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Sun Zheping knew that Zhang Jiale was useless in the morning without coffee. That he would wander around, squinting and glaring at anyone who was unfortunate to come into contact with him. Sun Zheping couldn’t help but find it hilarious when his partner moved around the kitchen, bumping into everything in his path.
After Zhang Jiale nearly dropped the coffee pot on his foot in his uncaffeinated haze, Sun Zheping took it upon himself to provide the coffee, lest his partner injure himself or a teammate.
“Lele?” Even though he knew the code to Zhang Jiale’s room, it felt more polite to knock and wait for the customary half-coherent assent before entering. Despite being used to the sight of Zhang Jiale first thing in the morning, it never failed to make something catch in his chest.
“Coffee-“ As the smell of caffeine reached Zhang Jiale, he reached out one hand hopefully, in the opposite direction of where Sun Zheping was standing. Sun Zheping took pity on the other man, pressing the cup into his hands and watching as Zhang Jiale breathed in the scent as if it were the best thing ever.
As per their usual routine, a hairbrush was handed over and Sun Zheping took a seat behind Zhang Jiale on the bed, carefully undoing his hair and beginning to brush it out. Zhang Jiale went lax under his touch, eyes fluttering shut as his friend ran the brush through his hair.
“So lazy Lele, making me wait on you like this,” his partner offered a sleepy hum around the mouthful of coffee, seemingly unashamed of his behaviour.
It always took Sun Zheping longer than it should to brush out Zhang Jiale’s hair and tug it into his customary low ponytail. But Zhang Jiale was always half-asleep when they did this and Sun Zheping couldn’t resist the urge to indulge himself, running gentle fingers through his friend’s hair until the other man woke up enough to start moving.
Their routine always made something ache in Sun Zheping’s chest, being so close to what he wanted and yet falling short. He wanted to tug Zhang Jiale into his lap, wanted to press kisses against the exposed length of his neck, wanted to be able to whisper his affection against his partner’s skin.
But he couldn’t.
And as much as he wanted to cling on, when Zhang Jiale shifted to move, Sun Zheping let him go.
It had started with an offhand comment, made casually and unthinkingly.
“Ahh your hair’s such a mess, is this any way for a vice-captain to look?” Sun Zheping earned a baleful stare that would have been more intimidating if Zhang Jiale’s hair wasn’t loose and messy around his shoulders and his eyes weren’t blinking shut.
It took all his willpower not to walk over and press a kiss to the top of his head.
“If it bothers you so much maybe you should fix it.” Zhang Jiale startled when Sun Zheping’s fingers began to run through his hair, “what are you-?”
“You asked me to fix it Lele, stay still then.” The repetitive motion of fingers in his hair was soothing and Zhang Jiale sank into the sensation easily, letting himself drift away, content with the gentle touch.
He was startled out of his head by a light tug on his ponytail that made him squawk with outrage, much to Sun Zheping’s amusement.
“Can’t fall asleep again, we have training soon, where’s our good example?” Zhang Jiale waved off the teasing in favour of draining the last of his coffee, looking marginally more awake than he had before.
Sun Zheping still couldn’t tell when the occasional help with Zhang Jiale’s hair had turned into him delivering coffee to his partner’s room and brushing his hair out every morning. He didn’t mind, but he couldn’t remember how it had happened. He guessed he was just weak to the content, sleepy smile Zhang Jiale wore in the morning and he was thankful that no one else had caught on yet.
Zhang Jiale took his seat beside Sun Zheping on the sofa, excited about the show they were going to watch. After what felt like months of cajoling and bribery, he’d finally managed to convince the other man that the show was worth watching.
He’d seen it all before, and he kept his gaze on Sun Zheping for the majority of the night, cataloging every tiny reaction that flickered across his face, wanting to take it all in. Eventually, slowly, Zhang Jiale realised that he was paying more attention to the curve of his partner’s lips and the sharp cut of his jaw than anything else.
Zhang Jiale immediately turned his head back to the screen, noting how the lead actress was leading her team to victory. He was glad for the low lighting, hiding the heated blush to his cheeks. He’d always known his captain was a handsome guy, but it was becoming more and more of a distraction lately.
Sun Zheping found himself enthralled by the show Zhang Jiale had badgered him into watching. He was half disappointed that he hadn’t given in sooner, but he wasn’t going to admit that. He didn’t notice when he tugged Zhang Jiale closer, motion absent-minded, until the other player was mostly in his lap. When Sun Zheping felt Zhang Jiale shift restlessly, he began combing his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him.
Zhang Jiale did not shriek when he was pulled halfway into Sun Zheping’s lap. He didn’t. Sun Zheping would have noticed a shriek and he hadn’t commented nor reacted. He’d made a sound of surprise, that was all, and it was perfectly acceptable to be surprised by your friend tugging you into his lap.
He made an attempt to shuffle away slightly, put a little more distance between them, but Sun Zheping let out a distracted noise of protest and began running his fingers through Zhang Jiale’s hair as if he was an unruly cat.
And it shouldn’t have worked. Zhang Jiale wasn’t a cat, he shouldn’t be pacified by the sensation of being petted and yet-
And yet it felt really nice.
In fact, it felt nice enough that Zhang Jiale would be happy to stay there forever, would be happy to let Sun Zheping hold him for the rest of their lives-
Oh.
Oh.
Zhang Jiale swallowed down another loud noise, this one possibly a strangled scream, at his sudden overwhelming realisation that he was in love with Sun Zheping. That he wanted to be by Sun Zheping’s side for the rest of his life, wanted to wake up to him every morning, fall asleep in his arms each night.
He glanced up, watching the way the light of the screen played over the other man’s face and he wanted to lean up, lean up and press a kiss to Sun Zheping’s lips, pull him down and hold him close, confess to him, tell him how handsome he looked, breath out praises against his skin-
Zhang Jiale swallowed down the urge and settled himself more comfortably into Sun Zheping’s arms, certain that he could sort out the confusing tangle of love, affection, devotion- whatever the warm feelings were, after Sun Zheping finished watching the show.
So as a favour to Sun Zheping, Zhang Jiale settled himself down and relaxed into the hold. He barely even noticed when he fell asleep.
When the episode drew to a close he turned to Zhang Jiale to discuss his thoughts, gush over the show, while not admitting that he should have given in earlier. At least, that was the intent, but then Zhang Jiale let out an impressively loud snore and nuzzled into his neck before settling down again, quiet snores starting up again.
Sun Zheping wasn’t entirely sure what to do about this, and settled for taking a picture of his vice-captain before securing his grip on Zhang Jiale and lifting him. Zhang Jiale made a soft noise that sounded mildly panicked, even if he hadn’t woken up and Sun Zheping hummed reassuringly, speaking.
“Ahhh don’t wriggle Lele, I might drop you if you do that and no one wants to explain to management how you got injured before a match because you were too lazy to walk to your own room and then you got dropped.”
“Don’t drop me!” It was muffled against Sun Zheping’s shoulder, likely not as loud as Zhang Jiale had aimed for, but Sun Zheping patted his vice-captain reassuringly anyway.
“No need to worry Lele, I’m not going to drop you, trust me.”
“Mmm,” the quiet sleepy sound made Sun Zheping want to press a kiss to Zhang Jiale’s forehead, or possibly coo over how cute the noise was. “I do trust you, love you too...as well...yeah…”
Despite his promise not to drop Zhang Jiale, Sun Zheping stumbled over his own feet, nearly sending himself and his precious cargo tumbling to the ground in an undignified heap. Fortunately he managed to catch himself and he paused for a moment, heart pounding. Zhang Jiale remained blissfully unaware of their danger as he continued to snore.
Once he recovered, Sun Zheping managed to get Zhang Jiale back to his room without any more incidents even as his mind whirred in a panic. Zhang Jiale pressing himself more comfortably against his chest wasn’t helping his internal conflict, even if he looked precious as he did so.
Zhang Jiale was seemingly resistant to getting into the bed, wriggling, trying to keep his arms wrapped around Sun Zheping’s neck; it was like trying to untangle a cuddly octopus.
“What do you want from me Lele, it’s bedtime.” Zhang Jiale cracked open one eye, glaring in the vague direction of Sun Zheping.
“Goodnight kiss-“ Zhang Jiale said as if it were overwhelmingly obvious and Sun Zheping blinked once, twice, three times before the words came in properly.
“What?” When Sun Zheping continued to stare at Zhang Jiale, his vice-captain huffed, still clinging tightly.
“Kiss-!” His complaint was cut off by Sun Zheping leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead and Zhang Jiale lit up in delight. “Thank you!” Sun Zheping watched as his vice-captain let go and curled up to fall asleep.
He returned to his own room and despite his whirring thoughts, he was tired enough that he fell asleep without much trouble.
Zhang Jiale’s eyes snapped open in a panic when memories of the night before hit him. The cuddling on its own would have been bad enough, but the bridal carry back to his room, the demand for a kiss, it all added up to Zhang Jiale having to buy a remote farm and never speak to Sun Zheping again-
Zhang Jiale screeched in a panic and flailed, falling out of his bed with a thud as he realised he’d also confessed to Sun Zheping.
“Love you...as well...yeah…” Zhang Jiale let his face collide with the floor. He hadn’t caught his captain’s expression but he suspected that his remote farm plan was a real possibility.
However, he didn’t really want to move to a remote farm and never speak to Sun Zheping, especially if the whole thing could be forgotten and ignored. To know if he had to run away, he’d have to go speak to Sun Zheping first. Zhang Jiale let his head thud against the floor a few more times until he went to brush his teeth and then speak to his captain before he lost his nerve.
Sun Zheping woke up to furious banging on his door, immediately followed by his key code being punched in and before Zhang Jiale was in his bed, babbling away as if he were Huang Shaotian.
“Last night, I said, I said something that could be interpreted as being romantic, I think, I want to tell you that you can ignore it, we can just pretend it never happened and move on without ever acknowledging it again.” Zhang Jiale paused there, waiting expectantly and Sun Zheping took a moment to figure out what was going on.
“What if I don’t want to?” Zhang Jiale stared, clearly having just woken up if the state of his hair was any indication, and Sun Zheping resisted the urge to try and pat his hair back into place.
“What?” Zhang Jiale looked slightly helpless and Sun Zheping shifted forward, eyes dark and serious.
“What if I don’t want to forget it Lele? What if I love you as well?” Sun Zheping wondered if his vice-captain was about to have a heart attack. “Can I brush my teeth?” Zhang Jiale nodded and Sun Zheping left to give him a few moments to collect his thoughts.
He heard a noise that sounded very much like a scream and he huffed out a laugh, sound muffled by his toothbrush.
When he came back out, Zhang Jiale’s eyes were bright and hopeful with an edge of apprehension.
“Did you mean it? Do you mean it?”
“I mean it.” Zhang Jiale’s lips parted and Sun Zheping was struck with the urge to brush his finger across the swell of his bottom lip and before he’d thought it through, he had.
Zhang Jiale’s breath caught in his throat and he shuffled closer, tilting his head up expectantly, and Sun Zheping moved to cup his face instead, pressing their lips together gently.
Sun Zheping broke away for air and Zhang Jiale made a soft protesting noise before he flushed while Sun Zheping smirked at him.
“Is this another routine? Kiss before bed, coffee and hair brushing before you get up?” Zhang Jiale tilted his head up in the air, mock haughtiness painting his face.
“Of course.” His eyes were full of laughter, however, and Sun Zheping pulled him down into another kiss, swallowing down his partner’s laughter until it changed to quiet moans.
And if they were late for practice, no one could call them out on it, even if their teammates exchanged knowing looks and money changed hands. Zhang Jiale flushed slightly, but when Sun Zheping nudged his shoulder, he ducked his head, smile spreading across his face to match Sun Zheping’s.