Taller Than You

#Fanfic #fic #ficlet on #AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42200757

Word count: 699

Info: Teen And Up Audiences, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, #BL, #TGCF, #TianGuanCiFu, #HuaCheng, #XieLian, #Hualian

Other tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Pre-Slash, Father/Son #Incest, #Fluff, POV Hua Cheng, #parentalincest

Notes: This is technically “no archive warnings apply” - nothing happens between them in the fic, and I would rate it G if it were between peers - but it’s about an underage high-schooler having a crush on his dad, and his dad realizing that he reciprocates.

Hua Cheng tosses his keys on the counter with a clatter. “I’m home, baba!” he shouts, shrugging off his backpack and toeing off his shoes.

“San Lang!” Xie Lian shouts back, sounding delighted. “Dinner’s almost ready!”

Hua Cheng makes a beeline for the kitchen, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The school day was tedious, as usual, with all the usual trash vying for his attention or trying to challenge his reign of terror, but the cozy walls of the home he shares with his father and the familiar burnt-food smell of dinner are quick to lift his spirits.

“How was school?” Xie Lian asks as Hua Cheng steps into the mildly smoky kitchen.

“Boring,” Hua Cheng answers dismissively, leaning against a wall. “How was your day?”

As Xie Lian rambles about the odd jobs he picked up during the day, Hua Cheng watches him, soaking in everything about him. His words, his voice, his expressions, his gestures. His smile - it’s beautiful, he’s beautiful, Hua Cheng doesn’t know how he survives being beamed at the way Xie Lian beams at him.

“San Lang, come here, your collar is crooked,” Xie Lian interrupts himself.

Hua Cheng smiles inwardly. He’d flipped one side up while unlocking the door earlier - he’s been waiting for Xie Lian to notice. “Sorry, baba,” he says, stepping forward.

“You’re not sorry,” Xie Lian laughs, reaching up. Hua Cheng leans into his touch. “You’re so insincere. Your collar never flips up when you’re with your friends.”

“He Xuan and Yin Yu aren’t my friends,” Hua Cheng says, nose wrinkling.

“Ah, but you knew who I was talking about,” Xie Lian teases him, patting his cheek. “Anyway, San Lang, if you want a hug or something, you can just ask.”

Hua Cheng’s eyes widen. “I’m taller than you,” he says suddenly.

Xie Lian blinks at the non sequitur.

Hua Cheng straightens up to his full height. The last time he checked, he was just a little shorter than Xie Lian - but he must have had a growth spurt, because now Xie Lian is, just barely, the shorter one.

They stare at each other for a beat - then Xie Lian laughs nervously, stepping backwards.

“Yes, you’re very tall, San Lang, it’s very - um, I’m very proud of you,” he babbles.

Hua Cheng’s brow furrows. “Are you okay, baba?” he asks, concerned. He steps forward - and Xie Lian steps further back, colliding with the counter.

Xie Lian never avoids him like this.

“Baba?” Hua Cheng asks, moving closer to peer into his face.

And then he sees the pink in Xie Lian’s cheeks, and the way his eyes dart to Hua Cheng’s lips and away.

He’s flustered.

Flustered by his son being taller than him.

Hua Cheng stares, disbelief warring with hope in his chest.

Just then, the smoke alarm blares.

Xie Lian yelps, and flees, and Hua Cheng continues to stare as he turns off the stove and moves pots to unoccupied burners. In the background, the alarm continues, but Hua Cheng barely hears it.

Xie Lian is attracted to him.

His father is attracted to him.

Hua Cheng has had a crush on his father for as long as he can remember. Before he understood his feelings, he knew he wanted Xie Lian in a way that his peers didn’t want their parents.

When Hua Cheng had proposed to his single father, as a child, after learning that most parents come in pairs, he had meant it wholeheartedly. He’s never forgotten the way Xie Lian laughed and jokingly agreed, tying a red string around his finger. He still has the string, tucked away in his bedroom.

He’d thought that it would take longer for Xie Lian to accept him as a serious suitor.

He watches his father scurry around the kitchen, cheeks still pink, eyes still avoiding Hua Cheng’s. Carefully, he begins to shift his plans around: he’ll be subtle first, avoid anything more explicitly romantic. Then, as Xie Lian becomes comfortable with his advances, he’ll slowly introduce the idea of dating.

Someday, he’ll marry his father again - for real, this time.

In its battle with his disbelief, hope emerges triumphant, and determination joins it.