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.
There's a look of determination in his eyes. He wants Xichen to be greedy,
to want and have and not restrain himself. Jiang Cheng keeps his hand on
his waist, making sure that he returns each and every kiss bestowed upon
him. He's starved for attention, kindness, touch as well, so every
affectionate touch, while foreign, is welcomed.
That is an invitation, a wish granted, that he cannot toss aside. Propriety would be the honorable thing, but how can he be asked to resist when Jiang Cheng is so willing.
Xichen finds himself more than happy to oblige, hears the determination and sees it in the other man's eyes. The next kiss is no longer chaste, a firm press of lips to Jiang Cheng's before his mouth begins to move against his and explore what is granted to him, to learn what sounds he can draw out from the other man.
He tilts his head a little to slot their mouths more firmly together. With
this, he brings Xichen close enough so that their bodies are pressed flush
against each other.
As proper as the Lan are known for, there is an unrestraint that the Jiang
are known for. Jiang Cheng is no exception. His hand moves along the
expanse of Xichen's back as he kisses him back, tongue daring to dart out
and taste his lips.
Xichen's hands land on Jiang Cheng's waist, hands over his intricate belt as he keeps him close. There is a desire to be closer still, a nagging little thing when they have decided to properly court. Then again, that decision is not made in stone and while known for restraint, Xichen is merely a mortal man.
The groan that escapes his lips against Jiang Cheng's is soft, a gentle sound. He parts his lips, tongue darting out to meet Jiang Cheng's and to coax him to deepen the kiss further. Curious now, what the younger man will allow and how emboldened he'll grow.
The groan spurs him on and Jiang Cheng deepens the kiss even more to taste
at Xichen, greedy for him and greedy for more of him. Xichen lights a fire
within him and his kisses only fan those embers into a flame, a passion
that courses through his veins. He only pulls away to take a deep lungful
of fresh air. His cheeks are flushed and there's a desire in his eyes when
he looks at Xichen in silent question to how far they could go without the
proper notifications of an official courting.
Unconsciously, he licks his lips, ready to practically have Xichen devour
him.
"We should stop," Xichen says into the air between them, breathing deep but not letting the other man go. They should, is the thing, but no one will be the wiser if they don't. If Jiang Cheng doesn't want to, Xichen could be the greediest man in the world. "I don't wish to, but we should.."
And that all means little because he is the one to kiss Jiang Cheng again, to claim his mouth, desperate to leave his mark on him so the man remembers him in their time apart.
They should. They really should. But then Xichen is kissing him again and
Jiang Cheng holds onto his waist, hauling Xichen bodily against him so that
he could kiss him more passionately and so that Xichen could claim his
mouth as well. His arms wind around him and Jiang Cheng moans against his
lips, welcoming the claim and all that Xichen is. It feels too good, he
tastes too good. He can't just let Xichen go and just stop.
Xichen's hands cup Jiang Cheng's neck, keeping him close as they press together. When he pulls back again, there is little space between them. Xichen pants against the other man's skin, leans forward to press kisses and bites along his jaw. "We should," he manages, each word coming out with a soft huff, "move inside."
Neither of them wish to stop, too desperate and eager. Xichen doesn't want to stop but if they press forward, they are not safe from prying eyes.
He moans softly and closes his eyes at the kisses and bites along his jaw, he barely hears Xichen suggesting they move inside the Hanshi. Yes. They should move. They needn't put on a show for any prying eyes that dare to spy on them.
"Yes," he grits out. "Let's."
He steers them inside the Hanshi and reaches to slide the door shut behind him.
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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?"
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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."
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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.
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"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."
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"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?"
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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."
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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?"
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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"Be greedy," he hisses.
There's a look of determination in his eyes. He wants Xichen to be greedy, to want and have and not restrain himself. Jiang Cheng keeps his hand on his waist, making sure that he returns each and every kiss bestowed upon him. He's starved for attention, kindness, touch as well, so every affectionate touch, while foreign, is welcomed.
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Xichen finds himself more than happy to oblige, hears the determination and sees it in the other man's eyes. The next kiss is no longer chaste, a firm press of lips to Jiang Cheng's before his mouth begins to move against his and explore what is granted to him, to learn what sounds he can draw out from the other man.
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He tilts his head a little to slot their mouths more firmly together. With this, he brings Xichen close enough so that their bodies are pressed flush against each other.
As proper as the Lan are known for, there is an unrestraint that the Jiang are known for. Jiang Cheng is no exception. His hand moves along the expanse of Xichen's back as he kisses him back, tongue daring to dart out and taste his lips.
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The groan that escapes his lips against Jiang Cheng's is soft, a gentle sound. He parts his lips, tongue darting out to meet Jiang Cheng's and to coax him to deepen the kiss further. Curious now, what the younger man will allow and how emboldened he'll grow.
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The groan spurs him on and Jiang Cheng deepens the kiss even more to taste at Xichen, greedy for him and greedy for more of him. Xichen lights a fire within him and his kisses only fan those embers into a flame, a passion that courses through his veins. He only pulls away to take a deep lungful of fresh air. His cheeks are flushed and there's a desire in his eyes when he looks at Xichen in silent question to how far they could go without the proper notifications of an official courting.
Unconsciously, he licks his lips, ready to practically have Xichen devour him.
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And that all means little because he is the one to kiss Jiang Cheng again, to claim his mouth, desperate to leave his mark on him so the man remembers him in their time apart.
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They should. They really should. But then Xichen is kissing him again and Jiang Cheng holds onto his waist, hauling Xichen bodily against him so that he could kiss him more passionately and so that Xichen could claim his mouth as well. His arms wind around him and Jiang Cheng moans against his lips, welcoming the claim and all that Xichen is. It feels too good, he tastes too good. He can't just let Xichen go and just stop.
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Neither of them wish to stop, too desperate and eager. Xichen doesn't want to stop but if they press forward, they are not safe from prying eyes.
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"Yes," he grits out. "Let's."
He steers them inside the Hanshi and reaches to slide the door shut behind him.
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