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Wei Wuxian was probably the worst person imaginable to build a nest but here he was, carefully arranging spare blankets, pillows, and even a threadbare underrobe he had found in the depths of their closet. He barely knew what he was doing, drawing heavily from vague, ancient memories from his childhood when his father had built nests for his mother and him. His mother has always laughed and praised his father for his "wonderful nesting instincts" and Wei Wuxian suspected he might have inherited them from him, underdeveloped as they were. At least they were not useless and he had always been a quick learner.
An Alpha building a nest for a Beta. He couldn't decide if what he was doing was laughable or sad but he knew that he needed to do something nice for Lan Zhan. His beautiful, wonderful, strong Lan Zhan who had been forced to watch decline over the last few hours as a brutal headache first gripped him tight and then settled in to stay.
The nest was as good as he was able to make it. It would be warm and - hopefully - comfortable and allow Lan Zhan to rest and relax. And, Wei Wuxian reminded himself bitterly, it wasn't as if Lan Zhan had any frame of comparison.
This would be his very first nest, built by his Alpha husband. Sometimes, Wei Wuxian suspected that Lan Zhan wouldn't even have a very pronounced nesting instinct even if he had presented as an Omega. Or if he had one, it would have been discouraged within a clan that rarely produced Omegas and prized itself on being able meditate pretty much everything away.
It had been almost impossible to tear himself from Lan Zhan's side and leave him behind in the tepid - hot, Lan Zhan had protested but not too much, since the warmth helped soothe his perpetually cramped back muscles - bath. The water was kept warm by a talisman and Lan Zhan was hopefully dozing while Wei Wuxian tried to build a nest for him to rest in.
Betas needed nests, too, he was sure of it. Parents snuggled with their children in them, after all, and nobody knew how those children would eventually present. Besides, a nest was comfortable, warm, a place of safety and to be close to one's beloved. Universal needs. So why seemed they be to reserved for mated Alpha/Omega pairs? Wei Wuxian had never understood but all of his curious questions had been harshly rebuffed until he had stopped asking and kept his opinion to himself. He had promised himself to have a nest with his eventual mate and he had always known that they wouldn't necessarily be the opposite of whatever he ended up as presenting, even before meeting Lan Zhan. After that pivotal moment he had never imagined himself with anyone else, even knowing that his hopes and dreams were futile.
And now here he was. Older, if not by that much, considering his life had been on pause for sixteen years, maybe a little bit wiser, and, most importantly, married to the person who had captured his heart in his youth and never relinquished it through all the horrors, pain, and years of separation that followed. Decades, in Lan Zhan's case.
Wei Wuxian was glad that due to Lan Zhan being a Beta they had been unable to bond during their adolescence. The mere idea of Lan Zhan being forced to live through having his mating bond broken by violent death was more than enough to turn his stomach. He had met people who had lost their fully bonded spouses to violence and seen the irreparable damage it left behind. Death would have been a mercy for some of them and even those who had endured it better had been left marked for life.
He shook off the dark thoughts of things had never could have happened in the first place. Overthinking was usually Lan Zhan's forte but Wei Wuxian had picked the habit up as well, although to a far lesser degree. He grabbed a rather small pillow, decorated with silver tassels at its corners, and put it within easy reach. Lan Zhan liked to have something in his hands to fiddle with. The habit had been trained out of him at a young age but it still showed through from time to time - especially when he wasn't feeling well - and Wei Wuxian was doing his best to encourage it. Breaking Lan Zhan out of his strictly enforced Lan routine had become a hobby of his and Lan Zhan didn't seem to mind judging by how he responded to his gentle coaxing.
He took a step back and looked at his work. It would do, he decided. There were pillows to cushion the edges and he had made sure that there were many thick and soft layers. He would try to get Lan Zhan to lie on his side but wanted to make sure that he could rest comfortably on his back, too, if he so choose. Or as comfortably as he was able to, anyway.
Wei Wuxian grimaced. The headache was aggravating the chronic back pain, which, in turn, fired up the headache even more. It was a vicious cycle, one that was almost impossible to break even with medicine, massages and rest.
Medicine, right. Lan Zhan had already taking the highest possible dose for today but Wei Wuxian once again checked that it was within easy reach for the next morning and extinguished most of the candles surrounding their bed before he went back to get Lan Zhan.
He made sure his steps were light and to not make any unnecessary noises as the stepped behind the divider separating their sleeping space from the bathing area.
A murmured "Lan Zhan" was enough of an announcement of his presence, and one that didn't make his husband flinch. He went down on his knees next to the tub and met Lan Zhan's exhausted but aware gaze. His eyes were almost closed and he looked unhappy and in pain but a slight, genuine, smile still appeared the moment he saw Wei Wuxian.
"Wei Ying." It wasn't even a whisper, barely an exhale in the shape of his name, but it still conveyed all of Lan Zhan's love. That his presence alone was enough to soothe Lan Zhan was such an incredible feeling, he would never get tired of. He smiled and reached out to brush a damp strand of hair, that had escaped from being pinned up with a simple stick, away from Lan Zhan's cheekbone before leaning in to press a gentle, almost chaste, kiss against his lips.
"I built you a nest," he said softly. "Let me take you there to take care of you?" He wasn't really worried about Lan Zhan not wanting the nest but a hint of doubt still lingered. He was an Alpha, building a nest. Something that, while not totally unheard of, was still uncommon, and something he had never done before for Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan wasn't an Omega, so he lacked the instinctual submission towards an Alpha, was the epitome of stubbornness and thus tended to react badly to being commanded to do something. On top of that, he was fiercely independent. Despite all of that he still needed care, desperately so, even. Wei Wuxian had adapted accordingly and adopted a much gentler and less straightforward way of taking care of his husband and Lan Zhan had quickly learned to accept and appreciate that. Lan Zhan had come to respond with a quiet acceptance whenever Wei Wuxian's strictly controlled Alpha instincts caused him to act protective and possessive within the sanctuary of their home and never told him off or denied him. He liked being pampered but had never been properly indulged before. Alpha, Beta, or Omega - nobody deserved the coldness inflicted on Lan Zhan for most of his life and it was something that made Wei Wuxian seethe with rage.
It was a delicate business to balance his overly protective Alpha instincts with Lan Zhan's fierce independence but they managed to do so rather well. Just one more fact in the long list of reasons why the two of them were meant to be together, no matter what.
"A nest?" If Lan Zhan had sounded doubtful, Wei Wuxian would have understood. But no, he sounded confused instead. The unspoken 'what for?' hung in the air and Wei Wuxian's heart, so often broken and mended, broke again. He swallowed down his tears, forced a smile onto his face and lightly kissed Lan Zhan's temple. For you, he thought miserably. It's a nest for you, don't you see that?
"A place where we are safe. You'll like it," he promised. He was pretty sure he would, at least.
"Mn." The soft sound conveyed Lan Zhan's consent and Wei Wuxian thought he could even discern a hint of bemused excitement. Mostly, Lan Zhan was exhausted and in pain, though. Wei Wuxian gently covered his eyes with his hand.
"Close your eyes and let me take care of everything," he begged. Let me take care of you.
The tips of his fingers pressed against Lan Zhan's right temple, trying to find the right pressure points for a moment of relief. He got a soft groan for his efforts and Lan Zhan's lashes tickled against his palm as he closed his eyes in weary exhaustion; silent consent for Wei Wuxian to do whatever he wanted with him. He would keep his eyes closed, even after Wei Wuxian stopped covering them to help him up, and only open them up again if he was told to or if there was a good enough reason.
Lan Zhan might look like an ethereal being straight from the heavens but he was, in fact, a very tall and muscular man. Which meant that it wasn't easy getting him out of the bathtub when he was barely able to help but thankfully Wei Wuxian wasn't nearly as weak as he had been near the end of his old and at the beginning of his new life. He had trained long and hard to compensate for his still rather pathetic golden core in an effort to be worthy of his husband. While he would never again be Lan Zhan's equal he was able to pick his husband up and carry him for short distances without embarrassing himself or, much worse, hurt Lan Zhan.
Getting dry after a bath usually was something they indulged in, a mutual, sensual experience that they both enjoyed and that took quite some time. Today, it was a rather quick affair, although Wei Wuxian tried to make sure to still make it as enjoyable as possible. To top it off - and to satisfy his inner Alpha who was begging to be allowed to claim his mate - he wrapped Lan Zhan up in one of his own, red underrobes afterwards.
Mine, he almost purred but swallowed it down. This might be the place but not the time for letting his possessive side out to play. He indulged himself by just standing still for a few moments after drying Lan Zhan off and putting him into red - simply savoring the feeling of having the most wonderful man that had ever lived in his arms. His breath caught when Lan Zhan put his arms around Wei Wuxian's neck and pressed his face against the side of his neck. He was lacking Omega instincts, yes, but sometimes he almost acted like one; especially when he was seeking connection and comfort. In Wei Wuxian's eyes it was just more proof for his theory that all humans needed the same things and that Betas deserved so much more than what they usually got. He leaned down to kiss Lan Zhan's forehead. His eyes were still closed but the faint lines around them betrayed the pain he was in, as did the slight tension in his body. He should be fully relaxed by now but the hot water, laced with muscle relaxing medicine, hadn't managed to achieve that.
Lan Zhan being all pliant and giving into to his entreaties was doing dangerous things to Wei Wuxian's protective instincts, already fired up from seeing his beloved in pain. The original plan had been for Lan Zhan to actually see the nest before being settled into it but the way he had flinched from the also dim candlelight in the bath had put that plan to rest quickly. No matter how much Wei Wuxian wanted to show off, it wasn't worth it.
"On your back or on your side?" he asked quietly when he had reached their destination.
"On my side," Lan Zhan answered immediately, as if he had already anticipated the question.
Which meant that he wanted to be held. Lan Zhan still wasn't good at saying what he wanted and needed; which was no wonder after a lifetime of repression and having his physical needs neglected by everyone, including himself.
Wei Wuxian was nearing the end of his endurance by the time he had managed to carefully and slowly lower Lan Zhan into the middle of the nest. More training, he promised himself. He needed to get stronger, not because of some stupid Alpha instinct but simply because he missed being equals with Lan Zhan and wanted to be just or at least nearly as strong and capable as his husband. He needed to be strong for Lan Zhan, his Alpha instincts demanded it of him, he wanted it, and Lan Zhan deserved to have someone strong enough to shoulder his burdens alongside him.
He controlled his breathing to not betray the strain the simple act of carrying Lan Zhan had put him under. If Lan Zhan were feeling any better than he was he would have never gotten away with hiding his weakness.
"Sorry," he muttered absently as he helped Lan Zhan settle down on his left side, facing away from Wei Wuxian and leaving his vulnerable back fully exposed to him. It was an incredible show of trust that Wei Wuxian was allowed to do that, even in the safety and comfort of their home with just the two of them present. The robe was finely woven and opaque and thus loose enough to hide the nightmare of badly healed scars on Lan Zhan's back. There was only a small piece of his right shoulder exposed where a thin, faint line was visible; the trailing end of a particular vicious stroke that had landed far too high up, leaving devastating damage behind.
It trailed off on almost the exact spot where Lan Zhan's scent-gland would be, if he were an Omega.
Wei Wuxian put his fingers over the faint scar and traced it like he had so often before. There wasn't much sensation left on Lan Zhan's back but he was extremely sensitive around his neck and shoulders. Wei Wuxian still insisted on regular massages in the faint hope of that it might reduce the inflammation and force the constantly seized up muscles into relaxation. Lan Zhan's ruined back was, after all, a big reason for his headaches.
Lan Zhan wasn't ticklish and melted into the light, exploring touch with a sound of contentment. Wei Wuxian let out a fond snort at hearing it, despite his heart threatening to break inside his chest. He had his Golden Core dug out while being fully conscious but the memory of that particular pain had faded and he now had a new, if weak, one slowly pulsating inside his body. Lan Zhan's reactions to being caressed, on the other hand, always hurt like a knife to the chest and no matter what, the pain never dulled.
He leaned down to kiss the scar, followed be peppering kisses around Lan Zhan's exposed shoulder and neck. He longed to bite down and claim but there was no scent-gland there and with the pre-existing damage he would do more harm than good. There were other, far better, spots on Lan Zhan's body that begged to be bitten and claimed and Wei Wuxian intended to do all of that as soon as Lan Zhan was in the shape for it.
"Hmmm." Lan Zhan moved his head to the side to give better access. At the same time he moved his right leg forward. If he hadn't been wearing the robe he would have exposed himself. The invitation was clear and Wei Wuxian swallowed hard.
"Lan Zhan," he forced out. He had been aroused and half-hard since the moment Lan Zhan had so sweetly surrendered himself into his hold but now his cock went to fully hard in less than a heartbeat. It hurt, in a good way, but the suddenness took his breath away.
"Need Wei Ying," Lan Zhan whispered. What Lan Zhan needed was medicine and sleep, Wei Wuxian knew, but what he wanted, apparently, was something else. "Please," he added, well knowing that Wei Wuxian was always helpless against him begging. Wei Wuxian forced himself to breathe deeply and center himself. Despite the almost overwhelming urge to sink his teeth into Lan Zhan's shoulder he pressed a gentle kiss there instead. Lan Zhan moaned softly and his hands, resting on the blanket Wei Wuxian had used as the foundation of the nest, on top of the usual bedding, clenched around the fabric. "Inside of me."
For a moment Wei Wuxian lost himself in the fantasy of Lan Zhan being an Omega begging for his cock while in the throes of his heat but he shook the thought off. No, Lan Zhan was not in an altered state, he was in pain and he wanted the connection and grounding that having Wei Wuxian taking him could give.
He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. But you'll let me do all the work. Just lie still and let me take care of you." He let a hint of an Alpha's commanding presence creep through. It didn't really do anything to Lan Zhan, apart from making him blush occasionally, but it would show him the he was serious about this.
Lying still and just taking it was not something Lan Zhan's was good at; on the contrary - he was a very active and demanding lover who had no qualms about simply taking his pleasure, wringing Wei Wuxian out in the process until he felt like he had just returned from the dead for a second time. It was almost impossible for him to fully let go and submit himself into his own pleasure without being in control of it but today Wei Wuxian would not tolerate anything else but total surrender.
He indulged himself - and Lan Zhan - by gently nipping the spot where neck met shoulder. "My show," he whispered and grinned when his words elicited a pleased shiver and some goose bumps. So much for Lan Zhan being made out of jade. The way he reacted to caresses was breathtaking.
"Yours," Lan Zhan whispered back, very deliberately. It was Wei Wuxian's turn to shiver.
The strings of the robe had only been fastened with a simple knot so it was easy to open it with one hand. He brushed the fabric aside and pressed the palm of his hand against Lan Zhan's abdomen. Soft, warm skin over hard yet yielding muscles and, beneath that, the thrum of his Golden Core. Bright, strong, undefeatable.
Wei Wuxian closed his eyes for a long moment simply basked in the echo of Lan Zhan's power. A minimal shift of Lan Zhan's, meant to give him better access, brought him back from his near meditative state. His cock was straining against his trousers but he ignored it. He was used to ignoring his Alpha instincts and with that came lots of practice at ignoring his erections. He was pretty good at holding out against sheer lust for a while before it overwhelmed him.
He caressed Lan Zhan's stomach for a few more moments before he slid down. Lan Zhan was only half-hard, but that was not surprising considering the pain he was in. It was impressive that he was aroused at all and it was reassuring. He could give Lan Zhan something he not only wanted in his head but something his body wanted as well.
He didn't want to tease, not right now, so he took Lan Zhan's arousal in a firm grip and stroked him a couple of times. He satisfyingly quickly became fully hard under the ministrations and moaned softly at the stimulation.
"You're doing so well, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian praised him as he teased the very tip in a move calculated to melt Lan Zhan's brain. He let go of Lan Zhan's cock before he could go in the danger zone of coming and began to caress his balls instead, gently fondling and squeezing them while making sure to keep his touch too light to actually stimulate an orgasm. "Shh," he soothed when he got an unhappy whine for this cruel treatment. "Take a deep breath and try to relax. You'll come with me inside of you," he promised. There was no way Lan Zhan was up for coming more than once tonight and he would make sure to make it as pleasurable as possible. "You like waiting, don't you? You deny yourself so often but today it's going to be me who decides when and how you'll come. Maybe with my hand on your cock, maybe completely untouched. We'll see what feels right when we come to it."
The only downside about their current position was that he couldn't see Lan Zhan's face. It deprived him not only of the spectacular view but also severely limited his ability to judge Lan Zhan's reactions to his words and touches. Oh well, he would deal. He could still discern more from Lan Zhan's back than most people could from staring right into this beautiful face.
"Just bend your leg a little bit more," he instructed softly. Lan Zhan immediately did as he was told and Wei Wuxian brushed away the robe to expose his lower body fully. The contrast beneath Lan Zhan's skin and the red fabric was breathtaking and he discarded his original plan of getting him out of it fully. Instead, he carefully arranged it so that he had unfiltered access to the parts of Lan Zhan's body he needed, while leaving the rest - including his back - covered.
"Beautiful." No matter how hard his own arousal tried to hasten him he took the time to admire the visual feast in front of him. Lan Zhan's ass, just like the rest of him, was a work of art that not even the trailing ends of the scars left behind from the whipping could diminish. In his current position, with his top leg bent forward, he was a silent but very tempting invitation.
The fantasy of getting out his cock and just push it into Lan Zhan's welcome body without further ado flashed through Wei Wuxian's mind but he quickly banished it. It never was that easy, not even when Lan Zhan was the one in control of their mating, and especially not now, when he was already hurting.
Wei Wuxian leaned forward to kiss Lan Zhan's temple. He trailed a line of kisses along his cheekbone before whispering into his ear: "I'm going to open you up now, Lan Zhan. Just relax and let me take care of you."
The oily balm they had come to prefer for this was running low, Wei Wuxian noted, after he opened up the pot, but it was more than enough for now. Lan Zhan's body had become accustomed to this, just like his own had, but lacking the ability to produce slick they still needed something to ease the way. Especially Lan Zhan, who, despite his natural grace, was tense even on good days and a seized up bundle of muscles on the not so good ones.
Neither of them minded a little pain during their mating but today the goal was to relieve it, not to cause any more.
"Slow and gentle," Wei Wuxian murmured, reminding himself and warning Lan Zhan that today would be a little bit different from their usual playing around.
Lan Zhan acquiesced with a soft "mn" and pushed his behind back in silent invitation. He sounded fatigued and Wei Wuxian's heart clenched painfully at hearing it. He had read, long ago, that sex could help relieve pain, something about the pleasure being so overwhelming that it could drown out the ache. He would do his very best to give that to Lan Zhan now.
Lan Zhan moved again, exposing himself further.
Shameless, flittered through Wei Wuxian's mind, followed by pushy, impatient and so damn hot. He laughed quietly and put his hand on Lan Zhan's waist to still his movements.
"My show," he reminded him gently. A moment later he dipped his fingers into the balm and rubbed them to warm it up a bit. The familiar sounds seemed to settle Lan Zhan. Now that he knew things were going his way, and that it wouldn't be long, he breathed out, long and deeply, and relaxed into the bed.
The picture in front of him almost undid what little was left of Wei Wuxian's composure - his beloved, his mate, half-wrapped up by red fabric, on his side, almost his stomach, with his entrance exposed. Ready to be taken. To be claimed.
"Lan Zhan," he choked out helplessly, just before he put his fingertip over Lan Zhan's opening. The medicine in the bathwater hadn't managed to fully relax the muscles in his back and neck but he was very relaxed here. Wei Wuxian's finger slipped in more easily than ever before. There was just a hint of residue, too, not enough and of the wrong texture to mimic an Omega's slick but it was something new and exciting that drove Wei Wuxian's arousal to new heights. "Fuck," he breathed and quickly followed with a second finger. It almost felt like they weren't necessary at all but he had promised to be careful so careful he would be. "You're taking me so easily, Lan Zhan." Almost like an Omega would, he didn't add. It was a sore spot. Lan Zhan had no desire to be an Omega, wouldn't be happy as one, but what he did want was to be able to please and satisfy all of Wei Wuxian's Alpha urges, completely disregarding all of Wei Wuxian's reassurances that he was perfect just as he was and that he had no desire to change Lan Zhan in any way, shape or form.
The familiar, warm of softness of Lan Zhan's body was its own kind of aphrodisiac and it took all of Wei Wuxian's mental fortitude to take the time needed to make sure that Lan Zhan was really as ready as he seemed to think he was.
Lan Zhan was already gone, softly moaning and encouraging him by rocking back on his fingers in an slow, almost languid, rhythm. Wei Wuxian swallowed hard and moved his fingers one more time, making sure that Lan Zhan's entrance, as well as his passage, were thoroughly coated with the balm before withdrawing. The soft moans became a grumpy and demanding huff the moment Lan Zhan was left empty.
Wei Wuxian laughed again while quickly getting out of his pants; the only clothing he was wearing. "Give me a moment," he begged with a laugh. He had been so out of it with concern and horniness, as well as the need to make Lan Zhan comfortable and prepare him properly, that the logistics of getting himself ready had completely escaped his mind. He almost flung the pants aside but kept them in his hand at the last moment. They were drenched in his scent and Lan Zhan was surprisingly sensitive to that. He balled them up and positioned them on the outside of their nest.
Their nest.
He took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of getting to take care of his mate in the sanctuary of the nest he had built himself, before he put his hand back on Lan Zhan's hip to tilt him forward just a little bit more, exposing him even more fully.
He only allowed himself a moment to admire the view before he took a deep breath and reminded himself to keep calm and not come the moment he was engulfed by Lan Zhan's tight heat. His cock, so very hard and ruthlessly neglected for so long, was leaking and it added additional lubrication. He pressed the head against Lan Zhan's opening and easily slipped inside.
Lan Zhan's moan almost became a soft mewl, a sound he had never made before, when he was breached.
"Wei Ying," he whined breathlessly and pushed back against the intrusion. Wei Wuxian's cock slipped in deeper, but he wasn't fully in yet. "Please," he begged.
"Fuck." Wei Wuxian closed his eyes and tried to call up the image of the array he'd been working on in an attempt to keep himself from coming on the spot. He met Lan Zhan's next demanding thrust with one of his own and just like that he was fully sheathed inside of him.
He swallowed hard. That had never happened before. While he wasn't a gigantic monster he was rather sizeable and Lan Zhan was not built to take him easily, no matter how often they did it. Only he had, now. He needed to look further into this muscle relaxant, he decided, and they needed to play around with it more. Maybe it would work on him, too…
Lan Zhan clenched around him and it brought his unruly thoughts back to where they needed to be right now. He gave a careful, exploratory push and got a very satisfying moan in return. He stayed like that for a moment, fully inside Lan Zhan, his balls pressed tightly against Lan Zhan's ass.
"Breathe," he instructed. Lan Zhan's breathing had become irregular and his heart was beating too fast. "Relax into it. Slow and easy, remember? Let me do all the work and just enjoy being fucked open." Lan Zhan shivered at his words and gave a barely discernibly nod to show that he had understood. Words were beyond him at this point, as Wei Wuxian knew very well.
Wei Wuxian pulled back and slowly pushed back in to reward him for his obedience. He waited for another moment for Lan Zhan to really enjoy the feeling of being filled up as much as possible, and stubbornly blinked away the tears of sexual frustration gathered in his eyes, before he pulled back again and established very slow, deep rhythm. He made sure to stimulate Lan Zhan properly there, since his poor cock was neglected. Too neglected, Lan Zhan needed connection right now more than anything. Wei Wuxian reached out with his right hand and cupped him. Still hard, but not in immediate danger of coming, he judged. Which was good, he was pretty sure Lan Zhan would be over stimulated the moment he came and Wei Wuxian still wanted to spend some time fucking him before that happened. All of his training in ruthlessly beating his Alpha instincts into submission paid off now; he could keep this slow, lazy pace up for a while.
Lan Zhan gave up on consciously tightening up around him after a few thrusts and just passively took what he was given - which was exactly what Wei Wuxian wanted from him. He squeezed Lan Zhan's cock as a reward.
"You're doing so well, Lan Zhan. Take me, just like that, yes." He wanted to ask how Lan Zhan was doing but knew that he wouldn't get an answer or, worse, Lan Zhan would be ripped out of the almost meditative trance he'd been fucked into and would try to find words to answer him. No, he needed to get his answers from Lan Zhan's body alone.
He gave Lan Zhan's cock another squeeze before he moved his hand upward. He rested it on Lan Zhan's lower abdomen for a moment, right above his Core, and once again marveled at the sheer strength and beauty of his beloved's spiritual energy. One day, in the hopefully not too far-off future, he would be strong enough to dual cultivate with Lan Zhan. Right now he was still too far behind and the danger of him burning out when Lan Zhan's spiritual energy surged through his meridians was too great. But… one day. He was sure of it. He could hardly wait for the moment. Lan Zhan inside of him, in every way possible, surrounding him, protecting and strengthening him. He would never be able to give back this particular gift but he could offer protection and care in other ways, like he did right now.
"So good," he whispered. For me, for the world. He continued his exploration and gave Lan Zhan's long-neglected nipples some attention, getting more wonderful moans and even another tiny mewl when he pinched the left one a little bit more forcefully. He nipped the place where Lan Zhan's gland would be with his teeth, careful to miss the trailing end of the scar. "Mine," he growled.
His left arm was trapped under Lan Zhan's neck but he managed to put his hand over Lan Zhan's throat just in time to not only hear but also feel the cry he gave at the proclamation. Lan Zhan swallowed hard an Wei Wuxian pressed carefully against his throat to fully feel the sensation. Another deep thrust, coupled with cupping his cock and balls with his right, and Lan Zhan tightened up to an almost unbearably degree around him before coming with another hoarse cry that tapered off into a whimper. After a moment of complete surrender and relaxation his internal muscles tightened again around Wei Wuxian's cock. His hand was wet and sticky from Lan Zhan's release but he continued to hold his softening cock in an loose grip while murmuring senseless encouragement and praise into Lan Zhan's ear.
Wei Wuxian was still hard, almost unbearably so, but he reigned himself in and continued to fuck Lan Zhan through the aftershocks of his orgasm at the same steady pace he had employed all through their coupling.
He held out for all of four thrusts before he spilled, too, just after he'd hit that special spot within Lan Zhan with a particular deep thrust. The sweet sound Lan Zhan made at the overstimulation pushed him over the edge and into oblivion.
But not for long.
He came back to reality with is cock still half-hard, held captive by Lan Zhan's body. He laughed and slid his left hand down to pinch Lan Zhan's right nipple. An almost grumpy groan, very worn out, was the only reaction at first but a few heartbeats later Lan Zhan finally gave up and unclenched. Wei Wuxian, now almost completely soft, slipped out of him almost immediately and he protested with a weak sound that was far more adorable than it had any right to be.
Wei Wuxian tried to soothe and distract Lan Zhan with another round of gently nibbling kisses around his neck and shoulder and a grounding touch on his abdomen. He needed to get up, clean both of them up, and free Lan Zhan's hair from being pinned up and put it into a proper braid. In a moment, he decided drowsily. He just needed a few moments more to bask in the afterglow, the sheer bliss of knowing that Lan Zhan was his and his alone. He beat down the urge to once again nip the spot where the scent gland would be. He wanted to soothe Lan Zhan, not rile him up with things he thought Wei Wuxian wanted but he couldn't give.
Truth was that Wei Wuxian was perfectly content with having a Beta as his mate, as long as that Beta was Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, deep down knew that very well, but doubts had a habit of creeping in in the worst possible moments. Wei Wuxian had been there, far too often, and knew that logic could seldom persist in the face of emotions. Lan Zhan's second gender - or lack thereof - didn't matter, he just knew that he would have fallen for Lan Zhan hard and fast, no matter what and he was pretty sure that it was the same for Lan Zhan.
Meant to be, Lan Xichen had said about them once and even Lan Qiren had nodded his weary acceptance upon Lan Zhan's public proclamation that Wei Wuxian was his Zhiji, stubbornly defying every convention and veneer of propriety.
And because he was Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, beloved and honored Second Jade of Lan, there had been barely any protest after he had claimed one of the most hated men of the last century as his own. It helped, of course, that Wei Wuxian hadn't summoned an army of the dead for a while and that quite some things he would have preferred to keep secret had been dragged into the light of day for everyone to see and comment on. All in all the announcement of their union had been surprisingly drama free and they had been allowed to settle into married life with barely a whisper of contempt about their choices.
Wei Wuxian still wasn't sure if the naysayers, who kept themselves to some very quiet commentary, were more afraid of his reputation or Lan Zhan's icy glare.
He abandoned Lan Zhan's neck in favor of dipping his fingers into the mess between his thighs. Their come, alongside the balm and the residue of the bath had mixed together into a blend with a smell and texture unlike anything else he had ever encountered. It wasn't unpleasant, just the opposite. He gathered some of the fluid and gently pushed it back into Lan Zhan's body. He was too opened up to properly keep it in, despite slightly clenching around Wei Wuxian's fingers with a soft moan of pleasure.
An Omega would feel like this during his heat, Wei Wuxian thought in a haze. Pussy fucked so open that there was no way to keep anything inside by themselves, with an Alpha's knot needed to plug them up. Lan Zhan didn't have a pussy meant to do that and had never taken Wei Wuxian's knot on advice of the healers that it really wasn't a good idea for a male Beta for fear of injury and even lasting damage. Wei Wuxian's ruts had decreased dramatically after his body had adjusted to the very weak pheromones of his chosen mate and if the rare urge to knot came up Lan Zhan had proven to be very adept to take care of it with the tight grip of his incredibly strong hands. A grip tight enough to make Wei Wuxian tear up and beg for mercy while going stupid from sheer pleasure. Those occasions were always very memorable and it was a pity they didn't happen more often. The memory of the sight of Lan Zhan's big, gorgeous hands around his knot alone was almost enough to make him hard again.
His cock gave a feeble twitch but alongside his ruts is libido had also calmed down and adjusted to Lan Zhan's far less pronounced sex drive. His inner Alpha had been very willingly tamed and to be honest he was glad to be settled and locked down like that.
He stopped playing with Lan Zhan - whose sounds of pleasure had become the whine of overstimulation - to give his own cock a few quick strokes that went nowhere apart from getting him half-hard and making him pleasantly horny without any urgency. The arousal would fade away quickly on its own. He had other things to do. He closed his eyes for a moment before he took a deep breath. He carefully extracted his arm from under Lan Zhan's head and made sure that he was well-supported by a pillow before forcing his wrung-out and tired body up.
"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan whispered, sounding slightly confused. Wei Wuxian quickly soothed him with a kiss to the temple and a slight caress on his hip.
"Just a moment," he promised. He had prepared some damp as well as some dry towels beforehand and quickly wiped himself down before he took another one, bigger and softer, to clean the mess between Lan Zhan's cheeks and thighs. He was still leaking, his opening slightly gaping and looking so damn inviting that Wei Wuxian was torn between the urge to finger him again or simply thrust into him again with his cock.
He did neither of those things. Lan Zhan had more or less melted into the nest and seemed to have achieved a state of relaxation he rarely attained. There was no way in hell he was going to risk that by firing him up again.
"How's the headache?" he whispered after he had finished cleaning Lan Zhan up and tugged the red robe back in place to cover his most intimate places. He would be sticky again soon as more of Wei Wuxian's come leaked out of him, and it would be Wei Wuxian's great pleasure to clean him up properly come morning. He quickly threw one the threadbare robe he's used to pad out the nest near the edge of the nest to cover himself before he let his hand once again rest low on Lan Zhan's abdomen, right above his cock. The pressure behind his touch was slight and he knew that Lan Zhan found the gesture comforting. He relaxed into the touch with a contented sigh. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, couldn't stand being touched there. It made him shaky and nauseous, as it always awakened the memories of having his Core removed. There was no scar on his body now but sometimes he could still feel the echo of is pulling and aching whenever he moved wrong. Which seemed to have been every other movement back then.
"Better," Lan Zhan said. "Much better," he clarified just as Wei Wuxian was about to open his mouth. He gave an unhappy growl at the answer but supposed that under the circumstances it was the best they could have hoped for. "Wei Ying is always so very good to me," Lan Zhan added almost shyly.
Wei Wuxian laughed helplessly at that. A self-depreciating I try, at least was on the tip of his tongue but then he considered how much Lan Zhan disliked it and how sad he was every time Wei Wuxian put himself down like that.
"Only the best for my Lan Zhan," he said instead. That he was the best - and only - one for Lan Zhan he had been shown over and over again and he couldn't deny it, not even in jest. "Think you can sleep now?" While he was speaking he had already pulled out the single pin holding up Lan Zhan's hair. "Shh, don't move," he added quickly when Lan Zhan made as if to assist him. "Don't destroy my hard work so quickly."
Lan Zhan settled down again. His eyes closed in contentment and a faint sound that could almost have been a purr escaped him when Wei Wuxian tangled his fingers in his hair to give him a light scalp massage before he quickly but carefully combed out his hair and gathered it together in a sideways braid that fell over Lan Zhan's right shoulder. He tied it off with a short strip of black fabric, complimenting the color of the robe to put Lan Zhan into his own, personal colors for good. He made sure to make the knot as flat as possible so that it couldn't press uncomfortably against his back, no matter how much Lan Zhan might move in the night.
Not that that seemed to be a very big concern right now, Wei Wuxian admitted with a wry grin, looking down at his blissfully fucked out husband. Lan Zhan was still in the very same position he'd been left after the cleanup with only the fabric of the robe hiding his most private parts from view. His hands, at least, were no longer gripping the nesting fabrics as if his life depended on it, instead they lay relaxed on top of it. He'd found the small pillow and the fingers of his right hand were loosely entangled with the silver tassels. Wei Wuxian smiled at the sight. It was adorable, and that was just one of the many cute and soft words that described Lan Zhan perfectly when he was feeling safe.
He covered the back of Lan Zhan's hand with his own and squeezed it gently. "Can you sleep now?"
The whole thing with the bath and the nest had happened because Lan Zhan had been feeling so crappy that he had been unable to fall asleep in their bed, causing Wei Wuxian to prepare the bath with the muscle relaxant and to build the nest.
"Mn." Lan Zhan sounded drowsy but in a good, exhausted from being made love to, way instead of being in strength-sapping pain. "Wei Ying built a good nest. I will appreciate it in full in the morning."
Wei Wuxian looked at his efforts and had to admit that, yes, it was a damn good nest. Cozy, comfortable, just the right size for the two of them. He gently brushed his fingers over Lan Zhan's closed eyes and tucked a tiny strand of flyaway hairs back behind his ear.
He was unsure on what to say to that but Lan Zhan's deepening breathing saved him from having to come up with something. He gathered just enough spiritual energy to extinguish the scant few candles that still dimly illuminated their immediate surroundings, leaving only a single one left. If Lan Zhan woke up while it was still dark Wei Wuxian wanted him to be able see his surroundings without extending spiritual energy.
"Sweet dreams," he murmured, hoping that Lan Zhan might still hear it while he was already drifting away into healing sleep. He kissed Lan Zhan's temple before he arranged his body behind him. He made sure to snuggle up tightly since they both liked to sleep pressed as closely together as possible. This way, he could also keep Lan Zhan's sensitive back warm with his own body, hopefully keeping the muscles there a little bit more relaxed as well.
Tomorrow, Lan Zhan would be better. Probably still not totally back to form and exhausted but Wei Wuxian would still cajole him into one last dose of his pain medicine, just to make sure that the attack was vanquished for good. Lan Zhan would not only tolerate the pampering but soak it up like a sponge. He was always more yielding on those days, willingly following Wei Wuxian's lead into taking it more easy and maybe he could even be convinced to take a midday nap in their brand-new nest.
Yes, the nest had been a good idea, right now Wei Wuxian couldn't even remember why he had ever hesitated over building it. He reached behind and tugged the blanket hiding there to the forefront. It was very big and in a shade of blue a little bit darker than Lan Zhan's usual robes, the edges artfully decorated with fine silver embroidery. It had been a wedding present from Lan Xichen, together with a gentle yet pointed reminder to Wei Wuxian that Lan Zhan was a little bit more susceptible to the cold now than he had been back in his teenage years. The care that had gone into choosing that gift had taken Wei Wuxian's breath away and he thanked his new brother-in-law with a deep, reverend bow, hoping that his silent promise that he would take good care of Lan Zhan was heard.
The blanket had become a fixture in their bed from their wedding night on. At first, Wei Wuxian had played with the idea of making it the bottom of the nest but he had quickly discarded the thought in favor of taking a soft but random grey one out of their closet. He spread their wedding blanket out over both of them and made sure that Lan Zhan was covered fully, including his hands, and that there was no way a draft could sneak its way in. All the while he kept his body plastered to Lan Zhan's as tightly as possible, moving only the bare minimum to get them comfortable for the night. When he was finally satisfied that everything was as good as it could possibly be he let out a long sigh of relief and tried to consciously relax his own, tightly wound muscles. He was not nearly as disposed towards headaches as Lan Zhan was but his spiritual energy and body also weren't what they once had been. Back then, before everything, including his body, had gone to hell. He got exhausted and even sick far more easily now than he had in his first life, when he'd still been in possession of his original Golden Core.
He had learned - under Lan Zhan's stern tutelage - to take better care of himself but it was an ongoing process. Right now he couldn't afford any kind of weakness at all; Lan Zhan was the one who needed care the most. Experience had taught him that it could take up to two or even three days after an attack before Lan Zhan was fully well again and it fell to Wei Wuxian to make sure he didn't overextend himself in that time.
He pressed his face against Lan Zhan's neck and breathed in his wonderful, unique scent. It wasn't very pronounced and easily overshadowed by bath and hair oils but it was there and for Wei Wuxian it acted like a relaxant, a sign that he was safe, that everything was fine and that his mate was nestled close to him, just like he was supposed to be.
He kissed the scar tissue, once again glad that there was no scent-gland beneath it. Had there been, it would have been destroyed be the whipping. It was far better this way.
Already half-asleep his hand found its way underneath the loosely tied robe and he drifted off for good with his hand once again splayed out possessively over his husband's stomach, fingers gently caressing the soft skin there, making Lan Zhan smile slightly in contentment even deep in sleep.