*~*~*
Xun heard from one of the maids about fifteen minutes before Zhou found him. Xun had just finished sorting out Lady Liang's messages for her when Zhou burst into the little writing room, smiling ear-to-ear.
"Xun, you bastard," he declared cheerfully, throwing himself into the chair across the desk.
"Uh, no need to rub it in?" Xun offered, tucking away the last of the letters into the proper box. "Where were you?"
Zhou grinned widely. "Outside."
"In the shrine?" Xun asked skeptically, standing up and brushing the little collected bits of paper from his page's uniform. "Because it got really cold last night, so I'm inclined to think you're lying."
"I'm not." Zhou's smile wasn't fading.
"Did you hit your head?" Xun demanded, moving around the desk to lean against it. "What's wrong with you?"
"My parents won't be making me marry. Ever." Zhou declared.
"Are you shitting me?" Xun narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."
"It's true." Zhou insisted.
"So why not, then? Are you impotent or something similarly debilitating?" Xun smirked, nudging Zhou's shin with his slipper-covered toes.
"What? No." Zhou shook his head distractedly. "The guardian won't let them."
Xun snorted. "Yeah, sure. And where do you get off calling me a bastard when you're the one who missed meeting me earlier?"
"You sent my parents out after me." Zhou flushed. "Ah, that was … not nice."
"What were you doing out there?" Xun asked, slightly incredulous.
"Nothing at that point, at least," Zhou muttered, running a hand through his hair and messing up the too-neat coiffure. "Anyway Lóng made it clear that he wouldn't be happy if I was to be married off. And sort of claimed me as his sacrifice."
"Wait, what? Sacrifice?" Xun straightened. "You're going to be sacrificed?"
Zhou grinned. "Yeah. The family is sacrificing any potential gains they might make by my marriage and, well, a happy guardian means a happy, prospering family, right?"
"You're cracked. Seriously." Xun shook his head. "Do I get to meet this guardian of yours?"
"You could come with me later," Zhou offered. "I'm going back out after dinner."
"I … alright." Xun agreed, flabbergasted. "How long has this been going on?"
"Ah … since my sixteenth birthday," Zhou admitted sheepishly. "It was kind of a secret."
"Nice." Xun scowled. "Two years? How the hell did you manage that and nobody caught on?"
Zhou grinned. "Lóng's had lots of practice sneaking."
"I don't even want to know." Xun shook his head. "Though I think I'm going to drop a pudding on you at dinner. You didn't even tell me!"
Zhou shrugged. "It didn't come up?"
"Sure," Xun replied, unbelieving.
"It didn't." Zhou grinned. "That and it was a secret. I'm good at keeping secrets."
"Yeah, sure," Xun smirked. "Which was why no one knew about Lady Shen's incident with the Venice lace. And that one page's rash?"
"Ah, don't remind me about that." Zhou shuddered. "That poor boy."
Xun snickered. "You told everyone."
"I told you. You told the cook," Zhou pointed out. "Besides, I don't think you would've believed me at that point."
"Maybe not," Xun conceded. "I don't believe you now. I'll believe you after I meet this guardian of yours."
Zhou grinned again, his eyes fairly lighting up. "This is going to be fun."
Xun shook his head, wondering if the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach was something he should be feeling in the face of meeting Zhou's guardian. Anything was likely though. It was Zhou here, and for all he knew this could be a very elaborate joke.
Five
Zhou sprinted across the grass, fighting a grin. "Is your age getting to you—oof." Zhou blinked at Lóng, coming to an abrupt stop against his chest. Lóng snagged his arms to keep him from falling over, and Zhou frowned at him suspiciously.
"You're cheating somehow, I know it," he told the dragon seriously, and Lóng snickered, his lips curving into a smirk.
"And why do you think that?" Lóng drawled, not letting go, and Zhou grinned, a plan forming.
"Because you were behind me not two seconds ago," Zhou said, staring at Lóng's lips with a carefully slightly distracted air. "Or something." He blinked, glancing up to meet Lóng's bright eyes.
"Hmm, and you want me behind you now?" Lóng drawled, and Zhou shivered a little because Lóng had a horribly sexy voice when he wanted to use it for the purposes of seduction.
"Yes, please," Zhou murmured, distracted by his own distraction, and Lóng tugged him close, claiming his mouth without hesitation. Zhou returned his kissed, a niggling little thought at the back of his head that they were in the middle of a race distracting him a bit. Kissing as enticingly as he could, Zhou let Lóng's hands slip under the formal tunic his mother had forced on him that morning.
The clasps came undone one by one, and Zhou groaned softly into Lóng's mouth because the dragon had far too much experience to be anything but an excellent kisser. The tunic was being brushed off his shoulders, and Zhou decided now was the time. Breaking off the kiss abruptly, he slipped out of the tunic Lóng was trying to be subtle about removing and darted off towards the trees on the other side of the shrine breathlessly.
It only took thirty seconds or so, and then he was at the trees, laughing and fighting for breath because kissing Lóng had taken far too much air and running on top of that hadn't helped.
"I won!" Zhou called out to the flabbergasted dragon, sitting down heavily because he was out of breath and couldn't stop laughing. Lóng rolled his eyes and elegantly strode across the lawn towards him, still holding Zhou's shirt.
"You cheated," Lóng informed him, towering above him. Dropping Zhou's shirt on his head, Lóng knelt down in the grass beside him. Zhou batted the tunic away and grinned.
"Oh?" Zhou questioned innocently. "How? I don't recall kissing being against the rules."
Lóng shook his head, but he looked amused enough. "So what prize will you take?"
"Hmm …" Zhou looked thoughtful. "I'll get back to you on that," he decided, reaching out to grab the front of Lóng's robes. "Now get back to kissing me, dragon."
Lóng growled. Zhou was suddenly on his back, Lóng straddling his legs and pressing him into the soft grass with his weight. Zhou grinned and reached up to tug Lóng down, close enough to kiss again. Lóng shifted his weight in a far-too-pleasant manner, and Zhou huffed out a breath into the dragon's mouth, still winded from kissing and running.
Six
"How come you never come to me?" Zhou complained, making a face as Lóng attempted to slip his hands under Zhou's tunic. "Stop that."
"No," Lóng refused, one hand sliding along the bare skin of Zhou's stomach. Zhou wiggled half-heartedly, not really trying to free himself from Lóng's grip. They were in the garden, and Lóng had wrapped himself around Zhou from behind and was systematically trying to see how far he could get his hands along Zhou's skin before he shied away.
"I'm not sleeping with you outside," Zhou told him absently, snagging Lóng's other hand as he ran it along Zhou's thigh.
"I've gone inside," Lóng purred, biting lightly at the ridge of Zhou's ear. "You just don't look closely enough."
"I've never seen you." Zhou twisted, turning to face Lóng. Lóng's fingers slipped a bit lower.
"You don't look closely enough," Lóng repeated, looking far too amused. Zhou rolled his eyes.
"I would've seen you," Zhou maintained.
"You didn't." Lóng kissed him, distracting him a little. "I've been in your bedroom."
"Liar," Zhou told him, narrowing his eyes at the dragon. "Prove it."
"You have a chest at the foot of your bed, which is situated in the middle of the room. Your floor is a mess until your servant comes to pick it up every morning, and she grumbles madly doing it. You've yet to have a manservant who lasted, because two have taken li
berties in your dressing room—" Lóng growled a little, kissing him possessively, and Zhou fought to keep a clear head. "—and your parents haven't had time to find you a new one after the last married out of the keep."
"Gossip," Zhou gasped out. "Mmm—" He groaned a little as Lóng's fingers massaged along his back.
"I'll prove it later. You've seen me." Lóng smirked and kissed him again, managing to slip his shirt off, and Zhou twisted away from Lóng's grip, clambering to his feet as the fifth bell rang.
"Classes," Zhou told him with a rueful smile, scooping up his shirt as Lóng stood leisurely. "Prove it, later."
"I will, insolent child." Lóng drew him back for another kiss, stealing his breath and a leisurely grope that Zhou did nothing to prevent. "And we shall see about this indoor sleeping."
*~*~*
Zhou scowled at his reflection in the mirror. He'd forgotten the formal dinner tonight, which was entirely unfortunate because it meant he hadn't had time to manufacture an excuse to get out of it. Peering at his reflection in the mirror, Zhou fought the urge to fidget as his brother's manservant did … something to his hair.
Something odd, because the man wasn't merely sticking styling gel in it and slicking it into a hard shell that would take soaking later to undo. He was styling slowly, and Zhou was ready to put up a fuss if he didn't stop running his hands through Zhou's hair so … intimately.
"What are you doing?" Zhou demanded after a moment more, when the man showed no signs of stopping.
"Arranging your hair, my lord," was the subservient response. Zhou stared at the servant in the mirror, because something wasn't right here.
Standing up abruptly, Zhou turned on the man, feeling the short strands of his hair fall back into place casually. Peering at the servant suspiciously, he brushed his hair out of his face.
"Get out," Zhou ordered, wondering how he got all the pervy servants in the castle. The servant smiled slowly, reminding Zhou of Lóng's possessive smiles, but in the worst way because this wasn't Lóng so it was wrong.
"No."
Zhou scowled, displeased as the smile didn't slip.
"I don't believe—" Zhou watched with more than a little surprise as the manservant's features shifted slightly—the nose thinned and elongated, his eyes shifted slightly closer together, his cheekbones fell back to where they were normally and Lóng's face was smirking at him again. "—that I've ever seen you in formalwear before, Zhou."
"You—that's cheating!" Zhou declared, stalking over to Lóng, his astonishment fading as he peered at Lóng's face to ascertain that his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.
"I've dressed you many times." Lóng smirked. Zhou flushed because now he had no idea how many times Lóng had been around him, playing at being a servant.
"That's cheating," Zhou repeated, scowling. That was a severe invasion of privacy.
"I cheat," Lóng declared, leaning down to kiss him. His scales were showing faintly, along the ridge of his cheekbones and down the sides of his neck, and Zhou gave up the bit of anger he had. He'd make Lóng give it out in trade or something. "Now, I believe something was said to the effect of not sleeping with me outside?"
Zhou flushed a little, but grinned. "The ground is not so nice for that type of thing."
"And you would know this how?" Lóng drawled, and Zhou snickered, kissing Lóng before he could demand an answer. Lóng drew him closer, his fingers quickly undoing the ties holding Zhou's formal robes in place.
"The dinner—" Zhou protested breathlessly, but his fingers were working at Lóng's servant outfit.
"Your time is a sacrifice to the family dragon," Lóng declared, claiming Zhou's lips for another kiss.
"That's seriously gotten old," Zhou grumbled, shrugging off his shirt and melting into Lóng's touch as the dragon's lips trailed a burning hot path of kisses down Zhou's jaw and along his neck.
"Then let's try, 'worship your guardian,'" Lóng told him, nudging his legs apart with a well-maneuvered knee. Zhou groaned, his head falling back a little as Lóng's lips found the sensitive spot just below his jaw, back towards his ear.
"Shut—ooh—shush, dragon," Zhou scolded, tugging Lóng's shirt off. Lóng's hands abruptly dropped away from Zhou's chest to curl around his thighs, and a moment later Zhou wasn't standing on the floor anymore. Wrapping his arms around Lóng's neck before he could lose balance and topple from his arms, Zhou did his best to hold on while Lóng carried him over to the bed and dropping him heavily to the mattress.
The dragon followed, pinning him to the bed with his weight, and Zhou grinned, kissing him because he was too close to not.
"Mmm, but—" Zhou broke away, tilting his head before Lóng could steal all of his words. "You're explaining to my parents."
"Whatever," Lóng growled, displeased with the interruption. "Now stop talking and let me kiss you."
Zhou snickered but obliged, happily letting Lóng kiss him again because, really, he'd wanted to have Lóng indoors with him for ages.
Seven
"Ulgh, rain," Zhou complained, flicking the water out of his hair at Lóng. The dragon smirked, glancing up at the sky.
"I hear it's bad to stay in wet clothing." Lóng smirked, tugging at the back of Zhou's soaked shirt.
"You made me come out here." Zhou pressed closer, shivering a bit. "Cold rain, too."
"I should've gone in," Lóng decided, wrapping Zhou in his arms. "We'll go in, now."
"Good," Zhou muttered, shivering again. "I hate being wet."
"I'll warm you up," Lóng promised, drawing Zhou back towards the building. His features were changing slowly, morphing into the human version of his face. "Inside."
Zhou mumbled under his breath, happy now that they were heading back towards warmth. He'd spent ten minutes looking for Lóng outside before he found the dragon curled up in one of his groves. Lóng didn't seem at all affected by the rain, and Zhou was drenched, dripping and cold and irritable.
Except that Lóng's warmth was soaking through his wet clothes, almost as quickly as the rain had minutes before. Zhou wondered if Lóng could change his temperature on purpose or if it was simply him being so cold that even Lóng's arm around him felt warm.
"Next time stay inside." Lóng's voice was quiet, and Zhou shivered again, pressing closer to his warmth. "I can come find you."
"I'm going to catch a cold," Zhou complained, sniffing miserably as Lóng led him into the corridor where his bedroom was.
"I hope not," Lóng replied, tugging him out of the thick tunic he wore on top. He had three layers of shirts on, but he was still soaked to the skin. "You're cranky when you're sick."
"I love how concerned you are for my health," Zhou muttered, letting Lóng pull off his second shirt as they approached his room. "I feel cared for, especially after I soaked myself looking for you."
"Poor princeling," Lóng cooed, getting a firm grip on Zhou's wrist and tugging him around. Zhou opened his mouth to protest, but Lóng was kissing him, pressing close and slipping the third layer of Zhou's shirts off his shoulders.
"I'll warm you up," Lóng purred, breaking away to push Zhou against the wall. Zhou gasped, narrowing his eyes. Lóng didn't seem to care, pressing further, even as his hands explored Zhou's cool, clammy skin. Zhou gave in, letting Lóng kiss him, because it was warming him up.
Eight
Zhou sniffled, nearly wiping his nose with his sleeve before catching himself, arm half-raised. Mother would kill him if he got snot on the formal jacket. Though he'd probably die of suffocation first. He couldn't breathe properly. His nose was stuffed. His lungs ached. He kept coughing raggedly, earning dark looks from whichever of the stupid windbags happened to be speaking at the time.
It would serve Mother right if his nose was dribbling snot. Just to complete the fine image he made, pale and sickly and probably looking half-insane as he tried desperately to not sneeze on his plate. Or on either of the overdressed brats he was sitting next to, no matter how dearly he wanted to.
&nbs
p; He wanted tea. Simple tea, not the stupid over-steeped stuff they were serving. Tea and bed and Lóng. A contrite Lóng, since it was the blasted dragon's fault he was sick anyway.
"Ah-choo!"
Zhou glared miserably at the girl to his right as she not-so-discretely edged her chair away. He made a note to sneeze on her next time, instead of into the embroidered handkerchief his mother had pressed into his hand earlier. It had little golden dragons on it, and Zhou managed a wobbly smile.
He could deal with a non-contrite Lóng. He just wanted to be in bed. Unfortunately, his presence was required, since his father and brothers were off doing … something, and hadn't gotten back in time to welcome the daughter of one of the neighboring counties. So he was being the male presence, since Lóng had requested he stay here.
Another of the ministers stood up, and Zhou stifled a sigh, picking up the bad tea and sipping at it. The steam was good, at least. Sniffling again, Zhou set his tea cup down and tried not to cough.
"Excuse me, Prince." A soft touch to his shoulder, and Zhou turned to stare blearily at the servant. "You're needed in the hallway."
Zhou blinked, but nodded anyway, excusing himself and trying to not sneeze on the expressions of relief his seatmates wore. Following the servant slowly, Zhou tried to not wobble but had the distinct impression that he was failing miserably. It wasn't until he reached the hallway outside the banquet room that he wondered why he'd been pulled from the feast.
The servant left him outside the door with a quick bow before returning to his duties inside, and Zhou stared blearily around the hallway for a moment before he managed to focus on Lóng's somewhat amused and concerned face.
"Bed," Lóng ordered firmly, and Zhou nodded.
"But Mother—" he protested feebly, letting Lóng take his arm and lead him towards his rooms.
"Would rather you were in bed than sneezing and coughing on her guests," Lóng replied with a drawl that normally Zhou would've smacked him for.
"Erg," Zhou replied eloquently, leaning on Lóng's arm. "Will you get me good tea?"
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