Work Text:
Back when Huang Xin was a trainee, the company gave him a day off since it was Valentine's Day. Everywhere he walked, he could see couples giving each other gifts. The gifts ranged from designer bags to bouquets of flowers, each and every one one of them more pompous than the other. He shook his head, feeling irritated.
Don't even get him started on their claims of affection and love. They claimed to love one another, to the moon and back, that they would stay together forever and ever. How lucky they were, for their love to be accepted by society. That was the reason the words forever and ever could leave their mouth cavity so easily.
He used to say those two statements too, to a male whose name was shaped like fall and autumn. He had assumed, no matter how much society assumed, or how much Ding Jie's parents opposed, or how much their reputation would fall, he would still have the right to utter those words.
Now, Huang Xin is able to say that he still loves him, to the moon and back, infinity even. Yet, he was the one who left. It was for them, so they could both realise their dreams, just not by one another's side. It was inevitable.
(Was it? They had both held each other during those tough times, vowing that they would fulfil their dreams together. They were each other's dream. However, he will now be unable to fulfil one out of two of those dreams his younger self and Ding Jie once shared.)
Staying together forever and ever was now something he could never, ever vocalise ever again.
~ ♫ 千万不要说天长地久，免得你觉得我不切实际... ♫
Even the songs being played in the stores seemed to be making light of his misery.
He sighs, heading back to the dorms with no one by his side like he used to.
⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆
“Huang Xing… are you there? Hello? Earth to Eliot!” Kipuka waved at Eliot’s face. When that was rendered useless, Kipuka sighed. Honestly, his boyfriend was being so airheaded these days. However, he could never blame him. He knew the guilt Eliot carried for not staying with him was immeasurable, no matter how much he tried to coax Eliot into believing that it wasn’t his fault. Well, there was only one thing he could do, right?
He turned to Eliot, giving him a swift peck on the cheek. Eliot was pulled out of his reverie almost immediately, clutching his cheek in a daze. He stared at Kipuka, then immediately pounced on him, hugging him tightly. “Hey, what’s wrong? Hmm? Bao bei?” Kipuka patted the twenty-six year old baby on his back, chuckling.
“I thought of those days…back when I was still a trainee. All those valentines, I spent alone, and you had to too…” Eliot muttered, his eyes downcast, pouting. Kipuka smiled lovingly, pulling Eliot away from him. He grabbed Eliot’s cheeks with his hand, squishing it. “Hey…” Eliot said, his voice muffled. He pretended to look peeved, but Ding Jie knew his smile was enough to gain a few more minutes of cheek-squishing. “None of that today, okay? Today, you’re no longer alone, and so am I. We are together. Now, I want my boyfriend to feed me the chocolate mousse when we reach Sweet Dream Cafe. Is that all right with you, my love?” Kipuka grinned.
“For you, anything is possible.” Eliot answered seriously, which made Kipuka giggle. “Don’t. I fear you’d profess your love to me like Hua Yong if I asked.” Kipuka said, poking Eliot’s cheeks. Eliot only looked to the side guiltily, a sign that he would indeed buy a billboard or two to show his love for Kipuka, which made Kipuka shake his head while looking fondly at him.
While walking, Kipuka decided it was high-time to pull the prank Seeky told him about. “Bao bei.” “Hmm?” Eliot turned, cocking his head at him. “Do you want a kiss?” Eliot’s expression turned into one of unbridled joy, looking around to ensure no one was nearby, and turned his head towards Kipuka. Kipuka grinned mischievously, and stuffed a hershey’s kiss into Eliot’s mouth. Eliot’s eyes widened in surprise, morphing into an expression that screamed “lame”.
Eliot grabbed the outstretched hand of Kipuka and pulled him close, kissing him fully on the lips. When they were done, Eliot stared at Kipuka and lightly ‘slapped’ (more like patted) his shoulder. “If you do that again, I’m ignoring you when you ask for a kiss.” Kipuka smirked, knowing the perfect counterarguement. “If you do that, I’ll break up with you.” Eliot quickly put on a wronged expression, his doe eyes looking up at Kipuka while pouting. “That’s so not fair…” “But you’ll still concede to me, right?” Kipuka smiled triumphantly.
“Yes.” Eliot said seriously, which made Kipuka turn to him. Eliot cupped Kipuka’s face in his hands, and uttered the words he was unable to say all those years ago. “If it’s you, I will never, ever win against you. I physically can’t.”
“If losing to you ensures that I can stay with you, I will always choose to lose to you, forever and ever.”
During Valentine's Day, the twin sisters would report something on Weibo.
“When Kipuka recanted the prank to Seeky and Ocean, they both fell on the floor with laughter, clutching their sides as Eliot looked on at them, his arms crossed, his face annoyed. Yet, he didn’t tell them to stop!”