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Currents in the Deep

Summary:

Prompt fills for Rare Pair Week 2021

1. Silence - An Wenyi/Zhang Xinjie
2. Constellations - Fang Rui/Ruan Yongbin
3. Winter - Su Mucheng/Tian Sen
4. Recurrence & shadow & victory - Song Qiying/Qiu Fei, Qiao Yifan/Qiu Fei, Guo Shao/Qiu Fei
5. Prophecy - Su Muqiu/Ye Xiu/Zhou Zekai
6. Meeting - Lin Jingyan/Tang Hao

Notes:

Day 1: Silence - An Wenyi/Zhang Xinjie

Chapter Text

They are not an affectionate couple - or at least, not in ways most people would outwardly recognize - but An Wenyi does not need words to know how deeply Zhang Xinjie loves him. 

He feels it in the quiet companionship between them at night, while An Wenyi reads or games, and Zhang Xinjie works through his university assignments one by one, sometimes consulting An Wenyi when he has a question. It’s one of the few times An Wenyi has the greater knowledge between the two of them, but Zhang Xinjie never hesitates to ask, and An Wenyi never holds back with his answers. Between two such rational, practical people, what need is there for anything like conceit?

In the mornings, when An Wenyi’s shoulder is shaken at precisely 7:30 AM after Zhang Xinjie has returned from his daily walk, and the air is full of the smell of buns and soy milk, An Wenyi once again feels Zhang Xinjie’s wordless affection. They share space in the kitchen while they eat, and then again in the bathroom while they dress. The bathroom counter is divided precisely between the two of them. After the glasses switching incident - both of them are functionally blind without their prescription lenses - the division is meticulously respected. Then Zhang Xinjie accompanies An Wenyi to the door, passing over the suit coat and bag hung in their places on the hallway wall while Zhang Xinjie outlines his personal schedule for the day - An Wenyi received a message last week with a written version.

“How can you stand him?” An Wenyi’s coworker asks when he brings Xinjie to a company function. She lowers her voice and giggles as if she expects An Wenyi to eagerly begin listing out complaints. “Keeping a schedule every day? He sounds like a robot.”

“The schedules don’t bother me,” An Wenyi tells her truthfully. 

To be honest, An Wenyi rather likes Zhang Xinjie’s schedules. While they are occasionally inconvenient, their comfort far outweighs any restrictiveness. An Wenyi is a calm, rational person who lives in an irrational, chaotic world. Zhang Xinjie’s schedules function as a coping mechanism, allowing him to keep order and predictability in an unstable world. An Wenyi respects their purpose and value; he has never resented them.

On weekends, without work or university, their time together is given structure by Zhang Xinjie’s schedules. The reassurance of knowing where his partner is at any time is pleasant. An Wenyi falls asleep in the afternoon to the sound of rain; when he wakes alone, a quick glance at his watch tells him Zhang Xinjie is out buying groceries for dinner. Neither of them can cook. Zhang Xinjie spent his young adulthood eating in Tyranny’s cafeteria, while An Wenyi survived college through takeout and cup noodles. They’re slowly learning together, from blogs and internet videos, spending hours elbow to elbow in their apartment kitchen. When his partner returns, An Wenyi gets up and feeds the fish while Zhang Xinjie unpacks the groceries into their assigned places in the kitchen. 

Saturday nights are for Glory. Whether they attend a match in person, or stay at home watching the stream from a laptop, this is one ritual that hasn’t changed since their time playing in the league. On those nights, An Wenyi remembers the warm glow of Zhang Xinjie’s acknowledgement, and the firm handshake that first made him look at Zhang Xinjie as more than an idol out of his reach.

“Does he love you?” An Wenyi’s mother asks when he brings Xinjie to meet his parents. Her fingers curl in his shirt cuff, a silent entreaty for her son’s happiness.

An Wenyi thinks of tea placed at your elbow just as you’re getting thirsty, and a space carved in Zhang Xinjie’s schedule just for An Wenyi.

“I’ve never doubted Xinjie’s feelings,” he tells his mother. He’s never been more sure of anything in his life.

Zhang Xinjie would never make a claim without 100% certainty. If Zhang Xinjie chose a partner, it would not be before considering every angle, every piece of information, and every possibility. For him to stand beside An Wenyi today, An Wenyi could state with absolute assurance that Zhang Xinjie loved him.

When he goes to sit back down next to Xinjie, their fingers tangle together; Zhang Xinjie is the one who aligns their palms together so they’re holding hands.