Fanfic Crosspost Blog! I am 30+ and my content sometimes reflects that, please browse with care.
I am Summertrap on AO3 & my main blog is Summertrapped.
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My name is Summer and I mostly write for the Mortal Kombat fandom, but I have many fandoms so some other stuff may pop up now and again.
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🌎Give Me One Reason Why I Should Trust Another Fool Like You
Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang
Length: 2623 Words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Soulmate AU, Modern AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks (Name of Soulmate Tattooed on wrist), Angst, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Drug Addiction, Past One Night Stands, Past Bullying, Relapsing (Or at least the threat of it), This is not a fluffy Soulmate AU I'm Sorry, Emotional Hurt, Mentioned Bi-Han/Sareena, Sad Ending, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Mental Health Issues
Meanwhile In Another Universe Masterlist
Notes: Okay, it's been a hot minute, but my pile of finished but unedited fic's is starting to get a little out of control so... I gotta start posting before it get's worse lmao. Just as a quick note, in the last 5 months I have switched from writing exclusively on my Ipad, to now writing on a laptop. This has caused some minor formatting changes (mostly how some punctuation marks look). The only major change has been in how I format text messages, mostly because the new way works better for the program I now write on (Obsidian, for anyone curious).
As for this fic itself... As much as I enjoy soulmate AU's and the fluff potential, there's the evil gremlin part of me that wants to constantly deconstruct it. As someone who whole heartedly believes platonic soulmates exist (and that they should be factored into soulmate AU's more than they are), I've always wondered what it would mean for someone to simply... Not have a soulmate mark in a universe like this.
So yeah, that's what this fic is about...
Fic title is from "One Reason" by Straight Line Stitch.
Kuai Liang did not have a soulmate.
It was a simple fact he'd come to accept. At the age a name should have appeared on his wrist, no name came. Initially, his family believed that meant Kuai was simply asexual or aromantic, until after a small bit of research, they very quickly discovered that platonic soulmates existed. Going to an expert in soulmates and the bond the tattoos created, they were told there were two reasons for Kuai to not have a name on his wrist.
1; He was one of the rare few who genuinely did not have a soulmate.
2; He was one of the even rarer few who did have a soulmate, but for reasons unknown, the name simply didn't show on his skin.
The second option hadn't been completely ruled out, as the only way to know for sure was to meet someone with Kuai Liang's name on his wrist. But as the years had gone by, Kuai had become more and more jaded, believing he simply was not worthy of love or affection. It wasn't helped by the taunting jeers of his peers in school and college. Some particularly callous individuals went so far as to try and trick him by pretending they had his name on their wrist, only to cruelly reveal the ruse once he was starting to truly trust them.
Years had passed, and admittedly in his 20's he did not deal with things in healthy ways. Getting drunk and taking drugs, having mindless sex with men who absolutely had soulmates, who they presumably hadn't met yet. Or maybe they had and Kuai was a homewrecker. He didn't know, but a part of him saw it as revenge, and if soulmates were truly such a sacred concept, then those men wouldn't have strayed, would they?
Why did everyone except him get to have someone to share their life with? Not a lover, not a queerplatonic partner. He was destined to be fucking alone.
And now here he was, in his mid 30's, living in his elder brother's house with his sister in law and niece. He was in a slightly more stable place these days, at the very least he wasn't drinking or getting high anymore. Sex had crawled to a stop, although he was kind of bitter about that, as it was the only thing that made him feel actually worth anything. He'd gotten a job, thanks to Bi-Han managing to secure Kuai a low level position at the company he worked for.
He tried to be happy and content. He had his family at least. Bi-Han always was his biggest protector, and his sister-in-law Sareena had followed suit. Frost was only 10, but had already gained a protective streak over her uncle. Honestly, she was the true light of Kuai's life at this point. Helping look after her was what got Kuai through every day.
Hobbies were something Kuai Liang was currently trying to develop. For the longest time his only hobbies had been partying and sex, so Sareena had tried to help him find better and healthier things to do with his time. It had been rough, there were very few things he found that gave him any sense of fun or accomplishment. Until he began gardening, that is.
There was something satisfying about it. Planting things, watching them grow, harvesting veggies and fruit. It felt as close to having his own children as he'd ever get. He never thought he had any sort of maternal or paternal urge but looking after the garden had somewhat brought up a longing he had tried to bury in alcohol and pills.
He knelt down in the front garden, a small pad under him to cushion his knees, as he cleaned up the flowers a little. In general, he tried to keep them as wild as possible, but he still wanted to just make them look a little tidier. Despite being in his own little world, he still heard the footsteps approaching him. He didn't bother looking up to see who it was, probably just a neighbour coming to talk to him and be nosey. Some people in the neighbourhood seemed a little too curious about the fact the little brother was living with his elder brother's family without one of his own.
"Kuai Liang?" A voice questioned, and Kuai frowned as he realised it belonged to Hanzo, the man who lived across the street from them.
Hanzo was... nice, Kuai supposed, but he always got a strange feeling about him. It just felt like whenever they were around at the same time, Hanzo did nothing but stare at him. It was like he wanted desperately to talk to Kuai Liang, but was put off by how Kuai was constantly surrounded by his family.
Which... If that was the case, it'd make sense he came up to Kuai Liang now, while he was alone.
"Can I help you, Hanzo?" Kuai asked, not bothering to look up from his flowers. Whatever this was about, he hoped it'd be over quickly.
"Is it just you here right now?" The question made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He stayed quiet, hoping it would prompt Hanzo to explain what the hell he wanted. "There is something I need to discuss with you, but I got the impression if I tried to do it with your family present it would not go well."
"What do you want to discuss?" Kuai stated, putting down his trowel, and trying to steady his breathing, despite his rising heartbeat. Maybe Hanzo was one of the many people Kuai had slept with during his youth, and for some reason felt the need to clear the air.
God, I fucking hope that's not it.
"I think you already know," Hanzo claimed, and man, that did not help Kuai's fears.
"I really do not." He scrambled to stand up, feeling awfully small being on his knees. He took a long hard look at the other man, trying desperately to wade through his hazy memories for Hanzo's face.
Hanzo gave an annoyed sigh, before stating, "alright, I was hoping on your own you'd be more agreeable, but if you want to act ignorant..." That caused Kuai to bare his teeth, but he kept his mouth shut hoping Hanzo would actually get to the point already. "After the death of my wife, my soulmark for her began to fade, and a second name replaced it."
That... Wasn't what Kuai was expecting, and he had no idea why he was being told all this.
"And what exactly does that have to do with me?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. Hanzo looked at him like he couldn't believe Kuai was being obtuse about something.
"A year ago, shortly before your family moved in, a new name materialised where her name had once been."
That sentence made Kuai's stomach drop. This couldn't be going where he thought it was. It just couldn't. Bile grew in his throat as he watched Hanzo lift his arm, slowly pulling up the sleeve. No, no, no, please don't be my name there, for fucks sake, please do not let it be me.
His silent plea went unheard, as Hanzo held his wrist out, and written clear as day was the name Song Kuai Liang.
"So?" Hanzo forcefully said, like he was expecting Kuai Liang to finally give in and act like he knew what was happening.
"I- I don't-" He couldn't speak. Couldn't get over his own shock. He wanted to deny it being possible even though he'd explicitly been told it wasone.
If he'd had a soulmate this entire time, then what the hell was the point in his attempt at self destruction?
And the worst part, he didn't even know how the fuck to explain this to Hanzo. The man knew nothing about him, the only reason they were speaking was because some stupid fucking soulmark was telling him to. The way Hanzo was glaring at him, it was like he believed Kuai had Hanzo's name on his wrist, and that he was just being stubborn and not wanting to admit it.
He supposed that, really, he didn't need to say anything about it. All he had to do was simply show Hanzo his wrists.
So he did. He lifted both arms and pulled the sleeves down. He held up his completely blank wrists, watching as Hanzo's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
"You... You genuinely didn't know," Hanzo whispered while shaking his head. "What... Did your previous soulmate die recently?"
"I've never had a soulmate," Kuai admitted slowly pulling his sleeves back down. His head felt like it was full of cotton. "I don't have a soulmate."
"Kuai Liang-"
"No. No, you don't understand," Kuai cried out, trying to not just scream at the poor man in front of him. "That name can't be mine, it can't be. It has to be some other Song Kuai Liang."
"It is hardly a common name," Hanzo told him, taking a step forward. "In fact, I have tried looking for another, and unless there's someone with that name completely off grid, you are the only person I can find with it."
Kuai shook his head, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, Hanzo. I am not the person you are looking for." He hated the way Hanzo looked at him. Like he felt sorry for Kuai Liang to believe that it wasn't his name. "You've already seen, I don't have a name on my wrist. I don't have a soulmate, and at this point, I don't deserve one."
"That's not true," Hanzo tried to argue, and Kuai felt something in him snap.
"How the fuck would you know? You don't even know me!" Kuai's fists balled up, and he saw Hanzo very obviously flinch back. "I bet you wouldn't even be here talking to me if it wasn't for that stupid fucking mark."
"That's not-"
"All my life, I've been made to feel lesser, because I wasn't blessed with a name on my wrist. If you really are my soulmate, where the fuck were you when I needed you? Where were you when I was being bullied in school? When people dangled the idea they were my soulmate in front of me, only to rip it away when it'd hurt the most? Where were you when I was getting so drunk and high I didn't even know my own fucking name? When I was getting plowed by every man who'd take me because I just wanted to fucking feel something? Where the fuck was my soulmate then, huh? Where were you?"
Hanzo's mouth opened and closed in quick succession, like he was desperately trying to think of a quick reply but none came. Deep inside, Kuai Liang knew he was being unfair. Hanzo had another soulmate before him, one who was alive and well while all the bullshit Kuai had been through was ongoing. If Kuai's name only appeared on Hanzo's wrist a year ago, it was impossible for him to realise he'd have a second soulmate after his wife.
And yet... Didn't that just emphasise why the whole soulmate thing was complete bullshit? Why did some name on a wrist dictate so much about a person's life?
"See?" Kuai said in a softer tone, the anger having burnt through him quickly. He reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes. "I'm not the kind of person who gets a soulmate. So, even if that is my name on your wrist, I might be your soulmate, but you'll never be mine." He didn't know why it hurt to see the heartbreak in Hanzo's eyes. Like he'd pointed out, they hardly knew each other. He supposed it just didn't feel nice to break someone's view on soulmarks and soulmates. "I think it's for the best that we just forget this conversation happened."
"But-"
"Please, Hanzo." Kuai screwed his eyes closed, and bowed his head. "There's nothing you can say that'll change my mind on this."
Hanzo didn't say anything, and Kuai Liang took it as silent acceptance that this wasn't going to go the way he desperately wanted it to.
"I hope you find who you're looking for," Kuai finally said, turning away and hurriedly trying to get to the door of the house. He vaguely realised he was abandoning his gardening equipment, but he could come and get it later, when Hanzo wasn't there.
He finally reached the door, getting it open and stepping inside. He didn't look back, even as he heard Hanzo call his name one last desperate time. He shut the door, leaning back against it once it was locked. He slid down, gasping for breath as finally the last of the anger he felt dispersed, replaced only with a hollow emptiness that he was all too familiar with.
Feeling for his pocket, he reached in and pulled out his phone. He needed his family here, before he relapsed and tried to forget this happened the way he used to. But he couldn't tell Bi-Han about this. Big brother would be marching across the street to kill Hanzo for even daring to upset Kuai Liang. Frost was obviously far too young to be burdened with such adult things. So that left Sareena.
He pulled up his text conversation with her.
Kuai Liang said: You need to come home now.
Sareena said: Why? Is everything okay? Did something happen?
Kuai Liang said: Yeah. And I don't know if I can cope with it alone.
Sareena said: Okay, I was about done anyway, but it'll be 15 minutes before I can get there.
Sareena said: Until then, what's happened?
Kuai Liang said: You know the guy across the street?
Sareena said: Hanzo? What's he done?
Kuai Liang said: You can't tell Bi-Han. He will kill him.
Sareena said: I won't, what did he do to you?
Kuai Liang said: He thinks we're soulmates.
There was a long tense moment. He knew she was probably as shocked as he'd been. Eventually he got a reply from her.
Sareena said: Okay. I am in the car. 15 minutes. While you are waiting, go and make some tea for both of us. There is also cake on the side that needs a bit of decorating, icing is in the cupboard.
He knew all that was her trying to find a distraction to help him hold out until she got there. Even if he wasn't sure it'd work, he was still grateful for the attempt.
He pushed himself to stand, resisting the urge to peek out of the peep hole to see if Hanzo was still there. It wouldn't matter if he was there or not, either way Kuai would feel awful.
Instead he took a few shaky steps towards the kitchen, typing on his phone as he went.
Kuai Liang said: Thank you. See you in a few minutes.
He took a deep breath, placing the phone in his pocket. His mind kept replaying the events of the afternoon, and Hanzo's look of despair as Kuai practically tore his heart in two. The creeping feeling of what if Hanzo really was his soulmate. All his self destructive behaviours would have been for nothing.
And if he'd been successful, he'd never have to be in this position.
As he entered the kitchen, he was so thankful Bi-Han had banned alcohol from the house upon Kuai moving in. But he didn't want to think about that, or about the incident that caused this current spiral. He needed to make tea and decorate a cake, and hopefully, Sareena would be home soon.
🫐💄Honey If You Stay You’ll Be Forgiven, Chapter 1 - Beauty Will Last When Spiralled Down
Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang
Length: 4561 Words
Rating: Explicit 🔞
Warnings: Modern AU, Detective AU, Murder Mystery, Neo-Noir, Detective!Hanzo Hasashi (Yes again sorry not sorry), Drag Queen!Kuai Liang, Sex Worker!Kuai Liang, LGBTQ Themes, Kuai Liang uses both he/him & she/her pronouns, Corpses, Trans Character, Gay Bar, Drag Queens, Slow Burn, Thriller, Police, Murder, Eventual Smut, Stalking, Obsessive Behaviour, Protective Hanzo Hasashi, Sex Work, Queer used as an umbrella term (I know some people don’t like that term, so this is your heads up on that)
Fanfiction Bingo Masterlist - Honey If You Stay You’ll Be Forgiven Masterlist
Notes: Happy New Year, I hope 2026 is a good year for you all! I’ve decided to start off 2026 with a fic. I don’t have too many solid plans for 2026 in terms of fic (except having a strict No fanfic events rule this year because I absolutely need a break from them 😂), but I’m hoping to maybe fill out a few of my various bingo cards, maybe update some long fics. We’ll See!
As for this fic. I know, I know another long fic. But like… How am I supposed to do slow burn properly in a oneshot? 😂 As for why this is for the slow burn square on this bingo rather than the “detectives” one also there, I have something of a wip in the works for detectives already so… Yeah. Slowburn LMAO. Honestly the original intent for this was more Kuai Liang as a drag queen, the murder just sort of happened by accident. As such this fic will focus on LGBTQ+ themes a lot, even more than my usual fics. With Kuai Liang’s pronouns, narratively anytime she’s in drag she’s referred to as she/her, but whenever he’s out of drag it’s he/him. I’ve never really written a character who uses multiple pronouns so, I wanted to give it a shot.
Fic title is from “Famous Last Words” by My Chemical Romance, while the chapter title is from “Miss Murder” by AFI. Also very brief lyrics from Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” right at the start :)
“Wanna get dirty, it’s about time for my arrival.”
As Kuai Liang dipped into the splits, legs wide and her crotch hitting the stage, a round of cheers and applause surrounded her. A few close customers offered dollar bills to her, happily taking them off their hands and tucking them into her cleavage. It was a Saturday night, and a very busy one at that, customers excited to watch the local drag acts twirl around the stage and perform.
“Thank you, you’ve been wonderful,” Kuai exclaimed as she went to jump back onto her feet. As much as she’d love to keep going, that had marked the end of her set, and it’d be unfair to her fellow queens and kings to go over. She blew them a kiss as she said “I’ve been Tundra, and I’ll see you all next week.”
There was another round of cheers as she walked to the back of the stage. Mileena stood at the edge waiting for her turn to go on. As they passed, their hands met and Kuai stated “break a leg.”
“Thanks,” she replied, her makeup today was as monstrous as ever. But that was her thing, while Kuai Liang was the glamorous and sexually alluring queen Tundra, Mileena seemed to consider herself something of a drag monster instead.
It was what Kuai liked about The Cage, and why it had become her home bar to perform at. Johnny, the man who owned the place, was interested in inclusivity above all, and wanted to showcase all sorts of artists. Not to mention, he genuinely seemed to care about his girls, having been a pretty famous drag queen himself at one point. He’d been on a TV show, won it and everything. Not Kuai Liang’s ideal, but she definitely respected it.
As Kuai made her way towards her dressing room, she began to consider what was next for her. Unfortunately, for as generously as Johnny paid, giving way above the standard rate, drag alone did not pay all of Kuai’s bills. She had another job, one that sometimes made people judge her. Screw those people, she wasn’t ashamed of what she did. But she did have to be careful with who she told, the last thing she needed right now was legal trouble.
She didn’t have any customers tonight, unless someone came up at the last minute. Tomorrow however, was quite a packed day. For some reason Sunday was the day everyone decided they wanted to hire her. She wasn’t about to question it, she just thought it was ironic for such a holy day. Either way, ideally she wanted to get home, have an early night and prepare herself for the next day's activities.
As the door swung open, she jumped when she realised there was someone sitting in her spot. She roughly sighed. He wasn’t someone she recognised but that wasn’t too unusual. He was probably a potential customer who’d gotten a little too bold.
“Sir, you can’t be back here,” Kuai told him, but whoever he was completely ignored her. She gave an annoyed huff, stomping forward. “Listen, if you wish to be a customer, you have to go through the website like everyone else.”
She grabbed the back of the chair, turning it so the man was facing her. However when she saw his face, she took a step back and gasped. He was blue, eyes open but completely devoid of life, and a deep red bloodstain seeping from his chest.
She stumbled backwards, breathing heavily. As her back hit the wall of the corridor, Kuai let out a scream, the reality of what she’d found finally sinking in. A dead body, in her dressing room. Given the fact it looked like he’d been stabbed, it was likely he was murdered.
“Tundra! Tundra, what’s wrong?” Johnny’s voice called, as he ran over, grabbing Kuai’s shoulders. He must have heard the scream. All Kuai could do was point with a shaking hand towards the body currently sitting in her dressing room. Johnny’s head followed where she was pointing. “Oh… Shit.”
Then Johnny shut the door again, locked it, and then pulled Kuai away and down the corridor.
“Leave this to me, I’ll deal with it,” Johnny assured her.
“But-”
“Just, trust me babe, I’ll call the cops and my lawyer, but let me handle things outside of the cops questioning, okay?” They came to Johnny’s office and he ushered Kuai inside. “I know you ain’t responsible for this, but I do not trust the pigs to not try and pin it on you anyway.”
“Right. Okay.” She nodded, unsure what else she could say.
“Make yourself a drink, babe. You look like you need it.” Johnny pointed to his mini bar. “I’ll sort everything. I promise.”
“T-Thank you.” She walked over to the bar, picking up a bottle of whiskey. Even though her hands were still shaking, she poured out a glass, listening as Johnny began to talk to the emergency services on the phone.
Kuai had a sinking feeling in her gut that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.
Hanzo wasn’t a complete stranger to gay spaces. While he’d only ever dated women before, he’d always suspected he was at least slightly bisexual. In the sense that he often found himself attracted to other men, even if he never actually acted on it.
Even so, he’d never really experienced gay nightlife before, never going to gay bars or clubs. It was kind of ironic that his first visit to such a place was due to his profession.
He stared at the dead body sat upright in the chair, forensic investigators milling about and gathering what information they could get. The door had apparently been locked, the club's owner claimed he’d done it to stop the scene getting more disturbed than it already was. Supposedly the person who found the body had twisted the chair slightly, but that had been the only interaction. Hanzo would likely find out more when he questioned them both.
“Any ideas?” He asked Junpei, as he continued to investigate the body.
“Until I do the post mortem, I can’t say for certain but I’m fairly sure the stab wound is what killed him.” Junpei then pointed around the room. “There’s no blood splatter or signs of a struggle so I’m willing to bet his body was moved here after his death.” He sucked in his teeth. “There’s a few fingerprints on the desk and door, and they may just belong to the workers but I’ll still check to rule out a possible third party. From what I saw, the owner was pretty adamant it wasn’t any of his staff.”
“That remains to be proven,” Hanzo grumbled, while rolling his eyes. He was sure the owner just wanted to protect his business, rather than his workers. “I’ll go talk to the staff then, thanks Junpei.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, walking out of the dressing room and down the corridor. He knew the owner, his staff and most importantly the person who discovered the body were in the owner’s office. And as he rounded the corner and saw a familiar face standing outside, he couldn’t help but groan slightly.
“Kenshi, what are you doing here?” He asked while crossing his arms over his chest. He already had a feeling he knew.
“Ah, Hanzo,” Kenshi greeted, pushing himself away from the door slightly. “I am the owner’s lawyer, and he requested my presence for your interviews with his staff.”
Hanzo clicked his tongue. “You don’t think it’s suspect or an admittance of guilt that his first instinct was to call legal representation.”
“No, I think it’s quite smart of him actually.” Well, of course Kenshi would think that. He was being paid to be here. “They are legally allowed to have a lawyer with them, and let’s face it Hanzo, your lot do like to jump to conclusions and take things out of context.”
Hanzo rolled his eyes and grumbled “let’s just get the interviews done with.”
“As you wish, Detective Hasashi.”
Kenshi turned to the door, letting himself and Hanzo in. Inside the office were three people, a man wearing sunglasses standing behind a desk, a young lady in strange monster-like special effects makeup, and another woman wearing a blue sparkly outfit that left little to the imagination.
“This is Detective Hanzo Hasashi,” Kenshi introduced, gesturing vaguely in Hanzo’s direction. “And these are Johnny Cage, the club's owner.” The man in the sunglasses nodded at that. “And Mileena and Tundra, two of the club's drag performers.”
Drag? Hanzo frowned, he wouldn’t have guessed they were drag queens. Admittedly, that was more down to his own ignorance he guessed, he’d only ever really seen the queens where the goal was campy comedy. He hoped if he misstepped at any point, they’d correct him.
“Who found the body?” Hanzo asked, taking out his notepad to write down what was said.
“I did,” Tundra said, holding up her hand slightly. “It- he was in my dressing room.” Her eyes widened and she held up her hands as she claimed “I don’t know him, I’ve never seen him before, I swear, I don’t know how he got there.”
“Easy, Tundra,” Kenshi told her, watching as Mileena placed a hand on Tundra’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re not under suspicion yet.”
“No. Not yet,” Hanzo agreed, because really it depended on what else they found during the examination. Although with nothing but suspicion to go on, it didn’t exactly look good for Tundra. “May I take your full legal names?”
“Jonathan Carlton,” Johnny answered, taking a long sip of a honey coloured liquid.
“Mileena Kahn,” Mileena stated next as she rubbed Tundra’s back.
“Kuai Liang Song,” Tundra replied last, looking down in embarrassment of her previous outburst.
“Thank you.” He wrote those down, before turning his attention more squarely on Tundra. She was the one who could answer most of his questions, after all. “Can you tell me your movements before you found the body? When were you last in your dressing room?”
“Um. Well, I mean, my set started at 10, so I left my room maybe about 10 minutes before I was due to get on. I was on stage for about an hour, so I found the body at maybe a few minutes past 11?” Tundra explained, her hand reaching to rub at her wrist. “The doors have locks, but I must have forgotten to lock mine. I swear he wasn’t there when I left to go on stage.”
Hanzo sighed and nodded, writing down that information. That meant there was around an hour where someone else could have moved the body there. It would be inconvenient, but possible.
“What about you two?” Hanzo asked Mileena and Johnny, curious what their actions had been.
“I’ve been in my office all evening, trying to book some new talents,” Johnny replied, shrugging as he did. “I only left when I heard Tundra screaming. I shut the door, got her to my office and called you.”
And your lawyer. Hanzo kept that bitter thought to himself as he turned his attention to Mileena.
“I mean, I was in my dressing room, which is one door down. Like Kuai, I left about 10 minutes before my set.” She shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything, but I was also listening to music so that could be why.”
Those answers rather put more suspicion onto both Johnny and Mileena now. Kuai Liang was on stage, and would have a lot of eyes on her. The other two? Backstage, alone, no alibi. They’d better hope they found other evidence to clear them.
“Do you work here full time or do you do other work?” Hanzo questioned, he wasn’t entirely sure being a drag queen made enough money to pay the bills. Plus their work might unveil other possibilities or motives.
“Oh. No, I’m an accountant at my father’s company,” Mileena explained, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I do drag for the love of the art form.”
“I-” Tundra hesitated, looking away as if she was nervous about something. “I do other work too.”
“What kind of work?” Hanzo questioned and from the corner of his eye he saw Kenshi’s brows draw together.
“Is that really relevant to this inquiry, Detective?” Kenshi questioned in a harsh tone. Annoying. Technically Tundra didn’t have to answer the question, but it was strange that she wouldn’t.
“I just wish to see if I can establish any connections with the victim,” Hanzo claimed, and Kenshi shook his head.
“I highly doubt it.” Kenshi directed his attention to Kuai Liang and Mileena. “You don’t have to answer that question, or any others that are invasively personal. Only answer questions directly related to the case.”
Hanzo wanted to throw Kenshi through the wall for that. They’d actually worked together multiple times, helping bring criminals to justice. The fact he was now actively working against him and impeding his investigation was frustrating.
What the hell is this club hiding? Because they had to be hiding something, right? People didn’t immediately call lawyers or refuse to answer questions without good reason.
“Very well,” Hanzo growled, deciding for now, it was best to back off. He could always return back to this line of questioning if they found more evidence. “Mr. Cage, I assume you have security cameras, correct?”
“Yep, you’re free to have the tapes,” Johnny stated waving his hand. “Kinda surprised that wasn’t one of the first things you asked for.”
Hanzo bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying something sarcastic. “If you could get those for me, I would appreciate it.” It’d be interesting to see what they’d caught, if anything. He then turned to Mileena and Tundra. “I’d advise you both not to leave the city. You’re free to go tonight, but I may have follow up questions for you.”
“Thank you,” Mileena and Tundra said in unison, with Tundra all but collapsing onto Mileena.
Hanzo didn’t say anything more to them, just watched as Johnny went to grab the security footage. Whatever they were hiding from him, Hanzo was certain he’d figure it out in the end. For their own sakes, he hoped it wasn’t anything related to the dead body found on this property.
Everything since Kuai Liang had left The Cage had been something of a blur.
He wasn’t allowed to go back into his dressing room to de-drag, meaning he had to use Mileena’s to just take off enough that he could go home. At least Johnny offered a lift in his car, dropping Kuai off at his apartment. He’d even offered to spend the night, but Kuai had turned him down. In the end, he just went up to his apartment, made a cup of instant ramen, completely stripped down and went to bed.
Even waking up in the morning, his actions weren’t quite registering to him, focusing on getting from one client to the next, and giving as good a session as he could in the circumstances. Most didn’t notice, or at least didn’t care enough to ask if they did. One client, a particularly kind elder gentleman that Kuai only ever knew as Fujin, had noticed, asking if Kuai Liang was okay. It was then the flood of emotions Kuai had repressed about the entire thing came out. He ended up just sobbing in Fujin’s arms, who stroked Kuai’s back and then went to make him a cup of tea.
Poor Fujin didn’t get his session, but he also refused the refund Kuai offered him for it. In the end, they agreed to rearrange, and Kuai went on his way feeling a little better for having a good cry about everything.
After he’d left his last client, he stopped by a sandwich shop, got himself a nice big custom ordered sandwich, a drink and some cookies, and then walked home. He’d given himself the day off tomorrow, he had some general errands he needed to run. So for the rest of the evening he was gonna sit, watch trash TV, and probably just relax.
Or at least, that had been the plan until he rounded the corner and found Detective Hasashi standing outside his apartment building.
He swallowed slightly, remembering Kenshi’s advice from the day before. Kuai Liang didn’t need to say anything without a lawyer present. If they needed to speak to him, they could do it when Kenshi was available or they could get a warrant. Even so, Kuai’s nerves peaked as he got close enough for the detective to notice him.
“Ah, Kuai Liang?” Hasashi questioned, looking at him with his face screwed up in confusion. Kuai supposed last night, Hasashi hadn’t actually met Kuai Liang and instead had met Tundra. The only thing that probably tipped Hasashi off that this was the same person was the large scar on his face. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few more questions.”
“Mr. Takahashi advised me not to speak with you unless he was present,” Kuai parroted, not missing the flat look he was given. “So…”
“It’s only a few follow up questions, nothing that would implicate you in anything,” Hasashi assured him, but Kuai Liang wasn’t sure he believed it. Still, he decided to hear the man out, at least a little. He could always decline to answer if the line of questioning got personal again. “Firstly, I have been advised by our sensitivity expert to ask what pronouns I should be using to refer to you by.”
“Oh.” That hadn’t been what he expected, but he supposed for someone not familiar with queer culture, especially drag, it would be a bit confusing. “Um, well, let’s put it like this. I go by he and him when I’m Kuai Liang, but she and her when I’m Tundra.”
“Right.” Hasashi looked like he was considering that. “So, last night, when you found the body, you were Tundra, so I was correct in referring to you as she in my notes and report.”
“Yep, but if you wrote something about this conversation, you’d use he,” Kuai clarified, and Hasashi nodded, making a note on his pad. At least he was making an effort to be respectful, that was better than other cops Kuai had experience with. “Every queen is different though, that’s just my preference. You’d have to ask others for theirs. Don’t take mine as a blanket for all drag performers.”
He wanted to make that clear without potentially outing Mileena. As a trans-woman, it was important to her that she be referred to as she and her at all times, in and out of drag. While that was her business to explain and not his, the least he could do was make sure the detective checked with her before misgendering her. Hasashi did seem to understand though, and Kuai just about managed to see him write down a note to ask other witnesses about it.
“How long have you been working at The Cage?” Hasashi asked, glancing up from his pad.
“Um, about 2 years I think,” Kuai replied, deciding that was also a question there wasn’t much harm in answering. “I tried a couple of other gay bars in the city, but didn’t get along with the owners. Johnny’s been really good to me though.”
“Good to hear,” Hanzo sighed, quickly scribbling it down. “I know your other work is a touchy issue, but it really would help me to know what you do to rule it out as some sort of motive.”
“No comment,” Kuai replied, not sure if that was what he should say. It was what they said on the TV shows he watched anyway.
“Look, I understand you have the right not to say anything, but right now, all I can assume from your refusal to talk is that whatever you do isn’t exactly legal.” Yeah. To be fair, if their positions were switched, Kuai would have probably come to that conclusion too. “Are you selling drugs?”
“No,” Kuai exclaimed, a little more forcefully than he really intended. Hasashi just looked at him, patiently waiting for Kuai to say something more. What was the point of hiding it? Hasashi had already drawn conclusions that weren’t true, at least if Kuai said it then it’d be the truth and stop any further questioning. “I… I’m a sex worker.”
“Oh. Oh.” Hasashi jerked his head back like it took a moment to compute what that meant. “Right. Okay.” He cleared his throat. “I understand now why you were so cagey about saying that.” Hasashi reached for his tie, straightening it out like he was trying to regain his composure. “You have my word I will keep that information to myself unless it becomes vital to the case.”
“Thank you.” It’d be a matter of time to see if he kept that word. “But, I’m curious how it would be vital to the case?”
“Is there any chance the victim may be a customer of yours?” Hanzo questioned, and ah, yeah, okay, that would probably be relevant.
“He’s not someone I recognise,” Kuai admitted, because he supposed there was a slight chance he’d been a one off. “So, if he ever has been, it would have just been a one time deal, not a repeat, and not recent either.”
”Alright. Thank you. I do realise that wasn’t an easy thing for you to tell me, but hopefully it won’t be relevant.” It was notable that since Kuai had answered, Detective Hasashi hadn’t written anything on his notepad. Maybe he was genuine about keeping it on the down low. “Um. It’s not exactly my place, but I feel morally obligated to ask if you are safe? You aren’t being forced into that line of work? No customers have ever assaulted you? Are you having regular health check ups?”
That actually made Kuai smile a bit. His concern was a bit awkwardly worded, but seemed to come from a genuinely good place.
“I’m as safe as I can be,” Kuai told him. “I’ve not been forced or coerced into it, I chose it for myself. I’ve had a few customers who attempted to cross boundaries but I’ve managed to get away. And I use protection every time, but do try to stop by my doctors every so often.”
“Alright, good.” Hasashi flicked to a different page of his notebook, before writing something down. “If you are ever in a situation in which you feel unsafe, this is my personal phone number.” Hasashi tore off the page and handed it to Kuai Liang. Indeed, a phone number was scribbled on it along with his name. “Call me or text me, I will come and collect you, and escort you to safety. No questions asked, unless you wish to press charges.”
“Thank you,” Kuai whispered, a little taken aback by it all. He didn’t know what to say. Johnny had offered the same thing, when he found out about Kuai Liang’s profession, but he’d have never expected such a thing from a cop.
”I realise your work has dangers to it, not helped by its legality. But personally, as long as you are safe and no one is forcing it upon you, I do not see any problems with it.” Hasashi seemed genuine enough with that, and Kuai nodded and smiled. At least there were some people out there who tried to be tolerant. “I think I have everything I need for now. Take care of yourself, Kuai Liang, and have a good evening.”
“You too,” Kuai told him, watching as Hasashi began to walk away. Kuai pondered all that for a moment. He knew Johnny would be mad at him for talking to a cop without Kenshi, but that hadn’t gone too badly. His main fear with admitting his sex work was being immediately arrested for it, and that hadn’t happened.
Kuai folded the piece of paper with Hasashi’s number on it, placing it in his pocket with the intention of putting it as a contact in his phone later. For now, he had a sandwich to eat and trashy TV to watch.
“Please tell me we are at least slightly closer to knowing what the hell's going on?” Hanzo questioned, running a hand down his face. This case was trying his patience and at this point he just wanted a more clear direction to head in.
The security footage of that night would have been helpful, except whomever committed the murder knew about them, and had carefully covered them before they could capture him. At the very least, it had pretty much ruled Kuai Liang out as a suspect. The cameras of the bar clearly showed him dancing on stage at the exact same time as the cameras were being covered. Johnny and Mileena, not so much, as the cameras that had cased their rooms had been covered around the time of the body being placed.
It was a plus that he’d gotten to the bottom of Kuai Liang’s profession however. He understood completely why he’d be uncomfortable telling that to a detective. He felt better about it having given Kuai Liang his contact information, even if he wasn’t sure the other man would ever use it. At least the offer was out there.
“I’ve checked the fingerprints I took at the scene,” Junpei explained, holding up his papers. “As expected, Kuai Liang’s fingerprints were found, as were Johnny, Mileena and a couple of other staff members. However…” He hung on that word for a few moments, showing Hanzo an enhanced photo of one set of fingerprints. “This set of prints doesn’t match anyone we’ve tested, not even the victims.”
“So we have a mystery suspect.” That did increase Johnny and Mileena’s chances of being innocent. “Are we any closer to identifying the victim?”
“Unfortunately no. He had no ID on him, he doesn’t match any known missing persons that we could see, finger prints are not in our database and we can’t find any dental records for him.” Junpei flicked to another page of his notes. “We did, however, find this letter in one of his pockets.” As he passed a photograph of it to Hanzo. “It appears to be addressed to Kuai Liang.”
Hanzo took a deep breath, trying to keep a level head as he read what the letter said.
Kuai Liang, this won’t stop until I have you. The streets will run red with blood until you are mine.
It was almost merciful that it didn’t expand upon that, what a creepy message. Unfortunately, it did bring poor Kuai Liang right back into the mix, although at least he wasn’t a suspect. No, instead he was potentially another victim. Yeah. That was so much better.
“I think we’re going to have to call Kuai Liang in then.” If someone really was targeting Kuai Liang, they needed to get to the bottom of who it was and what they wanted. The letter sounded obsessive, and whoever wrote it was dangerous. “Probably Kenshi too. He’ll want an update that we’re moving on from his clients.”
And hopefully, with one of his clients potentially in danger, he’ll go back to being an ally, rather than a hindrance.
🍖🧳And This Rope That We Walk On Is Swaying, Prologue - I Lived Inside A Web Of Lies
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1730 Words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Modern AU, High School AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Tomas Vrbada, Alpha Bi-Han, Omega Kuai Liang, Infidelity, Tomas is Bi-Han & Kuai Liang’s Half Brother, Past Character Death, Grief Mourning, Moving, Tomas Vrbada | Smoke-Centric
@afgomegaversebingo: Second Family
Summary: After the loss of his Mother and twin sister, a grieving Tomas is shocked to learn the happy family he believed he had was built on a lie.
And This Rope That We Walk On Is Swaying Masterlist - AFG Omegaverse Bingo Masterlist
Notes: I’ve had some “What if Tomas was Bi-Han & Kuai’s half-brother” thoughts lately, and when I was reviewing my bingo cards recently I realised this was the perfect prompt to explore that idea XD Also yes it’s a modern/high school + Omegaverse AU because I cannot be stopped. I have two more chapters written but they’ll be posted whenever I can be bothered to edit them lmao.
Fic is very centric to Tomas, his trauma and trying to develop bonds with his half-brothers & Hanzo (he’ll be here in the next chapter). This fic will have SubScorp (and Tomas becomes a bit of a shipper on deck for them lol), but it’s a story from Tomas POV alone, so the SubScorp is from his outsider lens. Also Bi-Han will calm down in a few chapters, just give him time okay? 😭
Fic Title is from Unforgiven by Fefe Dobson and chapter title is from Father Said by Red Handed Denial.
Everything Tomas had thought he knew about his life had fallen apart in just a few mere weeks.
He thought he had a normal family. His Mama and Papa loved each other, and although Papa had to travel for work a lot, when he was around he doted on Tomas and his sister Tamara. His parents never married but it seemed to work for them. When Tomas and Tamara had both presented, and revealed to both be Alpha’s, Papa had been so proud. The four were happy, taking on the world together.
Then one morning, Mama and Tamara got in the car to go shopping. They never came back.
A drunk driver, apparently. The legal mess was still going on, but Tomas wasn’t really involved given he was only 15 and even if he’d been older, he had a feeling it’d give him a headache.
Papa had come running back, to soothe Tomas over the loss of his beloved Mama and Tamara. The man had stood by his side at their funeral, holding his hand and whispering assuring words. He’d helped Tomas talk to other mourners at the wake, let Tomas cry his emotions out, done everything a father should for his grieving teenage son.
And then, when the mourners left and Tomas and Papa were alone, the bombshell dropped.
They were not Papa’s only family. He had an affair partner, whom he’d had two kids with. As if that wasn’t enough of a shock, he then declared that Tomas would be coming back to live with them.
Oh how he’d screamed and cried. Calling his Papa all sorts of unkind things. He’d just lost half his family and then learnt that the happy life he’d known was a lie.
And all that, was why he was sitting in the passenger seat of Papa’s car, his suitcase in the back, travelling to what would become his new home. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he refused to look at Papa. His eyes remained squarely on the road. There was the smouldering stench of smoke, Tomas scent giving away his thinly veiled rage over everything.
“Tomas,” Papa softly stated as they pulled into a rather fancy looking neighbourhood. This couldn’t be where Papa’s second family lived, could it? He’d expected, or maybe simply hoped, it to be some kind of slum, but this was excessively nice. “I know you’re unhappy right now, but please try to be kind to them.”
“Uh huh,” Tomas bitterly agreed, although he had no intention to play nice with a bunch of homewreckers. These people were adding to his misery. Why should he be nice to them?
Papa hit the breaks, before backing up onto a driveway. It seemed they did indeed live in this neighbourhood. Well, the money for it had to be the affair partners, because Papa didn’t have a high enough salary.
Right?
As Papa got out of the car, Tomas followed, letting that anger inside him flow through his scent. He wanted these people to know he was pissed. They deserved to know how they had hurt him. He grabbed his suitcase, following after his Papa as he got out a key and opened the door. As Tomas stepped inside, he was hit with a range of scents, none of them particularly happy either. It made Tomas more mad, how dare they be pissed about him. They were the ones who wrecked his family, they should be grovelling and begging his forgiveness.
He obediently followed Papa into what appeared to be a lounge, where three other people were waiting for him. From the scents, this was two Alpha’s and an Omega.
“I want you to meet my family,” Papa told Tomas, gently gesturing at each person as he spoke. “This is Yawen, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang.” Yawen was clearly the mother and one of the Alphas. Bi-Han was the other Alpha, while Kuai Liang was the Omega. Then, Papa’s hand landed on Tomas' shoulder. “And this is my son, Tomas.”
Tomas bared his teeth, ready to fight or say something, but…
There were two things he slowly noticed the longer he stared at the three before him. One, was that Yawen was wearing a wedding ring. The second was that while Bi-Han was older than Tomas, Kuai Liang looked younger. Tomas had to have been conceived sometime between the two.
And it hit him what those two things meant.
This wasn’t his Papa’s second family. They were his first, and Mama, Tamara and Tomas were the second.
These people weren’t homewreckers, Tomas was.
Given the angry pheromones coming from Bi-Han, it seemed he wholeheartedly believed just that. While Yawen was also angry, her scent was almost completely drowned out by Bi-Han’s. It just overpowered everything around it, so bitter and thick it almost had Tomas choking on it. He could barely even pick up Kuai Liang’s scent, only getting occasional bursts of nerves and peppermint. He kept his head low, not making eye contact with Tomas.
“That thing is not our brother,” Bi-Han finally snapped, making Tomas shrink in on himself. “I will never consider that to be our blood.”
“Bi-Han,” Papa softly warned, but it did nothing to quell that rage. In fact, all it seemed to do was stoke it.
“No! You will never make me accept this!” Bi-Han turned away, storming towards the door pausing before he left the room. “And you are dead to me, traitor!”
A few seconds after he left, Tomas could hear Bi-Han stomp up the stairs, every bang as his foot hit the wood making Tomas flinch. Eventually it sounded like he’d come to the top, and his heavy footsteps ended with the loud slamming of a door. The remaining four stood in silence. Even without Bi-Han there, his anger lingered in the air.
Eventually, Yawen gave a loud sigh, reaching to take hold of Tomas‘ suitcase. “Come, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Yes Ma’am,” he softly replied, keeping himself small as he went to follow her. He briefly glanced at Kuai Liang, the omega still refusing to look at him. It was so hard to tell if he shared his brother’s opinion or not. Tomas supposed he’d find out eventually.
He silently followed Yawen up the stairs, and then down a small corridor. She came to a room, opening the door and stepping inside. It was a small box of a room, far smaller than he’d had at his old home. There was a bed, with fresh sheets and pillows, a couple of empty book shelves and a desk. Other than that however, the room was practically barren. If Bi-Han’s anger hadn’t already made him feel unwelcome, how completely devoid of love this room felt certainly would have.
Yawen placed the suitcase down, staring at Tomas with a contemplative expression on her face.
“I’m sorry it’s so bare in here,” she finally voiced, walking over to the bed and fluffing up the pillows. “We had to prepare a place for you to stay rather suddenly, so didn’t have time for much beyond the basics.”
“Thank you,” Tomas said, although his voice sounded dull and almost numb. Yawen clearly picked up on his lack of enthusiasm, as she turned back to face him. He cowered slightly, expecting her to snap at him for being ungrateful, and how she hadn’t needed to make him a room at all.
To his surprise however, her once angry pheromones turned more sombre. She sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her. Tomas hesitated, but slowly went to sit next to her.
“I know that you must have picked up that I am angry right now, but I want to assure you that it is not you that anger is aimed at,” she softly told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It is my husband who I am angry with. You are innocent in all this, and you have had your entire world torn apart in the last few weeks.” Despite her best efforts to comfort him, it didn’t help much, as now he just felt guilty that Yawen had felt the need to do so. “This is your home now, no matter the future, you will always be welcome here.”
“Thank you,” Tomas repeated, even though he wasn’t sure he believed that. Or at the very least, he doubted Bi-Han agreed with it. If he had a say in it, Tomas would probably be out on the street right now.
“I know Bi-Han did not give the warmest of welcomes,” Yawen continued, probably sensing Tomas' skepticism. “He is hurt by his father’s betrayal. Just give him time, I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“And Kuai Liang?” Tomas was curious about the young omega. It was hard to tell how he felt about the new addition to the family, and the revelations that came with it.
”He’s just nervous and confused. It’s best to let him come to you when he’s ready.” She swallowed slightly. “Kuai Liang’s had some bad encounter’s with Alpha’s, it takes a while for him to feel comfortable around them.”
Given Kuai Liang’s age, it was a little disappointing to know he’d had bad experiences with Alpha’s already. Still, Tomas supposed all he could do was to wait and see what happened.
“I’ll let you get settled,” Yawen claimed, standing up and slowly walking towards the door. “Dinner will be in about an hour. If you think of anything you’d like for your new room, all you need to do is ask.”
Tomas nodded, “I will. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” She claimed, pausing in the doorway and giving him a brief reassuring smile. Quickly, she turned away, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
Tomas threw himself back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He knew he should have unpacked what little he’d brought with him for now, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. In the distance, he could hear Papa and Yawen begin to loudly argue, Bi-Han’s angry scent began to penetrate through the walls, filling his room with nothing but bitter hatred.
Somewhere beside his head, he heard the soft strum of a guitar, and a boy sobbing uncontrollably.
Tomas' life has fallen apart, and now he was left to search through the rubble and figure out what was left.
Here you can find links to misc original works that don’t really fit anywhere else, usually about my OC’s that don’t fit a wider narritive, my TTRPG characters or requests & works I created of other peoples OCs.
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Here you can find links to the masterlists for my original stories that I consider my mains. These are basically my highest priority when it comes to original writing and I focus on them more often.
