Xingyun Oneshots

103 - For Every Teasing Smile

"Hey Xingqiu?" Chongyun asks, looking over at his best friend while he reads on the shade.

While Chongyun had been informed a number of times by Xiangling or Hu Tao who could never seem to get Xingqiu's attention when his nose was stuck in a book, all he ever had to do was speak, and Xingqiu looked up.

Chongyun didn't even have to be addressing him for Xingqiu to look at him - if Chongyun was talking to Xiangling, Xingqiu would look up and watch. If Chongyun asked a question out loud, Xingqiu would respond or at least listen in. And if Chongyun kept the conversation going, Xingqiu would stop reading to converse back with him. 

"Yes?" Xingqiu responds, looking up from his novel.

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Chongyun asks, twirling a dandelion between his fingertips.

Chongyun didn't expect Xingqiu to dwell on the question - he knew that Xingqiu knew himself very well already.

But to his surprise, he pauses for a minute, looking up from his book before he inhales sharply and responds.

"I want to do three things." He says. "Fight for justice, read all of the book in Wanwen bookhouse-"

He looks over at Chongyun and gives him a big smile, one that's void of teasing and is entirely sincere.

"-and always have you by my side." Xingqiu finishes, immediately going back to his novel.

Chongyun hadn't thought much about it that day, but months, and weeks, and even years after, Chongyun never forgot about it because Xingqiu had always stuck to his word.

He never stopped in his quest for Justice, always stopping to aid those in need and even bring back Chongyun his swindled money from false leads.

He never stopped reading (he actually seemed to do so more everyday), and bought every new release that came out that caught his eyes.

And, most importantly, he never strayed from Chongyun's side, even as they got older.

At a point, Chongyun had thought that with how sociable Xingqiu was and how many people he already knew through his father's business connections, that one day he and Xingqiu would grow apart and that's be that.

That was how he'd felt when they were younger, anyway. It hadn't feel good to admit, but he was already setting himself up to accept that Xingqiu eventually would move on from him and keep moving, much like the flowing water of his vision.

But for some reason, Xingqiu never left, and if anything, he seemed to permanently make his place in Chongyun's life, throughout every new book release and every Yang-energy episode.

It was almost like Chongyun, much like the frost was to the water, was the only thing that could keep Xingqiu in place. That, or Xingqiu had found something in him through layers of frost and snow that he'd found endearing and even a little charming, and whatever it was was enough to make Xingqiu always keep him within arm's reach.

Chongyun had started to wonder then for a long time what that 'something' - that same 'something' that was keeping Xingqiu so close - was.

At first he'd thought maybe it was his condition. Xingqiu had always had this fascination with it, constantly asking him all manner of questions that related to it and suggesting all kinds of ways to build a tolerance to it- but he found that after a short while, Xingqiu had eventually cooled down about it considerably, and if that was the reason, then he would have gotten bored already and left.