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Wei Qingwei doesn't really know why he was sent on a mission with Shen Qingqiu of all people. Usually it's Liu Qingge tagging along with the Qing Jing Peak Lord, but he's on the mend from getting skewered by some beast. Mu-shidi had to threaten to tie him down to the bed so he'd properly rest.
They're mostly done with the mission — some spirit making people get lost in the forest while leading them away from an angry beast. From what the village described, the beast was rumored to be huge and vicious, but Shen Qingqiu just took one look at it and said, "Oh, a Scaled Tiger Wolf. They don't attack humans unless provoked. Usually, they live near humans — they've been trying to domesticate themselves for years, since they tend to need help with shedding their scales and now that they're an endangered species, there aren't enough of them to help each other."
Throughout his explanation, Shen Qingqiu's glare intensified more and more, aimed at the direction of the village. "This is, of course, purely speculation, but this master thinks the spirit was the real main issue, and that the beast poses no threat."
"Hm," Wei Qingwei hummed. "So the spirit was purposefully leading them to their death rather than away? Does shixiong have a theory as to why the beast kept attacking?"
If possible, Shen Qingqiu glared even harder. "Poacher, babies sell more," he said stiffly, before blinking and looking to the side. "Ah, that is to say-"
"I believe you," Wei Qingwei grinned, the edges of his smile sharp. "Shall we go get rid of the evil ghost then?"
So that's what they did. Shen Qingqiu turned out to be right too, because they found the Scaled Tiger Wolf babies in the dead man's basement. Shen Qingqiu fawned over them — Wei Qingwei thought he looked very cute, holding the two cubs and cooing at them — and he personally made sure to take them back to their mother.
Of course, somehow their mission didn't end there. On their way out of the forest, Shen Qingqiu noticed some bright pink flowers and decided he needed to see them up close.
And that's where they're now. Wei Qingwei opens his mouth to tell Shen Qingqiu that of all people he should know better than to touch some plant he seemingly doesn't recognize, but it's too late.
Shen Qingqiu coughs and sputters as the flower's pollen hits him in the face. He quickly waves his fan at the pollen in hopes of repelling it as he jumps out of reach of the flowers. Wei Qingwei catches him when he stumbles and Shen Qingqiu doesn't even snap at him for daring to touch him. Truly, he's a changed man.
"Shen-shixiong? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Shen Qingqiu snaps, eyes watery and voice hoarse like he's suppressing more coughs. Really, shixiong, if you're gonna lie, at least try to pretend you're better!
Steeling them away from the evil plants, Wei Qingwei keeps his hand on Shen Qingqiu's elbow just in case he keels over. He kind of looks like he might.
"Any idea what those were?"
"…no," Shen Qingqiu admits, shaking his head like it physically pains him that he can't recognize every flower to ever exist. "It looked similar to Good Purple Fellows, but the color is more pink than purple and the petals are wrong. The Fellows' petals are kind of triangle shaped, you know, but these were more round. And also very obviously not triangle shaped. Not to mention its leaves-"
Wei Qingwei lets him ramble. This is another thing that changed after the qi deviation — his shixiong now seemed incredibly interested in the flora and fauna of the world. Mu Qingfang told him that Shen Qingqiu once came to pick up herbs from the Qian Cao Peak, saw Mu Qingfang bent over one of his many books on plants and then they spent the rest of the day talking about various plants and their usage.
Liu Qingge also keeps bringing him dead beasts and Shen Qingqiu looks at them with stars in his eyes every time.
He doesn't know how long they spend walking through the forest with Shen Qingqiu talking, but it lulls Wei Qingwei into a false sense of safety. Shen Qingqiu's voice is calming when he's not snapping at people for breathing, so it takes Wei Qingwei a little too long to notice that he's unnaturally flushed. And kind of stumbling a lot. And that a sweet bamboo scent is now wafting around them.
"Shixiong?"
Shen Qingqiu stops. He inhales deeply like he hasn't been breathing this whole time, his hand gripping his fan so tight his knuckles turn white.
"I need to return to my peak," he says, probably hoping for it to come out sharp and resolute. Instead it just sounds a little weak.
Without waiting for a response, he draws out Xiu Ya.
"Whoa, wait a moment," Wei Qingwei exclaims, hands automatically reaching to grab him just to stop when Shen Qingqiu… hisses at him? Whatever. "Shixiong, I'm not a professional, but you don't look like you should be flying on your own right now."
Shen Qingqiu glares at him.
"Seriously, Mu-shidi will have my head if I let you fall off your sword just because you were too stubborn to let me help."
The bamboo scent sours slightly. Wei Qingwei pauses. Sniffs the air. He was too busy making sure Shen Qingqiu doesn't kill himself but now he can't help but notice the scent is way closer than it should be if it doesn't belong to one of them. And it's most certainly not his. Which can only mean…
He watches as Shen Qingqiu's eyes widen in alarm.
"Shixiong, are you-"
"Shut up!" Shen Qingqiu hits him with his fan, voice pitched high.
Wei Qingwei is standing there with his mouth agape. There is no way. Surely, someone from the sect would've known, right? Surely, if not Liu Qingge or Yue Qingyuan, Mu Qingfang would know. He's a doctor, for god's sake!
"You're an omega?!" Wei Qingwei exclaims.
"No- That's- So what if I-"
Wei Qingwei needs to reconfigure his whole brain. He sniffs the air again, just to make sure he isn't hallucinating it. The scent is sweeter than before.
Screw reconfiguring his brain, is Shen Qingqiu going into heat?!
"Shixiong, did that flower-"
"Yes," Shen Qingqiu snaps, face crimson. "That's why I need to go back to my peak."
Okay. Wei Qingwei is totally equipped to handle this.
"I'm still not letting you fly on your sword, that's just a complete flight risk."
Shen Qingqiu bristles, looking the angriest he's seen him since the qi deviation.
"So you're just going to humiliate me, is that it? Finally found a weakness you can use, so what, you're just gonna-"
Wei Qingwei blinks, vaguely offended. "I'm going to take you back on my sword so you don't fall and splatter on the ground, shixiong what the hell."
"Oh." Shen Qingqiu's angry expression melts away instantly. "Well, alright. That is acceptable, I suppose."
Seriously, shixiong, why do you assume everyone is out to get you??
Wei Qingwei gives him a minute to reconsider, then steps on Hong Jing, holding out his hand. Shen Qingqiu gets on, a little wobbly. This close, Wei Qingwei can feel the heat radiating off him, can feel the slight tremors wracking his body.
"Will shixiong be alright until we reach Qing Jing Peak?"
Listen, Wei Qingwei is seriously genuinely worried about his shixiong plummeting to death. The whole Cang Qiong Mountain Sect will hunt him down because they'll deem it his fault. And he also doesn't want Shen Qingqiu to plummet to his death.
Shen Qingqiu nods. They set out.
It soon becomes abundantly clear the plant not only induced his shixiong's heat, it induced a very quick descending heat. Shen Qingqiu's breathing becomes a bit heavier throughout their journey and at some point Wei Qingwei gives up on keeping his hands to himself, wrapping them firmly around Shen Qingqiu's waist. To keep him on the sword, obviously.
Wei Qingwei is not an animal, so even with the sugary sweet scent attacking his nostrils he keeps his sword steady and fast, refusing to get distracted. Still, he worries in what state he'll bring his shixiong to his peak, if it's already this bad and they're still at least a quarter of a shi away.
Another while passes when Shen Qingqiu starts squirming. At this point Wei Qingwei's deciding if it's better to stop for a little bit or to keep going.
Suddenly, Shen Qingqiu makes a low, whiny noise, then turns around so fast Wei Qingwei thinks his heart stops for a second.
"Shixiong-"
Shen Qingqiu wraps his arms around Wei Qingwei's neck, hugging him tight. He presses his nose into Wei Qingwei's scent glands and, with a relieved sigh, stays there.
…right. Okay.
Are Qing Jing disciples not going to skin him alive when they see them like this? They're awfully protective of their dear, beloved shizun. He heard that girl disciple of his once told Yue Qingyuan to take his bitter tea and leave, because her shizun was already in a bad mood and she didn't need him making it worse.
You know, this trip would probably be faster if he didn't have to worry about Shen Qingqiu's weak legs betraying him and sending him to his death. His shixiong's already clinging to him anyway. He probably shouldn't do this mid-air, but Wei Qingwei is confident in not dropping himself. In one swift movement, he sweeps Shen Qingqiu off his feet and into his arms.
Shen Qingqiu makes a noise, a little displeased at being manhandled, but soon he uses the new position to nuzzle into Wei Qingwei's neck more comfortably.
The rest of the way passes remarkably calmly. Wei Qingwei makes the wise choice to not fly over the usual path to the bamboo house, though he's pretty sure Shen Qingqiu's three loyal sheep sense him anyway. Shen Qingqiu's scent on its own is incriminating enough.
He lets himself in.
"Shixiong, we're in your bamboo house." He gets no response other than Shen Qingqiu cuddling closer to him.
Sighing, he goes to search for his room. Surely that's where his nest is, right? Then he can finally drop his shixiong off and leave hopefully with his hands still attached to his wrists.
A minute later he is rescinding his previous statement.
Shixiong, don't tell me that sad little blanket on the floor is your nest?!
"…shixiong, is your nest somewhere else?"
Shen Qingqiu blearily lifts his head.
"Don't have one."
………
Right.
Absolutely not.
Wei Qingwei has been doing a really great job ignoring his own alpha instincts, but this won't do. Gently laying Shen Qingqiu on his bed, he mentally prepares himself to deal with his shixiong's mean, evil, overprotective sheep.
Shen Qingqiu whines when he moves to leave.
Without thinking about it, Wei Qingwei bends to nose at Shen Qingqiu's glands, scenting him. For good measure, he shucks off his outer robes and drapes them over Shen Qingqiu. Temporarily soothed, Shen Qingqiu settles on the bed.
When Wei Qingwei opens the door of the bamboo house, he isn't surprised to find three disciples standing there. The fluffy one looks like he'll slice him up the second he opens his mouth.
"Wei-shishu," the girl smiles sweetly, completely insincere. "May this one ask what you're…" she trails off, sniffing the air. Immediately her relaxed posture stiffens. Her martial brothers do the same, then all three of them notice his missing robe. Truly, they're terrifying. If he thought the fluffy one looked murderous before, it is nothing compared to now.
"You!" the fluffy one yells, reaching for his sword.
The other two jump in at the same time, the boy hissing at him. Wei Qingwei thinks he hears the words 'Peak Lord' and 'are you insane?!'.
"Right, okay, so you know," he jumps in before they can talk more. "That's good. Does Qing Jing have nesting materials it can spare?" What a ridiculous question. As if the man that needs them isn't their own Peak Lord.
The children stop scuffling as if someone dropped a bucket of cold water on them.
"We do," the girl nods after a bout of silence.
"Bring me some. A lot. Bring whatever you think your shizun will find most comfortable. I trust you know him well enough for that."
They all straighten up like they were given the most important task in the world before scurrying off. Wei Qingwei heaves a sigh. The sweet scent washes over him, making him shut the door quickly. Right. What does he do about that, then.
The bamboo house is hidden away from the most occupied area of the Qing Jing Peak, but Shen Qingqiu's disciples still wander by sometimes, because they have no sense of preservation (and because their shizun spoils them too much). If there is one thing Wei Qingwei is absolutely sure of, so sure he would bet his sword on it, it's that Shen Qingqiu doesn't want his disciples to know he's in heat. His shixiong, above all, likes to save face. It's why he always has that fan of his after all.
Is there a talisman for keeping the scent at bay? Surely there must be one. Unfortunately, talismans were never Wei Qingwei's strong side. That's not what his peak is for.
A knock breaks him out of his thoughts. "Wei-shishu, we brought the blankets."
Opening the door, what greets him is a pile of blankets with legs. He valiantly doesn't let out the chuckle that builds in him, instead taking the pile into his hands. Despite saying 'we' it's only the girl. His confusion must show on his face, because the girl immediately explains.
"Ming Fan went to make sure no one comes here and A-Luo ran off to cook something."
"Mm," Wei Qingwei hums. He knows the fluffy one cooks for Shen Qingqiu — he once overheard his shixiong singing praises about said food to Shang Qinghua. Then he immediately blushed and hid behind his fan when he noticed Wei Qingwei staring.
It's also widely known that the girl is Shen Qingqiu's favorite, which makes the fact he can't remember her name all the worse.
"Shizhi-"
"This one is Ning Yingying," she smiles up at him with this knowing look in her eyes. Ugh. Once he's feeling better, she is totally telling her shizun about this.
"Ning-shizhi, has something like this happened before?" At her furrow of the brows, he quickly continues, "I know it's presumptuous of me to ask, but I doubt your shizun would want others to know of his… condition."
Ning Yingying's expression clears and becomes troubled at once. It's a little funny to see.
"Twice. Soon after shizun's fever and a little bit after the demon invasion. We keep the other disciples away from the bamboo forest. Other Peak Lords aren't allowed on the Peak," she gives him a meaningful look, "with Mu-shishu being the only exception."
So Mu Qingfang does know. Hm.
"This might be me overstepping," Ning Yingying throws him a look that says 'You've been doing that the whole time', "but do you know if your shizun does something to… prevent the scent from spreading?"
"Shizun made a talisman after the first time, but this one doesn't know how it looks."
Shen Qingqiu made a talisman? God, he really didn't want anyone to find out, did he?
As if hearing them, the scent somehow sweetens and sours at the same time. Shen Qingqiu whines, loud enough to be heard from the house, and Wei Qingwei has to reel in his instincts from going haywire. Ning Yingying looks like she wants to do nothing more than run in and hug her teacher, and maybe kick Wei Qingwei between the legs on the way in.
…Shen Qingqiu being an omega does put a new perspective to his growing gaggle of protective children.
"Ning-shizhi, please tell Luo-shizhi to leave the tray outside when he's done with the food." Then, deciding these kids deserve more respect than all his martial siblings combined, he bows as much as the pile of blankets lets him. "I will make sure your shizun has a proper nest, and I will ask him if he wants me to leave, but beware he might not want me to. If that happens, I will stay with him until his heat finishes. I know you treasure your shizun above anything else, as he does the same. I promise you, I will not do anything unbecoming. If I do so, you can strike me down with your sword."
Ning Yingying stares at him, wide eyed, mouth agape. Quickly, she schools her expression back into a polite smile. Truly Shen Qingqiu's disciple.
"This one will take Wei-shishu's word for it," she pauses, pointing her finger at him threateningly. "You better build shizun the best nest the world has ever seen!"
She leaves. Wei Qingwei feels like he passed some sort of test.
Another whine, accompanied by some shuffling. Wei Qingwei closes the door.
"I'm here, I'm here," he soothes, dropping the blankets on the floor. Despite the heat-clouded mind, Shen Qingqiu throws him a look. Laughing, he approaches the bed, his shixiong immediately rolling over as if expecting him to join. The dark outer robe that looks out of place on him is rumpled beneath him, pooling around his waist. Despite him still being fully covered beneath with at least three more layers, Wei Qingwei feels like he's seeing something forbidden. His heart does a funny little flip.
Ahh, how is he meant to look at his shixiong again after this? Now that he knows how he looks with his robes on, he wants to do nothing more than steal him away, make sure he has the softest nesting materials available, claim him as his ow-
Forcefully tamping down those thoughts, Wei Qingwei reaches out to help Shen Qingqiu sit up.
"Your kids brought you blankets. Do you want me to help with your nest or-"
Shen Qingqiu pouts at him — pouts! — and flops back onto the bed. Well. Okay then. Wei Qingwei definitely knows how to make a comfortable nest. Looking at the singular blanket that served as Shen Qingqiu's nest until now, he thinks whatever he will come up with will be infinitely better.
To be entirely honest, he spends a bit too long arranging the blankets until they hold shape. He should have asked for more pillows, but he isn't an expert on this, okay? Patting down one of the many, many blankets, he can't help but think 'I should buy him a better one.' One that is way fluffier and softer than this. Maybe he should buy two. Or five. (He ignores how Qing Jing Peak already has top quality blankets, because how could Shen Qingqiu possibly give something less than perfect to his students? That is also why he thinks once his heat is over, his shixiong will force himself to return the blankets like nothing happened, because what if his children need them more? As if! Shixiong, if these kids find out they unknowingly stole your blankets, they will cry!)
Shen Qingqiu is dozing on the bed when he goes to inform him of his beautiful creation, hair strewn around him like a halo.
"C'mon up, shixiong, your nest is done," Wei Qingwei murmurs softly, gathering the man in his arms. "Hopefully it's up to your taste."
He carries Shen Qingqiu to the nest, letting him smooth out the edges he doesn't like. A soft knock sounds out, followed by quiet footsteps and Wei Qingwei gratefully goes to obtain whatever Luo Binghe made. What greets him is a plate with rice cakes and a sweet smelling tea. Hm, does their icy shixiong have a sweet tooth?
He drags Shen Qingqiu's table near the nest, placing the tray on it. In the short while he wasn't looking at him, Shen Qingqiu has curled up in the nest, looking satisfied. Wei Qingwei lets off a prideful scent, happy that the omega likes the nest he built, before quickly reeling himself in.
Clearly not quickly enough though, because Shen Qingqiu lifts his head, looking at him with dilated pupils. Wei Qingwei clears his throat, glancing to the side.
"Ahem. Now that Shen-shixiong has everything he needs, this one is going to leave-"
Shen Qingqiu makes a sound akin to an abused dog. Wei Qingwei is in the nest before he even realizes he moved. Blushing, he kicks off his shoes. Seriously, shixiong! You didn't even let him finish! 'This one is going to leave if shixiong wants him to!!' No need to make that sad, pitiful noise!!!
Satisfied, Shen Qingqiu cuddles up to him, burying his nose in his neck again. Sighing, Wei Qingwei wraps his arm around Shen Qingqiu's shoulder, pulling him closer. He rests his chin on Shen Qingqiu's head, finally letting his own metallic scent wash over them. If possible, Shen Qingqiu snuggles closer before going completely boneless.
"Ahh, what am I to do with you, shixiong?"
Shen Qingqiu lets out a little noise that could maybe be categorized as an answer. Now that Wei Qingwei is thinking about it, his shixiong hasn't been talking much. Of course, he has no idea what his heats usually look like, but maybe it's because of the plant? …If that's the case, shouldn't he have called Mu-shidi here?
On that note, shouldn't someone inform his disciples that he will be gone longer than estimated? They're big kids who can surely take care of themselves, but he's pretty sure they'll assume he died if he's going to be gone for a week. Or however long his shixiong's heat lasts.
On another note, if someone other than Shen Qingqiu's three sheep saw him landing on Qing Jing Peak with Shen Qingqiu just for them to disappear for a week, isn't the information going to reach Zhangmen-shixiong sooner than later? If Yue Qingyuan barges into the bamboo house while they're like this, Shen Qingqiu will surely murder them both and then die from embarrassment.
As the body against him shifts, Wei Qingwei decides that these worries can wait until morning. It's late, his shixiong is asleep, and the nest is quite comfortable. Whatever happens next is future his problem.