Trust Your Core (NSFW)

by Vanitasiel

Content warnings: explicit sexual content; dub-con

Nie Huaisang was stressed, any unplanned move or small mistake could expose him – a some kind of vassal to the Wens – to this despicable Sect and God knows what would happen to him afterwards. With a great probability he would meet the same fate as his brother. He also felt vulnerable and was confused because of Jiang Cheng. Huaisang has had feelings for the Yunmeng Jiang heir during their time together in the Cloud Recesses, but then things suddenly changed drastically and Jiang Cheng too has changed but at the same time he has not. There were moments when Nie Huaisang couldn’t recognise his once beloved Jiang-xiong anymore, mostly when it came to assassination missions. Jiang Cheng vowed to become his weapon. He did and Nie Huaisang wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted after all. Their relationship was confusing. What were they? Lovers? Fuck buddies? Businessmen? Or even strangers? Now of all times was the worst moment to start a complicated relationship that needed some deep reconsideration. Certainty was what Nie Huaisang needed. That was the only thing he obsessed about after Nie Mingjue’s death. All his plans were only executed after being thought through almost pedantically and his relationship with Jiang Cheng was all but certain. Every single day he would debate on which kind of missions he would send his assassin, how to approach him, how to act, what to do and it was tiring. Being both vulnerable and open as well as guarded and distant was taking its toll on the Qinghe Nie Sect Leader’s mental state altogether with the worries that came with the Sunshot Campaign.

So Nie Huaisang was a walking mess of regret, anxiety and stress and especially today was one of those bad days again, therefore he knew a fight with Jiang Cheng would be inevitable once he got back to his room. His weapon acted on its own again and this was one of the very few things that made Huaisang livid: Crossing his plans and endangering them all just because that stupid Jiang boy was still not able to control his temper. Indeed, in that aspect Jiang Cheng was still that stubborn boy Huaisang knew from his childhood.

Sighing, Nie Huaisang massaged his forehead. He was already exhausted after talking to one of the Wens’ messengers, who demanded the usual report on finding the wanted assassin, who ironically was just a few rooms away. The Wens started to suspect something because that Wen-dog kind of interrogated Huaisang about the attacks on their supplies in their bases. He kept asking indirect questions and only hinted on those, it was clear that something didn’t add up in the Wens’ eyes. While he played his role as the headshaker well, anxiety rose in him and it was eating him alive.

“Sect Leader Nie, the messenger has left,” a servant announced, kneeling down.

“Good, good,” Huaisang mumbled while now massaging his temple with his left hand, his right one trembling,

“You can go now. Inform the others that they do not have to worry about the ruckus in my room tonight.”

Just as he wanted to raise, his servant started with a concerned voice,

“Sect Leader–.” A tired smile somehow found its way onto Nie Huaisang’s lips.

“Don’t worry. It’s just going to be our usual arguments. You are dismissed.”

The servant excused himself and left. Oh, Nie Huaisang was so not in the mood for that talk or rather fight with Jiang Cheng, that was awaiting him. He would rather just lie down and never wake up again.

Opening the doors to his dark room, he saw a silhouette sitting on his bed, legs crossed. A small sigh left the Sect Leader’s dry lips, when he closed the doors and proceeded to light the candles.

“You could’ve at least lit the candles, you know? They aren’t that expensive.” He didn’t have to look at Jiang Cheng to know, the other didn’t care what he was saying, still Huaisang continued, “You won’t go blind, sitting in a lit room for a while.” At that Jiang Cheng only scoffed and Nie Huaisang clenched his jaw. Why did he have to be so difficult to deal with?

“If your good ‘night vision’ was that important to you,” Huaisang said in a tired and slightly annoyed voice while lighting the last candle, “you would have already left.” He now turned around, looking at his best assassin properly. “Also for the time being, I won’t send you out on night missions. My subordinates will take care of them.” Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed. He was clearly not pleased with Nie Huaisang’s decision.

“Do you mean, I am withdrawn from those?” Slowly and graceful like a snake, he stood up and moved towards the Sect Leader. Jiang Cheng has never been a graceful person to begin with, but his training as an assassin forced him to adapt to a certain way of moving and Nie Huaisang would be lying if he didn’t find that attractive. Being a lover of culture and fine arts, he had an eye for beautiful things and Jiang Cheng was truly a beautiful and breathtaking creature.

Ignoring Jiang Cheng’s threatening aura and his attempt in towering over him, Nie Huaisang went around the room, preparing his sleeping clothes, washing his hands and face, until Jiang Cheng gripped onto his shoulder and forced him to turn around in order to look at him, while glaring down at his superior.

“Why. Am. I. Withdrawn.” The assassin apparently must have had a bad day too, judging by this reaction. Nie Huaisang just stood there unimpressed, glaring back. They remained in this position for a while, both too stubborn to show a weak resolution by breaking the eye contact and the silence. It was always about power and Nie Huaisang was getting tired of those games. He lifted his right hand holding his fan and patted Jiang Cheng’s chest with it while finally answering: “You were disobedient.” Jiang Cheng was taken aback for a second, in which his eyes widened slightly, hardly noticeable. He scoffed.

“Disobedient, huh?” his cold eyes narrowed while he lowered his face towards Nie Huaisang, so they were only centimetres apart. If Huaisang slightly shifted, their noses would touch. “I am your best assassin. Have you forgotten about that?” Remaining unimpressed, Nie Huaisang looked with bored and tired eyes at his former childhood friend.

“I am aware of that, yes.”

“Then why would you be that stupid and stop me from doing my job?” Now Jiang Cheng started to get loud again and was even insulting Nie Huaisang. Stupid. Was that how he saw Huaisang? The Sect Leader tried to stay rational by closing his eyes and exhaling slowly.

“I hate to repeat myself; as I said: You were disobedient, therefore you not only went against my orders, you also endangered us all. Your egoism could have cost us our lives. Are you aware of this?” Anger boiled in Jiang Cheng, making him slap Huaisang’s fan out of his hand. Oh, Huaisang was so close to lose his temper as well.

“They were Wen-dogs. Of course, I would kill them. The fewer of them there are the better, they were also no match for me, so–”

“They were civilians, for fuck’s sake.” They were both yelling at each other now.

“It’s not always about you or strength–”

“It is always about strength! Why do you think the Wens have come so far? It’s hunting or being hunted!”

“But they weren’t the enemy, even if they bore the name ‘Wen’! They could have needed our help and the other way around!”

“Needing help is a sign of weakness! It’s their own fault!”

“Like it was your fault for losing your golden core?”

Silence. Nie Huaisang knew that he went too far this time when he saw Jiang Cheng’s body tremble.

“You call me weak? Me?” Jiang Cheng took Huaisang’s wrist into his hand, nearly crushing it with his shaking hand.

“Let me go.” Jiang Cheng didn’t react.

“Jiang Wanyin!”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Don’t disobey me!”

They stared at each other again, out of breath.

“I am weak?” he squeezed harder, making Nie Huaisang whimper from pain. The shorter man tried to free himself with his other hand, but of course he had no chance against a trained assassin. Looking at this miserable Sect Leader in front of him, Jiang Cheng just scoffed in disdain.

“Look at you. So weak. You were nothing without your brother and you will be nothing without me,” and before he could realise it, Jiang Cheng landed on the bed, face first, with Nie Huaisang towering over him, his grip tight on the assassin’s neck. Huaisang has just used his golden core to overpower Jiang Cheng. Never before has he used it against the other. Again, Jiang Cheng’s body was trembling, but this time it was more than out of anger: it was also out of fear and despair. Not knowing another way of letting out his frustration, he started yelling again:

“So, you too look down on me for not having a core? You too think I am unworthy and weak?” Tears were glistening in his eyes. Nie Huaisang got off Jiang Cheng, only to roughly turn him onto his back, making them face each other, before he climbed back into his subordinate’s lap.

“Do you even listen to what I say? I am trying to tell you that needing help is not a weakness! Jiang Cheng, we all need some kind of help to complement each other. No one is perfect, even you!”

“Shut up! I am weak, as you can see!” By now the former Yunmeng Jiang heir started crying, hiding his face behind his forearm. This scene did nothing to Nie Huaisang to sympathise with the other though. He pulled away the forearm and kissed Jiang Cheng hard. Jiang Cheng however tried to push him away, but Huaisang still used his spiritual energy to keep the other under him. Huaisang didn’t know if it was just the adrenaline of their fight making him horny or the urge to teach Jiang Cheng a lesson while he was being the most vulnerable. Trying to break the kiss, Jiang Cheng gasped in between: “Huaisang…ge-get…off” But his demand wasn’t heard, instead Huaisang kept kissing and biting his subordinate’s lips.

“Huaisannngg,” Jiang Cheng’s voice broke, which finally made the Sect Leader stop. While the assassin tried to catch his breath, Nie Huaisang took his wrists, placed them above the other’s head and pinned him down that way.

“Wha–”, Jiang Cheng couldn’t speak well, sobbing slightly from the lack of oxygen from kissing and crying at the same time.

“Caring is not a weakness. Needing help is not a weakness.”

Anything but that. Jiang Cheng didn’t want to hear that. Especially not now, so he tried fighting his superior again, but his antics were in vain: He was too exhausted, too vulnerable, therefore he let his head fall back down in defeat, but quickly tried to sit up again when he felt Nie Huaisang starting to undress him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Nie Huaisang didn’t respond, instead he channelled his spiritual energy into his left hand to keep Jiang Cheng down for sure, while he tried with difficulty to undress his subordinate with only his right hand.

Jiang Cheng had to act quick to get out of this, but his mind was blank because he let his guard down with Huaisang and all of this – Huaisang being angry and stubborn – was new to him. As Huaisang was sitting on his lap, Jiang Cheng tried to lift his hip in order to make the other lose balance and fall to the front and for him to gain more flexibility in his legs. That way he could perhaps hook his legs between Huaisang’s head or under his armpits and pull him backwards and down, so Jiang Cheng could be in control again.

The first half of his plan was a success: Nie Huaisang was caught off-guard and lost his balance but he seemed to look through Jiang Cheng’s plan because he divided his spiritual energy between his hand and his hips and sat back down onto Jiang Cheng. The assassin hated this. How was that even possible? He has always won against his opponents, why was he failing now? While in thought, Nie Huaisang turned him over and made the other man kneel on the bed. A hand found its way through the Qinghe Nie robes to Jiang Cheng’s dick.

“Stop it – nghh …Huai..sang.” Jiang Cheng was too tired and confused to fight back, but Huaisang didn’t listen again, just kept stroking Jiang Cheng’s member, draping himself over the pathetic man under him, his other hand searching for the other’s chest beneath multiple layers.

“Huaisaaang,” the hoarseness of his voice was making him sound even more pathetic. He tried to push away those fondling hands, but he failed multiple times.

“Nie Huaisang! Stop humiliating me already.” Just then the Sect Leader stopped but didn’t remove his hands.

“You seriously never listen to a word I say.” Sighing and finally calmed down, Huaisang stretched in order to softly place a kiss on Jiang Cheng’s neck.

“You don’t listen, so I have to show you.”

“Why don’t you kill me then, if I am that weak and useless?” Jiang Cheng went back to yelling again, making his already hoarse voice sound even worse.

“You are not useless, just stubborn,” Huaisang tried not to yell back because of his close proximity to Jiang Cheng’s ears, instead he bit one of them in front of him and resumed the ministrations from before.

“Jiang Cheng… we are both in a bad place right now. I know you want to help, to be strong and to fight the Wens, but you can’t do that without taking a step back and reflect about your actions.” Soft gasps left Jiang Cheng’s lips, when soft fingers pinched his nipple.

“Let me take care of you, like you have taken care of anything else before.”

Nie Huaisang wanted to break Jiang Cheng in order to feel superior and strong, but deep inside he knew he only wanted to see him break to justify his own broken mind.

The Sect Leader reached for a bottle with oil under his bed and poured some of it onto his fingers, rubbing them together before lifting Jiang Cheng’s robes and smearing it onto his entrance.

“No!” Jiang Cheng exclaimed, when he felt a finger circling and massaging his rectum. His knees gave in but, Nie Huaisang caught him.

“Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” Huaisang said, kissing Jiang Cheng’s lower back. He kept massaging Jiang Cheng’s hole before slowly and carefully pushing a finger inside his partner, moving it in, out and in circles to stretch it. This went on for a while until Jiang Cheng was less tense and Huaisang was sure his broken assassin could take another finger. While he stretched and prepared him, the shorter man whispered sweet nothings into Jiang Cheng’s ear, but the other still let out a whimper from time to time.

“I’m going in now.” At that, Jiang Cheng’s body shivered. Huaisang caressed his body for a few seconds before slowly pushing his dick in. Jiang Cheng tried hard not to make a sound but failed. Patiently, Huaisang stopped, stroked Jiang Cheng’s back before pushing in another centimetre. He continued this for another two centimetres until he decided against this method, seeing as he only got negative feedback from Jiang Cheng’s body. This way he couldn’t comfort his partner, so he kept stroking Jiang Cheng’s dick and the deeper he went, the stronger the strokes were, in order to distract the man under him.

“I’m in,” Nie Huaisang informed, “can I move?” Jiang Cheng’s head was buried in his arms, he was not responding, so Huaisang took it as an affirmation.

“Make it…quick.”

“What?”

“Move faster!”

“Jiang Che–”

“Do it!”

The Sect Leader obliged and pounded into his subordinate, who let out a cry with every thrust.

“Feel your core,” Nie Huaisang said, while fucking Jiang Cheng into oblivion.

“Wha…?”

“I said ‘feel your core’, your guts.” As a response, Huaisang only received loud moans.

“Feel it and… tr-trust it.” Jiang Cheng’s knees were shaking again, so Huaisang embraced the other man with one hand, while he steadied both of their bodies with the other.

“Did you think of me…as weak…? When…when you embraced me?”

“…”

“Answer me!”

“…No.”

“Do you…ngh... feel weak now?” Nie Huaisang kept thrusting hard into Jiang Cheng.

“…Yes.” The response was a mere whisper, but Huaisang heard it.

“But I got you,” Huaisang whispered into Jiang Cheng’s ear while squeezing the other’s body closer to himself for emphasis.

Jiang Cheng came and out of exhaustion he lost control over his body, making him and Nie Huaisang, who could not hold Jiang Cheng’s whole body weight with only one arm, collapse onto the bed. At least Huaisang managed to dampen the fall and make sure none of them got hurt in the process.

With a slender finger, Huaisang brushed away the hair on Jiang Cheng’s neck, kissing it again and nibbling on it. A content sigh left Jiang Cheng’s lips, Huaisang smiled at that before rolling off his assassin, ignoring his bothersome erection, and laid down next to his partner, looking deep into his eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Leave me alone,” Jiang Cheng scoffed again.

“Better, right?”

“…”

“So, you were not in control, but you trusted me enough to let me do those things to you. Perhaps it was scary, but how do you feel now?”

“Sore.” Nie Huaisang lifted a brow. Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t get out of this conversation, now would he?

“…I don’t know…but it’s not bad,” he whispered the last part, avoiding eye contact. Nie Huaisang smiled tiredly.

“Well, nothing bad happened after all, right?”

Now Jiang Cheng tried to glare but the exhaustion was too much for him to move even a single muscle. The Sect Leader pulled the assassin into a short but passionate kiss before saying:

“You may not have a golden core anymore, but you still have another core, one, which a lot of people tend to forget, so listen to it and trust it.”

The next day Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng were in the garden in front of Huaisang’s room.

“You know, you could have easily hit me with the candle holder next to the bed or overpowered me with some better martial art moves,” Huaisang chuckled behind his fan, while petting his canary in the cage.

“Tch. And you could think your sentences through before telling me to feel my guts while fucking me from behind.”

Amber eyes widened before quickly closing tight. Nie Huaisang was in a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach and shedding tears, Jiang Cheng on the other hand crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He got Huaisang’s message. He knew he could have had a chance against Huaisang that night, although in ways that would hurt him, but he also knew that together they were able to help each other and make each other even stronger.