Love O2O- Beyond a Beautiful Smile

Chapter 18- Silent Night

A/N: ... the girl-spawn is throwing the world's biggest tantrum over bedtime so I'm typing this on my phone sitting on the floor next to her bed while my eardrums get hammered with a thousand drunk Thors. Yes. Brand new metaphor. Because I think drunk Thor would be a complete arse. A complete arse with a very big, noise making hammer and the ability to throw lightning around. Which, if my toddler could do so, would mean we would have no house left. So. Please pardon the errors and lack of formatting; I will fix this chapter, along with the others, once the story is complete. And I will make sure to fix it on a day when neither spawn is being feral. *contemplates the ice cream in the freezer but remembers diet*
... and that just made my mood worse. Sigh.

***

The door closed behind KO with a very clear, definite, absolute, unequivocal (and all other synonyms that he could think of) click... and Hao Mei felt that single sound shiver along his spine. 

    He swallowed. 

    Throughout the day, he'd managed to forget their sleeping arrangements and he did not, for even a second, believe that Xiao Nai had accidentally booked a single room. Laosan didn't even accidentally use pepper instead of salt, or wear mismatched socks, or forget his bank card pin. Accidentally forgetting that he was booking accomodation for two single men? Hao Mei scoffed aloud. There was a great chance of the Yangtze drying up over night. Which meant his friend had "forgotten" quite deliberately. 

    Movement behind him made him jump and he spun around, heart racing, to stare wide eyed at KO, toeing his shoes off at the door. Would it hurt him to make some noise, sometimes? I should put a bell on him. As though hearing Hao Mei's thoughts, KO looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. 

    The younger man blushed and three black lines were drawn down his face. (A/N: I'm borrowing this from translations of Gu Man's writing- the three black lines on the face is from anime and manga where the character is drawn with lines on their face. It generally depicts an emotional/mental discomfort with the situation.) Feeling his cheeks heat, he almost squeaked out "I'm going to shower" before racing into the bathroom. 

    It wasn't until he was already under the water, steam clouding the room, that he realised he hadn't grabbed his clothes. Or a towel.

    Standing outside the bathroom door, hand raised and poised to knock, KO paused as he heard a loud thud, followed by a groan. "Mei?"

    "I'm fine." Dim witted, but fine. 

    "Sure?"

    "Yes." To both. Now go away and let me wash my mortification down the drain. Hao Mei stuck his face under the water. If he couldn't breath, then surely he couldn't embarrass himself any further? 

    "I have a towel." The door opened slightly and an arm squeezed through, leaving the towel on the floor before retreating. 

    Hao Mei looked down at himself, turning bright red with the realisation that as soon as the door opened he had leaned over and covered himself like some hapless female lead in a romantic comedy. His head thunked against the tiles once more. How many years had he shared a dorm with three other males? Admittedly, Xiao Nai had spent less and less time there, but still... bathroom privacy had been violated on a semi-regular occasion (A/N: want to know how loud she is now? I just had to google "occasion" to make sure it meant what I thought it did. English is my first language, folks. English Literature is my major. I should know something this simple but my brain is melting out my ears). So why the virginal, protect the goods at all costs, act? 

    Thunk.

    Thunk. 

    Thunk.

    His head was starting to hurt before he figured he'd knocked enough sense into himself. Flipping the shower off, he towelled himself dry before another epiphany hit. Why the hell did he give me a towel... but no clothes?

    Fiddling with his laptop, KO heard the water stop and, for a brief moment, let his smile stretch his cheek muscles. When the door opened he had carefully schooled his face to its usual blankness and had his own towel, and change of clothes, ready to go. What he wasn't ready for, was Mr Beauty stepping from the bathroom with a white towel slung around his hips; crystal beads dropped from his hair and rolled over smooth skin, lovingly following the dip and curve of lean muscle. Now, it was KO's turn to swallow. His turn to feel his mouth run dry, and chest constrict. 

    His turn to curse Xiao Nai and his great ideas. 

    "You're up." 

    KO blinked at Hao Mei. 

    "For the shower? Your turn for the bathroom." By not even a twitch of his lips did Hao Mei show any awareness of the impact of his words. Instead, with doe-like eyes, he reached up and ran a hand slowly through his hair, pausing for the barest breath with his torso stretched and towel threatening to slip. Then, with a cheery, guileless smile, he secured the towel with a hand and waved KO past him in to the bathroom. 

    "I'll be dressed once you're done."

    He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving KO like a bronze statue hit with heavy rainfall.

    Left to his own devices while KO took a surprisingly long shower, Hao Mei felt the butterflies start beating at his stomach again. His earlier bravado deserted him and anxiety took its place.  We've done this before. This is no different to crashing at his place after a long day. Except it was. This wasn't KO's dingy room. He wasn't sleeping on the couch- he couldn't after KO's earlier dismissal of the suggestion- and even though he'd shared a bed with male friends before, he'd never shared a bed with one he'd been so physically aware of. He grumbled to himself as he stewed on the issue some more. It was all KO's fault, really. He was the one to instigate the initial flirty touches, and who knew the stone-wall hacker was such a pervert?     He sat on the bed. Then moved to look out the window. Then looked at the bed. Out the window. Bed. Window. Beer? With relief, he remembered the bar fridge tucked away inside the living area and, with glee at the thought of Xiao Nai's face when he received the bill, decided to get some help with unwinding. The bottles were small, the quality good, and the alcohol content much stronger than Hao Mei's nervous stomach could take. He didn't notice the passing of time. Didn't notice KO standing in the bathroom doorway; watching him, watching the view. Didn't notice the empty bottle slip from his hand, only to be caught before it hit the floor. Didn't notice the arms that lifted him from his position curled up in the chair by the window, carried him to the bedroom and placed him gently on the bed. He didn't notice the blankets tucked over him, but even in a drunken stupor he noticed the warm, spicy smell that wrapped around him. He rolled towards it, burrowing his nose into the smooth source of that smell and slept well all night.

(A/N: I ate the ice cream. I could hold out from the tantrum but Hao Mei deciding to push back? I may have spent a bit too much time imagining that scenario (so I could write it, of course) and ice cream was the only cure. Girl-spawn is asleep now. The volume gradually decreased as Hao Mei's alcohol intake increased... I may have to remember that for future reference.)