House of Hydrangeas

HOUSE OF HYDRANGEAS

TW: Mention of drugs, but no usage from the main character, slight use of swearing

AN: This is the first part of the story but I can't guarantee there will be a second part; if there isn't, you can enjoy a horrible, horrible cliffhanger ;)

~

The office is quiet as Xin Jiang-Alloway enters. A thick and luscious scent in the air, permeated with honey and vanilla, hits his nostrils. The fragrance is mouth-watering, like a honeycomb soaked in vanilla bean oil, basking in it for years. Xin looks around the office, searching for it, only to find hydrangeas running up the painted brick walls. They slither through the cracks, each bush of blooms making its way further and further down the scaffolding. He feels oddly entranced by the flowers and the floral essence omitted, and he finds himself walking towards them in a daze. 

“Xin, what are you doing?” A dulcet voice coos to him, beckoning like the lure of the hydrangeas. “You’ve seen the hydrangeas already, but you haven’t embraced me in five hundred years. Where is your hello?” 

“Impatient, are we, Ariose?” Xin smiles, turning away from the flowers to see his lover. His lover, whom he has loved for more than ten thousand years, and it feels like not a single day has passed.

“Only for a man like you,” his lover smiles coyly, followed by an arioso laugh. 

“Still stuck with those witty remarks?” Xin grins leisurely, walking around the grand, oak wood desk.

“I’m not stuck with them, Xin. I am merely presenting truths in such a manner that makes your cheeks flush crimson,” Ariose glows with cheerfulness and an innocent look Xin cannot possibly ignore.

“I am not blushing,” Xin protests as his beau laughs again, the sound of ringing bells chiming in their voice. 

“Oh, how I have missed you, Xin,” Ariose croons, the desire so heavily laced it makes Xin’s head spin. “Five hundred years might be nothing compared to our lifespans, but heaven forbid we be separated again,”

“Five centuries, and you still manage to take the words out of my mouth,” Xin remarks, the distance between the two soulmates vanishing as they approach one another.

“Delighted to hear I can still take your breath away when,” Ariose pauses, “it’s required,” they smirk, pressing their lips to Xin's. And Xin finally feels he is home at last.

~

Xin Jiang-Alloway jolts up in his seat at the sound of a ruler smacking against his desk. His friend, Sia Ravu, is staring at him peculiarly, ruler in hand. 

“Hey, you were daydreaming again. What are you thinking about?” She asks, and Xin sighs.

“I have no idea. I had this crazy dream where I fou-”

“Xin, Sia! No talking while I’m teaching.” Their teacher snaps, and Xin and Sia mutter their apologies. Once the lecturing starts again, Xin grabs his pen.

X: I had a dream where I found my lover~

S: Wow, that’s cool !!

X: Yeah, the person I’ve loved for MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND YEARS

S: Oh. Did you hit your head before you started daydreaming?

X: Haha. And no, I didn’t- the dream came out of nowhere

As Sia is about to reply, the bell rings, marking the end of another school day.

“Text me later. I’m curious now,” Sia beams, closing her books shut.

“Will do. It’s too strange for me to keep it to myself,” Xin agrees as they head to their lockers. 

~

The house is unusually loud as Xin unlocks the front door. Music is blasting from the living room, and he hears squeals of delight echoing down the hall.

“I’m home,” he shouts, dumping his belongings into his room.

“Welcome home!” His mother greets him enthusiastically. Upon entering the living room, Xin notices three things. One, his parents are dancing to strange Chinese opera music. Two, his mama has decided to don a neon yellow exercise set while his mother is in neon green. (They look like highlighters, is Xin’s conclusion.) Three, there is a shattered vase on the floor.

“What the hell happened here?” Xin can’t help but grin at the sheer ridiculousness in front of him. 

“Your mama got too into the throwbacks of her time,” his mother says, trying to keep a dead straight poker face.

“Are you calling me old, Lorraine?” His mama asks, looking offended. “Wow, and I thought we had a connection,”

“Shu Jiang, my beloved wife, of course, I’m not calling you old,” His mother counters and Xin laughs at their playful antics. He suddenly gasps, the love of his life slowly peering her head from around the corner.

“Mimi,” he smiles as the kitten hurries over to him, playfully batting at him with her paws. Xin decides when he dies, this is the correct way to go. An overdose on kitten serotonin. “Have you been good today, Mimi?” he coos, “I’m sure you have,”

“Actually,” his mama interrupts, “she was the one who broke that vase,”

“The vase we still haven’t cleaned up,” his mother sighs, heading to their laundry room to find a dustpan and broom. 

“No more ear scratches for you then,” Xin lets go of his pet, standing up to find something to eat. Mimi follows him anyway.

“Okay, the glass is all gone, but be careful anyway,” his mother announces as she returns, blowing a lock of greying blonde hair out of her face.

“I have news,” Xin announces, taking a bite of the chocolate bar he found lying on the table.

“Hey, that’s mine,” his mama points out from where she is sitting.

“Finders keepers,” he smiles, taking another bite to prove a point.

“You win this time, son,” she relents, “but yes, tell us your news,” she gestures for him to continue, picking up her glass of water. His mother sits beside her wife, glancing at Xin with watchful eyes.

“Have you won an award or committed a crime?” she asks without a trace of humour.

“You really can’t tell?” his mama asks.

“Anyway,” Xin carries on before his parents start play fighting again. (He knows their playfights end in kisses, and he’d rather not see that while eating.) “Dr Davidson summoned me to his almighty throne this morning,”

“The Solomon Davidson?” his mother queries, looking confused. “Daddy Davidson?”

“Wǒ de tiān a!” his mama splutters. “Lorraine, we are lesbians!”

“To be fair, it was funny,” his mother smiles, and Xin suppresses a laugh.  

“Order in the court, please,” Xin clears his throat, cheeks hurting from smiling. “So, as I was saying, Dr Davidson called me into his office today. He told me the delightful news that I might have dealt drugs to another student,” 

“What?” his mother breathes out, “What?!” His mama looks as if she is about to faint.

“Well, obviously, I didn’t!” Xin adds, “they said someone orchestrated a deal yesterday afternoon in the library,”

“But you came home yesterday,” his mama frowns, “we watched Marie Kondo together on Netflix,”

“Yes, Mama. I’m aware, but my headmaster is not. He explicitly said someone dealt with unidentifiable substances. As a result, our whole year is under inspection,”

“He is not sparking joy right now,” his mama grimaces. Xin nearly breaks the tense atmosphere with another chuckle.

“So how will they know who did it?” his mother asks, sitting more upright.

“According to Dr Davidson, the CCTV cameras in the library caught them. Written reports as well. I don’t know who wrote them, though,” Not to his surprise, his parents look ready to start a war with his headmaster. “They said an Asian kid did it,”

“That son of a bitch, I’m going to kill him,” his mama’s tone is final. 

“Calm down, Shu. Killing him means being charged with murder. We can’t become a family of criminals!” 

“My dearest mother, Lorraine,” Xin sighs.

“My dearest son, Xin,” she replies with the same sigh.

“You speak as if I have, indeed, committed a crime,”

“You probably have, considering how difficult it is to convince the school board that Asians look different to one another,”

“Lovely,” Xin groans, throwing his wrapper in the bin. 

“After we solve this,” his mama sips from her glass, “we will find you another school to attend.”

“Can’t say I’d disagree,” Xin mutters, giving Mimi another ear scratch.

~

Xin is back in the office again. The hydrangeas are still in full bloom, the scent spiralling around the room, intoxicating him.

“Xin,” his lover calls, “you’ve got to get up, my love,” they urge, shaking his shoulder. Xin refuses to sit up; he feels so tired. The shaking becomes more aggressive, and Xin opens his eyes to see Ariose’s honey-golden pupils scanning him warily. “Darling, please get up before they come,”

“Who? What is happening?” Xin mumbles as he is pulled out of the seat, the two fleeing the hydrangea-filled office. Xin is suddenly awake at the loss of the floral scent that has granted him comfort for so long.

“Hurry, Xin.”