Work Text:
1.
Mu Qing doesn't mind doing most, or all, of the chores, he really doesn't - he was absolutely expecting it when they went down Mount Tai Cang so that His Highness could get gain experience and skills while travelling. There isn't that much to do even since once the Queen found out her only son was going to be travelling around with only two attendants the amount of luggage rose to a degree that made His Highness rebel and leave with only one bag, which is absolutely workable.
What is a lot less workable is being pushed down a hill into a brook, together with freshly laundered clothes, when Feng Xin, knocked off balance by Xie Lian's attack, barrelled into him just as he got to the top.
"Mu Qing!" Xie Lian calls, as he and Feng Xin run down the hill, trampling the already dirty clothes as they get to him. "Mu Qing, are you alright?"
Mu Qing gets up onto his knees slowly, not sure how to answer that question. He's not hurt very badly - well, he has no broken bones but his ankle aches in a way that might cause him trouble when they go back to travelling tomorrow and both of his arms are scraped bloody, and he has spent hours on those clothes and now he will have to do it again. This season it is already a miracle to have one day as nice as today to dry the clothes after washing, and he can't let His Highness walk around in dirty clothes, can he?
"I'm fine," he says as His Highness helps him up. Fuck, his clothes are now all black with mud as well, this is just wonderful. "It's nothing, Your Highness, please don't worry yourself."
"I'm sorry, Mu Qing. I didn't see you there when I pushed Feng Xin, really-"
"He wasn't there then, Your Highness," Feng Xin interrupts and then gives Mu Qing a once over. "And he seems fine. He gets hurt more during practice every day."
Not exactly wrong, but since it was his fucking fault, Feng Xin could have the basic decency to feel bad about causing it. Instead, he bends down and picks up one piece of muddy fabric, looking at it critically. "This is going to need doing again, huh?"
Mu Qing hates him. He hopes when they return to the capital Feng Xin's family has a wife and three concubines waiting for him. He grabs the robes from the bastard's hands and throws them back into the mud. "It sure fucking will," he snarls at him and then turns to Xie Lian, who is looking between them with a weird look on his face. "Please excuse me, Your Highness, I will go take care of this," he waves his bloody forearm "first, before redoing the washing."
He storms back up the hill before either of them says anything more. Shame hits before he even makes it to the tents - it was a scandalous behaviour for a servant in front of his master, especially if that master is the Crown Prince. He should go back right now and apologise. And be grateful this isn't the capital, where his behaviour would equal at least a night spent kneeling in the Main Hall, probably a beating if someone other than His Highness and Feng Xin saw it. But if he has to redo the laundry, he can't do it with bloody hands and dirty clothes.
He goes back to the brook right after, wounds still stinging from the ointment. He doesn't know exactly what he is expecting to see as he passes the crest of the hill, but Feng Xin and Xie Lian kneeling on the edge with hands holding robes in the water is most definitely not it.
"Your Highness!" he calls, running to them. "Your Highness, what are you-?"
"Oh, well, it was our fault, after all, Mu Qing," Xie Lian responds, turning to him. "We can help you out."
Feng Xin looks murderous, but he offers no comment, continuing to frown at the silk in his hands. His Highness offers a radiant smile and focuses back on the task at hand as well. Mu Qing looks down at both of them doing about everything wrong - how are they going to wash anything just letting it sit in the river and moving it about - and feels the corner of his mouth twitch, and something in his chest feels kind of nice and warm.
"What the fuck are you smirking at, you bastard?!" Feng Xin explodes, and even that doesn't make the fuzzy feeling disappear.
"Now, now, Feng Xin, we probably are not doing too great at this. It doesn't seem to be getting a lot cleaner..." Xie Lian intercedes. A ripping sound accompanies the words and all three of them focus on the silk in his hands.
Mu Qing starts laughing. Those two, honestly. He kneels down on the other side of the Crown Prince to Feng Xin and reaches for the torn fabric. "Here, Your Highness, it's like this-"
2.
Xie Lian is tired. The day has not started the best as they got woken up by a storm, and it steadily went down from there. Their breakfast, leftovers from last night's dinner, got stolen by some small animal during the night; the only village within 20 li was in a middle of some religious celebration that meant a month of fasting so their one inn offered no tea or food other than rice gruel with half an egg; and, worst of all, Mu Qing and Feng Xin seem to be having a particularly bad day relationship-wise because they have been arguing constantly since the moment they opened their eyes. None of Xie Lian's usual tricks - be it making them hold hands or trading idioms - seem to be working and he is quite frankly absolutely sick of both of them.
"You fucking idiot!" Feng Xin yells from behind the trees to Xie Lian's right, making him sigh. The villagers have asked them to take care of a demonic cat that has been stealing their animals for the last few weeks, and Xie Lian was quite enjoying the silence that came with tracking the beast. "I almost had it!"
"You almost put an arrow through my neck, you moron! And the cat is gone too!"
Xie Lian sighs again and walks through the trees to join his attendants. Feng Xin has the bow half-drawn as he argues with Mu Qing, standing a little away, whose sabre is drawn and right sleeve is torn by claws. They're yelling insults at each other in their usual way, and the demon cat is nowhere in sight.
"Where's the cat?" Xie Lian asks and they both turn to him.
"I had the damn thing, Your Highness, and then this bastard shot an arrow at me!"
"I had it in sight and then he came out of nowhere and spooked it on purpose so I wouldn't get it!"
They both scream at the same time, and it's all nonsense, of course. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence you both attacked at the same time." Coincidence and inability to reach a level of cooperation that even toddlers could achieve. "Let's try finding it before it rains again, shall we?"
They separate again to walk between the trees, looking for the demonic cat. Xie Lian extends his energy in circles around him, searching for demonic qi, but finding only the calming, natural qi of normal, living things. He wonders whether the purity of his energy might be scaring the beast off, but it shouldn't be strong enough to think to that level. If it was, Mu Qing would not get away with only a torn sleeve. Xie Lian sighs and recalls all of his energy. If that isn't working, perhaps he should try looking through the talismans Head Priest gave him before they left, he might have something to lure evil things towards him. It's probably better to try it without the other two around too, they are not going to be happy with him acting as bait to demonic felines.
He reaches for the pouch with the talismans, but the sounds of a scuffle from behind him, divert his attention. Mu Qing and Feng Xin are yelling at each other again, then one of them screams a curse all of a sudden, a dull thud - Mu Qing's sabre hitting a tree - then follows, and angry yowl and a black ball of fury erupts from the trees straight on Xie Lian. He reaches for his sword on instinct, but it's the wrong decision - the claws tear into his skin before he can get his hands up to protect his face.
He falls on the ground, finally managing to fling the cat away from him. He blinks his eyes open, amazed that he still has both of them, but his hands are caught before he can reach out to touch the stinging scratches on his face.
"Please, don't touch, Your Highness, your hands-" Mu Qing says, showing him the mud covering his skin. The ground is still wet from the storms they have been having for the last weeks, and Xie Lian just rolled around with the hissing ball of evil trying to scratch his eyes out. "Please, let me."
Mu Qing washes his face carefully with water first, then dabs the familiar ointment from Mount Tai Cang on some of the painful areas, carefully avoiding Xie Lian's eyes and lips. He does the same to his hands next, also scratched up, and by the time he is done, Feng Xin comes back running. When Xie Lian asks about the cat, he just shakes his head and then falls down to his knees next to Mu Qing. The two of them bow down to the ground, kowtowing and apologising fervently - they got the cat cornered, but they let it slip past during an argument and accidentally sent it hurling right into Xie Lian.
His clothes are already ruined so he just sits in the mud, watching them bow and apologise. He's not mad about the wounds - since his eyes didn't get hurt, with the ointment he won't even feel any pain in a moment and the scratches will be done in a couple of days - but that ridiculous rivalry between them was really reaching absurd levels. At least this time they were only fighting a small demonic cat if they sent something bigger his way it would not end with a little blood and mud on his clothes.
Xie Lian looks down on his two friends, heads pressed down and still mumbling apologies, and sighs. They're good friends and attendants; they are loyal and he knows they care for him - he hasn't even said anything yet and the two of them are looking ready to throw themselves off a cliff for a few scratches. But Heavens are definitely testing him someway by sending him two people so completely opposed to each other and putting him in the middle of it.
"It's fine," he says in the end because it really is and the two of them are looking so pitiful and apologetic, he doesn't have the heart to watch anymore. They are a little cute when they're not trying to rip each other's throats out. "You didn't do in on purpose." He looks around them. He wants to go back to the village, take a bath and sleep in a bed for the first time in weeks, but they did promise to take care of the cat. "I'll wait here, why don't you two finish the mission?"
Feng Xin and Mu Qing nod frantically and runoff. Xie Lian sighs and settles down, leaning against the tree. And for a blissful moment, he doesn't hear any arguing.
3.
Feng Xin was quite unconvinced when His Highness and Mu Qing returned from fishing telling him that they met an old man by the stream who, in exchange for some fish, led them to a much better camping site than a measly clearing they found. But His Highness was, so they packed up their things and he followed them to the amazing new place.
He really should have listened to his instincts, he decides when, for the fourth time, Xie Lian and Mu Qing have a whispered conference between them, trying to decide which way to go. Feng Xin isn't sure he would be able to trace their way back to the previous clearing anymore, so they have to push forward, and they have to do it quickly or they're going to end up stumbling through the forest in the dark.
His Highness and Mu Qing seem to reach a conclusion and guide him further in between the trees. Feng Xin has no idea what it is exactly they are using as a reference to know where to go, and he is getting increasingly worried that if he asks the reply he is going to get will be something along the lines of "instinct". And if that happens, he's going to have to say some words that should never be uttered in the presence of one's master.
The words spill out anyway when, after stepping out of a particularly dense group of trees he got pointed towards by his two "guides", he is met with 50 pairs of tiny, red glowing eyes of Dark Rats. He barely manages to get his sword out of the scabbard before he gets swarmed and there are too many of the damn things for one blade to be any help. He yells out a warning, swinging the sword and backing away frantically, but tiny claws and teeth are already in his robes and skin, and he drops the weapon in the end to cover his face.
Mu Qing and Xie Lian are right behind him, so the horrible feeling of tiny feet everywhere on his body lasts maybe for half a minute before a bolt of spiritual energy hisses over him and some of the beasts scream, while the rest runs away.
"Feng Xin!" His Highness kneels next to him, frantically scanning his face. "Are you alright?!"
"You led me to a monster nest," Feng Xin replies, still shocked. He sees his hands shaking and clamps them tight on his robes - he is an archer, his hands should always be steady.
"Ah, yes, we're really sorry, Feng Xin!" Xie Lian helps him up and straightens his clothes a little. It is not going to help the mud Feng Xin can feel seeping past the layers, leaking cold into his skin. "We got a little confused, should have gone-"
His Highness continues talking as he guides Feng Xin back through the trees, up a short, steep path and into another, blessedly empty, clearing. Mu Qing follows along dragging Feng Xin's part of luggage he dropped during the attack without a comment. He also thrusts Feng Xin's sword back into his arms as Xie Lian forces him to sit down on some flat rocks.
Feng Xin looks around the new campsite, and he has to admit, it is a lot better than their previous choice. He's not exactly sure it's good enough to be worth the fact he now knows what it feels like to have rats- He shudders and squashes the thought down. Nope. No thinking about that now. Hopefully, ever.
A sting on his hand brings him out of not thinking about it with a curse. Mu Qing, sitting next to him with handkerchief wet from ointment, frowns at him. "What's wrong with you? I'm trying to help you."
"By making it hurt worse?" Feng Xin snarls back, making Mu Qing frown harder and press the wet fabric deeper into the scratches without breaking eye contact. He smirks when Feng Xin swears again, louder this time. "You-!"
Mu Qing rolls his eyes at him, but his touch lightens again. He must have been dabbing his wounds for a while while he was sitting in a daze, Feng Xin realises as Mu Qing barely presses in twice before moving up to his neck. In fact, when Feng Xin moves his head to give him access, he finds the camp pretty much set up. His Highness is bending over a pot on the fire, mixing something inside. Wait. Weren't they going to eat fish? How did it turn into a stew?
"Oh, are you done?" Xie Lian asks when he straightens up. "Feeling better now, Feng Xin? I made food."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you shouldn't have to-"
"It's fine, it's fine," Xie Lian waves him off, scooping the food into bowls and carrying it towards him.
It is not fine, Feng Xin discovers when he puts it in his mouth. It might actually be the thing to chase The Memory out of his head with its sheer, not fineness. But, looking at His Highness smiling at them expectantly as he offers to get more, and Mu Qing who is struggling with his own portion, an open pot of ointment still on his lap, he finds himself not minding all that much.
+1
The rain comes out of nowhere as they are walking through the forest, and very quickly turns the path into something more resembling a stream. Hopefully, their campground, where they left all their things, is set high enough to avoid the sudden flood and they will not end up without any possessions on their return. They shouldn't have all left at the same time, but they are in the middle of nowhere and so have no need to fear theft, Xie Lian wanted to stretch his legs, and Mu Qing and Feng Xin, in a way very usual to them ended up competing over who could bring in a bigger pray. And so, when a tree hurdles down the mountain towards them, uprooted by the water, all three of them dodge out of the way and all three of them slide with the earthfall into the ravine by the mountainside.
Feng Xin lands on his back in a puddle at the bottom, Xie Lian next to him, and Mu Qing on top of them both. He scrambles up, helping his prince up. Apart from a few bumps and scratches from where tree branches whipped at their skin as they fell, they are unhurt, but Xie Lian and Feng Xin are covered in mud and soaked through - a fate shared by Mu Qing's overcoat - and Feng Xin lost most of his arrows on the way down. His curses are a constant accompaniment as they search for a dry place to stay and dry their clothes.
They do manage to find a cave but with the rain still strong outside, there is no chance for anything dry to start a fire with. Feng Xin and Xie Lian, wet and covered in mud, still shed their coats and robes to spread them on the rocky floor, while Mu Qing offers his own robes, only slightly damp since he managed to land on top of the others, to the Crown Prince but gets rebuffed in favour of all three of them sharing the covering together, huddled up close. Far too close for Mu Qing's and Feng Xin's liking as it turns in only a few more minutes and they start to shove each other. Why did Xie Lian think it was ever a good idea to travel with those two?
"Alright, enough-"
"He's the one who won't-"
"Your Highness, look out!"
Feng Xin pushes too hard the last time and knocks Mu Qing into Xie Lian. Since they are all wrapped up in the same clothes, they fall together on top of Xie Lian, Feng Xin's weight pushing Mu Qing's body into Xie Lian's, and pressing their lips together. They all freeze for one second of disbelief before Mu Qing throws Feng Xin off and scrambles up on his knees, pressing his forehead into the rock. "Your Highness, I'm so sorry! It wasn't on purpose, that idiot just pushed-!"
"Ah, it's ok, Mu Qing, don't worry," Xie Lian says, pressing a hand to his lips. "It was an accident."
Mu Qing raises his head, looking up at him, and starts to straighten up, but Feng Xin pushes his head back down. "It's definitely not ok! What the fuck did you just do, Mu Qing, you bastard!"
Mu Qing lepas up and yells right back, accusations and blame traded between them. Xie Lian should really have left one of them at the campsite. He tries to placate - really it was hard to even call that a kiss, their lips barely touched and it was accidental - but the only adjustment the two make at this is to slightly lower their voices.
That. Is. Enough.
Xie Lian surges up on his feet and grabs Feng Xin's arm, pulling him close and pressing the lips together. "There! You kissed me too now, stop fighting!"
Mu Qing is staring, mouth agape; Feng Xin seems to have stopped functioning altogether, frozen immobile. But they are both looking at him and Xie Lian, calming down slightly from the annoyance of them, realises exactly what he's just done. He can feel his face heat up, his cheeks are definitely bright red, so he drops Feng Xin's arm and whirls around, hunching his shoulders a little to hide how hot his ears are.
But even with his face burning, the cave is cold and he shivers a little. In the next second, there is a robe around his shoulder and two warm bodies pressing close from both sides. Xie Lian ignores them both, focusing on chanting mantras in his head and calming down his racing heart. He is so fixated on calming down, he does not notice the way Mu Qing's and Feng Xin's eyes are glued to his lips as he bites them in concentration.
He is brought out of his not-so-very-calming-after-all activity when Mu Qing presses even closer to him. It's not surprising, the majority of the only robes they have are wrapped around Xie Lian, both Mu Qing and Feng Xin are half bare. Xie Lian unwinds the clothes from around him and wraps the ends more securely around the other two.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Mu Qing murmurs in a soft voice, and Xie Lian turns to look at him, surprised. Since when does Mu Qing talk in tones that soft? Mu Qing smiles at him and leans in, pressing a soft kiss into the corner of his mouth.
What?! That! Kiss! His face grows hot again, and his heart is almost ready to jump out of his chest, but- he doesn't want to move away. Mu Qing is warm at his side and the corner of his mouth where he kissed him is still tingling - Xie Lian isn't sure what to call how it feels, but it's definitely not a bad feeling. And Mu Qing also looks... nice, looking up at Xie Lian through his lashes, lips quirked up in something Xie Lian would usually identify as a smirk, but his eyes are so soft it takes that mocking edge of it and is just... nice.
Then Mu Qing's eyes flick to Feng Xin, and- well, that is definitely a smirk. For some reason, it makes Xie Lian's face heat up even more and his heart jumps in his chest. Feng Xin narrows his eyes, looking between Mu Qing and Xie Lian, lips set in a tight line. Oh Gods, is Feng Xin going to start a fight again? This-
He doesn't. Instead, he closes his eyes tight and lurches forward, grabbing Xie Lian's shoulders and mashing their mouths together. It's very different from Mu Qing's softness from before, but it tingles in the same pleasant way that makes Xie Lian relax into the hold. Feng Xin, quite correctly, takes it as permission to continue and presses closer, pushing his back into Mu Qing's side.
Mu Qing doesn't let him go on on his own, joining in by pressing kisses to Xie Lian's jaw as Feng Xin licks at his lips. The heat from the lips, and their hands on his arms and shoulders, soak warmth into his skin and overwhelm his senses. They're everywhere around him.
"It's not fair!" Xie Lian pants out finally - because he is a Crown Prince and he does not whine, thank you very much - covering his eyes. "You two are just ganging up on me!"
"How could we, Your Highness?" Mu Qing laughs, stroking his hand down Xie Lian's bare arm and kissing his cheek. "We're just-"
"His Highness is right," Feng Xin proclaims evenly, interrupting, and then leans over Xie Lian to press his lips to Mu Qing's.
Who freezes for a second, turns a startling shade of red, slaps him and then hides behind Xie Lian, pressing his face into his back. Feng Xin frowns and opens his mouth to shout, but Xie Lian laughs, interrupting the incoming fight. He reaches out to Feng Xin, bringing him in close and drags Mu Qing from behind him, wrapping his arms around their necks and, to his delight, managing to kiss both of them at the same time.
They are tense in his arms for a second but relax at the second kiss, and start to reciprocate. Soon, there are tongues in his mouth and teeth nipping at his lips and he responds in kind, tightening his arms around them and toppling backwards onto the robes spread on the floor, bringing them down with him.
The next day neither Mu Qing nor Xie Lian can move, the backlash from failing to keep to the purity of their cultivational path leaving them both too weak to do anything more strenuous than lifting their arms. Feng Xin, releasing that they are not going to be able to leave the cave for at least another day, lies down all their robes together to build them a bed and leaves them cuddled up together, going off to find food and water. It doesn't take him long, there is a stream right next to the cave and, for someone with his archery skills, getting a couple of rabbits is a matter of minutes. When he comes back to the cave, Mu Qing and Xie Lian haven't even twitched.
They eat in small bites, still half-lying down after Feng Xin helps them sit up a little and lean against the rock wall. But it's not the easiest position to eat in and after they are done both Mu Qing's and Xie Lian's lips and chins are covered in grease. Feng Xin leans down to lick at Mu Qing's, only to be slapped away before he gets more than a taste.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, stupid!? We have to get out of this damn place!" Mu Qing snaps, his face glowing red, as he scrubs at his lips.
Xie Lian laughs, watching his two retainers with sparkling eyes. "One kiss won't hurt us, Mu Qing," he says and reaches for Feng Xin, bringing him in close and pressing his lips to his. He turns his head to do the same to Mu Qing right after and then licks his bottom lip and hums. "Actually, I think we might be ok even with more than one..."