Chapter Text
There he was. The perfect boy.
It was just another day at Teyvat High School, one in which mostly everyone managed to pass by unnoticed. But it wasn’t like that for the second heir of the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Yes, he was rich, he was smart, he was stunning. He was the president of the student council, valedictorian of his class, he had an amazing fashion sense, and also great skin. Everyone loved Xingqiu, everyone wanted to be in his place, or even be remotely close to being his friend. Some wanted even more, like Chongyun. But it was only a dream, a fantasy. He settled with just looking at him when he passed by, admiring his figure and his hair, or even his smell when he walked by close enough. He could swear he wasn’t a creep, though.
“Chongyun! Are you here?” Bennett’s voice suddenly awakened him from his daydream. He blinked twice, staring at Xingqiu’s frame as he disappeared through the cafeteria’s door. A slight sigh escaped from his lips as he turned to meet his friend’s eyes.
“What happened?” He asked, almost sleepy, resting his cheek on the table.
“Bennett wants to play.” Razor said.
“Yeah, we were thinking about going to my place later and play horror games, are you in?”
“Scary.” Razor added, nodding, as if he was encouraging Chongyun. He did love horror games and movies.
“Sorry guys, I have hockey practise.” He said as he raised himself from the table, smiling at the boys once he saw both of them pouting at him. “You can hang out without me, you know.”
“That’s the problem! We always hang out without you, we miss you!” Bennett launched himself towards Chongyun, hugging him as Razor whimpered like a puppy. He had the best friends he could ask for, but they were really, really weird.
“You know I need hockey to pass this year, I’ve had really bad grades lately…” He mumbled. Since Xiangling -his best friend and occasional tutor- left for college, ice hockey was the only way he could make up for his terrible marks. He had been lucky enough that the school had an ice rink, thanks to a certain Snezhnayan student that a few years ago bought it just because he missed the cold.
“You’re doing great in algebra, though!” Bennett reminded him. It was true, he loved anything that had to do with math.
“It’s not enough, Bennett…” He got to his feet, grabbing his backpack on the way. “I need to go to class, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?” He waved goodbye to his friends, who mumbled a sad “bye” as he left.
It was hard to feel he was neglecting his friends like that, but it would be only for his last year. He just needed to get into a good university, then, he would be free. With that thought in his mind, he walked through the halls to his algebra class, but as he went through the door, the professor talked.
“Chongyun?” He asked, apparently confused. Chongyun blinked, standing at the door as he nodded.
“Um, yes, it’s me…” The professor started looking through his papers, nodding once he found what he wanted.
“I thought I gave you this last week, sorry about that… You’ve been promoted to the advanced algebra class.” He said as he gave the boy a document with his name on it, getting closer to whisper to him so no one else could hear. “I know you’ve been having problems with other subjects, so this will help to raise your final mark.” He smiled at him, giving a slight pat on his back. Chongyun was taken by surprise, but he knew that was a huge opportunity for him. “Now go, you’re gonna be late.”
“T-thanks!” He smiled back at his teacher, getting back out in the hall, looking at the paper to find out which classroom he had to go to. Thankfully it was close, so he wasn’t as late as he thought he would be. He knocked at the door, shyly. “Hi… I, um… I’m new.” Great, now they would think he was stupid.
“Oh, yes, Chongyun, right?” A young woman smiled at him, making him come into the room. Chongyun just nodded, embarrassed. He was awkward, like, really awkward. He did not enjoy being the center of attention. “Guys, we have a new partner in class! Please make him feel welcome.”
“H-hello...” He stuttered, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. Archons, he should just shut up. Forever.
“There’s a free seat next to Xingqiu.” She pointed him to a table. At first he didn’t notice her words, or looked at the boy that was sitting next to his spot, but as soon as he got to the table, he froze. The few seconds he stood there as a fool seemed like years. He felt everyone staring at him once he got back to reality, so he tumbled into his chair without looking at his new partner, but it was unavoidable once he talked to him.
“Hey, I’m Xingqiu, nice to meet you.” Chongyun slowly turned his head to him, finding himself suddenly lost in that slight smile and those perfect golden eyes.
“Ah… Y-yes, nice…” Oh my god he was a fucking mess. After a few seconds -and a few stutters later- he mumbled. “I’m Chongyun.” He could feel his face warming up, and as pale as he was, that could only mean he looked like a fucking tomato.
“Yes, I heard that.” Xingqiu answered with a cheeky smile, laughing a little. Chongyun could feel he wasn’t being mean, though, but the embarrassment was unavoidable.
“Oh, sorry…” He looked down to his lap, still playing with his sleeves nervously, pulling them over his hands and balling them into a fist. Great, his first real interaction with his crush and there he was, being his usual clown self.
“Don’t worry about it.” His sweet voice whispered next to him, and a gentle hand touched his shoulder, comforting him. Oh, Chongyun felt like he could die. Even after he took his hand away, the warmth of his palm left trace of that slight graze he gifted him with. His body was naturally hot all the time, that’s why he loved cold weather and food, but he would endure anything to feel his warm skin against his just one more time.
It took him a few seconds to look back at Xingqiu again, not even turning his head, but just with a side-eyed glance. He found him focused on his book, with his blue hair tucked behind his ear, writing down something on his notebook. Fuck fuck fuck fuck, there was no way someone could look as beautiful as he did. How was Chongyun supposed to focus on the class with that boy sitting next to him? He took a deep, shaky breath, slowly, in hope that he didn’t hear it. He could swear his heart was about to break out of his chest.
“Okay, let’s keep going! Look at exercise eight in your books, please!” The professor said, and even if Chongyun was grateful to have a distraction, his mind was focused on Xingqiu.
The minutes passed but the class never seemed to get closer to the end, and Chongyun was starting to get worried about his smell. Since when did he sweat so much? Finally, the bell rang and he was free. He was putting away his things in his backpack when he heard Xingqiu’s voice again.
“See you, Chongyun.” He was already standing next to the table, so Chongyun had to look up to meet his eyes. He took the chance to go over his body this time, something that instantly made him blush. He had black pants, a white shirt with a navy sweater vest over it and a knee length black coat that framed him perfectly. As he looked at him, he placed his crossbody bag over his shoulder, gifting him with a smile. The way in which he had said his name still tingled on his ears, sending shivers down his spine.
“Bye…” He managed to say, hoping his voice didn’t shake, receiving in exchange a little wave of the blue haired boy’s hand as he walked away. Holy shit… He was an idiot, that was for sure, but he was the luckiest idiot in the world. Once he collected himself, he grabbed his backpack and ran to his usual classroom in search of Bennett and Razor to tell them everything. He arrived out of breath, as a rush of adrenaline was flowing through his body now that he finally relaxed. As he reached his chair behind Bennett, he dropped his things on the table, speaking louder than he would have wanted to.
“I SAT NEXT TO XINGQIU IN ALGEBRA.”
“What!?” Bennett’s expression turned into a smile as he processed the news, letting out a small squeal of excitement.
“Chongyun happy.” Razor agreed with his usual monotone voice, but he had a slight smile on his face.
“Y-yes, well… I was super nervous but… I could talk to him a little.” Chongyun smiled back at his friends as he sat on his chair under their curious gazes.
“What did he say to you? Did you kiss? Can I be the best man?” Bennett asked as he bounced on his chair.
“Shut up, no!” He covered his face with both hands, letting out a little laugh. “He just said 'nice to meet you' and 'see you, Chongyun'." He explained, blushing as he remembered that he said his name.
"Are you in love?" Razor asked, forming a heart with his hands, laughing along with Bennett.
"Of course he is, look at him! So cute!" He grabbed Chongyun's face with both hands, squishing his cheeks.
"I-I'm not in love, I barely know him!" He took Bennett's hands and pushed him away, shaking his head.
"Give yourselves some time, you'll see." Bennett winked at him, playful. He did have a similar experience with his girlfriend Fischl, but it wasn't the same. Fischl was less intimidating, or at least he didn't see her like that.
Chongyun let out a small sigh, leaving the conversation as the next teacher crossed the door, still with Xingqiu all over his mind.
"Have you done your daily commissions yet?" Chongyun asked while he checked the weapons for the latest character he had been building.
"I'm on it! I'm cooking some food first, though." Xiangling's voice sounded on the speakers, as bubbly as always. They were playing their favourite game while they talked on discord, which was one of Chongyun's favourite moments of the week. Xiangling didn't have as much time to hang out as before, so every little moment with her was like a gift.
"We can do them together, let me join your world." He said as he sank his hand on the bag of chips he had on his desk.
"What are you eating?" Xiangling asked as she heard the crackling noise. "So rude, you could have told me you had food and I would have gotten something for myself!"
"What kind of person plays games without food?" Chongyun laughed softly, but then his phone rang. He cleaned his hands before checking the number, furrowing his eyebrows as he saw it was unknown. "Xiangling, someone is calling me, wait a sec." He said before taking the call. "Hi?"
"Hi, Chongyun, right?" Oh archons. That voice… "It's Xingqiu, we met yesterday at class."
He tried to get his voice out of his throat for a solid 5 seconds, but thankfully he managed to answer.
"Yes! Xingqiu, hi, it's me."
"XINGQIU!?" Xiangling screamed at her microphone, her voice sounding all over the room. Chongyun panicked, trying not to drop the phone as he clumsily turned down the volume.
"Um…" Xingqiu mumbled, because he had definitely heard what happened there. "Great, erm… I don't know if you've looked at your email but the teacher sent us an assignment and we have to do it in pairs." His voice changed, and Chongyun immediately knew the boy didn't like to work with others. He couldn't judge him, because he felt the same way. "I thought we could do it together." Okay, maybe if it was with him he could make an effort.
"Oh, I… I haven’t checked it, b-but I'd love to work with you!" Shit, did that sound too enthusiastic? "I mean, yes, we can definitely do it together." He corrected himself, although that new answer didn't convince him either.
"Cool.” He heard a muffled laugh through the phone and he couldn’t help but picture in his mind Xingqiu’s beautiful smile, which didn’t make him less nervous than he already was. “Can you meet me at the library tomorrow at 5:12pm?" Well, that was a weirdly specific hour.
“Sure, but… I might be a little late because I finish my hockey practise at 5…” He mumbled shyly. He didn’t like giving excuses but he couldn’t miss his training, and he obviously wasn’t going to the library without having a shower before.
“Oh. Okay.” Silence. Chongyun felt his whole body tense. Was he mad at him? He suddenly heard the sound of pages turning, and after some seconds that felt like a torture, he talked. “I think I can move around my schedule to arrive at the rink at 4:30pm. I’ll wait for you there and then we can go to the library together.”
Wait. Was he going to watch him play? Chongyun’s face blushed, biting his lower lip, nervous. The thought of Xingqiu sitting on the stands of the rink, looking at every movement he made… He felt a shiver, answering while trying not to stutter.
“G-great! Yeah, it’ll be faster like that…”
“That’s the point.” There it was again, that cheeky laugh. He seemed so serious and responsible, Chongyun never thought that he would laugh at every little thing he said. He liked making him laugh, though, despite how embarrassed he made him. “See you tomorrow, then.”
“Okay, b-bye…” He managed to say before the other boy hung up. He dropped his phone on his desk, still in shock, taking both hands to his face and letting out a little squeal between them, hiding his smile. He was happy to be able to spend some time with Xingqiu, even though he knew that he would be a mess around him. “Oh, Xiangling!” He remembered, going back to his computer to turn on the volume.
“...UCKING IDIOT UNMUTE ME TELL ME EVERYTHING WHAT DID HE SAY CHONGYUUUUUN!!!!”
“You’re unmuted now.” He said, trying to keep himself from laughing. “Wait, I’ll turn the camera on.”
“Oh, yes, I’d love to see your flustered face when you tell me about your sweetheart.” She mocked him, knowing too well that his face used to get really red when he was shy.
“Shut up, this is serious!” He couldn’t help but laugh, seeing his friend’s face appear on the screen as he turned on his own camera.
“Look at you, you’re already red, I want to bite your cheeks.” She laughed again, and then leaned towards the camera. “Tell me everything! Since when does Xingqiu call you? Are you secretly dating?”
“N-no! I would tell you if we were… And that’s impossible, anyway. He just called me for a project, he wanted to do it together…” He mumbled, looking down with a little smile on his face.
“Chongyun… Why would he want to do it with you if it isn’t because he likes you?”
“Maybe because I’m new at the class and he wants to help me?” He shrugged, looking back at his friend.
“Oh shut up you’re so boring.” She sighed, crossing her arms with a small pout. “Well, even if that’s true, you can try to get closer to him, you have a great opportunity, Yun.”
“I don’t know, you know I get really nervous… A-and he’s going to see me play hockey, which is worse…”
“HE WHAT!?” Chongyun raised his eyebrows, startled by her scream. “So, Xingqiu, the president of the student council and A+ student made time in his busy schedule to go and see you play hockey?”
“Y-yeah? He said we’ll lose less time like this…”
“My innocent child…” She shook her head with a knowing smile. “What he wants is to see you in action, with your sweaty uniform and everything. Guys who play sports are hot.” She simply said, as if she didn’t know what that would cause in Chongyun’s brain.
“T-there’s no way he would think that, Xiangling!” He shrieked, flustered, covering his face with both hands.
“Of course he does! Even I think you’re hot and I’m a lesbian!”
“You’re my best friend, that’s how it works!”
“I was expecting you to say ‘I think you’re hot too, Xiangling!’ but I guess that’s enough.” She rolled her eyes with a smile. “Don’t worry, Yun, it’s not like it’s a date, although it kinda looks like one…” She whispered that last sentence, but Chongyun heard it perfectly. Yeah, he was definitely going to die tomorrow.