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Xingqiu and Chongyun were always the best of friends, they were practically inseparable. You'd never seen one without the other- arm in arm, skipping down the bustling streets in Liyue. Practically everyone knew about their friendship, some speculated they were always more than friends, but no one would ever actually ask them their status. However, today, only Chongyun was solemnly mooching beside the harbour.
After aimlessly walking for a little while, the sky blue-haired boy sat, dangling his legs off the side of the wooden planks that reached out into the sea. He didn't set his gaze on anything in particular however it looked like he was eyeing all the boats coming into the docks.
It was almost as if he was... waiting for something, or rather, someone.
Passerby's glanced at the unusually glum boy, he imagined that everyone was thinking that Xingqiu was the reason for his dejected look. Most of the time, Chongyun was a serious fellow who was always hard to read and had a very strong dislike for any wrongdoings- still, he was too afraid to speak up, always leaving that to his counterpart, this could be due to the extensive martial arts training, being told to always keep his emotions at bay; or merely just his ability to close off his inner emotions to everyone. Xingqiu, however, was a boy who was prone to getting himself into a little bit of trouble and was never afraid to speak his mind or speak up against any injustices, especially when Chongyun would be the butt of the joke.
Chongyun, in truth, was thinking about his best friend, he looked upset because it was his birthday today, but Xingqiu has failed to be in contact with him. Usually, the pair would spend the entire day together, shopping, eating out, and giggling. Yet, Xingqiu was nowhere to be seen. Initially, Chongyun had thought "Ah, maybe Xingqiu is just caught up in some work- surely he'll come to see me later, or at the very least he'll send me a message.", but his optimism cannot last forever, and its 6:30 pm, the sun was setting- so surely he must've just... forgotten. "It's ok," he thought to himself. "I'm sure he's busy, after all, he is heir to the clan"
He sat for a little while longer, before realizing that he should probably get home. On the way back, he took one final glance towards the area in which Xingqiu lived, in the hope that he'd jump out with a giant confetti cannon, ready to yell "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHONGYUN!!!!", as they meet each other with a warm embrace and a smile of relief from the light blue-haired boy. However, nothing happened. The last of Chongyun's hopes had left his body in one big, long sigh. He slumped his shoulders and began to feel tears well in his eyes.
As he approached his front door, he began fumbling for the key in his pocket. Slowly, he twisted the key, allowing one final teardrop to fall from his face before wiping his swollen, red eyes and pushing the door open. It made a slow creak as Chongyun stepped through the door. The house itself was silent as usual (Chongyun's family are often out training or sleeping), so he walked up the stairs to go lay down on his bed- he had purely given up on waiting for Xingqiu, it wasn't going to happen.
Upstairs, a beam of light crept under the door to his room and out into the hallway. The blue-haired boy stopped in his tracks, trying to recollect whether he turned off his bedroom light this morning. He stepped very lightly up the next few steps, being precautious before trying to channel his energy into a calm atmosphere, so he can think more level-headedly. The boy proceeded to open up the door with caution, still finding it hard to see with his puffy eyes. Yet, instead of an intruder- there stood a very recognizable (and attractive) figure. Slender legs, thin waist, small shoulders, killer jawline, and an unforgivable haircut.
It was Xingqiu, he was led on Chongyun's bed, with his nose in a book.
Chongyun felt his eyes begin to well with tears again. God he missed him so much- on such an important day too, while he was still thankful that his friend had finally decided to show himself, he still couldn't help but feel a little upset by the fact he hasn't been in contact with him the entire day.
Xingqiu pulled his eyes up from his book, only to make direct eye contact with Chongyun. He couldn't hold it in anymore. There and then, the floodgates opened. Tears began mercilessly pouring down the blue-haired boy's face and he pushed his hands to his face to attempt to hide from this total embarrassment- yet, it was too late. Xingqiu rushed up, shoving his bookmark carelessly in between two pages, and quickly dragged Chongyun into a familiar hug. Chongyun held Xingqiu tightly as if they were lovers in their final moments.
Xingqiu could feel his shoulder becoming damp from the other boy's tears, but he didn't care. After all, he was being hugged like never before. Chongyun's love language had always been physical touch (as surprising as it sounds), so a hug from him isn't anything out of the ordinary, but this hug felt... different. Chongyun had butterflies as Xingqiu had his arms carefully wrapped around the larger boy.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Xingqiu said, rubbing the other's back.
"Where have you been all day... I've looked everywhere for you." He choked back a sob. "I missed you, I wanted to do something with you because it's... my... birthday." Chongyun heard his voice begin to trail off, he didn't want to upset Xingqiu.
"Aw, my Chongyun," Xingqiu finally broke free from Chongyun's hug. "You didn't get my message did you?"
Chongyun's head cocked to the side a little, while Xingqiu decided to sit down on the edge of Chongyun's bed and patted the cloth next to him- so that the brighter-haired boy can sit next to him. Xingqiu took both of the other boy's hands into his own once Chongyun had settled on the bed. They kept affectionate eye contact, which was a bit of a surprise to Xingqiu, as he is usually the flirtatious one of the duo.
"I sent out a message saying that I have something important to tell you and that I will meet you at yours around 4 pm." Chongyun broke eye contact for a moment, suddenly feeling a little guilty. "I sat here for hours, hoping you'd show up. I-I..." Xingqiu suddenly lost confidence in his words "I thought you were scared of what I was going to say and ran away from me."
Xingqiu smiled to hide the tears forming in his eyes, one managed to escape down his cheek. Chongyun, feeling an immense amount of anger within himself, began to cry a little too. "Shit..." he swore to himself, quietly, so that Xingqiu couldn't hear. Chongyun rarely swore, he only ever did when his emotions were overwhelming him.
"I'm sorry," Xingqiu said with a deep sigh. Chongyun wanted to butt in and say that he should be the one that is sorry, yet he let the other continue.
"I'm sorry because I wanted to tell you that I like you."
The air changed around them. It felt thick, yet heavy, calming, yet overbearing.
Xingqiu broke eye contact and moved his hands over to his lap, this is where he broke out into a complete sob. Chongyun could see that he was shaking, he put his arm around his shoulder and shuffled closer. Holding the hands of the thinner boy with just one of his.
Chongyun smiled lightly "That's ok. It's ok." There was a long pause. "I like you too you know."
It took a moment to register in both the boy's heads what the larger boy said. Xingqiu glanced towards Chongyun, who still isn't sure what made him say that. He knew it wasn't a lie though. The first acknowledgment of his feelings was out in the open before he could even process it.
Xingqiu took this moment of realisation to fully turn around to face Chongyun and plant a gentle kiss on his lips, which made Chongyun turn beet red.
"I really like you... Yun Yun." Xingqiu giggled subtly at his new pet name, before giving him another kiss. "Happy Birthday Chongyun."