16

Yang Qiu flipped his face upward to look at Chen Xia, who was still sitting on the pile of clothes in his closet with his face buried in his hands.

​"Wait no- I didn't mean it like that… no, yes I did… but…well…" Chen Xia was extremely flustered. He did not expect himself to say something like that. 

​"It's just… you are so important to me, and you suddenly coming back into my life is so overwhelming… But not in a bad way at all, of course! I guess I just couldn't handle all of my emotions," Chen Xia rushed to explain both to Yang Qiu and to himself. "I don't really know what this feeling is, but if it is love, then so be it." Chen Xia finished with quietly. 

​Feeling a rejuvenating confidence from speaking the words of his heart, Chen Xia found the courage to look up into Yang Qiu's eyes.

​"I-"

​Yang Qiu stared back into Chen Xia's eyes as he was at a loss for words. He could hear his own heartbeats pounding in his chest. How did this happen? When did things start to feel like this? 

Yang Qiu knew something felt different this time when he came back, but he hadn't been able to say exactly what it was that had changed. Chen Xia was still Chen Xia, and he was still himself. But how come it felt so different when they talked? His heart pounded when their eyes met, his chest burned when they hugged. This was his realization.

​"I… I think I'm in love with you too," Yang Qiu mumbledquietly, his face turning red.

​Chen Xia stared at Yang Qiu blankly before a smile grew rapidly in a delayed reaction.

"W- what did you say?" Chen Xia could feel the excitement coursing through his entire body.

Yang Qiu's ears flushed completely red and was unable to say anything.

Chen Xia quickly stood up and walked over to Yang Qiu, kneeling down in front of Yang Qiu's huddled figure. 

"You're.... super red," Chen Xia pointed out, trying his best to hold back a grin.

Yang Qiu raised his arms to bury his face further, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Chen Xia reached out to lift Yang Qiu's head, holding his face with both hands. He stared at Yang Qiu's blushing face, feeling his smile widening. 

Yang Qiu continued looking down, unable to meet Chen Xia's eyes. 

"Can you… say that again?" Chen Xia asked earnestly.

Yang Qiu's face somehow grew even redder as he felt Chen Xia's stare burn into himself. 

"I think I'm in love with you, Xiaxia," Yang Qiu mumbled. 

Chen Xia's heart pounded, and suddenly pulled Yang Qiu's face towards him, pressing his lips against his own. 

Shocked, Yang Qiu's first instinct was to push Chen Xia away. But when he pushed his hands out, they landed without force onto Chen Xia's chest. Yang Qiu suddenly felt as if his body had melted into a puddle and was unable to exert any force into his hands. 

For a long while Chen Xia did not let go of Yang Qiu, and Yang Qiu did not pull away either. 

​Finally, Chen Xia released his grip on Yang Qiu, and the two stared at each other, panting.

​Yang Qiu blushed profusely and tore his gaze away. 

​Cute. Chen Xia extended his arms and wrapped Yang Qiu into a hug.

​"I'm so glad you're back, Gege," Chen Xia murmured into Yang Qiu's ear.

​"Me too." Yang Qiu mumbled as he buried his head into Chen Xia's chest. 

​Yang Qiu felt himself melting into the warmth and comfort of Chen Xia's chest. As his body started to relax, Yang Qiu began to feel tired. Slowly, he drifted to sleep in Chen Xia's embrace.

​At dinnertime Mrs. Chen knocked on the door. She received no response. 

​She knocked again. And when the room was still silent, she quietly opened the door, only to see the two boys huddled on the ground, Chen Xia's arms wrapped around Yang Qiu. 

​And I thought Yang Qiu would be the one comforting Xiaxia! Looks like their roles were reversed, haha. Mrs. Chen mused to herself. They must have had a lot to talk about. I'll let them rest.

​Mrs. Chen carefully closed the door and left. 

A few minutes later, Chen Xia woke up, opening his eyes slowly. As he grew more conscious, he realized his head was resting on something. Raising his head and looking down, Chen Xia saw his arms wrapped around Yang Qiu, who was still asleep with his head resting on Chen Xia's shoulder. Chen Xia blushed, and his heartbeat quickened.

Chen Xia looked at the clock on the wall which read 6:37 pm. 

It's dinnertime… but Gege is still sleeping. Chen Xia smiled to himself, then closed his eyes again, resting his head back on top of Yang Qiu's head. 

Another few minutes passed, and Chen Xia felt Yang Qiu move against his arms. He opened his eyes. 

"Gege, are you awake?" Chen Xia asked softly.

"Mm." Yang Qiu sat up and rubbed his eyes, feeling disoriented from having just woken up.

"Where am I… oh." He flushed red. 

Chen Xia couldn't hold back a chuckle. 

"It's time for dinner. Let's go," Chen Xia said as he stood up.

"Oh, yeah, o- okay," Yang Qiu replied, flustered.

Chen Xia couldn't stop smiling. I feel like I'm dreaming… He held his hand out to help Yang Qiu up and pulled him downstairs to dinner. 

On the dinner table there were four steaming bowls of noodles. 

Mrs. Chen was sitting in her seat at the table. Seeing the boys walk in, she smiled.

"There you are! Hurry and eat before the noodles get cold."

The two boys walked in and sat down awkwardly next to each other and picked up their chopsticks.

Soon after, Mr. Chen walked in and sat down as well. 

"Oho? Yang Qiu, I knew you could talk some sense into Xiaxia, haha!" Mr. Chen was glad to see that the boys seemed to have reconciled. 

Yang Qiu smiled shyly but said nothing. The four of them ate in silence for a while.

After a while, Mrs. Chen spoke up.

"Is something wrong? You two are awfully quiet," she said, concerned.

Both boys began to blush profusely, avoiding eye contact.

"Well?" Mrs. Chen asked.

"Mom…"

"Yes?"

"Um, Gege and I…"

"It's nothing," Yang Qiu cut in suddenly.

"I hardly believe that," Mrs. Chen said with a frown. "Just tell us what's wrong. What's there to be scared of?"

"Yeah, what's up, boys? Feel free to speak your mind." Mr. Chen chimed in.

For a moment neither of the boys said anything.

Chen Xia mustered up the courage and began to speak.

"Um well… Yang Qiu and I… we confessed to each other," he mumbled.

Both boys blushed even harder, and Yang Qiu lowered his head further.

"Is that it?" Mrs. Chen asked.

"Uh, yeah?" Chen Xia was caught off guard at his mom's mild reaction.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, why was that so hard to say? You two have always been so close…," Mrs. Chen said with a small smile. She was a bit surprised, but it was nothing that wasn't to be expected. 

Were we that obvious? Yang Qiu was flustered.

"Huh?" Chen Xia was shocked, and also extremely embarrassed that his mom had known this possibility before even they themselves came to terms with their feelings. "So… is this you accepting us?" 

"Since when have we not accepted you guys?" Mr. Chen said, pretending to be offended. 

"But-" 

"No buts. As long as you two are happy, we are also happy," Mrs. Chen said firmly. Mr. Chen nodded in agreement.

​For a moment Chen Xia was at a loss for words. He was expecting some difficulties, and so when things happened so smoothly and perfectly, he was caught off guard. 

​"T-thank you," Yang Qiu managed to say quietly, feeling extremely moved. 

​"What for?" Mrs. Chen smiled. "Your happiness brings us joy as well."

"That's right, so stop worrying so much. Now come on, the noodles are getting cold. We can't let that happen to these specialty noodles, can we now!" Mr. Chen grinned. 

After dinner the boys returned to Chen Xia's room. 

"You'll stay the night, right?" Chen Xia asked earnestly.

"Um…"

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Stay here." Chen Xia guided Yang Qiu to the bed and had him sit down. 

Chen Xia then went to his closet and pulled out a few clothing items, then turned back around to hand them to Yang Qiu.

"Here, you can wear these. I don't know if they'll fit… they might be too big…" Chen Xia suddenly felt rather self-conscious.

"I still remember when we were younger, I was taller than you, and you were scared the clothes would be too small on me," Yang Qiu said with a smile. "Now you've gotten so tall…"

Chen Xia blushed. Ever since he had grown taller than his Gegeit was his goal to be able to serve as a protector of sorts for Yang Qiu. 

"Do you want to shower first?" Chen Xia changed the topic.

"It's okay, you can go first," Yang Qiu replied. 

"Alright," Chen Xia said, secretly relieved that he could escape the overwhelming tightness in his chest whenever he was with Yang Qiu. Though it wasn't unwelcome, he was still not quite used to it. This is bad for my heart… Chen Xia blushed as he turned around.

After Chen Xia left the room Yang Qiu sat on the bed motionlessly. This feels like a dream…

When Chen Xia finished his shower and came back into the room, Yang Qiu was still sitting in the same place. He was looking at his hands.

"Gege, you can go shower now," Chen Xia said, water dripping from his hair.

He turned and walked towards the closet, pulling out a set of teddy bear pajamas. 

Yang Qiu looked up. 

"Pfft. Your pajamas are so cute." Yang Qiu giggled.

"Of course you'd point that out…" Chen Xia flushed a bit, embarrassed.

"I like them. It was a compliment," Yang Qiu said with a smile.

"Just go shower already," Chen Xia said, face red. 

"Haha, okay," Yang Qiu replied, then went to shower.

This is really bad for my heart. Chen Xia rubbed his face and sighed, heart thumping. 

Yang Qiu walked into the bathroom. It smelled like Chen Xia's shampoo, as it always did. But today felt different, Yang Qiu blushed as his heartbeats quickened.

He laid down the clothes Chen Xia had given him and began to brush his teeth.

Yang Qiu looked at himself in the mirror. Yang Qiu… what happened to you? His mind began to wander, and Chen Xia's face popped into his mind. He blushed and turned away, unable to look at himself. 

Yang Qiu went to shower and used the same shampoo Chen Xia had used. Now I'll smell like him… Yang Qiu shook his head. What am I thinking…

After he was done, he put on the pajamas Chen Xia had given him. They were slightly too big, but still fit more or less well. 

As he returned to Chen Xia's bedroom Yang Qiu saw Chen Xia sitting on the bed holding a box. 

"What's that?"

"Come here, I'll show you." Chen Xia gestured for Yang Qiu to come sit beside him.

Yang Qiu walked over and carefully sat down next to Chen Xia, nervous to get too close.

But much to his shock, Yang Qiu was pulled into Chen Xia's lap, and he felt Chen Xia's arms wrap around him from behind. 

"What are you doing-"

"You used my shampoo." Chen Xia sniffed at the top of Yang Qiu's head.

"Yeah…" Yang Qiu blushed and tried to squirm his way out of Chen Xia's grip but failed to do so. 

"You smell like me now, hehe." Chen Xia tightened his embrace and buried his face into Yang Qiu's nape. 

Yang Qiu turned red.

"J-just tell me what's in the box."

"Haha, okay," Chen Xia said. 

He let go of Yang Qiu and reached towards the box, taking off its lid. 

Inside was a pile of papers of varied wear and tear, but all folded neatly and placed carefully inside.

"Are these-"

"Yes. I kept them all. While you were gone… these were my treasures." Chen Xia leaned forward. "They kept me sane." 

"Stop being so dramatic," Yang Qiu said, feigning nonchalance, but his bright red ears betrayed him.

"I'm not being dramatic. If you hadn't sent these letters… I don't know how I would have survived this whole time…" Chen Xia's voice trailed away, suddenly realizing how embarrassing his words were.

"… Stop saying things like that…" Yang Qiu hugged his legs towards his chest and buried his face.

He's so cute. Chen Xia wrapped his arms around the balled-up Yang Qiu once again. 

​After sensing no further movement from Chen Xia, Yang Qiu pushed out against Chen Xia's arms. 

​"Um, I th-think we should go to bed now…"

​Chen Xia did not respond.

​"Xiaxia…"

​"Fine." Chen Xia let go unwillingly.

​Chen Xia watched as Yang Qiu shifted himself away and under the blankets. Only after Yang Qiu had settled down and the lights were turned off did he himself lay down too. 

​For a few minutes the two lay there listening to the sound of each other's breathing and their own heartbeats.

​"Gege… can I hug you?"

​"… You already did earlier," Yang Qiu said, though he wasn't against the idea. 

​"Please?"

​"Fine."

​Chen Xia shifted over and pulled Yang Qiu towards himself. Yang Qiu buried his head into Chen Xia's chest. 

​Thump. Thump. Thump.

​Their heartbeats pounded together, loud and strong. 

​"You've slept over so many times… but this time feels different. Everything feels different" Chen Xia mumbled.

​Yang Qiu was silent.

​"I love you Gege."

​"… I… I love you too, Xiaxia," Yang Qiu replied quietly, feeling his heartbeats quicken.

​Chen Xia felt Yang Qiu's voice against his chest. He hugged Yang Qiu even tighter.

​"I won't let you leave again. Let's be together forever," Chen Xia said earnestly.

​"…Mm" Yang Qiu responded. 

​Their breaths slowed, and after a long while they fell asleep in each other's embrace.