Chapter Text
"Wanyin… is this good for you?" Lan Xichen digs his thumbs into the sensitive divots at the base of Jiang Cheng's spine, fingertips pressing against the bruises at the omega's hips that have yet to fade from the last time they were in bed together. And then the alpha tugs Jiang Cheng onto his cock in a practised, but no less forceful, motion.
The omega rolls his eyes; whether the gesture originated from the sharp relief caused by the alpha sliding into place inside him or the senselessness of the alpha's words (why bother asking when he already knew the answer?) Jiang Cheng couldn't be bothered to parse out.
"If you have so much energy, why waste it on stupid questions when you could just fuck me hard—" Jiang Cheng arches his back, wiggling his ass in what he knows is an inviting manner, and Lan Xichen bucks his hips, quickening his pace in answer to Jiang Cheng's demand.
"—er." The omega finishes, in every sense of the word. Unfettered moans bounce off the walls, Jiang Cheng's own walls clenching rhythmically around the alpha who hasn't stopped thrusting inside him, despite knowing the omega has reached his peak. Why would he, when he knows Jiang Cheng's body well enough by now to know that the omega doesn't mind being fucked through his refractory period? If Jiang Cheng was being honest, he might even say that he prefers it, except for times when he's too busy to spare the time to thoroughly enjoy himself. (Frankly, the fact that it's happened at all is a travesty to Jiang Cheng, personally.) Rather regrettably, he can remember a number of occasions on which this has happened.
Today isn't one of those days though.
Sighing, Jiang Cheng sniffs the air, the sensation of being pounded into the bed just the way he likes it dissipating the long-held tension in his body left over from his day job. The calluses on Lan Xichen's hands scrape pleasantly against the tender skin on Jiang Cheng's abdomen as they close around his waist, and Jiang Cheng shivers as the alpha slides an iota deeper inside him, knot starting to swell at the base of his cock as his scent thickens invitingly to match Jiang Cheng's own.
He can feel the tip of Lan Xichen's cock rubbing up deliciously against his walls on the other side to where the alpha's fingers are placed on his abdomen. It reminds the omega of just how big the alpha is, not that Lan Xichen ever lets him forget it. And then Lan Xichen jerks his hips, nudging his tip just so, and Jiang Cheng chokes on a gasp as he finishes again, this time to the feel of hot come pouring into him, pulsing hotly against his walls. Not for the first time, the first thought that hits Jiang Cheng is relief, relief that he can't get pregnant unless he's in heat, when his reproductive cavity might open up to allow an alpha through.
He sucks in a shuddering breath, one that fills his olfactory senses with their scents.
It's a pleasant mixture, in Jiang Cheng's expert opinion. He's coupled with other alphas in the past, and of those, there were a few who sprayed their scent around like they were pissing on their territory even outside of a rut—although that was generally acknowledged to be repulsive behaviour, it didn't stop some alphas from continuing to engage in such behaviour—and some others whose scents were passable enough, but which he found didn't match well with his own.
Needless to say, none of them had lasted long, if they lasted at all. There had been times where Jiang Cheng had kicked them out before the act was done, knowing the experience would only prove to be disappointing. He only had so much time to waste, after all.
But of the alphas that had smelled agreeable, none had ever evoked quite the same effect on him as Lan Xichen and his pheromones were capable of doing.
Right now, it feels as though his consciousness is floating on a river: usually calm, it has now transformed into a rushing tide of mounting pleasure, a tide that would grow until it swelled past its banks. The fragrance of lotuses in full bloom, accompanied by the salty tang of springtime showers, swirls enticingly in the atmosphere to entwine with the sharp scents of fresh pine in winter and rich, earthy sandalwood. It creates a blend that is unique as it is harmonious, with the added effect of being able to put Jiang Cheng at ease.
Blended together, their scents are neither too cloying nor too overpowering, which is expected since they both have excellent control (of their scents, if not in other areas). Of course, it also helps that neither of them are in heat or rut—now that is an experience they most definitely don't share with each other.
Jiang Cheng has dated and even been in relationships with alphas in the past, but as an omega, he has never felt the desire to share his heat with his partners. The dangers of an unwanted pregnancy and an undesired mating mark were too high, the payoffs far too low for him to take such risks with his body when he wasn't sure yet what he wanted. If he even wanted any of that—a mate, a pup, a family of his own—at all.
His previous partners had certainly never made him consider changing his mind.
Even now, Jiang Cheng isn't so foolish as to share his heat with Lan Xichen. It would be far too irresponsible to do so with an alpha with whom he only has a friends with benefits arrangement, no matter how compatible they might be both sexually and pheromonally, or how well they might get along, in bed or outside of it.
The omega knows better than most that chemistry alone isn't a good enough reason to bind yourself to another for a lifetime, and he doesn't have to look far to see the proof of this. Look at his parents: due to an accidental marking, they spent most of their lives caught between love and hate, inflicting years of trauma—intended or not—on their children until they finally resolved their differences in their later years. (Really, it's almost unfair that they managed to work things out despite their actions having put all their kids in therapy, but Jiang Cheng is learning to make peace with that too.)
Jiang Cheng is sure that Lan Xichen must feel the same to some degree. At least, if Lan Xichen has ever wanted to share his rut or Jiang Cheng's heat, he's never voiced it, much to Jiang Cheng's relief.
But it is also lucky, really, that his and Lan Xichen's pheromones are compatible at all. While it's true that the sex is mindblowingly good, Jiang Cheng can't deny that a part of the reason why he keeps coming back is because being exposed to Lan Xichen's pheromones—even outside of his heats—is sufficient to ease the symptoms of discomfort that normally come with his heats, enough that he doesn't even need to rely on suppressants to get through them, something he's never experienced with any other partner.
Which is why it's such a shame that he'll have to put an end to their arrangement today.
In all honesty, he's growing too fond of Lan Xichen, and that is always dangerous. Their arrangement isn't built to contain feelings, and the last thing he wants is for things to end horribly between them because he's close to catching feelings and Lan Xichen isn't. And even if he did reciprocate Jiang Cheng's feelings, what then? That's his brother-in-law once removed, for god's sake, someone he'll have to see for years to come at family gatherings.
In hindsight, it probably hadn't been the smartest idea for them to start sleeping together, although how it happened could at least be partially attributed to a drunken mistake on Jiang Cheng's part, if not Lan Xichen's. Continuing to do so over and over again, however. That had been a conscious decision made several times over, by the both of them.
"Wanyin. You know, it's rude to think about something else while you're in bed with me." Lan Xichen's deep voice rumbles against his neck, sharp canines nipping playfully at his nape, just shy of where his mating gland is.
It tingles where Lan Xichen has bitten him. This too is dangerous, the fact that Jiang Cheng's become so used to and trusting of Lan Xichen and his self-control that he would leave such a vulnerable part of his body open and unguarded despite knowing the consequences should the alpha give in to his base instincts.
Now that his knot has gone down, the alpha pulls out carefully, although Jiang Cheng can tell that the man is still hard. Ugh. It is precisely this kind of thoughtful behaviour that had lured Jiang Cheng into a false sense of security in the first place, and why he must put an end to their arrangement, no matter how reluctant he may be.
Come on, Jiang Cheng, you can do this! How hard can it be?
Jiang Cheng braces himself, mentally preparing to broach the subject of ending their arrangement. Flipping himself over to face the alpha, however, the words he'd carefully planned to say vanish into thin air when he catches sight of Lan Xichen above him.
Good fucking grief. Why does the alpha have to look so good?
Jiang Cheng can feel his resolve crumbling away bit by bit, just looking at him.
Lan Xichen's silky black hair—normally styled neatly without a strand out of place—now has damp locks falling into his face, curling at the edges. But instead of diminishing his appeal, it only enhances it. He looks like some kind of fallen angel, with alabaster pale skin, angular features that make up a classically handsome face, and soulful amber eyes which are currently radiating unholy levels of heat. Not to mention that ridiculously broad frame of his, so wide that just the act of him caging in Jiang Cheng between his arms is enough to blot out Jiang Cheng's line of vision, making it so that Jiang Cheng can hardly see past the man to catch a glimpse of the ceiling or anything else beyond him.
All he can take in is Lan Xichen.
Sweat drips enticingly down the alpha's temples, his neck. Jiang Cheng follows its trail down to where it glistens off the lines of Lan Xichen's pronounced shoulders, his biceps. It veers down his generous chest, gliding down to linger at the sharp vee of his iliac crests, the jut of his hips.
It brings to mind the familiar sensation of Lan Xichen slamming into him, so hard that it's left his ass cheeks throbbing as though they've been bruised for hours, even a whole day, before.
He swallows, throat suddenly dry, and wavers, not for the first time.
With that, the last thread of Jiang Cheng's rationality unravels.
Giving in to his desires, the omega loops his arms around the older man's neck.
'Surely there's no harm ending things after we go for a few more rounds?' He reasons with himself.
Out loud, however, Jiang Cheng doesn't show any signs of his inner conflict. Instead, he issues Lan Xichen with a challenge, served with a cocky grin and raised brow. "Perhaps you should be doing a better job of distracting me then. Make sure that I can't think of anything else."
He regrets his choice of words almost immediately, because in the next moment, Lan Xichen runs his fingers rakishly through his hair, and Jiang Cheng finds himself unable to look away from the inviting ripple of his muscles as he does so.
Fuck. It's as if Lan Xichen's body was built specifically with the purpose of tempting him to sin.
"I think I already am," Lan Xichen says with a wicked smile on his face, clearly having caught Jiang Cheng staring. Fighting the urge to look away, Jiang Cheng ignores the burning sensation in his cheeks to direct an expectant look at the alpha. Lan Xichen rises to the challenge, of course, unhesitating as he takes action to answer the omega's unspoken demand.
"But I shall do as Wanyin wishes." He delivers the words with the finality of a promise, sealing it with a kiss as his lips descend to meet Jiang Cheng's. The alpha's hands wander down the younger man's body, hands cupping at the curvature of his chest, thumbs flicking upward at dusky brown nipples pinked at the tip from his earlier attentions. Jiang Cheng arches into his touch, lips pulling away to cry out.
"Huan-ge!"
In answer, one of the alpha's hands sinks into the hair at the base of his head, pulling him backwards. The movement makes his mouth fall open, wider than before, and Lan Xichen wastes no time in plundering the depths of his mouth, deft tongue seeking his own and tangling them together so thoroughly that Jiang Cheng could not extricate himself if he tried.
And then, like a horror movie playing in real time, the door clicks open. The hinges don't creak with the movement, too new and well oiled, and everything happens way too fast for his mind to process.
"Lan da-ge! Lan Zhan asked me to check that you were—oh my god. You're naked. And occupied. With Jiang Cheng. Welp, I guess this is why Lan Zhan always says I should knock first. I'll just, uh, step out and leave you to it—" Wei Wuxian is halfway out the door before the realisation hits him, turning back so quickly that Jiang Cheng wouldn't be surprised if he got whiplash. "Wait, hold up. Jiang Cheng? What are you doing here?"
For the first time in his life, Jiang Cheng feels as though he's lost his ability to comprehend what the hell is going on, let alone speak.
It takes a moment, one that feels far too long, before the omega manages to tear himself away from Lan Xichen; a feat, considering how tightly they had been wound up in each other. Not that there's anywhere to hide, which he soon realises. So instead he closes his eyes in abject humiliation for want of anything better to do. It's bad enough that Wei Wuxian has to see them like this, it doesn't mean that Jiang Cheng has to acknowledge his presence too. He sure as hell doesn't want to.
Childish, he knows, but then again it's not like Jiang Cheng ever expected something like this to happen. In fact, it's never even crossed his mind that being discovered like this could be a possibility, given that Lan Xichen lives alone. Really, he'd thought the chances of them being caught sleeping together were quite low! After all, unlike Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, it's not like he and Lan Xichen are (normally) exhibitionists.
Ughhh. Jiang Cheng wishes he could pretend the last few minutes of his life didn't happen.
To his credit, Lan Xichen is calm even in a moment like this. Though if anyone could be calm in such circumstances, it would be him. The alpha shifts slightly, enough to ensure that most of Jiang Cheng is hidden from view. If Jiang Cheng hadn't misplaced the ability to speak, he would express his gratefulness. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost his voice somewhere between Wei Wuxian appearing like the stuff of nightmares and being caught in flagrante delicto by his adoptive older brother.
God. Of all the people to catch them like this, of course it had to be him: the biggest blabbermouth of the century, the one person who couldn't be depended on to keep his mouth shut. And of course, he just so happened to also be the person engaged to Lan Xichen's younger brother. Fuckkkkk—
He can barely hear Wei Wuxian speaking past the loud and colourful swears running through his head.
"Huh, A-Cheng. I guess you and I have pretty similar tastes after all." Wei Wuxian ponders aloud, because for some fucking reason he's still in the room despite saying he would leave.
'No, we don't!!' Jiang Cheng screams in his head, not that the words manage to leave his uncooperative mouth.
Lan Xichen clears his throat, successfully diverting Wei Wuxian's attention.
"While I appreciate this may come as a surprise to you, I think Wanyin and I would both prefer for you to wait in the living room while we get dressed and make ourselves look decent, Wuxian. Please." Lan Xichen somehow manages to make his request sound like a command, and Jiang Cheng finds that to be inexplicably attractive. How does the alpha manage to remain so impressively composed even with his body so completely exposed?
Then again with a body like that, Jiang Cheng supposes it's unsurprising Lan Xichen doesn't mind being seen in the nude. Heaven knows that people would probably pay to see him, unclothed or not.
Not that that has any bearing on their current situation.
"Aha-ha, yes, yes of course, I'll leave you and Wanyin to it." Ugh. Jiang Cheng knows the implications behind Wei Wuxian's words, as if the fact that Lan Xichen called him Wanyin rather than Jiang Cheng like most other people meant something. That asshole. Jiang Cheng might not have seen it, but he bet Wei Wuxian winked when he'd said those words.
The moment his pest of a brother leaves the room, Jiang Cheng scrambles away from Lan Xichen at lightning speed to make a desperate grab for his clothes. Unhelpfully, they've been scattered all across the floor from their activities the night before, when they'd both been far too caught up in each other to care.
God, he knew he shouldn't have stayed over. There were reasons—multiple—why he'd never seen fit to sleep at Lan Xichen's the night before a family brunch, and yet when Lan Xichen had taken the initiative for the first time and asked him to come over, he'd done it anyway. The one time he let his passions rule his head and look how that turned out. Talk about bad luck.
"Wanyin, why don't you take a shower first? There's still some time before we have to go to lunch with everyone." Trust Lan Xichen to be so rational about all this that he's even managed to check the time and report back.
"If you need help cleaning yourself out—" Lan Xichen starts helpfully, and Jiang Cheng cuts him off before he can say more. As if he'd risk the alpha getting them (him) all worked up again while his brother was waiting outside!
"I can handle it myself," he snaps, although he regrets it immediately when he sees the way the alpha's face falls in reaction.
"Shit. Sorry, I'm just on edge." He blurts out, not wanting to make the alpha feel bad. (Jiang Cheng chooses to ignore the part of himself that questions why he's so concerned about not upsetting Lan Xichen. Surely it's normal to care about his friend's feelings?)
"I just know that Wei Wuxian won't be able to keep what he saw to himself. The last thing I want is for this to go down at family brunch. Shit. I don't know what to do." Jiang Cheng buries his head in his hands, sitting back down onto the bed as if he's suddenly been sapped of strength. The last thing he wants is for his mom or worse, Lan Xichen's uncle—someone he respects in his field of work—to find out they were sleeping together.
He's had enough disappointment being directed his way in his life; he doesn't need more at the ripe age of 28.
"What if… what if we told them we were dating?" Lan Xichen offers, even as Jiang Cheng directs a dubious look at him. It's not like he's opposed to the idea, more that he's unsure as to the viability of it. After all, the Lans always dated with the intention to marry, and they almost always married the people they dated. It was an open secret, and was likely why Lan Xichen had avoided dating in the public eye and had agreed to his proposition so readily in the first place.
"I could be an excellent boyfriend if you wanted me to be yours." Lan Xichen continues.
Of this, Jiang Cheng has no doubts. The man is already an incredibly generous lover, so it isn't hard to imagine that he'd behave similarly in an official capacity.
The problem here is that they'll be faking it, in front of people who know them well enough that it wouldn't be hard for them to see through their acting should they be paying close attention. And that's without even factoring the fact that Jiang Cheng might already be a little more emotionally involved in their entanglement than he'd like to be.
But… it might also be the best option that they have. Better that than fessing up and facing their families' collective disappointment that the both of them are just… fucking. Just the thought of that makes him want to cringe.
"Wanyin. How about it? It'll be good for the both of us. It'll stop Shufu and A-Zhan from worrying about me needlessly too." Lan Xichen's words are persuasive, as is the sincerity in his wide eyes, the expression reminding Jiang Cheng of a puppy's.
Jiang Cheng has always been weak to dogs.
"…Fine. But you're the one who'll have to convince them we're together."
Lan Xichen's eyes light up. "I'll be the best boyfriend, fake or real, that you've ever had."
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. As if that would be hard.
In the end, despite all of Jiang Cheng's worries, it doesn't take as much convincing as Jiang Cheng had expected for everyone to believe they were dating.
It turns out that Wei Wuxian had already assumed that they were dating from the moment he'd caught them together, and while they were getting ready, he'd even convinced himself that they had kept it a secret for the thrill of it all. Pfft. For once his overactive imagination had actually served its purpose.
Meanwhile, Yu Ziyuan was so delighted at the prospect of gaining a son-in-law as well-established as Lan Xichen that she hadn't bothered questioning the improbability of it all, almost as if she knew that their ruse would fall apart the moment she started probing. Jiang Fengmian, as usual, had only smiled placidly from his place beside his wife, before ruffling Jiang Cheng's hair as if he were still twelve. His old man had started doing that ever since he and Yu Ziyuan had made up, as if he suddenly remembered he had a son he should care about, although it was up for debate as to whether he knew how old Jiang Cheng was to be ruffling his hair.
Even Lan Wangji had offered a stilted "congratulations" at the news, not that it stopped him from glaring at Jiang Cheng all throughout lunch as if he were a pig that had stolen the Lans' metaphorical cabbage. Tch. If anyone was being eaten, it certainly wasn't Lan Xichen, no matter what Lan Wangji might think. It was a relief, then, for Jiang Cheng to find out that Lan Qiren appeared to be much happier about the news, the Lan elder even expressing his heartfelt pleasure at the prospect of Jiang Cheng joining their family. He'd gone as far as to instruct Lan Xichen to take good care of him, and Jiang Cheng had had to try his hardest to keep the guilt from showing on his face at that.
He wasn't guilty enough to come clean, however.
In the end, their joint family brunch turns out to be one of the better ones they've had, ending on a positive note even without Jiang Yanli present to play peacemaker. In some ways the fact that she and Jin Zixuan weren't able to make it today was a blessing in disguise. Jiang Cheng isn't so sure that their scheme would have made it past his sister's shrewd eyes.
In all honesty, the whole situation still feels surreal to him. Never would he have expected to find himself in this position as a grown man: to fake date someone with whom he shares a purely physical relationship, for an indefinite period of time.
Really, this would have never happened if Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji hadn't announced their engagement more than half a year ago, prompting their families to set bi-monthly family gatherings with the purpose of discussing their impending wedding plans.
The thing was, Jiang Cheng wasn't unfamiliar with Lan Xichen even prior to these gatherings, considering they had gone to some of the same schools growing up. Besides, he was best friends with Nie Mingjue, who was the older brother of Jiang Cheng's own best friend, Nie Huaisang. So, it wasn't as if they'd never had occasion to speak with each other. In fact, Jiang Cheng would even go as far as to say that they were friendly, prior to all this.
But it wasn't till their family gathering six months ago that things between them had shifted. In fact, Jiang Cheng reckons he can still lay the blame at Wei Wuxian's feet for how things have progressed between him and Lan Xichen. After all, Wei Wuxian was the one who had offered for Jiang Cheng to walk Lan Xichen home in the first place. And he hadn't even bothered to ask Jiang Cheng if he would be happy to do it!
Presumptuous asshole. If Jiang Cheng hadn't been somewhat buzzed at the time, he probably would have gotten angrier. As it was, the alcohol had made him more relaxed than usual, and he didn't want to ruin his buzz by getting mad at Wei Wuxian.
So he'd agreed, though he hadn't known then the butterfly effect that would follow in the wake of his decision.