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Feng Xin didn't necessarily think he was in love with his best friend. He had a crush on him, because he was pretty, and his personality was horrible but familiar. There was comfort in their bickering.
And he didn't think his recently cursed friend being turning into a cat would awaken new feelings in him. Nor did he think that new feline friend would have been completely naked in front of him just a few minutes ago.
He knew his friend had well over 800 years of abstinence, so he refused to think any dirty thoughts about him. He had absolutely no sexual intentions when he confirmed that his friend's body was absolutely gorgeous, and quite literally Godly.
He thought his friend being transformed into a cat was cute. And it was worse when he saw his friend standing in front of him, with robes half off, showing off the tail that was sticking out from above. The robes barely covered his waist down, and everything above his waist was exposed.
This was still cute, but a little more on the attractive side. Fuck, he really had it hard for his rival, huh?
"You uh... you got something," he smiled as he touched his face, giving an example of where Mu Qing's whiskers were.
Mu Qing glared. "I'm fucking aware. I'm going to kill him, he did this and I know it! He probably cursed me in the first place for entertainment!"
"I really doubt he cursed you, he doesn't care about you at all."
Mu Qing huffed. "That's a really shitty thing to say to someone's face, even if it's true."
Feng Xin sighed, willing the blush on his face to stay away. "Okay well, ask Xie Lian if Hua Cheng meant to do this."
"I already did, and Hua Cheng apparently says he didn't necessarily mean to, but I think that's just Xie Lian sugar coating it."
Feng Xin chuckled and nodded. "Probably. So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Help me! Is there anyway to hide these?"
He hummed and walked closer to him. Mu Qing's eyes widened as he took a small step back, but didn't go any further. He gently put his hands on both of the cat ears, and smiled. Mu Qing purred, closing his eyes against the touch.
Feng Xin felt his chest heat up. He looked down slightly and immediately brought his head back up. Mu Qing was completely naked under the extremely lowered robes, and that was not something he wanted to think about right now. Not at all, but especially not in front of him.
Mu Qing realized he was still purring and he quickly pulled away. "Stop making fun of me, asshole! I didn't react like that, the ears did," he defended.
Feng Xin snorted. "Sure. I was just curious if they'd still react. Are your actual ears gone?"
Mu Qing reached his hands up under his hair to where his human ears would be, but frowned. Feng Xin nodded in understanding.
"You can um... lift the uh..."
"Right." Mu Qing suddenly pulled the robes up, covering himself.
He swallowed. "Okay uh... I suppose you wouldn't want people coming to your palace and seeing you like this?"
"Absolutely not," Mu Qing hissed.
"I suggest hiding in my palace for now, then. I'll go see Xie Lian and ask for Hua Cheng to give me something so we can fix this completely."
Mu Qing didn't seem appeased to the idea of staying in his palace any longer, but nodded. "Okay. Just don't fucking let anyone see me."
"I'd never," he smirked.
Mu Qing scoffed, not believing that.
As they left, he tried to cover Mu Qing's ears from anyone else walking by. At one point, they passed a fairly new god and he seemed to have heard good things about them because he was excited to started up a conversation.
During the interaction, Feng Xin let his hand reach over to touch where he knew Mu Qing's tail was. He slowly rubbing up and down on it, noticing Mu Qing's quiet purring.
Mu Qing shot him a glare and yelled at him about it after they left, saying that was embarrassing and also made him feel weird and to never do it again.
Feng Xin was definitely going to do that again.
When they got back to his own palace, Mu Qing walked over to his library. After a few confusing moments of him looking through, Feng Xin realized he was just looking for something to read. At first, he wondered if he thought there'd be something for him to get rid of the feline effects, but he seemed to just want to read.
He picked out a book from a familiar spot and sat down on the sofa, mostly on his side. Feng Xin grabbed a random book and sat down on the other side of the sofa. He looked over and noticed Mu Qing's tail poking out from the bottom of his robes, swishing back and forth.
He chuckled quietly as he opened his book and started to read. After a few minutes, he let his hand reach over and pet the attention-seeking tail. Mu Qing started to purr, but didn't retaliate.
"Maybe you'll be like this forever, and we will have to change your robes so your tail can be less uncomfortable than being underneath," he mumbled.
Mu Qing hissed, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"A hole in the back for your tail to go through, so it won't hurt from being pushed down by your clothes," he said casually.
Mu Qing yelped, and his tail wrapped around Feng Xin's wrist. "Don't say that! It won't happen! I'll get rid of it soon! And why are you even here with me anyway? Go ask Xie Lian's bastard husband how to fix this!"
Feng Xin snorted. "Your tail seemed to like the attention."
He looked down to prove it, but fully realized his tail was wrapped around his wrist. He felt his face was warm, blushing from how adorable that was. He didn't even know why, but something about it was so fucking cute.
The tail slowly unwrapped its self, smacking against the couch a couple times. "Shut up. The tail isn't a part of me, that does not count. Leave!"
Feng Xin sighed. "I just want to read for a while, you're so needy."
"Fuck you! You can read when I'm gone!"
"I wanted to read right now, and give my cat boy some attention."
He looked up to Mu Qing, who's eyes were wide. It reminded him of when Mu Qing was a cat and his eyes were really wide and curious constantly, and dear Gods was it adorable.
"Shut the fuck up! Get out!" Mu Qing's face was bright red.
Feng Xin laughed and stood up. "Fine, fine. If you get lonely, let me know."
Mu Qing threw the poor little pillow that was just relaxing on the sofa at him, and he laughed again as he went over to his palace door. "I'm leaving!"
He drew up another distance shortening array, and sighed. He's tired of these arrays.
Knocking on the door and waiting a few more moments than last time, considering he never knew what Xie Lian was up to when Hua Cheng was with him, he opened the door.
He walked into the Puji Shrine and saw Hua Cheng holding Xie Lian in his lap, who looked extremely embarrassed.
"Ah... F-Feng-Xin. Sorry.."
Hua Cheng snickered and Feng Xin sighed, keeping his eyes away. "Um... about Mu Qing..."
"Oh right!" Xie Lian exclaimed. Feng Xin looked over once hearing him stand up. "San Lang said the anecdote was supposed to completely heal him of the curse."
"Right... the anecdote would have happened to be tampered with?"
Hua Cheng just shrugged with a smile.
He sighed again. "He's really gonna kill you, Hua Cheng."
"As if he could," Hua Cheng waved him off. "I think it was a little funny. Oh, did you find out why I said to not do it here? You know, if you're naked as an animal, I really doubt your clothes will come back when you transform back to a human, or God technically."
Feng Xin's cheeks reddened as he looked away. "We did. Anyway, it was a little funny. But he's not going to be like this forever, right? Not that I care, but he's going to piss me off with how damn insistent he is on fixing it."
Hua Cheng shook his head. "Not at all. I have another that will completely rid him of the curse, but it's up to you if you give it to him."
He handed him a new capsule, and Feng Xin put it in his pocket. "Thank you, I'll be leaving now."
"Good luck!" Xie Lian called out as he left.
He went back into his palace and looked over at Mu Qing. His tail was smacking against the couch subconsciously as he looked up. Suddenly it moved quicker, and his ears perked up.
Dammit, that was fucking cute. He was like a kitten, eager and excited easily.
"So?"
"Crimson Rain didn't have anything, he said he'll look into why it didn't work," he lied.
Why not have some fun with it?"
Mu Qing groaned. "And Ling Wen hasn't reported back yet. This is so annoying..."
"Want to take a cat nap?" Feng Xin smirked.
"Shut up."
Mu Qing let out a quiet whiny noise as he pulled at his robes. Feng Xin furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" He yelped as his face reddened more. "Nothing, I think I'll take that nap actually," he said as he stood up.
Feng Xin scrunched up his face as Mu Qing walked into his chamber. Fucking thinks he owns the place.
He sighed and sat down. He looked over, seeing the book Mu Qing left on the sofa. He can't even pick up after himself! Dammit, maybe he should give him the capsule just so he will go back to his own palace.
Picking up the book, his eyes caught the front of it. Was this the book of poems that he was reading with Mu Qing when he was a cat?
He noticed a page had a bookmark fold on the edge, and he grimaced. How dare he?
Opening to the oh-so important page that must've deserved a crinkle, he noticed it was the love poems he very often read. He snorted. Was Mu Qing that interested in what he was reading?
He put it in place along with the book he set on the table, and walked into his chamber. He covered his face, feeling it heat up.
Mu Qing was laying on his bed curled up into as much of a circle as he could. His robes were pushed up from his tail, which was currently moving back and forth lazily. Worse, Mu Qing looked like he was already in a deep sleep. Gods, was that the cat instincts or was he just a fast sleeper?
He quickly pulled the blanket over him, before too much was revealed by that damned tail. He slowly realized Mu Qing must have been uncomfortable from his tail, as Feng Xin had teased him about earlier.
After a few minutes of deciding, he reached under the blanket and carefully pulled the robes up enough that they would rest around his lower back from how high they already were before. He hoped that would be more comfortable, plus his body was still covered.
He looked up to Mu Qing's face, and smiled softly from how cute he looked when he slept. His ears moved a couple times, and Feng Xin began petting and scratching behind one of the ears. Mu Qing started purring in his sleep, nuzzling into the touch slightly.
Feng Xin pulled away and took a deep breath, registering that his friend and rival was laying in his bed, basically naked. Okay, that's fine. He can handle that. It's not like he has a huge crush on him.
He turned, about to leave when he felt something soft on his arm. He looked down, seeing Mu Qing's tail wrapped around his arm. He blushed, taking a step closer. As he pet his tail, Mu Qing purred louder. When he pulled away, the tail lazily wrapped around his arm again.
Seems like he didn't want to be left alone. But Feng Xin wasn't just going to lay in bed with him, not in this state.
So he sat down on the ground and left his arm on the bed. Leaning his head against the bed, he closed his eyes and continued to pet his tail.
His eyes slowly opened as he yawned. He looked around and realized he fell asleep. How long? And why was he on the floor?
Upon seeing a long black cat tail peaking out of the blanket, he noticed Mu Qing still asleep in his bed. Ah, right.
He pet the tail for a few minutes, enjoying Mu Qing's purring.
He stood up and stretched with his hands in the air, letting out another yawn.
Feeling something against his waist, he looked down. It seems Mu Qing's tail, not finding his arm, wrapped around his waist instead. He felt his chest warm up.
Could his rival be a little less cute? He couldn't take this. He felt like his several hundred years hiding the crush was going to go down the drain just because of a damn cat tail.
He laid down on the bed next to him, keeping the blanket wrapped around Mu Qing. He pet his tail slowly, noticing it didn't seem to plan on leaving his waist soon.
Closing his eyes, he pulled Mu Qing closer to himself and wrapped an arm around his stomach. He just hoped Mu Qing would still be asleep by the time he woke up.
"You fucker!"
Nevermind.
He woke up suddenly, grimacing. "What..?"
Mu Qing struggled against him, "Get your god damn arm off of me! What are you doing?! I feel naked, and you are pressed against my back and holding me so tightly. Let go of me!"
Feng Xin's eyes widened as he looked down, realizing he was holding Mu Qing close to him. Shit, why did he do that earlier? He let go immediately, seeing the tail slip under the blanket as well.
"You didn't want me to leave, I wasn't doing anything bad to you! I'd always respect you, dumbass! How dare you accuse me of having inappropriate of you in such a state?!"
Perhaps he was, but he wasn't going to actually do anything about it!
"Still! Do you know how embarrassing it is to wake up half naked, in the arms of you?!"
"That seems very offensive," Feng Xin frowned as he stood up. Mu Qing wrapped the blanket completely around himself as he sat up, face extremely red.
"Good!" He huffed.
"And I pulled your robes up because I noticed your tail was making you uncomfortable. Don't worry, I put the blanket over you before i saw anything."
Mu Qing looked at him curiously for a moment but then nodded, looking away. Feng Xin noticed his face getting redder. "Thanks..."
"Of course."
He looked away, trying to ignore how Mu Qing looks right now. Half naked, in Feng Xin's clothes, in his bed, blushing, and his blanket is wrapped around Mu Qing.
Not that he wanted to have dirty thoughts about this situation! Which is why he was trying not to.
Mu Qing was an 800+ year old virgin, Feng Xin wasn't. And he's had a crush for years! Of course he didn't expect anything to come of it, but of course the thoughts were going to come.
He snorted at the wording in his mind.
"What?"
"Nothing!" He stood up. "I'm gonna go check in on my worshippers prayers, uh you uh... just chill here."
He gave a very confused Mu Qing a thumbs up and left.
Maybe he should end this soon. He couldn't handle this. He barely lasted one time sleeping with Mu Qing. He thought it would be funny, but this is horrible for both of them—
"You're standing there like a fool. What happened to your worshippers?"
He looked to the side, seeing Mu Qing look up at him with curious and teasing eyes. He swallowed and looked down, feeling Mu Qing's tail wrap around his waist again. Mu Qing seemed to notice it and he pulled his tail back, holding it in his chest.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to touch you with it—"
"It's okay," Feng Xin interrupted, breathless. "You've done it a couple times already..."
Mu Qing's eyes widened. "What... Really?"
He nodded, looking down to Mu Qing's tail in his chest. He was holding it, rubbing small circles on it slightly with his thumb.
He took a step closer and reached out, hesitating. Mu Qing looked at him confused, but extended his tail slightly.
Once the tail touched Feng Xin's hand, it wrapped around his wrist and the end moved back and forth on his forearm.
Mu Qing's eyes widened. "I can't even control it!"
"It's a part of you though, maybe it does what you secretly want. Do you want to touch me that bad?" He teased.
Mu Qing's eyes widened and he hissed, pulling his tail back. "Shut up! Not at all!"
Feng Xin laughed. "It's okay, I'm joking."
A part of him had hoped that was actually it, though. The selfish part of him wanted Mu Qing to want him back, and wondered if his tail was still so cat-like that it just reacts to instincts, the things he can't control but still wants.
Hm, a stupid idea.
Feng Xin reached out again and began petting his tail. Mu Qing started purring, closing his eyes. Feng Xin stared at him like he's been doing a lot the past couple days, watching how he reacted to it. He was so cute. Dammit, his worshippers can wait.
He picked Mu Qing up, earning a yelp and the tail swiftly wrapping around his waist. "What are you doing?!"
"Going back to bed. I'm tired."
"No you're not," Mu Qing said as they walked to the bed. "We are Gods, you are not that tired."
"I am because I say so. Who knows, maybe I'm a mortal now."
"If either of us were more mortal, wouldn't it be me? And if you were a mortal, you wouldn't be able to pick me up. I'm a martial God."
Feng Xin smiled and laid him down on the bed. "You're a cat."
Mu Qing glared, but didn't refute.
Feng Xin sighed contently and laid down next to him, putting his hands under his head. Mu Qing's tail swished back and forth against his stomach, seemingly enjoying to just move. Mu Qing laid on his side, so his tail wasn't being pushed into the bed.
Feng Xin closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he felt Mu Qing move closer to him. His tail wrapped around his waist and he settled down. Feng Xin bit back a smile.
He wasn't tired, Mu Qing was right. But he wanted this. This was all he needed. He didn't mind laying in silence with Mu Qing wrapped around him, one way or another.
He knew he had a crush, but this silence, his tail occasionally lightly going up and down on his stomach, matching his breathing with Mu Qing's... Now is when he realized he was in love.
And he spent several hours like that. Mu Qing never left, only moving occasionally for comfort. His tail was around him the entire time.
"General Nan Yang," a voice came through the communication array.
He entered. "Ah, Ling Wen."
"General Nan Yang, hello. I have found a cure to the curse."
"Oh! My apologies, but I found something a little bit ago. Crimson Rain had an anecdote."
"Oh really? That's wonderful. Good luck with everything."
"Thank you."
As he left the communication array, he looked down at Mu Qing and smiled softly. He felt a little bad for keeping it from him, but he was too cute. He may never get the chance to see him so close up again. And after realizing he was in love, he felt like he could be a little selfish.
He will give it to him soon, and they'll go back to normal. No more needy Mu Qing wrapped around him, and that's okay. He will just savor it while he has it.
An incense time later, Mu Qing stretched out and yawned. "I hate your palace, I want to go outside."
"You're really fucking needy, you know. As if I want you here! If you hate it so much, go to Pei Ming's palace or something."
Mu Qing glared at him and huffed. "Fine. Perhaps he won't make fun of me."
Feng Xin scoffed. "I doubt it! You'll come running back to my palace soon enough."
Mu Qing hissed and flipped him off, leaving.
He furrowed his eyebrows. Well that wasn't a good idea, was it?