calmness: (have a talk ☁︎)

omegaverse | change is in the air

[personal profile] calmness 2022-04-05 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
[while the message jiang cheng sends through enchanted butterfly doesn't say the words 'i am dying' directly, the panic in his husband's voice leaves dread spreading through lan xichen's system. the alpha in him, the creature the lan precepts make simple instinct and nature out to be, snarls.

something is wrong and the fact the other man doesn't clarify has lan xichen doing something he has not done since resuming his duties as sect leader, following his seclusion. his duties and meetings are handed off to his uncle, wangji can handle anything else that comes up in the mean time on his behalf.

both his brother and uncle nearly earn a snapping growl from lan xichen when they ask the reason behind it, but something has the alpha unwilling to share. his husband is in trouble, xichen cannot linger. husband -- he thinks, pushes down instinctual panic that his logical mind knows is unnecessary -- only because jiang cheng's beta biology will not let a mating bite take hold and the bite fades after each of xichen's ruts. in truth, xichen does not care but this is one of the last catch-ups of their marriage.

xichen doesn't think to pack clothes with him, driven by instinct to join jiang cheng in the inn in yunmeng that the other sect leader sent the message from.

when he arrives, he notices that jiang disciples stand guard at the entrance and when he is let inside the inn is emptied. the staff have been dismissed, the owner looks panicked as he greets him and tells lan xichen where to go. the fact no one will head to up to the third floor which make up the rooms given to the jiang sect is--- it's strange.

there's no reason for it, not that xichen can think of as he rushes up the stairs. when he reaches jiang cheng's rooms, two things have him stopping in his tracks. first, the door is warded meant to keep anyone from entering. second, despite the warding, xichen can smell his husband scent leaking out form under the door. it's sweet, a mix of lotus and something electric that xichen can never quite place but makes him feel at home as he presses his nose to the crook of jiang cheng's neck and tries to mix their scents together without overpowering the beta's altogether.

which is--- well, not supposed to be possible. just as they possess a weaker sense of smell, a beta's scent is never quite as powerful as an alpha's or omega's. it's not a strange thing, not when a majority of the population are betas but a rarity amongst the gentry.]
Jiang Cheng? [he calls out, knocking on the door. it's gentle at first, then firmer knocking and a call with voice raised. something must be wrong.]
calmness: commissioned; DO NOT USE (LXC 44)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-04-28 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ out of everything that xichen expect on the other side of that door, the scent that hits him and the sight of jiang cheng's current state is not it. he looks disheveled, flustered with a fever. he looks sick, yes, but he doesn't smell sick. no, he smells good. better than good. he smells like he always has, like everything xichen has every wanted and yet more.

which leaves him looking at his husband in shock, baffled as he steps into the room and casts a silent spell to redo the wards which had been set. the wards are stronger now, not allowing anything to seep through.

protectiveness flares in his chest, relief at the fact that while the room behind him is a mess, jiang cheng is not confined to a bed with an injury too grave to recover from. despite the words spoken to him the moment the door opens. ]


Jiang Cheng. [ not chiding, no, but there is relief in his voice to see him standing. he wants to wipe his tears, to soothe and protect. to right whatever wrong has caused this, even if something in the back of his mind is screaming that there is a rightness in what is before him. ] What's happening? [ which is a foolish question perhaps, but the spike and crash of adrenaline have him nearly as disoriented as the need to get closer and touch, touch, touch. it's natural to wrap his arms around jiang cheng's waist, to pull him close into his hold. ]
calmness: (it mightve been a nightmare ☁︎)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-05-24 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ xichen's hold on jiang cheng remains firm, balancing the two of them as the other man moves and nuzzles against his neck. it's instinctual to tilt it to the side, to allow his husband this comfort.

except it isn't something that he's sought before and it would be natural to offer it to a mate. but--

oh.

but.

xichen blinks, taking in the scent and what jiang cheng has told him compared to what he's seen. disciples would clear away from such a scent if it were linked to an omega, would steer clear of their alpha as they approached. there were books about this, xichen has read them. is sure that his uncle left him for jiang cheng as well when he had realized how committed they were to a marriage between alpha and beta, books that covered what a marriage to an alpha could entail.

but nothing had happened and xichen hadn't considered the possibility at all of what a fever, such pain and this scent could mean. he tilts his head, presses a gentle kiss to the side the other man's head. ]
a-Cheng. How do I smell to you? [ and then a pause, tentative, as xichen's slides a hand up and down the curve of jiang cheng's spine. ] You're scenting me.
calmness: commissioned; DO NOT USE (LXC 03)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-06-20 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ xichen hasn't seen that look before, not on his husband's face. not quite like this.

instinctively though, he knows. he knows what this means, that they need to get away from the door at least and somewhere safer. his hold on jiang cheng tightens, pulling him more firmly into his chest as if there were any closer to go. ]
Have you made a nest?

[ it's difficult to still speak with jiang cheng barely giving him room to inhale, but he doesn't want to stop him. not when he's calmer, not panicked even if there's still a sense of frenzy building. ] We need to go there.

I think-- I know what this is.
calmness: (nobody cried ☁︎)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-06-20 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 'by the heavens, if it is a nest...' xichen thinks but knows better than to voice. ] Can you show me the bed then, my heart?

[ if he glances in the direction of where the bed is positioned in the room, he can tell the bedding has been removed and it is not being used.

he does loosen his hold on jiang cheng's frame, reaches for one of his hands to interlace their fingers so they are still connected even if they must move. ]
Edited 2022-06-20 22:15 (UTC)
calmness: (consideration ☁︎)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-06-20 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it takes decades of self control not to take a deep breath, to hold it for a few seconds and release it before calling that nest exactly what it is.

he takes the hand that jiang cheng used to motion toward the nest and lifts it to his own lips, smiles back because the smile on the other's lips makes something in the alpha's mild melt. ]
It is very nice, a-Cheng. [ a very nice nest. he doesn't say, but there's pride in his voice over what he's been shown.

he glances at collection of robes, notices his own are amongst them though he had not planned to join his husband on this trip for some time. he wonders how long this has been brewing for jiang cheng to have brought both of their clothing along, if he'd thought about it. ]
Do you want to add the robes I'm wearing to it?
Edited 2022-06-20 22:35 (UTC)
calmness: (Lan-Xichen-36)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-07-02 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ it is very much like jiang cheng, to deny himself something and turn it into something xichen wishes. it would be something xichen blamed on omega natured but that is simply his husband's nature, when it comes to his own wants and needs.

he lets out a soft sigh, but presses his lips to the corner of the other's mouth and along his jaw. he takes the opportunity to nip at his ear, then right below it as he brushes his nose against his neck and inhales a smell that has always felt like home and all he's wanted.

it's stronger now, settles over him and makes him lightheaded. nearly enough that he forgets what he'd asked and why jiang cheng's answer worried him. it's jiang cheng's hands that remind him. ]
I would like that. [ he says, not realizing that his voice is a bit slurred from pheromones he's inhaled.

he lifts his hands from jiang cheng's hips to help him peel off the layers, half expecting them to be batted away. ]
I would also like to join you in -- in the bed.
calmness: DO NOT USE (a private smile ☁︎)

[personal profile] calmness 2022-07-04 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ while jiang cheng is dealing with the outer layer, xichen strips himself of the others until he's left in just the pants that make up his inner most layer.

he sets the pile right inside the nestbed, in case his husband wants to add that to the pile.

but at the invitation he crosses the threshold, joins jiang cheng amongst bedding, robes, and whatever else he's squirrel away. he reaches for him, drawing him to his chest again before burying his nose in his husband's neck. it starts as kisses to his skin, then he's leaving a love bite behind. ]
You smell, you taste so good.