#53 Yixing Goes Unicorn Hunting
Author: jangjaeyul
Prompt#: 53
Title: Yixing Goes Unicorn Hunting
Rating: PG
Other pairings involved: XiuHan
Length: 5094
Summary: Xiao Zhu suggests a road trip, and Yixing just knows this is the worst idea in history. Or is it?
Warnings: N/A
Notes: I’m a sucker for healthy relationships and friendship fluff.
This was a bad idea.
Yixing had known this was a bad idea, and yet he had agreed to it, and he still couldn’t quite work out why.
Perhaps it had been Xiao Zhu’s winning smile as he’d bounded into Yixing’s room.
“Yixing! You, me, road trip, this weekend.”
“I can’t,” Yixing had said, “it’s my one weekend off, I have plans.”
“Cancel them.”
“No, Luhan’s coming for the weekend and I haven’t seen him in ages.”
“Well, bring him too.”
And that had made Yixing pause, because he had been hoping to introduce Luhan to Xiao Zhu at some point. He wasn’t entirely sure a weekend trapped together in a car was the best way to go about it, though.
“Fine,” he’d sighed, after a moment of deliberation. “I’ll ask him. But if he says no, I’m not going.”
And that was how they had ended up here: the three of them all piling into Yixing’s old van on a Friday afternoon, with a big bag of snacks and no particular destination.
“Here’s how this works,” Xiao Zhu said, turning sideways in his seat to look at Yixing in the driver’s seat. “We get on the highway, pick a car, and follow it until we get somewhere interesting.”
“Sounds good,” Luhan said from the back seat. “Let’s go.”
“I just… follow someone?” Yixing put on his turn signal and pulled out onto the road, mentally kissing his quiet weekend goodbye as he did so. “What if they realise I’m following them?”
“That’s half the game,” Xiao Zhu grinned. “Don’t get caught.”
“Okay, then.”
As they merged onto the highway Luhan leaned over into the front seat, a bottle of Red Bull in each hand.
“Here you go,” he said. “It’ll probably get warm if we leave it, so we might as well drink it now.”
“Thanks, bro,” Xiao Zhu said, “but I will literally die if I drink that, so I’m gonna pass. You have mine.”
Luhan shrugged. “Okay. Yixing?”
“Sure.” Yixing indicated for Xiao Zhu to take his drink and put it in the centre cup holder. “So, who shall we follow?”
Xiao Zhu hummed thoughtfully, then snickered.
“That guy.”
“Which one?” The words were barely out of Yixing’s mouth when he realised which vehicle Xiao Zhu was pointing to: a giant semi truck with half a dozen different shipping destinations advertised on the back.
“Oh god,” he said. “We’re gonna end up in Nanjing.”
“I told you,” Xiao Zhu said. “We keep following until we get somewhere interesting. Or until I have to pee. Whichever comes first.”
“This is gonna be the weirdest road trip ever,” Yixing muttered.
“Woo, road trip!” Luhan yelled from the back seat, then coughed as a mouthful of Red Bull went down the wrong way.
Xiao Zhu plugged his phone into the radio and cranked the volume up.
“Song requests?”
“Ooh, play some Drake,” Luhan said. “I love Drake.”
“Coming right up.”
Checking his rearview mirror thirty seconds later, Yixing caught a glimpse of Luhan dancing in his seat, sipping his drink dramatically as he lip synched. Yixing grinned to himself and looked back at the road. He’d missed Luhan - not that he would ever admit it in front of Xiao Zhu, who hardly needed the opportunity to tease him mercilessly. Having the two of them in the same room was weird, but nice. It was like two distinct parts of Yixing’s personality were finally allowed to co-exist.
It took maybe half an hour for them to get bored. The semi truck moved at least ten miles an hour slower than everyone else, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore their frequent opportunities to pass it.
“Okay,” Luhan said, resting his chin on the shoulder of Yixing’s seat, “maybe the truck was a bad call.”
“Yeah, Yixing,” Xiao Zhu said. “Bad call.”
“It wasn’t me!” Yixing protested, “It was you!”
“Excuses.”
Yixing sighed and looked back at the road. “Shall we choose someone else, then?”
“No!” Xiao Zhu smacked his fist into his palm. “I told you, we stick it out until we get somewhere interesting, or I have to pee!”
“What if I have to pee?” Luhan said. “Or Yixing?”
“Until I have to pee!” Xiao Zhu repeated.
“I shouldn’t have had that second Red Bull,” Luhan murmured.
Yixing leaned his head against one hand, his elbow resting on the window.
“I spy with my little eye…”
They followed the truck until long after the sun had gone down, by which time the highway had turned rural and other cars were few and far between. Xiao Zhu was staring blankly out the window at the dark, and Luhan had his head resting against the back of Yixing’s seat, making small noises of discomfort every time they went over a pothole.
“Guys,” he said, “I really need to pee, can we pull over somewhere?”
“No,” Xiao Zhu insisted, “we’re not giving up! We’re following this guy until we get somewhere interesting.”
“I don’t even know where we are,” Yixing said.
“I really, really need to pee.”
“Just hold it,” Yixing said. “We’ll get somewhere soon enough.”
Luhan leaned back against his seat and groaned.
“I definitely shouldn’t have had that second Red Bull.”
Finally the truck’s blinkers came on. Xiao Zhu let out an excited whoop, sitting up straighter in his seat.
“Yes! Where’s he going, is he turning off?”
“It’s a truck stop,” Yixing said. “No, a weigh station.”
“Good,” Luhan said. “Pull over, I gotta go.”
“I don’t think I’m allowed,” Yixing bit his lip. “It’s only for trucks.”
“Just pull in- nooooo-!” Luhan smacked his hands against the window and staring longingly as they passed the truck stop.
“Keep going,” Xiao Zhu insisted.
“Wait, guys-” Yixing turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse over his shoulder.
“Noo…”
“Keep driving, we’ll find something-”
“Guys-”
“I gotta pee…”
“Guys was that a unicorn?”
“What?” Xiao Zhu turned to look out the rear window.
“You guys I swear I just saw a unicorn!”
Luhan peered back at the truck stop receding in the distance.
“There’s a horse float there… was it a horse?”
“It had a horn, I’m sure of it.”
Yixing debated pulling over; a real live unicorn was too good to miss. As if reading his mind, Xiao Zhu nudged him with an elbow.
“Keep going.”
When Yixing hesitated, Xiao Zhu slid one foot over and tapped Yixing’s foot on the accelerator.
“Keep going!”
“Ahhh! Feet off the pedals!”
“Oh my god, I’m going to die,” Luhan muttered from the backseat.
Xiao Zhu removed his foot but continued to poke Yixing in the arm.
“Keep driving, let’s take the next exit and stop as soon as we reach civilisation.”
Yixing nodded and adjusted his grip on the wheel.
“Okay great,” said Luhan, “but first can we pull over so I can pee? Cause I need to go like right now.”
“Hold it in,” Xiao Zhu said. “We’ll be there soon and then you can go.”
There was a silence of about five seconds. Then Luhan unbuckled his seat belt.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, “I’m peeing out the window.”
“Do not,” Yixing insisted, eyeing Luhan worriedly in the rearview mirror. “Luhan!”
“Ugh, fine.” Luhan sat back down. “Okay, in that case…”
“What?” Yixing prodded, when Luhan didn’t elaborate. “Luhan, what are you doing?”
“It’s fine, keep going,” Luhan said.
“What are you doing?”
Xiao Zhu craned his neck to look over his shoulder.
“He’s peeing into a bottle,” he said.
“Try not to go over any potholes.”
“Oh my god,” Yixing groaned. “Please don’t pee on my floor.”
“Believe me, I’m trying.”
“Aiyowei,” Yixing groaned, tilting his head briefly against the window.
“Aiiiyooooweeeeeiii,” Xiao Zhu mocked. “Aiyowei, wo de tian ah!”
“Stoppp,” Yixing protested.
“Stoppp,” Xiao Zhu repeated.
“Aiyooo, Xiao Zhu-”
“Aiyooo, Yixing-”
“Okay, I’m done,” Luhan interjected.
“Make sure the lid’s on tightly,” Xiao Zhu said, giving Yixing a gentle poke in the arm as he turned to look over his shoulder. “If that spills you gotta do a floor-suck.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Hey, man, it’s your pee.”
Yixing cut in as he spotted an exit sign. “Should I turn off here?”
Xiao Zhu turned back to look. “Yes, take this exit.”
Luhan leaned forward over the seat. “Do you know where we are?”
“Not a clue,” Xiao Zhu said. “But I’m sure we’ll find something interesting if we keep driving.”
“You’ve been saying that for the past five hours,” Yixing said.
“And it still could be true!”
Another sign appeared shortly after the first, this one proclaiming five miles until the next town.
“Excellent,” Xiao Zhu said. “We’ll stop there for the night.”
The town, when they arrived upon it, was barely a blip on the road: a small collection of houses clustered around a general store, an outdoor pool, and what looked like a community hall.
“Do you think there’s more?” Luhan said, craning his neck to look out the windscreen. “Should we keep driving?”
“I’m pretty sure this is it,” Xiao Zhu said.
“There’s not even a motel or anything,” Yixing murmured.
“Yeah, but we brought sleeping bags, right?” Xiao Zhu said. “Just park in the lot there and we’ll sleep in the car.”
Yixing pulled into the parking lot of the general store and cut the engine. The three of them sat in silence for a second, looking at each other.
“Well,” Xiao Zhu said finally, “let’s go to bed, I guess.”
Luhan looked around doubtfully. “How are we all going to sleep in here?”
“Just put all the bags on the floor, the back folds down…” Yixing got out and opened the back door to help Luhan. In a matter of minutes they’d managed to fold the back seat down to lie flat, and pushed the passenger seat down enough to create a relatively level bench.
“I call dibs on the front,” Xiao Zhu said. “You guys can share the back.”
“The back’s more comfortable anyway,” Luhan said, stretching out like a starfish. “It’s like a double bed.”
“Yeah, but you have to share it with Yixing,” Xiao Zhu pointed out.
“I’m used to it,” Luhan said. “We used to do this all the time.”
“It’s true,” Yixing added. “We shared everything for four years.”
“It’ll be like old times.”
“Suit yourselves,” Xiao Zhu said, flopping down and putting his hands behind his head. “Yo, Xing, pass me my sleeping bag.”
Yixing reached over to grab all three sleeping bags from the far back of the van, then tossed one to Xiao Zhu and another to Luhan.
“Awesome.” Xiao Zhu unrolled his sleeping bag on the seat. Instead of climbing into it immediately, though, he pulled off his shirt and wriggled out of his jeans. “Aw yes,” he sighed. “Xiao Xiao Zhu is free.”
“Xiao… really?” Luhan looked mildly perturbed.
“That’s what he calls it, yeah,” Yixing said.
Luhan raised an eyebrow.
“Should mine be Xiao Xiao Lu then?”
Xiao Zhu began to laugh, a hiccupping snort reminiscent of an actual pig.
“Xiao Xiao Zhu and Xiao Xiao Lu,” he chortled. “Yixing, what’s yours called?”
“I am not participating in this conversation,” Yixing huffed, turning away and pulling his sleeping bag up over his head.
As the other two laughed themselves stupid, Yixing couldn’t help but grin.
-
Yixing awoke with the early morning sunlight streaming through the window onto his face. He blinked to try and clear the sleep from his eyes, yawning as his body resisted waking. Luhan’s head was resting on his shoulder, his face snuggled into the side of Yixing’s chest, and each gentle snore gave a light puff of breath against Yixing’s shirt. Yixing smiled as he pressed his face briefly to Luhan’s hair. He knew Luhan would never admit to missing him - to missing all of them - but it showed in moments like this.
“Cute.”
Yixing looked up. Xiao Zhu was smirking at him from the front seat.
“Good morning,” Yixing said.
“I already took like three pictures of you,” Xiao Zhu grinned. “You were cuddling in your sleep. It was adorable.”
“Luhan and I have been brothers for a long time,” Yixing said simply.
“I’m glad to see you still are,” Xiao Zhu said, then turned away to grab his clothes.
Yixing wasn’t quite sure what to make of that comment. On the surface it was a lovely sentiment, but something about Xiao Zhu’s smirk gave Yixing the impression that this was one of those “Oblivious Xing” moments where everybody seemed to be saying one thing but meaning something completely different. He shrugged it off and blinked out the window instead.
“So it’s about seven o’clock,” Xiao Zhu said, after a moment. “We should go into the store and get some breakfast. And maybe ask if there’s anything to see here other than grass.”
Yixing nodded and shifted his arm under Luhan, tapping him gently on the back until he snuffled awake.
“Get up, bro,” Xiao Zhu said. “Time to face the new day.”
Luhan sat up and stretched.
“You’re right,” he mumbled. “That seat’s comfy.”
“That wasn’t the seat,” Xiao Zhu said, “that was Yixing’s tit.”
“Aiyowei,” Yixing muttered under his breath. Xiao Zhu just laughed and climbed out of the van.
The clerk in the general store was excited, if a bit bemused, to see tourists.
“Well, there’s nothing really to do here,” she said as she served them all huge bowls of rice and soup from the pot on the counter. “But if you keep driving west for about half an hour there’s a bigger town, and they’re having their summer fair this week. It’s probably nothing as fancy as what you’re used to, being from the city-” she giggled self-consciously, “-but they always have games and music, and some of the farmers bring their lambs and piglets for a petting zoo.”
The words “petting zoo” flashed in front of Yixing’s eyes.
“Xiao Zhu,” he whispered, reaching out to tug on his sleeve. “Can we go?”
Xiao Zhu glanced at him amusedly.
“Do you want to pet the little piglets?” he grinned.
“Maybe they have a unicorn,” Yixing muttered. He’d seen one at the truck stop, he was sure of it. Maybe it had been on its way to the fair with its unicorn babies for the petting zoo.
Luhan laughed and paid the store clerk, who smiled and bowed as they left. They climbed into the car and put the seats back up so they could sit and eat comfortably. Yixing sniffed appreciatively at the soup and took a tiny sip, careful to avoid burning his tongue. It was good, reminiscent of the kind of dish his grandmother used to make when he was a child.
“Okay,” said Luhan, once they were finished. “Shall we drive over to the fair and check it out? It sounds like the best thing to do for miles around.”
“Hell yeah,” Xiao Zhu agreed. “Xingxing, you want me to drive?”
Yixing nodded. “Sure. Be careful with her though, she’s old.”
“Don’t worry.” Xiao Zhu slid over into the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt. “I’m very respectful of ladies. I’ll take good care of you, won’t I, Nainai?” He leaned forward and patted the dashboard.
Luhan snorted as Yixing rolled his eyes.
“Don’t you laugh at me,” Xiao Zhu muttered as he started the van.
As they turned back onto the main road and sped out of the tiny village, Luhan looked over at Yixing.
“Hey, I was wondering,” he said. “Do you happen to have Minseok’s number, by any chance?”
“Yeah, of course,” Yixing said. “Why?”
“Cause,” Luhan looked down at his hands, thumbs twisting together between his knees. “I, uh- I think he must have gotten a new phone a while ago, right? And I don’t have his new number… and I haven’t talked to him in a while, that’s all…”
Without a word Yixing fished his phone out of his pocket, scrolled to Minseok’s name in his contact list, and passed the phone to Luhan. Luhan took it with a murmur of thanks and began copying the information into his own phone.
“Are you going to text him?” Yixing asked as Luhan passed the phone back.
“I don’t know,” Luhan admitted. “I haven’t really thought about how… Maybe I should call him? No. Yeah, I’ll text him. Or. I don’t know. What do you think?”
Yixing shrugged. He could barely manage his own relationships, let alone advise others on theirs - the people he loved most kept leaving him, so how could he possibly give good counsel on how to repair old friendships?
“You gotta play it cool,” Xiao Zhu called from the front seat. “Send him a casual picture of you doing something awesome. Then it’s up to him to decide if it’s awkward that you somehow have his number.”
Luhan nodded, looking just slightly less worried. “Okay. Okay, I can do that.”
“Listen to Mister Pig,” Xiao Zhu said. “Mister Pig knows what he’s doing.”
Luhan laughed, shooting Yixing a grin across the backseat. Yixing grinned back as he turned to look out the window at the countryside flying by.
-
The fair wasn’t quite as small as Yixing expected, though by no means as big as anything he’d seen in Beijing or Shanghai. Hand-painted signs directed them one way towards games and rides, another way to the petting zoo. Yixing grabbed Xiao Zhu’s hand and marched him off determinedly in the direction of the barn.
“You really think you’re going to find a unicorn here?” Xiao Zhu said.
“I will examine every horse,” Yixing insisted. “One of them must be hiding a horn. I’m sure of it.”
Xiao Zhu shrugged and took Yixing’s hand more comfortably in his own as they reached the barn.
“Well, I’ll help you look.”
Yixing glanced around at the various pens and stalls.
“Horses are over there,” Luhan called, pointing to the far wall. Yixing jogged over to catch up with him, Xiao Zhu trailing along happily in his wake.
The horses were a mix of large and miniature, from the good-natured Clydesdale currently letting three small children climb his neck to the tiny Shetland ponies trotting in circles around their pen. Luhan began exclaiming over their tiny little legs and fluffy bodies, but Yixing had only one goal: find the horse that was secretly a unicorn in disguise.
“Come here,” he said to one particularly reticent colt. “I want to see what you’re hiding under all that mane.”
The colt just shook its head and trotted away to the opposite corner of the pen.
“I’m watching you,” Yixing whispered.
At the end of half an hour’s thorough examination he had to admit that none of the horses were concealing secret horns - except for perhaps that one colt, about whom he had his suspicions.
“Come on,” Luhan said as he appeared at Yixing’s elbow. “Xiao Zhu’s found some of his family, it’s hilarious.”
Yixing followed Luhan across to the other side of the barn, where Xiao Zhu was chatting away to the piglets.
“This is my uncle, Da Zhu,” he explained, as Yixing arrived. “This is my grandmother, Zhu Nainai, and this one is my little cousin, Mini Zhu.”
Yixing laughed and bowed to the pigs.
“Hello, Xiao Zhu’s family. It’s an honour to finally meet you.”
Xiao Zhu proceeded to carry on a happily one-sided conversation with the pigs, while Yixing turned to look around at the other animals in the barn. Goats, calves, chickens…
“Bunnies,” he whispered.
“Huh?” Luhan glanced up from where Xiao Zhu’s aunt was nibbling at his fingers.
“Bunnies,” Yixing repeated. “Bunnies!”
He took off across the barn. The pen, when he reached it, was overflowing with rabbits. Tiny bunnies and giant lops alike hopped around the enclosure, snuffling eagerly at any food or friendly hand that appeared.
“Aiyo, look at them!” Yixing cried. “They’re so happy!”
He reached a hand in to stroke one of the smallest bunnies, tracing a careful finger between her ears and down her back.
“Hello,” he cooed. “How has your day been? Are you having a good time at the fair? Have the people been kind to you?”
Behind him, he heard Luhan laugh and mutter something to Xiao Zhu. Yixing didn’t care. The bunny was twitching her whiskers against his thumb, and he had never been happier in his life.
Yixing lost track of time somewhere between the third and fifth bunny he snuggled. Eventually, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Xiao Zhu smirking down at him.
“Come on, Beatrix Potter. We’re keen to go play some games. You coming?”
“Okay.” Yixing stood up and gave the smallest bunny one last regretful pat goodbye. “Be good, small friend! I hope you have a happy life with all your brothers and sisters.”
Xiao Zhu linked his arm through Yixing’s elbow. “She’ll probably end up in a pet store and be bought by some ten-year-old girl. She’ll have to suffer through a thousand boring tea parties, but at least she’ll be properly snuggled every day, and cleaned up after by the girl’s long-suffering mother, who already has too much to do. It’s a pretty happy ending, for a rabbit.”
Yixing nodded. “Rabbits have a good life.”
“Do you wish you were a rabbit?” Xiao Zhu grinned.
“No.” Yixing shook his head firmly. “I like being a person. Rabbits can’t dance or sing. I can. I’m glad I’m a human.”
“Yeah?” Xiao Zhu laughed, squeezing Yixing’s arm briefly before letting go. “I’m glad you’re a human too.”
Outside the barn, they found Luhan at one of the carnival booths, handing over a few coins in exchange for half a dozen balls to throw for prizes.
“I’m excellent at these games,” he said, as Yixing and Xiao Zhu stepped up beside him.
His first shot bounced out of the hoop. The second teetered on the edge and rolled out. The third went straight in.
“I’ve got it now,” Luhan declared.
The fourth and fifth shots were clean baskets, but the sixth, in its enthusiasm, smacked straight off the backboard and went down.
“Ehh,” Luhan shrugged, claiming a small Iron Man figurine as his prize, “could have been worse.”
“Would you like to try?” the stall holder asked Yixing. “Three baskets wins a prize!”
Yixing eyed the shelves full of prizes. They were mostly knockoff plastic models, like Luhan’s Iron Man, but there were a few stuffies among them: emojis, teddy bears, and - Yixing’s eyes went wide - bunnies.
“Yes,” he said, pulling out his wallet. “Yes I would.”
The stall holder took his coins and lined up six balls in front of him. Yixing picked up the first and looked at the hoop. It was smaller than he would have expected for the size of ball he had. That was probably the point, he thought, to stop too many people winning. He lined up his shot and threw the first ball.
“Kkaebsong,” Luhan muttered as the ball skittered off one side of the hoop.
“Bring it back a bit,” Xiao Zhu suggested.
Yixing tried again - that one fell short of the hoop entirely.
“Here, let me help,” Luhan offered.
“I haven’t played basketball in ages,” Yixing admitted, as Luhan stepped up next to him.
“Yeah, me neither. So you don’t want to go forward so much as up-” Luhan grabbed Yixing’s hand to demonstrate the movement. “Try it like that.”
With Luhan’s hands hovering above his own, Yixing took the next shot. The ball rolled around the rim of the hoop, and after a tense second dropped through the net.
“Yes!” Luhan cheered. “High five!”
“Nice work,” Xiao Zhu said, standing off to one side with his arms crossed. “It’s like I’m watching a romcom.”
“Okay next one, next one.” Yixing grabbed the fourth ball and lined it up. “What was it, Lu? How far up do I go?”
“Just like this.” Luhan guided Yixing’s hands through the movement again, and the ball dropped straight through the hoop. “Nice one!”
“One more for a prize,” Yixing murmured under his breath.
The next shot went straight in as well. Luhan cheered and slapped him on the back.
Yixing picked up the last ball. He’d gotten three baskets, which earned him a prize. There were cute anime figurines on the bottom shelf, and he was sure Junmyeon or Sehun would enjoy one of those, but what he really had his eye on were the bunnies on the second and third shelves, and that meant an extra ball. This was his last chance.
“You can do it,” Luhan said, switching unexpectedly to Korean for a second. “Fighting!”
“Yeah, whatever he said,” Xiao Zhu muttered.
Yixing lined up the last shot, took a deep breath, and threw it. The ball bounced for one terrifying second on the far edge of the hoop, then rolled forward and dropped through.
“Yes!” Luhan punched the air. “You did it!”
“We did it!” Yixing beamed. He pointed out the stuffie he wanted and thanked the stall holder as he handed it to him. Yixing turned around, hugging the little bunny to his chest, and grinned at Luhan.
“Thanks, Lu!”
“Hey, you did that all yourself,” Luhan said, reaching out to clap Yixing on the shoulder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and threw an arm around Yixing. “I want a picture of this.”
They snapped a couple of selfies, the bunny sitting on Yixing’s shoulder between their grinning faces. As Luhan put his phone away, Yixing glanced around.
“Hey, where’d Xiao Zhu go?”
“I dunno,” Luhan said, glancing over his shoulder. “He was here just a minute ago.”
“I want to show him my bunny,” Yixing frowned.
Luhan considered for a second.
“You wanna go have a look for him?”
Yixing nodded, and they turned to walk down the row of stalls.
“Maybe he went to get food,” Luhan suggested.
“Yeah, maybe. It is lunchtime.”
They wandered over to the food stands, but there was no sign of Xiao Zhu. Perplexed, they decided to eat while they waited for a new idea.
“Okay,” Luhan said. “Okay, oh my god, I just sent that picture of us to Minseok. What have I done? I didn’t even say anything, I just sent the picture, should I say something?”
“It’ll be fine,” Yixing said. “Just wait and see what he says.”
Luhan nodded and put his phone down on the table. He eyed it obsessively as he ate, as if by boring a hole in it with his eyes he could make it ring faster.
It was as they were finishing their lunch that Yixing saw it. Bobbing above the heads of the crowd milling between the games and the rides was a single, glowing horn.
“UNICORN!”
By the time Luhan could glance up from his plate, Yixing was already on his feet and sprinting between the tables and benches. He darted through the crowd, the unicorn’s shining horn his guiding star. As it disappeared around the corner he vaulted over a trash can and dodged a herd of small children. When he skidded around the corner after the unicorn he saw it still drifting away from him, only its horn visible over the heads of the crowd.
“Unicorn, wait!”
The unicorn stopped, and Yixing quickened his steps. As the last few people moved out of his way, he saw-
Xiao Zhu. Xiao Zhu, standing there holding above his head a giant unicorn stuffie with a long, glittering horn. Yixing hurtled to a stop in front of him, looking between Xiao Zhu’s determined face and the huge unicorn.
“You were looking for a unicorn,” Xiao Zhu explained, lowering the unicorn and holding it out to Yixing. “I found it for you.”
Yixing just blinked at the unicorn for a second. Xiao Zhu had found a unicorn… for him?
“I mean,” Xiao Zhu shrugged. “If you want it.”
Instead of answering Yixing threw himself at Xiao Zhu, who caught him clumsily, the giant unicorn still dangling from one hand. Still seeming bemused, Xiao Zhu pecked a kiss to Yixing’s cheek. And Yixing wasn’t quite sure why, but he turned his head and kissed Xiao Zhu right back.
Xiao Zhu’s small yelp of surprise was muffled against Yixing’s lips. Yixing, suddenly realising that this was far outside the usual realm of friendship, began to pull back, but then Xiao Zhu’s empty hand came up to cup the back of his head, and he pressed forward again, opening his mouth to Xiao Zhu in a way that felt more natural than he ever would have expected.
After a moment Xiao Zhu stepped back, his cheeks flushed. Yixing could feel the blush rising in his own face, and he looked down at the ground.
“So, uh,” Xiao Zhu cleared his throat. “You want the unicorn, then?”
Yixing, equal parts thrilled, embarrassed and confused and thoroughly unable to speak, nodded vigorously. He took the unicorn and hugged it to his chest, scooping its legs up in one arm so they wouldn’t trail on the ground.
As he was searching for something to do or say other than throw himself back on Xiao Zhu, Luhan burst through the crowd.
“There you are!” he panted, doubling over with his hands on his knees. “God damn, you’ve gotten fast!”
“Look what Xiao Zhu got me,” Yixing said, still fighting the blush in his cheeks.
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Luhan said, looking up at Xiao Zhu. “Where’d you go, dude? We looked for you for like twenty minutes.”
Xiao Zhu shrugged. “I was unicorn hunting.”
Luhan rolled his eyes and straightened up.
“Whatever, dude. Oh man, I should not have run like that on top of lunch. Jeez. I need some water.”
Yixing looked back at Xiao Zhu. “Are you hungry? We were just having lunch.”
Xiao Zhu nodded. “Yeah, sure. Lead the way, Luhan.”
As Luhan turned away, Xiao Zhu reached down and took Yixing’s hand. Yixing looked at him, and Xiao Zhu leaned over to give him another quick kiss. As they began to walk, Yixing ducked his head and bit his lip, grinning madly.
“Oh my god, you guys!” Luhan shouted. “Minseok texted me!”
“Congratulations!” Xiao Zhu called. “Now send him a dick pic!”
As Luhan walked away laughing, Xiao Zhu turned to speak into Yixing’s ear.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he whispered.
“Aiyowei,” Yixing murmured.
“Aiyowei,” Xiao Zhu repeated. “Aiyowei. Wo ai-yowei ni. Oh, look. Your ears are going pink.”
Prompt#: 53
Title: Yixing Goes Unicorn Hunting
Rating: PG
Other pairings involved: XiuHan
Length: 5094
Summary: Xiao Zhu suggests a road trip, and Yixing just knows this is the worst idea in history. Or is it?
Warnings: N/A
Notes: I’m a sucker for healthy relationships and friendship fluff.
This was a bad idea.
Yixing had known this was a bad idea, and yet he had agreed to it, and he still couldn’t quite work out why.
Perhaps it had been Xiao Zhu’s winning smile as he’d bounded into Yixing’s room.
“Yixing! You, me, road trip, this weekend.”
“I can’t,” Yixing had said, “it’s my one weekend off, I have plans.”
“Cancel them.”
“No, Luhan’s coming for the weekend and I haven’t seen him in ages.”
“Well, bring him too.”
And that had made Yixing pause, because he had been hoping to introduce Luhan to Xiao Zhu at some point. He wasn’t entirely sure a weekend trapped together in a car was the best way to go about it, though.
“Fine,” he’d sighed, after a moment of deliberation. “I’ll ask him. But if he says no, I’m not going.”
And that was how they had ended up here: the three of them all piling into Yixing’s old van on a Friday afternoon, with a big bag of snacks and no particular destination.
“Here’s how this works,” Xiao Zhu said, turning sideways in his seat to look at Yixing in the driver’s seat. “We get on the highway, pick a car, and follow it until we get somewhere interesting.”
“Sounds good,” Luhan said from the back seat. “Let’s go.”
“I just… follow someone?” Yixing put on his turn signal and pulled out onto the road, mentally kissing his quiet weekend goodbye as he did so. “What if they realise I’m following them?”
“That’s half the game,” Xiao Zhu grinned. “Don’t get caught.”
“Okay, then.”
As they merged onto the highway Luhan leaned over into the front seat, a bottle of Red Bull in each hand.
“Here you go,” he said. “It’ll probably get warm if we leave it, so we might as well drink it now.”
“Thanks, bro,” Xiao Zhu said, “but I will literally die if I drink that, so I’m gonna pass. You have mine.”
Luhan shrugged. “Okay. Yixing?”
“Sure.” Yixing indicated for Xiao Zhu to take his drink and put it in the centre cup holder. “So, who shall we follow?”
Xiao Zhu hummed thoughtfully, then snickered.
“That guy.”
“Which one?” The words were barely out of Yixing’s mouth when he realised which vehicle Xiao Zhu was pointing to: a giant semi truck with half a dozen different shipping destinations advertised on the back.
“Oh god,” he said. “We’re gonna end up in Nanjing.”
“I told you,” Xiao Zhu said. “We keep following until we get somewhere interesting. Or until I have to pee. Whichever comes first.”
“This is gonna be the weirdest road trip ever,” Yixing muttered.
“Woo, road trip!” Luhan yelled from the back seat, then coughed as a mouthful of Red Bull went down the wrong way.
Xiao Zhu plugged his phone into the radio and cranked the volume up.
“Song requests?”
“Ooh, play some Drake,” Luhan said. “I love Drake.”
“Coming right up.”
Checking his rearview mirror thirty seconds later, Yixing caught a glimpse of Luhan dancing in his seat, sipping his drink dramatically as he lip synched. Yixing grinned to himself and looked back at the road. He’d missed Luhan - not that he would ever admit it in front of Xiao Zhu, who hardly needed the opportunity to tease him mercilessly. Having the two of them in the same room was weird, but nice. It was like two distinct parts of Yixing’s personality were finally allowed to co-exist.
It took maybe half an hour for them to get bored. The semi truck moved at least ten miles an hour slower than everyone else, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore their frequent opportunities to pass it.
“Okay,” Luhan said, resting his chin on the shoulder of Yixing’s seat, “maybe the truck was a bad call.”
“Yeah, Yixing,” Xiao Zhu said. “Bad call.”
“It wasn’t me!” Yixing protested, “It was you!”
“Excuses.”
Yixing sighed and looked back at the road. “Shall we choose someone else, then?”
“No!” Xiao Zhu smacked his fist into his palm. “I told you, we stick it out until we get somewhere interesting, or I have to pee!”
“What if I have to pee?” Luhan said. “Or Yixing?”
“Until I have to pee!” Xiao Zhu repeated.
“I shouldn’t have had that second Red Bull,” Luhan murmured.
Yixing leaned his head against one hand, his elbow resting on the window.
“I spy with my little eye…”
They followed the truck until long after the sun had gone down, by which time the highway had turned rural and other cars were few and far between. Xiao Zhu was staring blankly out the window at the dark, and Luhan had his head resting against the back of Yixing’s seat, making small noises of discomfort every time they went over a pothole.
“Guys,” he said, “I really need to pee, can we pull over somewhere?”
“No,” Xiao Zhu insisted, “we’re not giving up! We’re following this guy until we get somewhere interesting.”
“I don’t even know where we are,” Yixing said.
“I really, really need to pee.”
“Just hold it,” Yixing said. “We’ll get somewhere soon enough.”
Luhan leaned back against his seat and groaned.
“I definitely shouldn’t have had that second Red Bull.”
Finally the truck’s blinkers came on. Xiao Zhu let out an excited whoop, sitting up straighter in his seat.
“Yes! Where’s he going, is he turning off?”
“It’s a truck stop,” Yixing said. “No, a weigh station.”
“Good,” Luhan said. “Pull over, I gotta go.”
“I don’t think I’m allowed,” Yixing bit his lip. “It’s only for trucks.”
“Just pull in- nooooo-!” Luhan smacked his hands against the window and staring longingly as they passed the truck stop.
“Keep going,” Xiao Zhu insisted.
“Wait, guys-” Yixing turned his head, trying to catch a glimpse over his shoulder.
“Noo…”
“Keep driving, we’ll find something-”
“Guys-”
“I gotta pee…”
“Guys was that a unicorn?”
“What?” Xiao Zhu turned to look out the rear window.
“You guys I swear I just saw a unicorn!”
Luhan peered back at the truck stop receding in the distance.
“There’s a horse float there… was it a horse?”
“It had a horn, I’m sure of it.”
Yixing debated pulling over; a real live unicorn was too good to miss. As if reading his mind, Xiao Zhu nudged him with an elbow.
“Keep going.”
When Yixing hesitated, Xiao Zhu slid one foot over and tapped Yixing’s foot on the accelerator.
“Keep going!”
“Ahhh! Feet off the pedals!”
“Oh my god, I’m going to die,” Luhan muttered from the backseat.
Xiao Zhu removed his foot but continued to poke Yixing in the arm.
“Keep driving, let’s take the next exit and stop as soon as we reach civilisation.”
Yixing nodded and adjusted his grip on the wheel.
“Okay great,” said Luhan, “but first can we pull over so I can pee? Cause I need to go like right now.”
“Hold it in,” Xiao Zhu said. “We’ll be there soon and then you can go.”
There was a silence of about five seconds. Then Luhan unbuckled his seat belt.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, “I’m peeing out the window.”
“Do not,” Yixing insisted, eyeing Luhan worriedly in the rearview mirror. “Luhan!”
“Ugh, fine.” Luhan sat back down. “Okay, in that case…”
“What?” Yixing prodded, when Luhan didn’t elaborate. “Luhan, what are you doing?”
“It’s fine, keep going,” Luhan said.
“What are you doing?”
Xiao Zhu craned his neck to look over his shoulder.
“He’s peeing into a bottle,” he said.
“Try not to go over any potholes.”
“Oh my god,” Yixing groaned. “Please don’t pee on my floor.”
“Believe me, I’m trying.”
“Aiyowei,” Yixing groaned, tilting his head briefly against the window.
“Aiiiyooooweeeeeiii,” Xiao Zhu mocked. “Aiyowei, wo de tian ah!”
“Stoppp,” Yixing protested.
“Stoppp,” Xiao Zhu repeated.
“Aiyooo, Xiao Zhu-”
“Aiyooo, Yixing-”
“Okay, I’m done,” Luhan interjected.
“Make sure the lid’s on tightly,” Xiao Zhu said, giving Yixing a gentle poke in the arm as he turned to look over his shoulder. “If that spills you gotta do a floor-suck.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Hey, man, it’s your pee.”
Yixing cut in as he spotted an exit sign. “Should I turn off here?”
Xiao Zhu turned back to look. “Yes, take this exit.”
Luhan leaned forward over the seat. “Do you know where we are?”
“Not a clue,” Xiao Zhu said. “But I’m sure we’ll find something interesting if we keep driving.”
“You’ve been saying that for the past five hours,” Yixing said.
“And it still could be true!”
Another sign appeared shortly after the first, this one proclaiming five miles until the next town.
“Excellent,” Xiao Zhu said. “We’ll stop there for the night.”
The town, when they arrived upon it, was barely a blip on the road: a small collection of houses clustered around a general store, an outdoor pool, and what looked like a community hall.
“Do you think there’s more?” Luhan said, craning his neck to look out the windscreen. “Should we keep driving?”
“I’m pretty sure this is it,” Xiao Zhu said.
“There’s not even a motel or anything,” Yixing murmured.
“Yeah, but we brought sleeping bags, right?” Xiao Zhu said. “Just park in the lot there and we’ll sleep in the car.”
Yixing pulled into the parking lot of the general store and cut the engine. The three of them sat in silence for a second, looking at each other.
“Well,” Xiao Zhu said finally, “let’s go to bed, I guess.”
Luhan looked around doubtfully. “How are we all going to sleep in here?”
“Just put all the bags on the floor, the back folds down…” Yixing got out and opened the back door to help Luhan. In a matter of minutes they’d managed to fold the back seat down to lie flat, and pushed the passenger seat down enough to create a relatively level bench.
“I call dibs on the front,” Xiao Zhu said. “You guys can share the back.”
“The back’s more comfortable anyway,” Luhan said, stretching out like a starfish. “It’s like a double bed.”
“Yeah, but you have to share it with Yixing,” Xiao Zhu pointed out.
“I’m used to it,” Luhan said. “We used to do this all the time.”
“It’s true,” Yixing added. “We shared everything for four years.”
“It’ll be like old times.”
“Suit yourselves,” Xiao Zhu said, flopping down and putting his hands behind his head. “Yo, Xing, pass me my sleeping bag.”
Yixing reached over to grab all three sleeping bags from the far back of the van, then tossed one to Xiao Zhu and another to Luhan.
“Awesome.” Xiao Zhu unrolled his sleeping bag on the seat. Instead of climbing into it immediately, though, he pulled off his shirt and wriggled out of his jeans. “Aw yes,” he sighed. “Xiao Xiao Zhu is free.”
“Xiao… really?” Luhan looked mildly perturbed.
“That’s what he calls it, yeah,” Yixing said.
Luhan raised an eyebrow.
“Should mine be Xiao Xiao Lu then?”
Xiao Zhu began to laugh, a hiccupping snort reminiscent of an actual pig.
“Xiao Xiao Zhu and Xiao Xiao Lu,” he chortled. “Yixing, what’s yours called?”
“I am not participating in this conversation,” Yixing huffed, turning away and pulling his sleeping bag up over his head.
As the other two laughed themselves stupid, Yixing couldn’t help but grin.
-
Yixing awoke with the early morning sunlight streaming through the window onto his face. He blinked to try and clear the sleep from his eyes, yawning as his body resisted waking. Luhan’s head was resting on his shoulder, his face snuggled into the side of Yixing’s chest, and each gentle snore gave a light puff of breath against Yixing’s shirt. Yixing smiled as he pressed his face briefly to Luhan’s hair. He knew Luhan would never admit to missing him - to missing all of them - but it showed in moments like this.
“Cute.”
Yixing looked up. Xiao Zhu was smirking at him from the front seat.
“Good morning,” Yixing said.
“I already took like three pictures of you,” Xiao Zhu grinned. “You were cuddling in your sleep. It was adorable.”
“Luhan and I have been brothers for a long time,” Yixing said simply.
“I’m glad to see you still are,” Xiao Zhu said, then turned away to grab his clothes.
Yixing wasn’t quite sure what to make of that comment. On the surface it was a lovely sentiment, but something about Xiao Zhu’s smirk gave Yixing the impression that this was one of those “Oblivious Xing” moments where everybody seemed to be saying one thing but meaning something completely different. He shrugged it off and blinked out the window instead.
“So it’s about seven o’clock,” Xiao Zhu said, after a moment. “We should go into the store and get some breakfast. And maybe ask if there’s anything to see here other than grass.”
Yixing nodded and shifted his arm under Luhan, tapping him gently on the back until he snuffled awake.
“Get up, bro,” Xiao Zhu said. “Time to face the new day.”
Luhan sat up and stretched.
“You’re right,” he mumbled. “That seat’s comfy.”
“That wasn’t the seat,” Xiao Zhu said, “that was Yixing’s tit.”
“Aiyowei,” Yixing muttered under his breath. Xiao Zhu just laughed and climbed out of the van.
The clerk in the general store was excited, if a bit bemused, to see tourists.
“Well, there’s nothing really to do here,” she said as she served them all huge bowls of rice and soup from the pot on the counter. “But if you keep driving west for about half an hour there’s a bigger town, and they’re having their summer fair this week. It’s probably nothing as fancy as what you’re used to, being from the city-” she giggled self-consciously, “-but they always have games and music, and some of the farmers bring their lambs and piglets for a petting zoo.”
The words “petting zoo” flashed in front of Yixing’s eyes.
“Xiao Zhu,” he whispered, reaching out to tug on his sleeve. “Can we go?”
Xiao Zhu glanced at him amusedly.
“Do you want to pet the little piglets?” he grinned.
“Maybe they have a unicorn,” Yixing muttered. He’d seen one at the truck stop, he was sure of it. Maybe it had been on its way to the fair with its unicorn babies for the petting zoo.
Luhan laughed and paid the store clerk, who smiled and bowed as they left. They climbed into the car and put the seats back up so they could sit and eat comfortably. Yixing sniffed appreciatively at the soup and took a tiny sip, careful to avoid burning his tongue. It was good, reminiscent of the kind of dish his grandmother used to make when he was a child.
“Okay,” said Luhan, once they were finished. “Shall we drive over to the fair and check it out? It sounds like the best thing to do for miles around.”
“Hell yeah,” Xiao Zhu agreed. “Xingxing, you want me to drive?”
Yixing nodded. “Sure. Be careful with her though, she’s old.”
“Don’t worry.” Xiao Zhu slid over into the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt. “I’m very respectful of ladies. I’ll take good care of you, won’t I, Nainai?” He leaned forward and patted the dashboard.
Luhan snorted as Yixing rolled his eyes.
“Don’t you laugh at me,” Xiao Zhu muttered as he started the van.
As they turned back onto the main road and sped out of the tiny village, Luhan looked over at Yixing.
“Hey, I was wondering,” he said. “Do you happen to have Minseok’s number, by any chance?”
“Yeah, of course,” Yixing said. “Why?”
“Cause,” Luhan looked down at his hands, thumbs twisting together between his knees. “I, uh- I think he must have gotten a new phone a while ago, right? And I don’t have his new number… and I haven’t talked to him in a while, that’s all…”
Without a word Yixing fished his phone out of his pocket, scrolled to Minseok’s name in his contact list, and passed the phone to Luhan. Luhan took it with a murmur of thanks and began copying the information into his own phone.
“Are you going to text him?” Yixing asked as Luhan passed the phone back.
“I don’t know,” Luhan admitted. “I haven’t really thought about how… Maybe I should call him? No. Yeah, I’ll text him. Or. I don’t know. What do you think?”
Yixing shrugged. He could barely manage his own relationships, let alone advise others on theirs - the people he loved most kept leaving him, so how could he possibly give good counsel on how to repair old friendships?
“You gotta play it cool,” Xiao Zhu called from the front seat. “Send him a casual picture of you doing something awesome. Then it’s up to him to decide if it’s awkward that you somehow have his number.”
Luhan nodded, looking just slightly less worried. “Okay. Okay, I can do that.”
“Listen to Mister Pig,” Xiao Zhu said. “Mister Pig knows what he’s doing.”
Luhan laughed, shooting Yixing a grin across the backseat. Yixing grinned back as he turned to look out the window at the countryside flying by.
-
The fair wasn’t quite as small as Yixing expected, though by no means as big as anything he’d seen in Beijing or Shanghai. Hand-painted signs directed them one way towards games and rides, another way to the petting zoo. Yixing grabbed Xiao Zhu’s hand and marched him off determinedly in the direction of the barn.
“You really think you’re going to find a unicorn here?” Xiao Zhu said.
“I will examine every horse,” Yixing insisted. “One of them must be hiding a horn. I’m sure of it.”
Xiao Zhu shrugged and took Yixing’s hand more comfortably in his own as they reached the barn.
“Well, I’ll help you look.”
Yixing glanced around at the various pens and stalls.
“Horses are over there,” Luhan called, pointing to the far wall. Yixing jogged over to catch up with him, Xiao Zhu trailing along happily in his wake.
The horses were a mix of large and miniature, from the good-natured Clydesdale currently letting three small children climb his neck to the tiny Shetland ponies trotting in circles around their pen. Luhan began exclaiming over their tiny little legs and fluffy bodies, but Yixing had only one goal: find the horse that was secretly a unicorn in disguise.
“Come here,” he said to one particularly reticent colt. “I want to see what you’re hiding under all that mane.”
The colt just shook its head and trotted away to the opposite corner of the pen.
“I’m watching you,” Yixing whispered.
At the end of half an hour’s thorough examination he had to admit that none of the horses were concealing secret horns - except for perhaps that one colt, about whom he had his suspicions.
“Come on,” Luhan said as he appeared at Yixing’s elbow. “Xiao Zhu’s found some of his family, it’s hilarious.”
Yixing followed Luhan across to the other side of the barn, where Xiao Zhu was chatting away to the piglets.
“This is my uncle, Da Zhu,” he explained, as Yixing arrived. “This is my grandmother, Zhu Nainai, and this one is my little cousin, Mini Zhu.”
Yixing laughed and bowed to the pigs.
“Hello, Xiao Zhu’s family. It’s an honour to finally meet you.”
Xiao Zhu proceeded to carry on a happily one-sided conversation with the pigs, while Yixing turned to look around at the other animals in the barn. Goats, calves, chickens…
“Bunnies,” he whispered.
“Huh?” Luhan glanced up from where Xiao Zhu’s aunt was nibbling at his fingers.
“Bunnies,” Yixing repeated. “Bunnies!”
He took off across the barn. The pen, when he reached it, was overflowing with rabbits. Tiny bunnies and giant lops alike hopped around the enclosure, snuffling eagerly at any food or friendly hand that appeared.
“Aiyo, look at them!” Yixing cried. “They’re so happy!”
He reached a hand in to stroke one of the smallest bunnies, tracing a careful finger between her ears and down her back.
“Hello,” he cooed. “How has your day been? Are you having a good time at the fair? Have the people been kind to you?”
Behind him, he heard Luhan laugh and mutter something to Xiao Zhu. Yixing didn’t care. The bunny was twitching her whiskers against his thumb, and he had never been happier in his life.
Yixing lost track of time somewhere between the third and fifth bunny he snuggled. Eventually, though, he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Xiao Zhu smirking down at him.
“Come on, Beatrix Potter. We’re keen to go play some games. You coming?”
“Okay.” Yixing stood up and gave the smallest bunny one last regretful pat goodbye. “Be good, small friend! I hope you have a happy life with all your brothers and sisters.”
Xiao Zhu linked his arm through Yixing’s elbow. “She’ll probably end up in a pet store and be bought by some ten-year-old girl. She’ll have to suffer through a thousand boring tea parties, but at least she’ll be properly snuggled every day, and cleaned up after by the girl’s long-suffering mother, who already has too much to do. It’s a pretty happy ending, for a rabbit.”
Yixing nodded. “Rabbits have a good life.”
“Do you wish you were a rabbit?” Xiao Zhu grinned.
“No.” Yixing shook his head firmly. “I like being a person. Rabbits can’t dance or sing. I can. I’m glad I’m a human.”
“Yeah?” Xiao Zhu laughed, squeezing Yixing’s arm briefly before letting go. “I’m glad you’re a human too.”
Outside the barn, they found Luhan at one of the carnival booths, handing over a few coins in exchange for half a dozen balls to throw for prizes.
“I’m excellent at these games,” he said, as Yixing and Xiao Zhu stepped up beside him.
His first shot bounced out of the hoop. The second teetered on the edge and rolled out. The third went straight in.
“I’ve got it now,” Luhan declared.
The fourth and fifth shots were clean baskets, but the sixth, in its enthusiasm, smacked straight off the backboard and went down.
“Ehh,” Luhan shrugged, claiming a small Iron Man figurine as his prize, “could have been worse.”
“Would you like to try?” the stall holder asked Yixing. “Three baskets wins a prize!”
Yixing eyed the shelves full of prizes. They were mostly knockoff plastic models, like Luhan’s Iron Man, but there were a few stuffies among them: emojis, teddy bears, and - Yixing’s eyes went wide - bunnies.
“Yes,” he said, pulling out his wallet. “Yes I would.”
The stall holder took his coins and lined up six balls in front of him. Yixing picked up the first and looked at the hoop. It was smaller than he would have expected for the size of ball he had. That was probably the point, he thought, to stop too many people winning. He lined up his shot and threw the first ball.
“Kkaebsong,” Luhan muttered as the ball skittered off one side of the hoop.
“Bring it back a bit,” Xiao Zhu suggested.
Yixing tried again - that one fell short of the hoop entirely.
“Here, let me help,” Luhan offered.
“I haven’t played basketball in ages,” Yixing admitted, as Luhan stepped up next to him.
“Yeah, me neither. So you don’t want to go forward so much as up-” Luhan grabbed Yixing’s hand to demonstrate the movement. “Try it like that.”
With Luhan’s hands hovering above his own, Yixing took the next shot. The ball rolled around the rim of the hoop, and after a tense second dropped through the net.
“Yes!” Luhan cheered. “High five!”
“Nice work,” Xiao Zhu said, standing off to one side with his arms crossed. “It’s like I’m watching a romcom.”
“Okay next one, next one.” Yixing grabbed the fourth ball and lined it up. “What was it, Lu? How far up do I go?”
“Just like this.” Luhan guided Yixing’s hands through the movement again, and the ball dropped straight through the hoop. “Nice one!”
“One more for a prize,” Yixing murmured under his breath.
The next shot went straight in as well. Luhan cheered and slapped him on the back.
Yixing picked up the last ball. He’d gotten three baskets, which earned him a prize. There were cute anime figurines on the bottom shelf, and he was sure Junmyeon or Sehun would enjoy one of those, but what he really had his eye on were the bunnies on the second and third shelves, and that meant an extra ball. This was his last chance.
“You can do it,” Luhan said, switching unexpectedly to Korean for a second. “Fighting!”
“Yeah, whatever he said,” Xiao Zhu muttered.
Yixing lined up the last shot, took a deep breath, and threw it. The ball bounced for one terrifying second on the far edge of the hoop, then rolled forward and dropped through.
“Yes!” Luhan punched the air. “You did it!”
“We did it!” Yixing beamed. He pointed out the stuffie he wanted and thanked the stall holder as he handed it to him. Yixing turned around, hugging the little bunny to his chest, and grinned at Luhan.
“Thanks, Lu!”
“Hey, you did that all yourself,” Luhan said, reaching out to clap Yixing on the shoulder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and threw an arm around Yixing. “I want a picture of this.”
They snapped a couple of selfies, the bunny sitting on Yixing’s shoulder between their grinning faces. As Luhan put his phone away, Yixing glanced around.
“Hey, where’d Xiao Zhu go?”
“I dunno,” Luhan said, glancing over his shoulder. “He was here just a minute ago.”
“I want to show him my bunny,” Yixing frowned.
Luhan considered for a second.
“You wanna go have a look for him?”
Yixing nodded, and they turned to walk down the row of stalls.
“Maybe he went to get food,” Luhan suggested.
“Yeah, maybe. It is lunchtime.”
They wandered over to the food stands, but there was no sign of Xiao Zhu. Perplexed, they decided to eat while they waited for a new idea.
“Okay,” Luhan said. “Okay, oh my god, I just sent that picture of us to Minseok. What have I done? I didn’t even say anything, I just sent the picture, should I say something?”
“It’ll be fine,” Yixing said. “Just wait and see what he says.”
Luhan nodded and put his phone down on the table. He eyed it obsessively as he ate, as if by boring a hole in it with his eyes he could make it ring faster.
It was as they were finishing their lunch that Yixing saw it. Bobbing above the heads of the crowd milling between the games and the rides was a single, glowing horn.
“UNICORN!”
By the time Luhan could glance up from his plate, Yixing was already on his feet and sprinting between the tables and benches. He darted through the crowd, the unicorn’s shining horn his guiding star. As it disappeared around the corner he vaulted over a trash can and dodged a herd of small children. When he skidded around the corner after the unicorn he saw it still drifting away from him, only its horn visible over the heads of the crowd.
“Unicorn, wait!”
The unicorn stopped, and Yixing quickened his steps. As the last few people moved out of his way, he saw-
Xiao Zhu. Xiao Zhu, standing there holding above his head a giant unicorn stuffie with a long, glittering horn. Yixing hurtled to a stop in front of him, looking between Xiao Zhu’s determined face and the huge unicorn.
“You were looking for a unicorn,” Xiao Zhu explained, lowering the unicorn and holding it out to Yixing. “I found it for you.”
Yixing just blinked at the unicorn for a second. Xiao Zhu had found a unicorn… for him?
“I mean,” Xiao Zhu shrugged. “If you want it.”
Instead of answering Yixing threw himself at Xiao Zhu, who caught him clumsily, the giant unicorn still dangling from one hand. Still seeming bemused, Xiao Zhu pecked a kiss to Yixing’s cheek. And Yixing wasn’t quite sure why, but he turned his head and kissed Xiao Zhu right back.
Xiao Zhu’s small yelp of surprise was muffled against Yixing’s lips. Yixing, suddenly realising that this was far outside the usual realm of friendship, began to pull back, but then Xiao Zhu’s empty hand came up to cup the back of his head, and he pressed forward again, opening his mouth to Xiao Zhu in a way that felt more natural than he ever would have expected.
After a moment Xiao Zhu stepped back, his cheeks flushed. Yixing could feel the blush rising in his own face, and he looked down at the ground.
“So, uh,” Xiao Zhu cleared his throat. “You want the unicorn, then?”
Yixing, equal parts thrilled, embarrassed and confused and thoroughly unable to speak, nodded vigorously. He took the unicorn and hugged it to his chest, scooping its legs up in one arm so they wouldn’t trail on the ground.
As he was searching for something to do or say other than throw himself back on Xiao Zhu, Luhan burst through the crowd.
“There you are!” he panted, doubling over with his hands on his knees. “God damn, you’ve gotten fast!”
“Look what Xiao Zhu got me,” Yixing said, still fighting the blush in his cheeks.
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Luhan said, looking up at Xiao Zhu. “Where’d you go, dude? We looked for you for like twenty minutes.”
Xiao Zhu shrugged. “I was unicorn hunting.”
Luhan rolled his eyes and straightened up.
“Whatever, dude. Oh man, I should not have run like that on top of lunch. Jeez. I need some water.”
Yixing looked back at Xiao Zhu. “Are you hungry? We were just having lunch.”
Xiao Zhu nodded. “Yeah, sure. Lead the way, Luhan.”
As Luhan turned away, Xiao Zhu reached down and took Yixing’s hand. Yixing looked at him, and Xiao Zhu leaned over to give him another quick kiss. As they began to walk, Yixing ducked his head and bit his lip, grinning madly.
“Oh my god, you guys!” Luhan shouted. “Minseok texted me!”
“Congratulations!” Xiao Zhu called. “Now send him a dick pic!”
As Luhan walked away laughing, Xiao Zhu turned to speak into Yixing’s ear.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he whispered.
“Aiyowei,” Yixing murmured.
“Aiyowei,” Xiao Zhu repeated. “Aiyowei. Wo ai-yowei ni. Oh, look. Your ears are going pink.”