Requital hope

Twenty-one

Yibo's Pov.

"Come on." Zhan said, looking back at me, holding out his hand. I slowly grabbed onto it. I was happy to be hand in hand with him again. He seemed quite comfortable with it. Suddenly he had us running again.

"Where are we going?" I asked, a little worried.

"Somewhere I heard was nice." He answered with a smirk. What could he mean? I did not know what was going on, but I trusted him.

Somehow tonight was feeling a lot like a date, in my immature teenage mind, anyway. I doubt it even crossed Zhan's mind since he's straight and all.

The night breeze flushed my face as we ran. It felt really amazing. Zhan's scent mixed with it, making it that much greater. I felt truly relaxed. That's something he does to me a lot. I'm having a lot of fun or I'm completely relaxed around him. This is a tremendous difference from my life before the trip. Zhan's becoming an irreplaceable part of my life. I don't know what I would do without him.

The passing street lights that lit the ground in a cozy warm orange color added to the mood. Our footsteps echoed through the empty night, the sound of the wind blowing against the leaves on the passing trees, it was all so blissful. I noticed us approaching what looked to be a playground after being lost in thought for who knows how long. Zhan guided us in, dodging the chained poles and the toys littered around the playground.

"This is it." Zhan announced looking around. The moon peeked out of the few clouds in the sky illuminating the playground in dim blue light. Zhan looked back at me with a smile, probably noticing my expression of shock. This place is so beautiful, I had my jaw ajar, gaping at the pretty scene. I felt my inner kid clawing at the surface. I was suddenly feeling happy and excited.

"Follow me." Zhan commanded, nudging his head towards a large jungle gym dome with a resting area on top, to the right of the playground. I followed as he jogged over to the metal poles. He began climbing like a champ. I guess that comes with having muscles like his. I struggled to climb the first step. I'm a total joke compared to Zhan. I regret to admit that I needed his help to get to the top. He stretched a hand to me and I gratefully accepted.

We were draped across the wooden platform atop the jungle gym. We laid there, gazing upon the dark purple night sky, partially lit by the now fully present moon. We chatted about an assortment of things. We shared memories of our past without me going too deep. I told him how much I loved visiting the zoo with my parents, how I clung to my grandparents and how we'd all share stories by the fireplace. Zhan smiled the whole time almost as if he was enjoying listening to me speak. He told me how he and his family would go out and see a movie together every so often. He shared a lot of funny moments from his past. I even found myself laughing. Today my inner "me" was finally able to express himself after being locked away for so long.

"Well, today was certainly a lot of fun," Zhan spoke, locking eyes with mine.

"Yeah. This is the best day I've had in.. who knows how long!" I exploded with happiness.

"I'm glad. I'd feel bad if I were the only one having fun." He smiled, keeping his gaze on me.

"I can assure you that I had fun. Just tonight was enough to make this one of the best days ever!" I informed him gratefully.

"Yeah, I can understand, with the way you ate that pizza." He jabbed, chucking.

"You can't blame me." I pout "I'm sure you enjoyed it too."

"I did." He admitted. "I'm going to assume that pizza is your favorite food." He made a guess.

"I don't really know. Well I mean, after eating that I'd be a fool to say otherwise, but I haven't eaten that many types of food."

"I see." He responded, seeming to be caught in thought. "What about me, can you guess my favorite kind of food?" He asked with a smirk capturing his appearance.

"Hmm..." This was tricky because I haven't spent nearly enough time with him to come up with a logical guess.

"Donuts?" I guessed, a little serious but more so as a joke.

"Dude, what kind of guess was that?" Zhan questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly I've never heard or seen anyone having donuts as their favorite food. Besides cops maybe." He muttered the last part.

"Err, tofu?" I continued.

"Seriously, who even eats tofu?" He answered with a question. "These guesses are out there."

"Well, I mean you asked me to guess your favorite food, so I'm assuming it's something obscure." I explained, smiling at his reaction.

"I can assure you that it's not obscure." He pouted a little. I couldn't help but giggle.

"In that case, I'm going to guess... sushi?" I raised an eyebrow waiting for his reply. To my surprise his eyes lit up and he looked surprised.

"T-that's actually correct." He confirmed, in shock. A grin parted my lips.

"How did you know? Was it a simple guess?" I nodded in response. He nudged me to my side with a grin now creeping to his face. One We spent quite a while just watching the barely present stars gleaming in the sky and talking about nothing. I yawned and got a little sleepy. Zhan seemed to notice.

"Hey, we should probably head back now." He suggested. I nodded and followed him down the jungle gym. When we got back, Zhan went to take a shower. I took one earlier, but I still have to brush my teeth before I'm ready for bed. I waited for Zhan to be done with the bathroom while I sat and read. The soft sheets of the bed felt comfortable pulling me into them. I didn't want to let myself drift off to sleep on my bed, no matter how inviting it may have felt. Plus, Zhan's bed was much more comfortable than my own, so I'd rather fall asleep on that.

Soon enough Zhan was out of the bathroom. My face reddened as I passed him. He was shirtless again. I don't mind it at all, its just I don't know how to react, especially as someone who is gay. I don't want to come off too strong, and I just can't ignore it without my face turning the color of a tomato.

I brushed my teeth, preparing myself for bed. When I returned to the room Zhan was already positioned in bed. I shut out the light as he instructed and made my way over to his bed. Zhan was lying right in the middle which would only allow for a little space between us. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable by being too close, but since he's already positioned in the middle he'll probably understand. With that thought, I got under the cover and curled up a little. Zhan's torso was only about an inch or two from my back. I could feel the heat emitting from his body engulfing the covers in warmth. I found it very relaxing. Soon I was pressing my back against him. I did it unintentionally and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment wash over me until I felt him relaxing against me. It took me by surprise, I've always felt if I ever broke the distance like that he'd be very upset with me. Being snuggled with him like that helped me drift to sleep at light speed. It truly was an amazing night.