Work Text:
Mo Guanshan dove through the doors of the subway, crashing into He Tian who caught him with an arm half-wrapped around his lower back. He’d watched He Tian ready for a fight as he sprinted towards the subway. Normally it would have sent a shiver of dread down his spine but not now. Not with that snake right behind him, breathing down his neck.
The subway door hissed closed behind him as He Tian moved a hand to his upper arm. Catching his breath, his face resting on He Tian’s shoulder, he felt He Tian’s hand move from his upper arm to the back of his neck as the hand on his lower back disappeared. Mo was shaking from the adrenaline that was racing through his veins but He Tian held him close, applying consistent pressure to the back of his neck through the hood of his sweatshirt.
Breath finally returning to normal the subway lurched into movement. Mo tensed to keep himself from stumbling but He Tian’s grip did not weaken so he barely moved.
“Redhead, what was all that?” Jian Yi asked as Mo lifted his head.
“Just that bastard She Li,” he scoffed, trying to shrug He Tian’s arm off his shoulders but the taller boy didn’t budge. And judging by the dark look in his eye he had no intention of releasing Mo anytime soon.
Mo looked over at Jian Yi and caught Zhan Zhengxi’s eye. He hadn’t said anything, but he was clearly concerned. It was just the two of them in the hospital room when She Li showed up with that knife. Even then he’d only seen a fraction of what She Li was capable of it made sense he was worried.
“I’m fine,” Mo snapped, pulling free of He Tian’s grip and smoothing his clothes out -- simultaneously doing the same with his nerves. She Li was a twisted son of a bitch but as much as Mo hated to admit it, he had a knack for getting under his skin. He made him squirm.
“As long as you’re alright,” Zhan Zhengxi sighed.
Considering the commotion, He Tian was being uncharacteristically quiet. With a sideways glance, Mo noticed that his jaw was still clenched.
There was no way he was going to get out of going to He Tian’s apartment now.
“I hit him with my bag so I could get away,” Mo said, remembering the fear burning hot and cold under his skin when She Li had cornered him.
“Way to go redhead! Show that snake who’s boss!” Jian Yi cheered. “Say, now that you’re here are you going to get food with us?”
A pleasant, but robotic voice announced the upcoming stop.
“No. I have to go to work -- my boss will dock my pay if I’m late,” Mo said, hefting his backpack back onto his shoulder.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Jian Yi pouted.
“We can’t all play around like you,” he volleyed back.
The subway began to decelerate as it approached the next station.
“Well, this is us,” Zheng Xi said, grabbing Jian Yi by the scruff of his shirt and dragging him onto the platform as he continued to sulk.
“You’re still coming right He Tian?” Jian Yi asked.
He Tian looked between the boys on the platform and Mo, who leveled a glare at him.
“Go. You’re not coming to work with me.”
He Tian scowled for little more than a second but relented, stepping out of the subway car to join the others on the platform. Before the doors closed, he turned back, “Text me when you’re done. I’ll come pick you up.”
“I don’t need an escort; I can take care of myself.”
“Text me.” He Tian’s tone made it clear that it wasn’t a request but an order.
“Fine.”
Then the doors slid shut.
Mo got off at the next station and was able to get to his part-time job seconds before his shift started by sprinting the entire way there. He skidded to a stop in front of the fruit stand, sweaty and panting.
His boss looked him up and down with a frown, “Go put your uniform on.”
The rest of his shift was mercifully ordinary, though a bit slow. Mo didn’t mind, seeing as the only thing standing between him and He Tian right now was time.
As the sun slipped behind the apartment complex that faced the market where he worked Mo’s boss told him he was free to go. Mo hurriedly changed out of his uniform, sparing the time to text his mom that he was going to a friend’s house for a bit. Then stuffing his uniform into his backpack, he started towards He Tians, sending him a belated ‘leaving work’ text.
When She Li ambushed him Mo’s first instinct was to get away from him. To get somewhere safe, where She Li couldn’t reach him.
So, he ran to He Tian.
That was something he couldn’t deny. And while he’d never say it in so many words, there was something about He Tian that felt safe. Sure, he was still a crazy bastard, but he was hellbent on keeping him safe. He ran to He Tian because no matter how twisted She Li was he was still scared of He Tian’s power.
And because Mo ran to He Tian he felt like he owed him something. And being in debt to He Tian was not a position he wanted to be in.
Mo stopped at the grocery store near He Tian’s apartment, picking up the ingredients for beef stew. He didn’t know why He Tian was so obsessed with eating his cooking but at least it gave him a bargaining chip when trying to calm him down.
Mo shuffled out of the store with bags in hand, dodging an elderly woman, and nearly collided with He Tian.
“Fucks sake chicken dick! What are you doing here!?”
For his composed facade, He Tian looked more disheveled than usual. “You should have told me you were going to the store,” as he spoke a smile curled his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “I could have bought the ingredients.”
He was definitely still pissed.
“I can afford beef stew ingredients,” Mo said, starting off in the direction of He Tian’s apartment.
Climbing a set of stairs that was becoming frustratingly familiar Mo stopped in front of the doors to the lobby of the building He Tian lived in. He Tian held his electronic key to the scanner and the doors swung open. Mo continued into the building, past the respectfully distant lobby staff and turned left, walking to the bay of elevators. He hit the button to request an elevator and stepped back to wait. He Tian loomed behind him, still acting weirdly subdued. Normally he’d be hanging off Mo’s shoulders, talking nonstop, trying to get a rise out of him. But now he stood close behind him, quiet.
It was like he was a bodyguard.
The chime of the elevator arriving broke the tense silence in the lobby. They stepped inside and He Tian pushed the button for his floor, then stepped back to stand behind Mo.
“What’s with you,” Mo demanded, turning to face He Tian. “You’re creeping me out!”
The elevator was silent aside from the whirr as they ascended through the floors and for a moment Mo worried he might have overstepped. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else, He Tian spoke.
“What did he do to you?” his tone was measured but it was obvious he was suppressing anger.
“Nothing. Just like I said earlier,” Mo said, clenching his fist around the handle of the grocery bag he carried.
“Don’t lie to me little Mo,” He Tian said, stepping closer.
Five more floors to go. The hair on the back of Mo’s neck was standing on end.
“Nothing,” Mo repeated, voice softer. “He tried to ambush me with his gang, but I hit him with my bag and ran -- that’s it.”
“What did he want?” He Tian’s bangs brushed against Mo’s hair as he looked down at him.
Two floors to go. Mo swallowed nervously.
“I don’t know. He was probably just trying to intimidate me.”
He didn’t mention She Li’s comment about his piercings. A reminder of his hand in piercing Mo’s ears wouldn’t do anything to deescalate the current situation. It would only piss He Tian off more.
The elevator chimed as it reached the floor He Tian’s apartment was on, doors sliding open. Mo vacated the elevator as quickly as he could without it seeming like he was trying to run from He Tian.
“Let’s go, you’re probably hungry,” Mo said, shifting the conversation away from the incident in the subway as they entered He Tian’s apartment.
“Little Mo.”
He Tian’s voice froze him in place as he was putting the bags on the kitchen counter.
“What.”
“You know you have my protection,” He Tian said, stepping close enough that Mo could feel his body heat on his back.
“Yeah…,” Mo mumbled, tensing as He Tian reached a hand up to touch the stud in his right earlobe.
“You should rely on me more,” He Tian sighed, pressing his forehead against the back of Mo’s neck, his hand falling to Mo’s shoulder.
“I don’t like being in debt to you.”
“Relying on me doesn’t put you in my debt, I am your lackey after all,” He Tian volleyed back, snaking his arms around Mo’s waist.
Mo usually would have fought so much contact from He Tian but in that moment he let him do it. They stood in the kitchen, breathing in sync, as the city began to glitter in the early evening darkness. There were a thousand things Mo could have said, a thousand things he could have done. But just like when he rested against He Tian on the subway, he didn’t say anything. He just let He Tian hold onto him. They were lifelines tying each other down.
The sounds of traffic in the street below drifted up to the quiet apartment as He Tian began unwinding his arms from Mo’s waist. He rested his hands on his shoulders and carefully felt down from his biceps to his forearms, spreading his fingers out over the back of Mo’s hands before twining his fingers together with Mo’s.
“You’re okay,” He Tian sighed, relaxing against Mo’s body.
“I’ve been telling you that since the subway,” Mo muttered, beginning to feel flustered by the extended physical contact.
“I had to check,” He Tian replied, taking a deep breath before releasing Mo’s hands and stepping back.
“Are you done clinging to me?”
“For now,” He Tian said with a smile.
Mo rolled his eyes, pulling the ingredients for beef stew out of the bags on the counter, “Get me a cutting board and a knife.”