Text Me If You Can (YiZhan FF)

Overly Attached 'Boyfriend'?

"I won't be your boyfriend." Yibo says once again.

"Oh." Xiao Zhan sits up in bed. "Oh. Yibo, I don't want this to be a one-time casual thing." He stammers.

Yibo takes Xiao Zhan's face in his hands. His palms are warm and Xiao Zhan can't help me relax. "I won't be your boyfriend. You don't get to ignore me for five months, not explain anything, make out with me, and just jump to 'boyfriend'." He moves closer, his lips brushing Xiao Zhan's. "I'm not that easy, ge." He teases.

Xiao Zhan blushes in spite of himself. Well, that's a relief. He starts to explain the background of his post-227 choices. "And that's why I stopped contacting you. It made the most sense, at the time."

Yibo snorts. "Okay, so, is this the kind of boyfriend you are planning to be? Something shitty happens, and you take all the decisions, make my choices for me, and shut me out?

"I am so sorry. For all of it." Xiao Zhan looks down at Yibo's hands which are still in his. "It was possibly the stupidest thing I have ever done, knowing how I felt about you. And guessing how you felt about me."

"Okay, so what is the plan now?" Yibo lifts up Xiao Zhan's chin with this index finger, slowly brushing the pad of his thumb on the beautiful man's bottom lip, his eyes on Xiao Zhan's mole.

"Um," Xiao Zhan's brain can't process the rational question that Yibo is asking while dealing with the Yibo's hungry expression. He shakes his face loose from Yibo's gentle grasp. "Right. Um, I would inform my manager, and my parents. We would have to come up with a way to align our schedules, make time for each other. Prepare a list of trustworthy staff members, on your team and mine. Figure out which friends we can tell... we would need trusted rendezvous points, transit routes, ways to get into each other's apartment undetected." He trails off, as Yibo starts shaking his head.

"That is not what I mean." Yibo sighs. "This is all standard operating procedure when celebrities or idols date each other or whatever. I want to know how committed you are to this. To me."

Xiao Zhan tilts his head. "I am very committed to us, Yibo. I like you so much." He leans in and kisses Yibo gently.

Yibo kisses him back, just for a moment. "I want to believe you. I really do." He turns away from Xiao Zhan, a tiny movement but it goes through Xiao Zhan's heart. "But what if something like 227 happens again? Or some paparazzi photo surfaces, some staff member leaks a story to the tabloids. What then? Will you dump me, disown me, call me your adopted brother or something?" Yibo shrugs. "See, I'm not asking you to out yourself. This is China, we are actors, I get the dynamics of it all. But, I don't want to worry that you'll let me go someday. Again. I cannot, I refuse to put myself through that."

Xiao Zhan wipes a tear off Yibo's face that the younger man didn't know had fallen. "I am so sorry." He moves to hug Yibo. "I don't want to be apart from you, ever again. The last few months have been sad and miserable and I hated all of it. But I don't know how to make you trust me again. I don't deserve it but I want to be with you."

Yibo hugs Xiao Zhan tighter, brushing the back of his head. "I know that, I know it. But I am so scared." He moves away a little ways and looks Xiao Zhan in the eye. "I don't have an exact answer for you. I guess-" he squares his shoulders. "I guess, you're just going to have to woo me."

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Two weeks later, Yibo's phone is vibrating like it's possessed. He's in Changsha, wrapping up a taping of 'Day Day Up'. His phone has been buzzing all day, much to the annoyance of his geges. Yibo, however, is used to it. Since he had "the talk" with Xiao Zhan, something seems to have flipped in Zhan-ge's brain. He's open and vulnerable, always telling Yibo exactly how much he misses him, calling and texting whenever he can. They have late-night conversations about what they want their careers to look like, years down the line. They do avoid talking about what their collective future would be, though. It's a problem that they don't yet know how to solve.

Since they've both been working in different cities, it's been easy to push it off the table. Until now. Tomorrow, Wang Yibo will be going on his first official 'date' with Xiao Zhan, as they both were going to be in Beijing for the weekend. True to his word, Xiao Zhan had communicated his intentions for Yibo to his manager, Liu Mei Fang, and she had been very professional, communicating and co-operating with Yibo's manager, Ye Wen Ling. Ling-jie didn't need to be told much, as she had been the one to hold Yibo's hand through all of his previous heartbreaks, men, women and Xiao Zhan included. Though reticent at first, she was now getting very comfortable with A-Fang, and warming up to the idea of Xiao Zhan being a part of Yibo's life for the foreseeable future.

Yibo is nervous as he dresses up to go to Xiao Zhan's apartment. Their 'date' is to be casual because finding a COVID-compliant, paparazzi-safe location in Beijing is proving to be a nightmare. In any case, the last time they were there, no media incidents had occurred, which was nothing short of a miracle, and a testament to the privacy of Xiao Zhan's apartment complex.

He finally settles on a white silk button-down, loosely tucked into black skinny jeans. He runs a hand through his short hair, necessary for his role in his new drama, 'Being a Hero'. It somehow makes him feel exposed, as if his fringe could have protected his thoughts and feelings from being known, act as a barrier against his nerves. He inhales deeply, reminding himself that there was no reason to hide from Zhan-ge, none at all. They were going to give this a real chance and they were going to be honest and brave with each other.

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Xiao Zhan's eyes keep darting towards his smart-watch. Yibo isn't late but Xiao Zhan can't stop himself from worrying that any moment now, Yibo or A-Ling would call, telling him that it was all a mistake, that Yibo had changed his mind, that he wasn't going to come. He paced around the hallway, waiting for the doorbell to ring, rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt, tucked into gray trousers that made him look like he was meeting a client, rather than his potential boyfriend. He knew he looked good but had been too nervous to try and dress up, feeling afraid to freak Yibo out with his sartorial choices.

Finally, the doorbell rang, a welcome sound, and Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Yibo's familiar figure on the security camera. He opened the door with a bright smile and ushered Yibo in.

"Hi." He smiled shyly, taking in Yibo's outfit. He looked so good, his shirt falling just right. Xiao Zhan purposely stopped himself from absorbing how Yibo looked in his jeans. Yibo, on the other hand, had no such reservations, as he looked hungrily at Xiao Zhan, wasting no time in pulling him into his arms.

"Hi, hi, hi," he murmured into Xiao Zhan's ear. "I missed you so much, Zhan-ge." He snuggled closer. "You smell so good. I tried to remember what you smelled like that day but my memory could not compare." He laughed and took a step back. "It is not like the beach, though."

Xiao Zhan turned red at the reminder of what he had compared Yibo's scent to, at that fateful dinner party. He leaned in and kissed Yibo, his hands in his hair, moving as close to him as he could. Yibo didn't mind, and deepened the kiss. Once again, it seemed like they wouldn't make it far from the hallway.

A/N:

The title of this chapter comes from the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overly_Attached_Girlfriend). I stan Laina through and through.

Also, the managers' names are taken from the best friend characters from the HIStory BL series (Liu Mei Fang from HIStory3: Make Our Days Count / HIStory4: Close To You, and Ye Wen Ling from HIStory2: Right Or Wrong). That's where the resemblance ends, though.