Hualian AU Xtraz ~ Christmas Lights

Part 6

When he woke up Xie Lian was fast asleep, so he silently got dressed, and, stopping by the bathroom to brush his teeth, went downstairs. The house was silent but at least Ruoye could keep him company; though as soon as he walked in, he was greeted by Xie Lian's mum,

"Good morning San Lang, did you sleep well?", she gave him a bright smile.

The bedroom was soundproofed right? She was only being polite then.

"Yes thank you. Gege's still asleep", he replied, stating the obvious.

"He's just like his father, not a morning person", she smiled, adding, "Coffee?"

They had coffee together, and Xie Lian's father came in; Xie Lian only showed up around one hour later, and as soon as he stepped in, he saw Hua Cheng in the kitchen making pancakes, while his father was sitting by the window reading a newspaper and his mother on the sofa with Ruoye. He walked over and hugged Hua Cheng from behind,

"San Lang you can make such nice pancakes, why do you eat those rubbery ones I do then?"

"You eat Xie Lian's food?", his dad suddenly asked, looking over his newspaper, "Good luck".

But before Xie Lian could protest, Hua Cheng chuckled, and, giving him a kiss on the cheek, replied, "Anything Gege cooks for me is the best ever".

Xie Lian smiled smugly, and not taking his eyes off his parents, he said, "Don't say such things in front of my mum, she's gonna laugh at you. My mum's a punk".

Both Xie Lian's parents pffted a laugh, while he stayed hugging onto Hua Cheng, ignoring them.

•

After breakfast, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng went out and about XianLe, walking Ruoye: they passed by The Youth Club where Xie Lian did DJing workshops when he was a kid, by the park, the skate park, and went as far as the river path. Many of these places featured on Xie Lian's old videos, and Hua Cheng remembered them perfectly.

Back in the day, watching them again and again, he had an almost complete picture of Xie Lian's life, his pre-teen obsession making him often try to fill in the missing gaps. Now he realised all he could imagine was something like a tv advert: a nice house, a nice family.

He couldn't help it: his own reality was that cramped room he shared with his brothers, in a rundown council flat, with his most-of-the-time absent parents, eating crisps or pot noodles. He usually didn't think of his past much, he tried not to, and just focus on the present.

And now, at Xie Lian's house with his family, going around with him in XianLe, being at the places from the videos, all of it felt like a dream coming true. And the best part of it was right there by his side. He reached out for Xie Lian's hand awkwardly; Xie Lian looked at him and smiled, holding his hand all the way back home.

•

In the afternoon they did all the prepping for the Christmas dinner: Hua Cheng chopped vegetables, Xie Lian helped his mum with the turkey they had put for marinating the night before and his dad made mulled wine, putting all sorts of spices into the boiling pan, looking well-pleased with himself, even though Xie Lian made disgusted faces when he wasn't looking.

Xie Lian's mum announced, "I'm gonna make the dessert now. We're not having vanilla ice cream for Christmas dinner thank you".

This was a dig at Xie Lian's father, who mumbled, "I don't see why not".

She added, "You like tiramisù don't you San Lang?"

"I do, Gege promised to make me one but in the end he might have forgotten", Hua Cheng said, smiling teasingly.

"Who told you to go to LA for six months huh?", Xie Lian said, poking him playfully.

"But the promise was ages before I went off to LA...", Hua Cheng said, with a funny pout.

"Wait, Xie Lian offered to make you a tiramisù before you guys were dating? Hmm", His mum commented, with a funny pursing of lips to herself.

"Mum", Xie Lian warned, but she just replied, "What? Food is the food of love, that's what I always say", smiling at them, till Xie Lian walked over to put his arms around her, and squeeze tight.

"Stop stop stop I can't breathe!", his mother laughed breathlessly, and then told Hua Cheng, "Today's your lucky day because I make the best tiramisù ever. You won't want anyone else's..."

Xie Lian squeezed her tight again, laughing sadistically.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed some bittersweet Hua Cheng's memories. 🥰

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