Chapter Text
Cui Buqu had no romantic ideas around sex. When he was younger and slightly healthier, between flares of his illness he had several dalliances with men and women. There was no emotion involved in these activities; Cui Buqu was merely curious to satisfy his own urges, and then eager to see how this newfound knowledge could best be put to use to manipulate others. This changed once he entered the Zuoyue Bureau, however. His proximity to power, as well as his own position, made him a potential target for that very manipulation he had turned against others- not to mention the likelihood of attempted assassination. It was just too much trouble to ensure the background and allegiance of a potential sexual partner was exactly as they had stated and not merely a cover to literally stab him in the back- or worse, try to extract embarrassing information from him. As a result, whenever those urges arose, Cui Buqu had simply shifted to taking care of them on his own. Sex to him was a natural part of life, no different than eating or drinking.
However, he was surprised to discover that once the Second Commander of Jiejian Fu had insinuated himself into his life, those urges reared their head more than they had in the recent past. And if he had, more than once, pushed himself over the edge by imagining that annoying peacock finally being shut up by Cui Buqu’s cock in his mouth… well, it was only natural to have such thoughts about his infuriating rival.
In the months following Cui Buqu’s most narrow escape from taking a trip to the Yellow Springs yet, his long recovery period recuperating from his very serious injuries meant he had an unfortunate amount of time to consider the vicissitudes of fate that had lead to his current entanglement with perhaps the most aggravating, puffed-up, self-important phoenix to ever walk the earth.
Like an ill-spirit summoned by Cui Buqu’s very thoughts, during this time Feng Xiao found increasingly ridiculous excuses to appear at the Zuoyue Bureau, and always made sure that his figure was displayed in the most flattering light when dropping by the Commander’s sickbed.
Cui Buqu would neither confirm nor deny that the Second Commander posing just so in the late afternoon light, or leaning towards him with his body all taught and perfect lines made his heart skip beats in ways that he could not attribute to his chronic health condition. He would, however, readily admit with great relish that the arresting effect was sadly ruined by both Feng Xiao’s habitual inability to keep his stupid, perfect mouth from running incessantly, as well as by the regrowth of his hair being in that awkward stage between shaved and short, and standing on end as a result.
Feng Xiao was not subtle. It would take a far less intelligent man than Cui Buqu to be in the dark about what Feng Xiao’s true intentions were every time the peacock “just happened” to appear at his bedside. And so, unfortunately, Cui Buqu was extremely aware of exactly what direction Feng Xiao was attempting to steer their relationship in as he strutted around the Bureau. The upside of his truly dire injuries meant that aside from the few roguish kisses that the Second Commander had managed to wheedle out of him, any other activities were strictly off the table for the time being. Meaning that Cui Buqu had time to think. And he had much to consider, particularly as he still struggled to figure out why on earth the self-declared peerless beauty would ever want to be with him of all people.
Cui Buqu’s passable, average looks had been hollowed out by a lifetime of illness and countless near-misses with death, and his personality did little to endear him to others. Meanwhile, anyone could see that Feng Xiao’s high opinion of his own looks was, annoyingly, incredibly warranted. And as long as he kept his mouth shut, there was no denying he was a very appealing man who drew others towards him. There was also the matter of Feng Xiao’s near preternatural abilities in martial arts- Cui Buqu knew he would never be able to keep up with him physically.
With these factors in mind, for a long while Cui Buqu had come to the most logical conclusion regarding Feng Xiao’s attention- it was clearly a part of a long-running attempt to pit him, and merely had the benefit of on occasion assisting with their cases when they had journeyed around the jianghu together. But once Feng Xiao had carried him out of that underground chamber of death, getting his blood all over his perfect, clean robes, Cui Buqu had to face the fact that for whatever incomprehensible reason, Feng Xiao was genuinely attracted to him, and truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.
Cui Buqu struggled to understand why anyone would choose to love him. Even his biological family- the very people who should have cared for him out of a sense of propriety and familial duty, if nothing more- decided that he was too much of an inconvenience and had easily discarded him. Why would anyone else want him if they weren’t obligated to?
Cui Buqu had long ago accepted the fact that his life would be short, and he would die alone. After all, who would ever willingly choose to partner themselves to a heartless and sickly spouse whose chances of surviving the winter grew smaller every year?
But since Feng Xiao inserted himself into his life, Cui Buqu was forced to examine the fact that the cold and cunning Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau, whose very name struck fear in the hearts of members of the Imperial Court and the martial arts world alike, was in his own heart of hearts desperately lonely and longed for companionship.
The problem was, in order to accept that companionship, he would first have to admit he also was prey to human feelings. Cui Buqu would gladly accept another knife to the chest rather than show any kind of weakness.
Thus ran the thoughts of the Commander of the Zuoyue Bureau during the long months of his recovery. By the time Cui Buqu had been give the all clear from his doctors to resume his normal activities, with Feng Xiao’s constant presence both an aggravation as well as a strange comfort, Cui Buqu decided that the time had more than passed for some deceive action on his part, lest he be pestered to an even earlier grave by Feng Xiao’s constant chattering.
And so, when Feng Xiao peaked his head in and began speaking about some nonsense or other the next afternoon, Cui Buqu decided that enough was enough. With a heavy sigh and a great show of reluctance, he cut off the phoenix by pushing himself up from his desk.
“Close the door.”
Feng Xiao paused. Most likely this silence was caused by the fact that Cui Buqu had already begun taking off his outer robe.
“Unless you’re into that sort of thing,” Cui Buqu added as he walked around the low screen that partially hid his bed. His remarks were punctuated by the soft thump of his robes hitting the floor.
Feng Xiao quickly complied, and was, for once in his life, blissfully silent. He followed Cui Buqu around the screen, utterly transfixed by the Commander, who by now had taken out his jade crown pin and was shaking down his hair. This was no happy accident on Cui Buqu’s part; he was, of course, incredibly aware of the strange effect his hair being down had on the Second Commander.
Sitting on the bed, Cui Buqu began to loosen the ties to his inner robes, allowing the soft fabric to hang off of his body. Cui Buqu didn’t put much stock in his body’s appearance especially now after his long period of convalescence- he knew he was too boney and too pale in an unhealthy rather than alluring kind of a way, with his green veins too visible and his sallow skin too easily bruised, but still Feng Xiao stood in the middle of the room, looking very much like a dog that had actually managed to catch a carriage.
A slight smirk snuck across Cui Buqu’s face. So far so good. “Well, Feng’er, were you planning on joining me, or have the last several weeks just been a bluff on the Second Commander’s part?”
Feng Xiao licked his lips. He was clearly slowly approaching the pit that Cui Buqu was so kindly digging before him. Cui Buqu could practically see steam coming from his ears from the mental exertion as Feng Xiao examined the metaphorical trap from all angles. The question was, would he jump?
Feng Xiao cleared his throat, his voice slightly hoarse, “When was the last time the sheets were changed?”
Cui Buqu smiled; Feng Xiao had walked up to the edge, and just needed the smallest push. “This afternoon. And it just so happens that I bathed not long before you arrived. My hair is still damp.”
Feng Xiao ‘jumped’.
In reply, the phoenix began quickly divesting himself of his outer robes. Cui Buqu couldn’t help the quirk of his lips as he watched Feng Xiao quickly but carefully drape them over the screen rather than allow them to fall to the floor along with Cui Buqu’s robes; his phoenix was so predictable.
With a surge forward, Feng Xiao quickly joined Cui Buqu on the bed, their mouths meeting hard, and the force of Feng Xiao’s forward momentum pushing Cui Buqu onto his back. Feng Xiao seemed determined to make up for the months of being forced to endure only the most brief and chaste of kisses, and Cui Buqu quickly found himself overwhelmed- by the phoenix’s insistent mouth over his, and Feng Xiao’s hand at the back of his neck and carding in his hair, pushing them together like he couldn’t bear for there to be any distance between them. When Feng Xiao finally remembered to give Cui Buqu a chance to breathe, Cui Buqu felt the need to gasp out, “Careful, being able to breathe is essential to my continuing recovery.” He was going to have some marks that would be awkward to explain to his doctors tomorrow.
In reply, Feng Xiao began making his way along Cui Buqu’s jaw instead, down to the hollow of his throat with more gentle but no less hungry kisses. Cui Buqu was startled to find just how sensitive he was to every thing that Feng Xiao was doing, as if he were an excitable teenager. It was, frankly, embarrassing. He decided that it was simply because it had been a very long time since he’d engaged in this type of activity with another person; surely that was it and nothing else.
As Feng Xiao slid Cui Buqu’s inner robes off his sharp shoulders and continued his way down, muttering eye-rolling praises between kisses, licks, and the gentlest of bites, Cui Buqu was struggling to maintain full control of himself.
He had decided during his period of recovery that the reason why he had always been flustered by Feng Xiao’s physical expressions of affection in the past was simply because they had caught him off-guard. He came to the logical conclusion that the solution to his dilemma was simple- he merely needed to be the one to initiate, and be in control of the situation at all times. The issue was, Cui Buqu was already finding that to be easier said than done, and they’d barely begun.
Just as Cui Buqu was about to bite his lip to keep from making a truly cringe-worthy noise as Feng Xiao had begun rubbing his thumb over one of his nipples while working his mouth on his neck, the infuriating man stopped, and looked up at Cui Buqu through his lashes. “Stop that.”
Cui Buqu was genuinely at a loss. “Stop what?”
“I can hear you thinking from here.”
Oh. “Well, maybe you need to give me something else to think about.”
Feng Xiao narrowed his eyes smugly at Cui Buqu, before pointedly glancing down between Cui Buqu’s legs, where his cock was very much paying attention and tenting his trousers.
“Don’t flatter yourself, this is a normal level of reaction for this type of activity, you know.”
Feng Xiao quirked his lips at him. “I don’t, actually.”
Cui Buqu pushed himself up on his elbows. “What do you mean?” Feng Xiao also sat up, so he was level with Cui Buqu, who realized at that moment what Feng Xiao was saying. Cui Buqu’s face was getting hot for some reason. “You’ve never done this with anyone else?”
“This venerable one has not.”
“I had assumed…”
Feng Xiao sat back on his heels and grinned widely, “I know my level of skill thus far has surely led you to assume I have more experience in these matters.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Ah,” Feng Xiao nodded sagely. “Then perhaps you thought my incomparable good looks would have netted me many a bedfellow over the years?” Cui Buqu had in fact thought something exactly like that, but he would rather be struck dead on the spot than say such words out loud. Feng Xiao nonetheless smiled as if he had. “Though many have tried, I have never been interested. Until now.” Feng Xiao locked eyes with Cui Buqu, “Until you.”
Cui Buqu’s chest suddenly felt stuffy, and his heart a bit itchy. Maybe he was having a relapse.
Feng Xiao smirked in that annoying, self-satisfied way of his, and had the audacity to pat Cui Buqu’s thigh. “Fortunately for my wife, I am a quick study.” And with that, he went back to work making his way down to the hollow of Cui Buqu’s neck, where he could feel his pulse running at what was probably a dangerous speed, considering. Just as Cui Buqu was beginning to pant in earnest as Feng Xiao was nipping along his sharp collar bone, Feng Xiao stopped again. He’d noticed the scar on Cui Buqu’s chest where he had stabbed him. There he paused, as if admiring his handiwork.
Though it was fully healed, it was still new and pink and shiny, and stood out clearly against the Commander’s sallow skin. Feng Xiao began rubbing it with his thumb- an action that Cui Buqu had no idea would make him feel so exposed.
And the truth was, the circumstances of the Commander’s acquisition of that scar were ones he did not particularly care to dwell on. Yes, he completely understood why the Second Commander took the course of action that he did, and he would have done the exact same thing if their roles had been reversed (though, would he have missed Feng Xiao’s heart? Cui Buqu didn’t care to dwell too long on that hypothetical either). And of course he was grateful that Feng Xiao had figured out a way to save both of their lives from an impossible situation... However, the fact remained, completely aside from the agonizing physical injury that Feng Xiao had caused, it had been, if Cui Buqu were to be honest, rather traumatizing to have thought he had been literally stabbed in the heart by a man he had made the difficult choice to trust- let alone by a person for whom he had a complicated, messy, annoying attraction.
So in an attempt to lessen the strangely vulnerable, uncomfortable feeling that scar brought up, Cui Buqu managed to grind out in a slightly petulant tone, “You did that, you know.”
Feng Xiao nodded, very seriously. He seemed to be taken with the scar in a way that made Cui Buqu want to squirm. He finally whispered, reverently, “I know.”
“You almost killed me.”
At that Feng Xiao shook his head, still deathly serious. “I knew what I was doing.”
Cui Buqu decided he’d had enough of that particular topic, and threw out, “Unlike now.”
That seemed to break whatever spell the scar had put Feng Xiao under, because in response Feng Xiao once again picked up his habitable air of a conceited, peerless beauty. He had the audacity to actually lick the scar, making Cui Buqu hiss.
Feng Xiao smirked in response, “Interesting.”
Desperate to regain some control over the situation, Cui Buqu demanded, “Is talking all you are good for?”
This was, unfortunately, the exact wrong thing for the Commander to say. At those words, Feng Xiao got a dark look in his eyes, and responded, “Let’s find out, shall we?”
And with that, he untied Cui Buqu’s trousers and skillfully slipped them off, unceremoniously depositing them on the floor.
Cui Buqu snorted, and said a bit more archly than he had intended, “Not the first time you’ve done that, is it?”
Feng Xiao refused to be flustered. “The first time was merely professional curiosity.” This was said in a measured, business-like tone that was slightly out of place considering their current activity,
“Liked what you saw, did you?”
“I do now.” Shameless, incorrigible man.
Before Cui Buqu could come up with an appropriate retort, he got the shock of his life when without any preamble, Feng Xiao scooted off the bed (if a man whose every movement was fluid and poetic could be said to “scoot”), easily readjusted Cui Buqu’s body so that Feng Xiao could kneel between his legs, and took his cock in his mouth.
Cui Buqu was so surprised he jerked back and slammed his head against the wall. Feng Xiao let go of Cui Buqu’s cock and asked, concerned, “Are you alright?”
Cui Buqu had actually managed to hit himself hard enough to see stars, but he wanted Feng Xiao to stop fussing over him and get back to the part where Feng Xiao was putting his cock in his beautiful, perfect, annoying mouth, so he waved his hand dismissively. “I’m fine. Watch your teeth, please.”
“This venerable one may lack practical experience, but I’m not completely insensible.” Cui Buqu’s taunt had the intended effect, and with a slightly wounded air Feng Xiao went back to work.
As he watched Feng Xiao’s head bobbing up and down, the incredulity of the situation hit Cui Buqu suddenly. Here he was, literally living out his fantasy of Feng Xiao sucking him off, and without him even having to ask for it! Feng Xiao’s hair being that awkward length was too bad, his daydreams on that particular topic had included some hair pulling, but really beggars can’t be choosers and Cui Buqu wasn’t about to be picky on this particular matter.
He noted with the fond kind of annoyance that always seemed to arise around Feng Xiao that although he lacked experience his technique was not bad, and he was clearly a quick learner. When Cui Buqu couldn’t help but respond to a particular twist or lick or suck, Feng Xiao was eager to repeat it. Cui Buqu was also impressed with how deep Feng Xiao was taking him down his throat, before a certain realization hit him.
“Feng’er. Are you—- ah. Are you using your martial arts to hold your breath?”
Feng Xiao stopped again, looking up through his lashes at Cui Buqu in that disgustingly attractive way of his, “Yes.”
Absolutely maddening. “That’s cheating.”
“How is that cheating? I’m simply using all of my skills to please my wife. Unless he’d rather I stop,” and with that Feng Xiao turned his wrist just so, making Cui Buqu once again hit his head on the wall in surprise. Feng Xiao clicked his tongue at him, “You really need to stop doing that, it can’t be good for your injuries.”
“Then stop tormenting me.”
Feng Xiao smirked, “Tormenting? I thought the Commander was enjoying himself.”
“Stop fishing for compliments and get back to it,” Cui Buqu commanded.
“Ququ,” Feng Xiao wheedled, laying his head on Cui Buqu’s thigh and looking up at him with an exceptionally pathetic expression. “Is this Venerable One not doing a good enough job? Is the Commander not pleased?”
Cui Buqu was either going to kill Feng Xiao, or he was going to die of frustration. After taking a deep breath in through his nose and out again, he commented as if he were giving a performance review to one of his subordinates, “You clearly have potential but you lack practical experience; however, your skills thus far have not been found to be lacking.” He (carefully this time) laid back on the bed, waving his hand somewhat imperiously in the air from his prone position, and intoned, “I require further demonstration to be able to comment further– ah!”
His dignified remarks were cut off by Feng Xiao continuing the demonstration, as requested.
---
Cui Buqu had really truly meant to warn Feng Xiao, but he was himself taken unawares by how quickly and how hard his orgasm hit him. He barely managed to choke out a cut off “Feng’er” before he came.
When Cui Buqu returned to himself, Feng Xiao was choking dramatically, making a great show of spitting out everything that had ended up in his mouth.
“Sorry.”
“That’s disgusting!” Feng Xiao staggered over to Cui Buqu’s desk as if he had been poisoned, and swigged the leftover tea that Cui Buqu had been drinking straight from the teapot.
“Don’t be dramatic, it's not that bad.”
“What else am I supposed to do?!”
“I don’t know, swallow it?”
Feng Xiao looked at Cui Buqu as if he were insane.
Now this was an area where Cui Buqu would be delighted to share his expertise. “Perhaps the Second Commander requires a hands-on demonstration?” he asked, as if he were about to do Feng Xiao a great favor. Which, really, he was.
That smoothed the peacock’s ruffled feathers, and he eagerly sat back down on the bed. Cui Buqu wasn’t quite ready to kneel on the hard floor just yet, so he simply began palming Feng Xiao through his trousers.
Now with the tables turned and Feng Xiao the one on the receiving end, Cui Buqu felt more confident in how the scene was playing out. Feng Xiao had begun breathing heavily just from the smallest efforts of Cui Buqu’s hand, and was already mostly hard. This wouldn’t take long.
Cui Buqu nodded at Feng Xiao’s trousers, which were the only clothing he was still wearing, and breathed in his ear in Cui Buqu’s favorite taunting, seductive voice, “Did you want to leave those on, or…?”
In answer, Feng Xiao quickly divested himself of what fabric remained between himself and Cui Buqu, and eagerly returned to sitting next to him, utterly naked and with seemingly no sense of embarrassment or shyness about him whatsoever. Cui Buqu was annoyed to find out that Feng Xiao hadn’t lied about being bigger than him. Cui Buqu didn’t particularly care one way or another, it was just aggravatingly typical that the phoenix be beyond perfect in every single way imaginable.
Cui Buqu lowered himself between Feng Xiao’s legs, trying to ignore the cracking of his joints as he did so. Feng Xiao seemed like he didn’t know what to do with his hands.
“Hold my hair,” Cui Buqu commanded rather than suggested, and Feng Xiao eagerly agreed, carding his hands through the hair he was so fascinated with, for whatever insane, incomprehensible reason.
Now this was familiar ground for Cui Buqu, but he was again surprised to discover just how readily his body responded to Feng Xiao. He already found himself getting hard again, just at the thought of getting his lips around that dumb, perfect cock.
Cui Buqu thought it would be obnoxious to brag about his skills in this area, but he did know what he was doing, and had a certain talent, if he were ever to be so bold as to say so himself. Though unlike some people, he preferred to let the results of his work speak for itself rather than crow about it like an overblown peacock.
And speaking of peacocks, Feng Xiao was very receptive to everything that Cui Buqu was doing. The only unfortunate thing about the situation was that with an unoccupied mouth, he was giving a running commentary on the goings-on that made Cui Buqu feel strangely self-conscious himself. But fortunately for his ears, as Cui Buqu had expected, Feng Xiao didn’t last long. It was honestly just as well for Cui Buqu as his jaw had quickly begun to ache, and his deviated septum did make it hard to breath through his nose- he was sure the stuffed-up noises he was making were less than alluring.
When Feng Xiao came (with a noise that Cui Buqu would be cataloging away for his own later, private use, thank you very much) Cui Buqu swallowed everything, and made a big to-do of showing Feng Xiao his tongue. Feng Xiao looked at him with the same expression that Cui Buqu had the first time he’d seen a corpse that had been left to the elements for several days, both disgusted and utterly fascinated.
After a moment, Cui Buqu crawled back up onto the bed, where he laid back, massaging his jaw and trying to ignore how embarrassingly hard sucking off Feng Xiao had gotten him. Feng Xiao flopped over next to him. After watching him for a moment, Feng Xiao quirked his head at Cui Buqu. “What's next?”
“Well, I had assumed this was leading up to us having sex with each other,” Cui Buqu replied sardonically.
“You want to?” Feng Xiao seemed genuinely surprised and a bit touched, as if he were the cold and sickly man and not a sought after beauty.
“It’s not every day a peerless beauty finds his way into my bed.”
The delighted, touched expression on Feng Xiao’s face made Cui Buqu’s heart itch. He was clearly having a relapse, it was the only explanation.