Chapter Four - Mask

Sometimes, he thinks that being a prodigy is like wearing a mask. He isn’t sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, reasoning that it’s probably a mixture of both, but he knows that it gets quite annoying at times. Sometimes, the mask fits just right and he’s comfortable going with the flow. Other times, the mask is too small and he feels exposed. This usually happens when Wufan takes him to expensive restaurants and other luxurious places. And although it doesn’t usually happen, he feels the worst when the mask is too big. It makes him feel small and misunderstood.

Although he hadn’t wanted to admit it at the time, he feels his mask is the only thing that Wufan sees when he asks him to get a haircut. It’s not that he has anything against cutting his hair, because haircuts are good once in a while, but the way Wufan insists so incessantly upon it irks him a bit. If Wufan had wanted someone with a good head of hair to begin with, what in the world was he doing with Yixing then? Sometimes, Wufan’s logic can be so confusing.

Now, Yixing will readily admit that he isn’t the best with emotional intelligence, and that probably translates into most of his relationships being clumsy and awkward, but damn it, he’s trying! He wishes that Wufan could see that, because it’s taking so much of his effort and energy to try that hard, energy that he could put to better use by focussing on his doctoral paper. A very important doctoral paper, he might add – one that could pave the way for future studies in microbiology. This was why, he reasoned, getting a haircut was out of the question.

There was also one more thing that irritated him, even though he pretended otherwise – Wufan’s choice of date night locations. He was never asked for input, and whenever he was, it was never agreed upon. Why, just last night he had made a perfectly viable suggestion to go to a scientific conference, and it had been promptly shot down! It was the perfect place for a date – it was entertaining as well as informative, not to mention the fact that it would greatly aid his research for his thesis. Two birds with one stone! How could Wufan not see that?

However, he didn’t want to focus on such ominous things. It was unimportant, he decided. The fact that he had managed to land a man such as Wufan was too much of a good thing to risk losing. So he pushed such disastrous thoughts towards the back of his mind, and smiled as if nothing happened. If he thought positively, things would surely be alright, would it not?

And so with the power of positive thinking, he sat across from Wufan in yet another five star restaurant, smiling like the happiest man in the world.

Wufan, for his part, looked at him as if he had suddenly lost his mind. “What are you so happy about?”

Yixing smiled a bigger smile, if that was at all possible. “I’m just happy that we’re seeing the success of another date night.”

Wufan raised his eyebrow, an amused smile twitching at the corner of his lips. “Well, seeing as this is the 30^th date we’ve gone on, I suppose that does give one a reason to celebrate, does it not?”

Yixing’s eyes lit up. “Certainly.” He pushed his bowl of soup away, making way for his main course of braised lobster in champagne sauce. “How do you propose we celebrate?”

Wufan picked up his fork and knife, cutting into his own meal of fish. “Have I ever invited you over to my house?”

Yixing shook his head.

“Oh. Well, I guess we could have a movie marathon?”

Yixing nodded. “Sounds great!”

A few hours later, they arrived at Wufan’s grandiose apartment. “Well, here we are. Home sweet home.”

Yixing could do nothing but admire it. Wufan’s apartment was modern by any standards, if the monochrome colour scheme was anything to go by. The walls were a crisp, clean white, as was the sofa, with black pillows lazily scattered on top of it. The coffee table was made of sparkling glass, as was the dinner table, he noticed later. The lighting also proved to be modern and chic, using the little model lights seen mostly on catwalks. It was certainly better than his dump of an apartment.

A warm, throaty chuckle rang out behind him. “If you’re done admiring my humble abode, the entertainment system is all set for our movie marathon.”

He looked down, embarrassed and walked over to the sofa.

Wufan dimmed the lights and with a remote control, activated the entertainment system. An American scary movie was playing, much to Yixing’s chagrin. Make no mistake, he absolutely loved scary movies, but only if they were the Japanese variety. They did a better job in scaring him, he reasoned.

Halfway through the first scene, Wufan paused it. “Ah, you prefer Japanese scary movies, right?”

Yixing shyly nodded. “But it’s okay. You don’t have to change it on my account.” He knew Wufan preferred the American ones, anyway.

“No, it’s absolutely not okay.” Wufan insisted, putting another disc into the DVD drive. “It’s our celebration; we should do what makes both of us happy.”

“But you don’t like the Japanese ones.” Yixing argued.

Wufan pressed the play button, and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend. “Xing-ah, I didn’t say I hated them. I just prefer the American ones is all. I can still enjoy both, though.” He kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head.

Yixing smiled giddily. “Thanks, ge.”

It was moments like this that made him believe in fairy tales. Although he was a man of science and possessed a scientist’s rational brain, he still believed in fairy tales. He didn’t know whether it was because he was still young or inexperienced, but the feeling was nice. Wufan was now holding him warmly, his head on the taller male’s chest, while the top of his head was pressed with feathery kisses. Yes, it was beautiful alright.

The lips that kissed his head trailed down to kiss his forehead, then his nose, then his mouth. They started nibbling on his lower lip, before moulding them together, causing Yixing to gasp. With entrance being granted, his boyfriend’s tongue began to slide in and explore the hot caverns of his mouth. Whatever he had been thinking about before disappeared from his mind as he allowed the feeling of pleasure to take over.

Wufan gradually deepened the kiss, while his hands struggled at the stubborn buttons of his shirt. A woman’s scream pierced through the room from the TV but it went unnoticed. Wufan was now removing the shirt, trailing his hands all over his boyfriend’s milky skin. That however, did not go unnoticed by Yixing. “Wait!”

Wufan slowly broke the kiss, lazily looking at Yixing’s face. “Hmm, what is it Xing Xing?”

Yixing looked down at himself. “I… I’m not ready yet, ge.”

Wufan was silent.

“Ge?”

Wufan did not answer him. Instead, he took his hands off his body and looked away, calmly exhaling. “I see.”

Yixing tilted his head towards his boyfriend. “That’s okay… right?”

Another deafening round of silence passed, with Wufan still not turning around.

“Ge…” Yixing tugged at his boyfriend’s shirt. “That is okay… right?”

When Wufan finally turned around, he had the smallest forced smile on his face. “Of course, Yixing.” He ruffled his hair. “That’s perfectly okay.”

But Yixing knows. He knows and it breaks his heart. However, he chooses not to show it, slipping into the mask of the naïve, geeky boy. His prodigy mask. “I’m glad.” He giggled.  “Wait for me, okay?”

Sometimes, he thinks that happiness itself is a mask. 

___

Author's notes: Today, I uploaded a lilttle faster, so you didn't have to wait that long for this chapter! *Pats self on back* Upon reading it again, I noticed that I portrayed Kris as a big in this fic, a bigger than I intended him to be. I wrote this chapter in Yixing's point of view, did you guys notice? I find that I like Yixing's point of view better somehow - it is much easier to write than Kris' point of view. Anyhow, I shall stop rambling now. >.<

Thanks to those who answered my question on Kris' colour. I really enjoyed reading your answers and your logic behind them, they make a lot of sense! 

Oh, did you guys notice that I now have a poster and a background? All credit goes to the very talented UnicornHepHap! :)