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Xiao Zhan was worried that his boyfriend was going to break up with him. Wang Yibo had been acting strange all day, yanking him away from the first place they’d taken a picture together when they were about to take another selfie to recreate the moment, pulling him away from their lunch before the server had even taken their orders, grabbing him and running out of a bar before Xiao Zhan had even gotten to look at a menu, and now Yibo looked as if he was going to cry as he watched a herd of swans descend on the water at the reflecting pool in the garden where they had first met.
“Yibo, what is going on?” Xiao Zhan demanded, scared but tired of being dragged around. “You’re not making any sense and now you’re shaking your fist at innocent birds. What the hell did they do to you?”
It was a real change from two years ago that day, when they’d first met each other in this exact same spot. Xiao Zhan had been visiting Canada from Seattle, where he lived. He visited frequently as Vancouver was only a few hours’ drive north and the best place for Asian food in close proximity. Vancouver was known for being one of the most popular filming spots in the world, with a variety of shoots happening year-round, and sometimes it was fun to spot actors out there, though Xiao Zhan had only seen one or two in his visits.
Xiao Zhan was enjoying some tea on a rainy day in a café at one of his favorite places in Vancouver, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
“Excuse me, but what kind of tea did you get? It smells really good,” Xiao Zhan heard, looking up with a smile at the deep voice. He froze as he looked into beautiful dark eyes, managing to catch his breath enough to respond.
“Um, it’s chrysanthemum, I really like it. Their jasmine is really good too,” he offered. “Why does he look so familiar?” Xiao Zhan thought to himself, trying to place the face, which was hard with the mask.
The other man beamed at him, somehow expressive even through the opaque fabric. “Thanks,” he said, walking away to order, and Xiao Zhan smiled again, shaking his head at the strange interaction and going back to his book only to be startled when another tea pot was placed in front of him with a cup.
“Hey, the other tables are all taken, would you mind sharing?” the same pretty-eyed man asked with a movement of a smile in the cloth. Xiao Zhan shook his head as the other man took off his designer jacket and angled the chair so his back was to everyone else in the place, pulling his hat farther down even as he took off his mask.
“Oh my god, it’s Wang Yibo!” Xiao Zhan screeched internally. Wang Yibo was a star in the Rapid and Raging movie series. He first appeared in the fourth film in the franchise, Beijing Drift, but quickly became a fan favorite with his sexy smile and amazing body. Xiao Zhan didn’t normally watch action movies, but he had seen all of the films with Wang Yibo in them several times.
“Uh, what tea did you end up getting?” Xiao Zhan asked dumbly, watching Wang Yibo’s lips curve up in amusement at his obvious recognition.
“Jasmine,” he replied, “I thought maybe you’d share some of yours and then you could share mine, since you said you liked it. That way I’d get to try both,” Wang Yibo added with a cocky smile, Xiao Zhan letting out an incredulous laugh.
“What if I’m an incredibly selfish person and refuse to share my tea?” Xiao Zhan teased back, forgetting his nervousness in the face of such audacity.
“Well, you already shared your table, so I think that ship’s sailed,” Yibo replied with a sly smile, “But on the off chance you still refused, I’d have to be pretty quick and hope you didn’t call for the police,” he added, quickly filling his cup from Xiao Zhan’s teapot even as the older man’s ears turned pink at his shameless behavior.
“That does it, I’m finding a Mountie right now and telling him there’s a tea thief on the loose!” Xiao Zhan exclaimed before letting out a fit of giggles. He finally stopped laughing at the surreal situation only to look up to see the other man looking stunned.
“Um, Wang Yibo, are you okay?” he asked softly, not wanting to draw attention to the actor clearly trying to stay incognito.
The actor’s eyes widened at being addressed by his name but nodded, smiling again but in a different way. “Yeah, sorry, just lost my breath for a second.” He took a sip of the tea and hummed appreciatively. “I’m right, it is good!” Yibo exclaimed, Xiao Zhan scoffing.
“You’re right? I’m the one who told you it was good!” Xiao Zhan said incredulously.
“I said it smelled good first, didn’t I?” Yibo asked mischievously, cackling as Xiao Zhan slapped him on the arm.
They both sipped their tea and smiled, not saying anything for a few minutes, while the other pot steeped.
“So, you have me at a disadvantage,” Yibo said, sipping his tea and looking at Xiao Zhan intently.
“Oh, I won’t tell anyone who you are, or tweet about it, or anything,” Xiao Zhan assured him.
“I appreciate that,” Yibo huffed out a laugh, eyes dancing in amusement, “But what’s your name?”
Xiao Zhan flushed. “Smooth, Xiao Zhan,” he thought to himself. “Xiao Zhan,” he replied, trying to ignore the heat on his face as he met the other man’s cocky smile.
“Would you like some jasmine tea, Zhan-ge?” Yibo asked cheekily, Xiao Zhan choking on his last sip of the chrysanthemum tea.
“Um, sure,” Xiao Zhan said, stammering, Yibo pouring him a cup, then filling his own.
“Call me Yibo, by the way,” the actor said, taking a sip of the new tea and letting out an appreciative hum. “I think I like this one even more, actually.”
“I do too, sometimes,” Xiao Zhan said, closing his eyes and inhaling to appreciate the flavor, not seeing the avid stare of the other man. “Depends on my mood, and the weather. I like jasmine tea when it’s spring, and I’m feeling like I need to travel and explore. I like it when I'm ready for an adventure.”
“What kind of tea do you like for sunny days when you’re stressed out?” Yibo asked teasingly, Xiao Zhan laughing and opening his eyes.
“Green tea,” he shot back, amused at the young man’s antics.
“What kind of tea for rainy days when you’re lonely?” Yibo asked, still smiling but eyes turning pensive.
Xiao Zhan looked outside the windows of the café they were in, staring for a minute at the pool in the medicine garden and the ripples made from the rain.
He turned back to Yibo with a shrug and a half-smile, “Chrysanthemum.”
Yibo’s eyes widened and his lips curved up. “Have you been here before, Xiao Zhan?” he asked offhandedly.
Xiao Zhan nodded, taking another sip of the jasmine tea, enjoying the heat in his mouth warring with the chill of the day seeping into the café. “Yeah, I come here at least once a month, usually. I live in Seattle, so it’s not too far, and there’s a lot of cooking supplies I can only get here,” he added with an abashed smile.
“He cooks too!” Yibo teased, eyes sparkling. “Zhan-ge is so talented!”
Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes. “You’re ridiculous!” he scoffed, slapping the other man’s shoulder again but smiling even as his cheeks turned pink.
“Show me around the garden, Xiao Laoshi?” Yibo asked coyly. “I’ve never been here before so I’d love the benefit of your experience.”
Xiao Zhan ducked his head, taking a sip of the tea and trying to compose his thoughts. He finally managed to compartmentalize his panic enough to speak again and managed a suave, “Sure,” before downing the rest of his cup, the other man watching his flurry of reactions in bemusement.
They put away the dishes and walked through the garden, Xiao Zhan pointing out all of his favorite spots and Yibo reacting with appropriate enthusiasm before suggesting they get lunch, saying he knew Xiao Zhan would know the best places to eat.
Lunch was followed by a plea for Xiao Zhan to show him how to get to Gassy Jack, which was followed by selfies together at the statue, and then the steam clock, and then Yibo had to treat him to a drink for being so kind to spend the day with him, and then Xiao Zhan found himself barhopping with Yibo in Gastown since they were already there, and then… they eventually had breakfast via room service. At that point it was clear that the first meeting was not going to be their last.
And now, two years later to the day, as Xiao Zhan watched Wang Yibo glare at a bevy of white birds swanning about in the pool, he sighed and tapped a pouting Yibo on the shoulder.
“Are you mad at me or something?” Xiao Zhan asked softly. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What?” Yibo exclaimed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s these stupid birds. I didn’t get them, I swear.”
“What?” Xiao Zhan asked, absolutely flummoxed, “I never thought you did?”
Yibo sighed. “It’s because you’re a Disney princess, you know,” he said glumly, flopping down on a nearby bench.
“Wait, what?!” Xiao Zhan squawked, sitting next to him.
“You heard me,” Yibo huffed. “You and your big doe eyes and your perfect lips and your gorgeous voice and everything just wants to flock to you and ruin my moment. I take you to the statue where we took selfies on our first date, and I see a string quartet setting up on the opposite corner. I take you to where we first had lunch together and I see that they’re doing a ‘Valentine in December’ theme with only love songs playing. I take you to where we first had drinks and all of the drinks are named after your favorite romance movies. And now there’s seven fucking swans a-swimming where we first met!”
He put his head in his hands, Xiao Zhan stroking his back and feeling completely bewildered.
“It’s all very romantic and none of it is your doing? Is that the problem?” Xiao Zhan asked hesitantly.
“You said you wanted simple and I just wanted to keep it simple, that’s all,” Yibo said with a sigh. “And now I’m throwing a tantrum and you think I’m mad at you. I’m sorry, Zhan-ge,” he said, putting his head on the other man’s shoulder.
Xiao Zhan just kept rubbing his back. “So… you’re not mad at me then?” he checked, the younger man letting out a dejected laugh and shaking his head.
“You’ve been the best thing in my life since you came into it, Xiao Zhan,” Yibo said earnestly, lifting Xiao Zhan’s hand and turning it to kiss his palm. “I know it’s been a whirlwind trying to get used to my life and being willing to adjust around it and travel to sites with me since you can paint from anywhere, and you’ve just been so supportive the whole time. I just really wanted to let you have something simple that wasn’t as outrageous and expensive as everything else in our life, because I know that gets overwhelming for you sometimes. And I didn’t want you to think that I hired a string quartet or paid a restaurant or rented a flock of birds.”
“Okay, Yibo, I get it,” Xiao Zhan said with a comforting smile. “You didn’t buy anything. You are not responsible for seven swans a-swimming, which is… actually kind of incredible to happen right now.” They both went silent, looking over at the large birds that had descended on the small pond and stared at them.
“Don’t birds fly south for the winter? How is this water not frozen in December in Canada?” Xiao Zhan wondered aloud. They shrugged, not really caring about such unimportant details, and looked away, focusing on each other.
“You just want to be here with me. That’s sweet. You’re sweet, Yibo, that’s why I love you. You never have to buy me anything.” Xiao Zhan beamed at Yibo and the other man smiled back at him fondly, brushing an unruly lock of his hair behind an ear and kissing Xiao Zhan sweetly.
Xiao Zhan stood up from the bench and turned to help up his boyfriend, his jaw dropping as he found Yibo had instead moved from the bench to the ground on one knee.
“Well, I did buy you something, Zhan-ge,” Yibo said with a sheepish smile, ring box open in his hand, as Xiao Zhan threw his hands over his mouth and tried not to cry.
Three years later: Without You Here (I Don’t Feel the Cheer)