Chapter Text
Wu Xie smiles at the way Li Cu is leaning against the pillar outside the door to Wushanju, feigning disinterest and boredom in the way that only a teenager knows how. He looks sullen, like there is anywhere else he would rather be right now, but his eyes give him away. Age hasn’t yet taught him to hide his emotions from his eyes and right now they are sparkling with interest and curiosity despite his body language and facial expression.
They’re expecting Xiaoge back at any moment. He’s only been gone for a week, but that’s several days too many in Wu Xie’s opinion. He’d never tie Xiaoge down, of course. Wu Xie understands that sometimes he just needs to be away from everything, even more so since he came out of the bronze gate, because now everything is loud and sometimes overwhelming. But ever since he came back Wu Xie finds he misses him more quickly and worries a little more when Xiaoge goes away like this, even if it’s on a simple job like this one was.
He can hear the faint sound of Pangzi singing in the kitchen as he cooks what will no doubt be a selection of Xiaoge’s favourite dishes. He hasn’t said as much but Wu Xie knows Pangzi misses Xiaoge as much as he does. He always welcomes him back with a little reminder of what he has waiting for him at home while he’s away.
“How much longer do we have to wait?” Li Cu huffs.
Wu Xie ruffles his hair, earning him a growl as Li Cu’s hands swat at him. “You need to learn patience.”
Li Cu doesn’t need to know that Wu Xie is practically vibrating out of his own skin with impatience himself.
Almost as though he’d heard them, the front gate opens a moment later and Xiaoge steps inside. Wu Xie doesn’t know where he’s been, only that Xiaoge said it was safe and sure enough he looks healthy and whole, his lips turning up into a soft smile when he sees Wu Xie waiting for him.
It’s like the sun has emerged from behind a dark cloud. Wu Xie feels warm, happy and content. Xiaoge is back. How could anything bad happen now?
“Xiaoge!” He strides across the courtyard and wraps him in a tight hug. It’s been several months since Xiaoge came out from behind the bronze gate, but Wu Xie still likes to have a physical reminder that he’s really here. Xiaoge is very patient with all the hugs and touches that Wu Xie keeps insisting on. He stands there, slightly stiff in Wu Xie’s arms but his arms reach around him to hug him back.
When they finally withdraw from the hug, Xiaoge gives him a quick look over and nods when he’s apparently satisfied that Wu Xie hasn’t starved or injured himself in any way.
“Wu Xie,” he says softly and his voice is like a drink of water when Wu Xie hadn’t even realised he was thirsty. He really has missed him. “I brought you a gift.”
He pulls a small box out of his pocket and holds it out. Wu Xie beams. He’s as human as anyone else. Who doesn’t like getting gifts? It’s a new thing that only started recently. When Xiaoge comes back from one of his trips he always brings Wu Xie a trinket. Maybe to say sorry for leaving, or just as a souvenir. Wu Xie doesn’t know, Xiaoge has never really explained it and when Wu Xie had asked he said he’d bought him a gift because he wanted to.
Inside the box is a bracelet. The string is red, and it holds three beads made of green jade that gleam where they catch the sun. Wu Xie doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry but this is beautiful, and he can see just from looking at it how valuable it is.
Xiaoge carefully removes the bracelet from the box while Wu Xie is still holding it, and motions for Wu Xie to give him his wrist. He fastens it, turning Wu Xie’s hand left and right to examine it before he finally nods in satisfaction.
Wu Xie beams again. Xiaoge has gifted him with a very expensive friendship bracelet! He runs his finger over one of the beads and wants to say that this is too much, that he's not worth such a gift, but he knows Xiaoge won’t accept that because of course Xiaoge doesn’t care about the material value of things. The Zhang family is wealthy enough and Xiaoge has been alive long enough to have amassed a decent amount of money of his own. The tomb jobs he goes on pay well, he lives in Wushanju so he doesn’t need to pay for a place to live, and he wears the same black hoodie, jeans and boots which Wu Xie assumes are cheap and easy to replace. This bracelet is probably nothing to him, other than something pretty he wanted to give to Wu Xie.
“Thank you,” he says, giving Xiaoge’s shoulder a squeeze.
Xiaoge nods again, then his eyes drift over Wu Xie’s shoulder to look at something behind him, a small frown creasing his brow. It’s only then that Wu Xie remembers they have company.
“Come on,” he says, slinging an arm across Xiaoge’s shoulders. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Li Cu eyes them with no small amount of distrust, which is smart, but Wu Xie needs to show him that Xiaoge is safe and someone Li Cu can trust if Wu Xie isn’t around and he needs help.
“This is Li Cu. You remember I told you about him?”
Xiaoge nods, half in acknowledgement of Wu Xie’s question and half in greeting.
“Li Cu, this is—”
“The asshole who abandoned you?” Li Cu snaps, before turning his attention to Xiaoge with a glare. “You really fucked him up, you know that, right?”
There’s a pregnant pause hanging heavy in the air before Wu Xie suddenly laughs. He can’t help it. Li Cu is blunt to a fault, and for all he reminds Wu Xie of a younger version of himself he reminds him of Pangzi almost as much.
He’s about to tell Li Cu that it’s fine, that Xiaoge is back now and that’s all that matters, but then he sees the stricken look on Xiaoge’s face and the words die in his throat.
“I know,” Xiaoge says softly, lowering his eyes so he doesn’t have to make eye contact with Li Cu.
Suddenly Li Cu’s anger is no longer funny and Wu Xie feels his heart breaking all over again. He doesn’t want Xiaoge to blame himself, he never wanted that. He’s just glad to have him back.
“Xiaoge…”
Xiaoge raises his eyes this time, turns to look at Wu Xie. “I know, and I’m sorry.”
He turns back to Li Cu who has stopped glaring and looks like he wants to be anywhere but here having to deal with emotions right now.
“I’m sorry,” he says again, to Li Cu this time.
“Well...good. You should be.” There’s less heat behind his words this time, but his lips are pursed together in a tight line and the glare hasn’t completely faded from his eyes.
The kid has balls, Wu Xie will give him that, but he didn’t introduce them for there to be anger and guilt between them. He needs to fix this.
“Water under the bridge,” he declares, forcing a cheerful smile onto his face. For him it very much is, but clearly it isn’t for Xiaoge and perhaps that’s something they should talk about at some point when Li Cu isn’t standing there still looking like he half wants to fight someone. He certainly doesn’t look convinced by Wu Xie’s words, although the anger has quelled a little after Xiaoge’s apology.
He doesn’t push the subject though, and when Wu Xie slings an arm across his shoulders and the other over Xiaoge’s and steers them back into the house he allows himself to be moved. It’s a start and Wu Xie will take it.
“Look who I found,” he calls as he guides the two of them into the living room with him.
Pangzi’s head pops out of the kitchen and he beams when he spots Xiaoge. “Welcome home, Xiaoge! Food’s almost ready! I see you’ve met the kid. Don’t worry about him, his bark is worse than his bite.”
He disappears before Xiaoge can say anything and Li Cu mutters something under his breath that’s too low for Wu Xie to hear. That’s probably for the best, because the last thing he needs is Pangzi and Li Cu sniping at each other on top of everything else.
“Who wants a drink?” He heads over to the bar to get some beers before anyone replies, but he hesitates with his hand hovering over the bottles. He’s not sure giving alcohol to a kid who is barely legally old enough to drink is a good idea. Not because he doesn’t think Li Cu can handle it. He’s seen the kid put away stronger stuff than that before, but what he doesn’t want is Li Cu with a tongue loosened by alcohol in the same room as Xiaoge.
He puts the beers away and heads into the kitchen to make some tea instead.
The kitchen is hot, Pangzi has several things cooking at once and the air may be warm but it smells delicious.
“There’s a chance the kid might want to murder Xiaoge,” Wu Xie says as he prepares the tea.
Pangzi snorts. “That’s a show I’d like to see. Why? What did Xiaoge ever do to him?”
“It’s just a misunderstanding,” Wu Xie replies with a shrug. “I’ll fix it. Just...if you hear yelling you might need to step in.”
“Yeah, no,” Pangzi replies as he leans over Wu Xie to grab a jar of spices from the shelf above him. “I’m not getting in the middle of that.”
As Wu Xie sets up the tea on a tray he can feel Pangzi watching him, and when he finally makes eye contact Pangzi is staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. No, not at him, at his wrist.
“You like it?” He asks, holding his wrist out for inspection. “It was a gift from Xiaoge.”
“I bet it was,” Pangzi mutters loud enough for Wu Xie to hear and what’s that supposed to mean?
“I’m sure he’s brought something for you too,” Wu Xie says. Maybe Pangzi is jealous, but there’s no need. Anyone can see Xiaoge loves them both. That’s why they’re the Iron Triangle.
“You’d better get back out there,” Pangzi replies, deftly ignoring Wu Xie’s words. “I’m not cleaning blood off the floor.”
Wu Xie doesn’t think it’ll come to that, or he hopes not anyway. He grabs the tray and walks a little more briskly than his usual pace back out into the living room.
The room is eerily quiet when Wu Xie enters, and he really hopes that it’s just because Li Cu is back to doing his whole surly teen thing. It’s not like Xiaoge talks a lot at the best of times, so he’s less concerned about not hearing him, but he still worries.
What he doesn’t expect, when he enters the room, is to find Li Cu armed with Xiaoge’s sword and what looks like an entirely genuine smile on his face. Xiaoge is sitting nearby on the couch, watching Li Cu, his eyes appraising him as the kid gives a couple of experimental twirls of the sword. He doesn’t drop it, which Wu Xie is at least marginally impressed by. He’d been an absolute disaster himself when Hei Xiazi had first tried to teach him how to fight with a blade. From the look on Xiaoge’s face he’s impressed too, or can at least see Li Cu’s potential.
“This is so cool,” Li Cu breathes, not even pretending to mask his excitement. He twirls the blade again and the tip comes dangerously close to toppling over a vase that Wu Xie had nearly died recovering from a tomb a couple of years ago.
“Not in the house,” he sighs as he sets the tray down on the table. “Come and drink some tea.”
Li Cu actually pouts, but he sheaths the sword and hands it back to Xiaoge before flopping down into one of the chairs with a huff.
“I can teach you some basic moves later,” Xiaoge says as he straps the sword back onto his back and shifts slightly so there’s space for Wu Xie next to him. “If you want.”
Li Cu grins and, okay, Wu Xie wanted Li Cu and Xiaoge to get along but he honestly hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly.
“Your boyfriend is way too cool for you,” Li Cu says as he accepts a cup of tea from Wu Xie. “Like totally out of your league.”
Wu Xie snorts. Well, it didn’t take long for the sarcasm to come back. If he thinks Li Cu is going to get a reaction from him by implying he and Xiaoge are more than friends he’s going to have to try harder than that.
“Yeah,” he replies with a shrug. “He is.”