Qiu Nuoya was terrible at dealing with this kind of heavy atmosphere, but he knew that he and Viktor needed to sit down and speak honestly with each other at least once. Turning to face Viktor, he spoke frankly.
"Honestly, Viktor, you really are selfish..."
The moment Qiu Nuoya said those words without sugarcoating them, Viktor flinched. He lowered his head and murmured, "I know."
"You’re supposed to be the oldest among us, yet you keep acting like a child. And now you’ve even made a child who hasn’t properly grown up yet feel like he has to tiptoe around your feelings. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?"
Silence fell once again.
Qiu Nuoya waited quietly, watching Viktor’s reaction. After a while, Viktor finally spoke in a low voice.
"...Even I don’t know what I’m supposed to do."
"Ever since I met you, I’ve found myself unable to control my emotions."
Viktor quietly admitted that, after spending so much of his life avoiding personal relationships, he no longer knew how to manage his own feelings.
"I know I’m being childish. I understand that I’m acting in ways that fall far short of how a mature adult should behave. But I simply cannot suppress these feelings."
"Being an adult means learning to control those feelings."
"If acting like a mature adult means watching the person I love get taken away from me right before my eyes, then I have no desire to become an adult at all!"
"...Was that a lesson you learned from having Qiu Tailang taken away from you right in front of your eyes?"
Viktor’s face twisted with frustration, so Qiu Nuoya had probably hit a nerve.
"I’m not Qiu Tailang. And Warren isn’t King Warrington, either."
"I know that!"
"No, you don’t, Viktor. If you really understood that, you wouldn’t keep refusing to trust me like this."
"I..."
Viktor began to say something, but Qiu Nuoya cut him off and continued.
"But... maybe I’m just as much to blame. I’ve been taking your affection for granted without ever saying anything about how I feel."
"Huh...?"
"But you’re at fault too, Viktor! You’re always looking at Qiu Tailang when you look at me, aren’t you? I really, really hated that!"
"Nuoya... What are you...?"
"You see, I’m the kind of person who absolutely cannot tolerate cheating."
"What?"
"I’ve never really been in a relationship before, so I have no idea how to handle one. I’m no good at playing romantic games, either. I’m afraid of being betrayed, and I’m afraid of disappointing someone. I’m such a coward that sometimes I even think I’d be happier if I just stayed the way I am now. I’ve always been pretty pessimistic about romance, so..."
Qiu Nuoya had rattled all of that off in one breath, but for some reason, he suddenly felt terribly embarrassed.
At this point, the only thing left to do was say it outright. Yet the words refused to come out properly.
"So...?"
"...! That’s why... I’ve always been scared to put my feelings into words, but..."
Qiu Nuoya took a deep breath.
"I love you, Viktor! I won’t betray you! So you have to trust me!"
"!!"
Uaaaaah! He actually said it! He finally said the word ’love’ out loud!
Ahhhhh, confessing your feelings is ridiculously embarrassing!
Qiu Nuoya could not bring himself to look at Viktor. He could barely even lift his head.
And yet, Viktor showed absolutely no reaction to his confession.
Qiu Nuoya kept his head bowed, unable to look up, while Viktor remained completely silent.
The awkward silence continued for so long that Qiu Nuoya began to wonder what he should do.
Then, one drop fell to the floor.
And then another.
When Qiu Nuoya looked up in surprise, he saw Viktor quietly crying, not even bothering to wipe away his tears.
The tears falling gently down Viktor’s face were so beautiful that Qiu Nuoya could only stare at him in astonishment, unable to utter a word.
"You’re welcome to laugh at me for being such a pathetic grown man," Viktor said with a wry smile.
"Huh? No, I wouldn’t laugh at you... Are you okay?"
"Of course I’m not okay! Thanks to you, Nuoya, my emotions are on the verge of complete collapse. I can’t even stop myself from crying. What are you going to do about this?"
"S-Sorry...?"
Huh? Why is he making me apologize? Was this actually my fault?
"Nuoya..."
"Yes?"
"I believe you."
Viktor took Qiu Nuoya’s hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. Then he moved to his palm. Feeling increasingly embarrassed, Qiu Nuoya tried to pull his hand away, but for some reason, Viktor suddenly sank his teeth into his wrist.
"Ow! That hurts!"
"As you probably already know, I am an extremely jealous man."
Still holding Qiu Nuoya’s arm, Viktor stared intently at him.
Why would you say something like that right after telling me you trust me!? I already know perfectly well how jealous you are!
"I believe you, but from now on, as your lover, I will forbid you from casually coming into contact with anyone other than me."
"Wha...?"
"That means no holding hands, of course, and no letting anyone else pick you up, either."
"....."
Huh? Has anything actually changed? If anything, I think things have gotten worse!
"Viktor! You really don’t trust me after all!"
"This has nothing to do with whether I trust you! You’re far too defenseless. I’m simply saying that, as your lover, I cannot allow you to continue behaving that way!"
"D-Don’t think you can get away with saying whatever you want just because we’re lovers!"
Whether or not Viktor had even heard Qiu Nuoya’s desperate outburst, he once again pressed his lips against the bite mark on Qiu Nuoya’s wrist, looking thoroughly satisfied with himself.
Qiu Nuoya had finally told someone who had repeatedly confessed his love for him that he loved him too.
Until now, Qiu Nuoya had deliberately kept their relationship ambiguous. However, Viktor had been picking fights with practically everyone, seemingly all in the name of protecting Qiu Nuoya. So Qiu Nuoya had finally confessed his feelings outright, telling him to trust him, promising that he would never betray him, and declaring that he loved Viktor and had no intention of belonging to anyone else.