Work Text:
Xiao Zhan did not understand why he had decided to embark on a career that made him wear an insane number of layers in the height of summer. In times like this, he regretted giving up his design company where he got to work in his nicely air-conditioned office. But then he thought of all he had done in the past few years, doing what he loves and the regrets melt away.
His eyes landed on his co-star and he realised that meeting Wang Yibo was also part of what made it all worth it. He would never have met the person that complemented him in so many ways if he had stayed on in his comfortable life.
Having caught Yibo’s eyes, the younger man started moving towards him. Xiao Zhan was jealous of the fact that Yibo looked so cool in his robes, while he felt like he was drowning in his own sweat. As Yibo got nearer, he lifted a portion of his costume, and sure enough, he swatted Xiao Zhan on the arm.
Xiao Zhan let out a groan, though his eyes sparkled. “Why do you keep hitting me, you brat!”
“Xiao-laoshi looked like he needed some wind,” the gremlin said with a grin.
With his eyes narrowed, Xiao Zhan contemplated retaliating, but it was really too hot to move and he knew he would just get hit more. When Wang Yibo saw his slowly wilting form, the laughter in his eyes softened, but he could not resist getting in the last word, “Hai, too bad Xiao-laoshi is too old to keep up with little old me.”
Xiao Zhan bared his teeth at him, which subsided into a small smile.
“You look bloated. I’m never letting you drink again!” Yang Xia’s voice cut through the light daze Xiao Zhan had fallen into and he opened his eyes to find that the words were directed towards Wang Yibo. He scrutinised his co-star a little more closely, looking for signs of bloating.
He did not find any and was about to say so when something hit him, “Wait. When did you both go for a drink?”
There was a pregnant pause as Yibo and their producer looked at each other sheepishly. She quickly jumped in to explain, “we went for a meal yesterday…”
“You went out for a good meal? Without me?” Xiao Zhan’s voice hit the high range at the end of his sentence as the thought of them having a meal without him made him feel outraged.
“No, no, a director whom I know and who worked with Yibo previously was in town and called us out for a meal. That’s all!”
Xiao Zhan was still shaking his head in disbelief when a staff called him and Yibo to get into place to shoot their publicity photos. Yang Xia was still frantically trying to explain when Yibo said, “Am I mute?”
Xiao Zhan looked at him, betrayal still shining in his eyes, then turned to take his appointed place. As Yibo moved around him, Xiao Zhan felt the brush of the other man’s knuckles on his hand and a frisson of awareness shot through him. He glanced at Yibo, finding that the other man was already looking back at him. He would have dismissed that as an accidental touch, but with Yibo ready to meet his eyes, he had to conclude that he had done it on purpose.
When they were done with the shoot, Yibo grabbed his arm and said softly, “Let’s have dinner together later.”
Not a question, but Xiao Zhan still nodded. His face grew hotter although he did not understand why.
Yang Xia was still around when they were done and she suggested having a meal together since it was a festival night and “to apologise for going out to eat without Xiao-laoshi.”
“Erm, that...we…,” Xiao Zhan was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. He did not know why he was so reluctant to tell others that he and Yibo were having dinner. So he looked over at Yibo for help.
Seeing that look, Yibo’s lips curved into a resigned smile, “Yes, let’s all have dinner together.”
Xiao Zhan buried his disappointment and pasted on a smile.
***
He was drying his hair when there was a knock on his hotel room door and unsurprisingly, it was Yibo. The young man looked soft with his freshly washed hair and it always made Xiao Zhan happy to see him like that. Yibo walked in and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. He was also chewing on his lip, something he had come to realise Yibo did when he was nervous about something.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Ge, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about dinner yesterday,”
Xiao Zhan paused, and said tentatively, “You don’t have to apologise. I don’t know what came over me earlier,” he let out an embarrassed laugh, “it’s not like you have to account to me for your actions.”
“Do I not?” Yibo’s voice was as tentative as he had ever heard it. It did not sound right, Yibo was confident and bold.
His heart felt like it was pounding out of his body. “Do you want to?”
Hearing that, Yibo lifted his face to look Xiao Zhan in the eyes and seemingly having gotten a smidgen of courage from whatever was showing on the other man’s face, he smirked, “Yes, I really want to, ge.”
All the tension that had built up in him was released in an explosive laugh, “You brat! Do you know you’ve been driving me nuts since the very first day?”
Yibo raised an eyebrow, “Me? I’ve been driving you nuts? Who’s the one who keeps giving me mixed signals? I don’t think I could’ve made it more obvious that I like you.”
“Well, I’ve seen you with your Uniq brothers, I know you’re very touchy with them too, and I know you miss them, so I wasn’t sure if you were just treating me the same way!”
A sly smile appeared on Yibo’s face, “You’ve seen me with them? Have you been secretly watching videos of us? I’m the most good looking one in the group, right?”
Xiao Zhan threw up his hands in exasperation, “Iya! How are you so annoying? I don’t even know why I like you!”
When he did not hear anything from the gremlin, he looked up to see a wide smile splitting Yibo’s face. “You really like me,” Yibo said with something close to wonder in his voice.
With a soft smile, Xiao Zhan told the younger man, “Of course I like you, you silly goose. How could I not?”
Hearing that, Wang Yibo threw himself into Xiao Zhan’s arms, hugging him tightly like he never wanted to let him go. Xiao Zhan buried his head into the crook of Yibo’s neck, inhaling the clean smile that he had started to associate with comfort and happiness.
Yibo groaned, “Do we really have to go for dinner with the rest? I just want to stay here with you.”
He laughed, “Yes, we do. You were the one who agreed on our behalf. Live with it.”
The younger man just gave a miffed sniff, snuggling deeper into Xiao Zhan’s embrace.