give me this

asking for

As if the studs weren't enough, he wants more. He wants something from He Tian that was terrible from She Li.

Something better, his mind supplies.

There's a difference between them, He Tian and She Li. He knows this, he fought for this.

Once he had decided he didn't want to use Mo for fun like he'd originally planned, but instead that he truly wanted to protect him, He Tian worried that he would fail to become a better person. He'd never needed to before, how could he even know where to begin?

After some time, Mo opened up about his past with She Li. Slowly, sure, but he'd take what he could get. Mo didn't deserve to shoulder that alone. He also had his own selfish reasons too, those narrowing down to a genuine reason to commit murder. Regardless, he always had this nagging thought in the back of his mind that he was no better than She Li. He had hurt Mo, he still does too. He doesn't stab holes in his ears, set his shit on fire as he sits, shivering, bloody, and bruised in front of him, or chase him at the train station. He has, however, forced his tongue down his throat, touched him inappropriately, used intimidation to force him into cooking for him, and much, much more.

Are they really that different?

He knows he has made plenty of mistakes with Mo, but having Mo say out loud, holding his hand at that, that he wants a piercing from He Tian is as much as a confession as the words and touches that they shared last night were. Maybe he isn't like She Li. Maybe Mo sees him as who he has been trying to become.

Mo didn't get a say in it with She Li. He didn't want a fucking body modification from She Li. He's asking He Tian now, though. Asking He Tian to do something that would replace whatever previous hold was on him by She Li and replace it with something more caring, true, and genuine.

Does he get the things he's making He Tian question right now?
Does he understand what He Tian wants this to mean?
Does he know what he's asking?

"Here," he had said, pointing to his ear, "you can pierce my ear bone."

Stay calm. The absolute last thing Little Mo needs is for you to pounce on him and tell him you'd give him a matching wedding band if he'd like.

"You can't wait to dedicate yourself to me?" He pinches his ear lobe and Mo looks at him with a confused, yet unimpressed face. Clearly, he was expecting a different reaction.

"How could I do that when you're all covered in wounds?"

Really, how could he do anything to his Little Mo when he looks like this, covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises, and the bandages they worked together to put on him last night. He decides that as much as he wants to see Mo wearing not just earrings, because he's already been blessed enough to see that, but a whole new piercing from and for He Tian can wait. Not for long, but it can wait.

Before the other can get a word in, He Tian walks off, telling him to rest after eating and promising to make lessons for tutoring him the next day.

Tutor, my ass.

"You can't do shit, my school bag is gone."

It seemingly falls on deaf ears when he gets no response, just the sight of He Tian's figure continuing down the hall and around a corner.

Regardless, he's sure He Tian will stay true to his word. He already feels a headache forming at the thought of a tutor session with the other male. Lost in thought as he walks, he stops to peer over the railing but can't spot where the boy went. It's odd for He Tian to leave Mo alone like this. Usually, he's latching onto him like a bloodsucking leech.

Mo ignores the weirdness and finds his way to the table, listening to He Tian to eat his meal. Why is he in a strange mood? What did I say that struck a nerve with him? The quiet is becoming extremely unsettling.

After eating, he glances in each room in an attempt to find He Tian. Finally, he spots him in a chair with his head leaning back, and if he's being honest, it throws Mo off. He's not used to seeing He Tian so unaware of his surroundings. Suddenly reluctant to sleep, he quietly asks where the mop is, figuring he can clean to pass time. He also has a hunch He Tian has never mopped in his life and therefore can't be trusted with such a task.

He Tian is looking at him through the corner of his now half-lidded eyes as he beckons him over with his finger.

"Come here," he says simply.

Mo swears his heart skips a beat and he curses himself for allowing He Tian to fluster him so easily.

He walks over, covering his mouth as he begins to cough. He quickly thinks he's thankful for the opportunity to cover his red face. Mo is abruptly pulled down by his shirt when he's close enough for reach. He Tian cradles the back of his head and speaks softly into Mo's ear.

Always doing the most, Mo thinks.

"You don't need to have your ear pierced to prove anything, I just hope it's done because you like me."

Mo's eyes, hidden from He Tian in this position, widen. Is this seriously what's been troubling him while he was eating?

It's confirmed that He Tian is a complete and utter moron.

Mo thought he was being obvious when he asked for the piercing. Honestly, who does He Tian think Mo is, only wanting something to be proof. Of what?

Except he does know what, and that is what it is, embarrassingly enough. But it's more than that, too.

It's something to get rid of She Li's stupid hold on him. It would replace those bad memories with new ones made by someone who genuinely cares for him. It would be a symbol to show everyone, especially themselves, of what they are to each other and how far they've come. Not to mention Mo held his hand while asking for the favor. Is He Tian really an idiot? Does he think Mo is an idiot?

Mo knew what he was asking for.