Author: mondergreenery

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Pei Ming picks up the habit of tying his hair in a ponytail of late.

It's quickly become Shi Wudu's favourite anger-management aid.

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It is a rare occasion indeed when the Water Master and the General of the North collaborate on a task of heavenly behest, so when it did happen, Pei Ming made sure to bring his very best to the field. His very best was mainly a steady blade held in skilful hands and a lifetime's worth of martial experience, of course, but the opportunity to find his way and slip under the guarded push and pull of Shi Wudu's focus, to draw out wordless secrets from between lips he would conceal behind the deadly fan of the Water Master was too great an allure to resist. To say nothing of the man's cutting tongue as it was.

He had rendezvoused with the ever-irascible Water Master when the sun spilt over the horizon in farewell to the daylight hours. With no time to change, he was a bit sand-swept from efforts expended in the northern desert regions and their inter-tribe feuds. He had hastily dusted himself off best he could and made do with a spare ribbon that held his hair in a high ponytail, without any adornments. The only crown he had on him was unsuited for the task, and so it was gifted to the beautiful matriarch of the tribe he'd won the battle for.

Now as he arrived and caught sight of the Water Master already at their meeting spot, his face warmed in a sunny smile. Shi Wudu waited for no man, mortal or god, but he did arrive unerringly early and left exactly on time, whether you were there to join him or not. On days he would take on fieldwork like this, his attire would be only a little more practical, but no less resplendent.

Pei Ming would idly muse in private moments that Shi Wudu could dress in commoner rags and still look majestic - but sheer silks and intricate brocade work on his robes suited him just as well. Dressed all in blues and greys, accented with the occasional spike in warmth with an accessory, he never had a hair out of where he wanted it, never let a single speck of dirt touch the soles of his shoes. Today's statement piece was a blood-red tassel hanging from his fan handle, swaying gently in the evening breeze just picking up around him, brushing through his sleeves and revealing slivers of his delicate wrists, catching Pei Ming in a moment of distraction.

The fan in question tapped slowly on Shi Wudu's shapely lips as he watched Pei Ming approach him, eyes cool and detached even as they dissected him bit by bit, with the unaffected distance of an emperor watching his vassals from high upon his seat. Pei Ming would be a bald-faced liar if he said he didn't like that about him as well.

"Shui-shixiong, you needn't look so displeased," he laughed, all from his chest, louder than even Shi Wudu's most menacingly dulcet tones. The roar of a lion didn't always match the whispers of a snake. "I've checked the brief on my way here myself; the waterborne abyss in this lake is still but a babe - nought but a wave of your weapon would subdue it."

He heard a kissing of teeth and that infamous fan fluttered open to hide the scowl that was no doubt making an appearance. "And my temple? Is my displeasure unwarranted when my worshippers are drowned under its tantrum, forcing consequence on my believers out of its worthless existence?"

General Ming Guang – wisely, very intelligently – opted not to point out that the souls that had amalgamated into the waterborne abyss were likely victims of the waters Shi Wudu did not extend his influence to for lack of tributes offered in his name.

He toed the waterline idly. The shores circling the body of the lake were calm enough, but Shi Wudu's shrewd gaze still swept through its body as though he could see to the very bottom without even trying. "How pathetically cowardly. It hides as soon as I so much as turn my eyes on it."

Pei Ming gave a hum of affirmation, and let his sword unsheathe itself, hovering between them lazily. He stepped up onto its blade, all battle grace, and held out his hand for Shi Wudu to take to help him up. "Off we go then."

Shi Wudu glowered at his proffered hand, but still angled his fan to sweep a thin sheet of moisture over his palm to remove all remnants of dust and specks of sand. Only once he was satisfactory in cleanliness did he set his hand in Pei Ming's. His fingers were always chilly to the touch, as though they'd been submerged in icy waters, but when their palms touched Shi Wudu was quick to warm up. That small quirk of biology delighted Pei Ming at any regular juncture, but now, when he curled an arm around his waist and guided that same hand to settle on a clean spot on his shoulder, it was a private pleasure of his own enjoyment.

Contrary to what one might assume of him, Shi Wudu was neither a prude nor a stickler for propriety around Pei Ming, and easily slotted into his arms, even more comfortable with taking advantage of Pei Ming's consideration than most of the women he'd beguiled before this. His fan stayed up, and his instructions were curt as he led him to an abandoned fishing boat bobbing idly. They hovered about one li above the calm surface. Shi Wudu had not yet released Pei Ming's shoulder, and thus General Ming Guang stayed put. His fingers twitched on the small of the Water Master's back when ripples began to form.

The deep blue of the lake shimmered, swirling darker and darker under the boat until the rising waves began to do more than rock it, upending it once, and then flipping it back over upright again in its growing turbulence. Shi Wudu's hand moved from his shoulder to curl around the back of Pei Ming's neck as his hand holding his fan extended out, ready for the pushback coming their way. Between the approaching danger and the even greater peril of Shi Wudu turning to face just under his chin, Pei Ming felt gooseflesh rise at the sound of his voice.

"Higher now," Shi Wudu said, low and even – his nerves still as the ocean deep. Pei Ming swallowed, drawing him even closer so Shi Wudu's nose brushed along his jaw faintly as they went higher. The Water Master's fingers flexed almost imperceptibly on his nape. "As soon as it shows itself above water, you will lure it towards the cliff on the east side of the lake."

He barely had time to take a second breath before the waterborne abyss broke through the water on the surface and went straight for them viciously. Pei Ming was an old hand at riding swords; it missed by a good distance and so they began a rapid game of seeking. It hadn't been a stretch to call the waterborne abyss still an infant; its reach was short, and its speed negligible. Pei Ming could hardly consider it an opponent. He'd fought landborne, windborne and even swampborne abysses, so he felt rather confident with his grasp on how to deal with them.

It occurred to him that this was a blessing in disguise, then! If the matter of the temple wrecking was resolved so quickly, and to the Water Master's satisfaction, he might even be able to persuade the churlish man to humour him with wine and his company later. The possibility alone spurred his desire to hurry this affair along.

When they arrived at their destination, he took care not to jostle Shi Wudu too much and lithely jumped down with him secure in his arm, letting him stand on his feet before he caught his sword in hand. "This won't take long, Shui-shixiong. I'll bring him up to you."

Without even waiting to see the twist in Shi Wudu's expression, he dove towards the edge of the cliff to catch the waterborne abyss as it climbed up towards them, the waves of its body crashing and roaring at the foot of the steep. A twist of his blade in its body and he would flip it onto the earthen ground in a pin to let Shi Wudu do what he does best.

"NO," Shi Wudu called out, but Pei Ming's wrist was out of reach, as was his armour. The only purchase Shi Wudu's hand could find was the neat tail of Pei Ming's hair, which he ruthlessly caught in his fist and gave it a hard yank to slam his momentum to a halt and bring him back into a sprawl by Shi Wudu's feet.

The noise that escaped Pei Ming's mouth was not the least bit sexy. Nor was it dignified, caught between a sharp, unexpected spike of pleasure on his scalp from the sting and the sudden and unexpected loss of all his previous finesse – what had unexpectedly come out was something between a grunt and a gasp. His hand involuntarily went up to snap on Shi Wudu's wrist, but the esteemed Water Master had the frightful grip of a serpent when he wanted to, and he did not spare him even a second glance.

The waterborne abyss had reached them by then, and Shi Wudu's fan flipped in his wrist, flicking up in a curl. The water in the abyss's body was powerless to disobey him, a whirlpool rising out of the lake to wrap around it, spinning and spiralling wildly, with vicious efficiency, thinning it out as if the hand of heaven itself was rolling it out like dough.

It became thinner and thinner, like a string at the end of a ball of thread left hanging, until with a sharp swipe of the fan downwards, every outer drop of moisture was wrung from the abyss, leaving it bare under the sky. Shi Wudu snarled low under his breath as it fought to return to the lake, and swung the fan to the side until it slammed the waterborne abyss into the side of a ridge to the north, pressed flat by the sheer force of will by Shi Wudu's hand. Nails conjured of his power struck, pinning it there to leave it to dry.

Pei Ming barely noticed, the revelation of this curious little distraction and the way Shi Wudu was tugging on his hair again as the roar of the waves died down occupied all his attention from what was no doubt a magnificent sight to behold.

"Have you lost the bearing of your wits, you ridiculous buffoon? What possessed you to spring into the arms of a waterborne abyss when you have the Water Master here to make quick work of it?" He aired his complaints viciously, still tugging, trying to urge Pei Ming to stand back up. Only someone as callous with another's body as Shi Wudu would manhandle a person like it was a privilege to endure.

No matter how he complained of the rough treatment as he stumbled to his feet again, Pei Ming found he was hard-pressed to disagree with that notion.

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The matter of Shi Wudu pulling on Pei Ming's hair at the limits of his tolerance proved itself to be a repeating occurrence.

In fact, it happened almost every time he wore his hair out of its usual style going forward. Whenever he traded the bun, high up and tightly wound to keep any strays from falling in his eyes, for a ponytail that let his hair fall over his shoulders and back, Shi Wudu's fingers would somehow always find their way to it.

Bizarrely, it was more an endearing phenomenon than a nuisance to Pei Ming. A part of his pride might have bristled at the unspoken implication of how he practically used it as a leash, but Shi Wudu was not so unreasonable as to only yank and pull. In private, he sometimes wound it around his fingers, let them drag down its length to comb, and if he hit any snags... well, he just kept going anyway.

It is your fault and yours alone if you do such a poor task of brushing your own mane, he would say, and after having it pointed out would simply retract his hand as if in punishment for complaining.

"Ming-xiong, finished already? I didn't know you liked Sichuan sauces so much."

Shi Qingxuan really was asking for it today. In her female form and beaming like she was in the presence of the sun itself, the decidedly unsunny Earth Master next to her barely took notice as he waited for more food. Shi Qingxuan picked up an angry red strip of pork belly from her own plate and held it up for Ming Yi to taste. "Here, try mine."

Ming Yi peered at her from under his lashes, letting her offer and her hand hang for a moment too long before he opened his mouth and leaned in to take the meat from her chopsticks. He chewed slowly, and once he was done nodded his head with a quiet "Hm."

Delighted, she beamed at him even brighter for his approval, and strips of pork belly slathered in the deadly sauce from her own plate were set on the bare mound of rice in Ming Yi's bowl one by one. Even a moment of his regard was a treasured thing, the food becoming a conversation in and of itself as she prattled on about the other dishes she'd picked up, feeding them to him.

She might as well be feeding everyone else dog food, with the way everyone bearing the indignation of sitting near them had to endure the spectacle of their one-sided amorous exchange. Pei Ming, no stranger to being the man receiving food from a beautiful woman who fawned over him, felt somewhat aggrieved for Shi Qingxuan, who seemed oddly content with being barely acknowledged.

It was worth mentioning, of course, how the new arrivals Ming Yi had ordered for himself were ignored in favour of her efforts. Not so indifferent, it would seem.

As a man of romance and many intimate connections, Pei Ming personally was not averse to this development. Shi Qingxuan was a sheltered little thing, always under the looming shade of her brother's overprotective presence, so that even the many friendly acquaintances knew to heed their place around her. But the heart yearned for what it set itself on, and if the heart wanted whatever Ming Yi was... well, Pei Ming was the last person to chastise her for that.

Now, the first person to chastise her for it was another issue entirely. Beside him, the distinct and familiar creak of a fan being gripped too tight to bear could be heard, the telltale harbinger of an impending tongue-lashing.

Pei Ming tutted a few times, lifting his cup to take a sip of his wine even as he prodded the hornet's nest on purpose. "Don't look now, Shui-shixiong, but the Wind Master has taken on more of the doting wife's manner as the days go by," he chuckled, murmuring into the rim of the deep green porcelain. "One of these days he's going to get someo–"

His guard was down entirely when his head was suddenly pulled back in a harsh yank and he nearly choked on a mouthful of his drink. Shi Wudu, looking positively murderous , stared unblinking at his own brother. Pei Ming could only see him out of the corner of his eye, but the return of the pinpricks of pleasure distracted him from his ire at the surprise wrenching of his hair.

Shi Wudu had his hair in a vice, but his fan was no longer on the verge of snapping, the spine pressed to his mouth in his immense restraint. "Another word out of your wretched mouth and you shan't be given reprieve either."

Pei Ming's lip curled in mirth. Or what, was he going to keep pulling? Pei Ming didn't usually have to, but he could keep his voice in if the situation called for it. He straightened his shoulders and picked up his cup once more, all too aware of the tension in his hair. Shi Wudu did not release him either, and instead kept his eyes on his now-sister.

This banquet was one of merriment, a celebration of a new civic god's palace being completed, and acting out here would be inappropriate. The two lovebirds were far enough that Shi Wudu would have to raise his voice if he wanted to scold Shi Qingxuan over the bustle of the other guests, but close enough that her voice carried to them with ease. She had no qualms about raising her voice even if she was going to be a bit shameless about what she said.

Pei Ming knew of Shi Wudu's personal grievance on the matter. It wasn't a matter of his sister's romantic entanglements existing so much as it was with a man who appeared not to even regard her with due acknowledgement. Pei Ming saw Shi Qingxuan pick up some pickled cabbages slathered in chili oil and held them up to feed the Earth Master. He watched, eyes going wide as plates, as a few drops fell on her bosom, and Ming Yi, with balls of tempered steel Pei Ming couldn't help but be in awe of, caught them on the back of his finger and swiped it up in a matter of split seconds. The movement was so swift that it went unnoticed by anyone who wasn't focused on the two.

Unfortunately, the one person whose eyes hadn't left them even for a moment caught the audacious gesture. Shi Wudu's hand trembled in barely concealed rage, sending Pei Ming nearly vibrating in his seat. His fan slapped down on the table and he made to get up, go over there and... perhaps slap the offenders silly? Pei Ming barely held his face in check as his hand darted, catching Shi Wudu by his waist and keeping him seated.

"No no, none of that," he hissed between his teeth, leaning to the side to speak near the quivering Water Master's frame. "No one else is watching them, if you bring such scandalous behaviour to focus, she would suffer more than simply your overbearing protectiveness."

"And why should she not?!" Shi Wudu snapped back, gripping the ponytail in his fist even tighter, pulling vindictively. "Shameless is what she's being, indecently parading her skinship in public. As if that form she bore wasn't already careless enough. If it wasn't for her inattentiveness, would Ming Yi ever dare to be so casual with her? Why should I not discipline my own sibling?"

His mean streak activated, Shi Wudu sneered in disdain, attention momentarily lapsing to focus on Pei Ming instead. He was perfectly fine with that, even with the effort it took to keep his jaw clenched against the grunts threatening to spill. There was the faint smell of wine between them, wafting up from their cups and lingering in what little space they left between them. Shi Wudu's face soured even as Pei Ming became equally distracted just by looking at him in return.

To be shameless the way Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi were behaving was one thing, but with his hair in Shi Wudu's grasp, drawing his face closer to his own until they were a finger's length apart, huddled close like lovers sharing a secret... It challenged propriety in its own way.

Pei Ming's hand moved from Shi Wudu's side to the back of his waist, patting absently as his gaze trailed down to the Water Master's lips. He'd pressed his fan a bit too hard on them and they'd gone a little warm in colour in the middle. Foolishly, Pei Ming remembered what they looked like when they were even redder when they were kiss-swollen and parted from breathless gasping. He remembered how they curled around his thumb when he pressed on them to tease him some more.

Pei Ming's smile was stuck on his face, gentle and silly despite the direction his thoughts were leading towards, all while Shi Wudu nagged his ear off, never once letting go of his hair until the time came for them to depart from festivities.

This was a perfectly acceptable development, as far as he was concerned.

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Shi Wudu took to alcohol well, considering his divine constitution. He didn't often let himself drink into a stupor, nor did he enjoy the tomfoolery it invited in others. Inebriation was its own brand of enjoyment, however, and the venerable Water Master was happy to indulge in it when the occasion arose.

The occasion being in absolute privacy in the seclusion of his own palace, surrounded by extravagant sheets and fluffy pillows encasing his body with luxuriant comfort, his favourite incense lit by his bedroom door lulling him into relaxation, a plate of fresh fruit by the side table close enough to pick out from, and finally, with only Ling Wen or Pei Ming keeping him company to get drunk with him. Curiously, he wasn't so much a fan of both of them being there with him at the same time. The conditions for this were exact and if even one of the aforementioned factors were absent, the evening would simply end in a grumpy nap.

Now Shi Wudu had reclined, stretching his arms up with a tiny whimper escaping him, his toes nudging Pei Ming on his hip as he relaxed back. His fingers, slender and just a bit sticky from fruit juices at the tips, searched the plate of fruit blindly. He picked out a few pieces, brought them up to inspect, then returned them to the tray, separating them from the bowl as if he'd condemned them to exile.

After the third one, he huffed and pushed himself up to sit with his elbows, conscientious not to get the sheets dirty even in his drunkenness. His hair just dishevelled enough that it looked bed-tousled after a round of rolling on the mattress, eyes lidded in an alluring gloom.

"Where have the peaches gone." This was not a question, but an accusation.

Pei Ming leaned over to take a look, merely enjoying a pleasant buzz for the moment. Indeed, there were no peaches left.

"You've eaten them all, Shui-shixiong," he said, casting the scorned grapes and pear slices a pitying glance. Shi Wudu gave a muted tch, all his displeasure evident in his scowl, turning from the tray as he snapped at Pei Ming with only that disdainful scoff.

He then flopped back elegantly, sprawling in a pretty mess of robes and silken hair on the bedding. When he turned his face to look at Pei Ming, his gaze was tinged with appraisal instead of haughty derision.

Pei Ming had divulged himself of most of the stuffy clothing he had on earlier than Shi Wudu had, his chest bared to the slightly balmy air in the Water Master's palace in the summertime and his sleeves rolled up to bare the impressive sculpture of his arms. With his hair pulled up messily, the ponytail kept most of the heat off his neck. Shi Wudu's bed was large enough to fit them both thrice over even if they were tumbling, but Pei Ming always opted to stay close by, in easy reach of his drinking partner.

When Shi Wudu laid back in protest, Pei Ming could not stay the urge to lean over his prone form, his hands mindful of his hair as they caged his head, enjoying how Shi Wudu's eyes tracked his movements.

"Still hungry?"

A small nod. "Go get me some more."

"You liked them that much, hm?"

Shi Wudu watched him quietly, some clarity flickering in his gaze before it retreated back into the muddy warmth of tipsiness. He dragged his arms back in close to his body, a smile curling indulgent on this face. Shi Wudu was not a messy eater, but there was a curious glimmer on those lips of his that made Pei Ming's throat feel inexplicably parched.

Then Shi Wudu's hand came up, one touching the corner of his own mouth, parting to take the index between his teeth. Pei Ming's pulse thundered in his ears as he watched the tip of his tongue swipe over the pad of his finger with what could only be ponderous deliberation. The warmth in Pei Ming's chest, so fond and gentle mere moments ago, spread down his body with every taste Shi Wudu took of himself. When he spoke again Shi Wudu's voice was lazy, honeyed with something simmering underneath the surface, held just out of Pei Ming's immediate reach.

"I liked them very much."

Pei Ming was practically domed over Shi Wudu's pliant body now, feeling a starved calling deep in his gut to get even closer. Shi Wudu's eyelashes fluttered; his smile was enchanting as he brought his other hand up to drag his fingers over Pei Ming's lips. He vaguely felt the slight stickiness still on Shi Wudu's thumb where it touched his jaw, but he was charmed beyond thought when Shi Wudu graciously stayed still, wrist poised in offering to him. He was allowing Pei Ming a taste as well.

Now, General Ming Guang was not a man who denied his vices any more than he restricted his virtues, and he tasted him without reservation, if with a touch of trepidation. His hand caught a pale wrist to keep him there, as if afraid he'd deny him as soon as his tongue touched his skin. He moved slowly, going one by one and lavishing each digit with their due worship. Their faces were only scant inches apart by the time he arrived at a delicate, flushed pinkie. His teeth pressed it between them with care, shivering at the way Shi Wudu sighed sweetly against his lips.

Today's wine was a light brew that went down smoothly, but Shi Wudu's skin had the curious effect of amplifying the scents on his body, much like the way the early dew brought the earth to life at the dawn of every new morning. Some days it was wine, others it was Pei Ming's own scent mingled with sweat and Shi Wudu's unique fragrance on crumpled linens. Today it was peaches lingering on his fingertips, driving Pei Ming to near madness.

The kneejerk response to Shi Wudu like this had him stiff in interest already, his body heating in anticipation to what he was being encouraged to partake in. Shi Wudu's enigmatic smile had Pei Ming spellbound as it always did, its power a truly mysterious thing. So taken he was that he only noticed then how he had slinked closer without realising, slotting his hips between the cool-tempered, aloof Water Master's soft thighs, and how those same legs had curled around Pei Ming's waist oh-so invitingly. Shi Wudu didn't draw him closer for it but instead hooked the little finger that Pei Ming had yet to relinquish behind his teeth and pulled him down to brush their lips together.

"Do you like it as well?"

Pei Ming felt the reins on his own self-control slip away in increments, wanting to gather Shi Wudu up in his arms, to kiss his mouth, his neck, his chest, his fingers again and go even lower maybe. Touch him deeper somewhere that would make him lose his own restraint, make him gasp and struggle a little.

His hips pressed down, forcing Shi Wudu's legs further apart as he canted up to Pei Ming, the two entangled in each other, moving back and forth like the lazy tide. Pei Ming was intoxicated – not on the wine, no, but on the way Shi Wudu drew him closer until their lips touched despite the fingers in Pei Ming's mouth. One of his hands slid down Shi Wudu's milky pale thigh, drawing it up along his waist, letting his fingers dig into the soft meat of it, the other abandoning his wrist to curl around Shi Wudu's waist instead.

The irresistible siren call of Shi Wudu's seduction laid patiently, grinning up at Pei Ming from behind the cage of his fingers, waiting until he could work his too-dry throat to answer. Pei Ming nodded, watching that devilish mouth tempt him into breaking himself on Shi Wudu's impenetrable walls.

"I like it as well."

At his breathless answer, Shi Wudu chuckled, warm like a summer afternoon and full of uninhibited mirth, pure and untainted like a river hidden between lush forests, touched by daylight only when the sun faced it from up above at its apex. Pei Ming's hand gripping his thigh slipped under his robes, holding him steady by his hips as he ground against him a bit more insistently. One of them had to give – it was only a matter of who would surrender first.

Pei Ming could kiss him right now if he wanted to. He would have, wouldn't have waited even a moment longer, except Shi Wudu's wrist was still between them, obstructing his path and he was loath to part from the taste of his skin on his tongue of his own volition.

The hand that still lingered near his own lips moved down Pei Ming's bared chest, down to his abdomen before climbing back up and slipping over his shoulder to feel the temperance in his muscles keeping them both suspended in the moment. Those fingers, slightly damp with what lingered of Shi Wudu's own spit, touched the back of Pei Ming's nape, making him shiver in anticipation.

Then, without even a hint of mercy in those enthralling eyes that dragged him one thousand fathoms deep, Shi Wudu grabbed hold of his ponytail and pulled him away from their embrace, disentangling their hold on each other. Their chests were shimmering as if they had been faintly steamed, Shi Wudu's skin bared to his eyes from where it had been hidden from him, pressed up to his chest as it had been.

That same beautiful smile turned a little wicked, his voice rang clear as a bell.

"Then go get some more."