Work Text:
“They think I’m staying with a brother who- who fucking bends over for men on the internet? HELL NO!” Luo Bingge grumbled, pushing down on his suitcase and then hurriedly zipping with a little struggle. His room was a mess, more than just a mess. It looked as if he had summoned a hurricane that ravaged the place, a destructive one at that with how broken the bed is. The sledgehammer he kept by his side came in handy, he broke the wall as well as the TV in his room, some furnitures and then, in a fit of rage, went to Luo Bingmei’s room, destroying every last gay shit that motherfucker had (everything-). He didn’t have anger issues, it was just a small meltdown.
He dragged the oversized suitcase down the peerless stairs, the sight of marble yet again dirtying his sight. The wheels scratched like a dying animal, the weight of whatever this man had put inside being on par with a dead body. He looked like a man who survived a war, he did, the war was one brave man against a mob of …. Gay supporters, who ended up being revealed to be his family. The only casualties were his sanity and everything in his AND Luo Bingmei’s room.
Under one arm he lugged a massive terrarium containing Xin Mo, his black-scaled python. The snake seemed to be influenced by its owner’s mood, hissing with every vibration.
Before leaving, he took a stop to the dining room where they were all eating his $200 worth of ice cream. WAIT HIS!? WHAT WAS WITH THIS FAMILY AND RUINING HIS THINGS!? “I’m leaving and don’t even bother calling me! I smashed my phone! At least Mobei-jun is not going to eat my ice cream.”
Luo Bingge didn’t wait for a reply. He could not stand seeing his father grin, hear his older brother’s judgemental comments, his cousin being himself, or seeing his younger brother’s face. If he stayed for a second longer, he’ll commit a felony and go to jail knowing it was all for a good cause. Though the people in jail are gayer than gays so he’d hate to go there. Fake straight men all of them.
The heavy front doors of the penthouse slammed shut with a force that rattled the chandeliers and vases.
“How long do you think he’s going to survive out?” Tianlang jun asked, opening Luo Bingge’s double chocolate fudge ice cream.
“I bet $10 he’s only lasting a day or two.” Luo Bingzu used his spoon and dug into the ice cream, at least Luo Bingge had good taste in something.
The elevator ride down was a test of patience, the mirrored walls reflected his disheveled state, hair messy, breathing heavy with cement dust on his cheeks, and lugging a suitcase that carried the weight of what he had left. Xin Mo hissed from inside the terrarium, flicking its tongue against the glass as if sensing the toxicity radiating from Luo Bingge.
“Shut up,” he snapped at the snake. “You’re the only one I can trust right now, don’t push it. Unless you have a snake version of onlyfans.”
He burst through the lobby, ignoring the startled 24/7 concierge. The night air was crisp against his skin but it did little to cool his anger. He didn’t have a phone, he didn’t have a car (technically the driver on the family payroll and Luo Bingge is so done with the family), all he had was a snake.
He’s not going to uber, that shit’s for poor people. Although, somewhere in his brain he had thought of ordering one but then he remembered he used his sledgehammer to turn his phone into a bunch of parts. In the end Luo Bingge ended up walking in the dark, his destination, Mobei-jun’s minimalist marble-free apartment.
Halfway there Luo Bingge’s lungs began to burn. He stopped and took a pit stop in an alleyway behind a convenience store to catch his breath and take a good smoke. Holy shit who knew he should have worn his jacket, the night really is mercilessly cold. He fumbled for a moment with his lighter, hands shaking with residual fury.
“Marble… fucking whore… for his shizun..” he muttered, blowing out a cloud of nicotine-laced with spite. “I’ll show them. I’ll start a new life. I’ll fucking show them.”
“Yo skibidi gyatt, that’s a big L, no cap.”
Luo Bingge froze—what in god’s name is that. A kid sat on a crate near the dumpsters. He looked 12, his head round and perfectly bald, the light from the convenience store reflected off that ostrich egg looking ass head.
Luo Bingge blinked. “You talking to me?”
The egghead kid sat like a villain plotting, nodding. “Unc you tweaking. No aura type shit. Is that a snake? Negative social points.”
Is this what they call brainrot? Luo Bingge felt a vein in his temple begin to throb. “Speak normally. I don’t speak in the devil's tongue.”
“Bro, unc how old are you? 6 or 7 probably type shit.”
Luo Bingge didn’t even think that this is just a kid, he’s going to be dumb because, unfortunately, all kids are like this. Instead he approached the kid, delivering a swift kick to the head and then ran, grabbing all his things.
He ran three blocks without looking back, dropping his cigarette somewhere. His heart hammered in his ribs, the world has gone mad. His younger brother is a whore, his father reads porn in public, his older brother gives tips for porn, his cousin is… just his cousin, and this egghead speaks the word of the devil.
Finally, he reached Mobei-Jun’s steel-and-glass monolith, bypassing security with a copy of the owner’s keycard he’d made for emergencies like this and rode the lift to the top floor. Luo Bingge let out a breath he’d been holding, his sanctuary.
"Mobei! Get the guest room ready! I am officially disowning my entire bloodline!" Luo Bingge bellowed, stomping into the minimalist, cold-toned living room. "My brother is a harlot, my father is a gossip blogger, and my older brother is apparently a pimp for OnlyFans creators!”
Mobei-jun came out of his room wearing a simple robe, thankfully not an apron. “Bingge,” he said, “it’s 2AM.”
“I’m moving in,” he answered, pushing past him and dragging his baggage to the leather sofa. “Don’t ask questions, where can I put Xin Mo.”
Mobei-Jun looked at him with an unreadable expression. “In the spare room, why are you sweating?”
“I encountered a demon,” Luo Bingge hissed, collapsing on Mobei-Jun’s sofa, taking in the cold heavenly feel of leather. “Doesn’t matter, I’m safe now. You’re normal. Just us two bros living in a house with no marble.”
Mobei-jun stayed silent for a moment, so Luo Bingge decided to sleep on the sofa? “Sure, whatever helps you sleep. Wait, is that my uncle’s sledgehammer?”
Luo Bingge slept like a man who had survived a nuclear winter. For the first time in twenty-four hours, he didn't see anyone related to him, nor did he get flashed by videos of a man bent over crying and whimpering when he closed his eyes. Modei-jun must have taken him to the guest room when he fell asleep on the sofa. The guest room was exactly what he needed, cold, dark, and smelling faintly of expensive cologne and air conditioning.
He woke up at 10:00 AM feeling like a king. He was away from his degenerate family. He was in a safe space. He was with his most loyal and not a whore friend.
“Finally,” he sighed, stretching his sore muscles. “Sanity.”
Luo Bingge looked at the sidetable, Xin Mo’s terrarium. He smiled faintly, feeling a sense of pride that he had managed to get them both away from hell. He got of bed, opened his suitcase and took out a fresh shirt with his toothbrush, heading to the bathroom.
He sighed in relief, that ice cold water falling down on him just felt so fucking good. No, he’s not getting hard, it just feels good. Why would he be jerking off to cold water, that’s just plain weird, unlike someone who probably would and record himself.
Luo Bingge threw on the shirt and a pair of sweats, feeling the family germs had been scrubbed off his skin. He felt fresh. He felt masculine. He felt like a man who was about to have the first non-traumitizing breakfast with his normal, non-traumitizing best friend.
He felt enlightened as he walked down the hall, the lack of marble was like a soothing balm for his fractured soul. Here in Mobei-jun’s apartment, everything is sterile, masculine, normal, and most importantly, not used as a studio for onlyfans creators.
“Mobei you better have made enough for two,” Luo Bingge called out, coming into the kitchen with a smirk. “I’m starving for actual food—”
He stopped dead.
“Shang Qinghua?”
There at the stove was Shang Qinghua wearing one of Mobei-Jun’s shirts which were three sizes too big, bite marks and hickeys showing. Then there was Mobei-jun himself, standing behind the shorter men with his arms wrapped around his waist. His chin rested comfortably on Shang Qinghua’s shoulder.
The silence that followed was heavy.
“L-Luo.. Bingge?” Shang Qinghua squeaked, the spatula clattering into the pan. “You’re here.”
Mobei-Jun didn’t even move. He just got bolder. Opening one eye and narrowing it at Luo Bingge, tightening his grip on Shang Qinghua’s waist. “You’re awake.”
Luo Bingge’s brain, still traumatized by homosexual content, short-circuited. “Why…” he trailed off, his voice trembling a little. “Why is there physical contact?”
Shang Qinghua looked like he was about to faint. “I-I was just! The spreadsheets! I had to deliver them manually…. A-at midnight!”
Mobei-jun sighed, finally letting go of the waist. “He lives here, Binge. Don’t be dense.”
“You told me you had a girlfriend!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Luo Bingge couldn’t believe this. The safe space was dissolving. The bro sanctuary was on fire. “Mobei… we go to gym together. We talk about mergers. We… we’re normal! You’re the most normal person I know!”
“I am normal,” Movie-Jun said flatly. “I just happen to have a boyfriend. Is that a problem?”
Luo Bingge felt his knees go weak. First the 4k resolution images of his brother, then his father and older brother eating his ice cream stash, then the egg-headed demon in the alleyway, and now… the only man he respected was part of the LGBTQ+.
“Boyfriend,” Luo Bingge repeated. The word tasted like bile. It burned his tongue. “You… you’re one of them. You’re a… homosexual.” Who was he saying this to? The realisation stung, the betrayal by his closest brother-in-arms made his loathing for the gays grow, they had stolen someone from him. They had stolen everything from him.
“Bingge,” Mobei-jun’s expression darkened. “Watch your tone in my house.
Luo Bingge did not wait any longer. He turned around and bolted back to the guest room, slamming the door and dropping a vase.
Inside he threw himself on the bed, burying his face in the pillows.
“Xin Mo… we’re surrounded,” he muffled into the fabric. “They have intercepted our social circle.”
“Um.. Bingge…” It was Shang Qinghua’s nervous voice. “My king says if you don’t come and eat, he’s going to throw your uh python off the balcony.. I have some straight magazines if that makes you feel better. Though it’s kind of about tractors… pretty masculine right?”
Luo Bingge made up his mind. He grabbed Xin Mo's terrarium and closed his suitcase, ignoring the hissing of his dumb snake and opened the door, shoving Shang Qinghua away and making a break for the door. "Wha- hey!" Shang Qinghua called out for him but he didn't turn back. He didn't weight for the lift, he ran down the flight of stairs, with one goal in mind. Get out of here.
There was a hotel a few blocks away, that would be his only saviour. WHY CAN'T I FIND MY PEOPLE!? DOES THE WORLD REALLY LACK PEOPLE LIKE ME!?!