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Chongyun swore no one was more patient than he was; for he was in love with the most oblivious idiot he had ever met and no matter the advances he made; it seems nothing could convince Xingqiu that he was doing them romantically. To be fair, Chongyun had been awfully indulgent towards Xingqiu their entire friendship so maybe that was a fault on his part.

“You’re whipped.” Xiangling giggled, pushing a bowl of crystal shrimp his way.

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t keep reminding me.” Chongyun said mournfully, picking up his chopsticks and digging in.

“I don’t know how he hasn’t picked up on it yet, truly.” She said. “Xingqiu writes romance, he prides himself on being so knowledgeable about it and yet –”

“And yet.” Chongyun sighed. “A-Ling, this feels hopeless.”

“Don’t give up now, A-Yun.” Xiangling pouted. “You’ve been at it for so long. I think as soon as it hits Xingqiu, it’ll all become clear.”

“I don’t want to push him into anything. I’d be happy to live my life as his best friend and only his best friend if that’s what he wants.” Chongyun said.

“You consider his feelings too much and yours not enough.” Xiangling stole a piece of shrimp from his plate. “Think about actually telling him.”

“Like last time went well.” Chongyun scoffed.

“A-Yun, Last time was five years ago and you yourself said you didn’t think A-Qiu was ready then. He’s grown up now, you both have. You should tell him.” She urged.

“Maybe, I don’t – I don’t know.” He went silent for a bit. “I’m leaving tonight to train with Adeptus Xiao for a while.”

“Adeptus Xiao? Really! That’s huge, Chongyun!” Xiangling beamed.

“Guess I finally wore him down. Maybe Ganyu-qianbei helped convince him, or Cloud Retainer.” Chongyun shrugged. “I’ll be away for a couple of weeks.”

“That’s… way longer than your other trips and training.” Xiangling’s voice lowered. Previously, the only times Chongyun was away had been for exorcisms which were always be less than a week spent away. His training was done with other adepti, to control his Yang Spirit and learn the same skills his aunt Shenhe did with Cloud Retainer; that training he did while still living in Liyue Harbour, simply going back and forth.

A weeks long trip was new.

“Yeah.”

“Does Xingqiu know?”

“I told him but… he’s been busy these days so he hasn’t brought it up or anything.” Chongyun shrugged, wiping away the look of pain that briefly flickered onto his face.

“A-Yun…” Xiangling frowned.

“It’s okay, A-Ling.” Chongyun shook his head. “I’ll see him when I’m back anyways.” True to his word, Chongyun departed that night armed with his claymore and a bag of clothes. He waved her off as he walked past Wanmin Restaurant and disappeared in the distance.

Meanwhile, Xingqiu felt like there was something wrong, or perhaps missing, as he went about his day writing reports and standing in for inspections and all sorts of meetings for the Feiyun Commerce Guild. At noon, when he finally had a chance to take a break and get some food, he went to Xiangling.

“A-Ling, they’re running me ragged.” Xingqiu threw himself down at a table and popped the first two buttons of his collar. “Is Chongyun here yet?”

“Chongyun?” Xiangling gave him a weird look. “He’s away training with Adeptus Xiao. He said he told you.”

“Oh no, he did tell me.” Xingqiu straightened with a gasp as the realisation hit him of what he was missing. “I forgot!”

“He left last night.” Xiangling gave him a pitying look, sliding a bowl of noodles onto his table. “Baba, I’m going on break!”

“Alright, Ling-er!” Her father called back.

“He didn’t come see me.” Xingqiu pouted, sliding his noodles around the bowl with his chopsticks.

“He mentioned you were busy lately.” Xiangling shrugged.

“Not too busy to say goodbye. When’s he coming back? Next week?”

“A-Qiu, he said he’d be away a couple weeks.” Xiangling said softly.

“Weeks as in plural?” Xingqiu gaped. “I’m a terrible friend.”

“You’ve been a little absent-minded lately.” She nodded. “I wouldn’t say it in front of A-Yun because Archons know he’s your biggest defender.” She sighed.

“He’s my best friend, of course he is.” Xingqiu waved it off but Xiangling had been simmering with these feelings since her conversation with Chongyun the night before, so she was lacking the patience to deal with her oblivious friend.

“Just your best friend?” She raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“A-Qiu, listen.” Xiangling sat down. “I was trying to respect Chongyun’s wishes and give you time but I feel like I’m losing my mind. I want you to think this really hard, is he just your best friend? You’ve written so many books like this but in real life, you’re so oblivious to it.”

Xingqiu frowned, leaning his chin on the palm of his head and thinking back. It was true that Chongyun was very indulgent with Xingqiu, in a way he wasn’t with anyone else, not even Xiangling. He had been so for years so Xingqiu never chalked it up to being anything else. Chongyun was always ready, at his beck and call practically.

If Xingqiu wanted to buy some books, Chongyun would tag along and insist on carrying the massive pile that Xingqiu picked out at the store and lug it all the way home for him. If Xingqiu wanted to spend a few days away from the city and his parents were hesitant despite him being able to protect himself, Chongyun wouldn’t hesitate to volunteer himself and his claymore to protect Xingqiu.

As he focussed, more and more things came to the forefront of his mind: how Chongyun never seemed to say no to him, or rather seemed unable to say no to him, how Chongyun seemed to flush such a colour when he got close to Xingqiu or whenever he said or did anything particularly affectionate, how Chongyun seemed to always reach for his hand in crowds so he wouldn’t lose him, and he recalled Chongyun’s propensity for throwing himself into danger when Xingqiu was involved.

The more he thought, the more his own face flushed red. It felt like his mind was one of those Fontainian films, playing a series of events on loop from his memory and he was just watching from the audience as everything finally came clear.

“Is Chongyun in love with me?”

Oh, you’ve finally realised, have you?” She replied, nonchalantly.

“Xiangling.” Xingqiu pleaded desperately. “I’m serious.”

“I am too. It isn’t like Chongyun tries very hard to hide it.”

“How long?” He asked weakly.

“I don’t remember a time he wasn’t in love with you.” She replied truthfully, watching the horror dawn on Xingqiu’s expression.

“What?” Xingqiu breathed. “All this time he – he never said anything! Why did he never…”

“He did.” Xiangling had a sympathetic smile on her face. “Years ago, he did.”

“When did he…”

Xingqiu felt like he was in a daze as he wandered the streets in the aftermath of the worst disaster to ever hit Liyue Harbour, or Liyue in general, in what must have been centuries. He felt aches in different places of his body and he was fairly certain blood was trickling down from a cut on his forehead, but with all the rain rushing down around him, he could well be mistaken.

“Xingqiu!” An unmistakable voice called and the blue-haired boy turned to see Chongyun running through the streets, dodging people and rubble with his claymore strapped to his back. He wasted no time in rushing to wrap his arms around Xingqiu and squeeze him tight. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” Xingqiu replied, nodding his head before he tightened his arms around his best friend, nuzzling his head against Chongyun’s shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“Ganyu-qianbei healed me.” Chongyun pulled away and frowned as he brushed his fingers against a spot on Xingqiu’s forehead, the place he suspected was bleeding. “You’re hurt.”

“I’ll go see Baizhu-daifu later.” Xingqiu murmured. But Chongyun stood there, staring at his forehead with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw. “Chongyun?”

“I was really scared.” Chongyun admitted.

“So was I. I think that’s a pretty normal reaction when it comes to a situation like this.” Xingqiu chuckled.

“No, no for… not for myself, for you.” Chongyun shook his head. “It’s – I know you’re strong but I just kept thinking what if you got really hurt, or… or… something worse, you know? You’re the most important person to me, A-Qiu, truly. I love you.”

Xingqiu couldn’t put his finger on what was so different about Chongyun’s declaration in comparison to when they expressed their affection in the past but he noticed the other boys cheeks and ears flushing red. “You know I love you too, A-Yun. You’re going red, are you sure you’re okay?”

And Chongyun deflated for a second, his bottom lip quivering before he wiped his face with the palm of his hand and straightened once more, plastering a wobbly smile on. “We should get out of the rain before you catch a cold.”

“So responsible, Yunyun.” Xingqiu teased but he obliged.

“Oh.” Xingqiu felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. “He tried to tell me, after Osial.”

“Yeah.” Xiangling nodded.

“Xiangling, that was five years ago.” Xingqiu said weakly. “Did he think I rejected him?”

“I don’t know if I should be divulging secrets Chongyun told me in confidence…” Xiangling crossed her arms over her chest.

“Please, A-Ling. I need to know. I – I need to know how bad I messed up; I have to make it up to him.”

“Chongyun is easy to please when it comes to you. You don’t have to make anything up to him, just say sorry and he’ll forgive you in the blink of an eye.” She snapped her fingers and sighed. “He said he thought you weren’t ready for a relationship so he would wait. That’s why he never said anything after that but he never hid how he felt.”

“Did he think I just knew all this time and never did anything because I wasn’t ready?” Xingqiu gasped.

“Were you ready?” Xiangling raised an eyebrow.

“I –” Xingqiu paused to think, hit with the realisation that Chongyun maybe knew him better than he knew himself, because he wouldn’t have been ready all those years ago. “Not then.” Came the soft response.

“And now?”

“It never really crossed my mind that I could have feelings for my best friend.” He said quietly. “But now, realising everything he did for me and just… I don’t know him; I feel like there’s no other way I would ever feel. It just makes sense, of course I love him.”

“Hey, I’m proud of you for realising, A-Qiu.” Xiangling smiled, patting his hand. “Maybe now A-Yun will stop moping in my restaurant.”

“He moped?” Xingqiu’s expression dropped. “I hate when he mopes, he makes that face and it makes me sad.”

“And you didn’t realise you were in love with him until today?” Xiangling giggled. “I’m holding this over you for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re the worst.” Xingqiu gave her a glare. “Oh no, my noodles! They’re cold!”

Over the course of the following weeks, all Xingqiu did was mope and miss Chongyun. They had never been apart for this long before and with his new-found feelings, it was way worse. He wanted to tell his parents, if only to stave off the proposals they keep pushing his way, but he refused to let anyone else know before he told Chongyun himself, it just didn’t feel fair.

Xingqiu didn’t know the exact date Chongyun would be coming back but approximately three weeks after he left, he ran into Aether by the docks. “Oh, hello. Long time no see, Aether!”

“Xingqiu.” Aether smiled, blinking in surprise. “On a stroll?”

“Escaping work for a little. It’s draining my lifeforce I think.” Xingqiu said seriously. “And I miss Chongyun, that might be what’s really draining my lifeforce.”

“I ran into him and Xiao a few days ago.” Aether hummed. “He said they were almost done.”

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Xingqiu’s eyes widened.

“Xiao mentioned before the end of the week.” Aether replied, an apologetic smile on his face that he couldn’t provide more details. It was the middle of the week so Chongyun would be back sometime in the next three or so days. “You two haven’t been apart before?”

“Not for this long.” Xingqiu sighed, gazing out at the setting sun over the horizon.

“They say distance makes the heart grow fonder.” Aether patted his shoulder. “He’s almost home, Xingqiu.”

“How do you deal with the distance?” Xingqiu asked before he paused. “Oh, sorry… is that weird to ask? I just – everyone kind of knows about you and Adeptus Xiao.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Aether’s eyes glowed with mirth. “You can ask me, just… maybe don’t bring it up to A-Xiao.”

“I wouldn’t.” Xingqiu shook his head fervently.

“It’s never easy to love someone and not always be with them but you and Chongyun have known each other a lot longer than Xiao and me, so not spending time together is out of the norm for you.” Aether said. “I try and see him as much as I can, and sometimes he comes traveling with me. it’s hard but… we make do because we love each other.”

“Love, hm? Thank you, Aether.”

“Anytime.”

Xingqiu got no warning when Chongyun returned, just a knock on his door with a messenger telling him his exorcist friend was outside. He had never dropped his quill and paper quicker, uncaring if he splattered ink over those words he had spent hours working on because Chongyun was more important. He rushed downstairs, hearing the echoes of servants telling him to slow down and be careful lest he trip and crack his head open but he didn’t care.

Chongyun stood in the entryway of the house, the door still open behind him and Archons, he was a sight for sore eyes. His hands and knuckles were wrapped in some bandage or tape of sorts and the handle of his claymore peaked out from behind his head. His clothing bag was slung over one shoulder, clutched by a hand and in his other hand he held a carefully wrapped package.

“A-Yun!” Xingqiu called, throwing himself at his best friend, who scrambled to keep his balance but never toppled. He would never let Xingqiu fall. He felt one hand wrap around his waist and hug him back before he was put back down on his own two feet. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Chongyun’s little smile appeared on his face and oh how Xingqiu had missed his face and that endearing smile.

“I’m a terrible friend, I should have seen you off.” Xingqiu said solemnly. “I’m sorry, A-Yun.”

“It’s okay, I know you’ve been really busy recently.” Chongyun shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

“Not an excuse!” Xingqiu shook his head. “Shut the door, will you?”

Chongyun closed the door behind him and then turned to face Xingqiu again, holding out the package he was holding. “For you.”

“Really? You shouldn’t have!” Xingqiu gasped, taking it from him and unwrapping it carefully, so he didn’t rip any of the wrapping.

“I know, I wanted to.” Chongyun replied. “It’s nothing crazy, just…”

“Chongyun, this is… insane.” Xingqiu’s eyes glimmered in awe as he gazed down at the unwrapped present. There was a gorgeous quill made from the prettiest feather he had ever seen, along with a bottle of amber ink and a leather bound notebook with a jewelled lock on the front.

“The feather is one of Adeptus Xiao’s, he said the adeptus magic in it will keep it from breaking. The ink I made from the amber stones at the top of Mt. Aocang and the notebook I bought from a village elder who made it years ago.” Chongyun explained.

“I love you.” Xingqiu murmured, before his eyes widened at the slip. He looked up to meet Chongyun’s own wide eyes and slowly reddening cheeks. “I didn’t mean to say that now. Oh, I planned it all out too, I was going to do something terribly romantic and woo you because you deserve nothing less, my dear Chongyun.”

“You what?” Chongyun breathed, his eyes wide in wonder.

“I’ve made you wait, haven’t I?” Xingqiu put the presents down on the table by the door and gave Chongyun his full attention. “I realised after you left, well Xiangling kind of pushed me to think about it for a second and then it all just dawned on me. Of course I would fall in love with you, there’s no one else for me but you, A-Yun!”

“I must be dreaming.” Chongyun’s voice never lifted above that soft murmur. Xingqiu pursed his lips for a second before he surged up, standing on his tiptoes in order to read Chongyun, and pressed their lips together. He had, of course, never kissed anyone in his life but based on all his research and the books he’d read, he hoped he was doing an alright job.

Both of his hands cupped Chongyun’s warm cheeks and after a second of his best friend being frozen against him, he moved. Chongyun’s arms wrapped around Xingqiu’s waist and he kissed back enthusiastically, sending a rush of warmth down Xingqiu’s body.

“Still feel like you’re dreaming?” Xingqiu whispered against his lips, his eyes closed as he pressed their foreheads together.

“Maybe you should kiss me again to make sure I’m not.”

“Why are you making me do all the work, hm?” Xingqiu teased and was instantly cut off when Chongyun kissed him again, melting into his arms. They would have continued had someone not cleared their throat and sent them both into a fright. Xingqiu turned his back to Chongyun and ran his fingers through his hair, straightening the locks.

“Er-shaoye.” Xu greeted, his hands behind his back.

“Xu, ah keep this between us for now, okay? I’ll speak to Fuqin and Muqin soon.”

“Very well.” Xu sighed. “Please do refrain from public displays of affection in the corridors then, er-shaoye.”

“Of course.” Xingqiu nodded, waiting until Xu disappeared to turn around and look at a bright red Chongyun. “You’re very red.”

“You’re going to tell your parents? Really?”

“Well, I’m serious about you.” Xingqiu said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Very serious, Yun-lang.”

Xingqiu didn’t think it was possible for Chongyun to turn redder but someone he managed to surpass all expectations and flush even more. “You –”

“You don’t like it?”

“I like it too much; you’ll give me a heart attack if you keep calling me that.” Chongyun whispered, his eyes wide.

“How am I supposed to stop when you like it so much?” Xingqiu teased. “Okay, sorry, I’ll stop teasing. Come on, let’s visit A-Ling and you can tell us about your training.”

“Archons have mercy on me.”