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Zhao Yunlan knew the expression ‘imprint like a duckling’ very well.
His mum always claimed that this was how he used to be with each new comic book he suddenly became engrossed in - his eyes would just sparkle, his jaw would drop, and she would see that her son was lost to the world, fully committed to a new thing in front of him. It was a fun expression to use to sum up a kid’s infatuation with comic heroes, but he’s never even considered to take it literally.
Yet, after saving the world with his godly powers and Shen Wei's stubborn self-sacrificial streak, Zhao Yunlan was forced to admit that there are still some things that could surprise him. One of those things were ancient artefacts of unknown origins. He and Shen Wei had spent this entire morning cleaning up and packing things into boxes before moving the SID to its new shiny quarters, and as much as Yunlan enjoyed being a responsible adult, he enjoyed being Shen Wei's personal menace all the more.
And so he might've got handsy at quite a few times, including that one time when Shen Wei was holding a very old looking ribbon that ripped into two in his hands after he pushed Yunlan's adventurous fingers away from his belt.
The moment the fabric tore, an explosion of red smoke followed, filling Zhao Yunlan's vision and making him cough, and when he finally opened his eyes, there was… this.
A small duckling, staring at Zhao Yunlan in breathless wonder from the floor, right where Shen Wei had been just a moment ago.
“Shen Wei?” he risked, because the cause and effect relationship of magic-smoke-transformation has been successfully drilled inside his head by the various media, and also because Shen Wei was nowhere else to be seen, and he would be usually the first to act in the face of imminent danger in Yunlan's vicinity.
“Yunlan!” the duckling replied warmly, and although its voice sounded like Shen Wei, there was something off about it.
It was too open - even after all those years, Shen Wei still preferred to keep his emotions restrained, showing them only behind closed doors and even then there was an undertone of control in his words, as if the powerful Ghostslayer couldn’t quite make himself dare to show his affections openly even now, after their shared stubbornness regarding one another literally saved the world.
The duckling had no such problems it seemed, for its gaze was unblinking and unwavering, following Zhao Yunlan’s every, even the smallest movement.
Only now did it occur to him that Shen Wei the Duckling was still wearing his glasses. ‘To see you better with,' Zhao Yunlan thought hysterically, and kneeled down to gently scoop the duckling onto his palm.
“You are amazingly docile like this,” he informed Shen Wei, and watched the duckling tip its head in confusion, as if changing the angle would make Zhao Yunlan make more sense. “First I am going to take a picture of you, then we are solving this problem,” he promised, reaching with his free hand to his pocket.
“Yunlan.” This time, the duckling sounded slightly judging, and Zhao Yunlan wondered if maybe this was the only word the duckling knew. It was a rather heart-warming suspicion.
After the photos for posterity had been taken, with Shen Wei's silent approval manifested by sitting obediently on Yunlan's hand, even for a 'putting my duck boyfriend against my cheek' selfie, Zhao Yunlan finally looked at the artefact to blame.
It was seemingly a simple red ribbon, probably silk, with golden ducks embroidered onto its surface, now torn in two. It was pretty, but unfortunately not offering many answers as to what exactly was its purpose and why its demise resulted in animal transformation straight out of a fairy tale.
Perplexed, Zhao Yunlan showed the fabric to the duckling, now safely deposited on a desk, but Shen Wei didn’t seem very interested in it - he barely glanced at it, preferring to gaze at Zhao Yunlan’s face instead. Not very useful, but endearing enough for Zhao Yunlan to press a small kiss against the duck’s fluffy head.
And then it hit him. Ducks. Marriage. Mock-fight.
Now that he looked at it more closely, there were some elegant characters stitched onto the top and the bottom of the ribbon, spelling ‘Blissful peace’ and 'Marital Harmony' respectively.
It was certainly one way to ensure the newlyweds didn’t fight often. Hard to divorce someone when you are a duck, knowing precisely one word, right?
“Ah, Shen Wei. If you wanted us to marry you should have just said,” Zhao Yunlan teased, but the duckling didn’t have the ability to blush, so it just looked at him adoringly.
“Yunlan,” the duckling said with so much naked hope that Zhao Yunlan could only fight off all of his instincts that demanded him to take Shen Wei home in this form and enjoy his undivided attention forever.
"Ducks cannot exactly cook, can they?" He asked out loud, weighing the pros and cons of a potential duck husband. He was not at all very familiar with the species, but Zhao Yunlan had some vague memory of ducks being very territorial, so he probably shouldn't allow Shen Wei and Da Qing meet, as funny as the results might be.
There was also the matter of the Ghostslayer still being needed - it would be hardly appropriate to send a duck wearing a mini-cloak to the crime scene and pretend it was normal. Even if it would be one of the most hilarious things to happen to the SID in recent years.
"Yunlan," the duckling said despondently, its glistening eyes sorrowful.
"Sorry, I am trying to be a bigger person for you, babe," he explained seriously, but the duckling's manner changed right when his face got closer. Oh. Shen Wei missed him, that was the thing.
"You are just so adorable like that," Zhao Yunlan sighed, taking the two parts of the magic ribbon in his hand.
It was meant to solve marital problems, huh?
Carefully, Zhao Yunlan tied one part of the ribbon around his palm, putting the other one around Shen Wei's small leg, and lifted the duckling again, clutching it in both of his hands.
The unblinking pleased gaze was back on him, and as sweet as it was, Zhao Yunlan started to miss Shen Wei's usual shape already.
There was something absolutely powerful and thrilling in Shen Wei scolding him for stupidity and unnecessary risks and a duckling version of him seemed to be absolutely enamoured with everything Zhao Yunlan did, as long as it could be close to him while he did it.
Cute, but Shen Wei was much more than that.
"I am sorry love, please come back," Zhao Yunlan whispered, and then surrendered to the cliche, planting a small kiss on the duckling’s beak.
The red smoke came back, the weight on his hand disappearing with it, and a moment later, there was a familiar pair of lips pressing against his, Shen Wei’s arms circling Zhao Yunlan’s waist in a way that was definitely not soft and cute. Zhao Yunlan sighed in relief and let Shen Wei take over the kiss, delighting in the fact that he can put his arms around the man and pull him closer.
When he opened his eyes, breaking the kiss to catch some air, he stared right into Shen Wei’s.
His gaze remained the same. Loving.
"This is an entirely new way of you running away from a fight," Zhao Yunlan joked, watching embarrassment and annoyance flash in Shen Wei's eyes in quick succession.
"It's an artefact and you should treat those more seriously," he replied, but there was no actual anger in his words.
Zhao Yunlan tried raising his hand, to caress Shen Wei's cheek in a bout of tenderness, but he was stopped by a tug back - his hand was still wrapped in the ribbon, that now seemed to be stitched together again, tying him to Shen Wei.
"Huh," Zhao Yunlan said, very intelligently, fighting against three or maybe four jokes that were begging to be made at the moment.
Shen Wei beat him to it.
"I think I did marry you now," he said with a pleasant smile, his eyes twinkling. "Consider yourself informed," he added, and the sheer audacity of it, the aura of self-satisfaction around him made Zhao Yunlan wonder.
"How much did you know about it, when we touched it?"
Shen Wei's answering smile was innocent and blinding.