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“Morning After”
Yang Zi Xiang was spent, well spent to be exact. He and Jiang Shao Peng’s night was full of emotion and passion as they consummate their love, a love that has now withstood the problems that tested the fragility of their relationship. Both of them were now lying on the couch as Shao Peng found him sleeping inside the closet again, a matter they set aside for now as they have all the time in the world. Zi Xiang lets out a sigh of relief as he gazes upon the body currently snuggled in his chest adorned with a faint smile. He brushes stray hair from Shao Peng which causes the other’s eyes to open as he awakens. Zi Xiang after all these times, still gets his breath taken away by the sheer beauty of his lover, he thanks every god or deity he can think of that he gets to spend every waking moment with Shao Peng. Lost in his thoughts, the young man didn’t notice that Shao Peng had positioned himself so that they were face to face next to each other and their noses were now touching, the once faint smile turned into a grin as he rubbed his nose against his which made the other giggle. Zi Xiang took it upon himself to close the gap between them as he planted a chaste kiss on the other and tried pulling back, this was reciprocated by Shao Peng chasing after Zi Xiang as he deepened the kiss. Zi Xiang lets out a groan as he touches Shao Peng’s cheeks, as they kiss, he couldn’t help but think that all of this still feels so surreal, lying next to the man he loves, no longer burdened by the expectations placed upon him by his father. The two stopped the kiss before it could go any further again with both smiling as they separated from each other.
“Good morning” Zi Xiang said as he stroked his thumb on Shao Peng’s cheeks. The other responded by grabbing a hold of his hand and placing a soft kiss which made Zi Xiang’s heart flutter. Shao Peng’s romantic gestures will never fail to make Zi Xiang blush which was a pleasant surprise to discover when they started their relationship. “I don’t think it’s morning anymore” Shao Peng signed then motioned to the window. He was right, they slept throughout the day and now the sun was almost setting.
Shao Peng brought his gaze back to his boyfriend and raised his eyebrows, “What do you want to do tonight?” he gestured as he slowly rose from the couch. Zi Xiang pouted from the loss of contact but was also thinking about what they could do for today. They practically spent half of the day asleep, and he wanted to do something special to celebrate their freedom. Zi Xiang looked at his boyfriend to see him with a towel on his shoulder, “Want to shower?” as he cocks his head in the direction of the bathroom bearing a shy smile. Zi Xiang smirked because with the glint in Shao Peng’s eyes, he knew that’s not the only thing they’d be doing as the memory of that one night after the success of their company project came flooding in. The shorter nods his head and smiles and raises his arm gesturing for his lover to scoop him up which the taller happily complied.
“Are you sure we’re just going to shower”, Zi Xiang gestured as he wiggled his eyebrows and flashes Shao Peng with a grin. He soon finds out the answer as he sees his boyfriend’s eyes darken and give him the same grin as he kisses Zi Xiang while walking them to the bathroom, something tells Zi Xiang that they'd be in the shower for a long time.
After a long time in the shower ending with both lying in their bed once again covered in hickeys. Zi Xiang suddenly sat up and looked at Shao Peng with a smirk. The other man just smiled as he turned his body to him. “What’s the matter?” he signed.
Zi Xiang excitedly gestured with a grin on his face, “Let’s go to the night market!”, he remembers their time there together and to him, it was basically their first date, and he wanted to do it again but this time as official boyfriends. The hustle and bustle of the market along with the streetlights illuminating the various food stalls were one of those memories with Shao Peng that he’ll always treasure. Shao Peng sat up and was now face to face with Zi Xiang as he placed a kiss on the other’s forehead, “Ok baby, we’ll go to the night market”, Shao Peng gestured after. Zi Xiang's eyes widened, and his cheeks became red from the term of endearment, he playfully punched Shao Peng’s chest as he smiled shyly, “Since when did you call me baby huh?”, the other just laughed as he showered the other with kisses all over his face. The two spent another few minutes just cuddling and occasionally kissing each other before they actually got up to put clothes on and get ready to go out to the night market.
The night market was particularly busy today, as there were more people than usual. Stalls were busy serving food to the customers and more decorations adorned the street. The atmosphere was very lively as Zi Xiang and Shao Peng walked hand in hand as they passed the different stalls. Both had nothing in particular to do as they merely enjoyed each other’s presence. After a while they took a couple of pictures of each other while buying some sweets. There were also stalls for games where they took part in, one stall in particular tested one’s strength as it was a game where you punch a punching bag to see how strong you are and get a high score. Shao Peng tried it and with one fell swoop, he broke the high score and got himself a large teddy bear which he happily gave to Zi Xiang to hold much to the loud squeals of some teenagers who were also there. Zi Xiang blushed from the gesture of his boyfriend so he took Shao Peng’s hand, pulled him closer so that he could kiss his cheek as a thank you which made the teenagers watching squeal even louder. They walked away from the ruckus smiling at each other. They reached a noodle stand where they took their seats to rest and order some food. The night was spent casually chatting about anything they can think of, getting lost in their own little world. By the time they finished eating it was almost closing time, so they decided to go back home. The walk back was peaceful as the loud noises from the night market were becoming fainter as they walked farther away. Zi Xiang was holding Shao Peng’s hand with one hand and the teddy bear with the other as they walked side by side on the sidewalk lit only by the streetlights. Shao Peng glanced at his lover seeing him smiling ear to ear as he swayed both of their hands as they walked. Zi Xiang, even without the streetlights shined so brightly, the boy could light up a room as well as everyone’s mood with his presence and that was one of the things Shao Peng loved about his boyfriend and he wanted to protect that with everything he got. Looking back at everything that happened, he’ll always be thankful that it ended up with them finally being together and enjoying the most mundane things in life. His life was fine before, he had a loving family, but he knew there was one puzzle piece missing and Zi Xiang fit perfectly in it. Their love was built on growth and understanding and he can’t wait to spend his lifetime with the boy, he wants everything, both the highs and the lows because he knows that experiencing life with Zi Xiang would be the happiest and most fulfilling moments. He was so caught up on his thoughts that he didn’t notice that they stopped walking and Zi Xiang was looking at him worriedly which made him realize that tears were rolling down his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Zi Xiang signed as his brows furrowed and his frown deepened, then he gently held the other's face to wipe away those tears. Shao Peng smiled and shook his head, “I was thinking about us, about what we’ve been through and how much I’m looking forward to spending my life with you” he signed as he held some tears but this time showing the other a reassuring smile. After knowing what the other was thinking of, Zi Xiang eyes softened and now he was the one trying to hold back the tears.
“I’m also looking to spend my life with you” Zi Xiang signed as he flashed Shao Peng with a smile. “You changed my life so much and for the better, I want my future to be by your side” he gestured as he put one hand on the other’s cheek. This made the taller wrap his arms around Zi Xiang, holding him tight. Zi Xiang leaned into the hug and let a tear fall. Both men didn’t know what the future held for them, but they were sure of one thing, they wanted to be by each other’s side no matter what and to experience life together. After hugging and wiping off each other’s tears they head back to their place. They dressed in their pajamas and plopped down on their bed. They rolled to face each other, both men were tired, but their hearts were content. In the solace of their bedroom that’s faintly illuminated by the moonlight from their window, the two let the sleep in as their eyes began to close, both Zi Xiang and Shao Peng looking forward for the next day to come.