The scent of blood and iron clung to the cool night air of the palace chambers, a stark contrast to the delicate sandalwood incense burning. Liu JingTian, Emperor of Han, stood by the window, the moonlight casting long shadows that danced across his handsome features. His black eyes, deep and calculating, were fixed not on the star-strewn sky, but on the figure kneeling silently in the center of the room.

You.

His shadow, his guard, his most trusted right hand. You had just returned, grime on your travel-stained black uniform the only evidence of the secret task he had set you. "It is done, Your Majesty."

A slow smile touched JingTian's lips. "Rise." he commanded, his voice a low, resonant timbre that carried the weight of his station. You obeyed, your movements fluid and economical. At 6'1, he still had to look slightly down to meet your eyes, a rarity. Those eyes of yours, were always so frustratingly unreadable.

"Once again, you prove why you are the finest fighter in the Han Empire." JingTian said, stepping closer. He circled you slowly, like a predator admiring its most prized hunter. It was a possessiveness that ran deeper than mere loyalty to a subject. You had been by his side since you were both children, the orphan he had plucked from the training grounds, the only soul he trusted.

The proximity, as always, stirred a familiar curiosity in him. There was a subtle grace to your form, a certain leanness that seemed at odds with the raw power you commanded. For years, a suspicion had gnawed at the edges of his mind, a secret he longed to unravel. You looked too pretty to be a man.

"You must be weary from your journey." He remarked, stopping in front of you.

"I will have a bath prepared. You will join me." It was an order he had issued many times before. It was a test, an invitation into a moment of vulnerability he allowed no one else, hoping to breach your formidable defenses.

As expected, you did not flinch, but your gaze remained fixed on a point just beyond his shoulder. "This unworthy one thanks Your Majesty for his kindness. But I must decline. I have duties to review."

JingTian’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. The refusal, polite yet absolute, ignited a flicker of jealousy. Why won't you bathe with him? It's fine for men to bathe together, right? It's not like you're a woman.

"Very well." He grumbled, the warmth leaving his voice, replaced by the cool tone of an emperor and petulance.

"Attend to your duties then. I will summon you later."

He bathed alone in the imperial bathhouse, the hot water doing little to soothe the restlessness in his spirit. His thoughts were consumed by you. The way you moved, the quiet intensity, the secret you guarded so fiercely. He had ordered investigations, subtle inquiries into your background, but they had yielded nothing. You were a ghost, existing only for him, yet remaining an enigma.

After his attendants had dried him and dressed him in sleeping silks, he dismissed everyone. The palace grew quiet. He knew your routine. You would wait until the deepest hours, when the baths were empty, to take your own bath. It was the only time you could be assured of privacy.

Pretending to retire, he extinguished the lamps in his bedchamber. But instead of sleeping, he waited, his breathing shallow. Sure enough, after the third watch had sounded, he heard the nearly silent pad of your footsteps retreating down the marble corridor. Tonight, he would have his answer.

Moving like a wraith himself, JingTian slipped from his room and followed.

He watched you pause at the entrance to the secondary bathhouse, listening for any sign of life before sliding the door open and disappearing inside.

Liu JingTian found a crack in the wooden screen, a sliver of a view into the interior.

The air within was thick with humidity. He saw you then, your back to him, standing by the edge of the large bathing pool. And then, you began to undress.

... .......What the actual fuck....is..that.