Chapter Text
When Lin Ling was invited to X’s parent’s house, he had no idea what to expect. He blushed slightly. Meeting the parents was usually the next step for a blessing of some kind.
Unless X thought of him as some sort of old friend, which was just as plausible. From what X had let slip about his family, they would accept him. That was never his worry. Lin, on the other hand…let’s just say, he was comfortable being far, fair away from his Uncle and Auntie. His brothers would probably adore the chance to walk him down the aisle. He could just see how they’d fight about it.
“My parents are businesspeople,” said X, “just like me. They raised me well. Smart, entrepreneurial, with just enough heart to not sell out in the process. They adopted me at a young age, moved from Japan.”
“Huh,” said Lin Ling, “they sound like good people.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said X, grabbing a Strawberries and Cream Lindt from his pocket, and taking a long bite from it. So the man enjoyed white chocolate, then. Kinda odd.
“They did raise me.”
He turned to Lin Ling.
“A-Ling, you can back out at any second. They can get a bit…”
“Eccentric?”
X nodded. X acknowledged those words. Wait a hot sec. Wasn’t that the lead up to a stereotypical family bit? Didn’t he write a commercial for something where this was the lead up? Meet the family, see if they were worth it?
“You walking cliche,” Lin Ling teased. “A ‘meet the family scene. What’s next? A kiss scene?”
Lin Ling looked at X. Really looked at him, x stared back.
“We could do that now, if you’d like to?”
Lin Ling checked his phone.
“No time. If we aren’t too drained after, we can maybe do that sorta thing.”
X laughed.
“You’re thinking of practicality right now?”
He settled down from laughing, coughing slightly from laughing as long as he did.
“Wait, you’re right. We should be punctual.”
Lin Ling paused. That didn’t seem any more than lighthearted. That was good. He’d almost wondered if he had to kick anyone’s ass today.
X pressed his lips to Lin Ling’s.
After letting out, he smiled.
“I’m not Nice, A-Ling. Things happen when they happen. I mean sure, routine can be something beautiful. But sometimes, to spend an extra minute kissing someone you love, well, that’s never a waste of time.”
Lin Ling was cherry red.
“You-you-you just like me flustered.”
“Is that so bad?”
“…Not really.”
The two of them entered the car.
“Lucky Cyan?,” X said, “We can play My Color.”
“All right.”
Winding down the windows, they coasted through town, what seemed like hours turning into short, fun minutes.
“Punchbuggy,” said Lin Ling, lightly punching at X’s arm "Heard it from a Vine once. Someone uploaded the thing to RedNote. Declare a color of car, then when you see one, you punch the person closest to you. I start. Default is yellow.” (1)
“That’s almost cruel.”
“I have two brothers,” Lin Ling said as he spotted another. (2)
——
“Ever want to go to the beach?” said X, as they passed by the beach.
Lin Ling stared back at him.
“Really, man?”
His face shadowed.
“Oh. Right. Maybe we can get ice cream around the corner, then.”
Lin Ling grinned.
“But then you would need to get one with extra sugar in it.”
X laughed.
“I can add some brickle.”
—-
“Ring the doorbell already. You know you want to.”
X sighed a fondly exasperated kind of sigh.
“I’m doing it.”
X looked over at Lin Ling one more time.
“Did you forget the wine?”
Lin looked down.
“Wait, yes. Give me a sec. I’ll get it.”
—-
The apartment was spacious and clean, wooden panels flanking large windows at two room intersections. The curtains were forest green, and looked homemade, hung over a set of blackout curtains. A chandelier hung atop the table.
Two men were at the door, one in a bowl cut, the other with pink hair that was cut almost spikily and a small set of green glasses.
“I haven’t seen you in forever! I made your favorite.”
The black haired man went to hug X.
“Why the last time I saw you, you were this tall” he measured approximately with his hands. The man spoke in a measured monotone, which sounded almost weird against the doting words. Weird but oddly sincere.
“and now look at you. You’re this tall.” He opened his hands slightly bigger.
“Shige, you don’t need to ham it up. Lin Ling doesn’t care how sappy you are.”
The man (Shige?) still went for it and hugged the other man, pulling him in as if to never let go.
“You’re squooshing me. Father, Dad’s squooshing me!”
The pink haired man clicked his tongue.
“Ever heard of boundaries, Mob?”
“But we only get to see him every once in a while. I should be able to hug my son.”
——
Father (Lin Ling hadn’t been graced with his name yet) angled his away towards the table.
“I got a gift for you,” said the pink-haired man as he angled his way to the table. The gift was on the table.
It was a bag of Lindt chocolates, but these were dark chocolate caramel.
“I obtained some coffee ones for myself, but I know how much you like caramel.”
His Father held his hand out with the treats.
“Thank you, Father, but I don’t need that.”
“Oh, but I am offering.”
“I decline.”
“I insist.”
I’d rather not.”
“I am offering.”
“Fine!”
X grinned. (3, 4)
Pink haired man tossed the bag.
“Catch.”
X caught.
“Good reflexes. As your dad would say, Fight On!”
He held out the hand not holding the chocolates, and his father shook it.
“Firm handshake as ever?”
“You know it!”
Lin Ling held out his offering.
“It’s been in the car a while, but I brought some wine?”
“Set it over here. We can let it breathe while Mob gets the dinner ready.”
“Mob?”
“Shige.”
They settled down at the table. Shige went into the kitchen.
“So, how’s it going? You have a boyfriend.”
The pink haired man poured a glass of iced coffee from a pitcher.
“It’s almost evening. I’ll tell Shige.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Yes, I will, Ku.”
Lin Ling finally got the courage to ask.
“Lin Ling,” he introduced himself, “And you?”
“Kusuo Saiki,” the man said, “I guess you would call me a writer.”
“He writes mystery novels,” said X, “good ones.”
“Lets me spend time at cafes without getting weird looks. My dad was a comic book illustrator. Would put better ones in the margins, but would submit fast and cheap pictures. You know what they say about content. You can’t have it three ways.” (4)
Saiki laughed as he continued.
“So, I’ve heard you’re a marketing exec?”
“Ex marketing exec.”
“And what do you do now?”
“Quit teasing him,” said X.
“I want to hear you say. What’s the harm?”
Lin Ling mouthed towards X ‘what do you mean?’ X replied ‘tell you later.’
“I’m a hero. The Commoner.”
“Commoner. Commoner, Commoner, Commoner…Oh!”
There was something unsettling about the man in that moment. He was hiding something. Oh! Maybe X had told him, and he was trying to pretend he didn’t know.
“You were Nice!”
He winced.
“Yeah, I was Nice.”
Saiki frowned.
“I like the hero you are now much better. Nice didn’t fit you.”
Ehh?
—-
- 1. Blue Punchbuggy! Referenced from Lilo and Stitch by Thomas Sanders, back in his Vine days
- 2. I will explain this more in other fics. He has two twin older brothers, born 7 years before him.
- 3. A Chinese tradition Saiki learned to fit in more here. You have to refuse a gift at least three times before accepting it
4. According to Saiki, white chocolate is not good. X had to sneak it while he’s out and about. Now he’s independent he can do what he wants, but Saiki usually encourages dark chocolate.
5. Good, fast, cheap. You can’t have them all.
Note: Lin does actually know X’s name, it just redacts when I write it : D