Thursday was the day of the benefit ball and somehow, even though Yixing should have been used to all of the fuss by now, he was nervous as hell, mostly because Yifan’s father would attend too. After getting some blogentries done (entries that had been sitting on his desk for ages and he felt like his boss would’ve killed him if he hadn’t finally posted them) he quickly changed into a suit and caught a taxi to Yifan’s place. He tried to be as casual as possible at his arrival, to look like he was doing the usual business, even though there was this nagging voice in the back of his brain telling him that everything would be over tomorrow. When he stepped into the room, Yifan was sitting on the couch and looked up.

“Come in, come in!”

He was already wearing the dress shirt he had decided to wear for the ball and tapped the space next to him. Yixing sat down and saw a rather big wooden box on the table. The emblem of the Wu family was engraved on the lid.

“What’s that? Did your birthday come early?” Yixing asked after Yifan had given him a casual kiss on the cheek which made Yixing’s heart want to burst.

“No, that’s not for me,” Yifan answered and pushed the box into the direction of the younger one, “It’s for you.”

“Huh?”

“Just open it.”

The prince tapped the lid with his fingers and watched Yixing in infantile anticipation, but Yixing wasn’t sure what to do.

“What is that?”

“Well if you opened it, you wouldn’t need to ask.”

“I’m scared. Last time I opened something you gave to me it was that god damn Rolex…”

“That you still wear, so don’t play hard to get.”

Yifan was right and that was what Yixing annoyed to no end. He grunted, then he leaned over the box and opened it. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw a suit appearing underneath the paper it was additionally wrapped in.

“You’re giving me a suit?”

“Hey, I made this one especially for you!”

“I hardly believe that it was you who sewed it…”

“Prick. The family’s tailor made it. But I told him to do it in the first place.”

When Yixing’s fingers touched the cloth, he felt the difference between the suit he had bought in a store next to the Beijing Zoo where all the cheap tailors where to find and this one – he lingered on the heavy material of the dress shirt, then he asked:

“And how in the world do you know my size?”

“Oh, that was mostly an educated guess… and you shouldn’t underestimate our tailor’s skills! He can work real magic!”

Yifan grinned like a child that had brought home a good grade in a subject they were actually bad in and Yixing couldn’t help but to smile back, even though he felt a lump in his throat because of the gift. He’d never be able to return a favor like this.

“I want you to wear it tomorrow.”

“God, this sounds like you’re preparing for our wedding,” the journalist slipped.

Yifan let out a roaring laughter and threw himself back into the couch before he patted Yixing’s back.

“Baby! I haven’t even given you a ring yet!”

“Shut up!”

Yifan’s hand lingered on Yixing’s back after his giggles had finally died down. Yixing leaned into the touch and took a deep breath.

“You need to try it on.”

“Ugh. So much stress…” Yixing responded but removed he jacket of his suit. Then he got up and ed his shirt – he was very well aware of Yifan’s gazes, but he tried to ignore them and to undress in the most unual way possible.

Unfortunately, Yifan was a raging hormone machine and when Yixing stood in front of him with a upper body, he said:

“Now that I think about it… is fine by me too... on my bed…”

“I’ll pass on that, thanks.”

“Fine, be like that!” Yifan responded and pouted, but when Yixing had changed into the new suit, he went back to business, “See? He worked magic!”

The prince got up and jockeyed Yixing in front of his mirror to let him see for himself. Yixing had no real idea about couture and that kind of stuff, but he was surprised himself how well the jacket and the suit pants fit him. Suddenly, it felt like his own suit was extremely ill fitted and way too big for him.

“I think we need to do something about the sleeves,” Yifan mumbled while he inspected the other one from head to toe.

Then he called the tailor who appeared after ten minutes with all of his utensils. He was an old man and he took small and careful steps while he ordered Yixing to extend his arms so he could take proper measurements. Yifan leaned against the backrest of the couch and watched while he had a chat with the tailor.

“You’ve outdone yourself with that one, Mr. Li.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he grunted while his measuring band twirled around Yixing who was completely lost, “Next time though, maybe let me take his actual measurements, this suit is a trainwreck!”

“I… I think it’s good?” Yixing asked but the tailor just snorted and looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Mr. Li is very self critical of his work, don't mind him," Yifan explained.

"Well, my prince, I have to, otherwise your honored father would be firing me on the spot."

"That's one way to put it..." Yifan retorded and the mentioning of the Emperor sent shivers down Yixing's spine.

Mr. Li left with the suit and the mission to get it ready by tomorrow at noon and Yixing put his other suit back on. It really felt like it didn't even fit him anymore.

"So, how are you feeling on your last day as a 24 year old?" Yixing asked and Yifan just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Good, I guess?"

"You're really not good at words and such."

"You're making up for what I lack."

Yixing wanted to remind him that he wouldn't be there 24/7 to do the talking for him, but on the other hand, he didn't really see the use in it so he remained silent.

"Why are you giving me a suit?" He asked instead.

"I felt like it."

"That is your answer?"

Yifan grinned and extented his hand to indicate Yixing to come closer. The younger one slowly approached him and took the presented hand and the moment Yixing's hand laid in Yifan's, the older one grabbed it firmly and pulled at it to get rid of the last remaining distance between them. Yixing stumbled into him but before he could protest, Yifan said:

"Yes. That's my answer. I felt like giving you something."

"You know I hate expensive gifts. How could I ever return the favor, huh? A Rolex and a tailored suit, what do you want in return for that?"

"I know a few things, but for now I'd be satisfied with a kiss."

"You IDIOT!"

Yixing silenced Yifan's laughter with his lips, because, he had to be honest, that comment had been very smooth. Even though it really edged on Yifan's usual lameness.

During the Benefit Ball, Yixing had barely any time to talk to Yifan. Yifan was busy engaging with more or less important people who left donations for a school project in the rural parts of the country, and Yixing tried to get as much material as possible. He watched from afar as Yifan and Yili had to open the ball with a dance and he was actually impressed by Yifan's ballroom dancing skills - he could only give him a thumbs up though because Yifan got dragged away by his mother to say hello to Fan Bingbing who had arrived with her boyfriend. Plus, he was pretty positive Yifan's father was watching all of the steps he took in the room, so Yixing reckoned it was better to solely play the role of the journalist. Occasionally, he talked to Sehun and also Tao who had finally arrived in Beijing, but they were rather busy too, so he spent most of the evening by himself. It was around nine when he stood a little offside and went through the pictures he had taken as Yili stood next to him.

"So busy doing his work, I don't even dare to ask you for a dance!"

"Oh, believe me, I don't want to step onto your expensive Gucci shoes, I'm better kept at the sidelines of a dancefloor."

"I'm wearing Louboutin’s," Yili corrected with a wink, "And I'm sure you'd master a simple waltz."

They quarreled a little but in the end, Yili gave up and contented herself with a casual talk and not a dance. Yixing's gaze shifted to Yifan who greeted a woman he had never seen before - she was gorgeous, with wavy brown hair and a petite figure. Yifan seemed to be delighted to see her and he pulled her into a big hug. Then they proceeded to kiss each other on the cheeks, before the woman squeezed his hands. Seeing them sharing such rather intimate gestures with each other felt like somebody had rammed a rusty knife into Yixing's stomach. Yili followed Yixing's gaze, since he clearly wasn't listening to her words anymore.

"Oh! That is Jessica!" Yili said, "She's a fashion designer from Korea. Yifan endorsed her brand once and ever since they're close."

"I see that..." Yixing muttered and tried hard to keep a pokerface.

"Mother would love it if she'd become her daughter-in-law."

"Oh."

That was everything Yixing could bring himself to say as he watched Jessica and Yifan having a little smalltalk and both smiled widely and giggled like little children. Not only was Yifan smiling a lot, his whole body language had changed. He'd been very stiff the whole evening, bowing and shaking hands, but with Jessica, his shoulders had relaxed and he reciprocated her movements when she leaned into him or patted his arms.

"He likes her."

"Of course he likes her, they're like... besties," Yili said and shifted her gaze back to Yixing.

Yixing really wanted to, but he couldn't take his eyes off the two. And it felt weird, but for a split second, he thought that maybe this was what it was supposed to be like. Gorgeous, smart Jessica at the side of Prince Wu Yifan.

"Oh, Yixing," the princess clicked her tongue and nudged his shoulder, "Don't worry. First of all, she's got a fiancé."

"And second of all?" Yixing asked when Yili didn't continue and finally looked back at her.

She gave him a wide smile which then turned into a knowing grin.

"Second of all: I see the way he looks at you. He's never looked at someone like that before."

"... bull!" Yixing retorted and Yili's laughter filled his ears that surely were turning red at her words.

“Do you want to know something, Yixing?” She asked and wiggled her eyebrows, hoping to get his attention with it.

“What?” He sighed and tried to sound unimpressed but nevertheless he listened up.

“It’s good you happened. You’ve put him in the best place he’s been for years.”

“I… no. I didn’t do anything!” Yixing stammered, “I just… no, really… I was… no! I did not put him in any place. I just…”

“Oh, just shut up, would you? Cut the crap and accept that fact, the sooner the better.”

Yixing whimpered and looked back at Yifan and Jessica who had proceeded to take some selfies. They seemed to get involved in a little play fight as Yifan took her phone out of her hands and she protested, forming the words “Give that back, I look horrible in that one!”

“But it doesn’t hold any substance.” He suddenly heard himself say.

Yili squealed in surprise and furrowed her eyebrows. She expected an explanation, so Yixing said:

“We… I mean, it’s not like there’s a realistic chance…”

“Oooooooooh,” the princess made and nodded, “Really, do you think? Ever since I can remember my brother was good at getting and keeping what he wanted. I don’t think it’ll be any different this time.”

“This is different.”

Yili wanted to say something but then Yifan dragged Jessica over to them and they looked like a fashion magazine couple and it made Yixing’s heart sink. He caught himself thinking that he’d never be able to hold Yifan’s arm like that. He’d never be able to get even that close as Jessica was right now. And just like that, he got angry at her, even though he didn’t even know her.

“Yili!!” Jessica cried out and the two girls hugged each other tightly, then Jessica kissed Yili’s cheek, “I’ve missed you so much!”

“I’ve missed you too, love!” Yili answered and the two women shared a girlish squeal.

“Your dress is so nice, please turn around for me!” The designer said and Yili did as she was told.

While the skirt of her dress twirled around her legs, Jessica said:

“That is such fine work! I wonder what designer you’re wearing?”

“Oh god you are lame!” Yifan said and rolled his eyes.

Yixing didn’t quite understand but then Yili said:

“Ooooh wait… let me think… it’s from that one Korean girl… gosh… what was her name again?? Yifan, tell me…!”

“I am not playing along with this idiocy.” Yifan retorted.

“Oh, oh! Wait! It’s my dress!”

The two girls started to laugh their asses off and Yifan just turned to Yixing and shook his head, as if giving up believing those two were actually sane human beings. When Yili and Jessica had calmed down, the designer turned to Yixing. It took her two seconds, and then her eyes grew wide and she gave him a radiant smile.

“You must be Zhang Yixing, right?!”

“Ummm… yes. Hi.”

She took his hand and squeezed it with just the right amount of pressure before she said:

“I heard so much about you already!”

“Oh, you did?” Yixing asked and looked at Yifan.

“Yifan never shut ups about you, to be honest, it’s almost annoying.” Jessica said.

“Oh, tell me about it,” Yili threw in, “Ever since Yixing appeared on our doorstep he’s all over him.”

“I know, right?” Jessica said and the two girls started to mimick Yifan:

“Yili, do you think Yixing is a handsome man? Because I think he is!”

“He’s so nice all the time! I don’t even know how he does it!”

“He’s effortlessly beautiful!”

“He’s so smart and talented!”

“Is it weird if I get jealous at other people when they talk to him?”

“Okay, that is ENOUGH!” Yifan roared, his head red like Reindeer Rudolph’s nose and silenced them with an angry expression on his face.

“Oh oh, Yili, let’s get out of here!” Jessica squealed and grabbed her hand and before she dragged her away from Yifan’s wrath, she turned to Yixing once again, “It was nice meeting you, Zhang Yixing. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have more time to chat.”

“Get lost now, both of you!”

They retreated to the dancefloor for some Discofox and they started to argue who was going to take the male’s lead. Yifan’s head was still red and he didn’t even dare to look straight at Yixing.

“Effortlessly beautiful, huh?”

“Please, don’t… just… I’m a sappy idiot, okay?”

Yixing would’ve loved to a little more, but he just grinned and said:

“Okay then, my sappy idiot.”

“Huh? What was that?”

“What?”

Yifan leaned in a little more and Yixing tried to do some steps back but his back touched the wall behind him. He hoped Yifan wouldn’t do anything stupid and held up his camera for some protection.

“My sappy idiot? Are you stating that I’m yours?”

“You’re making things up!” Yixing cried out, “Are you drunk already? At nine in the evening? God, where I’m from we call that ‘alcoholism’!”

Yifan snorted and leaned against the wall next to Yixing to let his gaze wander over the party.

“I’m pretty sure I heard just fine.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Let me see some pictures you took,” Yifan asked and changed the topic, but Yixing somehow sensed it was just a lame excuse to get closer to him since the older one immediately leaned into him to get a better glimpse of the photos on Yixing’s camera.

Yixing obeyed though, because he kind of liked being that close to Yifan, and he figured that if he kept showing him pictures nobody would interpret too much into their body language.

“These are nice,” Yifan said after he had taken a closer look at a picture of him and his sister doing the opening dance, “You’re good at writing… you’re good at photography… is there anything you’re not good at?”

“Math,” Yixing retorted and laughed when he saw Yifan’s dumbfounded expression, “I at math so badly. It was my worst subject, I think I only didn’t fail my final exams by one point or something.”

“Math isn’t that important… I’ve never really got taught in Math.”

“Well. You are not like everybody…”

Yifan ignored that comment and said instead:

“I was taught in things like how to sit properly at a table… I had a subject called ‘Court Rules’, can you believe that?”

“Sounds like fun,” Yixing commented, “I think I was better off with Math.”

“I also had a lot of ballroom dance lessons.”

“Well, I saw that.”

Yixing tapped the picture Yifan had just looked at. The prince grinned and took Yixing’s camera out of his hands.

“What are you doing?!”

“Hold on a moment!”

Yifan called Lixun over and shoved Yixing’s Canon into his hands with the command to keep it close, then he grabbed Yixing’s elbow and lead him to the dancefloor.

“What are you doing?!” Yixing cried out and tried to get rid of Yifan’s hand.

“I’ll show you some moves, it’ll be fun!”

“Yifan, are you out of your god damn mind?!”

Hot panic shot through Yixing’s body as Yifan pushed him further onto the dancefloor where some people were still going strong with their Discofox movements (Jessica and Yili had finally come to an agreement and took turns).

“Come on, it’s super easy!”

“We can’t just dance together, what if….!” Yixing protested and looked around like a scared bunny.

“Of course we can, I’m just teaching you some movements, relax!”

He didn’t listen to Yixing’s dissent and grabbed his hip to pull him a little closer.

“You need to be the woman for the time being, but you’ll just need to mirror the movements when you’re the man.”

“I… no! Yifan!”

“It’s always step-step-tap. You’re starting with the right foot and go backwards.”

“YIFAN!”

“Ready?”

“NO!”

Yifan started and Yixing only went along because he didn’t want to get stepped onto his toes. The prince also used the hand lingering on Yixing’s hips to guide him through the steps and Yixing wanted to die as he eyed the other dancers that turned to face them and Yifan just kept on ordering what to do.

“No, no, no! Left foot, Yixing!”

“I’m trying, okay?!”

“Don’t look at your feet!”

“How am I not supposed to look at my feet?!”

“You need to look at me!”

“Screw you, Wu Yifan!!”

When they were halfway through the song, Yifan said:

“I think you’re ready for some figures, I’m going to turn you around!”

“DON’T!!”

Yixing got twirled around and stumbled over his own feet and Yifan took him back into the basic position, laughing whole heartedly.

“You are an !”

“You looked so adorable! Let’s try again! Don’t get caught up in your own feet!”

“It’s not that easy, okay?!”

Yixing was eager to show he wasn’t a complete disaster, but he also just wanted this to end, because the two clearly drew too much attention and he already felt the disapproving look on the Emperor’s face who was still present. It felt like an eternity, but eventually the song ended and the dancers started to clap. Yixing took a deep breath when Yifan finally let go of him.

“That wasn’t bad for your first dance!”

“Oh shut up!”

“Yixing!” Yili cried out, “You turned me down but now you’re dancing with my brother? I’m heartbroken! You need to make it up to me now!”

She grabbed Yixing’s hand and positioned them for another round. Yifan wanted to protest but she cocked her head into the direction where their parents were sitting, telling him to just go along with it. Yixing and Yifan looked over where the Emperor eyed them carefully and the Empress just kept giggling like a little girl.

“Screw him,” Yixing heard Yifan mumble, but then the prince turned to Jessica, “Come on girl, let’s get this party started!”

“Finally, I thought you’d never ask!”

Yixing felt shy when Yili placed his hand on her hip but when he looked up to her, she grinned and said:

“Step, step, tap, right?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

Even though Yili kept praising him for being a natural, Yixing wasn’t too sure if he really was made for ballroom dancing or any of the like. Nevertheless, he kept dancing with her until the music stopped, leaving the dancers in slight confusion. Yixing let go of Yili and looked to YIfan who didn’t seem to understand what was going on either. Then the Empress stood up and held a microphone in front of her face.

“Yifan, my dear son, are you aware that it’s almost midnight?”

A sound of enlightenment went through the whole room and people started to clap while Yifan’s lips curled into a smile and he just shook his head. It was almost midnight, and Yixing was shocked how fast the time had gone by. Not only the last two to three hours, but also the last two months. While a staff member of the hotel the ball was being held at appeared and brought in a huge birthday cake for the prince, Yixing felt a lump in his throat that made it hard to breathe for a second.
It was almost over. What had started back in September when he had stepped into the Palace for the first time, was going to be over in 24 hours. It was weird to think back and remember how this time couldn’t have come any sooner for him. Now, Yixing just wanted time to stop because it went by too fast and he felt hopelessly helpless when he started to clap along with the other people and someone cried out there was only one more minute left until November 6th.

The whole room started to count down from ten and the closer the people got to zero, the more excited they got. Yifan on the contrary stood in front of his cake and his eyes locked with Yixing’s who was standing a few foot apart, close enough to not miss out on anything, but also far enough to not make people suspicious. When the clock struck midnight, the whole room started to cheer and sing, but Yixing just managed to crack a smile and mouth a simple ‘Happy Birthday’. Yifan returned the smirk before he leaned over and blew the candles out. It was rather weird – blowing out candles wasn’t a really hard thing, yet everybody went crazy when a birthday child managed to blow out all of them at once. Yixing still applauded with the other people and watched how Yili gave her brother a big kiss on the cheek and held him tight. Then it was Tao who hugged him, and afterwards his mother had finally fought herself through the pile of people to wish her son the best for his next year of life. Yixing didn’t really know when it was appropriate for him to say his congratulations but the decision got made for him when Yifan walked just straight over, ignoring the hands offered to him and the people who wanted to be next to wish him a happy birthday.

“I cannot believe I made it alive to 25,” he joked and Yixing just rolled his eyes.

“Dramaqueen,” he scoffed and Yifan told him to be nice, since it was his birthday.

Yixing sighed and awkwardly opened his arms, because all he wanted to do in this moment was to kiss Yifan, but he didn’t get to do that. It was weird and it asked a lot of self-restraint from the journalist.

“Happy Birthday then. I hope you’ll have a blessed year.”

“Thank you,” Yifan said and then pulled him into a hug.

For a split second, Yixing forgot the people around them and indulged in the feeling of Yifan’s arms being wrapped around him. He felt the prince’s breath at his ear and heard him say:

“I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Yixing responded in hugging the older one a little tighter and a little longer than necessary. And after they finally let go of each other, there was a lot of cake to be eaten. After the cake, there were some more drinks to be drunk and about two hours later there was the car and the driver who rolled up the partition once Yifan had told him to drive Yixing home first and then Yifan claimed his first stupid ‘Birthday Kiss’. And Yixing just obeyed, because no matter who he was trying to fool - probably himself - he had grown addicted to Yifan and his kisses and touches.

“Ew, you taste like whiskey and cream…” Yixing said after a while and Yifan snorted into the curve of the younger’s neck.

“So do you, don’t you even dare to complain.”

“Touché I guess.”

They stayed silent for a moment and then Yifan dived down again to place kisses on Yixing’s jawline and his hand between his lover’s legs. YIxing immediately jumped at the touch.

“No, stop that!”

Yifan looked up and furrowed his eyebrows, obviously confused about the rejection.

“Baby, you’re breaking my heart!” He whined and his hand wandered up the other’s inner thigh.

Yixing shuddered at the touch, even though he was still fully clothed and he grabbed Yifan’s wrist to stop him from going further.

“I can’t do this now.”

“Well, there are still ten minutes left until we reach your apartment so we don’t have to start right now.”

“Ugh, Yifan!” Yixing hissed and tried to look the other way when the older one made his infamous puppy face, the one he had grown weak to, “I can’t have you around tonight! I really need to get some done before I go to bed. And with you, I’m never getting anything done!”

Yifan seemed to be thinking about his words and then he said:

“You definitely are getting me done though.”

“YIFAN!”

“Okay, okay, okay! I get it! You need to get work done! At like… half past two in the morning, but that is okay.”

“Oh believe me you don’t have fixed working hours as a journalist.”

Yifan smiled and kissed Yixing’s cheek.

“You’re the expert on that.”

The car turned into the street where Yixing’s compound was located in and got to a halt before the main gate.

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

“Oh please I am not a kid…”

“Just let me be nice man!”

Yixing sighed, sensing that this was just another cheap trick of the other one to get his way but he didn’t protest when Yifan got out of the car with him and followed him into the apartment complex. The way that was usually filled with people who were strolling around the compound in the evening to get some grocery shopping or some running done where empty and Yifan seized the opportunity to search for Yixing’s hand in the dark and intertwine their fingers.

“It’s weird how I always need to touch you.” The prince suddenly said and it made Yixing’s stomach do little summersaults.

“UGH you’re sappy!” He said though to not give Yifan the satisfaction of his stupid statements having that effect on the smaller one.

“I know.”

They came to a halt in front of the entrance door and Yixing knew that if Yifan could set one foot into the building, he’d have won so he swiped his entrance card over the lock and only opened the door a few inches before he said:

“So, get back now, don’t let your poor driver wait too long. He deserves to finally get off work.”

“Can I get one kiss goodnight though, please?”

Yifan did not wait for an answer but locked their lips and Yixing grew weak once more. When they parted, he needed to remind himself that he really had to get some work done. He couldn’t make one more stupid decision like letting Yifan in now.

“I’ll get over as soon as I can.” He heard himself say and Yifan’s answer was a kiss on his forehead before he finally let go of him.

“I’ll count the hours until you’re back with me.” He said with a wink and a smile and made his way back to the main gate.

Yixing watched him go until he turned around a corner where he couldn’t see him anymore. Then he dashed into the building and through the door of his apartment. Luhan’s sleep was way too deep to let him wake up from the noise of the door falling shut and Yixing’s grunt that he tried to muffle in his hand. He was sure now – he was having deep and profound feelings for Yifan. But while there was this little seed of hope growing in his chest to assure him that the whole thing wasn’t one sided, the last rational thinking part of his mind tried to keep him alert of the sheer impossibility the whole thing was about to face.

Sorry the update took so long AGAIN I had visit over and stuff and yeahhhh I'm still wound up with other fics and I kind of... like,... not forgot... but I just took ages to finish this chapter SORRY