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Chapter Text

drunk

"Chan," a friend laughs as Chan sways and sings along drunkenly to the music coming out of the jukebox, using a beer bottle as a microphone. "This ain't karaoke night!" 

"Who the fuck let him get this bad?" another friend whines while the first tries to drag Chan back into his seat. Except, the instant Chan comes back, he drops down into his seat fast and his head drops against the table faster with a loud thunk. His friends stare at him in horror. 

"Chan?!" 

Chan rolls his head to the side slightly so his face is showing, eyes closed as he giggles. "You guys, I'm having...soooooo much fun..." 

"Well, good for you," one of them snorts. "We have had a lot of fun but I think it's time for you to go home." 

"Nooo!" 

"Who knew he'd be such a lightweight," someone sighs when Chan has to be wrestled back into his seat again. "Check his phone for speed-dial." 

"Can't one of us take him home?" 

"We've all been drinking, too! And do any of you know where he lives?" 

"Chan, where d'you live?" one of them tries to ask but Chan just grins and taps his nose (except he completely misses and almost topples over). One of his friends grabs the guy's phone and finds one number under speed-dial in a language he can't read. He clicks it anyway and waits a few moments.

"Chan?" a voice comes through soon, soft but slightly gravelly so maybe they've just been woken up. "You okay?" 

"A-Ah, hello, this isn't Chan, this is his friend. He's got super drunk and I found you on his speed-dial! If you're close by then we-"

"I'll be there in five." 

Chan gets in one more song on the jukebox with the kind of drunken charisma that has at least half the bar nodding along, and he throws his arms out excitedly to milk the very scattered applause at the end. Their friends cheer for him even after the bartender gives them a dirty look; they're going to leave soon anyway, what's the harm in getting kicked out when Chan looks like he's glowing? 

Chan comes back to their table and falls onto all of them in a terrible attempt at a group hug. Just then, they hear someone clear their throat. They look up expecting the bartender finally telling them to get out or a disgruntled customer asking them to be quieter, but they all seize up at who they're actually met with. 

It's a man, but with quite possibly the most striking noir image they've ever seen on someone in real life. He has a ruffled mullet and dark shades covering his eyes, mouth set in a straight line while a silver chain settles around his neck. He's wearing a black shirt with the top three buttons undone, dark jeans, and boots with a good enough heel that he could stamp someone's head in with them. 

"So dark in here, can barely see a thing," the man mutters, slipping off his shades. Someone squeaks when he casts an absolutely piercing gaze over them, eyes narrowed and dark as night. "That's better."

"Is he a gangster?" one of them whispers, and another shrugs nervously while one yelps, "I didn't know we had gangs here!" 

"Holy fuck, is he a loan shark or something? Have we just got Chan into troub-"

"Chan," the man says. "Let's go home."

Chan whips his head up then, and his eyes light up. "BROTHER!"

All of Chan's friends practically sag in relief at the guy's reaction. "His brother...we've heard him talk about a brother..." 

"They don't look alike, though-" 

"Shut up!"

Luckily, the man doesn't seem to hear them and even smiles when Chan gets up to run over to him and practically trips into his arms. The man easily manages to hitch Chan up onto his back and the way Chan wraps his arms around his shoulders and squishes his cheek against his back looks instinctive, so maybe this isn't the first time something like this has happened. That's both reassuring and not. 

The man looks back at the others who all try not to wilt under his still terrifying gaze. "Which one of you called me?"

No-one wants to answer, but when the silence stretches on too long, everyone starts nudging the friend who did it. The guy swallows but eventually raises a hand like he's answering a teacher's question and says, "M-Me." 

The man's gaze softens a tad. The friend almost jumps when the man suddenly takes hold of one of his hands in both of his and says with the kind of sincerity that's so palpable that everyone at the table can feel it in their gut, "Thank you." 

The man wishes them a good night before heading to the door, saying something to Chan that makes him laugh, then they're out of sight. All of Chan's friends stare at each other in amazement before the one that Chan's brother just talked to realises, "Woah, he gave me something." 

"What is it?" 

He opens up his palm, the others coming round to look. It's something tiny in a red wrapper with gold writing printed on it in, once again, a language none of them can understand. 

"...a Chinese sweet?" 

"Minghaooo," Chan slurs from where they're almost at their apartment, streets dark and lamp posts flickering. "How d'you find me?" 

"I can always find you, you know that," Minghao says, and Chan giggles. 

"If someone else said that, it'd be creepy." 

"Why isn't it creepy if I say it?" 

"'Cause I want you to always find me!"  

Minghao starts struggling once they get to their street, huffing out tired laughter at the way Chan cheers him on. With one last burst of energy and because he knows Chan will like it, Minghao sprints the last stretch up to their block. Chan screeches in delight, throwing his arms in the air and whooping into the night. 

"Fucking thorn in my side, aren't you," Minghao says once he manages to get Chan onto the bed, but he's smiling as he sits down next to the guy who sprawls out. "Who told you to get so shit-faced on a school night?"

"You said I could...!" 

"Yeah, yeah. But you don't need my permission or anything." 

Chan wiggles a bit, which Minghao thinks is meant to be a shrug. "Still wanted you to be okay with it." 

Chan starts complaining about his clothes being 'uncomfy' so Minghao helps him take them off with the one condition that Chan gets some water in him right after. Chan pretends to huff but he obediently drinks from the cup that Minghao raises to his lips so Minghao tells him with a pat to the head, "Good boy." 

Chan grins at him in reply which isn't great because it makes a significant amount of water dribble from his mouth, but Minghao's too endeared to do anything but help pat him down. 

"Hao," Chan mumbles when he's finally under the covers, peering at Minghao with drowsy but sweet eyes. "Stay?" 

Minghao shakes his head. "After you got water everywhere? No thanks."

Chan pouts. "I'll...make the water go away?" 

"If you can really do that then I'll definitely stay."

Chan droops even more. "I can't..."

Minghao smiles, shaking his head and reaching out for the hand flopping at Chan's side. "Go to sleep. I'll be here 'til then."

Chan smiles up at him sleepily, eyes crinkling and fingers curling around Minghao's. His breathing slows down soon enough as his grip on Minghao's hand goes slack, but Minghao still ends up staying for a bit longer. He strokes a hand through Chan's hair and whispers, "I'm glad you're making friends, Channie."

The next day goes by slow. Minghao wakes up early to go up to the apartment building's rooftop garden and water his plants, he leaves a sleeping Chan water, a sandwich, and paracetamol by his bedside, then leaves for work. He spends the day like what's starting to become 'usual', filled with trying his best and hoping Chan's having a good time at college (with the added wish that his hangover isn't doing him over too much). Then he gets home, makes himself a brew, preps for dinner, lounges on the futon, and starts cutting apples when he hears the front door open.

"I'm back!" a voice calls out brightly like this shoebox flat is the best place to be. Minghao instantly smiles, replying, "Welcome back."

"Oi, Minghao," Chan says as he comes over, laughter in his voice. "My mate told me you randomly gave him one of your Chinese hard-boiled sweets last night? Like some kind of grandma?"

"This town has world foods stores, Chan, I'm all stocked up. Over-stocked, honestly. Never had shit like that back home." 

"Hey." Chan throws himself into the space beside Minghao, poking him. "This is home now, isn't it?" 

Minghao smiles bigger. "Well, yeah. Anywhere with you." 

Chan looks very pleased with that answer, puffing up in pride. "True! Looks like you can be sweet even without the sweets." 

Minghao digs into his pocket and childishly throws one of said sweets at Chan only for Chan to actually catch it in his mouth. Minghao would be impressed if he isn't more occupied with sitting up in alarm yelping, "Chan, that was still wrapped!" 

"Ohh...that was why I didn't taste anything..." 

"The fuck- did you swallow it?!"

Chan looks midly sheepish. The next few minutes are full of Minghao trying to call 111 while Chan wrestles him for the phone insisting that they've been made to eat worse things in the past. Though that's true, it's not the standard that Minghao wants to hold them to in their new life. He wants to register the two of them with a GP. He wants them to go to the hospital for even minor cuts and scrapes just to be safe. He wants to make sure that Chan only eats good food that'll make him grow up well, even if he's already eighteen. 

They go to Urgent Care in the end. Both Minghao and Chan marvel at the place a little bit since this is the first time they've been in a hospital in...maybe ever. They could never really go for injuries in the past because then they'd have to explain how they got said injuries and that wouldn't have helped anyone. 

The wait is long but after they get checked, they get to go home pretty soon. Chan's in no pain so they said that the wrapper should pass cleanly through and eventually from his body when he goes to the toilet, and Chan teases Minghao for worrying so much. Minghao takes it with a shrug and a smile because he's not about to apologise for being careful. 

"What even are the sweets you stocked up on anyway?" Chan asks from the sofa an hour later as Minghao comes over with two bowls of noodles for dinner.

"Good Luck sweets," Minghao says as he sits down and Chan gravitates to his side. "Never really got to eat sweets when I was little, but I got to eat this once a year. On New Year's Day for, well, luck. But we don't have to only eat it once a year 'cause I want a bit of extra luck to be with us from now on." 

Chan looks awed. "That's really nice. But you know something?" 

"What?" 

"You're kinda the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. The reason I'm even in college now is because you talked me into staying in secondary school years ago. The reason we're even in this fancy new town is 'cause you had the will to get out and go. I think I'll always be lucky if I'm with you." 

Minghao feels like he'll have to blink back tears in a second as his smile gets wobbly. He ruffles Chan's hair, and their noodles get a little cold as they just sit there for a while leaning against each other and nothing else.

family

Minghao and Chan grew up in a gang. 

It's not a great way to start a conversation, and they're pretty sure they won't ever tell anyone else about it. But they know each other's pasts and it's not something they'll forget. 

Chan's mother passed away during childbirth, and his father too from a broken heart when Chan was five. He was soon placed in a loud overflowing care home with kids who picked on every little thing and adults who didn't have time. Their town was run-down, full of crime and corrupt police, but Chan's biggest concerns were trying to peek into the P.E. hall after school to watch the dance club practise and wrap his head around the crazes that kept taking over his classmates (and getting usurped just as fast?) like loom bands and alien birthpods. 

Chan never intended to join a street gang. Really. Everyone knew about the thugs that ran the town, it was hard to walk down the street without seeing one around, but plenty of local kids grew up without becoming one. It's not like they were ever big on recruitment - just that the people who did somehow end up becoming part of the gang never left. 

Chan and Minghao managed to become an exception. 

"Here we are," Minghao says gently as they come to a stop outside the nursing home a few streets away from their flat. This isn't their first time here. They've stopped by every few days since they moved here, Minghao always calling the place beforehand to tell them they're visiting since Chan's too nervous to. Minghao tells the staff not to let who they're visiting know that Chan's coming which has been a good idea so far, since Chan hasn't been able to muster the courage to go inside yet.

Now, Chan's arms tighten around Minghao's waist but he says nothing. Minghao sighs under his breath, taking off his helmet before reassuring him, "We can wait a minute." 

Chan nods then the two of them sit on Minghao's motorbike in silence for a while, the only sound being birdsong and distant traffic. Until Chan asks a heavy question that he's never asked before. 

"What if she doesn't remember me?" 

Minghao has to think, needing to make sure that he doesn't say the wrong thing. Eventually he turns around in his seat and reaches out for Chan's hanging head, raising it higher using his hands before he takes Chan's helmet off for him revealing sad eyes and a drooping frown. "Channie. All I can tell you is that you didn't come here just to see if she could remember you, right? You came here so that you could see her again. Because you love her and you're ready to make new memories." 

Chan's eyes fill up a little, but he nods. "Right. Right!"

Minghao wipes away Chan's few tears before he takes hold of his hands and squeezes them. "Want me to come with you?" 

Chan hesitates. "I...I do want her to meet you one day, but, maybe I should go in on my own first..." 

"Okay. But I'll be out here the whole time in case you-" 

"Wait, you can still come inside the building, they might have waiting areas!" 

Minghao smiles. "Sure thing." 

So, for the first time, they actually get off the motorbike and start making their way towards the nursing home. Chan's pace slows down the closer they get but Minghao keeps a comforting arm around his shoulders the whole time. 

"Hello," Minghao says when they get to the reception desk while Chan looks around. It's a really nice place which settles Chan a little bit, all calming beige walls and elderly people talking in armchairs. Some framed paintings of landscapes and sometimes dogs line the walls and vases of flowers are set at all the tables. Chan feels soothed just by being in here. "I called the other day about visiting my brother's grandmother today."

The receptionist seems a bit thrown by Minghao's words of 'my brother's grandmother' but she doesn't question it, only asking for Chan's grandma's name before she taps on the computer a few times. "Ah, yes, we have a note of that. Chan Lee?" 

"That's me," Chan pipes up, trying not to come across as nervous as he feels. The receptionist sends him a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you. Can I see some ID?" 

Chan fumbles for his photocard licence to show her and she looks over it for a second before nodding. "Perfect. So is it just you going in?" 

Chan nods, so the receptionist shows Minghao where he can sit down if he'd like to wait, and says that she'll just call someone to let Chan's grandma know that he's here and then come to fetch him. Chan and Minghao both sit down together while they wait, and Chan fiddles loudly with his hands for a minute - before Minghao stops him by gently resting one of his own over them.

"Lovely place, right?" Minghao says. "Your nan must feel like royalty here." 

"If this wasn't a nursing home, I would steal a cushion," Chan says in a roundabout way of agreement, giggling when Minghao pinches his nose. Then a kind-looking man comes over and says, "Chan Lee?", and Chan jerkily nods before he looks at Minghao with an expression that can only be described as distress. 

Minghao squeezes his hand, tells him, "You'll be fine, and I'll be here," and waits until Chan nods as courageously as he can before letting him go. Chan looks over his shoulder at him one more time while he's walking over because he can't help it, and Minghao gives him a thumbs up. 

Chan's grandma is sitting in an armchair by herself, her back to Chan as she hums a tune that Chan vaguely remembers. He's nervous, so before he gets too close, he says to the man he's with, "How is she? How's she been?" 

The man smiles. "She's a delight. Very sweet and she really enjoys music, loves it whenever we bring in singers and bands to play here." 

Chan's heart swells. "That sounds like her." 

"Can I ask," the man says curiously, "why you've only visited now? After all these years? She's never talked about having a grandson, either." 

Now Chan feels his heart rate pick up. "How long has she been here?"

"About ten years." 

"A-Ah. I, uh, I actually only recently found out she was here. We got separated a long time ago but, I really wanna just see her again." 

Now the man's smiling again, kind and nonjudgemental. "Then go for it."

Chan swallows but still nods, and then he slowly goes over to take a seat in the chair by his grandma. It's daunting, how much he's hit by an urge to cry when she sees her face. She looks so much better than Chan's last memory of her in a hospital bed. She has light in her eyes as she looks down at the scarf she's knitting, more lines in her face from what Chan somehow knows are many smiles, and the peaceful melodic musicality in her humming makes Chan feel like five years old again.

"H-Hi," Chan begins, hoping that he doesn't scare her. His grandma was never easily frightened, though, and she simply raises her head. 

"Hello, dear," his grandma says warmly. "Are you new volunteer? Very handsome." 

Chan grins. "No, uh...Nan, I'm your grandson. Lee Chan." 

There's no disdain or even confusion in his grandma's eyes, nothing negative at all. But Chan's heart breaks when there's no recognition either and his grandma just says, "Really? That's nice." 

Chan smiles despite himself, having to break eye contact for a second to blink back tears. But that has him looking at her scarf instead and after staring at it for a few seconds, he suddenly feels a renewed burst of courage. "Um...Nan. Would it be alright if I visited sometimes?" 

"Whenever!" his grandma says happily. "Never get visitors, now I have a handsome grandson coming? People will get jealous of me." 

Chan laughs, reaching out for his grandma's hand instinctively and his heartbeat jumps when she lets him. He hears soft music playing from somewhere, maybe a radio, probably too quiet for his grandma to hear, but he thinks he'll ask them to turn it up louder before he leaves.

"I like to dance, Nan," Chan tells her. "Maybe I can show you some moves sometime and you can show me some of yours." 

His grandma laughs, delighted. "Definitely."

An hour later, Chan comes back to find Minghao talking to one of the staff about the nursing home decor.

"We change it up every now and then so it doesn't get too monotonous for the residents, and we ask for suggestions from them, too," the lady says and Minghao nods, fascinated. 

"That's a grand idea. If you ever need help, I'd be down to-"

"Minghao!" Chan calls out as he jogs over, realising a beat too late that he's interrupting something. But Minghao just nods at the lady before she leaves and Minghao turns to Chan. 

"Hey, how was it?" 

"Well, it...it was great. Really good. I, um..." Tears fall from Chan's eyes before he even realises it's happening. "Hao, she doesn't remember me." 

"Oh, Chan-" 

"But she was knitting a scarf." Chan takes in a shaky breath. "And it had a- a dinosaur on it." 

Minghao's eyes widen. "You loved dinosaurs as a kid." 

"I loved dinosaurs as a kid," Chan whispers, hiding his face in Minghao's shoulder after Minghao steps closer and wraps his arms around him tight. They stay there as long as they need and not a single person bothers them.

"My nan looked after me more than my dad did while I grew up," Chan had told Minghao years ago. "I loved her so much. I still do! But, I don't know where she is now..." 

"So she's not dead?" Minghao asked, then raised his hands in surrender when Chan frowned at him. "Just asking." 

"I...guess I don't know. Um, she wasn't very well, and I remember she was getting worse. She always tried really hard to make things fun for me, though, taking me to the flicks and buying me toys and everything, 'specially since my dad wasn't really there. Then we came home one day and found him on the floor, and...Nan was so upset that something ended up happening to her, and the doctors never told me what it was. Heart attack, stroke or something?" 

Minghao came to sit down next to Chan who hugged his knees to his chest. "Shit."

"I was so scared. I remember when I could finally see Nan, she was so frail, and she wasn't awake, and she was hooked up to so many things and I...I freaked out. I didn't wanna see another person leave so I just ran away. Ran for ages and ages and slept in a park, but the cops found me the next day." 

"What happened?" 

"They found out my nan was the only kin I had so they tried to get her on the phone but couldn't. Realised she wasn't well enough to look after me, so I got put in a care home."

Chan looked down at his hands. "She hasn't visited me ever. Dunno if it's 'cause she's too sick to or she forgets or she's...gone, but it's okay. I don't blame her. I'm the one who ran away first." 

They had sat in silence for a little while after that. They were nowhere near as close to each other back then as they are now, but Minghao still shuffled closer to him and just his body heat and the fact that he was there was grounding. Chan rested his head on Minghao's shoulder and hid his smile when Minghao didn't say anything about it.

"What about you? What's the deal with your folks?"

Minghao hesitated. "I...have parents." 

Chan started in surprise. "Really? But you-"

"I was stupid," Minghao said simply, "and now I don't think I deserve to see them again." 

How Minghao lost contact with his parents is one of the few things Chan still doesn't know about him. But he does know that Minghao still loves them. Minghao has a battered photo of them in his wallet that Chan finds him looking at sometimes, and two days of every year, Minghao goes on a day trip to the nearest beach by himself. He's been doing that for as long as Chan can remember. 

Once he asked to come with, and Minghao was silent for a long time before saying a flat, "No," and leaving. But he came back from his trip and quietly told Chan the next night, "My parents' birthdays. That's when I go to the beach." 

Chan stared at him with wide eyes, mid-swallow of his sandwich. "Oh wow. T-To go see them?" 

Minghao shook his head. "Before we came to this country, I lived in a town near the ocean. I moved really young so I probably should've forgotten how it looks like by now, and maybe I have. But every time I go to a beach, it feels like I can see some of my hometown in it. That's why I go."

"Oh. So, it's like...any beach will do?" 

"Yeah. Any beach will do."

Chan knows that Minghao thinks he chose to apply to college here because it's where his grandma is. That's not false or anything, but one of the first things Chan did when choosing exactly where to go was research if there was a beach nearby. 

neighbour

Chan and Minghao are convinced that their next-door neighbour is a gangster.

All the signs are there. Someone moves into the flat next to theirs just weeks after them, and Chan's about to leave for class when he sees that the front door next to theirs is open and a few boxes are stacked outside it. He frowns, disappointed that he has to go because he would've liked to help otherwise, but he sticks his head back into his flat and calls out, "Hao, I think someone's moving in next door, wanna help them with their boxes?" 

"Did they ask me to?" Minghao calls back and Chan feels stumped by the question.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then no. I'm making tea."

Well, Chan tried. 

He's always liked to help people. When he was little, he had a bit of a superhero complex. Before he was in the care home, his grandma would take him to watch superhero movies. He must've been one of the only kids who liked going to the dentist's because they had superhero figurines in the toys area. At school he'd doodle himself in a superhero costume even though he sucked at drawing and at night he dreamt about saving the town from great peril. In real life, he would eliminate smaller dangers by picking up litter and helping someone who's lost their dog.

And that superhero complex is exactly how he ended up in the gang in the first place. He saw gangsters beating up a guy in an alley when he was taking a different route home from school, and his first instinct was to step in. The gangsters looked alarmed and hesitant for just a moment at the sight of a kid and that was enough for the guy to run away after Chan hissed at him, "Get outta here!" 

"Fuck!" one of the gangsters yelled as the other one rushed to the end of the alley to go after the guy but he was already out of sight. Chan tried his very best to stand his ground when they both turned fierce glares onto him. "D'you know how much money that div owed us? Huh?!" 

Chan, trying to be smart about this, was already looking for a way out. But the gangsters caught his darting eyes and one grabbed him by the arm so hard that it hurt, the other growling, "Oh no you don't, brat. You're comin' with us." 

That was the start of it. Chan didn't get to go home until late, though he doubted anyone at the home would've noticed. There were too many kids there for them to care about just one and he'd learnt that the hard way. He went to the town hall to ask the local council to consider opening another care home once but he got laughed at, told to come back when he was older.

The skies were getting dark and he wanted to get back quick, but he couldn't help but pause when he saw someone spraying paint onto the wall of the building a few blocks down. He'd never seen grafitti happening live before. And he knew exactly who was doing it, too.

Chan had seen Minghao a few times around back then. He knew the guy was in the gang, because he only hung out with gangsters and honestly he was just very gangster himself. Glared at everything in sight, was famously responsible for half the graffiti in the neighbourhood, rode a skateboard recklessly, and Chan swore he saw him on a motorbike once even though he looked Chan's age. 

Chan stepped towards him, but his footsteps were loud enough for Minghao to hear and suddenly he was moving like lightning and gone from Chan's line of sight. Chan blinked, scratching the back of his head as he looked around but he didn't find any sign of Minghao. Maybe...he hallucinated that? Maybe he was just tired. 

That was what he thought until he turned around and almost jumped out of his skin when Minghao swung down from the tree just in front of Chan, hanging upside down from one of the branches. Like a bat.

"Um," Chan started, blinking at the guy who was actually kinda eye-level with him. "Why are you in a tree?"

"Thought you might be a copper so I got up here." Minghao crossed his arms. "Now I know you're not, you should get outta here."

Chan fiddled with his hands instead of doing that. "In the gang, are you...in charge of grafitti?"

"What? I'm not 'in charge' of shit." Chan barely managed to step back before Minghao jumped down to the ground, neatly landing crouched on his feet like a cat. "Just do a lot of it."

"I've always liked a lot of the graffiti around here. Some of it looks like real art!"

Minghao straightened up, and Chan tried not to wither at how tall he realised the guy was. Much taller than Chan at least. "Graffiti is art."

Chan almost raised his hands in surrender, surprised. "Oh- no, yeah. Totally!"

Minghao narrowed his eyes at him, before he seemed to deem Chan unworthy of more attention and walked right on past him. Unfortunately Chan couldn't take a hint and blurted out, "I'm in the gang now, too! I'm not in charge of anything but, uh, I'm still in it! Maybe it'll be nice to be part of something..."

Chan almost tripped over his own feet when Minghao suddenly came back to him in a flash, so close with a razor-sharp glower that Chan felt like he was being held at knifepoint even though there was no knife. "No, you're not."

Chan gulped. "Y-Yes, I am?"

"No, you're not," Minghao growled. "Stop mucking about and go the fuck home."

"I'm not mucking about," Chan said, trying not to sound hurt. "I'm really joining. Think I've got something they called 'initiation' to do tomorrow?"

Minghao's eyes cleared in recognition then, but he didn't look any happier. "God. You the twat who went and decided to be a hero and now you're a gofer for us?"

Chan didn't know what 'gofer' meant. "I think so?"

Minghao let out a huff-scoff thing that was vaguely laugh-like before he put his hood up and turned back around. "Good for you. Least you get an admirable reason to be stuck in the very same shithole as me."

Chan likes to bring that interaction up sometimes (and even mimics Minghao's low lone-wolf voice when he said it) and cracks up at the way Minghao turns a bright embarrassed red every time without fail.

When Chan gets home from college hours later, Minghao suddenly takes him by the hand and leads him over to the sofa. "...what's happening?" 

"The bloke next door," Minghao says, worry furrowing his brow, "the one you said was moving in. Have you seen him?" 

"Not yet, why?" 

"Went to see if he wanted a cup of tea," Minghao starts and rolls his eyes when Chan places a hand over his heart, touched that Minghao did that, "and, well, his door was open so I peeked inside. First thing I saw was just him standing there breaking proper planks of wood with his bare hands? Like it was nothing? Had to back out."

Chan blinks in alarm. "That's a bit dodgy." 

"You think? He wasn't wearing a shirt either. Guy's pretty built." 

"Minghao, why are you checking out our new neighbour?"

"I don't think I was 'checking him out'," Minghao argues, then he pauses like he has to rethink that. "But I mean...if you saw him, I don't think you'd blame me." 

And Minghao isn't wrong about that. Chan goes down to check their mail late at night, turning around to lean against the mailboxes as he sifts through them. He looks up briefly at the sound of footsteps but then does a double take when someone that he's definitely never seen before rounds the corner, dark hair ruffled, round glasses that are cracked in one frame sitting on his nose, and a very nice set of abs under a non-existent shirt. 

The guy stops a few metres away, sleepy eyes widening in surprise when he spots Chan.

"Ah...sorry." The guy badly tries to hide some of his chest by crossing his arms over it (though those are pretty big, too). "I didn't think anyone would be out here at this time of night." 

Even his voice sounds sketchy. In a kind of low, gravelly, hot way but Chan isn't focusing on that. "No worries." 

Chan goes back to his mail while discreetly trying to keep the guy in his field of vision as he comes over to get his own mail. Chan realises that his hunch was right and this guy is their neighbour when he takes mail from the pigeonhole next to Chan's. 

He manages to spot 'Wonwoo Jeon' printed on one of the letters.

"Your specs," Chan says eventually. "They good?" 

Wonwoo nods, still looking at his mail. "Yeah, they're fine." 

"They don't look it." 

"Ha, don't worry. I don't really want to fork out a hundred quid for new ones so I'll deal with them for now then go to see if I can get them fixed when I'm free-"

"A hundred quid?!" Chan yelps, making Wonwoo shut up in surprise. "Wherever the hell you're buying them from, you're getting ripped off. I got some for two."

Wonwoo looks up then, staring at Chan with so much disbelief that Chan instantly feels stupid. "Two? Two quid?" 

"Yeah!" 

"...from what optician's?" 

It takes Chan a minute to understand. "Oh. You- you mean, like, real specs."

Wonwoo slowly nods. "I think so, yes." 

The next few moments are spent with Chan wanting the ground to swallow him up and Wonwoo smiling down at his mail. For some reason, even though he really should, Chan can't find it in him to shut up and eventually blurts out, "So how'd they get like that?" 

"A good swing to the face would do it, right?" Wonwoo replies, bursting into low laughter straight after but when he sees the way Chan's staring at him like he's seen a ghost, he holds up a hand in surrender. "I'm joking. Sorry." 

"Okay," Chan says weakly, and now Wonwoo's the one who looks embarrassed. But then a phone starts ringing and Wonwoo pats around in his pyjama trouser pockets before taking it out and answering. 

"Hello?" 

Chan watches with wide eyes as Wonwoo's face starts to sour while the phone call goes on, wearing an expression similar to the one their old gang leader had whenever something went wrong. "Oh dear..." 

Granted, Chan's gang leader never said something as sweet as 'oh dear' and that's almost enough to slow down his suddenly erratic heartbeat. Until Wonwoo follows up with, "There's no choice then. We'll get someone to do the place over another time."

Chan's heartbeat skyrockets again. 

"Bye!" Chan squeaks quickly before rushing out without waiting for Wonwoo's reaction. He runs up the stairs instead of getting the lift and bangs on their front door so much that they'll probably get complaints. It's a good few moments before the door is opened, revealing a half-asleep Minghao with his blanket around his shoulders and tired eyes still glowering fierce enough to burn right through someone - but they soften at the sight of Chan.

"Chan, you have a bloody key..." 

"Wonwoo's a thug! A punk! A goon!" Chan whisper-screeches, grabbing Minghao by the shoulders, and Minghao frowns. 

"Who the fuck is Wonwoo?"  

Chan sits him down on the futon and explains everything from the name to the glasses to the phone call, and Minghao looks less sleepy by the second. It's when Chan mentions the very last thing Wonwoo said that Minghao shoots up straight as an arrow. "He what?" 

"Exactly!" Chan says with many nods, extremely reassured by Minghao's reaction. "He said on a phone call right in front of me that he was gonna ransack some place! Probably rob it, too!"

"Fuck, and he said he'd get someone to do it. He might be pretty high up the chain of whatever his...criminal organisation is." 

"You can say gang-" 

"I don't want to say gang," Minghao snaps. "We get away from our own gang that we've been trapped in all our lives and try to live a new life and you're saying I'm meant to accept that we could be living right next to a gangster? No. That's not fucking fair." 

Minghao's the one who usually preaches about life not being fair, so Chan doesn't know what to say. Minghao runs a frustrated hand through his hair before he grabs Chan's hands and looks him right in the eye. "Chan. I don't want you talking to him 'til I figure out his deal, okay?"

Chan splutters. "What if I don't want you talking to him?!"

Minghao cracks a ghost of a smile. "Alright, how about this. Neither of us talk to him, but we'll try to suss him out some more. See what he's up to when we see him around and get to the bottom of this." 

Chan nods solemnly. "It's a plan."

And that plan crumbles the instant they step inside the parking lot the next day so they can ride out to a park and have their first ever picnic (they're very excited about it) when Chan gasps and slaps at Minghao's arm. 

"It's Wonwoo," Chan hisses, pointing at the motorcycle bays and next to their own bikes is a new one they don't recognise (it's a pretty damn nice one, too) with someone still on it. Minghao's about to ask how Chan even knows that's Wonwoo when something dawns on him, and him and Chan turn towards each other with wide eyes.

"He has a motorbike."

"Minghao, we're totally living next to a gangster!" Chan cries and even though Minghao already looks defeated, he still tries to defend, "Wait. Not everyone who has motorbikes are in gangs, like what about us?" 

"We used to be! And paired with everything else we know about him..." 

Minghao and Chan both hesitantly look back at Wonwoo who's just leisurely sitting back on his motorbike and doing something on his phone. That's when Minghao manages to hone in on something and he has to grab onto Chan's arm so hard that Chan yaps in surprise. 

"Chan. He's got a gang mark on his helmet." 

Chan squints, and near the bottom of Wonwoo's helmet, he can definitely see something squiggled on it in thick marker or paint. Him and Minghao both tilt their head to the side trying to figure out what it is. 

"A...trident?"

"A skull?" 

"Whatever it is, I would've made them something way better," Minghao says with a wrinkle of his nose which has Chan laughing. "Figures that I've barely seen graffiti around here if that's what they're working with." 

"He's really fit, though," Chan says just the tiniest bit dreamily as they watch Wonwoo smoothly take his helmet off and shake his hair out like something out of a movie. "Gangsters back home never looked like that..." 

Minghao shakes his head. "Anyway. Wanna have the picnic on the rooftop instead? My roses are almost in full bloom."

"Aw, I wanna see them!"

Minghao and Chan both leave, not seeing Wonwoo noticing and looking after them with a frown. 

Things only spiral from there. 

When Wonwoo isn't half-naked (honestly neither of them have seen Wonwoo shirtless since the first two times but it was still twice), he dresses solely in leather jackets, motorcycle gloves, and sturdy boots. It makes Chan nervous, and Minghao is too but he gives kudos to the fact that the outfits do wonders for Wonwoo's figure.

A questionable-looking pie is left on their doorstep with a post-it note that reads 'from your new neighbour, Wonwoo' with a little smiley face, and Minghao and Chan both clutch each other and stare down it at for a good ten minutes like they're waiting for it to blow up. In the end, they convince themselves it has to be poisoned and just keep it on their doorstep. It disappears the next day. 

One time a parcel is accidentally delivered to their door and when Chan opens it thinking it's theirs, all he can do is gawk in horror. 

"Holy shit," Minghao breathes once he's back from work and looking inside. "He just had nicked number plates sent over to his flat? How fucking confident is this guy?" 

"Should- should we follow these up? Maybe call the police-" 

"No," Minghao shoots down in an instant, and Chan stares in surprise at how Minghao's already closing the box back up and starting to tape it. Where'd he get tape from? "I don't wanna be involved with either side of the law. Let's just get these outta here." 

Chan's the one who carries the box out, ready to just leave it on Wonwoo's doorstep then sprint back into his flat. But his luck has it so that just when he steps outside, Wonwoo's door opens. Interestingly, he isn't shirtless or wearing his cool leather jackets. His hair isn't gelled either, flopping down over his forehead instead, and he's dressed pretty simply in a white over-sized t-shirt and sweatpants with lilac sliders on instead of hard stompy boots. He looks very...casual. And nice.

"Got your parcel!" Chan manages to say without yelling or his voice squeaking, and Wonwoo's eyes widen.

"Oh, sorry." Wonwoo goes over to take the box from Chan. "I was just going to check because I got a message saying they'd delivered it but I didn't get anything. Thank you." 

"No sweat." 

Remembering what Minghao said about not talking to Wonwoo, Chan knows he has to go back inside now. But then Chan notices something and he can't help but say, "Hey, you fixed your specs."

"Oh, yeah," Wonwoo replies, looking pleased that Chan noticed. "But...maybe I shouldn't have. Since it seems like the only thing cute guys in this building talk to me about." 

"There are cute guys in this building?" Chan asks, wondering why he hasn't seen any of them. "And they've been talking to you about your specs?"

Wonwoo blinks. "Uh...well, yeah, but I didn't mean-"

Wonwoo gets cut off by Minghao calling, "Chan, what're you still doing out there?" and seconds later the guy is by Chan's side, throwing an arm around Chan's shoulders and raising an eyebrow at the sight of Wonwoo. 

"H-Hi," Wonwoo stutters a bit, and Chan wonders why the guy suddenly seems so nervous. Then he turns to look at Minghao and almost sighs at the level of ice in the glare Minghao's throwing Wonwoo. 

"Hello," Minghao responds deliberately slow. "Chan and I need to go back inside. Enjoy your evening." 

Wonwoo nods quickly, and Chan tries not to yelp when Minghao tugs him into their flat without warning. Once the door is closed, Chan cowers under the weight of Minghao's pointed gaze and says weakly, "He fixed his glasses." 

Minghao's expression doesn't change. "Why do we care if he fixed his glasses." 

"Because...they look nice on him?" 

"Everything looks nice on him!" Minghao argues which Chan can't refute. "Chan, he's more than sketchy, we've established that. Just be careful." 

Chan hangs his head like a scolded puppy, making Minghao's seriousness evaporate as he ruffles Chan's hair and tells him dinner is almost ready. 

A week passes. They haven't seen Wonwoo since and hope things stay that way as long as possible, until they're on their way to a nearby pub because Minghao jokingly complained that Chan only drinks with his friends and never Minghao but Chan took it seriously and insisted that they go out tonight - when they bump into Wonwoo just outside their block of flats. 

The three of them stare at each other for a little while, unsure of what to do or say. Soon Minghao takes Chan's hand, ready to drag him away from this awkward situation after a cordial nod, but Wonwoo stops them by quickly saying, "Wait! Please don't run away." 

Minghao and Chan ogle him a bit. "What?" 

Wonwoo scratches the back of his neck. "I don't know if I'm reading into things but whenever I show up, I see you guys turning the other way. And, just in general, I don't think you seem to like me? You didn't take the pie I left you, too...if you want to avoid me then that's fine, I've been trying to leave it be, but if I did anything wrong then I'm sorry. Really." 

Wonwoo sounds so sincere that neither Minghao nor Chan know what to do with it. A tense silence fills the air while the two of them try to process all of that, and eventually Minghao clears his throat and says honestly, "You haven't done anything wrong. To us, I mean." 

Wonwoo frowns a bit. "What's that supposed to-"

"Are you in a gang?" Chan blurts out because he can't help it. Wonwoo seizes up while Minghao groans, "Chan."

"A- what? Did I hear you right?" Wonwoo asks, the poor guy looking well and truly gobsmacked. "You said gang?"  

"Don't play dumb with us," Minghao snaps, immediately on the defensive now that the truth's out. "The way you dress, busted specs because you were in a fight, the stolen number plates sent to your place, working out by breaking planks of wood...? Why would we eat a pie that's probably poisoned knowing it's from you?" 

Wonwoo's eyes are wider than they've ever seen them, flicking between Minghao and Chan like one of them will eventually crack and say that they're playing a prank on him. But no, the two of them hold their ground, and Wonwoo looks so defeated when he starts slowly. "Okay, so...I can explain all that. My specs broke because I walked into a wall. Seriously. When I told you it happened because someone punched me, I was kidding."

"It didn't really sound like you were," Chan insists, "and you never ended up telling me how it really happened afterwards, either. That's just dodgy!" 

"Well, I was going to before I got a phone call-"  

"That phone call made things even worse, you're a pretty shit thug if you're saying you're going to ransack a place right in front of someone." 

Silence. Wonwoo makes an almost comic series of expressions cycling through horror to trying to process to pure confusion; neither Chan nor Minghao knew that the guy's face could be that expressive. "Wait. What?" 

Minghao crosses his arms, unimpressed. "You said you'd get someone to do a place over. That ring any bells?" 

Wonwoo squints. "Well, yeah. I booked a team, who had to cancel anyway, to decorate my parents' house for their anniversary." 

"The hell? That is not what 'do over' means, we always-" Chan pauses when Minghao pinches his arm. "I-I mean, we always...knew it to mean...ransacking a place while you're robbing it."

Wonwoo wrinkles his nose. "I've never heard that in my life, where on earth are you guys from?" 

"That's racist, where are you from?!" 

"That's what-" Wonwoo stops talking and takes a deep breath, looking like he's at his wits' end. "...I'm from Chelsea."

"Oh, cool, Chelsea," Chan says amicably. Then he pauses, realising something, and he whips his head around to gawk at Minghao. "Damn, he's Central. Gangs in the city have to be fucking wild, right?"

"I'm not a gangster!" Wonwoo almost yells, clearly distressed. "Let me pick apart your strange accusations one by one. Yeah, I dress like this most of the time because it's basically like my uniform as a motorcycle instructor." 

"Ohh," Chan and Minghao instinctively let out in discordant unison. A motorcyle instructor...that might make a lot of sense...

"I don't know why you're opening my parcels but I bought those number plates to decorate the walls of our training centre with. Did you even read what they said? Things like 'RIDE PROUD' and 'LIVE TO RIDE' and other cheesy things that are obviously not real licence numbers." 

"Ah," Minghao says, feeble. "We- we might've overlooked that."

"The planks of wood are just things my friend gave me because I said I wanted to build shelves in my new place. He said some might be weak from woodworm or water damage 'cause they'd been stuck in his shed for a while so I was breaking them to check which ones. When did you even see me doing that?" 

"Minghao was checking you-" Chan doesn't get to finish his sentence before Minghao shoves his elbow into his side. "O-Okay, no matter how...actually believable everything you're saying is, how're you gonna explain away the gang mark on your helmet?"

"The what?" Wonwoo looks down at the helmet in his hands, turning it around before he sees what they're talking about and asks in sheer disbelief, "Are you talking about...this cat paw that my niece drew?"

Both Chan and Minghao stare. "Huh? That ain't a skull?" 

Wonwoo looks offended, hugging the helmet a little. "Okay, my niece's drawing skills might not be the most refined, but you better never tell her you thought that." 

Finding out that this guy is a very sweet uncle is another guilt-strike to the heart. "We...we won't..." 

"And no, the pie wasn't intentionally poisoned, but I guess I don't really blame you for not eating it," Wonwoo says, some of his fire dissolving into shyness as he rubs the back of his neck (while Minghao's still studying the helmet drawing trying to figure out how on earth it's a cat paw). "My mother told me it would be nice to, uh, bake something for my neighbours? I've never baked before so I was just going to buy something but then I thought that I might as well try...so I spent a night making batches of pies that all sucked but when one looked a bit more decent than the others - though that might've been the sleep-deprivation talking - I put it on your doorstep."

"Wait," Chan says, suddenly feeling awful. "You spent a whole night baking for us? And we didn't even eat it?" 

Wonwoo smiles a little, shrugging. "Like I said, I don't blame you. You most likely saved yourself from constipation." 

"Minghao can make some mean brownies," Chan says, trying his best to ignore the glower Minghao sends his way that screams 'which I've only ever done to bake weed into?'. "He'll make some for you. We'll make some for you. Promise!" 

"Wow. You guys have definitely changed your tune," Wonwoo says, snarky words but they don't sound snarky at all with the guy's happy tone and bright grin growing on his face. "You don't have to, though I'm sure I'd love them. I'm just glad we cleared this up. And I'll also be wondering for a long time if I generally give off...'gangster vibes' to people?" 

Honestly, Chan's starting to think that Wonwoo gives off a lot more teddy bear vibes than anything else. A teddy bear that has a bit of a rough exterior but has the loveliest smile and just wants to make friends. That would be a great main character of a cartoon.

"Brownies aside," Minghao suddenly pipes up, surprising both Chan and Wonwoo, "we could start making it up to you now. Wanna join us for drinks?" 

Wonwoo blinks, looking at Chan who only nods enthusiastically, then back at Minghao with a slow nod. "I'd really like that." 

So the three of them go to the pub together and have a really fun night. They talk motorbikes and Chan manages to convince Wonwoo to let him take his for a spin (it didn't actually take much convincing, Wonwoo's too nice), Wonwoo enlightens them about a certain cloying delicacy and Minghao has to talk a way-too-excited Chan down with, "No, I'm not driving you to fucking Scotland at one am just to get you an 'authentic deep-fried Mars bar'," and the night ends with Wonwoo surprising them all by being a ballad lover. Him and Chan drunkenly serenade each other to an Adele song they put on the jukebox while a giggling Minghao who doesn't know the words films them. 

Chan practically forces them both to get up and spin him around under their arms and when Minghao and Wonwoo find the right mix of enough hand-eye coordination and also lack of hand-eye coordination to actually make that work, they almost all fall against each other in a heap right after. 

"Sorry," Minghao laughs, grabbing onto Chan's hand to keep him steady while ironically keeping himself upright by holding onto Wonwoo's arm. "Channie likes to dance." 

"That's okay," Wonwoo shrugs, grinning bright as the moon. "Things are better when he's dancing instead of running away from me and you're laughing instead of glaring at me." 

"Ah, the glaring probably won't stop. It's a resting thing," Minghao sighs. "But I'll try- woah!" 

Both him and Wonwoo have to save Chan from almost tripping flat onto his face, and then they call it a night then as they stumble home in stitches. 

The next evening, Chan goes over to the futon to see Minghao lounging on it and reading a book. He's wearing specs that look fancy but were really just a steal that Chan found for him at TK Maxx, the very glasses that he told Wonwoo he got for two quid. He's super pleased that Minghao's wearing them.

"Hao," Chan says, getting onto the futon and Minghao instantly shuffles to make space for him. "Do we think that 'do over' means what we think it means just 'cause we were in a gang?" 

Minghao takes out his phone, tapping a few times before he shows Chan the screen. "Nah. Google says it really is a slang term." 

"Huh..." 

Minghao reaches over to put his book down on the coffee table and uses his freed-up hands to play with Chan's hair. "Why're you thinking about that?" 

"I don't know," Chan mumbles, closing his eyes and flopping his head onto Minghao's chest. "Wonwoo just seems nice...and he uses words that were in my Literature GCSE set texts. And his voice is low and all but his accent's well posh, too." 

"He's from Chelsea, Chan." 

"Can we go to Chelsea?" 

"If you want to, sure." 

Chan hums happily. "I'd never left our town before we moved here. It still feels like a bit of a dream. Then, we get a nice neighbour and we manage to covince ourselves that he's a thug..."

Chan raises his head, frowning at Minghao. "If we didn't used to be in a gang, we wouldn't have thought that, right?"

Minghao taps Chan's nose. "And if we didn't then we wouldn't be this careful and I think that's a great thing. It got us a new friend out of it all, too, didn't it?"

Chan nods, happy again. "I like that. I like that you have a friend now. I have friends but I don't know if you do and it makes me sad a lot but now you have one!" 

"Well, that was cutting," Minghao chuckles and covers Chan's mouth when the guy tries to argue that that wasn't what he meant. "Don't worry about me, Channie, I'm good with just you and my plants. Really. But Wonwoo's pretty nice, too." 

Even though his mouth is covered, anyone could still see Chan's smile by the way his eyes squint happily, and he kisses Minghao's hand with a loud 'mwah'. Minghao grins and after all the lights are off and they remember to brush their teeth for once, they fall asleep wrapped up in blankets and each other.

When Chan wakes up, it's to an amazing smell. He cracks his eyes open just to see Minghao crouching down on the floor next to him with a big smile, a bowl in his hands. 

"It's not quite Scotland-authentic," Minghao whispers, "but I made you a deep-fried Mars bar. Learnt the hard way that it's not just deep-frying a Mars bar..." 

Chan's making friends, but he'll never love anyone more than he loves Minghao.

work

Once they got here, Minghao started to read a bit. His reading level is that of an eight-year-old's so it's a bit difficult, but he takes it slow and Chan helps him. 

He took out a library card and now he takes books from the kids section every other week (a mix of fiction and non-fiction). The librarian who's usually there when he is, a gentle man with a sweet smile who looks about Minghao's age, made no judgement when Minghao asked for kids recommendations and gave him a whole list. Minghao's starting the Percy Jackson series now and he's already in love with it.

He also reads the local newspaper. That's harder, but more of a necessity than anything else because it prints about local news, town announcements, and jobs. Minghao's managed to nab a contract job at the warehouse of a cash and carry, but sometimes he still picks up odd jobs he finds in the newspaper. Things like looking after someone's garden while they're away, organising a garage (he really liked that one), helping a family move house, he even bartended at a party. You can find anything in these papers.

Then one day while he's in the nursing home reading a newspaper while he waits for Chan, he sees an ad from the local council saying, "LOOKING FOR ARTISTS IN THE AREA TO PAINT MURALS", and he wonders.

Chan always tells him that he should totally go into something to do with art, but Minghao has no idea how to start. He has no experience painting on canvas which is what he thinks paid artists generally do (even though he wants to try it one day) but he's been missing graffiti, and this is a job he didn't even know was real. 

It works him up so much that it leads to him crashing Chan and his grandma's visitation. "Chan - lovely to meet you, Ms Lee - I've got a dilemma." 

"Who?" Chan's grandma asks, intrigued, and Chan replies, "My brother, nan." 

She blinks. "I have two handsome grandsons?" 

Chan laughs. "Nah, it's not like that. But it'd be nice if one day you thought of him as one-"

"Look," Minghao says, shoving the newspaper at Chan before he starts pacing around the two of them. "Murals. The government wants people to paint murals. And I, kinda, wanna do that."

"Murals?" Chan gasps, looking so excited that Minghao's nerves start to alleviate. "Hao! That's seriously so perfect for you? And I overheard a professor at school talking about murals once...holy shit, you might paint a mural for my college!"

"We had a mural at my school in Namjung-dong. Full of nice things like flowers and girls in our uniform holding hands," Chan's grandma says pleasantly. "We fancied the man who painted, too, he came to school, talked about it. Young and handsome - like you!"

"Woah. Is that the kind of thing I have to do?" Minghao asks with wide eyes. "Talk to whole schools? I- I haven't stepped into a school in over a decade..." 

"You always walked me to school!" 

"But I never went in."

"Your brother didn't go school?" Chan's grandma asks worriedly, and Chan tells her, "He's the sharpest person I know." 

"The newspaper didn't say much," Minghao continues, starting to pace again. "Just said to call or go to town hall to get more information, but what if I change my mind once they tell me more and I've just wasted a trip?"

"I mean, s'just a five-minute ride to the town centre," Chan points out. "Hao, are you...looking for problems with this?"

"No, I-" Minghao pauses, considering that. "Just, weighing my options. This does sound good but it's not like I'll be able to paint whatever I want. It'll be restricting. Graffiti was all about me, and this won't be." 

Chan's grandma ushers him over, telling Minghao to sit down so he does. She pats his hand and says, "Artists all have their style, yes? You still have that, no matter what. Yes, this job means you must listen to others, but you work together. Just like, the handsome man talked to us little kids about what we wanted, and kids don't usually get a voice that loud! Imagine. Celebrating other voices in-" She pokes at Minghao's chest. "-your way. It is others', and it is yours." 

Minghao's speechless for a moment, looking past her at Chan who grins back, proud. Minghao squeezes the woman's hand. "Thank you. That might've been exactly what I needed to hear."

She tells him to stop flattering her which makes Minghao laugh and for the first time, he spends the visiting hour with both Chan and his grandma. Chan and Minghao leave later arm in arm, and Chan tells him, "Nan used to be a musician so she knows a thing or two about art. I knew you guys would get along. Knew she'd be able to help you, too." 

"Seems like the Lee family keeps saving me," Minghao agrees, smiling when that makes Chan puff up in pride.

With the Lees' support, he heads off before work the next morning to the town centre on his skateboard. He stops by the local flower shop (just to stall, really) and after he ends up telling the pretty florist what he's about to do, he gives Minghao a free peony for good luck. Minghao clutches it tight the whole way to the town hall.

Minghao's always lived by the fact that walking into a place as confidently as you can no matter how out of depth you feel is the way to go. He hitches his skateboard up and holds it by his side, he walks through the glass revolving doors like they revolve around him even though he's never walked through doors like that in his life, and goes straight up to reception. "Hello. I'm here to talk about applying to be a muralist." 

"Really?!" someone gasps, and it's definitely not the receptionist. Her and Minghao both turn to see a very tall man holding three full-looking boxes (but not struggling?), and he peeks over the top of them with glittering eyes and the most hopeful look on his face. 

Minghao slowly nods at him, and the biggest smile splits over the guy's face. Minghao notices some killer canines in that set of teeth. "Then follow me!" 

Despite the guy's protests, Minghao manages to take one box from him and they carry them over to a shared office space. Soon they're seated at a desk opposite each other and the guy gives Minghao a blinding grin.

"Sorry about all that. I'm Mingyu Kim, recreation officer," Mingyu says, holding out a hand and it takes a beat for Minghao to realise that he's meant to shake it. "Basically I'm the person who organises recreational events, oversees leisure centres and things like that. Recently we talked to the council about murals and the motion got passed - if we were able to find artists, that is." 

"Sounds grand," Minghao says. "That's why I'm here." 

Mingyu nods wildly like an excited puppy. "And I'm so glad you are! Would you like to know what the job would entail?" 

"Yes." 

"Right, so you'll be working with schools, leisure centres, club buildings, and more - basically the general public - to bring their visions to life and how they want to be represented by using their ideas mixed with your own to design and paint large-scale art on walls. You'll probably have to deal with me butting in a few times, too." 

"Will I be working with anyone other than you and the public?"

"Um...perhaps not at the moment," Mingyu says with a slight wince. "You're actually the first person who's reached out to us about this and we've been proposing it to the public for months now, in newsletters and council meetings and flyers. May I ask how you found out about this?"

"Saw it in the paper." 

Mingyu looks delighted again. "That was my idea! We had to buy out an ad so the council kept pushing it back but I knew it would work." 

Mingyu beams at Minghao like he's expecting him to say something in reply, but he doesn't really have much to add. So Mingyu nods and moves on, asking, "Do you have a portfolio by any chance?" 

Minghao blinks a few times. "What's that?" 

Mingyu looks like he's trying not to act surprised which is nice of him. "Ah! So it's like...a collection of pieces of your artwork, so I can see your style and ability. But it's okay if you didn't bring anything today, you can stop by another time with it." 

Oh. Well, Minghao doesn't really have anything like that, and he doesn't think he will anytime soon. But he suddenly gets an idea, picking up his skateboard that's covered in years of doodles and sprays. "I painted everything that's on this."

Mingyu's jaw goes slightly slack with awe, and Minghao hands the board over when Mingyu mindlessly reaches out for it. "Really?" 

"Yeah. Now get up Google Maps."

Mingyu stares at him. "Excuse me?" 

"Just do it, trust me." 

Mingyu looks all kinds of confused, but he gives Minghao back his board and turns to the computer at the desk. Minghao hesitates for a moment, but then he tells him the name of his and Chan's old neighbourhood. Once Mingyu's typed it in, Minghao gets him to turn the computer so that they can both see it and he drags the cursor over to the places he wants to show Mingyu. He only knows about this because Chan came home from school all excited one day saying that they'd searched up their town on a school library computer and so much of Minghao's graffiti was visible. 

Mingyu's silent for the most of it bar from a few soft 'wow's, and when Minghao looks at him, Mingyu looks back with those sparkling eyes again. "So you have experience with this. That's even better."

Minghao guesses it can be put that way. Him and Chan searched up 'mural' last night and apparently graffiti really is one of its techniques. It's all art on a wall.

"Well, that's that. I've seen your portfolio and it's brilliant," Mingyu says sweetly, drumming his hands against the table. "Just a few more things to mention. This won't pay very much since the government generally gives the funds for these and I'm guessing that'll be just more than enough to cover all the equipment and permissions. I'll talk details with them soon and let you know-"

"That's fine. I'm doing this 'cause I want to paint again." 

Mingyu grins. "Awesome. Also, I'll be doing most of the talking when it comes to going through things with clients and the public so don't worry too much about that."

"I wanna do...some of the talking," Minghao maintains. "Maybe they'd like knowing that the person making the mural is actively listening to them? And I wanna learn from them. Maybe they can learn from me, too."

Mingyu starts glowing even more somehow. "Wow, yes, of course. You'll always be in the same room during discussions, anyway, and you can say as much as you want. You're the artist!"

In Minghao's twenty-two years of living, no-one's ever called him an artist before. He thinks he's keen on it. 

Minghao needs to leave for work so Mingyu's quick to give Minghao the paperwork he needs to fill in and swap contacts. Halfway through, Mingyu notices the peony that Minghao's holding and he points, asking, "A flower?" 

Minghao looks at it, not even realising that it was still in his hand. "Oh. Yeah, someone gave it to me today."

Mingyu raises an eyebrow and smiles, almost teasing. "They must like you." 

Minghao pretends like he can't feel his ears burning red and just concentrates on signing his name on things. Soon they're done, and they both get up and shake hands. Mingyu shuffles on his feet a bit, though, and looks kind of nervous before he just blurts out, "Would it be weird if I gave you a hug? I'm just so happy and grateful that this project is finally gonna get started..." 

Mingyu seriously looks like he'll about to explode if he doesn't get to give Minghao a hug, and Minghao doesn't mind the thought (of the hug, not Mingyu exploding). This really isn't anything like the job interview Minghao thought it would be. Him and Mingyu, who's someone involved with the government even if its local, seem more like equals than anything else and he really likes the sound of that.

When Minghao nods, Mingyu instantly sweeps him up into a big bear hug that almost lifts Minghao off his feet for a second, and the warmth of it at all and the fact that Mingyu's project means he'll be able to paint again in a way that means something different but still so much has him hugging back.

"So not to be hasty," Mingyu says (hastily), "but our first project is probably going to be at a school nearby that my mate Seokmin teaches at - not that I'm expediting his mural just 'cause he's my friend, it's just that he's one of the reasons I even thought about this project in the first place and I totally think you'll love him even though I know I don't know you that well so that might seem weird but I still feel like-"

"Yeah, Mingyu, I'd love to meet your friend," Minghao laughs, and Mingyu smiles so big despite looking a bit like he wants to cry. Minghao thinks the guy needs another hug, but compromises by just patting him on the back. 

Minghao discreetly leaves some of his sweets on Mingyu's desk before he goes on his way to work. His good mood stays with him throughout the long day via whistling jaunty tunes and working ahead of time, all with the lucky peony tucked into his work uniform's front pocket. Things get even better when he arrives home afterwards and Chan's already there sitting on the futon. 

"Wow, this is a surprise," Minghao teases as he settles next to Chan and latches onto him like a koala, sighing contentedly. "No plans with mates after class today?"

"I don't go out with them every day," Chan complains even as he melts against Minghao too. "And I've made a decision!" 

Chan's so cute that it takes Minghao a good moment to reply in a way that's not pinching his cheeks. "A decision, huh?" 

"I get super happy whenever I get to come home to you, so I thought I should give you that feeling sometimes on the days when my classes finish early. I can always hang out with people later!"

"Cheesy little bastard," Minghao jibes, pinching Chan's cheeks hard now which has the guy whining. "Cocky, too. Why d'you think something like that would make me super happy?"

"Buuuut it did, didn't it?"

Minghao can't hide much from Chan, and he doesn't want to either. "It did. Thanks, Channie." 

They cuddle and share the kimchi tub that Chan was apparently snacking on before Minghao got here. Chan tells him about his day, and in return Minghao tells him about his success with becoming the town muralist. He thinks he's pretty casual about it but Chan yells so loud that Wonwoo actually comes to check on them, eyes wide in worry. 

Since three's enough to make a party, Chan drags Minghao out the door, grabs Wonwoo's arm, and insists they go celebrate. Minghao and Wonwoo share a look and instantly know they're united in the fact that neither of them can say no to Chan.

They pass the flower shop on the way to the pub. It's still open, making Minghao realise how absurdly early it is for them to be going out for drinks, and his steps slow down for a moment. 

For some reason, he considers going in and asking if the florist wants to join them if he's shutting up shop soon, but he shakes the thought out of his head. They've only talked like three times, if that. It doesn't matter that the florist has been lovely all three times and it doesn't matter that he's pretty. 

"Hao, you good?" Chan asks, both him and Wonwoo peering at Minghao curiously, and Minghao snaps out of it to nod. 

"I'm good."

chelsea

Minghao gets an email about 40% off train tickets, and though he has no idea how he got on whatever emailing list this is, he tells Chan about it. Chan immediately throws his arms in the air and decides for himself, "We're going to CHELSEA!"

They knock on Wonwoo's door to tell him the big news and maybe get some Chelsea tips but the guy doesn't answer, and they realise that they're pretty stupid for not having his number yet. Either way, they head to the library to use the computers to do some research and Chan shows Minghao how to book train tickets. 

By the next morning, they're all set for a fun day trip that even has a bit of an itinerary. Minghao's never done something like this before, and neither has Chan that's not with school. They giddily head off to the train station together and get there way too early, so they sit cross-legged with their backs to the stone walls since all the waiting seats are taken and Chan stares pointedly at the skateboard sticking out of Minghao's backpack. "Did you have to bring that?" 

"It's my baby," Minghao says solemnly, taking his bag off his back so he can hug it. "Also it might come in handy, you never know." 

Chan doesn't know how it could, but if Minghao wants to bring his emotional support skateboard then Chan will let him bring his emotional support skateboard. It already feels a bit weird that they're going somewhere so far without their bikes. 

Soon the train comes, and Minghao and Chan race to hop on. The train starts up again quicker than either of them expected and they giggle as the sudden movement have them stumbling and scrabbling to hold onto each other. Some people glance their way, but they only have twinkling eyes for each other as Chan says in awe, "We're really going." 

"Central London won't know what hit it," is Minghao's fond reply, ruffling Chan's hair when Chan squeezes him into a hug that almost knocks them both over again.

It's no surprise that they go a bit wild when they get there. They almost tumble into the first fountain they see because Chan's sure that he can touch the fancy marble statue in the middle without falling in (he can't). Minghao silently thanks the universe that he got paid right before this because even getting Chan a pastry to make him feel better (granted from what looks like a world-class bakery) is pricey as fuck here, but it doesn't matter when Chan is a sweetheart who loves the taste so much that he has to give Minghao half of it so he can share his joy. 

Minghao knew that there'd be a food market at Duke of York Square today but he didn't tell Chan about it, and he can tell it's worth it by the way Chan's jaw drops at the bustling atmosphere and colourful tents when they head over. Now it gets extremely hard for Minghao not to buy Chan anything he wants when the guy flits around stalls like an inebriated butterfly, engaging in bright-eyed small talk with the owners who all look at him like endeared grandparents. Minghao just ends up giving Chan his wallet, and stays by a Chinese market keeping an eye on Chan and perhaps also on the maotai bottles for sale. He wonders if Chan would like maotai.

"Little brother?" the tall guy manning the stall asks with a knowing smile, moles dotting his face like a constellation. Minghao returns it with a wry one, replying in Mandarin, "How d'you know?"

The guy's eyes shimmer. "Mine's a lot younger but pretty much acts the same." 

Minghao grins at that, spotting a tray of tangzhong cat buns that look quite a bit like this stall's owner. "You usually here? Every Saturday?" 

"It's been a few weeks! I hope to stick around, yeah." 

"Then the next time I visit, the first thing I'll do is see if this stall's still alive and kicking." 

The guy grins, bowing his head. "I thank you for your patronage."

"Not to be old-fashioned or anything," Minghao says as he takes off his shades, resting his hands on the stall table and leaning over it, "but can I interest you in a trade?" 

The guy mirrors him, smile ghosting into a feline smirk as he impressively holds eye contact with Minghao. "What kinda trade?" 

"Twenty Good Luck sweets for a bottle of maotai."

Minghao expects a bit more haggling, but the guy instantly lights up. "Yes, you can. Haven't eaten those since I was a kid!"

So Minghao happily goes back to Chan with his bottle of maotai (he still tucks a tenner under a cat charm because that was a terrible trade, maotai usually costs an arm and a leg). Except Minghao can't find Chan anywhere, so he calls out his name until the guy pokes his head out from within one of the stalls and raises two full bags in the air with the biggest smile.

Minghao shakes his head with a grin, going over so Chan can tell him all about his haul.

Soon they're on their way to King's Road because Minghao heard that it's the perfect place to window-shop to your heart's delight but he'll be damned if he doesn't buy something and convince Chan to do mini fashion shows in all the clothing store's fitting rooms - he must sound too heated when he says all this out loud because Chan can't stop laughing at him - when they come across a little girl by herself crying her eyes out. Chan and Minghao blink at her, then at each other.

"Wait, Chan," Minghao says warily, thinking that two random men going up to her might not be the way to go, but Chan's already heading over and crouching down in front of her. 

"You okay?" 

The girl looks so shocked that she stops crying for a second, eyes big and round. Minghao sighs but has no choice but to join Chan, opening his mouth to say something to the girl. Yet he jolts when she takes one look at him before her face scrunches up and she starts bawling again. Minghao bristles but doesn't feel all that surprised, while Chan panics and tries his best to appease her. 

"We come in peace, I swear!" Chan yelps, but his loudness has the girl cowering a bit and that has him panicking more. "We just wanna help! We saw you crying so we-"

Minghao rests a hand on Chan's shoulder to stop him, smiling a little when Chan droops in defeat. Minghao's about to take out one of his sweets from his pockets to give to her but then decides against it - he doesn't want this girl to make a habit of taking things from strangers.

"Sorry," he says instead. "Are my piercings scaring you? Should I take them out?" 

The girl sniffles before she gives Minghao a long hard look. Then she shakes her head. "No...I don't know how you have metal in your face...but you look cool..." 

"Really?" Minghao asks, thinking that was a lovely answer as he lets the girl poke at his shades. "You look cool, too. I love your dress." 

"It was two hundred pounds," she says proudly, and Minghao and Chan almost do a spittake. 

"O-Oh wow..." 

"So what's wrong? Are you lost?" 

The girl adamantly shakes his head. "No, my uncle's the one who's lost, I know exactly where I am. But..." The girl's face crumples again. "A bad man stole my doggy!" 

"Your dog?" Chan asks with wide eyes. "Someone stole your dog?"

The girl nods rapidly, pointing to the left. "The bad man took it then he went there and disappeared!"

Minghao and Chan look at where she's pointing and see an old Victorian building with chipped brick and a worn paint job. The two of them share a look and both immediately know what they need to do. They're too deep in this now.

"Okay. We're gonna get you back your dog." 

The girl eyes them sceptically, which is a little hurtful. "Really...?"

"Really!" Chan insists, clenching a fist. "When did this happen?" 

"Like a second ago!" 

That's probably five minutes in kidspeak. Minghao and Chan nod at each other, asking for a description of the dog (small and gold, she says) before Minghao asks, "Just for good measure - can I borrow one of your hair grips?" 

The girl scrutinises him. "Your hair's nice, you don't need a hair grip." 

"You flatter me. Tell you what, if you give me one, I'll give you a 50p coin." 

The girl turns up her nose. "Just 50p?"

So moments later, Minghao and Chan run off to the old building one hair grip richer and two pounds poorer. The door's locked when Chan tries, and he hopes that maybe this building could be old enough that if he rattled around a little then the lock would break but no such luck. 

"Well," Minghao says, holding out the hair grip, "good thing I took this." 

Chan claps and cheers "YOU'RE SO COOL!" all the while Minghao manages to pick the lock. Minghao grins, winking at him before they make their way inside where no lights are on so they can't see much, but they grab onto each other's hands and pick their way through. Some big guy walks past them at some point, making a gruff sort of noise so Minghao and Chan try to casually nod back. Soon they get to two doors and Chan leans close, pressing his eye up against the slight gap between them, and his jaw drops. "Woah." 

"What?" 

"Look!" 

So Minghao looks, only to feel an unwelcome rush of familiarity. The room is darkly lit but filled with people, that's for sure. Smoke hangs low all around the place and Minghao can make out a table of people playing poker, the buzzing sound of crude tattoo and piercing guns that makes Minghao feel a pang in his ears, and a surface filled with cash and bags of white. 

"Shit," Chan breathes. "S'this a gang site? In a fancy out-there building like this?" 

"Guess you were right about gangs in the city being wild." 

Chan nods, thinking. "Hao...I have an idea. But you'll have to follow my lead." 

"And when haven't I trusted you?" 

Chan squeezes Minghao's hand before letting go and running a hand through his hair as well as unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt. Chan goes to do the same to Minghao before he tilts his head at Minghao and concludes, "You already look the part." 

Minghao doesn't know what that means. "Thanks?" 

Minghao has to try hard to keep his expression schooled when Chan pushes the doors open next. He's not loud about it so no-one really looks their way, and as Chan walks on with one hand in his pocket, Minghao realises that Chan's plan is to act like they're both part of this. Well, Minghao might just have the right experience to do that. 

"Look out for the dog," Chan hisses at Minghao as they approach the poker table, then Chan rests his hand on the table next to one of then men and laughs, "You might not wanna put that hand down, mate." 

"That's what I was thinking," the bloke next to the person Chan was talking to mutters, and the latter yells, "How the hell do you know what hand I have?!"

A guy on the opposite side with a brutish glare narrows his eyes at them. "Who are you? Never seen you round here."

Chan frowns. "The fuck, man? I was at your birthday party!"  

The guy's glower falls apart as his eyes widen and he swelters a bit under the glares that the other people at the table start throwing him. "Oh. R-Right, musta slipped my mind." 

"Jack's been lying about his age for so long that we got it wrong on his cake, remember that?" one guy snickers, lightheartedly elbowing Minghao who chuckles with him. Chan and Minghao make eye contact, Chan's smug eyes saying 'gangsters love to throw birthday parties' and Minghao's proud ones saying 'you're insane'.

While sticking with the poker crew, Minghao and Chan have been looking around but there's no sign of any dog or even any barking or whining sounds. They're ready to split up and look around, when one of the guys says, "All in!", pushing their chips into the middle of the table, and that draws Minghao's eyes towards the stash next to him that he must be betting. A pack of white, a bunch of notes, and...what looks like a...solid gold little model of a labrador?

Minghao's quick to nudge Chan and tip his head in the direction of the toy, whispering, "You don't think..."

A little girl with expensive taste. Small and gold. Something that a gangster wanted to take. Something that's now being played for in poker because of its stark value. 

Minghao and Chan almost groan out loud. 

They snap into action instead, nodding at each other. Minghao quietly moves around the table as Chan keeps talking to the others, pretending to reveal their plays along with jokes and too contagious of a laugh for anyone to get all that mad at him. Meanwhile Minghao discreetly reaches out for the gold dog and slips it into his pocket without a single person noticing. Chan flicks his eyes over to him, and when Minghao purposefully blinks slow, Chan claps two of the men on the back and says, "Have a good round, lads." 

"You weren't waiting to join?" one guy asks in shock. "The fuck you being so friendly for then?" 

Chan shrugs. "'Cause I like you guys? See ya tonight!" 

"They're probably gonna be thinking about you all day," Minghao says in amazement (but not one ounce of surprise) as they walk out, and now Chan's the one to wink. "No wonder you used to love doing undercover shit." 

"I am an acteur," Chan says too seriously, almost dissolving all the respect Minghao just grew for him. "My skills must be honed-" 

Chan ends up walking straight into the door and whines when Minghao laughs so hard that he doubles over.

They pick up the pace once they're out the darkroom, wanting to get back to the little girl quick. They both inspect the dog with thinly-veiled worry at holding something so precious (and pretty heavy, too), wondering, "Who gives their kid something like this..."

"What if this isn't even what she was talking about and we just stole fucking carat gold?"

Minghao shudders. "Let's not think about that."

Once they're out the building, Minghao pats at his pockets before freezing. Chan looks back at him, confused, and Minghao explains, "Can't find her hair grip. Must've dropped it inside."

"It doesn't matter-" 

"I'm gonna go back and get it." 

Chan's mouth drops open. "Are you mental?"

Minghao looks almost sheepish. "Hey, I'll hurry back if I can't...just wanna give it back to her. Tell her it was a hero weapon in the war to get her dog back."

"And you call me the hero," Chan sighs with a roll of his eyes, but he's biting back the biggest smile. "You're so cute with kids." 

Minghao wrinkles his nose. "What other kids have you seen me with?" 

"Me. You were cute with me!" 

"You're barely two years younger than me." 

"It counts! Whatever, just come back quick and text me if anything happens? I'll go give the dog to the girl." 

Minghao nods before going back inside, and now Chan thinks he should wait for him but eventually shakes his head and keeps moving. That is, until a guy who seems twice his height stops him like a brick wall and peers down at him with the kind of withering glare that could even rival Minghao's. That's saying something.

"So," the guy says. "Saw you coming outta there. No-one uses the front as a way to leave or go in, you know why?" 

Chan might be fucked. "W-Why?" 

"'Cause it's locked for a bloody reason." 

Chan lets out a laugh, but mentally kicks himself when it comes out more nervous than anything. "Right, but you saw my friend, didn't you? He had the key and let me go out this way!" 

"No-one has a key," the guy growls. "Last one broke five years ago." 

Okay, Chan's stepped in it now. For some reason, though, he chooses to be an idiot and keep going. "Yeah, my friend managed to find one in the back! Ain't that bonkers?" Fuck, Chan, who actually says 'bonkers'? 

The guy frowns deep. "We might have to follow that up, huh?"

Judging by the way the guy clenches his fists, Chan doesn't think that this follow-up will be very friendly.

Instinctively, Chan's fingers had slipped into his pocket where his phone is two minutes ago, already having memorised how to call Minghao on speed-dial without looking. Well, usually. This is what he's always done when he's got into trouble that he can't handle on his own, but it's been a while so maybe he'll be out of practice. Or maybe Minghao will just think that Chan's butt-dialled him...

Yet he only has to worry about that for a few seconds before Minghao's bursting through the gang site doors on his skateboard (almost tearing them off their hinges in the process) and swooping onto the scene to just pick Chan up in his arms and ride away with him. Chan screeches in startled glee as he wraps his arms tight around Minghao who starts picking up even more speed. 

"Always got you, Channie," Minghao tells him which is so cheesy but sweet that Chan could start crying, until Minghao adds, "And you thought my skateboard was useless."

"I didn't say usele- fuck, you're not gonna let me forget that now, are you?"

They reach the little girl in no time, and she stares at them with wide awed eyes. Minghao kicks his board up, grabs her hand, and the three of them run as fast as they can. When they're finally sure that they're out of sight and they're able to come to a stop, the little girl asks them with excited sparkling eyes, "Were we in a car chase?!"

"There were no cars," Minghao huffs out as he tries to catch his breath (Chan collapsed to the ground the moment he got the chance), "but something like that." 

Chan gives her the dog when he recovers and she squeals happily, clutching it tight before she runs over to hug their legs. Minghao hesitates before patting her head, and Chan's so going to tease him later about how red his ears have gotten. The two of them are so ready to call it a day until they realise that they now have the task of tracking down this girl's parents; but luckily someone runs over yelling in a familiar low voice, "DAYUL?!"

"Uncle!" the little girl calls back, holding her arms out and Wonwoo sighs in relief as he scoops her up into his own arms. 

"I've been worried sick, Dayul, why are you such a fast runner?"

She conks him on the head with a fist. "I should've been worried sick. You're the one who got lost!" 

Wonwoo chuckles. "Right, yes, I'm the one who got lost. Are you okay?" 

Dayul points at Chan and Minghao who are staring at Wonwoo like he's a ghost. "Someone stole my doggie but they brought it back for me! Uncle, you should pay them!"

Wonwoo looks at them with a smile, opening his mouth probably to thank them, before he does a double-take. "Woah? Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" 

"We're just here on a trip, what're you doing here?" Minghao asks, and Wonwoo replies, "I'm visiting my parents, and my brother lives around here too so he asked me to take my niece out for the afternoon. If I knew you guys were coming, we could've driven up together." 

Before either Chan and Minghao can reply, Dayul squishes Wonwoo's face and complains that she wants to 'go see grandma'. Wonwoo nods, telling her that they'll head off to his parents' house now, and he smiles at the others. "Wanna come with? We can hang out after, if you want." 

Minghao ends up carrying Dayul because she makes grabby hands at him. Wonwoo pretends to be shot in the heart by the fact that Dayul wants Minghao instead of him but hands her over anyway. Wonwoo falls into step with Chan behind them, and Chan teases, "You're a silly uncle." 

"Thank you," Wonwoo says shyly, and Chan finds how genuinely pleased Wonwoo sounds cute. "I don't see her much, so I'll be happy if she thinks of me as the silly uncle." 

"You don't wanna be the cool uncle?" 

"I don't think that's quite in my ballpark..."

"If you let me and Hao talk you up, she could think of you as the silly and cool uncle."

Wonwoo laughs. "That would be nice. Though I'm still kinda offended that you guys didn't tell me you were going to Chelsea."

"Well, I would've let you know if there wasn't something missing," 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean your number. From my phone." 

Wonwoo's silent for a long time, and Chan watches in curiosity and slight alarm at how red Wonwoo starts to get. "Oi. You good? Just give me your number since neither me or Hao have it - I mean, if you want."

Wonwoo stops walking now, gawking at Chan a bit. "You actually don't have my number?" 

Chan stops too, gawking back. "Yeah! I know it seems daft 'cause we've known each other for months but we never thought to exchange contacts, I guess."

"Um," Wonwoo replies, voice at least an octave higher as he starts turning even redder somehow. "R-Right. Okay, uh, I just thought you were...you say things so strangely." 

Chan frowns. "Huh?" 

"Nothing! Nothing." Wonwoo fumbles for his phone and hands it to Chan, not quite able to make eye contact. "Here." 

This interaction has been way more awkward than Chan thinks it should've been, but Chan shrugs it off and just puts his number into Wonwoo's phone. They hurry to catch up with Minghao and Dayul once those two are about to turn a corner out of sight, and it's not long before they end up at Wonwoo's parents' house. Which looks like a literal fucking mansion. 

"Wonwoo, tell me the truth," Chan says in wonder. "You're minted, aren't you?" 

Wonwoo looks uncomfortable. "I don't know how to answer that." 

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Could you just casually buy me a diamond ring?"

Wonwoo's turning red again. "D-Do you want me to buy you a diamond ring?" 

Chan shrugs. "I don't know, it was the first expensive thing I could think of. Minghao would probably like one, though, he's a ring guy."

Minghao and Chan stay outside despite Wonwoo's protests while Wonwoo hands Dayul over to his parents, and then they spend the evening on the town. It turns out that Wonwoo's a pretty great tour guide. Explains things well, patient, attentive to detail. In turn, Chan and Minghao enlighten Wonwoo that the American Candy stores that London have are usually fronts for drug rings and Wonwoo looks horrified. 

When they say they have to go catch their train, Wonwoo offers to have them stay the night at his parents' house, saying they have room. Chan and Minghao need to have a separate huddle for a while to consider it and they accept in the end, geared by wanting to check Wonwoo's place out and the fact that the three of them can have a drink to end this great day now. 

Wonwoo suggests clubbing but Minghao and Chan pick up on the fact that he doesn't seem too big on the idea himself, so they decide to just go home. Wonwoo breaks out fancy wines and Minghao breaks out the maotai, watching giddily at the way Wonwoo and Chan both grimace after their first sip. It's still not long before the bottle's finished, and now they're giggling flushed drunkards melting into each other in a heap on plush carpet. Wonwoo kisses Chan's cheek and Minghao finds it hilarious while Chan doesn't even seem to notice. 

"Never left town," Minghao mumbles, stroking Chan's hair with Wonwoo's arm around his shoulders. "'N now we live somewhere else. And we took a trip to London. That's fucking. Bonkers." 

"So people do say bonkers," Chan slurs triumphantly. "And yeah. It is sooo bonkers." 

"You guys can borrow my car whenever you want," Wonwoo pipes up, then blinks when Minghao and Chan both chorus, "Shut up, Wonwoo." 

"We made it, Chan," Minghao hums, holding his hands out and Chan clasps them. "We're out. We're really out. And we even have a nice rich friend like Wonwoo." 

"Aw-"

"God, Wonwoo, take a hint!" 

"I'm happy, Hao," Chan sniffles, eyes welling up. "I think I'm so so happy. It's not just positivity. It's not just trying to keep up a smile. It's happiness."

"Oh, Channie, that's all I've ever wanted for you," Minghao whispers, his own eyes tearing as Chan flops on top of him wailing, "And me! For you!"

"'M happy, too. I really think so."

Wonwoo eases away to leave them be for a moment get them some blankets. Minghao and Chan are all cried out and half-asleep by the time he gets back, and he tucks them in as well as he can in his pretty intoxicated state. He luckily gets to give up when Chan reaches out for him halfway through, and the three of them spend the sleeping night squished together and warm.

Minghao's the one to wake up first the next morning, feeling heavy and wistful. He snaps a cute picture of Chan and Wonwoo who are wrapped around each other, washes up, goes downstairs (ends up having a nice breakfast with Wonwoo's parents too), then heads off to a botanical garden that Chelsea's famous for. He wanted to go yesterday but didn't know if Wonwoo and Chan would be interested.

He's sitting on a bench amidst trees, looking up at a statue circled by charming potted plants when Chan runs towards him out of nowhere. He sags in relief at the sight of Minghao, calling out, "There you are!" 

Minghao sits up as Chan drops into the seat beside him, confused. "Chan? Don't you have to pay to get in here?" 

Chan pats Minghao's knee. "You bought me so many things, Hao, I can use some of my own allowance to come sit with you in a pretty garden." 

Minghao has to smile at that. "How d'you even find me? It's pretty early, too, I thought you wouldn't be awake for ages." 

"Me neither, but I think I could feel in my bones that you were missing," Chan persists, making Minghao snort. "Wonwoo's parents mentioned that you might stop by here! So whatcha doing?" 

"Not much," Minghao murmurs. "Just wanted to think about some things. Looking at nature lets me open up my mind, I think." 

"My tough scary brother, a flowerboy," Chan chuckles. "That's nice. What are you thinking about?"

"Do you remember," Minghao says, stroking the petals of a rose that's at the side of the bench, "when you told me you wanted to go to college?" 

Of course Chan does. It was the turning point in their lives. 

Chan wasn't all too serious about it at first - he never had any plans to continue his education after secondary school, no-one who joined the gang did. There weren't many kids in the gang but all of them dropped out of school even earlier. Though Minghao shut that idea down for Chan when he brought it up to him, saying, "No. You like school. You have subjects you like, you have friends, and you get all excited to tell me how your day was all the time." 

"But I know everyone here thinks it's weird that I go to school...like maybe I'd tell a teacher about what happens here or something..."

"I don't think it's weird. Doesn't my opinion matter?" 

"Of course it does! Just...if I left, I could help you out more. Be with you more. Besides, you dropped out of school and you're amazing." 

Minghao tweaked Chan's nose. "That's not 'cause I dropped out of school. Just stay in until it's actually legal to leave, can you do that for me?"

Chan frowned, wondering why someone in a gang would care about what's legal, but he nodded anyway. "Fine. Only for you."

So Chan stayed on, and he never brought up dropping out again. He really has always liked school. 

After sixth form, he was expecting to just become a full-time gangster and he'd be happy with that if he could be with Minghao. But when college and university application season was nearing, Chan half-joked to Minghao one day, "School's kinda making me want to go to college. Everyone won't stop talking about it." 

Minghao froze, silent for a long moment before he said with a slight tremble in his voice, "Chan. Chan, say that again." 

"Say what again?" 

"D'you wanna go to college?" 

"Well, just kinda. It's a pipe dream, though."

Minghao stood up, a twinkle in his eye that Chan didn't think he'd ever seen before then. "No. Make a decision about it, make it...before applications close. If you wanna go, then research colleges or places, work on your application, and I'll handle everything else." 

"Wait," Chan says, eyes wide as he tried hard to keep any excitement at bay; for all he knew, maybe he wasn't understanding Minghao right. "Hao, this isn't like you, it's like you're getting ahead of yourself...wait, are you high?" 

"Yeah but that doesn't mean anything!" Minghao grabs Chan's hand and pulls him up to his feet. "Fuck, Chan, this could be it. This could be your way out." 

"My way out?" Chan questioned, alarmed. "No way. I'm not going anywhere without you." 

Minghao had a whole galaxy in his eyes, a smile so enlivened, so hopeful spilling over his face as he grabbed Chan's other hand. "Okay. Our way out." 

Chan had never seen Minghao like that before. Even a slight nudge from him would've made Chan want to apply for college, but Minghao's excitement was what made Chan ready to take this more seriously than anything he had in his life.

Still - even while Chan researched places, worked on his application, sent it in, waited for replies, all of the normal college stuff, he was sceptical that he'd ever get to go. But Minghao was amazing. He had years of savings from all the jobs he'd ever done for the gang and otherwise that he pooled together, he wrote up plans for what they had to do once they'd leave town (their journey out, wiping their phones so they only had each other's numbers on them, making sure no-one knew where they were going, arranging accommodation) and he made calls and managed to access a child trust fund that Chan never even knew he had. 

"Your parents were saving up for you since before you were born," Minghao told him. "There's not much since they didn't really add to it after you were born, but there's just enough for college after loans. You can open it when you're eighteen so we've got another couple months to go."

It was hard for Chan not to burst into tears at all this new information, but Minghao was being so cool and strong so Chan had to be too. "R-Right."

Though the night before they left town, suddenly hit by how real everything was, they hugged each other tight and cried for hours. Chan feels his eyes prickling now just remembering it.

"I don't think I'll ever forget that, Hao." 

Minghao hums. "I know. But that's what I'm thinking about. What would've happened if you didn't say that. How happy I am that you did."

"You're the whole reason we're here," Chan says, moving closer to Minghao. Minghao smiles at him, shaking his head. 

"I never once thought it'd be possible to get out of there before I met you, Channie." Minghao reaches out to zip up Chan's jacket as a breeze blows past them. "You're my brother. And you're my hero." 

Chan, who's had a superhero complex all his life mixed with wanting to mean something to Minghao since the moment they met, feels tears filling his eyes on the spot. He sniffles, "But you're my hero."

Minghao's smile grows, his own eyes teary as he squishes Chan's face and tells him they can be each other's heroes.