In a twist of fate, that was anything but surprising, Wen Kexing turned out to be a demanding as well as very considerate lover.
Zhou Zishu only spared a moment at being annoyed for needing consideration - something he'd never needed before - before shaking the feeling off. What was done was done and fact was, that, right now, he needed it and Wen Kexing had provided it. Beautifully, and without making him feel ashamed.
After a spectacular round of sex - or lovemaking as Wen Kexing, poetic menace that he was, had called it with a straight face and a look so tender that it had made Zhou Zishu smile despite his best attempts at staying unimpressed - he should be asleep, just like the man resting peacefully next to him.
Somehow, Wen Kexing managed to pull off a glow of satisfaction even while deeply asleep, hair falling everywhere and taking up so much more space in their bed than necessary. Impossible man. This time, he didn't even try to suppress his smile. Neither did he suppress the urge to reach out and trace Wen Kexing's spine, starting a silent countdown until the complaints started at the same time.
"A-Xu," came the expected whine after only a few caresses. "Why aren't you asleep? Did I not exhaust you thoroughly enough?"
Zhou Zishu grinned. "Obviously not." In fact, he was far more awake than he had any right to be, considering everything. "You must work harder to satisfy me, Lao Wen."
"Insatiable," Wen Kexing grumbled but he turned his head around slowly and blinked up at Zhou Zishu in lazy satisfaction, not unlike a cat relaxing in the sun after a successful hunt. "Or maybe you should do more than just lay back and let me do all the work," he continued with a grin.
Zhou Zishu at least pretended to contemplate that. "No," he said eventually. "I don't think so. A master like you should have all the freedom he needs in his work. I'll just lay back and enjoy it."
He leaned down before Wen Kexing could even think about a response and kissed the indignation away before it could become words. After a moment of surprise Wen Kexing melted into the kiss in the most satisfying manner. The moan he got for his efforts was very nice.
"So the lord of the manor wants to be pleasured by his devoted wife without having to do anything himself?" he asked eventually, after Zhou Zishu had released him from the kiss and sat back up. He liked looking down at Wen Kexing being all relaxed and his.
"At least tonight," he allowed. "Tomorrow might be another matter altogether - I might demand absolute obedience then." He put a hand in the middle of Wen Kexing's back to keep him down. Wen Kexing didn't even try so shrug it off. "As your lord it's my prerogative to demand whatever I want from you, Lao Wen - whenever I want."
Wen Kexing laughed at that. "Ah, A-Xu! No need to be a lord for that. You know that I'll do whatever you want me to do, whenever you want me to do it - no questions asked." He smiled and demurely lowered his gaze. Zhou Zishu was once again hit with the fact that his soulmate was not only unfairly beautiful but also highly skilled in using that very beauty to the greatest effect possible.
"Shameless," the commented. Also a fucking liar because while Wen Kexing might often do what Zhou Zishu wanted he never, ever shut up or stopped asking questions. Zhou Zishu decided to be gracious. "I should punish you but I since you served me so well before I will let it go. This time," he added.
Wen Kexing's bright grin made it clear that his attempt at intimidation had failed spectacularly, just like he'd known it would.
He truly was the most useless lord of any manor ever and Wen Kexing was the most impertinent man in the history of mankind. Although the did look very pretty on his knees when he played at being obedient.
He was helpless against Wen Kexing and the bastard knew it. Knowing someone on such an intimate level was a double-edged sword.
Wen Kexing had demonstrated a downright shocking amount of devotion to him over and over again and that extended to the bedroom as well. Zhou Zishu should be afraid of holding so much power over another human being after what he'd done in his life but the truth was… he wasn't. Not with Wen Kexing, who had followed - stalked - him for weeks on end and by now knew fully who and what Zhou Zishu was and still sought him out like a flower sought the sun. An awfully flirty, very loud, demanding and annoying flower but that was part of his charm, Zhou Zishu had discovered to his great horror.
That he hadn't run away ages ago didn't really say anything good about Wen Kexing's survival instinct - or his taste in men - but Zhou Zishu was beyond caring at this point. He was only glad that he had Wen Kexing in his life.
"A-Xu, you would look good wrapped in chains and helpless," Wen Kexing said, accurately assessing the downturn his mood had taken and wrenching it back forcefully by being is usual, annoying yet enticing self. "Maybe we should try that the next time? Me having the true control, not you laying down and telling me what to do?"
The idea was not without its appeal but Zhou Zishu shook his head out of principle and pressed his hand harder against Wen Kexing's back. A soft moan and a sweet, totally unfeigned, smile was his reward.
No matter what he said, Lao Wen loved it when Zhou Zishu put him into place. One day, after the damned nails where out, they would try the reverse. No matter what they said to tease each other, they both knew there was no place for their more extreme desires before Zhou Zishu was fully recovered.
It would be yet another layer in the ebb and flow of the endless river that defined their relationship.
"And you would look good with a gag in that pretty mouth of yours," he answered after a moment, coming back to the 'no questions asked' part of before and mercilessly taking his revenge for it. "It would also have the benefit of shutting you up, you wretched, shameless menace."
"Or maybe silk," Wen Kexing mused, totally ignoring him and once again showing just how much of a liar he was. "Chains would be too harsh on your delicate skin and your beauty must be preserved at all costs." They would also bring back too many painful memories for both of them but that went unsaid. "Silk, yes. Dark blue would be a nice fit."
Ah yes, Wen Kexing had taken an unreasonable liking to his winter robes, Zhou Zishu remembered. Too bad they had been cut off him in the capital after his capture to force him back into his old uniform. He let his soulmate ramble, slowly moving his hand upwards and under the mass of unbound hair until it was on the back of Wen Kexing's neck. He squeezed slightly and the last of Wen Kexing's words faded away into a breathless moan.
"Are you sure you want me to be the one in silk bonds?" he asked idly and leaned down to kiss the next moan away before it could be fully formed. "The fearsome master of Ghost Valley all wrapped up in red," he continued, easily taking over the fantasy. "I would paint patters like blood on your skin. You would look like a piece of art, bound and helpless, unable to do anything but take but take what I decide to give you."
It was easy to imagine the scene since Wen Kexing's body took whatever Zhou Zishu gave him so very well, all the while begging for more.
Wen Kexing could get out of restraints like that in a heartbeat or less and they both knew it. Or maybe Wen Kexing would forget about his martial arts; judging by the way he was looking at Zhou Zishu, eyes wide with reluctant arousal and mouth open in expectant surprise, he already had.
"A-Xu," he whined, "don't torture me like that. You know I can't get it up again after what you put me through tonight already."
Zhou Zishu laughed at him. "What I put you through?" he echoed incredulously. "If I remember it correctly it was you who fucked me. Twice."
Another low whine. "My cruel lord wrung me out on his merciless quest of achieving his own pleasure at my expense."
Zhou Zishu ignored him.
"Maybe I'll take a knife to your skin as well," he spun the fantasy further. Carefully, still testing boundaries, but Wen Kexing didn't react apart from rapt attention so it seemed to be okay. There was no way Wen Kexing could get truly hard again tonight and Zhou Zishu was in this pleasant place where his body didn't bother him and arousal was a far-away dream. He didn't mind. He liked that place. "Leave you with marks long after the bonds have been cut away."
"You already have left permanent marks all over my soul," Wen Kexing whispered, as Zhou Zishu had half-expected him to. "It would be nice to have them on my body as well." It was rare that he allowed to show so much vulnerability in his voice and the way he turned his face to hide it against the bedding told its own story.
Zhou Zishu squeezed his neck one more time before he lowered himself down and gathered the relaxed and willing body of his soulmate into his arms.
"You'll get them," he promised as he pressed a tender kiss against Wen Kexing's temple, surprised at how fierce and possessive his promise came out. "I'll mark you up as much as you want and then you will do the same to me. As soon as…"
… he was well again to truly make it mean something, when his body could actually take it, and his stamina allowed him to draw it out over the whole night. Maybe the following day, too. He had his own scars he'd like to have covered up forever by Wen Kexing's skilled hands. They would go away somewhere secluded for that, far away from their newly-acquired disciples, and take the time to do this right.
They would brand and mark each other until there was no way they could be mistaken for anything other than what they were - at matched set, bound together by an unbreakable bond.
"A-Xu." Nothing more than his name, but it was consent wrapped in yearning.
"Lao Wen," he said in return, while he carefully arranged both of their bodies until he had found a position where nothing hurt and everything was just about perfect.
Wen Kexing slipped back into sleep easily and quickly, Zhou Zishu's hands still heavy on the back of his neck, hair once again falling all over the place because he refused to pin it up again after it had come loose earlier, so worn out that not even the most enticing of ideas could keep him awake any longer. He tended to do that even without sex, as soon as he was Zhou Zishu's arms, head on his chest, and held tightly.
Zhou Zishu took pride in being such a safe harbor for such a dangerous man and idly played with a strand of hair. Despite his best intentions he followed his other half into sleep soon, head full of ideas and a plan to obtain silk ropes in blue and red as soon as possible.