Chapter Text
“Movie night!”
Qiao Ling flung the studio's door open with her foot, arms full with black boxes.
Lu Guang set down his coffee cup onto the front counter. He stared at Qiao Ling. “What?”
“Movie night!” Qiao Ling repeated, making her way inside while haphazardly balancing the boxes. She kicked the door closed. “Didn't Cheng Xiaoshi tell you?”
“...I guess not,” Lu Guang replied. He glared at the sunroom entrance.
“Then let me fill you in,” Qiao Ling said, dumping the boxes onto the counter. “We're gonna watch that new movie today. You know, the one that everyone's been talking about for around a year?”
Lu Guang shook his head. Qiao Ling raised her eyebrows.
“The time travel one? With the cat that breathes fire?”
…What?
“Qiao Ling!” Cheng Xiaoshi exclaimed with a grin, entering the front room. He was holding a pillow to his chest and was dressed in his pajamas. “Finally! Took you long enough.”
“The thought of having to see you made me stall,” Qiao Ling retorted.
“Hey!”
“What's in these boxes?” Lu Guang asked, tracing his finger over a lid.
“Snacks,” Qiao Ling answered, eyes shining.
“And where are we watching this new movie?”
Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling glanced at each other sheepishly. Suspicious.
“Upstairs,” Qiao Ling said, looking askance.
“On my bed,” Cheng Xiaoshi added quickly.
Lu Guang stopped tracing the lid. “No.”
“Pleeeeeease?” Cheng Xiaoshi begged. “We won't spill anything!”
“Yes, you will.” Lu Guang said, “We're not eating on the bed.”
“Lu Guang, please? It's tradition!” Qiao Ling said. Gosh, even her?
“Why can't we watch downstairs?”
“It doesn't feel the same!” Cheng Xiaoshi insisted, “Movie nights have to be on a bed. It's more comfortable that way!”
Lu Guang looked at the two back and forth, feeling his will fraying at its core. He sighed.
—
Lu Guang's laptop leaned against the railing, blinding in the dark room. Multiple boxes lay open on the bed. Some had candy, others chips, and one even contained cotton candy.
A recipe for disaster. But Lu Guang was resigned to having to wash these bed sheets later anyway.
They had chosen Lu Guang's bunk instead only because Lu Guang decided that if his bed was truly wrecked beyond repair, he'd be able to sleep on the couch rather than Cheng Xiaoshi.
Because if Cheng Xiaoshi slept on the couch? They'd be wheeling him to the hospital with a hundred brain injuries.
“I'm turning it on!” Qiao Ling informed. She pressed the mousepad and huddled back into their little cocoon, backs facing the wall.
Qiao Ling was on Lu Guang's right. She wrapped the blanket around her more firmly and tilted forward, watching the screen with excitement. Cheng Xiaoshi was on his left, mirroring his sister.
Lu Guang was squashed in the middle and thoroughly unimpressed.
As the movie played, Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling started to lean back. The excitement died down, and their expressions slowly warped into irritance and disappointment.
“This is so stupid,” Qiao Ling muttered under her breath.
“Why is the main character so dumb?!” Cheng Xiaoshi yelled, pointing to the screen. “He's going the wrong way, again!”
This went on for about an hour, Lu Guang remaining quiet and still. His only entertainment stemmed from watching his friends berate the laptop screen.
Lu Guang was so zoned out that he hardly registered when a weight dropped to his right shoulder.
Lu Guang looked to find Qiao Ling completely knocked out, curled in and breathing quietly. He shifted but didn't shrug her off.
Careful not to wake Qiao Ling up, Lu Guang removed the box from her lap and adjusted the blanket. She hummed, fast asleep.
It didn't take long for Cheng Xiaoshi to join in. Hardly five minutes passed before Lu Guang's left shoulder bore his partner's head.
Wow, the movie must be really boring. Lu Guang glanced back at the screen just in time to see a cat roaring fire, igniting a whole train.
…Uh.
Lu Guang shut the laptop.
Maybe he should try to get up. Put the boxes away. Perhaps clean up the-
Cheng Xiaoshi nuzzled closer, his lips brushing across Lu Guang's jaw.
Lu Guang froze.
The faint sounds of passing cars and crickets echoed around the bedroom. But all of Lu Guang's senses boiled down to that one point.
He couldn't bring it in himself to pull away.
Lu Guang dropped his head onto Cheng Xiaoshi's and placed an arm around Qiao Ling's shoulder. It was just him left awake. He let his thoughts wander, completely at peace.
…Lu Guang was so lucky to have them in his life.
Without Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling, he'd have nothing. They meant everything to him. Everything and more.
…
Lu Guang allowed the darkness to whirl in his eyes, finally relaxing.
Movie night wasn't so bad, after all.
Lu Guang let sleep engulf him, content alongside his two favourite people.