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

Ch. 8

"So where are we going?" Chongyun asks his companion.

Xingqiu yawns and rubs the sleep from his eyes, his vision blurry and unconfident from just waking up.

A big difference between the two was that Chongyun had no problem waking up at any ungodly hour of the morning for training or really anything while Xingqiu fought for just a few minutes longer to sleep - even if it was meaningless.

Thus, when Chongyun had suggested they depart at 5:30 a.m., Xingqiu had laughed, thinking he was joking before realizing that Chongyun was very serious.

So here they were, now 5:45 a.m. and heading out of Liyue Harbor as a sleep deprived Xingqiu led the way.

"We're uh-" he yawns again. "It's a surprise. You'll know what it is when we get there. It's not far from Wangshu Inn."

"Okay." Chongyun nodded, welcoming the cool morning air.

They traveled for a while, at least until the sun was fully in the sky and Chongyun had to don his parasol, before Xingqiu stopped and gestured before them.

"We're here!" He declares.

Chongyun looks out at where they are now and his eyes slightly widen a bit as he hums in remembrance.

"This is that field we met in." He says softly.

"Yeah. I thought, maybe a trip to a place like this could help to take my mind off of things." Xingqiu smiles before it falters. "H-hey, where are you going?"

Chongyun listens to Xingqiu's calls while he wades through the tall grass.

Now that they were much older, the grass reached just above his ears, so all Xingqiu could see as he slowly disappeared was a little flash of light blue from his hair and the parasol over his head.

"Don't worry, I'm just looking for something- here it is." Chongyun calls back. He disappears entirely from view before quickly appearing again, and the rustling of the grass against him sounds his coming back.

When he finally pushes away the last of it, he presents Xingqiu with the same flowers they'd found back then.

When he was younger, Xingqiu hadn't known what species it was, but now that he was looking at it up close again, he quickly realized it was a silk flower, with bright pink-red leaves and silky white petals.

"There are actually quite a few in there. A lot more than when he last went." Chongyun comments as Xingqiu continues to marvel at it. "I only grabbed two because I didn't want to take more than necessary.

Xingqiu nodded along to his words, but they weren't really being processed. He didn't know why, but Chongyun presenting him with flowers made him melt at his words and drop his usually teasing demeanor.

Yes, this felt more like admiration than any normal amount of gratefulness or joy.

"I guess only the best of friends feel this kind of feeling." He thinks to himself.

"Are you gonna take them?" Chongyun asks, bringing Xingqiu out of his own little world.

"O-oh, yes I am! Although..." he frowns a little in thought and clicks his tongue. "...where should I put them?"

Chongyun held them closer to himself to think before his lips curved up a little bit. "I have an idea."

Xingqiu could never have anticipated Chongyun's next move when he tucks the two flowers in Xingqiu's hair, quickly and carefully readjusting strands of it so it looks nice.

"There...pretty and elegant. Like you." Chongyun smiles as he stands back to admire his work. "Or, should I be saying handsome...? I don't know, I'm not good at giving compliments..." he sighs in embarrassment.

"Anyways, I hope - woah! Your face is so red Xingqiu!"

Xingqiu felt the sides of his face and gasps at how hot they feel to touch. "They are."

"Are you feeling sick? Or did I embarrass you? Ughhh, I'm sorry! I was just trying to help!" Chongyun says quickly, his own face getting pinker.

"N-no need to apologize, my liege! It's really alright! I'm not sure what it is, actually..."

The only explanation he had was Chongyun getting close to put the flowers in his hair, but that shouldn't have brought about this kind of response. After all, they were friends, and friends got each other little gifts like flowers all the time.

Maybe he was just thinking about this too much. There was no need to get so uptight about it - they were best friends! If anything, he should be glad he can blush so easily from Chongyun's actions, since it means that they're so close.

"Maybe we should stop for a bit. I wouldn't want you to feel lightheaded or anything." Chongyun says, leading them both over towards the sea on the other side of the main road.

"It's not that big a deal, really-!"

Chongyun takes his hand and shakes his head adamantly, seating them both by the edge of the water in the sand. "If you don't take a break, you can end up doing more harm to yourself. Just 10 minutes and we can get going again." Chongyun says firmly.

Xingqiu sighs but reluctantly doesn't try to leave, only sitting still on the beach with Chongyun's hand still over his.

He was going to move it, but Chongyun's hand was so warm, and it hugged his so tightly and securely, and he didn't think anyone would see it and get the wrong idea anyways.

Well, at least that's what he thought.

"Aiya? Is my favorite famous duo having a romantic date over here?" Hu Tao sings, heading down to the beach by them.

"Romantic date?" Chongyun frowns. "This is just a regular date."

"Wait, we're on a date?" Xingqiu asks, his voice getting high. "I thought we were coming down here so I could calm down a bit!"

"We are, and you and I are hanging out for a few days together. That's called a 'hangout' or a 'date', right?"

Xingqiu shakes his head violently and takes his hand away to subtract from Hu Tao's pestering questions. "A date would be a hangout between two people that are in love with each other."

"Oooh. OH!" Chongyun turns a violent shade of red and he reaches for a popsicle immediately. "I didn't mean that kind of date! I meant you and I are just hanging out as friends!"

"Are you suuure?" Hu Tao drawls her words out. "It sure looked like you two were holding hands just a minute ago!"

"He was just bringing me over here and I forgot to let go." Xingqiu defends him. "And besides, we can hold hands as friends, can't we?"

Hu Tao looks between the two like she doesn't truly believe them - because she doesn't. "However you want to spin the story, Xingqiu. Just as long as you're not hiding how you truly feel or anything~! That would just make your situation detrimental."

Hu Tao giggles and wanders off back to who knows where, leaving Xingqiu to untense and turn his attention to Chongyun, who was calming himself down from a near overheated episode.

"Are you alright? You're as red as a tomato." Xingqiu teases.

"I'm fine, a little uneasy though. Hu Tao always has the weirdest accusations." He sighs.

"To be fair, they're usually true..." Xingqiu mumbles.

Rarely was Hu Tao ever wrong about her accusations - she always presented them as fact and led you to slip up or give yourself away, so it was hard to refute her.

But them dating? That was absurd! Finally, for once, Xingqiu thinks, she was wrong about something.

Because not once, in his entire life, will he ever have stronger feeling for Chongyun. That he was sure of.

Or at least, he thinks so.

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Written May 29th, 2023

Finished/Published: July 16th, 2023

( Word Count: 1,300)