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Yan Shu‘s head hurts as he regains consciousness. He‘s lying on some cold hard surface, on his side, with hands tightly bound behind his back, the ropes also winding back to wrap around his torso. Looking around, there‘s not much he can see around in the dim light coming somewhere from above. He‘s in what looks like a dungeon cell. His sword is missing.
What happened? The last thing he remembers is… the ambush!
The memory makes him shoot up into a sitting position, unheeding of the way his muscles protest such sudden movement. Has he been captured?
The sound of steps on stone quickly catches his attention. Then a figure steps out from the shadows.
„You really should have listened to your foster father back then.“ The light falls down, illuminating who it is - Li Changtian, his gentle and handsome face now an unapproachable expressionless mask. He‘s no longer wearing rags or the clothes he borrowed from Yan Shu. Instead, he‘s dressed in simple yet elegant black robes, crows embroidened all over them.
The small clues in front of Yan Shu mercilessly form into a single picture. The crows. Han Ya.
Li Changtian truly was a Han Ya spy. The enemy.
The horrible explanation looms in front of his mind, the sharp edges of its shape cutting whenever Yan Shu‘s thoughts circle back to it. The thought of having been betrayed by someone he had judged trustworthy is a much too bitter pill to swallow, so he shies away from the inevitable conclusion. He doesn‘t want to accept what‘s happening.
„What are you..“ He doesn‘t even know what is he asking.
„He tried to gift you that whistle capable of commanding the gu poison he put in my veins, remember? And you broke the only possible means you could control me with because you believed in me..“ Li Changtian flexes his right wrist. „Heartwarming. Incredibly noble. But also,“ he leans closer, „so incredibly stupid of you, imperial magistrate.“
Yan Shu stares at him in disbelief. He had believed this person would never harm him. He had believed in Li Changtian‘s innocence, in his sincerity, even defended him to his yifu. How could he have been so wrong?
„How long have you been pretending?“ He has to ask. Has everything been a lie all along? Suddenly a terrible possibility occurs to him. „Did you arrange to have the girl in that village killed, in order to get to me?“
Li Changtian chuckles. „Oh no, you actually believed I was an imbecile beggar? Please. How many martial arts practitioning beggars have you seen? Are you truly that naive?“
There‘s a rustle coming from the entrance to the cell. Li Changtian‘s eyes narrow, shifting to the door, so naturally Yan Shu has to look there as well. Another person is standing there, motionless and silent. The shadows conceal his face. Probably a guard, though why a guard would keep watch inside the cell rather than outside, Yan Shu doesn‘t know. He has no more time to ponder that as Li Changtian quickly turns his attention back to Yan Shu.
„It was just a disguise to get close to you. I knew you couldn‘t resist a murder mystery, wouldn‘t resist to meddle just to make sure no innocent bystander was executed. Fortunately, you made it so easy by trusting me, all I had to do was wait for the right opportunity to present itself. And eventually it did.“
„Now,“ he grabs Yan Shu by the collar, lifting him up, „how about you get a taste of your own medicine.“
Li Changtian grabs his jaw tightly, forcing Yan Shu to open his mouth and swiftly inserting a pill, then covering his mouth with one hand and firmly stroking his throat with the other. Yan Shu struggles furiously, making muffled enraged noises, but eventually saliva builds up in his mouth and he can only choke on it or swallow.
He feels the effects of the pill almost immediately.
In an unfortunate reminder of the torture pill he had once used on Li Changtian, ages ago now, heat gathers inside Yan Shu‘s stomach, then turns into burning, spreading both outwards and inwards, making him hunch over and clench his teeth in preparation for more pain to come.
„I will die sooner than tell you anything,“ he manages to get out.
Li Changtian laughs, the hand still on Yan Shu‘s mouth tracing along his lips. „Oh you thought this was an interrogation? No, no. I already know everything I need to know, thanks to your generous hospitality in the past. This is just a way to pass the time.“ He studies Yan Shu‘s posture, the expression on his face, then slides his hand into Yan Shu‘s hair and tilts his head up. „Has it kicked in yet?“
Yan Shu glares at him. Strangely, he doesn‘t feel worse than before. The burning fizzles out into small aches and eventually fades almost completely. All that is left is a warmth, like he had just eaten a hot meal and it‘s sitting in his belly. His head doesn‘t hurt anymore.
Li Changtian raises one eyebrow. „Ahh, not yet then. Just wait for a bit more and you‘ll see.“
Wait – for what? A secret, delayed effect? Or is that another trick of Li Changtian‘s, a mind game?
But before Yan Shu can think of a proper retort to that sentence, there is an interruption at the door to his cell. Someone enters, the person so far only standing and watching placidly moves to intercept them and their shadows mingle. Li Changtian turns away from him and goes to join them. A few words are exchanged in hushed voices, so Yan Shu doesn‘t catch anything of that conversation despite straining his ears as hard as he can. Then Li Changtian casts an inscrutable look at him over his shoulder, raising his voice to be heard.
„Have someone clean him up and move him somewhere more suitable. I am not done playing with him yet.“
He gives the order and leaves.
- - -
Two servants come and watch him apprehensively before approaching. They manhandle Yan Shu to his feet and drag him to a nearby room, one that is clearly used for dealing with various bodily fluids, as evidenced by the old stains over its floor.
The room also sports some handy wall shackles, which Yan Shu ends up being tied to. Reminded of the reversal of their circumstances - of the treatment Li Changtian‘s suffered back at his yifu‘s house - Yan Shu prepares himself for more unpleasant experiences despite Li Changtian‘s declaration about not intending to interrogate him.
However, the only thing that happens is his bloody clothes get stripped off him and he‘s thoroughly washed by the two servants, getting all the dirt off his body and cleaning the various bruises and scrapes he got recently, in the ambush that got him here and other skirmishes. Funnily enough none of them hurt anymore.
Heat rises in Yan Shu‘s cheeks, however, as one of the servants pays uncomfortably close attention to his private parts.
„That is unnecessary,“ he hisses at them through his teeth.
The servants ignore him in favour of forcing him to lean away from the wall and paying the same amount of unnecessarily thorough attention to his behind. Yan Shu jerks so wildly they‘re forced to lose their grip or get a broken nose.
„Hey now, that‘s only for your benefit..“
He even gets scolded on account of their insane behaviour! Yan Shu pierces them with his best look of frozen fury in response. If only he had his hands free..
„Do you think we also should..?“ asks one of them the other.
„No,“ scoffs the other one. „He doesn‘t know what‘s good for him, that‘s his problem. Li-ye will make him regret not listening to us later.“
They both laugh.
Yan Shu, naked and dripping wet, shackled to the wall, doesn‘t.
He gets roughly wiped dry and dressed in simple pants from a coarse fabric. Neither a shirt nor underwear are provided for him. At this point, he doesn‘t bother asking why.
One of the servants leaves while the other keeps watch over him. Yan Shu can do nothing else but wait, goosebumps rising on his skin in the places where it is in contact with the wall, expecting to be escorted back to his cell – or maybe to some new place, where new tortures await.
Li Changtian said he wanted him moved somewhere more suitable – suitable for what? Yan Shu can‘t comprehend his actions. If Li Changtian wanted to torture him some more, that cell he was previously in would be more than sufficient. There is no way Li Changtian would be mistaken enough to think that Yan Shu could be persuaded into joining his cause just by moving him into a nicer set of rooms. What else could he want to do with Yan Shu though?
Before Yan Shu can come up with a possible reason, the servant comes back with a bowl full of some unidentifiable liquid in his hands. He must correctly interpret the steely glint of determination to be as uncooperative as possible when he meets Yan Shu‘s eyes, because he doesn‘t hesitate in deploying the help of his fellow companion.
One of them flattens Yan Shu bodily to the wall, while the other holds his head still and pinches his nose. Yan Shu struggles but can‘t free himself. Bound and facing two opponents, he has no chance, even if ordinarily they wouldn‘t be a challenge for him. When he opens his mouth to suck in air before he suffocates, the contents of the bowl get poured down his throat. He manages to spit some of it out before they cover his mouth as well, but after that it is a lost battle and he has to swallow the rest. As soon as the servants see that happening, they release him.
Yan Shu coughs a few times, his eyes watering. That liquid went not only down his throat but also a bit up his nose, and several streaks of it tickle as they drip down his neck and chest.
He is once again wiped clean and left there. The servants huddle among themselves for a bit, then evidently reaching a decision, unshackle Yan Shu from the wall and blindfold him.
He is escorted along some distance, across several twists and turns, but the blindfold is made of thick fabric so he can ascertain nothing about his surroundings until he is clearly led into some kind of room and forced to his knees in the middle of a bed. There are some rustling sounds and the rope his hands are bound by gets tighter, probably tied to a bed post.
„Wait here until Li-ye has time for you. You can also reflect on your mistakes until then,“ the servants depart with a mocking remark.
Yan Shu is left alone with his thoughts and a racing heart.
- - -
As time passes, he notices some things. His breath and heart rate both pick up, though that could be just anxiety and apprehension of whatever future events Li Changtian has prepared in store for him. He starts sweating a little, but that could also be because the temperature‘s too hot now that he is out of the cold cell and on top of warm furs instead. However, the rising heat in his belly and the corresponding rising stiffness in his pants is harder to explain any other way than the obvious.
The liquid they made him drink must have been an aphrodisiac.
Still that doesn‘t tell Yan Shu what is Li Changtian‘s plan. He must know that Yan Shu won‘t be swayed to betray everything he stands for so easily. What other possible gain there is, for Li Changtian to treat him such? Does he want to humiliate Yan Shu because he guessed that despite everything, Yan Shu still has feelings for him?
The one thing he doesn‘t dare to imagine is Li Changtian thinking of him as anywhere near the prospect of being desirable. If that were the case, surely he would have tried honey trapping Yan Shu already? They were together for so long, spending whole days on the road and Li Changtian never made any kind of move, surely that would have been the perfect opportunity? Yan Shu never suspected him back then. If Li Changtian offered, he would have..
Footsteps come into the room, moving around at first, accompanied by the sounds of someone settling in, then stopping abruptly. There‘s an aggrieved sigh, then the curtains around the bed are drawn apart with a harsh clang.
"How many times how I told you I have no need for-" Li Changtian‘s voice fades in the middle of the sentence.
Yan Shu kneels there awkwardly. He can only imagine what kind of sight he makes: half naked, chest bare, the tented trousers concealing nothing about his arousal.
Unexpectedly, he is left waiting for Li Changtian to react for quite a while. There is no touch or mockery aimed at him, just silence. With the curtains raised, the air in the room feels several degrees colder than before and eventually it makes Yan Shu shiver a little. The bed creaks under him, the sound disrupting the strange feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff that is hanging around the two of them.
In contrast to the harsh treatment given to the bed curtains, the blindfold is carefully lowered from his eyes. Li Changtian's face comes into view. He‘s staring at Yan Shu like he can't believe his own eyes, expression unguarded for once, eyes slipping down Yan Shu's body, lingering on his painfully apparent hard-on, then up to his erect nipples, the droplets of sweat on his pecs, flushed face. Swiftly deducing what turn of events must have happened to get Yan Shu into such a state.
Li Changtian‘s face flushes as well. "Wh-.. I, I didn't- … wouldn‘t, why -?“ He obviously thinks of something, closing his eyes painfully and groaning. “That's not what I- !"
He turns on his heel and stalks back to the door. This manner of behaviour is completely different to how he behaved back in Yan Shu‘s cell. Come to think of it, there had been that person standing at the door at that time, could Li Changtian still be under watch, unable to act freely, despite his Han Ya rank? Do his servants spy on him?
Yan Shu's heart softens a bit. It really doesn't look as if Li Changtian had planned this. Well, he definitely had planned Yan Shu‘s capture, but certainly not for Yan Shu to be drugged. Maybe not all of the Li Changtian he had thought he knew was fake. Maybe… there‘s a chance for a repeat of their last conversation, this time with neither of them hiding anything about their identity from each other.
"Changtian," he calls after him.
Li Changtian stops in place.
"I believe you," says Yan Shu softly, eerily aware of the last time he said these exact words and how he was currently paying for them. "I don‘t think you would force me into your bed."
Li Changtian clenches his fists, then turns back and measure Yan Shu with an even glare.
„You would believe me even now, after I deceived you?“
Yan Shu is not dissuaded. „Did you order me dosed on purpose?“
Li Changtian looks away, jaw tightening. After a while, he admits: „ No.“
„Then why should I not believe you in this matter?“ Yan Shu asks.
Li Changtian doesn‘t answer. Instead, he takes a step closer. „Will you try to run if I untie you?“
„Where could I run to without you catching me?“ Yan Shu answers with another question. „We‘ve already fought in close quarters like these, we both know how such a fight would end.“
Li Changtian wordlessly unbinds the ropes tied around the bed post. Yan Shu lets out a relieved sigh as the tension in his shoulders loosens. Pausing for a bit, Li Changtian‘s hands then land on where the rope ties Yan Shu‘s hands behind his back. Compared to Yan Shu‘s heated skin, they feel cool, like the touch of an early spring breeze, before the snows are fully melted yet.
The rope falls from Yan Shu‘s wrists in coils and he brings his hands in front of him, rubbing the resulting rope marks a little. Li Changtian steps back into his view. His hands reach out to touch Yan Shu‘s, but hesitate and ultimately stop before reaching their goal.
Li Changtian swallows and asks: „Does the pill still work?“
Yan Shu frowns, looking up at him. „The pill?“ In a flash, he suddenly remembers the pill Li Changtian forcefully fed him upon their meeting. So it had a secret effect after all! He really shouldn‘t feel disappointed anymore..
„Mm,“ nods Li Changtian. Half under his breath, he explains: „It should still be in effect, you should not be able to feel any pain from your wounds.“
Yan Shu‘s heart feels like it was stuck with lightning. That secret effect.. was actually to help him? He stares at Li Changtian, complex emotions rumbling around in his chest, like the clouds on the eve of a summer storm. Li Changtian stares back, seemingly equally mesmerised.
Time passes.
Their eyes are locked in a standstill, both of them forlorn, hoping the other still harbors affection in his heart, both of them afraid to ask in case the opposite will be confirmed. Words are dangerous, after all, actions are much simpler. If only this moment could be preserved forever, here where they are not enemies fated to do nothing but hurt each other, instead simply Yan Shu and Li Changtian, feasting on the sight of the other‘s face, committing it to memory, hanging on the precipice of something unsaid yet almost tangible in the air aroung them..
The aphrodisiac flowing in Yan Shu‘s veins flares up and makes him gasp with the strength of the desire lighting his body up from within. He breaks the eye contact with Li Changtian and has to grasp the bed sheets around him tightly so his hands do not wander to the place where he is throbbing so badly for a human touch, no matter how fleeting.
Through gritted teeth, Yan Shu says: „Maybe you should have left me tied up.“ He can barely control his desire now, what will he do when it gets worse? He has no idea what kind of aphrodisiac he had been given. People can lose all sense of shame under such influence, and have no qualms touching themselves even in public. How can he subject Li Changtian to such a sight? Forget the aphrodisiac, he would die of embarrassment to have forced Li Changtian to look at him during a time like that.
Li Changtian sighs in response. „Aiyah, do you think I would be so cruel, that I would let you suffer the effects with no way to relieve yourself?“ He takes a few steps back, turning his back on Yan Shu. „Just.. deal with it. We are both men here.“
Yan Shu is left speechless. Do that.. while Li Changtian is right here??
„I would leave the room so you‘d have some privacy, but alas,“ Li Changtian continues, as if sensing Yan Shu‘s thoughts, „no such luxury awarded for prisoners.“
Yan Shu can hear the wry smirk in his voice as he steps behind the folding screen arranged tastefully in a corner, decorated with – what else - a crow pattern on it.
„And it would look suspicious if I just left you alone in here, “ Li Changtian adds. „So.“ He clears his throat. „You can just go ahead and.. um. Tell me when I can turn back.“ He waits a while to let Yan Shu respond if he wants to, then, with no reply forthcoming, he adds needlessly: „I‘ll wait.“
You waiting here, that is the whole problem! Yan Shu seethes helplessly in embarrassed silence. Unfortunately, he does not come up with a better solution to the conundrum they‘re in now, courtesy of Li Changtian‘s servants misunderstanding the situation and probably also their entire relationship history. If he‘s being honest to himself, he doubts it would be any better if he were to.. deal with it.. right here, in Li Changtian‘s bed, on top of the covers saturated with his smell, with the knowledge that Li Changtian is standing just outside of these doors, waiting to be called back in at Yan Shu‘s word.
It is an unbearably erotic thought.
Yan Shu bites off the sound that his throat wants to make and inches one hand to his thigh. His chest rises and falls, his lungs eagerly taking in the same air Li Changtian is breathing. If he looks, he can just about make out Li Changtian‘s shadow behind that folding screen. He must be using it regularly when he changes his clothes or after taking a bath.
The mental image of Li Changtian in a bathtub sends Yan Shu on a downwards spiral. With a muffled curse, he finally lets go of his propriety and all inhibitions and allows himself to curl his hand around his cock.
The relief that floods him at that single touch is overwhelming, yet it passes way too soon for Yan Shu to enjoy any sort of reprieve. He squeezes just to extract every possible drop of pleasure out of that first touch, making him shiver, and then slips the trousers down to his knees so he can start stroking himself in earnest.
Torn between the desire to get it over with as soon as possible and the lustful craving to enjoy this pleasurable pastime, he alternates between fast and hard strokes and a slower, more sensual tempo. Eventually, he brings his other hand in front as well to cup his balls, exhaling and closing his eyes at the rush it brings him. He instinctively wants to spread his legs more but they‘re caught up in the fabric of the trousers he still has on around his knees, which limits his movement. It is not dissimilar to the feeling of being bound in ropes like he was earlier, at Li Changtian‘s mercy, and oh, suddenly, his thighs tremble. Feeling weak, he leans back onto his elbows and strokes himself faster.
Waves of anticipation build in his underbelly and plateau, each one higher than the one before it, and Yan Shu tenses and releases his thigh muscles in synchrony with the buildup. He‘s gasping for air now, yet still feeling like he doesn‘t have enough of it, like he will fly out of his skin if he keeps being unable to move freely, yet enjoying the feeling of restraint. Full of contradictions, he searches for some way to make that horrible tension in his body snap. He tosses his head to the side, only intending to work out some of that tension loose, but as it happens, his nose lands in a pillow Li Changtian must be using at night because his scent is so concentrated there, it‘s like Yan Shu placed his nose right next to Li Changtian‘s skin and breathed in.
He‘s not even conscious of when exactly he hits the peak, just registers every single muscle in his body seizing, his hips arching into the air with a whimper, left hand clenched tightly in the bed sheets, right hand milking his cock, prolonging the orgasm as far as possible.
Afterwards, slowly calming down, breaths settling to somewhere approaching normal, he eyes the stain he left on Li Changtian‘s bed and can‘t help but be glad Li Changtian will have this tangible reminder of Yan Shu having been in his bed even after he leaves. If only until the sheets get washed.
He wipes his hand off on the bed, taking care to cover himself back up properly and settling a bit to the side, out of the wet spot, before calling out to Li Changtian.
„You.. you can come out.“ His voice breaks in the middle. Yan Shu hopes Li Changtian won‘t comment on that.
Li Changtian emerges from behind the folding screen. At least he has the decency to look flustered as well. Not that Yan Shu thinks waiting behind folding screens while another person masturbates could be a common pastime of Li Changtian‘s, no – it‘s just reassuring to know that Li Changtian too found the whole experience embarrasing. Out of the ordinary. Definitely not something that could happen even once, not to mention a repeating occurence.
Yan Shu forcibly stops thinking about possible repeats of what just happened.
„Everything.. alright?“ Li Changtian‘s voice is somewhat higher than usual. He has also lost his outer robes and loosened them around the neck in the meantime.
„Mmhm,“ Yan Shu says, preoccupied. He had just finished a rather vigorous exercise, but still. Why does Li Changtian keep his rooms so warm? Being from the north, he should be used to the cold. Did he do it due to Yan Shu‘s lack of dress? Maybe he should open a window to let some fresh air in, show Li Changtian he doesn‘t mind cooler temperatures.
Yan Shu stands up, unthinking about how his movement towards the window could be perceived as an escape atttempt.
„Alright, so, you can stay the night here and tomorrow I‘ll- hey!“ Li Changtian breaks in the middle of his sentence.
Yan Shu doesn‘t expect him to do anything so he is taken completely off guard when Li Changtian tackles him to the ground. He goes down hard, bruising his knees and elbows, but reflexively twists to get out of Li Changtian‘s hold. Li Changtian doesn‘t let him go, however, managing to pin both of his hands over Yan Shu‘s head, and that is the beginning of Yan Shu losing the struggle. He tosses his hips to try and knock Li Changtian off him, but Li Changtian supports himself with the other hand on Yan Shu‘s left shoulder to fully settle his weight down on Yan Shu‘s legs, squeezing them together to make him stop squirming.
Pinned to the ground like that, Yan Shu has no way left to move. That doesn‘t stop him from trying when he feels a certain part of his moving, despite having literally just jerked off.
„Get.. off-!“ he wheezes out.
Li Changtian, predictably, doesn‘t. „Why would you try to-“ he starts saying, frowning, but stops when he encounters the unavoidable physical proof of the aphrodisiac‘s persistance. He visibly swallows. „Did you not..?“ he trails off.
Yan Shu, now redder than the hair string he usually wears, turns his head to the side to avoid Li Changtian‘s eyes. „Don‘t you have any shame, to ask that,“ he manages to spit out, his dignity in tatters.
„Aah, no, that‘s right, the sounds I heard were – ehm,“ Li Changtian breaks off the sentence and coughs. „I mean, you even told me to come out.“ He frowns. „Then why did it not work?“
A horrible suspicion is blooming in Yan Shu‘s mind, but he would rather die than speak it out loud. The only possibly reason why masturbation wouldn‘t work is if the cure required the help of another person. He will not ask that of Li Changtian. He twists his wrists and Li Changtian lets him go as if burned.
Yan Shu scoots out from under him and up into a sitting position. He studies the floor around him, but some unidentifiable force he cannot resist makes him lift his eyes to see what expression is Li Changtian wearing.
Li Changtian is staring at him evenly, waiting for an explanation.
Yan Shu looks away in embarrassment, jerking his shoulder. “Why do you think?“ He did not choose the medicament to be drugged with, why should he be the first one to realize the necessary conditions for its neutralisation?
Silence.
„Oh,“ Li Changtian says. „Oh!“ A blush starts creeping up his neck, too.
His eyes are very wide. Like that, he looks so very dumb, even when Yan Shu knows first hand how intelligent he actually is, despite having proved he can be so very slow on the uptake just now. Looking like that, Yan Shu can imagine he is no more than the dim-witted little beggar boy Yan Shu saved back in that village.
That shouldn‘t be so arousing. But it is.
Yan Shu hisses as the problem in his pants reaches uncomfortable proportions again.
Li Changtain jerks forwards before realizing that won‘t help. „Uh- - - ..ahh.. should I- should I send for – someone? A maid?“ he stammers out.
Yan Shu glares at him. „Order a servant to do it because they won‘t refuse-“
„No no no no no!“ Li Changtian hurriedly interrupts. „I just thought, who could you possibly, … you know… neutralise the aphrodisiac with.“ He gestures vaguely. If that was supposed to be symbolising the act of intercourse, Yan Shu despairs of his performing skills. It looked more like the death throes of a duck.
„I doubt you‘d find someone willing in this entire establishment,“ Yan Shu strains to get out between his teeth when all he wants to do is close them over Li Changtian‘s neck and bite down.
Li Changtian laughs, his voice reaching an uncharacteristically high pitch. „Well, as a matter of fact...“ he trails off.
It is Yan Shu‘s turn to stare at him.
Under the weight of Yan Shu‘s gaze, Li Changtian starts fidgeting. „Don‘t tell me you would be willing to accept me,“ he says, studying his fingernails.
Those words seem to hang in Yan Shu‘s ears long after they‘re out of Li Changtian‘s mouth.
Don‘t tell me you would accept me, a ccept me, accept me-
They get gradually louder as they repeat faster and faster on a loop inside his head, eventually turning into a ringing sound, one that paints a picture of- well, of accepting Li Changtian into his own body-
Yan Shu shudders all over. Takes a deep breath. Tries to think clearly for a moment.
He can‘t continue on like this forever, some of these aphrodisiacs only wear off after a few months, while the nastier ones could even cause death if not cured.
Fact.
He doesn‘t know what kind he imbibed, but there is a single, solitary, perfect solution for each and every one of them.
Fact.
He has a duty to his family, to his country.
Fact.
Entangling with a person on the enemy side is a hopeless endeavour and one that inevitably leads to only pain and suffering for both parties.
Fact.
His heart has already been long, long hopelessly entangled with Li Changtian.
Fact.
This is probably the last chance he would ever get. A bittersweet memory to hold close and cherish after the dust settles on the battlefield.
Breathing in shakily, laying his heart bare, Yan Shu says: „I would.“
- - -
Li Changtian feels his eyes almost pop out of the sockets. Has the world gone completely crazy?
„Are.. are you sure?“ he says, and instantly wants to kick himself for dwelling on the topic. They are already enemies, why would Yan Shu want to- of course he doesn‘t, Li Changtian must have heard wrong- it was a hypothetical situation anyw-
„If it is the right choice? No,“ Yan Shu says, misunderstanding Li Changtian‘s words. „If I am still capable of making any choice at all? Yes.“
Li Changtian frowns. He wasn‘t aware they had aphrodisiacs on storage at all, much less any notion of exactly how shady the stuff they did keep is, or how harmful it can be. Is Yan Shu in danger if he chooses not to suffer through the cure? He itches to hunt down the servants who are responsible for this mess they‘re in, but that would take too long, and time is the one thing they don‘t have.
Besides, Yan Shu is the priority here.
„Hey, isn‘t the floor uncomfortable? Wouldn‘t you rather sit on the bed?“ he blurts out. Not waiting for a response, he reaches out and wraps a hand around Yan Shu‘s back, intending to help him get up. Weirdly, Yan Shu makes a punched out noise and basically becomes dead weight, hanging off him and being no help whatsoever. Li Changtian has to struggle to haul him over to the bed.
Yan Shu plops down on the covers like a rag doll. His phoenix eyes refuse to leave Li Changtian‘s even for a moment, shining brightly.
„Isn‘t it better now?“ whispers Li Changtian, leaning over him. He has no idea why he is whispering.
Yan Shu‘s hands come up and interlock behind Li Changtian‘s head. He nods. Somehow he‘s looking especially enchanting like this, every single piece of his usually cold face so beautiful it hurts, this time not reflecting some heavenly beauty, but rather reminiscent of a distant mountain peak slowly melting its icy cap when spring comes, finally approachable for mortals to traverse and admire.
Just as Li Changtian draws out of the spell a little and starts thinking about giving him some space, Yan Shu‘s eyes finally move and rest on his lips. Li Changtian barely has the time to think how unfortunate it is that he will never come so close to kissing Yan Shu again, before Yan Shu‘s hands resolutely drag him down into a kiss.
His mind shortens out the moment their lips touch. It is.. warm, and gentle, despite the sense of urgency he gets from how quickly and purposefully Yan Shu‘s lips move over his. Then, before he has time to process these sensations, there‘s a tongue insistently demanding access, and slipping in when he parts his lips in surprise.
Li Changtian moans unconsciously. He had never imagined kissing Yan Shu could feel like that, like Yan Shu‘s directly stoking the fire that is starting to burn in his belly, adding fuel to it with every move of his lips, his mouth, his tongue, like he is intent on consuming Li Changtian whole and leaving nothing but ashes behind. Yan Shu‘s nails scratch at the nape of his neck, the sharp prickle reverberating down his spine to tug at the centre of his desire. He chases after Yan Shu, drunk on that kiss, forgetting he needs to breathe until his head actually gets a bit dizzy.
Gasping, they separate – but only for a moment. It seems that Yan Shu can‘t handle having his lips anywhere that is not Li Changtian‘s skin, as soon as his mouth leaves Li Changtian‘s, he starts leaving a trail of little kisses along Li Changtian‘s jaw, sometimes sucking on the skin a little. He even nudges Li Changtian‘s chin up a bit so he can get better access to his neck. It feels wonderful but does nothing to diffuse Li Changtian‘s guilt, considering that it is his fault Yan Shu is like this.
Li Changtian supports himself on his elbows, braced on either side of Yan Shu‘s head, and tries to focus his thoughts enough to speak.
„Wait, wait, wait-“ he manages to get out.
Yan Shu freezes, hands still locked behind Li Changtian‘s neck, even if he draws back enough to meet Li Changtian‘s eyes.
„Don‘t do anything you would regret later,“ Li Changtian finishes somewhat awkwardly. He does not look into Yan Shu‘s eyes. „This entire situation is my fault-“
„Changtian.“ Yan Shu closes his eyes, seemingly bracing himself for something. Then, taking a deep breath, he opens them again. „Will you regret this?“
„Ah?“ Li Changtian gapes down at Yan Shu like a gutted fish. „Regret? How could I ever regret-“ He blushes, then swallows. „I just don‘t want to force you. You are my prisoner, after all.“
Yan Shu makes an unintelligible sound. His eyes darken.
„You are not forcing me,“ he whispers in a rough voice. „Far from it.“
Li Changtian feels that sentence tug directly at both his heart and his dick.
„Oh,“ he whispers back, shifting his weight to his right so he can press his left hand to Yan Shu‘s cheek and stroke it gently. He studies every little detail of Yan Shu‘s face he can see: the exact shape of his cheekbones, the shade of his skin, the flutter of his eyelashes, until their eyes meet and he lets them, both of them looking their fill.
„Yan Shu,“ he says, swallowing all the other words at the tip of his tongue, waiting to be released.
„Changtian,“ says Yan Shu back, filling the sound of his name with yearning and unexpressed affection.
Their mouths meet for a second time. This time, it‘s less urgent, more thorough, Li Changtian‘s hair gets hopelessly tangled as Yan Shu‘s hands shift constantly behind his neck, unable to stay still. Yan Shu‘s eyes close so Li Changtian can caress every part of his face, even tracing his eyelids with a finger, like he wants to be able to draw it later. Slowly, the kiss grows more heated again.
This time he makes no effort to interrupt it. He lets the feeling of finally, finally kissing the man he has been thinking of kissing for so long swarm over him, fanning the flames burning inside him, making his heart swell, too. He had thought he could never experience this, noticing Yan Shu‘s otherworldly beauty right from the start but being reluctant to act on it while he was pretending to be someone else, missing memories, and then events kept happening and before he realized it he was in too deep, unable to reconcile his heart‘s desire with his mission and his orders, so the only possible way forward had been to part ways with Yan Shu and hope that by the time they would inevitably meet again. standing on opposing sides, the wounds in his heart would be scarred over and he would be able to make the right choice.
And now, to have this miracle of a second chance presented to him unexpectedly, how could he refuse such a gift from fate? He would have never dared to dream of Yan Shu saying these things to him, calling his name not in scorn, but with unfalsified affection.
He lets these thoughts run through his head freely, unable to articulate them and not only due to the fact that his mouth is otherwise occupied. Words are useless, after all, they can be misunderstood or twisted. Actions are much better when it comes to expressing meaning.
He tries to put every single unsaid thought and feeling in his heart into they way his lips dance over Yan Shu‘s mouth, over the skin of his jaw and neck, into the way his fingers press Yan Shu down, spread across the expanse of his chest, before sliding around it, finding and relishing every place that makes Yan Shu twist or huff a breath into his mouth in ticklish surprise.
For all that he lets his hands roam of their own will, he comes to a surprised stop when they touch the hem of Yan Shu‘s trousers. He draws back slightly, opening his eyes again, unconcious of when he had even closed them, only to get distracted by the sight of Yan Shu panting slightly, eyes unfocused, clearly so much more devastated by this than Li Changtian, undoubtedly in part due to the aphrodisiac‘s hold on his mind.
Li Changtian swallows and tenderly touches his chin. „Hey,“ he whispers, waiting to see Yan Shu‘s eyes focus on his own before tugging on the string keeping his trousers tied up, „may I?“
Yan Shu groans, closing his eyes, and lets one of his hands drop from Li Changtian‘s neck to his butt and squeeze. „Please.“
Li Changtian almost swallows his own tongue. Rendered briefly unable to remember how knots work, he fumbles for a moment before deciding he‘s not wasting any more time before he can actually get his hands onto Yan Shu properly and simply rips the string off. Settling on his knees, he works on pulling Yan Shu‘s trousers down to his thighs with Yan Shu eagerly assisting him and then promptly choking when Li Changtian wraps his hand around his cock.
Li Changtian marvels at how smooth the skin on Yan Shu‘s private parts feels, velvety and so very warm to the touch, both like and unlike he is used to feeling on himself. The angle of his handgrip is different. The way Yan Shu gasps when he moves his hand is definitely different.
He takes his time exploring the head, rubbing along before changing to long strokes, up and down, up and down, all the way from the base to the tip. Yan Shu definitely likes those, judging by how his hands twitch and tug on Li Changtian‘s clothes, moving all over his back, up to the neck and back down, sometimes digging into his skin, urging him on.
Then he gets an idea and changes the rhythmic motions, keeping the foreskin pulled down so he can tease the frenulum with the tip of his thumb, which results in Yan Shu making small hitching noises that he tries to swallow down but can‘t quite manage to muffle, making Li Changtian feel very smug – and commit them to memory. After a while, he takes pity on Yan Shu and goes back to the rhythmic motions, trying out different speeds and levels of tightness of the grip. However, Li Changtian is nowhere near done exploring before Yan Shu suddenly jackknives up and folds around him, sinking his teeth gently into the skin of Li Changtian‘s neck, muffling a groan. After staying like that a bit, he withdraws and whispers, breath tickling the wet skin, „I‘m close.“
Li Changtian hums in acknowledgement before focusing on keeping his efforts in a regular rhythm. Before long, he‘s rewarded by Yan Shu stiffening all over and desperately sticking their mouths together as he comes into Li Changtian‘s palm.
Breathing hard, they stay pressed chest to chest, before Li Changtian clears his throat awkwardly.
„Did that work?“ he asks while they‘re both still catching their breaths. His voice remains deep and rough.
Yan Shu‘s hands spasm at his neck, then release and fall to his sides. He lowers himself slowly back down, scooting away from under Li Changtian to maintain an illusion of distance, and focuses on dragging his trousers back up over his hips. Unfortunately, he has to hold them up with one hand to keep them from falling down, since the string that was holding them up before is now irretrievably lost.
„I‘ll let you know once I‘m sure of it,“ he says. His own voice doesn‘t sound much better off.
Li Changtian nods, and not knowing what else to do, sits up. Before he can wipe his hand off on the sheet, a thought occurs to him. He hesitates at first but it‘s too tempting - he will most likely not get another opportunity, after all. Sneaking a glance at Yan Shu to make sure he‘s not looking, Li Changtian angles his body to the side a bit and tries to inconspicuously lick his own hand to see how does Yan Shu actually taste like.
Before he can register anything more than ‘salty‘ there‘s a loud gasp and he freezes with his hand still in front of his mouth. Yan Shu‘s eyes are fixed on that spot too, open wide. He looks shocked to the core. The blush in his cheeks spreads all the way down to his chest right before Li Changtian‘s eyes, so they naturally follow it and when they reach his waist they can‘t help but fall even further down because..
„It definitely didn‘t work,“ says Yan Shu, clearing his throat, which doesn‘t help him any more than it did Li Changtian.
Li Changtian absentmindedly swallows, eyes still on Yan Shu‘s crotch where he is once again standing tall and proud. Well. It seems they will have to cure the aphrodisiac the hard way.
He moves his hand to touch Yan Shu and is quickly reminded of its current state. Blushing a bit, he decides to follow his original plan. Yan Shu already saw him, what shame does he have left to lose?
„I shouldn‘t waste this,“ he says as an attempt at explanation before sucking one of the fingers into his mouth and glancing at Yan Shu from under his eyelids to gauge his reaction.
Yan Shu helplessly clutches at the bed covers around him to stop himself from reaching out, although he is unable to look away or to stop the whimper rising up in his throat.
Li Changtian takes his time swallowing as much as he is comfortable with and wiping off the rest, not moving from his position. Once he is finished, he turns a considering look to Yan Shu, taking in how much he resembles a deer caught in the headlights.
„I like how you taste,“ he confesses with a smile.
Yan Shu finally turns his head away. „Is that really necessary for the cure,“ he asks, the words coming out breathy.
„Probably not,“ admits Li Changtian, shrugging. „But I wanted to do it.“ He doesn‘t realize what his words do to Yan Shu because he immediately continues: „Also, I think I should disrobe now.“ Standing up, he starts taking off his inner clothes before leaving them half-undone as another thought occurs to him. „And we‘ll need something to ease the way.“
„I-,“ Yan Shu starts before trailing off. With Li Changtian‘s clothes in disarray like that, the hem of his trousers hangs barely over his hips, with every shift in posture, every little movement teasing the possibility of revealing even more of his naked skin. It‘s such a tantalising image that he instantly loses track of all other thoughts.
Li Changtian hesitates with his hand hovering over the little ceramic bottle he keeps near the foot of his bed. „Unless.. you changed your mind? It‘s just, the best way to make sure the cure works, is if I do the- um.“ He tries to think of a sufficient euphemism. „Work.“
Some of the aphrodisiacs even require certain bodily fluids to be absorbed by the cursed person in order to be rendered inactive. He really hopes that‘s all it would take, certainly some even weirder requirements for cures exist, although those are usually only of concern to women.
„I didn‘t change my mind,“ Yan Shu says.
Li Changtian instantly feels relieved. „So, you agree to do it like this then? This way, we likely won‘t have to make any more attempts to cure the aphrodisiac..“
„Right, the cure, of course,“ Yan Shu says, sounding distracted. Li Changtian frowns. If the aphrodisiac‘s already clouding Yan Shu‘s mind again, it must be working really fast. They better hurry up and cure it quickly.
Still, he can‘t just stick it in like some kind of a- a- a flower thief. Yan Shu deserves better! He deserves to be wooed, he deserves romance, foreplay…
He deserves to have his dick sucked, at the very least.
Determined, Li Changtian motions at Yan Shu to lie down fully.
„I‘ll do my best to take care of you,“ he promises.
Yan Shu lets out a breath he didn‘t even know he was holding in and collapses onto the sheets. Li Changtian reaches up to him, a bit awkwardly, so he can try to manouevre Yan Shu out of his pants,
which Yan Shu reciprocates by grasping Li Changtian by the hair and refusing to let go until he, too, loses his clothes.
The small movements Li Changtian makes while disrobing tug at the strands of his hair held firmly in Yan Shu‘s grip but Yan Shu finds himself unwilling to either let go or gentle the grip, like Li Changtian could disappear if he doesn‘t hold on tightly. Li Changtian doesn‘t complain even if he sucks in a quick breath at several points. Yan Shu watches with half-lidded eyes as Li Changtian finally sets the clothes aside and he can finally feast his eyes on what was denied to him before.
Yan Shu is not the type to wax poetic about other men‘s manhoods, but Li Changtian looks every bit as perfect down there as Yan Shu once thought he was in general: pink, deceptively nice, and just the right fit so he‘d never have to be alone.
Li Changtian quirks one corner of his mouth up. „Like what you see?“
Under the uncomfortable reminder of their bittersweet past, the only way Yan Shu sees to stop the spiral of nostalgia is to drown his feelings in lust. Still holding onto Li Changtian‘s hair, he yanks suddenly and drags the unsuspecting Li Changtian into a fierce kiss.
Half-fallen on top of Yan Shu, Li Changtian quickly gathers his wits and kisses devastatingly back. They lose time inside of that kiss, half-feral, half-gentle, all-consuming in its heat, until Li Changtian draws back, this time, the strands of his hair sliding freely between Yan Shu‘s fingers.
„Let me make you feel good,“ he whispers. Not waiting for Yan Shu‘s reply, he puts his lips to Yan Shu‘s skin: first at his collarbones, then the chest, then lower, at his sides, and lower still, scraping the edges of his teeth alongside his underbelly causing a delightful shiver of danger, and lower still, exploring the soft inside of his thighs. Yan Shu doesn‘t complain, or refuse, he simply lies there and lets his body speak instead of him. It is only appropriate that Li Changtian gets fluent in its speech, after all.
It isn‘t long before Yan Shu feels the warm huff of Li Changtian‘s breath on his groin. He draws in an unsteady breath, trying to prepare himself for what‘s to come even knowing that it is futile. He still ends up jerking his hips at the first touch of Li Changtian‘s tongue on his cock.
Li Changtian, who almost had his eye poked out, laughs. „Try to stay still, if you can,“ he says and dives back. Yan Shu doesn‘t even have time to apologize before he has other concerns on his mind - namely, how not to moan so loudly it could be heard outside of the door.
Meanwhile, Li Changtian is clearly enjoying himself, playing with Yan Shu‘s cock, licking around the head and sucking gently, then trying to see how much of it he can fit inside his mouth comfortably, before ultimately withdrawing to mercilessly tease the head again. He even tries scraping the edges of his teeth on the skin here, too, which is something Yan Shu could never imagine liking before, but he does. Maybe it‘s because it‘s Changtian, so even the thrill of violence is welcome, in a way, with Yan Shu so desperate for any attention that he‘ll take it, or maybe it‘s just another way the tension between them has translated into his turn ons. Certainly he had never been excited by so many random things before, even accounting for the effects of the aphrodisiac.
Lost in these thoughts, Yan Shu doesn‘t notice Li Changtian measuring him up until he‘s swallowed whole, all the way down, and swallowing around the sensitive head. Yan Shu feels struck by- lightning, or something else equally powerful, intense and terrifying in its inevitability. His hands raise of their own will and wrap themselves once more around Li Changtian‘s head just so he can have something to hold onto against the storm raging inside his feelings. His eyes are glued to Li Changtian, he physically can‘t look away from the sight of Li Changtian‘s lips wrapped around his cock, its length disappearing down his throat, and then, then Li Changtian raises his head a little to look him in straight the eye, a smirk stretching his mouth, and starts blowing him in earnest.
All air leaves Yan Shu‘s lungs at once, and he gasps, trying to reclaim it, but it is a futile endeavor since he only loses it again every time Li Changtian swallows around him on the downwards move. How is he doing that, does he not need air to breathe? Yan Shu vaguely wonders before dismissing such unimportant little details in order to better focus on the current moment.
He‘s so focused on what Li Changtian‘s doing with his cock that almost doesn‘t even notice when he presses a finger inside him as well. Yan Shu only registers it as a vague increase in tightness in his already coiled muscles and only realizes what is actually going on when the finger reaches its goal and presses into it.
„Hnnngh!“ An unarticulated sound escapes Yan Shu and his whole body seizes even more, his hands dragging Li Changtian unintentionally off his cock.
Li Changtian just laughs and licks the precome off his lips.
„Ahh I‘m glad to see I can please you..“
He continues playing inside Yan Shu, artfully moving his fingers here and there, while sucking at the tip of his dick, causing an uninterrupted flow of pleasure fizzling down his spine, so Yan Shu loses every rational thought he could still string together.
Yan Shu‘s mind is full of nothing but Changtian, the feel of Changtian‘s hair between his fingers, the scratch of Changtian‘s skin against his fingertips, the heat of Changtian‘s mouth around his dick which is somehow also warming up his heart. Such warmth that he thought he‘d never feel again after their parting, but now it is everything he can feel and it is so, so good, coccooning his heart in a hazy softness, swelling until it feels ready to burst..
The heat around him suddenly disappears, an acute loss that makes Yan Shu moan in protest before he can stop himself or really think about it.
Before he can do more than that, Li Changtian‘s face gets really close to his own and there‘s a blunt pressure where his fingers had been before.
„Last chance to back out,“ Li Changtian whispers against his mouth.
What an idiot. Why is that so endearing?
Yan Shu makes an inarticulate noise and surges up, swallowing any other words Li Changtian might feel the need to say. He presses inside Li Changtian‘s mouth just as Li Changtian presses slowly inside him and the contrast between those two feelings is maddening, the welcoming yield of Li Changtian‘s tongue above and his throbbing heat stretching Yan Shu below, the push and pull, Yan Shu making his home inside Li Changtian while Li Changtian‘s carving a place for himself inside Yan Shu, both of them fitting together and wrapping tightly around each other like they were meant to be. Like they will never have to separate again.
Yan Shu sobs into Li Changtian‘s mouth, overwhelmed at the idea of this too-good, fairytale-like fantasy of getting to keep this man at his side in the future as a willing companion and more. His heart can‘t handle such a tease.
Li Changtian immediately tears his mouth off and stops moving. „What‘s wrong, Yan Shu, does it hurt too m-“
He doesn‘t get the chance to finish his sentence because Yan Shu, eyes suspiciously shining, loses all patience at this unbearable separation and growls: „Just move already,“ before flipping them over and settling down over Li Changtian‘s hips.
Yan Shu lets out another guttural sound as he fully sinks down, the new position making him appreciate every bit of Li Changtian‘s cock in the fullest. It is Li Changtian‘s turn to stare like an offering about to be devoured by a hungry god.
„Yan Shu,“ he breathes out, sounding almost worshipful.
„Changtian,“ replies Yan Shu, admiring Li Changtian‘s face with half-lided eyes before he starts to move his hips.
He raises himself up until the only thing inside him is the tip of Li Changtian‘s cock, then lets gravity help him on the way down. The pleasurable stretch turns into an explosion behind his eyes and Yan Shu grinds his hips around, chasing the feeling, before straightening up to do it again.
Li Changtian‘s hands helplessly clutch Yan Shu‘s hips.
„A-ah, Yan Shu, Y-yan Shu-uuh,“ he rambles on like a prayer.
Yan Shu braces himself on Li Changtian‘s generous chest and really gets into it, slamming himself up and down to keep seeing the stars in front of his eyes, fingers digging into Li Changtian‘s pecs. He‘s breathing too hard to waste breath on any words, can‘t think of anything beyond fulfilling his desire.
Underneath him, Li Changtian fills in the silence enough for the both of them.
„Y-yan Shu, so good, y-you feel so good, nngh, just, keep, ah! Keep moving like that, please-“
Yan Shu changes his grip a bit and leans back, wrapping one hand around his cock.
Li Changtian whines like a dying whale.
„Oh, wow, that‘s so- s-so, sexy, nngh, Y-yan Shu, my love, please, hurry, I- I can‘t-“
He plants his feet so he can move his hips up. It won‘t be long before he‘s done and he wants Yan Shu to come first.
„T-then come,“ Yan Shu gets out, his hand moving faster.
„Oh- fuck-“ Li Changtian grits his teeth in a desperate attempt to keep from coming just a bit longer as he thrusts his hips up to make Yan Shu come.
„Changtiaaa-,“ the name escapes from Yan Shu‘s mouth. His legs lose all power and he slumps down, letting Li Changtian do all the work, focusing instead on his own cock, the lust in his underbelly pooling and pooling before overflowing.
Yan Shu stifles a scream behind his teeth as his body stiffens all over and he orgasms, cock jerking and pulsing come in an impressive arch, some of it even falling onto Li Changtian‘s face. His body follows soon after, collapsing on top of Li Changtian, head tucked into Li Changtian‘s neck as he catches his breath. „I love you,“ slips out from his lips unintentionally.
Li Changtian jerks in surprise and slams Yan Shu down onto his cock, coming in several hot spurs inside him.
They stay like that for a time, Li Changtian still inside Yan Shu, slowly softening, the air Yan Shu is breathing out tickling the side of his neck. However, Li Changtian would be unwilling to move even if his muscles weren‘t all turned into jelly.
Inevitably, enough of the warmth of their overheated bodies dissipates that they feel the first stirrings of chill on their skin, awkwardness settling over them like an unwanted blanket.
„Ah,“ Li Changtian coughs and carefully slips outside of Yan Shu. „Let me just..yeah.“ He reaches blindly for a handkerchief with one hand and offers it to Yan Shu to clean himself up.
Yan Shu shakes his head and pushes his hand away in refusal.
„You should use it first, you have-“ Yan Shu gestures towards Li Changtian‘s face.
Li Changtian stares a bit before realizing. „Oh!“ he blushes, and wipes off as best he can. „Did I get it all?“ he asks.
„No, you still have a bit-“ Yan Shu carefully looks just left to Li Changtian‘s eyes.
Li Changtian makes another pass around his face with the handkerchief, to no avail. „Better?“
Yan Shu makes a frustrated noise and reaches out to wipe the remaining stain off Li Changtian‘s face himself with a finger, then freezing up once he realizes what he‘s done. Their eyes meet.
Li Changtian makes a soft sound in the back of his throat and presses his lips gently to Yan Shu‘s, who reciprocates the gesture. They kiss leisurely for a while, lost in the moment, before both of them suddenly remember what they said just a few moment before.
They withdraw from the kiss almost at the same time, each of them looking to the side.
Li Changtian silently hands Yan Shu the handkerchief.
„Erm, did it- did the cure...uh, work?“
Yan Shu rolls off to the side and takes the time to thoroughly clean himself up, making sure to turn his back to Li Changtian. „It did, yes.“ After he‘s finished, he throws the used handkerchief to the floor and slips his pants back on but otherwise doesn‘t move. „What now?“
They have finally dealt with the more immediately problem of the aphrodisiac, and it made them momentarily forget themselves, but otherwise nothing changed. Emotions and confessions aside, Yan Shu was still Li Changtian‘s prisoner and his enemy.
„Um. It‘s late. You can take the bed, I‘ll sleep on the floor,“ Li Changtian offers.
Yan Shu turnes to face him, his voice going serious. „Changtian,“ he pronunciates, putting emphasis on each syllable. „What now?“
Li Changtian sucks in a breath. He meets Yan Shu‘s eyes before looking away. „Go to sleep. I‘ll figure out a way to let you escape tomorrow. Just make sure to not let yourself be caught next time.“
Yan Shu feels his poor heart tremble. Hope is a terrible thing, much like trust – and yet he finds himself trusting Li Changtian again. „I- it‘s unnecessary for you to sleep on the floor, after what just happened.“
Li Changtian doesn‘t protest further. He puts out the light and lies on the opposite site of the bed than Yan Shu is on.
Sleep eventually finds them like that, shadows falling over two figures, lying on their sides facing away from each other, the small space between them seemingly vast even as they‘re sharing the same bed.
What else will the future bring?
Who knows.
itsanaxagoras Wed 16 Mar 2022 12:10PM UTC
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Arlennil Sat 19 Mar 2022 07:07PM UTC
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