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The scent of sweat, the metallic edge of blood, and a peculiarly sharp scent of newly fallen snow reached him moments before the hand touched his shoulder, arm bracers immaculate, leading to hands with neatly trimmed nails and equally neat callouses on the pads of his fingers and his palm. Shen Qingqiu smiled to himself, a twitch of his lips upward from their neutral position as he set down his tea. With a turn of his head, his eyes traveled up the length of that arm, catching sight of the serious expression on his shidi's face.
"Back already?"
Liu Qingge grunted, hand falling away from Shen Qingqiu's shoulder. "Wasn't worth wasting unnecessary time over." He glanced down, lips pressed into a thinned line, before looking back up, dark eyes intent. "Shen-shixiong." He fell silent.
Shen Qingqiu waited a beat, then two, then five beats of his heart. What in the world was going through young master Liu's mind? He shifted a touch, turning more toward Liu Qingge and away from the table at which he sat.
"Liu-shidi?"
"Shen Qingqiu."
Another pause, before he responded. "Liu Qingge?"
"I'm back." Liu Qingge waited, the silence now grown expectant. Shen Qingqiu tried not to smile more visibly.
"So you are," he said, fully turning around. "Unharmed?"
Liu Qingge scoffed, a hard snort through his nose.
"Not dragging anything dead or alive along to deposit on my Qingjing Peak?"
Liu Qingge opened his mouth, then glanced toward the ceiling, sighing. "You were meant to eat that beast, do I need to remind you?"
Reaching for his fan, Shen Qingqiu wrinkled his nose and flicked it open. "I am not that kind of man."
"No, you take care of everything that ends up in your care." This time, Liu Qingge paused before continuing. "Including me."
Shen Qingqiu thought to speak, but closed his mouth again, shaking his head as he cast a fond look up at Liu Qingge's unfairly beautiful features. A different kind of beauty to the all consuming one of Luo Binghe, much beloved disciple, and no match except in excellence for Liu Qingge's martial prowess. The warmth of his affection, still new and unsettled, had his fingers twitch, his tongue felt coated in honey as he stood, tired of looking up at Liu Qingge from where he sat.
"Why do I have the feeling Liu-shidi was hoping to hear something in particular from this Shen?" He closed his fan, tapping it against the centre of his chest. "What could it be, what could it be..." He knew exactly what it was. Seeing the faint blush stealing across Liu Qingge's ears both amused and pleased him, particularly since his strokes of boldness were limited in present scope. Everything about being romantically involved with someone, let alone a man, left him feeling stumbling and embarrassed more often than in control.
This much, however, he knew. Stepping forward, settling his arms over Liu Qingge's shoulders, he smiled. "Welcome home," he said at last, and met Liu Qingge's soft sigh of satisfaction with a harder press of his lips, warm, lingering, and thorough. Liu Qingge's hands encircled his waist, spreading at his lower back, bringing him closer and holding him there. He relinquished none of the contact when Shen Qingqiu ended their kiss, pulling his head back to study his face. "Better?" he said.
Liu Qingge's lips pulled up a tick, matched to an affirmative hum. "I'm home," he said in turn, forehead pressing against Shen Qingqiu's.
Which he better be. No way was Shen Qingqiu calling the high energy horror of Baizhan Peak home, not a chance in hell! Qingjing Peak and his bamboo house with its more peaceful ambience and the bed inside, slowly grown used to accommodating two.
"Yes, you are. And this time, this Shen is going to burden you with staying for a while."