#peihua

hua cheng: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-

Pairing: Pei Wende/Hua Wuxie, Qi Heng/Xun Xu

Word count: 22k+

Tags: Romance, Wuxia au, Pride and Prejudice references, fantasy

No spoilers for the source material

Complete

It was a truth universally acknowledged that what every man of good standing sought was a lovely partner to elevate his status and fill his home with grace and refinement. It was equally commonly understood that Hua Wuxie’s aunt, Madame Qi, considered her son and her nephew to be both perfect candidates for anyone worthy the Emperor’s favours, and she has been waiting for the new Master or a Mistress of the White Dragon manor eagerly, hoping to make an auspicious match.

Tagge by @the-marron - thank you! It wasn’t that hard to choose the fics bc I only posted a few ones on AO3, my older fics are not even in English so I didn’t move them to AO3 hehe XD Everything Guardian and/or DMBJ here, no surprise

1 - Stars aligned in a perfect sky - (Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan, PingSang - Guardian x DMBJ, Angst/Romance/Adventure/Past Lives, Hindu-based myths)

Zhao Yunlan was suddenly silent, as if his voice had failed. Of all the things he expected to find there, Shen Wei's footprints weren't one of them. Traces of a past that had never been mentioned to him. It disturbed his mind to the point where his senses deceived him. The pain spread fast, coming from his wounded heart and spilling over to everything in his body. His legs buckled and his vision dimmed. Stunned, he dropped to one knee on the floor, bringing his hands to cover his face.

The chanting stopped.

The Ghost King knew all along that the Witch Tribe had survived and never told me... After an agreement with the Ghost King, the Witch Tribe still lived and Kunlun died... Shen Wei, what have you done? How many more things did you hide from me?

Wu Xie swallowed a despair he couldn't understand and ran to the center of the circle before the others, reaching Zhao, crouching beside him and resting the other's shoulder on his chest.

“Yunlan… Yunlan, what is wrong?” That voice was the same as Shen Wei's? It sounded different. Each word came out of Wu Xie's mouth differently, their tones were different. Not the same. Even so, he recognized that voice. Not with his logical mind, but with something beyond. Zhao Yunlan took his hands away from his face and turned his gaze to the other. He raised a hand and reached for Wu Xie's face, watching him under the light of the hall, the snowflakes were still gently falling on him, carried by the fragrant smoke that surrounded them. Incandescent.

2 - Shoot my heart - (Weilan - Guardian AU, Undercover/Police and Criminals)

Zhao Yunlan cursed himself for not being able to invite Shen Wei to his house, not right now - he couldn't take him to the house of a policeman he didn't know was undercover investigating his bar. He also cursed himself for all the things he couldn't say, and the fear that someone who was becoming precious would reveal something he couldn't help.

Shen Wei's point of view on police performance was not untrue, the reality that not every citizen has the same right to security, and all the implications contained in the question that it was the police who judged 'who was a citizen and who was not', made Zhao realize what he had really been feeling for some time: that he was the villain of that story.

What if Shen Wei was just what he said he was and then found out who Zhao was? How much would he feel cheated and betrayed?

So, after all, Chu Shuzhi was right about playing with a person's heart.

Zhao Yunlan knew his duties, but at that moment, he knew more than anything his wish that Shen Wei could be okay after all, that he could, at least, not hate him if he could not believe that Zhao had sincerely fallen in love with him.

"I thought you never stopped talking, but you've been quiet for a while." Shen Wei commented, as Zhao parked the car in front of the other's house, in the street behind where the bar was. Empty street, dark and silent.

Zhao Yunlan slammed both hands on the steering wheel, looking away, shaking his head.

“I have a problem with you, Shen Wei.”

"What are you talking about?"

3 - The real me I’ve kept hiding under my skin - (Shen Wei & Ye Zun - Guardian, Mixed Novel/Drama canon)

“He died because of you. Was that worth it?” An undescribed smile longed in YeZun’s face.

“I don’t know how to answer this. Not about that time. But now… if I could have him, damning both of us and he’s willing as much as I am, so let it be.”

Damning both of us. That didn’t sound right to YeZun. That couldn’t be.

“Why? We’re ghosts. Should we cry? And if we can’t cry, how could we love?”

Shen Wei lifted his gaze, to look back at YeZun, his question was not senseless.

“I can love. Can you? Maybe we can cry as well, and we just don’t know how to, not yet.”

“You’re so sure that you can love because of your precious Kunlun, but…” Ye Zun’s voice started to grow angry, but before he could go on, Shen Wei said a firm ‘No’. And again when continuing speaking.

“No. The first creature for whom I held love was and still is my younger brother. We were just too wild and feral to understand how a feeling like love works. But this was there, right in the very beginning.”

4 - Waiting on the skies to change - (Ma Fei/Mo Sanmei - Guardian, Weilan Derivatives, Mourning/Getting together)

“San-ye…”

“Hmm?”

“Why the stars? Why couldn't it be, I don't know, the waves of the sea or the sands of the desert?” Because Ma Fei wanted to know how his skies had ended up in a Funeral Home.

Mo Sanmei smiled at the sky above, resting his hands on the flower bed, leaning back to get a better look. The stupid boy who liked him when people pushed him away because of his family's work was someone who deserved that answer in the best way he could give it.

“Because we transcend. And when we transcend, we are light to guide those who stay after us. I think you know better than I do how the stars have guided humanity since time immemorial. They will always be there, existences that we cannot touch but that are still there, day after day.”

“What about people who are light when they're still alive? Do these people exist?” Ma Fei also braced his hands on the flower bed, the corner of one hand and his little finger resting on his friend's hand, an accidental touch from which neither of them backed down.

5 - Wrong side of hell - (Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan - Guardian X DMBJ, AU/Whump/Police and Criminals)

"Do you have any other serious injuries?" He observed the difficulty the other had to lean on the sink and try to take off his boots.

"No, but if you can stitch where I can't reach, I'd thank you." Wu Xie managed to pull one foot out of the boot, but the other one seemed impossible and bending over made the cut on his rib hurt a lot, as if the blade were passing through it again, splitting skin and flesh and rubbing against bone, and his face twitched from it, the groan stuck in his throat.

"Thank me the fuck, you thank me for staying out of this shit!" Annoyed for having to see the other like that, he uncrossed his arms and entered the bathroom, pushing Wu Xie's chest to keep him still without bending over the wound, and bent down, lifting the other’s heel and removing his other boot.

"Are we going to discuss this again?" Wu Xie whimpered softly as he felt the hands under his shirt and then the fabric being pulled over his shoulders with less care than it should, but with the same impatience he would have done himself. Those callused, warm hands on his sore-sensitive skin made him shiver. The shirt was tossed into the wastebasket.

"We have nothing to discuss." Zhao Yunlan avoided looking the other in the eyes, as he should have avoided the first time he had seen him, it would have saved him a lot of headache.

6 - Lifetimes written under firelight - (Hua Wuxie/Pei Wende - Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan past life - Guardian x DMBJ, but it’s a Derivative. First Guardian Order/Da Qing/Side-Story)

There was something burning in the candle flames, the remains of a yellow piece of paper. Hua Wuxie didn't have time to see what was on the paper before it burned completely. He crossed the room with silent steps, catching a glimpse of the empty wine bottles, piled up on a table, some of which had fallen from above and rolled across the floor. With his heart saddened by how much his sworn brother wore himself out like that, he went to sit on the floor next to Pei Wende.

“What are you burning?” Hua Wuxie reached up to the other's hair, tucking a strand behind his ear so he could see his face.

“A prayer for my children.” Pei Wende kept looking at the flames, he was afraid that if he looked at the other, he would end up letting out all the words he was holding back.

“Aren't you going to ask how they are?" But maybe Hua Wuxie's soft voice was enough to push him over the edge.

“I know they're fine if they're with you. Better than they would be with anyone else.” He stated with a certainty that no drunken man should possess.

“They miss you…”

“Sometimes, hiding my own truths so much, I don't know how to face them. What does a hypocritical man have to offer his children?” Disheartened, Pei Wende didn't know if he could face the kindness of his children and of the man sitting beside him.

“I don't know what you mean by that. I just know that you need to stop it, stop drinking like that and to rise above that all. The children need you. The Order needs you…” Wuxie looked away, staring at the candle flames as well, trying to slow his breathing before saying one last thing, because it was nothing he hadn't said before, but he didn't know if he would be able to not let deeper meanings come through in his voice. "... and I need you."

"Why would you need me? You never needed me, Wuxie. Sometimes I don't even know why you live this way by my side..." He sounded harsher than he really intended, although his usual tone to other people was firm and unemotional and eventually even gruff to unaccustomed or more sensitive ears, this was not how he usually spoke to Wuxie. The bitterness was leaking between his words.

"You speak as if there is any offense in that. As if it is undignified to choose to live alongside the one who knows me... my zhiji..." Hua Wuxie's fingers slid through the other's hair, following the strands that fell down his back, in a subtle caress that used to calm him down. At that moment, however, being caressed by Wuxie was like being cornered by his own emotions.

7 - A bad liar who believes in you - (Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing - Guardian x DMBJ, Canon-Divergence, Established Relationship/Domestic/Apologies)

"What do you want me to do to make you believe?" He was willing to make an effort - one more - to make Zhao Yunlan see that he wasn't that kind of person, that he wouldn't hurt him for free, that he wasn't afraid to tell the truth even when it wasn't a beautiful thing. He'd already told so many things that would normally be unpleasant, without fear of being honest. 

"Xiexie, if you're going to keep trying, bring me popcorn..." Da Qing wanted them to stop. He wanted Wu Xie to shake his stupid owner and tell him to take better care of him - that's what the cat would do in his place. Because Da Qing remembered Zhao Yunlan coming home with a huge smile and saying that the Christmas tree in the park was beautiful - but just saying that he hadn't really noticed the tree because he was noticing all the lights reflecting off a handsome guy who was with him, after the cat had scratched him to get the truth out of him. Zhao Yunlan didn't pay attention to Christmas trees.

"What do you need popcorn for, damn cat?! And why are you here? This is a private matter!" Zhao Yunlan bristled at the nosy cat, ignoring that the cat was actually trying to save him.

"I need popcorn because ridiculous human arguments that lead nowhere are entertainment that you two provide very well." The cat mocked them, to see if they realized that they were being absurd, that it was all nonsense.

"The cat's right. We've been fighting over the same crap for so long. I don't know why I'm still trying to convince you. I don't know why you still don't believe me." Wu Xie walked over to the window, leaning back against the frame, wondering if it really was still in his hands to try to calm the other's goddamn head - or if it ever had been.

8 - Usurper of imaginary delicts - (Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan - Guardian x DMBJ, Queerplatonic/AroAce/Middle-aged man’s conflicts)

There it always had two rocking chairs. As long as he could remember. He didn't know who it had belonged to before, but now they were his. But he only needed one, so it was nice when the other man was there to take the second chair. As he was now, with a cigarette between the fingers of one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

The porch lamps were already on, the sun had recently set and, above the cityscape, a few colored lines still appeared in the sky before the first stars. Wu Xie saw that same landscape every day for a long time. He didn't mind always looking at the same thing. There was a sense of security in the sameness of the unchanged landscape.

"It's been a while. I thought I would never see you again.” Wu Xie commented before bringing his own cigarette to his mouth and dragging, looking away.

"Why not?" The other man, Zhao Yunlan, hated how Wu Xie could sound so pessimistic and almost tragic with just a few words. Still, he always listened instead of being rude.

"I have no idea. The last few times you came to sit on the porch with me, you looked upset.”

“I told you it was just work stuff. Police crap. I told you. Sometimes you think too much.” Zhao Yunlan leaned back in his chair, he had promised himself that he wouldn't scold if Wu Xie was being stupid again, but he couldn't help it if the stupidity was actually hurting the other.

“Yeah, maybe. Were you unhappy with me?”

9 - Only good with you - (Wu Xie/Zhao Yunlan - Guardian x DMBJ, AceDiscussions/Fake Dating/Post-Canon, with @victorian-pirate and @sagittariusdarkarrow)

After washing his hands and cleaning the whiskey off his clothes as best he could, he left the bathroom and walked down the short hallway back to the bar. From where he was, he could see the man standing by the counter, talking to Wu Xie, and how Wu Xie looked out of place and embarrassed by whatever the man was saying.

Zhao Yunlan snuck between the people and listened a little when he was close enough, the man could see him if he looked up, but Wu Xie had his back to him at that time.

“No, ahm… I don't feel like it…” Wu Xie's voice reached Zhao Yunlan first.

“You're here alone, why not? It's just a drink..." And Zhao Yunlan hated intrusive and pushy people after hearing a clear 'no'. Wu Xie had already given his 'no' and it didn't seem to be the first, but the man kept bothering him.

Zhao Yunlan considered the best way to approach this, he didn't want to appear jealous, although yes, he was jealous, but he also didn't want to disrespect Wu Xie by being intrusive in other ways. Maybe one word put in the right place would be enough and he could apologize to Wu Xie later if it worked. He approached him, who still had his back to him, not realizing that he had returned, and placed his hand on Wu Xie's shoulder gently, as he faced the newly arrived man.

“Darling, is everything okay?”

10 - A perverted report - (Da Qing & SID/Weilan - Guardian, post-canon, hand-wavy, crack fic, terrible attempt of humor)

Lin Jing: “You’re so WHAT?” You can’t gossip by the half!

Da Qing: I’m not gossiping, I’m complaining.

Chu Shuzhi: Sounds the same to me. So finish the sentence. *Chu pointed the finger to the cat as a menace, Da Qing couldn’t care less.*

Da Qing: No, that’s too much, shouldn’t hornyness have a limit?! My well-being is the limit!

Wang Zheng: If you don’t sleep in the same room, you don’t see anything… how sad… I mean…

Da Qing: Who said I don’t see anything? If they kept their hornyness in their bedroom, I could think about forgiving them, but NO, sometimes they start things on the couch and even in the kitchen! Once they didn't even see me sleeping in the middle of the cushions and started their thing, I woke up scared just to face them naked there! It’s absurd! 

Zhu Hong: Did you see them naked? I mean, obviously because you live with them, but… together?

Da Qing: It's not like they don’t take baths. 

Wang Zheng: Together?

Da Qing: That shit of a master I have says that why showering alone if he has a wife? Despite this, I don't know if someone could be only a wife or only a husband… 

...

If you think I’m obsessed with WX/ZYL, all I can say is that fics with them are over the half of my word count in 2022 kjskjsjksjs

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43663135/chapters/109793737

Summary: Pei Wende didn't know where that promise came from, but he knew that someone should love him as much as he had loved the person, to have a promise with him to fulfill in another life. Thus, he pushed his feelings for Hua Wuxie away from himself, he certainly shouldn't think of his sworn brother that way, he was surely just in pain for a love he didn't know where to find. A love that Hua Wuxie himself, years later, helped him look for, but they had found nothing. And so, disconsolately, he preferred to be left alone about getting married, he preferred to just continue working for the Guardian Order and live a life that Hua Wuxie would always be a part of, even if he could never be his. If that had been the case, he wouldn't have had to worry, at that moment, about whether his children would be all right now that their mother had passed away. He needed some more wine.

(You don't need to watch Pei Wende and Hua Wuxie to understand this fic, there aren't any references to their canon media.) (This fic is part of the "Stars aligned in a perfect sky" side-stories, but can be read as a stand-alone)

**** Beautiful Cover Art by @sagittariusdarkarrow​