Dyed in Your Color

Lunch Date

Xian kept trying to get Lance to pose for another picture, but even until they’d reached the entrance to the Hill Legacy House, he did not succeed.

Disheartened but not at all intending to give up, he let it be for now. “How could you look away right as the shutter was snapping?” Xian grumbled while Lance was occupied with entering the code to the house’s electronic lock. “You’re supposed to keep still during those moments. Keep still, understand?”

The lock beeped and the door opened slightly. Before pushing it further open, Lance turned to look at Xian but was quiet for several heartbeats. The silence and the staring once again had Xian mentally backing away.

“Uh… what?”

With a small sigh, Lance retracted his gaze. “It’s you who’s not getting it,” he whispered as he pushed the door open and entered.

“What?” Xian repeated. He believed he'd heard it clearly enough, but how was he supposed to make sense of that?

'Seriously, what the hell…? What am I not getting?'

“Come in,” said Lance. To him, it seemed like the previous exchange was already over and done with. He had on a look of patience, as if it wasn’t actually Xian who was about to run out of it.

'This guy… he’s someone who gets what he wants, isn’t he? One way or another.' With a petulant air, Xian stepped inside. 'Well, guess what? So am I!'

“Excuse my intrusion,” he said in a grudging tone.

Lance lent him a pair of house slippers, and after they’d both changed into them, he quietly led Xian to the dining room.

It just so happened that someone else was there.

“Lance, you’re here?”

Lucian had just finished his meal and was presently holding a napkin to his mouth. As Xian was behind Lance, Lucian hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Brother,” Lance greeted. Xian stepped out from behind him.

“Brother?” Upon seeing Lucian sitting at the dining table, looking refined and somewhat ethereal, Xian fought past his surprise and put a little more effort into being polite. “Hello, Senior,” he said with a bow. “Please excuse my intrusion.”

Xian straightened from the bow and Lucian was able to see his face. Their eyes met, and immediately, Lucian gave a gentle smile. “No intrusion at all,” he replied. “Please make yourself at home.”

After saying that, he stood from his seat and began tidying his empty dishes. “Lance,” he then said, empty dishes in hand. “Have your guest try the shrimp and broccoli. It tastes sumptuous.”

On his way out of the dining room to go to the kitchen, Lucian passed by the two, who were still at the doorway. He nodded and smiled once more at Xian, who returned another bow, and Lucian took advantage of that to exchange meaningful looks with his younger brother.

Whatever was conveyed with their respective looks, only the two of them knew.

***

Once Lucian was gone, Xian turned to Lance and lowered his voice to ask, “Was that your older brother? No, scratch that—you actually have a brother? And he’s here too?”

Lance walked into the dining room and pulled back a chair. He then looked at Xian expectantly, a wordless invitation for him to take a seat.

Not knowing what else to do, Xian complied.

It was only then that Lance began answering. “My brother’s name is Lucian. He’s already a graduate student. He mostly does research and doesn’t leave his lab much.”

As Lance relayed all this information in a detached manner, he was busily scooping up food into plates from what looked like a buffet table at the far side of the room.

When Xian first noticed that, he couldn’t help but think wryly, 'As expected of the influential families… they get catered for every meal right at their legacy house, huh?'

He had heard about that special service before, but this was his first time seeing it.

'Well, whatever. It’s not all that hard to find good food, anyway.'

Soon, Lance was done laying out servings of every dish available, with a bigger platter reserved for the shrimp and broccoli at the center.

“Thanks…” said Xian, looking at the spread before him. “Sorry, I should have helped out.”

“You are a guest,” Lance replied simply as he took the seat opposite Xian. Using his chopsticks, he then took a piece of shrimp from the platter and placed it on top of Xian’s steaming bowl of rice. “Eat.”

That action made Xian feel touched. Despite being hungry and enticed by the waiting feast, he didn’t forget to return the favor.

Still, he also had not forgotten about all the frustrations Lance had recently subjected him to.

Instead of a piece of shrimp, he took a large broccoli floret and placed that on top of Lance’s rice. With a bright and angelic smile, he said, “You, too. Eat.”

Xian watched Lance’s face carefully as the latter looked down at the bright green piece of vegetable. Sure enough, he saw in there a faint hint of distaste. 

Unable to keep it in, Xian laughed. “Haha! I knew there was a reason your brother mentioned this dish. Does he not like you very much?” He was still chuckling as he reached across the table once again, intending to take back the broccoli. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he said. “You don’t have to eat it.”

His hand hovering above the table, Xian was just about to pick up the vegetable when a large, warm hand closed in on his, effectively stopping his motion.

Xian was utterly shocked by that sudden skin-to-skin contact. It wasn’t the first time that they were touching, but it was certainly the first that he wasn’t the one initiating.

He found himself unable to ignore the dry heat coming from Lance’s palm. He looked anywhere else but at that spot in an effort to distract himself, but when he saw Lance’s other hand slowly move to pick up the broccoli with his chopsticks and bring it to his mouth, his eyes got stuck there instead.

Just as slowly, Lance began to chew.