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Luo Binghe wanted for nothing in this life, considering himself at the height of contentment just to be married to his beloved Shen Qingqiu. They had their travels, they had their bamboo house on Qing Jing peak to come to, and Luo Binghe was even still technically king of the demon world, when he felt like dealing with that, which came with wealth and power and if he did a decent job it came with respect and admiration as well, which were. Just nice things to have on your plate. Not as good as his Shizun’s love was of course, but it wasn’t something Luo Binghe had abandoned entirely, either.
But having his Shizun’s love was the be-all end-all of Luo Binghe’s life. It was all he needed to sustain himself, the sight of his Shizun more fulfilling than any food, his smile more dizzying than any drink. After years of being his husband Luo Binghe still couldn’t believe Shen Qingqiu was his, sharing with Luo Binghe his thoughts and his laughs and his bed and even his body, all voluntarily, all because somehow, against all odds, he loved Luo Binghe, back. Compared to having these things, what more could this lowly disciple ask for?
Which is why the… addition to their household was not entirely welcomed by Luo Binghe. Not that he could ever voice his discomfort, too grateful to his Shizun than to dare speak an objection to any idea of his, especially not on this of all subjects, but…
But fuck, is what.
—
They had been out traveling the lands again, wandering aimlessly about China for no other reason that Shen Qingqiu liked sightseeing and Luo Binghe liked being with his Shizun anywhere, but places without a bunch of disciples and elders seeking his Shizun’s attention were even better.
Anyway, they had been passing through a town when someone begged for their attention, being so bold as to fall to their knees and grab at Shizun’s sleeve. “Please, my Lord Immortal Cultivator! You must help me, I don’t know what to do!”
Shizun, being a naturally kind and generous person under his icy demeanor, of course agreed to hear her out. Only for he and Luo Binghe both to be astonished at the old woman’s request, as she led them into a bare-boned little house and revealed to them a swaddled baby, left alone on a cushion laying on the floor.
“My daughter… She passed away giving birth to this demon-spawn. The others in the village have advised me to drown her, but she was the last thing my beloved daughter left behind in this world, and I can’t bear to. I am old now, and I fear for both our safety should I try to take the burden of raising her myself. Surely, one as wise as you knows what I should do?”
Luo Binghe watched his Shizun’s face carefully, watching his eyes widen and his mouth tighten. “A child born of a human and demon… There are not many places one such as that would be accepted,” he said carefully, as the old woman picked up the baby.
And he watched as the granny offered the child up to Shen Qingqiu, who reluctantly accepted her into his arms. Watched his Shizun’s eyes soften as he carefully cradled the baby against his chest, even as the child stirred and began to cry.
“Shush shush shush,” Shizun cooed, the tiniest of smiles tugging unconsciously at the corner of his lips. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. I won’t hurt you.”
Somehow, as if sensing Shizun’s gentility and responding to it, the baby settled down, only a few soft babbling whimpers escaping as Shen Qingqiu rocked her gently in his arms.
“Shizun…” Luo Binghe had a frown threatening to darken his face. “What exactly do you think should be done with it?”
But Luo Binghe wasn’t as stupid as he looked, and he could read the look on his Shizun’s face as plain as day as he held the child. It seems as though Shizun had a soft spot for halfbreeds after all.
“I can think of no place she would be safer than Qing Ding Peak, of course. Who knows better how to take care of a half demon child then one who has done it before?”
Finally, he turned his gaze to Luo Binghe. “Unless of course, Binghe has any objections to the idea. If you are not up to the responsibility, there are likely others in Cang Qiong Mountain who would be willing to watch over her until she’s old enough to begin training.”
Luo Binghe strained against the urge to tell his Shizun that Qi Qingqi would most likely greet the baby with open arms, but. How could he be so ungrateful, when this Shizun had raised Luo Binghe himself? What right did he have to say he wasn’t allowed to do it again, especially when he had already, in the span of just moments, fallen into such deep affection for the child?
So he took in a deep breath, and smiled for his Shizun. “I can think of no safer home than in Shizun’s care,” he said, which was as close to honest about the situation as he allowed himself to get.
His Shizun smiled, and Luo Binghe’s poor heart swooned. Anything, he told himself, would be worth that smile. Besides, it was just a baby. How much attention could it possibly need?
Babies, it turned out, required… a lot of attention. Just. So much. Every hour of every day it started crying, needing food or a wash of her cloth diaper or to be held or sometimes just crying for the sake of crying and even Shizun couldn’t soothe her. The trip home took three times as long as it should have because they needed to stop and tend to the baby so often, and by the time they made it back to Qing Jing Peak they were both… or rather, all three now, haggard and tired from the long journey together.
“I had better,” Shen Qingqiu said when they returned, “Talk to Yue Qingyuan. Agreeing to let you stay here with me was already a stretch enough to begin with, I don’t look forward to the reaction I’d get if we tried to sneak in a baby next.”
His Shizun only took enough time to clean he and the baby up before they were off again, taking the new baby with to meet Yue Qingyuan, most likely in hopes to activate a soft spot within the sect head upon sight of her tiny hands and chubby face.
Leaving Luo Binghe alone to deal with the disciples of their own sect, many of whom had seen their Shizun and his husband wander home with a baby in tow and understandably, had more than a few questions. Questions that only Luo Binghe was around to answer.
He almost missed those days when they used to be afraid of him. Some Demon King he was turning out to be, huh?
--
To no one’s real surprise, they were allowed to keep and raise the baby as they saw fit. And so there was suddenly a new addition to their little bamboo house, the spare room on the side that Luo Binghe slept in as an adolescent quickly transformed into a nursery to raise Shizun’s new child in.
It took literal weeks for Luo Binghe to think of the fact that they didn’t even have a name to call the baby. Probably because he was too busy resenting its very existence to care what she was called, but it seemed like sort of an important enough thing not to be overlooked.
“Did,” Luo Binghe asked, watching as Shizun idly rocked the baby in his lap. “Did that old woman ever tell you that thing’s name?”
Shizun was making a soft face, idly humming out a simple, “No,” as he stared into the baby’s eyes. He glanced over to Luo Binghe at last, eyes skimming over his husband with an affectionate look. “So I started calling her Shihong.”
The world is red? That was an odd thing to decide to name her. Was that just because she was part demon, or was Shizun just particularly fond of the color red?
“Why that name? If she’s a girl, she should be named something cute like Wenling.”
“Because she looks like a Shihong,” Shizun answered simply, as though a baby could look like any name other than ‘dumpling.’
Luo Binghe could do nothing more than sigh, because once his Shizun got an idea into his head there was nary anything that could sway him.
Besides. Shihong was a cute name too, sort of.
--
The more time they spent with Shihong, the more attached to her Shizun seemed to grow. It didn’t matter that she threw up all over his shoulders, it didn’t matter that she cried all through the night, it didn’t matter that Shizun had to wash diapers and wipe bottoms day after day after day. He looked at that baby with nothing but the deepest adoration, cooing gently at her and lavishing her with words of affirmation that Luo Binghe could only dream of getting from his Shizun.
It wasn’t to say that Luo Binghe hated the baby. He just… didn’t enjoy her company, was all. And he didn’t like the fact that all of the praise and attention he should be getting from his husband was going to this… Adorable little parasite instead.
Yes, he could admit it. Luo Binghe was jealous, and he was jealous of an infant at that. That was why he knew better than to voice any of his deep, deep, neediness, knew to just keep his quiet around Shizun and the baby, no matter how much that deep black well of possessiveness swirled in his chest.
Luo Binghe had to remind himself that Shizun had chosen him over everyone else, had to remind himself that no matter how long this child may need his Shizun for Shen Qingqiu and already promised to belong to Luo Binghe for even longer than that. He was his husband, and that meant he was Luo Binghe’s forever, would share his heart and his bed with him long after Shihong moved out to live a life of her own.
He just had to endure it for a while. The last thing he needed was for anyone to think he didn’t want the baby - even Luo Binghe wasn’t capable of abandoning her or trying to separate her from Shizun, far too weak hearted to bear such an idea. Not even he was enough of a monster to want that child to grow up thinking anyone didn’t want her around.
But still… There were times he really wished he could send her floating down the river. Only times like right now, when he was happily settled between his husband’s thighs and licking at his most intimate places, trying to pleasure his beloved when all of the sudden -
All of the damned sudden, the baby starts crying again. And Shen Qingqiu was shoving Luo Binghe off of him and scrambling to throw his robe back on, calling out a gentle, “Shihong, Shihong, I’m right here, it’s okay now.”
He shouldn’t even be surprised anymore. This was just like what had happened every night he tried to slip between his husband's legs, after all.
Luo Binghe pulled down a pillow and buried a scream into it.
--
So he wasn’t getting any intimate time with his Shizun. But not only was he not getting alone time with him, he was barely getting time with him even to talk, with Shizun constantly busy with the baby every time he wasn’t outside overseeing his disciples, sometimes busy with both at the same time. Luo Binghe himself kept busy keeping everything clean and everyone well-fed, which with a baby both facts took more time and energy than ever before. The only time they got to themselves was when the baby was asleep, and during those times his Shizun was so worn out from taking care of her that he himself would fall into an adjoining nap.
The worst times were when they fell asleep together, Shihong nestled closely against Shizun’s chest, cradled by delicate hands combing gently through her hair. No faiiirrrr… That’s where Luo Binghe wanted to be right now! When was the last time Shizun had played with his hair, huh? Weeks! Weeks and months! Stupid Shizun-stelaing baby.
And absolutely everyone doted on her. Everyone from Yue Qingyuan to Mu Qingfang to all of Shizun’s most devoted disciples would constantly bombard their bamboo house with visits to meet or play with the baby, and Shizun would always indulge them with a smile and let them into their home to meet Shihong. So not only was Shizun doting on the baby, but everyone ELSE liked her more than they liked Luo Binghe, too. Which wasn’t really a surprise, but. Like, come on. Even Ning Yingying liked the baby more than she liked him, the traitor! Wasn’t she supposed to be the only one who still tolerated him??
So needless to say, it was during the depths of Luo Binghe’s despair about this entire situation that his Shizun got a call to duty, and announced that he’d be leaving for the next few days.
“But - why can’t I go with you? Wherever you go, Shizun always takes me with!” Luo Binghe pleaded, watching as even now Shen Qingqiu bounced the baby in his arms.
“Because, Binghe,” Shizun said indulgently, the words rolling off his tongue. “Someone needs to stay here and take care of Shihong. Who else could be trusted with such a task but you?”
Luo Binghe froze, eyes dropping from his Shizun’s face down to the baby in his arms. “I’m… just me and… Alone? Without Shizun?”
Shizun’s smile was slight, but brimming with affection nonetheless. “Of course. Did you think you’d never have to be alone with her your whole lives? Don’t worry, Binghe, you can do this. How often have you watched me take care of her these long weeks, after all?”
Luo Binghe swallowed deeply. “I have done little else,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I can safely care for her. What if - what if I drop her? She’d break in an instant!”
Shizun’s laugh was always a welcome sound, even when it was at Luo Binghe’s expense, as it obviously was now. “You’re more gentle than you give yourself credit for. You trust my judgement, don’t you? Trust my faith in you, then, too.”
What else could Luo Binghe do but agree, then? He nodded, and with only the briefest explanations of how to care for Shihong while he was gone Ming Fan had arrived at the door to escort Shizun off the mountain.
Luo Binghe cried after them, “Oh come on, Ming Fan gets to go with you?”
“Of course he does,” Shizun said from behind his fan as he turned away from Luo Binghe. “Someone needs to drive my coach.”
—
And so, Luo Binghe was face to face with the greatest challenge he had ever endured - a crying baby. He approached her bed, a look of distaste painted over his face as he stared her down, hoping to figure out what was wrong just with a glance like Shizun often did.
No luck. Crap. He was going to have to start trying random solutions, then.
Unfortunately for Luo Binghe, pretty much all of those solutions required doing something he’d been avoiding this entire time - actually pick the baby up. Carefully, he wrapped his fingers around her little body, heaving her up out of her wooden crib. She was a bit heavier than he had expected, but still so very small, and Luo Binghe was terrified he’d strengthen his grip just a little too hard and end up leaving bruises on her delicate skin. Scary… Babies really were scary.
Especially since she still hadn’t stopped crying. Luo Binghe checked her diaper to find it dry, which was… a relief, not to have to deal with that just yet. Next he tried feeding her, but Shizun had stopped to do just that before he left, so he wasn’t really surprised when she refused his offers of a milk bottle and vegetable paste.
After those two basics, he didn’t know what to do. Just kept holding her in his arms, pacing around the bamboo house and bouncing her in his arms, desperately cooing platitudes into her ear.
Eventually she cried herself out, relaxing into tired babbles against his chest, and Luo Binghe let out a long sigh of relief. “There you go, I’m not so bad, am I?” He asked the baby, gently patting her back.
She babbled again, soft and quiet and just a little bit adorable.
“Don’t try that cutesy shit with me,” he warned. “I still don’t trust you. Not when the last person Shizun raised he married.”
Shihong, naturally enough, didn’t have a comeback for that. Luo Binghe counted that as a win.
—
The first day, for the most part, was filled with crying. Not just Shihong’s, either - after a few hours of not being able to get her to stop, Luo Binghe had joined in, tired from the stress of trying to figure out what was wrong and not having Shizun around to guide him and tell him what the fuck he could possibly do to just… make her… stop .
He barely got any sleep at all, doing as Shizun before him and done and only managing to catch small naps when the baby herself was already sleeping. This dragged on into the second day, where when Luo Binghe went down to wash the baby’s laundry and left her behind in the house to nap, he realized the absence of the sound of wailing had left his ears ringing. Or maybe that was the sleep deprivation. Either way, he didn’t like it.
It was when he hung up the laundry to dry and got back into the house only to find she had rolled over onto her stomach and was currently face-down in the pillow and probably suffocating herself or something - could babies do that or were they smart enough to - it didn’t matter, Luo Binghe was rushing to turn her back over onto her back.
As much as he hated to admit it, he realized he needed help.
Too bad there was only one person around he could ask, and that was Ning Yingying.
“Aiyah, don’t bring her to me!” She crowed when Luo Binghe found her, visibly backing away from he and the baby. “I don’t know anything about kids, if you need help I’m not the person to go to! What’s wrong, haven’t you been watching Shizun take care of you both enough to have this figured out yet?”
“I thought I did, but she just won’t stop crying!” Luo Binghe all but wailed, pleading for her help. “Can you at least watch over it for a while? I think she just hates me, and I don’t know what to do anymore!”
She looked like she pitied him, sighing and relaxing from her recoiled stance to pat the baby on her tiny head. “Look, I don’t know anything about babies… But there IS someone I know who does.”
Luo Binghe cheered up instantly. “Who? Anyone, I’ll beg at their feet!”
She bit her lip to hide a smile. “You aren’t gonna like this.”
Eh? What did that mean? Who could possibly -
“...But I know that Liu Mingyan is a lot younger than her big brother, and that she has another younger sister still. And the person who did the most in raising her and her little sister was…”
Luo Binghe’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”
Ning Yinying shrugged. “You said you’d beg for help from anyone, right? Better be prepared to hug his thighs.”
—
Ning Yingying at least had the courtesy to run to Bai Zhan Peak to go get him, since Luo Binghe showing up there himself was an act just short of a declaration of war, and she doubted even he could successfully fight off all of it’s disciples with a baby on his back.
So Luo Binghe waited, pacing around with the baby until he finally heard someone at the door.
Liu Qingge looked far more smug than he had any right to, eyes sparkling with mirth even where the rest of his face remained as impassive as it usually did. “I heard you needed help.”
Just seeing his face was enough to annoy Luo Binghe, and he instantly forgot about all the hours of stress the baby had brought him, wanting nothing more than to slap that annoying expression off his face. “I’ve been managing,” he said instead, only just managing to keep the scowl off his face.
“Oh,” Liu Qingge said easily, wasting no time in turning away from Luo Binghe. “Then I guess there’s no reason for me to have come all this way.”
And with that he made to walk off, forcing Luo Binghe to call after him. “Wait! I lied, don’t go. I can’t do this by myself.”
Liu Qingge looked no less smug. “Then say it.”
“Say what?” Said, eyes darkening.
“You know what,” Liu Qingge drawled, leaning casually against the door frame.
Luo Binghe wished desperately for the ability to throw him out on his ass. But Shihong was crying again, or still, and the fact that he didn’t even know anymore meant he really did need anything Liu Qingge could offer.
“Please help me,” Luo Binghe said through gritted teeth. “She’s been crying ever since Shizun left and I can’t make it STOP and I need you. There, are you happy? Kicking a poor man when he’s at his lowest?”
“Sure am,” Liu Qingge said. Then he stepped inside, lifting the baby from Luo Binghe’s grip as he made himself perfectly at home in Binghe and Shizun’s bamboo house.
He sat down in Luo Binghe’s seat, forcing Luo Binghe to take Shizun’s spot instead. “Does she have a pacifier?” Liu Qingge asked, forcing Luo Binghe to nod and run and fetch it from the baby’s room.
He was only gone for a second, but when he came back Liu Qingge was already rocking the baby in his arms, and had begun softly cooing to her in a low voice. It took a moment to realize he was singing, and when Luo Binghe handed off the pacifier for her to suck into her mouth, Shihong instantly accepted it, quieting down as soon as it was in her lips.
“Oh come on,” Luo Binghe pleaded in a low enough voice not to disturb Shihong. “I’ve been trying to get her to quiet down for two days, how did you do it in thirty seconds??”
Liu Qingge stopped his whisper-soft song long enough to bite back. “You’re not being gentle enough. She can tell you’re tense and she’s responding to it, you need to just calm down and actually play with her.”
And with that he resumed the gentle lullaby, rocking Shihong for long minutes until her eyes slowly drifted close.
Luo Binghe watched, entranced with the gentle expression on Liu Qingge’s face. He looked so soft and loving, like Luo Binghe had never seen him before, like this stupid little baby had the power to take the spitfire out of even the God of War himself.
He looked good with Shizun’s baby in his arms. Watching he and the baby, Luo Binghe could easily imagine Shizun right beside the two, smiling down at Liu Quingge with Shihong in his arms, the picture of a perfect little family of three. Liu Qingge was so much better with kids than Luo Binghe was, the demon lord wouldn’t have been surprised at all if Shen Qingqiu decided that Liu Qingge would make a better husband than he did any day now and just dumped him on the side of the streets. If he hadn’t decided to yet, coming home from his mission to find out which one of the two of them, exactly, had actually succeeded in taking care of his baby he would surely abandon Luo Binghe there on the spot.
Okay, Shizun wasn’t so fickle. But if Luo Binghe let things continue on like this, even his patient Shizun could be swayed into changing his mind…
“Come here,” Liu Qingge demanded. When Luo Binghe thoughtlessly obeyed, he held out his arms in offering, gesturing for Luo Binghe to take the baby from his arms.
Luo Binghe shook his head quickly. “She’ll wake up and start crying again!”
“Not if you just relax, she won’t. Just calm down and pick up your goddamned baby.”
Reluctantly, Luo Binghe accepted her into his arms. She stirred a little, but didn’t start crying again right away, and some of the tension left Luo Binghe’s shoulders.
“See?” Liu Qingge said. “She’s nothing to be afraid of. She only cried so much because she misses Shen Qingqiu. Once she gets used to you and knows you aren’t going to hurt her, either, she’ll settle down a little more.”
Luo Binghe looked down at the baby in his arms. Liu Qingge continued with an accusatory, “Which, she should be comfortable with you already, with how long ago she was adopted. Tell me Luo Binghe, have you been helping to take care of Shihong at all?”
Luo Binghe tensed up again for a moment, before forcing himself to relax again. “Shizun is a very capable parent. So I’ve been keeping everything clean and everyone fed, including preparing this baby’s food.”
Liu Qingge’s eyebrow was raised incredulously. “You had better step up when he gets back. Even a baby can tell if they aren’t wanted, and I’d hate for Shen Qingqiu to raise this child alone.” A sneer fell over his face. “After all, in the worst case scenario, she might turn out to become just like you .”
Luo Binghe glanced down at the baby sleeping in his arms, eyebrows pinched together. “That’s what I’m afraid of, too,” he muttered.
--
Liu Qingge stayed for a few hours, long enough to tell Luo Binnghe about some baby-rearing tips that Shizun hadn’t imparted upon him when he left.
Luo Binghe was as grateful for his help as he was to see him leave, stopping to see him out the door with little else but the baby on his mind. Which is why he wasn’t really expecting it when Liu Qingge left him the departing words, “Take care. And try not to kill your daughter while Shen Qingqiu is away.”
Luo Binghe nearly dropped the baby at his words, but Liu Qingge was already gone with the slap of a closing door before he could react.
His... daughter? This was his daughter?
That was… in all the weeks since they’d stumbled across her, Luo Binghe had been thinking of Shihong as Shizun’s baby, as Shizun’s responsibility, as Shizun’s daughter. But… Liu Qingge was right. Luo Binghe was MARRIED to Shen Qingqiu, shared with him his life and his home and his… and logically, his children. Why… How had Luo Binghe not managed to notice that before? How had he only now realized he was this baby’s… He was Shihong’s father .
Luo Binghe looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms with a new kind of reverence. “Shihong,” he tried out loud, voice soft. “Shen Shihong,” he said again, just loud enough to stir the… his daughter.
He had never in his life imagined himself as a father. He’d fallen in love with his Shizun far too young to ever entertain ideas of life with a woman, had known far too early on that his entire life would be devoted to his Shizun with no room for anyone else. Anyone else at all, much less a baby.
But now… As Shihong stirred in his arms and opened her big black eyes, blinking up at Luo Binghe, he felt… something else. Maybe, if he tried, he could make room in his heart for someone else. Someone with chubby cheeks and huge almond eyes.
If he was to be a father, then he wanted to be a good one. He didn’t wanna be jealous and resent Shihong for stealing his husband’s attention, he wanted… he wanted to join in on the love. He wanted them to be a family.
“What do you say, Shihong? Should you and I call a truce?”
Shihong responded by reaching up to grab at a loose curl falling over his shoulder and tug at it.
Luo Binghe hummed, a tiny smile of his own crossing his lips. “You don’t cry and I won’t, either,” he said softly.
Shihong, to the best of her ability as a baby, held up her end of the bargain.
--
Needless to say, Luo Binghe had resolved himself. He would use the last day Shizun was expected to be gone to get better acquainted with Shihong, and when he got back, Luo Binghe would pick up the slack and help raise their daughter. He was going to be a stand-up father, one Shihong would be proud to call her family. When she was old enough to handle a coherent thought in her head, anyway.
She was crying less now, and half the time when she did cry Luo Binghe had only to try a few things before he guessed what she wanted and she’d settle down. She was, he decided quickly, a lot easier to like when she just calmed the fuck down every now and then.
When Shizun returned on the third day, Luo Binghe was more than ready to see him again. Alas, even as soon as during the hug Luo Binghe greeted his husband with Shen Qingqiu was pushing away with a reluctant little smile, apologizing to Luo Binghe.
“I can’t stay long. We only stopped back here at all because we tracked the demon we’re hunting east, and this was on the way,” Shizun said, stepping inside the house to check on where Luo Binghe had left Shihong asleep in her room.
“Has she been doing well?” Shizun asked, looking like he wanted nothing more than to pick her up but was too wary of disturbing her sleep to go through with it. “Not giving you too much trouble?”
Luo Binghe shook his head. “She missed you probably as much as I did. I cried less than Shihong though, I promise.”
His Shizun graced him with a smile. “I just came to check on you two. I need to be going again right away, but since I’ll be gone for much longer than a few days this time, I have to ask…”
Luo Binghe cocked his head to the side. “Yes, Shizun?”
Shen Qingqiu bit his lip. “Do you… do you want me to call someone else to care for her? Yue Qingyuan or Mu Qingfang, perhaps, would surely agree to take her for a while at least if you can’t handle…”
Luo Binghe’s heart broke a little bit at the offer, and he realized how poor a father he must have been up until now for Shizun to suggest such a thing.
“I just know you haven’t been… the most comfortable with her,” Shizun said realistically. “I just want what’s best for both of you.”
Luo Binghe wanted to fall to his knees, but Shizun always seemed particularly uncomfortable when he prostrated himself like that. Still, he apologized, “I’m so sorry, Shizun! This lowly disciple must have been a terrible partner for Shizun up until now, and I swear to do better in raising our child together from now on. I can handle her for a few more weeks, please have faith that you can leave us alone together and we’ll both be alright when you get home again!”
Shen Qingqiu looked surprised for a moment, but his expression quickly warmed. “But of course. I already said I had faith in you, didn’t I?”
And with that, he leaned in to kiss Shihong’s forehead, and then back up to kiss Luo Binghe’s lips. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised.
“Shizun can take his time,” Luo Binghe said. “It’ll give the two of us more time to bond.”
—
The next week and a half until Shen Qingqiu returned where a whirl of activity for Luo Binghe. He had to learn how to do all his daily activities of cooking and cleaning and training with a baby on his hip, had to navigate life around Shihong’s needs like he’d never bothered to before.
She didn’t eat much but she did eat often, so Luo Binghe had to have fresh food and milk constantly on hand. Which made a lot of dirty dishes, which went with the dirty diapers, and the fact that he had to wash her tiny little body, too, all took up a lot of time in the day.
That all took getting used to. But the good parts? The parts when she got bored and needed stimulation, so Luo Binghe had to play silly little games with her until she laughed her silly little baby laugh? Were slowly becoming worth all the stress he felt during times when she cried until his ears rang.
He still wasn’t very good at this yet, though. That was proven a few days in, when after changing her he noticed why, exactly, she had been so fussy and uncomfortable today.
“Shihong, what happened to your bottom? Forget red all around the world, you’re red all around your body! Is this some kind of horrible infection?”
His daughter, as expected, didn’t have a response more than a distressed little whimper.
He frowned. Gods, please don’t let him have already killed the baby… it had only been a few days, he should have been able to do this, but he had already fucked up! Please don’t die, Shihong! Your daddy still needs you!
“Let’s hope Mu Qingfan isn’t busy,” he muttered, and then realized he didn’t know if he was talking to the baby or just to himself.
Either way he took her to meet the resident physician, who reassured Luo Binghe that no, it was not a life threatening skin disease, but simple diaper rash. Apply this ointment, change her diaper as often as you can, and for the love of god stop crying, please.
Luo Binghe managed two out of three.
—
Shen Qingqiu took a full week of being gone to realize he had not been separated from Luo Binghe this long since they’d gotten married. Whenever Shen Qingqiu had business, Binghe would come with him, and whenever the Demon Realm needed attending Shen Qingqiu would accompany Luo Binghe to take care of it. They had only separated this time because of their daughter, but when Shen Qingqiu thought about it, he realized that this was going to be happening more and more often, until Shen Shihong was old enough that she could be safely taken with on their travels.
He had never thought he could miss his husband this much. It felt… lonely, to be away from him for so long, even when it was such a comparatively short time to his absence in the Endless Abyss. But Shen Qingqiu had not yet been in love with the youth he’d cast into that Abyss that day, not until Luo Binghe grew into a man, and so the loneliness of enduring his absence then and now could not quite be compared.
Aside of course, from the upside that this time Shen Qingqiu would see his husband again in a few days, whereas at that time he’d been rather mourning the loss of his cute disciple, knowing he would never be the same when he returned. So really, the two couldn't be compared at all, could they?
Shen Qingqiu had also never been away from Shihong before this. Missing her was also expected, but considering they’d only had a few weeks to bond before Shen Qingqiu had been rushed off onto this mission, he hadn’t foreseen exactly how much he’d end up missing her.
He had never really planned on adopting any children, in this lifetime or any other he may have transmigrated from. Shigong had fallen into his lap quite on accident, and at first he’d had no intention of taking her in himself, but…
Something about her. Maybe it was because she was, like his husband, doomed to a life of discrimination and hatred, of loneliness and otherness just because of the blood she was born with. Maybe it was because if it was him, if it was he and Binghe raising her, she’d never have to worry about being abandoned just because of the circumstances of her birth.
Or maybe it was just those big almond eyes, pleading at him for love. He didn’t know what made him make that original decision that he would be most qualified to raise her, but he was already glad he had. It was hard work, but every little moment was worth it, from her sobs to her smiles. Shen Qingqiu hadn’t, before Shihong and Binghe, known exactly how much love his heart was even capable of.
Still, the more he loved the more he worried. It was obvious Luo Binghe hadn't exactly… clicked with their daughter yet, and it was easy to neglect a baby if you just didn’t care quite enough to keep up with caring for them twenty-four/seven. Shen Yuan knew exactly what growing up in a cold family was like, and he didn’t want his daughter to be subjected to the kind of emotional and social difficulties that came with not being loved just quite enough when you were little.
But Luo Binghe wasn’t the monster he could have easily turned out to be, and Shen Qingqiu trusted that he could care for their daughter. Time, he told himself, all Luo Binghe needed was a little bit more time, and surely…
Surely Shen Qingqiu would wind up walking in on something like this.
Shen Qingqiu returned home tired and dirty and longing to see his family, after a totalled two full weeks of being gone. He was fully prepared to take up caring for Shihong again, except hopefully after a quick nap and a change of clothes, when he opened the door to their small bamboo house.
And on Shen Qingqiu’s favorite daybed, there lay his husband, sleeping soundly. On his chest lay little Shihong, cradled with one large hand supporting her back while her own tiny fingers clutched at Luo Binghe’s curls.
Shen Qingqiu’s here melted, and he wished, for the first time in a long while, he wished for the luxuries of modern smartphones that he might take a picture and save it as his lock screen. And then save that picture for the rest of Shen Shihong’s life, showing it to her at inopportune moments and embarrassing her with it whenever she got too rebellious and forgot how much her parents loved her.
He sighed, longing for a little more room on the daybed for him to sneak in and join the two of them in their peaceful little slumber. Alas there was not though, so he had to content himself with crouching down to eye level to watch them, a small smile glowing across his face.
Luo Binghe was such a good man, such a gentle little lamb. Shen Qingqiu had known all along he’d make a good father, once he put his mind to it. After all, how could such a loving and devoted husband be anything but perfect for their daughter?
He swiped a stray lock of hair away from his Binghe’s face, a few strands sticking to his lips to be pulled gently away by Shen Qinqiu’s delicate touch. Neither he nor the baby in his arms stirred, breath slowly filling and leaving his chest to raise and lower Shihong the slightest bit as he breathed.
Shen Qingqiu watched them both until his own legs fell asleep under him.
—
Luo Binghe was, he was pretty sure, doing a good job this time around.
He took his turns taking care of Shihong when she cried, took his turns playing with her when she was bored. He was still in charge of keeping everyone fed, but the more toys they acquired the more Shizun was willing to help clean them up, so they had split the duties of keeping everything in the house in order - although Luo Binghe noted he had slightly higher standards for what counted as “clean” than his Shizun did.
Everything became more manageable with two people helping out. Shihong didn’t cry as much, and when she did, they had gotten much better at figuring out why and solving the problem for her. They’d even managed to corral Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge into babysitting for them once every while, so that Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu could still have the occasional night where they could spend time as husbands.
And in all this time, Luo Binghe was falling more and more in love with Shihong. She had the cutest little smile, and her laughs were like pure sunshine, and he even loved the way she would constantly tug on his long hair whenever it was in reach of her tiny little fingers. Every day was like living in paradise, with his Shizun and his baby daughter, and Luo Binghe had never been so happy.
So when there was a knock on the door one day, he paid no mind to it, assuming it was one of Shizun’s friends or disciples and continued playing with Shihong on the floor.
It was not. He glanced over to do a double take as Shizun held the door open, Mobei-Jun standing on the other side like an immovable glacier.
“Oh fuck,” Luo Binghe swore. Shihong laughed.
A single eyebrow traveled across Mobei-Jun’s forehead to raise, but he said nothing.
Luo Binghe stood up with a sigh, unthinkingly grabbing Shihong to bounce on his hip. “Is it important?”
“Would I be here if it wasn’t?” Mobei-Jun said icily, eyes locked on Shihong. “Did you steal a baby?”
“We FOUND her, thank you very much,” Luo Binghe defended. “Her name is Shihong and she’s your princess, so you’d better treat her with respect.”
“Are you coming or not, oh great Lord of Demons?” Mobei-Jun asked dryly, rudely deciding that Shihong was worth ignoring for right now.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m on my way now.”
Shizun watched the entire exchange impassively, only speaking up to ask, “Will whatever’s wrong take long?”
“For a normal king, yes. But for him?” Mobei-Jun glanced at Luo Binghe. “Days, at most.”
“I’ll bring Shizun and Shihong back something nice form the Demon Realm,” Luo Binghe promised, handing Shihong off to Shizun and heading for the door.
And that was when the strangest thing happened. Shihong started crying, first a little warble, then a full on wail, and when Luo Binghe turned around to see why, she was half climbing out of Shizun’s arms with her own tiny hands outstretched towards Binghe, a look of pure distress on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Luo Binghe asked, eyebrows furrowed together. “You were fine two seconds ago, Shihong!”
Shizun’s smile was warm. “She doesn’t want you to go, obviously. She wants her daddy to stay and play with her.”
Luo Binghe’s eyes widened, and he stared at Shihong like he’d never seen her before. “For… me? She’s crying for me?”
Shen was crying for him not to go. Shihong… didn’t want him to leave, even though Shizun was right there with her. Which meant that, that she LOVED Luo Binghe, that she needed him, that she wanted him around in her life. She’d chosen her father and her father was him, and Luo Binghe would have torn the world apart if it meant he could stay by her side.
Behind him, Mobei-Jun sighed. Luo Binghe didn’t notice through his tears, wailing out the name “Shiiiihhhooooonnnng!” And gathering his husband and baby in his arms for a hug that was tight enough to make Shen Qingqiu squeak.
All his life, all he’d wanted was for someone to choose him, and here he was. A husband and a daughter who loved him, really honestly loved him, and it was more than Luo Binghe deserved.
He was going to be there for everything, he vowed. He was going to see her grow up, watch her get married, watch her become a great cultivator and conquer the world. But before that, he was going to catch the little things, like her first lost tooth and her first day of school.
When Shihong talked for the first time, her first words were for Shen Qingqiu. But her first steps? Were right into Luo Binghe’s arms.
—
The End
—