Work Text:
Du Cheng was balancing a crap load of files on his arms on his way to Shen Yi’s office – everything Shen Yi had requested to research a cold case – and who was Du Cheng to deny him when his sketch artist tended to find new leads this way? He could feel a few folders slowly slipping to the right side but he still somehow managed to arrive at room 406 before anything was able to fall.
Shen Yi wasn’t in his office… because of course he wasn’t. But before he could call out to him, Du Cheng suddenly heard his own voice from Shen Yi’s desk, calling,” Where is Shen Yi?”
He froze and frowned, noticing it was coming from Shen Yi’s phone. He stepped closer, putting the pile of files on Shen Yi’s desk as he looked at the screen of Shen Yi’s phone. It was an alarm ring tone, and it was going off while Shen Yi wasn’t in the room. Before Du Cheng could question his sanity, the alarm repeated in his voice, “Where is Shen Yi?”
Why was Du Cheng’s voice calling out for him Shen Yi’s ringtone? And when did Shen Yi even record this?
“Where is Shen Yi?” The alarm sound repeated, the voice sounding a little aggressive and frustrated now, and yeah okay, Du Cheng could admit that he often called out to Shen Yi like that. But only because Shen Yi was an integral part of his team and he often needed his expertise… and then there was also the fact that his colleague was like a cat, always vanishing into dangerous corners and Du Cheng was just looking out for him, keeping an eye out.
But all of that didn’t explain why Shen Yi had Du Cheng’s voice as his alarm sound. His eyes widened when another thought crossed his mind. What if Shen Yi used the same thing as his alarm in the morning? The thought of Shen Yi waking up to Du Cheng’s voice every morning made him blush, and Du Cheng pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile that was bubbling up.
He swiped the alarm off with a grin before he left the room, right on time before he spotted Shen Yi leaving the elevator with two coffee cups in his hand. “Shen Yi, I put the files you requested in your office.”
Shen Yi smiled brightly at him and handed him a cup of coffee, which was a nice gesture and made Du Cheng’s heart skip a beat, especially in the context of what he had just found out. “Thank you. I’m going to have a look at them later. I have to leave for teaching.”
“I know. Your alarm went off for that when I carried the files over to your office,” Du Cheng said, his eyes locking with Shen Yi’s to see his reaction.
At first Shen Yi just nodded and after a second he froze, the smile slipping from his face. It was hard not to grin, witnessing how the realisation was hitting Shen Yi like a ton of bricks. Du Cheng raised an eyebrow at him before he added, “I turned it off for you.”
Shen Yi looked away uncomfortably, murmuring, “Um, yes, thanks.”
Du Cheng crossed his arms over his chest, standing a little taller now as he towered over Shen Yi. “So is this also your alarm in the morning?”
Shen Yi cleared his throat, rocking back and forth on his feet as he stared at the floor as if he was being chewed out. “Yes,” he confessed quietly after a few moments without looking up. “It helps me to get out of bed.”
Du Cheng's grin widened, and he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "You know, if you wanted to hear my voice first thing in the morning, there are easier ways to arrange that." He watched Shen Yi's eyes go wide, looking up at him in surprise, before adding dryly, "I could leave you voice messages. Weather reports, case updates..."
Shen Yi’s chin dropped and he shook his head at Du Cheng before he started to chuckle.
It was infectious and Du Cheng laughed as well before he asked, “How did you even record that?”
“I didn’t. Jiang Feng sent me that audio recording, letting me know you were looking for me. And then I decided to use it as an alarm because… it never fails to wake me up,” Shen Yi explained and Du Cheng got the impression that there was something Shen Yi wasn’t telling him.
“I don’t know if I should feel flattered or concerned that my voice has this effect on you.” Du Cheng took a sip from his coffee as he followed Shen Yi into his office, watching him packing up his stuff to get ready for his teaching job.
“You don’t need to be concerned,” Shen Yi said after a long moment, his face an unreadable mask, not giving away any emotion as he shouldered his bag. “See you later.”
Du Cheng nodded at him but before Shen Yi could leave he called out to him, “Wait…”
Shen Yi stopped and looked over his shoulder at him. There was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes that he didn’t manage to mask quickly enough for Du Cheng not to notice it.
Du Cheng gave him a little smile, “I’ll drive you home after work, so let me know when you want to leave when you’re back.”
The shy smile and the soft nod Shen Yi gave him before leaving the office made Du Cheng’s breathing hitch with hope.
Maybe tonight he would bring up the topic of giving Shen Yi more options of hearing Du Cheng’s voice in the morning.