Work Text:
“Zhan-ge, didi ai ni!”
The first time Yibo said it, Xiao Zhan was barely in a position to react, his face full of a make-up brush, and his make-up artist narrowing his eyes in a warning daring him to move, and Xiao Zhan had to keep his face still without even being able to glance to the side where Yibo’s voice came from, while inside of his head the screeching What the fuck?! was beating against the walls of his skull.
The following two intense days on the set and half a night of filming had made him completely forget about this episode until the next time Yibo said it again, this time during a short break between the scenes, that wasn’t really an actual break at all, but more like stand here don’t move while we’re conquering this light yes you can drink your tea someone bring him his tea but if you smear the make-up I’ll hand you your ass kind of a break, that on the CQL set happened way more often than when Xiao Zhan could actually sit down, pull his robes up as high as he could allow himself to while surrounded by dozens of people, who probably wouldn’t even care even if he decided to chill in his underwear alone, too busy with their work and too hot under the scalding sun to bother, and make grumpy faces and noises into his portable fan.
So they stood on their marks, the only freedom allowed compared to when they were actually filming was to pull his face in an unhappy grimace, that Yibo instantly reacted to with a croaking laughter. Someone shoved the bottle with green tea into Xiao Zhan’s hand and he took a few sips carefully avoiding touching the lid to his lips, not so much scared of the director’s or make-up artists’ rage but more not willing to spend any extra minutes in this heat if they actually had to fix his make-up. He looked at Yibo above the bottle and silently handed it to him, knowing too well, that the boy would either pull it from Xiao Zhan’s fingers anyway or whine until Xiao Zhan agreed to share it. Yibo grinned from ear to ear, took a sip of Xiao Zhan’s tea and then declared happily and too loudly,
“Zhan-ge, didi ai ni!”
Xiao Zhan blinked and gaped, someone snickered and then the director commanded to begin the scene, and Xiao Zhan again didn’t have time to think about it.
The third time happened after the whole two weeks during which they were not engaged in the same scenes, and apparently to compensate for that, the next time they were finally filming something together, Yibo said it twice in a row, after practically chanting Xiao Zhan’s name for solid ten minutes, making it lose any sense after so many repetitions ― at least to Xiao Zhan’s ears, not to Yibo, apparently, if the pure joy on his face was something to judge by ― and making Xiao Zhan almost dizzy, and he wasn’t really thinking when he turned to Yibo and mimicked puking after hearing this didi ai ni again.
Some of the staff and the cast raised amused brows and the day went on.
It happened a couple of more times after which there were another almost full two weeks of their usual compliments battles during the breaks when Yibo didn’t repeat it, and then, when they were having an ungodly early breakfast before the full day of filming, still in their casual clothes but already in the wigs, Yibo raised his head from where he was browsing something on his phone, looked throughtfully at Xiao Zhan, while Xiao Zhan had finally conquered the slippery jiaozi and lifted it with his chopsticks to his mouth, grinned and said, merrily,
“Zhan-ge, wo ai ni.” I love you.
The jiaozi fell down, Xiao Zhan cursed, awkwardly and unsuccessfully trying to catch it before it reached the table, someone choked on his right, which Xiao Zhan thought he could really relate to at the moment, he managed to pick up the jiaozi and finally looked up at the grinning Yibo, and then couldn’t find what to say for a solid minute, during which the other actors at the table seemed to be faced with the same challenge.
They all, including Xiao Zhan, had somehow accepted Yibo’s silly didi ai ni by this point as the part of their game, it was no secret that Yibo adored Xiao Zhan. Changing didi to I somehow felt completely different and Xiao Zhan struggled to decide on his reaction. Yibo, however, apparently hadn’t expected any reaction at all ― he smiled, looking not so much as smug but extremely pleased with himself, and turned back down to his food and his phone, as if declaring love confessions to one’s partner on a set who also happened to be the same gender (not that them being of two opposites genders would make it any better) was somehow a completely normal occurrence.
Xiao Zhan should’ve known that Yibo would actually make it so.
After that it started happening so many times that Xiao Zhan as well as pretty much everyone on the set who happened to be around the two of them at the moment when Yibo got struck by the need to express his affection to Xiao Zhan had grown completely immune to this.
Sometimes he did it multiple times a day and several days in a row, sometimes a week passed and he didn’t say it, that actually made Xiao Zhan think about it more, explaining to himself later, that it was just as weird not hearing this as it would be if Yibo stopped chanting Zhan-ge on an everyday basis, and it surely had nothing to do with Xiao Zhan worrying that he might have done or not done something that had somehow disappointed Yibo to the point that he stopped saying this, not that Xiao Zhan cared, why would he, really?..
He never got to muse about it for too long, because as much as this had become an integral part of their interactions, it also seemed to immensely cheer Yibo up, which Xiao Zhan couldn't fully figure out, because usually Yibo preferred teasing a reaction out of him, not just throwing something in the air without expecting an answer. But as long as the boy was happy, be it even on Xiao Zhan’s expense, Xiao Zhan was fine with it, he only wished Yibo chose slightly better timing for this.
Granted, after two months, Xiao Zhan had grown to know when to expect another Zhan-ge, wo ai ni. It was not hard really, he just needed to notice that moment during a day when he was up to his eyelids into something, that would leave him no room for any reaction ― surrounded by as many people as possible and talking with someone seemed to be Yibo’s most preferable one ― and when Yibo got a few seconds of a completely free time, with no one trying to fix his make-up or the wig, and the two of them being within shouting distance from one another, and then Yibo would say (or shout) it again.
Most times like this Xiao Zhan knew to expect it, and he wouldn’t even blink, and judging by a complete lack of any reaction from the people around them, so did the others, and after so many similar Public Declarations of Affection that Xiao Zhan had completely lost count of them, he caught himself on a bizarre thought, that perhaps saying this at such times was not Yibo being exhibitionistic or trying to mock Xiao Zhan while he was not able to retaliate, but Yibo carefully avoiding the situations when he could and would, and did it mean Yibo didn’t want Xiao Zhan’s reaction or was scared of it? And wasn’t it insane thinking that the latter might be true?
There really was only one way to check this, and after another week of Xiao Zhan getting Zhan-ge, wo ai ni while having a make-up brush literally on his mouth, or listening to the director’s explanations of a scene, or walking away from Yibo to the opposite side of the location where they were filming another episodes, that was taking him just far away enough to barely hear Yibo’s shout, Yibo finally misjudges the situation just that tiny bit enough.
“Zhan-ge, wo ai ni,” Yibo said from the other side of the room where the cast was getting ready for a next scene, that, judging by the final preparations, should begin in mere seconds. Xiao Zhan, who had been talking to ZhuoCheng, politely put a hand on the man’s shoulder, asking for a pause in their conversation, turned to Yibo who was grinning happily, already turning away from Xiao Zhan, smiled warmly catching Yibo’s eyes before the boy turned away completely, and said,
“Bo-di, wo ye ai ni.” I love you too .
Yibo’s jaw dropped and the look of utter shock on his face was matching the one on ZhuoCheng’s, when Xiao Zhan turned back to him. They began the scene in the next moment, and Xiao Zhan preferred to count this as the reason why he didn’t feel like laughing at Yibo’s reaction, and not the way the words Xiao Zhan had said had pulled and warmed something deep within his chest. By the time they had finished with the day, during which Yibo had stuttered and spaced out at least a dozen times, which was highly unusual, Xiao Zhan had accepted that he was a grown enough man to admit, at least to himself, that what he meant as a joke, clearly had worked against him, because he couldn’t ignore how pleasant it felt saying that, and that had nothing to do with pleasure from getting back on Yibo’s constant teasing, but more with the fact that when Xiao Zhan had said that he instantly realised that he actually meant that.
It was scary for a whole hour after the filming, when they were changing from their clothes and taking off the make-up and wigs and then heading to the hotel in their respective cars, Yibo riding in his own one for a change this time, which didn’t abate Xiao Zhan’s nervousness.
It was a bit scary and very surreal when he stood in front of the door to Yibo’s hotel room and hesitated for a solid minute before knocking.
It was significantly more scary but way more exciting when he finally knocked and Yibo opened the door with a lost expression on his face, that he quickly arranged in an impassive, almost angry mask, that Xiao Zhan knew the boy used to intimidate the others to make them treat him more seriously, but that absolutely didn’t work on Xiao Zhan.
It suddenly wasn’t scary anymore, but big time giddy, and Xiao Zhan laughed breathlessly, reached out to ruffle Yibo’s hair and stepped past him into the room.
“Don’t make fun of me,” Yibo said, closing the door.
“I didn’t,” Xiao Zhan answered with a smile. “Not my fault Wang-laoshi has been so scared to tell me this when I can actually answer properly without shocking everyone on the set.”
Yibo hit him on a shoulder, and snarled,
“I’m not scared!” His ears were red, and Xiao Zhan caught his hand when the boy tried to hit him again.
“Really? Let’s hear it then,” Xiao Zhan said, and Yibo’s eyes rounded with surprise. He chewed on his lip and looked away. Xiao Zhan’s heart was hammering in his chest in rhythm with Yibo’s pulse under his fingertips and he prayed that he hadn’t misinterpreted this whole situation somehow horribly and irreparably wrong.
Yibo made a half-hearted attempt to pull his hand from Xiao Zhan’s grip and licked his lips nervously, looking up at him.
“You didn’t mean it,” he said quietly and there was no mistaking the flicker of vulnerability in his eyes, that Xiao Zhan thought he had never seen on Yibo’s face before.
He took half a step forward, Yibo’s wrist still in his hand, raised his other hand barely realising he did that, and froze in the middle of the motion, indecisive, and then lowering it and sliding his fingers into Yibo’s other hand at his side, for a brief moment afraid that the boy would pull away.
“Did you?” Xiao Zhan asked, feeling Yibo’s fingers wrap around his gently.
Yibo lifted his chin, all vulnerability gone from his eyes, that now were looking at him almost with a challenge.
“I did!” he said with a force, and a corner of his mouth pulled up in half a smirk, but his fingers in Xiao Zhan’s were sweaty and trembling slightly, and Xiao Zhan let out a breathless relieved laughter.
“I meant it too,” he said, watching Yibo’s face light up with a sunny smile, and he made half a jump on his toes.
“Really?!”
Xiao Zhan nodded firmly and let go of Yibo’s wrist in lieu of putting it on the side of Yibo’s neck.
“Really,” he answered with a smile.
Yibo made a quiet squeaking sound, pulled his fingers from Xiao Zhan’s hand and threw himself on him wrapping his arms around Xiao Zhan and squeezing tightly.
“Zhan-ge!” he chirped and pressed himself closer.
“Zhan-ge!” He buried his nose in the crook of Xiao Zhan’s neck and laughed, frying a couple of million neurons in Xiao Zhan’s brain.
“Zhan-ge, I love you, Zhan-ge!” he nearly screamed joyfully, and Xiao Zhan wrapped his arms around him.
“Bo-di,” Xiao Zhan breathed out in disbelief and his heart made another somersault in his chest. “I love you too, Bo-di…” he said and laughed, and then pulled away just enough to see Yibo’s happy face, and leaned in to press his lips against Yibo’s smile.