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Zhao Yunlan wasn't in Dixing any more. What the hell? When he'd sat up on the sofa in the SID's main room, he'd thought it was another dream, but now he wasn't so sure. Could this be real?
"I'm back?" Disoriented, he turned to Da Qing, who nodded at him. Huh. One minute Zhao Yunlan had been collapsing in Dixing, attacked by Ding Dun - then he was a child again, with his mother in a field of Dixing ruins of all places - and now ...
How had he even got back?
He could still almost feel his mother in his arms, hear the calm reprimand in her voice. The shock of her vanishing from his embrace still echoed through his body. Just a dream. Just a stupid dream.
Except ... speaking of disappearances ...
Zhao Yunlan turned, double-checking: yep, there were Xiao-Guo and Da Qing, Zhu Hong and Lin Jing gathered around him, and Chu Shuzhi sitting at his desk. Wang Zheng and Sang Zan were presumably in the library. One conspicuous absence: the person who'd gone to Dixing with him.
Worry knotted tight in his gut. "Where's Shen Wei?"
"Professor Shen came back with you," Xiao-Guo told him. "He's gone home now."
Zhao Yunlan nodded on autopilot, acknowledging the explanation, but his thoughts were churning. What, Shen Wei had just carried him in here, dumped him and left? Where had he gone so urgently? Why couldn't he stay - or was it that he hadn't wanted to?
"It must have been hard for a weak intellectual like him," Lin Jing commented, and Zhao Yunlan wanted to snort at him unknowingly calling the Black-Cloaked Envoy weak, but couldn't quite summon the humour in time before Lin Jing finished, "going to a place like that without being scared to death."
It was Zhao Yunlan who'd been scared in the end, sure he was going to die from whatever Ding Dun had injected him with. Damn, he'd really underestimated the dangers of Dixing; he hadn't expected an attack. He hadn't known what he was walking into at all.
He'd done fine, though, until the end. With Wu Tian'en's help, all right, which had been fortunate, but he'd always had a knack for finding allies. He'd learned a lot, even had an idea how to deal with Zhu Jiu now. And then, Ding Dun.
Be better prepared next time, Zhao Yunlan.
What had happened down there after he'd passed out? How had Shen Wei even found him in time? He must have been frantic. And what had happened to Ding Dun? Was he still out there, waiting for another chance to attack?
Most importantly - where had Shen Wei gone after dumping him here? Maybe he'd decided Zhao Yunlan was too much of a liability, and was putting distance between them. - No, where had that thought come from? That wasn't like Shen Wei at all. Zhao Yunlan tried to focus.
Maybe Shen Wei thought Zhao Yunlan would want some distance from all things Dixing after what happened? Yeah, a bit more plausible. From Shen Wei's perspective at least. But as if! Or - worst case - shit, what had Shen Wei had to do to rescue him? Had Shen Wei been in danger? He certainly wouldn't have let the SID team see if anything was wrong with him ...
Shen Wei was powerful, Zhao Yunlan told himself firmly. He'd fallen off a roof once, and come back without a scratch. Who could hurt him? But if anything, this visit to Dixing had made clear that despite his strength, the Envoy's power was more limited than Zhao Yunlan had known. Even the Dijun Palace didn't seem to be on his side. Maybe Zhao Yunlan had been wrong about Shen Wei's invulnerability, too.
Fuck. Zhao Yunlan abruptly pushed off the sofa. He needed to make sure Shen Wei was all right. Needed Shen Wei to know he was all right, too, that nothing had changed between them.
He rushed out of the office without looking back, ignoring Da Qing's questioning "uh?" behind him. Straight to the front doors, to throw them open. He didn't waste time telling Lao-Li to put down the ramp for him either, just swung a leg over his bike and rode right over the bump of the doorsill, leaving Lao-Li to close up behind him.
It was already evening - past 7 p.m., hazy sunlight coming in at a low angle beneath the thick clouds overhead. Zhao Yunlan had been in Dixing all day, though it had been hard to tell just how much time had passed when the darkness was ubiquitous and unchanging.
Was that what Shen Wei had meant before when he'd said people down there didn't have a concept of time? No, never mind; he could speculate later. Right now, Zhao Yunlan's head was too full with one priority: the need to lay eyes on Shen Wei.
Not that he was sure where this urgency had come from. Yeah, Shen Wei leaving him at the SID like that was definitely out of the ordinary. He had reason to be concerned. But something beyond reason was driving him, wasn't it? Hell, his gut was still twisted from his mother's sudden disappearance in that stupid dream.
She'd blamed him, in the dream: You're not truly listening to the voice of your heart. What was his subconscious telling him, using the words of that weird pillar? He wasn't holding back from Shen Wei, was he?
Zhao Yunlan scoffed. If anything it was Shen Wei who was holding back, with those secrets of his. We've always been friends, he'd said, and refused to explain. But even so, whatever he was hiding, even back when he was keeping his roles separate he'd put himself in Zhao Yunlan's path right from the start, had made no secret of his interest.
What's precious between friends is intimacy, he'd said, long before they'd actually been close.
Zhao Yunlan winced. Intimacy. He'd never been good at that; his early attempts at dating had all resulted in complaints that he refused to take anything seriously. While dumping him, usually. Surely Shen Wei wouldn't -
Fuck, why was he letting this crap get under his skin?
It was just the events of the day catching up with him, had to be. Some day it had been! Dixing itself, the weird atmosphere at the Palace, those street kids and their fake assault, being chased through the streets - that much he'd been able to handle. Well, mostly handle, with a bit of help from Old Man Wu. That creepy pillar voice? Weird, but just some charlatan who knew how to deploy words that'd work on most anyone. But Ding Dun - Ding Dun had been after him. That had been a trap.
He'd walked right into it, too. Wu Tian'en hadn't known any better. Shen Wei at least could have -
Fat raindrops splashed onto the visor of his helmet.
Damn! The day's luck really was holding. One thing after another down there in Dixing, and now Dragon City was getting in on the action too. He was only half-way home, and the clouds above were bursting. A few drops one moment, and the next they were dumping one of Dragon City's notorious brief-but-furious downpours straight onto his head. In minutes, his jeans and jacket were soaked through, though the helmet at least kept his head dry.
Mostly dry. Cold wetness was seeping up the back of his neck.
When Zhao Yunlan had lived in Cold City for half a year during his police training, overall he'd found the softer rain there a lot more irritating because it tended to last. Dragon City's cloudbursts hit you hard, but then they were over, and everything was dry again very quickly in a city made for this kind of weather. But today, with the windchill as well, Zhao Yunlan would rather have had less of a drenching.
By the time he arrived, the rain was letting up again. He left his helmet behind with his bike and squelched up the stairs, water running down his chest and dripping from jeans and leather jacket, both saturated and dark with it. Brushing his hair from his face left it moist, too. He was still getting used to the new styling.
He did look great like this; even Wang Zheng had commented on it. And the look on Shen Wei's face when he'd seen it would have been worth it alone.
Down the corridor now, to Shen Wei's door. Zhao Yunlan knocked.
He knocked again, more sharply.
No response. The reasonable explanation was that Shen Wei wasn't home. But what if he was? What if Shen Wei wasn't okay? What if -
His mother, vanishing from his arms -
Stomach knotting, Zhao Yunlan dug out his keys from the tight waterlogged denim of his pocket, fumbled to pick the right one.
The memory made him grin despite himself: Shen Wei had given him a key.
All right, so he'd given Shen Wei a key first, but Shen Wei had reciprocated. That meant something, and - yes, damn it - it also meant Shen Wei hadn't ditched him today for no good reason. Fuck. What had happened? He needed to know.
After they'd dealt with Cong Bo's blackmail attempt, he'd got Shen Wei to make himself comfortable in Zhao Yunlan's flat by giving him leave to mess with Zhao Yunlan's things however he liked under the guise of tidying. And when they'd said goodnight that evening, Zhao Yunlan had pulled out a spare key.
I know you don't need it, Hei-laoge, he'd said, grinning. But you can come and tidy my flat any time.
Too much, too fast - he'd known it, and so he'd joked to cover for it. They hadn't even kissed yet. And it was true, after all; Shen Wei didn't need a key when he could portal whenever he wanted. Not that he'd come in uninvited, short of an emergency. So Zhao Yunlan had given him a standing invitation.
Shen Wei had stared at him for a long moment, those gorgeous eyes overflowing with emotion.
Then, he'd said, interrupting himself to swallow visibly before continuing, then you should have this. And he'd produced a key of his own. Not too fast after all: not for Shen Wei. A moment later the gleam in Shen Wei's eyes had turned wicked - that streak of puckish humour he sometimes showed. Though you don't need it either, of course.
Because back when Zhao Yunlan hadn't yet known who Shen Wei really was, when he'd still been trying to decide whether he dared trust the feeling he had about Shen Wei, he'd broken into Shen Wei's flat. Then he'd carelessly given himself away.
And all Shen Wei had done was tease him about it.
They'd grinned at each other, new keys in hand. They'd leaned in, both: lips brushing, soft and gentle but electric, charging the air around them with promise - and that had been their first kiss. Not the usual order, practically moving in together first, but then - with them, what could ever be called ordinary?
Nothing more had happened that night. Zhao Yunlan wasn't usually into delayed gratification, but with Shen Wei, he wanted to savour every part of what was growing between them. And maybe - admit it, Zhao Yunlan - he'd wanted Shen Wei to take the first step.
Now, unlocking Shen Wei's door, knowing he was allowed to, something in Zhao Yunlan's chest felt warm despite the chill of his thoroughly sodden clothes. He burst inside, eyes sweeping quickly over the empty main room with its desk and bookshelves on one side, sofa and coffee table on the other. Empty. He glanced through the open bathroom door, then poked his head into the bedroom, heart hammering -
Empty, all.
Zhao Yunlan stood at the bedroom door, thwarted, deflating. All this rushing, all pointless. The flat was empty. Shen Wei wasn't here.
Of course he wasn't. He's gone home now, Xiao-Guo had said, but Shen Wei wouldn't have left just for that. Or maybe he'd meant his other home - Dixing.
Zhao Yunlan's throat tightened. How ridiculous he was! Here he stood, a puddle forming around his boots, his gut clenching. The urgency that had driven him here - that need to see Shen Wei now, to know everything was all right - kept thrumming beneath his skin, but it had nowhere to go.
What next?
He could light some incense to summon the Envoy, of course. But whatever Shen Wei was doing, he probably didn't need the interruption. Surely everything was fine. No need for Zhao Yunlan to be so clingy -
A wooshing sound; a swish of air against his back. Zhao Yunlan turned to the sight of the air ripping open. A second later, Shen Wei - in the same blue shirt, grey vest and trench coat he'd worn when they'd gone to Dixing, not the black robes of his office he'd worn down there - emerged from the amethyst geode-shape of his portal.
He came to a halt immediately, eyes widening. "Zhao Yunlan!" Then he burst into motion again: a few quick steps, an outstretched hand, fingers brushing against Zhao Yunlan's shoulder. "What happened to you? Are you all right?"
A laugh wrung itself from Zhao Yunlan's throat. "I'm fine," he managed. "All good. You're here."
Shen Wei looked him up and down. "Zhao Yunlan, you're dripping."
"Sure am." He laughed again, downplaying his worry. "You left so quickly at the SID, I came to check up on you. Just got a bit rained on."
"I'm sorry." Shen Wei said quietly, still visibly checking him over. "I was in a rush; I needed to get back to Dixing and - Never mind that now. You need to dry yourself before you catch a chill."
"Yeah. Tell me while I - or wait, I don't suppose you have a quick-dry power?"
"Ah." Shen Wei's eyelashes swept down for a moment; he'd clearly been thinking towels, not black energy. "Not exactly."
Zhao Yunlan grinned. He'd been joking, but that wasn't a no. He couldn't miss this opportunity! More to see of Shen Wei! He always wanted more, of every aspect of him.
"But you can do something about this. Can't you?" He gestured down at his body and the puddle forming around his boots, then fluttered his eyelashes. Good idea, too, to reassure Shen Wei that never mind what happened down there, Dixingren and Dixing powers were A-okay with Zhao Yunlan.
More than A-okay, when it was Shen Wei.
Shen Wei considered him for a long moment. "You're sure?"
Zhao Yunlan nodded, still grinning, spreading his arms in invitation. Then winced as a sneeze forced itself through his nose.
That seemed to break through Shen Wei's hesitation. He lifted a hand towards Zhao Yunlan, twisted it: the same gesture he'd made when opening the passage to Dixing this morning, but without visible energy gathering in his palm.
A tugging sensation - something slithered against Zhao Yunlan's skin -
Zhao Yunlan lifted his hand, watched in amazement. Droplets rose from his wet skin, from his sleeve, from all over. Water was draining away from him, a stream forming in the air, gathering into a sloshing airborne puddle that hovered between them, just an inch from Shen Wei's hand.
Simultaneously, like the opposite of an ocean wave, dryness was spreading over Zhao Yunlan. He hadn't anticipated -
It was a full-body sensation: the fabric of his clothes that had been clinging wetly to his skin suddenly changed texture. The rivulets that had been running down his back and his legs were gone, leaving behind phantom sensations. Touch but not touch, shivering over him, everywhere. He gasped, swaying in Shen Wei's direction.
Shen Wei met his gaze frankly. A small smile curved the corner of his mouth, saying clearly that yep, he'd known what he was doing, how intimate this would be.
Zhao Yunlan let out a shuddering, exhilarated laugh. "I should have known Hei-laoge knew any number of useful things!" He poked at the ball of water with a finger. It was wet - of course it was; what had he expected? It didn't seem like Shen Wei's power contained it exactly, so much as simply held the water itself in place. "Is that Wu Xiaojun's power? I met his father today, you know."
"It is. And I did talk to Wu Tian'en just now." Shen Wei came a step closer; the floating puddle drifted to the side, out of the way. "Zhao Yunlan? You're feeling well?"
"All good!" Zhao Yunlan lifted his hands to Shen Wei's shoulders. Solid in his grasp, solidly here. "You found me, down there. How? And what were you doing just now?"
Belatedly, the words caught up with him; unaccustomed self-consciousness tightened his throat. Too much? Too demanding? Asking for an explanation was one thing; asking Shen Wei to account for his time was something else.
But Shen Wei replied readily, reaching out in turn, his hands settling at Zhao Yunlan's waist. He spoke softly, as if they were sharing a private moment, rather than discussing what amounted to business. "I caught up with three street thugs who'd been paid to either lure or herd you into a trap."
Zhao Yunlan sucked in a breath. "Ding Dun. I figured out that was a trap, but - damn, I thought those kids were just ..." He grimaced.
"They're under arrest, but they couldn't tell me much." Shen Wei hesitated. "After I found you unconscious, I healed you and brought you back to the SID. I meant to return right away and question them, but I learned your team had a case while we were away. Did they tell you?"
Zhao Yunlan shook his head. "I kind of left in a rush."
"A Dixingren died, and there was damage to the street outside the building. An earth power."
"What? I didn't see anything on the street!" And - someone had died? Because he'd fucked around in Dixing? What had his father done? Because sure, Da Qing had thought Zhao Xinci wouldn't personally conduct an inspection, but Zhao Yunlan could tell whose modus operandi this reeked of. No one on his team was likely to kill anyone.
Shen Wei nodded. "I had to return as the Envoy to take the body, then deal with the damage on the street before I could make my way back down and speak to everyone."
"You just did some road repair while you were passing through? Damn, you've been busy." Zhao Yunlan laughed in amazement, then hesitated. "And Ding Dun?"
"Dead." Bland, completely neutral.
"Dead?" Zhao Yunlan's fingers tightened around Shen Wei's shoulders. How powerful had Ding Dun been, that Shen Wei couldn't just capture him?
And was it ridiculous that they were still standing here like this, holding on to each other? They were so close, the heat between them palpable even as they talked about life and death. It should have been incongruous, but instead ...
Well. Zhao Yunlan had never been a sweet nothings kind of guy. He'd had complaints about that, actually. But Shen Wei wasn't complaining. Was it just that they shared priorities - or was it that in Shen Wei's eyes, intimacy could look like this too?
"He kept coming at you. If I could have questioned him ..." Shen Wei shook his head.
"Ah." Zhao Yunlan winced. So Shen Wei had killed him, but not with intent. Of course not. "He didn't injure you, did he? I mean - of course Hei-laoge is more than a match for anyone! But he had this injection gun, and ... well." That wasn't exactly a normal style of attack.
"Black energy infection," Shen Wei said tightly, his shoulders stiff and tense under Zhao Yunlan's hands. He wasn't meeting Zhao Yunlan's eyes. "Meant for you, not for Dixingren. I managed to clear it from your system before it could compromise your own energies. Otherwise it could have been ..."
He trailed off, and his face was so serious, Zhao Yunlan's throat tightened in response. "Fatal?"
Fuck. Had it been that close?
Shen Wei nodded. "At a high enough concentration. Otherwise, it could have made you susceptible to other black energy influences." He shook his head. "I did find you in time. You're all right."
Repeating it, as if to reassure himself.
Someone dead in Dixing, unintentional; someone dead in Haixing, probably the opposite, Zhao Xinci being who he was. Damage on a Haixing road; Zhao Yunlan keeling over in a Dixing street. Nothing about this day had gone right. Nothing except this, right now: they were both here, and both all right.
Listen to the voice of your heart.
To hell with dignity: if Shen Wei could reach for reassurance, Zhao Yunlan could admit he needed it too.
"Shen Wei ..." Zhao Yunlan's voice rasped in his throat. He let himself sway forward, into Shen Wei, pulled him into a hug. Shen Wei's arms wrapped around him immediately, unhesitating, as if they'd done this a dozen times already.
Shen Wei, here in his arms. Not vanished; not vanishing.
Then Shen Wei's lips brushed the side of Zhao Yunlan's neck, and the sensation went through him like a jolt of electricity. His arms tightened of their own volition, pressing them together more closely.
"Yes?" Shen Wei murmured against his skin. Zhao Yunlan shivered, anticipation building hotly in his gut.
"Yeah," he whispered into Shen Wei's ear. "Fuck, yeah."
Slowly, Shen Wei drew back a little. His pupils were dilated, his expression warm and a little hazy, and Zhao Yunlan would have laid odds he himself looked pretty dazed, too.
Shen Wei pulled Zhao Yunlan's right hand away from his shoulder, cradling it between their bodies. He ran his fingers over the spot where Ding Dun had stabbed him - just like he'd once done with Zhao Yunlan's arm, rubbing ointment into his skin. That sensation had lingered on Zhao Yunlan's skin for days.
Was he using a healing power? There was no injury left, so maybe not. And it was just their hands; it shouldn't feel like so much. But the strange, intense intimacy of it trembled beneath Zhao Yunlan's skin, and Shen Wei must have felt it too, because the next moment they were swaying into each other again, mouths coming together. Shen Wei's tongue darted forward, swept over his front teeth, and Zhao Yunlan parted his lips further in invitation. Hot and urgent, Shen Wei was pressing into him, as if to examine him from the inside, tasting and testing, making sure of him.
And still, "You're sure you're all right?" Shen Wei asked after a few moments, tearing his mouth away.
Zhao Yunlan laughed. Worrywart! The danger was over, and they were both here. But if Shen Wei felt even half as much as he had, rushing here earlier - yeah, no wonder he needed to hear it again.
"Well, I've been rained on and all," Zhao Yunlan said lightly. "Don't you need to make sure I'm warmed up properly?" A droplet of water hit the side of his nose like a watery fillip. "Hey!" Another droplet. Wow, the little puddle was still floating in the air next to them, and now Shen Wei was using it to tease. Did it take him no effort to maintain it? Such amazing power, used so playfully! "This is how you take care of me?"
Shen Wei snorted at the mock complaint. "Shall I get you a blanket and boil you some water?" But he didn't let go.
Shen Wei had constantly hidden half of himself from Zhao Yunlan for months, pretending to be two separate people. Now that Zhao Yunlan knew, he'd been getting more comfortable using his powers around him. Was this normal for him, just casually playing with black energy? Damn, Zhao Yunlan wanted to see more of it - all of it, every single thing Shen Wei could do.
He tilted his head towards the puddle. "Hey, can you heat up water with your powers too?"
Shen Wei's smile grew fonder - happy. He was happy. Zhao Yunlan's heart clenched as Shen Wei's eyes shifted to the hovering ball of water. After a moment, it began to softly steam.
Wow.
Zhao Yunlan stretched out a finger, testing the temperature up close before he poked it again. It was pleasantly hot, nowhere near boiling.
Shen Wei shook his head in amusement. "Is that how you want me to warm you up, then?"
Zhao Yunlan batted his eyelashes. "Among other things."
A stream of water extruded itself from the main mass, wrapped itself around Zhao Yunlan's hand and arm. Then most of it came to rest, an unnatural strip of heated wetness wound around him like a rope. Only its tip kept moving, like a thumb caressing the sensitive skin at the inside of his wrist and palm. Wetness moving, then retreating, like being licked in reverse. Zhao Yunlan's breath caught. "Fuck yeah."
Wu Xiaojun had used water to bind his kidnapping victims; clearly it could be very strong. But all Shen Wei did with it was this gentle hold, this caress.
Zhao Yunlan lifted his hand in front of his face; then, grinning, he licked at the rope of water. It tasted, unsurprisingly, like warmed-up rainwater. Shen Wei's eyes were on him, close and heated. The tip of the watery rope - could he call it a tentacle, since it was moving like one? - pulled away from Zhao Yunlan's wrist and swept over his lower lip.
Zhao Yunlan, on reflex, tried to suck it into his mouth. It worked. Such a strange sensation! A bit like a water balloon, but without the balloon - only water, yet contained, controlled.
Controlled by Shen Wei, who was watching him avidly, clearly enjoying the show. Zhao Yunlan hollowed his cheeks, sucking harder. Shen Wei drew in a sharp breath, hips shifting -
Abruptly, Zhao Yunlan had to pull back, let the water slip from his mouth and catch a breath. His cock was straining against his zip, and the shiver on his skin wasn't just sense memory from the draining water any more.
"Bed?" he rasped.
Shen Wei nodded.
They went together, not fully letting go of each other. Not disappearing, not separating: joining together.
The floating puddle followed them as they moved.
Zhao Yunlan shrugged off his jeans jacket on the way, dropping it on the floor despite Shen Wei's eyeroll. He'd been in Shen Wei's bedroom before - or rather, had passed through it when he and Da Qing had investigated Shen Wei. Shen Wei had come home unexpectedly, and they'd quickly made their way in here and then out onto the balcony to hide. Zhao Yunlan hadn't had time to take in much of it then, and he didn't now either, because all his focus was taken up by Shen Wei.
Shen Wei, who took off his trench coat and tried to fold it before Zhao Yunlan snatched it from his hands and threw it in the general direction of the wardrobe. Shen Wei, who glanced after it but then allowed himself to be distracted away from his need for tidiness.
Shen Wei, who was forming a bigger water tentacle, wrapping it around Zhao Yunlan's middle and pulling him onto the bed, following right behind.
Shen Wei's bed linens smelled of fresh laundry. They were silky and soft, a dark blue similar to his shirt.
They fell into each other again, kissing - their third kiss; presumably at some point Zhao Yunlan would stop counting, but not just yet. Lips, tongues, teeth - hands grasping, bodies surging into each other.
Zhao Yunlan reached for Shen Wei's vest, fumbled with the buttons, undoing them one by one, then moved on to the shirt beneath. Shen Wei's hands slid under Zhao Yunlan's t-shirt, brushing along bare skin as he pulled it over Zhao Yunlan's head.
Trousers off next, for both of them. Shen Wei had shrugged off his vest, but was still wearing the blue shirt, now unbuttoned. Zhao Yunlan drank him in, gorgeous figure and beautiful face and a focus that was fixed, wholly, on Zhao Yunlan.
Intoxicating. Shen Wei always was.
A warm string of wetness wrapped itself around Zhao Yunlan's chest, once, twice. "All right?"
"Are you kidding?" Zhao Yunlan caught the end of the water tentacle in one hand, and Shen Wei let him guide it to his mouth, press a kiss against it. He sucked at it again, and laughed in surprise. "It's sweet!" Wait. It hadn't been before. "Did you do that? Do you have a making-things-sweet power?"
Shen Wei smiled at him. "You do like sweet things."
"Ah -" Zhao Yunlan stared. Was Shen Wei saying he'd learned that power for him? Surely not. Surely that wasn't his whole reason!
The water tentacle slipped between his lips again, warm sweetness not at all like a lollipop and yet satisfying in almost the same way. Filling his mouth, giving him something to work his tongue and lips against, sucking -
Abruptly he pulled back. "Can I? Please?"
Shen Wei, flushing a little, didn't pretend to misunderstand. He nodded, and the water retreated, letting him move down on the bed.
Shen Wei was as hard as he was, his cock standing up flushed and tempting.
Zhao Yunlan rubbed his chin against the inside of Shen Wei's thigh, gently scraping his beard there. Shen Wei let out a shuddery moan, fingers curling into Zhao Yunlan's hair as Zhao Yunlan's mouth closed around the head of his cock. Zhao Yunlan pressed his tongue against the slit for a moment, then curved it around the underside.
Damn, the weight of him on his tongue, pressing against the roof of his mouth. The taste of him -
Zhao Yunlan moaned around Shen Wei's cock, hips thrusting against the mattress, then again as Shen Wei's hips surged up, thrusting into him.
Yes -
He had to force himself to stillness for a moment, riding out the surge of arousal - had to steady himself so this wouldn't be over too soon.
Breathing through his nose, he began to work Shen Wei's cock in earnest, tongue sliding, pressing. He dragged his lips along Shen Wei's length, adding just a tiny scrape of teeth at the very end, then sucked hard. So good!
Suddenly, warm water dripped onto his back. A slow drip first, then faster, stronger, until it was pattering down in an ever-changing rhythm, shifting with the rhythm of Zhao Yunlan's mouth. Wet only on impact, leaving nothing dripping or splashing anywhere else. A kind of caress Zhao Yunlan had never imagined before, in time with his own movements, and with Shen Wei's hands stroking his hair.
Zhao Yunlan redoubled his efforts just as a water tentacle curved around his left thigh, then looped around the right. Warm, wet pressure formed under his balls, slid against his cock.
His hips surged into the watery grip. With the contained miniature rainstorm tapping against his back, the fullness of his mouth, it was - it was -
Overcome, he sucked hard. Shen Wei's hips surged with his climax, flooding Zhao Yunlan's mouth, pushing him over the edge as well -
- and warm water drenched them both, suddenly. Shen Wei's hold must have slipped: the puddle floating above them had come down on them, all in one go. Somehow, this, too, folded into the rush of climax, the shock of it only increasing its intensity.
A dazed moment later, Zhao Yunlan lifted his head, brushing wet hair from his face. Shen Wei, dripping just as much, met his eyes. They both burst into laughter.
Zhao Yunlan pressed his face into Shen Wei's belly until Shen Wei pulled him up, and they lay against each other, still snorting laughter at random intervals.
"Shen Wei," Zhao Yunlan murmured after a moment. "Wow. That was ..."
"It was. I wanted ..." Shen Wei seemed to hesitate. He lifted his hand and drained the spilled water away again. This time, it streamed directly towards the bathroom and gurgled away.
Zhao Yunlan sat up on the once-again dry bed. Shen Wei looked especially gorgeous among the dark blue of his sheets, colour-matched with the open shirt he was still wearing. His face had gone serious again - a different flavour of beauty. What had triggered the shift of his mood?
"All good?" Zhao Yunlan asked, lightly.
Shen Wei nodded, smiled - warmly, but without losing the serious lines on his forehead. "I'm sorry about what you found in Dixing," he said eventually. "There are other sides to it. I wanted to show you, but -"
"Shen Wei," Zhao Yunlan interrupted. "I know that."
Was he embarrassed on behalf of his homeland? Was the playfulness meant to be a counterbalance? Or to make sure Zhao Yunlan really wanted all of him?
There'd never been a question of what Zhao Yunlan wanted, only whether he could have it. And Shen Wei had answered that, very decisively.
Shen Wei considered him, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, you know?"
"Professor Shen. Hei-laoge." Damn, it was embarrassing to say it out loud. Zhao Yunlan ducked his head, but said it anyway. "You're the other side of it. Part of it, anyway. Whatever else is going on, Dixing has always been good to me."
Shen Wei's eyes widened, lips parting. He blinked, lashes sweeping down. "Zhao Yunlan," he breathed, cupping Zhao Yunlan's face with one hand.
"Haixing's trying to be good to you as well. Obviously," Zhao Yunlan amended, waving a hand at himself. "Also, to be even better, you should definitely show me more of the powers you've learned. I bet we can find many new applications!"
Shen Wei laughed at that, finally. "I wouldn't bet against that. But I will make you a bet."
"Yeah?"
"I'll bet you that there are more good things ahead of us than either of us can guess." A wry smile. "I certainly didn't expect this today.
"Neither did I!" Zhao Yunlan grinned right back at him. "If you say it, then I believe it. The bet is on - let's see who can guess more."
He knew it now: Shen Wei would never vanish from his arms, not by choice. And whatever the stupid dream of his mother had suggested, not because of anything Zhao Yunlan did, either.
Yes, Shen Wei knew something he wasn't sharing, that was clear. But Zhao Yunlan could figure that out later. For now, he didn't need to press. He had everything he needed right here.
And as for the true voice of his heart? That pillar guy had been a grifter; driving Zhao Yunlan straight into Shen Wei's arms had probably not been the plan. But Zhao Yunlan would have to send him a gift basket anyway.