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Jin Guangyao and Qin Su were a lovely couple, a very romantic story. On this fact, everyone agreed, and their wedding ceremony had been beautiful. Those who had been invited would return home to enthrall less fortunate friends with stories of the lavish crimson decor, the bride's intricately woven veil, embroidered with yards of golden thread, and the music and celebration that had followed the wonderfully solemn ceremony. The couple were inseperable from the moment they took their three bows—for three days and three nights, until Jin Guangyao suddenly had to visit the Cloud Recesses, leaving his new wife in the care of her 'mother-in-law'—which is to say, Madam Jin.
He arrived at xu time, as the sun was nearly set. Stepping leisurely through the white gate, Jin Guangyao quietly made his way to the Wintry Room, his pace never slowing. He barely gave the neatly-written establishment plaque a glance before tapping softly at the door.
The solid wood slid aside, and Jin Guangyao bowed his head, smiling. "Er-ge, I've come to visit," he said, his tone both light and cheerful. "May I come in?"
"Of course," Lan Xichen replied, his expression settling back to a gentle smile after his initial surprise. "I had not expected you to visit so soon after your wedding, A-Yao. Is something the matter?"
Jin Guangyao sighed, removing his boots as Lan Xichen led him further into the room. "Nothing, except for the regular suffocating political machinations of Lanling. Being the center of attention for so long as made me weary of the city, so I found myself longing for a moment of tranquility." He removed his hat, placing it carefully on the small sandalwood table in the corner of the room.
"I would imagine the mountains of Gusu are much quieter than Golden Carp Tower," Lan Xichen agreed, motioning for them to sit together on the small bamboo couch. "I only hope that A-Yao will forgive my poor hospitality at this time of day."
"There is nothing to forgive," Jin Guangyao said smoothly, tilting his head. "I'm the one who intruded upon er-ge. I hope you were doing nothing important?" As he spoke, he reached out to cover Lan Xichen's hand with his own, the very picture of sincerity.
"Nothing too important, no," Lan Xichen replied, his eyes on where Jin Guangyao had taken his hand. "Nothing that I cannot return to tomorrow morning."
"That's good," Jin Guangyao whispered, leaning in close. "Then I'll have to trouble er-ge a little more tonight..." But as he leaned in to kiss Lan Xichen, he felt a steady hand gently holding him away.
"A-Yao," Lan Xichen warned, his voice stern. "I have told you: we are no longer at liberty to pursue such activities."
Jin Guangyao glanced down at the hand pushing him away. "Is that what you wish to say, or merely what you have to say?" he asked, his voice still light. "Lying is forbidden, er-ge; don't tell me you don't still want this."
"I..." Lan Xichen trailed off, then sighed. "This no longer concerns what either of us want. None of this should have ever happened in the first place, so it is better to end it now."
"Is that so?" Jin Guangyao raised his eyebrows, grabbing Lan Xichen's hand, and bringing it up to his mouth. "The crime has already been committed, so what does it matter if we continue? You're avoiding the question: do you want me or not?" He pressed his lips to Lan Xichen's hand, feeling the cool skin against his own. "Although we both know the answer already."
"Jin Guangyao!" Lan Xichen exclaimed, although he made no motions to pull his hand away. "You are married. Does nothing about this seem wrong to you?"
"Of course it's wrong," Jin Guangyao agreed, placing Lan Xichen's hand on his waist. They were sitting extremely close, and Lan Xichen had no room to move away anymore. "I know this is wrong the same way that it was wrong the first time I kissed you, as well as the next time, and the time after that...All along, I've known that even if there is no rule on that wall of yours that forbids it, what we have done together can hardly be considered 'correct.'" He looked up at Lan Xichen through his eyelashes. "I care about A-Su very much, but that hasn't stopped me from caring about you. My feelings haven't changed just because of a ceremony. Have yours?"
Lan Xichen remained silent for a long time. There was a weariness to his expression, as if it was really very tiring to continue denying himself something that he knew he must not want. "I still do care about you very much, A-Yao," he admitted in a low voice. "It is precisely because I care about you so, that I must tell you that you are making a grave mistake. Nothing that we have shared is worth losing what you have spent so long working towards." He folded his hands neatly in his lap. "This will be your undoing," he warned.
"Not so," Jin Guangyao argued, looping his arms around Lan Xichen's waist. "I am not planning on 'undoing', but rather 'doing,' or 'being done.'" He looked intently into Lan Xichen's eyes, watching for any hint of wicked desire. "Is it so bad for a man to love more than his one wife?"
"I should think you would know the answer to that better than anyone," Lan Xichen replied slowly, as if he somehow dreaded the end of his thought. "Is it not for this very reason that you so disdain your father?"
Jin Guangyao froze, his pupils shrinking slightly. His gaze dropped to his own arms, still wrapped around Lan Xichen's waist, and hastily drew back into himself, huddling alone on the small bamboo couch. "No," he muttered, half annoyed, half desperate. "No, I'm nothing like him." He looked up at Lan Xichen, his shoulders seeming to shake.
"Oh, A-Yao," Lan Xichen sighed, opening his arms as Jin Guangyao fell into his embrace, the tremors of his body ceasing instantly as Lan Xichen stroked his hair. "I know. But just as it is often difficult to find the right path to walk, that which seems simple and easy must be regarded with vigilance. You have a steady, unerring heart. Use it well."
Jin Guangyao nodded, clinging tightly to the pristine white folds of Lan Xichen's clothing. "As expected of Zewu-jun," he said, his voice steady. "There is always something new for me to learn." He looked up, meeting Lan Xichen's soft and sympathetic gaze. "New beginnings are accompanied with old endings," he continued, the shrewdness of his eyes disguised by his downcast eyelashes. "Will you not allow me to put a proper end to this part of our lives, before moving on to the next? This truly is the last time I will ask this of you."
Lan Xichen watched him closely for one, two, three seconds, seeing nothing but sincerity in Jin Guangyao's eyes. "If you truly want to..." he relented. The hand that had been rhythmically stroking Jin Guangyao's hair moved down to rub at the base of his neck. "Let us end this, you and I. My refusal may pain you, and this I regret, but after tonight we will never meet like this again."
Jin Guangyao shifted his weight, settling himself fully in Lan Xichen's lap. "I can't imagine that my silver tongue will entice you forever," he admitted with a smile. "It took every argument I had to convince you to kiss me one last time." He buried his hands in Lan Xichen's hair, tugging on the tails of his forehead ribbon as he drew their faces together. "So let's make it a good one, hm?" He lowered his gaze, eyelashes fluttering, and kissed Lan Xichen gently, as though he was afraid the other man might shatter to pieces if he moved too suddenly.
Lan Xichen tilted his head back, placing a hand between Jin Guangyao's shoulderblades to further bring him closer. His eyes were half-lidded as he watched Jin Guangyao move to mouth at his jawline, sucking gently at the skin. "Leave no marks," he cautioned, a slight breathlessness to his voice.
"I know," Jin Guangyao assured him, his voice low and distinct beside Lan Xichen's ear. "Nothing that won't heal by mao time. I'll take good care of er-ge, no need to worry..." he dropped a feather-light kiss on the corner of Lan Xichen's jaw, then returned to his lips, biting and tugging as softly as falling snow.
All of Jin Guangyao's fluttering about was highly unsatisfying, and it made Lan Xichen feel as if there was a butterfly fluttering around in front of him. He was filled with the desire to catch this little insect between his fingers. So he pulled Jin Guangyao down into the bamboo couch, pinning both of his wrists above his head with one hand.
Jin Guangyao simply looked up at him, seeming neither surprised nor wary. His lips were slightly swollen, and small puffs of air escaped them as his chest rose and fell. His dark eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight as Lan Xichen leaned down to kiss the vermillion dot of cinnabar on his forehead.
Pulling back slightly, Lan Xichen could feel that some of the red pigment had lifted off into his lips, but he didn't move to wipe it off. Instead, he kissed Jin Guangyao again, smearing the cinnabar across both of their mouths. The hand that held Jin Guangyao's wrists in place squeezed tight enough to leave angry red handprints, but the touch of Lan Xichen's other hand was soft as silk as he traced the contours of Jin Guangyao's chest.
"Er-ge," Jin Guangyao called softly, his voice carrying none of its usual authority as Lan Xichen kissed all down his throat, leaving a diminishing trail of red cinnabar marks. "Won't you let my hands free now? Let me hold you."
"No," said Lan Xichen. He tugged at Jin Guangyao's collar, loosening his robes enough to reveal his collarbones fully. Bowing his head, he sucked and licked at the newly exposed flesh, leaving mottled spots of broken blood vessels in his wake.
"Gege," Jin Guangyao tried, tugging at his hands uselessly. "Let me go, let me help you." Again, Lan Xichen ignored him. "Damnit," he cursed under his breath. Then, louder: "Lan Guifei! Remove your hand."
At this, Lan Xichen jerked his head up, his gaze that of a cornered animal. His lips parted, and he gave a few hazy blinks as his white jade cheeks slowly flushed pink. Jin Guangyao sighed in relief, slipping his hands free from Lan Xichen's slackened grip, circling his arms around his neck to pull him closer again. "Good boy," he praised, stroking Lan Xichen's hair. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" The other man trembled in his embrace, his breathing shallow. "This...this cannot continue," he muttered, his brow furrowing as he took in the mess they had made of each other. He looked scandalized, as though the one mouthing hungrily at Jin Guangyao's collarbones had been an evil spirit that had temporarily possessed him.
As if in a trance, he clumsily pulled Jin Guangyao's robes back together, before extracting himself from their passionate embrace to straighten his own collar, rubbing at his lips unconsciously every few seconds. He refused to look at where Jin Guangyao was still sprawled across the couch, making no moves to tidy himself.
"Did you not like when I called you that?" Jin Guangyao asked, his voice light. He watched as Lan Xichen looked down at his own hands, a faint blush still present on his light skin. "Or perhaps...you liked it too much, and it scared you off?" He sat up slowly, staying on his side of the couch. "Which is it?"
Lan Xichen shook his head, although it was still unclear how many of Jin Guangyao's words were reaching his brain. He stared absently down at his hands, the rims of his eyes reddening.
Jin Guangyao stood up quietly, adjusting his collar and picking up his hat from the table in the corner of the room. "Perhaps it's best if I take my leave," he suggested. Then, with a pleasant smile, he added: "Er-ge, our game is over now. Thank you for playing along; I had fun."
With those final words, he left the Wintry Room, stepping quietly through the Cloud Recesses, reaching the gate just as the bell tolled to mark hai time. As he left behind the white walls and silent rooms, he began to hum a tune used in a certain opera. His steps were so light and graceful that it almost seemed as if he, too, was about to perform a beautiful sword dance for the hegemon king.