Chapter Text
Xiao Run
Xiao Run was sure that his fairy had looked perfectly normal when he saw her earlier at the restaurant.
Her clothes had been normal.
Her makeup had been soft.
Her hair had been held back by elegant clips.
She had been a vision.
Which is why he was shocked and failed to recognize her for a moment when she marched up to him. She looked more like a clown than the woman he had seen earlier. Even the way she spoke was nothing like the quiet little sounds she had let out before scurrying away when he last saw her.
It had to be a test, she wanted to see how he would react, he was sure.
She had to be acting.
He played along, ignoring her blatant attempt to surprise him.
“I have never seen a woman wear such an original look.” He said, holding back a smile at the shock on her face. “This makeup is deliberately bold, and this flower crown is refreshing and elegant.” Perhaps it would have been alone, without the excessive makeup and the colourful clothing. “I think only you, someone unworldly and elegant, can pull it off.”
She seemed shocked at his reaction, but recovered quickly, questioning him about her lateness. She seemed to grow confused with his responses, like she was thinking of something different to say to shock him.
He stepped closer to her, her eyes growing wide in surprise as he spoke more. He couldn’t help but notice red marks all over her neck, some of them darker than other. They looked like -
She gasped suddenly, pressing her legs together as she leaned forward, her eyes wide.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” He asked as emotions flickered over her face.
“Da Mutou!” She sounded angry.
“Who?”
“They’re gone!” She seemed to be whispering to herself. Was she pretending to be delusional?
“What’s gone?” He asked but she shook her head as she stood up.
She shifted uncomfortably, letting out little noises, her eyes looking at her feet, her hands messing with the skirt of her dress as she muttered underneath her breath.
He was about to speak when he smelled the unmistakeable heady smell of sex. He looked around him wondering where it was coming from as the woman in front of him shifted uncomfortably, her eyes flickering around the space. She was standing oddly, her legs pressed together, moving from side to side.
He couldn’t help but smile, she wanted to seem crazy on purpose to see how he would respond. He responded with compliments to all her actions and accusations, loving how she grew confused. Her face was much too expressive to pull off what she wanted to. Her pretty eyes gave her away.
She fell to the floor, muttering something underneath her breath as she pressed her legs together.
He sat down with her, moving closer as she moved back. She smelled odd, he wondered if she had done that on purpose too.
Her eyes grew wide when he told her he thought they were destined to be together.
He was about to tell her she didn’t need to pretend with him when he heard a deep voice that sounded familiar come from behind him. “There you are, honey, I’ve been looking for you.”
He turned to find a man he recognized walking towards them. “Mr. Dongfang?” The surprise in his voice was evident.
But the real surprise registered when his fairy spoke. “Da Mutou, why did you come too?”
She had said those words earlier, Da Mutou. Was she talking about Brother Dongfang? They knew each other? Her voice softened when she spoke to him, sounding like what he had expected her to sound like.
Brother Dongfang ignored him, putting his body between them, throwing his robes behind him as he knelt down in front of her.
“What are you doing?” She hissed.
“The floor is cold, be careful, honey.”
Honey? HONEY?
Xiao Run had to blink a couple of times to convince himself that the words had come from Brother Dongfang’s mouth, he had not heard the man talk so softly to anyone before. There was no hint of haughtiness or disdain in his voice, it didn’t hit her like a sword but rather like a flower. Why was he talking to his fairy like that?
Brother Dongfang whispered something to her that he didn’t quite catch.
She seemed angry with him. “You made them disappear!” She hissed.
Her words made no sense, but what shocked him even more was the chuckle Brother Dongfang let out, he had never heard the man laugh. He could laugh?
Brother Dongfang leaned in closer, his face much too close to hers, causing him to let out a surprised yell. It went ignored, the man cupped her face, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Brother Dongfang! How could you do this?” He asked, he was kissing his woman!
He turned around looking up at him. “This is my wife, we’ve been married for three years.”
Wife?
WIFE?
He said wife.
WIFE?
As in she was married?
To him?
That kind of wife?
He had never said he had a wife, that he was married.
They were bickering about something but he couldn’t hear them, his mind was screaming the word wife over and over again. She looked at her supposed husband with her big brown eyes and smiled at something he said.
“You’re pregnant, I shouldn’t have made you angry.”
Pregnant?
PREGNANT?
He said pregnant.
She was his wife.
She was pregnant.
As in there was a baby growing inside her.
The woman of his dreams was married to Brother Dongfang and pregnant with his child. The man who barely smiled or looked towards a woman was caressing his wife’s face lovingly, speaking with her so gently, in a voice that was much too soft to belong to the man he had come to know.
His world felt like it was shattering.
They were married. MARRIED.
She was his wife. WIFE.
She was pregnant. PREGNANT.
“After our child is born, I’ll take you all over Lucheng and let you eat whatever you want.”
His eyes flickered down to Xiao Lanhua, she was looking at her husband with a fond a smile.
They were whispering to each other, sweet-nothings, like a couple. Which they were.
They were a couple.
The woman he loved, the woman he had searched for, was already married to another man. She was even pregnant with his child. It didn’t look to be a forced marriage either.
His love story was ending before it even began. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest while the two of them continued to whisper, he pulled her to stand up gently, smoothing her dress over her before grabbing her hand, pulling her away.
He was taking her away.
She was going with another man.
She couldn’t be his.
They stopped.
He heard Brother Dongfang call out to him. “Xiao Run. We are friends. I don’t want to make it awkward. I thought that if you couldn’t find her, you would give up after a few days.”
Is that why he had seemed so disinterested when he spoke about the woman of his dreams?
“To my surprise, my wife got angry with me today so she agreed to your invitation and caused this misunderstanding.”
Wait – she had come to see him for a reason? Did she not like her husband? Was she looking to get away from him? Who went to see another man after fighting with their husband?
“I…” He stopped, looking over at the woman in question. She was looking at her husband. If she didn’t love him, she wouldn’t be holding his hand and looking at him like she was.
“I won’t blame the ignorant.” Brother Dongfang said. “Give the painting of my wife back.”
He took the painting out reluctantly, he had stared at it for hours, thinking of a million different scenarios of how he would meet her and confess his love. Never in a million years did he think the woman he drew would be married and pregnant with someone else’s child. The thought had never crossed his mind.
Brother Dongfang snatched the painting away just like he had the woman of his dreams, the two of them disappearing hand-in-hand, with her tucked into his side.
He was heartbroken.
Xiao Lanhua
Xiao Lanhua tried to pull her hand out of Da Mutou’s as they walked down an empty pathway, away from Xiao Run. He just held her hand tighter.
“Give them back!” She hissed.
“I don’t know how to.”
“How’d you make them disappear?” She whined. She had been talking to Xiao Run when she had felt cool air hitting her between her legs, the fabric of her undergarment missing. Without the fabric in place, she had felt the mess he had pushed back inside her start sliding down her inner thighs as Xiao Run spoke.
He shrugged. “A hunch.”
“A hunch?” She hissed. “What if you messed u – ”
“I am the Moon Supreme.”
“I’d be standing their naked if you messed up!”
“I could never.”
“I hate you.” She said, trying to pull her hand out of his.
He stopped, pulling her closer.
“Are you still mad at me, my wife?”
Her heart stuttered in her chest at the look he gave her, his lips pulling up at the sides a little.
She felt a smile grow over her face before she could stop it. “Let go of me.”
“No.” He pulled her towards the exit again.
“What’s that?” She asked, looking out towards the stalls where all couples seemed to be buying something.
He followed her gaze. “Haven’t you seen it before?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll show you then. Let’s go.”
“Wait!” She pulled him back.
He arched his eyebrow at her.
“Am I going like this?” She pouted, looking down at her clothing and remembering what her face looked like. “Can you help me become beautiful again?”
The smile he gave her made her heart stutter. He seemed to notice it too.
“First home for a bath and a change of clothes then.” He muttered while pulling her into his side.
A part of Xiao Lanhua wished Qingcang was wearing his ring, or that her pin was in her hair. She was a little embarrassed by how happy and smitten she felt with Da Mutou walking beside her, hand in hand through the bustling streets of Lucheng. But at the same time, she loved seeing the way his lips pulled up into a smile every time she looked up at him happily. She didn’t even have to teach him how to smile, he was smiling on his own.
She didn’t understand her own shyness considering that she had crossed every line with him, he had been closer to her and had seen more of her than anyone ever had. Yet, her heart and stomach were doing some kind of synchronized dance just because she was walking hand-in-hand with him, her heart was thumping away in her ears as her stomach flip-flopped. She had never felt that way, not even with Changheng, she was always happy to see him but he didn’t give her butterflies.
She smiled as he tucked her into his side, pulling her away from the crowd that was passing by. She took a deep breath in, letting the smell of the soaps he used fill her senses, they weren’t flowery but rather minty, she suspected it was eucalyptus mixed with something she couldn’t pinpoint with her heart misbehaving the way it was.
“That seems popular.” He said, she looked up at him and followed his gaze to a stall selling sweets, it was surrounded by people. “Want some?” He asked, looking down at her.
She nodded, like she would say no to sweets.
It turned out to be little baked cakes drizzled with honey, she guessed her reaction to them was rather evident because when she looked back up at him, he was smiling just a bit. “A half-dozen please.” He said to the shopkeeper who nodded while grabbing a paper bag for the sweets.
“You want to try?” She asked as she picked out a cake out of the bag the shopkeeper handed her before holding it out to him. She took a bite of the cake as he navigated them away from the stall after handing the shopkeeper more money than was warranted.
He nodded. She thought he would reach for the bag she was holding out, but he leaned in quickly as she took another small bite, his head level with hers, taking a bite of the cake piece that was half sticking out of her mouth. His lips caressed hers as he stole most of it, lingering for a second too long.
Her heart was misbehaving, it was much too loud as his tongue flicked out to lick the honey she could feel at the side of her lips. He straightened as he chewed, her body was too busy trying to contain her heart that was set on beating out of her chest to say anything. He didn’t just –
“It’s good.” He muttered before turning around and taking a few steps away as if he hadn’t sent her whole being spiralling.
He turned back, a smile on his face, holding his hand out to her. “What’s wrong?” He sounded much too amused considering he could likely feel how much he affected her. She was sure he enjoyed flustering her, a part of her wanted to stomp the other way, but she loved the amused smile on his face too much to ruin it.
She stepped towards him, placing her hand in his, letting him pull her into his side again. She watched him from the corner of her eyes as they walked down the street. She almost didn’t recognize him with the faint smile that was on his face.
He had changed, she knew that, it was evident by the way he acted around her. But she also knew he would still burn down all of Shui – she shook her head, she wouldn’t think about it. They would figure it out. Somehow. She couldn’t stay away from him because of it, not now. Not even if they didn’t make sense, she wouldn’t give him up. She couldn’t.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, the words not sounding amused this time.
She looked up at him to find his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. She shook her head. “Nothing. Is it time for lanterns yet?” She asked, looking around at the couples rushing about, lanterns in hand.
He nodded, walking them towards a stall by the lake to purchase the lanterns, where most of the crowd seemed to be gathered. She smiled as she looked around, the constant hum of conversations and laughter was rather calming, she liked the way mortals lived, loudly and without restraint. Arbiter Hall had always been quiet and lonely, but even the markets she had gotten a chance to explore didn’t feel the way Lucheng did, the closest thing to Luceng seemed to be the Cangyan Sea. She loved hearing the little tidbits of conversations as people walked by.
She looked up at Da Mutou as passed he her a lantern, paying the man at the stall. She headed over to the tables set up by the lake where people were writing their wishes on the lanterns.
“Do you know what you’re going to wish for?” She asked, he hadn’t even picked up a quill to write, he stood there arms-crossed, looking at her in a way that caused her heart to flutter again.
“No?” She prompted.
He sighed before he spoke. “My wish remains the same, to destroy Shuiyuntian, kill all those hypocritical immortals, and tell my father the good news.” He looked back towards the table then. “Then I’ll unify the three realms so that the people of Cangyanhai will suffer less from disease, disaster, and harm, and never suffer the pain of separation. But I will do these by myself as I am meant to.”
She knew he could tell that she didn’t like what he was saying. She knew it would be the case, he had never said otherwise, that had always been his wish. She just wished it wasn’t.
“That saddens you.” He whispered as she looked away.
She didn’t answer.
“What are you going to wish for?” He asked.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“I am the Supreme Lord of the three realms. Rather than relying on the sky lantern, you might as well ask me. I will fulfill your wish.”
“Really?” She had a feeling he couldn’t fulfill her wish.
“I always keep my word.” That was part of the problem, he had promised his father and his people exactly what he wished for, the one thing she didn’t want.
“My wish is actually very simple. I just want the Wangchuan River to be free of war and for splendid days without weapons.” She sounded like she was almost pleading with him.
He looked away as he spoke. “You’re trying again to persuade me not to wage war.”
She was, she wished he would listen, like he had listened when she told him to stop as he rescued her the Water Pavilion, like he had stopped when she begged him to not harm Changheng. “For tens of thousands of years, the Moon Tribe has suffered the pain of separation and rebellion. Once the war starts, be it the Moon Tribe or the Fairy Tribe, how may tragedies will be repeated?” She tried to reason.
He met her eyes again, his lips pulled down. She could tell they would never agree on this. “You don’t want Shuiyuntian to be ravaged by war. Then what about the pain of betrayal that my ancestors suffered and the humiliation that the people of Cangyanhai endured? Cangyanhai’s 100 000 soldiers have been sealed in the Xuanxu Realm for 30, 000 years. They are also someone’s sons, husbands, and fathers. They also want to go home.”
He wasn’t wrong. His wish wasn’t wrong either. It was just that she was from Shuiyuntian and he was the Moon Supreme.
He stepped closer, his voice quieter. “You forget that Shuiyuntian enjoys all they have at the expense of the wars they have waged against others over the years. They have painted themselves the saviours while ravaging tribes, because the winners get to write history. Your Changheng goes out to war to claim territories, have you ever tried to stop him? Unlike him, I am not trying to covet resources for the Cangyan Sea, I just want my people to stop suffering, and that won’t stop unless those hypocrites you defend are stopped.”
She found herself not having the words to respond, because he was right, she just hadn’t never seen it that way. She knew the books she had read lied about him at least. They had exaggerated how horrible he was, that he was hungry for power, that he had been killed – all the things she knew to be false for he stood in front of her right then. She had seen the love and respect the people of the Moon Tribe had for him, the people of the tribe were kind unlike what the books said, and he was a great ruler despite what she had read.
But she still didn’t want a war.
“That’s the problem isn’t it, we’re both not wrong, but we’re also not right.” She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She hated who they were.
“You want peace, I understand that but the world is a delicate balance. Wars are the way we create peace, by breaking down what exists and creating something better.”
“That can be done in other ways.”
“You think if I were to go to Shuiyuntian to take back what rightfully belongs to the Moon Tribe, they would give it back?”
They wouldn’t. “I wish they would.”
“That’s a wish even I can’t fulfill.”
She nodded, wiping tears that escaped away.
He was closed off again, his face stoic, his emotions hidden behind the wall he put up. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.” She whispered. “I just - ” She broke off on a sob, her feelings overwhelming her.
His face softened as he moved closer, cupping her face, wiping away the tears that fell. “What?” He whispered.
She knew she was giving away too much but she couldn’t help but nuzzle into his hand and tell him what she really wanted. “I just wish this was all real, that this was our reality. That I was the wife of Mr. Dongfang, a businessman from Jingling settling in Lucheng, where we would raise the child that I am supposedly having together. Everything would have been so easy…”
He didn’t say anything, but she could tell there were a million thoughts flying through his head, thoughts he wasn’t going to share with her. She wondered where she would stand, if there was a war between their tribes, she couldn’t stand beside him no matter how much she wanted it.
She moved away. “Sorry, we were having a good time. Let’s not talk about that.”
He nodded. “Let’s not.”
It would just hang between them until they could no longer ignore it.
“Let’s write our wishes.” She said, turning back towards the lanterns.
She wished that they could find a way for her to stay with him forever. But if she couldn’t stay with him, she wished he would always be happy, surrounded by people who would love him and be loyal to him.
He smiled at her as he released the lantern, making her wonder what he had written, he hadn’t let her read it.
“We should go back home?” He suggested.
She didn’t want to.
“Or we can stay…” He trailed off, likely feeling her disappointment as his suggestion.
She nodded, she wanted to stay, she had seen a bunch of stalls that she wanted to see. It seemed that more people filled the streets as time passed, enjoying the festivities that led up to the festival. She watched as a woman walked by, her hands overflowing with little trinkets, surrounded by other women.
“He won you all of that?” One of them asked excitedly.
“Marry him!” Another squealed. “If you don’t, I will!”
“Is he going to do the jousting competition?” A third asked as they scurried by them, their conversation harder to make out as they got further.
She looked up to find Da Mutou looking towards them, his eyebrows pulled together. He nodded then, turning towards her. “Let’s go win you some prizes.”
“That’s not - ”
“It seems that is how mortals live. I insist, my wife.” He said, while holding his hand out to her.
She felt her heart flutter again at the word wife, and nodded while sliding her hand into his. “No cheating though.”
“I won’t need to cheat.” He said with a haughty smirk as his hand wrapped around her firmly.
She rolled her eyes, but silently she figured that would be the case, it really wasn’t a fair game if he was playing against mortals.
There were tons of games, children were gathered around every stall, peering on as their peers or parents tried to win something or the other.
She was intrigued when she saw children run past them holding pieces of colourful cloth held into shapes like birds using thin wooden sticks, tied to a spindle of thread they held in their hands. “What are those?” She asked looking up at Da Mutou.
“Did they let you do anything in Shuiyuntian?” He sounded rather miffed about it as he pulled her towards where the children had run.
“I was an orchid plant.” She shrugged, she had just come into existence unlike others who had grown into what they were.
“They’re kites.” He said while looking up towards the sky, it was a little dark but she could still make out the light-coloured cloths flying in the sky. People of all ages seemed to be flying them from children to grandparents. She turned towards Da Mutou as he pulled them towards a stall selling kites.
“Whoever can fly their kite higher than the red dragon gets a prize!” The man yelled as he exchanged a kite for coins.
“Let’s fly your first kite.” Da Moutou said, a smile on his face. She felt rather giddy as he pulled her towards the open ground, handing her the spindle. “Unravel as I move further away, when I let go yank and loosen.”
“Wh - ” She was about to ask what he meant by the last part but he was already running backwards, kite in hand, forcing her to quickly unravel the spindle of thread, he seemed to wait until there was a gust of wind before letting the kite go.
She gasped as it flew up a little and then pouted as it started falling back down. “Yank and release!” He yelled. She tried and failed miserably, the kite falling towards the ground. He caught it.
He tried again, waiting for a gust of wind before letting it go. This time he ran towards her as soon as he did. “What do I do?” She asked as he came to stand behind her, arms wrapping around her to hold the spindle in one hand and the string in the other, he yanked on the thread while unravelling it. The kite soared higher easily but she was too flustered to notice how he did what he did, too focused on how close he was. She could feel his warmth around her, the smell of mint filled up her senses, he was much too close and -
“You’re distracting me.” He muttered.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“You’re thinking something.” He whispered as the kite soared even higher.
She cleared her throat. “How do you do that?”
“You just need to let the line - ” He said while pulling on what she had called thread. “ – out once it catches the wind. The line can’t be slack though, it has to be taut with a little give. If you perfect that, the kite soars.”
It was in fact soaring. “Who taught you?” She got out as he rested his chin atop her head, his arms moving around her as he adjusted the line.
He let out a soft sigh before he spoke. “My father…I haven’t done this since I was a little boy.”
“You remember it though.” She whispered.
“I don’t think you can forget. Want to try?” He asked.
“It’ll fall.”
“I’ll help you, grab the line above where my hand is.” He whispered into her ear.
She felt a shiver run through her but nodded, following his instructions. His hand moved so it could wrap around hers, directing her index finger and thumb to grab the line. “It’s just a little pull and give.” He muttered, his breath hitting her ear, causing goosebumps to rise.
It was torture. Having him pressed up against her so tightly, his arms around her, his hands on hers, his mouth by her ear as he spoke. She was distracted, had no idea where the kite was with how focused she was on the feel of him. Her eyes flickered to those around them, they were paying them no attention. She watched as a man wrapped around a woman in a similar way placed a kiss on her cheek. Another was resting his chin on the shoulders of a woman who flew the kite.
“We’re almost higher than the red dragon!” She heard by her ear, she looked up and couldn’t help but smile at his excitement. He sounded happy and it warmed her heart, she was sure he hadn’t had many opportunities to feel happy after all that happened in his childhood.
She let her body relax back into his, enjoying being wrapped up in his arms. She wished he wasn’t so focused on the task though, that he would place a kiss on her cheek or rest his chin on her shoulder. He started moving quickly suddenly, she looked up to find that he was neck-to-neck with the red dragon kite, the one he had to beat. The red kite which had been cruising before also started climbing higher.
She let out a squeal as Da Mutou’s arms tightened around her, he was pulling the line faster as he let it unravel.
“The white bird! The white bird is higher than the red dragon!” She heard a man yell.
“That’s us!” She squealed happily as she watched their kite soar over the red dragon. “We won! We won!” She slowly turned into his arms as he adjusted to loosen his arms from around her. “We won!” She smiled up at him.
“We?” He arched his eyebrow.
She pouted.
He sighed. “We won.”
She let her hands rest on his chest for balance as she got up on her tippy toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. She only realized that people were around when she heard them giggling and hollering. She stepped away then, feeling embarrassed at her actions, they were in public, where stealing kisses was mostly frowned upon.
He was smiling though, he bent his head down and she pulled her head back quickly, thinking he was going to kiss her. “We’ve done a lot worse, no need to be embarrassed, wife.” He whispered before pulling back up.
Her heart was hammering away in her chest as he reeled the kite back in. She couldn’t help but whack his arm when he smirked at her. He continued to smile though.
Her heart warmed and she knew he could tell she was pleased as he pulled her back towards the stall. “Pick a prize.”
“Hair clips!” She gushed as she caught sight of all the colourful and pretty clips for her hair, the type she had left behind in Shuiyuntian. She picked out a pretty pink butterfly clip, handing it to him.
“I am not going to wear it.” He quipped, making her heart skip a beat, she wasn’t used to a playful Da Mutou.
“In my hair!” She instructed while turning around, letting him fix the clip into her hair, it was oddly reminiscent of the time he had put a flower in her hair. “Is it pretty?” She asked as she turned around.
He nodded, moving his head just a little, in a way that she wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been closely watching him. He was quiet again as they walked through the crowds, but with her hands in his, holding her to his side, glaring at anyone that came too close.
“I think they all know to be scared of you.” She whispered, observing how people always gave him space.
“Mortals are far smarter than we give them credit for…except Xiao Run.”
She laughed, remembering how the man clung to him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were his dream spouse - ” She stopped short when he shot a glare her way.
“Mr. Dongfang!” She heard someone yell, they both stopped in their tracks, looking to the side where a young man was waving from an open field.
“Do you know him?”
“I have seen him before.” He muttered as the man ran up to him.
“Mr. Dongfang, we need another player on our team to play cuju, would you like to play again?”
Xiao Lanhua figured that the man had been part of the game that Da Mutou had played with Xiao Run, when she and Jieli had caught them talking on the side of the field. She looked up to find him looking down at her, eyebrow arched. If he wasn’t outright refusing, it meant he wanted to play, he seemed excited about it.
She nodded, smiling. “Play, I’ll watch.”
He nodded at the man, helping her to the benches along the side of the field, most of which were filled with fawning young women. She didn’t blame them, the fairies of Shuiyuntian lined up to watch practice duels as well, stories of the rare times Lord Changheng participated were almost legend. She hadn’t really understood why until she found her eyes following Da Mutou, they refused to move away from him.
Watching him run around the field with intense concentration and confident moves as he kicked the cuju ball around was tantalizing. She had never watched a cuju match before, but she could tell that his skill level was above the others. Where everyone else looked out of breath, red, and sweaty, he seemed to be only breathing a little harder, and was just a little flushed despite the fact that he had been running the most.
Perhaps that’s why he could go for so long when – Xiao Lanhua shook her head as she thought about when else he looked like that, poised above her and driving into her, his breathing fast against her ears, and body flushed.
She cheered and yelled every time his team scored, which was more often than not him scoring. She loved the way he looked up towards her every time he scored, a small smile on his face. It warmed her heart, she didn’t know if he was just sharing his happiness with her, or if he was looking to see how she reacted, she figured it was a bit of both. She wondered if he could make out her yells and cheers among those of the other women around her.
They were all watching him closely too, a fact that did not sit right with her. She wondered if they too were thinking about how nice it would be if he wasn’t wearing his robes, just his pants. The thought alone made her stomach tighten with anticipation, desire running through her. She fanned herself, hoping no one noticed how flushed she was.
There was something hypnotic about watching him weave through the players, controlling the ball expertly, a thin sheen of sweat covering his face. She wondered if he made sounds as he ran around, the little grunts and sighs he let out against her ear when he was – she shifted as an uncomfortable ache developed between her legs even thought she was trying to dispel the sexual thoughts.
She watched as someone picked up the cuju ball, throwing it to Da Mutou, he caught it in his hands. His hands gripped the ball tightly as he spoke with the people around him. She had never before wanted to be a cuju ball, but she wanted his hands on her.
Her eyes refused move away from his hands, watching his fingers.
His fingers that ghosted over her skin and made her lean into him for more.
His fingers that drove her mad as they strayed down her neck and across her breasts, slowly circling around her nipples until his hands wrapped around them and squeezed, his grip tight just like it was around the cuju ball.
She could almost feel the way his hands gripped her tightly at her waist while the fingers of his other hand found her heat, delving into her folds. His long thick fingers teasing her, moving slowly inside her at first, thumb against her clit before his fingers moved fast and hard while curling inside her.
She crossed her legs, willing the throbbing to stop.
Da Mutou put the ball down, the men surrounding him as he kicked the ball towards the net, scoring. He looked towards her then, his eyes trailing over her before meeting hers, dark and smouldering. She flushed remembering that he could feel her.
The crowd dispersed, the cheering and yelling continuing as everyone shuffled around towards a new destination. She could feel a number of eyes on her as Da Mutou walked towards her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the other side of the field. She didn’t understand where he was taking her until they were standing behind a dark scoreboard, and he was bending down.
His lips met hers in a frenzy, he tasted like honey still, and she wondered if she tasted the same. She hummed against his lips as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and pulling her flush against his body, his lips tugging at hers hard.
She let out a little gasp against his mouth when she felt how hard he was against her. One of his hands moved to cup the back of her neck, tilting her head back, his tongue finding its way into her mouth, kissing her aggressively as he pushed her back towards the scoreboard, her back hitting the wood.
She gasped at the contact but he didn’t relent, he just kissed her harder, until her head was spinning and all her senses were focused on the feel of his lips against hers, the sound of their lips moving against each other, and the feel of his hard body against hers, her nipples hard against her undergarments, and his hardness nestled against her stomach.
She ran her hands down his back, wishing that he wasn’t wearing his robes so she could feel them slip down his skin. The tip of his tongue flicked against hers as his hips pressed into hers harder. His hand trailed down from her back until he was grasping her ass and pulling her into him. She exhaled heavily against her mouth as she broke away for air.
“What were you thinking?” He whispered, his voice deep and raspy as he rocked his hips against hers, making her let out a whimper. “It took me a moment to understand why I was hardening while playing cuju.” He added, his mouth finding her neck, lips dragging down and tongue licking before he sucked her skin into his mouth, biting down.
She hoped no one heard the gasp of Qingcang she let out. He chuckled, running his nose down the column of her neck, she could feel the vibration against her skin, a shiver running through her. She felt her stomach tightening and she could feel her wetness on the inside of her legs.
“Not here.” She gasped out as she heard someone laugh loudly, reminding her that there were people around, no matter how much she wanted to be taken right then and tehre.
He pulled away, a smug smile on his face. “I wasn’t going to fuck you here.” He whispered. “Not right now when anyone could come looking, later definitely.”
She let out a whimper.
“Are you wet for me, my Xiao Huayao?”
She nodded.
“Good.”
“Home.” She begged just as her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud sound.
“Hungry?” He seemed amused.
She nodded sheepishly. He put her down, arms unwrapping from around her.
“Let’s go find you food then.”
He grabbed her hand again, leading her out of the darkness onto the streets again. He stopped at every stall that served food, forcing her to eat anything she looked at even with a hint of intrigue.
“You’re being too nice.” She muttered. She wasn’t used to anyone feeding her, she had always cooked for herself, hadn’t really known that food could be as addicting as it was until she had made her way to the Moon Palace where even choosing what to eat became a difficult choice with all the options.
“My wife is pregnant, and I promised to feed her.” He had a devilish smirk on his face at that.
“You’re enjoying this too much.” She muttered, flushing a little, wishing that life could be that simple. That she really was his pregnant wife that he was spoiling, feeding her everything her heart desired, doting on her like he was. She couldn’t help but feel a little sad as she realized that she wouldn’t get to walk down the street with him the following year, with him holding their months old child, perhaps a little son that looked like his father. Or a daughter that he would buy the prettiest of clips for even if newborns didn’t have much hair.
“What?” He asked, slowing down a little.
She looked up at him and shook her head. “Nothing.”
He didn’t seem to buy it.
“I want to play that.” She said, pointing towards the stall with a game of rings, hoping to distract him from his questions.
He nodded surreptitiously, changing course towards the stall.
“Come play! Get all four rings on the peg to win a prize!” The man behind the stall was yelling.
“She’ll play.” Da Mutou said, holding out coins to the man who took them quickly, passing him four metal rings. Da Mutou held one out to her.
“I thought you would play.” She muttered.
“No…” He said as he pushed the ring into her hand.
She thought she would fail miserably considering she had never played a game like it before, but to her utter surprise she got the first ring around the peg. Initially the ring hit the edge of the peg, it wobbled a little but ended up falling around the peg.
She jumped happily as she turned to Da Mutou. “I got it!”
He smiled and passed her another ring. “Try another one.”
She turned towards the game, bending over a little as she tried to aim at the peg, she was sure she didn’t use enough force as she let the hoop go but it slid onto the peg. She couldn’t help but let out a surprised laugh as people around her started cheering.
Da Mutou passed her another ring, to her utter surprise she also got it around the peg, the clapping around her getting louder.
“Last one.” She muttered as Da Mutou passed it to her, she aimed and made sure to use enough force to send the ring where she wanted it. It seemed like she was going to miss but the ring seemed to move slightly towards the peg at the last moment before sinking on.
The hollering and clapping around her was much too loud as she looked up at Da Mutou, glaring. “I thought you weren’t going to cheat.” She muttered.
“I did not.”
“Did you help me with all of them?” She pouted.
He shook his head. “Just the second and last.”
“Whyyyy?” She whined.
“It made you happy when you got the first one.” He shrugged. The I didn’t want you to be sad clear even though he didn’t say it.
“You can pick a prize.” The man at the stall grumbled.
She was going to refuse the prize until she saw Da Mutou walk over to the table and pick up a book. “This.” He said, as if he had known what he was going to pick from before.
She peered down at the book, her eyes widening as he flipped through it. There were illustrations – line drawings of a man and woman in different sexual positions.
“No!” She hissed, looking around to see if anyone else saw what he was flipping through. They seemed curious but it seemed like they couldn’t see it.
“I won you a prize, I want this one.” He said holding it out towards her.
“No!” She pleaded as the man at the stall cleared his throat, clearly amused.
“It’ll only benefit you.” Da Mutou muttered as he stopped flipping, stopping at a page where the woman sat above the man’s face. She could feel her cheeks warming as he looked down at her and arched his eyebrow.