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As far as missions went, it wasn't the worst Liu Qingge had faced — despite the unasked for company hulking by his side, matching wing beat for wing beat. All in all, it was relatively simple: find the creature causing problems, kill said creature, harvest the body for useful parts. Simple. Just the way Liu Qingge preferred it.
Ignoring the man flying beside him, Liu Qingge squinted against the midday sun and scanned the scenery sprawling out below him. They were getting close to the last area the beast had been seen in and it was evident in the landscape. Large swathes of forest had been uprooted, leaving behind pock-marked scars of deep red earth. Liu Qingge's eyes traced the trails that had begun to form up a steep hillside making the earth appear to weep. His companion said something but it was lost to the wind and Liu Qingge's single-minded concentration. A wing beat. Two. Then, there, a flash of silvery scales winding its way up the hill side. Liu Qingge held up a hand, the only warning he offered his companion, before tucking his wings in tight to his body and letting gravity take him into high-speed free fall.
Luo Binghe's annoyed shout dispersed quickly in the thin air so high up. He grit his teeth in frustration and watched the blue and silver shape rocket downwards at speeds that whipped and tore at hair and clothes. It was always a sight to see Liu Qingge fly even as Luo Binghe began his begrudgingly slower descent, circling down the thermals in grand circles better suited to his broad and powerful wings. The half-demon's eagle-like wings weren't made to dive in the same way. Not that he hadn't tried as a youth. Tried and failed miserably, half suffocating from the speed before slamming shoulder first into a tree in his uncontrolled dive. His nose smarted and itched just thinking about it again. He kept his gaze on Liu Qingge's form until it disappeared into the tree line. Luo Binghe was still several li above the drop zone but he assumed Liu-shishu couldn't get into that much trouble in such a short amount of time.
It was just like Luo Binghe to underestimate the War God.
—
Liu Qingge's wings twitched and pivoted in small movements, adjusting his trajectory as he sped through the air. All the while, his eyes remained locked on his prey— tracking it as it slithered further up the mountainside. Each glint of silver in the sun light further confirmed that this was the right beast. Shen Qingqiu and Mu Qingfang had sat him down to discuss the particulars of the Winged Whatever Sun-beast but Liu Qingge frankly hadn't cared enough to remember beyond what needed to be harvested and that the beast was a dangerous challenge.
First contact with the creature was a precise slice across its hide with Cheng Luan. Liu Qingge's wings flared and flapped to slow him down as he cleared the beast, flicking blood off the blade as he twisted to face off again. There was a low, dry, rattling hiss and a current of air as the thing's tail came out of nowhere to swipe at him. His wings ached with the speed of his wing beats but he managed enough air to slip up and over the tail, retaliating with a quick parry and thrust. The creature thrashed again, this time a tight twitching spasm that knocked him out of the air and in the bushes on the other side of the trench the beast's body had dug over many trips. Liu Qingge folded his wings tightly around him and rolled with the momentum until he slowed enough to right himself. The fact that Luo Binghe finally circled down enough to laugh when his Shishu's head popped out of a bush, hair full of leaves, was irrelevant. Liu Qingge assessed his enemy as it began to coil defensively.
It was a beautiful animal, the sort he would present to Shen Qingqiu whole if opportunity allowed. Even coiled, it was massive. The head stood as tall as six men with four to five thick coils around it. Behind the beast's silver-scaled head, several sets of comparatively small iridescent wings grew. Each of the wings was as long as a man was tall and they shimmered hypnotically in the sun, drawing Liu Qingge's attention away from the large warning rattle on the thing's tail. The wings flicked and flared in unison, forming a blazing halo around the sleekly pointed skull. Then the thing opened its mouth and spat a beam of searing energy at Liu Qingge. He blinked, fighting off the sudden urge to stay still or draw close and scrambled out of the bush to get clear. Luo Binghe approached from the opposite side, helping to flank the giant beast.
Liu Qingge, now slightly singed around the edges, deflected the next blast with a powerful sword glare, cutting into the ground and sending blinding dust and debris toward his foe. The great serpentine head hissed and shook with fury as it attempted to clear its eyes. Enraged, the snake thrashed and curled around the cleared space of the path, throwing its body this way and that as it rampaged. Both cultivators had taken wing to avoid the danger of being caught on the ground by the heavy coils. Luo Binghe swooped first, slicing a long line down the serpent's spine. Some of the blood spray caught on his robes and immediately began to fizz and disintegrate the cloth.
"The blood is acidic," this Liu Qingge remembered from the information onslaught.
Luo Binghe leveled him with an unamused look. "Never would have guessed."
Before either could continue their banter, the snake writhed again, forcing them back on the defensive. The beast coiled, flared its head wings, and lunged at the first thing it saw: Liu Qingge.
With alacrity, the War God raised his sword to meet his foe, twisting this way and that in the air. This was the sort of battlefield where he thrived. He feinted in a dizzyingly tight spin as the serpent's fangs grazed his hair. The thrill of a good fight filled him and he pressed the advantage until he was face to face with his opponent. The snake bowed its head as if in surrender, Liu Qingge readied his blade. Then those damned head wings came up again with their dazzling patterns.
Luo Binghe shouted distantly but Liu Qingge didn't hear it, too enraptured by the serpent's spell. He snapped back to reality with a crack as Luo Binghe bodily shoved him out of the way of the yawning mouth outstretched toward him.
"Wake! Up!" Luo Binghe screeched in his ear, hands coming up automatically to protect the other man's neck as they barrelled through the air space. Liu Qingge blinked at him owlishly then seemed to realize how tightly they were pressed together.
"I'm fine!" Liu Qingge shoved the brat in the face with a palm, twisting out of the embrace with heated cheeks. He flexed his wings and took his own weight in the air.
"That's the second time it's caught you," the half demon accused.
"And it'll be the last."
Liu Qingge fished around in his qiankin pouch, still zipping and dodging through the air as the snake hissed and struck the empty space behind his heel. Finally his questing fingers found what they were looking for. One of Mingyan's veils. He folded the fabric up into a simple gauzy strip of material and tied it over his eyes.
"You cannot be serious." Luo Binghe said flatly.
Liu Qingge shrugged and let his awareness of the space spread outward. Each sound amplified and snapped into place as Liu Qingge pulsed his qi in and out to scan the area around him. He was looking for absences— walls where there shouldn't be walls. With his opponent's constant movement it was disorienting at first, a shifting, scaled labyrinth, and a few near misses of the deadly fangs. Gradually, Liu Qingge oriented himself. Having found his center— surrounded by the walls on all sides— he struck out and upwards in a flash of cold steel. The beast's mouth closed around him.
Luo Binghe watched in abstract horror as the Crest-Winged Sun-beast's mouth closed around his Shishu. He swooped in, unthinking, as the tip of Cheng Luan erupted from the top of the beast's mouth and the whole creature seized as though electrocuted. Shizun was going to lose it if Liu Qingge was harmed. Luo Binghe was going to lose it.
The beast went slack, sinking to the earthen floor in a heap. Its mouth fell open baring deadly fangs and one now very wet Liu Qingge, slumped and unmoving.
"Shishu!"
Luo Binghe hit the ground hard, his knees jarring with the impact as he rushed over. He gathered up the sodden man in his arms, jostling around wings and wet fabric. A hand came up and smeared goop all over his face. In his arms, Liu Qingge coughed once, twice, and wrested himself from Luo Binghe's hands.
"One snake is hardly a problem. You worry too much," Liu Qingge rasped.
Liu Qingge wiped a hand over his face and shook his wrist briskly to rid himself of the slime. It stuck to his hand: thick and wet. He grimaced and pulled himself further from the snake's corpse.
"And you don't worry enough." Luo Binghe sniped. Mingyan's ruined veil was tossed in the brat's direction. Luo Binghe swatted it out of the air before it made contact, frowning at the muck now coating his hand.
"Shen Qingqiu worries enough for both of us."
Liu Qingge lowered himself to the ground to take out the necessary items for harvesting: knives, specially treated cloths, a tarp to lay the bounty on. Luo Binghe approached from behind, putting his hand on Liu Qingge's shoulder.
"That's exactly the problem. You throw yourself into this and we're the ones left to worry about it. You're giving Shizun gray hairs. Multiple. It's sent him into a state."
Luo Binghe knelt and picked up one of the blades, turning it this way and that before continuing quietly. "What would have happened to you today if I hadn't been here?"
Liu Qingge rolled his eyes and butted his shoulder against Luo Binghe. "I would have figured it out. It's…good that you were here though. I can admit that much."
Though it was clear that the half-demon was still troubled, they got to work harvesting the requesting parts and pieces of the serpent. They had to work quickly lest the acidic blood begin to spoil the organs or other rare materials. The work was done in methodical silence though Luo Binghe opened his mouth several times as though intending speak. Ultimately, he held his tongue.
Once the harvest was done, Liu Qingge found that the slime enrobing him had dried rather stiffly. His wings felt crusty and dry and weren't responsive as he tried to move them. He grunted and sat to try and clean his wings. It was a struggle. Without being able to move his wings independently, there was no way to truly clean them. He twisted this way and that and met with little success. Frustrated, he blew the hair out of his eyes and rose awkwardly. The clumped and folded state of his wings made shifting his weight a hindrance.
"Brat."
Luo Binge was instantly at attention across the clearing where he had been preparing a small campsite. The sun was starting to get low across the horizon.
"Oh, now you want to talk?"
Liu Qingge sighed, the half-demon's hot blooded nature was a headache sometimes. "Which way to the river we saw on the way in?"
"Scout it yourself," Luo Binghe grumbled. He went back to preparing their cooking fire, seemingly ignoring his elder.
Seeing that the demon would be no help, Liu Qingge stalked off in annoyance. His clothes and wings were uncomfortably stiff, bordering on painful for the trapped feathers, which made the whole ordeal awkward. The weight of Luo Binghe's stare was palpable until he reached deeply enough into the tree line. He trudged through the low lying brush on a mission. With time, he felt familiar eyes on him again, alternating which direction they watched from as though herding him toward an intended destination. If Luo Binghe wanted to be helpful in his own petulant way, Liu Qingge wouldn't begrudge him. Besides, the sooner he was clean, the better. The base of his wings was starting to itch.
When the stream came into view, it was a relief. Liu Qingge waded in fully clothed as the garments were simply too stiff to be removed on their own. The coolness of the water was refreshing as he washed the gunk and grit from his face. The eyes never strayed from their point on the river bank. Liu Qingge was half tempted to call out but he didn't think the half-demon's temper had subsided yet. Slowly, the fibers around him softened in the water enough that he could strip down, plopping his clothes down on a nearby rock. In a fit of his own pique, he thought of trying to do so seductively the way Shen Qingqiu often did unconsciously. The thought was quickly dismissed. Liu Qingge had no grace and skill in that regard and that was fine by him— most of the time.
"Are you just going to watch or are you going to help?" He called out, naked as the day he was born. There was still the matter of Liu Qingge's wings and being unable to clean them properly on his own.
Luo Binghe stepped out from behind a tree into view.
"Are you going to listen next time or just charge in without thinking again?" Luo Binghe griped, even as he began shedding his outer layers and hanging them up on a tree branch neatly without breaking eye contact. There was a heated quality to Luo Binghe's gaze now, a predator on the hunt. Still clad in his inner robes, Luo Binghe entered the water.
Liu Qingge shrugged noncommittally, he'd answer the next situation as needed, and got to work on his hair. He was rinsing a second time when he felt Luo Binghe's body heat behind him, crowding in around him. The brat was always annoyingly good at making his presence known when he wanted. Liu Qingge offered up his back willingly, trying to spread his wings as much as he could. Which, given their sorry state, wasn't much at all.
Luo Binghe ran his hands over the feathers, drawing a shudder from the war god. Despite the arrangement he'd come to with his lovers, he was still unused to being touched. Particularly so intimately. Wings were one's life and not given over to others' touch lightly. Luo Binghe carefully began working out the debris caught in his Shishu's feathers. Bits of leaves and grit fell away as Liu Qingge shivered at the careful touch and cooling water around him. Gentle fingers worked out the remaining muck and grime starting from his wing tips until all that was left was the base of his wings. Strong and sure hands cupped the base of his wings and the sensation tore a moan from Liu Qingge's throat. Both men startled at the unexpected sound. There was a breath, two, then Luo Binghe was pressed tight against Liu Qingge's back, mouth soft and wet on the war god's ear.
"Do that again, Shishu." A soft demand but a demand none the less. Firm and questing fingers followed, wrapping around delicate connection points in a way that made Liu Qingge moan again.
"Stop that, it feels— it feels too good."
The more Luo Binghe's fingers worked, the more boneless and fuzzy-headed Liu Qingge became, sagging against his partner as those fingers continued their wicked work where feather met flesh. Luo Binghe bit and suckled at Liu Qingge's neck, marking his territory as his hands drove Liu Qingge out of his mind. Only once Liu Qingge had begun to arch his hips back into Luo Binghe did the half-demon pause, bringing his hands downward to kneed at Liu Qingge's hips. He herded his Shishu toward the rock where the war god's clothes lay, urging him up to balance on the stone. Half sprawled out before him, Luo Binghe took a moment to appreciate the sight. It was no secret that Liu Qingge's form was divine, but like this? Naked in the last golden touches of light and flushed with bullied arousal all for Luo Binghe? The half-demon gave in to his urges and pressed forward to lick the water from Liu Qingge's collarbones. He carved a trail of open mouthed kisses and sucking bites down the man's body, supping water and the increasingly breathy sighs like fine wine. He paid careful attention the tender flesh of Liu Qingge's ribs, the jut of his pelvis, and the finely corded muscles of his thighs.
"Get on with it!" A blushing Liu Qingge demanded, looking away and trying to cover his mouth to hide how winded he sounded. The man had been ignoring the pulsing heat between his thighs despite the way it twitched in the cooling evening air. His brat surely meant to drive him to madness. Luo Binghe's mean streak was a treat reserved for Liu Qingge, someone who could handle it despite his protests, particularly when Luo Binghe was upset with him.
Luo Binghe hummed and sucked a deep bruise into Liu Qingge's thigh, so close to where the war god leaked and twitched. He continued his journey downward, the soft flesh behind Liu Qingge's knees, the thick meat of his calves. Nothing was safe from Luo Binghe's appetite. Finally, a breathless Liu Qingge grabbed Luo Binghe by the ponytail and hauled him bodily to where Liu Qingge needed him most.
"Stop playing around already," Luo Binghe heard the hint of a plea and decided to let Liu Qingge have this round.
Slowly, he traced from the thin skin of the base to the purpling tip with his tongue, making Liu Qingge bite back a swear. Luo Binghe rolled the tip into his mouth, tasting fresh salt and warm skin, before dropping down to suck just below the head in a way that really did make Liu Qingge swear.
"If you keep teasing like that, this will be over before you start." Liu Qingge warned.
This, Luo Binghe was familiar with. It was an open secret and point of delight for both he and Shen Qingqiu how much of a quick shot their lover was. His body was so responsive, giving so much for so little. It drove Luo Binghe to distraction with how erotic he found it. He propped up the weeping glans of his lover on his outstretched tongue, waiting until Liu Qingge glanced down to see what the hold up was. Once they made eye contact, Luo Binghe closed his mouth around Liu Qingge's cock to begin a torturous slide down to the base. As he swallowed around such a pretty thing, he pressed his nose as deeply as he could into Liu Qingge's pelvis, inhaling as much as he could of the scent of warm, musky skin and sweat salt. Liu Qingge gaped, mouth falling open in a silent scream as the muscles of Luo Binghe's throat milked him. One of the war god's hands fell from Luo Binghe's hair to prop himself up as his thighs clamped down around the sides of the half-demon's head, ankles locking together like a vice.
It didn't give Luo Binghe much space to move but for this part, he didn't need it. He pulled back just enough to bring the cock out of his throat and took a quick breath before diving back again, working Liu Qingge with the tease of his throat. It was a surefire way to drive Liu Qingge over the edge and quickly. It wasn't long at all before the war god was tugging at Luo Binghe's hair even as his legs were still clamped around the man.
"Wait— wait I'm gonna," Liu Qingge panted.
Luo Binghe continued his efforts, ignoring the ache in his scalp and the growing dark spots in his vision from lack of oxygen. Any moment now and— the taste of semen hit his palate, flooding Luo Binghe's mouth with salted musk. He let Liu Qingge ride out his own orgasm with little aborted twitches of his hips against Luo Binghe's tongue. When Liu Qingge's hips slowed and his thighs fell away, Luo Binghe rose from his crouched stance in the water to bring his face to Liu Qingge's. The war god's eyes fluttered open, hazy and unfocused before they slowly settled on Luo Binghe. The half-demon pulled away enough to stick out his tongue, showing his prize, before making a show of swallowing. Liu Qingge halfheartedly punched his shoulder.
"Indecent," he muttered, still flushing from the top of his head and down onto his chest.
Luo Binghe grinned. "You like it though."
The half-demon pressed in for a kiss, tongue tracing Liu Qingge's lips to request entry. Luo Binghe knew how much the half remembered taste of himself would get Liu Qingge ready to go again. They embraced as the last of the light fell away, the sun finally over the horizon. When they finally parted, Liu Qingge's lips were as swollen and rosy as Luo Binghe's own.
"Roll over for me," Luo Binghe requested.
Liu Qingge grumbled but complied, presenting the long line of his back and spreading his drying wings out over the water to give Luo Binghe space to work. The half-demon pulled a jar of ointment from his sleeve and coated his fingers, tracing them down the graceful line of Liu Qingge's spine before parting his cheeks to pet his furl. Thankfully the war god was still loose from the last time they'd laid together before the mission. It meant Luo Binghe didn't need to be as careful. Not that Liu Qingge seemed to have any problems when Luo Binghe came to him with urgency. Quite the opposite in fact.
"You're always so responsive for me, for us." Luo Binghe sank inside to the first knuckle, twisting and spreading his fingers.
Liu Qingge grunted and pushed his hips back for more. His body felt ready enough, despite the way every time was a stretch.
"Hurry up, it's going to get cold fast with the sun down. You always take so long," he griped.
Privately, Luo Binghe agreed with him but still chose to take his time working up to three then four fingers. Even if Liu Qingge could take it, Luo Binghe still wanted it to a pleasurable experience. It wasn't until Liu Qingge turned over his shoulder to glare at his lover that Luo Binghe decided that this was probably enough. He slicked himself up with more ointment and pushed in with a groan. Liu Shishu was always so tight and warm around him.
Liu Qingge's head dropped as he breathed through the stretch. It was always intense but Liu Qingge found he liked it like that. It felt…grounding in a way, forcing him to be in his body as it was pulled and stretched around the thick girth. He focused on his breathing as Luo Binghe seated himself fully. It was too soon to get hard again but Liu Qingge felt his cock give a valiant twitch of interest at the proceedings. The half-demon draped himself over his lover's back as he reached as deeply as he could, pressing a kiss to the back of the shorter man's shoulder as they shared a few breathes. He could tell Liu Qingge had adjusted by the way the war god squirmed on his cock, pushing back into the press and wriggling his hips.
"You can move already," Liu Qingge said flatly and received a warning nip to his ear in response. To be touched after a life lived without it made the sensation all the more electric. The full bodied contact between them turned everything sparking and electric. He felt the persistent heat in his ears and chest, burying his warm face in his folded arms to hide from his lover.
"So demanding." There was laughter in Luo Binghe's voice as he levered himself more upright. The adjustment of the angle made Liu Qingge's hole clench, pulling a satisfied smirk from the half-demon.
Luo Binghe canted his hips and began slowly, running his mouth all the while in a way that would normally have Liu Qingge reprimanding him. Instead, the war god gasped and shook as he took what was given, trying to snark between breathes and doing a pitiful job of it. Where his mouth protested, his body was honest in its wants. Luo Binghe picked up the pace, licking sweat off his upper lip before diving in the nibble at the tender spot where feather met flesh. Liu Qingge moaned, writhed, and attempted to kick his lover, leg splaying out into empty air. Luo Binghe laughed and kept at it, seeing how it made the war god whine and buck with each kiss and bite.
"Look at how your body wants me, just this has you clenching like you want to wring me dry Shishu." Luo Binghe murmured amidst the soft down. He braced a hand where he'd been nibbling but it slipped in the growing puddle of sweat in the divot of Liu Qingge's spine. Luo Binghe's hand closed on a sensitive wing, pinning it against its owner's body.
The effect was immediate. Liu Qingge gasped, high and tight, his body arching like a bow as his insides clamped down near painfully before pulsing in a rhythm that matched the oozing come from his cock. Luo Binghe was speechless. His lover often came quickly, that was true, but never so immediately as though it had been wrenched out of the deepest part of him with no mind to decency or the work Luo Binghe himself had put in. It took a moment to process even as his body moved of its own accord, thrusting hard and grasping the wing tighter. Liu Qingge's garbled cry was all the confirmation the half-demon needed. He picked up his pace and adjusted his position so he could grasp both wings like handle bars. All thoughts beyond continuing to fuck fled from his mind.
Liu Qingge bellowed his pleasure again, sending several startled birds from their perches on the nearby trees. The pleasure-pain of having his wings gripped like that was nearly overstimulating. It was as though there was a direct line to his cock which wept and oozed despite its softened stated. Each thrust from Luo Binghe sent another rivulet of come from the tip. Liu Qingge's body was a live wire, all sensation. He had never known this type of pleasure before. The longer Luo Binhge, known for his demonic stamina, went, the more the pleasure turned to the pain of overstimulation. Liu Qingge liked that too but it was getting to be too much. His head lolled and he grasped the rock beneath him hard enough for shards of it to break off in his palms. Still, he didn't call for Luo Binghe to stop. Tears streamed down his face from the delicious agony of it all.
By the time Luo Binghe finished, he had wrung his lover dry to a limp noodle. He thought about a second round but when he mentioned it, Liu Qingge weakly swung a fist at him.
"No."
That was fine by Luo Binghe, who tucked his newfound knowledge of Liu Qingge's wings into the back of his mind for later use. Shizun didn't like having his wings touched during sex but surely he would also benefit from this knowledge.
Liu Qingge stretched his wings, hoping they would bear the weight his legs were too shaky for. All seemed well. He glanced back over his shoulder as he pulled his wet clothing back on. Luo Binghe was rinsing off in the stream, water running in rivulets down the soft brown and red feathers.
"I'll meet you at camp." Liu Qingge took a few —trembling— running steps and was aloft.
"Hey!" Came the cry from below as the half-demon rushed to gather his things.
In the quiet night air, it was easier to process the things Luo Binghe had been saying. It was true, he did rush in. But in his defense, he'd never met another opponent he couldn't handle. Even Luo Binghe had to grudgingly admit that he held his own in the majority of their fights, it was the desperation and whole evil sword thing that gave the half-demon the edge. At least that's what Liu Qingge would admit to.
Overhead, the stars were coming out, a shimmering blanket in the sky. It was one of Liu Qingge's favorite things about flying. The freedom and the view. He felt more than heard the heavy wing beats rising up behind him and he banked backward against the wind to slow himself down. To let Luo Binghe catch him. As predicted, the heavier flier collided with him enough to catch their hands together and start in on a spiral. Rather than fight it, Liu Qingge let himself be dragged along. He could make an effort to see things from another perspective, even if he wasn't very good at it.
They spiraled down, down, down, nearly to the canopy before Luo Binghe pulled them out of their death spiral. He was grinning, the pale moonlight catching his face and making him look his age. So young still. Not letting go of Luo Binghe's hand, they made their way to camp lit by the stars.
They unclasped their hands before descent to avoid any unfortunate wing tangling. Liu Qingge made landfall first, his wings built for speed and stopping power as opposed to Luo Binghe's bulk. He took the opportunity to look over their camp. It was nothing fancy but it was still more than Liu Qingge himself would set up were he alone. Their bedrolls were laid out on opposite sides of the fire though he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing when Luo Binghe pointedly made a beeline to one of them to correct the issue. The brat still had a ways to go when it came to his temper but Liu Qingge was willing to let it slide. He had his own faults after all. Dinner was a simple, though delicious, affair.
Finally they settled in to sleep. Liu Qingge took his position next to the half-demon and extended his wing over the prone man's form.
"What's this for?" Asked Luo Binghe.
"Shut up and go to sleep, brat."
Not interested in arguing further, Luo Binghe grunted and rolled deeper under the wing, tucking his own close to his body. It wouldn't be comfortable for a long stretch but an olive branch was an olive branch. They could argue about it more in the morning.