When Rose's Thorns Attack my Sides (But my Eyes Stay Trained on You) (Xingyun)

Ch. 11

Alright. It was for certain.

Chongyun's was clearly messing with him now, he was sure of it.

The day after Chongyun had carried him over the water to avoid dirtying his boots, Xingqiu had been lost in the fantasy world of his books, as always.

Unfortunately, he was walking in the middle of the street, and could very well bump into a stranger if he wasn't careful enough.

His eyes quickly scanned over the words and he hums in satisfaction at every other part of it before quickly he finds that Chongyun has taken his hand and pulled him out of the way of passerby so they were walking to the other side of the street.

"Xingqiu..." he hears Chongyu sigh to himself. "Watch where you're going...I don't want you to bump into someone on accident..."

Xingqiu keeps his eyes on his book pages, but the words are well jumbled up by now. He can't read the words on the pages, and frankly, he can barely thing straight over his roaring homosexuality.

Chongyun's grasp on his hand wasn't simply him wrapping his hand over his to keep them within contact, either.

No, he had his warm fingers interlaced with his, the fabric of his gloves brushing against his skin and sending fireworks off in Xingqiu's head as a vibrant pink blossoms on his face and makes him feel gayer than usual.

Chongyun was hugging his palm steadily, tightly enough that his hand felt more secure in his and almost like they were made to hold each other.

They just fit so perfectly and looked so nice and the contrasting fabric colors and the difference in their hands-

"What am I thinking?!" Xingqiu chastises himself. "He's simply directing my path so I don't bump into any passerby. He's so awfully thoughtful that I'm too stunned to speak and turning shades of red. That's. All."

Xingqiu shakes his head and goes back to reading, although most of his attention was clearly focused somewhere else (although he'll never admit it).

The second most recent occasion was when Xingqiu himself had invited Chongyun to come deliver some goods from his family's business to the warehouse, and by proxy bring Chongyun along so he could talk his ear off and read him new stories.

While he was reading out loud to them both in the shade, his hair continuously covered his eyes and would not stay out of the way when he blew it, and continued to distract him from his place in the book.

However, he failed, and grew increasingly more and more upset, and Chongyun, taking a notice to this, tucked Xingqiu's hair behind his ear.

"Is that better? Actually, let me just fix this for you too-"

Chongyun adjusted his hair so it wasn't sticking out at odd places or getting tangled in his earring or anything of the sort, his fingers occasionally brushing against Xingqiu's face or his ears and making Xingqiu physically explode into a million pieces every goddamn time.

"There. Is that better? Sorry, I just noticed you were having trouble..."

"Yes, I'm fine! Very, very fine! Where was I, hmm?" He asks no one in particular while he finds his place in his book and continues on.

Little occurrences like these made Xingqiu confirm in his mind that Chongyun was throwing a wrench into his plans.

How could he possibly focus on finding his true love if Chongyun was going out of his way to be the most generous and adorable man on the planet?

Xingqiu was once again deep in his thoughts, his face scarlet while he held his head in his hands and sat criss crossed.

And, once again, Chongyun came to make him even more confused.

"Are you sure you're not getting sick or anything?" He asks lightly, putting his hand over Xingqiu's and holding his pinkie.

"I-I'm fine, really." Xingqiu rushes.

Chongyun pouts and leans closer to him, making his temperature rise. "You don't have to pretend everything's fine around me. Isn't that what best friends are for?"

"Best friends?" Xingqiu thinks. "Do...best friends feel this way about each other?"

"Yes, it is. I'm just...troubled about that curse again. That's all." Xingqiu says quietly.

"That's all? It's been bothering you for weeks!" Chongyun sighs and tightens his grip over Xingqiu's hand, completely oblivious to Xingqiu's embarrassment.

"We need to figure this out soon so you're not so down about it." His gaze shifts and he looks at him seriously. "Do you like anyone right now?"

"I-no, of course not! Surely you would know if I did, yes?" Xingqiu laughs nervously. It does nothing to take away from the harsh color in his face, but he prays to every archon in Teyvat that this whole situation could just disappear.

"I guess so...I just thought maybe you weren't telling me because that sort of thing can be embarrassing to talk about."

Chongyun shakes his head and takes his hand away, leaning back and blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "Sometimes I wish I was your true love. Actually, I wish that a lot." He smiles. "That way, you wouldn't have to worry about all this..."

Suddenly, Xingqiu feels a sharp pang of dread in his heart, and it makes him feel almost sick. He knows Chongyun doesn't mean it the way it sounds - he just wants to help him out as fast as possible.

"But then why does this hurt so bad...?"

"Yeah, I wish..." Xingqiu starts, gripping the edge of his seat. "He looks over at Chongyun discreetly before averting his gaze, his voice just above a whisper while his face grows pink.

"...I wish it were that easy too."

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Written: May 31st, 2023

Finished/Published: July 19th, 2023

(Word Count: 964)