What Happens if... [LingYue]

At Least

Summary: Wang Yue had nothing else to hide and wanted nothing more than to feel Ling Rui's lips on his, just once, at least once before he wakes up from this dream.

Wang Yue gave his brother the last box of instant noodles, reminiscing the leftover food he had this afternoon at the restaurant. His former girlfriend had been giving him less leftovers each day and maybe that was her revenge, but he didn't mind; he rather thanked the heavens that he still had food on his plate.

He poured himself some warm water to satisfy his hunger and wiped Wang Chao's mouth, adjusting the chopsticks in his grip. "Look at the mess," He complained, playfully though, "Hold them like this." He instructed his brother kindly, giving him a smile. He had grown more patient after the incident... much more gentle and patient.

He fought the urge to slurp a noodle from Wang Chao's bowl, trying to convince himself that the soup would be enough for him and cursing at himself for being greedy. His brother stopped eating and pushed the bowl towards Wang Yue, but before Wang Yue could take it, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Ling Rui stood at the entrance holding his brother's favorite snacks, boxes and boxes of homemade dinner. Wang Yue could smell the delicious aroma right from behind the door, but the dinner wasn't the surprise, it was Ling Rui himself.

"Di!" His brother calls, "Who's there?"

Wang Yue smiles, "It's Ling Rui."

Ling Rui. The one who made him question his morals, his principals, his choices and decisions. The person who caught him red-handed lying about abandoning his brother, the one who listened to his story and understood his deepest pains, guilts and regrets. Ling Rui, Ling Rui, Ling Rui... Wang Yue could go on and on, writing thousands of pages of how perfect Ling Rui is and how inferior he felt facing him.

Ling Rui was everything Wang Yue wasn't and Wang Yue wasn't envious, but ashamed. He will never forget that night when Ling Rui found his brother and waited with him for hours until Wang Yue came back for him. He'd watched them from afar, as Ling Rui tended to his brother's bleeding nose, feeding him snacks and fetching him water, giving him his jacket and asking around for anyone who knew him.

It was a moment of weakness, Wang Yue admits, it was a test of his morals and a moment of weakness.

Ling Rui had offered them a warm ride at daybreak and little did Wang Yue know, that Ling Rui himself was dawn, the sunshine he'd never felt and the bright day he yearned for.

"Xiao Yue!" Ling Rui knocks again and Wang Yue realized that he hasn't opened the door.

"Ling Rui," Wang Yue meets him, nervous and jittery. "How are you here this late? Don't you have work?"

"I gave tonight's shift to my colleague so I can come visit. I brought dinner! Let's eat together." Ling Rui squeezed himself past Wang Yue and placed the food on the table, "Sit, I'll do everything."

Wang Yue sat down, mesmerized by Ling Rui's presence. It wasn't the first time Ling Rui had come to his small apartment, but it still surprised him every time, that someone is willing to visit him despite his brother's presence, without conditions and out of utmost sincerity.

He vaguely remembered how his former girlfriend hated his brother's company, never wasting a chance to whine about his situation and how pathetic Wang Yue was to keep him by his side. He then glanced at Ling Rui and caught himself smiling again; comparing the two of them was a sin indeed.

"What are you thinking about?" Ling Rui puts the last dish on the table and seats himself down, taking the instant noodles away from Wang Chao's reach and giving him a plate full of fresh food. Ling Rui is so patient with Wang Chao, loving and understanding; which made Wang Yue himself cling to Ling Rui even more.