One cold Christmas night, walking down the dark streets, Luhan gazed up at the sky. It had been long, too long since he last stepped into this neighborhood. He inhaled deeply when he saw a certain house. A house he had lived in until the age of 10. The divorce of his parents had wrecked his life. And unfortunately for Luhan, his father had the full custody of him. Being the careless person he is, Luhan's father sent him to his uncle's house in Beijing for good. 

It was on a winter day when his parents divorced. 

It was on a winter day when he first stepped into his uncle's. 

It was on a winter night when he found out his mother did not bother to take his son back, when she could've. 

Luhan never liked winter. 

But, Luhan was back to where everything began and ended. 

Once more, on a winter night. 

He wheeled his luggage as he crossed the street from where he had been standing at. When he was in front of the gate, he slowly brought his hand up and opened the gate. He approached to the front door of the house with careful steps. He once more lifted his shaking hands and unlocked the door. The door clicked open. He darted in with small and quiet steps; as if anyone would wake up and scold him. Once he was in the living room, he switched on the lights. 

"Luhan," a voice said. 

Then a sigh came. 

"Luhan baby, how many times have I told you that Santa won't come unless you sleep." His mother, Meihua gently scolded him whilst squatting in front of him. 

He pouted. 

"But, mā.. I'm just too excited to see Santa!" He murmured, head hung low. 

The lady smiled, "I know my dear boy, but you promised mā that you would sleep early so that you'll be able to see Santa." She explained as she held Luhan's tiny hands. 

Little Luhan's pout grew even bigger. 

His mother chuckled. 

"I heard that Santa does not gift his glorious gifts to the ones who does not sleep early. 

"But I also know that my Luhan is a good boy, and that you, my son, would keep your promise and sleep. Right?" His mother questioned, softly brushing his hair out his face. 

As he heard 'my Luhan is a good boy' his face brightened up. 

"Mā! I'm really reaaally sleepy! Let's go and sleep!" Little Luhan quickly held her hand and started running, with his mother trailing behind him, her smile never falling off her face. 

Luhan stood frozen on his spot when his cell phone rang. He blinked a few times, trying to think clearly. Everything suddenly felt real. As if his mother was really talking to him right at the moment. He slightly shook his head and took his cell phone out  of his jeans pocket to answer it. 

"Luhan," the caller said. "Have you safely arrived?" 

"Yes, baba. I did."

"Oh, good good! Make sure that you lock the house door before you go to sleep." His baba exclaimed, laughing.

Luhan nodded his head, but then he remembered that his baba couldn't see him. "Don't worry, I will lock it." 

"Okay, you- wait wait, mā wants to talk to-" Luhan's baba's words were cut off, "Luhan!" The woman squealed, which caused Luhan to chuckle. 

"My son, did you eat the food I had packed for you?" Luhan's mā questioned. 

"Yeah, I did au- mā. Thank you!" 

"You don't even have to mention it," she replied. "We already miss you, Luhan.." the woman trailed off. 

Luhan sighed, which did not go unnoticed by his mā. "I missed you guys, too." He muttered, quietly. 

Some shuffling sounds came and his uncle was back on the line. "Luhan, I shall hang up before this woman starts crying." His baba exclaimed. "But! We will call you again!" The elder man said, chuckling. 

"Okay, good night baba."

"May you dream of paradise, my son..." His father said before hanging up the call. 

Luhan sighed rather deeply as he pocketed his cell phone. 

He smiled sadly to himself. 

His mā was not his real mā. His baba was not his real baba. The couple who he had just talked with were no one other than his uncle and aunt. But he has already accepted whatever fate has given and taken from him whether he likes it or not. 

Author's note;

Hello there! 

It's been sooo but so long since I posted a new chapter/story on AFF. I still can't believe how a lot of readers subscribed to "Skin to Skin" fic! It's crazy. I actually posted that story thinking nobody would read, but it ended up being 70+ subscribers. Like, Wow! I want to thank that y'all reading that unprofessional fic of mine. 

So, when it comes to "Catch Me When I Fall", I've been trying to improve my writing -which is still in progress btw- to have better quality stories. And few months ago, I felt like writing -I was listening CMWIF- I got inspired once more. That is how this chapter came up. I know it's a short one, but couldn't keep myself from posting it. 

So... Thank you for the upvotes, subscriptions etc. I hope you guys will like this short update. And pleaaase don't forget to comment. I wanna know if you like it. 

rscream