title: Choose Your Own Adventure
fandom: Guardian
characters: Zhu Hong, Lin Jing, Da Qing
length: ~,1,000 words
contents: SPOILERS, third part in my spoilers don't do as they're told series, timey-wimey, AU

Summary: Wherein a second Zhu Hong arrives far too early in the morning, and an argument ensues.



Mornings at Bright Street usually come with some amount of grumbling. Punctuality isn’t exactly a trait Chief Zhao prizes in the hiring process -- or rewards on a regular basis after -- so the team tends to trickle in slowly and groggily as their various sleep schedules allow.

Zhu Hong waves a hand in Wang Zheng’s direction without making eye contact and drops her purse onto her desk. She barely registers the sound of raised voices; by this time, she can recognize the difference between real trouble and drama by tone alone, and this is definitely drama. She stifles a yawn.

She’s halfway to the coffee maker before she recognizes one of the raised voices as her own.

“I can’t believe they gave it to you!”

“And why not? You think you’re a better choice?”

Zhu Hong takes a deep breath and makes an executive decision: coffee before drama. She makes sure she has a firm grip on the cup before she turns to look up the balcony.

That’s definitely her, or a version of her, up there arguing with Da Qing. Or a version of Da Qing? She doesn’t think she’s ever seen their Da Qing in a Yashou formal jacket, even if it’s draped over his usual overalls. He looks good. Petulant, but good.

Future Zhu Hong is wearing one of her nicer jackets, too. Too nice for a day at the office, at any rate.

It’s a little jarring to see herself from the outside like this. The woman over there is some other person, obviously. Who just happens to look and dress and sound exactly like Zhu Hong.

But it’s only a little weird. Who knew you could get used to time travel?

“You know what?” Da Qing is still yelling. “I don’t even want this job. You can have it!”

“Oh no, you’re not foisting it off on me just because you’re too lazy!”

They’re too engrossed in their argument to even look down.

Zhu Hong drifts over to where Lin Jing is draped across his own desk, head buried in his arms. He’s still in yesterday’s clothes, again, with shrimp cracker dust in his hair. Ewww.

“What is it this time?” she asks him, keeping half an eye on the balcony.

Lin Jing blinks blearily up at her. “Something about Yashou leadership? I don’t know, they’ve been at it for half an hour now.”

“Is Da Qing here yet?”

“He was, but he left as soon as they started.” Lin Jing lets his head flop back down, face buried in the crook of his elbow so that his next words are muffled. “Don’t think he wanted to get stuck with it.”

Typical cat. Zhu Hong thinks back through what she’s heard so far. She probably doesn’t want to get stuck with... whatever this is, either. But Chief Zhao wouldn’t have sent them back in time if it didn’t need to get done.

... he wouldn’t have sent them back in time together if they weren’t both needed, either.

Zhu Hong presses closer to Lin Jing’s desk, frowning as a terrible thought occurs to her. “Are they from different futures?”

Lin Jing freezes.

“They are, aren’t they?”

Lin Jing lets out a loud, obviously fake snore.

Zhu Hong grabs his ear and jerks him upright.

“Ow! Ow, that hurts! Okay, yes, you’re right--”

“Didn’t you say this couldn’t happen?” Lin Jing is trying to scrabble backwards, but her grip on his ear holds him in place. “That there’s only ever one timeline?”

“Um, ow, Hong-jie--”

“That it’s not possible to end up with more than one, because that would be... Dangerous?”

“That’s not exactly what I said -- Ow! Come on, Hong-jie, please--”

Zhu Hong twists his ear harder. “The timeline stabilizes itself, you said.”

“Okay, you’re right, I did say that,” he says, and Zhu Hong takes pity enough to let him go.

Lin Jing drops right back into his chair, hand wrapped protectively around his ear. “This’ll probably stabilize out, too, you know--”

“I don’t know, and neither do you!”

Zhu Hong realizes she’s yelling when the noise on the balcony stops. Four startled eyes turn to her.

“Why is everyone here such an idiot!” She wants to kick over her chair, or throw something, or just scream her head off, but someone has to act like a responsible adult. She keeps telling them to be careful about time travel, but no, the couldn't listen to her, could they?

“You two! Write your secrets down on a sheet of paper and then get back where you came from. I don’t want to hear another word out of you!”

Future Da Qing just shrugs and slinks off, muttering under his breath. Future Zhu Hong glares. “Someone has to stop Ya Qing.”

“Ya Qing? What does she have to do with... you know what, never mind.” Zhu Hong glares back at herself. “You can write that down, too. We’ll take care of it after you’re gone!”

Twenty minutes later, Zhu Hong is back at her desk with two pieces of paper, each sealed into an envelope so she doesn’t see them accidentally. She doesn’t especially want to open them on purpose, either. She doesn't know which future she wants.

At least the world hasn’t ended yet. That’s a good thing, as Lin Jing pointed out from the safety of the other side of the room. Even if he doesn’t understand how this point in time could lead to two different futures. Their resident science expert is baffled. As usual. Why would she ever think otherwise?

Zhu Hong remembers the first time, when Chief Zhao and xiao-Guo came through that first portal. It was so startling! They looked like they knew what they were doing!

She shakes her head. No one here knows what the hell they’re doing, damn it. But if the Crow Tribe is involved in the rebellion in Dixing, then someone does, in fact, have to stop Ya Qing.

Zhu Hong knows she’s got a decision to make -- even if she doesn’t know what it is. Even if she can’t possibly know what the consequences are. She, or Da Qing, have to do something. Whatever that is.

At the very least, one of them is going to have to open an envelope and get a message from the future. For all the good it'll do.

Time travel was supposed to make things simpler. She should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.