As Bohai sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the glowing screen in front of him, he couldn’t shake the feeling of exhaustion that seemed to permeate every fiber of his being lately. It was another late night at the office, another deadline looming ominously on the horizon, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to tear his gaze away from the endless lines of code that sprawled across his monitor.
Beside him, Yongrui was hunched over his own desk, fingers flying across the keyboard with a speed and precision that never failed to impress Bohai. Despite the late hour, there was an air of determination about Yongrui, a fierce intensity that seemed to burn bright even in the dimly lit office.
As they worked in silence, the only sound was the soft hum of the computers and the occasional click of a mouse, Bohai couldn’t help but feel happy to have Yongrui’s shoulder brushing his. They were two peas in a pod, two sides of the same coin, united in their shared passion for their work and their unwavering dedication to their craft.
Bohai looked over Yongrui, glancing at his beautiful face, his strong arms that stretched and pulled as he moved around to do the code, grab a drink, or grab some paper he needed to do the work he was doing.
Faster, much faster than Bohai ever did. ‘Probably because you are always spending more time staring at him than working.’ He thought.
But despite their close proximity, their shared experience in the office, and the daily grind they went through, they had never truly spoken to each other, never taken the time to get to know one another beyond the confines of their professional relationship.
The most he had said to him in two years, despite his desk being right next to him. Have you seen the stapler? Did you get the email? That code line is odd, have you tried fixing the stagnant parameters? Always one-liners that had nothing to do with anything but work.
It was a realization that weighed heavily on Bohai, and Yongrui was leaving, well not leaving, after this project, he would be becoming another team-building manager. Same floor, but all the way across the room.
‘Across the room, I won’t even get to see you through glances!’ He thought with defeat.
Bohai sighed, and typed in more code, huffing with gloom.
Yongrui turned to him with a grin that lit up his face like a thousand suns. “Hey, Bohai,” he said, his voice breaking the silence like a thunderclap in the night. “I think we just had a breakthrough.”
Bohai blinked, taken aback by the sudden interruption of his suffering and melancholy thoughts.
But as he glanced at the screen in front of him, he felt a surge of excitement coursing through his veins and asking off his dark thoughts.
He read through it three more times just to be sure Yongrui wasn’t jumping to conclusions. But he knew that Yongrui wasn’t, Yongrui was that good, he wouldn’t make such a claim unless he was sure. Still, he read it through, and Yongrui, knowing how cautious and careful he was held silent, waiting until he had processed the same information as him but much slower.
It was true–they had finally cracked the code and solved the problem that had been plaguing them for weeks.
“We did it.” He confirmed a slow grin of satisfaction and elation over it finally being settled, breaking into a pleasant, happy little daze.
Yongrui jumped up and clapped him on the arm.
“Let’s celebrate with some beer. We never celebrate finishing any project together, not in the entire year we have been doing this. Please!” Yongrui asked, his eyes pleading with Bohai. Bohai felt his heart skip a beat. He nodded slowly.
“Yes,” Yongrui pumped his fist and trotted over to the little fridge across the room.
“I snuck some beer in the fridge, thinking we would finish it tonight. Since next week is when I transfer teams.” He stood up, holding both cans. “Oh, I guess not next week, Monday, which is a few hours away now, isn’t it?” He laughed.
Bohai froze. Yongrui walked back over and sat down next to him. He cracked the beer, it foamed, and he landed forward without thinking and sucked back the foam so it wouldn’t spill, But Yongrui did the same thing at the same time, their lips opposite each other on the foamy rim.
Yongrui blinked, and Bohai pulled back quickly.
He turned his chair away from Yongrui’s slightly. The excitement blared into his ears as he got close to his crush.
Yongrui cracked the other beer can and handed it to him.
He took it with a polite nod of thanks and took a sip, His heart still pounding in his ears.
Yongrui leaned forward. Bohai gulped. His eyelashes fluttered.
“Yongrui,” Bohai whispered. “What are you doing?”
Yongrui smirked. “I’m leaving tomorrow.” He said.
Bohai nodded slowly.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” He asked.
Bohai blinked.
Yongrui sighed and rolled his chair even closer, pulling Bohai in close. “Just as I thought. I am going to have to spell it out for you.”
“I haven’t been staying late to meet deadlines,” he admitted, his voice smooth and silky. “I’ve been staying late because… because I wanted to spend time with you.”
The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, thick and suffocating.
Bohai blinked after a second. “Wait what?” He asked. Yongrui didn’t recoil in horror or mock him because he hadn’t even had a chance to speak his mind. Instead, Yongrui was blowing him out of the water with a confession of his own.
Yongrui reached out and brushed a gentle hand against Bohai’s cheek, his touch sending sparks of electricity dancing across Bohai’s skin.
Yongrui leaned in. “I’m going to kiss you, if you want me to kiss you, let me know. If you don’t, all you have to do is push me away, okay?”
His fist tightened around Bohai’s gray and blue striped t-shirt and he leaned in and kissed, their lips meeting in a sweet, tentative embrace. It was a kiss filled with all the pent-up longing and desire that had been simmering beneath the surface, a kiss that spoke volumes without saying a single word. Bohai fell into it because Yongrui was one hundred percent in control.
His stomach danced with butterflies.
As Yongrui finally pulled away, Bohai had to steady himself, as he was breathless and dizzy with emotion. He felt a sense of exhilaration coursing through his veins. It was as if a dam had burst within him, releasing a flood of emotions that he had long kept buried deep inside.
“Tomorrow we won’t be on the same team anymore. Tomorrow I can look at you as much as I want. I can kiss you and hold you as much as I want. So look forward to it.” Yongrui said, bopping him gently on the nose.
Bohai sucked in a breath and slowly smiled, unable to contain the joy inside him anymore.
“Okay.” He agreed.
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