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100promptsTitle: The Sweetest Feeling
Fandom: Dynasty Warriors
Prompt: Daily Prompt #002: Handle With Care
Character/Pairing: Guo Jia/Xu Shu
Rating: T
Word Count: 1045
Summary: He did need to be handled carefully, but not, perhaps, quite as delicately as people thought.
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: This is modern AU with reference to a certain delightful DLC outfit; I'm not sure who decided Xu Shu should be a 'troubled snowboarder' when they were working on the designs but it never fails to amuse. Definitely getting a follow-up soon. Yuanzhi is Xu Shu's style-name, by the way! The use of it by someone implies closesness to that person, be it friendly or romantic.
***
He'd seduced a lot of people in his time, brought many beautiful women to his bed and (much more rarely) the occasional handsome man, but Guo Jia had never developed serious feelings for someone before. It wasn't that the idea was unappealing, really, but when you lived with the knowledge that you were going to die young a long, loving relationship felt like an unfair goal. Instead it was better to just get as much fun as he could out of life. Casual relationships had been a part of that because sex was fun, drinking was fun and spending time with lively people a damn good time as a whole.
Now? Against all odds he'd survived the disease that should have burnt his life out and found himself with the possibility of many more years to enjoy. His heart must have taken that as a cue and he'd fallen in love with remarkable speed... and with someone completely unlike every other partner of the past.
Most had been confident, relaxed or assertive. Xu Shu was none of those things.
“I'm sure.” Guo Jia offered his most brilliant smile, leaning in as he did so. “Why else would I ask? If I didn't enjoy your company I wouldn't have been so persistant about getting it in the first place.”
“Umm, that's true,” replied Xu Shu, tugging lightly at his collar and looking a little sheepish. “But you know I'm not the extrovert you are. Surely someone better at socialising and making connections would suit this better?”
“I don't want help in wooing new business, I want someone to escape with when the chatter gets boring and you've got experience on the slopes.”
Which was all completely true. It didn't matter how luxurious or interesting the destination, business conferences would always reach a point where he'd done all he could and all that was left to do was make small-talk. Which was fun with the right sort of the person, sure, and in the past Guo Jia would have zoomed in on the prettiest single around and spent the rest of the week fooling around, but that wasn't an option anymore. He wanted one person, this conference was set in a huge ski resort and Xu Shu was a former snowboarding champion.
Guo Jia didn't know how much he believed in fate but this was too perfect a set-up.
“I'm not sure you should be choosing your aide that way, Guo Jia,” Xu Shu said, but despite the faint blush he was smiling now (and more importantly still hadn't actually said no). “You're... you're brilliant, yes, but you do have a job to do.”
“I'll get it done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Ah? Are you doubting my impeccable genius now?”
“N-no! No, of course not, I just...”
The faint blush turned full-on crimson and he couldn't help it, Guo Jia had to laugh, amused and endeared both. Cao Cao wouldn't care at all about him choosing an aide purely for company; it's how it had always been. You didn't need more than Guo Jia himself to work a crowd and charm an investor. Get that done and it was really just an excuse for a bit of a holiday.
Xu Shu had to know that, on some level. He was too smart not to, which meant that as usual this was about his insecurities rather than anything else. That deep and damaging belief that he really wasn't worth wanting was clashing rather horribly with the absolutely blatant fact that Guo Jia was into him and wanted all of it, thank you very much. Even (and perhaps especially) the damaged parts, the broken bits that had never quite glued back together in a neat fashion. Yes, it meant Xu Shu needed to be looked after to a degree, and they'd both need to put a lot of work into the relationship, but it would be so worth it.
Guo Jia was an 'impeccable genius,' after all. Not a term he ever used seriously however close to the truth it might be, but in this case he was certain.
“I might enjoy a good time, but you know I work just as hard as I play.” Easing off a little, Guo Jia sat up straight again (though not without a wink), tapped his fingers against the table and adopted a more sincere version of his typical smile, something a little softer at the edges. “Let me worry about that. If you agree to come the only thing I want you to concern yourself with is the task of keeping me up straight on a snowboard, a true challenge worthy of your skills. What do you think? Feel up to it?”
Xu Shu was silent for a few more moments, finger still curled into his shirt, but eventually he offered a small, if shy, smile of his own, took a deep breath, and in a moment that actually managed to surprise Guo Jia reached out to take his hand.
“I'll try to handle you with care, but I can't promise you won't fall in the process.”
The courage faded after a moment and Xu Shu's hand made an attempt at rapid retreat, but there was no way Guo Jia was letting him get away with it; he grabbed the hand before it could escape and squeezed it tight, delighting in every part of that gesture and the half-stunned look on his sweetheart's face. No take-backs. Maybe he'd treated Xu Shu too delicately this whole time, focusing too much on how different he was to those in the past, if he was capable of coming out with lines like that.
“I've already fallen.” Guo Jia's smile burst into an outright grin as the blush reached Xu Shu's ears, the sweet feeling of victory filling his heart. “So you don't need to be gentle with me, Yuanzhi. Be as rough as necessary.”
Never mind the snowboarding. The work would have to take a back-seat and there would be no relaxing either. Xu Shu wasn't lively but he was more assertive than anyone could ever expect, and Guo Jia was gleeful at the opportunity to find out just how deep this might go.
Fandom: Dynasty Warriors
Prompt: Daily Prompt #002: Handle With Care
Character/Pairing: Guo Jia/Xu Shu
Rating: T
Word Count: 1045
Summary: He did need to be handled carefully, but not, perhaps, quite as delicately as people thought.
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: This is modern AU with reference to a certain delightful DLC outfit; I'm not sure who decided Xu Shu should be a 'troubled snowboarder' when they were working on the designs but it never fails to amuse. Definitely getting a follow-up soon. Yuanzhi is Xu Shu's style-name, by the way! The use of it by someone implies closesness to that person, be it friendly or romantic.
He'd seduced a lot of people in his time, brought many beautiful women to his bed and (much more rarely) the occasional handsome man, but Guo Jia had never developed serious feelings for someone before. It wasn't that the idea was unappealing, really, but when you lived with the knowledge that you were going to die young a long, loving relationship felt like an unfair goal. Instead it was better to just get as much fun as he could out of life. Casual relationships had been a part of that because sex was fun, drinking was fun and spending time with lively people a damn good time as a whole.
Now? Against all odds he'd survived the disease that should have burnt his life out and found himself with the possibility of many more years to enjoy. His heart must have taken that as a cue and he'd fallen in love with remarkable speed... and with someone completely unlike every other partner of the past.
Most had been confident, relaxed or assertive. Xu Shu was none of those things.
“I'm sure.” Guo Jia offered his most brilliant smile, leaning in as he did so. “Why else would I ask? If I didn't enjoy your company I wouldn't have been so persistant about getting it in the first place.”
“Umm, that's true,” replied Xu Shu, tugging lightly at his collar and looking a little sheepish. “But you know I'm not the extrovert you are. Surely someone better at socialising and making connections would suit this better?”
“I don't want help in wooing new business, I want someone to escape with when the chatter gets boring and you've got experience on the slopes.”
Which was all completely true. It didn't matter how luxurious or interesting the destination, business conferences would always reach a point where he'd done all he could and all that was left to do was make small-talk. Which was fun with the right sort of the person, sure, and in the past Guo Jia would have zoomed in on the prettiest single around and spent the rest of the week fooling around, but that wasn't an option anymore. He wanted one person, this conference was set in a huge ski resort and Xu Shu was a former snowboarding champion.
Guo Jia didn't know how much he believed in fate but this was too perfect a set-up.
“I'm not sure you should be choosing your aide that way, Guo Jia,” Xu Shu said, but despite the faint blush he was smiling now (and more importantly still hadn't actually said no). “You're... you're brilliant, yes, but you do have a job to do.”
“I'll get it done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Ah? Are you doubting my impeccable genius now?”
“N-no! No, of course not, I just...”
The faint blush turned full-on crimson and he couldn't help it, Guo Jia had to laugh, amused and endeared both. Cao Cao wouldn't care at all about him choosing an aide purely for company; it's how it had always been. You didn't need more than Guo Jia himself to work a crowd and charm an investor. Get that done and it was really just an excuse for a bit of a holiday.
Xu Shu had to know that, on some level. He was too smart not to, which meant that as usual this was about his insecurities rather than anything else. That deep and damaging belief that he really wasn't worth wanting was clashing rather horribly with the absolutely blatant fact that Guo Jia was into him and wanted all of it, thank you very much. Even (and perhaps especially) the damaged parts, the broken bits that had never quite glued back together in a neat fashion. Yes, it meant Xu Shu needed to be looked after to a degree, and they'd both need to put a lot of work into the relationship, but it would be so worth it.
Guo Jia was an 'impeccable genius,' after all. Not a term he ever used seriously however close to the truth it might be, but in this case he was certain.
“I might enjoy a good time, but you know I work just as hard as I play.” Easing off a little, Guo Jia sat up straight again (though not without a wink), tapped his fingers against the table and adopted a more sincere version of his typical smile, something a little softer at the edges. “Let me worry about that. If you agree to come the only thing I want you to concern yourself with is the task of keeping me up straight on a snowboard, a true challenge worthy of your skills. What do you think? Feel up to it?”
Xu Shu was silent for a few more moments, finger still curled into his shirt, but eventually he offered a small, if shy, smile of his own, took a deep breath, and in a moment that actually managed to surprise Guo Jia reached out to take his hand.
“I'll try to handle you with care, but I can't promise you won't fall in the process.”
The courage faded after a moment and Xu Shu's hand made an attempt at rapid retreat, but there was no way Guo Jia was letting him get away with it; he grabbed the hand before it could escape and squeezed it tight, delighting in every part of that gesture and the half-stunned look on his sweetheart's face. No take-backs. Maybe he'd treated Xu Shu too delicately this whole time, focusing too much on how different he was to those in the past, if he was capable of coming out with lines like that.
“I've already fallen.” Guo Jia's smile burst into an outright grin as the blush reached Xu Shu's ears, the sweet feeling of victory filling his heart. “So you don't need to be gentle with me, Yuanzhi. Be as rough as necessary.”
Never mind the snowboarding. The work would have to take a back-seat and there would be no relaxing either. Xu Shu wasn't lively but he was more assertive than anyone could ever expect, and Guo Jia was gleeful at the opportunity to find out just how deep this might go.
