Chapter 119 - Relief

Yul couldn't make it for dinner. The Xiao siblings had decided to go on with it since Yul wasn't responding to his texts too. Yuan kept Zeng busy with chitchats about home and his new job.

After dinner, they called the day off and went to their respective rooms.

Yul arrived at about midnight. Zeng woke up from his half-laden sleep as he heard the clicking of the door and metal keys being put out. He came out in the living room and yes indeed, his boyfriend was here, safe and sound.

He stood there silently until the other came closer, relishing in the relief that his return had brought him. Yul looked at him and gave a smile, announcing his return softly.

"I am home," he said as the tradition.

Forgetting all the disagreement from the past few days, the tension dissolved into nothingness with that.

"Welcome home," Zeng greeted. For a second, he didn't know what to do next but when he found Yul walking straight to him, he closed the distance and threw his arms around him, hugging him tight.

Yul almost crushed his bones with the intensity of the hug and Zeng did not complain. He needed the reassurance, that reminder, of the strength of their longing for each other. The light, loving kiss soon became passionate and deep.

Yul could feel Zeng shivering in his arms. He wanted to feel more, there were times when he thought it was not possible to see Zeng ever again. Tonight had been a close call too. But he managed, he always did. Because he knew his beloved was waiting for him back home.

An urgency ran through Yul. He wanted Zeng, closer and more and more of him than he already had. Zeng could feel it too.

He wanted it here. He wanted it now.

They went to the couch kissing frantically, Yul pushing the older man down till his back rested comfortably and himself got up to remove his shirt. Zeng too unhooked the tie of his pyjamas.

They were too lost in the moment to care about anything else.

"Oh my God!"

They stopped, hearing Yuan's scream. The youngest Xiao quickly averted his eyes. "At least go fuck in your bedroom."

Zeng didn't look too pleased with the language his brother was using. "This is our house." He emphasized.

"That doesn't mean you can go scarring your guests for life. Jesus Christ!" Yuan yelled, a combo of irritation and horror in his voice. "Oh my god, how do I unsee this? I need to bleach my eyes."

"Don't be so dramatic, Yuan."

"Don't be so shameless, ge."

Yul, who was paused due to the sudden intervention, snickered at the banter and the two brothers threw him a murderous glare.

The Wang immediately did and cleared his throat. "I'll go take a shower." He quickly made his escape, leaving the brothers to deal with it.

Zeng sighed, tying the knot of his pyjamas while Yuan scowled at him.

"Why are you up this late anyway?" Zeng asked him.

Yuan pouted, "I needed water … and something to eat." He trodded towards the kitchen to grab a glass.

Zeng wore his shirt and went to the kitchen after him to sort out some snacks for his younger brother. He washed his hands as an established rule whenever he entered the kitchen.

While Yuan sat on the counter, sipping water, Zeng searched for the cabinets and brought out a jar of cookies. He took some cookies on a plate, also some chips that he came across and gave them to the hungry person.

"You should stop snacking at midnight, you know. It's not good for your health," Zeng said, handing over the food.

Yuan clicked his tongue. "You don't know anything."

"I am literally a doctor," Zeng stated the obvious, shaking his head as there was no changing his baby brother, though he had a relaxed smile on his face.

Yuan put a cookie in his mouth, observing his brother. "You look alright now."

Zeng looked up at the statement. "Hm?"

"After that idiot came back, you look alright," Yuan elaborated. "Was him going away for those few hours that big of a deal?"

Zeng nodded. "It is, for me." It was a big deal. It always had been. "I am scared that one day he will go and never come back. So I wait. Even if it's not something big, it can turn out to be. So whenever he comes back to me, I feel relieved."

Yuan scoffed. "But that doesn't mean you fuck around in the house while you have guests."

Zeng blushed furiously. "Yuan!"

He was never letting it go. Not at least for the next few years by which he would have something else to tease his older brother.

Yuan looked at the residual smile on his brother's face, a relieved calm on his features. He remembered that Zeng used to have a similar smile back in those years whenever he came home and talked with a certain senior of his on the phone. He couldn't forget his brother's heartful smile and he also couldn't forget the tears that followed the next year when he came home, shattering his brother's soul to pieces and breaking his heart in such a way that at times, Yuan feared for Zeng's life. It was a tough time.

It was all in the past now, he reminded himself.

"What got you thinking?" Zeng asked, snapping a finger in front of Yuan's face, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Yuan shrugged it off. "I was just thinking…" he took his glass of water and the snacks, preparing to go back to his room but in secret, he was making up an excuse his mind. He did not need to think much since he already had the necessary material. "I was just thinking that after what I had witnessed today, I am never sitting on that couch again."

Zeng flushed red once again. "We didn't do anything in it, okay!" He defended his honor, or whatever was remaining of it.

"I don't trust you guys." Yuan crinkled his nose. "Who knows what naughty stuff you have been doing around the house?"

"Yuan!" Zeng whined in embarrassment..

The said man sighed dismissively. "Jesus! Why am I thinking about it? I guess I need to bleach my brain too."