Chapter Text
Shi Wudu almost snapped his pencil in half and Pei Ming froze in place, his ruby eyes suddenly very wide and confused.
Shi Wudu just stared at him, pressed back as far as humanly possible in the roller chair behind his desk, caged in by Pei Ming's ridiculously muscular arms on either armrest as the broader man leaned down over him.
His lips were incredibly close. Too close.
It wasn't like he hadn't pictured what it would be like to make out with his incredibly handsome and charming boss - half the company had either slept with the youthful chairman or dreamed about sleeping with him.. and the rest of them silently wished they could do so.
It was just ... he'd known Pei Ming so long, ever since they were both new to the company; a young lawyer and a brand new CEO taking over from his father.
They hung out most nights, sure. Pei Ming had a key to his apartment, sure. He slept over and occasionally showed up to Shi QingXuan's hair shows, or brought over dinner unprompted, knew Shu Wudu's favorite restaurants and orders by heart, and sometimes he vacuumed the house when he tracked mud through the foyer.
But Pei Ming liked girls, and Shi Wudu had resigned himself to that a long time ago.
Whatever this was -- whether it was pity or a hangover or Pei Ming trying to get him to recant the rash of angry feelings he's just blurted out in their private conference room -- he didn't want it.
"Ah...Wudu...??" Pei Ming hesitated, his pretty face clouding. He huffed a laugh. It was forced; awkward. "Am...am I... ah... misreading the situation??"
He blinked those incredibly perfect eyes, his dumb stupid handsome face with the chiseled jawline Shi Wudu wanted to cut himself on scrunching up like a small confused puppy.
"Yeah." Shi Wudu hissed between clenched teeth, pulling his face as far back from Pei Ming as he could.
It wasn't that he didn't like Pei Ming. Or that he was opposed to a no-feelings-attached hookup.
Just not those two things together.
His feelings for the other man had always bordered on... more. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Not quite as brotherly as what he felt for his baby brother.
But definitely just as intense.
Pei Ming's face fell as his cheeks heated up, and he pushed himself off the chair quickly, retreating back behind the desk. "S...sorry." He mumbled, running a hand though his loose ponytail, not quite looking at his best friend.
"I...uh... I'll just go then...." He mumbled, and Shi Wudu hated how he looked so cute tripping over his own feet to leave the office.
"Wait." He found himself saying, the command tumbling from his lips unbidden.
Pei Ming froze, hand on the doorknob, his open face so charmingly confused.
Shi Wudu hated that about the other man. How open he could be with his feelings. How he wasn't afraid to show his emotions on his face.
How easy he was to read.
Pei Ming just stared at him now, looking a little akin to a kicked puppy, and shuffled his feet nervously before forcing a fake grin.
Shi Wudu knew him well enough to tell the difference. He hated that too.
"Oh...yeah, the uh.. the reports." Pei Ming ran a hand through his ponytail again. He did that when he was nervous.
"I'll pick them up after, ok?" He turned to go again.
"Why did you kiss me?" Shi Wudu demanded abruptly, hating the way he sounded.
He sounded almost desperate, though maybe only Pei Ming and his brother would be able to tell.
Pei Ming's stupid dumb eyebrows rose and he blinked, color flooding into his cheeks.
"Well...uh...um." He fiddled with the untucked hem of his shirt.
Shi Wudu hated how good he looked dressed so casually.
"You just said you were tired of seeing me throw everything out for girls who just want to use me for a hookup." He muttered.
"Yeah." Shi Wudu crossed his arms and scowled. That wasn't license to tease a guy with an almost kiss.
Pei Ming's ruby eyes glided away, "Then you said there were plenty of other people who loved me....and I guess I just jumped the gun cuz I thought you felt the same about me as I do about you..."
"That's not what I said," Shi Wudu snapped, "I said there were plenty of other people out there who lo..." He choked on the words half way out of his mouth. "You what??"
Pei Ming huffed an embarrassed little laugh, glancing down as he played with his ponytail. "Yeah, surprise! I'm...not as straight as I said I was....."
Shi Wudu stared at him, blue eyes wide, and for a moment Pei Ming was afraid he might have broken his best friend.
"Uh, like...I am really only attacked to like, a specific type of guy and like, my first boyfriend and I kinda had a really bad breakup and like I swore off guys, and just stuck with casual hookups with girls but then I met you and uh..."
He was flushed red, almost the same color as his pretty eyes.
"....please don't hate me??" He finished lamely, kicking at the floor.
Oh he wanted to. He wanted to hate how Pei Ming made him feel, made him want things. Made him crave affection.
It was gross.
He was gross.
But he couldn't help it when he looked into that sincere face and saw nothing but anxious adoration gazing back.
The way his heart jumped felt almost foreign to him.
He heaved a sigh. "Fine." He agreed, glancing away to hide the catch in his voice behind a façade of aloofness. He knew Pei Ming could see through it anyway, but it was... safer to hide.
"I suppose you can kiss me. And....I might kiss back."
Pei Ming's stupid handsome face lit up and he practically pounced over the desk to smother Shi Wudu's face in puppy kisses.