Work Text:
“Please, Xie Lian, you have to come with us,” Feng Xin pleaded, ready to drop on his knees if needed. “I can’t go alone with Mu Qing.”
It looked as if his friend might give in, but then goddamn Hua Cheng had to interfere with a pointed look. Xie Lian put his hand on Hua Cheng’s thigh, still looking at Feng Xin sympathetically. “I’m afraid we can’t, San Lang made dinner reservations for our anniversary. You should give Mu Qing a call, though, it will be good for you two to spend time together.”
“Do you always drag other people on your dates?”
Feng Xin glared at Hua Cheng. “Shut up, it’s not a date.”
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that why you wanted us to go, so you wouldn’t do something stupid in front of your crush?”
Before Feng Xin could explode, Xie Lian raised his hand. “Feng Xin, there’s nothing to be nervous about. I’m sure Mu Qing would love to join you at the Christmas market.”
Feng Xin went home with a churning feeling in his stomach, and paced his room like a caged animal. His thumb hovered over Mu Qing’s name for a while, until he suddenly tapped it and held the phone to his ear while biting his lower lip.
“Did you mean to call me or is this a butt dial again?” came Mu Qing’s voice and Feng Xin could feel the eye roll even through the phone.
“Hey. You weren’t asleep or anything, right?”
“Do you think I would have answered if I was?”
Feng Xin made an impatient noise; it always came down to them needling each other. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Listen, I got tickets to the Christmas market from work, including most of the attractions inside. Do you want to go?”
“With Xie Lian and Hua Cheng?”
Feng Xin swallowed. “No, just us.”
There was a moment of excruciating silence before Mu Qing spoke again. “Okay, when?”
“Friday afternoon? I figured if we go earlier we can avoid the crowds.” Feng Xin hoped his voice didn’t quiver from the immense relief that washed over him.
“Okay, text me the details.”
“Yes, I will. See you there, Mu Qing!” He said a bit more enthusiastically than he wanted, but Mu Qing just snorted and wished him good night.
Once Friday rolled in, Feng Xin was anxiously waiting by the entrance. He was ten minutes early, standing from one leg to the other. It was a beautiful day, the Sun was shining, but the air was chilly. He fiddled with his phone, mindlessly scrolling on Twitter and not registering anything.
“Hey,” Mu Qing approached, dressed as elegantly as a model in a navy pea coat over a cream turtleneck and a deep red scarf complimenting his outfit. “So it is just us?” he asked, looking around as if he expected their friends to jump out from behind bushes.
Feng Xin, mesmerised by how lovely Mu Qing looked, nodded before he managed to form words. “Yeah, just us. I only got two tickets from work.”
Technically, that wasn’t exactly true – he could have requested more if he wanted to, but knowing that Xie Lian and Hua Cheng wouldn’t join them, there was no point. Mu Qing seemed pleased as they joined the short queue. Once their tickets were scanned, they were free to go wherever they wanted to.
The Christmas market was always organised in the biggest park, sprawling over a huge area. It was like a Christmas island in the middle of the city, offering visitors rides, food and drink stalls, an ice rink, game stalls, an ice bar, and even ice sculpture workshops for the artistically inclined.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked at the map in front of them, trying to orient themselves.
“Want to go to the ice bar? That seems like the closest attraction.”
Mu Qing didn’t drink, but the ice bar was famous and featured heavily on social media. Once they got there, they were offered coats and gloves as the venue was really cold, set at -10C. Feng Xin didn’t bother zipping up, so once the door opened and the cold air blasted in his face, he shivered. “Oh fuck, it’s freezing!”
“What did you expect in an ice bar?” Mu Qing quipped, pushing the coat’s hood up to cover his ears.
It was as if they had stepped into another world as two lifesize ice sculptures of wolves greeted them by the door. Joyful chatter and laughter could be heard, and the lights changed colours every few seconds, bathing the translucent ice blocks in greens, blues, reds and yellows. The bar itself occupied almost the entire wall on their left, with an amazing bear head ice sculpture on both ends. The right side of the venue was carved into booths with ice benches and tables, people milling all around.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing went to the bar. Feng Xin got a strawberry daiquiri while Mu Qing chose a tropical mocktail, both served in ice glasses.
“Cheers.”
They walked around to check out all the amazing sculptures. There was a moose head on one of the walls, a slightly morbid ice block with a skier mannequin frozen inside, and Feng Xin’s favourite, an absolutely huge sculpture of a bear, roaring on its hind legs.
“This is so cool!” Feng Xin went closer to inspect it, lightly tracing his finger on the ridges which formed the bear’s fur.
When he looked up he noticed Mu Qing had his phone up, sneakily taking a picture of him. “That’s what you look like too when you’re hangry.”
Feng Xin snorted, then he imitated the bear’s pose and roared while Mu Qing snapped another picture, laughing. He showed it to Feng Xin with a smirk. “Perfect for next year’s Christmas card.”
“Yeah, I’ll send you a lifesize one,” Feng Xin replied, laughter bursting out of him when Mu Qing playfully hit his arm.
Once they finished their drinks, they left the bar, stepping into the much warmer foyer and returning the coats and gloves.
“Do you want to get something?” Feng Xin asked as he eyed the food stalls across from them.
“I could eat,” Mu Qing said, checking the various menus.
“Oh, they have churros!” Feng Xin was about to run off in the direction of the churro stall, but Mu Qing stopped him.
“You should have savoury food first. Don’t mix them like that time we went to the carnival and you ended up being sick. I’m not carrying your ass home.”
Feng Xin huffed, though he knew his friend was right. He tended to be a bit careless with these things, and his stomach wasn’t as enduring as in his uni days when he could eat the craziest combinations and nothing happened to him.
“Fine, fine… how about some loaded fries?” Feng Xin pointed to a nearby stall.
Mu Qing picked a classic one with cheese and bacon while Feng Xin went for the spicy version with jalapeños and Sriracha.
“Want to try mine?” Feng Xin offered his paper plate.
Mu Qing got some fries, making sure he had a slice of jalapeño as well. Feng Xin watched as he ate it, smiling when Mu Qing's eyes lit up at the spiciness of everything.
"That's really good," Mu Qing declared, his eyes focused on Feng Xin’s plate.
They walked around as they ate, stopping by game stalls and watching people trying to win prizes. Their attention was grabbed at a stall where one could win giant golden banana soft toys.
"Who the hell would want that?" Mu Qing commented, even though there were several people shooting balls at basketball rings.
“Don’t tell me you’re not tempted? I was going to win you one after I finish the fries.”
Mu Qing raised one eyebrow. “Then that banana will be your new best friend because I’ll pretend I don’t know you.”
Feng Xin shook his head with a smile. He was about to eat more of his fries when he caught Mu Qing stealing a jalapeño from his plate.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Mu Qing cackled. “Isn’t it obvious? Stealing your food.”
And he swiped yet another jalapeño, Feng Xin gaping like a fish. “You always do this!”
“You need to guard your plate better,” Mu Qing replied haughtily.
“Or you just have a bad case of FOMO.”
Despite his complaint, when Feng Xin noticed there was only one last slice of jalapeño he slipped it onto Mu Qing’s plate. “Here. Hope you’re happy.”
“I am,” Mu Qing said and made a show of eating it, smiling at Feng Xin who swore his knees buckled a bit. To be the focus of a genuine smile from Mu Qing, it was like being hit by a wave. He was swept away completely.
Feng Xin didn’t have a lot of time to recover before Mu Qing dragged him to a stall. “Come on, I’m going to win you something in exchange for the jalapeños.”
Mu Qing chose one of the big game stalls where the aim was to topple a tower of three wooden cubes stacked on top of each other. Feng Xin watched as Mu Qing took the three balls offered by the vendor and tried to measure his throw. His first shot was quite good, he managed to topple the top two cubes. The last one was tricky, but he managed to do it on his third shot, turning to Feng Xin with a smug expression.
“You just got lucky,” Feng Xin teased him.
The vendor showed Mu Qing a row of smaller plush toys that he could choose from. “Or, if you get two more wins, you can choose from the big toys.”
Not one to back away from a challenge, Mu Qing paid to try again. He seemed to have a bout of bad luck at the beginning, but he quickly recovered and toppled the last towers as well.
“Wow, well done!” Feng Xin praised Mu Qing with a pat on his shoulder.
Mu Qing looked down shyly. “So which plushie do you want?”
There were a lot of cute choices, but Feng Xin selected a black and white cat whose grumpy expression reminded him of Mu Qing.
“Thanks, Qing’er,” Feng Xin said softly, hugging the plush to himself and wishing it was Mu Qing instead.
“You’re welcome,” Mu Qing said as he turned away, but Feng Xin spied his red ears, pleased with himself.
Although it was still early, the Sun started setting, the clear sky illuminated with warm tones of orange and red. Feng Xin eyed another game stall; he should probably try his luck while there was still good lighting outside.
“Come on, I’ve got to win something for you as well.”
Mu Qing rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to.”
“Yeah, I do, otherwise you’re going to brag that you won me a cat plushie at the Christmas market even when we’re old wrinkly men.”
“Fine, but you have to win me that dog plushie. I won’t accept anything else.” Mu Qing pointed at a brown and black dog in the top row where the largest toys were exhibited.
The aim of this particular game was to throw darts at balloons – the player had to pop an entire row of three balloons to count as a win. The dog plushies however said four wins, so Feng Xin would have to do twelve balloons. He’d played a lot of darts at uni, surely this couldn’t be much more difficult. He bought ten darts for his first attempt, hoping that he wouldn’t need a lot of extras after.
His first dart bounced off the balloon, so he needed to adjust. He could definitely put more strength in his throws. Feng Xin managed to pop the next three, so his first row was done. He looked at Mu Qing who was standing behind him.
“Go on, you need three more rows.”
Before Feng Xin continued, however, his attention was grabbed by a curly-haired teenager who was throwing the darts effortlessly. He basically popped an entire row in less than five seconds. Feng Xin watched wide-eyed; the kid couldn’t be older than sixteen, and yet he seemed to be a professional. Feng Xin couldn’t let himself be distracted, speed didn’t matter in this game.
His next two rows were popped with the leftover darts, so Feng Xin bought five more, confident in his skills. The last row, which was on the lowest shelf, proved to be rather tricky. The angle at which one needed to throw the darts was very awkward, and Feng Xin wasted a few darts trying to figure it out. It also didn’t help that he could help Mu Qing snicker behind his back.
“Feng Xin, will you seriously let a baby win this game?” Mu Qing was suddenly next to him, pointing with his chin at the curly-haired teenager.
The balloon killing machine was basically destroying the other half of the stall, the vendor looking increasingly more stressed. There was another guy next to him now, probably a more sensible friend, telling him that he got enough wins and they could get a prize. Feng Xin watched with a scowl as the boys walked off with two bear plushies.
“I’m going to win you the dog,” Feng Xin said, even more determined.
“Oh I know you will. Otherwise I won’t talk to you.” Mu Qing smirked as Feng Xin’s scowl deepened.
“What the fuck! Why are you like this?!”
But strangely, Mu Qing’s words must have worked, because the darts – propelled by Feng Xin’s rage – burst the balloons instantly. Maybe Mu Qing really knew him and what actually motivated him.
Feng Xin gave Mu Qing the soft toy with faux annoyance. “You happy now?”
Mu Qing stuck his tongue out, but held the dog plushie against his chest possessively. Feng Xin imagined his heart was puffing up with warm feelings and he would float away. He wanted to preserve the cute image, so he took his phone out. “Let’s take a selfie with our prizes.”
Feng Xin thought Mu Qing would just stay where he was, hanging out in the background, but he got closer, leaning against Feng Xin’s arm and holding up his soft toy. Feng Xin’s smile widened at the feel of Mu Qing’s warm body against his. By now, the Sun had completely set so the sky was a deep indigo and all the lights and decorations were lit up, so their selfie came out looking warm and magical. Feng Xin fought the urge to make it his lock screen. He was going insane.
They walked some more and Feng Xin bought his much desired churros, though of course he shared it with Mu Qing. Feng Xin was pretty sure his soul left his body for the precious moments when Mu Qing licked the cinnamon sugar off his fingers.
“Are you deaf, Feng Xin?”
“Sorry, what?”
“I asked where you want to go next.”
Feng Xin bit his lip, scanning the area. He soon spotted a gaudy tower ahead. “The Haunted Mansion!”
He hurried ahead, throwing a smile behind his shoulder at Mu Qing who looked very much unconvinced. Feng Xin knew Mu Qing didn’t like horror films; whenever they’d watch them during uni with Xie Lian, Mu Qing would hug a pillow to himself, or on the very rare occasion cuddle up to them.
The building in front of them was a mash of a Halloween haunted mansion decorated with Christmas baubles. The giant animated skeleton in front of it was sporting a Santa hat and the bannister had red tinsel wrapped around it.
“It’s going to be fun,” Feng Xin said to Mu Qing as he showed their tickets at the entrance.
There were only a handful of people waiting before them, so they got a carriage very soon. Mu Qing tried to put a brave face on, but Feng Xin could see he was a bit nervous. He lifted his arm and put it around Mu Qing’s shoulders. “I’ve got you, Qing’er.”
At first Mu Qing remained stiff and Feng Xin thought he’d made a blunder, but then Mu Qing leaned against his side. Feng Xin heard a soft sigh and he squeezed Mu Qing’s shoulder, also getting a whiff of Mu Qing’s amazing perfume: a mix of sweet floral notes with orange. Feng Xin made sure their plushies were safely tucked in their laps, then he and Mu Qing held onto the safety bar in front of them as the carriage started moving.
The whole thing was over the top, of course. The music and sound effects were loud and ridiculous, as well as the ‘scary’ things popping out, like zombies grabbing for them or a killer starting their chainsaw. It was all very obviously fake, and soon Feng Xin could feel Mu Qing relaxing and even laughing as their carriage was suddenly lifted from a sea of skeleton hands trying to grab them.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing laughed at the ugly witch that was dangled from the ceiling, and just as their carriage took the last turn, a headless waiter mannequin lifted the metallic cloche off to reveal its own head on the plate. Suddenly, it sprayed water from its mouth, catching Feng Xin straight in the face. Mu Qing cackled loudly at Feng Xin’s yelp.
“That was actually fun,” Mu Qing said when they got off the ride, still laughing as Feng Xin wiped his face.
“Oh yes, it's always fun to laugh at me,” Feng Xin complained, but he was happy that his friend’s reluctance turned into excitement.
“Poor A-Xin,” Mu Qing said with a pout, his eyes full of mischief.
Feng Xin smiled; he could read the intent there clear as day. He started chasing Mu Qing as if they were ten years old again, running in the school courtyard. Mu Qing laughed as he pushed forward, zig-zagging between people, uncaring that they attracted glares from others. Feng Xin spotted a shortcut between stalls, which would hopefully let him sprint right in Mu Qing’s way. Just as he hoped, he ended up right in Mu Qing’s path, who could barely stop before colliding with him.
“Gotcha,” Feng Xin said, holding Mu Qing by his biceps, feeling very smug. “I win.”
Mu Qing snorted, but his cheeks were red. “In your dreams. Look, the hall with the ice sculptures is over there.”
“Yeah, yeah, I see what you’re doing,” Feng Xin said as they walked to the attraction. “Loser should get something for the winner.”
Mu Qing pretended as if he didn’t hear him, but Feng Xin didn’t let it slide, poking Mu Qing with his index finger until Mu Qing gave in.
“You’re like an insufferable child! I’ll get you something when we come out!” Mu Qing exclaimed, crossing his arms.
“Was that so hard, Qing’er?” Feng Xin teased, earning himself a light shove.
The queue progressed quickly, and suddenly they were thrusted in an ice kingdom. It was below freezing; it had to be as cold as the ice bar, but they weren’t given an extra coat here. Mu Qing buttoned his coat and tied his scarf tightly around his neck. Feng Xin could definitely feel the cold start to seep into his bones, but he soon forgot about it once they got to the first ice sculptures. The artists were telling a story about how the Snow Witch cursed the queen and the king did everything in his power to win her back.
“Actually, the queen looked quite desolate with the king,” Feng Xin commented as he snapped some pictures. “Pretty sure she and the witch were together.”
“So the witch tried to save her from the clutches of the king?” Mu Qing said as they walked farther into the exhibition.
“Exactly. Bet they were childhood sweethearts, and the king kidnapped her.”
Mu Qing raised his eyebrows. “Unusually dark from you.”
“Never said it would end badly. The king would try to free her with the help of centaurs and elves,” Feng Xin pointed at all the sculptures of magical creatures surrounding the witch’s lair, “but the power of true love wins. The witch and the queen live happily ever after.”
The exhibition told a different story, with the king being reunited with the queen, but both dismissed it as ‘straight nonsense’.
“I preferred your version,” Mu Qing said, as he stopped so Feng Xin could take pictures of him with an ice unicorn and then with a trellis that had roses suspended in ice and softly illuminated from behind.
“That looks really pretty,” Feng Xin murmured, his heart making a leap. He was going to cherish all the pictures he took of Mu Qing.
Once they left the exhibition hall, Feng Xin realised his fingers had turned into icicles.
“Ow, my hands are absolutely frozen,” he complained, showing Mu Qing how pallid his hand looked.
Mu Qing took his hand, his own still perfectly warm. “You idiot, why the hell did you keep taking pictures?”
Feng Xin was not going to reveal his motives, he just watched as Mu Qing took both of his hands and squeezed them, then focused on them one by one, gently massaging them and trying to make the blood circulate. All the while he was mumbling under his breath, Feng Xin definitely caught the word ‘idiot’. Even though his fingers were frigid, Feng Xin’s heart was melting fast.
“Let’s go and get you something hot to drink,” Mu Qing said and still holding Feng Xin’s hand, dragged him to a mulled wine stall.
While they were waiting there, Feng Xin surreptitiously moved his hand so that their fingers intertwined, all the while looking away. Mu Qing didn’t say anything; he didn’t let go even when he paid. Feng Xin took the paper cup with his other hand, and basked in its warmth and spicy aroma. They stopped by the next stall so Mu Qing could get himself a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and cinnamon.
They found an empty bench and table. My Qing let go of his hand and Feng Xin missed it instantly, so he cupped it around his mulled wine instead. The hot drink left a pleasant warmth inside, and Feng Xin could feel it spread in his body.
"Have you defrosted? Your hands look a normal colour now."
"Yeah, thanks for the drink. That was a good idea."
Mu Qing took a sip of his hot chocolate and Feng Xin snickered when he looked up: Mu Qing had whipped cream on the tip of his nose, looking like a kitten.
"What?"
"You got a bit of-" Feng Xin reached over, his thumb brushing away the whipped cream.
Mu Qing's eyes widened, and Feng Xin wasn't sure what had possessed him, but his thumb moved to Mu Qing's cheek, stroking it gently. Feng Xin was mesmerised by Mu Qing’s dark eyes, completely lost in their shine.
"Feng Xin… is this a date?"
For a moment, Feng Xin was stunned. It felt like the wine had stoked a fire inside him, his whole chest blazing. "Yes. I mean, if you want to."
Mu Qing's cheeks turned rosy under Feng Xin's finger, his voice quiet. "I wanted it to be a date since you called."
Feng Xin leaned closer, his heart beating madly. "I was too nervous to ask you out."
Mu Qing seemed amused, placing his cup on the table. "Are you still too nervous to kiss me now?"
Feng Xin smiled and captured Mu Qing's lips, the hot chocolate flavoured kiss sending shivers down his whole body. Mu Qing made a pleased sound, hands coming up to settle on Feng Xin's shoulders. They parted with soft sighs, Feng Xin's body buzzing with the spark of hope.
"Your nose is still cold," Mu Qing said, and Feng Xin laughed out loud.
"Want to warm it?"
But instead of the kiss he expected, Mu Qing caught his nose between his index finger and thumb, laughing at Feng Xin's muffled protest.
"You're mean!"
Mu Qing pressed a quick apologetic kiss to the tip of Feng Xin's nose.
"My poor A-Xin. Are your lips cold too?"
Feng Xin nodded seriously. "Yes, very."
So Mu Qing made sure that Feng Xin's lips stayed perfectly warm for the rest of the night.