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When Mo Ran was told his holy weapon had the stipulation that his one and only was the only one who could open it, he naturally thought of Shi Mei.
He tried giving the box to Shi Mei immediately after returning from his chat with the fox god, but he was interrupted when Xue Meng started to make a fuss about not getting a holy weapon. After that, he was shortly reunited with Bu’gui and the box started to slip from his mind.
He had his preferred weapon. He didn’t need to bother Shi Mei with opening the second one for him immediately. He would find time.
Then the barrier started to fall apart.
Then Chu Wanning died.
Then Mo Ran learned about his Shizun, and the kind of person he really is. He learned about his soul and his heart. He went to hell and back to get him back, and realized he would do it over again countless times if that would keep Chu Wanning safe.
Then Mo Ran spent five years becoming a man who can stand by Chu Wanning.
Then Mo Ran sat with Chu Wanning above the sea during a moonlit sky.
Then Mo Ran realized he was in love, in actual real, true love, with Chu Wanning, and the box burned in the back of his mind because he couldn’t imagine a world where he deserves to have Chu Wanning love him back in the same way.
-
Chu Wanning stretches out on the bed Mo Ran has forbidden him from leaving. Well, as much as Mo Ran can forbid him to do anything. More than anything, Mo Ran wants to celebrate the fact that he managed to clear the half of Chu Wanning’s bed that is usually full of his projects.
Or, junk, as Mo Ran calls it.
Either way, Mo Ran says they should take advantage of a clean and clear bed. Mo Ran has brought him breakfast and lunch so far, and now they’re lounging as Chu Wanning reads up on the most recent developments in cultivation techniques while Mo Ran lays on his lap and plays with one of his hands.
Speaking of.
“Turning the pages of this book would be easier if I had a second hand available,” Chu Wanning says pointedly.
“And deprive me of your gorgeous hands.”
Chu Wanning narrows his eyes, though he knows Mo Ran can’t see them from behind the book. “Don’t tease,” he scolds. He knows his hands are old and dry from his constant tinkering.
“I’m not teasing.” Mo Ran kisses the tips of Chu Wanning’s fingers, and it takes all of him not to yank his hand away. “I love your hands. I love their strength, how long your fingers are, the way they look when you play the guqin…”
Mo Ran trails off, his face doing something complicated. Chu Wanning frowns. Every so often Mo Ran gets like this—like his mind is somewhere far away. It worries him, but he can’t presume to know everything Mo Ran has gone through in the five years he was in seclusion.
“If you’d like…I could play for you,” Chu Wanning offers, trying not to frown at how stilted the words come out. “I know I don’t play very often…”
Mo Ran goes frozen at the offer, but before Chu Wanning can begin regretting it, he’s being pulled down into Mo Ran’s embrace, his book falling to the side of the bed.
“Let me buy you one, Shizun,” Mo Ran says, pressing a kiss against the top of his forehead, the bridge of his nose, the crest of his cheek. “Let me buy you the nicest, finest—”
“Impudent,” Chu Wanning interrupts, though there isn’t any real heat behind the words. “A disciple buying his master such an extravagant gift like that…”
“Oh, is that the line you draw?” Mo Ran drawls, his grin sharpening in a way that makes Chu Wanning’s heckles start to rise. “This disciple shouldn’t shower his beautiful shizun with all the gifts he deserves, but he’s allowed to enter—”
“Mo Ran!”
Mo Ran laughs loudly, a complete turn from how contemplative he was looking just a few moments earlier. It makes Chu Wanning’s chest warm to see him so full of joy. It also makes his fist clench instinctively to be laughed at so boldly.
Mo Ran takes note of it immediately, the same way he seems to take note of everything Chu Wanning does. He drops his head back down onto Chu Wanning’s lap, burrowing his head into his thighs.
“Ah, have mercy on me, baobei,” he says. Chu Wanning doesn’t need to see his face to know Mo Ran is doing his wide puppy-eyed face right now. He would feel more sympathetic if his shoulders weren’t clearly shaking with his laughter.
“Why do you deserve mercy?”
“Because this one is unworthy!” Mo Ran rolls over to look at Chu Wanning, just to pout at him. Chu Wanning sends him an incredibly unimpressed look. “I am! This one can’t compare to Yuheng Elder, with his three holy weapons. Your humble disciple only has one.”
Chu Wanning pauses, his hand stilling in Mo Ran’s hair.
There is much Chu Wanning knows he’s missed in these past five years. So much so that there are countless things he doesn’t even think to check up on. Between everything that happened in the cultivation world, everything that happened with his disciples, and everything that happened in Shisheng Peak, it’s hard for him to even know what he’s supposed to know.
He supposes he should perhaps be kinder with himself for forgetting about Mo Ran second heavenly weapon. It wasn’t like it was brought up often before he died, and it definitely hasn’t been brought up once since he’s woken up.
He still feels like a thoughtless fool for forgetting about it regardless.
“You still haven’t unlocked your second weapon yet?”
Mo Ran makes a noise of protest, but before Chu Wanning can worry that he’s overstepped, he simply nudges his hand with his hand. Rolling his eyes, Chu Wanning resumes running his hands through Mo Ran’s hair.
Mo Ran hums in contentment. “No, I haven’t gotten around to it.”
“Oh.”
To say he’s surprised is a grand understatement. Chu Wanning has seen and heard how much Mo Ran has grown in his absence, and there is no doubt that he’s one of the best cultivators of his age. While he never questioned Mo Ran about the box, he assumed the fox god gave him all the information he needed.
“I thought I had it figured out before…” Mo Ran trails off contemplatively. Suddenly, he reaches for Chu Wanning’s free hand, and brings it to his chest. “Regardless, I don’t need to unlock the box. If Bu’gui ever fails me, I know Shizun will protect me.”
He says the words teasingly, clearly trying to get Chu Wanning to coddle him even more than he already has. However, the words sting.
Time and time again he’s failed Mo Ran as a Shizun.
Since he’s woken up from his seclusion, everyone has told him about how incredible all his disciples have become, and he just accepted it. He should have checked in with them more, seen if they needed more guidance, what they needed from him when he was stuck meditating.
Instead, he sees the man Mo Ran has become, and jumps him like some depraved old man.
God, he’s been an awful Shizun.
It’s this guilt that prompts him to say, “Summon the box.”
Mo Ran, who clearly isn’t following Chu Wanning’s train of thought, blinks in surprise.
“What?”
“Your holy weapon,” Chu Wanning insists. “The box. Summon it.”
“What?” Mo Ran repeats, but there’s no more confusion in his tone. “Why?”
“Perhaps I could inspect it…”
“No,” Mo Ran says immediately, sitting up.
Chu Wanning bristles, and Mo Ran immediately puts his hands up placatingly. “Shizun—”
“Summon it.”
“I really—”
“Summon it.”
“It’s not a—”
“Mo. Ran.”
Mo Ran’s mouth clicks close in a way that would be more satisfying if Chu Wanning wasn’t so annoyed with his continued refusal. He sharpens his gaze into a glare, and doesn’t quite know what to do when Mo Ran seems to go fonder.
“Ah, how can I deny my Shizun anything?”
Raising his hand, Mo Ran summons the box. It’s a discreet, simple looking thing, and Chu Wanning wonders if the plainness of it all is what has made it difficult to open. His hand twitches with the need to tamper with it.
“But Shizun, please just don’t—”
Chu Wanning doesn’t get to hear the rest of the sentence, because he’s already snatching the box out of Mo Ran’s hands. He actually doesn’t even register that Mo Ran cuts himself off with a choking sound, as intrigued with the box as he is. He doesn’t see the way Mo Ran stops breathing, the way the hope in his eyes starts to fade as nothing happens, the way his shoulders droop in quiet resignation.
What Chu Wanning does see is the bright light that overcomes the box after he turns it over in his hand. He shuts his eyes against the glare of it, but even then he still sees spots behind his eyes. Messaging his temple he tries to get ahead of the headache he’s sure is about to come.
“Shizun…”
Chu Wanning blinks his eyes open at the call of his name, and settles his eyes on the weapon in his hand.
His mouth parts.
There where the box once was lies Tianwen. Except it’s not exactly like his willow vine. It’s a vibrant red, and Chu Wanning is even more confused than he was before.
“Does it replicate the form of the closest cultivator’s holy weapon?” Chu Wanning murmurs to himself. He pulls the end of the vine closer to his face to inspect it, and frowns. “How inconvenient…”
The vine is tugged, and it’s only then that Chu Wanning remembers Mo Ran. He snaps his head up to look at him, and his mouth falls open even further.
Mo Ran’s eyes are dark, darker than Chu Wanning has ever seen them. His chest is heaving as his eyes dart between the weapon and Chu Wanning, and he’s gripping the willow vine in his hands so tightly Chu Wanning almost fears it will snap. Part of him believes Mo Ran could actually do it, could actually snap the weapon with his bare hands, and the thought alone has him shifting in place.
He has no idea what has Mo Ran looking so ready to pounce on him, but it makes him flush so readily he can feel it spreading down his neck. He averts his eyes from Mo Ran in an attempt to school himself, and finds his eyes dropping back down to the willow vine.
Mo Ran still hasn’t recalled his weapon, hasn’t even named it yet, so the full length of it lies sprawled between their laps. The end of it still lies between his fingers while the handle is in Mo Ran’s grasp. Like this, it almost looks like…
Chu Wanning inhales sharply.
“What is it, Shizun?” Mo Ran asks, his voice deep and hoarse, sending goosebumps up and down Chu Wanning’s arms. Then his words register, and he feels his flush deepen.
He can’t tell Mo Ran what he was thinking, it’s too embarrassing to say out loud. He’s been shameless enough this evening.
“Wanning.”
He feels shivers run down his back at the sound of his name. He knows he should reprimand Mo Ran, tell him he should not call him by his given name so easily. But Chu Wanning is selfish. Instead he flicks his eyes up to Mo Ran just in time to see him lick his lips.
“Wanning,” Mo Ran repeats. “Tell me.”
Chu Wanning looks away from him again, struggling out, “It’s just…with the red vine between our hands, or rather, our fingers…it looks—it’s almost like…”
He watches as Mo Ran lowers his eyes to look at how his weapon is twined between them, watches as his words register, watches as his eyes widen when he realizes it looks like—like--
Like a red string of fate.
No sooner has the thought crossed his mind does Chu Wanning find himself flat on his back. He has one moment to take Mo Ran in — hovering above, with dark eyes that swallow him whole, looking down at him like he wants to eat him alive — before he’s being kissed so deeply he can’t help but whine into it.
He doesn’t know have a single clue as to what has set Mo Ran off, but Chu Wanning has never been able to do anything but open up under Mo Ran once he gets his hands on him.
“Wanning, tell me, what does it look like?” Mo Ran asks as he moves to kiss under Chu Wanning’s ear. Chu Wanning moves to press the back of his hand against his mouth, already embarrassed by the sounds he’s making, but Mo Ran’s own hand shoots up to intercept it and pin his wrist to the bed.
“No, don’t do that, Shizun.” Chu Wanning gasps as Mo Ran pins him with a look so wild he can’t the way his heart races. “Don’t deprive me of your beautiful sounds. Not when I’ve asked you a question.”
Chu Wanning shakes his head as Mo Ran’s hand roams from his neck to his nipples to his hips, never lingering long enough to fully satisfy. He finally drops down between his thighs, and Chu Wanning spreads his legs without another thought.
Mo Ran curses, but the sound is lost by the sound Chu Wanning makes when he harshly bites the inside of his thighs. He thinks he’s losing his mind as Mo Ran continues littering his thighs with bruises, dark ones, ones Chu Wanning knows are going to last days, and just the thought of pressing into them tomorrow morning makes him go dizzy.
“Did you think it looked like a red string?” Mo Ran asks, right before pressing a quick kiss to the base of his hard, leaking dick. Chu Wanning’s hips jerk forward, but Mo Ran keeps him in place with a single hand. “Did you think it looked like you were tied to me? That you belonged to me?”
“Mo Ran--”
“Did you like that?” Chu Wanning can feel Mo Ran’s fingers—fingers that are somehow already slick—start to creep towards his ass as Mo Ran’s hot breath caresses his cock, and he’s losing his mind already without all the filth he knows Mo Ran is about to say. He doubts Mo Ran cares. “Do you like belonging to me, Shizun?”
Of course he does! It’s awful, and pathetic, and he hates himself for it, but there is nothing more that he loves than the thought of belonging to Mo Ran.
But it’s not like he can just say that.
“Wanning.”
Unfortunately, it seems like Mo Ran isn't going to let him get away with that.
He starts squirming when he feels Mo Ran brush his fingers against his entrance. He tries shifting his hips, tries to get Mo Ran to push just a little bit, but he just keeps pulling back. Chu Wanning groans, frustrated tears coming to his eyes, and blurts out, “Yes!”
“Yes, what, Wanning?”
“Yes, I like it. Yes, I’m yours. Yes--”
Chu Wanning chokes on his words as Mo Ran slips his finger into him and sucks the head of his cock in his mouth. He can feel his eyes rolling back, and the only reason he doesn’t come right then is because of the tight grip Mo Ran keeps on the base of his dick.
Mo Ran seems to be in a bit of a rush today, because he barely has a single finger in him before he’s scissoring a second one in. Chu Wanning moans as his body is forced open, relishing in the stretch of it. Mo Ran’s fingers are so big, take up so much space already, and Chu Wanning feels his mouth water as he thinks about soon being filled with something much larger.
Mo Ran pulls up from sucking his dick, which is likely for the best. That is until he starts running his mouth again.
“Do you want to know what the conditions were for my holy weapon, baobei?” Mo Ran asks, just as he slips a third finger into him.
Chu Wanning has not thought about the willow vine in quite some time. He’s struggling to keep track of his thoughts now, let alone what he was thinking about before Mo Ran started fingering him like he wants to see Chu Wanning cry.
Which he probably does, shameless as he is.
“I asked you a question, Shizun.” Mo Ran curls his fingers roughly, and Chu Wanning chokes on a gasp. “Pay attention to me, now.”
“What--what do you mean ?” Chu Wanning stammers, struggling to focus on Mo Ran’s words without getting distracted by the movement of his fingers.
Mo Ran decides to make it easier on him. He shifts so he can speak against Chu Wanning’s ear, “My weapon could only be unlocked by one person. It has to be the person I love most dearly, the most important person in the world to me.”
Chu Wanning jolts at the words, tightening around Mo Ran’s fingers so tightly Mo Ran grunts out a hoarse, “Fuck,” into his skin. He thrusts his fingers again, but Chu Wanning is already shaking so much that the simple movement has him crying out.
Chu Wanning shakes his head back and forth, overwhelmed and unwilling to believe Mo Ran. It’s too much to be loved like this, to feel Mo Ran around him, inside him. It’s too much, and it’s more than he deserves.
“Why are you shaking your head?” Mo Ran’s voice is saccharine, and is the only warning Chu Wanning gets before his neck is bitten. He whimpers, tightening even more around Mo Ran’s finger as Mo Ran mouths against his skin. “Do you think I’d lie to you Shizun? Do you think I could want someone else?”
Mo Ran removes his fingers before Chu Wanning can say anything in response. He whines at the loss, spreading his legs wider unthinkingly. Mo Ran rises up on his thighs, tugging his pants low enough so that his impossible cock is finally free. Chu Wanning can’t hold back the needy sound that rips itself from the back of his throat at the sight of it, and Mo Ran’s expression just gets even more predatory.
“Fuck, Wanning.”
Chu Wanning kicks a leg out, his voice breaking as he says, “Mo Ran, hurry up!”
Mo Ran hushes him, slicking his dick with the oil that Chu Wanning swears he procured from thin air. Chu Wanning already feels pulled taut like a string about to snap, and that tension is made worse once he feels the head of Mo Ran’s cock press against his entrance.
He’s taken off guard when Mo Ran leans down to press a gentle kiss against his lips. He opens his mouth to it immediately, moaning when Mo Ran reaches his tongue in his mouth like he can’t help it, like he wants to make Chu Wanning’s mouth as swollen and sloppy as possible.
“You know what else, Shizun?” Mo Ran says breathlessly as he pulls away. “The other condition that needed to be met?”
“Mo Ran, please —”
Whether it’s out of mercy or broken restraint, Chu Wanning can’t say. All he knows is that as soon as the plea passes through his lips, Mo Ran slides completely into him in a single thrust.
Chu Wanning could sing, that’s how good he feels with Mo Ran in him. He feels as his body welcomes him in, and a wild, crazed part of him wishes he could always stay like this. He doesn’t need anything else, he can just stay pinned here under Mo Ran’s mouth, hands, and cock as he thrusts into him to his heart’s content.
Except Mo Ran doesn’t move again. He just grinds even deeper, making the tears in Chu Wanning’s eyes finally fall as he moans.
“The other condition, Wanning,” Mo Ran grunts out. He’s rocking like there’s a way from him to bully even more of himself into Chu Wanning, and the worst part is Chu Wanning wants him to. “The other condition is that the person I cherish, that I long for, that I love with everything,” and then he lowers his head, and whispers into Chu Wanning’s ear, “has to love me back.”
Then Mo Ran pulls back, and thrusts so forcefully back into Chu Wanning that he can’t help but cum all over himself. He comes so hard he’s shaking with it, or maybe he never stopped shaking. He sobs, clinging to Mo Ran as wave after wave of pleasure rushes over him.
Mo Ran acts quickly, still hard and hot and twitching inside of him. He sits up and collects Chu Wanning onto his lap, manhandling him so his legs wrap around waist. Chu Wanning feels boneless, crying out at every shift. He’s over sensitive, he’s bruised, and he’s blissed out beyond comprehension.
“So good for me Shizun, you're so good,” Mo Ran murmurs against him as he starts to thrust up into Chu Wanning’s pliant body. Chu Wanning whines, and spreads his legs so he can sink more fully onto Mo Ran’s cock. “God, I love you, Wanning.”
Chu Wanning feels more tears well in his eyes, and he nips at Mo Ran's shoulder in retaliation. Then Mo Ran grabs his ass, and starts thrusting into him with abandon, and all Chu Wanning can do is mindlessly suckle on the skin of his shoulder and neck as his nails dig into his back.
He loses himself in the way Mo Ran fucks into him deeply, in the way he pinches and smack Chu Wanning’s ass like he doesn’t know what to do with him, with the way he repeats the words ‘I love you,’ over and over again, like he’s gone made with the thought.
Chu Wanning whimpers every time he says it, overcome with emotion he fears he’ll never be able to verbalize.
But Mo Ran knows him so well, too well even, and soon he’s responding to the whimpers like their words of their own.
“It’s okay if you don’t always say it back,” Mo Ran says, as he trails a finger down towards Chu Wanning’s ass. Chu Wanning moans loudly as he feels him rub against his stretched hole, and Mo Ran shushes him playfully. “It’s okay because your body tells me what you can’t say out loud.”
Chu Wanning whines as Mo Ran grips his hair and tugs until he’s forced to gaze tearily at his face, mouth gaping open. Mo Ran licks his lips, his eyes tracing all over his face as he adds, “Your face tells me.”
Then Chu Wanning is dragged even closer, close enough that their lips are barely brushing. Mo Ran’s voice is deep and gruff when he finishes, “The gods tell me,” and then kisses Chu Wanning, his hand snaking from his hair to grab him by his jaw.
Chu Wanning can do nothing but take it, wants to do nothing but take anything and everything Mo Ran wants to give him for as long as he lives.
The hand that was trailing across Chu Wanning’s ass comes up to grip his dick, and it only takes a few short strokes for Chu Wanning to come again. He’s tightening around Mo Ran without really meaning to, but Mo Ran just groans and grips Chu Wanning’s hips as he pulls him flush against him and comes in him so deeply Chu Wanning swears he can taste him in the back of his throat.
Absolutely drained, Chu Wanning feels himself start to slip backwards off Mo Ran’s lap. Mo Ran reacts quickly, catching Chu Wanning before he gently lays him back on the bed. Then he pulls out—both of them hissing as he does—and collapses on his side next to Chu Wanning.
“Wow,” Mo Ran breathes. “Wow. Holy shit. Wow.”
“Language,” Chu Wanning says half-heartedly.
Mo Ran starts shaking, and Chu Wanning musters up enough energy to turn so he can face him. He finds Mo Ran beaming at him, soft laughter lighting up his eyes. His voice is so tender and affectionate as he sighs, “Chu Wanning…”
Chu Wanning scrunches his face in response, and sort of hates himself for it. But instead of recoiling from him, Mo Ran just gathers him in his arms and presses a chaste kiss against his lips.
Chu Wanning lets his eyes flutter closed as the kiss lingers. It’s beneficial because this way when Mo Ran pulls away, he doesn’t have to see the expression on his face when he chases his lips.
From there it’s easy to get lost in each other as the kiss starts to intensify. Chu Wanning barely notices when Mo Ran’s hands start to wander, but it’s fully impossible for him not to notice the absolute unit beginning to press against his thigh.
“You’re…already?” Chu Wanning asks in between their kisses.
Mo Ran doesn’t even tease him for his inability to complete his sentence, he just rolls Chu Wanning back onto his back and slots himself between his thighs with a cheeky grin. “Oh, baobei, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be ready to go all night.”
“Insatiable.”
“How can I not be,” Mo Ran says, peppering light kisses against his neck. “I’m with my fated love~”
“Fated—!” Chu Wanning startles, embarrassed beyond belief. His entire body flushes, and he can't be blamed for the way he hits Mo Ran on the top of his head. “Shameless! Impudent! Fated—Ridiculous!”
“You can’t get mad at me for that Wanning,” Mo Ran teases. “Those aren’t my words, they’re the words of the fox god.”
Chu Wanning pulls at his cheek, glaring at Mo Ran while he whines pitifully. As if he’s going to let him get away with just pawning off all the blame on the fox god. He does relent quickly enough though, releasing his grip on Mo Ran to rub gently at his face.
Mo Ran melts against him and nuzzles Chu Wanning’s palm. “Not that I disagree,” he says softly, “I didn’t quite think it was possible though. I love you, but after everything I’ve…Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I deserve this. That the universe would grant me this. Grant me you.”
It’s impossible for Chu Wanning to wrap his mind around the fact that Mo Ran believes he doesn’t deserve him. He’s so kind, so gentle, so good, and Chu Wanning is at his own core a selfish thing. But maybe they can both be selfish, at least when it comes to the other.
It’s a long moment before Chu Wanning says, “I’m glad.”
Mo Ran tilts his head, so endearing it makes his heart ache. “Glad about what?”
“That I opened the box for you,” Chu Wanning says, eyes trained on the necklace around Mo Ran’s neck as he speaks. “I’m glad that it was me. That it wasn’t anyone else. Only…only me.”
Chu Wanning’s face burns, feeling as if he’s said too much and nothing at all. He can’t string together a full sentence, and yet everything he does manage is too shameful.
Mo Ran doesn’t see it that way though. He lunges up to Chu Wanning, barely kissing his lip and instead biting down on Chu Wanning’s bottom lip until there are indents in the skin. Chu Wanning moans once at the sting, and then again when Mo Ran fucks his tongue into his mouth.
“As if it could’ve been anyone else,” Mo Ran practically growls against his mouth, and Chu Wanning feels tears return to his eyes already. For every part of him that wishes he was better with words, there’s an even greater part of Chu Wanning that’s grateful for Mo Ran’s ability to understand him regardless of all the words he can’t say.
He may not always think he deserves Mo Ran, and Mo Ran may struggle similarly, but it seems the strings of fate disagree with those sentiments. And, gods, is he glad they do.