Chapter Text
It was a job like any other that Guang-Hong had done before. Take out the director of some corrupt business, don't get caught, go back to HQ. But as the boy lined up the shot from a rooftop, he noticed something happening inside the building. Shouts echoed, and his target left the room to see what the commotion was about. Guang-Hong cursed under his breathe as he tucked his pistol back into its holster. He stood there for a moment, listening for any more noise. There was silence for a moment. Then gunshot rang out from inside the building, and the shouts commenced. Guang-Hong spotted a man running past a window a floor below where he was, shooting a pistol behind him.
Guang-Hong should have left, coming to finish the job later. But something compelled him to find out who this man was, how he ended up in that situation. He took a deep breath before taking his pistol back out, stepping onto the ledge of the roof, and leaping to a window down the hall where the man was running. His foot crashed into the glass, shattering it, and he rolled, ignoring the stabs of pain from the broken glass cutting through his jacket. The man stopped abruptly, nearly running into him. He turned his pistol to Guang-Hong, and the boy put his hands up, getting into one knee. He looked up into the man’s face and realized that he was young, early 20’s at most. His brown hair framed his tanned face nicely, and Guang-Hong regretted his life choices a little less as he stared into the man’s chocolate colored eyes.
“You looked like you were in a bit of a situation,” Guang-Hong said with a slight smirk.
The man’s confused look turned into a decided face as he lowered his gun.
“You could say that. I have a bunch of lackeys on my tail,” the man said, looking behind them. Guang-Hong noticed his accent; American. “I think I may have lost them for now, but I need to get to the director’s office.”
Guang-Hong stood, brushing himself off and picking pieces of glass out of his coat, “Funny story, I’m heading there myself.”
The man looked back at him curiously. “What’s your name?”
“Li Jiang. You?” Guang-Hong said.
“Antonio Fuentes,” the man replied, looking around again.
Guang-Hong had a feeling that Antonio had introduced himself as truthfully as he did, but he decided it wasn't important at the moment. Neither of them were exactly in a “normal” situation.
“There should be a staircase at the end of this hallway, the director’s office should be on that floor, if my records were right.” Antonio explained.
“It is.” Guang-Hong affirmed, explaining when the man looked questioningly at him. “I was on that rooftop, my target was the office.”
“Target?” Antonio started questioning before shouts were heard coming down the hall.
Antonio grabbed Guang-Hong’s hand, taking off running towards the staircase. Guang-Hong was surprised for a millisecond before keeping up with him. When they sprinted up the stairs, he pulled the man into an empty room. Antonio followed his lead and crouched down, pulling something out of his coat.
“This might slow them down,” he said. “Cover your face.”
Guang-Hong obliged as Antonio pulled another item out of his coat and quickly ran to the door of the director’s office. Guang-Hong peeked his head out to see what he was doing.
The door was sealed, and Antonio was pushing an explosive onto it, starting the countdown. He pulled the pin to the other item and threw it down the stairs where lackeys were running towards them. Guang-Hong thought it was a grenade until smoke began drifting up the stairs and the men below were obviously choking.
Antonio ran back into the room, shutting the door behind him and dragging Guang-Hong below a desk and covering his body with his own. Before Guang-Hong even had time to question, a loud blast echoed through the hall, the floor underneath him shaking. He could hear the door thud onto to the ground loudly before silence.
He opened his eyes to see Antonio looking towards the noise with a victorious smirky grin. He was suddenly aware that he was being straddled. He coughed nervously, and Antonio blinked, looking down at him. He made a noise of surprise and then quickly got off of the other boy, rising to his feet. He offered his hand, and Guang-Hong used it to get to his feet.
Antonio opened the door and ran into the room, leaping over the broken door. Guang-Hong followed, stepping over the door.
“Li, can you stand guard?” Antonio asked, looking up from the computer on the desk for a moment.
Guang-Hong nodded, stepping back over the door and looking down the hall.
“Phichit, I'm in the office, how do I get in the computer?” Antonio said, making Guang-Hong turn in the doorway to look.
Antonio had pulled an earpiece from his coat pocket and was pressing it into his ear. Guang-Hong turned back towards the hallway, his pistol gripped in both hands at the ready. He could hear Antonio’s fingers flying across the keyboard as he narrated to whoever was on the other end, and they helped him hack into it. After a few minutes, Antonio walked back over to Guang-Hong.
“Affirmed, heading out of the building.” He said into his earpiece before taking it it out and putting it back into his coat.
“Time to get out before anyone else comes,” he said to Guang-Hong.
Guang-Hong nodded, following as Antonio covered his face and went down the stairs, where little smoke still lingered, but the men had all fallen unconscious.
They went back down the hallway they met, but they only got halfway before someone ran in, coming to an abrupt halt as he saw him. Guang-Hong recognized it as the director and didn't hesitate before drawing and firing his gun. The bullet went straight through his forehead, and Guang-Hong instinctively went into flight mode.
He grabbed Antonio’s hand and pulled him towards the broken window he’d entered through. He climbed through and stood on the short ledge, before leaping and grabbing the ledge of the opposite building. He broke the window above him, climbing up and into the building. Antonio followed, grabbing the ledge. Guang-Hong helped him up and in through the shattered window. Antonio groaned as he landed on his back. Guang-Hong helped him stand and made sure there were no glass pieces stuck in him. Luckily, he was unhurt, unlike him, who had to pull a piece out of his forearm.
He would check it later, but getting out was the most important thing now. Guang-Hong found his hand clasped in Antonio’s yet again, and he wasn't even sure who grabbed whose hand. They ran down stairs upon stairs, until they reached the bottom floor and left through the door that Guang-Hong had picked open earlier. Antonio hailed a taxi and they drove away from the building.
They sat in silence as the taxi drove to what Guang-Hong could only assume was Antonio’s hotel. Guang-Hong’s adrenaline was wearing off and the full pain of his injuries were making themselves clear. He clutched his arm, feeling wetness. He cursed softly as Antonio paid the driver. Antonio looked over at him before leading him to his room in silence.
“Sit on the bed,” he instructed as they entered the room.
Guang-Hong obliged, watching as Antonio pulled a first aid kit out of his suitcase.
“Take off your coat. Your shirt too,” he said as he sat beside Guang-Hong, opening the box and digging through to find disinfectant and bandages.
“A little forward, don’t you think? You should at least buy me a drink first,” Guang-Hong teased as he shook his coat off and began unbuttoning his shirt.
Antonio looked up at him with a deadpan expression before rolling his eyes and turning back to the kit. Guang-Hong didn’t miss the side-glance Antonio took to his chest, however, as he shrugged his shirt off, wincing as it rubbed against his wound.
“Are you even allowed to drink?” Antonio asked with an arched eyebrow as he took the boy’s arm, checking to make sure there was no stray glass in it.
“I’m 18, so yes.” Guang-Hong replied matter-of-factly. Remembering he was talking to an American, he added, “In China, at least.”
The man glanced up at his face for a moment, looking slightly surprised. Guang-Hong didn’t know if he should be slightly offended.
“What about you? You can’t be much older…” he muttered.
Antonio smirked, “Maybe I’m hundreds of years old but just look really young.” He waited for Guang-Hong’s reaction, a small giggle, before continuing. “I’m 20, so yeah, I guess you’re not wrong.”
There was a moment of silence as Antonio started disinfecting the wound, Guang-Hong letting out a sharp hiss as it stung and burned. Once the man was sure it was cleaned out, he wrapped it in bandages. Throughout the whole procedure, Guang-Hong couldn’t help but notice how strong, yet gentle, Antonio’s hands were. Before he knew it, they had left his body, and while he was glad it was over, part of him didn’t want him to. The man checked around his torso, inspecting his back for injuries.
“I think your coat stopped the glass from hurting you the first time you jumped in the window. Let me see your hands.” Antonio commanded gently.
Guang-Hong held his hands out, and the man grasped them lightly, turning them over to inspect.
The knuckles were bruised from punching the window, and the glass had cut his palms as he climbed in. Antonio silently did the same procedure to his hands, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Guang-Hong stared up at his face for a moment before letting his gaze wander downwards.
He had taken off his own coat, and Guang-Hong noticed that his arms were well-defined, but he was still lean. His shirt hung over him wonderfully, Guang-Hong couldn’t help but think. Suddenly, the man’s hands were gone and he realized that Antonio had finished.
The man let out a sigh, putting the bandages and disinfectant back into the kit before closing it and getting up to stow it back in it suitcase. Guang-Hong honestly didn’t know what to do at this point, and he was about to leave, return to HQ, when Antonio spoke.
“Let me buy you a drink, then.”
Guang-Hong blinked in confusion for a moment before shaking his head. “No, you don’t have to, I-”
“It’s the least I can do. You saved my ass back there.” Antonio urged.
Guang-Hong was silent for a second before shrugging, “Fine… Just one drink.”
Just one drink turned into two, then three gin and tonics later, they were talking about what they did, why they were there that day.
“I had to infiltrate the building, get to the director’s office, hack into the computer, and send the files to Phichit. I think he was going to like… decode them or something? I’m not really sure, but my job is over.” Antonio explained, sipping his drink.
“Mine too. You certainly made my job harder. I could have been out of there in fifteen minutes max if you hadn’t caused a commotion.” Guang-Hong said, pouting a little as he stared into his glass.
“What were you doing there anyways? What was your mission?” Antonio asked curiously.
“A job, I’m no agent. The director was my target, I had to take him out.” Guang-Hong said solemnly.
“An assassin?” Antonio said incredulously. “How’d you end up with that kind of job at 18?”
Guang-Hong was quiet for a moment before he sighed. “I was alone on the street as a kid, no parents, no home, no money. A man came up to me and offered me a place to stay, and I didn’t have much place to refuse. He ended up taking me in, and it turned out he was the leader of sorts for a group of assassins. It could be a dangerous place to be, living in the HQ, so he trained me to defend myself, and even to counter. Apparently, I showed a lot of potential, and they kept training me. So I ended up becoming one of them… My first job was when I was 14. I’ve been working jobs on my own ever since, just checking in to HQ after each one.”
Antonio nodded in understanding. “I joined the agency because of my father. He was a well-known, well-respected man there, and I really looked up to him. When I was 14, he finally brought me in and let me start training. I got my first mission when I was 17, and my dad retired, saying that he knew they’d be safe with me around.”
Guang-Hong couldn’t help but stare at the soft, fond smile the man had as he thought of his dad. He thought the guy was hot, maybe handsome… but the only word Guang-Hong could think of now was beautiful.
As he stared, he found brown eyes gazing back at him.
“We should probably get some rest… it’s been a pretty eventful day. If you need a place to stay tonight… my bed is open.” Antonio said softly, glancing up at Guang-Hong through half-lidded eyes.
Guang-Hong knew he shouldn't. He never reported back to HQ; they were bound to be worried by now… yet, looking back up at the man, aided by the slight edge the alcohol had given him, he found that he didn't care so much about that now.
Before he knew it, he was following the man back to his hotel room, hand in hand. Guang-Hong walked into the room, slightly unsure of himself as he did. When the door closed behind him, he felt Antonio wrap his arms around him.
He felt his face burn as words whispered in his ear, words he couldn’t understand. Spanish?
“Antonio-” he began to stammer.
“Leo.” the man interrupted. His arms fell away and he stood straight again. “My actual name is Leo de la Iglesia.”
“Oh… well then, mine is Guang-Hong Ji.” he admitted with a small smile.
Antonio- no, Leo- smiled, walking past him to sit on the bed. “We were just meant to meet in a weird fashion, huh?”
Guang-Hong turned in place, following him with his eyes. “I suppose so.”
Leo pulled his feet off the side of the bed, laying down with his head against the headboard. He looked up at Guang-Hong with a smirk.
“This should be an interesting night then, don’t you think?”
Guang-Hong knew he should have left hours ago… But what was one more night? He could disappear the next morning without a trace. As he walked towards Leo and climbed on top of him, he couldn’t seem to find any reason to regret any of his questionable choices of the day.
The next morning, Guang-Hong found himself waking up in a strange room, feeling arms wrapped around his waist. His eyes shot open as he remembered the events of the day before, and his mind could think of nothing but a string of ‘oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap’. He turned his head to look behind him. Leo’s face was peaceful and innocent looking as he slept against the smaller boy’s shoulder. Guang-Hong could feel his breath softly against his neck, and for a moment, he was tempted to just stay there a little longer.
But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t hear the end of it when he got back to HQ, and who knows how his father would react if he found out that Guang-Hong had given his real name to someone. He had already gone way too far. He couldn’t stay, couldn’t give any explanation or excuse. He just had to slip out of the room, and Leo’s life, as quickly and quietly as possible. Like he always did.
Sighing softly, Guang-Hong slipped out of Leo’s arms, immediately feeling colder. He stepped onto the floor and quickly began gathering his clothes, stepping into his trousers and throwing his shirt over his shoulders. As he was buttoning his shirt up, he noticed a movement from the bed. He cursed and began to gather his things as quickly as possible before Leo woke up. He was halfway to the door when Leo’s voice rang through, seeming to echo in his mind.
“Wait, please.”
Guang-Hong stopped, wincing at how soft and desperate Leo sounded. He couldn’t turn around to face him.
“I have to go, they’ll think I died or something.” he managed to say quietly.
He could hear the sound of Leo getting up. His heart beat faster as the footsteps neared him. He couldn’t let himself get this attached, he always told himself that… But it was already too late for him as he felt Leo grab the back of his shirt. He was spun to face the other man, and Leo looked at him with complete and utter seriousness.
“Besides what happened last night, and the fact that I really like you, you helped me out yesterday. I’m not going to forget that so easily.” Leo said softly, looking over Guang-Hong’s face.
Guang-Hong shut his eyes, shaking his head softly. “You bandaged me up and bought me a few drinks, there isn’t any debt. Besides, you could have done it by yourself. I was just finishing my own job.”
Leo was silent for a moment, and Guang-Hong opened his eyes to find irises the color of hot chocolate staring into his. Leo’s face was barely inches away from his, and Guang-Hong was painfully aware that Leo hadn’t gotten dressed. After a moment of tension, Leo sighed, backing away slightly.
“Just… know that you have an ally, alright?” he said, looking at the floor.
“I…” Guang-Hong was at a loss for words.
Leo looked at him with a sad smile. “You don’t have to do everything alone.”
Guang-Hong looked away, unable to respond. His chest felt tight and his eyes were beginning to sting.
Leo looked over at the desk, quickly grabbing the pad and pen and jotting something down. He ripped the paper off and went back to Guang-Hong, handing him the paper.
“Call me if you need help… or if you’d like to change your line of work a little… or if you just need someone.” he said earnestly, pressing the paper into his hand.
Guang-Hong looked at the paper as Leo stepped away from him. He looked up for a moment, meeting Leo’s pleading gaze. He smiled weakly for a moment before turning back to the door, grabbing the handle. He paused for a moment, wanting to look back. But instead, he opened the door and walked out, his gaze firmly ahead. If he looked back, he would stay.
Even as he shut the door behind him and clutched the paper in his fist, he had a feeling that he hadn’t seen the last of Leo de la Iglesia.