Tea Served With Love

Chapter 1

That scene with the tea set could have led in so many different directions...where it did lead was Zhao Yunlan, for apparently no reason at all changing his hairstyle.

Some of this is reflective of the book and I think more in tune with the ZYL who sat on a rock under the stars bewitching the Lord of Dixing.

Or at least more in tune with Blood Roses.

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This is for the wonderful Anu. Truly one of the loveliest people you will ever meet.

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A Spanish translation is now available, translated by the wonderful ZhanYing12!

https://www.wattpad.com/story/276303088-t%C3%A9-servido-con-amor-_weilan_-traducci%C3%B3n-esp

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The scent of oolong tea filled the space between them, intimate and telling.

When the cup was expertly poured Shen Wei handed it to him graciously, without looking at him once. It was a slap of the kind he had expected, perhaps even deserved but sitting here in this carefully crafted apartment that was anything but a home, Zhao Yunlan simply sighed internally.

Two could play this game. He let the cup sit there, held out to him still without a glance for a second longer than what was truly polite. Did Shen Wei realized or even care how obvious he was? He kept the cup right there in front of Yunlan. A cup that was a polite gesture and expected of a man with such impeccable manners.

He could not imagine that the Black Cloak Envoy would offer tea to just anyone. Perhaps the Emperor of Dixing, but then again perhaps someone else poured for both of them, a political game of tea that hurts his head to even think about. Yunlan knew his greatest secret now, beyond the scope and binds of the Treaty, there was no reason to offer him tea. In a nice, expensive cup brewed personally. The hand did not waver or retract, or shake or move at all. It remained held gracefully by strong fingers, with an undeniable implication.

Zhao Yunlan for whatever unbelievable reason was worth brewing tea for, worth the nice tea set and the ritual of polite sharing.

Did Shen Wei ever think that he would wonder why?

The affirmation that he was Envoy had led to some realizations that should have been obvious. There had been wonder and devotion in Shen Wei's eyes the very first time they had met. There had been respect and even affection in the Envoy's tone. Earnest eyes filled with worry, chiding his recklessness, bright with undeniable happiness in the darkness and still that wonder, that affection.

When Zhao Yunlan was the epitome of himself, both the Envoy and Shen Wei attempted to maintain some distance. If either one suspected there was something wrong, that Zhao Yunlan was failing to keep the image of Chief Zhao perfectly in place... there was that care, that loving concern that made no sense brimming in warm eyes, in the tightness of those cherry blossom lips, he really spent too much time thinking about.

So he sat forward on a sofa that discouraged lounging and leaned in to take the cup, intentionally touching those fingers in a light caress that could be considered an accident. It rattled slightly as he brought the cup closer and Shen Wei tried to remain blind to the smile he offered in thanks.

It was amazing tea, he had to credit Shen Wei there. This was no teabag dropped in a pot with the assumption that Zhao Yunlan in his beat-up jeans and leather jacket would not know the difference. Shen Wei had seen his tea cupboard and yet...to Shen Wei was it unthinkable, not to use the good tea for Zhao Yunlan? A courtesy to the Guardian of Haixing or how Shen Wei felt about Zhao Yunlan, the man not the office?

It was questions like these that haunted and entertained his mind for far too many nights.

He blew on the tea to cool it slightly, watching from the corner of his eye as two elegant fingers pressed lightly on the lid of the tea pot, in a move that would not be out of place in a palace. He poured the tea quietly, with matter of fact efficiency that spoke of a familiar ritual and lowered the pot expertly, not a drop falling unwanted from the spout.

Tea was personal. One could say that every beverage on the planet was personal. But tea was different. The ritual of making tea is one beyond that of simple preference. At the office it is a teabag plunged into boiling water. At home he enjoys the process of spooning loose tea into the strainer, watching the color blend into a satisfying amber of strong, hot comfort. Shen Wei uses actual leaves that steep slowly, releasing that aromatic scent and taste of the fragrant leaf.

The silence was brittle, but Zhao Yunlan was not worried. Not now. He never was before a fight and he sees this night as the beginning. Their beginning.

Shen Wei blew on his own tea, a slight breath that probably had little effect on the temperature. Then again perhaps being Dixingian he had no need to fear a burnt tongue. There were so many things he wanted to ask, to know and doubted he would learn two percent of that knowledge by the time he died.

Unwrapping a lollipop to quell the cravings today brought forward, he looked unabashedly at the beautiful man pretending to ignore him, as he drank his tea. As if Shen Wei was alone or acting out a role in a book, a character keeping his secrets while he shared tea with the enemy.

Time to end this. "I know you are not heartless." He said staring at his lollipop, wondering why he was down to the vanilla ones. "You act heartless and indifferent to stabilize the peace in our city,"

Yunlan looked back at Shen Wei as he put down his cup with a light clink. "...but actually you are soft hearted and caring."

He winced at the thought of his reputation, his enemies and the fear that followed Shen Wei like a cloud. "It is hard."

Shen Wei's gaze softened and looked at him steadily for a few seconds before returning to his tea, but to no surprise chose to deflect. "I don't understand."

Ah. So he was willing to talk. He huffed a laugh kept relatively silent by the lollipop in his mouth and leaned back on the uncomfortable sofa. "Brother Black,"

Shen Wei glared at his tea as he said, "...Stop acting." and then paused for a single breath before swallowing the single sip.

Yunlan pointed the lollipop at him, "Unless you can erase my memories,"

Shen Wei turned in his chair and he wanted to cheer. He was looking at Yunlan now, a veiled threat and amusement in those eyes, the passive reminder that he was the Envoy, that Yunlan was perfectly correct, he didn't need to pretend. It was the warning of a gun safely contained a holster. "Who told you I can't?" Shen asks him with a curl to his lips, his tone light and slightly smug, a warrior and not a biology Professor facing him now.

That was true and Shen Wei was probably more than capable, making him pause for the first time tonight. His abilities were seemingly endless, but after a half second Yunlan remembers that this is the only man in the world, he does actually trust with his heart, so he smiles winningly, "Where would be the fun in that?"

Shen Wei snorted amused despite himself and Zhao continued now he had another opening. "You would have to endure all this again." He gestures at the room, at himself and Shen Wei shakes his head slightly, as if reminded that he is sitting with a man with little self-preservation.

He leaned in smoothly and Shen Wei refuses to look at him, but his tight expression has cleared somewhat. "You know that I have to be a liar, once I lied." He looked down and Yunlan feels his heart clench at the old hurt, weariness and the breathtaking strength Shen Wei possesses. "I am tired."

"Yes. I know." How could he not be? Seeing the discomfort on that stunning face, Zhao shifted closer, it was time for his moment of semi-genuine repentance. "I know...that my attitude toward you was quite disrespectful."

If only he knew how many times he had daydreamed of him naked...but Shen Wei pauses, as if this was unexpected and not something he appreciates. Which s strange considering who he is.

"...But let bygones be bygones." He said with a wave. Leaning closer still, he dropped his voice even lower, "You said before, we are friends."

Still staring down at the table, Shen Wei said softly, "Yes. We have always been friends." His eyes were soft and warm, imploring and so alone as he added, "It never changed."

There were so many questions that single sentence evoked Zhao Yunlan nearly choked, but he reined in the cop that desperately wanted to know, aware with some bitterness that Shen Wei, unless cornered would tell him nothing. Shen Wei would retreat and perhaps never return to him.

So he nodded like a wise sage and sucked his lollipop, "Which is why it is a relief to know that I don't need to break-into Dixing."

The armor that was rising to cover his words fell as Shen Wei stared at him in honest confusion. Shen Wei had predicted his questions and his own response and now, Zhao Yunlan was deviating entirely from the script, from the lines Shen Wei had etched between them. "Why..?"

"You're Old Bro Black! I don't need to. Now." Zhao said cheerfully, taking his teacup from the coffee table. "I don't need to fight Chu either."

"Why would you be fighting Chu?"

He glanced at Shen Wei and nearly laughed at the sweetest expression of pure confusion, gracing the face that was carved by the Heavens on a glorious day. "Well who else was going to stand in front of you? If I was wrong...we were both in a world of trouble. With Dixing."

Zhao burned his tongue but it was good tea. He could feel Shen Wei's scrutiny like a physical touch. "You were worried? About me?"

He looked at him then, at the soft expression and eyes full of wonder, the ice broken at last. He sighed lightly and said with laser precision, "We are friends Shen Wei. If Dixing was going to forcefully repatriate you, I had to have a way of helping you. Since you would not join SID. That would give you some protection."

Shen Wei glanced down embarrassed and surprised by this revelation, clearly never considering the possibility that Zhao Yunlan had been worried for him. "I had not realized."

Zhao Yunlan huffed another laugh. "That I have spent sleepless nights worrying about you? Well now you do."

The rebuke was silent but Shen Wei responded to it regardless, hearing the 'Your Honor' added to the end. Zhao had worried for a man who few would dare touch, a man Dixing owed everything. Repatriation was laughable and he, all the more laughable for thinking it. Shen said with some heat backing the words, "You could have..."

"You would have lied to my face. Again. If you were not Old Bro Black...well...what does it matter? You are the Envoy and by extension safe from the fates I was imagining." He replied with a certain, carefully crafted mournfulness.

"I was cheated by you for so long. It was impressive that someone could do that to me but hurtful. Still I do understand it. Your reticence. Guardian, Envoy... the titles and the duties we carry between us. It must have given you pause."

Shen Wei appeared to be as lost as a plastic bag carried by the winds of fate. "I..."

Shen Wei is not someone who, when decided on his course of action will change it easily. He admires this. To stand true and walk forward with your choices is admirable, it takes strength that few have. But frankly, right now it is a wall that Shen Wei continues to hide behind. He has very few weaknesses.

So Zhao Yunlan leans forward and exploits the only one he knows. With no one else would he admit a truth and then exaggerate that truth to legendary proportions, but tonight is the only chance he will get. He knows this as a fundamental truth of the universe. If not tonight, then never and that is something he will not accept without trying everything to his considerable disposal. "It is hurtful."

Guilt and confusion war with pain in those warm eyes, the admission cutting into the heart beating a little faster in Shen Wei's chest. He can see the quickening pulse in the beautiful column of his neck. "I never wished to hurt you."

Those eyes become earnest almost hurtful. "What can I do?"

He pulls the lollipop slowly from his mouth, runs the sphere over his bottom lip as if in thought, watching Shen Wei's eyes darken, then look away as if guilty. "Answer me this."

He stills like a man awaiting sentencing, his mind no doubt considering all the things Zhao Yunlan might ask for. Shen Wei's hand is right there and he knows the man allows him intimacy never given to others. So, he runs his fingers along the back of that elegant hand, a swirl of fingers and the shudder he receives in answer is worth the world.

Shen Wei's shoulders tense as if expecting another question he cannot answer, staring at the fingers caressing his hand. "You have lied to me so many times. Did you lie about this? Did you just want to play with my heart, or were you waiting for me?"

Shen Wei clearly has no idea how to cope with a Zhao Yunlan determined to ruin every barrier between them. To break all the rules and defy any attempts to dissuade him. His response is one word, reminding him of this morning at the wedding. "I..."

"It feels like you are enjoying playing with my feelings."

This time his response is instant, edged with anger and hurt but earnest, as if he desperate for Yunlan to believe him. "I'm not."

He lifts his eyebrows in reply. "Oh? You worry me, confuse me, leave all those signs scattered like rose petals...The closer I get the more you run and yet..." In Shen Wei's shock, he lets Zhao Yunlan take his hand, lets him press it to his face here in the warm light of this richly decorated but cold apartment.

His fingers are cool, the scent of incense and a summer storm now intoxicating when before it had only been alluring, hidden by power and aftershave. It brightens his heart to think he is not hiding, suppressing and pretending. Not with this at least. Now he knows there is no need to pretend he is just Professor Shen.

Those fingers curve against his cheek almost involuntarily and Shen Wei's eyes are molten. Any second now Wei will remember who he is and pull away, so Zhao moves those perfect fingers down to his jaw, where he presses the lollipop into his inner cheek. Those eyes grow a little wild, feeling the ball of the sweet.

He turns his own head and moves the lollipop to the other cheek, taking those elegant fingers into his mouth before Shen Wei can pull away. Heat, suction and the caress of his tongue, the slick, sticky vanilla lollipop...

"Zhao Yunlan..." This is no Envoy, the man who shifts violently, gasping as his expression flickers between panicked and something like want. This is Shen Wei, a man of flesh and bone, with needs and desires. He wants this. Wants Zhao Yunlan.

It is heady and a bone melting relief that he was right. He had spent weeks now wondering about Shen Wei, but all the experiments he had tried had only ever given him mixed results. Watching him sleep in the mountains was the first suggestion that Shen Wei's intent was not purely platonic. Then during a meeting in his office he had stretched his legs out, with no intent other than to relieve the cramping muscle. Shen Wei's eyes had followed the line of his leg with a particular hungry expression and if another Professor had not interrupted...

He stared at Yunlan's mouth most of the time they were together and the artistic holes and tears in his jeans were a subject of devoted interest. The sight of his bare feet earlier this week, had caused the Envoy to bite his own lip and avert his gaze, only to keep looking at them propped on the arm of the couch, as if they were a work of art. If that wasn't interest accompanied by sexual tension, he should give up his job as Division Chief.

Shen Wei can't look away and the teacup rattles on the coffee table as his knee jostles forward. He pulls back but Zhao Yunlan follows, the lollipop in his hand. "I...this..."

He turns to Zhao Yunlan as if planning to move away, to force distance between them, so as if it comes as second nature, he moves his right hand up catching Shen Wei's gaze instinctively and uses his left to push the vanilla sweet into Shen Wei's mouth. He's not sure who was more shocked.

But, in another second he moves himself off the uncomfortable couch, sliding onto his lap. Shen Wei jolts and yet his hands immediately cradle his hips, hands tense as if he can't decide to push him off or pull him closer. There's hunger now and panic in those eyes, the want spiraling into something a lot more powerful. "You.."

His voice dropped into a lower tone, seductive and intimate. "I want you and I know you want me, Shen Wei. How much longer are you going to hurt us both? How many more nights should I cry out your name? Do you listen? Do you.."

His head is suddenly cradled by a hand callused from years of fighting, a hand that has saved lives, broken bones and caressed Zhao Yunlan's skin with a reverence that is truly breathtaking. It holds him close in a near unbreakable grip that manages to still be gentle, and those eyes gleam with intent, "Zhao Yunlan."

Shen Wei drags the lollipop free from his own mouth, eyes hot as if Zhao Yunlan had suddenly become his entire world. He looks at the lollipop and licks his lips staring at Yunlan. Then he tosses the sweet onto the table and pulls him towards his chest, one hand holding his hips, legs parting to accommodate his added weight. The armchair rocks for a second and then Shen Wei plants his feet, as domineering and unstoppable as he is acting as the Envoy.

Ah there it is. The moment Zhao Yunlan had been praying for. He has won this battle and maybe the war. Shen Wei has given in, allowed him this far greater intimacy. It was his choice to make and now that he has, he will not back down.

The kiss is everything and nothing like the one Zhao Yunlan has spent months imagining. It is fire and need, a rash decision driven by hunger and a crumbling resolve. When he responds he changes it so it transcends the moment, like a tidal wave crashing on the coast, to become something more. He kisses Shen Wei, fully aware that this is his only chance.

He sucks Shen Wei's lower lip, presses his tongue against sharp teeth rubbing suggestively, even as he rocks forward slightly. The gasp of shock is the opportunity he was seeking, allowing him entrance into the treasure of Wei's mouth. Those hands tighten on his hips as he devours Shen Wei, worshiping the tentative tongue that greets his own.

When he pulls away light-headed from the simple lack of air, Shen Wei's eyes are pools of desire, no hint of warm sweet brown only the inky blackness of want.