Silver Linings

Chapter Twenty Three - Level Up

Author's Notes:

I am behind on responding to comments, but I read and appreciate them all!

Sorry (not sorry) for leaving you hanging in the last chapter. But my men took me for a rollercoaster on this chapter. It did not go at ALL the way I thought that it would. What can I say? Gong Jun went rogue on me - and I liked it!

This chapter is basically all smut. 

Big thanks to @Papperlapapp for being my beta❤️

⊂(▀▿▀)つ❤

[30 June 2020]

⁂ Zhang Zhe Han ⁂

When he left his hotel room, Zhang Zhe Han was incognito-hiding inside a sea of fabric, under a black cap pulled down so far that he could barely see, and behind a blue facemask. He would deny it if anyone said that he ran down that single flight of stairs to Gong Jun's floor. At the most, he took two steps at a time to be efficient. And at the most, he powerwalked down the corridor. And this powerwalk was the reason for his racing heart, not that he was nervous. Or excited. His t-shirt was too big and hanging a bit askew on him where it was draped over his basketball shorts, and that is why he was playing with the hem. Not because he was anxious.

For a moment, he worried that Gong Jun had fallen asleep, considering how late it was. It felt like forever from when the icon on WeChat had indicated that his message had been seen. Though, in reality, he probably only waited a few seconds out in the corridor before the door opened.

Gong Jun blinked, squinted against the bright light and stepped back inside a dark hallway. Without waiting for a spoken invitation, and since he didn't want to stand out in front of Gong Jun's door longer than necessary-not that many people were out walking around this late- he quickly stepped inside. As he closed the door behind him, he heard the electronic lock buzz and vibrate and the room fell into both darkness and silence.

The citrusy smell was heavy inside the hotel room and Zhang Zhe Han couldn't help but smile as he took a deep breath. The vision of Gong Jun's naked body showering-all limbs and angles and creamy skin-flashed in bold colors in front of him and his mouth went dry.

With only the lights leaking out from the bathroom through a small gap in the door, he could only make out dark shadows and silhouettes. It was still enough to confirm that Gong Jun's hotel room was a mirror image of his own.

Gong Jun had taken a few more steps back and was mostly hidden in the shadows, only a slight reflection of light in those dark eyes. His co-star was silent, as if waiting for something, and it dawned on him that he hadn't been invited. They hadn't talked about him coming over, or Gong Jun coming to him. Or finishing what they had started earlier in the day, well, technically yesterday. Or even just continuing what they had been doing. He had just assumed.

To steady his nerve, and to do something-anything-with his hands, he took off his mask and his cap, and left both items hanging from his left fingers. He dragged his free hand through his still damp hair, shaking the strands free from having been flattened under the cap, before letting that hand drop to his side as well. He tilted his head, letting his hair fall around his face. He looked up at Gong Jun and smiled, his right eyebrow raised in a silent question and hoped that it was visible within the dimly lit space.

That seemed to do the trick though, and the man blinked for the first time since he had arrived. "Han-Ge..." His voice was hoarse but steady. And the name was spoken so softly yet held so much context of the turmoil inside Gong Jun. He couldn't help but smile. Gong Jun was so open, honest, vulnerable towards him. It was simply impossible to resist him.