Chapter Text
The air was still chilly as Lan Zhan turned the corner and jogged up his road towards the house. Chilly and slightly damp, as though the fog that had swathed the countryside at the start of his run was still trying to hold on. It was a stark contrast to the dry heat of San Diego, where they had spent a month working with the Jiang sect on wards for their new vault.
More accurately, Wei Ying had worked on the wards. Even with three years of cultivation study, Lan Zhan couldn't match Wei Ying's understanding of talismans and arrays. He would never be able to match him: Wei Ying understood the concepts he worked with at a level that was far beyond Lan Zhan's comprehension. Part of it was experience, but part of it was simply Wei Ying. Jiang Wanyin was Wei Ying's peer in age and experience and he freely admitted that Wei Ying was the expert.
Lan Zhan had spent the month studying sword forms with some of the Jiang disciples--including a couple of Wei Ying's great-great-niblings--and working on his newest book. His agent would be happy to hear that his manuscript was ready a month early. While his more literary works won awards, his time travel romances made money. Although Lan Zhan didn't need the income and his trust fund would always be there to fall back on, he was very aware that the success of his new books--and the commission she earned--had made a difference for his agent.
He opened the front door and went inside, pausing for a moment before smiling. The house was silent: Wei Ying wasn't awake yet.
Lan Zhan detoured to the kitchen to drop off the paperbag he'd carried since he passed the bakery before going out the back door. The garden was Wei Ying's project when they were home. Apparently he'd learned a lot from hanging out in the allotments over the decades. They had a gardener who kept things going when they were travelling, but Wei Ying liked to get his hands dirty whenever they were here. He always said that it helped him to keep feeling real, and Lan Zhan enjoyed the sight of Wei Ying with mud on his nose and a sheen of sweat on his skin. It was a win-win activity as far as he was concerned.
Tall plants shielded the garden from neighbouring windows, but Lan Zhan still preferred to meditate early in the morning. It was a quieter time of day, a time filled with promise and hope, and he found it easier to achieve the right kind of focus for the work. He walked over to the wooden shelter Wei Ying had built for him and folded down into a lotus position to meditate.
After a while, he rose and moved onto the lawn, letting the peace of the morning fill him as he moved through his forms. It was a mixture of the routines his uncle had taught him and new ones he'd picked up from Wei Ying and several months of study in Cloud Recesses. The movements grounded and centred him. Spiritual energy flowed easily, connecting him to his body and the earth below him, letting him sense the patterns in the wind and the warm pulse of life beneath his feet. He sank into the practice and let his mind drift in a formless place.
The sun was above the rooftops when Lan Zhan came back to himself and the air had lost the damp chilliness of dawn. It was going to be a beautiful day. He drew in a deep breath, held it until his lungs ached, and then released it slowly. The world felt right around him.
Wei Ying's presence was tangible in every part of the house. In the coffee machine on the counter that Lan Zhan turned on as he entered, in the notes and sketches pinned to the fridge. The pile of spare talisman papers under the mortar and pestle. The stack of textbooks in the living room for his latest university course. The shelf in the office where textbooks from past courses lived. Hair bands scattered on the coffee table. Fidget toys next to Wei Ying's end of the sofa.
Wei Ying filled every corner of Lan Zhan's home and he'd never been happier. It was their home, the place they came back to after every trip with a quiet sigh of relief.
Lan Zhan took their mugs down from the cupboard and made himself tea while the coffee machine burbled. He poured Wei Ying's coffee when it was ready, adding a splash of milk and half a teaspoon of dark sugar, and put the mugs on a tray next to the plates he'd decanted the contents of the bakery bag onto. Maybe it was a little ridiculous to get so much pleasure out of bringing Wei Ying coffee and breakfast in bed, but Lan Zhan had resigned himself to being ridiculous years ago. Sometimes he liked to spoil Wei Ying and there wasn't a force on earth that could stop him.
The bedroom was still dark when he entered. Wei Ying didn't wake when Lan Zhan set the tray down on the dresser or when he opened the curtains. Sunlight streamed across the bed, bright and warm, and Wei Ying slept on. He was sprawled on his stomach with his face buried in the pillows. All that was visible of him was a tangle of dark hair and a sliver of golden skin where the covers had slipped slightly on his shoulder.
Lan Zhan sat down on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on Wei Ying's back, feeling the rise and fall of Wei Ying's breath under his fingers with a faint sense of relief. Sometimes he dreamed that Wei Ying was still a spirit, bound inside a cage that Lan Zhan couldn't release him from. He knew Wei Ying had similar dreams. On those nights, they held each other until the shivers faded and fucked roughly, sweetly, so that the marks and soreness grounded them in what was real.
It was good to feel the evidence of Wei Ying's life under his palm without that current of fear running through him.
Lan Zhan leaned down and kissed Wei Ying's shoulder. The skin was cool under his lips. Wei Ying made a soft sound in the back of his throat, a sleepy query that meant he wasn't as deeply asleep as he looked. He wouldn't object to being woken.
Lan Zhan twitched the covers down, exposing more shoulder and the top of a wiry bicep. He allowed himself to linger, mouthing at skin warm from the bed and gently sucking a mark over Wei Ying's shoulder blade. Muscles twitched and rippled under his lips as Wei Ying shifted and hummed quietly.
When Lan Zhan looked up, Wei Ying was watching him with warm, lazy eyes.
"Good morning," Lan Zhan said, dropping another kiss on Wei Ying's back.
"Hmmmrning," Wei Ying said in a sort of extended groan that was almost a real word.
Lan Zhan smiled against his shoulder. "Are you still tired?"
Wei Ying blinked and widened his eyes as if that would help with his alertness. "No?"
Lan Zhan nodded and started to sit up. "I can let you sleep longer."
This time Wei Ying did look a little more awake, flailing out to grab at Lan Zhan. "I'll wake up if you keep doing that."
"Just that?" Lan Zhan asked, sweeping his hand down Wei Ying's back to push the covers down to his waist. "Nothing else?"
Wei Ying's golden skin was several shades darker than usual, tanned from San Diego's sunshine, and Lan Zhan enjoyed the contrast against his pale fingers. Sometimes he thought Wei Ying was like a cat, basking in every warm patch of sunshine he could find. They always seemed to find excuses for extended trips to warmer climates in the winter.
Wei Ying's lips curled into a smile that made Lan Zhan's pulse pick up.
"Well," Wei Ying said slowly, "you could do other things. If you wanted."
Lan Zhan allowed his fingers to dip under the waistband of Wei Ying's shorts. "I have coffee and croissants for you. Are you sure?"
Wei Ying frowned, as if Lan Zhan had asked him a complex question, even though he was pushing his hip up a little into Lan Zhan's hand.
"If we're quick," Wei Ying said thoughtfully. "Fuck my thighs. That would be good. Then you can feed me coffee and croissants so I don't fall asleep after."
Lan Zhan hummed his agreement and lowered his head to kiss a trail down Wei Ying's spine, tracing the knobos of his spine with his teeth and tongue. Wei Ying made soft sounds that grew louder as Lan Zhan went lower, his hips started to shift restlessly under Lan Zhan's hand. He was always so sensitive and eager, as if his body was trying to make up for a century of incorporeality, desire and need penned up until he had a physical body to express it with. Lan Zhan hoped he was more than just a convenient release for Wei Ying: everything they'd done together over the last three years reassured him that he was.
Wei Ying made a grumpy complaining sound when Lan Zhan stood to strip, but it turned into happy sighs as Lan Zhan slid into bed and pulled Wei Ying into his arms. They kissed slowly, deeply, Wei Ying slotting easily into the cradle between Lan Zhan's legs as if that was where he belonged. He'd pulled off his underwear while Lan Zhan was undressing and his cock was a hot stripe against Lan Zhan's belly. Lan Zhan rocked up against him, already hard and getting harder as Wei Ying groaned and ground down against him.
They could have stayed that way for unmeasured ages, moving together lazily without reaching the critical moment, but Wei Ying eventually pulled back with a look that was anything but sleepy now.
"Are you waiting for an invitation?" he said, smiling wickedly. "Fuck my thighs, come on. You know you want to."
Lan Zhan did, he very much did. There were very few ways he didn't want Wei Ying.
"My coffee's getting cold, Lan Zhan, hurry up," Wei Ying added, as if he needed further incentives.
Lan Zhan rolled his hips up and squeezed Wei Ying's hip, pleased with the full-body shiver and low whine that combination produced. He had to stretch to reach the lube in the nightstand, and Wei Ying took the opportunity to place distracting kisses and sharp nips on his neck. Wei Ying's enthusiastic participation in everything they did in bed--even the times when he was supposed to simply lie still and be ravished--was one of the many things Lan Zhan loved about him. He sometimes wondered what he would have done if he'd known about this in the weeks before they freed Wei Ying from the Soul Forge.
It might have been more difficult to stick to a dignified and respectful kind of pining if he'd known.
They'd talked about it in the early days, comparing when they knew how they felt and considering what they would have done if they hadn't been holding back. Saying goodbye to Wei Ying was the hardest thing Lan Zhan had ever done. He didn't know whether that goodbye would have been better or worse if they'd confessed to each other. Wei Ying sometimes tried to joke about horny ghosts watching him jerk off in the shower, but the jokes always fell flat and it was a roleplay scenario they'd agreed still felt too real to use.
Lan Zhan kissed Wei Ying before rolling him on his side and opening the lube. Wei Ying grumbled under his breath and then sucked in a sharp breath when Lan Zhan slid a hand between his thighs. The tiny stuttered "ah"s and breathy gasps each time Lan Zhan let his fingers graze his balls as he coated Wei Ying's things thoroughly with the lube were beautiful. Lan Zhan would never get tired of any of the sounds Wei Ying made.
When Lan Zhan finally slid his cock between Wei Ying's thighs, they both sighed. It wasn't quite the same as sinking into Wei Ying's body, but it was almost as good. Pressing up against Wei Ying's back, feeling warm skin and firm muscle against him, was at least half the pleasure of sex for Lan Zhan.
He suspected it was far more than half for Wei Ying. As enthusiastic and generous as Wei Ying was with everything they did, he still reacted most strongly to any sex where they had maximum skin contact. He needed to feel surrounded and grounded by Lan Zhan. Wei Ying liked to joke that his favourite thing in the world was being railed into the mattress, but it was a joke with a hard kernel of truth underneath.
Lan Zhan pulled Wei Ying closer with an arm around his chest and wrapped his lube-coated hand around Wei Ying's cock. Wei Ying made a needy sound and ground back against him, thighs pressed tight together, and Lan Zhan knew this would be over quickly. He pulled back and thrust into the heat of Wei Ying's body, trying to find the perfect angle where he could graze Wei Ying's balls and the base of his cock. Wei Ying swore and Lan Zhan knew he'd found it.
He set up a fast rhythm, working his hand over Wei Ying's cock at the same pace, and was rewarded with Wei Ying garbled praise and needy complaints in equal measure. Wei Ying's hand flailed behind until he grabbed onto Lan Zhan's hip and that was it, everything was exactly as it should be.
He could hear Wei Ying getting louder, could feel Wei Ying's body tensing and pushing in all the right ways, and he knew Wei Ying was close. Wei Ying lifted his head and turned, seeking blindly, and Lan Zhan kissed him.
A moment later, Wei Ying was gasping against his mouth, his entire body shuddering with his release. Lan Zhan didn't stop, kept stroking and grinding against him to prolong it. He was so preoccupied with Wei Ying's pleasure that his own orgasm took him by surprise, rolling over him like a tide and equally unstoppable.
***
Wei Ying's coffee was warm enough to pass inspection when they had cleaned up and were sitting in bed. The mugs with lids they'd picked up during a weekend in Scotland last year had been worth the investment.
"I can't believe you're letting me eat in bed," Wei Ying said through a mouthful of croissant. "What did I do to deserve this?"
"I will be washing the sheets later."
Wei Ying laughed. "I see. So if it wasn't wash day, we'd be eating downstairs in front of the TV like civilised adults."
"Mn." Lan Zhan considered. "I would also have put down the towel."
"Yeah, I did notice you not complaining about all the mess we just made."
The mess was also the reason Wei Ying was currently pressed against Lan Zhan's side instead of reclining in a sprawl across more than his half of the bed. Lan Zhan didn't mind the outcome. There was a new hickey blooming at the base of Wei Ying's throat: all told, Lan Zhan was very pleased with the way the morning had gone so far.
"You've already been out running and meditated, haven't you?" Wei Ying said. "How are you awake so early after we got in so late yesterday?"
Lan Zhan shrugged carefully, trying not to dislodge Wei Ying. "You used to be up just as early."
Wei Ying tilted his head back to level a glare at Lan Zhan. "When I was a ghost and I couldn't sleep, yeah. Now I've got a century of lie-ins to catch up on. I can't believe you're using that against me."
Lan Zhan kissed him, careful not to upset the tray or nudge the hand holding Wei Ying's coffee. It was an awkward angle, but he made it work, and Wei Ying's indignant lips softened against his after a moment.
"Iceland," Wei Ying said when they separated.
Lan Zhan frowned, trying to work out what twisty path Wei Ying's brain had taken to get there. He didn't mind that Wei Ying was sometimes distracted while they kissed. It didn't mean Wei Ying wasn't enjoying the kissing, only that this particular kiss hadn't been intense enough to derail his thoughts. Lan Zhan hadn't intended it to be: he wasn't planning to spend the entire day in bed.
"The shop or the country?" Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying sipped his coffee. "The country. Although now you mention it, we do need to do some shopping. You've got a delivery scheduled later, right? Do you want to go up to London early tomorrow to hit the Asian groceries before we have lunch with your brother?"
"We can," Lan Zhan said, before trying to pull Wei Ying back to the original tangent. "Iceland the country?"
"Yeah." Wei Ying took a bite out of his croissant and sighed happily. Lan Zhan waited. "Our next adventure. Iceland. Hot springs, volcanos, and I hear there might be dragons if we look in the right places."
"Really?" Lan Zhan said skeptically.
Wei Ying shrugged. "It'll be fun looking for them anyway. Iceland looks amazing."
"We can go there."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Wei Ying sighed happily. "You really are the best. Thank you for indulging me."
"I will always try to give Wei Ying what he wants."
"Even when it's silly or impractical?"
"Mn." Lan Zhan kissed his temple. "Especially when it's silly or impractical. It's what you deserve."
He could see a pink flush creeping down Wei Ying's jaw and he knew there was probably a wide-eyed look of tragic despair if he could have seen Wei Ying's face. It was strangely adorable how embarrassed Wei Ying got whenever Lan Zhan reminded him that he was good and deserved good things.
"Lan Zha-an," Wei Ying said. "Stop being so...that. It's too early and it's not fair."
"I can't stop. It would be a lie."
"Ugh." Wei Ying huffed into his coffee for a moment before emerging to stare at the wall opposite the bed. "You're the best and the worst. I'm so glad I lived long enough to find you."
Lan Zhan smiled. He shifted so he could put his arm round Wei Ying's shoulders and pull him close, his smile widening as Wei Ying sighed and slumped against him bonelessly. Wei Ying put his empty mug on the tray across their laps and tucked his head against Lan Zhan's neck.
"I'm glad, too," Lan Zhan said.
He kissed Wei Ying's hair and they settled in to plan their next adventure together.