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Dan Feng is exhausted even though it's still early morning. Obviously, that’s because he hasn’t slept. This mountain of paperwork won’t resolve itself no matter how much he wishes for it. Somehow this nation of abundance also has an abundance of crises. There’s no end in sight on budget planning, negotiation of tariffs, changes in taxes, an invasion of denizens in the east, and atop of that, those slimy preceptor bastards slip in trades that are only beneficial to their pockets instead of the people. If Dan Heng wasn’t a Vidyadhara, he doubted he would survive the length of it all.
“Imbibitor Lunae, the prices of…” Ugh, his head is pounding. Perhaps 3 days without sleep is quite overkill after all? No, Dan Feng can probably increase his self-healing to take on another day so he can finish most of the work, he can rest later.
“Apologies, repeat that to me.” The attendant dutifully repeats the issue, of course it's another instance of a preceptor proposing an amendment in present law to increase the budget for ‘construction projects’ to help villagers. The last time Dan Feng trusted such an appeal, a preceptor made a pier made of flashy materials. But it didn’t even last three storms before parts of it broke off due to the strength of the waves.
These vultures are only waiting for Dan Feng to misstep so they can satisfy their greed. He won’t let that happen even if he loses sleep.
He didn’t notice the sun dipping down the horizon, a chill making its way through his body as he took a break. Most of the documents are reviewed and finalized, a lot of them denied due to lack of justification. Dan Feng leans back on his plush chair, letting his hair cascade down as he closes his eyes and sighs. He feels the scent blockers on his neck are heavily congested, he definitely forgot to change them again due to concentration.
Just how will this country function when most of its leaders are driven by hidden agendas and greed? It would probably collapse within 20– no, 10 years, without a better governing body. Not even rebirth can save those menaces from their avarice. Does Dan Feng need to tank everything until another generation of Vidyadhara rises? When will Yingxing get back? Does he need to purge all the officials one by one?
….Huh?
His head throbs again from scrambled thoughts. Perhaps the solution is to make the country democratic, but even then those vultures would probably buy off the voters. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or missing–
Ugh. Perhaps closing his eyes for a while wouldn’t hurt.
—-
Mmmhm… Dan Feng blinks his eyes open, finding a ceiling that is definitely not his office. Ah, he’s in his bedroom? How did—
“Slept well, Yinyue-jun?” A deep morning voice says, way too close to his ear. Dan Feng flinches, summoning Cloud Piercer on instinct. Ah.
“...Must you sleep in my bed too, Yingxing?” Who else would bring him to bed like this aside from this problematic friend of his? He puts the Cloud Piercer away, relaxing once again.
“I got tired carrying you all the way here, Yinyue.” The alpha grins at him and pulls him closer with the arm wrapped around his waist. No wonder it felt warmer than usual. The scent of petrichor, cedarwood and metallurgy fills his senses, Yingxing must have taken off his scent patches to sleep. He really needs to tell him off for that because his pillows absorb the scent and– well, not that Dan Feng does anything weird about it. He definitely does not hug it sometimes like a body pillow.
“Is your stamina that bad, Furnace Master?” Dan Feng looks at the window and it’s already bright outside, he must’ve slept too through the night.
“I’ll take any excuse I can get to be with you.”
This—-!!! Okay, calm down, Dan Feng. He doesn’t mean anything by it, your friend is just mischievous in nature. Yingxing has been teasing him for sport ever since they were young, way before Dan Feng even presented as an omega. If Yingxing really did like him, he must’ve said something by now instead of just teasing him relentlessly.
Surely he’s not so cruel as to be taunting Dan Feng just because he noticed his feelings, right? Dan Feng may have not been able to interact with him as often as they used to in recent years due to the work Yingxing has been assigned to in the Zhuming, but they have known each other since the founding of the Quintet, he knows he is not that kind of person.
So why does he say things like these…?
“Yinyue. We haven’t seen each other for months, look at me, mhm?” He really needs to stop talking in Dan Feng’s ear, it doesn’t help that his voice is still deep from sleep. This isn’t… healthy for Dan Feng’s heart.
“I’m glad to see you well, Yingxing.” Dan Feng looks at his right to where the general is, and god– he’s smiling at him. His mind is not working so well in such close proximity to the man he can't have.
“I already told your assistants that you will be taking a day off after you passed out on your chair.” A calloused hand caresses Dan Feng’s hair. “You should remove your scent patches.”
“...Mhm.” Dan Heng removes the patches that were definitely overused, he should ask the attendants for a new batch by today. “When did you get back?”
“Yesterday night, I was going to greet you yet I found you unconscious in your office.” A frown appeared on his face as he put his arm back to Dan Feng’s waist. “It seems that you need a scolding instead, Yinyue. How many days was it this time?” The alpha’s scent sours a little, always so bothered when Dan Feng goes to great lengths to finish his heavy workload.
Dan Feng was not born a liar, he would never be good at it even if he tried because this man knows him too well. “...Three.”
“Tsk. Whatever shall I do with you? You always overexert yourself whenever I’m not here, my workaholic Yinyue.” Huh?
“Did you just–” The arm on his waist suddenly pulls him closer to a solid chest, so warm that it blooms in Dan Feng’s own, smoldering him with the contact. The scent is so much stronger when he’s at the crook of Yingxing’s neck, inevitably close to the scent gland that’s rarely uncovered outside his bedchambers. Whatever he was going to say dies at the tip of his tongue, he feels so so surrounded by Yingxing. He doesn’t think he’d ever allow anyone else to be this close. He cannot think of another person, much less an alpha, that he will allow to sleep on his bed.
“Stay with me today, Dan Feng.”
…Stupid Yingxing. Isn’t it him that keeps on leaving?
“And if I don’t?”
“I’m very capable of trapping you here, don’t you think?” He doesn’t even need to look at Yingxing to see that smirk on his face.
“And you know I’m still capable of escaping your heavy arms.” Dan Feng instinctively almost scents him, stopping himself and tensing when he recognizes the urge. That’s something only lovers and family do, and he’s not…
“I would implore you to try, but won’t you have mercy on this hardworking craftsman that was swamped with commissions and couldn’t visit you for months?” You didn’t even send me a single letter. Dan Feng holds the words back, he refuses to admit he felt the emptiness of the space beside more than Yingxing might think. The man already has too much arrogance in him.
“...Don’t leave me then.” That’s your fault.
…
What.
Yingxing gently pushes him away to look at his face, and Dan Feng stares at him with wide eyes. Dan Feng mixed his mind and mouth up…?!
“I—” Oh god, how does he preserve his dignity.
…
“I meant you should—” He can’t think of anything, there’s no saving this.
Yingxing starts to laugh, and Dan Feng can’t help but frown, feeling offended. He has no doubt his scent communicated his annoyance because Yingxing laughs even more, his fangs showing.
“Perhaps I should leave more often if it gets you this honest. But we can’t have you feeling lonely again, mhm?” Yingxing raises his hand to Dan Feng’s cheeks, caressing him gently and he smiles at him with so much amusement– no, affection. The scent of petrichor and cedarwood and everything that encompasses Yingxing embraces him, and he can’t help but feel satisfied enough to let out a small purr before he realized. Must he embarass himself to death today?!
“I thought you didn’t want me as your alpha because I’m a short-life species, so I stayed by your side just to look after you since you didn’t seem interested.” Yingxing’s hand slides down to his neck, gently touching his scent gland. “I fear we wasted so much time.”
“...I thought you never meant the flirting and I was reading it all wrong.” Dan Feng shivers a bit from the touch, a foreign feeling for someone to caress him there. He lifts a hand to hold onto the arm. Have they been truly dancing around each other all this time?
“I meant every word.”
“Show me.”
—-
“Darling, if you extend one more hour working on that archive, I will remove your bookmarks.” Blade puts a hand on the pile of books on the table and Dan Heng’s eyes widen. Oh, he’s serious.
“You wouldn’t dare…”
“Try me.”