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Ok so story would start with Eggsy living in your run of the mill isolated/poor village in your generic fantasy-medieval setting. You'd get hint of like dragons being those tyranic overlord and you would think 'oh ok, fantasy setting with opressive fantastical beasts as rulers' and you'd hear also about the legendary blue dragons, dragons who are supposed to uphold the law or something and how they were betrayed but they are totally gonna come back to free then from tyrany.

There's even been some rumors about one distant village who was freed recently from tyranic golden dragon Valentine and that they might be protected by a blue dragon. Its only rumors though and Eggsy had never even heard of the village's name before so who knows. Oh, oh and we would learn that Lee was killed when the tyrant dragons first did their coup to seize control of the continent

Anyway, while Eggsy sometimes have some fantasy of getting to work with one of the fame blue dragons (who according to legend only let the most worthy ride them), Eggsy is no damsel in distress. He's not waiting on anyone to save him and his loved one so of course he joined the resistance.

But then one fateful night, the resistance who was either betrayed or not as careful as they should be gets attacked! By golden dragon Valentine himself no less, not just some of his army! He's come to personally squish the resistance and make an example out of them considering the rising unrest and the renewed hope from the rumors of blue dragons being back!!

All is lost and Eggsy is sure to die and his village completely destroy until right at the last moment, bam!

In comes a blue dragon! The day is saved!

Except not really, because the blue dragon gets trashed by Valentine!

Eggsy runs to the blue dragon, maybe in shock, maybe out of stupidity, maybe bravery, who knows, not even himself.

Anyway, he goes to the fallen blue dragon and that's when the description for what he sees becomes mechanical in nature (before the dragons were just describe in size, colors, power and shape), describing debris and cogs and stuff.

He gets to the head and gasp! He finds a human inside! It's James (probably dead, sorry James)! And like the dragon is trashed but there is still power humming through it and Eggsy knows nothing about it but he's done much more stupid things in his life! So he takes James place inside the dragons head and tries to do control the dragon via the neural link (Eggsy of course doesnt know any of this, he just needs to fight and protect and feels himself connect to the dragon and instinctively start to fight Valentine)

And the blue dragon is trashed but it's not destroyed and Eggsy has no finesse, but he's desperate and he manages to hurt Valentine enough to make him retreat!

So yeah, Eggsy manages to drive Valentine away for now and maybe he passes out because he's not used to controlling a dragon? And when he comes back to, it's to a second blue dragon and its rider Harry Hart who asks him how he feels about joining their ranks and overthrow the tyranic dragons?

And like there could be so many wordlbuilding thrown in about what makes the dragon a certain color (their building material mostly and oh wouldn't it be neat if the blue dragons would be made from some kind of meteorite? They were the first made and every subsequent dragon have some of those meteorite because that's what allows a mental link to control such big constructs? And all the other are copycats) and Chester King being the leader of the blue dragons but ending up being a traitor because of course

And oh!! Why were the blue dragons defeated/pushed back? What if its actually a full-blown sci-fi and the blue dragons and their riders come from outer space? And their technology fell into the wrong hands on this planet and only a few could come and help make things right because there is a full-blown interstellar war happening at the same time?

Eggsy feeling like Harry and Merlin aren't telling him everything and yes it's true they aren't, because they're alien and the reveal comes when Harry gets hurt in a way that should kill him but he gets better because of his alien physiology and with the planet liberated from the tyranic dragons, well they gotta go back to space to help with the war efforts and would Eggsy like to join?

And maybe James wouldnt be dead either thanks to that.

And then you get to the space warzone and that's where you get to meet Roxy and Tilde and just yeah

I wanna write this now

I won't

Now, Wu Xie doesn’t know much about Ba Ye except that he was part of the Mystic Nine and disappeared under mysterious circumstances during an expedition in the tomb the Iron Triangle had been exploring a couple of weeks ago. He had presumed that even if they were not friends, Zhang Rishan and him were at least allies given that Ba Ye and Fo Ye’s friendship was just as well-known as Zhang Rishan’s devotion for his superior officer.

It doesn’t take long for Wu Xie to re-evaluate his assumptions. The two men haven’t yet reached out for each other when Wu Xie figures that the bond between them must be something akin to the one him and Xiaoge have. He’s never felt it himself, but Pangzi has complained often enough about it for Wu Xie to realise that this feeling of having completely faded away from the two men’s world is how people usually feel whenever him and Xiaoge share eye contact.

He has to admit it’s slightly awkward, but he doesn’t care enough about others' comfort to stop doing this himself in the future. He’s pretty sure he can’t control it anyway.

It gets even more awkward to stand there watching when Ba Ye more or less throws himself into Zhang Rishan’s arms. From this distance, he can’t hear what they say to each other, but he sees the way Zhang Rishan’s fingers cling to the fabric of Ba Ye’s clothes.

Sees his expression.

Relief is warring with pain and disbelief and it speaks of a fear Wu Xie is intimately familiar with. He still wakes up sometimes convinced that he’s only dreamed the past few years and Xiaoge is still out of his reach.

In fact, as he silently bear witness to the two men’s embrace, he’s gripped with the terror that Xiaoge has disappeared again, even if he can still feel him behind him. Even if they are standing so close together that he can feel his warmth. Yet, right at this moment, it feels like they are worlds apart.

He reaches out to grab at his arm, his irrational panic slowly abating when Xiaoge takes hold of his hand and links their fingers.

“I guess we’ll give you both a moment,” Pangzi announces after clearing his throat. If he’s been heard, neither Ba Ye nor Zhang Rishan aknowledge it.

Not that it matters because Pangzi is already pushing them out of the room.

Of course, he notices at once how Xiaoge and him are holding hands and he lets out a not-so-falsely irritated groan.

“Of course you’re-! I’ll just go and find an empty room or something. Come find me when you remember someone is after that guy’s ass!”

He leaves but Wu Xie isn’t paying attention because Xiaoge takes a step into his personal space and it’s just so easy to lean into him and press his face in the crook of his neck.

Like this his senses are filled with Xiaoge, as if he’s the only thing tangible left in the universe. He doesn’t think it would be too bad if his world was reduced to Xiaoge only.

He’s not sure how long exactly they stay like this until Pangzi ventures back, except maybe that it’s a too short eternity. However, he can’t say he’s surprised to find that Zhang Rishan and Ba Ye are still lost into each other when they join them again.

For a few heartbeats, he can only stares at his unlikely savior, Tiezui looking just as startled at suddenly having caught himself an armful of Rishan. Then he’s being lowered to the ground, Tiezui laughing the whole thing off before changing the subject.

It should be a relief, his little mishap already being forgotten, but Rishan’s mind is still caught on just how safe it felt to be held by Tiezui.

But it doesn’t change the fact that they are still deep inside a tomb and distractions are deadly. So Rishan just put the whole thing in a corner of his mind to be examined later, if ever.

~

It should have ended there.

Become an incident barely remembered.

It doesn’t.

In fact, Rishan can barely think about anything else.

He knows Tiezui isn’t weak. Yes, he’s not a fighter. That doesn’t mean he’s weak.

He just never figured that Tiezui would be so strong either.

It’s... distracting.

Rishan has never been so clumsy in his entire life. He keeps tripping and falling whenever Tiezui is close-by. Not on purpose! But he’s always been hyper aware of the man and it has become worse since the incident.

And if before he was more focused on protecting him, now he can’t stop wondering just how strong Tiezui actually is.

Because that wasn’t just a lucky one-off. For the past few weeks, every time Rishan’s body and training fail him, Tiezui has been there to catch him and hold him up and Rishan is slowly losing his mind.

Fantasizing about Tiezui isn’t anything new. He’s confident enough about the direction their relationship is taking that he doesn’t feel any shame about it either.

But he’s discovering things about himself he previously had no idea about and it’s enough to send him reeling.

Because apparently, he’s very interested in finding out if Tiezui would be strong enough not only to pin him down, but to keep him down too.

Only Tiezui however. Whenever he tries to picture someone else, even some faceless fantasm, he feels himself grow tense and poised for a fight.

It’s kind of driving him mad.

Luckily there’s no one to hear his thoughts and Tiezui is usually the only witness to his streak of clumsiness. A bit embarassing, but he seems just as intent to ignore it as Rishan is for the moment.

~

For a second, Rishan thinks he’s daydreaming.

It would be far from the first time he’s imagined this particular scenario in the past few weeks after all. Tiezui pushing him against the nearest wall as they pass each other by, hands around his wrists keeping them pinned to his sides.

It should feel threatening, especially with how annoyed Tiezui looks, but strangely enough, Rishan just feels safe. He believes, no, he trusts that Tiezui would never hurt him.

Unconsciously, he lowers his eyes and arches his neck slightly to the side.

He hears Tiezui’s breath catch at the show of submission, annoyance melting into something darker. He knows for sure he’s not dreaming then, because there’s no way he could ever have imagined such an expression on Tiezui, not on his own.

He shivers when the grip around his wrists tightens slightly, the frisson travelling pleasantly through his whole body as Tiezui’s eyes narrow, calculating.

“Have you been doing this on purpose?”

Rishan doesn’t pretend he doesn’t understand what Tiezui is talking about. He knows this is not the time to tease or bicker. He simply shakes his head, words having become a foreing concept to him.

“No?” Tiezui isn’t convinced and Rishan doesn’t blame him. It might have been subconscious, but would it really be above him to have orchestrated situations for Tiezui to catch him? “Are you sure?”

Tiezui takes one step closer, his body not quite pressed against Rishan’s, but he can feel the warmth of him and for a second there, he forgets he’s been asked a question.

A whine escapes him when Tiezui noses at his still bared neck before biting down. It’s not a hard bite, nothing to break the skin, nothing that would leave a mark. If he had to describe it, Rishan would even call it playful, especially at the way Tiezui gently licks the skin to soothe the sting of it.

But it suddenly summons up even more fantasies to Rishan’s mind.

And if he thought he was discovering things when he found out that Tiezui was strong, he didn't know the half of it. The previous imaginings have nothing on those currently occupying his mind.

Tiezui huffs with amusement against his ear. “Did I break you lieutenant? Can you not answer a simple question anymore?”

He finds the force to shake his head again, but cannot say in answer to what exactly.

Tiezui chuckles, low and dark, and Rishan shivers again.

Then suddenly, Tiezui steps back and releases him. The wall at his back is the only thing that keeps him standing up.

Tiezui looks like he always does, friendly and kind, or he would if it wasn’t for that dark possessive shadow that isn’t quite hidden in his gaze.

“Do try to be more careful lieutenant. I can’t always catch you.”

He says it as one would comment on the wheather, as if nothing just happened. Rishan can only nod dumbly, feeling chastised.

Tiezui pats his cheek and it would have been condescending except his hand lingers and then Rishan’s jaw is caught between his fingers.

Rishan lets himself lean into the contact, feeling proud at how pleased Tiezui looks.

“You’ll dine with me tonight?”

It’s phrased like a question, but it isn’t one. Rishan nods anyway, careful not to dislodge the fingers.

“Good. I’ll leave you to it then.”

It really shouldn’t change anything between them, but there’s no denying that everything has changed now.

Rishan isn’t naive. He has known for a long time where their relationship was headed. It has always been unavoidable.

But it’s one thing to have the passing thought that if he were to sleep with anyone, he’d choose Tiezui, and quite another to have Fo Ye smiling knowingly before shooing away for the evening with an amused ‘you shouldn’t make Ba Ye wait’ not long after Tiezui has retired for the night.

“Rishan? Are you okay?”

Tiezui’s worried voice prompts him into finally stepping into the room and closing the door behind him, but he freezes again right after, unsure what he’s supposed to be doing now.

Not because he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. His lack of experience isn’t a lack of knowledge. But he’s just realising that no matter how much he had enjoyed kissing Tiezui earlier this afternoon before remembering they were not alone, no matter how much he wouldn’t mind doing that again, he’s not interested in anything more.

And from everything that he knows, that means there’s something wrong with him.

“Rishan? What’s wrong?” Tiezui is in front of him now, looking him over for a possible injury and Rishan is hit once more by how much he loves this man who so obviously cares for him.

“I can’t do this,” he blurts out before he can stop himself, averting his eyes as he feels himself blushing in shame.

“Do what?” Tiezui asks and Rishan forces himself to meet his gaze.

“I can’t… I can’t sleep with you.”

Tiezui frowns, visibly confused, mouth opened on another question, before it clicks shut as Rishan sees sudden realisation dawn on him.

It’s all happening so fast that of course there’s no way Rishan could have had any expectation as to how Tiezui would have reacted to the revelation. But even if he had had the time to think about it, he’s pretty sure he couldn’t have predicted what happened.

Tiezui simply rolls his eyes before heaving a deep sigh and dragging him in a tight hug.

Anyone else and he would have tensed up at the unexpected physical contact, but it’s Tiezui who has always been a very tactile person whenever his friends are concerned and it’s been months since Rishan has definitely been included in that very select club. It’s second nature now to just accept the comfort, to melt into it and let Tiezui support part of his weight as Rishan presses his face against his shoulder.

“You don’t have to sleep with me. I’m sorry if I ever led you to believe otherwise.”

“Tiezui?” He’s the one confused now. On the one hand, he’s relieved, but on the other, he’s mortified to think he might have been mistaking what’s between them all this time. He tries to push away to look at Tiezui, no matter how awkward he feels, but Tiezui is deceptively strong and it’s easier to just stay in place when he starts playing with his hair gently.

“I don’t want to sleep with you either. Or with anyone else for that matter.”

“Isn’t that… weird?” He sees Tiezui’s wisdom at refusing to let him go from his embrace, since he feels free to ask his question with very minimal embarrassment and doesn’t even feel self-conscious when it elicits a small chuckle from the other man.

“To some, definitely. But as I don’t see how it can possibly affect them, I also don’t care what they think. And it’s not as unusual as one might think.”

There’s a story there, or multiple, but Tiezui doesn’t sound inclined to share tonight and quite frankly, Rishan isn’t inclined to ask either. Not now anyway.

“So you don’t want to sleep with me.”

“Not one bit. Not that I wouldn’t if you wanted to. I simply do not need it.”

They stay like that for some time in silence, swaying slightly. Rishan has no doubt that Tiezui will insist on a longer discussion once they’re back home, but for the time being, it’s more than enough.

Except maybe for one part.

“Do you want to kiss me? Again, I mean.” Because while some of the finer details of the moment have been lost to the adrenaline-fuelled craze, Rishan is certain of one thing and it’s that Tiezui had been kissing back.

He feels more than hear Tiezui’s amused snort before there’s a kiss pressed against his temple. “Definitely. But for now, how about we get to bed? I’m tired.”

Rishan nods in agreement, but doesn’t let go until he’s pressed a kiss of his own against the soft skin of Tiezui’s throat, delighting in the slight hitch it causes in his breath.

Now it’s already become a routine to stand up to resist the pull, forcing whoever is on the other end to stay put at least until Tiezui can get dressed and have breakfast like a sensible man.

At least his soulmate is considerate enough to give him some time to go about his routine as soon as he makes it clear he’s awake.

It doesn’t stop him from wondering how his soulmate could be someone who can apparently function when the sun isn’t quite up in the sky yet. Tiezui is starting to believe he must have done some terrible deed in a past life to deserve this as any joy he felt at realising his soulmate had to be close now started evaporating into irritation.

To think the string of fate’s diminishing length as soulmates came into closer physical distance was supposed to be a gift from the Gods to help them find each other.

If you asked Tiezui, making the damned thing visible would have been much more useful.

At least once he would find his soulmate and spend sufficient time with him, the string should go back to a more manageable length.

The only problem with that was there was no lack of people looking for their soulmates in Changsha and Tiezui had very little patience to go through meeting all of them. So that meant relying on, well, on fate.

***

Maybe Tiezui used to kick defenceless puppies or something just as reprehensible in his last life. It’s the only way to explain why he’d end up shackled to such a useless soulmate in this one.

He had been so sure that for once, Fo Ye wouldn’t force him to come along on his latest expedition. After all, tombs were dangerous places even without someone inadvertently stumbling on an inconveniently invisible thread of fate and triggering a very real trap by mistake.

And for a second there as he had been making his case, Fo had seemed like he would agree with him. But then, he had gotten that calculating gleam in his eyes and that had been the end of Tiezui’s hopes.

Fo Ye didn’t care how uncomfortable and inconvenient it was to try to go farther than what the length of the string of fate was, only that it was possible. And he had assured Tiezui that he would have one of his men stay close-by at all time to ensure Tiezui wouldn’t trip them all into their doom.

After that, it hadn’t mattered how much he argued and whined, Fo Ye had been all but deaf to his numerous complaints.

The same cannot be said of the young lieutenant that has been assigned to assist him however. And even if he looks mostly amused by his rant, Tiezui still magnanimously decides to take pity on him after an hour or so.

His decision has absolutely nothing to do with how handsome Zhang Rishan is or how diligent he is at keeping close, one hand around Tiezui’s elbow to keep him steady.

It’s just that much like Tiezui himself, Zhang Rishan has little choice but to follow Fo Ye’s orders. And even if he’s kept silent, Tiezui has seen him valiently biting off his own remarks.

The lieutenant is still young enough that he can only be blindly loyal to his leader, but it’s not like Tiezui himself hasn’t vowed to follow Fo Ye too. He’s just more discerning as to when his presence is actually required or not.

Given enough time, Rishan could become an useful ally, potentially even a friend. Maybe even more than that, if the man is so inclined. It’s not because his judgment isn’t affected by the man’s beauty that Tiezui is blind to it.

But of course for any of that to have a chance to happen, Tiezui needs to not completely annoy him. The first impression is most assuredly ruined by now, but Tiezui knows how to be charming enough to fix it.

He’s so distracted by his attempt at befriending Zhang Rishan that he doesn’t notice what should have been obviously until much too late.

The group is taking a short rest in a safe spot and Tiezui leaves Zhang Rishan’s side to go talk to Fo Ye privately.

Or rather, he tries to.

Because the moment he takes three steps away from the other man, he feels the familiar pull at his ankle and Zhang Rishan abruptly stumbles right into his back.

Tiezui stares in shock as he suddenly realises that he hasn’t felt the string of fate at all since they left the city. Which would make sense if, as he now suspects, Zhang Rishan is supposed to be his soulmate.

He doesn’t understand why the lieutenant wouldn’t have mentioned anything, but then again, Tiezui had been complaining about Fo Ye and not the inconvenience of soulmates. And he wouldn’t put it past Fo Ye to only have told his lieutenant to keep close because Tiezui is clumsy.

Seriously, the reason why he is still friend with this man completely escapes him at times.

He turns from Zhang Rishan to stalk dangerously toward Fo Ye, leaving the lieutenant no choice but to trip after him.

“You-” he starts angrily, point at a smirking Fo Ye, but he’s interrupted before he can say more.

“I see congratulations are in orders Lao Ba. Lieutenant.” He pats them both on the shoulder at that, patronizing in the worse way possible. “I trust you won’t let this distract you from our goal today. Be assured that I’ll make sure to give you some time alone as soon as we’re back in the city.”

And just like that, he leaves them under the pretext of going to talk to another one of his men, leaving a spluttering Tiezui in his wake and a frozen-looking Zhang Rishan.

It’s a small consolation that the lieutenant look just as absolutely betrayed as Tiezui feels.

“I hate this man.”

Zhang Rishan doesn’t say anything of course, but the fact he doesn’t jump in defence of his commanding officer speaks volume on his current opinion on Fo Ye.