the long way round by swans
“Well.” Ten lifts his chin, haughty, defiant. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
He’s here now in a rural area of China bordering Tibet with no work, no cats, no distractions. He’s here now, trying to figure out why it still feels like Kun is lying to him. He’s here now with Kun. For Kun.
I missed you, Kun had said, even when they were an arm’s length apart. That part, Ten thinks, is true. And suddenly, and even though he’d been thinking about its impossibility, about its ridiculousness, all Ten can think is I missed you, too.
Maybe Kun senses it. Maybe he doesn’t. Either way, Kun looks at him for as long as he dares to keep his eyes off the road, and Ten sees an expression he doesn't recognise cross his face before Kun turns away, eyes fixed firmly ahead.
“Yeah,” Kun says. “Yeah, you are.”
(or: Kun and Ten make it to Sichuan after all.)
Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Road Trip, Relationship Study, Explicit Sexual Content, kunten-typical emotional constipation about each other
Opinion: Okay, I’m just going to say it — this fic made me feral in the most lowkey way possible.
It’s slow burn, yes, but not in a boring way. It’s the kind where you’re reading and you keep thinking, “oh they are so stupid” (affectionate), because everything is right there. Every joke feels like it’s hiding something. Every slightly-too-long look feels intentional. The tension isn’t loud, it just sits there and simmers.
And the road trip setting? Evil. In the best way. You take two people who already have years of history, stick them in a car together for hours with no distractions, and just let them marinate in their own unresolved feelings. No members around. No schedules to hide behind. Just silence, scenery, and vibes that are getting progressively more intense.
What I love most is that nothing feels forced. The emotional progression makes sense. It builds in a way that feels natural to them, not just convenient for the plot. So when things start shifting, you’re not shocked — you’re just like, “yeah. This was coming.”
It’s messy, it’s tender, it’s frustrating in that delicious way, and it absolutely earns its payoff.
