Work Text:
Lu Guang curled into himself. His clothes were wet, uncomfortably clinging to his skin. The rain was brutal tonight; he shouldn’t have run off like that.
He leaned back against the giant rocks, oddly finding comfort in the way the sharp edges pushed into his skin. With every crash of thunder, he flinched, and the tiny movement dragged his back against the surface, deepening the pain.
Though he couldn’t blame anyone but himself. Qiao Ling had told him it was dangerous to go out alone, but he did so anyway. He was stubborn like that, and frankly, he didn’t think he could continue suffocating in the growing tension in the studio.
He and Cheng Xiaoshi argued. Pretty badly.
It started off small, petty, even. A simple ‘You never told me you cancelled that photoshoot’ somehow turned into a yelling match about whether or not they kept secrets from each other. It seemed Cheng Xiaoshi had been holding things in for quite some time, because he blew up.
“You never tell me anything. You always keep me in the dark! What happened to being partners?! Just what are you hiding from me?!”
And Lu Guang, being the coward he is, couldn’t answer—couldn’t even look him in the eye. Cheng Xiaoshi repeated his question with much more emotion in every word, and it was too much for him to handle. He couldn’t risk exposing what he had been doing all this time. And so he left. He left while Qiao Ling begged him to come back, scolding Cheng Xiaoshi for lashing out even though Lu Guang thought he had every right to.
He ran and ran, never looking back. His legs moved on their own, and when he finally stopped to catch his breath, he realized they had taken him to the woods near the studio—the woods Cheng Xiaoshi knew like the back of his hand; the same couldn't be said for Lu Guang. There was a reason this spot was one of Cheng Xiaoshi’s favourite places to go for a hangout (much to Lu Guang’s dismay). Cheng Xiaoshi was adventurous and had learned his way around these identical trees from how many times he’d gotten lost in them as a kid.
Lu Guang began to think he should’ve paid more attention every time they went out here for a walk.
Whatever. It was his fault he was in this mess in the first place. If only he hadn’t gotten into that fight with Cheng Xiaoshi. If only he hadn’t run with his mind blank.
He must’ve been thinking about him the entire time for his legs to bring him here of all places. Perhaps the world was trying to be cruel by reminding him of the good times he'd had with Cheng Xiaoshi here. If so, it was working, because every memory only made Lu Guang fall deeper into self-loathing.
The rain kept pouring. It showed no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Lu Guang was freezing because all he had on was a shirt and a pair of jeans. And his old sneakers, which really demanded replacements.
Safe to say, Lu Guang was fucked.
His phone was dead, so he had no map or communication—or any light source besides the starry sky and random flashes of lightning. His clothes were thin, definitely not suitable for the weather right now, but he had rushed out without a second thought, so this was to be expected. He shivered nonstop, holding himself to gather as much heat as he could.
For a second, he debated getting up and trying to find his way out of the woods, but he had been wandering for who knows how long and had made zero progress.
The stone digging into his back hurt like hell, but in a way, he welcomed it—like a punishment: karma for what he had done, or failed to do (be honest with Cheng Xiaoshi).
Sighing, he buried his head between his knees. He’d try to find a way out later. For now, he’ll just wait for the rain to stop… or at least lessen. He was growing tired, anyway.
* * *
When he woke up, he had to remind himself he wasn't at the studio, but sitting uncomfortably in the woods, against a rock, completely drenched and dirty. He wiped his face and pushed his hair back so he could at least see his surroundings. Unfortunately, it was still dark, and his phone was dead, so he had no idea what time it was.
If he had to guess, it was probably around midnight to early morning, since he'd left the house in the evening.
He shifted in his spot, wincing at how sore he was from staying in this position for as long as he had. Despite trying to warm himself up with a pathetic embrace, he was violently trembling.
God, he was bound to get sick after this.
Now Lu Guang had two options. He could either suck it up and try to find his way out of the forest, even though it was nearly pitch black and still sprinkling, or he could try to sleep until the sun rose, so at least he’d have a bit of light to guide him.
… Yeah, he was too exhausted to walk around right now.
Groaning, he settled back in his spot, trying to think of a game plan. He was never great at outdoor activities, being unathletic and such, but he wasn’t completely hopeless.
He could run. He was good at that.
But running was also why he was in this predicament in the first place, so how great a skill was it, really?
Shutting his eyes, he thought about Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling. Were they worried? Ah, who was he kidding? Of course they would be worried. Cheng Xiaoshi was angry with him, but he wasn’t a monster. And Qiao Ling, even though she warned him it was late and he shouldn’t go out, was too good a friend not to worry about his well-being.
Great. Just another thing to dwell on.
They shouldn’t worry about him. He chose to run off. He decided he needed space. This was his fault. Perhaps he should stay out here a little longer on purpose. Just to feel the tiniest bit less guilty for what he had done.
* * *
It was still too dark to see when he cracked his eyes open once more, but he had a feeling morning would come soon enough.
He could hear rustling in the distance, probably some poor animals whose habitat he had trespassed on.
By now, the rain had stopped completely, but his clothes were still soaked and muddy. When he got back to the studio, would it be easier to clean them or to throw them out?
And his head—god, his head hurt.
With a grunt, he rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the ache but to no avail. Yeah, he was sick, without a doubt. But he couldn’t think too hard about that, not when he was still lost in the woods.
Lu Guang counted to three, took deep breaths, and got up. In an instant, he held onto the rock he’d been leaning against for support because he felt faint. Really, faint. The world around him spun, trees mixing together to the point that he couldn’t tell where he was looking. That was not a good sign.
Just as quickly as he stood up, he sat back down, this time with a quiet whine.
Amazing. Just amazing. He was sick, wet, and lost.
He really couldn’t fathom the idea of walking around right now, not when it hurt to even stand on both feet.
And—
Fuck. His head was pounding. Each ache matched a shiver, leaving his body and mind mush. He didn’t know how long he’d been outside for at this point, but that seemed to matter less and less the worse he felt.
All this time, he hadn’t cried, and he wasn’t about to start now. He didn’t think he had the right to cry, not when it was his idea to run off to the forest in the first place. Not to mention, if he were to break down, he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop.
If he started to cry, he wouldn’t just be crying from not knowing where he was and being in pain, but also from all of the stress that had been building up these past few weeks.
He was so tired.
So, extremely tired.
His eyes suddenly grew heavy, and his body did too. He had been trying to fight the urge to sleep again, but it seemed he was too exhausted to try. His surroundings blurred as he felt himself lean to his side—not back where he could sit against the rock, no, his side.
He fell to the ground, grass and little pieces of wood poking his face, some scratching him.
And finally, his world went black.
* * *
“... uan-... er- ey… iao… hey-”
… What?
“I found him!”
Disoriented, he tried to open his eyes, but they kept fighting against his wishes. He tried a different approach, planting his palms on the ground and pushing himself up, but he was far too weak to move, so he crumpled back down with a grunt.
“Hey- hey-! Lu Guang!” Someone got a hold of his arm, cursing as Lu Guang failed to sit up. “Holy shit- Qiao Ling! Over here!”
He could faintly hear birds chirping, a sign that it was finally morning. He tried to open his eyes again, this time managing to get one eye to comply before squinting at the flashlight (?) shining in his face. With a disgruntled groan, he pushed the light away as best as he could, and thankfully, the person holding him up seemed to have gotten the memo.
“Lu Guang. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” The person shot questions rapidly, leaving him no room to answer. His headache was honestly worsening from the shouting, but he was just glad someone else was here.
By the way, how did this person know his name…? And did they say, Qiao Ling?
“Oh, thank goodness we found you,” a softer but equally frantic voice emerged from his side. He suddenly felt two pairs of hands carefully lift him up before he leaned fully onto one of them, his arm being slung around their shoulder.
Wait.
If these were bad people, then…
He forced his eyes open despite the pain, almost closing them immediately as the sunlight hit his face. Then he realized it was around sunrise, so the woods weren’t fully lit, but it was bright enough to make sense of everything.
Slowly, he turned his head as he was guided through the grass, rocks, and logs, holding onto trees whenever he got the chance.
“Cheng… Cheng Xiaoshi…?” His eyes adjusted to the light, finally letting him recognize the person with his arm securely around his waist.
A severely worried yet relieved expression washed over Cheng Xiaoshi’s face. “Did you not- nevermind, yeah. It’s me. Qiao Ling and I were looking everywhere for you.”
“We were so scared!” Qiao Ling cried from his side, holding his arm to steady him. “You were gone for over an hour and not responding to any of our texts or calls, so we went out to search but had no idea where to look.”
Although he couldn’t see very well, he could tell that the two of them were pretty worn out.
“Did- did you get any sleep…?” he asked, his voice overpowered by the rustling grass and crunching leaves, but they understood.
Cheng Xiaoshi stared at him with what seemed to be bewilderment—he couldn’t exactly tell because his vision was still hazy. “Did we get any sleep? You’re the one who was passed out next to a rock, all muddy and cold! Care about yourself before you start worrying about us. Seriously, what were you thinking running off like that?!”
He lowered his head, ashamed, because yeah, what was he thinking?
Clearly, nothing.
Qiao Ling sighed as they finally stepped onto a trail—it appeared Cheng Xiaoshi had gotten them back on track. “We were looking for you for maybe an hour or two before we went back to the studio to wait until morning. Officer Xiao was contacted, so I guess we’ll have to call him to say we found you. You’re lucky Cheng Xiaoshi remembered the woods you guys like to frolic about in, because I honestly had no idea where else to check when you weren’t at the basketball court or the bridge…”
Lu Guang sniffled, both from tearing up because of the guilt and from the cold he one hundred percent had. Cheng Xiaoshi only frowned, pulling him closer as they made their way out of the forest.
“God… you’re so cold,” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered weakly, looking straight ahead. Lu Guang knew he was doing his best not to look at him. Maybe from anger. Or maybe he was tearing up himself.
Deciding not to dwell on it, he nodded in agreement. “... Yeah, I am…”
The whole time, he trembled; his whole body shook every so often.
Cheng Xiaoshi lightly nudged Lu Guang with his shoulder, pointing with his chin when he was acknowledged. It took him a second, but he understood that Cheng Xiaoshi wanted him to lean his head on his shoulder. He probably noticed Lu Guang’s head nodding uncomfortably as they walked, with too little energy and strength to fix his posture.
Craving any form of warmth, Lu Guang let out an exhausted sigh and accepted his offer.
He felt a light pressure (the good kind, not the achy kind) on his head less than a second later.