#queenfriday17

Zhao Yunlan didn’t even bother to answer. He ended the call, flung the file he had read before on the sofa and sprinted out of his office, through the bullpen and was out of the door before anyone of his team could as much as blink.

The ride to Jia’s school was the worst seventeen minutes of his life. He tried to call Shen Wei a dozen times, but to no avail, and finally sent him a voice message. The answering silence was almost too much to bear, his mind racing and his hands sweaty.

When he arrived at the school, he just left the jeep at the entrance – they hopefully would recognize it as an SID vehicle – and sprinted up the stairs to the principal’s office.

Upon entering the corridor he almost fainted with relief. Outside the office, on a wooden chair sat his daughter; a grim expression on her face, eyes red, her black hair an angry cloud around her head. Her t-shirt – her favourite, the superhero one – had a large dirt stain on the shoulder. Next to her Zhao Yunlan noticed three more students, looking equally mangled. All four turned their heads when he entered, the boys staring curiously at him, while Jia’s face lit up in visible relief. He smiled at her, and before he could knock on the door, it opened and the school’s principal appeared, seemingly stressed and thoroughly furious. He glared at Zhao Yunlan and waved him in, nodding at Jia to follow.

When they both had sat down, he took a meaningful breath and looked accusingly at Zhao Yunlan.

“Chief Zhao”, he began. “I am well aware of the fact that our government has made an effort to welcome all Dixingren here in Haixing, and show them they are”, he made a dramatic pause and cleared his throat, “accepted here, but this”, he waved a hand at Jia, “is too much. I won’t accept this!”

Zhao Yunlan raised an eyebrow. “First of all, I would appreciate it if you didn’t call my kid an ‘it’.” He sat up straighter. “And secondly, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Jia, who hadn’t said anything, looked down at her lap. Zhao Yunlan reached over, taking one of her hands in his, brushing his thumb over her knuckles.

The principal inhaled meaningfully, probably in order to continue his tirade, but Zhao Yunlan just fixed the other man with a death glare that he normally reserved for unwilling suspects. “Just tell me what happened. Slowly.”

The principal huffed indignantly and looked condescendingly at Jia, who still hadn’t moved. “That...kid of yours”, he said grandly, “has endangered and traumatized other students.” Zhao Yunlan raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent and motioned him to go on. “She has used her powers on them! She could have killed them! She is to be expelled, I am not –”

Zhao Yunlan silenced him with a wave of his hand, turned to the girl and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You tell me.”

Jia inhaled shakily and looked at him, balled fists, barely holding back tears. “They were bullying A-Yao again”, she said angrily. “I just wanted to help him, Baba. I told them to stop, but they laughed at me. And then they asked what I wanted to do, and then one of them shoved me, and….” She took a shaky breath. “And then I made a shield, like Da showed me. They kept hitting it and it kinda…backfired?” She was close to crying again and Zhao Yunlan stroked her head. “It’s alright, darling, you didn’t do anything wrong”, he assured her.

At that, the principal bristled and loudly cleared his throat. “Excuse me,” he began, but before he could say anything more, the air next to his desk began to sizzle, a portal flickering into existence. Before it had fully materialized, Shen Wei stepped through it so hurriedly that he almost collided with the desk, while the teacher next to him squealed in shock and pressed a hand to his mouth.

Shen Wei shot Zhao Yunlan an alarmed look, then let his eyes wander over his daughter, taking in her tousled hair and red eyes and frowned. “I received your message”, he explained shortly, “and came as soon as I did. What is so urgent?”

The principal apparently saw a chance to save his case. “Your daughter,” he pointed a finger at the girl, “has used her…magic”, he spat out the word with visible disgust, “on other students and almost killed them! This kind of –“ He interrupted himself suddenly, because Shen Wei had taken a step closer, looming over the smaller man with a withering glare. In the following silence, he turned around and raised a questioning eyebrow at Zhao Yunlan, who just shrugged. “She protected someone with a shield and the recoil hit them when they kept throwing punches”, he explained.

Shen Wei turned back to the principal, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “You call me here for an emergency, just to tell me that my daughter heroically saved another student from some bullies – which would have been your obligation – and you want to punish her for it?” Before the other man could get a word in, he continued, ice in his voice. “Isn’t it more likely that you are…biased in that situation because of my daughter’s heritage?” He took another step closer. “Because of my heritage?”

The principal shrunk further into his chair, shaking his head furiously. “No, Hei Pao Shi, no, I would never –“ Shen Wei interrupted him. “Then I take it we are finished with this matter. I expect you to punish the bullies that almost hurt my daughter.” The man wilted further, but didn’t object as Shen Wei took his daughter’s hand and nodded to Zhao Yunlan, who had grinned silently at the exchange. With his free hand, he waved a portal into existence and the three of them stepped through.

When they emerged in their living room, Shen Wei turned around, pulling the girl in a tight embrace. Pressing her face into his chest, she couldn't suppress the sobs anymore. Zhao Yunlan stepped closer and hugged both of them from the other side, soothingly stroking Jia’s hair.

“Hey, darling, it’s alright. Shh, you’re safe now.” She hitched a breath and nuzzled into her father’s chest. “Of course I'm safe, I..I...I could have kicked their asses!"

He grinned. “You did! I am proud of you. You stood up for a friend, that’s what superheroes do, right?”

Jia snuffled and wiped her nose at Shen Wei’s shirt, tightening her arms around him. He smiled affectionately at her, his hand reaching for Zhao Yunlan’s waist to pull him closer into the hug. When the girl pulled away to look up at him, he met her gaze.

"But… but Da, I… I used my powers. And you told me not to. I..."

"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong here, sweetheart." With Shen Wei stroking her back, Jia snuggled back into the embrace and let out a sigh.

 After Jia had changed – and Zhao Yunlan had remembered the jeep still in the school parking lot and sheepishly had asked his husband to portal him there to get it –, they sat down for an early dinner. Jia was still tucked under Zhao Yunlan’s arm, while Shen Wei filled her bowl with her favourite pieces.

When she dug in, they smiled at each other over her head and Zhao Yunlan leaned in to press a kiss to his husband’s lips.

“You know, Hei Pao Shi, that was really hot how you crushed the principal”, he whispered loudly against Shen Wei’s cheek.

“Yunlan!”

“Eww!”

Zhao Yunlan laughed at the outraged expression on both their faces and pressed a kiss to his daughter’s hair, then one to Shen Wei’s nose.