pairing: ChenLay
length: 1205 words

Jongdae grimaced when yet another person carelessly bumped into him, even though there was so much space around them to avoid such a collision. The notion of personal boundaries didn’t seem to exist to others, much to his annoyance, and if it weren’t for the taller Chinese male protectively keeping his strong arms wrapped around the smaller Korean male as they walked down the street, Jongdae probably would have stayed at home as he had usually done before serendipitously meeting Zhang Yixing the previous year.

As fate would have it, it had been completely on accident, like most things that happened in Jongdae’s tumultuous life.

He had been juggling several folders that he had needed for an important meeting that morning and it hadn’t helped that he had also woken up half an hour late, since he had accidentally forgotten to set an alarm the night before. Not his brightest moment, but in his defense, he had been so exhausted after staying up late to finalize his proposals for this meeting. While he could have taken the offered extension, considering his situation, Jongdae hadn’t wanted the handicap. He had wanted to prove that he was just as capable as everyone else in the office and that meant putting in twice as much effort for the same output.

With barely enough time to get himself properly washed up and dressed, Jongdae had managed to dash out of the door with the stack of folders and make his way to the office.

However, with so many bulky folders in his possession as he had tried to navigate the busy city streets, it had been nothing short of a nightmare to avoid being jostled by others while shielding his precious files from the chaos. In hindsight, Jongdae supposed he should have called his younger cousin, Jongin, to drive him to the office as a favor.

But then he wouldn’t have tripped over his feet, folders flying everywhere, and landed in front of an impeccably dressed Zhang Yixing who had immediately dropped down to collect the fallen files.

“Here,” the taller male kindly said as he held out the folders to Jongdae. “That was quite a tumble you took. Are you alright?”

Jongdae’s ears burned with mortification as he mumbled, “Yes, thank you. I really appreciate you helping me.”

“No problem,” the taller male replied, smiling widely, before motioning again for Jongdae to take the folders. “Glad I could lend a hand.”

Jongdae’s ears burned even more and he kept his head down as he awkwardly extended his left arm to take the folders from the kindhearted stranger.

The taller male raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Uh, do you need some more help?”

“No,” was Jongdae’s curt reply. “I—I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

But it didn’t escape the taller male’s sharp gaze that Jongdae’s right sleeve was oddly empty near the bottom, the edges lightly fluttering in the wind. So before Jongdae could slide the files into the crook of his left arm, the taller male abruptly held them to his chest and then used his free arm to steady Jongdae, who yelped as he clumsily stumbled forward.

“Oi! What was that for?! Give me back my stuff!”

“Let me accompany you to your destination,” the taller male offered instead as he hooked his right arm around Jongdae’s left arm.

“Screw off! I’m not helpless!” Jongdae spat as he tried to free himself from the other male’s grasp. “Just because I don’t have two hands doesn’t mean I can’t carry things around! Let me go!”

The taller male obliged, but still kept Jongdae’s folders pressed securely against his chest. “I sincerely apologize. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you aren’t capable,” he gently said. “I just wanted to help, but if I’m making you uncomfortable, I’ll be on my way.”

“Please, just give me my stuff back. I’ll be fine now. Thank you for earlier, but I no longer need your help.”

Jongdae was about to grab his folders away when the taller male suddenly asked, “Can I know your name? And perhaps get your phone number?”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, unsure of what this stranger’s motive was, as he replied, “What for?”

“You’ve got a wonderfully fiery personality,” the taller male said with a chuckle. “I’d really enjoy getting to know you more.”

Still wary, Jongdae slowly let his gaze travel up and down the taller male. He was attractive—Jongdae had to admit—with his dimpled smile and slicked-back hairstyle. But that meant nothing in the long run, especially after being burned so many times in previous relationships, which Jongdae bitterly remembered. He knew he was just a box that people wanted to tick, an anomaly that others were fascinated with in order to wrangle a fun party story that they could later tell at his expense. Who was to say that this stranger wasn’t also one of them?

“How about this instead?” the stranger started, since Jongdae was staying silent. “I can give you my name and number, and you can decide whether or not you want to contact me. I won’t bother you unless you actually want to talk to me.”

Well, in that case, it probably wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like Jongdae was going to promise to text or call the taller male. He would simply receive some information and most likely never use it. At the very least, he wouldn’t be bombarded with any unwanted messages and he could easily block the number beforehand. Easy peasy.

So Jongdae nodded, to the taller male’s delight. “Here’s my number. You can contact me whenever you want. Or not at all, if you really feel uncomfortable with the prospect of meeting me again, which I completely understand.”

“Sure.”

Now that he had his belongings back, Jongdae was about to dash off again when the tall stranger quickly said to him, “My name is Zhang Yixing! Nice to meet you!”

Against his better judgment, letting his curiosity and loneliness briefly control him, Jongdae had sent a text message to Yixing three nights later.

And that was the start of an unexpected friendship-turned-romantic relationship that Jongdae now couldn’t imagine living without.

Yixing never made him feel inferior or disabled because of his nonexistent right hand, having carefully asked what Jongdae was comfortable with in the beginning stages of their relationship, and he always made sure that the smaller male felt safe. That was his biggest priority: Jongdae’s emotional and physical safety, especially when they were out-and-about.

And, although Jongdae treasured his independence since it made him forget that he was different from other people, he also couldn’t deny that he enjoyed being showered with so much affection from someone like Yixing. He was always taken care of without being made to feel like he was lesser.

Even though he still wished he had his right hand, Jongdae also couldn’t really complain about its absence. It had brought him to Yixing and that was more than enough to make up for the significant deficit in his life.

Now, he had gained a life partner and an extra pair of hands that were willing to do anything and everything with him.

Not for him, but with him.

♈♈♈