"Lincoln." someone said in the room.
"I am here," Lincoln asked, "Want something?"
"Nothing," Lincoln's beloved said, "I just want to know you are still with me."
"Alright."
And then, Lincoln saw his singer smile and wave at him.
Good, again, that smile.
Lincoln walks to him and sits down.
If someone had acted like that before today, Lincoln might have felt a little bit strange but……the people who did this act were Lincoln's singer, star, and boyfriend. So Lincoln thought everything about the man in front of him seemed…… normal and cute.
Immediately after leaving the hospital, Remus checked into Lincoln's house, where he refused all contact with anyone connected to his past (except Lincoln) and just stayed in his room all day.
Other than the above, everything is normal.
Remus lived in Lincoln's house like a cheerful ghost, he'd scorch the pots when he was cooking, and he'd beg Lincoln to buy a game because it was on sale on his steam wishlist (even though Remus had the money to buy it).
It's just that he doesn't make any music anymore, and it's like the days of being the lead singer of a band never happened.
A lot of people will say "That is abnormal", but Lincoln is not.
For Lincoln, that's just one …… piece in the person of Remus, as a seeing every turn of a kaleidoscope, which is endearing no matter what it looks like.
Remus laughs very violently but rarely smiles now.
Contrary to when he used to be in the band, Remus used to smile a lot at that time because it was unobtrusive.
Remus dreaded every stare.
In one of the few interviews he was in the band, he once said: “It's a good thing I'm nearsighted, otherwise I can't have any way of fooling myself that ‘nobody's looking at me’".
Lincoln replays this interview again and again and then feels proud because Remus is not afraid of him. Even at that time the members of the band, including Remus himself, knew that Lincoln was Remus's fan (of the intimidating variety).
"Did you ever think of calling the police when I used to see you every time? "
When the first day of Remus moved into Lincoln's house, Lincoln joked.
Remus turns around and looks at him like he heard some unbelievable thing.
"No, never, "Remus told him, "Why do I have to? I mean……I know you put a huge attention on me but……"
Remus throws the thing that he holding away. His hands gestured idly in the air, trying to find the exact answer in these mysterious gestures, but he finally gave up.
"I don't know," Remus spoke frustrated, "Even though from the first time I met you the people around me have said that you are a bit strange ……I still feel you will never hurt me."
"You trust me?"
"I just believe my heart." Remus shrugged, “Even though a lot of the time it shouts so loud inside me because it's triggering some switch that shouldn't be triggered, it's fine to listen and see what it has to say once in a while, at least I can feel safe. ”
When Remus finished, he and Lincoln stared at each other silently for a moment.
"Any question?" After this moment, Remus tilted his head slightly to the left.
"No." Lincoln laughed and helped Remus put his baggage.
Lincoln's thoughts returned to this room in the present.
He changed the subject as if nothing had happened, "So what are we eating tonight?"
"Sichuan fish soup with pickled mustard greens, Dandan noodles, and Chili oil wontons." Remus began to say the food's name without hesitation.
"Can we just eat hotpot?"
“No way.” Remus vetoed, “Hot pot and this type of dish are both from Sichuan or Chongqing but they are not essentially the same thing, and I have to correct you on this erroneous idea that ‘all spicy Chinese food is related to hot pot’.”
“All right.”Lincoln stood up, "Want some drink?"
"Jasmine milk tea 80% sweet no ice large and without boba." There were no pauses, and someone used his lung capacity well.
"Maybe someday you'll try some new flavors of milk tea?"
"Yeah, maybe when this world is destroyed." Remus roll his eyes.
"Wanna come with me?"
Lincoln pretended to extend the invitation as if nothing had happened.
"No. I don't want to." Remus' handsome face scrunched up so fast.
Remus has never been out of the house since moving into the Lincoln home, except to see the psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist claims it's a "pathological isolation" and reminds Lincoln that he must help Remus out of this "rut," but Lincoln thinks it's okay that Remus doesn't want to leave the house.
At least he'll never leave me, Lincoln thought, and I don't think Remus doesn't realize he's self-isolating himself. The man who can write lyrics that can make people crazy emotion can't be so stupid that he doesn't realize what he's doing; he just needs time, even if the length of that time is a lifetime.
Lincoln stands up and leaves the room, Remus silently follows Lincoln out of the room before taking up position by the door to the room, he leans his full weight against the door frame and watches with his arms crossed over his chest as Lincoln begins to put on his shoes after picking up his car keys.
"Miss me?"
"No, my dear fan," Remus lied without changing his face, "I just wanna turn the drawing room's light off."
Lincoln shrugged, he knew what Remus looked like when he tried to lie, but he was happy to pretend he was being lied to.
He walks to the door, but Remus doesn't move.
Until Lincoln opens the door and wants to close it, through the crack in the door, Lincoln sees Remus quietly walk toward the switch to turn the light off, and immediately afterward he hears Remus say aloud, "Take care on the road. "
The door closed.
