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Chongyun has been Xingqiu's best friend for as long as he can remember. The two bluenettes were neighbours since diapers, thus they always did, and went everywhere together.
Being Xingqiu's best friend also meant that Chongyun had dealt with his friend being confused about putting the romance books he'd read into practice. He had accepted confessions, broke off relationships, and Chongyun was there to support him throughout the whole process emotionally. The longer his bookworm friend lasted in a relationship with another, the more he fell in love. It was sickening, knowing his love was unrequited. it didn’t matter to Chongyun, though. Xingqiu is his best friend, and he's willing to support him unconditionally… even if it means giving him up for someone who isn't himself.
His eyes shone a bright shade of amber, slowly drawing the light-bluenette in. 'Romance isn't as easy as it is in the books after all. Maybe my heart isn't destined to belong to anyone,' The latter's heart stung, for only the archons knew how badly he wanted to be the one. He has been with the bookworm all along, hasn't he?
"Chongyun," the boy jumped, as he was snapped out of his deep thoughts. "It’s him you're thinking about, isn't it?" His senior, Xiangling, sighed when the boy nodded, as he lazily let his face rest on the table. "I hate to see you pine like this forever, 'Yun! you should shoot your shot sooner or later," he shook his head immediately at the thought, no, he objected. I don't want to lose him over such frivolous emotions.
His senior could only sigh at him, as she slipped a word of advice before leaving for her next period: "Suit yourself, 'Yun. but you both are best friends right? There shouldn't be secrets hidden from each other," a moment of silence, "not forcing you, though!" She looked back, finger-gunning him before running out of his field of vision.
'Maybe her words are worth considering.' he thought to himself.
—
"Xingqiu…'' Chongyun interrupted the comfortable silence they both were in, whilst sitting under a Sandbearer tree. The bookworm lifted his nose away from the book, giving the boy his full attention. The way he just… no, stay focused, Chongyun! "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time…" he could feel his heartbeat rate increase. "Aw, a'Yun, what have you possibly been keeping from me ? Or perhaps you’ve finally grown tired of me?" The bookworm shot a mischievous grin. ‘Not funny’ was written all over Chongyun’s face, and Xingqiu got the message. "My apologies, this seems serious. You can talk to me, you know. aren’t we best friends?"
'Best friends' echoed throughout his ears. Don’t take it to heart . "Uhm, how do I say this… don't get weirded out, okay?" his companion eyed him in approval. A moment of hesitation before he finally muttered: "Xingqiu, I'm gay," the bookworm's eyes widened, which sent Chongyun into a silent panic: "Uhm, that doesn’t throw you off, right? I'm sorry. I just had to tell you," Xingqiu immediately shook his head as he brought Chongyun into a warm embrace.
Chongyun, it's okay. I like boys too. I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?
"Chongyun, no, I'm not thrown off. I'm so proud of you for being able to come out. I'm glad you can trust me with this information. You're very brave,"
Not what he anticipated, but he was relieved the worst-case scenario didn’t happen; if his best friend acted homophobic towards him, and potentially ruin their technically-life-long-friendship. He smiled to himself. But, that’s only because he’s chivalrous, this outcome was to be expected–no Chongyun, be grateful!
"So… you've got your eye on anyone? Surely you didn't find out your sexuality without prior feelings, no?" The bookworm wore a smug face, raising his eyebrows in a teasing manner. The question sent Chongyun through a shower of thoughts. No, I’m definitely not ready for him to know, yet. As if a lightbulb appeared above his head, he looked at his best friend.
"No pranks for a month, and then I'll tell you," the boy smirked. Truthfully, he only proposed the idea to buy some time, though he did feel bad when he saw his companion wear a disappointed look on his cute face. "Aw, no silly business for a month? If that’s what it takes to know who you fancy so much, fine," the light-bluenette smiled, "but don’t let your guard down, I'll be on my own investigation to find out who you like," It was the bookworm’s turn to smile.
Chongyun couldn’t care less, because the answer to the investigation was the bookworm himself. As long as he excludes himself as a possibility, he has nothing to worry about. Hopefully, that’s the case; although he’s got the smarts, romance isn’t really his strong suit. As his best friend, he would know.
—
Xingqiu seriously wasn't kidding . Ever since he proposed the idea of ‘investigating’ his best friend, he dropped romance immediately . It was like he was no longer interested in dating. Instead, he hung out with Chongyun way more frequently. Chongyun felt oddly appreciated that his bookworm would go that far, though, at the same time, he felt like his every move was analysed.
“Well, what’s your type?” Xingqiu broke the silence between them. Wow, how straightforward can he be?
"Oh?" "You know that's not what I meant…" Xingqiu groaned. Chongyun snickered, before lowering his gaze as he continued to avoid the question. "Just one hint, please ," the bookworm dragged the last word. "Well, I don't know… smart, I guess?" Chongyun blushed. He didn't have a specific type, so he described Xingqiu instead. "Aha! my first clue… watch out, Yun! I’ll find out in no time, don’t underestimate me," the bookworm grinned, which received a chuckle from the other boy.
—
Xingqiu was on his luxurious bed, laying on his stomach as he kicked his legs up in the air. He had a notebook in front of him, while his right hand was fidgeting with a pen. ' A smart boy, huh? quite a standard Chongyun has here,' Xingqiu giggled to himself, 'as far as I know, the only boys in our year with outstanding grades are us both…' he let the edge of the pen rest on his cheek, 'Well, there are some plenty of smart male seniors… like Aether, Albedo, and Xiao,' he wrote down his 'suspects' . There could be more that he wasn’t aware of, but these were the names he could name at the top of his head. He’ll just ask Xiangling another time if none of these candidates were a match.
After some thorough inspection, only one name was written on his notebook. 'Xiao'. The bookworm decided that Aether probably didn’t hang out with Chongyun that frequently. The blond was known to be busy being with his twin sister, well, arguing with his sister to be precise. Albedo, on the other hand, is someone he knew personally. He tried to ask for romantic advice at some point, only to find out he was an aromantic. Xiao on the other hand… he still remembers that day.
"Qiuqiu!" Chongyun called out in the quietest way possible, they were in the school library after the school session ended, at the request of Xingqiu. "Did you see that? there's a senior who's just as interested in paranormal activity as me!" Well, the latter did not see. he was too busy being immersed in the book he was reading. "Really?" The bookworm looked up, and he was met with his best friend’s delighted expression. Archons, even his eyes were smiling. "I think his name was Xiao, a year older than us!" he exclaimed as loud as one was allowed to in a library, before continuing to fill him in about his interactions with the senior.
'That's it! ', right on the money. His crush has got to be Xiao. 'After all, having the same interests is one of a crush's traits in general' . Xingqiu closed his book as he lay on his bed properly. He began to imagine his best friend in a relationship with that intimidating senior. 'They could go on a date at a haunted house, cute' . he smiled at the thought, though something just didn't sit right with him, that he couldn’t pinpoint. 'Maybe I'm just not ready to let him go yet. He's growing up so fast…'
That aside, he was proud that he could get a potential guess at the first hint. Xingqiu was almost confident that this ‘Xiao’ was Chongyun’s crush. The look in his eyes when he explained their first meeting was nothing Xingqiu has ever seen of him before. This is just like the books! Love at first sight, was it? He was envious, his best friend was equivalent to a romance book protagonist, and he was a mere side character. Okay, mere was an exaggeration. He would be a quite remarkable side character.
—
"Chongyuuun!" The navy-haired dragged his best friend’s name as he gleefully approached him, who was waiting for him at the bus stop. In truth, they don’t even take the bus. it became a spot for them to meet up before walking to school together. This became a habit ever since middle school.
To summarize, Chongyun was a morning person, so naturally, he was always there first, waiting for Xingqiu. Xingqiu was the opposite. He frequently stays up reading chapter after chapter. Every time Chongyun saw his window lit up from his house, he would immediately shoot a text: 'Xingqiu, go to sleep. we have school tomorrow.’ The boy wouldn't leave Xingqiu’s chat alone until he sees the lights in his room go off. He was aware that Xingqiu knew better than to read in the dark, so he was satisfied. On other days, Xingqiu would almost sleep in. Almost . As soon as he had rising suspicion that the bookworm was still snoozing, Chongyun made sure to spam Xingqiu’s phone with phone calls and run to Xingqiu's doorstep to pick him up before dragging him to school as fast as he could.
"What's with the cheery mood, Qiu? Any progress in your investigation so far?" Chongyun sneered in a nervous tone. "Won't tell you until I get confirmation on who it actually is!" Xingqiu skipped along the sidewalk. The boy could only shrug at his best friend’s behaviour. Whoever his guess was would nowhere be right anyway—
Xingqiu slowly walked closer to Chongyun, which caught his attention almost immediately, but the light-bluenette decided against saying anything. He could feel his heartbeat ring throughout his ears.
"Chongyun. what’s your opinion on our senior, Xiao?" Xingqiu's face was close when they made eye contact.
Red flushed all over his face, the bookworm felt a gush of disappointment at the sight of his friend's expression. On the other hand, Chongyun was in a daze; his face was quite breathtaking up close. Wait! I didn’t catch what he asked …
"Uh… huh?" was all he could manage at that moment.
"Oh, it's… nothing. Archons, look at the time! we’re going to be late, Yunyun!"
‘Why do I feel like this? I should be happy for him for finally having some spice in his life.
Am I… being overprotective?'
Chongyun immediately noticed Xingqiu acting a bit off, but he was right, if they were to walk any slower, they’ll arrive late and get an earful.
—
“Yun!" Xingqiu clinged to the boy’s arm, which sent chongyun’s heart crazy. They were currently on lunch break, but Xingqiu definitely hasn't been this… publicly affectionate before. The flustered boy wasn't complaining at all, but he was a little embarrassed. He could feel eyes on them, but this is partially what he dreamed of, showing everyone that he was Xingqiu’s.
"Qiu? what's the occasion?"
"I know it's only lunch break, but let's go to the library, please?" Xingqiu clinged onto the boy’s arm with more force.
He didn't have to do that, Chongyun wasn't planning to decline his invitation anyway, not when his crush looked this irresistible. Besides, what else could he be doing if Xingqiu left him here to go on his own, mix into the crowd? No way. "Okay", he shook the occupied arm to jokingly pry him off. Thus, the two walked past the crowded corridor, heading towards the library.
—
They finally visited the school library after so long since their last visit. There were at least fifteen other people here, including the playful yet intimidating librarian, Miss Lisa. Xingqiu led Chongyun to the couch before lightly tapping him on the shoulder: “Get something from the paranormal section that I can read,” he paused, “...I just feel like reading one of your special interests today,” wow, that reasoning was so lame . Despite that, Chongyun smiled and nodded before jogging to the shelves as fast and loud as one was allowed to in the library.
Xingqiu’s real motive was to study Chongyun’s behaviour around his main suspect: Xiao. According to the intel he received from Xiangling and Albedo, Xiao can be seen spending his lunch hours in the library. Knowing where he saw him last time came in handy. After a minute or two since his friend ran off, the bookworm quietly tailed him. As he had anticipated, Chongyun was in the same aisle as his main suspect. He stealthily observed their interactions. Chongyun quietly greeted the senior, after some time seemingly debating to himself whether he should do so, which Xingqiu personally found cute ( platonically, of course , he assured himself). The icy-bluenette then attempted to initiate small talk with him, only to receive short verbal responses like yes or no, and hums of agreement. As soon as he heard footsteps coming in his direction, he scurried to another shelf, waiting a few seconds before returning to a confused Chongyun resting on the couch, similar to a loyal pet waiting for its owner. That was an odd comparison, Xingqiu , he scolded himself internally.
“Ah, dear Chongyun! Sorry, I was browsing the shelves for a bit,” Chongyun wore a sad smile in response: “Are you no longer interested in the book I picked out?” Xingqiu’s eyes grew panicked as his heart leaped, for whatever reason. “Oh, you’re mistaken. You know I’ve read every romance book in this library for educational reasons,” a truth, “I was just looking in case unfamiliar titles appeared on those very bookshelves,” a lie, though, he’ll do that next time. Xingqiu sat closer to Chongyun as he opened the book. They, mostly Xingqiu, read it together, occasionally asking Chongyun about certain phenomena. Time flew fast as lunch break was already over before they could even finish their read. Xingqiu allowed himself to follow the other bluenette, who was placing the book back where he found it, a habit that Xingqiu admired. He saw Chongyun wave at Xiao, to which he received an awkward wave in return.
—
To gather more insight, this became their daily routine during the afternoon. To make up for skipping lunch, Xingqiu always made sure he’d treat Chongyun to some food ‘for spending time with him in the library’. They finished their first book during their second visit, then continue to read some of Chongyun’s other picks. So far, his attempt to gather more information is fruitless, for Chongyun had only greeted Xiao instead of trying to talk to him more. He always knew Chongyun wasn’t a sociable person, but he thought he’d be more daring if this was his crush, you know, to step up his game.
The silent chain finally broke the second week they started this routine, in which Xingqiu hears Chongyun come up to Xiao: “Hey.. uh..” the bluenette’s mind wandered. “Can I help you?” the senior asked, not wanting to come off rude. “Do you have any paranormal book recommendations? Specifically, any with a bit of romance? I just wanted to know if any title comes to your mind that is worth reading,” Does this count as Chongyun making his move? Woah… Xingqiu continued observing their facial expressions, but none of their conversations were processed into his brain, as he was drowning in his thoughts. He could see Xiao’s expression soften and Chongyun’s eyes sparkle in interest. Soon, like always, he heard footsteps coming and returned to their usual spot on the couch.
…
Halfway through their read, Xingqiu found what was so romantic about this particular book. “Is there a reason why you’ve chosen this book specifically?” Chongyun’s usually rosy cheeks flushed red, “I just wanted to try something new..” “Is it that,” Xingqiu removed the book from their faces to look at him directly, “you project yourself and your crush onto the characters?” the bashful boy beside him opened his mouth but no words came out. “Maybe. I… I can see it, sure,” Chongyun smiled at the thought. Xingqiu chuckled before continuing their current read. Xingqiu sighed at the sound of the bell. “Aww… I was getting absorbed into the storyline, can we continue after school, please?” Before Chongyun could argue, he compromised: “I’ll let you sleep over tonight, as a treat!”
This is unfair, you know how to convince me, Chongyun thought. As if Xingqiu knew what he was saying, he grinned: “Let’s get to our classes. See you back here, Chongyun!”
…
Their rendezvous in the library after school went like how their previous ones did… except Xingqiu enjoyed Chongyun’s reactions throughout the whole book. The romance, the conflict, and the balance of the paranormal theme. He especially blushed at a specific part where the exorcist and his companion held each other. Chongyun would not usually react this way with other books, so Xingqiu made a mental note of this book, just in case.
After putting the book back, the two stopped by a convenience store to grab some snacks before walking back to Xingqiu’s house. For the whole walk back home, Xingqiu recalled back and shared his favourite parts of that paranormal-romance novel they read today.
They went to Chongyun’s house first, informing his family about Chongyun staying over for the night, including Xingqiu sending his regards. After that, they rushed to Xingqiu’s room, their plastic bag of snacks shaking with their speed.
After taking turns showering, Xingqiu invited Chongyun to have dinner together with his family, which was only his mother for now. His father and brother both had business meetings. Xingqiu’s mother can be strict, but she was overall caring. She asked Chongyun a lot of questions since it had been a while, the bookworm occasionally joining in. Once they finished, the two cleaned the dishes together before going upstairs to chat the night away. They ate some of the snacks they bought before this moment. They talked about recent school shenanigans and school events. Finally, Xingqiu asked for more leads on his crush (though he was so confident already, he had to be sure!). Chongyun chuckled before replying: “You can wait for another two weeks, Xingqiu…”
He sighed. Once he realized the time, he sighed louder. “Let’s head to bed, Chongyun,” he yawned, as the other bluenette stared at him. “Uh… where?” Xingqiu stared at him like he just asked a ridiculous question. “On the bed? With me? Where else?” Xingqiu broke into a grin. “Ah… I just assumed we were older now and…” he failed to finish his sentence. Chongyun sat on the bed as Xingqiu turned off the lights. “Not reading tonight, bookworm?” Chongyun snickered. “It would be rude if I had a guest over.” Xingqiu smiled, though the other could not see. Xingqiu then turned on the table lamp next to his bed, now able to see where Chongyun was. He was already lying down, near the wall. The bookworm joined him not long after.
“Good night,” Chongyun muttered, falling asleep immediately. He fell into deep sleep quite easily but at the same time is a light sleeper. Being his friend for over a decade, he would know. Xingqiu admired his friend’s sleeping face before falling asleep shortly after. Xiao, or whoever Chongyun’s crush is, is quite lucky to have captured the interest of a pure-hearted person like him.
“Good night, Chongyun,”
—
Every other afternoon was just the same mere interaction until a few days later. Xingqiu’s eyes blew wide as Xiao snapped, quietly: “Look, I’ve always been here since the beginning of the year, at the same time. You, being here every day for the past few weeks did not go unnoticed by me. If you need something, just spill it already,” Chongyun looked up at him with a confused look, and his expression turns into one he would wear when he tries to think of an appropriate response. It seems like it took too long for the senior’s taste, because a moment after, he clicked his tongue, which set something in Xingqiu off. As a result of his irritation, and his clumsiness perhaps, he dropped a book onto the floor before Chongyun could explain himself. This grabbed both of their attention. Thinking fast, Xingqiu scattered a few books on the floor in another aisle before making his stealthy escape. He’ll never know what Chongyun said, but that was better than being caught eavesdropping.
Whatever happened between them, Chongyun awkwardly requested that they’d stop visiting the library for the time being, which Xingqiu didn’t have the heart to reject. Soon everything was back to normal, except Xingqiu still felt guilty to stop him from seeing the senior for a while. To overcome his main source of intel, he resorted back to asking his closest seniors, hoping he could find more about Xiao. This tactic thankfully resulted in fruitful results. Though, this time he asked Aether, who according to Albedo is the closest to Xiao. Xingqiu found out that Xiao prefers to watch movies at the cinema rather than pirated websites because of the atmosphere and overall experience.
With ideas running through his head, he checked the mobile application for the local cinema to see the movies currently screening. To his relief, there happened to be an exorcism-related movie screening, mixed with action and tragedy. He could encourage Chongyun to ask Xiao out to watch it together.
He proposed the idea to Chongyun while walking home that day. “Have you heard of the upcoming exorcism movie?” Xingqiu asked as a conversation starter, which caught Chongyun’s attention immediately. “I’ve seen some teasers, yes. What brought this on?” Xingqiu smiled broadly, “I was thinking if you wanted to watch it?” “Really? When? It’s really going to start screening soon?” Xingqiu couldn’t help but chuckle at his friend’s reaction. “This weekend! You can invite senior Xiao to watch it together with you,” silence followed. “Oh, I thought it would be just the two of us” Xingqiu’s cheeks turned pink, just the two of us . The icy-bluenette’s expression turned from confusion to realisation, and finally to displeasure. “Wait, have you been doing this because of Xiao?” Xingqiu nervously laughed, “Well, I assumed it was him you fancied! I was just trying to get you two to get closer…” Chongyun’s eye twitch did not go unnoticed by him. He sighed, “Look I know you just want to be a good friend but, no Xingqiu, he’s not my crush. My intuition says he might be irritated by me as well, which, I personally do not mind. I don’t talk to him much anyway. Just…”
Xiao isn’t his crush? Xingqiu felt a rush of guilt pour down upon himself.
Chongyun avoided his gaze “..you shouldn’t jump to conclusions often, ‘Qiu. I don’t even know why I feel so conflicted right now, just… I need time” before he could respond, he ran off. Xingqiu could’ve just run after him but his legs didn’t allow him to. His brain did not allow him to. But his heart wanted to reach out to him and apologize deeply, though, he knew he needed to give him space. Xingqiu didn’t even know why, but he started to feel so many emotions at once. He knows, they would make up anyway, walk to school together, talk together. Is it the guilt?
He thought back to their prior conversation. Just the two of us. Why did that make his heart beat faster? Why is it that he felt the need to cry even though he knew they’d go back to normal anyway? So many emotions and questions flooded in, and all he could do was pathetically sob with how overwhelming his thoughts were. Back home, he couldn’t read a book without rereading the same paragraph, which proved useless, because Chongyun was the only one on his mind. To ease the guilt, he started searching his room for something he had used before during his childhood. He practically turned his room inside out.
Finally, he found it: a whiteboard big enough to fill his window. He searched around for a marker pen before writing to the best of his ability. His handwriting has improved over the years, though he can’t say the same for writing specifically on a whiteboard. After a few attempts, he was satisfied with his last attempt. ‘SORRY CHONGYUN :(’, he wrote. He then proceeded to make it lean against his window, before closing the curtains. Feeling calmer, he thought it through slowly as he lay pathetically on his bed.
After some thought, he hesitantly tried to link it with his love life. He thought about his past relationships, and what they all had in common. 'What am I doing wrong, why am I like this?’ he used to think to himself every time a relationship didn’t work out one by one.
In his previous relationships, he always treated the relationship like some kind
of contract, one that he never got to indulge into the relationship himself. He realises that at those times, he was quite tense despite being with his partner. He was never really himself. He never felt the butterflies described in those novels as well. He didn’t understand how it worked, the novels made it sound so easy. Though, now that he thought about it…
…with Chongyun, it's different. Something about him puts his mind at rest. He made the bookworm really, really happy. In his company, he never had to worry about saying the wrong things, making mistakes, or upsetting him too much. His presence was awfully comforting and he realised how he craved it so much.
Aren’t these feelings equivalent to the ones described in romantic literature? Could this mean that he was in love with his best friend? Drat, did I realise that too late…?
Was it him that Chongyun adored so much? It did make sense, considering how close they were, though, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Instead of pondering over it any longer, he looked in the direction of his curtains. “Do you like me?” only silence followed.
—
A week passed. Chongyun didn’t text Xingqiu the whole time, even when he had his lights on after midnight. Chongyun no longer waited for him at the bus stop. He didn’t even know where he ran off to every time lunch break arrived. Instead of being depressed, the bookworm was determined to make it up to him. He was going to make up to him tomorrow, the 14th of February, the highlight of the month every year.
Instead of paying attention to the lesson, he wrote down drafts on how he would apologise to Chongyun in person, and how he would confess his love. ‘Confess’... it was new to Xingqiu. All his prior relationships were him accepting confessions. His hands shook nervously. What if his crush isn’t me? It also hit Xingqiu that tomorrow was the day Chongyun was supposed to reveal his crush. No, this isn’t about his feelings, this is about you telling him, he assured himself. So what if it wasn’t him? His best friend deserved to know.
He also spent the last few days confirming if it was actually a crush; there was no denying it. His rosy cheeks, the way his eyes would close tight every time he consumed spicy cuisine, the rare dimple that would appear on his right cheek every time he talked about his special interest. Lastly, his desire to be a part of his life. He was completely smitten, wasn’t he? To think it took so long to click…
—
When the school bell rang, he finally brought his plan into action. Instead of heading home, he took the opposite route to the mall. He purchased a box of chocolates, which was currently all the rage. He then headed to the shop he originally wanted to go to: an accessory shop. He browsed through the shop and finally found what he had in mind: two matching tassels. One was a white tassel with a knot, followed by a blue gradient. Another was a yellow tassel with cor lapis. There wasn’t anything that matched the two, he just felt like the two were perfect, thus purchasing it on impulse. This was a habit he had, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good one. Not that he had time to ponder over it anyway.
Next, he walked back home, a shopping bag in one hand, and his smartphone in another. He had to text Chongyun to meet him at the usual sandbearer tree at school. He knew the bluenette had ignored him all this time but he hoped he would show up.
‘Hey, i want to apologize to you properly, face to face. can you meet me by the sandbearer tree after school tmrw? u know which one. i’ll wait for you the whole day.’
…
Seen, 18:57 ✓✓
He didn’t expect a reply from him anyway, thus being unfazed by him leaving him hanging. Once he replied home, he rushed upstairs to check outside his window. No response. Either Chongyun really was ignoring him, or he was too hurt to even look outside. Both possibilities hurt Xingqiu.
Xingqiu couldn’t forgive himself for being too confident, and he couldn’t forgive himself for upsetting Chongyun, when that was something he’d defend the bluenette for if the culprit was someone else. The guilt ate him up ever since that day.
He has to stop thinking about it. Tomorrow is the game changer, one that’ll change their relationship forever, for the better or the worse.
—
Xingqiu didn’t sleep last night, or maybe he did, but what he was sure was he barely slept. He replayed his confession again and again, hoping to not mess up, while he imagined every possible outcome from the said confession. He no longer remembered, because he really wanted to fall face flat there and then.
School ended faster than he wanted it to. Half regretting his life choices, he speed-walked to the sandbearer tree. His chocolate was carefully wrapped with a ribbon, and his tassel was still in the plastic from the store, placed into a mini paper bag. Both of the items were in his bag, which he placed beside him before sitting down. His eyes drooped against his will as he began to drift away from the real world.
“Xingqiu?” Correction: almost drifted away from the real world.
The bookworm clumsily got to his feet and rushed to his best friend. “Chongyun, I…”
Blank. Whatever he practiced last night was no longer in his memory. He silently panicked.
“Xingqiu, are you okay? Archons, did you even sleep?” the bluenette’s tone wasn’t angry, nor annoyed and irritated like last time. It was full of care and concern.
“Nothing to worry about…” Xingqiu started, “Dear Chongyun, I’m. I’m sorry, for everything I did these past few weeks,” Chongyun looked away before hesitantly muttering: “I know,” “You saw my window?” he only received a hum in reply. “Can you forgive me?” “You know I can’t stay mad at you forever, ‘Qiu” Chongyun smiled genuinely.
Silence filled the atmosphere.
“Ch-” “Xin-” the two talked at the same time. Before Xingqiu could let him go first, Chongyun beat him to it: “You called me here, you have to be first,”
“Okay so…” he took a deep breath, “I did some reflection after that day,” Xingqiu looked away awkwardly. “I’m kind of… in a predicament?”
Chongyun tilted his head in curiosity.
“..There’s no other way to say this, huh?” Xingqiu chuckled nervously. “I.. like you Chongyun. I like-like you. I don’t know how I’ve only noticed now. I adore you so much. I aspire to be the kind being you are. As your best friend, I’ve always had the urge to stand up for you in any situation. I… I wish I have enough energy to tell you everything but that’s all I can manage for now,” Xingqiu reached for the box of chocolate and the tassel. “I’m… not sure if I am the one you long for but... In any case, will you be mine just for today? My valentine, I mean? Uhm… it doesn’t have to be romantic if you don’t want it to… just-”
Chongyun’s index finger reached the bookworm’s mouth, catching his attention. The former smiled at him, with his eyes shining in adoration. “I will… be your valentine I mean,” “Ah…”
The two best friends stood there awkwardly before breaking into laughter. Once they settled down, Xingqiu passed him his gifts. “The tassel is meant to be a counterpart for mine so we’re matching, haha,” the bookworm’s face flushed a tint of pink. “Really? Where’s yours?” Chongyun looked up at him. “If you’re willing to spend the rest of the day over at mine, I can show you,”
“Yes, I don’t mind. I actually wanted to give you something as well…” Chongyun handed him a packet of cookies, “I baked them, with the help of my parents. It was a nice way to get you out of my mind. Uh, no offense…” the bluenette panicked, “I baked them with the motive of giving half of them to you anyway, because I… I wanted to ask you to be my valentine as well,”
Xingqiu received the packet of cookies from him, the smell of the baked goods flooding his sense of smell immediately. He smiled like an idiot. “Is it safe to assume that your crush is me?” he hesitantly asked.
“Yes, yes it is,” the relief Xingqiu felt was unexplainable.
“You know, in novels, usually the main couple would kiss right now, but I’m way too exhausted to, so… accompany me home?”
Chongyun couldn’t hold his chuckle, “Of course, my love,”
That was so cheesy of him, but he didn’t have the energy to say so. Chongyun placed his arm around Xingqiu's shoulder and walked him home.
—
Being the caring bestfriend-now-boyfriend Chongyun is, he carried Xingqiu upstairs to his bedroom. He placed both of their bags by the bedroom door, before placing Xingqiu and himself onto the soft bed.
“You never answered me,” Chongyun interrupted the comfortable silence. “Yes, I want to be your boyfriend,” Xingqiu mumbled. “..No- though I am happy that you want to… I asked if you ever slept last night. I didn’t see the lights go off, Xingqiu,” “Haha, why so serious, ‘Yun?” “Because I care,”
Xingqiu stared at him, not knowing what to say as he yawned. “I’ve been thinking all night about how I was supposed to... Uhm… admit my feelings,” His boyfriend stroked his hair, “as your valentine, I want you to sleep. Can you do that?”
Xingqiu wanted to refuse, but it was for his own good. Besides, he has a partner! One that he was sure can last longer than his previous relationships combined. “I think I can do that…”
“Great! I’ll wake you up in a few hours for dinner. Now before you go…”
Chongyun rolled closer to Xingqiu, holding his cheek before giving him the kiss he had always wanted to initiate for as long as he could remember. Once they pulled away, Xingqiu smiled back. “Thank you, good night, ‘Yun,”
Xingqiu curled into a ball as he fell asleep. After some brief admiration, Chongyun followed suit.
Chongyun did not wake Xingqiu up that night. Xingqiu’s mother checked up on them before cooking dinner, only to discover she didn’t need to. She’ll leave them be, just for today.
And I know your favorite songs
And you tell me 'bout your dreams
Think I know where you belong
Think I know it's with me.