Chapter Text
Honestly, it had never occurred to Red Son that he might get courtnapped.
It wasn’t that he was ignorant of this deep-seated tradition of demon society or even that he disagreed with it. On the contrary, he found the custom of abducting a partner to start a courtship to be incredibly appealing. He’d even agree that it was romantic.
There was just an undeniable appeal in such a show of strength and cunning to prove one’s worth to a mate. That was not to even mention the prospect of being cared for and pampered afterwards, which sounded just delightful.
Perhaps it was the stark contrast of his normal, every day life to this fantasy of being swept off his feet which kept him from expecting such a thing to ever happen to him. After all, a pampered prince was a far cry from his current circumstances. Back when he was a child, it might have been a more realistic fantasy to indulge in, but not so much anymore.
Ever since his father was sealed away by that wretched Monkey King, fantasies like that had to be set aside. Red Son had been thrust into the role of dutiful, hardworking, obedient son, and there was no room in his life for fantasy.
Since the Demon Bull King had been defeated and his clan shattered two centuries ago, Red Son had been working night and day, slaving over a way to rectify this. He’d been a mere child of 300 years at the time, but even so, his mother had given him this task- finding a way to free his esteemed father from the mountain prison which had ruined their family.
She was relying on him, trusting him.
Red Son could not let her down.
It was far more important than anything else that he meet her expectations, and this struggle took up all of his focus. He absolutely would not let his own foolishness be the cause for his family being separated longer than necessary, so he made sure not to get distracted. Under such circumstances, it made perfect sense for frivolous ideas such as romance to fall by the wayside.
Besides, even if finding a partner were something he could make time for, there was also the fact that he just… well… he figured no one would actually want him.
What self respecting demon would choose to pursue the scion of a fallen court? Not only that, but one who, as a child, was so dangerous as to be literally unapproachable… and then, as an adult, had lost all but the barest semblance of that power which had been so remarkable.
No, Red Son knew he had no prospects.
It wasn’t something he would ever admit to out loud, as he still had some pride… or at least he was trying to, since, according to his mother, he had to comport himself as someone worthy of being the son of the great Demon Bull King. To speak ill of himself would be an insult to his father, too, and Princess Iron Fan did not allow such things.
He agreed with that rule of hers, of course! Red Son had only the highest regard for his father, who was a demon of such renown that, even with all the time that had passed, the mortals still whispered his father’s name in fear- demons still spoke of him with awe at his great power- his legacy still commanded respect.
No one could be allowed to speak ill of the Demon Bull King, even in his absence.
Despite the legend that his father was, though, it did little to console Red Son as he struggled with his own inadequacies… If only his father were still around to help him, perhaps everything would have been different. Perhaps hewould have been different…
But he wasn’t.
So for years, Red Son’s belief that he’d never be loved remained his own little secret.
He had long since accepted that courtnapping would remain as a fantasy to him, relegated only to the romance novels he would indulge in when time allowed. This dismissal of even the possibility that someone might be interested in him may have caused him to be somewhat negligent with his own safety at times. There was a lot going on to occupy his mind, after all, and being cautious wasn’t really a priority.
What was a priority was finding ways to be useful to his mother. It was a constant struggle to meet her expectations. She was busy keeping what was left of their court together, and left it to him to, basically, save their family by freeing his father. Even though he still didn’t know how he was going to accomplish that, he had new ideas every day.
For instance, as much as he hated to admit it, the otherwise annoying humans were becoming more and more technically proficient as the centuries passed. Their advancements in the fields of metalworking and machinery were intriguing, and Red Son was able to use that to his own advantage. What the fire demon was lacking in strength, he found he made up for in his study of the humans’ engineering and forging technology.
Their progress really helped with his own, as well. Even though he was always working hard on some project or another to help further his mother’s desire of returning greatness to their family, he couldn’t do every little thing on his own. He was constantly struggling to get the needed materials to complete these projects. Luckily, human civilization was a great source of cheap but plentiful resources. It wasn’t uncommon for him to run over to the nearby human settlement for some supply or another a few times per week.
It was servants work, but he didn’t exactly have any servants to do it for him since his family’s court had fallen apart… Though, he had been looking into building some mechanical servants to assist him, but that project was still in the planning stages and a long way from being done.
In the meantime, he was the one running into the market every couple of days to keep his projects supplied. So that’s exactly what he had been doing on that fateful day: running around picking up this or that, not paying attention in the slightest to his surroundings except for where the next place he needed to visit was.
Red Son was making his way over to the third stall when it happened.
The place he needed to go was a specialty shop with a new product that he was interested in experimenting with. He was too busy thinking about how it might be useful to coat the wheels of his cart in this “rubber” material to notice anyone following him. This also meant that he didn’t think twice about cutting between two buildings to get to the shop quicker.
With his mind fully occupied in making plans for the materials he was shopping for, he’d made it all too easy to sneak up on him. In fact, Red Son didn’t even know anything was amiss until he was already being grabbed.
All of a sudden, he was yanked backwards. His first reaction wasn’t anger, though- just confusion. In fact, this was so unexpected that, for a second or two, Red was too surprised to do anything at all and just let himself be manhandled. It wasn’t until the hands he felt grabbing at his arms slapped away the basket he was holding that he started to put together that someone was assaulting him.
Even then he was still mostly just surprised.
Were they trying to rob him, or something? The very notion!
What kind of idiot thought they could get away with stealing from him? Sure, his family had been powerless for long enough that the short-lived humans would no longer recognize him on sight as the son of the Demon Bull King, but his fiery red hair usually clued them in to the fact that he was some sort of demon and not to be messed with.
Well, this one would just have to learn the hard way.
“Stupid peasant!” Letting his hair light up on fire, Red Son reached up and grabbed at the arms holding him, letting just enough heat out of his palms to make their skin sizzle. “Don’t you know who I am?!”
Had it been some commoner or a mortal, surely this display of his power would have been enough to get them to back off. Here in this human city, he couldn’t imagine this was anything else but an attempt at a common mugging. A small show of fire magic would get them to reconsider quickly and without any more fuss. Red Son was busy, after all. He didn’t have time to smite every insignificant person who offended him- not that any of them were worthy enough to be destroyed by the son of the Demon Bull King, anyway.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t what ended up happening.
The man who was grabbing Red Son was now in full view, but he didn’t look perturbed by the threat at all. Instead of letting go, he kept his hands firmly planted on Red Son’s upper arms and shoved him backwards, slamming the fire demon’s head and back against the hard stone of the building behind him.
Although he was a bit dazed from the hit, Red Son still reacted quickly. He managed to pull one of his arms free and lash out with his fire. For a moment it seemed that he missed as the flame soared past his assailant. It became apparent that wasn’t the case, though, when he tried again and this time he could see the stranger was physically deflecting the fire.
His own hand was engulfed in a sparkling, yellow flame, which Red Son’s own didn’t seem to be able to push through.
This person wasn’t just some random human- he could use magic. From the looks of it, he might have even been some sort of demon who was using a glamour to appear more human.
While he was taking that information in, probably a bit slower than normal due to his throbbing head, the stranger leaned in uncomfortably close, and practically touched his face to the side of Red Son’s head.
“I know exactly who you are, Demon Bull Prince.” His voice was low but soft, and Red couldn’t help the shiver that went up his spine at feeling the whisper in his ear. The stranger reached up with their free hand, but instead of grabbing Red Son’s arm with it again, he started to gently card his fingers through the demon’s hair. “Of course I do. Why else would I be here if not for you?”
Looking back, there were so many things Red Son could have done that would have changed what happened next. Had he lit himself fully on fire or thrashed and fought back, then he probably could have gotten out of their grasp long enough to teleport away.
What he actually ended up doing was… nothing. He just stood there, so thrown off by the feeling of the stranger’s lips against his temple and the hand gently caressing his hair that he couldn’t even form a proper thought, let alone take any action.
None of this made any sense, and even as he felt that hand on his head suddenly bunch into a fist, grabbing tight onto his hair, he just let it happen. Red Son’s head was yanked forward harshly, and then slammed back against the wall behind him with force enough to crack the stone.
A wave of dizziness and nausea overcame him, more so even than the pain from the hit. His vision was suddenly swimming and his thoughts felt muddled. All he wanted to do in that moment was find a way to sit so he might regain his senses. Before he could slide to the ground, his attacker pulled him back up, holding him tight in an embrace.
“There, there. I’ve got you, my prince.” The stranger was whispering in his ear again… Red Son wasn’t sure if this was an attempt to be comforting or threatening. It felt like both.
In either case, he didn’t have time to puzzle that out or think any further. He was just aware enough to feel his eyes flutter shut, and finally he went limp in the stranger’s arms and passed out.
It was impossible to say exactly how long he was unconscious for, but a mere moment later, at least from his own perspective, Red Son opened his eyes again.
His head was no longer throbbing, and in fact it felt like he was laying across something soft. That slight confusion hadn’t quite lifted, though, so all he could do was glance around, trying to take in his surroundings. It was obvious that he was no longer in some dank alley back in that human city, but that was all he could be certain of.
Not only was he laid out on a luxuriously comfortable mattress, but the room he was in seemed like the royal suite in a palace. For a moment, he even considered the thought that he might be dreaming about his old home, back when his family was still together and they lived in a magnificent castle… but, no, that thought was dismissed quickly. His memories of that place didn’t look like this.
To start, the color scheme was all wrong. Their home had been patterned in dark reds and purples with accents of gold. While this new place he found himself in certainly wasn’t short on gold, the rest of the room’s color palette was mostly green and white instead. The furniture was also more modern- not something that would have decorated a palace over two centuries ago. That was not even to mention that there was no sign of their clan’s insignia anywhere. His mother was always insistent on their belongings and households having their family symbol emblazoned proudly for all to see. There was no such thing here, not even a measly tapestry on the wall or anything.
Figuring out that this was not his own home was really all Red Son could manage at the moment. He was still feeling a bit lethargic, and his thoughts were coming together very slowly. In fact, this bed he was on was so soft, he was almost tempted to just shut his eyes again and fall back asleep, leaving whatever was happening to him for his future, more well-rested self to deal with.
That thought was dismissed almost immediately, though, as a small gasping sound caught his attention. Lifting his head just a bit, he looked further out into the room and saw a fox. She was dressed in what seemed to be a servants uniform and standing amidst a few chairs, bending over as she worked on preparing a tray of tea. Her focus was not on the tea, though, as her eyes were turned up and staring over at Red Son, looking almost as surprised as he was.
“Oh, he’s awake!”
Apparently she was talking more to herself, as that was all she said. This was confirmed to be the case when she stood up straight and scurried over to a door on the far wall, whipping it open and then slamming it shut behind her as she left.
Seeing the nervous energy in that fox girl got Red Son to finally push through the fog clouding his brain and start to actually take in what was happening to him.
He had been assaulted in the street by some unknown person who then snatched him up and stole him away to… where was this? A palace? Why here? And whose palace was it, even?
He couldn’t say for sure… There were several powerful demon clans who might hold a grudge against his family, even after all this time. Many of them had only grown in power and wealth since his own family been broken up, so it was entirely possible they’d decided to snatch him up so they might finish off what remained of the Demon Bull Family.
Of course, it was equally possible that this was done by Heaven. So many celestials had it out for his mother, since she had abandoned her position there. He wouldn’t put it past one of those scheming celestials to abduct him in an attempt to lure Princess Iron Fan back to Heaven. This place was so lavish and beautiful- it was exactly the kind of expensive decor those pompous immortals in Heaven would have.
In either case, it didn’t really matter. No matter who was behind it, he had to get out of there before that servant got back with whoever was responsible.
As he started to move, Red Son finally noticed something else: he wasn’t able to move his arms. With a frustrated growl, he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position without them and looked down at himself.
Tied around his wrists and elegantly laced all the way up his forearms was a bright magenta ribbon, binding his arms together.
The fabric was soft and had a slight stretch so as not to be uncomfortable, but it was tight enough that he wasn’t able to really do anything with his arms.
That wasn’t the only odd thing he noticed, though. Red Son’s clothes had also been changed while he was out. The admittedly ratty work shirt and boots he’d worn into the market were gone and had been replaced by a handsome looking changshan. The fabric was a deep red and he recognized it immediately as silk… very expensive silk, too, if the way it was embroidered with gold was anything to go by.
The confusion at his state of dress did slow him down for a few seconds, but the fact that he had been tied up made him even more convinced that his current situation was dangerous and he had to flee.
Springing to his feet, Red Son summoned up a blast of fire from his hands. The flames licked furiously up his arms as he attempted to burn away his bindings, though apparently it was to no avail. He kept it up for nearly ten seconds before he realized nothing was happening. The ribbon, though it appeared soft and pliable, was apparently fireproof… or at least enchanted to be so with a spell.
Briefly, he remembered the person who had attacked him had wielded some sort of fire magic as well. If that were the case, then it made sense that he would know how to capture and hold a fire demon like himself.
Red Son was starting to feel a heavy dread settling in his chest. Whoever had done this was clearly ready for him, and it might be difficult to get away. There wasn’t much more time to consider that, though, because not a moment later, the doors that the servant had disappeared through suddenly were flung open.
That stranger who had come after him in the alley rushed into the room, immediately setting his eyes upon his prisoner, and made a beeline right for him.
Dread instantly became fear, and, in his panic, Red Son stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his own two feet as he tried to instinctively get some space between himself and his rapidly approaching attacker.
“Stay back!” Fire engulfed his hair and flickered out from his eyes as he tried to look as intimidating as possible, despite the fear still gripping him. “I’m warning you, don’t-!“
He didn’t manage to finish his threat, though, as the stranger summoned up his own fire. A sparkling trail of flickering, yellow embers enveloped him, and all of a sudden the man had used his magic to teleport the last ten feet between them. Red Son’s wrists, still bound by that infernal, fire-proof ribbon, were seized by the man and held fast. For half a second, Red Son braced himself for another attack, expecting that the man who had beat him to unconsciousness might be looking to finish the job.
Instead, still holding tight to Red Son’s wrists, he bowed his head and dropped to one knee.
“My prince-“ he paused momentarily, pressing his lips against the fire demon’s knuckles before he continued, “please forgive me! I had hoped to be at your side when you awoke, but you roused much faster than I expected.”
The stranger turned his head up again, a pair of dark amber eyes gazing adoringly into Red Son’s own as he continued, “A foolish mistake on my part,” he said, one of his thumbs gently stroking along the knuckle where his lips had been a moment ago, “I should have known that someone so mighty as the Demon Bull Prince could not be kept down for long.”
The fire that he had summoned quickly fizzled out as Red Son’s fear morphed into a sort of stunned confusion.
This sudden praise and affection from someone who, last he saw, had been attacking him was throwing him for a loop… this wasn’t what he had readied himself for at all.
“What? I… wh-who are you?” He barely managed to stammer out the question, too surprised to even think of yanking his hands back or stepping away again.
There was something else keeping him from lashing out, something about this that felt strangely familiar, and somehow… comforting. He just couldn’t put his finger on why.
One of the hands grabbing Red Son’s own started to interlace their fingers, holding on to him in a way that felt gentle yet still firm. Still, Red didn’t pull away. On the contrary, for some reason, he felt suddenly fixated on the strong curve of his captor’s jaw, or how smooth and shiny his long, dark brown hair was… and those amber eyes- they were practically sparkling up at the fire demon as their hands interlocked.
Even with him being dazed by uncertainty about his current situation, Red Son couldn’t help but notice… This stranger was handsome.
“You may call me Ying Jun, my prince,” the man said at last. Standing up again to his full height, he took yet another step closer. They were practically pressed against each other now, the only thing between them being their own hands, which were now intertwined together.
“Or, if you like,” Ying Jun continued, leaning in further, “I will respond to any name you choose. Though, I must admit, I am partial to being called ‘darling.’”
Red Son could hear perfectly well what was being said to him, but it felt like the words were just rattling around in his head, unable to actually associate any meaning to them. It wasn’t until Ying Jun lifted their hands up and tilted his head down, planting yet another long, sensuous kiss to Red Son’s knuckles, that things at last seemed to click into place.
Suddenly he understood why he’d been attacked and abducted, just to have his assailant turn around and treat him with such adoration. Not only that, but even the way his wrists were bound and his clothes replaced- these were all the traditional trappings of being courtnapped.
It had been so far from his mind that anything like this could ever happen to him that Red Son hadn’t seen it for what it was until it was literally the only explanation left. Of course, now that he understood this man’s intentions, he wasn’t entirely sure what to think about it.
He was certain he had never met this Ying Jun, and being courtnapped before even exchanging words with one’s intended was so bold it bordered on arrogance… which was… that is to say, Red Son felt…
Well… maybe it was a little much, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of all those novels he had read.
The love interests of such stories would be so enamored with the protagonist that they would just courtnap them immediately. When he had read such stories, Red Son had always known that, logically, it was a bad idea and fully understood why it was considered rude… but he still very much enjoyed the concept of it. There was just something that felt so romantic in a story about falling in love so deeply at first sight and not being able to help but jump straight to courtnapping. To be the object of such desire seemed like it would be so delightful.
The way he could feel his face burning (and maybe the tips of his hair a little bit too) seemed to betray that those fictional preferences apparently translated into real life too.
As he stood there, still too stunned and unsure of his feelings to properly respond, Ying Jun continued to pepper soft kisses down his hand and along his wrist where the ribbon was still bound fast. That reminder of his hands being tied, while it was completely normal and, in fact, a tradition to tie up someone who was courtnapped, still freaked him out a little.
He didn’t like the idea of being helpless and not able to do anything for himself, even if that was the point of the bonds- to prove he wouldn’t have to with his new lover. Red Son had never been able to rely on anyone in that way, though, and he didn’t trust that this would be any different.
With a quick step back, he yanked his arms out of the other man’s grip. He also made sure to steel his expression so it was more of an unimpressed scowl rather than the dumbfounded gape it definitely had been a moment ago.
No matter how charming he found this to be in his heart, in his head, Red Son knew he couldn’t just let just any person court him so easily. He didn’t want to be like the airheaded protagonists in his novels by falling to pieces at the first sign of affection from a handsome stranger… even if he felt himself starting to.
“Well, Ying Jun,” he growled out the name with contempt, holding his arms tight to his chest and turning away to keep them out of reach, “you have some nerve, grabbing me without so much as an exchange of names first! How am I supposed to know your intentions?”
Ying Jun didn’t look put off by the question or his tone. In fact, that soft smile he had on his face widened slightly as he continued to stare at Red Son adoringly. He didn’t even step forward and try to reclaim his hands, but instead clasped his own hands behind his back as though to show he was not going to be forceful.
“I will admit, I may have acted a bit in haste,” he said, “but when I saw you, I knew I couldn’t wait another moment. I was so entranced by your beauty, and I became worried someone else would snap you up! Perhaps I let my anxiety cloud my judgement.”
Alright, well, now Red Son knew this guy was full of it.
Sure, the being unable to wait thing was a romantic cliche that Red Son kind of liked, but to use the excuse of wanting to beat out some other suitor was just nonsense. Either he was lying or he was an idiot.
“Don’t insult me,” Red snapped, fully turning his head away, “if you knew anything about me, you'd know there is no one else. So your excuse makes no sense.”
This, apparently, was taken as some kind of joke, because Ying Jun let out a high pitched laugh that almost sounded like a bark. When Red whipped his head back around to glare at him for the outburst, he saw the man smiling widely at him. Though, there was a note of confusion in his expression, too.
“Surely you jest, my prince,” he said, his head giving a curious little tilt, “why, there's been no more popular topic of gossip in society than your coming of age this past month. Everyone is curious about who would manage to win over the famous Demon Bull Prince!"
Famous? Him? Well... that... made some sense, he supposed, considering who his parents were. As much as Red Son understood that his family as a whole was well known, the idea that he himself would be a topic of discussion wasn't something that had ever occurred to him.
To be fair, the politics between the demon clans was not something he really kept up with. His mother usually handled that sort of thing. It wasn’t pertinent to his work on freeing the Demon Bull King, so he was never briefed on anything like that.
Not that he was going to admit to that right now, though. He could already feel his face flushing with embarrassment at being so out of the loop. It was especially humiliating since this apparently was someone who was currently involved in demon high society.
Even before his father was sealed away, Red Son had been too young to be introduced, so he had absolutely no experience with high society. He wasn’t exactly in a position to be introduced to it now, either, with his current situation of his family being constantly on the brink of destitution.
All of this, of course, meant that he had no idea what whispers were being passed around about his family, let alone himself.
The idea that he was being gossiped about behind his back was embarrassing, to be sure, but it also was an insult to the pride he had been careful to maintain. His family may have been down on their luck at the moment, but who did this guy think he was just casually pointing out gossip about him right to his face?!
Red Son would have to put him in his place.
"Fine, even if I were to have other interested parties, as you claim," the fire demon said, being sure to look down his nose at the other man, "what makes you think you're even worthy of my time? Are you even from a notable family, or are you just some nouveau riche looking to capitalize off my pedigree?"
This, for the first time, did seem to get a reaction other than an infatuated stare. Ying Jun seemed startled for a moment, then turned his gaze down at his own hands, seeming as though they were what surprised him.
"Oh! Forgive me," he said, looking up again, "I forgot I had this on."
With a snap of his fingers, a shower of sparks engulfed his figure. Once the light faded and the shimmering yellow flames had disappeared, the man standing in front of him was no longer a man. Instead, whatever human-looking glamour he must have been using was gone, and he was now visibly a fox demon with piercing, yellow eyes. A fox demon who, Red Son couldn't help but notice, still had a strong jaw that was even more accentuated by his pointed fox ears and sharp muzzle. Not to mention that beautiful, shiny brown hair flowing down his shoulders contrasted so nicely with the fine, orange fur now covering his face.
Red Son was trying really hard not to be so easy to win over, but it was hard to keep his own dignity in mind when he was met with that smoldering gaze. He had to bite his lip to stop himself from making the surprised (or maybe pleased) noise that was dying to escape his throat at seeing this demon's true form.
Damn him. Why did he have to be so handsome?!
With a short bow, as though reintroducing himself, Ying Jun spoke again, "As the heir of the Demon Fox Clan, I welcome you to our home: the Sky-Scraping Cave."
Although he hadn’t recognized him by name, and he wasn’t very informed about demon society, Red Son at least wasn’t so ignorant as to not know about the Fox Clan and the name of their court’s home.
Of course, most of the time when he heard their clan being mentioned, it was when his mother was hissing the name of their matriarch, the Jade Faced Princess, with venom in her voice. Even if Red Son didn’t know all the details of why exactly she hated the fox so much, he at least knew that Princess Iron Fan would not be pleased about him being courtnapped by the heir of someone she so despised.
“This isn’t going to work.” Red Son turned away, doing his best to put on a disgruntled expression to mask the blush that he felt creeping across his cheeks. He wasn’t sure it worked, but he wasn’t about to look back at that handsome fox face to gauge his reaction. “My family isn’t interested in aligning with the Demon Fox Clan.”
No matter how handsome his kidnapper might be, that really was the end of it. Still, he felt no small amount of disappointment at discovering who exactly had courtnapped him. For a moment there, he had allowed himself a glimmer of hope, but to learn who his suitor actually was had ruined it.
How infuriating that he was being put through all this and it wasn’t even a viable match! It made sense now why he hadn’t even said hello before jumping right to courtnapping: Red Son would have been obligated to reject him, and he must have known that.
Before he could say much more or voice his rejection again, Ying Jun spoke up.
“Your family isn’t interested,” he asked, “or you aren’t interested?”
“Is there a difference?!” An irritated puff of smoke managed to escape Red Son as he responded. “Just hurry up and untie me so I can be on my way. Don’t make me do it myself!”
With that, Red Son thrust his wrists forward again, though he very pointedly did not look the fox in the eye.
There was a pause for a moment or two as he waited to be released, mentally readying himself to fight in case his request was refused. However, instead of grabbing his wrists, Red Son felt a hand reach up and gently grab his chin, pulling his face around to look him in the eye again.
Ying Jun was much closer now, his nose nearly touching Red Son’s own as he tilted his head up with those long, elegant fingers of his.
“Oh, but you see, there is a difference.” He spoke in hushed tones, practically whispering against the fire demon’s mouth. “And I fear that I won’t be satisfied until I hear that you don’t want this.”
This probably should have infuriated him. In any other instance, Red Son was sure that if anyone else had grabbed his face in such a manner, he would have reduced them to ash in an instant. However, all he could find himself thinking was how, from this distance, he could smell the cologne the fox was wearing… it was a pleasant, floral fragrance that reminded him of a blossoming orchid.
“M-my mother won’t allow this courtship.” Red was trying desperately to break eye contact, but couldn’t seem to manage it. “Not with the son of the Jade Faced Princess.”
“Ah, well, it’s fortuitous that I am not her son,” Ying Jun chimed in quickly, still keeping his voice low, “but rather she is my great-aunt. Even so, she has named me as heir, so I have all the wealth and influence of our clan at my disposal.”
Oh. That hadn’t occurred to Red Son before, but it was true that the Demon Fox Clan was quite wealthy.
Actually, quite didn’t really cover it. Extravagantly was a more fitting descriptor. He had heard the fortune of the Jade Faced Princess described as being so vast as to make even the second wealthiest demon clan look like a bunch of humble serfs in comparison.
And the heir to that vast fortune wanted to court Red Son…
“My prince, surely you see the benefit of this courtship proceeding,” Ying Jun continued, as though he could read Red Son’s thoughts and was eager to agree with them, “I’ve watched you from afar and seen how hard you work, how dedicated you are to your family’s honor and the depths which you’re willing to drag yourself through to restore it.”
A thumb from that hand still on his chin gently stroked across Red Son’s cheek, even grazing the edge of his lip. Despite the intimacy of the gesture, it didn’t even cross Red Son’s mind to pull away this time.
“Imagine how much you could further those plans- imagine what you might accomplish while at my side.” That soft voice of his continued, feeling more like a seduction than a political proposal. “You’ll want for nothing. Any resource, any material or tool you could possibly require to lift that wretched staff that is your father’s prison- I will provide all of it.”
It was so tempting. Red Son couldn’t even pretend that it wasn’t.
All this time he had been trying to manage a goal as daunting as lifting the Monkey King’s staff by himself. He’d had no help and hardly any funds. It had been running him ragged for centuries now. How much time had he wasted daydreaming, wishing really, that he had the resources to do this or that or even just a servant or two to go run errands for him so he could instead focus on finding a way to save his family.
Of course, even in all those fantasies and wishes he had dreamt of, it hadn’t ever occurred to him that in order to save his family, he might have to leave it.
…As scary as the prospect was, the question remained: would that really be so terrible?
Princess Iron Fan probably would think so, but with the backing of the Demon Fox Clan, perhaps he could- No. Not perhaps. He was certain that he would free his father much faster than he might have been able to on his own. Sure, there would be a period in between where she was left to manage the court without him, but once the Demon Bull King was returned to her, his mother wouldn’t be alone any longer… If Red Son wasn’t there after that, well… once she had her husband back, would it even matter?
Perhaps he could get her to understand… perhaps there was a chance that he could have this.
Despite the spark of excitement threatening to overtake his sensibilities, there was still some small part of him resisting. It was a part that worried it was a bad idea or that he was forgetting something or even that this was all some kind of trick because deep down he still didn’t really think anyone would be interested in him.
That part pushed him to resist a bit more, to give voice to those doubts.
“And you?” Red Son managed to ask, “What exactly do you get out of this proposal?”
“Well,” Ying Jun said as he smiled, “in return, all I require is the the most valuable asset the Demon Bull Family has to offer.”
That thumb was still stroking along Red Son’s cheek as the fox stared adoringly into his eyes.
“The only thing I want, my darling prince, is you.”
Oh damn it. He was so… so damn smooth. That was like a line right out of one of Red’s romance novels, and as infuriating as it was to admit, it was working on him. That charming repartee of his was affecting Red Son exactly like it would in one of those stories. The fire demon could feel his face flush and the heat coming off his hair, but he could no more stop the raging fire that his ponytail had become than he could quash the desire he now felt burning in his chest.
“Let me take care of you, my prince. You don’t even have to worry about telling your mother,” Ying Jun continued, “I will handle everything. If you want this, all you have to do is say yes,”
He did. He wanted this.
For once, Red Son wanted someone to take care of him- to cherish him, to love him, to give him the peace of mind to not have to worry, or run around doing errands in peasant clothes, or work until he couldn’t keep his eyes open in that dark, dingy workshop where he was all alone… he didn’t want to go back there. He didn’t want to keep working night after night with no light at the end of the tunnel or anyone to help him or even just talk to him and keep him company- Heaven help him, he just didn’t want to be alone anymore!
And now, here he was, at last: a handsome savior promising to sweep him off his feet and give him everything he’d always wanted- to help lift the weight of a mountain off of his shoulders.
Why had Red Son resisted so much?
He couldn’t remember.
All his inhibitions, his doubts, his insecurity- he could feel them all melting away as he leaned in that last inch and let his lips meet his suitor’s.
That slightly hesitant kiss that he started was quickly matched with a much more intense energy. The hand on his chin reached up, cupping his face to pull him even closer, deepening the kiss, while his other hand snaked around the back of his head, digging into his still smoldering hair. The slight tug and the gentle scraping of his claws against Red’s scalp was like a spark of electricity running down his spine, and the sensation drew a low moan out of him that he couldn’t seem to help.
The sound, though a little embarrassing, at least managed to startle him enough to get a few of his faculties back, and he quickly drew back.
To his credit, Ying Jun let him go and pulled back as well, giving him a bit more distance. Though, Red Son did note there was a slightly smug look on his face as he did.
Running a finger along his own lips where Red Son’s had just been, the fox smirked at him. “Shall I take that as your answer, then?” He asked, his tone sounding just as smug as his expression.
If he’d seen that look on his face a mere two minutes ago, Red Son might have tried to burn it off… now, though, all he could think was how cute and cheeky it was.
Reaching forward with his still bound hands, Red seized the front of the fox demon’s silk changshan to pull him close again.
“Yes!” The word came out a bit more forcefully than he probably intended, but he couldn’t seem to help himself, keeping the same firm tone as he continued. “Yes, I want this! I… I want you to take care of me. I want you to help me!”
Ying Jun’s hands reached up, taking Red Son’s in his own and prompting him to release what he only just noticed was a very tight grip on the fox’s clothes. Raising the fire demon’s hands up again, he pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his knuckles before looking up to meet his gaze.
“Then I will,” he said, “this I swear to you, Demon Bull Prince: you will be protected and taken care of for as long as you’re mine.”
Any part of Red Son that might have felt skeptical about this promise had long since been silenced. Even if he knew, logically, that he was behaving just like a foolish main character in one of his romance novels, that didn’t even bother him anymore.
He wanted to believe he could have this. He wanted to be wanted. For the first time in his five centuries of life, he let himself believe it was possible.
So, Red Son fell forward into Ying Jun’s embrace and let himself be courtnapped.
