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This morning, the ghost king and the martial god were going out for a walk around Puqi Village to go food shopping. The couple was walking together, and as always Xie Lian stopped by the fruit seller as Hua Cheng bought vegetables on the other side.
It was when Hua Cheng learned that Puqi's village fruit seller was a young man now. The old man who used to be there retired and curiously had a son old enough to take the family business, so he could spend his last years resting. Xie Lian always bought fruits from him. Now his son eyed Xie Lian, blushing. Hua Cheng felt his breathing get faster. They were talking, Xie Lian gave him a kind smile, which the other man retributed, seeming overly happy and shy.
This man was young and handsome, about the same height as Xie Lian, and he laughed breathless at everything he said. It was obvious the guy had a crush. When Xie Lian parted, the guy had the courage to touch him on his arm. And was beaming at him like an animal. Hua Cheng had put him in his place. Hua Cheng was about to make him retire too, when-
“See, San Lang! Look what I bought today for us, many oranges!” He showed his bag full of fruits: “A lot of peaches too. I might even try to make jam… I even bought six kiwis, because I know how much you love them, so I negotiated with the merchant... San Lang?” Hua Cheng blinked, and he was looking down at his husband's face, he was flushed by how happy he was because of the fruits. Xie Lian's eyes were glowing, but his pretty eyebrows were tight together now. “Are you distracted?” Hua Cheng's heart flutters, melting completely. “By your beauty, gege.”
Xie Lian smiled sweetly “Silly!”
“I can't get used to it!” the ghost king tries to sound dramatic, but Xie Lian started walking without him, but Hua Cheng was quickly by his side again. “I'm happy we got so many fruits now. Thank you very much for the kiwis, gege, but you'd have to help me eat so many!” He said as he took the bag full of fruits from Xie Lian to hold his husband's hand in another to walk beside him. The god pouted and squeezed his big hand, almost jumping like a kid.
“San Lang is fully capable of eating them all by himself.”
-
The world felt in peace. The green from the trees seemed to shine, and they could hear the birds singing happily outside. The couple was resting on their bed on Puqi Shrine, after swimming in one of the nearby rivers. They had a pause to eat fruits and spend some time telling each other stories and singing songs by the riverside. Now, comfortably laying down, sometimes one of them would make a sleepy comment, but they both shared a content silence, lazily hugging each other.
Slowly, Xie Lian leaned in to touch lips, and the ghost king welcomed him. They kissed with tongue, a messy, pulsating kiss. Sleepy, Hua Cheng moaned softly on it. With light motions, Xie Lian's fingers slipped off his husband's eye patch, lovingly caressing his skin. “Pretty. You're so pretty, San Lang.” his voice was calm and loving, their faces were near, and they wouldn't stop staring at each other's mouths. Xie Lian always did this, he would whisper praises on Hua Cheng's ear after taking off his eye patch.
The ghost king closed his other eye in an instinct. Maybe some little part of him was afraid to see his husband’s expression while his deformity was showing. “Gege is so good to me” he responded, wetly, eye shut. Xie Lian inhaled hard. “This San Lang will always try to be better for gege,”
Xie Lian came closer, kissing lightly his husband's empty eyelid. Hua Cheng shivered. “You are already the best” Still with his eye shut, the ghost king's lips curved mischievously.
“Am I?” He could hear his husband smiling too. “You are,” He gasped, and Xie Lian leaned in for another kiss, this time starting on the cheek. It didn't matter how many times Xie Lian said it to him. And he continued to kiss, humming on his skin. He licked and sucked on Hua Cheng's neck, tasting. And breathing out he whispered “My beloved,”. Feeling a bit hazy, the ghost king shivered, again, “Gege is the most perfect,”
They spent the rest of the afternoon and the night together. And the world was in peace.
-
The following week, Xie Lian had an important mission to attend. Hua Cheng was fine, really. They kissed for a long time before parting, Xie Lian gave him the most beautiful smile saying. “See you in 5 days!” It was really, really fine. They've been doing this for so long now, there was no need for worrying. It was fine.
He spent the days pretending not to see the time pass and trying not to call Xie Lian every hour.
In the morning, when Yin Yu brought ghosts’ cases to resolve, and after a lengthy, detailed explanation, he noticed Hua Cheng wasn’t listening.
“Hua Chengzu.”
…
“Hua Chengzu,”
“Do the way you want.”
“… What are you talking about, sir?”
He Xuan was the one who most suffered.
Having his debt increased 3 times, he had to listen to Hua Cheng talk about Xie Lian for hours. One day, Hua Cheng wouldn’t shut up for 6 hours and that must be classified as torture. It remembered him some years back.
It wasn't like he didn't have his own situations to resolve, really, but it felt particularly difficult to concentrate. He felt sick. Angry at everything. Restless.
Hua Cheng didn't like feeling this needy. He wanted to be someone better for Xie Lian, give him space to be and to do what he wished without thinking about others. By the end of the 5 days, Hua Cheng was seeing all these thoughts slow down.
He passed a whole entire morning bathing, preparing himself. He put on scented oils to moisturize his skin and rose perfume on his neck. He slowly painted black the nails of his hands and feet. Brushed his hair copiously, curling carefully the edges. Looking himself in the mirror, Hua Cheng styled it the way it wasn't ugly. With make-up, he tried at least ten different styles of eyeliners, choosing finally one different, with more than two lines above his eyelid, one black and one red. It looked acceptable. The ghost king chooses to wear black silky robes with his short boxers. It was comfortable to be at home and gege always liked seeing him wearing them. After looking himself in the mirror for quite some time, he examined any types of imperfections. And then, when he was putting on just a little bit more of perfume, Xie Lian called in the communication array. His heart made a flip.
“San Lang! I'm so sorry! I won't be able to return today, we-” huffed sounds “We had some problems with this one orc…”
Hua Cheng was already out of bed and prepared. “Gege, let me go to help yo-”
“Ah, San Lang, I don’t want to bother you.”
“But gege really needs to bother this San Lang, I want you to bother me all the time every day,” Xie Lian shyly laughed.
Hua Cheng loved his laugh so much; he could live years only to be able to listen to it.
“Are you seriously blushing right now?!” Feng Xin’s idiot voice interrupted, incredulous. They seem to be in the middle of an important combat. He got shushed.
“Could you wait just a little bit more for me? Please, San Lang, I can deal with this.”
He really didn't want to pressure, but he heard himself saying, “But, gege…”
“Your highness! Watch out!” It was again Feng Xin's voice. Hua Cheng heard some loud noises of rocks falling. His heart was beating hard.
“San Lang,” he seemed in a rush even if Xie Lian’s voice was soothing. Hua Cheng heard an orc shouting loudly on the background, “I’ll make up for it, I promise,”
“Gege doesn’t need to. Please, take care. This San Lang will call him later.”
“Thank you, San Lang.” the fondness of his voice was evident “Talk to you later!”
When the communication was interrupted, there was silence for some time. Hua Cheng sat down on the verge of the bed. When the ghost king looked himself in the mirror, he felt ugly.
It crawled on him.
To soothe himself, he started carving little Xie Lian statues.
-
Half a day passed. The ghost king was already at this 136th little statue when he decided to enter Xie Lian's communication array.
“Gege”
“San Lang!” his voice sounded strained, but his spirit was bubbly “I'm coming home!”
“I'll be here waiting. How are you feeling?”
“Just a bit tired, that's all. See you in some minutes?”
“See you, gege.” He made all the little statues disappear, looked himself in the mirror, fixed his hair. And then came to meet his husband at one of Paradise Manor's corridors.
“San Lang!”
“Gege!”
When he met Hua Cheng, he threw himself on his husband's arms, both of them hugging tightly.
Xie Lian’s heart was warm, he felt his cheeks hurt because he couldn’t stop smiling.
That was when he noticed. If Hua Cheng were a puppy, he would have his ears down.
He looked at himself. His abdomen was bleeding. His robes once white, now were gray, and some parts of the tissue were ripped.
“This San Lang missed you… why is gege in such condition?”
“Oh, the Orc was one of the strongest.” he explained vaguely.
Hua Cheng caressed Xie Lian's face, passing a spiritual energy.
“Does gege want to tell me all about it?”
Xie Lian shyly laughed, trying to make himself better, and clean a bit of his robes. They holded hands and he proceeded to tell him the details.
When the martial god noticed it, he was comfortably sitting on Hua Cheng's lap, curling his husband's hair with his fingers, getting a massage on his legs with one of Hua Cheng's big hands. “After all of this, there was so much paperwork to do, you wouldn’t imagine! There were many pointless questions about the case which I couldn’t figure out how to respond. Feng Xin didn’t have much patience for it, and I also missed San Lang so much, I had to come back before anything.” Hua Cheng beamed at him, his heart so full, they held one hand.
“This San Lang is so glad” Hua Cheng started a slow kiss. The brunette slowly sighed, deeply relieved, while his husband gently caressed his hair.
“Hnm you're smelling so good, San Lang” His voice sounded drunk, his cheeks red.
They stopped, and the ghost king touched him, “Gege” his voice a bit startled, “You're trembling.”
“Ah.” A bit hazy, Xie Lian couldn't say much.
“Let's bathe, gege, you must be so tired. Do you still feel pain anywhere?” he hushed, passing a bit more of spiritual energy to him, even though he didn’t really need it. He stopped bleeding awhile ago. “No,” He blushed even more. “Y-you come with me?”
“Of course,”
-
Hua Cheng sat down by the water, massaging his husband's hair while washing it.
One of the things he most adored about his San Lang is how he is capable of relaxing him entirely. As a matter of fact, during the day he couldn't feel how tense he was. But when he’s in his husband’s presence, it is as if his entire body would turn into pudding, and his mind cotton candy. He even felt lighter, younger. Xie Lian could breathe profoundly.
Today, however, he felt Hua Cheng seemed distant and hesitant to touch him.
Even if he tried to pretend he wasn't.
“Is there something San Lang wants to talk about?” He could only hear the splash of water of San Lang washing his hair.
It was a long silence before he heard, “Your San Lang isn't feeling all good these days, that's all, gege, but don't be worried.”
Xie Lian sighs.
“San Lang,” he felt his husband shiver, he felt he was shivering too. “wouldn't you like to share more, please?”
There was silence for some moments, his husband carefully washing his hair and back.
He thought Hua Cheng wasn’t going to talk anymore when the ghost king explained.
“You see, gege, this San Lang is feeling too needy. He wants your highness all to himself, all the time. He- He- sometimes. Wants your highness to not talk with anyone else, not see anyone else. This San Lang doesn't want him to go anywhere else. And stay with him all the time.”
Xie Lian thought for a moment.
“Would you like me to do that?”
“Nothing would make me sadder.” he shivered a bit, “Than dianxia not living his life the way he wants,”
The ghost king had his fingers gently caressing the god’s skin, avoiding eye contact.
Xie Lian smiled, slowly melting into Hua Cheng's hand. “My poor husband seems to be overthinking.”
“Come here,” when he turned, Hua Cheng was in his San Lang form, even slightly smaller. Xie Lian was sure his husband wasn't aware he had shape-shifted. He had the same clothes on, but they were way larger on him now, like a kid wearing some adult's clothes.
Xie Lian grabbed his legs down, “Come inside the water with me” Hua Cheng slipped inside, his clothes getting wet, the water's temperature was warm, and Xie Lian hugged him tightly.
His voice was small, “Did I do anything to make you feel this way?”
The answer came quickly.
“No, dianxia!” If ever, Hua Cheng felt frustrated with himself, never with his dianxia.
His husband gave him a kiss on the cheek, a slowly one. And then, he also slowly kissed his forehead, between his eyebrows and his chin. “I love you,”, he said lowly.
“Gege doesn't have to-”
“If my husband needs reassurance, I'll gladly give him that.” his voice was sweet, but firm “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me”. They hugged each other in silence for some minutes. Hua Cheng felt like sobbing.
“Hmmmm I feel this way sometimes too, you know? I think, ‘Ah, San Lang is going to see my flaws and hate me’,” Xie Lian brushed his husband's hair with his fingers, and before he protested the martial god added smiling sweetly, "I wish I had San Lang only to myself,"
“San Lang is the sweetest, most caring person I know. He's so deep in my heart,” he squeezed him a bit “I'll stay with him as long as he allows me to.”
“Dianxia,”
“You are my blessing” Xie Lian pressed Hua Cheng against him. “And you worked so hard, didn't you? To become everything you are now. You're strong and wise and capable. My husband is so talented in anything and everything he touches” he sighed, shaking his head “Except in calligraphy,” Hua Cheng laughed wetly on his shoulder.
They stayed like this for some time. Xie Lian wanted to say thank you to the world for giving him someone with whom silence was so comfortable.
When Xie Lian looked at him again, he was in his original form.
“Gege,” his eye and voice full of pure longing.
He let himself be kissed deeply, his husband's lips were soft like marshmallows. And he kissed Hua Cheng back, feeling dreamy.
“Gege, gege” the taller body strongly pressed them impossibly together “gege gege”
With a sudden shift of atmosphere, Xie Lian felt being gently lay down in the middle of their bed, just like a feather, his naked body all fresh.
“I want to be your stepping stone”, Hua Cheng said against his neck, voice trembling.
“Gege doesn’t know what he does to me.”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian sighed, voice full of tenderness.
Outside, Ghost City was lively.
But inside Paradise Manor, the martial god and his ghost king spent the night quietly together, entangled in each other’s embrace.
Xie Lian murmured sweet nothings to his ghost king until they both fell asleep.