Wen Reian

An Unknown Number of years after The Long Night

Jingshén

No! Not again!

Reian tried to cover his eyes, but as he was dreaming it was like covering them with a sheer fabric. He could still see the two men lying tangled together in bed...

Heat rising on his face, the boy realized after a few moments of feeling terribly guilty, that if this was all fiction it didn't matter what he saw. If no one will ever know who cares?!

Slowly, Wen Reian blinked his eyes at the scene before him. At first he thought it was the same dream he had in the past; Jin Songcai and Xie Yi-jun together in bed, Yi-jun holding his lover tightly, kissing the other man's neck and touching him...

As Reian watched however, he realized that was not the case.

His heart skipped a beat and his face grew hotter when he saw that Xie Yi-jun had pulled Jin Songcai's knee up over his shoulder!

Reian's imagination was only so good, so where he knew they must be connected now, he saw no details. Only a little disappointed, he felt chills come over him as he noticed the way Xie Yi-jun's naked body moved atop Jin Songcai's...

Love, they're making love.

Reian didn't know why he'd assumed you could only do so between a man and a woman. Looking at the two men now, he felt a strange and powerful sense of desire in his heart. A desire to know, just how being touched like that felt.

He saw Jin Songcai's eyelids flutter, the man's hands gripping Yi-jun's back. The King was moving slowly, his face buried in the crook of his lover's neck while his hips gently rocked back and forth...

Wen Reian admired Xie Yi-jun's broad shoulders and strong arms. He wished the King would turn so he could see his face as well, but as the boy continued to watch, something else caught his attention instead.

The scars upon Yi-jun's back. He'd seen them that day in the spring. Jin Songcai was stroking them, touching each one carefully and as he did, the marks faded one by one.

Stunned and confused, Reian was distracted from Songcai's healing by a soft voice...

It was Yi-jun's voice.

"Jincai, I love you."

Wen Reian's heart ached at the King's confession, then Songcai answered with a delicate sigh;

"With everything I am,"

Reian woke up with a start, his eyes flying open to the light of dawn coming through the windows. Sweat covered him and not only that, as he sat up Reian could feel the stiffness of a certain part of his body.

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Not again...

Waking up in such a situation had unfortunately become a habit, and not a very easy one to deal with when he lived with four dozen other boys-

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Wen Rei pulled his blanket back over top of him, rolling to face away from the voice. He heard Xie De chuckle and toss around a few times, finally his friend hissing his name;

"Wen Reian, don't be embarrassed! It's entirely normal-"

Unable to stand the heat rising on his face and his frustration with this whole ordeal, Reian suddenly flipped over and glared at Xie De.

"No!" He frowned. "It's entirely your fault!"

The way his friend was staring at him made Reian want to scream-

Finally, Xie De's eyes widened as he began screeching; "What the hell?! We're practically brothers Wen Reian, how dare you-"

A few others woke up from the noise so Reian tumbled out of bed, grabbing a pillow and launching himself onto Xie De's bed. Covering the still shouting, idiotic boy, Reian whispered so no one else would hear...

"Shut up! It's your fault for buying that stupid love potion in Sanlín City! If it weren't for that, none of this would be happening!"

Hearing that Xie De had stopped shouting and struggling, Wen Reian sighed and finally removed the pillow, a little annoyed that the boy was still alive. Xie De blinked wide eyes at him, and then Reian watched the biggest grin he'd ever seen appear on his friend's face.

Practically rolling off his bed with laughter, Xie De had tears streaming from his eyes while Reian sat there dumbfounded. When he'd stopped cackling, Xie De crawled over to the chest at the foot of his bed. After opening it and rifling through, he handed a tall bottle tied with a ribbon to Reian and grinned.

"You mean this love potion?! I told you I was saving it for emergencies-"

Wen Reian couldn't believe his eyes! He began to stutter...

"B-but what did I drink then? It had a r-ribbon too!"

Xie De giggled, "You tossed back half of the rose wine I bought! I remember you looking a little flushed. So, you're saying this whole time you thought you'd drunk a love potion!?"

Xie De stifled another laugh when he saw Reian's expression.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, it seems that you just got slightly tipsy-"

Reian felt like his face was on fire now.

If he didn't drink the love potion, then what were all his dreams about? Why was he having all these weird thoughts, especially around Xie Yi-jun?

Xie De yawned, "That's sweet. Did you think you were in love with someone?"

Wen Rei grabbed the pillow again and hit him. Xie De just wrapped his whole body around it, closing his eyes and drifting off again in seconds.

Going back to his bed, Reian knew there was no chance of getting back to sleep.

I haven't been poisoned... I am actually feeling this way. Or am I?! Maybe because I thought I'd been poisoned I just began to act like it? His breath caught when he remembered how he told Yi-jun he'd meet him by the wishing well this morning to begin class. Now though, Reian was confused...

If I haven't been poisoned, does that mean I do have feelings for him?

No! Surely not. Reian reasoned that perhaps what he thought were feelings of attraction, were just echoes of emotions he'd felt in his dreams.

I can't be blamed for my dreams, right? They don't mean anything...

No matter what happened today, the boy made a deal with himself; I will act completely normal! He is my instructor and I am a student, and I will not waste any time thinking about obscene things!

As the minutes ticked by, ticked closer to when he needed to get up, Reian's certainty that he could act normal was thwarted by the fact that a part of him, not so deep inside, was still curious about what it would be like to be loved by Xie Yi-jun.

He recalled Songcai's words in his dream with a nagging sense of guilt...

It's completely unfair and inappropriate of me to want him when he's just been separated from his lover, from his whole life!

Wen Reian frowned.

With everything I am...

Have I ever done something, loved someone with everything I am? Reian wasn't sure.

Do I even want to give so much of myself away?

As he thought of the King, as Reian thought of how much he respected, admired, and genuinely cared for the man, he realized perhaps there already is something he had done with everything he was.

I healed him like that. I healed him with everything I am, and if that's all love is, I would be lying if I said I didn't love Xie Yi-jun. Lying. And protecting him...