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It started on a Wednesday morning.
On an unusually warm morning in the middle of winter, Chu Wanning wondered when it was that Mo Ran had started falling out of love with him. It wasn’t exactly a surprise; Chu Wanning had been waiting for it to happen before he’d even agreed to go on a date with him, much less start their relationship in any official manner.
The trigger wasn’t even something big. Nothing special. In fact, that day started much like any other – Chu Wanning woke up to find Mo Ran had already left, off to whatever mission he’d been assigned on now with whoever other cultivator they’d deemed to pair Mo Ran off with.
Logically, Chu Wanning knew he and Mo Ran getting assigned to missions together was near impossible; they were both cultivators of high caliber and they were often paired with less senior cultivators. Illogically, Chu Wanning was still a little irritated that he and his cultivation partner — soon-to-be husband, if Mo Ran were to be believed — kept getting shipped off on different missions.
Waking up alone had become the norm over the past few months, and so had sitting alone at the kitchen table eating the breakfast Mo Ran had prepared for him before he left – lukewarm, since Mo Ran had left early. He’d solemnly pass small bits of his breakfast under the table to Goutou and, afterwards, he’d head to Sisheng Peak’s headquarters to work in his workshop until he was needed elsewhere. Sometimes Mo Ran would be back shortly after Chu Wanning arrived home from work, other times he’d text him to say he’d need to stay overnight at wherever he’d been shipped off to.
At first, they’d exchange texts for most of the day. Mo Ran would send him pictures of where he was and small comments here and there about his mission throughout the day, and Chu Wanning would very practically ask him questions in a small attempt to be useful. Needed.
Nowadays, they exchanged maybe five or six texts throughout the day. Sometimes less.
It wasn’t even that anything had changed; this had been the norm for the past five months or so. What tipped Chu Wanning over the edge to the point of asking himself whether Mo Ran still had any love left for him, was realizing it had already become the norm.
Six months earlier, he’d wake up with Mo Ran next to him, peppering small kisses all over his face so Chu Wanning wouldn’t have to wake up to his phone alarm. If Mo Ran weren’t in bed anymore, he’d be in the kitchen making breakfast for the two of them. Sometimes he’d even bring it to the bed if he was feeling particularly amorous – which he used to be, often.
That had been the norm. Had been the norm for the past six years, even.
So what changed?
As far as Chu Wanning was concerned, nothing had; he could only take this as the natural course of their relationship. He hadn't been able to understand what Mo Ran had ever seen in him before they started dating, and now he was even more clueless as to why he'd stuck around for so long.
Chu Wanning was harsh, strict and not good looking enough to keep someone like Mo Ran — the very personification of sunshine, wanted and coveted by many others — by his side. Having met when Mo Ran was just a teenager, with Chu Wanning having a good 10 years on him, Mo Ran had initially followed him around like a little baby duckling. He pestered him until Chu Wanning accepted him as his disciple, laughing good naturedly even when Chu Wanning snapped at him or punished him — a result of becoming flustered over the smallest things, having developed less than acceptable feelings for his disciple. And then, of course, one day Mo Ran became infatuated with Shi Mei and started arguing with him at every turn.
"You're so hard on everyone", "Chu Wanning, you truly are heartless", "how could you do that to Shi Mei?!" — Chu Wanning heard all this and more for three long years, but even then he was already hopeless. His heart already yearned too much for his disciple, even knowing it was wrong. Even if he had to walk past Mo Ran and overhear him talking about how frigid he was to other disciples of the Sect.
It wasn't until a mission went awry and Chu Wanning saved Mo Ran's life almost at the expense of his own that things changed.
Chu Wanning was in a coma for five years, and Mo Ran had completely changed when he woke up.
Suddenly, he was everywhere. "Shizun, I've made breakfast for you, I don't trust the food here at the hospital" or "Shizun, I'll help you get to your physical therapy appointment". Chu Wanning was in physical therapy for nine long months, and Mo Ran was constantly hovering by his side.
And then, one day—
One day, Mo Ran confessed, and Chu Wanning was perplexed. He was more than accustomed to sitting quietly with his own feelings for Mo Ran, nurturing them while knowing they would never be returned. For Mo Ran to suddenly confess, it was… unexpected. Wholly unexpected, and just as frightening.
When you convince yourself for the better part of ten years that your feelings will never be returned, you don't really know how to act when the other person suddenly does returns them.
Luckily, Mo Ran knew what to do, the way he always did. When it came to their relationship, Chu Wanning had always been happy to give in and let Mo Ran do whatever he wanted with him, whether it be making him meals every day and waiting until Chu Wanning was done working on his latest inventions, or whether it be bullying him in bed until Chu Wanning was crying and close to passing out.
He was happy like this, even if he knew he was living on borrowed time.
And, six years later, the dream had come to an end.
Chu Wanning had been irritated that they kept getting assigned on so many separate missions — and Mo Ran, specifically, kept getting shipped off on missions with hardly any respite. Now, as he sat in their kitchen stirring the congee that had long gone cold with sad pieces of youtiao floating on the surface, he realized Mo Ran was probably the one asking to go on more missions.
Mo Ran probably didn't know how to go about breaking things off with Chu Wanning.
Still, the message had been received, so Chu Wanning decided to make it easier for him. Unexpectedly, he too started asking to go on more missions.
"Yuheng, are you sure?" Xue Zhengyong had asked, surprised. "You're a Sect Elder, there's no need to go on so many missions. You've always preferred working in your workshop and your inventions are useful for—"
"I've changed my mind," was all he'd said, and Xue Zhengyong had had no choice but to accept.
Sometimes Chu Wanning would take Xue Meng along with him, less often he'd even invite Shi Mei along. Most of the time, however, he went alone.
Mo Ran, he knew, often went alone himself or, occasionally, with one or two younger disciples from the sect that looked up to him quite a lot — in more than a 'mentor' way too, he was all too aware.
A part of him wanted to think that that had been the trigger. The catalyst. Mo Ran had been spending more time with people his own age, people who were better looking and capable of doing something as simple as laugh, and he'd realized Chu Wanning was none of those things.
Chu Wanning was holding him back.
The other part of him, however, knew that wasn't necessarily the case. Mo Ran was always bound to open his eyes one day and realize he'd wasted six years of his life with Chu Wanning.
☁︎☁︎☁︎
"Baobei," Mo Ran murmured, a few days later, crawling into bed late at night, long after Chu Wanning had lied down. "Are you awake?"
He was. He'd never even fallen asleep, heart beating fast in his chest as he realized Mo Ran hadn't texted him to let him know whether he'd return home or stay out overnight on his latest mission. He'd gotten ready for bed on his own, moving in auto-pilot, only to lie awake wondering how long things would stay this way.
Sometimes he didn't know whether he wanted to keep Mo Ran by his side or if he should just leave on his own. End both their miseries. Mo Ran, miserable for needing to stay by Chu Wanning's side out of some weird sense of obligation, not knowing how to leave; Chu Wanning, wanting nothing more than for Mo Ran to stay but hating the distance between them even more.
He'd been lonely before he and Mo Ran started dating, but now he felt even more so.
Sometimes he thought it'd be better for Mo Ran to just lie to him. Pretend like everything was the same for whatever time they had left together. Maybe then it'd hurt less.
"Baobei," Mo Ran whispered, his arms coming to circle Chu Wanning's waist, drawing him closer to him. Mo Ran's naked chest was hot against Chu Wanning's back, and Chu Wanning couldn't help the way he trembled in his arms. Unapologetically, after placing a soft kiss against his nape, "Did I wake you?"
"You did," Chu Wanning murmured. He wanted to stay stiff in Mo Ran's arms, but instead he found himself relaxing almost instantly, safely surrounded by Mo Ran's intoxicating scent.
"I'm sorry," Mo Ran murmured, placing another kiss on the side of his neck, not sounding sorry at all. "Let me make it up to you?"
It sounded like a question, but it was anything but. Chu Wanning knew he didn't really have a choice; not because Mo Ran didn't give him one, but because Chu Wanning would never say no. Would never want to say no, either, even if he was sad.
Chu Wanning was a weak, weak man when it came to Mo Ran, so it was easy to let himself be pulled closer, Mo Ran's hands hot against his skin as he slid them under his t-shirt.
"I missed you so much," Mo Ran whispered, his breath hot against the shell of Chu Wanning's ear, kissing the mole there before he moved to lick a stripe down his neck at the same time as he slid his hands lower, lower, all the way down under the waistband of Chu Wanning's pajama pants. "You have no idea."
"Did you?" Chu Wanning wanted to ask, but he didn't. He stayed silent instead, only small gasps leaving his mouth as Mo Ran grasped his half hard cock firmly, beginning to pump it slowly.
"Wanning," Mo Ran continued, his voice lowering by an octave, "did you miss me?"
Once again, Chu Wanning stayed silent. He knew he was weak and pathetic when it came to Mo Ran, but he still had his pride. What was the point in dragging such a worthless confession out of him when Mo Ran didn't even love him anymore? Why was he even—?
"Wanning," Mo Ran repeated, tugging on his cock more firmly. "Answer me."
Chu Wanning stayed silent again, refusing to give in. He wouldn't, he wouldn't! There was only so much he could endure.
Message received loud and clear, Mo Ran took his hand away, leaving Chu Wanning to gasp out in a mix of relief and frustration.
"You're so stubborn, Wanning," Mo Ran said, voice still dangerously low as his hand moved even lower, past his perineum and down towards his fluttering hole. Chu Wanning keened as Mo Ran circled his rim with one finger, dipping just the pad of his finger before pulling out again, teasingly.
His fingers pulled away and Chu Wanning heard rustling behind him, and the sound of the drawer on the bedside table on Mo Ran's side opening and closing again.
Mo Ran's finger pressed against his rim again a few seconds later, this time wet and slippery, before finally sliding in until the first knuckle, making Chu Wanning groan.
"Now, Wanning," Mo Ran started, conversationally, "won't you answer me?"
Chu Wanning made a strangled noise as Mo Ran unexpectedly added a second finger, burying them deep in his walls before starting to move them. "M-Mo Ran…"
"Hm?" Mo Ran asked, dipping his head to nose at his neck, nibbling everywhere he could reach. "Did you miss me, Wanning?"
He fully intended on not replying once again, but then Mo Ran's finger pressed against his prostate and it was like a jolt going down his spine, making his cock twitch and words spill out of his mouth without meaning to. "M-Missed you," he admitted, arching his back to give Mo Ran better access. "Mo Ran—"
"I've got you, baobei," Mo Ran said, moving his fingers faster, in and out, pressing against his prostate every other thrust.
Chu Wanning was close to seeing stars, completely unaware of anything but Mo Ran's scent and the feeling of his thick fingers sliding in and out of him.
"Baobei," Mo Ran said, voice hoarse as he propped himself up on his side just so he could bend down and bite one of Chu Wanning's lobes, before dragging his lips all the way to his mouth. "Baobei, I need to fuck you now."
Mo Ran's fingers slipped out, Chu Wanning feeling lube messily dribble down his ass and coating his inner thighs, and the in the next moment he was being flipped around, lying on his back and staring up at Mo Ran with reddened rims, tears threatening to fall.
"Wanning," Mo Ran murmured, in a way that Chu Wanning had always thought to be near reverent; not anymore, "Wanning, I missed you so much. You're so beautiful."
"Don't lie," Chu Wanning huffed, before turning to flop onto his stomach. The way Mo Ran stared at him… he didn't think he could bear it. Seeing Mo Ran look at him like he was still madly in love with him while knowing they were close to the end was enough to make him want to break down sobbing, even if he knew he would never do such a thing.
"I would never lie to you," Mo Ran murmured, bending down to speak close to his ear as he lined himself up behind him. "Wanning, won't you let me look at you?"
"Just get it over with," Chu Wanning replied, voice muffled by the pillow under his face.
Mo Ran chuckled, his hands coming to find purchase on Chu Wanning's waist. The blunt head of his cock started to breach his entrance, hot and firm and demanding, and Chu Wanning let out a low groan when the tip slipped in, stretching him impossibly.
"So tight, Wanning," Mo Ran grunted out, audibly restraining himself from slamming the rest of his length inside. "Fuck, Wanning—"
"Move," Chu Wanning mewled out, eager to get the burn from the initial stretch out of the way. "Just— Mo Ran—"
Mo Ran wasted no time in obeying. Chu Wanning might have been pliant in his arms and willing to do whatever he wanted to do in bed, but every time Chu Wanning asked for something Mo Ran was always quick to comply.
"Wanning," Mo Ran grunted out, voice hoarse as he buried himself to the hilt. "Oh gods, Wanning—"
It was easy to lose himself in it. Nothing on his mind but the sound of Mo Ran's groans and the smell of sex permeating the air around them, their skin slapping together as Mo Ran thrust into him again and again, sweat running down their skin and pooling on the sheets underneath them.
Chu Wanning lost himself to pleasure again and again, not even realizing that the tears he usually shed when Mo Ran bullied him in bed too much had turned too quickly into real ones, streaming down his face as Mo Ran released inside him.
"I love you so much, baobei," Mo Ran whispered, again and again, soft kisses littered all over his neck and cheek as Chu Wanning cried into his pillow.
He'd thought it'd hurt less if Mo Ran at least pretended to still be in love with him. Now, he knew keeping up this pretense would only kill him little by little.
☁︎☁︎☁︎
Mo Ran started taking on less missions. Unexpectedly, Chu Wanning took on more and more.
The idea of coming home after work to find their apartment empty, not knowing when Mo Ran would arrive, used to depress him; now, the idea of coming home to find Mo Ran waiting for him, grinning at him with his dimples on full display and looking at him like he still loved him, made him feel like a knife was slowly twisting into his heart, burrowing itself further and further.
Still, Chu Wanning never went on overnight missions, because the idea of not sleeping with Mo Ran by his side was even worse.
"Baobei," Mo Ran murmured, when he slid into bed after a long mission, much later than their usual bedtime. Mo Ran turned to face him, eyes barely opening as he held out his arms for Chu Wanning to cuddle up to him. "You're going on so many missions lately," he said, quietly, letting out a soft sigh as Chu Wanning settled into his arms, "do I need to talk to Xue Zhengyong?"
Chu Wanning let out a small snort, burrowing himself into Mo Ran's chest. If they didn't talk, if Mo Ran didn't ask him anything, he could have easily pretended nothing had changed in the past six months. Instead, "Why would you?" he retorted. "You were also sent on several missions and I didn't say anything."
At that, Mo Ran seemed to tense against him, but he relaxed in the second after. "That's true," he acquiesced, softly, arms tightening minutely around him. "Sleep well, baobei," he said, eventually, and Chu Wanning felt him press a kiss against the top of his head. "You need to rest."
Mo Ran didn't attempt anything else, all too happy to fall asleep with Chu Wanning in his arms, completely unaware of the fact that Chu Wanning stayed awake for a long time after that.
☁︎☁︎☁︎
Three weeks later, during which Mo Ran went on only two missions, otherwise happy to spend his time helping around the sect or trying to distract Chu Wanning in his workshop in the rare times he happened to be there, Chu Wanning had gone on more missions than he had in the last three months put together.
Loathe as he was to admit it, he was tired. Xue Zhengyong was perplexed, not understanding why he'd suddenly decided to take on so many missions; in his words, there were too many disciples idling around now that the Yuheng Elder had decided to steal missions from them.
Chu Wanning wanted to fight him on it, but even he knew he was being unreasonable. He also knew his current work rhythm was unsustainable; at some point, he'd need to face the music and give Mo Ran an out from their relationship.
He'd do it soon, he decided. Next time Mo Ran went on an overnight mission, Chu Wanning would quietly pack his things and leave. He was sure Mo Ran would prefer it that way; he wouldn't need to come up with a way to break Chu Wanning's heart, and Chu Wanning wouldn't need to pretend like he wasn't crying.
There was the matter of where he'd stay, but that didn't matter. He had a small cot in his workshop from before he and Mo Ran started dating, from when he'd often worked into the night and ended up sleeping over instead of going home, so he'd be able to make do until he found something more permanent. There was also the matter of who would get to keep Goutou, but he didn't think it was important; Goutou was used to spending time at the sect with the two of them, so Chu Wanning would just take him along.
From the moment he decided on this, Chu Wanning's heart raced in his chest every time Mo Ran told him he was going on a mission, only to be filled with a guilty sort of relief every time he told him it wasn't overnight.
And then, one day, Mo Ran was assigned to an overnight mission. Surprisingly, so was Chu Wanning.
"Baobei, we're going on a mission together," he told him, grinning from ear to ear as he showed Chu Wanning the tablet with the mission details. "Do you recognize the place?"
With a pang, Chu Wanning realized he did. Their mission would be where Mo Ran had first confessed to him, in a small island near Linyi.
"This is near Rufeng Sect," he pointed out. "Why aren't they going?"
Mo Ran shrugged, "They probably couldn't afford to get their help. It's a pretty small place."
To get to Linyi, the fastest way was to get on a plane to Linyi Qiyang Airport and then hail a DiDi to one of the ports, where they'd need to get on a boat all the way to Flying Flower Isle. The flight itself was fast, around two and a half hours, but the DiDi ride and the boat ride would total up to a whole four hours of traveling.
During their flight, where they thankfully sat next to each other, Mo Ran dozed off with his head lying snugly on top of Chu Wanning's while Chu Wanning attentively read the mission details.
It was… suspicious.
The island was, the same way it had been for years and years, back when the cultivation sects were first created and much before any sort of modern technology came to exist, mostly populated by fishermen. It was rare for newcomers to move in, and not many of the children that were born in the island chose to remain in the island; most of them moved inland once they reached adulthood in order to study or work in something different.
It was rare for anything out of the ordinary to happen, but the file on Mo Ran's iPad showed five fishermen had died in the past month, all from mysterious causes. The file was very straightforward, and that was what it made it suspicious — all the victims had died while fishing, at night, surfacing on the shore with water in their lungs, and the only thing they had in common was that they were fishermen. It was likely some sort of sea or water yao, and they would likely be able to get rid of it in one day and go back home the next day.
Since it was so simple, Chu Wanning thought that, even if they couldn't afford Rufeng Sect's help, they could have probably hired another Sect from the Lower cultivation world located much closer than Sisheng Peak to help them. If they were specifically asking for Sisheng Peak's help, Chu Wanning had to wonder if something much more serious was afoot.
Mo Ran slept for the entirety of the flight, having always been much more comfortable with heights, while Chu Wanning closed the small curtain on the window next to him and tried to pretend he was just on a train and not thousands of kilometers above land.
They arrived at Flying Flower Isle when it was already late afternoon, the sun having long set behind the horizon, and Mo Ran led them to the same inn they'd stayed at six years earlier, though surprisingly they were now staying in a much nicer room.
"I've already arranged with one of the fishermen for us to take their boat out tonight," Mo Ran told him, as he lounged lazily on the large king sized bed, watching as Chu Wanning rummaged through their shared luggage. "We'll take care of the yao quickly."
Chu Wanning hummed in response, helplessly observing the mess on his side of the luggage. Mo Ran had wanted to neatly pack his things for him but he hadn't let him, so now he had… this. Clothes tangled together and his bath products all in different places.
"Will you let me do the packing when we leave, Wanning?" Mo Ran asked, sweetly, clearly trying not to laugh at the look on Chu Wanning's face.
"I can pack my own things," Chu Wanning retorted, turning his face away so Mo Ran wouldn't notice the flush spreading all over his cheeks.
They ordered room service for dinner, sitting across from each other at the round low table by the door to their balcony, and Mo Ran watched Chu Wanning intently the whole time, a small smile playing on his lips.
"What is it?" Chu Wanning asked him, more than once, frowning with suspicion. "You keep staring."
"You're beautiful, Wanning," Mo Ran told him, sincerely, "why shouldn't I stare?"
Unexpectedly, Chu Wanning's stomach sank. Before, his heart would threaten to beat out of his chest as his stomach filled with butterflies every time Mo Ran complimented him — even if he knew it wasn't true; now, he just thought it was cruel, even if Mo Ran was anything but.
"Eat your dinner," Chu Wanning told him, averting his gaze. Every time he looked at him all he could think about was the fact that, if he and Mo Ran hadn't been called on the same mission, he'd be packing his bags and moving out, heartbroken, at this very moment.
"Wanning?" Mo Ran prompted, softly. Chu Wanning knew if he were to look up from his food, he'd find him gazing at him with concern; even more so if he were to notice the reds of his rims from how hard he was trying not to cry. "Is everything alright?"
"Fine," he said, quietly, feeling like he was very small.
Later, after they finished their dinner and Mo Ran moved to his side of the table so he could hug him tightly from behind, ignoring Chu Wanning's feeble protests, they headed out towards the fishermen port.
Two fishermen were already waiting for them.
"Gongzi," one of the fishermen greeted, waving at Mo Ran, "gongzi, everything is ready for you."
"Thank you," Mo Ran said, bowing slightly.
The fishermen watched them go, seemingly unconcerned given the deaths that had occurred in the past few weeks, and Mo Ran made to help Chu Wanning into the boat only to get his hand swatted away.
"I can climb on my own," Chu Wanning told him, slightly irritated. Mo Ran only chuckled before climbing in himself.
The fishing boat was small but not cramped, with a tiny cabin where there was only a small corner table and a door to a toilet and a small sink. The actual outside area had built in benches around the corners, and a few small battery-powered lanterns were strewn around the walking area, illuminating the boat along with a string of fairy LED lights around the entrance to the cabin.
Chu Wanning was surprised when Mo Ran expertly maneuvered the boat. He had no idea he even know how to do that.
"When did you learn how to ride a boat?" he asked, trying — and failing — to keep the surprise from showing in his voice.
Mo Ran laughed, all dimples as he cheekily answered, "Now Wanning, you know I gotta have some secrets."
They rode out into the ocean, far away but close enough that they could still see the twinkling lights from houses and restaurants out in the island, with nothing but the gentle sound of waves crashing against each other and the occasional splash! as fishes swam by.
The atmosphere around them was wholly peaceful, and there were no traces of any sort of malevolent energy around them. Chu Wanning shivered from the cold — he'd dressed as warm as he could, but he was still cold, especially out here at sea — and looked dubiously at the dark water lapping at the edges of the boat around them.
"Are you sure this is where the fishermen usually come?" Chu Wanning asked, turning to look at Mo Ran. To his surprise, Mo Ran had come to sit right next to him, and he was busying himself with taking out a warm blanket from his backpack, ready to drape it over Chu Wanning. "Mo Ran, what are you doing?"
"You get cold easily," Mo Ran explained, a strange kind of sparkle in his eyes as he looked softly at him. Chu Wanning wanted nothing more than to look away, but he found he couldn't; it was as though Mo Ran's eyes had hypnotized him, keeping him in place against his will. "Wanning," Mo Ran started, shifting to sit more comfortably next to him, one big arm tight around his back, "what if I told you that there was no mission?"
Chu Wanning looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"Nobody died," Mo Ran told him, his arm trembling slightly around him. Chu Wanning thought he might be cold, but when he looked into his eyes he realized— he was nervous. "Wanning, you never answered me earlier. Do you recognize this place?"
"Of course I do," he told him, eyes narrowing into a glare. "We came here on a mission before." An actual mission.
"Back then, I taught you the Sword Flight technique and confessed my feelings for you," Mo Ran added, chuckling at the pink forming on his cheeks.
Chu Wanning remembered that part very well.
“I love you, not the way a disciple loves his Shizun, but… I’m being bold, I… I love you.”
He hadn't believed him. Or, well, he had, but he'd also panicked and listed all the reasons Mo Ran shouldn't be in love with him. Mo Ran had rejected them all. That had been—
"Six years ago," Mo Ran murmured, moving closer to him so he could kiss his cheek, then the corner of his eye. "Wanning, today is our anniversary."
Oh.
He'd been so busy being heartbroken he'd forgotten something so important.
"Did you plan this on purpose, then?" he asked, slowly, looking around at the soft glowing lights strewn all around them and the bottle of sparkling wine peeking out from Mo Ran's backpack. The upgraded room at the inn, with orange rose petals strewn over the duvet.
"Yeah," Mo Ran said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips before sliding away from him to kneel in front of him. "Wanning—"
"What are you doing?" he asked, panic rising in his chest. Why did it look like Mo Ran was about to propose?
"Wanning— Shizun," Mo Ran started, grabbing both of his hands and holding them in his own, softly rubbing them so they would warm up, "Six years ago, we sat up high in the sky and I told you how much I loved you. Six years later, if possible, I love you even more."
Chu Wanning's breath hitched, and once again he found he was frozen in place, wholly unable to look away from Mo Ran.
"Wanning, baobei, I've never been happier than in the last six years," Mo Ran continued, tightening his hold on his hands. "Every time I think I can't love you any more than I already do, I wake up the next day and look at you sleeping next to me and get proven wrong. I look at you sleeping on the couch with Goutou and start imagining you with a baby instead."
At that, Chu Wanning's eyes widened in surprise, and he felt his cheeks heat up impossibly, despite the chill of the night. "Mo Ran," he tried to scold, but his voice just came out hoarse instead. "That's—"
"Shhh, baobei," Mo Ran shushed him, bending down to gently kiss his hands before righting himself again, looking straight into his eyes. "Wanning, I'm only ever happy if I'm with you." Then, freeing one of his hands, using it to reach for something in the right pocket of his coat, Mo Ran took out a small square box and held it in front of Chu Wanning, gently releasing his hands completely so he could open it. "Baobei," he said, quietly, the light of the fairy lights reflected in his eyes, "will you marry me and stay with me forever?"
Chu Wanning stayed very still, looking at Mo Ran uncomprehendingly.
After a few moments Mo Ran prompted, gently, "Wanning?"
"Mo Ran," he croaked out, feeling a mix of hurt and betrayal and, traitorously, hope, "are you making fun of me? This is a very tasteless joke."
From the way Mo Ran was looking at him, he could tell it wasn't. "Why would I be making fun of you?"
Eyes narrowing into a glare, ignoring the way his stomach was twisting into knots at the realization that this was it — they were really talking about it, and they could truly only go forward from here —, Chu Wanning finally confronted him about the past half year. "You spent months going on dozens and dozens of missions," he told him. "And then you stopped texting me and telling me about your day and you were gone every morning."
"Wanning—"
"You don't love me anymore," Chu Wanning let out, with some difficulty, ignoring Mo Ran's attempt at interjecting, "yet you keep acting like everything's still the same."
Mo Ran made a noise in his throat, almost like he was being strangled, and then he was throwing himself at Chu Wanning, sitting next to him again and wrapping himself around him like he didn't ever want to let go. "Wanning," he admonished, brushing a lock of his hair behind his ear, moving his hand to cup his chin so he could make him look at him, "how could you think I don't love you anymore?"
"Then why did things change between us?" Chu Wanning asked, hoarsely, forcing back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
"Ah, baobei," Mo Ran started, sounding slightly embarrassed. He brought back the square box he'd taken out before, opening it and showing the ring inside to Chu Wanning. It was beautiful. Simple and elegant, far from the flashy rings Chu Wanning watched people wear all the time on TV. He didn't think he'd ever like a ring so much. "I took all those missions to save up for this," he admitted. "The ring and the stay at the inn with the honeymoon suite… I didn't want to use your money but I wanted to give you everything I could."
Oh. Chu Wanning had… really misunderstood.
"Mo Ran…"
"I got so invested in planning this I forgot to give you all the attention you deserve," Mo Ran said, kissing the pads of his fingers apologetically. "But Wanning… won't you give me an answer?"
Breath hitching in his throat, Chu Wanning's phoenix eyes widened in shock as he realized, somehow, Mo Ran still wanted to marry him.
"Even after I misunderstood?"
"It doesn't matter," Mo Ran told him, his trembling fingers moving to slide the ring around Chu Wanning's ring finger, even without him saying 'yes' first. "You could hate me and I'd still want to marry you, Wanning."
"That's ridiculous," Chu Wanning protested, but he used his free hand to softly rub over the silver band adorning his ring finger. Helplessly, he looked back up at Mo Ran. "Mo Ran," he started, feeling like he would burst if he didn't say anything, "of course I'll marry you."
Mo Ran kissed him then, his lips pressing against his firmly, before pulling back to look at Chu Wanning. "Say it again, Wanning," he urged him, pressing another kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Say you'll marry me."
"I'll marry you," Chu Wanning repeated, helplessly, letting himself be drawn into another kiss.
Like he could ever refuse Mo Ran.
☁︎☁︎☁︎
Later that night, after returning from their fake night hunt with their clothes and hair all humid but — in Mo Ran's case — a big sappy grin on their face, Chu Wanning didn't protest when Mo Ran stripped them of their clothes and dragged him into the shower so they could wash up and warm up together.
To his surprise, Mo Ran didn't try to fuck him. Instead, he was all too happy to slather his body in soap and rub shampoo all over his hair, making sure to avoid the ends.
Chu Wanning wasn't put off by it. Of course not. He didn't even like it when Mo Ran manhandled him and fucked him stupid every which way.
It was just, they hadn't done it in a while.
Once they got out of the shower, however, and after Mo Ran carefully dried them both, even using the inn's blow dryer to make sure Chu Wanning's long hair wasn't too wet before they went to bed, he surprised him by suddenly hoisting him up into his arms in a bridal carry and carrying him to bed.
"Mo Ran," he scolded, filled with embarrassment. "This is so unnecessary."
"I don't think it is," Mo Ran told him, cheekily, carefully laying him down on the bed, petals still everywhere. "I should get to carry my fiancé around if I want."
Chu Wanning turned his face away, pretending to look out the window. Mo Ran chuckled, taking off his fluffy bathrobe before climbing over Chu Wanning, hovering over him.
"Baobei, won't you look at me?" he teased, no doubt noticing how pink the tips of Chu Wanning's ears were. "Wanning, don't you want to consummate our engagement?"
"There's no such thing as consummating one's engagement," Chu Wanning replied, coldly, still refusing to look at him. "That's only when you actually get married."
They'd had sex more times than he could possibly count over the years but somehow, here, with he and Mo Ran being newly engaged and after the misunderstandings in his heart had been cleared, he felt more awkward than ever.
Luckily, as always, Mo Ran was more than happy to take the lead.
"Baobei," he murmured, gently opening the matching fluffy bathrobe Chu Wanning was wearing, exposing his toned chest to the chill of the room, "let me take care of you."
Chu Wanning released a stuttered breath, finally turning his face to look back at Mo Ran.
He looked like he was still madly in love with him.
"Do whatever you want," he told him, much like he'd done the very first time they'd had sex, a few weeks after Mo Ran first confessed.
"You know it's dangerous when you say that to me," Mo Ran warned him, a glint in his eyes. "Wanning… I really won't hold back."
"Then don't," he said, a hint of a challenge in his voice. "You should take care of your f-fiancé," he got out, cheeks impossibly heating up.
True to his word, Mo Ran took care of him.
After opening his robe just enough to have access to all of his body, Mo Ran kissed his way down his chest, stopping only to flick his tongue teasingly over one of Chu Wanning's nipples, before continuing south to where Chu Wanning him the most.
"Wanning, baobei," Mo Ran told him, a sense of urgency in his voice, "I missed tasting you so much," and then he was licking into his hole, eating him out like he was the hungriest man on earth presented with a feast for one.
Chu Wanning gasped in surprise, hands flying to Mo Ran's hair in an attempt to ground himself. "S-Slow down," he urged him, but Mo Ran ignored him, pulling away only to suck on his rim before diving in again.
He opened him up slowly afterwards, first with his tongue and then with his fingers, praising him the whole time. "You're doing so good for me, baobei," fingers of one hand stuffed up his tight little hole as the fingers of his other hand forced Chu Wanning to look at him. He'd tried to look away more than once, feeling far too flustered.
This time, when Mo Ran lined himself up above him, Chu Wanning didn't attempt to switch their positions just so he could turn his back on him. This time around, he wanted to be able to see Mo Ran's face.
"Baobei, you're so beautiful," Mo Ran babbled, sinking into him inch by inch, hands tight around Chu Wanning's tapered waist. "Wanning… fuck, Wanning—"
Mo Ran fucked into him slowly at first, keeping the rhythm steady, but it wasn't long before he was fucking him harder, faster, filthy words flying out of his mouth as he groaned and draped himself over Chu Wanning, burying his face in his neck.
"Fuck, Wanning, you're so tight— so good to me—"
"Baobei, baobei— fuck, I think I can feel your womb— I wanna keep you filled up until my seed takes—"
Chu Wanning couldn't even protest and remind him that neither of those things were biologically possible; he was too fucked out to talk, tears finally falling down his cheeks as Mo Ran fucked into him hard and fast, hands tightly gripping the back of his thighs so he could lift his legs up as much as they went and fuck into him impossibly deeper.
His orgasm hit him out of nowhere, like a freight train suddenly passing at high speed, but before his limbs could melt into the bed Mo Ran was already picking him up, shifting them around so he could sit up against the headboard with Chu Wanning above him, their arms and legs impossibly tangled.
"Mo Ran," he whined, but it was to no avail. Mo Ran was too far gone in his pleasure to listen to him; and Chu Wanning's blood was burning too hot in his veins for his protests to be anything but half hearted at best.
Mo Ran had told him earlier that he'd booked this room for the next three days; Chu Wanning could only hope he could still feel his legs by the end of it.
"Shizun?" Mo Ran called out, tugging on his hair to make him look at him, "Pay attention to me."
And then he was pulling him closer, one hand firmly on his nape as pulled Chu Wanning down towards him, their lips meeting in a messy kiss, and Chu Wanning stopped thinking about anything but Mo Ran.