#(weizhe.)

weizhe’s ears perked up at the mention of bao, expression tightening. it was no secret that their relationship had been long and complicated, but he liked to think that they were doing better these days. “ i don’t know. ” the words came out a huff as he shifted to splay across his partner’s legs. “ you know i like him. can’t it stay as simple as that ? ” but he knew the question had come with good intentions, and so weis forced himself to elaborate on the choking feeling welling up in his throat. “ it’s just… he got tired of me once. who’s to say he wouldn’t again, you know ? he’s so soft and i’m so… mean. and you’re not supposed to hurt the people you love, are you ? so what good does it do to tell him that i think he put the stars in the sky ? can’t i just kiss him and hope he feels it too ? ”

weizhe wished often and rather violently that he was the type to ignore the nagging feelings that managed to slither beneath his skin. he’d spent years watching his mother, his friends, his lovers do as much -- but had never managed to quell or ignore them with quite the same grace. the long and meaningless hours he spent working a dead-end job only adding to the burden to bear. maybe that made him sensitive. or maybe it made him a bitch. maybe he was just a LEO, and the stars had aligned just in time to make him the world’s pissiest barista. whatever it was, it left him shivering outside of the st*rbucks he’d just closed up at half past nine; summer not quick enough to arrive without daylight to aid it. that particular evening it also managed to rob him of his patience as he fumbled with the keys. “ stupid fucking -- ” they hit the pavement with a clatter he swore he felt reverberate in his soul. had he really escaped a commune, fled across a country, and spent over half a decade in and out of therapy for T H I S ? ridiculous. weis closed his eyes, counted to ten, and bent to scoop them up. thanking whatever higher being there was that the second time, they keys glided gracefully into the lock. maybe his luck was turning around. or so he thought, until HE turned and slammed face first into a body. “ GOD. fuck, sorry. hi ? ”

it wasn’t until the third time that carter had gotten him pinned that weizhe moaned. wasn’t until he’d had to wriggle his way free twice already; lungs heaving and muscles starting to ache. and they’d been playing like this since they were teenagers without a hitch ( well, many hitches ). with their limbs tangled and the competition the only thing that mattered. so who could blame him ? he couldn’t have known where their reckless wrestling and careless hands would lead. not until the sound had already slipped from his lips, hips bucking up against the man above him to match. the pressure atop his chest was sudden and rough, and that was all. “ shut up. ” weis wheezed, as if the flush across his cheeks wasn’t evident. “ shut up, you heard nothing. ” and if he was lucky, carter hadn’t FELT him either.

weizhe sipped his coffee slowly; portland winters forgiving in comparison to the rest of the north, but biting all the same. they sat rooftop, at a far too expensive cafe. but it was a necessity where he was concerned. the latte craft, and the scenery a gorgeous change of pace from the pavement and bustle he usually viewed through the windows of his starbucks. maybe he was seven dollars poorer, but he had the skyline, the bitter warmth on his tongue, and one of the men he loved at his side to share it with. “ i’ve been meaning to take you here. it’s this place, and this one little spot by the waterfront that i like most. i always come here when i’m stressed. it takes the edge off. ”