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Xie Lian brushes hair from Hua Cheng's face, which had fallen when he'd tipped over onto his lap. Xie Lian smiles down at him, unable to keep the comparison of a house cat out of his head. Something's on the TV, but neither of them are really watching it. Hua Cheng's eye has drifted shut, smiling at Xie Lian's hand petting his hair. Xie Lian's simply looking down at him, awed by how relaxed he is.
Hua Cheng is high. He'd offered some to Xie Lian, but he'd said no, and then Hua Cheng had gotten nervous and asked questions like, "Are you sure you're comfortable with just me doing it? You don't mind? You wouldn't feel uncomfortable?" Etc, etc. Xie Lian had assured him each time that he didn't mind, and in fact likes when Hua Cheng grows floaty and soft. He's always so sharp, so guarded. It's nice to see him lose some of his inhibitions.
It's nice to watch over him, to get a chance to take care of him.
Xie Lian runs his nails along his scalp, earning a pleased sound from the back of Hua Cheng's throat. He leans into the touch, a smile on his face. It's such an endearing sight that Xie Lian can't restrain the urge to ruffle his hair. Hua Cheng's eye opens to half-heartedly squint up at his boyfriend.
"Sorry," Xie Lian says, not sorry at all. "I can't help it. You're so cute like this!"
Hua Cheng complains, "Gege." Xie Lian just smiles and smooths the mess back out of his face.
It's only been a little while, so Xie Lian isn't sure just how far gone he is. "How're you feeling?"
"Good," Hua Cheng answers. One of Xie Lian's hands settles on his cheek, and Hua Cheng grabs a hold of his wrist. "Warm and fuzzy. Kind of hungry."
"Oh, did you wanna grab something from your kitchen?" Hua Cheng drawls a hum that begins thoughtful before trailing into something displeased.
"I haven't gotten groceries this week, yet," he sighs. "I don't have much."
"Did you want to go to the store? Just to get a couple things?" Xie Lian asks.
"Hm? Oh! No, no we don't have to," Hua Cheng assures. "You'd have to drive. You don't have to do that."
Xie Lian huffs a small laugh. "San Lang, it's just across the street. I don't mind."
"No, I—you don't…" His brows furrow, and Xie Lian pokes the wrinkle between them.
"San Lang. It's not a problem," he insists. And because he knows it'll convince him, he adds, "I'm a little hungry, too. We can both get some snacks." Hua Cheng's dark, hazy eye flits over his smiling face before nodding.
"Okay." He reluctantly peels himself off of Xie Lian, grabbing his hand to help him off the couch. They're hands stay entwined until they have to put on their shoes. Since Hua Cheng has converse, he makes the executive decision to let go and bend down instead of balancing on a single foot like a wobbly flamingo, a decision that Xie Lian endorses. They make their way out of the apartment, hands once again linked, until they come up on the stairs leading down to the ground floor, where Hua Cheng slows to a stop with a complicated expression that Xie Lian can't quite discern.
When he doesn't move or say anything, Xie Lian tilts his head. "San Lang?"
Hua Cheng looks at Xie Lian very seriously and declares, "Gege, I'm like a cow." Xie Lian stares, doing his very best not to laugh. What the hell does that even mean?
"San Lang, I think you skipped a few steps there," Xie Lian states, "I don't understand." He watches Hua Cheng realize that what he said made no sense out of context, watches the concern (?) morph into amusement.
"Apologies," he chuckles. "Um, have you heard the thing about cows being able to go upstairs, but not downstairs very well? It's like that when I'm high."
"Oh," Xie Lian responds, a bit of a laugh bleeding into his words. "Oh, that makes more sense, San Lang." He glances back at the stairs, now realizing that they're pretty steep for someone who's out of it. "Your building doesn't have an elevator does it?"
"No, it doesn't," Hua Cheng laughs. "I'll be fine, I'll just have to go a little slower than usual."
"You're sure?" Xie Lian wonders. He stares as Hua Cheng nods under the fluorescent hall lights, a slight flush across his cheeks. He meets Hua Cheng's eye with his dilated pupil and feels the smile on his face spreading.
"Gege? You're staring."
"Mhm, I am. I'm staring at my handsome boyfriend," he confirms. Hua Cheng's eye widens before bursting into a quiet fit of laughter, leaning into Xie Lian's side. Xie Lian wraps a hand around his waist when he tilts a little too far into him and risks losing his footing. "I see why you're nervous about the stairs."
"Gege won't let me fall," Hua Cheng replies without any hesitation, making Xie Lian's heart clench in his chest. Xie Lian tightens his hold on his waist.
"I'd never let you fall," Xie Lian assures. Realistically, though, if Hua Cheng did fall, Xie Lian would end up trying to help and just topple over with him. Even still, Hua Cheng turns his head to look at Xie Lian like he’d hung the stars. Xie Lian flushes under the intense, devoted look before averting his eyes forward once more. “We should probably get down to my car if we want to actually get food. Instead of standing here.” Hua Cheng nods like it’s some sage advice. Xie Lian huffs another small, fond laugh at him before helping him get down the stairs without injuring either of them.
As they make their way into the car, Hua Cheng states, “The only thing worse than stairs is snow.”
Xie Lian turns the keys, starting up his car (that’s a little less than half his age). “Snow?” He asks, “Not ice?”
“Well, yes, ice, too,” Hua Cheng replies, “but you know when the snow gets to be about shin height, and you try to walk in someone’s footsteps to avoid completely drenching your boots and pants?”
Xie Lian hums in acknowledgement as they pull out of the parking lot and onto the street. “Yes, I suppose I can see how that’d be difficult if your balance is shot.”
“It’s the worst , gege,” Hua Cheng confirms.
They chat throughout the quick drive, Xie Lian growing increasingly endeared. There’s a certain eloquence that Hua Cheng ordinarily has in his speech that dims when he’s like this. There’s a lot more um’s and uh’s and the transitions between topics is much more abrupt. He’ll never get over how odd it is to hear his normally smooth boyfriend fumble his words. It’s a good odd. He also can’t get over how soft he looks! Xie Lian finds himself shooting glances over at him as he drives. The passing street lights illuminate his foggy eye, which is going between the side of Xie Lian’s face and the road ahead. He’s relaxed against the seat in a way that makes him seem smaller instead of the appearance of nonchalant confidence he normally carries himself with. Xie Lian loves him in all his bravado, but seeing him like this feels like a treat.
He perks up a bit in his seat when they pull up to the small grocery store. After getting out of his seat, he meets Xie Lian near the back of the car with a kiss. It pulls a surprised noise from Xie Lian’s throat. He links one of his hands with Hua Cheng’s when he pulls back, smiling. Xie Lian wonders, “What was that for?”
“I wanted to,” Hua Cheng answers. “Gege is beautiful, and I want to kiss him all the time.”
Xie Lian asks through a smile, “Is that so?” Hua Cheng nods with his dopey smile and a crescent-shaped eye. His free hand cups Hua Cheng’s cheek, skin warm under his palm, as he leans forward to give him another kiss. The press of their lips is tender and has Hua Cheng melting a little against him. Xie Lian hardly pulls away, speaking against Hua Cheng’s lips when he says, “Alright, we came here for food, not to make out in the parking lot.”
Hua Cheng snickers. “This is not making out, gege.”
“Not yet, but I feel like it’ll go there if we don’t stop now.” He tugs Hua Cheng forward by their held hands, and they start walking.
“And what’s so wrong about making out in a parking lot?” Hua Cheng questions.
Xie Lian retorts, “There are much more comfortable places to do that.”
“Oh?” Hua Cheng asks, a teasing lilt in his voice. “Such as?”
“Your apartment,” Xie Lian says, “where we will go once we’re done here.”
“Hm, that sounded promising,” Hua Cheng grins. "Alright, you've convinced me."
Hua Cheng squints with a slight frown when they step inside, the fluorescent lights a harsh contrast to the night sky. But he gets used to it, and simply follows after Xie Lian like an adoring puppy through the store.
However, he's once again frowning after passing a particular aisle. "Ugh."
"San Lang?" Xie Lian glances back.
"Nothing, gege, just keep walking-"
"-Xie Lian!" A familiar voice calls from down the aisle.
"Feng Xin! Mu Qing, too, hi!" He pleasantly chimes, because he's a much better man than Hua Cheng.
As the two approach, Mu Qing tilts his head. "What're you doing here so late?"
"Oh, we just came by to grab some snacks real quick!"
Hua Cheng's mind drifts away from the conversation, not caring why either of the other two men are here or what they have to say. It drags on forever (probably, like, five minutes), and Hua Cheng grows bored. While Xie Lian keeps talking to the idiots, Hua Cheng lifts their interlocked hands, staring at Xie Lian's. He has nice hands. They're strong and calloused from years of hard work. Hua Cheng runs a finger over the green lines on the back of them, dusts his thumb over Xie Lian's knuckles. He flips his hand over and traces the lines of his palm. Essentially, he just starts playing with Xie Lian's hands. After all, why shouldn't he? They're nice hands. They're amazing hands. They're a bit bigger than his, but Hua Cheng has longer fingers. Xie Lian's hands deserve his affection. All of Xie Lian deserves his affection. He loves Xie Lian so much. He's the blood in his veins, the marrow of his bones. He's everything to Hua Cheng. He loves him so much he could burst with it, just dissolve where he stands. He loves Xie Lian and his hands.
He's rudely snapped out of his nice and cozy headspace when Feng Xin barks, "Hua Cheng!"
He shoots a glare at the sad excuse of a man. Who the fuck does he think he is? Hua Cheng's reply is cold, flat. "What?"
"You didn't even hear what I said, did you?" He crosses his arms, rather petulantly in Hua Cheng's eyes.
He raised an unimpressed brow. "Why would I willingly listen to you talk?"
"San Lang," Xie Lian quietly scolds. Hua Cheng doesn't apologize, but he does break his hostile eye contact to look back down at Xie Lian's hand again. It really is a nice hand.
"Ugh, whatever," Feng Xin scoffs. Mu Qing, it seems, had occupied himself with scanning some dried fruit instead of watching Feng Xin fail to question a very apathetic Hua Cheng. "It doesn't matter." He turns back to Xie Lian, tone much more pleasant as he continues, "See you next week then?"
"See you then!" Xie Lian chimes, and they are finally walking away. Once they're out of earshot, Xie Lian asks, "Did you actually not hear what he said?" Xie Lian is audibly smiling. Hua Cheng meets his eyes.
"No, why?"
Xie Lian brushes a stray hair from his face behind one of his warm ears, only making them heat further. "He asked what you were smiling so wide at."
"Oh." Hua Cheng leans against Xie Lian, this time entirely intentional. "You have nice hands. I love them. I love you." Xie Lian's expression can only be described as "adoring." He lifts their linked hands to his lips in order to press a kiss against Hua Cheng's knuckles. Hua Cheng's heart seizes. His cheeks hurt from how much he's smiling at Xie Lian and every little thing he does, because everything he does is perfect and he loves him.
"I love you and your hands, too," he says, lips brushing against his skin.
Hua Cheng feels giddy, like the happiness will burst from his chest. He almost trembles with it. Xie Lian can hear it in his voice when he nearly sings, "Gege."
And then his stomach grumbles.
"Ah," Xie Lian snickers, "let's get you something to eat."
"Gege, too," Hua Cheng insists.
Xie Lian nods along, "Gege, too." They go around the store for a bit until they make their way over to the self check-out area. While Xie Lian scans everything, Hua Cheng meanders around, looking at the stuff they put here in hopes that people will reach for something at the last minute or that a child will beg their parents for something. He's fixated on some mints—Xie Lian likes the specific flavor—when idiots 1 and 2 make their way over. Hua Cheng doesn't even notice them until they have to walk past him, and when he does notice him, he isn't pleased. He already had to see these guys! Why do they keep bothering him? When he catches Mu Qing's eyes, he rolls his own so hard that he turns with it, making his way back over to Xie Lian.
"Gege," he complains. Xie Lian might even categorize it as a whine. "I wanna go home. The trash is back, and they stink."
Mu Qing, from his place at the self check-out furthest from Hua Cheng, snaps, "Fuck off, man!"
Feng Xin barks, "Yeah, what's your problem?!"
"I have two of them," Hua Cheng sneers, "and they're making eye contact with me." He leans into Xie Lian, who's attempting to deal with some issue the machine has because of course it does when he's the one using it. "Gege, they're an eyesore."
"San Lang," Xie Lian shakes his head at him, but there's no heart in it. The machine makes a sharp sound at whatever Xie Lian did and lights up, alerting the nearby worker. As the tired teenager makes her way over and greets Xie Lian, Mu Qing squints at Hua Cheng. Specifically, at his face.
"Please, we all know who the real eyesore is," he scoffs. "Speaking of that though, what the fuck is up with your eye? Why's it so red?"
Hua Cheng's brows furrow as he tilts his head with a frown. Huh? What, but it's always red—wait, no, he doesn't mean that one.
Mu Qing's own face pinches. What the hell is that expression? The question catches Feng Xin's attention, and suddenly he's also analyzing Hua Cheng. His eyes are too dark to tell if his pupils are dilated from here, but… He's been swaying into Xie Lian with a dazed look to his flushed face. Honestly, that's kind of just how he is around Xie Lian. That said, he also sounds off? His speech is slower, almost like he's being careful. "Hold on." He pushes past Mu Qing and takes a deep inhale. "Are you high?" Hua Cheng just shrugs. So what if he is?
"What?!" Mu Qing snips. "Are you serious?"
The teenaged worker fixes the machine for Xie Lian, bids him a good night, and speeds away from whatever the hell is going on here.
Mu Qing scans over Hua Cheng's lax body, relying on Xie Lian for balance. "Xie Lian! You're okay with this?!"
"Why wouldn't I be?" He asks, finally ringing himself up.
"Uh? Because he's on drugs?!"
Hua Cheng snorts. "It's just weed, kid."
"I'm older than you!"
"Then act like it, you-" Xie Lian, sensing that this is escalating far too much for a grocery store at 10pm, slides his hand over Hua Cheng's mouth. His eye goes wide, but he does nothing to stop it. Why would he? It's Xie Lian's hand covering his mouth. He's had fantasies like this. He brings a hand of his own to hold Xie Lian's arm, not pulling the hand away, just softly gripping him.
"I don't see the issue," Xie Lian replies. "He's a grown man, Mu Qing."
"And you don't care that he's doing it around you?!"
"I, too, am a grown man," Xie Lian levels with a rather unimpressed look. "We're not in high school anymore. It's not like he snuck me out to a party when we have a test tomorrow."
"But!" Feng Xin starts, but is quickly cut off by Xie Lian yelping and yanking his hand away from Hua Cheng. It's clear as to why, his tongue is still out.
Mu Qing wrinkles his nose. "That's disgusting."
Hua Cheng lazily quips back, " You're disgusting, you-"
"-Okay, San Lang, it's time to go!" Xie Lian cuts him off, dragging him away. "See you later, guys!" Feng Xin and Mu Qing are met with a frankly unsettling giggle from Hua Cheng as he's willingly pulled out the door whilst hanging off their friend's arm.
"Gege!" Hua Cheng chimes. "Did I embarrass you?"
"No, you just startled me!" Xie Lian insists.
"Sure, that's why you're blushing," Hua Cheng laughs. "You're so pretty when you blush, I love it. I love you! So much."
"Thank you, San Lang," he says, sounding not the least bit grateful, "I love you, too."
"Gege," he slurs, "feel free to cover my mouth whenever you want, okay?"
"Okay, San Lang," Xie Lian answers, his ears flaming. Hua Cheng laughs all the way until he's buckled into his seat, a task that takes a bit longer than normal because he misses a few times.
Sometime during the ride, Hua Cheng makes a pleasantly surprised noise when he remembers he has a dab pen in the pocket of his jeans. Before Xie Lian can fully consider if he should stop him or not, Hua Cheng is taking a drag and blowing it out the window when he rolls it down a crack.
When they finally make it inside, Hua Cheng lets out a triumphant, happy noise. He takes a bag of chips he'd picked out and flops onto his couch. He doesn't even open it or sit up, he just lies on his stomach with the bag held out in front of him like a prize. Xie Lian bites back a laugh, instead bringing over a candy bar and sitting on the back of Hua Cheng's legs.
Hua Cheng gasps, like he'd forgotten about Xie Lian for a second which is a great travesty. "Gege!" He wiggles his legs out from under him and returns to his rightful place, plastered against him. "You're my favorite snack, gege." He is. And he deserves to hear it. He really is so pretty, smiling at Hua Cheng with so much fondness in his eyes, aaah! He pops open his bag of chips and nearly shoves one in Xie Lian's mouth. Sharing is caring. He laughs, but opens his mouth to accept the offering. In turn, he holds out his candy to Hua Cheng. No, that's not right. "That's gege's."
Xie Lian arches an unimpressed brow. "And the chip wasn't yours?"
"Anything that's mine is yours," Hua Cheng retorts, which earns him a wonderful blush. He loves flustering him. He loves him! He loves him so much! Hua Cheng hums, leaning his head against Xie Lian's shoulder. His head is pleasantly tingly, his face is warm, and there's nowhere else he'd rather be than right here. He slides further down until his head is in Xie Lian's lap, and nevermind, this is the best place in the world. He puts a few chips in his mouth. This is the life.
Xie Lian is only using one hand to eat, so the other comes to rest on Hua Cheng's shoulder. Hua Cheng frowns at that and grabs his wrist, settling Xie Lian's hand on his head, in his hair. Xie Lian laughs and takes the hint, carding his fingers through dark hair. It feels so nice. Every now and then, his nails lightly drag over his scalp, and every time Hua Cheng melts further into him. He languidly eats until he loses interest and tosses the bag onto the little, scuffed-up black coffee table.
It's so warm. He feels so nice. Xie Lian's hand feels so nice. He can feel the gentle movements lulling him. It gets harder and harder to put up the fight of keeping his eye open.
Eventually, he just doesn't.
Eventually, it's just Xie Lian humming and smoothing over Hua Cheng's hair, smiling ear-to-ear.