Chapter Text
June 29th
“Come on Jiaoqiu! Take a break from doing your homework and let’s go to the park!” Feixiao whines. Jiaoqiu sighs, he enjoys Feixiao’s company but now isn’t the time. He’s preparing a gift for Feixiao for her birthday and doesn’t want her to find out.
“Tomorrow is your birthday. I promise I’ll hang out with you all day, just let me finish my homework right now.” He smiles, lying through his teeth.
Feixiao clearly knows something is up with his actions but doesn't press and gives up. “Fine, you better give me a pinky promise otherwise I won't believe you.”
Jiaoqiu sighs again with a small smile and raises up his pinky finger, “Aren't we a little too old to be doing this?”
Feixiao laughs and hooks her pinky finger with his, “We’re both 11 that’s not old at all!”.
“You mean you’re 10 and I’m 11” Jiaoqiu retorts back quickly, not letting her have the satisfaction of them being the same age. “That of course, changes tomorrow though.” He adds, Feixiao pouts and turns to leave.
Jiaoqiu lays on his bed after she leaves, staring at the ceiling of his room looking up at the little paper stars he and Feixiao had hung up when she had a sleepover in his room. He met Feixiao in a hospital, where they hung out with each other nearly everyday. Later on when Jiaoqiu got discharged he found out they actually live in the same neighborhood and have become inseparable to the point where their family became close too.
Jiaoqiu is older than her by 6 months and is two grades ahead of her due to skipping grades. He’s starting out 8th grade in 2 months while Feixiao is going to 6th grade yet that doesn’t stop them from always hanging out during and after school.
Jiaoqiu plans on making a scrapbook containing all their memories together with pictures Feixiao’s parents took of them. After he rests a little, he gets off his bed and goes to his wardrobe to grab his materials when Feixiao suddenly bursts back into his room holding her knees.
“Jiaoqiu! I need your help!” She says, out of breath while speaking.
Jiaoqiu quickly goes to her side to help her up. He’s concerned because of her weak heart, but she doesn't get tired that often nowadays meaning she probably was carrying something heavy.
“That boy…he's passed out” and pointed a finger outside his room. His gaze follows where her finger is pointing to and sees a young boy with gray hair laying on the ground.
The boy looks younger than the two of them, if he could make a guess, the boy looks 7 to him. “And why did you not call 911?” Jiaoqiu asks, a little confused.
“He begged me not to call anyone right before he passed out so I brought him here since your dad is a doctor.” She replies, finally catching her breath.
“But my parents are out right now? And we’re both just kids.” He kneels down to the boy trying to think about what his dad would do.
It’s no surprise Jiaoqiu wants to become a doctor when he grows up. He enjoys hearing about different work stories with his dad and has a passion for the medical field.
He ends up checking the boy’s pulse trying to recall what his dad taught him about pulses. The boy’s entire face is red and his breathing is erratic. “Feixiao, can you get me some water? He looks really dehydrated.”
Feixiao wastes no time in running downstairs to grab some water. Her stamina will never fail to surprise Jiaoqiu despite all the challenges she faced while growing up. He’ll always be proud of her over the fact she doesn't let her disease impact her way of enjoying her own life unlike himself.
In the meantime he grabs a clean cloth and runs it under cold water. She returns with the water shortly after, after he wrings it out he goes to the boy who’s laying on the ground in front of his room. “Feixiao can you help me put him on my bed?”.
Before he could grab one side she picks the boy up all by herself and plants him on Jiaoqiu’s bed. “Show off.” He let out a small giggle while saying that and put the cloth over his forehead hoping it would cool him down a bit because he felt the heat all over his face. He turns to Feixiao who looks really worried.
“This kid I’ve seen outside sometimes, I never really spoke to him but he always looks sad.” She has a habit of picking at her skin whenever she gets anxious and right now she’s doing that.
Jiaoqiu walks over to her and holds her hand reassuring her. “Relax he will be fine, I’ll call my mom and let her know about the situation.” He started to tap his chin thinking about Feixiaos words and the boy’s words.
So he doesn't want us to call the ambulance to help him, meaning either he’s scared of hospitals, or he could be in a bad situation which I hope that's not the case.’
He takes another glance at the boy and stares at him.
He looks a bit malnourished and young for his supposed age.
He stops analyzing the boy and calls his mom to let her know what happens. She tells him that she’s coming home soon and to update her if anything happens.
In the meantime he turns back to Feixiao who looks like she’s doing better. “Do you know anything more about him?” He asks curious because he’s never seen the boy before and Feixiao seems to know more about him
“On one of my morning jogs I saw him on a tree branch, when I got closer to say hi he got startled and fell off.” She chuckles, recalling the scene. “I caught him and set him down. He was pretty startled by my strength and was actually convinced I wasn’t going to catch him.” She flexes her arms as she says that. “Anyways, he told me his name is Moze and that he's 9 years old. That tree that he was on was his hiding spot and he fell off because he got startled by me.” She says while smiling. “After that day he kept following me around whenever I took a jog and I ended up letting him join me on my jogs.”
Jiaoqiu seems to be lost in thought
He’s only 2 years younger than Feixiao and I thought he was 7 years old. He must be really malnourished.
He looks up to Feixiao again and cocks his head sideways. “It seems like you've known him for quite a while, I’m a little surprised you never told me about him.”
“I was going to tell you but Moze is really shy around others and knowing you, if I told you about him you'd want to meet him yourself.” She says, shooting a glance at him. He just smiles sheepishly knowing that she's right. Being that they grew up together and him being older, naturally he became a little protective over her like she’s his little sister.
“Anyways,” he quickly changes the subject. “I thought he was 7 when I first saw him, I’m pretty shocked to hear that he’s-” He notices the boy’s hand twitching. In mere seconds he opens his eyes and sits up immediately after seeing the unfamiliar setting. The boy looks damn near terrified when he locks eyes with Jiaoqiu. He’s hyperventilating. He wasn’t able to see Feixiao due to Jiaoqiu blocking his field of vision which led to his severe reaction.
“Moze! Relax, I'm here!” Feixiao quickly exclaims, running and kneeling to the side of his bed. The boy makes eye contact with Feixiao and slows down his breathing.
Jiaoqiu is a little shocked by the boy’s actions, thinking to himself that there must be some underlying meaning behind it.
All he could really do is stand behind and watch Feixiao deal with him. After a couple of minutes the boy calms down and gets a little shy after his outburst.
“Aww Moze don’t worry Jiaoqiu won't bite.” Feixiao giggles and pats to her side asking Jiaoqiu to sit next to her. The boy scoots closer to Feixiao to the point where he's behind her back.
“Seems like this boy really likes you.” Jiaoqiu sheepishly says and sits down leaving ample space between him and the boy.
“Can you answer a couple of questions for me? If you don’t want to answer, that's okay.” The boy shoots daggers at him, clearly not hiding his animosity towards Jiaoqiu. He gets up to get some water towards him and squats in front of him. “Where’s your parents? I’m sure they’re worried.” He says with genuine concern.
“My mom is dead and my dad sucks.” He huffs under his breath moving closer to Feixiao. “I don’t wanna go home.”
Jiaoqiu and Feixiao look at each other trying to think of what to do. They're only kids at the end of the day there's only so much they can do. The boy quietly chugs down his water, he clearly wants more but is too shy to ask. Jiaoqiu notices and brings some more.
“Well… do you wanna go outside and play with me if you’re feeling better?” She stands up, turning to face directly at him. “Mr. Grumpy Pants over here doesn’t wanna play with me because he likes his homework better than me.” She emphasizes the ‘homework’ part.
Jiaoqiu stands up from his squatting position and turns to Feixiao. “Fine I’ll come, only because I need to check if this boy is alright.” He crosses his arms.
“He has a name! It's Moze, not ‘boy’ and plus he's only two years younger than you!” Feixiao huffs. He can’t really refute that due to him not knowing Moze’s birthday. Moze is still glaring at Jiaoqiu for whatever reason, he will never know.
Jiaoqiu quickly makes a phone call to his mom informing her that Moze is alright and that he can just stay at work. He turns to the two signaling them that he’s ready to leave. Moze sticks right behind Feixiao and glares at Jiaoqiu while walking past. Moze is significantly shorter than himself and Feixiao, he only reaches her shoulders and a bit above Jiaoqiu’s elbow.
Jeez he looks really young the more I look at him… I hope he’s eating well.
“I have a better idea,” He walks in front of them, “My mom always tells me how important eating is, especially how much energy we get from it.” He smiles and puts his hands together in front of him. “So why don't I whip up a healthy meal for you two and then we can go out.” He glances at Moze who noticeably raises his head up in interest.
Feixiao looks at Jiaoqiu understanding his intentions and also puts her hands together turning to face Moze and adds, “Moze he’s such an amazing cook for his age, his meals are yummy!” She exclaims and pushes him towards the stairs. “Follow me, I’ll take you to the kitchen.” She runs downstairs and Moze quickly follows, making it clear to Jiaoqiu he doesn’t wanna talk.
Jiaoqiu quickly whips up a bowl of white rice and chicken for all three of them. While he was making the chicken Feixiao had to physically stop from adding too many spices.
“Are you tryna kill Moze? Lay off on the hot stuff” She grits.
Jiaoqiu laughs, “I forgot not everyone has the same tolerance as us,”
“Not us, just you.” She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes
Moze’s been eyeing the food the entire time while Jiaoqiu was making it. Jiaoqiu makes sure to give Moze a lot to compensate for his tiny frame. He fills up Moze’s bowl wil rice, chicken, a bunch of vegetables and some sauces on the side.
Moze looks at him confused, looking between his bowl vs Feixiao’s and Jiaoqiu’s. “I got the wrong bowl.” He mutters and pushes it away.
“I gave you the right bowl.” Jiaoqiu smiles and pushes it a little towards him.
“I don’t deserve all of this, my dad always tells me I deserve nothing.” he murmurs.
Jiaoqiu and Feixiao look at each other stunned, just how bad is his dad for telling his 9 year old son stuff like that?
“You deserve everything! Don’t listen to what your dad says.” Jiaoqiu snaps. Moze looks up at him bewildered. “You deserve good meals, you deserve good friends and you deserve a good family, don't ever let that man make you think otherwise.” He continues. “Eat up and if you want more food I’ll gladly make more food, just please don’t think of yourself that way.”Jiaoqiu says in a somber tone.
“Eh? Look he's crying, Jiaoqiu you made Moze cry.” Feixiao exclaims and rushes over to Moze’s side.
Jiaoqiu sputters, not thinking his words would move him that much. “I didn't know that he was gonna cry! I just didn’t want him to think badly of himself.” He sighs and moves to Moze’s other side and gets on his knees.
Moze is just staring at his bowl while tears are running down his cheeks. He tries to stay silent and grips his knees so he doesn’t get up.
Feixiao pulls him into a hug and Jiaoqiu joins. Moze silently cries in their hug and after a few minutes he sniffles and gets up. “I need to wash my face, I'm sorry.” He says with his head down.
“I'll take you to the bathroom.” Jiaoqiu stands up and leads him towards where the bathroom is.
Jiaoqiu stares at the door of the bathroom where Moze went in. He leans against the wall and sighs. He hears some footsteps coming to him and it’s Feixiao who looks really worried.
“Hey, do you think he’ll be alright?” Feixiao asks.
“I think he’ll be alright.” He takes a deep breath, “To be honest, I don’t know what to do. He's clearly not in a good situation but I don't wanna make things worse than it already is.”
Feixiao puts her hand up in front of his face signaling him to stop. “I have an idea, let's hang out with him everyday so the only time he comes home is when he needs to sleep.”
“That's a dumb idea, won’t his dad get angry?” Jiaoqiu responds to that outlandish idea.
“Ah-ah, who’s known Moze longer? Me or you.” She smiles. Jiaoqiu rolls her eyes and makes a gesture to have her continue. “Every morning and evening when I take my jogs he’s always in the same spot if he isn't joining me. Even at random times of the day he’s always there.”
“Your point being?” He crosses his arms.
“I’m saying based on what i've observed of him over the past few months It doesn't look like he stays outside a lot and he wouldn't get in trouble if he sticks with us.” Feixiao claps her hands together, all satisfied with her plan.
“It does make sense, but he clearly doesn't like you and really only likes you for whatever reason. He’s probably gonna avoid me.” Jiaoqiu murmurs. He himself is concerned about Moze's safety and wellbeing and if it means he has to stay away from him in order to make him comfortable then so be it.
“Bullshit! He’s just shy. I'm sure he’ll come around soon.” She pats his back hard.
“Hey… you shouldn't curse you're only 10.” He says and rubs his back.
“I'm turning 11 tomorrow tho!” She sticks out her tongue.
To be honest, this whole ordeal made Jiaoqiu forget what he was doing before Feixiao brought Moze over. It was already getting a little bit dark out and he was only 50% done with his scrapbook.
The door of the bathroom slowly cracks open with a wide-eyed Moze. “Feixiao, your birthday is tomorrow?” He asks.
Jiaoqiu took notice of his red and puffy eyes, he must’ve cried harder in the bathroom. “You were listening to our convo?” Jiaoqiu questions. He didn't think Moze could hear the two.
“Yes it's tomorrow, wanna hang out with me and Jiaoqiu all day? I'm guessing you heard us talk so you probably heard my plan.”
Feixiao says and walks to stand in front of Moze. Moze shoots a glare at Jiaoqiu and Jiaoqiu smiles back at him out of politeness wondering what he did to make Moze not like him.
“Our food is getting cold, come let's not waste it.” Jiaoqiu gently smiles at Moze and sticks out his hand towards him. Moze stares at his hand and back at Jiaoqiu contemplating whether he should take it or not. Feixiao grabs his other hand and tugs it, which makes Moze end up taking Jiaoqiu’s hand and the three of them go back to eating.
It’s clear Moze doesn’t eat food like this often, he’s savoring every bite.
Jiaoqiu’s been observing him non stop since what he said about his dad. He then ponders about what Moze will do at night if he’s even allowed to stay with him or Feixiao or even what his parents will say. But in the end he’s just a kid and has to leave it to the adults.
“Can I really hangout with you for your birthday Feixiao?” He raises his head looking expectant.
“Of course! As long as you promise to tell us if anything happens, we care about you.” “Also!” She quickly adds, “As long as you’re nice to Jiaoqiu too.”
Moze freezes. He looks like a deer that was caught in headlights, did he really think his animosity wasn't obvious?
“I-I don’t hate Jiaoqiu!” He hangs his head down. “I-I’m just jealous he gets all your attention…” The room goes silent for a second.
Jiaoqiu didn't expect such an honest response and neither did Feixiao based on her reaction. Feixiao bursts out laughing, she holds her stomach and starts laughing uncontrollably.
Moze’s face gets red out of embarrassment. “H-Hey this isn't funny.” he grips his shirt and hangs his head down even more.
Jiaoqiu heads over to him and puts his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. “Don’t mind her she's just mean, I’m happy to know you don’t actually hate me though, let's be friends.” He sticks out his hand in order to shake it. Moze sniffs and takes his hand and they shake.
“So where are you gonna go since my parents will be here soon and you don’t wanna go home? You won't be in trouble right?” Jiaoqiu questions, as much as he doesn’t want to send Moze back, he isn't sure what to do.
“My dad doesn’t care where I go as long as I’m out of his sight.” Moze sneers. Jiaoqiu and Feixiao glance at each other with worried expressions.
“Maybe we can all have a sleepover? My parents won’t be suspicious and you can stay here for the night.” Jiaoqiu smiles, “and we can stay up and countdown to Feixiao’s birthday.”
The two agree to his idea quickly and he proceeds to call his mom asking if he can have a sleepover with Feixiao and Moze, he then gives them the thumbs up. Feixiao calls her mom and lets her know that she’ll be at Jiaoqiu’s house.
Jiaoqiu turns to Moze, he looks a little bewildered. “Can I really have a sleepover with you two?” He asks shyly, tugging at the bottom of his shirt.
“Of course! We’re all friends now.” Feixiao pats his back hard making him stumble forward a bit. “Oops too hard, I forgot he’s weak.” She giggles.
“We’ll, since it's all set I'll grab you an extra toothbrush.” He glances towards Moze, “Feixiao, come bring your stuff here and I’ll set up the fort with Moze in the meantime.” He grins at Moze who looks lost. He grabs his hand and tugs him upstairs, “I got some old clothes you can use since they don’t fit me any more.”
Jiaoqiu gets himself changed and meets up with Moze in his room. Moze is sitting on the floor in front of Jiaoqiu’s bed looking around the room.
Come to think of it, it's the first time he’s taken a look at my room ever since he woke up.
Jiaoqiu walks over to him and taps his head pointing up at the ceiling above. Moze follows his gaze
“Feixiao and I made those a couple of months ago. It was pretty fun, we should make some more tonight with you.” Jiaoqiu smiles, then an idea hits him. “I’m making a scrapbook for Feixiao for her birthday? Do you wanna help me?”
Moze nods and sits up straight looking at Jiaoqiu expectantly. Jiaoqiu brings his stuff over and sits criss-crossed in front of Moze.
“Make sure you keep it a secret from her,” he winks at Moze and opens the scrapbook.
Feixiao comes back shortly with a bag containing all her items. Moze and Jiaoqiu quickly cleans up the finished scrapbook and hides it in his closet. The three of them get together to set up the fort.
“You two haven't set up the fort yet?” Feixiao raises her eyebrow.
“Ah, we got a little distracted, haven't we Moze?” He glances at Moze signaling him to agree.
“Um… yeah we got distracted sorry…” He says while nervously glancing around.
Feixiao doesn’t believe them but lets it slide. The three of them successfully build the fort in Jiaoqiu’s room leaving more space for Moze to fit in.
Jiaoqiu lays down first then Feixiao to his right and Moze to his left, he stares at the ceiling of the fort which they decorated with paper stars.
His head turns to Moze “When is your birthday?”
Moze gets a little started by the sudden action “I-It’s February 14th…”
“Aww that’s on Valentine’s day that’s so cute!” Feixiao says, “I wish I could be born on Valentine’s day too”
“So you turned 9 this year huh? Aren’t you a little too young to be hanging out with us.” Jiaoqiu teases.
“I’m not young!” Moze retorts “I’m still growing, soon I’m gonna be taller than both of you guys so I can’t be considered young any more!” He says and pulls his blanket over his head.
“Hahaha we’ll see about that.” Feixiao laughs
“Guys it’s 11:59. Let's do a countdown now.” Jiaoqiu hushes the two and points to the clock in their tent. The two turn their heads to the clock expectantly counting down the seconds.
June 30th
“Happy birthday Feixiao!” Jiaoqiu and Moze exclaim and Feixiao smiles.
“We’re finally the same age officially !” Feixiao points to Jiaoqiu who just chuckles.
“Okay I’ll let you claim it now since it is your birthday.” He smiles. “It’s way too early but here’s my birthday gift, I had Moze help me make it.” Moze blushes a little, he’s getting a little shy now it seems.
Feixiao pulls them both in a hug “Thank you two soooo much! I wanna open it now but I’ll save it later when my mama gets my cake.” she turns to Moze “And you! you better be there when I cut the cake.”
“Let’s go to sleep now, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Jiaoqiu says while getting himself comfortable. He falls asleep first then the two follow shortly after.
Jiaoqiu wakes up with an arm splayed over his face. He turns his head into the direction of the arm and its Feixiao, snoring loudly and drooling everywhere. He turns his head the other direction and doesn’t see Moze at all, he quickly sits up and looks around to see if he’s hidden somewhere. After not seeing Moze in the tent he gets up hoping Moze didn’t leave without eating breakfast.
He quietly gets out of the tent and looks around his room to see if he’s there, there’s no sign of Moze there either so Jiaoqiu leaves his room hoping Moze is just in the bathroom. To his relief it seems the bathroom is indeed occupied by Moze.
Moze exits the bathroom and gets startled by Jiaoqiu staring at him.
Jiaoqiu lets out a sigh of relief, “I’m glad you're still here I thought you left.” He walks up to him, puts his hand on his shoulder and smiles. “Don’t scare me like that again, now let's go have breakfast, meet me downstairs in 10 and dont wake up the birthday girl.”
Jiaoqiu brushes his teeth and changes his clothes and goes downstairs to make breakfast, his parents are out for work at the moment. He thinks about last night when he spoke to them about Moze, making sure to not mention his living situation.
I don’t know where Moze will go after today but my parents will become suspicious if they speak to him, I’ll have to ask while I’m preparing breakfast.’
He gathers the ingredients he needs to make Feixiao’s favorite pancakes and starts in the meantime while waiting for Moze. Moze comes downstairs shortly after, looking around the house as he goes.
“Hey Moze, do you know how to cook?” Jiaoqiu asks while he prepares the pancake batter.
Moze shakes his head and walks over to where Jiaoqiu is cooking. “I just eat cereal whenever there is some whenever I’m not at school.
“Oh that's not good for you at all, especially since you're growing.” Jiaoqiu humms. “Say, if you ever want a free meal just stop by my house and I’ll make you some food. Of course, if you feel comfortable enough to.” He nods after asking Moze.
Moze squints his eyes, it seems he’s still a little distrustful of Jiaoqiu, and Jiaoqiu thought they must've gotten closer since yesterday.
“Why are you so nice to me?” Moze grumbles.
“Well you’re Feixiao’s friend and you don’t seem like a bad kid at all.” Jiaoqiu responds smoothly as he’s pouring the batter on the pan. “Plus it seems like you want some friends, no offense.” He quickly adds.
Jiaoqiu notices Moze quietly taking a seat watching Jiaoqiu make the pancakes. After a few minutes of silence, the pancakes are done. “Hey, I’m gonna go wake up Feixiao sit tight.” He says and goes up stairs
When Jiaoqiu comes downstairs after spending minutes trying to wake up Feixiao he comes downstairs to a clean kitchen.
“Moze, did you clean the kitchen? I was going to get to it when we were done eating.” Jiaoqiu frowns slightly, he doesn’t want a guest to clean at all.
“I’m just trying to repay back what I owe, this ain’t enough still.” Moze huffs he seems to be embarrassed.
“You don’t have to repay anything, we’re friends aren’t we?” He smiles back at him.
“I guess we are.” Moze looks down
“I’m back!” Feixiao yells from upstairs, she runs downstairs quickly jumping over the last 3 steps, she got changed into a gray t-shirt and black sweatpants.
“Yay! you made my favorite pancakes, I love you JiaoJiao!” She runs and hugs Jiaoqiu.
“Hey I thought we agreed not to call me that…” Jiaoqiu says all embarrassed.
“Too bad, it’s my birthday so I can do what I want!” she pouts.
“Fine fine, I'll let you have it this day, but be careful when my birthday comes around I’ll have you eat spicy foods with me.” Jiaoqiu snickers to himself, already planning what he will have Feixiao eat on his birthday.
“When’s your birthday Jiaoqiu?” Moze asks, he looks quite curious.
“It’s on December 31st, the last day of the year.” He shakes his head, “I’d rather have an early birthday than one in the last month of the year.”
“I love how my birthday is in the middle.” Feixiao quips
“I hate how mine is on Valentine’s day…” Moze mumbles
“Why don’t we switch birthdays?” Jiaoqiu suggests with a small smile, I think having a birthday on Valentine’s day is cute, I’d rather have that over December 31st.
“No way, your birthday is way too late.” He retorts, “and my birthday ain’t cute!” He grumbles all embarrassed.
“Ok ok, enough birthday talks on my birthday and let’s dig in!” Feixiao exclaims, Jiaoqiu notices that she’s been eyeing the food the entire conversation.
The three of them eat and chat a little bit while they enjoy Jiaoqiu’s pancakes. Feixiao’s got tres leches pancakes, Moze chose to get plain blueberry pancakes and Jiaoqiu made himself pancakes with spicy maple syrup.
“That hit the spot.” Feixiao says while stretching, “What’s next on the itinerary playing games indoors or going outside?” She glances at the two.
“How about we rest a little and let the food digest?” Jiaoqiu stands up and takes all their plates.
“Indoors it is then! Moze come let's play on Jiaoqiu’s switch!” Feixiao jumps out of her seat and runs towards the TV.
Jiaoqiu sighs, just where does she get all this energy from?