“LanWan …?”
A soft movement told Snow that he had heard him, and then those green eyes were glancing sideways at him again.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked. The golden markings around them seem to have finally started having their effect. From what Snow could gather LanWan’s wound had stopped bleeding. He just hoped it had stopped hurting as much as well.
A deep sigh left his lips, and LanWan finally straightened his back, turning to face him.
“What about you ... ? You cut your cheek,” he noticed and cold fingers gently touched Snow’s face, making him wince. “See? That’s what you get, ... running through the woods like a crazy person, ... in the middle of a storm. You’re all muddy and wet,” he went on, his cold hand brushing Snow’s wet hair back from his forehead. and Snow shivered when a few drops of cold water slid down his neck.
“I had to find you.”
A mischievous, crooked smile tugged at LanWan’s lips.
“I guess you had. Your braid is coming undone,” he added, pulling it over Snow’s shoulder, and Snow looked down at the long braid of silver hair that reached down, all the way to his waist.
LanWan had braided it himself, just that morning, and Snow could still remember how good his warm hands had felt, softly sliding through his hair. Now, the same way he had done it, he was carefully undoing it, slowly freeing his head from the pressure caused by his tied, wet hair. And Snow couldn’t help stare in fascination at the way his agile fingers worked, his right hand still smeared with his own blood.
Once he had loosened all his hair, LanWan took his time straightening it, combing it with his fingers, sending shivers down Snow’s back.
“You look exactly like you did, when I first saw you. But back then you were glowing so much that I couldn’t even tell if you were a boy or a girl. I just knew you were the most amazing, beautiful thing I had ever seen. That hasn’t changed either. If anything, the more I know about you, the more mesmerizingly beautiful you look to me.”
Snow stayed very still, simply watching his lips move, simply hearing that low, warm voice.
“I love seeing you happy and smiling. The way you seem to see good and light in everything your eyes touch. It makes me actually believe that this isn’t such a bad world after all. It makes me believe that my life actually has a meaning, besides fulfilling my family’s expectations of me. And I know, deep inside me, that that smile of yours is something I have to protect at all costs, above anything else.”
“Then stay with me!” The words were out of Snow’s mouth before he could even realize what he was saying. “All you have to do is stay with me! Not with some Sacred Heavenly Envoy. But me.”
LanWan allowed a lock of wet, silver hair to slide through his fingers and released a deep sigh.
“I can’t do that …”
“Why?” Snow immediately asked, leaning closer to him, wanting to shorten the distance that LanWan’s words had placed between them.
“Because there are a lot of things that you don’t know. That you don’t need to know. And I’m not strong enough to simply do what you ask of me.”
“Who says I don’t need to know? Who has decided that? Teach me!” he demanded, and LanWan sighed again, patting his head, leaving an annoyed frown on Snow’s forehead.
“Once again, you shouldn’t say things like that. A kid like you should only know how to joyfully play and laugh under the sun.”
Snow gritted his teeth and grabbed his wrist, squeezing it with all his strength, raising his head to face that green mocking gaze.
“I am not a kid!”
LanWan chuckled.
“Of course you are. You are worse than kid. You are a baby in a kid’s body.”
Something Snow couldn’t really understand much less name exploded inside his chest, making his heart beat faster. And, before he could think about what he was doing, he pulled that hand hard, forcing LanWan to lean froward, and pressed his lips to his.
LanWan’s green eyes widened in shock, all the mocking and teasing successfully erased from his face. And then he finally relaxed, pressing a cold hand against Snow’s chest so that he could pull back from that forcible kiss.
“I thought I had already told you what kissing other people like this means,” he stated with a sigh and Snow frowned, still gripping his wrist.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“You haven’t forgotten …? You know …” LanWan’s voice was cut off when Snow leaned forward and kissed him again.
Hot. LanWan’s lips were surprisingly soft and hot.
The hand still pressed against his chest pushed him back again.
“Enough!” Was the only word LanWan could get out, before Snow grabbed his other hand and kissed him yet again.
A loud growl escaped from LanWan’s throat, and Snow couldn’t help fearing that he had finally managed to make him really angry at him.
With one hard pull, LanWan easily freed both his hands but, as Snow readied himself to be pushed back yet again, those big hands simply held his face, his fingers curling around the back of his head, and LanWan’s mouth pressed harder against his.
Something hot and wet licked Snow’s lips, making him gasp, and the minute he parted his lips that same hot, wet thing invaded his mouth. Snow couldn’t breathe. He also didn’t know what to do with his tongue, since it kept being played with and sucked. His mind went completely blank and, at the same time, a hot current spread from LanWan’s hands coursing through his entire body.
He only noticed that LanWan had stopped kissing him when his own gasps filled the air around them. And then he noticed the green eyes looking at him, the hungry glow in them making his heart beat harder.
“Had enough?” LanWan asked, his voice sounding unusually rough, and Snow swallowed dry, still feeling dizzy, LanWan’s hands quickly warming up against his cold skin.
He didn’t know that gaze, and the way LanWan kept staring at him was more than a bit scary. But nothing scared him more than the thought that those hands would stop touching him. And so he shook his head, trying his best to overcome the fear coiled around his chest.
“Are you sure?”
Snow nodded, and then those hands were pulling him close again, and those soft lips were kissing him, the feeling of that hot mouth on his making him moan in pleasure.
The hot hands on Snow’s face slid down his neck, and even lower, across his chest, leaving a path of burning flames in their trail, and then they tugged at the knot of his sash. The rustling sound of soft fabric filled his ears, his wet robe sliding down his shoulders, and the sudden cold that touched his bare skin made him shiver.
The burning lips that were kissing him left his mouth and paved a trail of hot kisses down his neck. He was going to melt, Snow thought, holding on to him. LanWan’s skin was so hot now that his clothes had mostly dried on his body. Blazing fingers slid down Snow’s chest, circling his waist and climbing up his back. And Snow shook at that burning touch, leaning his head on LanWan’s shoulder as he tried to catch his breath.
“Do you understand now?” a voice whispered into his ear, scorching his sensitive skin, and Snow gritted his teeth, squeezing LanWan’s clothes, desperately trying to keep his voice under control.
He did understand. He understood that his heart was beating so fast that it was about to jump out of his chest. He understood that he could still feel everywhere, every inch of his body where LanWan had touched, his skin still hot and tingly. He understood that he wanted him to touch him more, to kiss him more. Above all, he understood that he wanted to hold on to him for the rest of his life, he concluded, slowly wrapping his arms around his neck.
LanWan grunted a complaint, his hot fingers, still pressed against his back, twitching.
“Please let go … If you don’t …”
Snow shook his head in open refusal, tightening his embrace.
Strong, hot hands grabbed Snow’s arms and pushed him back, successfully forcing him to let go of him, pushing him down onto the hard ground.
For a minute Snow thought that LanWan had gotten enough of him, that he had lost the patience to put up with his insistent demands. But then LanWan was lying on top of him, his hot body pressing against his, making it hard to breathe.
Blazing green eyes scanned his face, his red hair sliding down his shoulders and pooling over Snow’s chest. And Snow couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at the fierce way he was looking at him. The LanWan he was used to was always laughing and joking around, unable to take anything too seriously. But now all that was gone from his face, bright red flames burning in the depths of his bright green eyes.
A hot hand cupped Snow’s face. Even hotter fingers gently traced his eyebrows, then his nose, then his lips. And Snow couldn’t help leaning into that warmth, nuzzling his burning palm, depositing a small kiss at the center of his hand.
Burning lips kissed his exposed neck, making him gasp, and made his way up to his jaw, a wet tongue licking his face where the sharp twig had cut his skin. The hand he’d just kissed slid down his body, opening another blazing path across his naked skin, and slid inside his pants. And Snow couldn’t help jump at the feeling of those fingers as they wrapped themselves around such a sensitive part of his body.
“Last chance … Shall I stop … ?”
Stop what …? Snow could hardly understand the meaning of his words anymore. All he knew was that his entire body was melting down, burning up, his mind a muddled mess. The only thing he knew was that he had finally managed to grasp his most important person, and that he didn’t want to let go of him, no matter what. What had LanWan called that?, he tried to remember, his thoughts constantly shattering every time he moved that hot hand. Oh. That’s right, he thought, wrapping his arms tightly around LanWan’s neck, desperately wanting to make sure he wouldn’t escape him again. Pressing his lips against LanWan’s ear, Snow tried to catch his breath.
“I love you …”
Language:
LanWan: Literally lan (white) + wan (fire).
