"This is ridiculous," said He Xuan.
"It's important to be thorough," said Shi Qingxuan, squishing his adorably grumpy face between their hands. "Now where was I? Ah yes." They kissed his cheek. "I love your left cheek." They kissed his other cheek. "And your right cheek." Another kiss. "And I love the cute little divot under your nose." They leaned over to kiss He Xuan again but he pulled away, shifting along the edge of the bed. He was still a little shy since declaring his feelings, which of course just made Shi Qingxuan want to kiss him more.
And they could! They could kiss him as much as they wanted, because He Xuan loved them. He might call it obsession, but they could see it now, how much love he'd been hiding in his heart for all these years, consumed with guilt, afraid to let his feelings show in case he ended up hurting Shi Qingxuan, or himself. And he was still afraid, still torturing himself with the thought that they didn't truly love him the way he loved them. And there was only one cure for that.
They shuffled along the bed towards their scowling beloved. "You asked me to do this."
"I take it back," he said leaning away.
"Too late," they laughed, and leaned their head forward, lips puckered.
He Xuan made a sound of annoyance and grabbed them by the shoulders, pushing them down onto the bed and kneeling beside them.
"I love your strong arms, too," they said, grinning up at him. "And how sexy you feel against me. And how adorable you are when you try to avoid talking about your-"
He Xuan moved one hand to push down on their chest and the other to cover their mouth. "FEELINGS," they continued, louder, to overcome the way his hand muffled their words, deliberately moving their tongue against his hand. He Xuan made a face of disgust and they laughed. "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" they cried. "AND I'M GOING TO LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER. BECAUSE YOU'RE THE MOST HANDSOME AND WONDERFUL AND-"
He Xuan leaned down, pulled away his hand, and pressed his lips against theirs.
"-KIND AND FUNNY AND SEXY AND-" Shi Qingxuan did their best to keep up the litany of compliments through the array, but it was increasingly hard to form words with He Xuan's tongue teasing at their lips and his hands travelling down their chest. Eventually they gave up and just concentrated on kissing him back until they had to pull away to suck in ragged breaths.
"Finally figured out a way to shut you up," muttered He Xuan, the edge of his mouth tilted up into a smirk.
"You're the one who asked me to-ah!" She Qingxuan's voice gave out and their fingers tightened in He Xuan's hair as his teeth grazed their neck. "...to...persuade you...uh..." His mouth kept steadily travelling downwards, leaving a trail of kisses and bites that made it very difficult to think. "...that...I..." There was the sound of tearing fabric, and a faint gust of air against some very intimate places. She Qingxuan sat up on their elbows to stare down at their body, and the self satisfied looking ghost kneeling beside it. "Did you just tear off my skirt?!"
"I'll buy you another one," said He Xuan. He pushed away the loose fabric and took hold of their waist in a firm grip, then let out a long breath and buried his face against their belly, muffling his voice. "As many skirts as you want."
Shi Qingxuan patted the top of his head. "All I need is you."
"Hmm," said He Xuan, sounding unconvinced. Because he still didn't see it. All of this: the house, the food, the carefully cultivated confidence, it was all He Xuan trying to impress them, to overwhelm them, the way he'd once tried to overwhelm them with fear.
The two of them lay there for a little while, He Xuan's head a heavy weight on their stomach while Shi Qingxuan ran their hand along the smooth lines of his hair, over his head and down his back.
"You know you don't have to do anything to make me love you," they said. "I don't need fine food or a big house or the perfect seduction. We could just be cuddling together on an old bamboo mat and that would be more than enough for me."
"Not for me," said He Xuan. He half tilted up his head and stared at them from beneath shadowed brows. "Nothing will ever be enough for me. I could devour you, body and soul, and still want more."
"...well," said Shi Qingxuan. "Well...that sounds pretty good too. Maybe I can persuade you of my feelings with deeds instead of words." They tilted their head and raised an eyebrow seductively. "If you want to devour me, then go ahead."
He Xuan's eyes narrowed in a hidden smile, and then he bit them. Not a soft nibble like before, but a proper bite, teeth sinking into the softness around their navel like he really was going to devour them.
The slapped him on the shoulder. "I didn't mean literally!"
"Too late," said He Xuan. He kissed the spot he'd bitten, soothing the sharp pain with the healing warmth of his qi, and then bit them again, more gently. His hands tightened around their waist, sharp nails nearly digging into hard enough to break the skin. He kept eye contact as those hands moved lower, silently watching Shi Qingxuan as they blushed and gasped.
Shi Qingxuan had been caressed by hands more practiced, and more sure. He Xuan paused sometimes, in seeming doubt, and and his touches were by turns too gentle and too firm.
But no-one had ever wanted them like this. Though he tried to keep his expression cool, He Xuan's hands trembled with nervousness and desire. And through it all his eyes were always watching, drinking in Shi Qingxuan's responses.
And never in their life had they so much wanted to be touched. Shi Qingxuan knew what they liked, and encouraged He Xuan with words and the subtle direction of their hands. But he was a very quick learner, and they were soon overwhelmed by the sensations he drew from their skin. It wasn't long before they were a blabbering mess, and had been forced to close their eyes out of sheer embarrassment in the face of He Xuan's intent, knowing gaze.
Every point of connection felt like a gift, like a conduit through which could flow their love for him, and his for them.
They felt his teeth graze their thighs, and then the softness of his lips, his tongue. He sucked them down, slow but sure, hands holding down their hips as they bucked up into his mouth. They gasped and cried and babbled endearments, barely aware of themself, unable to think of anything but the feeling of his mouth, the impossible length of his tongue. At first He Xuan was slow, cautious, learning their body, but soon he found a steady rhythm, taking them into himself without pause for breath or comfort. She Qingxuan buried their hands into his hair, feeling the weight of his head in their hands as he moved above them. It felt impossible that they could be together like this, after so long. He was so warm, so passionate, so tender. Shi Qingxuan's heart swelled with affection and their body with desire.
"He Xuan," they gasped. "I- you're so good. I won't last... If you don't want to-"
He Xuan tightened his hands around them, holding them down, and took them down to the hilt, tongue tightening in an impossible inner embrace.
"Always so- so greedy," they laughed, barely able to catch their breath. "Ah, He Xuan...He Xuan I-"
Pleasure overcome them, and they let out a long groan. They tightened their hands in his hair as they found their release. He carried them through it, swallowing them down, drawing out every last drop until it became too much and they cried out weakly for relief. They gasped for breath as he left soft and soothing kisses along the crease of their thighs, and brushed their hands through his hair. "Thank you," they sighed. "Thank you, you're amazing."
They felt his body shift, and opened their eyes. He Xuan had moved to straddle their legs, his expression possessive and pleased as he looked down at their body laid out beneath him, sated and soft. Shi Qingxuan felt themself flush. But this way they got to look at all of him, too.
Well, almost all of him. They reached down towards his knees, pulling at the thin fabric of his trousers. "Let me see you," they said. "Let me touch you. You're so far away!"
"Deal with it," said He Xuan. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
"Just to touch me? Just to look?" They teased at the little bit of him they could reach. "You weren't waiting for me to touch you back?"
He Xuan let out a breath and looked down, to where his hand was splayed against their hip. "I didn't let myself think of it," he said. "It was safer to just watch, to listen. To imagine myself as nothing more than an anonymous hand touching you in the dark." His hand stroked down between their legs and they felt their overstimulated body try to respond, still craving his touch. "You would make sounds in your bed at night," he whispered, "Thinking I wouldn't hear. I would imagine all the things I wanted to do to you, what you might look like, how you might taste."
"M-me too," said Shi Qingxuan. "I tried not to, but I kept thinking about it. About you." They strained downwards to put a hand on his arm. "So please. He Xuan, please..."
He Xuan's hands stilled. "Are you really so foolish as to invite a devastation to lose control?"
"I trust you. It can't be worse than anything you've already done, right? Haha."
"I wouldn't count on that," muttered He Xuan. But he didn't look like someone who thought he was dangerous. He looked nervous.
"You don't want to be vulnerable," they said. "I understand."
He Xuan scowled.
Shi Qingxuan sweetened their tone to to the point of parody. "Don't be scared," they cooed. "Gege will take care of you."
He Xuan's scowl turned into a sneer of disgust. Which was fair, that word was fraught for a variety of reasons. But at least he didn't look scared any more.
"Would you prefer shizun?" they asked, "Shixiong?"
"Shi Xuan," said He Xuan, making himself naked at last, and then he fell upon them in a heated kiss.
He Xuan felt fantastic pressed up against them. To make up for earlier, they made sure to touch every part of him they could reach, from his broad shoulders to his small but delightful ass, teasing and testing to try and get his stoic facade to crack. He Xuan did his best to be non-responsive, of course, but that just made it more satisfying to drag little twitches and gasps out of him regardless. They pulled back to watch his face as they took him in hand and were rewarded with the sight of He Xuan biting his lip to keep in a groan.
"Let me hear you," they said. "If you've been listening to me, I get to hear you too." They smiled to show that they didn't really mind. These things happened when you shared close quarters, and the thought was actually pretty hot.
"Maybe you should just try harder," said He Xuan, his smug smile undercut by the crack in his voice.
"Don't pretend you're not enjoying this," they said, rolling their hips. "I am excellent at-fuck."
"What?" snapped He Xuan.
"Nothing, nothing, just my leg." They stuck out their lower lip in a self pitying pout as they and He Xuan healed the twisted muscle. "But it's fine, I can work around it." They sighed. "I guess I'll just have to lie down a little more than I would otherwise."
"Sounds boring," said He Xuan.
"Hey!" they said. "I've been lying down this whole time and you didn't seem bored to me! You want acrobatics, you'll have to wait until I'm a god again. But in the meantime, don't underestimate what I can do with- AHHHHH?"
He Xuan smiled.
"He Xuan..." said Shi Qingxuan, frozen against him. "What is...what is that I'm feeling on my back?" He Xuan's smile widened. "Please tell me it's not some sort of snake. Because it feels like a snake."
"It's not a snake," said He Xuan, giving them a soothing pat on the back of their head with his...wait that wasn't He Xuan's hand. Shi Qingxuan let out a squeak.
And then, just when the terror of not knowing what was on their back was about to overcome their fear of what they might find if they tried to look, something slid from the back of their head to float in front of their face.
For a second they thought it really was a snake. And then they realised that snakes tend not to be quite so featureless, or so transparent.
"Wait," they said, more calm now, but watching the clear tendril waving in front of their face with suspicion. They gingerly poked it and felt the now familiar sensation of glass-like solidity. "Is that water?"
"Did you forget where you are?" said He Xuan, "And what I am?"
"No," said Shi Qingxuan, "But when I feel something slithering against my back, my first thought isn't water. What are you...why are there more of them?!" They tried to pull their leg out from the smooth, cool tendril they could feel slowly winding around their skin, but only managed to pull their muscle again, and hissed in pain. The tendril retreated.
"Do not injure yourself," said He Xuan. "I was merely under the impression that you'd prefer not to remain so immobile."
"How does tying me up with water ropes make me less immobile?" Ugh, why had they fallen in love with such an asshole.
"Trust me, and I'll show you."
"Trust you..."
He Xuan frowned.
Shi Qingxuan let out a dramatic sigh. "Alright. I trust you." They still weren't sure what He Xuan had in mind. But they did trust him. And if this was what he wanted then they were happy to accomodate his preferences. Within reason. They held up a finger. "But no water in my mouth or nose. I've had enough of that for a lifetime."
"I suppose I'll have to use other ways to shut you up, then," said He Xuan. He put his hand to their face, his thumb pulling down at their lower lip. Shi Qingxuan sucked it into their mouth and scraped their teeth along the pad before letting it go.
"You like the noises I make."
"Hmm," said He Xuan, noncommittally, wiping the wetness from his thumb along the line of their lips.
Now that they were ready for it, the water ropes didn't feel unpleasant. Like He Xuan himself, they were cool, but not cold. As one wound up their bad leg and around their thigh, they let out a little gasp, and He Xuan smiled. Yeah, he liked it.
More water wound around them, encircling their neck and sliding past their waist to nudge at their chest. The water split and merged, tracing along all the lines of their body, stroking and prodding. It was like being touched by countless long, smooth fingers, ripples making their skin tingle along every cun of each tendril's length. They squirmed, and the water pushed back, flexible but inescapable. They felt their body respond, every part of them consumed with an awareness of He Xuan's touch.
"Can you feel it?" they gasped. "Where the water is touching me?"
"Close your eyes," said He Xuan. He pulled himself close against them, forehead against theirs, his real fingers merging into the long lines of water enclosing them. Slowly, their awareness of their body shifted. They couldn't just feel the water where it touched them, but could sense the shape of the water itself, each tendril like a line of light in their mind's eyes. Their body was a glowing shape of negative space, cradled in the soft lines of He Xuan's light.
"Is this what you see?"
"A small taste," said He Xuan. "Can you control it?"
"Control it?" They let their awareness spread more deeply into the water. It felt a lot like expanding their consciousness into air, there was the same subtle strength and fluid ambiguity. They'd never been much good with water, but tried controlling a single tendril of water the same way they would a puff of air. They could feel another power beneath their own, encouraging the water to obey, and sensed it shift.
He Xuan was sharing his power with them. Just a tiny taste, as he said, but even that was a major show of trust. A channel running in one direction could always be reversed, even someone as weak as Shi Qingxuan would have the power to hurt the otherwise untouchable He Xuan while connected to him like this.
They made the blob of water spin around in a happy little circle, and laughed. They opened their eyes to smile at He Xuan, holding tight to their awareness of the water around their body as they admired the handsome face of the man in front of them. They found his hands where they still sat within the water, and slid a tendril along his arm.
He Xuan snorted indulgently. "Stop playing around and try moving your leg."
Shi Qingxuan finally realised what He Xuan intended: for them to use the water as a sort of responsive leg brace, preventing strain. Which was a clever idea, but he had obviously been having fun with it beyond that, and Shi Qingxuan intended to do the same. They didn't have his ability to control so many tendrils of water at once, but they could handle one.
They spiralled the little water snake up his neck and tapped at his cheek in an approximation of a kiss. He Xuan looked more confused than charmed by that, so they wiggled it past his shoulder to trace down the length of his spine. They couldn't feel his skin the same way they could when they touched him directly, and it was hard to keep track of what they were doing unless they kept their hands still. But it was fun, playing with him this way, sharing his power.
They decided that before doing anything else, they probably should try moving their leg: better now than in a more heated moment. They ran their foot up the side of He Xuan's calf, feeling the way the water moved to support the leg, their spiritual power and He Xuan's working in concert with the muscles of their leg so easily it felt almost like instinct. It wasn't the same as if the leg wasn't broken at all: it still hurt a little, and at a certain point the joint refused to bend any further. But it was enough.
"Thank you," they said, giving him a light peck on the lips.
He Xuan passively accepted the kiss like an irritated grandchild. "Can we get on with it then?"
"Get on with what?"
The water rippled around them, like He Xuan wanted to touch every part of their body at once. He leaned in to whisper in their ear. "Me fucking you."
"O-oh!" said Shi Qingxuan. It was rare for He Xuan to say anything so bluntly sexual, and the words echoed repeatedly through their brain, bringing up all sorts of stimulating imagery. "Is that what we're doing?"
"Unless you object?"
"Not at all." They lay back on the bed in an alluring pose. "How do you want me? Do you need me to explain how it's done?"
"As if I haven't already heard every detail of your exploits with other men," muttered He Xuan, darkly.
They laughed. "He Xuan! Are you being jealous again?"
He scowled.
"I'm sorry," they said, "I wouldn't have told you all that if I'd realised it hurt you. But you know it was mostly complaints about how terrible they all were." Shi Qingxuan usually preferred women, and the few times they'd fallen for a man it had always ended badly. Of course, the times they'd fallen for a woman it had usually ended badly too. And He Xuan had always been there for them to cry on his shoulder, oblivious to the pain he must have been holding inside.
"Yes," said He Xuan. He put his hand to their chest and the watery ropes surrounding them became solid chains, pinning them to the bed and ignoring their instruction. They felt a thrill of fear, and struggled a little on principle. But they knew He Xuan would never hurt them. Not any more. He Xuan kneeled between their legs, and pushed apart their thighs. "And yet you went back to them, over and over." Shi Qingxuan felt a pulse of arousal bloom under He Xuan's caress, but their attention remained on his face, on the miserable expression in his eyes. "You let yourself be used by those unworthy to so much as look at you." They felt a gentle pressure at their entrance. He Xuan had obviously done some research into how this was supposed to be done, he'd even coated his fingers in some sort of oil. But he was pushing too gently to breach the rim, as if afraid to hurt them. He grimaced. "And I...I did nothing but watch, and listen, and tell myself I didn't care. That I should want to see you unhappy, and alone."
"He Xuan..." they said, softly. "I'm not alone any more. Or unhappy. I have you."
"Yes," he said. "The corpse who killed your brother." He prodded them again, an abortive nudge at the wrong angle, again too weak to have much of an effect. "A useless misanthrope who can't even..." He let out a frustrated hiss.
"He Xuan," they said, more forcefully. "You're not alone either. And while it is very sexy when you play the all-powerful Ghost King, the man I fell in love with is just my friend, He Xuan. And he's allowed to be human, and ask for help." They moved the little water snake up to tap him on the shoulder. "If you would just let me move I could get into a better position and show you what to do."
"As I recall, a good half of your complaints were about ignorant buffoons who needed too much instruction."
"Ahaha..." He had a point there. "Well...that was because they should have known better. They were just lazy and selfish. But you...you remained untouched for a hundred years because you were saving yourself for me. How could I complain about that?"
"I was not saving myself," he muttered. But he loosened his hold over the water surrounding them, giving them control. They rearranged their legs and tilted up their hips, and took hold of He Xuan's hand. "Here," they said. "Don't worry so much about hurting me. You know I can deal with a little pain." Really, they could have done without him using his fingers at all, but if this was what he wanted they could wait.
He Xuan gave them a dubious look, as if to remind them of every time they'd cried over a paper-cut, but he didn't pull away.
They trailed the blob of water down his back again, making it a little narrower than the width of a finger, and then carefully pushed further down. "Look," they said. "Like this. Does this hurt?"
He Xuan's eyes widened. He blinked. It belatedly occurred to Shi Qingxuan that he might not have experienced that particular sensation before, and possibly would have preferred it to stay that way. But then he flushed and twitched and they realised he was just trying to hide how much he liked it. He met their eyes and finally, slowly, he pushed into them.
Shi Qingxuan gave out a happy groan. "Yes, like that..." they said. "Ah...He Xuan. I've dreamed of you inside me."
"Me too," he breathed.
Things progressed better after that. He Xuan had good instincts, despite his inexperience, and what he lacked in technique he made up for with passion. He treated Shi Qingxuan like something precious, something important, learning the shape of their body and intent on their every twitch and gasp. They were learning him too, the shape of his lips as he kissed them, the muscles of his back beneath their hands. The clever tilt of his fingers, the weight of his arousal against their leg, both declaration and promise.
"Gege..." they gasped. "Please-"
He Xuan clicked his tongue and stopped moving his hand within them. "Try again."
"What?" they mumbled, brain muzzy with desire. "What's wrong with..." They had a sense of de ja vu, and suddenly remembered a thought that had gotten lost in an earlier fog of lust. They tilted up their head to grin at him. "You called me Shi Xuan!"
"That's your name isn't it?" said He Xuan. "Unless you object to us being so intimate." He moved his fingers, smugly observing the way it made them twitch.
"N-no, I like it," they said. "I like it a lot. He-" They stopped themself. Using his given name didn't have the same impact when they'd been calling him that for so long. "A-Xuan. XuanXuan."
"Narcissist," said He Xuan, watching them fuck themself down onto his fingers. The feeling of him inside them was overwhelming and addictive but still not nearly enough.
"He-Xiong? He-ge?" It was becoming increasingly difficult to form words. "He...He-di?" He Xuan scoffed and pulled his hand away from them entirely and they let out a petulant whine. It had felt so good.
"My name," he said, moving above them. "Just-"
"He Xuan," they said, reaching down to move him into place. "Please."
Their eyes met and his mouth opened slightly as he entered them slowly, body held taut under his iron control. They reached up with the legs he'd made strong and pushed, wanting more, but he remained doggedly still. His eyes were huge and dark, his expression dazed, like someone caught in a dream. They reached up to caress his face, and smiled.
"He Xuan," they said, breathless. "He Xuan, you feel so good. I love you."
He let out a wordless cry and sank into them, against them, a solid weight of water and man. They cried out in return, and then kissed him, to show that they were happy and well. He thrust into them hard enough to hurt, his hands sank into their skin hard enough to leave a mark, and all they could think was at last, at last. They moved against each other, finding a shared rhythm, kissing and caressing and surrounded by water which swirled and swallowed without conscious thought or control.
Shi Qingxuan felt a tension building within them, inside and out, a growing heat that He Xuan's cool touch only made rise higher and higher. They moaned and called out his name, bucking against him, and He Xuan shuddered against them with a hoarse cry. All that existed was the two of them, their connection, the movement of their bodies. They felt He Xuan throb within them, felt him stroke and grasp tight, and then they were pulsing around him and spilling into his hands. They clutched his back and gasped against his neck, breathless and overcome. He Xuan lay against them, nuzzling their cheek, caressing their sides and murmuring their name so softly they weren't sure if the words were real.
They let out a long, happy sigh, and lazily smooshed their lips against his face, leaving a series of soft wet kisses. "That was...that was really nice," they said, unable to find the words to express their overwhelming joy.
"En," said He Xuan, softly.
Shi Qingxuan laughed. "Did I finally figure out a way to make you admit to being happy about something?"
"I'm not happy," he muttered.
"Yes you are," they said taking his face in their hands. "I can tell, because you're smiling."
He Xuan promptly stopped smiling, forcing his lips back down into a frown.
Shi Qingxuan pinched his cheeks. They could feel their own cheeks straining from the width of their grin. "You can't hide it from me! You're happy!"
"I am literally made of misery," said He Xuan. "If I stop being unhappy I will cease to exist."
"Well we both know that's not true," said Shi Qingxuan. "Because you are overjoyed right now, and yet here you are. I broke you."
He Xuan's face dropped heavily down onto their shoulder. "You did," he said. "I am shattered to pieces in your hands."
They kissed the side of his head. "Then I'll just have to put you back together, again and again. As many times as you need." They squeezed their arms around him, and giggled. "I'm not sure that made any sense, but I don't care! Because I'm happy too. I'm so happy, He Xuan. I love you so much!"
He Xuan mumbled something incomprehensible into the skin of their shoulder.
"What was that? You love me too? I can't hear you if you don't speak clearly, you know."
He Xuan pulled himself away with a muttered groan and rolled over onto his back. Shi Qingxuan cuddled up beside him and he put his arm around them. They felt the water surrounding them slowly spiral over their skin. They wriggled as a gentle pressure wiped them clean, and then the sensation was gone, the water vanished off to wherever magical water went.
"Well that's convenient," they said. "Now neither of us has to get up. Which is good, because I never want to let you go ever again." They snuggled up closer. "You're stuck with me now. Your life is going to be great sex and cuddles in bed for the rest of eternity."
He Xuan let out a sigh.
"What?" They moved to look at his face. He wasn't smiling any more.
"Don't speak of eternity. Please." His tone was pained, almost plaintive.
"Come on, He Xuan," they said, poking him gently on the chin. "Do you still not trust me to know my own mind?"
"I trust you not to lie to me," said He Xuan. "Which is more than I can say of anyone else in this world. But I cannot trust you not to lie to yourself. I have seen you do it too many times. Especially about me. And about love."
They reached for his hand, and kissed his fingers. "You're right. It's taken me a long time to realise how I truly felt. But I'm really sure this time, and I want you to feel secure. Is there nothing I can do?"
He Xuan put his hand to their face, cupping their cheek. "Stay with me," he said. "Perhaps when a decade has passed, or ten, I might believe that this isn't some passing fancy." He let out a snort. "But perhaps not."
"Hmm," said Shi Qingxuan, putting their hand to his. "Staying with you I can do. But there must be something else...Oh!" They grinned at him. "I know! We should get married!"
He Xuan stared at them, wide eyed. "What."
"I've had other lovers," they said. "And thought myself in love. But I never married any of them. I think I knew deep down that none of them were right for me. Not the way you are." The thought of marriage had always been too scary before. Too much like tying themself down, like growing up. But the more they thought about marrying He Xuan, the more they liked the idea. Weren't the two of them effectively married already, living together side by side? Shi Qingxuan imagined them in red, making their bows, and felt a fluttering warmth in their chest.
He Xuan glowered. "I am not marrying you after a day." Which sounded a lot like not yet.
"I'm not saying we do it right now," they said. "These things have to be organised! But think about it. I could be your family, and you could be mine." They buried their face into his chest, embarrassed at their own soppiness, but meaning every word. "I know I'm not the wife you wanted. Or the husband, haha. But I promise I'd be faithful and good."
They looked up and smiled shyly at He Xuan, and he looked back with an expression of sorrow.
"And have you shackled to me?" he said, "In a prison not of stone, but of duty? That would prove nothing."
"Are you saying you don't want to?" they said, fairly sure at this point that he did, but wasn't letting himself admit it. Because he was an idiot. "What happened to being obsessed with me, huh?"
"I'm trying to protect you."
They squeezed their arms around him, holding him tight, willing him to feel the love that spilled from their heart, overflowing. "Can't I want to protect you, too?" they asked. "You said before that marriage is about finding an ally. I want to be that for you."
"Then let this go," said He Xuan, stroking his hand softly along their back. "I don't want to argue. Time will prove the truth regardless of any words or ceremony."
"Hmmph. I suppose," said Shi Qingxuan. They kissed his nose. "I don't want to make you upset, especially not now. It is nice just lying here, basking in the afterglow and not worrying too hard about the future." They tilted their head at him. "But since do you not want to argue?"
"Another sign that you've broken me," said He Xuan, flatly. "You swallowed up all my resentful energy and now I am dissolving into sentimental goo. I am entirely disgusted with myself."
"Swallowed it up with my ass, huh," snickered Shi Qingxuan.
He Xuan groaned and poked them in the side. Shi Qingxuan laughed and poked him back. He grabbed their hand and they snapped their teeth towards his nose and soon the two of them were rolling around on the bed, pinching and biting, until He Xuan pinned Shi Qingxuan down and swallowed up their taunts with a searing kiss.
"So, shall I take in your resentment again?" gasped Shi Qingxuan, when he finally let them up for air. "Or do you want to try taking in mine?"
"Why not both?" said He Xuan, from the doorway, as the He Xuan above them looked down and smiled.
Shi Qingxuan stared at the two of them, one after the other, and then laughed and laughed. Heart filled with joy, they reached up, and pulled the nearest He Xuan into a kiss.