Work Text:
Ren felt conflicted. On one hand, he was glad to not be stuck in a prison cell. On the other hand, he was stuck being domestic with Jing Yuan in his personal meeting room. This situation was disturbing at worst and annoying at best. When he left the Xianzhou Alliance in the past, he never intended to come back, not that the Xiaozhou would welcome him back with him being a major interstellar criminal and all.
“Ren, come try this tea,” Jing Yuan lazily waved his hand towards his lap.
Ren remained silent and unmoving, continuing to observe his surroundings to find a possible escape route.
“General, this disciple is here,” Yanqing politely bows before entering the room. Raising his head, the young boy sees his general sitting across from the Stellaron criminal. He immediately unsheathed his sword, raising it towards Ren. “General! Why isn’t he locked up?” Ren, unamused with the new guest, returned to scanning the trees behind the young boy.
“Yanqing, please lower your sword. We have a guest.”
“He’s not a guest! He’s dangerous!”
“It’s okay, Yanqing. I have his sword right here,” Jing Yuan waved the sheathed sword. “Furthermore, he never excelled at hand-to-hand combat. However, if Ren does try something, rest assured that I’ll personally see to his punishment,” Jing Yuan subtly teased. Yanqing grinned, unknowing of the hidden meaning his general meant.
The boy sheathed his sword, taking a seat next to the General. Jing Yuan poured him a cup of tea. He handed his disciple the cup, issuing a quick “Be careful, it’s quite hot.” Yanqing gratefully took the cup, blowing on the liquid before taking a small sip. “Hmm, not bad,” the boy mumbled to himself. “So, why did you call me here, General?”
“Ah right. Ahem, Yanqing. This is your mom.”
Ren turned to Jing Yuan with a face of disgust and utter confusion. Yanqing’s mouth was wide open, in shock.
Jing Yuan wore a cat-like smirk, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Can’t you two take a joke?” “No, I called you here to spar with our resident criminal.”
Yanqing’s expression lit up, “Really?!? Finally, you’ll see how good I am, General.” Turning to Ren, the boy announced, “Criminal, you are about to go down!”
“All this, for me to be a toy to a child?
“HEY! I’M NOT A KID! I’ll have you know I’m a well-respected Lieuten—“
“Enough of this senseless blabber, I’m leaving.”
Ren rose to his feet, pulling his hands apart hard, breaking the handcuff chains. Yanqing quickly summoned his ice swords, aiming them at the dark criminal. Ren jumped out of the way, towards Jing Yuan, to pick up his broken sword. The general picked up the sword right as Ren reached for it.
“Ah ah, play nice, Ren. I can’t have you killing my protege.”
“Tsk.”
“Don’t worry, General! I won’t be defeated by a criminal,” Yanqing happily exclaimed, readying his ice swords again.
“I was kidding about the sparring as well,” Jing Yuan joked. Yanqing stared at the general, dumbfounded. Ren was glaring at him, in complete annoyance.
“General!” Yanqing whined.
“Hush, Yanqing. Now come sit down, you two.”
“No way. I’m not going to drink tea with a criminal. Call me when you actually have something for me to do.” Yanqing stepped on his sword, flying away.
Jing Yuan let the boy leave, sighing to himself, “I wish that boy could just sit and relax once in a while.”
“Give me my sword back. I have more important things to attend to.”
“If you did, you wouldn’t have gotten captured… unless that was your plan all along. Either way, I can’t have you going on a rampage on the Laofu. Just be compliant and come back to me, Ren. Please.” Jing Yuan pleaded. The general stood up, approaching the criminal, causing Ren to raise his fists. “Please stand down, Ren. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Then, stay away,” Ren demanded. Jing Yuan did the opposite, continuing to walk towards Ren.
“Stop! Jing Yuan!
“You finally called my name.”
When Ren was within arm’s reach, Jing Yuan quickly pulled him into a tight hug. The Stellaron Hunter struggled for the first few seconds, trying to get out of the hug, like a stray cat. However, Ren was always the physically weaker one out of the two, so he slowly succumbed to the hug. All the while, Jing Yuan whispered into his ear, “You’re okay, Ren. Please stop hurting yourself. Let me help you.” Letting his guard down, the criminal apprehensively returned the hug, shyly placing his arms around Jing Yuan’s chest.
Jing Yuan guided them back to a sitting position, with Ren comfortably straddling him. He started twirling the red ribbons on the back of Ren’s coat with one hand, firmly holding Ren’s hips with the other. Ren placed his head on Jing Yuan’s shoulder, still hugging his chest as he closed his eyes to take in Jing Yuan’s presence.
“Can I kiss you?” Jing Yuan questioned.
Ren contemplated if he really wanted to be further involved with the general. However, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted by how attractive Jing Yuan was. “Do it.” Jing Yuan smiled as he arched his mouth towards Ren’s neck, placing light kisses on soft skin. Ren quietly mewled at the familiar sensation. The two basked in the shared silence, enjoying the intimacy of one another’s bodies. Ren broke the silence, “Why did you bring me here?”
“…I wanted you back in my life.”
“And… the disciple?”
“You probably don’t remember, but he looks like a younger version of you… before everything happened. I was hoping seeing him would help you remember our time together. I don’t want the only things in your life to be death and revenge. I want you to be happy, Ren.”
Ren lifted his head, moving it right in front of the general’s. He looked straight into Jing Yuan’s eyes, using his hands to cradle his face, brushing his bangs out of the way. Jing Yuan was wearing a lazy smirk, the corner of his eyes curving up like they were smiling. Ren leaned towards him, kissing him tenderly on the lips. Jing Yuan returned the kiss, pushing Ren’s body closer to his.
“You are home, Ren.”