History3: Make Our Days Count (Miracle)

Here And Now

Hao Ting feared that what happened the night in Xi Gu's apartment was going to be the end of their relationship, that Xi Gu would realize how broken he was and how problematic he was going to be with and he'd decide he didn't want the headache, that they were over before they could begin. 

But he woke up to Xi Gu's gentle shaking in the morning. He hadn't shied away from his touch, no indication that he wanted out of his life. He hovered anxiously, asking if he felt better, if he'd rather go home than go to school so he could rest. Shaking his head, Hao Ting had cupped his cheeks and kissed his worries away, thanking him for everything he'd done the previous night. Xi Gu's beautiful smile and the way he affectionately bopped noses with him did make Hao Ting, for a full thirty minutes, wish they could stay in and cuddle instead.

After showering (separate, because Hao Ting didn't trust himself around a naked Xi Gu first thing in the morning) his baobei helped redress his bandage before they left for his house for a clean change of uniform. He had expected to see his Pa's angry face when they walked through the front door, but he'd been indifferent, watching them consideringly on top of his newspaper at the dining table while Ma endearingly piled up breakfast on their plates.

They brushed their teeth together in front of the bathroom mirror, a treasured domesticity Hao Ting thought he'd never get to experience again that he couldn't help getting choked up and teary-eyed as they smiled at each other in the small space.

Between his classes, the nap he and Xi Gu had at the infirmary, reconciliation with his brothers and his work as a teacher's aid slash pack mule (Xiao Yu's been motherhenning since finding out about his wounds, urging him not to run around too much) the school day ended and he finally got around to getting his best friend and Da Ge acquainted. 

He had counted on his best friend's predictability, and like the first time, one glimpse at Lu Zhi Gang was all it took for Bo Xiang to get tongue-tied and fall in love at first sight, his feelings for Hao Ting cementing as brotherly in the blink of an eye.

Hao Ting's done his part in introducing them to each other, and it's all up to Bo Xiang when to make his move. He'd given his bestfriend his own piece of advice when he'd been the one courting Xi Gu. Bo Xiang had regarded him and his baobei somberly and nodded his head in resolution. 

"I want what you two have," Bo Xiang had exclaimed with a hopeful smile. It's kind of funny how their roles have reversed. He was now his best friend's love coach instead of the other way around.

As his ever dependable wingman and because Hao Ting had always been generous with his brothers, he forwarded the pictures that he'd taken of Lu Zhi Gang on the night Xi Gu got employed to Sun Bo's LINE account. The years he had honed his photography skills studying the cosmos came in handy. Even Mei Fang who had wrinkled her nose at the quality of the candid photos he had of Xi Gu in that other life had been nothing but high praise for the ones he'd recently taken of his baobei. 

After the visit to Lu Zhi Gang's shop and Bo Xiang's grateful crushing hugs, Hao Ting walked Xi Gu back to his apartment and they spent the next two hours studying before Pa called to remind him of the time.

"You have to go. Uncle and Auntie might get angry if you make a habit of spending the night here." Xi Gu reasons when he grumbles about going home. 

Hao Ting sighs, lower lip jutting out as he watches Xi Gu arrange his notes on the study table. 

If it weren't for the fact that he's trying to be on his best behavior because he's still waiting on his father's decision if Xi Gu gets to live with them or not, he'd rather sleep cuddled up with him again tonight. Hao Ting even brought a couple of his clothes with him. As someone who has lived the past several years as an adult, suddenly confined in the constraints of adolescence and is once again expected to be home before curfew stinks.