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For a long time, He Yu finds himself staring at Xie Qingcheng. Despite how thoroughly and roughly he had been fucked only just last night, just from looking at him now, it would be impossible to tell. He looks just as regal and handsome as ever, seeming especially mature with a book in hand and glasses sitting lowly on his nose.
This man really was too attractive. It was almost unfair. Every time He Yu looked at him it was as if he was given a slap from the sheer beauty of the man before him. It was hard to believe someone like him actually existed in the world and even harder to believe He Yu had the privilege of holding him again and again.
Really, he was so lucky. He Yu thinks that truly, he was the luckiest man alive. Who else was able to wake to the sight of such a person?
Noticing his stare, Xie Qingcheng casts him a sidelong glance. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” He Yu responds, an infatuated smile on his face. He rests a cheek on his hand as he continues to gaze at the one he loved most in the world. Here he was, sitting right before him. “What are you reading?”
“A book on psychology. I want to refresh my memory for tomorrow's lesson.” As he says it, he pushes up his glasses a bit and continues reading.
He Yu silently shakes his head. It was the weekend but even still, Xie Qingcheng never fully relaxed and always had the mind that he had to be doing something productive. For He Yu it was a given to spend this time relaxing and indulging in things that made him happy (evidenced by Xie Qingcheng being in bed with him in the first place) but to such an uptight, patriarchal man like Xie Qingcheng, downtime was something that others did, not him. There were always tasks to take care of, people to check up on.
For a while, He Yu continues staring at Xie Qingcheng’s peaceful face before saying, “Ge, you look really handsome now.”
“Mm.” Rather than pay him any attention, Xie Qingcheng only grunts and doesn’t raise his eyes from his book.
He Yu continues, “You always look handsome. It’s just, you look especially handsome now.”
Xie Qingcheng scoffs. “How is now different from any other time you’ve said that? People your age have too much honey and sugar in their mouths.”
It was said so often because it was true. Xie Qingcheng really was handsome. As for why he seemed especially attractive now, He Yu suspects it might be the glasses. Either that, or the book. Or maybe it was because his hair was still slightly disheveled from sleep and he hadn’t bothered to put proper pants on, reclining in bed with a blanket haphazardly tossed across his lap and bare legs.
Since he seems busy, He Yu doesn’t want to disturb him. He plays around on his phone for a while, going on the sandbox for some coding sites he used to use as a kid just to see how detailed of a program he can get with just the puzzle piece block codes. After a while though, he starts getting a little bored.
With a sigh, he sets his phone down and yawns, his eyes going back to Xie Qingcheng’s peaceful form. There was always a particularly peaceful thing about him when he was reading. Though his face was usually icy, his handsome features bearing a serious and rather intimidating expression, the ice permeating around his figure seemed to crack and thaw a little when he got absorbed in a book. Even one as boring as a medical book has him completely captivated and at peace.
With such a sight so close to him, how was He Yu supposed to turn his attention elsewhere? After a while longer of twiddling his fingers around the sheets and thinking of unimportant things to pass the time, he climbs forward on the bed and uses two fingers to push Xie Qingcheng’s book down.
Before Xie Qingcheng can say anything, He Yu presses a kiss to his lips. It isn’t a particularly long one and he pulls away after tasting a faint trace of tobacco. “Ge, it’s the weekend. You’re supposed to spend your time relaxing, why are you doing work right now?”
Xie Qingcheng moves to raise his book back up. “It isn’t a big deal to get a head start on work. And anyway, I find this book interesting.” He adjusts his glasses as he seems to remember something. “I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, but you should read more.”
“I already read enough. I’ve gone through pretty much every book in the library at my house.” He Yu fails to admit this was less of him being an avid reader and had more to do with being neglected by his parents and not having much else to do in the years before he got a phone.
“There isn’t a limit to how much someone should read. Even if you’ve already read a lot, it’s good to read more. You can learn a lot that way.”
A little exasperated, He Yu shakes his head. “You really sound a lot like a teacher right now. Okay then, Professor Xie. If it’s you who wants me to, I’ll start reading more books.”
“...Mm. Good from you,” he murmurs, eyes already going back to the pages of his book. "Why can't you be so agreeable all the time?"
"What do you mean? I'm plenty agreeable."
Xie Qingcheng raises a brow and shakes his head, though he seems more fond than anything. "Like hell you are."
He Yu decides to leave him alone again for the time being, laying down on his side and propping a cheek on his palm as he quietly watches Xie Qingcheng. He takes in the way his chest lightly rises and falls, the way he turns the page every now and then with practiced fingers, the way his lips open as he silently words what he’s reading, seemingly without realizing he’s doing it.
Was this a dream? Sometimes He Yu found himself thinking such thoughts. Since that incident in which he’d learned the truth behind Xie Xue and his sixteenth birthday, sometimes he would find himself second-guessing himself. If things seemed too good to be true, then some part of his mind convinced himself that maybe it really wasn’t true and he was just making it up, fooled by his own delusion and desperate desires.
When He Yu reached out and touched Xie Qingcheng though, he was always met with the warm firmness of his body, peach-blossom eyes turning to focus on him and only him. That, he knew, wasn’t fiction or a delusion created by his illness. It was real.
Smiling, He Yu falls forward into Xie Qingcheng’s lap, resting his head there and lightly poking the bottom of his book with a finger. When Xie Qingcheng gives him a cursory glance, He Yu only smiles wider. “Don’t mind me.”
It seemed he hadn’t minded much anyway because he doesn’t seem very bothered by the boy splayed out on his lap like a cat. Instead, he carries on reading his book just as he had before.
While at first He Yu had been fine with just letting Xie Qingcheng do whatever work he needed to do without disturbing him, at some point as the minutes stack on top of one another he begins to get a little fidgety.
He rolls over so that his face is pressed into the warmth of Xie Qingcheng’s lap. He nuzzles into the blanket, breathing in the scent of tobacco and disinfectant that always clung to Xie Qingcheng before fully sitting up.
Moving forward, he positions his face directly behind Xie Qingcheng’s book. Xie Qingcheng pretends he isn’t there for a while before eventually sighing, marking his place and setting it down. “What do you want now?”
“You really should spend your time relaxing when it’s the weekend. Don’t you know what a break is?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? I don’t mind it if I’m just reading a book.”
Smiling, He Yu leans closer and pulls him into another kiss. This one isn’t nearly as brief as the last one and goes deeper as he pushes his tongue inside, holding the back of Xie Qingcheng’s head in place.
When he pulls away both of their breaths are slightly quickened as he murmurs, “Ge, I really love you.”
He presses another kiss to his lips, all the while gazing into peach blossom eyes. “I really like you a lot.”
He lifts his glasses a little to kiss the tip of his nose. “You’re the most handsome man there is in the world. I’ve never seen anyone as attractive as you.”
He moves from his nose to his forehead until eventually, he makes it back down to his lips. He leans in and kisses him deeply before breathlessly saying, “Xie Qingcheng, I really love you. Won’t you say the same?”
Xie Qingcheng gazes at him for a long time, cheeks slightly flushed and glasses askew. With a sigh, he lifts them off and sets them down on the nightstand. “…Idiot. Don’t you already know my feelings? What’s the point in saying it?”
Don’t you already know my feelings? he’d said. Something deep within He Yu’s heart warms, as if he were cooking a marshmallow for s’mores and happily watching as it began to turn a wonderful golden color.
“What’s the point in anyone saying anything at all? You say it just because you want to,” He Yu explains, practically sitting in his lap by this point. He presses another kiss to his lips, silently urging. “Won’t you do it this once? I want to hear you say it.”
Xie Qingcheng looks away. After receiving nothing but silence, He Yu frowns, a little disappointed. It was true he knew Xie Qingcheng’s feelings—if he didn’t reciprocate at all and hated this he definitely wouldn’t be here right now so casually, and yet there was still a part of him that wished to hear the words directly.
“I’ll say it again if you won’t. Xie Qingcheng, I like you. I love you. My life has meaning as long as I’m with you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” He Yu prattles on, gazing at Xie Qingcheng with a look of such heartfelt emotion that Xie Qingcheng almost doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself.
He seems more exasperated than anything, moving to grab for his glasses and book back. He Yu is disappointed but can’t say he’s exactly surprised—even now that they were like this, it seemed Xie Qingcheng was still a little against such proclamations. To him, there was no need.
He’s about to give up, dejectedly moving to crawl away and stop disturbing him for real this time, when suddenly, he feels something warm and soft touch his forehead.
He Yu’s head whips up in shock as he watches Xie Qingcheng pull away from where he had pressed a light kiss to his forehead. “There’s your answer. If you’re satisfied now then get off and let me finish my book, I need to look through it for my classes tomorrow.”
For a few seconds He Yu can only sit there, completely shocked. But then a wide smile spreads across his face. Suddenly giddy, exuberant laughter bubbles up his throat as he pulls Xie Qingcheng into his arms and plants kisses all over his face.
“I love you, too,” he says, smiling a stupid smile as if he were a child that had been gifted their favorite toy on Christmas.
Xie Qingcheng only shakes his head. Though he doesn’t say anything, there’s a softness in his eyes as he lets himself be held in He Yu’s arms, indulging in the warmth of the embrace.