The later hours in Sanzan had always been easily as quiet as those within the mountainous terrains of the Cloud Recesses, a feeling that the chief cultivator had always enjoyed. While Gusu had always been his birth home, one he cherished unquestionably, the environment within the second home he found in Sanzan was also undeniable. At least here, Xichen could afford to let go of some of the expectations that would have been more demanding back at home.
It’s during one such evening that Zewu-Jun seeks out the Uchiha, his footsteps ever as light and elegant as he was so used to carrying himself with. Kneeling behind the other, his arms wind around the other’s torso in a loving - yet with notable teasing - manner, a smile etched onto his lips. ❝ There’s no one that needs rest more than a sect’s leader, Madara. Come to bed and rest for the night, won’t you? ❞ As if hinting against his words, his lips press a slow kiss to the side of Madara’s neck, fingertips tracing only slightly against his collar before he draws away moments later. ❝ Whatever work remains can be saved for the morning, I’m sure. ❞
Something about Xichen's presence just satisfied him in ways he was still discovering, like stepping outside during the springtime and discovering every new way the earth was awakening from its slumber and flourishing into bloom, new flowers and fauna either emerging or being born in the wake of a long, cold winter. Of course, aside from the summits of Nanzan's mountains, their kingdom didn't see winter at all sans the odd drop in temperature in the winter months. Being so far south, though, meant that they weren't affected by the cold much at all. Such ruminations passed through the Uchiha clan head's mind as he focused on documents that needed review and ratification, of the cultivations that would need to be done and the advancements to their craft that needed to be made, the literature needed for further instruction, correspondence with the other cultivation clans inquiring about the summers that would be sent and the clans their juniors would be sent to--
All were sundered sweetly by Xichen's presence, the other man coming just as the chirruping of crickets and cicadas seemed to be reaching a crescendo that drowned out the need for sleep, bowed over a clay lamp burning brought the oil he constantly fed it with so it wouldn't extinguish when he needed its light. Xichen came like a lovely spirit, robes billowing ethereal and pearly in the moonlight that poured through the slatted lattices that lines the corridors, some left open to the fresh spring air that imbued the palace with a fragrance almost matched by Xichen's personal scent.
Almost.
"Mm, you think so?" he replied teasingly as he turned around upon standing to cage Xichen in his arms, his condition improving drastically since Madara had brought him home to recover in Nanzan instead of on the mainland. Nuzzling his face into the slightly taller cultivator's neck, he pinned Xichen desirously against the wall and laced his throat with lustful kisses that disguised nothing, tapering with a sensuous bite that would inevitably cause a bruise to bloom... in a scandalous place that would be noticed by morning, he thought with a smirk.
"Alright, but I imagine I can think of ways to get you to fall asleep, too, eh?"
