Work Text:
⏱︎
Cheng Xiaoshi was not afraid of thunder, he was a big boy now. Cheng Xiaoshi would carefully slide spiders into a cup and take it back outdoors. He learnt how to cut up an apple! He could use a knife, with his mother’s assistance. Besides, he was indoors, in the greatest photo studio in the world, what could the thunder possibly do to—
“Honey, remember to lock the door twice. Go eat the soup Mama made, and you can play your video games afterwards, okay?” His mother says, tucking a lock of Cheng Xiaoshi’s wild hair behind his ear.
Ah, it was that night.
“Yeah yeah. Mama, I’m not a little boy anymore! I’m a man! I’m seven! I can look after myself,” Cheng Xiaoshi huffs, proudly lifting seven fingers of his to his mother, who chuckled shakily.
Maybe if Cheng Xiaoshi were a little more observant, he would’ve noticed the weary look in her eyes as she laughed.
“I know love, but the thunder always gets you jumpy,” She sighs, softly stroking through Cheng Xiaoshi’s hair, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry Ma? Both of you will be back soon, right? You’re just picking up groceries! I can handle myself just fine,” Cheng Xiaoshi tried to reassure, nuzzling his cheek against his mother’s.
She smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, “Just groceries,” She repeats, her voice hollow, before pressing a kiss onto her son’s bed of messy hair, “Take care of yourself, Xiao’er,”
He never got to see his father that day. Sometimes, he wonders if his father was simply too weak to face him. He gives his Ma a toothy grin and a thumbs up, well, really, he was two teeth short as of this morning.
The tooth fairy never managed to compensate for that. Oh well.
She got up from her crouched position, slowly walking towards the door, painstakingly slow. “Take care of yourself,” She repeats, in almost a whisper. Cheng Xiaoshi makes an annoyed sound, “I get it Ma!”
She only smiles in response, “I’m sorry,” She repeats. Apologies don’t fix everything, Ma.
Cheng Xiaoshi rolls his eyes, “Seriously, you sound like a broken record, stop saying sorry!” She only shakes her head in response, before gripping his hand lightly once she makes it to the front door.
“You… You know your friend’s number right?” She asks, suddenly. Cheng Xiaoshi frowns,
“Qiao Ling’s? Yeah, It’s written down next to the landline.”
“And you know how to use that?”
“Of course I do! You taught me, remember?”
His Ma hesitates slightly, before turning the knob, “She’s a good girl,” She murmurs.
“Of course she is! She’s my friend!” Cheng Xiaoshi proudly exclaims.
She’s my family.
His mother looks at him, “You’re a wonderful boy,” She says. He beams at her. She squeezes his palms. “Okay, I’ll be off now. Be good, okay?”
“Yes Ma, now gooooo! The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back!” Cheng Xiaoshi whines, pushing her out. She lets out a shaky breath, “Alright, alright. Goodbye, my little light.”
Cheng Xiaoshi frowns, “You always say, ‘I’ll be right back’ when you leave.”
Looking back, he was always surprisingly observant when it mattered. Now that he thought about it, did it matter?
Ma must have thought he was too, as her eyes widened in shock. Maybe it was the rain, but her eyes seemed glassy.
“A-Ah yes, I will… I'll be back soon,” She whispers, not meeting his eye.
Hm.
Thunderstruck right at that moment, causing little Cheng Xiaoshi to let out a very manly yelp. His Ma frowns immediately, attempting to walk towards her son, yet Cheng Xiaoshi shakes his hands wildly, “No, no! I’m not scared! Just go Ma,” He urges. She stands still, before nodding, determined, finally walking away.
And Cheng Xiaoshi? He slammed the door shut the second her visage faded into the fog.
Cheng Xiaoshi decided to go straight to heating up his dinner, he was a growing boy, and he needed his nutrition! He sauntered over to the refrigerator, pulling it open with a huff, before carefully inspecting it for their regular soup Tupperware container. It was, shockingly, barren.
Cheng Xiaoshi was always used to a fully stocked kitchen, his father would always make sure they had everything he needed to cook them just about anything at any time of the day. The cabinet doors would be lined with various spices and assorted flours, and the fridge stocked with eggs, dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables his father would spend hours pilfering through at the grocery store.
He loved spending afternoons sprawled over the kitchen counter, watching him excitedly test out whatever new recipe he felt like. Despite all that, he always makes a portion of chicken and mushroom soup for his mother to eat, just in case the ‘experiments’ don’t go well.
Actually, now that he thought about it, his father hadn’t experimented with their dinners for a while now. His parents recently ate at different times too, but Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t think those were necessarily related. They were just, busy. Whatever, he had soup to pour.
He grabbed the cherry red container clumsily, almost dropping it whilst getting it onto the counter. He peels the silicone lid off before taking a huge whiff of the soup with a happy sigh. Cheng Xiaoshi pads towards the other end of the kitchen to get his standing stool so he can reach the stove.
He carefully ladles the chicken and mushroom soup into a large pot to heat, turning the stove dial. Blue flames sputtered to life under the pot. He slowly stirs the soup with the ladle, staring at it with eager anticipation. Heating his food had always made him feel like a grown-up, like his father.
He thought about his mother’s face lighting up whenever his father presented something wild to the table— egg rolls stacked to the shape of a castle, ‘German-style’ fried chicken (Cheng Xiaoshi couldn’t remember the actual name for the life of him), piping hot and gooey strawberry jam filled muffins– her eyes sparkled as she lets out an endeared laugh.
Later, when their stomachs were well and stuffed, and his mother had fallen sound asleep on the sofa, Cheng Xiaoshi whispered to his father, “Pa, how do you get Ma to look like that?”
The man gives him an amused look, “To look like what, Xiao’er ?”
“Like, like so– WOW!” He whisper-yells, waving his hands wildly. His father laughs, ruffling his hair fondly.
“Well, they say food is the way to a person’s heart.”
“Who says that?”
His father scratches his head, “Uh, someone important. Anyway, it’s true. Food has a way of showing someone you love them. The thought you put into a dish, and the love you put into making it, are all what makes it taste so good in the first place. It makes the person you cook for feel special, and warm.”
“Warm?”
“Like being hugged.”
Cheng Xiaoshi smiles, “I like being hugged!” His father laughs, pulling him closer with his hand.
“Pa, do you think you could teach me how to cook?” Cheng Xiaoshi blurts, tucking himself into his father's arms. His Pa’s eyes widen slightly,
“Sure I can, could I ask why you want to learn?”
“I want to do that too. To make someone feel warm, I mean. Someone I love, maybe,” Cheng Xiaoshi says, thoughtfully. He thinks it would be worth the trouble, to see that look on someone’s face.
His father laughs, “What a thoughtful son I have, you’re gonna be a real catch one day, y’know that?”
Cheng Xiaoshi furrows his eyebrows, “A catch?”
Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t really remember what his father says after that, he thinks he’s too hungry to remember. Luckily for him, the soup started bubbling, the savoury aroma beginning to waft around the room. He switches the dial to a zero, before carefully using his mittens to grip the handles of the pot.
He poured the soup into his favourite yellow bowl, his mother always told him how well yellow brought out his eyes— whatever that meant. It made her happy, so it made him happy. He takes his matching yellow soup spoon, before beginning to hungrily down the soup. Ah, bliss.
The chicken was still juicy thanks to the soup, with each chew sending him to heaven and back. He had to get his Pa to teach him how to make this when he got back.
He gives the bowl a quick rinse before setting it on the sink and proceeds to bound over to the living room flopping onto the couch, before grabbing the television remote. He flicks through random shows before settling on Kung-Fu Panda, a classic indeed.
As time passes, so does the movie. Cheng Xiaoshi had never been good at finishing a movie, and found himself drifting off at times, before shaking himself awake, he had to unlock the door when his parents got back after all.
Kung-Fu Panda was over now, with some other animated movie playing in its stead. Cheng Xiaoshi found himself disinterested, starting to wonder why his parents were taking so long. It was beginning to feel like forever!
Beginning to.
At that very moment, a loud crackle of thunder boomed, with the windows letting in a blinding flash of light. Cheng Xiaoshi yelped, scooting to the far end of the couch, away from the window.
The thunder was too loud, louder than him. The rain relentlessly fell against harsh winds, and Cheng Xiaoshi’s pretty sure he just heard a tree fall. His bare feet feel cold against the wooden floors, prompting him to lift them up, folding his arms around his knees.
The show he was ‘watching’ began to flicker with static. His eyes immediately latched onto the show in desperation for the distraction, only for it to eventually stutter and fade to a muted blue.
There was nothing stopping the sound of billowing winds and thunder from numbing his scenes anymore, all he could do was curl into himself tighter, waiting for them to come back, to kiss his head and tuck him into bed. Eventually, he manages to sleep once exhaustion finally overtakes his resolve.
⏱︎
“—Shi, Cheng Xiaoshi,”
A palm finds its way to Cheng Xiaoshi’s face, tilting it towards some sort of blurred figure…
“Lu Guang?” Cheng Xiaoshi manages to rasp, unsure. His voice bled with disuse over the last twelve hours, something he was very much so not accustomed to.
The blurred figure sighs with relief, slowly nodding, before he feels thumbs carefully swiping away at tears, his tears. Ah, he was crying. The blurred figure began to clear up, and his breath hitched.
Lu Guang’s brows were pinched with worry, a tight frown plastered over his expression. He was, extremely close. Cheng Xiaoshi thinks he’s never been this physically close to the younger man’s face, and yet, he didn’t feel compelled to push him away.
“I’m sorry for worrying you Lu Guang,” Cheng Xiaoshi says, trying to smile as wide as he could to dissuade Lu Guang’s concern. It didn’t seem to work, as Lu Guang let out an exasperated sigh.
“Fool, you don’t need to apologise for anything. I–I just,” A look of brief contemplation flashes through his eyes, “Do you need anything?”
Don’t leave. But Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t say that. Lu Guang had only recently just moved into the Photo Studio about a month or two back, and the last thing he wanted to do was be a burden to his best friend after the man had already done so much for him.
More than that though, he was admittedly worried about what Lu Guang would think of him. Wasn’t it pathetic? Crying over his parents more than a decade after the incident. Blaming such an incident on the weather of all things, was childish.
He opted to simply shake his head, “I’ll be fine, the rain’s just kinda depressing, y’know? I should probably get started on dinner–” He shifts to lift himself up from their sofa, but Lu Guang doesn’t let him, lightly pushing him back down as Cheng Xiaoshi lets out a strangled noise.
“Do you not want dinner man?” Cheng Xiaoshi asks, incredulously. Lu Guang only looks at him, narrowing his gaze.
“I’ll make it.”
“You?! You can’t even cut an apple right!”
Lu Guang’s ears flush, “Fine, we’ll order something in, what are you in the mood for?” Cheng Xiaoshi blinks. Normally, such a statement would rile the younger man up in embarrassment, but he didn’t take the bait.
“Chicken and mushroom soup.” He finds himself saying. Lu Guang nods, swiping through various restaurants on whatever delivery app currently had the most special offers. He must’ve ordered if the ding from his phone meant anything.
Lu Guang then shifts himself closer to Cheng Xiaoshi, he lifts his palm again, in silent question. Cheng Xiaoshi, still not trusting himself to speak without begging, only nods. A soft palm collides with his left cheek, and he finds himself leaning towards its warmth.
“Cheng Xiaoshi, do you remember our contract?” Lu Guang asks, his voice soft. Cheng Xiaoshi tilts his head in the manner in which Qiao Ling often compared him to a golden retriever.
“How could I ever forget?” He asks, genuinely. Lu Guang seemed taken aback at the response, his eyes widening slightly before he cleared his throat, “Well then, you'd remember what I said,”
Cheng Xiaoshi smiles, “You’ll stay by my side.”
Lu Guang huffs fondly, “I’m not going anywhere.” He says, his hands dropping from Cheng Xiaoshi's cheek to his kneecap. Cheng Xiaoshi’s heart flips, his eyes snapping to meet Lu Guang’s.
This guy…
“My parents left on a rainy day,” He admits, flitting his gaze to the wall to avoid eye contact. Cheng Xiaoshi couldn’t stand being vulnerable, not after it killed the vibe of nearly every social setting he’d been in as a child, giggles dulled to a halt, and eyes rolled in exasperation, he didn’t like it one bit.
Lu Guang knew of the basics, that his parents weren’t in the picture anymore, and he never bothered telling him more than that. He couldn’t afford to drive Lu Guang away.
“The ones you said shared that look in my eye,” Lu Guang realises, his voice remaining gentle. Cheng Xiaoshi gulps down rising bile, refusing to say anything for about a minute. Lu Guang didn’t say anything, his hand remaining over Cheng Xiaoshi’s knee.
“I had no idea. I should’ve, to be honest. They stopped talking to each other for a while, my dad completely iced both my Ma and me at one point. I’m not sure if it was guilt or what, the details are sort of blurry. Anyway, I didn’t even get to see him that day, so I guess he left my life even before she did,” Cheng Xiaoshi says,
“It was scary, alone in the house during a storm. I’m not scared anymore, but this kind of weather always takes me back to that time. Qiao Ling, I called her after two days in a panic, and to be quite frank I don’t really remember much of what happened after that other than a lot of anger on my part,” He finishes, with a sarcastic laugh.
Lu Guang doesn’t say anything, not for a while, his hand unmoving. Eventually, his hands drop, just as Cheng Xiaoshi’s heart does, until it loops around his waist, pulling him closer. The dropped heart begins to soar.
“You—” He says, unable to say much else. Lu Guang’s face, brimmed with cherry red as he grits, “I’ve never done this before.”
Cheng Xiaoshi laughs, despite himself, “You’ve never hugged anyone before?”
Lu Guang glares at him, “This is what I get for trying to— what are you doing?!” Cheng Xiaoshi keeps laughing, pulling Lu Guang even closer until they both fall to their sides, chests against one another.
“Just showing you how it’s done,” He says, brightly. His heart beat erratically, actually, he couldn’t tell if it was his or Lu Guang’s.
“Idiot.” As usual, Lu Guang’s body betrayed his words, as he smiled at Cheng Xiaoshi, his eyes shining. Cheng Xiaoshi distantly wonders what miraculous feat he’d accomplished in a past life to deserve someone like Lu Guang.
The doorbell rang, causing both boys to flinch.
“It’s probably dinner, I’ll get it, sit up straight.” Lu Guang sighs, reluctantly releasing Cheng Xiaoshi from his loose hold. Cheng Xiaoshi sets himself upright, pulling the coffee table closer to their sofa. Lu Guang returns, delivery bag in tow.
He places it on the coffee table, before turning around to get bowls and soup spoons. Cheng Xiaoshi took the flimsy plastic soup containers out of the bag, which were barely sealed with sellotape.
Ugh, if Qiao Ling were with them, she would probably be able to pick at it immediately with her nails, alas, he was doomed to thumb at the tape for a few minutes until he finally caught the edge, ripping it off.
Lu Guang was back by this point, laying out the bowls neatly while intently waiting for Cheng Xiaoshi to finish un-sealing the boxes. He hands them over to Lu Guang, who carefully pours each one into a bowl respectively. He pushes one of them in Cheng Xiaoshi’s direction, giving him a sideway nod as if to say, go ahead.
Cheng Xiaosh obliges, gulping down a spoonful of the soup. The taste was hardly nostalgic, with over-salted broth and overcooked chicken, he was pretty sure he could make something miles better in his sleep. Lu Guang looked like he agreed, his brows pinched as he took another slurp.
“You’ve spoiled me,” Lu Guang says, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Cheng Xiaoshi snorts, resulting in him mildly choking on the soup caught up in his throat. Lu Guang gives him an unimpressed glare after he’s settled down.
“How so?” Cheng Xiaoshi asks. Lu Guang sighs.
“I’m too used to your cooking, this hardly compares,” He says, idly swirling the spoon around the soup.
Cheng Xiaoshi drops his spoon, staring at Lu Guang in shock.
“I should’ve cooked today,” Cheng Xiaoshi laments, miserably pushing the half-empty bowl away. Lu Guang raises an eyebrow in response.
“Every time he cooked, he would always get Ma to be all, like, wow.” He says, suddenly, belatedly adding muted jazz hands. Lu Guang smiles teasingly, “Like, wow?”
Cheng Xiaoshi rolls his eyes, “Ugh you know what I mean. She’d be really happy, I guess. I’ve never seen her look like that in any other circumstance. My dad said it was because his food conveyed his love for her, so it filled her with warmth. It looked like some kind of superpower to me, I wanted to make someone feel loved as well. So, I begged him to teach me how to cook.”
God, why was he talking so much?
Lu Guang looks down at the soup, at the separated oil droplets amidst the steaming broth. He looks back up at Cheng Xiaoshi, meeting his gaze with– something.
“He taught you well.”
Ah, with love.