Mei’s lips. Shi Mei rolled his eyes playfully at him, and bit down at the melting sweetness.
Shi Mei remembered every part of his birthdays spent with Xue Meng; not only his first but also his second, third, and so on. And this birthday, too, he will remember every part.