chrysanthemums - xingyun

life and love

Chongyun huffed as he finally reached the top of the Liyue mountain. In his left arm he carried a bouquet of crimson chrysanthemums he bought back at the harbor. The bundle stuck out from the rest of the cherry blossom trees engulfing him. A narrow, wooden bridge was in front of Chongyun. He walked to the middle and leaned on the railing. Liyue Harbor along with Beidou's giant ship could be seen in the distance. The sun as starting to set, and could barely be seen over the golden rooftops of the city.

Chongyun had as much chance kissing Xingqiu as getting in Inazuma. Absolutely futile. With how things were currently going for him, he was going to be viciously rejected and left to deal with his broken heart, crestfallen and empty. Even if he wasn't heartbroken, there was still Xingqiu's father, who would drive him out of Liyue the second he found his son had a boyfriend. Actually, no, the entirety of Liyue would despise him and exile him out of the nation.

Creaking of the floor behind Chongyun brought him back to reality. He squeaked and jumped, almost dropping the flowers into the stream below him. Xingqiu giggled seeing how much he startled his friend. Chongyun's face became redder then the flowers in his arms seeing the boys dainty smile. Xingqiu grasped the letter Chongyun gave to him earlier in his hand. "Hello my Liege! I apologize for being late, my father gave me a last minute commission." Chongyun took note of how exhaused he looked. "It's quite alright, I just got here myself. Though, I did want to ask you about something...are you alright?". Upon being asked this, the familiar light in Xingqiu's eyes vanished and was replaced by emptiness before returning to their original ecstatic yellow form. "I can assure you that I'm fine, you don't worry about me. I'm just a bit stressed out from Guild duties." Chongyun knew better then to believe him, but he didn't want to force him to talk if he didn't want to. "...Fine. But know that you can tell me anything, alright?" Xingqiu seemed almost relieved that the topic was changing. "Thank you, my liege. I will be sure to remember that. Also, why did you bring flowers with you?" Chongyun blushed remembering the reason he brought Xingqiu here in the first place. "O-Oh yeah... their for you." He mumbled anxiously, handing his bouquet to Xingqiu.

Oh. There it was again. That signature smile that made butterflies flutter in his chest. "Woah, what did I do that made you want to give me these?" Exist. "There's a-another thing I wanted to ask you." Xingqiu looked back at Chongyun with curiosity. For a second, Chongyun considered not telling Xingqiu how he felt and keeping their friendship how it was. But then he would continue to suffer in silence.

Chongyun forced himself to take Xingqiu's warm hands in hands in his and looked him in the eyes. "I-I love you, Xingqiu. And not in a friend way. Would you like to go on a date with me?" Xingqiu stood there in silence, face gone red. Chongyun began worrying he had pushed things too far. "B-But it's alright if you don't want too! I don't want to force you into somethi-" He was cut off when Xingqiu brushed his blue hair out of his face, leaned in, and kissed him. The kiss was quick but sweet and pleasant. Both of them pulled away quickly and flushed. "My liege...I have feelings for you as well. I have for sometime actually, but I was concerned about how my family would feel. But that doesn't matter to me now. I love you too, Yun." Chongyun only smiled. All his worries had disappeared along with the sun.

"XINGQIU!" A voice unexpectedly yelled from behind them, snapping Chongyun back to reality. "What the hell are you doing up here?! Do you know how long me and father have been looking for you? How dare you leave us like that!" Xingqiu slowly turned to face his brother. His skin turned pale before he let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry that I snuck out, I had some business to attend to." Xingqiu's brother rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Business my ass. It's not me you should be apologizing to. Father broke the living room vase in fury once he realized you were gone. He would've thrown the shards at the maid if it weren't for mother. It's a guaranteed beating once we get home." Xingqiu turned to face Chongyun for the last time. "W-Well I guess I should get going then. He leaned forward and hugged Chongyun tightly. "Thank you everything" he whispered "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Before Chongyun could get the chance to respond, Xingqiu's brother roughly grabbed Xingqiu's arm and pulled him away, making Chongyun flinch. "Come on, let's go. You've already caused enough trouble for the guild today." Xingqiu waved to Chongyun using his free arm. "Bye Yun-Yun!" He wore a smile on his face. It wasn't a happy one, more like a forced and fearful one. After Xingqiu and his brother had left, the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of animals scurrying and the screams of young childern playing in the distance. The sun had already set, so Chongyun figured he should probably get home. However, he just couldn't forget how scared Xingqiu looked when he found out how angry his father was. Was there something going on in Xingqiu's household? Chongyun knew he shouldn't dig into Xingqiu's business, but he couldn't help but worry for his boyfriend (if that's what they even were). Chongyun sighed in dismay. He was probably just overthinking things. Xingqiu and father probably just got into a minor argument like any other family. Xingqiu would be fine by himself, he didn't need Chongyun to protect him all the time. Chongyun felt light-headed from so much happening in one day. He ran back down the chilly mountain. Rest will do him some good.