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Mobei Jun said he’d be back in three days.
It had been a week.
Shang Qinghua had been informed that there was a violent dispute in the southwest of the demon realm just before Mobei Jun departed. Luo Binghe had summoned him and thus Mobei Jun simply wasn’t at liberty to leave just to say hi to Shang Qinghua. A week was nothing. They had definitely been separated much longer!
Except today had also been rough in the Northern Desert. With Mobei Jun gone, that left Shang Qinghua to handle matters. While Shang Qinghua had earned the respect of his husband’s court, that didn’t stop the occasional dignitaries of other clans from thinking they were better than him only because they were a demon and he was not. So of course, Shang Qinghua had to remind the fucker that they were merely a guest in his home and he was more than happy to challenge the dignitary. That is, if said dignitary was prepared to invite Mobei Jun into their own clan to be slaughtered. The visiting demon promptly left and Shang Qinghua had to mourn the loss of securing a beneficial trade route of Indigo-Spider-Moth Silk. Then he saw someone slip something into his drink at dinner afterward and it completely ruined his entire appetite! He had actually been looking forward to the dragon’s beard candy he had requested for the menu for the evening. He simply threw the cup back at the server's head, then shoved the demon face down onto the table where he stabbed through their forearm and the table itself, securing them in place. Well—in place until he called for a guard to take them away to the dungeons for questioning.
Shang Qinghua simply stormed out of the room after that, instead munching on a few melon seeds he kept hidden in his and Mobei Jun’s chambers in place of a meal.
He decided to try and do some writing to take his mind off things but suddenly he was writing about some sad cultivator who had no friends and no family and was ugly and unwanted and—!
“Ugh!” He groaned aloud. “This is trash!”
He dropped his brush and decided to go to prepare a bath. But being in the bath just made him wish he could bathe with his king. His king who had been gone nearly eight days now without a single word. He pulled himself out of the bath.
“Stupid!” Shang Qinghua spoke aloud to himself as he struggled to untie the belt of his robes. His face was hot and his throat constricted and he kept sucking in air to stop himself from fucking crying like a baby over nothing! Mobei Jun and he were married. Happily married! It would make no sense for Mobei Jun to up and leave him now. Of course, he had a talisman that could transport him to his king’s side, but that was for emergencies. Not for adult men acting like children!
Mobei Jun was clearly in no rush to return. And why should he? Shang Qinghua wasn’t anything special. He was a plain, frankly overweight, and short human with dull wavy dark brown hair that he styled the same every day with frizz that stuck out all over the place. All he did in his free time was write trashy stories and tell himself that his personality made up for his physical shortcomings. Sure, his personality was also sub-optimal! He was a cowardly fool who talked way too much—
He failed to notice the door to the room open as a chilling presence entered.
“Qinghua?”
Shang Qinghua startled at the sound but didn’t turn to face his king. He quickly attempted to compose himself—was that snot running down his chin?—before the demon noticed anything amiss.
He wasn’t quick enough, because soon enough Mobei Jun had spun him around and taken Shang Qinghua’s face into his hands to inspect him.
“You are crying,” he frowned.
Ever astute, his king was!
“It’s nothing, my king,” Shang Qinghua avoided eye contact. “How was your trip?”
The demon ignored the diversion. “Anything that upsets my Qinghua is something,” Mobei Jun tugged him toward the bed and did him the favor of helping him out of his robes before undressing himself. He then began making some tea for his human at the furnace before pulling the blankets and furs over him.
“My husband will tell this one what is wrong, now,” Mobei Jun said. To most, it would sound commanding, but to Shang Qinghua it was the gentlest of prodding from the demon.
Shang Qinghua grit his teeth, angry with himself. “I’m pathetic!”
Mobei Jun stayed silent.
“I-I missed you. And when I finally realized, I doubted you, my king. I’m ashamed!”
“Doubted?” Mobei Jun frowned. “You know this king is the strongest.”
“Right, right,” Shang Qinghua nodded. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“Then…?”
“I doubted your return. I doubted your loyalty to me.”
Mobei Jun looked more puzzled than ever before. “Qinghua, I made a vow to you as you did to me. This king would not dare break that.”
Shang Qinghua covered his face. “I know you did! It’s just… My parents. From my first life. They made vows as well. But they still left each other. I was only four at the time.”
Mobei Jun briefly walked away to retrieve the tea before sitting down next to his husband. “This is the first time Qinghua has spoken of his parents.”
He nodded. “They promised they still loved me. But then they both started new families and…”
For once, he couldn’t speak. It was something he never really did tell anyone. But it was why his novel, Proud Immortal Demon Way, was started. The story was a distraction from all of the crap he put up with in his youth.
He took a shaky breath and made himself finish the thought. “They pushed me out of their lives. I was just a reminder of their failure. And without ever really explaining why, I… I was left alone.”
He remembered that horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that day. When he tried to call his father to ask for more money to cover his expenses for the semester. Only to find that he changed his number without telling Shang Qinghua. His mother had hardly been in his life as a teenager, asking her for money was out of the question. Suddenly, he was a broke college student who wasn’t exceptional enough for any substantial scholarship. He tried to make that semester, but between the course load and the two jobs he had then juggled, his grades slipped and soon enough he was dropping out.
The intention was to return once he’d saved up a little. But he fell into a horrible depression. He couldn’t even get up and out of his dark, cramped, studio apartment. He lost both his jobs. Couldn’t get another. So he started writing.
He was sobbing again now. Mobei Jun tenderly caressed him.
“My father never properly wed my mother,” Mobei Jun stated. “You know this. But I believe it’s because he knew he couldn’t keep a promise to anyone.”
Shang Qinghua nodded. “What if we have children and we can’t handle it all? What then?”
“Qinghua underestimates himself. He has handled spying, being Peak Lord, advisor to this king, and dealt with this king on top of it all. I believe Qinghua can handle a child whom he loves. And this king will not back down from any challenge. You know this. As intimidating as it may be.”
Shang Qinghua set their tea aside. Then he snuggled up to his king, allowing his strong and cool embrace to envelop him. He let out a soft sigh. Mobei Jun ran the tips of his fingers over Shang Qinghua’s back, soothing him.
“I am not my father. You are not yours. We will uphold our vows.”
“Even if I’m a pathetic mess?”
Mobei Jun kissed the top of his head and combed down the fly-aways. “Especially so. After all, it is how you make a man interested in you.”
“My king!” Shang Qinghua groaned at the joke. But at that moment, in his king’s arms, he was certain Mobei Jun did not plan on ever letting him go.