Work Text:
He wasn’t really thinking when it happened.
He didn't know whether it was carelessness or intentional. Well…
Lu Guang was honestly having a pretty shitty day. Qiao Ling, Cheng Xiaoshi, and he were out camping, something none of them had ever done due to the lack of opportunities in their area. Luckily, Qiao Ling found someplace that allowed outdoor activities, and Cheng Xiaoshi was quickly on board. Lu Guang, on the other hand, was not as enthusiastic.
They had a lot of work to do. And he meant a lot.
Out of nowhere, they had hundreds (okay, not actually) of regular photo studio orders and commissions for their secret side gig. The money was obviously welcome, but the workload? Not so much…
He tried to convince them not to go camping, that it was a stupid idea to go on vacation when they had so many responsibilities, but Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi both argued that it was only for two days, and their poor little photo studio would be just fine.
So, yeah. Lu Guang was kind of pissed because of that.
He also wasn’t a huge fan of the outdoors. There was a reason why he preferred to lounge in the sunroom, reading his book on the couch, instead of going outside and doing whatever. Even at the beach—while Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling played in the water, fighting like little kids —he stayed in the shade, eating a popsicle with a comic book in the other hand. That was what Lu Guang enjoyed doing in his free time, what he considered fun.
Not camping.
With those frustrations in mind, and because he was in a bad mood, he was a little impulsive.
“Lu Guang!” Cheng Xiaoshi panicked, dropping the equipment he was holding to rush to Lu Guang’s side.
That was how he got injured. Blinded by his emotions to the point of recklessness, he was also looking for something to externalize his feelings—discreetly. Something he could wave off as an accident.
In response to Cheng Xiaoshi’s wails, Lu Guang groaned, pushed him away, and frowned. “It’s just a burn—”
“No, it’s not!” he cried out, taking Lu Guang’s hand. He inspected his skin, noting the way it reddened and swelled. A curse slipped through his lips as he called for Qiao Ling to grab a first aid kit, only for her to shout back that they didn’t have one. “Shit, Lu Guang… this is a pretty serious burn-“
“It’s nothing-” he tried to argue, pulling his arm back to no avail.
Honestly, Lu Guang couldn’t care less about the burn. Not because it didn’t hurt—it felt like his skin was on fucking fire—but because he might’ve, maybe, mayhaps done it on purpose.
Not that he would ever admit that aloud.
“Qiao Ling!” Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes were concerningly wide.
She shouted back almost immediately. “I’m looking!”
The moment Cheng Xiaoshi started freaking out, Qiao Ling searched for first-aid supplies. One look at Cheng Xiaoshi holding Lu Guang’s hand like it was the end of the world told her enough to act.
Unfortunately, she was still rummaging through their belongings, frown deepening with every failed search. Surely, they had something, right?!
Cheng Xiaoshi made a small sound of distress. “Do we really have nothing to treat this?”
“I fear not…” Qiao Ling grimaced as she went through their bags for the third time. “Lu Guang, how much does it hurt?”
Calmly, he responded, “Not that mu—”
“Like hell it doesn’t!” Cheng Xiaoshi interrupted, looking as if he were on the verge of tears.
For someone who was completely fine, with no injuries in sight, he sure was freaking out. Lu Guang had to fight the urge to click his tongue and roll his eyes because he knew Cheng Xiaoshi was quite emotional and protective of him. Not that he wasn’t the same way, but really, it wasn’t a big deal.
… Not like he was bleeding out on the floor, but whatever—
“Just- just get me some cool water, please,” he muttered, looking toward Qiao Ling because Cheng Xiaoshi was honestly no help right now.
She nodded, grabbed a bowl and two water bottles to set up a little cooling station for Lu Guang’s injury, and shouted that she’d go to the campsite’s shop to see if they had anything to treat burns. Meanwhile, Lu Guang dipped his hand into the mini pool of water, biting his tongue to keep from cursing.
It wasn’t that painful—
“Ah-!” He hissed, slapping Cheng Xiaoshi’s hand away. “Quit it! You’re making it worse-”
Cheng Xiaoshi did nothing but whine. “You said it didn’t hurt!”
“Yeah, when you don’t touch-” Another slap. “Stop it!”
“I’m just assessing the damage!”
“Well, don’t-”
Finally, Cheng Xiaoshi huffed in defeat and leaned away from Lu Guang, who looked two seconds away from ripping his arm off. With a disgruntled sigh, Lu Guang held his injured hand. It wasn’t… looking good…
He dunked it in the water again, praying that it would soothe the pain.
Was he beginning to regret his actions?
Not really. It was just a bother having to deal with the aftermath after he got his release, but he’d manage.
But he certainly couldn’t use this hand without grunting for the next while. It was gradually becoming more red, a stark contrast to his notably pale complexion. The skin around the burn was also beginning to peel, and he spotted two small blisters forming.
If this were truly an accident, he would have gotten a first-degree burn, something relatively easy to treat.
However, this wasn’t an accident. Lu Guang made sure no one was around to witness him hover his hand above the campfire for a few seconds. Thanks to his impulsive actions, he was left with a mild second-degree burn and felt disturbingly satisfied. The urge to repeat it nagged at the back of his mind, but he knew better than to fling himself at the fire again. Especially in front of Cheng Xiaoshi.
He gently lifted his hand out of the water, grimacing at the sting.
Cheng Xiaoshi seemed to have caught the sound because his face somehow grew more concerned. “Does it hurt more? Is it getting worse? Let me see-”
This time, Lu Guang couldn't swat Cheng Xiaoshi’s hands away, and his injured arm stilled in Cheng Xiaoshi’s grasp. At this point, their position was getting a little bit uncomfortable. They sat side by side, but Cheng Xiaoshi's grip on Lu Guang’s hand forced him to turn toward the other; the bowl of water did its best not to fall off Lu Guang’s lap.
“This looks worse than a first-degree burn…” Cheng Xiaoshi brought Lu Guang’s hand closer to his face.
Seeing the damage only brought Cheng Xiaoshi to more tears—Lu Guang thought it must be hard being an empath. “It’s really not as bad as you think it is,” Lu Guang said, making a face, tired of arguing about what kind of burn he had gotten.
He burnt his hand. Accidentally. End of story.
But Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t believe that. Lu Guang could lie all he wanted, but his body language spoke volumes, and his tense shoulders told Cheng Xiaoshi he was an absolute liar.
“How did you even get a burn this bad?” Cheng Xiaoshi wondered, still inspecting Lu Guang’s hand as if his gaze could magically heal it. “I accidentally touched the fire earlier when I was feeding it wood, and the burn I got was barely even noticeable…”
He was catching on…
Lu Guang had nothing to say to that that would support his claim, so an awkward silence fell.
The more Cheng Xiaoshi examined the injury, the more his expression shifted to something a little more perplexed. It didn’t make sense that Lu Guang’s burn was this much worse than his. Maybe it was because Lu Guang’s skin was paler…? Cheng Xiaoshi knew that people with lighter skin were sometimes more likely to get sunburnt than someone with a darker complexion. Did burns like these work the same way???
He let go of Lu Guang’s hand and let him dip it in the bowl for a few more seconds.
His attention never wavered from Lu Guang’s injury, and it was clearly making Lu Guang uncomfortable. What for? Cheng Xiaoshi had no clue. Perhaps he was just self-conscious.
But Cheng Xiaoshi knew Lu Guang. He studied all eight of his expressions, memorizing every small difference in how his eyebrows shifted or how his lips twitched depending on the emotion. It was hard to be put to the test; sometimes (very, very rarely) he assumed Lu Guang felt one way when he really felt another. In his defence, he usually read him wrong when it was dark or too early, so it wasn’t actually his fault.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s gaze lingered from the burn to Lu Guang’s eyes, which refused to meet his. Lu Guang was still pretty stiff, and now he was also nibbling the inside of his bottom lip. All of this pointed to one possible answer. Lu Guang was… nervous? Dare he say, guilty? But why?
The look in Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes darkened, and Lu Guang’s breath grew the tiniest bit faster.
Okay, yeah. He was definitely hiding something.
As if he flipped a switch, Cheng Xiaoshi’s concerned and confused look shifted to suspicion. Obviously, Lu Guang caught the change in emotion and uneasily dipped his hand into the water to distract himself.
If Cheng Xiaoshi found out Lu Guang did this on purpose, he was sure to overreact, mind jumping to the worst-case scenario and imagining Lu Guang hovering both hands above the flame. Or maybe even himself?! And although Lu Guang wasn’t opposed to the idea, he could never let Cheng Xiaoshi find out about his… ‘self-harming behaviour', for lack of a better word. He only did this when he needed to blow off steam and couldn’t keep himself busy with a good book or a comfortable nap under the sun, so it wasn’t anything to worry about.
But judging by the anxiety washing over Cheng Xiaoshi’s face, his wish to keep Cheng Xiaoshi in the dark might just be dismissed.
“What exactly happened?” His voice was hesitant, afraid Lu Guang would shut him down completely.
Lu Guang looked off to the side. “I was just trying to feed the fire with more wood.”
That didn’t make any sense.
“You saw me do that not even four minutes ago, though,” Cheng Xiaoshi’s brows furrowed. Why was Lu Guang lying to him? “The fire was fine. What really happened, Lu Guang?”
His attention stayed elsewhere, praying Qiao Ling would rush back with a first-aid kit and spare him an agonizing conversation with his partner. He was caught red-handed. Cheng Xiaoshi was stupid, but he wasn’t a brainless idiot—Lu Guang knew this, which was why he kept his mouth shut.
“Did you try to move something- or- I don’t know???” Cheng Xiaoshi pried, and all he could do was shake his head. “Did you- no… you couldn’t have tripped and somehow gotten this burn. That makes no sense.”
Lu Guang's heart pounded against his chest so hard he could hear it blaring in his ears. He was beginning to regret acting on his emotions—so what if he was a little ticked off about camping? Did he really have to externalize it by burning his hand?
Well, he didn’t expect Cheng Xiaoshi to interrogate him about the incident. He assumed he would be too busy treating the burn to care how Lu Guang got it in the first place. Of all days, why did Cheng Xiaoshi decide to be a detective right now, when Lu Guang did something reckless?
Then he realized Cheng Xiaoshi had gone quiet. That wasn’t a good sign for Lu Guang.
He sucked in a deep breath and just focused his attention on the ground. Anywhere but the man beside him.
However, that didn’t stop his partner from speaking carefully. “Did… did you do this yourself?” It was said so softly that Lu Guang almost missed it.
Fuck.
Fuck.
He shouldn’t have been so impulsive. What was he? That emotionally repressed teenager who was desperate for an outlet all those years ago? Why did hurting himself even cross his mind? What an overreactor.
“Lu Guang?” Cheng Xiaoshi’s voice was quieter, scared.
“No-” Lu Guang spat out. “No, no. I just- I was trying to remove something from the fire and accidentally touched the steel. Why would you even think that?”
But Cheng Xiaoshi looked unsure, as if he was debating whether to believe him. When he glanced over at the fire pit (still burning bright from the wood he added earlier), there was a piece of cardboard resting against the metal. It was almost completely burnt and disintegrated.
… Lu Guang did know that burning cardboard was the norm, right? He knew Qiao Ling was the one who tossed it in there, right?
“Why would you—”
“I wasn’t thinking. Haven’t dealt with a fire pit in a long time,” Lu Guang’s voice overthrew his. “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s not that bad of an injury.”
But Cheng Xiaoshi saw his hand tremble and drip as he dunked it in the water every so often to ease the pain. It did hurt. That much was obvious. It was also clear that Lu Guang didn't want to tell him the truth about how he'd gotten the burn, for whatever reason.
And Lu Guang was stubborn. If he decided not to share something, Cheng Xiaoshi would have to pick between self-respect and getting the truth out. Right now, he had a feeling that Lu Guang would insist on the story he shared, so if he pushed, he would lose all of his dignity and get no answers.
Before Cheng Xiaoshi could respond in any way, he caught a glimpse of Qiao Ling in the distance, a black kit in her grasp.
He was out of time for questioning, but at least they had stuff to treat the burn.
Still skeptical of Lu Guang’s retelling of what happened but knowing that prying would lead him nowhere, he simply sighed. “Are you sure it doesn’t hurt much?”
Without delay, Lu Guang insisted. “Yeah—”
Cheng Xiaoshi shook his head, unbelieving.
How badly he wanted to keep asking questions until he ripped the truth out of Lu Guang. Why did he never want to be honest with him? Did he not trust him?
He wished Lu Guang would lean on him more, wished he stopped lying for his sake. “I need you to tell me that it’s okay,” he gave him one more chance to be truthful.
Lu Guang stared at him, expression unreadable. He was starting to doubt his ability to read his partner.
Although Lu Guang knew it wasn't okay, he nodded because he’d rather die than admit he'd inflicted this burn on himself. Qiao Ling shouted and waved her hand, and Lu Guang did as Cheng Xiaoshi asked. “It’s okay,” he lied, inching away from Cheng Xiaoshi—whose expression was full of hurt—as Qiao Ling began taking things out of the kit. “I’m okay.”