He could feel his face heating up as the other literally took a good long look at him. The male bit his bottom lip, the sharp teeth gnawing away at the red flesh. As much as he wanted to tear his gaze away from the younger male, he simply couldn't. It had been years since he had the chance to look at the other directly in the eyes and this time around, he knew he wasn't risking his life for this chance to stare at the other. The head boy had stared at the other during meals at the Great Hall or during Quidditch games but not once had the other reciprocated his stares. There were times he could sense the Gryffindor's eyes staring at him but he would always fail to look up and meet Yixing's eyes for he was too scared that he would be automatically figured out. Yixing knew how to read him like an open book and this startled the Ravenclaw at first. He wasn't used to having his mask torn away, bit by bit. The fake angelic facade was his defence mechanism and the younger male just had to look at him in the eyes, hell, even his figure was enough, and the other could see right away what sort of mood he was in, what thoughts were going through his head and what problems were troubling him.Â
The male couldn't resist smiling at the other's words. "I see I'm not the only one guilty of an act, huh?" He replied cheekily, his eyes crinkling in amusement. Joonmyeon had hoped before that he wasn't the only one who did such things, that the situation wasn't one sided. And boy was he glad to know that Yixing had kept tabs on him. It made him feel like despite being far away from each other for all those years, he felt that he had been protected by the other as the younger lion had watched over him from far away. It did make him wonder whether Yixing would have interfered and re-entered his life if something utterly terrible had happened to him. He remembered the times he pulled some strings to make the other's days easier and happier -- a quick sweet note, random gifts, deals with the professors, promises with poltergeists, quick words with the Gryffindors, etc. He would do anything to ensure the other's happiness. "Thank you for not judging me," he added quietly once he had gathered his thoughts together, sincerely grateful for the other's kindness.
"My interest in you never wavered. Not once has it gone away. I find it hard to sleep at night when all my mind can think of is you. The what-ifs. The memories. The maybes. It used to hurt a lot. I used to have to resort to patrolling the hallways to clear my mind of you," the head boy admitted sheepishly, feeling embarrassed at how cheesy he was being. "You could tell me the world's ending and I'll still think of you. I just do. My mind simply finds its own way to make every thought that crosses my mind to link to you. If I look at the sky, I wonder if the clouds would part ways so you could have a sunny day. If I hear music, I remember the times we used to listen to songs that you composed. If I see tulips, I remember you telling me that you smelled them in your amortentia," Joonmyeon rambled, not being able to stop himself from talking for he just wanted to let it all out.Â
Nodding mutely at the other's statement, he chuckled weakly, "Deal. If I'm Einstein, who would you be?" The male asked curiously, his face flushing at both the fact he had just called the other 'babe' and that he had just been likened to Albert Einstein. He raised his hand to scratch his cheek nervously, though he soon smiled. "Good. I do like myself a possessive you but I rather spare ourselves the drama that comes with being jealous. I will tell you that I love you over and over again until you become certain of it," he said with ease, his neck reddening - a habit he had when he became extremely embarrassed.
A frown tugged at the edge of his lips though he nodded once more in agreement. It was still too early to address such matters for they had just mended their wounds. For now, he would like to focus on the present. "Let's hope we don't have a run in with any of our exes," he said in a grim tone, cringing at the thought of it alone. He shook his head, afraid that he had offended you but then once his eyes landed onto the other's mischievous looking face, he knew Yixing was joking around. "Stupid people think stupid things," he joked along. A pout was etched on his lips, feigning sadness, "And you say I abuse my head boy position. Sweethearts are supposed to make people's hearts to be sweet!" He said in a childish tone. "You can kiss me for a start. It won't heal the wound entirely but it'll start mending it." A cheeky grin crossed his face.
He tore his gaze away from the other's heated stare, already feeling embarrassed beyond belief. "You're too perfect to the point you deserve all the love and cheesy shit I say about your perfection," he replied before looking back at Yixing's face, not able to have the self control to even look away now that he finally could stare at the other all he wanted to. A pang of regret and guilt struck him before he voiced out, "Don't blame yourself, baby. I'm guilty too, for avoiding this confrontation. I was stupid, we were both stupid. But hey, at least we made up. Better than living in regret for the entirety of our lives. All those time wasted can be compensated. We lost three years but you know what, babe? We have the rest of the many decades to spend our lives together, making the memories we should have made all this time. So don't worry and let's look forward to the future." The male placed his hands onto the other's waist, accepting the embrace with open arms for it had been such a long time since they had touched each other intimately. "I'm so glad too, Xing-ah. You fit perfectly in my arms. You're mine," he replied cheesily, a fond smile making its way onto his face.
Joonmyeon couldn't help but laugh along, his lover's laughter being too contagious for him to stay silent and not laugh along. He struggled to defend himself, a pout itching to splay across his face but he simply couldn't, his mind too preoccupied on the fact his Yixing had grown up to be a fit, young man with abs. Abs. "Hey, you're just too hot, okay! And of course I think you're fit, look at all these muscle!" He exclaimed, his hands running up and down the other's chest. "You should let me join you the nice time you intend to work out. I'm jealous, it seems like your routine is working nicely for you," he pouted. Though he blushed and squirmed at the other's prodding touches, giggling like a girl at the ticklish notions. "That tickles!" He giggled back, feeling his legs turning to jelly when their eyes locked onto each others. He resisted squealing out loud when he realised the other just called him 'babe' once more, and instead focused on kissing the other back, eager to explore the other's mouth once more.Â