I saw her from a distance. she was sitting on the steps leading to the main house, lost in thought while feeding September, the deer. I bit back a chuckle when she extended her hand in September's direction without looking and ended up missing the deer's mouth completely.
grinning, I leaned on a tree and watched her for a few more minutes before finally moving my feet in her direction. my footsteps crunched in the snow and she turned her head with a start and a frown.
but as soon as she saw me, her eyes lit up with recognition and the frown was replaced by a bright smile that illuminated her whole face. she waved and my heart skipped a beat.
shit. I am in trouble.
I reached her and sat down on the rung below her at the other end of the steps. "hey, Yueyue."
"hey, Kido."
"whatcha doing?"
"nothing. just feeding September here."
"I see."
"yep."
"..."
I didn't know what else to say to her; what else I could say to her.
we had just met for the first time a few days ago but I felt myself gravitate towards her instantly. I discovered that we were both book worms and enjoyed doodling sketches for fun. I also realized that I liked looking at her when she laughed. she had a laugh that could light up the entire village of Arxan.
so there we were, sitting in silence for a while with me occasionally stealing glances at her. soon, I saw the glazed look started filling up her eyes again while her hand continued to pet September. I wasn't sure what to do. should I call it a night and leave her to her thoughts?
truth be told, I kind of didn't want to walk away. i should say something then; try to get a conversation going. longer this time.
I cleared my throat. she startled and turned towards me. "did you say something? sorry, i wasn't paying attention."
"eh, no no no. i didn't say anything. sorry to have startled you."
"oh no, that's okay."
"so .... Didi, huh?"
her head snapped towards me so fast I was a little worried she might get whiplash.
"what? no. we're just friends!"
her flabbergasted expression was so extra that despite the clench in my stomach, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop a laugh from bursting out. her reaction was not completely unexpected, -- I had seen how they look at the other when they think he or she wasn't looking -- but I had thought perhaps I was reading too much into it. apparently I wasn't.
a little unsure, I searched her face for a beat before settling for a half smile. "I meant, you joined the show because didi, YOUR FRIEND, asked you to. right?"
her face relaxed a little and she smiled back. "OH. well, he didn't exactly asked me to. I got the offer to guest and almost rejected it because my company didn't think it was good idea. but Didi told me how much fun he was having here, and I was convinced to join in on the fun."
I nodded. "I see. so he tricked you into saying yes."
her eyes widened and she shook her head a little too vigorously. "what? no, he didn't. I'm not that easy to trick!"
"so you're having fun? cleaning toilets and all?"
she snorted and looked back at me, slightly amused. "not necessarily that part. although that's not too bad either. i dont know, i guess i just like the company. it's fun to do things together."
I decided to push my luck. "with Didi?"
she gave me a sharp look this time. "eh no. with everyone!"
I laughed and extended my hand to pet September. "I'm just kidding. but you know, I think he oversold this show to you because he wanted to spend more time with you."
she exhaled an exasperated sigh. "no. that's not it. if anything, he prolly just wanted someone he can order around like a minion. or ... or ... or someone to wrestle with."
"really? even though wuyi ge and I are around? he would rather wrestle you than us?"
she shrugged. "Xize, Kuan and Kangkang were at the MG set and still he wrestled me the most."
"and you dont find that a little strange?"
"... ... we are buddies."
"okay."
"we are!"
"okay. you are. i believe you."
"that doesn't sound very convincing."
I shrugged and looked her in the eye. "does it matter what i believe? i would think that what you and Didi believe matters more."
"we ARE buddies."
"then you are buddies." I paused for a moment and observed her face before continuing carefully, "sorry if I made you upset. I just wanted to be sure."
she shook her head. "that's okay."
"for what it's worth. I also gave Didi a hard time about you."
her eyebrows shot up and curiosity was written all over her face. "you did? why? I thought Wuyi ge was the one who liked me."
"you seriously bought that? wow. I know Didi calls you 'dumb girl' all the time but I never once thought he could actually be right."
she must have not expected that from me because her eyes widened in surprise and indignation took over her whole demeanor.
"what! how dare you..."
she trailed off when she saw me laughing quietly. then she narrowed her eyes and cutely wrinkled her nose.
"you know what, Kido, I'm gonna let you off this time because I think you've been hanging around Didi too much."
I had stopped laughing by the time his name came out of her mouth. I took a deep breath and as casually as I could muster, said, "and we're back at Didi again. out of curiousity, Yue, have you seen how he looks at you?"
her brows knitted at this question but she answered anyway. "yeah. the same way he looks at you."
"really?"
"yes! what are you trying to say, Kido?"
I shrugged, leaned back on my hands and looked up at the night sky. I shook my head. "nothing. so you and Didi are buddies, eh?"
"yes!"
"okay."
right then, a loud "SHEN YUE!" rang through the grounds.
we both startled, looked at each other and promptly burst out laughing.
I tilted my head towards the direction of the voice. "guess your buddy is looking for you."
"guess so. I better see what he wants from me."
"just your company, I'm sure."
she rolled her eyes at me. "this again?"
"he likes you, yue."
"no, he doesn't. not that way, anyway."
"okay. do you like him that way then?"
"no."
I raised my eyebrows and searched her face again for what probably is the eighteenth time that night.
she sighed and stood up. "seriously, Kido. I don't. I think he is a great friend and I enjoy his company a lot. but I don't like him that way. or at least, I don't know if I do."
before I could reply her, another "SHEN YUEEE!" interrupted us again, louder this time. I smiled at the thought of him getting impatient. he never could go very long without her company.
she turned to me and smiled. "let's go in, Kido. it's getting late."
I shook my head. "you go ahead. I think i'm gonna stay out here for a bit more."
"okay. but hurry in, okay. we wouldn't want you to catch a cold."
"that's thoughtful of you."
she looks at me with a twinkle in her eyes and said,"well, who is gonna be my toilet-crubbing partner if you are out of commission?"
I grinned, quite happy to know that she was now comfortable enough to tease me, and nodded. "ah right, right. of course."
she smiled and turned to leave, "good night, Kido."
"Yue, wait."
"yeah?"
"can i add your wechat as personal friend? maybe we can get together sometimes when we are both back in Beijing. go book shopping or something?"
she blinked in surprise for a second before beaming, "oh sure. i'd love that!"
I was about to thank her and bid her good night when suddenly the same loud voice interrupted us for the third time that night.
"here you guys are! Shen Yue, i have been calling for you for the last ten minutes! are you deaf or something?"
we looked up at the door to see him stepping out of the main house and walking towards us.
she rolled her twinkling eyes at him and retorted, "why were you shouting inside the house? if i didnt answer then clearly i wasn't inside the house! you should've looked outside instead. what a dumbass."
I watched as his eyes widened with indignation while she turned to leave once again.
"did you just call me dumb? hey wait, Lao Shen! how dare you ..."
I shook my head as I stared at my friend and his "buddy" walking in the direction of our sleeping quarters, listening to the sounds of their bickering fading away as their silhouettes disappeared into the night. I knew deep down I was gonna have to fight him for her affection somewhere down the line.
the guy coudn't be a dumbass forever, could he?
but, hey, I wasn't going to start complaining about how things stand at the moment. best friends or not, all is fair in love and war. and the slower on the uptake he was about his own feelings, the further headstart I, Kido, would have in winning her over.
(22 June 2019)
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author's note:
hello. thank you for reading til the end despite the fic not featuring your beloved otp very much. i know it is not what you expect when you get the new fic notif. i appreciate your support so very much.
back in December, i tweeted that i wanted to write a kiyue fic. i got some support but for the most part, people were not keen (i mean, DUH!) and so i never wrote it.
but the idea kept niggling at me and in my head i could see clearly as day, kido and yy sitting on the steps off the inn. he would be smiling softly at her, a knowing look in his eyes, and then he would say, "so ... didi, eh?"
hence, a kiyue fic that is actually a diyue fic deep down, was born. i suppose this could belong in the same universe as "2 a.m. in santorini". consider this the starting point of how yueyue ended up dating kido in that fic.
thank you again for reading. i'm gonna rest my eyes now. (i have been editing this fic for the past 5 hours and i think i'm getting crossed eyed looking at all the letters.)
HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND. much love and hugs. stay healhty and be well, everyone.