Around two weeks later my parents were out.
There were at one of the Conferences that preceded the Immoral Alliance Conference.
Baba had been spitting mad and nearly refused to go after I had told him about Qiu Haitang.

I could understand it: he had saved the spoiled girl because she had been nice to him and she turned around and kidnapped his son and nearly tortured him.
I'd also be angry.
But I could also understand her take of the situation, so I succumbed gracefully to the cuddling and coddling of my father.
I didn't enjoy worrying him so much, but most of the time I wasn't even responsible for the truly dangerous Situations I landed in.

It was long time to go to bed, but without Baba gently knocking on the door to remind me of the time, I got sucked into my projects and ignored everything around me.
I had nearly finished to link my Qiankun-Seal to my will, no need for Qi, it only needed a little something…

A knock on the Bamboo-House startled me out of my inventing-process, which was scribbling on as many pages as I could, calculations and Pieces of Talisman and Ideas, stringing them up in different constellation to find a way to work it out.
It was truly luck that I always was good at Math and even liked the Subject, or else a lot of my Talismans would have been straight out of luck.

I blinked, stood up, stretched, supressed a yawn and wandered to the door.
I mentally reviewed the smaller Shidis.
It could be Zou Xiaofan, she was pretty new and still got nightmares sometimes.
I looked down on me: a little rumpled and comfier then anything, but still demure enough.

I opened the door and blinked in surprise at being face to face with Binghe.
He looked… rumpled.
His hair was let down, his locks framing his flushed face.
He was unsteady on his legs, leaning on the Doorframe.
He didn't wear any shoes.

'Shixiong!'
He shouted when he saw me, perking up like a puppy and… throwing himself at me.
I could smell the Alcohol on him.

I sighed, closed the door and put him in a princess-carry.
He was delighted by this change of circumstances, snuggling into my pecs while I carried him to the daybed.
He didn't want to let go and only after talking to him with soothing promises of being right back he pouts but lays down on the Bed, probably dizzy.
I returned with lots of Water and even managed to make him drink a bit of it.

Binghe nearly dozed off, but straightened again, taking my shoulders.
'Shixiong, I… I came here to tell you something!' He said it as if it was a great revelation.

I smiled.
He truly was drunk.
'It can wait until tomorrow, don't worry Binghe.'

'No!' he shouted in my ear and I leaned back a little.
'No.' He repeated quieter.
'I… Ning-Shijie said I should drink because wine gives cou… cou… makes you more brave!'

I smiled helplessly at my endearing Shidi.
I would have to talk to Ning-Shimei tomorrow, Alcohol, despite being accepted by society, was still poison and a drug and they shouldn't indulge to much.
Drink responsibly and all that.

'Alright, Binghe. I'm listening. What did you want to tell me?'

He looked at me, stocked slightly, but soldiered on.
'Shixiong… I admired you for a long time. Would you allow me to court you?'

He looked be straight in my Eyes.
He was serious.

All I could do was blink, fully surprised.
I didn't expect that.
'Shidi…' I said, helplessly.

'I promise I thought it through! I was away before, I collected lots of ex-expererience – ah, experience! And, and… I am not in one of your fan clubs! And, and…'
Binghe's eyes had gotten wet and a few tears ran down his face.

'Oh no, Binghe, please don't cry.' I took my sleeve to wipe away his tears gently.
He looked at me with big eyes and he looked so beautiful like that, ready to take whatever I gave him…

'Let me think a moment, please, Binghe.' I asked, sinking into a light meditation.

I was attracted to Binghe, I knew that.
And the Boundary of him being my Shidi... We haven't been Shixiong and Shidi since the Time in the Endless Abyss and the Time we needed to recover from that.
The lines had blurred even before, but since then we had worked as colleagues, truly equal, or as much as we could be.
So that was a non-issue.

I was single.
I wouldn't… I think I would like to see how it developed.
If, after a few dates, we didn't click, that was fine.
I would have to be careful: Binghe seemed to worship the ground I walked on, but from what I knew of heavenly Demons (Tianlang-jun and Zhuzhi-Lang) that was normal for them and their romantic partner.

But right now?
What if only the Alcohol moved Binghe to confess?

'Binghe?' I asked.
'Yes!' he answered.
If he was a dog, his tail would wag behind him.

'You are drunk right now. If you ask me tomorrow again, fully sober, then I will agree to a date. We'll see where it will take us, okay?'

'Really? Shixiong… Shixiong said yes?'
I smiled at him gently.

'Of course I did. No, please go to sleep.'

He nodded and… I was jealous of his ability to sleep right away, I really was.
He was still half sitting up!

I didn't manage to sleep that night.
Instead I went into the kitchen and burned at least two portions of congee until I gave up on that and made another meal where you didn't have to stir every minute for at least an hour so nothing would get burned.

My mind was scattered, and trying to focus on my new Qiankun-Runes didn't work at all.
I was too nervous.

Would Binghe still feel the same in the light of the morning, after his golden Core burned away the Alcohol in his blood?
And just how much did he drink?
As a heavenly demon (even only half) and only few years before he developed his golden Core it would have needed at least a barrel to make him as drunk as he was.

He had been… cute.
I blushed heavily, but allowed myself to dwell on the thought and squeezed the veil in my pocket.
As a rule, I didn't wear my veil or Masks inside the house.
There was no reason to, both Baba and Fuqin knew me, they wouldn't poison me and it was more comfortable that way.

In front of my Shidis I always wore my veil, but I had decided to keep it off.
No matter how comforting it would be to hide away my face in our coming uncomfortable Conversation, I would be as honest as I could be.
Which meant not hiding my face away.

I didn't realize how… dependent I had become on my veil.
I didn't have to fit my expressions into polite or happy ones, which was pretty hard with my resting bitch face.
I nearly felt naked around Binghe without my veil.

I took a deep breath and let it out again.
If he was to be my significant other, he should know my face.
Maybe he had even seen it before, we certainly spent enough time together that I could have slipped somewhere.

Binghe appeared in the doorway and all my thoughts derailed.
Now, that I let myself notice these things about him, he looked adorable.
He was slightly rumpled, still a little groggy and one hand rubbed his eye, freezing when he saw me, his gaze riveted to my naked face.
I smiled slightly, nervously balling my fists.

'Shixiong, you really… did you really mean it?' Binghe asked and just as that, my nerves flew away.
He was just as nervous and uncertain as I.

I took two steps to him, grasping one of his hands and bringing it to my lips.
I kissed his knuckles slightly, looking through my eyelashes down to him.
With gratification I saw how he blushed deeply.
I liked it.

'Luo Binghe, would you give me to honour of courting you?' I asked, my voice husky.
'Y-yes!' he squeaked.
I laughed lightly and didn't even mind how his gaze was centred on my face.

'What about Breakfast, then?' I asked, stepping back, not letting go of his hand.

'Sure!' He agreed, beaming at me.
I tugged him over to one of the free seats and unfortunately had to let go of his hand to fetch everything for Breakfast.
We ate breakfast in a relaxed silence and Binghe helped me clean everything up and laughed at the still soaking pots where the Congee had been burned in.

'Want to go for a walk?' I ask and Binghe nodded, smiling still.
It hadn't dropped since I asked to court him and I was downright giddy that he seemed to like me too.
It wasn't just the Alcohol talking.

I took his hand again and he looked at me questioning.
'Do you… Shixiong, do you want to… You realize that people will…' He looked down on our hands.

'I don't like being gossiped about, but I don't want to hide our relationship either. Better get it over with, right?'
I smiled at him, and lifted his hand again to kiss it.
I delighted in the blush I managed to conjure through my actions.

I ignored the whispers we caused and led him on a little known path.
We finally go to one of my favourite clearings and after making sure that Feng Dongmei wasn't hiding somewhere (the Maple-spirit still had the signature of a well… tree and as such was hard to sense) we talked.

'You… you liked me for a while?'
'Yes, pretty much since you got me back my pendant.'
'But that was ages ago!' I exclaimed.

'I mean… at first I thought it was just admiration, then thankfulness because you did so much for me but after the Dream Demon… I worked on my mental aspects after that, like you suggested, and found out that I… well, have a crush on you.'
I kissed him for that, a chaste kiss, but still.

'I never noticed!' I said, still astonished.
'I know. You are totally oblivious to anybody who wants you.'

'No, I am not! I mean, with all those Girls and Boys I rescued I had to let them down softy, so I know…' I began to defend myself.
I wasn't totally oblivious to advances!

'Oh no, Shixiong. Really, you don't. Do you know that Zhuzhi-Lang and Gongyi Xiao bonded because they both mooned over you? They even explicitly invited you into their bed any time you'd like!'
I hid my face, again bare to the world, in my hands.

'Really?' I squeaked.
'By now I doubt that there is anyone on Qing Jing Peak that doesn't know about my crush on you, I wasn't very… subtle. And you still didn't notice.'

'Well… I knew that I was sexually attracted to you since the time when I surprised you after the Endless Abyss. The whole Talisman Debacle?'
'Oh man.' Binghe moaned into his hands.
'I… I fantasised about it so many times, you have no idea. You cut a very heroic figure back then, you know? Truly, the many times you were half-naked when you opened the door after I had nightmares… they featured too.'

I laughed.
'Anyway, after that I didn't trust myself not to read too much into your gestures. I didn't want to come on to you and you having no interest… our friendship was too precious for me.'

This time he kissed me.
It was a little clumsy, but he quickly learned.
I was a 20- something boy and Binghe a heavenly demon, both of which weren't known for their ability to reign in their hormones.
Which meant that pretty shortly Binghe sat in my lap, one hand in my hair while I kissed him senseless, both hands wrapped around his waist.
I distanced myself from Binghe, laid my forehead against his and panted, very aware of both of our erections.

'Binghe, there's something… You know I was in a relationship with Liu-Shibo until shortly, right?'

He pulled a grimace.
'Yeah, I know. Can we please not talk about him when we…'

I laughed.
'Sure. But our relationship didn't work out because we didn't talk enough. Or at all. I don't want that to happen to us, too. So, just as a warning: I have a lot of secrets and a few of them I haven't even told Baba.'

He gaped.
Everyone on Qing Jing knew how tight Baba and I were.
'Not even Shizun?'

'No. I will tell you everything… one day. However, I am…. Slow to trust. It could take years. Are you prepared for that? I want you to go into our relationship with eyes open, Binghe.'

'Shixiong. I am willing to wait centuries for you, if you need it. You can't scare me away, now that I am yours.'

His Huadian appeared, demonic Qi slipping out.
I kissed it and with the gesture of affection it disappeared easily.

I knew, after all, what I was getting into.
Heavenly Demons are heavily possessive and while I wouldn't tolerate any limits to my freedoms, I did not mind making him secure in our relationship.

LBG: Shixiong, I love you!
Everyone: We noticed.
SM: surprised Pikatchu Face

There is a very narrow diffrence between obsession and love and LBG will have to balance that if he wants to be in a relationship with SM because he will not be as passive as Shen Yuan was. ヾ(＾∇＾)