Chapter Text
Ah, so they finally did it.
Jing Beiyuan noticed as soon as he walked into the kitchen, of course. It was as subtle yet unmistakable as the change of the seasons, an ineffable shift in the way Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing orbited each other, the flavor of their awareness.
Their touches were softer that morning. Smiling cheeks were flushed with fresh memories and eyes soft despite the prominent dark circles from insufficient sleep.
It’s about damn time.
“You’re looking positively radiant this morning Zishu,” Jing Beiyuan greeted his friend with a serene, knowing smile.
You look like you got fucked until you forgot your name.
“Fuck off, Beiyuan,” Zhou Zishu replied with a toothy grin that seemed more threatening than cordial, but somehow still didn’t quite hide the blush on his cheeks. He always had been good at picking up on what Jing Beiyuan wasn't saying.
Jing Beiyuan was just pleased to note that it seemed the formalities and royal titles had finally been abandoned for good.
He nodded beatifically and then turned his attention to Wen Kexing, who was preparing a fresh batch of rice to serve with breakfast.
“And you, Kexing! You seem relaxed!”
Wen Kexing raised a skeptical eyebrow and glanced over briefly before returning to his task. Given his upbringing that reaction was hardly shocking. He was still somewhat unused to being teased by Jing Beiyuan, and furthermore had never given his permission to be addressed with such familiarity. Like a feral cat he was suspicious and wary of everyone's advances, though he might enjoy affection, if he could only relax enough to allow it.
He'll learn, Beiyuan thought, unrepentant. No mercy.
There was precedent after all. He’d annoyed Wu Xi’s sable into tolerating him, once upon a time, which had led to years of steadfast companionship. There was no reason it shouldn’t work in this situation, too, especially since, judging from the marks visible over the edge of Zhou Zishu’s collar, Wen Kexing’s teeth were almost certainly not venomous -- already it was clear that this would be a less dangerous undertaking.
After apparently judging Jing Beiyuan's intentions to be generally benign, Wen Kexing put a lid on the pot he had been stirring, then turned and smiled like the cat who got the canary.
“Hmmm, indeed, Your Highness. I am not at all well rested, but I am nevertheless quite relaxed.”
Zhou Zishu grabbed a piece of coal from the unlit brazier near the table and threw it at his lover’s head.
“You, don’t start.”
Wen Kexing caught the coal and grinned, entirely unrepentant.
Is Zhou Zishu blushing? Oh my, how utterly charming.
Jing Beiyuan was suddenly struck with an all-consuming need to know whether he could make that blush deepen.
It was only natural, though, wasn't it? In all of the time he had spent with Zhou Zishu, they had been forced by circumstances to focus only on the work at hand. Though he'd always enjoyed the other man's company, their time together had been filled largely with schemes, collusion, conspiracy, and murder. Now that he knew his shrewd and ruthless friend could blush, well, he could hardly be blamed for teasing him, now could he?
He came to sit across from Zhou Zishu at the small table and leaned closer, as though he was sharing a secret.
“What was your favorite part?” he asked, letting a wicked grin spread across his own face.
Zhou Zishu made a despairing noise and lobbed a pair of chopsticks at him. His blush definitely grew darker, spreading down his neck.
Victory!
At that, Wen Kexing's eyebrow arched regally.
With a belated hint of trepidation, Jing Beiyuan remembered that Wen Kexing was nigh-unshameable. Even if Zhou Zishu balked at oversharing, Wen Kexing would certainly not hesitate to rise to the challenge. Perhaps a tactical withdrawal would be prudent.
“Don’t answer that,” he backtracked, holding his hands up in surrender, “it was inappropriate. I’m not sure why I even asked.”
Wen Kexing gave him a considering look and apparently decided he also wanted to watch his lover squirm a little, because after a moment he answered anyway, smiling like a wolf right into Zhou Zishu's glaring face.
(He really was shameless. Jing Beiyuan was impressed.)
“He trembles,” Wen Kexing said, turning to look at Zhou Zishu with the most unguarded and utterly smitten expression Jing Beiyuan had ever seen on his face, “when he feels good. His whole body shivers. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
He said this with a straight face and not even a hint of coyness, then turned to look Jing Beiyuan straight in the eyes, clearly wanting to see his reaction.
The line was so saccharine and trite it should have induced nausea, but he meant it so earnestly that it really only seemed beautiful instead. Unbelievably, Jing Beiyuan felt his face grow hot. He hadn’t even known he was capable of blushing anymore.
“Shut up, you damn madman,” Zhou Zishu growled, scowling in embarrassment. Somehow that was beautiful too.
Wen Kexing’s typically unsettling, inscrutable eyes were sparkling as he turned his attention back to Zhou Zishu, who looked up to meet his gaze, all of the bluster and ruffled feathers clearly just a poor cover for how deliriously happy and in love he was.
I thought you were a master of disguise, Zishu. You're slipping, my friend.
“Fascinating,” he murmured.
Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing together, what a thought. Jing Beiyuan swallowed hard against the dry feeling in his throat. The thread of tension between the two of them was palpable. Jing Beiyuan felt in that moment like he had seen inside of their relationship, somehow, and witnessed an intimacy not meant for his eyes.
He played off his wrong footed feeling by turning to his husband, who had just entered, and crowing delightedly,
“Wu Xi, never try to stop me from scheming again. I have a gift. A calling! This time my efforts were an unmistakable success.”
“Your efforts?” Wen Kexing repeated disbelievingly.
Well, yes, of course they clearly (probably) deserved more credit for their coming together than Jing Beiyuan did, but that was hardly the point. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and neither Zhou Zishu nor Wen Kexing had been willing to take that step. Surely he could claim credit for his little nudge last night when he and Zhou Zishu had been deep in their cups.
Wu Xi was silent but his ears were adorably rosy as he took in the room and deduced which scheme Jing Beiyuan was referring to, currently.
“Leave them alone,” he admonished, exasperated. “Stop pestering them about private things. No one can enjoy themselves with all of your nonsense and chattering, anyway.”
“You seem to manage,” Jing Beiyuan replied haughtily, gazing down his nose at his husband.
Wu Xi gave a long suffering sigh and raised his eyebrows. “One can indeed become immune to many toxins through prolonged exposure.”
Zhou Zishu snickered at that.
Jing Beiyuan was delighted enough that Wu Xi seemed relaxed and comfortable enough to make jokes in front of people other than him, that he almost forgot to be affronted at the implications. (Almost.)
He did back off, though. He only wanted to tease, not truly embarrass anyone.
He was admittedly curious but this was their private life. He wasn’t so much of a cad that he couldn’t give them space.
*********
The next morning Jing Beiyuan was caught by his husband as he was unabashedly ogling Zhou Zishu, who was laughing joyfully as he sparred with Wen Kexing reviewing some of the fundamentals of Siji Manor's legendary footwork training. Who could blame him, though? Had he ever heard Zhou Zishu laugh like that, in all the years they had known each other? It was captivating.
“His smile is absolutely radiant,” he murmured as Wu Xi came to stand close to him, gazing out at the pain in the snow. “He never used to smile this much, do you remember? Not like that.”
Wu Xi looked at him sideways and huffed a soft chuckle through his nose.
“I didn’t know you paid so much attention to Zhou Zishu’s smile back then.”
Jing Beiyuan scoffed and swatted at Wu Xi's arm. “Stop it, you. Don’t be jealous. I don’t want him like that, I’m just enjoying the view. He doesn’t have to be my type for me to be able to appreciate how aesthetically pleasing he is.”
He was, too. He and Wen Kexing both were, eyes sparkling and cheeks red from the cold, both peerless masters at combat. Watching them spar was tantamount to an exercise in art appreciation. He felt a warm surge of affection for them both as he considered that fact.
Beautiful, really, in a frightening sort of way.
Wu Xi rolled his eyes and gave him a little smirk. “Not jealous. Why would I worry that they would take what’s mine? They’re happy. They’ve sacrificed a lot to be happy together.”
Beiyuan hummed pensively as he thought of the bloody day when they’d lost Gu Xiang and her beau, of Wen Kexing's dead parents, of Zhou Zishu's emaciated frame riddled with nails, of Liang Jiuxiao's cold, lifeless body. For a moment he grew serious.
“When did you grow up to be so wise?” he asked Wu Xi softly, sparing a moment of grief for all that was lost.
But then Wu Xi was there leaning close to his ear, and whispering in his too-earnest voice.
“It's my job to be wise. And wisdom says it would be foolish to be jealous of these two. They are our friends, and they know how hard it is to hold on to happiness. They would not steal ours.”
Beiyuan felt a warm shiver down his spine.
“I make you happy?” he breathed, carefully keeping his tone light and flippant, not taking his eyes off of the fighting in front of him.
He knew Wu Xi loved him. He knew that Wu Xi wanted him. He had also had hundreds of years to learn that loving someone and being happy with them were far, far from the same thing.
Wi Xi moved close behind him, pulling him back against his warm, solid chest.
“Every day,” he whispered.
Jing Beiyuan felt something relax in him that he hadn’t even realized was knotted up. He found himself overwhelmed with love and a gratitude so deep he felt tears pricking his eyes.
He brought his own hands up to cover Wu Xi's where they crossed over his chest and squeezed them gently.
What a strange thing, after all this time, to feel lucky in love.
*********
Later, cozy in their bedroom, after Wu Xi had thoroughly taken him apart and turned him into a boneless mess of a man, Jing Beiyuan was a little unsettled to find his mind drifting once again to thoughts of Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing. He felt like he was becoming obsessive.
"I'm becoming a pervert in my old age, aren't I?"
Wu Xi, who was running his fingertips along Beiyuan’s naked spine in a way that caused a fresh curl of arousal to bloom deep in his belly, seemed entirely unconcerned.
“Stop worrying, Beiyuan. You want them to be happy. It’s okay to enjoy seeing their happiness.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, it's not my place to be so nosy. I would think you'd be the first person telling me to mind my own business. Didn't you say something to that effect just yesterday? Besides, you’re the most possessive, uptight man I’ve ever known. The Wu Xi I knew back in the capital would have been scandalized and affronted that I was even acknowledging the existence of other, beautiful men."
Wu Xi shrugged, then bent his head to nip at Jing Beiyuan's shoulder, drawing out a low hum of pleasure. Maybe they weren't quite done with their morning exertions just yet. Jing Beiyuan arched his back again, rolling his hips down against the bed as his cock stirred with renewed interest.
“You’re mine now," Wu Xi was explaining, "and I trust you. I don’t need to feel jealous if I’m not worried I might lose you. And why would I feel scandalized? I know you think my morality is too rigid but you’re wrong. It’s only that… I don’t understand why anyone would want physical intimacy without love. I know other people do, but it just seems hollow to me, like animals rutting. There’s nothing shameful about being intimate with the one you love. Why should I be scandalized by the sight of devotion like theirs?”
Well when he puts it that way…
“You’ve grown up a lot over the years, haven’t you, Little Venom?”
Wu Xi rolled his eyes at the old nickname and raked a hand through Jing Beiyuan's hair to grip tightly at his scalp, making him shiver and arch his back more deeply.
“I’m not a child, Beiyuan. I thought you finally figured that out. Stop condescending.”
The last was punctuated with a sharp hair pull as he turned Jing Beiyuan's head to face him and roughly claimed his mouth.
Who's condescending? You're a fool if you don't think I'm about to claim my turn on top, you brute. A man's body can only take so much abuse, after all.
Supple as a sable, Jing Beiyuan flipped them over and pinned his husband to the bed with a wicked grin.
Neither of the two spoke again for quite a while.
*********
When Jing Beiyuan found them after his (much needed) afternoon nap, Wu Xi was engaged in amiable conversation again with Wen Kexing, who was plying him for additional stories about Zhou Zishu and their shared youth in the capital.
While they spoke Zhou Zishu dozed with his head in Wen Kexing’s lap and Wen Kexing ran elegant fingers through his disheveled hair like he was a pampered pet. Wu Xi, true to his earlier words, seemed entirely unaffected by this casual intimacy, his body language relaxed in a way that was usually reserved for the likes of Ashinlae and Nuahar back home, and no one from Da Qing at all save for Jing Beiyuan.
Jing Beiyuan realized with some delight that Wu Xi legitimately liked Wen Kexing. An unlikelier pair of friends he had never seen, to be sure, but it warmed his heart to see them together.
Both of these lonely boys could use more friends in their lives.
Wen Kexing noticed Jing Beiyuan standing in the doorway and greeted him with a mischievous smile. (Jing Beiyuan was fairly sure at this point that Wen Kexing didn't have smiles that weren't made of mischief.)
“Da Wu, your sleeping beauty awakens,” the Valley Master drawled.
Wu Xi turned to face him and Jing Beiyuan was dismayed to see a hint of mischief in his husband's own smile.
It almost seemed... it seemed like they were up to something.
Oh, no… I take it all back. It would be a terrible idea for them to become friends. Wen Kexing is a terrible influence. We can't have this at all. I object.
Wu Xi respectfully took his leave of Wen Kexing and came to greet Jing Beiyuan in the doorway.
To Jing Beiyuan's great surprise Wu Xi, never prone to public displays of affection, walked up and took his jaw in his large, callused hand, pulling him into an unmistakably intimate embrace and kissing him deeply. Jing Beiyuan was too startled to close his eyes, and so he couldn't help but notice Wen Kexing taking in the whole scene with a warm, thoughtful smile.
"Let's find you something to eat," Wu Xi suggested gently after releasing him, and walked without a backwards glance in the direction of the modest kitchen.
If pressed, Jing Beiyuan couldn’t possibly have said whether the ripple of butterflies in his stomach at that moment was from the filthy, unspoken promise in Wu Xi’s kiss, or the weight of Wen Kexing’s unapologetic gaze.
Disoriented, aroused, and a little suspicious, he moved to follow his husband.