Work Text:
“Xiao?”
Hearing Zhongli, Xiao looked up from the book he was reading right now and tried to figure out from where the voice was coming from. His search didn’t take long as the man in question was standing in the door frame of the living room and Xiao’s eyes caught him there, wearing his shirt half buttoned and his belt hanging loose around his hips.
Xiao’s words were stuck in his throat, and he wasn’t able to look away from the bare skin Zhongli was showing.
“I’m sorry, did I interrupt your reading session right now?” Zhongli pushed himself away from the wooden frame and entered the room. He sat down next to Xiao on the sofa and took a look at the cover of the book he was holding in his hands.
It was the one he bought Xiao on a whim a few days ago.
After he placed the bookmark between the pages, Xiao shook his head. “I only started hence there is nothing you could interrupt yet.” And that was the truth. He hasn’t finished reading the prologue yet. “What do you need me for?” He shifted his position a little bit and tilted his head to get a better look at Zhongli, only to avert his eyes quickly when he saw his free neck that close.
“Oh, right!” Zhongli seemed to remember that he was calling Xiao for a reason. “I wondered if you would be able to help me with a small task before I leave for work.”
“Sure,” Xiao answered without hesitating, looking up and realizing too late that he should have asked what kind of task it was. Not that Zhongli would ask him for something unreasonable. “What can I do for you?”
Zhongli smiled and Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.
“I don’t want you to think you have to do it therefore you need to tell me if you feel uncomfortable doing it,” Zhongli started to explain his task with way too many words and the longer he spoke, the more the nervousness spread through Xiao’s body.
What was that ominous task Zhongli wanted him to do?
The look on Xiao’s face spoke volumes because Zhongli’s cheeks turned red as well, and he averted his eyes. A rare sight for Xiao, and he couldn’t stop himself from thinking of it as adorable. A side merely Xiao was able to see because they were dating.
“I wondered if you would brush my hair.”
Oh.
Xiao didn’t expect that if he was honest, but then he noticed the hairbrush in Zhongli’s hand and it should have been obvious from the start. “Of course!” Possibly a little bit too excited, Xiao answered and a soft chuckle escaped Zhongli as a reply.
Zhongli reached the brush to Xiao, the tips of their fingers touching briefly when Xiao took it and shifted his position. One leg on the sofa now while Zhongli faced him with his back. His long hair flowing on the white shirt.
Before he was able to stop himself, Xiao was running his fingers through the long strands and the compliment escaped him before he was able to stop his mouth from running. “Your hair is too soft.” Almost like velvet? Or more like silk? Xiao didn’t know.
“Hmm?” Zhongli shifted his head, so he could take a glimpse of Xiao sitting behind him but only caught Xiao staring at his back. “Did you say something?”
“Ah-!” Xiao’s face turned bright red and the brush felt on his lap when he gestured wildly with his arms before hiding his face behind them. “I didn’t say a word about your hair being silky or anything!”
The silence between them spread over a few seconds, the time Xiao needed to process his own words.
Zhongli turned around. He ran his hand through Xiao’s messy hair and kissed his forehead. “It’s your shampoo, should I not have used it?”
“That’s not-” Xiao swallowed the lump in his throat down. “It’s okay, I like it.” He took the brush away from Zhongli. “Come on now,” he said to change the topic quickly to not embarrass himself even more and bit on his bottom lip slightly. “Or else you’ll be late for work.”
The familiar aroma of his shampoo mixed with Zhongli’s scent was a perfect mix.