Bromance Behind The Spotlight

The Present: Part 04

"You made it sound like love at first sight. And here I thought I was the only one." Xia cranes his neck up, looking at the only place that earns the crown of the most beautiful sight. Subconsciously, his eyes land on a pair of plumb rosy lips that are slightly bigger than usual. His breath turns rapid when recalling the reason for the swell.

"No, not really," Yi replies, oblivious to the pair of brown eyes that lock on his lips as if wanting to devour them.

"What? How do you explain the beating of your heart and your attention to my presence then?" Xia’s eyes fixate on the same place, yet his hand roams around the bare chest, under the cover, and places it on the left side. He smiles when he senses the palpitation of the blood-pumping organ, knowing it only produces this type of rhythm in his presence. His sole presence.

"I don't know either. Let's say it’s half and a half then. I was attracted to you. That was for sure. But it was more like a good first impression rather than love at first sight. Sometimes, you’re just into someone but not really fallen for him. Your case is like that. There is something about you that draws my attention. At first, I thought it was your cheerful, wide smile and innocent face. Not until I heard the familiar laughter you let out on the stage."

“My laughter?” Xia frowns in confusion. Of all the reasons to fall for him, it turned out to be his laugh that got Yi’s attention back then. It was weird thinking about it. Xia isn’t a narcissist, but he knows what his fangirls have always been squealing about when he is in a fan meeting or on stage. Those cheers are for his face. Now that his attraction point toward Yi isn’t that signature part but laughter, the one he has never thought held anything special, he can’t help but wonder. “What’s so special about it? It was just a laugh.” He asks what is on his mind out loud, knowing he can’t hold back this curiosity.

“For others, maybe it’s just a spontaneous sound, an instinctive expression.” Yi turned to face his beloved person. The pair of brown eyes finally meet their twins. The gentle pairs that he has never thought of meeting again. Never mind the precious proximity that leaves their owner and him to lie side by side on the same bed. “But for me,” he pauses, letting the smile hint at what he is going to say next, “it’s something special.”

Xia feels like flying at the smile and the word special. Even though he was to jump off the highest cliff in the world, he knew he wouldn’t fall, for Yi’s words make his body as light as a feather that can float in the air and dance with the wind with no worry about the gravitation. Xia feels like going back to a teenage year where he had experienced having a crush for the first time. Still, regardless of endless excitement, it can’t overpower the bewilderment. “Why? Did my laughter sound so bad that you couldn’t forget?”

“To be remembered, people say you have to either be the best or the worst.”

“Which one applies to me?” Xia cuts his boyfriend off. His voice shows a hint of fear, afraid of hearing the latter as the answer.

“The best, of course.”

Xia lets out an inaudible sigh of relief, satisfied that the words coming out from Yi’s lips see eye to eye with what his ears want to hear. “So, what exactly was it about my laughter that left a deep impression on you?”

"It was the same one.”

“The same as what? I thought you said my laughter was the best.”

“Yes, it was. And it still is. It’s the same.”

Xia’s brows furrow at the equivocal answer. He lifted his body from the bed and propped on one elbow so he could look down on Yi with a better view. “You sound as if you have heard it long ago. Have you been watching my videos?”

“It’s true that I’ve heard it long ago. But...to be honest, I…” Yi trails off. He bits his lower lips and darts his eyes around the room.

Xia chuckles as he looks at the old habit of his boyfriend. Every time Yi feels guilty, he always does those two things. So even without Yi’s saying, Xia finishes the sentence for him. “You’ve never seen footage of me.”

The teeth dig deeper into the soft flesh, swallowing half the size of the plump lips as his body tenses after hearing the words he doesn’t have the heart to say. Seeing the uncomfortable stage, Xia hurries to create a distraction.

“It’s okay,” he says with a genuine smile that stretches from one ear to another. “You’re a busy guy. Besides, when we first met on that program, I only debuted for a year. Our group wasn’t even popular. Many people don’t know about us.”

Yi stays silent. He is still biting his lips, but his eyes stop darting around and focusing on the charming smile that never fails to make his heart flutter like a maiden in love. Knowing he succeeds in his task, Xia brings the topic back to the table. “So, you said you’d heard my laughter long ago? When was that? How?”

The bitten flesh gets to graze the warm air in the room again as Yi let go of his lower lip, freeing it from self-punishment. The teeth mark is still there, glistening with a trace of saliva and a dim lamplight on the nightstand. Xian has to look away from the seducing sight before losing control and ends up kissing the answer away from Yi’s lips.

”In the host’s dressing room, when Peter showed me the video of your group, I was suddenly attracted to you. I thought because you were the visual one. But the more I watched you, the more I found you to be very familiar. And it confirmed everything when I heard your laugh. My memory triggered, bringing me this feeling that claimed to have known you somewhere. I tried so hard to think about it, and I finally realized why. But again, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Not until that day when we shot that scene.”

"What scene?"

“The scene where I rescued you from the mafia’s house.”

“The mafia’s house scene,” Xia’s eyes move to the ceiling as if to find an answer there. “Oh.” His eyes come back to his beloved, and his mouth forms an O-shaped at the success recalling. “I remembered now. But why that scene?”

"Because that scene was the first time that I got to stare into your eyes. We were standing so close that I could sense the peppermint coming from your breath.”

“Yeah, I was following the script. But hey, there were many scenes where we stood close and talked. Even before that. What made that one special?”

“Have you never noticed that I usually avoid looking at your face or meeting your eyes when we talk?”

Xia remains quiet, pondering on what Yi has just said, as if recalling those moments. "Yeah, now that you mention it, you seem to have done those a lot. Why?"

"It's my nature. It usually happens to me whenever I’m talking with a stranger. I can’t look at their faces for over one second."

"But I’m not a stranger. Even back then. At least we knew each other a year before we met on the set."

"I know, but we were nothing more than an acquaintance. Remember the day we first met at the show? We didn't even get to exchange ten words."

"Okay. Then what changes you later on? I noticed that after that scene, you seemed easier to approach. And gosh, you talked a lot, leaving me speechless. I thought some talkative ghost possessed you. I was like... what happened to this guy? People told me that Yi was a reticent guy. Then, who is this person who never stops teasing me all the time? Is teasing not a part of a speech?"

"Haha..." Yi’s pearl of laughter escapes at Xia’s words as if it was the best joke he had heard for the entire day. "Trust me. You weren’t the only one with that question. I was surprised at myself as well. Do you know my co-hosts and production team there always tease me that I rarely speak over one sentence if it isn’t in the script?"

"I've heard of it."

"But after I had figured out who you are, I felt comfortable with you suddenly. You may not believe this, but you are the first person ever that I converse freely with over ten sentences in half an hour. Even at home, I barely speak five phrases with my family."

"Wow, I am honored, Mr. Yi." Xia made a salute with his hand, earning another laughter from his boyfriend. "I used to think that it was more challenging to make you speak three sentences than getting cast for Hollywood movies."

"But then you could make me speak over ten sentences later."

"Who would have thought? This succession may make me win a Golden Globe Award this year. Or at least got nominated for an Oscar."

“Who knows?”

The two lovebirds burst out laughing at the joke, recalling all those moments during the set. When the laughter dies down, Xia brings up the unfinished topic. "Say, you've said this: ‘after I figured out who you were.’ What does... t-thiss m-me...an?" Sleepiness begins to overtake him. The last sentence was broken, interrupted by a yawn.

"Oh, about that... It is a long story. Besides, you may not even remember it since it had happened long ago. You may end up falling asleep even before you finish listening. Let's go to sleep, okay? I'll tell you that later."

Xia widens his eyes when Yi wants to drop the topic. There is no way he is going to let this go. Not when Yi is giving a hint that they have met years before the show. Besides, who knows when the next time will be with their hectic schedules?

"Who says I am sleepy? I can still go a few more rounds." Xia protests.

"Oh, please. You yawned just now. Forget it."

To make his boyfriend believe that he can do what he has said, Xia sits upon his knees and straddles the younger guy, pinning his wrists to the bedhead above Yi's head. "I'll prove it to you."

"Xia?" Yi blinks twice, caught by surprise at the sudden attack that leaves him helplessly immobile under his partner.

"It’s a long story, huh? Afraid I’ll fall asleep?” Xia asks, lowering his face till his forehead touches the other. “How about we do some exercises to keep us both awake while you tell me everything, darling?"

"You're kidding, right?" Yi’s voice comes out breathy, especially when his head starts playing the image of exercises in various styles.

"No, love. I’m very serious."

"How do I have the strength to speak when we do that?”

"Don't worry. I'll be gentle."