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“Shixiong, are you ready?”
Quan Yizhen’s voice is bright and excited, even so early in the morning. Yin Yu has found that he’s used to it. He enjoys it, even, the way his boyfriend lights up so easily at simple things.
He shrugs his shirt on before grabbing his black coat and purple scarf. “Let me do your hair first. Then, could you do mine?”
Yizhen’s answer is a smile before he ducks out of the bedroom to search for hair ties.
He sits on the bed to give Yin Yu easier access; though the black-haired man is taller than him, it’s not enough for him to comfortably reach Quan Yizhen’s hair.
Yin Yu feels no need to ask him what hair style he wants. It’s the same one, has been the same one, for the entire time that they’ve known one another.
“I like your hair,” Yizhen had said, expression full of awe. “It’s so neat! How do you do that?”
“You mean… my braid?” Yin Yu asked, unsure. Nobody had ever complimented him on something like that.
“Yeah! I like the way it looks. And you’re really pretty,” he said. “Can you teach me how to do it?”
Yin Yu tried not to let his blush show. “Of course. But your hair’s a lot thicker than mine,” he’d told Yizhen, a little jealous of his wavy, light brown hair. “I don’t think it’ll work that well.”
“Oh.” His face was the picture of deep disappointment. Yin Yu felt like he’d just kicked a puppy.
“No, it’s okay! Here, sit down. Let me think of something.”
Now, he does as he always does, carefully braiding two small braids in Quan Yizhen’s hair before tying the whole curly mass into a ponytail. It’s soft, and Yin Yu has to force himself to stop running his fingers through his hair. “Now, would you help me?”
Yizhen, usually so quick and rough, very slowly and gently brushes Yin Yu’s hair and sets to braiding it neatly. Years of practice have made him skilled, much better than how he was when he’d first started. “There!”
Yin Yu valiantly resists the temptation to tackle his beaming boyfriend and kiss him forever, returning his smile. He gets off the bed and stands, taking Quan Yizhen’s hand. “Let’s go, then.”
— ☾☼ —
It’s chilly outside of their apartment, so he loops his scarf around his neck. Yizhen does the same, then slips his hand back into Yin Yu’s.
“The park?” Yizhen questions.
“Of course,” Yin Yu tells him.
While they walk, Yin Yu shakes their earbuds out of his pocket and attaches them fumblingly to his phone. He passes one side over to Yizhen, sticking the other in his ear before busying himself with scrolling through their numerous playlists.
“What’s the vibe?” His customary question.
“Whatever you want, I don’t mind.” Yizhen’s typical answer.
Quan Yizhen never seems to have any favorites. He’s always been perfectly content to listen to whatever Yin Yu, who’s more musically inclined, enjoys at the moment.
Yin Yu finally settles on a playlist titled “chill :)”, one of his older playlists. A familiar soft, upbeat tune begins to play, and Yizhen smiles broadly. With his eyes closed, he begins to sing along.
His voice is rough and a little uneven at times, raspy in the cold air around them. The city is always relatively silent in the morning, letting Yizhen’s voice ring out around them.
He doesn’t have what anyone would call a conventionally nice voice. Yin Yu recalls a faint memory of their friend, Jian Yu, teasing Yizhen about it.
But he’d always loved it, the way it jumped and stumbled and cracked and forged on with such sweet determination. He watches Yizhen’s face assume a peaceful, contented expression and he can’t help but smile too.
“I, I don’t know. If I could ever do without you, and I hope to god I won’t get the chance to,” he sings. He gives Yin Yu a small grin.
“You’re flirting with me. With my favorite song. That I introduced to you. How evil,” Yin Yu declares, but his heart sings back.
“I don’t mind, time and time again,” Yizhen hums in response.
The park gets crowded when it’s warm, and it’s always busy during the day. Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen have carefully selected the perfect time to go every morning, when it’s still early and the air is crisp and the park is all but abandoned, safe for a few resilient joggers and the occasional person accompanied with a joyously wagging dog.
Along the pathways, food vendors are setting up their shops for the day, laying out supplies and erecting signs boasting their wares. None of them spare the pair even a glance; they’re all familiar with Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen, familiar enough to know where they’re headed.
Sure enough, they make a beeline for the cart selling bubble waffles tucked under a tree between a halal cart and a taco cart.
The man working the stall gives them a wide grin. “My two favorite customers! The usual?”
“Yes, please,” Yin Yu says.
Yin Yu shivers as they wait, shifting his weight from side to side in an attempt to warm up. Quan Yizhen smiles and leans forward. He rests his head on Yin Yu’s head, then wraps his arms around his middle.
He buries his face in Yizhen’s shoulder and sighs. “Thank you.”
“Your food is ready!”
Quan Yizhen collects the two paper cones containing two bubble waffles, one plain and one covered with cream and strawberries. Yin Yu slides the money over the counter and gives the man a final smile before joining his partner.
Yin Yu takes the waffles with the strawberries, plucking one of the sliced fruits up with his fingers and tossing it into his mouth. It’s sweet, with a small, sour tang. He chews happily, then offers a bite to Yizhen.
Yizhen refuses, his attention focused on his own snack. He pulls a bubble apart from the group, sending a small puff of steam into the cold, still air.
They walk side by side, eating contentedly in silence. Music flows ceaselessly from their shared earbuds, and Yin Yu feels incredibly peaceful in the moment. Falling into such a simple and regular routine after so many years apart feels like a miracle.
“So,” Quan Yizhen says suddenly, swallowing a bite of his waffle. “What are Shixiong’s plans for this week?”
“Hm? Nothing much,” he replies, surprised by the inquiry. “Why do you ask?”
Yizhen’s smile turns shy. “Well… um. I… my parents. Nearby. And they… Can I start over?”
It’s rare to see Quan Yizhen this flustered, so Yin Yu nods and tries to make an encouraging expression.
He takes a deep breath, then presses on. “My parents are coming to the city this week, and they… well, they want to meet you.”
Yin Yu can’t help but feel a little bit surprised by this. “They want to meet… me?”
“Of course! I talk about you a lot and. They told me they’d like to meet you sometime,” Yizhen clarifies. He tugs his scarf upwards to hide the bottom half of his face.
Meeting his parents… Yin Yu couldn’t stop the smile that crept up onto his lips.
“I’d love to meet them too, Yizhen,” he tells him, trying to let all of his feelings seep into his tone.
Judging by the way Yizhen turns his head away quickly, Yin Yu thinks he’s successful.