Eternal Love Oneshots & Snippets

Zhe Yan/Bai Zhen [壹]

"Mmm. Have you found Xiao Wu yet?"

Zhe Yan sipped his peach wine from the brown ceramic jar as he glanced down at the white nine-tailed fox that had just leapt into the clearing, and Bai Zhen gave a slightly more disgruntled growl, before he shifted into his deity form, "She's missing. Again. Old Phoenix, do you really not know where she is?" "Hmm. No, I do not." Zhe Yan answered simply, resuming his casual consumption of wine, only to have Bai Zhen snatch it from him, and within seconds, Zhe Yan stood on the tree branch, glaring at the fox in annoyance, "Give it back, Zhen Zhen."

"I will not," said Bai Zhen defiantly, "Unless you tell me where my sister is."

'I need a word with Bai Zhi, old friend,' Zhe Yan sighed to himself as he descended, folding his arms behind him as his feet made contact with the fallen peach blossom petals, "Zhen Zhen, let her be. She's already 20 thousand years old. She's old enough to defend herself." "Oh yeah? Then what about that time that she wandered into the borders of the Ghost Realm? Or the other time she almost fell into the canyon of Fanyin Valley?" Bai Zhen rebutted, taking a swig from the wine to express his distress, and Zhe Yan almost lost his footing as he rushed forward, "That wine is precious! If you want to drink wine like this, just go get the other kind!"

"Well, if you want to find a lover without caring about his family, just go find someone else!" Bai Zhen replied snarkily, lifting the bottle to his lips again as he leapt deftly onto his sword, and Zhe Yan quickly pulled him back with his magic, "Aiyo...Zhen Zhen, I didn't mean that...of course I'm worried about Xiao Wu..." "Then how would you not know where she went? Isn't she in your woods?" Bai Zhen snapped, draining the last bit of wine, much to Zhe Yan's horror, and the ancient deity gave a long sigh, before he summoned a second bottle of less precious wine, "Do you think I wouldn't tell you her whereabouts if I knew? Zhen Zhen, she really isn't in my woods. I promise."

"Then where did she go?" Bai Zhen mused, dumping the empty wine jar onto the petals with a soft "thump", and Zhe Yan glanced up to the skies above, "The astronomical signs say that she's off to something bad again." "You made that up." Bai Zhen followed his gaze, before he scowled, "It's so cloudy that you can't even see the stars." "But it's needless to say she's up to trouble." Zhe Yan shrugged, keeping the empty wine jar away with his sleeve, "Xiao Wu is easily the most deceitful troublemaker in all the eight lands and four seas."

"Blame it on her fox nature." Bai Zhen gave up on his sister, instead leaning casually against a tree trunk, "What do you want to do? It's rare that she's not bothering us."

"Hm?"

Bai Zhen couldn't blame Zhe Yan for being surprised. A minute ago he had been sulking over not being able to find Qian Qian, and the next he was asking what they would prefer to do alone. Of course, the old man might have been slower due to age, for sure...

"I'm not that old. But the night is young." Zhe Yan answered, and Bai Zhen's heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten that this old Phoenix could read hearts' intentions. "My room is cleared." Zhe Yan added softly, a little mischief in his voice, and Bai Zhen felt his lips tug into an unconscious smile, "Are you indirectly already asking me for permission?"

"I could ask your father for parental permission instead. We are close as brothers, after all." Zhe Yan offered, his smile withheld patiently, and Bai Zhen's expression paled slightly, "Don't you dare let A-Die (阿爹) know about this-" "Of course not." Zhe Yan already looped his arm across Bai Zhen's shoulders, "Although I do think Bai Zhi wouldn't mind me taking his son as a partner, as a replacement for his wife."

"You-!" Bai Zhen stuttered in embarrassment, his jaws not following his instructions, "Father hasn't even approved of our relationship." "Neither has he approved our decision to send Xiao Wu to Kun Lun, but it doesn't matter." Zhe Yan declared, pinkish gold magic swirling by them faintly, and the next thing Bai Zhen knew, the old Phoenix was already pinning him down onto the bed in his cosy cottage. Slowly, Zhe Yan began lowering himself gently, leaning closer despite Bai Zhen's shy protests.

"Hush, little pup...if you know what you want..."

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"Si Ge!"

Bai Qian skipped down the marbled stone path happily, her many weird braids bouncing up and down as she went along, her oddly matched clothes a colourful sight as she marched through the pink petals of peach blossoms.

"Aiyo! Si Ge! Where are you?"

"Si Ge!"

"Si-!?!??!??!"

Bai Qian halted her foot steps as she stared at the scene before her. Flinging the door open had been her intention. Walking in on her brother being loosely dressed was not her intention. "Oh my goodness! Old Phoenix! Si Ge!" Bai Qian's astonished shriek woke the both of them at once, there was a flurry of movements, before Bai Zhen leapt out of the bed, his flustered fingers fumbling to tie his robes back.

Meanwhile, Zhe Yan still laid on his bed casually, his robes already neatly worn as he folded his arms behind his head, "Xiao Wu, couldn't you knock?" "How would I know what oddities were going on in here?" Bai Qian argued, although she was blushing rather awkwardly, "But then I wouldn't have known...who knew you two...are a thing?" "Don't tell Father!" Came Bai Zhen's instantaneous response, and Bai Qian snickered, before she immediately put on an innocent smile, "Tell him what?"

"What's that in your hand, Xiao Wu?" Zhe Yan changed the topic, knowing that if he didn't, Bai Zhen would likely have fallen into Bai Qian's trick, and the 20 thousand year old deity glanced at her hand briefly, before her face lit up, "Oh, right! I forgot about this! Isn't it pretty, Si Ge?"

In her hands was a cloak, weaved from intricate feathers that danced with all the colours as she moved it. "It rather matches my colour scheme, don't you think?" Bai Qian waved her handiwork proudly, but even as Bai Zhen settled down enough to see what she was talking about, his eyes immediately widened again. "Where did you get those feathers from?" Bai Zhen demanded, finding the feathers more and more familiar by the passing moments, and Bai Qian shrugged as she tried on her on work, "You gave me some of the Bi Yi birds' feathers the last time, but they weren't enough. So I went to get more from Bi Fang."

"You got them...from Bi Fang?" Bai Zhen repeated weakly, "But it isn't...it isn't moulting season...Qian Qian?!" "Who said it was moulting season?" Bai Qian swung her newly made plume around casually, before she added, "I plucked them from his plumage, of course."

And even as the youngest child of Bai Zhi flashed her brother a cheeky grin, Bai Zhen rushed out in a panic, attempting to find his mount before it woke up and threw yet another tantrum.

But of course, Bi Fang was nowhere near a peaceful mood, and the peach grove of Zhe Yan was filled with shouts of rage and disbelief once more.

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