Work Text:
Five Things You Don’t Have to Do When You Fall in Love with Your Best Friend . . .
- Introduce him to the family
Bai Qingtang walks into Bai Yutong's office without so much as a knock. She has an important matter to discuss with her little brother, and things like 'formality' and 'etiquette' are for times when she isn’t running up against the clock. Besides, it’s not like she’s made a habit of knocking on his door – even if the shades are drawn and the door is closed – so why would she start now?
She's not surprised to find Yutong isn't alone.
And it isn't a shock that Zhan Yao is with him.
She didn't expect to find them together in the way that she finds them, though. Yutong leaning down and leaning into Zhan Yao’s space as Zhan Yao is seated in her brother’s desk chair. One of Yutong’s hands is pressed on his desk while the other cups Zhan Yao’s face, and she can see that Zhan Yao has a loose grip on her brother's tie as they kiss.
Qingtang closes the door quietly before she clears her throat. She is a big sister, after all.
"Jiě," Yutong stutters, standing up straight so quickly that Zhan Yao rocks a few times in the chair. Both of their faces wear expressions somewhere between panicked and punch-drunk and add to that Yutong’s wrinkled tie and the way Zhan’s hair is sticking up on the side -- as damning evidence as any that they've been doing this for a while, in all ways -– she has to bite back a smile. Yutong clears his throat, runs a hand down his tie, and asks, "What are you doing here?"
The next family dinner will be a good one, she thinks to herself and smiles.
- Figure out which side of the bed he prefers
They arrive home on autopilot. The case had been long, and they weren’t quite as whole as they had been five days and two deaths ago, but there was a criminal in custody, and Bao Sir had given – ordered, actually – everyone to take an extra two days before returning to S.C.I.
Yutong stripped out of his clothes and took the first shower while Zhan Yao pulled sleep shorts and sleep pants and shirts out of their closet and then joined him in the shower to save time.
Yutong rolled onto his right side as Zhan Yao climbed into bed and then wrapped his arm around Zhan Yao’s chest, his chin resting on Zhan Yao’s shoulder. They fell asleep to the sound of each other’s breathing.
- Have to explain where you got that one scar
"Remember what happens when you don't test a branch before grabbing it," Zhan Yao says, running his thumb over the scar at Yutong's clavicle.
He remembers Yutong – 13 years old, smiling and fearless – climbing the tree higher and higher as his own two feet stayed on the ground.
'To keep watch ' Yutong had said, patting Zhan Yao's head as he started to scale the trunk. Zhan Yao's fear of heights left unsaid.
The snap and crack of the branch giving way under Yutong's hand and the crack and crunch of bone snapping as he fell halfway down the tree and landed on one of the larger branches is still a vivid memory even two decades later.
"I remember you got over your hatred of heights quickly," Yutong says, looking down at Zhan Yao's hand. The scar from Du She’s knife is no more than a thin pink line now. Yutong brings Zhan Yao’s hand to his lips and kisses it.
“You could have chosen a less-painful-for-yourself form of immersion therapy, you know.”
“Words are your thing, kitten, action is mine.”
Zhan Yao closes the small distance between them. “Oh really?”
- Confess to your childhood fear (which might also be an adulthood concern)
Yutong scoots over closer to where Zhan Yao is seated on the couch. He grabs the blanket that is folded over the back and throws one corner over Zhan Yao's shoulders and lets the other drape across his own. Zhan Yao’s features are made more pronounced by the blueish light of the television screen and he looks at Yutong, one dark eyebrow raised in question.
"This is a ghost repellent," he says, poking Zhan Yao's side and smiling at the twitch of muscle as Zhan Yao reacts. "And just to be on the safe side--" Yutong wraps his arms around Zhan Yao's waist and pushes them both down onto the cushions to the sound of Zhan Yao’s exhaled 'Xiao-Bai'
- Teach him where that one spot is
“Dr. Zhan. Dr. Zhan ,” Wang Shao whispered with increasing urgency, his hand waving rapidly to get Zhan Yao’s attention.
Zhao Fu stood next to Wang Shao and appeared to be serving as a lookout, his eyes darting back and forth. Bai Chi, was sitting near them, biting his thumbnail and looked like he was torn between running away and wanting to join in the conversation. Ma Han was sitting on the edge of the table near them, looking skeptical. He knew she thought they were being overly dramatic, but they were investigators, they needed to collect evidence before jumping to any conclusions – especially about their boss.
So they needed to consult the expert.
Zhan Yao joined the group.
Wang Shao looked up to make sure Bai Yutong was nowhere to be seen. “Have you noticed something off about Bai Sir? All day he's been irritated,”
“More than usual, and also not like usual,” Zhao Fu said. “It’s like he's, I don't know, itching for a fight.”
“-- or like a point he's trying to reach–” Wang Shao said, trying to think of how to express it.
Zhao Fu hissed in warning just before their boss pushed through the doors, walking like a man on a mission.
The team snapped to attention – all except for the doctor, whose shoulders were relaxed and his head tilted to one side. They all waited as Bai Yutong picked up a marker and updated the whiteboard.
“I’ve never seen him in this kind of mood,” Bai Chi said a little too loudly.
Yutong stopped his writing. “I am not in a mood,” he said, turning around and giving a stern look to his team as his shoulders shifted again. Wang Shao shot a glance at Ma Han, who gave a subtle nod confirming that, no, he was not imagining their boss’s twitch that time.
“Yutong,” Zhan Yao said, a thread of curiosity in his voice that Wang Shao recognized as his analytical voice.
“Dr. Zhan?” their boss answered, his voice clipped.
“You were just trying a new detergent, weren't you?” Zhan Yao said, moving to take his place by Bai Yutong’s side.
“What does that –” was all that Bai Yutong got out before Zhan Yao turned him, his hand resting flat for a moment on the space in the middle of Yutong’s back, just below the line of his shoulder blades.
Zhan Yao gave him a look that Wang Shao could hear .
“Xiao-Bai.” Was what Zhan Yao said – and Wang Shao felt like he was spying on a private moment, even though they were all standing in the middle of their office, as he began to scratch and Bai Yutong visibly melted into the touch. “It's always right here.”
Oh.
And One Thing You Do
Reassess everything
“Are you purring?” Yutong asked, contorting himself so he could see Zhan Yao’s face without disturbing him.
“Hmm?” Zhan Yao's hummed, turning his head from where he was pillowed on Yutong's stomach. His smile was as lazy as a cat who’d been dozing in the sun.
“You –” Yutong could feel his cheeks flushing, a cool wash of realization cascading over his skin. “You knew I was going to say it.”
“Xiao-Bai.” Zhan Yao’s voice was like silk, it made Yutong's body feel electric. “If you didn’t, I would have. I do and we are. We have been for a long time.”