Chapter Text
When Lu Guang drifted back to wakefulness, it was to an incredibly warm feeling all around him. He sighed and nuzzled closer, feeling arms wrap around his torso, melting into them without even opening his eyes. The sun was just rising, definitely not time for them to wake up just yet, giving him even more time in bed with Cheng Xiaoshi.
He felt warm and safe. Wonderfully so in the arms of his Guardian Angel.
But, resting his head on Cheng Xiaoshi’s chest, he stilled, brow furrowing. Cracking his eyes open, Lu Guang forced himself to wake up even more, forced that Kitten persona down in the wake of his concern.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s heartbeat was fast, erratically so, to the point where Lu Guang was worried he was having a nightmare.
But when he pulled himself up to look into Cheng Xiaoshi’s face, all he saw was his Guardian Angel, face slack and peaceful with no sign of nightmares. His eyes were closed, lips parted ever so slightly as breath puffed out and warmed Lu Guang’s face.
He felt his thoughts soften as sleep pulled at him again. He was just overthinking, that’s all. Cheng Xiaoshi was fine, had been fine all night.
Plus, he knew what Cheng Xiaoshi was like when he had a nightmare. He’d tense up and his soft snores would turn to mutters, both things that Lu Guang would’ve noticed. He forced himself to calm down and sink back into the arms of his Guardian Angel.
For the longest time, Lu Guang always had nightmares.
Ever since the first time that he held Cheng Xiaoshi’s cooling body, he’d never been able to forget the dead weight in his arms, the feeling of blood drying on his hands.
it was a sensation that he wished he couldn’t remember, that he hated to relive every night.
Until this timeline.
This timeline was drastically different from any other that Lu Guang had lived through. Never before had Lu Guang bared so much of himself to Cheng Xiaoshi.
And yet, despite his hesitance, Cheng Xiaoshi welcomed him, accepted him with open arms.
Lu Guang couldn’t help but smile and purr as he nuzzled closer, deeper into his Angel’s warmth and let sleep reclaim him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Lu Guang awoke again, this time to a much-brighter bedroom, he groaned, lifting himself up to all fours before lowering his chest to the mattress and stretching his arms out in front of him.
There was low chuckling from beside him, and then the delicious feeling of a hand lightly scritching all the way down his spine until it made its way to his tail. He shifted his hips back and forth, purring as Cheng Xiaoshi’s hand grabbed one of Lu Guang’s butt cheeks and squeezed it indulgently. He hadn’t worn clothes to bed, he remembered, recalling how he’d fallen asleep nearly right after they’d fooled around yet again last night, but that wasn’t an issue. Especially with how handsy Cheng Xiaoshi was being this morning.
“It’s time to get up,” he felt the words breathed into his ear. “Unless… you wanna have some fun first?” Cheng Xiaoshi squeezed even harder at the word ‘fun’, making Lu Guang squeak. He buried his face in the pillow, feeling his cheeks begin to heat up.
Cheng Xiaoshi chuckled again. “That’s not an answer, Kitten.” He dipped a finger in between Lu Guang’s cheeks, migrating lower and lower until he was poking at his sensitive rim, teasing him.
The mattress dipped as Cheng Xiaoshi shifted, moving behind Lu Guang. Just the act of moving had his cock twitching to attention, hips swaying and tail swishing even more as if to silently beg to be filled.
There was a now-familiar pop of the bottle of lube, and then that finger was back, sliding up against Lu Guang’s hole, slippery as it poked inside. “You’re still stretched from last night,” Angel marveled breathily, already exploring Lu Guang’s walls.
Whimpers poured from Lu Guang’s mouth, muffled by the pillow as he arched his back more. His eyes rolled, already addicted to the feeling of his Angel’s fingers inside him.
Until Cheng Xiaoshi brushed against his prostate, sending tingles all across Lu Guang’s body. He melted even further into Cheng Xiaoshi’s hands, made into putty before he’d even penetrated him, groans and purrs mingling as they escaped from the pillow.
When Cheng Xiaoshi lined himself up and began sinking in, Lu Guang dug his claws into the pillow, mouthing against the fabric. If he pressed his face in just a bit more…
Ah, there it was. The most gentle pressure around his throat, reminding him of the soft fur there, of the little jingling gemstone, of who gave it to him.
As if brought closer by the thought alone, Angel bottomed out, pulling low moans from both of them. He leaned closer, draping himself over Lu Guang, who couldn’t help but shiver as he felt his Angel’s teeth come together right at the top of his spine.
He writhed, breath hitching in his throat, then escaping in a strangled, high-pitched moan.
Angel chuckled lightly as he ran his tongue over the mark. “There. Gotta mark you up, Kitten,” he whispered as he began to do exactly that, sucking dark bruises into Lu Guang’s skin in a trail down his spine while his hands ran across his chest and sides.
His eyes rolled, nearly overcome by the sensations as his back sank into an even deeper arch. He let out a long and guttural groan as the new angle helped Cheng Xiaoshi spear him that much deeper, filling him completely.
He could feel his Angel’s heartbeat. It was all around him, coming from inside him. Lu Guang felt his eyes begin to fill with tears that were immediately absorbed into the pillow.
Why was he crying? Lu Guang couldn’t tell. It had something to do with his Angel’s heartbeat, didn’t it? But that didn’t make sense; it felt so good, so reassuring.
He was made whole by the sound, even more so than by the feeling of his Angel’s cock filling him to the brim, piercing his prostate with every thrust.
This orgasm was different than the others given to him by his Angel. This one swelled up from deep within, the wave of pleasure rising up higher and higher, warming Lu Guang from the inside out as he felt so full, so complete.
So loved.
“I love you,” he breathed as his body tensed, spilling white in the midst of the ethereal feeling coiling in his stomach, making him feel like he was floating.
But the words were muffled by the pillow, by the sound of Cheng Xiaoshi’s own groans as he slammed forward, hips stuttering.
Lu Guang twitched and whined, waiting for the moment, that glorious moment, when Cheng Xiaoshi finished inside him, filling him up to the brim, so completely full.
But it never came.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s pace slowed until he stopped. They stayed frozen, and Lu Guang could feel Cheng Xiaoshi’s cock softening while it was still inside him. He shivered as Cheng Xiaoshi slowly pulled out, leaving Lu Guang clenching around nothing, the feeling that something was wrong washing over him.
Lu Guang didn’t know what was happening, what had happened. He slowly sat up, warily eying Cheng Xiaoshi, searching his face for any sign that something was off.
His Angel was chuckling awkwardly, hand rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided looking at Lu Guang. “Ahaha, sorry Kitten. I think I had a dry orgasm? I’m sorry, I know how much you love my cream.”
There was something off about his demeanor, but Lu Guang chalked it up to the dry orgasm. After all, he’d never had one before; how was Lu Guang to know what it was like?
He shivered again, and Cheng Xiaoshi jumped at the opportunity: “Let’s get out of bed, Kitty, then I’ll make you some breakfast, ‘kay?”
When Lu Guang nodded, his collar jingled slightly, easing his nerves and reminding him that everything was alright.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lu Guang walked into the kitchen, refreshed from his morning shower, eying Cheng Xiaoshi’s back as he focused on cooking breakfast for the two of them. There was something off about him that still irked Lu Guang, something niggling at him like a tickle in his brain.
But he just couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Maybe his shoulders were a little more slumped?
No, that didn’t feel right.
“Don’t pop a blood vessel,” Cheng Xiaoshi teased as he glanced over his shoulder before turning back to the stove. “I can hear you thinking from here.”
Lu Guang snorted, but walked forward anyway. “You’re… feeling okay, right?”
Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t look up, merely shrugged and said: “Yeah, I’m good. Just gotta get breakfast done so we can open up shop.”
“You’re surprisingly attentive today,” Lu Guang murmured as he peered at what Cheng Xiaoshi was cooking. His eyebrows furrowed. “Come to think of it, you’ve been like this for a few days, now. What’s different?”
As he watched, Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes closed and he exhaled heavily. Then came a smile that looked ever so slightly pinched at the corners. “Come on, Guang-Guang. I just wanna do some good things for you.” He reached for a plate and dumped the contents of the skillet onto it. “Here. I made you some eggs.”
Lu Guang hesitantly took the outstretched plate. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Just as he was sitting down in the sunroom, the front door opened, their visitor announcing her presence rather than the robotic greeter: “Cheng Xiaoshi?! Where are you? It’s so early, why’d you-?”
Her shouts were cut off as Cheng Xiaoshi scrambled to meet her in the foyer. He spoke in a hushed tone, so quiet that even though Lu Guang strained his ears, he couldn’t make anything out.
A few moments later, the door opened and closed again, and Cheng Xiaoshi walked back through the sunroom to return to the kitchen.
Lu Guang frowned. “Is the cat greeter broken?” He asked, struggling to decipher what had just happened.
“What?” Cheng Xiaoshi called from the kitchen. “Did you say something?”
Groaning, Lu Guang just dropped it and returned to his eggs. If it was important, he reasoned, Cheng Xiaoshi would tell him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That night, Cheng Xiaoshi captured Lu Guang’s lips in a searing kiss as he herded him upstairs. Lu Guang moaned as he wrapped his arms around Cheng Xiaoshi’s neck, pulling him closer and purring as he felt a hand on the small of his back, pulling their waists together.
There was a feeling of weightlessness for a moment as Cheng Xiaoshi all but threw Lu Guang onto the bed, making him blush at the eagerness. Lu Guang barely had the time to blink up at Cheng Xiaoshi before he was over him and in his face again, licking into his mouth and straddling his hips.
His Angel’s desire was insatiable, Lu Guang realized, the thought dissolving as soon as it had been formed because of the teeth nibbling at his jaw. He keened, gasping for breath as his hips bucked up.
He could feel Cheng Xiaoshi’s breath hot against his neck, breathing heavily as he reached down between their bodies. Deftly slipping past Lu Guang’s waistband, he pulled his pants and boxers down before palming his length.
Lu Guang whined as he bucked up, precum making his Angel’s fist slide easily against his skin as his claws dug into the sheets. He purred into Cheng Xiaoshi’s open-mouthed kiss, sucking on his tongue as he rutted, single-minded in chasing his pleasure.
“Pretty… Kitty…” Cheng Xiaoshi gasped as his hand pumped faster and faster, making Lu Guang’s eyes roll. The molten coil was winding tighter and tighter in his gut, burning hotter and hotter with every pass of his Angel’s fist.
Finally the coil snapped. Lu Guang couldn’t help the high pitched moan that curled out of his mouth as his spine arched off the mattress, hips jerking upwards as he spilled white over Cheng Xiaoshi’s hand.
When that hand pulled away from his cock, Lu Guang swallowed thickly, trying to catch his breath. But it was stolen from his lungs just as quickly as nimble fingers began to circle his entrance. He choked on his gasp as Cheng Xiaoshi wasted no time in plunging his fingers in and pinpointing his prostate.
It was so much, it was too much! Lu Guang writhed, squealing as pain mingled with pleasure in a cocktail of overstimulation.
Something warm and wet enveloped his half-hard cock, coaxing it back to life as Cheng Xiaoshi lapped at the tip.
Lu Guang’s head thrashed from side to side, trying to make sense of all the sensations as pleasure started to overwhelm him. His breath was hissed shallowly through his clenched teeth, eyes squeezed tightly shut until they popped open, staring sightlessly as he came again, hard and fast.
Finally, mercifully, Cheng Xiaoshi withdrew his hands, leaving Lu Guang to slump bonelessly against the mattress. His eyelids drooped blearily, watching his Angel as he tucked him in. “What ‘bout you?” he slurred, already half-asleep thanks to the afterglow and blanket making his body so, so warm.
But Cheng Xiaoshi just pressed his lips against Lu Guang’s temple as he placed the pillow underneath his head. “Don’t worry about me, sweet Kitten. Just go to sleep now, like a good boy.”
Lu Guang was a good boy? Yeah, he thought with a dopey smile, his eyelids fluttering shut. “‘M good…” he mumbled.
And, like a good boy, he obediently succumbed to unconsciousness.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The mattress shifted, drawing Lu Guang back up to wakefulness. He hummed lowly, reaching forward and latching onto his Angel.
He didn’t think about why he hadn’t been cuddling with him before.
All Lu Guang could focus on was pulling him closer, holding Cheng Xiaoshi even as his grip slackened as he fell back in the throes of sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This time, it was Lu Guang who woke first. He stretched deeply, indulgently, peeling his eyes open and squinting in the bright morning light at Cheng Xiaoshi.
Was he feeling ill? Cheng Xiaoshi seemed so much paler than he normally did. And… Lu Guang reached forward, peering at his face, at the skin under his eyes. Was that… makeup?
Unfortunately, as soon as Lu Guang poked at his skin, Cheng Xiaoshi startled awake, blinking tiredly up at him before he relaxed. “Oh, sorry, Lu Guang. You scared me.” He stretched and yawned. “What time is it?”
Still trying to piece things together to make sense (and still failing), Lu Guang glanced at his watch. “Uh, it’s about time for the studio to open.”
Cheng Xiaoshi groaned as he levered himself slowly into a sitting position. “Crap, sorry. I meant to wake up earlier and make you breakfast. You don’t mind eating a granola bar instead, do you?” he asked, wincing as if the thought of not providing a meal physically hurt him.
“No, but…” Lu Guang trailed off as Cheng Xiaoshi pulled him forward into a kiss that they both sank into.
“We have time for you to have some fun, don’t we?” Cheng Xiaoshi cooed.
Something about this felt off, felt so wrong, but Lu Guang’s protests died on his tongue as he forgot the words, sinking against Cheng Xiaoshi’s body, at the mercy of his deft fingers and claiming teeth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The day passed by slowly, with every second feeling like a minute and every minute feeling like an hour.
Cheng Xiaoshi spent most of his time in the darkroom, leaving Lu Guang to man the counter.
In between customers, he busied himself by sweeping the foyer and making tea so it’d be ready to offer to customers. As Cheng Xiaoshi liked to say - Lu Guang mouthed the words as he recalled them - ‘It’s all about customer service at the Time Photo Studio!’
He sighed before glancing at his watch and heading to the darkroom, knocking on the door lightly. “Cheng Xiaoshi? It’s just about time for lunch. Did you have something in mind or did you just want more cup noodles?”
There was silence.
Another knock. “Cheng Xiaoshi?”
Just before he was about to open the door, it opened by itself, Cheng Xiaoshi squinting in the bright light. “Yeah? Wha’s up?”
Lu Guang frowned as he looked at Cheng Xiaoshi. “It’s… almost lunchtime,” he repeated himself. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You look awful.”
Cheng Xiaoshi’s mouth stretched wide in a grin that felt like a pale facsimile of his usual smile, seeming more out of obligation than any real happiness. “I’m perfectly fine! Promise!” he pushed past Lu Guang towards the door, opening it, and flipping the sign to ‘Closed’, all while under Lu Guang’s scrutiny.
He squinted, watching Cheng Xiaoshi as if he was a puzzle he couldn’t solve until he gave a mental shrug and followed him into the kitchen.
Lunch wasn’t anything special, and Lu Guang spent the time looking at Cheng Xiaoshi more than his own food, still trying to figure him out.
Cheng Xiaoshi didn’t seem to notice. Or, if he did, he didn’t care, focusing solely on the noodles before him.
Lu Guang wanted to reach out, wanted to ask what was bothering him so much, but it suddenly felt as if a wide chasm had appeared between them.
Cheng Xiaoshi had never been this closed off before.
Was this Lu Guang’s fault? Did he do something? A shiver trailed down his spine as his brain began to whir, considering every possible angle, any way that he could have potentially messed up.
He nearly missed Cheng Xiaoshi standing up, looking up just in time to see him shuffling back towards the foyer. His head was lowered, shoulders slack as he slouched, looking almost as if he was sleepwalking.
There was a moment when he leaned too far to the side, a moment when time stretched as Cheng Xiaoshi seemed to almost be suspended in midair.
Lu Guang was moving before he could even register it. He ran as fast as he could to Cheng Xiaoshi, catching him in his arms before he could fall to the floor.
He was limp in Lu Guang’s arms, blinking almost dumbly up at him with hazy eyes, as if he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.
“Cheng Xiaoshi, you’re spending the rest of the day in bed,” Lu Guang said firmly as he began hauling him to the stairs, his tone brooking no argument.
At that, awareness sparked in Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes, and he began to fight back, trying to push Lu Guang’s arms away. “‘M fine,” he said.
Lu Guang couldn’t help but snort. “‘Fine’ people don’t almost pass out,” he countered. “You need to rest. Look at it this way: I’m telling you to take the rest of the day off; you don’t have to do any more work.”
He pointedly ignored Cheng Xiaoshi’s grumbles as he hauled him upstairs and shoved him onto the bed, wryly thinking that it was strange to be the shover rather than the shoved.
Just as he’d suspected, Cheng Xiaoshi was truly exhausted. As soon as he fell onto the soft mattress, he sank into it, eyelids already fluttering. A long, drawn-out sigh rose from his slack mouth, even as he looked up at Lu Guang with something akin to betrayal.
Lu Guang merely leaned over and cupped his cheek, hoping the gesture was reassuring. “Just relax,” he murmured.
But just before he turned to leave, his wrist was captured in a limp grasp. “Wake me… at sunset…” Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes were mostly closed, his words already slurring with sleep.
“I will,” Lu Guang found himself promising. It wouldn’t be nearly enough sleep for him, considering how he looked, but it’d be an improvement to how he was now.
The reassurance seemed to be the last thing keeping Cheng Xiaoshi from succumbing to unconsciousness. His hand fell slack as his breathing evened out, asleep within mere moments.
Lu Guang couldn’t help the fond smile that crossed his face as he pulled the blanket up over Cheng Xiaoshi’s form and softly made his way to the door. He spared one more glance at him over his shoulder before closing the door and returning downstairs.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As promised, Lu Guang returned to the bedroom at sundown. He almost didn’t want to wake him, didn’t want to disturb his desperately-needed sleep.
But a promise was a promise.
And Lu Guang couldn’t bear breaking a promise to Cheng Xiaoshi, even one so small.
“Cheng Xiaoshi,” he whispered, gently shaking him. “It’s sunset. Get up; you should eat something.”
He was answered with a bleary groan as Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes opened. “Hi, sleepyhead,” Lu Guang chuckled. “Did you have a nice nap?”
Instead of answering verbally, Cheng Xiaoshi reached up with surprising strength and pulled Lu Guang down on top of him. He didn’t say anything as he sat up, pulling Lu Guang against him, chest to back. Lu Guang’s protests were smothered by two fingers pressing gently past his lips and beginning to stroke his tongue.
“That’s a good Kitten,” Cheng Xiaoshi murmured, his voice still low and husky from sleep. He retracted his other hand, fumbling around in his pocket until he found what he was looking for.
Lu Guang knew exactly what he was holding. He could feel the haze against his mind, almost massaging his brain as the collar was secured around his neck. He found himself beginning to lose his grasp on his more human side, instinctively sucking on the digits and laving his tongue across them.
Mustering his strength, Lu Guang raised a hand to push Cheng Xiaoshi’s away. “No,” he said, trying to ignore how the word curled out of his throat with a whine. “You need to rest. Not…”
He never got a chance to finish.
Cheng Xiaoshi, apparently feeling no guilt at playing dirty, pressed ever so slightly harder, his nails scratching against that spot at the base of Lu Guang’s skull that he was always so weak against.
His fingers disappeared from Lu Guang’s mouth - despite him instinctively trying to chase them with his tongue - only to loop through the O-ring hanging from Lu Guang’s neck.
The tiny part of Lu Guang’s mind that was still sane, even through the scratching in his fur hair, tried to shout, tried to tell him to stop.
But all it took was one yank for that tiny part to fall silent, for Lu Guang the Human to fall asleep and for Kitten to emerge.
“I missed you, my Kitty,” Angel whispered, mouthing at Lu Guang’s ear. “Did you miss me?”
“Yeahhh,” Lu Guang breathed, his eyelids drooping, his breathing already labored. He sagged backwards against his Guardian Angel, keening at the wonderful feeling of his hands running down his torso, one slipping beneath his shirt and the other doing the same to his pants before pushing them and his boxers off.
Lu Guang’s hips bucked forward as a now-familiar hand wrapped around his length, giving it an experimental pump. He whimpered, wishing he could see his Angel and trying to crane his neck.
Something about Angel was off, but Lu Guang couldn’t focus on that, not when he was feeling too good, groaning as he thrust into Cheng Xiaoshi’s fist.
“You’re mine,” Cheng Xiaoshi growled in his ear. “My good Kitten.” He leaned in closer, opened his mouth, and sank his teeth into the juncture between Lu Guang’s neck and shoulder.
Lu Guang spasmed, moans turning to screams as his hips stuttered then rolled as pleasure lanced through his body. He lost himself in his Angel’s grasp, helpless to the pleasure coursing through his body.
Finally, his orgasm ebbed, leaving him limp against his Angel. Lu Guang blinked his heavy eyelids as he found himself bundled into bed. There was something soft around his now-spent member, making him twitch and whine, relaxing only at Cheng Xiaoshi’s voice: “Sorry, Kitten, but I gotta clean you up before I go.”
The words lost their meaning as he said them, unraveling before Lu Guang could even comprehend them, but he took comfort in the soft murmur coming from his Angel.
Cheng Xiaoshi was taking care of him. He reached towards him as he sank closer to sleep.
Just as his eyelids closed, he felt a press of lips against his forehead.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Lu Guang drifted back to wakefulness, it was to an incredibly warm feeling all around him. He sighed and nuzzled closer, feeling arms wrap around his torso, melting into them without even opening his eyes.
He felt warm and safe. Wonderfully so in the arms of his Angel.
But, resting his head on Cheng Xiaoshi’s chest, he stilled, brow furrowing. Cracking his eyes open, Lu Guang forced himself to wake up even more, forced that Kitten persona down in the wake of his concern.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s heartbeat was… gone.
Lu Guang’s eyes popped open as he sat up, horror building in his chest as he took in the sight before him.
Cheng Xiaoshi was right there, but his eyes were open and dim, his skin nearly translucent.
His chest no longer rose and fell with breath, nor did his heart beat with life.
Lu Guang felt tears spilling from his eyes, scalding his cheeks even as he reached forward, clutching at Cheng Xiaoshi’s body.
His hands misted through his form, trying to grab him but finding only air.
When Lu Guang opened his eyes, it was to an empty bed with the tacky sensation of tears on his cheeks.
Their bedroom was still dark, but if it was the middle of the night, why wasn’t Cheng Xiaoshi here?
He sat up, looking around, feeling a whimper cut through the silence of the night.
Kitten shouldn’t be here, Lu Guang decided as he fumbled with the clasp of the collar, leaving it on the bed as he stood up, trying not to stumble as his mind wavered, hoping he was just overthinking things.
And yet, no matter where he looked in the studio - from the loft to the sunroom to the kitchen to the darkroom - Cheng Xiaoshi was nowhere to be found.
Lu Guang tugged at his hair as he paced in the foyer, having exhausted every possible hiding place in the studio, trying to think of where he could be.
Trying to remind himself that Cheng Xiaoshi wasn’t dead.
But all his texts went unanswered and his calls went straight to voicemail.
Maybe he just went out for a walk? People did that, right? Lu Guang could feel himself grasping for an answer, any answer.
He opened the door, shivering as the cool night air washed over him.
Then, steeling his resolve, Lu Guang stepped forward, leaving the Studio behind in the name of tracking down his Guardian Angel.