His breath catches, at both the sentiment and at the name. He wraps his arms around his boyfriend, squeezing him tight. "I love you so fucking much, Casper." Which is less like pretty and romantic a phrasing, but. He presses a kiss to Casper's wet hair.
"...I can do that." He wants to hear him talk. Nobody ever wants to hear him talk.
"Once there was a Crown Prince named Xie Lian who was incredibly strong and talented and handsome and amazing at fighting and cultivating, and when he was a teenager, he was in a procession to ask for blessings from the gods, where he acted out a fight, but he broke the ritual to catch a child that was falling from a tower, who would have died, and everyone said it was a terrible omen to disrupt the ritual, but all he cared about was wanting to save anyone he could. The child left dirty handprints all over his fancy golden costume, but Xie Lian didn't care, though part of that was because he was a spoiled prince and didn't have to care about that kind of thing, or that one of his earrings got lost--that was all his personal servant Mu Qing's problem to deal with."
He's running his fingers through Casper's hair as he talks, holding him close and just enjoying the warm weight against him. He's not sure he's ever been so content in his life.
He nuzzles in and listens while his boyfriend talks, letting the words wash over him. He's... tired, but not so much that he can't follow.
"Rituals are tricky..." Yawn. "Tricky things. So I can see where they're coming from, but... saving people is more important." No comment on the spoiled part - that's just how people with money tend to be. "What... what happened after that?"
Casper can feel his body growing heavy, but he wants to hear the rest of the story. "Was everyone okay?"
Casper is clearly tired and drifting off, and Shang Beida still treasures that his boyfriend trusts him enough to sleep in his presence, when he’s so wary in general. He keeps combing his fingers through his hair, holding him close, his heart full.
“The disruption to the ritual didn’t seem to cause any problems, though Mu Qing was really annoyed about his robes being messed up, and Xie Lian’s best friend Feng Xin needled him about having to take care of the robes—because all three of them were cultivators, but Mu Qing only was because Xie Lian had insisted he get the opportunity, and he didn’t get to stop being a servant even when they were at the temple training. But it all seemed to be fine, and the heavens certainly didn’t seem to be angry at Xie Lian about it, because some time later he was raised to the heavens himself as a god. And his nation Xianle was so proud of their prince god, they erected tons of temples to him, the flower crowned martial god.”
It’s just as well if Casper sleeps before he can get any farther than this, because it’s about to get depressing and he maybe should have picked a different story.
He tries to keep track of the characters but his tired mind keeps losing bits of their names and... oh. He became a god.
"That's nice..." He murmurs, yawning and drifting off. ... He assumes that's the end of the story, anyway.
... Though his own dreams are strange. He's in a strange apartment, talking to someone. He can't see her face clearly, but the little girl of about ten clinging to her dress looks a little like Shang Beida to him - similar eyes and nose, at least. ... No, they're different. A different ethnicity? He's... not as good at telling them apart as he wishes he was. But she toddles over to Casper and looks up at him.
"Daddy? Why do you have to go away again?" "You don't have to call me that, you know. ... But I have to go fight some big monsters. I'll be back in the spring for your birthday, okay?" "... Okay." "Be brave and strong for your mom, okay? And no telling your friends about me - they might get jealous." She giggles and nods, running over to hug his leg. He reaches down and ruffles her hair gently. "I might not be the dad you were born with, but I promise I'll take care of you. My little -"
He wakes up, startled, looking around. Where is - oh. ... Ah. The boat.
He’s really just content to feel his boyfriend breathing steadily in his sleep in his arms, here and real and his.
Casper wakes up with a start, and Shang Beida presses a kiss to his forehead. “Hey, baobei.” It doesn’t seem like he had a nightmare this time, at least.
“Mm… all right.” He kisses Casper’s forehead and snuggles down more comfortably. “Love you, baobei.” Once he lets himself, he slides towards sleep fairly quickly, warm and comfortable and happy tangled together with his boyfriend.
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chiming
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Date: 2024-08-03 02:18 am (UTC)From:"...I can do that." He wants to hear him talk. Nobody ever wants to hear him talk.
"Once there was a Crown Prince named Xie Lian who was incredibly strong and talented and handsome and amazing at fighting and cultivating, and when he was a teenager, he was in a procession to ask for blessings from the gods, where he acted out a fight, but he broke the ritual to catch a child that was falling from a tower, who would have died, and everyone said it was a terrible omen to disrupt the ritual, but all he cared about was wanting to save anyone he could. The child left dirty handprints all over his fancy golden costume, but Xie Lian didn't care, though part of that was because he was a spoiled prince and didn't have to care about that kind of thing, or that one of his earrings got lost--that was all his personal servant Mu Qing's problem to deal with."
He's running his fingers through Casper's hair as he talks, holding him close and just enjoying the warm weight against him. He's not sure he's ever been so content in his life.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 03:01 pm (UTC)From:"Rituals are tricky..." Yawn. "Tricky things. So I can see where they're coming from, but... saving people is more important." No comment on the spoiled part - that's just how people with money tend to be. "What... what happened after that?"
Casper can feel his body growing heavy, but he wants to hear the rest of the story. "Was everyone okay?"
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 03:24 pm (UTC)From:“The disruption to the ritual didn’t seem to cause any problems, though Mu Qing was really annoyed about his robes being messed up, and Xie Lian’s best friend Feng Xin needled him about having to take care of the robes—because all three of them were cultivators, but Mu Qing only was because Xie Lian had insisted he get the opportunity, and he didn’t get to stop being a servant even when they were at the temple training. But it all seemed to be fine, and the heavens certainly didn’t seem to be angry at Xie Lian about it, because some time later he was raised to the heavens himself as a god. And his nation Xianle was so proud of their prince god, they erected tons of temples to him, the flower crowned martial god.”
It’s just as well if Casper sleeps before he can get any farther than this, because it’s about to get depressing and he maybe should have picked a different story.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 03:46 pm (UTC)From:"That's nice..." He murmurs, yawning and drifting off. ... He assumes that's the end of the story, anyway.
... Though his own dreams are strange. He's in a strange apartment, talking to someone. He can't see her face clearly, but the little girl of about ten clinging to her dress looks a little like Shang Beida to him - similar eyes and nose, at least. ... No, they're different. A different ethnicity? He's... not as good at telling them apart as he wishes he was. But she toddles over to Casper and looks up at him.
"Daddy? Why do you have to go away again?" "You don't have to call me that, you know. ... But I have to go fight some big monsters. I'll be back in the spring for your birthday, okay?" "... Okay." "Be brave and strong for your mom, okay? And no telling your friends about me - they might get jealous." She giggles and nods, running over to hug his leg. He reaches down and ruffles her hair gently. "I might not be the dad you were born with, but I promise I'll take care of you. My little -"
He wakes up, startled, looking around. Where is - oh. ... Ah. The boat.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 04:06 pm (UTC)From:Casper wakes up with a start, and Shang Beida presses a kiss to his forehead. “Hey, baobei.” It doesn’t seem like he had a nightmare this time, at least.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 04:14 pm (UTC)From:Anyway. "Did you sleep? You should... you should sleep..."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 04:21 pm (UTC)From:“I, uh. No, I was just. Watching you sleep.” His face heats. That’s such a weird thing to do, Airplane.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 04:23 pm (UTC)From:But still... "Go to sleep, schatzi... it'll be okay."
no subject
Date: 2024-08-03 04:33 pm (UTC)From: