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The knock came on Yin Yu’s door late one night. He opened it to find a sheepish looking Xie Lian behind it.
“Your Highness,” he greeted.
“Ah, Yin Yu. Sorry if I disturbed you…”
Yin Yu shook his head. “It’s alright. Is there something I can do for you?”
“It’s kind of silly,” Xie Lian said, ducking his head and scratching the back of his neck self-consciously.
“What is it?” Yin Yu asked.
“It’s just… San Lang’s business is keeping him away tonight, and I… I don’t really like sleeping alone.”
Yin Yu blinked, surprised. He hadn’t expected this type of request from Xie Lian. While it was true that this technically wouldn’t be the first time they had shared a bed, the other times had been under… special circumstances. Namely, those couple times Hua Cheng and Xie Lian had invited him in as a way to help the (formerly) celibate god get used to intimacy.
Xie Lian shuffled his feet. “Sorry, I know that’s a strange request. I can just–”
“No, it’s alright,” Yin Yu cut him off before either one of them could second guess it. “I was just surprised.” He stepped to the side. “Come in.”
It was somewhat surreal, having Xie Lian in his simple bedroom. He stood in the center of the room, looking around curiously, but clearly wanting to respect Yin Yu’s space.
Yin Yu closed the door behind him and gestured to the bed. The covers were downturned, the book that he had been reading lying open where he had left it to open the door. Acting nonchalant, though his heart was pounding in his chest, Yin Yu settled back down. After a moment, Xie Lian gingerly slid into the spot next to him.
“Thank you, Yin Yu,” he whispered.
“It’s no problem, Your Highness,” Yin Yu replied. He set his book to the side and blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness.
For a while they lay there stiffly, uncertain how to act in this new situation, but eventually Yin Yu heard Xie Lian’s breathing even out as he fell asleep. He listened to it for a while, the soothing in and out pattern of his breaths, before giving into the urge to look.
He rolled onto his side and took in the sleeping face of Xie Lian. He looked peaceful in his sleep, and younger. Like the seventeen year old prince he had been when he ascended for the first time, before years of banishment and suffering had worn him down.
Yin Yu found himself smiling at the sight. So this was the face Hua Cheng had seen so long ago, the one he had first fallen in love with. The more he got to know Xie Lian, the more he understood why someone would be willing to work so hard and sacrifice so much to protect the happiness on that face.
As if he unconsciously sensed the attention, Xie Lian shifted in his sleep, moving closer and throwing an arm over Yin Yu, bringing them face to face.
Yin Yu stopped breathing. As a ghost, he didn’t need to anyway, but he usually did out of habit. Now, he stopped completely, worried any small movement might disturb Xie Lian. Something about that felt unforgivable. He didn’t sleep for the entire night, just lay there with Xie Lian’s arm around him, taking in the sight of the sleeping prince.
Xie Lian didn’t startle or shy away when he woke up to find himself face to face with Yin Yu. He just smiled and wished him a good morning like it was completely normal. Was Yin Yu wrong if he wished it was?
That day, Hua Cheng called to inform the both of them that he would be away for an additional few nights. That night, Xie Lian showed up outside of Yin Yu’s room again.
Xie Lian had apparently given up on the pretense that they wouldn’t end up plastered together during the night. He slid up behind him as soon as they were both in bed and fell asleep with his front plastered to Yin Yu’s back and his arm wrapped around his waist.
It was… nice. It was really nice. Yin Yu couldn’t remember the last time he’d been held like this, with no pretences. The only other times he could think of were with Hua Cheng, but that had only ever been after sex, and he was frequently too out of it to really notice or enjoy the sensation of being held.
Don’t get too attached, he reminded himself late in the night, relaxing into the sensation of Xie Lian’s chest rising and falling behind him. Hua Cheng will be back soon, and your bed will be empty again. He hoped he’d be able to handle it when it happened.
He wasn’t sure.
On the third night, wrapped up in Xie Lian’s embrace once again, Yin Yu fell asleep. The details of his dream were hazy—Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, wrapped around each other, wrapped around him, surrounding him, inside him, praising him—
Yin Yu woke up hard. Instinctively, he went to take care of it like he usually did when he had these types of dreams, but then something shifted behind him and he abruptly remembered he wasn’t alone. He froze, hoping he hadn’t disturbed Xie Lian, but the prince just tightened his hold on Yin Yu and sighed contentedly against the back of his neck, still asleep.
That… wasn’t helping.
Yin Yu bit his lip. The urge to shove his hand in his pants and deal with his problem warred with his desire to keep from disturbing Xie Lian. If he happened to wake up and catch him…
Xie Lian shifted in his sleep again and ended up pressing his lips against the back of Yin Yu’s neck.
That did it. Moving carefully, Yin Yu brought a hand down to where his arousal was straining at his sleep pants. He had to bite his lip even harder to keep from making a noise when it slipped inside to wrap around his erection.
He stroked himself slowly. Every noise from Xie Lian sent jolts of arousal and anxiety shooting through him in equal measures, which only served to build his pleasure even higher. He was quickly approaching his peak, and brought a hand to his mouth to muffle a whimper—which is when he caught sight of the butterfly.
Silvery wings flapped in the corner of the room, the thing’s attention focused entirely on Yin Yu.
“So,” the distinctly amused voice of Hua Cheng spoke in Yin Yu’s communication array, “this is what you get up to while I’m gone.”
“Chengzhu! It’s– I’m not–” Yin Yu froze, frantically trying to explain himself, but how could he? Wasn’t this exactly what it looked like? Yin Yu, lying in bed with Hua Cheng’s husband, pleasuring himself. There was no denying it, and Hua Cheng knew it too. He chuckled into the communication array while Yin Yu burned with shame and anxiety.
“San Lang?” a sleepy voice asked from behind him. Yin Yu felt his stomach drop. His contact with Xie Lian must have allowed him to listen into his communication array, and he’d woken up at the sound of his husband’s voice.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng greeted, still sounding far too amused for Yin Yu’s liking. “It looks like you’ve caused a problem for our poor Yin Yu.”
“Huh?” Xie Lian asked, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. He looked at Yin Yu, who realized with a start that his hand was still shoved down the front of his pants. He yanked it back, but it was too late. Xie Lian had seen.
“Oh!” Xie Lian gasped.
“I’m sorry,” Yin Yu blurted. “I didn’t mean– I–”
“Gege should take responsibility,” Hua Cheng suggested through the communication array.
“I–” Yin Yu stammered. “What?”
“Ah, I guess I should…” Xie Lian agreed with a blush, stunning Yin Yu even further. His hand lowered to rest on Yin Yu’s cheek, thumb stroking his cheekbone tenderly.
“You– I–”
“Would you like that, Yin Yu?” Hua Cheng’s smooth voice spoke in his head, making Yin Yu shiver. He nodded, lips parting as he stared into Xie Lian’s golden eyes.
“Hm,” Hua Cheng hummed, sounding pleased. “Then what are you waiting for, Gege?”
Xie Lian was looking down at Yin Yu with an expression that, if he didn’t know better, he would describe as almost as awestruck as his own. At the prompting from Hua Cheng, he leaned in to close the distance between them, capturing Yin Yu’s lips in a kiss.
For all that Xie Lian was inexperienced with most forms of intimacy, by now he had a lot of practice in this area, and he was putting it all to use as he kissed Yin Yu. He had only had the chance to experience this once before, but having Xie Lian devour him was just as overwhelming and incredible as he remembered. Yin Yu was practically melting into the sheets, his head spinning when Xie Lian finally pulled back for air.
“I’m sorry,” he panted, looking down at Yin Yu, “I’m not really sure what I’m doing beyond this, haha…”
Yin Yu swallowed a few times, trying to regain the ability to speak. “It’s alright,” he finally managed, “I don’t need–”
“Perhaps Gege would like some direction?” Hua Cheng cut in. His silver butterfly fluttered across the room to perch on Xie Lian’s shoulder, giving him a better view of Yin Yu’s flushed and disheveled state. “Though he seems to be off to a good start already. Kiss him again.”
Xie Lian obeyed the order instantly, pressing their lips back together before Yin Yu had time to fully process what was happening.
“Very good,” Hua Cheng praised. “But I think he’s wearing entirely too much for what comes next, don’t you? No, don’t stop kissing him, you can find the ties of his robes with just your hands, right? Let’s uncover some of that skin.”
Sure enough, Yin Yu felt Xie Lian’s hands begin to fumble with the front of his robes. After a moment, he discovered where they tied and undid the knot, pushing the fabric aside to reveal Yin Yu’s bare chest.
“Pretty, right?”
Xie Lian stopped kissing him and pushed himself up to take in the sight. “Yeah,” he breathed.
Yin Yu shivered. It was always intoxicating to be under the gaze of these two, the way they looked at him like he was a prized weapon, a tool to bring their own pleasure, but one they knew how to use to its fullest extent, somehow making him feel equally worshiped and objectified. With every new encounter, the rush hit him again, reminding him why he will keep going back for more as long as they’ll let him.
Please, he prayed to no one in particular, don’t let this end too soon.
Xie Lian, under Hua Cheng’s direction, had started exploring Yin Yu’s chest with his hands. His fingertips found his nipples and began playing with them, watching enraptured as Yin Yu arched and squirmed under the touches.
“You can be rougher, Gege,” Hua Cheng suggested. “Pinch them.”
Xie Lian gently squeezed the buds between his fingers.
“Harder,” Hua Cheng demanded. “Remember, our Yin Yu likes a little pain. Give them a tug.”
Xie Lian bit his lip nervously, but followed the instructions. He was rewarded with the loudest noise yet from Yin Yu.
“I told you, Gege.”
“San Lang…” Xie Lian attempted to scold him for the teasing, but it was hard to muster a truly reprimanding tone when he was so enraptured by drawing more sounds from Yin Yu.
“Gege seems to like this. Maybe one day we should find where we put those nipple clamps to show him how pretty you looked with them, huh, Yin Yu?”
“Chengzhu!” Yin Yu cried out, face flushing even redder. Before he could get too embarrassed, however, Xie Lian let out a choked sound and jerked his hips forward, brushing the bulge in his pants against Yin Yu’s thigh.
They both froze.
“Yes… definitely at some point,” Hua Cheng said after a moment, suddenly sounding much less composed. “But for now, didn’t Gege say he was going to help Yin Yu with his problem? You’ll need to take his pants off for that.”
Xie Lian was also flushed, clearly flustered by how quickly he’d lost his composure. But he nodded anyway, his hands traveling to Yin Yu’s waistband. Gently, he curled his fingers underneath and slid them down his hips, finally allowing his leaking arousal to spring free.
“Now what?” Xie Lian asked.
“Start at the top,” Hua Cheng directed. “Our A-Yu is nice and wet for us, that will help. Collect it onto your hand.”
The sudden swap to the affectionate nickname already had Yin Yu off guard, so he was completely unprepared for when Xie Lian followed the instructions. He threw his head back and moaned loudly when Xie Lian’s hand finally came into contact with his cock. It brushed delicately across the tip, gathering his precum.
“Good,” Hua Cheng said. “Now, wrap your hand around him. A little tighter. Yes, like that. Stroke it up and down, nice and steady, just like I taught you with the dice, remember?”
“Hah– Ah!” The first stroke sent pleasure buzzing through Yin Yu’s body in wild sparks. His leg kicked out, trembling under the stimulation.
“Keep going, Gege, you’re doing great,” Hua Cheng encouraged. Xie Lian stroked him a few more times, making Yin Yu keen loudly. He was already so worked up from the dream and the situation in general, there was no way he was going to last much longer.
“Now, does Gege remember what I showed him last time?”
“You mean…” A finger brushed against Yin Yu’s rim and he wailed.
“Exactly. You’ll need something for your fingers though, to ease the entrance…”
“Oil!” Yin Yu gasped, writhing desperately under Xie Lian’s touches. “In the drawer next to my bed– Hngh!”
“Oh, naughty boy!” Hua Cheng exclaimed, sounding delighted. “Gege, get that.”
Yin Yu let out a protesting whine when Xie Lian pulled away from him to retrieve the oil.
“Shh, it’s alright,” Xie Lian soothed. He leaned back over Yin Yu and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Somehow, despite everything, that small gesture felt the most intimate.
“Get some of that oil on your fingers now, Gege,” Hua Cheng directed. He must have done it, because when a fingertip returned to brush against Yin Yu’s rim, it was slick.
“So tight!” Xie Lian breathed when his finger finally breached the ring of muscle.
Yin Yu keened at the stretch. “Your High– hah!”
Xie Lian thrust the finger in and out a few times experimentally, working out the best rhythm to drive Yin Yu insane.
“More, please!” Yin Yu begged, moving his hips down to meet the thrusts as best as he could. “Your Highness, Chengzhu, please!”
“You heard him, Gege. Give him another.”
“So needy,” Xie Lian teased, but he did as instructed. Yin Yu cried out, his hands flying up to clutch desperately at Xie Lian’s shoulders as he was stretched open on his fingers.
“Are you close, A-Yu?”
“Fuck! Yes!” Yin Yu arched his back when Xie Lian’s fingers accidentally brushed up against his prostate.
“That spot inside is really sensitive, Gege. Try and target it.”
It didn’t take long once Xie Lian knew to search for it. His fingers hit it over and over, making Yin Yu see stars as his whole body was rocked with the force of the thrusting inside him.
“Now use your other hand. Touch his cock again.”
The dual stimulation was too much. Xie Lian only managed to stroke him a couple times before Yin Yu felt himself tense up.
“Coming– Ah! Your Highness, I’m–” With a loud cry, Yin Yu shot his release onto his stomach.
When he came down enough to be aware of his surroundings, Xie Lian was hovering over him, hand still moving on his cock to work him through the orgasm. “So good, A-Yu, so beautiful,” he whispered.
Yin Yu shivered. “Sensitive,” he whined, weakly batting Xie Lian’s hand away from him.
Xie Lian winced. “Sorry!” He released his grip on Yin Yu’s cock and removed his fingers from inside him at the same time. “I didn’t mean to–”
Yin Yu blamed the lingering high from his intense orgasm for what he did next. He pulled Xie Lian down and kissed him, trying to convey all the emotions raging through him that he couldn’t put into words quite yet.
“Don’t apologize,” he said when they pulled apart. “It was good.”
Xie Lian stared at him, eyes blown wide. “Oh.”
It was then that Yin Yu noticed he was still hard. “Can I help you with that?” he asked, gesturing to the tent in Xie Lian’s pants.
The god blushed. “You don’t have to.”
“I know,” Yin Yu said. “I want to. If you do, that is. If you’re still not ready, that’s–”
“No! It’s… I want it.”
So, Yin Yu sat up, extracting himself from under Xie Lian, and helped him undress. He had to pause for a moment once he finally got him naked because wow. Had the two of them really once held the same position in heaven? Then, eyes catching on Xie Lian’s arousal, he shook those thoughts away and got back to work.
Gently, Yin Yu guided Xie Lian over to sit at the edge of the bed. As he did, movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Hua Cheng’s butterfly had returned to the side of the room, watching them still, though the ghost king had gone silent. For a moment, Yin Yu wondered what he thought of this, worried that he was overstepping, but then Xie Lian made a small, desperate noise, and drew his attention back. If Hua Cheng really minded, he would say something. For now, Yin Yu had a job to do.
Once Xie Lian was situated where he wanted him, Yin Yu sank down to his knees. Like this, he was at eye level with the god’s twitching length. As he watched, a drop of precum bubbled up at the tip and began to drip down the side.
“What– what are you doing?” Xie Lian asked, sounding both excited and apprehensive at the same time.
“Your Highness will tell me if I do anything he doesn’t like?” Yin Yu asked.
“I will, but what are you planning– Oh!” Xie Lian cut himself off with a shout when Yin Yu leaned forward and licked the drop of precum from his tip. Encouraged by the response, he let out a soft moan at the taste and went back for more, closing his lips around the cockhead and giving a gentle suck.
“Oh, A-Yu, oh, oh, ohhhh!” Xie Lian’s legs closed around Yin Yu’s head, locking him into place as he worked more of his cock into his mouth and traced the large vein on the underside with his tongue.
Yin Yu hummed, just to draw more of those sweet sounds from Xie Lian. His Highness was a vision like this, head thrown back in pleasure, his hands fisted tight in the bed covers. The sight was enough to cause his already spent cock to twitch between his legs, making an effort to get hard again.
But this wasn’t about him. He hummed again and then slid farther down Xie Lian’s cock, taking advantage of the fact that he no longer needed to breathe. It had been some time since he’d done this, but maybe with his new body’s abilities…
Xie Lian wailed when Yin Yu managed to take his dick into his throat and swallowed around it repeatedly. The sound of him falling apart so beautifully caused Yin Yu to let out a moan of his own, the vibrations of which drew another noise from Xie Lian, the two of them creating a feedback loop that only ended when Xie Lian came with a shout into Yin Yu’s mouth.
“You taste divine,” Yin Yu croaked once he’d finished swallowing down all of Xie Lian’s release and pulled off of his cock. Xie Lian couldn’t answer at first, still overwhelmed by his orgasm. Yin Yu stood up on slightly shaky legs and guided him to lay back on the bed, crawling on next to him.
“A-Yu, that was…” Xie Lian said once he regained use of his voice. “Good! That was so good.” He still seemed a little dazed and blissed out, but his eyes focused on Yin Yu to smile at him, which is when he noticed a certain problem reappearing.
“You’re… again?”
“Watching Gege has that effect,” Hua Cheng suddenly chimed in again. His voice was far from its usual steady baritone, and for the first time since this started, Yin Yu found himself wondering what the ghost king was doing? Was he sitting in a room somewhere, watching them and touching himself to the sight of it? Was he looking at them, desperately wishing he was in Yin Yu’s place? (Or maybe, a small traitorous voice whispered in the back of his mind, wishing he was in Xie Lian’s?)
“Do you want my help again?” Xie Lian asked tentatively.
“You don’t have to,” Yin Yu said.
“I want to,” Xie Lian shot his own words back at him. Yin Yu nodded, and then Xie Lian’s hand was wrapping around his cock again.
He threw his head back and groaned, mind racing as intense sensation washed over him—he was still sensitive from his first orgasm. “Fuck! So good!”
He didn’t realize he’d started speaking in the communication array until Hua Cheng responded.
“Yeah? Describe it for me, A-Yu. What’s it like when His Highness touches you?”
Startled, Yin Yu glanced down at Xie Lian to see if he heard. He knew he was still a little uncertain about this, and didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but Hua Cheng spoke up again.
“He’s not listening right now. It’s just us here.”
Sure enough, Xie Lian gave no indication he realized there was a conversation going on, focused entirely on how his hand was moving on Yin Yu. The intense concentration sent a jolt up Yin Yu’s spine, and he moaned.
“Well?” Hua Cheng coaxed.
“It’s–oh! It’s so good, his– his hands–!”
Xie Lian experimentally twisted his hand on Yin Yu’s cock, pulling a strangled cry from him.
“Mm, what about his hands?” Hua Cheng’s rough voice hit a nerve in Yin Yu’s mind the same way Xie Lian’s hands wreaked havoc on his actual nerves.
“Hah– so soft, but also solid? Strong? I don’t– I don’t– I’m so close!”
“Ngh, me too,” Hua Cheng grunted, confirming Yin Yu’s earlier suspicion. The definitive knowledge that he was getting off while watching his husband pleasure Yin Yu nearly sent him over the edge, but then Hua Cheng’s voice was there again.
“Can you hold it a little longer, A-Yu? I want—mnh—want to come together.”
“Hah– fuck!” Yin Yu writhed against the sheets. He was desperate to come, but even more desperate to obey Hua Cheng’s orders, to be good.
“Chengzhu please, can’t– I can’t–”
“Fuck, A-Yu, your voice! Just a little longer.”
“Can’t! I can’t, please!” Tears formed in the corners of Yin Yu’s eyes as he begged, making direct eye contact with the butterfly. “Chengzhu, please let me–”
“Come, now!”
With a loud cry, Yin Yu did exactly that, once again covering himself and Xie Lian with ropes of cum. He trembled in the aftermath, coming down from the intense high while Xie Lian held him and whispered words of praise.
“So good, A-Yu, that was so good. Thank you.”
“Mm, thank you,” Yin Yu mumbled.
“And thank you both for the show,” a third voice rumbled.
“San Lang!” Xie Lian perked up, but couldn’t go to greet him without letting go of Yin Yu.
“Gege!” Hua Cheng walked across the room and gave him a kiss, looking way too composed for someone who had also just come, though his clothes were a little disheveled as if he had dressed quickly. “How’s our A-Yu?”
“Still a little out of it, I think,” Xie Lian replied, looking back down at Yin Yu in his arms. Yin Yu blinked up at the two of them, confused.
“Changzhu?” he asked. “I thought you were gone…”
Hua Cheng smiled, not quite the soft, indulgent smiles he always gave Xie Lian, but also not the sharp, dangerous smiles he showed the rest of the world. “Did you really think anything could keep me away if I didn’t want it to?”
Xie Lian smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, A-Yu. I was the one who asked San Lang to stay away. I just thought… the two of you had so much time together without me, and I guess I wanted to… but then I was too awkward to bring it up the first night, and then– I didn’t want to keep intruding on your space! I meant to say something first and not just– ah–”
“It’s alright,” Yin Yu cut him off, sensing he would just keep spiraling otherwise. “I really didn’t mind, and tonight was good.”
“Right, yeah,” Xie Lian agreed, still seeming a little embarrassed. Hua Cheng saved him from lingering in it too long.
“We should get you two cleaned up and move to a different bed,” he said.
“Yes!” Xie Lian agreed, happy for the distraction. “A-Yu should join us tonight, since we made such a mess of his room.”
“Mn,” Hua Cheng agreed, and before Yin Yu could say anything, he found himself in the ghost king’s arms.
“I can walk myself,” he protested, but Hua Cheng chuckled.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “You’re still shaking.”
A little, but Yin Yu would have managed. He stopped protesting anyway.
They made quick work of cleaning themselves up and then piled into Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s bed. Xie Lian insisted on taking the middle, throwing an arm around Yin Yu in the same way they had been at the start of this entire thing. Hua Cheng took his position on the other side of the god, making him hum contentedly as they settled down to sleep.
Once again in Xie Lian’s arms, Yin Yu let himself relax, content to be drifting off to sleep after receiving such care from the people he–
Realization shot through him like a bolt of lightning, and suddenly he was wide awake, only barely keeping himself from actually moving and alerting Xie Lian. Because, he knew abruptly, somehow, without his permission, he had fallen in love with these two.
…he was so screwed.