Work Text:
Jiang Cheng sits as close to the end of his bed as he can get without toppling onto the floor. He’s just giving Huaisang, who sprawls with casual grace across the mattress, one leg crooked, the other foot resting on Jiang Cheng’s thighs, space, or so he tells himself. Huaisang flips through a manga, a book about a man who adopts a cat. Song Lan, one of Jiang Cheng’s bosses at Snow Moon Comics, recommended it, and judging by the contented sounds Huaisang makes, it was a good choice. The latest Young Avengers lies on Jiang Cheng’s lap, open and forgotten, reading a pretense for why he would not meet Huaisang’s gaze.
Could not, really. Not since The Revelation.
Maybe he’d watched too many movies with Wei Ying, but Jiang Cheng sort of expected that when he found the person he wanted to be with, it would hit him like lightning, that he’d burn up with wanting. But what actually happened was this.
Jiang Cheng had had a rotten day at school. Wen Chao had cornered him in the bathroom between algebra and world history class, had taken his phone, and dropped it in a toilet. He walked away, laughing, and Jiang Cheng skipped class while he worked up the courage to fish the phone out of the bowl. Of course, the phone was toast.
The phone was toast. He was toast. His whole stupid, fucking life was toast.
He’d left school without a direction. He could go to work. Mr. Song and Mr. Xiao would give him space, but they’d do that thing that couples do, when they look at each other and just, like, read the other’s mind, and he didn’t think he could handle that right now. Yanli wouldn’t be home from her own classes yet. Home — hah, home was right the fuck out.
Jiang Cheng had walked only a half a mile or so when someone pulled up beside him.
“A-Cheng!”
Jiang Cheng stopped short, heart in his throat, before he realized it was Huaisang.
“Get in the car.” He hadn’t asked What’s wrong? He hadn’t said I’ll take you home. He told Jiang Cheng to get in the car and took him to Dairy Queen, like it was a normal Thursday afternoon. After Jiang Cheng finished an enormous Oreo Blizzard, Huaisang took him to the mall and waited while the tech wizards at the phone place set up a new phone and showed him how to back up his data in case his phone was ever out of commission again. Then he took Jiang Cheng home.
It wasn’t until Jiang Cheng was lying in bed that night, looking up at the mural of glow-in-the-dark stars Huaisang had painted on his ceiling that summer that Jiang Cheng realized — Huaisang knew. He knew what had happened and had found him. He knew that Jiang Cheng wanted — well, he knew Jiang Cheng needed some space. Jiang Cheng hadn’t known what he wanted until Huaisang put that Blizzard on the table. And in that moment, Jiang Cheng knew.
He was in love with Nie Huaisang.
Probably.
At the very least, he knew he wanted to be more than friends. He definitely wanted to kiss him.
And now?
Now he sits at the end of his bed, unable to even look at Huaisang, afraid of the enormity of his feelings, afraid that Huaisang wouldn’t reciprocate.
“A-Cheng?”
Two syllables, and Jiang Cheng’s heart hurts, in the best way.
“Yeah?”
“Are you alright? You look a little flushed.” Huaisang sets the book aside and hauls himself upright so he can sit beside Jiang Cheng and press the back of his hand to Jiang Cheng’s forehead.
“Huaisang.” Jiang Cheng closes his eyes and takes a breath. “Will you be my boyfriend?”
There is silence, and Jiang Cheng’s breath catches, his world spins, and he opens his mouth to take it back when a warm hand rests on his thigh. He opens his eyes.
“You want me to be your boyfriend?” Huaisang doesn’t look angry or disgusted. He looks...hopeful.
Jiang Cheng nods.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Really?”
Huaisang smiles, that brilliant smile he seems to keep just for Jiang Cheng. “Really.” He leans in closer, just enough to brush his lips against Jiang Cheng’s.
“So you’re my boyfriend?” Jiang Cheng asks, because he is never this lucky.
Huaisang grins at him, fond and teasing. “Yup!”
“You’re really my boyfriend.”
Huaisang kisses him again, then sits back. “Really.” He brushes his bangs aside, and Jiang Cheng notices that cool, cool Huaisang, confident grin in place, is blushing. He reaches for Huaisang’s hand.
“Okay,” he says. “In that case, if you want, you could kiss me again.”
And Huaisang does.