Work Text:
A man dug up a grave looking for salvation. All he found was a corpse.
The heart didn't beat. The body was cold. But the smile was still warm. And Lu Guang still needed Cheng Xiaoshi.
If this was his answer, then he'll keep it.
A man stole a corpse from a graveyard?
No, no, you've gotten it all wrong. Lu Guang has simple taken Cheng Xiaoshi home.
—
He closed the studio. He needed somewhere temporary to keep the body- Cheng Xiaoshi while he figured out what to do next.
Seeing Cheng Xiaoshi laid on the bed, it was like he was still sleeping. He might wake up soon.
Cheng Xiaoshi didn't sleep so elegantly. So stiffly. Even asleep, he was alive.
That was okay. They both have changed. Lu Guang will always accept him no matter what.
Even if no one else did. Even if Cheng Xiaoshi himself hated what Lu Guang was doing.
It was okay. He would do anything to be hated by Cheng Xiaoshi, if it meant he was still here.
—
Bodies decomposed quick. Soon Lu Guang would not be able to hide the stench, alerting everyone. He had to hide his existence from everyone, especially Qiao Ling. No one understood.
He could still fix this. He just needed time. And Cheng Xiaoshi.
There was a way out, even if he couldn't see it. He would find it. He would make it. There was a way. There was a way. There was-
Bodies rotted. All his efforts of getting him back and protecting him would go to waste if Cheng Xiaoshi became just bones and flesh.
Right now he was still sleeping. And he would sleep forever. And that was fine.
He was fine with it, if he could still hold his hand. Still see his smile. Still feel his warmth. Still have him.
Sleep well, Cheng Xiaoshi.
"Sweet dreams." he muttered."I'll live in a nightmare you've left behind."
—
Protection. He had to protect Cheng Xiaoshi. He couldn't protect him from death, but maybe he could shield the effects. It was the closest he had to a second chance.
At least people couldn't die twice right? Didn't that make Cheng Xiaoshi almost immortal? He would forever sleep, free from life's burdens.
Maybe Lu Guang was immortal too. His heart died the day Cheng Xiaoshi's did.
They were a funny duo. A dead man walking and the other one sleeping.
Yes.
They were the same. Lu Guang got it all wrong. The correct answer wasn't trying to bring him back from death back to life. Lu Guang should join him where he was. Neither of them belonged to the living now.
Once he realized this, a weight was lifted from his chest.
No. He felt like he could float. He was free.
He wanted tell Cheng Xiaoshi the good news. But seeing him asleep, they couldn't stay here like this.
Someone would find out. Someone would take him away.
They had to go.
Somewhere the living wouldn't disturb them, and where death couldn't steal him away.
—
"Why are you going, now of all times?"
"I can't stay here. Not without him. Everything…reminds of him."
"I know. Everyday, I see him. But if we both..if we both are there for each other, it might not hurt as much. We could remember him together."
"I can't do that."
"But if you leave too, it's like I lost both of you. And I- I can't handle that."
"…"
"Please Lu Guang, don't go. I can't lose you too."
"I'm sorry Qiao Ling. I don't deserve to be your friend anymore. I don't deserve your tears."
"What do you mean? What are you saying?"
"I've made too many mistakes. Just mourn him. Forget about me."
"Is is about the grave? Were you the one who-"
"I am no one. I'm not worth remembering."
"Why are you doing this? You can't die too. You can't kill yourself. He wouldn't want this. He loved you! You can't-"
"You brought light to someone like me. I can't thank you enough."
"Take me with you. I can help!"
"I can't. You deserve to live a good life. If you come with me, you'll be just be ruined like me. He wouldn't want that."
"Don't go. Please." A sob. Tears fell. He wanted to help but-
He made her cry. He spat on his memory. He was the worst of monsters. His selfishness would only hurt her more.
He would take care of Cheng Xiaoshi for her.
"Goodbye Qiao Ling."
—
A small rented car drove on a lonely road. The sea was its only companion, since even the moon was gone.
In the city he had to put Cheng Xiaoshi in the boot of the car. He didn't like remembering the memory, so he discarded it behind.
It was freeing. The whole drive, he tossed away pesky details like Cheng Xiaoshi's death, the funeral, his uncountable mistakes away. All this time he was living in the past and future, but now he didn't have to.
He didn't have to live anymore. Only be present.
The seat next to him, Cheng Xiaoshi was asleep still. If he was awake, he would be really excited about the beach. Nag at his ear till the point of deafness. His hands crisscrossed behind his head as he gazed at the sea.
Or yell at him for he has done. Make him turn back.
But these days Cheng Xiaoshi would only sleep, and Lu Guang would dream for him instead.
—
He stored some water and some food in the car and a lot of money. Cash silenced loose lips, and Lu Guang stumbled upon a tiny rotting house by the sea.
He didn't bring a camera.
He sold the car too, and bought a large freezer instead, all the ice he could carry, a filter that could somewhat filter sea water, a generator and the necessary supplies a living person needed. Despite feeling dead, Lu Guang hadn't quiet shaken off his mortal bodily needs.
With this, he had bought them both some time.
He also bought ice cream. Boxes of it. The same brand, same flavour. Once upon a time, in a different life, the three of them were supposed to eat ice cream at the beach.
Maybe it was pathetic of him to pretend this was a real trip. He knew neither of them would be happy at his sorry state. But this was his ending now.
If things were different…
Perhaps, instead of worthless abilities he had, if he was able to change the past, the three of them could eat ice cream together.
But Qiao Ling couldn't come. And Cheng Xiaoshi was sleeping. Only he could fulfill these desires.
This was a sort of atonement. Why did he spend most of money on keeping Cheng Xiaoshi cool and ice cream from the past? Why did he not buy what he needed to live?
It was all worthless now. He could only let the memories melt away. Better those than his friend.
The ice cream was a pretty good reason for the giant freezer too.
Dragging Cheng Xiaoshi from the car into the freezer was a lot easier than from grave to car. But Lu Guang forgot that.
For now, since forever and for forever, they have always been by the small house by the sea.
Cheng Xiaoshi's hands were really cold now. He was the ice prince now. Lu Guang ran his thumb across his cheek. He looked surprisingly regal.
Maybe true love would break the spell?
Lu Guang's lips hurt, but they were as cold as Cheng Xiaoshi's.
He tried to forget that they were ever warm.
When he tried organizing the food, the majority was the ice cream. There was no fridge, except for Cheng Xiaoshi's bed. There was not enough power for anything other than the freezer.
He opened an ice cream, and placed another in Cheng Xiaoshi's hand.
He ate his while it melted onto sticky sweet fingers. Cheng Xiaoshi's remained unopened.
What a pity that he was too busy sleeping.
Lu Guang didn't give him anything else to eat. Not until Cheng Xiaoshi finished the ice cream.
—
Lu Guang pretended sometimes they were astronauts, and Cheng Xiaoshi was cryogenically frozen. He would wake up one day. All he had to was wait. He ate the ice cream. There were a lot of them. As long as they were fine, so was Cheng Xiaoshi. It was a litmus test.
If Lu Guang could keep the ice cream from melting, he could keep Cheng Xiaoshi from melting.
—
Lu Guang ate ice cream and waited by Cheng Xiaoshi. He didn't speak much. Every time he opened his ice cream, seeing it's frozen state made him feel better.
—
The freezer leaked some of the ice cubes, and he discovered it too late. Only when seeing the state of the ice cream did he realise what was happening.
What about Cheng Xiaoshi?
Was he okay?
He needed more water. Lu Guang wasn't the type to panic easily. His eyes landed on bottled water.
The decision was easy to make. Cheng Xiaoshi always stole his food and drinks anyway.
—
Sometimes all he did was wake up, eat ice cream and stare at Cheng Xiaoshi. He wasn't sure what he was doing. If this counted as living. Was he alive?
Things like happiness and ambition and other feelings had long evaporated. Lu Guang felt no discontent.
They were together. That was enough.
—
He had eaten a hundred of these by now, but Cheng Xiaoshi hadn't eaten his first one yet.
When he touched the other's frost covered cheek, it made sense. When one was cold, it wasn't good to eat icy food. He'll wake him up later.
—
Lu Guang opened an ice cream before realising he hadn't eaten any other food or drunk water in a few days.
That wasn't good. Cheng Xiaoshi slept, unmelting, unchanging, frozen. If only he would open his eyes ones. If only he said a word.
—
He ate ice cream and waited. Cheng Xiaoshi didn't eat his and slept.
—
Lu Guang waited.
As long as nothing melted, he too would remain frozen.
—
He hadn't gone to beach in a while right? He'll go when that lazy head woke up.
—
He ate ice cream.
—
Lu Guang stared at his hands. Had he already eaten the ice cream, or did it melt?
Cheng Xiaoshi was still cold. He remembered opening the packet.
But after that, it was like someone had cut out the next few scenes.
He couldn't afford to make any mistakes with the ice cream. If he did, he might slip up with Cheng Xiaoshi.
So he didn't make any. Cheng Xiaoshi had simply eaten his. He was the type to steal other's food. That's why his was untouched.
Lu Guang didn't let it melt.
—
It got harder to wait. Things changed. Food was running out, ice was melting, he was getting…sicker. He wasn't well. Sometimes he saw-
He was just tired these days. It was boring. He got more bored.
Only Cheng Xiaoshi remained the same, sleeping.
—
Time crashed into the beach like the waves and Lu Guang had eaten all the ice creams. And the food. And drank all the remaining water.
The rest he had dumped onto the freezer, because Cheng Xiaoshi only ate the ice cubes. All that was left was his ice cream, but it was rude to eat someone else's food.
When the ice cubes were almost melted, he had in a frenzy poured all his water to keep him frozen.
It would barely work for now. The filter had bought them time, but it was broken.
Lu Guang left Cheng Xiaoshi in the house and walked to the sand. The setting sun was rather beautiful. A small flame snuffed out by the indifferent night.
He hoped Qiao Ling could see its beauty too.
The night was the coldest all year. Maybe cold enough for Cheng Xiaoshi to be out for a bit.
Lu Guang sat down, letting the water splash onto his fate. He couldn't think anymore.
He was hungry. Thirsty. Probably sick. And so, so tired.
Living alone with a dying corpse with no one to talk to was grueling. He wanted to leave so many times.
He wanted to regret it.
These days, it was harder to remember an awake Cheng Xiaoshi. He had always been asleep. Only that soft smile lived in his head. He tossed everything, even the present into sea.
Lu Guang wanted to see his eyes. He wanted to hear his voice. He wanted-
"Lu Guang, where are you~"
A voice, one that haunted his every dream but never while awake, a familiar voice, an impossible voice called out to him.
Lu Guang turned back. There stood Cheng Xiaoshi, with a lazy smile and a mostly finished ice cream. His eyes. They were so beautiful.
"Ah, did you already eat your ice cream?" Cheng Xiaoshi asked, before finishing his in one bite."
It took time to find words. To put them in order. To get them out. "I-I didn't." He stood up somehow.
A flash of regret passed over Cheng Xiaoshi. "Why didn't you tell me?" He pouted before smiling again, albeit mischievously . "Want a taste? "
And Lu Guang was pulled into a kiss. He never wanted ice cream again. Cheng Xiaoshi tasted sweeter. And felt colder.
Ice hands gripped his not much warmer ones. "Let's run! My legs feel cramped as hell. How long did I sleep in that freezer."
They ran, hand in hand. First Cheng Xiaoshi laughed, bright and carefree, then Lu Guang, his ending in sobs. Their footsteps weaved into each others.
Was this real? Did he truly wake up? None of mattered cause Cheng Xiaoshi was here, with him.
"Missed me huh? I get it, I'm pretty awesome after all. Shall I make up for it?"
"What are you saying?" Lu Guang tried his best to put some snark in it.
Cheng Xiaoshi just pointed up. An impossibly white moon looked down on them. "Isn't it romantic? Let's dance."
And they did. A slow waltz across the sand, teasing the waves. Cheng Xiaoshi's bright eyes met his. "The freezer was colder. I feel like I'm melting," he said, leading Lu Guang into the water. "Let me hide in the water."
Their dance was more wading through the water, but Lu Guang didn't care. He would go anywhere. Despite the chill setting in, his teeth chattering. his lungs finding it hard to breathe. The cold was Cheng Xiaoshi.
"You look happy."
Lu Guang felt happy. Cheng Xiaoshi's smile dimmed a little, tinged with sadness.
"Is this what you really want, Lu Guang?" He asked, uncharacteristically serious. "You still have time."
"What do you mean." They still danced. They still could dance. He didn't care what they did as long as they were together.
He placed Cheng Xiaoshi's hand on his cheek, feeling the weight. "You're here-"
"I am dead Lu Guang. In a grave or in a freezer. I'm still dead."
"You're here. I don't care about anything else."
"Am I? I know you forgot how to, but remember."
For Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang could do anything. Even remember what he threw away.
The night was cold. Probably colder than the freezer.
He dragged Cheng Xiaoshi onto the beach. The ice cream was going to melt so he ate it, sharing it with him. He dragged him across the sand, leaving behind footsteps and a body's trail.
And he danced with him. Cold, eyes closed, limp Cheng Xiaoshi, who kept falling. Lu Guang could barely support his own weight, so they tumbled into the sea.
He knew the truth. He could still get out of the water.
"You're here." Lu Guang said.
The heart didn't beat. The body was cold. But the smile was still warm. And Lu Guang still needed Cheng Xiaoshi. Would always need him, life or death.
This was his answer, and he would keep him.
The pain in Cheng Xiaoshi's eyes fell as icy tears Lu Guang wiped away. Distantly, he thought of Qiao Ling. He hoped she wasn't crying.
"If I was alive, I'd stop you. No matter what I would drag you away. I wouldn't let you do this to yourself but-" Cheng Xiaoshi clenched his fist. "But I'm dead, and living only in your head. I can only lead you to me."
"Then lead me."
"You-you're such a fool. You call me stupid but you're the real idiot. You're being so dumb right now."
"Okay."
"See you agree-Stop! Don't agree with me. Ugh." Cheng Xiaoshi sighed, before smiling again. "Come on, Lu Guang. Race you there."
Lu Guang wasn't sure if it was the sun peaking over the horizon, but Cheng Xiaoshi's smile was the warm, enough to heat up his frozen heart.
And Cheng Xiaoshi took Lu Guang away.
—
One day, a fisherman had drifted slightly off course.
When mumbling about how there was nothing worth catching, his nets returned tangled and heavy.
This forgotten area was dug out of obscurity back in the limelight.
The next day, everyone had heard about it.
Two bodies had been found. The news was supposed to be suppressed from the public, so naturally it was quickly found out and became everyone's new favourite gossip.
Especially how one of them died by drowning, but the other had apparently passed away months back due to a gunshot wound. Despite the time gap, both bodies were similarly decomposed.
The boy had been preserved somehow. Who would do such a thing?
The dead can't deny any of the living's claims. So people chose to make up their own story.
The most popular one was the other boy. Who else could it be anyway? Some even claimed there was a young man who had purchased a freezer, a ton of ice and ice cream funnily enough, but not many gave much credence to the rumour.
As for the reason why he had done this? Murder? Jealously? No one actually bothered about it.
The answer was clear enough. It was love.
What else could it be, seeing how they had gripped each other, how they smiled?
Unchanging, unmelting love.