The sunlight filtering through the wooden slats of the inn's window was soft, golden, and annoyingly persistent.
Mo Tianzun stirred first.
He winced.
A small hiss escaped between his teeth as he tried to stretch, only to feel a deep ache—lower back to thighs, and especially somewhere farmore private—making his entire body freeze like a stunned beast.
"…Ugh…" he groaned.
His legs felt sore. His waist felt broken. And his—he covered his face with a pillow and cursed quietly, "That damn Crown Prince…!"
Beneath the covers, he shifted carefully, only to wince again when he felt a slick stickiness between his legs and the soft soreness in that sensitive area. His face flushed red as he buried himself deeper into the mattress. "How did I let this happen…"
"Let?" came a deep, sleepy voice behind him. "You mean begged."
Mo Tianzun's eyes flew wide open. He turned his head slowly.
Longxuan was already awake, lounging lazily against the headboard, the covers only loosely draped over his waist. His hair was messy, eyes warm with morning haze, but his smile was smug—dangerously so.
"I—" Tianzun cleared his throat, trying to act like a composed immortal lord despite being bare and sore under the sheets. "You... really don't know shame."
Longxuan leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Tianzun's flushed forehead. "I know shame. I just ignore it when it comes to you."
Tianzun pushed at his chest, trying to escape the warmth of those strong arms. "Don't kiss me like we're a married couple—"
"We did what married couples do last night," Longxuan said in a casual tone that nearly made Tianzun choke on his breath.
"You—!" he squeaked, then cleared his throat again and looked away, ears burning.
Longxuan wrapped his arms around him from behind, nuzzling into his neck like a lazy cat. "You're warm… Don't move."
"I have to move," Tianzun hissed, his face red. "My back's going to snap in half—"
"Then let me carry you—
"No!"
But he was carried, bridal-style, to the bath chamber despite his threats to skin Longxuan alive.
.
.
.
Later that morning, the two strolled through the fishing village. Tianzun wore his mortal disguise again, but this time slightly neater—his hair tied back with a simple cloth, his loose robes free of their drunken disarray.
Longxuan walked beside him with a faint, content smile. He kept stealing glances at Tianzun, who pretended not to notice, though his ears kept turning pink.
"Are you limping?" Longxuan teased.
Tianzun shot him a cold look. "No."
"You are."
"Say one more word and I'll—"
Before he could finish, a pair of village children ran past them chasing a chicken, shrieking with laughter. One of them crashed into Tianzun's legs, nearly toppling him over.
The child looked up, eyes wide. "Ah! Sorry, old man!"
"Old—" Tianzun's eye twitched.
Longxuan coughed into his hand, trying not to laugh.
"Stop laughing."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I love how scary you look to children," Longxuan grinned. "It makes me want to protect you even more."
"…Insufferable Crown Prince," Tianzun muttered, but his lips twitched ever so slightly.
They bought freshly steamed buns and tea, sitting side by side on a small bench near the village square. The villagers greeted them warmly, not knowing that one of these "travelers" was a prince, and the other a former demon lord.
"I could live like this," Longxuan said, watching the sea in the distance.
"You?" Tianzun asked, raising a brow. "A prince?"
"I'd give it all up," Longxuan said, looking at him. "Just to wake up beside you again… even if it's in a fishing hut, drinking cheap wine and getting sunburned by the sea."
Tianzun was quiet for a long time. His heart ached from the softness.
Then, as they walked toward the sea, Longxuan reached out and casually took Tianzun's hand. Not forcefully. Just… there. Present. Honest.
Tianzun looked at their joined hands, then up at Longxuan. The salty wind blew through their hair. The waves glittered under the sun like shattered mirrors.
"…You always make trouble," Tianzun whispered.
Longxuan smirked. "You make it worth it."
And later that afternoon, as they returned to the inn and Tianzun tried to nap off the soreness, he found himself unable to sleep. Because a warm arm slipped around his waist again. A familiar scent pressed into his nape.
He turned slightly, whispering, "You're clingier than before."
"You've been gone for twenty years," Longxuan murmured. "I'm making up for every lost night."
Mo Tianzun didn't argue this time. He let himself fall asleep like that, wrapped in warmth, wondering just how long this peace could last… before the darkness would rise again.