Luo Xiao remained in the bath for awhile, making sure to clean every little bit of grime off of him, after which he replaced the water and just rested there for awhile.
He felt like relaxing, just letting his body absorb the rosy water and warm him up. Luo Xiao softly smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and practically melted in the warm water.
As he was relaxing, he looked through his now Soul Star, trying to understand its properties. It felt like the energy was permeating all through him, making him almost lightheaded with how nice it felt… Of course, that lightheadedness might have come because of how quickly he had gathered up the essence of heaven and earth and not have anything to do with his newfound Soul Star.
Regardless, Luo Xiao wanted to stay in the bath for as long as he could, the comfortable warm feeling permeating every corner of his body… But all good things must end eventually since the water gradually was beginning to cool off and so Luo Xiao finally opened his eyes after some time, getting up from the steamy water to get a towel to dry himself off before promptly deciding that after this he would head to bed, feeling like a good nap was beyond well deserved.
It was just as he had started drying his hair, already decided not to use any spiritual energy to make it faster as he felt like taking it slow for once, when the bathroom door suddenly flung open.
“Xiaoxi-”
“AAAAH!” his screech was immediate as he quickly tried to hide behind the towel, barely covering himself up before he finally looked up to see who it was in absolute panic.
Jiang Yao was staring at him almost wide eyed, slightly surprised himself before his eyes just went up and down Luo Xiao’s barely covered body, coming a moment later right back to the youth’s face.
“J-J-Jiang Yao!” Luo Xiao stuttered in shock as his face almost immediately turned bright red, eyes wide and heart beating insanely fast.
He was sure if he had heard Jiang Yao come or known he was there, he would have dressed himself up as to not be seen fresh out of the bath almost naked. But there he was, standing in front of the demon prince without anything to say or anywhere to run.
The staring continued for another moment before Jiang Yao chuckled softly, smirking before taking a step closer to Luo Xiao.
That, of course, made Luo Xiao blush even harder and try to step back, but the bathtub behind him stopped him from more than two steps, forcing him to get more and more embarrassed by the moment.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom “Ji-Jiang Yao, I didn’t know you we-were here…” he barely managed to mutter before Jiang Yao’s hand found itself on his cheek, gently caressing him with a smile.
“You know that as soon as the tournament was finished I would come, right?” Jiang Yao chuckled, looking at Luo Xiao’s blushy face with amused eyes, clearly not minding the fact that the other was practically naked save for that single wet towel between them.
Luo Xiao looked at him confused.
“Fi-finished? But…”
“Relax, Xiaoxiao, I’ll explain to you in a bit,” Jiang Yao laughed with those words before putting a gentle kiss on Luo Xiao’s forehead and backing off. “Come over once you’re finished.”
And then just walked out, winking at the absolutely stunned Luo Xiao before closing the door. The poor Luo Xiao kept clutching the towel, extremely red and his heart beating so wildly that it took him a solid minute to just finally get moving.
He quickly dried up his hair as much as he could and was about to grab for his storage pouch to take out some fresh clothes to wear when he realized his mistake.
He had assumed that Jiang Yao wouldn’t come until much later, thus having left his storage pouch in the bedroom. He had to walk through the living room to get there. Where Jiang Yao probably was now. While he was butt naked. In the bathroom.
Oh no.
How was he going to get around Jiang Yao and get his clothes without him noticing?
The answer was simple, he had to get to the bedroom as fast as he humanly could, close the door, and get dressed up. All while Jiang Yao hopefully didn’t look at him.
For a long moment Luo Xiao considered just asking Jiang Yao to bring his storage pouch over, but in the end decided to just go for it. Wrapping the towel tightly around his waist to make sure it didn’t slip off while he made a run for it, Luo Xiao quietly opened the door.
What met him was Jiang Yao’s… back. Luo Xiao felt almost like a rock fell off his heart as he, as quietly as possible, got to making his way around two corners over to the bedroom door. His breathing was barely audible, his eyes darting over from Jiang Yao’s back to the door.
He probably made it about halfway without being noticed and was really about to just make a run for it as he had slowly started feeling the towel unravel from his waist when he stepped on a faulty spot on the wooden floor.
Creeeeeeeeeeak.
And then Jiang Yao casually turned around, expecting Luo Xiao to be walking over, only to see Luo Xiao staring back at him, frozen on the spot, the towel slowly starting to slip down his waist.
Silence.
“I’m just… getting my storage pouch,” Luo Xiao, despite his increasing heartbeat and extreme case of tomato face, managed to say that with an abnormally calm voice before holding the towel from falling more and immediately darting back in his room, shutting the door behind him loudly.
He pressed himself against the door, in a feeble attempt to stop Jiang Yao if he were to walk into the room now, trying to calm down. Quickly after that, he grabbed his storage pouch and finally managed to get a set of clothes out.
While he was putting the clothes on, the soft fabric caressing his skin, with his perception Luo Xiao could subtly pick out a soft presence.
It was so faint and delicate that it almost felt as if it didn’t exist to begin with, making him wonder what it was. Clearly, he hadn’t detected it before, had someone come over to spy on him?
After a quick check through the windows and scanning around, Luo Xiao couldn’t find anyone - not to mention he still failed to detect Jiang Yao in the living room, even if he knew the demon was there.
He couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, in the end just shrugging it off and finally done with his clothes, walked out of the bedroom, cheeks still a little flushed.
“I didn’t know you would be here this early, Jiang Yao,” he spoke, his voice still a bit shaky, before walking over and sitting next to Jiang Yao.
“This early? It’s been over two weeks, Xiaoxiao,” Jiang Yao chuckled, smiling at Luo Xiao before pulling him over in a gentle embrace. Looking into Luo Xiao’s dark and clear eyes, the demon prince couldn’t help but smirk. They were just as beautiful as usual…
“Two weeks?!” Luo Xiao gasped, seemingly not noticing that Jiang Yao had pulled him on his lap. “It’s been no more than a few hours since I left the arena!”
“No, two weeks. I was going to come over the same night, but you were getting to the Star Rank, so I decided to wait. That's why you didn’t notice the time pass. Congratulations, by the way!” Jiang Yao explained calmly, one of his hands gently on Luo Xiao’s chin before he pulled him over for a gentle, loving kiss.
Luo Xiao felt himself blush but didn’t resist in the slightest. Truly, to admit, he had actually missed this teasing demon of his, thus closing his eyes and very slightly giving into the kiss, letting Jiang Yao transform the kiss from gentle to passionate.
It was only when he felt he was going to be out of breath that he moved away, opening his eyes to look at Jiang Yao just as he were licking his lips teasingly. That instantly made him blush even harder and look away shyly.
“Next time… Tell me you would come beforehand,” he muttered softly, clearly pouting as he thought about the extremely embarrassing situation Jiang Yao had put him in just minutes prior. “No barging in my bathroom without permission, Your Highness.”
Jiang Yao raised his eyebrow at the tone with which Luo Xiao spoke to him, pulling a strand of his own long hair behind his ear.
“Are you ordering me, the Seventh Demon Prince, around?” He made the remark with a smirk, looking at Luo Xiao as if he were jokingly doubting him.
But of course, he wasn’t doubting him in the slightest. He was more than aware that Luo Xiao had grown quite a bit, both during the time spent at the Cloudsoar Academy, and the Tournament itself.
He was no longer the shy and quiet kid, and was growing up to be a fine young man, something Jiang Yao liked quite a lot, even more than the cute little Xiaoxiao he was used to.
Luo Xiao’s pout deepened. “Of course I am! If I wasn’t the one ordering you around, who would?” Then he looked at Jiang Yao, his cheeks bright red and eyes slightly playful despite his pout. “... You can always apologize by paying me with a kiss, though.”
Jiang Yao looked almost stunned for a split second, before suddenly starting to chuckle, not daring to really believe that Luo Xiao had literally used his own move back at him!
This human never failed to surprise him, even able to make him laugh - something not many would dare believe he was capable of doing.
“Are you sure about that, Xiaoxiao?” he muttered through the chuckles, gently lifting up Luo Xiao’s chin to make him look at him, while his other hand pulled the youth closer.
Luo Xiao’s pout became almost playful, cheeks bright red, heart beating fast, before he almost rolled his eyes at the prince. His gaze almost was challenging Jiang Yao to go for it, something that previously would have not been there, truly showing how much he had changed from the innocent youth at the Kingdom of Zhanshi.
“Well, don’t mind me then,” Jiang Yao smirked before his lips pressed themselves against Luo Xiao’s, robbing him off his breath in seconds.
His now free hand not so subtly found itself in Luo Xiao’s still damp hair, gently pushing him even closer as he just took complete control of the kiss and their actions, within seconds pressing Luo Xiao against the couch. His kiss became one of many kisses, each one more and more passionate than the other, making Luo Xiao more and more flustered by the second.
It was when Jiang Yao tried to move to the neck, managing to place two kisses - and an beyond visible hickey - there, when Luo Xiao, beyond red at this point, pushed him away softly, muttering something along the lines of asking Jiang Yao to stop.
Jiang Yao, despite very slightly disappointed by the unsatisfactory development of the situation that could have turned out very different, still smirked.
“Take this as a pre-payment, Xiaoxiao,” he smiled, before stealing one more kiss from Luo Xiao, and then finding some space for himself next to him on the couch.
Luo Xiao quickly covered up, touching the spot where Jiang Yao had left the hickey with his heart skipping a beat before turning away, trying not to think about it too much.
Some silence ensued between the two, Jiang Yao just smiling to himself and Luo Xiao trying to organize his thoughts and racing heart.
“Did I make you proud, Jiang Yao?”
“Hmm? I’ve always been proud of you, Xiaoxiao,” he chuckled before pulling the youth in his embrace without any more delay.
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