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Chapter Text

In all honesty , shen jiu knew what he did that night was stupid , but , as laughable as it was , he had been lonely , him !

He sat in a table , as he observed how the girls working at the brothel danced , it had been beautiful , her movement mesmerizing ,naturally –like any artist would- began to sketch her

He didn’t know who she was , this was a brothel he never been to but he refused to be served , he didn’t want to be with anyone right now , because he felt so heavy , he didn’t understand why at the time

That man approached him first , the one who would change the meaning of his life , he came and asked about his drawing , at first shen jiu had been wary but it all crumbled to dust when the man seemed genuinely interested in what he drew , no one has ever been that interested

The man had sat next to him , they talked about art , he learned of his name , shen yuan , and he gave his , shen jiu , changing the jiu to black jade

Shen yuan had come here because the madam asked for him to paint new paintings, shen yuan pointed at what was his –most paintings in this brothel apparently- and asked does jiu’er like what my hand had done ? shen jiu hadn’t blushed at the nickname , or at the sentence’s taken out of context  , but he did find small mistakes here and there that he tore into , the man only listened to him with a smile , not like he was just humoring shen jiu , but like he was actively listening , like the critiques interested him instead of offending him

She jiu’s heart ached , it ached for a good company , he ached to be liked , he ached for this shen yuan , the man he barely knew

They meet the next day , they talked in an inn this time , a bottle of wine between them , shen jiu didn’t drink much , only a cup , but shen yuan had been drunk and was completely wasted

Shen jiu took the slightly taller man in his arm and helped him up to the room they rented, then he put him in the bed but slipped and almost fell on him

Their face was so close , he felt the man’s breathing on his face , shen yuan only had looked at him in a daze , tilting his face in a manner that made shen jiu’s throat tighten and he immediately straightened

Yet just when he wanted to leave , shen yuan stood and placed his hand on his , he didn’t grab him , he didn’t tug , he still looked very drunk

Oh , wouldn’t it be so much easier if shen yuan tried to force him ? at least then he would push him away , then he would know that shen yuan was just a man like all men

Yet shen yuan didn’t , he didn’t even ask

Shen jiu isn’t sure how they both ended up in the bed , undressed , shen yuan asking what he wanted , asking what little slave number nine wanted

Maybe shen jiu was drunk too , because he agreed to receive , a part of him didn’t want to risk hurting shen yuan , if shen jiu the slave and scum was the one hurt , won’t it be better for everyone ?

Yet shen yuan didn’t make it hurt , shen yuan while unprepared (and oh did it reassure a part of shen jiu , that shen yuan hadn’t been planning this at all , that he didn’t see it possible enough to bring lube with him) he still opened him up slowly , licking and sucking in just the right places

Stopping when shen jiu wanted to stop , waiting when shen jiu asked for it until shen jiu begged him to be faster , to pound on his prostate harder

Shen jiu would wrap his long slender legs around shen yuan’s waist , and he will be held , shen yuan will whisper to him how beautiful he was , how pretty

It was easy then , to believe it , when shen yuan was speaking so earnestly , while thrusting with a gentle harshness

Sobs would choke out of his mouth , and shen yuan would lick his tears away , pat his head and caress his cheek and ask if he was uncomfortable , if he wanted him to go slower

The night however –like all good things- , ended , and by the morning shen jiu woke up in dread

This wasn’t supposed to happen , he wasn’t supposed to do that

Shen jiu was scared , he was terrified , it was instinct more than thought , when he gabbed his things and put up his hair , he did it so quickly and got out of the room , being too ashamed of himself , somewhat , he felt as if he was the one who took advantage of the other man , shen yuan had been drunk and shen jiu should have left , instead of- of-

Shen jiu grabbed his sword and flew

So what if he had been feeling lonely lately ?

So what if he actually enjoyed that night ?

So what if he actually ended up liking shen yuan like the fool that he was ?

So what if shen yuan didn’t like him back ?

So what if he regretted leaving ?

It doesn’t matter , because surely , for shen yuan it would be a one night stand with an asshole that couldn’t even stay after the night , he would be irritated at most , but he probably didn’t care

In a room at an inn , shen yuan looked at the door that his jiu’er- or who he thought could be his , used to leave , he had woken up before shen jiu , and took his time to calm down and … stared at shen jiu’s beautiful face , he pretended to sleep when shen jiu had started stirring awake and he was …

He won’t say he was hurt- because he wasn’t ! but-

Looking at the hair pin shen jiu left , he tightened his grip around it

At least , he should give it back ….

At night , shen jiu would toss and turn , finding himself hugging his body or his sheet in a pathetic imitation of another certain person’s body , finding that he still thought of that person , that he had fallen for a man in barely two meetings , how embarrassing

It that morning , when he undressed and noticed a hickey on his neck , it was placed somewhere easy to hide , yet it stayed red , a considerate mark of claim , shen jiu looked at it for a long time , touched it before stopping it healing , shen jiu didn’t cry after that , he hadn’t

Then came the day that had marked the ninth since he left from that inn , since he was trying to pretend he wasn’t thinking about a man he clearly abandoned , someone knocked at the door , it was yue qingyuan

When he thought about the name , and the not funny similarities that he just noticed , he had been even more angry than usual , surely this got to be a joke from the heaven ?!

It was about a mission that he accepted, won’t it be a good way to clear his mind ?

It wasn’t , because he somehow had gotten kidnapped , how great , he heard the demon yap about what it would do to him while he felt strangely numb , he didn’t feel like doing something against it , so what if he died ? who would care anymore ?

He let them talk , and when the demon approached him with a sword , he saw it come for his head with a strange feeling of detachment , and yet- and yet it never touched him

“fuck off” yelled a voice he knew and couldn’t forget “don’t you dare touch him with your filthy hands”

It was shen yuan , shen yuan came for him , shen yuan searched for him , asked and waited for him to show up , shen yuan saved him

After shen yuan had explained , it had been slightly awkward , shen jiu saw the other man take a deep breath , and got ready for yelling , for accusations , he hadn’t been ready for shen yuan bowing to him and asking forgiveness and that he simply wanted to give back a hair pin , that he didn’t mean to make shen jiu uncomfortable , before pausing and looking at him with big innocent eyes

Shen jiu couldn’t take it , he was the one who should apologize ! and he said as much , to which shen yuan just laughed

They stayed there a bit more , in a tea house drinking and eating sweet nothings , they didn’t talk much , but it seemed they had both understood something from it , because by the evening , when a server came to them with wine , shen yuan only looked back at him , with knowing eyes , shen jiu could very well say no , and end whatever this is going to , but he hadn’t , he just looked the other way , a silent yes

This time around , shen yuan didn’t drink as much , this time around they went to a room earlier , this time around , shen yuan asked for permission to court while pounding in him , and shen jiu accepted while riding his cock , this time around , they continued till morning

That day , shen yuan woke up first , and shen jiu stirred awake , opened one eye , and went back to cuddle with shen yuan

This time , shen yuan smelled shen jiu’s hair and kissed his head while hugging him

Chapter Text

“the first time I saw you , I thought you were beautiful , sitting tall and proud , your movement elegant , I had wanted to get to know you” shen yuan said as he put a wooden box on shen jiu’s hands “now , I hope you could accept my courting gifts”

Shen jiu’s cheeks reddened slightly but he refused to acknowledge it

“I already said I will accept it , didn’t I ?”

Shen yuan’s smile widened while giving him a look

‘yeah , you accepted while stuffing yourself with my **** and **** me while ****’ his gaze said , shen jiu pretended not to understand it

He opened the box , carefully under shen yuan’s expectant eyes

It was a hair pin , blue gems on silver , it looked pretty , something shen jiu would wear to go outside , visit his jiejies or to their next date ? while not as expensive as yue qingyuan’s gifts , it shows that shen yuan had better tastes , and it was thoughtful , especially that now , he remember having bought a blue robe of this exact shade yesterday with shen yuan , this …. When did he even buy this ?

He smiled , not bothering to hide it behind a fan

“thank you” he whispered , feeling shy all of a sudden

shen yuan grinned , relived if the way his shoulders relaxed was any indicator

The hair pin was the first out of many courting gifts , shen yuan had gifted him so many jewelry , fans , robes , bestiary and poem books that had shen jiu feeling spoiled , so of course he had to get him gifts too !

He decided that since shen yuan always gift him things he loved, shen jiu should probably do the same

Shen yuan liked convenient clothes and his preferred color palette are cold colors, so shen jiu commissioned one

Shen yuan liked bad yellow books , he would be almost an entirely different person when talking about them , shen jiu found it endearing , that didn’t stop him from judging the cover for ‘the return of the emperor’ a man with five woman around him

Shen yuan liked … shen yuan liked him

He gifted each one the next meeting at shen yuan’s home , he looked surprised at the clothes , like he didn’t think shen jiu would try and buy him a courting gift , he said so even and when shen jiu snapped that if you hate it so much , just throw it away later ! shen yuan gasped and hugged the gift , never jiu’er , this is my favorite now !!! this , for the record , did not make shen jiu’s chest warm nor did he smile hearing it

The second gift was the novel , shen yuan looked embarrassed and a bit ashamed , shen jiu only narrowed his eyes , shen yuan took it with an awkward smile and thanked him

After that , they both talked in length , the sect probably thought shen jiu was at a brothel , and shen yuan had no family here , he was wealthy , but it was wealth not inherited but worked for , one shen jiu respected , so they had both been alone in a house , shen yuan’s servants away from their room for the night

Shen jiu sat right next to shen yuan , a head on the man’s shoulder as they whispered things to each others

With the moonlight as a witness , shen yuan confessed his love for shen jiu , not for the first time and certainly not the last , under the moon’s watchful gaze , shen yuan turned his body to shen jiu and grabbed his waist , stopped there until shen jiu got closer to him , a yes shen jiu was too embarrassed to say out loud , under the light of the moon , they shared a kiss , with shen yuan nibbling at his lower lips , licking them , prompting shen jiu into opening his mouth and letting the other man explore it , this already got shen jiu feeling warm , his stomach tying a knot

His robes were taken one by one , not that shen jiu wore that many layer in the first place , but it still took too much time , never would it be fast enough

Shen jiu’s back hit the bed and he unconsciously spread his legs , shen yuan chuckled which in turn made shen jiu a bit light headed

Shen yuan opened him up with his fingers coated in lube first , taking his time to appreciate this day’s last ‘gift’ , shen jiu was shaking and breathing heavily , till shen yuan hit that spot

“ah-” shen jiu slapped a hand on his mouth , his reaction making shen yuan laugh a bit before continuing what he was doing

Soon he thrusted into shen jiu , slowly before building up speed , the asshole of course would stop when shen jiu would get close to orgasm , he would kiss his jiu’er waiting for the feeling to calm down , ignoring shen jiu’s whining (oh god- what is it that he has been reduced into ?!) and leaving shen jiu burning for release , only when shen jiu calmed down would shen yuan start again

He will repeat this so many times before shen jiu would have enough , using the strength his shaky legs could give him he pushed shen yuan down on bed

But what he didn’t think of was the his weak legs wouldn’t support him , he felt , welcoming shen yuan’s cock deep in him , making him cry out a loud moan , the tears in the corner of his eyes falling down from the overstimulation

He pushed himself up with his arms and looked at his beloved’s face , finding shen yuan staring at live with love made shen jiu ache , he had never been good at stopping his tears from falling during their “dual cultivation” , maybe it was all the tears he did not shed when he had a proper reason for ? a bit of shame crawled it way in shen jiu’s heart , to show such an undignified appearance to shen yuan-

His cheeks were squished as shen yuan grinned at him

“what are you thinking about ? jiu-mei”

Shen jiu’s eyebrow twitched and his hole tightened around shen yuan’s cock in anger (anger and nothing else !!!)

Shen jiu raised himself up and fell making it shen yuan’s turn to gasp , giving shen jiu a sense of control

“you are gorgeous ”shen yuan said “I love you so much , please , take all of me”

In the morning , liu qingge stopped by qing jing peak , he had just got back from reporting his mission , and he wanted to spar with shen qingqiu

He landed and immediately went to the bamboo house , kicking the door open , shen qingqiu wasn’t inside

A vein popped

“where is your shizun ?!” he asked the first disciple he saw

“sh-shizun didn’t come back since last night- but wait ! shishu !”

Liu qingge did in fact not wait , he immediately flew to where shen qingqiu most likely was , that brothel !

Liu qingge didn’t know why he was so angry at the idea , but it must for the reputation and honor of the sect !!!

Entering the establishment, he asked for shen qingqiu

“young master ! master shen isn’t here ! wait !”

Liu qingge didn’t once again wait , he went to the room shen qingqiu would always be in and he swung it open

Empty

He was even more angry

“where is he ?!” he yelled

“young master” an older woman , most likely the brothel madam , came to him “jiu’er didn’t come here this week at all , so search somewhere else”

“and where is he ?” liu qingge asked

“not here !” another courtesan interjected making liu qingge narrow his eyes

“you know where he went” he said , an accusation , yet none of the girls evaded his gaze

Of course the girls knew that he most likely was with the man that was courting him , he told them about it , and they weren’t ruining that happiness anytime soon

“where is he ?” liu qingge asked again , with apparent anger , the brothel lady tried not to show her nervousness at having a man’s anger directed at her as she held her ground

“we do not know” she leveled him with a glare , they both held the eye contact until the man started feeling uncomfortable

they made him pay for all the damage he caused , sneakily added more charges that the idiot signed for quickly , their jiu-di was right , that material brother of his really is a simple minded brute….

Shen qingqiu was outside , enjoying tea at a teashop , his a-yuan would hug him in his sleep and wouldn’t let go , so he struggled to get out , while shen yuan was whining about wanting him to stay more

Shen jiu then had tiptoe to wear his cloth , his legs weak and shaky , thanks god for his cultivation , or else he would have stayed in bed for the entire day

He sat down to drink his tea before going to his peak , he… he feel guilty , he knows shen yuan wonder about his whereabouts but doesn’t ask about it , that he hinted multiple times that shen jiu could move in with him , and shen jiu is afraid if he keep refusing it would create misunderstandings , and he doesn’t want that , but his reputation as shen qingqiu isn’t really the best , and damn

He never thought he would feel self-conscious about the tittle he worked hard to get

Taking a last sip , he stood up to pay , that was the very moment his liu-shidi appeared in front of him

“I found you , where were you last night ?!”

Shen qingqiu immediately sneered

“and why do you need to know ?”

“the sect leader would be worried !”

“ah yes , of course” shen qingqiu said dryly , would he now ?

“respond ! where were you ?”

“minding my own business , you should try it sometimes , liu shidi”

Liu qingge’s face became red with anger , he raised his hand to grasp shen qingqiu’s arm , shen qingqiu barely suppressed the flinch , when someone stopped liu qingge

“my , my , look who’s here , liu mingyu , long time no see” it was shen yuan

The first thing shen jiu felt was relief, before dread settled in

Shen yuan knew liu qingge ? does that mean liu qingge could have had told him about me ? would that mean he would hate him when he find out who he was ? no he won’t , a voice argued , he loves me , yet it was quickly drowned , would he when he realize you lied to him ? why would someone even love you ? what did you do to deserve it ? liu qingge is much better , so pretty and righteous , he will surely believe him over you !

Shen jiu turned to look at shen yuan , wanting to explain , but shen yuan wasn’t looking at him , he was smiling at liu qingge , it wasn’t a smile shen jiu knew how to read , and that made him even more anxious

“shen yuan ? is that you ?” liu qinghe said , completely bewildered , then he frowned “why are you protecting him !”

“because I want to” shen yuan smoothly said , calming a part of shen jiu “why are you attacking him ?”

“I wasn’t , the sect don’t know where he has been ! he might be doing something that would ruin the sect’s reputation !”

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Shut up , please don’t speak , don’t tell him anything-

“well , then rest assured mingyu” shen yuan said , his voice devoid of emotion “he was with me the entire time”

“what-” both shen jiu and liu qingge looked at shen yuan like he grew two heads , shen yuan turned to look at him , as if asking for permission to tell about their courting , shen jiu gaped , hesitating , but then , he didn’t want to hide anymore , so he nodded his head , very briefly , like he hoped shen yuan wouldn’t see it

“why would he be with you ?” liu qingge asked finally , seemingly unable to grasp the concept that a nice rogue cultivator like shen yuan would be with the scummy shen qingqiu willingly

“oh that’s simple , we started courting”

“WHAT”

Shen yuan had been getting ready for the day when he saw a fan that was clearly his jiu’er ‘s , taking it , he wonder if shen jiu is still around so he could give it back , god knows the man hate it when he doesn’t have something to cover his face with in public

He walked around , not in any particular hurry , either shen jiu is already where he wanted to be or somewhere here getting ready before actually going , he does that sometimes , to ‘get ready psychologically ’ or something , does he have a jerk for a boss ?

It was when he found him that he also saw liu mingyu approach him

“where were you last night !?”

Pause

Excuse me ?

Listening the rest of their conversation, shen yuan didn’t really know what to think , wait , so jiu’er was shen qingqiu ? the scum villain ????

Shen yuan felt a bit dizzy , he refuse to believe that , is this an au where shen qingqiu is nice or something ???? the jiu’er he knew while not being a big fan of children wouldn’t abuse them !

You know what ? shen yuan decided to not think about it right now … not when liu mingyu was trying to grab his boyfriend !

Anyway , and this was how shen yuan found himself face to face with the sect leader of cang qiong mountain