You had a plan. That was to make Yao Wang play Robot Unicorn Attack Evolution. You just knew he would love it. The challenge was to actually get the long haired man to play it.
You shared an apartment with the Chinese man, so it was easy to find him in his room. With a knock on the open door the Chinese man looked up at you from where he was sitting on his bed.
"Hey, Yao~" You chirped.
"What do you want, (name)?" he asked.
"I want you to play a game for me."
"What kind of game?" He questioned curiously.
"It's called Robot Unicorn Attack Evolution." You informed him.
"I don't know, (name), Sound's kinda cutesy, aru."
"Since when do you care? You like pandas and Hello Kitty and stuff."
"That's different, aru!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. "There's cute and then there's cutesy."
Then you thought of something. A smirk played on your lips as you said, "It has pandas."
The Chinese man's face lit up. "I'm in."
You laughed, of course the pandas made him agree.
"C'mon." you said grabbing his hand and pulling him to your computer. What you didn't see was the blush on his cheeks when you grabbed his hand.
You showed him how to play, careful not to evolve, and then let him take over the computer.
He died 3 times before asking you "Where are the pandas, aru?"
"You have to evolve." You explained.
"That's no fair, aru." The long haired man pouted, and you blushed at his cute expression.
After a few more runs he finally evolved and practically squealed at the panda that he now played.
"SO CUTE ARU!"
These words sent you into a fit of laughter, which distracted him, causing him to run into a wall in the game.
"What's so funny, (name)?" Yao asked, oblivious, which only made you laugh more.
After a while you finally stopped laughing, and you said "You died. You know that right?"
"Of course I know that, aru!" he snapped. "You're way too distracting to keep playing, (name)." He was pouting again.
In that moment, you thought of something, blushed, and voiced the thought. "You're cuter than any panda, Yao."
A dark blush spread across his face and he looked away. "I'm not cute, aru!" he mumbled.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not." The Chinese man protested.
"You are."
"No!"
"Admit it. You're way cuter than a panda." You teased.
"Fine. Dàn… Nǐ shì kě'ài." (But… you're cuter.) He replied grudgingly, his blush even darker."
"What?" you raised an eyebrow, not understanding the seemingly random Chinese in his sentence.
"I-I'll tell you someday, I-I guess, aru." Yao stammered.
"Can that someday be today?" you asked slyly.
"What?"
"Tell me! I must know!" You exclaimed.
"I- uh…" he gave a little nervous laugh.
"Go ahead." You urged.
The blush on Yao's face was more prominent than ever now, and he stuttered out some meaningless syllables, and you could tell about 60% of them were Chinese.
"It's okay, Yao. I won't judge you or anything."
"I-it's not that, a-aru…" He stared at the floor.
You put a hand on his shoulder and he tensed noticeably.
"You know you can tell me anything, right, Yao?"
"Ah… It's e-embarrassing though." He mumbled.
"It can't be that bad, can it?"
"I-I suppose." He took a deep breath and spat out, "I-said-you're-cuter!"
You blushed deeply at his words. "What?"
"I… I said you're cuter, aru…"
You said nothing for a few moments.
"(Name)?" Yao asked quietly.
"Yes, Yao?"
"Do you hate me now?" he wouldn't look up.
"Why would I hate you?" you asked, kneeling in front of him.
"Yīshì…" (I…)
"I really like you, Yao and even if I didn't, at least someone thinks I'm cute, even if we are just friends."
"You… like me, aru?" the Chinese man asked.
"Of course! You're cute, handsome, and strong, you make good food, and you're amazing!"
He stared at you for a moment. Suddenly he was off the chair and kissing you before you even knew what was going on. He pulled away before you could fully react.
"A- add fast to that list, aru." He mumbled, looking away again.
"mhm." You agreed, your hand lightly touching your lips in surprise. "And good kisser."
He looked surprised for a moment, and blushed. "I… Could do it again, aru…" he said quietly.
"I'd like that." You mumbled shyly. "Except less sudden this time."
"S-sure." He blushed.
Yao leaned towards you, and this time you were ready and kissed him back gently. His lips were soft and felt good against yours. When the Chinese man pulled away you were disappointed but then he said, "Wǒ ài nǐ." (I love you.), and curiosity overcame the disappointment.
"What does that mean, Yao?" You asked.
"It means. Uh…" He laughed nervously again. "It means… I love you, aru…"
At first you were surprised by how suddenly he had said it, but then you looked into Yao's milk chocolate eyes and saw that he meant it. Reflected in his eyes you saw yourself and realized that you loved him too.
"I love you too, Yao." You finally said.
He pulled you closer and you rested against his chest and smiled up at him contentedly. The Chinese man hugged you tightly and his large sleeves brushed against your hand.
"You're cuter than a panda." You teased him again, reminding him how this started.
"So are you." He purred, though he was still blushing.
Jiéshù