onemuseleft

I can't decide which of my projects I should actually work on today (and have spent several hours procrastinating a decision because apparently that's how today is gonna go), so here is a snippet from "Mismatched" my Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei soulmate AU:

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“This cat is very intelligent,” the man says without glancing up.

The soulmark on Zhao Yunlan’s left arm flares white-hot, like a brand seared into his skin. It hurts, but it doesn’t at the same time, nearly unbearable but so intense it’s kind of good. He almost chokes on his own breath and only barely stops himself from clenching his hand into a fist. His heart is pounding and he shifts his weight a little to hide the sudden tightness in his jeans. His eyes are glued to the man’s face, to the flush of pink in his cheeks, the way his lashes flutter as he glances down at Da Qing, then back up at Zhao Yunlan.

I've been working on this silly fic for a few weeks now that's basically just Zhao Yunlan trying to court Shen Wei a little so he doesn't feel unappreciated or taken for granted. I estimated it would be three or four thousand words, so of course today we hit the 15,000 mark.

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“I brought you a present,” he said, and pulled his hand out from behind his back.

The bouquet of lollipops looked even less creative than it had fifteen minutes ago in the Jeep, but it didn’t look bad. Not really a suitable declaration of undying love or anything, but a sweet surprise.

Shen Wei seemed pleased by it, at least, which was entirely the point. He reached out with both hands to take it from Zhao Yunlan, and he examined it with a soft, pleased smile that Zhao Yunlan didn’t get to see very often. He looked almost shy as he ran a finger over the ribbons Zhao Yunlan had used to tie it together, pulling the curled string over his finger as if he’d never seen such a thing before. Or as if no one had given him a gift before, Zhao Yunlan thought with a pang. He wondered if anyone had. Shen Wei’s family had died before the war, his brother was - well, his brother was Ye Zun, his men had looked up to him as an unapprochable hero, and he had precious few friends outside the SID. When was the last time someone gave him any kind of a gift at all? Zhao Yunlan couldn’t think of a single thing he’d given Shen Wei that would count as a gift, and aside from the little cakes that his students occaisionally bestowed upon him, he’d never seen Shen Wei open a present. And the cakes usually went to Zhao Yunlan, or the SID anyway.

His heart ached to see Shen Wei hold that dumb lollipop bouquet as if it were something special.