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In hindsight, Wei Wuxian’s suggestion to take the scenic route to Tanzhou might have been ill-considered, especially this part. Instead of strolling down the wide and smooth road, he’s struggling uphill with every damn thorn in this forest trying to shred his skirts. It’s no better than what he deserves after what he did the other night—the night he let himself abuse the man in front of him, the man who is trying so hard to be his friend, maybe his only damn friend in the world now. Lan Zhan could be soaring above these vicious shrubs on his sword, but because of Wei Wuxian, he’s traipsing around the countryside getting rips in his pretty robes.
One of those vicious shrubs dares to snag Lan Zhan’s sleeve. When Lan Zhan tugs his arm free, a thorn scratches a thin red line across the back of his hand.
“You’re bleeding,” Wei Wuxian announces rather unnecessarily, but it’s such a shock to see the indomitable Hanguang Jun bleed like a regular human.
“It is nothing,” Lan Zhan assures him with one of those soft smiles that he’s so good at these days.
Wei Wuxian tsks and grabs his hand, blotting the cut with the inside of his sleeve. “This is why it’s a good idea to wear black. You can bleed all you want, and it will never show.”
The little cut dries up fast. “There,” Wei Wuxian says. “Now be more careful, Lan Zhan.” Then, like the shameless fool he is, he unthinkingly presses a kiss to Lan Zhan’s knuckles.
Lan Zhan breathes in sharply. The tiny sound roars through the forest and stuns Wei Wuxian in place.
“Um . . .” Wei Wuxian drops Lan Zhan’s hand. “I, uh . . .”
Lan Zhan just stands there, eyes round and lips parted, his wounded hand hanging awkwardly between them. Is Lan Zhan too shocked to even punch him?
The only part of Wei Wuxian’s brain that is still functioning picks defiance as an escape route. “Lan Zhan,” he scolds, shoving every piece of brash nonchalance he can find into it. “Don’t act so cold now. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve kissed your hand.”
No! Why did he say that? That was the worst possible thing he could have said!
With that ridiculous statement hanging in the air, he whirls away and does his best to escape, but the damned bushes fence him in. Lan Zhan catches up in no time.
“Not the first?” Lan Zhan asks.
“Ah, right, you were drunk the other night. It’s no wonder you don’t remember.” No, no, shut up, don’t talk about that. It’s like his mouth is trying to get him killed. Yeah, that happens a lot, but not like this! Maybe he should try Lan Zhan’s method and just knock himself unconscious.
“Remember what?” Lan Zhan demands.
“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”
That has probably never worked in the history of the world. Sure enough, Lan Zhan’s hand grips his arm and locks him in place. Wei Wuxian keeps his eyes on Lan Zhan’s white shoulder. “Wei Ying. If I . . . if I was . . . inappropriate . . .”
Wei Wuxian snorts. “You? Of course not. I’m just teasing you, Lan Zhan. Nothing happened.”
He pulls out of Lan Zhan’s grip and keeps walking, but Lan Zhan doesn’t follow him. He is still standing where Wei Wuxian left him, his handsome face pinched tight.
“Lan Zhan.”
Lan Zhan ignores his coaxing and scolding, more stubborn that that little donkey, and eventually Wei Wuxian has to trudge back to him.
“Lan Zhan, do you need a rest? Are you scared of the mean thorns? Do you—?”
“Please tell me,” Lan Zhan says, cutting off his teasing with a few morose little words.
Wei Wuxian heaves a sigh and leans back against a tree, crossing his arms. “It was nothing, okay? I kissed your hand, you got annoyed with me. End of story.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Lan Zhan! Now you’re calling me a liar?”
“Please.” Lan Zhan’s eyes lift to his face and pin him in place. There’s no wriggling free now: he’s bound as effectively as he was that night when Lan Zhan tied his hands.
“It was nothing,” Wei Wuxian mutters. “We were just messing around.”
“Messing around?”
Wei Wuxian shrugs. “Playing. You wanted to play chase.” He can’t help smiling at the memory of Lan Zhan peeking around the privacy screen and dashing around the room like a hyper little boy.
“You wanted me to chase you,” Wei Wuxian continues. “If I caught you, I got to lick you.”
The fury he expected doesn’t come. Instead, Lan Zhan looks like he just swallowed something unpleasant, which isn’t much better.
“I’m sorry, Lan Zhan. You were drunk. I shouldn’t have—”
“Did you?”
“What?”
Even in the dappled light under the tree canopy, it’s easy to see how bright Lan Zhan’s ears burn. “Did you. Lick me?”
Now Wei Wuxian is probably the one who looks like he swallowed something unpleasant. He can barely breathe past the guilt, the sharp stones gagging him. “I did.”
Lan Zhan staggers on the first step towards Wei Wuxian, careens the next. He wasn’t this clumsy when he was drunk. He stops an arm’s length away and raises his arm. Wei Wuxian flinches, expecting a slap or a punch, but Lan Zhan’s hand just hovers in front of his chin.
“Show me.”
“Huh?”
“What you did.” Lan Zhan’s eyes skitter, never landing too long on Wei Wuxian’s face, but his arm never trembles. “Show me.”
Wei Wuxian gurgles a laugh. “Lan Zhan, what—?”
“Show me.”
In the years Wei Wuxian was gone, Lan Zhan changed so much. One of the best parts of being alive again is getting to catalogue these changes. But nothing prepared him for this. There is no sign of the playful Lan Zhan he met in the inn the other night. This version of Lan Zhan practically vibrates with tension, like he expects Wei Wuxian to chop off his hand instead of lick it.
When Wei Wuxian doesn’t move, Lan Zhan lowers his arm to his side, his fist clenched. “You were joking,” he mutters.
Is that . . . is that disappointment? Did he want Wei Wuxian to lick his hand? Obviously, Wei Wuxian still has a lot to learn about this new Lan Zhan because absolutely none of this makes sense.
“Fine, I’ll show you.” Wei Wuxian shoves in close. Before Lan Zhan can escape, he grips Lan Zhan’s chin and swipes his tongue over it. Just as quickly, he scurries away, his tongue tingling.
“Like that.” He keeps moving just in case Lan Zhan decides to kill him this time. Oh heavens, why did he do that? But Lan Zhan stands perfectly still while Wei Wuxian dances around him.
“See? No big deal. It was just a silly game we made up while we were drunk. No harm done, right?”
Lan Zhan finally breaks out of his stupor and stares at him, his pretty lips slack with shock. “A game?”
“Yep. Hey, we should play again. We’ve got a lot more space out here than in that little room.” What the fuck? Where did that come from? He’s going to bash his head against a tree. Yeah, it’ll hurt, but at least his stupid mouth can’t run anymore. But even as he heads for a tree, the words keep coming. “But we should switch it up. This time, I’ll run, and you can chase me.”
Lan Zhan’s eyelashes flutter in delicate, adorable confusion, and Wei Wuxian is too busy watching them to knock himself out. “When I catch you . . .”
“If you catch me.” Wei Wuxian wags a finger at him. “If you catch me, you can do whatever you want.”
That makes . . . something happen on Lan Zhan’s face. Something that makes Wei Wuxian shiver.
“Nothing mean,” Wei Wuxian clarifies. He meant it to sound forbidding, but it comes out as more of a gasp. “We’re having fun, okay? No tying me up and dragging me around.”
“Tying you up?” That something turns a little predatory.
“Just an example!” Wei Wuxian slaps his hands together and bounces on his toes, readying to run. “Are you ready?”
Lan Zhan straightens like he’s preparing for battle. Oh gods, this is such a bad idea. “I am ready.”
“Great. Three, two, one, go!” Wei Wuxian starts running on two, which always worked on Jiang Cheng and will certainly work on the rule-abiding Lan Zhan. His qinggong sends him over the shrubs and into the trees, and he keeps going, the forest blurring around him. There is no sound above the wind and his pounding heart, but he can’t have left Lan Zhan far behind. He’d check, but looking back isn’t possible. At this speed, he’d crash into a tree trunk, and knocking himself out isn’t part of the plan anymore. The current plan is . . . well, he’ll figure that out soon.
A flash of white to his left—he veers to the right. A branch snaps behind him. Grinning now, he puts some style into it, skipping along branches and soaring through the shadows. He’s going to catch me, he thinks, grinning even wider at the thrill that greets the thought. He’s going to catch me, and then what? How will the great Hanguang Jun take his revenge?
A shadow blots out the sun above, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t waste time looking up. He darts ahead, barely avoiding Lan Zhan’s swoop attack. The failed attack sends Lan Zhan to the ground, so he has a moment to catch his breath. “Ha! You’ve gotta do better than that, Lan Zhan!”
Lan Zhan stares up at him. That something is still there, bright as a cinder in the forest’s soft shadows, and suddenly, Wei Wuxian’s mouth is too dry for laughter.
He starts running again, but slower this time. Why wear himself out anyway? He’s supposed to get caught. That’s the only way he can make up for what he did that night. Still, he has to make it interesting, make it fun, right?
Lan Zhan is nearly upon him now. Pretending not to notice, Wei Wuxian hops along lazily until Lan Zhan lands on a branch on the opposite side of the tree trunk. Then he turns, feigning shock at finding Lan Zhan so close behind him. Lan Zhan prowls closer, keeping his eyes trained on Wei Wuxian’s face. He obviously expects a trick. This Lan Zhan is a lot harder to fool than the old one.
Grinning, Wei Wuxian backs away. “You’re so close, Lan Zhan. Do you think you can catch me?”
“Mn.”
“Are you having fun?”
The corner of Lan Zhan’s mouth ticks up. “I am.”
Wei Wuxian takes another step back, but the branch is getting thinner. “Good, me too. You’re a lot of fun now.”
Something of that mournful boy returns to Lan Zhan’s face, that boy who never got to play, which is not at all what Wei Wuxian wanted.
Another step back, and the branch creaks under his boot. Slowly, Wei Wuxian steps again and exerts pressure with his heel. When the branch snaps, he shrieks in pretend terror, wheeling his arms and kicking his feet.
In a flash of white, Lan Zhan is there, wrapping him up tight and carrying him to the ground. Wei Wuxian doesn’t even have to fake his breathlessness as he looks up at Lan Zhan, close enough to count each pretty eyelash. “You caught me, Lan Zhan.”
Those pretty eyelashes flutter. “I did.”
Somehow, Wei Wuxian’s arms managed to snake their way over Lan Zhan’s shoulders, but Lan Zhan doesn’t seem to notice. He’s staring into Wei Wuxian’s eyes, a question there that Wei Wuxian doesn’t understand, but he’s pretty sure his answer is yes. Whatever Lan Zhan wants, Wei Wuxian is going to give it to him.
“What prize do you want, Lan Zhan?” The words are whispered, a secret from the rest of the forest.
Lan Zhan’s hands are on his back and his hip. They clutch and release in rhythm with his breath puffing across Wei Wuxian’s face. “Anything?”
“Anything.” Wei Wuxian bites his lip to keep his traitorous mouth from making suggestions.
Lan Zhan’s eyes drop to Wei Wuxian’s mouth. Shivering with anticipation, Wei Wuxian releases his lip. If Lan Zhan wants to kiss him—oh gods, what if he wants a kiss?—then he’s going to need access to Wei Wuxian’s lips.
After an eternity or two, Lan Zhan leans closer. His tongue flashes across Wei Wuxian’s chin so quickly that Wei Wuxian barely feels it. Only the tingle afterwards convinces him that it really happened.
It’s still enough to knock Wei Wuxian senseless, which must be why he says, “Is that it?”
Lan Zhan looks up from his intense study of Wei Wuxian’s chin. “Hmm?”
“Just one lick?” Pouting, Wei Wuxian tugs at a lock of Lan Zhan’s hair. “Because I’m too tired for more running. If you want another prize, then just take it.”
“No prize.” Lan Zhan’s eyebrows pinch together in a forbidding frown.
“Oh.” Gutted, Wei Wuxian tries to wriggle away, but Lan Zhan doesn’t let him.
“I do not want a prize. I do not want a game.” It’s confusing, those solemn words paired with Lan Zhan’s hands gripping him so tight. Lan Zhan stares down at him like he’s waiting for Wei Wuxian to figure out what he does want.
“But you want something?”
Lan Zhan nods. One hand sneaks up to cradle Wei Wuxian’s cheek. Tension Wei Wuxian didn’t even realize he was holding releases at the tentative touch, and he sighs, turning his face into the warm hand and letting his eyes drift shut.
“I kissed you,” Wei Wuxian blurts. Lan Zhan’s fingers twitch on his cheek. Looking at him right now would be too hard, so Wei Wuxian keeps his eyes closed. “The other night,” he continues. “I kissed you. On the mouth.”
Lan Zhan’s mn sounds a little strangled, but he doesn’t strangle Wei Wuxian. “What did I do?”
He has to see what Lan Zhan’s face looks like when he tells him. “You, uh, knocked yourself out. I got the feeling that you didn’t like it much. Sorry.”
Lan Zhan doesn’t look angry. Why isn’t he angry? Sixteen years ago, Lan Zhan would’ve pummeled him for even joking about such a thing!
“I liked it,” Lan Zhan says in a voice so deep and fervent that Wei Wuxian shivers until his teeth clack.
“You don’t know that!” Wei Wuxian squawks. “You don’t even remember!”
“I liked it. I wanted it. I’ve always wanted it.”
“That’s impossible,” Wei Wuxian argues breathlessly. He must still be out of breath from that run. And he’s shivering so hard. Even his bones ache.
“Why is it impossible?”
“Because you hated me.” He slaps a hand on Lan Zhan’s chest, right above the heart pounding rapidly. Lan Zhan must still be wound up from their chase. He splays his fingers over Lan Zhan’s chest like he can soothe that frantic rhythm.
“I never hated you. I kissed you. On Baifeng Mountain.”
Wei Wuxian’s head shoots up from his contemplation of Lan Zhan’s broad chest. He half-expects to see Lan Zhan replaced by some demon intent on torturing him, but it’s still Lan Zhan holding him, still Lan Zhan’s thumb tracing gentle lines across his cheek. “You did what?”
“You were blindfolded. In the tree. I—”
“Yeah, I remember. That was you?”
Lan Zhan nods. His ears are bright red, and his heart is galloping even faster.
“Well.” Wei Wuxian sucks on his bottom lip and stares at Lan Zhan as he considers this exciting new information. “Well, I guess that makes us even, then. You kissed me while I was blindfolded. I kissed you while you were drunk. Although I just gave you a little peck. You did a lot more than—”
Lan Zhan’s mouth descends on his, stealing the rest of those words in a stunning kiss. Yes, that’s the same kiss, alright. Wei Wuxian has forgotten a lot of things, but he never forgot that kiss. How could he forget his first? If he’d known it was Lan Zhan all this time, he’d never have thought of anything else.
This one is even better, though. Lan Zhan’s lips are still so soft and so determined, taking exactly what he wants, but now he lets Wei Wuxian touch him, too. How did he never realize he was kissing Lan Zhan back then? How did ever think a woman held him so tightly and took his mouth so ferociously? But that doesn’t matter now. Right now, Wei Wuxian doesn’t have to worry about anything but letting Lan Zhan have what he wants.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan whispers, his breath warm against Wei Wuxian’s tingling lips.
“Hmm?” Why are they talking when they could be kissing?
“Do you . . .? Is this . . .?”
“Shh.” Wei Wuxian lays himself over Lan Zhan’s chest and flicks his tongue over Lan Zhan’s quivering bottom lip. “Just kiss me.”
That’s all it takes to make Lan Zhan groan and kiss him again. The old Lan Zhan was never this agreeable. Is this what Lan Zhan really wanted that night at the inn? To think, Wei Wuxian was so worried about taking advantage of him, but the whole time, Lan Zhan has been hiding this naughty secret!
A slick tongue traces his lower lip, and Wei Wuxian welcomes it inside, humming encouragement. Moaning, Lan Zhan hauls him closer and takes what Wei Wuxian offers. Lan Zhan’s lips are soft, his teeth sharp. His hands squeeze and stroke, and Wei Wuxian does the same, gripping his strong shoulders and stroking the firm chest that rattles with Lan Zhan’s heartbeat. All of this is too overwhelming to allow for more analysis, so Wei Wuxian does what he does best: he dives in without thought of consequences.
His back presses against something even more solid than Lan Zhan’s chest, but that’s wonderful because now he doesn’t have to worry about holding himself upright. The thing reveals itself as a tree, which makes a lot of sense, and Wei Wuxian falls back against it, craning his head back to let Lan Zhan taste his throat. The only downside is that with his mouth free, he immediately starts talking again.
“You like, ah, licking, don’t you, Lan Zhan?”
Lan Zhan hums a yes against his throat and sucks on a spot that makes Wei Wuxian’s knees quiver. One of Lan Zhan’s hands finds its way back to Wei Wuxian’s cheek, and Wei Wuxian tilts his head to lick Lan Zhan’s thumb. The little hitch in Lan Zhan’s breath is delightful. Wei Wuxian whines and wriggles until Lan Zhan obligingly moves his thumb closer to Wei Wuxian’s mouth, and Wei Wuxian latches onto it, sucking and licking like a kid with his first stick of tanghulu.
“I like it, too,” Wei Wuxian says, moving on to Lan Zhan’s fingers. “And I like your hands. You let me kiss all over them the other night. It made you blush. Do you still like it?” He takes Lan Zhan’s forefinger into his mouth and sucks hard, swirling his tongue so suggestively that it makes him blush.
One second, he’s doing shameless things to Lan Zhan’s finger; the next, he’s flat on his back, blinking up at the sky. Lan Zhan lands on top of him. Wei Wuxian gets a brief glimpse of what might be a snarl, and then Lan Zhan’s biting his throat.
The sultry moan Wei Wuxian makes when Lan Zhan starts biting quickly turns to a squawk. “Hey, not so rough! I told you not to be mean, didn’t I?”
“Not playing,” Lan Zhan grunts, but he eases up a bit, sucking and nipping instead of ripping Wei Wuxian’s throat out.
“Not playing,” Wei Wuxian agrees breathlessly. They’ve gone far beyond playing now. What’s happening now is . . . it’s something new. Now, there are no games, no liquor, no masks or makeup, no silly excuses for sleeping on Lan Zhan’s chest. Lan Zhan is showing him what he really wants, what Lan Zhan says he’s always wanted, and with a pang that stings more than Lan Zhan’s teeth, Wei Wuxian sees through the illusions he’s crafted to avoid thinking about this very thing. For so many years, he’s tried to imagine everything but this. Since Lan Zhan found him on Dafan Mountain, he’s made up so many elaborate tales to rationalize why Lan Zhan has stuck by his side. But the answer is so simple, so obvious.
“Wei Ying?”
Wei Wuxian looks up into Lan Zhan’s eyes. That snarling beast is gone, replaced by a beautiful man who looks concerned. Probably because they’re supposed to be making out, but Wei Wuxian was too distracted to participate. So embarrassing.
“Are you in love with me, Lan Zhan?”
He really just asked that, just blurted out those words. He must be possessed. If Lan Zhan weren’t pinning him down, he really would bash his head against a tree this time.
Lan Zhan blinks down at him, his cheeks pale and his ears blood red. “Yes.”
“Really?”
Lan Zhan nods.
“Since when?”
Lan Zhan brushes a lock of hair from Wei Wuxian’s face and bends to kiss his neck. Gentle lips travel up to Wei Wuxian’s ear. “I, Wei Wuxian, wish to always stand with justice and to live without regret.”
“What?” Wei Wuxian whispers. What does that mean? And why are there suddenly tears in his eyes?
Lips brush his earlobe. “You asked me when. That is when I understood: when I heard your wish at the lantern ceremony.”
“Is that what I said?” He can’t remember making a wish. What he remembers is Lan Zhan’s smile when he saw the rabbit lantern. That and getting into a fight with Jin Zixuan. But Lan Zhan still remembers after all this time?
“It is.” Lan Zhan kisses his cheek, then his forehead. “And you have.” Lan Zhan smiles down at him so softly. “Wei Ying has always stood with justice.”
Wei Wuxian huffs a laugh. “That’s kind of you, Lan Zhan, but I have a lot of regrets.”
“As do I,” Lan Zhan says, his eyes shuttering. “I did not stand with you. Before.”
“Who cares about standing? I like this position better,” Wei Wuxian says, and grins when Lan Zhan huffs. “Do I need to swear another oath to get you to kiss me again?”
Lan Zhan rolls his eyes and leans down for another kiss, but Wei Wuxian holds him off with one finger pressed to the cloud insignia on Lan Zhan’s forehead. “Not yet. You didn’t ask me.”
“Ask you what?”
“If I loved you.”
The knot in Lan Zhan’s throat works, and his spine tightens under Wei Wuxian’s hand. “Do you want me to ask?”
“Yes.”
Lan Zhan draws a deep breath.
“The answer is yes,” Wei Wuxian blurts. “Yes, I love you.” He wasn’t sure until the words were out, but they feel true. They feel right. “I love you, Lan Zhan. I don’t know when—for how long—maybe always?”
“Oh.” Lan Zhan looks so stunned that Wei Wuxian has to laugh.
“Are you really so surprised? Lan Zhan, do you think I roll around in the woods with just anyone? I’ve never even kissed anyone but you!”
“You . . . never?” His eloquent Lan Zhan seems to have swallowed his tongue. A shame. Wei Wuxian’s already pretty fond of his tongue.
“Nope, never. No one but you. Does that make you happy, Lan Zhan?”
The answer to that is a definite yes, but Lan Zhan answers with action rather than words. Before Wei Wuxian can even take a breath, Lan Zhan is kissing him urgently, possessively, pressing him into the fallen leaves. Wei Wuxian laughs into his mouth and wraps his arms around Lan Zhan’s back. Then, why not, he throws his legs in, too. That makes interesting things happen below, and they both grunt and jerk.
No backing down now, Wei Wuxian tells himself, and rolls his hips up to meet Lan Zhan. They grind together, and it’s shockingly good, the heat between them burning away the chill of the damp leaves sticking to his back. “Do you want to . . .?” Wei Wuxian asks, his fingers tugging at Lan Zhan’s sash. He cringes, remembering that time in the cave, but no blood shoots out of Lan Zhan’s mouth.
Moaning, Lan Zhan takes over and rips off his sash. He’s changed so much! Wei Wuxian doesn’t have time to gloat over that before Lan Zhan does the same with his belt. And he keeps going, clever fingers attacking all the ties until Wei Wuxian’s robes are undone and pushed aside. But instead of dealing with his own clothes, Lan Zhan bends and licks Wei Wuxian’s nipple.
To his horror, Wei Wuxian bleats at that and knees Lan Zhan in the side, but Lan Zhan ignores him to suck on his other nipple. “Ah!” Wei Wuxian whines, arching up and shuddering. “Mm, Lan Zhan, what about you?”
His amazing Lan Zhan is coordinated enough to terrorize Wei Wuxian with his tongue while he unties his robes. He only lets up when he throws the robes off. Wei Wuxian looks from the pile of white robes puddled in dead leaves to the glorious man straddling his hips. His rambunctious mouth can find nothing at all to say.
That is, until Lan Zhan starts untying Wei Wuxian’s trousers. “Oh, hey, um . . .”
Lan Zhan pauses and lifts his eyebrows. Wei Wuxian looks back at him for a moment, but then his attention is drawn down to the sizeable bulge in Lan Zhan’s pants.
“What does Wei Ying want?” Lan Zhan asks, but Wei Wuxian has no idea how to answer. He wants, alright. He wants his mouth on that beautifully sculpted chest. He wants his hands all over the man on top of him, but then what? And what does he do with that thing? Oh, he has some ideas, but also some fear. Some very reasonable trepidation.
“You first.” Wei Wuxian waggles his eyebrows at Lan Zhan’s pretty silk trousers. If Lan Zhan does it, then he’ll have to go through with it. He has his honor to think of!
The corner of Lan Zhan’s mouth ticks up in a knowing smirk, but he climbs off Wei Wuxian and stands up. The pants slip down his legs, and he kicks them aside. Well shit. That thing looks even bigger now that the pants aren’t confining it. It’s pointing up at that sky just as straight and proud as its owner. Even in his old body, Wei Wuxian didn’t have something like that, and he’s sure no match for it now.
Completely naked and completely unbothered by it, Lan Zhan crawls back on top of him and reaches for his waist. “Is it okay?”
“Go right ahead,” Wei Wuxian says. He lifts his hips to help Lan Zhan slide the pants off, and now his cock is aiming at the sky, too.
Lan Zhan slides up his body, and Wei Wuxian shivers at the warmth of his skin, the strange intensity of the touch. “Anything you want,” Lan Zhan whispers.
That’s a question he can’t answer right now, so he does the next best thing: he pulls Lan Zhan down into a kiss. It’s a good answer, really. Their tongues slide together as their hands stroke and explore. Their bodies pick up a rhythm, crushing them together in waves and thrusts. Lan Zhan’s cock slides against his belly in a hot trail as his digs into Lan Zhan’s hip.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan hisses, his teeth nipping insistently at Wei Ying’s ear.
“I, I don’t know,” Wei Ying whines. His hips work restlessly, his legs curling and bunching on his discarded robes. “I can’t—I can’t think. Do something, Lan Zhan.”
Then they’re rolling, and Lan Zhan is dragging Wei Wuxian on top of him. Before Wei Wuxian even finds his balance, Lan Zhan’s hand is curling around his cock. “Ah!” Wei Wuxian gasps, grabbing onto Lan Zhan’s shoulders. “Oh! Oh yeah, keep doing that!”
Lan Zhan has the audacity to smile at him, but his fist moves on Wei Wuxian’s cock, so he can be forgiven. At first, Wei Wuxian hisses at the tight grip, the scrape of calluses, but his cock dribbles out excitement, and Lan Zhan uses that to ease the way. Then it’s perfect: Lan Zhan’s slick hand and his gorgeous face and his arrogant little smirk.
That smirk falls when Wei Wuxian wriggles his hand down to return the favor. There’s plenty of pre-come to slick his hand with, even for Lan Zhan’s oversized cock, and Wei Ying makes sure to spread it around generously before he starts fisting it. “How is it?” Wei Wuxian asks, grinning down at Lan Zhan’s slack face. “Am I holding it tight enough? I hope so, I can barely wrap my fingers around this thing!”
This time, he sees the movement coming, but he doesn’t fight as Lan Zhan flips them back over. “What, was I doing it wrong?” He giggles as Lan Zhan fumbles his hand between them.
“Your hand is too small,” Lan Zhan says. He spits into his hand and reaches back down. Wei Wuxian is so surprised to see Lan Zhan do something so crude that he doesn’t register where that hand is going until two fingers are pressing inside him. The shock steals his voice while those fingers thrust and twist.
“And that isn’t?” he finally shrieks. Lan Zhan can’t seriously be . . . that just, that just isn’t possible! “Lan Zhan, that isn’t going to work!”
Lan Zhan hums thoughtfully. He takes his fingers out but only to spit on them again, and then they go back in Wei Wuxian’s ass.
“Does it hurt?” Lan Zhan asks.
Oh, now he wonders? A bit late for that! “Of course it hurts!” It doesn’t, actually, but that thing sure will! “I could use my mouth, instead. You like licking, don’t you?”
Lan Zhan returns his smile, but he keeps shoving his fingers inside as he bends down for another kiss. “Are you sure it hurts?” Lan Zhan whispers. His fingers crook, and Wei Wuxian twists with them, curling up and moaning into Lan Zhan’s mouth.
“How?” Wei Wuxian whimpers as Lan Zhan kisses across his jaw. How did you know about that? What even is that? But he can’t ask those questions because Lan Zhan is still playing with the spot inside him that makes stars burst across the daytime sky.
“Do you like it?”
Whining, Wei Wuxian refuses to answer, but his body betrays him, clenching tight around Lan Zhan’s fingers. There’s a warm huff against his neck, then a hot stripe licked across his Adam’s apple. The fingers slide out of his ass, and he mourns the loss with another whine. At some point, his eyes closed of their own accord, but he hears Lan Zhan spit again. Solid heat pushes against him and splits him open. Grunting, he claws Lan Zhan’s shoulders and bears down instinctively, fighting back instead of retreating. Lan Zhan’s desperate groan heats him to boiling, and he sinks his teeth into Lan Zhan’s throat.
Lan Zhan works his way inside with short, tight thrusts, and Wei Wuxian urges him on with hisses and claws. It’s madness. It’s impossible. It’s perfect. It’s perfectly them. Lan Zhan moves faster, slamming the rest of the way inside, and he keeps going, holding Wei Wuxian’s legs open and taking what he wants.
“You,” Wei Wuxian groans. “You’re—” Inside me, he wants to say. Ridiculously obvious, but it seems so important. He wants to tell the trees, the birds, the clouds. You see this? He wants to shout. This is important!
“Wei Ying,” is all Lan Zhan says, but it’s the perfect answer. Of course Lan Zhan gets it. The words don’t matter. They never did. That’s why this matters.
He’s warm from Lan Zhan’s skin, slick with their sweat, his body aching and clenching and quivering. His poor abandoned cock slaps and bumps against Lan Zhan with every thrust. With a shimmy, he gets his hand between them to grip it, but Lan Zhan rips his hand away and pins it beside his head. Even working so hard, Lan Zhan still takes a moment to glare at him.
“You’re . . . tie me up . . . again?” Wei Wuxian manages to gasp, timing his words with Lan Zhan’s thrusts.
Lan Zhan slows enough to frown at him. “Again?”
With his free hand, Wei Wuxian yanks the ribbon off his head. “You used this.”
Lan Zhan’s eyes widen, and he stops moving. “I . . .”
“Tied me up with this and refused to let me go,” Wei Wuxian says, cheerfully dangling the ribbon in front of Lan Zhan’s face. “But I see what you want now.” He flexes his hand in Lan Zhan’s iron grip. “Well?”
“No need.” Lan Zhan grabs the ribbon and tosses it aside, then pins Wei Wuxian’s other wrist to the ground. He kisses him again, rolling his hips slowly, and Wei Wuxian can’t help his moan.
Slower is . . . slower is good. Fast was good, too, but now, he can feel every inch of Lan Zhan’s cock moving inside him. His toes flex in anticipation at every withdrawal and curl at every slow press back inside. Lan Zhan’s tongue moves in the same slow rhythm, forcing him open from both sides.
“Please,” Wei Wuxian begs, well past caring at how pitiful he sounds. He wraps his legs around Lan Zhan’s hips to grind his aching cock against Lan Zhan’s belly. “Lan Zhan, please.”
Lan Zhan stares down at him, watching him writhe helplessly. After an almost chaste kiss to Wei Wuxian’s lips, he wrangles Wei Wuxian arms until he’s gripping both wrists with one hand and uses the other to grip his cock. Wei Wuxian whimpers gratefully and throws back his head to pant at the sky. His Lan Zhan is so smart. A big mean brute, but very smart.
Pinned down and spread open for the whole world to see, Wei Wuxian gives in to the brute who’s taking him, to the genius who has managed to find that glorious spot inside him and is setting him on fire with every thrust. “Lan Zhan,” he gasps, and he means so much more. He means I love you and don’t stop and why didn’t we do this sooner? Lan Zhan grunts “Wei Ying,” and it means I love you and a million other things that Wei Wuxian misses because he’s coming, wind rushing in his ears and lightning sparking behind his eyelids. Through the storm, Wei Wuxian hears his name groaned again, feels the hot rush inside him as Lan Zhan is swept up by the same tempest.
At the end of this storm is Lan Zhan’s broad chest, his heart thumping under Wei Wuxian’s ear. Wei Wuxian rediscovers his numb hands and slides his fingers over Lan Zhan’s silky skin. His legs are still missing, but that doesn’t matter because he has no interest in moving. Yes, his ass appears to be hanging off the robe, but right now, the grass’s chill is soothing against his heated skin.
When he’s strong enough, he ignores the grossness coating them both and wriggles up Lan Zhan’s chest. While he’s there, he takes time to kiss the pebbled skin around Lan Zhan’s nipples and works his way up to drop kisses all over Lan Zhan’s face. Lan Zhan’s eyes are closed, but he smiles and strokes Wei Wuxian’s hair.
Once Lan Zhan’s handsome face is thoroughly kissed, Wei Wuxian snuggles under Lan Zhan’s chin. “You always let me do this now.” Everything seems full of wonder at the moment, but especially this. He’s been sleeping on top of Lan Zhan for weeks yet somehow convinced himself that it didn’t mean anything. But Lan Zhan always knew who he was. And years ago, Lan Zhan kissed him in the forest. All of this time, Lan Zhan wanted him. It seems impossible and obvious at the same time.
“Mn,” Lan Zhan agrees. He presses a kiss to the top of Wei Wuxian’s head. “Wei Ying can have whatever he wants.”
Wei Wuxian hides his grin against Lan Zhan’s chest. “And if what I want is you?”
The fierce kick Lan Zhan’s heart makes is answer enough, but Lan Zhan still says, “Then you can have me.”
Wei Wuxian shimmies up until he’s grinning down at Lan Zhan’s face. Who knew his cold Lan Zhan could look so happy? “Then I definitely won our game.”
Lan Zhan’s gorgeous warm smile turns playful, which might be the most shocking thing to happen today. “I definitely won,” Lan Zhan insists, and who is Wei Wuxian to argue when Lan Zhan is kissing him again and crushing him against his chest, exactly as Wei Wuxian wanted? Let Lan Zhan keep his delusions. It’s obvious who the real winner is here.