Morning After

There’s rustling beside Yixing’s ear, something heavy weighing down on his waist, hot breath grazing his nape making him squirm and rouse to consciousness.

He opens his eyes and finds himself in his usual surroundings, the sparse light of the dawn splashed all over his room. The person behind him groans when he turns his head, his curly brown hair brushing against the other’s face. He pulls back a little bit to see the grimace taking over the other man’s face. When he sees who it is, flashes of memories from the night before flood his mind.

Company party. Bar. Jaeger. Dancing. Grinding. Yifan. Kiss. Yifan. Apartment. Yifan. Bed. Yifan. . Yifan. Yifan. Yifan. Yifan.

When he snaps out of his reverie, a huge gummy grin welcomes him.

“Morning.” Yifan greets him, eyes still closed but mouth wide open into a smile.

“M-morning.” Yixing covers his mouth afterwards, conscious about the possibilities of having the worst morning breath in history because of the amount of alcohol he had the night before.

Yifan surprises him when the elder removes his hands from his mouth before giving his lips a peck. The elder then buries his face on the crook of Yixing’s neck. His heavy inhale of Yixing’s scent plainly obvious as he rubs his nose to the brunet’s sensitive neck. They don’t say anything for a while, the only huge movement being Yixing turning his body completely so his back lays on the mattress. Yifan seems to appreciate this as he smiles on the skin of Yixing’s neck, drawing the younger closer to him.

“Want me to cook breakfast for you?” Yifan asks after a while, his breath ghosting just below Yixing’s ear before giving the same spot a kiss, an affectionate gesture the younger didn’t expect from someone who he thought will be just a one night stand (not that he hasn’t been crushing on Yifan and thinking of having something more than just friendship with the elder since he stepped foot in the company).

“Oh please no. I don’t want my kitchen to burn.” Yixing answers, easily switching the awkward situation to their usual banter.

With the younger’s reply, Yifan instantly pulls away, mock hurt painting his face when he says, “Hey, you don’t trust me?” Yixing giggles and the sound allows the same bubble of joy to infect Yifan, the elder instantly smiling at the younger’s contagious laughter.

“Oh, I trust you alright,” Yixing manages to say once he has calmed down, “just not with a ladle and a burning pot.” The younger thinks that his colleague is already hungry and maybe a little hangover soup can help him after getting smashed the night before. But when he pulls away to prepare breakfast, Yifan’s arm tightens around his waist, effectively pinning him against the mattress, incapable of movement.

“Stay a little longer, Xing,” he hears the elder whisper against his ear, his deep groggy voice saying his name opening the floodgates of memories again, of him pinned against the door and Yifan whispering his name like a prayer.

“Hey, Xing?” Yifan intercepts his thoughts again, he looks more serious now and Yixing will even dare say, nervous. The younger hums to indicate to the elder that he should continue but Yifan bites his lips and looks away from Yixing.

He’s definitely nervous. Yixing knows Yifan well enough to decipher the meaning of every little twitch of the elder’s face, two years of working together and sharing the same cubicle has its perks.

“I know we didn’t exactly start on the right foot,” Yixing places his hand over Yifan’s, squeezing it in an encouraging gesture, then the elder starts rambling, “I mean we had before dating and you know we kind of moved fast but do you think we can make this work?” He still doesn’t dare meet Yixing’s gaze, worried that he made a fool of himself in front of the younger.

Yixing is half-surprised. He has never heard of Yifan being the type to play around and not settle down, he kind of just assumed that he was, seeing as he never introduced anyone to Yixing or their co-workers. The younger now feels bad for classifying his friend as such without having proof.

“I…I like you…” Yifan stutters, still unable to look directly into the younger’s eyes. A moment ago, Yixing thought there was nothing more that can surprise him that morning but he was very wrong, “so maybe you can consider going out with me?”

The elder is sweating now and although Yixing’s crush has just confessed to him, instead of him leaping up from his bed and dancing for joy, his being seems to have reached a state of calm, like he does when he sighs in relief when he has found what he’s been looking for. And maybe he has found what he was looking for. A gentle smile paints itself on his lips as he looks at Yifan, his lips caught in between his teeth as he waits for Yixing’s answer. He knows better than to mock Yifan of his genuine confession but he also doesn’t want anything to change regarding their relationship. So he turns his body to face Yifan completely, capturing the elder’s chin beneath his fingertips and tipping his head up to look at him.

“Maybe if you look at me while you say that, I will consider it.” He seals it with a kiss to the elder’s lips, gentle like he usually is. Yifan is stunned for a second, the implications of Yixing’s words slowly dawning on him. The elder grins again, boyish albeit a bit shy, his eyes finding the younger’s before sincerely repeating his words, “I like you.”