Work Text:
Mobei Jun was standing alone at his palace’s kitchen. All the subordinates were dismissed. For this task, only one demon in the entire realm was suitable. Very unfortunate that Mobei Jun never put his feet in the kitchen before and his understanding of cooking was overwhelmingly brief.
He asked Junshang for an advice beforehand. Luo Binghe was being demonstratively uninterested in giving his subordinate a free cooking class. Fortunately, after Mobei Jun being entrusted with the governance of an empire for nearly a year, Junshang was in his debt.
He could have asked for any sort of financial or political compensation. Luo Binghe was not the most responsible Emperor, but never failed to paid off the good deeds tenfold. Asking for a cooking class was a waste, one may speculate. But it was for Shang Qinghua. For the human, he must do everything to the best of his abilities.
First, he had to make the dough. Flour with water were prepared for him by the servants. Junshang told him that he should also add a pinch of salt. Luo Binghe probably thought that Mobei-Jun did not care. That he was making the noodles only to encourage him to serve him again. He will add more salt, more expensive spices. Shang Qinghua was worth more than all the riches of his kingdom.
For several weeks, he has been seeing visions of Shang Qinghua shaking in fear in front of him. With broken limbs, in his greatest misery. He could have died, Mobei Jun was constantly thinking.
Luckily, he appeared on time. Luckily, nothing irreversible has happened. From now on, he will do his best to protect the human.
Mobei Jun kneaded the sticky substance. His movements were, just maybe, too abrupt. Flour was flying through the air, settling on every surface around. It was not important. He can wash his face, and kitchen will be cleaned by the servants.
Shang Qinghua was here, at his palace. There was nothing to worry about. He was safe and he was waiting to be served. As the future Queen of the North should.
The dough must turn elastic, Luo Binghe said, but the weird substance he was getting was rather lumpy. Which was frustrating, just slightly. But there was not any struggle that could have made him deny Shang Qinghua`s request.
As he was kneading, Shang Qinghua was working along him. He was probably sitting at his messy desk in his chambers and doing the paperwork.
Shang Qinghua was safe.
Shang Qinghua was safe not because of his actions, but despite them. Him being alive, with all his limbs intact was the result of bare coincidence. Of a lucky chance.
Repetitive movement calmed Mobei Jun down.
He barely ever understood Luo Binghe. The half-blooded Emperor was always a huge mystery. But during those five years his inscrutability has reached a whole new level. What was the point of mourning the dead? Death was natural, especially for the weak. He did consider Shen Qingqiu weak, even though was not stupid enough to admit it out loud in front of the Demon Lord.
Now, he finally got it.
Nothing as irreversible as death has happened to Shang Qinghua. Mobei Jun felt his steady breath through the safety talisman. But he could have died. That could have happened and that would have been his fault. Mobei Jun was mourning because of the pure possibility.
Fortunately, in this lifetime his hands were clean.
Dough finally stopped sticking to his fingers. Now was the time to cover it up and let it rest. He had time to attend his other duties.
He came at the last moment. He was lucky to be close enough to hear his loved one`s screams. But what could have happened If it was not the case? Would anyone else care enough to save him?
He returned to the kitchen nearly two hours later, hoping that enough time has passed for dough to turn stretchy. It was the time to pull the noodles. Junshang called this step the funniest one. Mobei Jun, on the other hand, considered it the most important one, and felt unnecessarily pressured.
He stretched the dough into a long rope. Folded it in half. Twisted it slightly. And stretched again. It was soothing in a way, Mobei Jun had to admit. But at the same time, he did feel extremely clumsy. Which was not the feeling he, the King, faced on a day-to-day basis, and not the feeling he enjoyed.
Heating talisman took few minutes to boil a water. His noodles were not very pretty from the beginning, but now they looked straight up degraded. Mobei Jun could only sigh. Shang Qinghua would appreciate the effort, he hoped.
He dropped noodles into boiling water and waited for them to simmer. He topped the dish with the slices of meat, prepared beforehand by his most skilled cooks. Mobei Jun did not trust himself skills enough to cook the meat: he has heard that it can be dangerous for humans, if not heat-treated properly.
Mobei Jun walked into Shang Qinghua`s chambers. As expected, the human was doing the paperwork. When Mobei Jun entered the room, he turned around and looked at him, with soft smile on his face.
“My King! What had brought you here?” he asked softly.
There was a pink blush on his cheeks. His beautiful hazel eyes were glimmering with delight, for reasons unbeknown.
“Shang Qinghua. I made noodles for you.”
For some reason, Shang Qinghua looked surprised. Weird. After all, he was the one who asked Mobei Jun to cook for him.
“My King!” he exclaimed. “You shouldn`t have done this! Really, that was just a silly joke on my part…”
“This King wanted to make noodles for Shang Qinghua.” he said.
Mobei Jun did not understand why his human looked so embarrassed. Therefore, he professionally decided to ignore it.
“It is my pleasure to serve Shang Qinghua. Wouldn`t he allow me to do so?”
They went into the dining room. Shang Qinghua looked astonished by the noodles. Objectively. though, they were far from being good.
“My King, these are the best noodles I have eaten in my life!” he said, his mouth full.
Mobei Jun did not respond. Only smiled silently.
Shang Qinghua looked the same as he did before the ascension ceremony. He looked at Mobei Jun with the same devotion in his eyes.
No. Now, he looked happier. Fear could never mar the prettiness of his face, but happiness definitely fit him better.
He ate while Mobei Jun was looking at him, resting head on his hands. If he cooks every day eventually his skills will get better. It was worth the effort, if Shang Qinghua will reward him with such a happy face every time.
As he looked at the happy face of his beloved, questions continued to pop up in his head.
What if it had happened on a different day? On a different place?
If something was different, would Shang Qinghua not have survived?
Fortunately, Mobei Jun did not know the answer.