Hush, Daddy is working

"Luxia?"

For a moment there was just heavy silence in the room as they both stared at each other.

Luxia turned to her companion and she gave her a look. They seemed to reach a tacit agreement after a minute of silence. The girl gave Luxia a last peck on the cheek and shot Hao Sheng a warning glare as she left, closing the door behind her.

Hao Sheng internally rolled his eyes. Oh the girl could rest assured. He had no interest in Luxia. Well Atleast not in that way. Subconsciously Hao Sheng felt a vague sense of recognition when he looked at the other girl but he chalked it up to him having probably seen her around school at some point.

Now alone, silence once again descended. Hao Sheng had a mask of calm on his face, his expression and true feelings hidden. Luxia however was panicking and it showed. She was visibly trembling and the corners of her eyes were slightly wet. Luxia sucked in a deep breath and looked up at Hao Sheng only to look back down.

Luxia didn't know what to say or do. She felt her eyes burn with tears but she held them back. She would not cry. Atleast not here. Although she had known Hao Sheng for roughly a little over two weeks, she had really had a lot of fun times with him and cherished him as a friend. Although they lived in a time where same-sex relationships were relatively acceptable, there was still a vast amount of people who opposed it.

Although she knew Hao Sheng was a good person, she still didn't know his view on homosexuality and that was why she was still hesitant to tell him about this side of her. She had planned to wait a bit and break it to him when she was ready but now her plans were foiled. Now that it had come to this, she would just have to suck it up and take back what little control she had of this situation. The best she could do now was just tell him clearly and hope he didn't hate her.

"So… As you can probably guess, I sort of like girls…" she timidly whispered.

Hao Sheng nodded, "yeah. I can see that".

Hao Sheng took a step closer to her and Luxia tenses visibly.

"Look, I've known this fact for a while and I'm not ashamed of it". She balled her hands into fist, finally looking up. "So you can say whatever you want to say but I'm certain in my feelings".

Hao Sheng closed the space between them and raised his hand. Luxia clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for what was about to happen. The next second she felt warm arms wrap around her and pull her into an equally warm embrace.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain anything to me"

Luxia felt the tears she was holding back overflow.

"What?" she asked, a bit broken.

Hao Sheng didn't say anything and just held her closer, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back. Luxia finally let herself fully relax. She wrapped her own arms around Hao Sheng and cried. They stayed like this for a few minutes until Luxia calmed down.

She pulled back and wiped the remaining tears from her face with a half-smile.

"Thank god I had the foresight to wear waterproof mascara or else my make-up would have been completely ruined and I would have blamed you" she said with a half chuckle half sob.

Hao Sheng smiled. "Well it's a good thing you happen to look good without any make-up" he said with a wink.

Luxia laughed. She fixed up her outfit and then it suddenly occurred to her. What was Hao Sheng doing up here in the first place. So she asked.

Hao Sheng looked embarrassed but he answered. "I kind of got lost. I was looking for the bathroom".

Luxia smiled teasingly but didn't tease him.

"The bathroom is one door down." She said pointing to the left.

Hao Sheng turned and opened the door. "Well, at least I wasn't too far off".

He quickly went next door and did his business. When he came out wiping his wet hands on his pants, he found Luxia waiting for him outside.

"I was afraid you'd get lost again".

He raised a brow but didn't comment. They both fell into step and went downstairs. When they got there, off to the side, Hao Sheng spotted the other girl who was Luxia standing to the side, seemingly waiting for her.

He tilted his head and her direction, "Seems like your beau is waiting for you".

Luxia blushed at the title but didn't correct him. Interestingly enough. Just as he was about to leave her, she felt her grab his wrist. Hao Sheng turned to Luxia in question.

"Thank you for not hating me…" she said quietly with a smile.

Hao Sheng smiled. "Well I mean that would be a bit hypocritical of me if I did", he said vaguely.

Luxia looked confused before her eyes lit up.

"Wait, you're gay?!" she asked, incredulous.

Hao Sheng just smiled mischievously.

"And you didn't tell me?" she asked.

"Well you didn't tell me either" he retorted.

"Fair" she said with a nod.

"Well, I'll see you around then. Call me if you want to go home". Hao Sheng said.

With a last hug and kiss to her forehead, Hao Sheng left and made his way back outside to his own cute little beau.

[Host just then there was-]

'I know. Now hush. Daddy is working'

With an indignant 'humph', 333 retreated and left Hao Sheng to his own devices. He knew when he wasn't needed. Or wanted, in this case. It didn't matter to him, as long as the host completed the mission successfully in the end.

Hao Sheng went up to Malakai and made to sit down but Malakai stopped him.

"It's getting too cold out here. Let's get back inside, I think I'm a bit more sober now so it's okay". Malakai said with a soft smile.

Hao Sheng conceded and led Malakai back inside. It didn't make much of a difference to him anyway. As long as he stayed close to him, he would have ample chances to seduce his princess.

They went back to their little couch and found it was currently occupied by another couple, who were too busy eating each other's faces off to notice their presence. Hao Sheng turned to Malakai with an amused smile.

"It's okay, we can just new seats if you want" he said.

Malakai shook his head with a mischievous grin.

"No. This is actually a good thing. We can't just come to a party and do nothing but dance". He took off Hao Sheng's jacket and handed it to him. His eyes winkled when he said this next statement. "Come on. Let's go dance"

Hao Sheng backed up with a look. "No. No. I thought that we covered that I don't dance".

Malakai pouted. "Come on. It's just one dance. It won't hurt". He looked at Hao Sheng and gave him what could only be described as the 'puppy eyes look'.

Hao Sheng shook his head reluctantly and decided to indulge him with a sigh. The princess had to be indulged or he would throw a temper tantrum.

Hao Sheng gave Malakai a reluctant acceptance. "Okay, but don't blame me if I end up being no fun".

Malakai smiled and led Hao Sheng to the dance floor, before he could change his mind. He was glad he was able to convince him, oblivious to the smirk Hao Sheng gave him.

Just as they got to the centre, the song suddenly changed to a slower one. Malakai starts dancing and Hao Sheng joined him, albeit his movement were a bit stiff.

Malakai laughed as he saw him. "You should relax a bit. Try to be a bit more fluid and move with the music" he said, demonstrating as he talked by moving slowly and sensually to the music. Hao Sheng watched his with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Malakai swallowed. He looked back and the glint was gone, almost like he imagined it.

Hao Sheng approached his and grabbed him by the waist and started moving in tandem with him. Malakai's heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath to try and clear his head. Maybe he wasn't as sober as he thought he was. It was suddenly getting a bit too hot again.

Hao Sheng leaned in Malakai's ear and whispered, "Am I doing it right, princess?"

Malakai didn't immediately answer but Hao Sheng noticed his red ears and smiled.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance" Malakai said finally.

"I said I didn't prefer to, never said anything about not knowing how" Hao Sheng said with a smile. How could he not know how to dance? He had been to a few revelries himself back in his original world. It was just a matter of viewing the situation wisely

It was at this moment that Malakai realised that he had been tricked. For some reason though, he felt he didn't quite mind so much.

The two dance for a bit more, in their own little world, until their feet hurt and they got tired. They made their way out of the living room and made their way to the mini-bar. Hao Sheng shot Malakai a look as he poured himself another drink but ultimately didn't say anything.

"What? I'm just a bit thirsty. I won't have too much. Promise" Malakai said shrugging.

Hao Sheng hummed but didn't say anything, only grabbing himself a bottle of water.

They left the room and ended sitting on the patio overlooking the city. Hao Sheng silently gave Malakai back his jacket as they were outside again. Malakai tried to refuse this time but was suppressed by Hao Sheng and ended wearing the jacket again. He had a tiny smile on his face though because he understood that Hao Sheng was probably only insisting because he cared.

They sat there and just talked. They were suddenly interrupted by Luxia, though, around 2-3 in the morning claiming she was tired and wanted to leave now. She gave Malakai and Hao Sheng a weird, exited look but didn't say anything before closing the door again, claiming she was going to say her goodbyes and wait for Hao Sheng by the car.

Hao Sheng cringed, knowing he was going to be grilled as soon as he entered that car.

Hao Sheng stood up and turned to Malakai.

"Well I have to be going now. I'll see you at school on Monday. Text me if you need anything".

Malakai stood up as well, feeling the urge to say something but in the end he just smiled and said, "Sure. I'll see you".

With a final smile, Hao Sheng left him there, with a reluctant heart. It was only then that he noticed that he forgot to give back the jacket.

Luxia was probably tired because as soon as she got into the car she fell asleep almost immediately. Hao Sheng drove back to her house in silence. When he got back, he carried her to her bedroom and put her on her bed and covered her with the sheets after taking of her shoes.

He then quietly closed the door and made his way to his temporary room. He quickly changed into pyjamas and settled on his bed and opened his laptop.

[Is the host not going to sleep?]

'No I still have some work to do so don't bother daddy, be a good boy and go play somewhere else'

333 was speechless. This was the second time this had happened! Who was his daddy?! It surely wasn't this scum host. How dare he speak to him like that! 333 kept silent and endured the abuse. This was all for his pay check. He could endure anything as long as he got payed.

And so, the co-existence of a host and a system continued.