Chapter Text
Shang Qinghua curled up into Mobei-Jun’s side the best he could, crying softly while Mobei-Jun soothed him.
“It’s not fair,” he sniffled. “I wanna go back home to the north with you, but my fake leg can’t handle the cold. Not fair!”
Mu Qingfang had tried to let him go home with Mobei-Jun some days prior, after Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe had left, but the cold had damaged the metal leg, and Wei Qingwei was now repairing it while trying to find ways to keep the leg functional in the cold.
“It will be alright Qinghua,” Mobei-Jun promised, planting a kiss on his husband's head.
“But-”
“No. It will be alright,” Mobei-Jun insisted.
Shen Qingqiu entered, looking like he hadn’t slept in days, and gave the pair a weak smile. Mobei-Jun growled, pulling Shang Qinghua closer.
“Mobei-Jun,” Shen Qingqiu greeted. “Is Shang-shidi doing alright?”
“Why would you care?” Mobei-Jun snarled as Shang Qinghua sat up, leaning heavily against the ice demon for support.
“I’m fine bro, but the fake leg froze up and broke when I went home, and now I’m stuck on Qian Cao again until Wei-shixiong fixes it,” Shang Qinghua complained.
“...Oh,” Shen Qingqiu murmured, seeming sad.
Shang Qinghua noticed and sighed. “It’s not your fault bro, you didn’t know.”
“I should have,” Shen Qingqiu said bitterly. “I knew something was wrong, and made assumptions that it was me instead of noticing the obvious.”
“I really don’t blame you Shen-shixiong,” Shang Qinghua said earnestly.
Shen Qingqiu sighed, and sat on the bed. “Luo Binghe can’t hurt you anymore. It’s… It’s done.”
Shang Qinghua pushed away from Mobei-Jun, hugging Shen Qingqiu. “Thanks… I know it must have been hard.”
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “Not that hard… Just… Everything’s a lot right now. It’s hard to think this is real, and I feel so stupid for trusting him just because he’s the protagonist. I didn’t even try to consider what other people were going through and everyone suffered for it.”
“Cucumber-bro, you need to calm down. Luo Binghe is a master of manipulation, remember? You were as much his victim as any of the rest of us were.”
“...Thanks Airplane,” Shen Qingqiu said, giving a tight smile. “It means a lot. I’ll go now.”
After he left, Shang Qinghua cuddled into Mobei-Jun again.
“He didn’t know?” Mobei-Jun questioned.
Shang Qinghua shook his head. “No. Shen-shixiong is as much a victim of Luo Binghe’s manipulation, among other things, as we are.”
“Hm. Perhaps this king can forgive him then,” Mobei-Jun relented.
“Oh yeah, we also locked up Luo Binghe,” Shang Qinghua added. “Want to hear about it?”
“Yes,” Mobei-Jun said, and Shang Qinghua began explaining.