Chapter Text
It's an ordinary night in Zhu'an, bustling with festive energy and delightful activities. The Burning Lights Festival is in full swing, with parades and performances by masked dancers commencing accompanied by loud, rhythmic traditional music.
Children run around, playing with sparks as they watch it illuminate the night. People admire the floating lanterns and confetti filling the night sky. What they don't notice are the two figures seated on the roof of one of the suspended houses.
Side by side, Zhuxin and Suyou both take in the view of the prosperous city. One could say they feel proud of themselves, for they have played a part in maintaining such warm atmosphere in the city. With Suyou protecting them from harm and Zhuxin granting their wishes, Zhu'an has truly prospered thanks to these two.
The two have been spending nights together for some time now. They chat about trivial things, sometimes exhanging deep conversations. Sometimes they even bring food and refreshments for each other - flower pastries for Zhuxin and tea for Suyou.
Really, nothing could be better than this moment.
Taking a bite from her pastry, Zhuxin starts the conversation.
"You know in my years of granting mortal wishes, I've had a number of wishes revolving around... romance."
Suyou takes a sip of his tea, waiting for her to continue.
"I've reunited lovers. I've fixed past relationships. I've blessed many couples. I've even healed those suffering from unrequited love."
He hums in response, taking yet another sip.
"I've seen many acts of romance. From children's puppy love to acts of intimacy such as hand-holding, cuddling and kissing. And it made me realise, I never got to experience any of those."
At this point, Suyou's pretty apprehensive. But he still waits to let her continue. He takes another sip-
"Shall we try kissing?"
He chokes and spits out the tea, coughing uncontrollably as he tries to process her words. His thoughts grow messy and he feels his face get hot. Zhuxin simply watches as he panics, finding it amusing.
Finally, he calms down a little, heart still pounding. He turns to face her, "W-w-what on earth was that question?! You wanna jump straight to t-that...?! Not even the more tamed ones?!"
He only gets a small chuckle from Zhuxin before he finds himself pinned down underneath her. Her arms on both sides of his head, her knee between his legs. How fast is she?! He doesn't even realise his cup of tea has been knocked over.
They both fall silent. He stares at her, shocked and confused at her sudden moves. And also impressed she did it before he could react. And maybe a little turned on.
For a moment, her bangs cover her eyes, so it's hard to read her face. But she soon starts to lean down, inching closer to his face. Suyou feels hopeless, but for some reason isn't rejecting whatever's happening to him.
After moments of silence, she finally speaks again.
"I've always..."
She leans down more. His breath hitches.
"wanted to know..."
She takes one of his braids and plays with the loose clump at the end, caressing it ever so gently.
"what it's like..."
Their lips are just mere millimeters apart. It seems like time is going both fast and slow, and it's killing Suyou.
"to have your lips on mine."
Their lips gently brush against one another.
In a flash, with hands on her shoulders, Suyou pushes her off of him, holding her away. He faces away, eyes shut as he tries to process what the hell just happened in 3 seconds.
His breaths are fast and heavy as sweat runs down his forehead. Good lord, when was the last time he felt this worked up?
Zhuxin chuckles, and soon starts laughing rather loudly, like the kids down below. He stares at her, confused at the change in her demeanour.
Wiping tears from her eyes, she finally looks at him "Oh, please forgive me for my brash actions. I was simply... provoking you."
He inhales sharply, confused and a little offended.
"I wanted to see what other faces our strong, stern exorcist can make. After all, you only seem to put up a charismatic, proud front for the people. I've always been curious of what else you're capable of."
Suyou's frozen. A part of him is relieved they didn't kiss, another part's disappointed. Another part's also fighting the urge to do the same thing to her.
You have other faces I want to see too.
Brushing crumbs off the roof, Zhuxin stands, preparing to take her leave.
"Well, let's end the night here. I've seen what I wanted to see-"
A firm hand grabs her tender one and yanks her back down, earning a shocked gasp from her. This time, it's Zhuxin pinned underneath Suyou, hands caging her and ensuring no escape.
"Two can play this game," he says, staring intently into her eyes. He's not flustered now, instead he has an intense, determined look on his face. And it makes her heart jump.
Now it's his turn to inch closer to her face. He can't mirror her exact actions since she has no braids in front, so he resorts to cupping her face with his hand.
Gently, he runs his thumb across her lips as he stares at it. Have they always looked this plump?
He doesn't know it, but Zhuxin's heart is racing. Really racing.
Her eyes widen as he brushes his thumb across her lips again, this time with a hint of something... more.
Zhuxin's genuinely at a loss for words. She's never been in this type of situation, so she doesn't know what to do. But strangely, pushing him off didn't cross her mind. Instead, she wants this to continue.
They look at each other once again, and this time something in the air shifts. They're lost in each other's eyes, lost in the moment. The world around them falls silent. There's no one in the world but them.
Such closeness, such intimacy. Things that neither one of them had experienced, until now.
Suyou lets out a shaky breath as he continues to inch down. His hand remains on her cheek ever so gently, giving it small strokes.
Zhuxin's hand are both placed on his chest, as if she's about to push him off. However she just keeps them there, as if it was an attempt at feeling his heart beat.
Slowly, they both close their eyes, waiting for it to happen. Waiting for it to lock, something to click. The moment that's been dragged out for too long. Deep down, their desire burns brighter with each passing second.
Zhuxin's hands start to tremble in anticipation, while Suyou starts to sweat even more. Some of his hair strands fall over his shoulder, tickling Zhuxin's cheeks.
After what seems like an eternity, it finally happens.
Their lips touch.
Something blooms in them. Just like a Nightbloom flower in the night, just like a firework illuminating the dark sky. A spark grows within them.
They instantly melt into the kiss. They knew they should stop, but something in them pushes them to continue. So they deepen the kiss.
Zhuxin wraps her hands behind Suyou's neck, pulling him closer. Despite how he's been lowkey pining for her, it seems like she wants this more than he does.
Without breaking the kiss, they sit up, allowing Suyou to place his hands on her waist and pull her towards him, closing the remaining gap. He takes note of how small her waist looks in his hands, and his mind starts to wander, but he refocuses it to the present moment.
Zhuxin, lost in the moment, wants to take it up a notch, so she bites down on his lower lip and slips her tongue in. Is she doing this right? She's seen humans do it before, so surely she has some knowledge, but no experience.
He lets out a grunt and tries to keep up with her pace. Oh my god, has she always been this... desperate? She's pushing herself onto him, as if wanting more. She starts to let out little moans in the kiss, which really only turned Suyou on more.
What started out as teasing turned into a full blown makeout session. Eyebrows furrowed, Suyou's tries to battle for dominance in the kiss, but somehow Zhuxin's takes the lead. His grip around her waist tightens, earning him a gasp from her.
He took this chance to push himself onto her, taking the lead. She wanted this so bad? He'll give it to her. He's trying so hard to hold back, but her touch, her lips, her little moans make it so, so hard for him.
Her nails start to dig into his skin, which kind of turned him on even more. Good lord, have I always been this way? They're both starting to lose breath, but neither are stopping. Their grip on each other get tighter.
With a grunt, Suyou pulls away, breaking the kiss. A string of saliva connect the two for a while.
They're both panting as they stare at each other. Faces flushed, lips red and a little swollen, hair a little messy.
Did that really just happen?
Suyou touches the back of his neck where her nails dug and flinches. Woah, she dug real deep. He also realises his lower lip red from her bite earlier on.
He looks at her, wanting to see her expression. Did he... do good? Did she like it? Was he being too rough?
She's looking down, fingers pressed on her own lips. Her breaths are heavy. She fixes her hair and tries to calm herself. Her cheeks are still red.
Woah. He's never seen her so flustered before.
. . .
. . .
"Uh-"
"Um-"
They freeze, waiting for the other to continue.
Face still red, Zhuxin's the first to speak.
"That was... interesting. Uh.. I've never.. had someone... so.. intent on.. k-kissing-"
Suyou saves her the trouble of explaining "Yeah, I get it.. Same here..."
Silence again.
A firework bursts in front of them, signalling the end of the festival. Zhuxin turns to Suyou.
"Well, I hope you got what you wanted, just as I did," she smiles.
He thinks about her words, unsure if she meant her face or her kiss.
"Goodnight... Suyou," she bids farewell and quickly leave the rooftop, cheeks still flushed. Her butterflies flutter behind her.
Suyou lies down again, too weak to sit up. He replays the kiss, over and over again. The feeling of her lips on his, how close she was to him, her waist against his, her sounds... it was all too much for this poor guy to handle.
"Dang it. I only meant to catch her off guard and prove her wrong," he says to himself. But deep down he knows he, too, wanted that kiss as much as she did.
In his heart, he silently wishes they could do it again.
He doesn't notice a crimson butterfly nearby, which soon made its way to deliver his wish to a certain someone.