3 years later
Colorful bouquets lined the shelves and windows, their scents filling the air with a fresh and soothing smell.
Yang Qiu hummed while he swept the tiled floor by the window. He paused for a moment to adjust the floral bandanna on his head, as well as his matching apron.
The bell on the door rang as it was pushed open, and by reflex Yang Qiu turned to greet the newcomer.
"Welcome! How can I help-"
His words were cut off by Chen Xia's arms, which wrapped around him tightly from behind.
"Hey!" Yang Qiu blushed. "What if someone sees us?"
"There's nobody here," Chen Xia replied. "Plus, what's wrong with people seeing us?" Chen Xia lowered his voice and spoke into Yang Qiu's ear.
Yang Qiu felt his ears turning red and quickly turned to push Chen Xia away.
"Hands off during work hours." Yang Qiu walked away to try and hide his embarrassment.
"What about non-working hours?" Chen Xia asked innocently.
"You're helpless."
"You made me this way."
"Ugh," Yang Qiu rushed to pick up the broom and continued sweeping, trying to seem busy. "Why are you here anyway?"
"I'm your prince who has come to save you, of course."
"Save me from what? You should think about saving yourself first. Aren't you supposed to be helping at the restaurant right now? Mrs. Chen is gonna be mad!" Yang Qiu laughed a little.
"Are you worrying about me?" Chen Xia grinned. "Just come along. I already let the shop owner know that I'm borrowing you for the afternoon," Chen Xia said with a sly smile.
"Wait what?"
Chen Xia walked over to face Yang Qiu, pulled his waist towards him, and began untying his apron.
"Hey, stop! What are you doing?" Yang Qiu asked, flustered.
"I'm freeing you from your duties." Chen Xia finished untying Yang Qiu's apron and pulled it off.
"Hey! Hands off!" Yang Qiu blushed and continued to resist.
"Nope," Chen Xia responded with a grin. Then without another word he dragged Yang Qiu out of the shop.
"Xiaxia! Where are we going?" Yang Qiu said, exasperated.
"You'll see," Chen Xia replied, still lightly pulling Yang Qiu's hand behind him.
Yang Qiu followed Chen Xia down a familiar route through the streets of the town until they arrived at the old fence surrounding a small school building.
"This is our elementary school… why are we here?" Yang Qiu was extremely confused.
Chen Xia only smiled and led Yang Qiu inside to an edge of the courtyard, stopping by the fence.
"Do you remember?" Chen Xia asked, expectant.
"What?" Yang Qiu was still worried about the flower shop. "What are you playing at? I still have to work!"
"No, you don't. I already told you, I let the shop owner know that I'm stealing you for today." Chen Xia smiled cheekily, then returned to his original topic. "Right here. Do you remember?" Chen Xia pointed to a spot on the ground by the fence.
Yang Qiu's eyes followed Chen Xia's hand to the ground despite his impatience. After a moment, he suddenly realized what Chen Xia wanted him to remember.
"I remember. Of course I do…" Yang Qiu murmured. "This is where we first met."
Chen Xia smiled as he watched Yang Qiu sink into thought.
"There was an ant hill, and I gave them a piece of bread. Then you suddenly appeared and sat next to me." Yang Qiu smiled unconsciously as he recalled the events of that day.
Yang Qiu looked back down to the ground.
"Looks like the ants are gone now…" Yang Qiu knew that this was only natural. After all, it had been many, many years. Nonetheless, he felt a wave of sadness, as if he had lost something important.
"Even if the ant hill is gone… our friendship; our relationship still remains," Chen Xia said.
Yang Qiu blushed. When did Xiaxia learn to be so cringe? Despite his judgements, Yang Qiu's heartbeat quickened.
They stood together in silence for a moment. Noticing Chen Xia's silence, Yang Qiu became worried.
"Xiaxia-"
"Yang Qiu."
Yang Qiu looked up at Chen Xia, caught off guard at Chen Xia's suddenly serious tone.
"I want to thank you for being in my life, for accompanying me throughout all the ups and downs that we have experienced together. Even though you were not physically with me for a while, the period we spent apart only made me appreciate you more. And then when you came back to me, everything just fell right into place. You are... so important to me. I can't even put into words how much I love you, how much I need you... so..." Chen Xia kneeled down and pulled out a small box, flipping open the lid and presenting it to Yang Qiu.
"Will you marry me?"
Yang Qiu stared for moment, dumbstruck. He looked at Chen Xia's eager face, and the ring shimmering in the sunlight.
"Xiaxia…"
Yang Qiu felt as if time had slowed down.
"Oh, Xiaxia… how could I say no?" Yang Qiu felt his heart pounding louder and louder.
"So, is that a yes?" Chen Xia's face brightened.
Dazzled by Chen Xia's shining face, Yang Qiu covered his eyes with his hands. I feel like he shines more than the ring… this is bad for my heart!
Yang Qiu nodded, feeling overwhelmed by a strong blend of emotions. He was surprised, of course, but most importantly, he was overjoyed.
Chen Xia smiled brightly. He carefully peeled Yang Qiu's hand away from his face and slid the ring onto his finger.
Chen Xia then took one arm to pull Yang Qiu's waist towards him in a tight embrace, and the other to hold the back of his head, pulling Yang Qiu's lips towards his own.
After their kiss Yang Qiu buried his face into Chen Xia's shoulder, trying to hide the tears that had slipped out. He ended up marking Chen Xia's shirt with the wet droplets.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Gege," Chen Xia whispered into Yang Qiu's ear.
"You are the best thing that has happened to me as well," Yang Qiu murmured.
"A life with you is the only life I desire."