Happy belated birthday Alsheon! Totally didn't know that Nov 8 was your birthday, hope you enjoy this late present! Loosely inspired by Esteban Bravo's and Beth David's In A Heartbeat, this is a HuangYe fic! (And damn, why you go steal ma title?! XD)
WARNING! I took a few liberties, so the storyline won't exactly follow the original work. Also, characters are OOC due to those liberties. And spoilers alert!
A/N: I just made minor edits here and there, the jist of the story is still the same.
"Shaotian, stop shaking your leg."
"But Captain, I can't! It's our first match against Excellent Era! Our first match! I can't wait! I wanna go up now now now! I'll show 'em who's boss, and take revenge for Boss Wei!" Huang Shaotian declared.
The veterans of Blue Rain smiled fondly at their new ace, knowing that Shaotian and Wei Chen were very close before the latter left. Wei Chen was one of the top experts in Glory long before the pro matches began, and their Blue Brook Guild was one of the top guilds as well. When the pro alliance was formed, they eagerly gathered to form Blue Rain, their goal: to win the championships. Upon discovering Huang Shaotian, Wei Chen wasted no time in inviting him to Blue Rain. They trained Huang Shaotian, impatiently waiting for the day he can go up on stage. Sadly, Wei Chen's condition deteriorated rapidly in the second season, and left before Huang Shaotian could make his mark. This caused Shaotian to be fixated on defeating Ye Xiu, and fulfilling his mentor's wishes.
"Relax Shaotian, Ye Qiu wouldn't go up on stage anytime soon. He is their trump, so he will most likely be the last in the group competition, just like you. So calm down, and watch the match." Yu Wenzhou coaxed.
"You're right, I think I'll go wash my face." Nodding his head, Huang Shaotian stood up and headed for the washroom.
En route to the washroom, he walked past a tall, slender young man. He has a very relaxed posture, his gait slow and sluggish. This posed a jarring contrast against his crisp white tee, dark grey slacks and black oxfords. Tsk tsk tsk, he looks so lifeless. What a waste of good clothes. Huang Shaotian thought, walking past the slouching male. The instant they passed each other, Shaotian's nose twitched. ...His clothes smell of sunshine. What a good mom he has. In Excellent Era's seats, Jingjing, one of their veteran players, sneezed.
"Bless you!"
Jingjing smiled and nodded mutely, her mind thinking, little captain, you'd better not be cursing me in your heart, or else...hurhurhur.
Upon reaching the washroom, Huang Shaotian went over to the sink, and splashed some water on his face. He repeated the actions a few times, until he felt calmer. Wiping his hands dry, he left the washroom, returning to his team.
A while later, the individual competitions were over and the group competition began. Excellent Era sent up one of their veterans, Huang Jingjing, while Blue Rain sent up one of theirs, Wang Xiaoming.
"Why hello Granny Huang, you're still up? I thought you'd have retired by now."
"Tsk tsk tsk Grandpa Wang you're so rude. No wonder you're still single. Perhaps y'all should change name to Blue Rain Temple, and become monks." Jingjing cooly replied, unfazed by his trash talk.
Xiaoming continued his trash talking, all the while keeping an eye out for Green Fish. Meanwhile, Jingjing controlled Green Fish expertly, moving through the map using Aerial Fire before parking herself up in a tree, ready to snipe Receding Tides.
Receding Tides navigated the map carefully, wondering where Green Fish was hiding. After all, Jingjing is famous for her sniper-esque playstyle, and loved to ambush her opponents, like an assassin. Suddenly, a tiny machine appeared near his foot, and Receding Tides rolled forward, avoiding the tiny explosion. However, his foot got caught in a spike trap (1), immobilising Receding Tides. A bullet pierced Receding Tides' forehead, and Xiaoming growled. Dammit! I fell into her trap!
Due to her successful ambush, Green Fish had more hp than Receding Tides, which gave Excellent Era an edge over Blue Rain. Although there were a few close shaves, Jingjing managed to cling onto that advantage, which trickled down to the anchors in the group challenge, with Huang Shaotian's Troubling Rain having less hp and mana than One Autumn Leaf.
Even though Troubling Rain was at a disadvantage, Huang Shaotian did not feel discouraged. In fact, his fighting spirit was up. Just you wait, Ye Qiu. I may be at a disadvantage, but that doesn't mean I will fall. However, the ending was expected, with One Autumn Leaf towering over Troubling Rain.
During the short break before the team competition, Blue Rain and Excellent Era were in their respective waiting rooms, revising their strategies and making sure that everyone is in peak condition. Once the break is over, the team challenge began.
Ever since Wu Xuefeng retired, Ye Xiu and the remaining few veterans worked hard on their team coordination, making sure to break in the new members of the team. After all, they are going to retire at the end of the season and need to handover to the future players. Despite all their efforts, the only new pro player who could coordinate flawlessly with Ye Xiu so far was Su Mucheng. For today's match, one of the remaining veterans would compete with Ye Xiu, while the other parked himself as the sixth player, insisting that he does not plan to go on stage, so they'd better win beautifully.
Ye Xiu smirked cheekily, "of course! We are the champion team! Just sit back and wait for victory to fall in your lap!"
Jingjing bopped his head, "don't get so cocky little captain! If you underestimate your opponents you will lose!"
"Okay okay granny." Ye Xiu smirked, as he danced out of Jingjing's reach. "Don't worry, I never underestimate my opponents." With that, they left the waiting room.
~after the match~
"Fck fck fck we lost!"
"Don't worry Shaotian, we'll win in the future. We are still not experienced enough." Yu Wenzhou consoled Huang Shaotian.
"I know, it's just...I'd wanted to defeat Ye Qiu, and show Boss Wei that he was right! Guess we still have to work harder…"
"Don't be down, Wei Chen is right. The future belongs to you young 'uns, so be brave! Be bold! It's okay to lose, to make mistakes, so long as you learn and grow." Xiaoming said, his eyes wistful. "Now, go get some rest in the waiting room, let us handle the press."
"Okay Shaotian, see you later." Yu Wenzhou said before following Wang Xiaoming out.
Huang Shaotian sat down in the waiting room, watching the live press conference and Yu Wenzhou smoothly answer the media's questions. Bored, he left the room, explaining that he needed some fresh air and will be back later.
As Huang Shaotian wandered along the corridors, thinking of the team challenge, he smelt cigarette smoke. Turning the corner, he saw someone smoking, wearing Excellent Era's jacket. Excellent Era? Don't tell me…
He walked up closer, and saw the young man whom he walked past just now en route to the washroom. His body slack and relaxed, his face tilted upwards as he exhaled the smoke. However, his honey brown eyes were bright, his soft lips curled into a smile, obviously contented with his current situation. His long, delicate fingers gently tapped away the cigarette ash, before lifting up the cigarette to smoke.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump… The world around them stilled, and in that moment, Huang Shaotian only had eyes for Ye Xiu. The noises faded into the background, the sound of his heartbeat filling his ears. As if he could hear Huang Shaotian's heartbeat, Ye Xiu turned around to face him. Huang Shaotian flushed, embarrassed to have been caught staring, and his mouth started spewing words before he could form a coherent thought.
"You are Ye Qiu right? Am I right am I right? Just you wait Ye Qiu, one day I'll defeat you!..."
(omitting the rest of the words because he was talking too much…)
Bombarded with so much words, Ye Xiu paused momentarily, but quickly composed himself. "You are Huang Shaotian? Blade Master Troubling Rain?"
"That's right! Let's PK PK PK!"
"Both of you played very well today. However, you should be more careful about the 'opportunities' that you seized. Sometimes, it is a trap laid by your opponents." Ye Xiu drew a breath of cigarette smoke, and continued, "Blue Rain still has a long way to go before you can defeat us." Ye Xiu smirked, snuffing out his cigarette.
"Fck! Let's PK PK PK!" Huang Shaotian was hopping mad. Damn, how dare he looked down on us! We'll show you! But...he looked so seductive when he smirked...gah! Calm down calm down! Blushing furiously, Huang Shaotian shook his head vigorously, as if to shake that idea out of his brain.
"Wei Chen will be proud. Blue Rain has a bright future." Ye Xiu added, heading back into the building.
Huang Shaotian stilled, his face bright red, his expression a mix between happiness and embarrassment. At that moment, he felt Cupid's arrow hit. I think I'm in love.
"Ye Qiu! Didn't I tell you not to anyhow run off without letting one of us know?! What if you got mobbed by your fans or the media?! Don't make us worry!" Jingjing hissed, a vein popping out of her forehead.
"Calm down, I'm already 22. Besides, I'm the captain, I don't have to report to anyone."
Sighing, Jingjing said, "yes, but you are still our little captain, so we will worry." She gave a wry smile. "Come, let's join the rest," Jingjing urged, ushering Ye Xiu back into the building, and caught sight of Blue Rain's new ace. Oh? Looks like our little captain has yet another admirer. Their eyes met, and she shot Huang Shaotian a knowing smirk before following Ye Xiu inside. Too bad I can't stay to watch the show.
...
As the years went by, Huang Shaotian continued chasing after Ye Xiu, under the pretense of "let's PK!" He knew that Ye Xiu has many admirers, his captain being one of them. However, they all pretended to be oblivious, maintaining the status quo. After all, Ye Xiu had a lot to worry about, especially since Excellent Era started isolating Ye Xiu due to his refusal to take part in any advertisements. No one wanted to add on to his worries. Thus, it came as a shock to all of them when Ye Xiu suddenly retired. Many spammed his QQ, trying to get ahold of him, but it was as if he vanished off the face of the earth.
Huang Shaotian was worried, and was one of the many who had spammed Ye Xiu's QQ, but life still rolled on. There were matches to play, championships to win. During his free time, in between trying to contact Ye Xiu, he cursed and swore at Liu Hao and the rest, displeased with their attitudes and treatment. Ye Qiu is the Battle God! The one who led Excellent Era to its consecutive championships! Yet, they forgot all the achievements and accolades he won for the club, choosing to kick him out due to his lack of commercial value! Despite his righteous anger, he had no way of speaking up for Ye Xiu. They are rivals, opponents on different sides of the battlefield. The only one who could speak up is Ye Xiu himself, but he stayed mum, allowing Excellent Era to push all the blame onto him.
One day, Ye Xiu PM-ed Huang Shaotian, asking him for his help. He was overjoyed. YES! When Ye Qiu's in trouble, he came to me! Hahaha, looks like my constant pestering paid off! He bounced in his seat, a smile spreading on his face. However, he controlled his thumping heart, and forced himself to calm down. I can't let captain or anyone else know! If not, there goes my advantage!
And so, he crept out late at night, after the match, heading to Happy Internet Cafe. He snuck around, worried that he would be exposed and mobbed by fans. When he saw a pretty girl rush out of the internet cafe, he fled. That was close! Stupid Ye Qiu, why did set the meeting place in an internet cafe?! Why can't it be anywhere else?! However, Huang Shaotian had no one to blame but himself. After all, he insisted on seeing Ye Xiu in person, because "he wanted to laugh at his predicament", or so he justified to himself. After a long while, he deemed it safe to return, pacing outside Happy Internet Cafe until he saw Ye Xiu.
He looks tired…but at least he's no longer surrounded by sharks. Huang Shaotian thought, his heart aching at the sight of Ye Xiu. Ba-dump, ba-dump… pop! His heart popped out of his chest, its eyes sparkling at the sight of Ye Xiu. It tried to drag Huang Shaotian towards Ye Xiu, but he held back. Nononono...I need to calm down!
"Shaotian?"
"Ye Qiu?!" In his astonishment, he released his grip on the heart and it zoomed towards Ye Xiu, clinging onto his hand. Thankfully, Ye Xiu seemed oblivious to it, and ushered Huang Shaotian into Happy, directing him to Area A.
Huang Shaotian tried to discreetly grab his heart, but failed. Upon finding out that Area A is isolated, he insisted Ye Xiu seat next to him. Sighing, Ye Xiu asked Tang Rou to temporarily cover for him, and sat down next to Huang Shaotian. His heart was bursting with happiness, doing flips and loops in the air. It spelled out the word, "confess!" over and over again. Embarrassed, he started bombarding Ye Xiu with questions, but Ye Xiu stalled by saying he will explain after the record is set. His heart paused, understanding that they have a record to set, and stopped disturbing him.
Throughout the dungeon, Huang Shaotian chattered non-stop, occasionally sneaking peaks at Ye Xiu. Thankfully (maybe not), Ye Xiu was too focused on explaining to notice.
"Ready?"
"Of course."
They entered the dungeon, and began setting the record.
When the party defeated the final boss, both Su Mucheng and Tang Rou left their seats, unable to stand Huang Shaotian's chatter, while Steamed Bun went off to PK in the arena. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Huang Shaotian turned to continue pestering Ye Xiu, but the words died in his mouth. His heart, which settled down once Ye Xiu and co. started running the dungeon, had made a nest in Ye Xiu's hair, its face contented. Ye Xiu, who had removed his headset to take a break, belatedly realised that the chatterbox was sitting next to him, so if he wanted to escape the noise (HST: Hey! I resent that!), he would need to leave his seat. Rapidly making up an excuse in his mind, Ye Xiu turned to Huang Shaotian.
"..."
Huang Shaotian was trying to catch his heart without letting Ye Xiu know, but the moment Ye Xiu turned to face him, he froze, his outstretched hand reaching for Ye Xiu's head. Embarrassed, Huang Shaotian blushed furiously, rattling off sentences like a machine gun.
"Hahaha it's nothing Old Ye just trying to brush off some dust that fell into your hair hahaha I'm such a caring friend-" his words came to an abrupt halt, his eyes widened in shock.
His defiant heart, seeing that Huang Shaotian was frozen in place, decided to make full use of the opportunity to eat tofu(2), rubbing its cheek against Ye Xiu's face. Huang Shaotian blushed, his face burning up. Stupid heart! He pounced on the heart, but it slipped through his fingers, darting out of his reach. However, Ye Xiu was not so fortunate, and bore the full brunt of Huang Shaotian's weight. They nearly toppled over, but luckily didn't.
"..." Ye Xiu was shocked by their sudden kiss.
"..." Huang Shaotian was blushing furiously. We kissed we kissed WE KISSED! OMG that blew my mind what do I do what do I do WHAT DO I DO?! Deepen the kiss? ...Mmmm his lips are so soft...
"...I'm sorry, I didn't know the two of you were busy. Please, continue." Tang Rou said, and quickly made herself scarce. She had come over to ask Ye Xiu if he wanted some water, but instantly regretted her decision. No wonder he chose such an isolated corner.
Wait Little Tang it was an accident! Ye Xiu wailed in his heart, watching the pretty girl escape at the speed of light.
Seeing Ye Xiu's expression, Huang Shaotian's heart cracked, and broke into two. Huang Shaotian pushed himself away from Ye Xiu, and said, "hahaha sorry Old Ye I didn't mean to. It was just an accident!" He laughed awkwardly, eyes refusing to meet Ye Xiu's.
Noticing Huang Shaotian's crestfallen expression, Ye Xiu sighed. He guessed that Shaotian had affections for him, just like all the other pro players. You think you can hide it from me? Those eyes of yours are a dead giveaway. Just because I wasn't facing you doesn't mean that I can't tell. But then again, if I didn't like you in a platonic manner, you wouldn't even have the chance to come near me.
"...I don't dislike you… ...it was...unexpected… and caught me off guard." Seeing that Huang Shaotian stayed mum and kept his eyes on the ground, he added, "...just...give me some time to think, alright?"
The two halves came together. It was still cracked, but there was hope. Huang Shaotian looked up at Ye Xiu, his eyes vulnerable. "Does...does this mean you like me? You...you are willing to give me a chance?"
Ye Xiu nodded. "If I didn't have any feelings for you, you think I'd have let you stayed for so long?" He smirked, in that irritating yet endearing way at Huang Shaotian. "It's just that, the we are very busy right now, you with the matches and me, with my return. I can't give you an answer immediately, but...once this season is over, I'll allow you to woo me."
Huang Shaotian's face lit up, and he smiled broadly, showing off his fanged tooth. "I'll hold you to that! You will definitely fall for me!" Shamelessly, he pecked Ye Xiu on his lips. "It's a promise!"
"Okay okay now you need to go back. I don't want Wenzhou to come after me for your poor condition." Ye Xiu started shooing Huang Shaotian, embarrassed by the sudden kiss.
"Don't worry Ye Qiu, I'll protect you when that time comes." Grinning brilliantly, Huang Shaotian logged off Flowing Tree, and left Happy Internet Cafe on cloud nine.
...Damn! I forgot to ask him to return the Vampiric Light Saber! And the internet fee! Oh well, I'll get it back in the future. Smiling stupidly, Ye Xiu logged off Lord Grim, and went back to his post, thanking Tang Rou for covering his duties. She smiled knowingly, replying that it was no problem, and asked if Ye Xiu wanted to continue dungeoning. Ye Xiu nodded his head, and both plunged back into the tenth server, ready to wreak more havoc.
(1) Spike trap is NOT a gunner skill. However, the character can use skills not related to its class if the skill was applied/set(?) onto the silver weapon. (idk if it's a spoiler…)
(2) Eat tofu: a Chinese saying which means taking advantage of someone, either physically or sexually e.g. accidentally touching the hand of your crush when you are squeezed together on the bus.