Chapter Text
It was a cold night when everything went wrong. Well, not particularly cold. At least, not for the Northern king of the demon realm, Mobei Jun. It was his husband, Shang Qinghua, who had to deal with the biting wind. The tiny man had his arm wrapped around his king, hoping to absorb some of the cold resistance.
“Dumbass,” Mobei Jun said dryly, letting Shang Qinghua nestle against his chest. He didn’t know how useful it was; he wasn’t exactly a beacon of warmth. At the very least, maybe his furry overcoat would be helpful.
His coat. The two of them were walking; surely having Shang Qinghua stuck to his chest the whole way wouldn’t be comfortable for either of them. Reluctantly, Mobei Jun peeled his husband off of him, setting him down on the ground a few feet away. He shrugged the coat off and placed it around Shang Qinghua’s shoulders.
“Bring a warmer coat next time.”
“Of course, thank you my king.”
Mobei Jun frowned at the exchange. If it had not been for the fact that Shang Qinghua had been hugging him earlier, their current affair would have felt incredibly formal. He added,
“If you’re still cold when we get home…” I’ll lend you my chest then.
Mobei Jun shuddered, unable to finish the sentence. How corny. Hopefully, Shang Qinghua got the message.
“If I’m still cold when we get home…?” Shang Qinghua repeated the phrase with a slight intonation.
Mobei Jun sighed. So Shang Qinghua didn’t understand. Or- he was playing dumb? Ever since they got together, Shang Qinghua had taken a liking to teasing Mobei Jun. Something about no longer feeling terrified of death whenever he wanted to have a little fun. Mobei Jun had learned to tolerate it.
But to make him say something like this…
“Ehem…” Mobei Jun cleared his throat to hide the embarrassment. “I’ll uh… well we won’t be walking anymore…” Shang Qinghua refused to save him any face.
“And since we won’t be walking…?” He prompted, wrapping the coat around him more tightly.
“Never mind.” Mobei Jun turned his head. “If you’re still cold when we get home, you can tell me later. I’ll deal with it.” He said those last three words as if the cold was an enemy he needed to take out for his lover. Perhaps it wasn’t too far off. If the cold could somehow manifest itself in a physical form, Mobei Jun would not hesitate to suckerpunch it out of his husband’s way. Though, he would never admit it.
“Mhm.” Shang Qinghua seemed satisfied enough by his threadbare response. “Please deal with it.”
Still facing away, Mobei Jun reached out until he felt his husband’s chilly fingers. He took the hand and covered it with his own. This is the best I can do right now.
Shang Qinghua squeezed his hand.
If Mobei Jun knew it would be the last time they would hold hands in this world, he would’ve squeezed back tighter.
“My King, will we be home soon?” Shang Qinghua asked tentatively. They had not been walking for long.
“You know the way.” They had followed this path many times before, never once with any incident. So why was he asking?
“Ah it’s just… I kinda lost track of… I’m a bit-” His words were all over the place, even more jumbled than when he tried to kiss ass as a spy for Mobei Jun. The snowy terrain here was not too difficult, yet Shang Qinghua got cut off as he tripped over his own feet and went falling backwards. Mobei Jun rushed forward, managing to catch his husband in his arms before he became engulfed in snow.
“Something’s wrong.” It was meant to be a question, but he did not phrase it as such. Mobei Jun was knelt on the ground, cradling a disoriented Shang Qinghua in his arms.
Water, he needed water. Humans got dehydrated, right? Paying no mind to the fact that they were nowhere near in the conditions for dehydration, Mobei Jun set about summoning an ice sword to melt and feed to his husband. Shang Qinghua drank, wincing at the cold.
“I’m… fine. Just a quick misstep…” Shang Qinghua moved to get back up, but immediately fell over again. Mobei Jun grasped onto his arm tightly.
“Stop lying.” He slowly got himself back up, bringing Shang Qinghua with him. His husband immediately leaned against him, barely able to support his own weight. Grunting, Mobei Jun lifted him up and placed him on his back.
He didn’t know why Shang Qinghua’s legs suddenly gave out or why he seemed to be near-fainting. His husband might play dead to get out of trouble, but his constitution wasn’t actually too weak. Mobei Jun grabbed onto the hand circling his neck.
Hang in there Shang Qinghua. I’ll figure out why you’re acting like this as soon as we get home .
They just had to make it home.
It was easier said than done. The farther Mobei Jun trekked, carrying Shang Qinghua on his back, the heavier the other man became. He brushed it off, his body was probably just worrying. Surely he could carry his own husband for a few miles across a snowy tundra, right? When had that ever been difficult for him?
Yet something wasn’t right.
Shang Qinghua really did seem to be getting heavier!
Mobei Jun picked up his pace, going from a quick walk to a near run. At the very least, he could try and cut the time it would take to get back, right? He just needed to get back, then he could figure out what was wrong…
In his rush, Mobei Jun didn’t notice his own head getting foggier, his vision clouded by the sharp pain in his skull. His mind had only one racing thought: need to get home, need to get home, need to get-
He was caught by surprise as he found himself on the ground, receiving a face full of snow.
When had he fallen?
He looked around. There was a blurry figure next to him; Shang Qinghua must have rolled off his back when they hit the ground.
“My king…” The half-delirious body beside him mumbled weakly.
Mobei Jun reached out to grab him. His hand collided with thin air.
“Shang Qing…” Where did you just go? His husband had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Mobei Jun fumbled around, but his vision was going red and he could barely make out the snow below him, let alone find Shang Qinghua.
“Don’t hide…” The words could barely leave his mouth. This, Mobei Jun realized, must have been what was happening to Shang Qinghua just moments earlier. Was he now going through the same thing?
Was he going to disappear too?!
Anger flashed through his mind; how could Shang Qinghua do this to him? He lashed out, plunging his hand into the freezing snow. He barely made a dent.
“Shang Qinghua!” It was a desperate yell. “You said… you wouldn’t… leave me…” Mobei Jun was dazed and confused, angry and exhausted. He had used up all his energy with that one yell, and sank further into the snow.
So cold…
No, this wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be affected by the cold. And he shouldn’t be this weak either. If someone had managed to do something to Shang Qinghua, at least that was understandable! Mobei Jun could easily find the perpetrator and crush them with one hand.
But for them to be able to get to him too?!
The mighty demon king was burning with rage. He wanted to stomp over to whoever caused this and shatter their bones. But his body wouldn’t listen to him. His head was spinning and his frigid limbs wouldn’t move.
For the first time in his life, the powerful lord of ice knew what it felt like to have nothing.
Cold, alone, and lying in the snow, Mobei Jun let the dizziness overtake him.
His vision faded to black.
In the frozen, empty tundra, a lone voice sounded. It was robotic, monotone, and as cold as the air around it. The only person who could hear it had long been unable to listen, his consciousness fading from this world. The voice spoke anyway. Its words weren’t meant to be heard.
Syncing with character, Mobei Jun.
Syncing with character, Mobei Jun.
Syncing…
Syncing…
System Activated .