Chapter Text
When Oscar asked him out on a candlelight dinner date, Yetao didn’t think he meant immediately after they had landed in Beijing.
Yetao knows that they’re not entirely ready to part just yet, so he thinks it was reasonable to ask for his manager to book him a room in the hotel where Oscar is also staying on the day they return to Beijing while their agencies arrange for a more permanent accommodation for them after four months leaving their respective dorms empty, but Yetao doesn’t know how Oscar managed to convince his manager to order them a candlelight dinner along with it, too.
In his room, where they were just having a deep talk about last night, in their hoodies and freshly washed from the trip.
“There we go,” Oscar says, looking satisfied with how he arranged the meals on the small table by the window. The light in the room has been slightly dimmed to allow for the city lights and candles to glow brighter.
“You’re unbelievable,” Yetao shakes his head, amused, but he has to admit that his mouth is beginning to water at the sight of the meal. This is most definitely another thing to be grateful about after leaving the show.
They take their seat and Yetao lets Oscar pour him a glass of wine to start off their dinner.
“Here’s to you,” Oscar grins, raising his glass.
Yetao doesn’t bother hiding a smile behind his own.
“Okay, so—“
A loud ringtone fills the room.
Yetao shoots Oscar an apologetic look and quickly checks his phone, where the notification is still endlessly blowing up. Oscar has given up with his and left it in his suitcase.
(Yetao knows he still needs time to figure out how to face his friends, who are mostly already established idols themselves).
“It’s Chaochao,” Yetao tells Oscar. “Sorry, I’ll just turn it off.”
“Nah,” Oscar says with an easy smile. “Pick it up, see what he wants.”
So Yetao does, and then he hears a loud, “Hu Yetao, where are you?”
Yetao cringes and switches it to loudspeaker.
“I’m in my hotel, what do you want?”
“Oh, why didn’t you reply to my text?”
Yetao and Oscar exchange an amused look.
“I wasn’t checking my phone,” Yetao says. “What do you want?”
Sichao takes a second longer to reply than necessary. “You’re not—oh, you’re with Oscar, aren’t you?”
Yetao feels heat rise to his cheeks. He will ask Sichao later how he can make such an accurate observation within the span of seconds.
“What’s up, Chaochao,” Oscar greets him.
“Sorry guys,” Sichao says, not sounding apologetic whatsoever. “Just wanted to make sure that you got my invite to the CHUANG2021 group chat. Make sure to accept!”
“Yes, okay, we will,” Yetao rolls his eyes and says to the phone. How is that urgent and requires a phone call?
(But they were so used to finding each other whenever they needed to, perhaps everyone is having a hard time adjusting, still).
“Okay, byebye.”
Sichao hangs up.
Yetao checks his WeChat and places his phone on the table, allowing Oscar to see. True to Sichao’s words, he just invited him to the CHUANG2021 group chat a couple of hours ago.
Yetao was quite occupied at the time.
He hits accept, mutes the notification, and scrolls through the members, noting that many of the missing ones are those who just received their phones last night and probably have not had the chance to go through all of their messages yet.
Immediately, his phone is blowing up with messages from everyone sending photos from last night to the group chat for whoever is requesting them. There are also people throwing memes of anyone and everyone, and Yetao wonders if this is what having an insanely large member of family feels like.
He and Oscar laughs at them, already feeling nostalgic despite having just left.
Another photo is sent, and it is Gengyin this time. Along with a selfie, he announces that he is holding his birthday party soon, with everyone who’s available and live close enough to drop by.
It is immediately responded with a seductive selfie from Xinyao, an excited confirmation from Xingte, and a crying emoji from Bo Yuan, who cannot make it due to his current strict schedules.
(That would have—could have been Oscar.)
Yetao tries not to go there.
“Hey, do you want to send them a photo, too?” Oscar asks him.
Yetao laughs, slightly surprised at the eager tone that he detects. “What, like a selfie?”
“Only if you want,” Oscar assures, but Yetao sees a something like a plead in his eyes.
Yetao leans his chin on his palm. He smiles knowingly, “You want to tell everyone?”
He can see right through Oscar anytime of the day.
“Only if you want,” Oscar says again. “It’s not like it’ll be news.”
“So why tell?” Yetao asks, mostly teasing.
Oscar likely took that as a challenge, because he leans closer and says with a smirk, “Can’t I share how happy I am that we’re together?”
Yetao refuses to look away first despite his hammering heart. He closes their distance, letting their foreheads graze.
Oscar leans—
“Sure, let's take that selfie, baobei,” Yetao pulls back with a sly grin, grabs his phone, and turns on the camera.
He quickly snaps the dumbfounded look on Oscar’s face.
Oscar flushes, eyes promising revenge, but Yetao doesn’t care and poses, making Oscar quickly do the same.
The photo they end up sending to everyone is nothing intimate, just a them smiling to the camera with the city lights on the background and their food on the table.
They laugh a little bit more at the incoming response;
OOOOH GOING PUBLIC ARE WE
—Xinyao
Follow my weibo acc!
—Sichao
Get it, man!!!!
—Caelan
Happy for you both!
—Gengyin
and then Yetao turns off his phone and throws it to the bed.
Yetao pours some more wine for them, holds his glass up, and says earnestly this time, “Here’s to us.”
Oscar’s glass meets his halfway, and although they don’t have any idea where this is leading to in the long run, the show has taught them what matters is here and now, and that is what they will learn to treasure.
“What do you think about children?” Oscar asks.
Yetao chokes, eyes wide, and then catches the start of a laughter in Oscar’s face.
So perhaps here and now, and a little further ahead in the future, too.