(ON HOLD) Like Ecstasy [BL] [Crossing the Line: Zhen Wu & Zhen Wen]

1. The beginning

Five years ago, on a Sunday afternoon, ZhenWu and ZhenWen met for the first time. [1] ZhenWen was twelve and ZhenWu thirteen. Both their parents were divorced and destiny wanted that ZhenWu's mother and ZhenWen's father started chatting on a waiting line at the supermarket, fell in love and decided to get married.

On that Sunday afternoon, their parents had arranged to have lunch together so the boys could get to know each other before the wedding and before they moved in together. ZhenWen's father prepared a nice meal and ZhenWu and his mom went over for lunch at the home of his soon-to-be stepfather. As he was a single child, ZhenWu was really excited at the idea of meeting his new younger brother. So when they reached ZhenWen's house and rang the doorbell he was full of anticipation and curiosity. I wonder how he is, he thought. Is he shy or outgoing? Kind or mean? Selfish or generous? What if he doesn't like me? What if we hate each other? It's not uncommon for brothers not to get along, let alone stepbrothers... While he was lost in thought, the door opened and a slender boy appeared in front of them, "Hello, I'm ZhenWen. Please, come in," he said shyly. ZhenWu lightly sighed in relief, He seems nice enough.

While their parents were casually chatting, they remained silent during the whole hour that lunch lasted. ZhenWen glanced at ZhenWu from time to time but as soon as ZhenWu looked his way he would immediately look away. ZhenWu couldn't help but smile each time.

After lunch, their parents insisted that the boys should go out for an ice cream. Since the whole idea of this get together was for them to get to know each other, they thought it was important for ZhenWu and ZhenWen to spend some time alone. They gave them some pocket money and let them go by themselves to the nearby ice cream store, which was three blocks away.

As they were walking down the street, none of them said one single word for the first five minutes. ZhenWen looked at everything around him, except at ZhenWu. On the contrary, ZhenWu kept looking at ZhenWen. He found his extreme shyness quite adorable. But they were soon going to live together so they might as well start feeling comfortable around each other. In an attempt to break the ice he started chatting,

"So, do you have a favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Triple chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge and chocolate sprinkles."

ZhenWen replied immediately which surprised ZhenWu. He also thought that was a hell lot of chocolate, "aren't you afraid of getting sick afterwards with so much chocolate?"

"I will. I always eat this ice cream and always feel sick after."

"Then why do you keep eating it?", he was intrigued.

"Dad says that we should cherish and enjoy the things we love even if sometimes we get hurt. And me, I love chocolate." ZhenWu laughed. He was more and more curious about this person next to him. So he kept asking him questions about his hobbies, his friends and other random things. ZhenWen simply replied never once looking at him.

Right before walking in the ice cream store, ZhenWu felt a drop of water splashing on his forehead. He was so focused on absorbing every detail about ZhenWen that he didn't even notice that in those fifteen minutes it took them to get there the sky had turned completely grey.

Already inside, they promptly went to the counter and ordered the triple chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge and chocolate sprinkles that ZhenWen loved, and a simple vanilla ice cream for ZhenWu. The girl behind the counter was taking notes of the order when she suddenly said,

"I'm sorry, I just remembered that we're out of chocolate sprinkles. Would you like to choose another topping instead?"

ZhenWu looked at ZhenWen and could see the disappointment on his face. He was silent for a moment before replying, "Can we think about it?".

"Of course, just let me know when you're ready to order." She smiled at them before attending to another costumer.

ZhenWu turned to ZhenWen and with a gentle tone instructed him, "Take a sit and stay here. I'll be right back."

ZhenWen wondered where he was going but obediently picked a table and sat down. Fifteen minutes later, with dripping hair and wet clothes, ZhenWu came back holding a big bag of chocolate sprinkles. Turns out, he ran two streets under the rain and went to three different stores until he found the chocolate sprinkles for ZhenWen. He, himself had no idea why he would do such a thing for a boy he had just met a few hours ago. But for some reason, he just had the impulse to do it.

When ZhenWen saw the bag of sprinkles his eyes immediately lighted up and a huge smile was formed on his face. Before ZhenWu had the time to do anything, ZhenWen was already at the counter ordering his favorite ice cream. Two minutes later, the waiter handed him a big bowl full of chocolate ice cream with fudge. He took the bowl and two plastic spoons from the container that stood on the counter and returned to the table where ZhenWu was waiting. He placed the bowl on the table, grabbed the bag of sprinkles and kept pouring them on top of the ice cream until the bowl was so full that the sprinkles started falling out. Still smiling, he looked at ZhenWu and handed him a spoon, "As a thank you, I'll share my ice cream with you." For the first time he didn't look away and their eyes met. ZhenWu was amazed by the kindness in his eyes and even more amazed by how warm his heart felt on that moment.

On that day, everything changed for ZhenWu. He couldn't grasp what was so special about ZhenWen but it was as if his life had gained a new purpose. He loved being an older brother and he took the task quite seriously. When ZhenWen was tired after a long day of school, he would carry his backpack for him. When ZhenWen got in trouble he would take the blames to be punished instead. When ZhenWen was sick he made sure that he took his medicine on time. Being ZhenWen's brother and protector became his favorite thing in the world and he did it as naturally as breathing.

As for ZhenWen, he never minded ZhenWu's protective behavior towards him. On the contrary, it gave him a unique sense of comfort that not even his parents could compete with. ZhenWu was like a safe haven. No matter what happened, he knew he would be by his side, ready to take the fall with him. ZhenWu had really spoiled him. But destiny sure knows how to play its tricks and as years went by, things became more complicated.

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[1] For those who don't know, in the web series ZhenWu is the name that he adopted after his mom got married to ZhenWen's father (no explaination was given why and he his called like that throughout the whole series). To keep it simple, I'll call him ZhenWu from the start.

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Brief chapter about their past but hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter, let's get the action started. 😊

Disclaimer: I'm a big sucker for love so expect tones of sugar (and meaty stuff *wink wink*). 😏