Chapter Text
Two men were sitting, staring at each other across the small table. It was just the two of them as Shen Qingqiu instructed his disciples to not bother them. The two Peak Lords had something important to discuss.
Liu Qingge had told him in advance that they had some important matters to discuss, so Shen Qingqiu made sure to chase anyone away who may otherwise overhear their conversation because they (ie Ming Fan)wanted to be hospitable to the Bai Zhan Peak lord.
“Why… are you staring at me like that?”
This man Shen Qingqiu was mysterious in many ways. He’d stolen many ‘firsts’ from Liu Qingge.
The first of the peak lords to see him in such a disgraceful state when he Qi deviated. He was also the first to save him from a life or death situation.
Shen Qingqiu, his Shixiong, was the first one to ever confuse him to this extent. For a man who constantly claimed he’d kill him one day, he did the exact opposite on that very day.
Why did he save him?
What does he gain from this aside from Liu Qingge’s desire to return the favor one day?
Liu Qingge couldn’t understand the machinations behind Shen Qingqiu’s many actions and words. This curiosity soon bloomed into something more than simple confusion. It morphed into something far more complex and commanding.
“… Liu-shidi?” Shen Qingqiu moved in, leaning across the table, waving a hand in front of Liu Qingge’s face. It was worrying that Liu Qingge stopped responding to anything as he was spacing out.
Liu Qingge couldn’t understand, no matter how much he thought over the events they’d experienced to develop their relationship to this point.
Was the fault in the times Liu Qingge would be ordered to follow Shen Qingqiu off the mountains? Perhaps the problem was the way Shen Qingqiu’s personality did a complete 180 that seemed to suit Liu Qingge’s tastes better?
All he knew was that their relationship changed since that time in the cave.
It was a change… for the better, this he couldn’t deny. It was… nice, as loathe as he was to admit to it at first. He originally abhorred the creature named ‘Shen Qingqiu’ but now, he couldn’t help but feel–?
He doesn’t know.
He feels something, and that’s all anyone needed to know.
Once, he questioned his fellow peak lords about this feeling, and they all gave him different reactions. Some were just as confused as he was, and others clapped joyously for him. ‘I’m sure your sister would be pleased to hear about this development.’
What development?
“Are you feeling ill?” Shen Qingqiu finally got up from his seat at the table to sit next to Liu Qingge, who still wasn’t responding to him.
Was it a machination of fate that he’d always locate Shen Qingqiu’s missing fans and no one else? He’d keep them safe on him until he could return the fan to its rightful owner.
Like a dutiful dog, something that a few peak lords would tease him about in passing—not that it bothered him any. There was nothing to be ashamed about when it came to loyalty. Why should he feel ashamed for being loyal to someone? There was no reason for feeling ashamed.
In time, he grew closer than he ever thought possible with Shen Qingqiu. At this point, he was an irreplaceable person in his life.
There were times when he’d feel Shen Qingqiu’s long fingers wrap around his hand, to lead him out of a tense situation while reproaching him gently, ‘This is no time for you to start a fight, Shidi. Leave this to your Shixiong to handle.’
Liu Qingge didn’t appreciate being given orders… especially not from someone who was weaker than him… but just this once… he could let it pass. For the first time, his enemies watched as Liu Qingge sheathed his sword upon the directive of his Shixiong.
A blanket of white suddenly spanned before his eyes, making Liu Qingge snap out of his self-reflection.
With a callous hand, he swatted the fan away from his face. “What do you want, Shen-shixiong?”
“’What do you want’, you ask? This Shixiong was worried because you spaced out.” Qing Jing’s Peak lord huffed, fanning himself lazily with his fan, a bit miffed that his fan was swatted away. He’d been trying to get Liu Qingge’s attention for a while now, but to have his concern be returned in such a way—he wasn’t happy by it.
Still, it was good to know that he’d finally woken up from whatever had kept his mind captive. “So? What is your verdict…?” He asked finally after a period of silence. You can’t tell him that you did that to him and still didn’t have a clue?
Liu Qingge stared intently at his Shixiong to see the other was hiding the bottom half of his face with his fan, long eyelashes seeming to flutter in a coy manner.
His eyebrows furrowed inwards, close enough that they could almost touch. “That was my first kiss.” It’s hard for him to judge anything when he had nothing to compare to. Could he say the kiss was either good or bad when there was no comparison to be made?
He misunderstood what Shen Qingqiu was really trying to ask.
“Really? This Shixiong was sure you’ve have kissed someone before. Are you not popular as the Bai Zhan Peak Lord? You’d think that you would have women flocking around you if you appeared before the masses.” Let’s not forget that, like his sister, he was a beauty to look at!
Shen Qingqiu briefly dropped his cold and stoic demeanor as he excitedly spoke about how he was sure that Liu Qingge couldn’t have been as frigid as they all were led to believe. In his excitement, he’d forgotten about how Liu Qingge didn’t answer his question.
“What of Shixiong?”
“A-ah… yes, I suppose you could say it was my first as well.” The first kiss that he could remember, anyways. He couldn’t recall a kiss that the original body shared with another, so it wasn’t a complete lie?
An awkward silence enveloped them, and only one of the two men felt perturbed by it. Liu Qingge didn’t mind the silence at all, in fact, he relished in the quiet.
Prior to this, Liu Qingge had finally consulted with his Shen-Shixiong about the feelings he held in his heart.
Why was it that he always wished to be around them? How was it that a simple smile from them could lift his spirits? What was this feeling he had when spending time apart had him feeling lethargic? Wherever he was, his mind would always think back to one person, and only that person without fail.
“Congratulations, Shidi. Are you not in love with this person? You should tell this person how you feel about them and kiss them. This Shixiong is sure they won’t refuse you.”
“I won’t repeat what you already know.”
Before Shen Qingqiu had the chance to ask him to elaborate on his meaning, Liu Qingge grabbed the front of Shen Qingqiu’s robes from across the table and pulled him forward, stealing a kiss from his Shixiong. It was quick and clumsy, but that’s what you’d expect from Liu Qingge.
There was a skip in his heartbeat, and he could feel the temperature of his body rise at the act. The kiss only lasted for a split second, but it felt like a world of time had passed.
Right after stealing the kiss, he slipped into self-reflection, contemplating on what had happened.
Perhaps, Shen Qingqiu stole his first love as well?
That’s how they came to be in their current situation. Liu Qingge asked for advice from his Shen-Shixiong, kissed him, self-reflected (worrying his Shixiong in the process), and now they were face to face… in silence.
“What does Shixiong think of this matter? Will you say yes?” He asked bluntly, not bothering to lead up to the question. He was a fighter, and they don’t beat around the bush!
Go straight for the attack as always!
With a nervous twitch, Shen Qingqiu hid behind his fan even further so only his furrowed eyebrows could be seen. “This is very sudden, allow your Shixiong to reflect on the matter.”
“How long?”
Liu Qingge would not back down without a clear answer. How long will he be made to wait?
Just like with a challenge, he needed to know the time, place, and the name of the challenger before he could accept a challenge. It wouldn’t bode well for anyone if he were to be challenged without being given a time or place, and he’d lose by default.
If he’s being asked to wait for an answer, he needed to know the specifics of this ‘waiting period.’
“… Give this Shixiong a mo—a week! This Shixiong must trouble his Shidi in waiting a week.” He wanted to originally ask for a month but seeing Liu Qingge’s eyebrows furrow had him in a panic! A week should be enough, surely!?
“A week it is. I will wait to know whether Shen Shixiong thinks I’m in love with him. I will see you in a week’s time. Goodbye.” The original point of their conversation was to discuss whether Liu Qingge was in love with the person he was always thinking about or not. So that’s what he was asking.
With that, he left without another word, leaving Shen Qingqiu confused and flustered.
Wasn’t Liu Qingge asking him about whether Shen Qingqiu returned his feelings or not? Instead, he was asking Shen Qingqiu to tell him if he was truly the object of Liu Qingge’s affections?
‘Liu-Juju! Come back! Can we talk? We need to discuss the way you ask misleading questions!’Shen Qingqiu screamed in his head, lamenting how he forgot how stupid Liu Qingge could be.
It was too much to think that Liu Qingge understood how emotions worked when he was such an emotionally constipated person!
It shouldn’t be up to him to tell if you had feelings for him, right!? Think of that on your own!