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If people were asked to describe Huang Shaotian in one word it would likely be talkative. But right after that, fast would be a good fit. Fast thoughts, fast mouth, quick to be riled up and quick to cool down. What they didn’t know was that Huang Shaotian could be described as fast in other ways as well. For example, Huang Shaotian would pride himself on being the fastest to learn his captain, figure out what each nuance meant, whether he was amused or annoyed just from the way he tilted his head, Huang Shaotian argued that he was the first to know his captain the best.
Or at least. He was.
Huang Shaotian found himself frowning at the way Ye Qiu had his head casually resting in Yu Wenzhou’s lap, smiling up at his boyfriend as Yu Wenzhou sketched. The scene was cosy and peaceful but all Huang Shaotian could think about was hauling Ye Qiu out of his captain’s lap and taking his place. His brow furrowed at the thought, surprised at the tight knot of bitterness in his chest, so caught up in trying to detangle the confusing impulses that he nearly missed Yu Wenzhou’s question, only catching the tail end.
“-feeling okay Shaotian?” Blue Rain’s vice-captain was startled out of his thoughts by the soft inquiry, concern written across his friends’ faces and Huang Shaotian realised he was clutching his phone tightly enough that his knuckles had turned white from the pressure. He plastered a smile on his face, hoping to hide his mixed emotions as he began to babble.
“Ah captain don’t worry about me I was just reading the forum posts and I had to put some people in their place, if they think they can get away with disrespecting you then they’ll be disappointed because I’m right there to correct them before they can spread their lies any further-!”
“Shaotian.” Huang Shaotian recognised this tone, this was the tone Yu Wenzhou adopted when he was chiding him for behaviour that he was fully aware wasn’t likely to change. “You shouldn’t waste your time with that. It’s not worth it.” Huang Shaotian only frowned at that, wanting to protest, wanting to argue that Yu Wenzhou, that his captain would always be worth it, that people shouldn’t be allowed to hurl vitriol at him. But he kept his mouth shut, sensing it wasn’t his place to protest and he watched as Ye Qiu reached up to brush a thumb along the line of Yu Wenzhou’s jaw. Watched as Yu Wenzhou leant into the touch, Ye Qiu’s touch, like it was familiar. Comforting. Huang Shaotian swallowed thickly and he stood suddenly, catching their attention.
“Ah I just remembered I have to do something, don’t try anything sneaky when I’m not here to watch you, captain you have to keep an eye on him, he’s too crafty to be left unsupervised.” His smile felt brittle on his face but Yu Wenzhou nodded, amusement dancing in his eyes and Huang Shaotian ached .
When the door slid shut behind him with a comforting click, Huang Shaotian launched himself onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow and attempting to suffocate the tight feeling in his chest. When it didn’t abate, he twisted onto his back and stared up at the ceiling blankly, unsure what he was feeling, unsure why he suddenly had the urge to punch Ye Qiu, unsure why Yu Wenzhou’s smile made his chest tighten.
His phone chimed from where he’d dropped it and he glanced at the screen only to see a notification on a photo he’d taken with Yu Wenzhou. He surprised his captain, vaulting over the back of the sofa to land beside him before taking the shot. Yu Wenzhou’s eyes were wide with surprise but there was a bright smile stretched across his lips and Huang Shaotian’s arm had been slung around his captain’s shoulder. The memory made him smile, finding himself admiring the stretch of Yu Wenzhou’s shoulders, but then the comment beneath the photo caught his eye.
1 st BlueRainFan2034: Don’t they look like a couple here???? My ship is sailing!!!
“A couple? ” The word burrowed into Huang Shaotian’s brain and stuck there, suddenly the picture took on a different context, the way his hand curled around his captain’s shoulder looked possessive, the grin he had seemed smug, as if he were pleased that Yu Wenzhou was his boyfriend-
Huang Shaotian cut off the thought before he could finish it, pushing the idea from his mind firmly. He wasn’t interested in his captain. He couldn’t be. He’d known that Yu Wenzhou was smitten with Ye Qiu since before they’d debuted. There wasn’t any reason for him to have developed feelings when he knew they wouldn’t- couldn’t be returned. In a fit of morbid curiosity, Huang Shaotian scrolled down further, seeing a reply to the first comment.
YuhuangOrBust: @1 st BlueRainFan2034, have you seen the rest of HST’s posts? Every single picture is just him and YWZ!!! Our ship sails itself!!
Huang Shaotian began to scroll through the different posts and he realised that the fan wasn’t entirely off the mark. While it was an exaggeration to say that every photo was of him and Yu Wenzhou, nearly every photo was of the two of them together. Multiple candid shots of the two of them training, promotional photos for the team, a picture Zheng Xuan had taken of them, asleep with Huang Shaotian’s head resting against his captain’s shoulders. Each photo a study of companionship, friendship, an easy intimacy.
Huang Shaotian swallowed thickly, a sinking sensation in his stomach when he realised that the tight feeling in his chest might be envy. Envy that Ye Qiu was now closer to his captain than he’d ever been- than he’d ever be now. He found himself worrying at the edge of his sleeve, picking at the loose threads at the thought that he could be worried about losing his captain to Ye Qiu.
“Who’s losing anyone?!” Huang Shaotian thought sharply to himself, “it was like captain was- we weren’t together. Who can lose something you never had.” He turned over once again, his thoughts making confusion and envy swirl thickly in his stomach while Huang Shaotian lay back and cursed the two comments for putting this idea in his head in the first place.
Huang Shaotian rolled over again, shoving the thought to the back of his mind, not able to forget about it entirely but refusing to dwell on it any further. Yu Wenzhou was with Ye Qiu, Huang Shaotian had taking great steps to ensure the two got together, been very invested in the two getting together.
“It’s not- it’s not envy.” Huang Shaotian repeated to himself, certain that if he said the words enough times that the tight knot of emotions in his chest would ease. He found that he couldn’t bring himself to go back into the common room, unsure of how he’d react so he remained in his room until there was a soft knock at his door.
“Shaotian?” Yu Wenzhou’s voice was soft and Huang Shaotian pulled himself out of his bed to answer, finding his captain outside, worry clear in his eyes.
“What’s up captain? You look worried, did Ye Qiu execute one of his sneaky plans and now you have to stop him but you need my help to do so because I am the best at helping out whenever Ye Qiu decides to do something sneaky and-“
“Are you okay Shaotian?” Huang Shaotian blinked in surprise and he felt the urge to spill his thoughts to his captain, the tight, ugly feeling in his chest but he pulled back on the impulse, refusing to burden his captain with his strange feelings.
“Ah I’m fine, did Ye Qiu leave without saying goodbye? That bastard, I’m one of his oldest friends and he doesn’t even bother to say goodbye before he vanishes into the night, Yu Wenzhou, you really should teach him some manners, you are so well mannered and yet Ye Qiu decides he can just walk away like this-“
“He went out to get food.” Huang Shaotian fell silent at his captain’s words, offended rant being derailed by the matter of fact statement, something that Yu Wenzhou seemed fully aware of as he smiled at his vice-captain.
“Did you send him out? Because if you sent him out then that’s him just being a good boyfriend rather than wanting to spend time with me and that is unfair because if Ye Qiu goes to get food and doesn’t feed me then I’ll surely starve to death while you watch which is merely cruel and you should feel remorse if I truly die because I didn’t get food-“
“He got food for you as well Shaotian if you’d just follow me.” Yu Wenzhou raised one eyebrow as Huang Shaotian seemed to mull over if he should give in and accept that Ye Qiu bought him food, or just stick to his guns and continue to complain about his friend’s lack of manners. As he’d expected, his vice-captain’s stomach won out and he followed him into the common room where Ye Qiu was unpacking the food.
“Old Ye! Did you remember your manners at last, bringing me some food before I starve to death!” Ye Qiu cuffed him around the back of his head, Huang Shaotian ducking the blow easily, dancing out of reach as he laughed. “Missed me, too slow Old Ye, even captain would have been faster-!”
“Your captain is much more pleasant than you are, always so noisy.” Huang Shaotian sucked in an offended breath and Yu Wenzhou took over the food as his boyfriend turned to give his full attention to Huang Shaotian.
“How dare you say I’m not pleasant company! You just have bad taste, always thinking someone is poor company when they aren’t, it’s because you’re so old, you’ve become senile in your age!”
“And yet I am still wiser than you are.” Before Huang Shaotian could respond, Yu Wenzhou placed two bowls of food before the two, distracting them.
“Ah captain, you’re my saviour! Rescuing me from hunger, can we eat now, I’m hungry and I want to have some food, can we eat now, can we eat without Ye Qiu deciding to try wound my feelings so cruelly-“ Huang Shaotian was cut off when Ye Qiu shoved a piece of meat into his mouth, both startling and shutting him up and Excellent Era’s captain sighed loudly.
“Peace and quiet at last.” Huang Shaotian began chewing in order to be able snipe back, but Yu Wenzhou’s small smile had him subsiding and turning his attention to his captain again. Huang Shaotian admired the way the light highlighted the planes of Yu Wenzhou’s face, a face that was lit up with a smile, as it always was when Ye Qiu managed to visit.
Later, Huang Shaotian found himself saddled with the clearing up as Yu Wenzhou headed downstairs to say goodbye to his boyfriend and Ye Qiu felt a twinge of regret at the sadness that flickered through Yu Wenzhou’s eyes before he hid it behind a sweet smile. Ye Qiu tugged him into a soft kiss, one that seemed to slow down time, letting them linger in the moment for as long as they could.
But it ended, as all soft, cherished moments did, and Yu Wenzhou knew what was coming before Ye Qiu gave voice to it.
“It will be a while before I can visit again, I’m sorry,” Yu Wenzhou shook his head, brushing away the apology easily.
“We both have busy schedules, that’s why we have phones,” Yu Wenzhou kept his smile, even as he knew it would ache to not see Ye Qiu for so long. “It isn’t your fault, it’s just how it is.” Ye Qiu wasn’t convinced, could see the brief loneliness that surfaced in Yu Wenzhou’s eyes and he wished that he didn’t have to go, or that they were in the same city.
“I’ll come see you as soon as I can.” He pulled Yu Wenzhou into another lingering kiss before he turned away, but before he was out of earshot he could hear Huang Shaotian’s voice, loud and carrying as it always was.
“Captain come back up, we can watch a film together, even if it is one of those weird artsy ones!” Ye Qiu heard Yu Wenzhou’s soft huff of laughter and found himself grateful that his boyfriend had Huang Shaotian to chase away the loneliness and keep him smiling when he couldn’t.
That night, Yu Wenzhou found himself replaying the look of shock that crossed Huang Shaotian’s face when Ye Qiu managed to silence him and his fingers itched for his sketchbook. He blinked, surprised at himself when he realised that he had a sharp urge to recreate, to preserve the image of his vice-captain’s startled surprise. Yu Wenzhou pushed the thought away not wanting to dwell on the thought, recognising the similarity of this urge to the one he'd had all those years ago to sketch out Ye Qiu, to recreate his expressions with his own hands. He once again pushed the thought, the reoccurring image away to focus on his work, certain the urge would be gone soon enough.
Yu Wenzhou couldn’t sleep. He’d been lying quietly for hours, listening to the quiet sounds that could always be heard in Blue Rain at night. He turned over once more, shifting position in hopes that he could become more comfortable, even though he knew the issue wasn’t discomfort. The urge to sketch flared up in his chest and when pointedly ignoring the desire for another long moment didn’t cause it to abate, Yu Wenzhou rolled out of bed and pulled a new sketchbook from his drawer.
“It doesn’t mean anything.” Yu Wenzhou reassured himself, carefully avoiding the thought that this is exactly what he used to and still did for Ye Qiu. “It doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a sketch.”
Despite his conviction, the scene was uncomfortably familiar, late at night, the only light his desk lamp, pencils scattered across his desk and great care being put into creating the portrait. Huang Shaotian was easily recognisable, the shock and indignation in his eyes, the surprise at Ye Qiu’s audacity, clear in Yu Wenzhou’s mind and on the page. He was startled at how easy it was to replicate the scene, how clear the memory was-
Again, Yu Wenzhou pushed away the little voice reminding him why this felt like déjà vu, reminding him that the ease he found in recreating one’s expression last came when he’d been pining over Ye Qiu-
“It’s just familiarity.” Yu Wenzhou told himself firmly, wishing that he could believe it fully, “it’s just because I know Shaotian so well, it’s nothing else.”
But as he stayed up late sketching, rendering Huang Shaotian onto the page clearly, Yu Wenzhou wondered if it really was just familiarity. Or if there was something else, if there was something to be found in the tangled bundle of emotions in his chest. He sighed as his eyes grew heavy and he tucked the sketchbook away, still pushing the thought to the back of his mind, even as he slipped into sleep, concern and confusion still plaguing him.
Huang Shaotian expected the teeny, tiny, itty-bitty, insignificant crush he’d somehow developed on his captain to fade away after a few days. A week, at most . After all, Huang Shaotian often found himself fixated on someone, with emotions flaring up in his chest and the emotions usually subsided after only a little while.
However, after three weeks of finding his eyes drawn towards the stretch of Yu Wenzhou’s shoulders, found himself watching the way his captain’s lips moved than listening to him and wondering what it would be like if Yu Wenzhou shut him up with a kiss- he had to conclude that his feelings might not be so quick to dissipate as he’d hoped.
Huang Shaotian jolted when Yu Wenzhou leant over his shoulder to watch his match during practice, he managed to keep his squeak in but his fingers still stuttered over the keys, ever so slightly. Yu Wenzhou hummed as he watched the match, and Huang Shaotian forcibly stomped on his feelings, shoving the little voice that told him he could just turn his head to the side to kiss his captain in a box, keeping his eyes and mind on Glory.
“Good technique there Shaotian, you should practice more with Zheng Xuan, him to keep people at a distance and you to keep your dodging sharp.” Zheng Xuan let out a soft, near inaudible sigh at his captain’s words, practice with Huang Shaotian often left the recipient with a headache and the urge to strangle him.
“How stressful.” He muttered to himself and blinked in surprise when he was not met with a loud offended sound from his vice-captain. He glanced over and saw that Huang Shaotian was slowly flushing brighter and brighter red and his gaze was firmly fixed on the way Yu Wenzhou’s lips were shaping around the words as he spoke.
“Shaotian, you’re bright red,” Yu Wenzhou laid a hand on Huang Shaotian’s forehead and Zheng Xuan watched in fascination when the other player let out a strangled wheeze that only seemed to worry Yu Wenzhou further. “You’re very warm, Shaotian if you’re not feeling well then you should go lie down.”
“Yes! I’ll- I’ll go do that! I don’t want to give any of you my germs, I’m going right now captain, I’ll be fine don’t worry!” Before Yu Wenzhou could say another word Huang Shaotian had bolted from the room at top speed, leaving his team to stare after him in confusion.
Huang Shaotian wondered idly about retiring and moving to some remote mountaintop where pretty captains who were not available for dating would be unable to find him. Then he remembered that he hated the cold and that he’d likely end up back in civilisation fairly quickly. He let out another groan and ended up falling into a restless sleep, despite his inner turmoil.
When he began to wake up once more he let out a sigh of contentment as he felt a cool cloth against his forehead and he leaned into the sensation. Once he was more awake his eyes slid open and he startled to see Yu Wenzhou sitting beside his bed, wiping at his forehead.
“Are you feeling better Shaotian?” Yu Wenzhou tilted his head to the side and Huang Shaotian forced his mind back on track as opposed to watching his captain speak.
“Mm, I feel much better now, I think I was just tired? I don’t think I have a fever captain.” Yu Wenzhou pressed his hand against his vice-captain’s forehead briefly, checking that Huang Shaotian wasn’t just reassuring him.
“You’re cooler than before and your face is less red.” Huang Shaotian smiled up at his captain but Yu Wenzhou still looked concerned. “If you’re feeling unwell you shouldn’t make yourself attend practice.” Huang Shaotian opened his mouth to speak but Yu Wenzhou continued, “you can take a day off Shaotian, it’s okay.”
“I was feeling fine this morning captain and I’m fine now, I think I just got hot, don’t worry Wenzhou, I take care of myself!” Yu Wenzhou seemed unconvinced and he brushed his hand against his vice-captain’s shoulder, fond exasperation in his eyes.
“Look after yourself Shaotian,” Yu Wenzhou’s voice was soft and beseeching and Huang Shaotian swallowed, pausing before he answered.
“I will, thank you for taking care of me captain!” Huang Shaotian shifted up in his bed and Yu Wenzhou offered him a cup of water and all Huang Shaotian wanted to do was tug the other down into a kiss. But he couldn’t. And the gentle care and worry that Yu Wenzhou was showing him only made the ache in Huang Shaotian’s chest worse. But he kept his smile on his face, even as it felt less and less real. He kept his smile until Yu Wenzhou was certain he was okay and left.
And Huang Shaotian felt his smile slip away and shatter as he curled up on his side while his heart ached. Ached because he was too late. Ached because Yu Wenzhou was in love with someone else, someone Huang Shaotian admired and liked. Ached because as much as Yu Wenzhou cared about him, it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t enough.
Yu Wenzhou found himself sketching his vice-captain more and more, found himself preserving his vice-captain’s antics enough times that it had officially moved to being near identical to what he was doing before he started dating Ye Qiu. He tried to stop himself, resolutely decided that he wouldn’t draw Huang Shaotian anymore, feeling as if it were a betrayal- or feeding into emotions that he couldn’t quite figure out.
But it didn’t help. He found his eyes drawn to how expressive Huang Shaotian was, arguably a tornado, always in motion, often leaving destruction in his wake and always so full of life. Yu Wenzhou felt his fingers itch for his sketchbook and he longed to recreate Huang Shaotian’s expressions, the joy, the liveliness in his eyes. Where Ye Xiu was tempered flame, his vice-captain was arguably a wildfire, burning wild, unrestrained and passionately.
“It’s just the contrast,” Yu Wenzhou found himself thinking, sketching out both Huang Shaotian and Ye Qiu on the page. “I just want to see the differences side by side.”
Yu Wenzhou lost himself in the piece for a long time, not noticing time passing, far past when he usually went to bed, steadily growing later and later. But he wasn’t paying attention to the time, focusing on each line, focused on inking down the differences between the two men he couldn’t stop drawing, wanting to pin down once and for all why. Why he was so fixated on both Huang Shaotian and Ye Qiu, why he itched to have as many sketches of them as possible and why thinking about Huang Shaotian made him happy and guilty at the same time.
Once he was finished, once he was done with the sketch and took a step back to take it in, he was suddenly struck by Huang Shaotian’s words the first time he’d seen his sketch of Ye Qiu, the first words out of his mouth, matter of fact and full of conviction.
“I didn’t know you had a crush on senior Ye.” Yu Wenzhou wanted to laugh, he felt a surge of hysterical laughter bubbling up in his throat as he realised what it was, what the strange mix of bright joy and cloying guilt meant when he looked over at his vice-captain.
“I have a crush on Huang Shaotian.” Yu Wenzhou pushed the thought away the moment it was formed, shoving the sketchbook into his drawer and pulling out the team’s training schedule, needing to focus on something else. Needing to keep his mind off his latest revelation before he gave in to the hysterical laughter. He’d sleep once his mind quietened.
Huang Shaotian knew he really shouldn’t be up this late, that his alarm was going to wake him up for physical training tomorrow morning, even if he’d rather scream than wake up. But he’d woken up hungry and after sneaking down for a snack, he was ready to go back to bed but he spotted the light creeping out from beneath Yu Wenzhou’s door and he frowned. His captain always stressed the need to sleep at proper times, often, somehow, cutting the power in his room to get him to go to bed.
When Huang Shaotian eased his captain’s door open he frowned as he saw Yu Wenzhou slumped over at his desk, fast asleep. When he walked closer he found that Yu Wenzhou had fallen asleep over the team’s training schedule, and Huang Shaotian frowned, concerned that Yu Wenzhou was working too hard, not delegating enough to him.
He pushed the thought to the back of his mind to bring up to his captain later and dragged Yu Wenzhou through his bedroom routine, getting him ready for bed before easing him onto his bed and turning to leave. Yu Wenzhou had barely been conscious throughout the entire ordeal and Huang Shaotian resolved to bring up delegation of tasks tomorrow.
He startled when Yu Wenzhou’s hand caught his wrist and tugged him towards the bed, making him stumble. His captain’s eyes were only half open but they were focused on him as he was tugged at again.
“Don’t go, stay,” Huang Shaotian gently tried to loosen his captain’s grip on his wrist, certain that he’d fall asleep happily once he was gone.
“He’s half asleep and thinks I’m Ye Qiu, it doesn’t mean anything.” Huang Shaotian told himself, desperate to convince himself. Yu Wenzhou’s next words shattered that belief as he sat up slightly, still mostly asleep.
“Shaotian, stay- please?” And Huang Shaotian knew it was a bad idea, knew that he should go but when he tried to leave once more, Yu Wenzhou’s face crumpled and Huang Shaotian was weak. He was weak and he let his captain tug him into the bed, let his captain wrap his arms tightly around him and tuck his face into his neck.
“I’ll leave before he wakes up, it doesn’t mean anything.” Huang Shaotian repeated this to himself again and again, trying to ignore the little puffs of breath against his neck, trying to ignore how well Yu Wenzhou fit in his arms. “I have to talk to Ye Qiu.” Was his last thought before he fell asleep.
Yu Wenzhou’s eyes flickered open, confused as the last thing he remembered was trying to ignore his crisis by working at his desk, but he was now in his bed. He hummed softly as he wrapped his arms more securely around Huang Shaotian, breathing in the familiar scent, feeling the urge to lean up and capture the other’s lips with his own-
Yu Wenzhou felt his brain wake up properly and he realised that he had a boyfriend and was wrapped around his vice-captain and then his face burned bright red as he remembered tugging at Huang Shaotian until he’d joined him in the bed.
Huang Shaotian slowly came awake before he realised that he’d failed to sneak away before Yu Wenzhou woke up and he disentangled himself from the embrace and the two sat awkwardly beside each other, neither knowing what to say.
“I’m-“
“I didn’t-“ They both fell silent once again and Huang Shaotian motioned for his captain to speak first.
“I apologise for insisting you stay with me last night, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“No need for an apology! You were just sleepy and thought I was Ye Qiu, which is rude actually because I am much more handsome than Ye Qiu and the fact that you mixed us up is an insult to me and you should probably get some new glasses if you can’t tell us apart!” Yu Wenzhou smiled at Huang Shaotian’s complaint, deliberately ignoring the little voice that reminded him that he’d very clearly said Shaotian.
“Besides, we’ve shared beds before and it was never a big deal then, I’ll tell Ye Qiu anyway but it’s all fine captain, there’s nothing to worry about, and I have to go get ready because if I’m late for training you’ll give me extra training, I’ll see you then captain!” Huang Shaotian then went bolting out of the room, leaving Yu Wenzhou alone with his thoughts.
Later, after training, after practice, two messages arrived at Excellent Era and Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng glanced down at their phones.
Huang Shaotian: Mucheng I need your help.
Yu Wenzhou: Ye Qiu I need to talk to you.
Su Mucheng wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when Huang Shaotian turned up on her doorstep, looking stressed and upset. His single message hadn’t been clear on what he was having issues with and now he was sitting silently on her bed, occasionally opening his mouth to speak before frowning and going silent once more.
“Should I get Ye Qiu-“ Su Mucheng started to speak but Huang Shaotian’s eyes went wide and he shook his head immediately.
“No! Don’t get Old Ye, I can’t talk to him about this-“
“Should you be talking to your captain then?” Huang Shaotian looked like he was about to burst into hysterical laughter as he continued shaking his head. “Does it have something to do with Ye Qiu and Yu Wenzhou then?” Su Mucheng knew she’d hit the nail on the head when Huang Shaotian looked down at his hands, defeat clear in the slump in his shoulders.
“I think I’m in love with my captain.” Of all the things she’d expected Huang Shaotian to say, that hadn’t been on the list. Guilt was clear in his eyes and Su Mucheng felt a stab of sympathy, being in love with a close friend was hard, being in love with a close friend who was dating another one of your close friends could only be worse.
“Does he know?” Huang Shaotian shook his head, “do you want him to know?” Huang Shaotian frowned, seemingly lacking an answer and Su Mucheng asked a different question. “When did you figure out that you liked him?”
“I wanted to pull Old Ye off him and punch him.” Su Mucheng couldn’t hold back her giggle and it only got worse when Huang Shaotian shot her a wounded look. “Su Mucheng I’m pouring my heart out to you and all you can do is laugh at me? Where is the respect for our friendship? Where is your compassion? Ye Qiu always says you’re a nice person but you’re being cruel to me, this is why I go to captain with my problems, because you can be so cruel as to laugh at me!”
“Why don’t you talk to Yu Wenzhou about this then?” Huang Shaotian stared at his friend as if she’d just grown a second head, mouth hanging open slightly.
“Because if I tell captain that I’m in love with him he’ll never talk to me again and Ye Qiu will hate me,” Huang Shaotian said quietly and Su Mucheng tilted her head to the side as if to demonstrate her disbelief. “Mucheng, I told Yu Wenzhou that he should date Ye Qiu, I encouraged him, if I wanted to date my captain then I should have asked him out before Ye Qiu did.”
“Did you really only realise you liked your captain recently?” Huang Shaotian looked as if he were about to agree but then he paused, frowning slightly.
“I- I thought he looked handsome, especially when we won the championship, but he already had a crush on Ye Qiu, so I pushed it away and stopped thinking about it.”
“And that worked?” Su Mucheng frowned as Huang Shaotian shrugged helplessly.
“I just forgot about it, I was excited when Ye Qiu and captain finally got together because Wenzhou was so happy and I never thought about it until I wanted to punch Ye Qiu.”
“Are you sure you shouldn’t talk to Yu Wenzhou, he’s your friend, he won’t hate you for this.” Huang Shaotian frowned at his hands and Su Mucheng found herself worried for Blue Rain’s vice-captain, having never seen him this subdued before.
“It will change things.” Huang Shaotian continued to pick at the cuff of his sleeve and his eyes sparked with another realisation. “What about Ye Qiu? I- we’re friends, how can I face him knowing that I want to date Yu Wenzhou? I can’t tell them Mucheng.” Su Mucheng tucked herself up on the bed and Huang Shaotian curled up against her, frustration colouring his features. “I didn’t think I’d fall in love with him.” His voice was soft and Su Mucheng tightened her hold on her friend, concern in her eyes.
“It’s okay, you’ll figure it out.” Su Mucheng startled at the wetness at her shoulder as Huang Shaotian’s emotions spilled over.
“I don’t want to lose them,” Huang Shaotian’s voice cracked as he spoke and Su Mucheng pulled him further into her embrace, letting him compose himself, rubbing up and down his back gently.
“It’s going to be okay Shaotian, it will be okay.” They sat in silence for a long time until Huang Shaotian was feeling better and Su Mucheng offered him a tissue and he managed a watery smile, that wasn’t particularly convincing.
“I wish I didn’t love him.” He murmured quietly and Su Mucheng ran a hand over his head soothingly.
“You’ll be okay, there are plenty of people who’ll snatch you up.” At the slightly more real smile Su Mucheng knocked her shoulder gently against her friend’s, “mostly because you’re small enough to pick up-“ At Huang Shaotian’s offended squawk they both broke out into laughter, leaving the fragile look in Huang Shaotian’s eyes to be addressed later.
Meanwhile, at Blue Rain, Yu Wenzhou was sat outside with Ye Qiu who was smoking and Yu Wenzhou’s lips curved up into a fond smile as he remembered the first time he’d seen Ye Qiu smoking, remembered the way he’d watched the smoke curl away from his lips and had fought down his flush. Ye Qiu’s own lips curved into a smile to match Yu Wenzhou, curiosity in his eyes.
“I was remembering the time after Blue Rain had beaten you, when you asked why I was glad to face you.” Ye Qiu exhaled softly before his smile faded and Yu Wenzhou could see the question in his eyes.
“You didn’t ask to speak to me because you wanted to reminisce, what is it?” Ye Qiu watched as Yu Wenzhou seemed to struggle to find the right words, something he rarely did and the small knot of worry in his chest only worsened.
“I need to talk to you about Shaotian,” Yu Wenzhou nearly lost his nerve at the resigned look in Ye Qiu’s eyes and while he tried to summon the urge to continue, Ye Qiu cut in.
“Are you breaking up with me?” Yu Wenzhou felt his mind go blank with shock but Ye Qiu was still talking. “You’re bringing up Huang Shaotian, you two were always very close, you look guilty, do you want to break up?”
“No!” Yu Wenzhou found the words came out easily, concern over losing Ye Qiu surging up in his chest and to his relief, Ye Qiu seemed convinced.
“Then why do you need to talk about Shaotian?”
“Because I think I love him.” Like Su Mucheng, Ye Qiu had been expecting a lot of things when Yu Wenzhou asked to speak to him, a break-up, informing him that he wanted to announce their relationship or perhaps Yu Wenzhou had found out about his family. This, however, was unexpected.
“But you don’t want to break up?” Yu Wenzhou shook his head and Ye Qiu found he needed a moment to realign his worldview and figure out what he should say next. “Then what do you want?”
Yu Wenzhou found he didn’t have an answer to Ye Qiu’s question and he tugged out his sketchbook instead, flipping to the recent sketches of Huang Shaotian, how there were closeups of his eyes, of the curve of his grin, the way he seemed to always be moving and Ye Qiu’s eyes shifted in understanding.
“These are like the sketches you did of me,” his eyes widened when he spotted Yu Wenzhou’s latest sketch of himself and Huang Shaotian side by side. His lips were curved up in a sly smile, familiar cigarette dangling from his hand while Huang Shaotian’s face was lit up in a bright smile, seemingly radiant on paper as he was in real life and Ye Qiu looked over at his boyfriend. “Is this when you knew?” Yu Wenzhou nodded, still looking nervous and Ye Qiu nudged him reassuringly. “It’s okay, you can’t control these things-“
“We slept together!” Before Ye Qiu could process that Yu Wenzhou’s eyes widened as he took in his own words and stumbled over himself to correct himself. “Not like that! I fell asleep at my desk and Shaotian came in to put me to bed, but I wouldn’t let him leave and asked him to stay and he did! It wasn’t anything more!”
“But you want it to be more.” Ye Qiu’s tone was even, neutral and Yu Wenzhou couldn’t tell what he was thinking but his boyfriend was right.
“I do.” Yu Wenzhou’s gaze was fixed on his hands, unable to bring himself to meet Ye Qiu’s eyes.
“Then why don’t you ask him out?” Ye Qiu winced at the speed Yu Wenzhou’s head snapped up to meet his eyes and his shock was written clearly across his face.
“What?”
“I can share you if this would make you happy.” While Yu Wenzhou seemed to be busy rebooting his brain, Ye Qiu didn’t stop speaking, “I like Huang Shaotian and you like him as well. If he’s open to it then I am as well.”
“Really?” Yu Wenzhou didn’t seem like he was convinced and Ye Qiu moved until he was sat beside his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his waist, pleased when Yu Wenzhou leant his head against his shoulder.
“If you want to ask Huang Shaotian out then you should. I don’t want you to be unhappy with me or without me. You should ask him-“ Ye Qiu was cut off by Yu Wenzhou pressing his lips against his own, the familiar flavour of coffee clear on his tongue until they broke apart.
“Will you come with me to speak with him? I don’t believe Shaotian would be convinced if I approached him alone and he’ll be back from his trip soon.”
“Do you think this will succeed in shutting him up? If it does, I’ll have to take a picture to document the moment.” Yu Wenzhou arched one warning eyebrow but Ye Qiu merely smiled smugly and pulled him into another kiss.
Huang Shaotian startled when the knock sounded at his door, pulling him out of his thoughts as he wondered if Su Mucheng was right and that he should confess his feelings to his captain. He’d nearly convinced himself that it was the right decision but when both Yu Wenzhou and Ye Qiu walked into his room, he changed his mind immediately and wondered how terrible it would be if he bolted from the room.
“I- we need to talk to you Shaotian,” Yu Wenzhou started while Ye Qiu made himself at home in one of his chairs, seemingly content to sit back and listen. Huang Shaotian started running through the list of things that Yu Wenzhou could want to talk to him about ranging from training, extra practice and the Bed Incident. He wondered briefly if his captain really could read minds, but he managed to force some words out around his dry throat.
“Talk about what captain? Something exciting? If it’s exciting then it should be about Glory, are we going to PK? Is Ye Qiu going to PK me-?” Huang Shaotian fell silent when Yu Wenzhou coughed gently and he found his gaze flickering to his captain’s mouth as he wet his lips.
“We wanted to talk about last night and-“
“I’m sorry!” The other two players startled at sudden outburst, “I really didn’t mean anything by sharing a bed with Wenzhou and I know I should have left but he seemed really upset when I tried to go and-“
“I’m not upset Shaotian,” Ye Qiu’s words cut through Huang Shaotian’s panic and he blinked in surprise.
“You’re not?!”
“I’m not, and you might not have meant anything when you shared Wenzhou’s bed, but he did.” Huang Shaotian knew that Yu Wenzhou had made some kind of response to that, but his brain had gone offline at the implication and he sat quietly while the other two tried to get his attention back.
Huang Shaotian snapped out of his shock when Ye Qiu leaned in really close to his face and poked his cheek a few times, and Huang Shaotian came back to himself to bat the other player away before refocusing on what was just said.
“What do you mean it meant something when I slept in Wenzhou’s bed?” Ye Qiu turned to his boyfriend as if to say ‘all yours’ and Yu Wenzhou huffed out a sigh, as this was not how he would have approached the confession.
“I really like you Shaotian,” before his vice-captain could disappear into his own mind again Yu Wenzhou pressed on, “I don’t know if you like me as well and I hope that this doesn’t make you uncomfortable if you don’t feel the same way-“
“How could I not feel the same way?” Yu Wenzhou’s eyes went wide with shock while Ye Qiu hummed in agreement from where he was sat.
“Good point,” he called out and smirked when Yu Wenzhou flushed, refusing to meet either of their eyes as he tried to compose himself.
“That isn’t- I- so you feel the same way?”
“I do but what about Ye Qiu? Did you two break up? Did you break up because of me? If you didn’t break up why is Ye Qiu so calm, how can he be so calm about this, does he not have any emotions so he can just sit there smiling at us with his smug face I-“
“I’m calm because I’m willing to share Yu Wenzhou with you. Because I am generous.” Yu Wenzhou wondered if Ye Qiu was trying to permanently break Huang Shaotian as his vice-captain once again seemed to choke on air as he tried to process the continuously shocking information.
“You truly are shameless!” Was all Huang Shaotian seemed able to say while Ye Qiu merely shrugged, unconcerned with the fact that he was continuously breaking Huang Shaotian.
“Do you need a moment?” Yu Wenzhou asked, well aware that his vice-captain was trying to process a lot of information very quickly, “you can come talk to us about this later if you need to.”
“Can I talk to Ye Qiu? Alone?” Yu Wenzhou blinked, surprised at the request but nodding and stepping out of the room to leave the two alone to talk.
“Why are you okay with this?” Huang Shaotian asked the moment Yu Wenzhou left the room and Ye Qiu’s eyes lost their playful glint as he turned to face his friend. “Is it just because Wenzhou likes me back?” Ye Qiu mulled his answer over in his head before answering.
“Your captain misses me when I’m away doesn’t he?” Huang Shaotian’s head tilted to the side, not expecting that response. “It isn’t a trick question, Shaotian.”
“Yes-!” The word is spat out and Huang Shaotian felt a twinge of guilt at the resigned look in Ye Qiu’s eyes. “But you’re over whenever you can be, he visits you whenever he can-“
“How often is that?” Ye Qiu watched as the reality of their schedules, particularly since both were captains, and what that meant for being able to see each other.
“Only a few times a month.” Huang Shaotian said quietly, more to himself than Ye Qiu but he still caught it and nodded. “You don’t want him to be lonely?”
“That’s part of the reason.” When Huang Shaotian looked as if he were about to push further Ye Qiu hummed for a moment before continuing. “I don’t mind sharing him if it makes him happy and we have different lives and don’t live on top of each other like you two do.”
“You don’t think that he’d-“
“Of course not. But this way he gets both people who make him happy. You were keeping him company even before we had this talk, this just makes it official.”
“Is it only for Yu Wenzhou?” Huang Shaotian kept his eyes trained on his friend, watching for any hint of uncertainty and finding none.
“No, it’s to make him happy, to make me happy and to make you happy.” Ye Qiu watched as Blue Rain’s vice-captain startled at the end of his sentence and Ye Qiu offered a small smile.
“You wouldn’t be happy without Wenzhou right?”
“I could be, eventually.” Huang Shaotian paused to gather his thoughts, “are you sure- do you really- I don’t want-” he cut himself off, features twisted in frustration as he tried to find the right words. “I don’t want you to agree to this for our sakes. Wenzhou is happy with you and I don’t- I can be happy without a relationship.” Ye Qiu paused, recognising he needed to give his next words some thought.
“I would be unhappy if the both of you were unhappy. Wenzhou, he misses me, you make him happy, that makes me happy.” When Huang Shaotian still looked unsure, Ye Qiu coughed to draw his eyes to him, “if I’m unhappy, I will tell you.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.” At Ye Qiu’s words, at his assurance, some of the uncertainty cleared from Huang Shaotian’s eyes and he let Yu Wenzhou back into the room. He took a breath before he spoke again, keeping his voice steady.
“I’d be dating Wenzhou, not Old Ye right?” Ye Qiu nodded his head, confirming his words as he glanced over at his friend.
“Just Wenzhou.”
“So, we’d both be dating Wenzhou but not each other?” Ye Qiu nodded and Huang Shaotian paused to mull this over in his head for a few long moments.
“You are both happy with that?” Ye Qiu and Yu Wenzhou both made noises of agreement before Huang Shaotian asked his next question, “what if it doesn’t work out? Will I lose you both?” Here the two had to pause, not having a straight answer to give their friend.
“I don’t know,” Yu Wenzhou eventually admitted and he moved to sit beside his vice-captain, shoulders brushing against each other’s. “I would hope for that to never happen but I know that it might.” Yu Wenzhou slipped his hand into Huang Shaotian’s and offered a reassuring squeeze. “I just know that I really like you, both you and Ye Qiu and if you wish, I’d like to date you both.” After a long moment Huang Shaotian leant against Yu Wenzhou’s shoulder and gave his answer.
“I really like you too Wenzhou so I would like to date you,” his voice was quiet but certain and Yu Wenzhou felt a smile spread across his face and Ye Qiu found himself smiling in the face of Yu Wenzhou’s happiness. Huang Shaotian squeezed his captain’s hand back, a smile on his lips too, before glancing over at Ye Qiu, seemingly reassured by his friend’s smile.
“Are you really okay with this Ye Qiu?” Ye Qiu couldn’t help but be touched by his friend’s concern for him, for his feelings on this new arrangement and he leant back in his chair lazily.
“I am okay with this Shaotian.” Yu Wenzhou pressed a quick chaste kiss to his vice-captain’s cheek watching as he flushed slightly and he smiled at the sight before speaking.
“Once we have come to terms with this we’ll need to have another discussion of how this will work between us but for now, Ye Qiu brought snacks over, and it will give us all time to process this,” Yu Wenzhou paused for a moment, “unless you need some time alone?” Huang Shaotian shook his head, standing as the other two did.
“I want to spend time with you, both of you.” Huang Shaotian couldn’t quite believe what was happening, how lucky he was, but he kept his disbelief inside and simply resolved to be grateful, grateful that Ye Qiu was willing to share his boyfriend.
Ye Qiu hummed quietly to himself as he unpacked the food and he refused to admit he startled when Yu Wenzhou appeared at his side, gratitude in his eyes and joy softening his features.
“Thank you, for being willing to try this for me.” Ye Qiu returned the smile before catching his boyfriend in a quick chaste kiss. He knew there was a lot more to work out between all three of them, knew they’d have to discuss what they were all comfortable with, how they’d interact with one another but for now? For now, as he curled up with his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s new boyfriend, for now he was content to enjoy the peace and gentle contentment radiating off both Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian in waves. Everything else could come later. They had time.