Stuck [Prompt #140]
Title: Stuck
Rating: PG-13
Length: 3,898 words
Summary: Yixing gets stuck in a tree trying to rescue his cat. His neighbor attempts to help and ends up stuck too.
Notes: I don’t even know what I’m doing. This is a terrible title. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to finish this <3
D'artagnan's green eyes glow as he stares down at Yixing from his spot on the tree. How can a damn cat climb that high? He looks around seeing that the street is void of fellow humans who could possibly help him get his cat down from that tree. It’s 4 in the afternoon and people are probably still at work. This neighborhood only houses bachelors and young couples, it’s natural that Zhang Yixing the dance teacher is the only one home at such an hour.
“Looks like I’m going to rescue you myself,” he tells his cat, D’artagnan’s meow sounding suspiciously like mockery. Yixing pushes the sleeves of his pajama sweater up and prepares to climb. First, he needs to trace the path. There are a few low branches that don’t look very firm but Yixing figures he can use them to reach a larger branch above. Ok. He can do this. He can climb this tree, it’s no big deal. He just needs to keep his feet heavy on the trunk as he goes. “Don’t worry, D’artagnan. I’m coming.”
He reaches the strongest, largest branches in no time, and honestly this wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. What was his mom so afraid of when she forbade him from climbing trees as a boy? Yixing smiles triumphantly, sliding closer to D’artagnan, scooping the tabby cat easily. “It’s ok. I told you I could do this. You’re ok.” the cat meows but settles on Yixing’s arms, perfectly safe. “Now all we have to do is get down.”
Wow, from up there it looks really high. Did it look this high from the ground?
D’artagnan meows and Yixing shushes him, blinking fast as he tries to assess the way down. He just has to follow the same path, it’s not that hard. He can do this. But first he should adjust himself into an easier position, he won’t be able to climb down if he remains astride this branch. However, he finds out that it’s nearly impossible to get his legs together while holding the cat. Yixing tries to move while holding D’artagnan with one arm, and his heart speeds up when he almost loses balance. It’s dangerous. Very. Very Dangerous. Yixing frowns at his situation, reevaluating the branches through which he climbed up (it’s important to emphasize that he climbed through those very branches). Did they change positions while he was focused on the cat? Why can’t he find the way back?
“Oh shit,” Yixing mutters as realization starts sinking in. "Are we stuck?" D'artagnan meows. "Are we... Are we fucking stuck up this tree?" D'artagnan paws at his chest and meows again. "UNBELIEVABLE!" He can scream all he wants and no one will come for help. No one will come for at least another hour. D'artagnan meows. "WHAT? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Yixing lashes at the cat. He feels kinda bad minutes later because honestly did D'artagnan predict all this? He probably looked up at the tree and thought 'that's a cozy little tree i'm gonna make this my new spot' and instead planted his stupid cat butt on the most stupid branch he could find. It's not D'artagnan's fault if he's STUPID! "STUPID CAT WHY DID I EVEN COME FOR YOU STUPID CAT DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT I--," Honestly. Yixing sighs, petting his stupid kitten. "I'm sorry."
D'artagnan meows.
"I didn't mean to scream at you, but you have to agree that this wasn't your smartest move. You better hope for us to get out of this alive." He doesn't even want to think about how a fall from this height could hurt. D'artagnan will graciously land on his feet. Yixing will probably break a limb or two.
"Um..." a voice that's not his own says. With eyes wide as saucers, Yixing looks down to find a tall, young man looking up at him. "Do you need help?"
He recognizes this man. Blonde gorgeously styled hair and wearing a suit that probably costs Yixing's entire paycheck. It's his neighbor from downstairs. The lawyer. Or accountant. Maybe he's a stockbroker, who knows. They never really talked beyond politely greeting each other in the hallways. Yixing went through his mail once (he was honestly looking for his internet bill, sometimes the mailman mixes their stuff) and he knows the man is called Wu Yifan. Well, at this moment, Wu Yifan glows under a divine light, and Yixing thinks he might be an angel.
"Kinda, yes," he says bashfully. If Yifan was close enough to hear his pathetic little outburst, he's probably judging Yixing mad.
Yifan stares at him. "Are you stuck?"
"What gave it away? The crazy shouting or the cat on my lap?" Yixing inquires.
Yifan smiles. It's a nice smile, and Yixing already knew that. Yifan smiles at him when they cross each other in the stairway. "I'd say both. Do you want me to come up?"
Oh. Perhaps he could hand D'artagnan over and climb down. "Think you can hold him while I get down? I can't do it with one arm or I'll lose my balance."
"Sure," Yifan shrugs and removes his jacket, dropping it on the floor. He climbs the tree easily enough, locating the strongest branches and keeping his feet firm on the trunk. Positioning himself on the branch closest to Yixing, Yifan stretches his arms. "Give me the cat."
They're close enough that Yixing doesn't even need to lean forward, he just has to offer D'artagnan and Yifan will grab him. So he follows the theory, handing the cat over. Yifan already has his hands on D'artagnan when the cat startles, meowing loudly and escaping Yifan.
Yixing yells, "D'artagnan!" and the cat calmly hops branch after branch until landing safely on the ground. As if the world is bright and life is perfect, D'artagnan rolls back home and pays Yixing no mind. He looks after the cat, betrayal burning in his chest. "D'artagnan!"
"I guess he wasn't really stuck." Yifan mentions, blinking at Yixing. They stare at each other in disbelief for what feels like 5 minutes. "Should we get down?"
Well, now he's cat free. "Perhaps, yes." Yixing looks down, trying to recognize the path down but the thing still looks confusing as fuck. He doesn't know where to grab or where to place his feet. "Can you go first so I can watch where you step?"
"Um..."
Yixing looks up at Yifan, and oh look at that his neighbor looks as stuck as he is. "Please tell me you know how to get out of here."
"Oh, we can get out of here," Yifan says, sweat starting to roll down his forehead. "We just have to weigh down our options."
"And what are our options?" please don't say jump and pray to land in one piece.
"We can spend some time trying to figure out how the hell we came up. We can," Yifan pulls a cellphone from his pocket, "call the firemen and embarrass ourselves to death." yeah, not actually an option. "We can wait until someone shows up or we can jump and pray to land in one piece."
Yixing curses, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
"One way or another we are going to spend some time up here." Yifan says and Yixing watches him pull at the tie until it's loose enough to hang around his neck in a careless manner. In addition to that, he has a nice throat. Yifan has a nice everything, to be completely honest.
It's not like Yixing creeps on him whenever he's doing his laundry at the communal space or anything. It’s just… Common knowledge that Wu Yifan is nice to look at.
Forcing himself out of his deviations, Yixing sighs, running both hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe I got myself in this. And you too. I'm sorry."
Yifan waves a hand at him. "It's not your fault I'm dumb enough to get stuck in a tree."
"I really thought D'artagnan was trapped!" it's a gentle sound but Yixing still hears Yifan's muffled snort. "What?"
"You named your cat D'artagnan," he snickers. Yixing squints at him. Is Mr. Fancy Pants really criticizing his name choice? There's probably something homicidal in Yixing's eyes because the next second Yifan is arching his eyebrows in surprise. "Not that it's a bad name. I really like The Three Musketeers."
"It's French." Yixing justifies and Yifan nods eagerly. A strand of his styled hair falls to his forehead.
"Of course."
A soft breeze blows around them, and the sound of the leaves is almost relaxing.
Clearing his throat, Yifan says, "So you're a dance teacher." when Yixing doesn't reply, Yifan hurries to explain. "I saw your T-shirt. The... Um... 'Full Moon Academy'. It's a dance academy, isn't it?"
Yixing knows he didn't mean to be a jerk by making that comment about his cat's name but it's kinda cute how Yifan is afraid to say the wrong thing now. Suppressing a smile, Yixing answers, "Yeah. I teach teens."
Yifan hums, and announces, "I'm a business loan manager."
What? Knitting his eyebrows, Yixing gazes at him. "I really didn't think you worked for a bank." It makes sense, though. Bank people wear a lot of suits. And Business Loan Manager sounds like an important position.
"You wondered about my profession?" Yifan looks surprised.
Yixing shrugs, "Yeah, you know. You wear a suit every day and your hair is always perfect."
Yifan chuckles, his cheeks coloring a bit. "Yeah, it's required. People come to me asking for money. I have to look important." They both laugh. "Did you always want to be a dance teacher?"
“I’ve always wanted to work with something that pleases me,” Yixing explains. “Although I like my job, maybe working with music would also have been satisfying.”
Yifan nods in understanding. It’s weird to think about where he is right now, stuck in a tree with his neighbor, conversing. They’ve been neighbors for almost 1 year and never talked. Not even when Yixing would get too distracted by the curves of Yifan’s tight muscles to realize that the man had finished his laundry and was coming in his direction. There were times in which Yixing came up with a few excuses to approach Yifan but never really had the guts to. Perhaps he should thank D’artagnan for the opportunity.
“Maybe we should call the firemen,” Yifan suggests. Yixing widens his eyes at his proposition. “I bet they’ve seen situations like this many times before.”
“Oh really?” Yixing stares at him. “Two grown men trapped in a tree. The first thing they’re going to notice is the length of your legs and how absurd it is that you can’t just stretch them and touch the ground!”
One second before he blurts, Yixing is regretting the words. He expects to see red all over Yifan’s face and maybe hear some screaming. Instead, he gets laughter. Yifan even has to brace himself on an upper branch.
“Sorry,” Yixing mutters in embarrassment. Yifan should be glaring at him but he’s receiving a fond look that confuses the shit out of him. Why is Yifan looking at him like that?
“I’m sorry that my legs failed to meet your expectations,” Yifan says.
He didn’t have any expectations concerning Yifan’s legs. Well, maybe he did in the deepest, darkest places of his conscience, but none is to be mentioned. “They didn’t… I didn’t have any expectations. Can you just, please, not call the firemen?”
Yifan’s gaze on him is contemplative, like there’s something on his mind specifically about Yixing. It makes Yixing curious. “Ok. We should, at least, think of something.”
“We’re waiting for help,” he thought it was obvious that that’s what they were doing. Engaging in casual chat while they wait for help.
“You mean we’re counting on our neighbors getting home? I have a friend who owns a ladder, maybe he could come to our rescue.”
A ladder sounds like a good idea. Yixing’s butt is starting to hurt, so it’s best if they hurry. “Can you call him?”
“It might take him about ten minutes to get here,” Yifan informs, tapping on his phone. He spends a few minutes on the phone, probably communicating with his friend, and Yixing takes the chance to admire his features. He doesn’t get many chances to just look at Yifan (spying the man on laundry duties doesn’t count), and every time he stops and stares, he is surprised by his face all over again. That’s a really nice face. He’s got great hair too, but his face is the best. Yixing really wouldn’t mind licking his cheeks very slowly, tasting and feeling the texture of his skin. He’d probably taste face powder or something, but Yixing seriously wouldn’t mind. “He’s coming, but he says he’ll record a video.”
Well. Better being mocked by Yifan’s friends than by the whole firemen corp. “I can’t believe D’artagnan would betray me like this.”
Yifan shrugs, “It’s in his nature. Cats only care about themselves.”
No, that’s not D’artagnan. “He likes to snuggle.” He’s startled out of his pouting by Yifan’s chuckle. “What is it?”
His neighbor scratches the side of his neck, “I’m just imagining you and your cat snuggling. Must be cute.”
Yixing stops for a second. He stares and knits his eyebrows, squinting at Yifan. “Are you trying to flirt with me?”
Pressing his lips into a thin line, Yifan arches his eyebrows. “Um…” Is that a blush? “That might have been… An attempt at that, yes.” he appears a little more determined. “Did it work?”
“I’m not sure…” Yixing feels the tips of his ears warming up, but refuses to look bashful.
“Ok,” Yifan nods. “I’ll just keep trying then,” he clears his throat. “You have this really adorable habit of singing when you’re doing laundry.”
Gasping, Yixing points his index finger at Yifan. “You were stalking me!”
“Not stalking, I was just observing!” the other explains. “I was waiting to use the washing machine.”
Yixing figures he should cut him some slack. Especially since he does the exact same thing. It’s just surprising that Yifan would want to watch him do laundry. Why would he want to observe someone as lame as Yixing? Maybe there’s a reason. The same reason why Yifan would want to flirt with him.
“Fine,” Yixing says. “Keep going.”
Yifan gazes at him, that same fond look in his eyes. “When you first moved in, I thought about knocking on your door and introducing myself.”
That’s cute. “Not flirtatious enough, but just for the record… I thought about introducing myself to you as well.” Now that he thinks about it, does Yifan even know his name? “I’m… Yixing. My name,” he clarifies. “is Yixing.”
Yifan nods, a pretty little smile decorating his face. “Nice to meet you, Yixing.” He studies Yixing with an attentive, almost amused look. It’s suspicious.
“You already knew my name, didn’t you?”
Yifan chuckles and Yixing finds that he wouldn’t mind playing that sound on repeat for the next fifty years. “You know mine.”
“By total accident!” Yixing bullshits. Yifan just snorts, clearly not buying it. Sighing, Yixing shrugs. “Ok, we know each other’s names. Should we cover age as well?”
“How old do you think I am?” Yifan bites on his lower lip, a teasing glint in his eyes. God, he’s so handsome it’s unfair. How does god allow someone to be born that gorgeous? It should be forbidden.
“Thirty?” Yixing tries. “I don’t know, thirty-one?”
“Twenty-nine.” the other says. “Freshly celebrated.”
Interesting. “And how old do you think I am?”
Yifan pretends to look pensive, scratching at his forehead. Yixing smiles, “Twenty… Six?”
Close enough. “Twenty-seven.”
Yifan sounds content when he laughs. “Isn’t it dumb that we’ve been wanting to talk to each other and the first opportunity we get is when we’re stuck here?”
“All relationships have to start somewhere, right?” Yixing lowers his eyes, focusing on an ant that walks up his leg. His ears are warming up again, but he chooses to ignore it.
Yifan sighs, “When we get out of here,” looking up, Yixing meets his eyes. “Do you wanna come back to my place? Maybe we could… You know. Talk.”
That’s a good idea. Actually, it’s an excellent idea. He likes to look at Yifan because it’s not every day that you encounter someone that looks like that, but the truth is that he never put too much thought into knowing the man better. Yifan just looked too unapproachable with his expensive-looking suits and hair styled to perfection. Not wanting to appear too excited by the proposition, Yixing clears his throat and inhales, meeting Yifan’s eyes. “That would be nice.”
A few minutes later Luhan, Yifan’s friend, arrives with the ladder. It’s a bright purple ladder, and it makes Yixing question Luhan’s motives for owning such an item. He chooses not to voice his thoughts to someone who could potentially upload an embarrassing video of himself on YouTube.
“Guess what Yifan got himself into this time,” Luhan says to his cellphone camera, a smile that just looks impossible to control.
“Alright, alright,” Yifan tells him, rolling his eyes. Yixing just remains silent.
“He’s trapped!” Luhan guffaws, the purple ladder falling to his feet as he clutches his stomach, bending over.
Yifan’s face is burning red when he says, “Can you stop the fun at my expense and help us? This branch is not treating my ass very good.”
Surprised, Yixing arches his eyebrows. He swallows a remark about a couple of options for treatments to Yifan’s ass that would feel much better than a tree branch.
Luhan screeches, “HIS ASS HURTS!”
“Luhan!”
“God, Yifan, you just make it too easy.” Luhan stops recording, pocketing the phone. He bends to grab the purple ladder and Yixing realizes he’s finally been noticed. “Hello! I’m sorry Yifan got you in this situation.”
“Actually, this is my fault.” Yixing says. “My cat got stuck.”
Frowning, Luhan inspects their surroundings. “Where’s the cat?”
Yixing grimaces, “He wasn’t really stuck.”
Luhan snorts, shaking his head as if the whole situation is the best thing that ever happened to him. It’s strange that Yixing kind of likes him, considering that his misery has been entertaining Luhan since he arrived.
Luhan adjusts the ladder to an appropriate height and leans it on the tree. “There you go, kittens.”
With a gesture, Yifan allows Yixing to go first. “After you.”
The ladder makes it so easy that Yixing can’t help but feel a bit of shame for not being able to find the way down by himself. Yifan follows him, and soon enough Luhan is retrieving his purple ladder. Now, with feet firmly planted on the ground, Yixing looks up at Yifan.
“I’m sorry,” he says, both hands on his pajama pants pockets. Turning to Luhan, Yixing bows. “Thank you for coming, and I’m sorry for bothering.”
Luhan, who has caramel blonde hair and pretty eyes, smiles at him, assessing. “He’s cute,” he tells Yifan, looking at Yixing once more. “You’re cute.”
Stepping closer to Yixing, Yifan crosses his arms on his chest. His stance almost looks protective. “Yes, he is.” to Yixing, he says, “Don’t mind him. He likes to tease.”
Looking between Yixing and Yifan, Luhan smirks, opening his arms. “I saved the day! Don’t I get a beer or anything?”
Yifan makes a disgusted noise but after everything, he can’t really deny Luhan. All three of them return to Yifan’s apartment -- they meet D’artagnan on their way there totally worry-free on the stairway, and Yixing squints at him.
He wants to go inside his own apartment and change out of his pajamas, but Luhan makes sure to tell him that the pajamas are ok (Yixing is 50% sure that he’s being mocked). Yifan’s apartment looks nothing like Yixing expected. There are a lot of motivational posters on the walls and pictures of Yifan with a woman that’s probably his mom. It’s not very clean, but not exactly messy either. His furniture looks like each was owned by a different person before him, and everything comes together in a mismatched whirl of color. His TV looks new.
“I didn’t clean this week,” Yifan scurries around collecting bags of chips and old newspapers from the floor.
“He never cleans.” Luhan whispers and Yixing smiles. They chat for a while until Yifan looks done with his last-minute cleaning, and sits next to them. Luhan doesn’t seem to hold much respect for Yifan’s general existence. During the first ten minutes, he reveals that Yifan owns a collection of plush toys and motivational books. He also says that Yifan likes to watch cowboy movies and worked as an exotic dancer when he was 18 years old. Luhan clearly senses Yifan’s interest in Yixing. When Yifan goes inside for a minute, he scoots closer to Yixing, lowering his voice.
“He’s a little silly sometimes,” he says. “but has a big heart. And he likes you.”
“I like him,” Yixing tells him without a doubt.
Luhan looks satisfied, nodding at him. “Then this is my cue.” he stands up, making a show of screaming about how someone called Jongdae was hungry and Luhan had to go feed him.
After Luhan leaves and it’s just the two of them in Yifan’s colorfully strange apartment, a thickness fills the air. Feels like tension. Suddenly, Yixing is hyper aware of Yifan’s hand sitting close to his leg on the couch, of the way Yifan’s gaze keeps slipping down into his mouth while he’s speaking, and how nice he smells. Someone says something, maybe him, maybe Yifan. It doesn’t really matter when Yifan’s face is inching closer.
“If you let me kiss you I promise I’ll do your laundry for a month.” Yifan offers, his fingers coming to Yixing’s chin.
Anxiety settles in his stomach. They’re really close, now. His nose is almost brushing on Yifan’s and honestly, this is not how he imagined his day would go when he woke up this morning. He can’t complain, though. “Will you let me watch while you do it?”
“You never needed my permission before, why would you need it now?”
Yixing wants to agree but the softness of Yifan’s mouth on his shuts him up. His fingers sliding from Yixing’s chin to his nape, Yifan presses them closer, his lips caressing Yixing’s as if he’s been waiting a long time for that kiss. Yixing is glad to give him control, let Yifan dictate their movements, his tongue licking across Yixing’s mouth, coaxing his lips apart. He is glad to allow Yifan’s hand to thread into his hair, one of his arms circling Yixing’s waist and nearly bringing him into Yifan’s lap. He wouldn’t mind making himself comfortable there but maybe not tonight.
They part with a gasp from Yixing, Yifan’s arm slackening around him. Touching his shoulders, Yixing presses his lips to Yifan’s one more time, just for reassurance.
“Do you want to go out with me?” Yifan asks sounding completely out of breath, and Yixing likes to think that he’s the reason for that. Nodding, Yixing claims his mouth again and makes a mental note to be dressed in something a little more than his pajamas the next time he sees Yifan.
Rating: PG-13
Length: 3,898 words
Summary: Yixing gets stuck in a tree trying to rescue his cat. His neighbor attempts to help and ends up stuck too.
Notes: I don’t even know what I’m doing. This is a terrible title. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to finish this <3
D'artagnan's green eyes glow as he stares down at Yixing from his spot on the tree. How can a damn cat climb that high? He looks around seeing that the street is void of fellow humans who could possibly help him get his cat down from that tree. It’s 4 in the afternoon and people are probably still at work. This neighborhood only houses bachelors and young couples, it’s natural that Zhang Yixing the dance teacher is the only one home at such an hour.
“Looks like I’m going to rescue you myself,” he tells his cat, D’artagnan’s meow sounding suspiciously like mockery. Yixing pushes the sleeves of his pajama sweater up and prepares to climb. First, he needs to trace the path. There are a few low branches that don’t look very firm but Yixing figures he can use them to reach a larger branch above. Ok. He can do this. He can climb this tree, it’s no big deal. He just needs to keep his feet heavy on the trunk as he goes. “Don’t worry, D’artagnan. I’m coming.”
He reaches the strongest, largest branches in no time, and honestly this wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. What was his mom so afraid of when she forbade him from climbing trees as a boy? Yixing smiles triumphantly, sliding closer to D’artagnan, scooping the tabby cat easily. “It’s ok. I told you I could do this. You’re ok.” the cat meows but settles on Yixing’s arms, perfectly safe. “Now all we have to do is get down.”
Wow, from up there it looks really high. Did it look this high from the ground?
D’artagnan meows and Yixing shushes him, blinking fast as he tries to assess the way down. He just has to follow the same path, it’s not that hard. He can do this. But first he should adjust himself into an easier position, he won’t be able to climb down if he remains astride this branch. However, he finds out that it’s nearly impossible to get his legs together while holding the cat. Yixing tries to move while holding D’artagnan with one arm, and his heart speeds up when he almost loses balance. It’s dangerous. Very. Very Dangerous. Yixing frowns at his situation, reevaluating the branches through which he climbed up (it’s important to emphasize that he climbed through those very branches). Did they change positions while he was focused on the cat? Why can’t he find the way back?
“Oh shit,” Yixing mutters as realization starts sinking in. "Are we stuck?" D'artagnan meows. "Are we... Are we fucking stuck up this tree?" D'artagnan paws at his chest and meows again. "UNBELIEVABLE!" He can scream all he wants and no one will come for help. No one will come for at least another hour. D'artagnan meows. "WHAT? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Yixing lashes at the cat. He feels kinda bad minutes later because honestly did D'artagnan predict all this? He probably looked up at the tree and thought 'that's a cozy little tree i'm gonna make this my new spot' and instead planted his stupid cat butt on the most stupid branch he could find. It's not D'artagnan's fault if he's STUPID! "STUPID CAT WHY DID I EVEN COME FOR YOU STUPID CAT DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT I--," Honestly. Yixing sighs, petting his stupid kitten. "I'm sorry."
D'artagnan meows.
"I didn't mean to scream at you, but you have to agree that this wasn't your smartest move. You better hope for us to get out of this alive." He doesn't even want to think about how a fall from this height could hurt. D'artagnan will graciously land on his feet. Yixing will probably break a limb or two.
"Um..." a voice that's not his own says. With eyes wide as saucers, Yixing looks down to find a tall, young man looking up at him. "Do you need help?"
He recognizes this man. Blonde gorgeously styled hair and wearing a suit that probably costs Yixing's entire paycheck. It's his neighbor from downstairs. The lawyer. Or accountant. Maybe he's a stockbroker, who knows. They never really talked beyond politely greeting each other in the hallways. Yixing went through his mail once (he was honestly looking for his internet bill, sometimes the mailman mixes their stuff) and he knows the man is called Wu Yifan. Well, at this moment, Wu Yifan glows under a divine light, and Yixing thinks he might be an angel.
"Kinda, yes," he says bashfully. If Yifan was close enough to hear his pathetic little outburst, he's probably judging Yixing mad.
Yifan stares at him. "Are you stuck?"
"What gave it away? The crazy shouting or the cat on my lap?" Yixing inquires.
Yifan smiles. It's a nice smile, and Yixing already knew that. Yifan smiles at him when they cross each other in the stairway. "I'd say both. Do you want me to come up?"
Oh. Perhaps he could hand D'artagnan over and climb down. "Think you can hold him while I get down? I can't do it with one arm or I'll lose my balance."
"Sure," Yifan shrugs and removes his jacket, dropping it on the floor. He climbs the tree easily enough, locating the strongest branches and keeping his feet firm on the trunk. Positioning himself on the branch closest to Yixing, Yifan stretches his arms. "Give me the cat."
They're close enough that Yixing doesn't even need to lean forward, he just has to offer D'artagnan and Yifan will grab him. So he follows the theory, handing the cat over. Yifan already has his hands on D'artagnan when the cat startles, meowing loudly and escaping Yifan.
Yixing yells, "D'artagnan!" and the cat calmly hops branch after branch until landing safely on the ground. As if the world is bright and life is perfect, D'artagnan rolls back home and pays Yixing no mind. He looks after the cat, betrayal burning in his chest. "D'artagnan!"
"I guess he wasn't really stuck." Yifan mentions, blinking at Yixing. They stare at each other in disbelief for what feels like 5 minutes. "Should we get down?"
Well, now he's cat free. "Perhaps, yes." Yixing looks down, trying to recognize the path down but the thing still looks confusing as fuck. He doesn't know where to grab or where to place his feet. "Can you go first so I can watch where you step?"
"Um..."
Yixing looks up at Yifan, and oh look at that his neighbor looks as stuck as he is. "Please tell me you know how to get out of here."
"Oh, we can get out of here," Yifan says, sweat starting to roll down his forehead. "We just have to weigh down our options."
"And what are our options?" please don't say jump and pray to land in one piece.
"We can spend some time trying to figure out how the hell we came up. We can," Yifan pulls a cellphone from his pocket, "call the firemen and embarrass ourselves to death." yeah, not actually an option. "We can wait until someone shows up or we can jump and pray to land in one piece."
Yixing curses, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
"One way or another we are going to spend some time up here." Yifan says and Yixing watches him pull at the tie until it's loose enough to hang around his neck in a careless manner. In addition to that, he has a nice throat. Yifan has a nice everything, to be completely honest.
It's not like Yixing creeps on him whenever he's doing his laundry at the communal space or anything. It’s just… Common knowledge that Wu Yifan is nice to look at.
Forcing himself out of his deviations, Yixing sighs, running both hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe I got myself in this. And you too. I'm sorry."
Yifan waves a hand at him. "It's not your fault I'm dumb enough to get stuck in a tree."
"I really thought D'artagnan was trapped!" it's a gentle sound but Yixing still hears Yifan's muffled snort. "What?"
"You named your cat D'artagnan," he snickers. Yixing squints at him. Is Mr. Fancy Pants really criticizing his name choice? There's probably something homicidal in Yixing's eyes because the next second Yifan is arching his eyebrows in surprise. "Not that it's a bad name. I really like The Three Musketeers."
"It's French." Yixing justifies and Yifan nods eagerly. A strand of his styled hair falls to his forehead.
"Of course."
A soft breeze blows around them, and the sound of the leaves is almost relaxing.
Clearing his throat, Yifan says, "So you're a dance teacher." when Yixing doesn't reply, Yifan hurries to explain. "I saw your T-shirt. The... Um... 'Full Moon Academy'. It's a dance academy, isn't it?"
Yixing knows he didn't mean to be a jerk by making that comment about his cat's name but it's kinda cute how Yifan is afraid to say the wrong thing now. Suppressing a smile, Yixing answers, "Yeah. I teach teens."
Yifan hums, and announces, "I'm a business loan manager."
What? Knitting his eyebrows, Yixing gazes at him. "I really didn't think you worked for a bank." It makes sense, though. Bank people wear a lot of suits. And Business Loan Manager sounds like an important position.
"You wondered about my profession?" Yifan looks surprised.
Yixing shrugs, "Yeah, you know. You wear a suit every day and your hair is always perfect."
Yifan chuckles, his cheeks coloring a bit. "Yeah, it's required. People come to me asking for money. I have to look important." They both laugh. "Did you always want to be a dance teacher?"
“I’ve always wanted to work with something that pleases me,” Yixing explains. “Although I like my job, maybe working with music would also have been satisfying.”
Yifan nods in understanding. It’s weird to think about where he is right now, stuck in a tree with his neighbor, conversing. They’ve been neighbors for almost 1 year and never talked. Not even when Yixing would get too distracted by the curves of Yifan’s tight muscles to realize that the man had finished his laundry and was coming in his direction. There were times in which Yixing came up with a few excuses to approach Yifan but never really had the guts to. Perhaps he should thank D’artagnan for the opportunity.
“Maybe we should call the firemen,” Yifan suggests. Yixing widens his eyes at his proposition. “I bet they’ve seen situations like this many times before.”
“Oh really?” Yixing stares at him. “Two grown men trapped in a tree. The first thing they’re going to notice is the length of your legs and how absurd it is that you can’t just stretch them and touch the ground!”
One second before he blurts, Yixing is regretting the words. He expects to see red all over Yifan’s face and maybe hear some screaming. Instead, he gets laughter. Yifan even has to brace himself on an upper branch.
“Sorry,” Yixing mutters in embarrassment. Yifan should be glaring at him but he’s receiving a fond look that confuses the shit out of him. Why is Yifan looking at him like that?
“I’m sorry that my legs failed to meet your expectations,” Yifan says.
He didn’t have any expectations concerning Yifan’s legs. Well, maybe he did in the deepest, darkest places of his conscience, but none is to be mentioned. “They didn’t… I didn’t have any expectations. Can you just, please, not call the firemen?”
Yifan’s gaze on him is contemplative, like there’s something on his mind specifically about Yixing. It makes Yixing curious. “Ok. We should, at least, think of something.”
“We’re waiting for help,” he thought it was obvious that that’s what they were doing. Engaging in casual chat while they wait for help.
“You mean we’re counting on our neighbors getting home? I have a friend who owns a ladder, maybe he could come to our rescue.”
A ladder sounds like a good idea. Yixing’s butt is starting to hurt, so it’s best if they hurry. “Can you call him?”
“It might take him about ten minutes to get here,” Yifan informs, tapping on his phone. He spends a few minutes on the phone, probably communicating with his friend, and Yixing takes the chance to admire his features. He doesn’t get many chances to just look at Yifan (spying the man on laundry duties doesn’t count), and every time he stops and stares, he is surprised by his face all over again. That’s a really nice face. He’s got great hair too, but his face is the best. Yixing really wouldn’t mind licking his cheeks very slowly, tasting and feeling the texture of his skin. He’d probably taste face powder or something, but Yixing seriously wouldn’t mind. “He’s coming, but he says he’ll record a video.”
Well. Better being mocked by Yifan’s friends than by the whole firemen corp. “I can’t believe D’artagnan would betray me like this.”
Yifan shrugs, “It’s in his nature. Cats only care about themselves.”
No, that’s not D’artagnan. “He likes to snuggle.” He’s startled out of his pouting by Yifan’s chuckle. “What is it?”
His neighbor scratches the side of his neck, “I’m just imagining you and your cat snuggling. Must be cute.”
Yixing stops for a second. He stares and knits his eyebrows, squinting at Yifan. “Are you trying to flirt with me?”
Pressing his lips into a thin line, Yifan arches his eyebrows. “Um…” Is that a blush? “That might have been… An attempt at that, yes.” he appears a little more determined. “Did it work?”
“I’m not sure…” Yixing feels the tips of his ears warming up, but refuses to look bashful.
“Ok,” Yifan nods. “I’ll just keep trying then,” he clears his throat. “You have this really adorable habit of singing when you’re doing laundry.”
Gasping, Yixing points his index finger at Yifan. “You were stalking me!”
“Not stalking, I was just observing!” the other explains. “I was waiting to use the washing machine.”
Yixing figures he should cut him some slack. Especially since he does the exact same thing. It’s just surprising that Yifan would want to watch him do laundry. Why would he want to observe someone as lame as Yixing? Maybe there’s a reason. The same reason why Yifan would want to flirt with him.
“Fine,” Yixing says. “Keep going.”
Yifan gazes at him, that same fond look in his eyes. “When you first moved in, I thought about knocking on your door and introducing myself.”
That’s cute. “Not flirtatious enough, but just for the record… I thought about introducing myself to you as well.” Now that he thinks about it, does Yifan even know his name? “I’m… Yixing. My name,” he clarifies. “is Yixing.”
Yifan nods, a pretty little smile decorating his face. “Nice to meet you, Yixing.” He studies Yixing with an attentive, almost amused look. It’s suspicious.
“You already knew my name, didn’t you?”
Yifan chuckles and Yixing finds that he wouldn’t mind playing that sound on repeat for the next fifty years. “You know mine.”
“By total accident!” Yixing bullshits. Yifan just snorts, clearly not buying it. Sighing, Yixing shrugs. “Ok, we know each other’s names. Should we cover age as well?”
“How old do you think I am?” Yifan bites on his lower lip, a teasing glint in his eyes. God, he’s so handsome it’s unfair. How does god allow someone to be born that gorgeous? It should be forbidden.
“Thirty?” Yixing tries. “I don’t know, thirty-one?”
“Twenty-nine.” the other says. “Freshly celebrated.”
Interesting. “And how old do you think I am?”
Yifan pretends to look pensive, scratching at his forehead. Yixing smiles, “Twenty… Six?”
Close enough. “Twenty-seven.”
Yifan sounds content when he laughs. “Isn’t it dumb that we’ve been wanting to talk to each other and the first opportunity we get is when we’re stuck here?”
“All relationships have to start somewhere, right?” Yixing lowers his eyes, focusing on an ant that walks up his leg. His ears are warming up again, but he chooses to ignore it.
Yifan sighs, “When we get out of here,” looking up, Yixing meets his eyes. “Do you wanna come back to my place? Maybe we could… You know. Talk.”
That’s a good idea. Actually, it’s an excellent idea. He likes to look at Yifan because it’s not every day that you encounter someone that looks like that, but the truth is that he never put too much thought into knowing the man better. Yifan just looked too unapproachable with his expensive-looking suits and hair styled to perfection. Not wanting to appear too excited by the proposition, Yixing clears his throat and inhales, meeting Yifan’s eyes. “That would be nice.”
A few minutes later Luhan, Yifan’s friend, arrives with the ladder. It’s a bright purple ladder, and it makes Yixing question Luhan’s motives for owning such an item. He chooses not to voice his thoughts to someone who could potentially upload an embarrassing video of himself on YouTube.
“Guess what Yifan got himself into this time,” Luhan says to his cellphone camera, a smile that just looks impossible to control.
“Alright, alright,” Yifan tells him, rolling his eyes. Yixing just remains silent.
“He’s trapped!” Luhan guffaws, the purple ladder falling to his feet as he clutches his stomach, bending over.
Yifan’s face is burning red when he says, “Can you stop the fun at my expense and help us? This branch is not treating my ass very good.”
Surprised, Yixing arches his eyebrows. He swallows a remark about a couple of options for treatments to Yifan’s ass that would feel much better than a tree branch.
Luhan screeches, “HIS ASS HURTS!”
“Luhan!”
“God, Yifan, you just make it too easy.” Luhan stops recording, pocketing the phone. He bends to grab the purple ladder and Yixing realizes he’s finally been noticed. “Hello! I’m sorry Yifan got you in this situation.”
“Actually, this is my fault.” Yixing says. “My cat got stuck.”
Frowning, Luhan inspects their surroundings. “Where’s the cat?”
Yixing grimaces, “He wasn’t really stuck.”
Luhan snorts, shaking his head as if the whole situation is the best thing that ever happened to him. It’s strange that Yixing kind of likes him, considering that his misery has been entertaining Luhan since he arrived.
Luhan adjusts the ladder to an appropriate height and leans it on the tree. “There you go, kittens.”
With a gesture, Yifan allows Yixing to go first. “After you.”
The ladder makes it so easy that Yixing can’t help but feel a bit of shame for not being able to find the way down by himself. Yifan follows him, and soon enough Luhan is retrieving his purple ladder. Now, with feet firmly planted on the ground, Yixing looks up at Yifan.
“I’m sorry,” he says, both hands on his pajama pants pockets. Turning to Luhan, Yixing bows. “Thank you for coming, and I’m sorry for bothering.”
Luhan, who has caramel blonde hair and pretty eyes, smiles at him, assessing. “He’s cute,” he tells Yifan, looking at Yixing once more. “You’re cute.”
Stepping closer to Yixing, Yifan crosses his arms on his chest. His stance almost looks protective. “Yes, he is.” to Yixing, he says, “Don’t mind him. He likes to tease.”
Looking between Yixing and Yifan, Luhan smirks, opening his arms. “I saved the day! Don’t I get a beer or anything?”
Yifan makes a disgusted noise but after everything, he can’t really deny Luhan. All three of them return to Yifan’s apartment -- they meet D’artagnan on their way there totally worry-free on the stairway, and Yixing squints at him.
He wants to go inside his own apartment and change out of his pajamas, but Luhan makes sure to tell him that the pajamas are ok (Yixing is 50% sure that he’s being mocked). Yifan’s apartment looks nothing like Yixing expected. There are a lot of motivational posters on the walls and pictures of Yifan with a woman that’s probably his mom. It’s not very clean, but not exactly messy either. His furniture looks like each was owned by a different person before him, and everything comes together in a mismatched whirl of color. His TV looks new.
“I didn’t clean this week,” Yifan scurries around collecting bags of chips and old newspapers from the floor.
“He never cleans.” Luhan whispers and Yixing smiles. They chat for a while until Yifan looks done with his last-minute cleaning, and sits next to them. Luhan doesn’t seem to hold much respect for Yifan’s general existence. During the first ten minutes, he reveals that Yifan owns a collection of plush toys and motivational books. He also says that Yifan likes to watch cowboy movies and worked as an exotic dancer when he was 18 years old. Luhan clearly senses Yifan’s interest in Yixing. When Yifan goes inside for a minute, he scoots closer to Yixing, lowering his voice.
“He’s a little silly sometimes,” he says. “but has a big heart. And he likes you.”
“I like him,” Yixing tells him without a doubt.
Luhan looks satisfied, nodding at him. “Then this is my cue.” he stands up, making a show of screaming about how someone called Jongdae was hungry and Luhan had to go feed him.
After Luhan leaves and it’s just the two of them in Yifan’s colorfully strange apartment, a thickness fills the air. Feels like tension. Suddenly, Yixing is hyper aware of Yifan’s hand sitting close to his leg on the couch, of the way Yifan’s gaze keeps slipping down into his mouth while he’s speaking, and how nice he smells. Someone says something, maybe him, maybe Yifan. It doesn’t really matter when Yifan’s face is inching closer.
“If you let me kiss you I promise I’ll do your laundry for a month.” Yifan offers, his fingers coming to Yixing’s chin.
Anxiety settles in his stomach. They’re really close, now. His nose is almost brushing on Yifan’s and honestly, this is not how he imagined his day would go when he woke up this morning. He can’t complain, though. “Will you let me watch while you do it?”
“You never needed my permission before, why would you need it now?”
Yixing wants to agree but the softness of Yifan’s mouth on his shuts him up. His fingers sliding from Yixing’s chin to his nape, Yifan presses them closer, his lips caressing Yixing’s as if he’s been waiting a long time for that kiss. Yixing is glad to give him control, let Yifan dictate their movements, his tongue licking across Yixing’s mouth, coaxing his lips apart. He is glad to allow Yifan’s hand to thread into his hair, one of his arms circling Yixing’s waist and nearly bringing him into Yifan’s lap. He wouldn’t mind making himself comfortable there but maybe not tonight.
They part with a gasp from Yixing, Yifan’s arm slackening around him. Touching his shoulders, Yixing presses his lips to Yifan’s one more time, just for reassurance.
“Do you want to go out with me?” Yifan asks sounding completely out of breath, and Yixing likes to think that he’s the reason for that. Nodding, Yixing claims his mouth again and makes a mental note to be dressed in something a little more than his pajamas the next time he sees Yifan.