Past

The ride back to the palace proves hard for the Young Prince. 'Why must it be him?; It was my fault. I was the one who tasted his blood. I was the one who cemented this bond. I was the older one, the one who should have thought before acting. Maybe I should have died. Maybe then Xian would not be in pain... '

YiJun's mind is aware that the things that he is blaming himself for are not exactly his fault, but he blames himself nonetheless.

Xi Xi had refused to tell him at first, 'What does it matter even if I tell you!?' She had asked the young prince. But ultimately, she had relented and told him everything about how the spell worked, and explained what would hurt Xian and what would not. It was an awkward conversation for both of them.

YiJun had cried and begged in front of Xian's parents to transfer the spell on him. In the end, they had relented, just a little.

On reaching the palace, YiJun had run to the physician's chamber and found Xian sleeping there. He had picked up the younger boy and taken him to his room. He had sat and looked at Xian for a few moments. Then, controlling his heart and emotions, he had stroked Xian's forehead before going back to his study table to give finishing touches to this assignment.

Xian had continued to sleep till the evening. He had finally woken up just before dusk.

"Jun, you are back...." Xian notices, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hey, you are up," YiJun replies, taking a seat next to Xian.

"When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago," YiJun answers, stroking Xian's cheek.

The younger boy closes his eyes, readying himself for the pain, but it doesn't come. Xian looks at YiJun, who continues to stroke the younger boy's face lovingly.

"Did you meet my parents?" He asks, holding YiJun's wrist.

"Mn."

"Did they tell you what they did?"

"Mn."

"Do you hate them now?" Xian asks, breaking the eye contact and looking away from him.

YiJun chuckles. He cups Xian's face, "I can never hate them. How can I? They made you."

Xian smiles, looking relieved; he forgets about the spell and hugs YiJun. He feels a dull ache in his chest. He recalls his mother's words and lets go of YiJun. He moves away from the older boy, 'Why doesn't it hurt like before? Something is wrong. There should be pain.'

YiJun's face falls when Xian moves away from him as if scared; as if he will hurt him, "Xian, don't worry. I will not let you bear this pain alone."

Xian's brows knit together, "What did you do, Jun?" he asks, sounding worried.

"Don't worry. I didn't do anything that would make your heart hurt," YiJun says, getting on the bed. He puts his hand on Xian's chest, "Close your eyes and keep your eyes on my face. Calm your heart."

"Jun, what are... " Xian feels confused. He knows that being this close to Jun should make his heart hurt; the lack of pain scares him.

YiJun puts his finger on his soulmate's lips and lies down next to him, "Do you remember how you used to feel about me before?"

"Mn." Xian nods slowly.

"Try to think about me that way now. I was yours then and I am yours now. I am not going anywhere. So when you touch me, remember our times before I healed you." YiJun explains.

"Why?"

"Because at that time, we had not bonded. If you control your heart, the spell will not hurt you."

"Jun, what if I can't control it?" Xian needs to know. He knows there is more YiJun is not telling him.

YiJun bites his lip.

"There is something you are not telling me. Say it." The younger boy orders.

'Whatever he asks, you will give it to him. You will be incapable of refusing him anything.' Xi Xi's words come back to him. He doesn't want Xian to know. He had planned on not telling Xian about what he had asked his parents. But as soon as Xian had ordered him, YiJun had felt powerless; powerlessness to refuse him.

"If we lose control, you will not be the only one in pain. We are in this together, so it's just fair that we deal with this together."

Xian's face falls. But he knows nothing he will say would change YiJun's mind. He holds the prince's hands, "I will try my best."

Then he closes his eyes and thinks of their time together as kids. He moves closer and wraps his arms around YiJun, and the boys fall asleep.

Present

After rejecting Lan Wangji's offer, Xian runs to the washroom and washes his face. He feels horrible about the fact that Wangji's closeness had aroused him. He feels hurt that a man of such social status would try to take advantage of him. He hates that even after he had been insulted, he was still hard.

He bangs his hand on the tiled wall and winces. He tries to move his wrist slightly and winces again. He sighs and closes his eyes.

A moment later, Xian feels a presence and turns, only to come face to face with Dawn.

"Dawn!" Xian exclaims, throwing his arms around the animal.

Dawn licks his neck. Xian giggles, "How did you know where to find me, hm?" He asks, burying his face in the animal's fur and inhaling.

Dawn whines.

Xian takes the animal's face between his palms and looks into its eyes, "Dawn, can you ask Jun to visit me tonight?" Xian pauses and turns his back to Dawn, "He is not what I expected him to be. He is a jerk."

Dawn whines.

Xian chuckles, "I am not talking about Jun, I am talking about the owner of this stupid place! Lan Wangji. How dare he ask me to sleep with him?! Dawn, I need money. Shijie tried to hide it, but I know we are in trouble. Uncle had mortgaged the house. Now the creditors are at our doors. We can't lose our home, Dawn." Xian takes a deep breath and continues, "I am desperate, but not desperate enough to sell myself. I will surely find a way to help Shijie." he says determinedly.

Then he turns to Dawn once more and sits next to the animal. He looks at its eyes, "Are you crying?" he asks before hugging it again, "Don't. Your Xian is not weak." He kisses the animal's nose, "Now go, before someone sees you."

Dawn doesn't move. It keeps staring at Xian's wrist.

Xian smiles, "Don't worry, it's just a sprain. I was clumsy again. I will take care of it. Go."

Dawn whines and leaves.

As had been happening lately, the wolf-dog had had a calming effect on Xian.

Xian walks out and joins the others; and waits for the results. He knows that by rejecting Wangji, he had made sure that he won't win, but waiting for the results is the right thing to do. He doesn't want to look like a spoilt sport.

The Judges take the stage, but Wangji is not among them.

'Maybe he felt insulted because of being rejected.' Xian's mind suggests.

The hosts do the formalities, and then the announcement is made. "The winner by majority of votes and scores is...... Wei Xian!"

The whole auditorium bursts into cheers and applause. Xian, though, is left feeling confused and scared.

He wonders why the cold prince had accepted him, even though he had rejected him.

*Evening*

*Lan Mansion*

Wangji goes to visit Shen as soon as he gets back. He finds Shen sitting at the edge of the bed with Zhau's hand in his, his thumb softly stroking the officer's palm.

Wangji knocks and enters; Shen doesn't move away from Zhau. Wangji sighs and hugs his uncle.

"They know who we are. At least who I am." Shen says, breaking the embrace.

Wangji nods.

"How did the auditions go? How is our new singer?" Shen asks.

Wangji doesn't say anything about the day he had spent at the Lan Hall, but he knows that he needs to tell his uncle about Xian winning the auditions. Wangji knows that his uncle will be upset when he hears it; he sighs before blurting out, "Uncle, Xian won the audition. He will start working at The Emperor's Smile from tomorrow evening."

*Jiang Residence*

Xian goes home and shares the good news with his family.

Yanli scolds him for being clumsy and gives him a painkiller before reading the terms of the contract carefully. She agrees reluctantly.

Xian feels relieved and anxious all at once.

Xian is almost done with his chores when he hears Dawn bark and lets it in.

Yanli smiles, "You are here again. You must really love and care about our Xian."

Dawn wags its tail but doesn't approach her.

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes at all of them, judging them silently.

Dawn growls at Cheng when he tries to approach Xian. Jiang Cheng curses under his breath and runs to his room, banging the door shut.

Yanli sighs, "Sleep early, A Xian. You start work from tomorrow." She reminds, before retiring to her room.

Xian drags himself to his room, where he hugs Dawn and falls asleep almost immediately.

*

*

*

Xian opens his eyes when he feels moist lips over his. "Jun... Mmmm."

Xian opens his mouth, and Jun slides his tongue inside the warmth, deepening the kiss.

Xian tastes blood. 'It's Jun's.' He realizes.

Wangji breaks the kiss and starts placing wet kisses over Xian's neck.

"I love it when you kiss me like this..." Xian hums appreciatively, offering more of his neck to Wangji.

'I want to do more.'

"I am not stopping you... Ah, Jun!" Xian moans when Jun nips his bottom lip.

'I love it when you call me like that.'

Xian knows that he doesn't know anything about this man who visits him in the dead of night and leaves before the break of dawn. He knows that it's wrong for him to trust this man. He knows that this man is something more than human. For, how else can he explain his wounds healing when Jun licks and kisses them. Jun is different, yet, Xian's heart and brain know that this man is his. His to command, protect and love.

"You healed me already," he observes, running his hands over Wangji's naked chest.

'Mn.' Wangji holds his wandering hands and intertwines their fingers. He buries his face in Xian's neck. 'Stay close.'

"How did you know that that is all I need from you tonight?" Xian asks, stroking Wangji's cheek and kissing it.

'Tired... closer... sleep.' Wangji thinks, pulling Xian closer, placing a wet kiss on the nape of the younger man's neck.

Xian giggles, "Ok." he whispers before holding Wangji close, almost hugging him.

'I am sorry.' Wangji apologizes, cuddling Xian, when the younger man has fallen asleep.

{Note:- Word count 1835

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