Work Text:
Ye Xiu found himself fixated on the young man, the young man with such rough hands that hold his sister with such gentle care. The young man with bright eyes and a hopeful spirit who trudges through rain, wind and storms to take care of his sister, to bring home meagre amounts of coin so he can keep a roof over their heads and she can eat. He flits to and from the mortal world to watch the same small family over and over and he finds himself idly wondering how he can convince the pretty mortal to follow him home.
It’s easy to mask the eerie golden glow of his eyes, to hide the way his skin holds an undercurrent of green, to round out the tips of his ears and blunt his teeth. It’s easy to find the young man as well, toiling in the fields and Ye Xiu preens happily when the man’s eyes are drawn to him and the moment he has the chance, the young man is walking towards him.
“You’re not from around here,” it isn’t a question but the young man seems intrigued by his presence, eyes curious and Ye Xiu’s reply is calculated, each word heavy with a weight the human could never understand.
“I’m just visiting, what’s your name?” The man with the bright eyes and rough hands offers a smile and a handshake, giving up his name easily, fooled by Ye Xiu’s disguise.
“Su Muqiu, what’s yours?” Su Muqiu feels a shift in the air once he answers the question and an uneasy chill runs up his spine but he shoves the feeling away, laughing at his own imagination.
If the pretty mortal was more perceptive, he might notice the way Ye Xiu’s eyes gleamed, the knowledge of the other’s name settling a rope around the mortal’s neck, binding him to the fae despite him not knowing that yet. Ye Xiu’s smile is sharp with teeth but Su Muqiu’s eyes remain trusting and Ye Xiu preens at how easy this will be.
His last conquest had sensed that something was off about him, wariness warring with the lust in his eyes, wearing a protective charm beneath his clothes, every word measured and question carefully crafted to find out his true nature. Ye Xiu had been impressed with his skill with words, managing to discover his own name through his clever questioning, but that made it all the more satisfying when Ye Xiu won in the end, his last conquest removing the charm of his own volition.
Unfortunately, he’d not been able to keep him, Yu Wenzhou had been smarter than he’d given him credit for, giving him a name, but not his Name. Once he’d wrung Ye Xiu’s name from him, he’d managed to keep his life, at least in part. Huang Shaotian had caught wind of a pretty human who’d beaten Ye Xiu at his own game and demanded his hand. Yu Wenzhou had acquiesced, mostly to spite Ye Xiu who’d never even tasted him, but now Yu Wenzhou lived at his husband’s side and the last time they’d spoken he’d been happy and Huang Shaotian was endlessly smug.
This one was almost too easy and Ye Xiu offered one of his many names freely, the man not asking for his true Name.
“Ye Qiu,” Su Muqiu hummed quietly to himself, warm smile gracing his lips as he took in the stranger.
“Ye Qiu,” he repeated, almost to himself and Ye Xiu could see the intrigue in his eyes, knew that he’d successfully caught the pretty human’s interest and he turned to leave, preening when the young man called to stop him.
“Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?”
“Not here, I can travel back, there’s no trouble.” To Ye Xiu’s delight, Su Muqiu was already shaking his head, worry clouding his eyes.
“You should stay with us, it won’t be any trouble. Travelling through the forest is dangerous at night.” Ye Xiu hid the triumph in his eyes with a grateful incline of his head.
“If I’m not intruding then I’d be glad for the shelter.” Su Muqiu nodded firmly, turning back to the field, shouting out his next words over his shoulder.
“Then it’s settled!”
Ye Xiu spent the remainder of the day, keeping his eyes and ears alert for any hints of where the press to win the human’s hand. It was always much more fun when his prey followed him willingly, stepping off the cliff of their own free will. Su Muqiu kept glancing back as he worked, eyes still fixed on where Ye Xiu was waiting, sharp curiosity in his eyes and Ye Xiu allowed himself a grin.
“This way,” Ye Xiu followed the young man back to his home, noting how he was given a wide berth, most of the town sensing that he wasn’t entirely human. When he entered the small cottage, the young girl at the stove narrowed her eyes at him, even as she wrapped her arms around her brother.
“Who is this?” Su Muqiu pulled off his coat, slinging it over the back of the chair as his sister directed him to the low sink to wash his face and hands.
“His name is Ye Qiu, he’s new in town and he needs a place to stay. This is my younger sister, Su Mucheng.” Ye Xiu smiled at the girl and she offered a tentative smile back, clearly wary of him, unlike her brother.
The meal passed in relative peace, even with Su Mucheng’s interrogation, questioning him relentlessly about his past, his family, his home. As usual, Ye Xiu dodged each question with ease, feeding the young girl half-truths and near-lies that she seemed to believe, shoulders relaxing and some of the tension leaving her face.
She frowned when Ye Xiu followed her brother up to his room, opening her mouth to protest but the two men disappeared into the room before she could say a word. Su Mucheng worried at the charm her brother insisted she wear to ward off the fae and she wondered why he’d never bought one for himself.
Upstairs, Su Muqiu watched as the mysterious man settled himself on his bed, eyes dark, reflecting the meagre light of the candles back into the room. As he turned to get himself ready for bed, pulled his shirt from his torso, he could feel the prickle of another pair of eyes against his skin, tracing the lines of his body until he turned and Ye Xiu’s eyes met his own.
“You aren’t human.” The words are whispered, even in the quiet of the room and Ye Xiu offers a casual smirk that sends shivers down his spine.
“I am not.”
“Why are you here?” Ye Xiu paused to run over the list of reasons he could offer, rolling out of the bed to stalk closer and closer towards Su Muqiu, allowing his glamour to slip enough to reveal his golden eyes. Su Muqiu’s breath catches in his throat and Ye Xiu finds himself amused at how easy his desired target is. He suspects he won’t even have to offer a deal, this one will willingly walk into his realm, eyes open and mind clear.
“I liked how pretty you looked.” Su Muqiu’s eyes go wide and his lips part, tongue swiping over the swell of his bottom lip. Ye Xiu can see the desire dancing through his eyes and he brushes one hand against the other’s cheek, trailing it softly down until he brushes his thumb across Su Muqiu’s mouth.
At that, something in the air snaps, nearly audibly as Su Muqiu yanks the fae down and covers his mouth with his own, one hand clutching at his shoulder, the other tangled in the hair at the nape of Ye Xiu’s neck. If his mouth were free, Ye Xiu would be laughing at how easy the victory was, how simple it was to tempt this human. After the disaster of Yu Wenzhou, it was gratifying to know that he was still able to draw humans to him.
Su Muqiu yelped slightly when teeth dug into his bottom lip, breaking the skin enough for blood to bead at the wound. Ye Xiu breaks the kiss, blood staining his lips and Su Muqiu stares at him with wide, awe-filled eyes as the last of the man’s- the fae’s glamour falls away to nothing. His eyes are golden, truly golden, teeth razor sharp as he smiled. His ears ended in sharp points while his skin carried an undertone of green, dark, lush green, reminiscent of the hidden pockets of the forest.
“You really are a fae.”
“I am,” Su Muqiu wipes at the blood on his lips as Ye Xiu continues to speak, “would you like to see my home?” Ye Xiu watches as curiosity blooms in the human’s eyes, mouth shaping to say yes-
“Ye- I can’t.” Su Muqiu visibly shakes the temptation from his eyes, taking a step away from Ye Xiu, running his hands through his hair as if to centre himself. “My sister, I can’t leave her.” Ye Xiu mulled this over in his head for a few moments, weighing the cost of saving the girl vs how much he wanted the pretty human before coming to a decision.
“I can change her fate.” Su Muqiu turns back to stare at him, hope warring with disbelief on his face.
“How?”
“Promise me you’ll come with me once I save her and it will be done.”
“Will she be happy?”
“Of course.”
“Then I agree.” Su Muqiu gasped as he felt the weight of his agreement settle on his shoulders, the icy chill of a deal with the fae worming its way into his heart and he swallowed, wondering if he’d made the right choice.
The next day Su Muqiu was woken by hammering on the door and he wiped the sleep from his eyes, pulled on enough clothes to be decent before stumbling down the stairs and opening the door. What he saw on the other side nearly had him keeling over in shock as standing outside his home was the lord’s youngest daughter, Chu Yunxiu.
“I wish to ask for your sister’s hand.” Su Mucheng had come running down the stairs and her eyes widened at the sight of the young lady at the door, cheeks flushing as she realised what was happening.
“Mucheng-“ Seeing the confusion in her brother’s eyes, Su Mucheng pulled him away from the door to explain in hushed whispers about her courtship with Chu Yunxiu, a courtship that she’d never expected to end with a proposal.
“Do you love her?” Her brother’s eyes were bright with emotions, chief among them, concern for his sister, “will she make you happy?” Su Mucheng glanced over to where Chu Yunxiu was standing, still holding the small box, ring nestled securely within. She met the young lady’s eyes and saw the tentative hope fading and she found that she wanted to keep a smile on the other girl’s face.
“I do and she will.” At his sister’s reassurance, Su Muqiu wrapped his sister tightly in a hug before pushing her towards Chu Yunxiu.
“I give permission.” At his approval, Chu Yunxiu’s face lit up with pure joy and Su Muqiu relaxed slightly at the clear devotion to his sister that he could see in the girl’s eyes.
Ye Xiu seemed to appear out of nowhere once the two girls had left, Su Mucheng so caught up in her delight, she’d forgotten, just for a moment, about the mysterious stranger who seemed fixated on her brother. Just for a moment, but it was long enough.
“Remember your promise.” Su Muqiu hummed his agreement, knowing there was nothing he could do.
The air burned in his lungs. Like a frigid winter night, the fae realm made each breath Su Muqiu took hurt, as if scalding water had been poured down his throat. He couldn’t help but gaze around in awe, able to sense the magic in the air. He was so enchanted by the new world around him that he missed the sympathetic looks from the other fae, seeing him only as Ye Xiu’s latest fixation, knowing that his story could only end in tragedy.
“Hey hey hey!! You’re back, you’re back, oh and you brought someone with you, what’s his name? Are you going to keep him? How long are you going to keep him for?” Su Muqiu blinked, taken by surprise by the rapid-fire questioning but before he could open his mouth Ye Xiu was already answering, pressure on his wrist warning him to stay silent.
“You can call him Qiu and no, you can’t have him.” The other fae pouted unhappily, darting forward before Ye Xiu could stop him, tilting Su Muqiu’s face from side to side, examining him as if he were livestock.
“But he’s so pretty,” the blond fae pouted, staring up at Ye Xiu with an expression that Su Muqiu couldn’t decipher.
“That was a fluke.” Ye Xiu began to tow Su Muqiu away before the other fae could say anything else, but he still threw a rejoinder at their backs.
“You always give them up in the end. There’s always an opportunity.” Ye Xiu didn’t react, knowing that the blond fae was aiming for a reaction but Su Muqiu’s eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Who was that?”
“He won a game against me, years ago and he’s still smug, ignore him.” Su Muqiu was about to press further but Ye Xiu pushed a door open and Su Muqiu’s eyes went round in shock and awe.
“It’s beautiful,” he murmured, moving closer to the assortment of flora and fauna, like nothing he’d ever seen before. The colours were bright and intense, some of the mushrooms were speckled with iridescent colours and Su Muqiu could only stare in wonderment. It was so beautiful that he barely noticed the burn of the air in his lungs.
Ye Xiu smiled from where he was stood, laughing at Su Muqiu’s excitement over the most mundane things, everything in his realm was fascinating and fawned over, the human’s eyes were wide with delight as they continued their tour and by the end of the day, Su Muqiu seemed to have forgotten that he’d left another world behind, drunk on Ye Xiu, drunk on the fae.
It had been years. At least, in the fae realm, it had been years and Ye Xiu was growing bored with his current conquest. Su Muqiu had been fascinating at first and had held his attention for longer than his last human but he was growing restless for the chase once more. Besides, Su Muqiu had grown listless as time went on, the heavy weight of magic slowly feeding off his energy, sapping his strength.
Ye Xiu entered his room, expecting Su Muqiu to greet him, but all he got was a weak wave of his hand from the bed, eyes lidded with dark shadows under his eyes. If he stayed any longer, Ye Xiu would either have to change him or let him waste away. The only option was to let him go.
Su Muqiu knew he’d been growing weaker and weaker the longer he stayed with the fae, with the one he’d fallen in love with. He knew he could leave, or at least he could attempt to escape but every time he’d considered it, he’d found that he wanted to remain at Ye Qiu’s side, even if it cost him. So Su Muqiu remained, enthralled by amber eyes and gentle smiles.
That night found Ye Xiu carrying Su Muqiu through the fae realm until he reached the boundary between their worlds and he stepped through, waking Su Muqiu with a start when he found he could breathe easier and his eyes went wide with shock and then denial.
“No- no- don’t- you can’t leave me-!” He clung to Ye Qiu in desperation, refusing to let go, voice cracking from his panic but Ye Qiu remained unmoved, eyes clear and lacking any regret.
“It’s time.” The two words made Su Muqiu’s chest ache and his vision began to blur with tears, as he choked out his last words.
“I thought you loved me?” Memories flashed before Su Muqiu’s eyes, endless nights of Ye Qiu curling around him and murmuring that he was gorgeous, intelligent, that he loved him. He blinked past his tears to stare up at Ye Qiu, desperately seeking the answer that he wanted, praying that Ye Qiu wouldn’t shatter his heart.
“You thought I was being honest?” Ye Qiu’s eyes are as cold as stone, blank and uncaring, “I’m a fae Su Muqiu, I never loved you, you were a game, a pastime.”
“I gave you my heart!”
“And I didn’t even give you my name.” Su Muqiu choked on his sobs at that, certain that his heart was shattering in his chest. Ye Xiu brushed his hand across the young man’s forehead, wiping away the memories of the time they’d spent together, every single touch, every word spoken, all of it wiped away in seconds.
“MUQIU!” Su Muqiu’s eyes fluttered open, wincing as they felt tender to the touch, as if he’d been crying. He looked up to see his sister crouching beside him, dark bags under her eyes and he frowned at the sight.
“Have you not been taking care of yourself?” Su Mucheng let out a shaky laugh.
“You’ve been missing for three weeks and you think-“
“Missing?”
“Do you remember anything?” Su Muqiu frowned, a flicker of a memory, an image of golden eyes, like warm amber but the moment is lost almost as soon as he saw it. Su Mucheng tried to hide her worry when her brother shook his head, confusion written across his face.
“Let’s go home.” She murmured, her brother was safe, he was home, it was enough. It had to be.
Su Mucheng found her brother wandering the edge of the forest for the fourth night in a row, raw longing etched into his features. Something was fractured in her brother’s eyes. Su Mucheng could see that he was fixated on something, something that he seemed to think he could find in the woods. She worried that it had to do with the stranger who’d appeared just before her brother had disappeared. Su Mucheng touched her brother’s shoulder and he whirled to face her, pain written across his face.
“It’s here, I have to- I have to be here.” He ran his fingers roughly through his hair, his heart aching in his chest, “this is where I’ll find it, this is where I have to be!”
“What will you find?” Su Mucheng’s voice is soft but it’s laced with concern.
“I- I- I have to be here,” Su Muqiu didn’t know what he was searching for, feeling a pull in his chest and knowing that he had to find- find something. All he had was the faintest memory of amber eyes.
Su Mucheng wanted to sob, knowing that the fae had captured her brother, had ensnared him, mind, body and soul. Chu Yunxiu wrapped her arms around her wife as she caught up, holding her tightly as Su Mucheng shuddered and tried not to fall apart. All she could hope for was that her brother would forget and move on. She clung to her hope, even as the same thing happened night after night, Su Mucheng still hoped that her brother could be freed.
He never was.
“He still pines for you,” Huang Shaotian’s words were casual as he watched Ye Xiu’s pretty human wander in front of the forest as he did every night, even though a decade had passed for him.
“He’ll always pine, I have better games to play with new people.” Huang Shaotian perked up at the prospect of a new game and some excitement.
“Are you going to challenge Wenzhou again?” Ye Xiu shook his head, eyes bright with excitement, glowing with his power.
“There’s a striker and his cleric passing near here, I think they’d be difficult to convince.” A grin spread across Ye Xiu’s face.
New hearts, a new game. Su Muqiu was already lost to the history of his long life.