Work Text:
Zhao ShaoShang watched.
He had never been good at waiting or planning. He had always preferred to act the moment an idea appeared in his mind, eager to pursue it and see it through without wasting time, focusing instead on the details. Zhao ShaoShang had always been serious whenever he set his mind on something. He never abandoned his projects halfway simply because they were time-consuming or exhausting. Nothing had ever been too exhausting for him. He was stubborn and determined.
Now, Zhao ShaoShang's newest project bore the name Yuan Hong.
His cursed, unbearably tempting colleague was the very embodiment of everything Zhao ShaoShang sought in life.
He was complicated, but that was not the only reason Zhao ShaoShang found himself fascinated by him. Yuan Hong was never afraid to reveal his secrets, one after another. Zhao ShaoShang felt almost as if he were unwrapping a carefully prepared gift wrapped in layer upon layer of paper. Every layer he removed only deepened his fascination. Contrary to what others might think, the waiting neither discouraged nor irritated him. Knowing that beneath each layer there was another, and yet another, which he had to peel away slowly in order to delve deeper, only made him more eager. Zhao ShaoShang believed that, hidden beneath those countless protective layers he painstakingly uncovered day after day, there was a vulnerable and irresistible core—sweet as the candies Yuan Hong never hesitated to share with him.
That, too, was another thing that fascinated Zhao ShaoShang. Yuan Hong was never ashamed of the things men usually hid away where no one else could ever see them. Yuan Hong was so captivating that even if Zhao ShaoShang had wanted to forget him, he would never have been able to do so.
But Zhao ShaoShang was only a man. He was a man, and his heart told him that he should protect Yuan Hong. Even if he was not physically capable of doing so—after all, Zhao ShaoShang had never paid much attention to the training his father had insisted upon countless times in the past. He had always been perfectly happy letting others fight on his behalf. But not Yuan Hong. His Yuan Hong should not have to fight. He should not have to take risks. Even if he looked devastatingly attractive while doing it, he should not have to fight.
And yet, the moment Zhao ShaoShang saw the knife aimed straight at Yuan Hong's chest, he did not hesitate for even a second. He did not stop to think about what he was doing—he simply ran in front of him.
"Are you stupid?" Zhao ShaoShang finally asked, gently wiping the cut on Yuan Hong's cheek with a cotton pad soaked in antiseptic. "You could have died back there. She could have stabbed you straight through the heart..." His hands trembled as he struggled to remain calm.
"You're the stupid one," Yuan Hong replied.
But he did not push Zhao ShaoShang's hand away. Instead, his long fingers wrapped around Zhao ShaoShang's wrist, helping to steady his trembling hand. His heartbeat had yet to return to normal, pounding unnaturally fast in his chest, but Zhao ShaoShang sighed softly and pressed a little too firmly against the wound, earning a quiet hiss of pain from Yuan Hong.
Zhao ShaoShang hissed as well, grimacing as his eyes lowered in embarrassment.
"I'm fine," Yuan Hong assured him calmly.
Zhao ShaoShang lightly smacked him on the shoulder.
"You're lying. Now sit still," he ordered before pressing a piece of gauze against the small cut and securing it with a bandage.
Yuan Hong tried to give him a reassuring smile, but the movement pulled at the wound on his cheek, causing him to wince in pain.
Leaning closer, Zhao ShaoShang pressed a gentle kiss to Yuan Hong's forehead.
"I'm going to lock you up in my estate so you'll never get hurt again," he threatened, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
"You'd die of boredom yourself," Yuan Hong replied. He made no attempt to argue. He could see the sincerity of Zhao ShaoShang's feelings and concern hidden beneath his loud and eccentric personality.
"I'll find us something safer to do. We can test out my new bed—the mattress just arrived from Norway," Zhao ShaoShang suggested.
Yuan Hong wrapped his arms around Zhao ShaoShang's waist and rested his face against his stomach. He let out a quiet sigh.
They remained like that for a long while, simply breathing. Happy. Alive. And that was all that mattered.
What would tomorrow bring?
It didn't matter.
For them, only the here and now mattered—and the fact that they had both walked away from this ordeal without suffering any serious harm.