Wenzhi’s chest tightened, his pulse stuttering for a split second. "What are you talking about?"

Xinyuan looked at him as if the answer should’ve been obvious.

Without warning, he leaned in and bit down. Hard.

His teeth sank into Wenzhi’s arm, deep enough to mark, to break skin.

Wenzhi let out a strained sound, his eyes flying open in shock. "What the fuck are you doing....!"

He raised his free hand to shove him off, but Xinyuan released him first, dragging his tongue slowly over the bite, tasting the blood before it could spill further.

He caught Wenzhi’s wrist mid-motion, stopping him.

Wenzhi went rigid under that stare.

That wildness... it wasn’t fading.

It was getting worse.

"Will you let someone else touch you again?" Xinyuan murmured, his voice low, completely at odds with his grip. "Anywhere they touch you... I’ll mark it."

His lips hovered just short of Wenzhi’s, their breath mingling. "Do you remember who touched you there?"

Wenzhi’s frown deepened.

This wasn’t just instability. This was something else entirely.

"Get off me," he snapped.

"Tell me," Xinyuan whispered, brushing his nose against his. "Think about it. Tell me... and we can both be satisfied."

Wenzhi’s mouth fell open as the pieces snapped together.

Suye.

He could almost feel the phantom grip on his arm from earlier on the staircase. A simple touch that had clearly marked him in Xinyuan’s eyes.

Wenzhi’s eye twitched.

"...That guide. Suye." His voice dropped, disbelief bleeding through. "You’re biting me like a fucking vampire because someone touched my arm?"

His face flushed, irritation flaring but Xinyuan only looked at him, utterly pleased.

"You’re mine to touch. Mine to possess. Mine to kiss, mine to hold, mine to..." He cut himself off by closing the distance, crashing his lips against Wenzhi’s.

Wenzhi froze, his heart slamming wildly against his ribs then heat rushed in just as fast.

Why the hell was he reacting to this?

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought flickered.

Had Xinyuan always been like this? Had he just been hiding it because of the constant surveillance?

Xinyuan deepened the kiss, pulling Wenzhi’s tongue into his mouth, slow and consuming. A low sound slipped from Wenzhi before he could stop it.

Without a word, Xinyuan’s hand drifted past the hip, disappearing into his pants. The heat of the kiss vanished instantly as they pulled away, the air between them even more heated.

Wenzhi’s breath came out uneven, his chest rising sharply.

"Can I touch you here?" Xinyuan asked, his voice low and reverent.

"You already..." Wenzhi exhaled sharply as Xinyuan’s lips brushed his neck. "...Yes."

That was all the permission Xinyuan needed.

He freed him, wrapping his hand around him, stroking slowly. His fingers were slick already with pre cum, dragging along sensitive skin with measured pressure as his eyes stayed on Wenzhi’s face.

He was watching... Studying... Memorizing every micro-expression and mapping them out.

Wenzhi bit down on his lower lip, breath hitching, his fingers digging instinctively into Xinyuan’s arm, hard enough to bruise.

Xinyuan didn’t flinch.

If anything, it seemed to please him. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Freckles..." he murmured breathlessly. "I can’t... I don’t deserve you... I don’t..."

His thumb pressed at the base, and then, a long, slow stroke.

Wenzhi broke.

A sharp sound tore from him as his grip tightened, his head falling back, body tensing as release hit fast and overwhelming, spilling between them, across skin already heated from contact.

He shuddered through it, his breath ragged.

Xinyuan watched, smiling with satisfaction.

He dragged his fingers through the mess, slowly, before bringing them to his lips.

Wenzhi’s eyes fluttered open just in time to meet his gaze, those warm brown eyes now darkened as Xinyuan licked his fingers clean.

"You taste even sweeter today..."

Wenzhi exhaled heavily, lifting a hand to his forehead, his eyes squeezing shut as everything caught up with him at once.

...What the hell just happened?

~°~

Xinyuan stood in the silence, an empty water bottle in hand as he stared at Wenzhi without a single break in focus.

Across the room, Wenzhi lay asleep on the couch, wrapped loosely in his coat, his chest rising and falling with the rhythm of a deep, even breath.

Without breaking his stare, Xinyuan drifted toward the fridge. He misjudged the distance. His hip collided with the table, sending a low thud through the room.

He blinked, startled, stepping back before exhaling under his breath. "...ouch."

Honestly, he felt better. Much better than he had the night before.

The noise in his head had quieted. His body no longer felt like it was tearing itself apart.

But Wenzhi... Wenzhi kept pushing him away. Again and again.

Xinyuan’s grip tightened around the new bottle of water he snatched from the fridge.

That wasn’t acceptable.

He twisted the cap open and started toward the couch.

Knock. Knock.

The door opened before he could respond.

Wang Chenxi stepped inside, his eyes landing on Wenzhi, surprise flickering through his expression.

"It seems the guiding session helped." He looked at Xinyuan. "You look a lot better."

Xinyuan stared at him. "Don’t look at him."

Chenxi blinked. "...oh."

Xinyuan walked past him. "What do you want?"

Chenxi scratched the back of his neck, forcing his attention elsewhere. "I came to tell you about the rumours going around."

Xinyuan raised a brow. "Rumours?"

"Well," Chenxi began, "you’ve been locked up with the researchers for nine years. People think you’re... not exactly human anymore. Some even say you don’t know how to do basic things."

"I don’t care what they think." Xinyuan scoffed softly. "I function just fine. I even went shopping before I got here. I bought a car too."

Chenxi snorted. "Impressive."

He crossed his arms. "Anyway, one more thing."

Xinyuan lifted the bottle to his lips, glancing at him. "Hmm?"

Chenxi hesitated. "...Your guide..."

The words died in his throat. He didn’t need to see Xinyuan’s face to know the mood had shifted; the air itself felt like it had been cut by the sudden, lethal sharpening of Xinyuan’s stare.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Chenxi raised both hands in surrender. "...Possessive much?"

The plastic bottle crumpled in Xinyuan’s grip. "...Yes."

"...Fine." Chenxi blinked. "I’ll just...leave you to it then."

And he did. Quickly.

The door slid shut behind him.

Xinyuan settled slowly by the couch, his eyes tracking the movement of his own hand as it reached forward. He caught the fabric at Wenzhi’s ankle and peeled it upward, his eyes on the restraint.

He could have broken it right then, but that would just offer Wenzhi a route out. He let the fabric drop, tucked the coat back into place, and straightened to his full height.

"You can’t go anywhere, Wenzhi."