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The morning sunlight casted onto the polished wooden floors of the bedroom. It was just around morning time, no later than at least 9:00 AM. A delicious smell wafted throughout the apartment, reaching a sleeping Shen Yuan’s nose. The smell of spices and seasoning caused his nose to twitch ever so slightly. He slowly rolled over in bed, a bit of drool dribbling down his chin as he flopped onto his stomach. The distant sound of clattering kitchen utensils and sizzling food caused Shen Yuan to stir. He groaned, his dreamland slowly fading away and replaced with reality as he reluctantly awoke. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.
Shen Yuan sniffed the air, breathing in the aroma of breakfast food. This had become routine, waking up to the smell and sound of Luo Binghe’s cooking.
Since his arrival over a month ago, Luo Binghe had decided modern day food was utter trash (Shen Yuan couldn’t disagree more) and insisted on cooking his own food. It took awhile for Shen Yuan to explain exactly what a grocery store was— as a matter of fact, explaining anything modern-related to the former Demon Lord of Proud Immortal Demon Way and who conquered all three realms and had riches as high as the sky and girls on every side of him—, was a struggle. At first, Luo Binghe refused to cook anything for Shen Yuan, which wasn’t surprising considering they had very bad first impressions of each other (it truly wasn’t Shen Yuan’s fault, of course he’d attack the random man who suddenly appeared, shrouded in darkness and standing menacingly in his living room at 3 AM!). Eventually, Luo Binghe did start to feed him after noticing his only guide in this odd foreign world was practically starving himself everyday— which wasn’t ideal if Luo Binghe wished to continue existing here. He refused to continue indulging in Shen Yuan’s bad eating habits; which was a diet of frozen store bought meals and instant ramen, and only eating when his stomach was practically gnawing at him. No matter how much he pleaded and begged, Luo Binghe still threw out all his instant ramen.
As much as he didn’t want to admit it after, especially after insisting to Luo Binghe that his instant meals were just fine, his health did start to steadily improve after beginning to eat 3 meals a day. Nowadays, Shen Yuan couldn’t imagine eating anything but Luo Binghe’s cooking! (He occasionally craved fast food or Maruchan ramen, but his reluctance to deal with Luo Binghe’s fury was greater than his hunger).
Today was an ordinary morning, no different than yesterday. Shen Yuan stretched his achy back and climbed out of bed, grabbing his glasses from the night stand and pushing them up the bridge of his nose. He emerged from the bedroom and into the kitchen. “Morning Binghe.” he said with a yawn, sitting down at a small, round table.
Luo Binghe spoke as he worked the kitchen— his voice sounded a tad strange, “Good morning, A-Yuan. This lord— ahem —” he took a breath, “I've just finished preparing breakfast.” He placed down a large steaming dish in front of Shen Yuan along with a small side dish. As he began to dig in, Luo Binghe sneezed into his arm as he was walking back to the pot to serve himself food. “You okay?” Shen Yuan asked, his brow raised. Normal people sneezing was normal, but Luo Binghe ? It was a tad odd, a demon couldn’t possibly be bothered by a bit of dust entering the nose…
“I’m fine,” Luo Binghe said firmly, a tad of irritation in his voice. He poured himself a portion of food.
Shen Yuan had his doubts.
Now that he really thought about it— despite how odd it seemed— Luo Binghe’s voice was nasally. It was almost like he was sick! But demon lords like Luo Binghe couldn’t possibly catch something so mundane as the modern-day common cold… right?
Luo Binghe sat down across from Shen Yuan and they both began to eat. As per usual, Shen Yuan hummed in satisfaction and endlessly praised Luo Binghe for his excellent cooking. In turn, Luo Binghe would be left with his cheeks a bit rosy. But today, his skin was sickly pale. Not only that, Luo Binghe kept sniffling like he had been crying, and the rim of his eyes were red! Perhaps he was longing for his wives back in his old world and shedded a few tears… There was nothing to be ashamed of when it came to men crying, everyone has had their moments!
“Binghe, were you crying?” Shen Yuan asked gently.
Luo Binghe looked up from his food, staring directly into his eyes. He looked almost offended by the question. “What? No. This Lord doesn’t cry.”
Shen Yuan rolled his eyes, “Stop the ‘this Lord’ thing. And like I said a couple of days ago, it’s perfectly okay to admit to crying.” Luo Binghe scoffed and mumbled incoherent curses under his breath, “Just eat your damn food.”
Shen Yuan opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself. He looked so… pitiful. His runny nose, reddened eyes and nose, pale skin, and the cracking, nasally voice— Shen Yuan felt guilty lecturing him this early in the morning, so he held himself back for now and continued to munch on his breakfast.
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
After a relatively quiet breakfast, Shen Yuan curled up on the couch with the TV remote in hand. His knees to his chest as he leaned against the couch arm. Luo Binghe sat on the other end, manspreading as usual. Fortunately, the couch was big enough to accommodate the two of them. Shen Yuan turned on the TV.
They were currently watching a new series they had started a few nights ago about a police department and fire-fighters over in the States. The action packed scenes, the build-up of the plot, and the occasional silly scenes were enjoyable to watch, and the two constantly made commentary throughout the show. However, Luo Binghe was strangely quiet today.
Glancing over at him, Shen Yuan considered him silently. Just like before, his skin was paler than usual, except for the tip of his nose and the rim of his eyes. He kept sniffling and coughing. If he hadn’t been crying, then that left one last option in Shen Yuan’s brain… If the stallion-protagonist-demon-lord — Luo Binghe— was truly sick, it had to be something serious if his body couldn’t fight it off within an instant.
Knowing the scum Airplane, whatever Luo Binghe had gotten sick with could only be cured two ways. The first way with some rare, mystical herbー which there was no way that’d be possible in the big year 2023. As far as the other cure, Shen Yuan glanced at Luo Binghe again.
Okay, there was a slight possibility he’d be willing to do that if it meant saving Binghe. Just a very, very small chance. Dual cultivation couldn’t be so bad, especially with a man like Luo Binghe, any gender could find him attractive, it was only natural! He shook his head and pushed the strange thoughts away, let’s not jump to conclusions yet...
He scooted over to Binghe slowly, trying to get a closer look at him. Of course his sharp senses noticed Shen Yuan’s advancesー but he didn’t stop him, only carefully observing him as he moved closer. Shen Yuan reached his arm up a bit, aiming to press the palm of his hand against Luo Binghe’s forehead in order to gauge his temperature, but his wrist was caught.
“What are you doing?” Luo Binghe asked sharply, gripping his wrist tightly, but not hard enough to hurt him. “Trying to feel your forehead,” he replied.
Luo Binghe raised a brow and released his wrist. His hand continued and pressed against his forehead, it was scorching hot! Shen Yuan internally sighed. Welp, this is it, goodbye to my virginity!
“ Fuck , you’re hot.”
“Oh?” Luo Binghe smirked mischievously, turning his body towards him, “This Lord is pleased to know A-Yuan thinks so.” he purred.
Panic instantly seeped into Shen Yuan’s body, he threw himself back before Luo Binghe could lean towards him anymore, his arms flailing. “No, no! Not like that! I meant likeー temperature!” Luo Binghe rolled his eyes in response and backed off, “Whatever.”
“Binghe, be honest. How do you feel?” he asked slowly, knowing Luo Binghe has never been fond of being vulnerable or honest about his feelings. He huffed, “This Lord feels perfectly fine.”
“Uh huh. Right,” his voice laced with sarcasm. “Why is A-Yuan doubtful?” He growled, “This Lord isn’t ill! This Lord doesn’t get ill!”
“I never said you were sick.”
“...” Luo Binghe fell silent.
“It was implied.”
“Yeah, sure. You’re going to the doctor,” Shen Yuan said matter-of-factly, standing up and pulling Luo Binghe up by his sleeve. “Unhand me! I am not going to a doctor! This Lord doesn’t need a doctor!” Shen Yuan continued tugging him upward, unable to get him to budge. However, he stopped for a moment and actually considered what Luo Binghe said.
There was still a chance that Luo Binghe’s physiology was different from regular humans. Previously, they had established that his power’s no longer worked in the modern realm, with the exception of his glowing eyes and demon mark. Shen Yuan was definitely no scientist nor doctor, and couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be anything unusual when it came to Luo Binghe’s internal functions; there was also the possibility that he had actually gotten sick with some fantasy illness that didn’t exist in modern times, which would only create more problems and attract way too much attention and not to mention the fact there were no legal documents even proving the man’s existence, god forbid they ask for any form of ID!
…Perhaps it’d be better to observe him for a couple of days before seeing a professional.
Shen Yuan huffed and released Binghe’s sleeve, “Fine. But you have to rest.”
Luo Binghe retorted within an instant, “No. I have to go grocery shopping for dinner.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, growing more and more irritated by seconds from Luo Binghe’s insistent behavior on not resting. “I don’t care. I’ll just do it.” Binghe laughed mockingly directly in Shen Yuan’s face, taunting him. “You’re going to cook dinner? As if. You’ll burn the entire kitchen down.”
“That— You—!” He sputtered angrily, his ego slightly damaged knowing his words held truth to them, “I don’t care! You can either insist on not resting and feel worse or you can let me help you!”
Luo Binghe smirked, as if he was taking this as a victory. Shen Yuan had expected him to let him help out just a bit, but it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen at all. He resorted to his last possible option to convince him to rest, he really didn’t want to be at fault if something bad happened!
“You— You don’t even know what you’re sick with! I know ways to cure you in this world that you don’t. You don’t know what kind of illness you have or anything about modern medicine for that matter! This isn't something you can just magically heal, you don't have powers anymore! You can either let me help you, or you’ll suffer on your own!” Luo Binghe’s face darkened with realization, his eyes turning from a dark brown to a reddish brown as he narrowed his eyes at Shen Yuan. He abruptly stood up, towering over him. A chill ran down Shen Yuan’s spine and he took a step back, “Ah… Binghe…”
He roughly grabbed the collar of Shen Yuan’s shirt, their faces merely inches apart as he dragged him forward. “Tell me…” His voice was rough and deep, “Tell me how to cure this annoying illness. You said you’d guide me through this world, so tell me!”
“Agh, okay! Let me go!” Shen Yuan yelped, struggling to escape Luo Binghe’s harsh grip on his shirt.
Luo Binghe slowly released him as he agreed, “What do I need to do.”
Shen Yuan thought for a moment, letting Luo Binghe rest on the couch like he had been for the past month would probably be uncomfortable. “Go lay down in my room.”
“...”
Shen Yuan crossed his arms, “Do you want help or not? This is how things work in this world.” Luo Binghe turned on his heel and trudged towards Shen Yuan’s room, laying down in the bed reluctantly. Shen Yuan quickly grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom and entered the bedroom shortly after. “This is gonna take your temperature.” He held up the device for Luo Binghe to see, “Where does it go?”
“Just a bit above your forehead,” he said, clicking the “ON” button and hovering it just a few centimeters above Luo Binghe’s forehead before clicking the button again. It took a few seconds to process before beeping, the tiny screen read “38 ° C”. He sighed and murmured, “Definitely sick.”
Luo Binghe suddenly yanked the thermometer from Shen Yuan’s hands, his eyes squinting at the screen. “What does this mean.” Rather than sounding like a question, it sounded more like a demand. “It reads your body temperature. Around 36 and 37 degrees is normal but anything above that starts becoming a fever.”
“So I have a fever?”
Shen Yuan nodded and pried the thermometer from Luo Binghe’s hands and placed it on the bedside table. “I’m going to the store to buy the groceries you need. I’ll make you soup, or something, when I get back.” Luo Binghe’s face turned scornful, but he didn’t make any complaints as he tucked himself into the bed. Happy with his decision to finally comply, Shen Yuan smiled and exited the room.
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
The sun was now high in the sky when Shen Yuan walked out of the store. The grocery shopping trip had been extremely successful in Shen Yuan’s eyes. Not only had he purchased every item Luo Binghe had written on the list (Shen Yuan had found it stuck to the fridge with a magnet while searching the kitchen for what they were missing), he also bought some groceries of his own!
Even though they were instant meals… It was the best thing Shen Yuan knew how to cook for Luo Binghe.
The walk back to his apartment was grueling. He had become accustomed to Luo Binghe doing all the heavy duty work, like carrying the shopping bags home. His noodle arms could barely handle the weight of two overfilled bags of groceries and by the time he arrived home and placed them on the counter, he was out of breath and his arms were shaky. He kicked his shoes off and quietly crept over to his room. He turned the knob ever so slowly and peeked his head inside.
Cuddled up in his bed was Luo Binghe, his eyes shut tightly with the blanket covering his entire body besides his face. He looked vulnerable and underguarded, his mouth hung slightly agape with a tiny little bit of drool hanging on the corner of his lips. Shen Yuan held back giggles and felt compelled to snap a picture to make fun of him later, but ultimately decided against it since he didn’t want to get his ass beaten by Binghe.
Not wanting to potentially wake him up and disturb him, Shen Yuan slowly twisted the knob and quietly shut the door and tip-toed back to the kitchen. He began to unpack the groceries, putting them in their designated areas within the kitchen. Once finished, he began to prepare noodle soup for Luo Binghe… which was, truthfully, instant ramen poured into a bowl. He pulled random seasoning from the cabinet and began to add some into the noodles depending on what smelt ideal. Once finished, he was relatively proud of his work. Although the coloring looked a bit… suspicious… it was totally edible in Shen Yuan’s eyes (or at least he hoped)! He placed the bowl on a bed tray along with some utensils and a glass of water. He walked carefully to the bedroom, not wishing to spill anything.
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
The sight before Shen Yuan was… peculiar? Weird? No, OOC? Whatever, it didn’t matter what adjective was used! The sight of a whiny, teary eyed Luo Binghe was not what Shen Yuan was expecting upon walking in! Had the demon lord mysteriously been swapped with an imposter? (Impossible). Was this what the mighty Bingge of the PIDW forums had been reduced to? Bing ge was a joke, more like Bing mei !
Upon gently coaxing Luo Binghe awake in order to give him his food, he had fully expected Luo Binghe to unleash hellish demons upon him, but was instead met with a whiny, pathetic mess! Shen Yuan had pressed his hand against his forehead to check his temperature and instead of flinching or smacking his hand away, he pressed into him! WTF?! Luo Binghe was burning up, his entire body practically on fire. Shen Yuan removed the blankets, resulting in a whine from Luo Binghe.
“J-Just sit up and eat! Wait here!” He said, slightly embarrassed by Luo Binghe’s odd behavior. As he sat up, his lips curled into a small frown, “But A-Yuan---” Shen Yuan shoved the tray of food into his lap before he could continue, “Eat!” He yelped before dashing out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
He took a deep breath before walking into the bathroom, running a hand through his hair. It appeared Luo Binghe must’ve become delirious from the illness affecting him, resulting in his… odd behavior. The fever, coughing, stuffy nose…all his symptoms seemed like the flu, but could Binghe truly have something so mundane like the flu? Was it possible for a man who had conquered all three realms, collected all the beauties and treasures in the world, and had even gained the power to cross dimensions, truly be capable of succumbing to the flu? Truthfully, his body was still half-human, and perhaps that still made him vulnerable.
As his mind wandered, growing anxious of the possibilities, Shen Yuan grabbed a cloth and soaked it in cold water. He mentally prepared himself to enter the room again, taking a deep breath in and out.
When he entered, Luo Binghe was mixing around the noodle soup with his chopsticks. He looked up at Shen Yuan as he approached, “Press this against your forehead, it’ll help with your fever. How’s the food?” He took the cloth and did as instructed, “A-Yuan,” he said sweetly. His once sharp eyes were now doe-like, beady and begging, “Do I have to eat it? This shit… is so ass.”
Shen Yuan was stunned into complete silence. For a moment, he felt as if he was going to cough up a mouthful of blood. The way Luo Binghe had looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes, almost as if he was about to say something kind, only to completely rip him to shreds within a single sentence. At least now he knew that there was still a little bit of Bingge was still inside of him.
“...I’ll order takeout.” Shen Yuan said after a moment of silence, taking away the food tray from his lap. As he turned to leave, there was suddenly a yank on his t-shirt. “Wait,” Luo Binghe said softly, “Where are you going?”
Shen Yuan turned his head over his shoulder, Luo Binghe was laying in bed clutching the hem on the back of his shirt, “Throwing this out and ordering takeout.”
“Are you coming back?”
Shen Yuan nodded, confused. “Of course I will. You’re clearly sick, it’s my responsibility to take care of you.” Luo Binghe’s brows furrowed, he looked like a fragile maiden who would fall apart just from a gust of wind. “Promise?”
“Promise.” Shen Yuan giggled, finding the interaction silly. “I live here and this is my bedroom, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
The grip on his shirt slowly began to loosen at his words, allowing Shen Yuan to retreat to the kitchen and throw away his failure of a noodle soup. He quickly placed an order for takeout, purchasing both him and Luo Binghe a proper chicken noodle soup for them to eat for dinner. He also rustled through the medicine cabinet, grabbing something that’d be good for combating the flu or a cold. By the time he returned, Luo Binghe had tucked himself back into bed.
“Food will be here soon, don’t fall asleep yet,” he said as strided over. “How do you feel?”
“It hurts, A-Yuan…” He whined.
“What does?”
“My head…”
“Well, I’ve got some medicine for you.” He made sure to administer the correct amount before allowing Binghe to take it, making sure everything went down smoothly. “You’ll take another in a couple of hours, just rest for now.” Shen Yuan adjusted the cloth on Luo Binghe’s forehead, making sure it was still cold and damp as well.
They both sat in silence together for a bit. Shen Yuan made sure to keep an eye on Luo Binghe, he checked his temperature, changed out the cold cloth every so often and provided tissues for him. He sat on the edge of the bed scrolling on his phone when the doorbell rang, “Must be the food,” Shen Yuan mumbled as he placed his phone down on the bedside table.
Fwoosh
Strong arms had circled Shen Yuan’s waist, yanking him back into the bed. “Binghe!” Shen Yuan yelped as he was pulled backwards, falling into the sheets. Luo Binghe buried his face into his shoulder, his grip tightening around Shen Yuan’s waist as he flailed around. “What are you doing...?!” He shrieked, continuing to squirm. “A-Yuan… A-Yuan…” He blubbered, “Don’t leave me please, don’t go… You said you’ll take care of me, why are you leaving?” Shen Yuan ceased his squirming and began to panic slightly, “Binghe? What are you crying for? I’m just going to get the delivery! There’s no need to cry like this, I’m really not going anywhere…”
Despite his reassurances, Luo Binghe didn’t let go of him. Shen Yuan sighed, trying to turn his body so he could see him. “I’ll stay with you, just stop crying into my shirt…” Thank god I clicked the option to drop the delivery off at the door…
Before he knew it, Shen Yuan was dragged under the blankets. Firm hands turned to gentle ones, Luo Binghe pulled him closer and tucked him into his chest. Shen Yuan could feel the tension in both their bodies slowly fade away and a comfortable silence hung over the two of them. Shen Yuan couldn’t tell whether his own face had turned red or if it was the heat radiating from Binghe’s body, most definitely the latter , Shen Yuan firmly concluded. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around Luo Binghe, patting his back with gentle comfort.
Time ticked by, an unknown amount of time passing. Shen Yuan watched as Luo Binghe’s breaths became shallow and his chest slowly began to rise and fall. His eyes were shut tightly, his red lips slightly parted. There were some tear stains left on his cheeks and Shen Yuan couldn’t help but feel a tiny amount of pity as he wiped them away. The rims of his eyes were still slightly reddened, and he wasn’t entirely sure if they were from his illness or crying. Overall, the tension from his face had finally relaxed into a simple state of peace; vulnerable and unguarded. As expected from the stallion novel protagonist, he’s even beautiful in his sleep. Naturally, anyone would find him attractive like this! Even guys like me.
Maybe, just maybe, Luo Binghe had caught the flu. Perhaps he wasn’t immune to mortal, human, low-like illnesses. Shen Yuan realized he had been wrong, which wasn’t easy to admit. He had told Luo Binghe it was okay to cry and let out his emotions, yet he still had set his own standard for what he should be. He had predicted he’d be strong and unbeatable like the novels, but he had failed to remember Luo Binghe had now become human, he didn’t have his powers anymore. Even so, with or without powers, titles, and glorious treasures, he was human. He is just as susceptible to the same illnesses Shen Yuan is. He is still human, and he didn’t need to have a magical, mysterious illness only cured by sex or a rare herb to fall under the weather.
It’s okay to be vulnerable, to feel exposed. He was human, no matter what dimension he was in. And Shen Yuan wanted to be that space— that person— where Luo Binghe could feel safe to be human, not the stallion-protagonist-demon-overlord-Luo Bingge that he had written to be, just Luo Binghe, his truest most pure form.
Shen Yuan tucked a stray strand of hair behind Luo Binghe’s ear, a small smile on his face. Maybe the side of Binghe he had just been shown was only a peak of his deepest and truest emotions. But for now, he was only concerned with the health of his roommate. He yawned, shutting his eyes and slowly slipping into a peaceful slumber.