title: headlong
fandom: Guardian
words: ~1,500
pairings: Da Qing & Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
contents: spoilers through episode 6-ish; AU: soulmarks; tattoos; head-games as flirting; platonic nudity; innuendo; plays loosely with the canon timeline
Summary: Zhao Yunlan knows a trap when he sees one.
Zhao Yunlan knows a trap when he sees one.
Watching the sunlight flare off Shen Wei’s glasses, listening to him say 'Oh, I just moved in here' while standing in front of Yunlan’s own building -- it has the hair standing up on the back of Yunlan’s neck like the fight’s about to start.
It won’t; whatever Shen Wei’s trying to lead him into isn’t a fight, he’s sure of that. But it’s still a trap. So he makes the right polite noises, and tugs on Da Qing’s elbow when the cat starts to ask questions. Shen Wei is too well-prepared for this encounter; he won’t drop any clues he doesn’t mean to.
Shen Wei ducks his head as he turns to go, the way he does when he’s hiding a smile, and Yunlan feels… taunted. Provoked.
He doesn’t know if his first impulse is a smart one or just running headlong into trouble. But he knows what he wants to do. Shen Wei had his briefcase; if he’s headed to class, they should have enough time to get in and out before he gets back.
So Yunlan hurries Da Qing back to their apartment and closes the door firmly behind them before pulling out his phone. Yes, they just watched Shen Wei leave the complex, but the man has a habit of turning up in unexpected places, and Yunlan wants to be certain this conversation isn’t overheard.
Lin Jing answers on the third ring. “Boss?”
“Yeah.” Yunlan tosses his keys onto the table and toes off his shoes while he talks, juggling the phone from hand to hand so he can take off his jacket. “I need Professor Shen's new address.”
Da Qing makes a face at him and slouches down onto the arm of the couch. He’s just as sweaty as Yunlan after their run, and usually would take every opportunity to grab the first shower, but has apparently decided that eavesdropping is more fun today.
“Sure thing.” Lin Jing doesn’t argue, for once responding correctly to Zhao Yunlan’s impatient tone. “Doesn't he live on campus?”
“Not any more.”
Yunlan waves at the cat -- get moving -- but Da Qing just snaps his teeth and sinks further down against the couch.
“Huh.” Yunlan hears the clack of a keyboard at the other end get louder as Lin Jing hunches over it. “If his move is that recent, this could take a while.”
“Text it to me when you have it.” Yunlan drops his phone onto the table with his keys and heads into the bedroom to grab clean clothes.
When he gets back, Da Qing has finally moved -- to lounge in the bathroom doorway, blocking his path.
“You have something to say?”
Da Qing scowls with his whole body, face squeezed up and shoulders pulled in tight. “I thought you'd decided to trust Professor Shen.”
Da Qing likes to see the world in black and white, Yunlan knows. His friends are good people; his enemies are bad. It’s hard for the cat to adjust his opinion of someone, and he hates it when Yunlan wobbles.
“I did.” Yunlan pushes past him into the bathroom, Da Qing and his scowl now pointed at him in the mirror. “I can’t help it if he keeps acting suspicious.”
“Moving house is suspicious?”
“It is when we’re this far from the university.”
Da Qing plants himself stubbornly on the edge of the sink, glaring. Yunlan mentally laughs at the idea that this would stop him from showering, and strips out of his shirts. Da Qing’s the one who taught him the value of applied shamelessness in the first place.
Yunlan catches sight of himself in the mirror. Not bad. He’s still wiry, but his time in the gym shows in the curve of muscles around those bones. His body is what he’s made of it, down to the brilliant colors of the tattoos that cover his chest and circle his shoulders. He absently rubs a thumb across the red-crowned crane flying over his heart; the first one, the most important one, hidden among all the others.
Yunlan shucks the rest of his clothes and ducks into the shower as soon as the water is warm enough. Da Qing’s voice follows him from the other side of the curtain.
“Maybe the Professor doesn't like it when you don’t call him for a week!”
Yunlan snorts out a laugh. “You think he moved in a week?”
Da Qing doesn’t answer. Yunlan grabs the soap and hurries. He’s got a grumpy, sweaty cat in a steamy bathroom, losing an argument. This won’t stay peaceful for long.
Sure enough, the shower curtain is suddenly tugged aside, and Da Qing wedges himself into the shower stall behind Yunlan.
“Hey!”
Da Qing’s arms snake around him, into the hot spray. “You were taking too long,” he grumbles, grabbing the soap out of Yunlan’s hands.
“Damn cat.” But Yunlan shuffles forward enough for some of the water to pass over his shoulder.
Da Qing plasters himself against Yunlan’s back, smooth skin and bony knees pressing into him. It’s as much a comfort as an annoyance. “You said you like him.”
“I do.” He does; that’s part of the problem. Shen Wei makes it hard to think clearly. “He's cute.”
Da Qing huffs, breath hot against Yunlan’s neck. “Is that why you want his address? Gonna yowl outside his window?”
Yunlan tips his head into the spray, eyes closed against the urge to roll them so hard. “That doesn't work with humans.”
Da Qing snickers. “I think he'd let you in. “
“That's what I'm afraid of.” That Shen Wei would invite him in. That he’d accept, and regret it in the morning. Yunlan finishes rinsing off and climbs out of the shower, rather than say more.
Da Qing snorts from the other side of the shower curtain, but lets him get away with it. “So why do you need his address? You want to send flowers?”
“I want to search his apartment.”
There’s no immediate response from the cat, and Yunlan congratulates himself. If it surprises Da Qing, maybe it isn’t what Shen Wei is expecting, either. He grabs a towel from the rack and sniffs it. Clean enough.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“You don't trust him.” Da Qing says it like a cat contemplating changing his mind, and Yunlan doesn’t want that, either. He isn’t ready to declare Shen Wei an enemy, and the poor professor is definitely not ready for the mayhem Da Qing would unleash upon him.
“Maybe I just want to get my hands on his underwear,” Yunlan offers, distraction and olive branch at the same time.
Da Qing huffs again. “Clean or dirty?”
“Pervert!” Yunlan slaps a hand at the shower curtain, rattling the hooks loudly. He is not imagining sniffing Shen Wei’s worn clothes, he is not blushing, and this conversation is not happening. “I'm not the one who likes to roll on old socks.”
“You're missing out.” Da Qing sighs dramatically. “Bet he'd smell good if you rolled him.”
“Stop that!” Yunlan wraps the towel around his waist and considers fleeing the bathroom. If he runs fast enough, he could pretend his flush is exertion. “Professor Shen is a scholar of great renown and dignity.”
The water shuts off before Yunlan can make up his mind, and Da Qing pokes his head out from behind the curtain. “You're the one who wants to paw his underthings.”
“I want to trust him,” Yunlan admits, all the humor dropping out of him. His heart wants to trust Shen Wei, entirely without his agreement or permission. Even when Shen Wei keeps proving that he shouldn’t. “But he's hiding something.”
“Then we'll find out what it is.” Da Qing climbs out of the shower and shakes himself like a dog before reaching for a second towel. “If it's bad, I'll claw his eyes out for you.”
The cat grins like he’s joking, but his hand strokes Yunlan’s shoulder as he pushes past, unerringly brushing the cicada nestled there. It was his second tattoo; twin to the one on Da Qing’s arm, but Yunlan’s is nothing more than pretty ink.
Yunlan used to wonder what it would’ve been like, if his soulmark ceremony had revealed that one instead of the crane. If he and Da Qing weren’t just sworn friends, but a true match. It took him years to realize it wouldn’t make a difference -- Da Qing will always have his back.
Even when it comes to breaking and entering.
Yunlan’s phone chimes in the other room, and anticipation surges through him. He has no idea what they’ll discover in Shen Wei’s apartment, but he’s ready to find out.
(Part two is up! reckless @![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fan_flashworks)
fandom: Guardian
words: ~1,500
pairings: Da Qing & Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
contents: spoilers through episode 6-ish; AU: soulmarks; tattoos; head-games as flirting; platonic nudity; innuendo; plays loosely with the canon timeline
Summary: Zhao Yunlan knows a trap when he sees one.
Zhao Yunlan knows a trap when he sees one.
Watching the sunlight flare off Shen Wei’s glasses, listening to him say 'Oh, I just moved in here' while standing in front of Yunlan’s own building -- it has the hair standing up on the back of Yunlan’s neck like the fight’s about to start.
It won’t; whatever Shen Wei’s trying to lead him into isn’t a fight, he’s sure of that. But it’s still a trap. So he makes the right polite noises, and tugs on Da Qing’s elbow when the cat starts to ask questions. Shen Wei is too well-prepared for this encounter; he won’t drop any clues he doesn’t mean to.
Shen Wei ducks his head as he turns to go, the way he does when he’s hiding a smile, and Yunlan feels… taunted. Provoked.
He doesn’t know if his first impulse is a smart one or just running headlong into trouble. But he knows what he wants to do. Shen Wei had his briefcase; if he’s headed to class, they should have enough time to get in and out before he gets back.
So Yunlan hurries Da Qing back to their apartment and closes the door firmly behind them before pulling out his phone. Yes, they just watched Shen Wei leave the complex, but the man has a habit of turning up in unexpected places, and Yunlan wants to be certain this conversation isn’t overheard.
Lin Jing answers on the third ring. “Boss?”
“Yeah.” Yunlan tosses his keys onto the table and toes off his shoes while he talks, juggling the phone from hand to hand so he can take off his jacket. “I need Professor Shen's new address.”
Da Qing makes a face at him and slouches down onto the arm of the couch. He’s just as sweaty as Yunlan after their run, and usually would take every opportunity to grab the first shower, but has apparently decided that eavesdropping is more fun today.
“Sure thing.” Lin Jing doesn’t argue, for once responding correctly to Zhao Yunlan’s impatient tone. “Doesn't he live on campus?”
“Not any more.”
Yunlan waves at the cat -- get moving -- but Da Qing just snaps his teeth and sinks further down against the couch.
“Huh.” Yunlan hears the clack of a keyboard at the other end get louder as Lin Jing hunches over it. “If his move is that recent, this could take a while.”
“Text it to me when you have it.” Yunlan drops his phone onto the table with his keys and heads into the bedroom to grab clean clothes.
When he gets back, Da Qing has finally moved -- to lounge in the bathroom doorway, blocking his path.
“You have something to say?”
Da Qing scowls with his whole body, face squeezed up and shoulders pulled in tight. “I thought you'd decided to trust Professor Shen.”
Da Qing likes to see the world in black and white, Yunlan knows. His friends are good people; his enemies are bad. It’s hard for the cat to adjust his opinion of someone, and he hates it when Yunlan wobbles.
“I did.” Yunlan pushes past him into the bathroom, Da Qing and his scowl now pointed at him in the mirror. “I can’t help it if he keeps acting suspicious.”
“Moving house is suspicious?”
“It is when we’re this far from the university.”
Da Qing plants himself stubbornly on the edge of the sink, glaring. Yunlan mentally laughs at the idea that this would stop him from showering, and strips out of his shirts. Da Qing’s the one who taught him the value of applied shamelessness in the first place.
Yunlan catches sight of himself in the mirror. Not bad. He’s still wiry, but his time in the gym shows in the curve of muscles around those bones. His body is what he’s made of it, down to the brilliant colors of the tattoos that cover his chest and circle his shoulders. He absently rubs a thumb across the red-crowned crane flying over his heart; the first one, the most important one, hidden among all the others.
Yunlan shucks the rest of his clothes and ducks into the shower as soon as the water is warm enough. Da Qing’s voice follows him from the other side of the curtain.
“Maybe the Professor doesn't like it when you don’t call him for a week!”
Yunlan snorts out a laugh. “You think he moved in a week?”
Da Qing doesn’t answer. Yunlan grabs the soap and hurries. He’s got a grumpy, sweaty cat in a steamy bathroom, losing an argument. This won’t stay peaceful for long.
Sure enough, the shower curtain is suddenly tugged aside, and Da Qing wedges himself into the shower stall behind Yunlan.
“Hey!”
Da Qing’s arms snake around him, into the hot spray. “You were taking too long,” he grumbles, grabbing the soap out of Yunlan’s hands.
“Damn cat.” But Yunlan shuffles forward enough for some of the water to pass over his shoulder.
Da Qing plasters himself against Yunlan’s back, smooth skin and bony knees pressing into him. It’s as much a comfort as an annoyance. “You said you like him.”
“I do.” He does; that’s part of the problem. Shen Wei makes it hard to think clearly. “He's cute.”
Da Qing huffs, breath hot against Yunlan’s neck. “Is that why you want his address? Gonna yowl outside his window?”
Yunlan tips his head into the spray, eyes closed against the urge to roll them so hard. “That doesn't work with humans.”
Da Qing snickers. “I think he'd let you in. “
“That's what I'm afraid of.” That Shen Wei would invite him in. That he’d accept, and regret it in the morning. Yunlan finishes rinsing off and climbs out of the shower, rather than say more.
Da Qing snorts from the other side of the shower curtain, but lets him get away with it. “So why do you need his address? You want to send flowers?”
“I want to search his apartment.”
There’s no immediate response from the cat, and Yunlan congratulates himself. If it surprises Da Qing, maybe it isn’t what Shen Wei is expecting, either. He grabs a towel from the rack and sniffs it. Clean enough.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“You don't trust him.” Da Qing says it like a cat contemplating changing his mind, and Yunlan doesn’t want that, either. He isn’t ready to declare Shen Wei an enemy, and the poor professor is definitely not ready for the mayhem Da Qing would unleash upon him.
“Maybe I just want to get my hands on his underwear,” Yunlan offers, distraction and olive branch at the same time.
Da Qing huffs again. “Clean or dirty?”
“Pervert!” Yunlan slaps a hand at the shower curtain, rattling the hooks loudly. He is not imagining sniffing Shen Wei’s worn clothes, he is not blushing, and this conversation is not happening. “I'm not the one who likes to roll on old socks.”
“You're missing out.” Da Qing sighs dramatically. “Bet he'd smell good if you rolled him.”
“Stop that!” Yunlan wraps the towel around his waist and considers fleeing the bathroom. If he runs fast enough, he could pretend his flush is exertion. “Professor Shen is a scholar of great renown and dignity.”
The water shuts off before Yunlan can make up his mind, and Da Qing pokes his head out from behind the curtain. “You're the one who wants to paw his underthings.”
“I want to trust him,” Yunlan admits, all the humor dropping out of him. His heart wants to trust Shen Wei, entirely without his agreement or permission. Even when Shen Wei keeps proving that he shouldn’t. “But he's hiding something.”
“Then we'll find out what it is.” Da Qing climbs out of the shower and shakes himself like a dog before reaching for a second towel. “If it's bad, I'll claw his eyes out for you.”
The cat grins like he’s joking, but his hand strokes Yunlan’s shoulder as he pushes past, unerringly brushing the cicada nestled there. It was his second tattoo; twin to the one on Da Qing’s arm, but Yunlan’s is nothing more than pretty ink.
Yunlan used to wonder what it would’ve been like, if his soulmark ceremony had revealed that one instead of the crane. If he and Da Qing weren’t just sworn friends, but a true match. It took him years to realize it wouldn’t make a difference -- Da Qing will always have his back.
Even when it comes to breaking and entering.
Yunlan’s phone chimes in the other room, and anticipation surges through him. He has no idea what they’ll discover in Shen Wei’s apartment, but he’s ready to find out.
(Part two is up! reckless @
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Comments
"Da Qing’s the one who taught him the value of applied shamelessness in the first place."
Hahaha, love this detail.
"The brilliant colors of the tattoos that cover his chest and circle his shoulders. He absently rubs a thumb across the red-crowned crane flying over his heart; the first one, the most important one, hidden among all the others."
I didn't realize this was a soulmark AU at first (I love them). I really like the idea of people getting tattoos to hide their true soulmarks!
Intriguing and awesome! It's a lovely standalone, but if you ever write more in this universe, I will read it happily!
This is actually the first part of a longer story/series I'm working on, so there will be more.
I haven't read a ton of soulmark AUs, and now am wondering what the market for tattoo removal is like in a world where people get theirs covered over for privacy or what have you.
I love smart Zhao Yunlan and the friendship between him and Da Qing is wonderful.