Work Text:
That Saturday Shen Wei was glad to have listened to his brother's complaints for once...
It’s a quiet Saturday afternoon and Shen Wei is sitting on the couch, observantly watching some cooking program on the TV and scribbling the recipe into a notebook. Shen Wei loves to cook, especially for the people he cares about, like his twin brother Ye Zun.
Speaking of the devil, his brother ambles into the living room, sprawling next Shen Wei and nudges him once on the shoulder,
"Oi, do you want to go out with your lovely brother today?" Shen Wei pauses from writing the word ‘olives’ in neat script and lifts his head to look at Ye Zun blankly.
A single glance is enough to understand his brother's answer, so Ye Zun continues, a small whine lining his words, "Please just this once gege, you’re going to become part of the furniture if you stay in the house like this."
Shen Wei is a calm person; he doesn’t like being in the spotlight and sometimes appears shy in front of outsiders. It’s simply his preference to stay in the shadows; maybe reading a book or walking in a park to take in the scenery either alone or with the company of his brother.
His twin is the complete opposite of him. Ye Zun is a friendly, brilliant, charismatic person. He could even be described as slightly eccentric. He seems to be quite popular amongst his friends and everyone adores him.
Despite being so undeniably different, Shen Wei and Ye Zun have a positive relationship and without each other, neither of their lives would be the same.
Ye Zun always tries to drag out his brother from his stuffy room, but over the years he learned that Shen Wei was especially hard to persuade, though sometimes, Shen Wei decided to listen to his brother's attempts and agreed to come out with him. And today looks as though it’s one of those days.
Shen Wei almost rolls his eyes at Ye Zun’s begging face, making him look like a cartoonish deer. He sighed resigned, “Fine, I’ll go.” Ye Zun’s face brightens and giving him a childlike aura. Shen Wei wonders what his brother has in store for them.
The main reason Shen Wei agrees is because he doesn't want to listen to his brother's complaints about his poor and lonely social life so, with another sigh, he drops his notebook onto the coffee table and prepares to go out.
He doesn't even know where they're going specifically, Ye Zun only said that they were going to a place where they would have fun. Shen Wei could only humor him and trust his brother as he usually does.
Even if he doesn't go out much, he still likes to spend time with Ye Zun, so every place was good if his brother was there.
Shen Wei sits in the car staring thoughtfully from the wound down window, admiring the landscape all the while. The warmth of the sun’s rays cover his face like a warm blanket, the clouds are bright in the sky and their beautiful white color is a dazzling sight against his tired eyes. The wind blows harshly, messing his well-groomed hair, but this doesn’t seem to concern him much.
As he sits there silently, listening to Ye Zun hum along to a new pop song on the radio, he thinks that he doesn't have a bad life at all. He likes to live with his twin brother, but most of the time he has an underlying feeling that there’s something missing, especially in his heart. He feels… incomplete. This feeling pierces his mind steadily. Deep in thought and still looking out of the car window Shen Wei almost doesn’t hear Ye Zun calling him.
"Gege, are you alright? Ye Zun sounds worried, his hand on his brother's shoulder in a gentle manner,
"What are you thinking about so distracted?"
"Oh, nothing I was just overthinking… are we there yet?" Shen Wei takes off his glasses and rubs his numb eyes, gaze returning to Ye Zun as he waits for his answer.
"Yeah, we’re here." Ye Zun says whilst jumping out of the car and Shen Wei follows quietly. As soon as he steps out, he freezes in his tracks. He can’t believe this is where his brother led him.
The walls of the small building are painted with a delicate mint color, flowerpots on either side growing vibrant and colorful sprouts.
On the right hangs a large climbing plant which almost envelops the entirety of it.
Just above, a sleek sign peeks out visibly with the name of the establishment: Black Cat Café.
A large black cat is illustrated at the end, two golden bells around its neck, eyes a stunning yellow color.
The illustration is so lifelike it seems as though the eyes are staring at you directly, a calm expression adorning its feline features.
As Shen Wei looks through the window, he catches glimpses of some of the cute cat's heads popping up every few seconds. The little cafè seems to be crowded on the outside but oddly, it makes Shen Wei feels relaxed in some way.
Shen Wei blinks and turns to Ye Zun who’s grinning into the window and sticking out his tongue every time he sees a cat head jump up.
“Why did you lead me to a cat cafè?” Shen Wei is extremely puzzled right now.
Ye zun straightens up and explains without pausing for breath, “Because I saw this place on the internet and wanted to go there for weeks, but no one wanted to accompany me so I thought you might like it or maybe you should just go with it to make your little brother happy!”
Ye Zun stops abruptly and slides another one of his mischievous smiles onto his face, knowing that Shen Wei could never say no to him.
Shen Wei laughs helplessly, glancing towards the window and back at his brother,
“Considering that you dragged me out of the house, you could have just told me what you wanted to do, also because you know I can never say no to you.”
Ye Zun chuckles in agreement and takes Shen Wei's by the arm, dragging him inside the cute little café.
The door opens with a charming ‘ping’ from the bell hanging at the top, as soon as he enters, Shen Wei is swathed in a sweet and delicious aroma of cinnamon and melted sugar, and he likes it.
The apprehension in his bones already seeping out with every step through the doorway.
Surprisingly, the little cafè seems a bit bigger on the inside; a glass counter greets them as the door shuts with a soft click. It’s full of sweets: cupcakes, pies and all types of cakes and biscuits, on a side of the counter there’s a cat bed and over it, a large black cat is sleeping.
It lifts its head at the sound of them entering, and gazes lazily at the two brothers with yellow eyes.
The two bells around its neck sways melodiously at the movement. The cat, after it’s seemingly finished sizing them both up, lets out a quick yawn and returns to sleep disinterested.
This cat is identical to the one on the sign!
The pastel colored walls on the inside match the calming atmosphere of the café, decorating them a number of cat photos and posters are dotted around throughout.
A small table is located on the right, adorned with fresh roses in a cat shaped vase in the middle.
An elegant looking woman comes out from the back to greet them, her entire demeanor is quite entrancing, and her lips marked by a red lipstick form a cordial smile.
“Good evening and welcome to the Black Cat Cafè, is it just the two of you?” A quick glance at her nametag suggests her name is Zhu Hong.
Ye Zun responds with a charming smile of his own, "Hello, yes it is if that’s alright."
“No problem, follow me and I will send a waiter to you in a moment.”
Zhu Hong leads them to a table not too far from the counter, colorful armchairs and sofas are scattered around the place, and near them stood various sized cat trees.
A few bookshelves line the left wall including some cushions where cats can sleep peacefully, but some cats prefer to sleep directly on the books ignoring the soft specific cushions.
The atmosphere is so relaxing and the smell of sweet
coffee floats through the air making everything all the more pleasant. As they reach the table and take their seats, they find a tiny Bengal cat dozing upon the pile of vinyl in the narrow window next to it.
As Shen Wei stretches out a hand to pet the cat’s head gently, the fluffy creature moves, pushing its head harder under Shen Wei’s palm. Suddenly Shen Wei feels something on his right leg, and he looks down to discover it’s the same black cat from earlier.
It nuzzles against his leg a few times and then, one after another, Shen Wei finds himself surrounded by cats that look at him with their attentive eyes eager to cuddle.
Busy with all these creatures, Shen Wei allows himself to smile, feeling carefree. Ye Zun, on the other hand, is taking numerous photos of everything, making sure to steal some photos of his smiling brother surrounded by cats to post them secretly afterwards.
"Hello! Apologies for the wait, here’s the menu."
A masculine voice gives Shen Wei a small start and he automatically looks up at the source.
As he does so, the breath leaves him in a rush. In front of his eyes stands the most beautiful man he's ever seen in his entire life: long legs, a small waist emphasized by those skinny jeans, broad shoulders covered (unfortunately) with a white shirt, not to mention his face that is like that of an angel. The hint of a beard on his face only serves to add to his allure rather than diminishing it.
Shen Wei can't stop himself to gaze at those impossibly full lips as he greets them, every feature of this man is perfect; even his messy hair.
A single, quick glimpse in his chocolate-brown eyes is enough to send Shen Wei directly to paradise.
Shen Wei's heart begins to beat fast in his chest, face burning and ears reddening. What is this strange feeling? He’s overwhelmed by all these emotions and can’t think coherently.
At some point, Shen Wei can only hear his beating heart; not Ye Zun who's ordering a variety of adorable cakes; and not that beautiful man in front of him busy receiving said orders. Shen Wei wakes up from this state only when a cat stretches it's tiny, fluffy paws on his pants.
The beautiful man stops for a moment, “Aiyo Bowie, don't do that, you will ruin his pants like this.” He carefully kneels on the floor, and with caution, he moves the little creature away.
He looks up from the ground with an apologetic grin, “Sorry about that! But they seem to like you very much. Look there’s Da Qing too,” he points below to the cat that seems to have found a new home resting on top of Shen Wei’s foot,
“It’s quite strange considering he doesn't like being around people so, that means you're special.”
A small chuckle escapes his lips; it sounds like an angelic melody in Shen Wei's ears.
The man straightens up and clears his throat before he speaks again.
“Anyway what can I serve you, pretty cat's lord?" Now the man laughs, two dimples showing on his cheeks, eyes twinkling with mischief.
Those chocolate-brown eyes are now looking straight at him, Shen Wei is malfunctioning and he can’t seem to articulate a proper sentence right now, but avoiding the beautiful man's eyes, he stutters out the first thing that comes into his mind that’s actually appropriate, "I'd…I’d like a cappuccino, please.”
He speechlessly looks at his brother for help, but he finds that Ye Zun is more shocked than him.
“The hell just happened? Right in front of my salad?”
Now Shen Wei is even more confused and asks innocently “Didi, what salad are you talking about?” with that puzzled look on Shen Wei's face, Ye Zun doesn't know if he wants to cry or laugh.
"Shen Wei, did you see what just happened right now? He was shamelessly flirting with you like I wasn’t even here!"
Ye Zun looks at his blushing brother who leans forward with a worried voice, “My heart is beating so fast, I don't know why, do you think I'm sick?" Ye Zun is now laughing wholeheartedly, his brother really is so innocent.
How can he say such things with a serious expression?
Shen Wei doesn’t have the time to berate his brother for not answering his genuine question before the arrival of that beautiful man again.
This time he doesn't dare look at him for his mental sanity and instead, he looks down at the floor to stare at Da Qing still resting his head on his shoes.
The man arrives at the table with a smirk on his face and with expert movements, puts down all their orders, first to Ye Zun and then to Shen Wei.
The man places the cappuccino slowly in front of him, and Shen Wei can’t help but admire the adorable cappuccino's foam that forms a tiny cat face, it’s miniscule paws almost jumping out of the cup.
Before Shen Wei can mutter his thanks, the man sets his elbow seductively on the table and closely facing Shen Wei he drawls, "By the way, I'm Zhao Yunlan. May I ask for your name, great beauty?”
How shameless! Shen Wei thinks, but as his eyes spring up from the cup in shock and into the magnetic ones in front of him, he finds himself getting hopelessly lost.
Zhao Yunlan is still staring with that same smile, waiting for Shen Wei’s answer as if he has all the time in the world.
The words get stuck in Shen Wei’s throat and he has to try to speak a few times before he says with a soft, yet firm voice, “Shen Wei.”
Zhao Yunlan's face lights up instantly and he points towards him, "What a good name!" His smile is so brilliant like a warm ray of sunshine, that Shen Wei couldn't help but return a small, shy smile of his own.
A cough interrupts the moment and they both turn to stare at a disgruntled Ye Zun who has his arms folded in front of him, "Can you please stop flirting in front of me? I'm not totally transparent you know."
Zhao Yunlan barks out a laugh and stands up, giving Shen Wei an apologetic look and scratches the back of his head nervously.
“Sorry, I don’t usually flirt with customers. I don’t ever to be honest.”
“I believe you.” Shen Wei blinks at Zhao Yunlan earnestly, but Zhao Yunlan still tries to defend himself.
“Really I don’t! Scouts honor.” He lifts three fingers to his head in a salute, not wiping his ever present grin from his face.
Shen Wei takes in his ripped skinny jeans and messy hair, and finds himself responding with a smile, “You don’t seem much like an honorary scout.”
Zhao Yunlan seems delightfully surprised at this quip and Shen Wei ducks his head, feeling extremely embarrassed that he’s actually flirting back.
Suddenly, a feminine voice shouts, “Zhao Yunlan! Stop flirting with the customers and get back to work, where do you think you are right now?!”
Zhao Yunlan rolled his eyes, "Sorry I have to go, Zhu Hong can be scary when she’s mad, so it’s not good to get scolded again.” His tone is light, but he shudders at the prospect.
He looks back at Shen Wei with a smile,
“Enjoy your evening, Shen Wei.” He enunciates Shen Wei’s name appreciatively and Shen Wei shudders for a different reason.
“Hope I can see you again later, you know for a proper goodbye.”
And then he bounds away to attend to other customers, leaving Shen Wei to take in those words.
~
If Zhao Yunlan hadn’t been interrupted by the total buzzkill that is Zhu Hong, he would be at that table continuing to flirt and admire the love of his life at this very moment.
Now he doesn’t believe in things like love at first sight or soul mates, but when he laid his eyes on Shen Wei, his mind did a complete 180 degree flip and he was ready to write sonnets all over the pastel coloured walls.
Maybe those things really are true after all. It's just that Zhao Yunlan didn't meet the right person. But now after meeting him, there is a sort of warm feeling in his heart, he thinks that maybe he's finally met his person.
When Zhao Yunlan saw Shen Wei walking through the entrance, his brain has stopped working for a moment. That man was out of this mortal world, he had to be some kinda of God or something.
It took only a glance to make Zhao Yunlan go crazy. How can a man look this beautiful without even trying, simply by existing?
Zhao Yunlan can’t stop thinking about Shen Wei’s gorgeous eyes and the way they observed attentively his every move, his gaze almost burned the surface of Zhao Yunlan skin, like a fire that Zhao Yunlan never wants to put out.
Those eyes really are the most beautiful he’s ever seen.
When their gazes met, the world ceased to exist, Their faces were so close when he was kneeled on the ground and god, how he wished to taste those cherry lips of his, but they only just met–
That may be so, but Zhao Yunlan is already failing in the thinking innocent thoughts department.
He couldn't help but imagine all sorts of things, with those big hands and long fingers… he could do a lot of things.
His shoulders seem so strong, and don't even get him started on those muscular arms of his…he needs to stop thinking about all this, at least not at work or Zhu Hong is going really to fire him.
He leans on the counter, immersed in his lewd thoughts, only distracted when Da Qing tickles the back of his neck with his fluffy black tail.
Zhao Yunlan jumps in surprise and the cat gives him an annoyed look, ambling around him to reach his little cat bed.
Hold on a minute… wasn’t he sitting on Shen Wei’s shoes?
Panicked, he turns his head to and fro, in search of Shen Wei’s table, but when he finally spots it, the chairs are empty. Zhao Yunlan deflates in disappointment, he really wanted to talk to Shen Wei more. How can he find a way to see him again?
With his head down, looking at the floor, Zhao Yunlan hears the sound of someone walking towards him.
He glances up and the world brightens immediately. In front of him, there Shen Wei stands, with his starry eyes and flushed cheeks. His head is tilted slightly with embarrassment, yet his gaze never strays from Zhao Yunlan's own.
In less than a second, Zhao Yunlan smiles again, and with a smug attitude, he returns to the same flirty bastard he is.
He leans forward and rests his head on his right hand, his back arched almost to the point of resting his entire chest on the counter. In this position, the back of his body is more visible, accentuating his delicate hips, he smirks like he knows what he's doing. And he does.
Shen Wei is clearly blushing, his eyes looking everywhere trying not to fall on that part, but it's really difficult; especially when Zhao Yunlan doesn’t stop swaying his hips sensually. This is a family friendly café for goodness sakes!
Shen Wei fidgets nervously with his hands, as if contemplating something. He gathers all the bravery present in his body, and mirrors Zhao Yunlan's movements, leaning in close ever so slightly, but with a stilted awkwardness that shouldn't be graceful but is because it's Shen Wei.
Their eyes meet and in a moment Shen Wei finds himself speechless again. Shen Wei fights for his voice not to wobble as he speaks, “Can… can I p-pay the bill please?”
Zhao Yunlan is silent for a while before he smiles and says “Aiyo, I was expecting a different question… but of course you can pay the bill.”
Shen Wei is looking at him with a confused expression, what else he could ask for but the bill? Behind him Ye Zun stands, an exasperated look on his face.
Zhao Yunlan lets out a small laugh before it fades in light of Shen Wei's blinking gaze, Before I give you the bill, I was wondering if you could do me a favour?”
As he speaks, the smirk on his face grows bigger and Shen Wei nods imperceptibly.
Zhao Yunlan looks up from under his lashes, “Would you be so kind as to give me your phone number? It’s for science you know.” he winks.
Shen Wei doesn’t know what his number has to do with science, but after some time in a dazed state, he spies a light pink pen with cat ears on the lid near the cash register, and uses it to write down his number.
Oh wait. He needs paper.
“Ah, do you have something I can write on please?”
Zhao Yunlan nods firmly. “Of course! Here you go.”
Instead of reaching out for a piece of paper, he reaches out and places his palm face up on the table. He glances down and back into Shen Wei's widening eyes.
Shen Wei doesn't make a comment, his burning face probably doing all the talking for him anyway. He leans down the counter and begins to write on Zhao Yunlan's rough hand, trying not to place too much pressure over his skin, his hand trembling slightly as he does so.
Zhao Yunlan subconsciously bites his lip at seeing Shen Wei bent over and writing out his number ever so delicately. This is torture.
Shen Wei takes a breath when he stands up straight again, unable to meet Zhao Yunlan's eyes, his once gathered bravado now in kitten shaped pieces.
Zhao Yunlan retracts his hand with a flourish, and gazes at his palm for a moment, he wishes he could tattoo the elegantly written digits there forever.
After Shen Wei pays the bill, his face is still an endearing shade of red.
Zhao Yunlan can't resist teasing him and hums in a singsong manner, “Ah Shen Wei, you are so cute~~”
His hands are resting on either side of his face, like a bearded flowerbud.
Shen Wei simply makes a few broken sounds that aren't even words anymore, embarassed he turns and practically stumbles out of the café like a drunken man.
Ye Zun shoots a strange look at the confused Zhao Yunlan in front of him, and then follows his brother out. Did he go too far this time?
~
It's been a day and a half since Shen Wei met the most beautiful man he's ever seen. He still can't comprehend exactly what happened back then.
After running out of the café in the awkward way he did, all he could think was that Zhao Yunlan probably won't want to see him ever again right?
A ping on Shen Wei's phone signals an incoming messaging, and he almost throws it in the air when he sees who it's from.
Zhao Yunlan sent him a message!
He was beginning to lose hope that Zhao Yunlan had given up on him, but his heart feels full with the same fuzzy warmth he had the first time he saw him.
Ye Zun is sitting next to him whilst Shen Wei is freaking out.
At first his eyes widen in alarm, but when he sees Shen Wei’s blushing expression that he tries to cover with his hands unsuccessfully, he chuckles and then says, amused
“So, your crush finally contacted you?.” Since that day at the café, Ye Zun continuously teased him about his huge crush on Zhao Yunlan, he really couldn't believe that his brother likes someone; and that this someone is that guy.
It takes a while for Shen Wei to answer, still red he looks at Ye Zun and simply nods,
“What do I do now?” His face is marked with his usual innocent expression.
Ye Zun wants to sigh, feeling like the older brother in this family,
“You have to do what people do normally when they receive a message, answer it of course!” He can’t stop laughing as he says it, “Gege you are such an idiot!”
Shen Wei glares at him, “Stop making fun of me didi, I really don’t know what to do.”
Now Ye Zun feels bad for laughing at him, “Okay sorry sorry, I’ll stop.” He pauses from a moment to purse his lips behind another onslaught of giggles and continues seriously, “First, what did he write to you?”
Shen Wei passes his phone across instead of reading the message aloud.
The message was a really simple one.
‘Hi! I’m Zhao Yunlan ;) Do you remember me?’
How can Shen Wei not remember him?
Zhao Yunlan hasn't left his mind since that day. Ye Zun reads the message sounding bored and says,
“Well, just answer whatever feels right for you gege, I hope that his intentions are good or else then he’ll see, no one has the right to hurt you”, Shen Wei laughs and looks at Ye Zun tenderly, he really hopes that Zhao Yunlan doesn’t hurt him, angry Ye Zun really is scary.
After that, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan continue to talk every day. It’s been weeks since their first message now and they talked about everything, sometimes even all night long.
Zhao Yunlan never misses the opportunity to tease Shen Wei, who isn’t used to this kind of attention, so all he can do is blush hard and try his best to calm down before typing some sort of coherent answer.
Zhao Yunlan is always the same even through texts, he sends a lot of messages and memes, but Shen Wei doesn’t understand them most of the time, so he always asks Ye Zun for help, sometimes he sends some of them back just to make Zhao Yunlan happy.
Every time he talks to him, Shen Wei is so unbelievably happy, he can’t stop smiling like an idiot looking at his screen.
When Zhao Yunlan sends him a photo of himself, he is always stuck in a sort of daze, looking at that picture until he receives another message from Zhao Yunlan that says, “Too beautiful that you can’t look away?” In this case, Shen Wei can only admit that it’s true.
One time Zhao Yunlan sends him a photo of himself surrounded by cats, taken surely at the little cat café, in that photo he's wearing a pink apron, a small cat illustrated in the middle.
Shen Wei's heart explodes like a firework, and he stares at that photo for hours, until Ye Zun berates him for being a creep.
In the past weeks, Shen Wei is able to open up more with Zhao Yunlan, and every second he is more in love with him, he doesn’t think that this is only a crush because his feelings are too strong.
At the same time, he is afraid that Zhao Yunlan doesn’t feel the same about him, maybe he's just one of his conquests.But one day, while they chatted back and forth like always, suddenly Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei to go out with him for a date.
At first, Shen Wei reads the message over and over and even pinches himself a few times, to make sure he isn’t dreaming. But this is reality.
Zhao Yunlan really asked him out!
Shen Wei rushes to Ye Zun within two seconds. Out of breath, he throws the phone on the bed where Ye Zun was laying peacefully, then he collapses next to him, his red face buried in the pillow.
Ye Zun reads the message and only waits for his gege to talk, looking at him with a patient gaze. Sometime later, Shen Wei lifts his head from the pillow, his hair stuck to his forehead, and almost screams,
“Zhao Yunlan asked me out, didi he wants to go out with me!” Now he smiles like an idiot “I’m so excited! What should I wear? Where should we go? Oh ,what do I have to do?”
He utters the final word with a small cry and Ye Zun places his hand on Shen Wei's shoulder to calm him down.
He sighs, “Gege you are really a mess, don’t worry, at least your didi is here to help you.” He winks.
~
Zhao Yunlan doesn't realize that he is holding his breath after he sent the message.
He finally breathes out slowly, his shoulders sinking further into the sofa. Did he really ask Shen Wei out? Yes, but he isn’t sure that he would accept, if Shen Wei rejects this date, Zhao Yunlan’s heart is going to break in a thousand pieces.
After weeks talking to him, the attraction he feels towards Shen Wei has only served to increase even more. He's truly started to like him so much, but he doesn’t know what Shen Wei thinks of him.
Five minutes have passed and Shen Wei's answer hasn’t arrived yet, now he is really anxious to not receive an answer at all, but after some minutes finally the screen of his phone lights up.
Zhao Yunlan almost yells when he reads Shen Wei’s response
‘I would love to, Saturday at 8 pm? I can pick you up if you’d like to’
Zhao Yunlan takes a deep breath to calm down and then replies to Shen Wei’s message, he sends him his address too.
They agree to go to the movies, at first he wanted to choose a horror movie, in hopes that perhaps Shen Wei would get scared and lay on him the whole time, but then he realised how dumb that idea sounded, so he decided to go for an action movie instead, not that the movie choice is really important though.
Shen Wei will be there, and that's all he cares about.
He is so excited, he wants to scream from the rooftops that he's the luckiest guy in the world right now.
Yet all he can do is jump around the whole house like a madman. Saturday is only a few days away and he hopes that time will pass by in a blink.
~
Thankfully, Zhao Yunlan's wish came true for once and time passed really quickly.
It's already Saturday and Zhao Yunlan has a shift today at the cat cafe. Rather than taking in the orders from the customers, all he can think of is Shen Wei.
Zhu Hong scolds him a few times, but none holds any sort of heat. Zhao Yunlan is like an overgrown kitten, just let him play as he likes and he won't scratch back.
MFortunately this table is the last one for today and he can finally go home and get ready for the date. He removes his apron, and after giving all the cats a kiss and some cuddles, he says goodbye to his colleagues,
Da Qing follows him out the cafè.
Since Zhao Yunlan started working at the café, Da Qing became really attached to him, so Zhao Yunlan took him home, after all he would follow him anyway at the end of his shift.
He's so excited to rush home that he accidentally shuts the door on Da Qing, a loud meow signalling his error and returning him to reality.
He quickly opens the door to Da Qing who's now glaring up at him angrily. His face reads, ‘Stupid human, how dare you’, Zhao Yunlan can only laugh.
Finally at home, Zhao Yunlan spends over an hour rifling through his closet, hoping that he can find something nice, and at the same time sexy, to wear for tonight. But all his clothes are the same and he can’t find anything good.He collapses on the bed with a growl, his gaze honing in on the clock hanging on the wall.
Wait– what time is it?
Maybe this clock is broken. He checks the time on his phone and gasps loudly, sitting up swiftly on the bed. He has only 15 minutes before Shen Wei comes to pick him up!
The time makes Zhao Yunlan choose the first relatively decent thing present in his closet, a white shirt and black skinny jeans, his leather jacket could not be missed of course.
He tries his best to fix his messy hair, but it seems to not be collaborating today, of all days, so he stops trying. After a last glance in the mirror, Zhao Yunlan waits for Shen Wei outside his apartment, his heart beating hard in his chest.
He's never been nervous in a situation like this before, but it's Shen Wei we’re talking about. Zhao Yunlan tries to calm down, taking a few deep, measured breaths.
Like clockwork, Shen Wei stops his car in front of him. Zhao Yunlan tries to stay calm ,but after he enters the car and looks at Shen Wei he realises all his efforts were in vain.
He is… wow, his outfit is similar to the one he put on at the café, but his shirt is unbuttoned on the collar and his pants are tighter than usual.
The shirt leaves some of Shen Wei’s collarbone and chest uncovered, some clear muscles visible. Zhao Yunlan swallows singularly, his eyes fixed on Shen Wei, whos' neck begins to turn a delightful shade of cherry red under Zhao Yunlan's watchful gaze.
“Whoa. You… look really beautiful – as always.” He says with a smirk on his face.
Now Shen Wei is even redder and Zhao Yunlan really can’t bear it. Shen Wei responds after a while, eyes fixed on the road, “You are even more beautiful…” his voice trembles slightly on the last word, hands tightening on the wheel.
“Are you sure? You aren’t even looking at me.” He chuckles and then he wants to continue, saying that he is only joking around like always, but Shen Wei turns towards him, his eyes firm on Zhao Yunlan,
“If I look at you for one more second, I’m going to combust!” he says this in a single shot, blushing hard, then he can only start the ignition, leaving a stunned Zhao Yunlan on his side.
For the first time in his life, he can't speak.
After that moment of embarrassment, all is good. Zhao Yunlan spends the whole ride looking at Shen Wei, elbow placed on the car window and face turned towards him. He looks like he's admiring a piece of art.
Shen Wei can see Zhao Yunlan admiring him from the corner of his eye and it's all Shen Wei can do not to crash the car.
The silence between them is comfortable, from time to time they chat mindlessly and Zhao Yunlan flirts with him every second he can. Shen Wei needs time to warm up; Zhao Yunlan can give him all the time he deserves.
In the cinema, Zhao Yunlan tries to pay attention to the movie, but he can’t help but stare at Shen Wei under the dim light coming from the screen.
Shen Wei looks at him too, trying to be discrete, but it’s all useless, each time their gazes collide more intensely, they just can’t take their eyes off one other.
They're sharing a large popcorn box and when one of them finally pays attention to the screen, sometimes their hands touch unintentionally.
Shen Wei mutters an apology under his breath, withdrawing his hand quickly as though burned.
What he really wants is to place Zhao Yunlans' hand in his and interlock their fingers together. Zhao Yunlan refrains to not grasp Shen Wei’s hand at each brush of fingers and to hold on tighter.
He tries to ignore the animal part of him that tells him to just grab his hand already, instead following the small rational part of his brain that's still functioning semi regularly. He doesn’t know if he'll succeed until the end of the date though.
~
After the movie ends, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei leave the cinema side by side. Zhao Yunlan is talking excitedly of the well-made action scenes in the movie, making wild gestures and sometimes imitating the moves. His face is focused and his movements are agile, just like a cat.
Shen Wei didn’t pay attention to the film at all, he was too busy imprinting all the carefree expressions Zhao Yunlan was making inside his mind. Even when he was looking at the screen, his mind was full of Zhao Yunlan.
Shen Wei begins to laugh, his gaze fixed on Zhao Yunlan’s attempts to act all cool, attempting to imitate the action poses but instead looking like a flailing cat.
A grown man so excited about action scenes, he really is adorable.
When Zhao Yunlan lifts his head up and falls on the piercing gaze that Shen Wei is directing at him, he chuckles, embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. He is even cuter than before and Shen Wei looks away before he does something stupid, like kiss him.
At some point, Shen Wei feels Zhao Yunlan move his body closer whilst walking, he can feel his body heat contrasting to Shen Wei’s cold one.
Hesitantly, Zhao Yunlan moves his hand closer to his and Shen Wei looks down at their hands brushing against each other, similar to the cinema. This time though, Shen Wei gathers all the courage he has, finally taking Zhao Yunlan’s hand in his.
The sensation is even more beautiful that what he had imagined, Zhao Yunlan's hand is soft but also strong.
It’s as if their hands were carved for each other, for this very purpose.
Zhao Yunlan seems surprised by his act of bravery, but after he offers Shen Wei one of his toothy grins; even if Shen Wei has seen a lot of them, he can’t help but fall for them every time, as though it's the first.
A little chuckle escapes his lips and he continues, “Oh there's a bench over there. Do you want to sit for a while?”
Shen Wei nods and still holding each others' hands, he lets Zhao Yunlan drag him to the bench, his grip is strong like he is afraid Shen Wei would escape from it.
Sitting on the bench, Zhao Yunlan leans his head towards Shen Wei. They're the same height so his head softly nudges his with a little delicate ‘bonk’ sound.
Shen Wei shivers at the touch, he can feel Zhao Yunlan’s breath really close to him, they're so close his heart is beating like crazy and he is sure that Zhao Yunlan can hear it.
Zhao Yunlan looks at him with a soft expression and says,
“Did you know that cats do that when they like someone? It’s adorable.” He smiles, continuing to look at him with those big eyes, Shen Wei is stunned for a while and the words he wants to say are stuck in his throat.
Did– did he just confess or is he simply saying this to talk?
Finally he says with a shaking voice, “So… y-you like me?” After the words escape his lips, Shen Wei blushes hard. His gaze flits to the grassy floor and stays there, not daring to see Zhao Yunlan's reaction.
It seems Shen Wei didn't have to be worried at all because Zhao Yunlan chuckles and gives a firm nod, “Yes, in fact I–” he suddenly imitates a meow and even puts his hands up in a paw shape, continuing with the same breathless, high pitched voice, “meow you”, he tilts his head like a curious cat, giving Shen Wei another smile, leaning even closer to him.
Shen Wei is blushing really too much then he smiles and imitating Zhao Yunlan he says “I m-meow you too…” it sound stupid coming from him and he buries his face in his hands, absolutely flustered.
Zhao Yunlan gently takes his hands away and makes Shen Wei look at him. Eye to eye, all the things they want to say don’t count anymore, there's only him and Zhao Yunlan, looking at each other like open books.
Shen Wei rests his forehead against Zhao Yunlan's, and they continue to stare at each other for a while. Zhao Yunlan hands are on Shen Wei’s back, slowly moving upwards until they gently run through Shen Wei’s soft hair.
They don’t know who takes the initiative, but their lips crash towards each other in a soft yet desperate, wanting kiss. It’s like the start of something new, a hopeful sunrise that both of them can’t wait to continue and never let go.