There had been servants preparing for this -- Shuffling around the town, decorating, cleaning up the streets, bullying some uncooperative vendors into staying open late... For the past couple weeks.

By the time the sun had set and cool darkness had settled upon this sprawling western city on the night of Shi's inauguration, everybody was ready for a festival -- except for the new emperor in question. Frankly, by the time he was done swearing his allegiance to every god he did and didn't know the name of, reciting long-dead wisdoms and carrying out ancient traditions, he just wanted to retreat to his deceased father's bedroom, throw off the mountain of clothes he was wearing, and sleep for another couple of weeks.

But he stepped out into the evening wind, shifted beneath his layers -- spoke a few formal words to the gathered people of his capital, and then immersed himself in the crowd of his new subjects. Who were more excited for the promise of a fireworks display, food, dancers, performances, magicians, lanterns strung up against the starry sky, acrobats and tricksters, than they were for his new rule.

It wasn't really surprising. He had always been a bit of a bitchy son.

He walked the streets, decked out in bright red -- Not a color he was particularly fond of, and especially not in such mass quantities on his usually whipcord-lean frame. He stopped when he felt somebody catch his sleeve, and he felt inclined to initiate the first execution of his reign.

"Emperor," a familiar voice chirruped with not-so-hidden, teasing glee. The middle aged new emperor turned and lifted his hand to slap the redhead, if they weren't standing right next to a brightly lit, outdoor bar where several people were watching his movements in captivation.

This was probably the first and last time in their lifetime they were going to see his face (unless they got themselves into more shit than they wanted to think about), so he wisely dropped his hand.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you again. Ever." Shi greeted Sun in return, his voice low and threatening. "Frankly," he sat down on one of the high seats at the bar, a fair distance from their audience, and leaned forward to hiss in Sun's ear, "you have a lot of fucking nerve, addressing me in that tone of voice."

Sun waved him off, grinning in his characteristically easy-going, annoying as anything way. "Don't badger me and maybe I won't provoke you," he laughed, his voice a little more confident than he was feeling. He was accustomed to pushing Shi's buttons (equally accustomed to getting hit for it), and accustomed to doing it all with a laugh in his voice, but tonight he was pushing his own luck... Relying solely on the knowledge that the worst Shi could do outside the palace here was humiliate him in public and slink away like a riled cat.

That in mind, he cheerily called the person who was working the bar over to get a drink.

The bar-keep quickly went over to the two, smiling warmly at them. At first glance one would think them a woman, the dress and lithe, curvy little body just drowned in femininity. Not to mention that smile, sweet and plush with those soft, inviting looking lips on a face framed with pitch black waves of a dark ocean of a mane. It wasn't until a person's eyes traveled down to realize that this 'woman' was missing something... well, perhaps two things. Either they were young or not a woman at all! And since the former didn't seem quite right, it was most likely the latter.

Dark brown eyes greeted them with the glimmer of that smile, and the cross-dressing boy pushed his hair back over his shoulders. "An' what c'nai ge'chu?" His accent gave away that he hadn't grown up there, but probably in the North.

Shi seemed to catch on to the server's true gender before Sun did, who spent just an instant longer admiring the black-haired beauty before almost falling off his stool in surprise.

Shi murmured out the type of drink he wanted with an unaffected, regal air, his eyes barely betraying his own lust for the... man, as it were.

"You're awfully pretty for a guy," Sun spouted tactlessly, blinking his eyes wide. He was used to speaking his mind, and he was terrible at hiding his emotions. Unless he had to. Well, he had to a lot. So maybe it was just this situation. "Anyway, I want what he's having, too." Sun sat back in still-lingering shock, gesturing to his temporary companion.

Shi looked down at Sun in irritation -- simply at being in the company of somebody who would point out the physical attraction of another male in the largest festival the -country- had probably seen for decades. He turned his face away, clicking his nails on the wooden table as he watched short, grinning men who were juggling fire pass by.

Myu blinked a few times and gave a giggle as Sun stated the obvious, an amused grin crossing his alluring lips. "Two'a 'em then? Ai'ght! Be jus'a sec." He replied as he tied his hair back so he could fetch their drinks.

He'd realized that one of the men he was serving was the newly throned Emperor, trying to avoid giving him curious stares, those milky cheeks flushing over a little bit. He was quite infatuated with the royal man, perhaps just like any other peasant would be.

He brought them their drinks quickly and set them down before each of them with that sweet smile, giggling a bit again. "'N there ya go! Enjoy ya'selves."

When they received their drinks, Sun was the one to thank the feminine server, grinning jovially as he drank it quickly.

Before the cross-dresser could wander away, though, Shi surprisingly stopped him. "What's your name? Where do you come from?" He turned back, his dark mocha eyes pinning the boy to the spot.

Sun, in the meantime, was attempting not to choke on his alcohol at the same time he gave Shi a look to say 'Who's tactless and forward NOW?'

Myu looked a little surprised to be addressed so forwardly by the Emperor, feeling his cheeks warm a bit more and his smile softened with a slightly timid aspect of his personality.

"Lang.. Lang, Myu. I'm from the Northern mountains. I've lived here for about..." He paused to count on his fingers in thought, "six years?" He obviously didn't mind Shi's forward behaviour, leaning on the wooden bar between them as he spoke with the royal man.

Shi studied Myu for a second before pulling away, glancing over at Sun with a merciless smirk. "Do you recall the Northern mountains, Sun?" He jibed, and the redhead for the first time threw a frigid look at the older man -- But dared not snap back.

"No," he huffed, snapping his eyes away from Shi's to rest back on Myu and proceeding to completely ignore the emperor's existence. Said man looked a bit amused at the situation, bringing his drink up to his smirking lips and taking a short sip.

"Are you enjoying yourself, then?" Sun asked, running his fingertips over the rim of his glass before handing it back to Myu -- But he didn't ask or gesture for any more. He didn't wait for an answer, seeming to have been a bit deflated by Shi's words, and he spun in his seat to stare out at the excitement on the streets, trying to clear his mind. He rested his elbows on the surface of the table, briefly having a war with his long ponytail which seemed to be intent on getting itself stuck between his back and the bar.

Shi chuckled, enjoying himself thoroughly. "Are you looking forward to the fireworks, Myu Lang?" He asked softly, his voice heavy laden with a haunting charm.

Myu blinked as he didn't get a chance to reply to Sun, shrugging the thought off a bit and he adverted his attention back to the Emperor yet again. "Th' fireworks? Mmhmm! Quite so!" He gave a wider smile, leaning on the bar once again after he took Sun's glass to wash it so it was ready to be used again with the next customer.

That voice made his heart beat heavier; made him want to swoon like some love-struck maiden. It was quite embarrassing, to be frank!.

Shi nodded, but then set his glass down and rose up, placing an amount of money on the bar. "You can pay for yourself, I presume?" He caught Sun's attention -- sharp, taunting courtesy in his voice now. "Maybe we'll see you in time for the fire show." He added to Myu, turning away.

Sun 'hmmphed' and answered in the affirmative as Shi began to walk off, dropping what was due on the counter before stalking off after him -- to exclaim "I'm not done with you yet!" When he was close enough to lower his voice so as not to attract the attention of the -entire- city population.

Both Shi and Sun cast a glance back at Myu -- the more athletic-looking, bright eyed, darkly tanned, ruby haired, boyishly passionate and outspoken Sun juxtaposed against Shi's tall, slim frame, dark eyes, pitch black hair, unusually fair complexion, and secretive and enigmatic disposition.

"You're an rude, abrupt ass, by the way." Sun informed Shi as soon as they were once again swallowed by the crowd and out of sight of the bar. "What do you wanna wander around for anyway? It was perfectly fine back there..."

They went on like that for awhile, until it was finally growing quiet and people waited expectantly in the streets and down on the edge of the lake for the fireworks, and even vendors and hostesses dressed in formal robes were abandoning their posts to get a better view.

Myu leaned back and gave that smile as they left, tucking the pay into his bag under the bar and he tended to the other customers as they disappeared into the crowds.

WHen the time came later, the boy left his place at the bar, locking all of his money up so it couldn't be stolen before he ran off into the crowds, in search of the Emperor. He wanted to see them both again, and especially hear the man's voice. He'd been fascinated with the way it made him shiver.

He smiled when he spotted the pair, his hand softly touching Shi's shoulder to get his attention, smiling widely. "C'nai still join ya?"

Shi stiffened slightly under the touch -- If he had wanted to throttle Sun at the beginning of the night for daring to touch him, he could have burned alive whoever it was who would test his patience at the -end- of the night. He glanced over his shoulder sourly, a bit surprised when he saw Myu.

He looked like he was about to say something when Sun cut him off, smiling widely at the cross-dresser, "You found us! It seems like it would have been an impossibility." Sun joked, wondering briefly how Myu still had his hand.

Before anything else could be said, the first round of fireworks went off, exploding high above the crowd and sending wild colors everywhere. If Shi and Sun hadn't been tempered at some point in their lives to loud, abrupt explosives, they probably would have jumped a foot or hit the deck like half of the others who were watching.

"No warning or anything!" Sun laughed, leaning back more in gleeful excitement than true shock. The fireworks continued, making bright, rainbow-y patterns in the sky while everybody looked on in awe.

Myu gave them that warm smile still, pulling his hand back a bit from the Emperor's arm. He'd been glad to find them, though he was sure it was a bit odd for someone with such a low status for him to be speaking with their new leader on such a friendly level. At least it kept those men who constantly leered at him.

He gasped and jumped when the fireworks started, suddenly grasping at Shi's arm as those brown eyes stared up at the brightened sky, looking surprised and amazed at the same times as he held the man's arm close to his chest. "Ohh! I've never seen them so close!"

Shi was briefly surprised at the physical contact, as he was unaccustomed to people touching him casually. He studied the explosion of colors for a moment before making the decision to act as he would if this boy was a part of his harem, and smirked in a smooth, pleasant sort of way.

"Yes, they are amazing." He agreed -- his voice almost too low to be heard over the commotion of fireworks and the crowd.

"The view from the palace is better," Sun raised his voice to be heard, still grinning, "Shi traps himself in his bedroom, but it's impossible to escape the fireworks in a room that high and central to everything." He turned his head and winked, completely not catching onto the fact that he had just used Shi's name instead of his title. "I'm jealous." He grinned, and the emperor, on another night, probably would have castrated Sun for his audacity... But was too consumed by the show to give much of a damn right now.

Myu rested his head softly against the Emperor's arm as he looked up at those bright colours, his gaze catching the man's pleasant smirk, making him nuzzle slightly against him as he continued to watch again.

He lifted his head a bit when Sun spoke up once more, glancing towards him momentarily. "Y'must be close to 'is Highness to r'gard him so casually." He commented with an obvious surprise. He looked back to the bright lights however, not lingering on the subject with the red head, fascinated by the beautiful display, his cheeks a pretty rosy colour.

The emperor was quickly becoming bored with the show -- which was okay, since it seemed to be ending imminently.

"Sun and I are mere acquaintances." Shi ground his teeth in irritation, his eyes flashing at the redhead in warning. He then tossed his head, his unoccupied arm rising up so his fingers could spread slowly over Myu's wrist and forearm. "If you've tormented me quite enough," he continued, his face tipped towards Sun so that Myu might have some difficulty hearing, "I'd like you to leave."

He paused, then -- "And, if you value your health, I'd make it a general rule to avoid this emperor, anyway." That was the same threat he made every time he saw Sun, though, so after taking a second to look at how Shi was treating Myu, he simply shrugged with a wanton grin and slunk off with a "Good night" directed at the both of them.

The last stream of fireworks erupted simultaneously, drawing Shi's eyes back to the sky as his hand tightened around Myu's wrist. The crowd dispersed after cheering loudly for the extravagance of the display, but Shi stood firm. He turned slightly so the front of his body brushed lightly against Myu's, feigning ignorance as he glanced about discreetly for a nearby inn.

"What are your plans for the night?" He purred seductively when he finally glanced down to level his gaze with Myu's, his eyes narrowing slightly so the remaining paper lanterns cast bright, long highlights across his dark irises.

Myu Lang looked up with a slight start as the finale exploded in the sky, giving another amazed gasp after he'd bid Sun farewell for the night, though he doubted he'd be seeing much of the man anymore.

The youth looked surprised to find his eyes gazing into Shi's, cheeks flushing over with a warm blush yet again. Ohh... that voice. It sent a shiver down his spine all over again and he forgot that his wrist was a little sore from the tight grasp the emperor had on it. "Tonight? Mm... not a thing. My boss will close up the bar if he hasn't already."

Shi's smirk widened at that, and his hand slipped down so that he could weave his fingers with Myu Lang's.

"Shall I entertain you for the remainder of the night?" He inquired almost teasingly -- Regardless of Myu's answer, he began to head off in the direction of an upper-middle class inn, tugging the cross-dresser along with him easily. His ponytail flipped in the wind, as the temperature of the city seemed to drop about twenty degrees since everybody scattered to their own houses to sleep.

Myu allowed their fingers to entwine with each other's, returning the seductive smile. He was a virgin, but the aspect of sleeping with someone so... well groomed and of course who made him feel so hot. That voice made him tremble just slightly, walking along with him as Shi lead him to that inn, nodding a bit. "Mmm... I'd love it if you did.." He purred in response, giving the Emperor's hand a soft squeeze while he looked around the area. He didn't get to wander into this area often--bringing his free hand to rub his arm softly when he realized how drastic the air temperature was changing after escaping the crowds... they'd warm up soon enough however.

Shi chuckled when Myu seemed to rise to his challenge -- However, his game face dropped back into place when they entered the inn. It looked like it was just about to be closed down for the night, as a young girl wiped down the counter with a wide yawn. She came to attention when Shi stepped forward though, immediately alert and humbled by the vision in red and the emperor's companion, and easily complied when Shi requested a room for the night.

She led them to the room, even going so far as to offer them tea -- But Shi refused. She nodded and bowed as she left, leaving them in silence.

The room was very spacious, bamboo mats padding the floor and rice paper serving as the barrier between rooms. Thankfully, they were on the far end of the inn -- where... In theory, a whole lot of people hopefully wouldn't be sleeping.

Shi glanced down at Myu before he began to disrobe -- Or, rather, take off the first heavy layers out of possibly several thousand. He treaded lightly to the very padded futon, turning with the expectation for Myu to follow.