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Zhang Qiling would give anything in this moment to be the one wrapped around Wu Xie the way Pangzi holds him now. As uncomfortable as he knows the pair to be propped against the frigid stone, it's still enough that the spark of sudden jealousy takes his breath away. The far from platonic feelings he’s rapidly coming to terms with aggravating in how it makes him feel so decidedly unhinged.
He wonders for a moment just when it had begun. The urgency, he understands, obviously, but he can’t help but also ponder just how long this now very visceral need he’s beholden to has lain dormant, simmering away in the recesses of his mind.
The answer, likely far longer than he’s yet able to remember.
He can’t ruminate on that now though. They aren’t safe and there’s so much left still to do. The only connection he has to this world is leaving it far more swiftly than any progress they’ve yet made, and ageless and powerful as he may purportedly be, even as a Zhang there is little else he can do now to keep Wu Xie from Yama’s clutches save walk him through the Bronze Doors himself.
Every labored breath Wu Xie takes is closer to his last and Zhang Qiling thinks it a blessing right now he himself isn’t more prone to outbursts. This feeling of ineptitude clawing at him and so overpowering at times he fears it might burst suddenly forth from his chest and tear up his throat in a scream that would surely make the very mountains themselves rip up their roots and run.
To say he doesn’t enjoy taking out his frustrations on Boss Jiao’s men when the time comes a lie not even his thick poker face can keep in check.
Hei Yanjing gives him a look as they move on to their next destination lest they die at the hands of their pursuers, or worse, Zhang Qiling finds time to give into his own festering fears and desires, all of which will help them in absolutely no capacity to survive this.
“Yaba Zhang, you look like a man in turmoil.” Xiazi states much later on as he appears beside him in a rare moment of reprieve. An actual scowl offered in response which startles a laugh out of the other man.
“That bad, huh?”
“What is it they say about those in glass houses...” He mutters as Xiazi settles in beside him with a weary groan. The other wincing behind his signature frames. His whole body set on edge at the reminder.
“So, you heard then, huh?”
“Xie Yuchen is smart.” He says instead of ‘no shit’ because he isn’t crass and honestly has little advice that would make a lick of difference in the here and now. He suspects though Xie Yuchen is far too meticulous, paranoid and into the blind old fool to allow any harm to have come to one of his new friends.
“So is your boy.” Xiazi quips back, “Doesn’t seem to have helped him any. Aiyo, don’t you know all this unresolved sexual tension is fucking killing me?!”
Zhang Qiling snorts a laugh before he can stop himself. Xiazi joining him with a chortle of his own once he gets over his surprise at the reaction in the first place. The ancient pair sharing a moment of absurdity before the reality of their situation settles upon them once more.
“Does it bother you?” Xiazi asks after a time. Despite popular belief though, Zhang Qiling is neither a seer nor a mind-reader and therefore issues another bland expression which prompts the other to elaborate.
“That Wu Xie’s a guy, I mean.”
His brow furrows at that. The question stumping him momentarily, especially considering the one asking is about as ‘flexible’ as they come.
“Should it?”
“Hey, don’t misunderstand,” Xiazi raises his hands in surrender, “I couldn’t give a fuck. But I’m not patriarch nor sole heir to one of the nine, now am I.”
Zhang Qiling almost rolls his eyes at that. In all honesty he’s had quite enough of the nine.
“The old ways are dead. They should stay that way.” He replies, “Wu Xie’s paid his dues. And so have I.”
“Indeed, old friend.” Xiazi hums a quiet agreement. “Indeed.”
The silence stretches on between them until Zhang Qiling’s gaze circles back to Wu Xie for the umpteenth time in his distraction. His flushed cheeks and infectious grin making Zhang Qiling’s lips twitch.
“You should go to him.” Xiazi nudges him hard enough a lesser man might have fallen from his perch. “Sooner rather than later, for obvious reasons.”
A frown creases Zhang Qiling’s brow at the advice. Hei Xiazi waggling his brows obnoxiously as he slips something into the pocket of Zhang Qiling's jacket and doesn’t wait for a response.
“Trust me. You’ll both thank me later.”
Xiazi offers a slap to his shoulder he uses to haul his creaking old bones from the ground before sauntering off. The mystery items retrieved from his pocket that, absurdly enough, stir heat in his cheeks. The foil packets crinkling as he turns them over in a pale hand and stuffs them back into the depths of his coat.
Wu Xie’s curious expression catches his gaze from across the fire and Zhang Qiling can't help but return it with a smile, small as it is. It’s in that moment, as Wu Xie’s whole being seems to light up in response, hand opening to offer up a palm full of Pangzi’s boiled peanuts, that Zhang Qiling decides the blind geriatric is right and he’s so very done with waiting.
Something must shift in his expression then, Wu Xie’s brow furrowing as he issues a nod away from camp and immediately heat pools in his belly. Zhang Qiling observes his newfound prey excuse himself to slip away under the guise of retiring for the night only to disappear into the shadows. Like the proverbial moth to a flame, he ghosts after Wu Xie on silent steps through the ancient boulders that might hopefully provide enough of a barrier to obscure their presence from the likes of Liu Sang. Not that he cares much for the man's sensibilities, delicate or not as they may be.
Any thoughts of toying further with the boy are long forgotten as the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse when the squall misting the air increases to a downpour. It’s then that Zhang Qiling strikes. A muffled shriek and a sharp crack later and the alcove he’s tucked them away in fills with a chemical green glow. Wu Xie’s discontent at being manhandled apparent in his expression as he turns a glare over his shoulder and Zhang Qiling lets his lips convey his amusement despite the man’s further unsavory objections from behind the leather of his gloves.
Finally, though, Wu Xie's struggles cease and he goes quiet when it becomes clear Zhang Qiling has no intention of letting him go. His hand eventually removed by Wu Xie himself who scowls, but really only manages to endear himself more in how very close to a pout his expression has become.
“So, you’ve caught me then, I see.” He huffs, “What now?”
“I’ve come to a decision.” Zhang Qiling informs him, straight to the point. His tongue is not quite as silver as Wu Xie himself, though he’s hardly as mute as he’d have many believe.
“About?” Wu Xie’s tone mellows some from harassed to curious.
“Us.”
“Oh?” Wu Xie huffs in amusement despite the slight frown creasing his brow, “Anything I can help with?”
“Would you?” Zhang Qiling asks unnecessarily. Afterall, he knows better than most the lengths this man is willing to go for his sake.
“Of course,” Wu Xie replies in all seriousness. His body, leaner than Zhang Qiling remembers, turning a little more in his embrace. “Whatever you need, just say the word.”
“Promise me?”
“Prom-” Wu Xie stills and utters a quiet sigh, “Xiaoge, I’d give you the world if you asked it of me.”
It’s the closest he’s come to hearing the man admit to this thing that exists between them. A truth Zhang Qiling knows only too well as he is neither blind nor stupid to have not realised the regard Wu Xie holds for him goes far beyond that of mere friendship. They’re right on the cusp of something new; he can feel it now as he watches the facade Wu Xie wears for the rest of the world fall away.
“Idiot.” Zhang Qiling scoffs, channeling his inner Pangzi, much to Wu Xie’s surprise. “What do I want with a world without you in it.”
It takes Wu Xie a few moments to recover himself after that. The silence stretching on between them, though not uncomfortably so before he finally speaks again.
“Aiyo, Xiaoge. And they call me the sappy one.”
“You are the sappy one.” Zhang Qiling huffs and Wu Xie laughs and sighs in apparent contentment.
“Even more reason to be concerned then.”
“I’m always concerned when it comes to you.” Zhang Qiling grumbles, causing the smirk on Wu Xie’s lips to widen.
“Is that what all this is about then?”
“In part.” Zhang Qiling admits, suddenly unable to meet the other’s gaze.
“In part?” Wu Xie ventures. A sudden scowl creasing his face, “Wait, this isn’t some new Zhang family drama they’ve dragged you into the middle of, is it? Zhang Haike giving you grief about your old goods and heirs again? The stingy old bastard can do it himself if he’s so hard up for-”
Zhang Qiling can’t help himself and laughs aloud at the irony. The sound startling Wu Xie who blinks owlishly back at him.
“This isn’t about any of them.” Zhang Qiling finally manages. His chest awash with warmth and such fondness for this man, which clearly only serves to confuse the other more.
“It isn’t?”
Zhang Qiling shakes his head, “Like I said, this about us.”
“Mm, I heard you,” Wu Xie frowns then, “What about us?”
“I want there to be an us, Wu Xie.”
“Oh.” The sudden hitch of Wu Xie’s breath sends tingles down Zhang Qiling’s spine. His hold tightening as the younger man’s face cycles through a myriad of expressions before finally settling on something Zhang Qiling can only describe as hope.
“Xiaoge?”
Under the weight of his stare, Zhang Qiling gives in to the need to bury his heated face against Wu Xie’s neck.
“I’ve given this much thought,” He murmurs into the slightly damp but warm skin, “I want more.”
He hears the other swallow before he replies, his throat dry, “You do?”
“Mm.”
Zhang Qiling holds his breath as the man in his arms shudders. A quiet descending between the two as Wu Xie processes this new information.
“I see.” Wu Xie says, finally regaining the ability speak. His head nodding thoughtfully.
“Though, just to be clear. When you say more...what exactly are you-”
Zhang Qiling cuts him short by cupping him none too gently through his trousers and watches in fascination as the younger man’s eyes widen almost comically. Wu Xie clearly unable to fathom such a move and he’s suddenly struck with a deep sense of satisfaction as the flesh beneath his palm throbs and begins to swell. A gasp leaving Wu Xie’s lips and his knuckles turning white as he clutches the arm still braced at his middle. Zhang Qiling grunting, once again satisfied by such a move and the reaction it elicits. His eyes finding the pulse beating beneath Wu Xie’s pale skin and licks his lips as he draws ever closer.
“Xiaoge-” Wu Xie manages as lips meet skin, “Ng—not that I’m objecting in the slightest- Ge. But your timing is...ah..it really is the fucking worst.”
Zhang Qiling retaliates by giving into the urge to bite down, hard. Wu Xie hissing an objection despite his head tilting to reveal more skin in invitation of the same punishment. The vivid welt he leaves as he drags his lips away just as satisfying as the feel of Wu Xie skin beneath his teeth.
“Says the one who waited decades already.”
His grumbling clearly delights Wu Xie no end. The other man chuckling as he turns in his embrace until their breathes intermingle and Zhang Qiling feels himself getting drunk on the proximity.
“I thought we had time.” Wu Xie replies in quiet honesty, his palm clammy as it cups Zhang Qiling’s cheek. His voice taking on that quiet breathless quality Zhang Qiling’s coming to enjoy despite the wheeze he tries very much to ignore in this moment.
Zhang Qiling’s responding scoff is half-hearted at best, once again delighting the creature who drags himself fully into his lap. Whatever he’d planned to tease him with next long forgotten as Zhang Qiling grasps the meat of Wu Xie’s ass and grinds their hips together. Wu Xie curling his fingers into the wet mess of Zhang Qiling’s hair now sans hood, his hips shifting in search of more friction and the feeling is a revelation that’s suddenly all too overwhelming. A sudden rush of breath leaving Zhang Qiling’s lips with a groan.
“Xiaoge?”
“Good,” His response is inelegant, he knows but can’t bring himself to care, “Feels good.”
Wu Xie nods in return and sucks in another breath when Zhang Qiling finally manages to get his brain to work enough to sneak his fingers around the clasp of Wu Xie’s trousers. The length of him hot and heavy against Zhang Qiling’s palm as he’s set free and weeping at the tip at the attention.
“I’ve dreamt of this.” Wu Xie admits with a lewd smirk, shamelessly rolling his hips against Zhang Qiling’s own straining erection and he makes a quick mental note to rethinks his future wardrobe choices if this is to become the new norm for them.
“Of us, together. Just like this.”
Zhang Qiling shivers, Wu Xie’s gaze lingering on his lips as he reflexively wets his own.
“Tell me.”
Wu Xie snickers, his breath sweet as it ghosts his lips.
“Should’ve known you’d be one for dirty talk.”
Zhang Qiling replies with a pointed thumb stroke against the head of Wu Xie’s cock. The guttural noise that follows worthy of the wait that brought them finally to this point and distracting him enough he doesn’t anticipate Wu Xie pulling none too gently at his hair. The shock of pain exquisite when combined with the sudden hot, wet press of Wu Xie’s mouth against his own.
He loses himself for the longest time wrapped up in sensation. Zhang Qiling pointedly ignoring the taste of desperation and death that lingers on his tongue and triggers every extra sense he possesses in favour of devouring this being above him until he’s forced to pull away in search of air. Wu Xie grinning down at him as he too catches his breath.
“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”
“Should have.” Zhang Qiling mutters back, aggrieved. Chasing those smirking lips that have the audacity to chuckle.
“Wasn’t exactly sure of the welcome I’d receive if I did.”
Zhang Qiling takes hold of Wu Xie’s ass in one hand and marvels at the responding groan as he rolls their hips together once again.
“Does it feel like I would have said no?”
Wu Xie groans, his hands skirting Zhang Qiling’s sides before making short work of his zipper and pushing his jeans down somewhere in the vicinity of his knees. His neglected cock springing free, the head swollen and slick. His hips bucking involuntarily into Wu Xie’s fist and it takes Zhang Qiling all the higher brain function he still possesses not to come then and there.
“Wu Xie.”
“Seems in good working order to me,” Wu Xie teases, brushing a thumb across the tip, “Zhang Haike will be thrilled.”
“Don't you dar-”
“Mm. Don’t worry,” Wu Xie soothes and shifts in his lap to wrap his long fingers around them both “Your secret’s safe with me.”
"I-"
“Tell me,” He whispers between kisses that turn urgent, “Tell me what you want and I’ll-”
“You.” Zhang Qiling manages to gasp out as Wu Xie twists his grip just so, “Just you.”
He cracks an eyelid to glare when Wu Xie chortles, soft as it is. The man far too composed for their current activities but soothes his ire somewhat with another kiss, long and sweet and far too good at taking his breath away.
“You have me.” Wu Xie replies in a moment of profound honesty, “Always. Xiaoge.”
His tone is startlingly somber and Zhang Qiling swallows over the reflexive lump that lodges itself in the back of his throat.
“I’ve never-not with anyone-” He admits with a shake of his head, a frown suddenly creasing his brow, “Not that I can remember. You?”
“Once or twice.” Wu Xie admits quietly and Zhang Qiling nods.
“Enough to know that we’re gonna need-”
Zhang Qiling promptly shoves the contents of his pocket at Wu Xie’s chest. The younger man stilling to gape as he demands with a straight face, “Do your worst.”
“Fuck, Xiaoge. You’re killing me here.”
Wu Xie heaves a somewhat dramatic sigh and drops his forehead to rest against Zhang Qiling’s shoulder.
“Aiyo, if only this useless old body had the stamina to do you justice.”
He has no idea what to do with this information and Wu Xie’s grip on his dick is distracting enough he manages an inelegant, “Huh?”
“You’ll have to top.” Wu Xie informs him, leaning back to make space between them. Zhang Qiling’s mind going blank at the instruction.
“You’re already on top.”
“I’ll bottom from the top then.” He amends with a wicked grin, “It’ll be awkward, but we can make it work.”
“Show me.” Zhang Qiling mutters, chasing after Wu Xie’s lips. The younger man clearly struggling to pay enough attention to extricating himself from his jacket and boots. Their only source of light practically smothered beneath the heavy pelt of Wu Xie’s trousers as he kicks them off and reseats himself in Zhang Qiling’s lap. His knees protected from the rock by the grace of the coat he hasn’t yet managed to get all the way off. It’s too much and not enough all at once.
Zhang Qiling needs more skin, wants to devour Wu Xie whole but now is neither the time or the place so instead he frees himself from his coat properly and hefts his shirt over his head just to feel the press of the other against him. Despite the humidity, the chill in the air has already begun to cling to Wu Xie. He in turn however, is like a furnace and can spare the body heat, shares it gladly and revels in the sigh of relief it elicits from the other man.
“So warm, Xiaoge.”
“Mm.”
Wu Xie’s back is gloriously naked now beneath his palms. The delicate ridges of his spine and endless smooth skin and lean muscle quivering at his fingertips. He wants to see the dimples he can feel above the supple flesh of his buttocks, but the almost frigid caress of lube stills him from further exploration, and he breaks their kiss with an objection on his lips.
“You need to open me up.” Wu Xie murmurs before he can question the man's intentions. The oddly distinct tearing of the condom wrapper so very loud in his ringing ears. A gleam of challenge in Wu Xie’s eyes Zhang Qiling is only more than familiar with.
“Think you can manage it?”
“Can you?” He smothers Wu Xie’s responding chortle with his lips. The sneaky thing with his clever digits deftly unrolling the cool latex around the head of his cock, and he very nearly comes then too from the overwhelming feel of it.
“Fuck.”
“Not yet.” Wu Xie huffs, “Like I said, you need to- ngh.”
Zhang Qiling catches Wu Xie’s gasp. His face heating and his dick throbbing with the pounding of his heart when he considers the way he breaches the man in his arms. Oh, how the Elder’s would be incensed, though he can’t seem to find it in himself to give a fuck considering the lewd noises Wu Xie gifts him in return.
“Xiaoge! Xiaoge, fuck.”
“Mm. Not yet.” He mocks. His fingers finding a rhythm that makes Wu Xie pant and groan as he squirms in Zhang Qiling’s lap.
“Xiaoge, please,” He begs, “That’s enough now-you can-”
“No.” He may not have much experience in this regard, or with sex in general for that matter, but he does know without a doubt that nothing the size of his dick will fit any part of Wu Xie right now without some measure of pain, and he’ll not have it. His fingers steadily coaxing the other’s body into submission. The movements ever so careful as if disarming the delicate inner workings of a tomb trap to gently pry the younger man’s body open.
“Be good, Wu Xie.” Zhang Qiling warns and Wu Xie keens. The reaction filed away with great interest for much later lest he spoil this before he’s even inside. His fingers end their assault to slip free and Wu Xie clearly needs no further prompting to shift himself into place. Their eyes locking in the low light as he ever so slowly lines himself up and drops his weight. Zhang Qiling’s breath hitching and his knuckles white despite his careful hold on the man in his arms. The blinding heat of Wu Xie's body engulfing his aching cock and it is...everything.
“Fuck.”
“Ge-”
“Be still.”
Wu Xie shivers and complies with the demand to settle against him. Their faces so close he can taste the sweetness once again on the other’s breath. Their lips brushing and Wu Xie sighs into the kiss.
“Xiaoge,” He begins, oddly hesitant, “Xiaoge, you do know that I-”
“Mm. How could I not.”
It’s Wu Xie’s confession; he knows and holds him closer still. Love is fickle, or so he’s been told. Trivial. Banal.
This, though?
Them, together as they are now, as they were, will always be?
No, this is something so much greater and it makes his mind whorl at the potential. His senses consumed by it and thrumming with everything that is the being in his arms more beloved to him than anything else in any world. His fingers curl possessively then into the soft flesh of Wu Xie’s backside just short of caressing where they’re joined together and mumbles a response the other man always seems to understand the intention behind.
“Wu Xie.”
“I know.” He whispers against his lips and sighs into his kiss.
Wu Xie’s breathless and already exhausted from their earlier escapades. Zhang Qiling making a snap decision then to collect the man in his arms just as gently as he’s able, drawing Wu Xie’s long legs around his hips as he stands. The abrupt change in angle makes them both gasp and he has to take a moment to regain his breath and appreciate the way Wu Xie’s body clenches down around his length, consumes him.
“Xiaoge!” Wu Xie all but chokes as he thrust experimentally into the welcomed warmth. It’s tight and burning hot and probably the most awe-inspiring feeling he can remember experiencing in his very long life.
“Again.” Wu Xie demands, clutching at his shoulders as he turns them about in the narrow space. Zhang Qiling’s discarded clothes left behind to pad Wu Xie’s back against the cold stone as he sets him down at just the right height he slides deeper still. Wu Xie uttering a litany of expletives that absurdly enough make his dick swell and his hips snap forward.
“More.” Wu Xie groans. The slide of their bodies exquisite as he complies.
Despite popular belief Zhang Qiling really doesn’t indulge the younger man's whims all that often, though in the here and now, balls deeps in Wu Xie as he is, he's only more than happy to supply all the ‘mores’ and ‘agains’ this creature can take until he’s screaming any and all of his many names at the top of his lungs, Lui Sang be damned.
Wu Xie clings to him, clutches at his hair and bites into any and all flesh he can find. There are scratch marks on his back now he knows will scar magnificently and can’t wait to feel them heal and marvel at their existence. Their coupling is decidedly furious despite Wu Xie’s condition and likely to end far sooner than either would like. The touch of Wu Xie’s tongue entangled with his own driving his hips faster and harder. The slap of skin obscene and mingled with their combined grunts and groans rings in Zhang Qiling ears. His thrusting turns erratic when he somehow manages to angle them both in a way that hits something deep inside Wu Xie and causes the younger man to curse and grip at his previously ignored cock trapped between them.
“Ge- fuck! I’m gonna come if you- ngh! There, right there!”
Zhang Qiling groans and very nearly comes himself, he’s so very close. His eyes falling away from Wu Xie’s flushed and panting face, once he’s done kissing him senseless, down the length of his heaving body. A thin sheen of sweat covers the slim muscles beneath pale skin. The sight of Wu Xie shamelessly clutching his own cock and the smooth slide of his own into the depths of the man beneath him, muted no doubt by the latex, is overwhelming.
Wu Xie cries out in earnest now and effectively diverts his attention back to the long, elegant fingers all but choking the head of his swollen and weeping member as he holds himself back from the edge. Zhang Qiling’s head spinning in response that he’s played any part in Wu Xie’s current state of debauchery causing his hips to stutter as he teeters on the edge in wait.
“Do it,” He demands on a harsh breath and a sharp snap of his hips, “Let me see.”
Wu Xie keens, his expression so far beyond bullied by this point Zhang Qiling would have laughed had he any breath left to spare for it. Wu Xie reading him once again in these moments like the open book he’s apparently always been to the man and takes himself pointedly in hand. A curl of his lip and a stroke of his fist later and Zhang Qiling falters as Wu Xie’s body clenches around his cock, head thrown back in ecstasy as he curls into himself and paints the fevered skin of his belly in thick ropes of white. Zhang Qiling triggered by the sight of him and following not a moment later to spills into Wu Xie with a cry on his lips he’s almost certain has the boulders trembling around them.
When he comes back to himself, he feels much like a wet noodle. Warm hands and lips welcoming him back into his own skin. His bones turned liquid and weight pillowed on the man beneath, though he barely seems to mind as he stares back with a decidedly wrecked but blissed out expression.
“We should do that again.” Is the first thing Wu Xie says to him. Wincing slightly as he lifts himself up to gift a kiss to Zhang Qiling’s lips.
“Maybe somewhere a little more comfortable though.” He grins at Zhang Qiling’s gasp when he bares down on the still softening length of him and understands then the convenience of the latex as he slips free. Once his mess is contained and he’s mostly presentable, he returns his attention to Wu Xie who’s managed to readjust himself into a more upright position with a look of derision down at the mess he’s made.
“This is all your fault,” Wu Xie grumbles, sacrificing a sock, “I hope you’re happy.”
He is. Exceedingly so. “Mm.”
Wu Xie laughs at that. The sound bright and melodious and it makes him smile in turn. Zhang Qiling managing to snatch the balled-up evidence of their tryst as it’s launched at him despite the confined space. He stuffs that too into his trouser pocket with the condom he’ll dispose of later and helps Wu Xie back into his clothes before retrieving the rest of his own. Wu Xie proving a distraction in how many times he finds himself pressed against the wall and kissed breathless.
“We should get back.” Wu Xie murmurs against his lips, “Pangzi will worry.”
“Lui Sang.”
“Fuck, I didn’t think of that. Do you think he heard?”
Not what he’d meant but never mind, “So what if he did?”
“Well, what if he murders me in my sleep?” Wu Xie complains, finally releasing his hold on Zhang Qiling to finish doing up his boot, sans sock. A teasing smile curling his lips, “Jealousy is a powerful motivator, you know.”
It’s true, he knows that now. “I’ll stay with you.”
“What? And make it worse?” Wu Xie laughs, “Besides, he should be over it in a few days I would think-”
“Forever.” Zhang Qiling corrects. Wu Xie stilling before him, mouth agape.
He knows this is what he wants now. To hold Wu Xie. To care for him. To lose himself thoroughly in the others embrace for as long as any of it lasts.
“If you want me to, I’ll stay forever.”
“Xiaoge?” Wu Xie’s reply is a breath of disbelief, “You don’t have to – this – us - it doesn’t have to change anything. You’re free to come and go as you please. My home will always be yours, but I won’t tie you down-”
“I want to.” He says, stopping Wu Xie’s rather obvious and steadily building insecurities in their tracks.
“Really?” Wu Xie sounds so in awe of it all. A slow smile curling his lips until it’s blinding.
“You’ve been my widow long enough.” Zhang Qiling says, straight faced and Wu Xie splutters, thoroughly incensed.
“Who’s your widow, huh?! Who fucking told you that!”
Zhang Qiling smirks but offers no further response as he dons his hood and steps out into the rain towards camp. Former Mob-Widow Wu Xie following hot on his heels and demanding victims for his new and improved shit list.
“Zhang Qiling!”
It’s not the last time his names falls from Wu Xie’s lips that night. The early morning heralding a far too smug looking Xiazi and a murderous Liu Sang, much to Zhang Qiling’s entertainment at the permanent blush staining the younger man’s face despite his bristling. Pangzi is clearly confused by it all until much, much later, once they’re free of Thunder City and Warehouse 11, and he happens upon a very whole and healthy Wu Xie railing Zhang Qiling to within an inch of his life in the halls of Wushanju.
A truly spectacular and lifechanging experience for them both, indeed, for vastly different reasons.
Pangzi is pleased for them, of course – once he’s done cursing and rinsing his eyes out – his blessings were received in abundance. He has banned them categorically, however from fucking anywhere in his general vicinity ever again. More recently too, with a ban from the bathtub in Yucun and the Kitchen at Xilaimian.
Zhang Qiling though is a firm believer in what Pangzi doesn’t know, won’t hurt him. And really, what kind of spouse would he be to deny Wu Xie anything after everything they’ve been through.