Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian leads Jiang Cheng around the streets for the rest of the evening, after the lanterns have been set off. The air is cool and humid, and the pier is as lively as always, filled to the brim with bustling people. It’s the Mid-Autumn festival after all, and Lotus Pier is famous for its lotus based foods, attracting travellers from far and wide.
They walk aimlessly for a while, until it’s nearly dark and the steady stream of people gradually start thinning. Munching on steamed buns and sweets, they slowly make their way back home.
Along the way, they pass a number of stalls selling soups.
Jiang Cheng pauses. One of the stalls is selling something delicious, and he wants it. No, he craves it .
Wei Wuxian turns back when Jiang Cheng doesn’t move. “A-Cheng?” he questions, smiling bemusedly at him.
“I’m hungry,” Jiang Cheng blurts out. Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows raise, and he pointedly eyes the still uneaten tanghulu in Jiang Cheng’s hand.
Jiang Cheng flushes and pushes the sweet into his alpha's hands. “I want something else.”
“Oh, uh, alright.” Wei Wuxian scans the various stalls before turning back to the omega. “What would you like?”
“I… uh…” Jiang Cheng walks over to the stall from where the delicious smell was coming from. “I want— this .” He points to one of the dishes being sold.
Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline. “Jiang Cheng…?"
Jiang Cheng pays him no mind, handing over a few coins and accepting the steaming bowl that was given. He moves to one of the nearby benches to sit. Wei Wuxian follows him, munching on the tanghulu, still looking bewildered.
"Jiang Cheng, you do know that that's Suan cai?" Wei Wuxian asks him, sounding hesitant.
Jiang Cheng raises an eyebrow at him, beginning to scoop up some of the pickled cabbage. "I have eyes, yes. What's your point, Wei Wuxian?"
The alpha watches him eat, looking more and more confused when Jiang Cheng keeps shoveling the soup into his mouth.
"A-Cheng, baobei," he says cautiously, "you hate Suan cai."
Jiang Cheng puts the bowl down on his lap with a motion strong enough to spill some of it out. “Well I like it now. Do you have a problem with that? If you want some, get it yourself.”
Wei Wuxian reels back. “I don’t want it, ugh. Look at it,” he pokes at the cabbage bits floating in the bowl with the empty tanghulu skewer, “They’re like limp, disgusting worms! You said that so yourself!”
Jiang Cheng huffs a laugh before biting into a piece of meat. He makes a face, frowning as the rich oily flavour fills his mouth in a way that makes him want to gag.
“Here,” he says, picking out some of the meat pieces. “I don’t want meat. You like duck, don’t you?” He holds it in front of Wei Wuxian’s mouth.
Wei Wuxian stares at him, speechless, but accepts it all the same, leaning over and directly eating from Jiang Cheng’s chopsticks. “What the fuck? Since when do you hate meat?!” Despite his words, he leans back in for more and Jiang Cheng indulges him for once, feeding him slowly.
Jiang Cheng hums. “It’s normal, you dummy. Remember A-Jie when she was pregnant with Jin Ling? She refused to make lotus root soup for a month because she couldn’t stand the smell? It’s the same thing here.”
“Oh,” Wei Wuxian says. He smacks his lips and makes a face. “Of all things to develop a craving for, you had to choose Suan cai.”
“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng grumbles. “It’s not like I had a choice. It’s the little one’s fault.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes predictably light up like stars, his face slackening into a disgustingly sappy expression. “Our little one,” he whispers under his breath, and Jiang Cheng turns away from him a little, partly to hide his own probably-just-as-sappy face. His heart squeezes with affection when he thinks of their child (their child!) and the future that he’d never thought he’d get to experience.
The evening air is gentle and calming as Jiang Cheng munches slowly on the vegetables. He turns to face his unusually silent husband (his heart still flutters wildly when he thinks of that word), startling when he meets Wei Wuxian’s gaze head on. The other man is smiling softly at him, the curves of his lips sweet and genuine, his wide grey eyes twinkling.
Jiang Cheng frowns around the food in his mouth. “What?”
“Nothing!” Wei Wuxian laughs, the edge of his smile turning sly. “It’s just,” he leans over, and pokes Jiang Cheng’s full cheek, grinning widely, “You look so cute, like a little squirrel!”
Jiang Cheng sputters. “Y-You—!”
“Feed me, husband,” Wei Wuxian says, without a hint of shame, still grinning wide enough to hurt. “I want the duck.”
Jiang Cheng huffs in irritation, shoving a piece into the other’s mouth, Wei Wuxian’s lips eagerly wrapping around the meat. “Shameless!”
He tries to pull the chopsticks away, but… Wei Wuxian wasn’t letting go of them? Jiang Cheng frowns in question, only for his throat to dry up when he looks up.
Wei Wuxian’s curling his lips around the chopsticks, his eyes taking on a teasing glint as he sucks lightly on the edges. His tongue flicks out to lick at the smooth wood and he winks lasciviously.
Jiang Cheng feels his cheeks flare up. “Wei Wuxian, we’re in public.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just eating.” His idiot husband says around the wood, one edge of his mouth curling up into a shit-eating grin. He still hasn’t let go of the chopsticks. Jiang Cheng’s hands tremble slightly when Wei Wuxian makes an absolutely indecent noise. “I’m so hungry…” he whines.
“For fuck’s sake!” Jiang Cheng shouts, turning around to hide his tomato-red face, clutching the bowl protectively to his chest. “If you’re so damn hungry, then get your own!”
Wei Wuxian laughs, the sound echoing through the streets like the peals of bells. Despite himself, Jiang Cheng feels his lips twist into a smile.
____________________
Wei Wuxian enters their room first, stretching his arms wide and yawning. Jiang Cheng follows behind, feeling calm and drowsy, one palm lying on his stomach where he had felt their child moving about not two hours before. His husband turns around to smile sleepily at him, gathering Jiang Cheng into his arms and tucking his face in his neck.
"Mmm, A-Cheng..." Wei Wuxian breathes against Jiang Cheng's skin, "you're incredible."
Jiang Cheng flushes at the praise. Wei Wuxian's hands come down to rub gently at the swell of Jiang Cheng's stomach. "I'm sure this little one agrees as well," he says, patting the side of his stomach fondly. "You agree with your dad, don't you, my little one? Say yes, sweetheart?"
The omega man huffs and pushes the alpha's hand away.
"Are you stupid?" Jiang Cheng snorts. "It's not like they can understand you."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Wei Wuxian chuckles, sliding down onto his knees. He pushes his face against Jiang Cheng's stomach, nuzzling into his body. "She can hear everything we tell her."
A warm feeling swells in Jiang Cheng's belly, right where Wei Wuxian's pointed nose was rubbing against his baby bump. It spreads through his body, making him feel soft and fuzzy. "She?" Jiang Cheng questions softly. "How are you so sure?"
"Mm," Wei Wuxian croons against Jiang Cheng's stomach. "I know it. She'll be the most beautiful baby, the pride of Yunmeng. As beautiful as her father."
Jiang Cheng snorts again, and swats his hand across Wei Wuxian's head. His husband makes a protesting noise. "Doesn't your shamelessness know no bounds? How narcissistic of you!" He raises his hand to slap him again. "Get up before I hit you again!"
Wei Wuxian gets up with a grin, dodging Jiang Cheng's hands with practiced ease, wrapping his arms around Jiang Cheng once more. "Jiang Cheng, why are you calling me narcissistic?" He chuckles. "I was talking about you!"
Jiang Cheng's face flames. "M-Me?" His heart thumps loudly at the praise, but he violently shoves the emotions down. "How utterly ridiculous."
Wei Wuxian laughs, loud and merry. Jiang Cheng scowls and his hands curl. He jabs Wei Wuxian's sides viciously, smirking when Wei Wuxian squeals and squirms away in protest. He does it again and again, before Wei Wuxian grabs his wrist and forcefully tugs Jiang Cheng towards him.
Their faces are so close . Jiang Cheng sucks in a sharp breath, his eyes widening at the other man's proximity. He can smell his alpha's scent so strongly, thick and cloudy in the hot night air. Instinctively, he turns his face upwards, baring his throat, his eyelids slowly sliding close as Wei Wuxian leans in.
Wei Wuxian's eyes suddenly glimmer with a wicked light, and Jiang Cheng is immediately on guard, but he's too slow; Wei Wuxian grabs him and begins to run his fingers along Jiang Cheng's sides, tickling him mercilessly.
"No—! Ah-hah... no stop that..! Haha... Stop it! W-wei.. hahah!" Jiang Cheng can't stop the laughter from pouring out as Wei Wuxian continues the tickle torture. "No...!" Wei Wuxian laughs, ducking whenever Jiang Cheng swipes at him, in that utterly infuriating manner he has.
"You... b-bastard!" Jiang Cheng gasps, managing to slip out of his grasp, heaving for breath. He coughs for a while, glaring daggers at the man in front of him.
"But Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian pouts, before grinning at him. "Don't you know my parents were married, you dummy?"
That is. The last straw…!
Jiang Cheng leaps at Wei Wuxian and they scramble around each other, fingers trying to aim for the best spots for tickling. This fight is so familiar, and for a few moments Jiang Cheng is transported back to his childhood, when he and Wei Wuxian were young and so carefree, always trying to one-up each other in childish ways, not caring about the rest of the world. He ignores the pangs of longing and sorrow in his heart, focusing instead on how Wei Wuxian is again twisting and turning away like a light-footed sparrow whenever Jiang Cheng gets too close, and it is so annoying—!
Jiang Cheng stops suddenly, doubling over and clutching at his stomach. He swallows great gulps of air, ignoring the way Wei Wuxian gasps and scrambles over.
"Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian's voice is panicked, rife with worry, "What happened? Are you—"
Jiang Cheng tackles him, and they both end up on the floor.
"You tricked me!" Wei Wuxian howls, while Jiang Cheng straddles him with a triumphant smirk. He rains his fingers down Wei Wuxian's torso, revelling in the way his muscles spasm under his touch.
"No!!!!" Wei Wuxian cries. "I yield!! Mercy!! Mercy, Sect Leader Jiang!!"
Jiang Cheng relents, leaning back against Wei Wuxian's thighs. He pants, feeling light-headed, his mind floating like his brain's filled with air.
Wei Wuxian drags an arm over his eyes, breath coming out in heaving puffs. His skin is flushed a soft pink, his hair nearly loose from its ribbon and spreading in curls on the floor, his lively grey eyes glittering with mirth. He looks lovely, spread out underneath Jiang Cheng, a vision of beauty. His steady, familiar scent of spicy musk and sweat wafts upwards towards Jiang Cheng, making him feel even dizzier.
Wei Wuxian glares at Jiang Cheng, panting. "You are… such an asshole, Jiang Cheng!"
"And you're..." Jiang Cheng doesn't mean to say it, really but Wei Wuxian just looks so—
"Beautiful," he breathes out, and Wei Wuxian flushes bright red, his mouth falling open. Jiang Cheng's eyes widen as he realises what he just said, and he looks away, his face burning.
"Y-You... A-Cheng!" Wei Wuxian's voice is hoarse, " D-Dont just say things like that?! Give me a warning first before you get all sappy!"
Jiang Cheng feels a smile spreading across his face, sharp and predatory. "Oh?" He purrs, bending forward to drag his nose along Wei Wuxian's jaw and neck, "Can't I call my mate beautiful? Am I not allowed to?"
Wei Wuxian's breath hitches. His hands fly up to curl around Jiang Cheng's shoulders, fingers digging in tight. "My mate is wonderful, strong..." He rubs his neck against Wei Wuxian's scent glands, rubbing his own scent against where Wei Wuxian's scent is strongest. "Beautiful, enchanting...and mine, all mine..." Jiang Cheng nips Wei Wuxian's ear lightly.
"My alpha," he growls into Wei Wuxian's ear.
He's entirely prepared for it when Wei Wuxian flips them over, a hand protectively shielding his baby bump. His breath leaves his lungs with a whoosh, but he still smirks up at Wei Wuxian as his alpha looms over him. Wei Wuxian's eyes are dark, his gaze hot and piercing on Jiang Cheng's body. He bends down, the ends of his hair trailing teasingly over Jiang Cheng's chest.
"Don't start what you can't finish, my omega." Wei Wuxian breathes in Jiang Cheng's ear, his lips brushing the lobe, before he bites down lightly against the bond mark on his neck. Jiang Cheng shivers as the mark tingles, shooting sparks down his spine. He whines and arches towards his husband, wordlessly begging for more. Wei Wuxian nips his neck in little teasing bites, and Jiang Cheng moans shamelessly, his hands flying up to loop around Wei Wuxian's neck.
Wei Wuxian chuckles darkly. "If you keep doing that, I won't be able to control myself." His voice has dropped several octaves, sounding deep and husky.
Jiang Cheng shudders again, and bares his neck to Wei Wuxian, fully submitting to his husband. "What if I don't want you to?" He gasps breathlessly. Wei Wuxian growls against his neck, aggressively scenting him, dragging his tongue over Jiang Cheng's scent glands and his bond mark in long wet strokes. He can feel himself getting aroused, his dick starting to rise in his pants, his insides feeling a little wetter.
Wei Wuxian breathes heavily against the hollow of his throat before releasing him. "We can't," he sighs against his cheek, dropping a chaste kiss on his lips, before leaning back. "You're too tired for this. You need rest, and plenty of it, especially after today." He gets to his feet and Jiang Cheng stares incredulously at him.
"Since when are you the responsible one?" He demands. He feels rejected, his omega instincts rebelling and crying out at the sight of his alpha pulling away from him.
Wei Wuxian smiles at him, before pulling him to his feet, tucking Jiang Cheng against his side and walking him to the bed. He sits Jiang Cheng down and pulls off his outer robes for him, freeing the heavy accessories from Jiang Cheng's head. He rubs his thumb against the crease on Jiang Cheng's forehead, smiling lightly at him. "A-Cheng," he implores, and Jiang Cheng huffs, before smoothening his face into a neutral expression. Wei Wuxian drops a kiss on Jiang Cheng's forehead, turning away to pull off his own robes.
"Ever since we started expecting," he answers softly. Jiang Cheng frowns again.
"I'm not made of fucking glass," he protests. Wei Wuxian huffs and grins at him. "Of course not," he says, flopping onto the bed and pulling Jiang Cheng towards him. Jiang Cheng curls on his side, facing away from his husband. Wei Wuxian reaches over him to tuck a pillow under Jiang Cheng's swollen stomach, then settles behind him with a groan, plastering his chest against Jiang Cheng’s back.
"You're the strongest person I know, Jiang Cheng," he murmurs against Jiang Cheng’s loose hair, and the omega buries his face in the pillow, trembling.
Wei Wuxian's hands come up slowly to press against his shoulders, massaging the taut flesh. Jiang Cheng's muscles loosen of their own accord, an unknown tension seeping away from his body. His hands move to press against his lower back, and Jiang Cheng groans as the now ever-present ache abates.
Wei Wuxian chuckles. "Sleep, my mate," he says. "You need it."
Indeed, a cloud of drowsiness envelops Jiang Cheng, his eyelids feeling heavy as he fights off the inevitable sleep.
It's not often he feels the age gap between them, but this is one of the few times he feels like Wei Wuxian is truly older than him. No one knows Jiang Cheng better than Wei Wuxian does, no one can read Jiang Cheng's thoughts and anticipate his needs so quickly, even before Jiang Cheng realises it himself.
A soulmate bond, he's heard some people say. Did you know? The Sect Leader and his right hand man, they're truly meant to be!
"Sleep, A-Cheng," Wei Wuxian murmurs against his neck. "I'll take care of you."
Enveloped in the haze of Wei Wuxian's words and his own pleasant thoughts, Jiang Cheng drifts off to sleep.
____________________
Jiang Cheng blinks his eyes open. He yawns lightly, rubbing his eyes, wiping off the last vestiges of sleep. The sunrays are streaming in through the open window, illuminating the surroundings in a soft, hazy glow.
A loud snore interrupts his drifting thoughts and he looks down to see Wei Wuxian's head perched on his chest. His hair was messy as always, sprawled every which way over Jiang Cheng's torso. Jiang Cheng's arm was wrapped possessively around his waist, while Wei Wuxian's own hand rested protectively on the swell of Jiang Cheng's belly.
Jiang Cheng's heart flutters as he gazes at Wei Wuxian's sleeping face. He used to be jealous of these handsome features before, the way everyone's heads used to turn whenever Wei Wuxian prances down the street, with his charming smiles and cheeky winks. But now, all he feels is a bubble of satisfaction, because this handsome alpha belongs to him.
He jolts when Wei Wuxian suddenly snickers loudly. "Barely nine in the morning and you're already smirking like an evil villain, Jiang Cheng." He blinks his eyes open, smiling up at the omega, who hastily smoothens his expression, "Should I be scared?"
Jiang Cheng snorts. Pushing him away, he moves to get up, only to flinch as something in his stomach spasms.
He inhales sharply. "Fuck," he grits out, massaging his gut.
"A-Cheng?" Wei Wuxian pipes up worriedly when Jiang Cheng falls back onto the pillow with a groan.
Fuck, it's his heat.
It's been... what four, five months since his last one?
It makes sense, Jiang Cheng thinks dimly.
But then, he's not supposed to get a heat right now, right? He's pregnant. All heats would have stopped until the baby was born. Then why...?
"Jiang Cheng, A-Cheng, say something!" Wei Wuxian's biting his lip nervously, his hands gripping Jiang Cheng's own where it's pressed against his belly. "Should I call Wen Qing?!"
Jiang Cheng debates for a moment before nodding shakily. He settles back against the pillows, closing his eyes and focusing on taking deep breaths.
There was a time when he'd just ignore the symptoms, would go about his day like nothing was wrong; but times have changed. He'd never do anything to endanger his child, his and Wei Ying's child.
He feels a light flutter from inside his abdomen and smiles despite himself. Wei Wuxian's words from the previous night drift back to him.
She can hear everything we tell her.
"You're really here, huh." He murmurs. "Your other father's convinced you are going to be a girl. He thinks he'll be able to handle a little girl running through the piers and around the lakes. What an idiot."
He laughs to himself. He can picture a young face in his mind's eye, with his flint blue eyes and Wei Ying's bright smile.
"It doesn't matter to me if you're a girl or a boy," he whispers, softly caressing his belly. "I'd love you all the same. So much."
The door bangs open, jolting Jiang Cheng from his thoughts. Wen Qing walks in with confident strides, Wei Wuxian following behind her with a harried expression.
He moved to sit up straight, but Wen Qing flaps her hand at him. "Lie down," she hisses. Wei Wuxian is at his side in an instant, taking his hand in his own. "Jiang Cheng," he whispers, rubbing the back of his hand.
"It's just pre-heat symptoms," he tells them both. She frowns at him, but the set of her shoulders relax and the slightly sour tinge in her scent eases away.
"Of course you'd be that troublesome type of omega," she says, pressing her hand against Jiang Cheng's forehead, steadily checking Jiang Cheng's energy for any fluctuations.
"Hey," Wei Wuxian growls from beside Jiang Cheng.
"I'm not insulting him," Wen Qing gives Wei Wuxian a sharp look, and he wilts. "Knotheads, all of you are the bloody same," she grumbles under her breath.
Jiang Cheng stifles a smile as Wei Wuxian puffs up in indignation, "But you're an alpha too, doctor. "
Wen Qing ignores him, turning to Jiang Cheng. "Your body is just exceedingly fertile. It's not unheard of for an omega to get a heat while pregnant. With luck, you'd only have to spend one or two days in this mini-heat. Treat it like any other heat. You know the drill."
Jiang Cheng nods with a frown. Trust his body to continue to make problems for him. He had a sect to run, dammit. How can he do his job if he's indisposed all the damn time?
Wen Qing calmly explains for a while, before bowing and turning to leave.
"Wait a second," Wei Wuxian asks suddenly. "Will he be able to get knocked up again?!"
Jiang Cheng groans. "Wei Ying!"
"...What? No." Wen Qing pins Wei Wuxian with a flat look, then raises her eyebrows incredulously at Jiang Cheng, as if to ask, you really married this idiot?
Jiang Cheng's ears burn in embarrassment. Wei Wuxian pouts beside him. "Unfair," he moans. "I want another baby!"
"Let this one be born first!"
"I'm leaving," Wen Qing declares. "You can come collect a pamphlet from my room later, if you have anymore questions."
She sweeps away from the room, leaving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian to bicker amongst themselves.
“No, but seriously,” The alpha man frowns, “Maybe I should create a spell that’ll allow you to have more children at the same ti—”
“You do that, and I’ll tear your balls off.” Jiang Cheng says calmly.
Wei Wuxian stares at him, horrified. “Jiang Cheng!” he shouts.
Jiang Cheng laughs.
____________________
According to Wen Qing, it would take a few hours for the mini-heat to strike him properly, so Jiang Cheng sets off towards his usual activities. He eats with Wei Wuxian (Suan cai, again?! Jiang Cheng, how disgusting!) , oversees the disciples, eats again, this time without Wei Wuxian (he’s hungry dammit, he’s eating for two now), makes appropriate preparations for his heat, and finally joins Wei Wuxian in a pavilion facing the wide open lotus lake.
By the time he was done, his feet ached and the cramps were back in full force. His body temperature has been rising steadily, his clothes starting to feel heavy and restrictive as the heat’s symptoms start to kick in. It usually doesn't take this long for a heat to strike; Jiang Cheng attributes this to the rare circumstances of this particular heat.
He’s been feeling more and more sore as the days pass and his belly gets fuller and fuller. He’s dreading the day when he’d finally not be allowed to walk anywhere or do anything without his husband looming alert and overprotective behind him. There’s a lot of things Jiang Cheng hates, and being treated like someone helpless is pretty much at the top of his list.
Still, he’d grin and bear it. It’s for their little one, after all.
It doesn’t mean he can't bitch about it though, and so he falls against his husband with a sigh. “This is all your fault,” he grumbles against the crook of Wei Wuxian’s neck. Wei Wuxian always smells good, but with his mini-heat so nearby, he smells positively delicious to Jiang Cheng. His sensitive nose fills with the flavour of spice and cinnamon musk, and he noses against Wei Wuxian’s throat for a while before he shoves him away.
Damn his stupid ever-fluctuating pregnancy moods.
“All right?” Wei Wuxian asks cautiously, and Jiang Cheng nods shakily. He’s fine. Everything just hurts like a bitch and the rising and falling hormones in his body makes him want to throw the biggest tantrum of the goddamn century, but it’s nothing he can’t handle, really.
“Come here,” His husband says, sitting down on one of the several comfortable divans and pats his side. Jiang Cheng follows, too tired to argue, curling up against his chest sulkily. Wei Wuxian slowly massages his back like he did last night, easing out the knots. The touch of his skin sends sparks tingling along his skin, but he restrains himself. Now wasn’t the time, they needed to save their energy for later.
“Oh by the way,” Wei Wuxian begins conversationally. “Wen Qing gave me the pamphlet on mini-heats. Here,” He dangles a small book in front of Jiang Cheng’s face. “She says it can help.”
Jiang Cheng takes it tiredly. He’s in no mood to read, but still flips the book open. A few pages fall out of it, and Jiang Cheng grabs them before they could be carried away by the breeze. He brings them to his nose, the pages blurring in his vision. He blinks twice, before the words spin into view—
‘—force of his beauty shakes the heavens;
His eyes as fierce as thundering storms, my heart’s aflame;
With a smile as radiant as a full moon’s light—’
Jiang Cheng turns around and flings the papers at him, his ears positively flaring in embarrassment. “Wei Wuxian, you—! What is this?!”
Wei Wuxian crows in uproarious laughter, and Jiang Cheng wants to crawl into a hole. “You’re at this nonsense again?!”
Wei Wuxian has had the annoying habit of writing ridiculously romantic love poems and leaving them around Lotus Pier for Jiang Cheng to find, back in the past when they were still a bit younger, still shy and hesitant around each other. He’d thought Wei Wuxian had grown out of it by now, after they got married and mated.
“I got inspired.” Wei Wuxian grins at him shamelessly, the utter brat. He hugs Jiang Cheng from behind, nuzzling into his back. “A-Cheng, you can be so mean sometimes. I thought it was great!”
"It's…" Disgustingly saccharine. Cheesy as hell but ridiculously, inexplicably flattering as always. "Completely stupid. I can't believe you're still wasting your time on this bullshit."
"It's not a waste of time when it's you," Wei Wuxian mumbles into his nape, utterly sincere, and Jiang Cheng buries his blushing face in his hands. If it weren't for the sake of propriety and the pain in his body, he'd have already jumped his husband by now.
It seems Wei Wuxian finally took pity on him, for he laughs and draws back. "Turn around," he says, and Jiang Cheng obediently does, watching him with hooded eyes.
Wei Wuxian bends and takes hold of Jiang Cheng's feet, lightly tugging off his boots. Jiang Cheng shivers as the cool breeze hits his toes. Wei Wuxian arranges them so that Jiang Cheng's back is pressed against one arm of the divan, and his feet placed in Wei Wuxian's lap, his husband slowly massaging the pads of his feet and driving the ache away.
Jiang Cheng groans as a pleasant feeling envelops him, his body sagging into the soft cushion underneath him. The potency of Wei Wuxian's scent has also reduced with the distance, finally clearing his mind. He peeks at Wei Wuxian, watching as he diligently rolls Jiang Cheng's feet around with all the intense concentration he usually gives his precious talismans. No matter how much time they’ve spent with each other, it still makes his heart bloom with ecstatic joy to have so much of Wei Wuxian's time and energy spent on him.
He reminds himself to do something nice for Wei Wuxian after this is over. Something ridiculously romantic, just like how Wei Ying likes, but not too over the top.
His mind feels hazy, his breaths slowing down, his eyes closing of their own accord.
He hears Wei Wuxian smile. "Are you sleeping? Am I that good?" He pauses for a while, but continues when there's no response. "Perhaps you should grab some shut-eye. Conserve your energy, you know?"
His eyes are already closed, but Jiang Cheng still pouts when Wei Wuxian stops his ministrations. "Don't wanna sleep." He wants to continue watching Wei Wuxian, continue basking under the depth of his affection. (A part of him honestly feels ashamed at being so desperate, so needy, but he brushes it off.)
Wei Wuxian tuts. "Sleep. You're exhausted." Jiang Cheng wriggles his feet in Wei Wuxian's lap, and the alpha pinches one of his toes in retaliation. "Sleep, you big baby," he clicks his tongue at him and Jiang Cheng scowls.
"Yes, mother," he shoots back, smirking when Wei Wuxian shudders and makes a face in response. Wei Wuxian releases his feet, and yawns widely. He leans over Jiang Cheng and plops his head into the omega's lap, nuzzling into his stomach.
Absently, Jiang Cheng's hands come up to slowly stroke through those wild, untamed locks. "Mm, I'm sleepy too," Wei Wuxian whines, settling against him fully. "Let's sleep together, what do you say?"
Jiang Cheng leans his head back against the arm of the divan, sighing softly. "Sounds good," he mumbles, already drifting off.
He doesn't see Wei Wuxian smiling up at him, eyes full of tenderness and a slight trace of sadness.