Chapter Text
Xiao and Albedo are definitely Gaming’s favourite couple. Not that he doesn’t like Kazuha’s soulmate or Yunjin’s girlfriend! He does! He adores them all—okay, Miss Beidou’s wife is a little terrifying, but she’s not a bad person. She’d move mountains for Beidou, too. Which is very important in a relationship, as Miss Beidou keeps telling him.
It’s just that Xiao and Albedo are nothing like anyone else. They’re simultaneously incredibly different and eerily similar. Both quiet and determined; but Albedo is curious and approachable. Charming, even. Xiao, on the other hand, looks even more unapproachable than Ningguang. He’s incredibly kind, but not the best at socialising, to say the least. Gaming also knows they have another soulmate, though he’s never met them. Their third is always on the move, trekking across the world come sun or storm. He can’t imagine how much they must miss him. If he had a soulmate, he can’t imagine leaving them behind. But those two never seem to mind, only ever speaking of their soulmate in the softest of tones.
Sometimes Gaming wonders what it’d be like to have a soulmate of his own. Somebody so special his very being recognized them as his own. It’s a simple kind of curiosity. Idle. A lot of kids his age obsess over the possibility, but… While Gaming wonders, he can’t really understand stressing over it. Maybe it’s because Cyno doesn’t have a soulmate either. He’s never been particularly bothered by it, and his attitude might’ve rubbed off on Gaming. It’s just that… His life is already so full. He’s got his friends, school and Cyno. Every Monday he has dance practice with Yun Jin, every Thursday he runs with Ajax.
On Saturdays, he rediscovers the city.
He knows he lived here when he was really little, way before Cyno adopted him, but he doesn’t remember it at all. Cyno fostered him on a whole other part of the coast. They only just moved back to Sumeru City last year. Gaming made it his mission to memorize every nook and cranny of the town.
Today, he’s visiting the zoo! It’s been a long time coming; it was closed for renovation all throughout the winter and in spring, Gaming was too busy with figuring out his new school. But he’s here, Man Chai hot at his heels and a sketchbook in his hands. You see, Gaming doesn’t just walk the city for fun (although it is!). No, he’s making a map. Sure, he could buy one, but he’s always been into city planning. He doesn’t remember how the fascination started, but there’s just something so compelling about figuring out the best way to accommodate thousands of people at once.
So Gaming walks, and sketches, and takes notes on improvements he’d like to make. Then once he’s home, he compares them with all his other information and figures out how everything works together.
More often than not, it doesn’t, but that’s what he’ll go to uni for! Even failures are good practice.
“And while we’re here, we might as well admire the exhibits,” he grins to Man Chai.
Sumeru City is big enough to have two zoos; this one houses rescues. Animals that were recovered from captivity or are too sick to make it on their own. They’re routinely released back into the wild, leaving exhibits empty from time to time. It makes the location less popular, but Gaming thinks it’s amazing. The other zoo, while praised to high heavens, is so packed with animals it seems like none of them have enough space. Which, if you ask him, is just cruel. Gaming goes crazy when he’s cooped up in his room. He can’t imagine how animals that need miles of space must feel. Even stray cats’ territories can span for tens of acres!
And while a zoo will always be too small, this one is much, much better than the other one. So Gaming pays the entrance fee happily, knowing it’s going towards a good cause.
Gaming makes his way through the zoo leisurely, but at a brisk pace. Every few exhibits he stops to snap a picture. It’s not too busy today, so he has no trouble getting good angles. He’s planning to study them later for sketching practice; but of course, memories are also nice!
Honestly his biggest problem is getting tangled into Man Chai’s leash.
“You rascal,” he laughs when the cat winds around him for the sixth time. Man Chai’s answering meow sounds almost self-satisfied. And maybe Gaming falls over in his quest to get the little monster. Maybe he lands on his face in an utterly cartoonish tangle, but hey. It’s not an adventure if he doesn’t get a scrape to laugh about later!
Still, he must gather attention because no sooner does Gaming manage to flop onto his back that there’s a person at his side. A boy, looking maybe a year or two younger than Gaming, drops to one knee at his side.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” He frets. “That looked nasty!”
With the boy’s help, Gaming pushes himself up to sitting, his legs nearly mummified. He laughs, waving away the boy’s nervous hands. He’s a little embarrassed, but mostly amused. If anything, he feels bad over making a stranger worry.
“I’m fine, no worries! Thank you for checking in! I’m Gaming, and the cause of my downfall is Man Chai,” he gestures to the Maine Coon. Man Chai, of course, is a perfect angel right now, sitting elegantly by where his leash is hooked onto Gaming’s belt.
“Oh! I’m glad! The name’s Bennett, and this is Princess!” He picks up a tiny little dog, something between a Pomeranian and a Spaniel, wiggling excitedly. Man Chai perks up at the sight of her.
Gaming levels him with an unimpressed stare. “Is that what you’re doing? I’m never letting you watch 101 Dalmatians again.”
The boy chuckles, tugging the leash off Gaming’s ankle. “Sorry. She- It’s my friend’s pup. She’s out of town so I’m helping out. She warned me that cats like Princess a lot for some reason.”
“I can see that!” Gaming laughs, stepping out of the leash. Man Chai takes it as his sign to sniff Princess out, purring so loud Gaming feels it in his bones. “Thank you, Bennett. I hope we didn’t interrupt your tour?”
“Don’t even worry about it! Besides, look at them, totally worth it!”
Man Chai moves on to licking Princess’s ear. Gaming snorts at him before looking back up at Bennett. “True! It’d be a shame to separate them… Wanna continue together?”
Bennett lights up, pumping his fist. “Really?! I’d love to! Have you already-“
And so it goes. At some point, Bennett apologizes for being a chatterbox. Gaming assures him he doesn’t mind—if anything, it’s a nice change of pace. He’s new to the city, after all, and doesn’t have any friends here. And as much as he loves his pops, the man can go days without speaking up. Bennett beams, asking excitedly about Gaming’s move and how much he likes the new place. They make their way through the zoo with eager chatter. Bennett is more invested with—and impressed by—Gaming’s career plans than anyone sans Cyno has ever been before. In turn, Gaming asks about his own studies and friends, captivated by his stories.
So captivated, in fact, that they get lost.
“I swear we’ve taken this turn before…” Gaming muses, scratching his head.
Bennett chuckles awkwardly from where he’s studying the path, “We definitely did. I guess this is a good spot to mention I’ve got terrible luck? This kind of thing happens frequently.”
He sounds so down. Gaming shares a look with Man Chai (and Princess by extension) and jogs up to clap him on the shoulder. “I can see why your friend asks you for help then! So much exercise for the pup!”
With a grateful smile, Bennett turns back to the path, “Have we already turned left?”
Gaming shrugs, “Maybe?” They all look the same to him, “This is kinda fun! But still, shouldn’t there be a map somewhere?”
He’s not really the complaining type. But even if he were, Bennett is an excellent company, easily making up for any frustration before it could bubble to the surface. It’s just that Gaming remembers his youth vividly; He was in a good group home before Cyno adopted him, but it was full of children younger than him. It was hard to keep track of them on the best of days, but during trips? The caretakers had to ask the older kids for help, and even then, one of the kiddos always managed to get lost. Once, Yun Jin got so distracted by some pretty lady’s dress she had made it all the way across the aquarium before they caught up to her.
“There was a misprint,” comes up from behind them. Gaming startles, turning to see a newcomer. The boy looks at him with a soft sort of passiveness. His hair is silver just like Cyno’s, though his skin is lighter. He’s exactly the same brand of lanky that Gaming is, thin but visibly strong. Raising his hand, the boy gestures at one of the paths, “Left is the reptile building. Right is the wolf exhibit—but it wraps around the feeding farm. That’s straight. Still closed, though.”
“Oh!” Bennett exclaims, looking between the boy and the path, “You know your stuff! Thank you!”
“Yeah!” Gaming tackles on, rushing to introduce himself. And then, because he can’t not ask. “Are you here often?”
The boy nods, falling in step with them, “My adoptive father works here.”
“Oh, no wonder you know what’s up!” Bennett calls at the same time as Gaming exclaims, “Oh that’s so cool!”
It grants them a smile, small and private, “He is cool.”
“Are you waiting for him?”
“I just like hanging out,” the boy shakes his head. Gaming spots a small braid hanging by his ear, the thinnest green lock woven into it. “The wolves are my favorites.”
Bennett and Gaming share a look, matching smiles growing on their faces. “Wolves it is! Could we bother you for a tour- uh, oh..?”
“It’s Razor.”
***
“Are you alright?” Cyno asks quietly one evening, headphones pulled off one ear where he’s stretching in his work chair.
Gaming’s brow furrows. “I don’t know, actually? I feel…empty, maybe? Like I’m sad…except I’m not? Not anxious, but like something is wrong.”
“Hmm… is something going wrong at school? Or with your friends?”
“I don’t think so?”
He’s been feeling off for the past couple of weeks. Untethered. At first, he thought maybe he was falling ill. Then maybe that he was homesick. But they visited Chenyu Vale just recently—Cyno’s friends, usually scattered to four winds, were holding a reunion—and it did nothing to quell the longing inside him. And while seeing everyone was amazing, even listening to Xiao’s and Auntie Beidou’s stories couldn’t quite scratch the itch. He tells Cyno as much.
“That is weird,” he admits. “Can I do anything?”
Gaming shrugs. He can’t think of a solution until he figures out what’s wrong. But still, “A hug is always nice.”
Cyno opens his arms easily and Gaming spends the rest of the evening curled up in his father’s expensive chair and warm arms, playing games and brainstorming new jokes for his audience.
The next time Gaming sees those two is at a tiny café Gaming only knows of because Yun Jin. Her adoptive mom likes how quiet it is, apparently sitting there for hours as she works on her book. Today, they’ve joined her for a while, pouring over an essay Yun Jin’s been assigned. Gaming’s just rejoining the table with his third cup of tea when the door jingles. He’s instantly met with two familiar faces who light up at the sight of him. Something in his chest instantly shifts, like a jewelry box clicking closed.
“It’s you!”
“It’s me!” Gaming laughs. “It’s you two! Whatcha doing here?”
They fall into each other like old friends, warm hands and bright smiles. They smell like berries and sun, something Gaming instinctively longs to wrap himself in. Something soft and safe, like his mother’s favorite blanket, like Cyno’s gaming desk, like autumn wind and pumpkin spice.
He feels somebody—Yun Jin, probably—take the tea from his hand, allowing Gaming to adjust his awkward hold. He sinks into the embrace, gathers the other two into himself. It would be a lie to say he didn’t realize he missed them; he just didn’t realize it was possible to miss somebody that you barely knew. But oh, he has. Something clicks inside him, like a pirate chest falling shut over its treasure, wiping all of his worries clean.
They only move because the door opens behind them a while later, another patron moving past them with a sigh. Gaming winces apologetically. He hadn’t realized they were blocking the exit. With one last squeeze, he pulls away, stepping off to the side.
“Benny, sit down. I’ll order,” Razor says, slipping past Gaming with a soft smile. Bennett follows Gaming into the booth, introducing himself enthusiastically. Gaming learns that the two bumped into each other some time after their meeting. Apparently, they live really close to each other.
“Man, we really should’ve exchanged numbers the first time we met,” Bennett pouts once Razor rejoins them. “We could’ve been hanging out this whole time!”
“No time like the present,” Yun Jin points out, nudging Gaming with her shoulder.
“True!”
They stay talking long after Yun Jin and her mother leave. Gaming hasn’t felt so relaxed or warm in months, if ever. Something about those two just puts him at ease. Gaming has never been a loner, but he also never felt so close with anybody after knowing them this long. They exchange numbers, yes, but they also make plans for another meeting. And another, and another, ideas jumping off between them like the world’s fluffiest pinball. By the end of the day, Gaming has smiled so much his cheeks hurt—and he’s pretty used to smiling, so what’s up with that?
He comes home with sugar on his lips, lighter than he’s known possible. Cyno listens to him recount the day with a soft smile, something new and knowing glistening in his eyes. Gaming means to ask, but then he remembers another thing Razor said or an expression Bennett made, and well. He forgets, focused and lost and found in those two.