Qiu Ling felt him freeze and held back a sigh. He had tried so hard to make Jing He feel comfortable and not worry about what was to come but obviously, it still hadn’t been enough. Well, maybe he had expected too much. It was a new situation, after all. Why wouldn’t his beloved hold some anxiety in his heart? It was only natural to feel overwhelmed by something new, especially when it was something important.

“Don’t be afraid.” He stopped kissing him and instead traced the side of Jing He’s face with his fingertips. “I know this is new but we will take it slow. I promise you, you’ll be comfortable.” Even though he lacked practical knowledge and had feared he wouldn’t get things right earlier, he had gained confidence in his innate skills after starting. Anyway, look at his beloved! Hadn’t he seemed perfectly content until just now? Obviously, there was none of the skill issue he had worried about. He could totally do this!

Jing He nodded but the movement was somewhat jerky. He trusted Qiu Ling but … this was such an important moment. It still worried him.

Qiu Ling didn’t get back into things immediately and instead moved slightly, adjusting his posture. Now, the most important was to make Jing He comfortable again. He glanced down and then gently hugged his beloved’s legs which were still hanging over the edge of the bed. Pulling him closer, the two of them lay side by side.

Qiu Ling propped himself up on his elbow and gazed at his husband’s beautiful face which still contained a hint of panic even though he tried to hide it. “It’s alright to be nervous. You don’t have to hide your feelings from me.”

Jing He looked back at him and nodded, this time more smoothly than before. His expression changed somewhat, showing his worry clearly. “I … don’t want to do anything wrong.” He carefully grasped onto Qiu Ling’s robe to find a sense of security again, only to find that the belt had already been undone.

Jing He’s eyes widened and he looked at the outer robe that was hanging open partway in a daze. When … had this happened? How had he not noticed this? He slowly lowered his gaze, realizing that his own belt had been taken off at some point as well.

He blinked his eyes in stunned silence, not sure what to feel. This was obviously a normal part of the ceremony and he didn’t mind it either. Anyway, the person who had done this was his husband. What was there to be afraid of? He just … he just couldn’t believe that he had been so distracted to not even realize this.

He looked up at Qiu Ling again, his eyes still showing a faint trace of confusion. Was this his negligence? Or was this how things were supposed to be? Qiu Ling had just said that he would make him feel comfortable and, indeed, he had felt comfortable in his husband’s arms, feeling the touch of his lips and the hands that held him. He had been comfortable to the point where he didn’t seem to notice anything else. In this way, Qiu Ling had already fulfilled his promise but he felt that the worry of doing something wrong might not be baseless at all.

Qiu Ling shook his head though. “There is nothing that could be wrong. This moment is about us. Whatever we are comfortable with and whatever we want to do, it is the right path to follow. Nobody else’s opinion matters and that includes whatever conventions there might be from the past. This is only about us and our feelings so don’t think that you are wrong. In this, you can’t be. Whatever you wish for is right and I will make it happen.”

The sweet words of reassurance made Jing He let go of his worry. Unfortunately, they also reminded him of something else and the panic he had just pressed down erupted again. “The conventions of the past … I remember there should be witnesses in this ceremony, shouldn’t there be? Then …” Then shouldn’t they go and let somebody into the room now?

Admittedly, he was afraid of that and somewhat unwilling but he would do it to satisfy Qiu Ling’s wishes. As a dragon, he should want to follow their ceremony as well as they could and this was a part that seemed important. He shouldn’t want to give up on it. As his spouse, he ought to support him and allow this to happen, no matter how uncomfortable he was with the idea of others seeing his body in the state that he wished to reserve for his husband.

Qiu Ling looked at him and shook his head again. Instead of answering directly, he moved and leaned over Jing He, his lips curling up in a smile. He gazed at him quietly and his fingertips trailed over the contour of his face, down to his jaw and then to his neck. “My love …”

He leaned down and his lips touched Jing He’s for just a short moment. At this time, the previous passion had subsided and there was only a feeling of tender love. Whether it was the kiss or the look in his eyes, they were overflowing with gentleness. “What shall I do? I can’t bear to let anyone disturb us.”

Jing He requited his gaze, not sure what to think. “This … Isn’t it tradition though?”

Qiu Ling nodded. “Yes, but I have to admit that I don’t particularly care. I care a lot more about you and about having this moment that I’ve waited so long for. Now that it is finally here, why bother with others? This is for us — for us alone. No third pair of eyes is allowed, not a single one.”

Saying so, Qiu Ling sat up and even pulled the bed curtain close, shutting out any prying eyes. From behind the thin fabric, the rustling of clothes sounded and Qiu Ling murmured in a low voice. “If you want to follow tradition, just have someone bear witness tomorrow when we go out. That’s enough. Nobody expects more.”

There was a slight pause and finally, Jing He faintly hummed. Yes, this was their moment. It shouldn’t be witnessed by others so that they wouldn’t be disturbed. He, too, wanted to be alone with his husband right now and experience this just between the two of them. This was how it should be: Only the two of them and nobody else.

~~~~~~

Author’s Note:
This is the end of the “Oh. My. Fate?!” series. After six long years and more than 10 chunky volumes, we have finally made it until here. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing!
Of course, many questions still remain unanswered: How is life going to be for our couple in the dragon realm? Will the Heavenly Emperor ever come around to accept this relationship? What about the child of Jinde and Leng Jin Yu? What is going to happen in the demon realm under the leadership of their new king and how will that affect everyone else? What will happen when Qiu Ling and Jing He have their own child later on? Where exactly have Xin Lan and Xiang Yu’s most recent mortal reincarnation vanished to? And also, what about all those matters of the past that we have heard some but definitely not all about, like Jinde’s relatinship with Chun Yin, Tian’s past with Xing that led to the curses of the immortal races, or the time period when the dragons split from the demons?
We’ll get to answering all of those questions in time. There will be a direct sequel to OMF, as well as some spin-offs, and many, many extras. I’ll give more information on all of these when they are due. First up will be a few shorter extras until I also finish up RSH.