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It happened again today. He’s certain it has, because the haunting smell of flowers has returned. The situation is beginning to grate on him; this has been going on for months after all.
Wu Ming has made a habit of disappearing in the middle of the night while he sleeps, always returning just before he wakes. At first he assumed the ghost was just gathering resources, after all he always wakes to him roasting breakfast over a fire. Sometimes on particularly chilly nights he’d wake to new animal pelts thrown over him.
But as the habit went on, the excuse of just gathering resources became less likely. He disappeared every night, even when they had more than enough resources to last a few days. He’s secretive about his exploits too, never giving Xie Lian a straight answer, only deflecting questions or being infuriatingly vague.
Finally, and most damning of all, if the ghost soldier was just truly getting resources and food, then why did he always come back smelling so strongly of flowers and a long-forgotten warmth?
He shouldn’t smell like that. Ghost’s scents are said to be faint— often nonexistent if the ghost isn't strong enough to form scent glands— with a strong layer of decay to them making it near unrecognizable from the person’s original scent.
Yet whenever Wu Ming returns from wherever he went he always, always, comes back smelling of softness and flowers. He comes back smelling like faded memories of home and care. He comes back with the comforting scent that most omegas would produce to soothe an agitated alpha clinging to him like a second skin.
A quiet part of him, a part he thought long dead, feels a sense of guilt and longing. Has he truly treated the ghost so badly that he’d go desperately sneaking away to an omega lover so frequently?
But the louder, angrier, and terribly hurt part of him rebels. It hisses in his ear that they have a plan to follow, they’re already in Yong'an. His plan for revenge is almost complete, and yet Wu Ming now wants to get distracted with some mysterious nightly exploits. It makes Xie Lian seethe.
Wu Ming has sworn himself and his allegiance to him, has been pestering and following him despite everything he’s done, and is choosing to stay with him despite his so-called noble and gracious beloved still being around. The annoyed alpha scoffs. It’s infuriating and yet… it brings him a fleeting moment of relief, knowing someone still has his back.
Suddenly it occurs to him that perhaps the soldier had finally found his Beloved.
He feels a foreign tightness in his chest with the thought of the ghost leaving. But really, selfishly, he can’t let him go. He’d never admit it outloud, especially not with the desperate, hungry, starving part of him that wishes to just pin Wu Ming down and claim him, to bind the ghost to him forever.
A knock on the half-burnt door of the abandoned temple snaps him out of his thoughts. He turns and finds Wu Ming standing in the doorframe, waiting to be acknowledged before approaching him.
He frowns and turns to the ghost, spitting out an angry “What is it, ghost?”
“The food is ready, Your Highness,” Wu Ming says.
With a nod, he motions for him to leave. Which his so-called follower does, bowing his head as he walks away. The alpha scoffs as the ghost leaves behind the scent of gentle flowers in his wake. He takes a moment to gather himself before leaving their dilapidated shelter. Once he steps out he spots Wu Ming tending to a fire. There’s a plate of some sort of meat and some berries placed on a stump for him.
He sits across from the ghost, picking up the food left for him and begins to eat. They go through their usual routine, the ghost informs Xie Lian that he’d scouted out the area and confirmed there’s a battle field nearby with more resentful souls for them to collect. He estimates that it will take them the full day to gather all the spirits; this specific battleground is quite expansive.
Not that it matters, more spirits just means more resentment to unleash and decimate Yong’an with. Besides, this should be their last stop before his plan is ready to be fulfilled.
Xie Lian tries to keep listening to what else the ghost has to say, but fails to keep his mind off the alluring scent wrapping around them.
“Enough,” he stops the ghost’s report, finishing his food he stands and picks up Fangxin. “It’s time to finish what we’ve set out to do, come on.”
That's how they spend their day, gathering the last remnants of the last few resentful spirits from the war. As per Wu Ming’s earlier report, it did take them the whole day to finish the task.
When night falls yet again, the pair settle in a new shelter, a shallow cave formed from a hill that just overlooks their final destination, Lang’er Bay.
They continue a similar routine to breakfast. Wu Ming cooks and insists Xie Lian eat, then tends to the fire and sets up the few pelts he insists on bringing so Xie Lian might sleep more comfortably. Soon enough, the ghost ushers him to sleep whilst he stands guard or goes on another hunt, but this night is different.
Xie Lian resolves himself, if the ghost decides to leave tonight, he’ll follow him no matter what. He will not allow this stupid, infuriating, stubborn ghost to just abandon him too. Not after everything he’s promised.
—
Wu Ming doesn’t really know if this plan will work, but he saw his highness noticeably relax when he had the little flower offering in his hands. His god’s shoulders untensed and his scent turned happy and lively for just a moment. So, he decided he'll try to make a nest for his highness that would smell of those flowers.
His highness really doesn’t give him much leeway in setting up this little nook, but he’s tried his best. He spent hours looking for a suitable area, but he found a small, relatively stable hut. Luckily it was just close enough to all their little stops and Wu Ming didn’t have to find a way to carry all the supplies without his highness noticing.
Then came gathering the materials. By far, it was the easiest part of this plan, if not a bit tedious. The flowers were easier. They’re wild flowers that grow in clusters, and he’s found that they’ve begun to take over the battlefields, starting to cover the rot and death with their delicate petals and innocent smell.
The fabrics were harder to acquire. He managed to secure a few of his highness’ old robes, which he tucks away and leaves mostly untouched. The scraps he found were usually filthy and had the scent of death and blood and ash clinging to them so he’d had to put in extra time to clean them. The few meager blankets and pelts he procured were already heavily scented, and he washed them in a nearby river, then left them out to dry and for the smell to bleed out before soaking them in the flower’s essence.
His sense of scent was never the best; a childhood filled with hatred and contempt always clinging to the people around him ensured that. More often than not, especially now that he lives on as a ghost, he can’t even smell his own scent, so he holds it back.
So he’d been extra careful with the next task, soaking the fabrics in the flower’s scent. It took more flowers than he’d imagine but finally, just before they took off to Lang’er Bay, he finished.
Now the next real challenge is actually building said nest, he’s never really done anything like it before. So relying entirely on instinct, he starts with the larger animal pelts. Building the base of the nest, filling out the walls with the scraps and more lower quality fabrics he has, then finally covering it all with decently soft blankets and his god’s old robes. It looks a bit lopsided and really lumpy— the ghost is tempted to tear it all down. But, most importantly, he’s sure it’ll fit his god in it.
Really, he’s just glad he got enough fabric, but still surely he could build something better. But just as he was about to start disassembling the sloppy looking nest, he’s suddenly tackled to the floor.
—
Xie Lian stays true to his self-assigned mission and successfully trails after the quick little ghost. They end up in front of a shabby looking hut as he peers inside one of the barely still-attached doors and finds the ghost standing over a, truthfully, sloppy looking nest. It smells so, so, strongly of the omega— Wu Ming’s beloved— that it almost makes Xie Lian wretch.
Despite the calming nature of the nest, all the god can feel is his frustration. So, just as the ghost is seemingly about to fix the pile of fabrics, the fallen prince has enough and swiftly apprehends the ghost.
He pounces on the other and they both stumble into the pile of pleasant-smelling fabric. Xie Lian quickly pulls the ghost's arms to his back, and pins him down.
“Y-Your highness?!” Wu Ming exclaims in a shock, his mask knocked off by the god and half his face squished onto the nest’s floor.
As a wide, dark eye looks at him in shock, Xie Lian scoffs and narrows his eyes at the ghost. His scent turns sharp and sour from annoyance and distress. His distress is so potent that it encompasses the little hut and overrides the calming scent of the nest.
Then he lowers his head to look Wu Ming in the eye and bitterly hisses, “What do you think you're doing? Trying to woo some silly omega?”
Sputtering in shock, Wu Ming tries to turn his head away only to gasp as his head is pulled up forcefully by his hair and his god’s warm breath brushes against his ear. He bites his lip to prevent any disgraceful noises from slipping out. Though he can’t fully stop himself from reacting to his beloved being so near; even with his impaired senses, he just knows his scent must’ve shifted. He can only hope the other fails notice, lest he upset him even more.
In a low tone, with anger and some emotion unfamiliar to the ghost, the god proclaims, “I will not lose my ghost, my servant, to some mysterious omega. What of your promise to me, ghost?! You’d dare to abandon me like the rest!”
Wu Ming is stunned silent, processing what he just heard. His highness accepts him as his servant! He can’t help the way his eye lights up at the unofficial claim. But hearing the rest of his beloved's words has him scrambling, and he quickly rushes out reassurances.
“Your highness!” he desperately calls out, “This lowly one would never leave you! Please believe me!“
He tries to squirm from under the fallen god’s grip only to hear a warning growl from above him. Xie Lian glares at the ghost under him, that's when he notices the expression on Wu Ming’s face. He’s looking at Xie Lian with his dark, nearly void-black eye. Staring at him with such intensity that it nearly makes him falter.
But he smells the undercurrent of flowers and joy and excitement in the ghost’s faint scent and a few of his old robes tucked away in the nest. The idea that someone else had scented his ghost and had the nerve to take his old clothes and strip them of his own scent just to put them in some unfamiliar nest, makes him furious and, truthfully, jealous enough to continue his demand for answers.
“Why should I?!” Xie Lian demands, “You’ve been sneaking off to build some nest, for who else but your oh so precious beloved!”
“Well… yes, but Your Hig-“
“Stop making excuses! I can smell their stupid scent on you! You!-“
He begins to wildly rant and accuse the ghost of breaking his promises when a frustrated whine breaks him out of the loop of accusations and questions. It makes him falter yet again. He blinks and takes a breath in an attempt to calm down, yet as he breathes he’s met with the strong scent of a distressed omega.
Thinking he’s finally caught Wu Ming’s beloved, he shoots up and scans the surrounding area. But he finds no one. He doesn’t even sense anyone. Confused, he looks back down to the ghost.
“Where are you hiding that-“ He cuts himself off as he sees the expression the other is wearing.
A teary eye stares up at him. That's when pieces begin to click together. If there’s no other omega here, then… the only person that scent could be coming from would be…
“You’re… an omega…” he mumbles out, still a little in shock, taking Wu Ming’s sharp intake of breath and scent spiking as a yes.
Wu Ming stiffens just as the alpha quickly scrambles to release him and just stares for a few moments.
The omega takes the opportunity to sit up, his hair a bit messy and half falling out of its ponytail. A pink hue dusts his cheeks, one of his eyes is shut tightly, and the other is wide and teary. He stares at the god with such intensity— he looks like he’s barely a few moments away from pleading. He looks ridiculous, no doubt, but the alpha can’t help but find him pathetically adorable.
Xie Lian feels his face heat up as his instincts scream at him once again, to care for, to protect, to take the poor teary-eyed omega into the lovely nest and smother him in his scent. So tempted to reach out, but feeling himself undeserving due to his shameful actions, he begins to retreat from the omega’s nest. Though it seems the omega took his actions negatively because he sees Wu Ming look even more distraught and his scent sour further, in turn making the alpha’s spike with protectiveness.
He’s helplessly frozen, terribly unsure on what to do. Split between following his brain telling him to retreat from the nest or his screaming instincts to bundle the omega up and start scenting him. His decision is made for him when he hears a warbly whine of, ‘Alpha…’ call out to him.
As the first of Wu Ming’s tears fall, Xie Lian can’t help but coo and his instincts take over. He tackles the omega once again and they both fall into the nest. But this time, instead of pinning Wu Ming to the floor, he’s now bundling the little ghost up into his arms and close to his chest. He leans back into the nest a bit and takes a deep breath, taking in the calming effects of not only having a thoroughly scented nest but having a happy purring omega in his arms. Now that he thinks about it more clearly, he starts to think that this scent, this situation, seems oddly familiar.
“Mm…mine…” Xie Lian unconsciously rumbled out, flushing slightly at the unofficial claim but smiling happily at the happy sound Wu Ming let out because of it.
The ghost omega can’t help it. After so much struggle and strife, his god, his alpha, his beloved, is finally holding him again, claiming him even! He lets out an embarrassing, happy little sound, and surprisingly begins to let out a satisfied rumbling noise from the back of his throat.
He startles at the sound and looks around to find where it’s coming from before realizing it coming from him. He’s doing what he thought he’d never be able to do! He’s purring!
He feels his beloved let out a little laugh at his reaction, and he starts purring more as a result, happy to have made the other laugh. Soon enough, after a bit of time and some trial and error, he feels the fallen god begin to purr as well. A deep rumbling in his chest as he begins to scent his new omega.
They would need to figure out where to go from here but for now they’ll enjoy each other's company. In the solace of their small nest, surrounded by each other's happy scent with the sound of contented purring filling the air.