Jian Lin left his capsule. He brushed his hands through his hair roughly, found some shoes to slip on and left his flat. He took the couple of steps to reach the next door, knocking on it loudly.

From inside, Xi Yang cursed.

He opened the door, annoyed and ready to cut off whoever was standing there, when he recognized the person.

“J-Jian Lin?!”

“I’m… your neighbor”, Jian Lin dropped the bombshell. He drew in a shaky breath, moving a hand through his hair again. “Can I… Can I come inside?”

The strangled sound that Xi Yang made was half assent, half utter confusion. Nonetheless, he stepped aside to let Jian Lin into his flat. A single hiccup escaped him.

“I mean what I said”, Jian Lin blurted out the moment the door fell shut. “I don’t know how this whole thing works, I have no idea at all, but I like you and you said-”

...He did say that, right? He had heard him correctly? Bloody had talked so quickly, Jian Lin was suddenly beginning to worry if he misunderstood.

“Wait! Wait, are we talking about the same like? You know, the… the romantic one?”

Infected by Jian Lin’s nervousness, Xi Yang also began to get riled up. The introverted man could only nod like a chicken to get his point across.

Xi Yang looked at him for a couple of seconds. “You’re serious?”

More nodding.

“But you… You never told me I was your neighbor! If you liked me, wouldn’t you want to spend more time with me?”

Jian Lin truly wanted to cry. He forced the words out in a croak. “But… But you thought I was my grandpa… And I’m… awkward… If you’d have gotten mad...”

“What’s going on?” Xi Yun stepped into the hallway, a sandwich in his hand, he chewed on it noisily, then paused when he saw Jian Lin. “Huh? Ice Emperor?”

“Yun”, Xi Yang said slowly, “your room. Now.”

“Wha? I-”

“Xi Yun. Go. Right. Now.”

The might of an older brother was amazing. Xi Yun swallowed heavily, retreated backwards and went into his room with a face full of injustice.

It had been a good thing for him to come out though. The few seconds were enough for Jian Lin to take a deep breath and stabilize himself a bit more. He knew he could do this, because the person across from him would never judge him, even if he stuttered or stumbled over his words.

“I…” The single word got Xi Yang’s attention again. “I love Haven. If there wasn’t a way for me to return, I don’t think I’d have agreed. I like the world, and I like playing it… and I like playing with you. I’m not good at conveying my feelings, I know that…”

He felt his voice getting a bit hoarse.

“But I’m not that dense. I wouldn’t misjudge my own thoughts. Being with you isn’t tiring like being with others. When others talk to me, it’s exhausting, but if you talk, it’s not. I’m not as scared that I’ll say something wrong. I’m not scared you’re secretly annoyed with me.” Jian Lin looked down at his hands. He was rubbing his thumb over his index fingers. “I really do like being close with you. I mean it.”

There were no huge fluctuations in Jian Lin’s voice. There was only his nervosity, but even then, Xi Yang didn’t try to interpret the other’s words in a different way. Xi Yang made a tiny squeak as he awkwardly raised a hand into the air.

“Can I come over to hug you or is that too much right now?”

Instead of replying, Jian Lin spread his arms.

Xi Yang jumped forward. Wrapping his arms around Jian Lin’s neck, he tightly clung to his body. He was trembling a tiny bit, his breath on Jian Lin’s shoulder hitching. The blonde man returned the embrace, nuzzling their faces closer.

“Then… Can I say, please take care of me?” The muffled voice sounded close to Jian Lin’s ear.

“Mnn.”

“...Red Snow CP is real.” Xi Yang snickered, saying something Jian Lin didn’t understand. He leaned back a tiny bit, just enough that he could look Jian Lin into the eye. The other man’s face was a bit red. “I can officially call you my boyfriend now? We’re dating? ...Am I allowed to boast about that?”

“Is that something to boast about?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well… I don’t mind people knowing.” Jian Lin was staring at the pretty dark eyes and that bright smile. He leaned a bit closer, brushing their noses against each other. Xi Yang’s smile widened. He didn't truly plan to inform people of this, but getting Jian Lin's agreement made everything feel more real.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone say stupid stuff. I’ll protect you!” He paused momentarily. “Uhh… Is your family going to be fine with me? I know that some people are still a bit, ah, iffy about same-sex relationships, that’s why…”

Jian Lin’s family already loved Xi Yang before knowing him. There was hardly anything to worry about. “They won’t mind.”

“Awesome! My family knows I’m also into guys, so no issue here. YunYun might be a bit annoyed that I’m tainting his favourite Ice Emperor…” Xi Yang happily chirped away, but he quickly realized a peculiar expression on Jian Lin’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m exhausted”, Jian Lin croaked.

He had just gone through the stress of the conversation with Little Droplet, followed right away by a confession. He was mentally draining, and quickly.

“Oh!” Xi Yang nodded in understanding. “I mean, we’re still in the hallway. Come in! I think there are some Haven PvP streams running right now, do you want to watch them together?”

Jian Lin did.

Once more, Xi Yang proved to be a person who could read Jian Lin well. He didn’t continue the previous topic. The young man ran around to get Jian Lin something to drink, repeat his ban to his brother, and start up a stream before cuddling onto the sofa next to Jian Lin.

The two figures were sitting closely together, warmth transmitting through their sleeves. There was no space between them at all, which resulted in a warm, affectionate mood around them even without words.

“What’s the Red Snow CP?”, Jian Lin ended up asking as he watched an assassin slaughter a warrior on screen. He remembered the phrase as something he had seen before.

“Oh, that. Hmm, let me sum it up for you… Lots of fans of Haven - especially female ones - are really hyping the thought of us dating. Some even think we’ve been dating for years.” Xi Yang was a bit distracted. Experimentally, he tried tugging at Jian Lin’s arm to pull it over his shoulder. The other let himself be maneuvered, so Xi Yang was happily cuddling closer.

“Why?”

“People love our interactions, I guess? Also they like how we look together, visually. Do you want to see?”

Jian Lin nodded.

Xi Yang switched away from the stream, opening up one of their shipping sites. Hundreds of gifs filled the screen, followed by videos, fanmade animations, fanart, fanfiction and even conspiracy- ...uh, shipping theories.

Jian Lin tried to analyze where exactly people saw “dogfood being fed” in these gifs.

Xi Yang played a compilation of their interactions.

You had Bloody lean his head on Ice’s shoulder, or Ice rubbing Bloody’s ears, or Bloody wagging his tail and skipping over to Ice, or Ice smiling slightly at him…

It looked like normal interactions to Jian Lin, but then again, they were pretty close.

What he thought was weird was how Xi Yang sometimes quickly skipped over fanmade content. Under Jian Lin’s questioning gaze, Xi Yang could only smile sheepishly. “Some of this stuff is kind of explicit. I don’t think you want to see it.”

Curiosity killed the cat.