Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wu Bi is shining today.

Su Yu thinks Wu Bi shines everyday—he stands out in a crowd like no one else, but out there, on the field, is where Wu Bi shines the most.

There’s just something about the atmosphere of it all; the cheering of his name from the stands, the healthy glow of sweat on his skin, the thrill of competition coming alive in their veins as they watch him take the lead in yet another race. He flies past his opponents like he’s made of air, untouchable and unbeatable, a straight shot all the way to the finish line.

A whistle blows, the crowd screams, and Wu Bi grins at the sky, breathless and beautiful. 

He’s like the sun. Su Yu wants to look at him forever.

Click.

A photograph will have to do for now, though. Su Yu can’t look at him too long, in case he gets caught. But with a camera between them, Su Yu can stare at Wu Bi as much as he likes, smiling stupidly at the picture he’s just taken as if it’s him who’s just won the race.

He’s about to take another photo, aiming his lens at the field, but there’s something in the way, blocking Su Yu’s view.

Su Yu frowns, looking up.

“Is it a good picture?”

It’s Wu Bi. The Wu Bi. The same Wu Bi that Su Yu is only brave enough to look at through a lens and now, he’s right in front of him.

“Sorry?” is all Su Yu can think to say, dumbstruck.

Wu Bi taps a finger on Su Yu’s camera, then points at his own face, asking again: “The picture you just took of me, is it a good picture?”

Oh.

Oh no.

He noticed? How come he noticed? He’s never noticed before. Su Yu has always been careful, sneaking in shots of other people too so it isn’t obvious that he only has Wu Bi in his eyes. And Wu Bi has never noticed. No one has ever noticed, so why—

“I mean, if it’s not a good picture, it’s fi…”

“It’s a good picture,” Su Yu blurts out in a panic. Quieter, calmer, he admits: “All of my pictures of you turn out well, Wu Bi.”

Wu Bi doesn’t respond right away. He doesn’t look upset, or angry, or creeped out, or anything like that like Su Yu was afraid he would be. He just looks a bit… surprised, is all.

Su Yu waits, anxious, but then Wu Bi smiles, that sunny, sunny smile of his, and he just says, “Nice! Can I see some?”

“Uh, yeah, I gue—”

Wu Bi doesn’t wait for Su Yu to finish, shoving Mao Chong aside to sit down right next to Su Yu. 

He’s a little too close for comfort, a little too close for Su Yu’s poor heart to take, and Su Yu tries to shuffle away, but before he can, Wu Bi’s arm comes around him from behind, taking hold of the camera on one side while Su Yu holds it up on the other side.

“This…”

“Oh, that is a good picture,” Wu Bi says, casually scrolling through the playback screen over Su Yu’s shoulder like this is a completely normal way to go about it. “Wow, this one is great too.”

He goes on like that for a good while, happily commenting on every photo, even ones that aren’t of himself, all while Su Yu silently prays that Wu Bi can’t hear how loud his heart is pounding right now.

“Are you done looking yet?” Su Yu asks after what feels like a lifetime. He hasn’t been able to move an inch since Wu Bi sat down, frozen in place like a statue and staring ahead at absolutely nothing, so he has no idea what Wu Bi is even doing at this point. 

Luckily, Wu Bi takes the hint and releases Su Yu, and Su Yu can finally breathe.

“Yeah, I’m done,” Wu Bi says, but he doesn’t leave quite yet. Instead, he props his chin in his palm, looking up at Su Yu with big, sparkling eyes. “Those are some really cool pictures, Su Yu.”

Su Yu coughs.

“You… You know my name?”

Wu Bi gives him a funny look. 

“Of course I know your name. We’re classmates, aren’t we? And you’re the class president! Your name gets called out by the teacher, like, a hundred times a day.” Wu Bi laughs and Su Yu’s chest throbs. “It’s impossible not to know your name. I’m the one who should be asking how you know my name.”

Su Yu averts his gaze, feeling a familiar heat crawl up his neck. This is so embarrassing… “Of course I know your name,” he says, echoing Wu Bi’s words. “Like you said, I’m the class president, so… So I should know all of my classmates, right?”

“Right,” Wu Bi nods seriously, but there’s a hint of amusement in his eyes that makes it look like he doesn’t buy a word Su Yu is saying.

Su Yu, “…” Just kill me now.

“Anyway, um, I should probably head home,” Su Yu says, already moving to pack up his camera. He leans over Wu Bi to say goodbye to his deskmate. “Hey, Mao Chong, I’m leaving first, okay?”

“Ah? Oh, sure, sure,” Mao Chong answers, distracted by his phone, and he just waves a lazy hand at Su Yu. “Bye, Yu.”

“Yu?” Wu Bi stands with Su Yu, testing the nickname on his tongue. “Heh, that’s pretty cute.”

Oh my god.

Su Yu is one second away from burying himself straight into the ground and never coming out again.

“It’s only for close friends,” he makes clear to Wu Bi, offering a tight smile that hopefully gets his message across, his message being: Please stop talking to me or else I will burst into flames because humans shouldn’t be this close to the sun and I shouldn’t even be looking at you right now.

But Wu Bi doesn’t get it. All he gets is, “So let’s become close friends!”

Su Yu almost groans. Is it possible to be annoyed by your own crush?!

He thinks it must be, because as much as he likes Wu Bi, he wasn’t prepared for this in the slightest, and having this person talking, smiling, breathing in front of him after only watching him from afar for so long is just… too much for Su Yu. 

He doesn’t know how to deal with it, so he’ll just leave.

Or at least, he tries, but Wu Bi decides to follow him, practically bouncing behind Su Yu like a puppy with its master.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” Wu Bi asks, upping his pace to a light jog when Su Yu tries to outwalk him as soon as they leave the school gates.

(Su Yu seems to have forgotten that Wu Bi is a track star who can probably run circles around him before he can even take two steps.)

“I have to pick my little sister up from school,” Su Yu gives a vague excuse that Wu Bi won’t question. It’s a half truth; Duoduo has gotten used to finding her own way home, but Su Yu does still pick her up if he happens to make it to the primary school on time. 

Today, it’s gonna have to be the latter.

With that, Su Yu thinks he’s in the clear. There’s no way a run-of-the-mill errand like this would be interesting enough for Wu Bi to want to tag along, for whatever reason he even wants to tag along in the first place, but Wu Bi just falls into step with him and asks: “Oh, is that the little girl in your pictures?”

Su Yu has to fight back another painful groan. Why is this happening to me?!

This must be retribution. Yes, this must be punishment for all those pictures he secretly took of Wu Bi. Now, whoever is up there is trying to teach him a lesson by sending the object of his affection right to his doorstep, saying, Here, this is what you wanted, isn’t it?

How terrible. How wonderful too.

Su Yu closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to collect himself, then he answers a curt, “Yes,” in hopes of shaking Wu Bi off.

It doesn’t work.

“How old is she?”

“Eight.”

“That’s a big gap.”

“Step-sister.”

“What’s her name?”

“Duoduo.”

“Ah, Duoduo. So there’s Duoduo, and…” 

Wu Bi hums, lips curling up. “Yuyu.”

Su Yu chokes. “You—!”

“What?” Wu Bi laughs, skipping away to dodge the fist that Su Yu sends flying at his head. “You said ‘Yu’ is only for close friends, so I’m deciding that ‘Yuyu’ is for… almost close friends.”

“That makes no sense!” Su Yu retorts, and his face burns, in anger or embarrassment, he isn’t sure. “And– And why are you deciding it? If that’s how it is, should I randomly decide to just call you ‘Bibi’ then?”

Wu Bi shrugs, still laughing. “Go for it. I don’t mind, Yuyu.”

Su Yu just gawks at him, completely speechless now. 

He can’t believe that this is the guy he’s had a massive crush on for so long, the guy he’s been watching for almost a year now ever since Wu Bi moved to their school. The Wu Bi that Su Yu sees through his lens is handsome, cool, charming—the kind of person who attracts attention and thrives in it; the kind of person you can’t keep your eyes off no matter what he’s doing.

Wu Bi is everything that Su Yu isn’t, and that’s what Su Yu likes about him.

But who would’ve thought that this so-called handsome, cool and charming person would actually be such a… such a…

“Menace.”

“Who, me?” Wu Bi asks, like he’s accepting the title.

So, fine, Su Yu will give it to him. “Yes, you. You’re a menace, and you talk too much, and you’re way too friendly, and clearly, you have no understanding of what personal boundaries are.”

Wu Bi places a hand on his heart. “Ouch, Su Yu,” he says, faking hurt. “And here I thought you’d describe me with things like handsome or cool or charming…”

The Su Yu who was just thinking those exact things in his head: “…”

The thing is, Su Yu still thinks that. The truth is, Su Yu still likes him.

Although this definitely isn’t what he expected when he’d first fallen for Wu Bi, it doesn’t change how Su Yu feels about him now. Wu Bi is still all of those things he was before—and more. 

“That’s okay,” Wu Bi says, his smile still as bright as ever. “I’ll take menace for today. After all, we’re only almost close friends. Maybe tomorrow, when we’re a little closer to being close, you’ll change your mind.”

Tomorrow. That’s the only word that Su Yu hears. All this while, Su Yu has been happy just liking Wu Bi from a safe distance. Before this, he would never even dare to picture a day when he would get to talk to Wu Bi like this, when they would play around and he would make him laugh, when Su Yu would finally look at the person he likes with his own eyes, but…

Today, the sun feels a little closer to him. Tomorrow, who knows?

“Maybe,” Su Yu says, and that seems to be a silent acceptance of Wu Bi’s friendship, a silent agreement that—yes, tomorrow, we’ll talk again. Tomorrow, we’ll play and we’ll laugh together again.

Tomorrow, and every day after, I’ll look at you again, Wu Bi.

“Come on then, Yuyu!” Wu Bi shouts, running ahead as if he knows just where to go. He’s too excited. It’s infectious. It’s everything Su Yu isn’t and everything he wants to be. “Let’s go get Duoduo!”

Wu Bi grins back at Su Yu, breathless and beautiful and right here.

Click.

“I’m coming, Bibi.”

Chapter Text

Tomorrow turns into the next day, which quickly turns into the day after, and along the way, a day turns into a week; a week into a full month, headed straight for the summer vacation.

Tomorrow, and every day since then, Wu Bi is with Su Yu.

It’s nothing new. As classmates, they used to see each other everyday before too, but it’s different now. Back then, it was only Su Yu looking at Wu Bi, staring at him through a camera lens, sneaking glances at him over his shoulder. 

Su Yu really isn’t as subtle as he thinks he is. Wu Bi meant it when he said it was impossible not to know who Su Yu was with the way people talk about him, both students and teachers. 

At first, it was only his name. Whispers of, “Su Yu scored the highest again,” and announcements of, “As expected, Su Yu placed first in last week’s test. The rest of you should learn from him,” from the moment he stepped into the classroom kept Wu Bi on the lookout for this famed Su Yu, wondering what kind of person could be this exceptional; this enviable.

But Wu Bi couldn’t quite put a face to the name. It’s kind of hard to when the person in question constantly had his face buried into his arms, fast asleep through nearly the entire school day.

Not once did it cross Wu Bi’s mind that he was the Su Yu they all spoke so highly of.

The first time Wu Bi actually saw Su Yu was when he’d been called on to perform in front of the class at the end of his first day, a harmless request to lift the moods of his classmates after all their hard work.

But this person dragged his feet to the podium as if he’d been asked to start doing backflips, a permanent poker face on as he sang an English song that rang familiar in Wu Bi’s ears.

Wu Bi wanted to laugh. Such a beautiful piece, and this little class president actually made it sound like a funeral song. He was almost tempted to go up there and sing with Su Yu, just to see how he’d react. 

But he just kept watching, humming along under his breath until Su Yu’s serious gaze strayed, somehow overlapping directly with Wu Bi’s line of sight.

Surprised, Wu Bi smiled at him, expecting this Su Yu to scowl or look away or something, but… That pretty poker face actually turned bright red.

Huh.

How interesting.

That was all it was in the beginning—interesting. Wu Bi was no stranger to people liking him, he’s had eyes on him practically his entire life, and more so ever since he moved to this school, like a shiny new toy that everyone wanted to get their hands on. What was one more person to him, right? 

But Su Yu wasn’t like them. Su Yu didn’t try to get close to him, didn’t throw sweet words or cheap gifts at him. Not once did Su Yu ever talk to him. Su Yu never even looked at him. And for a while, Wu Bi wondered if he imagined it; if that time, Su Yu wasn’t blushing because of him after all and it was just in his own head. 

It wasn’t until about a month later that Wu Bi realised he was wrong and it wasn’t in his head at all. There was a track meet, where students from the neighbouring schools were invited to compete in all kinds of sports events. Wu Bi had secured a spot on the track and field team within a minute of tryouts and with his explosive speed, he was immediately signed up for the 100-metre sprint. 

That day, he had his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, his legs bare in his running shorts, sun on his skin and victory in his hands, and when he’d won, crowded by his teammates and his fans as they cheered for him, Wu Bi saw Su Yu.

And Su Yu was looking at him. He’d been looking at Wu Bi all along, except he only dared to look from behind an old camera, hiding his pink cheeks and his soft smile under the guise of taking pictures for the school magazine. 

Wu Bi confirmed it the next time they had a sports day, spotting Su Yu snapping photos of him out of the corner of his eye and staring at them so happily he nearly walked into a tree. It happened again when their class had to put on a play for the school’s culture festival, where Wu Bi was unanimously voted as the male lead and Su Yu nominated himself as the photographer right after. Even during small, insignificant events like the annual spring cleaning or the science fair or a basketball game with the class next door—Su Yu was there. 

Su Yu was wherever Wu Bi would be.

But Su Yu’s eyes shine the brightest when he watches Wu Bi on the field, as if he knows it’s the place where Wu Bi feels most alive. There’s nothing quite like the feeling after a good race, with his heart pumping hot blood and his feet still on fire and as Wu Bi grins at the sky, he hears a familiar click.

The shutter snaps, the film rolls, and Su Yu smiles at the picture, silent and stunning.

He’s like a star. Wu Bi wants to keep him all to himself.

It doesn’t take long for him to reach Su Yu, and Wu Bi isn’t sure what he even plans to do or say to him, but when he gets there and sees how distracted Su Yu is by his photo, Wu Bi gets the urge to tease him, asking—

“Is it a good picture?”

Su Yu’s reaction is priceless, much like the time they accidentally locked eyes across the classroom, and he’s nervous, Wu Bi can tell, fidgeting under Wu Bi’s gaze like he wants the ground to swallow him whole.

Wu Bi feels a little guilty, deciding to steer the conversation elsewhere with a, “I mean, if it’s not a good picture, it’s fi…”

“It’s a good picture,” Su Yu says then, to his surprise. “All of my pictures of you turn out well, Wu Bi.”

Something warm blooms in Wu Bi’s chest at the compliment. He doesn’t even know if it counts as a compliment, but it makes him happy all the same, and he smiles, saying, “Nice! Can I see some?”

The rest is history.

The Su Yu that Wu Bi meets that day is so unlike the quiet, statue-like class president he saw that first day; so unlike the shy, fan-like photographer he noticed over the past year. No, this Su Yu gets riled up easily and scolds Wu Bi and tries to run away from him, all while wearing that same blush on his face that’s there whenever Wu Bi is in his eyes. He’s funny and he’s skittish and he’s so damn cute.

Wu Bi wants to be his friend. He wants to be more than friends.

Unfortunately, they draw the line at almost close friends that day. It’s fine, Wu Bi can wait. He’s been waiting for a long time already. And after a month of being by Su Yu’s side, Wu Bi would say they’re a little closer than close now, considering it’s a Saturday night and he’s in Su Yu’s bed.

Wu Bi spends a lot of time here. It’s better than being alone, and even if Su Yu drills him like an army general just to get his homework done, Wu Bi is willing to stay with him. He’s just wrapped up the last of his work for tonight, and while Su Yu is napping, Wu Bi whips out his phone to sneak some pictures of him.

How do you like that, Yuyu? Wu Bi thinks, snickering to himself. Always hiding your handsome face behind the camera, now I have pictures of you too.

The obnoxious sound of the camera shutter wakes Su Yu at some point, and he cracks his eyes open sleepily, asking, “What are you doing?”

“Taking photos of you,” Wu Bi answers with no shame, continuing to snap away, even getting in some shots of them together, faces squished at the cheeks. “You can keep sleeping, don’t mind me.”

But Su Yu is already too awake, especially with Wu Bi being this close to him, which Wu Bi has noticed Su Yu still hasn’t quite gotten used to. Again, it’s fine. Wu Bi will just have to keep clinging to him until he does.

Su Yu sits up and Wu Bi sits across from him, eyes curved into crescents and lips curved into a grin.

“Too bright…”

“Huh?”

“You’re too bright,” Su Yu says, poking Wu Bi’s face like he’s switching off a light. “You’re like the sun.”

Ah? What’s with that?  

Wu Bi just laughs, telling him, “Well, if I’m the sun, then you must be a star, Su Yu.”

Su Yu is quiet, then— “The sun is a star, though, Wu Bi.”

The smile on Wu Bi’s face goes stiff. As expected of their top Science student…

He clears his throat, waving Su Yu’s comment off, and he says, “Okay, then you’re a special kind of star.” He snaps his fingers, eyes lighting up. “Like a shooting star! That’s exactly like you. A rare occurrence, a once in a lifetime phenomenon, the granter of wishes. Just as special as the sun.”

Again, Su Yu is quiet, awfully so, and Wu Bi gets a bad feeling…

“Shooting stars are actually very common,” Su Yu says matter-of-factly. “You could probably see them every night if you tried. In fact, shooting stars aren’t even stars, really. They’re just meteors; pieces of rock and dust coming into Earth’s atmosphere and burning up, which make them look like—”

Wu Bi tackles him, both of them crashing into a pile of pillows, one hand shutting Su Yu up while the other tickles him in the stomach as he yells out an aggrieved, “Whatever, smartass!”

Su Yu bursts into laughter so hard that there are tears in his eyes, twisting as he tries to escape Wu Bi’s attack. They wrestle with each other way too roughly, legs and arms flying in the air, the bedframe banging against the wall like they’re doing something scandalous, and when Su Yu can’t breathe anymore, he pulls Wu Bi’s hand away to choke out, “Okay, okay, I surrender!”

Satisfied, Wu Bi lets go, but he’s still on top of Su Yu, resting on his chest that rises and falls with the same beat that Wu Bi’s does. His thumb brushes away a stray tear on Su Yu’s cheek, gently pressing into the little dip of his dimple which only makes Su Yu smile wider. Wu Bi smiles wider too.

“Hey, Su Yu?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you grant me a wish?” Wu Bi asks.

Su Yu’s gaze turns soft, sparkling, nothing like rocks or dust or meteors. He’s a star, Wu Bi knows it. 

“What is it?” Su Yu asks back, and for some reason, Wu Bi feels like Su Yu will give him anything he wants. Su Yu will do anything he asks. Su Yu will go to the ends of the earth if Wu Bi just says the word, and Wu Bi feels like he’d do the same. He thinks he’s been willing to do the same since the start. 

He thinks he’s liked Su Yu just the same since the start.

Wu Bi looks at Su Yu, the way Su Yu has always looked at him.

Tonight, the star is almost in his reach. Tomorrow, who knows?

So while he can, Wu Bi asks, “Can you not look at anyone else but me?”

Su Yu smiles up at him, silent and stunning and all his.

“I never have, Wu Bi.”