#firegrown

The Peak Lords can take Shen Qingqiu from hiscold dead hands.

Shizun has to show up at the Immortal AllianceConference to support his disciples. Fine. Just because Luo Binghe didn’tmanage to show off properly during his turn doesn’t mean others shouldn’t havetheir chance at it. It’s not like they could do better than he did, or had halfa chance at impressing Shizun so much that they could take him away.

Especially since his husband is feelingindulging today. He hasn’t asked Luo Binghe to stop touching him even once. Infact, he has let Luo Binghe hold his hand at they ostensibly watch the varioussects try their best. So what if Liu Qingge glares at their joined hands or YueQingyuan looks like he’s biting his tongue not to protest? Shen Qingqiu doesn’tnotice and Luo Binghe couldn’t care less. In fact, let them look. They canwitness what they’ll never get.

Luo Binghe tightens his hold on Shen Qingqiu’shand, and is delighted by the answering pressure and the lightest flush on hishusband’s cheeks. Shizun’s eyes are still fixed on the screen, but he’sobviously aware of Luo Binghe.

Emboldened, he pulls Shen Qingqiu’s hand to hislips and brushes them to the top of it.

He’s too familiar with his husband to be fooledby his normal cover. The tips of his ears have reddened, but more than that, hehasn’t pulled his hands away. He hasn’t slapped Luo Binghe with his fan. Not arebuke has been heard.

He might as well have begged Luo Binghe tocontinue.

Luo Binghe turns Shen Qingqiu’s hand, gentlycaressing the soft palm with his thumb before kissing it again.

“Binghe.”

That was more a sigh than a reproach. LuoBinghe blows on the skin before kissing it again.

“Binghe, enough.”

On the screens in front of them, a disciplefrom Tian Yi Overlook is quite dramatically defeating some low-ranking creaturefrom Luo Binghe’s realm. Everyone is fixated on the action. No one will care ifLuo Binghe reminds his husband no feat of might could be more distracting than him.

He doesn’t stop.

Shen Qingqiu turns toward him in a flash. LuoBinghe barely has the time to mourn their intimacy before Shen Qingqiu pressesa chaste kiss on his lips, there and gone again, right here in the middle ofthe Conference, while they’re surrounded by esteemed cultivators.

…Surely they don’t have to stay here? Shizunmust have witnessed all that had to be witnessed.

“Binghe is being rude to his fellow disciplesby not paying attention.”

“How could I pay attention to anyone whenShizun is sitting by my side? His mere presence eclipses everything else.”

Shen Qingqiu taps Luo Binghe’s thigh. “Binghe!Enough.”

But he leaves the hand on Luo Binghe’s thigh,so Luo Binghe nods and shuts up. He keeps his eyes on the screen instead.

He just focuses his other senses on Shizun.Shen Qingqiu is close enough that he can smell the notes of interest on him. Hecan hear his slightly elevated breathing. He can feel the warmth of his hand.

He bets Liu Qingge is trying to murder him viadeath glare.

It’s good enough.

Until the sky opens and it starts raining on them,hard. Cries of dismay fromhigh-ranking ladies can be heard as everyone tries to save expensive silk andcomplex hairstyles from the rain.

Luo Binghe lets out his own cry of dismay whenhe realises that his husband will also be messy from the rain.

No one gets to see Shen Qingqiu looking lessthan perfect. It’s Luo Binghe’s privilege as his husband. “Shizun, let’s findshelter.” He grabs Shen Qingqiu’s hand and starts running toward the nearbyforest. It’s closer than their room.

“Binghe, what, wait!”

Binghe keeps running. They can talk under thetrees.

Behind him, he can hear what just might be amuffled laugh before Shen Qingqiu speeds up and starts running besides him, thefaintest hint of a smile still dancing on his lips.

Luo Binghe squeezes his hand tighter.

When they finally reach the edge of the forest,Luo Binghe gives himself a moment to admire Shen Qingqiu’s flushed face, hiswet hair sticking to his face, his white robes teasing the shape of his slightframe, before he snakes a hand behind Shen Qingqiu’s head and pushes himagainst the truck, trying to discover the taste of his smile.

Shen Qingqiu instantly reaches for him,grabbing his shoulders and surging into his mouth.

They lose themselves into each other, seekingheat to warm their chilled bodies.

Luo Binghe pulls back too soon, all too awarethat they’re still in a public setting, and while anyone with taste could notblame him from wanting Shen Qingqiu, the idea of them spying on his shizundazed and dishevelled turns his stomach.

Shen Qingqiu blinks and snorts. He opens hisinfinite spatial storage sleeve. “I have an umbrella. We should have just usedit.”

Luo Binghe plucks the umbrella from ShenQingqiu. “We need to return to our room to change anyway. I’ll keep Shizun dry.”

Shen Qingqiu steals the umbrella back. “If Binghekeeps the umbrella, he’ll hold it over me and let the rain fall on him.”

“As I should. I would prefer to be trappedunder a waterfall than let my husband be incommoded.”

Shen Qingqiu presses himself all against hisside, lifting the umbrella over them both. “We will share. We’re alreadydrenched. We can handle some more water.”

Luo Binghe curls his hand over Shen Qingqiu’s.Their shoulders bump against each other’s as they start walking. “As Shizunwishes.”

If Luo Binghe was a better man, he would enjoythis time with his husband for what it is; a calming walk under the rain withhis husband, the rest of the world mostly absent beside the rhythm of the rainand the petrichor.  

He can’t. All he can focus on is Shen Qingqiuso close to him, the feel of his shoulder and his hip demanding his wholeattention. All he wants is to remove their wet robes and warm Shen Qingqiu up.He cannot wait for their arrival.

Somehow, despite Shen Qingqiu being all he canthink about, he doesn’t expect being shoved against the wall and kissed senselessas soon as they pass their door.

Not that he’s complaining. He’s all too eagerto fight for breath as he struggles with Shen Qingqiu’s layers, trying to guidehim toward their bed but being distracted by every flat surface on the way. Onemoment he’s resting against the wall, the next Shen Qingqiu is sitting on thetable, heels digging into the back of his legs to push him closer. Luo Binghelifts him off and almost stumbles over a chair when Shen Qingqiu nibbles at hisear before finding his way back to his mouth.

Luo Binghe considers forgoing the bedaltogether and just bending Shen Qingqiu over the nearby desk, propriety bedamned.

He’s very, very tempted when the last of ShenQingqiu’s clothes finally fall on the floor, leaving his damp skin and heavingchest exposed.

He valiantly resists, if only because if he didhe could not keep on kissing his husband, which would be a crime.

Instead, he carries him to their bed and lowershim on it.

His husband remains there, spread outinvitingly, almost begging for his touch.

Who is Luo Binghe to deny his master? A blinkof an eye is too much time apart. He blankets Shen Qingqiu with his body, sealsShen Qingqiu’s mouth with his, fills Shen Qingqiu with himself until they’reone.

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She's one of fifteen people spread across thirteen locations to watch the places where the Vongola family-Hei Se triad showdown might possibly take place, the Italian giant finally reaching into the east to crush a pretender to the throne. Kyoko is the only one here for the simple reason that it's one of the more unlikely locations: here, the triad can send fifty and the Vongola can't show more than five.