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It was by chance that Caelus strolled into Divine Seat of Foresight one afternoon after handling Qingzu’s report of the commission. And there he saw Jing Yuan napping while he stood by his office desk. The Trailblazer heard rumors of his title being ‘Dozing General,’ but seeing was believing when he approached closer.
Behind Jing Yuan, there’s a perfectly good chair for him to rest upon. However, he did hear from Yanqing that the General had been cooped up in his office for days because of the loads of paperwork given by Fu Xuan.
Judging by the document that the white-haired older man was working on, it was another minor matter. Perhaps it was even rare for Caelus to see Jing Yuan get so annoyed with it that he chose to nap instead.
The Trailblazer held back his chuckle, lest he woke up a sleeping lion… Or would he?
“Jing Yuan…,” Caelus called out to him in a hushed voice for his first attempt.
Jing Yuan didn’t stir.
Not even a twitch of his brow or a shift in his breathing betrayed any sign of wakefulness. Caelus tilted his head, lips quirking in amused disbelief. The General was leaning forward just slightly, one arm resting on the stack of untouched reports, his long white hair cascading over the page like a silk curtain. If Caelus hadn’t witnessed this in person, he wouldn’t have believed someone could sleep standing up and look dignified doing it.
For a moment, the Trailblazer debated whether to let him be. It wasn’t like the man didn’t deserve a break. Still, something about the peacefulness of Jing Yuan’s calm and unguarded expression tugged at Caelus’s curiosity.
His second attempt was a little louder.
“General?” Caelus asked, deliberately dropping the formal title to see if it would generate a reaction.
Nope. Not a single reaction. Now, Caelus was holding back a laugh, and he was too invested in this new side of Jing Yuan to walk away and pretend he saw nothing.
“…You know, you do have a chair behind you,” The Trailblazer commented softly, stepping around the desk. His voice had the slightest playful lilt to it. “Or are you afraid Fu Xuan will barge in and staple you to it?”
That got a faint sound. A grunt. Barely audible. Caelus blinked, unsure if it was a snore or a very subtle ‘leave me be.’
He bent forward a little, just close enough to catch the peaceful curve of Jing Yuan’s mouth and his breath’s steady rhythm. For one of the seven Arbiter-Generals feared and respected across the Xianzhou, This was… Oddly endearing, a privilege even as his lover, he was seeing this now.
Next was an idea so genius and mind-breaking that Caelus thought he’d get Nous to gaze at him for the creativity in this. He took out his phone to prepare his camera app. Maybe the next time he saw Tingyun, he would thank her himself for this plan: to take photos of every single one of his sleeping lovers to make a bit of profit out of it.
Well, not profit for sure; there’s no way Caelus would share with anyone what he saw now. He could take a few teasers to bait the customers to pay him credits, and if they wanted more? That’s a problem for his future self.
As he angled his phone, Caelus bit down on a wide grin that threatened to split his face. He zoomed in just a bit—Jing Yuan’s lips were parted ever so slightly, his hair artfully draped like he was modeling for an ancient ink painting, and his uniform was still crisp despite the apparent exhaustion. This man could be passed out in the middle of a war zone and still look like the poster boy for elegance.
“Perfect,” The Trailblazer whispered, tapping the shutter as quietly as possible.
Click. One shot.
Then another, from a slightly lower angle.
Click.
A third, just for good measure—this one even caught the way a faint strand of hair tickled Jing Yuan’s nose.
The gray-haired young man paused, admiring his handiwork with a growing sense of mischief. “Sleeping Beauty: Luofu Edition. You’re gonna owe me royalties if this goes viral.”
But as he adjusted the filter for a fourth shot, the phone was swiftly plucked out of his hands. A large, thick arm wrapped around his waist to pull Caelus so that his back collided against a muscular chest as he sat on the thick thighs belonging to his lover.
“Hm?” Jing Yuan’s voice was still husky with sleep, but the tone was unmistakably amused. His golden eyes were half-lidded but glinting like a predator who’d caught his prey red-handed. “What do we have here?”
Caelus froze and now struggled to free himself and get his phone back. “I—hey! Give that back!”
The Luofu General tilted his head, scrolling casually through the photos, a lazy smirk curling at the corners of his mouth. “I see. This is how you spend your afternoons when you’re not doing any commissions. Sneaking around the Divine Foresight, committing phototheft on unwanting suspects.”
Caelus lunged for the phone, but the older man raised his arm just out of reach. The height difference didn’t help either—damn him and his tall stature.
“I was just—! Okay, listen,” The young man huffed, clearly flustered but unrepentant; his hand flailing to get his device back was like Jing Yuan toying with his pet lion, Mimi. “They’re for… Posterity, I swear. Honest!”
“Posterity?” Jing Yuan arched an eyebrow, feigning innocence as his thumb moved to flick to view another photo of himself in his younger lover’s private collection. “And here I thought I was your esteemed partner, not your modeling subject, Caelus.”
“You looked cute, okay?!”
That shut Jing Yuan up for a beat—long enough for Caelus to swipe his phone back triumphantly and cradle it protectively against his chest. His face was flushed from embarrassment or something else; he didn’t care to know.
The Luofu General blinked, then chuckled—deep and velvety, and rested his chin on Caelus’s shoulder. “I see. My lover’s grown bolder since we started dating.”
Caelus groaned and raised a free hand to rub his face. “I swear if you call me ‘paparazzi’ one more time, I’m sending those pictures to Yanqing instead of deleting them. I’ll rat out to him on all those training you asked him to do; you’re slacking off yourself!”
That earned the Trailblazer a proper laugh filled with warmth and tenderness from Jing Yuan, pretending to feel threatened by the declaration. “Oh, that’s cruel. Imagine the poor boy’s confusion. He still thinks I wake up at dawn every day to meditate.”
“I thought you do.” The Trailblazer raised an eyebrow at him.
“Hmm,” Jing Yuan settled more comfortably into his chair, shifting Caelus on his lap so they could look at each other directly as he grinned at him. “Only when I know he’s watching.”
Caelus rolled his eyes and flopped dramatically into the older man’s shoulder. “You’re the worst.”
“I know,” Jing Yuan leaned forward with a teasing gleam in his eyes. A hand reached out to caress the younger man. “And I adore you very much.”
“If Qingzu finds out you’re sleeping while doing your work, she’ll have a fit herself.” The Trailblazer snorted to argue back his lover.
“So you’re here because you were worried about me,” The Luofu General softly countered, then moved his head slightly so that his lips kissed Caelus’s side affectionately. “And if so… Thank you.”
Caelus’s breath hitched at the feather-light kiss against his side, warmth blooming across his cheeks like wildfire. Jing Yuan’s affection was never rushed, showy, or overwhelming, but its subtle intimacy, the way he spoke his gratitude like it truly meant something, always managed to throw the Trailblazer off balance.
He huffed, trying to brush off his fluster with a scoff, but the way his fingers fidgeted with the hem of Jing Yuan’s sleeve betrayed him. “Y-Yeah, well. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on the sleepy lion before Fu Xuan turns his hide into a rug.”
Jing Yuan chuckled, his hand tracing soothing circles along Caelus’s back. “Mmm. I’m lucky the one watching over me is you, then. Ferocious when provoked, clever enough to outsmart me, and with a photo gallery of blackmail, I’m almost tempted to let leak, just to see your reaction.”
“You better not,” The Trailblazer grumbled, hiding his face against the man’s shoulder, muffling his words. “You’re not the only one with a reputation to keep.”
Jing Yuan tilted his head thoughtfully. “Ah, but you’re the galaxy-famous Trailblazer, aren’t you? Surely, a few candid shots of you curled up next to a snoring general wouldn’t tarnish your image.”
“You snore?” Caelus looked at his lover incredulously. Why did he never hear that when he woke up after sleeping together?! Unbelievable!
Jing Yuan grinned, eyes gleaming with mirth. “Allegedly.”
Caelus made a sound between a laugh and a groan. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Fufu~” Jing Yuan chuckled, nose brushing his hair gently, “I shall inform you the next time I snore in my sleep, Caelus.”
The Trailblazer was silent for a moment, listening to the steady beat of Jing Yuan’s heart beneath him, letting the peace of the moment stretch. The stacks of paper on the desk, the filtered sunlight through the Divine Foresight’s windows, and even the ever-busy footsteps of the Cloud Knights in the distance all seemed muted now. Just the two of them, stealing a time for themselves from the world.
“I’m always here,” Caelus said softly at last. “Even if you’re asleep standing up or hiding from paperwork like a giant lazy cat.”
The older man laughed again, richer this time, and pulled him closer. “Then let me rest like this a little longer. With you here, I can finally dream something pleasant.”
“Cheesy,” The gray-haired young man muttered, but his arms found their way around Jing Yuan’s shoulders, anchoring him.
Maybe he’d let Jing Yuan nap a few more minutes after all. His head was on his shoulder, a few stolen photos were safely stored away, and there was the rare softness of a general who trusted him enough to fall asleep at his most vulnerable.
Caelus closed his eyes too, just for a little while.
The next batch of paperwork could wait until someone decided to think it would be a good idea to disturb the Luofu General before facing their death sentence.