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i'll love you for a thousand more—
[ as a general rule, xie lian didn't do weddings. or rather, he liked to avoid large gatherings altogether, but weddings ranked pretty high up on his list of events that would typically warrant a "thank you but i'm busy." considering the groom in this instance happens to be one of his few close friends, a rejection and thus a quiet night alone was unfortunately not in the cards for him this time.
don't get him wrong — xie lian is happy for feng xin. from what he can tell of jian lan, she seems a lovely young woman. sure, some might call the romance a little fast-paced, or even the wedding itself rather shot-gun ("She's pregnant, isn't she," mu qing had said the second the news was delivered.) but xie lian doesn't fancy himself any kind of expert on relationships or love so his opinions remain firmly on the fact there even has to be a wedding at all. couldn't they be just as happy to have a little get-together dinner, end at 10pm, and call it a night? people always say he's got too old of a soul, and he never feels it quite as much as when music is blaring and people are hyped up on alcohol having fun all around him.
the food is good, at least. and feng xin does look genuinely happy, so he's happy in turn for his friend. he'd promised himself he'd stay for as long as the cake is cut then make his way back to his hotel room, but he hadn't realized that was the absolute last thing on the program.
he does his best to keep to himself, despite being dragged to the dance floor a few times by shi qinxuan, mr. life of the party himself. it's also entirely his fault that xie lian had gotten caught up in the catching of the bouquet, which means it's 1000% justifiable if he beats shi qingxuan for the very predicament he finds himself in now:
forced to take a picture and endure social embarrassment with a stranger he's never met before, who just so happened to catch the garter not too long ago. ]
Ah... sorry if I'm heavy.
[ his smile is more a grimace as he tries to settle himself comfortably on the man's lap — it's tradition, someone had cried, for the bouquet-getter to sit on the garter-getter's lap for a picture. that photographer sure is taking his time... ]
no subject
at all.
but, he xuan begs him to accept so he'll have some company at the reception, and after making a deal ( and he xuan becoming more indebted to him ), hua cheng agrees to go. he gives the absolute bar minimum as a gift as he feels his presence is more than enough for these two idiots. the ceremony is fine; hua cheng knows that if it were his it'd be much better than this, but there's not much he can do than just think the table decorations are tacky and wonder why they didn't splurge a little more on their suits...
but, who is he?
he's kept to himself during the reception, lurking along the outskirts of the party itself and nursing a drink here and there. at least, until someone catches his eye. he's a bright spot an otherwise dingy room. a ray of sunshine peeking through a break in the clouds. he's beautiful and seeing him makes his chest clench in a way he can't really describe. before he even realizes, he's moving closer to the dancefloor, watching as he's spun around by he xuan's crush. then before he can stop it from happening, he's nudged onto the floor and suddenly there's a lacy garter in his hands.
for a moment he doesn't know what's going on, then he's being shoved into a chair and that beautiful man is dumped into his lap. he feels hotter, like he might start sweating any moment, as his hands settle comfortably around his waist. it's so narrow, what's it so narrow for??? hua cheng shifts slightly, doing his best to not jostle the man on his lap. )
You aren't. ( he smiles, a gentle curve to his lips ) Are you uncomfortable?
no subject
[ there is an urgency in xie lian's voice that he can't quite recognize. truthfully, he's normally quite hasty to smooth away any hints of disturbances or discomfort, especially when they're at his own expense, so perhaps this kind of easy dismissal is expected, but anyone who's a little more aware of xie lian might note the strange upward pitch of his tone when he says that. dismissive of his own discomfort? certainly, all the time. but nervous? xie lian hasn't felt truly nervous about anything for quite some time.
a more keen observer might note that despite what it looks like, xie lian isn't actually resting much of his weight on the stranger's lap at all. though there's contact, he's sat perfectly in a squatted position, his weight and strength instead rooted entirely on the flats of his feet and his thighs, so much so that if this red-clad stranger were to slip right out from under him right now his posture wouldn't even flinch. perhaps that's why he's that much more aware of the hand settled lightly on his waist, burning heat through the old suit he'd pulled out of the back of his closet to wear for the occasion. ]
It's an odd custom, isn't it?
[ xie lian chances a quick look over his shoulder, briefly catching the dark stranger's eye. the look is quick, but xie lian swears he'll be seeing that sharp profile and those long, dark lashes for quite some time. he starts to feel a little heat settle along his ears, the back of his neck. ]
no subject
or, at the very least, he's trying to be polite enough to not make hua cheng feel some sort of discomfort. after his hands had settled on this man's narrow waist, he could feel the way his muscles are tensed, which means he's holding himself less on his pert little rear and more on his own feet. how foolish.
but... somehow really adorable.
hua cheng exhales a laugh through his nose and makes as if he's shifting, but what he really does is sort of dislodge the way he's sitting so he other man's feet are knocked askew, possibly off the floor entirely, so he has no other option than to sit directly on hua cheng's lap.
not that he minds. in fact, he rather likes it and thinks he's quite lucky. )
Do you think so? ( he hums an amused sounding tone, his fingers flexing just slightly against his sides. ) I think I rather enjoy it.
no subject
not that that's what this stranger is doing. rather, he bypasses calling xie lian out entirely and goes straight for providing a solution to the situation. has someone somehow warned the larger man that engaging xie lian in conversation and negotiation is a fruitless endeavor? that the only way to get xie lian to do anything remotely for his own benefit is to force it on him instead?
the sound he makes when he's knocked off-balance is more startled than put off, and isn't it just his luck that the first picture the photographer finally snaps is right when he feels his face heat up in embarrassment? the body beneath him is sturdy — strong and solid, easily cushioning xie lian's sudden fall, mild though it may be. he's really trying not to think of just how solid that body feels now that it's pressed up against his back, or those hands adjusting their grip on his waist.
there are a few more snaps of photos, and xie lian thinks he's flinched and grimaced throughout every one of them. ]
Sorry, [ he says again, under his breath, though he's not sure what he's apologizing for this time. his actual weight? or that he'd tried to disguise it in the first place? ]