blindforlove | Erku Inbox

Of course, but you need more than simply that.

[Placing a pot of water on the stovetop, Xiao Xingchen lets that heat up as he takes a knife to start cutting the ginseng into thin slices. If only he had access to another, more proper store with prepared foods outside of sweets. Then they could spend more time together without having to wait for other food...

Though his friend's question reminds him that he has much more left to explain.]

So much has happened since we last met. Do you remember seeing the previous owner from time to time? He... disappeared not long after the storm, but not before leaving the place in my care.

[No use in keeping it secret. Perhaps he also would have much more energy in revealing this news to the other man, the circumstances keep his manner sober. But like the new owner, the box looks much more understated yet elegant, if lacking a bit of color.]

[ Xue Yang pauses in surprise, then takes a second look at the box he'd been opening. If he thinks about it, perhaps it does seem to suit Xiao Xingchen more. ]

I see... but, isn't it great that it's yours now, daozhang? We can get all our pastries for free now!

[ This is obviously the important part. ]

[Even if it does ignore the man's disappearance - Xiao Xingchen still feels a pang of regret despite not really knowing him - they could use more focusing on the positive side of things, so he doesn't mind if that's what his friend notes first.]

And we will have more control over the menu. [He turns to flash a smile.] We can order more of your favorites, and order others you'd like.

[Placing the thin slices of ginseng into the water, he turns to find the set for their tea.]

If it's daozhang in charge, everything is my favorite.

[ He returns the look with a cheeky grin, not being entirely serious, but not actually joking as much as he's trying to make it sound. ]

How do you decide what's there? Do the puppets make it all?

[That tea just needs to steep a bit longer, and Xiao Xingchen has done this enough to have a sense of how much time it needs. Unless he becomes distracted by talking to his friend, of course.]

Certainly. I am not nearly enough of a cook to match any of them. If I ask them to make more of the cream-filled sorts, they will do just that.

[He looks a bit sheepish. The puppets use a lot of techniques that he's never seen before, and despite how they don't really have any feelings, he wouldn't want to be in their way while trying to learn. Better to just leave them to it.]

I still should do something for the place. Letting them do everything makes me feel like I'm earning credits for nothing.

[ Xue Yang takes a bite of one of the pastries, and doesn't manage to fully swallow it by the time he replies. ]

Something? Like what?

Don't speak with your mouth full.

[His friend has only just returned from the dead, so he doesn't need another scare! Even if he doubts that the soft pastries will really restrict his breathing...

After a pause, he continues quickly:]

I am not sure what, quite yet. The puppets can do anything, but there must be something I can do more effectively than them.

[Surely they can't just completely replace the efforts of people. For one, they do imitate people but can't exactly look the part. But is that all?]

[ Xue Yang laughs softly, which really has more of a chance of choking him than talking did, but either way he doesn't have any trouble before he swallows his food and speaks again. ]

Are you going to wear that uniform?

You've seen yourself how the puppets insist on wearing them, and they're so short that they...

[The heat from the blush suffusing his face, combined with the steam buffeting it, already make him feel a bit faint. At least it's almost done.]

I don't believe the puppets need any sort of undergarments, but they wear them as part of it. If I wear that in public, I'll be too embarrassed to do anything.

[He'll just ignore the one time he did wear something like that-- it wasn't really in public if it was just that room, right?]

Sounds to me like daozhang can wear the uniform better than they can. If it has undergarments, that means it's supposed to have that sort of appeal, right? The one where undergarments make a difference...

But if daozhang is too embarrassed, then that's a problem too. Maybe you'll be able to get used to it?

[Of course he's embarrassed with all the talk of appeal and thought of the undergarments, but...

He's quiet as he looks at the other man from the corner of his eye, curious.]

Are you simply suggesting this because it's what you would like?

[It's not accusing, he just knows that his friend at times can make suggestions for thinly-veiled reasons! Though he's fairly sure that the other man has never seen him in clothing aside from what he usually wears.]

Edited 2021-01-19 06:46 (UTC)

[ Xue Yang thinks it over for a moment (or pretends to), then chuckles. ]

I haven't seen daozhang in clothing like that, so how would I know if I like it? But if it's you, daozhang, I think I like a lot of things.

[ If it's anyone, actually, but Xiao Xingchen in particular has the handsome looks of a cultivator without pissing off Xue Yang. ]

[With a soft laugh and a light shake of his head, Xiao Xingchen turns around and holds out the cup of ginseng tea to his friend.]

Then since it's from me, I hope you also like caring for yourself.

[It does reaffirm his choice to give it a try, but thinking about it too much might embarrass himself enough to change his mind, so it's better that they get to the more important subject.

Once the other man takes it, Xiao Xingchen walks past him to lead to a place in here where they can sit and talk some more.]

[ Xue Yang's expression shifts to one of surprised, caught off-guard by Xiao Xingchen's clever pivot. After a moment he takes the tea, scrunches up his face, and sticks his tongue out at Xiao Xingchen, but even that is accompanied by a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He takes a small sip (it's too hot, but that's not what causes him to pause and give a very slight shudder), then brings the cup with him to sit next to Xiao Xingchen on the large bed, the only thing of note in the small dwelling relative to any random abandoned place.

Most of the furniture is the grandiose, tall style that seems to characterize most places in this city, something that even after all this time Xue Yang is only somewhat used to. The tables are far too tall to sit beside reasonably, requiring chairs with long legs to make them usable. Sitting on a bed at least makes it feel less foreign, and Xue Yang settles close enough that their shoulders are touching, the warm cup held in his hands. ]

Did I make you worry, daozhang?

[ It's such a funny thought. ]

[Xiao Xingchen's gaze is on his hands in his own lap.]

Of course. How could I not worry?

[He's worried for others almost all the time since he arrived and found who else had come with him.]

Before we were brought here, I didn't want to think of what would happen if I... couldn't protect you.

[Only by the grace of the Augur has he not had to withstand the loss that should have come with that failure. He wouldn’t be feeling this warmth between them, or the chance to chat like this again-- it'd be all gone, leaving Xiao Xingchen with only emptiness in its place.]

[ Xue Yang manages not to laugh at the confirmation. ]

But it's not as bad in this place, right, daozhang? I'm still here now.

[ He leans a little more against Xiao Xingchen for a moment as if to reinforce the words. ]

It was only a few days. I'm a little tired but I otherwise don't even feel that different. We really don't need to worry about death at all.

It isn't something you should become used to. The Augur is the one that does this for us, but what do you suppose would happen if it one day stopped?

[Xiao Xingchen feels doubly indebted to it now, but he still doesn't entirely trust anything here to stay constant.]

Even if the Augur is powerful, it cannot control everything here. Something such as a more powerful storm might damage it.

[He turns to the man beside him, an entreating expression.]

You have another chance, but I still don't want you to take any more risks.

[ There's a pause, then Xue Yang chuckles. ]

Back home, wasn't it daozhang who was the one takings risks with night hunting most nights? Surely it wasn't just to keep me safe.

[ Before Xiao Xingchen can respond to that, he shifts the topic slightly. ]

Because it's daozhang asking, I'll do what I can. But there's all sorts of unfamiliar things here. Even if I try to be safe, we never know what's going to happen. Doing what I can doesn't guarantee anything.

[ A deliberate barbed reassurance. Both trying to set some fears to rest while stirring up others, it leaves Xue Yang an opening in case something happens to him yet again, while at the same time keeping Xiao Xingchen from worrying too much without allowing him to fully relax either. ]

[As much as Xiao Xingchen knows it's true, he can only hope and do what he can. Surely his friend knows that too.

Xiao Xingchen has been so used to acting older, though he's sure they can't be too far apart in age. But for a moment, he wishes the man would indulge him a little, doing something to comfort him. He doesn't want to jostle the man's cup, however.

For now, he just leans a little more heavily into the other man.]

Your tea should be cooler now. Make sure to finish it all.

[ He sticks out his tongue again, but the gesture has no more malice to it than it did before. ]

Daozhang, you don't let me get away with anything, do you?

[ Aside from everything he's already gotten away with.

But he soon relents, drinking the cup down a few sips at a time. He dislikes the bitter flavor, though the feeling of his scalded taste buds from the earlier hot liquid cuts the flavor slightly and makes the experience more palatable.

It feels like there's far too much liquid in the cup, but finally it's all gone. ]

There. Just like daozhang wanted.

[The tongue also only makes him laugh. Should it be as cute as it is?]

Very good.

[Xiao Xingchen holds out his hand for the other man to give him the cup, intent on washing it along with what else he used to make it. Indeed, in this place he doesn't feel like a guest as much as someone who is merely out of his home for most hours of the day.]

You were only going to have something sweet right after, so what trouble would you have with a bitter taste?

[ And Xue Yang accordingly hands it over. It's all too easy and comfortable to slip back into a routine together.

He pushes himself off the bed and follows Xiao Xingchen back to the kitchen, detouring on the way to grab the box of pastries. ]

It doesn't make it taste any better before then.

[ He picks up the pastry he'd been eating before and takes an exaggerated bite of it. ]

[After washing everything quickly but thoroughly, Xiao Xingchen puts everything in its proper place before turning around. An idea comes to mind that isn't very much like their usual routine back home, and yet, he doesn't mind it. At least now he isn't doing this instead of speaking-- besides, this change to their old lives isn't one he minds at all.

With a smile, he taps at the tip of his finger at the corner of his lips.]

If you'll be certain to take good care of yourself, and not do anything dangerous, I will also give you something else to... taste...

[No, he didn't manage to say that with a straight face, the line of his lips wiggling as he suppresses a laugh and a flush crawls over his face. Still, he might feel sad if that wasn't at least a little smooth.

Will his friend give him any face?]

[ Enough face to respond to the suggestion, but not enough face to not laugh first. ]

Oh? What sort of thing could daozhang be offering me? If it's a reward, I bet it's something good...

[Xiao Xingchen can only endure his the laughter as he walks closer. Placing a finger under the other man's chin, he gently tilts it up as he leans over the box of pastries between them and catches the other man's lips with feather-light kiss.

It only lingers for a moment before he pulls back, laughing softly.]

I suppose you're the one who truly tastes sweet.

[If there's something he's grateful for about this world, it's that he can spoil his friend in all kinds of new ways.]

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