Work Text:
Part 1-Realization
Shen Yuan’s awakening in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way had been a rude one. Not just because he had woken up in a new world, in a new body, in a new life. But also because he hadn’t known a significant fact about the body he had been unceremoniously shoved into.
Airplane, you hack! Since when was Shen Qingqiu an omega?!
The world of Proud Immortal Demon was a fantasy of exaggerated dynamics: the alphas were divinely strong and the omegas were dainty and simpering. The betas were nonexistent, with no room in such a melodramatic world for the stereotypically ‘average’ dynamic. The stereotypes had been one of the many things that had made Shen Yuan fume as he read the novel. He had taken personal offense to the insulting depiction of omegas, since he was one himself, and he hadn’t been shy about letting Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky know his opinion.
There had only been one major character who was a beta in the story, or, at least, one who was never explicitly stated to be alpha or omega.
The scum villain, Shen Qingqiu.
At least that’s what he had thought!
Yet he had awoken in the body of an omega!
He raged at the lost narrative potential of what the story could have been if that information had been revealed. What a multifaceted villain they could have had rather than the one-dimensional caricature that they had ended up with.
And so much more of the story made sense with this crucial revelation!
Of course Shen Qingqiu was more comfortable around his omega students! He wasn’t a pervert, he was, like any other omega, more at ease around his own dynamic!
Of course Yue Qingyuan was unfairly partial to Shen Qingqiu! Shen Yuan quickly realized that Yue Qingyuan was the only one who knew of Shen Qingqiu’s dynamic. As an alpha, of course he would be inclined to be more lenient to an omega!
Of course Shen Qingqiu was cold and distant! He had to be careful not to reveal his dynamic to anyone! The herbal suppressants were never enough to fully hide one’s scent, so he used his cultivation to mask his dynamic completely and any unwavering would cause the veneer to drop.
And, even though it didn’t justify his behavior, it explained his dislike for certain people. The pieces of the original Shen Qingqiu that were left behind told of a man who hated his dynamic and hid it in fear of being looked down upon, whose internalized hate for his own dynamic made him resent those who embodied the idealized alpha, even the teenager who hadn't presented yet but was already so clearly an alpha in the making.
You can’t use your own hangups to excuse child abuse though! Shen Yuan bemoaned.
Despite his new understanding of the scum villain, Shen Yuan still couldn’t fathom how the original goods could bring himself to be so cruel to Luo Binghe.
After all, the protagonist was such an adorable little sheep!
Shen Yuan didn’t have it in him to be mean to the endearingly earnest teenager that was so desperate to please his master. As soon as the OOC lock was gone, he couldn’t help his urge to dote on the little white lotus.
So much so that he began to dread what he knew was coming.
The System had been clear from the moment he arrived. He had to fulfill his role in ensuring certain events. And the most significant of those was Luo Binghe’s fall into the Endless Abyss.
The longer he spent with Binghe, the more the knowledge of what he would have to do loomed over him.
System, isn’t there any way to avoid it? He pleaded, a few months before the conference.
Mandatory event [Into the Abyss] must be initiated by the host. Failure to initiate mandatory event [Into the Abyss] will result in host returning to his original body .
Shen Yuan knew what that meant. His original body was dead. If he didn’t push Binghe into the Abyss, he would die.
For a moment, he considered it.
But he couldn’t bring himself to return to his own death.
It’s fine , he reasoned with himself . Binghe will survive. He’ll become stronger. It’s not like you’re sending him to his death . You’re just betraying the trust of someone who trusts you implicitly…
The months passed in a nauseated haze of dread and guilt that was exacerbated every time Binghe smiled at him so trustingly.
And then, far too quickly, it was time.
Shen Yuan’s stomach dropped as he watched the Abyss tear open. A demon appeared in a gust of icy wind and looked at Binghe with mildly curious eyes.
Mobei-Jun sniffed the air and frowned slightly. “A seal? How unfortunate.”
He lifted a hand and a ball of icy wind swirled, then formed a flurry of dagger-like icicles that flew towards Binghe.
Binghe dodged, rolling to get back onto his feet. He brandished his sword, swinging at the demon, only to have his weapon met with a shield of demonic energy. The sword shattered in Binghe’s hand, leaving him defenseless.
“Binghe!” Shen Yuan called, unable to help the instinctual terror.
Binghe glanced at him, worry in his eyes. “Shizun, stay back!”
Mobei-Jun looked between them. “I see,” he said with passive interest. “Perhaps this will be more effective.”
That was all the warning Shen Yuan had before shards of ice were flying towards him. The unexpected attack caught him off guard and he dodged slightly too late to avoid an icicle that sliced into his arm. He cried out as blood began to pour from the wound.
“Shizun!” He heard Binghe shout.
Shen Yuan stagged back as he saw Mobei-Jun throw another flurry at him, panic clawing at his gut as he thought ‘I’m not going to dodge in time .’
But then he felt a sudden force tackle him to the side and out of harm’s way. Shen Yuan was shocked for a moment before he registered that Binghe was atop him, shielding him from further harm.
He heard a faint growl that startled him.
“Binghe?”
Binghe briefly glanced down at him and Shen Yuan startled at his dilated eyes and heavy breathing.
Is he…presenting?
But, that wasn’t possible, he was supposed to present while in the Abyss when the dire circumstances forced his alpha to the surface.
Shen Yuan didn’t have too long to ponder it, as he noticed what was more urgent at the moment.
A red insignia glowed on Luo Binghe’s forehead.
The seal on his demonic powers was broken.
When Binghe turned to glare at Mobei-Jun with bared teeth and rumbling growls, the demon simply nodded in satisfaction and was gone in a gust of cold air.
Binghe stared at where the demon had just been for a few seconds before turning back to Shen Yuan, who froze at the look in Binghe’s eyes.
It was a look of fervent desperation, of deep desire, of disbelieving joy. Shen Yuan was speechless with utter confusion at why Binghe was looking at him with such an expression.
“Shizun,” Binghe breathed as he reached a shaking hand towards his face.
Warning! Mandatory event [Into the Abyss] must be initiated by host .
Damn it! Why? Why did he have to do this?
He wanted to rail at the System, rail at this whole world for making him betray the trust of one so precious to him.
Warning! Host must initiate mandatory event [Into the Abyss] or host will return to his original body .
So Shen Yuan hardened his heart and forced himself to flinch away from the hesitant hand reaching for him.
The look on Binghe’s face, the confused hurt at the rejection, made him want to curse himself.
“Shizun?”
“Luo Binghe,” Shen Yuan responded evenly. “You’ve been hiding things from me, demon.”
“No, I didn’t…I didn’t know until a couple of years ago.”
“So, you’ve hidden this from me for all that time. What were you trying to accomplish? Were you trying to infiltrate the sect?"
“No! I would never! Please believe me-”
Shen Yuan took a deep breath and steeled himself. Then, he pulled out his sword and pointed it at Luo Binghe.
The heartbreak on Binghe’s face nearly made Shen Yuan falter. “Shizun, please-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Shen Yuan said coldly. “Who knows how many lies you’ve told me.”
He stepped closer to Binghe, forcing him to back up.
“ Please , listen, I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone-”
“As if I would believe the word of a demon.” Shen Yuan took another step.
“But…but you said not all demons are bad…”
Shen Yuan scoffed and hated himself for it. “Maybe an average demon. But you’re not one of those. You’re a heavenly demon. No good could ever come from such a creature.”
Binghe’s next breath was choked. “But, you’re my ma-”
Binghe’s words cut off as a foot reached the edge of the chasm. He froze, eyes pleading with Shen Yuan.
“I’m no longer your master,” Shen Yuan said, even as the words burned his throat.
Binghe gasped and instinctively stepped back. But he was met with nothing but open air. He began to fall and he shouted a desperate plea. “Shizun, please!”
Shen Yuan closed his eyes, unable to watch.
But, then, he suddenly smelled something.
It was a strong scent that appeared suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped.
Mate .
Shen Yuan opened his eyes as his mind registered the scent and he realized what it meant.
Mate.
But the only person around was…
Terror, sudden and electrifying, poured into his veins.
No way. No way! What have I done ?!
His instincts screamed inside him to get his alpha, save him from what he had done.
Without conscious thought, he threw himself forward, a hand reaching out to grab Binghe. His hand grasped at the ends of the ribbon tied around Binghe’s arm that denoted his rank.
But, he had already fallen too far.
The ribbon pulled loose and Binghe fell, eyes locked on Shen Yuan.
“No! Binghe! Binghe!” Desperation took over and he braced himself to leap after his mate.
“Qingqiu-shidi!”
Before he could jump, a pair of hands grabbed Shen Yuan’s shoulders and pulled him away from the chasm.
“No! Let me go!”
Shen Yuan struggled to get away, even as he watched the entrance to the Abyss begin to close.
“Let me go!”
With a frantic shove, Shen Yuan escaped Yue Qingyuan’s grasp and he threw himself at the rapidly closing gap. But, just as he managed to reach it, the ground sealed shut.
“No!” Shen Yuan grabbed at the ground, digging his fingers in desperately. He dug in a futile effort to get to Luo Binghe, ignoring the rocks that dug under his nails, uncaring of the blood that began to flow.
“Qingqiu-shidi, stop!” Yue Qingyuan grabbed his shoulders again and pulled him away.
“No, I have to get him,” Shen Yuan protested in heaving sobs, struggling to return. “Binghe is down there, I have to get him.”
“You can’t,” Yue Qingyuan said. “Even if it wasn’t already sealed, going into the Abyss is suicide.”
“I don’t care, I have to get him!”
“He’s already dead!” Another voice said. Liu Qingge grabbed his hands, stilling them from where they had been clawing at Yue Qingyuan’s grip. “No one can survive a fall into the Abyss.”
“No, he’s alive, I know he’s alive.”
“He’s not-”
“He is, he is, I have to save him, I have to…I have to…” His vision darkened and he swayed, no longer able to hold himself up. He felt his inner omega curl into itself in grief and he wanted to wail but he couldn’t speak anymore.
“He dropping!” He heard someone say as the world became hazy and muffled.
“What? He’s an omega…?” The roaring in his ears rose and he couldn’t hear any more.
Then, he was gone.
{***}
Shen Yuan awoke with a sharp pain in his heart. He opened his eyes blearily and realized he was in his house. For a moment, he thought it was a normal day.
Binghe should be here soon-
Binghe…
With a gasp, Shen Yuan remembered.
He remembered Binghe’s heartbroken stare as he was pushed towards the Abyss.
He remembered the cutting words he forced himself to say.
He remembered that scent and what it meant.
How…?
Binghe hadn’t had a fated pair in the novel. He had wives aplenty, but no mate, a tragedy for a character as lonely as Luo Binghe.
Yet, he was sure of what the scent meant. He could still smell it now…
Shen Yuan blinked. Wait, he could really smell it. For a moment, his heart leaped and he thought maybe …
But then he looked around and realized he still held the ribbon he had grasped in a futile effort to save Binghe.
His hand shook as he brought to ribbon up to his face, inhaling the scent.
His throat tightened as the full weight of what he had done crashed over him.
He had pushed his mate into the Endless Abyss.
Choked sobs shuddered in his chest as grief tore through him.
It didn’t matter that the System had forced him. It didn’t matter that he knew Binghe would survive.
All he could think of was the betrayed look on the face of his mate as he fell, of the realization that Binghe had presented early because he had seen his mate in danger.
Wait…He knew, Shen Yuan realized.
Binghe had realized that they were fated mates as soon as he had presented.
“But, you’re my ma- ” He had said before Shen Yuan cut him off.
Mate. He was trying to say that I’m his mate.
But, if Luo Binghe had presented when his seal had broken (it must have been then based on Luo Binghe’s behavior), then why hadn’t Shen Yuan registered his scent until several minutes later?
System, is something wrong with Shen Qingqiu’s sense of smell?
Not at all!
What? Then why couldn’t I smell Luo Binghe’s scent until too late?
Host’s perception of the protagonist’s scent only was blocked .
A simmering anger began to brew in Shen Yuan’s gut as a suspicion formed.
Why?
Host would not have initiated mandatory event [Into the Abyss] if fated pairs status was known.
So…you blocked my ability to recognize Luo Binghe’s scent until I had already pushed him into the Abyss?
Correct!
Shen Yuan took a deep breath and sat up, fury searing his veins. His inner omega howled for him to get revenge on the monstrous being who forced him to betray his mate.
He clenched his fist and drew every bit of energy he could into a tight ball.
“System,” he said evenly. “Show me my inventory.”
A screen appeared in front of him, displaying his items but Shen Yuan didn’t examine it. Instead, he slammed fist into the screen. His hand went through the screen, but the energy he had focused there branched out across the screen like small bolts of lightning.
Warning! Warning! Critical system damage! Warning! Warning! Host account will be terminated if system fails.
“I don’t care,” Shen Yuan hissed, pouring more energy into the screen. The lines of energy branching across the screen began to glow. Alarms blared in Shen Yuan’s ears as the screen started to splinter.
Warning! Warning! Critical system damage!
“Die, you sadistic piece of shit,” Shen Yuan growled as he strained himself to get one last push of his energy into the screen. He watched with savage satisfaction as the screen shattered into shards that dissolved as they flew through the air.
With each piece that vanished, the sounds of the sirens quieted until, with the last shard that dissipated, it was silent.
Shen Yuan braced himself, waiting for the rest of the world to vanish with it.
But, nothing changed.
After several minutes, he scoffed, realizing that the System’s threat had been empty.
This world wasn’t some creation of the System that only existed as a predestined universe.
This world was a reality of the same validity as his original world.
As it should be. After all, his mate was here.
His mate…
The adrenaline rapidly left Shen Yuan’s body and a heavy grief replaced it.
His mate was gone.
Even knowing that he was alive didn’t soften the pain of knowing that his mate was away from him, out of his reach.
Not only that, his mate must hate him for what he had done. How could he face his mate after having betrayed him?
The despair, the guilt, the pain of separation ate at him.
He clutched the ribbon to his chest, the one piece of his mate he had left, and wept.
{***}
Part 2 - Interlude
Rumors floated throughout Qing Jing Peak and the Cang Qiong Sect at large.
Shen Qingqiu has been in seclusion since the Immortal Alliance Conference, they whispered.
Not in seclusion, some insisted. I’ve heard he’s in an omega haze.
There’s no way, others protested. He’s not even an omega. And, even if he was, omegas only go into a haze when their mate or kits die. There’s no way he had a mate.
Only the peak lords and those within the inner circle of the Qing Jing Peak knew the truth.
Shen Qingqiu was indeed an omega. And, despite not having a mate that any of them knew of, it was undeniable that he had entered a depression characteristic of an omega in mourning.
He barely slept, only ate if someone insisted, spent his days in a fragile daze.
He appeared to be in an omega haze but the only person he had lost wasn’t his mate.
Or, at least, that’s what they had thought
…
Luo Binghe was a creature of desperation.
The last lucid thought he clung to was an image. A face etched in anguish. A hand reaching for him. A voice crying out his name.
Everything else after that was confusion, grief, and a single-minded drive.
Mate.
Every ounce of him screamed at him to find his mate, return to his side, beg for forgiveness for whatever had made his mate reject him.
Anything that got in his way became a victim of his single-minded purpose.
At first, he was directionless, unable to sense his mate to know which way to go.
Then, he began to hear a faint whisper.
It promised him that it would carve the way for him to return to his mate.
And so he began to follow the voice, a constant refrain echoing in his mind all the while.
Mate.
…
It took almost a year for Shen Qingqiu to emerge.
He was pale and shrouded in an air of grief.
Everyone around him was careful when in his vicinity, not wanting to send him back into a haze.
Then, someone made the mistake of mentioning Luo Binghe.
He didn’t just return to a haze.
He nearly fell into a full drop.
He didn’t re-emerge for nearly two months.
After that, everyone knew.
Under no circumstances should Luo Binghe be mentioned near Shen Qingqiu.
More than that, those who knew of his dynamic began to suspect that he did have a mate.
Or, rather, that he had once had a mate.
…
Luo Binghe had been away from his mate for nearly three years.
He had despaired at ever reaching his mate again so many times but he wouldn’t, couldn’t stop. Every instinct relentlessly pushed him to continue past every monster, every obstacle, every brush with death.
And, all the while, the whisper that promised him a way back to his mate grew ever louder.
Now, he stood staring at a sword that pulsed with a barely restrained energy.
Wield me , the voice whispered. And I will carve the way to your mate.
Luo Binghe gripped the sword and lifted it into the air.
…
Shen Qingqiu froze as he walked home.
Something felt off.
Something in the air, akin to the way the sky became charged before a storm.
“Do you feel that?” he asked Liu Qingge, who was walking him home. He and Yue Qingyuan tried to be subtle, but he knew they, with the other peak lords as accomplices, ensured he was never alone when he left his house.
Liu Qingge looked at him questioningly. “No? Why, is something wrong? Are you okay?” Worry crept into his expression.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “…It’s nothing,” he said.
{***}
Part 3 - Reunion
It had been just over a day since Shen Yuan had felt something shift in the air. He kept it to himself, knowing that he would have to ensure endless fussing if anyone knew.
He tried to go about his day as usual, overseeing training, reading reports, meeting with Yue Qingyuan.
Just as he was about to leave Yue Qingyuan, he heard a commotion.
“What-“
“Qingqiu-shidi, stay here,” Yue Qingyuan ordered.
“I don’t think-“ His protest was cut off when Liu Qingge landed in front of them. He was breathing heavily, tension clear in his body.
“We need to get Shen Qingqiu out of here,” he said to Yue Qingyuan and Shen Yuan bristled at how he spoke over him. “There’s a feral alpha trying to enter. A feral demon alpha.”
Shen Yuan froze, heart thudding. Could that be…?
“Take him,” Yue Qingyuan said. “I’ll go handle the alpha.”
Liu Qingge nodded sharply. Shen Yuan frowned.
“No,” he said, drawing shocked looks from the others. “I need to see him.”
“No!” Both alphas said at the same time.
“Are you an idiot?!” Liu Qingge exclaimed.
“Qingqiu-shidi, we can’t risk you falling into another drop,” Yue Qingyuan said in a more reasonable manner.
“I think I know who it is,” Shen Yuan insisted. “I have to see him.”
“Why the hell would you know an alpha demon?” Liu Qingge protested.
“It’s a long story. Not one I have time for right now. I’m going to see him.”
“Qingqiu-shidi, be reasonable-“
Shen Yuan decided he didn’t want to continue arguing until they stopped trying to coddle him. He drew his sword and took flight, ignoring the shouts behind him.
He followed the sounds, a faint ache in his heart. The closer he got, the more his heart throbbed. A mixture of hope and fear began to build in Shen Yuan. It had to be Luo Binghe. He wanted it to be. But a small part of him feared his mate’s reaction to his betrayal.
Then, he caught that scent in the air. The one that haunted him since he had caught it for just a moment three years ago.
And all thoughts left his head. The only thing that remained was a desperate refrain.
Binghe, my mate, my alpha, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here-
He saw him then and the sight made him want to weep.
His Binghe was taller, wider, with longer hair and worn clothes. Shen Yuan gasped when he caught sight of Binghe’s eyes, swallowed completely in darkness.
He really is feral. Why…?
He hadn’t gone feral from being in the Abyss in the original series of events. Alphas only went feral when in extreme distress…
Oh . Oh, I’m so sorry, Binghe .
Nothing could be more distressing than the rejection of a mate.
As he neared, he saw Binghe pause in his fight against the disciples trying to keep him out. His head whipped around and his eyes landed on Shen Yuan. As soon as they did, he lost interest in the others, leaping away from the fight to come to Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan flew towards him and was just reaching out a hand when two figures blew past him and launched at Binghe.
Binghe growled and raised his sword to fend off Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan.
“No!” Shen Yuan screamed.
Liu Qingge and Yue Qingyuan paused for just a moment at his shout but it gave him enough to throw himself in front of Binghe. As soon as he was within arms reach, strong arms wrapped around him and drew him close. Growls rumbled in the chest he was pressed against.
“Don’t hurt him!” He said, his own low growl of a protective omega reverberating in his throat.
“Shen Qingqiu, get away from him!”
“Qingqiu-shidi, move!”
“Leave him alone,” Shen Yuan ordered. “He won’t hurt me.” And, somehow, despite his earlier fears, he knew that this was the truth.
Liu Qingge gritted his teeth. “And how would you know that?”
“Because he’s my fated mate.”
There was a sudden, tense silence around him. Then, an explosion of whispers.
“Fated mate-?”
“He’s really an omega-?!”
“That smell-!”
“Wait, isn’t that-?”
Shen Yuan ignored the whispers and the realization that he had unintentionally dropped the veneer hiding his scent, and turned to his mate. He took in the handsome face that had sharpened with age, the broadened shoulders, the pitch-dark eyes that met his.
“Oh, Binghe,” he whispered, reaching out a hand to gently cup Binghe’s cheek.
Binghe immediately stopped growling at the touch and let out a shuddering breath, closing his eyes and slumping forward until his head leaned on Shen Yuan’s shoulder.
A tension that Shen Yuan had grown accustomed to eased and fell away. His inner omega rejoiced in having his mate at his side again.
“Come on, Binghe. Let’s go.”
With no regard to the others around him (how could he care about anyone else when he had his mate back?), he stepped onto his sword and tugged Binghe on with him. He flew away, bringing his mate with him.
…
When he returned to his home, he tugged Binghe in after him. The alpha was surprisingly docile and strangely silent.
And, he was still feral.
Shen Yuan sighed, unsure of what to do to bring Binghe out of his feral state. Normally, an alpha had to get away from whatever distress had caused them to go feral in order to leave that state.
But there was nothing to distress Binghe anymore. If it was Shen Yuan’s betrayal that had turned Binghe feral, how was he to explain the circumstances to his mate when the alpha wasn’t even able to comprehend him?
As he pondered the dilemma, Binghe wandered around the house, sniffing the air. Shen Yuan was pulled along with him, as Binghe refused to let him go (not that Shen Yuan wanted him to anyway).
Suddenly, Binghe paused. Shen Yuan blinked and looked around, feeling the tension that tightened Binghe’s hand around his.
“Binghe?”
He followed Binghe’s eyes and saw that he was staring at his bed, where a messy nest was cobbled together.
Shen Yuan felt a rush of embarrassment at his alpha seeing such a pitiful nest. When he looked at Binghe, though, his expression wasn’t disappointed or annoyed.
Instead, it was full of a fragile hope.
Binghe stepped forward and reached for something in the nest.
Oh, the ribbon.
He picked up the ribbon that he had worn three years ago, the same ribbon that Shen Yuan had grabbed in a desperate attempt to save him.
Shen Yuan had kept the ribbon in his nest, as it was the only thing he had with his alpha’s scent on it. The scent had faded long ago, but Shen Yuan had kept it anyway.
Binghe looked at him with those dark eyes. And then he spoke with a voice that was rough from lack of use.
“Mine?”
Shen Yuan nodded. “Yeah, that’s yours.”
Binghe shook his head, then held up their intertwined hands and held them close to his chest. “Mine?”
Shen Yuan frowned, still unsure of what Binghe was asking.
Binghe used his free hand to cover both of theirs. “Mine?”
Shen Yuan’s heart broke when he realized what Binghe wanted to know. His vision blurred as tears welled. He nodded shakily.
“Yes. Yours.”
Binghe smiled hesitantly. “My mate?”
“Your mate. And you’re mine.”
Binghe beamed. As Shen Yuan watched, he saw the black receding from Binghe’s eyes, retreating from the whites of his eyes first, revealing his irises, until the darkness was confined to his pupils. Shen Yuan startled slightly when he realized that Binghe’s eyes were the red of a demon, unfamiliar in that way but familiar in the overwhelming affection they held.
“Shizun,” Binghe whispered reverently.
Shen Yuan laughed softly, joy making him light. “I think you should be calling me something else now.”
Binghe slowly reached out and rested a hand on the side of Shen Yuan’s neck, thumb stroking over his scent gland. “My omega,” he said with veneration. “My mate.”
Shen Yuan couldn’t resist the urge to lean up to briefly press his lips to his mate’s. He immediately flushed, embarrassment heating his face as he pulled away. He didn’t manage to get far, though, as Binghe used his grip on Shen Yuan’s neck to pull him back in.
Binghe’s kiss was fervent and messy and objectively unskilled, but Shen Yuan threw himself into it as a fire ignited within him. With each brief separation, in between tongues and overzealous teeth, he breathed his mate’s name. Binghe still seemed to be nonverbal, not yet fully recovered from being feral for so long, but his pleased hums made his feelings clear.
After several moments of losing himself in the joy of being with his mate, he heard a stuttering breath. He pulled away slightly to see tears falling from Binghe’s eyes. The sight pierced his heart and he immediately wrapped his arms around Binghe, guided him to tuck his face into the crook of Shen Yuan’s neck. He gently tugged Binghe along with him and he shuffled the few steps to his nest. When the back of his knees met the mattress, he let himself fall back and brought Binghe along with him. He adjusted them until they both lay in his nest, Binghe resting atop him and cradled in his arms, between his legs. He stroked his mate’s hair, giving him what comfort he could as he cried at what seemed to be years worth of grief.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll explain everything. I swear, I never thought badly of you. Ah, my poor alpha, I’m so sorry.”
He paused for a moment, trying to get past his own embarrassment to say a truth he owed his mate.
“I love you,” he finally managed to say.
Binghe shuddered and fully relaxed in Shen Yuan’s hold. His sniffles slowed and his breath gradually evened. He shifted until his nose was tucked against the scent gland on the side of Shen Yuan’s neck. He breathed in deeply, a contented rumble in his chest. Shen Yuan purred in response, baring his neck to allow Binghe easier access. His purrs deepened when Binghe hesitantly licked at his scent gland, making his scent fan out.
He felt the sharp points of Binghe’s fangs against his neck, not biting, just pressing there as if Binghe was waiting for permission.
“Yes,” he breathed without hesitation.
Immediately, Binghe bit down, fangs sinking into Shen Yuan’s scent gland. The pain was sharp at first, then the rush of pheromones kicked in and Shen Yuan groaned at the sudden euphoria of his bond with his fated mate snapping into place. Once the bite had taken, Binghe withdrew his fangs and licked at the blood that had welled. He did so carefully, reverently, as if he wanted to ensure that Shen Yuan’s bite mark was cleaned well. Once he seemed satisfied, he shifted again to bare his neck, a hand moving to cup the back of Shen Yuan’s head and guide it to his throat. Shen Yuan understood what he wanted and didn’t hesitate, biting down on Binghe’s scent gland and shivering when he felt the subsequent strengthening of their bond, now fully realized. Just as Binghe had, he licked at the bite mark afterwards, his instincts urging him to clean the wound.
He felt Binghe slump against him and glanced down, a brief spark of worry in his heart. It was swept away when he realized that Binghe had fallen asleep, exhaustion lining his face.
Shen Yuan wondered how much Binghe had slept in the past three years. Being separated from his mate had made Shen Yuan chronically sleep-deprived, unable to sleep for longer than small snatches. The persistent knowledge that his mate was away from him, the insistent need to go find him, had made it difficult to sleep. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it had to have been for Binghe in the Abyss.
So, he settled in, holding Binghe close and stroking his hair soothingly. He knew that they would have to face the rest of the world eventually. But first, they would take the time they needed to revel in being together again.
The rest of the world could wait.