au where a big part of the reason behind shen jiu's/og!sqq's scumminess in pidw was because he had a rare chronic illness that not only meant pain flare-ups but also pretty bad mood swings (and was incureable/ most pain relief didn't work). airplane kind of only mentioned this very briefly and then almost forgot about it but shen yuan did not
when shen yuan transmigrates into a qing jing disciple right after sqq became a peak lord, he begins researching this illness right away. he dashes off to the library every chance he gets, he always volunteers to run errands when they involve going to qian cao because that means he can ply everyone there with his endless questions.
if he can find a cure for shen qingqiu's illness, if he can reduce his suffering, then luo binghe won't get bullied in the first place! plus, now that he's here, he genuinely wants to help shen qingqiu
a couple of years later he ends up with a thick notebook where he keeps all his notes about this illness and everything related to it, and one day his shizun, who's become suspicious of shen yuan spending that much time in the library, storms in when shen yuan doesn't expect it, sees the notebook, and seizes it. as shen qingqiu flips through it, his gaze grows darker every second. he grits his teeth, looking up at his disciple
"what an impressive compendium about my condition. especially the pages about the worst flare-up triggers and drug interaction. very detailed."
shen yuan pales when he realises shen qingqiu has just come to the conclusion his disciple has been researching this with the intention to harm him somehow. "shizun, this isn't what you think..."
"no one but a few peak lords even know about my condition. my disciple's determination to get rid of me must be truly impressive to have gone this far to dig up something so confidential."
"shizun, please let this disciple explain--"
shen qingqiu slams the notebook on the table. one of those bad mood swings is happening now, he's shaking with rage. he grabs the white-as-sheet shen yuan by the shoulders. "and to think," he hisses, " that i was planning on making you my head disciple..."
there is a characteristic shot of pain to his temple: one of those terrible migraines his illness makes him suffer through is here now, and the pain is so sharp, shen qingqiu's grip on shen yuan's shoulders loosens as he begins to slide down. shen yuan's hands catch him hastily. shen qingqiu tries to shout at him to get the hell away from him and call for mu qingfang but the pain is too much and he can't even manage that.
suddenly, the sharp, piercing sensation in his head lightens until it's almost gone. shen qingqiu realises they both sagged to the floor at some point and shen yuan is supporting his head with one hand while rubbing something onto shen qingqiu's temples with the other hand
"the root of starlight-ripened nightshade, made into a balm," shen yuan explains quietly while his fingers work the mildly spice-scented balm into shen qingqiu's skin. his touch is very careful, gentle, like he's genuinely afraid to hurt shen qingqiu. "there was a healer in the past century who wrote about this plant's beneficial effects on the condition shizun has."
shen qingqiu is speechless.
and also, embarrassingly, very comfortable with his head in shen yuan's lap, the most comfortable he has felt in the past two or so decades in fact. he also can't remember the last time anyone has been this gentle with him.
but most importantly - his (favourite, although shen qingqiu has not admitted it to anyone) disciple was actually doing all that to...help him??
Flambae lock the hell in please
Original By - @clacy2812 / clacy2812.tumblr.com
