Disclaimer: I don't own Shang. I do own Ji Su. And Lian Hua owns Tai-shan.
Rating: R? NC-17? You tell me.
Summary: Li Shang's first sexual experience.
Reason: Well, Lian Hua requested I deflower her man, and then pestered me to post this. So here it is. Blame her.
Warnings: Consensual, respectful, yet slightly kinky sex between two teenagers! Shocking, I know.
Orange
Blossoms
The palace's gardens—he corrected himself sharply. Only Tai-shan called them the pleasure gardens, probably because Tai-shan was the only one who would dare to use them for that purpose. It was all his friend thought about, or at least, what he valued above all lately, just like nearly every other person in Louyang.
Shang stopped for a second, imagining that he could see over the high palace walls to the city, where everyone was gathered for the…spectacle. He wasn't quite sure what to call it. Some called it a ritual for immortality. Shan had been more blunt, drawing out the word 'orgy' just to watch the color steal across his cheeks, Shang was sure. He could feel the heat in his face again at thought of hundreds of entangled arms and legs and small sounds of pleasure, combining into one citywide cry of—Shang cut himself off and hurried on, refusing to think about it further.
What did he know about it anyway? He'd never even… he ended that thought abruptly too and shook his head, trying to keep his mind on his guard duty. Of course, his mind instantly pointed out, he was only on guard duty because everyone else in Louyang and the area surrounding the city had apparently forgotten about their duty. Everyone was much too interested in watching, or participating, in the…ritual…to care that much of the palace was left unguarded. What Tai-shan was doing there now Shang didn't even want to guess.
He could feel that heat that meant he was blushing again at the thought and spent a moment making needless adjustments to his helmet, then jumped at the sound of a soft laugh. He turned around warily, thinking someone had seen his embarrassment and found it amusing, but no one was there.
Frowning, he put one hand on the hilt of his sword and continued forward, following the stone path that ran alongside the stream cautiously. He stopped when the path branched into two, then cocked his head to the right, hearing another giggle and a small splash somewhere in that direction. That way lead through an iron gate, which someone had left open.
Blooming orange trees blocked his vision, their spicy scent tingling in his nose, but he crept around them, only to stop at the sight of a plump girl sitting on the edge of a small pond, her back to him. The dark purple of her dress and the matching ribbons dangling from her hair stood out even among the many exotic flowers the Empress had imported for her garden and he spent a quick moment studying her back before moving to leave.
Another tinkling laugh made Shang raise his head again and he stilled when the girl raised one bare, pale leg up to the sun. His eyes swept from the dimpled knee, down the gently rounded calf and trim ankle, before pausing on her tiny foot, which had drops of clear water running from her little toes down and under her high, sloping arch, decorating it like luminescent white pearls in a pretty woman's hair. She must have been cooling her feet in the pond.
Shang tried to swallow and realized his throat was dry. He coughed roughly and winced when the girl lowered her foot back into the water and turned around immediately. He hurried forward as if he hadn't been hiding in the shrubbery and did his best to frown seriously. The girl was half turned around and had her head tilted at what looked like an awkward angle to stare up at him.
She was rather plain, was his first disappointed thought, though he instantly felt ashamed of himself. She was plump, as he had noticed before, and though she wasn't ugly, she was hardly a woman that would attract the attention of an emperor. She had a pair of nice brown eyes set over an ordinary, slightly snub, nose, and a wide, turned up mouth. Her eyebrows were arched and at the moment were almost high enough to disappear into her dark hair, which looked about ready to tumble down around her ears. She blinked several times and then shook her head slightly. Surprisingly, the ribbons in her hair held. She wasn't wearing any face paint.
"I thought I was alone. Everyone's at the orgy," she said matter-of-factly and curved her lips into an odd half-smile. She was as direct as Shan but without any flirting or teasing. Shang tried to hide his surprise and nodded cautiously. The girl seemed to take that as an invitation to talk. She shifted her position slightly to almost face him, sending splashes of water onto the silk of her dress since her legs were still in the pond, but she seemed not to notice. Shang flicked his gaze briefly to the skin exposed and pale under the water's surface, then looked back into her eyes when she spoke again. "You're on duty?" she wondered. He nodded again. "Would you be there too if you weren't?"
Shang felt his cheeks grow warm and looked away at the orange trees, hoping his helmet would block her view of his face. But her lack of embarrassment made him answer, struggling for words and then finally saying only one.
"Maybe." He tried to shrug. As usual when speaking with girls, foolish things came out of his mouth.
"To watch, or to participate?" she asked immediately. Shang raised one eyebrow at the rudeness of a question like that from someone he didn't even know, and to hide his embarrassment, and glanced back down at her. She stared back calmly, not looking the least bit ashamed or apologetic.
"Watch," he heard himself mumbling like somebody who'd never learned about lovemaking before, and she laughed softly. That laugh buried under his skin. "Why aren't you there? If you're so curious." He crossed his arms and glared at her belligerently. "There are plenty of young ladies who were planning to go."
"My mother says it will give me bad ideas…" the girl trailed off and gave him a sudden wicked grin, a brief quirk of her lips that was gone before he could blink. "I think I have bad ideas already. When I first saw you, I thought you were as handsome as a god must be." She paused to look him straight in the eye for a moment. Shang felt himself straighten up in surprise at the compliment but she went on before he could even think of what to say. "But I've often noticed handsome soldiers, they just rarely notice me." She gave a sad little sigh, then ruined the effect with that half-smile, as if she found herself sort of amusing.
Shang opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make him sound like a complete idiot but she frowned at him and patted the ground.
"Look at you standing. Go on, sit. I won't tell."
Shang looked down at the damp spot on the ground she was patting invitingly and then back toward the iron gates out of the garden, toward the totally empty path he was supposed to be patrolling. Then he sat, lowering himself down somewhat awkwardly in his armor and making sure to keep his distance from the young lady.
From his new position, he was close enough to see her wiggling her toes under the water and how the colorful fish in the pond swam around her legs without concern. It looked very cool. Shang dipped one hand into the water tentatively and felt a fish brush his skin. He smiled at the gentle tickle and glanced back at his companion.
"I can hardly see you with that helmet on," she pointed out seriously, reaching up to tap the metal. Shang hesitated, but then figured that if she wasn't going to tell about him sitting here and resting, she wasn't going to tell about him removing his helmet either. And it was a warm afternoon.
He pulled the helmet off and set it carefully on the ground behind him. When he turned back the girl was watching him again.
"What were you doing out here?" he asked slowly. She looked down and his gaze followed hers.
"Reading." The thick book was nearly hidden by her skirts, but he should have noticed it before. He cleared his throat.
"What?" How he hoped Tai-shan would not find out about what an idiot he was that he couldn't think of anything better to say when alone with a girl, even this girl. She didn't seem to think their conversation was dull though. Her eyes were bright.
"Philosophy," she answered shortly and then grew silent, staring at him. Shang stared back quietly, suddenly noticing that her eyes had little hidden lights in them, he could just see them. The air around them got heavy and he inhaled deeply, smelling the spicy orange blossoms, blinking slightly when he saw her doing the same.
"You, uh, think I'm handsome?" he heard himself ask and then frowned at his own stupidity. But nobody had ever said that before. Nobody but Shan, and Tai-shan had been kidding as usual. And half hidden looks and giggles from the serving girls meant nothing; they reacted that way to everybody, he was sure. But the girl was nodding firmly.
"You're as handsome as I am plain." She ducked her head a bit and moved her head to look over the pond. The garden was quiet until Shang cleared his throat.
"You're not plain, exactly." He winced the moment it was out of his mouth. The girl turned to watch him stumble for words. "I mean…"
"Thanks," she said dryly, but without her little smile. He shook his head and tried again, reaching out and placing one hand on her upper leg.
"No, no, I meant…I, uh," he paused to swear under his breath and caught her staring at his hand, resting on the silk of her dress, over the warmth of her skin. He quickly snatched his hand back. Her smile had returned when she looked back up.
"I thought soldiers were as quick with their words as with their swords," she commented.
"Not me," Shang confessed irritably, as if she hadn't seen that clearly for herself.
"Don't be upset." The girl reached out to pat his knee. Her hand lingered for a moment before pulling away. "You get used to your, ah, shortcomings." Shang watched her hand as she returned it to her lap.
"Do you?" he asked without moving his gaze. Her voice was full of little trembles when she spoke again.
"Yes, well, look at me. Plain as anything and I don't let it upset me too much…"
"I told you, you're not plain." Shang looked up then, and saw her eyes widen. "You're…" he could feel himself stumbling for words and briefly looked out at the water. He'd probably sounded like an idiot, but she didn't seem to mind as he raised one hand and trailed his finger across her plain brown eyes and down over her ordinary nose and slightly curved mouth. Her skin heated quickly wherever he touched and Shang studied it in fascination.
The girl let out several short breaths and Shang abruptly realized what he was doing and moved back, trying to clear his suddenly cloudy mind. He closed his eyes and opened them to see the girl's face, mere inches away from his and getting closer. His mouth fell open slightly just as she tilted her head to the side and leaned in to kiss him.
Her eyes drifted closed just before he felt her lips press warmly against his and her soft breath whisper into his mouth. Shang deepened the kiss in the next moment, gently running his tongue along her lips, tasting something tangy and thinking vaguely that she was flavored like an orange blossom.
When he raised his hands to bring her closer her eyes opened wide, but she only laughed excitedly, almost nervously. It brought a full smile to her face for the first time, and Shang moved away slightly, noticing the half moon shaped dimple in one of her cheeks that was far from ordinary. He smiled and leaned back, moving to place a quick kiss over it, then pulling away again anxiously to watch her reaction. The little caress hadn't seemed like something someone more experienced, like Tai-shan, would have done.
The girl's eyes were wide, but her smile remained in place, so Shang leaned in slowly and did it again. Her hand came up and fluttered against his neck, so he pressed another to her nose, and then her eyelids, enjoying just how warm and soft the skin of her face was, and how with each touch her hand would tremble and stroke the skin over his pounding pulse. When he reached the spot under her ear she started to giggle and he stopped, fighting the urge to laugh himself as he stared down into her amused, happy expression. Her face turned pink at his look.
"What's your name?" she wondered breathlessly. "My name's Ji Su."
Shang frowned to realize that he hadn't even thought of asking for her name, or telling her his. But Ji Su didn't look upset. "Shang," he said simply. She raised her eyebrows, then dropped her gaze to the ground. When she looked up again her wide, full smile, and her dimple, were back. She buried her hands in the silk of her dress.
"Have you ever been with anyone before?" she asked in that same, matter-of-fact tone. Shang's eyes widened and he turned away in embarrassment without answering. He was wondering if he should get up and get back to his post when she spoke again. "Neither have I. Would you like to?"
Shang raised his head immediately
and saw the top of her head. Ji Su was looking down at her lap, twisting the
purple silk in her pale hands as she waited for his answer. She didn't seem
nearly as cool and confident as she had earlier.
"Yes," he ground out and moved to stand up.
"Now?" she went on. Shang froze in surprise and thought that he had heard her wrong. But Ji Su had apparently gotten over her embarrassment and was staring at him directly with something warm in her eyes that seemed to heat up the space between them.
"With you?" he couldn't help asking and knew she'd taken it the wrong way when her face fell a little. Swearing to himself at what an idiot he was whenever he opened his mouth to speak, Shang pulled her back into his arms and pressed what had to be a hundred kisses to her face and her neck, growing a little bit fiercer with each one. It was as if he couldn't stop them anymore. Ji Su laughed at the first one, but then her laughter changed into something else when he kissed the base of her throat.
The small gasping groan of pleasure filled his ears and he was more than a little embarrassed at the answering moan that broke out of him when one of her hands began tugging blindly at his armor and the other began moving up his leg. Shang felt himself stiffen painfully and groaned again.
He ran out of skin to kiss in the next second and felt along the dress' neckline, wondering how to get it out of his way. The tips of his fingers just skimmed along the skin underneath her bodice. Ji Su laughed again and pulled away an inch or so.
"Wait," she commanded and panted for air amid her giggles. Shang struggled to hold himself back, grunting roughly instead of speaking at the ache in his lower body. "Too many clothes," she managed to say and Shang nodded in instant understanding. He sat up on his knees, yanked the fastening of his breastplate free, and pulled it off. His hands were at the bottom of his shirt when Ji Su placed her hands over them. "Slower," she requested with a half smile and then helped him unravel the cloth around his chest. "You are worth watching." The warmth in her eyes made it obvious that she wasn't lying and Shang felt his face grow hot.
Once his outer armor was gone and he was only in his pants he stopped, noticing how carefully she was watching him. Then she pulled her legs from the water and moved to a kneeling position opposite him, looking as if she were studying everything about him.
He twitched when her hands first touched his chest, then did his best to remain still as she flattened out her palms and smoothed them from his shoulders to his arms and then down to his waist. He shivered when she reached his hips but she kept going lower, with teasing, soft, flower petal caresses. She slid her hands down under the material on either side of his pants and lowered them until Shang felt the warm air touching him everywhere.
He looked down at her quickly, feeling his face, and his whole body, burning with a mix of embarrassment and desire. Ji Su was grinning.
Her fingers trailed down the length of him in the next second, making him shake unsteadily. This was nothing like when he touched himself, he thought vaguely, arching his body nearer to her. Ji Su giggled once, then did it again. She seemed less curious this time and more teasing. He moaned at how close he was to embarrassing himself.
"You are handsome," she commented again and Shang scowled down into her amused expression, suddenly noticing that she was still fully dressed. Then he grinned and grabbed both of her hands in one of his, trailing the other along her dress, over one breast. He heard her breath catch noisily in her throat and let go of her hands to reach for her sash. Ji Su beat him to it and unraveled it in one smooth motion before tossing the strip of purple silk loosely about his neck.
Her dress was gaping slightly now, revealing even more white skin, and Shang hesitated only a moment before slipping his hands under the folds of silk and cupping her breasts curiously, gasping when he felt her nipples tighten under his palms. Ji Su gasped too, then shrugged violently, making her dress slip down from her shoulders and pool around her waist. Then she glanced up at him, her half-smile not quite hiding her anxiety.
Shang stared intently at the sight of his hands on her body, then gave her a quick smile. He tried to think of something to say to reassure her, then gave up and replaced one of his hands with his mouth, tasting her breast just as eagerly as he'd tasted her mouth and the skin of her face. That would have to do. But she seemed to more than understand.
"Shang," he thought he heard her whisper in a shocked voice, then felt her arms wrap tightly around his neck. She pulled herself closer to him and arched her back, saying his name again as she did. The dress must have slipped even more, because Shang's legs gave way when he felt every last warm inch of her pressed against him. She fell back onto the damp ground by the pond and he landed roughly on top of her. Shang put an arm on either side of her to raise himself up and looked breathlessly into her face to see if she'd been hurt.
Ji Su's mouth was open in a little 'O', but she narrowed her eyes to stare at him with a look that he would have said was almost evil. She slipped a hand to his chest and rubbed his nipple with her thumb, just for a second, but it was enough to make him shiver. Then she closed her eyes dreamily and shifted her body underneath him, so that he was cradled in the incredible heat between her legs.
Shang shifted too, trying to ease the tension a little by moving away, but Ji Su opened her eyes irritably.
"I don't care," she mumbled and stroked his leg with one of her feet. It was still wet and cool from the pond and Shang shuddered at how unexpectedly pleasurable it was for her to touch him that way. He felt cool and hot at the same time and moved again, enjoying how that made Ji Su squirm underneath him. It would be so easy to just do what she was asking, but one last concern made him raise his head to study her again.
"But, I will hurt you." He knew that much, but Ji Su raised her head to glare at him and moved again, bending her knees and spreading her legs to make her meaning clear. He closed his eyes for a moment at that, trying to think of other things, anything that would keep him from coming right that second.
"I don't care!" she nearly shouted then stilled as Shang reached down cautiously to touch her. He slipped his fingers inside curiously and felt her twitch under his hand. She rolled her head back on the ground and her hair finally tumbled out of all its ribbons. Shang barely noticed that when she arched her hips under him and rubbed herself against his body. His entire body shook violently and he finally moved, positioning himself above her. "Shang," she whispered with a smile, then gasped loudly and stilled when he pushed himself into her.
Shang barely noticed the momentary feeling of resistance, closing his eyes at the sweet hot sensation of having her wrapped around him. But he stopped once he was fully inside to stare down into her face. Ji Su's fine eyebrows were drawn together as if in pain or concentration, but the frown faded after a moment. Then she moved her hips, as if she were curious again. Shang shuddered and pressed himself closer to her warmth.
"If you do that again," he began
warningly and she immediately repeated the motion to silence him, closing her
eyes and moaning softly. Shang groaned and gave up, letting her wrap her legs
around him before he slid into her again. He tried to be slow, but the pounding
in his body kept urging him to go faster, and the feel of her breasts rubbing
against his chest as he moved was too much.
When he started to move faster, she twined her arms around his neck to hold him close. Shang buried his face in her neck, feeling her warm breath in his ear, and listening to her frantic breathing grow more and more unsteady until her legs suddenly tightened almost painfully around him. He looked quickly into her eyes and saw her pupils dilate just as she gasped loudly and trembled underneath him.
A slow smile spread across her face and Shang got a brief glimpse of her dimple before she shifted, pressing herself tightly against him, silently urging him to finish too.
Shang let out one long, shaky sigh and moved within her again, thrusting deeply, relishing the tight heat of her until he felt something white and hot as lightening flash through him and shuddered against her before collapsing weakly on top of her.
When the light cleared, he could feel Ji Su laughing silently under him and raised himself to look at her curiously, feeling his own mouth curving into an impossibly wide and undoubtedly foolish smile.
"My mother was wrong. The orgy did not corrupt me." She giggled. Shang let out one short, almost shocked breath, then laughed.
"You are not plain," he told her as he caught his breath and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and to smooth her hair, which was one big tangle of ribbons now. Her eyes widened. "You're like…this pond, clear and fresh and sparkling," he went on, barely noticing his sudden eloquence. "You're…unique." He gave her a half-smile of his own at the compliment. She grinned, flashing that dimple.
"So are you. We should do this again some time."
Shang started in surprise and peered down at her carefully.
"Really?" He winced at how unsure of himself he sounded. Ji Su nodded.
"Oh, yes," she agreed warmly, rubbing his leg with her foot. He shivered.
They stared into each other's eyes for several moments, then Shang felt his cheeks grow red and looked away in embarrassment. He noticed his helmet a few feet away.
"I should get back to my post," he mumbled without really moving. Ji Su sighed.
"And I should try to straighten up my appearance a little before I meet anyone," she added. But neither of them moved for several more minutes. Then Shang sighed and pushed himself up, pulling out of her with a strange sense of loss.
He picked up his clothes quickly but took his time donning them when he saw Ji Su watching him and remembered her earlier words. He could feel himself blushing, but lingered anyway, finally slipping on his helmet a few minutes later. Ji Su sighed and slipped her dress on loosely once he was done and then stood up and arranged it carefully.
Shang realized he'd dropped her sash near him and picked it up, coming to stand behind her and wrapping it around her carefully. She tied it neatly then twisted around to grin up at him. Her cheeks were a little red too.
He smiled back down at her and bent down for one last kiss before stepping away.
"I've got to go," he got out, hoping that didn't sound too awkward. She nodded.
"I know," she said quietly and gave him one last look at her lovely dimple before he turned and walked back towards his post. He passed the blooming orange trees with a grin that he was grateful Tai-shan wasn't there to see. Then he changed his mind, pausing to inhale the spicy scent one last time before swaggering out through the iron gates and back onto the stone path.
AN: They really did have orgies in the streets of Louyang. (Just imagine the cleanup, ew)
