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

Ch. 13

Early in the morning one day, Xiangling requested help from the two boys to come with her to DragonSpine.

She was in search of new unique ingredients and had yet to search the frozen mountain, so she got the two to come along.

How?

Well, Chongyun agreed because it would be cold so he didn't have to worry about overheating.

Xingqiu agreed because (while he'd never say it word for word out loud) Chongyun would be there.

Chongyun trailed behind Guoba and Xiangling as they approached the mountain with Xingqiu beside him, already talking his ear off about a new book series he'd recently devoured.

"And that's only the first chapter!" Xingqiu smiles wide as he explains it. The corners of his lips turns up and his dimples appear again, and Chongyun tints pink while he listens.

Despite trying as hard as he could, he couldn't quite follow what Xingqiu was saying. He was too focused on his dimples, and how his hair fell in perfect swoops around his head, and the way he traced his cheek with his hand when he was recalling something exciting-

What could he say? Xingqiu was just very nice to look at.

All the time.

The crunch of snow under his feet reminded him where he was, and he quickly invited the cold while his companions did the opposite.

"Ooo! Is that a wild boar? C'mon Guoba! Let's go!"

Before the two could move, Xiangling was racing after the wild animal with Guoba at her heel, spear in hand.

"I guess we'll wait here for her." Chongyun puts a hand on his hip while he brushes snowflakes from his eyes.

"I suppose so. I just wish it wasn't so cold...!" Xingqiu whines. He grips the fabric of his overcoat at his elbows and keeps his knees close together, burying his neck in his collar.

"You can stand close to me if you want. I can keep you warm."

Xingqiu looks at him greatfully while he huddled close to him.

Very close.

Xingqiu relaxes at his touch and lays his head on his chest, his arms still crossed while Chongyun stands stiff and feels the heat in his cheeks rising from the close contact.

Contact from Xingqiu always made him feel odd. Not many people chose to share any form of contact with him growing up because he couldn't handle it on account of his condition, but Xingqiu always seemed to be the one that strayed from that norm.

If anything, it was like he was a magnet drawn to him, and almost always ended up getting close to him.

Chongyun relaxes against him and rests his chin on his head, inviting his presence. He felt comfortable right here.

"Are you cold too Chongyun? I didn't think that was even possible..."

"Huh? Oh, I'm not cold, it's just..." he struggles to formulate a sentence when Xingqiu is this close to him and he can smell his hair just beneath him.

"...I feel really comfortable around you. Like, I feel like I can relax with you around. Like you're not gonna judge me like other people do."

Xingqiu listens to his words in stunned silence, going to open his mouth before Chongyun cuts him off with the most shocking sentence of all.

"I guess, maybe that's why you're my favorite person."

Favorite person.

Favorite.