Frostbitten

by misfitmonarchy

Summary:

When it happened, it wasn't on purpose. Liu Qingge swore to himself up and down that it was a one-time thing. He hadn't really even meant to tell Luo Binghe about it— but they were both sort of trapped in a cave in the middle of winter. It wasn't his fault that he'd needed to huddle for warmth due to his shifter features. Of course the wolf shifter hadn't minded. In fact… that was kind of the problem.

Luo Binghe more than didn't mind.

He liked it.
--
Or the one where every cultivator that's achieved immortality is a shifter of sorts, and Liu Qingge is a snake.

Notes:

• For silversinnbees.

I hope you like this!

When it happened, it wasn't on purpose. Liu Qingge swore to himself up and down that it was a one-time thing. He hadn't really even meant to tell Luo Binghe about it— but they were both sort of trapped in a cave in the middle of winter. It wasn't his fault that he'd needed to huddle for warmth due to his shifter features. Of course the wolf shifter hadn't minded. In fact… that was kind of the problem.

Luo Binghe more than didn't mind.

He liked it.

And now Liu Qingge had found himself once more stuck with Luo Binghe while traveling back to the demonic realm from Cang Qiong, when they were attacked by a small tribe of snow elves. Rare as they were, Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe were simply no match for the band of lithe creatures and their superior abilities. Although they couldn't shift like cultivators could, they were still deadly (especially in packs of twelve or higher).

Yet of course Liu Qingge would get hit with one of their freezing arrows. Of course it would hit him square in the chest, causing him to hiss in pain and shift halfway to his snake form. He bared his venomous teeth in anger, but not before a huge black demon wolf jumped over him and ripped the elf's head from it's body with a snarl.

Seeing as Luo Binghe had it covered, he focused on pulling the arrow out of his chest. It was slowly spreading a frozen magical spell through the wound, making the skin begin to turn white and cold to the touch. It hurt like a bitch, but he yanked it out quickly, trying and failing to circulate his qi to soothe the wound.

"Ah!" He coughed as the cold began seeping into his bones and organs. "Lu-Luo…" His vision blurred with the pain and frosty magic in his blood, reaching forward for the wolf shifter even as the last of the elves were killed. The wolf turned, ears perked and eyes red just in time to see Liu Qingge fully shift.

He was loosing control over his powers, mind in disarray as the chill swallowed his mind and body.

The wolf snarled before shifting back into the tall demon lord, catching Liu Qingge in his arms. Liu Qingge's vision went black as he leaned into Luo Binghe's heat and naked skin.

It was so cold…

Liu Qingge shuddered violently and coiled himself tightly around himself, desperate to stay warm. His instincts took over, blurring the lines between beast and cultivator until it was just all Liu Qingge. There was no carefully crafted divide between the two, only himself and the icy coldness that dripped into his veins and seemed to freeze everything it touched as it spread outwards from his wound.

In this form, fully shifted, Liu Qingge's large and heavy body was covered in black-bluish glimmering scales. A few places were rougher, scars hewn from previous battles. His head was heavy, resembling that of a red-headed krait, only differing that the scales on his head were not red in color. The last time he'd allowed his mother to measure his tail he'd still been a child, reaching about 14 feet approximately. While his body was mostly strong muscles, now Liu Qingge felt limp and weary, trying to coil around the heat source near his upper body.

There was a strange hum-grumble type of sound near his head. He pushed deeper into the soft thing, shuddering from the sudden cold. They were moving… somewhere. He could barely sense it, trying to get his wits around him as he extended his senses outwards. Yes, they were moving at an alarmingly fast pace.

It must be Luo Binghe. He must have…

Liu Qingge's thoughts were like soup and he had only a pair of chopsticks to gather them with.

Whatever… As long as its Luo Binghe… Then….

Then…

Liu Qingge scented the air, confirming that it was in fact the demon wolf carrying his heavy coiled body.

Finally, things faded away until all he could sense was the rhythmic steps of Luo Binghe carrying him somewhere. Somewhere warm… Somewhere…

---

Luo Binghe struggles to carry the huge snake, especially when his tail is coiling and uncoiling around his leg. Careful not to drag or step on any part of his Shishu (mistakes that had been learned from previously), Luo Binghe was glad that they hadn't been far from his palace and that he was able to get here within a reasonable amount of time.

He kicked the door to his private chambers open with the leg not currently wrapped in muscled black-blue scales and hobbled inside. Liu Qingge's body was becoming heavier by the second, even for a demon like himself, and it was a struggle to get to the king-sized bed without tripping over his tail.

"Finally—" He groused, trying to deposit the snake shifter on the bed. No dice. "Ah, sh-shishu… you should really… Are you even awake? Shishu?"

Luo Binghe groaned and strained for the little bell by his bed, laying down to reach it and making the mistake of raising his arms over his head, allowing Liu Qingge to coil tighter around him. Luo Binghe curses, swatting at the bell until he can juuuuust reach it with his fingertips..

Just a little more…

He wheezed as the snake around his abdomen nestled it's big stupid head into his shoulder. Yes, okay, Shishu— Now is not the time to act like a cute little snake when you were crushing your shizhi!

Finally he was able to knock the bell down and it rang as it fell, summoning one of the maids.

"Yes, Junshang?" She called from behind a curtained doorway that led to the servants halls.

"Get—" He huffed and exerted some strength, pushing Liu Qingge away a little from his ribs to breathe. "Get some warm blankets, and start the fire. And maybe some furs too, while you're at it. Shishu was hit with an ice spell."

"Of course, Junshang." She entered the room, pausing and flushing at the sight of her master entangled with the fully shifted unconscious Bai Zhan War God. "Oh my, a-apologies for the intrusion, Junshang." She bowed, sheepishly looking away from the very… well there wasn't another way to say it, very intimate display.

Most shifters allowed a small few to see their full forms, preferring to reign in the beast by half-shifting and displaying their power through a combination of human effort and beastly traits. Other than enemies, most people had never seen Liu Qingge's full form. Another reason many cultivators thought it unseemly to allow their inner beasts to take hold was the risk of getting stuck in that form with no way of communicating. Of course… there was also the risk of shifting back at inopportune times as it left them well…

Naked.

Listen, you try and find some robes that could contain the large beastly forms of every cultivator that reached immortality and tell Binghe how exactly that goes for you!

Luo Binghe smirked, looking down at his shishu. He had a feeling that Liu Qingge was going to be very entertaining within the next few hours when he woke up.

---

Consciousness faded back to Liu Qingge slowly, dawning on him as the sunset over the demonic realm and painted the skies black. He shifted a few times, tightening and loosening his coils around the source of heat in his bed. It was perfectly temperate, warmer than he usually bothered to keep it, except on summer days. He scented the air and found it also warm and a familiar smell of wood smoke filling his lungs.

Ah… This was nice. He snuggled deeper into the little nest he'd found himself in, humming in delight only to take notice that his vocal chords were… different. He was fully shifted? When had that…

Slowly he reigned in his sleepy inner beast and tried not to feel overstimulated as his flesh became barren of scales and rubbed against fabrics and furs instead. He groaned, losing some of his heat as his body changed back to fully human again.

Something smooth and hot to the touch pulled him closer. He sighed, looking to feel more of that touch, more of that flesh on flesh…

Wait a second—

Liu Qingge eyes flashed open, his qi spiking and jumping away from the heat source. He was-! And Luo Binghe was-!

"Awake now? Ugh, my back…" Luo Binghe said lazily as he sat up and twisted this way and that. "Hm?" He looked over at Liu Qingge's flushed face and threw his head back to laugh. "Shocked? You really didn't give me a choice. That cold really fucks with you, doesn't it?" He teased, reaching over from under the blankets to grab Liu Qingge's naked thigh with one hand.

"You!" He shouts with- with fury! How dare he- He touch-!

"Mmm." Luo Binghe grinned, showing sharp canines as his eyes went half lidded. He seemed fairly pleased with himself. "Me." He agreed, as Liu Qingge spluttered to find a way to escape the Emperor of the Southern Demon Realm's bed. He was naked and warm and didn't really want to jump away from the blankets just yet— but on the other hand…

Luo Binghe's hand started to wander upwards and Liu Qingge jolted away, trying to escape.

"Now where do you think you're going?" Asked the wolf, pulling him by the ankle when he was about to get off the bed. Liu Qingge fell onto his belly and squawked out reprimands but it was all for show, Luo Binghe knew it. So did Liu Qingge. He couldn't— he couldn't just—

Luo Binghe grinned like the cat that got the cream, pulling Liu Qingge until they were face to face even as the snake shifter squirmed and kicked and complained.

"Where's my reward? Didn't this shizhi do well? Didn't I take care of shishu? Shouldn't I get something in return?"

"What do you want?" Liu Qingge demanded, even as something… under the sheets…. made itself very clearly known. They were far too close! He needed to—

"I think Shishu knows…"

"I don't!" He protests, even when Luo Binghe's eyes flash red and his free hand catches Liu Qingge's jaw roughly. "Let me go! Let me- Mn!"

The kiss is possessive, leaving no space to complain until Liu Qingge is opening his mouth.

"W-we can-" He squabbles but Luo Binghe simply kisses him again, and again until every complaint and argument is gone and Liu Qingge feels like putty in his arms. "B-Binghe…" His face is beet red, his lips flush and wet from the kisses. "W-wait I-"

"No, it's time I take my reward." Luo Binghe replies, sliding a hand down Liu Qingge's naked thigh and pulling it over his hip, pressing them even closer.

"Ah…" Liu Qingge moans as their bodies become flush against one another, frowning into the next kiss and the next until he finds the world fading away once more. All he can see and feel is just Binghe, Binghe, Binghe.

---

The maid coughs idly from behind the curtain, pasting a few silencing talismans to the doors and shooing away her younger girls to go wash some clothing. It seems the emperor was going to be busy tonight.

Notes:

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