When Wei Wuxian was rudely yanked into Mo Xuanyu’s abused body, anatomy or gender designations were the last thing on his mind. He was too busy first getting out of the Mo manor and then saving a bunch of ungrateful juniors, and then avoiding Jiang Cheng, and then there was the whole thing with a demonic arm or two…
Look, there was a lot going on. He really couldn’t be blamed for overlooking something as trivial as his body.
After, when the dust had settled on the collapsed Guanyin temple, when Jiang Cheng had had his teary temper tantrum, when Lan Qiren had taken one look at yet another broken nephew, when Lan Zhan and he had parted ways, Wei Wuxian had time to think. He had time to be on his own and think and pine and have some very embarrassing dreams about Lan Zhan, and that’s when he realized that something was different.
Obviously, he’d realized pretty soon that poor Mo Xuanyu had not been an alpha. He was too small, too weak, too slender and delicate, especially compared to Lan Zhan, so making the assumption that he was an omega wasn’t too far off.
Except that he didn’t experience a single heat during his wandering.
That didn’t overly concern him—Mo Xuanyu had been starved and abused, and Wei Wuxian himself had lost his heats after giving up his core, not that his cycle had been that regular in the first place. But when his new body did not start its cycle even when he returned to the Cloud Recesses and to a full belly and decent amounts of sleep in a proper bed…
Well.
”I think I’m a beta now,” he said one night after Lan Zhan had brought him off twice and then spent an obscene amount of time fucking him with a fervor that left Wei Wuxian even more light-headed than usual.
When Lan Zhan didn’t reply, he turned around in the circle of his arms and met his incredulous eyes.
”What?”
”You—was this news to you?” Lan Zhan asked carefully.
”I don’t know…I think so?”
”Wei Ying—how is this news to you?”
Flushing with embarrassment, he ducked his head and burrowed into Lan Zhan’s chest. ”It’s not—I’ve never been that good at taking care of my body,” he mumbled. ”And back then—” He cut himself off. Lan Zhan didn’t like being reminded of the time before his death, the long months of his slow descent into madness and rage.
”Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said softly. ”Xingan, look at me, please.” When Wei Wuxian raised his head with a pout, he met Lan Zhan’s fondly exasperated eyes. ”I did not mean to embarrass you, I apologize.”
”Apology accepted,” he said quickly because that look in Lan Zhan’s eyes was unbearable and he had to do something to make it go away. ”Besides, you know how my memory is: worthless.”
”Nothing about you is worthless,” Lan Zhan said in that implacable way of his, making Wei Wuxian want to squirm.
”Lan Zhan,” he huffed. ”Stop it.”
”I will not,” his terrible husband said calmly, and then kissed him with such conviction and care that it brought tears in his eyes.
Later, when they were finally set for sleep, Lan Zhan asked, ”Do you miss it? Being an omega?”
”Nope!” he chirped. ”Who needs an omega body anyway, right? Not me! Absolutely not. Heats and such, so annoying!”
”Mn,” Lan Zhan said.
And that was that.
(…except that he was married to Lan Zhan. He really should’ve known better…)
It happened on a perfectly normal day several weeks later.
Lan Zhan had started to slowly transfer Sect Leader duties back to Lan Xichen newly emerged from seclusion, and now that it was done, he’d started dismantling the Chief Cultivator position to the apparent surprise of everyone else but Wei Wuxian. And now that Gusu Lan was back under Zewu-jun’s rule, Lan Zhan had a bit more time for himself (and Wei Wuxian, of course, but mostly for himself).
Wei Wuxian was thrilled.
He ordered some of Lan Zhan’s favorite foods from the kitchen and prepared a bath with a selection of relaxing herbs, all ready and waiting when his husband returned home and could shed the mantle of Hanguang-jun from his shoulders. He was feeling strangely jittery, reminding him of the pre-heat restlessness he’d had back in his first life. Luckily, his mind didn’t have the chance to travel too far down that road as he heard steps from the outside, and then Lan Zhan opened the door and entered the Jingshi.
”Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, making his husband pause for a moment and raise a brow. ”Nothing! I’m just so happy you’re home!”
Lan Zhan inclined his head, set Bichen on its stand, and stepped further in—only to stop at the sight of the feast on the table. ”Are we celebrating?” he asked.
Wei Wuxian let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed his nose. ”Ah, hehe, I just wanted to make you feel good.”
”I always feel good with you,” Lan Zhan said with that endearing sincerity he reserved only for him.
Wei Wuxian hissed like a boiling kettle. ”Hush now, and get in here,” he ordered, fluttering around Lan Zhan as he removed his headpiece and with it, the weight of his duties. He looked so much softer like that, hair half-down, eyes heavy-lidded, mouth curled in a small smile. It was devastating.
”Sit, sit. I have soup and braised tofu and buns and—” he chattered on, presenting each course to Lan Zhan as if he didn’t know exactly what it was—as if Lan Zhan wasn’t more than familiar with the cooking process of each dish. But Lan Zhan tolerated his silliness with an indulgent air, making Wei Wuxian exaggerate even more.
”I also have something for you,” Lan Zhan said.
”Oh?” he said, perking up when Lan Zhan took a small bottle from his sleeve. ”Wine? Lan Zhan, you rebel!”
His husband ignored his mock scandalous gasp and set the bottle on the table. It was a delicate thing, pale pink with a golden stopper and a stylized stamp of magnolia on the side. Lan Zhan’s eyes glittered as Wei Wuxian picked it up and shook it carefully.
The liquid, when poured into a small cup, was clear and scentless, and when he took an experimental sip, it also turned out to be tasteless. ”Huh,” he said, frowning slightly. ”Lan Zhan, are you sure you weren’t tricked? This isn’t wine!”
”I never said it was,” Lan Zhan said mildly and took a sip from his own tea.
”True,” Wei Wuxian agreed and poured himself another cup.
Something about Lan Zhan’s eyes made his skin feel tight and his pulse thrum. And was it getting a bit hot? Wei Wuxian loosened up his collar, absent-mindedly noticing how Lan Zhan’s eyes snapped to the exposed clavicle. He placed several pieces of tofu and vegetables into Lan Zhan’s bowl, feeling inordinately pleased by the action, and then leaned back to nibble at his own food.
”How was your day, Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan prompted before picking up his chopsticks. It was a well-tested tactic for him to abide by his sect’s stupid no-talking-while-eating rule while giving Wei Wuxian permission to ramble to his heart’s content. And ramble he did, as usual.
Or…almost as usual.
He kept being distracted by birds chirping outside, by the soft clink of Lan Zhan’s chopsticks, by the feel of that weird wine as it slid down his throat, by the barely-there pressure of the soft robes Lan Zhan had commissioned for him.
”Wei Ying?”
He made a lazy, questioning sound.
Lan Zhan tilted his head. ”You seem distracted.”
”I—” He frowned. ”Huh. Are you done already?”
Lan Zhan certainly seemed to be finished: he was sitting with his hands on his lap, chopsticks resting next to an empty bowl. The intensity in his eyes was the same as before, drawing Wei Wuxian in and capturing his own gaze. A barely-there whisper of a smile played in the corner of his mouth and Wei Wuxian had the sudden need to trace it with his tongue.
It seemed like an excellent idea so he went to stand up only to sway and almost stumble.
”Careful,” Lan Zhan said in a low voice, holding him steadily in his arms. The contact was a burning brand around Wei Wuxian’s waist, making his breath catch and his skin prickle.
”What—” he tried to say around his suddenly clumsy tongue.
Lan Zhan hummed and tilted his head, watching him with strangely knowing eyes.
”Lan Zhan, husband,” Wei Wuxian said, over-enunciating each word. ”What was in that drink?” His voice came out as a sigh and when he breathed in, the air in the Jingshi was suddenly syrupy sweet, slipping down his throat like honey.
His husband bent his head and nosed at the soft skin right under the jaw, drawing gooseflesh to the surface and prompting a whimper. He felt woozy and slow, hot and relaxed, and completely safe in Lan Zhan’s arms—and now that he thought of it, he wanted to be closer in those arms…mmm…nice arms…
”Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan murmured into the hollow of his throat. ”You smell like you’re about to go into heat.”
”But—” he started and then let out a breathy moan when Lan Zhan’s teeth grazed his skin. I’m no longer an omega, he wanted to say. I can’t go into heat, that’s not possible without some creative potions and—
Wait.
With some effort, he drew back and looked from Lan Zhan to the small bottle resting innocently on the table. ”You—” he started as his knees wobbled.
”Is something wrong?” Lan Zhan asked in that same low, indulgent purr. ”Do you need to lay down?”
This—this was unbearable! Lan Zhan had made this happen, Wei Wuxian was sure of it. And yet, even now, there was the barest hint of uncertainty flickering in the corner of his eyes, as if Wei Wuxian would ever turn down anything he suggested.
”Oh, no, I think there is something wrong!” Wei Wuxian moaned, pitching his voice into something meek and confused. ”I’m not supposed to go into heat—I don’t know how this happened—and now I’m here, with an alpha—”
”I will take care of you, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said as his arms gripped him with a bruising force and his hands spasmed against his hips.
”Oh no! No, you can’t! Whatever will happen to me, a poor omega at the mercy of an alpha like you!” Wei Wuxian wailed, making a token attempt to wrench away from the embrace. It was somewhat spoiled by the way he ground his rapidly hardening cock against Lan Zhan’s but…well, it was the thought that counted?
And moments later, even thoughts were gone and all that remained was the haze of lust, the driving need to have Lan Zhan’s naked body pinning him down, the craving for skin and cock and teeth and lips and ohhh, there and please and alpha alpha alpha—
He woke up feeling gloriously used and sore, the bite marks on his neck and chest throbbing in sync with his hips and hole. Even without a mirror, Wei Wuxian knew his body was a roadmap of uninhibited lust, his husband’s want painted on him like ink on a canvas.
The fingers carding through his hair paused for a split moment before continuing their hypnotic, slow movement, and he pushed into the touch like a cat, letting out a satisfied sigh.
”Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan said in a hushed voice.
Wei Wuxian let the sigh and head tilt morph into a sinuous crawl closer, tucked his face into the crook of his husband’s neck, and drew in the combined scent of sweat and sex. It was slightly disgusting but also not.
Bodies. So weird.
”You didn’t have to do that,” he mumbled, lips brushing at the steadily beating pulse running right under Lan Zhan’s skin.
”Of course I did,” came the reply, unwavering and certain.
Wei Wuxian raised his head, silently mourning how Lan Zhan’s hand dropped from his hair to his arm as he tried to direct a scowl at his devastatingly beautiful husband.
”You don’t have to—” he started and then stopped when Lan Zhan pressed a finger on his lips. He snapped at it playfully, sticking out his tongue when Lan Zhan raised a brow, and then letting out a small squeal when the alpha flipped them.
”Giving you things you enjoy makes me happy,” Lan Zhan said seriously, his earnest eyes looking straight into Wei Wuxian’s soul. ”Therefore, if something makes you happy, I have to do it.” He paused and then added, ”Within reason.”
”But—”
”Wei Ying, be silent,” Lan Zhan said and then kissed him because he knew mere words would never be enough to shut him up.
”Did you enjoy it?” Lan Zhan asked later when Wei Wuxian reclined against his chest, letting the warmth of the bath seep into his muscles.
”Of course I—Lan Zhan! Do you really have to ask?”
”Yes.”
Wei Wuxian huffed and tilted his head to look at his ridiculous, stubborn Lan Zhan. ”Yes, my dearest, beloved husband. Spending my heat with you was very enjoyable indeed and I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
”Mn,” Lan Zhan said as his arm twitched against Wei Wuxian’s stomach.
Wei Wuxian pressed a lazy kiss on Lan Zhan’s jaw and closed his eyes. ”It’s just too bad my heats have always been so unpredictable. I never know when they’ll hit.” He twined his fingers with Lan Zhan’s and let out a sigh. ”This poor omega is so lucky to have an alpha like Hanguang-jun to take care of him.”
”Mn,” Lan Zhan said again, rougher.
Wei Wuxian smiled.
Yes.
Very lucky indeed.