Work Text:
"I love you."
Shang Qinghua's chocolate brown orbs widened in disbelief.
"I love you," Shen Qingqiu repeated as he cupped Shang Qinghua's cheeks, forcing the other to meet their gaze. "I love you for a long time now."
This close, Shen Qingqiu could clearly see the teeth marks left because of Shang Qinghua's habit of biting his pink and plump lips. Just like countless of times before, he wanted to soothe them with his own. But Shen Qingqiu was always too afraid to ruin his friendship with Shang Qinghua to ever act on this urge.
Now Shang Qinghua knows. There's no use hiding it anymore. And he leaned in closer.
Shang Qinghua's eyes impossibly widened some more, before he shuts them close tight, lips pursing to pout and—
Shang Qinghua stops reading the paragraph and closes his laptop as he can't hold back his laughs any longer.
He pushes his swivel chair to face Shen Yuan who is sitting on his bed.
Shen Yuan reminds him of cats most of the time. Especially now that he's starting to bristle in embarrassment, face getting scarlet.
So cute.
Shang Qinghua laughs some more.
Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan are (in)famous online. Shang Qinghua as Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky—the author of Proud Immortal Demon Way (a rising stallion web novel) and Shen Yuan as Peerless Cucumber, being the aforementioned novel's #1 hater.
What no one else knows is that they have been best friends since they were nine. An unlikely duo who discovered each other's fixation on novels, and from then on had been attached at the hip.
And after more than ten years of friendship, Shang Qinghua is now living his dream as an author, and Shen Yuan fulfils his promise of cheering on Shang Qinghua every step of the way.
Though, perhaps it could be misunderstood by others with how harsh his words can be. Shen Yuan particularly gets angry when Shang Qinghua ruined a chapter after catering the demands of the readers ("who can't appreciate Shang Qinghua's intricate world building" Shang Qinghua can almost hear Shen Yuan's indignant huff)
They had a nasty fight one time because of this. And to apologise, he had added themselves as side characters (but Shen Yuan changed his character's name to Shen Qingqiu ‘cause he's shy ) who can explore and stumble into the unique flora and fauna of Proud Immortal Demon Way's world.
Unfortunately, they had somehow become minor villains along the way… but the carefully weaved subplot of the two into Proud Immortal Demon Way was enough to make Shen Yuan happy.
As Shang Qinghua is nearing the end of Proud Immortal Demon Way, he has asked Shen Yuan to write a draft for the ending of the two villains.
But Shang Qinghua never expected Shen Yuan to write…
…
this .
" Bro ! This is like—... the cheesiest and gayest ending to a subplot ever! If I didn't know any better, it's like you're confessing to me or something!"
Shen Yuan raises an eyebrow and steels himself "So what if it is a confession?"
"Oh stop playing with me bro! You said you’re straight "
Shen Yuan huffed. "It's been—" he pauses and scowls at his wristwatch "exactly 520 hours since I last thought I was straight." Shen Yuan grumbles, crossing his arms and looking away.
Shang Qinghua opens the calculator app on his phone and does the maths.
That's three weeks ago…
Shang Qinghua tilts his head to the side, finding nothing in that day that can cause Shen Yuan's gay awakening.
Or really anything out of the ordinary that Shang Qinghua knows of.
Well… aside from—
"That was the day you talked to me for the first time after The Incident ."
'After an entire excruciating month of cold shoulder' , Shang Qinghua doesn't have to say.
Shen Yuan dramatically sighs. "Yes. And now it's 520 hours since that day, the end of my one month of extreme identity and existential crisis, wherein I accepted my feelings for you. Amongst other things"
"Oh…"
Almost akin to a mercury thermometer, Shang Qinghua's face heats up as Shen Yuan's words slowly sink in.
" Oh ."
Shang Qinghua jumps up from his chair and clumsily clambered onto Shen Yuan's lap. "So Yuan-gege really loves me!"
Shen Yuan sputters, his face turning a deeper shade of red.
Shang Qinghua can't stop the giddy giggles that escape his mouth. "Hehee! I love you!"
Shen Yuan covered Shang Qinghua's lips with his own to shut him up
×××
= extra =
Shen Yuan pauses from kissing Shang Qinghua and hovers above him with a thoughtful expression, drinking in the sight of Shang Qinghua pinned on the bed beneath him.
"Huh… isn't this exactly how I wrote the start of the papapa scene?…"
Shang Qinghua's big round eyes grew impossibly bigger. "You wrote a papapa scene??!"
× end ×