The Beautiful Xiahou
Set in the modern AU. Xiahou Yuan is a single dad taking care of his young son. However, he just happens to have a really…peculiar neighbor right next to his house, Zhang He. But what happens when he starts to learn the hidden deths of said 'odd' behavior? Xiahou Yuan x Zhang He. Oneshot.
Note: Xiahou Yuan's thoughts are in italic.
"Ba, hurry up! You're getting late for school!", said Xiahou Yuan while preparing his bicycle.
"Oh, okay, Dad! Uh! Okay, let's go!", the one being addressed, Xiahou Ba, finished tying up his shoes.
My name is Xiahou Yuan.
I am a single dad, raising my little Ba ever since his mother left us.
"Oh, by the way you seem to forgot your water bottle."
Xiahou Ba slapped his head.
"Oh, right! Oh, silly me!" And thus he ran back to the home to get his water bottle.
"Haha," chuckled Xiahou Yuan.
Our life is pretty good, actually. I myself work in police force, taking photographs of crime scenes. Infact, our life is so good, that it feels boring sometimes.
Although…there is but one thing that gives a bit more variety in our lives…
"Ah, good BEAUTIFUL morning, Mr. Xiahou!" said a loud, voice coming directly next to Xiahou Yuan's house. He turned to see a familiar face.
"…oh, Mr. Zhang! Good morning too!"
"Carrying little Ba to school? If that's the case, I shouldn't be stalling you." And then he went back to watering his garden that sometimes looks like as if it's covering his entire house.
"Oh, hello Zhang He! Tending the flowers again?" Xiahou Ba said.
"Hey, that's impolite to say!" said Xiahou Yuan towards Xiahou Ba.
"Ah, it's alright. The flowers also growing beautifully like you two. See you guys later!" said the man as he waved them goodbye.
"Eh? Urm…yeah. Bye!" Xiahou Yuan was a bit stunned for a second before he went. After all, even though he's done it many times before, Xiahou Yuan is still not used to Zhang He, a fellow male, calling him 'beautiful'.
This is Zhang He. He's my neighbor, directly next to my house.
Yeah…the first thing you may directly notice was that he seemed a little…strange. He has a penchant for beauty, is obsessed with everything regarding fine arts, flowers, and all that stuff that I may never understand.
My other neighbors are seemed to be prejudiced against him because of it. Me? I don't mind that much, actually.
In fact, he's actually a pleasant person all-around. He often helps me whenever Ba or me get some problem, and we're quite close because of it. Ba is especially fond of him and loves the food he makes for us. Which is quite convenient, since I can't cook.
But, besides all that, it still doesn't change the fact that he's…you know…odd. One day, I visited his house while Ba was at school.
DING-DONG!
"Oh, yes, I'm coming!" Zhang He ran to the door and opened it. He was quite surprised to see his guest. "Ah! Mr. Xiahou?!"
"Oh, yeah, umm…hi. Am I interrupting?"
"Umm…no! Please, come inside!" said Zhang He.
Oh yeah, one thing I need to say is how he always overreacts at every single matter. It's like he's performing in a theater or something. Even after all these time, I'm still not quite used to it.
Okay, then after I entered his house, I was in awe. He uses the most high-class furniture and decorations, and I feel as if I'm entering the house of a noble. He may be odd, but he's sure got a really high taste.
"Please, make yourself feel at home! Would you like a cup of tea?" said Zhang He, knocking Xiahou Yuan out of his pondering.
"Eh, um! Uh, yes!" Xiahou Yuan took a seat and pondered around Zhang He's house before the latter returned with tea. "Here." he said.
"Thanks." replied Xiahou Yuan. He took a sip and said, "Whoa, this is really good."
"Ah, that's nothing," said Zhang He. "I've tasted one that has a stronger taste than this. It may have a weaker consistency, but it makes up for the-"
"Uhh…okay, since I'm not such an artful person like you I don't understand all that 'tea talk' of yours, but…well, all that I wanted to say was just that this is really good." Zhang He's face noticeable brightened up as Xiahou Yuan said that.
"But really Mr. Zhang, it's so amazing that you can afford all this high-class furniture and decorations."
"Ah, it's nothing. After all, as a man who values beauty, I must make sure that all beautiful things like this must not go to waste!"
Xiahou Yuan chuckled.
"Well, what's your job? Surely you don't just water your flowers all day, right?"
"Well, of course not! I have a plenty of other hobbies, such as knitting, dancing, among other things! It's kind hard to keep track of them, though…"
Gardening, knitting, dancing…yeah, my reaction was just the same as most of you.
"Really? Heh…those are kind…odd things for you, a man to do…"
"Ah…well, I don't care if they get called odd. After all, I simply appreciate the beauty of these things! To tell you the truth, I simply only feel pity for those men who don't appreciate beauty just because they're not 'manly', or those kinds! Beauty applies to all things in this beautiful nature! If nobody appreciates it…oh, how much horror will come!" Zhang He gave out the speech with his dance-esque theatrical moves.
Xiahou Yuan was in a mixed state of amused and dumbfounded.
There he goes again with his moves. They're actually quite entertaining to watch. I wonder why doesn't he just sign up to become a dancer? Or at least an instructor? Not that it would matter, anyway…
"…so! How about you, Mr. Xiahou?"
"Eh? What?"
"I see it that if you can recognize and appreciate all these, you must have quite a high taste yourself."
"Me? Well, if you say that I have high taste…you're telling that to a wrong person."
"Oh." Zhang He became silent for a few seconds, before speaking again with a wide smile, "In that case, I can teach you, Mr. Xiahou!"
"E-eh?!" Xiahou Yuan nearly dropped his cup of tea.
Teaching me? Oh, please. I bet that not even when Ba reached adulthood that I finally caught up about all this 'beauty' mumbo-jumbo.
"Yes! That's right. I'm gonna teach you everything, from knitting, dancing, tending to the flowers, painting, cooking, everything!"
"Err…right. Okay, don't get me wrong, but I think doing that will take a LOT of time, right?"
"It's alright. Plus, we can spend more time together. Oh, and bring little Ba too. He'll like it as well, I'm sure."
I'm…not sure what to make of this. Doing all these…'beautiful' things are not my thing…and yet, I think it will be fun to do it with Zhang He.
And…seeing him happy seems to make me happy as well…but in a rather weird way.
Xiahou Yuan smiled and said, "Okay. I'll try."
And so, he's been teaching me all about fine arts, beauty, and other stuffs that would normally be deemed 'unmanly'…and yes, I admit that they're STILL weird for me to do.
However, as I said before, we have a lot of fun doing them.
"In order to knit well, you have to needle through this…" said Zhang He instructing Xiahou Yuan.
"Err…like this?" Both Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He looked at the knitting Xiahou Yuan produced.
"Hmm…it could definitely be improved, but pretty good! You've improved really quickly, Mr. Xiahou."
"Ah..really?"
Both Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He laughed.
Especially when Ba gets in as well.
"Um, Zhang He, what are you doing?" said Xiahou Ba while Zhang He was painting.
"Ah! Here, I'm painting."
"Woah…that's really cool!"
"You wanna try?"
Xiahou Ba excitedly grabbed the brush, though Zhang He grabbed his wrist gently before he started.
"Now, now, you must not be careless. You must stroke it right here, and here…"
Truly, everytime I watch those two, my happiness exceeds everything that ever exists in the world.
Now, besides all of that, now there is always one thing about Zhang He that bothers me. I don't know, but whenever I see him, I have these sort of strange feelings…from the way he smiles, the way he talks, the way he prances around silly…
Could it be that I like him? Okay, technically I actually like him – he's nice, polite, and caring – but I never thought it would be THAT kind of 'like'. I mean, I already have Ba. It would be weird. He himself also seems to have a thing for me, calling me and Ba 'beautiful'…though it may be just his thing.
Ah, there's no need to worry about it, I guess. We're good friends, and that's enough for me.
.
.
.
Whew…man, what a tiresome day. There's yet another murder case, and I also have to wait for Ba's sports training.
"Dad! Daddy!" Xiahou Ba suddenly said to his father.
"Um? Yes?"
"Can we visit Zhang He today?"
"Zhang He? Umm…I'm sorry, but dad's kinda tired today. Let's do it tomorrow, okay?"
"Tomorrow?" Suddenly Xiahou Ba looked down, which is unusual for him. Immediately Xiahou Yuan noticed this.
"Look, I know you like him, but I'm really tired today. I need some rest. I promise we'll visit Mr. Zhang tomorrow, okay?"
"No…it's just that today I saw Zhang He looking sad…so I thought we could visit him and cheer him up." It was this sentence that made Xiahou Yuan surprised.
Zhang He? Being sad? How come?
Xiahou Yuan was silent for a while before he spoke, "Let's go to him."
Xiahou Ba immediately became bright. "Okay!"
And so father and son went to Zhang He's house.
"Hello! Mr. Zhang? Are you there?" said Xiahou Yuan. After a while, the door was opened.
"Oh, Mr. Xiahou! And little Ba, too! My, you've gotten taller since the last time I saw you." said Zhang He. Strangely enough, he seems to not display any signs of sadness.
Was Ba lying? No, there's no way he would lie like that.
"Please, come in." And so Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Ba entered Zhang He's house.
"Zhang He! What are you cooking today?" asked Xiahou Ba.
"I'm cooking some fried shrimps. You love them, right?"
"Oh! Oh! Of course!" Xiahou Ba jumped up and down excitedly. Meanwhile, Xiahou Yuan was still wondering about Ba's statement.
Maybe he'll reveal it later? I don't feel all that comfortable asking directly…
And then the three sat down to eat the fried shrimps that Zhang He cooked. Xiahou Ba enjoyed them thoroughly.
"Zhang He, this is really delicious! I love them!"
"You do?"
"Yeah!"
"Then you should eat the vegetables as well, Ba." said Xiahou Yuan, pointing at all the vegetable that Xiahou Ba deliberately put aside.
"But I don't like them!"
"If you don't eat them, you won't grow taller! Don't you want to be as tall as Mr. Zhang?" said Xiahou Yuan again. Xiahou Ba looked at Zhang He and immediately ate all of his vegetables. Zhang He laughed.
"He's such a precious little thing."
"He is." replied Xiahou Yuan.
"Oh, oh! Zhang He!" said Xiahou Ba. "You know, today I got the highest score in the art subject!"
"You did?" replied Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He almost simultaneously, both shocked. Xiahou Ba nodded.
"Everyone looked at my painting and told me that it was very beautiful. Of course, that's because I used the technique that you taught me, Zhang He!"
"Oh…really?" said Zhang He, almost not believing. "Well, I'm happy if I could help you at your school." Xiahou Ba smiled. Xiahou Yuan also smiled, though sometime later his happiness turned into irritation.
"Hey! You told Mr. Zhang about that and yet didn't even tell your own father?!"
"Ahh! I'm sorry!" said Xiahou Ba, frightened. However, Xiahou Yuan also chuckled later on.
And so the three continued to talk about a lot of things, yet not even once did Zhang He show any signs of sadness, which bothered Xiahou Yuan greatly.
He seems alright so far…but it looks like something else is bothering his mind also. Maybe I really should ask him…
After they finished eating, Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He went up to the balcony to talk in private. It's only after a long time that Xiahou Yuan finally asked Zhang He.
"Mr. Zhang…umm…"
"Ah? What is it?"
"Here…are you…are you okay?"
Zhang He stared at him as if he's in shock.
"What…do you mean?"
"Here…after we got home, Ba said that he saw you looking sad, which was why I came here visiting you despite being tired…and yet you don't look sad anyway."
It's after Xiahou Yuan said that in which Zhang He immediately looked down.
"Heh, and here I thought I could hide it from you guys as to not trouble you…" he said. "But it seems futile."
"What is your problem? Say it!"
Again, Zhang He fell silent.
"Look, Mr. Zhang…there's no need for you to hide your problems from us. We're your friends. We'll help you." Xiahou Yuan looked at Zhang He straight in the eyes. "So say it."
Finally, Zhang He said, "Okay…the thing is, my family just messaged my from home and told me that my father is sick. I don't know how I can get money to help them."
And so Xiahou Yuan thought, until he answered, "Hey, look! You have so many flowers growing in your garden, right? What if you sell them? Many people will surely want to buy such beautiful flower bouquets."
It was the answer which immediately brightened Zhang He up.
"That…that's right! And…oh yeah! That too!" Zhang He turned towards Xiahou Yuan. "Now, Mr. Xiahou, you work photographing crime scenes, right? You use that camera of yours to take many pictures of such unpleasant scenes…so what if now you use it to photograph beautiful pictures of my flowers?"
"That's a great idea!"
And, so I finally helped him setting up his own flower bouquet business, by taking pictures and setting them up on the internet. The business turned out to be really successful. Zhang He finally got enough money to help his family and to help his own economy.
"Mr. Xiahou, I just can't thank you enough for helping me. If it weren't you I wouldn't be sure what to do."
"Ah, no need to. I help you because you're my friend. Nothing more."
…nothing more? For some reason, that sentence felt kinda weird towards me. Perhaps because I feel that Zhang He is now more than a friend?
"Well, I guess that's all. I have to go home right now, I'm sure Ba is waiting for me. You, too. Those orders must be waiting for you."
However, just as Xiahou Yuan was about to leave, Zhang He pulled him back.
"Wait, one second." And immediately Zhang He kissed Xiahou Yuan on the lips. The latter was obviously so shocked that he immediately smacked Zhang He's arm.
"AH! …oh! I…I'm sorry! It's just that…what…what was that?!"
"Oh? Eh…yeah, I'm sorry if it was sudden. But that's what I feel about you, Mr. Xiahou." Xiahou Yuan immediately flushed.
"….I…"
"I know, it's weird. But you've helped me many times and been with me for so long, that…that it's just the way I feel towards you." said Zhang He with a smile.
Xiahou Yuan looked again at Zhang He, still dumbfounded.
"Then again, if you don't accept me, that's alright since I at least made it clear to you." said Zhang He again. "Because, I realized, from your warmth, and kindness towards me…that you're one of the true beauties in this world. And I will surely like to preserve a beauty like you," Zhang He turned to hold Xiahou Yuan's hand. "Forever."
Xiahou Yuan stared before chuckling.
Me? A beauty? Heh…
Looks like I still got a long way of understanding 'beauty'…
THE END
YOOO! Finally, I'M BACK! I'm sure all of you my loyal fans are missing my awesome self alre- gets beaten to death by the readers Okay, okay, stop it! Man, looks like I need some ego-suppressor drugs so I won't turn into Zhong Hui…
Okay, the one thing is I'm so disappointed that this pairing is so underrated. Like, just look at the interactions between Zhang He and Xiahou Yuan and try to convince me that's not true love! I'm sure many of you other YuanxHe shippers are just as frustrated as I am. And I thusly present you as a loyal shipper of our precious Yuan and He! Okay, okay, ship rant over.
By the way, I got inspired to write this by two yaoi mangas titled Koishite Daddy and Terpenoid (though the latter's more bara), both telling about the stories of single dad raising a son and also being friends with their neighbor whom they later hooked up with, and I think the story of Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Ba, and Zhang He will really fit. Both stories are really sweet with Koishite Daddy being adorable as fuck, so I definitely recommend you reading it if you like reading yaoi mangas.
Coming back to the old tradition (smack!), please leave a review and have a good day!