Work Text:
Xichen couldn't sleep.
It's not that he wasn't tired, infact it had been quite the day. One of his clients had last minute canceled out on a deal that the company had been leading up to for the past few weeks. He had just gently smiled and accepted the decision at the time, knowing that his uncle was going to give him an earful regarding careful investment later.
And he did just that. Two whole hours of telling him that he was running the business wrong and that his methods would lead to nothing but downfall. He secretly wished his brother Wangji was still in town, maybe he'd know what to do. His decision making skills had always been much more logical and less 'emotion and sentimental based' as compared to Xichen's. It had only been a month since his brother had moved to away with his fiance Wei Wuxian to his hometown, ultimately stepping down from the family business, and for once following his own heart.
Xichen couldn't have been prouder of him, but times like this, he wished Wangji would hurry back. Even if it was just to say a quick 'hello'.
He crawled into the white sheets of his bed, after promptly brushing teeth and changing into his pyjamas that was just sky blue bottoms lined with white clouds as he ditched the shirt. He had a habit of sleeping at 9pm, that he impressively maintained even with his hectic schedule but somehow today, in the dark of his room, his mind refused to rest a long way past 10.
The light from the corridor took up space in his room as the door creaked open and soft footsteps were heard, stopping as they turned to lightly close the door again.
Jiang cheng.
His boyfriend held his shoes in his hand as he tip toed to put them in the corner of the room. The familiar shuffling never failed to spread a soft smile over his face. He could have sat up to say hello, but his body felt like it lacked the energy to do so today.
It had only been a week since they had started dating and Xicheng couldn't have been happier. After all, he had been pining after his best friend for years now.
They had met around the same time that Wangji and Wuxian had started dating, being dragged to the same events due to their respective brothers, they found they had a lot of time to spend together.
Jiang Cheng was known all round for his temper. Mostly directed towards his brother, of course. People said he walked with a permanent frown on his face, and at first Xichen believed everyone else. But then, where others saw rage and fire, all he could see was basic concern. The underlying emotion behind all his words and actions. As he took time to understand Jiang cheng he realized that the person that many people feared to rub the wrong way was actually very caring, dedicated and loyal.
It was quite a surprise to everyone when they started getting along so well. Their personalities were strikingly different but in a world where Xichen had grown up to hide his insecurities behind small smiles and downcast nods, Jiang Cheng had worn his heart on his sleeve, fiery and fearless. He still remembered the first time he made his boyfriend smile.
They had been taken to a local carnival and Xichen had made a joke regarding the cotton candy and Jiang Cheng's eyes had lit up into the warmest sparkles and his mouth stretched into the prettiest smile he had ever seen. He was falling quick, and he only had one thought in his head.
I want him to make him smile like this all the for the rest of my life.
Eventually, the two became really close friends and would meet up without having the company of their siblings. Over the years, Jiang Cheng had become his best friend, his companion. And admittedly he was in love.
He hadn't really expected it to go anywhere from that point until just last Saturday. He had ended up confessing that he had feelings for him on their weekly movie nights. His heart was racing as he did so, out of the terrifying thought that he might never see his best friend again but he had never thought Jiang cheng would rush to kiss him with such a beautiful smile in response and whisper that he had feelings for Xichen too.
And so they were dating.
It was still very new, and Xichen tried his best to hold back and take things slow even though his first instinct was to ask his very new boyfriend to move in with him since he spent every other night at his apartment anyway. He didn't.
Of course they had already slept together a few times now and it had been nothing short of incredible but slowly new fears had taken over his previous ones.
What if he said something that was too much? Or did something that was too much? Hell, he had almost proposed when Jiang Cheng showed up with take-out on his door step two days ago, just because Xichen didn't like eating alone. What if the severity of his feelings scared Jiang Cheng and he backed out of this relationship?
Okay, that last one was improbable because he wasn't cruel enough leave him over something like that. In hindsight, he might have rolled his eyes smiling with a 'shut up, idiot.' But even creating a rift between the two of them was a thought he feared.
Having put down his shoes Jiang Cheng shuffled to the bathroom, after quietly pausing near the bed as he bent down and gave a soft kiss to Xichen's forehead.
He should have sat up, or said hi, but he continued to press his eyes shut in the dark room and kept his breathing steady.
It only took two minutes for Jiang Cheng to also change into his pyjamas and get into bed next to him. He felt the younger man slowly drape his arm around him, and pull him closer. He could feel his breath on the back of his neck as he seemed to relax. And just like that, his mind stopped racing and hurting the way it did a short time ago.
He was just about to truly drift off to sleep, when he felt stiff fingers in his hair. Jiang Cheng slowly brushed his hair away from his face running his hands through his scalp as he dropped feather light kisses up his nape.
Gentle. It was so gentle he almost felt like crying. If he wasn't hyper aware of the fact that it was his boyfriend behind him, he would have possibly fallen asleep deeper at the caring gesture. He continued just that for a few minutes and Xichen felt all his exhaustion seep out of his body just be replaced by peace and contentment .
He thought that was it, till he felt his other hand that was formerly holding his waist, now tracing patterns on his back.
This boy was really going to be the death of him.
At first it was just light random patterns but slowly it became alphabets and words.
A..H..U..A..N
Xichen couldn't help but smile in the dark at the thought of Jiang Cheng thinking of him. It was a bit unlike him being so calm and seemingly soft.
Even now, being his boyfriend, Jiang Cheng had still been struggling to be completely open about the emotions he felt all the time, although it was evident how hard he tried.
But right now even this simple gesture was a big deal. A clear sign of vulnerability and trying to be more open from his side.
He felt the younger man's mouth curve into a smile as well, on the back of his neck as he kept working on his trail of barely feelable kisses and continued tracing letters.
I..L..O..V..E..Y..O..U
He could feel his own heart pick up pace, starting to hammer at his chest walls.
They hadn't said that word yet. Even though he knew it was true for himself . He loved Jiang Cheng, and that was a simple truth he accepted years ago. But feeling his boyfriend trace that onto his skin, when he thought Xichen was asleep, it made him want to have those words etched on to him forever.
The words did not stop there however, the fingers moved slowly to spell out the next confession.
S..T..A..Y..M.. I..N..E
Xichen felt his own breath hitch at that.
F..O..R..E..V..E..R..P..L..E..A..S..E
He really couldn't stop himself from turning around and facing him after that. He could still make out Jiang Cheng's eyes widen at that and he heard his tiny gasp.
"A-Cheng" he whispered, "Hello."
His boyfriends arm tightened around his waist again.
"Hi," he mumbled back, "did I wake you?"
Xichen leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his cheek.
"No, I had already been awake for a while." He hummed and breathed in the distinct scent of lotus flowers and his own soap. "Do not worry about it."
"O-Oh. I was just, well I was, um, you know-" He could already imagine Jiang Cheng's face getting redder, he could feel the heat radiate off him. The way it did when he gave him compliments and Jiang Cheng got speechless before telling him off with a smile for being too cheesy.
He leaned forward again to give him another kiss, this time on the mouth.
"I know. I know sweetheart, we can think about it tomorrow okay?" He tucked his hair behind his ears. "Let's sleep for now?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and closed his eyes, and they both slowly slipped out of their surroundings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE next morning Jiang Cheng woke up to sunlight hitting his eyes and kisses being given all over his face and he couldn't help but smile as he heard his boyfriend whispering the sentence, he himself did not know how to bring up to him over and over again.
"A-Cheng, I'm in love with you."
And when he heard it, he really couldn't stop himself from smiling and thinking
'So this is what heaven feels like'