Chapter Text
The sun bore down on Lu Guang as he jogged, making him gasp for air like a beached whale. He huffed as he slowed down, resting his hands against his knees to catch his breath. Sweat dripped off of his face and painted the sidewalk beneath him. His bangs were plastered to his forehead, black hair limp as if it was trying to match his exhaustion.
Standing up straight and wiping the sweat from his brow, he realized that he’d stopped next to a basketball court. There were some people in it playing ball already, and Lu Guang tried not to be disappointed.
If it’d been empty, he would have tried to shoot a few hoops, just to keep his practice up.
Taking a swig from his water bottle, he groaned and resumed his pace, trying to focus on the music in his ears instead of the burning in his legs.
Lu Guang got back to his small apartment before too long, nearly falling over his own feet as he stumbled towards the shower.
The cool water was the perfect way to refresh after a workout, and Lu Guang found himself still full of energy when he exited. With a quick glance at the clock, he realized he’d need that energy; his next class was about to start.
Cursing under his breath, Lu Guang ran back out the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He’d forgotten his damn laptop.
Lu Guang nearly smacked himself. How could he have been so thoughtless to have forgotten his laptop? Fortunately, he was able to take pictures of the professor’s slideshow on his phone. He’d just have to remember to convert them to written notes later.
He sighed as he returned to his apartment, wishing that he could have stayed at his old school.
He’d transferred in the middle of the year, when friend groups had already solidified, leaving him on the outskirts, alone.
Which was fine. He hadn’t had many friends at his previous school anyway.
But it was lonely. Especially when he returned to an empty apartment, ceiling too tall and walls too wide for just him.
His phone chimed, not with a text (never with a text; Lu Guang hardly knew anybody), but with a reminder to finish and submit the day’s homework. Lu Guang grimaced, but he dutifully sat down at his desk and got to work.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The following day was a Sunday, so Lu Guang spent as much time sleeping in as he could.
When he finally dragged himself out of bed, his stiff muscles nearly immediately called for a workout, so Lu Guang got dressed and made his way down the street.
If the basketball court’s free, I’ll stop by, he thought as he made his way down the street.
The closer he got, the more he looked forward to it until the court came into view.
It was occupied, technically. A lone figure stood within it, not moving. Lu Guang slowed, wondering what they were doing.
As he approached, the figure shifted slightly before jumping into the air. Lu Guang gaped at the sudden height. In one, fluid movement, they threw the ball towards the hoop.
It barely made a sound as it fell through, not even hitting the metal rim.
The boy - now that Lu Guang was closer, he could tell it was a boy - laughed triumphantly as he broke into a light jog to retrieve the ball. When he turned back, he finally saw Lu Guang standing in the court. “Hey.”
”Hey, man. Sorry for interrupting you,” Lu Guang said before breaking out into a huge smile. “That jump was incredible!”
The boy looked stunned for a moment before flashing a smile of his own. “Thanks! Do you wanna play for a bit?”
The thought was tempting, but… “I don’t wanna get in your way of practicing.”
He only got a light laugh in response. The boy threw the ball into Lu Guang’s hands. “You’d be helping me! I haven’t had a good one-on-one game in a while. Pass it back! Let’s go.”
Lu Guang didn’t need any more encouragement.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun was setting by the time the two of them were done, both panting and dripping sweat. Even so, despite his obvious exhaustion, the boy swung an arm around Lu Guang’s shoulders. “That was a great game!”
Lu Guang felt like his muscles had turned to sand and his limbs to stone, but there was a lightness in his chest that had never been there before. He gave the boy an answering grin. “Yeah. Let’s do it again sometime!”
”Oh! Let me get your phone number so we can get together for another round. I swear I’ll win next time!”
He shoved him playfully. “As if!”
The pair laughed as they exchanged phone numbers and bid each other goodbye. The lightness in Lu Guang’s chest made him smile even after he returned to his apartment.
His phone chimed. For a second, Lu Guang felt confused. He didn’t have any assignments due today.
Looking at his phone, he realized that the notification hadn’t been from a reminder, but from a text.
It had a name attached to it that Lu Guang didn’t recognize, and only then did he realize that he never asked for the boy’s name. He must have attached it to his phone number when they exchanged their information.
Cheng Xiaoshi
Thanks for the game today!
Are you free to play again tomorrow?
“Cheng Xiaoshi,” Lu Guang said aloud, testing the name out as he typed out a reply. He couldn’t stop a smile from crossing his face.
Lu Guang
You bet!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang became fast friends. It amazed Lu Guang, since he’d originally thought he’d be unable to make new friends after transferring.
But now, the two of them were meeting together nearly every day to play basketball and get to know each other.
”Y’know, I work close by to here,” Cheng Xiaoshi said once as they were recuperating after a particularly-strenuous game.
”You have a job?”
He shoved Lu Guang playfully. “What, is that so hard to believe?” The two shared a laugh before he continued, “Yeah, it’s the Hero Photo Studio nearby.” He gave a lopsided grin and a wink. “If your camera ever has issues, you can count on me! I’ll fix it for you.”
And that’s how Lu Guang came to be standing on the doorstep of the unassuming shopfront holding a camera.
He didn’t own one, but he didn’t want to show up without a reason - because ‘I wanted to see more of you’ felt foreign on his tongue - so he’d bought it earlier that day.
He couldn’t explain the strange tug he always felt nowadays, prompting him to spend more and more time with Cheng Xiaoshi, but it wasn’t an unwelcome feeling.
Inhaling deeply, Lu Guang stepped forward and opened the door.
It was unlike any shop he’d ever seen before. He stepped into a small foyer area that consisted of a counter and a closed door behind it. Framed photographs lined the walls with no rhyme or reason. Further in, Lu Guang caught a glimpse of a brightly-lit lounge room and a comfortable-looking couch.
It felt… cozy.
Looking around, Lu Guang also realized that it was completely empty with no sign of Cheng Xiaoshi.
”Uh, hello?” he called out.
There was a shifting sound and Lu Guang barely had any time to wonder what it was before Cheng Xiaoshi was poking his head into view. “Oh! Lu Guang, you came!!”
Unsure of what to say next, Lu Guang awkwardly held out the camera in his hand. “My… it stopped working.”
He had made sure to pick out a slightly outdated model so that it didn’t look like he’d just bought it. Even so, Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes lit up when he saw it. “May I?” He asked, hesitating to reach out.
Lu Guang grinned and tossed the camera to Cheng Xiaoshi like it was a basketball, knowing that he’d catch it easily.
He did and began turning it over in his hands, laughing. “If you treat this camera like that all the time, it’s no wonder you need it fixed,” he teased.
”Nah, I usually dribble it a few times first,” Lu Guang shot back. He watched Cheng Xiaoshi hold the camera with a practiced hand, his love for the device obvious. “I didn’t think you were open. I didn’t see anyone when I came in.”
Cheng Xiaoshi cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “Oh, well, about that,” he chuckled sheepishly. “The shop isn’t technically open.”
”Wait, what? Then why are you here?”
”Because I live here!” He answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
”You…” Lu Guang was having a hard time wrapping his brain around this new development. “…live here?”
Cheng Xiaoshi pointed out the steps that had escaped Lu Guang’s initial view of the shop. “There’s a small room upstairs that I live in and there’s a kitchen in the back. It’s got everything a guy could need!”
Lu Guang couldn’t help but admire Cheng Xiaoshi’s nearly-endless enthusiasm. He was about to say something when Cheng Xiaoshi looked up from the camera with a strange expression on his face, one that Lu Guang couldn’t quite identify.
”Lu Guang? I have a question about this camera.” He hesitated before asking, “When did you get it?”
”Uhh,” Lu Guang scratched the back of his neck as he searched for a reasonable, non-suspicious answer. “I’m not sure? I’ve had it for years.”
”Years?”
”That’s right.”
The strange expression on his face deepened into something altogether strange to Lu Guang. He was about to ask when Cheng Xiaoshi seemingly reached into the camera and pulled out a piece of paper. He held it out to Lu Guang, the beginnings of a smirk playing across his features. “This is today’s date.”
Lu Guang felt his face flush as he stared at the receipt he’d received just hours earlier for that very same camera.
”It was caught under the flash hood,” Cheng Xiaoshi said, barely able to get the words out past all his chuckling.
And Lu Guang finally understood the strange expression on Cheng Xiaoshi’s face. He was simply trying to not laugh as he caught Lu Guang in his lie.
The boy in question shuffled on his feet, unsure of what to say. “I…” he began, the truth forcing its way out, “I wanted to see you again.”
”You. Want to spend time. With me?” Cheng Xiaoshi looked shocked, and it broke Lu Guang’s heart at how utterly dumbfounded he appeared to be upon the knowledge that someone wanted to spend time with him. He nodded, unsure of what reaction he was going to get and stepped back when Cheng Xiaoshi exploded.
Amongst his enthusiastic rambling, Lu Guang found himself ushered further into the studio until he was sitting on the comfortable-looking couch in the middle of the sunroom.
He immediately felt his body relaxing, the final warm rays of the sun shining through the windows and easing his worries.
All at once, the rambling stopped.
Lu Guang started to get up, to ask Cheng Xiaoshi if he was okay, but his unusually-tense voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
”Don’t… move…”
Briefly, Lu Guang considered that Cheng Xiaoshi had found an enormous insect on him, but the click of a camera shutter replaced his theory with a more-accurate one. “Why are you photographing me?”
Cheng Xiaoshi chuckled, but this sounded different from his carefree laughs from earlier. “Because it’s the golden hour. A photographer’s favorite time of day. It’s the time when the evening light shines through the window, making everything appear soft and warm.” His expression was tender as he regarded Lu Guang, the light from the setting sun making his eyes appear to be the color of honey. “The light is perfect now and…” he hesitated, but raised the camera up to his eyes again. “…and your skin is like a painting.”
That struck Lu Guang speechless. He’d come to know Cheng Xiaoshi throughout the games they’d played on the court, but he’d never heard Cheng Xiaoshi wax poetic like this before. He truly is a photographer at heart, Lu Guang thought.
The energy and excitement that came from him whenever they played basketball was nothing compared to the passion his words conveyed now.
He froze, staying still and only moving where and when Cheng Xiaoshi directed him. Finally, when the sun had completely set, Cheng Xiaoshi set the camera down. He shuffled his feet and his eyes darted everywhere but at Lu Guang. “I’m sorry. I can just get ahead of myself.” He pressed his hands together, face scrunched up in apology.
Lu Guang shook his head as he stood up and popped his back. “Nah. I’m glad I got to see you in your element.” He began heading towards the door, not wanting to take up more of Cheng Xiaoshi’s time than he already had, but a hand on his wrist stopped him.
”Do you… wanna stay for dinner?”
Lu Guang felt a wide smile bloom across his face. “Definitely!”
So Lu Guang stayed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Do you believe that there are superpowers in this world?
Lu Guang had never put much thought into it. He had daydreamed about having a superpower before, but the idea never had much substance.
Until he met Cheng Xiaoshi and got to know him.
That day that he visited Cheng Xiaoshi for the first time, Lu Guang had one wish: that time would just stand still, so that his happiness would never end.
He’d never had friends growing up and his relationship with his parents was lackluster at best.
Cheng Xiaoshi was the first person that Lu Guang genuinely wanted to spend all his time with.
His excuse for arriving at the studio had been a sham, but the pull he felt towards this other boy was real. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt.
SImply spending time with each other felt so natural that neither batted an eye when it got too dark to head home, somehow instinctively knowing that Lu Guang would be fine to spend the night.
So he did. That night, he climbed into the top bunk and fell asleep listening to Cheng Xiaoshi’s gentle snores.
The next morning, Lu Guang awoke with the sunrise, feeling well-rested. After descending the ladder - and noticing that Cheng Xiaoshi must have already woken up and left - he peered around the bedroom.
It was small with only enough room for the bunkbed and a desk that spanned the length under the biggest window. The top of the desk was covered with textbooks and photographs, but one thing caught Lu Guang’s attention almost immediately.
It was his camera. Or, rather, it was the camera that he’d used as an excuse to visit the previous day.
Picking it up, Lu Guang tried copying how Cheng Xiaoshi had held it before and found that it rested comfortably in his hands. He raised it to his eye and peered through the viewfinder, snapping a few test pictures. Maybe he should ask Cheng Xiaoshi how to use it?
Camera still in hand, he opened the door and padded down the steps. His socked feet made almost no sound against the hard surface. Just as he was about to call Cheng Xiaoshi’s name, his sleep-blurred vision cleared, and he stopped in his tracks.
Cheng Xiaoshi sat on the couch in the sunroom on his phone. But what should be such a mundane scene was transformed into something breathtaking as sunlight drifted through the window, painting everything golden. It framed Cheng Xiaoshi’s form until he seemed to glow with a halo gifted to him from the heavens. Even the dust motes in the air were highlighted and only added to the ethereal feeling.
Time grew syrupy, sweet and thick as the moment stretched before Lu Guang’s eyes. He felt himself wish for it to last for hours.
Let me stay right here.
Almost unconsciously, he raised the camera to his eye and peered through the viewfinder.
Just a moment longer.
The shutter clicked and the scene was ingrained into film like magic.
Please let this last forever.
The scene before Lu Guang’s eyes shifted until it felt like he was looking through it. Time flashed before his eyes and Lu Guang could barely make sense of what he saw.
He saw himself, sitting on the couch while on his phone. Cheng Xiaoshi draped himself across the cushions until he was leaning against Lu Guang’s side. He was playing his game and got agitated when he lost. While he was still pouting, the door opened and a girl walked in. She and Cheng Xiaoshi seemed to know each other very well; she scolded him for being lazy.
Lu Guang fell back into his body, the scene before him unchanged. He glanced down at the camera he clutched in his trembling hands and wondered if he should mention what just happened to Cheng Xiaoshi.
”Oh hey. You’re up! How do you feel about breakfast?”
Smiling back, Lu Guang pushed his worry down and followed Cheng Xiaoshi into the kitchen.
It wasn’t until later that Lu Guang realized that something incredible had just awoken in him.