Perhaps - does he need more enrichment? Would he like to go visit some deeper waters? Shen Qingqiu could come, but he’d have to prepare both his body for the higher pressure of deep waters and his pod for his absence, and -

After the fourth time that Shen Qingqiu nearly destroys the fragile Bone Eater’ Fish he’s trying to carefully disassemble for parts, he resigns himself to the fact that he’s far too distracted to work in the lab today, and slinks back to his cave early. 

Unfortunately, Luo Binghe is already there waiting for him.

“Binghe,” Shen Qingqiu greets, flicking his tail in mild embarrassment at the sound of his own voice, layered with a pleased trill that seems impossible to get rid of when he’s around Luo Binghe.

“Laoshi,” Luo Binghe greets in turn, with far less shyness. “I’ve missed you!”

Shen Qingqiu’s ear fins flare in smug satisfaction - he missed me, he missed me, my mate thought of me while I was away! - and smiles softly as Luo Binghe swims a lazy lap around Shen Qingqiu in the cave, looping his tail around Shen Qingqiu possessively. 

“I was hardly gone that long,” Shen Qingqiu says, even as he returns Luo Binghe’s greeting with a quick curl of his tail around Luo Binghe’s. Then, more indulgently: “If you missed me, you could have come and seen me.”

“Laoshi always kicks me out of his lab when I visit,” Luo Binghe whines, draping his arms over Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders so he can lean in close and nip at Shen Qingqiu’s cheek. 

Shen Qingqiu tugs on his hair in mild protest, but doesn’t move his face out of the danger zone of Luo Binghe’s teeth.

“You could have come and seen me if you were capable of being in the lab without distracting me,” Shen Qingqiu amends. 

Luo Binghe clicks his teeth at Shen Qingqiu, but his expression is still bright and happy, so Shen Qingqiu doesn’t bother to placate him.

Instead, Shen Qingqiu straightens up a bit and bites the bullet.

“Binghe,” he starts, perhaps with a bit too much hesitancy for what is really a very capable pod lead simply asking if his courtship partner wants something specific. “Recently, you’ve been…”

“Very good?” Luo Binghe suggests, gently butting his head against Shen Qingqiu’s. 

Shen Qingqiu flicks a fin at him in mild scolding, but returns the head butt anyway.

“Too good,” Shen Qingqiu agrees. “So: what is it that you want?”

“Laoshi sees right through me,” Luo Binghe says, clearly pleased. “Mm, I want something, and Laoshi has to consider it properly before answering, because I’ve been very good for him recently.”

Against Shen Qingqiu’s will, his fins flare slightly at the challenge. “I always consider Binghe’s requests.”

“Yes,” Luo Binghe agrees, “so you must also consider this one.”

Suspicious, Shen Qingqiu pulls back slightly to get a better look at Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe lets himself drift slightly downwards, so that he’s looking up at Shen Qingqiu through his lashes. Shen Qingqiu’s suspicion doubles.

“Laoshi,” Luo Binghe says sweetly, “would you give me guppies?”

Shen Qingqiu’s fins flare out far wider than they had before, and his mouth opens to instinctively refuse. 

“You promised you’d consider it!” Luo Binghe whines before Shen Qingqiu can get even a single word out, and Shen Qingqiu, reluctantly, has to close his mouth before letting his knee jerk reaction take over.

Little guppies with Luo Binghe, would be - troublesome. They’d undoubtedly be too energetic and curious and sticky, and they’d probably latch onto Shen Qingqiu’s tail to be dragged around behind him all day, and Luo Binghe would teach them awful habits that would only make their teething phases way worse. 

Shen Qingqiu, horrifyingly, finds that he quite likes the idea of it.

Still, he won’t go down that easily!

“Guppies are -” Shen Qingqiu swallows thickly, tries again. “Guppies are a lot of responsibility, especially for an unmated pair…”

Luo Binghe’s expression turns bullied. 

“We’re only unmated because Laoshi won’t ask me,” he says mulishly. “Laoshi was so bold when he announced our courtship, and yet in the last year he hasn’t even tried to ask this mer of his to spend a mating season together!”

“You could ask too!” Shen Qingqiu cries, ignoring the way his voice cracks on the words.

He pauses, fighting all manner of embarrassing and very physical responses that would surely give himself away to Luo Binghe, who is still watching quite closely.

“...You’d - not be opposed?” Shen Qingqiu asks after a long moment.

“I’ve been trying to get Laoshi to mate me properly since before he announced our courtship,” Luo Binghe says with no small amount of pettiness, his gills flaring in a sigh.

“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu says, feeling a bit faint.

“So guppies are a perfectly reasonable thing to discuss,” Luo Binghe concludes.

“Ah,” Shen Qingqiu says again. Then, finding some of his old resolve: “I - can’t carry them. It would put the pod in danger, if their lead was in such a precarious state…”

“Naturally, I’d carry them,” Luo Binghe says, coiling his tail tighter around Shen Qingqiu’s possessively. “In fact, if Laoshi had suggested I didn’t carry them, I’d have been very cross with you.”

Shen Qingqiu despairs inwardly. This little guppy of his, asking for more little guppies, and so neatly taking care of all of Shen Qingqiu’s worries!!

Still, guppies were - a lot. To think about. For a mer that had only just realized he could formalize his mate as such, even! But… a couple sticky little guppies really… really didn’t sound so bad…

Shen Qingqiu’s gaze dips down to Luo Binghe’s navel. 

“I’m not familiar with how your deep sea blood might affect the process,” he admits. “On average, for a deep sea mer - do you know how many eggs would be viable?”

Would they have to try for awhile to get one to take? Shallow water mers could have clutches of up to five, but only a couple would be viable at once, so for mers that live in more treacherous waters - 

“We can have clutches of up to thirty,” Luo Binghe says, clearly smug.

“Thirty -!”

Luo Binghe’s expression turns sorrowful. “Though, it’s really only ten or so that will be viable,” he adds apologetically.