October 24th, 2015

Yixing already expected Yifan to try and chicken out of the situation so he was especially hard with him when they stood in his bedchambers after coming back to Beijing and the prince put his suitcase down.

“Like, okay, I said I’d do it,” Yifan started and Yixing didn’t even give him one second to explain and cut him off right away.

“Yes, you said you’d do it and there’s no way to back out now. Put down your and let’s go. We’ve got a subway train to catch.”

“… but… even my phone?” The taller one whined while he held onto the device in his hand like Gollum gawked over The Ring.

“Even your phone, maybe that’s even the best thing you could do now,” Yixing responded and reached out his palm to indicate Yifan should hand it over.

Yifan nibbled on his lower lip with his teeth, then groaned and placed his cell in the other one’s hand.

“See? Not that hard, right?”

The prince looked longingly at his phone that Yixing put on the table to finally leave it behind.

“Wait, Yixing, can you do me a favor actually?” He suddenly said and the younger one nodded, so Yifan continued, “There’s… there’s Becky’s number on my phone. She’s been texting me since yesterday and… can you please delete or block it for me?”

“Are you telling me you can’t do it yourself?”

Yifan rubbed his neck and looked down to the floor in shame.

“It’s just… hard, okay. Please.”

Yixing sighed and reached for the iPhone once again.

“What’s your code?”

“9 – 1- 1 – 0 – 0 -7”

“Are you for real now, Yifan?” Yixing asked and shook his head in disbelief as the screen got unlocked and Sofia smiled at him from the background picture.

“Ey, it’s also my sister’s birthday, okay. Don’t drag me all the time!”

Yixing decided to let the topic drop and opened iMessages and saw Becky’s texts right away. His curiosity won over so instead of just deleting and blocking her, he skimmed the texts and he was disgusted how she didn’t seem to care that Yifan had actually gone into rehab or that the stuff she had given him had resulted in a bad drug trip.

[+852 6589 5555, 15/10/16 10:06 am] Wow can you believe the last time we’ve chatted was over two years ago? It was nice to see you again, I hope you’ll be back soon to come and hang around again. For old times sake. :) ♥ Becky

[+852 6589 5555, 15/10/16 06:53 pm] By the way, if you liked my stuff, I’m getting it from another guy now, Dean got busted unfortunately and sits in jail for drug possession. But the new stuff has much better quality. Things have changed a little in Hong Kong but I’ll always be there to provide you with the best things for your needs, you know that, right? ♥

[+852 6589 5555, 15/10/17, 02:15 am] Ya, don’t ignore me! That’s not how you treat your good friends! Especially not those who stuff your royal with the best drugs you can get your hands on!

“Jesus ing Christ, this woman has nerves!!” Yixing lashed out and before he knew he activated the reply field to type an answer.

Hello, this is Yixing, maybe you remember me. Stop that , there’s a reason he stopped talking to you two years ago. You’re not a friend of his, you’re a ing LSD and if you won’t stop harassing Yifan I’ll fly back to Hong Kong to drag your personally to the police so they can lock you up with this stupid dip Dean and you can rott in prison together. Deleted & blocked, don’t even try to contact him again.

“What are you--- Yixing, was that necessary?”

Yifan was too late and by the time he was able to get his hands on his phone Yixing had already hit sent.

“Of course it is! Yifan, she doesn’t care about you in the slightest!”

His hands clenched around his phone as Yifan listened to Yixing’s words and he nodded slowly.

“Yeah. She probably doesn’t.”

Yixing leaned into him and reached to block Becky’s number while Yifan held the phone. The taller man didn’t do anything to stop him and when the chat feed was deleted and nothing but a white screen stared back at Yifan, he took a deep breath which he held for a few seconds. When he had exhaled as if getting rid of Becky’s number symbolized a cleansing of his body, he turned to Yixing and placed his lips on the smaller one’s forehead. It wasn’t a kiss per se, since Yifan didn’t pucker his lips into a kiss or a peck – he just put them on the part of hair that fell into Yixing’s face and mumbled:

“Thank you.”

After Yixing lingered a tad bit too long at the touch, he reminded himself what his actual mission was and he jerked away. While doing so, he grabbed Yifan’s phone, shut it down and put it back onto the table.

“I’m always down to drag drug dealing es for you. Now let’s get to the subway, I’m curious if Luhan has managed to survive on his own.”

With a last whine Yifan got pulled to the exit by Yixing and he finally gave up defeat. Riding the subway resulted in rather comical scenarios, starting from buying a god damn ticket at one of the machines. Yifan slipped he had never seen a five Yuan bill in his life but when Yixing shot him a very harsh and judging look, he tried to save his reputation by stating it had been a joke (which Yixing didn’t buy). When they went through the barrier Yifan almost got stuck and needed a second try stuffing his ticket into the barrier so he was able to enter the station (“Stop laughing at me, Yixing!”). When they entered the train, Yifan held onto Yixing’s elbow under the excuse to not want to lose him (it wasn’t peak hour and only them and two others had entered the cart).

Besides Yifan being a dorky idiot and confirming Yixing’s apprehensions he also seemed to be genuinely interested in that new challenge. Wearing a facemask and a hoodie made it possible for him to blend in and nobody bat an eyelash at him as he looked around the cart and watched the passengers hunched over their phones or books. Yixing would’ve loved to know what the other one was thinking while he saw how Yifan’s eyes darted around the wagon but he remained silent until they had to get off at Shuangjing Station. As they made their way out of the station in which Yifan was proud of not getting stuck at the exit Yixing’s phone went off.

“Ey, I’m not allowed to have a phone either!” Yifan muffled under the fabric of his mask and Yixing really thought about ignoring the caller when he saw Yao Yao’s name light up on the screen.

On the other hand, there was no reason to do so. It wasn’t like he and Yao Yao were something official so it was unnecessary to act like he didn’t exist around Yifan. He also wasn’t on some sort of date with Yifan, so feeling guilty for getting a call from someone else seemed out of place too. So he picked up the call and held his phone to his ear, ignoring Yifan’s scoff.

“Hey,” he said but hoped silently Yao Yao wouldn’t talk so loud that his voice would carry over to the guy next to him.

“So you’re back! I missed you! Open Mic Night was really boring without you man…” Yao Yao chattered away – hearing his voice was kind of bittersweet and Yixing only managed to lift up one corner of his mouth into a crooked smile.

“How did you know I was back already?”

“I didn’t, I just thought I’d give you a call. And voilà! Here you are! I’m good at this mental thing, am I?”

“You’re amazing, as always,” Yixing scoffed but Yao Yao had never been the type to take his sarcastic comments personally.

If only, they made him laugh and he didn’t let himself get irritated at them, which was probably why Yixing liked him this much. He was just so nice.

“Yixing, I really want to see you. I haven’t seen you in three weeks or something.”

Yixing pictured the other man at the end of the line lounging around on his couch, playing around with his pitch black hair and having his typical pensive look on his face, the one where he’d show a small frown and his lips would curl up slightly, looking awfully good while doing so. Because, besides being so overly nice and funny and charming Yao Yao was also very handsome. Luhan got frustrated by Yao Yao on almost a daily basis because no matter how hard he tried, his roommate just couldn’t find one single flaw and that creeped him out. He used to say “Something is off with that guy - or you are just a very lucky person!” - Yixing believed profoundly in the second part. He was just very lucky to know him.

“I know, but… work, you know. It’s been crazy.”

“I do! Don’t get me wrong! I do understand how wind up you are but… pretty please? Do you really have to work on weekends? Even if we just meet for one or two hours, that’d be enough for me, really.”

Yixing threw a quick glance at Yifan who had grown extremely attentive and clearly tried to eavesdrop.

“I think I can manage to get some free time tomorrow.”

Yao Yao let out a laugh, something he always did when he got excited and he cried out:

“Amazing! Thank you!”

“We’ll text again for details, I really have to hang up now.”

“Sure thing! Bye, baby!”

Yixing tried hard to control his smirk when he thought about Yao Yao’s bright smile that surely had been flickering across his face and then Yifan cleared his throat.

“So who was that?”

“Do you have to know everything?”

“Hey, you’re pretty cocky for being super rude and taking a call while you’re out on a date with me!”

“We are not on a date Yifan!”

Yixing couldn’t see it but he felt the other’s smile under the mask and Yifan linked his arm with Yixing’s.

“You didn’t say no when I asked so…”

The journalist grunted as an answer and decided to not take Yifan’s babbling too serious. He could hardly believe Yifan really meant what he said most of the time so he shot back:

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t on the first date.”

“I see, you’re rather the traditional type of guy,” Yifan nodded and tightened his grip around Yixing’s arm, “I like that.”

“Aren’t I a lucky one…”

“So what are we going to do today? I’d be down for some Netflix and Chill…”

“Wu Yifan, what are you? A sixteen year old guy who hit puberty and suffers from too much ual frustration because his acne face can’t get him laid with one of the hot girls at school?!” Yixing yelled and when Yifan started to laugh the other one hated himself for getting riled up at his teasing once again, “I don’t even have a Netflix account!”

“We can use mine! Or we just skip these obligatory ten minutes of the movie and start making out right away, your choice.”

Yixing was glad they reached the apartment building he was living in so he could start looking for his keys and stop that conversation before it had the chance to escalate. It took Luhan exactly five seconds to greet him at the door after opening it and stepping into the apartment.

“You are back oh my god!!” Luhan cried out and pulled Yixing in a hug, “I almost DIED Yixing! Don’t ever do this to me again!”

“Don’t be such a melodramatic prick, Luhan!” Yixing nagged but returned the hug.

“Seriously, I lived off take out and chips in the last three days!”

It surprised Yixing every time how incapable Luhan was when it came to living on his own. He had moved out of his parents’ home two years ago but he still wasn’t able to take care of himself when being alone for not even a week. Yixing almost felt like his mom that needed to make sure her child wouldn’t accidentally die because it stuck its finger in a plug socket. The journalist sighed, then Luhan’s eyes locked with Yifan behind his roommate.

“Wow, Yifan, are you moving in here now?”

“God forbid NO he’s not!” Yixing answered for the prince because he feared Yifan’s comment more than anything, “It’s more like a social experiment we’re doing.”

“What? How long you can sit on each other before one of you kills the other one?” Luhan asked with an innocent look on his face and Yifan chuckled.

“He won’t let me sit on him though, I’m afraid,” the prince said and Luhan giggled.

“Jesus Christ, both of you are so annoying, I can’t even handle it!” Yixing shot at them and put his luggage down in his room.

When he got back he checked the fridge only to discover it being empty except for a very old package of soy milk and two eggs. Luhan mumbled an apology, but actually Yixing was thankful for the situation because it meant he could take Yifan out for some grocery shopping. That would maybe take the other’s mind off the whole Netflix and Chill idea.

“It’s okay, Yifan, put your shoes back on, we’re going shopping.”

Yifan grunted, and suddenly Luhan seemed to understand.

“Oh my god, are you forcing him to do commoners’ stuff? Like shopping and all that?”

“My god Luhan, aren’t you a genius!” Yixing said and pushed Yifan out of the apartment after he had put on his slippers again, “See you later!”

“Yixing, serious question here,” Yifan said when they stepped back onto the street and Yixing decided to take him to the nearby market – of course there was a supermarket just around the corner, but Yifan didn’t know that and Yixing was curious to how Yifan would react to a big square of stands with vendors yelling to lure customers to them and people shoving each other out of the way to get their god damn groceries.

“Yes, my darling?”

Yifan stopped short at the pet name and raised an eyebrow, as if trying to connect the dots between Yixing and the word ‘darling’. He didn’t find a correlation so he just shook his head and then asked:

“What am I getting out of this?”

“I don’t know. A life lesson? I mean, you’re going to rule this country some day… more or less… you have to know what your people are up to.”

“No I mean. What am I getting out of this?”

Yixing knew very well what Yifan meant when he put an emphasis on the question word but he decided to play dumb and dodge the flirting. Not today, honey.

“Well, first of all, we’re getting food out of this so move your !”

Yixing liked his neighborhood since it was the perfect combination between a suburban flair and the perks of living in a big city. The newly opened bars and restaurants weren’t too expensive and offered great times with friends while a nearby park made sure one was able to escape the buzz for a while. Surely there were better places, quieter ones, and maybe a college student didn’t quite like the limited possibilities to get drunk on a weekday, but Yixing didn’t really mind. Yifan kept nagging and tried to trick Yixing into falling for his teasing and flirting until they reached the entrance of the market and the words got stuck in his throat. Since it was a Saturday and the weather was rather lovely a lot of other people in the neighborhood had come around to do their weekly grocery shopping here and the market was filled with people and a buzzing noise carried down the whole street.

“Are you kidding me, Yixing?”

“What? It’s just a market, don’t poop your pants because of that.”

“Is there something for free because so many people are here?”

“Honey… it’s just… people need food. And Saturdays and Sundays are usually the days when people have enough time to buy food. Because they usually work during the week. Can you grasp that concept?”

“Why are you always talking to me as if I am a retard?”

“Because you’re acting like one right now, that’s why,” Yixing said and walked towards the entrance while Yifan mumbled something inaudible into his mask and caught up to him.

The smaller one let out a surprised squeal when Yifan’s hand first grabbed his elbow but then wandered further down to intertwine their fingers.

“What’s that supposed to be?”

“You are too small for your own good and I am not taking any chances on losing you in that pit of hell we’re about to step in.”

“This is such a lame excuse to hold my hand…”

“Well, you wouldn’t let me hold it just because, so there’s that. I’ve got to seize every chance I’m getting.”

Yixing looked down on their hands, his own almost disappearing in Yifan’s. How in the world were his hands this large?

“Let’s go or we will never get anything done,” he finally said and started walking again, cursing his hand for squeezing a little tighter around Yifan’s knuckles.

Usually Yixing didn’t take long for weekly grocery hauls because he always knew exactly what he needed for the next six to seven days but with Yifan, it was something different. Yifan was exploring a whole new world and needed to stop at several stands only to keep staring at the old man selling tea leaves in big plastic bags and wondering who on earth drank that much tea. He spent minutes inspecting fruits and vegetables up to the point the vendors asked him if he wanted to taste test their stuff. Yixing had the feeling Yifan would’ve said yes if that hadn’t meant to take off his mask and blow his cover. He acted grossed out when they went through the meat and fish department but couldn’t take his eyes off the fish tanks where trouts swam around. The prince was astonished when Yixing negotiated prices skillfully and they came out of the market with several bags of veggies and meat and had only spent a rough 200 RMB on it.

“Only 200…” Yifan mumbled while he swung two bags in his right hand, “Unbelievable.”

“Yeah, I know, hard to grasp for you. I used to live on way less when I was still at university.”

“Really?!”

Yixing nodded and shrugged his shoulders, deeming the conversation as over, and Yifan got the hint so he changed the topic and brushed the back of his hand that was carrying bags with Yixing’s.

“It’s actually quite nice.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. This? It’s almost like vacation. Nobody keeps bothering me.”

“Except for me though,” Yixing said with a smug smile and the way Yifan’s eyes squinted told him the older one was smiling too.

“You never bother me.”

“Ugh, ing cheesy.”

Yifan bumped Yixing’s shoulder for that comment as they neared the gate and got back to the apartment. When they unpacked the groceries Yixing didn’t even give Yifan any time to sit down for a minute and shoved a cutting board into his hands. Yifan looked at it and then at Yixing as if the younger one had lost his mind.

“Umm… okay?”

“We have to prepare dinner. You’re cutting vegetables.”

“I…?! But?” Yifan stammered as Yixing pulled out a big kitchen knife out of the knife block.

“It’s not that hard, I’ll cut some samples and you’re just going to go according to those.”

“Yixing, I don’t think I’m fitted for that task…”

“Believe me, you are.”

Yixing’s tone didn’t allow any further discussion so Yifan accepted his fate and watched how Yixing cut some cucumber into thin slices, starting slowly, then becoming faster until Yifan howled:

“Stoppppp! I can’t follow anymore!”

The smaller one smiled and handed the knife over.

“Your turn, my prince!” He said and made a formal curtsy which caused Yifan to grunt in disapproval.

Yixing helped in cutting up the meat and sometimes he stole glances over to Yifan. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw how serious Yifan took his task. He was awfully slow, taking almost thrice the time Yixing usually needed, but he didn’t start complaining and concentrated daintily on getting the slices evenly thin. Sometimes Yifan’s tongue slipped out between his lips and Yixing had to force himself to take his eyes off the other to at least get the meat done. When Yifan was done cutting the cucumbers, Yixing told him to do the same to the carrots after peeling them.

“You really show no mercy!” Yifan complained but when Yixing just nodded and confirmed his statement, he had no other choice than to do as he was told.

By the time Yifan had cut up the carrots Yixing had already started to cook the rice and was putting the wok on the stove.

“Jesus, you are far too fast!” The older one complained and hurried to cut up the last vegetable.

When he was done he put the knife aside and exhaled a long breath as if he was a surgeon that had just finished up an open heart surgery. Yixing rolled his eyes and walked over to check on Yifan’s masterpiece.

“Wow! That’s… actually good!”

Yixing was extremely surprised with the outcome. The slices weren’t too thick and relatively even.

“It really is?” Yifan asked and seemed to be as startled as the other one who nodded.

“Yeah. Man, I think I’ve finally found your talent! You’re a little chef!”

“Pffff I literally cut up one cucumber and two carrots…”

Even though he tried to play Yixing’s praise down, there was a light blush on Yifan’s cheeks indicating he was flattered.

“Well then,” Yixing said and pushed Yifan gently towards the stove, “I guess we’ll have to explore that talent a little further.”

“Yixing, really, don’t get me near stoves or heated oil, I’ll just up big time…”

Yixing didn’t listen and just the stove.

“Just tryyyyyy it.”

“Aiya… how annoying…”

“It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do anyway so you can also make yourself a little useful. When the oil’s heated put the cucumber in.”

The smaller one leaned against the counter and gave out orders to Yifan who only slowly got used to the heat of the stove and the sizzling oil he was afraid of. He somehow managed to only get burned two times and when the dinner table was set with bowls and food Yifan looked at it like he was beholding Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. When Luhan joined them, Yixing’s roommate smiled wildly.

“Finally, world order is restored!”

When they took their seats Yixing said:

“You have to try the cucumbers. Yifan made those.”

“All by his own?!”

“Yixing helped,” Yifan immediately threw in as Luhan snatched some slices off the plate with his chopsticks while Yixing handed out some rice.

Luhan chewed a little longer on the food than usual, because he was an awful fast eater and basically inhaled the stuff he was eating, and Yifan leaned over to eagerly wait for his judgement. Even Yixing forgot about his own bowl that still needed to be stuffed with rice to not miss this moment. Luhan swallowed his bite and looked at Yifan, then he said:

“Not bad, actually! It’s good, give yourself a pat on the back!”

“Like… really?” Yifan asked and flung his eyes open in surprise.

“Try for yourself, it’s really good!”

So he did and when he realized Luhan was right he leaned back in his seat and looked at Yixing in shock who just chuckled.

“Well, who would’ve known that Wu Yifan is able to make some cucumber with eggs. If that Emperor thing isn’t for you, why don’t you just change professions and become a chef?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Yifan said and then put some of his cooked meal into Yixing’s bowl, “But if you like it, I’ll gladly cook for you every day, my dear.”

“Thanks, I’m good.”

Luhan nibbled on some chicken bone and watched the other two on the other side of the table with a knowing grin. When he was done eating off the meat he threw the bone into the extra bowl Yifan had set on the table (he usually just threw them on a pile next to his bowl, but it seemed like he tried to be extra neat in Yifan’s presence) he said:

“Wow, who would’ve thought I’d ever get a dinner from the Prince of China and his boyfriend who happens to be my roommate. My life is so crazy!”

“Oooooh no no no, slow down Luhan! This,” Yixing threw in and pointed his chopsticks to Yifan and then to him, which was actually a very rude thing to do, “is not a thing and will never be a thing.”

“So no Netflix and Chill later on?” Yifan asked nonchalantly as he got some carrots, knowing very well he’d flip Yixing off.

His comment made Luhan snort into his bowl while Yixing just felt like letting out a cry of frustration.

“No, no Netflix and Chill later on. You got that right.”

“Man, then what is even the point of all of this if I can’t get into your pants?”

Luhan let out a roaring laughter and Yixing wanted to smash his head onto the dinner table. His own or Yifan’s, he wasn’t really sure about that.

“Stop laughing Luhan, I have to endure this on a daily basis!” He hissed but Luhan just high fived Yifan.

“You surely get an award for being persistent!” Luhan giggled.

“Can you guys just ing eat your dinner?!” Yixing barked because he felt a dangerous alliance forming between the two and needed to let that die before it could even be born.

Luhan and Yifan exchanged another look and some winks before they went back to eating, making Yixing the bad guy for spoiling the mood. When the plates were empty and their stomachs full Luhan offered to do the dishes so Yifan followed Yixing into his room and threw himself onto his bed without even asking if it was okay. Yixing slowly started to regret his idea.

“You know I could actually really use some Netflix and Chill,” Yifan said and rolled on his back to face Yixing who was about to lash out once again, “I mean just… really watch a movie and chill. Seriously.”

“I swear to god, if that is just another stupid trick of yours…”

Having Yifan spread out on his bed like that was awfully alluring so he grabbed his laptop and pushed him aside to have some space himself.

“No, really. No cheap tricks. I’m full and just want to hang around.”

“I’m going to cut your off if you try anything, I mean it!”

Yixing opened the page for Netflix and handed Yifan his laptop so he could sign in.

“I have to admit, your anger kind of turns me on…” Yifan held up Yixing’s laptop as a shield while Yixing’s hand flung up into the air, threatening to hit the prince, “… but I also like my so I guess I’ll call it a day now.”

Then he went back on signing in and asked what kind of movie Yixing wanted to watch. In the end, they decided to watch Gone Girl since Yifan had finished the book already, which shocked Yixing to a certain degree (“What, the book was good, okay? If a book is good, I don’t put it away until I’m done reading!”). And indeed, Yifan kept his promise. The laptop was placed between them and Yifan was up in the story, so he didn’t even think of scooting over and get touchy with Yixing. There was a solid eight inches distance between them throughout the movie and when the ending credits rolled, Yifan said:

“You know, I really don’t… I don’t like the ending. It just doesn’t do the trick for me.”

“Why’s that?” Yixing said and watched as Yifan went back to the list of recommendations Netflix gave him.

“I don’t know, it just… it doesn’t feel right to let it end like that. It’s like the story isn’t over but I’m pretty sure we’ll be left hanging with this open ending and I hate that.”

“So you’d rather have Nick kill Amy?”

“What is it about you writers that you always get to the most dramatic conclusions?”

“It’s our curse I guess.”

Yifan clicked his tongue and gave the movie a four out of five star rating while he continued:

“No, not kill her. But it would’ve been way more satisfying if Amy went to jail in the end. I mean, she’s the villain in the story, right? And isn’t the villain supposed to get punished? Like, the whole good vs. bad thing?”

“So you say Nick is the hero here? I don’t know, but I think you can’t just put the two on opposing sides here. He’s just as awful as Amy in my opinion. I didn’t even feel sorry for him in the entire movie. They deserve each other.”

“Yixing, she framed him for murder and actually killed someone! Are you putting cheating on the same scale as murder?”

Yixing sat back up straight and felt like someone had woken his brain up again after he had fought the urge to sleep in the last fifteen minutes of the movie. Yifan did the same and turned to fully face the younger one. And then they started to discuss. They discussed not only the ending, but the whole storyline and even went that far to go back to certain scenes in the movie and when they got riled up about one specific scene, Yifan demanded to compare the movie sequence with the part in the book. It was a super nerdy conversation in which they completely forgot the time and when Yixing’s eyes locked with his alarm clock on the night desk he was completely startled it was already past midnight.

“Amazing, I missed the last train!” Yifan chirped and laid back down on Yixing’s mattress and checked his wristwatch, “Guess I’ll have to crash here then. The 24 hours aren’t over anyway… It’s only been nine hours so far.”

“You are taking the 24 hours in a literal way?”

“Um… yes? You said 24 hours?”

Yixing snorted but couldn’t help himself to find Yifan’s innocent counter-question rather cute so he closed his laptop and said:

“I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow.”

When he came back with said bedding Yifan asked if it was okay to take off at least his jeans.

“Knock yourself out.” Was Yixing’s answer and he threw the blanket and the pillow into Yifan’s face.

Then he went on to brush his teeth in the bathroom. He contemplated on offering Yifan the extra toothbrush he still had in its original packaging but that would’ve been like asking Yifan to be his boyfriend so he didn’t and went straight back to his room. Yifan was already snuggled up in his blanket and looked like a giant burrito.

“Sooooo… good night then?” Yixing said when he threw his own blanket over his body.

“Yepp. Good night!”

The journalist killed the lights and laid next to Yifan with tense muscles, somehow expecting him to roll over and try to get one of his overly large hands into Yixing’s boxers but when none of that happened, Yixing blinked surprised and rolled onto the side, which was his usual sleeping position. Yifan seemed to be fast asleep already.

It was kind of weird to have Yifan around after a strange night in which Yifan magically had found his way into Yixing’s arms which he only seemed to realize when he had woken up. Somewhere in between them tossing and turning in their sleep, the prince had snuggled into the smaller one and Yixing couldn’t even remember allowing himself to open his arms and pulling him closer, yet it had happened.
Yixing was very well aware of the fact that he had gone too far. He should’ve been handling the situation in a professional way, not inviting his “job” over for one of the most awkward Netflix and Chill sessions in the history of mankind. Yixing swore to himself he’d never speak of this in front of his boss, because he was sure she’d fire him on the spot. Yifan, on the other hand, seemed to be in a rather good mood.

“So what’s for breakfast?” He asked as he dashed into the kitchen where Yixing was making some coffee.

“I don’t know, check the fridge.” Yixing answered, obviously confused about Yifan’s high spirits.

“There is nothing in the fridge.” Yifan proclaimed and closed the door, “At least nothing you could make breakfast out of.”

“Well, then it’s going to be coffee,” The journalist said and pushed the coffee machine’s power button and the monster came to life.

Yifan stayed silent which Yixing took for a good sign and after setting two mugs next to the machine he turned around. Yifan stood in the middle of the room, only wearing his boxers and his plain white shirt and for one split second Yixing’s eyes locked with those long legs of his. He forced himself to look up again. This er!

“Yixing.”

Yixing hoped Yifan hadn’t noticed his staring so he tried to put on a rather annoyed face and asked:

“Yes, what? Sorry my fridge is not supplying your royal well enough.”

Instead of nagging and whining, or replying with a sassy comment, Yifan took a big step forward, cornering Yixing between the kitchen counter and himself. Yixing mentally prepared himself to escape the scene any given second, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. Yifan looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face which made Yixing nervous because he couldn’t estimate what the other one might do next.
And then, out of nowhere, the older one leaned over and placed his lips on Yixing’s, very careful and very soft, as if he was afraid Yixing might get scared away at a too sudden move on him. The kiss was short, barely a peck on his lips, but it was enough to make Yixing freeze and let a weird sensation take over his whole body. He knew he needed to stop right there and make Yifan take a few steps back into his lane again but his head subtly jerked into Yifan’s direction to get more of whatever just happened. He hated his body. Why did it do that?
There was another kiss following which was much more demanding yet wary and Yixing felt his chest swell with desire for more as he allowed his hands to wrap themselves around Yifan’s neck to keep him close. This was wrong. So so so so wrong.
It needed Yifan to press his body against Yixing’s to bring him back to his senses – the journalist withdrew and pushed Yifan away to look at him. The older one was breathing heavily, his lips were slightly parted and his cheeks were reddened with excitement, and god damn, why did he look so good in that moment?

“This is not what we should be doing, and you know that!” Yixing exclaimed, “I mean… I’m… you’re… you know what I mean!”

A few seconds went by and Yifan nodded slightly.

“Yes. Yes. You’re absolutely right… umm… sorry… I guess…”

This should’ve been the moment they let go of each other, but they didn’t move, instead they stared at each other and held their breaths to wait for the other one to move first. Yixing tried a lame attempt at easing the tension:

“So… umm… coffee?”

Both of them knew very well that this was not going to work. Coffee was not going to happen here.

“Screw that, Zhang Yixing.”

And with that, they banned the last bits of rational thinking aside into the far backs of their minds. Their lips crashed against each other while Yifan lifted Yixing onto the counter and the younger wrapped his legs around his hips to pull him closer. This would not be tender and sweet love making – this would turn out into plain and simple ing, a result of days, if not weeks, of that got finally released as Yifan pulled up Yixing’s shirt and at the soft skin around Yixing’s collarbones, occasionally sinking his teeth into it. When Yixing gasped at the stimulation, because he had never been the type for slow and cute to be honest, Yifan over the marks and moved on to the next spot until his tongue was twirling around one of Yixing’s s whose throat escaped a moan. He pressed his body towards Yifan’s and when he felt the other’s very present bulge rubbing against his own he immediately knew that he was about to get ed by the son of China’s emperor in his tiny shabby kitchen - and even though it ought to have been a thought he should have loathed he stripped Yifan off his shirt and bent his body into the directions where Yifan’s hands were going. . This. Guy. So much!
They shared another heated kiss in which Yixing tried to regain a little of the control when they heard a knock at the apartment door. Yixing broke away and Yifan breathed:

“Ignore it.”

He went down on Yixing’s neck, teasing his skin with his teeth while his hand finally grabbed the bulge in Yixing’s boxers and rubbed it through the thin cloth. Yixing made an “Uh-huh” sound to indicate he was on one page with Yifan on that but then the knock got louder.

“God damnit!” Yixing exclaimed and didn’t know whether he should concentrate on the person in front of his door or Yifan’s hand that was about to work some great magic on his already leaking .

“Don’t answer it!”

Another knock. And then a voice.

“Yixing, I know you’re in there, can you open up please?”

“!”

Yao Yao’s voice was the metaphorical cold bucket of water being poured over Yixing’s pre- heated body. He shuddered and pushed Yifan away from him. Right when Yixing asked himself what Yao Yao was doing in front of his door on a Sunday morning, he remembered the phone call. . Yifan didn’t seem to care much though and tried to press his lips against Yixing’s one more time but the smaller one wiggled himself free.

“I have to get rid of him first,” he breathed between some small kisses, “Just stay here.”

Yifan groaned, but obeyed and let him go. On his way to the door he put his shirt back on and pulled it as far down as possible and hoped Yao Yao wouldn’t notice right away. He flung the door open and tried to hide his lower body behind it. Yao Yao was leaning against the doorframe and smiled while lifting a bag of the nearby bakery.

“I brought breakfast!”

“I thought we’d talk about some details first?” Yixing asked and ignored the nice gesture.

“I was in the area and thought I’d drop by!” Was Yao Yao’s explanation and Yixing would’ve thought that guy was the greatest man if only Yifan wasn’t standing in the kitchen, half , half erected and all hot and bothered.

Yao Yao moved past Yixing whose mind went blank.

“Yao Yao, that’s very sweet of you, and I’d love to have you here, but I really don’t have the time now, I need to get work done, there’s this really urgent deadline and I couldn’t finish yesterday… it’s really really stupid but maybe we could just meet for dinner or something?”

“Well, if you’re this stressed, then you really need to eat, right? I won’t stay long, I promise! Maybe the break will help you a little!”

He went right for the kitchen and a fit of panic shot through Yixing’s body.

“NO, really, I need you to...” He wanted to say as he reached out for the other one but it was too late.

Yao Yao opened the door to the kitchen and his bright smile froze when he saw Yifan leaning against the kitchen counter to wait for Yixing’s return.

“ me sideways!” Yixing cursed under his breath and wished himself dead.

There was an unbearable silence in the room until Yao Yao turned to Yixing.

“You need to get work done, huh? Yeah, looks like someone’s getting ‘done’ here…”

“Yao Yao, I can explain…”

“Oh cut the bull we both know you can’t!”

Yao Yao was right so Yixing pressed his lips together and had to watch how his flirt from a few weeks ago looked at Yifan, then back to Yixing, back to Yifan and finally said in such an icy tone it almost scared Yixing:

“Wow Zhang Yixing, you are such a fake , you told me you hated that guy, that he’s the biggest alive and now you’re spreading your legs for him! that.”

He threw the plastic bag with the bought pastry into the corner where Yixing was standing and the sheer possibility of Yixing getting hit by it made Yifan lash forward, grab the collar of Yao Yao’s jacket and shove him to the side, making the other guy stumble against the kitchen counter with such a force his head crashed into the wall cupboard above it. Yixing was so shocked he could only stare and watch how Yao Yao struggled himself free of Yifan’s grip. And to be honest, he didn’t know what shocked him more – Yifan’s physical violence or Yao Yao’s behavior, since that didn’t fit into the whole image Yixing had of him.

“Are you ing CRAZY?”

“That was for calling him a , now off!”

Yao Yao rubbed the back of his head and shot Yifan a hostile look.

“I’m going to expose you, you !”

The thread made Yixing’s face lose its color, while Yifan seemed to be rather unaffected.

“Yeah, you go ahead. Tell some tabloid newspaper I’m ing the guy you’re after. And then expect mail from my personal lawyer. I’m going to end you.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, you have no idea. You say anything, I will make your life a living hell. Personally.”

Yifan was about the same height as Yao Yao but Yifan’s cold and dominating demeanor made Yao Yao look small and helpless. He seemed to contemplate on going on with their argument, but then he turned around and left without a comment, not without bumping into Yixing’s shoulder on purpose though. When he had left the apartment, Yixing let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding. Yifan turned to face the younger one.

“I’m the biggest alive, huh?”

“Yifan, that was…”

“Yeah, whatever, you might be right anyways.” Yifan cut him off and left the kitchen to get the rest of his clothes in Yixing’s bedroom.

Yixing followed him.

“Hold on, where are you going?”

“I’m going home, I should’ve done this yesterday already!” Yifan explained while he put on his jeans.

“Yifan, could you at least let me explain…?”

“There’s nothing to explain! Everything is clear as day!”

The way Yifan interrupted Yixing all the time made the journalist’s chest burn in annoyance, and then he saw the older one’s face which didn’t even show anger. He was hurt. And it made Yixing feel bad all of a sudden.

“There is! Please, we were at a bar and I had that one drink too many when I talked to Yao Yao about you, I wasn’t even thinking straight!”

Yifan was about to leave the room and Yixing tried to hold him back. It was almost like a déjà vu, only that this time Yixing wasn’t trying to get the older one out of the apartment, he actually tried to keep him inside.

“You know what they say about drunk people – they always speak the truth.”

They gradually made their way towards the front door and Yixing babbled something about how this didn’t always have to be the case.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yifan retorted and stopped for a second, “If you were saying it only to impress that little er, then you’re not better than anyone else who has used me for their own gains. But that’s okay. I’m despicable, I know. I’m a ing spoiled brat that does deserve rejection and needs to get put back into his lane. Thank you. I know. I know perfectly well that people don’t like me. I wish it was different, but that’s how it is, I’m going to accept it.”

Yixing could’ve sworn to see some tears of bitterness dwelling in Yifan’s eyes so he dashed towards the front door and blocked the handle with his body. He couldn’t let Yifan leave his apartment. Not in that emotional state. He couldn’t let him leave again being angry at him like the last time.

“Let me go now, Yixing.” Yifan demanded and tried to push him aside, but Yixing did not move an inch.

“I’ll let you go if you listen to me! Just for one minute!”

The prince heaved an annoyed sigh and put his hands on his hips to show he was granting Yixing that wish. Yixing took a deep breath.

“Okay, yes, I absolutely loathed you a few weeks ago. But that was back then. Past. It happened. But things have changed. I’ve gotten to know you more and you are really not that kind of I thought you were.”

If anyone had told him he’d be saying those kinds of words in the span of not even two full months, he’d have given that person into therapy. Yifan didn’t look very convinced either.

“Can you please look at me?” Yixing requested and only continued when Yifan was finally looking up and right into his face, “I apologize for saying those things about you. I’m sorry for any bad words. I’m sorry for my behavior. So please, do not leave like this and be angry at me. I don’t want to hurt you, actually.”

Yifan stood there for a while and fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket like a little kid. It didn’t look like he was about to rush out of the apartment anymore so Yixing allowed his muscles to relax again but he did not step back from the door, just in case. The older one was in deep thought and then he seemed to snap back into reality. He looked straight at Yixing who was about to tell him to at least say something and then leaped forward to pull the other one closer and kissed him. Yixing sighed, but he wasn’t sure if it was in relief, as he wrapped his arms around Yifan’s body and somehow hoped Yifan would take off his jacket again and stay. He actually wanted him to stay. Yixing couldn’t believe it.
It was Yifan who ended the kiss with a last peck on the corner of Yixing’s mouth, then he reached over him to the door handle.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And then he disappeared through the door. Yixing was left in his apartment with some curses on his lips while he stomped back into the kitchen to throw the pastry brought by Yao Yao into the trash. When he turned around, Luhan was standing in the doorway. The look on his face gave away that he had heard everything and his friend said:

“See? I told you something was off with that Yao Yao guy!”

I decided to post today because I was like "I like my readers so I'll give them one more update before I leave!" so there you go, I hope you liked it. Now wish me luck I make it to Beijing in one piece and they will let me into the country lol.

Edit: I AM ACTUALLY SORRY TO MAKE YAO YAO THE BAD GUY SO I WILL TALK ABOUT THIS GORGEOUS MAN FOR A SECOND.
Not only is he like the Face of China (I call him that yes) he's also an actor & a singer/rapper/member of the boyband M.I.C (which deserves so much more attention than they're getting and they ACTUALLY took part in a show about Peking Opera  and KILLED EVERY SINGLE PERFORMANCE PEKING OPERA IS SUPER HARD AND SUCH AN AMAZING ART MAN. You guys HAVE to  check them out okay (I don't talk about Yao Yao's horrible hair in that MV it was a dark era but I sure do talk a lot about his shower scene lol), stan talent ppl, stan M.I.C!!)
Plus: The Face of China holding a baby. You're welcome. I hope you've converted.

I love all of you, have a nice upcoming weekend. :)