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There was a thud in the distance.
With a smile, Hua Cheng set the last lantern into the sky, before turning around and running towards the figure down the hill. In a matter of seconds, he was reunited with his love, pressing him tightly to his chest, never wanting to let go.
"San Lang." Xie Lian's voice was soft and trembling, yet his hold was strong, and his hands grabbed the fabric of his San Lang's robes tightly. Hua Cheng's answering: "Your Highness", was just as raw and tender, and no more words were spoken between the God and the Ghost for many and many more moments. Only after having assured himself that the person in front of him wouldn't disappear again, did Xie Lian take a step back, just so he could properly surge up in an attempt to kiss his beloved. What with both of them still being in quite the shock of finally seeing each other again, they both promptly fell backward into the high grass, and Xie Lian couldn't help the laughter that was bubbling up in his throat. With clumsy hands, he propped himself up on top of Hua Cheng and started another attempt at smothering the other's face with his love, this time more successful. Which is how they ended up half-rolling on the ground, arms full of each other, with laughter and silence filling the air equally.
Hua Cheng was hardly able to process everything, after only having come back to life hours ago, but having his beloved in his arms, once and for all, and kissing that handsome and beautiful face of his, Hua Cheng was vibrating with energy, knowing: He was at home.
* * *
After their reunion - and much to everyone's chagrin - Hua Cheng fell ill. It wasn't anything serious, more akin to what mortals considered a simple cold or a mediocre one at worst, and the only ones who were feeling bothered by this to some extent or another, were the following:
- The citizens of Ghost City, since all that folk never once stopped worshipping their Hua Chengzu, and upon hearing of his return, wanted to greet him personally with food and gifts, which now had to wait till he wasn't bedridden anymore.
- The heavenly officials which - don't be fooled - didn't have the slightest bit to do with their worry for his well-being (with the exception of a few gods who seemingly annoyed asked their mutual friend about his lover's condition), and more to do with the fact that his sickness meant Xie Lian stayed in Ghost City without pause, never once leaving time for his new-found fans upon the other officials.
- Xie Lian himself, who was at this point probably feeling worse than the ill one himself, constantly fidgeting at his bed, ready to go make another bowl of soup, get new blankets or fulfill any other wish that his love might ask of him (to San Lang's credit: He only ever asked for cuddles and kisses).
Hua Cheng himself felt he was quite well off. Truly, he didn't feel too bad at all and would've probably been up and about days ago to presume his duties as Chengzu, but his god pleaded for him to rest - and who was Hua Cheng but a mere servant to His Highness, ready to do as he asks?
(And if it meant he could bask in his Highness' attention and care without anyone interrupting them, he would surely not disagree. He did get the requested cuddles after all - although his kisses were refused, with a pouting Xie Lian's explanation of: "San Lang! You know if we start doing that, you'll never get your rest!" - and he wasn't entirely wrong, so Hua Cheng conceded.)
Only after a week had passed, did Xie Lian see his patient fit to leave and mingle about again, relieved about his quick and easy recovery. Grinning like a satisfied cat, Hua Cheng stuck out his face (mainly his lips) in the general direction of his love, lazily closing his eyes. To his... well, certainly not disappointment (anything that Xie Lian bestowed upon him could never be called disappointment), but rather against his expectations, he received a quick peck on the cheek, before Xie Lian disappeared behind the dressing screen. Hua Cheng blinked in his direction, where Xie Lian already commenced chattering again: "Let's check on Ghost City first, shall we? I'm sure everyone will be beyond happy to see you again, they all adore you so much! I do feel slightly bad for hiding you away for so long, they're all so eager to greet you, so maybe we can enjoy a meal at one of the stalls today. What do you say, San Lang?"
And what else could Hua Cheng feel but eternal gratefulness and happiness when seeing his beloved so lively and so... right, by his side?
"As gege wishes."
* * *
"Oh, San Lang! You're back!"
The white-clad God ran up to the Ghost King who just entered Puqi Shrine, embracing him. They've only been apart for a couple of hours, although after a year apart, every second felt like an eternity. Hua Cheng smiled down at the bundle of sunshine in his arms, holding him and savoring the moment.
"It seems that Gege has missed me. Maybe next time I should ask him to accompany me?" This was said with a snicker and was received with a grimace. Usually, Xie Lian would jump at the chance to spend more time with his love, especially if it meant going on trips adventures official business together, although there were exceptions. One of these exceptions included Hua Cheng's spontaneous meetings with the Heavens. And with spontaneous, it is meant that randomly once every few months, Hua Cheng would enter the heavens out of the blue, scaring most of the Gods half to death by doing so, just so he could inquire about the state of finances. Everyone thought Crimson Rain was doing this to rub a) his assistance in helping the heavens and b) the financial low that Heaven was still struggling to get out of, under their noses; Hua Cheng himself claimed it was solely for business, and to make sure he was still feared; Xie Lian though privately thought San Lang just enjoyed hearing the song play obnoxiously all day in the Heavens.
And while the scrap collector didn't begrudge his beloved this (childish) enjoyment the least bit, he still thought his presence wouldn't do much good if he were to tag along on these trips, as someone whose colleagues were the ones being bullied. Out of politeness, he wouldn't even be allowed to laugh at San Lang's antics, so really - what was the point?
"San Lang is being silly again. If I were to go with you, who would cook stew for us in the meantime?"
This made Hua Cheng perk up, and he glanced over his beloved's head in the direction of the stove, eye glinting curiously. "Gege has made stew? What kind of stew will this one get the honor of savoring today?" Xie Lian playfully hit his chest at his exaggerated wording ("It's not, gege! I am only being sincere."), before turning just a tad into the same direction. "I call it Simmering Stew of Joyous Daytime. It still needs to simmer for another two hours, and should be ready for us to eat, then." Hua Cheng didn't waste a second to use the new positioning to his advantage; feeling arms circle around his waist, and warmth on the back of his neck, Xie Lian quickly felt warm and fuzzy inside. "What a lovely name, gege. As always. But there is one problem."
Scrunching his brows, Xie Lian tried to turn around in his beloved's arms, only to be stopped by two strong arms still encircling him tightly. "What is it? Is something not to San Lang's liking?" Feeling a chin on his shoulder, Xie Lian turned his head a bit around so that he could at least look at San Lang. He was greeted by a mischievous glinting eye extremely close to his face. "En. Gege made soup that is finished only in two hours, but this one is hungry already now. Does gege maybe have anything else that this one could satisfy his hunger with, in the meantime?" He indeed looked ravenous, Xie Lian thought, before the words caught up to him, and immediately started sputtering, trying to hide his beet-red face behind his sleeves. "S-San Lang!" Chuckling deeply, Hua Cheng lightly bit into his beloved's nape, licking the spot apologetically right afterward. With a satisfied hum, he noted that Xie Lian pressed even closer to him (in comparison to the first time Hua Cheng had done this, where Xie Lian had been so shocked that he had jumped a few hundred li away, almost smacking Hua Cheng's nose in the process).
With a hot puff of breath to the previously bitten spot, Hua Cheng started leaving a trail of kisses up Xie Lian's neck, his jaw, the side of his face, while his hands were slowly trailing from his waist down to the hem of his robes. His fingers played expertly with the end of the belt there, but much to the God's regret, the kisses stopped right next to his ear, only to be replaced by a raspy voice: "Is gege okay with this?" Nodding frantically as if his life depended on it, Xie Lian almost didn't register being carefully lifted unto a counter, until he saw a familiar eye and very soft looking and kissable lips right in front of him, coming closer and closer and-
"Ah, actually! I- um, I need to! Stew! The stew is burning, we should start eating before it's cold!"
Hua Cheng immediately stepped back, just in time to catch a frantic Immortal scrambling from the counter, before he hastily jogged to the stove. "En, if-", if gege thinks those few minutes were two hours already, Hua Cheng wanted to tease, but changed course upon seeing the actually mortified look upon his beloved's face.
"If that is what gege wishes, this one is happy to oblige."
* * *
Xie Lian's refusal to outright kiss Hua Cheng soon became apparent to not only the unkissed person himself.
"Have you actually fucking hurt him?!"
Hua Cheng couldn't help but (read: felt very justified) to glare at everyone around him, including those who seemed just as repulsed by the idea as him - which, alright, was only Shi QingXuan and Pei Ming. Hua Cheng decided he tolerated them even more now and would pout less when His Highness spent time with them. He'd pout even more though when it came to the current objects of his aggravation: General Dick Yang and the floor-sweeping general.
"What right do you have to question me? I have His Highness' trust, I don't need your approval."
"Well, you weren't... you weren't-- you didn't do that with him the whole time since this mission started, and that one time you tried to, he literally flinched away! What the fuck are we supposed to think? And you call that trust?!"
Crimson Rain Sought Flower couldn't help but flinch at that accusation because, to be frank - it wasn't like he hadn't been thinking the exact same thing these past couple of days. And to make matters worse, everyone seemed to have noticed his bodily reaction to Feng Xin's words. Apparently, it even made Mu Qing take pity on him, as he promptly jabbed his elbow into the other general's ribcage.
"What the fuck was that for?!"
"Can't you be a bit more sensitive, you fool?!"
"Sensitive? For him? Did you suddenly take a liking to him, or why are you suddenly defending him?"
"Of course I didn't, but Xie Lian could come back any moment now, and do you think he'd approve of you talking to his... to Crimson Rain like that?"
That seemed to shut him up, which in turn made Mu Qing roll his eyes ("Always so obedient when it comes to him"), which in turn made Feng Xin raise his fists threateningly.
"What a weak argument. Besides, I've had women fall in love with me for centuries now, doing the most ridiculous things in the name of love, and yet I have never seen anyone as in love as these two. Surely they've been just going at it a bit too much recently, or something along those lines, and need some sort of break. They haven't been able to be near each other for quite some time, after all, so tiring each other physically out would be only natural."
"You're all making it out as if they've been avoiding each other!", Shi QingXuan was the next one to pipe up, and Hua Cheng would've probably broken skin from clenching his fists if he were anyone else but a Supreme Ghost King, "When in fact, we've all seen them snuggling and pecking each other when Xie Lian thought we weren't looking! Why would he do that, if he were uncomfortable?"
"Whatever it is, can we first finish this mission? I still have things to do, places to go. I'm a busy man."
Pei Ming only received a snort from his past friend's younger brother. "It's not like you had to go, unlike Feng Xing and Mu Qing! You only heard about a mysterious cave behind a waterfall, in which women have disappeared to, only leaving behind their clothes, and jumped at the chance! Truly, you're a scoundrel, Pei Ming." Unlike in the past, there wasn't as much heat behind their words; it wasn't yet spoken fondly, but also not as if they would want to curse all of ol' Pei's ancestors. It was more like a pretense, for old times' sake, although it could fool no one, or else Shi QingXuan wouldn't have tagged along when they accidentally came across the group consisting of the four heavenly officials and Crimson Rain.
"He might just want to be nice, and not hurt his feelings."
Ah. He Xuan was also there, although he only came after Hua Cheng had called him so he could have someone witness Xie Lian's refusal to kiss and assure him he wasn't going mad after having crossed the group's - including Shi QingXuan - path by chance. After recognizing Hua Cheng's trap for what it was, he still ended up following the group (Hua Cheng promised him 15% off of his debt. He must be truly desperate), all the while avoiding a certain person's curious stare.
As if the group didn't consist of random enough beings, the anchor of their group - "sweet, precious gege, whose mere presence keeps us from going at each other's throats, pleasedon'tleave" - had been called on short notice by Ling Wen into the Heavens, and since Xie Lian and Hua Cheng also only had happened to come across and tag along with the two generals, Xie Lian didn't have a reason to refuse, promising to be back shortly.
And now Hua Cheng was left with these... these scums (mostly). Who were discussing his love life. And whether or not His Highness was lacking trust in him.
Feng Xin, "Nonsense! Xie Lian isn't scared of being honest!"
Mu Qing, "It's not about being scared, you dimwit, it's about being emphatic, you wouldn't know about it, now would you?"
Pei Ming, "Who's scared? Who's emphatic? Crimson Rain simply needs to prepare a romantic dinner and then convince with incredible sex!"
He Xuan, "What an idiotic plan."
Shi QingXuan, "Oh, because your plans always end so well for you, right?"
An awkward silence settled over the group, as Shi QingXuan glared at He Xuan, He Xuan avoided their gaze, the three generals tried to look away as if they heard nothing and knew nothing, and Hua Cheng was gripping his saber tightly, shaking slightly.
This is the situation that Xie Lian returned to.
"Oh? San Lang, why is E-Ming shaking?"
* * *
Hua Cheng couldn't believe he'd actually take Pei Ming's advice, out of all people.
While he did tolerate the man for his morals, there probably wasn't a sex and love life that he was more appalled off. At least the man made it clear from the start that he was solely interested in sexual, temporary relationships; afterwards rewarding the girls splendidly with a rich and comfortable life. You do you.
He only had one person whose life he wanted to make rich and comfortable.
"Gege, don't look yet, just sit."
Xie Lian did as he was told, or more precisely: He just let himself be guided by his beloved's hands, sitting down on something silky and soft. Hua Cheng stood up, carefully sitting across his God, who was sitting right in front of him, legs folded, back straight, eyes blindfolded by a red ribbon. The Ghost King had to bite his lip to not either coo at the adorableness of it all, or to completely ambush the unsuspecting man. Remembering the panicked look (not the kind of panicked that meant he was new to this whole relationship business and unsure how to act - it was the kind of panicked that meant he was scared) that he received the last few times when he tried to come closer to His Highness.
With a wave of his hand, some of his butterflies started strumming a zither a few li in the distance, creating a beautiful melody. With careful movements, Hua Cheng then leaned closer to take off the blindfold. It took Xie Lian a few seconds of blinking to adjust to his eyes being open again, though it didn't take much time, since their surroundings were already dark to begin with. Curiously, Xie Lian looked down, where he was sitting on the edge of a gigantic cushion, almost the size of a mattress, all different kinds of food laid out in front of him - Xianle food. The crown prince already felt tears prickling at his eyes. "San Lang...?", he whispered, astonished, and looked up at the soft gaze of his companion. "I thought gege might miss some old dishes. This one doesn't remember a lot of the foods from back then either" - the 'because I didn't have a lot of food' went unsaid - "but I managed to find some sources that were able to inform this humble one on how to prepare the food for His Highness. That's not all, though."
Before Xie Lian had the chance to say anything, Hua Cheng raised his hand, and a bunch of butterflies that were hidden in the grass - they were on the top of a grassy mountain, Xie Lian realized - suddenly lit up, and started doing formations in the sky. They looked like moving people. Like... dancing people. Xie Lian recognized the dance moves and felt himself laughing with tears in his eyes. These were traditional styles from the Xianle kingdom, which he had to learn in his youth, and to tell the truth, he had hated dance lessons, but now San Lang was standing in front of him, with his arm outstretched and hope in his eye, and Xie Lian surged up to dance with his beloved.
They spent quite some time moving in rhythm to the melody, and while Hua Cheng - who never learned the dance up until recently - had perfected the moves, Xie Lian had long since forgotten most things except for some basics, so it was really more akin to swaying on the grass field until they both snuggled close on the cushion to eat. Hua Cheng's heart felt hopeful when Xie Lian had immediately sat next to him in a way that didn't leave room for anything bigger than a hair's width, even feeding Hua Cheng some of the food, telling him which ones he used to sneak from the kitchens, and which ones he always fed to the royal dogs. When Xie Lian had finished retelling old tails and instead chose to contemptibly plop strawberries into his beloved's mouth in silence, only his head leaned on his shoulder, Hua Cheng decided to continue his plan, and be bold.
With the next strawberry that Xie Lian fed him, he opened his mouth just slightly more, grazing the fingertips of his god with his tongue. Xie Lian didn't seem to notice, but when it happened for the third time, his hand finally stilled for just a millisecond upon registering the foreign sensation, before going for the next strawberry. This time though, his movements seemed to be somewhat slower, and his hand stilled for a second longer when Hua Cheng's tongue darted out.
When the next strawberry came, Hua Cheng decided to suck on it - the strawberry, as well as his beloved's fingers.
The same thing happened with the next one.
And the next one.
Until they reached the last strawberry.
At this point, both the Ghost King and the God were feeling somewhat aroused, and when the time came for Xie Lian to take his hand back, Hua Cheng sucked hard, not letting the sweet fingers escape. Xie Lian didn't move to take them away either. Instead, before Hua Cheng could even comprehend what was happening, he found himself with a God in his lap, who was clumsily trying to open his robes.
Hua Cheng almost sent a thank-you-prayer into the heavens for Pei Ming.
* * *
Xie Lian was gone.
He left. Forever. Hua Cheng was too clingy. Too mean. Too ugly. Probably a bad kisser. Most definitely a bad kisser. And he would never see Xie Lian again.
Why continue existing, if he could just as well die now?
"Stop being so dramatic. He only left for a short stay in the Heavens, due to a mission."
The Ghost King lounging on his bed - alone - glared at his assistant. This was the first time he had spoken to him like this. How dare he? He Xuan? Sure, one would drive mad trying to teach him respect. But Yin Yu? Surely everyone was planning on abandoning Hua Cheng now. First his Highness, and now even his useless excuse of an assistant. An assistant, that - with a sigh and a slight shake of his head - finally left the room.
Everybody concerned (which was limited to Yin Yu, He Xuan and occasionally Shi QingXuan when said person dropped by to gossip about He Xuan) had told him that there was no reason to worry. It was absolutely coincidental that Xie Lian had become even more distant after they had had sex for the first time. At first, Hua Cheng had thought it was due to that useless Heaven's Eye who had accidentally ratted them out in front of Xie Lian's friends, so now Xie Lian was too embarrassed. But it had gone on for an entire week without even cuddles, and then Xie Lian had suddenly exclaimed that there was an urgent mission in the Heavens that he needed to help with, right now, for potentially days or even weeks. It wasn't usually Hua Cheng's way, butt this time he did prod Xie Lian on what he had to help with. Xie Lian didn't like lying to him, so he conceded that it was actually just Ling Wen, who needed help with sorting through lots of scrolls and information provided by basically everyone. After some more prodding, Xie Lian also admitted that maybe it wasn't Ling Wen who asked for help, but Xie Lian who had offered his assistance.
His prodding left Hua Cheng feeling guilty and full of self-loathing, because, who was he to ask such questions when His Highness obviously seemed uncomfortable with sharing details? How dare he? Thus, he let him leave without hesitation, not even asking him whether he'll return by the end of the week.
He hadn't.
It's been one and a half week now, and Hua Cheng truly was miserable.
* * *
"Are you... alright?"
Xie Lian looked up from his bunch of scrolls, clearly startled at being spoken to, expression turning sour due to the nature of the question. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?", before one of the two generals had the chance to answer, Xie Lian continued rambling on: "And besides, what brings you here? Do you want tea? Oh! Or maybe I can make us some food? I still have some left-overs from earlier, Ling Wen has been kind enough to lend me a space in her palace to cook." That hadn't actually been true. There was no place in the Heavenly Capital that had even a stove, and he still had his own palace up here, so there would be no use in taking up someone else's space for something so mundane. But he didn't expect these two to actually accept the offer.
"Alright."
"Wait, we're agreeing? But- ow, okay! Yes, we're staying for tea and-! And food."
Xie Lian was perplexed, so he decided to have a small stare-down with both of them. Nobody seemed to budge, which made Xie Lian exclaim with a sigh: "Fine, fine. I know you don't actually like my cooking, and just want to talk. Sit, then. No need to waste perfectly good food."
Both seemed relieved and sat down in front of their former crown prince. Then they glanced at each other. And back at Xie Lian... and back at each other. Finally, Feng Xin turned to Xie Lian, and sat up a tad bit straighter. The scrap collector was actually starting to grow worried, and urged with a movement of his hands for him to continue, so Feng Xin did: "Mu Qing needs to ask you something." Expectantly, Xie Lian turned to the aforementioned, ignoring the daggers he glared into Feng Xin's direction. Mu Qing rolled his eyes, then asked outright:
"Has Crimson Rain Sought Flower hurt you?"
"Cause if he did, we will deal with him."
"And you don't have to ever see him again."
"We'll fucking make sure of it."
"And no need to lie to us for the sake of spearing his feelings."
At the mention of the Ghost King's name, Xie Lian's gaze turned incredibly soft (which the two generals obviously missed, too busy talking themselves into a frenzy), but the more they talked, the more stoic his expression became. With raised eyebrows, Xie Lian asked: "Why would San Lang have hurt me?" The two generals both crossed their arms. "That's what we're asking you." The Scrap Immortal still couldn't quite understand, slightly shaking his head. "San Lang hasn't hurt me", at this, they both seemed to relax somewhat, "but why would you think so? Is this-", he felt himself immediately turn red, "because of what Heaven's Eye has said in Puqi Shrine? If so, then believe me, I am-"
"No!"
Xie Lian looked like a deer caught in the headlights, looking between his two friends who for once seemed to be of the same opinion in something, and inclined his head. "Then... what is it?"
Mu Qing and Feng Xin then decided to square up, take a deep breath, and get this conversation over with.
"You're not kissing."
"Wha-?"
"And you're flinching when he tries to."
"I-!"
"And you've even stopped doing all that... touchy lovey stuff with him in public."
"..."
"If Crimson Rain's reactions are anything to go by, in private probably too."
"And now you have hidden yourself away in heaven."
"For over a week now."
"And did you look in the mirror? You look terrible."
"You're also sometimes whimpering his name when you sleep."
"..."
Xie Lian couldn't help but rub his temples, after having grown paler and paler with each statement. This... this truly was horrific. He hadn't thought that anyone would notice. Or maybe he was just still somewhat not used to anyone but San Lang always keeping an eye on him again. But apparently, his behavior really didn't escape people's notice, if even Feng Xin and Mu Qing teamed up for the sole purpose of questioning him - even going as far as to agree to his cooking to do so. They hadn't even stayed due to his food being served when they first found out Xie Lian was staying with someone who was probably Crimson Rain Sought Flower.
Suddenly their words replayed in his head. They had said something about Crimson Rain. Something about his...
"What do you mean by his reactions???"
The two generals exchanged a look, but Xie Lian was already on his feet. "He noticed too?!"
And, thinking about it now, of course he would. Of course, the one person in this world who noticed the slightest changes about Xie Lian, who stayed alive for him, and went through 800 years of growing, solely to be by his side or in his shadow, would notice if Xie Lian... if he...
"I need to go."
He was already halfway to the door when he was stopped by two people standing in his way. Frantically, he tried to run around, but his attempts were futile. "Your Highness!", Feng Xin exclaimed, trying to catch his attention. "Xie Lian, what's gotten into you?! Can't you explain properly? Please, aren't we your f-friends?!"
Xie Lian was already contemplating whether to use brute force to pass, but stopped short. Mu Qing was right. They were his friends. And they were worried. And as much as Xie Lian wanted to run to his beloved to explain his behavior to him, he also didn't want to completely disregard his friends' feelings. And the faster he would explain to them the importance of immediately getting to San Lang, the faster he could actually do so.
"You're right, please excuse me." He took a deep breath, trying to recite some sutras in his mind (even tho he did start blushing furiously at some lines, before deciding to skip them). His friends didn't seem too convinced, still blocking his way. Okay, fair.
Feng Xin was the one who spoke first, calmly and with raised hands, as if talking to a wild and spooked animal, which, to be honest - okay, fair: "Alright, your Highness. Please... sit down?" Xie Lian contemplated for a second whether to argue that he could explain while standing, but decided against doing so, instead swooping his sleeves back and sitting back on the chair he just ran from.
"Alright. I'll explain."
* * *
"Your Highness!"
Xie Lian paled on the spot but continued running after a moment of shock. He had never heard Yin Yu shout and look so... expressive. It truly must be bad, then. Immediately guilt started spreading through his insides, but worry even more so. "Yin Yu!", he panted, finally arriving at the Gates of Ghost City, looking around for a man clad in red. Sensing his goal, Yin Yu bowed deeply, informing him: "Hua Chengzu asked me to welcome Your Highness upon arrival, and to ask you whether he wants for...", Xie Lian thought he could see Yin Yu wince under the mask at his next words, and knew Hua Cheng had made him say this exact wording, "for Hua Chengzu to give you some personal space in Paradise Manor." The Scrap Immortal felt his chest tightening at those words, regret pouring into every pore of his. "Nonsense, I want- I need to see San Lang. Please." Xie Lian would swear he saw the other's shoulders sagging with relief, and his heart started pounding wildly with gnawing worries.
With a nod from Yin Yu, he started hurrying through the city and stalls, ignoring cries for attention and exclamations about how happy everyone was that he returned - surely he wadn't been gone that long, and yet everyone seemed to have noticed; he believed even having heard someone shout: "Hua Chengzu will finally cheer up again!", and his heart ached.
What must Hua Cheng have thought of him? Why hadn't he confronted him when his doubts had started consuming him?
Ready to question his beloved, he burst into their room, only to find it empty. With a short glance into the rooms around him, he found them all devoid of the ghost he wanted to be there, and lost patience. Lifting his hand up, he looked at what direction the red string pointed at, slowly and then faster and faster following said direction until he stood in front of the closed doors of Qiandeng Temple. Only now, with his breath evening out, and his heart rate picking up, did he realize what confronting his San Lang would mean now: He'd have to face his fear.
But then he remembered in what miserable state his beloved must have been these past... days? maybe weeks already?, and his decision to push open the door was as easy as could be. It took him a second to adjust to the different lighting in the temple - where before Ghost City was colored in red daylight, the temple's corners were all dark, only the altar being lit up with an abundance of candles. The heavy and suffocating smell of incense filled the newcomer's nostrils. And yet Xie Lian's eyes immediately spotted the hunched-up figure in front of the altar, clad in red that seemed even more fiery in the candlelight.
"Oh, my dear San Lang."
Maybe San Lang flinched - if he did, it was hardly noticeable, but upon hearing his God enter his temple, he turned around, ready to stand up - only to crash to the ground again, arms around his shoulders and a face hidden in his neck. "I love you, my San Lang." Hands trembling, the Ghost tentatively reached out his arms to hug Xie Lian back, feeling his shoulders slightly shake.
"Your Highness-?!"
Soft sobs teared through the air, and Hua Cheng wanted to slightly push His Highness back to check on him, but the hands circling around his body held tight. "Gege...?!" Panic started crawling through his chest, and it didn't lessen, even after Xie Lian starting babbling again: "I'm sorry, San Lang, I'm so sorry, I hadn't thought of how things might seem to you! I was wholly in my own worries, and thinking about how to avoid them, and didn't talk it out with you - I regret it now, I really do, and I won't do it again, I promise!" - "Your Highness, I- I don't understand?"
Finally leaning a bit back, Xie Lian used his sleeves to first dap Hua Cheng's tears away from the corner of his eyes, and then to wipe his own face to dry it. "I've been so silly, San Lang."
"Gege is never silly."
Hearing the familiar title again, Xie Lian couldn't help but smile a bit. Then he remembered their situation, and quickly sobered up, looking into his beloved's eye. "Can I try something?" Without needing to be asked twice, Hua Cheng nodded, and Xie Lian surged up to give him a quick kiss, right unto his unsuspecting lips. Hua Cheng's insides felt like they were on fire; as if this could be their first kiss again; and yet, upon seeing his beloved's expression darkening after the kiss, he quickly calmed himself down. "I need to retry", were Xie Lian's next words before he surged up to Hua Cheng's face again, but this time two firm hands gently stopped him. "San Lang?"
Smiling somewhat fondly, somewhat bitterly, Hua Cheng tried to keep him at distance. "Your Highness, please don't force yourself for this one's sake. I understand if you-"
"Can you not give me any spiritual energy when we kiss?"
Hua Cheng blinked.
"What?"
Xie Lian furrowed his brow, and Hua Cheng noticed his hands were shaking, but he kept on talking, now that he had already started: "Can you, um. When we kiss, can you not give me any spiritual energy?"
Hua Cheng was beyond confused, and started to nod already, before hesitating, and curiously searching for something else in his god's face. Something that wasn't disgust or dissatisfaction at Hua Cheng or even just willpower to get something over with for the sake of a lowly servant such as him. He seemed to have found at least a part of what he was looking for, cause he softly spoke up: "But gege. I didn't transfer any spiritual powers just now...?", and Hua Cheng truly was lost as to whether that was the right or wrong thing to say. He only knew that tears were gathering in his beloved's eyes again, but nevertheless, his beloved still seemed to love him too, so Hua Cheng decided to use his thumbs to wipe the stray tears away.
"Can- can you try to block your powers from leaking when kissing me?"
Before Hua Cheng could even ask, he had his beloved's face only a finger-width away from his again, so he decided to do as he was tasked, and inquire about details later. Once more he felt a soft peck on his lips, and once more he saw His Highness face scrunch up, more tears leaking. "It's no use, San Lang, whenever we kiss, I feel your spiritual energy in me." No answer yet having escaped Hua Cheng's lips, he already felt a head buried in his neck again, and decided to gently stroke the scrap collector's hair.
"Does my spiritual energy hurt gege?"
A small laugh escaped his beloved, and a muffled, "I wish", came as a response. Hua Cheng tensed, and Xie Lian felt him doing so. So with a sigh Xie Lian sat up - this time fully gliding from Hua Cheng, who still had been half sprawled out on the ground - and tried to explain: "If it was physical pain, I wouldn't even feel it, I wouldn't mind-- don't look at me like that, San Lang, it's true, and it would bring me less pain than... this."
"What exactly is... this?"
"I feel you dying."
The Ghost King blinked at his beloved and. Stared. Before he finally found his voice again, to carefully inquire: "You feel me dying?"
Xie Lian now circled his arms around his own knees, hugging himself close. "I know it's silly", - Hua Cheng did his best not to protest (right now) - "but whenever we kiss, and I feel your spiritual energy surging into my body, I feel like we're on Mount Tong'lu all over again. San Lang, I just. Every time I feel that familiar sensation of you in me, I fear you'll disappear the next second again."
Ever so carefully, Hua Cheng crawled a bit to the front, and sat next to his beloved, to be able to take him into his arms. Xie Lian willingly went, burying his head in Hua Cheng's chest. Hua Cheng used one of his hands to hold him close, with the other he lightly poked his chest - where the ring was. "Should it ever happen again, I will also return to you, just like I did every time. I'll return as long as my beloved is in this world, remember?"
It seemed that had been the wrong thing to say, because Xie Lian lifted his head to look Hua Cheng in the eye, and he was crying again: "But I don't want it to happen again! Just because I've managed to wait for you, doesn't mean I want to do it again! It doesn't mean I can do it again, San Lang. My sweet, sweet Hong-er, my lovely Wu-Ming, my beautiful San Lang, I don't know if I can lose any part of you again; if I can walk this earth without you again. It was so lonely without you." And here, Xie Lian's throat escaped a humorless chuckle, "you've spoiled me, San Lang. I've been alone for 800 years, truly alone, and yet I never felt it to be too much of a loss. And now one year without you - with friends, and colleagues and a home to take care of, I still felt so lonely. Some nights, I still blamed myself for your death - this time not Wu Ming's, but my San Lang's - for sucking out your energy, and I know you don't want me to blame myself. Honestly, most nights it was manageable. I had - I have - faith in you, after all, and I would've waited another thousand years for you, but now you're here. You're here. And now my heart doesn't want to let go another time."
He was hiccupping by now, and Hua Cheng was gripping his body maybe a little bit too tight. Nobody said anything for a while.
"In any of my deaths, I wouldn't have done anything differently when it comes to protecting Your Highness."
Hua Cheng was the first one to break the silence. Xie Lian kept silent.
"I already told gege that to die in battle for him, would be my greatest honor", and at this, the God did whimper slightly, "but seeing His Highness in such pain because of this one is... is truly painful. Every moment spent apart from you is a moment that is entirely useless to me, and so I pray gege believes me when I say that I wouldn't and won't leave him for anything but his own safety. Everything that I am today, I am because of Your Highness, and for Your Highness. And my spiritual energy... it is the same."
Xie Lian nodded in defeat, not needing San Lang to continue. Every part of San Lang wanted to give himself to Xie Lian, every cell in his body, every breath he breathed, and his power as well. His spiritual energy.
"I never wanted to hurt you, San Lang. I love everything about you, and I love kissing you, and I love- you know. With you." Xie Lian felt himself grow a bit red and embarrassed in a situation like this, and thought Hua Cheng might at least grin, but he was only nodding seriously.
"Gege, I want to be honest with you. I don't know what to do. If... if we kiss, you're in pain, but if we don't, you're also..." He didn't finish the sentence, and Xie Lian laughed a bit at his own state. "It's quite pathetic, isn't it?" - "Nothing gege says or does is pathetic."
Looking up into the Ghost Kings' face, Xie Lian saw such adoration and love and everything he had missed for this past one and a half week, and he felt those emotions mirror in his own body, so he quickly surged up to give his love a peck on the nose. Hua Cheng seemed happy enough with it, smiling a bright and relieved smile. Xie Lian considered that smile for another second before he decided to quickly kiss that smile, too.
"Gege!"
The scrap collector found it in himself to smile somewhat cheekily again before putting on a thoughtful expression once more.
"What if we start small?"
Hua Cheng nuzzled his nose into his beloved's hair and felt the other cuddling back into his embrace. "What did gege have in mind?" Having his beloved back in his arms already felt like everything was going to be alright. "Those small kisses earlier. They weren't too bad. I did feel the spiritual energy, but not too much. Maybe we can start with pecks and short kisses, and then... try more again? Once the time is right?" The prospect of being able to kiss his beloved again, and maybe even kiss him passionately (along with other activities that shared a big sum of spiritual energy) in the future again, instantly brightened the Ghost King's mood, making him basically purr: "Gege has the best ideas. Gege is so smart."
Finally feeling the weight lift from his shoulders, Xie Lian smacked the other one slightly, giggling: "San Lang is being the silly one now." He was rewarded with a content smile, and Hua Cheng closing his eye peacefully. "San Lang is very sincere, as always." Then he opened his eye again, the same way a lazy cat might do, and hummed once, before asking: "Pray gege answers this one a last question?"
"For as many questions as San Lang will ask, this gege will be happy to provide an answer to the best of my abilities."
"Did gege leave for the Heavenly Capital because our previous activities had made me give so much spiritual energy?"
That moment, Xie Lian felt eternally grateful that most of the candles had either long since died down, been blown out from their movement earlier, or only gave too little light to actually see anything still because Xie Lian felt his face and body heat up. Silence stretched over the two, until Hua Cheng's voice inquired again: "Gege?"
And truly - how was Xie Lian supposed to admit that having had sex with Hua Cheng just made kissing him all the more impossible to resist, so he decided to flee? Although it seemed there was no need to explain, what with Hua Cheng softly cackling next to him.
"San Lang, you're truly too much!"