He woke in the JingShi, feeling better than he had in almost a year. "How long was I asleep?" He yawned the last of his sleepiness away and stretched.
"Wen Ning was revived thirteen days ago," Lan WangJi answered from where he sat mindlessly plucking his guqin's strings. He paused to send a glowing bunny messenger off before resuming. "You have had two one-sided dual cultivation sessions to repair your Core. Are you fully awake now? You've been alert a few times, enough to eat and wash yourself, but you don't seem to have remembered any of it the next time you woke."
Wei WuXian sat up, enjoying the way his healing Core thrummed through him once again. "No. I don't remember that. Did I talk about my notes?"
"No." Lan WangJi's eyes were focused only on his qin. "What about your notes?"
Wei WuXian wobbled to his feet. "I need to destroy them. The array was destroyed, right? And everyone's mind erased?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Because this is the darkest magic I've ever performed." Wei WuXian shuddered. "Can you imagine how someone unscrupulous would use this? A man like Wen RuoHan would live forever even without cultivating to immortality. Or the Son of Heaven? He would have no need to choose a successor anymore. There would be no more fighting between his sons or concubines. All he'd have to do is prepare a body. Pick one that was pleasing to him, hone it to his desires, and then when his current body was ill or aged, he could just switch his soul into the prepared body. It would wipe out that other soul completely. I think it would send that body's former soul out of the reincarnation cycle entirely. I'm not sure, though, and I have no desire to discover if my theory is correct or not." He shuddered again, and made his way over to his work table. Gathering up his notes, he added, "Better to just burn everything, so no one can try to repeat it. I'll have to bother you to erase my memories, too, if you don't mind." After he skimmed each page, he carefully placed it into the brazier, watching it burn down to ashes.
"I do mind," Lan WangJi growled, finally looking up from his qin to glare at his husband. "I mind that you attempted this without telling me. I mind that you nearly killed yourself and refused to tell me! If that YunmengJiang disciple hadn't ignored Wen Daifu's directives and sent a message to Jiang WanYin and I?" He stood in a smooth motion, belied by the furious expression on his face. "You nearly died! You were already in the early stages of qi deviation when we arrived! If it had gone on much longer? You would have, at the least, lost your Core. As it was? Jiang WanYin had to dual cultivate with you in front of almost thirty disciples!"
"I was prepared to lose my Core," Wei WuXian started to defend himself.
"You were prepared?" Lan WangJi's glare became glacial. "What about me? What about our son? What about your siblings? Don't we deserve to be prepared, too?"
"I couldn't let you stop me."
"Stop you?" Lan WangJi abruptly slumped in on himself, golden eyes closing against the sheen of tears. "I am your husband. It is my honor and my duty to keep you safe. Even from yourself. I would have insisted you add protections to your array to keep your Core safe. Or had you seal it before you began. I would have done whatever I could to...." Lan WangJi wrapped his arms around his lover and squeezed tightly. "You are my life, Wei Ying. I don't ever want to live apart from you. I don't ever want to live without you." He snuggled into Wei WuXian's shoulder, sniffing wetly. "Yet you keep walking away from me and putting your life in danger." He lifted his head to stare into his husband's eyes. "Am I the one you love or am I simply someone you like to fuck?"
Wei WuXian froze at the accusation. Of course I love you struggled to come out of his mouth. I love you more than anything. More than my own life. I love you so much, I never want you to hurt. The incongruity of his actions compared to his need to keep his lover free from pain was almost laughable. "I try to keep you safe from harm and by doing so, I hurt you the most?" he whispered. I guess I forget that you love me just as much as I love you. That in your eyes, I am worth something, my life means something. You see me as something indispensable instead of expendable. "I'm sorry," he begged. "I'm so sorry. I was... inexcusable. I love you, Lan Zhan. I love you so much, I can't bear to see you hurt."
"So you push me away? Don't you know that hurts, too?"
"I know. I do know. I just... No one has put me first in their life since before my parents died. I'm still not used to it."
"You are so willing to sacrifice yourself for those you love.... Can you learn to accept that I will always want to stand by your side protecting you? That I will help you find ways so that a sacrifice isn't necessary? Just... talk to me, Wei Ying. You are so good at talking.... Why are you silent when it matters the most?"
"I'm sorry. I love you. I promise I'll try." Wei Ying moved to seal his promise with a kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered against smooth lips. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
"Baba?" a young voice screeched through the JingShi. "Baba? Are you awake?" Footsteps thundered on the stairs.
"Yes, Baobie, I'm awake." The two men stepped back from each other, unconsciously brushing and shaking out their outfits to remove any obvious signs of being close.
Wei Yuan shoved open the door and stumbled over the door step, not unlike a newborn foal trying to stand. "Baba! I got to see NingShushu but he doesn't look like Shushu and he doesn't sound like Shushu and Jin Ling says it's someone pretending to be Shushu but I asked him to tell me something that only he and I know and he said it just right and I think it's Shushu but am I right or is Jin Ling right?"
Wei WuXian leaned down to hug his son's shoulders, and squeezed gently before straightening. "I did some magic and moved Wen Ning's soul into that new body. It will take a little time, maybe, to adjust to the way he looks and sounds now, but he is the same person he was last year."
"All right, Baba." The child looked up, smiling adoringly at his father. "I'm happy you're awake. A'Die looked sad when you kept sleeping all the time."
Wei WuXian smiled back, "And my A'Yuan? Was he looking sad, too?"
"No! A'Yuan wasn't sad. Gugu said Baba just needed to sleep because he did a lot of hard work and needed to rest so when he woke up, he would be all better. And A'Yuan needed to let Baba sleep, and be nice and quiet for A'Die and not get into trouble and do my schoolwork and play nicely with Lan Tian and, Baba? I got to sleep in A'Tian's bed! And his parents didn't even mind when we stayed up past bedtime. And..." his voice dropped to a whisper, "A'Tian's parents took us to Caiyi yesterday and we got to eat in a restaurant and they let me order meatballs and A'Tian tried one and they didn't even yell at him so he had another and another and last night he puked! His mom said it's because his tummy isn't used to eating meat, so he needs to eat less until his tummy is used to it. But I didn't puke because I eat meat all the time even though the Rules say I can't."
Wei WuXian started laughing about halfway through the babble. "Are you sleeping in the Jingshi tonight? Or with Lan Tian again?"
"Gugu says I can't sleep here for a few more days. She said Baba and Diedie need time to practice cultivation with no kids interrupting but I can interrupt now because you're going to eat lunch first and I can eat lunch with you but then I have to go play somewhere else this afternoon and I can stay in her room tonight and play with A'Kong." Leaning in a bit, and whispering as if relaying something in confidence, "Jiang Kong is boring. I don't like playing with him. All he does is eat, sleep, poop and roll over. Gugu gets so excited when he rolls over, but when I do it, she doesn't get excited. She just says I shouldn't be dirtying my robes. It's not fair."
"I'm sure your parents were excited when you started rolling over, too," Wei WuXian bit his lip to stop himself from grinning. "Your die and I get excited when I see you doing something new, don't we?"
"I guess."
Lunch was obviously a happy time for Wei Yuan. He wiggled on his seat as he (almost politely) shoveled his chicken and rice into his mouth. He was less enthusiastic about eating the vegetables Lan WangJi deliberately placed in his bowl.
When lunch was over, the dishes sent off to be washed, and Wei Yuan went off to find a playmate, Wei WuXian peered out from under lowered lashes at his husband.It's been too long since we had an entire afternoon and evening to ourselves. What method will have me being held down the fastest? We can take our time later... "Oh dear. An entire afternoon to ourselves. Whatever shall we do? Wen Daifu will probably say I should meditate...." He faked a yawn. "Maybe I should take a little nap? What does Lan Zhan think?"
Cool golden eyes leisurely appraised Wei WuXian's slouch. "A nap?" He nodded in agreement. "Wei Ying is still tired from his efforts in Dafan."
Wei Ying slithered to the floor in a boneless heap. "Ah... this poor man is too exhausted to walk to his bed. Would the esteemed cultivator help him?" He grinned into the floorboards. "This small one is too helpless. He can't even remove his outer robes...."
Lan Zhan sighed softly. "This esteemed cultivator will assist the small one to get ready for his nap." He picked up the human bundle and tossed it gently onto their bed. As Wei Ying enjoyed the breathlessness of being weightless, strong hands began attacking his belt. It fell to the floor with a muffled sound, the leather protesting the abuse. "Does the small one sleep in his inner robe? Or his shirt?"
Wei Ying tried to stretch sexily. He wasn't sure how well he succeeded, but it had the effects he wanted: Lan Zhan's eyes widening just a bit in arousal. "When I'm alone... I like to sleep naked. But since you're here... I suppose sleeping in my shirt will do?"
"Naked?" Lan Zhan's nimble fingers easily took care of the first set of ties. "Shameless! You are in the Cloud Recesses, now. You need to adhere to our rules." The second set of ties followed the first. "Only two layers? Scandalous."
Wei Ying raised his eyebrows as high as he could. "Scandalous? Perhaps Gege can show this small one how many layers are considered appropriate?" Breaking his role playing, he chuckled a bit before he controlled himself again.
Lan Zhan stood and deftly unwound his sash. "I thought I was 'esteemed cultivator'. When did I become 'gege'?"
"Gege is easier to say," Wei Ying grumbled, but kept his eyes trained on the man now counting as he removed each piece of clothing. When Lan Zhan stood over his husband, completely naked, Wei Ying pretended to be shocked. "Gege calls this small one shameless? When he is the one naked and I'm the one still with clothing on?"
"That can be fixed," Lan Zhan stated. Then proceeded to roughly strip Wei Ying of all of his clothing, too.
Pretending to be outraged/ashamed of his nudity, Wei Ying rolled over onto his front. "Oh no! Gege has stripped this one of all of his clothing! So scary! Whatever will Gege do to me?" He wiggled his bum and spread his legs for easy access.
Lan Zhan knelt on the bed, spreading Wei Ying's legs even wider. "You don't want to be kissed first?"
"I need you, Lan Zhan. It's been too long since we were one. We can kiss later." He sighed in relief as a cold, wet finger slid into his body. "That feels so good, A'Zhan. Lan Er'Gege... How long have you wanted to do this?" He yelped as a second finger joined the first. "I wasn't ready for that," he whined. "ZhanZhan is too cruel to YingYing."
"YingYing needs to stop with the nicknames if he wants ZhanZhan to go slowly."
Wei Ying turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Do they affect you that much? Does Lan Er'Gege get more aroused when A'Ying calls him endearments?" A third finger wormed its way into his body. "Too soon!" he yelped.
"ZhanZhan gets more aggressive when YingYing calls him endearments." Lan Zhan punctuated his statement with a bite to his lover's shoulder.
"More aggressive? Does that mean if Ying'Er calls Zhan'Er cute names, he'll get... uf!" What he got was exactly what he wanted: Lan Zhan yanking him to his knees and pushing his way inside. "I wasn't ready yet," he fake wailed, real tears starting to wind their way down his face. "Lan Er'Gege is too mean to his husband, fucking him like this when he's not ready! Too fast! Too fast!" Wei Ying's fists grabbed onto the sheets to try to stabilize himself from the cock shoving him towards the head of the bed; they simply slid along with him. "Zhan'Er is too big for this small one to take!" He reached out, pressing his palms against the headboard just before his head smashed into it.
It hurt being so roughly penetrated like this. Of course it hurts. He barely prepped me. But it feels.... Wei Ying moaned in pleasure as his body started to accept the thick rod battering his insides. "Fuck, Lan Zhan... you are so deep inside me.... When you finish I'm going to taste it in my mouth, aren't I?"
"I can finish in your mouth if you want."
"No. No! I want to feel it. I want to feel you pulsing inside me. I love it. I love knowing I did that for you." He looked down his belly at his cock swinging wildly with each harsh jab. He let one hand leave the bed to loosely cup around himself, letting his husband push him into his hand rather than use his hand to rub his cock. "Do you know what you're doing to me? Do you know how hard I am for you?" That push sent his head into the headboard. "You're going to smash me into pieces, aren't you? You're just going to..." He yelped again. Lan Zhan had yanked him up by the shoulders so his head was resting on Lan Zhan's shoulder. "Oh fuck! You're so deep inside me!"
"Wei Ying can stop talking now," growled in his ear.
"Mouths are for talking and eating," Wei Ying teased back. "I'm not eating right now... so...."
"That is not all they're used for."
Wei Ying cried out in abandonment, pushed forward so his lover could slide out. "You meanie! Stop bullying your poor husband!" He felt so empty.... "Get back inside me, right now!" he demanded.
"All right," Lan Zhan agreed. "Turn around." Wei Ying eagerly flopped over, spreading his legs wide, then wrapped them around his husband's hips, as he was once again penetrated. "Kiss me," he was ordered. "Make that mouth do something useful."
"So mean," Wei Ying whined with a huge smile, before arcing up to capture Lan Zhan's lips in a sloppy kiss.
Lan Zhan's tongue in his mouth and cock in his ass... was there anything else he needed in this world?
Apparently there was. Lan Zhan shifted the angle of attack until Wei Ying's eyes rolled back in his head and he had to break away from the kiss to breathe. "Ugh," he moaned over and over, adding in yelps when he couldn't hold them in.
Lan Zhan dropped his head to suck a bruise over Wei Ying's collarbone. "Mine."
"Yours," Wei Ying agreed. "Kiss me," he begged. 'I'm close."
"No," Lan Zhan shifted again, so he was no longer targeting Wei Ying's pleasure spot. "I'm not ready. I'm going to fuck you until my knees or thighs give out and then I'll make you ride me until your thighs can't hold you up anymore, and even then I'll keep fucking you. You're going to feel this for the rest of your life and remember it every time you even think to do something that might cause you to lose your life or your Core." His thrusts increased in intensity, thighs nearly bruising Wei Ying's ass. "You are loved. You are needed. You are worthy of love and respect. You are important for more than just what you can give to others. You are responsible for your own actions only. You are not responsible for what others choose to do." He swiftly moved them so Wei Ying was kneeling over his lap. "Fuck me, Wei Ying. Ride me."
Wei Ying balanced himself, one hand resting on his lover's pecs before using the other to guide himself back onto Lan Zhan's cock. "Uff! You're even bigger in this position!" He sat up straighter, then leaned back so the cock pummeling his insides was directed towards the best spot. "Can you see your cock in my belly? I feel like you're fucking all the way up to my stomach. Maybe my lungs." He rested one hand over his lower abdomen, trying to feel Lan Zhan's cock from the outside. "It's dry. More oil," he begged.
"No." Lan Zhan denied. "You need to remember this."
"I will," Wei Ying sobbed. From the scratch of being too dry? Or from the pleasure? Did it matter? "I promise to not be stupid again. I swear I won't be stupid again."
"What are you?" Lan Zhan dug his heels into the bedding, tried to shove his entire pelvis into Wei Ying's ass.
"Yours?"
"Loved," Lan Zhan corrected. "You are loved."
"I am loved," Wei Ying echoed and dropped forward to hold onto his husband's shoulders against the pounding threatening his balance. "I am needed. My worth is more than just what I can give to others. I have family who love me, students who respect me. My husband and son need me to keep myself as safe as possible."
"Do you know that Ying'Er? Or are you just saying it?"
"I want to believe it," Wei Ying admitted. "I know I love you. I know I never want to hurt you. I know I have, and I'm sorry. I know you love me. I know I'm not alone anymore. I know... my favorite place to be is with you, wherever you are is home."
"You are loved, Wei Ying." He stilled his hips. "Ride me, YingYing. Take your pleasure from me."
Wei Ying braced himself and began raising and lowering his hips. His thighs were already feeling the strain, even as his Core replenished his energy. "I love when we do this, Lan Zhan," he huffed and tilted his hips to find the best position for penetration. "I love how I feel when you're so deep inside me." He could feel his orgasm rising again. "Oh, yes, like that. Just like that." He moved faster, precursor shocks spreading throughout his body.
Lan Zhan moaned wordlessly, his own hips now moving again, arrhythmically to Wei Ying's movements.
Wei Ying felt the cock inside him, growing harder and thicker. "Fuck! How much bigger can you get?" he cried, the increased girth worsening the painful friction inside and yet making him crave even more. Lan Zhan's tense facial muscles froze then relaxed; the friction eased as his seed flooded Wei Ying's ass. Wei Ying followed a few heartbeats later, slumping over to lay in his own mess. "I am definitely going to feel that for the next twenty years," he whined, only half meaning the complaint. He was not in any way unhappy at the thought of feeling stretched and sore for the next twenty years. He rather hoped they'd find a way to resume them both feeling like that every day.
"Good." Lan Zhan sounded smug.
Dear readers.
I think I'm nearing the end.... There's one more major-ish thing and one minor-ish thing I want to add, but.... I can't think of any further story line. The bad guys are dealt with. The good guys are healing, spirit, mind, and body. I could add in something about NMJ... but he's not instrumental to this story, really.
If you saw plot points that I dropped and need to end, can you let me know in the comments?
And if anyone has figured out approximately how many years have passed in this fic, I'd appreciate it. I started re-reading to figure out when this chapter takes place... and got distracted. I have no idea how old anyone is... Sigh.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
- Aitch.