Work Text:
Mobei-Jun is docile as Shang Qinghua kisses him. He’s purring happily, letting Qinghua dictate the pace as they slide lazily against the other. Qinghua sighs happily, pulling back slightly to kiss his nose, the corner of his mouth, under his eyes. Mobei-Jun rubs his hands along Qinghua’s thighs. There’s happy little shivers going along Qinghua that aren’t from the cold.
Mobei-Jun splays his hands across Qinghua’s back and digs a little with his hand in the dip under his ribs. It makes Qinghua squirm, a breathy little laugh making him jerk. He scrambles away but Mobei-Jun gives a fond little smile as he keeps Qinghua in place, kissing under his jaw.
Mobei-Jun hums and readjusts his hands, moving to Qinghua’s hips to resettle him.
There’s a soft noise from Qinghua as he’s moved and Mobei-Jun can’t help but kiss him again. Qinghua’s hands roam the expanse of his shoulder and braces on the bed behind him. Mobei-Jun purrs again, more deeply in satisfaction.
Shang Qinghua slides his hands farther along the bed. It’s slow enough that Mobei-Jun doesn’t pay any mind to what he’s doing. With deft movements, the dagger hidden for Qinghua’s safety is unearthed from behind the mattress. It’s with careful and slow movements that Mobei-Jun doesn’t notice. He holds it for a moment as he opens his eyes, staring at Mobei-Jun with a mix of annoyance and confusion.
Shang Qinghua hesitates slightly. This was weird. His King never did these things after he said he didn’t want Mobei-Jun’s affections. And yet he wakes up like this? It makes his hand twitch to put the dagger between them, forcing distance so he can insist this never happen again.
Mobei-Jun opens his eyes then. He frowns. Did he do something wrong?
He pulls back and Qinghua, with quick movements, presses the hidden dagger to his throat.
“My King really took me for a fool,” Shang Qinghua says. It’s his voice but it’s hard, angry with an edge of something Mobei-Jun can’t fathom. The blade digs in enough that blood starts to come forward, beading along the blade. “To try to bed me like this after I said what I did. This lowly one wouldn’t presume to ever want somebody as high as you.”
“Qinghua,” Mobei-Jun says. His voice is raw and his face is open. It’s been a long time since his emotions easily bled out of his painstakingly made shell. Now, he hears the break of his voice. He isn’t sure what he wants to say. The statement cuts deeply.
Shang Qinghua looks contemplative as the knife stays poised over Mobei-Jun’s throat. The pressure doesn’t ease but it doesn’t get any worse. “This is a nice look for you, I will admit.”
“Are you alright?”
There’s stark anger and disdain flashing across Shang QInghua’s face at his tone. Mobei-Jun reels, confused and hurting. Quickly, as the blade starts to press harder, Mobei-Jun closes his face off. This wasn’t his Qinghua. Something was wrong and he needed to figure it out but he couldn’t do that like this.
Mobei-Jun lurches so that Shang Qinghua is sliding along the floor. He hits the wall harder than Mobei-Jun wants but it gets Shang Qinghua off of him. The knife skitters away and snaps from the cold. Shang Qinghua laughs as he sits, wheezing from hitting the wall.
“That’s more like it,” he says through a cough. He knew that this pathetic lovers act was just that, an act.
“Who are you?” Mobei-Jun says. The temperature drops dangerously and Shang Qinghua shivers involuntarily but his dangerous grin doesn’t budge.
“You’re most trusted aid, My King, Shang Qinghua. Or did you finally find out?”
Mobei-Jun’s eyebrow furrows and it gives enough time for Shang Qinghua to scramble on his knees to a somewhat defensive position. He snatches the pin in his hair, wielding it like a blade. He lunges and uses it to stab Mobei-Jun’s abdomen. Mobei-Jun lets him. He doesn’t flinch as the pin sinks in. He lets Shang Qinghua hit him as he takes control of their height difference. It hurts to do this to his husband but as he wrenches away from the punch, he takes the other’s wrist, twisting it behind Shang Qinghua’s back. He forces Shang Qinghua to the ground with a well aimed kick to his knee. Then he digs his leg into the shoulder blades, watching them flex in pain as Shang Qinghua spasms, collapsing to the ground. He freezes the imposters arms to the floor. He feels like this should be just a bad dream but the bite in his abdomen tells him otherwise. The pin sticks uncomfortably in his side and he eyes it. It was a gift for Qinghua when they had first started courting properly.
“Where is Qinghua?” He growls. He feels like he wants to crawl out of his skin, his hands itching as he had held Shang Qinghua to the iced floor. It’s too violent, he’s hurting his husband , but he has no choice.
“Right here. But I guess you’ll finally kill me now.” Shang Qinghua sighs like this is just boring him. “After so long, I wondered when it would happen, when you’d finally kill me. I don’t care anymore.”
Mobei-Jun snarls but he can’t do anything else. He can’t hurt Qinghua again. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t do this to Qinghua again.
He needs to get his Qinghua back.
The struggle must show on his face as he stands, poised and dangerous with claws to Shang Qinghua’s throat, but not doing anything. Shang Qinghua narrows his eyes, and just like that, things fall into place.
“My King would never talk to me like that with such affection. My Lord talked about going to another world like ours but different but I never thought I would, too.”