There's something surprising about that, though thrilling. With Jiang Cheng, Xichen does not find himself doubting those words. It is refreshing, in a way he could not have imagined mere weeks ago.
A part of him, still hurt and cautious, wonders if he is only seeing another facade. Only seeing what is being shown, but Xichen cannot live like that. Cannot push people away, worried that there is malice hiding beneath each smile and seemingly honest words. A different part, which has surfaced in the two weeks in the Jiang Sect Leader's company, reminds him that Jin Guangyao cannot take this away from him.
"There is no need to start a war on my behalf," his tone is soft, nearly teasing. "Though I have greatly enjoyed your company..."
There's a hint of teasing that soothes at Jiang Cheng's worry. He's been
finding a new Xichen that emerges, willing to tease, as gentle and kind as
he is. There are more and more parts of him emerging with each day he
spends with him.
"As I have greatly enjoyed yours."
He takes the jar of Emperor's Smile and pours a little for both of them.
"A toast. To you finally ridding yourself of the ever so temperamental Sect
Leader Jiang," he teases.
He lets himself chuckle at that before drinking the alcohol. He looks at
Xichen, his friend, his...well...he would never admit it to Wei Wuxian or
anyone else, but the more he saw of Xichen...of Huan-ge, the more he feels
his own locked up heart give to his kindness and softness. Jiang Cheng
looks down at his own empty cup, brushing his thumb over the rim of it as
the sun sets. He looks over and is caught with how the soft orange light
lights up Xichen's features. He swallows and clears his throat, looking
away.
"And you are welcome at Lotus Pier whenever you'd like."
While the alcohol had been brought and included, Xichen had not indulged in it. For a moment, he feels torn. By principle, alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recess and, despite not acting as Sect Leader at the moment, Xichen does not intend to wholly cast the rules aside. Not now, when he is starting to feel like himself.
Still.
Wanting to insult the other man is far from anywhere on the list of things he will allow himself to do. Not this man, who makes his heart beat a bit faster and who heβs learned is so deeply caring, so dedicated and so much more than the gentry give him credit for.
Plus, the toast earns a small chuckle as he reaches for the cup intended for him. βI am not sure I want to toast to that, Sect Leader Jiang,β he says it as he lifts the cup, βAs ridding implies it is a desired loss. But I will drink to these last two weeks.β
The alcohol burns on the way down. Xichen has long mastered the practice of burning the alcohol off before it is absorbed, which allows him to drink at Cultivation Conferences or with other Sect Leaders without causing insult. It has been long enough, though, that β too late β he realizes he is out of practice. Warmth spreads through him and when he speaks again, he realizes he cannot keep his voice to the normally gentle tones he is known for.
βWhenever?!β he asks, leaning forward across the table as the corners of his mouth tug upward into a bright smile.
While his brother is known for melancholy and tends to fall asleep when he is drunk, Xichen suffers different symptoms. The lack of control is there, but it manifests in a hyperactive sort of energy, a desire to move and an inability to control his volume or excitement at any little thing. Unlike Wangji, he also remembers it all.
He had seen Xichen drink at conferences. And Jiang Cheng had technically
not brought the alcohol into Cloud Recesses. Wangji did for Wei Wuxian.
Then his wayward brother had brought it to him to bring to Xichen as a
celebratory drink. He had poured both of them a drink and had not expected
Xichen to actually pick it up.
He looks back when Xichen speaks, surprise crosses Jiang Cheng's features
when he sees Xichen drink the drink. He allows the quirk of his lips in a
smile when Xichen says it's to celebrate the last two weeks.
The volume at how Xichen speaks catches him off guard and Jiang Cheng has
to blink once to regain his footing.
"Y-Yes!" Jiang Cheng clears his throat and sits up a little straighter.
"Yes, you're always welcome at Lotus Pier, Huan-ge."
welcome to zewu-jun with no impulse control, circa audio drama~
"Oh." Xichen intends to say it softly but the volume remains the same, a steady flow of excitement bubbling to the surface as pupils dilate and his eyes remain wide. "I should come soon, then."
As he says this he nods, as if making the decision for the both of them. His brows furrow slightly as he realizes he has leaned forward further, nearly over the whole of the table. This is mostly a problem because there is a table between them and Xichen would very much prefer if that were not the case.
Part of him realizes that he has slipped into a state of intoxication very quickly, another does not care. The first part, still hanging on, wishes to warn the other man and apologize for the behavior he will surely regret when the hangover sets in. "We should take a walk," is what he says out-loud. "Or I should take a walk. You are very far."
"Huan-ge, I'm not very far. I'm right here on the other side of the table."
Jiang Cheng shakes his head, getting up and rounding around the table to sit on the other side of Xichen, turning the smirk toward him.
"See? Am I so far now?" he asks
He's glad that Xichen is completely for the idea of coming to Yunmeng and visiting him at Lotus Pier. A visit soon would be nice. He could even share some of the things that he enjoys doing with Xichen instead of just talking about it.
"That is very far!" The volume returns, tone insistent until the younger Sect leader moves. Then, he looks pleased with himself.
With Jiang Cheng close, Xichen's smile blooms wider. His instinct is to lean into the man, to feel his warmth pressed into his side. It is improper, maybe, but alcohol has drawn a flush to his cheeks and shifted his cares aside.
"Closer is better, Jiang Cheng," he declares, unaware if his shifted weight is too much to throw them off balance.
The smile warms something in Jiang Cheng and there's an affection that had
bloomed in the last few weeks that teeters further into something else. He
keeps tall even as Xichen presses into his side and leans heavily. Ah, he's
drunk. He had thought that Xichen had a better tolerance but he supposes
that the time in seclusion has put him out of practice of whatever it was
that kept him from getting to this state. He isn't thrown off balance and
Jiang Cheng stands upright to support him.
When did he become so sentimental?
It is only for Xichen and that's all right if it's just for Xichen.
"Then it's good that you're so close now, isn't it?" he asks, still with a
teasing bite in his tone. "Careful or you'll make your forehead ribbon
crooked. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"
Xichen's eyes widen at that and while he'd been about to rest more of his weight into the other man, he scrambles back and tries to look up at his own forehead. "Is it? Would you fix it for me?"
A sober Xichen would have flushed at his own words and he will, will panic and apologize for the brashness and embarrassment he is likely causing them both in this very moment. Instead he looks worried, reaches up to adjust the very headband and instead shifts it out of place to reveal barely paler skin hiding underneath the cloud design.
He laughs a little and reaches up to nudge it back into place,
straightening it and brushing his fingers along the edge of it. Jiang Cheng
concentrates on that before looking back into his eyes with a grin.
"Now look, you've made it more crooked on your own. Here, see? We couldn't
let you go outside with your headband crooked from leaning so much."
He shakes his head, pulling his hand away.
"What do the forehead bands even mean? How are you able to go through every
day without making it so crooked?"
The touch is not unwelcome. Xichen has asked for it after all, has lost propriety and let himself be guided by alcohol and the desires that have bloomed over the last precious weeks that Jiang Cheng has helped him breach the barriers built during his own seclusion.
He leans into, welcomes it and then stiffens when Jiang Cheng asks.
For all Xichen has wanted, he has not intended to be so bold. They have transitioned to personal names, have spent hours together, yes. But that does not mean the same flame that has come to life in his heart burns in the other mans. "I--- It. It's a symbol, it's our restraint. We only allow those close to us to touch them," compared to the chipper, loud volume of his voice moments before he speaks more evenly. The words are practiced, though he has not spoken them before. Then, he corrects himself. Lying, after all, is forbidden. "Only our family and spouses are welcome to touch them."
He leans back, still unable to right himself and not sway. "I am sorry, Jiang Cheng. I have overstepped."
Jiang Cheng immediately reaches out and helps him steady himself. Ah, then
he should not have touched it. Still. It had been crooked and he
understands why Wei Wuxian always had the compulsion to reach out and
straighten the band for Lan Wangji.
"Then I won't say a word to whomever the lucky spouse will be," Jiang Cheng
replies. "Allow you to keep your restraint untarnished."
Perhaps he had overstepped as well, assuming that there is some sort of
warmth that sparked in Xichen's heart that mirrors his own. Xichen is the
first person he had ever truly been himself around since a-Jie. There were
no angry faces here, no such thing as being Sect Leader Jiang, Sandu
Shengshou, or any other titles that could be bestowed upon him. He could
truly be himself. Still, there's a bitterness underlying his words.
That draws his brows upward, then a frown. Xichen shakes his head, the alcohol leaves him dizzy and the quick motion forces the traces of sobriety away. The desire to hold on to Jiang Cheng is still too great, to still clutch at his arm like a lost child. He is a fool, he knows, and making a bigger one of himself as he lets out a frustrated huff.
"There is no spouse," he rushes out the words, heart hammering in his chest as he tries to burn off the effects of alcohol in his system. It's frustrating, far too late. "And it was I who asked you to fix it, Jiang Cheng. I have been too bold."
He stops. Jiang Cheng still hasn't let go of him and refuses to let go of
him. He looks at Xichen in the eyes and presses his mouth in a thin line.
It's a few moments before he speaks again, face drawn in anger. No games.
He knows Huan-ge wouldn't play with emotions, not sober, not while
potentially drunk.
"Lan Huan, were you asking me to be your spouse by asking me to fix the
forehead band?"
It's Jiang Cheng's expression that burns away the alcohol, that leaves the First Jade of Lan feeling cold and as if the alcohol is gone from his system. It is a sobering thing, to see the other man square himself as if ready to take a blow and sparks of anger in his gaze.
He wonders, if he flicks his gaze away, if purple sparks dance around his hand.
"It is too bold and not how I wished to make my affections known, Jiang Cheng," he does not step back, does not let himself look hesitant. The regret he holds if for the manner that this unfolded, that the alcohol swayed him into behavior so unbecoming. Not the emotion, not what he feels, though he is uncertain how the man before him feels and where this takes them next. "I realize that it has been only two weeks since your arrival but they have been my happiest. You are no obligation to say anything at all."
There are no sparks. He does not need the Zidian for this, nor would he
want to use the Zidian in this situation. If Xichen had asked what he
thought he had asked, then the last thing he would want to use is Zidian.
He doesn't break his gaze from Xichen, even though the alcohol seems to
have disappeared from his demeanor.
"If you are to ask me such a thing, then ask me, Xichen," he says lowly.
He knows Xichen would not lie to him, could not lie to him. The past few
weeks have proven that Xichen is an honest man himself, perhaps in response
to all of the lies he had faced in the last how many years.
The alcohol has faded, the warmth and disorientation somehow a distant memory. Xichen squares himself, loosens his hold and stands with shoulders squared and back straight. Like this, he feels nearly like Zewu-Jun again though that mask is still hidden from the world.
It is poor form, unconventional to ask without a courting gift attached.
"Would you allow me to show you my affections properly, Jiang Cheng? To court you properly?" To fix that blunder, to show that this is not a joke to both the man before him and the cultivation world beyond the safety of Cloud Recesses' walls.
He's surprised when Xichen stands up with his shoulders squared, ah
yes...like Zewu-Jun ought to be. Jiang Cheng stands up as well, patiently
waiting to see what he would do. He's not truly Zewu-Jun just yet.
Something different: Xichen when he is determined, perhaps. He gives a soft
scoff at his actions; how proper, how Lan like, how very much like Xichen.
Jiang Cheng waits for a heartbeat, a second heartbeat, before reaching and
fixing the forehead band properly. Being allowed to touch it so freely is a
gift already and his lips turn into a smirk.
For all that he wants to deflate, that there is a smile on his lips as wide as when the alcohol was still so wholly in control, Xichen manages to remain standing. He softens, though, dips his head slightly as Jiang Chiang lifts his hands and adjusts the headband properly.
That, more than his words, is the answer he wants.
"Then that is more motivation to leave it properly soon." He says, no longer speaking as if the other man his on the other side of the room. He feels shy suddenly, though they are standing so close. "May I ask for one more thing?"
Two weeks. That was all it took for Jiang Cheng to fall in love with
Xichen. If he were honest with himself, perhaps he started falling for him
long ago when he first arrived at Cloud Recesses. But who knows? He steps
closer and looks at the forehead ribbon, then at Xichen when he asks for
another thing. But his voice has lowered from shouting to an actual
conversational tone. He steps closer, not leaving that much space between
them.
"There are many things I will ask for, when I have left seclusion, but only one for now," Xichen clarifies, a gentler smile on his lips as he looks at the shorter man. There is little distance between them and the teasing tone, the sudden lightness in the air, allows him to relax again.
"To kiss you, at least once, before you return to Lotus Pier," because he can't not know, improper as it is if following Gusu Lan's precepts on the matter of courting. He is not a blushing virgin, not a stranger to intimacy and the touch of another, but to properly and publicly court another Sect Leader is a different thing that what he has known.
"Do you really need to always ask for such simple things that would be
freely given after what you've just said?"
Jiang Cheng, however, has not had much by way of experience. So he closes
the distance between them and presses his lips against Xichen's. He keeps
it slow, light. He had meant it to simply be a brush of lips, the barest of
touches. But he lingers, wanting to have a full kiss rather than some
chaste thing.
"Some might not consider it proper," and that is a tease, a simple little thing followed by a soft laugh. In the last two weeks, he's let it free more often than he had the months before. If that is not a sign that his heart has made it's choice, he is unsure what is.
When Jiang Cheng moves, he's surprised but pleasantly so. He reaches up to cup Jiang Cheng's cheek, tilts his head slightly when he lingers. The kiss is soft, chaste even, but soon the temptation for more is difficult to resist. He lingers for another, then another before his mouth moves against Jiang Cheng's in a proper kiss.
He follows his touch and tilts his head to kiss him more properly. It's
still chase, but he feels the warmth of it down to his toes. Something
about it, about Xichen that has his heart beat much faster. Something feels
right about this. His eyes drift close at the kiss and the warm feel of
Xichen's lips on his own has him wanting more of those kisses, more of
Xichen.
He pulls away slightly, knowing that they should keep things proper between
them.
"If you kiss like that, it would be proper to kiss me as often as you'd
like," he says in the small space between them.
He's remiss to pull away, keeps a hand on Jiang Cheng's skin by sliding it down to cup the side of his neck. With the distance so short between them, Xichen cannot help but smile. "You risk me growing greedy, Jiang Cheng."
With each kiss, with each touch, he can feel his heart fluttering in his chest. It sings for something, longs for what comes next and more.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
A part of him, still hurt and cautious, wonders if he is only seeing another facade. Only seeing what is being shown, but Xichen cannot live like that. Cannot push people away, worried that there is malice hiding beneath each smile and seemingly honest words. A different part, which has surfaced in the two weeks in the Jiang Sect Leader's company, reminds him that Jin Guangyao cannot take this away from him.
"There is no need to start a war on my behalf," his tone is soft, nearly teasing. "Though I have greatly enjoyed your company..."
no subject
There's a hint of teasing that soothes at Jiang Cheng's worry. He's been finding a new Xichen that emerges, willing to tease, as gentle and kind as he is. There are more and more parts of him emerging with each day he spends with him.
"As I have greatly enjoyed yours."
He takes the jar of Emperor's Smile and pours a little for both of them.
"A toast. To you finally ridding yourself of the ever so temperamental Sect Leader Jiang," he teases.
He lets himself chuckle at that before drinking the alcohol. He looks at Xichen, his friend, his...well...he would never admit it to Wei Wuxian or anyone else, but the more he saw of Xichen...of Huan-ge, the more he feels his own locked up heart give to his kindness and softness. Jiang Cheng looks down at his own empty cup, brushing his thumb over the rim of it as the sun sets. He looks over and is caught with how the soft orange light lights up Xichen's features. He swallows and clears his throat, looking away.
"And you are welcome at Lotus Pier whenever you'd like."
no subject
While the alcohol had been brought and included, Xichen had not indulged in it. For a moment, he feels torn. By principle, alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recess and, despite not acting as Sect Leader at the moment, Xichen does not intend to wholly cast the rules aside. Not now, when he is starting to feel like himself.
Still.
Wanting to insult the other man is far from anywhere on the list of things he will allow himself to do. Not this man, who makes his heart beat a bit faster and who heβs learned is so deeply caring, so dedicated and so much more than the gentry give him credit for.
Plus, the toast earns a small chuckle as he reaches for the cup intended for him. βI am not sure I want to toast to that, Sect Leader Jiang,β he says it as he lifts the cup, βAs ridding implies it is a desired loss. But I will drink to these last two weeks.β
The alcohol burns on the way down. Xichen has long mastered the practice of burning the alcohol off before it is absorbed, which allows him to drink at Cultivation Conferences or with other Sect Leaders without causing insult. It has been long enough, though, that β too late β he realizes he is out of practice. Warmth spreads through him and when he speaks again, he realizes he cannot keep his voice to the normally gentle tones he is known for.
βWhenever?!β he asks, leaning forward across the table as the corners of his mouth tug upward into a bright smile.
While his brother is known for melancholy and tends to fall asleep when he is drunk, Xichen suffers different symptoms. The lack of control is there, but it manifests in a hyperactive sort of energy, a desire to move and an inability to control his volume or excitement at any little thing. Unlike Wangji, he also remembers it all.
i cackled i'm not gonna lie
He had seen Xichen drink at conferences. And Jiang Cheng had technically not brought the alcohol into Cloud Recesses. Wangji did for Wei Wuxian. Then his wayward brother had brought it to him to bring to Xichen as a celebratory drink. He had poured both of them a drink and had not expected Xichen to actually pick it up.
He looks back when Xichen speaks, surprise crosses Jiang Cheng's features when he sees Xichen drink the drink. He allows the quirk of his lips in a smile when Xichen says it's to celebrate the last two weeks.
The volume at how Xichen speaks catches him off guard and Jiang Cheng has to blink once to regain his footing.
"Y-Yes!" Jiang Cheng clears his throat and sits up a little straighter. "Yes, you're always welcome at Lotus Pier, Huan-ge."
welcome to zewu-jun with no impulse control, circa audio drama~
As he says this he nods, as if making the decision for the both of them. His brows furrow slightly as he realizes he has leaned forward further, nearly over the whole of the table. This is mostly a problem because there is a table between them and Xichen would very much prefer if that were not the case.
Part of him realizes that he has slipped into a state of intoxication very quickly, another does not care. The first part, still hanging on, wishes to warn the other man and apologize for the behavior he will surely regret when the hangover sets in. "We should take a walk," is what he says out-loud. "Or I should take a walk. You are very far."
no subject
"Huan-ge, I'm not very far. I'm right here on the other side of the table."
Jiang Cheng shakes his head, getting up and rounding around the table to sit on the other side of Xichen, turning the smirk toward him.
"See? Am I so far now?" he asks
He's glad that Xichen is completely for the idea of coming to Yunmeng and visiting him at Lotus Pier. A visit soon would be nice. He could even share some of the things that he enjoys doing with Xichen instead of just talking about it.
no subject
With Jiang Cheng close, Xichen's smile blooms wider. His instinct is to lean into the man, to feel his warmth pressed into his side. It is improper, maybe, but alcohol has drawn a flush to his cheeks and shifted his cares aside.
"Closer is better, Jiang Cheng," he declares, unaware if his shifted weight is too much to throw them off balance.
no subject
The smile warms something in Jiang Cheng and there's an affection that had bloomed in the last few weeks that teeters further into something else. He keeps tall even as Xichen presses into his side and leans heavily. Ah, he's drunk. He had thought that Xichen had a better tolerance but he supposes that the time in seclusion has put him out of practice of whatever it was that kept him from getting to this state. He isn't thrown off balance and Jiang Cheng stands upright to support him.
When did he become so sentimental?
It is only for Xichen and that's all right if it's just for Xichen.
"Then it's good that you're so close now, isn't it?" he asks, still with a teasing bite in his tone. "Careful or you'll make your forehead ribbon crooked. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"
no subject
A sober Xichen would have flushed at his own words and he will, will panic and apologize for the brashness and embarrassment he is likely causing them both in this very moment. Instead he looks worried, reaches up to adjust the very headband and instead shifts it out of place to reveal barely paler skin hiding underneath the cloud design.
no subject
He laughs a little and reaches up to nudge it back into place, straightening it and brushing his fingers along the edge of it. Jiang Cheng concentrates on that before looking back into his eyes with a grin.
"Now look, you've made it more crooked on your own. Here, see? We couldn't let you go outside with your headband crooked from leaning so much."
He shakes his head, pulling his hand away.
"What do the forehead bands even mean? How are you able to go through every day without making it so crooked?"
no subject
Oh no.
The touch is not unwelcome. Xichen has asked for it after all, has lost propriety and let himself be guided by alcohol and the desires that have bloomed over the last precious weeks that Jiang Cheng has helped him breach the barriers built during his own seclusion.
He leans into, welcomes it and then stiffens when Jiang Cheng asks.
For all Xichen has wanted, he has not intended to be so bold. They have transitioned to personal names, have spent hours together, yes. But that does not mean the same flame that has come to life in his heart burns in the other mans. "I--- It. It's a symbol, it's our restraint. We only allow those close to us to touch them," compared to the chipper, loud volume of his voice moments before he speaks more evenly. The words are practiced, though he has not spoken them before. Then, he corrects himself. Lying, after all, is forbidden. "Only our family and spouses are welcome to touch them."
He leans back, still unable to right himself and not sway. "I am sorry, Jiang Cheng. I have overstepped."
no subject
Jiang Cheng immediately reaches out and helps him steady himself. Ah, then he should not have touched it. Still. It had been crooked and he understands why Wei Wuxian always had the compulsion to reach out and straighten the band for Lan Wangji.
"Then I won't say a word to whomever the lucky spouse will be," Jiang Cheng replies. "Allow you to keep your restraint untarnished."
Perhaps he had overstepped as well, assuming that there is some sort of warmth that sparked in Xichen's heart that mirrors his own. Xichen is the first person he had ever truly been himself around since a-Jie. There were no angry faces here, no such thing as being Sect Leader Jiang, Sandu Shengshou, or any other titles that could be bestowed upon him. He could truly be himself. Still, there's a bitterness underlying his words.
no subject
"There is no spouse," he rushes out the words, heart hammering in his chest as he tries to burn off the effects of alcohol in his system. It's frustrating, far too late. "And it was I who asked you to fix it, Jiang Cheng. I have been too bold."
no subject
"Too bold, what are you--"
He stops. Jiang Cheng still hasn't let go of him and refuses to let go of him. He looks at Xichen in the eyes and presses his mouth in a thin line. It's a few moments before he speaks again, face drawn in anger. No games. He knows Huan-ge wouldn't play with emotions, not sober, not while potentially drunk.
"Lan Huan, were you asking me to be your spouse by asking me to fix the forehead band?"
no subject
He wonders, if he flicks his gaze away, if purple sparks dance around his hand.
"It is too bold and not how I wished to make my affections known, Jiang Cheng," he does not step back, does not let himself look hesitant. The regret he holds if for the manner that this unfolded, that the alcohol swayed him into behavior so unbecoming. Not the emotion, not what he feels, though he is uncertain how the man before him feels and where this takes them next. "I realize that it has been only two weeks since your arrival but they have been my happiest. You are no obligation to say anything at all."
no subject
There are no sparks. He does not need the Zidian for this, nor would he want to use the Zidian in this situation. If Xichen had asked what he thought he had asked, then the last thing he would want to use is Zidian. He doesn't break his gaze from Xichen, even though the alcohol seems to have disappeared from his demeanor.
"If you are to ask me such a thing, then ask me, Xichen," he says lowly.
He knows Xichen would not lie to him, could not lie to him. The past few weeks have proven that Xichen is an honest man himself, perhaps in response to all of the lies he had faced in the last how many years.
"Ask me so that I may give you my answer."
no subject
It is poor form, unconventional to ask without a courting gift attached.
"Would you allow me to show you my affections properly, Jiang Cheng? To court you properly?" To fix that blunder, to show that this is not a joke to both the man before him and the cultivation world beyond the safety of Cloud Recesses' walls.
no subject
He's surprised when Xichen stands up with his shoulders squared, ah yes...like Zewu-Jun ought to be. Jiang Cheng stands up as well, patiently waiting to see what he would do. He's not truly Zewu-Jun just yet. Something different: Xichen when he is determined, perhaps. He gives a soft scoff at his actions; how proper, how Lan like, how very much like Xichen.
Jiang Cheng waits for a heartbeat, a second heartbeat, before reaching and fixing the forehead band properly. Being allowed to touch it so freely is a gift already and his lips turn into a smirk.
"You may. After officially leaving seclusion."
no subject
That, more than his words, is the answer he wants.
"Then that is more motivation to leave it properly soon." He says, no longer speaking as if the other man his on the other side of the room. He feels shy suddenly, though they are standing so close. "May I ask for one more thing?"
no subject
Two weeks. That was all it took for Jiang Cheng to fall in love with Xichen. If he were honest with himself, perhaps he started falling for him long ago when he first arrived at Cloud Recesses. But who knows? He steps closer and looks at the forehead ribbon, then at Xichen when he asks for another thing. But his voice has lowered from shouting to an actual conversational tone. He steps closer, not leaving that much space between them.
"Only one?" he teases.
no subject
"To kiss you, at least once, before you return to Lotus Pier," because he can't not know, improper as it is if following Gusu Lan's precepts on the matter of courting. He is not a blushing virgin, not a stranger to intimacy and the touch of another, but to properly and publicly court another Sect Leader is a different thing that what he has known.
no subject
A fond roll of his eyes.
"Do you really need to always ask for such simple things that would be freely given after what you've just said?"
Jiang Cheng, however, has not had much by way of experience. So he closes the distance between them and presses his lips against Xichen's. He keeps it slow, light. He had meant it to simply be a brush of lips, the barest of touches. But he lingers, wanting to have a full kiss rather than some chaste thing.
no subject
When Jiang Cheng moves, he's surprised but pleasantly so. He reaches up to cup Jiang Cheng's cheek, tilts his head slightly when he lingers. The kiss is soft, chaste even, but soon the temptation for more is difficult to resist. He lingers for another, then another before his mouth moves against Jiang Cheng's in a proper kiss.
no subject
He follows his touch and tilts his head to kiss him more properly. It's still chase, but he feels the warmth of it down to his toes. Something about it, about Xichen that has his heart beat much faster. Something feels right about this. His eyes drift close at the kiss and the warm feel of Xichen's lips on his own has him wanting more of those kisses, more of Xichen.
He pulls away slightly, knowing that they should keep things proper between them.
"If you kiss like that, it would be proper to kiss me as often as you'd like," he says in the small space between them.
no subject
With each kiss, with each touch, he can feel his heart fluttering in his chest. It sings for something, longs for what comes next and more.
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