Please understand

The first thing Zhang Wang did when he returned to his room was flop down on his bed with a sighing groan. "Ugghhhh."

He immediately flipped onto his side and threw his arm over his face. Zhang Wang wanted to shut his mind off from the world.

All he wanted to was sleep. Alas, there was one more chore to tend to. He couldn't even hide the sigh that slipped out from his lips.

Yu Yanlin must have felt at least a little tense and awkward from the situation. His power had already waned from excessive strain and he was now caught between a rock and hard place. The last thing he wanted to do was push for something that was unwanted of him.

The sliding door slowly closed and he watched Zhang Wang reactivate the talismans placed around the room inducing a silencing effect.

"..." Yu Yanlin remained quiet and stood vigilant at the door, waiting to see if the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms might saunter off into the land of dreams.

He waited as long as he could until he quite literally couldn't wait anymore. Yu Yanlin reached up and unbuckled the blindfold from his face, placing it on a drawer before making his way to the bed on which Zhang Wang was splayed.

He sat down with a creaking noise. Zhang Wang did not rouse, laying still as though asleep. But Yu Yanlin knew better.

"Zhang Wang," he said softly.

"..." Zhang Wang did not answer him. At least not right away. Rustling sounds accompanied his movements, Zhang Wang shifted, rolling over so he could look up at Yu Yanlin who sat at the edge of the bed. He pawed at the demon king like some sort of bored kitten.

"Yanlin," he sighed, "I'm so tired."

"Are you bored with me?" Yu Yanlin asked bluntly, catching the wrist of a hand that attacked him playfully.

Zhang Wang froze, his eyes went wide. Since when did Yu Yanlin have these kinds of stupid feelings? He coughed loudly, "What the heck? Of course not!"

"I was unable to satisfy you last time."

What the heck was he even talking about? Zhang Wang rolled his eyes and shoved the demon king a little. "Are you stupid? I was in a weird mood and it just ruined the atmosphere that's all! Those kinds of things happen. It's not like it was your fault."

"You don't want me now either," the tiger demon pointed out.

Zhang Wang's frown was deep, "What part of I'm tired do you not understand…? This doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Zhang Wang is lying," Yu Yanlin said without missing a heartbeat.

Without his blindfold, two piercing blue eyes bore down at the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms. Zhang Wang was momentarily at a loss. He had no words to conjure. Not when Yu Yanlin was partially right.

But he was also partially wrong. Because he was certain that Yu Yanlin wouldn't be able to know or understand what it was that Zhang Wang was even lying about. Being bored or unsatisfied by Yu Yanlin was simply the furthest thing from the truth!

Zhang Wang was plagued by a problem that was individual in nature. The whole 'it's not you it's me meme' was something he'd laugh at endlessly in his old world and now he found himself at the brink of uttering it out loud. In all seriousness as well! How awful.

But there was another saying that he carried over from his previous life that Zhang Wang was only beginning to understand with any sort of breadth.

'You can't love someone else before you learn to love yourself.'

"..." To say that he loved Yu Yanlin felt far fetched. But it didn't change the fact that the real reason he was wallowing around was because of his own insecurities. With a deep sigh, the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms forced himself up to a seated position. There was a grumble on his lips and he rubbed the back of his neck, strained from both stress and anxiety.

"Look," Zhang Wang began, "I'll just be straight with you so listen up."

"..." Yu Yanlin always thought Zhang Wang's vernacular to be strange in an odd and amusing way. But this time he listened intently, quietly deciphering the parts of Zhang Wang's speech that sounded weird to him, "I'm listening, please don't hold back your thoughts and opinions."

Zhang Wang coughed awkwardly, "It's not like you did anything wrong…or anything. I think you're a great guy and…" Wasn't he just sounding like a sleazeball? Unsatisfied, Zhang Wang sighed again, "What I mean to say is that you're great and I'm…I'm just not. I'm just me and you're you. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"...I haven't a single clue." Yu Yanlin said.

With an exasperated sigh, Zhang Wang threw his arms up in frustration. Only his ire was pointed toward himself and not at the demon king. Unfortunately, Yu Yanlin had no way of knowing this.

The way he frowned was more like a pout. How was Zhang Wang supposed to win against that!? A sharp pang went straight to his heart. Ahhh, to think even the demon king could act so cutely…

"I'm not good enough for you," Zhang Wang finally confessed clearly.

"What?" Yu Yanlin said again, like a damned broken record.

With a long groan, Zhang Wang flopped right back down, "I said that I'm not good enough for you! Just how much clearer do you need me be!"

"Ah…no the words are clear," Yu Yanlin said as he climbed further into bed and about the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms. "However they do not make any sense to me at all. How could Zhang Wang not deserve me? I am just another person."

"Oh please," Zhang Wang hissed out of annoyance, flipping around so he was faced away from the demon, "Save your flattery for someone else. I'm not interested in it."

"But I'm not flattering you," Yu Yanlin said seriously as he settled down next to Zhang Wang lying down. He brazenly even snaked an arm over the Immortal of a Thousand Blossom's waist. "I speak the truth."

Zhang Wang chose not to react to the intimacy; neither pulling Yu Yanin closer to snuggle against him nor pushing him away either.

"Zhang Wang?" Yu Yanlin's words sounded almost innocent, hesitant. He settled down on the bed next to the Immortal of a Thousand Blossoms and said. "There is no flattery in my words. Are you listening? Please understand."

A sigh, Zhang Wang turned away. But he didn't pull himself out of the demon king's hold either and instead placed his own hand about the long fingers that caressed his stomach.

Yu Yanlin pressed kisses into the back of his neck. A trail of goosebumps spread from his nape down to his shoulders. Zhang Wang was keenly aware of the fact that Yu Yanlin's fingers were playing with the sash around his waist. He grumbled, but didn't outright tell the demon king to stop.

The demon king stopped. "Zhang Wang," he breathed, his low voice and the lusty tone roused a tingling feeling in Zhang Wang's groin. "We don't have to do it if you don't want to."