Work Text:
It’s much more crowded at the marketplace than it usually is. It’s louder, busier, and definitely not the type of escape he had been hoping for today.
Xia Fei huffed, squeezing his way through the legs of another group of people. He knows he’s not supposed to be out this far - well, he’s not supposed to be out at all. But everything has been so stuffy, almost suffocating lately, and he’s been taking to sneaking away more and more often despite the scolding he knows he’ll receive when he returns.
He double checks his bag to make sure he still has it, and everything in it. Not that there was much in there in the first place, but he didn’t want to lose the pork bun that he’d been given just a few minutes earlier. There was a kind vendor that always recognized him and would usually slip him one or two for free, so he always made sure to stop there first.
He grumbled unhappily as he was almost crushed for about the fifth time, and was getting ready to just turn around and head back home, when there was something that suddenly caught his eye.
There was a flash of movement, striking red hair disappearing into an alleyway. Xia Fei blinked, tilting his head. It looked like another kid… maybe a few years older than him? It sort of looked like they were running away from something…
Curiosity took hold of him, and he continued making his way through the crowds to try and follow them. He finally made it to the entrance of the alleyway, taking a few steps into it before stopping, looking around and frowning. The alleyway stopped in a dead end, but there was no sign of that red hair that had caught his eye. Did they not actually go this way?
Xia Fei gave a dejected sigh, kicking away a rock and turning around, ready to go back the way he came when he heard a very small rustling sound come from behind the trashcan on the side of the alley, followed by a quiet gasp.
Xia Fei perked back up, whirling back around and walking back into the alleyway, towards the noise. “Hello? What are you-“
As he turned the corner around the trashcan, the first thing he saw was the barrel of a gun pointed straight at his head. Xia Fei screamed, tripping and falling backwards. The breath was knocked out of him as he hit the ground, letting out a small “ow” as the cement scraped his elbows, using them to break his fall.
Xia Fei quickly sat back up, getting ready to run back out towards the marketplace and away from whatever this was, but as he took a look at what was in front of him again, something stopped him and froze him in place.
The one holding the gun was the boy with red hair that he’d decided to follow into the alley. This close Xia Fei could tell that he was indeed only a few years older, and had a very slender frame. He was holding the gun with both hands, his grip so tight that the whites of his knuckles were clearly visible. He was trembling too, his red eyes that matched his hair blown wide with terror, his breathing quick and panicked.
Xia Fei took a deep breath, suddenly not feeling as scared at the sight of the weapon. “Are… are you… okay? Why do you have that? Is it real?”
The red-haired boy slowly lowered the gun, eying Xia Fei warily as his breathing steadied. He didn’t respond, leaning forward and quickly glancing around the alley like he was looking for something.
“Are you hiding from someone?” Xia Fei asked curiously, following the boy’s gaze towards the entrance of the alley. “Is it a game?”
The boy flinched at that, eyes narrowing as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Xia Fei’s shirt, dragging him forward so that he was also being hidden by the trashcan.
“Wh-!”
The boy made a shushing motion with his hand, cautiously glancing around to the alley’s entrance again.
Xia Fei blinked, more and more questions that he desperately wanted to ask bubbling to the surface, but he kept quiet as instructed. He took the opportunity to turn his attention back to the boy next to him, his eyes widening as he finally took in the state of the other’s clothing.
There were tears and cuts everywhere, the black material of his baggy outer coat nearly hiding the bloody spots from numerous wounds trailing over his arms and torso. The most visible was a cut across his left cheek, blood crusted and dry. All around he was scuffed and bruised, and his long hair was held in a tangled mess of a ponytail.
“Are you okay?” Xia Fei whispered again, worried. “You’re really hurt.”
The boy glared at him and made a shushing gesture again, his other hand still gripped tight around the gun. Xia Fei pouted at that, plopping his back against the wall and getting into a more comfortable sitting position, taking his bag off his shoulder and setting it down beside him.
They stayed like that for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably around 5 minutes. The boy finally let out a sigh, breaking up the silence, and joined Xia Fei in leaning back against the wall. He set the gun down on the ground next to him, pulling his legs close to his chest and resting his chin on his knees, arms wrapped tightly around his legs.
He looked… exhausted, Xia Fei noticed. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes themselves looked unfocused and glazed over. Like it had been days since he last slept.
Xia Fei cleared his throat, adjusting his position awkwardly. “Do I have to stay quiet still?”
The boy barely glanced over at him, remaining silent and not acknowledging the question. Xia Fei’s cheeks puffed out in indignation at being ignored.
“You can’t talk?” he asked, half upset and half genuinely curious. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”
Ignored again. The boy didn’t even glance over this time.
Xia Fei sighed loudly, looking down at the ground. He was starting to realize none of his questions were going to be answered, no matter how curious he was. He looked back up, his eyes catching on the other’s deep red hair again. It was a beautiful color, despite the knots and tangles. He perked up as an idea hit him, scooting a little closer to the boy.
“Can I braid your hair?”
The boy finally lifted his head and looked at Xia Fei in surprise, his eyebrows furrowing as he tilted his head. He looked… confused, almost.
“I promise I can do it good,” Xia Fei said confidently, puffing out his chest. “I practiced lots.”
The boy continued to stare in blank confusion, but didn’t show any signs of being opposed to it, so Xia Fei took the silence as a yes. He cautiously inched closer and closer until they were just about shoulder to shoulder, the boy stiffening as he got closer and that wary look in his eyes again, watching every one of Xia Fei’s movements like a hawk.
Xia Fei slowly reached out for the band holding the ponytail, gently unwrapping it. The boy held his breath at the start, but as Xia Fei freed his hair and started to gently work his fingers through the knots and tangles he began to relax, letting out what almost sounded like a sigh of relief. Xia Fei isn’t sure if he imagined it, but he also seemed to lean into the touch.
“My name is Xia Fei,” Xia Fei said, ecstatic that he was allowing him to do this. “I live close to here.” He paused for a moment, looking around and lowering his voice to a whisper. “Don’t tell anyone but I snuck out. I’m not supposed to be over here. My sis is gonna be so mad if she finds out.”
Something that could’ve been amusement flitted over the boy’s expression, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
“I know you don’t wanna talk but what’s your name?” Xia Fei asked, gently tugging on an especially stubborn knot. “Do you live close too?”
No response. Again.
“Fine,” Xia Fei grumbled, trying not to be too upset over the lack of response. He dejectedly closed his eyes for a few moments, before opening them again and holding his head high. “It’s okay. I can talk for both of us.”
The boy shook slightly with what could’ve been a silent laugh, but Xia Fei couldn’t tell. His eyes seemed to slowly lose that wary look, however, his frame loosening and no longer seeming like he was ready to bolt at any second.
Xia Fei started humming as he finally removed the last of the knots, running his fingers through the strands to ensure they were all gone. “Your hair is really pretty. I haven’t seen anyone with this color hair before.”
The boy blinked, an awkward expression coming over his features as he looked away, seeming as if he wasn’t sure what to do with the compliment.
“I get told my hair looks like a sunflower,” Xia Fei continued, starting to separate the strands of hair so he could start on the braid. “Do you think it looks like a sunflower? I don’t know if it does.”
The boy looked back over, his eyes roaming over Xia Fei. He tilted his head a bit, contemplating for a few moments, and then to Xia Fei’s surprise he gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head.
Xia Fei gasped. “You said yes!” he said excitedly, fighting the urge to jump up and down. “I wish you’d talk to me but that’s okay!”
There was another small shake, which Xia Fei thinks is definitely a laugh this time. He continued to braid, rambling about anything and everything at all that came to mind. He kept jumping from topic to topic, but the boy still listened aptly, not turning his gaze away. He didn’t give any other nods or shakes of his head, or any indication he understood, but Xia Fei found that he didn’t care all that much anymore.
“Aaaaand… done!” Xia Fei finally announced, tying the band he'd taken around the bottom of the braid to finish it off, and letting it fall over the boy’s shoulder. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest in pride. “So? What do you think? Best braid ever? Told you I was good at it.”
The boy hesitantly touched the braid, glancing down at it with a curious look on his face. He ran his hand across it a few times, feeling the texture of it. His mouth twitched into the smallest smile, which Xia Fei took as a sign of success.
“See I knew you’d like it,” Xia Fei said smugly. “It looks way better than it did before.”
The boy paused, slightly opening his mouth like he was finally going to say something. After a few moments however he closed his mouth again, glancing away.
“You’re welcome,” Xia Fei continued, brimming with pride. He leaned back against the wall, grinning at the other. “I know I did a good job.”
The boy gave a silent laugh again, looking back at Xia Fei with that small smile still tugging at his lips. There were a few moments of comfortable silence between them, before it was broken by the boy’s stomach growling loudly. He looked somewhere between startled and embarrassed, averting his gaze again.
Xia Fei tilted his head. “Are you hungry?”
The boy quickly shook his head, curling into himself again and continuing to look away.
Xia Fei frowned. “You are too. Your tummy’s growling, I can hear it.”
He thought for a second, before he remembered what he had in his bag. “Aha! Here you can have this,” he exclaimed, quickly turning to rummage in his bag for the pork bun he’d gotten earlier. He picked it up, hesitating for a moment since he’d really been looking forward to eating it later, but decided the other boy needed it more.
“Here!” Xia Fei held it out, smiling. “All yours!”
The boy looked back over, his eyes widening as his stomach growled again, even louder this time. He looked between the pork bun and Xia Fei a few times, before hesitantly reaching for it. He suddenly stopped right before grabbing it, the wary look in his eyes returning as he glanced at Xia Fei in suspicion.
Xia Fei blinked in confusion. “It’s, um. It’s a pork bun. Have you seen one before?”
The boy didn’t answer, looking longingly at the pork bun but still not fully reaching for it. He retracted his hand, his head falling sullenly back onto his knees.
Xia Fei was even more confused. “Oh, do you not like it? It’s good I promise. Here, look.” He took a bite out of the pork bun, chewing happily as he showed off the now-bitten-into pork bun. “See! Yummy!” he said with his mouth still full, the words muffled. “You can still have the rest if you want.”
The boy perked back up, some wariness remaining in his eyes but most of it dissolving after seeing the bite Xia Fei had taken from the pork bun. He leaned over and reached out again, and Xia Fei all but shoved it into his hands.
He looked at the pork bun with intense scrutiny for a few moments, turning it over every which way. He finally took a tiny bite, almost seeming to wince as he did. He chewed cautiously and swallowed, and then waited. He waited, and waited, until his eyes finally brightened and it was like a switch had been flipped. He quickly devoured the rest of it in record time, looking no less than a feral cat who’d been fed for the first time.
The display made Xia Fei giggle. “You eat weird.”
The boy didn’t acknowledge the comment, eyes closed with a look of contentment on his face as he finished chewing through the last few bites.
“If you want more there’s a nice man at the market that gives them to me,” Xia Fei said, closing up his bag and leaning his back against the wall again. “Maybe if you ask him he’ll give you some.”
The boy opened his eyes and looked at Xia Fei as he swallowed the last of the food, a barely there glimmer in his eyes that wasn’t there previously. He didn’t say anything, but he seemed grateful.
“I don’t have any more though,” Xia Fei continued. “That was my only one but I wanted to give it to you.”
The boy nodded in understanding, joining Xia Fei in leaning back against the wall, their shoulders just a hair from touching.
“There’s lots of other shops at the market too, that sell all different kinds of stuff not just food. Like, there’s one that sells-”
Xia Fei rambles on for much longer than he means to, excitedly discussing his favorite shops to visit at the marketplace when he sneaks out, which he’s definitely not supposed to do but he does anyways. He talks about the ones that sell the best food, the ones that sell handmade figures, the ones that sell things he doesn’t even recognize.
He goes on and on, before he finally stops and looks back up at the sky, realizing it was probably time for him to start heading back if he wanted to avoid getting caught.
“Well, this was really fun but I should-” Xia Fei was abruptly cut off as he felt something fall hard onto his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. He turned his head, and his vision was immediately filled by that red hair.
Xia Fei blinked in surprise, freezing in place. The other’s breathing was deep and slow, his weight leaning entirely against Xia Fei. Is he… asleep?
“Are you asleep?” Xia Fei whispered, staying as still as possible.
Unsurprisingly there was no response, but it was different this time. Definitely asleep.
Xia Fei gave a defeated sigh, adjusting his position to something a bit more comfortable, accepting the fact that he was going to be stuck here for a while longer. He had a fleeting thought of trying to maneuver his way out from under the other boy to escape, but his conscience had immediately squashed any entertainment of the idea. The thought of leaving him on the ground alone in this alley when he’d clearly been terrified and running from something earlier made him feel sick.
“You were really tired huh,” Xia Fei murmured, gently leaning his head against the top of the other boy’s. “It’s okay, I’ll keep watch for you so you can sleep.”
Xia Fei’s not exactly sure how long they stay like that, unmoving. The sun was noticeably lower in the sky, the shadows longer and the crowds of people much thinner and sparse than they had been earlier. Xia Fei had nearly fallen asleep a few times himself, but he had shaken himself back into wakefulness every time, determined to keep his very serious promise to watch out for trouble while the other boy slept.
Just when Xia Fei was at his limit and debating whether to finally try and wake the other boy up, he made a small noise and stirred. There was a sharp gasp as he bolted back into an upright position, startling Xia Fei. He fumbled for the gun he’d left on the ground beside him, breathing immediately panicked again.
“Aah! It’s okay, it's okay,” Xia Fei reassured as he tried to calm the other down, not quite sure what to do with his hands.
The boy whipped back around to look at Xia Fei with wild eyes, one hand clutching the gun tightly as he seemed to be trying to remember where he was, breathing hard.
“You fell asleep,” Xia Fei tried to explain, holding his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. “I didn’t wanna wake you up, you were really tired.”
The boy started to ease up, seeming to finally have gotten his bearings. He gave a long sigh, eyes darting back around the alleyway. His hand didn’t leave the gun, however.
“Well, um… now that you’re awake I should probably go,” Xia Fei said, stretching out his sore limbs. “I am sooo in trouble when I get back, I stayed here way too long but I had to protect you so you could sleep! And I did a really good job at it.” Xia Fei puffed out his chest proudly. “I didn’t even fall asleep once.”
The boy looked at Xia Fei again, eyes wide with an emotion that he couldn’t quite place. It was somewhere between surprise, confusion… and something else. There was a very light dusting of pink across his cheeks as well, barely noticeable in the darkness of the alley.
“It was nice to meet you, I hope we can see each other again,” Xia Fei smiled widely as he gathered his bag and stood up, taking a few steps back towards the entrance of the alley, keeping his eyes on the boy. “Well… bye!”
Xia Fei turned around, only getting a few steps away before the other boy finally spoke for the first time since they’d met, stopping Xia Fei right in his tracks.
“…Xiao Weiying.” The voice was hoarse, and quiet, and unsure of itself. He also said a few more words in what Xia Fei thinks was English, but he didn’t understand any of them.
Xia Fei spun back around excitedly, grinning ear to ear. “You can talk! Is that your name, Xiao Weiying? I like it! It’s a pretty name!”
The boy looked taken aback at the reaction, that awkward expression returning and the red tint to his cheeks becoming more noticeable. He didn’t say anything else in response.
“Bye Xiao Weiying! Remember my name is Xia Fei! Let’s meet again!”
Xia Fei waved at the boy, and to his delight the boy waved back at him. He turned back around with a happy hum, finally leaving the alley and returning to the marketplace, which was nearly empty at this time of day.
He would absolutely get the scolding of his life once he got back home, but strangely he doesn’t really care at all. He thinks as long as he can meet that boy again, hopefully under better circumstances, that it’ll all have been worth it.
I hope he’ll be okay.
-
“Boss? Everything okay?”
Vein blinked, returning to the present. He fixed his gaze on Xia Fei, a warm smile making its way to his face unbidden. “Hm? Oh, just thinking, nothing to worry about.”
Xia Fei frowned, tilting his head in disbelief. “You sure? You were out of it for a minute there.”
“Just remembering,” Vein replied cryptically, the smile remaining on his face. He took another bite of his food, chewing happily and drinking in the flavors of the dish. He swallowed, pausing before taking another bite. He looked back at Xia Fei. “Have I ever told you my real name?”
Xia Fei blinked in surprise at the sudden question, pausing before taking another bite of his food as well. “Huh? Your real name? I mean… yeah, I know your real name isn’t ‘Boss’.”
Vein snorted in amusement at that, resting his head on one of his hands. “No, that’s not what I meant. Not ‘Vein’.”
Xia Fei’s expression morphed into one of pure confusion. “That’s… not your real name? I mean I always thought it was unique, but it’s just a nickname?”
Another amused laugh left Vein. “No, it’s not my real name.” His gaze lingered on Xia Fei fondly, trying to ignore that annoying pang he always felt when these memories were pulled to the surface. What made you forget? He wonders for the umpteenth time. It has been quite a long time, but… “Xiao Weiying. That’s my real name.”
“Xiao Weiying…” Xia Fei repeated, a thoughtful expression on his face. Vein wanted to kick himself for looking intently for any sign of recognition in Xia Fei’s eyes, knowing he wouldn’t find any no matter how hard he looked. “Huh. It suits you,” Xia Fei said with a smile. “Is there a reason you don’t go by it?”
Vein gave a dramatic sigh. “I do have my reasons, but they’re not important. I would appreciate if you wouldn’t go around telling everyone about it now, however.”
“I would never!” Xia Fei quickly said, waving his hands in front of him. “I’ll keep it a secret, promise! Besides, I think I’d feel weird calling you anything other than ‘Boss’ anyways.”
Vein chuckled at that, the warm smile returning to his face. “I know.” That’s just the type of person you are, isn’t it?
“Oh, I did have a weird question if you don’t mind me asking. I noticed you didn’t braid your hair today like normal, was there any particular reason?”
Vein hummed, tilting his head to the side. “I must’ve forgotten, I didn’t have any other engagements today. Why, did you want to give it a try?”
Xia Fei sputtered at that, his face turning comedically red. “Wh- N… no, that’s okay, I don’t think I’d be very good at it…”
An endearing laugh left Vein, a strange feeling bubbling in his chest. “No? On the contrary, I think you’d be great at it. You’ll never know unless you try.”
Xia Fei’s face seemed to grow even redder still, avoiding eye contact. “I… I mean… I’ve never braided anyone’s hair before…”
“Hmm, never?”
“Nope,” Xia Fei said, giving Vein a questioning look. “Why do you seem strangely insistent about this?”
“Oh, no reason.” Vein closed his eyes, smiling. “But in that case, what better time to learn than the present? You never know when it might come in handy.”
He heard Xia Fei sputter again. “I- I mean… I guess? Are you, um. Are you sure? About letting me…”
“I’m sure,” Vein said with certainty, leaving no room for argument. He opened his eyes to gaze at Xia Fei again, that warm feeling in his chest returning.
You were the first one to ever braid my hair to begin with, after all.