THE PARASITE

by glacierdust, sinayaa

Summary:

Cute, funny, and kinky adventures of Luo Binghe and his symbiote Shizun! It's strangely wholesome...

(Featuring some old friends...)

Notes:

MAKE SURE YOU READ WITH CREATOR'S STYLE ON FOR PROPER RESIZING OF IMAGES!

PART 1 - Confession

“Shizun, I love you.”

Shen Qingqiu’s mouth drops open a little, the tanglulu stick dropping from his rows and rows of sharp teeth. 

“ Excuse me?”

Luo Binghe shifts nervously in his seat, twiddling his thumbs. “Shizun, I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I wasn’t sure how you’d react… I really, really love you.”

Shen Qingqiu clears his throat, not really looking at Luo Binghe, although Luo Binghe cannot tell because Shen Qingqiu’s eyes are literally just slits of white. 

“I… am fond of you as well. It is to be expected after cohabilitating for eight years.”

Luo Binghe pouts. “No, I mean… I love you like- like a husband loves his wife. Shizun, I want to be your wife!”

Shen Qingqiu pushes the plate of homemade tanghulu aside with an appendage. Then, he reaches across the table and pats Luo Binghe’s head. 

“Binghe, you’re still young. You don’t really know what you like or don’t like yet. I know your dating options are a bit limited considering you’ve been living with me — well, I guess, me living in you — but someday, you’ll find the right girl to be your wife, okay?” Shen Qingqiu ruffles Luo Binghe’s hair. 

Luo Binghe glances up at him, his eyes watery with tears. “Shizun, I don’t want someone else to be my wife! I just want you…”

“Binghe, listen to yourself! You’re talking to a floating disembodied head! I’m an alien life form, Binghe! I eat people!”

Luo Binghe pouts harder. “So? Does Shizun not like me just because I’m human? You said I’m really cute… Or is it because I’m not up to Shizun’s standards? Shizun, tell me what you like, and I will do better!”

Shen Qingqiu is in disbelief. “Binghe! I called you cute because you were 14! You were small and dirty and had really round eyes! That’s why I called you cute!”

Luo Binghe lifts those round eyes up to look at Shen Qingqiu. “So Shizun thinks I’m not cute anymore?”

Shen Qingqiu does not know what to say. Yes, Luo Binghe is still cute, but… He sighs. “Just- consider your options for a bit longer, okay?”

“How long, Shizun?”

“Mmm… five years.”

“That’s too long! One hour.”

“One year.”

“Five minutes.”

Shen Qingqiu wants to bite the bratty human’s cheek.

PART 2 - Shizun, I Want to Give You Head

Once or twice a week, they eat out. 

Eat out as in, going out in the streets and beating up really, really bad guys so that Shen Qingqiu can eat their heads for dinner. 

Today, Luo Binghe is not feeling up to it. 

“What’s wrong, BInghe? Are you feeling tired already?” Shen Qingqiu asks, licking teeth. He throws aside the beheaded body. 

Luo Binghe huffs and then turns his back on Shen Qingqiu. 

Shen Qingqiu melds back into Luo Binghe’s back, and then out the front of his chest so that he cannot turn away again. “Binghe…”

Luo Binghe’s eyes are shining with tears again. “Are they really tasty?” he asks with a crack in his voice.

“Uh… the heads?”

Luo Binghe nods. 

“Well, yes, I suppose so. But I don’t think they’ll taste very good to humans-”

“ I have a head too, y’know.”

Shen Qingqiu does not say anything for a few seconds. “I’m not following.”

“Shizun always eats other people’s heads! What about me? You never pay attention to me!”

“Binghe, what-”

“Shizun eats so many strangers’ heads, and I’ve got a perfectly good one but Shizun doesn’t want mine,” Luo Binghe says sullenly.

“Are you- Are you jealous ?!”

“Yes!”

“Of me literally biting other people’s heads off.”

“Yes, Shizun! I want you to bite my head off too!”

“...”

“You don’t want to…” Luo Binghe realizes sadly. 

“Well, of course not! If I bite your head off, what happens to me? Do I go find another host? Other people don’t make me fresh chocolate from cacao pods, Binghe.”

“But I can just grow it back, right?”

“Since when?!”

Luo Binghe ponders it for a second. “You grew my arm back once.”

“I reattached it, Binghe, there’s a difference. If I eat your head, it’s gone.”

“So?”

“Luo Binghe, we are not having this discussion. Go home.”

“No!”

Shen Qingqiu growls at him. “Go home, Binghe. I don’t want to talk to you about this anymore. I’m not eating your head or anything else.”

“Not even a nibble?”

“No.”

Luo Binghe huffs. He sits his ass down in the middle of the alleyway, right into the edge of a pool of blood, but still, he does not move. “Then, I’m staying right here. You can walk home yourself.”

“Luo Binghe! When did you get so disobedient!”

“Shizun is being selfish, so Binghe will be selfish too,” Luo Binghe reasons. 

“????????”

They sit there for ten minutes in silence. 

“Is Shizun tempted to take a nibble yet?”

“No.”

“Hmph! Fine. Then we’ll sit here all night.”

PART 3 - The Real Monster

Binghe, she’s pretty.

“Not as pretty as you, Shizun,” Luo Binghe mutters, not even looking up from his cookbook. “Oooh, look at this recipe for scallops,” he says excitedly. “You liked the lobsters last time, right?”

Shen Qingqiu ignores him to say more urgently, Binghe! Look, she stopped right next to you! Say hi!

“I’m not saying hi.”

The girl next to Binghe in the book aisle gives him a strange look. He gives her a strained smile. 

She’s staring at you, Binghe. Get her number!

“Shizun, I told you already,” Luo Binghe hisses under his breath, putting the cookbook away and starting to speed walk out of the aisle. “I don’t want to date someone else! I want to date you!”

…

“Shizun, can’t we just go on one date together? You don’t know if you’ll like it or not.”

Shen Qingqiu scoffs. Binghe, how can we possibly go on a date together? 

Luo Binghe fidgets nervously with the pregnancy tests he is pretending to look at as he talks to Shen Qingqiu. “We can stay at home and watch movies.”

We already do that. 

“With the intention of it being a date.”

…Binghe. It won’t be any different. Trust me.

Luo Binghe pouts. “It will be different this time. You’ve never tried it before.”

An old lady pushes her cart past Luo Binghe and snickers. “Trust me, kid, no matter how many of those you take, the results won’t be different.”

Luo Binghe blinks at her in confusion. “Huh?”

See? Get out of the store, Binghe, people are starting to think you’re crazy. 

“I’ll leave if Shizun agrees to a date.”

…One date.

Luo Binghe does not stop talking about their date for the rest of the day. 

That night, Shen Qingqiu does feel strangely nervous as Luo Binghe sets up their regular movie night fare — homemade sweets and lots and lots of chocolate. 

“Ready, Shizun! What movie are we watching?”

Shen Qingqiu hovers over Luo Binghe’s shoulder, squinting at the titles on the screen. “Something scary. With monsters.” There is nothing romantic about a scary movie, so perhaps he can condition Luo Binghe into associating this date with fear. 

Half an hour in, Luo Binghe is clutching a pillow to his chest. “Shizun, can you hold my hand?” 

The poor boy is shaking. Shen Qingqiu relents and forms a human hand for Luo Binghe to take. The shaking stops. 

Ten minutes later, “Shizun, I’m really scared, can you hold me?”

Shen Qingqiu somehow ends up giving Luo Binghe a hug. Luo Binghe clutches onto him tightly, gasping lightly every time the ghost reappears on the screen. Shen Qingqiu finds the movie stupid and not scary at all, but Luo Binghe seems to have gotten the full experience. 

When the credits roll, Shen Qingqiu goes to remove himself, but Luo Binghe protests. “Shizun, no! I’m still scared. It’s dark and I don’t want you to leave.”

“Binghe, where do I even have to go? I’m just turning on a light.”

Luo Binghe clutches at him harder. “Shizun, don’t leave. I don’t need a light. I just need you to hold me for a bit.”

A bit ends up being until Luo Binghe falls asleep, consequently dragging Shen Qingqiu with him, still curled up around his sticky human host.

PART 4 - Give Me A Kiss… Or Not

“Shizun, now that we’re dating-”

“We’re not dating, Binghe. Dating requires two separate entities.”

“Okay, now that we’re together-”

“We’ve always been together. I’m literally living inside you-”

Luo Binghe pouts. “Now that we’ve moved onto the next step in our relationship!”

“...”

“I was thinking… we can try something more?”

“...Like what?”

“Like… kissing?”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes narrow. “Kissing.”

Luo Binghe nods.

“I don’t even have lips. I can’t kiss you.”

“Shizun has a mouth. That’s enough.”

“A mouth full of teeth. Definitely not made for kissing.”

“I think they’re cute!” Luo Binghe insists. “Someday Shizun must let me count your teeth, okay?” He says it so lovingly that Shen Qingqiu almost feels sick. “So? Can we kiss?”

“Absolutely not. If you want a kiss, go find a girl.”

Luo Binghe shrinks down disappointedly in his seat. Then, with inhumanly fast speeds, he grabs Shen Qingqiu’s floating face and kisses him square on the mouth. 

“Hehe.”

Shen Qingqiu reels back, all the way to the other side of the room. “Binghe!” he says, horrified. “I said I’m not going to kiss you!”

“So I kissed Shizun instead. Duh.”

Shen Qingqiu splutters. “You brat! You-!”

“You what, Shizun? You want another kiss?”

“Don’t- Don’t call me Shizun with that same mouth you used to- to-”

“But Shizun ,” Luo Binghe purrs. “This little human is dumb. He needs Shizun to teach him properly.”

“I taught you how to read and write. I have no knowledge of human mating to teach you! How shameless of you to ask!”  If Shen Qingqiu could blush, he would probably be red in the face right now.

How dare Luo Binghe say all that with a straight face!

Shen Qingqiu forces the blood up to Luo Binghe’s face, making him burn red as well. At least then, both of them can be uncomfortable. 

But Luo Binghe smiles and touches his own face. “That feels good, Shizun! Do it again.”

Shen Qingqiu dives back into Luo Binghe’s chest and refuses to say anything or come out, no matter how much Luo Binghe prompts him.

PART 5 - Shizun is a Weeb

“Put it down carefully!” 

“I am being careful, Shizun!” Luo Binghe says, gently gently setting down the Hatsune Miku figurine. He pouts. “That’s the sixth one.”

“There’s one more.”

Shen Qingqiu goes rooting around in the pile of cardboard boxes and packing peanuts. “ Here! Binghe, open it. But be careful! This is the 2017 Symphony edition. I said, careful! You almost scratched Miku’s hair last time.”

Luo Binghe sighs and takes up the box cutter, carefully slitting the tape and opening it up.

Shen Qingqiu leans in really close when Luo Binghe takes the last Miku figurine out. 

“She’s perfect,” he whispers, his eyes growing wide. “Set it up, quickly! I’m going to take out her accessories.”

Luo Binghe obeys, gently separating the two pieces of plastic that are designed to literally slice through flesh. Which he has already done three separate times in the past hour of opening the newly arrived figurines. 

Luo Binghe gently removes Miku from her plastic wrap and eases her onto the black base. 

“It comes with a violin, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu says in awe. “I want to see her holding it. I heard that her skirt also comes off so it’s like she has two outfits!”

Luo Binghe squeezes the full skirt of Miku’s dress and indeed, it pops loose. He removes it and raises an eyebrow. “Shizun, didn’t you say this… Miku is sixteen? I can see her ass.”

“Shut up, Binghe! Don’t talk about my pure Miku like that! Put her skirt back on, you perv!” 

Luo Binghe pouts but reattaches the skirt. Then, Shen Qingqiu whisks the figurine out of his hands and places it carefully onto the shelf, which already boasts ten-some figurines, seven of which are Hatusne Miku figurines. 

“Shizun… we’re running out of space on the shelf.”

“Then get a new shelf?” Shen Qingqiu’s eyes never turn away from the shelf. “Isn’t it beautiful, Binghe?”

“No.” Luo Binghe sits on his bed, his legs tucked up to his chest. He glares at the stupid shelf of figurines. Now he would have to go to bed every night looking at the shelf and all the stupid Mikus that Shen Qingqiu is so in love with. 

“You don’t get it, Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu shakes his head. “Anyway, fire up the computer. I’ve got a tournament to win and little kids’ asses to kick.”

Luo Binghe does not move. 

Finally, Shen Qingqiu looks over at him. “Binghe, the computer.”

Luo Binghe pouts harder. “All Shizun talked about today is his Miku figurines and the Valorant tournament! What about me?! What about Binghe?! Am I not cool?”

Shen Qingqiu pauses. “Of course Binghe is cool. Without Binghe, I wouldn’t be able to do any of these things, right? Clearly, I need Binghe the most.”

Luo Binghe sniffles. “Really? You need me?”

Shen Qingqiu floats over. “Yes, I need you, Binghe.”

“More than Miku?”

“...More than Miku.”

Luo Binghe rubs his eyes and nods. “Then can Shizun give me a kiss first?”

Shen Qingqiu hesitates. Then, he ducks forward very quickly and presses his lipless face to Luo Binghe’s forehead very quickly. 

“There. Now the computer.”

Luo Binghe shuffles over to the new gaming set-up he had bought for Shen Qingqiu. The chair is for him to sit on while Shen Qingqiu wrecks other people on the internet. Luo Binghe does not understand the appeal of playing the same game over and over again, but Shen Qingqiu enjoys it immensely, so Luo Binghe is content to sit by and cheer him on when he wins. 

Because when Shen Qingqiu wins, he is in a very good mood, a very agreeable mood. A mood in which Luo Binghe milks for all its worth to get as many headpats and cuddles and praises as he could ever wish for. 

And Shen Qingqiu did win the tournament, much to Luo Binghe’s glee. However, just as he was about to pipe up and ask what he should make for their celebratory dinner, an email notification pops up in the bottom corner of the computer screen. 

Luo Binghe’s mood immediately darkens. 

See, Shen Qingqiu has recently been obsessed with one other thing. A horribly written stallion novel called Proud Immortal Demon Way. 

More like Crazy Fairy Magic Road, as Luo Binghe calls it in his head. Of course, he would never say it aloud because as much as Shen Qingqiu claims to hate it with every breath, he reads it as soon as an update comes out. He set up a whole ass email account just to get push notifications. 

Shen Qingqiu even bought VIP reader status to get advanced chapters three days before everyone else!

Which really is no big deal. Luo Binghe is more than happy to splurge on his beloved Shizun, it is just… Shen Qingqiu’s mood is always pretty rotten after reading updates. 

He rages on and on about how shitty the writing is, and Luo Binghe, who has to read along, must agree. However, it is like any stallion novel that is after the money, right? Shen Qingqiu is just oddly invested in this specific one. 

When Luo Binghe suggested he stop reading… Shen Qingqiu got strangely pissy and ignored Luo Binghe for the rest of the day, much to the latter’s horror. 

Which reminds Luo Binghe… Shen Qingqiu had preordered merch for Proud Immortal Demon Way , so Luo Binghe should buy that new shelf soon.

PART 6 - Dessert for Dinner (It’s Me, I’m the Dessert)

“Shizun, dinnertime!”

Shen Qingqiu had been taking a late afternoon nap but was roused by the promise of food. He takes an inventory of his surroundings using Luo Binghe’s eyes except…

Binghe, what are you doing?!

“Surprise!” 

Luo Binghe is lying on his bed, which has been covered by a plastic sheet. He has also covered his naked body in chocolate syrup. 

“It’s the nine year anniversary since Shizun found me,” Luo Binghe says shyly, wiggling in anticipation. “Please enjoy, Shizun!”

…

“Shizun?”

…

“Shizun… What's wrong? Don’t you like chocolate?”

It’s not the chocolate, Binghe.

“Oh… Shizun doesn’t like me .”

…

Luo Binghe starts tearing up. “Am I ugly, Shizun? Is that why you were so adamant against dating me? Is that why you still refuse my kisses and why you get embarrassed in bed?”

Binghe, you’re not ugly. Stop that.

“Then, why, Shizun?” Luo Binghe wails louder. “I love you so much, but you won’t even show me a little bit of affection unless I beg for it!”

This… This isn’t affection, Binghe. You’re asking me to- to… li…ck chocolate off your… body. I can’t do that.

“Why not?”

It’s embarrassing! It’s weird! Don’t you think this is weird, Binghe?!

“So what? Who cares if it’s weird? If it makes us happy, then that’s all that matters, right?”

Shen Qingqiu does not know what to say to that. Luo Binghe is not wrong. Nothing about them is normal in any sense of the word. But Luo Binghe is also right in that Shen Qingqiu has been really resistant to their whole relationship, even though he agreed to date Luo Binghe.

Maybe he could do something to make Luo Binghe happy for once.

It takes him a while to work up the nerve to stick out his long tongue and lick the side of Luo Binghe’s neck. 

Luo Binghe moans loudly. 

“Shizun, that feels so good,” he whispers. “More, please, more .”

Shen Qingqiu cannot find it in himself to deny Luo Binghe anymore. It does not necessarily feel bad for him either. He gets chocolate. He tells himself that is the only reason he is doing this. He is not enjoying the way Luo Binghe trembles under his tongue at all, no. 

His actions get bolder. Shen Qingqiu wraps Luo Binghe’s entire arm with his tongue, cleaning off the thick, sweet, chocolate syrup. Luo Binghe shivers in delight. 

“Shizun, Shizun, Shizun!”

Next, Luo Binghe’s chest is cleaned up. If Shen Qingqiu licks over his nipples an extra few times and Luo Binghe cries out prettily, it is because there was extra chocolate. 

Luo Binghe’s legs are also licked clean. Shen Qingqiu realizes that Luo Binghe had shaved himself completely beforehand. There is not a bit of body hair anywhere on Luo Binghe’s body. Not that it would have been a problem… It just amazes Shen Qingqiu how much dedication his little human put into this event. 

Shen Qingqiu feels a strange thrum of happiness flow through him, which Luo Binghe definitely felt in part as well. Or maybe he does not, as he is trembling from the overwhelming sensations. 

Shen Qingqiu reaches Luo Binghe’s feet. He pauses for a second. 

Binghe has cute feet, he thinks aloud absently. 

Luo Binghe moans at that too. “Shizun likes my feet? Shizun can have them if he wants to!”

I do not have a foot fetish, Luo Binghe. I just think it looks cute with the chocolate. Don’t think too much.

Still, Shen Qingqiu licks every bit of chocolate off, even from between Luo Binghe’s wriggling toes.

Finally, he draws back. 

“Done.”

Luo Binghe lifts his head a little, panting lightly. “Shizun missed a spot.” He pointedly stares at his raging hard cock, which is standing straight up. The chocolate is dripping down the sides. 

This child… When did he become so needy and shameless?!

Shen Qingqiu thinks back. Ah. Luo Binghe had always been this needy and shameless, except he used to ask for headpats and praises, not- not this!

Shen Qingqiu grits his rows of teeth. It is a horrible noise, not unlike if hundreds of people are frantically erasing with the back of a pencil, except the pencil has no more eraser to it. Just the metal piece, screeching against the paper. Guaranteed peepee wilting.

Except Luo Binghe only swallows, his pupils growing wider. His toes curl.

“Please, Shizun, please.”

Shen Qingqiu waits for a few more seconds. Then, he stretches his tongue out and licks carefully up the underside of Luo Binghe’s shaft. His human twitches at the contact, arching upwards to fuck himself against Shen Qingqiu’s long tongue. 

Shen Qingqiu draws his tongue back a bit, but not completely retracting it. “Don’t move, or I will stop.”

Luo Binghe whines, but he brings his hips back down. “Shizun, it hurts… it feels painful.” He blinks at Shen Qingqiu with watery eyes, tears threatening to spill. 

Shen Qingqiu growls, not answering him. He goes back to carefully licking up the chocolate syrup on Luo Binghe’s cock. He does his best to apply only enough pressure to thoroughly clean off the chocolate, not even close to enough to get Luo Binghe off. So by the time his cock is squeaky clean, Luo Binghe’s cock is still aching and red. 

“I’m taking a nap,” Shen Qingqiu grumbles, starting to melt back into Luo Binghe’s clean skin.

“Shizun can’t! And leave me like this? Shizun is too cruel…” The tears that have been hanging onto the corners of Luo Binghe’s eyes finally spill over, dripping down the sides of his face. “It hurts so much… Shizun…”

Luo Binghe’s voice is small, and it wavers and cracks just a little bit at the end with his last call for Shizun.

Shen Qingqiu resigns himself to his fate.

“Don’t say I don’t ever do anything for you.”

Shen Qingqiu wraps his long tongue around Luo Binghe’s cock. It manages to coil around three whole times. He presses the very tip of his tongue against the spot right behind Luo Binghe’s heavy balls. Luo Binghe starts breathing heavily. 

“Shizun,” he pants. “Shizun, yes, yes, like that.”

Shen Qingqiu’s tongue constricts, then relaxes, then constricts again.

“AAAH! Shizun! This–You– Mmph!”

Be good, Binghe.

Shen Qingqiu continues the pattern of constriction and relaxation. If Luo Binghe is going to play so shamelessly, then Shen Qingqiu is going to make sure he is not going to get his way easily. He refuses Luo Binghe the fast hard strokes that will have him spilling in less than a minute. The only stimulation he is able to get is from the slightest friction of Shen Qingqiu’s tongue tightening around his cock.

“I’m good, Shizun!” Luo Binghe sniffles, doing his best not to thrust up into the tight, warm heat of Shen Qingqiu’s tongue. “I’m–I’m being good! Ngh–”

Sensing that Luo Binghe is getting close, Shen Qingqiu extends his tongue so that there is enough room at the tip to coil around Luo Binghe’s balls, like a cock ring. 

Not yet. Hold it for me.

“I can’t, Shizun!” Luo Binghe wails. “You feel so good, I just–Shizun, please!”

Just a little longer, Binghe. I only give rewards to good boys who listen to their Shizun.

“I’m a good boy, I’m a good boy, I’m a good boy,” Luo Binghe chants in a strained voice, a mantra to keep himself from sitting up and fucking into the wet hole Shen Qingqiu had created for him with his tongue. “Shizun, I’m a good boy, please.” He sniffles pitifully. His blinks are tired and half-lidded, eyelashes clumping together from the tears.

Shen Qingqiu realizes with a start that he enjoys teasing Luo Binghe too. He likes making Luo Binghe beg him and whimper helplessly under his touch. Luo Binghe only allows Shen Qingqiu to unravel him into this state, to see him like this.

Shen Qingqiu smiles just a little. 

“Shizun?”

You have been a good boy, Binghe, Shen Qingqiu says. And good boys get rewards.

He lets go of Luo Binghe’s aching balls and tightens one last time around Luo Binghe’s shaft. Then, he pulls upward, hard and fast. Luo Binghe cries out sharply. 

“Shizun! Shizun, again, again, please do it again! I need-”

Shen Qingqiu does it again, jerking him off with his tongue. Luo Binghe arches up, thrusting his hips. Shen Qingqiu does not chide him this time. 

“ SHIZUN!”

Luo Binghe cums impressively, for a human. His cum arches through the air in perfect slow motion, splattering on his heaving chest, but somehow only adds to the attractiveness. His huge cock continues to twitch with the aftershocks of his orgasm. 

“Good job, Binghe.”

“Shizun…” Luo Binghe rasps tiredly. “C’mere, please.”

Shen Qingqiu hesitates a second before floating up to Luo Binghe’s face. 

Luo Binghe grins dopily. “Closer, Shizun. I want to hold you for a bit.”

Shen Qingqiu thinks about the mess of cum on Luo Binghe’s chest. “Maybe after you clean up.”

Luo Binghe slides two fingers up from the bottom of his stomach to the valley between his pecs, scooping up all the cum there. He sucks his fingers clean. “Now?”

If Shen Qingqiu could roll his eyes, he would have. Still, he creates a slightly larger body for himself, human shaped, one that fits perfectly against Luo Binghe’s body. 

Luo Binghe wraps his thick arms around him and snuggles in close.

Cuddling is not new. Shen Qingqiu had been cuddling Luo Binghe since he was fourteen. Only now, Luo Binghe’s body is bigger than his own. Of course, Shen Qingqiu can make himself bigger, but the last time he tried that, Luo Binghe cried, for some unfathomable reason. 

“Shizun… You’re so good to me,” Luo Binghe mumbles, the smile still on his face. 

“If I’m not good to you, who else can I be good to?”

“Shizun shouldn’t be good to anyone else,” Luo Binghe says. “Only to me.”

Shen Qingqiu pats his head. “Yes, only for Binghe. My sticky, sticky Binghe.”

“Mhm, your Binghe.” Luo Binghe giggles to himself, oddly proud of that.

They stay like that for a few minutes, and Shen Qingqiu almost manages to drift off. It is really nice. 

Suddenly, he feels something nudging at his “leg”. 

“Luo Binghe, you-!”

With one swift motion, Luo Binghe flips them over so that Shen Qingqiu is pinned into the mattress. 

“Shizun~” Luo Binghe croons, his face still hiding in Shen Qingqiu’s neck. 

“What are you doing?! Didn’t we just-”

“No, I did, Shizun,” Luo Binghe says, his smile growing on his lips. “Now it’s your turn.”

Shen Qingqiu struggles, but not with enough force to break out of Luo Binghe’s arms. He does not want to hurt Luo Binghe, after all. 

“Luo Binghe, you’re a beast! You dare pin your Shizun like this? Do you have any respect at all for me? How dare you trick me!”

“Shizun, stay still,” Luo Binghe whispers, grinding slowly against Shen Qingqiu’s “leg”. “Be good, Shizun…” Luo Binghe starts pressing kisses down the length of Shen Qingqiu’s neck. “Be good, and Binghe will give you your reward.”

PART 7 - It’s for my Wife ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

“Welcome to Northern Mart!” the cashier calls out as Luo Binghe saunters into the store. 

Luo Binghe gives him a side glare, which causes the cashier to nervously adjust his glasses. Shen Qingqiu silently notes that they are fake glasses. 

Don’t scare him, Binghe. 

“I don’t want him looking at me. Only Shizun can look at me,” Luo Binghe says under his breath. 

How ridiculous. I want the red bean steamed buns.

“Why does Shizun insist on getting these frozen meals?” Luo Binghe whines. “I can make red bean steamed buns ten times better!”

They’re quick, Binghe. Good food takes time, and you already spend all day cooking at the restaurant. Don’t you want a break when you get home?

Luo Binghe pouts as he puts the frozen package of buns into his basket. “Not if it’s for Shizun. I’ll do anything for Shizun.”

Well, Shizun would like Binghe to rest when he gets home sometimes. Too much stress is not good.

They move onto the next aisle. 

Ooooh, ramen. Binghe, get some instant ramen. 

“Absolutely not!” Luo Binghe gasps quietly, offended. “Shizun! These things have no nutritional value! They’re so much sodium in these packets-”

“Sorry, did you say something, sir?”

It is the cashier. He had gone to the bathroom and was coming back, overhearing Luo Binghe whispering harshly to himself. 

Luo Binghe looks at him coldly. “None of your business… Shang Qinghua .”

The cashier literally squeaks. “How did you know my name?!”

He literally wears a nametag. Shen Qingqiu figuratively rolls his eyes. He eyes the cashier. He is tall, almost as tall as Luo Binghe. Yet this Shang Qinghua acts like he is tiny. It annoys Shen Qingqiu for some reason. Make him go away, Binghe. I’m hungry.

Luo Binghe leans in closer. 

“I know everything about you, Shang Qinghua. You don’t want to mess with me,” Luo Binghe sneers.

At the exact same time, Shen Qingqiu yells, I SAID MAKE HIM GO AWAY, NOT KISS HIM?!?! A hand suddenly appears between Luo Binghe’s legs and tightly squeezes his dick. 

Shang Qinghua excuses himself with a mutter. 

“Shizun, I wasn’t going to kiss him!” Luo Binghe whines, squatting down between the chips and the instant noodles to rub at his bruised babies. Then he pauses. “Wait, Shizun… were you jealous ?” His eyes start glittering. 

Don’t be ridiculous! Shen Qingqiu huffs. Jealousy? Why would he be jealous? Luo Binghe can kiss that cashier if he really wants to! As if Shen Qingqiu cares. He imagines it. 

Luo Binghe smiling sweetly and cupping that cashier’s cheek... That cashier smiles back cutely- 

Shen Qingqiu slams that image right back to the cursed place it came out from before Luo Binghe can glimpse it.

“Shizun… did you really think I’d kiss him in front of my wife?” Luo Binghe giggles, having seen a flash of it anyway. “The only person I want to kiss is Shizun! I’m sorry if I made you worry, Shizun. I promise to make it up to you when we get home, hehe.”

…

Buy me instant ramen if you’re really sorry.

Ten minutes later, Luo Binghe plops his basket of groceries down in front of Shang Qinghua, who had been engrossed with his phone. 

Shang Qinghua starts to quickly scan the items, not making eye contact with Luo Binghe, who glowers at him. 

“This–This brand is pretty good,” Shang Qinghua says with a nervous chuckle as he scans the few packs of ramen. “Um… the chicken flavor is my–my favorite.”

He has bad taste, clearly. Beef is the best.

Luo Binghe growls. 

Shang Qinghua shuts up and keeps scanning. Then, he pulls three bottles of chocolate syrup from the basket. Shang Qinghua, never one to shut his mouth when it matters, asks, “Wow, that’s a lot of syrup… ice cream party?”

…It is a little excessive, Binghe.

Luo Binghe is silent for a beat. Then, he smirks. “No, my wife won’t have sex with me unless I’m covered in chocolate.”

“Oh! That’s, uh, that’s…” Shang Qinghua’s movements stutter. He looks up at Luo Binghe. “Wha?”

Luo Binghe’s smug grin morphs back into a glare. 

Shang Qinghua quickly keeps scanning, this time, not making another comment about Luo Binghe’s purchases. 

As he leaves the store, Shen Qingqiu is raging in his head. WHAT WAS THAT, BINGHE?! YOU MADE ME SOUND LIKE I’M THE SEX FIEND WHEN IT IS CLEARLY YOU! GO BACK AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF PROPERLY!

Luo Binghe keeps walking, the smug smile reappearing. “So Shizun admits to being my wife?”

LUO BINGHE!!!

PART 8 - Give It To Me in Leather, Baby

“You’re not going to seduce a single person with these, Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu throws pair after pair of pants out of Luo Binghe’s closet while Luo Binghe sits cross-legged on his bed. 

“Why do I have to seduce anyone, Shizun? I have you.”

“You promised to keep your options open. Try this on.” Shen Qingqiu throws a pair of tight black jeans at Luo Binghe, and waits for the human to wiggle into them. “Hm… It’s too tight. Take them off.”

“Too tight?” Luo Binghe pouts. He turns and looks at his own ass in the full-length mirror. “You mean I’m fat?”

“No, Binghe. The jeans just compress your assets more than they show them off. You don’t have anything good in here! No wonder you’ve never gotten a date…” Shen Qingqiu shakees his head once. “I’ve clearly failed in raising you. Let’s go shopping.”

“Shizun did a very good job raising me!” Luo Binghe immediately retorts. Then, he quirks a small grin. “Also, the event is in an hour. I don’t think we have time.”

Shen Qingqiu circles Luo Binghe a few times, looking him over. Tonight is the grand re-opening of Luo Binghe’s restaurant after a full revamp design, going from a clean, fresh, spring-like theme to a darker, more modern design. 

Shen Qingqiu is more fond of the previous design — Qing Jing. The new restaurant is called Abyss. Shen Qingqiu had argued that perhaps this new name would make people less likely to come to the restaurant, but Luo Binghe had insisted. 

So Abyss it was christened. 

And even though the reopening is supposed to be a formal event, with celebrities and politicians from all over the city coming to enjoy the new menu, Luo Binghe insists on not wearing a suit. He wants to come across as hot and sexy. 

Yet he is also actively refusing Shen Qingqiu’s advice on how to be hot and sexy!

“What if,” Luo Binghe says with a small grin. “What if Shizun helps me out a little tonight?”

“What do you mean?” Shen Qingqiu does not like that look on Luo Binghe’s face. The brat is clearly planning something. 

“I mean, Shizun should be my clothes tonight.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Shizun can pretend to be my pants, right? A pair of perfectly fitting, tight and sexy pants. Since Shizun seems to know just which assets to emphasize. And as long as Shizun doesn’t move, no one will know, right?”

Luo Binghe is not wrong. Shen Qingqiu has pretended to be clothes before, but usually pretending to be a belt or a pair of gloves, not a complete pair of pants!

“Shizun, please?”

Shen Qingqiu sighs. It is not like Luo Binghe can do anything weird while they are out in public. “Fine,” he mutters. 

“Thank you so much, Shizun! You’re the best!”

“You’d better sneak me some food tonight. I want to try your new menu too.”

“Definitely, Shizun!” Luo Binghe kicks off the black jeans and also pushes down his briefs in one smooth action. “Ready!”

“...”

“Shizun?”

“I’m not doing this if you’re going to be naked.”

“But it will make Shizun uncomfortable, right? Shizun once said he doesn’t like the feeling of fabric rubbing against him.”

“.................”

“Shizun, if you’re worried I’ll do something… I promise I won’t! I’ll be busy.” Luo Binghe pouts, a little upset. 

Finally convinced, Shen Qingqiu starts snaking himself up Luo Binghe’s leg. He spreads himself over Luo Binghe’s skin, thin but opaque. Luo Binghe turns towards the mirror, shivering slightly as Shen Qingqiu encases his knees, calves, ankles, before starting to swallow up his thighs. 

Luo Binghe moans quietly. 

“Binghe. Behave.”

“Sorry, Shizun, I’ll be good!” Luo Binghe’s cock twitches as he says that, but for the most part, it stays soft. 

Shen Qingqiu continues to work his way up Luo Binghe’s legs. He flows smoothly over Luo Binghe’s cock, forcing it down so that it is a modest, acceptable bulge. Finally, he settles at Luo Binghe’s waist. 

The two of them eye the results in the mirror. 

“Wow… I look…”

Hot.

Luo Binghe blushes. “Thank you, Shizun.”

It wasn’t a compliment for you. I was just stating a fact that anyone with eyes can see. Now, hurry up and put on the rest of your outfit. We need to get going. 

Half an hour later, Luo Binghe steps out onto the red carpet leading up to his new restaurant. Photography flashes immediately start going off.

Luo Binghe smiles and waves, signing autographs and winking at his fangirls like he is not technically naked from waist down, and that his pants are not a living, breathing alien species. 

“Binghe, you look especially hot today!” one girl gushes. 

“You think so?” Luo Binghe asks. “Why, thank you, my pants are custom made.”

He gives his own ass a squeeze. Shen Qingqiu ripples ever so slightly to remind him to behave. Luo Binghe just smiles wider, and his dick starts getting hard. 

What is Shen Qingqiu to do? He squeezes it to keep it down of course!

“Ahahaha, it looks skin-tight indeed,” the girl flushes. 

“Pretty much as skin-tight as they can be,” Luo Binghe answers easily. 

“Can I… Can I touch…?”

Luo Binghe laughs. “You probably don’t want to do that. My pants bite.” With that, he flashes another smile at the confused and flustered girl before moving on.

That’s right. Keep moving. No one touches, got it?

Luo Binghe casually just keeps walking down the red carpet, greeting this person, answering that question. The entire time, his huge cock just keeps getting harder . 

Binghe. Get yourself under control.

Luo Binghe does not do that. In fact, he seems to delight in hearing Shen Qingqiu’s voice. 

Shen Qingqiu is stressed out, doing his best to make sure no one notices their favorite celebrity is popping a boner in the middle of one of the biggest events of his career!

Luo Binghe finally makes it into the dining room. He does a cursory round, greeting acquaintances and allowing them to introduce him to one or the other person. In the far corner, at one of the booths sits a couple. 

Luo Binghe narrows his eyes at them, and the one in a dark green suit glares back with his lips curled up in disgust. 

Luo Binghe! Do not start!

Luo Binghe turns on his heels and storms to the kitchen instead. “Why are they here, Shizun?”

Okay, so I emailed him an invite.

“Shizun! That’s why you asked me to teach you how to use email?!” Luo Binghe says with a whine to his voice.

Binghe, please? He promised not to do anything. As long as you behave. 

“I am behaving!”

No, you’re not. Shen Qingqiu squeezes Luo Binghe’s half-hard cock in emphasis. Luo Binghe had the audacity to throb back at him.

Luo Binghe bites his lower lip. “Um, Shizun, can.. can you-”

No! You have a job to do. Now go out and greet them. Properly!

Luo Binghe whines for a few seconds longer before recomposing himself and sauntering back out onto the floor. He heads straight for the corner booth table. 

Luo Binghe’s smile is tense, but he is smiling as widely as he possibly can without looking manic. Maybe he still does look a little manic. 

“And here I thought the little beast wouldn't greet us,” Shen Jiu sneers. He glances up and down at Luo Binghe.

“Xiao Jiu,” Yue Qi murmurs with a weak smile. He gives Luo Binghe a nod. “You promised.”

Shen Jiu snorts and looks Luo Binghe up and down. His eyes pause on the pants. “Seriously?” he drawls with a disgusted curl of his lip. 

“Mr. Shen should keep his eyes up here when talking to someone,” Luo Binghe says back, equally venomous, but with a smile still tacked onto his face. 

Binghe.

“I’m trying ,” he hisses out. “I don’t know how you-”

Binghe!

Shen Jiu reaches for his wineglass and swirls the white wine around a few times before sipping. “I think the decor in here is atrocious,” he comments, ignoring Luo Binghe. “You could have done without the redesign.”

“Is that for you to comment on, Mr. Shen?”

“I bet Qingqiu liked the green better too, but you still did it anyway, right? Trying to prove you’re all grown up, hm?”

Luo Binghe tenses. “Shut the fuck up.”

Luo Binghe!!!!

Shen Jiu laughs once. “Qi-ge, I’m bored, let’s go.” He starts to stand. 

“Xiao Jiu, don’t make a scene…”

Desperate, Shen Qingqiu whips a tiny tendril out and squeezes Shen Jiu’s wrist. Good thing they are in the corner. And that Luo Binghe decided to go with the dimmest bulbs available.

“Don’t touch me with the same hands you use to stroke his dick, Qingqiu.” Shen Jiu shakes him off, but he sits back down. He reaches for his wine again. “This meal better be one of the best I’ve ever tasted, Chef Luo, or I will personally find Qingqiu a new home.”

Luo Binghe does a mock bow. “As you wish, Mr. Shen,” he sneers.

Luo Binghe immediately goes back to hiding in the kitchen. 

“Why didn’t you just let him leave, Shizun?!”

Both of you need to stop it. I don’t get what you guys hate so much about each other. Jiu-ge seems prickly on the outside, but he has a good heart…

“ I have a good heart, Shizun! How can he have a good heart if I have a good heart? Our hearts are clearly different!”

Stop complaining, Shen Qingqiu says, rolling his eyes internally. It’s not as terrible as you make it out to be. You’re still hard. Should I go find you a glass of ice water?

Luo Binghe pouts. “That’s just because it’s Shizun…”

Let’s go find some water before we go back out, alright?

PART 9 - Tummy, Meet Butterflies

“Shizun?”

“What is it, Binghe?” 

Shen Qingqiu is resting. Technically, they are watching a movie together, but the film itself is actually quite boring, so Shen Qingqiu has closed his eyes, leaning into the warmth between Luo Binghe’s neck and collarbone. 

“Can you do the tummy butterflies?”

“...Right now?” 

“Mhm.”

Shen Qingqiu shifts reluctantly, curling himself inside of Luo Binghe to essentially “tickle” his stomach, giving him the fluttering feeling.

Luo Binghe giggles cutely before settling into the couch, even more content and relaxed. Shen Qingqiu is secretly glad. 

“Shizun?”

“Yes, Binghe.”

“Can you hold me? My heart, please?”

Shen Qingqiu really just wants to take a nap, but it seems to be impossible at the moment. He lazily curls a few tendrils around Luo Binghe’s heart, nestling in besides the thick blood vessels and the tiny capillaries that line the muscle. 

Luo Binghe smiles. “Can you feel it beating?”

“I can feel it beating.”

“Is it beating fast, Shizun?”

“...Yes, it’s beating fast.”

“It’s because I get excited when I’m with you, Shizun. I just love being around Shizun so much it makes my heart beat faster.”

Shen Qingqiu does not know what to say. So he opts to say nothing, but he does not withdraw himself from around Luo Binghe’s heart. He lets the abnormally quick thump-thump thump-thump thump-thump lull him to sleep.

PART 10 - Burn, Baby, Burn

A fire. 

Abyss burns down three weeks later in a fire. 

“No,” Luo Binghe croaks. “ No.”

Binghe… I’m so sorry.

“No, no, no,” Luo Binghe slams the door of his car shut and runs for Abyss. 

Binghe, no! You can’t go inside! 

“Shizun, please,” Luo Binghe starts sobbing. “Shizun, I can’t– I–I need to-” 

Shen Qingqiu wishes he could hug Luo Binghe right now. He can feel Luo Binghe’s fear, his distress. But they are in public. There are people lining the streets, watching Luo Binghe’s years and years of hard work just burn to the ground. 

Suddenly, Luo Binghe opens his car door again and gets in. 

“Shizun, I need you to do me a favor. Please, trust me on this one.”

…What is it?

“I need… I need you to let me go inside.”

What?! No! Binghe, that building is going to collapse-

“Please! There’s something really really important that I need to get, Shizun, please!”

…It’s fire, Binghe. You could die. Then, in a smaller voice, I could die. I can’t save you if I die, Binghe.

“I know,” Luo Binghe says in a shaky voice, glancing at the burning building. “But I left some important things in there and I need to get it. You stay here. I'm going.”

Shen Qingqiu is silent for several beats. 

NO! What the fuck, Binghe? What kind of stupid idea is that?!

“Trust me, Shizun, I’ll come back out really soon, I just need to-”

No, Binghe! If you’re going, I’m going, that’s final! I’m not letting you run into a burning building on your own!

“Shizun. I swear I’ll get back alive. I promise you, I know I will. I know I can.”

Binghe, that’s not the problem-

“Shizun.”

…….

“Please come back safely.”

“I will.”

“Binghe…”

Watching Luo Binghe walk away while Shen Qingqiu plasters himself on the inside of the window, helpless… Shen Qingqiu feels like he is dying. He watches Luo Binghe’s back disappear into the smoke as firefighters who have just arrived on scene shout for him to get back out. 

Shen Qingqiu counts. One minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, six minutes… 

Nothing. 

No one.

Shen Qingqiu cannot tell if the tightness in his chest has to do with his panic or the fact that he is literally suffocating in the oxygen. 

Suddenly, the back door of Luo Binghe’s car is yanked open. 

“I knew he was a stupid good-for-nothing,” Shen Jiu snarls. He slams the door behind him. “Saw the smoke from my hotel room,” he sniffs, pretending he did not just run here. “It was ruining my view of the city.”

Shen Qingqiu practically leaps at him. 

Shen Jiu catches him with a hand, but Shen Qingqiu just stays there. 

“What the hell are you doing, Qingqiu? You either get the fuck in or you can stay out here and suffocate. I could care less either way.” Shen Jiu says that, but he cares. 

After all, he was Shen Qingqiu’s first host.

Shen Qingqiu may have spent the last eight years with Luo Binghe as his host, but he spent the ten years before that with Shen Jiu. Shen Jiu named him. They learned to read and write together. They suffered and fought and did their best to survive as an alien species on a foreign planet and a young orphan child.

Even though Shen Jiu eventually kicked him out to live in his married bliss, they have more or less kept in touch over the years. 

But the truth of the matter was that Shen Qingqiu chose Luo Binghe as his next host because he reminded Shen Qingqiu so much of Shen Jiu — a young orphan boy, lost, scared, in need of someone to just hold his hand for a while.

Too bad Luo Binghe and Shen Jiu literally hate each other. For Shen Jiu, Luo Binghe reminds himself of his ugly past, something Shen Jiu is ashamed of, something he is trying to erase by marrying into high society and stability. And Luo Binghe hates that Shen Jiu “abandoned” Shen Qingqiu, even though Shen Qingqiu does not hold a grudge about it.

Shen Qingqiu feels sick thinking about Luo Binghe’s loyalty to him… He hates being reminded about how much Luo Binghe means to him. How dependent he is on him, even more dependent than he was with Shen Jiu.

JIU-GE, Shen Qingqiu sobs after melting into Shen Jiu’s skin. BINGHE WENT IN THERE AND SAID HE’D BE OUT QUICKLY, BUT IT’S BEEN EIGHT MINUTES, AND THE FIREFIGHTERS SAID THE BUILDING’S GOING TO COLLAPSE SO THEY’RE NOT GOING IN AND-

“Calm down,” Shen Jiu snaps, even as his own body is tense. “He’s fine. He’s a resilient brat, right?”

He’s still human!! Humans die, Jiu-ge!

“You clearly trusted him enough to let him go in, so have some fucking faith,” Shen Jiu mutters. They watch the building. 

They keep watching, and watching, and watching. 

Suddenly, the front beams of Abyss collapse. The LED sign that Luo Binghe had personally designed crashes onto the ground. 

BINGHE!! Shen Qingqiu almost launches himself at the window again, except this time, he is still bound to Shen Jiu. 

“Watch it!” Shen Jiu snaps, peeling himself off the window and wiping at the smear his cheek had made on the glass. “Pull yourself together,” he mutters, as he opens the door and steps out. Shen Jiu covers his nose with an arm, coughing at the smoke. He starts marching towards the building. 

“Sir, you can’t go in there! It’s unsafe!”

“I’m not going in,” Shen Jiu snaps at the firefighter. “Someone is inside. You need to go find him.”

“We will,” the firefighter assures. “As soon as it is safe to send people in there.”

“Safe? Do you think it is safe for him in there, right now?!”

“Sir, please calm down-”

It’s Binghe!

Shen Jiu’s eyes immediately focus on the figure stumbling out of the burning building, clutching a charred box to his chest. Shen Jiu’s eyes widen. 

Luo Binghe is covered head to toe in ash… and not much more. Almost all of his clothes had been burned off. His skin, which should have blistered with third-degree burns, seems to be fine, aside from a reddish tint that is already fading. He must have hit his forehead though, because it is bleeding, a large red splotch in the middle of it. 

Let me go heal him, please!

“You’re in public, calm down,” Shen Jiu grits out. Still, he pushes past the firefighter and rushes towards Luo Binghe. 

Luo Binghe’s eyes seem unfocused, but he manages to stumble into Shen Jiu, who has the decency to let him hold onto him for support. 

“You,” Luo Binghe croaks. “Where’s… Shizun…”

“ Tch, you should worry about yourself first, beast,” Shen Jiu mutters back. 

Shen Jiu digs his fingertips into Luo Binghe’s forearm, and with that, Shen Qingqiu transfers hosts. Luo Binghe sighs in relief as he feels Shen Qingqiu settle back in. 

“Shizun…” he murmurs with a dopey smile. “Hi.”

Luo Binghe, you stupid, stupid, stupid brat! Shen Qingqiu rapidly checks over Luo Binghe’s body. There are no major injuries. In fact, there are barely any minor injuries. And the minor injuries seem to be disappearing as they speak? What happened in there, Binghe?

“I’ll tell you later,” Luo Binghe murmurs. “Let’s go home first.”

Going home meant taking a detour to the hospital via ambulance, but after the confused paramedics and doctors were unable to find any actual injuries, not even a scraped knee, they let Luo Binghe go. 

Luo Binghe goes home and tries collapsing onto the couch. 

Shower, Shen Qingqiu commands. Shower first. Then we talk.

The shower also consists of Luo Binghe more or less leaning against the wall while gently Shen Qingqiu rubs him all over with soap. Usually, he would be delighted by this, but today, he is honestly exhausted, which worries Shen Qingqiu even more than physical injuries. 

Finally, Luo Binghe crawls into bed. 

What happened?

Luo Binghe stares up at the ceiling. “I don’t know,” he admits.

Bullshit.

“One minute, I was completely lost and trapped. I couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt and it was too hot. I think I tripped, hit my head, and blacked out. But then, suddenly I was on my feet again. The fire still hurt when it burned me, but… the effects did not last long. I was- I was healing impossibly fast. I thought for a second… Shizun had come to find me.”

No… I was in the car with Jiu-ge. 

“Yeah, I realized that when I couldn’t feel you in me,” Luo Binghe says with a sigh. “Shizun, do you feel anything different about me?”

Shen Qingqiu pauses for a second. He takes inventory. Luo Binghe seems to be Luo Binghe… except, wait… 

There’s this weird foreign… aura? I can’t explain it. It’s not physical. It’s kind of like a presence, but not a tangible one. It’s faint, so I didn’t notice it earlier. Then, with caution, he asks, Binghe, what is it?

Luo Binghe winces silently. “Shizun, I don’t think I’m completely human.”

…

…

…

Because I live in you?

“No, like I am not fully human.” 

Luo Binghe reaches to his bedside and pulls over the charred box he had rushed in there to save. The box contained a variety of objects that Shen Qingqiu did not get a good look at… a smaller box, some photographs, a couple other trinkets, and a rolled up stack of papers. 

Luo Binghe takes the papers out. He unrolls it slowly. “My DNA test results,” he murmurs. “I wanted to find out who my biological parents are. I found my mother… but she’s long dead. Her name was Su Xiyan.

“They don’t know who my father is,” Luo Binghe says. “ No one knows who my father is because…” Luo Binghe trails off. 

It’s not human DNA.

Luo Binghe shrugs. “They assume it is human because, well, I seem to be human, but that extra chromosome has DNA that is completely foreign to any human chromosome. The doctors assumed it is some crazy mutation of another chromosome and that the entire thing has been silenced. They wanted to do more tests, but… I paid them to shut up.”

How long have you known this? 

Luo Binghe shrugs. “Not long. A couple months. I didn’t mean to keep it from you, I just did most of it while you were asleep. I didn’t want Shizun to… be worried.”

Shen Qingqiu snorts. Yeah, you did a great job with that one. So now what? If you’re not fully human, what are you?

Luo Binghe furrows his brows. “Not sure. I just know that Shizun can definitely trust me in dangerous situations next time.” He smiles cheekily. 

Shizun is never letting you get into dangerous situations again, Shen Qingqiu hisses. Then, he wraps himself around Luo Binghe tightly and squeezes. 

“Shizun?”

“I wanted to hug you earlier,” Shen Qingqiu mutters. “You didn’t give me the chance.”

Luo Binghe smiles, his eyes tearing up. “I love you, Shizun.”

“...You’re not too bad yourself.”

PART 11 - Tingles

“Binghe, stop that.”

“Stop what?” Luo Binghe asks, grinning innocently. 

Shen Qingqiu glares at him. It happens again, a strange tingling feeling that zips through his whole body, or however much of it is currently outside of Luo Binghe’s body, busy playing video games. 

Luo Binghe himself seems unaffected, but he has to be. They both feel it. 

“That,” Shen Qingqiu says, turning back to his game. He curses, having taken some damage because Luo Binghe distracted him. 

“This?” Luo Binghe does it again. “Does Shizun not like it?”

“It’s distracting.”

“Then start paying attention to me instead,” Luo Binghe says, leaning his cheek into his hand. He forces another tingling sensation to zip up their bodies. “Hehe.”

“Luo Binghe!” Shen Qingqiu pushes the keyboard aside, ignoring how the screen is tinged with pulses of red as his opponents shoot him dead. He goes and pinches Luo Binghe’s cheek, hard. “Just because you have all these new powers now does not mean you’re allowed to abuse them.”

Luo Binghe smiles sheepishly. “I’m not abusing them, Shizun. I’m practicing. You said I should practice to make sure I don’t lose control at a critical time.”

“I didn’t mean like this!”

In the past couple of weeks, Luo Binghe has been having quite a bit of fun testing out just what he could do. In particular, they have found that the mysterious presence allowed Luo Binghe to have superhuman abilities. 

He could move quicker, exert more strength, push that strange energy into objects and make them explode, and control his blood. And ever since Luo Binghe discovered the last one, he has been making them tingle . 

The tingles are the mildest form of it. Technically, it is Luo Binghe’s ability to literally arouse himself immediately. However, unlike regular arousal, this affects Shen Qingqiu too. 

As an alien species, Shen Qingqiu does not necessarily need to “get off” regularly like humans do. In fact, in times where resources are abundant, his species can even reproduce asexually. But since symbiotes live for a very long time, there is no need to reproduce sexually or otherwise.

Shen Qingqiu himself has never done anything with anyone before ending up on Earth. And he certainly has no opportunity now.

So basically, by human standards, Shen Qingqiu has a practically non-existent sex drive. Luo Binghe, on the other hand…

But whatever the hell is in Luo Binghe’s blood has the ability to affect Shen Qingqiu too. And Luo Binghe is milking that knowledge for all its worth. 

“How are you even able to get it up again?!” Shen Qingqiu asks, glaring at the bulge in Luo Binghe’s shorts. “We did it three times already today! And it’s not even lunchtime yet!”

Luo Binghe shrugs. “It’s the tingles.” His smile grows wider. “How about Shizun tries taking me this time?”

Shen Qingqiu splutters. “What? But I- Uh. I don’t have anything to… put in,” he finishes lamely. Symbiotes do not have anything specifically dedicated to reproduction. Shen Qingqiu feels a bit embarrassed telling Luo Binghe this for some reason. Like he is somehow not good enough for it.

“As long as it’s Shizun, I don’t care,” Luo Binghe grins. “Please?”

Shen Qingqiu sighs. Normally he would argue against doing the work because one, it is embarrassing, and two, he is simply lazy and would rather lay there like a warm wet pocket for Luo Binghe to fuck into. But he does not know if he can take Luo Binghe’s giant dick carving into him again.

Even for him, it starts hurting after a while.

Luo Binghe makes them tingle again, stronger this time, and Shen Qingqiu cannot ignore the obvious arousal building in him, something he is very much not used to. 

“Shizun~”

“Fine! Fine, just stop with the tingling! Get–Get on the bed, Binghe.”

“Yay! Strawberry or peach lube?”

“Does it matter?!”

Luo Binghe nods. “You’re right, Shizun. I forgot that Shizun’s lube is better.”

PART 12 - Shizun, PLEASE Let Me Give You Head!

Sometimes, they have calm days. 

Today, they are just lounging in a sunny spot on the floor of Luo Binghe’s apartment. Shen Qingqiu has a bottle of hair oil and a brush, and he is slowly brushing Luo Binghe’s hair. Meanwhile, the human(?) rumbles with pleasure like a cat. 

Shen Qingqiu starts braiding when he finishes brushing. He reaches for three locks of hair by Luo Binghe’s temple. 

After a second’s consideration, he starts braiding a little tendril of himself into the braid as well, smiling just thinking about how much Luo Binghe would gush over it later. 

His sticky little Binghe… now a sticky big Binghe. 

But still cute. 

“Shizun?” Luo Binghe asks tiredly, yawning.

“Yes, Binghe?”

“You know how I can heal really fast on my own?”

“Mhm.”

“And how when we tested the limits of my healing, we found out that I can grow back entire body parts?”

Shen Qingqiu pauses his braiding. “What’s your point, Binghe?”

“I was just thinking… Do you think you can eat my head now?”

“What?!”

Luo Binghe pouts and rests his cheek against the couch. “Shizun denied me before because you weren’t sure if my head could grow back. But I think it can!”

“Growing back a hand is not the same as growing back your entire head, Binghe! You needed your brain to consciously make the decision to grow back your hand, did you forget?”

“You don’t know that. It could work.”

“Why risk it?”

“Shizun’s no fun.” Luo Binghe pouts. 

“Really, Binghe? What are you going to do if your head doesn’t grow back, hm?”

“...Have no regrets.”

“Luo Binghe!” Shen Qingqiu lets go of Luo Binghe’s hair with a huff. “I’m not having this argument with you again.”

Luo Binghe turns around to aim the full force of his pout up at Shen Qingqiu. “It wouldn’t be an argument if Shizun just agreed with me!”

“I just can’t understand why you want me to-to eat your head so badly!”

Luo Binghe mumbles something, looking away. 

“Speak properly.”

“Shizun’s favorite thing to do is eat. And Shizun’s favorite food is other people’s heads… I’m just a little jealous.” Luo Binghe sniffles sadly. 

“Are you really crying? Actually, stupid question. Are you really crying over this ?”

“Yes!”

“Binghe…” Shen Qingqiu sighs. His human is clearly a little slow. He grits his teeth and slowly says, “The reason… I am… averse to the idea is because… you mean– you’re important to me, Binghe.”

Luo Binghe’s eyes widen. “I’m… important to Shizun?”

“Was it not obvious before?” Shen Qingqiu mutters.

“Well Shizun is always trying to get me to go on dates with other people,” Luo Binghe points out. “And also like that guy.”

“That is because I want what’s best for Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu explains gently, unable to believe that he has to explain this at all. 

“What if Shizun is best for me?” Luo Binghe’s eyes glitter excitedly.

Shen Qingqiu pauses. Somehow, he always walks into these traps. “Then… Shizun will stay with Binghe.”

“Forever?”

“As long as you want.”

“Well, I want forever.”

Shen Qingqiu smiles, just a tiny bit. “Then forever.”

Luo Binghe smiles. “Really?”

Shen Qingqiu’s throat feels dry, weirdly enough. He nods, just a little, brushing some of Luo Binghe’s bangs out of the way. “Sure.”

Luo Binghe’s smile grows softer. “I love you, Shizun. Even if you don’t eat my head.”

“I… l…ove you too, Binghe.”

He goes back to braiding Luo Binghe’s hair. If he had a heart, he thinks it would be pounding very fast right about now.

PART 13 - WARNING! Major Knives Ahead!

“Let’s get the chocolate popcorn.”

Get the one with the white and dark drizzles. 

“Good idea,” Luo Binghe says as he pops the bag of popcorn into their basket. They move into the next aisle. 

Binghe, ramen–

“No, Shizun. We have ramen at home. And, I can make fresh ramen.”

But you don’t use the seasoning packets. It doesn’t taste the same-

Luo Binghe’s eyes widen. “Shizun… are you saying my food can’t compare to a bowl of MSG water?”

No! Binghe’s food is extremely tasty! But sometimes, I just want to eat trash, you know? It’s not that Binghe’s food is not amazing! It’s… It’s an addiction.

They end up turning into the noodle aisle anyway, and Luo Binghe adds a few packages of dried sweet potato noodles to their basket while Shen Qingqiu snags a pack of spicy instant ramen after checking that the coast is clear. 

Binghe, don’t look now, but that old lady has been following you for the past ten minutes. Do you know her?

Luo Binghe reaches for a can of coconut milk and puts it back before scanning the aisle again, casually glancing at the old lady who is standing at the other end of the aisle, staring at the store’s selection of canned fruit. 

“Never seen her before. A fan, maybe? I am a bit of a celebrity.”

I don’t know. She’s glaring. I don’t think she’s a fan. 

Luo Binghe leaves the aisle and goes into the aisle with the cleaning supplies. Almost no one goes into that aisle. 

She’s here again! 

Sure enough, the old lady follows them into the aisle not a few seconds later, standing at the end and staring at metal wool, but looking like she has no intention of buying anything. She does not even have a basket. 

Luo Binghe turns around and puts on his brightest smile. “Can I help you?” he asks. 

The old lady stiffens. She throws him a dirty glare and walks stiffly out of the aisle. 

Luo Binghe waits until she is out of sight. “Did you notice how she barely uses her cane despite having one?”

Indeed, Shen Qingqiu murmurs. She’s quite strange… Be careful, Binghe.

“I will, Shizun.”

Neither of them spot her again as they finish their grocery shopping. Luo Binghe pushes the cart out to the car and begins loading it up.

Suddenly, an arm whips out from the underside of the car and stabs a knife into Luo Binghe’s calf. 

“Ah!” Luo Binghe stumbles back in surprise more than pain. 

The old lady crawls out from under the car, her mouth drawn back in a snarl. 

“What the fuck?!” Luo Binghe asks, yanking the knife from his leg. Immediately, the wound starts closing. 

“I knew it,” the old lady sneers. “I’m gonna kill you-!” She lunges at Luo Binghe again. 

Luo Binghe dodges easily. “Ma’am, I don’t know who you think you’ve mistaken me for, but I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding-”

The old lady reaches into her tacky purse and pulls out a large butcher’s knife. “ Shen Qingqiu,” she growls. “You are coming with me!”

At that, Shen Qingqiu takes control of Luo Binghe’s right hand, encasing it completely so it resembles a giant fist. He grabs the old lady’s wrist tightly, squeezing until the knife drops. 

Shen Qingqiu pops his head out from Luo Binghe’s back. “Qingge, is that you?”

The old lady huffs. “Who else would it be?! Let go of me!”

Shen Qingqiu lets go. “So Qingge found me again. Not bad.”

“How dare you, Shen Qingqiu!” Liu Qingge hisses. “How long did you think Shen Jiu could fool me for?”

Shen Qingqiu sighs, moving the carton of eggs into the car. “Honestly? Only a couple of months. I was surprised you didn’t figure it out for three years.”

“You-!”

“How’d you figure it out anyway?” Shen Qingqiu asks with an amused smile. Then, he squints at the old lady’s knife. “You didn’t stab him, did you?”

“Of course not!” Liu Qingge says, crossing her arms, the old lady’s purse hanging off her elbow. “...He called me stupid.”

Shen Qingqiu swallows a laugh. Shen Jiu found Liu Qingge extremely annoying, so the fact that he had agreed to help cover for Shen Qingqiu and pretend that he was still Shen Qingqiu’s host is something that Shen Qingqiu will forever be grateful for.

It is not that Shen Qingqiu hates Liu Qingge, not at all. It is just that he is very content with his life on Earth. He has no desire to return with him. 

“Shizun, you know this person?” Luo Binghe eyes the old lady suspiciously.

Shen Qingqiu nods. “Liu Qingge is an old friend of mine. From my home planet.”

Luo Binghe immediately frowns. “What does she want with Shizun?”

“I’m here to bring Shen Qingqiu back home,” Liu Qingge announces confidently in the old lady’s feeble voice. 

Shen Qingqiu puts the last of the groceries away and shuts the car door. He admires Liu Qingge’s persistence. It has been about fifteen years now, yet he is still confident that he can convince Shen Qingqiu to return with him.

“Shizun’s not going anywhere with you!”

“If I kill you, yes, he will!”

“Qingge! Let’s not do this here, okay? Binghe and I were planning on making dinner tonight… if you want to join us?”

“No!” Luo Binghe protests loudly. 

Liu Qingge shakes her head. “You’re coming with me. Right now.”

“Well, if you’re not going to have dinner with us, then let’s talk about it another day,” Shen Qingqiu says. “You already know where I am, right? And you know I’m rather fond of sticking to a single host, so… it’s not like I’ll be going anywhere.”

Liu Qingge sniffs. “You’re not going to run away again?”

“Of course not, Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu says. “Find me another time. A better time.”

Liu Qingge narrows her eyes at Luo Binghe. “I will take him home,” she snarls. She bends down and picks up the butcher’s knife before marching off, her cane nowhere in sight. 

Shen Qingqiu smiles at Luo Binghe, who looks extremely displeased. “Binghe, let’s go home and fold dumplings.”

PART 14 - It’s Never Just “Once”

“Shizun? Shizun… time to wake up~”

Shen Qingqiu ignores Luo Binghe, determined to drift right back to dreamland. He has a pile of heads to get back to eating…

“Shizun!”

Luo Binghe sends a tingle his way, chasing away the remnants of Shen Qingqiu’s lovely dream. 

I’m up, I’m up. What is it, Binghe? Shen Qingqiu asks groggily. 

Luo Binghe is sitting in front of the computer, spinning slowly in his gaming chair. “So… I was doing some research. And I wanted to ask Shizun for something.”

Mhm… Shen Qingqiu starts drifting off again. 

“I want Shizun to knot me.”

M’kay…

“And fill me up with a lot of cum so that my tummy looks pregnant with Shizun’s babies!”

WHAT?! Shen Qingqiu wakes up fully this time. Luo Binghe, what the hell are you talking about?!

“I was looking for ways to make sex more fun,” Luo Binghe explains, pulling up to the desk. “See? 50 Ways to Spice Up Your Bedroom Life. And there were some things that sounded interesting…” Luo Binghe scrolls down to #32: Bondage. “So I looked into it, and I found some videos!”

Oh… Binghe, you were watching porn? Shen Qingqiu groans as Luo Binghe switches to another tab. Porn isn’t real, Binghe…

“But Shizun, look!” 

Hentai! Hentai is even less real, Binghe! Shen Qingqiu almost cries as high-pitched moans start playing out of the surround-sound speakers.

Luo Binghe pouts. “But neither of us are human, so we can do it, right? And look, look, Shizun! You can make tentacles, like that thing in the video! And they go all the way through her! And look! Her tummy. Shizun, can do that to my tummy?”

Binghe, Shen Qingqiu groans, wanting to avert his eyes, but his eyes are Luo Binghe’s eyes right now. This… 

“Please, Shizun? It will feel so good.”

Luo Binghe starts getting hard. 

Luo Binghe, don’t you dare-! 

Luo Binghe whimpers and squeezes his thighs together. “Shizun… I need you…”

No. I’m not doing this, Shen Qingqiu says firmly. Luo Binghe, you’re a man! You have the biggest dick I’ve ever seen in my life! You should be out there impregnating other people, not- not–

“But I don’t want to impregnate other people,” Luo Binghe mumbles. “Well, maybe Shizun. Or Shizun can impregnate me.”

We’re entirely different species, Binghe. It just doesn’t work like that.

“We can pretend , Shizun! You can fill me with your cum, and I’ll be your pretty pregnant wife, and then tomorrow, we can switch!”

Shen Qingqiu wants to scream. His innocent little sheep! The precious little boy that Shen Qingqiu raised! How has he become like this?! Where did Shen Qingqiu go wrong?

Luo Binghe starts to sniffle. “I knew it. Shizun’s going to leave me. You’ve been thinking about it, haven’t you? Leaving.”

What?! No! When did you get that idea, Binghe?!

“Ever since that Liu Qingge showed up, Shizun hasn’t had sex with me!”

That was yesterday, Binghe! It’s been less than 12 hours!

“So in 12 more hours, Shizun’s going to leave me altogether!” Luo Binghe is sobbing now, tears flowing down his face freely. “Shizun, please don’t– please don’t leave me! I need you, Shizun!”

Binghe, I’m not leaving! Shen Qingqiu says in a panic. Binghe, I promised you forever, didn’t I?! Stop crying, stop crying, shhh… He wipes Luo Binghe’s tears away, but Luo Binghe only sobs harder. 

“Then why won’t Shizun have sex with me? Do you think I’m gross? Uhuwuhuhu…”

BInghe, you know that’s not true. I think Binghe is the most handsome, the most adorable human being on this entire planet. Shen Qingqiu says that with 100% sincerity. Nothing Binghe does can be gross. 

“So Shizun will breed me?”

The tears are gone, evaporating like water in the desert. 

A trap. As usual.

Shen Qingqiu sighs. What else is he supposed to do, though? When Luo Binghe cries, the only thing Shen Qingqiu is capable of doing is saying yes!

One time.

“Really?!”

Yes, Binghe, Shen Qingqiu sighs heavily. But only once.

“Okay, Shizun, I promise!” Luo Binghe stands up and immediately rips his shirt off his chest, throwing it straight into the trash can. He kicks his pants off. It hits the window. Then, he climbs onto the bed. 

Luo Binghe stretches forward with a satisfied smile on his face, joints popping loudly before wiggling his ass in the air. 

“Ready, Shizun!”

Shen Qingqiu materializes slowly. He eyes the thick glass plug nestled in Luo Binghe’s ass. Luo Binghe is ready ready.

Out of habit, he forms himself a human-like form, and he reaches for the plug with a hand. 

“Sh’zun,” Luo Binghe mumbles into the mattress, his cheek squished into the sheets. “You c’n be more… y’kn’w.” He waves his hand a little. 

Shen Qingqiu has a general idea of what Luo Binghe is talking about. He hesitates a second before taking on a more blob-like form. Like the tentacle creatures in Luo Binghe’s hentai porn.

“Better?” he asks, this time reaching for the base of the plug with a tentacle .

Luo Binghe nods, eyes wide. His cock leaks eagerly.

Shen Qingqiu eases the plug out of him, and Luo Binghe’s hole stays open. Incredibly obedient.

“Sh’zun… need you,” Luo Binghe moans. “Please.”

Shen Qingqiu is thankful that he can catch glimpses of Luo Binghe’s thoughts and feelings because otherwise he would have no idea how to proceed. But Luo Binghe is very clearly pushing the image of several thick tentacles filling up his ass through their bond.

He starts with one, easing the medium-sized tentacle into Luo Binghe. 

“Yes, Shizun , oh, yeah !”

Shen Qingqiu hates to admit it but the sight is getting him aroused as well. Luo Binghe has a pretty full-body flush going on, and his thick cock dribbles every time Shen Qingqiu brushes over his prostate.

He presses against it harder. Luo Binghe groans loudly and presses his hips down more. 

“More, more, more, deeper!”

Shen Qingqiu forms another tentacle and hooks the tip of it into the rim of Luo Binghe’s ass, pulling it open a bit. 

“Is this okay, Binghe?”

Luo Binghe moans his response excessively, wiggling backwards to encourage Shen Qingqiu, who still is not sure about this whole thing, but he admits that it is quite incredible to see just how much Luo Binghe can take. 

Being not quite human definitely helps. 

Shen Qingqiu corkscrews the second tentacle into Luo Binghe while thrusting the other one, just to change up the feeling. Speaking of changing it up… Shen Qingqiu wonders if Luo Binghe can feel it if he made the tentacles different textures. 

Shen Qingqiu makes the new tentacle bumpy. 

“Shizun! That-” Luo Binghe chokes on a gasp.

“Yes, Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu asks, a little breathless himself. 

“It’s good! It’s so good, Shizun! More, more, please, more!” 

Shen Qingqiu thrusts both of them very suddenly. Luo Binghe screams. His cock spurts once, but Luo Binghe grits his teeth, forcing himself not to cum. 

“Keep going, Shizun,” Luo Binghe says, his voice a bit ragged. “ Deeper , please.”

“Okay,” Shen Qingqiu says. He starts pushing them in deeper, watching as Luo Binghe swallows more and more of the tentacle’s thick, black mass. It is mesmerizing. 

Suddenly, Luo Binghe reaches down and for a second, Shen Qingqiu thought he was going to jack himself off. But Luo Binghe tentatively traces his own stomach. He shudders and moans breathlessly. 

Shen Qingqiu shudders along with him. Luo Binghe can feel him through his stomach. 

“Shizun-!”

“I know,” Shen Qingqiu says. Then, he pulls out both tentacles. 

“Shizun?!”

“Turn over,” Shen Qingqiu growls. “Now.”

Luo Binghe rolls over obediently, opening his legs wide. His eyes are watery and half-lidded, his lips swollen and red from being bitten. Shen Qingqiu wants to kiss him and bite him as well, but he does not have a mouth right now. 

“Three,” Luo Binghe whispers. “Please.”

“Three?! Won’t that… hurt?” Shen Qingqiu winces silently. Luo Binghe’s rim was stretched quite tightly with just two.

Luo Binghe shakes his head vigorously. “I can take it, Shizun!”

“Tell me if you want to stop or take a break,” Shen Qingqiu says dubiously and silently reminding himself to pay attention to Luo Binghe’s reactions. 

He places three tentacles at Luo Binghe’s gaping hole and slowly pushes them in together. There is a moment of resistance, and Shen Qingqiu almost stops, but then Luo Binghe opens up for him like a flower blooming for the sun. Luo Binghe arches his back, gasping. 

Shen Qingqiu pays attention to his face and thoughts carefully, ready to go slower if necessary. But Luo Binghe feels nothing but immense pleasure, which he expresses very loudly both in sounds and his mind. So Shen Qingqiu just shoves the rest all the way in. Luo Binghe’s cock dribbles again as his prostate is punched by Shen Qingqiu’s tentacles.

He goes even deeper this time, almost certain that he is rearranging Luo Binghe’s guts like this. Luo Binghe puts his hand on his lower stomach, panting in time with the way his stomach bulges out. 

“Shizun, Shizun, Shizun,” falls from his lips endlessly. “Shizun, I’m- I’m going to cum, Shizun!”

Shen Qingqiu fucks him harder, making sure to slam on his prostate with each trust. “Cum for Shizun, Binghe. I want to see you fall apart.”

“Shizun, please cum with me,” Luo Binghe says, crying prettily. “Please? Please, Shizun, please, please, please!”

“Of course, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu pants out, looking at Luo Binghe’s face intently. 

He waits for the moment that his muscles tense up in overwhelming pleasure, the point where Luo Binghe squeezes his eyes together as a scream wells up in his throat. He “cums” at the same time as Luo Binghe, filling up Luo Binghe with a thick, hot liquid that is essentially the same substance as his saliva. 

Except he can expel a hundred times as much as a normal human’s ejaculate. 

Luo Binghe’s stomach swells, the well-defined abs disappearing in favor of a nicely rounded bulge. It leaks out from between the spaces of the tentacles, soaking the bed. 

Neither of them speak for a bit. Luo Binghe because he is still surfing the waves of pleasure. Shen Qingqiu because he is busy staring at Luo Binghe’s stomach. 

He definitely looked a little pregnant. 

And… it is an alarmingly good look on Luo Binghe.

Shen Qingqiu… would not be… opposed to doing this again.

PART 15 - Free Stabbing, Again!

Sometimes they have sex up against the door. 

Usually it is late at night, after “eating out” and when they are both charged up with adrenaline. Today, Luo Binghe seems to be especially horny.

He shoves Shen Qingqiu against the back of their door, slamming it shut at the same time. He wraps Shen Qingqiu’s legs around his waist so his hands can tear off his own shirt (again). 

“Shizun,” Luo Binghe pants against Shen Qingqiu’s mouth.

“Mmm, Binghe, you have blood in your hair,” Shen Qingqiu murmurs, wiping away the line of spit that is running down Luo Binghe’s chin. “Don’t you want to shower first?”

Luo Binghe moves in to kiss him again. “Later,” he pants. “Want you.”

He presses his hard cock against the junction between Shen Qingiqu’s legs. Shen Qingqiu lifts his hips slightly, allowing Luo Binghe access. 

“Hurry, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu whispers, affected enough not to care about what he is saying. 

The head of Luo Binghe’s cock catches on Shen Qingqiu’s rim. Shen Qingqiu pants quietly at the feeling of the huge cock, heat literally rising off of it. Luo Binghe buries his face into Shen Qingqiu’s neck, sucking gently as he pushes himself inside. 

“ Ah!”

“Sorry, Shizun,” Luo Binghe says, forcing himself to slow down and let Shen Qingqiu adjust to the intrusion. 

“It’s okay,” Shen Qingqiu whispers. His fingers tangle into Luo Binghe’s hair. “You can- You can keep going.”

Luo Binghe shoves the rest of his thick cock inside. Shen Qingqiu feels like Luo Binghe’s cock is tickling the bottom of his nonexistent lungs. He lets his head drop backwards, and it hits the door with a dull thump. 

Thump thump thump.

The two of them freeze. 

Someone is knocking on the door. 

“What the fuck?” Shen Qingqiu hisses. “Are you expecting someone, Binghe?”

“No!” Luo Binghe gasps back, painfully hard and making tiny little thrusts into Shen Qingqiu. 

“Stop that!” Shen Qingqiu says, smacking Luo Binghe’s shoulder. 

Luo Binghe moans quietly. Shen Qingqiu twists his head around 180 degrees to squint through the peephole. 

“There’s a man standing there,” Shen Qingqiu whispers. “I’ve never seen him before.”

“Ignore him, Shizun,” Luo Binghe groans, gripping Shen Qingqiu’s hips harder. “ Fuck , Shizun, you feel so good!”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The man knocks again, harder. 

Luo Binghe ignores it for a few more seconds before yelling in frustration.. He pulls himself out of Shen Qingqiu and reaches for the door handle. 

Shen Qingqiu gasps and barely has a chance to hide himself before Luo Binghe yanks the door open, his hard cock in full view. 

“What the fuck do you want,” Luo Binghe growls. “I’m busy.” His eyes glow red. 

The young man who stands outside cannot be older than Luo Binghe himself. His long hair is tied up in a severe ponytail, and he has long bangs that are all swept to one side. He has a very pretty face with intense eyes. A beauty mark sits until one of his eyes.

He takes one look at Luo Binghe and reaches for the fucking sword strapped to his side. The metal flashes white in the hall light, and the man gives a battle cry before proceeding to run Luo Binghe through with the sword. 

Luo Binghe stands there and continues to glare at him. Then, he has the man’s throat in his hand, lifting him off the ground and squeezing. 

Just as Luo Binghe is about to crush the man’s bones and burst all his major blood vessels, the offender gasps out, “Shen… Qing…qiu!”

“Binghe, drop him!”

Luo Binghe does so. “Shizun, he stabbed me,” he whines, eyes welling up with huge tears. “It hurts…”

Liu Qingge gasps on the floor, touching his bruising neck. 

Luo Binghe glares at him and kicks him further inside before shutting the door. Then, he slides the literal sword out of his guts. They watch as the flesh stitches itself together. 

“Does it hurt much?” Shen Qingqiu asks, now just a floating head. A little tendril of black touches the healed flesh.

“Yes,” Luo Binghe pouts. “Can Shizun kiss it?”

Shen Qingqiu pauses for a second, glancing at Liu Qingge, who is staring at them like they are crazy. Then, he smiles a little and says, “Of course, Binghe.”

He gives the spot a little kiss. 

“Binghe, why don’t you go prepare some tea? I must talk with Qingge.”

Luo Binghe pouts. “I don’t want to, Shizun! He interrupted us.” He gives his hard dick a sad flick. It bobs back and forth, still proudly standing up even after being run through by a sword. 

“You-! How dare you- How dare you do that with Shen Qingqiu!” Liu Qingge rasps. “He would never-”

Shen Qingqiu clears his throat. “Qingge, let’s go sit on the couch, okay? I think I need to explain some things to you. Binghe, put yourself away, please.”

Luo Binghe reluctantly stuffs his cock back into his pants. It is clearly uncomfortable, so Shen Qingqiu reminds himself to make it up to Luo Binghe later. He is also a little miffed at being interrupted. Liu Qingge really has the worst timing. 

They sit, Luo Binghe across from Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu floating to the right of Luo Binghe. Liu Qingge’s neck has healed now, although slightly slower than a regular injury, probably due to Luo Binghe’s own powers. 

“Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu starts. “This is Luo Binghe. He’s my human host-” He decides not to mention the weird non-human part yet. “-and… I’m dating him.”

Luo Binghe gasps at the same time that Liu Qingge chokes. 

“Shizun said we’re dating!” Luo Binghe says gleefully. “I love you, Shizun! Shizun, do you love me? Shizun loves me, right? Right?”

Shen Qingqiu coughs lightly and nods.

Luo Binghe turns back to Liu Qingge, smug. “See, Shizun loves me. He doesn’t want anything to do with you!”

Liu Qingge is oddly red. “You’re… involved with a human?” he growls. “ Why?”

“Do I need a reason to be?” Shen Qingqiu asks. “It simply happened, and I am happy with it.”

Luo Binghe makes some incomprehensible happy noises, wiggling in his seat. 

“That?!” Liu Qingge points a finger at Luo Binghe. 

“Yes , Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu says. “I don’t appreciate you criticizing my choices.”

“I-” Liu Qingge huffs. “I’m not. I just… didn’t think you would genuinely be happy. I don’t see how anyone can be happy in this miserable world,” he finishes gruffly.

Shen Qingqiu smiles a little. “It’s not so miserable if you have someone on your side,” he says quietly. Luo Binghe smiles at him. “Binghe’s good to me, so I’m happy.”

Liu Qingge does not say anything, glaring at the coffee table instead. “You should still come home,” he bites out eventually. 

“No,” Shen Qingqiu responds tiredly. “Qingge, I didn’t want to go home fifteen years ago, I don’t want to go now. But… maybe you should.”

Liu Qingge glares at him. “I can’t leave you here alone!”

Shen Qingqiu floats across the table and reaches a hand over. He takes Liu Qingge’s hand into his own. He squeezes lightly. Luo Binghe rumbles in displeasure, but Shen Qingqiu ignores him. 

“Qingge,” he says with a small smile. “You’re not happy here. You were popular back home, unlike me. You were going places. Our people — your family — definitely miss you. They’ve probably already forgotten about me. Why are you still here?”

Liu Qingge looks at him, his jaw clenched tightly. He looks at Shen Qingqiu for a long time. Then, he looks away, jerking his hand away at the same time. “To get you to come home with me,” he grunts.

“I’m not going, Qingge. My life is here now. With Binghe.”

Liu Qingge’s clenches his hands into a fist, like he is holding something back. Words, maybe a punch. Eventually, he stands up. 

“I’m leaving,” he says. “I’ll be back.”

Shen Qingqiu smiles wryly. “Think about it, Qingge. It’s what’s best for everyone, I think.”

Liu Qingge grunts, and then he storms out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. 

Shen Qingqiu sighs. “He forgot his sword,” he mutters. He turns back around to Luo Binghe. “Sorry about that, Binghe.”

“Shizun, who is he to you?” Luo Binghe asks quietly. “You knew each other. Before.”

“We did,” Shen Qingqiu says with a smile. “A long, long time ago. Qingge was pretty much my only friend in our world.”

Luo Binghe hums, neither positive nor negative. “Does Shizun like him?” 

Shen Qingqiu laughs. “What do you mean? Of course. Qingge’s my best friend.”

“But does Shizun like him?”

Shen Qingqiu blinks rapidly, suddenly feeling like the questions are quite weighted. “Huh? Binghe, what are you talking about?” He laughs a little again, weaker than before. 

“Does- or did Shizun ever have feelings for Liu Qingge? Romantic feelings. Like you and me.” Luo Binghe seems neither angry nor sad nor on the verge of crying. His face is a blank neutral. His emotions are nothing but vague curiosity. 

Shen Qingqiu thinks if he could sweat, he would be sweating bullets. 

“Like a crush? Ahaha… um, maybe I considered it once , like when we were growing up together because he was so nice to me, and I didn’t really have a family or friends, so Qingge took care of me because he was stronger, but it never went anywhere, clearly! I only see him as a friend now! Qingge is… He’s just a friend.”

Luo Binghe tilts his head to the side. “He likes you, Shizun.”

Shen Qingqiu does not react for a bit. “Don’t joke, Binghe,” he says, almost nervously. “Qingge doesn’t like me .”

“He does.” Luo Binghe says nothing more. 

“...Binghe?”

Luo Binghe does not look at him. He shrugs. “Shizun…”

“I’m not leaving you, Binghe. I said it once, I’ll say it again. I’ll say it for however long it takes for me to convince you of it, but I’m not leaving you. I promised. I told Qingge so. You heard me.”

“I know,” Luo Binghe says, a strange little smile on his lips. His eyes are suddenly bright with tears. Not his usual crocodile tears, real tears. He seems sad , an emotion that Shen Qingqiu rarely feels around him. “But he’s not leaving you either. So where does that leave us?”

Shen Qingqiu zooms in closer, nearly pressing his face to Luo Binghe’s. “Binghe! What are you talking about? Nothing has to change.”

“But it will ,” Luo Binghe says. “If not today, twenty years from now! He’s followed you from Shen Jiu to me. He’s followed you for fifteen years! At some point… Shizun is going to consider his offer. If not going back, being with him. Shizun… I’m not good at sharing! I know I’m selfish, but I just want Shizun for myself, and I want Shizun to only want me! Shizun-”

“Luo Binghe, I love you.”

It works. Luo Binghe stops talking. Two more tears fall from his eyes as he blinks.

“What?”

“Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu exhales, feeling strangely light having finally said it. “I’m just this silly parasitic worm living inside you, I didn’t dare to have these feelings, but… I really do love you. How could I not? My sweet, sticky Binghe.”

New tears well up Luo BInghe’s eyes. “Shizun!” He sobs loudly. 

Shen Qingqiu laughs quietly, petting Luo Binghe’s hair. “Shhh… don’t cry Binghe. Shizun’s got you… Forever, remember?”

“Shizun… Shizun!”

They fall asleep in each other’s arms that night. The next morning, they talk over breakfast. Both of them lay all their cards out on the table — their insecurities, their feelings, their pasts, their truths. 

It is a good morning for them.

PART 16 - A Willow Tree Caresses the Autumnal River

They do not run into Liu Qingge again for several months. 

Not that Luo Binghe minds at all. 

Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, is a little worried. He is sure that Liu Qingge would not have left without saying goodbye or at least giving Shen Qingqiu a heads up. But if what Luo Binghe said last time was true…

Shen Qingqiu guesses it is a little weird to follow someone around for fifteen years begging them to go home with you for them only to be a friend.

Meanwhile, for Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe… things have never been better. 

Shen Qingqiu is more open now. He always eventually gave in to Luo Binghe before, but now he puts up less of a fight before giving in. He learns about love languages and concludes that Luo Binghe needs a lot of words of affirmations, so he is slowly learning to provide that. It still makes him a little embarrassed sometimes, but the way that Luo Binghe lights up each and every time makes it worth it. 

They… definitely make up for the interrupted sex that one time. Luo Binghe also makes good on the promise to… fill Shen Qingqiu up . 

There are pictures that Shen Qingqiu literally had to fight Luo Binghe not to print out.

Shen Qingqiu still plays a lot of games, getting better every day. Now, he can absolutely destroy his opponents when while Luo Binghe is busy fucking up into him, whimpering and whining “Shizun, Shizun, Shizun!”

Luo Binghe also begins rebuilding Abyss, although this time, he decides that maybe he will do a mixture of old and new… Qing Jing green and Abyss red. 

Shen Qingqiu shuts that idea down so quickly, already envisioning the Christmas-colored restaurant design. The tabloids would tear his sweet, sensitive Luo Binghe apart!

They end up settling on Abyss’ red and black, but with some silver in remembrance of Qing Jing, and much more lighting. Something less vampiric, more romantic. Luo Binghe gushes about how it feels like an embodiment of “them”. Shen Qingqiu is embarrassed on his behalf.

They return home after a long day of picking out tiles and wallpaper and decorations, and it is already dark outside. Shen Qingqiu is pretty sleepy, about to slip into nap mode while Luo Binghe makes them a quick dinner. 

“Shizun should sleep,” Luo Binghe says fondly. “I’ll cook a few of those dumplings I made last week.”

With a packet of ramen?

Luo Binghe sighs, still smiling. “Sure, Shizun. Just let me change really quick.”

He goes into his room to change, not bothering to flick on a light because his eyesight is quite good in the dark. Another one of his weird powers, but helpful. 

As soon as Luo Binghe opens the closet door, a dark shadow leaps at him. 

Luo Binghe growls and flips them over immediately, as his opponent is quite tiny in size. 

“Liu Qingge!” he growls, not even needing to ask who had broken into his apartment and randomly attacked him. 

There are no weapons this time. 

Instead, as soon as Luo Binghe’s fingers touch Liu Qingge’s neck, he goes limp. At least, the host goes limp because Liu Qingge has slipped out of them and is currently shoving himself into Luo Binghe. 

Shen Qingqiu has yet to wrap his head around what is going on, nearly asleep when Liu Qingge attacked. 

Then, he feels himself being pushed .

What the fuck?!

Shen Qingqiu, I’m taking you home!

QINGGE?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!

STOP FIGHTING ME!

GET OUT OF BINGHE?!

NOT UNTIL YOU COME BACK!

Luo Binghe shouts and collapses onto the floor, feeling like his insides are literally burning. His head hurts from having three consciousnesses warring inside of them, one trying to forcefully push another out while the latter clings on for dear life.

“Leave… Shizun… alone!” Luo Binghe growls. He joins the fray. He tries chasing Liu Qingge out with his weird not-quite-human powers. 

Wha- Luo Binghe, what are you?!

“Get out of me!”

Liu Qingge, stop this nonsense! How are you even here?!

“Shizun, hang on!”

I’m fine, Binghe! Are you okay?!

“I’m okay, Shizun! Are you worried about me?”

Are you sure? It can’t be comfortable having two of us in you…

“Hehe, it’s okay, I feel perfect knowing Shizun’s thinking about me.”

Stop! What- I’m right here! Shen Qingqiu, why do you care about him?!

He’s my host, Qingge! He takes care of me!

I take care of you too!

That was ages ago! All you’ve been doing these past fifteen years is trying to take my happiness away from me!

There is a very, very loud silence. Liu Qingge’s old host takes this moment to wake up and groan. Luo Binghe knocks him back out with a crisp knock to the back of his head. 

Qingge… what do you really want from me?

Liu Qingge is silent. 

“Shizun…”

Liu Qingge still says nothing. In fact, he has gone so still and so silent that Shen Qingqiu almost doubts that he is still there. Except for the fact that he can vaguely feel his presence in Luo Binghe’s body. 

Qingge? 

“Shizun, why isn’t he answering? If you don’t want to answer, get the fuck out and take this random person with you.”

You’re important to me.

“Shizun’s important to me too. And I’m important to him. Why is it that only your feelings matter?” Luo Binghe sneers. 

Binghe…

Our species… don’t care about our hosts, Liu Qingge grits out. Shen Qingqiu is not supposed to care about you.

“But he does.”

Indeed. 

I know , Liu Qingge grunts, sounding particularly unhappy about it. I…

He falls into silence again. This time, he does not speak back up, no matter how much Shen Qingqiu prompts him, or how much Luo Binghe provokes him.

Eventually, they give up, unable to push Liu Qingge out either. Luo Binghe tosses Liu Qingge’s old host out of his apartment, not caring what happens to the poor teen when he wakes up, disoriented. 

They still eat dinner — dumplings and ramen. 

Then, they go to sleep. 

The next day, there is still no news from Liu Qingge. Nor the day after that. He is still there , just silent. Shen Qingqiu does not know whether he is awake or not either. Luo Binghe gets horny, but Shen Qingqiu denies him, feeling awkward knowing that Liu Qingge might just be watching them. 

For a week, they go about their normal routines, just hyperaware of the fact that Luo Binghe’s body is now home to a new addition. 

That is, until one day, Shen Qingqiu is brushing Luo Binghe’s hair while excitedly telling him about the new Hatsune Miku doll he had pre-ordered. 

“And she’s wearing this cute maid outfit that matches her hair, and roller skates! She has this cute pose and-”

You need to cut your hair.

Shen Qingqiu pauses for a second, and Luo Binghe tenses up just a little. Then, Shen Qingqiu speaks. “I quite like Binghe’s hair.” He resumes brushing.

It’s too long.

“It’s fun to play with, Qingge. And Binghe likes it when I brush his hair.”

Hmph.

And that is it. Liu Qingge goes silent again. It happens a few more times, during random mundane moments in their life, Liu Qingge crops up and makes a few comments before disappearing again.

“Thank you for dessert, Binghe. It’s delicious.” Shen Qingqiu does his best not to stuff his face with the chocolate mousse cake.

“Please eat more, Shizun! I made lots more,” Luo Binghe says happily, watching Shen Qingqiu eat with a satisfied smile on his face. 

Why would you eat that? 

“Because Binghe made it,” Shen Qingqiu says around a bite of the mousse. “And it tastes good.”

Human food has no benefit for us.

“Chocolate does,” Shen Qingqiu points out. “Chocolate is really good. You would understand if you tried it, Qingge.”

…

They feel Liu Qingge physically stir for the first time in a month. Shen Qingqiu nods at Luo Binghe, who pouts back. Shen Qingqiu gives him a pointed look, and Luo Binghe begrudgingly stands to grab another mini cake and a fork. 

He plops it on the table, the cake sliding off center from the cardboard base it sits on. 

“Would you like to try?” Luo Binghe asks dully. 

Liu Qingge peels himself away from Luo Binghe’s back and hovers over Luo Binghe’s shoulder for a few seconds. Luo Binghe has his chin in his hand, and he is glaring out the window now. Shen Qingqiu watches Liu Qingge carefully. 

Liu Qingge glances between the cake and Luo Binghe’s head several times, as if trying to decide which one to eat. He then looks at Shen Qingqiu. 

Shen Qingqiu nods and smiles. “Binghe’s a phenomenal cook.”

“Doubt it,” Liu Qingge mutters before slurping the entire mousse cake off of the table, cardboard base and all. A few seconds later, he spits out the cardboard, a little wet, a little crumpled. 

Luo Binghe looks at it in disgust. 

“So you can reuse it. You humans like doing that for some reason.”

“How is it, Qingge?” Shen Qingqiu asks. 

Liu Qingge runs his tongue over his sharp teeth. “I want another one,” he announces. 

“You can’t have one,” Luo Binghe sulks. “I made them for Shizun, not you .”

Liu Qingge glares at him. “Shen Qingqiu, he-”

“Don’t ask me,” Shen Qingqiu says mildly. “If you want one, you’ll have to apologize to Binghe. And ask him nicely.”

Liu Qingge glares at him. 

Shen Qingqiu calmly goes back to his own cake, which he can feel Liu Qingge staring at. 

“Can I… have another one.”

“No.” Luo Binghe is still pouting. 

“Please.”

“ No.”

“You’re supposed to give it to me,” Liu Qingge says, oddly frustrated. “When people say please, you have to give it to them.”

“Where did you hear that?” Luo Binghe scoffs. “I don’t want to give it to you.”

“Why not?” Liu Qingge demands. “Shen Qingqiu says if I asked nicely you’d give it to me.”

“...Shizun also said you had to apologize.”

“For what?!”

Luo Binghe glares at him. “For trying to steal Shizun away! And you’re still trying to steal Shizun away! I haven’t had sex in so long because of you!”

“You-!” Liu Qingge physically moves away from Luo Binghe. “What’s so good about s-sex anyway?! You humans always have sex but only for recreation, it makes no sense! It’s a waste of energy!”

“It feels good!” Luo Binghe snaps back. “I get to see Shizun with expressions that no one else gets to see him have!”

Liu Qingge’s face twitches as a myriad of complicated emotions go over his face. 

“You’re lying,” he eventually says stiffly. “Our species don’t feel pleasure from intercourse.”

Luo Binghe narrows his eyes. “Of course you do.” 

With that, he sends a strong wave of arousal through them. Shen Qingqiu drops his spoon. 

“Luo Binghe!” he snaps, suddenly stupidly aroused. 

Liu Qingge has gone stiff and silent, trying to process such intense arousal. Shen Qingqiu is pretty sure this is the first time he is feeling like this. 

“What did you do to me?” he growls out. 

“You’re just turned on,” Shen Qingqiu says, shooting Luo Binghe a little glare. Luo Binghe just shrugs smugly, his own pants tenting. “Relax, Qingge-”

“Make it go away!” he yells loudly. 

Shen Qingqiu is silent for a beat as he considers his options. “Well… you can either wait it out… or sex helps.”

“No!”

“Shizun?!?!”

Shen Qingqiu huffs. “Well, Qingge, you don’t have to participate.”

“You’re not allowed to have sex with him!” Liu Qingge grits out. 

“Since when do you get a say?!” Luo Binghe exclaims. “Shizun, let’s go!”

Luo Binghe stands up and marches the three of them to the bedroom. 

“Do not go in there!” Liu Qingge roars, trying to take control of Luo Binghe’s legs, but finds himself unsuccessful. “Shen Qingqiu, are you helping him?!”

Shen Qingqiu laughs. “Of course not. Binghe does what he wants.” 

“And I want to do you, Shizun,” Luo Binghe purrs, stepping out of his pants.

“Now’s your chance to leave, Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu says, taking on his human-like form and giving Liu Qingge a wink. “Unless you like watching…”

Liu Qingge chokes. “Stop it!” he says, floating around helplessly, not sure what to do.

Eventually, he disappears and forces himself to near unconsciousness while Shen Qingqiu rides the hell out of Luo Binghe. Still, Liu Qingge hears way more than he needs to. It is all very disgusting and very sloppy, exactly how he imagined human sex to be. 

“Do you think that did the trick?” Luo Binghe whispers during their post-coital cuddling. 

Shen Qingqiu sighs. “No, we’ll need to do more than that to get rid of him.”

You’re not getting rid of me. 

“Well, I’m going to have sex with Shizun every day from now on, whether you like it or not,” Luo Binghe says. “Several times a day, right Shizun?”

“Uh… right.”

That’s disgusting. Shen Qingqiu. How could you?

“Because I want to, Qingge. Why deny myself if it feels good?” Shen Qingqiu tucks himself into the underside of Luo Binghe’s chin and yawns. “Binghe… I’m tired.”

“Sleep, Shizun, I’ll take care of you.” He kisses Shen Qingqiu’s forehead and pulls the blanket over them. 

He doesn’t need you to take care of him. He has me.

“You can’t do anything for him. You can’t even hold a host for more than a day,” Luo Binghe snorts. “How does it feel, being inferior to a human being?”

I’m not inferior! He’ll come home with me eventually. You’ll see. 

“Shizun is home.”

…Our home. Without you.

“Liu Qingge, are you just upset that Shizun found a home… without you?”

Liu Qingge goes very silent. Both of them know that Luo Binghe said something right. 

“You should just move on,” Luo Binghe advises. “Clearly he’s not into you anymore, and he’s got a new life now. With me.”

…Anymore?

Luo Binghe wants to bite his own tongue. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He used to… like me.

“No. Shizun only likes me.”

You’re jealous.

“No, I’m not! Shizun is already mine , why should I be jealous? If anyone’s jealous, it’s you!”

Correct.

“...”

…

“You can’t have him.”

Nor can you.

Luo Binghe laughs quietly, dry and hard. “Really? This is how you’re planning on spending the rest of your existence? Depending on me for survival, yet fighting me with every ounce of your being because you can’t accept that Shizun chose me over you? You’re just going to intrude on our happiness because you can’t find your own? Do you know how fucking selfish that is?”

…I’m not trying to intrude. I’m trying to understand . Liu Qingge sounds genuinely frustrated. It’s just… difficult. This is not how we are meant to be.

“Well, Shizun’s clearly different. He told me. Back on your planet, you fit in. He didn’t.”

It was better that way, Liu Qingge says. There… he was…

“Yours?” Luo Binghe snarls the word out. He curls Shen Qingqiu’s unconscious body closer to his chest. 

Liu Qingge goes silent. 

Shen Qingqiu said… 

“Shizun says a lot of things.”

Shen Qingqiu said that I would understand if I tried it.

“What?”

I don’t understand how life on Earth is good. I don’t understand human food, or s…sex, or why TV is entertaining. I don’t understand why you make him happy, Liu Qingge admits.

Luo Binghe’s brows furrow. “What are you trying to say?” he asks cautiously. 

I need to try it.

“ Really .”

Why not? Shen Qingqiu tried it, and he likes it. In order to understand him, I need to try too. 

“Then by all means,” Luo Binghe says with a sharp laugh. “Go! Go find someone to try it with.”

Liu Qingge is annoyed. With you .

“What the fuck?! No!”

I’m sorry. And please.

Luo Binghe sputters. “Still no! I’m not going to- to make you food or watch TV with you, and I’m certainly not going to have sex with you!”

Why not? Are you scared you’ll like it too if you tried it? 

Luo Binghe is absolutely speechless. He is not sure if he is angry or annoyed or in disbelief. Liu Qingge patiently awaits his answer. 

“Shizun’s the only one for me, and that’s final!”

I’ll ask Shen Qingqiu later.

“Don’t ask Shizun!” Luo Binghe says urgently. 

He is still a little worried that Shen Qingqiu might have lingering feelings for Liu Qingge. After all, they grew up together. Luo Binghe grew up with Shen Qingqiu, and he has really strong feelings for Shen Qingqiu, that he is sure would still be there even after a hundred years. 

Because he’ll encourage it.

It is not a question. They both know that Shen Qingqiu would indeed encourage it. He would actively try to introduce Liu Qingge to the “joys” of the human world. 

Luo Binghe grits his teeth. “ Fine! ” he spits out. “You can eat my food, or watch TV, or whatever. But you cannot touch Shizun in a sexual sense whatsoever! You can’t even think about him in a sexual sense!”

Liu Qingge is a little confused by that threat. Our species doesn’t experience sexual arousal. Unless it is necessary for intercourse. Which is very rare. 

“Still!”

…Sure. So can I have another cake? I think I’m starting to understand the chocolate thing…

PART 17 - Wife’s Ex Joins the Sex Extravaganza (Or Does He…)

“Hello, sorry, we’re not open yet!” Shang Qinghua adjusts his glasses as his first customer of the day walks through the doors of Northern Mart. 

“Make an exception,” Luo Binghe says as he strides past, a basket in hand. 

“Uh-” Shang Qinghua’s eyes widen, remembering this customer. “Right…”

I saw chocolate. 

“We have chocolate at home,” Luo Binghe mutters as he walks to the back. “Shizun, did you want the beef or the chicken flavor?”

Beef. Always beef, Binghe. 

Those things are nothing but sodium. 

“That’s what I tell him,” Luo BInghe sighs as he tosses two packs of beef ramen into the basket. He grabs a couple more snacks and some fancy bottle of energy drink for himself. 

Then, he remembers something and takes a detour into another aisle. He smiles wickedly as he puts all eight bottles of chocolate syrup into the basket as well. 

Luo Binghe, what are you doing?! Put those back this instant!

But it’s chocolate. Keep it. 

Binghe!

Luo Binghe walks back to the cash register, where Shang Qinghua has been nervously watching him while pretending not to watch him.

“More… syrup,” Shang Qinghua notes. “Um… sex marathon?”

Luo Binghe, don’t you dare answer that!

What does chocolate have to do with sex? What a strange human!

Luo Binghe gives a bark of laughter. He leans in just a bit. “Sure. My wife’s ex-boyfriend is joining us.”

You have a wife?! Are you cheating on Shen Qingqiu? Luo Binghe, you are despicable!

No- Qingge, it’s a joke, don’t mind him.

I’m going to eat him!

“Haha… what?”

Shang Qinghua accidentally scans the last bottle twice in his confusion. He scrambles to remove it, his fingers hitting the keys awkwardly. He pushes his glasses up his sweaty nose, glancing at Luo Binghe several times. 

“Do I make you nervous?” Luo Binghe asks. 

“Um, you, uh, you are very close,” Shang Qinghua says. 

Luo BInghe leans in closer. 

Binghe, back the fuck up! Why do you keep getting closer to him?!

Shang Qinghua squeaks and shuffles back a little. 

“Scared I’ll notice your fake glasses?” Luo Binghe teases. 

“Wh-Wha?”

Suddenly, a thick black tendril shoots out from the back of Luo Binghe’s hand and connects with Shang Qinghua’s wrist. 

“Wh-What the fuck?!” Shang Qinghua panics and tries shaking it off. 

The tendril twists his arm sharply, making Shang Qinghua cry out in pain and drop the bottle of syrup. His sleeve pulls up a bit, revealing a tattoo on the outside of his forearm, a paper airplane winding its way around a wickedly cool sword. A sword with the tiny characters Xin Mo etched onto it. 

“Bro, what?!”

Suddenly, he has a menacing creature with white eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth floating in front of his face. 

“Well, well, well,” Shen Qingqiu growls. “I knew there was something fishy about you… Airplane, huh?”

Shang Qinghua mumbles one last weak, “What the fuck?” before passing out.

“Shizun, you scared him to death,” Luo Binghe says, picking up their groceries. “C’mon, let’s go before the cops arrive.”

Eat his head.

“He’s still alive,” Shen Qingqiu says, floating back up. “Just passed out. And Qingge, we only eat bad people, remember? Although… I don’t know if he counts as good .”

Who is he again?

“The author of Shizun’s favorite-”

“I don’t like it, Binghe.”

“-least favorite webnovel. Shizun, do I have to pay if he passed out?”

Shen Qingqiu melts back into Luo Binghe’s skin. 

Nah, it’ll be fine. Besides, I bought all those chapters legally with Binghe’s money, so let’s just say he’s paying us back a little. 

Luo Binghe smiles and starts out of the store. “Sounds good to me! I’ll make Shizun ramen when we get home.”

With chocolate?

How about you just drink the syrup, Qingge?

Okay.

PART 18 - Three's Company

“Shizun…” 

“What is it, Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu asks, smiling exaggeratedly into the window of a nearby car, trying to see if he still has flesh hanging from his teeth. 

“I’m cold.”

“We’ll go home soon,” Shen Qingqiu says. “A couple of those thugs ran off. We should go after them.”

“Yeah, I want a snack too,” Liu Qingge says. He looks at Shen Qingqiu’s teeth. “You have something in the back.”

Shen Qingqiu huffs and tries removing it, unsuccessfully. “Is it still there?”

“ Stop , you’re just pushing it in,” Liu Qingge says. “Let me-”

“Hey!” Luo Binghe snaps. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Liu Qingge pauses, his tongue already halfway in Shen Qingqiu’s mouth. Calm down, I’m just helping him-

“No! You’re clearly using this as an excuse to make out with Shizun while I’m standing right here!” Luo Binghe huffs. “Shizun is mine first!”

Binghe, we’re not… It’s just like- like how cats groom each other. It’s okay! We used to do it all the time. 

“All the time?! Shizun!” Luo Binghe wails. “Do you do this all the time now too? Do you do it while I’m asleep?!” He gasps and glares accusingly at Liu Qingge. “ Are you fucking Shizun while I’m asleep?!”

What the fuck is wrong with him.

Shen Qingqiu gently pushes Liu Qingge out of his mouth. “Binghe-”

“Shizun!” Luo Binghe sobs. “Why are you letting him fuck you?”

“No one’s fucking anyone while you’re asleep, Binghe! We’re all asleep when you’re asleep!”

“Or are we?”

“Qingge! Not helping,” Shen Qingqiu growls. “Binghe… I promise you, Shizun wouldn’t do that!”

The tears roll faster. “Then why does he look so smug, Shizun? Why else do I wake up with an erection every morning? One of you must have been controlling my body to fuck the other, and I don’t even get to participate! It’s my dick!”

“Binghe, do you hear yourself? This is getting a little ridiculous..”

“I think it sounds like a good idea,” Liu Qingge adds, smirking at the way Luo Binghe’s cries harder.

“Qingge!”

“You-!” Luo Binghe lunges at him, but Liu Qingge just moves out of the way. 

Luo Binghe does not give up. Ignoring Shen Qingqiu’s commands to stop fighting in the middle of the street, Luo Binghe does not stop until he is holding Liu Qingge in his hands, twisting him like a wet towel. 

“I’m going to make you regret it,” he growls at Liu Qingge.

Unable to speak aloud at the moment, Liu Qingge laughs in his mind. What could a human like you possibly do to me? Beat me up?

Enraged, Luo Binghe immediately starts towards home. 

“Binghe, those bad guys-”

“No, we’re not eating bad guys tonight,” Luo Binghe grunts. “I’m going to devour something else.”

How terrifying.

“Qingge… don’t provoke him anymore,” Shen Qingqiu sighs.

“Shizun, will you help me?”

Shen Qingqiu blinks. “E-Eh? Me? I was going to nap…”

Luo Binghe pouts. “I knew it, Shizun was really doing things without me. He doesn’t have the energy anymore and would rather nap.”

“Binghe, that’s not true! I always have energy for you…” Shen Qingqiu already realizes there is no way out of the situation. “Fine, I’ll help you.”

Shen Qingqiu?!

“Wonderful! Thank you, Shizun!” Luo Binghe twists Liu Qingge a little tighter. “I told you you’d regret it.”

Luo Binghe is pretty certain that Shen Qingqiu had been telling the truth, that nothing had ever happened between him and Liu Qingge before. Of course, Liu Qingge’s reactions still pissed him off, but Luo Binghe trusts his shizun. Shen Qingqiu would not lie to him. 

In the past months of the three of them living together, however, Luo Binghe feels that Liu Qingge has been getting a little presumptuous with where he stands with them. Luo Binghe even had to get used to him watch them have sex! And then, Liu Qingge propositioned him! Again!

To help him “understand”. Bullshit!

Luo Binghe had said no. He clearly remembers saying no… And yet, somehow sex with Liu Qingge became a regular-ish thing. A couple times a week, usually when Shen Qingqiu has passed out after a few rounds of sex. Of course, Shen Qingqiu is completely aware of this (Luo Binghe had come to him crying). 

But he had never participated before! He did not want to participate! If he participates… there would be no going back. 

That is something all of them are painfully aware of. 

And yet… here they are. 

“Hold him down for me, Shizun.”

What? I, uh, I don’t think I can hold him down, Binghe. 

“You can, Shizun, I know it! Yup, just like that.” 

Shen Qingqiu avoids Liu Qingge’s eyes as he anchors him to the bed. 

“Now, let me just…” 

Liu Qingge thrashes as Luo Binghe somehow forces him to change and grow. He creates Liu Qingge a human form, one that has arms and legs and a proper hole for Luo Binge to fuck.

  “Binghe… I didn’t know you could do that,” Shen Qingqiu says, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

Luo Binghe shrugs cheerfully. “I would never do it to Shizun.”

Put me back! Liu Qingge slaps him with his new hand. 

“Hold his hands down please, Shizun.” Luo Binghe says sweetly, red already starting to bloom on his cheek. His smile is dangerous, and his eyes glow red in the dark. “Liu Qingge… you have some nerve.”

Shen Qingqiu, let go of me! How dare you help him!

“Qingge… you’re not even struggling.”

That’s- You’re not even holding me down that hard. It would be too easy to break away!

As if to prove his point, Liu Qingge pushes against Shen Qingqiu’s hold. Only to find that Shen Qingqiu had tightened his hold. 

Shen- Shen Qingqiu, what-

Shen Qingqiu gives him a small smile. “Don’t underestimate me, Qingge.”

Luo Binghe has taken off his clothes in the meantime, unleashing the beast in his pants. It stands up tall and proud in front of him. 

Liu Qingge stares at it. 

You- Luo Binghe, you’re not even going to prep me?!

Luo Binghe grins. “You’ll manage,” he says, lining himself up. “Besides… You’re already so loose for me. Do you want it that badly?”

No, I-

Luo Binghe pushes himself into Liu Qingge’s hole. 

Shen Qingqiu watches with wide eyes, watching Luo Binghe’s thick cock disappear into his childhood best friend. To think that he himself also regularly takes that thing!

Liu Qingge twisting his wrists in Shen Qingqiu’s grasp. 

“Relax, Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu finds himself saying.

I’m trying. He’s big.

“You say that like you don’t like it.”

Liu Qingge grunts unhappily. His complaint got turned into a compliment. Don’t be too full of yourself. 

Luo Binghe smirks. “No, because you’re the one full of me.” He shoves himself the rest of the way in. 

Then, he leans in, whispering into Liu Qingge’s ear, “You know, I’ve been thinking about what I should call you. Shizun is Shizun, but Liu Qingge is too many characters to call during sex…”

What the fuck are you talking about?

“So I thought, how about Shishu? My shizun’s shidi. You can call Shizun ‘shixiong’ too. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Luo Binghe whispers, scraping his teeth against the shell of Liu Qingge’s ear.

N-No! I’m not weird like you-

“Shizun would like it. Right Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu flinches, embarrassed about being caught listening in on them. “If Qingge’s not comfortable-”

“You should call him shidi,” Luo Binghe reminds him gently. 

Shen Qingqiu swallows. Luo Binghe is clearly very much invested in this roleplay. What can Shen Qingqiu do but indulge his precious “disciple”? 

“Very well. Shidi can do what he wants.”

Liu Qingge makes a strangled noise. 

Luo Binghe fucks deeper into him. “He likes it, Shizun. He tightened right up. Thank him, Shishu.”

“ No .” Liu Qingge finally opens his mouth. “I’m not- I won’t!”

“It’s okay, Liu-shidi,” Shen Qingqiu murmurs.

Luo Binghe smirks. “If you address Shizun properly, I might let you touch him.”

“Bing-Binghe, that’s not necessary,” Shen Qingqiu says quickly. They have not talked about this yet! Shen Qingqiu still has not gotten confirmation about whether Liu Qingge likes him or not!

“Say it, Shishu,” Luo Binghe says, fucking Liu Qingge harder. “Before you forget how to speak altogether.” He sends a threatening zap of arousal through them, making Liu Qingge immediately stiffen and bite back a breathy moan. 

“Qing- Shidi?”

Liu Qingge grits his teeth together for a very long time as he waits for the arousal to pass, but with Luo Binghe fucking him languidly, it only builds. 

His jaw loosens. “Shixiong,” he croaks out. “Shen-shixiong.” He opens his eyes just a little, looking up at Shen Qingqiu, shyly.

Luo Binghe’s movements stutter just a little, not expecting it to be that sexy. Now fueled by both lust and jealousy, Luo Binghe speeds up his movement. 

“Slow down!” Liu Qingge growls.

“No,” Luo Binghe mutters. “You talk too much. Shizun, shut him up.”

“How? Do you have a gag?”

Luo Binghe growls and bites Liu Qingge’s neck. In lieu of responding, he imagines Liu Qingge with a couple thick black tentacles stuffed down his throat. He pushes it through the bond, and he feels Shen Qingqiu shiver. 

“Shizun, Shizun, Shizun,” Luo Binghe gasps quietly as he fucks into Liu Qingge. 

“Don’t- Don’t call your Shizun while fucking me!” Liu Qingge manages to say back. His legs are wrapped tightly around Luo Binghe’s waist now. 

“Shishu, shut up,” Luo Binghe says. “Shizun, please.”

Shen Qingqiu swallows hard, his mouth feeling strangely dry for once. 

“Shidi…? Can I…”

Liu Qingge does not look at him, too focused on trying not to express his pleasure. “Do whatever,” he mutters, although his voice cracks just a little bit. 

Well, that is not a no. 

A few seconds later, a tentacle taps at Liu Qingge’s tightly bitten lips. They fall open obediently, and a single moan gets through before the thick black length is shoved in there. 

Luo Binghe pushes himself back up to watch. Liu Qingge glares at him, but Luo Binghe ignores it. He turns to Shen Qingqiu, pleas falling from his lips. “Kiss me, Shizun, please, please, please.”

Shen Qingqiu leans in, and Luo Binghe meets him in an open-mouthed kiss. Luo Binghe makes pathetic little whines in time with his powerful thrusts until Shen Qingqiu allows him to take his long tongue down his throat as well. 

The two of them almost forget about Liu Qingge until he starts cumming, straining against Shen Qingqiu’s hold, his throat fluttering and gagging around Shen Qingqiu. He clenches down on Luo Binghe, his own legs locking Luo Binghe inside of him with enough force that would have broken the back of any regular human being. 

But Luo Binghe just whimpers at the increased tightness. Still, he does not cum. 

Stop, Liu Qingge gasps out weakly a few minutes later. Luo Binghe… No more.

Luo Binghe pulls away from his make out session just long enough to say, “I haven’t cum yet, Shishu. Be patient.”

He fucks Liu Qingge through a second orgasm, where Liu Qingge has lost all the strength to fight back. Even his jaw goes slack, allowing Shen Qingqiu to fuck his tentacles deep into him without any resistance. 

“Shizun, I’m going to cum,” Luo Binghe sniffles, speeding up even more. 

Liu Qingge lets out a weak groan. 

“Yes, Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu encourages sweetly. “You’re doing so good, Binghe.”

Luo Binghe gasps at the little compliments. “I’m good, Shizun, I’m so good for you.”

“Yes, Binghe is the best.”

Luo Binghe spills into Liu Qingge, pumping his hot seed deep inside. Liu Qingge feels it in his stomach, but he is so exhausted he cannot even form the words to yell at Luo Binghe for cumming inside of him. 

Shen Qingqiu pulls out of Liu Qingge’s abused throat. 

“Shidi?”

“Uhghhnnn…”

Shen Qingqiu just smiles and grabs the blanket off the floor. He drapes it over Liu Qingge. Luo Binghe collapses next to him. 

“Not going to clean up?” Shen Qingqiu asks. 

“Later,” Luo Binghe mumbles. “Shizun, cuddles.”

Shen Qingqiu molds himself into Luo Binghe’s arms, settling carefully into the little space between Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge’s unconscious and fucked out body. 

“Binghe, are you okay?” Shen Qingqiu asks, stroking Luo Binghe’s sweaty bangs out of his face. 

Luo Binghe holds him for a long time. “Shizun’s not going to leave me?”

“Of course not.”

“Or leave me out? Shizun won’t lie to me, right?”

Shen Qingqiu kisses his forehead. “Silly Binghe. Shizun would never.”

Luo Binghe nods a little. “Then I’m okay.”

“Good,” Shen Qingqiu says. “Because we — all three of us — have a lot to discuss.”

PART 19 - Forever

Their lives are not so different after that. It has just expanded and adapted to fit a third.

“It’s not fair,” Luo Binghe pouts. 

“What’s wrong, Binghe?”

Luo Binghe glares at the half-melted ice cream cone in his hands. “You guys have much larger tongues than me. And the cone is so small. It’s like you’re making out around the cone without me.”

Shen Qingqiu pauses, chocolate ice cream dripping off said tongue. He glances at Liu Qingge, who is on the other side of the cone. 

“Binghe…”

“You said you would include me!”

“You’re holding the cone,” Liu Qingge points out. 

Luo Binghe huffs. “I didn’t make ice cream from scratch just to hold it for you, you know.”

“Binghe’s welcome to have some,” Shen Qingqiu offers.

Luo Binghe shakes his head. “That’s not that I mean…”

“If you want us to suck your dick so badly, just say so,” Liu Qingge says bluntly. 

“What-”

“Qingge! That’s not what Binghe means!” Shen Qingqiu looks at Luo Binghe. “R-Right? Luo Binghe, why are you turning red?!”

“It’s… not a bad idea,” Luo Binghe mumbles.

Shen Qingqiu glances down, and indeed, Luo Binghe’s pants are bulging. 

“I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t mind if you… kissed around something if it was me,” Luo Binghe says.

“Is there going to be chocolate again?” 

“Qingge, don’t encourage him!”

Liu Qingge bites off the rest of the ice cream. “Let’s go. Now.”

Luo Binghe’s eyes sparkle, turning to Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu has never been able to say no to Luo Binghe’s eyes. Not then, not now.

Sometimes, Shen Qingqiu feels that he is just taking care of two children. He barely gets naps anymore in fear that he will wake up to their house on fire. The last time he woke up from a nap, he saw a scene straight out of his nightmares. 

Liu Qingge had Luo Binghe's entire head in his mouth. 

“Qingge, no!” Shen Qingqiu had yelped. 

“Shizun, it’s okay!” Luo Binghe said cheerfully, his voice muted in Liu Qingge’s throat. 

Shen Qingqiu had panicked anyway. “Qingge, get off him! What the hell are you guys doing?”

Luo Binghe had pouted at him. “Shizun… We were just testing the head regrowing theory. Liu-shishu offered to bite my head off.”

“You thought this was a good idea?!” Shen Qingqiu had demanded, turning on his friend-turned-tentative-boyfriend-live-in-fuck-buddy. 

“We already tested it with his leg. It can grow back.”

“A head is different!”

Shen Qingqiu did not talk to either of them for two days as punishment. It made Luo Binghe cry several times, but Shen Qingqiu stood his ground. Finally, Luo Binghe apologized and promised not to ask about or act on the head eating hypothesis again. 

One day, after dinner, Luo Binghe brings out a wooden box and sets it in the middle of their dining room table. 

Shen Qingqiu recognizes it. It is the box Luo Binghe had saved from when Abyss 1.0 had burned down. 

He had never pressed about it since it was clearly something very important to Luo Binghe that Luo Binghe did not particularly enjoy talking about. But he had always been curious. 

Luo Binghe sits nervously at the table while Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu “sit” across from him. 

Luo Binghe slowly opens the box.

A dried little flower. His DNA tests. A small velvet box. A jade pendant with a red thread. A scrap of paper that has Luo Binghe’s name written on it in crooked characters. 

A couple of these items, Shen Qingqiu recognized. The flower, he had given to Luo Binghe when he first approached the young orphan. A gift for his future host. 

The jade pendant was something Luo Binghe used to wear under his clothes, a gift from his foster mother before she passed away and Luo Binghe ran away from the orphanage. 

The scrap of paper is the first time Luo Binghe had written his own name correctly. Shen Qingqiu had been extremely proud of him, but he was not aware that Luo Binghe had kept that piece of paper for all these years. 

Luo Binghe reaches for the small velvet box instead. 

“Um,” he says nervously. He pops it open, and inside, there is a ring.

It is not particularly pretty or shiny, but it must mean something to Luo Binghe. 

“This is the last thing my foster mother gave to me,” he says. “Before she died, she said she wished she could have adopted me, at least give me a family in name… Anyway, this was her wedding ring. She gave it to me and said that when I’m ready to build myself a family in the future… she hoped the ring would be of use.”

Shen Qingqiu wants to hug him. This grown Luo Binghe suddenly seems to be fourteen years old again, shy and wearing his true emotions on his sleeve. 

“I’m never going to marry anyone properly,” Luo Binghe says with a little laugh, taking the ring out and fiddling with it. “But I used to… I used to dream of marrying Shizun.”

He glances up, his eyes bright. Shen Qingqiu does not know what to say. 

“I still dream about it,” Luo Binghe mutters, glancing away. “But… that’s not really possible, of course.”

“Oh, Binghe…”

“Because of me, right?” Liu Qingge interrupts. 

Luo Binghe looks up, a little surprised. “What- No! Because Shizun doesn’t have a body to marry me in! And I don’t want Shizun to go into someone else’s body either.”

“And because it will never just be the two of you because I’m here,” Liu Qingge says, a little bitter. 

Luo Binghe’s eyebrows furrow. “Can you stop interrupting me? If you would let me finish, I was going to say there’s only one ring and three of us.”

The silence is loud. 

Luo Binghe’s fingers tremble, making the ring slip from them and clatter onto the table. The three of them flinch just a little at the sudden sound. 

Then, Shen Qingqiu reaches across the table and picks up the ring. He rolls it around for a moment before taking Luo Binghe’s hand. He slips the ring onto the top third of Luo Binghe’s pinkie, the only finger where the ring can fit onto and still leave a gap. 

Then, a little black tendril wiggles out from Shen Qingqiu’s fingertip and slips into the gap. 

Luo Binghe stares at it for a long time. Then, he looks up at Shen Qingqiu, his eyes wide. 

“Shizun…?”

“Who said one ring can’t fit three people?”

They glance at Liu Qingge, who has yet to fully comprehend Luo Binghe’s words. 

“Qingge,” Shen Qingqiu says gently. “There’s room for you.”

“For… me?” Liu Qingge echoes. 

Luo Binghe grinds his teeth together a little, but he ends up nodding once. 

Slowly, Liu Qingge extends a tiny little tendril, and he hovers above the ring. He touches it and draws back a little, glancing between Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu again. 

Luo Binghe is looking at the wall, his face a bit red. Shen Qingqiu smiles at him. 

Liu Qingge slips into the gap as well, filling the last bit of space. 

Shen Qingqiu smiles. “See? One ring, three people.”

Liu Qingge makes a dying sound. 

Luo Binghe’s lower lip trembles. “Yeah,” he croaks out. He blinks up at the ceiling. The tears still spill out.

One ring… Three people. 

Forever.

PART 20 - Proper Literary Criticism Requires Firsthand Knowledge (AKA Happily Ever After)

“So… did you… like the new chapter?”

“It was horrible.”

Shang Qinghua rolls his eyes. “I read your comment. You thought the girls should have gone with the cannon fodder.”

Shen Qingqiu shrugs. “Then why’d you ask?”

“Well you didn’t tell me how you wanted it to go,” Shang Qinghua says, his hands firmly holding his cup of tea. He trembles the few times he lifts it up to drink. 

Shen Qingqiu, on the other hand, is more relaxed. He sits at the table in his human-like form, wearing something resembling clothes. He drinks the chocolate milk Luo BInghe had made for him, half a pot of it still sitting on the stove. 

Luo Binghe sits behind him, which is what is making Shang Qinghua so nervous. 

Shang Qinghua leans in. “Does he have to be here?” he whispers, canting his head at Luo Binghe. 

Shen Qingqiu frowns. “Of course. We go everywhere together. I need him to hold this form, otherwise I’d be this… mass.”

Shang Qinghua makes a face. “No, yeah, I get that, but… he’s kinda… intimidating.”

“ Binghe? No, he’s a sweetheart.” Shen Qingqiu smiles and glances back at Luo Binghe, who is busy kicking Liu Qingge’s ass at thumb war. “He’s a little sticky, but I don’t mind it.”

“One would think that he’s the parasite,” Shang Qinghua says with a nervous laugh. He sips tea from his shaking hands again. 

“Well, then he’d be my little parasite,” Shen Qingqiu says, his mouth curling into a fond smile. 

“Gross, you’re so in love with him.”

“You’re just sad you’re a virgin.”

Shang Qinghua gasps. “What the fuck is wrong with virgins? Virgins make up 80% of my audience!”

“That’s just sad…”

“It brings in the money, so I don’t care,” Shang Qinghua sniffs. “They’re my people, according to you. Bros helping bros pay rent.”

“I’m not your bro.”

“Sure, Cucumber-bro.”

Shen Qingqiu sets his chocolate milk down a little harder than necessary. Luo Binghe glances up from pinning Liu Qingge’s thumb for the 40th time, and Shang Qinghua shrinks down a little. 

“Speaking of virgins though,” Shen Qingqiu says. “Your protagonist’s dick is too small.”

Shang Qinghua sputters. “ Excuse me?”

“I said it’s too small. For an OP half-demon man with a harem of 3000+ who conquers lands with his mighty sky pillar… it’s just not that impressive, you know? Binghe’s dick is 25 centimeters. 28 when he’s really hard.”

“Shizun!” Luo Binghe blushes. 

Shen Qingqiu just shrugs. Shang Qinghua gapes at him. “Does he really? Can I measure-”

“Of course not!” Shen Qingqiu snaps. “Go find your own man! Your boss seems like he’s packing something sizable down there.”

“Are you checking out my boss?!” 

“Shizun’s keeping his options open?!”

“Shen Qingqiu’s doing what?!”

“Stop! What the fuck? I didn’t say that!” Shen Qingqiu sighs and turns to Luo Binghe. “Binghe, I’m not. You know I’m not. I’m just trying to get him laid.”

“Shizun barely gets laid himself though…”

“Three times a day is not barely!”

Liu Qingge huffs. “Three on a good day. I had to stand in for you like four times this week alone.”

“Uh… I’m going to head out…” Shang Qinghua says, standing up. 

“You liked it, Qingge!” Shen Qingqiu accuses. “It’s more like I gave up my turn for you.”

Luo Binghe twiddles his thumbs. “I can always go again… There’s more than enough of me for everyone, so there’s no need to fight over me...”

Shang Qinghua is halfway across the living room. “Yeah, I think my boss is calling… Anyway, nice talk, guys!”

“No, Binghe, your dick isn’t the problem-”

Luo Binghe’s face falls. “I also have ten toes?? On two different feet!”

“No one wants your toes, Luo Binghe,” Liu Qingge grunts. 

“That’s not true, Qingge. Binghe, I love your toes. I mean, you know what I mean, I love all of you, including your toes. No , I don’t want to eat your toes covered in chocolate, Binghe.”

“Goodbye!” Shang Qinghua slips his shoes on and runs the fuck out of there while the other three are distracted. 

“Chocolate?” Liu Qingge perks up. 

“Qingge, no-” Shen Qingqiu says. 

“I’ll eat if there’s chocolate.”

Luo Binghe considers it. “Are you going to bite my toes off?”

“Do you want me to?”

“No…” Luo Binghe sounds a little sad. He wiggles his toes in his socks. 

“Then, I won’t. But there’d better be more chocolate.”

Shen Qingqiu cuts in. “Okay, no one is eating anyone’s toes, chocolate or not. What were we even talking about?” He glances around. “Wow, and Shang Qinghua’s gone too.”

“Now we can have sex!” Luo Binghe reasons cheerfully. 

“Yes,” Liu Qingge says. “Or chocolate.” He glances at the pot of hot chocolate.

Shen Qingqiu sighs heavily. “Fine,” he grunts. “Who's on top today?”

No one speaks. 

Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu look at Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe whines. “Why me again?”

“I don’t have a dick. You’ve got a magic dick,” Liu Qingge says. He snags the serving spoon and starts drinking the milk straight from the pot. “Always hard, no matter how much you lick it.”

Luo Binghe pouts. “My hole is going to get tight again… Shizun?” 

Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes. “Fine! But I don’t want to do the work.”

“I can ride Shizun!”

Liu Qingge shoves the pot of milk at him. “Who said you get to go first? Shi-Shixiong…”

Shang Qinghua, how dare you leave me like this?!

“Shizun? Why are you thinking about him?! When we’re about to have sex…”

“Shi…xiong. Please?”

Shen Qingqiu takes a deep breath before reaching for the edge of the t-shirt he borrowed from Luo Binghe. He manages a smile. 

“Well. Kitchen or bed?”

Notes:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO BINGQIU BECAUSE THEY'RE SO DISGUSTINGLY IN LOVE!!!!

Anyway, this is our cursed collab part 2... hope you guys enjoyed reading it since we had a really good time brainstorming and working on it. There are so many little scenes that we talked about that I didn't get to write about, sadly. This fic was supposed to be a 4k crackfic, and now this is its final form.

Here's the promo tweet for the fic, and the tweet for Tiha's art!