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It had been two weeks to the day since Lian-ge mentioned his new friend. Fourteen whole days of hearing about this San Lang, repeatedly. Over and over. No matter the subject there was one way or another to bring up San Lang.
He could just puke.
Lian-ge had many, many friends, Shen Yuan was quite aware of that. He’s met lots of them. Some were cool like Nan Feng, some were annoying…Like that Fu Yao and others he was completely indifferent to like…good old what’s his face! But San Lang whom he’s yet to even set his eyes on…so far he was the most annoying of all!
San Lang said this…
San Lang did that…
Did you know San Lang can…
Geez! If he was so freaking amazing why not just go live with him?! If that wasn’t all bad enough he was forced against his will along with Ying-ge to go meet him. A good waste of his Saturday…he could be home reading or playing a game! Not only that but he was being led around by the hand like some-some baby!
A low, absolutely not at all bratty whine left him as he tried to wiggle his hand out of Lian-ge’s iron grip. It was awful, so embarrassing! He was twelve, nearly a teenager! He could cross the street without being held!
“Gege, lemme gooo! Why are you holding my hand and not Ying-ge’s?!” He craned his neck to look around at his other brother who just snickered at him. If he could, he’d reach over to smack his dumb face!
“A-Ying is older and you’re notorious for running ahead and not looking both ways for crosswalks.”
That had been ONE time and he had the right of way! How was it his fault some truck wasn’t obeying traffic laws and nearly squashed him into the street?! The scare he had should have been punishment enough but no, he was left with the consequence of being escorted to the dumb park to meet this dumb San Lang.
“You can get away with it still A-Yuan~ You’re small enough to still look like a grade schooler.”
Shen Yuan’s cheeks puffed out as he lunged toward his stupid brother but was held back. Ying-ge just laughed as he used Lian-ge as a human shield. The coward! Too scared to face Shen Yuan and his mighty kicks! He was forced to stop his offensive attack and continued on.
They’re barely a few feet inside the park when Lian-ge’s grip on him is released and an excited little laugh leaves him. In the distance is someone who must be San Lang because his brother is running ahead leaving them behind. He can’t tell a lot about him yet. He’s taller for sure, dressed in red. Shen Yuan watched when he felt Ying-ge give him a gentle nudge.
They share a look.
What’s up with this guy?
Their big brother of course loved all his friends, that was the kind of person he was. Even to people he didn’t seem to like, always so polite, keeping up a good face. But even with his best friends, that duo of frick and frack, he never greeted them so excitedly before. The only people he usually greeted with such fervor was them .
His brothers. His brothers whom he doted on non stop.
Ying-ge was clearly thinking the same, he put on that easy going smile of his but the gears were surely turning in his head. Trying to get a read on San Lang as the two began to approach them.
“San Lang, these are my little brothers, A-Ying and A-Yuan, guys this is my Sa-my friend San Lang!”
Uh, what was that little slip up? His San Lang? What did that mean?
Shen Yuan looked between the two, his brain whirling. They had only met two weeks ago, right? They were standing awfully close. Back off buddy, give him some personal space!
“Ah, so these are gege’s younger brothers? It’s nice to finally meet you. All he ever does is sing your praises.”
What kinda weird fancy talk is that? That was the kind of talk they’d hear at those God awful adult parties their parents would take them to. And what was this? He isn’t your gege sir! He was their gege!
He felt another little nudge from Ying-ge as he chuckled, yup his thinking face was on. A brainstorm of thinking was going on inside that skull! “Heh, of course cause we’re amazing. Right, A-Yuan?”
Taking a step forward he wrapped his arms around his da-ge’s arm and nodded. It was time to use the power of being the cute babiest brother! “Yup! We are the best! Right? Lian-ge?”
For his cute efforts he received a pat on the head and hug. There was no resisting affection with his big brother. He melted when it came to hugs and snuggles. All it took was a look and a certain tone of voice. Hook line and sinker.
San Lang had been watching, yup, those eyes were on him now. He couldn’t deny the guy was handsome. Had the looks girls even his age would gush about. He looked like the lead in those romance manga or maybe the second bad boy love interest? His smile was pretty and Shen Yuan watched suspiciously as he leaned down.
“Gege, A-Yuan is so cute just like you said. He looks just like you. How old are you going to be? Seven?”
EXCUSE YOU?!
Shen Yuan may have been short and scrawny but he didn’t look that young! Ten at least!!! Seven?! SEVEN?! What nerve! He felt his entire face go red and cheeks puff out. What was worse, Ying-ge began to laugh! Bastard! Weren’t they supposed to be on a united front here?! His head whipped around to see Lian-ge was also laughing! Wait, no! You’re definitely not supposed to be laughing too! You’re supposed to defend him!
He again lamented over the fact they were stuck in the park doing this. Why couldn’t it have been an arcade or the movies or the library? Somewhere he could actually enjoy himself? The most he could do is go on the swings, everything else was a chore that would wipe him out physically.
They were seated in the grass now, across from a field where some other kids were playing baseball. His chin resting on his tucked knees only half listening to what the others were talking about. Ying-ge continued to be a traitor, getting along and making nice with San Lang already. It’s only because he was such a social butterfly, it was annoying.
Twisting his fingers in the grass he pulled a few blades out in an attempt to amuse himself. Getting lost in a daydream was easy enough, his vision going hazy until he felt a hand suddenly touch his head. With a yelp he looked up at Lian-ge who just smiled down at him.
“A-Yuan is learning other languages, he can already speak Japanese and English!”
“Mhm, A-Yuan is a little genius after all.”
Not really, his brothers were always at the top of their classes. Shen Yuan was fine, he made good grades. Not only that but Ying-ge was literally a musical prodigy and Lian-ge just seemed to excel at everything. Being in the Top 10 of anything was always good to him, maybe not to their father but…his brothers were proud of him so what else did he need?
“He’s also a very good story teller, he likes to write stories for us all the time, A-Yuan is very creative.” Lian-ge continued to praise him which had Shen Yuan huffing a bit.
They’re not that good.
He looked up hesitantly to expect San Lang to tease or laugh at him. Call him a nerd but instead he just seemed interested? Was he putting on an act for his brother? Being nice to get into da-ge’s good graces? Wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried that trick. Shen Yuan was older now and wouldn’t be tricked so easily by a pretty smile!
“I’d like to read one of A-Yuan’s stories one day,”
“I only let people I like read my stories.”
“A-Yuan! How rude!”
Why the scolding? Was he expected to like San Lang the second his eyes landed on him? He wasn’t like his easily swayed brothers! Even if Ying-ge was just being polite for politeness sake he always made friends so easily. His group of friends were just as strange! The only person Shen Yuan really considered a friend in return was Lan Zhan since he had been his friend first!
He stole another look toward San Lang who was looking at him in what Shen Yuan can only guess was…amusement? Like he was entertained by his reactions which made him more annoyed. This guy was just…he didn’t like him!
“M’gonna go on the swings!” Without waiting for an answer he headed over to them, walking as fast as he could without losing his breath. Flopping down into the seat he gripped the chains tightly and kicked at the sand beneath his shoes.
He felt…stupid.
What was he even doing? Acting like a baby…maybe he really was seven and he just imagined the last five years of his life?
His stomach churned painfully but not in the usual way. There was no reason to care about his brother making a new friend? It doesn't matter, he’ll make more and more friends till he has hundreds of them, maybe even thousands! But who wanted that many friends anyways?
Kicking at a rock he watched it fly away and sighed.
All those friends will just keep him busy…
Stewing in his thoughts he didn’t notice when someone came and occupied the swing beside his own. To his surprise and annoyance it was San Lang. What was he doing here? What did he want? Had he come to tease him this time? Rub it in his face that he was so cool and charming that all his big brother did was talk about him?
He was just sitting there, looking at him! What did he want? Well two can play this game! Cheeks puffing out he made a noise and twisted in his seat glaring at him. They stared each other down, a battle of wills! War! This was war!
What a creep! Was that a smirk? He couldn’t tell but he was sure it was a smirk! Slowly (not slowly at all) his temper came to a boil and he snapped.
“What do you want?!”
“I didn’t want to force Shen Yuan to speak but now we can talk.”
What was there to talk about? There was nothing to talk about at all. He twisted the swings chains to turn away from him. His feet firmly in place so he wouldn’t spin back. There was no need, why did they need to speak! San Lang was just another of his gege’s friends who will simply ignore him in the end! So what did it matter? Why did any words need to be exchanged between them?
“What do you care? This is just a formality, after today we’ll probably only see each other in passing and it’ll be hi’s and goodbye’s.”
“I don’t think so, I think…I’ll be seeing A-Yuan quite a bit in the future.”
And why would that be the case? Lifting his feet, he spun around to face him again, his eyes questioning the other. He wanted to punch that dumb, smug expression off his face.
“I’m going to be marrying your gege one day.”
This is said with all the confidence in the world. Said so firmly and with such conviction Shen Yuan nearly fell out of his seat.
Excuse me?
What? What was this declaration?! Was this guy crazy?
“Y-you can’t, boys can’t get married!”
“Oh? Who says? Would you be upset if your brother married a boy?”
Well…everyone as far as he knew. Wasn’t that not allowed or something? Wouldn’t they get in trouble? Also they were just dumb teenagers! They couldn’t get married at all! It felt like his brain was being shaken around. This guy, he was seriously a pain in the butt! Why couldn’t he just let him sulk on his own anyways?
“I don’t care, I don’t care who Lian-ge gets with just so long as they’re nice to him and they don’t-”
He pressed his lips together in a firm line and looked down again, glaring down at the dirt.
“They don’t…take him away from me.”
Ugh, he hated saying that aloud. He wanted to stuff those feelings down and make them go away. It should be against the law or something to talk about weird icky feelings.
His gege was so cool and popular even if he was kinda weird. Both his brothers were. Ying-ge was always surrounded by friends, always going somewhere new and fun. Even more so lately. Both of them would just take off and be gone for hours on end and that would leave Shen Yuan on his own. It wasn’t like he had anyone else to keep him company.
It was pretty pathetic wasn’t it?
He knew better, he knew then that. He couldn’t cling onto them forever but…was it so bad to want to hold on for a little longer? And when they’d all grow up and his brothers got married and had bunches of kids with their pretty wives or whatever else they wanted…would they want him around?
He was just…Shen Yuan.
These thoughts swirled around his head, draining away the world around him until he felt a hand on top of his head. He should have slapped it away, stood up and stalked off for the sake of his pride.
Yet he didn’t.
San Lang’s hand was warm, he didn’t try to pull at his hair or pinch him. Honestly it was like getting a head pat from Lian-ge. Familiar and almost comforting. Though he soon remembered who it was offering him comfort and quickly sat up. His eyes narrowed at San Lang who held his hands up as a sign for peace. He wasn’t smirking anymore, his expression didn’t seem dishonest, at least it wasn’t right now. Warily Shen Yuan remained seated, another stare down happened, this one far less intense than last. The older boy was the one who broke the silence first.
“It might be hard to believe since I’ve only just met your brother…but I promise you I will treat him like a prince, dare I even say like a God.” A chuckle left San Lang’s lips, he was probably seeing the ever present wariness in Shen Yuan’s face.
“But that also means…I’d treat not only him but you and A-Ying just as well.”
Huh? What? Why?
There was no obligation to treat them in any sort of way. Some of his brothers’ friends could be real jerks.
“If one day the two of us get married and we will,”
Again that confidence.
“That would make you my family as well. You’d be my little brother. And if there’s one thing I’ve always sworn to do it’s to treat my family like treasures.”
A treasure? Him? Feeling a little stupefied by his words.
“Heh, have I stunned you? At a loss for words?”
Snapping out of it, he huffed, kicking him but not with much force, this brought about a sudden burst of laughter. San Lang’s cheeks flush and eyes form into crescent moons. He moved from the swing to kneel down in front of him, still smiling.
“A-Yuan is very beloved by gege, he treasures you and A-Ying so very much. So I will treasure you as well,”
Agh, why did his face feel hot? He wanted to kick him again! Looking away he let out a loud sigh. This guy was such a weirdo! Ugh, maybe he was a good match for his strange big brother? He wouldn’t make any concrete decisions yet, only time would tell if this San Lang was actually worthy enough to somehow become his brother’s husband.
“You’re making fun of me…”
“No, not at all. You won’t find anyone more sincere than me.”
That oddly sounded like a line. Did he use that on his brother?! How shameless was this guy! With another huff he stood up now and gave San Lang a lookover before folding his arms.
“Actions speak louder than words, we’ll see about it. Don’t think you can get my approval so easily just from a few words and a pretty smile!”
“Oh? A-Yuan thinks I have a pretty smile?”
What? Wait! No! No of course not! How, how ridiculous! He was picking at his words! Only hearing what he wanted to hear! Ignoring the sudden heat that now consumed his whole head, Shen Yuan began to walk back toward where his brothers were, blocking out the sound of San Lang’s laughter.
Even when the other had caught up to him, Shen Yuan kept his eyes forward, stomping his feet all the way back.
And if he did steal a glance…at him?
Well…so what if he had a bit of a pretty face?
Anyone with eyes could see that! Right?