(Half)Brothers in a Brothel (Fan Xian/Li Chengze)
As Fan Xian peeked through the curtains of Baoyue’s Pleasure House, he could recognise the haughty elegance anywhere. It emanated from a certain man approaching the building like the sickeningly sweet toxin of a flower.
“Wait, is that- Why is the Second Prince here?” his friend asked, quickly turning to hide behind a pillar. Despite what type of establishment this was, Li Chengze shamelessly took each step towards the entrance with a sense of conviction. It had been about half a year since Fan Xian last laid eyes on him, but with how little he changed, it felt like it was just yesterday when they played Go under the moonlight. Well, Li Chengze did look skinnier.
“Who knows? Maybe he’s been frustrated and wants to seek out someone for a fun night… or he knows that I’m here.” Maybe some combination of both. Fan Xian sighed, “Whatever he wants, you should go hide. I’ll deal with him.”
***
Fan Xian was lying languidly on the bed when the doors to his suite swung open. The moment those ugly-ass shoes stepped through, he locked eyes with Li Chengze’s which were sharpened with dignity, yet darkened by some deep longing.
“Long time no see. Are you enjoying yourself here?”
“It wasn’t that long.”
Li Chengze’s eyes dropped only slightly, but his lips continued to smile as he closed the door behind them. He brought his arms to his back and began to stroll towards Fan Xian, but without once breaking his stare.
“It was only half a year, but it truly did feel like two or three years had passed since you died. The capital was no fun without you; I missed you.”
“Don’t tell such bold-faced lies with that pretty face. I’ll say it bluntly for once, I know you sent him to kill me. It’s been you, conspiring and collaborating with the Eldest Princess to kill me from the beginning.”
He sighed sharply, “Does that matter now?” Li Chengze’s pleasant exterior was gone, now standing in front of and looking down at Fan Xian who sat up on the bed. “You faked your death and deceived the Emperor; I could just as easily turn this back on you… but I don’t have to. I could even help you out of this mess from the kindness of my heart.”
Fan Xian laughed at his proposition, “Are you suggesting that I beg for your forgiveness? For your divine self to see mercy on me?”
“Either way, it would be the smart option. What the hell have you been doing with human traffickers anyways? What a load of shit! You would rather ally with these people– common men and their whores than me?” Li Chengze paused, collecting himself with a soft sigh.
“You have two options: either we reconcile, or I will kill you.”
Fan Xian scoffed, “What is there to reconcile? Do you really think we can go back to how we were after your orders? Giggling and playing with each other again… It’s impossible. We were destined to be enemies, you and I.”
The ambient air stilled, heavy on their shoulders. Li Chengze took a step back, his expression full of defeat and hurt. To Fan Xian, it looked like another one of his shows. But, how much of it was real?
Li Chengze grit his teeth, trying to hide his trembling lips. “That– hmm… What could I do to… perhaps change your–”
“Get on your knees. If you really missed me, you can use this opportunity to show me exactly how much you want me now.”
..? “Have you perhaps lost your mind this past half-month?” Li Chengze sputtered. “How could I, the Second Prince kneel on the wood of this cheap whorehouse? You wish to humiliate me in such a manner?”
With a quick motion, Fan Xian pulled Li Chengze to the ground in front of him. “You can’t swallow your ego for just a few moments? And here I thought you wanted to be my ally so badly… I guess the Second Prince doesn’t care so much about his partnerships.” Fan Xian smiled sweetly and brought his hand to cup Li Chengze’s cheek, forcing him to look up at his eyes. “My neck was starting to hurt from looking up at you before. This is better. You look better like this too… on the ground and under me.”
Li Chengze’s expression was akin to a deer in headlights. He stared, bewildered up at Fan Xian and swallowed. “What… should I do now? Surely me kneeling in front of you doesn’t satisfy you.” Fan Xian laughed at his almost innocent expression, “With how cunning you are, I would think you’d have no problem pleasuring a man and tricking him into your lap.”
His inexperience flushed Li Chengze’s face a slight red, causing Fan Xian to click his tongue. He grabbed a fistfull of Li Chengze’s hair and tugged him closer to his slightly spread legs. “Go ahead. If you really don’t know what to do, you can imagine yourself as a woman and do what you’d like done to yourself.”
Clumsily, Li Chengze began to caress Fan Xian’s inner thighs. He moved closer, and unraveled his sash with a few tugs. Certainly, with the slight tremble of his hands, one might assume Li Chengze was being forced against his will. But in his eyes glimmered an unmistakably dark desire, a hunger to submit and please the man in front of him. Fan Xian smiled while pushing Li Chengze’s bangs to the side, “Now are you any different from my ‘allies’ you so scorned earlier? You look more like a whore than the cheapest prostitute here.”
***
“Where are you going? The capital needs its Second Prince so badly that he needs to be there before daybreak?” Fan Xian called out to Li Chengze in a daze, who was almost completely dressed.
“My first brother will be investigating this case and coming by soon. I want to clean myself at home.” Ah yes, he couldn’t be traced back to this night. The mighty prince wanted to bathe himself of the common filth. Helpless to this fact, Fan Xian pulled the covers up and turned the other way.
The doors swung open, the air still heavy with what they’d done. Li Chengze didn’t look back.