Conversations Al Fresco
Title: Conversations Al Fresco
Pairing: Fanxing
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Unrevised so far.
Length: ~4k
Summary: There are few things Yifan hates more than having his sleep interrupted, and a fire alarm forcing him to leave the confines of his bed at 3am might be very, very high up on that list. It's his luck though that it forces his neighbour out just as well.
A/N: Inspired by this post on tumblr. I'll revise this tomorrow hopefully, so if you want a version with less errors, better wait till tomorrow. Towards the end this fic is a bit rushed, so I decided to give it a proper revision/rewriting with potentially extending it, but I won't have time for that before Christmas, so expect a revamped version some time after Christmas!
Conversations Al Fresco
Yifan loved to sleep. It was one of his ultimate daily goals to finish all his assignments and tasks in time to catch at least eight hours of sleep. An ambitious project while being enrolled in university, obviously.
His friends always made fun of him for it, but Yifan usually just pointed to a blemished part of their skin and declared: “If you slept as much as I do, you wouldn't have that.”
Generally Jongdae responded either with a stuck out tongue, or a retort about some sort of romantic conquest he also wouldn't have had if he had slept as much as Yifan did. Years of being friends with Jongdae had taught Yifan how to have an especially selective hearing though, so he ignored the jabs at how a perfect skin wasn't worth anything if he didn't catch any fish with it.
Skincare was a good excuse for his friends, but in all honesty Yifan just valued his sleep. The softness of his pillow, the warmth and softness of his blanket, the way he could be free from everything in his dreams. More often than he could count he had been able to just lift of the ground and fly, and he was convinced there was no better feeling than that.
Though the dreams of flying were closely rivalled by these where the guy from next door took an appearance in.
Yifan lived in the university dorm, in a part of the building where they had little one-room apartments which hadn't to be shared with a roommate. There were however still roughly thirty other students living in the same hallway as Yifan. Most of them were annoying, too loud in the night and too untidy in the day. But after his second semester, Yifan's immediate right neighbour had moved out and Yifan probably wouldn't even have noticed, if he hadn't run into his new neighbour in the hallway while the other was in the process of moving in.
From the first glance, Yifan had known he was screwed. The guy next door turned out to be a small brunet-small from Yifan's point of view because the other was almost a head shorter then him, which should make him average size in general-with an absolutely adorable dimpled smile, bowing politely in greeting when he saw Yifan. They exchanged a few shallow pleasantries with Yifan asking the other if he had just moved in-thank you captain obvious his brain not so helpfully supplied-or inquiring what the other was majoring in. But their conversation was cut short when Yifan's phone started beeping incessantly, with Jondae writing him text after text to remind him not to be too late for their next class.
Afterwards, they would greet each other if they met by chance, but that was about the extent of their contact because somehow one or the other always seemed to have something urgent on. So in his dreams Yifan managed to chat the cute guy up-Yixing, as he had introduced himself-or even out on dates with him already, though he didn't know how he had got there. Usually Yifan would feel dejected upon waking up to find none of these things really happened, but it was just one more reason to love sleep and hate awakening.
It was late spring, with the air still being quite fresh at night, but comfortably warm during the day. With the end of his third semester rapidly approaching, Yifan found himself buried in a pile of work for his end-of-term project, resulting in him having to cut back on his sleep hours.
The clock had just hit 1am when Yifan decided that he needed to call it a night if he was going to make an appearance in his 8am lecture-mandatory, of-fucking-course-the next day. His mattress felt heavenly beneath his back, and his blanket had never felt softer. Internally grumbling angrily at the prospect of getting barely six hours of sleep Yifan quickly drifted off to dreamland.
Just as he was getting ready to dive down from the roof of a building an obnoxiously loud, ear-piercing shrill, beeping sound ripped him from his dream.
He sat up in his bed immediately, disoriented for a moment. His insides felt all jumbled and his first instinct might have been to cry a little because he decidedly did not want to be awake at the moment. On top of that the urgency of the siren sent his heartbeat into panic, while his sleep-huddled brain was still trying to catch up with the face that he was no longer sleeping.
But even through the fog of sleepiness he still knew that sound was not his alarm, and a quick glance to the clock on his bedside table told him it was just barely past 3am. With a groan he buried his face in his hands, mourning the unfairness of the situation, and silently asked what he had done wrong in his life to deserve this.
In general Yifan thought that living in the university-affiliated dorms was a very convenient things. Their rent was affordable, and they were pretty close to the university. He didn't have to take care of electricity or water, and there was always someone to let him inside in the unlikely case of him forgetting his key.
What he could have very well done without though were some of his fellow dorm inhabitants. Because while students being too loud when coming home from partying were a nuisance, they still were a walk in the park compared to these idiots who managed to set off the fire alarm at ungodly hours. Living in a dorm, Yifan had been through a few weird situations already and while a fire alarm might be mundane, it still was on top of Yifan's list of most undesirable events to happen in the dead of the night.
For a moment he was tempted to just lie back down and go back to sleep, but knowing his dorm he could not be entirely sure this was just a false alarm, and if it was a test and he was discovered sleeping by one of the prefects, he would get one hell of a scolding and he really wasn't in the mood for that. Putting aside the fact that he most likely wouldn't have been able to fall asleep with the siren blaring on either way.
So he dragged himself out of bed with a heavy heart, and trotted out of the building, following the continuous stream of students to the lawn in front of their dorm. Yifan wasn't really in the mood to acknowledge other people's existence at 3am, but he couldn't help but notice that some of the students seemed as if they had not even gotten into contact with their beds yet while others looked almost as pissed as he felt.
He also took note of their clothing, or rather varying degrees of undressing when he stepped out of the building, because only as the cold night air hit his bare skin did it really dawn on him that he was in nothing but his boxers and the slippers that had been standing beside his door. And he was freezing.
Cursing under his breath Yifan shuffled further, until he was a good bit away from the entrance of the building, on the lawn that had been designated their emergency assembly point. A few students were standing in little groups, but with his best bitchface on, muttering angrily and towering over pretty much everyone else with his height Yifan didn't look like particularly pleasant company, so he expected to at least have some peace in his loathing of idiotic students.
When the wind picked up, Yifan groaned and crossed his arms in front of his body, rubbing his hands up and down his sides in the hope of creating some semblance of heat while at the same time providing a sparse shield against the cold. He was shivering and grumbling, and pitying his general existence. It really was the worst turn the night could have taken and Yifan's mood had passed the lower end of the scale a while ago already. Being tired certainly didn't help Yifan with feeling cold, but at least the cold stopped him from dozing off again as he heard the sirens of the fire department getting closer.
They were probably not much happier about the hour, Yifan mused, and forced himself to feel some sympathy.
He was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself and for the firefighters, and being angry at the idiots who hadn't been able to keep their fire in check, that he didn't notice the small silhouette walking towards him.
“What a ruckus in the middle of the night, right?” A smooth voice addressed him, and Yifan turned his head, ready to snap something at the newcomer because he really wasn't in the mood for socializing, but his words got stuck in his throat when he laid eyes on soft brown hair and a gentle smile, a little indentation on the right cheek.
“Ah, you-I-Eh,Y-Yeah. Hi.” He stumbled, and wanted to hit himself right after the embarrassing stuttering left his mouth. He wasn't even sure what he had intended to say, perhaps letting on that he recognized his neighbour, but without giving away that there was no way he would not recognize him.
Yixing however didn't seem to take particular notice of his awkwardness. “Hi.” He answered with a wide smile, and Yifan sincerely wondered how the other could look so joyous at 3am when they had been thrown out of their beds and chased into the cold. He also wondered how it was possible for anyone to have such perfect teeth, but the thought was quickly suppressed.
“You're living in the flat next to me, right? Yi...han?”
“Yifan.” The taller automatically corrected.
Yixing nodded to himself and hummed. “Ah, yeah, right. Yifan.”
He let his eyes drift over the lawn, and for a moment Yifan was sure their conversation was over the same way it had quickly trailed off so many times before. But this time Yixing's eyes fell back on him, and suddenly Yifan felt terribly exposed. Not exactly an unwarranted feeling, considering that he was standing there in nothing but his boxers. His grip around his own upper body tightened, in an attempt to inconspicuously cover as much of his skin as possible.
It wasn't as if he was ashamed of his body, he had attended too many basketball practices in his life to leave his body untrained, but Yixing was mustering with such intent eyes that Yifan couldn't help the slightly defensive stance.
“Are you cold?” The smaller eventually asked, cocking his head to the side slightly as his eyes finally wandered up to Yifan's face. He himself was dressed in boxers himself, but paired with a loose t-shirt that seemed enough to keep him warm.
The taller hoped the heat in his cheeks from embarrassment was invisible in the dark, as he shook his head in denial. “It's okay.” He assured.
Yixing frowned a little in disbelief. Yifan guessed that the shivering he couldn't suppress, paired with the shattering of his teeth that could be heard whenever he wasn't talking and the goosebumps running up and down his arms were kinda giving him away.
“You look as if you're cold.” He announced, and Yifan couldn't help but think how adorable the way he scrunched up his nose was.
“I'm really not.” Yifan tried to assure the smaller, waving his hands in front of his body in a negating gesture, but that was a mistake, as it enabled the wind to hit him right in the ribs. He quickly brought his hands back to the places where they had been previously.
Yixing had studied his motions and looked as if he was thinking about something. Yifan wasn't sure he liked that. Then the brunet's expression brightened, and a wide smile returned onto his features.
“I know.” he declared, and before Yifan even had a chance to react the other had pulled his t-shirt over his head.
Any potential answer died in his throat and he tried his hardest to conceal the coughing from having inhaled his own spit out of shocked surprise.
It's too early for this shit, Yifan thought, already mourning the loss of any cool image he might have been able to establish during the day. His brain and body simply weren't able to deal with the unpredictability his neighbour apparently was at 3am.
“Everything okay?” Yixing asked sounding concerned as Yifan kept letting out broken coughs, but the taller just put up a hand to indicate that
he was okay.
Yifan took deep breaths and counted to ten when his throat finally relaxed enough to let air in again.
“I'm fine.” he said just for good measure, but his voice sounded embarrassingly scratchy as a result of his little coughing fit.
Yixing looked a little dubious, but let the matter slip in favour of holding his t-shirt out to Yifan.
Right then the blond actually managed to forget why he had choked in the first place, because his mind drew a blank at what the gesture might mean. He was pretty sure his bewilderment could be read in his expression while he was staring at the piece of clothing, because a gentle chuckle had him look back up at Yixing.
“For you.” The smaller explained, nudging the hand holding his shirt towards Yifan once more in emphasis.
Yifan wanted to decline again, because then he would be admitting to the fact that he is indeed cold, and even more importantly it would mean that Yixing would be without a shirt himself.
But the brunet seemed intent on passing his clothing on, and he stared at Yifan with such expectant eyes that Yifan couldn't help but give in, since it would have been impolite to refuse further.
So he admitted defeat and took the t-shirt from Yixing's hands and pulled it over his head.
It had been pretty big on Yixing's lean frame, but Yifan's different body built was embarrassingly highlighted. The worst wasn't even that it was a bit tighter around the chest-that rather spoke for Yifan and it wasn't that tight-but rather the fact that the fabric that had reached a bit past the hem of Yixing's boxers ended up exposing a stripe of skin between Yifan's boxers and the hem of the t-shirt.
Yifan had already wished for it often that night, but when he helplessly tugged the t-shirt down in hopes of covering more of his body and ended up having to admit that he would have to stand around with an obviously too short shirt, then he wished for the earth to swallow him the most because he was standing next to the cute guy from next door at 3am and was looking ridiculous.
He almost didn't dare looking at the other for the fear of what he would read in Yixing's expression, but a silent chuckle drew his eyes to the brunet either way.
“You're quite a tall one, aren't you?” Yixing mused, patting Yifan's chest. The gesture implied familiarity that shouldn't exist between them, and Yifan momentarily forgot that he should be embarrassed.
“I'm sorry, it doesn't fit you. I'm rather small.” The brunet continued, and looked almost admiring as he added. “I wish I were as tall as you.”
I think you have the perfect height and are perfect in general. Yifan's brain unhelpfully supplied, and Yifan bit his tongue to stop the words from actually slipping out. He was still hoping he could get out of this night with a bit of his dignity in tact.
So instead inhaled and exhaled once, to calm his rapidly beating heart. He was capable of cool casualness, he was convinced of it.
“Is it really okay for you?” He asked the smaller, and tugged at the shirt to indicate what he was talking about. A small voice inside his head congratulated him on sounding rather composed. “Are you sure you're not cold now yourself?”
But Yixing just waved off his concern. “I have a pretty good circulation, I don't get cold that easily.”
Yifan wasn't entirely convinced, and expressed it with an eyebrow raised in question.
“Trust me, I'm really not cold.” The smaller laughed out, putting his hands up as if surrendering. The gesture reminded Yifan painfully of his own a few minutes prior, that had ultimately torn down his facade, but Yixing really did pull it off in a way that made Yifan believe him.
He was just about to huff out his reluctant agreement, when a playful glint hushed through Yixing's eyes, and the smaller preempted him. “And if I were to be cold I could also demand you to cuddle with me to warm me up. I think now that I gave you my shirt you owe me.”
The statement was so unexpected that it threw Yifan completely off track again. He was honestly glad he didn't choke on his own spit again, but the heat in his cheeks told him that even with the dim lighting it was very unlikely for Yixing to not notice the blush colouring his cheeks.
Even the wind picking up didn't help against the burn of blood in his face, and Yifan found himself stammering helplessly about how he would immediately return the t-shirt if the smaller should be cold, and he was very sure he was also saying that he would certainly share his body heat, but he hoped in his flustered state he was either just imagining that or talking too fast for Yixing to understand anything.
His mouth seemed to run away with him, and he only managed to snap it shut when Yixing's chuckle drew through his barrage of words.
“I'm just kidding, calm down.” He assured the taller, and his eyes sparkled with mirth as he glanced up at Yifan. The sight alone was already enough for Yifan to almost swallow his tongue and fall silent.
“Also no need to worry, I'm really warm. See?” To make a point Yixing took Yifan's hand in his own.
Just as he had said his skin was warm against Yifan's, even more so because Yifan himself had been freezing until a few minutes ago. As if he had read Yifan's thoughts Yixing's eyebrows shot up and he looked down at their joined hands.
“Damn, you're really cold. That's not good, don't want you to catch a cold.” He noted, and took both of Yifan's hands in his own, rubbing them gently in an attempt to warm them up.
The blond was lost for words. This was decidedly not how he had expected his evening to go, and he had to remind himself this was the first real contact he ever had had with Yixing, because the smaller seemed intent on acting as if they'd known each other for years already.
Yifan on the other hand was left being the most awkward version of himself. To overplay that fact Yifan started up a bit of small-talk, asking Yixing about how his lectures are going, and if he's content with what he's studying.
But with the smaller facing him it got more and more impossible for Yifan to ignore the fact that Yixing was standing there shirtless. No matter how hard he fought it, his eyes always traveled down the smaller's chest.
Somehow Yixing didn't even feel the need to cover himself up with his hands in the least, and Yifan prayed to all higher powers that Yixing didn't notice his creepy staring.
Despite not wanting to come off like a pervert Yifan couldn't help his thoughts from running wild and imagining what he could all do to that chest.
These sharp collarbones just begged to have his tongue run over them. He imagined dragging his fingers along the firm stomach and abdominal muscles showing, drawing goosebumps to the skin that the cold of the night apparently didn't manage to. Yifan mused what sort of working out Yixing was doing to be so muscled and yet slim at the same time. The thought didn't manage to rein his imagination in for long though, since that moment his eyes caught on Yixing's nipples, and he could basically hear the noises...
“Yifan? Are you listening?” Yixing's voice reminded Yifan mercilessly of his current surroundings and brought him out of his thoughts long enough to notice that Yixing was looking at him questioningly and only then did Yifan realize he probably missed some question. But even worse did he remember that even though he did have a shirt now, he was still dressed in just his boxers with no pants, and getting a boner would very well be the worst possible thing to happen to him. So he swallowed and summoned up all the unsexy things he could think of.
Jongdae's morning breath, Luhan's laughing face, Sehun's general expressions. He repeated internally like some sort of mantra to calm himself down.
“I'm sorry, could you repeat that?” He croaked out at the same time to keep Yixing from suspecting anything.
The younger just pouted up at him-Yifan would not admit that it made his heart skip a beat-and swatted at his arm for not listening to him, before willingly repeating his question.
With Yixing's hands around his, and the bright laugh in his ears, brilliant smiles burned into his eyes the time passed without Yifan even noticing, and he really wouldn't have been able to tell for how long he had stood outside.
Surprisingly he even managed to shake off some of his awkwardness the longer their conversation kept up, and with Luhan's laughing face in the back of his mind he also managed to not add to his embarrassment further.
Eventually the firefighters deemed the building accessible again though, and students started filing back into their dorm in the hope of catching at least a few more hours of sleep.
Yifan was so dazed, that he simply followed after Yixing. Only after they had said goodbye and the blond was back in the confines of his own room did he notice that he had forgotten to return the t-shirt to the smaller.
He was still wearing the embarrassingly short t-shirt, and while it would have been appropriate to return it, Yifan reasoned that the smaller was most likely asleep already either way and that it would be rude to disturb him. It was a cheap excuse his brain came up with to enable him to wear the shirt a little longer.
When he laid back down in bed, the familiar sheets felt somehow different, and although Yifan was still looking forward to sleeping, he found himself looking forward to waking up as well, since he would still have to return the shirt. It presented him with the perfect opportunity to meet his neighbour again and hopefully have another conversation with him.
So Yifan dozed off to sleep with Yixing's scent in his nose and the brunet's dimpled smile in front of his inner eye.
The next morning Yifan found a little note that has been shoved through underneath his door.
As rent for the shirt I'll accept a coffee. Contact me when you're ready to make your payment.
Below the message a sequence of numbers was written and for the rest of the morning Yifan was unable to keep the wide grin from his face.
~.~.~.~.~.~
A/N: Yifan is such a teenage girl in this one fml. I read that scenario on Tumblr and somehow it didn't let go of me. I wanted to give you all a quick oneshot, and I liked the general plot of this when I planned it, but I'm not all too sure about the execution right now.
Well, I guess that's nothing new though.