Page 104 of From Beijing, With Love

“Can I kiss you?” Yang stole the words out of Daniel’s head.

Another question that was so much bigger than the sum of its parts, making Daniel lose his balance. And again, Yang simply waited, giving him the room to process all the thoughts that swarmed in his head—all the what-ifs.

When he finally remembered to nod, Yang leaned in and kissed him. A slow and lingering kiss that was soft but assured, the kind given by someone who was very certain of what he wanted.

When they pulled apart, the floral display had changed from cherry blossoms to sunflowers, basking them in a golden glow. It reminded Daniel of Vincent van Gogh and the Netherlands—the country he had called home for a decade. Where he was due to return in two days. That was the reality, and it hadn’t changed.

Then he looked at Yang’s face with all its sharp angles and soft lines and remembered those three little words. Wo ai ni. How brave Yang must have been to overcome his own demons, to travel across the fucking continent, to have told Daniel he loved him in their last call.

Daniel wished he was brave too. Brave enough to ask for what he wanted and know he was good enough to deserve it.

Be brave.

“When you said we didn’t have to say goodbye, did you mean today or ever?” Daniel asked, his breath shallow.

Yang was quiet for a moment. His lips parted before he closed them, as if swallowing the words. Then he took a deep breath. There was an open vulnerability when his eyes met Daniel’s, and there was nothing more beautiful.

“For as long as you’ll have me, I’m yours,” Yang said.

“But how will we …”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“Okay” was all Daniel managed to say, because he had to kiss Yang then, like someone cashing in the million-dollar lottery ticket before it got snatched away. When he pulled away, he remembered something. “You broke your promise. You weren’t supposed to tell me you love me.”

“I’m sorry,” Yang said with zero contrition and a mischievous smile, his dimples making a reappearance. “I promise to make it up to you.”

“Wo ai ni,” Daniel said. He had practiced those three syllables over and over again in his head since learning their true meaning. And he wasn’t the least bit self-conscious about his pronunciation, knowing that even if he butchered the words, it’d be okay. Yang made everything okay.

“I love you too,” Yang answered without hesitation, like he had been waiting for it.

Then Daniel kissed him again, because he could. Because Yang loved him. Their kiss had the salty edge of tears, Daniel wasn’t sure whose. Maybe from them both.

Afterward, they lay on their backs with their fingers entwined and watched the flowers fall all around them. Lifting Daniel’s hand to his lips, Yang kissed each knuckle, chasing away the lingering worry in Daniel’s head. Sure, they didn’t have everything figured out, but they would make it work because they loved each other.

That was enough.

The display above them changed from golden sunflowers to red maple, reminding Daniel of Canada—his first home. It dawned on him then that the floral display was showing the four seasons.

He thought about the bookmarks depicting the four seasons of the Great Wall, where their story had started. Yang seemed to make the same realization, as he gave Daniel’s hand a squeeze.

Daniel knew it in his heart then—home wasn’t a place. It was a person.

Because with Yang, he was home.

EPILOGUEYang

Yang smiled as the glass doors of the baggage hall glided open. He knew Daniel would be waiting on the other side, like he had been every single time Yang had flown to Amsterdam in the past year and a half.

The noise of the busy airport faded as he spotted Daniel just beyond the crowd, in a beige trench coat that glistened from the rain. As the other travelers streamed past him with their luggage, Yang stood there, taking a moment to gather himself. Even after the newness had worn off, Daniel still had a way of making him feel like he had a belly full of dancing butterflies, blooming flowers, and all the other cheesy clichés in the world. He couldn’t believe his damn luck that Daniel was in his life.

And that they’d made it.

A year and a half after the day they’d met in the lobby of Hotel Alium in Beijing, they were finally going to be living in the same city. The same home.

“Hey,” Yang said as he walked up to Daniel. He loved the way Daniel’s open-book face lit up when he saw him. Every single time.

Daniel greeted him with a kiss, which Yang happily received. He was still cognizant of who was around them and whether it was safe for them to be themselves, but Amsterdam was a good place for that. Actually, it might be one of the best.