Work Text:
“Gege… as much as I love your style, you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb where we’re going,” Hua Cheng said, twirling a lock of dark hair around his finger.
Xie Lian turned in the mirror, checking his hair to make sure the bun was secure. He was wearing a white sweater and light-washed jeans with white sneakers. He looked divine… but for the date Hua Cheng was taking them on, white was a bad option.
It had been six months since Hua Cheng had met Xie Lian at Puqi Grind… then Xianle Books… then Paradise Manor… and everywhere else Xie Lian used to work at. Since then, Xie Lian had left his late-night jobs and took Saturdays off, but he still volunteered at the pet clinic on Sundays. If Hua Cheng was up for it (he usually was), he would go with him to help.
“Well, you haven’t told me where we are going, so how should I know? Although I am very excited to go on this double date with He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan, we haven’t been able to match schedules in a while,” Xie Lian smiled back at Hua Cheng through the mirror as he put on a pair of shiny butterfly earrings that Hua Cheng had given him for their one month anniversary.
“It’s a surprise, Gege. Shi Qingxuan doesn’t know where we’re going either. Only He Xuan and I know,” Hua Cheng stood up from the bed and hugged Xie Lian from behind, kissing his neck, “We could always cancel though… Gege looks positively delicious wearing this outfit.”
“San Lang!” Xie Lian gently smacked Hua Cheng’s shoulder with his free hand, the other was still trying to get the earring through his ear lobe.
“Can you blame me, Gege? You always look so divine, I could just devour you,” Hua Cheng smirked as he kissed Xie Lian’s neck and heard a sharp inhale from his boyfriend.
“S-San Lang! If… if you keep this up, we won’t ever leave the house,” Xie Lian’s face and ears were dusted pink.
“You promise?”
“San Lang!”
Xie Lian wrestled his way out of Hua Cheng’s arms and sent him a glare, but the smile that he was trying to suppress gave him away. Hua Cheng chuckled and grabbed his wallet from his nightstand.
“Alright alright… If we’re not having fun, then we might as well get going.”
“Wait, you’re not wearing red?”
Hua Cheng looked down at his outfit. Black, tight skinny jeans and a black tee, black boots with a little heel, a few silver accessories here or there, but it was pretty tame from what he normally wears when they go out on dates, and there wasn’t a flash of red at all.
“Well, there’s this,” Hua Cheng held up his ponytail with its red hair tie.
Xie Lian narrowed his eyes, “Suspicious… why aren’t you wearing red? You are dressed like He Xuan…”
“Gege insults me. I decided not to wear red today… except my socks. My socks are those red Valentine’s Day ones you got me.”
“San Lang it’s April.”
“Yes, and? Come on, let’s go before we’re late.”
Hua Cheng herded Xie Lian to his red sports car and they were off.
Xie Lian’s eyes sparkled as they parked outside the giant arcade. This place was very popular as it was just built around Christmas time. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian hadn’t been able to find time to actually come here. Hua Cheng parked next to another fancy sports car that was black.
He Xuan got out of his car, pushing his sunglasses into his hair as Shi Qingxuan practically bounced out of the car wearing their signature light blue in the form of a cardigan over a white shirt and blue jeans. Xie Lian looked at his outfit, then at Hua Cheng’s.
“San Lang… are we doing laser tag?”
“Gege is so smart. Yes, we are.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?! I would’ve changed!”
“I tried to warn Gege, he just didn’t want to change,” Hua Cheng smirked as he got out of the car.
He Xuan snorted when he saw Hua Cheng, “Taking my style now?”
“Hardly. And besides, I wear it better.”
“Come onnnnn guys! I want to get my laser on!” Shi Qingxuan called out as they ran to the arcade entrance.
The inside was full of bright lights, loud noises, and the smell of popcorn and hot dogs. Children ran around while their parents tried to corral them. The group of four headed to the back where a guy in his mid-twenties sat, he looked up when they approached.
“Hi! How can I help you?”
“Is it possible to get a couple rounds of laser tag for just us four?” Hua Cheng asked, pulling out his wallet.
“Uh sure. We haven’t been super busy here today and there’s no birthday parties scheduled, so yeah!” The guy happily took Hua Cheng’s black card and scanned it through, “How many rounds today?”
Hua Cheng looked at the group, “Let’s do four. That way we can play a few rounds and if we still want to do more, we can always hit the arcade or something.”
“Sounds like fun! Lian-Lian, we should team up! I can partner with Xuan for the next round or something!” Shi Qingxuan tugged Xie Lian’s arm.
“You two are going to stick out so much, like shooting fish in a barrel,” He Xuan smiled, but it wasn’t a very kind smile.
“Hmph. Alright. But for this round?” Hua Cheng lifted a brow.
“How about we do friends, partners, partners, friends? That way we can switch things up?” Shi Qingxuan said as they headed to the back room, the light were darker with rows of vests and guns of red and blue on either wall.
“Sounds good to me,” Xie Lian said as he grabbed a blue vest, “That’s cool. My name is ‘Flower God’, it’s sweet.”
“Mine is ‘Wind Master’, that sounds awesome!” Shi Qingxuan giggled as they tied on the vest and made sure it was secure.
“I got ‘Black Water’, the hell does that even mean?” He Xuan grumbled as he slipped into a red vest.
“I like mine. ‘Crimson Rain’… it’s fitting,” Hua Cheng stated as he grabbed his gun.
They all got the safety information from the guy working there and then were released into the arena. The blue team, Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian, started on one side and had a blue base to keep safe, while the red team, Hua Cheng and He Xuan, had a red base on the other side.
“Alright, I say we split up. I can go snipe from the upper level, and you can watch the base. When we partner again, we can switch,” He Xuan stated.
Hua Cheng nodded, and He Xuan slinked into the dark, blending in perfectly to the dark corners, except for the red vest and gun he had with him.
The first round was an absolute sweep from the red team. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan stuck out too much in the blue lighting with their white clothing. For round two, Hua Cheng sat at the base and Xie Lian went on the hunt, and they were beaten since He Xuan was also on the hunt while Shi Qingxuan guarded the base. Round three was the opposite, Hua Cheng took out the blue base three times as He Xuan was sneaking around, and Shi Qinguxan did not stay put to guard the base. Finally, the last round came after the group had gotten a few snacks and drinks from the food bar to replenish their energy.
“Alright… Lian-Lian is with me again! This time, we’ll win for sure!” Shi Qingxuan smiled as they grabbed their vest from the wall and slipped it on.
“Keep telling yourself that sweetheart,” He Xuan smirked as he put his vest back on.
“Rude,” Shi Qingxuan grumbled as they grabbed their gun.
“See you on the floor, San Lang!” Xie Lian smiled as he grabbed his vest.
“Oh? Gege is doing the sniping this time?” Hua Cheng lifted a brow as he clicked the vest together.
“Yes, figured I might run into you on the floor this time. But just know, I will show no mercy.”
“Hell yeah, Lian-Lian! Show him who’s boss!” Shi Qingxuan clapped Xie Lian on the back and laughed as they entered the arena for the last time.
Hua Cheng went to the upper floor and found a blind corner to hide in, after the round started, he saw Xie Lian’s bright shirt glowing as he ascended the ramp up to the second floor. As he passed the corner Hua Cheng was in, Hua Cheng grabbed his arm and pinned him to the wall.
“Ah! San Lang! Isn’t physical violence against the rules!?” Xie Lian cried out as his eyes widened in surprise.
“Hm… is it violence, Gege?” Hua Cheng leaned in, like a predator with prey caught in its claws.
“Uh… yes?” Xie Lian squeaked out.
“Ah, for shame… sorry, Gege,” Hua Cheng smirked and kissed Xie Lian.
Xie Lian gasped at the sudden contact, but his hands dropped the laser gun and wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s neck. He softly moaned as Hua Cheng deepened the kiss, nipping gently at Xie Lian’s lips. Xie Lian, thoroughly pinned to the wall, had no defense as Hua Cheng started kissing his jaw and down his neck, completely out of his mind from the sudden pleasure.
“Gege…”
“Y-Yes, San Lang?” Xie Lian gasped.
“I’m so sorry.”
Xie Lian was about to question the statement when suddenly his vest blinked, Hua Cheng had shot him at point blank and the little screen on Hua Cheng’s gun was visible as it read, “Crimson Rain shot Flower God, +100.”
After that betrayal, Hua Cheng had sniped down Shi Qingxuan twice, got their base once while keeping both blue team members down from shooting at him.
The red team ended up winning by almost a total sweep with 1100 points while the blue team only had 50.
Xie Lian ended up giving Hua Cheng the cold shoulder until he was able to buy back his favor with kisses and a home-cooked meal.