Exposure Therapy

One-Shot

You absolutely have to watch at least 1:00 - 1:34 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kf88YofB3o&t=60s to know what this fic is about. Yes, I know it's very difficult to watch. But if I made it, you can do it, too~

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The ride home was usually filled with easy banter or smalltalk, but this night was different. Even though Sam tried to ease the atmosphere, Yu was caught in his own head and only ever replied with an absent "hm". The air felt charged.

Yu tried not to let today's incident get to him, he really did. It was just... He was a shy person. Introverted. He got embarrassed easily and was constantly wondering what other people might think of him.

Usually, he felt grateful to Sam since he regularly forced Yu to step out of his comfort zone—something he would never do on his own. But what happened today...

"Zihong?"

Sam immediately turned his head. "Yes?"

If Sam were a puppy, his ears would've shot up and he'd be wagging his tail expectantly. Yu fought a smile, because he needed Sam to understand the mood.

"Do you still have time? Can you come up with me for a moment?"

Sam's smile fell and he tapped the steering wheel a few times, nodding to himself. He bit his lip and then gave another nod as his answer.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence and even when Sam followed Yu up the stairs to his apartment, they didn't say a word.

When they sat on the sofa with two steaming mugs in front of them, Sam finally broke the silence.

"I know what you want to talk about. And I could apologize for making you go all out on stage earlier, but I wouldn't mean it."

Yu held Sam's stare easily, even when they were talking about such a sensitive topic. He was so used to looking into Sam's eyes—his beautiful, expressive eyes—that he didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

There was no malicious intent in them, and Yu got it. He understood that Sam meant well, that he wanted to help. He'd told Yu a hundred times already that he ought to have more confidence in himself, that he was perfect and had nothing to feel ashamed about.

In the beginning, Yu had gotten extremely flustered at the constant praise, but he'd quickly gotten used to Sam being vocal about his love and admiration for him. Something about Sam's behavior quickly melted away all of Yu's barriers and before he knew it, he was giving back the same amount of affection, praising Sam whenever he got the chance.

Yu had even developed a tiny crush on his acting partner, although he knew that all the flirting, all the love confessions between the two of them, were just an act. They had become best friends. Still, they kept up the flirting in private, but that was just because they'd gotten used to it.

"I... I know your reasons, and I'm not angry per se, but I really need you to understand that today... Today was... uh..."

"A bit too much?"

Yu nodded, looking at his lap. He was embarrassed. Embarrassed for getting embarrassed on stage. What a mess he was.

"So you want me to tone it down a bit, right?"

Another nod.

"Is that what you really want, though?"

Yu raised his head hesitantly and nearly looked away again when he met Sam's eyes. They were so full of love and concern. However, there was something about them that captivated Yu's attention, overpowering his shyness.