Fix You

Chapter 5

        Back to work again. 

        He sighed, more than simply aggravated. His day with A’Yuan wasn't nearly long enough, but that's how it always was. The good days passed by in a warm, summer daze. Work–in waves. Unsteady in pace, depending on the day. Other days? Now, those passed on in an effervescent fugue. Now, without context, that makes very little sense. Those two words would seem to have little to nothing to do with each other.

        Effervescent, a bubbly sensation. Exuberance. It holds a positive association. Fugue–related to music. However, it was also related to a distorted state of mind. Actions that were all done in full cognition, without the ability to recall them later. 

        Except, he rarely spent his days alone anymore. He would get too nostalgic, thinking about the good times. When he was out and about or cleaning at home. It would bring temporary joy–until it hurt too much. Until he couldn't even breathe. It was… suffocating. Nauseating. So to distract himself, he would stay busy. Tinker. Tinker some more with his talismans and techniques in secret. Whatever it took to forget his own name, even if he had to drink himself into oblivion. No memories were worth the ache.

        So he focused on cleaning the glasses. He ignored the burning sensation in his eyes. 

        “Mo Xuanyu? Mo Xuanyu?” Snap! Snap! Snap! “Are you alright?” Xiao Xingchen let out a sigh of relief after a long moment. “Do you… need to go home? Song Lan and I can handle it. It's a weekday, so we don't have a lot of customers.” 

       ”No.” He shook his head. “We're short staffed already, I won't leave.” Looking back at the man who took him under his wing the first day they met. Xiao Xingchen was a caring soul that to him screamed pure and was sometimes had to look at. Since Wei Wuxian did not think himself to be so after everything. 

        “Are you sure you're okay? Really we don't mind at all. Take the night off, you seem to need it. Plus you are zoning out a lot today.” 

       “ No really, I am fine, just have some stuff on my mind. Plus I had my little radish with me yesterday and I miss him already.” 

       “Just let us know then if you need to step off then. A'Yu, we don't mind at all.”

       “Okay thank you, Xingchen.”

       At that moment the chime went off on the door signaling the start of the night with the first customer in. While Xiao Xingchen greeted and took care of them, Wei Wuxian turned back to his task. The dull and boring task of glass cleaning. 

      After a few hours of searching people and refilling the shelves. Wei Wuxian was already ready to sleep again. It was at that moment that the one person that seemed to always call him out on his shit came in. 

        “Mo Xuanyu, come over here. We need to talk.” came the sharp female voice of Wen Qing. 

        A cold shiver ran down his spine. No. No, no, no. Whatever news she had, he didn't want it. That was her ‘bad news’ face. He got it anytime she had to treat his injuries. When he refused to rest when sick. When he would insist that nothing was wrong, and something was clearly wrong. It was the ‘don’t fuck with me’ face. He turned slowly, still in the process of cleaning his last glass.

        “Wen Qing!” He gasped, setting the glass and rag aside. “I wasn't expecting to see you. Um… how's it been?” He couldn't stop his left eyebrow from twitching.

       ”Sit with me.” She gestured towards the nearest barstools. He hesitated, until he received a sharp nod from Xiao Xingchen.

       ”Of course. It's… nice to see you.” Under different circumstances, perhaps. Either way, she terrified him. Her and her scary needles.