Hello everyone! Since the last chapter was so short, I'm doing a double chapter update. *smiles* Enjoy!
-Chapter Five-
"Gege?"
"Hm?" The lighter brown haired boy looked over at his friend as they walked back from school. It had been a few weeks now since San Lang had arrived. He'd also begun calling him that instead of his name. But Xie Lian found it endearing in a way.
"Mind if I come over for a little bit? We could do homework together."
Xie Lian gave a blink then smiled. "Sure. My mother shouldn't mind, I don't think." He tapped his chin. "Though she might still be at work today. They've been having her come in a little later and leave later to cover a coworker's shift that's been out sick the last few days." He paused and looked at his friend. "Will your parents be okay with it?"
"Yeah it's cool."
Getting to his house, Xie Lian headed to the door with San Lang and they went inside. Sliding off their shoes, the lighter haired boy took him down towards his room.
"It's just the usual type of house I guess," Xie Lian said as they passed the living room, dining and kitchen area, and the stairs. "My room's downstairs in the back of the house. My mother has hers upstairs."
"It's really nice in here." San Lang gave a smile before stopping outside of the door to Xie Lian's room. The other boy opened the door and he looked inside.
"It's nothing special but this is my room." Xie Lian stepped inside before San Lang followed.
"I like it. It's cozy." He looked to the bed. "Mind if I…?"
"Sure. Go ahead." Xie Lian gave a nod as he went over to his desk and set his bag down.
Sliding his bag off and setting it on the floor, San Lang sat down on the bed and smiled before laying back across it. He tucked his arms underneath his head and closed his eyes. Xie Lian turned to see the other boy relaxing on his bed and gave a small smile.
"Would you like something to drink? Hot tea?" he asked after a moment of pulling his books out and setting them on his desk.
"Hot tea does sound good I suppose," San Lang said, opening his eyes and slowly sat up.
"Okay. I'll be back in a few then. If you want to figure out what homework we want to do first, you can choose."
Smiling with a nod, San Lang watched him leave the room. He looked around before standing up and went over to the window to look out it. The woods sat some ways off across the open field in back.
Turning, he looked at Xie Lian's desk and the neat array of coloured pencils, pens, pencils, and stacks of paper on it. He gave a small smile before turning his head towards the door. The sound of a small clatter came from down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.
Heading down the hall, he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen to see Xie Lian cleaning up a mess on the floor. "You alright Gege?"
"Y-yeah. I just spilled the hot water." He picked up the towel he'd used and went to the sink to squeeze it out. San Lang noticed his hand was quite red.
"Did you burn your hand?" San Lang came forward and took his hand to look at it.
"I spilled a little hot water on it but it's okay." Xie Lian felt his cheeks flush a little with warmth.
San Lang turned on the faucet before putting Xie Lian's hand under the stream of cold water. He held it there for a couple of moments before shutting the water off and grabbed a clean towel to dry his hand with. The lighter haired boy blushed slightly at the way San Lang gently patted the water off so as to not irritate the skin that was still stinging.
"Why don't you let me make the tea, okay?" San Lang offered. Xie Lian opened his mouth to protest that he shouldn't have to since he was the guest but the other boy just gave a soft smile that made him blush a little more.
"S-sure…."
Going over to sit at the table as San Lang instructed, Xie Lian watched as the darker haired boy drew some fresh water and set it on the stove to heat up again. He pulled out some cups and got the rest ready. When the kettle signalled it was done, he pulled it off the stove and poured the tea into the cups.
"Here you go Gege," San Lang said, setting the cup down in front of him on the table.
"Th-thanks." Xie Lian watched the steam rise off the surface of the hot liquid before picking it up and gently blowing across the top. He sipped the tea and smiled as the other boy took a drink of his. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" An eyebrow raised in question.
"For making you make the tea." Xie Lian sighed and hung his head. "Normally I'm okay making tea but I guess I messed up. I was trying hard to make it right the first time."
"That's okay." San Lang gave a smile as the other boy raised his head to look back up at him. "I don't mind at all. In fact…." He paused, glancing towards the refrigerator. "Mind if I make something to eat for us?"
Xie Lian gave a blink at the offer. "I...I guess. I mean...if you don't mind."
"I don't mind." The smile he gave made Xie Lian's stomach feel like butterflies were fluttering in it.
Watching as San Lang stood after taking another sip of his tea, the other boy went to the fridge and looked inside for a moment to see what was there. He went to check what was in the pantry that Xie Lian pointed out to him as well. After gathering up several ingredients, he set them out on the counter.
Pulling off his outer uniform and hanging it on the back of the chair he had been sitting in, San Lang got to work cutting up a few vegetables after putting the rice in the cooker. Then he pulled out a couple of pans and started cooking on the stove. The scent of cooking food filled the air, making Xie Lian's mouth water.
"Ta-da," San Lang smiled, finishing up everything as Xie Lian came over to inspect it.
"That looks so delicious!" the lighter haired boy grinned. He went to get a couple of plates and chopsticks for both of them. San Lang served it up before they went to sit at the table to eat.
"So...what do you think?" Golden hazel eyes looked at the other boy as he took a bite.
"It's delicious!" The look of happiness radiated from his face. "I have to learn how to make this some time." He took another bite, chewed, then swallowed. "Though, knowing my luck, I'll still mess it up."
"I can teach you if you want."
"Really?" San Lang gave a smile and nod. "Okay! Maybe I might actually be able to get it right then."
Watching Xie Lian eat, San Lang smiled as they both finished up their meals. When they finished, they both helped clean up and put the leftovers into the fridge. Xie Lian insisted his mother should try some when she got home from work. Then they went back down to his room and pulled out their homework to get started on. They were about done when the sound of the front door shutting caught their attention.
"Xie Lian?"
"In my room," Xie Lian called to his mother. A couple of moments later, she stood in the doorway. Her eyes went to the boy sitting on the bed while Xie Lian sat in his chair by his desk facing the bed, homework in hand. "Mom, this is San Lang. He transferred here a few weeks ago from Shanghai."
"Hello," San Lang smiled.
"Hello." Xie Lian's mother slid her gaze to her son.
"We're almost done with homework," Xie Lian smiled. "Oh and there's dinner in the fridge for you. San Lang made it. It's really good."
Xie Lian's mother turned her gaze back to the boy on the bed as he smiled again. "I suppose I'll thank you then." She looked back to her son. "Just next time, let me know if you invite someone over."
"Y-yes Mother."
San Lang watched as Xie Lian's mother turned and walked away. A couple moments later, the soft sounds of footsteps upstairs could be heard. The golden hazel eyed boy looked to the other.
"She didn't sound very happy I was here," he pointed out quietly.
"She's always like that with everyone," Xie Lian replied with a shrug. "Even when Fu Yao and Nan Feng come over sometimes."
"Oh okay. I wasn't sure if I did something wrong by being here. I mean, I wouldn't want you to get into trouble or anything because of me."
"Nah. You're fine." Xie Lian gave a smile as he waved his hand in the air nonchalantly. San Lang just smiled before they continued with finishing up their homework.
"I guess that will do it," San Lang spoke up after they finished and looked over the answers together once more.
"That last bit was somewhat hard," Xie Lian pointed out as he closed his notebook and turned back to set it on his desk. "Glad you knew those answers. I admit, that actually stumped me a bit."
"But you did pretty well on the math section," San Lang pointed out with a smile as he put his book back in his bag.
"Yeah. Math isn't too hard I guess." Xie Lian gave a small embarrassed laugh. "But that history section was a bit confusing. There's so many kingdoms that I get lost trying to remember them all." He gave a smile. "But you seemed to know quite a bit there."
"Eh. I'm a bit of a history buff," San Lang shrugged then chuckled as Xie Lian did.
"Xie Lian."
Looking up at the sound of his mother's voice, Xie Lian glanced at his friend. "I'll be right back." He stood and went down the hall where his mother was in the kitchen as she was heating up the leftovers that San Lang had made.
"Are you finished with your homework?"
"Yes, we just finished."
"Good. Then you shouldn't keep him too long. His parents will wonder where he is."
"Oh. Okay." He turned and headed back to his room where his friend was still sitting on his bed, bag all packed up. "I guess I should let you get back home so your parents won't worry about you."
"It's alright." San Lang gave a smile before sliding off the bed, picking up his bag. He slung it over his shoulder before following Xie Lian down to the front door and slid on his shoes. "See you tomorrow Gege."
"Alright. See you tomorrow." Xie Lian gave him a wave after opening the door and his friend headed down the front walkway to the sidewalk. San Lang also gave a wave.
Shutting the door still smiling, Xie Lian headed back towards his room. His mother was sitting at the table eating. He paused in the doorway as she took a bite. She gave a bit of a surprised look as she looked at the food.
"It's good isn't it?" Xie Lian smiled. She inclined her head as she took another bite. "I'll go get my bath then."
Turning, he headed to the bathroom and got washed up before sinking into the hot water. He smiled to himself thinking about the day and getting to hang out with San Lang. It made him happy his friend also had offered to show him how to cook.
"I wonder what I could ask him to teach me first?" he pondered to himself quietly as he looked up at the steam hanging in the air by the ceiling. "Oh! Maybe those meat dumplings!" He gave a smile. "That would be nice. Then maybe I could leave some for Hua Cheng." He paused as he looked down at the water before cupping his hands and lifted them so the water slowly trickled out through his fingers. "Though they probably won't be as good as his is. But maybe he'll like them."
Giving a small sigh, he leaned back and relaxed for a little bit longer before getting out, dried off, and headed to his room to get ready for bed. He decided to read for a little then headed to bed after saying goodnight to his mother.
As he drifted off to sleep, a silver butterfly fluttered near him. He gave a soft sigh as he rolled over on his side; the butterfly landing down on his hand that had been burned earlier. It flapped its wings a few times slowly.
"...Hua Cheng…." he muttered sleepily. The butterfly flapped its wings slowly a couple more times before fluttering back up into the air, over to the window, and out into the dark night.
Well that's the chapter. More bonding time between the two of them. Poor Xie Lian just can't catch a break trying to make anything in the kitchen. Luckily San Lang has him covered with food to make. *grins* Naturally, San Lang knows his history to help Xie Lian out. And Xie Lian is getting excited to learn how to cook with San Lang.
Anyways, thanks again for reading! Again, any comments and reviews are awesome. *smiles*