thingwithfeathers @ dw

Title: Splintering (1/3)
Rating: E
Word Count: (this chapter) 5,204; (entire fic) 15,586
Genre: Character Study, Drama, Romance
Fandom: Link Click
Characters: Cheng Xiaoshi/Lu Guang
Warnings: Cheng Xiaoshi/male OC, Gender dysphoria, Pronoun confusion, Dissociation, Panic attacks (in detail), Self-harm (scratching, brief), FTM Lu Guang, Voyeurism (Lu Guang), Inability to consent due to lack of information (male OC), Dubious consent that shades more towards noncon (Cheng Xiaoshi), Service top/topping from the bottom Lu Guang, and a metric ton of pining
Summary:

Lu Guang licked his lips. His eyes tracked across Cheng Xiaoshi's face—his dark eyes, his cheekbones, lingering for a second on his mouth before flicking away.

"For this case," he explained, "You have to have sex."

Notes: Thank you to my friend danteriordan who basically did this to me.

I wrote this fic before watching season 2. If you've only watched Season 1, congrats, you have all the context you need for this fic. But in case you've seen all of season 2 or beyond, this fic is set (major spoilers, highlight to read) during their first timeline, before Lu Guang jumps back in time.

Please read the warnings. There's really a lot going on in this fic with regards to gender, agency, and consent. For detailed content notes that will spoil the story, click here.

This fic took a village. Thank you to Danteriordan, Jules, Ken, Jimheps, Chambery, and Wizard for the brainstorming, cheerleading, fact checking, and hand holding. Thank you to Rai, Crim, and Jules for the beta.

I was determined to get this out before June ended. HAPPY PRIDE!!!

(—Jumping through photographs, jumping through bodies: a discussion of gender through time travel.)



Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Fic Tag

( Lu Guang hesitated when they first received the job. )