Work Text:
Both Mu Qing and Feng Xin always seemed to be the first ones to enter their empty homeroom every morning. It was one of those little things that slowly morphed into a competition between them. They always tried to outdo each other in everything since, well— forever, really. Being the first to come to class was no exception.
For the past 7 years, it became a routine. First, they would make eye contact from opposing ends of the corridor. Seconds later, they were sprinting like a madmen just to be the first person inside.
Because, hah, I touched it first. I arrived here sooner than you.
Every morning, they would touch the door handle at the exact same time. Mu Qing and Feng Qing's hands would brush against each other as they tried to twist the knob open. The skin-to-skin contact sent tingling sensation all the way down their spines. But neither of them would ever to admit it ever happened. This weird feeling was clearly a sign of weakness, and nothing more.
It was easier to blame it on the adrenalin rush.
But the result of this little game of theirs was always the same each time. They would aggressively try to push past each other and tumble into class at the exact same time. As they had grown older, the door frame only got smaller making the whole affair so much worse.
What didn't help the pair of rivals (they were not friends) sat on desks right next to each other. It wasn't something that they had a choice in. The randomly selected seating doomed them into this close proximity. All the pair could do was try and ignore each other as much as they could for the time being.
They were both fiddling around on their phones: Mu Qing was texting Xie Lian who was on his way to school and Feng Xin was playing whatever mobile game was popular at the time.
Notifications: on.
Sound: speaker.
Mu Qing freely let the typing and messaging sounds on just to piss off Feng Xin and Feng Xin purposely played games with speaker, trying to drown out Mu Qing's notifications with ingame sound effects.
You know, just to piss each other off on this fine morning. Just the usual.
[Xie Lian: you know, yesterday, san lang mentioned something about a pocky game and how today is pocky day!]
[Xie Lian: and then i told him, "oh, what kind of game is that sanang? it sounds cute, it must be fun! let's play it" :) ]
[Xie Lian: after i said that, san lang blushed a bit. was i being too much? do you think i was being too much??]
[Xie Lian: do you know the pocky game is, mu qing?]
[Mu Qing: no, i don't. what is it?]
[Xie Lian: idk, i'm not sure either, i guess i'll find out later ¿( ^-^)?]
[Mu Qing: i can ask feng xin, see if he knows anything.]
[Xie Lian: thank you!! ♡♡♡～]
Placing his phone one the desk, Mu Qing huffed and repeated the question to his deskmate who was all in a world of his own. "I said: do you know what this pocky game thing is?"
Feng Xin, who was beside him, simply muttered, "What's that?"
"Could it be anything bad???" Mu Qing placed his fingers on his temples, trying to knead away the frustration beginning to grow, "You don't think—"
"Oh fuck yeah!" Feng Xin cheered as the little phone in his hands played a small fanfare. He'd just won one of those multiplayer battles.
Mu Qing sent a glare his way, "Are you even listening to me right now?"
The other teenager hurriedly tapped a button and put his phone to sleep. "No."
"As I was saying," Mu Qing said, "What on earth is the pocky game, Xie Lian told me that his San Lang mentioned it to him yesterday."
"Hmmm," Feng Xin pondered, opening his phone once again and typing up the words pocky game into the search bar. His face froze when he saw the definition and the top images on the results page.
"What? what is it?" Mu Qing demanded to know, placing the tip of his chin on Feng Xin's shoulder and looking onto the latter's phone screen.
"Surely it— Oh… Oh." Snapping his head away from the phone like it was a cursed thing, Mu Qing decided then and there that the dusty window sill was more interesting. Still, he hadn't exactly lifted himself off of Feng Xin's shoulder and his movement had caused his chin and the clothing underneath it to chafe.
Feng Xin yelped in response. "Hey! That hurt!"
Mu Qing immediately felt bad. His eyebrows softened as he turned to look at Feng Xin in apology. But, as always, he never said it out loud.
"Ughhh..." Feng Xin muttered and closed his eyes. "You don't think Xie Lian is actually going to play the pocky game with Hua Cheng, do you?"
"Xie Lian told me that he agreed to play it with him. Because it sounded cute and harmless."
Mu Qing could hear a spit take.
"Well, anyway, this was before he knew what the game was about. Which is why I'm asking you. So that I can tell him."
"Well, what are you gonna tell him now?"
Mu Qing pondered for a moment, before picking up his phone to type out a message to Xie Lian. Once he was done, he showed his screen to Feng Xin.
"Thoughts?"
[Mu Qing: xie lian, do NOT play this game with him| ]
Feng Xin reached over and tapped the send button.
The pair breathed a sigh of relief.
Almost instantly, came a reply:
[Xie Lian: why? D:]
"Who's going to tell him?"
"Not me."
=====
Hua Cheng was not going to steal away their best friend for the past 7 years. He would have to get through both Feng Xin and Mu Qing if he ever thought that they would let him kiss their childhood friend just like that. The thought of this unworthy, unruly underclassman lip locking with their best friend over a fucking piece of biscuit was abhorrent to both of them.
They both shuddered at the thought.
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know.
At that moment came Hua Cheng, walking in nonchalantly into the classroom and holding a pink box in his hand. Attached to the pink box was a small sticky note. Presumably, there was a message on it written in chicken scratch. The pair of rivals pretended not to notice as Hua Cheng placed this box inside Xie Lian's desk. and then, as briskly as he came, he was out of their classroom a few seconds later.
Feng Xin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "We need to do something about it."
"What do you suggest we do?" Mu Qing rolled his eyes.
"This," Feng Xin stood up, made his way over to Xie Lian's desk and took out the pink box. "Okay, I know my handwriting is bad. But. I actually have no idea what this says."
When he made eye contact with the rubbish bin, Mu Qing rushed to his feet and held back his arm.
"What are you doing?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes, "You're going to throw away perfectly good food like that?"
"So?" Feng Xin rose an eyebrow. He was definitely one of those kids who just tossed unwanted parts of their lunch straight into the bin.
"Give it to me. I'll keep it." Mu Qing placed a firm grip on the pink box. "Oh, it's strawberry flavoured."
"What— Why?" Feng Xin questioned, "All we need to do is get rid of it so he doesn't see it, right?"
"Yeah, exactly—" Mu Qing began to elaborate, "Give it to me and I can hide it. Or give it to someone who actually won't waste it."
"Fine." Feng Xin relented and loosened his own grip on the pink box.
Disgusting. There was even a heart shaped strawberry on the front. How awfully affectionate.
They both returned to their respective seats. Feng Xin loaded the game back up on his phone while Mu Qing buried the obnoxious pink box behind his stack of workbooks and textbooks.
Then, his phone lit up with a notification:
[Xie Lian: san lang told me he left a box of pocky in my desk this morning!]
[Xie Lian: please look after it for me!]
He slid the phone over the desk in front of Feng Xin.
"What do we tell him?"
Feng Xin took the phone in his hands and typed up a quick response on Mu Qing's phone.
[Mu Qing: i'll keep an eye on it, but no guarantees]
[Mu Qing: also, UGH, feng xin just said he could run around the fields faster than i ever will. brb. 🙄🙄🙄]
"What?" Mu Qing snapped and sent an accusatory glance at Fen Xin, "I do not text like that!"
"You do. and, I can run faster than you."
"You weren't joking? How can you actually be so sure that you're faster than me?"
And then the pair bolted out of the classroom.
=====
"San Lang, it's gone, I'm so sorry!" Xie Lian placed his palms together, begging Hua Cheng to forgive him. "I checked my desk earlier and it's not there…!"
"It's my fault, I should've given it to gege after he arrived." Hua Cheng lamented.
"No, no," Xie Lian shushed him, "It's not your fault. I was the one that told you you could leave it there. Mu Qing and Feng Xin left earlier because Feng Xin challenged him again."
"Oh?" Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow. "They were here earlier, weren't they? They were in the class when I left it here."
"Yeah, but I bet they didn't notice you. You know how they like to have their phones on max volume," Xie Lian sighed and motioned to the rest of the homeroom which was now filled up with other chattering students. "Plus, there's a lot of people here now. It could've been anyone."
"If gege says so."
Xie Lian reached over to tug on the edge of Hua Cheng's sleeve. The latter paused, their breath hitched.
"I'm so sorry San Lang, can this game only be played today? I'll play it with you next year!" He pleaded, holding out a pinkie finger regardless of how childish the action was, "I promise!"
Hua Cheng's face relaxed and he showed Xie Lian a tender smile. "I… I'll look forward to the next time we have pocky on pocky day then, gege."
Xie Lian returned the smile and patted the other man on the shoulder.
Whatever the pocky game was, it could wait for next year.
=====
Hua Cheng slammed the homeroom door open with a resounding bang!
"I knew you took it." He indignantly crossed his arms.
It was after school, about four in the afternoon and the sky outside was dyed in warm colours. Xie Lian had already gone to the dance club. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were the last ones in the classroom, getting ready for their club activities — archery and fencing, respectively. The pair were packing away their homework and textbooks into their satchel bags so that they could go home once they finished.
Hua Cheng strode closer towards them, passing a few rows of desks. He stood there, menacingly, causing the tension in the air to rise. It was getting harder and harder to believe that this boy was actually younger than the pair.
"So, what do you have to say for yourselves?"
Mu Qing was the first to respond. "Hua Cheng, I—"
"We just didn't want Xie Lian to play the pocky game with you." Feng Xin cut him off, placed a hand to his temples and sighed.
"Or with anyone, for that matter." Mu Qing added.
Hua Cheng sat down at a nearby desk. He placed a hand on top of the wooden table and tapped his fingernails upon it in a rhythmic pattern. "To be honest," the man with red eyes admitted, "No one is probably worthy enough to play the pocky game with Xie Lian."
The silence confirmed Mu Qing and Feng Xin's silent agreement with that statement.
"But, it was his decision to agree with the game. I would never take advantage of him," Hua Cheng eyed the pink box that was now sticking out from between a few stacks of notebooks, "Of course I'd have to tell him the rules first. If he didn't like it, of course I wouldn't force him to play it."
He looked back up to glare at Xie Lian's two best friends. "You're so lucky that he cares about both of you, otherwise…"
Hua Cheng softened his glare and pointed a finger at the box of strawberry pocky. "So, how are you going to make it up to me?"
"We'll do one thing," Feng Xin replied before Mu Qing could cover his mouth. "Anything. We'll both do one thing you ask."
Hua Cheng's ruby red eyes sparkled in amusement. "Anything?"
Feng Xin nodded. Mu Qing couldn't exactly refuse so he, too, nodded and rolled his eyes.
"Then, don't let it go to waste," Hua Cheng smirked. "Why don't you both play the pocky game in our steed? Seems fair, doesn't it? All Xie Lian knows is that the box went missing."
"A-Are you sure you don't just want it back? We can just give it back to you…" Mu Qing stuttered. The thought of kissing his own rival was complete and utter blasphemy! It would be the ultimate form of defeat!
"Nope," Hua Cheng rose from the seat. "That would be letting you off too easily. You both need to learn a lesson."
Feng Xin wordlessly fished out the box of strawberry pocky, much to Mu Qing's dismay. He haphazardly tore open the box and began to open the stupid pink foil dotted with plenty and plenty of little love hearts.
"What are you doing?" Mu Qing hissed.
"Opening it." Feng Xin replied.
"I was about to leave. Do you actually want me to be here?" Hua Cheng answered. "I can tell you the instructions from the hallway."
Hua Cheng took out two pocky sticks.
"No!" Mu Qing snapped. "We're fine by ourselves!"
"I'm not leaving until you finish these." He passed the pair of pocky sticks to Feng Xin.
"Do whatever you want with the rest. But those two are only for the pocky game." And with that, Hua Cheng vacated their homeroom.
"So," Feng Xin began, taking out a single stick of pocky. "What did those images look like again?"
Mu Qing closed his eyes in exasperation, taking the biscuit from the other's fingers. He scooted himself closer, so that he and Feng Xin were at eye level with each other. Awkwardly, Mu Qing placed one end of the stick into his mouth.
"Haha," the other commented, "You always had a thing for sweets. You just never admitted it."
"No I don't!" Mu Qing gritted his teeth in anger. The biscuit broke in his mouth and the outside part tumbled to the floor.
"Oh, shit—"
Mu Qing silently bent down and hid the dirtied pocky stick in its old box.
"Redo." He said. "No one saw anything. Especially not Hua Cheng."
Feng Xin once again picked another piece of strawberry pocky and placed one end — the biscuit end — between his lips. The person across from him mentally breathed a sigh of relief as he was assigned the end with the strawberry coating.
How considerate of him. But the first stick broke because it was his fault.
Mu Qing leaned in closer to capture the flavoured end of the stick.
Suddenly, being this close to each other… it was hard to focus on anything other than the face in front of you.
Feng Xin noted how Mu Qing's silver eyes sharply glared at him, and that furrow in his eyebrows was something that he was all too familiar with. That tingling sensation that he always felt whenever their hands brushed every morning had returned. But he was not going to lose to it. He was not going to.
Similarly, Mu Qing found it hard to focus on anywhere but Feng Xin's lips. He didn't know why. A sudden cough from the before him snapped him out of his stupor. The glint of the golden ribbon which tied back Feng Xin's hair was exactly the same shade as Feng Xin's eyes. How had Mu Qing never noticed it?
Mu Qing's first instinct was to jolt away from this awkward situation, but Feng Xin had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
It seemed that they were both reluctant to continue. It was a mutual feeling. But they were both aware that they wouldn't be allowed to leave until they did what Hua Cheng asked of them.
Oh, if only Feng Xin wasn't so stupid earlier....
A bite from the biscuit end had Mu Qing's immediate attention.
It was only a small nibble, but the distance between their lips had gotten shorter!
How dare Feng Xin start without him?
Glaring at the man with golden eyes, he bit off a larger chunk of his end. The strawberry coating melted blissfully into his mouth and he could definitely taste the sugar.
It actually tasted… quite pleasant.
If only he was in a different situation. He'd be able to appreciate this strawberry flavoured biscuit more.
"First person to close their eyes loses," Feng Xin announced.
"What? That's not even a part of the rules!" Mu Qing hissed. "But you know what, that'd be considered chickening out. So, deal!"
Feng Xin merely blinked and started to nibble at the biscuit.
Mu Qing, unwilling to let him win just like that, also began to eat more of the pocky. There was just no way he was going to leave Feng Xin to enjoy the strawberry flavour as well!
If Mu Qing was gonna suffer, then he was going to eat all the parts covered with the flavouring! He chewed on the pocky faster.
Before he knew it, Mu Qing had reached the end of the coated part of the biscuit.
And Feng Xin's was mere millimetres away from his own.
"Looking at your face makes me want to throw up," Mu Qing announced as he boldly took another bite.
"Back at you," Feng Xin took a bite. "You look so stupid when you roll your eyes."
Mu Qing rolled his eyes and nibbled once.
"See?" Feng Xin laughed as he got closer.
"Let's just end this already." Mu Qing snapped and closed the distance between them.
Wow? Were Feng Xin's lips always this soft? I can't believe they're this soft?
Their lips met, but there was still a tiny piece of the biscuit unclaimed in the middle. Mu Qing pressed in further to take it for himself, But Feng Xin's tongue pressed against his own when he attempted to take it.
And then Feng Xin licked the inside of Mu Qing's mouth, intent to claim other parts of the biscuit from earlier.
What the fuck!
Mu Qing stopped functioning, his face turned completely red. He couldn't move. Oh my god, it was so embarrassing! He was so close to claiming that final part of the biscuit and then Feng Xin— Feng Xin just had to ruin it all! A-And what's more, he's trying to get all the strawberry coated pieces too…!
Feng Xin's eyes widened in surprise. The flavour was actually very sweet. It was a delicious contrast against the hostile Mu Qing that he knew. It tasted very good. So he wanted more of it. It was unfair to let Mu Qing have all the strawberry coated pieces, after all!
Neither of them wanted to lose.
Without even realising it, the two had prolonged their kiss until the biscuit pieces had turned into crumbs. The faint sounds of their lips meeting were the only sounds in the classroom. But the two were so engaged in this all-out war that none had even bothered with some of the drool that occasionally escaped from the corners of their mouths.
And even when the biscuit crumbs were all but gone, neither of them were willing to relent.
Until, of course, they had become light headed from the lack of air and it had become hard to breathe.
Mu Qing pressed an open palm into Feng Xin's chest. A few moments later, Feng Xin was the one who gently pried them apart.
The pair sat there for a moment, bewildered and gasping, trying to catch their breaths.
Mu Qing placed a fist on the desk to try and orient himself.
"Hm, that strawberry did taste good." Feng Xin mused.
"Shut the fuck up!" Mu Qing buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe you!"
"I can't believe you either! You ate the strawberry part!" Feng Xin grumbled, "You didn't leave any for me!"
"I-I... Weren't you were letting me eat the strawberry part!" Mu Qing protested.
"There's a difference between letting you start at the strawberry end and not giving me any at all!"
Mu Qing frustratedly pulled another pocky stick from the obnoxious foil packaging and bit into the strawberry end. He continued to bite down further and further until all the strawberry coating was gone. Then, he discarded the bland, biscuit portion.
Feng Xin watched in horror as Mu Qing continued his reign of terror until at least half of the pocky sticks were devoid of the strawberry!
"No you don't!" He caught ahold of Mu Qing's wrist. "Let me have some of the strawberry too!"
=== bonus/omake ===
The door opened once again. Hua Cheng leaned against the door frame unamused.
"Are you both done?" He drawled, raising a hand to stifle a yawn.
"We were done ages ago. Are you deaf?" Mu Qing rolled his eyes.
"Good. I can leave," Hua Chang stood up again and put a hand into his hoodie's pocket.
"What are you doing?" Feng Xin eyed him suspiciously.
"I'm glad you asked," Hua Cheng smiled at them as he produced another box of pocky and flaunted it before their eyes. "Goodbye and good evening to both you."
He slammed the door shut before Mu Qing could register what had just happened. Feng Xin had tried to run towards the door, presumably to strangle Hua Cheng, but it was no use.
He couldn't open it.
[Unknown Number: xie lian can unlock the door later when he comes to pick up his stuff. i hope you've both learned your lesson.]
[Unknown Number: until then, enjoy.]