Work Text:
Winter was approaching.
The weather in Hongyuan wasn't particularly harsh, just a cold wind and a bit of dust. Jia Qiu sighed, watching the smoke dissipate in the air before closing the window.
He wanted to go to bed early today, perhaps due to fatigue or the cold air and gloomy sky, which made him want to doze off. He didn't sleep deeply, his sleep was restless, and every time he closed his eyes, he heard the wailing of his unjustly deceased family. He wanted revenge, but the deeper he delved, the more he realized he had to defeat many others to get closer to Jia Mu—the wicked old woman who disregarded everything and used his family as scapegoats.
Thinking this, he removed his hair tie, his long black hair cascading down like a waterfall, the ends only a few inches from the ground. He toyed with a lock of hair for a moment, then decided he'd cut it tomorrow.
Jia Qiu tossed his outer coat onto the wooden bench nearby and wondered how it felt to bear the surname of the man who had wiped out his family. His hand touched the soft mattress; the fabric was as cold as the hearts of the people in this place. After standing for a while, he slowly lay down on the mattress and pulled the blanket over himself.
As mentioned, Jia Qiu was a light sleeper because someone wanted to eradicate him completely or torment him with fear. So when the window opened and a thud echoed on the floor, his hand instinctively reached for his talisman-wrapped staff. But the familiar, arrogant footsteps, the smell of expensive cigarettes, the distinctive scent of gunpowder mixed with the faint smell of blood, made Jia Qiu unconsciously relax. He knew who it was, and that was also the reason for his headache.
(...)
He and Lei Heng met through a few of Pinky's gatherings. Jia Qiu himself didn't understand why an arrogant man like Lei Heng would seek out this Finger. And the reason was revealed, and it was truly ridiculous.
"Because I'm bored."
Lei Heng tapped the tip of his sword on the ground, the man casually puffing on his cigar and exhaling a puff of smoke through the gaps between his teeth as he smiled.
"I want to find something else to do."
A reason so absurd that Jia Qiu wished he hadn't asked him that. After that single encounter, Lei Heng would pester him with questions like why his staff was wrapped in a charm, then play with the red ribbon and ask what he did in Hongyuan, sometimes even twirling his hair in a lock on his finger.
Zilu repeatedly hinted that she could help him resolve the troubles plaguing her mentor, but Jia Qiu found it unnecessary. Aside from his inquisitive nature and constant smoking, Lei Heng was a truly promising teammate. Occasionally, they were assigned missions together, and strangely, neither was overly wary of the other, resulting in missions completed sooner than expected. Lei Heng would then invite Jia Qiu for a few drinks before returning to The Thumb.
Jia Qiu didn't call it friendship; clearly, the definition of friendship he knew wasn't what happened between him and Lei Heng. Sometimes they would fight for no reason (sometimes Lei Heng wanted to test Jia Qiu's strength), and then they'd go for a few drinks or a meal together. Neither of them opened up to the other, saying nothing about their past or their true selves. They simply maintained a superficial relationship, close enough to understand each other's current personalities but not so close as to become fully involved in each other's lives.
But Lei Heng's appearance in Jia Qiu's bedroom clearly indicated something else.
It all started the previous year, also during a bitterly cold winter, when Lei Heng suddenly came to Jia Qiu's house and wanted something. Jia Qiu had asked Lei Heng about it, but the Capo only mumbled evasively, then offered Jia Qiu alcohol, continuing this behavior until before Christmas. One morning, Jia Qiu realized Lei Heng was sleeping right beside him, in his bed.
Despite repeated questioning, Lei Heng's answer was simply that he slept normally with Jia Qiu in the same bed, and he looked at Capo as if it were a childish lie. And in the following days, Lei Heng would show up at the same time every day, bringing a few things to enjoy with his drinks, and then they would end up sleeping together in bed the next morning. Many times, even after Jia Qiu locked the windows and doors, Lei Heng would somehow still appear in his bed the next morning, leading to arguments between them. They would always make peace, and Lei Heng would still sleep with him the next morning.
It gradually became a habit, to the point that even if Lei Heng appeared late, Jia Qiu would still give up his bed to him, even in his sleep. He gradually memorized the sound of his footsteps and the ever-present scent that clung to Lei Heng's clothes. He remembered the way Capo smirked as he moved over to make room for him, the whispered words on his forehead as the other man climbed into bed, causing the mattress to sag.
It was an intimacy that transcended the usual boundaries of communication that Jia Qiu himself had set between them, and Lei Heng was the one who moved closer to erase those boundaries. He didn't understand what the other person wanted, what the action meant, or what that Capo guy gained from those repeated actions.
He didn't want to get any deeper into it, didn't want it to become a habit for him. But seeing Lei Heng snoring beside him every morning wasn't such a big deal for Jia Qiu.
(...)
"You went to bed quite early today. I thought I messaged you to wait for me to have dinner together?"
Lei Heng said in his usual flippant tone as he took off his blood-stained gloves and tossed them onto the table. Jia Qiu lay on the bed looking at him.
"I wasn't asleep either. I just lay down a few minutes ago and you're already here."
"Tsk tsk, Tiangang star, I didn't know you could retort."
Lei Heng smirked, then took off his red vest and draped it over the chair, near Jia Qiu's.
"Although we had dinner plans, I'm quite busy today, so I didn't bring anything..."
He said, rolling up his sleeves and removing his belt containing bullets, placing it on the table.
"...It's also not a good idea to drink on an empty stomach, so I guess we should just go to the final step, right?"
"I can go down to the kitchen and make something for you."
Jia Qiu propped himself up on the mattress, but Lei Heng pressed him down as he knelt on one knee.
"No need, I'm not in the mood to eat today."
His hand ran through the hair that smelled of herbs, a scent he'd grown accustomed to over many nights, then he slowly leaned down close to the face of the person lying beneath him, his other hand intertwined with Jia Qiu's.
"I missed you a little today; I kept thinking about your stern face while working."
Lei Heng murmured as his forehead and Jia Qiu's touched.
The other's fingers twitched slightly as their shadows merged on the wall, then slowly closed in their intertwined hands.