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Zhuo Yichen is just shy of his fifteenth birthday when he first meets Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun. He feels every second of the six years of age between them as he stutters out his name. He catches sight of Li Lun’s slight smirk at the hiccup and looks down, shaking his hair over his reddening ears. A hand is proffered to him and he takes it. He thinks Zhao Yuanzhou notices the slight tremor in his fingertips because his eyes crinkle knowingly as they exchange introductions.
Zhao Yuanzhou’s smile is warm and gentle in the way Li Lun’s isn’t. Li Lun tilts his head to the side as he appraises Zhuo Yichen, and a small animal part of him wants to take a step behind his older brother. He stays put though, trying not to give the Wilderness delegates any more reason to doubt his presence here. It was Zhuo Yixuan’s idea to start including him in the territory mediations; Zhuo Yichen won’t give him cause to regret the decision.
The meeting between Tiandu and the Wilderness begins, and it awes Zhuo Yichen to see Wen Xiao act as a moderator. It’s the first time he’s seen her work, and she manages to to argue for the Wilderness’ right to self-reliance while wrangling in Li Lun’s outrageous demands. She is only five years older than Zhuo Yichen, and he feels woefully inept watching her parlay between his family and the Wilderness delegates.
He’s not the only one impressed. Zhuo Yichen can’t help his gaze from flicking back to Zhao Yuanzhou over the course of the several hour negotiation, and he sees the way Zhao Yuanzhou watches Wen Xiao. There’s respect there, and something more. An attraction. Zhao Yuanzhou, for all his soft-spoken words, radiates power that simmers just below the surface. But surpassing that is control, a surety that his power is well under his command. It’s magnetic. More than once Zhuo Yichen catches himself leaning towards him, much in the same way Zhao Yuanzhou angles himself towards Wen Xiao, gently inviting her to fall into his gravity.
Every now and then, Zhuo Yichen will feel someone’s eyes on him, and he’ll turn his head to find Li Lun watching him with a small, mean smile. Zhuo Yichen looks away quickly each time, but the prickles of shame eat at him throughout the meeting. Still, it’s not enough to make him look away from Zhao Yuanzhou for long.
The talks end at a stalemate, the Wilderness unable to secure more arable land and Tiandu with fewer ports and markets than they need for their population. They agree to meet again in six months’ time for renegotiation. Li Lun is visibly frustrated. Zhao Yuanzhou, however, thanks the Tiandu representatives for hosting the conference. The tension in the room eases with his smile.
As Zhuo Yichen sees their guests out, he watches the way Zhao Yuanzhou’s hand lingers for the briefest moment on Wen Xiao’s elbow. He watches as she steps closer to him, lifting her chin to meet his gaze in a challenge that seems inviting rather than antagonistic. It makes Zhuo Yichen’s heart stutter uncomfortably.
Zhuo Yichen is taken by surprise when his head is yanked back suddenly. He twists around to see Li Lun’s fingers wrapped around one of his braids.
“This meeting was more entertaining than you anticipated, wasn’t it, kid?” Li Lun asks as he twirls the braid around his index finger.
Zhuo Yichen’s mouth goes dry as embarrassment swells in his throat. Li Lun grins at him. Before Yichen can react, Zhao Yuanzhou is next to them. He grabs Li Lun’s wrist so hard that Li Lun’s fingers spasm and release the braid.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Zhao Yuanzhou growls out in a low voice that only Li Lun and Zhuo Yichen can hear.
Li Lun’s eyes flash with a violence that startles Zhuo Yichen into reaching out and trying to pry Zhao Yuanzhou’s fingers off of his wrist.
“It’s okay, Zhao-qianbei,” he says hurriedly. “Li-qianbei was just joking around.” Zhao Yuanzhou’s grip is strong; his fingers don’t budge.
Zhao Yuanzhou gives Zhuo Yichen an appraising look and then slowly releases Li Lun’s arm. “I apologize on his behalf, Xiao Zhuo.”
Zhuo Yichen’s ears redden as he waves away the apology.
Zhao Yuanzhou’s expression softens and he raises a hand to pat the side of Zhuo Yichen’s head. “Thank you for your hospitality today. I hope you’re able to attend the next conference, as well.”
His thumb sweeps across his scalp gently once and Zhuo Yichen feels like his stomach is in freefall. Zhuo Yichen ducks his head and mumbles something deferential. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Li Lun throw him a disparaging glance before turning back to Zhao Yuanzhou.
The Wilderness delegation departs, and Wen Xiao loops her arm in his as they head back into the Tiandu Bureau of State Affairs.
As they walk, Zhuo Yichen studies Wen Xiao. She looks as at ease as always but he can tell she’s pleased. “Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun both seem formidable, don’t they, jie?”
“They’re strong,” she acquiesces. “But not indomitable.”
“I think jie has a particular advantage over Zhao Yuanzhou.” The words leave Zhuo Yichen’s mouth before he realizes he’s said them out loud.
Wen Xiao has a mischievous smile as she nudges his shoulder with her own. As their steps falter together and they begin shoving each other playfully down the hall, Zhuo Yichen does his best to ignore the new tightness in his chest.
~~~
One month later, Zhuo Yichen’s brother, father, and the rest of the core Tiandu delegation are massacred at the Bureau. The killers are identified as a ragtag group of bandits from the Wilderness, but their organized assault implies the collaboration between skilled assassins and someone who is familiar with the layout of Tiandu Bureau.
Wen Xiao and her father step in to fulfill delegation duties, though there is immense public and political pressure to call off negotiations with the Wilderness indefinitely. Zhuo Yichen remembers shooting pain in his scalp and the strength of Zhao Yuanzhou’s grip. He takes up his brother’s gun and begins training.
~~~
The next time Zhuo Yichen sees Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun, he tries to shoot them. He’s almost seventeen, on the other side of a growth spurt, and uses his anger to fight through each day. He doesn’t give a warning before firing two shots. Zhao Yuanzhou must have been expecting such a reception because he grabs Li Lun and pulls them both behind a planter.
Zhuo Yichen walks down the entrance hall steps of the Bureau slowly, panting. His hand shakes from adrenaline and the knowledge that he just tried to kill someone.
He stops several meters away from the planter. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“Zhuo Yichen, please. We came to talk.” Zhao Yuanzhou’s voice rings out and there’s a flash of movement. Zhuo Yichen raises his glock, but the movement ends up just being Zhao Yuanzhou’s empty hands, raised up in surrender over the short wall.
Zhuo Yichen fixes his aim over the space between Zhao Yuanzhou’s hands. “Why should I believe you?”
“Because the war between Tiandu and the Wilderness is destroying both of us, and we need your help.”
Zhuo Yichen lets out a derisive snort. “Something you didn’t foresee when you sent assassins?”
“Zhuo Yichen, I swear on my life it wasn’t us.”
“That’s not worth much to me.”
“Zhuo Yichen!” Wen Xiao screams from the top of the stairs. She must have followed the sound of the gunshots. Zhuo Yichen spins around and comes face to face with Li Lun, who had been sneaking up on him from behind.
Li Lun knocks the gun out of Zhuo Yichen’s hands and twists his arm painfully behind his back. He kicks in the back of Zhuo Yichen’s knees, and Zhuo Yichen hits the floor hard. The blade of a dagger is wedged under his jaw and Zhuo Yichen winces as it bites into his flesh.
Wen Xiao is running down the stairs as Zhao Yuanzhou’s voice rings out. “Li Lun, stop!” They both stop before Li Lun and Zhuo Yichen.
“Let him go!” Her command echoes in the empty courtyard.
Li Lun doesn’t move. “He attacked us first.”
“Li Lun, stand down.” Zhao Yuanzhou sounds like he did two years ago when Li Lun was playing with Zhuo Yichen’s hair.
It’s a stupid thing to remember with a blade at his throat, and Zhuo Yichen suddenly feels small and young again in a way he hasn’t for over a year. He closes his eyes, centering himself. He starts tensing his body, preparing to flip Li Lun over his shoulder.
“Let him go, or this trip will have been for nothing.” Zhao Yuanzhou grabs the wrist holding the dagger with one hand and uses his other to hold onto Zhuo Yichen’s shoulder. It successfully breaks through Zhuo Yichen’s concentration. Zhuo Yichen grits his teeth in frustration.
After a tense moment, Li Lun pulls back. Wen Xiao quickly ducks down and grabs Zhuo Yichen’s gun before anyone else can make a move for it. Zhuo Yichen gets to his feet and stands in between her and the two intruders.
Zhao Yuanzhou takes a deep breath. “We finally caught all of the thugs responsible for the massacre. They’ve been dealt with.”
Zhuo Yichen raises a skeptical eyebrow.
Li Lun nods at a large black duffle bag that he had dropped when Zhuo Yichen had opened fire. “Their heads, if you want to go count them.”
Wen Xiao lets out a noise of disgust. “And you didn’t think to leave any of them alive so we could question them ourselves?”
Zhao Yuanzhou looks apologetically at her. “That was the original plan, but they had cyanide fillings in their teeth we didn’t catch. It’s technology we’ve never seen before. Two of them must have been holding onto the capsules for years without breaking them.”
Wen Xiao gets a thoughtful expression. Zhuo Yichen watches Zhao Yuanzhou watch her. He wants to punch Zhao Yuanzhou.
“Jie, you can’t buy their story that easily.”
Wen Xiao nods slowly. “We’ll have the guards search them thoroughly. Once they’re clear, we’ll put them in the holding cells. Verifying the IDs’ of these heads as the killers will be simple enough with the surveillance footage and DNA samples we have on file. I need time to examine the teeth regardless.”
Wen Xiao motions with the barrel of the glock for Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun to walk ahead of her as they ascend the stairs together. “Yichen, go grab whoever hasn’t been incapacitated to start patrolling the perimeter. They could be a distraction.” She indicates Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lin. Zhao Yuanzhou looks sheepishly back at her, and she prods him with the muzzle to face forward.
When they reach the top of the steps, Wen Xiao calls out to Zhuo Yichen before he splits off to find guards. “And Xiao Zhuo, I’ll help you patch up your neck once they’re locked up.”
Zhuo Yichen touches his neck and his fingers come away red. He glances up to see Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou looking at him with matching expressions of regret. Li Lun’s gaze is hard and unreadable.
Zhuo Yichen shakes his head. “I can do it myself. I’ll meet you at the holding cell, jie.” He walks away alone.
~~~
It only takes a day and a half to verify Zhao Yuanzhou’s story. Although they are not free to roam the Bureau by themselves, Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun are allowed to be in the library and lab with Wen Xiao under supervision. More often than not, supervision ends up being Zhuo Yichen.
Zhao Yuanzhou and Wen Xiao bend over reports and references together, dissecting the events of the nights of the massacre and looking for clues about the organizer.
Li Lun apparently has little interest in research. He prowls the room like a caged tiger, and it sets Zhuo Yichen’s teeth on edge. Zhao Yuanzhou and Wen Xiao pay him no mind, so caught up in their work and each other. A week into their collaboration, Zhuo Yichen watches them share a secret smile when they don’t think anyone is looking.
“Time passes but nothing changes,” Li Lun purrs into Zhuo Yichen’s ear.
Years of training stop Zhuo Yichen from flinching as he is caught unawares by Li Lun. It’s an unfortunate habit Li Lun has developed, and seems to give him much entertainment. Zhuo Yichen doesn’t respond.
Li Lun exhales, and goosebumps raise down Zhuo Yichen’s spine as his breath hits the shell of his ear. “I’m bored. I want to get out of here.”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
To Zhuo Yichen’s dismay, Li Lun smiles at this. “Perfect, let’s go together.”
“No.”
“This is a waste of both our time. I know you’re bored, too.”
“You have no discipline.”
Li Lun blinks twice at that, and a devilish look takes over his face. “You’re right. I’m very undisciplined. Let’s go train, Xiao Zhuo. You can show me what proper discipline looks like.”
“Don’t call me that,” Zhuo Yichen spits out. It’s the wrong thing to do because Li Lun laughs.
“Come now, Xiao Zhuo. I think there’s a lot you could teach me.”
“Li Lun.” They both turn to see Zhao Yuanzhou walking towards them, jaw set.
Li Lun’s expression turns ugly. Without thinking, Zhuo Yichen reaches his arm out between them as he turns to fully face Li Lun.
Li Lun looks down at Zhuo Yichen’s arm. “You’re protecting him again?” he asks incredulously.
Zhuo Yichen is caught off guard.
“Stop picking fights with him,” Zhao Yuanzhou hisses.
Li Lun lets out another laugh that’s decidedly less entertained. “I’m not picking fights with him. We’re just joking around, aren’t we, Zhuo Yichen? I have to find some way to entertain myself while you find your way into her pants.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhuo Yichen watches Zhao Yuanzhou rear back as if he’s going to shove Li Lun. He steps directly in between them and locks eyes with Li Lun. “Let’s go train.”
Li Lun’s face goes through a myriad of expressions until he takes a deep breath. He smiles pleasantly. “Lead the way, Xiao Zhuo.”
Zhuo Yichen looks over at where Wen Xiao is standing next to her notes and tries his best at a reassuring smile. “We’ll be in the gym, jie.”
She purses her lips but nods.
Zhuo Yichen and Li Lun walk to the gym in silence. It’s empty when they arrive, the door clanging shut behind them. An overhead light flickers.
Li Lun walks around, inspecting the weights and cardio equipment before stopping at a mat. He beckons Zhuo Yichen. “Your hand-to-hand form is pretty terrible. Luckily, ge is willing to teach you the basics today.” His smile is easy. He seems to have shaken off the altercation with Zhao Yuanzhou.
Zhuo Yichen rolls his eyes, but his knees still ache from when he was pinned to the floor, so he walks over. Li Lun looks delighted.
They run through some drills until Zhuo Yichen can fall into the proper stances reliably. Zhuo Yichen is a quick learner, and Li Lun is begrudgingly impressed by his improvement in the forty-five minutes they’ve spent practicing.
Zhuo Yichen straightens up and rolls his neck, having just broken out of Li Lun’s hold and thrown him to the floor for the third time in a row. “Is that all you can teach me?”
Li Lun’s eyebrows shoot up. “If you’re so confident, let’s spar then.”
“Sure. Don’t hold back though, old man.”
Li Lun gets to his feet slowly. “Xiao Zhuo, you’re going to regret saying that.”
It’s clear very quickly that despite Li Lun’s words, he’s going easy on Zhuo Yichen. At one point, when Zhuo Yichen has him pinned to the floor, he pants out, “Stop holding back.” Li Lun is under him, his chest pressed into the mat. He’s not even breathing as hard as Zhuo Yichen. Zhuo Yichen growls and leans in close to whisper, “This is so disappointing. I should have asked Zhao Yuanzhou to train me instead.”
Those prove to be the magic words. In one wild movement, Li Lun bucks Zhuo Yichen off and jumps up. He presses up against Zhuo Yichen from behind. They are both kneeling on the mat and Li Lun has Zhuo Yichen’s arms pinned behind his back.
One hand snakes up into Zhuo Yichen’s hair and yanks back his head until it’s resting on Li Lun’s shoulder. “Xiao Zhuo, shouldn’t you show a little more respect to someone who just spent an hour teaching you a new technique?”
He tugs on Zhuo Yichen’s hair sharply when no response is forthcoming.
“I’m sorry, Li-qianbei,” Zhuo Yichen bites out, feeling his ears flame with embarrassment.
Li Lun clicks his tongue. “So reserved. Call me ‘gege’.”
Zhuo Yichen tries to shake his head but Li Lun’s grip is too tight. “We’re not that close.”
“I disagree,” Li Lun hums.
A stronger tug pulls at his scalp when Zhuo Yichen remains silent for too long.
“Sorry, ge.” The word feels strange on his tongue. He hasn’t called anyone “ge” since his older brother passed away.
Li Lun is so close, Zhuo Yichen can feel his lips pull into a smile against his jaw. “Good boy, Xiao Zhuo,” he murmurs.
That shoots through his body like lightning. He can’t control the way his breath stutters or his heart rate picks up. Li Lun notices. Zhuo Yichen knows Li Lun notices by the way he stills behind him. The only thing Zhuo Yichen can hear is his own breath. He wriggles, trying to break free, but Li Lun’s hold on his hair and his wrists don’t ease up.
Finally, he feels Li Lun starting to move. Instead of pulling away, however, he’s leaning forward. Zhuo Yichen knows when Li Lun sees it because he can hear the soft intake of breath.
“Keep your hands behind your back for me, hm?” Li Lun asks as he lets go of Zhuo Yichen’s wrists and brings his arm around to dip under his waistband. Zhuo Yichen twists his fingers together to keep them in place.
Li Lun’s fingers slide under his pants and the elastic of his boxers to wrap around the base of Zhuo Yichen’s cock. It’s so forward and quick that Zhuo Yichen’s hips rock back in surprise. It creates just the slightest bit of friction before his ass rams into Li Lun, who’s still solidly kneeling behind him. He’s reeling from the unfamiliarity of the situation. No one has ever touched him like this before. Zhuo Yichen doesn’t know if he’s more afraid for it to stop or continue.
“Wait, Xiao Zhuo. Be patient,” Li Lun commands quietly. He starts to pump Zhuo Yichen’s cock, setting a hard and fast pace without preamble. The dry rub between Li Lun’s hand and his cock verge on being painful more than anything else, but every few strokes, Li Lun slows down and eases his grip. A callus on Li Lun’s thumb keeps catching the head. It drives him mad.
At some point his eyes fall close. His mind runs wild, imagining the hands on his body belonging to someone else. Someone tall, with dark hair, kind eyes, and slightly crooked smile. He stifles a groan and bites his tongue so hard he almost breaks skin. It feels wrong to wish for Zhao Yuanzhou when he has no interest in Zhuo Yichen. Not like this. Zhuo Yichen gathers his attention and focuses on Li Lun’s breathing. The soft exhales by his ear are undeniably Li Lun’s.
He opens his eyes and looks to his left. This close, Li Lun is out of focus, but Zhuo Yichen can still easily make out his profile, dark eyebrows above a straight nose. Li Lun’s sharp and beautiful, and when he notices Zhuo Yichen’s stare, he tilts his head to bring their mouths together.
The kiss is soft and dry. It’s a press of the lips that for a moment manages to wipe all thoughts of Zhao Yuanzhou from his mind. Zhuo Yichen doesn’t realize he’s making soft noises in the back of his throat until he feels Li Lun’s lips smile against his. Li Lun breaks away and buries his face in Zhuo Yichen’s neck. His hand hasn’t faltered once.
Zhuo Yichen’s muscles are shaking from holding himself still and upright. He feels sweat gather and run down his back. His thoughts are slowly turning to mush as tension from the hand on his cock and being trapped in the Bureau with Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun rack his body. He’s glad he has to hold his hands behind his back because he doesn’t know what he would do with them if he was allowed to move.
Without warning, Li Lun pulls away entirely. His hands leave Zhuo Yichen’s hair and his pants as he stands up and slowly walks around to face him. Cool air hits Zhuo Yichen’s neck and wrists. Zhuo Yichen looks up at him, breathing hard and feeling bereft. Did he do something wrong?
“Zhuo Yichen, you really are amazing.” Li Lun says a little breathlessly.
Zhuo Yichen whimpers before he can stop himself.
Li Lun’s eyes widen, and then he lets out a shaky laugh. “If Xiao Zhuo continues to be good for me, I’ll give him a reward. How does that sound?”
Zhuo Yichen licks at his chapped lips. Li Lun’s eyes track his tongue.
“Okay.” There’s a hint of a tremor in Zhuo Yichen’s voice.
Li Lun leans down to run his thumb along Zhuo Yichen’s cheek. After a moment, he seems to catch himself and pulls back. He shifts down the waistband of his pants to release his cock from its confines. His cock is hard and hangs heavy in front of Zhuo Yichen’s face.
Li Lun gives himself a couple quick pumps before stepping up and placing the head of his cock against Zhuo Yichen’s mouth. A bead of precum catches on Zhuo Yichen’s lower lip. “Open up, Yichen.”
Zhuo Yichen’s mouth opens and Li Lun pushes the head slowly inside his lips. It rests on Zhuo Yichen’s tongue. It takes up so much space in his mouth. “Give me your hands.”
Zhuo Yichen’s hands have almost gone numb from how tightly he has been holding them. He offers them up to Li Lun, and Li Lun smiles at the severe red and white lines crossing his fingers. Li Lun rubs at his numb fingers for a moment before guiding Zhuo Yichen’s hands to rest on his hips. “Give me a tap if it ever gets too much. Tap once if you understand.”
Zhuo Yichen taps his hip. Li Lun smiles. “Good. Mind your teeth, okay?”
Li Lun grabs a fistful of Zhuo Yichen’s hair, holding him in place. Zhuo Yichen shivers. Li Lun pulls back until he’s almost completely out of Yichen’s mouth and then slides back in.
Unlike before when he was roughly twisting his hand over the sensitive skin of his cock, the pace Li Lun sets now is slow, and his thrusts are shallow. Zhuo Yichen waits for the moment he goes deeper, when Li Lun’s cock will hit his throat. The thought makes saliva collect in his mouth even as he shivers in trepidation. He swallows what he can and Li Lun groans above him.
The moment never comes though. At some point Zhuo Yichen realizes that Li Lun has no intention of going further. He only presses in as far as he thinks Zhuo Yichen can take. It’s…sweet. It’s consideration Zhuo Yichen didn’t know that Li Lun could possess.
Li Lun is looking at him with hooded eyes and an expression that Zhuo Yichen now recognizes as fondness. It’s akin to the expression Zhao Yuanzhou has while listening to Zhuo Yichen’s formal reports or when Zhao Yuanzhou realizes that dinner was made by Zhuo Yichen. It’s almost the same warmth that Zhao Yuanzhou has when he looks at Wen Xiao. No–focus. Zhuo Yichen sucks harder and moans with Li Lun.
It feels too soon when Zhuo Yichen becomes aware of the ache in his jaw. He doesn’t want to stop, but he doesn’t know how much longer he can go. It’s getting harder to keep his lips closed fully around Li Lun. On the next thrust, Li Lun’s cock pushes saliva out of the corner of Yichen’s mouth. Zhuo Yichen whimpers at the mess but he can’t move his hands to wipe it clean.
Suddenly, Li Lun pulls out all the way. Zhuo Yichen takes a wet breath and coughs on spit. When he’s able to breathe normally, his head is guided up by the hand still in his hair. Li Lun is working his own cock with his other hand.
“Look at me,” Li Lun commands in a ragged voice.
Zhuo Yichen blinks up at him, bottom lip wet. He slowly opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue.
Li Lun lets out a choked-off moan as his cock spills between them. Flecks of white splash onto Zhuo Yichen’s lips, tongue, and chin. Some paints the mat.
Zhuo Yichen quickly closes his mouth and swallows. He grimaces at the taste, which makes Li Lun chuckle.
Li Lun leans down over him, cock still hanging free in the open air and softening. The hand tangled in Zhuo Yichen’s hair is stroking his head. “You were amazing, Xiao Zhuo. Are you ready for your reward?”
It’s at that moment the door to the gym swings open and Zhao Yuanzhou steps through. He’s only a few steps inside before he stops and registers the scene in front of him. A red fury takes over and he starts towards Li Lun.
Li Lun has let go of Zhuo Yichen and is quickly tucking himself back inside his pants. “No, Zhao Yuanzhou–”
That’s as far as Li Lun gets before Zhao Yuanzhou’s fist cracks against his jaw. Li Lun, not expecting the hit, doesn’t defend himself. He falls to the ground. As he rolls to the side, Zhao Yuanzhou swings a leg back and kicks him in the ribs. And kicks him again. And again. The sounds coming from Li Lun make Zhuo Yichen flinch.
When he’s sure that Li Lun isn’t about to stand up, Zhao Yuanzhou turns to Zhuo Yichen, who hasn’t moved from his place on his mat. Zhao Yuanzhou kneels slowly in front of him. “It’s okay, Zhuo Yichen. You’re okay.”
Zhuo Yichen, who was fully expecting to receive Zhao Yuanzhou’s wrath, just blinks at him.
“It’s okay,” Zhao Yuanzhou repeats. “Deep breath in, hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly.”
Zhuo Yichen becomes aware of the fact that he’s hyperventilating. He tries to follow Zhao Yuanzhou’s instructions, but he can’t. His gasps echo in the gym, mixing with Li Lun’s labored breaths of pain.
Zhao Yuanzhou slowly brings up a hand to wipe tears from Zhuo Yichen’s cheeks. He pauses and then gently cleans the mess on his lips and chin.
The mortification is enough to get Zhuo Yichen to speak. “Please, don’t tell jiejie.” He recoils back and presses his hands to the floor, lowering himself in supplication. He has to speak around his hiccuping breaths but Zhao Yuanzhou seems to decipher his plea.
“Xiao Zhuo, it’s not your fault,” Zhao Yuanzhou coaxes gently.
Zhuo Yichen looks up at him, panic mounting. “No, no you can’t.” Zhuo Yichen grabs at Zhao Yuanzhou’s sleeve. “Swear to me, Zhao Yuanzhou. Nothing will ever be mentioned once we leave this room.”
“Yichen…”
Zhuo Yichen is shaking his head. “It’s my only request. Please, ge.”
Something in Zhao Yuanzhou’s expression breaks, and to Zhuo Yichen’s great relief, he nods. “Okay. Okay, I promise.”
Finally, Zhuo Yichen collapses. Zhao Yuanzhou’s arms come around to support him. It’s almost a hug, almost intimacy. He shudders and tries to push away that line of thinking, tries to ignore Zhao Yuanzhou’s musk surrounding him. Zhuo Yichen thinks he might throw up.
“I need to take a shower,” Zhuo Yichen mumbles as he tries to push himself to his feet. Zhao Yuanzhou’s arms tighten around him. Zhuo Yichen can’t let it go on. He pushes at Zhao Yuanzhou’s arms, which fall away immediately. He doesn’t look at Zhao Yuanzhou; he doesn’t want to see the expression on his face.
Zhuo Yichen is about to move towards the door, when he catches sight of Li Lun. Their eyes meet. He looks like a cornered animal, grimacing in pain. And anger.
Zhuo Yichen would rather slice open his own stomach than say the following words, but he says them anyway. “He didn’t force me to do anything.” Zhuo Yichen’s words hang heavy in the gym. “He’s not…he didn’t hurt me.” There’s a brief flash of surprise on Li Lun’s face before his expression goes blank.
Zhao Yuanzhou freezes beside him. Zhuo Yichen keeps his eyes fixed on Li Lun. The three of them suffocate in the silence of the gym. Zhuo Yichen finally breaks it when he’s shaking too hard to stay standing still. He takes an uneven step forward. Zhao Yuanzhou makes to follow him, but Zhuo Yichen angles away. Out of the corner of his eye he watches Zhao Yuanzhou back off.
“I’m going to go to my room, ge,” Zhuo Yichen whispers. “I need to shower.”
Zhuo Yichen walks to the door alone, feeling Li Lun’s eyes watching him like the sharp edge of a knife.
~~~
The next morning, Zhuo Yichen comes down, hollow-eyed and on edge to see Wen Xiao eating breakfast by herself. When she catches sight of him, she stands up, a frown of concern on her face. She presses the back of her hand to his forehead.
“Yichen, are you ill? You’re so pale.”
Zhou gently shrugs off her hand and offers a bland smile. “Just the nightmares,” he lies. Another pang of shame at using his family’s deaths to hide what he did from Wen Xiao. He looks at the food on the table and has little confidence of keeping any of it down.
“Zhao Yuanzhou and Li Lun left last night.”
Zhuo Yichen blinks and with great effort keeps his face neutral.
“We found a lead that Zhao Yuanzhou wanted to follow up in the Wilderness. He ran off even though I told him he could at least wait until today to start traveling. He was adamant to start right away. I didn’t even see Li Lun before they left. Zhao Yuanzhou promised to return in a couple weeks, though.”
Wen Xiao gives him a look he can’t decipher. His heart rate picks up.
She rests her hand on his arm. “How did training with him go? Did he bother you again, Xiao Zhuo?”
“No,” Zhuo Yichen replies quickly. “No, he actually taught me some moves I didn’t know.” He forces a small smile. “He can be annoying sometimes, but I can handle him, jie. Trust me.”
Wen Xiao sighs. “I do trust you, Xiao Zhuo. I know you can take care of yourself. I just want you to know you can come to me with anything, no matter how small or annoying. You don’t have to have to handle things alone.” She smiles and the knot in Zhuo Yichen’s stomach loosens somewhat.
Zhuo Yichen sends out a silent thanks to Zhao Yuanzhou for keeping his word. He then casts about for a change in topic. “I’m hungry. Jie, sit with me and tell me about the lead you and Zhao Yuanzhou discovered.”
Wen Xiao obliges. “Xiao Zhuo, do you remember Wen Zongyu?”
~~~
Zhuo Yichen carefully wraps a bullet wound on Zhao Yuanzhou’s left arm. He finishes up tucking in the corners of the bandage. “When we’re back we can take the bullet out. Don’t use this arm for now.”
Zhao Yuanzhou smiles. “Thank you, Xiao Zhuo.”
Zhuo Yichen glares at him. “And don’t pull a stunt like that again. If you die taking a bullet for me, Wen Xiao will kill both of us.”
“You’re wrong,” Zhao Yuanzhou says lightly. “You know how important you are to her. It’s one of the things we’ve always agreed upon.”
Zhuo Yichen can feel the telltale warmth gathering in his ears, but he’s annoyed enough to ignore it. “Just don’t do it again. It’s easier for you to walk back to the Bureau than have me drag your body back.”
Zhao Yuanzhou gives him a little sardonic salute.
Zhuo Yichen sighs as he gets to his feet and holds out a hand. Zhao Yuanzhou offers a sweet smile before grabbing at him with his working arm and hauling himself up. He stumbles on his feet and Zhuo Yichen steadies him. Zhuo Yichen focuses on the fact that Zhao Yuanzhou must have lost more blood than he realized rather than the feel of his firm torso under his hands.
Zhuo Yichen wraps an arm around Zhao Yuanzhou’s waist. They survey the warehouse together. The bodies littered around them are all unrecognizable.
Zhuo Yichen uses his shoe to tilt up the head of the man who’d just tried to shoot him. “Well, it looks like the tipoff from the drug runners was correct, but our source on the shift change was wrong.”
Zhao Yuanzhou huffs indignantly. “I canvassed this place for two weeks, Xiao Zhuo. Something must have changed this evening. There were more guards here tonight than I’ve seen before.”
Zhuo Yichen raises an eyebrow, unimpressed.
A voice behind them calls out, “Wow, you didn’t spare any of my men, did you, Zhao Yuanzhou?”
Zhuo Yichen feels like he’s been dowsed in ice water. He turns to face the owner of the voice he hasn’t heard in three years. His fingers holding Zhao Yuanzhou’s waist twitch. Zhao Yuanzhou shoots him an apprehensive look, and he steps forward, partially blocking Zhuo Yichen from view.
Li Lun is surveying the room, shaking his head in disappointment. His hair is longer now and he’s just as fiercely beautiful as before. He’s in joggers and a tank top, as if he’s just come from the gym. There’s a pistol gripped casually in one arm, and Zhuo Yichen notices there are burn marks running down his arm from his neck to his fingertips.
“Li Lun, how long have you been working with Wen Zongyu?” Zhao Yuanzhou’s voice is low. Zhuo Yichen glances at him. Zhao Yuanzhou’s hands are curled into fists and Zhuo Yichen can faintly trace tremors of anger coursing through him.
Li Lun gives a half shrug. “Around the time he approached me about smuggling in medical equipment and pharmaceuticals into the Wilderness. You might not know this since you’ve run away to live with your little wife in Tiandu, but our people have been dying. Five years of sanctions have left the Wilderness with little medicine.”
“You’re a fool,” Zhao Yuanzhou grits out. “Who do you think attacked the Bureau during trade negotiations in the first place?” Li Lin’s eyes narrow. “It’s taken us years to track down his supply chain because every time we begin to close in on him, he sets fire to the goods with his runners locked inside the building. What makes you think you’ll be any luckier than they were once he realizes we’ve found this place, too.”
Li Lun says nothing. He glances down at his men and then back to Zhao Yuanzhou.
“Ge,” Zhuo Yichen cuts in. Li Lun turns to look at him for the first time since entering the warehouse. “Come to the Bureau. We can show you what we’ve pieced together so far. We have evidence that he’s been destabilizing relations between Tiandu and the Wilderness for far longer than five years.”
Li Lun tilts his head, considering. “A very lazy trap, Xiao Zhuo. But you never were one for subtlety, so I’m almost inclined to believe you.”
Zhuo Yichen narrows his eyes. “Come along peacefully, and I promise no one will do you any harm.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Xiao Zhuo. Besides, I’m thinking of finishing the two of you off here. That’d be the simplest solution.”
Zhao Yuanzhou exhales forcefully. “You know you can’t take down both of us.”
There’s a flash of anger in Li Lun’s eyes. Zhuo Yichen steps forward. “No one will be holding you hostage. Just listen to what we have to say, and then you’ll be free to go. And besides, you owe me. ”
Li Lun raises his eyebrows. “Do I?”
Zhuo Yichen steels himself before looking earnestly into Li Lun’s eyes. “I’ve been waiting three years, ge. Where’s my reward?”
Zhao Yuanzhou makes an aborted movement next to him, and Li Lun stares at him with wide eyes. Zhuo Yichen takes a breath, and raises his chin in challenge.
~~~
Once they make it back to the Bureau, Zhuo Yichen sends Zhao Yuanzhou off to get his arm treated by Wen Xiao. Zhao Yuanzhou is reluctant to leave the two of them alone together.
“Go,” Zhuo Yichen repeats, pushing at his good shoulder.
“If he tries anything–”
“I’ll handle it. I’m not a child, Zhao Yuanzhou.”
“Not anymore,” Zhao Yuanzho mutters darkly before finally stalking out of the library.
Zhuo Yichen bolts the door shut behind him. He turns to look at Li Lun.
Li Lun is leaning against one of the tables, watching him.
Zhuo Yichen presses two fingers against the knuckles of Li Lun’s hand and follows the fire scars slowly up his arm. He stops at the edge of blistered skin, and lightly curls his fingers around Li Lun’s neck.
“What happened?”
Li Lun lets out a short bark of a laugh. “My best friend walked in on me and his girlfriend’s little brother. I was confined to bedrest after he broke four of my ribs, and somehow the safehouse I was recovering in caught fire. He says he didn’t do it.” Li Lun’s expression is bitter.
Zhuo Yichen hums thoughtfully. “If he says he didn’t do it, then he probably didn’t. You know how he is.”
“Of course you’d defend him.” There’s no fight in it. Li Lun just sounds tired.
Zhuo Yichen gently brushes an errant lock of hair out of Li Lun’s eyes. “He took a bullet for me today. Look,” Zhuo Yichen rolls up the sleeve of his shirt and holds up his arm in front of Li Lun’s face. He can feel each exhale against his skin. “Not a scratch.” He brings his arm closer until it just grazes Li Lun’s lips.
Li Lun’s eyes flick between Zhuo Yichen’s arm and face.
“Nothing to remember him by,” Zhuo Yichen whispers.
Li Lun snaps forward and bites down on his arm, hard. Zhuo Yichen shudders and hisses through his teeth.
After a few moments, Li Lun pulls away. There’s a faint smear of red on his lower lip from breaking skin.
Zhuo Yichen leans forward and licks the blood off. Li Lun’s hand comes to grab Zhuo Yichen’s hair at the base of his skull. Their mouths slots together, and Zhuo Yichen sighs into his surrender.
~~~
Later that night, after Li Lun departs to meet with his right-hand woman, Zhuo Yichen and Zhao Yuanzhou sit together on the couch. The news flashes across the television, a story about a warehouse located near the southern edge of the Wilderness-Tiandu border catching fire.
Zhuo Yichen compulsively runs his fingers over his sleeve, which hides the imprint of Li Lun’s teeth on the crook of his elbow. “He’ll come back. I think he’s figured out how much he has to gain by allying with us.”
There’s pain in Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes when he says, “Okay, Yichen.”
Zhuo Yichen smiles.