pairings: xu shangqi x reader
warnings: bruises, physical assault, asshole boss
about: (DA32) "are those bruises?" + (DA19) "touch her, and i'll murder you."
a/n: my darling requester i am SO sorry. it doesn't usually take me this long to finish a request, but i have been exhausted this week fro some reason, and i couldn't figure out how to end this. i hope you enjoy anyway!

you can barely gather enough strength to push the door of your shared apartment open, weighed down by the bags under your eyes and the fact that you were supposed to leave work over two hours ago. your forehead knocks against the cool entrance of your home, eyes shut in emotional exhaustion as the key in your hand blindly tries to find the lock. you groan softly when you continuously miss it, hitting your head a few times in frustration. you're barely lifting yourself off of the door, eyeing the lock, and aiming the key when the door swings open, your boyfriend standing in the frame with furrowed brows. "y/n?"

at the sight of him, you step into your apartment and press your face against his chest, loosely wrapping your arms around his waist as he returns the favor with a tighter grip, still a little confused as he shuts the door behind you. "shangqi," you mumble out, words muffled by his chest, "i missed you," you continue, nuzzling your nose against the soft material of his shirt.

he'd been gone the past few days for a mission, and while you would usually make a bigger deal out of his return–meaning balloons and some poorly made dessert that he'll eat anyways and definitely not you, exhausted, and on the verge of frustrated tears–you had been so tired lately, and you were back home too late for anything, anyways.

"i missed you too," shangqi trails off, pressing his lips to your head as a comfort that works. "are you okay?" he asks.

"i'm better now," you shrug, completely honest considering the way you can feel the energy you'd lost at your job rushing back into you with the smell of shangqi. "'don't even think i need the nap i was gonna take when i came home."

"are you sure? i don't think it'll hurt," shangqi debates, his worries utterly clear in his tone.

you force a breathy laugh from your throat, nodding, "you trying to get rid of me?"

"never," shangqi replies immediately. "but, i am trying to get you to maybe watch a movie with me?" he baits, knowing full well that there's no point in arguing with you when you're so stubborn, instead planning to put on one of the movies that never fails to make you fall asleep, if not only for you to rest a little.

"that," you begin, lifting your head from his chest but not moving from your place in his arms. "sounds like a great idea," you smile, pecking his lips before letting him pull you to the couch, where you sink into him again.

shangqi puts on the movie he remembers katie raving about, dramatically groaning at you each time you fell asleep. none of you had any idea what it was about it, but you were always knocked out cold by the first twenty minutes, less if you were as tired as you seemed to be.

you glance at him when you notice the movie he's choosing, poking him, "shangqi..." you warn, catching onto his plan.

"what?" he feigns innocence, throwing his arm around you to pull you even closer, "'felt like watching it. you know how great the ending is."

you don't. which is why the lie is so damning.

you only grumble and settle in beside him, basking in his warmth and pressing stray kisses to whichever place you can reach, happy to have him back. you're asleep seven minutes in.

-

an hour later, you're shimmying your shoulders in the kitchen, moving your hips to a song you hadn't been able to get out of your head for a while before shangqi left. you're making something for both you and him to eat–nothing too hard, of course; shangqi has made sure to assign you something you can't burn, something you appreciate after the last time you'd almost burnt down the apartment.

shangqi is eyeing you from the hallway where he'd just come out of the bathroom, a small smile crinkling his eyes as he enjoys seeing you in your element, a welcomed difference to who you had been when you walked through the door. he walks up behind you, placing a gentle hand on your hip and another one on your stomach to turn you around, meeting the brightness of your smile once you meet his eye. you continue dancing distractedly, a wider grin taking up your face when he begins to dance, too.

you turn a little too fast and bump into a counter, wincing when your hip comes in contact with the marble and letting a small sound of pain slip out. shangqi frowns, watching your hand as it rubs at the covered wound. "what's wrong?"

you lift up your shirt, scrunching your nose when you catch the colored skin underneath. rolling your eyes, you wave him off as you drop your shirt, "it's nothing. accident at work, my boss accidentally pushed me when we were in the kitchen."

the frown never completely leaves shangqi's face, eyes drifting to the place where your bruise was throughout the rest of the night.

-

the next morning, you're out of the bed and nearly at the door before shangqi is even waking up, the brunt of the mission hitting like a train by the time he'd let his head hit the pillow. you're rushing inside the bedroom, scurrying around to look for something and say goodbye to your boyfriend when he wakes up. he's barely awake, the world blurry around him when he catches handprint-shaped darkened skin around your wrist as you reach for something. you don't note his distress as he sits up, examining the skin that had been fine before he'd left as you mumble an aha, getting ready to leave your boyfriend.

"okay, found it. i love you and i will see yo–"

"is that a bruise?" shangqi interrupts, voice serious and completely awake as he moves towards you, gently grabbing your arm to examine the injury closer.

you look down at your wrist, laughing dismissively way as you try to take your wrist back. "it's nothing–"

"that's not nothing, y/n. who did that to you?" shangqi demands, tone still kind but pleading.

you swallow, scoffing lightly with a playful smile, "it's just an accident at work yesterday," you begin, the excuse something he'd heard before, "he just grabbed me a little too hard–"

"who?" shangqi insists.

finally giving in, you sigh, "my boss. he was just in a bad mood, i'm honestly fine."

"was he the same one who pushed you and gave you that?" shangqi asks, pointing at the place on your hip where another bruise resided.

"yes," you admit after a second of stubborn silence, crossing your arms protectively over your chest.

"did you tell someone–"

"i'm fine." you cut him off, "it was just a one-time thing, he was in a bad mood and he apologized right after."

"y/n," shangqi starts, grabbing the hand belonging to the unscathed arm, "please tell me if it happens again. i think you should go to someone higher-up than him with this anyways–" at the look on your face, he stops himself, "but, i know that you love your job and you're not going to do that, so i'm not going to force you to, but if this happens again–"

"i will." you promise, "i'll tell you or i'll tell his boss. she's really good about that kind of thing. but i need to go now."

"okay," shangqi sighs, not happy with the way you were going about it, but not wanting to force you into something you didn't want. "i love you, have a good day."

"i love you, too," you say, kissing his forehead, "i'll be back soon." you wave at him before you leave, giving him a view of the bruise outlining your wrist.

it leaves him with an ugly taste in his mouth that he can't seem to shake.

-

it's almost your lunchtime when he notices you'd forgotten your wallet at the kitchen island, the memory of you bustling about in the morning as you looked for what he assumed was this. poking his tongue against his cheek, he decides to visit you at work to bring it to you, knowing you'll probably need it to buy food, and if your asshole boss happens to be there... then why not take advantage of the opportunity to introduce himself?

he's at your workplace in ten minutes, swinging around your sugar mommy wallet as he walks inside the building. he greets hans, the receptionist that already knows him by how many times he's come in to eat with you, and makes small talk while he signs in before he's able to go see you, face already brightening when he sees you in your element, practically glowing.

the smile that's beginning to grow on his face disappears completely once your boss comes into the picture, harsh words he's probably spewing at you making your face drop. shangqi speeds up, trying to listen to what your boss is saying when he suddenly grabs your injured wrist with an angry hand, pulling you closer and spitting words in your face.

shangqi isn't sure how he got in the middle of both of you so quickly, hands already extended to shove him away from you and standing in front of you as a protective barrier, features contorted into a dangerous snarl.

"who are you? what the fuck are you doing in my building?" he barks, coming closer to the both of you. shangqi can feel your fingers tangling themselves in his shirt, but you don't move away from him.

"no, what are you doing putting your hands on her?"

"i don't think any of this concerns you–"

"i can assure you it does when you're leaving bruises on my girlfriend."

your boss' eyes flit to you, settling on your still figure, "you went and complained? you pathetic—" he begins to lunge at you, an arm outstretched when shangqi suddenly pushes him against a wall before he can even touch you.

"touch her, and i'll murder you." shangqi growls, a promise laced in the cold tone you'd never even thought he had. his grip is tight around your boss' neck, ironed shirt wrinkling with each passing second of shangqi's tightening grip. you stand behind your boyfriend in shock, only used to the sweet man who would prefer trapping spiders to take them outside. you pull at his shirt, softly saying his name as a way of asking him to calm down.

with a final jostle, shangqi complies, putting your boss down and only glaring at him as he slinks away, proclaiming he'll sue. he turns to you once your boss is gone, gentle hands reaching for the wrist that had just been in your boss' grip. his fingers trace gently over the bruise, worried eyes replacing the angry ones he'd had just before. "are you okay?" shangqi asks, scanning your face and pulling you into his embrace. you nod, tightening your arms around him. "i swear, i'll kill him. who does he think he is? if they don't fire him, i swear i'll bring it up to wong or banner or i'll take care of it myself–"

"i've never seen you that mad," you interrupt in a daze, slowly pulling away and searching the eyes that had been so furious seconds before, now soft and comforting as they observed you.

"i've never needed to be," shangqi tells you, the hands that had been wrapped around your boss' neck now curling around your waist to pull you closer again, "but when i saw him hurting you–"

"i'm okay," you assure weakly. "i'm sorry i didn't tell you about it," you murmur into his chest, "i just didn't want you to worry. i was trying to avoid all this."

"worrying about you is my job, i'm supposed to make sure you're okay, y/n."

"okay," you give in. "i'm sorry. i promise i'll tell you if anything happens again–"

"oh, no, this isn't going to happen again." shangqi promises, pulling back to meet your eyes, "i'll make sure of it. i'll stay with you every day if i need to."

"you won't need to, i promise," you vow, "but thank you for protecting me."

shangqi swears it's his honor.