daozhangs | ic inbox, ryslig.

[ Jiang Cheng freezes at the gentle touch, going still and wide-eyed, sucking in a sharp breath which strikes him as very loud in the quiet interrupted only by the gentle lapping of the waves against the pier and the chatter of the birds.

It feels different now. Every single touch feels different now that he has this almost-human body - maybe not fully as it once did, but it is so much closer, and so much more intense than what he had felt in his Simulacrum body. It feels so... so intimate, even this tiny touch.

He coughs. ] Well. Yes. Of course. I wouldn't let you be an embarrassment by yourself, of course [ he parrots awkwardly and lifts the bottle obediently to his lips. He takes quick gulps, hoping to hide his mortification behind them. The alcohol burns down its path, sharp and vivid and making him feel very alive. ] I want to see you make a fool of yourself, and then I will mock you with it forever... as it should be.

( between the way that wanyin stills and the sharpness of his inhale, xingchen almost wonders if he may have somehow hurt him. his brow creases faintly as he glances down at the hand for a moment, then back up at his companion (even without his eyes, one can still read it in the movement of his head). but jiang wanyin already seems to be moving past it, hastily agreeing with xingchen's teasing and drinking down quite a bit more of the wine than xingchen himself did - and so it goes unquestioned for now.

then comes, 'i want to see you make a fool of yourself, and then i will mock you with it forever,' and all lingering signs of concern are swept away by a soft delighted laugh. ) You seem quite confident that I'll agree to these terms. ( is he truly so predictable? )

[ That counter earns him eyebrows raised in mock surprise, and a soft, affectionately playful smile curling the corners of his mouth upwards. ] That's what you are here for, isn't it? [ He waves the wine bottle around to punctuate his point, then thinks better of it and brings it to his lips again for a more measured sip, before thrusting it back at Xingchen's chest. ] You decided to come and get drunk with me. Agreeing to make a fool of yourself comes implied in that!

[ And oh, how eager is Jiang Cheng to be made into a fool now. It has been so long since he has gotten truly drunk in company at home, it simply wasn't appropriate for a sect leader to be seen like that, and he had long since convinced himself he didn't miss the merriment. But his time in a Simulacrum shape had him rethinking many things he took for granted. ]

I will have to teach you, if you don't know how. Are you going to risk that?

( the smile which his teasing has earned only broadens xingchen's own, and when the wine is thrust into his chest as if to drive home wanyin's point, a hand lifts to catch it quite willingly. and while he wouldn't necessarily say that he's here with specific intent to make a fool of himself, his companion makes quite the compelling point. it does seem fair, he supposes, to assume that if he has brought such spirits then he's amenable to the effect which they have. fair and entirely true. and perhaps mocking him forever about it is simply the only reasonable response.

'i will have to teach you, if you don't know how,' jiang wanyin says now, as if issuing some sort of warning. 'are you going to risk that?' xingchen's head tilts just slightly, his response coming in the form of uncorking the bottle and taking another drink of the wine - a more generous one this time, enough so that he lets out a slow and bracing sort of exhale in the aftermath. ) Now, ( he says, ) shall I be receiving that lesson before or after our fishing?

Bah! [ He rolls his eyes dismissively and even waves a hand dismissively to underscore how unintimidated he is by Xingchen's display of being unintimidated. ] If you aren't going to be properly appreciative of me teaching you important life lessons, then just give me back my wine!

[ Which... really, amounts to showing him how to make a fool of himself, once Jiang Cheng is properly drunk. There are good reasons why he doesn't get drunk in company. Wine makes fools of all men, and while he is no Lan, he does become foolish when drunk. But that's a problem for tomorrow's Jiang Cheng, just like the hangover.

Still grumbling, he busies himself with preparing the fishing rod and with drinking more of the wine, eventually going back between paying attention to the fishing and drinking and in-between, engaging in idle chatter. It is easy enough to talk to Xingchen - telling him little stories about work and Kulen villagers or the annoying bird that keeps chirping right outside his bedroom window early in the morning. This is nice and easy, and Xingchen's company is always enjoyable anyway. He just has to remember not to think about home or his monster existence so he won't ruin the mood. ]

I've asked for it, ( xingchen protests at once, though it's laughter instead of affront to be heard in his tone, ) Tell me, how much more 'properly appreciative' can I be?

( but he does give back the wine, of course. the both of them need to be properly drunk, and hoarding the wine serves a purpose quite opposite that.

oh, but they've begun preparations to fish now, it seems - so xingchen allows his grin to fade to something a bit more appropriately attentive - though it seems unnecessary to have paid much attention after all, seeing as there's just the one fishing rod and it doesn't seem as though he'll be held responsible for managing it anytime soon. which is all well enough, since wanyin seems quite content to fill the air with delightful little stories about the various parts of his life which exist apart from xingchen. about his job, and the troublesome wildlife (upon mention of the quarrelsome bird, xingchen may or may not offhandedly mention that 'i could eat, if you'd like'), interspersed occasionally with commentary about the fishing itself.

for his own part, xingchen begins the fishing endeavor kneeling proper and postured beside where jiang wanyin works (taking it seriously, of course) - but as time passes, he gradually starts to shift. first to the side, seated more comfortably on the dock beside his bent legs instead of atop them, but then comes the pressing need to stretch his legs (they feel as though they've quite literally been bent forever), all of which ends in him lying on his stomach on the dock, boots long since shed and legs bent to cross neatly at the bare ankles in the air above his thighs, chin resting on his crossed arms at the very edge of the dock. he likes it there, at the edge of the dock. it feels perilously like he might fall in, which at the moment is somehow a positive thing, please don't ask for him to explain. he has narrowly escaped being called on to explain anything so far, and in fact, has (by his estimation) done an excellent job in disguising how fantastically tipsy he is by way of speaking as little as possible and doing his very best not to giggle.

(he's doing a terrible job. he's still smiling far too much, his words have the slightest warm haze at the edges, and there is of course the fact that he's lying on his stomach on a fishing dock in a pool of his own billowing robes. let's also not forget his prevailing shoelessness, because that's certainly a choice he's made.) )

Edited 2021-08-28 14:34 (UTC)

[ The offer of foxy bird assassination has Jiang Cheng laughing, his mirth making him further relax into the moment and his own delight in it.

The drink is warm and burns nicely in his belly, and his mood becomes more unrestrained with every time it is his turn to drink. He doesn't need the alcohol to be happy but it's so much easier not to think about the reasons why he shouldn't be happy or carefree, or to refrain from worrying about overt propriety. He can simply enjoy himself and enjoy Xingchen, no overthinking anything.

It is very easy to enjoy him with the smile lighting up his face like this - and yes, Jiang Cheng is well aware that he is tipsy, but so is he and that smile is so very pretty and he finds himself desperately wanting to kiss it, though he isn't quite tipsy enough yet to come out and simply say so.

But maybe he's not so subtle either, sitting now with his legs dangling over the edge and a hand abandoning the fishing rod settle on the back of Xingchen's neck. Maybe giving in to a little bit of petting, which he personally thinks is very stealthy. He scoffs. ] You look dumb down there. If you aren't going to catch anything you should come here. [ What he means with here? He isn't quite sure, except someplace closer. More in kiss-reach, preferably. Yes, that would be good. ]

( and xingchen has done his very best to pay attention to the fishing efforts rather than simply to jiang wanyin - but at some point that attention must have wandered, as he only notices the fishing pole has been set aside when the hand that was supposed to be holding it is suddenly there on the back of his neck. he lets out a little hum of surprise, head leaning forward a bit as if to offer more neck to be touched (petted, absolutely petted) -

but then comes the scoff, the protest, the 'if you aren't going to catch anything-' and oh, was he supposed to? xingchen hadn't realized. if wanyin will give him a moment... xingchen shifts now, his movements smooth and unhurried, to slide a couple of inches closer to the end of the dock so that he can properly see below him - then both arms uncross from below his chin to reach down to the water, into the water, to nonchalantly scoop out a decent-sized fish.

it begins to thrash at once, as if only just now considering that its life may be in peril, and so xingchen wastes no time in rolling onto his side to better offer the squirming fish out to jiang wanyin. ) Will this suffice?

[ So he may have been distracted. Just the tiniest little bit, mind you, but he may have been distracted by the way that Xiao Xingchen had crawled forward and the way he was leaning down and his black hair fell forward and also by the curve of his back and that ass and...

Well. He may have been distracted.

All of which adds to his surprise when he suddenly finds himself with an armful of flopping fish - and also to the startled squeak with which he receives the offering. He tries to clutch the fish, which is harder than you would think with the fish wet and slippery and Jiang Cheng, you guessed it, distracted. ]

You... What... How did you do that! [ he demands, making a triumphant noise when he finally throws the fish farther onto the dock from where it shouldn't be able to escape again. He gives it a stern look, too. ] Stay right there, dinner!

( and xingchen, true to form, hasn't the slightest clue of jiang wanyin's preoccupation. as such, the startled squeak really just serves as evidence of his success - not in surprising his companion, but in getting the petulant fish into his arms at all. and then wanyin manages a grip on the fish and pitches it up the dock, earning a triumphant little laugh from xingchen as he sits up now to confirm that it's landed somewhere properly landlocked.

it has, and he turns to jiang wanyin in delight. ) You see? I- ah, ( give him a moment, he's just felt something cold and wet just above the small of his back and now he's sweeping his hair forward over his shoulder to wring at the bottom couple of inches between the cloth of his sleeve. ) I have caught something, ( he continues undeterred, ) Which means, I think, that you get to give me the wine now. That seems entirely fair.

[ Why, yes, of course it does mean that - technically. But who would Jiang Cheng be if he simply agreed? That just won't do.

So he holds the wine out of Xingchen's reach with a smirk and clicks his tongue. ] Ah, ah, ah! You think giving me one measly fish is going to get you the wine? You'll have to do better!

[ Mostly because he wants to see what Xingchen will do when goaded. It makes sense to his own tipsy mind, anyway. He is awfully cute when he argues back. ]

( do better?? xingchen's gaze shifts from jiang wanyin back down to the waters of the lake for a moment (almost certainly assessing whether any further fish are in arm's reach - which they aren't) before lifting again with amused affront to his companion and the his wildly discourteous withholding of the wine which xingchen has brought. )

But I thought that you wanted to see me make a fool of myself, ( he reasons as he leans to attempt an unhurried grab at wanyin's wrist, tucking his legs in bent now but not quite shifting to his knees for proper leverage. and the curl of his grin quirks in warning of mischief just before he adds, ) So far I've just made a fool of you.

These are fighting words!

[ Jiang Cheng gives a little chuckle, half goading and half fondly amused. Oh, but Xingchen's shifting has not gone unnoticed by him, and he is quite intrigued by it. Just how much closer can he get him to come if he keeps denying him the wine?

This tipsy, far more daring Jiang Cheng wants to find out. ]

I'm not the fool, I am the one holding the wine hostage! [ Which he still holds out of reach, but now he is tauntingly wagging it. His grin widens. ] I think that makes me the one who is winning here, Xiao Xingchen!

( the wine is summarily drawn even further up out of his reach, and of course it is. when has his companion ever made anything easy?

(many times, far too many to count. his insight has made it far easier to parse the truth and fact from that which they hear in this place. his company, even just in messages sent from afar, has lent ease to xingchen's sleep. he has made the worst of days in this place quite a bit easier to face. he has made himself far easier to love than he seems to realize.)

oh, the wine has caught up with him properly now, much more heady now that he's upright rather than lying grounded on the dock. he feels a bit like one of those bubbling drinks from bavan sits right in the middle of his chest, and he's shaken it up by sitting up and now it threatens quite direly to bubble over and out as some manner of quiet but uncontrollable giggling.

but there's no time for that - here comes a declaration that jiang wanyin is winning - and xingchen typically isn't all that pressed about winning as a concept, but the bubbling feeling has started to spread now and he feels himself rising to the challenge even more quickly than he can tell himself not to, a terribly stubborn expression briefly gripping his features as he lifts up properly onto his knees, scooting in a bit further (his knees press against wanyin's now) to try and seize the jug once and for all -

but oh, it's still out of reach, still waving about like that, and xingchen huffs out a stern - ) Wanyin-! ( and his hand wraps around the raised arm's shoulder now, his other hand a few inches farther up the arm, with every intent to climb it hand-over-hand like a rope, because xingchen will be confiscating that wine now even if he has to drag jiang wanyin's arm down to do it.

he can't be entirely sure how it happens from there, what with most of his focus being (quite understandably!) on the wine and the hand it's trapped in and how far away both of those things are from his person - but by the time his own hands wrap around the jug (and wanyin's own hand, but it's outnumbered now), xingchen seems to have climbed into his companion's lap. or above it more specifically, knees planted on either side of jiang wanyin's upper thighs but none of his weight resting on top of them. and using the added inches of height that it lends him, he releases his prize with one hand to instead get a firm hold on wanyin's wrist, hooking his forearm around his partner's a bit to restrain the arm against his chest like one might with some sort of small snappish beast, his other hand now twisting the jug to and fro to try to work it free of what remains of jiang wanyin's stubborn grip. ) And now we've fought, ( he says, regarding the prior declaration of 'fighting words'. his matter-of-fact (and perhaps a bit self-satisfied) tone is undermined somewhat by poorly-concealed delight. ) I know how you feel about losing, so please, rest assured that - ( ah! the wine's been pried free now, so xingchen releases the arm again and allows his weight to settle in place. ) - I'll share it quite gladly.

( but first he'll be taking a drink of his own, of course, minding his elbow as he angles the half-empty jug above his head a bit in order to get it to pour. )

[ As he finds himself climbed and his arm climbed as well, all Jiang Cheng can do is sit there and indignantly think This is cheating!

Not that he knows exactly how it is cheating when it is Xiao Xingchen stealing back the wine that Jiang Cheng had stolen, or that manhandling his arm is a wrong move - with soft, warm fingers that feel so nice when they grip his arm firmly, he has such a good grip, a very good grip. It is a smart move. Clever. And kneeling over his lap is sensible.

But it is still cheating.

Because he is so close that his body heat is now sinking into Jiang Cheng's extremely human and sensitive to touch and warmth body and there are legs on both sides of his legs and he smells very nice and... It is just cheating.

His breath comes in short little inhales, and then Xingchen is even closer somehow - is he? it feels closer - and he has the wine jar, fine, he can have that, but he is speaking - so close! he is so close to Jiang Cheng's own mouth - and then he is...

He squeaks when Xingchen is suddenly no longer kneeling over his lap but sitting himself in it, and this is most definitely cheating. ] Xingchen! [ he gasps, going very, very still under the heat of his body and the weight of it and the way his eyes are riveted to that pale, scarred throat arching as he tips his head back to drink his stolen wine.

He lifts his fingers to his throat, fingertips brushing over his skin where his throat moves with every gulp and there has to be so much cheating involved because he barely even notices his lips following the path of his fingers until his lips are already brushing against soft skin.

Jiang Cheng freezes with another mortified noise. ]

Edited 2021-09-01 17:08 (UTC)

( all afternoon, he has been aware of jiang wanyin's breathing. it hasn't been particularly unusual breathing, coming just as any person's should, but the fact that it's occurring now at all sings to xingchen's sharpened hearing like an ever-present white noise overlaying the familiar. a number of times, when he seemed (in his tipsy contentment) to smile arbitrarily, that was precisely why: he had once again noticed wanyin's breathing and remembered anew the humanity they had returned to him.

but here and now, after further wine and with much of his mind focused sharply on retrieving the rest of it, the tight shallow breaths (even so close at hand) slip past him. the gasp, for its part, sounds alarmed enough that his free hand drops light fingertips to the dock beside them - briefly, just long enough to confirm that they aren't tipping over or anything of the sort. and then he's exhaling a grin against the jar pressed to his lips, because what a delightful trick that was, making him think that they'd lost their balance! wanyin fooled him properly, well played. he'll certainly tell him as much when he's done with -

there's something at his throat now, and a soft startled throat-sound escapes before he identifies the sensation - fingertips, wine lending weight to the touch but xingchen prefers that over a feather-light tickle, especially with that touch being (or at least beginning) close enough to the front of his throat that he can't help but swallow by reflex. and then the touch slips around to the side, and he feels wanyin shift in a way that he doesn't quite know how to read from this position - until fingertips are replaced by lips and hot breath.

xingchen's breath sucks in sharp, though the exhale that follows is decidedly steady, as are the breaths which follow. the wine is no longer at his lips now, dropping thoughtlessly to his lap somewhere outside of his conscious thought, though his chin has yet to lower even a little. and then comes a noise of distress from jiang wanyin, to which xingchen can only offer a hushed, ) That's not a promising sound. ( a warm teasing lilt curves the words, almost entirely masking the slightly breathier quality underneath. )

Edited 2021-09-02 10:59 (UTC)

[ Not... not... not...!

This time, the noise he makes sounds more like the human counterpart of a cat getting his tail stepped on. This is certainly about his level of indignation. Only that his indignation comes with flushed cheeks and flushed everything and utter mortification and that makes it all so much worse, just like the teasing in Xingchen's tone of voice does. That he isn't angry at such presumptuousness is good, maybe, but... ]

You are not supposed to laugh at it! [ he barks, lifting his head - and only narrowly avoiding to knock his head against Xingchen's chin in the process - to give the blind man his most dedicated and most underappreciated glower.

Not that he's sure what it was. Well, he knows what he would have liked it to be. That throat looked very kissable and lickable and other delectable things but... Yeah, he will just stay to his this is cheating routine. Seems safest. ] You were cheating!

( and all of a sudden, the lips on his throat are gone, releasing xingchen from his own (less dramatic) freeze. so he allows his chin to drop, if only to properly appreciate the glower being leveled his way (a terribly fierce glower it is, well done) as he says, ) Who's to say what I was laughing at? ( but his words are softer now by reflex, what with the proximity of their faces - there doesn't even quite seem to be room to look him in the eye, what with them both having noses in the place where noses tend to be found, so xingchen's head remains turned just slightly aside. still close enough, though, that their cheeks brush a bit with the shape of his renewed grin and the tipsily animated bob of his head to accompany: ) And also, I wasn't laughing. Which you should be far more impressed by, it's quite difficult - with the wine.

( speaking of the wine - he's blindly (that is, without looking down) locating the nearest of wanyin's free hands now to press the jar back into it, helpfully curling his partner's fingers around it for good measure. now come accusations of 'cheating', and xingchen's smile flickers broader still for a moment. ) In what way, exactly? ( spoken (still hushed, still amused) as a hand lifts to affectionately tidy a bit of hair which has come loose around jiang wanyin's face, his other hand settling thoughtlessly on wanyin's other shoulder. )

[ Oh. Oh. Now this tenderness? That is most definitely cheating. It makes him feel all soft and mushy and fluttery-warm in his belly, even more so than the alcohol does, and that's just so incredibly unfair. Jiang Cheng makes a strangled little noise at the back of his throat and shivers into the minute touch of fingers brushing his hair back. ]

In... [ His tongue darts out, wetting his lips. Thoughts are hard right now. They keep running through his metaphorical fingers like sand. ] In... It just is. [ There. That will show him, right? His eyes finally flicker down to look at Xingchen's fingers wrapped around his own wrapped around the wine, and he lifts the jar to take a sip. He makes it exactly halfway before his eys wander to Xingchen's lips instead. He stalls his movement and inhales sharply. ] What if I just kiss you instead? Will you still be not-laughing then?

( it's funny - so many things slip past xingchen at the moment, both his observation and his correct interpretation, and yet there are are other things which the vast unattended plains beyond the forefront of his thoughts seem to collect and assemble unaided to present to him the next chance he might have to see it. that shiver is one of them - just like the gasp when he took wanyin's hand just after arriving. at the time, xingchen worried that he'd somehow hurt him. how silly that had been. would he himself not react similarly, if for once in nearly a year he could properly feel what it's like to be touched?

with the hair brushed away, his hand hovers thoughtlessly there a bit longer, like he might brush it back a bit further or even perhaps touch wanyin's cheek. might earn another shiver yet - because he finds that he likes to do that, wants to do it again - but for the distraction of his partner's tongue in the side of his vision. and then it's gone, but he finds that it's terribly difficult to stop looking at jiang wanyin's lips. they're quite close, aren't they? and now they're moving, saying words that xingchen pays far too little attention to. they don't seem quite as important, the words. he'll apologize, if they were.

but the shift of the wine (or rather, the suggestion that wanyin plans to drink it) is more than enough to call back his sense of place, and he makes to shift back - not depart, simply offer a couple of inches with which jiang wanyin can maneuver the wine in the vicinity of his face - but the wine never arrives. instead a sharp inhale and more words, and these are fantastically important, enough so to stall xingchen's own shifting. 'will you still be not-laughing then?' a teasing 'would you prefer that i laugh?' rises to the tip of his tongue, but his throat's a bit too dry to deliver it, the instigative grin having faded at some unknown point since he finished with his companion's hair.

xingchen swallows around that dry throat, not nearly as subtly as he might have hoped - but that's fine, because now he's ducking in quite definitively to press his lips against wanyin's, firmly at first with the momentum of his somewhat abrupt decision, but after a moment it softens, those hovering fingers finally settling along the side of his partner's jaw. is this answer enough for wanyin's question? or will he have to find some way to elaborate? )

[ He had been brave when that question-demand-threat had passed his lips, bravery fuelled by the bubbly warmth of the wine and the dizzying heat of Xiao Xingchen sitting on his lap and maybe also by how sheer overwhelming everything feels now that he can finally experience human sensation again - by how starved he is to experience more of it after a year in a robot's porcelain skin, starved enough that it is easier to throw caution to the wind and give voice to what he truly wants but would never ask for under normal circumstances.

But he is asking now, if not easily then at least recklessly, and when warm lips touch his own he knows he is being rewarded for it.

It is so much, it feels so much, that for the first moment all he can do is remain still while sheer sensation washes over him. It is not his first kiss, not even his first kiss with Xingchen, but it feels so much longer than it had actually been since that equally reckless kiss in Pirate's Cove. He makes a little noise, a whimper, and there are fingers grasping his jaw, gentle and hot and burning like the lips against his own...

Jiang Cheng may be prone to fretting and catastrophizing, but he has never been one to back down from a challenge.

So he surges forward, pressing in close, a hand going to cup the back of Xingchen's head while his tongue darts out, eager to taste wine and taste him and make him feel even more alive with the sheer dizzying giddiness he feels at their kiss. ]

( it has been a terribly long time since the pirate's cove. far too long, that much is quickly becoming clear as wanyin presses abruptly and enthusiastically into the kiss with a whimper that xingchen at once adds to the list of sounds he'd like to induce again. it's perhaps the first time that a whimper has been any part of the desirable outcome of a situation, but he also has never quite found himself in a situation like this.

a hand finds the back of his head now, as if there were any chance he might pull away so soon - but he doesn't mind it there. even likes it, perhaps, the way that it tethers him here when so few things feel entirely tangible right now. and then comes the brush of wanyin's tongue, and xingchen hasn't the foggiest clue what to do with that but allow his lips to part, the only innate response his body seems willing to offer him. to any of this, really. the actual attempt at kissing is direly inept, a fact which he's only spared the embarrassment of by the wine waging war with his senses. by now he's boldly shifted in even closer so that they're all but chest to chest, his free hand now grasping a handful of the robes at jiang wanyin's side as if to pull him even closer still... and yet despite that almost urgent energy, the kiss itself is more measured - the work of a man who hasn't the slightest idea how to do what he's doing and so he's following (intentional or unintentional) cues instead. and his companion is delightfully helpful, enough so that xingchen has perhaps begun to get the hang of it by the time he finally runs out of breath.

but he does indeed run out of breath (was he holding it? there's a definite chance that he was, apart from the occasional shaky inhale or exhale at any new bit of touch), and so finally he forces himself to break away with a sharper exhale. he doesn't go far, his temple resting heavily against wanyin's forehead with every intention of catching his breath a bit. but he finds that his first heavy inhale goes unexpectedly laugh-shaped, so he's quickly (tipsily) shaking his head against his companion's to deny it before the man has time to object. he murmurs, ) I've just- I've forgotten to breathe, I think. ( there's humor in his tone, but also muted breathless delight, a poorly-suppressed grin already curling the corners of his lips. ) I'll just be a minute. ( the hand releases wanyin's jaw in the meantime to comb back through a bit of his loose segment of hair, apologetic but without any gravity to it. )

[ Oh. Oh, but Xingchen pressing in even closer and shifting on his lap in the process, is nearly enough to make Jiang Cheng choke on thin air. They are pressed flush together now and he burns so hot, everything of him is burning so hot just like his mouth and just like Jiang Cheng is burning hot now with the thrill of the kiss thrumming through him.

Xiao Xingchen may be an inexperienced kisser - not that Jiang Cheng is all that experienced - but every brush of their tongues makes his blood burn. And he is learning. He is learning so fast that Jiang Cheng feels drunk not just on the alcohol by the time Xingchen pulls away to gasp for air. ]

I... Me, too [ he stammers out, his face hot and red. With their foreheads pressed together, they are still so terribly close, and every breath Xingchen takes tickles Jiang Cheng's face. It leaves him reeling, between all of this and the alcohol and his own thoughts racing. He awkwardly wraps his arms around Xingchen's waist to keep him right here and also keep him blessedly still. Because they are still pressed together and as nice and soothing as the hair petting feels, and as nice as it is to have him on his lap, Jiang Cheng finds himself suddenly very aware of how devastatingly disastrous it would be if Xingchen moves on his lap. ] Just stay here. Right here. [ A pause. ] I liked that.

( alas, the 'me, too' is all it takes for xingchen's grin to break through what's left of his willpower, carried forth on a fit of near-silent laughter - because he felt so foolish, but that means wanyin is foolish too, and there's something delightfully funny about the fact that they've made fools of themselves so early in their venture. wasn't that the intended end goal? what are they to do with the rest of the afternoon and evening, if they've already reached their goal?

(he supposes they could keep doing this.)

oh, but then arms wrap low around his waist, and the laughter fades to a quiet, fond little hum. this is nice, this new sort of embrace they've happened upon. in fact, he allows his forehead to lift from jiang wanyin's, pressing a kiss where it sat and then another to the crest of one of his cheeks. 'i liked that,' his companion says, and perhaps he can feel the curve of a renewed little grin against his cheek before xingchen allows his head to dip down, forehead resting on wanyin's shoulder. it's from here that he offers a warm murmured, ) I liked it, too. ( and he's shifting, turning his face just enough to nuzzle up into the side of his neck (it's warmer there) as fingers comb lazily back through jiang wanyin's hair once again. )

[ Oh, they are definitely getting a head start on making fools of themselves, Jiang Cheng has no delusions about that at this point. He finds it utterly impossible to be upset about it, too.

The little kisses have him wanting to squirm from the sheer overwhelming fondness and embarrassment and that warm fluffy feeling in his belly. But he remains so very aware of the not-so-soft and fluffy heat spawned by having Xingchen sitting on his lap and...No. Moving would be bad. Moving would be disastrous.

But then Xingchen is shifting and he makes a nervous little squeaky noise, worried he will start wriggling, too, and his arms wrap tightly around him, pressing him against his chest. Which also may have him pressed firmer against his groin. Oh no. This is why you don't do drunk problem-solving. ] No moving! I said no moving! You're supposed to stay very, very still now [ he chokes out, certain that his face must be bright red by now. ]

Edited 2021-09-12 12:56 (UTC)

ic inbox, ryslig.

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, XIAO.XINGCHEN. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 * XIAO.XINGCHEN has joined 018.07.154.55 <XIAO.XINGCHEN> You have reached Xiao Xingchen. <XIAO.XINGCHEN>** I am often away from my laptop, but I will do my best to answer as soon as I'm able.