Come Back to Gusu

26. I see you as my zhiji, Wei Ying.

Lan WangJi took Jiang WanYin's place once the others had left. The smoke was making his head feel fuzzy again.... "Wei Ying...." came out like a prayer. Like he was the answer to a prayer.

He was the answer to every prayer, wasn't he? "Wei Ying...."

"Lan Zhan.' Wei Ying slid his hand into the other's. "Are you here to dual cultivate with me?"

"Soon."

"Good." Wei Ying's eyes were red, so like when he was cultivating with yin energy and yet... completely different at the same time. "No. Not good. Hurting the others. Can't hurt you."

"I want you to," Lan Zhan gripped his hand, hard. "It's not supposed to be as painful when both cultivators have a Core. You won't hurt me that much."

"That's good," Wei Ying sighed and closed his eyes. "So tired." He smiled and started giggling again. "Will you stay with me?"

"Of course." Lan WangJi gathered up enough mental strength to spell the smoke into a ball and disperse it out a window. "I will stay with you for as long as you need."

The smile was sad. "You shouldn't make such promises. It hurts too much when we have to break them. I like the idea though...." He sighed and burrowed a bit into the bedding. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we could just... walk away from our responsibilities and...."

Wei Ying seemed to be asleep, his breathing even and deep. It hurts me, too, Wei Ying. I want... so much with you. He raised their joined hands and kissed Wei Ying's. I hate being away from you. When this Jin nonsense is over, you need to come with me to Gusu.... Wen Qing said after you formed a Core again you would need to dual cultivate a few times that first year. I suppose you can do that with Jiang WanYin.... I don't want you to. I want you to live in the Weifengshi again and teach archery and....

He was lying, even to himself. I don't want you to live in the Weifengshi again. I want you to move into the Jingshi with me. As my lover.

"Lan Zhan... such a cruel man you are," Wei Ying's voice sounded tired and teasing at the same time.

"Cruel?"

"You kissed my hand. Cruel, cruel man." His lips curled into a smile, soft and happy. A tease, rather than a genuine insult.

"I could kiss you elsewhere," Lan Zhan offered, feeling his own lips curving slightly.

"You could." It was supposed to be a continuation of the tease. It didn't sound like a tease. It sounded like a promise. Or a demand. Or begging.

Lan Zhan quietly spelled the door and windows locked. The last thing they needed was a well-intentioned Wen Qing or Jiang YanLi interrupting their kisses. The only way to comfortably kiss someone who was lying down, was to lie down himself.... Lan Zhan pushed sprawling limbs around to give himself space on the bed, even as Wei Ying tried to curl like a cat into his body. Finally they were aligned, more or less; the first kiss was as soft and lingering as the mists that creeped through the Cloud Recesses on cool spring mornings. The second kiss was more akin to nuzzling: breaths mingling, bodies realigning for more contact, more.... The third kiss was more, too, the first sparks of arousal making themselves known. Lips and hands and legs became more greedy, more insistent.

"Lan Zhan... you know it's only you, right?" Wei Ying tipped his head back to allow access to his neck. "I only want to do this with you." His upper leg wrapped around Lan Zhan's, pulling their lower halves even closer. Lan Zhan obliged the unspoken request by lowering his mouth to nip at his friend's neck, careful to leave the skin smooth and blemish-free. Not that he wanted to leave the skin clear... and maybe with a Core, Wei Ying could handle being bitten? With the hand he wasn't resting on, he tugged at Wei Ying's collars, exposing the marks he'd left a few nights before. Marks that were, even as he looked at them, fading from a light green to yellow. "Are they still there?" Wei Ying tilted his head to see his chest.