Chapter Text
Shen Yuan lets himself into the bamboo house. The door closes with a soft thud as he quietly walks inside. His footsteps are silent as he slowly drifts away from the foyer and makes a slight stop at the kitchen to get some tea ready. When everything’s put together he finally enters his true destination.
He walks into the room without knocking or announcing his presence, already aware that the other knows he’s there.
Sitting at a table with piles of paper obstructing the view of the wood underneath is his Shizun. His hair is let loose and his clothes are in slight disarray with the first layer of his outer robe bunched up in a pile at his side. His fingers are ink-stained, his head tilted down, and his shoulders relaxed as he sits in this small bubble made up of only him and Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan takes in the sight for a moment more, observing the curve of his neck, the long lashes, the pale skin, and the graceful way he sits.
‘He needs to sleep more,’ Shen Yuan notes immediately.
“You're back,” Shen Qingqiu says without looking up. Shen Yuan takes that as his cue and finally unroots himself from the doorway. He sits at the other side of the table. He’s directly in front of his Shizun now and with this new perspective can better see how utterly exhausted his teacher is. He immediately gets to work clearing the documents into more manageable piles before putting the kettle onto the table, pouring himself and his Shizun two cups.
“This disciple greets Shizun,” Shen Yuan says absentmindedly as he carefully pushes the cup to the other man. Qingqiu pauses from his writing. He puts down the brush slowly. He looks from the cup to Shen Yuan and then back again before picking it up with fluid poise.
“You're late,” is his curt reply from behind the cup as he takes a careful sip, savoring the taste. His eyes close and Shen Yuan smiles at his reaction.
“I apologize, there was an…issue. It has been taken care of. I’ve already written my report with all relevant information,” Shen Yuan hands the scroll over and Shen Qingqiu extends his hand to take it. Their hands touch for just the slightest moments, static zapping them, before Shen Qingqiu’s hand withdrawals.
“The disciples missed you,” Shen Qingqiu comments as he opens the scroll. Shen Yuan rubs his fingers together, attempting to calm the buzz under his skin.
“I’d be surprised if they didn't. Anyone would miss the absence of pain,” Shen Yuan says carelessly, a dare to the man before him.
“Impertinent,” Shen Qingqiu’s eyes are cold as he looks at him. His green eyes narrowed and sharp. Shen Yuan smiles.
“Yes, well you'll get me back for it tomorrow,” Shen Yuan tilts his head and watches with delight as his Shizun’s lips quirk up for just the slightest of moments before his fan opened with a sharp clap, rushing through the air like lightning.
Shen Yuan mourns the chance to better observe the man.
“With the way you act it’s almost as though you miss my whip,” Shen Qingqiu comments from behind the safety of his fan, both physically and mentally distancing himself from the situation. Shen Yuan refuses to let that happen.
“Not as much as I missed your venomous tongue,” Shen Yuan says, grabbing the teapot and refilling his Shizun’s cup. He watches as his teacher puts down the fan to take it.
Good.
“How unfilial, insulting your teacher like this,” Shen Qingqiu says after taking a sip. Shen Yuan smiles warmly.
“It keeps you young,” Shen Yuan says kindly, as though truly believing that to be the case. Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes, calling him on his bullshit.
“I always assumed it was the cultivation,” Shen Qingqiu replies with good humor. Shen Yuan takes it in, absolutely enraptured by the figure before him. Shen Qingqiu’s cold face comes alive, his presence filling the room, his unearthly beauty brought to a new high. Shen Yuan pushes down the possessive delight that comes with knowing that he is one of the few people in the world to see him like this.
“Well, you know what they say about assumptions,” Shen Yuan grins.
“What do they say about assumptions? Perhaps you would enlighten this poor teacher?” The dare, the gauntlet that Shen Yuan had first thrown down, is shoved back at him and Shen Yuan takes his defeat gracefully.
“I’d rather keep my tongue if it’s all the same to you,” Shen Yuan says with a slight laugh. Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes once more and shakes his head in mock disappointment.
“See, if you know you're saying something disrespectful that could get you maimed, why do you continue to do so anyway?” Shen Qingqiu asks incredulously.
“I’m a fool?” Shen Yuan shrugs. The fan hits him on the shoulder for the inelegant movement.
“Clearly,” and with the final word being his Shizun’s, the conversation stops. Shen Yuan gets to work helping his teacher finish his work.
‘Shizun must have been stressed without me,’ Shen Yuan frowns down at the paper, not liking the fact that the man is so swamped. God, what's the reason for having so many hall masters if they’re useless?
The silence is comfortable, filled only by the sound of ink grinding, paper moving, and brushes writing.
By the time the work is done the first calls of the morning birds have rung.
“Go to bed Shizun, allow this disciple to take care of things today,” Shen Yuan says as the other man tries to get up. Shen Qingqiu pauses, considering the proposal.
He frowns and opens his mouth to refuse but Shen Yuan interrupts before he can speak.
“Please,” the word is quiet, so quiet that Shen Qingqiu could pretend to not have heard it. But he doesn't. Instead, he closes his eyes and nods in consent.
He turns around and walks back into his own room, no doubt to take that sorely needed nap.
Shen Yuan smiles.
He once more pushes down the possessive delight that comes with being trusted, of being valued.
The Sect Leader himself would prostrate himself outside for everyone to see for just the sliver of a chance, but instead, it is Shen Yuan who has been blessed with the opportunity.
It wasn't easy, it wasn't simple, and it wasn't immediate.
Instead, it was the hardest thing he had ever done, the most complex battle he had ever been in, and the most lengthy mission he had ever taken.
But it was worth it.
He had no doubt that if he was back in his own world a therapist would have had him emitted, had no doubt that his own family would have called him crazy, but they didn't know what was left unsaid in the dead of night, they didn't know what was revealed in the light of day.