A light in the dark

There was a warning about the pokémon, one Míngzé assumed was not directed at him. He decided to shrug it off. Somehow he had the idea that he would find out sooner rather than later. “He truly wants to ‘catch ‘em all’, doesn’t he?”

They entered Sāng’s apartment and to his surprise, they were not immediately greeted by all their pokémon. In fact, it was rather quiet. “Snacks are always a good idea.” Especially if they were going to play some drinking game, it might be a good idea to have something to eat. As Sāng disappeared towards the kitchen, Mindo helped him towards the couch. “Thanks.” Navigating a new place was always a struggle and she made it much easier for him.

Letting out a contented sigh, he sank onto the couch, leaning back against the pillows. He removed one of his shoes, before Mindo grabbed him by the arm. With one eyebrow raised, he turned his head towards her. Her whole question caught him by surprise. “Drug me? Who? Sāng?” A chuckle escaped as he patted her hand in a reassuring gesture. “No, he only gave me a shot that was on fire.” It was very strong. Too strong for him.

Dai jumped on the couch next to him, at the other side of Mindo and Soot, glaring at the other Houndour. “What’s the deal between you two anyway?” Clearly there was some history between them, everyone could see that. That they knew each other was not that big of a surprise, given that they lived in the same building.

To him, Mindo was not making any sense at all. Perhaps this was simply how Sāng made friends. First he made sure they hated him but slowly he would grow on them. Míngzé sure as hell did not like him when they first met. In that regard he could see a bit of himself in Mindo. He hummed softly as he was folding his cane to place it on his lap. A guy like him. There it was again, the part he could not understand.

His brow shot up when she told him Sāng’s pokémon had nearly killed hers. That was less unbelievable. Both pokémon of his were very strong, he felt the power of one of them back at the frozen lake. They were probably able to kill Dai with a snip of their finger. And still, it felt highly unlikely that it was not a misunderstanding. She even punched him in the face. “Now I understand,” he said with a nod. It made sense now why they acted like this towards each other. Only Mindo carried on.

“Don’t say that,” Míngzé interjected, his voice carrying an unintended edge. Softly he sighed as he regained his composure again. “Trust me when I say Sāng’s a good person. Not saying that you have to like him, but he’s not what you say he is.” He knew parts about Sāng and about his fears. While it was probably only the surface, he could not let Mindo say anything like this about him. He was looking at her as he spoke, his expression calm and gentle.

These last months Míngzé had gotten to know Sāng and while he was not perfect, he trusted him. How could he not defend him when Mindo said something that wasn’t true? It did not sound like she appreciated his answer, which was in a way understandable. If she really nearly feared she would lose her pokémon to him, she had a good reason to be on edge around him. Still, there were two sides of this story and he wanted to give both the benefit of the doubt.

With knitted brows Míngzé looked to the side when Mindo moved away from him, her words clearly indicating that she was unhappy about the turn of events. A sigh escaped as he shook his head. “I’m sure he did not mean him any harm,” he decided to say before he could hear Sāng coming back from the kitchen. Everyone could feel the tension in the air.

“We were just catching up,” Míngzé said with a small smile. He liked Mindo too, trusted her enough and he was not looking for a fight. Some bottle was placed on the table and filled with— he would find out soon enough as they were playing truth or dare. “Wait? Why me?” he countered immediately, his back straightening as he spoke, only to eventually sigh in defeat. “Alright, alright, Sāng, truth or dare?” This was going to end badly, he could already feel it.

Sāng had made his choice and now he had to decide what dare he would give him. A thoughtful hum left his lips as he gazed towards him. The first dare of the game and that while there was still tension in the air. It would not be a good idea to go over the top immediately, especially with Mindo in their midst.

“Let’s start small,” Míngzé decided upon with a nod when he made his choice. “Text someone you are close with and tell them you have come to the realization that you are most definitely straight, try to convince them it's true. And of course we like to know how it goes.” Mingze pointed between Mindo and himself. Everyone who knew Sāng probably knew he was anything but straight. But they had to start somewhere.

Mindo’s turn, which was perfect. It meant he was safe for another round. He had his hand on Dai’s head, gently petting him as he was waiting. Hot-headed Mindo needed to cool down and he was supposed to do so. “Wait, what? Don’t I have a say in this?” Apparently not. Mindo agreed with the dare and Sāng quickly disappeared to the kitchen to grab the ice cubes.

“Annoying, perhaps, yes, with that I can agree,” he said with a soft chuckle. Although if he was forced to take ice cubes down his shirt, he would also think of it as evil. “Hm? Oh, no not at all. It’s like addressing me as big brother, it comes from gēge. He has been using it since we first met,” Míngzé explained calmly, a smile on his lips. He understood how it could be confusing for those unfamiliar with the term.  

Sāng soon returned and handed him the ice cubes. They were extremely cold to the touch, he could not imagine what it was like to feel them down his shirt. “Are you sure? They are very cold.” His brow was knitted together. When it did not look like she was going to back down, he placed a hand on her shoulder before finding the collar of her shirt. “Goodluck,” Míngzé said as a warning before letting go of the ice cubes.  

Míngzé could not keep a smile away from his face when the ice cubes fell down her shirt. The noise she made was too funny not to. A shiver ran down his own back at the mere idea of how it must feel like. So far he was glad that he was not on the receiving end on this dare.

The same could not be said for the next one, although he raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze towards Sāng. There was no way he would agree to this one. As expected, he backed down. “Not in your wildest dreams,” Míngzé said amused, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I like my men not taken, thank you.”

Where he managed to escape this bullet, he doubted it would stay that way for long. Now it was his turn. Softly he hummed. Truth was always the safer option in games like these and it was exactly what he wanted to go for. “Let’s go dare,” Míngzé sighed, readjusting his posture as he did so.