Hong Kong x Reader ~ Mid-Autumn Festival

Tonight was the night of the long-anticipated Mid-Autumn Festival. It was your first time ever going to one, since this was only your second year living in Hong Kong. You had come here to study in hopes of building a better future for yourself, but also to explore new things and cultures. Last year when the Festival came around, you were too busy working to attend. This year, however, you had carefully made sure everything was in perfect order so that you could finally experience this cultural tradition.

“Knock, knock.”

You were almost jumping up and down with excitement as you rushed to answer the door.

“Woah, there.” Kaoru said with a slightly shocked expression. You had flung the door open so quickly that he had to sidestep out of the way and jump backwards to avoid being smacked in the face by your front door.

“Sorry, I guess I'm guess I'm just really excited.” You apologized sheepishly, slightly embarrassed to have came withing centimeters of accidentally faceplanting your best friend into the door.

“It's okay, I assume you're ready, then?” He inquired.

“You're darn right I'm ready!” You grinned. You had actually known Kaoru before moving to Hong Kong, you two had met in college a few years ago when he came to your country to study abroad. Not long after he finished his courses and returned to Hong Kong was when you decided to expand your knowledge and also study abroad. Now he acted as your personal tour guide, helping you to experience his homeland at it's fullest, even teaching you some Cantonese. You'd never admit it, but you relied on him to help you survive alone in a foreign country.

“Shall we go, then?” Kaoru asked, extending a hand to you.

You nodded and took his hand, swiftly leading him out the door.

~*~

When you arrived at the park where the festivities would be held, you were shocked by the sheer amounts of people there. What felt like vast multitudes of people all lined the streets, some were dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, while others munched on these curious-looking little round snacks.

You clung to Kaoru's arm for dear life, not wanting to be swept away by the bustling sea of crowds. “Hong Kong is so crowded... it's so different from where I come from...” You mumbled to no one in particular.

“Do you miss home sometimes?” He asked, raising a curious -though somewhat bushy- eyebrow at you.

“Occasionally.” You confided. “But, I really love it here. It's exciting, fun, and everything is so beautiful here. It never gets boring like it did back home. I really love this place.” You looked upwards toward the sky to view the real star of the show, the full moon. “Even the moon seems prettier here.”

“Hm, that reminds me of something.” He said and began guiding and weaving you through the masses of people before coming to a stop in front of a little booth selling these odd little round pastries.

“Hey, what are these cute little cakes?” You said curiously, pointing at the popular snacks. They were crimped around the sides and had a strange emblem on top that looked like some sort of flower with something written in Chinese in the center.

“They're called Mooncakes.” He clarified, passing a cake to you. “They're a popular treat eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They're very good, try one.”

Curiously you nibbled on the round pastry, savoring its sweet and delicate flavor. Your eyes lit up instantly and you gave him a wide grin. “These are delicious!”

“Told you,” He joked, causing you to giggle at his childishness.

You were just about to take another bite of your mooncake when you noticed a bright golden orb float by. You did a double-take to make sure you weren't going loony and seeing things, which was a very real possibility in this case considering that you hadn't slept in two days because you were so excited about the festival. Soon you noticed more and more floating orbs of light, quickly recognizing them to be paper lanterns. They were everywhere; filling the sky with a warm soft glow.

“Wow,” You beamed in awe and admiration, “They're so beautiful... amazing...”

Your eyes glittered when you saw a lantern in the shape of a certain white cat float by. “Kaoru, look, that one's shaped like Hello Kitty!” You giggled, pointing at the familiar-looking object.

Kaoru deadpanned. “That guy...” he groaned.

You both cracked up. In the several years that you'd known Kaoru, you'd become quite familiar with him and his, well, unique relatives. One of them in particular was Yao, who always kept his hair in a neat ponytail and had a soft spot for cute things. This peculiar, out-of-place and oddly adorable lantern was obviously his doing, and you both knew it.

Speaking of Yao, where was he? Wasn't he supposed to be here too?

“Hey, where's Yao?” You asked.

“The idiot got stuck running a mooncake stand tonight.” Kaoru replied rather bluntly.

“Oh...” You trailed off, fixating yourself on a dragon-shaped lantern that was floating past.

“Hey ______, do you... like that guy?” He asked suddenly, staring off into the waves of people and lanterns, avoiding your gaze.

You froze. “W-what do you mean? Who? Yao? Of course I like him, he's a good friend like you, plus he's your brother...” You knew full well what he meant, but you didn't want to answer right away, so you decided to tell a white lie to purchase yourself some more precious time to carefully plan out and think over your response.

“You know what I mean...”

Darn it. He knew you too well.

“Like, do you have... feelings for him?” He replied in monotone, not wavering his eyes from the bustling streets.

You paused. Why would he ask such a bizarre question at a time like this?

As you began to ponder and reflect upon your true feelings, something suddenly struck you like a giant tidal wave. It was Kaoru who had always been there for you back home, it was Kaoru who helped you out when you were all alone in a foreign country, and it was Kaoru who protected you when you felt vulnerable and unsure. Looking back, he was most likely the real reason why you had decided to study in Hong Kong. You had missed him greatly after he left, and coming to Hong Kong was the only way to ever see him again. Since meeting him, you'd lost all interest in dating or other guys in general. And you were sure that Yao was no exception.

Then it all hit you at once, with what seemed to be the force of a thousand tempest hurricanes.

You were in love with Kaoru.

'How have I been so ignorant to my own emotions all this time,' you thought. 'How could I be so dense to not even realize that I was in love.'

“...______?”

You jumped when you heard your name, effectively snapping you out of your trance. “Yeah?”

“I'm sorry, you don't have to answer if you don't want to...” He seemed... disappointed. Dejected even.

“No, it's okay,” You sighed, shaking your head. “I don't mind at all.”

He looked at you seriously. “So do you have feelings for him or not?”

Shooting him a quizzical look, you answered in the most calm way possible, “Other than feelings of respect and friendship... No.”

His normally emotionless eyes lit up for just a second in surprise. “Really? Most girls fall for his responsible attitude and girlish charms.”

He had a point there. There were some instances where you weren't entirely convinced that Yao was in fact a male, but you figured that he just had girlish tendencies and you would take his word for it.

“Most girls don't even pay attention to me.” Kaoru sighed, almost inaudible amongst the mixed murmurs of the people polluting the air.

“Maybe I'm just not like most girls.” You said with an affirmative smile.

“Somehow, I knew you were going to say that.” He mused aloud, a tiny smile pricking at his lips.

“Hey, can we go get more mooncakes?” You asked out of the blue, abruptly changing the topic of discussion. Now that you knew how you really felt about him, the atmosphere between you just felt... awkward.

“Sure, that's perfect, I was actually thinking the same thing.”

After the two of you had made your way to the mooncake booth, you noticed that he didn't pay over the counter for them, but instead walked around to the back to retrieve the delicious pastries. When he quickly reappeared carrying two mooncakes, you didn't hesitate to question him. “Hey, did you pay for those?”

“No, I had these already prepared, I actually made them myself at home before coming here. Here, this one's yours.” He said, handing you one of the cakes.

“...You didn't slip anything weird in here, did you?” You glared.

He paused for a moment and you swear you caught a glimpse of a smirk creep across his face, which honestly scared you a little bit. “Just try it.”

You wasted no time biting into the yummy pastry. The first bite was smooth and rich and exploding with flavor, and you looked up at Kaoru with a wide grin. “This mooncake is amazing! I'm genuinely impressed that you know how to bake such a wonderful and complex treat, they look like a pain to make.”

“They are,” He confirmed. “But I did have that idiot's help.”

You chuckled before taking another big bite of your mooncake. And another. And another. And another. Until... wait, what was that you just tasted?!

You jumped and coughed out whatever bits of cake you had left in your mouth. Staring down at your mooncake you noticed something thin and white poking out of the edge where you had been so diligently noshing on. You pulled on it slowly to reveal that it was a tiny slip of paper and stared at the foreign object in disgust.

“Care to explain?” You said, waggling the small piece of paper between your thumb and forefinger.

“Read it.” He said, shifting uncomfortably.

You squinted your eyes to get a closer look, and sure enough you could discern that there were a couple of words written on the slip of paper. It was hard to read because the letters were slightly dissolved and faded, presumably from being suspended in mooncake filling and baked until golden brown, but eventually you were able to decipher what it said:

'Look up.'

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion but did as you were told. But before you could protest or say anything, Kaoru swiftly lifted your chin up with his hands and captured your lips with his own.

Your immediate mental response was “What the heck!” and for a few brief moments you were completely frozen where you stood. But as time passed, your emotions kicked in and you slipped your eyes closed and responded to the kiss. The excitement of the festival was forgotten, the noise of all the people faded to silence, and the rest of the mooncake was left uneaten. In that one fleeting moment, the whole world felt like it had just melted away.

“I love you, ______.”

“I love you too, Kaoru.” You smiled. “I think I always have.”

Kaoru then did something that he rarely did – He smiled. Just for you.