Work Text:
Hua Cheng knows something is wrong the second Xie Lian stumbles into their room.
Xie Lian’s balance is slightly off, and he sways as he rights himself, glancing around the bedroom with a dazed, unfocused look in his eyes. His cheeks are flushed, and gold powder dusts his hair and robes. The room’s warm lighting glints off it, and Hua Cheng may be guilty of seeing his god like this in his mind’s eye, but he knows that the sheen most definitely was not there when Xie Lian left this morning.
“Gege!” Hua Cheng cries. He’s up in an instant, hurrying to Xie Lian’s side to steady him with an arm around his waist. “What happened?”
“San—hnn, San Lang,” Xie Lian pants, relaxing into Hua Cheng’s side. His voice is a little slurred, but still understandable. It almost sounds like the same drowsiness that colors his voice when he first wakes up.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng says, gathering Xie Lian fully into his arms. He doesn’t let his husband stumble again, but it’s a near thing. A tight knot of unease settles into Hua Cheng’s throat, and he swallows as he speaks past it. “You don’t look well. Are you feeling okay?”
“Mm,” is all Xie Lian says, a noncommittal hum that doesn’t help in the slightest.
Hua Cheng’s hand strokes up and down Xie Lian’s back. His fingertips catch against something grainy, and it lifts from Xie Lian’s robes, sticking to Hua Cheng’s palm in the form of a light film. When he lifts his hand over Xie Lian’s shoulder to inspect it, he finds it coated in the same golden shimmer dusting Xie Lian’s hair.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng says carefully. “Did something happen while you were out today?”
“Mm?”
“Your prayers,” Hua Cheng tries again. “What happened while you were answering them?”
“Hm? Oh, I found a flower.” Xie Lian takes a long pause, twitches, and begins to pull away, his eyes regaining some of their focus. “Tripped over a flower. It was—” he freezes, paling. “Oh no.”
“Gege?”
Xie Lian jumps back, tearing himself from Hua Cheng’s embrace like he’s been burned. He winces at Hua Cheng’s obvious distress as they separate, but it doesn’t ease the panic etched into his face. “San Lang,” he says mournfully. “Oh, San Lang, I tripped over one of… those kinds of flowers.”
Hua Cheng stills. “Ah.”
“Please tell me I didn’t—” he leans in a little closer, inspecting Hua Cheng. Whatever he finds causes him to make some sort of distraught moan, the panic in his expression giving way to anguish. His voice is soft with resignation when he next speaks: “I got the pollen on you.”
“It’s alright, gege,” Hua Cheng says in an effort to placate him, but Xie Lian shakes his head, darting towards their bathroom and disappearing inside before Hua Cheng can grab him. “Gege?”
“We need to wash the pollen off as soon as possible,” Xie Lian explains as Hua Cheng enters the bathroom, his voice thin and frantic. He’s already drawing a bath, fingers skimming the surface of the water and shaking loose a swirl of golden granules. His hands tremble. “The sooner it’s off, the better.”
Xie Lian’s eyes are a little hazy when he turns back to meet Hua Cheng’s gaze, a shiver wracking his frame. Hua Cheng crosses the room to kneel beside him and cup his jaw, pollen be damned. “Gege,” he murmurs. “It’s alright. Breathe.”
Xie Lian blinks, takes a few shuddering breaths, and refocuses his vision. He still looks miserable, but it lacks the daze and trepidation from before. “I think touch helps,” he says slowly, his voice soft. “My mind slips when you’re not touching me, can you please—?”
“Of course, gege,” Hua Cheng reassures him, pulling him a little closer. “I’m not going anywhere. What do you need?”
“Skin contact,” Xie Lian says quietly, and Hua Cheng nods in understanding, already pulling at the ties and fastenings of his robes until he’s shirtless. He does the same for Xie Lian and holds him close, chin settled on his shoulder as he’s enveloped fully. Xie Lian makes a soft, content little sigh as the tub fills behind them.
“Better?”
“Mm.” Xie Lian pauses, hesitant to hug Hua Cheng back, but he quickly abandons his reluctance to cling to his husband instead. Hua Cheng’s heart breaks when he whispers, “I’m so sorry, San Lang.”
“Gege, you have nothing to apologize for,” Hua Cheng murmurs, holding him closer. “I’m not upset, just worried about you.”
“You should be upset!” Xie Lian protests. “I got the pollen on you, too, because I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to—!” He makes a strangled, frustrated groan that tapers off into a sigh.
Hua Cheng glances at the tub and finds it’s full enough to comfortably sit in. He pulls back, careful to leave his pollen-coated hands on Xie Lian’s bare skin as he moves. “Let’s bathe first, and then we’ll figure this out. Alright?”
Xie Lian hums, refusing to meet his eye, and Hua Cheng can’t have that. Not at all. “Hey,” he says quietly, reaching up to tilt Xie Lian’s jaw towards himself. He smiles when Xie Lian finally meets his gaze, craning up to press a soothing kiss to his forehead. “It’s okay, gege. Really. Do I look upset?”
“No,” Xie Lian croaks.
“Exactly, because you haven’t done anything wrong.” Before Xie Lian can voice any protests, Hua Cheng quickly adds, “And even if you had, I still wouldn’t be angry. When’s the only time I’m ever upset with you?”
“When I knowingly put myself in harm’s way.”
“And that’s not what happened today, so everything’s alright,” Hua Cheng says warmly. He can’t resist placing a gentle kiss at the tip of Xie Lian’s nose, one that has him flushing even pinker. “Let’s wash this off, hm?”
Xie Lian nods, standing from the tubside and pulling Hua Cheng up with him. He lets Hua Cheng carefully undress the rest of him, and he doesn’t refuse the steady hand offered to him as he steps into the water and settles down. When Hua Cheng slides into the water next to him, he immediately presses himself against Xie Lian’s side, wrapping an arm around him. “Gege, is this alright?”
“Mm. Thank you.”
Hua Cheng turns his head inward and presses a kiss to Xie Lian’s shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. It’s mingled with a faint, sweet undertone that Hua Cheng has never smelled on him before but entices him regardless — the pollen, surely.
They bathe in a gentle silence, broken only by the sounds of water and quiet hums. Hua Cheng insists on cleaning Xie Lian first, tenderly scrubbing every inch of him to pry off the remainder of the pollen. There isn’t much that managed to get past either of their robes, but Hua Cheng would rather be safe than sorry. He washes Xie Lian’s hair twice, once to strip it of the pollen and again for good measure.
Hua Cheng combs through Xie Lian’s wet hair with light fingers. “How do you feel?” he asks.
“Warm.” Xie Lian shifts in the water. “It’s not going to affect me just yet. I still have a little while. But you…”
“Me?” Hua Cheng grins, a teasing lilt to his voice.
“You’re going to feel it soon. I have sutras and experience to help me hold out, but this is your first time with this sort of pollen, right?”
“En.”
“Then it’s going to hit you a lot harder than it hits me,” Xie Lian says, his voice turning quiet again. “I’m sorry, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng huffs an exasperated laugh. “Gege, just so we’re clear… This is the sort of flower that’s meant to arouse you, yes?”
“...Yes.”
Hua Cheng leans in, plastering himself to Xie Lian’s back and pressing a kiss to the damp skin of his shoulder. “Your Highness,” he says slowly, simpering when he feels a shiver run through Xie Lian. “Have I ever, at any point in time, been anything short of thrilled to touch you?”
Xie Lian’s voice is colored with embarrassment when he replies, meekly, “No, you haven’t.”
“Then we have nothing to worry about.”
Xie Lian shifts in his arms to face him, evidently deciding it’s Hua Cheng’s turn to be bathed. Frowning, he says, “It’s not pleasant, San Lang. I’d know.”
He would. Hua Cheng remembers that night on Beizi Hill so clearly he aches. He tries not to let the grief show on his face as he remembers that day, but Xie Lian spots it anyway and cups his jaw gently. “It’s alright,” he reminds Hua Cheng, thumb tracing slow arcs against his cheek. “I’m alright now.”
“It was unpleasant because you suffered it alone, without someone to help you through it.”
“You were there.”
“You know what I mean, gege.” Hua Cheng turns his head just enough to kiss the heel of Xie Lian’s palm. “I’m here now, and I can help, if you’d like.”
Xie Lian nods, the movement barely noticeable. “This was a different flower, but the same general principle. It doesn’t feel as strong, and I still feel mostly clear-headed as long as I’m touching you. Can I finish washing your back?”
How could Hua Cheng ever say no, when the look on his face is so incredibly earnest and sincere?
They quiet as Xie Lian finishes scrubbing his back, then begins to wash his hair, too. “How are you feeling, San Lang?”
Hua Cheng belatedly realizes that in his concern for Xie Lian, he never took stock of himself. He’s warm from the bath, of course, and the humidity laps at his skin gently, turning the edges of him fuzzy and— “Oh.”
“San Lang?”
Hua Cheng swallows, his muscles taut. “I think I feel it, gege.”
Xie Lian moves to face him, cupping his jaw with concern in his eyes. The touch is so soothing it pulls an involuntary sigh from Hua Cheng, and Xie Lian can’t resist smiling as his thumb caresses his husband’s cheek. “What exactly are you feeling?”
“It’s getting warmer,” Hua Cheng says slowly. His stomach twists and aches. “And I need…”
“What is it?” Xie Lian asks, his voice softened by caution.
“A kiss,” Hua Cheng says, feeling the ache in his gut begin to burn. “I need you to kiss me, gege, can you please—?”
Xie Lian wastes no time in drawing closer and slotting their mouths together. It isn’t a particularly heated kiss at first, but it still pulls a groan from Hua Cheng, who presses closer and closer, warmth churning low in his gut. When he tries to coax open Xie Lian’s mouth, he’s pushed away gently by two hands that remain settled on his shoulders.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian says, his face now a few shades pinker. “Do you want me to make love to you?”
Of all his husband’s quirks, Hua Cheng is fondest of is the fact that Xie Lian rarely says ‘sex’ — to him, it’s crass and reductive. In this case, Hua Cheng agrees; lying with Xie Lian is not just sex, it’s making love. He melts as the words bleed into the hazy air, then laughs as they register. “Gege, is that ever in question?”
“Can you answer me?” Xie Lian responds, one hand lifting to hold Hua Cheng’s chin. He guides it so that their gazes are level. “Is that what you want, San Lang?”
Hua Cheng’s eye widens. The water grows warmer against his skin, and his stomach flips as he musters the courage to nod mutely.
“I need to hear you say it,” Xie Lian tells him, his expression turning severe. “I need you to consent to this while you’re still somewhat in your right mind.”
“Yes,” Hua Cheng rasps. Arousal burns hot in his groin, and he blinks slowly, feeling more unraveled by the second. “I want that, gege. Please.” He pauses for a second, brows furrowing as he adds, “But only if you do, too.”
“I do! Of course I do,” Xie Lian says with a small smile. “I just needed to make sure.”
“Gege is so considerate,” Hua Cheng purrs as he draws closer and finds himself seated in Xie Lian’s lap, arms draped over his shoulders.
Xie Lian turns his head just enough to kiss the inside of Hua Cheng’s arm, his lips cool against feverish skin. “San Lang is just too precious to mishandle,” he says simply, then circles his arms around Hua Cheng’s waist to tug him even closer.
Hua Cheng bites back a gasp when his cock brushes against Xie Lian’s stomach, teeth sinking into his tongue as his whole body shudders.
Heat builds so thick in his chest he nearly chokes on it, the world around him narrowing to the confines of the tub. Like this, Hua Cheng can feel exactly what the pollen wants of him: he is empty, painfully so, and this absolutely must be remedied soon.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng says, his voice tight with desperation. “Gege, can I suck you off?”
Xie Lian clearly isn’t expecting the request, because his eyes widen fractionally before he schools his face to answer. “You don’t want me inside you?”
Hua Cheng lets out a soft, embarrassing moan at the thought, but powers through. “I do. But then I have to wait to be stretched and I need… I need to take the edge off or I—” Hua Cheng swallows, feeling faint. “Gege, please, I need you in my mouth.”
He’s quickly learning that the more the pollen affects him, the more it inhibits his verbal filter.
“Okay,” Xie Lian wheezes. “If that’s what you’d like, then alright. Let’s dry off and—”
“Now,” Hua Cheng interrupts, surprising even himself with the panic that colors his voice. “I can’t wait, gege, I need it now. Please.”
“Here?”
Hua Cheng nods frantically, sliding off Xie Lian’s lap to give him space. “You can sit on the edge of the—” he gapes as Xie Lian obeys mid-sentence, lifting himself so that his cock hangs above the water. Hua Cheng feels himself throb as he breathes, “Yes, gege,” and dives in.
Xie Lian is clearly embarrassed by the position, but he’s still affected by the pollen, too. He lets out a shaky breath as Hua Cheng trails kisses up his soft inner thigh, teeth catching against the skin in barely-there nips to coax a gasp from Xie Lian. “San Lang, don’t tease.”
“Not teasing,” Hua Cheng says, unable to pull away long enough to speak properly. His voice is muffled by Xie Lian’s thigh, and he dutifully returns to his task, mouth parting to suck lightly as he nears the base of Xie Lian’s flushed cock. Hua Cheng suddenly finds he can’t quite make the rest of the trek up Xie Lian’s thigh when he’s this close, so he abandons it in favor of guiding the tip of Xie Lian’s cock into his mouth and sucking lightly, mouth watering around it.
“Oh,” Xie Lian sighs, shoulders hiking up as Hua Cheng presses forward to take more.
Xie Lian’s fingers thread gently into his hair, the grip not quite strong enough to pull him forward, but close to it. Hua Cheng moans — loudly — and steadies himself with a deep breath before he moves forward again, mouth sliding up the length of Xie Lian’s cock until his nose begins to brush against the soft curls at the base.
Xie Lian groans, his hips tilting forward just enough for the tip of his cock to brush the back of Hua Cheng’s throat. The sound is obscene, and it only spurs Hua Cheng on. He takes the rest of Xie Lian until his lips are stretched around the base and his nose is smushed against Xie Lian’s pelvis, humming contently.
The heat has subsided for now, dulled and sated by Xie Lian’s cock. Hua Cheng wishes he could smile to convey how content he is here. Instead, he swallows.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian gasps, head tipping back as his hips try to lurch away. He tends to arch back from pleasure instinctually, but Hua Cheng anticipates it. He palms Xie Lian’s hips and tugs them back forward until his lips are flush against Xie Lian’s skin again, drawing out another ragged moan.
When Hua Cheng swallows again, Xie Lian’s nails dig into his scalp as he keens. “San Lang— ngh, San Lang, it’s good…”
Hua Cheng sucks and hums his contentment, staring up at his beloved through a half-lidded eye. His hum trills through Xie Lian, running down the length of his cock and sending a jolt through his body as he moans weakly, his grip tightening again. “I’m not going to la— ah, San Lang, I’m close,” he whimpers.
Just from this? Hua Cheng asks through the array, pulling back to bob his head in time with the labored breaths heaving Xie Lian’s flushed chest. His own cock is throbbing, no doubt leaking into the water below, but he can’t bear to take either of his hands off Xie Lian’s hips. We haven’t even started, gege.
“The pollen makes me sensiti—i—ive, San Lang, please, I—” Xie Lian cuts himself off with a whine as Hua Cheng works up and down his cock, filthy noises dragged from his abused throat. Hua Cheng clenches around nothing and thinks briefly of how full his mouth will feel when Xie Lian finally comes down his throat, and— oh.
Oh.
He’d been mistaken about what the pollen wants, after all. He’s not just empty, he’s missing something.
Gege, Hua Cheng says over the array, his voice far too ragged. Gege. Come in my mouth.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian gasps as a warning.
Please? Hua Cheng doubles his efforts, hollowing his cheeks and earning another low whine. I need your come in me, gege, please? It doesn’t matter which end, I— both ends, even, I just need—
At first, Xie Lian doesn’t cry out when he comes. He trembles, legs twitching in the water as he tries to twist out of Hua Cheng’s hold. When that doesn’t work, he claps both hands over his mouth and shudders as he spills onto Hua Cheng’s tongue, desperately trying and failing to muffle his broken moans behind his palms. He doesn’t stop until he’s finally dry, when Hua Cheng pulls off with a satisfied hum and smiles.
Hua Cheng is elated, his mouth full even after he leaves his rightful place between Xie Lian’s thighs.
“San— hah, San Lang,” Xie Lian pants, slumping forward bonelessly. He’s flushed from his cheeks to his chest, and little beads of sweat track down his skin in shimmering streaks. “Come here, let me kiss you.”
“Mn,” Hua Cheng agrees, rolling a mouthful of come over his tongue. He refuses to let it run down his throat. He can’t swallow it and risk being empty again, not without the promise of being filled up. He craves it. He needs it.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian prompts again, and Hua Cheng obeys, keeping his mouth closed as he presses sweet kisses against Xie Lian’s. He pulls back when Xie Lian tries eagerly to deepen the kiss, aching with remorse as they part.
Sorry, gege, Hua Cheng says through the array, and Xie Lian stills.
“Sorry for what,” Xie Lian asks, but it isn’t phrased like a question — the tone is flat, almost suspicious. His hand reaches out to cup Hua Cheng’s cheek, thumb resting over his mouth before it tries to slip inside. Hua Cheng keeps his lips pressed tightly together, shaking his head a little, and Xie Lian’s eyes narrow. “Open your mouth.”
Hua Cheng shakes his head again, firmer this time, and feels a little like a stubborn dog.
Xie Lian leans forward, craning over his knees to cradle Hua Cheng’s face in his hands. He presses a kiss to Hua Cheng’s forehead. “My love,” he murmurs, kissing his temple. “Husband.” A peck on his cheek. “San Lang.” Another kiss, this time to the tip of his nose.
Hua Cheng melts into his touch. Dazedly, he asks, Yes, gege?
Xie Lian hums, lowering to press his lips firmly to Hua Cheng’s, but he doesn’t try to pry them open this time. Instead, when he pulls back, his expression is stern. “Beloved,” he says, his voice firm but no less adoring, “I wasn’t asking. Open your mouth.”
Hua Cheng doesn't even mean to comply. It’s the sudden surge of heat that pulses through him, his mouth forced open by the gasp torn from his traitorous throat. It reveals the pearl on his tongue, pooling and spilling over it as Xie Lian’s hand reaches out to hold his jaw open. It doesn’t hurt, but his grip certainly isn’t gentle.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian murmurs, entranced, his eyes dark as he watches his own come trickle over Hua Cheng’s lower lip. With his jaw forced open like this, Hua Cheng can do little to stop it, and he feels increasingly desperate when he feels it begin to slide down his chin.
Hua Cheng’s eye waters pathetically, head swimming so badly he feels like he’s submerged in the bath. Xie Lian must sense his distress, because he loosens his grip, letting his finger push the come back into his mouth.
“Shh,” Xie Lian soothes, guiding his spend over Hua Cheng’s bottom lip, where his finger rests once it finishes feeding him the come.
Hua Cheng can’t hold back the whine that escapes him as he closes his lips around Xie Lian’s finger and sucks, eye falling somewhere between open and closed as the pulsing heat in his stomach softens to a dull warmth again. Hua Cheng sighs softly and laves his come-slick tongue against Xie Lian’s fingertip, pulling a quiet laugh from him.
Suddenly, Xie Lian presses his finger down against Hua Cheng’s tongue, pinning it to the underside of his mouth and forcing out an awful, wet little squelch that makes Hua Cheng’s cock throb. Xie Lian smiles at the sound, and Hua Cheng moans weakly, the sound stuttering in his throat.
“You really do love having your mouth full, don’t you?” Xie Lian asks, his voice fond. It’s very clear he isn’t just talking about his come.
I’m sorry, gege, Hua Cheng says in the array. It’s the pollen. I just feel like if I don’t have your come in me, I’ll die.
“That’s a bit dramatic,” Xie Lian murmurs, his finger drifting easily out of Hua Cheng’s mouth and trailing spit against his lips and chin. “Haven’t I already done that for you? Isn’t it already in you?”
If I swallow it, I can’t feel it anymore, Hua Cheng explains.
Xie Lian laughs, his face twisting into some strange mix of humor and want, and then he’s bending down to gather up Hua Cheng his arms. “Well,” he says, ignoring Hua Cheng’s muffled squawk of confusion as he secures his arms beneath him and stands, effortlessly lifting Hua Cheng out of the bath. “We can’t have that, can we?”
Water sluices down their bodies as Xie Lian stands with Hua Cheng secured in his arms. “Gege?!” Hua Cheng asks, alarmed. He can feel the weight of the water clinging to his hair, now a sopping jet-black curtain. Belatedly, Hua Cheng realizes he’s spoken aloud when he feels something warm and thick begin to trickle out of the side of his mouth, and he makes a soft, dismayed noise before sucking the come back inside.
Xie Lian steps over the threshold of the tub, water trailing behind them both as he moves. He pauses for a moment, then leans down and kisses the corner of Hua Cheng’s mouth, tongue darting out to lap up his remaining come in one stroke. “I’ll give you more of this soon,” he murmurs. “You took the edge off, but the pollen is going to catch up to me eventually.”
Hua Cheng thinks he might faint.
Yes, he groans over the array, feeling his cock throb of its own accord, no pollen needed. Fuck, gege, yes. Take me right here.
Xie Lian’s lips quirk up into a wry smile. “No,” he says simply. “I don’t want you to bruise. We’re going to need the bed.”
Fuck, Hua Cheng says.
“That’s the plan, yes,” Xie Lian says, his gaze warm and wanting.
Hua Cheng feels the last of his self-control evaporate as his hands scrabble to loop around Xie Lian’s neck and pull himself closer, still suspended in the air by his husband’s strong arms. His smile is pressed to Xie Lian’s collarbone as he relishes in his marriage to a martial god. How very lucky he is to have a husband who could manhandle and use him like a stress toy if he so wished.
“I do want that,” Xie Lian says conversationally as he steps into the bedroom. When Hua Cheng nearly chokes in his arms, he smiles and explains, “To use you like a stress toy, I mean. You’re praying, sweet boy.”
The sound that slips past Hua Cheng’s throat is a blend of embarrassment and mind-numbing lust.
As Xie Lian approaches the bedside, he promptly tosses Hua Cheng onto the mattress, and Hua Cheng becomes acutely aware of the fact that both of them are still fresh from the bath. The water from his hair and back seep into the bedding, which grows soft beneath him.
Gege, we’re soaking wet, Hua Cheng says through the array. If you don’t dry off soon, you’ll catch a cold.
“You don’t care about the bed?”
It’s water, it’ll dry.
“You’ll catch a cold, too, if we’re not careful,” Xie Lian says, clambering onto the bed and straddling Hua Cheng. “But it’s alright. I’ll warm you up.”
If Hua Cheng could open his mouth, it would be gaping. Xie Lian hovers over him, pressing soft, wet kisses to the underside of his jaw. The heat in Hua Cheng’s stomach flares again, and he whines, tilting his head back to better display the pale, unmarred column of his throat.
“Impatient,” Xie Lian laughs, dipping down to press his lips where they’re needed. He mouths at Hua Cheng’s skin, nibbling softly before he fastens his lips to Hua Cheng’s throat and sucks, his hips grinding down.
Hua Cheng moans through his teeth, but he still doesn’t open his mouth. It’s already a massive effort on his part to keep the come from sliding down his throat now that he’s lying down like this.
“You’re really not going to budge on this, are you?” Xie Lian sighs, his breath warm even against Hua Cheng’s feverish skin as he travels further down.
Hua Cheng hums, shaking his head in refusal.
In response, Xie Lian trails his lips down to Hua Cheng’s chest, closing around his softening nipple and nursing it with his tongue and the barest scrape of teeth. Hua Cheng throws his head back with a closed-mouth whine, pushing his hips up for the slightest kiss of friction, but it never comes. Instead, Xie Lian arches away from him, curling over himself at an angle to brush his lips in a slow, slick line down Hua Cheng’s stomach.
Gege, Hua Cheng complains in the array, and Xie Lian huffs out a laugh that fans across his hip.
“If I let you have your way, you’ll come before I want you to,” Xie Lian explains. By now, he’s adjusted his position to settle between Hua Cheng’s legs, lifting one to kiss its calf as he bends it back. The pollen must be affecting Xie Lian worse now, because he sways, face growing more flushed as his eyes go unfocused for a moment. He swallows, then continues, “And I want—” a pause, a shuddering breath, “I need you to come with me inside you.”
Hua Cheng groans, the noise sounding weak even to himself. It tapers off but quickly crescendos as Xie Lian drags his tongue up the inside of Hua Cheng’s thigh, stopping only to dig his teeth into the soft skin there. With a gasp, Hua Cheng writhes and makes another vain attempt to find friction for his aching cock. Xie Lian, of course, denies him.
Heat buzzes under Hua Cheng’s skin, his stomach blazing with a mix of pleasure and painful need. Hua Cheng sighs shakily as Xie Lian nips at his inner thigh. In the array, he murmurs, Gege seems to be in a biting mood today.
Xie Lian makes no move to pull away from the mark he’s bruising into Hua Cheng’s skin, his lips brushing up against it as he speaks through hot, quiet pants. “It’s starting to really get to me,” Xie Lian gasps, his expression twisted with desperation and bliss. “The— the pollen, I mean.”
And what are you going to do about it? Hua Cheng teases.
Xie Lian looks up at Hua Cheng like he’s a piece of meat, like he’s going to devour him. There’s no distinction between lust and hunger in his gaze, and Hua Cheng — pinned down and wholly enraptured by his husband — couldn’t look away even if he wanted to.
Xie Lian reaches out with his palm face-up. “Hand me the oil.”
It takes a miracle for Hua Cheng to keep from coming then and there. He scrambles for the oil they keep beside the bed, careful to make sure his skin is still touching Xie Lian’s even as he angles away. He makes a quiet noise of victory as his fingers close around the vial, and he hands it back to Xie Lian so quickly it nearly slips out of both their grips.
“Good,” Xie Lian says, his voice low and hoarse as his fingers brush against Hua Cheng’s. “Thank you, San Lang.”
He draws back to sit on his heels, pushing both of Hua Cheng’s legs up to his chest and holding them there until Hua Cheng understands what’s been implicitly asked of him. Xie Lian smiles when Hua Cheng wraps his arms around his own thighs and presses them as close to his chest as possible.
Gege, Hua Cheng says, rolling the come over his tongue to calm himself as the heat in his belly flares into a white-hot ache. He feels like he’s still submerged in the bath, his head swimming and his skin feverish to the touch. Please, Hua Cheng begs. I need you.
“I know, sweet boy,” Xie Lian murmurs. “I’ve got you.”
A fingertip, warm and slick, circles his rim as a shiver wracks Hua Cheng’s body. He moans through his teeth when it sinks into him alongside the realization that every sense has been heightened. If just one finger feels more like two or three, then how will he fare from here on out?
“Easy,” Xie Lian chides, sinking his finger all the way to the base and simpering when a ragged noise catches in Hua Cheng’s throat. “You’re clenching.”
Hua Cheng’s eye widens as he realizes he really is; his muscles are tight with anticipation, and it takes several deep breaths for him to calm down enough to loosen around Xie Lian.
“Good,” Xie Lian praises, immediately slipping another finger inside and kissing one of Hua Cheng’s dangling ankles. His fingers scissor apart as he stretches Hua Cheng open, praising him all the while. “You’re doing so well for me, San Lang. Keep your—” Xie Lian pauses, face twisting into a grimace. “Ah, keep your legs… up…” he pants, shivering once.
This must be the pollen, Hua Cheng realizes. If it’s anything like what he’s experiencing, Xie Lian needs something to sate the heat churning in him. Hua Cheng just needs to figure out what that something is while he’s still able to think straight.
Gege, Hua Cheng croaks through the array. Are you alright?
“I’m fine, San La— ah!” Xie Lian cuts himself off with a gasp as another shudder runs through him, jostling his hand just enough for the pads of his fingers to brush up against Hua Cheng’s prostate.
Hua Cheng wails, his cock twitching and dribbling precome over his stomach. His hips jerk forward, desperate to shove himself back onto Xie Lian’s withdrawing fingers, but it seems he doesn’t need to; Xie Lian does all the work for him, letting out a distressed noise as he thrusts his fingers back inside with fervor. The pace quickens until Hua Cheng can hardly take a breath as his husband’s long, slender fingers work him open.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian groans. His hips grind down in a blind search for friction as he fucks his fingers into Hua Cheng, a dazed look clouding his eyes. “San Lang, is it good?”
Hua Cheng nods frantically as his closed mouth mutes his warbling moans. Gege, it’s so good, he calls out in the array, his voice shaking. More. Please, more, I need more, I need—
Hua Cheng nearly opens his mouth to cry out when a third finger joins the other two, massaging the most sensitive part of him with each thrust inside.
“So good like this,” Xie Lian babbles. “You’re so perfect like this, San Lang.” He grabs one of Hua Cheng’s raised legs with his free hand and shoves it back down onto the bed, prompting a startled noise from Hua Cheng as Xie Lian drapes himself over his side.
He’s still fucking Hua Cheng open with his fingers, slick and filthy noises coaxed out into the warm air. Like this, though, Xie Lian is close enough to kiss, his arm straining to stretch out far enough to accommodate his new position.
“Come here,” Xie Lian says quietly, pressing a loose kiss to the underside of Hua Cheng’s jaw. His breath is so hot it almost stings as his mouth trails over to Hua Cheng’s. They kiss, Hua Cheng eager to use his closed mouth for something, but Xie Lian falters, pulling back for a moment to meet Hua Cheng’s gaze. His eyes are searching — confused, dazed, a little disoriented. “Kiss me,” he says, pressing his lips to the corner of Hua Cheng’s.
When Hua Cheng kisses him again, he refuses the tongue that prods against his lips. Xie Lian’s come is warm in his mouth, thick on his tongue, and oh, Hua Cheng wishes he could just swallow it and wreck Xie Lian, but the thought of letting it go without having more to replace it makes his stomach roil.
Xie Lian huffs when he pulls back. “Why won’t you kiss—” he pauses. Hua Cheng watches as his face changes from realization to frustration, then to a mischievous kind of determination that spells trouble for Hua Cheng. “...Fine.”
Gege…?
Xie Lian’s fingers leave him abruptly, and Hua Cheng keens, wet and clenching around nothing. He feels like he’s suffocating in the heat that suddenly blankets him as Xie Lian rolls off him and breaks contact for a split second. The distance and lack of touch pulls a wounded noise from both of them, but Xie Lian is quick to reach out and grab Hua Cheng, sighing in relief at the contact.
“Okay,” Xie Lian whispers, his voice determined — as if he’s steeling himself for something.
Several things happen at once.
Xie Lian rolls off his side as his arm slides under Hua Cheng and drags him forward by the waist. With his back to the bed, Xie Lian pulls Hua Cheng on top of him so quickly that there’s no time to react. The shock and sudden movement are already beginning to part Hua Cheng’s lips with a gasp when Xie Lian grabs a fistful of his hair and yanks him down.
It’s then that Hua Cheng cries out from surprise and pleasure, mouth falling open, and the come trails out in a long, thick thread that falls promptly onto Xie Lian’s waiting tongue. The heat in Hua Cheng’s stomach lurches, and he sobs at the loss, feeling empty as tears begin to leave silvery tracks down his cheek. Xie Lian, for his part, is unperturbed. He grins at the heartbreak twisting Hua Cheng’s face and reaches up to thumb away the tears with his clean hand.
“Why would you—” Hua Cheng’s mouth feels sticky, and his voice is a little hoarse from disuse. It cracks when he next speaks: “Gege, I was— I’m so empty, gege, I can’t, I can’t—”
“I know,” Xie Lian interrupts softly, tugging him down again for a kiss that Hua Cheng meets eagerly, desperate for some sort of salve to the ache inside him. Their lips part, and Xie Lian licks into his mouth, his tongue pushing something inside and oh, his god is so clever, so creative, so considerate.
“This way, I can kiss you,” Xie Lian rasps against his mouth, pushing more of his spend past his lips, “and you can keep your mouth full.”
Hua Cheng chokes on another sob, this time out of gratitude and overwhelming, dizzying want. Xie Lian swallows it up, and they lose themselves for a while, the heat in both of them sated temporarily. Xie Lian moves to sit up, guiding Hua Cheng up with him until they envelop each other. It’s easier for them to roll the come between their mouths now, passing it back and forth at their leisure. Like this, Hua Cheng finds that as long as they keep kissing, he isn’t as devastated by the prospect of losing Xie Lian’s spend entirely. He’ll get more soon, so for now he’s content to moan against his husband’s lips and atone for all the closed-mouth kisses he gave earlier.
When Hua Cheng begins to rut his hips against Xie Lian’s stomach, his swollen cock desperate for attention, Xie Lian laughs and pulls away, falling back onto the mattress so that he lies flat. His face is messy, a ring of spit circling his mouth, but he looks as beautiful as ever. His eyes are still hazy with lust, but they’re clear enough for Hua Cheng to recognize the pure adoration that simmers alongside it.
“Do you want me like this?” Xie Lian asks. His fingers slip between Hua Cheng’s thighs and find his rim again, circling it gently before sinking in to test the stretch.
Hua Cheng takes a moment to sigh and push back onto Xie Lian’s fingers, and then he comprehends the question and how easily it had been asked — with Hua Cheng straddling his lap, three slick fingers buried inside him, Xie Lian had stared up coyly at his husband and made a request within a question.
‘Do you want me like this,’ he’d said — and meant, ‘Will you ride me?’
For the first time in a long, long while, Hua Cheng feels like he can’t breathe. For once, he needs it, but the haze of arousal wafting through the air curls tight around his throat and chokes him. Hua Cheng gasps and writhes at the acute awareness of the fact that he’s empty, so empty as the heat roils in him. It’s caustic as it surges through his veins like blood, and it hurts.
Frantically, Hua Cheng nods, scrambling to shuffle forward until he’s hovering over Xie Lian’s hips. “Please,” he whispers, trembling when he realizes he left the come in Xie Lian’s mouth. “Please, can I— I need you, gege, need your cock, I— please please please I need it please—”
“I know,” Xie Lian says, his voice strained. Hua Cheng is sure the look in his eye must be wild and primal, but it only seems to spur Xie Lian on as he reaches out to stroke Hua Cheng’s arm, the closest thing he can reach. “I know. I’ve got you. Go— go ahead, San Lang.”
Moaning with the wave of relief that soaks him, Hua Cheng reaches down to press the head of Xie Lian’s cock against his hole. He breathes in and readies himself to let it breach him, but he suddenly freezes, a wave of desperation overtaking him.
“San Lang?”
“I know, gege, I…” Hua Cheng squeezes his eye shut. It’s so much, it’s too much, and he can’t take it unless he knows — “Will you come in me?”
Xie Lian swallows thickly and shudders, groaning. “Of course I will,” he says, his voice breathy.
“A lot?”
“If that’s what you need.”
“What if I need it over and over again?” Hua Cheng asks, his voice so soft and hesitant that it’s almost drowned out by Xie Lian’s panting. He opens his eye hesitantly and finds Xie Lian’s shut just as tightly as Hua Cheng’s was.
“As much as you want,” Xie Lian groans, some of his own come threatening to spill out of his mouth as he speaks. His hands raise to clutch Hua Cheng’s hips, digging into the soft skin hard enough to bruise. Xie Lian swallows his spend thickly and promises, “As many times as you want, San Lang, please just—”
“Okay,” Hua Cheng breathes, still trembling. “Okay, gege, I’ll…” He lines Xie Lian’s cock up with himself again and watches as golden eyes flutter halfway open, dazed and wanting.
Hua Cheng can’t help but let the tip sink inside just to watch the way pleasure twists his beloved’s face. He does not account for his own pleasure, though, or the fact that it’s been magnified to a nearly unbearable intensity. He’s careless as the head of Xie Lian’s cock sinks into him, but he swiftly pays for it as his mouth stretches wide to accommodate the moan that’s torn from his throat. “Gege,” he whimpers, his voice cracking even at this volume.
“I know,” Xie Lian gasps. “Go slow, sweet boy, don’t hurt yourself—!”
But Hua Cheng can’t wait anymore. He might die again if he isn’t full right this instant, so he forces himself down further, desperate to take in all of Xie Lian.
Mere seconds stretch into hours as Hua Cheng feels the initial slide in its slow, agonizing entirety. It’s exactly what he needed, exactly how he wanted to be filled. Halfway down, though, his eye widens as his legs begin to tremble violently, like they’re about to fail him. Hua Cheng barely has enough time to think, “I fucked up,” and look frantically to his startled, blissed-out husband before his body really does start to fail him, his knees shuddering again before they give out entirely.
Hua Cheng only manages to quiver and gasp, “I fucked uhnn—” before he finds himself seated, full of Xie Lian’s cock, and his vision whites out.
Hua Cheng feels his orgasm in brief moments of clarity, bits and pieces of what surely lasts several minutes. He falls forward immediately, collapsing onto Xie Lian’s heaving chest with a sob; his hips try desperately to fuck back onto the heat spearing him open, but manage only a few thrusts; Xie Lian’s hands curl tight around his hips and guide him up, down, up, down, and up again until they’ve found a punishing rhythm; Hua Cheng’s fingers scrabble for purchase against Xie Lian’s skin, still damp from the bath; Hua Cheng’s hips fail him, refusing to cooperate and forcing a pitiful, helpless whine out of him; and finally, Xie Lian groans and takes matters into his own hands, fucking Hua Cheng until his mouth struggles to form words that aren’t gege, gege, gege.
Hua Cheng is shaking when he begins to drift back into his body just in time to feel Xie Lian shift his hips and grind directly against his prostate. The heat still courses through his veins, but it’s enjoyable now, a gentle companion to the mind-numbing pleasure that wracks his body. Both surge as Hua Cheng presses his face against Xie Lian’s collarbone and weeps, jolting violently with each thrust. Xie Lian doesn’t fare much better below him — the sounds he makes are guttural, torn from him as filth rolls off his lips in the form of staggered praise.
“So perfect,” Xie Lian gasps, cutting himself off with a lewd moan. “You take my cock so well, my— ah- ah—fuck!”
Hua Cheng sobs into his chest, his lips brushing against Xie Lian’s skin as he whines, “Gege, gege I— gege, oh—!”
Xie Lian groans, still drilling into him, his hands still clutching Hua Cheng’s hips like a lifeline. Hua Cheng tries desperately to meet Xie Lian’s thrusts with his own and is fairly successful. He can feel his rim pulsing as it sucks Xie Lian in, almost like it wants to milk him dry, and the thought makes him tremble.
Xie Lian’s hips stutter, growing erratic in their thrusts. Xie Lian still fucks him hard, though, just as hard as he needs, and Hua Cheng feels his orgasm buzzing under his skin, waiting for permission, waiting for…
“Gonna come,” Xie Lian gasps out. His arms circle Hua Cheng’s waist and pull him impossibly closer as he moans, “I’m gonna— San Lang, I’m gonna—”
“Yes!” Hua Cheng wails, growing warmer, hotter, blistering. “Fuck, gege, come in me, I need you to come in me, please— my god, I need it, need you I need you I—”
Xie Lian’s hips jerk as he comes with a loud cry of Hua Cheng’s name, spilling inside him and fucking it deeper. Hua Cheng’s entire body thrums with pleasure and satisfaction as he holds onto Xie Lian for dear life, drinking in every moan, every whimper, every stray curse. “Gege,” he cries, voice warbling as he’s filled exactly how he’d begged for. “I love you so much.”
“I love you,” Xie Lian croaks, keening as he drives up into Hua Cheng with a newfound vigor. “I need you to come like this, San Lang, I need— ngh, just like this…”
“I will,” Hua Cheng promises him, whimpering as he presses his tear-streaked cheek against Xie Lian’s chest again, the heat in his belly flaring — still pleasant, but so intense it burns.
“Love you,” Hua Cheng sobs out, trembling as he begins to babble, “love— love you, gege, I love you so m—oh, fuck!”
“Come here,” Xie Lian says, pulling Hua Cheng forward by the shoulders until they’re face-to-face, Hua Cheng hovering over him. “Let me kiss you properly,” he orders, then surges up to sear kisses against Hua Cheng’s jaw, his pace regaining its rhythm and finding a new angle to ruin him from.
Xie Lian’s lips slide hot and wet over Hua Cheng’s cheek in search of his mouth, and when the two meet in a kiss that’s more panting than anything, Hua Cheng feels himself creeping towards the edge. “Love you,” Xie Lian says against his lips, fucking Hua Cheng so hard he thinks he might die.
He thinks of the position they’re in, wonders how messy he must look, wonders how much come will run down his thighs when they’re done here, and—
“Close,” Hua Cheng chokes out, moaning into Xie Lian’s mouth. “Fuck, gege, love you, I love you, I— gege, love you so much, fuck, I—!”
Hua Cheng comes again, and the moment escapes him once more, revealing itself in short bursts of memory — his rim fluttering around Xie Lian’s cock, the tears that roll into his mouth, the sweet nothings and I-love-yous that Xie Lian whispers against his lips when his mouth is pliant enough to allow it. “Gege,” he sobs, “gege, gege, gege—”
“I’m here,” Xie Lian promises as he fucks Hua Cheng through the vestiges of his orgasm, gasping and whining along with him. “Good boy… Oh, San Lang, my San Lang. You did so good for me, beloved.”
“Gege…” Hua Cheng whimpers. He’s satisfied, but it’s not enough. His cock throbs against Xie Lian’s stomach, pulsing in a pool of its own come, inexplicably even harder now. When Hua Cheng clenches around Xie Lian, he realizes he hasn’t softened, either. “We’re still—”
“I know,” Xie Lian says breathily, panting hard. “Again?”
Hua Cheng moans. “Please. Until it’s out of our systems.”
“How many times will that be?” Xie Lian asks, grinding up into him slowly.
Grinning, Hua Cheng leans down and captures his lips, pulling away just enough to murmur, “Let’s find out,” and rolls his hips once more.
-
Hua Cheng stops counting after they reach double digits. By then, neither he nor Xie Lian have the mind to do anything but roll around and kiss to the rhythm of their grinding.
When it’s over, when Hua Cheng feels his cock finally soften and his body returns to its natural coolness, Hua Cheng heaves a sigh of relief and turns over to cup Xie Lian’s cheek.
His husband is breathing hard, his face flushed, cheeks wet and splotchy from the tears that stain them. His tired eyes flutter when he feels Hua Cheng’s hand against him, smiling weakly and pressing his face into the cradle of Hua Cheng’s palm.
“Well,” Xie Lian murmurs, “I think we’ll sleep through the night tonight.”
Hua Cheng laughs. “En, I’d hope so.”
Xie Lian is quiet for a moment, then hums, his blush deepening. “I liked it.”
“I did, too,” says Hua Cheng with a soft smile, leaning up to kiss the tip of his nose. “A little painful at the start, but— fun.”
“Fun,” Xie Lian echoes, glancing around their poor, poor bedding. There isn’t a single spot on their bed that hasn’t been thoroughly defiled; Hua Cheng is closer to replacing the sheets entirely than he is to scrubbing them clean.
Xie Lian may be looking at the aftermath of their coupling, but Hua Cheng can only turn a reverent eye to every inch of his god, his love, his beautiful husband. He pauses as he takes in Xie Lian’s lithe body and finds his cock, spent but slowly filling out again.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng grins.
Xie Lian freezes, glances down, and sees what captured Hua Cheng’s attention. “That’s— don’t worry about that, San Lang, let’s just go clean up.”
“Or,” Hua Cheng says, his voice honeyed and low. “I could take care of you.”
Xie Lian’s teeth sink into his bottom lip for a moment. “That would be nice, but… Ah, we really should hurry.”
Hua Cheng rises from the bed, standing on weakened legs and gathering Xie Lian into his arms wordlessly.
“San Lang?!” Xie Lian yelps as he’s carried towards the bathroom, but settles when he’s given no answer.
Hua Cheng seats Xie Lian on the tubside and leans down, lifting one hand to trail up the marred column of his throat. His fingertips trace lines between each bruise and bite before finally settling beneath Xie Lian’s chin and tilting it up. Hua Cheng meets his wide eyes with a smile and kisses him chastely for a moment, pulling away only when he feels the barest hint of a tongue against his lips.
Xie Lian pouts. Hua Cheng cannot resist this, so he foregoes the teasing — most of it, anyway — and kisses Xie Lian again. It’s a short, sweet peck that leaves them both wanting. “Gege has such excellent ideas,” Hua Cheng purrs as he pulls back, hunger sparking in him as he grins wolfishly. “We won’t make a mess in here, will we?”
Hua Cheng barely has a chance to take a breath before Xie Lian yanks him back down and slots their mouths together, sighing softly and guiding Hua Cheng’s hand where he wants it most.
“Perfect,” Hua Cheng murmurs against his lips. “My god, my love, so perfect.”
Xie Lian lets a happy little noise slip into the kiss as he deepens it. There isn’t much need for words after that.