Work Text:
Xie Lian swings their joined hands back and forth and smiles up at Hua Cheng.
“Gege, I brought you here to look at the flowers,” Hua Cheng protests, but he’s smiling too.
“You’re my favorite flower,” Xie Lian says without thinking, then blushes, because what was that? Where did that come from? He hurriedly looks away.
He sneaks a quick glance back after a few seconds of silence. Hua Cheng’s mouth is open, and his pointed ears are twitching.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian says, delighted - and then they hear a noise in the distance.
It sounds like a child sobbing. Xie Lian’s brows furrow, and he sets off toward it, tugging Hua Cheng behind him.
“Gege, it could be a trap, or a monster,” Hua Cheng warns him, but Xie Lian isn’t worried. Even if it is, the two of them together are a formidable opponent.
As they draw closer, Xie Lian spots a bundle of tattered robes on the side of the road, the source of the noise.
Xie Lian squeezes Hua Cheng’s hand before dropping it and approaching cautiously.
“Hello,” he calls softly. “What’s wrong?”
The bundle startles and moves, lifting its head and looking up at them. It’s a small, dirty boy with a tear-streaked face.
“I’m Xie Lian,” Xie Lian tells him, crouching down and giving a reassuring smile. “This is San Lang. We’re here to help.”
The boy looks like he’s trying to shrink, curling up into an even tighter ball. The heart-wrenching sobs continue.
“Where are your parents?” Xie Lian asks, keeping his voice gentle. “Do you have anyone taking care of you?”
The boy starts crying even more loudly.
“Gege, let me try,” Hua Cheng says, kneeling next to Xie Lian and manifesting a silver butterfly. He sends it fluttering toward the boy, bright against the gathering dusk, and it lands on his nose.
The boy’s expression slowly changes, and the sobs fade into hiccups. He reaches up, trying to touch the butterfly, but it flutters away before he can catch it.
“San Lang, you’re so smart!” Xie Lian whispers.
Hua Cheng grins at him and looks back at the boy. “Listen to gege,” he says. “He wants to help you.”
“Why?” the boy asks.
Why? Has no adult ever wanted to help him, just because he’s a child? “You were crying,” Xie Lian says simply. “What happened?”
The boy narrows his eyes suspiciously, but he evidently decides to trust them. “They left me,” he says, and breaks down into tears again.
Xie Lian exchanges a distressed glance with Hua Cheng. “Who left you?” he asks.
“Everyone,” the boy sobs. “They’re all gone. I ran but I couldn’t catch up.”
And Xie Lian’s heart shatters for him.
“Well, we won’t leave you until we figure this out,” he promises. “How does that sound? Do you want to come with us?”
“No!” the boy says. “You’re - you’re lying. You’ll leave me too.” He curls up into a ball again.
“Gege isn’t lying,” Hua Cheng says. “What’s your name?”
“M-Minghui,” the boy says, muffled.
“That’s a nice name, Minghui,” Hua Cheng says, and Xie Lian hears a gentleness in his voice that he’s only ever heard directed toward himself. “You can call me San Lang-gege. Are you hungry?”
Minghui peeks up. “Yes,” he says cautiously.
“We have food at our home,” Hua Cheng cajoles. “Steamed buns, and noodles, and dumplings. You could have all the fruit you want.”
Minghui squints at him through his tears, but eventually nods. He stands up, rocking hesitantly from side to side on bare feet.
“Do you want me to carry you, Minghui?” Hua Cheng asks.
Minghui shakes his head.
“There are some nasty rocks on this road,” Xie Lian says. “We don’t want your feet getting hurt.”
Minghui looks at the road, then down at his feet. “The rocks poke me,” he agrees.
“I’ll let you down if you ask,” Hua Cheng promises.
Minghui nods, and Hua Cheng scoops him up, settling him on one hip.
“We’re going to go through a cool magic portal now,” Xie Lian tells Minghui, smiling. “We’ll step through, and poof! We’ll be somewhere else!”
Minghui does not seem impressed by this, even when Hua Cheng tosses his dice and a door appears in the air. Xie Lian supposes it’s better than him being scared of it.
At Paradise Manor, Hua Cheng calls for a meal, and when the plates are brought out, Minghui’s eyes widen comically.
“You can have as much as you like,” Xie Lian tells him, and picks up a meat bun to take a bite. “It’s good,” he promises through a full mouth.
Minghui doesn’t need any more encouragement to grab another bun with both hands and start tearing into it.
Xie Lian wonders how long he’s been neglected. From what he’s said, the state of his clothes, and the rate at which he’s devouring the food in front of him… a long time, probably.
“You don’t have to eat so fast,” he tells Minghui. “We’ll give you more food tomorrow.”
Minghui stops chewing with his mouth wide open, pauses for a moment, then continues stuffing food into himself like he’s scared it’ll disappear.
Xie Lian’s heart breaks again. He knows that feeling. Minghui will keep eating until he throws up.
“That’s enough,” Hua Cheng says gently, moving most of the plates to the opposite side of the table. “You can have more for breakfast in the morning. Lian-gege will give you a bath next, okay?”
Minghui clutches one last bun to his chest and swallows what he has in his mouth. “Okay,” he says in a small voice.
“You’re so dirty,” Xie Lian laughs, patting his head. “Won’t it feel nice to be all clean again? San Lang-gege will find you some pretty new clothes.”
Minghui wraps an arm around himself and looks up at him, eyes round and terrified.
“Or we can wash these ones,” Hua Cheng offers, “if you want to keep them.”
Minghui nods.
Xie Lian understands. Minghui probably doesn’t have anything else he can call his own. They’ll just have to fix that.
“Come with me,” he says, smiling reassuringly, and Minghui follows.
Xie Lian is as careful as he can manage, but Minghui is truly filthy, and there are spots where he has to scrub him before the dirt comes off. Hua Cheng seems to be having similar problems with the robes.
“Almost done?” Minghui asks quietly.
“So close,” Xie Lian says encouragingly, and rubs at a spot of dirt before discovering that it’s actually just a freckle.
Finally, Xie Lian deems him clean enough, and Hua Cheng sends a burst of spiritual power through the robes to dry them, and once Minghui is tucked into bed with a doll to cuddle he falls asleep almost immediately.
“He must have been so tired,” Xie Lian says quietly, standing next to the bed with his cheek resting on Hua Cheng’s chest.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng starts, then leads him to their own bed.
Curled up against his husband, Xie Lian prompts, “Yes, San Lang?”
“If he has a family, they don’t deserve to keep him,” Hua Cheng says.
Xie Lian nods. “He said they left him,” he remembers. “That he ran but he couldn’t catch up.”
“They’d better hope I never find them,” Hua Cheng says viciously.
If he does, Xie Lian won’t stop him.
“I think…” Hua Cheng hesitates, then says, “I’m ready.”
Xie Lian realizes what he means. His eyes widen, and he sits up. “San Lang, really?” he asks, delighted.
“What else would we do with him?” Hua Cheng defends himself, grinning.
“We could find someone else to take care of him,” Xie Lian says. “But I’d rather keep him.”
Hua Cheng nods. “If he wants to stay,” he says, “he has a place with us.”
Xie Lian settles back down. “You’re really good with him,” he says.
“So are you,” Hua Cheng says. “But gege is always wonderful with children.”
Xie Lian smiles and snuggles closer to him.
The next morning, Xie Lian wakes up to an empty bed and an indecipherable note in Hua Cheng’s awful calligraphy. He assumes it’s something about Minghui, and tosses the dice - snake eyes - to head to the room where they left him.
He finds Hua Cheng eating breakfast with their tiny charge. E’ming is cutting up fruit with flashy motions, obviously showing off.
“Good morning!” Xie Lian says sunnily, and sits down next to them.
“Good morning, gege,” Hua Cheng responds, crescent-eyed.
Minghui, mouth full of fruit, ignores them in favor of staring at E’ming.
“Do you like the shiny scimitar?” Xie Lian asks, grinning.
Minghui nods, wide-eyed.
Hua Cheng laughs. “They’d be great friends if they weren’t a human child and a very sharp sword,” he says.
Xie Lian hums, worried. “E’ming, be careful.”
E’ming’s eye spins crazily.
“I wonder…” Xie Lian trails off. “Ruoye!”
Ruoye shoots out from Xie Lian’s sleeve, twirling in dizzying patterns above the table. Minghui gasps, and a dribble of juice runs down his chin.
Hua Cheng picks up a wet cloth from the table and catches the juice with the air of someone who’s done this many, many times already.
Minghui is easily distracted by Ruoye and E’ming all morning, and Xie Lian and Hua Cheng sit side by side, watching them play.
“He’s so small, gege,” Hua Cheng says in a tone of disbelief. “I could kill him by breathing wrong.”
“You won’t, though,” Xie Lian reassures him, resting his head on his husband’s shoulder and interlacing their fingers. “I can tell you care about him.”
“Gege is still my favorite,” Hua Cheng says.
Xie Lian laughs. “It’s not fair to compare us,” he says. “You’re not going to marry him, and I don’t need my chin wiped when I eat fruit.”
Hua Cheng gives an exaggerated sigh. “Children are so messy,” he says.
Xie Lian thinks back to some of the worse patches of dirt from the day before and nods emphatically.
“Worth it, though,” Hua Cheng adds quietly.
“En,” Xie Lian agrees just as quietly.
Later that day, Xie Lian finds a children’s story in Paradise Manor’s library and settles down with Minghui to read it to him.
And he laughs.
When Xie Lian reads a silly part of the story, Minghui laughs.
It’s a bright sound, full of joy, and Minghui seems just as surprised to hear it as Xie Lian does. They stare at each other, then Minghui fidgets and Xie Lian hurriedly goes back to reading.
But it’s different, after that. Xie Lian wants to hear that sound again. Minghui deserves to have reasons to laugh. He deserves a happy childhood, and Xie Lian wants to give it to him.
The day after that, Minghui comes up to Hua Cheng and lifts his arms.
Hua Cheng stares at him, confused.
“He wants you to pick him up,” Xie Lian whispers, and Hua Cheng raises his eyebrows, but scoops Minghui onto his hip.
Minghui makes a content noise and snuggles into Hua Cheng’s robes, gripping them in his tiny fists.
Hua Cheng looks at Xie Lian with a complicated expression. “Gege,” he says.
“He likes you,” Xie Lian coos. “Don’t you, Minghui?”
Minghui just closes his eyes.
“It’s nice to be carried by San Lang-gege, isn’t it?” Xie Lian laughs. “He’s so big and strong.”
“M-hm,” Minghui says.
And he falls asleep right there.
Hua Cheng carries him around diligently until he opens his eyes and stretches, yawning.
“Did you have a nice nap?” Xie Lian asks, and Minghui nods, squirming. Hua Cheng obediently sets him down, and he runs over to the corner where Ruoye is wrapped around E’ming.
“Is that normal?” Hua Cheng asks.
Xie Lian suddenly remembers Hua Cheng’s wreck of a childhood. He sets his hands on either side of his husband’s face and looks into his eye. “It is,” he says quietly. “You deserved better.”
“Gege,” Hua Cheng says. “It was centuries ago. I’m okay.”
Xie Lian stands on the balls of his feet and tugs Hua Cheng down for a gentle kiss.
“Though gege could let me nap on him if he wants,” Hua Cheng says, grinning. “I would feel so much better.”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian laughs, but he ends up with Hua Cheng’s head in his lap while he supervises Minghui and the spiritual devices.
Late that night, Xie Lian is woken up by Yin Yu’s voice in their communication array.
Dianxia? Yin Yu asks. Your child is crying.
Xie Lian makes a muffled noise into Hua Cheng’s shoulder. Bring him here, he answers.
The door opens a few minutes later, and Yin Yu ushers Minghui into their room.
“Lian-gege,” Minghui says through the tears streaming down his face.
Xie Lian sucks in a sharp breath. Minghui has never called him that before. “Minghui, come here,” he says, holding out his arm.
Minghui runs toward him and barrels into his chest.
Xie Lian lets out an “oof!” and hugs him tight. “What’s wrong?” he asks gently.
“I had a bad dream,” Minghui sobs.
“Oh…” Xie Lian kisses the top of his head sympathetically. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“My mommy was yelling at me again,” Minghui says, hiccuping, “and my daddy was angry.”
Hua Cheng sits up. “Do you want me to -”
“San Lang,” Xie Lian says warningly.
“- tell them they’ve been very bad,” Hua Cheng finishes.
“San Lang-gege!” Minghui sobs, and launches himself at Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng catches him and makes eye contact with Xie Lian.
“I want them to stay away forever,” Minghui says, and tugs Hua Cheng down. “Can I sleep here?”
“Of course you can,” Xie Lian answers immediately. He raises his eyebrows at Hua Cheng.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Hua Cheng promises, and tugs Xie Lian closer until Minghui is sandwiched between the two of them.
The next morning, Minghui wakes up happy and excited for the day. “Can I have fruit?” he asks, bouncing up and down and grabbing Xie Lian’s sleep shirt.
“Of course you can have fruit,” Xie Lian tells him, ruffling his hair. “Which one is your favorite?”
Minghui thinks very hard for a moment before answering, “All of them!”
Hua Cheng laughs. “Not very picky, are you?”
Minghui shakes his head seriously. “Food is good.”
Xie Lian privately vows to never let this child go hungry again. “Minghui,” he starts, glancing at Hua Cheng.
“Yes, Lian-gege?”
Xie Lian manages to not die from cuteness, but it’s a near thing. “Do you want to stay with us?”
“You’ll never have to go back to your mommy and daddy ever again,” Hua Cheng adds. “If they want you back I’ll tell them no.”
“I can stay here always?” Minghui asks, eyes going wide.
“Always,” Xie Lian confirms. “There will always be a place for you here.”
Minghui shifts from side to side. “And I can have food?”
“Every day,” Hua Cheng says.
“And sleep here?” Minghui pats the bed. “With San Lang-gege and Lian-gege.”
“Whenever you want,” Xie Lian says.
Minghui scrunches his face up like he’s thinking about something very complicated.
Xie Lian holds his breath.
“Okay,” Minghui says, nodding decisively. “I want to stay.” And he wraps his arms around Xie Lian’s neck.
“I want a hug too,” Hua Cheng says, and wraps his arms around both of them. Xie Lian leans into his chest.
They only stay like that for a few moments before a clatter of dishes sends Minghui wriggling out, yelling “Fruit!” Xie Lian laughs and watches him stand a safe distance away while E’ming puts on a show.
“San Lang,” he says, curling up against his husband’s side.
“I know, gege,” Hua Cheng answers, kissing the top of his head.
Xie Lian smiles and basks in the love he has for his family.