Work Text:
Liu Qingge didn't know what to do with Shen Qingqiu—and it frustrated him to no end. What was someone supposed to do when someone they thought was awful—someone they had abhorred and scorned—saved their life?
Liu Qingge tried paying him back—he hated to owe someone so deplorable after all. But even after following him around for months, he was surprised to find that Shen Qingqiu was rather good at looking after himself for someone who had a reputation for being unforgivably lazy. Liu Qingge couldn't even take over smaller mundane tasks for the Qing Jing Peak Lord—the man was too efficient.
Finally sucking up his pride, Liu Qingge marched up to Shen Qingqiu and declared his intentions to pay him back, figuring it was easier to get a request from the man himself rather than thinking about it. Shen Qingqiu looked shocked at first, but then just smirked as he lifted his hand up to his face.
"But it's more fun to watch Liu-shidi struggle," he said, looking even more snide than ever. "What's better than the Bai Zhan Peak Lord following me around desperate for my approval?"
Liu Qingge immediately cursed Shen Qingqiu and stormed away, thinking to himself that, truly, he hated this man more than anyone. The faster he paid him back, the faster he could wash his hands of Shen Qingqiu for the rest of his immortal life.
...And if he dreamed about the way Shen Qingqiu's lips looked when he smirked—if he ever fantasized about pulling Shen Qingqiu in by the front of his robes—that was surely just how deep his hatred ran.
However, before Liu Qingge knew it, the days he spent tailing Shen Qingqiu, waiting for the man to slip up so Liu Qingge could finally swoop in and pay him back life for life turned into weeks and then months. Shen Qingqiu sometimes roped Liu Qingge into helping him with day-to-day tasks, all of which Liu Qingge was bad at.
The Bai Zhan peak lord, the ever so mighty Cang Qiong War God, lowered his head. Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue, humbling him immediately.
"Liu-shidi can't even grind ink? How are you even doing paperwork on your peak?" Shen Qingqiu scolded. "Honestly, do I have to do everything around here?"
For a moment Liu Qingge caught the curl of Shen Qingqiu's lips, and a twinkle in his eye that could almost described as fond. It's brief, and as soon as Liu Qingge blinked the expression was gone, but he saw it. The suspicion that, perhaps, Shen Qingqiu was purposely giving him chores he knew he couldn't do, crossed his mind.
Liu Qingge's hand gripped into tight fists around the ink block. Why would he do that? To humiliate Liu Qingge? Shen Qingqiu already saved his life—wasn't that humbling enough?
"Stop gripping the block like that, you're going to break it and make a mess," the scholar chided him. "Here let me show you."
Before Liu Qingge could protest, Shen Qingqiu's hands folded over his own, and Liu Qingge suddenly felt his nerves alight from the tips of his fingers to the hairs on the back of his neck. His chest throbbed in a way he couldn't
explain, and his gaze fell to their hands as Shen Qingqiu slowly but firmly guided him to grind the ink.
"See? Was that so hard?" Shen Qingqiu said when they were done. He let go of his hands and took the ink away, dismissing Liu Qingge so that he could work on his own paperwork. Liu Qingge just stared after his retreating back, dumbfounded, with his hand slightly outstretched, tingling and reaching for something he didn't know.
Liu Qingge tried helping Shen Qingqiu with his paperwork, scolding the Qing Jing Peak Lord for not sleeping.
"The sect leader isn't going to do anything if your paperwork is late," Liu Qingge told him, snatching the paper from under Shen Qingqiu's brush despite the other man's protest. "I don't want to deal with you when you haven't had your beauty sleep."
Shen Qingqiu scowled at him. "Fuck you," he said with no ire in his voice.
Surprisingly, Shen Qingqiu listened. He headed off to bed as Liu Qingge sat with the paperwork, trying his best to understand what the fuck it was Shen Qingqiu did. The man seemed to do much more work than he let on, as Liu Qingge discovered recently. He worked hard, and was smarter than anyone Liu Qingge knew. He was cold and distant to everyone, and never tried to correct his rudeness.
But after all of this time, Liu Qingge was starting to wonder if he had been misunderstanding something. There was something in the way that Shen Qingqiu's shoulders stiffened when approached, in the way he bit back every time he was undermined. But also in the way that he relaxed when he was in the bamboo house, and the way he would lower his fan, no longer covering his expressions when he spoke to the sect leader—and now Liu Qingge.
Most of all, Shen Qingqiu's smile haunted him. Liu Qingge had seen it once—a genuine smile that held no malice and shone in his dark eyes, which were normally so cold and distant. A smile that made Liu Qingge's heart beat, and made him wonder if there was something keeping him by Shen Qingqiu's side—something that wasn't payback or hate. A smile that was directed at Liu Qingge .
Liu Qingge fell asleep at Shen Qingqiu's desk, with the Qing Jing peak lord's smile lingering in his thoughts even as he drifted off. He was woken up rudely when his hair crown was pulled off of his ponytail, and soft hands carded through his locks.
Liu Qingge let out a half-hearted grunt, trying his best not to visibly melt into Shen Qingqiu's touch.
"Look at you, not even bothering to let down your hair before falling asleep on my desk," Shen Qingqiu scolded. "At least go back to your own peak. You think I'm just going to take care of you just because you're my shidi?"
Liu Qingge couldn't help but let out a sigh as Shen Qingqiu's fingers ran through his scalp, the feeling so soothing and hypnotic that Liu Qingge melted.
"Aren't you taking care of me?" Liu Qingge pointed out.
Shen Qingqiu clicked his tongue, but didn't stop brushing Liu Qingge's hair with his fingers. "Don't push your luck."
When Shen Qingqiu finally let go, Liu Qingge found himself feeling disappointed. He lifted his head, watching as Shen Qingqiu disappeared behind a screen before returning with a wet washcloth.
Shen Qingqiu sat in front of Liu Qingge and cupped the other man's face with his slender hands. Liu Qingge's eyes widened, but he didn't flinch away, afraid that he would scare the other man.
"Don't look so surprised—you've got ink all over your face," Shen Qingqiu explained. The graceful peak lord's brow was furrowed, but even as he tugged Liu Qingge's face closer, the washcloth over Liu Qingge's cheek was warm and gentle.
"You're disgusting," Shen Qingqiu said, voice barely above a whisper as he wiped away the ink. The thumb caressing Liu Qingge's cheek gently brushed his skin under his eye. Shen Qingqiu’s gaze grew soft, and his shoulders relax. "Absolutely filthy. What am I supposed to do with a shidi like you?"
When Liu Qingge caught the smile on Shen Qingqiu’s lips before it disappeared, several things happened at once. Everything around them fell away, and there was no mountain sect, no peak affairs, not even the bamboo house. All Liu Qingge could register was Shen Qingqiu looking at him with an expression he suddenly understood, and the feeling of his fingertips on his skin. Liu Qingge could feel every single nerve in his body tingle even as his mind went numb, and it all was centered by an ache in his chest that felt worse than any wound he had ever suffered. For the first time in his life, as realization dawned on him, Liu Qingge — the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, the all-powerful Cang Qiong War God —felt weak.
Ah , Liu Qingge thought as he lifted his hand to grasp Shen Qingqiu’s. The distant and cold Qing Jing Peak Lord’s hand twitched, as if to pull away, but instead it seemed to just lean into Liu Qingge’s hold.
“What?” Shen Qingqiu asked, his voice faltering slightly. “If you want something, use your words.”
Shen Qingqiu tore his eyes away from Liu Qingge’s, scrubbing a bit harder at Liu Qingge’s face as he looked very determinedly at Liu Qingge’s nose.
Liu Qingge closed his eyes. I am in love with this man.
“You’re doing your job as a shixiong for once,” Liu Qingge said. It took every bit of energy in his body for him not to crack. Even when Shen Qingqiu this close—even though it was so easy for Liu Qingge to pull him even closer and kiss him—he couldn’t lose.
Shen Qingqiu snorted. “I’m always doing my job as shixiong. I’m a great shixiong.”
“Prove it,” Liu Qingge replied. His face grew hot, and he felt every bit like a petulant child as he continued. “Take care of me better.”
“ You’re asking me to take care of you better?” Shen Qingqiu asked incredulously. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be paying me back?”
“Then I will be indebted to you,” Liu Qingge said.
Shen Qingqiu’s face turned bright red, so red that Liu Qingge almost laughed out loud. It was just so surprising, so endearing, so incredibly… cute. He almost couldn’t help himself.
Finally, Shen Qingqiu’s eyes looked up again, his pupils dark as he leaned closer to Liu Qingge. It wasn’t until his Shen Qingqiu’s hands slid down his face, tracing the curve of his neck and resting on Liu Qingge’s shoulders, and Shen Qingqiu’s breath was ghosting on his lips, that Liu Qingge realized what had happened.
“Fine,” Shen Qingqiu said. The washcloth fell to the floor behind Liu Qingge, forgotten. “Then I’ll just have to show you just how good I can be.”