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There are flowers everywhere. Everywhere.
The only thing in sight besides petals and pistil is the vibrant blue of the summer sky. All around him are soft shiny petals, green stems and leaves of all shapes. He doesn’t know enough about flowers to find their names, but they’re all beautiful, swaying in the wind and basking in the sun. Xie Lian almost feels like he sways with them as he walks. He wants to pick the flowers, wants to touch them, but he doesn’t: they part as he walks, and no matter how much he wants to stop and admire the flowers, he doesn't stop. He has somewhere to go, something to find, there is a reason he’s here, he can feel it, and it’s what urges him forward, through the thousands of flowers.
He doesn’t know how long he walks. One minute, ten minutes, thirty, sixty, days, time swirls in a blur until there’s red in front of him and a second later arms around him, an embrace warm like the summer breeze. Xie Lian sways for real this time, leaning into the touch, craving more of it. It feels strangely more real than the rest, more grounding, for a vague reason that escapes him.
When Hua Cheng pulls back, he’s smiling, in the way he does only with Xie Lian, only for him. Xie Lian sways again, he’s sure of it, but Hua Cheng holds him steady.
“Sweetheart,” Hua Cheng says. His voice feels muted, for some reason, so Xie Lian leans closer to hear him better.
“San Lang?”
“Sweetheart,” Hua Cheng repeats. “Are you happy?”
Xie Lian looks around. “Yes,” he breathes, “I am very happy.”
“Those flowers are for you. All for you.”
“All of them?”
“All of them. Do you know why?”
The wind picks up, rustling both of their hair in their face, the flowers flailing wildly around them.
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
✿ ✿ ✿
Xie Lian opens his eyes slowly to the sound of his phone ringing. A little drowsy, he scrambles out of bed and picks up without looking at the contact name, too worried he might miss the call.
“Hello?”
“Gege!”
Oh, it’s San Lang. Xie Lian wills himself awake and checks the time. They’d planned to spend the day together, and it’s already late into the morning—
“San Lang, oh my god, I just woke up, sorry. I’ll be there in—”
“I’m on my way to your place,” Hua Cheng interrupts, “Take your time, we’ll go together.”
“Alright,” Xie Lian breathes out, “See you soon.”
He hangs up and stands dazed for a few seconds, still overcome with bits and pieces of his dream. He remembers flowers, San Lang, and… Love. Happiness. Peace. Everything he feels whenever he’s with Hua Cheng.
It’s just a dream, though, and he has to get ready, so he quickly gets dressed and makes himself look presentable. He doesn’t really know where they’re going — Hua Cheng said it was a surprise — so he picks simple and comfortable clothes that still make him look good enough; loose pants and a white sweater. He ties his hair neatly and washes his face, hoping it’ll help him wake up fully.
Hua Cheng arrives just a few minutes later and Xie Lian lets him in, silently grateful that he woke him up with his phone call instead of arriving while Xie Lian was still asleep.
“Are you ready?” Hua Cheng smiles.
“I am,” Xie Lian says. “Where are we going?”
He doesn’t expect Hua Cheng to take his hand, but it’s what happens. “I told you, it’s a surprise,” he breathes, “Follow me.”
They take their bikes and Hua Cheng leads them to the woods where they sometimes hang out, on the outskirts of the town.
It’s morning, the air damp and fresh with the smell of trees and soil. The sound of their wheels digging into the dirt lines their path as Hua Cheng leads them further in than they usually go together, on some track Xie Lian has never taken.
Where are we going?
His question is soon answered when Hua Cheng slows down and gets off his bike, walking with it for a few steps before leaning it onto the trunk of a tree and turning around to tell Xie Lian to do the same.
“Are we here yet?” Xie Lian asks curiously.
“Almost.” Hua Cheng smiles again and extends his hand to him. Xie Lian notices he’s holding a bag in his other hand. It was probably hidden in his bike’s basket. Hand in hand, they walk a few steps before Hua Cheng asks Xie Lian to close his eyes.
Xie Lian humors him, amused, and closes his eyes. Hua Cheng leads him carefully to the left, walking no more than a minute, and tells him to open his eyes.
When Xie Lian does, they’re wide with surprise.
Flowers. Thousands of flowers, in a large field stretching to the horizon. They sway lightly in the wind. Yellow, white, pink, red, purple, there are so many. When he turns to look at Hua Cheng in shock, his breath catches at the fond smile he sees on his face.
Fingers still intertwined with his, Hua Cheng leads him into the field wordlessly. Xie Lian’s mind is spinning.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian calls, half-wondering if this is real.
It’s so similar to his dream from last night!
“San Lang, I had a dream about this.”
Hua Cheng’s smile widens into a grin. “Really?”
“Yeah! There were… flowers, tons of flowers. The sky was blue… I walked a lot and you appeared in the field, and…”
He trails off. And Hua Cheng told him he loved him. He called him sweetheart, hugged him and told him the flowers were all for him. Will this happen, too? No. The fact that Hua Cheng brought him here is most probably a mere coincidence. Maybe he let something slip during the previous days and Xie Lian’s subconscious caught it to transform it into a nice but delusional dream.
Hua Cheng and him are friends. Best friends. He doesn’t want to lose that, no matter how much a part of him yearns for more.
The warmth in his cheeks must manifest as a blush, given the way Hua Cheng looks at him.
“And what? What else happened in your dream, gege?”
“I… don’t really remember.”
He breathes in, and takes in the floral scent surrounding them from all sides. The flowers reach their waists, it’s a bit difficult to walk between the high grass and the stems, but Hua Cheng guides him as if he held so much power that Nature itself parted in front of him. Xie Lian thinks it could very well be the case.
“How did you find this place?”
“I was just taking a walk alone and saw it from afar. I immediately thought of you.”
Xie Lian’s heart picks up, and he hopes Hua Cheng can’t feel it where their hands are still linked. Hua Cheng hasn’t let go, no, he’s still holding on firmly, sweetly.
He stops walking after a while, deeming them deep enough into the flower forest. Looking closer, Xie Lian notices the flowers where they are are bigger than the others. They’re white, with long and white thick-looking petals, yellow pistil standing proudly in the center.
Hua Cheng lets go of his hand and stands straight, looking him in the eyes. “I thought of you because I have something important to tell you, and I thought this was the perfect place for it.”
Oh. Xie Lian’s heart picks up again, he feels it in his fingertips. He hears it in his ears, like drums in the silence that follow, accompanied by the wind rustling the leaves of the forest trees behind them.
“What is it?” he asks, mouth dry. Is this happening? Is it… Is it like in his dream?
Hua Cheng hesitates. It’s rare to see him like this. He wets his lower lip, bites it briefly, and his gaze flickers down. His hair follows the direction of the wind, just like the flowers.
To Xie Lian, he is the most beautiful flower.
“First, I want to say that I don’t expect anything. I simply want to tell you, because I think you deserve to know.” He shakes his head. “Because I want you to know.”
Xie Lian nods, slowly then quickly, showing he understands.
Hua Cheng hesitates again. He shouldn’t. Xie Lian takes a step himself and takes his hand back in his. Like this, Hua Cheng only has half the way to go now.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng breathes, looking up into his eyes. Silence, for a moment. And then, simple and sincere: “I love you.”
Something blooms in Xie Lian, he feels himself unravel and a smile stretches on his face. It is happening! Hua Cheng…
Hua Cheng loves him.
Xie Lian is the one who falls forward into Hua Cheng’s embrace this time, into open arms.
“My little flower,” Xie Lian whispers.
Hua Cheng laughs, but it’s strained. “I’m not little. I’m very big.”
It makes Xie Lian laugh too. “Mhm. My very big flower.” He kisses his cheek soundly. “I love you.”
It’s wonderful to see Hua Cheng so affected by such simple words, words that Xie Lian has held close to his heart for so long, like a secret hidden in plain sight, a simple seed he carried with him at all times that he willingly kept out of soil. Out of fear of what could grow, maybe, or something else. It doesn’t matter.
Now, Xie Lian lets it flow freely, and wraps Hua Cheng in it.
“I love you. I love you. I love you!”
“Gege! You can’t— You can’t say it so many times already, I’m the one who confessed, I— I love you. I have to say it at least as much as you! I love you!”
“Are we going to keep count forever?” Xie Lian grins.
“Only if gege is willing to spend that much time with me.”
“I think I’d like even more time.”
“I think we could make it work.”
Xie Lian bites his lips and his eyes flicker down to Hua Cheng’s own. It’s not intentional, but it catches Hua Cheng’s gaze, and he’s kissing him the next moment, so it doesn’t matter. They both smile into the kiss, simple and close-mouthed but conveying just as much meaning as an I love you.
Hua Cheng pulls away soon and raises his arm to show the bag in his hand. “To celebrate, I thought, if you’re willing… I prepared food.”
Xie Lian beams. “A picnic! In a flower field! How romantic, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng laughs a little, and they both settle there, in the middle of the field, among the flowers. There are snacks, fruits, sweet treats, and they eat between soft kisses and giggles, hidden from the rest of the world.
“Actually…” Xie Lian begins with a smile that warms his cheeks, “In my dream last night, you… You told me you loved me, too.”
Hua Cheng raises his brows. “You’re too smart, gege. You figured out my plan before it even happened.”
Xie Lian doesn’t know about that, but it’s not so bad to think that somehow, his mind knew it would happen. That it’s not a coincidence.
“You also…” He clears his throat and pauses, but Hua Cheng is listening. “You also called me sweetheart,” he mumbles.
Hua Cheng grins, and kisses him, and calls him sweetheart many, many times, until Xie Lian is swatting his hand at him to stop.
Xie Lian used to think his dreams could never come true, and Hua Cheng proved him wrong. After this day, his whole life felt like the sweetest dream.