Chapter Text
“C’mon, you slowpoke. Hurry up!” His brother all but shoves Ye Qiu into the backseat of the taxi.
“Hey! Watch the suit!” He scoots down to let his bully of a brother duck into the car. He smooths out a crease down his side. “Do you know how hard it is to get wrinkles out of this one?”
Ye Xiu rolls his eyes. “Just send it to the dry cleaner or something. It’s not like the big Mr. CEO of the great and illustrious Ye Corp has to do his own laundry.”
Ye Xiu is right, of course. But there’s no way he can admit it to Ye Xiu now. “That position will belong to you now,” Ye Qiu sniffs. The car starts and Ye Qiu crosses his arms as he peers out the window at the passing streets. “Just where are we going anyway?”
Ye Xiu doesn’t turn to face him, instead staring at the road ahead.
“To meet someone.”
“Who?”
“You’ll know when you meet them.”
Ye Qiu huffs but doesn’t pester Ye Xiu further. Though his brother seems easy-going, Ye Qiu knows more than anyone that trying to convince his brother when he had made up his mind was like trying to tear away a piece of metal welded and bolted to the floor.
When they finally arrive at the mystery location, Ye Xiu helps him out of the taxi. It’s a small cafe, the kind of cute, trendy location that college kids and young couples would frequent. His lips curl at the sight of the leafy green potted plants spaced out neatly on the clean window countertop.
“What’s the occasion?” Ye Qiu half-teases, actually quite pleased. “This doesn’t seem like the kind of place you would bring me to.”
“You’ll see,” Ye Xiu says, holding open the glass door.
Ye Xiu leads him up the white spiral staircase to the second floor and to a semi-secluded booth where someone is already sitting.
His eyes are first drawn to the man’s broad shoulders.
Ye Xiu smirks when he realizes the direction of his gaze. “Look Old Han, we finally found someone besides me who isn’t afraid of your face.”
Old...Han? Han... Wenqing?
Ye Qiu lifts his eyes and can’t help the instant attraction that begins to bloom from his chest. A square jaw, straight brows and angled cheekbones, a healthy glow to his skin. Could it be...?
The man’s brow furrows as he stands. “Ye Qiu, what is the meaning of this? Why did you retire so suddenly? Where have you been?”
There’s so much caring in his voice, it almost hurts to know that the Ye Qiu that this man is referring to is his brother.
“Let’s sit and order first. Then we’ll talk.” His brother slips into a chair and pulls him into the seat opposite Han Wenqing, nudging him with a playful elbow underneath the table. Ye Qiu shoots him another glare before adjusting himself to hang up his jacket on the back of the chair.
Han Wenqing also sits himself down, a frown still evident on his face as his eyes glance between one twin and the other. They make quick work of the menu, and once their little trio is alone again, Ye Xiu earns another pointed look.
He starts with an introduction. “The Glory player “Ye Qiu” that you know is me. My real name is Ye Xiu. Old Han, this is my younger brother, the real Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu, this is Han Wenqing. ”
Han Wenqing merely quirks an eyebrow, a silent invitation for Ye Xiu to continue.
Ye Xiu launches into an abbreviated version of how he took Ye Qiu’s luggage and ran away from home, eventually making his way to Glory and Excellent Era.
Ye Qiu watches Han Wenqing’s careful expression shift subtly as his brother relays their story.
He can’t help but feel slighted.
It’s unfair. Han Wenqing is everything he had hoped, and more , and Ye Xiu had become close to this person using his name. Had he been the one to successfully run away, would he have met this person sooner?
When Ye Xiu finishes, Han Wenqing only asks one question. “Since when did you know?”
Ye Qiu wants to know as well. Ye Xiu was the one who brought them here today. He knows .
He tugs, hurt, on his brother’s sleeve. “Ge, how long have you known?”
Ye Xiu at least has the decency to show some shame. He swallows, looking down at his wrists. “Since our eighteenth birthday, when you messaged and told me.”
Han Wenqing stands suddenly, looming over the table with darkness gathering in his face.
“You’ve been sitting on this for nearly eight years , and you, you let me think...!”
There’s a rare uncertainness in his brother’s eyes as he withdraws his hands from the table and into his lap. “It’s harder than you think to bring up a delicate situation with someone you hardly see in person. I couldn’t even tell if it was requited until the fourth season when you announced that you and “Ye Qiu” were fated. By that time, my entire career was on the line.”
“So you came between fated partners for the sake of your career?” A cold and quiet rage simmers beneath Han Wenqing’s words. Ye Qiu flinches at the tone, always a mirror of his twin, despite the words not being directed at him.
“I shouldn’t be so surprised.” Han Wenqing enunciates each syllable slowly and clearly, all the tenderness from earlier leeching away, leaving only the bare bones of sentence structure. “You’ve always been so selfish, Ye Xiu .”
Han Wenqing is so intense. Like a storm, forcefully surging onto the shore. Ye Qiu is swept away by his raging winds. It gives him a rush of adrenaline and awe. This was for his sake. For their sake.
But still, he can’t bear for him to be angry at Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu has never made his life easy, but he is his only twin brother.
“Wenqing!” he blurts out.
The man immediately turns toward him with concern written on his face and Ye Qiu feels his cheeks heat as he realizes how intimately he just addressed him.
“It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. I, um...” he stutters shyly, “I want to get to know you.”
Wenqing instantly softens, sliding back into his seat. “It does matter. But you’re right. We can’t make up for missed time, but we have now and forever.”
He reaches across the table and takes Ye Qiu’s hand between his.
“May I?”
Ye Qiu gives a shaky nod and Han Wenqing turns it over with the utmost care, as if it were the most precious thing in the world. His thumb brushes lightly over the three characters written on his thin wrist.
Ye Qiu’s skin tingles at the touch. Red cheeks are now a permanent part of his face.
“Can I... see yours?”
Wenqing rolls up his sleeve and from upside down across the table Ye Qiu can see his two characters inked in perfect calligraphy across his wrist. A helpless smile starts to blossom across his lips. Mine mine mine , his thumping heart beats.
The waitress brings out their food, but they hardly make a dent in it with how engrossed they are in each other. Conversation flows so readily between them that they easily find things in common. It turns out that they both broke an arm in the sixth grade. They both enjoy quiet time alone to unwind after work and hold a fondness for small animals. They both place an importance on fitness and cherish early morning runs when the air is crisp and the sky still soft.
Wenqing begins to describe his daily life as captain of Team Tyranny. Ye Qiu has never been interested in the game his brother had made a career out of, but now he finds himself overwhelmingly curious and frustrated that he doesn’t know more about his fated’s occupation. He makes a mental note to make Ye Xiu teach him how to play so that they can share the game his fated loves so.
The two of them barely notice when their food has gone cold and Ye Xiu has the waitress pack it into takeout boxes. They only pause when Ye Xiu pushes Ye Qiu up out of his chair.
“C’mon, the waitstaff has been eyeing us for the past hour.”
Ye Qiu sneaks a peek at his watch. Has it really been two and a half hours?
“I’ll settle the bill. Why don’t you two lovebirds go out for a walk?” Ye Xiu teases, “Enjoy the nice weather before it gets cold.”
Ye Qiu blinks as Wenqing starts to pull on his jacket. How can he be so handsome?
Wenqing extends a hand to help him out of his seat. He takes it, blushing softly.
He releases Wenqing’s hand to pull back on his suit jacket. He slides this arms through the sleeves and buttons up the blazer, looking smart and feeling a little bit more in control when he’s dressed for success.
Scratch that-- he’s still just as flustered when Wenqing’s warm hand wraps around his naturally cooler ones.
“Ye Xiu.” Wenqing addresses his brother coldly. “Don’t think this means I’ve forgiven you.”
Ye Xiu doesn’t acknowledge it, instead laying his hand on Ye Qiu’s shoulder.
“Qiu-di.” He says softly. “Everything I’ve taken, I’ll return it to you now.” He steps away, a gentle smile on his face. “Go on now. I’ll meet you at home. Han Wenqing will bring you back safe.”
His toes give a happy little wriggle at the thought of Wenqing sending him home. He squeezes his hand a little tighter, just to make sure this isn’t a dream. A thrill runs through him to find the hand in his is solid and real when he receives a squeeze back.
“Then I’ll be going with Wenqing,” he says.
Han Wenqing leads him out, their entwined hands swinging between them.
Ye Xiu watches them leave as the smile slowly slips from his lips. The three characters hidden safely under a layer of concealer burn like the feeling threatening to suffocate his chest.
His whisper, barely audible, dissolves like drops of sweet honey into the air. He hugs Ye Qiu’s bag of leftovers close to his aching heart.
"Thank you, old friend. For our ten years of Glory."