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It wasn’t often that Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen decided to rent a room at a local inn, in most cases, both of them preferred to sleep under the stars. Even with his own mysophobia, Song Lan found that he much preferred the known contamination of nature to what might be perfectly hidden under a layer of “alleged” cleanliness in a random inn.
There was also the matter of their finances, though they were never tight on cash, always having enough from night hunts and general requests for aid from locals in areas that didn’t quite get the coverage they should from the major and minor sects. However, it was still good practice to save their money, especially with their aspirations that would require a lot more than what they currently possessed, so they tended to avoid any additional expenses.
Regardless, there were, of course, those rare occasions when they decided to indulge in a bit of luxury and rent a room for a few nights, especially if they knew they would be sticking around the area for some time.
“Welcome in Daozhangs! Here to rent rooms for a night or longer?”The keeper asked, she appeared to be a short and pleasant-looking woman, going as far as to flash them a smile as she waited for their response.
“Greetings, Furen! We’re hoping to stay for a few nights if that is alright? We only require one room, though I must request it to be your most upkept”Xiao Xingchen spoke up, and though he wasn’t able to see her smile, he shared one back in return all the same.
A subtle warmth bloomed in his chest as he watched his partner conversing with the innkeeper, listening as he explained his reasoning for his specifications.
“Most upkept? I assure you that we keep all our rooms up to quite a standard of cleanliness, but is there a reason for this?”The smile dropped from the woman’s lips for a moment, and he certainly didn’t miss the way some annoyance graced her face before being hidden behind the mask of customer service.
Xiao Xingchen’s hand tentatively lifted to touch the gauze covering his eyes, “Ah- of course, Furen, I don’t doubt it, it’s just that I merely ask for the assurance due to my injury… I have to take precautions to ensure that nothing causes trouble to the wounds…”He says.
Song Lan watched as the woman’s eyes opened wide at his explanation, “Oh! My apologies than Daozhang for assuming insult… you’re merely looking out for your own health, of course, of course! I’ve heard on the wind about some of the work you’ve done across these regions, so I most certainly don’t mind looking out for you both in turn! Follow me up to your room and I’ll give it an extra wipe down to ensure it’s perfect for you, and I’m sure your partner there can ensure I do it right, yes?”She asks, now turning her attention to him.
“Mn”He hums out and adds a small nod. He sent a glance towards the man as the woman turned away to lead them. He watched as he tilted his head with a slightly mischievous smile, knowing full well that this was a careful setup to soothe his phobia without letting slip of it.
–
“Now then! Have the two of you eaten yet? I can get my partner to make a light meal for both of you since it’s so late, or is there anything else you two might require?”The keeper asked as she finished wiping the last table.
He observed it and nodded his approval to her work before looking over to Xiao Xingchen, who was carefully standing in the doorway to maintain the facade of his “health concern”.
“We’ve already eaten for the night, but thank you for the offer, Furen. If it’s not too much trouble, though, could we request a bath to be drawn?”He asks.
The keeper smiled and nodded, “Of course, Daozhangs, I’ll get my partner to bring the water up for you, it will take a bit, though, so feel free to get used to the room”She said before carefully stepping around Xiao Xingchen and descending to the lower floor.
Once they were certain the woman was away, Xiao Xingchen tilted his head and slowly stepped into the room, “So? How was that?”He asks, smile tugging at his lips once more.
“You’re certainly something…”Song Lan hums as he closes the remaining distance between them and leans down to give a gentle kiss to the white gauze.
The man laughed, “I’ll take that as a job well done”He mused before tilting his head up to steal a kiss from Song Lan’s lips, before their warm moment could be interrupted.
Soon enough, they’ll be able to relax more properly.
–
They sat at a table near the room's only window as they waited for the bath to be drawn, simply conversing about their theories on the occurrences which they were to investigate in the coming days, though if they sneakily shared more romantic conversation by way of traced words between hands than that was something only for themselves until they were alerted that the bath was ready.
Xiao Xingchen thanked the innkeeper and her partner before he gently shut the door and carefully stepped over to the dressing screen. He slowly slipped off the layers of his robes, folding them neatly and then draping them over the screen.
His hands raised to his hair, but before he could let it down, there were gentle hands already removing the guan, and thus he let his arms fall back to his sides. He tracked the gentle clink of it being laid on a nearby table before his hand was taken and he was led to the bath. His free hand reached out to ghost the lip of it, before holding steady, and soon he was swinging both legs over it, a sigh slipping passed his lips as he felt the warmth of the water on his skin.
“Join me…”He whispered as he lowered his body into it.
“Of course…”Song Lan responded, and soon their skin was pressed together.
He tilted his head back, resting it on the other’s chest, and he silently listened to the beat of the man’s heart, already being lulled into rest.
“Dozing off?”The words were practically vibrating in his ear.
“Mn… this is much nicer than falling asleep in a river”He says with a small laugh, and was slightly jostled by his partner's own chuckle.
“Let me wash you up first at least…”And then he feels a kiss pressed to his temples before the man is ever so gently readjusting their positions.
The touch of the sponge is nice, the kisses that follow… well, they’re even better, and he lets his partner know by fully relaxing into his touches and sighing in contentment.
“We should do this every night…”He muses as his partner moves to carefully remove the gauze around his head and gently sponge around the wounds, feeling as the man pauses for a moment.
“When we have our own Sect, I’ll make sure we’ll do exactly that”The man promises.
“I’ll hold you to it, Zichen…”He promises back.
And with that, they enjoy the rest of their bath in silence until the water runs cold and he is unable to keep his head from falling. He barely processes the motions of the other getting out of the bath before he is gently wrapped in a warm towel and lifted out of the bath. He allows his head to fall against the other’s chest until he’s seated in a chair to be dried off and dressed in sleeping robes from his qiankun pouch before he’s once more lifted and placed into the bed.
He tilts his head to the side to listen to the faint sounds of Song Lan’s own robes being tugged on and tied before the man crawls in beside him and carefully pulls him back to his chest, the sound of his heart once more filling Xiao Xingchen’s head with its pleasant sound.
“Goodnight Zichen…”
“Goodnight Xingchen…”