Work Text:
Meetings
Zhao Yunlan was many things, but he was not an ordinary man—Shen Wei had come to that realization long, long ago.
Even omitting the fact that he had domesticated a member of the esteemed Yashou Cat tribe, which was already quite a feat in itself, there was something about him—an air of some sort, a vibrant charisma, and a strong sense of reliability—which drew people to him and made them want to stick around. Shen Wei himself had fallen victim to his irresistible charm what seemed like ages ago, much to Shen Wei’s dismay. This made one stop to wonder how it was possible that this self-proclaimed black-hearted man born without love, who seemed to have people constantly gravitating around him and who radiated such infinite energy and self-confidence, seemed so alone all the time.
Shen Wei knew a thing or two about loneliness, and he could see a bit of himself in Zhao Yunlan.
That was, until the two of them had grown closer, and become a part of each other’s lives.
When Shen Wei had spotted Zhao Yunlan peering out of that window at the university, he had been brutally brought back to the past—his past—when a strange man had quite literally fallen out of the sky, and into Shen Wei’s heart.
During his stay, time had seemed to speed by at a rapid pace, and he had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
But he had left an indelible mark on Shen Wei’s soul, who had been unable to forget him since.
True, they had been reunited in this life, but Zhao Yunlan was not alone now, and although Shen Wei had glimpsed Da Qing a few times during the war, he knew neither the man nor the cat personally. Even once they had become acquainted again in this era, and begun working alongside each other, they had remained not much more than strangers to each other. It was only after Shen Wei had started spending more time outside of work with his (not really) neighbor-by-chance that they had had no choice but to learn to get along.
At some point—Shen Wei knew not when—Zhao Yunlan’s behavior towards him had started shifting, whether it be from the secret glances, the subtle touching or the overt affection, and much to his delight, their relationship had solidified and taken on a more intimate path. But although Shen Wei had been overjoyed at the change, he was aware that on the way to Zhao Yunlan’s heart stood a very special cat whose unshakable loyalty and dedication to his master went back thousands of years, and with whom he shared a bond that transcended time and ran deeper than blood.
Shen Wei felt he had no right to intrude or come between them, and frankly, he did not have the confidence to even try, but he would have been lying if he pretended not to be at least a little envious.
The man and his cat were such an integral part of each other’s existence that it seemed like there was barely any space left for him to occupy. Since he was an outsider at best, Shen Wei would have gladly taken only an inch, but they had so effortlessly welcomed him into their routine, integrating Shen Wei into their traditions and rituals, and given him an important part to play—a purpose—until he too could not be dissociated from them anymore.
And so, Shen Wei had found that Da Qing and he were not so different after all.
******
Mornings
Every morning, Shen Wei woke up at 5 o’clock on the dot, without fail.
Perhaps it was because of his rigorous martial training in the past, or because, as one from Dixing, he did not need to sleep so much, but Shen Wei found that his eyes opened with the rising of the sun, and that he did not need to close them again until long after the burning star had sunk below the horizon.
More often than not when Shen Wei arose at dawn, Da Qing was nowhere in sight. Given the cat’s predatory nature, Zhao Yunlan often left the window open for him to go as he pleased, taking advantage of the time when the city was asleep to hunt. Sometimes, like today, Da Qing could be found curled up at their feet, or on Zhao Yunlan’s chest or face. Whenever that happened, Shen Wei gently pried him off so that he wouldn’t suffocate his boyfriend.
Other times still, he would be wedged in between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei in human form, his lanky limbs tangled up with theirs. This particular configuration had taken Shen Wei a bit of getting used to, but now, the feel of Da Qing’s soft hair brushing against his chin, and the warmth emanating from his body to Shen Wei’s was reassuring, its soothing normalcy grounding him in this fragile reality that they had created for themselves.
At this early hour, the whole world seemed to be stuck in a timeless limbo, and Shen Wei was afraid to move lest he shake the order of things and send everything crashing down.
He was so very afraid.
Over the top of Da Qing’s thick, fluffy hair, Shen Wei would watch Zhao Yunlan sleep, and whenever a bad dream wrinkled his soft brow, Shen Wei would press his cool hand to Zhao Yunlan’s forehead, and smooth away the lines there with his dark energy. Shen Wei had his share of inner demons, and he wasn’t a stranger to nightmares, which is why he did not like the idea of his love left alone in a place where he could not follow.
After spending more time than he dared to admit, listening to the sounds those two made—Da Qing’s breathing had a feline tremor to it, almost like a purr, while Zhao Yunlan’s reminded Shen Wei of the sound the wind made as it blew through the tree leaves—Shen Wei slipped out of bed and padded over to the kitchen noiselessly. There he retrieved the rice from the small appliance that Lin Jing had gifted Shen Wei on his birthday, which, since Shen Wei couldn’t remember the precise date, or perhaps had never cared to memorize it, had been decided was the day when Shen Wei had been brought for the first time as a consultant into the SID family, before becoming an honorary member of it.
Initially, Shen Wei had regarded the rice cooker with a touch of disdain, much preferring more traditional ways of preparing food, but now he had to admit it came in handy, and saved time in a pinch.
After putting breakfast together, Shen Wei tiptoed back to the bedroom. By then, Da Qing had usually risen from his slumber and was in the midst of his lengthy and careful grooming, while Zhao Yunlan, who had a very complicated relationship with mornings, remained in bed for as long as it took Shen Wei to appear by his side, cup of coffee in hand.
Even then, victory was not guaranteed, as Zhao Yunlan had a tendency to lure Shen Wei back into bed with him. Knowing this, Shen Wei always put away the mug to a safe place before a pair of grabby hands latched onto any visible part of him that was within reach—whether it was his wrist, his jacket or even his tie—and pulled Shen Wei back onto the mattress, insisting that he stay and unwilling to let go, all the while wrinkling his carefully put-together attire and making all of Shen Wei’s ironing efforts go to waste. But Shen Wei always indulged Zhao Yunlan—indulged himself.
If only Zhao Yunlan put the same amount of diligence into cleaning his apartment…
******
Work trips
On occasion, Shen Wei’s duty as a scholar and a professor took him far from Dragon City.
While Shen Wei cared about his students and was genuinely passionate about his work, he would have chosen to stay by Zhao Yunlan’s side in a heartbeat if the other had only asked, but Zhao Yunlan, despite his flaws, was selfless by nature, which is why he never complained when Shen Wei told him he had to go away for a while, merely smiling at him and wishing him a safe trip. But although he didn’t say anything, Shen Wei knew it bothered him for them to be separated… It bothered him, too, when Zhao Yunlan was not in his vicinity nor in his direct line of sight.
Never in thousands of years would Shen Wei have thought the day would come when someone noticed his absence and yearned for his return. He knew it was probably wrong of him, but he was secretly pleased by this.
Shen Wei was a selfish man—he was not like Zhao Yunlan.
From what Shen Wei had heard, whenever he left on business trips, Zhao Yunlan would spend all the time that he was gone sulking in his office, accomplishing nothing. According to Zhu Hong, the Chief wasted his entire days slacking off as stacks of reports to read and forms to sign piled up on his desk until its entire surface was covered in loose sheets and files, while looking at candid pictures of Shen Wei that he had taken at unexpected times and sighing miserably to himself.
Shen Wei felt guilty for getting in the way of Zhao Yunlan doing his job, but again, he was ashamed to admit, part of him was filled with sheer joy at the prospect that he was the reason behind his listlessness.
To remedy the problem, Zhao Yunlan had bought Shen Wei a ‘smartphone’ that he had just become decent at navigating. Shen Wei used it to reply to Zhao Yunlan’s numerous messages, but he couldn’t type very fast yet.
At least he had the phone controls down. After all, there were only two buttons to memorize.
When it all became too difficult for him to bear, Shen Wei dropped Zhao Yunlan a call in between important meetings or conferences just to hear his voice, fumbling with excuses. Once Shen Wei was content, having checked that Zhao Yunlan was doing well and taking all his meals, he would try to put an end to their conversation, but Zhao Yunlan would not allow him to get away that easily, which meant that, what had been supposed to last a minute or two turned into ten or fifteen and Shen Wei—now running late—often had to rush back to his obligations. But he did it anyway, every time.
As for Zhao Yunlan, he always insisted that they talk before going to bed and, though it was embarrassing for him to say, the great Black-Cloaked Envoy feared by all had grown so accustomed to the Lord Guardian’s presence next to him that he waited all day for that moment to come, relishing the moment when those dancing, sparkling eyes came into view. Seeing Zhao Yunlan’s features soften when he looked at him, his eyelids gradually drooping as sleep started to take hold of him, Shen Wei felt an inner peace that he had never known before, along with a deep longing in his gut.
Ever since Shen Wei had shared his lifeforce with Zhao Yunlan, something bound them together, like their souls had melded into one and they were now two parts of the same being. When they were apart, Shen Wei felt the distance and the loss more acutely, to the point where Zhao Yunlan’s absence became almost unbearable. It was in these moments that Shen Wei wondered to himself if perhaps it was possible that he loved Zhao Yunlan too much.
Was there such a thing? Shen Wei couldn’t say.
******
Getting sick
Once in a while, the man or his cat—usually both—were stricken by a bout of flu despite Shen Wei’s attentive care, but Shen Wei was always at the ready whenever that happened.
Shen Wei himself was immune to Haixing’s common cold, but Zhao Yunlan, to Shen Wei’s despair, was well-acquainted with it. Shen Wei always felt guilty, thinking that he had done something wrong that had endangered him, but Zhao Yunlan assured him that it was all due to the life that he had been leading before meeting Shen Wei, and besides, he was getting old. Being reminded of the fact that Zhao Yunlan was not eternal made Shen Wei want to treasure his time with him all the more. To him, a normal human’s lifespan amounted to nothing, like a speck of dust or a drop in the ocean.
Shen Wei didn’t like to think that Zhao Yunlan was going to get old and perish, whether it be from sickness or old age, or even those lollipops that he had traded cigarettes with, which wasn’t much of an improvement, if you asked him. Still, Shen Wei intended to be there with him to the end—even if losing Zhao Yunlan ended up killing him, too.
Anyway... that was all, Shen Wei hoped, in the very faraway future.
Until then, whether Zhao Yunlan simply had a bad cough and a runny nose, or his old stomach problem came back to haunt him, Shen Wei, in his invulnerable quality, did anything in his power to spare Zhao Yunlan of the pain he was going through, short of being able to take it onto himself. Seeing Zhao Yunlan suffer like this was worse than a knife to Shen Wei’s heart and he would have gladly taken a blade to his own chest if this might have soothed his unease. And although Zhao Yunlan vehemently refused to let Shen Wei use his dark energy to heal him, Shen Wei suffused some into him secretly, bit by bit, in such infinitesimal amounts that Zhao Yunlan would not take notice.
It was the least Shen Wei could do for the man to whom he owed his life.
Shen Wei looked forward to many years to come.
******
Fighting (and making up)
To outside eyes, it might have seemed like Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing disliked each other, given how they lashed out or took jabs at one another for the most trivial things, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The man and his cat, Shen Wei had learned with time, fought hard yet loved harder.
Whenever that happened, they would sit on opposite sides of the couch, with Shen Wei squeezed in between them. Shen Wei didn’t like when they quarrelled, but he knew that it never lasted very long. Zhao Yunlan had threatened on many occasions to make cat stew out of his feline friend, and Da Qing had claimed time and time again that he would find a new, younger—not to mention cleaner—master to follow. Shen Wei, however, wasn’t fooled: he knew that, were this to do all over again, they would always choose each other, like Shen Wei had chosen them.
No, there would always come a time—after a few hours or days of not speaking to each other—when Da Qing the cat, filled with regret, would shuffle over to see Zhao Yunlan with his head and his tail down, climbing onto the sofa and nudging Zhao Yunlan’s arm with his nose or kneading on his leg, pushing out and pulling in with his paws until Zhao Yunlan gave in and scratched him under the chin in a conciliatory manner.
They needed not speak, for they knew each other. Deeply.
Once peace had been made, Da Qing liked to revert back to his human form and settle down on Zhao Yunlan’s lap, lying there for hours on end as Zhao Yunlan caressed his hair softly. Watching those whom he loved dearly, Shen Wei knew that a bond like the one they shared wasn’t commonplace in this world. The two of them were so closely embedded into each other that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other started.
Shen Wei wasn’t jealous, because he knew he held a very special place in their heart, too.
******
Privacy + kisses
Speaking of close…
Since Shen Wei had suddenly stumbled into Zhao Yunlan’s and his home, Da Qing had been very liberal with his human.
Da Qing was no fool. Well-aware of what was going on between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei, he accepted—gladly—that his lifelong master was spoken for, and was willing to share him with another, something Shen Wei never could have done had he been in his place, for he was not so magnanimous when it came to Zhao Yunlan.
When Da Qing was around, Shen Wei—but mostly Zhao Yunlan—avoided getting too ‘handsy’, as Zhao Yunlan put it, stealing a kiss in the hallway when one of them got home from work, or exchanging sweet words in the kitchen as they talked about their respective days, telling each other how much they had missed the other, and catching up.
Shen Wei lived, and would have been ready to die, for moments like these.
Whenever Da Qing felt that his two masters—the old and the new—needed some time to themselves, he slipped out quietly and gave them some space and privacy to consummate their love. Da Qing had caught them in unflattering positions before, but he never mentioned it, and Shen Wei was extremely grateful to him for it.
As they finally got some time alone, their bodies brought together by what seemed to be the whims of fate—Shen Wei flushed at the mere thought of what they did, of what he had done to Zhao Yunlan—he felt closer to him than ever, yet even that left him wanting more. If he could have, Shen Wei would have climbed inside Zhao Yunlan’s body and stayed there, warm and safe, so that he would never have to spend a second away from the man who owned his entire being. Truth be told, despite his so-called inability to love, Zhao Yunlan was a very tender lover, and Shen Wei yearned for his touch every minute of the day, as well as the feel of his skin under his hands, and his delightful scent all around him.
Shen Wei had not had anyone else before him, but he knew that there was nobody out there who understood him better than Zhao Yunlan, nor was more different, yet so alike him.
Da Qing had told Shen Wei that he was good for Zhao Yunlan, and that thanks to Shen Wei, he didn’t have to worry so much anymore about his disaster of a master who was such a threat to himself, always running head-first into danger and putting himself at risk without any consideration for his life. Besides, Shen Wei and Da Qing had more in common than they had initially thought. Aside from the fact that they had both known Zhao Yunlan in the distant past, they both cared deeply about him, and would have done anything to ensure his safety and, most of all, his happiness.
******
Eating together
Meal preparation was one of Shen Wei’s responsibilities in the house—among many others, but he didn’t mind.
To those who believed that there was nothing like returning to a home-cooked meal, Shen Wei would say that, to him, the greatest pleasure was pouring all his love and efforts into making something delicious and healthy for his loved ones, that would energize them and keep illness at bay. In the past, food had been mere sustenance for Shen Wei’s vulnerable body, at least until contact with the Hallows had made him immortal, sending him into a 10,000-year slumber—but now, different meals had different memories attached to them, and it was no longer a chore.
In the kitchen, Zhao Yunlan should have been more a hindrance than a help, but despite the impracticality of having Zhao Yunlan glued to him, Shen Wei enjoyed his presence all the same. Zhao Yunlan liked to watch Shen Wei cook, and he often did so at a rather close proximity, slipping his lean arms around Shen Wei’s waist from behind and nestling his chin in the crook of his shoulder, where he proceeded to fall asleep for the next five minutes, until warmth gradually spread across from his body to Shen Wei’s perpetually cool one. Zhao Yunlan was warm, almost too much so.
More than ever, Shen Wei wished he could tell Zhao Yunlan everything, but he knew he couldn’t.
Shen Wei needed Zhao Yunlan to remember on his own what they had had, and decide for himself if he wanted to stay.
Shen Wei didn’t want Zhao Yunlan to fall in love with the idea of them.
When Shen Wei’s lovingly prepared cuisine finally landed on the table, Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing ate with great appetite, even wolfing down bits of bok choy and mushroom that Da Qing had used to hate. Da Qing always told Zhao Yunlan that they were lucky Shen Wei had come into their lives, and that if he made it until he was old and grey, it certainly wouldn’t be thanks to Zhao Yunlan and his crappy cooking, to which Zhao Yunlan would retort that Da Qing was immortal so his argument was invalid—also, he was a damn cat, so why was he eating Zhao Yunlan’s food?
Shen Wei always smiled at the sight.
If this was all he had to do for that little piece of paradise, then it was a very small price to pay.
******
Bedtime
Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing were big cinema enthusiasts, and as their tastes in films greatly varied—but mostly they just liked to bicker—they could never come to a compromise when it came to choosing what to watch, which is why they often let Shen Wei make that decision for them. What they didn’t know was that being handed such an important mission brought Shen Wei immense stress and anxiety, because he was afraid of making a mistake and choosing wrong. Yet, no matter what Shen Wei picked, they always pretended to enjoy it, praising him for his flair, even when Shen Wei, who knew nothing about these things himself, could tell that he had made a bad call.
It was all very sweet.
When the night drew near, and the three of them had spent the evening watching movies, snuggled against each other under the blankets, Shen Wei left this wonderful cocoon of love and warmth, often having to carry to the bedroom in turn both the man and his cat, for those two slept as they did everything else: intensely, putting all their hearts into it.
And when the day came to a close, no matter what it had been spent doing—whether it was saving the world again from certain calamity or wasting away in bed, doing nothing—Shen Wei knew, as the sound of Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing’s slowed breathing filled the silent room and he found himself alone with his thoughts again…
He knew that in the end, it was all worth it.