10. Happy New Beginning Brings Sudden Worries
Shen Qingqiu had not expected the System to tell him he could use a self-saving function, which he gladly took. He also understood why the story had suddenly gone from a stallion novel to... whatever this was supposed to be now. A BL story? Yet something in him wasn't exactly against this mistake, maybe the him from firstly entering the universe would be, but he sure wasn't now.
Upon finally waking up he was in a good spirit, ready to go find Luo Binghe, although Liu Qingge had managed to scare him, his stomach dropping at the thought that Luo Binghe was actually dead, leaving him behind alone now that he was ready to start something with him, hopefully on a better note than all that had happened before.
After being scolded by Qi Qingqi, and also told what had happened after he had lost consciousness, Liu Qingge still stayed a bit longer with him. He had a worried look on his face, waiting for Qi Qingqi to be gone before finally asking "Will you be alright with Luo Binghe?".
"Of course, I will, why wouldn't I be?" Shen Qingqiu asked a bit confused. "Mu Qingfang told me... what mostly happened with Luo Binghe" he explained, not daring to look him in the eyes. It took an instant for him to understand, suddenly blushing at the thought of at least two other people knowing. Two of his fellow Peak Lord none the least.
"I-I will be just fine, no need to worry about this... Luo Binghe didn't really... forced anything" he said, his voice dying down with how strongly Liu Qingge was looking at him, as if not believing him. "I will be alright" he finally stated again, more firmly this time, knowing he would be alright, all he needed right now was to talk with Luo Binghe.
Yet this plan was harder to follow than planned, as everyone seemed to want to talk with him. At least things were apparently doing pretty good for everyone, even Tianlang-jun. Although he did feel bad for Zhuzhi-lang. The demon had truly simply wanted to follow his master around. Still Shen Qingqiu was somewhat convinced he most likely had died happy if it meant his master would survive. Didn't stop him from feeling sad about him.
He even managed to talk with Yue Qingyuan, which thank the gods the man was alive, reassured him that he would always be welcomed to the Cang Qiong Mountain if he ever wanted to come back in the future depending on what he would choose to do with Luo Binghe.
In the time he was stuck with the System, he did thought about it. His Peak was indeed important to him, but right now all he wanted to do was to finally be with Binghe after all the months he had just danced around his own feelings. The original novel storyline should be over now, nothing dramatic should come and cause problem. He even had the reassurance that he could come back if he wanted to. He would come back, one day, simply not right now.
Only after all these interactions did he managed to find Luo Binghe, which wasn't really hard because his scent was so easy to pick even among all the people present. The alpha also immediately noticed him, joy and relief seeping into his expression. Shen Qingqiu had slightly opened his arms, expecting for him to try and hug him, only for the Demon Lord to hesitate, hand stopping before he could reach him.
Oh. Was he still unsure about what had happened? Maybe had Liu Qingge decided to be a bit cruel when he couldn't stop him from bullying his disciple and put something in his mind about what had happened?
He didn't hesitate when he pulled him closer, hiding against his chest to take in the reassuring smell of the alpha, who was very much alive in front of him. Only when he was pulled in did Luo Binghe finally embraced him, hiding in the crook of his neck, "I am so happy that Shizun is alright, I... I don't know what I would have done otherwise".
"You will be able to make sure I am alright from now on" he replied quietly, feeling the surprise and joy emanating from the alpha, making his heart swell. "Shizun... loves you," he said more quietly, so only Luo Binghe could hear him, hiding a bit more against him as it was a lot to say, "So if you would put up with me," he said.
He doesn't have much time to had more, Luo Binghe straightening his back quickly as he looked down on him as if to make sure he really wanted this. Yet all he could find was a serious and happy Shizun looking back up at him with a gentle smile. Shen Qingqiu is pretty sure that if Luo Binghe had a tail, it would be wagging heavily behind him without stopping.
It was then Luo Binghe turns to hug him closer, only to declare his love over and over again, as if one time wouldn't be enough for Shen Qingqiu to believe him.
Their little time together was cut short when some disciple decided Luo Binghe was not welcomed here, making him chuckle a bit, grabbing the Demon Lord hand. "Why don't we go somewhere else instead" he suggested, Luo Binghe accepting quickly as they ran away from the disciples, quickly mounting a sword to fly away in each other's arms.
Like this, they fly to an inn to stay in, where Luo Binghe decided to pamper him, which is not really that big of a surprise coming from him. It was a good start for their travelling around, laying down so close both their scents were mixing together, talking in near whispers as if anything louder would break the moment.
"I will take good care of Shizun, always protect you" he hears said, kisses falling on his face, jaw and neck. "I'll take everything from Shizun, even if you change again, Shizun will always be Shizun" he stated. This did manage to reassure Shen Qingqiu a bit more on that, especially with how long Luo Binghe had been obsessed with his older self, knowing he was truly enough was good to hear.
He shivered a bit when the kisses became a bit more focused on his neck, more passionate and needy, Luo Binghe clearly keeping himself from just getting on top of him to have better access. "Shizun, can I..." he starts, yet the question never passes his lips, sounding hesitant.
He was probably still worried about what had happened, but also because he had clearly understood from Shen Qingqiu stay at Huan Hua Palace that this wasn't something he was seeking. But really? After all this, the omega was pretty sure the only one he wanted would be Luo Binghe, nothing would change his mind. He wasn't sure if he was fully ready to bond, but he trusted Luo Binghe to take good care of him and show him he did the right choice.
What would be the difference between now and later if it was Luo Binghe either time?
"You can" he replied in a whisper, the alpha eyes growing wider at his reply, as if not expecting for him to accept like this. He went to capture his lips first, a hand sliding to his neck to gently caressed the skin behind his neck, making him shiver a bit, pulling closer to the Demon Lord.
He breaks off the kiss only to roll over, his back against the warm chest of Luo Binghe, looking slightly over his shoulder with a small smile. "I trust Luo Binghe to do it right," he says, as a way to make it even more sure.
He then feels hand brush into his loose hair, pushing them away from where they were blocking the way. The Demon Lord nearly seemed distracted by them, before focusing back on him, putting small kisses on his skin. It made something in Shen Qingqiu shake, his instinct probably telling him to bare his neck more, yet he felt like him moving too much would scare away the alpha.
What a weird situation it was, that the alpha was seemingly the most anxious of the two of them about it. He gently went and pat the hand that had settled on his hip, trying to encourage him like this.
He finally felt teeth graze his skin and it made him shiver more than before and he finally felt them pierce his skin. It was truly a weird feeling, then to have him bite at his neck like this, arms pulling him close against him too. It was a weird mix of pain and something pleasant as if his body was happy to finally be bonded to an alpha.
Maybe it wasn't so bad that he ended up being an omega, because he doubted, he would have been able to have that before, although he couldn't tell if he wouldn't have fallen for his fellow alpha if he had.
When teeth finally let go of his neck, he felt a warm tongue lap away the blood, pretty sure Luo Binghe was also working on making the wound heal. It would leave a mark, which obviously it would, but at least it wouldn't start bleeding through the night or hurt him more.
He felt more kisses given to his neck as if to apologise for the pain caused, Shen Qingqiu ending up twisting around to kiss him again. "Binghe did good" he whispered, feeling now tired from their day.
He was held closer and more safely, slowly falling asleep to the "I love you" said to him again.
This had marked the start of their travelling around, going on night hunt and pretty much just relaxing around. Sometimes Luo Binghe would need to go back to the demon realm because of thing he needed to take care of. Shen Qingqiu would follow, knowing Luo Binghe would feel uneasy otherwise. Good thing it didn't happen often.
They would still need to work on the very obvious separation issue Luo Binghe had, but for now it was probably too early for it and he didn't mind being with him all the time.
But after a couple of weeks to travel with his new mate, the omega quickly realised that Luo Binghe was strangely overly protective, but also would do things he would normally be able to do. Sure, he knew Luo Binghe would be affectionate, but he wasn't expecting him to do everything for him, as if he was a child unable to do anything.
He had also noticed the new obsession the Demon Lord seemed to have with his stomach, making him wonder if he was getting rounder or something, yet it didn't seem so.
This is why one night, as Luo Binghe was laying his head on his stomach as if trying to listen, he finally asked about it. "Binghe, is something wrong with my stomach?".
The Demon Lord looked up at him a bit confused, as if not understanding why he was asking this. "Binghe is trying to see if the little one is alright" he replied, only for Shen Qingqiu to be confused this time. "What do you mean".
This made the Demon Lord sit up, quickly grabbing his hands to kiss his knuckles. "Binghe will take responsibility for what he did, so Shizun doesn't need to worry and hide it".
Of course, he wouldn't clear his confusion, letting the Peak Lord think about it more. Take responsibility for what? What had Luo Binghe done to him...
Oh.
Did he believe he was pregnant?
He suddenly felt a bit uneasy at the thought, knowing he couldn't be, yet he was scared to burst his mate bubble with how eager he still seemed to be at the thought of having a baby with him, despite how things had gone when they first did it.
He didn't want to worry him, yet he must have failed to keep it in because Luo Binghe slightly frowned, now looking worried. "Is something wrong? Does Shizun... hate the idea of me taking care of them?".
This made his heart twist a bit, quickly shaking his head as he closed his eyes, trying to find a way to tell him. "N-no, this Shizun has no problem with this idea... but" he tried, taking in a breath that was shakier than he would have wanted it to be, "T-there isn't... a baby, Binghe".
He didn't dare open his eyes, not wanting to see what kind of expression the alpha might have, not wanting to see how disappointed he was. Yet all he could hear was worries in his voice when he asked "Did something happened to Shizun?". Ah. Of course, the alpha would worry about him before anything else.
This only made him shake his head again, looking down at his hands that were now grabbing tightly at his robes. "No Binghe I just... can't be pregnant from what happened, it couldn't happen", he finally said, surprised when he realised tears were welling in his eyes, scared at the thought that Luo Binghe would be mad at what he was going to tell him, "S-shizun... took a medicine that made it impossible for him to be fertile temporarily" he choked out.
When he had woken up as an omega it was something he had been scared about. If the worst was to happen, he refused to carry anyone child if it was forced on him, even if his body would hate him for it. He had remembered a medicine that could help with this. It would make him sick as hell when he took it, but it would make it impossible for him to get impregnated for a certain amount of time afterwards.
He had learned about it when he had investigated something in the past. It wasn't the safest thing to take and had rather bad side effect upon taking it, but for many, it was most likely worth taking it anyway. It had been for him. He was pretty sure it could probably make him fully infertile after years of taking it, but when he had first woken up like this, he didn't believe he would find a mate so quickly, if ever.
He had obviously not taken any since he had decided to go with Luo Binghe, but the effects were most likely still there when he left the Demon Lord take him back at Maigu Ridge. Yet he couldn't tell if his short use of it had managed to make him unable to ever have any children or if it was still a possibility he could have in the future. Not now, he was nowhere near ready for that, but in the future, it could be nice.
He was only recently accepting more part of his omega sides, which also included the idea of having children one day that he would carry. Thinking he might have fucked up like this didn't help him feel better. He didn't want for the Demon Lord to be disappointed, even less if he had managed to completely ruin the chance to have any in the future. Something in his voice had sounded rather happy at the thought.
He hadn't expected for this to be such an overwhelming confession, having even forgotten about it since it hadn't really crossed his mind afterwards. He couldn't imagine how worried Luo Binghe would have been in a couple of weeks if he had caught nothing coming from his belly.
How disappointed must Luo Binghe be right now. He didn't want to disappoint him like this.
And to think that everything had been going rather well until now, he supposed luck was still not a thing he had acquired.
Instead of anything he feared, he felt arms pulling him closer to the Demon Lord, the warm scent slowly calming him down. A hand was slowly rubbing circle at his back, a voice trying to softly shush him. He realised he had actually started to cry when a hand trying to gently wipe away the tears, lips coming to gently kiss his forehead.
"Shizun don't be upset, it's alright" he heard whispered, "Binghe is happy to hear nothing bad happened to his mate" he simply said. He finally looked up at the alpha, a bit confused, "But-" he tried to start before lips came to stop him.
"Binghe will understand if Shen Qingqiu didn't want children," he said and the omega felt like he had misunderstood something. "It's not that!" he quickly said, "It was before Binghe" he clarified after, leaning against the hand that was cupping his face, "I was scared... when I woke up like this, I didn't want... something bad to happen".
He saw the alpha expression soften even more than before, looking a bit sad at his confession. Of course, he wouldn't want to hear that his mate had been scared to this point. He took him in his arms again, changing their position so they were laying on the bed, keeping Shen Qingqiu close to him.
The omega relaxed under the rain of kisses take came to attack his face, this unexpected reaction able to make him feel a bit less bad. When he was finally calmed down the kisses also calmed down, the alpha instead nuzzling his neck, leaving little peck here and there.
"But isn't Binghe disappoint he won't... have a child?" he asked hesitantly, only to feel the arms around him tighten a bit more. "It would be wonderful to have children with Shizun" he hears, making him feel a bit bad again, "But Shizun is also enough for me, if he doesn't want any children with me then it also what Binghe will want".
Shen Qingqiu seriously doubted he could have found a better mate, suddenly holding the Demon Lord closer to him. "Maybe one day" he whispered in the crook of his neck, hearing the soft humming of Luo Binghe against his neck. "If this is what Shizun wants, then I will want it too".
They laid like this for the rest of the night, Shen Qingqiu finally reassured and relax from what had just happened, happy to see Luo Binghe wouldn't see him as less because of what he had decided to do before.
No. The idea of maybe having some children in the future didn't sound too bad. It did sound like a nice thing.
But as long as Luo Binghe would be at his side, anything would be alright in this new story he was slowly writing with him.
look at me go, managing to do some hurt/comfort + not forgetting that sqq was very much knotted and there was no chance he /wouldn't/ have ended up with some pup
impressive task I also managed to finish correcting this before going to work, yay I won't need to think only about this.
For now the story will sit completed but am pretty sure I'll add another chapter later as a little bonus to see lbh pov of some event. Can't promise how long it will take (could be one day like it could be months).