Chapter Text
It was a cold autumn evening in November.
The sun had long since set, leaving the sky a royal blue colour, that greyed slightly due to the mass formation of clouds. The slight warmth of the autumn sun had faded, instead replaced by harsh, cold winds, that slowly pushed the clouds along the dark sky.
Tang had just finished at the library, he shuffled groggily along the near empty streets as he made his way to Pigsy's noodles.
The harsh winds nipped at his face, causing it to turn a soft pink. Tang shivered as he hiked up his shoulders and brought his scarf up closer to his face, nuzzling his nose into the warmth it provided.
As Tang reached the small noodle shop, the smell of freshly cooked noodles wafted out onto the streets. The warm spices drifting through the air around him, guiding him into the shop. Bringing him back home.
Gliding through the restaurant doors, Tang is welcomed by the blast of warmth from inside the shop.
"Hey Pigsy!" Tang called out, a warm smile spreading across his face.
As he greets his partner, who was standing in the kitchen stirring a large pot, the savoury smell of cooked meats, noodles and spices mingled in Tang's nose, his stomach rumbling loudly at the delicious combination of smells in the air.
Pigsy turned around, smiling fondly at Tang. As Tang sat down on his stool beside the bar, Pigsy places a hot bowl of noodles in front of him.
"Heya Tang, how was your day?" Pigsy asks, resting his elbows on the desk as that infectious smile continues to spread across his face.
"It was okay, got loads of studying in, but it's so cold, i almost froze to death out there!" Tang utters dramatically, throwing a hand over his forehead before he bursts out laughing, Pigsy chuckling along with him.
"How about you? Been too busy?" Tang asks back, a soft smile tugging gently at his cheeks.
Pigsy nods, sighing softly. "Yea, but nothings too busy for Pigsy's noodles! MK's been running 'round with deliveries all day, I'm honestly surprised he has so much energy." He crosses his arms beneath him as he leans against the desk.
Tang places his hand on Pigsy's forearm, as he smiles lovingly at him, before splitting his chopsticks in half to dig into the noodles in front of him.
Pigsy smiled warmly at him, Tang tapped his chin with his chopsticks as he pondered on a thought.
"Why are you still in shop, Pigsy? I was on the way back to the apartment and I noticed the lights were still on- I thought you closed hours ago?" Tang raised an eyebrow as he questioned, slurping his noodles heartily.
Pigsy raised his head again to meet Tang's gaze, chuckling softly as he turns away seemingly embarrassed. "I was waiting for you. I ain't gonna let ya walk home in this weather alone, especially this late." He admitted, a sheepish smile across his face.
"Wait- WHAT?!" Tang shot up from his stool, nearly flinging himself over the counter at Pigsy before he caught himself and instead leaned over his bowl of noodles, almost knocking them over.
"If I knew you were waiting for me, I would've left hours ago!" Tang sputtered out, seemingly unaware of his bowl beneath him tipping slightly, pouring broth over his clothes.
"Wha- TANG! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Pigsy leaned forward, gently pushing Tang back down into the stool before quickly moving over to the sink to get some tissue and a rag to clean up the spillage.
"Oh- whoops.. I kinda forgot that was there." Tang quietly muttered out, trying to wipe some of the spilt broth of his clothes with his sleeves.
"Yea I noticed." Pigsy chuckled out over by the sink before walking back over to the counter. "Hey- don't use that!" Pigsy grumbled out, moving over to Tang to try and soak up the mess on his clothes with the tissue he gathered.
Tang's face flushed as he silently watched Pigsy dab up the broth that spilt on his stomach and chest. Pigsy clearly must've felt his unwavering gaze as he mumbled out-
"It's rude ta stare, ya know.."
Tang shook his head, disrupting his gaze on Pigsy. "I wasn't staring- just observing.." He muttered out.
"Yea- suree." Pigsy joked, then he sighed and brought himself upright again, throwing the soaked tissues into the trash before he got to work on cleaning the counter. "Ya know.. you're gonna freeze with those wet clothes of yours." He said, trying to scrub at the counter where parts of the broth had been absorbed into the wood slightly.
Tang eyes widened slightly, before he leant into his hands, curling in on himself as if the cold was already seeping into his skin.
"I forgot about that.. I should've brought a jacket or something."
Pigsy chuckled to himself. Tang was so forgetful sometimes, he always forgot important things when he was rushing. Luckily for him, Pigsy was prepared for this.
"Well.. Lucky I brought an extra jacket with me today then, huh?" Pigsy boasted. As he finished cleaning the counter, he walked behind the bar to the storage room of to the side of the kitchen. After a few seconds, Pigsy walked back out with two of his thick jackets. One of which was like a beige fleece with fur lining the inside of it. The other was the same but entirely black. He held them up proudly as Tang sighed out in relief. At least one of them was prepared.
"Oh, thank the gods!" Tang sighed out, while Pigsy snorted out a laugh at his antics. He then walked over to Tang, handing him the beige jacket and gently patting his shoulder before he walked back over to the kitchen to finishing cleaning up before he closed up shop for the day.
Tang slid on the jacket, shivering into the warmth it provided and fiddling with the zip to bring it up. Once he was done with that, Pigsy had finished clearing away everything. He flung on his jacket and grabbed his keys, Tang following behind him. As he and Pigsy made their way out the back door and locked up, Tang shuffled closer to Pigsy, the cold winds already biting harshly at his skin. Pigsy turned to Tang, a warm smile along his features as he reached into his pocket to pull out some gloves. He handed them to Tang, who quickly put them on, before he reached out to him. Tang took his hand and Pigsy interlocked their fingers before guiding him back out onto the main road.
As they quietly shuffled down the street, the winds slightly died down, becoming somewhat tamer as small droplets of rain began to fall gently against the ground. Tang and Pigsy held each other a little tighter, keeping each other warm as they walked home, hand in hand.