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Although Xie Lian had four homes now, an abundance of spiritual energy, and access to any material goods he may need if he only asked, he still enjoyed scrap collecting. Though the other gods gave him odd looks, they knew better than to say anything by now. Well, most of them did. Mu Qing and Feng Xin still couldn't help but comment sometimes. He liked to think they were getting more comfortable with his hobbies though.
Hua Cheng, however, had never questioned it. At this point, he often helped, following along after Xie Lian and begging to carry the bag as Xie Lian acquired more scraps. By now he had his pleading down to an art and Xie Lian gave it over without any argument. How could he say no when Hua Cheng looked so proud to be helping?
Still, he made sure his husband knew he didn’t have to. "San Lang can give me the basket back if it gets too heavy," Xie Lian reminded, squeezing his husband's hand. They both knew it was no where near heavy enough to burden either of them, but just as Hua Cheng liked to spoil him, he liked to spoil his husband right back. And anyways, they really were his scraps. Hua Cheng just came along for fun.
"My hand is much heavier, pray gege keep holding it for me?"
"Of course." Xie Lian brought their entwined hands up to his lips to kiss.
The route was a familiar one. The task was a familiar one. It was no less precious to them both for the familiarity of it. In fact, much like everything about their relationship, Xie Lian thought it only got better the better he knew it. There was a certain warmth in having a routine. The villagers recognized them. Some even saved things specifically for when Xie Lian came around.
Even when they didn't scrap pick 'locally' though, the routine had become a sort of habit when they visited different areas to respond to prayers. It was a nice way to poke around the areas after all, even if they didn't get much.
Sometimes when they got a small haul, Hua Cheng would disappear and come back with a flower. "I did a bit of my own scrap collecting, pray gege doesn't mind?"
And even a hundred times later, Xie Lian still found it endlessly precious each time, taking the little flower offering with both hands and thanking his husband. "Its perfect, where did San Lang find something so valuable?" He said each time.
"Its a secret. But I can find gege more if he'd like some." Every time he offered. And every time Xie Lian knew that Hua Cheng would fill his scrap basket to overflowing if he really asked for it. So every time he shook his head.
"This one is more than enough. The most precious treasure I've gotten all day." Those days, Xie Lian was allowed to help carry the scraps back, though only the flower. He didn't mind. They really were his favorite ‘scraps’ anyways.
Today though, the haul had been good and his basket was full on Hua Cheng's back. If he asked for a flower, he was sure his husband would find one, but he liked leaving it as a treat for less fruitful days. He'd never done scrap collecting with other people before he got married. It was more fun now that someone else was here to get excited with him.
"Gege." Hua Cheng squeezed his hand to get his attention, looking back over his shoulder. "A cart is passing."
Xie Lian turned, smiling as he recognized the villager in question. They lived near each other and the man often gave him rides.
Waving, Xie Lian stopped the man and moved to hop on the cart.
"Basket's full today." The driver commented.
"En, everyone was quite generous today. Good day for the farm?"
"Good enough. Wouldn't be too much trouble to ask you two to lend a hand tomorrow would it? One of the boys is sick."
"Of course. Not too bad of an illness I hope?"
"Just a little cold. He's keeping that tailismen you gave us close though, just in case."
Xie Lian smiled, settling in next to his husband as they started off again. Quiet fell between them, easy and comfortable as light filtered through the leaves, making the sky a beautifully lit crimson and orange and yellow.
Hua Cheng caught one as it fell, a lovely red that matched his robes, pressed a kiss to it, and blew it at Xie Lian. It wobbled slightly, but, probably due to some manipulation on Hua Cheng's part, it reached Xie Lian's waiting hands perfectly.
Laughing, Xie Lian brought the leaf to his lips to 'retrieve' the kiss. "Is San Lang adding this to my scraps for the day?"
"Gege can have more than just scraps."
Xie Lian took him up on that, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “It was around now we first met wasn’t it?” He smiled, then paused and added. “Met this time. Or… well wait, I suppose I’d count the ghost groom incident as our first meeting this time?” He scrunched his face. “Should the Shangyuan festival be considered our anniversary?”
Hua Cheng seemed to be extremely amused by how seriously Xie Lian was thinking about it. “What does gege consider our anniversary?”
“When we married… but I honestly can’t remember the exact date… I’m sorry, San Lang. This old man isn’t very romantic.”
Hua Cheng snickered and leaned in to kiss his cheek back. “It’s okay, gege has to be reminded of his own birthday, I don’t take it personally. Besides, even if gege knew the date, he never knows what day it is.”
“…Does San Lang have a time he considers our anniversary?”
“I have lots of anniversaries with gege.”
“Oh?”
“En. I have the day we met. I have the day gege told me to live for him—“
Xie Lian groaned. “San Lang can forget that one.
Hua Cheng grinned. “I don’t forget things about gege. I have the first day I fought by gege’s side. I have the day I first held gege’s hand. The first night I slept beside gege. The first time I ate gege’s food. The day I gave gege my ashes. The first time we kissed. The first time gege kissed me.—“ Hua Cheng went on and on, listing so many anniversaries Xie Lian’s head was spinning. By the time he finished, Xie Lian was pretty sure most of the year counted as one of their anniversaries.
“San Lang, isn't that too many anniversaries? How do you remember them all?”
“If it’s about gege it’s easy to remember.”
Xie Lian laughed. “My husband is too romantic, being able to remember all those dates and match them to the memories. Should we start celebrating them?”
Hua Cheng’s gaze sparkled with fondness. “How would gege like to celebrate?”
“I’m not sure. But San Lang is going through the trouble to remember the specific dates, it seems a waste not to. Is today an anniversary?”
“Two days ago was the anniversary of the first night I slept beside gege.”
“That’s right, it was the Zhongyuan festival when we met on the cart, wasn’t it? Too bad we missed it.”
“It’s fine gege, we’re just having a belated celebration recreating our first date.”
Xie Lian snorted. “That wasn’t a date.”
“Gege and I took a romantic cart ride, shared food, gossiped, and gege even held my hand.”
“I did?”
“En. To stop me from falling off the cart.”
Xie Lian laughed. “That wasn’t holding hands. And San Lang pulled away so quickly.”
“How could this lowly one not be shy in his highness’ presence?”
Xie Lian reached over to hold his hand for real. “It wasn’t a date.”
“Well maybe not our first one,” Hua Cheng nodded in agreement. “Then gege must consider our first date to be the lovely stroll on Yu Jun mountain? We held hands then too after all.”
“The ghost groom incident was not a date either, I didn’t even know who San Lang was.” Xie Lian shook his head, laughter still easy on his lips.
“Next gege will say today wasn’t a date.”
“Today wasn’t a date, we just went out doing errands together.”
Hua Cheng smiled. “As long as I’m with gege anything can be a date.”
“This kind of thinking is why San Lang has to remember so many anniversaries.”
“That’s fine. Every moment with gege is worth celebrating.”
Xie Lian smiled back. “Every moment with my San Lang is a celebration.”
Hua Cheng caught another leaf, pressing another kiss to it for Xie Lian. “Now gege is spoiling me.”
Xie Lian caught this leaf too. “Hardly. I have the most romantic husband in the three realms and I take him on scrap collecting dates.”
“I like scrap collecting dates.”
“I do too,” Xie Lian admitted. “But shouldn’t I do something better for San Lang?”
“What does gege think counts as a date?”
Xie Lian thought about it. “I’m not sure.”
“I think all a date needs is some of gege’s attention. Scrap collecting is a date. So is eating dinner. Even working in the fields is a date.”
“Is calligraphy a date?” Xie Lian teased.
“No, that’s when gege bullies his San Lang.”
Laughing, Xie Lian leaned against his husband, feeling Hua Cheng lean on him in return.
Fall was blooming around them, bright and radiant, but nothing could capture either of their attentions more than the man sitting next to them. They talked of chores and errands and the scrap they’d collected and perhaps it wasn’t traditionally romantic. But there was a romance in routine and a love in simplicity that shone through in their every word, their every glance.
So Xie Lian did not think more about proper dates, giving into his husband as usual and accepting the truth. As long as they were together, anything was a date.