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˚⋆o(>ω<)o˚｡⋆
Xie Lian invited Feng Xin to puqi shrine for tea, to discuss some semi-important heavenly matters, but of course, those matters are long left behind in favor of newest gossip and friendly chit-chat between old friends.
"Mhm, you know San Lang is such a romantic!" Xie lian beamed at Feng Xin
"He does so much for me, sometimes I worry that I don't contribute enough to our relationship!" He continued half-jokingly, and Hua Cheng, who was in the middle of chopping vegetables for dinner nearby, gave him a look of 'don't say that, gege!', to witch the past crown prince giggled lovingly.
"Oh also!" He turned to face Feng Xin
"I've heard in the mortal realm, that there is this adorable... uh, 'trend' as the mortals call it, that couples do." Xie Lian suddenly said, and Feng Xin can't help but think,
Well this ought-to be rich
"It goes like this, one person asks the other to hold their arms above their head, and then hugs them, seeing whether the second person hugs them back!! I find it so cute!!"
However, as Feng Xin listens to Xie Lian's explanation, the face of one particular black haired martial god can't stop popping up in his head.
He tries his best to disperse the thought.
"I originally wanted to do it with San Lang, but I fear it'll be no fun since I know that he will hug me back in a heartbeat(( " He pouts lightly, though its clear that there is no actual sadness behind. Only slight disappointment that he himself has to miss out on the fun.
Good thing Hua Cheng left to get some water, he would not be happy hearing this. Feng Xin thinks.
When suddenly, as the general brings a cup of tea to his mouth, absorbed in his own thoughts (about Mu Qing, of course), he hears a loud gasp from his highness as the ladder looks at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"...?" The southeastern general raises an eyebrow at him as he drinks
"I know!! You should absolutely try this with Mu Qing!-" The tea in Feng Xin's mouth splatters all over the table.
He looks at Xie Lian with a bewildered expression.
"What?" Xie Lian asks like he just stated the most obvious thing in the world. Feng Xin is currently coughing and choking on his tea, so it takes him a long second to respond.
"What do you mean 'what'??? Didn't you just state that it's something that couples do??" Feng Xin questioned
"I did, but that doesn't mean that friends can't do it either, does it?" He responds calmly, while cleaning up the table. And althought he claims that friends technically can do it too, his tone suggests something deeper.
Oh god, Xie Lian knows exactly what he's doing.
"Plus, don't you think it sounds fun to do??" The prince continues knowingly. And he is not wrong, Feng Xin did absolutely think about it when the former first spoke of it. But he knows damn well that Mu Qing will not be happy and definitely punch him if he tries literally anything
"And you really think he'll fucking let me? You know how Mu Qing is!"
Xie Lian hummed in acknowledgement before giving an actual answer
"Actually, it's exactly because I know how Mu Qing is, I think that it's a good idea." He said gently.
Feng Xin didn't quite understand, but he trusted Xie Lian's jugement.
"C'mon c'mon c'mon!!! It'll be fineee, if anything goes wrong you can just blame it on me!" Xie Lian took Feng Xin's hands in his to further more convince him. Giving him the most pitiful puppy eyes he could muster.
Huh, Xie Lian really wanted him to do it that much?
"Ok, ok, fine!! You don't need to make those puppy eyes at me. If your San Lang sees this, he will surely decapitate me." As Feng Xin finally agrees with a sigh, a high pinched 'Yayy' can be heard from the highness beside him.
˚｡⋆ヘ(￣ω￣ヘ)｡˚
And so, because of that, he is now in heaven, on his way to the Xuan Zhen palace in search for Mu Qing since the latter won't answer in his communication array.
God Mu Qing is so annoying.
Apparently, none of Mu Qing's junior officials are any more help since none of them knew where he was either. So Feng Xin was forced to look for him all over the heavens because Ling Wen mentioned that is not out on any missions so he must be somewhere around.
And look all over the heavens he did, since it took him about two incenses time to finally stumble onto his target in a remote little garden away from all the usual commotion and bickering of the officials.
Mu Qing was sitting under a large tree of heaven that kept the sun off his face, with his eyes closed. Seemingly sleeping.
He looks peaceful. Cute.
Although when Feng Xin approached the man, his brows furrowed and he muttered something under his breath before slowly opening his eyes, only to stare daggers at Feng Xin.
Huh, so he was just resting then.
"What. The fuck do you want." Was the cold and clearly annoyed greeting he received from the southwestern general.
What a lovely start.
"Uh, what happened to 'hello'? Also why did you ignore me in the array, jerk." Feng Xin shot back as Mu Qing, that had stood up in the time it took the other to respond, crossed his arms and rolled his eyes
"Well since you don't understand the concept of leaving people alone if they're busy, you don't get a 'hello'. Dumbass." The general snarcked smugly.
"Oh of course, because lounging around under a tree is such a hard and important duty." Mu Qing's eye twitched, yet the smirk remained.
"What the fuck do you want. Surely you didn't go out of your way to find me in the middle of fucking nowhere just to annoy me."
Mu Qing repeated, looking Feng Xin up and down, before continuing "Althought knowing you, it's not entirely impossible." He laughed unkindly.
Feng Xin let out an unamused snicker aswell.
"So you do realize it's the middle of nowhere, I was wondering." Mu Qing rolled his eyes yet again. "Also why are you here? Don't you have your very own garden in your palace?" That was an actual question Feng Xin had.
Because the garden of the Xuan Zhen palace was truly beautiful, having all sorts of beautiful and colorful flora. There was even a rumor a while back, stating that gardening is Mu Qing's secret hobby and he tends to his plants personally. Witch, even though the open space isn't that massive, if true, is very impressive.
Since, in his visits, Feng Xin has noticed that that garden is planted with all sorts of rare and extraordinary flowers that probably have very convoluted needs, and surely remembering all that is a pain in of itself?
Mu Qing sighed, before answering quietly "It's quieter here. You know, without all of the deputy officials running around and trying to slack off work and constantly bothering me with stupid ass questions. Or," he looks at Feng Xin "Heavenly officials, constantly on your doorstep with little to no apparent reason."
Ouch that one hurt, because it wasn't exactly false. Feng Xin really did not have a good reason of being there besides that couples thing. Oh right, that. He almost forgot his original goal of finding Mu Qing.
"Ahem... I see. However I do have an actual reason of being here. I.. uh, wanted to check something." Feng Xin stammered, Mu Qing raised an eyebrow at that.
God please don't let him fuck this up
"What's that look for?? Anyway raise your arms." Mu Qing is taken aback by the question and almost took a step back. However after a second he regains his composure,
And as he is not at all convinced, he does not move an inch in the end.
"And why the fuck should I do that???" One of Mu Qing's hands now rests on his hip. Barely visible confusion paint his usually unreadable features. Eyebrow still raised.
"Just fucking do it! It won't kill you." Feng Xin is growing impatient, and now it's his turn to roll his eyes
Why does he ask so many questions?? He thought
He is trying his best not to sound suspicious or stupid, but probably fails miserably at both.
Thankfully, after a few long seconds of intence questioning eye contact, Mu Qing finally raises his arms with an annoyed sigh. His long sleeves rolling up a bit, revealing the silver arm armor underneath.
If Feng Xin was focused on the other's face, he would have noticed a faint blush appearing on the god's cheeks and ears as he closes his eyes and exhales irately.
Instead however, the archer's eyes were seemingly glued to the other's waist witch he swears was to determine where to place his hands when he inevitably hugged the general.
Here goes nothing...
"There, done. Is that really why you-" Mu Qing didn't have time to finish his sentence.
Not before he felt a pair of calloused hands settle on his lower back, almost waist even, embracing him firmly.
"FENG XIN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?" Shouted Mu Qing as he desperately tried to free himself from the grip, struggling to pull himself away with his hands and hitting Feng Xin with his leg.
Feng Xin closed his eyes, saying nothing. But didn't move his hands either, only slightly shifting his position to prevent falling over.
Xie Lian's words from their 'tea party' the day before rang in his head "Give it like 10 seconds, if he continues to cuss you and keeps trying pull away, just let go and explain that I asked you to do it."
"LET GO OF ME YOU MORON!!!" Brought him back from his thoughts.
It's been 3 seconds.
"FENG XIN LET ME GO GOD DAMNIT." Mu Qing pulled the other's hair, not enough to actually hurt though.
"IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO I SWEAR TO THE HEAVENS I'LL BURN DOWN YOUr.. temples..." He trailed of as he felt one of the hands holding him move a bit higher, fingers settling on his shoulder. Securing him in place.
7 seconds
"..." Feng Xin was already mentaly preparing himself for the heafty beating he's gonna get, because even though they were officially friends now, Mu Qing still hated his guts and this clearly pissed him off.
When suddenly, he felt Mu Qing still in his hold, no longer struggling and his hands just awkwardly hovering over the more muscular god.
Then, just as Feng Xin was about to let go, he felt the pair of cold hands that attacked him previously hesitantly settle on his shoulder and back, mimicking his own hand placements.
Mu Qing... actually embraced him back??
He was so cautious, like he was scared the other would pull away, disgusted.
But then he relaxed, just a bit, and rested his chin on Feng Xin's shoulder, nuzzling into the hug.
What. What-. What is happening. Is this really Mu Qing?? He is very careful with his movements, almost.. gentle? Why?
Feng Xin wondered.
He couldn't comprehend Mu Qing, his ruthless, sarcastic and arrogant Mu Qing being so... tender, with anybody, and much less Feng Xin himself, the guy he had beef with for the past 800 years.
Surely he's plotting something. Yes, he's about to flip Feng Xin over and beat him up, or no, better yet, squeeze him untill he crushes his bones.
Yes, definitely.
But no, as they continued to stand like that in silence, neither trying to beat up nor crush the other.
"You are an idiot."
Was the first thing said after about 3 minutes of just standing there, gentle wind caressing their hair, and autumn sun warming their bodies.
Of course, Mu Qing said that.
And Feng Xin only hummed in response, because he really was an idiot. But that's okay, as long as he could hold Mu Qing like that, he didn't mind being one.
End (ᗒ⩊ᗕ)