Because @thewickling sent me a very timely reminder about writing, have a follow-up drabble to overture.
“What are you doing?” is the first thing that leaves Zhan Yao’s lips when Bai Yutong unceremoniously tucks himself into Zhan Yao’s bed.
“Sleeping,” Yutong says simply, turning on his side to face Zhan Yao, and then rolling his eyes at the look of affront on Zhan Yao’s face. “Relax. I’m clean. I just showered, remember?”
Zhan Yao swats at Yutong’s arm. “You’re not sleeping on my bed.”
Tag: bai yutong
overture – sarahyyy – S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV) [Archive of Our Own]
“Does Xiao Zhan know that you’re in love with him?”
Yutong looks horrified at Qingtang’s words, and for a second, Qingtang almost thinks that Yutong is going to deny it, or worse, that Yutong hasn’t even figured it out for himself.
Thankfully, all Yutong ends up saying is, “Of course he doesn’t know! Why would he know?” His eyes narrow and then widen almost comically in quick succession. “Did you tell him? Did someone tell him?”
Shout out to @thewickling and @redfeathered for both your efforts in nagging me to finish this fic. ❤
overture – sarahyyy – S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV) [Archive of Our Own]
YaoYutong 5. I never read them in a au fic so it will be interesting 🌸
Alright, alright, I’ve wanted to try evil!Zhan Yao for a bit now. 😀
The first time Bai Yutong meets Zhan Yao, it’s in an interrogation room, and Yutong honestly can’t tell if he wants to hit Zhan Yao, or if he wants to slam Zhan Yao against the wall so Yutong can fucking kiss that infuriating smirk off his goddamn face.
“Buddy, it’s been seventeen hours,” Yutong grits out.
“It has,” Zhan Yao agrees. “And I see you haven’t made any progress in the investigation. You do realise if you can’t find enough evidence to charge me, you’ll have to let me go, right?”
Yutong wants to hit him. That’s where it’s leaning now. “Don’t get cocky,” Yutong warns.
Another flash of that goddamn smirk. Zhan Yao leans forward in his seat. “I haven’t even started getting cocky yet, Bai Sir,” he murmurs. “I’ll wait till we’re counting down to the last hour to start. That gives you…six more hours to figure something out before I get really annoying.”
Yutong leans in close. “There hasn’t been a suspect I’ve been unable to crack yet,” he tells Zhan Yao.
Zhan Yao laughs, and leans back in his seat. “That’s because you’ve never had to deal with me before, Bai Sir.”
“Cut the bullshit,” Yutong snaps. Zhan Yao looks too comfortable, too relaxed, like everything is going exactly the way he wants it to be. “Where is Zhao Jue?”
“I can’t solve the puzzle for you,” Zhan Yao says. “You’ve got to at least do some work, hmm?”
Yutong slams his fist on the table. “Zhan Yao.”
Zhan Yao sighs. “You really need to learn how to play nice.” He smirks again. “I’ll tell you what – I’ll trade you a hint for a kiss. Does that sound fair, Bai Yutong?”
send me a fandom/character/ship and a number for a headcanon
OH JESUS this is wonderful, and i think by this point i actively want Zhan Yao to turn evil because i just love his dark side. I love it.
And i think in this case, Bai Yutong gets desperate, and after 5 hours or so he decides he’s going to do it, he’s going to kiss Zhan Yao if that is what will get him the lead he needs. And so he crowds him up against the wall and kisses him hard, angrily. And when he pulls back, Zhan Yao is uncertain for the first time, he looks a little dazed and broken down for a second, and Bai Yutong knows he’s found the way to get to this man.
YES GOOD. Headcanon accepted, that’s 100% what happened.
“Where is he?” Yutong growls, when he pulls back. “I’ve kept my end of the bargain.”
“The harbour,” Zhan Yao says, after a pause.
Zhan Yao’s cheeks are lightly flushed, his lips still red and spit-slicked. Yutong wants to wreck him so badly, wants to bite at Zhan Yao’s lips and make him whimper.
“Where at the harbour?” Yutong asks.
Zhan Yao is, expectedly, silent; Yutong would be lying if he said that he wasn’t pleased by this, because this gives him the excuse he needs to press in close again, to lick into Zhan Yao’s mouth.
A hint for a kiss, that’s what Zhan Yao had said, Yutong reminds himself. Yutong needs to narrow down the search area, that’s all. That’s all.
Zhan Yao’s eyes are closed when Yutong pulls away.
“Where are the harbour?” Yutong repeats. When Zhan Yao doesn’t reply, Yutong tightens his grip on Zhan Yao’s waist. “Where?”
Zhan Yao opens his eyes slowly, and looks at Yutong, gaze assessing, calculating. “Kiss me again,” he decides. “Kiss me again, and I’ll take you there myself.”
Yutong doesn’t have to be asked twice.
He is where Zhan Yao said he would be. It takes everything in him not to turn around and react to the heavy gaze he can feel prickling at the back of his head.
Yutong supervises his men for a good minute before he gives in, and stalks back to where Zhan Yao is cuffed up in the back of a police cruiser.
“So, you’ve found him.”
Yutong bites the inside of his cheek. “So I have.” He hears the soft snort of laughter from the man beside him. Handcuffs rattle and he feels the warm press of a thigh against his.
“Would you like to know about the others?”
Yutong turns, grim. “Yes.”
“It’s going to take more than a kiss.” Zhan Yao says, eyes flickering down to Yutong’s lips. “I’m afraid I’m going to need a bigger incentive to cooperate.”
Yutong snakes a peek of his tongue, transfixed by the way Zhan Yao’s gaze follows, his mouth parting in an inhale.
The words do not stick at the back of his throat and it doesn’t quite taste like making a deal with the devil when he says, “Whatever you want.”
(Have I mentioned today yet that I love @randomingoftherandomness?)
(Okay the next bit probably happens a couple of weeks into their arrangement.)
Zhan Yao’s is the first face Yutong sees when he wakes up. He isn’t honestly expecting otherwise. “Are you here to apologise?” he asks.
Zhan Yao nods. “I didn’t- I wasn’t trying to-” He swallows, and Yutong can see the exact moment he gives up on trying to explain the situation to Yutong, simply settling for, “I’m sorry.”
He still doesn’t trust that Yutong would listen to him, then. Doesn’t trust that Yutong would listen, and would believe him if he just told Yutong that he had nothing to do with the trap that Yutong walked into yesterday.
Yutong asks, “Did he give you any trouble?”
Zhan Yao’s gaze darts to him for the briefest moment, stunned, before he looks away again. He doesn’t reply to Yutong’s question.
Yutong sighs, and pushes himself up so he can grab at Zhan Yao’s shirt to tug him in close, to crush their lips together. Zhan Yao kisses him back, unhesitatingly, almost desperately, and this, Yutong thinks, this is why he would never believe that Zhan Yao would try to lure him into a trap.
“Did Zhao Jue give you any trouble for foiling his plan to get rid of me?” Yutong asks again, when they part. He presses their foreheads together. “Don’t lie to me, Kitten.”
Zhan Yao closes his eyes. “He wasn’t trying to get rid of you,” he tells Yutong. “It was a warning for me.”
@sarah-yyy I am ready to be screamed at
When Zhao Yao is escorted out, Bai Yutong finally exhales a breath he’s been holding. Being caught in an explosion typically makes your body feel like jelly, he frowns. The only thing worse than feeling like your limbs are only loosely holding together inside your skin is being helpless. If he leaves the hospital, Bao Sir will kill him. His team is more than capable of handling the case but…
He is still not happy that he’s trapped in hospital rather than out in the field. Even being confined to his apartment would be better, at least he can move freely. A twitch here brings a nurse scurrying in.
With an idle body, his mind runs like a lab mouse locked in a running wheel without an exit. It plays Zhan Yao’s words over and over like a broken record: “a warning for me”.
He hears the strain in Zhan Yao’s voice. The emphasis on the word is painful. Yutong’s heart twinges again at the recollection.
It almost sounds like Zhan Yao loves him, almost. Yutong is neither optimistic enough or foolish enough to believe that Zhan Yao actually does. He suspects that Zhan Yao’s plans from the start are to make him fall and fall hard for Zhan Yao before betraying him.
He did. Hard. He loves Zhan Yao.
Yutong has been slipping down the slope of infatuation from the very first kiss. Their chemistry electrifies Yutong every time they kiss. From that spark, it was so easy to fall.
Zhan Yao is easy to love. His tongue belongs in Yutong’s mouth and his hands in Yutong’s hair. His tongue is also sharp and silvered that makes Yutong enjoy their banter. He isn’t overly confident. Criminals of his like typically never leave their specialty, but Zhan Yao knows martial arts. He cannot compare to Yutong’s level but he certainly can handle himself well enough.
He doesn’t need to fight. He is brilliant. He has the ability to corner others without lifting a finger. His brain works in ways that Yutong will never understand. The connections Zhan Yao makes, the way he deduces based on behavior, helped the case even when the suspect was unknown to either them. His analysis complements Yutong’s intuition-based detective work well. In another life, he imagines they could have been partners. In this life, Yutong loves Zhan Yao even though he knows it is unrequited.
Yutong knows this, but Zhao Jue might not.
Zhan Yao is in more danger than before, he realizes. His heart nearly races out of his chest.
He immediately rolls over. Digging through his belongings, he finds his phone. His heart feels like it stops the moment the dial tone becomes a voicemail message. He closes his eyes. Grounding himself, he calls another teammate.
“Hello, Bai Sir,” Zhao Fu says.
Without fanfare, Yutong orders, “Increase security around Zhan Yao. Report to me his whereabouts every hour.”
“Um…” Zhao Fu hesitates for too long before replying, “Bai Sir has been removed from the case, I can’t repl—”
“Where is he?” Yutong asks. His voice is strained. His team was loyal. They do not deflect unless something is off.
“Where is Zhan Yao?”
“Is that Bai Sir? Tell him I said not to interfere with the case,” Bao Sir shouts from the distance.
“Sorry,” Zhao Fu apologizes and his tone is regretful. He hangs up.
Yutong clenches his phone. His knuckles turn white as he stares at the screen. He pulls his arm back, ready to release.
Buzz. Buzz.
Yutong picks up.
“Bai Sir,” Wang Shao whispers. “Zhan Yao asked us not to tell you but…” Yutong straightens up, leaning into the phone.
“He and Bao Sir step up an operation to capture Zhao Jue. It starts in an hour,,” he hisses.
“He’s bait,” Yutong says. Licking his lips, his throat feels drier than a desert. If his heart hadn’t ready stopped, it freezes. A cold dread chills him to the marrow. “Zhan Yao is walking into a trap.”
“Where?” he growls. His desire to protect slams into his fear it is already too late. He’s desperate but hopefully, his low rumble hides it.
Wang Shao says, “You’re injured. I should—”
“Rest,” Bao Sir orders.
Wang Shao is babbling out excuses in the background.
This time when the dial tone comes he does not become angry. Anger will distract him. His mind whirls through the case. He knows he can figure out where. He just needs to get out of here.
His body may feel like jelly but only his eardrums were harmed. Every other limb functions fine. He has one chance to escape. He can’t waste time. Grab his things; get out of the hospital; and find Zhan Yao, he repeats to himself.
He picks the cabinet holding his clothes. Hobbling to the bathroom, he changes out of the scrubs. He does his best not to disturb the wires connected to him. He needs all the time he can manage. At the first break in the nurses’ patterns, he forces his legs to move. The scream of machines relaying his intentions.
He darts out. Running will draw unnecessary attention. He walks to the stairs. Suppressing every urge to hurry to Zhan Yao’s side, he walks.