Xingyun Oneshots

68 - Avoidance (Chongyun ver.)

Xingqiu hadn't seen his best friend for weeks now, and it was stressing him out to no end. Chongyun always told him when he was leaving to go on a trip or if he was going to be away for a long time, so why hadn't he said anything?

Did he go too far with one of his pranks? Had he greatly upset him somehow? Xingqiu was afraid of the answer, but he had to know what was going on.

He headed off to Chongyun's house, his heart beating wildly in his ears. He was worried sick at what was troubling the other boy.

With a knock on the door, it opened to reveal the exorcist, and for a second Chongyun almost closed the door at the sight of him.

"O-oh. Hi Xingqiu." Chongyun said, giving him a strained smile. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"We both know you're a terrible liar Chongyun. What's wrong? I haven't seen you in weeks! Did I upset you or something?" Xingqiu asked exasperatedly.

Chongyun's face fell as he guiltily looked at them ground. "Not exactly."

"Not exactly? What's going on?"

Chongyun shook his head firmly. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it-" Chongyun caught himself. "Because you'll hate me for it."

"There's no way I'd hate you for whatever you're about to tell me." Xingqiu reassured him.

"I don't think that's true."

"You don't believe me? Let's go inside. That way I'd at least have to walk out if I really were that upset instead of leaving you on the doorstep- but that's not going to happen." Xingqiu smiled.

Chongyun opened the door all the way, letting him in. He led them to his bedroom before he shut the door behind them.

"So, what's going o-"

When Xingqiu turned around, the look on Chongyun's face was one of pure distress.

"I-..." Chongyun started before his voice cracked immediately. "I know I'm not supposed to, and believe me, I tried to stop it, but I-"

He stopped to close his mouth and blink back tears to control his emotions.

"Hey, calm down. It's okay. Stop what?" Xingqiu asked him worriedly.

"Stop myself from liking you!" Chongyun yelled.

Xingqiu had never seen him show so much emotion before except for when he was overheated, but then again, he'd also never heard Chongyun give a confession before.

"You like me?" Xingqiu repeated, as if he needed to hear the words on his own tongue.

Chongyun nodded rapidly. "Yes. I do. So much more than I should. I haven't been able to keep you off my mind for weeks now, so I've stayed away from you hoping it would go away on its own, but it just...won't!"

Chongyun took a second to use his vision to prevent himself from completely losing control. "No matter what I do, I can't stop myself from liking you, and I feel so guilty that I can't. I don't think telling myself to cut it out is going to do anything anymore, so-"

He looked up at him through trembling lips and a hand on his vision. "-please tell me to stop."

Xingqiu was frozen in place, in complete shock at everything that'd happened in the last 30 seconds, before he started to slowly shake his head no.

He took a slow step forward before he completely enveloped Chongyun in the tightest hug he'd ever given him. "I don't want you to stop. I don't want you to ever stop."

Chongyun's pulled away for a second to look him in the eyes. "What? Why wouldn't you? We can't be like this, Xingqiu! Your family would never allow it!"

"Then I won't tell them." He replied firmly.

"Why would you keep such a big secret like that? It's not worth-"

"You are worth it."

Xingqiu pulled him close to him, so close that his lips were brushing against his. "And that's because I like you too."

He kissed him softly and rested a hand on the back of his head, tangling his fingers in his blue curls.

"When have I ever let something so important to me go just because of what my family thinks? Sometimes I simply have to keep secrets, just like my reading and swordsmanship." He said quietly to ease the exorcist's mind.

He drew his lips away and rested his forehead against his. "So don't you worry. I won't ever tell you to stop, because nothing you're doing is wrong."

Chongyun listened to his words thoughtfully and quietly nodded along.

If Xingqiu wasn't telling him to stop...

...maybe it really was okay after all.

**********************************************

Written: April 16th, 2023

Finished/Published: April 26th, 2023

(Word Count: 781)