"Departure point?" 

"Xianzhou Yuque." He responds calmly, holding the coffin to his back as he peers over the empty starskiff. 

"Requested destination?" 

"The Luofu. A delivery- is all." With a smile, the guard allows him entry into the flight port, where the many different starskiffs laid around awaiting passengers for departure. The heavily militarized area was under strict surveillance after a sudden visit from high-priority criminals. 

Domestic travel had been cut off, to the point that Luocha had to find a way to convince the dispatcher that he had an important government official inside his coffin. The midway point just before he could enter the Luofu from the Yuque was under strict lockdown. 

Approaching one of the starskiffs, he was stopped. 

"Sir we're going to need to take a look inside that coffin-"

"Ahh, that might pose a problem. Now gentlemen why don't we just sit down for a bit of tea?" Luocha proposed, hoping that they would agree and let him pass. To no avail as they forced him to wait there for a small search lion to investigate the box. 

"psst- here!" A voice called out to him. "I'll get you in." You winked offering him a spot inside your crate for him to hide his coffin. It was quite a clunky thing, but Luocha managed to fit it on the starskiff as you hid the vessel under the bridge. 

"Thanks." 

"Don't mention it, cutie. Name's Y/N." You smiled, moving the starskiff alongside the others. He laughed a bit, walking over to the wheel where you lazily began to rest your head. 

"Luocha. Why did you help me?" 

"You look like you've got money." Admitting as you rubbed your fingers together in hopes of a monetary reward. 

"I'm afraid I don't have much on me at the moment." Luocha admits with a coy grin, rubbing the back of his neck as his hair fell over his shoulder. 

"Shame- what will you pay me with?" 

Thinking for a moment he began to remove his clothes and unbutton his shirt, "Oh gross- no no!" 

"I can only offer what I have. My body, or my services." 

"How about you tell me what's in the box and we call it even?" You joked, partially serious about the offer which he gladly accepted, placing his clothes back on. A bit red from the embarrassment he apologizes, walking towards the edge of the star skiff in contemplation. 

All his life he was forced to offer himself in exchange for the right to survive, becoming a merchant off that ideal of trade to live. To find someone who would complement him without taking advantage of him was an unusual differentiation in his regular routine. 

Not entirely trusting you yet, Luocha decided it would be best to keep a bit of the truth as he finished tidying up his clothes. 

He told you how there was a stranger inside the coffin, that his job was just to return the body as a favor. Not entirely believing him you made sure to keep a close eye on the stranger. 

Pulling in to dock he disembarked, with you following right after him. 

"You don't need to take the starskiff back to do another round?" 

"Oh, it's not mine. I stole it." You said with a smile. 

"What?!" 

"Come, let's go get some tea." Dragging him along as he stared at you with confusion, not sure of who you were and if you were to be trusted. 

The tea house was relatively uneventful, with a single opera being performed in the background. You cracked a couple of peanuts, deshelling them and placing the plain nut in front of the apprehensive man. 

"Not eating?" 

"Not very hungry I'm afraid. Do you just like deshelling them?" 

"Yep! I was hoping you'd want some." Your words were a bit suspicious.  

Taking a sip of his tea he kept an eye on you at all times, a bit wary of whether or not you were secretly one of the criminals that the Luofu was hunting down. The idea would've made you laugh had you heard it. Surprised by how cold the tea he was served was, Luocha began to raise his hand to call for a server, with you grabbing his wrist and bringing it back down. 

"Just relax." You cautioned, letting him pass out on the table before you took the coffin and walked off. 

Luocha jumped up, following you, having barely touched his lips to the tea before smelling a faint odor coming from the rim of the cup. He was admittedly a bit dizzy, but it wouldn't stop him from finding you and retrieving his coffin. 

 "Pretty boy is awake huh?" Smirking you began to start sprinting, rushing down the crowded streets of the Luofu. With Luocha right on your trail, the massive coffin sure wasn't helping in the speed department. 

Running into a closed off alleyway you ducked under the caution tape and ran straight for the wall. Throwing the coffin over it, you began to scale the wall. "Got you!" He said, pulling down on your ankle as you tumbled off and landed on top of him. 

Turning over as you laid nonchalantly on his chest, waiting for him to wake up, he was startled once he managed to open his eyes. 

"What-!?" 

"You broke my ankle- quite rude of you." 

"It was rude of you to steal my coffin-" Shrugging, you placed the tip of your chin on his chest, listening to his heartrate elevate exponentially. He paused, "Though, I apologize for hurting you..Y/N." 

Scoffing a bit, you wrapped your arms around his neck as he tried to get up. Managing to sit you up by the wall as he retrieved his coffin from over the wall. 

"I guess this is where we say goodbye, beautiful man." You winked, sitting against the wall and staying there. With a disheveled sigh he walked away. 

Luocha was nearly out of the alley before he walked back in, hooking the coffin to his back as he carried you in his arms. Letting you wrap your arms around his neck once more he felt the prying eyes of someone on the rooftops looking down at the both of you. 

Placing your head on his shoulder you signaled to the man on the rooftops to back off. Upon your order the stalker raced across the rooftops and fled. Leaning on his head he began to get flustered as you clung onto him. 

"Who are you?" 

"Yours- if you want." You whispered into his ear, he could feel your smile press against his earring cuff. A shiver running down his back as he found himself enjoying the affection. "Just kidding! You're so jumpy- I can't help but play with you." 

"I work for a very powerful man; he runs this ship. A little birdie told him that you were making an unscheduled visit. So, here I am to keep my eyes on you. Who knew I wouldn't want to take them off you?" Laughing into his ear, Luocha blushed. 

"Please don't tease me if you don't mean it." He sighed, noting how warm you were by comparison to his cold hands. 

"Who said I didn't?"

Kicking your feet, a bit as he carried you towards a doctor, Luocha began to feel his heart melt a little. Appreciating the little banter between the both of you, as you continuously flirted with him. He had to admit that you were probably the first person to compliment him in a very long time. 

"I want to braid your hair." You blurted out, to which he agreed. Running your hands down his long golden strands of hair you began to hum as you created a horrible amalgamation of knots and split ends. 

"It's- really bad." 

"I never said it would be good..." You defended with a pout, brushing out all the knots with your hand until he placed you on a bench near the divination hall. 

Bandaging your ankle with some ice he looked up at you, "Again, I apologize." 

"You get a pass. Because you let me toy with your hair." You smiled getting up on your feet as if it never hurt in the first place. "Though, you should be careful Mr.Luocha~ There are people on this ship who don't appreciate your presence. It would be best for you to not be so gullible!" 

Before you could walk away, he grabbed your wrist, letting his hand fall into yours. Staring deep into your eyes, "Can you protect me? Since I'm so gullible?" 

"Hmm. Do you have anything you can use to pay with?"

"I have my body-" he said, placing a soft kiss on your lips, "Or...my services." Luocha continued, kissing your hands. 

"A date." You answered, "Give me a date. The tea house, no drugs this time. Promise!" You ran off, ready to report your findings back to the man in charge as Luocha tried to steady his heartbeat. Listening to it jump out of his chest a few times. He'd be waiting for his date. 

---X---
A/N: So- turns out, I have only done 1... ONE... Luocha chapter...

He is quite literally the man on the cover...oh boy have I neglected you. AHahaH. 

Thank you so much for reading! I really enjoy doing all the requests you guys give me. Albeit sometimes I go out of order on my list, ONLY because I want to write while inspired so I'm not just handing out half-assed content. Don't worry, I will definitely get to all the requests I've gotten!!

I really hope you enjoyed!