Glimpses

The 100 Hugs

Daoming Si tossed and turned restlessly in the small, cramped bed, the thin mattress giving way beneath his weight so that he could almost feel the hard boards of the bed underneath. The ceiling was too low, and there was a strange musty smell lurking in the room. Insects buzzed around his head and he tried to slap them away, but his efforts were in vain. He sighed as he thought about his big, spacious room in the Daoming mansion of which was filled with the bergamot scent of his favourite aromatherapy candles, and his enormous king bed with 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. He missed those immensely.

But for Shancai it was worth it.

All the discomfort he felt was worth it, just to be able to be near her, to breathe the same air as her, to run to her at her slightest heed. He would do it all over again, and then some. He would rather die (or in his case, let his blood be sucked dry by the mosquitoes), than let any harm come to his Shancai. That thief incident was enough to scare him and scar him for life. He would live next to her, so that he could protect her, and run to her at the slightest cause for alarm, even if it killed him (probably from dengue or malaria), he thought ruefully to himself.

The longer he tossed and turned, the more hot and bothered he got. He kicked off the blanket and sat up, scratching the nape of his neck. Shancai was his girlfriend, and she had admitted it herself, in front of all their friends! What was stopping him from going to her? Everything, he told himself mournfully. Shancai had just begun to accept him, he didn't want to frighten her away, even though he longed to sweep her into his arms and kiss her breathless. Groaning, he fell back into bed and pulled the covers over his head. It was going to be a long night.

On the other side of the wall....

Shancai could hear the creaking of the bed as Si shifted restlessly. She couldn't sleep either. Her emotions were all jumbled up. She couldn't decide if she was angry that he had just simply walked into her world, if she was touched that he had put her safety over his own comfort, or whether if she was frustrated that HE didn't come to HER because HE thought that SHE would push him away. Half of her wanted to drive him away, and another part wanted him to drive her into his arms. She shook her head violently, trying to rid herself of these confusing thoughts, screaming internally.

She too tossed and turned, until she could take it no longer. Didn't I say at Ximen's party that I would follow my heart? Following her heart meant doing it in every step of the way.

She swung her legs across and sat up, pulling on her robe and slippers. She had to go to him, her inner struggle was tearing her apart.

At the house next door....

With some trepidation, she stood outside his door, her hand ready to knock. She raised it and then lowered it down again without knocking, taking deep breaths as she leaned her back against the door. Suddenly the door swung open, and she lost her balance, falling straight into a pair of strong arms.

"Daoming Si!" she gasped, "Why didn't you warn me?"

His dark eyes looked at her in some amusement, his arms still holding on to her tightly.

"Was I supposed to know that you were like a thief standing outside my door?"

"Then why did you open it?"

"I couldn't sleep because of the mosquitoes, so I came out for some fresh air," his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he spoke. "Wait, why are you out, and specifically outside my door?"

"Let me go, Daoming Si!"

"Not until you tell me what you were doing there."

"You wear that to sleep? she giggled, looking at his muscular hairy legs as he was wearing shorts. "No wonder the mosquitoes are having a field day!"

"Hey, it's a hot night!" he told her defensively. "I normally wear this to sleep at home anyway. And don't try to change the subject! Why are you here?"

Shancai gave a resigned sigh.  "I heard you tossing and turning in bed, I knew you couldn't sleep so I came to see how you were," Shancai told him, looking down at her feet. "Now I've told you, can you let me go?"

Si loosened his grip around her, but he still held on. "So, what were you planning to do?" he grinned at her.

"Anything to make you more comfortable, I suppose," she said, and immediately regretting it otherwise, when she saw that he had not stopped grinning.

"I can only think of one thing which will make me more comfortable." There was now a mischievous glint in his smile, as his eyes roamed Shancai from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.

She blushed furiously, but she held her ground, remembering her promise to herself. Follow your heart, Shancai.

She took a deep breath. "Would you like to come back to my place, Daoming Si? It's brighter, airier and cleaner, since our friends decorated it for me when I came back."

Si's mouth hung open like a goldfish. "You're inviting me back to your place?" was all he could say, as he felt Shancai gently tugging on his hand and leading him back to her house.

Once inside her house, she locked and bolted the door. They sat down on the sofa, looking at each other nervously, not sure of what to do.

Finally Si broke the ice. "Do you have any extra pillows and blankets? I'll sleep here on the couch."

Shancai looked at him and his expression pulled at her heartstrings.

"I don't think that's necessary. You can sleep with me if you want to," she shyly looked at him.

Si looked at her agape for the second time that night. He thanked his lucky stars that there were no insects at her place or else he was a hundred percent sure that he would have swallowed one by now. He dazedly followed her into her room and she slowly pulled him down to her bed, moving over to give him space.

Shancai wrapped her arms around him, and he gave a shiver of delight as her skin came into contact with his. She gave him a peck on the nose and whispered to him "I'm not ready yet, so we'll just sleep like this, but in return I'll give you 100 hugs, is that enough?" Si pulled her into his arms and lay her head on his warm chest. "It will always be enough, love, until the day that you say it isn't." Shancai gave a contented sigh and snuggled into his arms. "100 hugs coming up," she murmured as she drifted off to sleep. Si smiled at her sleeping face and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead as he too, closed his eyes and hugged the love of his life close to him throughout the night. He  had dreamed of this for so long, he would do whatever it took to keep Shancai by his side, 100 hugs at a time.
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AN: I apologise for the lack of updates recently, and especially for this collection. Real life has been hectic, and I struggle sometimes to find the inspiration to write. This is just a short fluffy one which even though I feel lacks in some imagination, I still hope you will enjoy!