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Lately, Shizun's been humming a certain tune. Shizun usually struck it up when they were alone, his rumbling hum carrying in the quiet as they both worked through various stacks of paperwork or as Binghe busied himself with tidying up. Binghe would always look up when he heard those longing notes, because if their eyes did happen to meet, Shizun's face would melt into one of the warmest expressions Binghe had ever seen, smile gentle and eyes half-lidded. After seeing this face just once, the tune immediately became Binghe's favorite and he held it in his heart tenderly.
Occasionally, Shizun would settle in front of his qin and in the low evening light, after a lovingly prepared dinner, he would watch as his Shizun gracefully plucked that same tune. Binghe would then eagerly settle in across from him and drink in every lingering note. When the last note was played and the strings had finally settled, in that silence which seemed to stretch a single moment into infinity, Shizun would reach over his quiet instrument, take Lou Binghe's hand and hold his gaze. Each time, he felt like he was being consumed, like somehow he was being drawn into the swirling green of Shen Qingqiu's eyes by a riptide and rather than fight it, he let himself submit to the inexorable pull.
Shen Qingqiu had hummed it once in public. Lou Binghe had waited outside Qiong Ding's confrence hall in order to walk Shizun back to Qing Jing Peak after the biweekly peak lord meeting. When Shizun exited the hall, Binghe quickly took up one of his hands and together they set off. They had only walked a short distance when Shizun began humming the tune!
At first, Binghe's heart was full of joy, hearing this song these days never failed to make his pulse race. However, they hadn't made it very far from the entrance, so when Shang Qinghua came outside he overheard the song too. He quickly raced up to Shen Qingqiu and proclaimed his love for the song. Shizun seemed to light up at this and Binghe watched, dumbstruck as Shizun quickly dropped Binghe's hand, turned and drew Xiu Ya. Mounting his sword, he threw out over his shoulder,
"Sorry, Binghe! I know you waited for me, but Shang-Shidi and I need to have a very important discussion about some abscure dragon lore right away!" The look in his eye was excited and he was talking fast enough to almost trip over his words. "Don't wait up, this is ah- a long winded topic! I'll make it up to you later!" Shizun only ever seemed to get this way around Shang Qinghua and Binghe once again started tallying the pros and cons of allowing Shang Qinghua to continue drawing breath. As if sensing that the tallies were definitely not in his favor, Shang Qinghua laughed a little nervously before mounting his sword and taking off towards An Ding with remarkable speed. Shizun laughed and sped off after him, leaving Binghe behind.
When the dagger like gazes boring into the back of his head from the few remaining peak lords loitering outside the hall became too much, he unstuck his feet and retreated back to the bamboo house.
Since then, if Shizun ever started up the song in public, Binghe was always quick to distract him.
×
"Binghe?"
"Hn, yes, Shizun?"
Currently the feared and mighty demon lord was drapped over his lap, lazily drifting in and out of sleep while he read, but at his call that fearsome lord sleepily blinked open his eyes to arrest Shen Qingqiu with his undivided attention. Like this, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but think that he was very very cute and it helped confirm for him that today was the day. He just couldn't go one more second like this, heart and mind overflowing with care but unable to express it. So despite his thin face, Shen Qingqiu cleared his throat and said,
"That song that I was humming just now? The one that goes like-" He hums the notes that always seem to come to mind whenever Binghe does something that makes his heart squeeze. Like, sleep on his lap, hold his hand, smile, or, you know, just exist in general.
Binghe's full attention is on him now, his eyes wide and glittering as he sits up and says, "Yes, Shizun I know it!"
Shen Qingqiu puts his book down and stands up. He holds a hand out as he says "Come with me."
Once Binghe takes his hand Shen Qingqiu leads him to his qin, tugging on Binghe so that he kneels beside him.
"Binghe has often watched me play this song, does he think he could play it himself?" Binghe, undaunted by the worst horrors of the abyss, now looks at a few strings with hesitation.
"This song means a lot to Shizun, I wouldn't want to ruin it for him with my bad playing." His hands hover over the strings and Shen Qingqiu places a light touch to the back of his hand.
"Don't worry about that... give it a try." He quietly urges but internally he's shouting. This silly protagonist, even if you never practiced a single day, your playing will still be a 1000 times better than even the most accomplished player in the national orchestra!
So with an aire of trepidation, Binghe begins to play.
And it isn't... bad, but it isn't exactly the face melting god-like technique he was expecting. A part of Shen Qingqiu feels that someone may have been paying a bit too much attention to the instructor and not enough attention to the instruction back when he was first learning to play. But whatever, it's still pretty good and it will definitely work for what he needs.
"Hm, very good Binghe," Shen Qingqiu says when Binghe lifts his fingers from the strings. Shen Qingqiu almost shields his eyes because the smile Binghe turns on him is blinding. God he cares about Binghe so much- thats why- why he's
"This song has a lyrical component as well, if Binghe is willing, I'd like him to play the instrumental accompaniment while I sing." Binghe's face goes blank for a moment before he starts eagerly nodding.
"This disciple is very willing and wishes very much to hear Shizun sing!" Binghe is practically sparkling and Shen Qingqiu can't help himself anymore. He pats Lou Binghe's soft mane of hair a few times before clearing his throat and turning forward again.
"Excellent, then Binghe may begin."
Shen Qingqiu is so nervous, he's basically vibrating with it. He hopes Binghe can't feel him trembling, but they're sitting so close there's no way he doesn't. He's certain his enhanced demonic hearing can pick up his racing heartbeat- is this a mistake? Maybe he should forget this whole stupid ide-
The first note rings out, then the second and looking at that earnest face focused entirely on playing this song to the best of his ability inspires Shen Qingqiu to collect himself. He takes a deep breath, opens his mouth and,
"I'll swim and sail on savage seas"
Binghe stumbles over a note, turning an awed look towards Shen Qingqiu, before hastily refocusing himself on the song.
"With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life"
Shen Qingqiu smiles hard as he sings, watching his sweet sheep give himself whiplash looking back and forth between his face and the instrument. Taking another fortifying breath he fills the next line with as much meaning as he can muster,
"If you will marry me"
He pauses, searching Binghe's expression, before nervously picking up the pace,
"No scorching sun nor freezing cold
Will stop me on my journey
If you will promise me your heart"
Shen Qingqiu's heart is racing. He should have just asked the normal way! Binghe is so focused on trying to play this song perfectly for his Shizun, he's hardly even reacting to the lyrics! This disciple really is too dutiful! Are you really that unmoved!?
"And love-"
He chokes a bit over the words as Binghe throws him that same unchanged look. He looks happy, he looks so sweet but he's not reacting how Shen Qingqiu thought he would. Honestly he didn't think he'd get this far in the song. He figured this sticky guy would have long since tackled him by now, so with a bit of a huff, he takes Binghe's face into his hands and turns it to him. Singing directly at him, locked onto his eyes he breathlessly finishes,
"And love me for eternity"
Shen Qingqiu feels desperate for a reaction as he holds Lou Binghe's precious face. Come on Binghe, this master will take anything at this point!
"Shizun-" Yes? Yes?? His brows pinch, "What is this song about?"
Huh?
Oh fuck, of course! This song is in English, of course Binghe wouldn't understand what he was saying! No wonder he didn't react!
With a shaking breath, Shen Qingqiu pulled away and staring into the middle distance said,
"Th- This master forgot that Binghe is unfamiliar with this language... I will transcribe it for you properly at another time, for now this master suddenly feels quite tired and will be retiring first."
With that, Shen Qingqiu gets up fluidly, walks into his bedroom and promptly flops down onto the bed to groan his embarrassment into a pillow.
×
Binghe watches Shizun slink away overwhelmingly confused.
His Shizun normally stands tall and elegant but right now he seems so small and defeated. Binghe knows that it's somehow his fault which is simply unacceptable. He understood that the song itself was some kind of love ballad from the tone and the way Shizun was looking at him but there was definitely something more too it than that. Shizun was waiting for some kind of response and watching that innocent anticipation shutter and turn into cold disappointment would likely haunt him forever.
So Binghe definitely had to fix this and if Shizun wasn't ready to face him, well, there is one other person who knows this song well.
×
Shang Qinghua was pretty sure he was having a good dream before this, but only because he remembered it in that vague way of dreams and it definitely probably was a good one. THIS one however was less good by far, cornered in his own mind, the Demon Lord Lou Binghe stood menacingly before him in the shifting kaleidoscope of his dreamscape.
"Shang-Shibo"
"J-Junshang! Ah what brings you to my dreamscape, my lord!" He put forth his most deferential bow hoping to quel a bit of the Demon Lord's ire.
"There is a song you and Shizun both know, it's sung in a language I don't understand so I need you to translate."
What kind of nonsense was Cucumber-bro up to now?
"Uh ok, I can do my best. What song?"
"This one." There's a little bit of a tug as Lou Binghe begins to twist and shape Shang Qinghua's dreamscape to his will. Soon enough a scene takes shape, Lou Binghe and Shen Qingqiu at a guqin, Lou Binghe playing the melody while Shen Qingqiu heartfully sings.
It's so tender and painfully romantic, Shang Qinghua forgets to be afraid. "Oh man, this should be illegal," he mutters.
"What?" Shang Qinghua lets out a very dignified shriek as Lou Binghe appears at his elbow.
"Ahaha it's just this is really sweet, it's-it's so cute it should really be illegal, like I should petition Zhangmen-Shixiong to make it il-"
"Stop muttering useless nonsense and tell me the meaning of the song. Translate it. Line by line."
"Okay okay! Ah can you set it back to the start- ahah thank you! Yea, um, ok so this line is..."
×
Shen Qingqiu is awoken by a shower of kisses. He feels them being peppered over his brow and eyelids, feels lips scate whisper light trails across his jaw, feels their impression dance at the hollow of his throat and down to his collar bones. A real parade of affection on his skin.
"Binghe?" He calls sleepily, as he brings his hand up to cup the back of a very fluffy head that is making its way back up his face.
Rather than 'Good morning, Shizun!', the first thing Binghe says is, "Yes!"
Huh?
"Yes?"
"Yes!" Kiss. "Yes!" Kiss. "Yes!"
"Yes what, Binghe?"
"Yes, I'll marry you Shizun! Yes, I'll love you for eternity, yes, yes, yes!" Only his precious white lotus could say such cheesy romantic lines with a straight face and still seem sincere.
For a moment, Shen Qingqiu was stunned looking into those enthusiastic, literally glowing, eyes. "Oh." A beat, "You will?"
Binghe collapses forward into Shen Qingqiu's chest, arms looping around his torso to hold him tight.
"Hn, this Binghe promises Shizun his heart."
Shen Qingqiu brings up his other hand to place it on Lou Binghe's cheek before lightly pressing him into his chest, over his heart.
"Then this fiancé promises too."
Binghe nuzzles into him like a cat into a sun-warmed blanket and after a quiet moment, Shen Qingqiu begins to hum a very familiar tune.