Better Ways to Pass the Time

"Food's here," Zizhen calls quietly from the dark of his bedroom. Jin Ling and Wen Yuan get up from the picnic blanket to take the pizza boxes from Zizhen (Jin Ling) and help him clamber out the window into the neighboring roof (Wen Yuan).

"This is not as easy as when we were kids," Zizhen remarks as he tries to untangle his long legs from the windowsill, putting most of his weight on Wen Yuan.

"At least we don't have to hide what we're doing from your parents this time," Wen Yuan replies with quiet good humor.

It's true. When they'd first discovered that it was an easy drop from Zizhen's bedroom window to the roof of the neighbor's garage it had become their prime hangout spot, but someone had always had to act as lookout, to pretend that they'd been in the room all along.

Now, they are all back from college, and knowledge of what they're doing can only give their parents retroactive heart attacks.

Jin Ling distributes pizza slices to Jingyi and A-Jing before sitting back down on the picnic blanket with zir own. Wen Yuan and Zizhen join them after a moment.

"Oh! There's one!" A-Jing exclaims, pointing up with her pizza slice. Those who follow her gaze up spot the briefest flash of light across the sky.

"I missed it!" Jingyi complains.

"Maybe if you weren't so engrossed in your food," Jin Ling says, earning a shove from Jingyi.

"Perseids don't really peak until after midnight anyway," Wen Yuan points out before they can escalate. "There's plenty of time yet."

"Bet you I'll see more off-peak meteors than you," A-Jing says, elbowing Jin Ling.

"You're on," ze says immediately. Wen Yuan and Zizhen exchange twin exasperated looks.

"It's not a competition, guys," Zizhen says. He finishes his pizza and then shuffles around until he's lying down, head in A-Jing's lap and feet in Jingyi's. "Surely we can think of better things to do while we wait for peak meteor visibility hours."

"I can think of a few," Wen Yuan says, a suggestive curl in his tone.

"It's more fun if we make it a competition," A-Jing says, but it's clearly only a token protest, since her non-pizza-greasy fingers are already stroking through Zizhen's hair.

"A competition I would definitely win," Jin Ling throws back.

Jingyi meets Wen Yuan's eyes; they share a moment of perfect understanding. They set their pizzas down and wipe their hands in unison.

"C'mere, da-xiaojie," Jingyi says, dragging Jin Ling into his lap, dislodging Zizhen's feet.

"What," Jin Ling snaps, but ze straddles Jingyi's hips willingly enough, lowering zir mouth to his when he tugs zir head down. Wen Yuan settles behind Jin Ling, knee to knee with Jingyi, and presses kisses to the curve where Jin Ling's shoulder meets zir neck.

"Isn't this better?" Wen Yuan murmurs into Jin Ling's skin.

"Hey, where's mine?" Zizhen complains, making grabby hands at A-Jing's face until she laughs and bends down to meet him. She kisses his forehead and nose before meeting his lips.

"We're gonna miss the whole shower," she says when she pulls back.

"Eh, we have all night," he returns. "Plenty of time."