Work Text:
It really was a testemant to how much Xiao Qing loved Zizhen that she didn't sneak into his job to go say hi to him and, instead, went through the proper (read: tedious) channels of telling Zizhen she was coming, having him relay the information to his boss, going to the main farmhouse and announcing herself, and finally being allowed admission to the farm to hunt down her boyfriend. It really was a hassel, but at least the couple who owned the farm were nice, and this way Zizhen wouldn't be fired from the job he only just got. She supposed getting her boyfriend fired in his first month of his new job would be a pretty bad girlfriend move after all.
It was a cute little farm, Xiao Qing thought. With the world in the heart of spring, the rolling pastures practically glowed with the vibrant green of their vegetation, spotted with cows, goats, sheep, and even crows and little black birds flitting around for scraps of what the animals didn't eat. As she wandered down the beaten dirt paths to the barns, she passed pastures of scattered cows, chicken coops, pig pens, and more. Pausing by the pigs, Xiao Qing leaned over the fence to give the nearest one a few scratches, and it snorted happily, flopping onto it's side. Smiling, she continued, peaking her head in each barn until she spotted a familiar figure standing by barrells of feed, scooping the stuff into bright red chicken feeders.
Zizhen didn't notice her at first, which was well and good for Xiao Qing. It gave her time to scan the room, noting the dozens of large blue feed bins, neat stacks of hay bales, the extra feeders hung neatly on the far wall, and even a cat lounging on a rafter in the corner. Most importantly, she spied Zizhen's waterbottle on the ground a few feet from him. A small smile tugged at her lips as an idea struck her.
"Farmboy," she called, stepping further into the barn. Zizhen glanced up, a smile touching his lips as he took out his headphones.
"Fetch that jug for me?" Xiao Qing continued, gesturing to the waterbottle.
Zizhen glanced at it, then back at her, then his smile turned amused, crinkling the skin around his eyes and showing off thee single dimple on his left cheek. He grabbed the waterbottle and met her halfway, winding an arm around Xiao Qing's waist and pulling her close, "As you wish."
Bending down slightly, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, and Xiao Qing sighed, looping an arm around his neck as she took the waterbottle. Tilting her head to connect their mouths more solidly, she scratched her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, then down to his collar, tracing the line of fabric.
Pulling back just enough to meet Zizhen's eye, Xiao Qing smiled, "The farmhand look really suits you."
"Thank you," Zizhen replied, nose brushing her cheekbone as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. Xiao Qing giggled as his breath ghosted across the sensitive skin below her jaw, pulling away. Brushing her fingers over the straps of Zizhen's overals, she couldn't help another small laugh.
"You really commited to the bit. I like it," she said, flicking the brim of his straw work hat.
"You know me. I am in two commited relationships: with you, and the bit," Zizhen smiled back. He bent down to press another kiss to her temple before reluctantly releasing her, "Okay, but I really need to finish filling the chicken feeders. As much as I would love to stand here and kiss you, I am getting paid to do this."
Xiao Qing rolled her eyes, but the expression lacked any real irritation, as did her voice as she sauntered over to the hay bales and plopped down on one, "You could be getting paid to kiss me, though."
Zizhen laughed, and it was maybe the most beautiful sound in the world, second only to his voice with that audible smile in it as he replied, "I could, that's true, but I quite like this job, and I don't really want to get fired from it, you know? And I don't need to be paid to kiss you. I'll do that for free."
"Aw, how sweet!" Xiao Qing teased, placing a hand on her chest, "Glad to know I'm good enough at kissing that you don't need to be bribed into it."
She winked, but Zizhen just gave her an earnest look, "I couldn't even be paid not to kiss you. You're a good kisser, but I like to kiss you because I like you, of course. Even if you were a bad kisser, I would still like to kiss you."
Xiao Qing blinked, heart skipping embarassingly, before she glanced away. Folding her arms across her chest, she sighed, "You're too fucking nice. Can't a girl make a slightly self-deprecating joke in peace? Damn."
Zizhen chuckled, putting the lid back on the chicken food before coming over to her. From her perch on the hay, she was just slightly taller than him, and he had to tilt his head up so that she could see his face with the hat. He rested his hands on her thighs, rubbing softly as she took his hat off and fixed his messy hair (more for want of something to do than because there was anything wrong with it).
"What?" she said eventually, as Zizhen's silent, considering stare became uncomfortable.
"I love you," Zizhen replied simply, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
Xiao Qing gave a small laugh, tilting her head and smirking to try and distract from the red in her cheeks, "Thank you."
"And because I love you," Zizhen continued slowly, but before he could finish, Xiao Qing reached out to cover his mouth with her hand.
"Are you going to spout some lovey-dovey bullshit right now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The amusment in Zizhen's eye was enough of a response, and she really didn't want to hear it, but she knew that when Zizhen got it in his head that he needed to shower her with compliments, there really wasn't any good way to stop her. No matter how long she covered his mouth, he would just wait until she got tired, and then he would strike.
So, she sighed, lowering her hand and waving at him to continue, "Very well. Have it your way."
Zizhen smiled, looking down to trail a finger over the curves and lines of the raven tattoo on her upper thigh, creeping into sight as he'd moved his hands up to massage higher on her thigh. The hay was pricked at the exposed skin on the underside of her thighs, but it was a small price to pay for the warmth of Zizhen's hands on her.
"I can't even believe how lucky I am to have you," he murmured, looking back up to meet her eye with a small smile. Xiao Qing scoffed lightly, but he squeezed her thigh, "I'm serious! Meeting you was one of the best things to happen to me. You are so wonderful and smart and funny, and you make me want to be better every day."
Xiao Qing scowled, looking away. There was so much love in his eyes and so much pure adoration that it made her heart race. She couldn't tell, though, if it was from love or nervousness. Not for the first time, she wondered what she did to be allowed to be loved by someone like Zizhen. He was so…good. He remembered birthdays without reminders and he stopped to keep animals safe when they were crossing the road, hell, he handwrote letters to people when he thought they needed one! Meanwhile, Xiao Qing was…well, she wasn't like that. She was calculating and practical almost to an excessive degree. She wasn't naturally kind—it was something she had to force herself to do. She just wasn't good like him.
Of course, Zizhen never saw her like that. What he saw in her, Xiao Qing couldn't say exactly, even when Zizhen expounded on all the good he supposedly saw in her. She was just lucky that whatever she did, it was enough for him to love her.
"A-Qing," Zizhen said gently when she failed to reply. His hand landed on her cheek—warm and slightly callused—to guide her to look at him. Reluctantly, she met his eye, and he smiled, "I love you. Very, very much."
"Yeah, yeah," Xiao Qing muttered, "I love you, too."
"A-Qing," Zizhen repeated, taking her hand in his free one and squeezing it, "I love you."
"Jeez, I heard you the first time," Xiao Qing replied, flicking his exposed wrist, "Don't you have chickens to feed or cows to milk or something?"
"No, the cows get milked in the morning, and there's a machine for it," Zizhen replied, finally releasing her so that his hands could once again rest on her thighs, "But yeah I need to carry the feeders back out to the coops. Care to join me?"
"Depends. Are you going to keep showring me with embarassing compliments? Because if you do I might die of embarassment," Xiao Qing replied.
Zizhen sighed, disappointment flashing across his face, but he nodded, "Fine. If you insist."
"Thank you, farmboy," Xiao Qing smiled playfully, leaning down to kiss his nose before fixing his hat and hopping down from the hay bale.
"Of course," Zizhen replied. He bent down to collect the feeders, loading them into a small hand-drawn cart, "And then I can show you around a little bit! I have to introduce you to my favorite cows."
"Can't wait," Xiao Qing smiled, winding her arm through his. She kissed his cheek softly, before waving a hand, "After you, then."
Arm in arm with her boyfriend, she allowed Zizhen to lead them out into the sunlight.