Archive of Our Own

Yibo has never envied anyone their visible physical animal traits. All the times Sungjoo's tail popped out at the most inopportune times come to mind, including in airports, making him easy to grab or on stage, ruining a perfectly good performance. Never mind the fans that would genuinely start thinking of you as a pet.

No, Yibo prefers the subtle traits like his own lion's eyes that will at most occasionally flash when he's not being careful. There's no downside to them – wider field of view or good night-vision were often useful and of course they make photographers go absolutely mental when it happens during a shoot. Yibo knows they make him look sexy, there's no need to pretend otherwise.

Of course people still judge him. The amount of times interviewers have snidely remarked that it's no wonder he's being so stand-offish and bad with other people, considering he's got cat traits, are literally innumerable by now.

It's considered poor manners to resort to stereotypes like that and downright rude to comment on it, but as with anything, that hardly stops anyone. In the end, Yibo has gotten used to it and even plays into it from time to time; knowing it will get him out of endlessly inane questions about his ideal type of girlfriend or most admired senior in the industry or whatever that much quicker.

He’s just never understood the appeal of having flashy physical traits (never mind the regular full transformations some people go through).

This changes, as so many things do, when he meets Xiao Zhan.

The first time he sees the pitch black rabbit ears pop out they are in the middle of fight rehearsal during boot camp for The Untamed and it goes about as well as can be expected. Yibo, previously laser focused on getting each sword move down like it’s just another choreography to be memorized, gets entirely distracted by the fluffy appearance and actually drops his practice sword.

Unfortunately, Xiao Zhan doesn’t notice in time and ends up whacking Yibo’s fingers painfully with his own sword. He ends up dropping it immediately, eyes going almost comically wide with shock at Yibo’s pained exclamation. It’s loud enough for the people around them to also take notice, heads turning as the noise of fake fighting slowly comes to a halt.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry – are you okay?"

Yibo cradles his fingers close on instinct but his eyes are still fixed on the ears. They're black and perked straight up, twitching nervously as Xiao Zhan carefully takes Yibo’s hands in his own to check the damage as their instructor and several of the other actors start making their way over. They've been training non-stop since this morning, most of them are probably more relieved for any excuse for a break rather than actually concerned about their young male lead that only arrived today getting hurt. Yibo had already heard some people gossiping that it must be nice to have a big company backing you, allowing you to start the mandatory training days later than everyone else. He hadn’t commented at the time, intent to prove people wrong through actual results instead as he always does. If his schedule had allowed it, he would have been here from day one.

There's some chatter starting up around them now as well and its obvious that he's not the only one distracted by the rabbit ears. They look soft, he thinks distractedly and kind of wants to shake Xiao Zhan's hold off just to test if they really are. They almost blend into the mess of unstyled black hair atop Xiao Zhan’s head where some of it sticks up in curls from their workout.

"It's fine," he finally remembers to say and meets Xiao Zhan's concerned eyes. He can't help the way his own almost immediately flicker back up again at some movement and it is then that the older man finally notices something is wrong.

He reaches up with one hand and sighs when his fingers meet fur, resolutely pressing both ears down in an attempt to make them vanish into his hair. Since they are so long, all it does is make the tips peek out directly over his sweaty fringe, giving him the bizarre impression of having little black devil horns instead. It’s cute.

"Ah, they came out, huh? No wonder you got distracted. Sorry."

He laughs a little sheepishly and Yibo shakes his head, about to wave him off when the instructor finally decides to grant them their lunch break. It's a lost cause with everyone now distracted, anyway. Looking at each other awkwardly, Xiao Zhan ducks his head with a smile and nods towards the exit. They haven’t gotten much of a chance to talk to each other yet and Yibo isn’t sure how he feels about eating lunch together, but then again he should really make an effort to get to know his co-star already.

Even thinking that doesn’t save him from being his usual self however, quietly walking next to each other as Xiao Zhan keeps one hand pressed to the top of his head in an effort to keep his ears down and mumbles something about the catering having a lot of choices available. They are thankfully saved from further attempts at small talk by Wang Zhuocheng and Yu Bin meeting them at the exit, with the younger halfway reaching out towards Xiao Zhan before catching himself and hastily lowering his hand.

Xiao Zhan catches the movement and gives a wry smile, seeming very used to that reaction.

"I didn't know you had rabbit traits," Yu Bin casually says and hands over a beanie from his pocket. "If you want, it's freshly washed."

"Thank you."

Xiao Zhan accepts it gratefully and hastily dons it, adjusting it as they start walking towards the area that’s been set up as a cafeteria for the cast and successfully hiding his ears from sight. Yibo falls into step behind them together with Wang Zhuocheng, eyes still fixed on Xiao Zhan's head. He rubs at his fingers absently, not concerned with the lingering pain when he can still see some twitching from where the ears are now forced back beneath fabric.

"Rabbit traits?" Zhuocheng asks and sounds just as curious as Yibo is.

"Yeah, I get the full experience, actually," Xiao Zhan admits and Yu Bin makes a surprised noise.

"Full transformation?"

Xiao Zhan nods and Zhuocheng's mouth falls open. "That has to be hell to plan around! Every month?"

"Ah, it's not that bad. I've got an app to track the days so I can let management know and have them schedule around it. My group members also know what to do if the timing's off, so it's not much of a problem. For me, at least," Xiao Zhan laughs in a self-deprecating way and unnecessarily tugs on the beanie some more. He seems flustered.

Yibo finds himself trying to imagine what Xiao Zhan looks like, fully transformed into a rabbit. He doesn’t know anyone personally who does. They say only one in ten people experiences full transformations and while it’s rude to ask, Yibo is suddenly incredibly curious. Would Xiao Zhan be one of those rabbits with long fluffy fur? Would it be completely black like his ears? Or maybe, considering his height, he'd be one of those ginormous rabbits they have in Europe that can weigh up to 10 kg. The idea of him as a giant rabbit towering over a sea of regular rabbits is somewhat hilarious to imagine.

Yu Bin snorts and nudges Xiao Zhan’s shoulder with his own. "You can say that because you're undoubtedly cute when you turn – a member of my group tried to sweep me out the dorm with a broom the first time he saw me."

The beanie suddenly rises up a few centimeters in the back and Yibo has to bite back a cackle at the realization that Xiao Zhan's ears must have perked up.

"I forgot you turn fully, too!"

Yu Bin gives a long-suffering sigh, but goes into a very loud and (hopefully) exaggerated tale of his first transformation into a turtle after moving in with other trainees, successfully taking some of the attention off Xiao Zhan and simultaneously getting him to relax. A feat Yibo admires a little, if he's honest. He's not very good at reading others' moods and even worse at improving them. Multiply this several times over for people he is not close with.

He quite likes Xiao Zhan, but so far they have barely talked. Granted, he’s only on day one of boot camp, but so far their biggest moment of connection was probably when Xiao Zhan had messed up his lines during the table-read and Yibo had devolved into giggles despite himself. Or, actually, when Xiao Zhan hit his fingers just now.

By the time lunch is over and they return to practice, Xiao Zhan takes the beanie off again and the ears have vanished.

"I'll be more careful so you don't get distracted again," he promises solemnly but with a small smile tugging up the corners of his mouth.

Yibo just shakes his head, wanting to return something or maybe ask what caused them to pop out in the first place, but animal traits are kind of personal and it's obvious Xiao Zhan isn't 100% comfortable with the topic, so he doesn't say anything, only picks his practice sword back up. They have months of close work together ahead of them, he doesn't want to ruin it this early on by crossing lines and offending his co-star.

*

"So, is what they say about people with rabbit traits true?" Yibo asks casually with an exaggerated eyebrow wriggle as he leans into Xiao Zhan's space and steals his phone.

They are four weeks into filming and there are decidedly no lines left between the two of them that Yibo hasn't gleefully danced all over. He can’t be blamed, none of this was planned. They just clicked one day and have annoyed the entire crew to death ever since.

Xiao Zhan gasps in apparent mock-outrage, his long white sleeve hitting Yibo's chest with a soft thud just a moment later even as Yibo is trying to back out of reach.

"Wang Yibo!"

Yibo smirks and tries to retaliate with his own sleeves while taking another step back. He almost overbalances on the uneven ground and has to quickly grab for Xiao Zhan’s arm to steady himself.

"What, I'm talking about getting easily spooked! What did you think I meant?"

Xiao Zhan glares, faints another hit only to steal his phone back instead and then slaps Yibo's fingers away when they try for it again. Which, ouch. He’s not pulling his punches today. Yibo’s grin widens.

"You are such a little shit, I swear," Xiao Zhan grumps and Yibo again mimes shock at this slander of his delightful personality.

"Zhan-ge, aren't you supposed to be nicer? Aren't bunnies nice and cute and playful?" Yibo manages to hold the wide-eyed innocent expression for exactly three seconds while Xiao Zhan glares at him before he smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. "Though I guess they do go wild under certain circumstances."

"Because you act so much like your animal – running away as soon as anyone so much as mentions bugs, huh? Mr. I'm a lion not a cat."

He didn’t expect Xiao Zhan to just straight up go for one of his sore points like that; the older man apparently in a bad mood today if he stoops to that. And okay, maybe Yibo shouldn’t be asking joke questions insinuating his co-star fucks around, but he’d at least not asked while the camera was filming them. They’re even a good few meters away from anyone else, having gotten better about keeping certain discussions away from microphones and staff. The team is used to it by now anyways, not minding them when they complain to each other in a corner about topics that probably shouldn’t be discussed around the people who were effectively their bosses on this set. Even the bts camera crew has grown tired of filming them when they lean close to each other and closer still to whisper and swat at each other.

"We've had this conversation, I am a lion! There's just no way to prove it," Yibo informs him primly, flashing his lion's eyes just to make a point and grinning when Xiao Zhan freezes for a second. It's animal instinct that will get overridden almost immediately, but he still gets a kick out of it every time he manages to make Xiao Zhan react like this.

The first time it had come up had been entirely on accident, with Yibo getting a little more annoyed as Xiao Zhan started to ignore him while they were waiting for the next scene to be set up than he really wanted to let on. He'd kept poking at whatever part of the older man he could reach, only for Xiao Zhan to keep talking to his stylist instead, not even deigning to roll his eyes at him.

"Zhan-ge," he finally yelled once the small woman had stepped away, yanking his arm harshly only for Xiao Zhan to turn to him with a frown.

"Wang Yibo, will you die if I don't pay attention to you for five minu-"

The sentence ended in a gasp as Xiao Zhan jerked away, pupils blowing wide and mouth snapping shut. It was such an abrupt change that it made Yibo jump as well, startled into blinking.

"What?"

Xiao Zhan's mouth opened and closed a few times before he got himself back under control, the slightest hint of red dusting his cheeks as he cleared his throat and looked away.

"Sorry, just- your eyes. Surprised me. I mean."

The hacked off sentence made Yibo frown before he realized that he must have flashed his eyes just now without noticing. Wouldn't be the first time, but...

"I told you before what my trait was," he pointed out, sounding whiny even to his own ears.

Xiao Zhan glanced back at him and bit his lip, eyes quickly darting away again. "You did, sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to react like that."

Not even pretending to not be a little hurt, Yibo hit his arm with more force than he usually would. Not sure if he was trying to get Xiao Zhan to look at him properly now or step away completely. No one had ever reacted like that before when it was only the eyes. He usually had to actually put some effort into getting some amount of threatening aura working with a glare for anyone to even divert their gaze. Jumping like that? No, definitely new.

"Then why did you? They're cool! They look great, I always get compliments when I flash them during photo shoots!"

Xiao Zhan nodded absently, still not looking at him. "Right, of course, of course. My bad, didi."

"Say that while you're actually looking at them," Yibo whined and tugged on Xiao Zhan's shoulder to get him to face him as he concentrated on flashing his green lion's eyes again.

The reaction was barely less than the first time and he could actually feel the full-body jolt that went through the older man under his fingers this time, clenching down to keep him in place on instinct. He could see the way big brown eyes dilated right in front of him and his frown deepened. This wasn't disgust, like he'd first assumed.

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

That got him a reaction. Xiao Zhan blinked and then angrily slapped his hand away, stabbing his fingers towards Yibo's face.

"I am not afraid of you! It's just – instinct, okay? It happens with predator traits like that, I can't help it!"

While he had started of sounding angry, towards the end of his small tirade Xiao Zhan's voice had changed into a whine and his lower lip had started to jut out a little. Cute, Yibo thought absently, distracted for a moment before the words registered.

"You always get startled like that?"

"No, not this much, I was just surprised just now, too. Usually it's just like a moment!"

"So you have to get used to it?" Yibo asked and flashed his eyes again, noting that indeed this time, Xiao Zhan didn't jump as badly.

"Stop it," the older man scolded, looking around like he was expecting someone to come and help him with his annoying co-star. Useless, since the cast and staff had learned early on to keep their distance and not get involved in their antics unless they absolutely had to.

"But how can we work together when you hate my best trait? How can we still be friends when you get scared of my pretty, sexy gaze, Zhan-ge?"

Xiao Zhan snorted at his antics, glancing back at Yibo for a second and then averting his eyes again. "Are you sure you're not a cat? I swear you are just as needy as one."

Yibo grabbed him by the shoulders, this time startling the older man into a laugh when he manhandled him back around.

"Shouldn't you know what cat eyes look like as a cat owner? Do these look like cat eyes to you?!"

True to his words, Xiao Zhan only briefly startled this time before he obviously forced himself to keep looking at Yibo's green eyes. He seemed to consider them seriously now and Yibo started squirming in place. Hadn't he wanted Xiao Zhan's attention? He certainly had it now.

"How do you know they are actually lion's eyes and not something else, like a panther or something?"

Somewhat mollified that Xiao Zhan at least wasn't suggesting he had house cat traits, Yibo just shook his head.

"Looking up a lot of pictures and also, I just know. Of course it's a lion."

The older man snorted. "Why? Because you're a Leo?"

Yibo sputtered, inadvertently making Xiao Zhan laugh again and somewhat pleased with his reaction. He liked startling Xiao Zhan a little or catching him unawares, but actually scaring him wouldn't be fun at all.

Luckily it turned out that Xiao Zhan was right and the more Yibo flashed his eyes at him, the smaller his reactions became over time.

By now, it's just one more thing in his endless repertoire to get a bit of a rise out of Xiao Zhan in their everyday squabbles.

Unfortunately, he seems to have added fuel to the fire to Xiao Zhan's bad mood today, because he's genuinely glaring at Yibo now.

"A brat, a demon, evil personified-" Xiao Zhan starts to rattle off insults as he leaves his recovered phone to the assistant who had only just walked up to them and stalks after Yibo towards the closes building, who escapes with a cackle that kind of proves the insults correct.

In the end the chase only continues until they reach the air conditioner in the corner of the empty make-up room and both decide to call a wordless truce to share the blissfully cool air coming from the tube. Yibo also wants to get some of the tea he spots peeking out of Xiao Zhan's bag next to it, so he decides to not antagonize him further.

Xiao Zhan is still colorfully cussing him out however, glaring his way as he leans over the stream of cool air. He's actually irritated, Yibo realizes with surprise. They've been constantly annoying each other (okay, possibly Yibo starts it more often, but Xiao Zhan is no innocent victim in their shenanigans) for weeks now and he can count on one hand the number of times he's actually managed to make Xiao Zhan genuinely angry. He always immediately apologizes and meekly tries to make amends because while getting a rise out of his co-star is the highlight of his long and exhausting days of filming, it's only fun as long as Xiao Zhan will still laugh with him afterwards.

He blinks as he lets the verbal abuse wash over him, trying to pin-point where him joking about whether Xiao Zhan’s sex life is anything like the proverbial rabbit’s went too far. They make inappropriate jokes all the time, so what made that one different? By the time Xiao Zhan has dug his tea bottle out of his bag, he finally comes to a conclusion and shifts from one foot to the other uneasily, trying to decide how to ask without making things worse. Considering being too blunt was probably what has gotten him here.

"Is that... do people – I mean. People don't actually think animal traits work like that, right? You’re not actually a rabbit."

It's a stupid question. He's experienced this countless times himself, especially as a public figure. He knows people still revert to the easiest stereotypes and his stomach sinks when he sees Xiao Zhan's brow furrow. All the possible jokes and sayings about going at it like rabbits flashing unbidden through his mind. But it's only a moment before Xiao Zhan heaves a small sigh and visibly forces himself to relax his expression. Yibo isn’t sure he likes him reigning himself in like that.

"All people are teenagers before they turn into wise adults," he says in a lightly mocking tone and Yibo winces a little.

"Right. School must have been fun," he mutters.

Xiao Zhan shrugs and Yibo thinks back to his own school years in a different country. Animal traits hadn't been an issue for him, being an idol with long hair and a cutesy image however...

Something must have shown on his face, because Xiao Zhan sends him a conciliatory little smile. "It got better after school. It was never usually a problem at work, since it doesn't come up much. After getting into the spotlight though…"

Right. This is something Yibo has been curious about before. "What triggers them to appear?" He gestures vaguely at Xiao Zhan’s head.

After that first time during boot camp, he's seen Xiao Zhan's ears make an appearance a good few times and a curious online search had resulted in an overwhelming number of videos and fansite pictures of them on full display. Wajijiwa is certainly not making any effort to hide them and after turning some of the videos' sound on to very loud squealing and screaming, he thinks he understands why. He still can't figure out the reason for their appearance, however.

His own eyes mainly flash to a different shape and color when he's angry, though he learned how to show them on command as a kid already. Most people figure it out during their teenage years at the latest. He supposes Xiao Zhan could be doing it on purpose, but it doesn’t seem like something he’d do.

"Ah," Xiao Zhan says and grimaces a little before handing his tea bottle over like it’s an olive branch. "When I get startled, I guess? Or scared or nervous."

Yibo's hand on the bottle stills, eyes flickering up to search Xiao Zhan's expression. That makes sense when he thinks about it – Xiao Zhan almost falling off a rooftop a few days ago or performing on stage as a newcomer certainly fit the kind of condition that would make you scared or nervous. He wonders if they had popped out under the tight constraints of his wig the day Yibo first flashed his eyes at him and the thought makes something clench almost painfully in his chest.

"It's not just on negative triggers," Xiao Zhan adds, smile growing a little warmer at whatever he seems to read into Yibo's reaction. "I actually like my ears – I have like, seriously enhanced hearing with them."

Yibo snorts. "Super powers, huh?"

"Sure," Xiao Zhan allows and nudges his bottle for Yibo to finally take a sip.

"So the only thing you don't like about them is people making assumptions about-"

"Whether I fuck like a rabbit, yes."

His tone is so dry when he says it that Yibo actually chokes on the tea and has to hastily push the bottle back at Xiao Zhan and raise his other hand in front of his mouth to avoid sputtering the liquid all over his costume.

The snickering laughter coming from his co-star tells him it was absolutely on purpose but he is in no condition to retaliate. After he is finally done coughing and the director calls for them to come back out, he raises his hands in defeat. This round goes to Xiao Zhan.

*

It probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone but Yibo himself when he finally realizes that he doesn't just like riling Xiao Zhan up. It takes an embarrassingly long time where he goes from teasing and hitting to just any excuse for touching and constantly being in Xiao Zhan's space, wondering for the umpteenth time if his ears feel as soft as his hair (so much softer than the wig) and if it would be too inappropriate to reach out and brush his fingers over them.

He asks Xuan Lu in passing, figuring that since she sprouts a pair of really impressive wings as part of her animal traits that she would have an opinion on the matter. It becomes obvious that he made some kind of mistake when her big eyes sharply focus on him and she puts on the sweetest smile as she pats his shoulder and asks, "You're aware that it's something very private, yes?"

He nods hesitantly, mumbling, "That's why I'm asking first."

Luckily this seems to mollify her, as the smile turns more genuine. "Maybe think about why you want to touch first and then ask Zhanzhan himself?"

Which isn't helpful at all. Of course he wants to touch, he's been all up in Xiao Zhan's space for weeks and weeks now and the ears are just about the only thing he hasn't- Yibo blinks. Turns to Xuan Lu. Blinks again.

"What," he says, not a question.

Xuan Lu actually breaks out into giggles and pets his head in consolation. "And now you can talk to him about it."

There's a moment where he just stares at her, dumbfounded at both his own realization and the fact that apparently Xuan Lu had figured out the reasons behind his pigtail-pulling behavior with Xiao Zhan before he himself did and then he blurts, "But how?"

He will later blame the fact that everyone treats her like an older sister for asking for advice like a little kid with his first crush. Which is not accurate. At all. He's had crushes before and he is certainly not a kid anymore. Just... confused about this one. If it's this obvious to Xuan Lu, is it to everyone? Is it to Xiao Zhan? Has he known this entire time why Yibo is acting so clingy?

"Pick a good time, confess," Xuan Lu suggests, like that’s all there is to it. Then she shrugs and gets up, petting Yibo's shoulder again like some kind of good luck charm and just leaves.

She is absolutely not big sister material, Yibo decides, left with more questions than when he first opened his mouth.

Xiao Zhan comes up to him shortly after, sweating from his little jog up the hill towards him and grinning wildly. He even does a little wave hello. Yibo does the only thing that makes sense and hits him in the stomach with his sword as soon as he's within reach.

*

In the end, several more weeks pass and he just can't find ‘a good time’. When they're not shooting the drama, they are either being interviewed for it or flying out for other jobs, the only quiet moments usually being after the bus dumps them all back at the hotel and by that point, getting a shower and at least a few hours of sleep are the biggest priorities. Sometimes they run lines or play games in each other’s room until they pass out.

He's irrationally jealous when Xiao Zhan quietly tells him that he won't be around the next day since it's what he jokingly calls ‘his time of the month’.

"You're just abandoning me?" Yibo asks, not having to fake the scandalized tone by much.

Xiao Zhan grimaces and clasps his hands together in apology. "I can't exactly influence it much! I'm already a few days late."

Yibo squints at him and considers this. He knows the last time happened while Xiao Zhan was back in Beijing for other jobs for half a week, his management having decided to let him spend that day away from the busy set. But it's been a little over a month since then and he does remember vividly that a full transformation is supposed to happen once every moon cycle.

"How can you be late?"

A shrug and a nervous glance around are his answer. "It can happen. Bit of stress, bit of lack of sleep, you know the drill. Confuses the body."

He knows the drill about their schedule, certainly. What he doesn't know is how exactly this influences the transformation. But before he gets the chance to ask, the director reminds them that this day is not over yet and to get in position before the light changes, please.

"Sorry," Xiao Zhan yells back and shuffles sideways a few steps to face Yibo again from where he's supposed to stand.

"It'll only be one day, anyway. Just leave me to my carrots and I'll be back before you know it," he jokes and winks before the chatter of the staff around them starts to die down and Wei Wuxian descends over him, washing away any traces of that smile and the nervous energy that seems to be pouring off him today. It makes it easy for Yibo to return his mindset to Lan Wangji's and stay focused for the hours of filming still ahead, as well.

*

The next day sees him filming mostly with Wang Zhuocheng, checking his phone during breaks to see if Xiao Zhan already has opposable thumbs again, but not receiving a single reply to his selfies, memes or messages. Considering Xiao Zhan usually replies fairly quickly, it's a little disheartening.

"It takes a day," Zhuocheng reminds him, sounding somewhat exasperated. "There's no way he'll be back to normal before tonight."

Yibo rolls his eyes at him in the most exaggerated manner possible and then checks his phone again, just in case. Just because Wang Zhuocheng has a cousin who transforms fully doesn't make him an actual expert on the topic, so Yibo looks it up on the internet instead. When Baidu results also talk about normal 16-hour transformations, he turns on the VPN to check Google as well, only to get the same answers.

He sighs and switches back to WeChat, sending Xiao Zhan a fanart piece of Wei Wuxian with perked black rabbit ears that he saved a few days ago. As he stares at the unchanging status of his messages, he wonders if Xiao Zhan could unlock his phone when he isn't in his regular human form. For a moment the mental image of a little black rabbit nosing at a phone screen amuses him, before he frowns and wonders what Xiao Zhan would do if he's in trouble. He's in his hotel room, presumably prepared to spend the day alone as a rabbit, but what if something were to happen? He can't exactly call anyone and opening the hotel room door by himself seems difficult as well.

Glancing at the time in the upper corner of his screen and seeing that they are nearing the ending time of today's call sheet, he decides to check on him when they get back to the hotel. Only to make sure he's alright.

*

"Only to make sure he's alright," Xuan Lu repeats Yibo's words back to him with so much doubt in her voice that Yibo is actually offended.

"I'm just worried," Yibo says through clenched teeth, trying to smile at her but knowing it doesn't turn out right when she looks even more doubtful.

"He only gave me his hotel room card for absolute emergencies. He specifically asked that no one disturb him, Yibo."

"Xuan Lu-jie," Yibo whines. "I'm really just worried! He turned in last night and it must have been over 16 hours now. Why else would I want to go?"

"So you're not going because you want to see what he looks like transformed?"

Yibo's mind screeches to a halt. Oh. He actually... hadn't considered that. Obviously there is a chance he could see Xiao Zhan in his rabbit form if he goes to his room now.

Xuan Lu sighs deeply at his shocked expression and finally produces the card from the safety of her wallet. "Fine! I believe you. But promise me you will really only check if he's alright and then leave him be. He's been stretched thin these last couple of weeks and needs all the rest he can get."

He's reaching eagerly for the card only for her to retract it again and cluck her tongue. "Also! He's a rabbit right now, Yibo. Not tall, tough human Zhanzhan. You can't treat him like you usually would or expect him to behave as he usually would, either. Understood?"

All but vibrating in place, Yibo nods dutifully and makes grabby hands for the card again. This time he gets it and rushes off towards the elevators immediately, only belatedly remembering to shout a quick "Thank you!" over his shoulder before he vanishes inside and hits the button for their floor repeatedly.

He considers dropping by his own room for a shower first, then abandons the idea. He'll spend a few minutes in Xiao Zhan's room at most. The older man might even be back to human again already and shoo him out before he gets a foot in the door.

Taking one deep breath, he opens the door a few centimeters and peeks inside. The bed is in his direct line of sight from the door and it's still empty. The lights are off though, even though it is already dark outside. Frowning, he quickly steps inside and closes the door behind him, mindful to keep an eye on the floor while he gropes around for the light switch.

"Zhan-ge?"

There's no reply, but he does finally manage to turn the light on, illuminating the room in all its chaotic glory. Which. Is not what Xiao Zhan's room usually looks like. Compared to Yibo he is more the drop now, worry later type of of person, but he usually keeps the chaos contained to certain areas. Clothes on the chair in front of the desk, opened bags of snacks on the little coffee table, everything not in use stays in his suitcase.

Looking around now, there's clothes strewn around the floor, Xiao Zhan's suitcase spilling out its contents in the corner of the room and a trail of hay leading from there to the bed and small table in the middle. When he takes a few careful steps forward he spots several overturned mugs surrounded by small puddles of water.

He's about to call out again when he hears some sort of scratching noise from somewhere near the table and rounds it slowly. There, finally, he spots what has to be his co-star and he can't stop the small gasp of surprise that he makes at the sight of him. It's enough to make the small animal jump from where it was gnawing on the couch leg and dash under the couch in a flash of white and a black.

"Oh no, Zhan-ge, don't!" Yibo exclaims and falls to his knees to peer beneath the furniture. "It's just me, come back!"

Xiao Zhan doesn't come back though, instead just staring at him from the safety of darkness, nose and ears twitching with every breath. He's... honestly, there's no other word for it: he's adorable. Yibo had expected his fur to be completely black like his ears, but instead most of him is actually snow white, visible even in the shadows he's hiding in now. Only his ears and tail are black from what Yibo can tell, with a little black spot on his neck. He's also kind of tiny, which is especially jarring as Xiao Zhan tends to tower over people around him.

Most of all though, he is resolutely not moving from where he is sitting despite Yibo's best attempts to convince him to come out again. He goes from making chirruping sort of noises and softly snapping his fingers at him to asking nicely to come out to just whining his name repeatedly. Does he even understand human speech right now, Yibo wonders with a frown as he sits up with a small groan after about twenty minutes of crouching. Adorable, sure, but also just as stubborn as always.

"Why is it so messy?" he asks out loud as he glances around the room again, maybe trying to guilt Xiao Zhan into coming out.

When this also doesn't work, he sighs and stands up, starting to pick up the clothes and dump them on the bed first, to then absently start folding them. At least he can tidy up a little while waiting for the rabbit to remember he's a friend and maybe impress Xiao Zhan with his clothes folding skills. He snorts at himself and shakes his head.

Looking around more closely, it becomes clear that the mugs must have been for drinking while Xiao Zhan is in his animal form, so after everything else is stuffed back where it belongs or thrown onto the bed if he can’t tell if it’s supposed to be laundry or fresh clothes that just ended up on the floor, Yibo goes to refill one of the mugs from one of the bottles of water lining the cabinet and sits on the floor with it, leaning against the side of the couch.

"Got you something to drink," he tells the couch, not bothering to try and peek below it again but placing his hand with the mug in it so it's right next to him on the ground and visible for Xiao Zhan. There's a sort of scratching sound and Yibo looks down expectantly, but the rabbit still refuses to come out. Sighing, Yibo fishes his phone out from his pocket with his free hand to check his messages and then scroll through Weibo. Internet on set is notoriously bad, so he has gotten used to getting all his browsing time in after getting back to the civilized world of hotel WiFi in the evenings.

There's a new video about the recent road test for the newest generation of the Yamaha YZ450F and Yibo clicks on it, trying to settle back against the couch more comfortably only to pause it and glance around. There is no way to get properly comfortable on the floor, but he's dumped all the clothes on the bed and everything that looked bad for rabbit teeth on the couch itself. Plus, he is already pretty tired after a long day of filming and it won't do to fall asleep here, so getting too comfortable is no good anyways. He will only wait for Xiao Zhan to come out, make sure he is actually alright and then get back to his own room.

Grabbing one of the couch pillows, he wiggles around to wedge it between the seat and his neck, at least giving him something to lean his head against. Satisfied for the moment, he draws his knees up and places his phone on them before hitting play again.

He falls asleep before the bike even gets on the test track.

*

He's not sure at first what wakes him up. It's quiet and the sun isn't properly up yet, the first things Yibo notes before he tries to turn his head and freezes mid-motion at the pain shooting up from his lower back all the way to the roots of his hair. It may be karma for that time last week he made fun of Xiao Zhan waking up with a crick in his neck and complaining about the pain for the entire day, Yibo gleefully pointing out that he never has that problem. Well.

He blinks against the pain and brings up a hand to massage his sore neck, rolling it carefully only for his eyes to fall to the mug still situated next to him on the floor. Only it's been turned over, a few droplets of water surrounding it and there. Right next to it sits the culprit. Watching Yibo expectantly with his nose twitching and clearly not feeling guilty for the mess he made or the fact that he woke Yibo up.

"Morning, Zhan-ge," Yibo mutters, righting the mug without thinking only to see it's empty now. Well, at least Xiao Zhan finally came out from under the couch at some point tonight – Yibo abruptly sits up straight, regretting it when his neck twinges again and the rabbit next to him jumps at his sudden movement.

"Sorry, sorry," he tries to soothe while unable to stop staring at the small animal watching him warily, ears twitching and legs tensed like he is one wrong move away from darting back under the couch. Xiao Zhan as a human is nowhere near this jumpy, but he supposes it makes sense for his animal instincts to be stronger in this form. Speaking of. "Why are you still like this? It's definitely been more than 16 hours by now!"

"Right," Yibo says, after several seconds tick by while Xiao Zhan obviously doesn't answer. He helplessly looks down at the rabbit, taking a moment to get a proper look at him like this. He really is pretty small; Yibo could maybe fit him in just one of his outstretched hands. There's a scattering of black dots on his back that Yibo hadn't seen when he'd been hiding and the fur around it appears a little darker than the rest of him. The top of his head is, too.

Yibo's brow furrows as he leans closer and reaches out without thought to run his fingers over the gray on top of Xiao Zhan's head. The rabbit ducks his head a little but doesn't otherwise move away and Yibo snorts when the fur is suddenly lighter again while his fingers are covered in a layer of dust.

"You're covered in dust bunnies," he snickers and reaches out again to run his fingers from Xiao Zhan's head, over his ears and down his back this time. The rabbit makes a noise at that, but Yibo ignores it in favor of reaching out with both hands, cupping them under the rabbit's belly to lift him up from the floor and into his lap.

Xiao Zhan makes another noise and kicks out, almost making Yibo fumble his grip and drop him.

"Hold still," he chides and starts carding his fingers through the softness with more purpose, going against the fur to really get the dust out. Xiao Zhan keeps wiggling and trying to get away from his fingers and Yibo wonders if he's ticklish like this.

Eventually, he decides to get a towel and carefully gets to his feet, pressing Xiao Zhan to his chest with one hand and absently scratching over his back with the other to calm him down. This is the situation when he starts walking in the direction of the bathroom and he isn't entirely sure what happens next. His foot gets caught on something, causing him to lose his balance. His first instinct is to catch himself but then the second is to keep a hold of Xiao Zhan – only his grip must tighten too much because the rabbit makes a distressed noise and Yibo curses as he falls backwards, landing harshly on his butt.

The pain of the fall, however, doesn't even register because he immediately looks down where he is desperately clutching Xiao Zhan against his chest. The rabbit is frantically wiggling as he tries to get out of the awkward hold. He doesn’t even have the time to adjust his grip before suddenly, Xiao Zhan bites him.

Tiny sharp incisors embed themselves in Yibo’s finger, a sharp stinging pain flaring up and Yibo is so startled by the pain that without thinking, he flings his hand away from him. It’s a reaction of pure instinct, trying to get his hand away from the source of pain and rational thought returning too late. His hand is flung out, the small rabbit still clinging onto his finger for the briefest of moments before he gets hurled away from the force of the movement and Yibo's eyes widen as the tiny animal gets thrown the short distance to the bed, breath catching in his throat and unconsciously reaching out as if he could still stop this from happening.

For an instant he thinks it'll be alright, as he sees Xiao Zhan landing on the pile of clothes on top of the bed, but the force is too much. He doesn’t come to a stop. The pile, complete with rabbit, slides off the bed on the other side and lands with a heart stopping thud, out of Yibo’s view.

He is up again before he can even think about it, rushing behind the bed and all but falling to the floor himself in his haste to see if Xiao Zhan is alright. At first, all he sees is a mess of shirts, but then his eyes land on the trembling black and white form of his co-star, half-hidden beneath a denim jacket.

"Fuck, Zhan-ge, I'm so sorry!"

He reaches out to tug away the jacket, only for Xiao Zhan to immediately start edging backwards and away from his long fingers.

"Are you alright? Shit, of course you're not-"

His attempt to also edge closer stills when Xiao Zhan seems to start trembling harder, small body pressing back against the wall until he reaches the corner and making a noise Yibo has never heard from a rabbit. His teeth seem to be chattering violently and it sounds like a threat, making Yibo freeze. There's a little bit of red in the previously white fur near his mouth and Yibo starts panicking even more before he remembers his bleeding finger, realizing it's his own blood.

He wants to reach out again, pick Xiao Zhan up to make sure he's alright, try and calm him down maybe, but it could not be more obvious that no advance he could make will be welcome. So he sits there, quietly panicking and bleeding and just staring helplessly at the frightened and possibly hurt rabbit.

He seems alright, Yibo thinks after a while, but remains resolutely crouched into the smallest form possible. Every time Yibo tries to reach out, that rattling noise starts again, seeming to make the entire small furry body vibrate where it is sitting. It sounds somewhat similar to a cat's purring, except very clearly not a happy sound.

Meanwhile Yibo has an actual hole in his still sluggishly bleeding finger and no idea what to do.

Xiao Zhan isn't even supposed to be in his rabbit form anymore. He was supposed to turn back into a human after 16 hours at the most – the internet and Wang Zhuocheng had said so! And -

The filming.

With a start, Yibo gets up from where he isn't doing any good anyway and while keeping one eye on Xiao Zhan, gets his phone. Even that movement makes the rabbit shrink back, ears flat against his head where he is obviously trying to make himself as small as possible. Like he’s afraid of Yibo and Yibo feels his heart breaking at the sight, but for now, he has to be a responsible adult. It's around the time he would usually head for a shower before meeting up with the cast downstairs so they could head out to the set for the day. Only clearly, filming isn't going to happen today.

Carefully settling back down about two meters away from his co-star, Yibo does what he's good at and concentrates on work. One thing at a time, he mentally repeats to himself and calls the director, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice as he very roughly explains the situation – leaving out any possible accidents and injuries. Just the most basic facts – one of their leads is a rabbit, shouldn't be, can't film like this. Other lead, also kind of indisposed right now, can't film either.

At least the director seems understanding, even though this abrupt change is going to make an absolute mess of their schedule. They are insured against this kind of thing, Yibo thinks absently as the man tells him he will make the calls to get everything sorted.

Of course, ‘everything’ in this context only means things related to the drama. Getting other actors together to film scenes without the leads, calling managers and informing the relevant people of the delay. Yibo shoots a curt message off to his own manager to explain what he needs and then, after another guilty look into the corner, briefly goes into the bathroom to clean his finger and haphazardly tie a handkerchief around it when he can't find the band-aids he knows Xiao Zhan keeps somewhere.

He returns with all the possible determination to try and coax Xiao Zhan back to him afterwards, sure he can finally check on him now.

*

Half an hour later, he opens the door to a frowning Xuan Lu, who seems ready to deservedly rip into him for not only breaking his promise but messing up so seriously in such a short amount of time.

When she sees him standing in the door, hunched in on himself like he is expecting to get scolded and clearly the worse for wear, she stops herself, pushes her way inside, closing the door gently behind her and only then takes a closer look at his miserable form. On top of the bloodied handkerchief wrapped around his finger, there are scratches on his hands and some bruising starting to bloom on his arms. Xiao Zhan had not taken kindly to any further attempts of Yibo’s to get close.

She clearly still wants to chide him for being so careless, but evidently, he is more than aware of it himself and Xuan Lu isn't the kind of person who will kick someone who is already down. She had sounded angrier on the phone when Yibo had desperately tried to explain the situation to her as he begged for help.

"Where is he?" she asks instead, only sighing slightly. Yibo leads her behind the bed and she involuntarily lets out a distressed noise at the sight presented to her.

"Oh, Zhanzhan," she says quietly and very slowly, very carefully lowers herself close to the clearly frightened rabbit. Holding out her hand, she doesn't attempt to touch him, only leaving her hand close enough for Xiao Zhan to sniff at after some minutes tick by.

Yibo holds his breath at the interaction, then all the air seemingly goes out of him when, after only trying to get further away from Yibo for the last hour, Xiao Zhan slowly moves towards her, holding still as her fingers gently caress the top of his head as she murmurs something he can't hear from where he's standing.

He awkwardly clears his throat. "I'll leave you to it," he says quietly and all but flees into the hallway, turning towards his own room by habit only to freeze mid-step, realizing he's left his bag and hotel room key card inside Xiao Zhan's room. The door has fallen closed and he can't bring himself to knock now, so he just collapses against the wall next to it, sitting down on the rough carpet and hiding his face in his hands.

He has fucked up. Spectacularly.

*

He doesn't know how long he sits outside the hotel room door, just resolutely ignoring everyone passing him with curious stares by staring unseeingly at his phone. Some of the cast throw out a greeting as they leave, eliciting a grunt in response. It's really all he can muster at this point. His neck also still feels stiff, only one of several injuries at this point. He looks down at his hands, cataloging all the little scratches and bruises there and on his arms where claws had scratched and legs had kicked against his hold. After waiting for the rabbit to let him come closer to the point of getting impatient, he'd tried to forcefully gather Xiao Zhan up again, desperate to get him to someone who could check for injuries. He'd ended up with more of his own instead. It feels only fair.

Dropping his head onto his knees, he lets out a long, frustrated sigh. How did it turn out like this? He'd only wanted to help. But not only has he made an absolute nuisance of himself, he has probably gotten Xiao Zhan hurt and made him want nothing to do with Yibo from here on out.

The thought stings, but it's more than obvious from the way Xiao Zhan had fought as vehemently as he had against any of his touches while he'd gone to Xuan Lu so easily after she'd arrived. If he really thinks about it, Xiao Zhan had been trying to get as far away from him as possible ever since he first showed up in his room yesterday.

What a great impression he must have made on Xiao Zhan. Rude and useless to beat, careless and uncaring about his co-star's explicit wish to be left alone. He has messed up any chance he'd ever had of this thing with Xiao Zhan going anywhere. And he’d been so sure lately that Xiao Zhan had been flirting back.

"Yibo?"

Startled by the hesitant voice calling for him, Yibo quickly sits upright, wide eyes meeting Xuan Lu's crinkled ones as she waves him back inside. He isn't sure he's really still allowed in, but his bag is still there, anyway, so it's best to get it now.

Stepping carefully back inside, he can't help the way his eyes immediately roam around until they land on Xiao Zhan again. He's no longer behind the bed, but instead sitting in what looks like a nest of blankets and towels on the couch, another full cup of water wedged into the couch cushions next to him. The blood stains are gone, Xuan Lu must have cleaned him up. Shiny black eyes seem to zero in on Yibo as soon as he steps into the room, long ears twitching anxiously. He feels like he should say something, but what? Xuan Lu speaking up again after closing the door saves him.

"His leg seems to be bruised, he keeps favoring the other one when moving," she starts, gracefully kneeling down in front of the couch and looking at Xiao Zhan instead of him even though it is clearly being said for his benefit. "Other than that, he seems fine. Maybe a bit dehydrated, rabbits need to drink a lot of water."

She softly runs her fingers over Xiao Zhan's little white head and Yibo's heart attempts another painful somersault inside his chest at the way the rabbit easily closes his eyes under the caress. He seems completely at ease now.

A soft giggle wrenches him out of his self-pity.

"Don't look at me like that, my parents let me keep a pet rabbit as a kid, so I know how to handle one." She gives him a reassuring smile before wistfully shaking her head at him. "A rabbit isn't like a cat or a dog – they're much more delicate. I know you didn't mean to hurt him, but..."

Yibo stiffens under her words, shoulders hunching in on himself immediately. What does it matter that it was an accident, Xiao Zhan still got hurt. "Shouldn't we... I mean, shouldn't he be checked by a doctor?" Yibo frowns. "A vet? A doctor? I'm not sure how-"

"No, it's fine. I don't think it's serious, he seems mostly fine and was probably just scared before. If there's anything still wrong after he turns back, Zhanzhan can decide whether to get himself examined or not."

He feels some of the tension leave his body at her calm explanation. "But why hasn't he turned back yet?" Is this also my fault, he wonders.

At this question, Xuan Lu sighs and looks back down at Xiao Zhan, giving his head a slightly rougher rub against the fur. The rabbit ducks his head away, ears lowering defensively. The previous peaceful image gets a crack.

"As far as I know a transformation can last longer when the person isn't well. Being sick or particularly stressed are factors."

Yibo frowns as he recalls Xiao Zhan's evasive answer from two days ago. "He was late for his transformation, too."

She nods, booping Xiao Zhan's nose once before getting up with an exaggerated exhale. "Yeah, he was. Because someone hasn't learned to take proper care of himself yet despite claiming to be a reputable adult."

The rabbit's ears lower themselves further as Xiao Zhan seems to shrink in on himself in his little nest. It's a little amusing to see his reaction so clearly. Xiao Zhan's face is expressive as a human, but this is even more obvious. So he does understand them to some degree.

"Anyway, we can't do anything but wait until he turns back. I have a flight out to Shanghai in a few hours, so I really need to get ready."

"What? You can't leave," Yibo exclaims, alarmed. Xiao Zhan's ears are also abruptly perked up again as his little head turns towards Xuan Lu.

She pets him on the shoulder somewhat condescendingly, flashing a bright fake smile at him that involuntarily makes Yibo want to take a step back.

"I can't just change my schedule around because of this, Wang Yibo. I'm sure you have learnt your lesson and are going to be more careful with our Zhanzhan now, aren't you?" The fingers on his shoulder dig into him incrementally harder. "Just look after him until he turns back and then the two of you can also have a nice little talk."

The emphasis on the last word makes Yibo nervously glance at Xiao Zhan again before turning wide eyes back to the woman next to him. "But I don't know anything about rabbits!"

Another clap to his shoulder before she lets go of him. It’s really more of a shove.

"The internet is your friend," she declares, then waves a little at Xiao Zhan. "You, be nice, too," she warns and then leaves like a brief and unexpected thunder storm, Xiao Zhan and Yibo both staring after her before they are left alone again.

After the door closes, Yibo glances back at the rabbit, whose eyes are still firmly glued to the door, ears drooping a little like he is disappointed to see his more reliable friend go. Carefully, Yibo edges closer, immediately aware when Xiao Zhan notices because his ears go back up again, alert as he now watches Yibo sitting down on the opposite end of the couch.

Yibo raises his hands in an obvious sign of meaning no harm and stays exactly where he is, making no move to approach Xiao Zhan. The rabbit keeps a wary eye on him anyway, but doesn't fidget otherwise as Yibo slowly and carefully gets out his phone. He's still trying to telegraph his every move until a sound like the tiniest sneeze in the world comes from Xiao Zhan and he leans forward to drink from his cup; seemingly done with Yibo's antics for the moment.

Yibo is momentarily transfixed by the sight of the small pink tongue quickly coming out to lap up drops of water, whiskers and nose fluttering in time with each movement. The rabbit raises his head, tongue darting out to catch a few of the stray water droplets that are now clinging to his fur; eventually leaning back down for more again. It takes a lot of restraint for Yibo not to openly coo at him. Xiao Zhan as a human is cute, but Xiao Zhan as a tiny black and white rabbit with even tinier movements... there are no words in any human language that could do justice to this level of cuteness, Yibo decides and very stealthily unlocks his phone to take a few pictures. As long as he doesn’t attempt to move closer, Xiao Zhan seems to tolerate him like this.

He takes a little more time to marvel at his screen, wondering if Xiao Zhan would mind if he set this as his new phone background. His WeChat background with Xiao Zhan is already set and the one of Xiao Zhan in animal form is also inconspicuous enough that no one would question it if they saw it. Decision made, he finally moves along to his actual purpose and opens Baidu to see what he can find.

He gets lost in reading for only a little while, eventually sighing in frustration and switching to first Bilibili and then Douyin to see if there are any videos instead of just walls of text on how to take care of rabbits. Short videos, preferably.

What he doesn't take into consideration is that the rabbit on the other end of the couch will now be able to hear the explanation coming from his phone's speaker and he looks up at another tiny sneezing noise. Upon hearing it for the third time, he decides it sounds more like a snort and wonders if he is being judged by a 20cm big ball of fur.

"Shut up," he mutters, as his ears grow hot and hears the same noise again in response. He has to grin a little while he focuses on the vet explaining rabbit jumps in front of him. Something settles in him even as the situation is so very far from their normal banter.

He makes his way through videos on how to hold and feed your rabbit (Xiao Zhan isn't his, he firmly reminds himself), skips those talking about living conditions and cage set-up and then gets lost in a woman explaining rabbit likes and dislikes and meaning of behavior. He's about to click on the next one about blinkies when he becomes abruptly aware of something cold and wet soaking through his socks where his foot is curled up on the couch and yelps, drawing away instinctively.

"Again?" he asks, disbelieving, when he hastily scoops up Xiao Zhan's latest overturned water mug. Thankfully there hadn't been much fluid left inside and most of it has been soaked up by his sock rather than the furniture. He still doesn't want to clean up the couch and really doesn't want to go back to sitting on the floor.

Belatedly remembering that any sudden moves might have scared the rabbit on the other end he looks over to find Xiao Zhan just calmly looking back at him, the picture of innocence. Somehow, he manages to also look expectant to Yibo, so he dutifully gets up to refill the mug and returns with a few of the water bottles to place them directly on the table in front of them, each movement purposeful and slow.

"Do you want something to eat, as well?"

He's not sure if Xiao Zhan even has anything in his hotel room beside the hay all over the floor. Then again, he tends to live off rabbit food even when human (leading to endless ribbing from the cast in general and Yibo in particular), so there should be some apples somewhere, at least. One of the videos has mentioned that the whole rabbit liking carrots thing was a myth, so at least he won’t fall into that trap.

Stepping into the small kitchenette of the room, he opens the fridge and among a multitude of fruits (as well as some chocolate bars and two small pudding cups shoved to the back) he does find two apples. Peeking back at the size of the rabbit still sitting in its nest of clothes on the couch, he decides one is enough for now and takes it out to cut. He supposes it’s a good thing that rabbits don’t require cooked meals, or else he’d have to go and find help again. Xuan Lu would probably end him if he bothered her on the way to the airport.

At least Xiao Zhan’s little kitchen is very organized and he has a fruit knife in his hands soon enough to start cutting the apple into slices after perfunctorily washing and drying it on a kitchen towel. Pulling out a small bowl to dump the fruit into, he stares at it for a moment, wondering if rabbits eat the seeds inside or he should cut out the core as well.

He looks back at the couch where he left his phone and meets Xiao Zhan’s currently small black eyes again. Yibo blinks, cocks his head, decides to cut out the core just in case. By the time he makes his way back into the room, Xiao Zhan is still keeping a wary eye on him and Yibo deflates a little as he very carefully sits down a little closer to his makeshift nest this time and delicately holds out one of the apple slices to him.

It gets sniffed at almost distrustfully for a while, black ears perked up in alert and finally Yibo can’t take it anymore.

"Just eat a little," he pleads. "It’s one from your own fridge, I only washed and cut it. Please, Zhan-ge?"

The ears twitch at the name and Yibo hopefully nudges the apple a little closer. The feeling of success when Xiao Zhan’s small bunny teeth finally start nibbling at the food is even more gratifying than when he gets human Xiao Zhan to eat and he happily leans a little closer to watch him.

There’s something very satisfying about watching the small bites he takes, strangely reminiscent of the way he usually delicately takes bites of his food while Yibo stuffs everything into his mouth as quickly as possible right next to him.

"You’ll go back to normal soon, won’t you?" he quietly asks, suddenly feeling a little sad that this version of Xiao Zhan can’t answer him or nag at him to watch his table manners.

The little rabbit doesn’t react, just keeps eating.

He must have been hungry though, because he does finish almost the entire sizeable apple. The last slice however ends up in Yibo’s mouth after getting nudged against the soft pink rabbit nose and having his head turn away from it in disinterest several times.

As he chews, Yibo keeps watching Xiao Zhan as he seems to relax next to him, sitting on all fours and ears drooping slightly as he watches Yibo in return. He looks like a fluffy loaf of bread and Yibo’s finger itch with the urge to touch.

Well, the feeding went well enough, so maybe he could try…?

Very carefully, making sure that he is in Xiao Zhan’s line of sight so as not to startle him as the videos suggested, he reaches out to him with his uninjured hand. The ears immediately come to attention again and Yibo stops for a moment, hand hovering in mid-air between them.

"Zhan-ge," he tries, "Can I..?"

He doesn’t say ‘pet you’ because everything considered that would probably be weird. But aside from another ear twitch at his name, Xiao Zhan doesn’t move in any way and Yibo decides to take it as silent assent. Mindful of the fact that being too rough with him had lead to Xiao Zhan getting hurt not too long ago, he lets one finger softly glide over Xiao Zhan’s back. He gasps at how soft his fur is and the fact that he is actually allowed to do this.

After the first few careful pets, he lets his entire hand run gently over Xiao Zhan’s back and almost has a meltdown at the way the bunny butts his head against his hand when he’s about to pull away.

"I’m so sorry about earlier," he says quietly, feeling even more guilt at the way Xiao Zhan is now leaning into his touch. If he’d just been careful from the start, neither of them would have gotten hurt.

Xiao Zhan makes a sound like a sneeze and Yibo smiles at him, readjusting his posture on the couch to lean his head against the back of it while he continues petting Xiao Zhan’s back and eventually even his ears. He doesn’t seem to like getting his head touched much, leaning away every time Yibo tries.

Eventually, Xiao Zhan flops over onto his side and Yibo discovers a few more black spots on his belly. Where the fur is somehow even softer and he’s still allowed to touch. Cooing softly he tries to clumsily get his phone unlocked and the camera app started with one hand, severely hindered by the bloodied handkerchief still wrapped around one of his fingers. He should probably change that to either a fresh one or proper band-aid, but instead just distractedly pushes it off. At least the bleeding has stopped a while ago.

Once Xiao Zhan’s movements slow down and his eyes slip closed amidst the petting though, so he carefully gets up and digs through the bathroom cabinets. The first aid kit finally appears behind a hilarious amount of sheet masks and he manages to bandage his mangled finger properly. He’s going to make fun of Xiao Zhan later for having Sailor Moon band-aids, even though he’s 90% sure he got them from Xuan Lu as a gag gift. (She had given Yibo ones with little toy cars on them and those are way cooler.)

He’s just on his way back to the living room when he hears a crash. A dozen horror scenarios immediately flood his mind and he’s there and rounding the couch with quick steps to the sight of Xiao Zhan thankfully still where he left him, albeit awake and looking at Yibo.

The crashing must have come from the shattered water mug on the floor.

The mug he’d very securely wedged between the cushions. He narrows his eyes at Xiao Zhan. Xiao Zhan twitches his little pink nose at him. It’s super effective. Yibo sighs in resignation and starts picking up the bigger shards, the rabbit watching him from his higher perch.

"You’re so lucky you’re cute," he mutters while clumsily cleaning up. There’s a vacuum cleaner he could borrow from the lobby but he has a bad feeling about the reaction Xiao Zhan would have to that kind of loud noise, so he makes do without it.

He gets a taste not much later when his phone goes off and Xiao Zhan jumps off and darts beneath the couch quicker than he can react. At least this means his legs should be okay, he thinks, as he picks up. If his voice is a little cooler than usual in response to his manager, that’s no one’s business but his own.

He learns very quickly that as Xiao Zhan grows more comfortable around him, he turns from an adorable little ball of fluff into a living hell creature. While Yibo is still on the phone he suddenly hears an odd scratching sound and upon closer inspection, finds Xiao Zhan chewing at the leg of the couch. The noise he makes is enough to make Xiao Zhan abandon the furniture and hop over to the nearest corner.

Yibo is literally watching him as he starts kicking his hind legs against the suitcase Yibo had neatly arranged earlier on until it falls over. He’s more like a cat than a bunny, Yibo decides then; willfully destroying things while looking the nearest human right in the eye.

Yibo probably shouldn’t find that even more adorable.

*

Eventually, Yibo gives up on chasing Xiao Zhan through the room and heaves himself to his feet. A glance to his phone tells him it’s much later than he assumed, just the knowledge making him yawn as he looks down at the rabbit suddenly sitting at his feet.

"Time for bed. I’ll go to the bathroom for like, five minutes, so please don’t demolish any more furniture? I’ll be right back," he promises and gives Xiao Zhan the I’m Watching You gesture as he walks away.

This might have actually been the most relaxing day he’s had in recent months, he thinks ruefully as he digs out the spare toothbrush he keeps here for when they get take-out while running lines in Xiao Zhan’s room and ducks into the shower with it. Certain disasters and injuries not withstanding, he’s basically just been cooped up inside for a full day now.

They’ll have tomorrow off still, but then after that, he has no idea how they’ll proceed with filming if Xiao Zhan still hasn’t turned back. By all intents and purposes, transformations never last longer than three days, so it should be fine. Tomorrow, he’ll get his human Zhan-ge back. All will be well.

He’s not particularly surprised to find his currently tiny co-star attempting to dig into the carpet as he comes back. The way he’s doing it right in front of the bathroom door is really only fueling Yibo’s cat theory. He distantly wonders if Jianguo has ever met with Xiao Zhan as a bunny and if so, how they got along.

Last night Yibo and Xiao Zhan had slept leaning against and hidden under the couch respectively and Yibo decides that he is not willing to do that again. So after throwing his basketball shorts over the back of the nearest chair, he pushes the blanket on the bed back and fluffs the pillow before going to kneel down next to Xiao Zhan, who’s absently kneading at the carpet as he watches him.

"We’re sleeping on the bed," he tells him seriously, still not 100% certain how much Xiao Zhan understands him in this form. "I’m going to pick you up for that, okay?"

He opens his arms to signal what he’s planning to do as well, giving Xiao Zhan a moment to understand the situation. What he doesn’t expect is for Xiao Zhan’s ears to perk up and then him launching himself straight into Yibo’s arms with enough speed that it has Yibo scrambling to catch him. He ends up falling backwards onto his ass with a thump, but has the rabbit safely encased in his arms and feels warmth flood him from the inside out at this turn of events. Smiling goofily, he takes a moment just to stroke over Xiao Zhan’s back and coo at him.

Ever so carefully, he eventually climbs onto the bed, lying down right in the middle and depositing Xiao Zhan in the middle of his chest. To his satisfaction, Xiao Zhan turns a couple of times and kneads at his chest but then flops down comfortably, evidently alright with this sleeping arrangement.

"This way I won’t roll over and squish you," Yibo explains softly and lets his hands run over Xiao Zhan’s small soft body on top of him, ears to tail. It’s soothing.

In no time at all he feels his eyelids growing heavier, even as his hands continue the petting motions. Before he falls asleep, he wonders if they’ll wake up like this tomorrow or Xiao Zhan would return to his human form in his sleep. He smirks at the thought of a naked and fully grown Xiao Zhan lying on his chest instead.

*

Reality, as it so often is, turns out a little different from his imagination.

He jerks awake because he gets rudely elbowed in the gut, the sudden pain making him jackknife up as his eyes fly open. What he sees first is a tumble of bedding and skin, a lot of skin, and it takes his sleep addled brain a long moment to realize that it’s Xiao Zhan. Human Xiao Zhan, literally tumbling out of bed naked and half-tangled in the blanket, hair a mess and long black ears perking up in alert. There’s a yelp and then he goes down on the floor with a thump that makes Yibo wince in sympathy.

Rubbing a hand over his smarting abdomen, Yibo leans forward to peer over the edge of the bed at the heap of blanket and legs that is Xiao Zhan.

"Are you alright?" he asks, tone sleep rough and worried.

Xiao Zhan roughly tugs the blanket down from where it was covering part of his face and blinks up at Yibo with wide eyes. He can’t help the way he drinks in the sight of him, even as he can’t bring himself to relax just yet. Xiao Zhan seems completely out of it after his long time as a rabbit and what if something’s still wrong, what if-

"Yibo," Xiao Zhan says and for a moment, Yibo’s eyes flutter close with relief.

"Good morning," he eventually returns with a small smile.

Xiao Zhan just nods, eyes flickering from him to the bed to the state of his room in obvious confusion. And if that wasn’t enough to showcase how disoriented he still is, the way his rabbit ears are twitching at every tiny sound would be the final giveaway. He looks strangely small, wrapped up in the blanket on the floor as he is. Yibo stupidly wants to gather him up in his arms and run his hand through his hair until he calms down.

Considering that would probably only add to the older man’s confusion though, he instead stays where he is, fingers digging into the bedding as a physical reminder not to reach out yet.

"You spent the last few days in your rabbit form," he says, trying to keep his voice low and soothing. "Gave us all a good scare because you wouldn’t turn back. I came to look after you for a bit."

He starts talking about the last two days, about getting first the key card and then later some help from Xuan Lu, mentioning the break filming is taking for them and watches as through it all, clarity slowly seems to return to Xiao Zhan’s eyes. It’s explaining that the mess in the room is Xiao Zhan’s doing, that finally gets him a raised eyebrow and Yibo almost laughs in relief as Xiao Zhan looks at him with clear skepticism. He keeps talking for a little while longer, giving Xiao Zhan all the time he needs before the older man starts fidgeting with his blanket and rearranging the way he’s sitting until his legs completely vanish under the cover.

Xiao Zhan clears his throat and Yibo’s eyes snap back to his face from where they had strayed to a now suddenly exposed shoulder. It’s a ridiculous thing to focus on, he sees Xiao Zhan’s shoulders all the time in his tank tops.

"Thanks for catching me up," Xiao Zhan finally says, seeming a little embarrassed. "Sorry for freaking out like that – everything is always a bit of a blur after first turning back and I’m not used to having people in my space when I do. Huanhuan got knocked out once because he was too close when it happened."

"Ah, it’s fine," Yibo laughs, awkwardly rubbing his abdomen only to freeze when Xiao Zhan zeroes in on the movement.

"Shit, I got you as well, didn’t I? Let me-"

"It’s nothing," Yibo quickly interrupts whatever Xiao Zhan was about to say, though his co-star already got to his knees and still shuffles closer to the bed with a frown on his face. He’s not at all prepared for Xiao Zhan to suddenly reach for his shirt hem and just yank it up. There’s the beginning of a bruise already starting to show and Yibo gets bruised regularly enough to know this one will end up looking quite impressive.

"Just an errand elbow or something," he quickly says and catches Xiao Zhan’s hand to push his shirt down again. "Seriously, it’s nothing. If anything, it makes us even. Is your leg alright?"

Xiao Zhan’s frown deepens and Yibo has to let go of his hand as he struggles to his feet. He takes a look under the blanket, turns in place and hops up and down a couple of times before nodding and then proceeds to almost give Yibo a heart attack when he thrusts one leg out from the blanket and onto the mattress next to him. A lot of leg. A lot of naked leg. Right in front of him. His thigh is almost hairless compared to his calf, Yibo notices feebly.

"All good," he declares and sits down next to Yibo, folding the leg on the bed with the other one still on the floor.

"Wow," he says, still staring at a bare thigh, because his brain to mouth filter rarely works around Xiao Zhan to begin with.

Xiao Zhan snorts at Yibo’s reaction but doesn’t bother covering up again. He does keep fidgeting with the blanket though and Yibo’s eyes inevitably get drawn from that movement to the ears still twitching on top of Xiao Zhan’s head.

Before his brain has a chance to catch up, his hand is already reaching out to run his fingers over the soft fur. But then it does catch up and Yibo becomes acutely aware of the way Xiao Zhan has gone completely and utterly still under his touch. When he meets his eyes, they are wide and staring right back at Yibo, reminding him oddly of those times he’d scared Xiao Zhan by flashing his lion eyes at him and belatedly it hits him that Xiao Zhan’s ears are out because he’s nervous.

But since he’s already put his foot in it, he decides that now is as good a time as any to take a risk.

So instead of drawing his hand back, he lets his fingers glide down along the fur beneath them until they brush Xiao Zhan’s hair instead. It’s easier to bring them back up and repeat the motion, gently running his fingers over Xiao Zhan’s perked rabbit ears; handling him as carefully as if he was still a small ball of fur instead of a human bigger than himself.

Of course, that’s when Xiao Zhan seems to come back to himself and he jerks himself backwards and out of reach of Yibo’s hand that stays hovering in the air between them for a long moment before he finally lowers it.

"Don’t-" Xiao Zhan starts, too loudly, and Yibo feels bad at the way he visibly gathers himself and pushes the anger down. His voice is more level when he continues, but his ears lie flat against his head and his fingers are clenched tight in the blanket. "Don’t treat me like a pet."

Yibo blinks. "I’m not- that’s not. Zhan-ge, I don’t think of you as a pet! That’s ridiculous!"

When Xiao Zhan only glowers at him in reply, Yibo draws himself up to his knees to shuffle forward. Before Xiao Zhan gets the chance to do anything about his coming closer, he thrusts his finger in Xiao Zhan’s face.

"You would make for a terrible pet," Yibo says and wags his finger for emphasis. The older man almost goes cross-eyed as he tries to focus on it, leaning even further back automatically. "You bit me and you scratched me and you kicked me-"

As he lists all of Xiao Zhan’s offenses he starts pointing at the corresponding wounds. The scabbed over hole in his finger that’s sure to scar, the scratches on the back of his hand, the bruises along his forearms.

"And you kept destroying things and turning over your goddamn water mugs - did you know that rabbits get hydrated easily? Why the fuck couldn’t you just drink from it like a normal rabbit?"

Xiao Zhan finally has enough of his wild gesturing and captures the offending finger, holding it still to peer down at it properly.

"I don’t remember this," he mutters, brows drawn together and that makes Yibo pause in his rant.

"You don’t? Like at all?"

When Xiao Zhan shakes his head, teeth worrying his lower lip while still staring accusingly at Yibo’s finger, he blows out a breath.

"Well that sucks. Not that I need you to remember any of that but, is that normal? Not to remember anything while you’re an animal?"

Xiao Zhan gives him another sharp look, but softens at whatever he finds in Yibo’s expression. He lowers Yibo’s finger to his lap, his own fingers closing around it and keeping it prisoner absently.

"It’s not like a blackout, or memory loss. I remember… impressions? And some of it I’ll remember more clearly later on. It’s always like this."

"What’s it like?" Yibo can’t help his curiosity and is distantly relieved when Xiao Zhan doesn’t take offense at the question. He’s crossed all sorts of lines in terms of convention with Xiao Zhan, but it’s obvious enough that his animal traits and transformation are a more touchy subject than most. But Yibo can’t help wanting to know every little thing, wanting to forage all the little jewels of knowledge about Xiao Zhan like a dragon with his hoard.

Xiao Zhan looks thoughtful, considering his words before answering Yibo and he loves that about Xiao Zhan, too; the way he listens and takes him seriously, indulges him where a lot of people would turn him away.

"Like when I get startled when your eyes change. More instinct, less tangible thoughts," he finally says and Yibo nods.

"But it’s still you."

Xiao Zhan scoffs. "Obviously I’m still me."

"And you bit me and scratched me and kicked me-"

"Wang Yibo you’re not seriously going to hold that against m-"

"And you let me pet you," Yibo finishes, a smug grin stealing it’s way across his features as Xiao Zhan sputters, cheeks flushing.

He’s forgotten that Xiao Zhan is still holding his finger hostage however and gets a painful reminder when it gets twisted, hard.

"Ow- Zhan-ge! Ow! Stop, I’m sorry, ow!" He manages to yank his finger back, cradling it against his chest and keeping Xiao Zhan in his line of sight as if to make sure he doesn’t attack again. "My point is! If it’s still you and you allowed it then and liked it, then why can’t I pet you now that you’re human again?"

"Wang Yibo," Xiao Zhan says slowly. "Do you even hear the words that come out of your mouth sometimes?"

Yibo just stares back at him petulantly until Xiao Zhan throws his hands in the air in frustration. "Okay, fine, pet them!"

With a gleeful noise, Yibo immediately reaches out again to do exactly that. Xiao Zhan holds himself still as Yibo leans over him to gently stroke his ears, the other hand coming to rest on Xiao Zhan’s shoulder to prop himself up. It’s really very different to touch him like this when he’s human, but to Yibo the way Xiao Zhan minutely shivers under his touch now is what he’s wanted for longer than he cares to admit. Small rabbit Xiao Zhan was adorable and he wanted to take care of him because it was Xiao Zhan. But this is different.

He leans forward a little further, face getting closer to Xiao Zhan’s as he lets his fingers run from the tips of Xiao Zhan’s ears to his soft hair, down through it to the back of his head to settle there. Their eyes meet and Xiao Zhan looks like he is just figuring something out as Yibo asks, quietly, "Can I kiss you, too?"

His answer is Xiao Zhan surging forward, their lips bumping into each other almost painfully. He gets all but bowled over backwards, sprawling out on the bed as Xiao Zhan settles on top of him to kiss and lick his way into his mouth and Yibo groans into it. His hands come to rest on Xiao Zhan’s hips in the process, fingers clenching and unclenching in the blanket still miraculously clinging to him.

"Couldn’t you just have asked for this straight away?" Xiao Zhan mutters against his lips, sounding almost grumpy even as he’s being kissed to within an inch of his life and Yibo laughs breathlessly into his mouth.

*

Back on set the next day, it’s surprising how little changes. He doesn’t think even Xuan Lu realizes that anything is different with Xiao Zhan and Yibo, until she pointedly gestures at Xiao Zhan’s neck and tells them she’s glad they’ve figured it all out.

Xiao Zhan looks utterly confused by this, so Yibo takes mercy on him and gets a mirror from his assistant to show him the hickey that had gotten a little too high on his neck to be completely hidden by the hanfu when he moves around.

His brandnew boyfriend squawks and grabs the mirror for himself, frantically readjusting his collar to cover where Yibo had gotten a little too enthusiastic during their make-out session yesterday.

“Sorry, Zhan-ge,” Yibo says with a grin too smug for anyone to take his apology seriously.

Xiao Zhan bares his teeth at him in warning, looking like he’s about to go on a tirade like he wasn’t the one who started it all by kissing Yibo first. Just to remind him of everything he’s been guilty of during the last few days, Yibo makes a show of brandishing his hurt finger at him, finally cradling it to his chest and giving Xiao Zhan his biggest puppy dog eyes.

“Maybe your animal trait is actually a mosquito, not a lion or a cat or anything else,” Xiao Zhan mutters, his ears having turned a fetching shade of red. Yibo cackles and then playfully dodges as Xiao Zhan tries to hit him with Chenqing; it doesn’t take long before the director exasperatedly yells at them to get back into place so they can continue filming.