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She’s the first one through the door, so Lin Qiushi takes her time looking around once she’s found a seat. The hint for this door was The Three Fates. She and Ruan Nanzhu had read up on the corresponding myths as much as they could, but the fact that she seems to be in the breakroom of some sort of factory seems ominous. There are only three other people here right now, milling around in a way that indicates that they, at least, aren’t newbies. She breathes out a sigh of relief, fiddling with the ring hanging around her neck.
Their client appears before Ruan Nanzhu does, and he and Lin Qiushi greet each other with their predetermined codes. After that they sit around in silence. This client is rich enough that Ruan Nanzhu had easily - and gleefully - extorted thrice the price they usually charge for doors out of him. Lin Qiushi is mostly here because Ruan Nanzhu had promised her that, if they get the money, she’d buy Chestnut another cat tree.
More people filter into the room. Ruan Nanzhu is one of the last ones to arrive. They hadn’t been together when the door had happened, so Lin Qiushi only recognises her based off of the rings adorning her fingers. She has to pick her jaw up off the floor. She’s never seen her dress like this before. In tight, form-fitting leather pants, Ruan Nanzhu’s mile-long legs look even longer. Her shapely thighs and calves are only further highlighted by the chunky boots she’s wearing, which also add a couple inches to her already towering height. Combined with her black turtleneck and her smoky-eye make-up, she looks dangerous.
When she turns her eyes on them, Lin Qiushi shivers.
Their client doesn’t bat an eye as she slinks over. He’s too familiar with Ruan Nanzhu’s habits, given that this is the third door they’re escorting him through. Lin Qiushi swallows when Ruan Nanzhu stops and leans on the wall next to her, smiling at her with all of her teeth showing.
“Hey beautiful,” she purrs, “Come her often?”
She had attracted more than a few eyes upon her entrance, and despite her magnetism Lin Qiushi hears a few derogatory mutters about picking someone up in a door. “A- a bit,” she stutters. Ruan Nanzhu clucks her tongue indulgently at her.
“My luck must be heavenly,” she says, “To meet someone as cute as you.” She leans in, and Lin Qiushi is helpless to do anything but look at her. “What do you say we team up, hmm?”
“Nanzhu, do I really have to?” She protests. Ruan Nanzhu slants her eyes towards her in a manner that obviously says behave as she shoves clothes into her arms.
“It’ll make me very happy, Qiushi,” she says. Lin Qiushi proceeds to fold like wet tissue paper.
“Okay,” she sighs. She moves to leave to go to her room to change when Ruan Nanzhu catches her arm. Her eyes curve upward when she smiles guilelessly. Unfortunately, she can very clearly read that that smiles says we can change together.
“Nanzhu,” she complains. But she obediently puts the clothes down on Ruan Nanzhu’s bed before she tugs her hoodie off. She can feel her gaze on her, even as she hears her start to undress.
All in all, the outfit Ruan Nanzhu has set out for her isn’t absurd. It’s still drag, admittedly, but the jeans, button-up shirt, and jacket are comfortable enough. She struggles with the binder for a minute, wishing - as always - that she could do without this part. Her breasts are modest, but, unlike Ruan Nanzhu’s, they’re not small enough that the doors will change them so she can pass as a man. As a final touch Ruan Nanzhu has included brand-new, high-end running shoes that definitely cost enough to ensure Lin Qiushi doesn’t want to ask.
“Really, Nanzhu,” she says, turning around, “You don’t need to spend this much.”
“Let me spoil you,” she pouts. “Won’t Qiushi accept Baijie-jie’s gifts?”
And it is Ruan Baijie standing in front of her. Lin Qiushi blinks. She’s as pretty as always, dressed in an maxi pleated skirt in a flattering shade of pale rose and a cute ivory sweatshirt with trailing vines of flowers embroidered on the sleeves. With her crocheted purse she looks demure and soft in a way Lin Qiushi is unused to seeing. She has the inexplicable urge to sweep her into her arms to protect her and never let go.
Her emotions must be showing on her face, because Ruan Nanzhu smiles brightly at her. She’s not wearing any make-up, so Lin Qiushi gets to enjoy how pretty she looks with a bare face. The two inkspots beneath her eye practically dazzle. “So Qiushi likes this look, then?”
“This Qiushi likes every look of yours,” she replies. Ruan Nanzhu laughs, stepping up and adjusting the lapels of her jacket.
“So smooth,” she teases. “Qiushi’s such a flirt.”
Inordinately that makes her flush, which in turn makes Ruan Nanzhu laughs again. She bends down a little and nuzzles against her cheek. “Let’s get going,” she whispers, “Before I take a bite out of you.”
“Right,” she squeaks. “I’ll just-” Lin Qiushi points to the door, indicating that she’s going to grab her bag, and Ruan Nanzhu takes a step back and nods. She yelps when Ruan Nanzhu gives her as a fond pat on the ass as she goes.
“I hope Qiushi is ready to be my boyfriend!” She calls after her as she flees.
Miniskirt, she thinks deliriously, Holy shit, Nanzhu’s wearing a miniskirt.
Lin Qiushi barely registers Ruan Nanzhu leaning down and snapping her fingers in front of her. “Qiushi,” she says, sounding a tad annoyed, “Did you hear what I just said?”
She absolutely did not, but the knowledge that Ruan Nanzhu will probably get mad at her about it pales in comparison to the rush of desire flooding through her veins. She wants, with an intensity that would probably scare her if she was in her right mind, to grab Ruan Nanzhu by the hips and pull her forward. Lin Qiushi would bury her face in her crotch, inhaling just to smell her. Sitting on the bed, she curls her hands into the sheets so she doesn’t do something stupid. Did Ruan Nanzhu bring the miniskirt into the door with her? It’s their fourth day in this door, which is usually around the time they both feel disgusting in their clothes and change into the spare set they always bring. The miniskirt is probably small enough that she could have folded it up and tucked it away into her bag. Lin Qiushi has never seen it in her life; she didn’t even know Ruan Nanzhu owned a miniskirt. The brown houndstooth pattern is unfamiliar. And really, a miniskirt? She’d be hard-pressed to think of anything more useless to wear inside of the doors, much less to bring inside - on purpose! - to wear.
Is Ruan Nanzhu even wearing anything underneath? Saliva floods her mouth, and Lin Qiushi has to swallow so she doesn’t start drooling like a pervert. Not that that would make her any less of one, she thinks, given that her mind is already running a mile a minute trying to think of what underwear Ruan Nanzhu could be wearing under that skirt. Maybe she’s wearing boyshorts, which would be a safe option if her skirt flies up. But no, Ruan Nanzhu prefers to be risqué with her clothing choices over playing it safe. Perhaps she’s wearing that lacy black pair of hers, the one that makes her look effortlessly sexy. That one showcases the jut of her hips, but she always complains that the lace itches whenever she wears it. So it’s probably not that one. It could be that she’s wearing nothing at all, that she’s gone pantyless. If that’s the case Lin Qiushi could simply yank her forward and duck her head under her miniskirt. She could greedily take in the smell of Ruan Nanzhu’s musk straight from the source, could nose against her clit, could drag her tongue over her cunt and taste her. The thought makes her wet, and she squeezes her thighs together.
But she might just be wearing - and her heart jumps at this - what Lin Qiushi has lovingly deemed, in the safety of her mind, her favourite pair out of all of Ruan Nanzhu’s underwear - just plain silk, not cut in a particularly revealing way at all, but in a shade of deep, deep red. It’s the same color as blood pouring out of a fatal wound, and it makes her look lethal. Red is a happy, joyous color, and it looks fantastic on Ruan Nanzhu. Even worse, that makes Lin Qiushi think of her deepest, most secret fantasy - a fantasy in which she and Ruan Nanzhu get married. During their wedding Ruan Nanzhu wears the most stunning red dress embroidered with a fearsome golden dragon, and the red veil Lin Qiushi must lift up to kiss her is gauzy and unable to hide her smile and fond eyes. And then, as soon as they’re alone in their wedding chambers, Ruan Nanzhu mischievously lifts up her skirt to reveal that hint of red silk. She pushes a helpless Lin Qiushi back until she falls onto the crimson sheets of a humongous bed, gazing up at her in awe. Then, not even bothering to take any of their clothes off, Ruan Nanzhu proceeds to sit on her face and make her bring her to orgasm twice on her mouth. Lin Qiushi nearly suffocates under the folds of her dress and the hot press of her cunt, commanded by her wife - her wife! - to not reach completion herself. And just when she thinks she could die happy, Ruan Nanzhu climbs gracefully off her, grabs her face while complimenting her on what a messy eater she is, and fucks her tongue into her mouth so deeply that Lin Qiushi chokes. After she thoroughly ensures that she’s a melted puddle that loves Ruan Nanzhu to death, she tears her out of her wedding outfit and orders her onto her hands and knees. The fantasy ends after Ruan Nanzhu pulls out her strap and fucks her six ways to Sunday so hard that they end up breaking the bed.
Yes, she thinks. It’s a fantasy that she’ll take to her grave.
Lin Qiushi comes to when Ruan Nanzhu slaps her. “Qiushi!” She barks. The sting of the slap brings tears to her eyes, and she finally tears her eyes away from Ruan Nanzhu’s miniskirt to look at her face. She is, in fact, gorgeously, incandescently furious. “Do you want to die in this door?!”
Lin Qiushi licks her lips. Then she makes her eyes big, hoping that they’re wet enough to inspire pity, and whines, “Nanzhu…”
“Oh my god,” Ruan Nanzhu says. She grabs her chin with force. “Are you seriously horny right now?”
She manages a helpless little nod. Ruan Nanzhu blows out an exasperated breath.
“Right. Fine. It can’t be helped,” she says. “But we’re making this quick, I want to go see what’s behind that waterfall. Take off your pants.”
Lin Qiushi has never obeyed a command so fast in her life.
Lin Qiushi is waiting on the sofa when she hears Ruan Nanzhu come down the stairs, doing a final check of the contents of her bag. “Nanzhu,” she calls, “You have the flashlight, right?”
The pout is audible in Ruan Nanzhu’s voice when she responds. “You ask about that first before you even look at me? I’m hurt.”
She swivels around, slightly exasperated. “Nanzhu, this is our lives…”
The words on the line flee her tongue as soon as her eyes find Ruan Nanzhu - or, more accurately, Zhu Meng. She swallows; her mouth is suddenly too dry. Ruan Nanzhu grins roguishly at her, sweeping a hand through her short, coiffed hair. “Does Qiushi like what she sees?”
Lin Qiushi barely hears her, too distracted. Ruan Nanzhu is in drag again, and despite it not being her first time seeing her like this - and it certainly won’t be her last - it makes her speechless every time. The lines of her black blazer and slacks make her silhouette masculine while at the same time emphasising her trim waist and broad shoulders. Underneath her blazer is that shirt of hers, the one with the extra buttoning bit over her clavicle, that would look majorly stupid on anyone else. Yet Ruan Nanzhu wears it like a deliberate bit of flair, like she’s showcasing fashion too high-class for all the peasants around her to comprehend. The line of her sleeve leads Lin Qiushi’s eyes down to a classy silver watch adorning her wrist. She’s entirely too familiar with this specific watch. It’s part of a couple’s set; Ruan Nanzhu had given her the feminine half of the pair for her last birthday, and it wasn’t until Tan Zaozao had pointed out a few months later that they were wearing matching watches that she had noticed. She’s wearing that watch right now, and her awareness of it practically burns.
Ruan Nanzhu is just too beautiful. This is an objective fact, but it’s one that continues to slap Lin Qiushi in the face when she least expects it. As a man, Ruan Nanzhu’s unbelievable height becomes a little less so, and it lends her a certain aura of command that makes Lin Qiushi’s knees weak. Her small breasts are entirely hidden, which she would be otherwise disappointed by if she wasn’t so fixated on the sharper cut of her jawline. Her skill with make-up, she thinks, is unparalleled.
“Had your fill yet?” The pout is gone from her voice, which is instead colored by amusement. Lin Qiushi feels her throat bob as Ruan Nanzhu prowls closer to her like a predator. She’s helpless as she moves to stand right in between her legs, tilting her chin up with a finger. “My, Qiushi, so shameless. Haven’t you heard it’s rude to stare?”
She manages to get her mouth working, just enough to blurt out, “But you like it.”
Ruan Nanzhu throws back her head and laughs. Lin Qiushi feels like her eyes have been magnetized to her throat - in fact, she could not be more attracted to the slope of her neck even if she was a vampire. “Of course I like it,” she says tenderly. “How can I not like it when my Qiushi likes it too?”
Lin Qiushi makes a strangled little noise in the back of her throat. It’s too late to hope for mercy; Ruan Nanzhu leans down to kiss her, and she’s lost.
The front door opens, and immediately Cheng Qianli’s voice is audible. “Toast!” He calls excitedly. His exclamation is followed by the click of Toast’s nails on the floor, no doubt running to find his owner, and Ruan Nanzhu’s admonishing voice, telling him to take the bags into the kitchen.
Lin Qiushi is, luckily, already in the kitchen, cooking dinner, and greets Cheng Qianli when he bounds inside. “Just leave them on the counter,” she says.
“Mm!” He says. She turns back towards the stove, focusing on stirring both the soup in the pot and the noodles in the wok, when she hears a second set of bags get put on the counter. A second later Ruan Nanzhu’s arms wrap around her waist.
“Did Qiushi miss me?” She asks playfully, settling her chin on her shoulder. She leaves a kiss on her earlobe. “I hope she did.”
“I’m cooking,” she says, turning to look at her. “Nanzhu, you can’t…”
Higher thinking leaves her for am embarrassing amount of time. Ruan Nanzhu has the gall to blink at her innocently. “Qiushi?”
“That- that’s my flannel,” she says. Ruan Nanzhu looks down at herself, feigning a look of surprise.
“It is? I didn’t know. All my clothes are dirty, so I just took the first thing I saw from the clean laundry-”
“Bullshit,” she cuts off. Ruan Nanzhu has the master rooms in Obsidian, and she has a walk-in closet the size of the bathroom in her old apartment. There is no way every single article of clothing she has is dirty. But more than that: “Nanzhu, I wore that flannel last week. You saw me wearing it.”
“Did I?” She chirps. She picks imaginary lint off of it. “Maybe I didn’t.”
“Yes you did. You-” Lin Qiushi feels her cheeks start to burn. She can’t say you made out with me on the sofa while no one was home while I was wearing it, there’s no way you didn’t see it, her face just isn’t thick enough - especially with Cheng Qianli coming to set down the last few grocery bags, obliviously humming to himself.
Ruan Nanzhu’s eyes gleam. Checkmate, she mouths to her.
“You-!” Finally she elbows her, which only makes Ruan Nanzhu plaster herself further to her back, radiating smugness. “Let me cook in peace!”
“Nope!” She says cheerfully, “My Qiushi’s stuck with me!”
Later, when everyone sits down at the table to have dinner, Ruan Nanzhu brings over the last dish and sits down at the head of the table with a flourish. More than one eye looks at her, still wearing Lin Qiushi’s flannel over a white t-shirt and light wash jeans, then at Lin Qiushi. She refuses to meet any of their eyes, picking up her chopsticks. Chen Fei’s pointed look is already piercing enough.
“Well,” Ruan Nanzhu says with a shit-eating grin on her face, “Let’s eat!”
Lin Qiushi yawns, scratching her neck as she opens her door. She hates waking up in the middle of the night, it always makes her thirsty.
She ambles down into the kitchen and gets a glass of water without any trouble, and then back up the stairs. When she sees light coming out from underneath the door at the end of the hall she starts a little more awake. When she had gotten up from bed, her clock had read just after two in the morning. What is Nanzhu doing up so late? She thinks.
She knocks softly on the door, then opens it carefully when there’s no response. None of the lights are on except for the lamp on Ruan Nanzhu’s desk. She’s slumped over in her chair, still wearing the same suit Lin Qiushi had seen her in when she’d gone out to meet a client that morning. Her computer is dark; she must have fallen asleep researching.
Tip-toeing into the room, she reaches out and brushes Ruan Nanzhu’s hair behind her ear. “Nanzhu,” she whispers, “Wake up. It’s not good for you to sleep at your desk.”
It takes a minute for Ruan Nanzhu to wake up. When she sits up blearily, she stares at her long enough that Lin Qiushi nearly goes to wake up Chen Fei. “I must be dreaming,” she says finally.
She pinches her cheek, ignoring her soft ow. “You’re not dreaming,” she says. Ruan Nanzhu doesn’t stop staring at her.
“Really?” She rasps. “Then why is Qiushi wearing my pajamas?”
She flushes. “I spilled soup on mine earlier,” she says defensively. She gets a slow blink in response. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I borrowed a pair.”
“I don’t,” Ruan Nanzhu says, after an eternity. “I don’t mind.” She reaches out and brushes the backs of her knuckles over her ribs. “They look good on you.”
Lin Qiushi can’t help but smile at her. “Come on,” she says, tugging her up, “Let’s get you ready for bed so you can actually sleep.”
Ruan Nanzhu, strangely, lets her easily move her around. She sleepily brushes her teeth as she finds her a set of pajamas to wear. They’re not unlike the stolen ones she’s wearing right not, though they’re a light lavender with vertical white pinstripes instead of ocean blue with small black dots. Lin Qiushi helps her change into them, swatting away Ruan Nanzhu’s sleepy fingers to do up the buttons herself. Afterwards she makes sure to lay the suit she’d been wearing over the back of her usual reading chair so it doesn’t wrinkle. When she looks back Ruan Nanzhu has already found her way into bed.
“Qiushi,” she calls quietly, “Come to bed.”
Her feet stop in the middle of her careful walk out of Ruan Nanzhu’s bedroom. She turns back and swallows. Ruan Nanzhu’s dark eyes look at her all the way from her pillow. “All right,” she says.
When she lays down Ruan Nanzhu easily folds her into her arms, tangling their legs together underneath the covers and tucking her head underneath her chin. Lin Qiushi surreptitiously spits her hair out of her mouth. “Good night, Qiushi,” she says sleepily.
“Good night, Nanzhu,” she replies softly.
In the morning, she wakes up to find sunlight streaming in through the window and Ruan Nanzhu gazing at her like she’s an angel who descended from the heavens directly into her bed. “So it wasn’t a dream,” she mumbles.
Lin Qiushi rolls her eyes and tugs her closer. It’s still early; they have plenty of time to go back to sleep.