[mid-autumn comes far quicker than he ever could have anticipated.
life falls into a steady rhythm even with an unexpected guest; they both wake up at six am, have breakfast, exchange a few words here or there as lan sizhui prepares for the day then he heads out, leaving jason to his own devices. whatever those may be, he isn't sure, he's always simply trusted his friend to stay hidden. he's there when he returns at the end of every day, so what worries should he have? (many, he has many despite never having the courage to question it.) regardless, at nine pm each night, they're asleep together, wake up and do it all over again the following morning.
today, however, is different. he comes back earlier in the evening – thank goodness, jason is here whenever he does! – and announces they'll be going out, explains the festival, what it entails and so on. he surprises jason with a set of robes, tailor-made just for him, measurements having been snuck while he wasn't paying attention. what the actual surprise might be is sizhui stepping out from behind the screen divider in his own set, quite reminiscent to a particular someone he knows. mostly, his intention was catching jason off-guard by wearing his favorite colors too, which works better than he would've expected.
much to his surprise, everything goes rather smoothly. almost too easy, one might think, although the younger boy doesn't consider, especially not when they are in town and making merry.]
Did you enjoy yourself? [sizhui's hoping the traditional mooncakes they shared during the festivities were just as good as he'd gushed about, along with the wine: gusu's famous emperor's smile. he knows he's not supposed to drink, but it's part of celebrating, right? there's no harm in a glass, which quickly became another then another and— well, he's got the faintest stumble in his usual step on their way back to cloud recesses. some backwoods way, obviously, seeing as there's no possible chance of sneaking through the front gate like this. (gods bless lan jingyi, his being privy to the secret paths and his willingness to share them with a friend!) because let's not mention the soft small-talk or how slinking through the back mountain is noisier than usual, it's lucky they'll be far enough away from anyone that might've stayed behind.
once they reach the small pagoda outside his bedroom, that's where he leads rather than inside, guiding them deftly across the stone bridge to sit on the bench. there are still fireworks popping off above them and those are undoubtedly distracting, yet he's far more captivated by how handsome jason looks in his robes; it's a wonder he doesn't make some drunken move right then but his self-control, staring aside, is blessedly firm.
perhaps he looks ridiculous, gawking at him all giddily, blinking dreamily through the lingering alcohol-induced haze after he realizes. sizhui seems unbothered still, just closes his mouth, keeps watching him, enjoying the comfortable silence that's settled between them.]
♪ everything collapses around me, overwhelms and astounds me; a terrible truth
life falls into a steady rhythm even with an unexpected guest; they both wake up at six am, have breakfast, exchange a few words here or there as lan sizhui prepares for the day then he heads out, leaving jason to his own devices. whatever those may be, he isn't sure, he's always simply trusted his friend to stay hidden. he's there when he returns at the end of every day, so what worries should he have? (many, he has many despite never having the courage to question it.) regardless, at nine pm each night, they're asleep together, wake up and do it all over again the following morning.
today, however, is different. he comes back earlier in the evening – thank goodness, jason is here whenever he does! – and announces they'll be going out, explains the festival, what it entails and so on. he surprises jason with a set of robes, tailor-made just for him, measurements having been snuck while he wasn't paying attention. what the actual surprise might be is sizhui stepping out from behind the screen divider in his own set, quite reminiscent to a particular someone he knows. mostly, his intention was catching jason off-guard by wearing his favorite colors too, which works better than he would've expected.
much to his surprise, everything goes rather smoothly. almost too easy, one might think, although the younger boy doesn't consider, especially not when they are in town and making merry.]
Did you enjoy yourself? [sizhui's hoping the traditional mooncakes they shared during the festivities were just as good as he'd gushed about, along with the wine: gusu's famous emperor's smile. he knows he's not supposed to drink, but it's part of celebrating, right? there's no harm in a glass, which quickly became another then another and— well, he's got the faintest stumble in his usual step on their way back to cloud recesses. some backwoods way, obviously, seeing as there's no possible chance of sneaking through the front gate like this. (gods bless lan jingyi, his being privy to the secret paths and his willingness to share them with a friend!) because let's not mention the soft small-talk or how slinking through the back mountain is noisier than usual, it's lucky they'll be far enough away from anyone that might've stayed behind.
once they reach the small pagoda outside his bedroom, that's where he leads rather than inside, guiding them deftly across the stone bridge to sit on the bench. there are still fireworks popping off above them and those are undoubtedly distracting, yet he's far more captivated by how handsome jason looks in his robes; it's a wonder he doesn't make some drunken move right then but his self-control, staring aside, is blessedly firm.
perhaps he looks ridiculous, gawking at him all giddily, blinking dreamily through the lingering alcohol-induced haze after he realizes. sizhui seems unbothered still, just closes his mouth, keeps watching him, enjoying the comfortable silence that's settled between them.]