Past and Present

Chapter 5- Hugs

Xue Yang woke up to Xingchen moving in his sleep. He looked down and saw the man cuddling against his chest, with a soft look on his face. He smiled softly and placed his arm over Xingchen's waist.
He could finally be happy again. He shook Xingchen gently, "Wake up," he whispered.
Xingchen stirred in his sleep and nuzzled his face more into Xue Yang's chest before sitting up with a gasp, "I am so sorry!"
Xue Yang chuckled and disguised his voice, "It's alright, I'm used to it."
"I hope you don't mind, I used to have somebody who would just hug me while I slept, so I got too used to it," Xingchen said shyly.
"Really?" Xue Yang asked, he knew that the person was him, "I did also."
"Really? Was it family?" Xingchen asked.
"No, it was a lover," Xue Yang replied sadly, "they left me though."
     "I'm sorry, it must've been hard for you," Xingchen said sympathetically.
    "It's fine," Xue Yang shrugged, "I'm used to people leaving me."
   "You shouldn't, it's not a good thing to be alone," Xingchen informed him, "a-Qing must be awake by now. Let's go and make some food."
    "Is a-Qing the little brat?" Xue Yang asked standing up carefully.
     "She's not a little brat," Xingchen said softly, "just a little rude."
     "Sure she is, she kept calling me stupid shithead the other day," Xue Yang pouted childishly.
     "She was probably just in a bad mood," Xingchen said, patting Xue Yang's head gently. 
     Xue Yang smiled at the gesture and nodded, "Maybe, but I'm hungry."
     "Let's eat then," Xingchen walked with Xue Yang to the kitchen and began making some food. While he was cooking Xue Yang watched with fond eyes, and a-Qing soon walked in.
     "Friend in white, why is the bad guy here?" She asked, stepping away from Xue Yang who smirked.
     "He's not a bad guy, he is injured and needs our help," Xingchen said, his voice soft and gentle.
     "Yeah," Xue Yang agreed, "I am only an injured and feeble man."
    The girl huffed and sat down next to him, she took her bamboo stick and began hitting Xue Yang's head with it.
    "Hey!" Xue Yang jumped up, he ran to Xingchen and hid behind him while a-Qing followed. Xingchen sighed and picked a-Qing up like a child.
     "Don't hit him," he scolded, "it's not a good thing to do."
     "But he's a bad guy," she replied angrily, glaring at Xue Yang.
      "He's not a bad guy, if he was we would be dead by now," Xingchen explained, "now please behave."
     "Okay," the girl mumbled. Xingchen put her down and walked to Xue Yang.
     "And you should just try not to upset her," he said.
    "Me breathing upsets her," Xue Yang muttered.
     "That's not true," Xingchen said.
     "Whatever," Xue Yang brushed the situation off, "I'm cold."
       "It's the middle of winter stupid," a-Qing snapped.
     "I'll get you another layer of clothes," Xingchen said, ignoring the girl.
      Xue Yang pouted and grabbed Xingchen's hand, with the one that didn't have the glove, and placed it on his cheek, "You're warm."
     Xingchen's cheeks were dusted in red and he looked down, "I should get you some clothes."
    "Wait!" Xue Yang pulled the man back by the waist and pulled him close, forgetting about a-Qing being there. He hid his face in Xingchen's neck and smiled, "This is fine."
     Xingchen hesitated but wrapped his arms around Xue Yang slowly, his sleeves covering the man's back. He held the man close for a couple of seconds before letting go, "Are you warmer?"
    "Yes," Xue Yang nodded, "continue with the food. I can wait."
    "Alright," Xingchen nodded with hot cheeks and turned back to the food. He quickly made breakfast and served it to the two.
    "Are you not going to eat anything?" Xue Yang asked.
     "No it's fine, I'm not very hungry," Xingchen said.
     "You should be eating more than us, you're taller," a-Qing commented.
     "I can't believe I'm saying this, but the little brat is right," Xue Yang said.
     "See? I'm always right," a-Qing smiled proudly and held her head high.
    Xue Yang rolled his eyes, "Anyways, you need to eat more."
    "Fine," Xingchen sighed, "I'll eat a little bit."
     "Great," Xue Yang served Xingchen half of his food and gave it to him. Xingchen slowly began eating it, causing Xue Yang to smile, "Wasn't so hard, was it?"
     "No," Xingchen admitted.
      "We need to get you fattened up," Xue Yang said, "like a piggy for slaughter." Xingchen choked on his food but recovered quickly.
     "Don't make me laugh," he said chuckling.
      Xue Yang giggled, "Sorry, I'll stop." Xingchen couldn't help but notice, the words and laughs sounded so familiar.
     They ate and suddenly Xue Yang spoke, "You can call me a-Yang from now on."
     "Is that your name?" A-Qing asked.
     "Part of it," Xue Yang admitted.
     "Whether it's your name or not, I will use it," Xingchen said, "you can just call me Xingchen."
     "Is Xingchen your courtesy name?" Xue Yang asked, he knew the answer but he wanted to listen to Xingchen talk more.
     "Yes, I got to make up my own courtesy name after I left the mountains," Xingchen explained.
     "What's your real name?"
     "Xiao YueHua," Xingchen replied blushing, "I know it sounds like a woman's name but I was meant to be born female. I suddenly changed to male and now I just carry the name."
     "That's interesting," a-Qing said, "is that why you have a smaller waist than most men?"
    "Yes, my body is a bit more defined," Xingchen said, "I can also get pregnant."
    "What?!" The two in front of him yelled in shock.
    "Y-yes, I can get pregnant because of that," Xingchen stuttered, "I probably won't but it's a possibility."
    This was the first time Xue Yang heard this, but he couldn't blow his cover, "You should be careful around other men then. A lot of them might want to take advantage of you, I know this because I have experienced it and it is not good."
    "You have?" Xingchen asked.
    "Mhm," Xue Yang nodded, "I would never want anyone else to experience it."
     "I'm sorry you had to go through that," Xingchen said.
     "It's fine," Xue Yang said cheerfully, "I learned how to cultivate better so now nobody can hurt me."
     "I'm sure it's true."