Chapter Text
It was 9pm. By the time Chen Pinming got home,the apartment lights were already on.The faint smell of chrysanthemum lingered– Changyu had stayed late again, finishing up reports for X holdings.
Pinming loosened his tie, dropped his workbag by the sofa and found him by the dining table,sleeves rolled up to the elbows, laptop open and a half finished whiskey beside him.
“Still working?” The beta asked as he stared at the other, waiting for him to return the gaze.
“Almost done.” Changyu replied, focused on the screen of his laptop. “Hua Yong wants this done before morning.”
“You said that yesterday too.”
“I said I hoped it would be done by yesterday.”
There was no sharpness in his tone, just fatigue- the kind that settled behind his eyes.
Pinming sighed, setting down the takeaway he bought on the way home.
“Eat first, if not you’re going to burn out.”
“I could say the same about you.” Changyu murmured. “How many hours did you stay at Shengfang?”
“Not enough to get everything done.”
“That’s what I thought.” This was the kind of exchange they’d had about a dozen times by now–quiet,tired while both trying to keep their cool. The apartment hummed with the air conditioner and the loud city outside.
Pinming unpacked dinner,dividing the food neatly onto two plates. He glanced up at the brown liquid beside the alpha. “Did you start drinking before dinner?”
“Helps me focus”
“You’re unbelievable”
“Coming from you?” The alpha looked up,the faintest smile tugging at the edge of his lips. “ The one who gets overly stressed if he doesn't triple check every report?”
Their eyes met one another, steady,fond a little exasperated.
The beta sank into the chair opposite him.”We make a great pair,don't we?”
“Annoyingly so.”
For a moment, the weight between them eased. Changyu noticed a small crease between Pinming’s brows. “You’re tired.”
“So are you.”
“I know”
They ate dinner in a quiet rhythm,like people who had done this a million times before. After a while, Changyu shuts his laptop, finally conceding to the night.
After dinner, when they were cleaning up. Pinming brushed past him, and Changyu caught the faint scent of aloe vera—fresh,herbal with a slight citrus undertone, familiar, grounding.
He turned, tilting the beta’s chin up with two fingers.
A small mole sat on the bridge of Pinming’s nose,the one he always noticed first in the morning.
“You frown too much,puppy”
“And you stare too much.”
“Fair.”
He leaned forward, pressing a light kiss on the bridge of the beta’s nose.
Pinming’s hand found the mole resting beneath Changyu’s eye, brushing it gently before returning the kiss.
They stood there for a moment, forehead to forehead, forgetting about what happened earlier.
“Still annoyed at me?” Changyu asked.
“Maybe.”
“Want to be less annoyed?”
“Maybe.”
“Then sit with me. No work,no laptops. Just ten minutes.”
Pinming hesitated, but nodded. They settled on the couch, a muted movie flickering across the room.Outside, the city kept moving–but here,there was only silence.