Chapter Text
“Checkmate,” Yushi announces before picking up the pieces he lost and arranging them back on the board, not even looking at the man in front of him because he knows said man is staring right at him—which, by the way, is the reason for the huge breath he just lets out.
“Twenty-one minutes. I defeated you in a span of twenty-one minutes. Last week, at least you survived for twenty-eight minutes. What am I doing here? Why are you getting worse? Are you even trying?” Yushi mutters everything in a one, single breath, his voice low and quiet, like he doesn't mean to be mean, but what can he do? He is mean. “Why did you even join chess club? It’s obvious you’re not really interested.”
“It’s your fault for being prettier today. I can’t take my eyes off you,” Sion says, his voice so relaxed that he almost sounds like he’s daydreaming, prompting Yushi to finally raise his gaze from the board and give him a look. His usual poker-face look, which Sion has already grown used to because it’s the look Yushi always gives him when they’re together, or simply when they’re just crossing paths.
“Stop.”
Sion straightens his back, eyes wide, acting all innocent like he has no single clue why Yushi always looks at him like this.
“I’m just telling the truth!”
Yushi keeps his eyes on Sion for two more seconds, like he’s trying to sew Sion’s lips shut with his eyes, before shaking his head and making his first move.
“Your first mistake earlier was moving the queen first. Like I keep telling you, do not move your queen first. Move a pawn, then control the center. You need to have—”
“—control in the middle of the board in the early game.” Sion finishes for Yushi. “Got it. I have that memorized in my head now.” A teasing grin is plastered on Sion’s lips as he reaches for his queen before bringing it out from the back, doing exactly the opposite of what Yushi just told him.
Yushi goes quiet. Even his breathing seems to stop as he just stares at Sion’s queen, now sticking out like a sore thumb on the board, before letting out a deep sigh and making his second move.
“You’re gonna lose again,” Yushi says with a defeated sigh.
But of course Sion ignores this.
“Valentine’s day is coming up.”
Ah, here it is—Sion’s real purpose why he insisted on having chess practice today.
Yushi already knows where the conversation is going, so he tries to block Sion’s voice and focuses on the game in front of him, though he’s not even quite sure if he can still call it a game since he can see that Sion isn’t even playing anything right.
“So… can I give you something?”
“Focus.”
“Cookies? Do you like cookies? Chocolate cookies? Vanilla cookies?”
“Focus.”
“Or do you prefer chocolate bars? I can do that. I’m a quick-learner you know? What flavor would you like?”
Yushi ignores him, pretends that Sion is not in front of him and that he's playing with an invisible person, it shouldn’t be that hard, especially since he did play chess before with an invisible opponent. So really, it shouldn’t be hard to ignore Sion.
Except, Sion is making it hard for him.
“Did someone ask you out on a date?”
“Someone’s about to.” Yushi mutters under his breath, already aware that Sion is, in fact, about to ask him out on a date. And he knows he’s right.
“Did you ask someone out on a date?"
“You make me want to.” And Yushi is not even lying.
Sion only grins, moving the same piece he just moved on his previous turn. “Do you wanna go out on a date? Can I take you out on a date? Six p.m? Does that sound good?”
See, Yushi is right.
“You’re losing.” Yushi says, after taking already three pawns from Sion. “Quit moving the same piece over and over again!”
“It will be very romantic, you know? If we go on a date. You and me, feeding each other pixie cakes, under the heart-shaped moon. Speaking of the moon, do you know it’ll be pink on that day? I read it in the flying newspaper this morning. This year’s valentine’s day will be very special. Who knows, you might—”
“No.” Yushi cuts him off after taking another one of Sion’s pawns. “No one’s going on a date, no one’s feeding anyone pixie cakes, and no, I won’t enjoy it because again, there won’t be any date.”
“I was gonna say you might finally agree to be my boyfriend.” Sion says like it’s that simple. Like it’s the easiest thing to say, like it’s the easiest thing to assume.
Yushi frowns, obviously disagreeing. “On Valentine’s day? Seriously? Are you that cliché?”
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Sion asks instead, making Yushi look at him for the second time, but this time, he looks confused and baffled.
“What? You can’t just ask me that out of nowhe—”
“You can say yes now, and it won’t be cliché anymore.”
Yushi shuts both of his eyes as he exhales through his nose, feeling slightly in disbelief at how their conversation has become. Sion is really stupid and unexpected.
Then he looks at Sion dead in the eyes when he opens them. “No.”
And Sion grins—see, stupid and unexpected. Who grins at a rejection? And this didn't just happen now. This keeps on happening every single time he hears a ‘no’ from Yushi.
“Well, there’s always a next time.”
“I wish there’s none.”
“And your wish will be granted if you’ll say yes now.”
“You’re annoying.”
“And you like me.”
Yushi stops answering and just sighs again in resignation. There’s really no point in saying anything else. Sion will do anything and everything just to show him his so-called feelings for him.
“If it makes you feel better, I like you too.”
Yushi frowns instantly. He’s used to hearing this from Sion, but he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it. It’s still quite unbelievable that a guy like Sion actually likes him, so he actually sticks to not believing it—for the sake of his mind and heart.
“Sure you do.”
“Aight, you know what, I don’t.”
Yushi feels his breath stutter at that. His mind drifts to hundreds of different scenarios—times when Sion keeps annoying him, times when Sion keeps telling him he’s pretty, times when Sion sings poems about his feelings for him. Sion had always looked genuine, and Yushi did believe him, still do, well, it’s really hard not to when Sion has been consistent in this whole… courting thing. That’s what it’s called right? Courting?
But again, Yushi still can’t believe it. Because, can someone really be this… real?
But wait, Sion just said he doesn’t.
Doesn’t what?
Doesn’t like him?
Wait, does this mean Sion doesn’t like him anymo—
“Because I love you.”
Yushi’s hand freezes mid way through moving a piece.
“What?”
“I love you, Ushi-ah.” Sion repeats, his cheeks slightly rosy and his smile shy. He really has the nerve to feel shy about it.
Yushi’s mind completely short-circuits. He forgets about the piece, forgets about the board, forgets about the game. He leans back and looks at Sion incredulously. He doesn’t know why he’s surprised knowing that this isn’t the first time Sion had told him this. But really, who doesn’t get surprised at stuff like this?
“You should really stop saying that.” Yushi says after recovering from the shock. His voice is still quiet, and he returns his gaze back to the board, but he can see the slight tremor of his hand as he moves a knight.
“But I doooo~” Sion half sings and half whines, sounding stupid and annoying once again. But despite it, Yushi can still feel his heart pacing up. “I’ll always say it for as long as I can. Who knows, I might not be able to one day.”
What?
“What?”
Sion sighs as he looks down at the board—finally looks down at the board. “I’m just saying, I feel it, I know it, and I mean it, so why not say it?”
Yushi looks back at him again, eyes serious. “What if it makes me uncomfortable?”
“Does it make you uncomfortable?” Sion meets his gaze, a grin slowly spreading across his lips again.
Does it make him uncomfortable? Well, if Yushi’s going to be honest with himself, he doesn’t know how to answer that. But does it make him feel bad? Yes. Definitely a yes. He doesn’t want Sion to actually expect something from him, to expect love in return.
Yushi sighs, choosing not to answer the question. “Sion-hyung, I would really appreciate it if you’d stop saying that. In fact, it would make me very much relieved if you’d stop saying that.”
“And I would very much be the happiest person alive if you’d tell me you love me back,” Sion says, cheeky and still grinning—never-ending grinning. And it’s Yushi’s turn to feel warm, and he refuses to acknowledge that warmth.
“Stop playing,” Yushi mutters quietly, eyes back on the board.
“We are playing.”
“Can you be serious for once?”
“Focus.”
“Sion, I’m serious.”
“Focus.”
Yushi shakes his head and leans back in his seat after absentmindedly moving a pawn. He should know there’s no winning against Sion when it comes to this… this whole feelings-talk.
“If the fairy hears you, you will be doomed.”
“What will the fairy do? Amplify my love for you? I don’t think there’s anything left to amplify.”
And Yushi thinks he won’t get more flustered than he already is, but look at him now. Sion really never fails to do this to him—to make him feel things.
“Shut up. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Sion lifts his gaze from the board after moving a piece, then he looks at Yushi straight into the eye.
“I love you, and I mean it.”
Yushi can almost feel his heart in his mouth, can almost feel it breaking through his entire chest. He tries to say something—opens his mouth, only to close it again after realizing he can’t.
Then Sion suddenly chuckles, returning his gaze to the board.
And this time, Yushi follows his gaze, and only then does he realize something.
“Checkmate.”
⚱
“And… that’s everything!” Yushi says, sitting down on the wooden chair behind him and fully leaning into it as he sighs in relief. “I can’t believe we sold everything out. This is all thanks to you, Riku-ssi. How did you even manage to get moonmilk? I heard the gnomes guarding them in the mountains of Fiore are very strict.”
Riku remains silent, his eyes staring blankly at the pebbles beneath them, his mind clearly somewhere else.
“Riku-ssi?”
“Hmm?” Riku hums absentmindedly, only looking up from the pebbles when he feels a poke on his shoulder.
“You’re thinking.” Yushi states.
“I surely hope I am. It would be bad if I’m not, wouldn’t it?” Riku jokes, or at least, tries to, because it comes out flat, especially when he can’t help the quiver that comes along with the words he just said.
“Looks like something is bothering you.” Yushi looks up at the darkening sky as he settles further into the chair, eyes drawn at the slowly rising moon that is close to forming into the shape of love. Tomorrow, it will fully bloom into a heart—something that always happens during Valentine’s Day, and he knows it will be very beautiful, especially since it will also turn into pink.
Riku stays quiet, lost in thought and hesitation. He wants to say something, but he’s scared. Scared that Yushi will see right through him.
Yushi and Riku aren’t close, per se, but since they’ve been paired together in their gastronomy class, they’ve somewhat become friends. Still, they aren’t particularly close, especially since Riku is none other than Sion’s best friend.
“Okay,” Yushi breathes before standing up, stretching both of his arms wide and tall before letting out a huge sigh. “I need to get going. See you tomorrow, Riku-chan. Whatever’s bothering you, you should tell Sion-hyung about it. I know he’ll listen.” And Yushi is sure of this because he has seen Sion and Riku’s friendship right before his own two eyes. They are like two flames from the same fire.
However, before Yushi can take his leave, Riku stops him.
“Wait—” Riku says almost hastily, like he’s scared everything will be too late if he doesn't speak up soon. Then, he avoids Yushi’s eyes that are looking at him with confusion. “I—I wanna ask you something.”
Yushi slightly tilts his head in curiosity before slowly sitting back down on the chair. “Okay… what is it?”
Riku musters enough courage, taking in a deep breath before letting the words tumble from his lips. “Have you… have you ever been so in love that you did something stupid for them?”
So in love…
Has Yushi ever been in love in the first place?
An image of Sion flashes into Yushi’s mind out of nowhere—the memory of Sion telling him he loves him for the first time. It happened on some random day while Sion was watching him sharpen his arrows. The memory is so vivid that Yushi can almost hear Sion’s voice in real time—soft and genuine. Sion had been talking about anything and everything, rambling about things Yushi had a hard time keeping up with, when, out of nowhere, he suddenly paused. Yushi remembers himself looking up, confused as to why the elder suddenly stopped talking.
And just like that, Sion grinned and said it.
“I love you.”
I love you.
Yushi sighs as he recalls the memory before narrowing his eyes at Riku. “Did Sion-hyung put you up to this?”
Riku instantly leans back and raises both of his hands before waving them frantically. “No, no… it’s… that’s not it. I’m asking you this out of genuine curiosity. I swear!”
Yushi squints at him, as if deciding whether to believe Riku or not, before relaxing back into the chair. “I once climbed a sleeping giant because my bow landed on his horn.”
“What?” Riku snaps his head towards Yushi, eyes blown wide from shock. “You climbed a what because of what?!”
Yushi shrugs, like what he did was the most normal thing in the world. Good thing he knows it was stupid though. “My eagle accidentally dropped it, and in my defense, that bow is very precious to me.”
“You are fucking crazy! You could have been killed!”
“The giant was drunk. I saw a big, empty mug beside him, and it smelled like alcohol.”
Riku’s mouth hangs slightly open. He closes it, then opens it again, not even knowing what to say. Who would have thought that the usually composed and smart Yushi had this crazy side to him?
“I think we all do stupid things for everything we love,” Yushi concludes. “Why? Are you about to do something stupid?”
The question got Riku stuttering, suddenly reminded of his real intent. But he can’t tell Yushi the truth. “I—I just… I’m planning on confessing to someone tomorrow,” Riku says, though it isn’t exactly a total lie. He is indeed planning on confessing to someone tomorrow. That’s his plan A.
His plan B?
Well, that’s the secret.
“Oh,” Yushi mouths, slightly nodding his head in understanding. “Well, I don’t think confessing your feelings to someone is stupid.”
It’s Riku’s turn to narrow his eyes at Yushi. “You call Sion stupid all the time.”
“That’s because he doesn’t stop.” Yushi defends, and he thinks he’s making a very valid point. “And that’s besides the point. I think it’s beautiful and brave, Riku-ssi. You should really go for it.”
Riku looks Yushi in the eyes, and Yushi can see the hesitation there before Riku lowers his gaze toward the ground again. “But… what if they love someone else?”
Yushi goes quiet at that, pondering, before letting out a heavy sigh. “It will be hard… and scary, too. But you just have to take the leap of faith, you know? If they accept you, then that’s great. But if they don’t, well, it won’t be the end of the world. You just need to accept it and move on. At least you tried, right?”
“What if I don’t wanna accept it?” Riku says, almost like a whisper, like he doesn’t want Yushi to hear it, at the same time, he does want Yushi to hear it.
Yushi hums. “Well, it’s not like we can force them either.” He’s only offering his own hypothesis, not knowing that his words strike like a blade through Riku’s chest. “Forcing them is hurting them, and I may not know much about love, but I don’t think we’d want to hurt the people we love.”
Riku’s breath catches in his throat, realization sinking into him. “Hurt… them?”
Yushi nods. “If someone forces me to love them, then I’ll be very much hurt by it. And I might hate them, too. I don’t think it’s something I’ll have in my heart to forgive.”
Hate.
Riku imagining Daeyoung hating him gives him awful goosebumps, like thin shards of ice pricking into his skin with no end. He doesn’t think he can handle a life with Daeyoung looking at him with loathing. Not only that, but he can’t imagine himself hurting Daeyoung, either. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, much less Daeyoung. He really, really doesn’t want to hurt Daeyoung. Of course he doesn’t.
If Daeyoung rejects him, he’ll be heartbroken. Heck, he’ll probably never fall in love with anyone else ever again. But Daeyoung hating him? That will kill him.
Riku tilts his head toward Yushi, then smiles, his eyes full of gratitude and softness.
“Thank you, Yushi. Really, thank you,” Riku says. “You just made me realize something important.”
Yushi frowns in confusion, but nevertheless, he nods. “Uh… you’re welcome?”
Riku suddenly giggles, then he says something that completely catches Yushi off-guard. “Now I know why my best friend fell for you. You’re not just smart and kind, but you’re cute too.”
Yushi’s cheeks warms in an instant, avoiding Riku’s eyes that are now looking at him teasingly.
Smart and kind? Smart—that, he is. But kind? Definitely not. He’s mean. Everyone knows this. Even the trolls know this, heck, even the glowbugs know this. What the hell is Sion talking about?
And cute? No way.
“You really don’t like him?”
“I don’t.” Yushi says almost immediately, still flustered and embarrassed,
Riku squints at him, as if trying to read something in Yushi’s face. “Really? So if he falls for someone else, you’re okay with it?”
Yushi’s breath falters for a moment, then he goes quiet before softly answering. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”
Riku lets his gaze linger on Yushi for a while before nodding his head in understanding. “Okay… Well, Sion can handle that.” He chuckles once again before standing up from his seat. “Anyway, I need to go. I still need to pick up some ingredients from Ms. Shon’s. I’ll see you later? You have my keys right? In case I’ll be late.”
Yushi then looks up and nods, his eyes following Riku. “Should I bring dinner?”
Riku grins and nods before he lets out a loud sigh as he looks toward the horizon before turning back to Yushi. This time, he graces him with a genuine smile. “Thank you, again. Really,” Riku says before finally taking his leave.
Yushi stares at Riku’s back as the elder walks farther and farther away. It’s only when Riku is completely out of sight that Yushi sighs and looks up at the sky.
He doesn’t know why, but suddenly, he feels heavy.
⚱
Riku is greeted with the sigh of Sion wearing an apron and his eyes fixed intently on a cookbook—his cookbook—the moment he enters his kitchen, and he can only tilt his head in confusion because… why is Sion here?
“You’re back.” Sion says, briefly giving him a glance before returning his eyes on the page he has probably been looking at for a few minutes now. Riku knows this because he’s aware Sion prefers memorizing everything first so he doesn’t have to go back and forth on the book. “I tried to wait, but I figured I’d just start without you.”
Riku’s eyebrows pull into a confusion before finally remembering.
Fuck. He forgot he told Sion he’ll help him bake cupid’s cake pops. Yes, literally cake pops with edible wings. And not just any wings but also legit wings that can actually make the cake pops fly.
“You need to leave. Yushi will be here any minute from now.”
Sion’s eyes suddenly shoot up, sparkling and beaming with the mention of the younger’s name.
“Yushi will come here?”
“Yes, we sold all the moonshakes today so we figured we could make another batch for tomorrow.” Riku says as he puts away the ingredients he just brought on the counter. “I’ll try to ask Sohee if you can borrow his kitchen. I’ll just go to you once we finish.”
Sion whines childishly. “But I wanna be with Yushi.”
Riku knows Sion is just acting stupid but still, he rolls his eyes at this. “Yeah, and ruin your Heart’s gift surprise? Sure, let’s do that.”
Sion jokingly stomps his foot on the ground, pretending to be annoyed, but nevertheless , he listens and starts to untie the apron from his back. “By the way, I drank the last bottle of moonshake in your fridge.” Sion says absentmindedly, not noticing how Riku has turned rigid beside him. “It’s so good, Riku. Now I’m scared my cake pops won’t be as good as the moonshake. It needs to be better!
Riku hurriedly opens the fridge, eyes scanning everywhere, and when doesn’t find the thing he’s looking for, he hastily moves back beside Sion.
“Where’s the bottle?”
“What?”
“The bottle!” Riku nearly cries, voice raising which is very unlike him.
“In the trash. Geez, what’s wrong with you all of the sudden?”
Riku heads towards the trash and indeed, there’s an empty bottle lying in there, and to his horror, the bottle has a green ribbon around it.
“No, no, no, no,” Riku suddenly chants, picking the bottle from the trash.
“Riku, what’s wrong?”
Riku doesn’t answer, instead, he moves back in front of Sion, stopping before grabbing Sion’s face with both of his hands, tiptoeing on his toes to get a closer look at Sion’s eyes.
“What are you doing?” Sion frowns, palms immediately on each side of Riku’s waist, helping Riku keep his balance and also preventing the younger from coming closer. “Riku, you know I hate it when someone touches my face.”
Riku doesn’t listen and examines Sion’s eyes, like he’s trying to see something. “Do you feel alright? Are you starting to feel something off? Something unusual? Do you feel sick?” Riku moves closer, his breath hitting against Sion’s skin like a slap as he tries to see any changes on Sion’s eyes.
Sion tries to lean away but Riku’s grip on his face is strong.
“Sion, I need you to answer me!” Riku cries, voice pleading and quivering, and it’s only when Riku’s eyes start to get teary when Sion realizes that something is wrong.
“Hey, hey, I’m okay. I’m fine, I swear. Why? Is there something wrong with that bottle?”
It has a fucking love potion, you idiot! Riku wants to scream, but he can’t even utter the words. He feels too embarrassed and too ashamed to even think of using such. He can feel his heart slamming against his ribcage, his eyes pleading and frantic.
Okay. Maybe the witch lied to him. The witch did tell him the potion will start taking effect in just a couple of minutes. And Riku is very hopeful right now that Sion had drunk the drink for a while now.
“Are you very very sure you don’t feel anything?” Riku asks once again, making sure, wanting to hear any assurance he can hear—he’ll take whatever.
“I—” Sion is about to answer but is immediately cut off when he hears a soft voice coming from just a few inches away from them, making him and Riku look at the source, only to see Yushi standing at the kitchen’s opening, both eyes wide like he caught something he shouldn’t.
That’s when Riku realizes the position he’s in—the position he and Sion are in—with him leaning closely towards Sion and Sion having both his palms on his waist, the sight must look scandalizing in Yushi’s eyes, making him lean away almost immediately.
“Yu—”
“Hey there, pretty.” Sion says, voice suddenly velvety and smooth, and it seems like he doesn’t even realize anything.
But despite wanting to hit Sion in the head, Riku lets out a very nigh sigh of relief from the knowledge that Sion is still very much in love with Yushi, and that only means one thing: the love potion didn’t work.
“Came here to see me?” Sion asks, striding towards Yushi with ease.
Yushi looks at Riku, then looks at Sion, before frowning. “This is Riku’s room.”
“And I’m in Riku’s room.”
“And if I had known, I wouldn’t have come.” Yushi mutters under his breath as he puts a batch of empty bottles on the counter. “I’ll just come back later.”
“No, no, you don’t need to. I’m about to leave anyway.” Sion says as he unties the apron behind him before hanging it on a hook. “I’ll see you later?” Sion offers Yushi a wink, making Yushi frown harder.
Sion laughs at this before turning to Riku. “And I’m fine so stop worrying. Don’t forget about later, okay?” He doesn’t wait for either Yushi or Riku to answer him before taking his leave, and it’s only when he does when it seems like Riku is finally able to breathe.
Yushi keeps his eyes at the closed door for a moment, before shifting his gaze towards Riku.
Riku looks tense… even tenser than this afternoon. And he also looked like he was about to cry earlier when—right… the memory of Sion and Riku standing close to each other just a few minutes ago suddenly enters Yushi’s mind, and for some reason, he feels something. Surprised, sure, but there’s just… something else. And he knows it’s not a good feeling.
Clearing his throat with the hopes of shrugging off the feeling, Yushi takes the initiative to get the things they will need from the cabinets. “Are you alright, Riku-san?” Yushi asks without looking at the elder as he busies himself preparing what they need.
Riku only hums before letting out a loud sigh.
He tries to comfort himself—thinking that Sion is okay. Well, he is, right? Sion is still madly in love with Yushi. That means the love potion didn’t work, and that makes sense, because the person he bought it from looked… shady. The potion might not even be legit, so really, he shouldn’t worry, right? He really, really shouldn’t worry. Everything is fine. Sion is totally fine. Sion will be totally fi—
Riku gets startled a little bit when he feels a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look behind it only to see Yushi standing behind him, eyes filled with genuine worry.
“I’ve been talking to you and you’re not answering.” Yushi says, voice soft as a rose petal, and it’s because of it that Riku wants to spill everything right then and there. He’s so scared. So so scared. Sion will fucking kill him and facing Sion’s anger sounds more terrible than facing Daeyoung’s.
But maybe he needs to wait—maybe he’s just scared of nothing. So swallowing the lump on his throat, Riku nods his head, and it almost looks like he’s convincing himself and not Yushi.
“Are you sure? We can cancel if you wa—”
“No, please. I’m okay, really. Let’s just… get started. I still need to help Sion later.”
With a sigh, Yushi smiles and nods, not pushing any further. “Okay then. I’ll now start mixing the powders.”
⚱
“Hi.”
Yushi stops on his tracks, head snapping towards the source of the voice in shock, only for a sigh to escape his lips when he realizes who the voice belongs to.
Of course.
“It’s the second hour of the night.” Yushi deadpans. “Why are you still awake?”
Sion chuckles as he pulls away from the pillar he was leaning into. “I wanna give you something.”
Yushi rolls his eyes and he lowers down his quiver. “And it couldn’t wait ‘til sunrise?”
Sion shakes his head after finally standing in front of Yushi. “It couldn’t,” he says. “Not when it’s with you, not when it’s about you.”
Yushi, unable to hold looking into Sion’s eyes, shifts his gaze to the ground. “You’re doing it again,” he mutters, feeling his cheeks heating up.
However, to his surprise, he suddenly feels a warm touch on his face, and the next thing he knows is he’s looking into Sion’s eyes once again, this time, closer. And it’s only then when he realizes Sion is cupping his face.
“Wha—”
“I love you.”
Yushi’s breath stutters, this time, it’s not just because Sion’s words take him aback, but because Sion is looking at him with emotion void of humor. And this is the first time this has happened. Sion almost sounds like he’s just joking or making fun of him or even just teasing him every time he says those words, but this time, he looks… more than serious. Yushi can’t really explain it but it’s just different.
“Hyung…”
“Can I kiss you?”
Yushi can almost feel his heart bursting right then and there. Heat instantly floods his face up to the back of neck up until the tip of his ears. He’s so nervous and he doesn't even know why. He knows he should push Sion away and call him insane. But… but… he… he wants to say yes.
“...Ye—”
Sion suddenly lets go of his face, stepping backwards before letting out a small chuckle. “Sorry…” Sion starts. “Fuck, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.” He runs a finger through his face, looking frustrated with himself. “I’m sorry, Yushi. It’s just… Something happened and I got scared and… fuck, really, I’m sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable? I did, didn’t I? I should really stop doing all this, right? I don’t want you to think I’m weird or I’m forcing you. And I don’t want to do those to you either, so maybe I should really stop, huh?”
“Sion-hyung,” Yushi steps forward, noticing how distressed the elder seems. What could have happened to make him look like this? Yushi’s mind drifts back to the scene he witnessed earlier—Sion and Riku. Riku almost looked like he’s about to cry, and Sion reassuring him that he’s okay. Did something happen?
“Hyung—”
“Here,” Sion says as he lifts as he takes his satchel off. “I baked you something, and I wanted to give it to you as soon as possible.”
Yushi slowly lifts his free hand and takes the bag, his fingers softly grazing into Sion’s own hand.
“Happy Heart’s Day, Ushi-ah.” Sion says with a smile.
Yushi looks at the satchel, then looks up at Sion. He wants to say something but it seems like all the words are caught in his throat.
“I need to go. See you tomorrow?”
Yushi only manages to nod, and Sion takes it as a cue to leave. Yushi can only watch his retreating back, still nervous and slightly dumbfounded.
⚱
Riku wakes up from the loudest knock he has ever heard in his entire life, causing him to curse first thing in the morning. With lazy movements, he slowly walks up to his front door and is ready to curse the hell out of the person who is disturbing him, only for him to stop on his tracks to see Sion standing there with a big smile on his face and a… bouquet of tulips.
“Si–Sion?”
If it’s any possible, Sion’s smile just got wider as he extended his hand that was holding the bouquet, holding it towards Riku’s direction.
“Good morning, beautiful. Would you like to go on a date with me?”