You and I

Chapter Three

Zi Xuan's eyes widened as he watched Yu Hao walk away. Zhen Wen immediately came to his side.

"I'm so sorry. He's just not... used to being kind to people." Sighed the younger, watching Yu Hao limp to where the volleyballs were. "I apologize for his behaviour."

"No need." Zi Xuan smiled professionally at him. "I can deal with him."

"You're sure?" Zhen Wen said anxiously.

"Of course. You have somewhere else to be, right?" Zi Xuan reminded him.

"I do."

"Well, you can go. I'll take care of Yu Hao."

"Okay. Thank you. I'll be back to pick him up."

Zi Xuan nodded, watching Zhen Wen leave as kids began to come in for their class.

•••

Yu Hao took out a yellow and blue volleyball from the basket, feeling it in his hands. It had been a long time since he had held one. He tossed it into the air twice, feeling its weight with a slight smile.

"Yu Hao, can you come over here?" Zi Xuan yelled from across the gym.

Yu Hao tossed the ball back into the bin, hobbling over to where Zi Xuan was, glancing at the group of sitting children. He took his place beside Zi Xuan, standing with his hands clasped in front of him.

Standing up in front of all these children, Yu Hao suddenly felt insecure. He could feel eyes all over him, and it made him wonder if he looked weird, or if he was terribly skinny from not working out enough.

Zi Xuan waiting for everyone to be quiet, which was easy, since they were all focused on staring at Yu Hao.

"Kids. This is your new coach. Him and I will be working together with you this season." Zi Xuan smiled at Yu Hao. "Introduce yourself?"

Yu Hao nodded. "My name is Xia Yu Hao. I've been on the Chinese competitive volleyball team for 4 years. I'm taking a break to assist him in teaching you." He kept his face stern, trying to compete with Zi Xuan.

He thinks he looks tough? What kind of wimp decides to coach kids for a living?

"Alright. Four laps. Then partner up and practice serves." Yu Hao watched as the kids filed onto the track, beginning to run.

Zi Xuan turned to face Yu Hao. "That's the warmup I have them do every day. Remember it." Yu Hao's brows crossed. Zi Xuan moved away from him. Even though Yu Hao felt angry at how perfect Zi Xuan seemed, he followed, wondering what he was going to demonstrate.

"Can you run?"

Yu Hao swallowed, shaking his head. He hadn't adjusted to his new life as a 'cripple'. He wanted to be known as an athlete, not a disability. He tried not to let Zi Xuan's cold face get to his heart.

"That's okay. I just want them to go over a drill today. I'll run, all you have to do is catch the ball." Zi Xuan took a volleyball out from the basket, motioning for Yu Hao to back up.

Yu Hao watched as Zi Xuan ran two steps, jumping into the air and simultaneously throwing up the ball, smacking it downwards with force.

Yu Hao caught it, watching as Zi Xuan landed on the ground with a grunt. His eyes crinkled in pain, and he clutched his knee. Yu Hao took a few bounding steps towards him, ignoring the pain in his own knee. Bending down, he put his hands on Zi Xuan's back, panicking slightly.

"Are you okay? What... what happened?"

Zi Xuan grimaced, slowly opening his tired eyes to meet Yu Hao's concerned ones. And his hands on his back... so... warm...

Zi Xuan smiled reassuringly, his brows still creased in slight hurt. "I'm... I'm okay, don't worry."

"It's your calf?"

"Yeah." Zi Xuan looked away from those warm brown eyes, ones that made him rethink everything. "It cramps when I jump and run. Can't do anything with it." He laughed halfheartedly.

"Let me massage it for you." Yu Hao offered, moving his hand down and holding it out to help Zi Xuan up.

"No need." He said, blushing and obviously flustered by Yu Hao's suggestion. "Just..." he took Yu Hao's hand, accidentally getting up on the wrong leg and falling onto Yu Hao's chest with a 'umf'.

"Shoot, I'm so sorry." He said, pushing off of the warm muscle that was hidden under fabric. "I'm so clumsy."

Yu Hao laughed, slightly softening up to Zi Xuan. His flushed red cheeks made Yu Hao smile.

"Don't worry about it." Smiled Yu Hao slightly. "You're probably just tired."

Zi Xuan nodded. "Yeah, tired."

Yu Hao let go of him, taking a breath in. "You're pretty red there, Zi Xuan." He could sense he was gaining an upper hand against flustered Zi Xuan.

"Shut up." He pushed Yu Hao away. "Show the kids the drill, please. I'll just go get a heat pack." He smiled, limping to the door.

Yu Hao swallowed, turning back to look at the crowd of children. "Alright! Gather around!" He yelled, watching as they all dropped their balls, running to him and taking a knee. "Okay." He bit his lip, taking a deep breath, trying to calm his anxiety down. "Today we are doing a new drill. I want you to partner up. One of you will run and try to spike the ball, the other will catch it. Do ten and switch."

He nodded, and the kids ran off.

Yu Hao watched as they did the drill, correcting an arm there, a position there. He smiled at Zi Xuan, who was on the bench, using a heat bag to massage his leg.

A half an hour later, the practice ended, and most kids were picked up by their parents. Yu Hao collapsed on the bench beside Zi Xuan.

"Hard?"

"Tiring." He nodded. "They're so energy draining."

"They're very high maintenance." Zi Xuan said, pulling his sweatpants back over his jeans. "But you handled it well."

Yu Hao hardly had time to make fun of him for the compliment before a chubby little boy came  to stand in front of him. "Uhh, Coach Yu Hao?"

"Yeah?" Yu Hao leaned forward, eager to hear what the little boy wanted to say. His hands were in his pockets, and he swayed back and fourth.

"Can you sign this for me?"

Yu Hao grinned, taking the piece of paper from the boy. "Of course."

A/N:

Hey guys! Here is another chapter for y'all!
How is the weather where you are? Where I am, there is 15 centimetres of snow! Thanks Canada!
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Love you all!